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shook an angry finger at the deserted jetty. ‘No! Where are they? Aboard the Angel?’
    ‘It is wholly possible. A crew of some kind would be necessary to work ship, even the bums to be picked up at quay-side. And a green hand at the wheel accounts for the sloppy business in the harbor mouth. But as for gangsters - pah !’
    ‘Would the captain turn the wheel over to a green hand even before getting out of the harbor ? And why were we hoaxed? Answer me those, grease monkey!’
    Michaud shrugged indifferently.
    ‘I am not clairvoyant. The fact remains that we have been beached, for whatever reason. I, for one, am going to the Commandant du Port and lodge a complaint. Who ’s with me?’ As the others hesitated, he added slyly, ‘It will protect the pay che ck s, lads. It shows that the ship has abandoned us, not we the ship.’
    Cesar spat.
    ‘That for you and your pay checks ! I know gangsters when I see them! The Angel was grabbed, and it is our business to see first tha t the police know about it! Pay- check protection can wait!’
    Cesar was conscious that the rest of the crew were not with him. So was Michaud. The engineer said sourly, ‘Then if you do not mind making a fool of yourself with the flics, take them your ideas while the rest of us go to the Com mandant. We will explain —’
    He did not finish. Cesar had turned away and was running hard for the Sûreté Publique . Michaud looked after him for a moment, then shrugged and turned in the other direction. The others followed him.

    It seemed to Blake that a long time passed before he was aware of his surroundings again, although Holtz ’s calculated brutality could only have knocked him out for seconds. He became vaguely conscious that his cheek was pressed against rough deck matting, then of pain, then that someone was tugging him with difficulty to a sitting position. He opened his eyes to find himself with his back against a bulk-head, looking out through the open doorway of the pilot-house at a baroque wedding-cake that gradually cleared in his vision and became the casino on the bluff of Monte Carlo gleaming in bright sunshine. The Angel was running smoothly eastwards at cruising speed, angling away from the land, but still only a few hundred meter s offshore. Jules stood at the wheel, and Holtz was nowhere in sight.
    Marian said anxiously, ‘Are you all right?’
    She knelt at his side, bracing his body with her own against the rock of the cruiser until his lax muscles took over. The bright red mark of Holtz ’s blow was still deepening its color on her cheekbone.
    ‘I’ll survive.’ With an effort, Blake shifted his brace from her to the bulkhead. ‘How about you?’
    ‘My face feels numb, that ’s all. He didn’t hurt me much.’ She shuddered uncontrollably. ‘The nasty little animal! I thought he was going to break your back!’
    ‘He almost did. Thanks for intercepting the last one.’
    ‘Don’t be grateful to me! Please!’ Her voice was low and miserable. ‘I’ll burst into tears.’
    Blake flexed his muscles against the pain in his back. It was going away, but he did not want to try to move further for a few minutes.
    He said, ‘Would you mind telling me what this is all about? How did you get mixed up in it?’
    She looked a question at Jules ’s broad shoulders. Blake said, ‘He probably doesn’t understand English, but don’t give away any secrets if you’d rather not.’
    ‘It can’t be a secret to him that I’ve been a fool. He -Holtz, I mean - moved into my pension a few days after I did, and he saw me reading the newspaper story about the baroness ’s suit for the yacht. We talked about it afterwards. He said that an attachment had been issued, and when I asked him how he knew, he said it was his job to serve it. He showed me a legal paper, and said he needed an English- speaking witness to the service. He offered me 25,000 francs to help him. I - I needed the money - it would get me back to Paris and keep me