He dozed off at last, but woke up several times during the night with the cold.  The lamp burnt itself out, and in the dark he listened intently for any sounds of life in the room above.  Then he fell asleep again, until at about half-past seven in the morning a loud crash overhead awoke him with a start.

In a moment he was sitting up with every faculty on the alert.  Footsteps blundered about in the room above, and a large and rapidly widening patch of damp showed on the ceiling.  It was evident that the sleeper, in his haste to quench an abnormal thirst, had broken the water jug.

Mr. Wilks, shivering with dread, sprang to his feet and stood irresolute.  Judging by the noise, the captain was evidently in a fine temper, and Mr. Smith’s remarks about insanity occurred to him with redoubled interest.  Then he heard a hoarse shout, the latch of the bedroom door clicked, and the prisoner stumbled heavily downstairs and began to fumble at the handle of the door at the bottom.  Trembling with excitement Mr. Wilks dashed forward and turned the key, and then retreating to the street door prepared for instant flight.

He opened the door so suddenly that the man on the other side, with a sudden cry, fell on all fours into the room, and raising his face stared stupidly at the steward.  Mr. Wilks’s hands dropped to his sides and his tongue refused its office, for in some strange fashion, quite in keeping with the lawless proceedings of the previous night, Captain Nugent had changed into a most excellent likeness of his own son.

[Illustration:  “The man on the other side fell on all fours into the room.”]

CHAPTER XII

For some time Mr. Wilks stood gazing at this unexpected apparition and trying to collect his scattered senses.  Its face was pale and flabby, while its glassy eyes, set in rims of red eyelids, were beginning to express unmistakable signs of suspicion and wrath.  The shock was so sudden that the steward could not even think coherently.  Was the captain upstairs?  And if so, what was his condition?  Where was Nathan Smith?  And where was the five pounds?

A voice, a husky and discordant voice, broke in upon his meditations; Jack Nugent was also curious.

“What does all this mean?” he demanded, angrily.  “How did I get here?”

“You—­you came downstairs,” stammered Mr. Wilks, still racking his brains in the vain effort to discover how matters stood.

Mr. Nugent was about to speak, but, thinking better of it, turned and blundered into the kitchen.  Sounds of splashing and puffing ensued, and the steward going to the door saw him with his head under the tap.  He followed him in and at the right time handed him a towel.  Despite the disordered appearance of his hair the improvement in Mr. Nugent’s condition was so manifest that the steward, hoping for similar results, turned the tap on again and followed his example.