"But your officers?"
"Captain Peters and Mate Sidney. It was the mate's watch when the trouble started. You see, as most of my cruises have been short, I carried but one mate. So, on a long run, the captain had to stand watch in turn. Captain Peters was below. Mate Sidney went forward, to the forecastle, for something. He must have been felled and ironed. One of the crew roused the captain, saying the mate needed him forward. Then Captain Peters went forward, was seized and ironed. Then, howling like fiends, in order to frighten us the more, the mutineers rushed aft."
"Yet you stood them off?"
"Yes; Steward Johnson and I both happened to be on deck, and were both armed. The rascals didn't want any of their side killed, so they tried to parley when they saw our weapons."
"What started the mutiny?"
"Mrs Lawton usually carries her jewels, when on board. They are worth two hundred thousand dollars—a rich prize to desperate thieves."
"What folly to tempt men so on the broad ocean!" muttered Commander
Ennerling, under his breath.
"The jewels were kept in a safe in the cabin," continued Mr. Lawton.
"And there are the scoundrels just smashing in the cabin door," broke in
Jack Benson.
"There they go, piling below."