in."

With which assurance Raleigh went ahead with his preparations, and within
twelve hours the _Gehenna_ was under way, carrying a full complement of
crew and officers, with every state-room on board occupied by some spirit
of the more illustrious kind.

Even Shylock was on board, though no one knew it, for in the dead of night
he had stolen quietly up the gang-plank and had hidden himself in an empty
water-cask in the forecastle.

[Illustration: "IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT SHYLOCK HAD STOLEN UP THE
GANG-PLANK"]

"'Tisn't Venice," he said, as he sat down and breathed heavily through the
bung of the barrel, "but it's musty and damp enough, and, considering the
cost, I can't complain. You can't get something for nothing, even in
Hades."

VIII

ON BOARD THE "GEHENNA"

When the _Gehenna_ had passed down the Styx and out through the beautiful
Cimmerian Harbor into the broad waters of the ocean, and everything was
comparatively safe for a while at least, Sherlock Holmes came down from
the bridge, where he had taken his place as the commander of the
expedition at the moment of departure. His brow was furrowed with anxiety,
and through his massive forehead his brain could be seen to be throbbing
violently, and the corrugations of his gray matter were not pleasant to
witness as he tried vainly to squeeze an idea out of them.

"What is the matter?" asked Demosthenes, anxiously. "We are not in any
danger, are we?"

"No," replied Holmes. "But I am somewhat puzzled at the bubbles on the
surface of the ocean, and the ripples which we passed over an hour or two
ago, barely perceptible through the most powerful microscope, indicate to
my mind that for some reason at present unknown to me the House-boat has
changed her course. Take that bubble floating by. It is the last expiring
bit of aerial agitation of the House-boat's wake. Observe whence it comes.
Not from the Azores quarter, but as if instead of steering a straight
course thither the House-boat had taken a sharp turn to the northeast, and
was making for Havre; or, in other words, Paris instead of London seems to
have become their destination."

Demosthenes looked at Holmes with blank amazement, and, to keep from
stammering out the exclamation of wonder that rose to his lips, he opened
his _bonbonniere_ and swallowed a pebble.

"You don't happen to have a cocaine tablet in your box, do you?" queried
Holmes.

"No," returned the Greek. "Cocaine makes me flighty a