“There are six or seven of them,” said Joan debatingly.
“Bring her up to the wind,” shouted Tarboe to Bissonnette. The mainsail closed up several points, the Ninety-Nine slackened her pace and edged in closer to the land. “Now, my girl,” said Tarboe, “this is how it stands. If we fight, there’s someone sure to be hurt, and if I’m hurt, where’ll you be?”
Bissonnette interposed. “We’ve got nothing contraband. The gold is ours.”
“Trust that crew—but no!” cried Tarboe, with an oath. “The Government would hold the rhino for possible owners, and then give it to a convent or something. They shan’t put foot here. They’ve said war, and they’ll get it. They’re signalling us to stop, and they’re bearing down. There goes a shot!”
The girl had been watching the Government boat coolly. Now that it began to bear on, she answered her father’s question.
“Captain,” she said, like a trusted mate, “we’ll bluff them.” Her eyes flashed with the intelligence of war. “Here, quick, I’ll take the tiller. They haven’t seen Bissonnette yet; he sits low. Call all hands on deck—shout! Then, see: Loce will go down the middle hatch, get a gun, come up with it on his shoulder, and move on to the fo’castle. Then he’ll drop down the fo’castle hatch, get along to the middle hatch, and come up again with the gun, now with his cap, now without it, now with his coat, now without it. He’ll do that till we’ve got twenty or thirty men on deck! They’ll think we’ve been laying for them, and they’ll not come on—you see!”
Tarboe ripped out an oath. “It’s a great game,” he said, and a moment afterwards, in response to his roars, Bissonnette came up the hatch with his gun showing bravely; then again and again, now with his cap, now without, now with his coat, now with none, anon with a tarpaulin over his shoulders grotesquely. Meanwhile Tarboe trained his one solitary little cannon on the enemy, roaring his men into place.
From the tug it seemed that a large and well-armed crew were ranging behind the bulwarks of the Ninety-Nine. Mr. Martin, the inspector, saw with alarm Bissonnette’s constantly appearing rifle.
“They’ve arranged a plant for us, Mr. Lafarge. What do you think we’d better do?” he asked.
“Fight!” answered Lafarge laconically. He wished to put himself on record, for he was the only one on board who saw through the ruse.