At the bottom of the ladder he stepped into a steel chamber. The only articles of furniture in the chamber were a table and a chair. The top of the table was covered with a black hood which fell downward from the ceiling. Just then Matt had no time for investigating things he did not understand.
As he stood for a moment at the foot of the ladder, trying to hear something that would give him a clue as to where he should go, a door suddenly opened behind him. He whirled about, but before he could make a move to protect himself a heavy fist leaped out at him. He dodged to one side, but the blow caught him in the shoulder, whirled him half around and drove him with stunning force against the steel wall.
Taken at a disadvantage, as he had been, Matt would have paid dearly for his daring work had not Ferral, at that instant, dropped from the conning tower squarely upon the head and shoulders of the man who had made the attack on Matt.
The weight of Dick's body hurled the fellow to the floor, and before he could recover his wits Dick had snatched from his fingers a knife which he had pulled from the breast of his coat.
"Avast, there, you swab!" threatened Dick, waving his revolver in front of the scoundrel's face. "Are you hurt, Matt?" he added, keeping his eyes on the man, but addressing his chum.
"Shaken up a little, Dick, that's all," Matt answered; "but it might have been a whole lot worse if you hadn't dropped in on us. Where's Carl?"
"He's coming."
"How many men did Jurgens leave on this boat?" Matt asked, bending over the man on the floor.
"More'n you kin handle," was the surly response.
"We'll see about that. Keep him there, Dick, while I go forward and see what I can find."