Page:Ballantyne--The Battery and the Boiler.djvu/241

 located in a pirate's island! If you on'y go on as you 've begun, you 'll make your mark so deep that it 'll never be rubbed out to the end of time. A prophet, indeed! Why, I 'm shuperior to Mahomet, an' beat Nebuchadnezzar all to sticks."

"But you haven't finished your story, Johnson," said Jim Slagg.

"That 's true—where was I? Ah, dreamin' in the hold of the pirate ship. Well, I woke up with a start all of a suddent, bent on doin' suthin', I scarce knew what, but I wriggled away at the rope that bound me till I got my hands free; then I freed my legs; then I loosed some o' the boldest fellows among the slaves, and got handspikes and bits o' wood to arm 'em with. They was clever enough to understand signs, an' I couldn't speak to 'em, not knowin' their lingo, but I signed to 'em to keep quiet as mice. Then I crep' to the powder magazine, which the reckless reptiles fastened very carelessly, and got a bit paper and made a slow match by rubbin' some wet powder on it, and laid it all handy, for I was determined to escape and put an end to their doin's all at once. My plan was to attack and overpower the guard, free and arm all the slaves, blow up the ship, escape on shore, an' have a pitched battle with the pirate crew. Unfortunately there was a white-livered traitor among us—a sort o' half-an'-half slave—very likely he was