So we were glad enough to hear a noise at the hatch just as Elzevir had
done speaking, and the cover was flung off, letting in a splash of salt
water and a little dim and dusky light. But instead of the guard with
their muskets and lanterns and the tubs of broken victuals, there was
only one man, and that the jailer who had padlocked us into gangs at the
beginning of the voyage.
He bent down for a moment over the hatch, holding on to the combing to
steady himself in the sea-way, and flung a key on a chain down into the
orlop, right among us. 'Take it,' he shouted in Dutch, 'and make the most
of it. God helps the brave, and the devil takes the hindmost.'
That said, he stayed not one moment, but turned about quick and was gone.
For an instant none knew what this play portended, and there was the key
lying on the deck, and the hatch left open. Then Elzevir saw what it all
meant, and seized the key. 'John,' cries he, speaking to me in English,
'the ship is foundering, and they are giving us a chance to save our
lives, and not drown like rats in a trap.' With that he tried the key on
the padlock which held our chain, and it fitted so well that in a trice
our gang was free. Off fell the chain clanking on the floor, and nothing
left of our bonds but an iron bracelet clamped round the left wrist.
Pages:
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278