"Don't you see that the people of the Bronx City are watching us?" he replied. "If they see that we are towing the loaded boats up the river, they'll guess we're hiding the plunder ashore. Whip it aboard. It's worth the extra work."
"Then do it yourself," retorted the mutineer. "We've had enough back-breaking jobs lately. 'Sides, what odds if the Yanks do spot us?"
His protest was upheld by several others. Marchant and half a dozen of the hands who were not so drunk as the rest tried to convince them of the soundness of Pengelly's order.
For some moments the dispute threatened to develop into a free fight, until Pengelly, fearful lest the objectors should gain the upper hand in a physical contest, bade the gunner pass the boats astern to be taken in tow.
The anchor was weighed and at four knots—more speed would have resulted in the swamping of the heavily-laden boats—the Alerte ascended the river.
Almost as soon as the pirate submarine had disappeared from view, the imprisoned officers and crew of the Bronx City were released by the Portuguese passengers.
Captain Hiram Adams' first step was to assure himself that his ship had not been crippled beyond being run aground. To his delight he found that beyond the damage caused by the looters in their work of plunder and the removal of certain wireless essentials, the Bronx City was unharmed. He had given a shrewd and correct guess as to the reason of the pirates' return visit. He had summed up Cain as a man of his word, who was in consequence not responsible for the orgy of plunder. Therefore, he concluded, that there had been an "almighty bust-up," and that Cain had been supplanted by the loose-lipped, spineless Pengelly.
Captain Adams had made several trips up the Mississippi as far as Memphis. He had had many experiences of running aground the soft mudbanks that fringe the frequently-shifting channel of that enormous waterway. He was now going to put that knowledge to practical use.
"Say, how long will it take for a full head of steam?" he inquired of the chief engineer.
"I guess an hour," replied that worthy, knowing that the fires had not been drawn when the ship took the ground. "Mebbe less."