eward sheet of
the foresail was hauled aft, and the Phantom resumed her course. As
soon as she did so, the captain came aft with part of the copper
bar of the bobstay.

"There has been foul play, sir," he said. "I thought there must
have been, for I could not imagine that this bar would have broken
unless there had been a flaw in the metal or it had been tampered
with. I unshackled it myself, for I thought it was better that the
men should not see it until I had told you about it."

"Quite right, Hawkins. Yes, there is no doubt that there has been
foul play. The bar has been sawn three-quarters of the way through
with a fine saw, and, of course, it went as soon as she began to
dip her bowsprit well into it in the race. You see, whoever has
done it has poured some acid into it, and darkened the copper,
partly perhaps to prevent the colour of the freshly-cut metal from
being noticed, and partly to give it the appearance, after it was
broken, of being an old cut."

"It cannot have been that, sir, for we were out in quite as rough a
sea as this last week, and the bowsprit would have gone then if
this cut had been there. Besides, we should have been sure to have
noticed it when we went round her to polish up her sides."

"I don't know about that, Hawkins. You see, the cut is from below,
and it is only two or three inches above the waterline. It might
very well have been there without being noticed. Still, I agree
with you, it could not have been there last week, or it must have
gone when she put her nose into it then. In point of fact, I have
no doubt that it was done last night or the night before. It could
easily have been managed. Of course, everyone was below, both here
and in the yachts lying round us, and a man might very well have
come out in a small boat between one and two o'clock in the
morning, and done this without being noticed."

"He might have done that, sir, but we should have heard the grating
down in the forecastle."

"I don't know, Hawkins. A fine steel saw, such as burglars use,
will work its way through an iron bar almost noiselessly, and I
should say that it would go through copper almost as easily as it
would through hard wood. It is as well to say nothing to the crew
about it, but I think it my duty to lay the matter before the club
committee, and they can do as they like about it. Mind, I don't say
for a moment that it was done by anyone on board the Phantom. It
may have been someone on shor