Page:The Iron Pirate 1905.djvu/202

188 unbound in the boat. There was good watch upon the ship, I knew, for I could hear the "All's well!" as the bells were struck, and the passing of the orders from the poop to the fo'castle. This did not deter me; and, being determined to stake all rather than face the terrors of the nameless ship, I crawled to the bow, and began to cut the strands of the hawser one by one. The rope was very thick and hard, and the knife which I had stolen was blunt, so that the work was prodigiously slow and difficult; and when I had been at it for half an hour or more, I was interrupted in a way that sent my heart almost into my mouth. There was a man standing on the poop of the Labrador, and he seemed to be watching my occupation. I threw myself flat instantly, and listened to his hail.

"Ahoy, there, young 'un, are you getting a chill?" cried a bluff voice, which I did not recognise; but presently the man Four-Eyes hailed also, and I heard him say— "If it's dead ye are, will ye be sending word up to us?" and, seeing the mood, I bawled with all my strength—

"I'm all right; but I'll call out for some more of that soup of yours just now."

They gave a great shout, and one of them said—

"You ken calcerlate ez you will be gettin' it all nice en' hot when you meet the old 'un in the mornin'"; and the crew roared with laughter at