The boys were keen for going ashore and gathering in the victims of the ammonium nitrate compound. But Captain Andrews vetoed the proposal as impossible. “There’s hardly a foot of water in shore there,” he said, “it’s a case of ‘keep in de middle ob de road’ in this river.” Dinner was eaten at one o’clock. Jack “spelling” Captain Andrews at the wheel while the skipper partook of a hearty meal, after which he indulged in a nap while Tom, in his turn, relieved Jack. The latter was still below enjoying Jupe’s cookery, when there came a sudden hail from above: “Say, Jack, hurry up on deck, won’t you? There’s something odd about the water just ahead of us.” Ned it was who uttered the summons, poking his head down the companion way. Jack finished his meal in a jiffy, and was on deck in another two seconds. He found the _Vagrant’s_ nose still pointed up stream, but Tom, using the bridge controls, had slowed down the engines till the craft was almost stationary in the swift current. Right ahead of them lay the cause of Jack’s abrupt summons to the deck. A chain, composed of huge iron links, was stretched from bank to bank of the river, effectually barring further progress. CHAPTER XIII—A DARING PLAN “Well,” said Jack, after a moment spent in surveying the obstruction, “we might have expected something like that. The question is, what are we going to do?” “We might land and remove it,” hazarded Ned. But Jack shook his head. “Jupe, go below and call Captain Andrews,” he said, in as calm a voice as he could muster. “We won’t risk landing and trying to lower the chain for two reasons. One is, that Herrera, having been cunning enough to put up the barrier, is not likely to have left it unguarded. There may be hidden eyes watching us right now. The second reason is, that it has just occurred to me that a man who is playing the game he is, may have placed other more dangerous obstacles in our path.” “For instance?” came from Tom. “For instance,—mines.” “By the holy poker! That’s so,” exclaimed Ned, “I guess we’d better turn back and make our advance by land.” “Here’s Captain Andrews now,” struck in Tom, as the skipper of the _Sea King_ came on deck, hastily adjusting his white pith helmet. There was no need to tell that veteran seaman what had happened. He took in the situation at a glance. “It would have been funny if we hadn’t run up against something like this,” he remarked, almost in Jack’s words. “The point is,—what now?” said Tom. Captain Andrews agreed with Jack that it would be a foolish risk to land and try to remove the chain. “I’ve quite a notion that there are some rifles in that brush, all ready for use in case we try to proceed,” he said reflectively, “my advice is to drop back down stream and hold a council of war.”