t
me with a bewildered air; "bloodshed there certainly was, and cruel
torture to extract the secret of the hiding-place of the gold, but no
life was actually taken, so far as I know. What do you mean by your
talk of `saving' the unhappy wretches on board the Spanish ship?"

"I mean," said I impressively, "that the ship has been scuttled, and is
now surely but slowly sinking, while Renouf has all her boats in tow, in
order that there may be no possible chance of escape for anybody on
board her."

"Merciful heaven! it cannot be!" he exclaimed, starting to his feet, and
gripping me by the arm. "Why, nobody but a fiend incarnate would dream
of doing such a thing!"

"Then," said I, "Renouf is a fiend incarnate; and that is an additional
reason for putting an end to his career at once; for, as surely as that
you are standing here, he has not only dreamed of doing such a thing,
but has actually done it."

"Horrible, horrible!" exclaimed Dumaresq, smiting his forehead with his
hand as he stared at me, still more than half incredulous. "But what
can we do, my friend; what can we do? There are but six of us, at most,
against more than eighty!"

"True," I answered; "but if each of those six is as resolute as I am
prepared to be, we may prove sufficient for my purpose. Now, listen to
me. This is my plan. Look around you. There is not a man below here,
save ourselves, but is nearly or quite helplessly drunk, and those on
deck are little or no better. We must divide ourselves into three
parties of two each, and each party must tackle one of these drunken
wretches at a time, one of us clapping a gag between his jaws, while the
other whips a lashing round him, and makes him fast, hands and feet. In
this way everybody below here may be secured. Then, leaving two of our
number here to deal with any others who may come down, the other four
must go aft and seize Renouf and his brother; and when we have made them
safe, we must tackle Danton. This done, our next move must be to get
the schooner round, and return to the Spanish ship, and while we are
making our way back we must go round the decks with a belaying-pin
apiece, and simply knock the senses out of all who attempt to oppose us.
It will not be a difficult matter, for I do not believe that there is a
man on board, excepting ourselves and perhaps Renouf and his brother,
capable of taking care of himself."

"_Mon Dieu_!" exclaimed Dumaresq; "but it is a desperate sche