herwise; but all night long he
thought, and thought, and wondered how to get the plot to the captain's
knowledge. He was determined to save his life and that of the crew; but
it was not an easy matter, for he knew that the convicts would now watch
him narrowly and that he must not be seen talking to any of the
officers. The only thing to do was to put it down in writing and get it
somehow into their hands. But how to write it, when he was never a
moment alone? and it must be done the next day.

"At last after much puzzling he hit upon a plan.

"In the morning when he went on deck he washed a shirt and took it up to
the foretop to dry. Now the foretop is a place high up in the rigging
of the ship, a very giddy height indeed, and when a man is there he is
really almost out of sight and it is impossible to see what he is doing
from the deck. Birt had a little pocket book with him, and in it, as he
sat on the foretop, he wrote down all he knew about the intended mutiny.
When he went below he hoped to get a chance of slipping it into the
captain's hand, or of putting it where he would be likely to find it.

"But luck was against him, for he could not get near the captain the
whole of that day, and there were keen eyes always fastened upon him by
the convicts, who were on deck by fifty at a time, and watched each
other closely for fear of treachery. Amongst each fifty there were
always some who were in the plot, and if they had suspected Birt of
betraying them they would have made short work of him, and this he knew
very well. Evening came, and still he had been able to do nothing. The
next morning at four o'clock the bloody deed was to be done. He paced
the deck to and fro, to and fro, almost in despair, and yet determined
to venture something for the captain's sake. Then he noticed that the
first-mate was in the hold, serving out water, and suddenly an idea came
into Birt's head. He pretended to stumble, threw himself right down the
hatchway as though by accident, and fell a distance of sixteen feet into
the hold. As you may imagine all was immediately stir and excitement,
for at first they thought he was killed--and, indeed, he was badly
bruised, having fallen on to a water-cask. In the bustle, however, he
managed to slip the book into the mate's hand, and the thing was done.
The surgeon was sent for and they got him up on deck, where, while his
hurts were being looked to, he had the satisfaction of seeing th