"All fast?"
"Yes; all right," I said; and the next moment Bob Hampton was climbing
in.
"Sent me to help you, my lad. Hooroar! the ship's our own again."
In another minute Barney was up alongside, and he was followed by Mr
Frewen and Mr Brymer. These all seized guns.
"They're not loaded," I said sadly.
"Never mind, my lad; appearances go a long way," said Mr Brymer. "The
scoundrels will not know. Now then, pick up something for a weapon,
Dale, if it's only the cabin poker."
"Are you going to fight?" I said in a low tone. "I thought you were
going to help that poor wretch."
"I can attend him as well when he is our prisoner, Dale, as if we were
Jarette's."
"Of course," I said excitedly. "But hadn't you better have Dumlow too?"
"Can't climb up, my lad," said Bob Hampton, in a husky whisper; "and Mr
Preddle's too fat."
"Ready?" said Mr Brymer.
"Ay, ay," came from the men, and "Yes" from Mr Frewen.
"Then come on."
The mate threw open the door to lead the way, and then hesitated for a
moment or two, for the saloon was flooded by a pale bluish light.
"I hoped we should have darkness on our side," he said, "but--"
"Look, look!" I cried wildly; "the ship's on fire."
We all ran to the companion together, three on one side of the
saloon-table, two on the other; while I could hardly believe my eyes as
I saw flooding up from beyond the main-mast great soft waves of bluish
fire.
"It is the casks of spirits in the hold," cried Mr Brymer, excitedly.
"They've done for it at last. But come on quickly: we can pass that
without getting much harm; and as soon as we have secured the
scoundrels, we must try the pump and hose."
We tried to go along the starboard side, but the flames came out in such
strong pulsations there, that we were obliged to cross to the port side,
where there seemed to be about ten feet clear.
"Now then," cried Mr Brymer; "they're all below, and have not taken the
alarm. A quick rush, and we have them."
He was half-way along the clear pathway formed along the deck between
the flames floating up from the hold and the port bulwark, and his
figure stood up strangely unreal against the bluish light, when there
was a heavy report below in the hold, and a rush of flame which extended
from side to side of the ship. But after the report there was no roar
or crackling sound of burning, for the blue and orange flames came
pulsing up in great waves silent and strange, the quiet mastery they had
attained being appalling.
The explosion--that of a spirit-cask, one of the many in the hold--
brought up the men from the forecastle, wild with excitement; but we
only saw them for, a moment, and then they were screened from us by the
fire, which was singularly clear from smoke, and rose steadily upward
and away from the main-mast, whose sails hung down motionless in the
calm.
We all stood motionless, unable to grasp the extent of this new
calamity, and listened to the yelling and shouting of the frightened
men, who now broke loose entirely from the slight control Jarette had
held principally by means of his revolver. For death in a more horrible
form threatened them than that from the pistol which had held them in
subjugation, and with one consent they all began to shout the word
"Boats!"
Just then there was the report of a pistol, and Jarette's voice rose
loud and clear.
"Silence--idiots--fools!" he shouted. "It is your own doing, and now
you want to run away and leave a good ship and all its valuable cargo--
ours, do you hear?--all ours--to burn. Bah!"
"The boats, quick!--the boats!" shouted one of the men.
"Throw that fool overboard, some of you," cried Jarette, contemptuously;
"he has not the spirit of a _mouche_. Bah! what is it? A cask or two
of spirit in the hold. Come along, brave lads. The pumps and buckets;
we will soon make grog of the spirits, and it will cease to burn."
"No, no! The boats!" cried two or three. "We are all lost!"
"Yes, if you do not obey," cried Jarette, speaking slowly through his
teeth, and with a very marked French accent, as he did when greatly
excited. "I go not to lose our great prize, for which I have fought and
won. Every man now a bucket, and you four to the pump and hose."
"Draw back a little," whispered Mr Brymer; "they have not seen us."
"Shall we get buckets, sir?" said Bob Hampton in a gruff whisper.
"No; it is useless. There are nearly fifty of those casks of strong
spirits there below, and no efforts of ours could stop that fire."
"But you will not let it burn without an effort?" whispered Mr Frewen.
"I shall let it burn, sir, without an effort," said Mr Brymer, drawing
back, and leading Mr Frewen toward the companion, I being so close that
I could hear every word, which was only intended for the doctor's ears.
"I'll tell you why," he said. "As those casks burst, the spirit will
run through the cargo in all directions, the flame will glide along the
surface, and as the spirit heats, the hold will be full of inflammable
gas, which will keep on exploding."
"Yes," said Mr Frewen, angrily; "but an abundance of water--"
"Would not stop the flashing of that spirit here and there, doctor,
till, sooner or later, it reaches the blasting-powder. That must be
reached, and then the ship will be rent open."
"Great heaven!" cried Mr Frewen.
"And the fire will be extinguished then. My good sir, with a
well-trained crew, working calmly, we might perhaps reach the powder and
cast it overboard; but, situated as we are now, any efforts of ours
would be worse than folly."
"Then--the boat!"
"Yes, but don't hurry or grow excited; the vessel may burn a day or two
before the final calamity comes. We have plenty of time to do our
duty."
"Yes, I understand," said Mr Frewen, and he hurried towards the saloon.
"Aren't we going to try and put out the fire, Mr Brymer, sir?" said Bob
Hampton.
"No, my lad; we'll leave that to Jarette and his gang. Come and help."
By this time we had reached the cabin-door, from beneath which the faint
light shone, and Mr Frewen exclaimed--
"Are you there, Miss Denning?"
"Yes, yes," she cried eagerly. "Pray, pray help us."
"Yes. One minute; is the door locked on the inside?"
"Yes," came from within, in company with a sharp snapping sound which
was repeated, while the doctor felt outside, and convinced himself that
it was secured there too, and that we had no means of unfastening it.
"Stand back from the door, right to the other side of the cabin," said
Mr Frewen, and, drawing back some distance, he ran at the panel, raised
his foot, struck it just above the handle, and it was driven right off,
and he saw Miss Denning standing there, pale and large-eyed, holding a
little taper in her hand, while in the bed-place lay her brother, gazing
at us wildly, but for his countenance to change and become restful and
calm as he saw that he was in the presence of friends.
"I told you they would not desert us, Lena," he said faintly; and then
his head sank back as if he were too weak to raise it from the pillow.
Mr Frewen stepped close up to the bed-place as I joined Mr Denning and
laid my hand in his, for his eyes had seemed to invite me to come to
him. Then, as if I had not been there, he whispered quickly to the
invalid--
"Denning, you don't like me, but we are in a perilous strait. Believe
me, I will do everything man can for you and your sister now. Will you
trust me?"
"Yes."