d returned nervous and excited, in dread lest I should miss
a word.

But Mr Frewen had not spoken, but stood looking straight before him.
Then he said quickly--"I am going to do rather a risky thing, an act
which may imperil men's lives; but I shall be as guarded as possible."

"Yes," said Mr Denning, eagerly.

"Before long," continued Mr Frewen, in a low, firm voice, "a fresh
supply of food and water must be given to those men. They cannot be
starved to death."

"No, of course not," said Mr Brymer, excitedly.

"Then you grasp of course what I propose doing. I shall drug that food
with one of the powerful extracts which I have in my medicine-chest. It
will be passed down to the men, who will be almost voracious, and then
we shall have to wait until it has taken effect, open the hatch, secure
Jarette, and separate the others into, say, three parties--one in the
cable-tier, the other in the forecastle, the last in the hold or one of
the cabins. The rest, I think, will be easy."

There was a dead silence.

"Do you think my plan too wild?"

"No," said Mr Denning, quickly. "God bless you, doctor!" and he held
out both his hands.

"Yes, that plan will do," said Captain Berriman, "I feel assured."

"Yes, yes," was murmured in a tone full of emotion; and at that moment
there was a sharp crack which seemed to have come from somewhere in the
saloon.

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.

We all ran out, but no one was there, and Walters' cabin door was fast.

I was quickest, and ran out of the saloon, but there was no one nearer
than the forecastle-hatch in one direction, and on the other as I ran up
the ladder there was the man at the wheel, one of the men we had
secured, while the other was seated on the bulwark talking to him and
smoking.

"What could it have been?" I thought, for a shiver of dread had run
through me, a dread that some one had been listening, and overheard the
doctor's words.

But the next moment I laughed, and went back to those who were examining
the various cabins.

"All right," I said, pointing upwards, "that was it; I did not properly
fasten up that sky-light, and it fell down."

It was exactly as I said, for there was the window I had stuck open shut
closely down.

"I was afraid that some one had been listening to what I had planned,"
said Mr Frewen.

"So was I, sir," I said, "but we're all right. The men were both at the
wheel."

The next minute we were all in consultation again.