'Shall I!' Then he called out in French to the man at the wheel, 'Hi Andre! let these two be put off in the dinghy.' It was a peculiar situation.

Certain of nothing but the possession of Nella's revolver, the Prince scarcely knew whether to carry the argument further, and with stronger measures, or to accept the situation with as much dignity as the circumstances would permit.
'Let us take the dinghy,' said Nella; 'we can row ashore in an hour.' He felt that she was right.

To leave the yacht in such a manner seemed somewhat ignominious, and it certainly involved the escape of that profound villain, Mr Thomas Jackson.

But what else could be done?
The Prince and Nella constituted one party on the vessel; they knew their own strength, but they did not know the strength of their opponents.
They held the hostile ringleader bound and captive, but this man had proved himself capable of giving orders, and even to gag him would not help them if the captain of the yacht persisted in his obstinate course.
Moreover, there was a distinct objection to promiscuous shooting; the Prince felt that; there was no knowing how promiscuous shooting might end.
'We will take the dinghy,' said the Prince quickly, to the captain.
A bell rang below, and a sailor and the Negro boy appeared on deck.

The pulsations of the screw grew less rapid.