No whisper marked its passage; not a pipe-bowl glowed.  On the little steering platform stood Simon Grampierre wielding a long sweep run through a ring astern.  The ring was muffled with strips of cloth.

Simon kept the craft straight in the current, and as they approached the Company buildings, gradually edged her ashore.

The dark steamboat lay with her nose drawn up on a point of stones below the flagstaff.  Steamboat and point together caused a little backwater to form beyond, of which Simon was informed.

All he had to do was to urge the nose of his boat into it, and she grounded of herself at the spot where they had chosen to land; that is immediately below the mills.

A dozen moccasined men let themselves softly into the water, and putting their backs under the prow lifted her up a little on the stones.  Instantly, as if by the starting of a piece of machinery a chain of bags was started ashore from hand to hand.

Ambrose and Tole, who was to be engineer, climbed the bank to reconnoiter.  So far no word had been spoken.

Above, along the edge of the bank, were three small buildings in a line, close together.  That in the middle was the engine house, with the sawmill on the left and the flour mill on the right.

Ambrose and Tole made for the engine which was housed in a little structure of corrugated iron.  The door faced the sawmill.  It was an iron sliding door, fastened with hasp and padlock.

Ambrose inserted the point of a crowbar under the hasp, and the whole thing came away with a single metallic report.  If any sleeper was awakened by the sound, hearing no other sounds, he probably fell asleep again.  Anyhow no alarm was raised as yet.

Tole went back to get assistance in carrying slabs into the engine room.  The sawmill was merely an open shed, and there was an abundance of fuel in sight.

The water supply, being furnished by gravity from a tank overhead, was secure.

With the aid of his electric torch, Ambrose found the belt to run the flour mill in a corner of the engine room.  So far so good.  His instructions to Tole were simple.

“I’ll let you have one man to help you.  If they besiege us, I won’t be able to communicate with you.  Whatever happens, keep the engine going.  Store enough slabs in here to keep her going all night, then close the door, and fasten it some way.”

The flour mill was likewise built of corrugated iron.  It had two iron doors, one giving on the road, fastened with a padlock, the other on the river side, hooked from within.

Ambrose broke open the first, and throwing back the second, allowed the grain bags to be hustled inside direct from the beach.

He lit a lantern, and cloaking it within his coat, examined the machine.  His heart sank at the thought of his difficulties, supposing the next step of his plan should fail.