those forts be first spiked. Now, gentles, I am the youngest of you
all, but I have been inside and seen the place. Moreover, I have been
privileged to discuss with the Captain this very question of taking the
ship up to the town, from which discussion arose my determination to
make that chart; and my advice is, that we defer our attempt until
to-morrow night, and that in the meantime I be permitted to return in
the longboat to our former hiding-place, provided with hammers and nails
for the spiking of the guns and such other necessaries as I may require,
together with a crew of six of our best men. We can get back to our
place of concealment before daylight, and there remain in hiding until
midnight or later, when we will sally forth, steal into those two forts,
overpower and gag the sentinels, and spike the guns, after which we will
signal the ship by the burning of portfires where they cannot be seen
from the town, when you will sail in, I meeting you outside and piloting
you in. We can then land a party, destroy both batteries by blowing
them up, capture the galleon and the town, and sail out to sea again,
unscathed, when we have finished our business with the Spaniards."

"Thy plan sounds promising, young sir," answered Bascomb presently,
after considering the matter a little; "but there is one weak point in
it, which is this. If, as you seem to think, the Spaniards have taken
our Captain, and thereby are led to suspect the presence of an English
ship in the neighbourhood; and, suspecting such presence, should warn
the garrisons of those two forts to be on the lookout for her--all of
which I grant to be more than likely--what hope have you of being able
to surprise those forts and spike their guns?"

"The task will be a difficult one, I admit," answered Dick, with a shrug
of the shoulders; "but, with all submission, sirs, my plan is the only
one offering a chance of success. For--and this is the fundamental fact
governing all else--the guns must be spiked and the forts destroyed
before this ship can enter Cartagena harbour or, having entered, get out
again. But the forts once in our possession the whole town and harbour,
with all within them, will be at our mercy. The important matter,
therefore, to be determined is: By what means can we ensure obtaining
possession of the forts with the minimum of loss to ourselves?"

"Yes," agreed Bascomb, "that is undoubtedly the point. Now, gentles,
let us have your op