mansion upstream, at that hour a
smoldering shell; now the hulk lying off the marshes. Always he made
his headquarters upon the river. It was significant; and even if
to-night's expedition should fail, this was a clew for our future
guidance.

"Bear to the right," directed Smith. "We must reconnoiter before
making our attack."

We took a path that led directly to the river bank. Before us lay the
gray expanse of water, and out upon it moved the busy shipping of the
great mercantile city. But this life of the river seemed widely
removed from us. The lonely spot where we stood had no kinship with
human activity. Its dreariness illuminated by the brilliant moon, it
looked indeed a fit setting for an act in such a drama as that wherein
we played our parts. When I had lain in the East End opium den, when
upon such another night as this I had looked out upon a peaceful
Norfolk countryside, the same knowledge of aloofness, of utter
detachment from the world of living men, had come to me.

Silently Smith stared out at the distant moving lights.

"Karamaneh merely means a slave," he said irrelevantly.

I made no comment.

"There's the hulk," he added.

The bank upon which we stood dipped in mud slopes to the level of the
running tide. Seaward it rose higher, and by a narrow inlet--for we
perceived that we were upon a kind of promontory--a rough pier showed.
Beneath it was a shadowy shape in the patch of gloom which the moon
threw far out upon the softly eddying water. Only one dim light was
visible amid this darkness.

"That will be the cabin," said Smith.

Acting upon our prearranged plan, we turned and walked up on to the
staging above the hulk. A wooden ladder led out and down to the deck
below, and was loosely lashed to a ring on the pier. With every motion
of the tidal waters the ladder rose and fell, its rings creaking
harshly, against the crazy railing.

"How are we going to get down without being detected?" whispered Smith.

"We've got to risk it," I said grimly.

Without further words my friend climbed around on to the ladder and
commenced to descend. I waited until his head disappeared below the
level, and, clumsily enough, prepared to follow him.

The hulk at that moment giving an unusually heavy heave, I stumbled,
and for one breathless moment looked down upon the glittering surface
streaking the darkness beneath me. My foot had slipped, and but that I
had a firm grip upon the top rung