The moment the anchor was dropped and the yacht lost way the _Titania_ was surrounded by a fleet of small boats. Into them the rescued people were placed and taken ashore, not before an impromptu meeting had been held on deck and a vote of thanks delivered in broken English by a tall, corpulent Frenchman who was about to take up a Consular appointment in China. "Do you know what, in my opinion, is the height of embarrassment," asked Harborough, addressing his crew in general after the departure of the cosmopolitan crowd. "No? I'll tell you; being kissed on both cheeks by a demonstrative bearded Frenchman, with the temperature 125 degrees in the shade." "Jolly funny thing," remarked Dick to his brother. "I met one of the liner's passengers on the Boulogne boat--a Mr. Wilson." "Really?" remarked Bobby, to whom the announcement conveyed little interest. In his own experience the world was small, and he was used to knocking up against acquaintances, chance or otherwise, at various odd times. "Speak to him?" "No," replied the lad. "For one thing, I didn't notice him until he had left the _Titania_ and was sitting in the boat. For another, I didn't want to." "Why not?" asked Bobby. When Dick took a dislike to anyone there was usually a sound reason. The schoolboy told how "Mr. Wilson" had tried to pump him. "By Jove!" exclaimed Jack Villiers, who was with Bobby at this time. "Pity you hadn't let us know half an hour ago. That's old Borgen for a million. He's on his way to join the _Zug_." "And what would you have done?" inquired Dick, forming a mental picture of burly Jack Villiers and "Mr. Wilson" fighting _à l'outrance_ on the deck of the good ship _Titania_. "Done?" echoed Villiers. "I owe him one for sand-bagging me--or getting his minions to do so, which comes to practically the same thing. I'd have kept him under the influence of morphia for the next twenty-four hours and taken him to sea with us. Then we'd see how the rival crush got on without a figurehead. We'll have to inform the skipper." Harborough received the news with his inscrutable smile. "'Tany rate he's boxed up in Massowah for a week or ten days and he's lost all his kit. That's rather put the lid on his activities for a bit. But since he owes us something for saving his life I hope he won't bear us a grudge on that account." Three hours later, having shipped an additional two hundred gallons of oil and replenished the water-tanks, the _Titania_ weighed and resumed her voyage. It was a long, tedious stretch across the Arabian Sea, for more than 2500 miles lay between the yacht and the port of Colombo. For the most part there was little wind. When there was any it was generally too much ahead to give the vessel a useful slant, for it was the time of the north-east monsoon. Consequently, the heavy oil-engines were kept running almost continuously.