"Yes," said Barnes, and laughed. Nora Sayers bit her lip.
For a moment he puffed at his pipe, then drew a deep breath and beckoned the two quartermasters. They came, watching his face calmly, without emotion.
"You men will take this boat and row up the stream," he said quietly. "I confide to your care these two women, and these children. You are to protect them at all costs. This is——"
"But—wait!" exclaimed Nora Sayers in dismay.
"Shut up!" snapped Barnes. "Now, men, this is your duty. They must be taken up to the Dutch post, wherever it is. It means you must row most of the night, understand? I shall remain here and stop Lim Tock's men. I'm no good for rowing—and I can do that. Now, do you understand?"
"My savvy. Aye," they responded together.
"Good. Get to work and lighten the boat, then."
Barnes put his pipe between his teeth and stepped toward the trees. He found himself halted, the girl's hand on his arm. He turned, and was astonished by the emotion that was in her face and eyes.
"Please!" she said brokenly. "You must not do this. You must not deliberately sacrifice yourself——"
"Cut it out, will you?" he roughly intervened. "I know what must be done here, Nora. I'm not making any grandstand play, either. I can hold 'em up, and you can send down a Dutch launch with a gun in her. They have 'em with machine-guns and pom-poms. One o' their launches could sink that blamed junk in a jiffy! They'll come quick enough, too! Believe me, those Dutchmen like nothing better than wiping out pirates, unless it's wiping out plague-ships. They do both jobs up brown."