“By the way, you may as well ask Harris what the gentleman was like who spoke to him at the landing place.”

He walked slowly backwards and forwards with George Lechmere, without exchanging a word, until in five minutes Hawkins returned.

“It was a clean-shaven man who spoke to Harris, sir; he judged him to be about forty.  He wore a sort of yachting dress, and he was rather short and thin.  About the other matter Rawlins says that he noticed when he was ashore yesterday two of the Phantom’s men strolling about.  Being a Cowes man himself, he knew them both, but as they were not alone he just passed the time of day and went on without stopping.”

“Does he know where they live?  I don’t think it at all likely they would be on leave now, or that he would find either of them at home tomorrow morning; but it is possible that he might do so.  At any rate it is worth trying.  It is curious that two of them should be here when we have seen nothing of the Phantom since the race for the cup, unless, of course, her owner has laid her up, which is hardly likely.  If she had been anywhere about here she would have entered for the race yesterday.”

“I will send Rawlins and one of the other Cowes men ashore at six o’clock, Major.  If they don’t meet the men, they are safe to be able to find out where they live.”

“And tell them and the others, Hawkins, that on no account whatever is a word to be said on shore as to the disappearance of Miss Greendale.  It is of great importance that no one should obtain the slightest hint of what has taken place.”

When the captain had again gone forward, Frank went down, and with some difficulty persuaded Lady Greendale to go to bed.

“We can do nothing more tonight,” he said.  “You may well imagine that if I saw the least chance of doing any good I should not be standing here, but nothing can be done till morning.”

Having seen her to her stateroom, he returned to the deck, where he had told George Lechmere to wait for him.

“It is enough to drive one mad, George,” he said, as he joined him; “to think that somewhere among all those yachts Miss Greendale may be held a prisoner.”

“I can quite understand that, Major, by what I feel myself.  I have seen so much of Miss Greendale, and she has always been so kind to me, knowing that you considered that I had saved your life, and knowing about that other thing, that I feel as if I could do anything for her.  And I feel it all the more because it is the scoundrel I owed such a deep debt to before.  But I hardly think that she can be on board one of the yachts here.”

“I feel convinced that she is not, George.  They could hardly keep her gagged all this time, and at night a scream would be heard though the skylights were closed.”

“No, sir; if she was put on board here I feel sure that they would have got up sail at once.”