<h2 id="id01538" style="margin-top: 4em">CHAPTER 27</h2>
<p id="id01539" style="margin-top: 2em">But McTee wrenched his arms away and fled out on the deck. He blundered
into Jerry Hovey, who started back at sight of him.</p>
<p id="id01540">"What's happened, sir?" asked the bos'n. "Been seein' ghosts?"</p>
<p id="id01541">"Damn you," growled McTee, "I had a nap and a bad dream—a hell of a
nightmare."</p>
<p id="id01542">"You look it! You heard what Harrigan said? Does that sound as if I had
enough backing?"</p>
<p id="id01543">"If the rest of them are as strong for it as Harrigan, it does."</p>
<p id="id01544">"As strong for it as Harrigan? Between you and me—just a whisper in
your ear—I don't think Harrigan is half as strong for it as he talks.
I don't trust him, somehow."</p>
<p id="id01545">"No?"</p>
<p id="id01546">"Look here," said the bos'n cautiously. "We hear there was once some
trouble between you and Harrigan?"</p>
<p id="id01547">"Well?"</p>
<p id="id01548">"Would you waste much tune if somethin' was to happen to him—say in
the middle of the night, silent and unexpected?"</p>
<p id="id01549">"I would not! Take him by the foot and heave him into the sea. Very
good idea, Hovey. Is he getting the eyes of the lads too much?"</p>
<p id="id01550">Hovey fenced: "He's a landlubber, and he don't understand sea things.<br/>
He's better out of the way."<br/></p>
<p id="id01551">"How'll you do it?" asked McTee softly. "Speak out, Hovey. Would you
try your own hand on Harrigan?"</p>
<p id="id01552">"Not me! I know a better way. There's one that's in the mutiny who has
a hand as strong as mine—almost—and a foot as silent as the paw of a
cat. I'll give him the tip."</p>
<p id="id01553">"And now for the details of the attack," said McTee, anxious not to lay
too much stress upon the destruction of Harrigan.</p>
<p id="id01554">"Here it is," answered Hovey, and entered into an elaborate description
of all their plans. McTee listened with faraway eyes. He heard the
words, but he was thinking of the death of Harrigan.</p>
<p id="id01555">That invincible Irishman, after his talk with Hovey in front of the
cabin of Kate, returned to the cool room of the chief engineer. The
worthy Campbell, in wait for the ultimatum of White Henshaw, had been
fortifying himself steadily with liquor, and by the middle of the
afternoon he had reached a state in which he had no care for
consequences; he would have defied all the powers upon earth and beyond
it.</p>
<p id="id01556">The next morning, as he went up to his usual task of scrubbing the
bridge, Harrigan thought he perceived a possible reason why his
persecution was being neglected. It was the picture of McTee and Kate
Malone leaning at the rail. McTee was content. There was no doubt of
that. He leaned above Kate and talked seriously down into her face.
Harrigan was mightily tempted to turn about and climb to the bridge
from the other side of the deck, but he made himself march on and begin
whistling a tune.</p>
<p id="id01557">McTee raised his head instantly, and, staring at the Irishman, he
murmured a word to Kate, and she turned and regarded Harrigan with an
almost painful curiosity. He was about to swagger past her when she
shook off the detaining hand of McTee and ran to the Irishman.</p>
<p id="id01558">"Dan," she said eagerly, and laid a hand on his arm.</p>
<p id="id01559">"Come back, Kate," growled McTee. "You've promised me not to speak—"</p>
<p id="id01560">"Did you promise him not to speak with me again?" broke in Harrigan.</p>
<p id="id01561">"I only meant—" she began.</p>
<p id="id01562">"It's little I care what you meant," said the Irishman coldly, and he
shook off her hand. "Go play with McTee. I want none of ye! After I've
slaved for ye an' saved ye from God knows what, ye dare to turn and
make them eyes cold and distant when ye look at me? Ah-h, get back to
McTee! I'm through with ye!"</p>
<p id="id01563">She only insisted the more: "I <i>will</i> speak to you, Dan!"</p>
<p id="id01564">"Come away, Kate," urged McTee, grinding his teeth. "Doesn't this prove
what I told you?"</p>
<p id="id01565">"I don't care what it proves," she said hotly. "Dan, I've been thinking
grisly things of you. I simply can't believe them now that I look you
in the face."</p>
<p id="id01566">"Whisht!" said Harrigan, and his face was black. "Have you the right to
doubt me?"</p>
<p id="id01567">She answered sadly: "I have, Dan."</p>
<p id="id01568">The Irishman turned slowly away and started up for the bridge without
answer. As he went, he groaned beneath his breath: "Ochone! Ochone!
She's heard!"</p>
<p id="id01569">He could not dream how she knew of the mutiny, but if it was carried
through, he was damned in her eyes forever. What she guessed McTee must
know. What McTee knew must be familiar to White Henshaw, yet Henshaw
could not know, for if he did, the ring-leaders would be instantly
clapped into irons. Once or twice he looked down from his work to Kate
and McTee. They still leaned at the rail, talking seriously.</p>
<p id="id01570">And McTee was saying: "I have learned what I want to know. Every detail
of the plot is in my hands. Now I am going to the cabin of White
Henshaw and tell him everything. It's the simplest way. And you've
started a suspicion in the mind of Harrigan. He'll spread the word to
the rest of the mutineers, and they'll be on their watch against us."</p>
<p id="id01571">She made a little gesture of appeal. "I couldn't help speaking to him,
Angus. Suspecting him of such a thing is like—is like suspecting
myself!"</p>
<p id="id01572">"Let it go. It's done. Now I'm going up to see White Henshaw. The old
man will be crazy when he hears it."</p>
<p id="id01573">He found the captain giving some orders to Salvain, and waited until
they were alone. Then he said: "There are about ten of us against the
rest of the crew of the ship. Can we hold them in case of a mutiny?"</p>
<p id="id01574">He had planned this laconic statement carefully, expecting to see<br/>
Henshaw turn pale and stammer in terror. Instead, the captain regarded<br/>
McTee with quietly contemplative eyes.<br/></p>
<p id="id01575">"So," he murmured, "you've heard of the mutiny?"</p>
<p id="id01576">The tables were completely turned on the Scotchman. He gasped: "You
have known all the time?"</p>
<p id="id01577">"Certainly," said Henshaw; "I even know every word that Hovey said to
you."</p>
<p id="id01578">McTee turned crimson.</p>
<p id="id01579">"I have eyes that see everything on the ship," went on Henshaw, as if
he wished to cover the embarrassment of the Scotchman, "and I have ears
which hear everything. I have lines of information tangled through the
forecastle. I can almost guess what they are about to think, let alone
what they will speak or do. The blockheads are always planning a
mutiny, though I confess none of them have ever taken the proportions
of this one. However, this will go the way of the rest."</p>
<p id="id01580">"The way of the rest?" queried McTee almost stupidly.</p>
<p id="id01581">"Yes. They plan to hold their action till we're close to the land.
About that time I'll call up one or two of the ring-leaders and tell
them just what they have planned to do. That'll make them think I have
unknown means of meeting the mutiny. It will die."</p>
<p id="id01582">McTee sat down, loosened his shirt at the throat, and gaped upon<br/>
Henshaw as a child might gape upon a magician.<br/></p>
<p id="id01583">"I don't blame you for taking a day to think over the temptation,"
smiled the old buccaneer. "The gold I showed you would have tempted any
man. But I'm glad you came to me. I expected you last night. It took
you a little longer to settle the details in your mind, eh?"</p>
<p id="id01584">"Henshaw, I feel like a yellow dog!"</p>
<p id="id01585">"Come! Come! You're a man after my own heart. You took the temptation
in your hand—you looked it over—and then you turned away from it.
Well, and suppose the mutiny should actually come to the breaking
point; they would be right in thinking I have means of fighting them. I
have no firearms on the ship; they know that. They don't know that I
have these."</p>
<p id="id01586">He went into the next room and returned carrying a heavy box. This he
placed on the desk and took a small, heavy ball of metal from it.</p>
<p id="id01587">"A bomb?" queried McTee.</p>
<p id="id01588">"It is. The moment a group gathers, one of these tossed among them will
end the mutiny the moment it begins."</p>
<p id="id01589">McTee handed back the bomb in silence. There was something about this
cold-blooded way of speaking of death which was not cruelty—it was
something greater—it was an absolute disregard of life.</p>
<p id="id01590">"Of course," said Henshaw, as he came back from depositing the box in
the next room, "there are only half a dozen of those bombs, but that
will be enough. The explosion of a couple of them would just about
wreck the deck. However, the mutiny will never reach the point of
action. I'll see to that. What always ties the hands of the crew is
that it lacks real leaders. Hovey, for instance, will turn to water
when I say three words about the mutiny to him."</p>
<p id="id01591">"But Harrigan," said McTee quietly, "will not."</p>
<p id="id01592">"The Irishman!" Henshaw muttered. "I forgot. McTee, I'm getting old!"</p>
<p id="id01593">"Only careless," answered the other, "but it's a bad thing to be
careless where Harrigan is concerned. A man like that, Henshaw, could
lead your mutineers, and lead them well. Hovey told me that every one
of the crew looks up to the Irishman."</p>
<p id="id01594">"He's got to be crippled—or put out of the way," stated Henshaw
calmly. "I was a fool. I forgot about Harrigan."</p>
<p id="id01595">"It may be," said McTee, "that he'll be put out of the way tonight."</p>
<p id="id01596">"McTee, I begin to see that you have brains."</p>
<p id="id01597">The latter waved the sinister compliment aside.</p>
<p id="id01598">"Suppose the little—er—experiment fails? Doesn't it occur to you that
that message might be written out and sent to Campbell?"</p>
<p id="id01599">The captain changed color, and his eyes shifted.</p>
<p id="id01600">"I've told you—" he began.</p>
<p id="id01601">"Nonsense," said McTee. "I'll write the thing, if you want, and all
you'll have to do is to sign it."</p>
<p id="id01602">"Would that make any difference?" asked Henshaw wistfully.</p>
<p id="id01603">"Of course," said McTee. "Here we go. You've got to do something to
tame Harrigan, captain, or there'll be the deuce to pay."</p>
<p id="id01604">And as he spoke, he picked up pen and paper and began to write, Henshaw
in the meantime walking to the door in an agony of apprehension as if
he expected to see the dreaded figure of Sloan appear. McTee wrote:</p>
<p id="id01605">_From Captain Henshaw to Chief Engineer Douglas Campbell</p>
<p id="id01606">Sir:</p>
<p id="id01607">On the receipt of this order, you will at once place Daniel Harrigan at
work passing coal, beginning this day with a double shift, and
continuing hereafter one shift a day.</p>
<p id="id01608">(Signed)_</p>
<p id="id01609">"Here you are, captain," he called, and Henshaw turned reluctantly from
the door and sat down at the table.</p>
<p id="id01610">"Bad luck's in it," he muttered, "but something has to be done—
something has to be done!"</p>
<p id="id01611">He wrote: "Captain Hensh—" but at this point the voice of Sloan spoke
from the open door.</p>
<p id="id01612">"A message, captain."</p>
<p id="id01613">With a choked cry Henshaw whirled and rose, supporting himself against
the edge of the table with both trembling hands. His accusing eyes were
on McTee.</p>
<p id="id01614">"Sloan!" he called in his hoarse whisper at last, but still
his damning gaze held hard upon McTee.</p>
<p id="id01615">The wireless operator advanced a step at a time into the room, placed
the written message on the edge of the table, and then sprang back as
if in mortal fear. Henshaw, still keeping his glance upon the Scotchman
with a terrible earnestness, picked up the sheet of paper on which he
had been signing his name, and tore it slowly, methodically, into small
strips. As the last of the small fragments fluttered to the floor, his
hand went out to the message Sloan had brought and drew it to his side.
He waved his arm in a sweeping gesture that commanded the other two
from his presence, and they slipped from the cabin without a word.</p>
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