From the door of the shed to the end of the passage was a distance of some forty yards and a carriage was to be in full view; but this was to be one provided by Barosa and intended for the escape of those in the plot who would not be needed after the attempt had been carried out. The king’s carriage, sent from the Palace, was to wait at a spot fifty yards in the other direction. Except the two servants with Barosa’s carriage, not a man was to show himself in the path between the shed door and the carriage, lest the king’s suspicions should be roused. The coachman was to signal with his whip when the king appeared, and then to make it appear that the horses were restive and to back them past the corner of the building on the left hand of the narrow passage. Round this corner the conspirators were to wait and when the king reached it, a cloak was to be thrown over his head and he was to be gagged and hurried through an adjoining shed to some water steps where the launch would be waiting to rush him to the _Rampallo_, where a cabin had been specially prepared for him. The yacht was to make at full steam for Oporto, where he was to be delivered over to the revolutionary party there and forced, under threat of assassination, to abdicate in favour of Dom Miguel. After Barosa had finished his explanation, a long discussion followed on many of the details. The scheme was hailed with approval, but the tone of the speakers convinced me that, while ready to take part in an abduction plot, they were against assassination, and Barosa had to give very specific assurances that nothing of the sort would be attempted. Presently the talk turned upon the arrangements made to protect themselves and their friends when the trouble came after the abduction; and as it was not very material for me to learn that, I crept away to the bow, lowered myself noiselessly into the water, flashed my torchlamp as a signal to Burroughs, and struck out to meet him. “You’ve given me the fright of my life, Ralph,” he said when I had clambered into the _Firefly_. “I heard their launch come out, and saw a light moving about the deck and didn’t know what the deuce to do.” “It’s all right, Jack. Get back to the _Stella_. I’m cold to the bones, but I’ve heard enough to keep my blood from stagnating.” “Here’s my flask. Take a pull.” I gulped down a couple of mouthfuls of whisky, and as soon as I was on board and had had a hot bath, a vigorous towelling, and some grog, I was ready to talk things over with him. I told him everything I had overheard. “And now the question is what I’m to do.” “It’s as simple as falling off a tree. Slip off to the quay and bring off a party of police and take ’em on the yacht.” “Yes, and get the only woman in the world I care for arrested for conspiracy in a plot to abduct the king.” “You could make her safety a condition.”