Now that all immediate danger was at an end, the marquis took the
tiller, and Rupert lifted the hatchway.
"The captain and two of the crew may come on deck if they promise
to behave well," he said.
There was a shout of laughter, and all the sailors pressed up,
eager to know how the pursuit had been shaken off. When Rupert told
them simply that he had tossed one of the water barrels into one of
the boats and staved it, the men refused to believe him; and it was
not until he took one of the carronades, weighing some five hundred
weight, from its carriage, and lifted it above his head as if to
hurl it overboard, that their doubts were changed into astonishment.
"I suppose our danger is not over, captain?" the marquis asked.
"No, we have the forts at the mouth of the river to pass, but we
shall be there before it is light. They will send off a horseman
when they get back to the town, but they will not be there for some
time, and the wind is rising fast. I hope we shall be through
before they get news of what has taken place. In any case, at the
speed we shall be going through the water in another hour or two,
no rowboat could stop us."
"I think, Captain Nicolay, it would be as well for you to keep only
as many men as you absolutely want on deck, so that you can say we
only allowed two or three up, and kept watch over you with loaded
pistols."
"It would be better, perhaps," Maitre Nicolay said.
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