Nonsense, my dear Mr. King! Missing that, you would have found another.
Let me tell you that I have created a place for you on the ship's roll.
You took my fancy. I had already secured my crew. They are all
Englishmen--stupid fellows, some of them, but trustworthy. You are a
trustworthy race, yes?"

"That is our repute. I have met exceptions."

"Oh, as for that, every man has his price. That is why I pay well. Now,
I am going out to dine. The _Aphrodite_ sails this week. You. will sign
an agreement, yes?"

"Delighted," said Dick, though bitter experience had taught him that
von Kerber's last question might reveal some disagreeable feature
hitherto unseen, just as the sting of the scorpion lies in its tail.

The Baron handed him a printed document.

"Read that," he said. "You need have no fear of legal quibbles. It
contains nothing unreasonable, but I insist on its observance in letter
and spirit."

Certainly, no unfair demand was made by the brief contract which Royson
glanced at. He noticed that the _Aphrodite_ was described as "owned by
Hiram Fenshawe, Esq., of Chalfount Manor, Dorset, and Emperor's Gate,
London, W.," while Baron Franz von Kerber figured as "controller and
head of the expedition." The agreement was to hold good for six months,
with an option, "vesting solely in the said Baron Franz von Kerber," to
extend it, month by month, for another equal period. There were blanks
for dates and figures--, and one unusual clause read: