ere was Grant arrived, blood on his face, and a brisk air of
savagery about him.

"Grant, who are the mutineers?" said the captain.

"Couldn't speak to 'em all, sir," said the man. "I knew nothing of it
till half an hour ago, when I ran into them, and they seized me. There
was Gray and Pierce and Mr. Holgate and Granger, and half a dozen in
the lot that took me."

"Do you mean to say that you had no inkling of this?" said Day, with
asperity.

"I'll take God to witness, no, sir," said the man earnestly, "and I'll
take my oath Williams and Naylor hadn't neither."

"That makes two more," said the Prince, nodding. "But where are they?"

Grant looked over his shoulder in the direction which would indicate
the forecastle. "If they're not here, sir, your highness," he said
hesitatingly, "I don't know where they are. The stokers is all joined,
I heard 'em say."

"Good Lord, they've made a clean sweep," said Barraclough, with a
laugh. "And what's this about McCrae?"

"Mr. McCrae was shot at the first, sir, in seizing the engines."

"And they've fetched her pretty nigh to a standstill," growled the
first officer. "Phew! No, there she goes," he exclaimed, as the screw
began to bump. "They've picked her up. That'll be Crossley. He's with
them, confound him."

"Then that leaves twelve," said the purser, "and forty-odd t'other
side. Oh!" he whistled, "this makes swank, don't it?"

"Silence, Mr. Lane," commanded the captain. "We must first of all be on
our guard, armed; and, secondly, see if we are in a position to add to
our numbers. But we have the deck, which can only be reached one way.
The stewards, Mr. Lane?" he asked quickly.

"I'll answer for the three, and the cuisine," declared the purser
boldly. "I'll go bail on them. I've known Jackson on other voyages. I
engaged 'em myself."

"Then who the devil engaged the others, I'd like to know?" asked Day,
in his old irritable tone; at which, to the astonishment of all, a
small voice broke the silence.

"I did, sir."

We all wheeled round. It was Pye. The little man fixed his gold glasses
on his nose with two fingers in his nervous way, and blinked through
them at us, unruffled as a cock-sparrow that yet had doubts.

"He, by heaven!" whispered Legrand to me, with infinite scorn. "He
chose 'em!"

"And I regret to find, sir," pursued Pye, "that some of them have gone
wrong. I feel myself in a way responsible."

"It all comes of putting things in the hands of law