"One week's grub left?" asked Forsythe. "Sure o' that, Daniels?"

"Surest thing you know. Plenty o' beans and hard-tack; but who wants
beans and hard-tack?"

"Have you spoken to Jenkins about it?"

"No, but we meant to. Something's got to be done. Where is he now?"

"Down aft," said Forsythe, reflectively. "What's keeping him?"

Riley sank into the engine room, and Daniels went forward to the
forecastle, reappearing before Forsythe had reached a conclusion.

"Come aft with me, Daniels," he said. "Let's find out what's doing."

Together they crept aft, and peered down the wardroom skylight. They saw
Denman and Jenkins locked in furious embrace, and watched while Jenkins
sank down, helpless and impotent. They saw Denman bind him, disappear
from sight, and reappear with the irons, then they listened to his
parting lecture to Jenkins.

"Come," said Forsythe, "down below with us, quick."

They descended the galley companion, from which a passage led aft to the
petty officers' quarters, which included the armroom, and thence to the
forward door of the wardroom. Here they halted, and listened to Denman's
movements while he armed himself and climbed the companion stairs. They
could also see through the keyhole.

"He's heeled!" cried Forsythe. "Where did he get the guns?"

"Where's the armroom? Hereabouts somewhere. Where is it?"

They hurriedly searched, and found the armroom; it contained cumbersome
rifles, cutlasses, and war heads, but no pistols.

"He's removed them all. Can we break in that door?" asked Forsythe,
rushing toward the bulkhead.

"No, hold on," said Daniels. "We'll watch from the companion, and when
he's forward we'll sneak down the other, and heel ourselves."

"Good."

So, while Denman crept up and walked forward, glancing right and left,
the two watched him from the galley hatch, and, after he had bound the
two engineers and the helmsman, they slipped aft and descended the
wardroom stairs. Here they looked at Jenkins, vainly trying to speak,
but ignored him for the present.

They hurried through the quarters, and finally found Denman's room with
its arsenal of loaded revolvers. They belted and armed themselves, and
carefully climbed the steps just in time to see Denman drive the
forecastle contingent to the deck. Then Forsythe, taking careful aim,
sent the bullet which knocked Denman unconscious to the deck.

CHAPTER VIII

Forsythe and Daniels ran forward, while Billings, the cook