“Cowards!” he cried, “come after us, and do not expend your ammunition foolishly.”
It was the voice of Lorenzo.
On hearing the reports of the spies that he had sent on shore, that faithful officer had formed the plan of carrying Appadocca silently away from the cabin in which he was confined. For that purpose, he had waited until the night was far spent, and with a few trusty men had cautiously approached the man-of-war.
The pirate party came in a boat that was greased all over on the outside, and which was propelled by muffled oars.
The men were all dressed in black, and wore for the occasion, dark woollen caps, which were drawn over their heads so as perfectly to conceal their faces. They had boarded the ship for about half an hour, and two men were working away vigorously; the blows of the covered mallet drove their muffled chisels more and more deeply into the chinks of the dead light.
“Have you nearly got through, Gustave?” inquired Lorenzo, the enterprising officer of Appadocca.
“Nearly, senor,” answered the man.
“Thanks to Providence,” muttered Lorenzo, “Appadocca will be rescued.”
O disappointment wherefore dost thou exist? The words had scarcely escaped Lorenzo when a splashing noise was heard near the man-of-war.
The sailors, as is customary with them, when their ship is at anchor, in order to improve their opportunities, had hung out a fishing line. As adverse fate would have it, at the very moment when the party of Lorenzo was about completing a breach in the cabin in which their captain was confined, a large shark happened to take the bait. Pricked by the hook, the fish began to swim furiously around the ship, beating about with its huge tail. The water immediately became covered with foam, and the noise increased more and more.