Every minute might mean life or death; the work must be accomplished now, if ever.  The Seminole was evidently deserted, the boat containing the fleeing crew already far enough away to be beyond sound of any noise he might make.  He already felt the wallowing of the deck beneath his feet, a dead, dull feeling, evidence enough that the deserted vessel was slowly, but surely going down.  The condition could not last long; faster and faster the water would seep into her hold, until suddenly, without warning, perhaps, she must go down like a stone.

All these thoughts flashed across his mind almost in an instant; there was no hesitancy, no waste of time.  His eager eyes searched the narrow confines of the stateroom for some possible weapon with which to assail the door.  The stout stool alone seemed available.  Swinging this over his shoulder, hampered by the narrowness of space, he struck again and again, with all his strength, the upper panel splintering beneath the third crashing blow.  He could see nothing, but felt with his fingers along the jagged ends of the shattered wood, and redoubled his efforts, striking wildly, but with effect, until suddenly the lock gave, and the door burst open.  He was in the main cabin, which was unlit and deserted.  Standing there confused in the grim silence, unable for the instant to determine how to advance in the dark, he could hear the rapid beating of his own heart, and the continuous lap of waves outside.  God! how sodden the deck felt under foot; what a sickening swell hurled the craft, and such stillness!  If the girl was aboard why did she not cry out?  Surely she must have heard that noise, the rain of blows, the crunch of wood.

He stood, crouched, listening intently for something to guide him in the right direction.  And yet, even if Natalie had heard, what reason would the girl have to suspect the truth?  Likely enough she was sound asleep, completely worn out, and with no knowledge of what had occurred on board.  It was only the sound of that voice speaking loudly in the boat alongside which had aroused him.  She had no reason to suspect desertion, no occasion to believe any other prisoner than herself was aboard.  The noise of crashing wood, even if it awoke her, would have no special meaning to her mind, only perhaps to add to her terror.  He must act alone; there was no other way.  If he could only have a light of some kind, and not be compelled to grope blindly about in that intense darkness.

He stepped cautiously forward, with hands outstretched, swaying to the sudden roll of the sinking hulk underneath his feet.  He struck a piece of furniture, a bench bolted to the deck, and then his groping fingers came in sudden contact with the cabin wall, which he followed, circling to the left.  In this manner he succeeded in finally locating the door opening out on to the deck, and had grasped the knob, when a deep moan from the black void behind caused him to become suddenly erect, his heart beating like a trip-hammer.  No other sound followed, no repetition, and yet there could be no mistaking what he had heard.  It was a groan, a human groan, emanating from a spot but a few feet away.  He took a single step in that direction; then hesitated, fearful of some trap; in the silence as he stood there poised, he could faintly distinguish the sound of some one breathing unnaturally.