sound on board. They were waiting till the time of action arrived.

A little before midnight Uncle Prudent said, "It is time!" Under the
berths in the cabin was a sliding box, forming a small locker, and in
this locker Uncle Prudent put the dynamite and the slow-match. In
this way the match would burn without betraying itself by its smoke
or spluttering. Uncle Prudent lighted the end and pushed back the box
under the berth with "Now let us go aft, and wait."

They then went out, and were astonished not to find the steersman at
his post.

Phil Evans leant out over the rail.

"The "Albatross" is where she was," said he in a low voice. "The work
is not finished. They have not started!"

Uncle Prudent made a gesture of disappointment. "We shall have to put
out the match," said he.

"No," said Phil Evans, "we must escape!"

"Escape?"

"Yes! down the cable! Fifty yards is nothing!"

"Nothing, of course, Phil Evans, and we should be fools not to take
the chance now it has come."

But first they went back to the cabin and took away all they could