We all ran out, but no one was there, and Walters' cabin door was fast.
I was quickest, and ran out of the saloon, but there was no one nearer
than the forecastle-hatch in one direction, and on the other as I ran up
the ladder there was the man at the wheel, one of the men we had
secured, while the other was seated on the bulwark talking to him and
smoking.
"What could it have been?" I thought, for a shiver of dread had run
through me, a dread that some one had been listening, and overheard the
doctor's words.
But the next moment I laughed, and went back to those who were examining
the various cabins.
"All right," I said, pointing upwards, "that was it; I did not properly
fasten up that sky-light, and it fell down."
It was exactly as I said, for there was the window I had stuck open shut
closely down.
"I was afraid that some one had been listening to what I had planned,"
said Mr Frewen.
"So was I, sir," I said, "but we're all right. The men were both at the
wheel."
The next minute we were all in consultation again. I say we, for I was
quite made one of them, young as I was. Then the matter was thoroughly
discussed, for Mr Frewen's plan proved to be not so easy on
consideration as we had at first supposed.
"You see, gentlemen," said Mr Brymer, "it's one thing to set a trap,
and another to get your rats to walk into it. How were you thinking of
giving it to them?"
"I thought dissolved in water," replied Mr Frewen.
"Two objections to that," said Mr Denning; "the stuff would make it
taste, and in all probability some of the men would not take it."
"I'll answer for it that Jarette would not touch water," cried Mr
Brymer, "so that plan will not do. You can't give it to him with
biscuits. Yes, what's the matter?" he cried, for there was a loud
rapping at the entrance to the saloon.
"Beg pardon, sir," said Bob Hampton's voice, "here's a deppytation from
the chaps in the forksle."
"What?" cried Mr Brymer, in alarm, "are they out?"
"No, sir, not they. One of 'em's got up into the hatchway as spokesman,
and he's been giving us a bit of his mind."
"What does he say?"
"Says as he wants to know whether you mean to starve 'em out; as they've
on'y had some water and biscuit for twenty-four hours, and that if you
don't send 'em some grub, they'll set fire to the ship, for they'd
sooner be roasted than starved."
"All right, Hampton; go back and tell them that we will see what can be
done, but that if they fire another shot they shall not have a biscuit."
"Right, sir," growled Hampton, and he turned upon his heel and went
back, while Mr Brymer exclaimed in an excited whisper--
"There, doctor, could anything be better?"
"No; they are playing into our hands; but there is the difficulty still.
How can we give it to them? It must be something of which all will
partake. Why not have some coffee made for them?"
"Half of them wouldn't touch it," said Captain Berriman. "I'd suggest
grog, but they have spirits no doubt, and they want food."
There was a dead silence, and then feeling nervous, and as if I was
certain to be snubbed, I ventured to speak.
"Wouldn't a tin of the soup do?" I said.
Mr Brymer brought his hand down on my shoulder.
"The very thing!" he cried eagerly. "You have some tins of soup amongst
the Australian meat, captain?"
"Yes, plenty."
"That will do then, only it must be done with a certain amount of
cunning, or they may have suspicions. Depend upon it, if I am seen in
it they will not take the stuff."
"Then what is to be done?" said Mr Frewen.
"I propose," replied Mr Brymer, "that I get a couple of tins out of the
store and open them. Then Dale here shall take them to the cook; the
excuse for their being opened is to be that so many tins have gone bad."
"Which is true enough," said the captain, feebly.
"Exactly," continued Mr Brymer; "and these were opened to make sure
that they were all right."
"Well?"
"You can give me the stuff--laudanum, or whatever it is--to mix with the
contents of one tin, which Dale can take to the cook, and tell him to
warm up and reduce with hot water, while he reserves the other for our
table."
"But why give him two?" said the doctor.
"Because I want to avert suspicion in every way. The cook has been
mixed up with the men, and he shut himself up as you know in dread of
our punishing him, perhaps shooting him down. He may suspect something,
and manage to warn the men. If two tins are sent, one for the men and
one for our own table, everything will look simple and ordinary."
"And suppose he gives us the drugged one by mistake?"
"We can guard against that by sending a large one and a small one. No--
by sending two different kinds."
"There is only one kind," said the captain.
"I don't like the plan," said the doctor. "It may end in a mistake, and
we don't want to be hoist with our own petard."
"Hang it, no!" cried Mr Brymer. "All right then, we will not eat the
soup."
"But why shouldn't I take my drug--it will only be a small portion of a
white powder--and drop it into the soup when it is ready?"
"Because there would certainly be some hitch in the proceedings to
hinder you getting it in. Besides, we don't want the cook to be in the
secret."
"Very well then," said the doctor, "I suppose that must be the plan.
I'll go and get the drug ready at once, and bring it here. But one
minute; how many men are there in the forecastle?--because I must reckon
accordingly."
"Say sixteen. You must give them a pretty good dose."
"Yes; but not strong enough to be risky," said Mr Frewen; and he signed
to me to go with him to his cabin, where he opened his medicine-chest,
and after a little thought, carefully weighed out, from a stoppered
bottle, an absurdly small portion of a whitish powder and placed it in a
square of white paper.
"There," he said, "take that to Mr Brymer, and tell him to give it a
good stir round, or we shall be killing some of the scoundrels, and
letting others off scot free."
"Yes," I said, looking with no little interest at the powder which he
had turned out of the tiny scales he had used. "The cook is sure to
stir it well too. But, Mr Frewen, will that little pinch or two of
stuff be enough?"
"Plenty," he said. "It is as far as I dare go, for it is most potent."
"And it will send them off to sleep?"
"Into a sleep so deep that it would be impossible to awaken them for
some hours."
"Ugh!" I ejaculated, as I took the little packet and thrust it into my
pocket. "I hope, if ever you give me any physic, you'll be careful not
to give me any out of the wrong bottle."
"I'll take care," he said. "Mind you warn Mr Brymer to be very careful
too."
I nodded and went out of the cabin, took a turn along the deck to see
that the men were keeping watch by the forecastle-hatch, and then turned
in at the galley to say a word or two to the cook, asking him what we
were to have for our dinner. I went straight back to where Mr Brymer
was down in the captain's store-room with a lantern, by whose light I
could see before me two of the large well-known drum-shaped tins of
portable soup.
"Got it?" he said in a whisper.