Why did you deliberately sacrifice your ship in that manner ?" The speaker's cut-glass style of English left his hearers in no doubt as to what he had said.

During the tense silence that reigned for a few seconds even some among the crew pricked their ears, while Hozier and Iris forgot other troubles in their new bewilderment.

There were reasons why the drift of the stranger's words should be laid deeply to heart by three people present.

Coke, at any rate, found himself nearer a state of pallid nervousness than ever before in the course of a variegated life.

It was impossible that he should actually grow pale, but his brick-red features assumed a purple tint, and his fiery little eyes glinted.
"Wot are you a-drivin' at, mister ?" he growled at last, after trying vainly to expectorate and compromising the effort in a husky gargle.
"Do you deny, then, that you acted like a madman?
Do you say that you did not know quite well the risk you ran in bringing your vessel to the island in broad daylight ?" Then Coke found his breath.
"Risk!" he roared.