as suddenly awakened by a
sound on the ladder leading from the upper deck. It was a sound of
careful steps, mingled with a faint metallic rattling. A moment later a
foot descended on the floor of the between-decks, and lantern was
cautiously lighted. The coolie retreated quickly into the lower hold,
and from his post among the bales of merchandise was able to see all
that went on.'

"Again Lee Fu paused, as if lingering over the scene. 'It seems that
this late and secret comer into the hold of the "Speedwell" was none
other than her owner, Captain Wilbur,' he slowly resumed. 'The coolie
knew him by face, and had seen him come on board that afternoon.
Afterwards, through my inquiries, I learned that Captain Turner had
spent that night on shore. It was Captain Wilbur's custom, it seems,
frequently to sleep on board his ship when she lay in port. Have you
ever been in the lower hold of the "Speedwell," Captain Nichols?'

"'No, I haven't.'

"'But you recall her famous ports?'

"'Yes, indeed.' The incident at once came back to me in detail. The
'Speedwell' once had carried a cargo of ironwood from Singapore for a
temple up the Yangtse-kiang. In order to load the immense timbers, she
had been obliged to cut bow ports of extraordinary size, fifty inches in
depth, they were, and nearly seven feet in width, according to my
recollection.

"'It has been my privilege,' said Lee Fu, 'to examine carefully the
forepeak of this vessel. I had chartered her one time, and felt alarmed
for her safety until I had seen the interior fastenings of these great
windows that looked out into the deep sea. But my alarm was groundless.
There was a most ingenious device for strengthening the bows where they
had been weakened by the cutting of the ports. Four or five timbers had,
of course, been severed; but these were reproduced on the port itself,
and the whole was fashioned like a massive door. It lifted upward on
immense wrought-iron hinges; when it was lowered in place gigantic bars
of iron, fitted into brackets on the adjoining timbers, stretched across
its face to hold it against the impact of the waves. Thus the port, when
tightly caulked from without, became again an integral part of the hull;
I was told that there had never keen a trace of leakage from her bows.
And, most remarkable of all, I was told, when it became necessary to
open these ports for use, the task could easily be accomplished by two
or three men and a stout watch-tackl