I was standing a great pile of boxes and water barrels
had been raised for transfer to the rafts, and I, being on the one side
of this pile, was invisible to them as they approached, and would have
been passed unnoticed had the night been brighter than it was. I could
almost hear what they were saying; I am certain that I heard Jensen
utter my name.

I came out of the shadow, or rather out of my corner--for it was all
shadow alike--and called out Lancelot's name. Lancelot called back to
me, and then I heard Jensen wish him good-night and turn and tramp
heavily down the stairs that led below. He seemed to tramp very heavily,
heavier than was his wont, for he was a light, alert man, even when his
biggest sea-boots were on him, as I make no doubt they now were.
Lancelot joined me, and I drew him with me into the place where I had
been standing, after first casting a glance around the deck to see that
no one was within hearing. All seemed deserted, save for the distant
walk of the watch. We leaned over the bulwark together and began to
talk.

I asked him what Jensen had been saying to him. He told me that Cornelys
had come to him and expressed great surprise and anger at the doubts
which he believed, from my manner and from some words that I had
uttered, I entertained of him. It seemed that he had said again to
Lancelot what he had said to me about the flag; that he insisted that
there was no mystery at all about the matter, but that he was proud of
its possession and superstitious as to its luck, and that he never was
willingly parted from it. At the same time he offered to give it
Lancelot, as he had already offered to give it me, if Lancelot was
minded or wishful to take possession of it; an offer which Lancelot had
refused.

I could see from Lancelot's manner that he was largely convinced of the
integrity of Jensen, and I must confess that Jensen's conduct had given
him grounds for confidence, and that I had very little in the way of
reasonable argument to shake that confidence. Still, I made bold to be
somewhat importunate with Lancelot. When he spoke of his uncle's trust
in Jensen's integrity, when he urged the value of Jensen's services to
us on the voyage, and the way in which he had kept the sailors under
control at the first symptom of mutiny, I had, it must be confessed,
little to say in reply that could seriously damage Jensen's character.
But I was so thoroughly convinced of the man's treachery that I argued