"And now, what do I find?  Why, that he, the Senorita Lotta, and the old nurse have disappeared!  Now, I want you to note particularly the significance of this last fact, that not only have those three disappeared, but so has Fonseca!  What does this mean?  Why, without doubt it means that the surgeon also was in the plot with Ricardo against us, and that we have him also to reckon with.  How or when he disappeared I cannot tell you, but we know that he was with us in the brig when we executed Ricardo.  He must therefore have slipped ashore in some mysterious manner immediately upon our arrival, and have warned the Englishman, who thereupon must have taken to flight, carrying off the girl, her nurse, and Fonseca with him.