"
Gary's fury was such that he laid hold of one of the cutlasses in the
rack at the foot of the mainmast, but the screech of a shot and the
crash of a splintered topsail boom, diverted his attention.
Duff, laying aside his own weapon, descended to the cabin.
"Up with you!" shouted the captain. "Lay out along the fo's'l gaff
there. Lively now!"
CHAPTER XX.
Ralph Stumbles on a Discovery.
Three nimble sailors were soon stretched along the slanting gaff of the
great foresail, a perilous and quivering berth, with nothing for the
hands to grasp but the shivering leech and shivered boom of the
topsail. The crippled boom was soon lashed with pieces of spun yarn,
and the damage thus temporarily repaired.
Ralph, after a comfortable meal in the galley for himself and Ben, was
attracted to the grating over the main hatch by the strange noises that
issued thence. Shading his eyes from the light, he peered below, and
through the semi-darkness saw a sight that made him heartsick and
disgusted. More than ever he wished that he had never gone on this
luckless cruise.
The main hold was a place, perhaps sixty feet long by less than
twenty-five wide. Into this "black hole," where the upright space
between decks was less than seven feet, were crowded one hundred and
seventy naked creatures, like hogs in a stock car.
They could not lie down unless a portion stood up to make room, neither
could all remain seated except by drawing up their limbs in cramping
and painful postures.
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