"Have I not warned you sufficiently? But for the intense love I bear you, this moment would be your last. One plunge, and it would be impossible to save you in this darkness, and no one would realise who did the deed. Do you wish me to make use of the knowledge I gained to-day with those dynamite experiments; because, listen, I have not looked on in vain. One touch of a wire--one that I have laid--and this ship and all on board would be in fragments. That would have happened if you had gone forward to-night and betrayed me. Once more, listen; it is useless for you to fight against your fate, for I am not alone here; and when I cease watching you others take up the task. There. See, I release and trust you after what I have said." He took his hand from the trembling woman's lips, but grasped her tightly still, lest she should sink down fainting. "Now return quietly to your cabin," he continued, "and remember this. You think to save Dutch Pugh and the rest by betraying me. Instead of that you will send them to their death. Now go back without a sound." Hester felt her arm released, and that she was free. Her first wild thought was to run forward, shrieking for help; her next that Laure would keep his word, and, controlling herself she tottered with outstretched hands back to the cabin stairs, and reached the little cabin where Bessy was already asleep, and then, sinking on her knees, prayed for help in this time of need. That night of agony seemed as if it would never pass away, for Hester crouched there sleepless and watching, starting at every sound, and trembling lest the Cuban should be already putting some diabolical scheme into action. At length the day broke, and quite exhausted she sank into a troubled slumber, from which she awoke affrighted with the feeling upon her that Laure was bending down trying to read her face and tell whether she was going to warn her husband or not. A smile of relief crossed her lips, though, as she saw that it was Bessy Studwick, and she listened calmly to her chidings, but refused to go to bed. "It was so foolish," said Bessy, "to sit there the night through. It is not the way to grow strong." From the noise on deck it was evident that preparations for diving were rapidly going on, and now another dread assailed Hester. She felt sure that Dutch would be one of the first to go down, and she shuddered as she thought of the sharks, and determined to make an effort to dissuade him. She was on the point of going on deck when Laure's words stayed her. She was watched, and if she tried to communicate with her husband might he not interpret it as an attempt to betray him, and in an instant compass his destruction. "If I only knew what to do?" she moaned. "If I could but warn him of the danger they might seize that villain in time. I will warn him at all hazards."