And then, suddenly, a dreadful apprehension seized me. “By Jove, Fonseca,” I exclaimed, “I have never thought of it until this moment, but what is going to happen if there are any people left aboard the brig? I have been quite taking it for granted that all hands came ashore this morning, but of course I cannot be at all sure that they did.”
“I presume you did not by any chance notice, señor, precisely how many men landed, did you?” demanded Fonseca.
“Yes,” said I, “I did. And, including Dominique and Juan, they numbered forty-two.”
“Forty-two!” repeated Fonseca. “Now, just let me think.” He considered for about a minute, and then said:
“So far as I can remember, señor, forty-two should include all hands. But, all the same, it will not be amiss to approach the ship warily, and get aboard, if possible, noiselessly. Then, once aboard, we can soon ascertain whether anyone is there. And if perchance there should be, it cannot be more than one or two at most, whom we can probably overpower if we once get a footing on deck.”
A few minutes later we opened out the house clear of the wood, and I kept my eye on it, wondering how long it would be ere we should attract the attention of Juan and those with him. They must have seen us almost immediately, for in less than a minute we saw half a dozen men rush out on to the gallery that ran all round the building, and stand staring straight at us, evidently talking excitedly together the while; then, as with one accord, they set off racing down the path at breakneck speed toward the wharf, shouting to us and gesticulating wildly as they ran. But we took matters very quietly, knowing that there was not a boat left that would swim, or, as we believed, that could be made to swim without a couple of hours’ work being done upon her. Then I turned my gaze toward the brig; for I argued that since their cries reached us quite distinctly, they must also reach the brig, and if anyone had been left aboard her those cries would soon create an alarm, and we might expect to see some movement on board her. But we saw nothing, the craft maintained the appearance of being absolutely deserted, and five minutes later we stole up alongside and quietly scrambled aboard her by way of the main chains.