This makes twenty-seven of them against the eleven of us. But there
are men, strong in viciousness, among them. They, too, have their
serfs and bravos. Guido Bombini and Isaac Chantz are certainly
bravos. And weaklings like Sorensen, and Jacobsen, and Bob, cannot
be anything else than slaves to the men who compose the gangster
clique.
I failed to tell what happened yesterday, after Mr. Pike emptied his
automatic and cleared the deck. The poop was indubitably ours, and
there was no possibility of the mutineers making a charge on us in
broad daylight. Margaret had gone below, accompanied by Wada, to see
to the security of the port and starboard doors that open from the
cabin directly on the main deck. These are still caulked and tight
and fastened on the inside, as they have been since the passage of
Cape Horn began.
Mr. Pike put one of the sail-makers at the wheel, and the steward,
relieved and starting below, was attracted to the port quarter, where
the patent log that towed astern was made fast. Margaret had
returned his knife to him, and he was carrying it in his hand when
his attention was attracted astern to our wake.
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