After that, however, he suddenly felt strange. He thought he had
been doped, and told the helmsman so. He asked Jones to strike the
bell for him, and, going up on the forecastle head, lay down on the
boards and fell asleep. He did not waken until he heard six bells
struck--three o'clock. And, before he had fully roused, I had
called him.
"Then," I said, "when the lookout saw you with the axe, you were
replacing it?"
"Yes."
"The lookout says you were not on deck between two and three o'clock."
"How does he know? I was asleep."
"You had threatened to get the captain."
"I had a revolver; I didn't need to use an axe."
Much as I disliked the man, I was inclined to believe his story,
although I thought he was keeping something back. I leaned forward.
"Singleton," I said, "if you didn't do it, and I want to think you
did not,--who did?"
He shrugged his shoulders.
"We have women aboard. We ought to know what precautions to take."
"I wasn't the only man on deck that night. Burns was about, and
he had a quarrel with the Hansen woman. Jones was at the wheel, too.
Why don't you lock up Jones?"
"We are all under suspicion," I admitted. "But you had threatened
the captain."
"I never threatened the girl, or Mr. Vail."
I had no answer to this, and we both fell silent. Singleton was the
first to speak:-"How are you going to get back? The men can sail a course, but who
is to lay it out? Turner? No Turner ever knew anything about a
ship but what it made for him."
"Turner is sick. Look here, Singleton, you want to get back as much
as we do, or more. Wouldn't you be willing to lay a course, if you
were taken out once a day? Burns is doing it, but he doesn't pretend
to know much about it, and--we have the bodies."
But he turned ugly again, and refused to help unless he was given
his freedom, and that I knew the crew would not agree to.
"You'll be sick enough before you get back!" he snarled.