Chapter 15: The Battle Of Pola.
The squadron, consisting of four galleys, sailed for Cyprus; wherePisani had just endeavoured, without success, to expel the Genoese fromFamagosta. It was towards the end of August that they effected ajunction with his fleet. Pisani received Francis with great warmth,and, in the presence of many officers, remarked that he was glad to seethat the republic was, at last, appointing men for their merits, andnot, as heretofore, allowing family connection and influence to be thechief passport to their favour.
For two months the fleet sailed among the islands of the Levant, andalong the shores of Greece, Istria, and Dalmatia; hoping to find theGenoese fleet, but altogether without success. In November, when theywere on the coast of Istria, winter set in with extraordinary severity,and the frost was intense. Pisani wrote to his government askingpermission to bring the fleet into Venice until the spring. Theseignory, however, refused his request, for they feared that, were itknown that their fleet had come into port for the winter, the Genoesewould take advantage of its absence to seize upon some of the islandsbelonging to Venice, and to induce the inhabitants of the cities ofIstria and Dalmatia, always ready for revolt, to declare against her.
The first indications of the winter were more than verified. The coldwas altogether extraordinary; and out of the nineteen galleys ofPisani, only six were fit to take the sea, with their full complementof men, when the spring of 1379 began. Many of the vessels had beendisabled by storms. Numbers of the men had died, more had been senthome invalided, and it was only by transferring the men from the othervessels to the six in the best condition, that the crews of the latterwere made up to their full strength.
As soon as the terrible frost broke, Pisani received a reinforcement oftwelve ships from Venice, these being, for the most part, built andequipped at the cost of his personal friends, Polani having contributedtwo of the number. With the eighteen sail, Pisani put to sea toprosecute a fresh search for the Genoese admiral, Doria, and his fleet.
The Pluto was one of the six vessels which remained in good conditionat the end of the winter, thanks, in no small degree, to the energy andcare which Francis had bestowed in looking after the welfare of thecrew. In the most bitter weather, he had himself landed with the boats,to see that firewood was cut and brought off in abundance, not only forthe officers' cabins, but to warm that portion of the ship inhabited bythe men. Knowing that Polani would not grudge any sum which might berequired, he obtained from his agents ample supplies of warm clothingand bedding for the men, occupying himself incessantly for theirwelfare, while the captain and other officers passed their time intheir warm and comfortable cabins. Francis induced Matteo, and severalof his comrades, to brave the weather as he did, and to exertthemselves for the benefit of the men; and the consequence was, thatwhile but few of the other ships retained enough men to raise theirsails in case of emergency, the strength of the crew of the Pluto wasscarcely impaired at the termination of the winter.
The admiral, on paying a visit of inspection to the ship, was greatlystruck with the contrast which the appearance of the crew afforded tothat of the other galleys, and warmly complimented the commander on thecondition of his men. The captain received the praise as if it wasentirely due to himself, and said not a single word of the share whichFrancis had had in bringing it about. Matteo was most indignant at thisinjustice towards his friend, and managed that, through a relativeserving in the admiral's own ship, a true report of the case shouldcome to Pisani's ears.
Francis was in no way troubled at the captain's appropriation of thepraise due to himself. There had not, from the time he sailed, been anycordiality between Francis and the other officers. These had beenselected for the position solely from family influence, and none ofthem were acquainted with the working of a ship.
In those days, not only in Venice but in other countries, naval battleswere fought by soldiers rather than sailors. Nobles and knights, withtheir retainers, embarked on board a ship for the purpose of fighting,and of fighting only, the management of the vessel being carried onentirely by sailors under their own officers. Thus, neither thecommander of the force on board the galley, nor any of his officers,with the exception of Francis, knew anything whatever about themanagement of the ship, nor were capable of giving orders to the crew.Among the latter were some who had sailed with Francis in his first twovoyages, and these gave so excellent a report of him to the rest, thatthey were from the first ready to obey his orders as promptly as thoseof their own sub-officer.
Francis concerned himself but little with the ill will that was shownhim by the officers. He knew that it arose from jealousy, not only ofthe promotion he, a foreigner and a junior in years, had received overthem, but of the fact that he had already received the thanks of therepublic for the services he had rendered, and stood high in the favourof the admiral, who never lost an opportunity of showing the interesthe had in him. Had the hostility shown itself in any offensive degreeFrancis would at once have resented it; but Matteo, and some of thoseon board, who had been his comrades in the fencing rooms, had givensuch reports of his powers with his weapons, that even those mostopposed to him thought it prudent to observe a demeanour of outwardpoliteness towards him.
For three months the search for the Genoese fleet was ineffectual. Atrip had been made along the coast of Apulia, and the fleet hadreturned to Pola with a large convoy of merchant ships loaded withgrain, when on the 7th of May Doria appeared off the port, withtwenty-five sail.
But Pisani was now by no means anxious to fight. Zeno was away with aportion of the fleet, and although he had received reinforcements, henumbered but twenty-one vessels, and a number of his men were laid upwith sickness. The admiral, however, was not free to follow out thedictates of his own opinions. The Venetians had a mischievous habit,which was afterwards adopted by the French republic, of fettering theircommanders by sea and land by appointing civilian commissioners, or, asthey were termed in Venice, proveditors, who had power to overrule thenominal commander. When, therefore, Pisani assembled a council of war,and informed them of his reasons for wishing to remain on the defensiveuntil the return of Zeno, he was overruled by the proveditors, who notonly announced themselves unanimously in favour of battle, but sneeredat Pisani's prudence as being the result of cowardice. Pisani in hisindignation drew his sword, and would have attacked the proveditors onthe spot, had he not been restrained by his captains.
However, the council decided upon instant battle, and Pisani wasforced, by the rules of the service, at once to carry their decisioninto effect. Ascending the poop of his galley, he addressed in a loudvoice the crews of the ships gathered around him.
"Remember, my brethren, that those who will now face you, are the samewhom you vanquished with so much glory on the Roman shore. Do not letthe name of Luciano Doria terrify you. It is not the names ofcommanders that will decide the conflict, but Venetian hearts andVenetian hands. Let him that loves Saint Mark follow me."
The men received the address with a shout, and as soon as thecommanders had regained their galleys, the fleet moved out to attackthe enemy. The fight was a furious one, each vessel singling out anopponent and engaging her hand to hand.
Carlo Bottini was killed early in the fight, and Francis succeeded tothe command. His galley had grappled with one of the largest of theGenoese vessels, and a desperate conflict went on. Sometimes theVenetians gained a footing on the deck of the Genoese, sometimes theywere driven back, and the Genoese in turn poured on board, but nodecisive advantage was gained on either side after an hour's fighting.The Genoese crew was numerically much stronger than that of the Pluto,and although Francis, with Matteo and his comrades, headed their menand cheered them on, they could make no impression on the ranks of theenemy.
Suddenly, the Genoese threw off the grapnels that attached the twoships, and hoisting their sails, sheered off. Francis looked round tosee the cause of this sudden manoeuvre, and perceived for the firsttime that the Genoese vessels were all in flight, with the Venetianspressi
ng closely upon them. Sails were at once hoisted, and the Plutojoined in the chase.
But the flight was a feigned one, and it was only designed to throw theVenetian rank into confusion. After sailing for two miles, the Genoesesuddenly turned, and fell upon their pursuers as they came up instraggling order.
The result was decisive. Many of the Venetian ships were capturedbefore the rest came up to take part in the battle. Others were hemmedin by numerous foes. Pisani, after fighting until he saw that all waslost, made the signal for the ships to withdraw from the conflict, andhe himself, with six galleys, succeeded in fighting his way through theenemy's fleet, and gained a refuge in the port of Parenzo.
All the rest were taken. From seven to eight hundred Venetians perishedin the fight, two thousand four hundred were taken prisoners, twelvecommanders were killed, and five captured. The Genoese losses were alsosevere, and Doria himself was among the slain, having been killed by aspear thrust by Donato Zeno, commander of one of the galleys, almost atthe moment of victory.
The Pluto had defended herself, for a long time, against the attacks ofthree of the Genoese galleys, and had repeatedly endeavoured to forceher way out of the throng, but the Genoese held her fast with theirgrapnels, and at last the greater part of her crew were driven downbelow, and Francis, seeing the uselessness of further resistance,ordered the little group, who were now completely pent in by theGenoese, to lower their weapons. All were more or less severelywounded, and were bleeding from sword cuts and thrusts.
"This is an evil day for Venice," Matteo said, as, having been deprivedof their weapons, the prisoners were thrust below. "I heard the Genoesesay that only six of our galleys have escaped, all the rest have beentaken. We were the last ship to surrender, that's a comfort anyhow."
"Now, Matteo, before you do anything else, let me bind up your wounds.You are bleeding in two or three places."
"And you are bleeding from something like a dozen, Francisco, so youhad better let me play the doctor first."
"The captain is always served last, so do as you are told, and stripoff your doublet.
"Now, gentlemen," he said, turning to the other officers, "let each ofus do what we can to dress the wounds of others. We can expect no carefrom the Genoese leeches, who will have their hands full, for a longtime to come, with their own men. There are some among us who will soonbleed to death, unless their wounds are staunched. Let us, therefore,take the most serious cases first, and so on in rotation until all havebeen attended to."
It was fortunate for them that in the hold, in which they wereconfined, there were some casks of water; for, for hours the Genoesepaid no attention whatever to their prisoners, and the wounded werebeginning to suffer agonies of thirst, when the barrels werefortunately discovered. The head of one was knocked in, and someshallow tubs, used for serving the water to the crew, filled, and themen knelt down and drank by turns from these. Many were too enfeebledby their wounds to rise, and their thirst was assuaged by dippingarticles of clothing into the water, and letting the fluid from theserun into their mouths.
It was not until next morning that the prisoners were ordered to comeon deck. Many had died during the night. Others were too weak to obeythe summons. The names of the rest were taken, and not a littlesurprise was expressed, by the Genoese officers, at the extreme youthof the officer in command of the Pluto.
"I was only the second in command," Francis said in answer to theirquestions. "Carlo Bottini was in command of the ship, but he was killedat the commencement of the fight."
"But how is it that one so young came to be second? You must belong tosome great family to have been thus pushed forward above men so muchyour senior.
"It was a wise choice nevertheless," the commander of one of thegalleys which had been engaged with the Pluto said, "for it is butjustice to own that no ship was better handled, or fought, in theVenetian fleet. They were engaged with us first, and for over an hourthey fought us on fair terms, yielding no foot of ground, although wehad far more men than they carried. I noticed this youth fightingalways in the front line with the Venetians, and marvelled at thestrength and dexterity with which he used his weapons, and afterwards,when there were three of us around him, he fought like a boarsurrounded by hounds. I am sure he is a brave youth, and well worthythe position he held, to whatsoever he owed it."
"I belong to no noble family of Venice," Francis said. "My name isFrancis Hammond, and my parents are English."
"You are not a mercenary, I trust?" the Genoese captain askedearnestly.
"I am not," Francis replied. "I am a citizen of Venice, and my name isinscribed in her books, as my comrades will vouch."
"Right glad am I that it is so," the Genoese said, "for Pietro Doria,who is now, by the death of his brother, in chief command, has orderedthat every mercenary found among the prisoners shall today be slain."
"It is a brutal order," Francis said fearlessly, "whosoever may havegiven it! A mercenary taken in fair fight has as much right to be heldfor ransom or fair exchange as any other prisoner; and if your admiralthus breaks the laws of war, there is not a free lance, from one end ofItaly to the other, but will take it up as a personal quarrel."
The Genoese frowned at the boldness with which Francis spoke, but atheart agreed in the sentiments he expressed; for among the Genoeseofficers, generally, there was a feeling that this brutal execution incold blood was an impolitic, as well as a disgraceful deed.
The officers were now placed in the fore hold of the ship, the crewbeing confined in the after hold. Soon afterwards, they knew by themotion of the vessel that sail had been put on her.
"So we are on our way to a Genoese prison, Francisco," Matteo said. "Wehad a narrow escape of it before, but this time I suppose it is ourfate."
"There is certainly no hope of rescue, Matteo. It is too early, as yet,to say whether there is any hope of escape. The prospect looked darkerwhen I was in the hands of Ruggiero, but I managed to get away. Then Iwas alone and closely guarded, now we have in the ship well nigh twohundred friends; prisoners like ourselves, it is true, but still to becounted on. Then, too, the Genoese are no doubt so elated with theirtriumph, that they are hardly likely to keep a very vigilant guard overus. Altogether, I should say that the chances are in our favour. Were Isure that the Pluto is sailing alone, I should be very confident thatwe might retake her, but probably the fifteen captured ships aresailing in company, and would at once come to the aid of their comradeshere, directly they saw any signs of a conflict going on, and we couldhardly hope to recapture the ship without making some noise over it."
"I should think not," Matteo agreed.
"Then again, Matteo, even if we find it impossible to get at the crew,and with them to recapture the ship, some chance may occur by which youand I may manage to make our escape."
"If you say so, Francisco, I at once believe it. You got us all out ofthe scrape down at Girgenti. You got Polani's daughters out of a worsescrape when they were captives on San Nicolo; and got yourself out ofthe worst scrape of all when you escaped from the grip of RuggieroMocenigo. Therefore, when you say that there is a fair chance of escapeout of this business, I look upon it as almost as good as done."
"It is a long way from that, Matteo," Francis laughed. "Still, I hopewe may manage it somehow. I have the greatest horror of a Genoeseprison, for it is notorious that they treat their prisoners of warshamefully, and I certainly do not mean to enter one, if there is theslightest chance of avoiding it. But for today, Matteo, I shall noteven begin to think about it. In the first place, my head aches withthe various thumps it has had; in the second, I feel weak from loss ofblood; and in the third, my wounds smart most amazingly."
"So do mine," Matteo agreed. "In addition, I am hungry, for the breadthey gave us this morning was not fit for dogs, although I had to eatit, as it was that or nothing."
"And now, Matteo, I shall try to get a few hours' sleep. I did notclose my eyes last night, from the pain of my wounds, but I think Imight manage to drop off now."
br /> The motion of the vessel aided the effect of the bodily weakness thatFrancis was feeling, and in spite of the pain of his wounds he soonwent off into a sound sleep. Once or twice he woke, but hearing novoices or movement, he supposed his companions were all asleep, andagain went off, until a stream of light coming in from the opening ofthe hatchway thoroughly roused him. Matteo, who was lying by his side,also woke and stretched himself, and there was a general movement amongthe ten young men who were their comrades in misfortune.
"Here is your breakfast," a voice from above the hatchway said, and abasket containing bread and a bucket of water was lowered by ropes.
"Breakfast!" Matteo said. "Why, it is not two hours since webreakfasted last."
"I suspect it is twenty-two, Matteo. We have had a very long sleep, andI feel all the better of it. Now, let us divide the liberal breakfastour captors have given us; fortunately there is just enough lightcoming down from those scuttles to enable us to do so fairly."
There was a general laugh, from his comrades, at the cheerful way inwhich Francis spoke. Only one of them had been an officer on the Pluto.The rest were, like Matteo, volunteers of good families. There was agood deal of light-hearted jesting over their meal. When it was over,Francis said:
"Now let us hold a council of war."
"You are better off than Pisani was, anyhow," one of the young mensaid, "for you are not hampered with proveditors, and anything thatyour captaincy may suggest will, you may be sure, receive our assent."
"I am your captain no longer," Francis replied. "We are all prisonersnow, and equal, and each one has a free voice and a free vote."
"Then I give my voice and vote at once, Francisco," Matteo said, "tothe proposal that you remain our captain, and that we obey you, ascheerfully and willingly as we should if you were on the poop of thePluto, instead of being in the hold. In the first place, at Carlo'sdeath you became our captain by right, so long as we remain together;and in the second place you have more experience than all of us puttogether, and a very much better head than most of us, myself included.
"Therefore, comrades, I vote that Messer Francisco Hammond be stillregarded as our captain, and obeyed as such."
There was a general chorus of assent, for the energy which Francis haddisplayed throughout the trying winter, and the manner in which he hadled the crew during the desperate fighting, had won for him the regardand the respect of them all.
"Very well, then," Francis said. "If you wish it so I will remain yourleader, but we will nevertheless hold our council of war. The questionwhich I shall first present to your consideration is, which is the bestway to set about retaking the Pluto?"
There was a burst of laughter among the young men. The matter of factway in which Francis proposed, what seemed to them an impossibility,amused them immensely.
"I am quite in earnest," Francis went on, when the laughter hadsubsided. "If it is possibly to be done, I mean to retake the Pluto,and I have very little doubt that it is possible, if we set about it inthe right way. In the first place, we may take it as absolutely certainthat we very considerably outnumber the Genoese on board. They musthave suffered in the battle almost as much as we did, and have hadnearly as many killed and wounded. In the second place, if Doriaintends to profit by his victory, he must have retained a fair amountof fighting men on board each of his galleys, and, weakened as hisforce was by the losses of the action, he can spare but a comparativelysmall force on board each of the fifteen captured galleys. I shouldthink it probable that there are not more than fifty men in charge ofthe Pluto, and we number fully three times that force. The mere factthat they let down our food to us by ropes, instead of bringing itdown, showed a consciousness of weakness."
"What you say is quite true," Paolo Parucchi, the other officer of thePluto, said; "but they are fifty well-armed men, and we are a hundredand fifty without arms, and shut down in the hold, to which must beadded the fact that we are cut off from our men, and our men from us.They are, as it were, without a head to plan, while we are without armsto strike."
A murmur of approval was heard among some of the young men.
"I do not suppose that there are no difficulties in our way," Francissaid quietly; "or that we have only, next time the hatch is opened, tosay to those above, 'Gentlemen of Genoa, we are more numerous than youare, and we therefore request you to change places with usimmediately.' All I have asserted, so far, is that we are sufficientlystrong to retake the ship, if we get the opportunity. What we have nowto settle, is how that opportunity is to come about.
"To begin with, has anyone a dagger or knife which has escaped the eyeof our searchers?"
No one replied.
"I was afraid that nothing had escaped the vigilance of those whoappropriated our belongings. As, however, we have no weapons or tools,the next thing is to see what there is, in the hold, which can beturned to account. It is fortunate we are on board the Pluto, insteadof being transferred to another ship, as we already know all about her.There are some iron bolts driven in along a beam at the farther end.They have been used, I suppose, at some time or other for hanging thecarcasses of animals from. Let us see whether there is any chance ofgetting some of them out."
The iron pegs, however, were so firmly driven into the beam, that alltheir efforts failed to move them in the slightest.
"We will give that up for the present," Francis said, "and look roundfor something more available."
But with the exception of the water casks, the closest search failed tofind anything in the hold.
"I do not know whether the iron hoops of a cask would be of any use,"Matteo said.
"Certainly they would be of use, if we get them off, Matteo."
"There is no difficulty about that," one of the others said, examiningthe casks closely. "This is an empty one, and the hoops seem quiteloose."
In a few minutes, four iron hoops were taken off the cask.
"After all," Matteo said, "they cannot be of much use. The iron is rusteaten, and they would break in our hands before going into any one."
"They would certainly be useless as daggers, Matteo, but I think thatwith care they will act as saws. Break off a length of about a foot.
"Now straighten it, and tear a piece off your doublet and wrap it roundand round one end, so that you can hold it. Now just try it on the edgeof a beam."
"It certainly cuts," Matteo announced after a trial, "but not veryfast."
"So that it cuts at all, we may be very well content," Francis saidcheerfully. "We have got a week, at least, to work in; and if the windis not favourable, we may have a month. Let us therefore break thehoops up into pieces of the right length. We must use them carefully,for we may expect to have many breakages."
"What next, captain?"
"Our object will, of course, be to cut through into the main hold,which separates us from the crew. There we shall probably find plentyof weapons. But to use our saws, we must first find a hole in thebulkhead. First of all, then, let there be a strict search made for aknothole, or any other hole through the bulkhead."
It was too dark for eyes to be of much use, but hands were run all overthe bulkhead. But no hole, however small, was discovered.
"It is clear, then," Francis said, "that the first thing to do is tocut out some of those iron bolts. Pick out those that are nearest tothe lower side of the beam, say three of them. There are twelve of us.That will give four to each bolt, and we can relieve each other everyfew minutes. Remember, it is patience that is required, and notstrength."
The work was at once begun. The young men had, by this time, fullyentered into the spirit of the attempt. The quiet and businesslike way,in which their leader set about it, convinced them that he at least hada firm belief that the work was possible; and there was a hope, even ifbut a remote one, of avoiding the dreaded dungeons of Genoa.
The work was slow, and two or three of the strips of iron were at firstbroken, by the too great eagerness of their holders; but when it wasfound that, by using them lightly,
the edges gradually cut their wayinto the wood, the work went on regularly. The Pluto had been hurriedlyconstructed, and any timbers that were available in the emergency wereutilized. Consequently much soft wood, that at other times would neverhave been found in the state dockyards, was put into her. The beam atwhich they were working was of soft timber, and a fine dust fellsteadily, as the rough iron was sawed backward and forward upon it.
Two cuts were made under each bolt, wide at the base and convergingtowards it. The saws were kept going the whole day, and although theprogress was slow, it was fast enough to encourage them; and just asthe light, that came through the scuttle, faded away; three of theyoung men hung their weight upon one of the bolts, and the wood beneathit, already almost severed, gave; and a suppressed cry of satisfactionannounced that one bolt was free.
The pieces of iron were two feet long, and were intended for some otherpurpose, but had been driven in when, on loading the ship, some strongpegs on which to hang carcasses were required. They were driven aboutthree inches into the beam, and could have been cut out with anordinary saw in two or three minutes.
"Try the others," Francis said. "As many of you get hold of them as canput your hands on."
The effort was made, and the other two bolts were got out. They hadbeen roughly sharpened at the end, and were fully an inch across.
"They do not make bad weapons," Matteo said.
"It is not as weapons that we want them, Matteo. They will be moreuseful to us than any weapons, except, indeed, a good axe. We shallwant at least three more. Therefore, I propose that we continue ourwork at once. We will divide into watches now. It will be twelve hoursbefore we get our allowance of bread again, therefore that will givethree hours' work, and nine hours' sleep to each. They will be justsetting the first watch on deck, and, as we shall hear them changed, itwill give us a good idea how the time is passing."
"I am ready to work all night, myself," Matteo said. "At first I hadnot much faith in what we were doing; but now that we have got three ofthese irons out, I am ready to go on working until I drop."
"You will find, Matteo, that your arms will ache, so that you cannothold them up, before the end of the three hours. Sawing like that, withyour arms above your head, is most fatiguing; and even the short spellsof work we have been having made my arms ache. However, each must do asmuch as he can in his three hours; and as we are working in the dark,we must work slowly and carefully, or we shall break our tools."
"Fortunately, we can get more hoops off now if we want them," Matteosaid. "With these irons we can wrench them off the sound casks, ifnecessary."
"Yes; I did not think of that, Matteo. You see we are already getting astock of tools. Another thing is, with the point of the irons we havegot off, we can wrench the wood out as fast as we saw it, and the sawswill not work so stiffly as they did before. But we must not do thattill the morning, for any sound like the breaking of wood might beheard by the watch, when everything is quiet."
Although all worked their best, they made but slight progress in thedark, and each worker was forced to take frequent rests, for thefatigue of working with their arms above their heads was excessive. Assoon, however, as the light began to steal down, and the movement abovehead told them that the crew were at work washing the decks, the pointsof the irons were used to wrench away the wood between the saw cuts;and the work then proceeded briskly, as they relieved each other everyfew minutes.
At last, to their intense satisfaction, three more irons were got out.
"If anyone had told me," one of the party said, "that a man's armscould hurt as much as mine do, from working a few hours, I should havedisbelieved him."
There was a chorus of assent, for none were accustomed to hard manuallabour, and the pain in their arms was excessive.
"Let us have half an hour's rest, Francis, before you issue your nextorders. I shall want that, at least, before I feel that I have anypower in my arms at all."
"We will have an hour's rest, Matteo, if you like. Before that timethey will be sending us down our food, and after we have breakfasted wecan set to work again."
"Breakfast!" one of the young men groaned. "I cannot call that blackbread and water breakfast. When I think of the breakfasts I have eaten,when I think of the dishes I have refused to eat, because they were notcooked to perfection, I groan over my folly in those days, and myenormous stupidity in ever volunteering to come to sea."
"I should recommend you all," Francis said, "to spend the next hour inrubbing and squeezing the muscles of your neighbours' arms andshoulders. It is the best way for taking out stiffness, and Giuseppiused to give me relief that way, when I was stiff with fencing."
The idea was adopted; and while the rest were at work in the manner hesuggested, Francis, taking one of the irons, went to the bulkhead. Oneby one he tried the planks, from the floor boards to the beams above.
"Well, captain, what is your report?" Matteo asked as he joined therest.
"My report is a most favourable one," Francis said. "By great goodluck, the planks are nailed from the other side against the beams bothabove and below."
"What difference does that make, Francisco?"
"All the difference in the world. Had they been nailed on this side,there would have been nothing for it but to carry out our originalplan--that is, to make holes through the planks with these irons, largeenough for the saws to go through, and then to saw the wood out fromhole to hole. As it is, I believe that with five minutes' work we couldwrench a plank away. We have only to push the points of the irons up,between the beams and the planks, and use them as levers. The nailswill be strong, indeed, if those irons, with two of us at each, wouldnot wrench them out."
The young men all leapt to their feet, pains and aches quite forgottenin the excitement of this unexpected news, and six of them seized holdof the irons.
"Gently!" Francis said. "You must remember, there may be people goingdown there at present, getting up stores. Before we venture to disturba plank, we must make the hole sufficiently large for us to spythrough. This will be a very easy affair, in comparison with making ahole large enough for a saw to go through. Still, you will find it willtake some time. However, we had better wait, as we agreed, till we havehad our food."