Our plan was simple, if we could once get quit of our guards. One of the smaller boats lay on the starboard side, and, hanging outwards from the davits, could, from the slant of the Sea Queen as she lay on the rocks, be easily dropped and floated. If we could lower her into the water and get the ladies into her, it would be possible, under cover of the darkness and the preoccupation of the mutineers, to reach the island. Once there, we must, of course, trust to our luck for food and shelter.
Legrand got to his feet and moved noiselessly towards the door. The yacht was comparatively still, and we could hear the lapping of the quiet sea beyond the broken windows. I followed him.
"We have one jack-knife," I whispered in his ear. He nodded.
"And there are two men," he whispered back.
"Is the door locked?" He fumbled softly.
"I don't think so. They did not turn the key last time. But it's a question of who's outside. If the body of the mutineers are still there, we're done. If the two are alone——"
"They are alone," I whispered. "I can hear no noise. They're hunting elsewhere."
"The darkness about suits us now. Explain to the ladies," he said under his breath. "Let them be ready directly we are."
I went back to the couch and poured out my story through the darkness. I spoke to two shadows, and as I did so a hand moved in the air and touched mine. I took it, and it was cold like the snows in January. I pressed it softly.
"Be of good heart. I will come back. And do not cry out."