Sail Ho! Part 26

Jarette uttered a fierce e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n.

"Stand aside then," he growled, "and let some one who is a man do it.

Here, any one of you come and plant this powder, and show young Walters here how brave lads fight."

We listened full of excitement for the next moment, as every one watched Mr Denning standing there close to the opening in the barricade, his arms and the gun invisible as he reached through toward the saloon-door.

But there was perfect silence, not a movement to be heard, as Jarette burst into a nasty harsh laugh.

"Don't all want to do the job?" he cried. "Not one to volunteer? Why, you laugh at me, and call me Frenchy, and brag about your English pluck, and not one man will come forward. Here you, Bob Hampton, your trick's over at the wheel; come and lay this powder."

"What, to blow in the cabin-door?" came in familiar tones. "All right, skipper; only I don't know much about powder to make trains. You wet in, don't wild-fire on it?"

"Bah! stand aside. Here you, Blane, lay that powder close up door."

"What me, skipper? Anything in going aloft and settin' sail; but I know no more about gunpowder than a babby."

"Get out of the way, idiot. Where's Dumlow?"

"Which here I be," growled that individual.

"Here, lay hold of this powder, and plant it, my lad, and then lay a train."

"Take that there powder and lay a train?" said the big sailor.

"Yes."

"Not me."

"What! You dare--" cried Jarette.

"Lookye here, skipper," growled Dumlow, "don't you get poking that there pestle in my face, 'cause it might go off."

"Yes, and it will go off," cried Jarette. "I mean to be obeyed by this crew, as I've just shown you."

"Nay, but don't poke pestles in my face; 'cause it make me hit out, and when I hits out I hurts. You ask some one else."

"Bah!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Jarette; and the word sounded like the short, sharp bark of some cur, as it reached us through the barricade.

"Goin' to plant it yourself?" said Bob Hampton.

"Yes, you brave Englishman," sneered Jarette. "I'm going to show you what your captain can do."

"Shoot the scoundrel!" said Captain Berriman, excitedly.

"Impossible, without he comes into sight," whispered Mr Denning.

"Can't you see him?"

"No; he is pushing a bag of powder right in up against the door, and now sprinkling handfuls of powder up to it."

"You come away," said the captain. "Quick, man! Here, every one lie down at the far end of the saloon."

I was one of the first to run; but I came back with a can of water, and held it to Mr Frewen.

"Can you do anything with that, sir?" I said.

"No, my lad. Quite impossible to reach it effectually."

I stood staring at the barricade and its openings for a few moments, and then an idea struck me. I had often seen my father's gun cleaned, and when the barrels were detached from the stack, taken them up to look through them, binocular fashion, to see whether they were clean inside.

"Take off the barrels from that gun!" I said excitedly.

"What for?" cried Mr Frewen; but he did that which was asked all the same, and handed the barrels to me.

"What are you going to do?" whispered the captain.

"One minute, sir, and I'll show you," I said. "Let me come there, Mr Denning."

That gentleman altered his position a little, so that I could reach through the opening and let the ends of the barrels rest upon the deck, close to the powder, which I could just see scattered about the flooring.

Directly after, I had raised my can and was carefully trickling the water down through one of the barrels with such good effect that the explosive grains were either saturated or borne away.

I had been sending the little stream through for some moments before it was seen, and the first intimation we had of the mutineers noticing our defence was the explosion of a pistol, and simultaneously a dull, cracking sound as a bullet pa.s.sed through the door and was buried in the trunk behind it.

"That don't matter, Berriman," cried Jarette; "we have plenty of powder, and you can't say the same about water."

I started at this, for it struck me that I had been pouring precious drops away which might mean life. But I laughed directly after, as I recalled the fact that we had only to drop a bucket out of the stern-windows and haul up as much salt water as we liked.

Mr Frewen must have been thinking the same thing, for directly after he and Mr Brymer attached pieces of new halyard to a couple of tin pails, and threw them out of the window, and drew them up full, ready for the next attempt to lay powder.

"No need to pour away the precious drops now," said Mr Frewen. "But we must have down some of those chests so as to get at the powder easily."

The words had hardly left his lips when there was the sharp report of Mr Denning's piece, followed directly after by a second shot, and the rush of feet upon the deck.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

"Well!" said the captain grimly. "Did you bring down your gaol-bird, sir?"

"No," replied Mr Denning, as he drew back and began to reload. "I could not see any one, only that a bag of powder was being thrust along the deck with a hand-spike, and I fired at where I thought a man might be."

"And hit him, seemingly," said Mr Frewen. "Now then, we must down with some of these trunks."

They were seized directly, and pulled away, so that had we liked we could have opened the door widely; and Mr Denning now took up his position here, while Mr Frewen and Mr Preddle stood ready each with their guns, which had not yet been discharged, while I and Mr Brymer were in charge of the two buckets of water.

There was now plenty of room for any one to look round the edge of the door and make an observation; and though our position was a good deal weakened, this was to some extent counterbalanced by the chests and trunks being built across as a breastwork, behind which the guns were stationed, Mr Brymer and I being between the breastwork and the door.

"Now, Dale, look out and see how matters stand," said the captain.