One of the sailors had his cutlass out in a moment, and soon contrived to get the lids off two of the kegs, and the contents were poured into an empty provision box.
“Now, how are we to make them fast?” asked Dick. “You ought to know better than I.”
He looked at the sailors and waited their reply, while they stared at the kegs, uncertain how to act, for it is no easy matter to attach an article of this kind to the end of a pole.
“With a bit of rope and a good fire I’d do it in half an hour,” said one of the men at length. “Yer see, by rights, sir, we ought to have a step at the bottom of the keg, and lash the end of a pole down on to it. But yer can’t do that ’cause a step needs hammerin’, and that ’ud warn the enemy if he’s hereabouts. But we’ve a fire, and a stoking bar, and that ’ud make a fine drill. With a hole through the centre of the lid and the bottom, we could push the pole through, and take a turn of the rope round above and below the keg. That would keep all in place and ship-shape.”
“Then we’ll get to the engine,” said Dick, promptly. “Bring the kegs and poles while I douse the light. Now, you men,” he went on, as he came out on the deck, “stand round the engine well while we finish the job. Johnnie, get that bar heated.”
Some twenty minutes later the four holes had been drilled, and the poles pushed through, and secured with rope. Then the two sailors took their station on the bows, while the remainder went aft. The propeller was reversed at full speed, while the kegs were placed against the mud bank, and the men holding the poles pushed with all their strength. Dick gave a low whistle, the men jumped, and this time with as gentle a motion as when she grounded, the launch left the bank and floated in the open water. Two hours later the boat was brought to a rest some miles up the river, and was pulled beneath an overhanging tree, where she lay till morning dawned.
“We have a fine place from which to keep watch, and we’ll see whether we cannot make a catch,” said Dick, as he and Jack Emmett sat down to breakfast. “How do you like the work, Jack?”
“It’s fine,” was the answer. “This is what I have been waiting for. And the best part of it all is that we are our own masters, and can therefore enjoy all the more fun. Supposing an army came along, as happened in your case?”
“We should lie hidden; if they found us we should fight. No more running away for me, particularly when I have a crew like this. Hullo! what’s the report?”
One of the sailors had ascended the branches of the tree, from which post he could keep a watch on the river, and at this moment he whistled. Then they saw him come swarming down to drop from a height of fully fifteen feet on to the deck of the launch. He alighted as easily as a cat and came aft to his commander.