“How much of a crew have I?” asked Frank.
“There’s just an even dozen of us on board. There will be ten to do the work.”
“You will be surprised to learn one thing, Frank,” said Archie. “There are four of our own men aboard, and three of them came of their own free will, too. More than that, they helped Fowler and Waters carry out their plan of seizing the vessel.”
Archie called over the names of the men, and Frank, astonished beyond measure to learn that any of the Stranger’s crew could be so disloyal, dropped into the nearest chair without speaking. “I suppose you offered them a share of the money you expect to find in the safe, didn’t you?” said he, at length, addressing himself to Fowler.
“All’s fair in war,” replied the consul’s clerk.
“The doctor, who is one of the four, is not in the plot,” continued Archie. “He was aboard when these men surprised and captured the vessel, and Waters wouldn’t let him go ashore.”
“Of course not,” said the convict. “We ain’t going to starve. There’s plenty of good grub on board, and we need a cook to serve it up in shape. Mind you now, captain, no fooling with these men. We won’t stand that.”
“You need not borrow any trouble on that score,” answered Frank, hastily. “I shall not speak to them if I can avoid it. I want nothing to do with such people.”
“We couldn’t help it,” said Waters. “We couldn’t undertake so long a voyage with a crew of landsmen, for we needed somebody to steer the vessel and go aloft. These men wanted money, and were ready to join with us, so we took them. If you’re satisfied with everything, captain, you might as well go on deck and take charge.”
“Of course I am not satisfied,” answered Frank, “but I don’t see that anything better can be done under the circumstances. What shall I do if my crew refuse to obey my orders?”
“Oh, they’ll obey your orders. Just show me the man that don’t start when he’s spoke to, and I’ll show you somebody who will hurt himself against these bones,” said Waters, doubling up his huge fist and flourishing it above his head. “I ain’t a sailor, but I’m a bully overseer, and I’ll keep the men straight, I bet you. Me and Bob, one of us, will be on deck all the time, to see that things go on smooth and easy, like they had oughter do. We are working for liberty, mind you, and we can’t have no foolishness from nobody. Everything depends on you, captain, and it may comfort you to know that we’ll have our eyes on you night and day. You can’t make a move that we won’t see.”