“I have tried not to irritate him, though my blood is boiling every time I set eyes on him. But I have been firm and decided; for he is one of those men who would be ten times worse than they are if you did not keep a stiff upper lip and give them as good as they send. Now keep quiet, mother, and don’t be alarmed at anything,” said Louis, as he left the room and closed the door behind him. The Maud had been fitted up as a passenger vessel, and her cabin was spacious enough to accommodate at least twenty persons. There was nothing new to be learned in this part of the schooner, and Louis went into the pantry from which Scoble had come out when the mate made the disturbance in the cabin. In the pantry he discovered a couple of lanterns hanging on a beam overhead. He took down one of them and lighted it with a match from the tin safe. He expected to explore some dark places in his search for his friends, and he was prepared for the emergency. He thought it must be dark between-decks since the hatches had been put on. [Illustration: “AT THE SAME MOMENT CAPTAIN RINGGOLD APPEARED AT THE OPENING WITH FELIX.” Page 62.] He opened the door leading forwards, for the captain had not locked it when he came out, and stepped into a passageway, which was as dark as Egypt ahead of him. He closed the door through which he had passed, and finding the key in the lock, he turned it. By the light of his lantern he found a door on his left, which he opened. Then he found himself in what he took to be the second cabin. There was a skylight in the deck overhead, and he left his lantern in the passage. The apartment was full of tobacco smoke, and he readily concluded that this was where the captain had passed his time before he came into the cabin. He remained there but a few minutes. Proceeding towards the forward part of the vessel, he found that his light was a necessity, and it soon enabled him to make out the lower hatchway, which he had seen before from the main deck. His first inquiry was into the strength of the padlock that held the hatch-bar in place. It was large and heavy, and the task of breaking it looked like a formidable job. He had no tools of any kind; but there was a stove in the second cabin, and he had seen a heavy poker lying by the side of it. It was but the work of a moment to procure this implement. He thrust the small end of it under the hasp, and then applied all his strength to it. Salt water is not good for iron ware, and the fixtures were rusty. A few vigorous twists with the poker drew out the staple that held the hasp, and the lock was removed. The operator made short work with the iron bar; and in less time than it takes to tell about it, he had removed one of the hatches.