n the next, the still greater difficulty of
performing the operation undetected. As regards my own scheme, the
difficulty lay in the fact that, unless the watch could be driven below
without alarming that portion of the crew already in the forecastle, our
case was utterly hopeless; for, should these last be disturbed and come
on deck, what could two slender lads, even fully armed, do against ten
stout, sinewy, full-grown men? We might possibly shoot down three or
four; but unless the rest happened to be cowed by this--which we decided
was not by any means to be depended upon--we must then be quickly
overpowered by sheer force of numbers. This scheme was justly regarded
by us both as being of so exceedingly desperate a character, that only
as a very last resource would its adoption be justifiable.
Nevertheless, we determined to take such measures as were possible for
the carrying out of either scheme in the event of nothing better
occurring to us.

Meanwhile, day succeeded day without the slightest opportunity occurring
for us to initiate Courtenay's scheme. We required a good-sized auger
with which to bore the necessary holes in the ship's bottom, and some
soft wood out of which to fashion plugs wherewith to plug up those holes
until the proper moment should arrive for withdrawing them and letting
the water into the hull. The wood there was no difficulty about, and we
secured enough for a dozen or more plugs; but no such thing as an auger
could we lay hands upon. We even went the perilous length of inventing
a pretext for gaining access to the carpenter's tool-chest, without
success; and we were at length driven to the conclusion that, strange as
it might seem, there was no such thing on board the felucca.

To add to our chagrin and discomfiture, we were no sooner round Cape San
Antonio than we discovered that Carera, quite as acute as ourselves, had
also foreseen the possibility of a British cruiser being fallen in with
if Jamaica were shaved too closely; and he had provided against this
contingency by laying off a course for Cartagena, which would enable him
to give the island a wide berth. This move on our worthy skipper's part
we were, however, able to a large extent to frustrate; for we found that
he was no navigator, sailing his vessel by dead-reckoning only, so that
by each of us taking long spells at the tiller, as was now indeed our
regular custom, we were able to edge the felucca considerably to
windwa