Chapter 15
TREVOR DENE opened sleep-heavy eyes. His mind was vaguely troubled. He was listening for the gentle stamp of the Megantic’s propellers; he was looking for the cramped surroundings of his cabin; and both were missing. True, a white coat moved noiselessly about a room which, to his drowzy gaze, appeared to be of vast proportions. But surely Bligh was a fat man with a bald head: how had his girth been reduced to this slight compass and where had he grown that thatch of smooth black shiny hair? The detective closed his eyes again: it was all very puzzling.
A ringing voice stirred him to consciousness, a rather nasal drawl that brought with it a flood of insistent, inescapable worries. ‘Well, is he awake yet, Kami?’ the voice said.
Dene’s eyes were open now. Bill was there, tubbed
