They gathered from this conversation a certain number of facts which were not unimportant.

One was that Patrick O’Donoghan had said at the time, of the lawsuit against the insurance company, that he was going away to avoid being summoned as a witness.  This was evident proof that he did not wish to explain the circumstances under which the shipwreck had occurred, and his subsequent conduct confirmed this theory.  It was also evident that in New York or its environs he received the suspicious revenue which seemed to be connected with his secret.  For when he arrived he was always without money, but after he had been about for a short time he always returned with his pockets full of gold.  They could not doubt that his secret was connected with the infant tied to the buoy, for he had frequently affirmed that such was the case.

The evening before his sudden departure Patrick O’Donoghan had said that he was tired of a sea-faring life, and that he thought he should give up making voyages, and settle in New York for the remainder of his life.

Lastly, the individual who had called to see Patrick O’Donoghan was interested in his departure, for he had called the next day and asked for the Irishman who was boarding at the Red Anchor, and had seemed pleased to hear that he was no longer there.  Mr. Bowles felt sure that he would recognize this man if he saw him again.  By his conversation and actions he had believed him to be a detective, or some agent of the police.

Mr. Bredejord concluded from these facts that Patrick O’Donoghan had been systematically frightened by the person from whom he drew the money, and that this man had been sent to make him fear that criminal proceedings were about to be taken against him.  This would explain his precipitate flight, and why he had never returned to New York.

It was important to find this detective, as well as Patrick O’Donoghan.

Mr. and Mrs. Bowles, by referring to their books, were able to give the exact date of the Irishman’s departure, which was four years, lacking three months; although they had previously believed that it was four or five years ago.

Dr. Schwaryencrona was immediately struck by the fact that the date of his departure, and consequently of the visit of the detective, corresponded precisely with the date of the first advertisements which he had caused to be made in Great Britain for the survivors of the “Cynthia.”  This coincidence was so striking that it was impossible not to believe that there was some connection between them.

They began to understand the mystery a little better.  The abandonment of Erik on the buoy had been the result of some crime—­a crime of which the cabin-boy O’Donoghan had been a witness or an accomplice.  He knew the authors of this crime, who lived in New York or its environs, and he had for a long time enjoyed the reward of his secrecy.  Then a day had come when the excessive demands of the Irishman had become burdensome, and the announcement in the newspapers by advertisement had been made use of to frighten Patrick, and cause his hurried departure.