Jack finished his meal in a jiffy, and was on deck in another two seconds. He found the Vagrant’s nose still pointed up stream, but Tom, using the bridge controls, had slowed down the engines till the craft was almost stationary in the swift current.
Right ahead of them lay the cause of Jack’s abrupt summons to the deck.
A chain, composed of huge iron links, was stretched from bank to bank of the river, effectually barring further progress.
CHAPTER XIII—A DARING PLAN
“Well,” said Jack, after a moment spent in surveying the obstruction, “we might have expected something like that. The question is, what are we going to do?”
“We might land and remove it,” hazarded Ned.
But Jack shook his head.
“Jupe, go below and call Captain Andrews,” he said, in as calm a voice as he could muster. “We won’t risk landing and trying to lower the chain for two reasons. One is, that Herrera, having been cunning enough to put up the barrier, is not likely to have left it unguarded. There may be hidden eyes watching us right now. The second reason is, that it has just occurred to me that a man who is playing the game he is, may have placed other more dangerous obstacles in our path.”
“For instance?” came from Tom.
“For instance,—mines.”