racked his voice at last,
and could only squeak miserably. His back or else his head rubbed the
planks, now here, now there, in a puzzling manner. He squeaked as he
dodged the invisible blows. It was more heartrending even than his
yells. Suddenly Archie produced a crowbar. He had kept it back; also a
small hatchet. We howled with satisfaction. He struck a mighty blow and
small chips flew at our eyes. The boatswain above shouted:--"Look out!
Look out there. Don't kill the man. Easy does it!" Wamibo, maddened with
excitement, hung head down and insanely urged us:--"Hoo! Strook'im! Hoo!
Hoo!" We were afraid he would fall in and kill one of us and, hurriedly,
we entreated the boatswain to "shove the blamed Finn overboard." Then,
all together, we yelled down at the planks:--"Stand from under! Get
forward," and listened. We only heard the deep hum and moan of the
wind above us, the mingled roar and hiss of the seas. The ship, as if
overcome with despair, wallowed lifelessly, and our heads swam with that
unnatural motion. Belfast clamoured:--"For the love of God, Jimmy, where
are ye?... Knock! Jimmy darlint!... Knock! You bloody black beast!
Knock!" He was as quiet as a dead man inside a grave; and, like men
standing above a grave, we were on the verge of tears--but with vexation,
the strain, the fatigue; with the great longing to be done with it, to
get away, and lie down to rest somewhere where we could see our danger
and breathe. Archie shouted:--"Gi'e me room!" We crouched behind him,
guarding our heads, and he struck time after time in the joint of
planks. They cracked. Suddenly the crowbar went halfway in through a
splintered oblong hole. It must have missed Jimmy's head by less than an
inch. Archie withdrew it quickly, and that infamous nigger rushed at
the hole, put his lips to it, and whispered "Help" in an almost extinct
voice; he pressed his head to it, trying madly to get out through that
opening one inch wide and three inches long. In our disturbed state we
were absolutely paralysed by his incredible action. It seemed impossible
to drive him away. Even Archie at last lost his composure. "If ye don't
clear oot I'll drive the crowbar thro' your head," he shouted in a
determined voice. He meant what he said, and his earnestness seemed
to make an impression on Jimmy. He disappeared suddenly, and we set to
prising and tearing at the planks with the eagerness of men trying to
get at a mortal enemy, and spurred by the des