It required my utmost effort to accomplish this, yet I succeeded in sliding the heavy covering back inch by inch, until it fell finally into place.  I was glad to have the thing hidden, to escape the stare of those fixed eyes, the death smile of those red lips.  It was no longer a reality, but a dream of delirium; I dare not think, or speculate—­my only desire being to get away, to get Dorothy away.  My eyes swept about through the confusing shadows, half expecting to be confronted by other ghosts of the past, but all they encountered were the indistinct outlines of casks and boxes, and the hideous hairy figure of the ape, outstretched upon the deck.  The candle fluttered in the girl’s shaking hand, the yellow glare forming weird reflections, ugly shapes along the wall.  God! what if it should go out, leaving us lost and groping about in this chamber of horrors?  In absolute terror I drew her with me to the open door—­then stopped, paralyzed; the half revealed figure of a man appeared on the cabin stairs.

“Stop! who are you?”

“Watkins, sir.  I came below to call you.  There’s sumthin’ bloomin’ odd takin’ place out there in the fog, Captain Carlyle.  We want yer on deck, sir, right away.”

CHAPTER XXXI

THE BOAT ATTACK

He waited for us just without the companion, but my eyes caught nothing unusual as I emerged into the daylight.  I could barely see amidships, but thus far the deck was clear, and on either side hung the impenetrable bank of cloud, leaving sea and sky invisible.  Simmes was at the wheel, with no other member of the crew in sight.

“What is it, Watkins?  Where are the men?”

“Forrard, sir, a hangin’ over the starboard rail.  Thar’s somethin’ cursedly strange a happenin’ in that damn fog.  Harwood was the first ter hear the clatter ov en oar slippin’ in a rowlock.  I thought the feller wus crazy, till I heerd sumthin’ also, an’ then, sir, while we wus still a listenin’ we both caught sound ov a Spanish oath, spoke as plain as if the buck was aboard.”

“You saw nothing?”

“Not so much as a shadder, sir.”

“A lost boat, likely—­ship-wrecked sailors adrift in the fog; perhaps our other quarter-boat.  No one hailed them?”

“No, sir; I told the men ter keep still till I called you.  It might be a cuttin’-out party; this ain’t no coast fer any honest sailors ter be huggin’ up to, an’ I didn’t like that feller talkin’ Spanish.”

“But if their purpose is to take us by surprise,” I said, “they’d be more cautious about it.”

“Maybe they didn’t know how near they was.  ’Tain’t likely they kin see us much better ’n we kin see them.  The sea’s got an ugly swell to it, an’ the feller likely cussed afore he thought.  Enyhow it wa’ n’t my place ter hail ’em.”

“All right; where are they?”

“Straight off the starboard quarter, sir.”