"That brings us," Mr. Sabin continued, "to my proposition. I must admit that the details I have not fully thought out yet, but that is a matter of only half an hour or so. I propose that you should kill me in Boston Harbour and escape to your man-of-war. They will, of course, refuse to give you up, and on your return to Germany you will receive your freedom." "But--but you," Watson exclaimed, bewildered, "you don't want to be killed, surely?" "I do not intend to be--actually," Mr. Sabin explained. "Exactly how I am going to manage it I can't tell you just now, but it will be quite easy. I shall be dead to the belief of everybody on board here except the captain, and he will be our accomplice. I shall remain hidden until your _Kaiser Wilhelm_ has left, and when I do land in America--it shall not be as Mr. Sabin." Watson rose to his feet He was a transformed man. A sudden hope had brightened his face. His eyes were on fire. "It is a wonderful scheme!" he exclaimed. "But the captain--surely he will never consent to help?" "On the contrary," Mr. Sabin answered, "he will do it for the asking. There is not a single difficulty which we cannot easily surmount." "There is my companion," Watson remarked; "she will have to be reckoned with." "Leave her," Mr. Sabin said, "to me. I will undertake that she shall be on our side before many hours are passed. You had better go down to your room now. It is getting light and I want to rest." Watson paused upon the threshold. He pointed in some embarrassment to the table by the side of the bed. "Is it any use," he murmured in a low tone, "saying that I am sorry for this?" "You only did--what--in a sense was your duty," Mr. Sabin answered. "I bear no malice--especially since I escaped."