orward and
gave the necessary orders in a whisper, instead of issuing them in
stentorian tones from the break of the poop, sufficiently indicated his
conviction of the existence of a lurking peril in our immediate
vicinity.

The one thing that we had to fear, above all others--and to guard
against--in the event of an attack, was the presence of the pirates on
our own decks. Should they succeed in boarding us, it would certainly
be in such overwhelming numbers as to render an effective resistance
impossible; our small party would be quickly overpowered, and then the
fate of everybody on board would be sealed. Our safety depended upon
our keeping the foe at arm's length. Half a dozen fathoms of water
would suffice; but the problem was how to accomplish this very desirable
end. I had been giving a good deal of thought to this, even while
chatting disconnectedly with Sir Edgar in the earlier part of the
evening, and had at length hit upon a plan that I thought might be
successful. We had on board a small fire engine, mounted on wheels,
with a hose and jet attached, and a tank capable of containing some
fifty gallons. This engine I now ordered to be uncovered, and prepared
for action by securely lashing a small loose mop-head of oakum round the
nozzle of the hose, taking especial care that the aperture of the jet
should be left perfectly free. Roberts, who seemed at once to divine
and understand my plan even before I had explained it to him, undertook
this part of the work in person; and in about ten minutes he reported
that all was ready, and invited me to inspect his workmanship.

It was by this time "five bells;" and the night was, without exception,
the darkest, I think, that I had ever experienced. So dark, indeed, was
it, that, well as we knew the ship, we had to feel our way along the
deck with hands and feet, for it was absolutely impossible to see
anything a foot beyond the end of one's nose. With such intense
darkness as this it was evident that the heavens must be obscured by
exceptionally heavy masses of cloud; which, with the hot, breathless
condition of the atmosphere, led me to anticipate and hope for a
thunderstorm, which would at least afford us sufficient light to inspect
our surroundings, and so put an end to a state of suspense that was
growing wearisome. And not only was the night intensely dark; it was
also oppressively silent; for, the water being perfectly smooth, there
was no life or moti