Page:Doctor Syn - A Smuggler Tale of the Romney Marsh.djvu/45

 there is no time like the present, turn that white-haired old spider of yours on to the floor and walls. This panelling seems likely."

"The bo'sun approached the mulatto, and jabbered some weird lingo into his ear-hole, which immediately made the uncouth figure hop about the room, spreading his lean arms along the panels, which he kept tapping with his fingers, at the same time executing a curious tattoo with his bare feet upon the floor. In this fashion he encircled the room twice, apparently without achieving any result. In the corner of the room was fixed a wooden table with a heavy flap which reached nearly to the ground. Upon this table was a large assortment of cooking utensils, while underneath, almost entirely hidden by the flap, there reposed a like collection of buckets, pails, and old saucepans.

The mulatto, after his double journey round the room, turned his attention to this table. He struck the flap up and, pushing aside the pots and pans, uttered a strange, excited gurgle.

"Ha! ha!" said the captain to the bo'sun, "your spider has caught a fly, eh?"

Job Mallet looked under the table and saw the mulatto pulling desperately at a brass ring that was fixed to the floor. Pushing him aside, the bo'sun had pulled up a trap and was descending a flight of steps before the captain had even locked both the doors.