A glance at the dull outline of his clothes lying on the deck a few inches away told him that there was no turning back, that he must go on with his part of the undertaking, while, had that been insufficient to warn him, a second later he had ample assurance that further stay on the boat would be dangerous alike to him and to the man who was threatened; for the door of the cabin burst open again, and the men who had been lounging over the table rushed on deck. Running to the rails, they stared across the strip of river at the spot from which the noise came.
"The fools!" cried their leader. "They will warn the Englishman with their clatter. They will wake him and spoil our plans."
"Not if you set to at once," suddenly burst in the sailor, who had grasped the man's meaning. "Slip the cable now and float down. Chances are that this Mr. Blunt expected as much when he saw them go ashore. He'll wake for sure, and he'll wait while they turn in. Then he'll sleep again, if these fools don't quarrel with him right away and spoil everything. Best slip the cable now and get aboard the boat before they arrive."
He spoke in English, and led the way at once to the bow of the boat. In a second the others were following, and almost before the young fellow hanging to the rail could grasp their intentions they were slacking out the cable with feverish energy, doing their utmost to reach their victim before the gang of men ashore could upset their plans.
It was time to move. If the Englishman aboard the neighboring boat was to be warned it must be at once. The young fellow glanced back at the twinkling light again, and at once slid down the rope, entering the water without so much as a splash. Then he struck out boldly, and in a few minutes was well away from the vessel.
"There is still time to give the warning," he thought, as he thrust the water behind him. "If only I can get aboard before these men I shall have done something."
As he made his way through the water he thought of the ruffians behind him laboring at the cable, and of those ashore. He knew very well that the first, if they caught sight of his figure, would guess his object and would fire on him. The fear of such an occurrence made him long to turn round to look back at the men, and make sure that he was as yet undiscovered. But that meant delay, and, throwing aside the fear at once, he went on manfully, his eye fixed upon the glimmering light, now very much nearer. Not a shout disturbed him, and even the men ashore seemed to have awakened to the fact that the noise they had been making would ruin their plans. They were silent now, and if only the darkness had not hidden them, they could have been seen creeping down to the landing stage, revolver in hand, ready to aid their comrades. Then, too, if the sides of the vessel in which Mr. Blunt and Dudley lay had not been impenetrable to the eye, this young and gallant fellow would have known that the man upon whom the attack was to be made lay in his bunk, wrapped in a blanket, looking uneasily at the door. He was wide awake, as was his companion, and evidently somewhat upset by the noise which till a moment before had been coming from the shore.
"As I thought," he said in low tones. "That is the worst of tying up to the bank within reach of saloons, and a lesson to employ, whenever possible, a different stamp of men. Those fellows have been drinking, and may be quarrelsome. We will not appear if they call to us. Let us pretend to be asleep, for then there can be no quarrel, and perhaps they will turn in quietly. Ah, they have become silent! That's an excellent sign."
"What's that?" It was Dudley who suddenly sat up and asked the question, for he had heard a splash close alongside, and the noise had been repeated.
"Perhaps a floating log," answered Mr. Blunt. "Nothing to be alarmed at. Ah, that's one arrival!"