"We are with you, señor capitan!" shouted the men.
"Excellent! Now this is my plan: Señor Da Silva will muster forty men armed with rifles upon the quarter-deck. The rest of you will go for'ard, and on the signal being given, commence to shout 'All hands on deck!' and 'Everyone for himself—the ship's sinking!' Make as much noise as you can. The prisoners will at once bolt from below, and as soon as the last man is up through the hatchway Señor Da Silva will give the word for them to be shot down. No one must be allowed to escape below. We can then recover the gold, and on the first available opportunity we will tranship the booty and ourselves to another vessel. Have I made myself clear?"
The mutineers expressed themselves satisfied, and at once went for'ard to carry out the proposed stratagem.
Meanwhile Fielding and his companions kept well on the alert, maintaining regular watches, and leaving nothing to chance. Through the ports they had witnessed the cruiser's mishaps in the submerged bed of ice, and her perilous passage betwixt the horns of the berg. They knew that the Independencia was heading southwards, but for what purpose they were in ignorance. Certain it was that for the time being Cervillo's idea of sheltering on the east coast of Greenland had been knocked on the head.
"They're pretty well at the end of their tether," remarked the sub. "Something's gone wrong with the engines, I fancy; and I shouldn't be a bit surprised if she's leaking badly. They've been pumping continuously for the last few hours."
"There's one blessing, they won't be able to do any more damage to shipping," added Cardyke. "But I can't say that I appreciate being cooped up here. Couldn't we make a rush for it and drive them below?"
"Too early," objected his superior. "They must be lulled into a sense of security first. No, Cardyke, we must sit tight and await our opportunity. It's bound to come. You see, if we attempted to capture the ship, and failed—we cannot rely upon success—our position might be infinitely worse. We cannot come to much harm here. The gold acts as an invisible breastplate to shield us all."
Just then there was a heavy crash somewhere amidships, followed by a babel of yells that roused the sleeping watch from their berths.
"What's happening now?" asked Fielding. "Can you make out what they are shouting about, Mr. Rutter?"
The American, who was a fairly good Spanish linguist, understood the nature of the yells. For a few seconds he stood chewing the end of a huge cigar.