"Yes; I must get through."
"Bravo you, sir. That's your sort. Take it coolly. Where the head 'll
go, the rest on you'll follow if you wiggles yerself well. Don't you
get scared, sir. I'll pull you back if you get stuck."
"But it's horribly hot here, Barney," I whispered.
"Yes, sir; but I s'pose we mustn't mind that. Go it, sir, and let's get
it over."
I did not need his words, for I was already trying to get round that
great crate. It was, I felt, an impossible job, for I had to pass round
one angle, and the heat as I wedged myself in became insufferable. But
I forced myself along inch by inch till I could get my arms round the
end, where to my great joy I found that I could get hold of the bars of
the crate, the straw with which its contents were packed yielding enough
to allow my fingers to obtain a firm grip, and with this purchase I
pulled and pulled, getting myself farther and farther till I was part of
the way past the angle; then more and more, till my hips checked the way
for a few minutes, and I stopped short, feeling that it was all over,
for I could get no farther.
Then I felt that I had done enough. It was useless fighting against the
impossible, and I made up my mind to go back; but at the first movement
I rucked up my jacket and trousers and literally wedged myself in,
finding that I could not get back an inch, and that if I tried more I
should be stuck beyond the hope of extrication.
I felt faint with the heat and horror, then a peculiar giddiness came
over me; I saw lights dancing before my eyes, and my senses were fast
going, when, sounding quite cool and unconcerned, Barney's voice came to
me, teaching me the value of companionship at such a time as this.
"Having a rest, sir? Say when, and I'll give your feet a shove."
Just those few simple words, but they were sufficient to give me courage
once more, and drive away the mists of horror.
I was myself again, tightened my grip on the stout bars of the crate,
gave a spasmodic jerk, and dragged myself as I lay edgewise two or three
inches along the end of the great crate.
"That wins it, sir," whispered Barney, and feeling desperate I tried
again and again, the bars giving me so much assistance that I got on and
on till I was lyings as I said, edgewise along the end, with my back
against a large wooden case.
Then I stopped, panting with my exertion, the perspiration streaming
from me, and feeling as if it would be impossible to get any farther.
But all the same I was cheered by my success, and after gaining my
breath I was just going to have another try when Barney whispered--
"What's ahead of you? Can you touch anything?"
I stretched out my hands as far as I could reach, and this action
elongated me a trifle, so that I felt myself slipping down a little--
only a few inches, but that was enough; a curious oppression of my chest
followed, and to my horror I realised that the passage narrowed
downwards, and my weight had carried me lower, so that now at last I
felt that I was hopelessly wedged in.
For some moments the horror of my position rendered me helpless. I
could not struggle, but lay as if paralysed till Barney roused me by
whispering in his cheery way--
"Takin' a rest again, my lad?"
"No, no," I panted in a hopeless tone of voice; "I'm fast, Barney; I
can't move."
"Oh yes, you can, sir," he replied; "take it coolly."
"But the packages on each side are holding me," I panted.
"Have another go, sir. You don't know how ingyrubbery you are till you
try, sir. Take it coolly, sir, then wait your time, and you'll work
yourself out just as we did. All three on us got fast."
"Yes; but there was some one to pull Bob Hampton out," I said angrily;
and in this spirit I made a fierce effort after reaching up with one leg
and one arm, and somehow managed to drag myself higher, so that I did
not feel so much oppression at my chest. Another inch or two made me
wonder why I had been so much alarmed, and in another minute I had
passed the great crate, and found more room between the cargo and the
beams overhead.
But I hesitated to go farther in that horrible darkness, dreading some
fresh complication, and feeling that now I had reached a part where I
could hear, it would be wise to go back and accept my fate of a
prisoner, and see what Jarette would do, when all at once the tapping,
which had been unheard for some time, recommenced, and apparently so
close, that my cowardly dread passed off, and I determined to go on.
"All right now, aren't you, sir?" whispered Barney.
"Yes."
"Told you so. Only be careful, sir, I can't help you now."
I felt about a little, and then crawled forward in no narrow
perpendicular crevice, but flat on my chest, between the cargo and the
deck, and in less than a minute my hand touched an upright piece? of
roughly-sawn wood. Then another and another, and passing my hand
between them I felt board, while the next instant there was a dull jar
as if some one on the other side struck the board I touched, and gave
three taps. I answered directly with my knuckles, and a strange feeling
of emotion made my heart palpitate as a voice came through the narrow
opening between the boards.
"Is any one there?"
I placed my mouth as close to the crevice as I could in my constrained
position, and chancing being heard, I cried--
"Yes."
"Who is it?" came back.
"Dale; and the three men are with me."
"Can you force off one of these boards?"
"No. Who is it?" I said.
I was almost sure when I asked the question, and my ideas were
confirmed. It was Mr Brymer speaking, and he told me that Mr Preddle,
Mr Frewen, and the captain were with him.
That was good news, but he had not told me all.
"Where is Miss Denning?" I asked.
"With her brother in their cabin still, I think. Now look here, Dale,
we will try and pull out one of these boards, and you and the others
must join us here."
I must have made his heart sink in despair the next minute, when I told
him that it was impossible, and said how I had had to struggle to get to
him.
"Then either you or we must get out, and the party that gets on deck
must help the other. Wait a minute."
I waited, and heard the sound of boring, and a few minutes later, as I
kept a hand upon the board, I felt the point of a knife or gimlet
working its way through.
After it was withdrawn conversation became more easy, and I had a few
words with Mr Frewen and Mr Preddle, all of which were cheering,
though as far as escape was concerned it did no good. But I learned how
that they had been literally thrown down there, as they supposed, for
they had come-to very much as we had, to find themselves lying helpless
on the floor.
We had reached this point when Barney's voice came, and it sounded
anxious.
"Better come now, Mr Dale, sir," he whispered. "We can get along here
again."
"Yes, I'll come soon," I whispered back, for to a certain extent I
forgot my troubles in the satisfaction of having been able to reach my
friends.
"Better come now, sir. They're getting scared behind yonder, and seems
to me there's on'y just wind enough left for us to breathe going back.
If you stop any longer there won't be none, for I shall swaller it all."
I explained what he said to me, and it was Mr Frewen who now spoke
through the tiny hole.
"Yes, go back directly," he said. "Come again in a few hours' time, the
air will be better again then, and we will cut this hole big enough for
you to come through."
I could have wished it to have been made bigger then, so that I could
get to my friends, but I knew it would be like forsaking the men I had
left, so after promising to return soon--thinking nothing now of the
difficulty of the journey--I said good-bye, and began to crawl back,
remembering directly plenty of things I should have liked to ask.
But now I had to think of my perilous journey back, and I shuddered as I
thought how nearly I had been wedged fast beside the crate. Somehow,
though, now that I knew the extent of my risk, it did not seem half so
bad, I reached the crate, changed from the horizontal to the
perpendicular opening, kept close to the top with my head and shoulders,
and let my legs go down till I could rest them on the crossbar of the
crate, made my way to the end round the corner, and reached the place
where Barney was anxiously waiting, and then paused for a few moments to
rest, ready to wonder at the ease with which I had returned. I said
something of the kind to Barney, and he laughed.
"Oh yes, sir," he said. "It's like going aloft when you're young. I
remember the first time I went up to the main-topgallant mast-head, I
said to myself, `On'y let me once get down safe, and you'll never ketch
me up here again;' while now one goes up and does what one has to do
without thinking about it, and--Hear that?"
"Yes; what are they bumping about on the deck?"
"Dunno, sir. Sounds like getting the big boats off from over the
galley. But they won't hear us, sir; let's get back to where we can
have a pull at the fresh air. Will you go first?"
"No; you know the way best."
Barney chuckled.
"There arn't much queshtion of knowing the way, sir. There arn't no
first turnings to the left, and second to the right. It's all go ahead,
and you're sure to come out right if you don't get stuck, and I s'pose I
mustn't get jammed anywhere 'cause of you."
He went on, and as I followed I could not help thinking about how
terrible it would be if he did get fast, and more than once a curious
sensation ran through me as he struggled on. But we had no mishap, and
at last crept out to where Bob Hampton and Dumlow were waiting for us.
"You have been a long time, sir," growled the former. "Did you make
anything out of it?"
"Yes, Bob, I reached the forecastle."
"You did, lad! Well done you! I allus thought you'd do something some
day."
Then I told them both of all that had passed, as I lay there in that
hot, dark, stifling hole, thinking though all the while how delightfully
fresh and light it was. When I had finished, Bob rubbed his ear, and
growled softly--
"Why, my lad," he said, "seems to me as it's like pig-shearing."
"Pig-shearing? What do you mean?"
"Much cry and little wool, sir. We've all been crawling about in the
hold like rats, and got to where the t'others are--leastwise you have--
and then you've come back again."
"Yes, Bob."
"Taken all that trouble for nothing."
"Well, but I have been able to talk to them, and make plans."
"Bah, sir, I don't call them plans. What was the good of us all getting
smothered as we was, just to find out as we couldn't do nothing?"
"I communicated with Mr Brymer and Mr Frewen," I cried.
"And said `How de do? I'm quite well thank you, how are you?' Didn't
pay for the trouble, sir. We must do something better than that. What
do you say, Neb?"
"I says as I arn't going to squeedge my carcadge into that hole again if
I knows it, messmate."
"And you, Barney?"
Barney Blane uttered a low deep snore. Worn-out by his exertions, he
had lain down on his back and gone to sleep at once, and ten minutes
later the hot vitiated air had produced such an effect upon me that I
was just as fast, and dreaming of bright sunshine and lovely tropic
lands, till I was aroused by strange noise, and a sharp angry voice
cried--
"Now then, all! _Vite_! _vite_! Tumble up."