United States or Pakistan ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The other two men were awaked, and threw off their coverings, but they were also secured without there being occasion to resort to bloodshed. "What shall we do now, Mesty?" "Now, sar," said Mesty, "open the after-hatch and watch suppose more men come up, we make them fast; suppose no more come up, we wait till daylight and see what take place."
"Yes," replied Mesty, "one man sentry over cabin-hatch, and another over after-hatch. Now den we light candle, and all the rest go round the deck. Mind you leave all your pistols on capstern." Jack lighted the candle, and they proceeded round the decks: they had not walked far, when, between two of the guns, they discovered a heap covered with gregos.
Like me he was bare to the waist, but around his loins he wore a belt scaled with silver sequins, glimmering against the ray of the lantern on the after-hatch, and maybe also in the first weak light of the approaching dawn. . . . A madness took me at the sight.
As we passed through the cabin I whispered Wilkinson that I meant to show my relative the lading below, and bade him keep the Deal men about him. I had the keys of the chests in my pocket: lifting the after-hatch, we entered the lazarette, and Mason gazed about him with astonishment. But I was in too great a hurry to return to suffer him to idly stand and stare.
"Very simply," said he. "There must have been a dozen hammering on the after-hatch, and I guessed they would have another dozen looking on and offering advice: so I sent Halliday to fetch a keg of powder, and poured about half of it on the top stair of the companion. The rest Halliday took and heaped on a sea-chest raised on a couple of tables close under the deck.
But, although she found no slightest thing offensive in the young man's veiled, approving surveillance, Anna felt almost as if she were in flight from peril some brand-new, delightful peril as, now, she hurried out of range of it and sought her father where, by the after-hatch, he perched upon a great coiled cable staring, staring, staring out across the sea toward Germany, the land to which, a few days since, although his actual departure had been from English shores, his heart had said a passionate farewell.
Thereupon the mandarin came down hot-foot to the quay-side, and was received on board by the three seamen, who had got the covers off the after-hatch in readiness.
But short as it was, I had the time to think several thoughts in, as far as I can remember, the following order: 'This can't be the carpenter What is it? Some accident Submarine volcano? Coals, gas! By Jove! we are being blown up Everybody's dead I am falling into the after-hatch I see fire in it. "The coal-dust suspended in the air of the hold had glowed dull-red at the moment of the explosion.
First thing I knew I felt the dog's cold nose in my face, and the next thing I was on the dead run for the after-hatch.
A moment later, as I was busy with the pikes, Roger came to me and murmured, "There's something wrong afoot. The after-hatch has been pried off." I noticed the hatch once more the next time I passed it, and I remembered seeing the man from Boston emerge from the hold. But there was so much else to be attended to that it was a long, long time before I thought of it again.