A Hero for Leanda

Conway asked, with a touch of impatience.
    “I have enemies, who would pay a great deal to have me abducted and killed.”
    “Well, I’m afraid you’ll have to take a chance on our genuineness. We’ve no credentials.”
    “Is your ship safe? Are you a good seaman?”
    “We got here,” Conway said. “I guess we can get back .“
    “My life is valuable. My countrymen depend on me .“
    “Look,” Conway said, “you don’t have to come. If you’d sooner stay here, just say the word.”
    “Of course I don’t want to stay here. For months I have thought of nothing but when I would get away.... All right, I must trust your good faith and skill. What do you propose?”
    “Can you come here tomorrow night—but a little later, say at one o’clock?”
    “If everything is quiet and normal I can do that, yes .“
    “Good. Then that’s all you have to do. There’s no need to bring anything with you—we’ve got all you’ll need on board. Is your room at the front of the bungalow?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then leave your light on. See that it’s on all the evening —it’ll guide us in. If anything goes wrong, if either we or you can’t make the rendezvous tomorrow, the same arrangement will hold for the next night, and the next, and so on until we meet... All right?”
    “Yes.”
    “That’s all, then. One o’clock tomorrow night, at this spot. I’ll be seeing you.” Conway got to his feet and walked slowly off along the beach. In a few moments he was back in the house.
    As he entered the bedroom, Leanda called out in an eager whisper, “Did you find him?”
    “Yes.”
    “Everything all right?”
    “Well,” Conway said slowly, “he’s a bit long on suspicion and short on gratitude. But I think it’s in the bag.”

    They said good-by to Wendy Franklin in the morning, uncomfortably aware that they too would seem short on gratitude very soon but unable to do anything about it. Tom Franklin drove them back to Port Edward and dropped them at the quay. Conway paid off the boat-watcher and quietly prepared Thalia for sea, while Leanda went off to buy fresh food. By midday they were ready to leave—ostensibly for a short fishing trip. They might not be back till the morning, Conway told the harbor master. He started the engine and they motored slowly out along the harbor channel. No one had taken the slightest interest in their departure. At sea, Conway turned the ship away from La Pleasaunce, waiting until they were well away from the land before making a wide sweep to the south. Then he gave the tiller to Leanda while he compared the chart with a map of Heureuse they’d bought. The Franklins ’ estate was marked on the map, and it was a simple matter to fix its position on the chart. It was just over twelve sea miles away. They had all the time in the world.
    There were some high-piled clouds which emptied during the afternoon in a torrent of rain, but afterward the sky cleared again. The faint breeze that had sprung up dropped completely, and the sea became as calm as a lake. Conway put out some lines, in case anyone was watching them from the shore, and they cruised slowly along the coast. By dusk, they were two miles off La Pleasaunce. As the sun went down, Conway turned in toward the reef. Presently lights came on ashore, the lights of the three dwellings. Conway throttled down the engine and edged slowly along the seaward side of the reef till he found the pass through the coral that he’d seen the day before. As soon as Thalia was safely inside the lagoon he switched off the engine. With Leanda’s help he unshipped and launched the dinghy and made its painter fast to the darkened yacht’s bows. Then, rowing with short strokes and taking his time, he towed the yacht noiselessly to within a hundred yards of the shore. When she was in position he made the dinghy fast so that it wouldn’t bump against the hull, and anchored Thalia lightly with a warp and kedge.... After that, there was nothing to do but wait.
    It was a long wait. Leanda was on edge, now that they were so near the end. They couldn’t show a light or speak above a whisper or move about except with the greatest caution. Conway dozed a little in his bunk and Leanda rested, though she couldn’t sleep. Slowly, the hours passed.
    Then, at a quarter to one, Conway lowered himself into the dinghy and sculled it, silently and expertly, to the shore.
    He paused just outside the breaking wavelet, his ears straining for any unfamiliar