"Take too much time--may tumble over another--go on."
The proposal almost took the boy's breath away, but he was strung up by
his companion's firmness to do anything now, and, drawing a deep breath,
he prepared to advance; but paused again, with his blood running cold,
for there was an uneasy movement on the part of the watch and a low,
growling muttering.
Silence once more; and then, nerving himself, Vince advanced his left
hand till it was close to the sleeping man's elbow, then, edging along a
little, he reached out his right-hand till he could grasp the bulwark
beyond the other elbow; but the position brought his face down close to
the back of the sleeper's head, and he could feel the warmth emanating
from it and the man's rising breath, while he trembled as he dreaded
lest the man should feel his.
Then Vince felt that he ought to step back and tell Mike how to manage--
as he was acting; but, knowing that all this meant delay and that speed
was everything, and might mean success instead of failure, he knew that
he must trust to his comrade's own common sense. And now, with the
feeling upon him that if the man awoke suddenly he would start and fall
back into the sea, he tightened his hold of his right-hand, relaxed that
of his left, edged along, and was safely past.
Naturally all these thoughts darted almost instantaneously through his
mind, and a few moments only elapsed between Mike's words and his being
safe upon the other side; while now, as he stood thus, after leaving
ample room for his companion, the strain upon his nerves seemed to be
greater, for he had to try and see Mike's movements, and listen in agony
to the faint rustling sound he made.
Poor Mike had a harder test of his courage than that which had fallen to
Vince's lot; for as by instinct he took the same means of getting by the
obstacle as the former, and was standing with arms outstretched, the man
made a sudden movement and growled out some tongue-blundered word, at
the same time raising his head and striking Mike's chin slightly, to
make the boy's teeth go together with a sharp click.
"It's all over," thought Vince. But he was wrong: the man settled his
head down again in a more satisfactory position, and uttered a low,
grumbling sigh of resting weariness.
Then Mike was alongside of his partner in the flight, and they edged
themselves rapidly along to the foremast shrouds--so short a distance,
but to them, with their nerves on the strain, so far.
Now came another heart-compressing question to Vince. The boat, when
Joe Daygo arrived, had been made fast a short distance in front of the
foremast: was it there now?
A strange hesitation came over the lad; he did not like to pass beyond
the fore-chains to test this, for he felt that if it had been removed
and hoisted on board the disappointment would be so keen as to be almost
unbearable, for to let it down unheard would be impossible; but once
more mastering himself he passed on, holding by the light shrouds which
gave at his touch, and then began to run his hand once more along the
bulwark to feel the line, which had been passed over and twisted to and
fro over one of the belaying pins.
No--no--no.
_Yes_!
There it was, and as he grasped it the boat answered to his touch as it
swung alongside and grazed softly against the copper sheathing.
"Got it?" was whispered.
"Yes;" and Vince's hand went to his pocket for his knife, as his busy,
overstrung brain asked why it was that they had not been searched and
their knives taken away.
But he did not withdraw the knife, for he found that it would be easy
enough to cast the rope loose, and he turned to Mike.
"Down with you!" he said.
"No: you first."
A noise as of a heavy blow.
A savage yell, followed by a scuffling sound from where the sleeping man
had been standing, and the boys stood holding on there, paralysed for
the moment.
"Curse you if you hit me!" began a rough voice from out of the darkness;
but the speech was cut short by a sharp clicking, and the familiar voice
of the French captain arose, sharpened by rage and sounding fierce and
tigerish in spite of the peculiarity of his broken English, mingled with
words in his native tongue.
"Dog! _Canaille! Vite_ sleep-head fool! Anozaire vord I blow out you
brain and you are ovaire-board."
The sleeper growled something, which was again cut short by the French
skipper.
"Vat? How you know zat ze boy do not get on deck to take a boat and go
tell of my store _cachette_? To-morrow you are flog by all ze crew, and
zey sall sare all ze monnaies zat vould come to you."
Vince drew on the painter, and then pressed Mike's shoulder for him to
descend, while he began softly to cast off the rope.
Mike did his best to go down in silence, and Vince his to cast off
without making a sound; but the boat ground against the side, the
belaying pin rattled, and there was a rush from where the captain stood.
Mike was in the boat as the last turn was cast off from the belaying
pin; and then, without a moment's hesitation, Vince leaped down,
fortunately alighting beyond his companion upon one of the thwarts, and
then falling forward upon his hands just as there was a flash of light
and a loud report.
The thrust given by Mike and the impetus of Vince's leap sent the boat
out to where it was caught by the current; but, instead of its bearing
them away from the lugger, it seemed to keep them back for a few
moments, but only for the bows to be seized by an eddy just as there was
another flash, report, and simultaneously a dull thud, as of something
being hit. Then the shouting of orders, the appearance of a light, and
the hurrying of feet was more distant, as if the lugger had suddenly
been snatched away; but the two lads knew that they were in one of the
terrible rushing currents, and were being borne along at a tremendous
rate. Where? In what direction?
They could not tell, for the tide had turned.