If I had been surrounded by trustworthy men, I should not----" He broke off.

There was a sound of hurrying footsteps on the steep pathway.

A figure, clad in rags that surpassed even De Sylva's, appeared in the entrance.

A brief colloquy took place.

De Sylva's eager questions were answered in monosyllables, or the nearest approach thereto.
"Marcel tells me that one of your boats is drifting away with a man lying in the bottom," came the uneasy explanation.
Coke's face showed a degree of surprise, which, in his case, was almost invariably akin to disbelief, but an exclamation from Hozier drew all eyes.
"Good Lord!" he cried, "that must be the lifeboat I was trying to clear when the ship struck.