ka let go
the wheel, swung himself over the rail on to the deck, and ran for'ard.
Atkins looked at his captain with suppressed rage as he seized the
wheel, and then began to watch for the next sea.

Five minutes passed, and then a dozen dark figures made a sudden rush
towards the deckhouse in which Carr lay in irons. Then came the sound
of smashing blows as the door was burst open with an axe, and in a few
seconds Carr was brought out upon the main deck and quickly freed from
his irons by Malua, to whom a duplicate key had been given by the second
mate.

At first Chard and Hendry scarcely comprehended what had happened, so
sudden was the onslaught, but when they saw Carr standing free on the
main hatch they both made a rush aft towards Hendry's deck cabin. This
they gained without opposition, and seizing two loaded Winchesters which
lay in the captain's berth they darted out again, and began firing into
the group of excited native seamen ten paces away. Three men at once
dropped, either killed or wounded; but the rest, nothing daunted at
this, made a rush towards the two men, knives in hand, bore them down
to the deck by sheer weight, and in a few seconds would have ended their
lives had not Carr, Oliver, and Latour the steward flung themselves into
the fray.

"For God's sake, stop!" cried Oliver, "the ship is on fire!"

And then seizing Hendry by the throat, he lifted him to his feet, and
shook him as a terrier shakes a rat. "You damned, drunken villain! You
are not in a fit state to take charge. Lie there, you brute, and let
better men try to save the ship."

He swung Hendry's slight figure to and fro, and then sent him reeling,
to fall like a log on the deck.

"Men," he cried, "we are in great danger, the trade-room is on fire!
Atkins, for God's sake try to keep us head to wind. Mr. Carr, you and
some of the hands see to the boats. There are over fifty cases of powder
in the for'ard end of the trade-room, and we can't shift them; but only
the after part is burning so far. Steward, see to Miss Remington. Her
cabin is locked, and I cannot make her hear. She and her maid must be
awakened at once. Pass the word to Mr. Morrison to get the fire hose
aft. Some of you cut a hole here in the deck on the port side, just
abreast of that bollard. Smart's the word and quick's the action, or
we shall all be blown to hell in ten minutes if we can't flood the
trade-room."

He stopped to give a brief scrutiny to the prone fi