I went down cautiously, and struck a match where Adams had indicated
the spike. It was not there. Nor had Burns picked it up. A
splintered board showed where it had struck, and a smaller
indentation where it had rebounded; but the marlinespike was gone,
and Burns had not seen it. We got a lantern and searched
systematically, without result. Burns turned to me a face ghastly
in the oil light.
"Somebody has it," he said, "and there will be more murder! Oh, my
God, Leslie!"
"When you went back after the alarm, did you count the men?"
"No; Oleson said no one had come forward. They could not have
passed without his seeing them. He has the binnacle lantern and
two other lights."
"And no one came from the after house?"
"No one."
Eight bells rang out sharply. The watch changed. I took the
revolver and Burns's position at the companionway, while Burns went
aft. He lined up the men by the binnacle light, and went over them
carefully. The marlinespike was not found; but he took from the
cook a long meat-knife, and brought both negro and knife forward to
me. The man was almost collapsing with terror. He maintained that
he had taken the knife for self-protection, and we let him go with
a warning.
Dawn brought me an hour's sleep, the first since my awakening in
the storeroom. When I roused, Jones at the wheel had thrown an
extra blanket over me, for the morning was cool and a fine rain was
falling.
The men were scattered around in attitudes of dejection, one or two
of them leaning over the rail, watching the jolly-boat, riding easily
behind us. Jones heard me moving, and turned.
"Your friend below must be pretty bad, sir," he said. "Your
lady-love has been asking for you. I wouldn't let them wake you."
"My--what?"
He waxed apologetic at once.
"That's just my foolishness, Leslie," he said. "No disrespect to
the lady, I'm sure. If it ain't so, it ain't, and no harm done.
If it is so, why, you needn't be ashamed, boy. 'The way of a man
with a maid,' says the Book."
"You should have called me, Jones," I said sharply. "And no
nonsense of that sort with the men."
He looked hurt, but made no reply beyond touching his cap. And,
while I am mentioning that, I may speak of the changed attitude of
the men toward me from the time they put me in charge. Whether the
deference was to the office rather than the man, or whether in
placing me in authority they had merely expressed a general feeling
that I was with them rather than of them, I do not know. I am
inclined to think the former. The result, in any case, was the same.
They deferred to me whenever possible, brought large and small
issues alike to me, served me my food alone, against my protestations,
and, while navigating the ship on their own responsibility, took care
to come to me for authority for everything.