The latter he had got down, however, before he died; for, he was kneeling on his chest, as the second lieutenant pointed out to me prior to our leaving this chamber of horrors, though the villain's dagger was still sticking in the brave fellow's back. I could see this now for myself as a gleam of sunshine came down through the shattered skylight, showing up all the hideous details of the place, with the sides of the cabin and the bulkhead dividing it from the passage, as well as the deck beams overhead, all spattered with blood; albeit, the water sluicing about below had removed all traces of the sad tragedy from thence long since. "Let us go now," said Mr Jellaby, as soon as I had taken in all these sickening surroundings, leading the way out of the accursed place. "We have stopped here long enough!" "We have indeed, sir," I replied, following him up the companion, with Bill Bates bringing up the rear in silence. "But, what do you think has happened, sir?" "It's a case of mutiny first, most probably; and then, murder," said the second lieutenant, gravely, stepping over the coaming of the hatchway on to the deck of the poop as he emerged from the companion way. "We'll never know the rights of it, however, unless the doctor manages to bring round that poor chap we released from the rigging, who must have been tied up by the mutineers and thus escaped them somehow or other! I couldn't find a log-book or anything else in the cabin which would give us a scrap of information about the vessel or those belonging to her; and, all the rest of the wreck is under water--indeed, I don't think she's far off sinking." "Beg pardon, sir," observed the coxswain, interrupting him. "The ship's just sent up our recall, and she's bearing away now to pick us up to leeward when we cast off from here, sir." "Yes, my man, I see, and I notice, also, she has sent down her topgallants and taken in another reef," returned Mr Jellaby, proceeding to work his way back amidships to those we had left there, wading through the water and wreckage and tophamper strewing the waist. "The old doctor, too, looks in a precious wax and is carrying on at a grand rate about our keeping him waiting, I bet. He's jawing away now to that knowing hand of a marine of his; so the sooner we see about getting him aboard our old barquey again the better!" He could not have come to a wiser conclusion, for the wind had increased in force rapidly, even during the short interval since I had left the deck, now blowing more than half a gale; while the sea was beginning to run high, breaking over the bows of the half-submerged hulk, sending up columns of spray that wetted us where we were and almost drenching Doctor Nettleby and the corporal, who were attending to the poor Spaniard amidships, just under the lee of the mainmast.