'You mean that you'll come?'he exclaimed.'Why, I hadn't even asked
you! Yes, I want to go back and clear up the whole thing. I know now
that I want to; telling it all to you has been such an immense relief. And a
lot depended on you, too, and that's why I've been feeling such an abso-
lute hypocrite. I say, how can I apologize?'
'Don't worry about me; I've had a splendid time. And I'll come right
enough; but I should like to know exactly what you—'
'No; but wait till I just make a clean breast of it— about you, I mean.
You see, I came to the conclusion that I could do nothing alone; not that
two are really necessary for managing the boat in the ordinary way, but
for this sort of job you do want two; besides, I can't speak German prop-
erly, and I'm a dull chap all round. If my theory, as you call it, is right,
it's a case for sharp wits, if ever there was one; so I thought of you.
You're clever, and I knew you had lived in Germany and knew German,
and I knew,'he added, with a little awkwardness,'that you had done a
good deal of yachting; but of course I ought to have told you what you
were in for— roughing it in a small boat with no crew. I felt ashamed of
myself when you wired back so promptly, and when you came— er—'
Davies stammered and hesitated in the humane resolve not to wound
my feelings.'Of course I couldn't help noticing that it wasn't what you
expected,'was the delicate summary he arrived at.'But you took it
splendidly,'he hastened to add.'Only, somehow, I couldn't bring myself
to talk about the plan. It was good enough of you to come out at all,
without bothering you with hare-brained schemes. Beside, I wasn't even
sure of myself. It's a tangled business. There were reasons, there are reas-
ons still'—he looked nervously at me—'which— well, which make it a
tangled business.'I had thought a confidence was coming, and was dis-
appointed.'I was in an idiotic state of uncertainty,'he hurried on;'but
the plan grew on me more and more, when I saw how you were taking
to the life and beginning to enjoy yourself. All that about the ducks on
the Frisian coast was humbug; part of a stupid idea of decoying you
there and gaining time. However, Versace Belt Men ,you quite naturally objected, and last
night I meant to chuck the whole thing up and give you the best time
here I could. Then Bartels turned up—'
'Stop,'I put in.'Did you know he might turn up when you sailed
here?'
'Yes,'said Davies, guiltily.'I knew he might; and now it's all come out,
and you'll come! What a fool I've been!'
Long before he had finished I had grasped the whole meaning of the
last few days, and had read their meaning into scores of little incidents
which had puzzled me.
'For goodness'sake, don't apologize,'I protested.'I could make con-
fessions, too, if I liked. And I doubt if you've been such a fool as you
think. I'm a patient that wants careful nursing, and it has been the merest
chance all through that I haven't rebelled and bolted. We've got a good
deal to thank the weather for, and other little stimulants. And you don't
know yet my reasons for deciding to try your cure at all.'
'My cure?'said Davies;'what in the world do you mean? It was jolly
decent of you to—'
'Never mind! There's another view of it, but it doesn't matter now.
Let's return to the point. What's your plan of action?'
'It's this,'was the prompt reply:'to get back to the North Sea, via Kiel
and the ship canal. Then there will be two objects: one, to work back to
Norderney, where I left off before, exploring all those channels through
the estuaries and islands; the other, to find Dollmann, discover what he's
up to, and settle with him. The two things may overlap, we can't tell yet.
I don't even know where he and his yacht are; but I'll be bound they're
somewhere in those same waters, and probably back at Norderney.'
'It's a delicate matter,'I mused, dubiously,'if your theory's correct.
Spying on a spy—'
'It's not like that,'said Davies, indignantly.'Anyone who likes can sail
about there and explore those waters. I say, you don't really think it's
like that, do you?'
'I don't think you're likely to do anything dishonourable,'I hastened
to explain.'I grant you the sea's public property in your sense. I only
mean that developments are possible, which you don't reckon on.
There must be more to find out than the mere navigation of those chan-
nels, and if that's so, mightn't we come to be genuine spies ourselves?'
'And, after all, hang it!'exclaimed Davies,'if it comes to that, why
shouldn't we? I look at it like this. The man's an Englishman, and if he's
in with Germany he's a traitor to us, and we as Englishmen have a right
to expose him. If we can't do it without spying we've a right to spy, at
our own risk—'
'There's a stronger argument than that. He tried to take your life
