"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