XIII. Hope

"Dr Watson? I am truly sorry. If they had given me the chance to prevent it, I would have done everything in my power to do so. I joined my husband and his colleagues in their endeavour because I believe that Curaçao should be ours, as it has been. I was not prepared for murder."

While I had been touched by Ms Farington's willingness to betray her companions to help us before, I found that I had now no kind word for the young lady. If I were to bring the criminal syndicate to justice, it would be a feat which I had to manage alone, and, if possible, without placing any of my fellow travellers in jeopardy.

Now, I had but to discover a means to stop the criminals. As long as they were together, I could do nothing against them. But I had no idea as yet how to separate them.

"Doctor! A ship!" Ms Farington pointed over the railing out onto the ocean, over which night was falling. However, she was quite correct – just at the farthest reaches of my vision, I could spot a ship following in our wake. It could well be the same vessel I had observed before, and a happy thought occurred to me. "Ms Farington, if you wish to help me prevent further murders, I have to speak to a member of the crew."

"I think that will be possible."

Indeed, Ms Farington managed to find a member of the crew whose absence would not be noticed by the other members of the criminal syndicate and bring him to me. It was the same young fellow that had welcomed us on the Friesland so many days ago. He looked shaken, but seemed to be relieved when he spotted me, apparently convinced that I was not going to harm him. I was immensely grateful for the few words of Dutch Holmes had insisted I should study. They were sufficient to communicate to the sailor what I had planned.

Soon, we had fetched the necessary items out of a small storage and were climbing the steep stairwell to the highest point of the ship, where our flags were most likely to be seen. There had been a brief debate about hoisting the flags on their usual mast, but since that same location was quite visible from the bridge, we had decided against it, and were instead struggling to gain a secure footing on the slippery deck. The sailor, naturally, had little difficulty in maintaining his balance, but my own was severely impaired.

Had it not been imperative that both flags should be seen to understand our call for help, I would not have left Ms Farington's side. For all her assistance, even now I could not be certain that the forcefulness of her husband might not cause her to commit some indiscretion which could well endanger our desperate cry for help. All of my hopes, and, dare I say, all hope of the continued survival of my fellow passengers, hinged upon this one act, and the trust that the ship we had sighted was of friendly and observant nature.

The wind tugged fiercely at the flags, as if it had become an ally of the criminals, desperate to hinder our endeavour. However, our effort came to an abrupt end at the sharp outcry of Ms Farington and the report of a gunshot, which caused me to fling myself flat down on my face, pulling the young sailor with me.

Thankfully, Mr Carter even in his murderous rage retained some form of honour and did not repeat his assault. Instead, we were overwhelmed and bound, and Paul Mason pushed us into a sitting position against the low railing of the Friesland. They had failed to spot the vessel which we had tried to signal, and so regarded our attempt but with a gibe and a sneer. I had no method of determining whether our signal had been seen.

However, as the wind drove fresh spray into our faces and sent a chill to my bones, I could only pray that it had, and that the atrocities that had and were yet to be committed would find a speedy end, more so if it had been at the cost of the life of my dear friend, Mr Sherlock Holmes, and could well be at the additional cost of my own.

On deck, we could not hear the discussion carried out on the bridge, but it was clearly a forceful one. Mr Charles had abandoned the hostages to join Mr Carter and Ms Farington, while Mr Mason remained standing outside, his gun trained on myself and the unfortunate sailor who had volunteered to come to my aid. Clearly he feared for his life, and I had no comfort to offer him. No matter what member of the syndicate, they certainly had little respect for his countrymen, while they might yet have hesitated to kill a fellow Briton.

I never learned what was discussed in the confines of the bridge, but in the end, it was of little consequence. As our attention was riveted to the occurrences, the second ship had approached and it was only when I heard the familiar and firm voice of my dear friend Mr Sherlock Holmes behind us that Mr Mason, and soon enough also the other members of the syndicate came to notice it.

As for myself, never have I felt such relief! Not only had my friend survived unharmed, but his return also signalled the end of the perilous situation on the Friesland.

As Holmes stepped on deck from the proud British vessel which we had apparently successfully signalled, he was closely followed – much to my astonishment – by his brother and several marines who did not hesitate to clasp the now subdued criminals into irons.

As they were led from the ship and the Friesland's own crew took over the control over the vessel, Holmes released myself and my Dutch comrade from our bonds, sending the lad down into the ship's belly to release the hostages.

"Heavens, Sherlock, if I had known you would make such a mess of things, I would have come here myself."

"I doubt you would have survived, brother mine," said Holmes, his tone humorous. Sobering, he added: "But, I must confess, this was not one of my successes. If you ever set this down, Watson, be sure to note that."

"Holmes, how did you survive? I was sure the sea had claimed you when I learned that the syndicate had set you adrift! And what has become of your hand?"

The simple bandage I had applied to his wound was gone, and indeed I could not spot a trace of the wound.

"All in good time, Watson. Now, we have to return to the Endeavour, and speak to the Dutch ambassador. I am sure he will be most interested in our account."