He ordered the men to fill sacks with sand and pile them up against the timber shores. He meant to make certain of that bulkhead. The Zug's bows might be torn like paper in the projected ramming evolution, but the bulkhead must hold at all costs.
The crew obeyed reluctantly. They were of a type that could be driven and did not take kindly to being led; but in the matter of being driven there could be "too much of a good thing ". And von Giespert failed to realize the presence of the danger-signal.
Headed by one of the quartermasters, the deck hands came aft in a body and demanded of the now astounded but still mule-headed von Giespert the reason for this excessive amount of work. They could not see why the bulkhead should be strengthened, considering it was strong enough already, unless some desperate scheme were afloat.
Von Giespert told them. He had to admit failure in the quest of the gold and that his British rivals had both hoodwinked him and secured the real prize.
"That is all very well, Herr Kapitan," observed the spokesman of the deputation. "We don't mind taking desperate measures if there's anything to be got out of it. If we sink the English yacht, how do we stand as far as the gold is concerned? And suppose we fail, how do we stand then? It will mean penal servitude in an English prison."
"Not at all," protested von Giespert. "If we fail, the responsibility is mine. You are acting under my orders. If we succeed in sinking the yacht, as I believe we shall, then it's merely a question of diving and recovering the gold. We would know its position to a certainty this time."
He stopped to make a rapid calculation.
"How do we stand in, Herr Kapitan?" asked one of the men.
Von Giespert, who was on the point of offering twenty per cent of the proceeds, came down to ten. Inwardly he vowed that these swinish fellows of his would pay for their temerity in trying to beard him in his den.
"Very well, Herr Kapitan," agreed the spokesman. "One tenth of the proceeds in addition to our wages, and you'll please to sign a paper absolving us from all blame in the matter of the collision."