SOME HOURS LATER 289

and his invention would die with him! The vessels might

approach, land their men on Backcup, and demolish the

island with cannon. Ker Karraje and all his horde would

be destroyed: at the one murder that would lead to the -
punishment of so many crimes, ought I hesitate ?

I advanced towards the table. A steel chisel was
there. I stretched out my hand to take it, Roch turned
round.

It was too late to strike him. A struggle would ensue;
a struggle meant noise. His cries would be heard. There
were still some pirates on that side. I could even hear
footsteps crunching the sand on the banks. I had barely
time to escape if I would avoid being found here.

Yet once more I tried to awaken some feeling of
patriotism in the inventor, by saying,—

“There are vessels in sight. They are coming to
destroy this den! Perhaps one of them bears the French
flag !”

He looked at me. He did not know that Backcup was
about to be attacked, and I had just told him. The lines
on his forehead deepened. His eyes kindled.

“Thomas Roch, will you dare to fire on the tricolor,
the flag of your country ?”

Roch raised his head, shook it nervously, then made a
gesture of disdain.

“What, your own country?”

“J have no longer a country,” he cried. “The réjected
inventor has no country! Where he has found a haven,
there is his country! They want to lay hold of what is

U