master-at-arms," he ordered. "Master-at-arms
went below, sir, to release the prisoners," reported a petty officer.

"By Jove!" whispered Ross. "I'd clean forgotten Ramblethorne. I
wonder how he liked the business?"

"Let's wait," suggested Vernon.

They took up their position on the leeward side of the after 7.5-inch
gun-shield. Here they were sheltered from the wind and out of sight of
the alert Commander, although they could hear what was being said.

"Master-at-arms is in the sick-bay, sir," reported the messenger as he
came up at the double. "He's nearly done for, trying to get to the
prisoners. The ship's corporal managed to release the two ordinary
seamen, but the spy's done in, sir--I mean he's drownded."

Almost immediately following the explosion, the master-at-arms had
hurried to the cells. The flat was in darkness. The sentry on No. 6
post, in charge of the prisoners, was lying stunned on the floor of the
passage. Water was surging aft. Already it was up to the knees of the
master-at-arms as he plunged through the gloom towards his goal.

The three prisoners were shouting in mad panic. They realized their
awful peril. Caged like rats in a trap, they felt certain that the
cruiser was foundering, and that they would be carried down in a living
tomb until the pressure of water burst open the comparatively strong
steel walls of the cell.

At length the chief of the ship's police forced the door of the
nearmost cell. By sheer good luck he inserted the key into the lock
without having to fumble for the opening. The prisoner, a young seaman
who had broken out of the ship at Halifax, was too terrified to know
his way to safety. He clutched at the master-at-arms, following him to
the next cell.

The water was now waist-deep. In trying to find the keyhole the
master-at-arms dropped the keys. It took some minutes to find them--a
loss of valuable time.

The noise of the inrushing water was deafening. For all the petty
officer knew, the ship might be about to make her last plunge. Yet his
duty lay before him. At the risk of his life the prisoners must be set
free.

A light appeared upon the scene. A ship's corporal, bearing a lantern,
descended to the flat with the laudable intention, of assisting his
superior.

The door of the second cell flew open, but a rush of water on the
flood, under the movement of the stricken vessel surged and swept the
master-at-arms off his feet. His forehea