Ward has given us every assistance possible and we have searched the ship thoroughly. Unless he has found a hiding place unknown to your steward, and not apparent to us, the man is not on board." The Captain frowned slightly. "You are not suggesting that that is possible, I suppose?" Quest did not at once reply. He was thinking of Laura's obstinacy. "Personally," he admitted, "I should not have believed it possible. The young lady of our party, however, who declares that she saw Craig board the steamer, is quite immovable." The Captain rose to his feet. He was a man of medium height, strongly built, with short brown beard and keen blue eyes. "This matter must be cleared up entirely," he declared brusquely. "If you will excuse me for a moment, I will talk to the young lady myself." He walked firmly down the deck to where the two girls were seated, and paused in front of Laura. "So you're the young lady," he remarked, touching his cap, "who thinks that I come to sea with criminals stowed away on my ship?" "I don't know what your habits are, Captain," Laura replied, "but this particular criminal boarded your ship all right in Southampton Harbour." "Anything wrong with your eyesight?" the Captain enquired blandly. "No," Laura assured him. "I saw the man, saw him just as plainly as I see you now." "Do you know," the Captain persisted, "that Mr. Quest and Mr. Harris have searched every nook and corner of the ship? They have had an absolutely free hand, and my own steward has been their guide. They have seen every man, boy, woman and animal amongst my crew or passengers." "They've been fooled somehow," Laura muttered. The Captain frowned. He was on the point of a sharp rejoinder when he met Laura's eyes. She was