Panelled entirely in very highly polished old Spanish mahogany and lit by beautifully designed clusters of electric lights, the room presented an appearance of great comfort. The thick pile of the carpet seemed to caress the feet, and there was an indescribable odour of some strange scent, which seemed to blend deliciously with the cigars and opium-tainted cigarettes provided by the young man. On a Sheraton buffet, fitted with silver fiddles, stood a goodly regiment of bottles and glasses. As the captives and those of the pirates who had followed the young man, and who were obviously the most important members of the ship's extraordinary company, settled themselves on the luxurious settees, a door behind the buffet opened and one of the pretty waitresses entered.
She was changed. The pirates took no notice but their captives gasped. She was stark naked, save for red morocco slippers with high, black, silk-covered French heels. Air Silverwood's hands instinctively groped in his trousers pocket.
Hie girl was very beautiful; Medium in height, she had a skin like porcelain and her figure was absolutely correctly proportioned. Her dark, chestnut hair fell in luxuriant waves over her forehead and was gathered behind into a heavy knot, caught with a golden clasp. It seemed to kiss her pretty back with a silken caress. She was clean-shaven, both on her Mount of Venus and under her arms, so that, but for her jewellery, her slippers, a gold-mounted monocle which she wore in her left eye and some fantastic painted decorations on her beautiful body, she might have been a marble statue of a somewhat up-to-date Venus. Her nails were very carefully manicured, and her fingers were heavily beringed. She wore diamonds and rubies only on her hands, but round her neck was a collar of pearls, black and white, with a blue enamel buckle bearing an inscription in small brilliant points. It was almost similar to the famous collar given to the actress Nemesis Hunt by HSH the Prince of Marsgorovia.
Clasping her waist was a very thin gold belt, from each side of which hung a fragile gold chain which, meeting just above the delicious rondeur of her hair-bereft mountain of love, carried an open-work gold box shaped like a heart, which, from the odour which exuded, evidently contained some rare Eastern perfume. It was surmounted by a tiny amethyst dove carrying in its beak an olive leaf of green jade.
On her stomach, on either side of her rosy-tinted navel, were painted twin cupids, their lips extended in the shape of a kiss. As the soft flesh heaved and fell, the pouting mouths seemed to be actually kissing that delightful little dimple of a navel. It was a pretty fancy.
Her eyes were very blue and clear, her mouth full and ripe, and her winning smile showed glistening teeth. For earrings, she had ivory cupids with turquoise eyes and wings of almost transparent pearl.
As she came right into the middle of the room, Hannibal McGregor spent voluminously into his kilt. Moss Hell made a rapid calculation of his hank balance and wondered if the young man would cash a cheque. Mr. Silverwood determined to remain a pirate for life.
With an easy, lissom walk she approached the young man.
'Mr. Prendergast has sent me, sir, to say that the gentleman you had put in irons seems to be going mad. He certainly seems very odd.'
'Did you go and see him dressed like that?
'Yes.'
'No wonder the poor devil seems odd. Well, I'll both increase and decrease his punishment. Give him a large glass of champagne, put a good dose of our island aphrodisiac in it, and an opium cigarette, and go and sit and talk to him for half an hour-he's chained up, I suppose?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Then we'll let him out. Just get so near to him that he can't touch you. He's a nice boy; I dare say you may have met him, before you-er-abandoned society.'
The ravishing vision disappeared through the door amidst unmistakable groans of disappointment from the captives.
'Oh, we have others,' said the young man, flippantly.
The faces brightened. The young man laughed. 'Well,' he said, 'I suppose this needs some explanation. That young lady is really of good birth, in fact she is a tided tart, but she had to leave society: her code of signalling at bridge was more ingenuous than ingenious. Her partner came too-he is there,' nodding at one of the pirates who was busy with the spirit decanters.
'My God! it's Lord — ' said Mr. Silverwood.
'Quiet, man, quiet,' snapped the young man. 'Remember where Lord Reggie is.'
Mr. Silverwood reflected that if there was going to be any naked female janitor business, things might be worse, but then, he mightn't be given one, and he held his tongue.
'Please understand,' the young man insisted, 'that there are to be no names mentioned. Remember that there are worse punishments than putting in irons. One of our Russian members escaped from Siberia in an open boat, and he knows a bit. He isn't as handsome as he was.'
Heir Kunst shivered.
'Well, we are a community of pirates, all of whom have outraged society. We have a delightful island home, which by some mistake is uncharted; and we make our money this way. The idea was originated by myself. Do you remember the theft of the Reisenheimer art collection?'
'Vat!' screamed Herr Kunst, 'den you it is dat der Venus of Titian haf, dat I to der collection lent, mein Gott! ain't it?'
'Correct. You shall have the opportunity of seeing it once more. Perhaps you would like to buy it back?'
'Ah veil,' said Herr Kunst, 'it mit much completenesses ensured vos, mit mein freund, Isaacs, you know Isaacs; he vould so beautiful a pirate make; Isaacs he vos in his so great shop ven I call. I see der glass balls for der fire outputting.
'“Isaacs,” I say, “vot on earth vos in dose?”
'“I don't know vot vos in dem,” he say, “but der vos paraffin in dem now.”'
'He vos a great man Isaacs, a great man. Ven der fire came all der peoples on holiday avay vos, but his mother-in-law upstairs resting vos, vile Isaacs vos see dat der vos enough paraffin. She vos burn, poor ting. Isaacs vos in her vill for tree million. He vos in der canned meat business now. His elder bruder vos found der firm, but ven von day he und Isaacs vos inspect der vats, all alone, he vos overbalance und fall in. Isaacs has all der business now. It vos a coincidence, ain't it?'
The young man laughed.
'To continue,' he said, 'this yacht, or whatever you like to call it, was built to the order of Lord — , one of us. It was completed a few weeks before his creditors became aware of the hopeless extent of his obligations, nor had his father's cheque for £20,000, which he had forged, yet come back to the old duke, so he took the yacht out on a trial trip, picked us up at various places, and here we are.'
'Mein, dat vos clever,' observed Herr Kunst. 'Isaacs vould haf liked dat. After der death of his bruder he vos extravagant, und mit a prostitution voman go. Tree hours he vos bargain mit her, und den vos gif her von dollar, less ten per cent discount for cash in advance, and she vos gif him der red carbuncles on his Thomas John, und he vos gif dem to his vife, und she vos gif dem to the church pastor, und Isaacs vos laugh like hell, ain't it'
'Ah, I perceive you are a raconteur, mein Herr,' said the young man. 'Well, we can do with you. As I was about to explain, when you interrupted, storytelling is quite part of our programme-hence the name of the New Decameron- with all due apologies to Boccaccio-and I trust all of you will be able to oblige. You see, by the charming apparition you just now witnessed, that our manners are free-very free.'
'Hae ye heard this ane?' interposed Hannibal McGregor, ''tis just Scotch, but it's gey humorous.'