Master and pupil spread out the charts once more, and Chris pointed eagerly.
"Look, sir! Here is the sandbar, and here"—he put his finger down—"the Venture. Or she was, yesterday. Now sir, the sandbar being just below and ahead of the Venture, once the Mirabelle has slipped by, wouldn't it be too bad if something happened to make the Venture drift with the tide and run aground?"
He looked eagerly up into Mr. Wicker's face and saw in it the reflection of his own excitement.
"There are times, Christopher," said Mr. Wicker with his eyes snapping, "when you surprise even me. But how is it to be done?"
"Well, sir," began Chris, "it's a little tricky but I think, what with the things we know, it can be worked."
He began outlining to his master the details of his plan.
CHAPTER 18
