or vice versa. I had used two of my illuminators. Only one
remained. An hour later, convinced of the movement aft of men along the
deck, I let go the third and last and with its brightness sent them
scurrying for'ard. Whether they were attacking the poop tentatively to
learn whether or not I had exhausted my illuminators, or whether or not
they were trying to rescue Ditman Olansen, we shall never know. The
point is: they did come aft; they were compelled to retreat by my
illuminator; and it was my last illuminator. And yet I did not start in,
there and then, to manufacture fresh ones. This was carelessness. It
was laziness. And I hazarded our lives, perhaps, if you please, on a
psychological guess that I had convinced our mutineers that we had an
inexhaustible stock of illuminators in reserve.

The rest of Margaret's watch, which I shared with her, was undisturbed.
At four I insisted that she go below and turn in, but she compromised by
taking my own bed behind the skylight.

At break of day I was able to make out the body, still lying as last I
had seen it. At seven o'clock, before breakfast, and while Margaret
still slept, I sent the two boys, Henry and Buckwheat, down to the body.
I stood above them, at the rail, rifle in hand and ready. But from
for'ard came no signs of life; and the lads, between them, rolled the
crank-eyed Norwegian over so that we could recognize him, carried him to
the rail, and shoved him stiffly across and into the sea. Wada's spear-
thrust had gone clear through him.

But before twenty-four hours were up the mutineers evened the score
handsomely. They more than evened it, for we are so few that we cannot
so well afford the loss of one as they can. To begin with--and a thing I
had anticipated and for which I had prepared my bombs--while Margaret and
I ate a deck-breakfast in the shelter of the jiggermast a number of the
men sneaked aft and got under the overhang of the poop. Buckwheat saw
them coming and yelled the alarm, but it was too late. There was no
direct way to get them out. The moment I put my head over the rail to
fire at them, I knew they would fire up at me with all the advantage in
their favour. They were hidden. I had to expose myself.

Two steel doors, tight-fastened and caulked against the Cape Horn seas,
opened under the overhang of the poop from the cabin on to the main deck.
These doors the men proceeded to attack with sledge-hammers, while the
rest of