"If there is he must be asleep."

"What about that chap who was smoking?"

"I think after that last yawn he went below."

"Then isn't it time we began?"

Fitz whispered back--

"Yes, if we are going to do anything; but our plans seem turned topsy-turvy. We are close to the bows, where we ought to get up for me to tackle the gun."

"Yes," whispered Poole, "but if we do that there'll be no chance afterwards to foul the screw; and that ought to be done, so that we can get rid of this cable. It will be horribly in the way if we have to row for our lives."

Fitz pressed his companion's arm sharply, for at that moment there was another yawn from the gunboat's deck, followed by a muttering grumbling sound as of two men talking, suggesting that one had woke the other, who was finding fault. But all sound died out, and then there was the deep silence once again.

The lads waited till they thought all was safe, while their crew never stirred, and Poole whispered once more--"Well, what is to be done?"

The next moment Fitz's lips were sending tickling words into the lad's ear, as he said sharply--

"Mustn't change--stick to our plans. I am going to tell b.u.t.ters to work the boat alongside, and then pa.s.s her to the stern."

"Hah!" breathed Poole, as he listened for the faint rustle made by his companion in leaning towards the boatswain and whispering his commands.

The next minute the boat was in motion, being paddled slowly towards the gunboat in a way the boys did not know till afterwards, for it was as if the gig as it lay there in the black darkness was some kind of fish, which had suddenly put its fins in motion, the five men having leaned sideways, each to lower a hand into the water and paddle the boat along without a sound.

The darkness seemed to be as black as it could possibly be, but all at once, paradoxical as it may seem, it grew thicker, for a great black wall had suddenly appeared looming over the boat, and Poole put out his hand, to feel the cold armour-plating gliding by his fingers, as the men, to his astonishment, kept the craft in motion till they had pa.s.sed right along and their progress was checked by the gig being laid bow-on beside the gunboat's rudder; and as soon as the lads could fully realise their position they grasped the fact that the propeller must be just beneath the water the boat's length in front of where they sat.

Then silence once again, every one's heart beating slowly, but with a dull heavy throb that seemed to send the blood rushing through the arteries and veins, producing in the case of the lads a sensation of dizziness that was some moments before it pa.s.sed off, driven away as it was by the tension and the acute desire to grasp the slightest sound where there was none to grasp.

Every one was waiting now--as all felt sure that so far they had not been heard--for the middy's order to commence, while he felt as if he dared not give it, sitting there and letting the time glide by, convinced as he was now that the end of the Manilla cable could not be attached to one of the fans without their being heard, and in imagination he fancied the alarm spread, and saw his chance of ascending to the deck and reaching the gun, die away.

Then he started, for Poole pinched his arm, sending a thrill through him, and as it were setting the whole of his human machine in action.

"Now or never," he said to himself, and leaning forward to the boatswain he whispered a few words in the man's ear, with the result that a very faint rustling began, a sound so slight that it was almost inaudible to him who gave the order; but he could feel the boat move slightly, as it was held fast beside the rudder, and the next minute when the young captain of the adventure raised his hand--as he could not see--to feel how the boatswain was getting on, he touched nothing, for the big st.u.r.dy fellow was already half-way to the bows of the gig.

Fitz breathed hard again, and listened trembling now lest they should fail; but all was perfectly still save that the boat rocked slightly, which rocking ceased and gave place to a quivering pulsation, as if the slight craft had been endowed with life. This went on while the two lads gazed forward and with their minds' eyes saw the boatswain reach the bows and join the Camel, while two of the men who had not stirred from their places held on by the rudder and stern-post, one of them having felt about till his hand encountered a ring-bolt, into which he had thrust a finger to form a living hook.

And as the lads watched they saw in imagination all that went on. They did not hear a sound, either in the bows or from above upon the gunboat's deck, while the two handy men were hard at work laying out the rope that was already securely attached to the cable; and then came the first sound, just after the boat moved sharply, as if it had given a slight jump.

The slight sound was the faintest of splashes, such as might have been caused by a small fish, and it was due to the end of the rope slipping down into the water, while the jump on the part of the boat was caused by its having been lightened of Chips's weight, for he had drawn himself upwards by grasping the rudder, across which he now sat astride, to grip it with his knees. The man wanted no telling what to do. He had rehea.r.s.ed it all mentally again and again, and quick and clever of finger, he pa.s.sed the rope through the opening between rudder and stern-post, and drew upon it softly and steadily till he had it taut, and was dragging upon the cable. Old Burgess was working with him as if one mind animated the two bodies.

He knew what would come, and waited as the spiral strands of the rope pa.s.sed through his hand; and when it began to grow taut he was ready to raise up the end of the big soft cable, pa.s.s it upwards, and hold it in place, so that it gradually a.s.sumed the form of a loop some ten feet long, and it was the head of that loop that jammed as it was drawn tight against the opening between stern-post and rudder, and very slowly laced tightly in position by means of the rope.

But this took time, and twice over Chips ceased working, as if he had failed; but it was only for a rest and a renewal of his strength, before he ceased for the third time and made a longer wait. But no one made a sign; no one stirred, though the two lads sat in agony, building up in imagination a very mountain of horror and despair branded failure in their minds, for they could hardly conceive that their plans were being carried out so silently and so well.

At last Fitz gripped Poole's arm again so as to whisper to him; but the whisper did not pa.s.s, for at that moment, after being perfectly still for some time, the boat began to pulsate again, for the carpenter was hard at work once more, his hands acting in combination with those of the boatswain, for, still very slowly, working like a piece of machinery, they began to haul upon the cable in the boat. At the first tightening that cable now seemed to begin to live like some huge serpent, and creep towards them, the life with which it was infused coming, however, from the Camel's hands, as, feeling that it was wanted, he began to pa.s.s it along, raising each coil so that it should not touch against the gunwale of the boat, or sc.r.a.pe upon a thwart.

He too knew what was going on, as between them, the boatswain in the bows, the carpenter still astride the upper portion of the rudder, they got up enough of the cable to form another loop, whose head was softly plunged down into the water, pa.s.sed under one fan of the great screw and over another, and then, its elasticity permitting, drawn as tight as the men could work it.

This feat was performed again, and as final security the boatswain formed a bight, which he thrust down and pa.s.sed over the fan whose edge was almost level with the surface.

Then as the boys sat breathing hard, and fancying that the daylight must be close at hand, the boat gave another jerk, careening over sideways towards the rudder, for the carpenter had slowly descended into the bows, to crouch down and rest.

But the boatswain was still at work, with the Camel now for mate, and between them they two were keeping up the quivering motion of the gig, as, slowly and silently, they went on pa.s.sing the thick soft Manilla cable over the side, to sink down into the sea until the last of the long snaky coils had gone.

The announcement of this fact was conveyed to the two lads by the motion of the boat, Fitz learning it first by feeling his right hand as it hung over the side begin to pa.s.s steadily through the water, which rippled between his fingers; and as he s.n.a.t.c.hed it out to stretch it forth as far as he could reach, he for a few moments touched nothing. Then it came in contact with the sides of the gunboat, and his heart gave a jump and his nerves thrilled, for he knew that the first act of their desperate venture was at an end, that the gig was gliding forward, paddled by the sailors' hands, towards the gunboat's bows, so as to reach one or other of the hanging anchors, up which he had engaged to scramble and get on board to do his part, which, now that the other had been achieved, seemed to be the most desperate of all.

"I shall never be able to go through with it," he seemed to groan to himself in his despair; but at that moment, as if by way of encouragement, he felt Poole's hand grip his arm, and at the touch the remembrance of the skipper's words thrilled through his nerves, to give him strength.

The next moment he was sitting up firmly and bravely in his place, tucking up his cuffs as if for the fight, as he softly muttered--

"There is no such word as fail."

CHAPTER FIFTY ONE.

IS THE DEED DONE?

The boat had stopped, and Fitz had heard the faintest of faint clicks as of iron against iron, for the hook in the carpenter's hands had lightly come in contact with the port anchor, which was hanging in its place, teaching them that it was the starboard that was down; and as Fitz looked up sharply, he fully expected to see a row of faces peering over the bulwark and looking down into the boat as the watchers gave the alarm, which would result in a shower of missiles being hurled upon their heads, the precursors of a heavy shot that would go crashing through the bottom of the boat. But he was only gazing up at a black edge and the stars beyond, and just above his head something rugged and curved which he knew were the anchor's flukes.

Fitz knew that to hesitate was to give place to doubts as to his success, and that the longer he waited the more likely they were to be discovered. That no watch was being kept was certain, and rising in the boat he took hold of the anchor as far up as he could reach, its ponderous nature rendering it immovable; and drawing himself steadily upward he began to climb.

It was easy enough to an active lad, and once started there was no time for shrinking. Quickly enough he was standing first upon the flukes, then upon the stock, while the next minute he was grasping the port-rail and trying to look down on to the deck, where he fancied he made out the figures of three or four men. But everything was so indistinct that he could not be sure, and he prepared to climb over, when he felt a touch upon his arm and started violently, for he had forgotten their arrangement that Poole should bear a part in the disabling of the gun.

He dared not speak, but just gave his companion's arm a grip, slipped silently over the bulwark, and went down at once on all-fours like a dog. Poole was by his side directly, and as they knelt, both tried to make out the exact position of the gun, and both failed, till Fitz lowered himself a little more, and then repeating his investigation managed to bring the muzzle of the great piece between him and the stars, towards which it was pointed, slightly raised.

All was so still, and the deck apparently so deserted, that his task now seemed to be ridiculously easy; and beginning to creep aft towards the great carriage, which was planted a little forward of 'midships, one hand suddenly came into contact with something soft and warm, with the result that there was an angry snarl, a snap, and a hand was brought down with a heavy slap upon the deck.

In an instant there was a start, and a low growling voice asked what was apparently a question as to what was the matter. The response came from the man who had struck the blow; but what he said was unintelligible to the listeners, who had immediately shrunk flat upon the deck, conscious as they were that two of the crew had been sleeping within touch, while for aught they knew others might be all around.

All notion now of the task being ridiculously easy was swept away, and the two adventurous lads lay hardly daring to breathe for what seemed a quarter of an hour, before a deep stertorous breathing told that the danger was for the moment pa.s.sed and the time for action come.

It was Fitz who this time set the example of beginning, and he did it by thrusting softly with one foot till he could feel where Poole lay ready to seize him by the ankle and give it a warm pressure which the lad took to mean--Go on.

Raising himself a little, he began to creep aft once more, bearing to his left towards where he believed the carriage and turn-table of the great gun to be, and reaching them without further interruption, and so easily that his task seemed to become once more simple in the extreme.

Reaching carefully out, he satisfied himself as to his position, took a step upward, and found directly after that he was about the middle of the gun, whose breech lay a little to the right and was reached with ease.

"Oh, if I could only whisper to Poole," he thought. "Come on, quick, old fellow, and then together we can get it to the side, drop it overboard, and follow so quickly that we need only make one splash, for it would be impossible to go back as we came."

"Yes, that will be the way," thought Fitz; "and our fellows will row towards the splash at once, and pick us up. Why didn't I think to tell them? Never mind. That's what they are sure to do."

Directly after he was running his hand along the pleasantly cool surface of the gun; but he paused for a moment to listen, and begin to wonder in the darkness why it was that Poole had not made some sign of being near.

He reached back, giving a sweep with his hand; but Poole was not there, and he took a step forward to repeat the movement--still in vain.

"Oh, I am wasting time," thought Fitz, as he stepped back to his former position. "He's waiting for me to reconnoitre and fetch him if I want him."