‘All right,’ answered Mr. Arbuthnot leisurely. Langrune is not the end of the earth. If by the time we secure the Doctor, the steamer has weighed anchor, we must all get back to Guernsey _viâ_ Cherbourg. That would fit in very well. The _Lady of the Isles_ crosses from Cherbourg to-morrow,’ went on Gaston, raising his voice as he looked back over his shoulder towards the boats. ‘We should just have time to visit the dockyard before starting.’ And then the two figures sped onward, side by side. They were watched with keen speculative interest by the occupants of the boats. No one, save simple Mrs. Verschoyle, felt disturbed as to the Doctor’s ultimate fate. Was an old gentleman who had taken admirable care of himself for forty years in India a likely subject to be spirited away on the sands, between Luc and Langrune? But the situation had a dramatic piquancy that stirred even the unimaginative minds of the Miss de Carterets and their attendant subalterns. For there was Dinah! Impossible to forget that Mrs. Gaston Arbuthnot, that lowly-born young woman with the beautiful eyes, and set, sad mouth, was also watching the two figures as they disappeared in the darkness. ‘A quarter of an hour. By Jove! ten minutes of that quarter must be nearly gone.’ And taking out his watch, Lord Rex struck a vesuvian in order to learn the time. It was exactly eight minutes to nine, and at nine, sharp, the _Princess_ was to weigh her anchor. The moment for action had come. Now, what was the wisest thing to do? One point seemed certain--it was useless for both boats to wait longer. Let the smaller boat, at the head of the jetty, start for the steamer at once, let the captain be told what had happened, and asked to put off his departure as long as practicable. If Gaston Arbuthnot and the Thornes arrived in time, the second boat would bring them off. If not--why, common sense could really dictate no better plan than Gaston’s own. Langrune was not the end of the world A railway to Cherbourg existed. The _Lady of the Isles_ would no doubt bring the lost sheep comfortably back to their respective folds to-morrow.