But there was no time for argument, so it was dropped for the time being, and all made ready.
The Dart was securely anchored, and then lots were drawn to see who should remain aboard.
As chance had it, it fell to the lot of Captain Bell.
The terrified captain turned white as a corpse and groaned aloud.
Barney saw this and said:
“Shure, sor, yez kin go along with the rist. I’ll sthay.”
And so the cowardly captain was relieved in a measure of his fears. But the respect of the others for him was greatly diminished.
However, Frank had arranged it so that the one left aboard the Dart should not be cut off from communication with the others.
He carried a small spool of thin wire and a battery.
As he would proceed, this could be paid out, and with a small ticker a message could be easily sent to the Dart.