A Hero for Leanda

best he could. Leanda, untroubled so far by the lively motion, stayed on deck. She seemed less aloof than usual, and even held the boom steady for Conway while he tucked a precautionary reef in the sail.
    “What’s this—a change of heart?” he asked, as he rejoined her.
    “No, Mike—but there’s something I must say to you.”
    “If it’s something nice I’ll be delighted to hear it. I’ve missed our friendly chats.”
    “It’s about Kastella again....”
    “Then I’d say you were wasting your time.”
    “Do you still feel the same about trying to get the gun away from him?”
    “Exactly the same.”
    “I’m sure we could get it, Mike, if we worked out a plan together. I’ve been thinking....”
    “I’m sorry, Leanda—there’s absolutely nothing doing.” She was silent for a while. Then she said, “Mike, has it occurred to you that Kastella might have plans for us ?“
    “ What do you mean?”
    “Well, we know all these frightful things about him— what he did at Meos, and the ketch, and so on. It’s only guesswork, after all, that the people on the ketch got back safely. He may actually be a murderer. He’s tried to terrorize me into keeping quiet, and he pretends he can rely on your discretion—but he must be quite worried.”
    “He could be.”
    “And he’s utterly ruthless. He’s also got a gun. Mike, how do you know he won’t kill us before he leaves the ship, to make sure we keep quiet?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Have you thought of it?”
    “Indeed I have.”
    “Then how can you not do anything about the gun?” ‘Because,” Conway said, “I think the risk that he’ll try to kill us is much less than the risk of trying to get the gun.... It’s a gamble I’ve decided to take, and I think it’s a fair one. Anyway, I’ve put altogether too much into this business to give up when we’re hardly more than a hundred miles from land. It’s no good, Leanda—I’ve made up my mind and I’m going through with it.” He hauled in the mainsheet and braced his foot against the locker as Thalia heeled. “It looks as though we should have a pretty good sail tonight!” he said.

    The wind blew hard for several hours, but its strength never approached that of the first storm. Thalia took quite a tossing, but there was no menace in the seas and Conway thoroughly enjoyed his spell at the helm. By four in the morning he was able to shake out the reef and carry on under all plain sail. He was just eating the last of his sandwiches when he was startled by a loud crash below, and the sound of shouting voices.
    At once he let the sheet and tiller go and dived for the saloon. Leanda wasn’t in her bunk. Kastella’s door was half open. Through the gap Conway caught a glimpse of figures struggling wildly round the barrel of the gun. He hurled himself forward. There was a shattering report as the gun went off. The door slammed in his face. He put his shoulder to it and went staggering into the cabin as it flew open. The gun barrel jabbed hard into his stomach. “Don’t move!” Kastella said.
    He looked wildly round. Leanda was lying face downward on the floor, moaning. Ignoring the gun, he dropped to his knees beside her. “Leanda!” he cried. “Oh, God! He turned her over, dreading what he might see. But there was no blood. He could see no injury at all. Her eyes flickered. “Leanda,” he said, “darling—are you hurt?”
    “She’s not hurt.” Kastella was crouching back on his bunk, pointing the gun down at Conway . “Not much, anyway. I had to hit her. She’ll be all right in a minute.”
    “You swine!” Conway said.
    “It was better than shooting her, wasn’t it? I’d warned her what to expect. She’s lucky.”
    “Why didn’t you lock the door, you damned fool?
    “I did lock it. She must have loosened the screws while we were on deck—look, you can see. She tried to snatch the gun before I was properly awake. It went off accidentally.” He pointed to the shattered white wood of the cabin roof that could so easily have been Leanda’s face. “Then I hit her.”
    There was a sudden lurch as Thalia came broadside onto a sea. Left to itself, the ship was being tossed about like flotsam. Kastella’s greenish pallor grew more sickly . “Get her out of here,” he said.
    Conway lifted Leanda and carried her tenderly into the saloon. She stirred as he laid her on her bunk. He fetched cold water and dashed a little of it into her face. She came round