the faint lights
set in ships' decks and known as "dead-eyes." "No, but your porthole
idea is just the scheme to get at him and get rid of him. I can slip
down a rope tonight when all is quiet and the fool passengers are over
on the other side looking at the bloody moon."

"And then what?" said Owen.

"I goes down the rope and shoots the old fool! I mean the young fool
--through the porthole."

"Why, that's murder!" cried Owen. "We'd all swing for it."

"No, it ain't murder; it's suicide, 'cause I'll throw the gun in there
where they'll find it when they break the door in, and everybody'll
think he shot himself."

"It's practical," commented Hicks, but Owen protested. At last it was
decided that a fourth man was necessary to do the shooting, and the
"pirate" volunteered to produce him.

"There's an old shipmate o' mine down in the stoke hole working like a
nigger. He'll be glad to do the trick for ten dollars, but we'll make
it fifty because the poor fellow has a wife and children and needs the
money. I'll go get him."

Owen and Hicks went on deck while Boyd descended to the fiery vitals of
the steamer. It is not an easy matter to smuggle a grimy stoker from
his furnace to the upper passenger decks, but the "pirate" managed it.

Meanwhile Harry was not losing time. He had taken a dictograph from
his baggage, borrowed a few dry batteries and a coil of wire from the
wireless operator. He carefully installed the instrument in his
stateroom, and led the wires out under his door to the passageway.
From there it was an easy task to carry them along the edge of the
carpet to the door of Owen's stateroom. Arrived at the point, he was
compelled to leave pliers, wire and the receiving instrument under a
chair.

Like many another stateroom door, Owen's could not be locked easily
from the outside, so when the three conspirators went out they left it
unlocked. The old man slipped in a moment later and quickly placed the
dictograph under the lower bunk.

Returning to his own room, the old man took up his instrument and
listened. But he was not a very expert electrician and the dictograph
for a long time failed to give anything but roars and crackling sounds,
though he was convinced there were several persons talking. A last he
got the thing adjusted in time to catch the last sentences of the
conversation. He recognized the voice of the "pirate." It said:

"An then we lowers you down the rope to his port