"Upon my word, young gentlemen, you seem to have thought of everything. If I were in command of a ship, I should like to have you all as midshipmen."
The door was opened. The man was still lying on the ground, but had rolled some distance from where they had left him. He had succeeded in getting his feet loosened from the handkerchief, but the whipcord round his wrists had resisted all his efforts to break or slacken it. He was panting heavily from the exertions he had made.
"It is Harper," the admiral said, in a tone of indignation and disgust.
"So, you treacherous scoundrel, it was you who let these men in, was it? Well, it is a hanging matter, my lad; and if any fellow deserves the rope, you do.
"You had better go and get some more cord, Williams, and tie all these four fellows up, securely. Let Jackson see to the knots.
"Where did the scoundrels get in?" he asked, turning to the boys.
"At the door at the end of the passage, sir, where the plate chests are standing. We found it open--here is the key of it. We locked it, after we came in, so as to prevent anyone from getting away.
"There is another man, with a cart, in the road."
"We will see to him, directly we have got the others all tied up safely," the admiral said. "That is the first thing to see to."
In five minutes, the four men were laid side by side in the hall, securely bound hand and foot.