pounds, shillings, and pence are unsurpassed. The towel he was holding, he opened and threw it over the dead man's head and shoulders. He was not hyper-sensitive, but he wanted to avoid seeing what the towel would hide. Then he turned the button of the electric light. He looked round—not a sign of a struggle, not a drop of blood. Yet stay—his right hand! He must wash it. Quickly he had water in the basin and was cleaning that hateful red stain away. While he wiped his hands, he reflected that he had but to pull the head curtains, and the body would appear to be that of an ordinary sleeping man. That way the ship might get a dozen hours away from Queenstown before discovery. He shook hands with himself over the happiness of the idea he had—so far—carried out so cleverly. Then he turned up the blankets and sheeting of[Pg 47] the bunk. For obvious reasons he preferred turning them up from the feet to turning them down from the head. [Pg 47] Depew had, with an oath, told him that, sleeping or waking, the belt would never leave him. He thought grimly that now the man was dead the oath would be broken. He started in surprise; the man was not wearing a belt! He stood still, holding the bedclothes in sheer amazement. He had expected the thing to be so easy of accomplishment—and the object of his search was not there at all! He stepped back, and fell rather than sat on his own berth. He was more than surprised. Then it occurred to him that perhaps, after all, the man had locked the money in one of his portmanteaus. Loide was thankful that he had time before him, in which to make search. He had been wise not to leave things till the last moment. He felt in the dead man's coat, vest, and ultimately in a trousers pocket found two keys, tied together with a piece of twine. These he presently found fitted the portmanteaus. He inserted a key in one, turned the lock, and unbuckled the straps. The bag contained but one thing—a huge parcel wrapped in newspapers.[Pg 48] [Pg 48] He would try the other bag—did
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