"'Taint a question of my knowing," rejoined Captain Davis. "There are others in the know also I'm just warning you, Blair; you can count on Captain Davis and the Kittiwakes to help you put up a fight if need be, although the lot of us don't stand a dog's chance."
"Thanks for the warning, Davis," replied Captain Blair grimly. "I'll act upon it."
The arrival of the half-caste overseer terminated the conversation. Captain Blair, greatly perturbed, walked slowly back to his men.
An hour later the soaked and dispirited prisoners were launching several of the boats, amongst them the lifeboat that Burgoyne had definitely in view for the projected flight from the island. It was raining so heavily that by the time the boats ran alongside the Donibristle the bottom-boards were floating, in spite of the fact that the plugs had been withdrawn and the water allowed to drain out before launching.
Wearing an almost new dark blue bridge-coat that looked suspiciously like the skipper's, Black Strogoff was sheltering under the boat-deck when the working-party arrived. With him were half a dozen pirates armed with automatic pistols.
"You there!" shouted Black Strogoff on catching sight of Captain Blair. "Come you here. Do you know what is to be done? Run out warps ahead and astern, buoy and slip the cables to move the ship round that point. You understand? Good; then do it, and tell me when the work is finished."
There was no option but to obey. Calling Burgoyne and Branscombe Captain Blair allotted them their respective posts, sending the former away in a large pulling cutter to pass the bow warp to the nearmost buoy. He also took the opportunity of conferring hurriedly with Alwyn on another matter.
In the absence of steam the work of warping out had to be carried out by hand. The cable was slipped, and, under the united efforts of the score of men walking away with the bow warp, the Donibristle moved slowly, almost reluctantly, through the rain-beaten waters of the harbour.
As the battered hulk passed within a cable's length of the pirate cruiser, Ramon Porfirio stepped to the rail of the Malfilio and shouted a curt order to the sheltering Strogoff. Apparently the command was to the effect that the work must be hurried up, for the pirate lieutenant, emerging from his retreat, gave a brief and surly reply. Then, bawling to Captain Blair to tell the men to haul away quicker, he retired to his temporary den.
"Meaning, I suppose," observed Captain Blair to Branscombe, "that the Malfilio is about to sail and that Porfirio wants the job finished before he weighs. How is that fractured steam-pipe getting on, by the by, Angus?"