The Dark Star

These he laid on the bed in a row beside the tied man; and Golden

Beard, still facing Ilse Dumont, turned his head to look.

The instant his head was turned the girl snatched a pistol from the

brace of weapons on the washstand and thrust it under her cloak.

Neither Golden Beard nor Ali Baba noticed the incident; the latter was

busy connecting the three cylinders with coils of wire; the former,

deeply interested, followed the operation for a moment or two, then

walking over to the trunk, he lifted from it a curious little clock

with two dials and set it on the railed shelf of glass above the

washstand.

"Karl, haf you ship's time?"

Ali Baba paused to fish out his watch, and the two compared

timepieces. Then Golden Beard wound the clock, set the hands of one

dial at the time indicated by their watches; set the hands of the

other dial at 2:13; and Ali Baba, carrying a reel of copper wire from

the bed to the washstand, fastened one end of it to the mechanism of

the clock.

Golden Beard turned sharply on Ilse Dumont: "I said go on deck! Did you not understand?"

The girl replied steadily: "I understood that we had abandoned this idea for a better one."

"There iss no better one!"

"There is! Of what advantage would it be to blow up the captain's

cabin and the bridge when it is not certain that the papers will be

destroyed?"

"Listen once!" returned Golden Beard, wagging his finger in her face: "Cabin and bridge are directly above us and there remains not a

splinter large like a pin! I know. I know my bombs! I know----"

The soft voice of Ali Baba interrupted, and his shallow, lightish eyes

peered around at them: "Eet ees veree excellent plan, Johann. We do not require these papers;

eet ees to destroy them we are mooch anxious"--he bent a deathly stare

on Neeland--"and this yoong gentleman who may again annoy us." He

nodded confidently to himself and continued to connect the wires.

"Yes, yes," he murmured absently, "eet ees veree good plan--veree good

plan to blow him into leetle pieces so beeg as a pin."

"It is a clumsy plan!" said the girl, desperately. "There is no need

for wanton killing like this, when we can----"

"Killing?" repeated Golden Beard. "That makes nothing. This English

captain he iss of the naval reserve. Und this young man"--nodding

coolly toward Neeland--"knows too much already. That iss not wanton

killing. Also! You talk too much. Do you hear? We are due to drop

anchor about 2:30. God knows there will be enough rushing to and fro

at 2:13.

"Go on deck, I say, and fasten that rope ladder! Weishelm's fishing

smack will be watching; und if we do not swim for it we are caught

on board! Und that iss the end of it all for us!"