ropping the chest with good will amid the raffle
littering up the floor space, we came forth together, the soldier to
pick up his gun, while, mopping my face vigorously, I proceeded forth
into the guard-room for the purpose of delivering up the key.

This was a task I approached with dread. Even now some slight slip of
tongue, or action, could easily ruin everything accomplished, yet I
durst not omit the precaution, lest the missing key awaken suspicion
and lead to immediate pursuit. Here, again, fortune played strangely
into my hands, as I discovered the officer dozing in his chair, and,
stepping softly, so as not to arouse him, I gladly handed that
important bit of iron over to the care of one of the guard, himself too
drowsy from potations to trouble me with questioning. Relieved of this
duty, my heart filled with gratitude for all the mercies of the night,
I betook myself up the ladder unmolested, and a moment later stood in
comparative freedom upon the open deck.

I could scent the coming dawn in the fresh morning air the moment I
arose through the hatch opening, yet there was no sign of it in the
sky; indeed I felt there must be fog in the atmosphere, it rendered it
so thick, although not sufficiently heavy to drip in moisture. It
required only a moment to locate all life present along the forward
deck, and I became convinced few wakeful eyes remained among them at
this sleepiest of all hours of the night. Trusting to this, as well as
the garb I wore for concealment, I walked boldly back as far as the
mainmast, meeting no one. Then, fearful of observation from the
officer still pacing the poop, I skulked stealthily along in the black
shadow of the cook's galley, until I reached the cuddy door, quaking
with fear lest it fail me. It opened instantly to the touch of the
hand, and with heart throbbing wildly, for now all that had been
accomplished hung in the balance of this last experiment, I groped
about within seeking to solve the mystery of that gloomy interior. The
place had the feel of a big, square box; by stretching out across the
edge I could barely reach the farther side, but could touch no bottom,
nor did I feel the rungs of any ladder leading down. It resembled a
well, and the thought immediately took possession of me that the crew
hauled up their provisions by use of ropes, yet I could discover no
hoisting apparatus of any kind. With head projected far below the deck
level I ventured a soft whi