Page:Cruise of the Dry Dock.djvu/255

 After a while Caradoc whispered, “Well, shall we try to get aboard?”

“Wouldn't do any good.”

“It won't do any good to stay here.”

“No, we can't hide on the tug always, and we can't run her engines. You don't know anything about marine engines, do you, Caradoc?”

“Very little. I couldn't run one.”

For several minutes, the two adventurers sat in silence, watching the small erect figure of the guard pace and repace his short path. Presently Madden said:

“I've thought of one chance, Caradoc, to escape being starved or murdered.”

“Yes, what's that?”

“It—it's almost too wild to propose, but it's all I can think of. As far as I know it's absolutely our last chance.”

“Go on, go on,” urged the Englishman impatiently. “I don't know of any way out whatever.”

“If we could slip aboard there and—and—well, kidnap somebody who knows how to run our engines, bring him back to the tug, fire up and make a race to South America—but there's