e stateroom for some possible weapon with which to assail
the door. The stout stool alone seemed available. Swinging this over his
shoulder, hampered by the narrowness of space, he struck again and again,
with all his strength, the upper panel splintering beneath the third
crashing blow. He could see nothing, but felt with his fingers along the
jagged ends of the shattered wood, and redoubled his efforts, striking
wildly, but with effect, until suddenly the lock gave, and the door burst
open. He was in the main cabin, which was unlit and deserted. Standing
there confused in the grim silence, unable for the instant to determine
how to advance in the dark, he could hear the rapid beating of his own
heart, and the continuous lap of waves outside. God! how sodden the deck
felt under foot; what a sickening swell hurled the craft, and such
stillness! If the girl was aboard why did she not cry out? Surely she
must have heard that noise, the rain of blows, the crunch of wood.

He stood, crouched, listening intently for something to guide him in the
right direction. And yet, even if Natalie had heard, what reason would
the girl have to suspect the truth? Likely enough she was sound asleep,
completely worn out, and with no knowledge of what had occurred on board.
It was only the sound of that voice speaking loudly in the boat alongside
which had aroused him. She had no reason to suspect desertion, no
occasion to believe any other prisoner than herself was aboard. The noise
of crashing wood, even if it awoke her, would have no special meaning to
her mind, only perhaps to add to her terror. He must act alone; there was
no other way. If he could only have a light of some kind, and not be
compelled to grope blindly about in that intense darkness.

He stepped cautiously forward, with hands outstretched, swaying to the
sudden roll of the sinking hulk underneath his feet. He struck a piece of
furniture, a bench bolted to the deck, and then his groping fingers came
in sudden contact with the cabin wall, which he followed, circling to the
left. In this manner he succeeded in finally locating the door opening
out on to the deck, and had grasped the knob, when a deep moan from the
black void behind caused him to become suddenly erect, his heart beating
like a trip-hammer. No other sound followed, no repetition, and yet there
could be no mistaking what he had heard. It was a groan, a human groan,
emanating from a spot but a few feet away. He