grabbing him by the collar and dragging
him forward to allow the noose to drop to his middle, hauling it taut as
it did so, and thus confining his arms to his sides. Then, as he opened
his mouth with the evident intention of letting out a yell, I popped the
belaying-pin wrapped in oakum into his mouth, at the same time hissing
into his ear: "Be silent as you value your life!" Then, turning him
over on his face, I rapidly trussed him up in such a fashion that I felt
confident he would never get free again, unaided; and finally I dragged
him inside the capstan-house, adjusting the gag in such a manner that,
while not interfering unduly with his comfort, it would effectually
prevent him from raising an alarm. And then, having assured myself that
I had nothing to fear from him, I hurried off and made the best of my
way to the cave, where I found its occupants suffering the greatest
uneasiness in consequence of my prolonged absence.

A few hasty words from me sufficed to put them in possession of my
plans, and then, gathering up such few personal belongings as we had
brought with us, we left the cavern and hurried away to the wharf, which
we managed to reach unobserved, and temporarily concealed ourselves in
the capstan-house, where Jose was found still safely trussed up. Then,
leaving Lotta, Fonseca, and Mammy in the building, I sallied out to make
my final arrangements, which I hoped to do without interference, since
that part of the wharf where I was operating was not visible from the
house. But there was, of course, the risk that those in the house might
at any moment take it into their heads to come down to the wharf to see
how Jose was faring, and it was therefore of the utmost importance that
what I had to do should be done quickly.

I walked to the edge of the wharf and looked over. The two gigs and the
cutter of the _Barracouta_ were lying alongside each other at a flight
of steps about half a dozen fathoms away, the only other boat which I
could see afloat lying just astern of them. But there were several
boats hauled-up high and dry on the wharf, and these would need thinking
about with reference to the scheme that I had in my mind. Slipping down
the landing steps, I cast adrift three out of the four boats, and re-
moored them in a string, one to the stern of another, so that by manning
the leading boat, we could tow the others after us. Then I returned to
the capstan-house and proceeded to look for a car