She fled....
He lifted Varde and carried him back to the cabin where he himself had
been captive; and there, with the cords that had bound his own arms, he
bound Varde, wrist and ankle; and he stripped away the blanket, and
stuffed into Varde's mouth a heavy, woolen sock, and tied it there with a
handkerchief.... Varde's eyes flickered open at the last; and Joel said
to him:
"I must leave you here for the present. You will do well to lie quietly."
He left the man lying on the floor, and went out into the after cabin and
salvaged the bolt and screws that had been sent flying by his thrust. He
put the bolt back in place, pushed the screws into the holes, bolted the
door.... No trace remained of his escape....
Priss stood in her own door. Without looking at her, he opened the door
into the main cabin. That apartment was empty, as he had expected. The
companion stair led to the deck....
But he could not go up that way. Mark and Jim Finch were within reach of
the top of the stair; he would be at a disadvantage, coming up to them
from below. He must reach the deck before they saw him.
He crossed the cabin to a lockfast, and opened it, and took out the two
pairs of heavy ship's irons that lay there. Spring handcuffs that locked
without a key.... He put one pair in each pocket of his coat.
There was a seldom used door that opened from the main cabin into a
passage which led in turn to the steerage where the harpooners slept.
Joel stepped to this door, slipped the bolt, entered the passage, and
closed the door behind him.
It was black dark, where he stood. The passage was unlighted; and the
swinging lamp in the steerage did not send its rays this far. The _Nathan
Ross_ was heeling and bucking heavily in the cross seas, and Joel chose
his footing carefully, and moved forward along the passage, his hands
braced against the wall on either side. The way was short, scarce half a
dozen feet; but he was long in covering the distance, and he paused
frequently to listen. He had no wish to encounter the harpooners in their
narrow quarters....
He heard, at last, the muffled sound of a snore; and so covered the last
inches of his way more quickly. When he was able to look into the place,
he saw that two of the men were in their bunks, apparently asleep. The
black whom he had brought from the _Nathan Ross_ was not there. Joel was
glad to think he was on deck; glad to hope for the chance of his help....
With steps so slow he seemed like a shadow in the semi-darkness, he
crossed to the foot of the ladder that led to the deck. The men in their
bunks still slept. He began to climb.... The ship was rolling heavily, so
that he was forced to grip the ladder tightly.... One of the sleepers
stirred, and Joel froze where he stood, and watched, and waited for
endless seconds till the man became quiet once more.
He climbed till his head was on a level with the deck still hidden by the
sides of the scuttle at the top of the ladder. And there he poised
himself; for the last steps to the deck must be made in a single rush, so
quickly that interference would be impossible....
He made them; one ... three.... He stood upon the deck, looked aft....
Mark and Jim Finch stood there, not ten feet away from him. Finch's back
was turned, but Mark saw Joel instantly; and Joel, watching, saw Mark's
mouth widen in a broad and mischievously delighted smile.