Now,
I am going out to dine. The _Aphrodite_ sails this week. You. will sign
an agreement, yes?"
"Delighted," said Dick, though bitter experience had taught him that
von Kerber's last question might reveal some disagreeable feature
hitherto unseen, just as the sting of the scorpion lies in its tail.
The Baron handed him a printed document.
"Read that," he said. "You need have no fear of legal quibbles. It
contains nothing unreasonable, but I insist on its observance in letter
and spirit."
Certainly, no unfair demand was made by the brief contract which Royson
glanced at. He noticed that the _Aphrodite_ was described as "owned by
Hiram Fenshawe, Esq., of Chalfount Manor, Dorset, and Emperor's Gate,
London, W.," while Baron Franz von Kerber figured as "controller and
head of the expedition." The agreement was to hold good for six months,
with an option, "vesting solely in the said Baron Franz von Kerber," to
extend it, month by month, for another equal period. There were blanks
for dates and figures--, and one unusual clause read:
"The undersigned hereby promises not to divulge the vessel's
destination or mission, should either, or both, become known to him;
not to give any information which may lead to inquiry being made by
others as to her destination or mission, and not to make any statement,
in any form whatsoever, as to the success or otherwise of the voyage at
its conclusion, unless at the request of the said Baron Franz von
Kerber.
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