"'Tis the end av us, sorr," groaned Cassidy.
They laid their unconscious burden down in the alleyway, and while the mechanic set up a lugubrious wail Lawless started to rip up the matting with which the alleyway was covered.
"Here we are!" he exclaimed.
He pointed triumphantly to a circular iron plate let into the deck, and Cassidy, looking down after Lawless had removed this, beheld a dark cavity which emitted an odour of stagnant water.
"We can drop into the hold through there," said the Lieutenant, "and possibly we may reach the for'a'd deck. At any rate, it's our only chance. I'll go down first, and when you hear me shout lower that fellow down to me."
He gripped the end of the manhole, lowered himself through it, and then let go. There was a splash followed by a shout.
"Are ye all roight, sorr?" called Cassidy anxiously.
"Aye, aye, lower away," came the reply from the apparently bottomless depths.
Cassidy thereupon lowered the unconscious man through the hole, and held on till he felt the weight removed from his arms. Then he squeezed through the aperture, and, letting go, found himself nearly waist-deep in water and in almost utter darkness.
"The divil!" he exclaimed.