tol, plainly heard in a
lulling of the wind.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

It was alarming, but on reaching the hatch over the forecastle there was
not much wrong. A desperate attempt had been made to break out, and in
the midst of the effort Mr Preddle had fired his pistol, sending the
ball splintering through the woodwork, and this had the effect of
damping the ardour of the men below for the time. But we did not leave
the hatch till it had been made more secure, and then leaving Mr Brymer
to strengthen the guard as arranged, we hurried back to relieve the
anxiety of Mr Denning and his sister, and of Captain Berriman, who must
all of them be in agony.

I felt that we ought to have gone to them sooner, but I did not see how
we could have acted differently; and eager now to bear the news of the
change in the state of affairs, I trotted back with the lantern as fast
as I could over the streaming deck, and found Barney sitting down and
rubbing his legs.

"Circ'lation's a-coming back, youngster," he said. "I say, did you kill
that young Walters?"

"Walters!" I cried. "I'd forgotten all about him. I didn't see or
hear anything of him."

"Dessay not, sir. He'd get out of the way while the row was on. Maybe
he'd got into a bunk to have a snooze and didn't hear it. But, I say,
what a game!"

"What, our re-taking the ship, Barney?"

"No; you thinking I was Frenchy. Well, it's lucky you didn't heave me
overboard."

"Coming round, mate?" said Bob Hampton.

"Ay, my lad, I've got one arm and a bit o' one leg back, and toothers is
coming back slowly like, but it's rum work feeling nothing but head and
body, and your arms and legs all gone dead at first, and then you begins
to know as they arn't been cut off and chucked away, and they're still
there. They was just like sleeves and stockings stuffed with sorduss,
and people making cushions of 'em and sticking the pins in as hard as
ever they can."

"I'm so sorry, Barney," I said.

"Ay, lad, I s'pose you are, and seeing as you thinked it was old
Frenchy, I don't wonder as you tied them there knots as hard as ever you
could. But what I do wonder at is, that the line didn't cut my legs
right off. Shows as my muscles must be made of real good stuff, and
when I've done rubbing 'em back into shape, I s'pose they'll come all
right once more; but I should have liked to be in the fun."

"Get your pincushions all right, messmate," said Bob Hampton, slapping
Barney o