ain Stopfoot had arranged
his force. The cabin was in a deck-house; between the door of it and the
piles of cotton was a vacant space of about six feet fore and aft, which
could not be overlooked from the forward part of the vessel. It was here
that the first movement had been made. Calwood, who had been on duty
here, said that two men had dropped down upon them; and when the third
man came to learn the cause of the disturbance, he had been secured by
two more.

This was the noise that Christy had heard when he sent two hands from
the forecastle to ascertain the occasion of it. The three prisoners had
been disarmed, bound, and concealed in the cabin. They were threatened
with instant death if they made any outcry, and one of their own
revolvers was pointed at them. Linman, who had been sent to learn what
had become of Hopkins and White, was treated in the same manner. Then he
went himself, and the mate had dropped upon him, while those from under
the bales secured Bench and Kingman.

Every sailor was fully instructed in regard to the part he was to have
in the programme, and Christy had crawled forward to the point where he
found the aperture in which Groomer, the mate, had been concealed. He
was followed by Norlock, a very powerful man, who was to "make the drop"
on Captain Stopfoot, and stuff a handkerchief into his mouth before he
could call for assistance. Christy believed that the commander would be
the first one to come aft when the men by the cabin fired their
revolvers, as they had been instructed to do.

Two hands had been placed where they could fall upon the two who were
rolling the cotton into the hold at the hatch in the waist; and two more
were instructed to rush forward and fall upon the two men at work at the
fore-hatch. The four men in the space in front of the cabin were to leap
upon the bales and rush forward, revolvers in hand, and secure those at
work in the hold. If there was any failure of the plan to work as
arranged, the sailors were to rally at the side of their officer, ready
for a stand-up fight.

Christy gave the signal for the two revolvers to be discharged. The
captain did not appear at the report of the arms as expected; but he
ordered the two hands at work at the after-hatch to go aft and look out
for the prisoners. The two seamen on that side of the steamer dropped
upon them, gagged them, and secured them so quickly that they could
hardly have known what had happened to them. The en