Part 76 (1/2)

”No, sir,” cried Murray. ”He's afraid of being murdered for showing the way. I have it, sir,” he said now excitedly. ”That explains everything. There's a way out here;” and stooping down the middy seized one corner of the rug, gave it a sharp jerk, and laid bare what seemed to be a trap-door neatly made in the polished floor.

A murmur of excitement ran through the room, and Murray exclaimed--

”Then the poor fellow has been killed, Tom.”

”And buried, sir, seemingly,” growled the sailor; and without waiting for orders, he went down on one knee to raise the broad square flap, while the black shrank a little more away where he knelt, and began rubbing his hands together excitedly.

”Well, my lad,” cried Mr Anderson, ”be smart! You're not afraid, are you?”

”Not a bit, sir,” growled the big sailor; ”but there seems to be some sort o' dodgery over this here hatchway. You see, there arn't no ring-bolt.”

”Take your cutla.s.s to it, Tom,” said Murray; and as he spoke he drew his dirk.

”Ay, ay, sir; that'll do it,” replied the sailor, and directly after the middy and he began to force in the edges of their blades so as to try and prise open the trap.

”Come, come, come,” cried the lieutenant, ”don't bungle like that;” and he drew his sword. ”Let me try.”

Murray made way, and the officer began to try and force in the edge of his service blade.

”Humph! Dear me!” he muttered. ”The floor is made of mahogany. Very hard wood. Not so easy as I thought, May, my lad.”

A broad smile covered the big sailor's countenance as he watched his officer's failure.

”Ay, ay, sir!” he growled. ”Beg pardon, sir; you'll be breaking your sword.”

”Yes, my lad, and I don't want to do that,” said the lieutenant. ”Here, hallo! What do you mean by that? Look here, Mr Murray; your n.i.g.g.e.r is trying to tell you how to do it. He knows all about it. Let him try.”

For, as if recovering somewhat from his abject dread, the black knelt and shuffled about as if longing to perform the task himself.

”Yes, sir, that's it,” said the mids.h.i.+pman eagerly. ”Now then, Caesar, show us how it's done.”

But this only made the black shrink away more and more, and begin shaking his head violently and resuming the pointing as before.

”Here, he must be made to show how it is done,” cried the lieutenant impatiently. ”We cannot waste time like this.”

”I think I can manage now, sir,” said Murray, for just then the black caught hold of his hand, slipped his own up the lad's wrist, and pressed him to one side of the square trap that refused to open.

The rest was plain, for it soon became clear that, though the black was afraid to do anything towards opening the trap himself, he was quite ready to use the hands of another party for the purpose.

”Oh, that's it, is it, Caesar?” cried Murray, who now submitted himself entirely to the slave's direction and let him press his hands down with a thrusting movement upon one of the floor-boards, with the result that the square trap glided away smoothly as if running upon rollers, while a dark opening appeared, showing a flight of ladder stairs running down into what seemed to be total darkness.

”A subterranean pa.s.sage leading somewhere or another.”

”It is the way out by which Mr Allen went,” said Murray excitedly.

”Escaped, you mean,” cried the lieutenant.

”Perhaps so, sir; but mayn't it be that he has been taken away by his enemies?” suggested Murray.