If the rope snapped when it was taut, those
on board would feel the spring of it, and I should be without doubt
discovered before I could sever the other: whereas, if the
severance was made when the rope was slack, there would be no
shock, and the men would be aware of nothing until the vessel swung
round on the tide. I so timed my knife work, therefore, that the
last strand was cut through when the bow was dipping. The moment it
was done I sank down to the water level, and after waiting a moment
to see in what direction the vessel would swing, I went wholly
under, and swam along in the opposite direction towards the stern,
keeping as close to the hull as was safe.
When I came up for breath, I heard a great uproar on board. The
crew were flocking to the bows to see what had happened to the
anchor. Meanwhile with a few more strokes I reached the other rope,
and was hacking away at it steadily when I heard one cry out that
the cable was cut, and immediately afterwards the voice of Vetch as
he rushed out of the roundhouse. I felt pretty secure in the
darkness under the stern sheets, but the strain upon the cable here
was much greater now that the other was gone, and when I cut it
through the vessel gave a jump, I heard oaths and a great scurry of
feet on deck and some one let down a flare to discover the
perpetrator of the mischief.
You may be sure I dived under water as quickly as might be, but not
before I was descried, and my head had barely disappeared when a
heavy object fell with a great splash within a few inches of it.
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