as soon as the hatch had been removed, and the bread and water lowered down, and they heard heavy weights again laid on the hatch, two of the party took one of the irons and began to bore a hole, while the others proceeded to eat their food. several times, the workers had to be relieved. the iron penetrated comparatively easily for a short distance, but beyond that the difficulty greatly increased; and it was fully four hours before one of the workers, applying his eye to the hole, said that he could see a gleam of light through.

in another quarter of an hour, the orifice was sufficiently enlarged to enable a view to be obtained of the central hold. it was comparatively light there, for the hatch was off, and they could see two men at work, opening a cask for some stores that were required.

"we must wait till it gets dark now," francis said. "i do not think that we shall make much noise, for the nails will be likely to draw quietly; but we had better choose the time between nightfall and the hour for the crew to turn in, as there will be a trampling of feet on deck, and talking and singing, which would prevent any slight noise we might make, being heard."

"the difficulty will be to force the ends of the iron down, between the beams and the planks, so as to give us a purchase," matteo said.

"i think we shall be able to manage that," francis replied. "the beams are put in in the rough, and if we hunt carefully, i think we shall find a plank where we can get the irons in far enough, between it and the beam, to give us a hold."

after a careful examination, they fixed upon a plank to operate upon, and, leaving one of the irons there, so that they could find it in the dark, they lay down to sleep, or sat talking until it was dark. before this, a glance, through the peephole, showed them that the hatch had been placed over the hatchway of the next hold, so that there was little fear of anyone coming down, unless something special was required.

"now i think we can begin," francis said, at last. "do you, paolo parucchi, take one of the irons, i will take another, matteo a third. we cannot possibly work more than three at the foot of a plank, though perhaps, when we have fixed them and put on the strain, two or three more hands may get at the irons; but first we will try with three, and, unless the nails have got a wonderfully firm hold, we shall certainly be able to draw them."

it took some time to fix the irons, to the best advantage, between the planks and the beam.

"are you both ready?" francis asked at last. "then pull."

as francis had anticipated, the levers did their work, and the nails yielded a little.

"it has sprung half an inch," francis said, feeling. "now you keep your irons as they are, while i thrust mine down farther. i have got a fresh hold. do you shift yours."

again the effort was made, and this time the nails drew fully two inches. another effort, and the plank was completely free at the lower end.

"now do you push against it as hard as you can," francis said, "while i get my iron in between it and the beam above."

the upper nails yielded even more easily than those below.

"no farther," francis said, when they had fairly started them, "or the plank will be falling with a crash. we must push from the bottom now, until it gives sufficiently far for you to get an iron down each side, to prevent its closing again."

"now," he said, "push the irons higher up. that is right. now i will loosen a bit farther at the top, and then you will be able to get your hands in at the bottom to steady it, and prevent its falling when the nails are quite drawn."

another effort, and the plank was free, and, being drawn in, was laid down. the delight of those who were standing in the dark, and could only judge how matters were going on from francis's low spoken orders, was extreme.

"can we get through?"

"no," francis replied. "it will be necessary to remove another plank first, but perhaps one of the slighter among you might manage to squeeze through, and hold the plank at the back. we shall be able to work with more freedom, if we know that there is no danger of its falling."

in a few minutes, the second plank was laid beside the first.

"what is to be done next?" matteo asked.

"we must establish a communication with the sailors. i will take a working party of four. paolo parucchi, with four others, will relieve me. you, matteo, will with the rest take the last spell. when we have entered the next compartment, we will put up the planks again, and press the nails in tightly enough to prevent their falling. should, by some chance, anyone descend into the hold while we are working, we shall be hidden from their view. at the other end there are a number of sacks piled up, and we shall be working behind them."

francis, and the men he had chosen, made their way to the pile of arms they had observed through their peephole, moving with great precaution, so as to avoid falling over anything. here, with some trouble, they succeeded in finding a dagger among the heap, and they then felt their way on, until they reached the pile of sacks. these were packed to within a foot of the deck beams, and there was but just room for them to crawl in at the top.

"whatever you do, do not bump against the beams," francis said. "any noise of that sort, from below, would at once excite attention. now do you be quiet, while i find a spot to begin upon."

commencing at a junction of two planks, francis began, with the dagger, to cut a hole of some three or four inches across, but tapering rapidly as it went in. after waiting for some ten minutes, he touched the man lying next to him, placed his hand on the hole he had begun, and then moved aside to allow him to continue the work.

in an hour a hole was made in a two inch plank, and this was soon enlarged until it was an inch in diameter. lying along the side of the bulkhead, so as to get his ear to the hole, francis listened, but could hear no sound within. then he put his mouth to the orifice and asked:

"are you all asleep there?"

then he listened again. some of the men were speaking, and asking each other who it was that had suddenly spoken. no one replied; and some of them gave vent to angry threats, against whoever it might be who had just disturbed them from going off to sleep.

directly the voices ceased again, francis said:

"let us have silence in there. where is rinaldo, the boatswain?"

"i am here," a voice replied; "but who is speaking? it sounds like the voice of messer hammond."

"it is my voice, rinaldo. we have worked through from the hold at the other end of the ship, having removed some of the planks of the bulkhead. now it is for you to do the same. we will pass you some daggers through, when we have made this hole a bit larger. you must choose one of the planks in the corner, as this will be less likely to be observed."

"they will not observe us, messer hammond. they never come down here at all, but pass our food down in buckets."

"nevertheless, begin at the plank next to the side," francis said. "possibly someone may come down before you have finished. you will have to remove two planks to get through. i will pass a javelin through. you can set to work with it, and bore holes through the plank close to the floor; and then, with the dagger, cut away the wood between them. when you have done them, set to at the top, close to the beams, and cut the two planks through there. there are sacks of grain piled up against them on this side, so that there is no fear of your being observed from here. the work must be carried on perfectly noiselessly, the men relieving each other every few minutes.

"when the planks are cut through, replace them in their former positions, and wedge some small pieces of wood in, so that there shall be no chance of their falling. you ought to finish the work by tomorrow. when you have done it, take no farther step until you get orders from me. it would not do to rise now, for we may be surrounded by other ships, and if we overpowered the crew, we should at once be attacked and recaptured by them. you will, therefore, remain quiet until you have orders, whether it be one day or ten. all the arms they have taken from us are lying piled here, and when the time comes, we shall have no difficulty in overpowering the genoese, and shall, i hope, bring the pluto safely to anchor in the port of venice before long."

there was a murmur of delight among the sailors, pent up in their close quarters. francis listened a moment, and heard one of the men say:

"what did i tell you? didn't i tell you that messer hammond got us all out of a scrape before, when our ship was captured by the genoese, and that i would be bound he would do the same again, if he had but the shadow of a chance."

"you did, pietro, and you have turned out right. that is the sort of fellow to have for a captain. he is not like one of those dainty young nobles, who don't know one rope's end from another, and who turn up their noses at the thought of dirtying their hands. see how he looked after us through the winter. i wish we could give a cheer for him, but that would never do. but when we are out of this, i will give him the loudest shout i ever gave yet.

"now then, rinaldo, let us set to work without a moment's delay. there's a chance we aren't going to rot in the dungeons of genoa, after all."

convinced that the work would be carried on in accordance with his orders, francis withdrew his ear from the hole, and, crawling over the sacks again, made his way to the pile of arms, felt about until he found two javelins, and taking these back, passed them one after the other through the hole.

"we have done our share now," he said to his comrades. "paolo and his party will find it a comparatively easy task to enlarge the hole sufficiently to pass the daggers through."

the party returned to the other end of the hold, removed the planks, and joined their friends. the next watch had arranged to lie down close to the planks, so that they could be aroused without waking the others.

they were soon on their feet. francis explained to parucchi the progress they had made, and the orders that had been given to the sailors as to what they were to do.

"when the hole is large enough, pass these five daggers in to the crew, and then come back again. i will guide you to the spot, and on my return will pick out half a dozen more daggers, in case we want them for further work."

when daylight made its way into the hold, matteo and his watch woke, and were astonished to find that all their comrades were quietly asleep, and that they had not been awakened. matteo could not restrain his curiosity, but woke francis:

"has anything gone wrong, francis? it is daylight, and parucchi's party, as well as yours, are all asleep, while we have not been roused!"

"everything is going on well, matteo, and we did not wake you, because there was nothing for you to do. we have already passed in knives and javelins to the sailors, and they are at work cutting through two planks in their bulkhead; after which we shall be able to meet in the next hold, arm ourselves, and fall upon the genoese when the opportunity offers."

"that is excellent indeed, francis; but i wish you had let us do our share of the work."

"it did not take us more than two hours, matteo, to make a hole big enough to pass the javelins through, and i should say parucchi's party enlarged it sufficiently to hand in the daggers in another hour; so you see, it would have been useless to have aroused you, and the less movement we make after they get quiet at night, the better."

"and how long will the sailors be cutting it through, do you think?"

"i should say they would be ready by this time, matteo, but certainly they will be finished some time today."

"then we shall soon be free!" matteo exclaimed joyfully.

"that will depend, matteo. we must wait till there is a good opportunity, so that we can recapture the ship without an alarm being given to the other vessels, which are no doubt sailing in company with us. and now, if you have nothing to say, i will go off to sleep again, for there is time for another hour or two. i feel as if i had not quite finished my night's rest, and the days pass so slowly here that it is as well for us to sleep when we feel the least inclination.

"by the way, matteo, put something into that peephole we made. it is possible that they might see the light through it, and come to examine what it is. it is better to run no risk."

that day the captives were far more restless than they had been since they were taken prisoners. at first there had been a feeling of depression, too great to admit even of conversation with each other. the defeat of their fleet, the danger that threatened venice, and the prospect of imprisonment in the gloomy dungeons of genoa, combined to depress them on the first day of their imprisonment. on the second, their success in getting out the bolts had cheered them, and they had something to look forward to and talk about; but still, few of them thought that there was any real prospect of their obtaining their freedom. now, however, that success seemed to lie ready to hand; now that they could, that very evening, remove the sacks, effect a junction with their crew, arm themselves with the weapons lying in sight, and rush up and overpower the genoese; it seemed hard to remain longer in confinement. several of them urged francis to make the attempt that night, but he refused.

"you reckon only on the foe you see," he said. "the danger lies not from them, but from the foes we cannot see. we must wait for an opportunity."

"but no opportunity may occur," one of them urged.

"that is quite possible," francis agreed; "but should no special opportunity occur, we shall be none the worse for having waited, for it will always be as open to us to make the attempt as it is tonight. it might succeed--possibly we could overpower the guard on deck before they could give the alarm--but the risk is too great to be run, until we are certain that no other way is open to us. in the daylight the hatch is open; but even could we free our comrades, and unite for a rush, unobserved--which we could hardly hope to do--we should find the whole of the genoese on deck, and could not possibly overpower them before they had time to give the alarm to other vessels. at night, when we can unite, we cannot gain the deck, for the hatch is not only closed, but would almost certainly be fastened, so that men should not get down to pilfer among the stores."

"but if we cannot attack in the daytime, messer hammond, without giving the alarm; and cannot attack at all at night, what are we to do?"

"that is the next point to be seen to," francis replied. "we must cut, either from this hold or from the other, a way up to the deck above. it may take us some days to do this, but that matters little. we have plenty of time for the work before reaching genoa. the difficulty is not in the work itself, but in doing it unobserved."

"that is difficult, indeed," matteo said, "seeing that the genoese sailors are quartered in the forecastle above the forehold, while the officers will be in the cabins in the poop over us."

"that is so, matteo, and for that reason, it is clear that it is we, not the sailors, who must cut through the planks above. there are no divisions in the forecastle, and it will be, therefore, absolutely impossible to cut through into it, without being perceived long before a hole is made of a sufficient size to enable us to get out. here we may succeed better, for fortunately we know the exact plan of the cabins above us, and can choose a spot where we should not be likely to be noticed."

"that is so," matteo agreed, "and as they will not have as many officers as we had--that is, including the volunteers--some of the cabins will not be occupied. perhaps, by listening to the footsteps above, we might find out which are vacant."

"i thought of that, matteo, but i doubt whether it would be well to rely upon that. many on board ship wear soft shoes, which make but little noise, and it would be fatal to us were we to make a mistake. after thinking it over, i have decided that we had best try to cut a way up into the captain's cabin."

"but that is sure to be occupied, messer hammond," parucchi said.

"yes, it will be certainly be occupied; but it affords a good opportunity of success. as you know, parucchi, carlo bottini had been a long time at constantinople and the eastern ports, and had a somewhat luxurious taste. do you not remember that, against the stern windows, he had caused to be erected a low wide seat running across the cabin? this he called a divan, and spent no small proportion of his time lolling upon it. if i am right, its height was from ten inches to a foot above the deck, and it was fully four feet wide. it would therefore be quite possible to cut through the two planks at the back, without its being observed by anyone in the cabin."

there was a chorus of assent.

"of course we must work most cautiously," francis went on. "the wood must be cut out with clean cuts with the daggers. there must be no sawing or scraping. the beams are two feet apart, and we must cut through two planks close to them. in that way there will be no nails to remove. of course, we shall not cut quite through until the time arrives for us to make the attempt, but just leave enough to hold the planks together. half an hour's work will get through that, for if we were to cut through it at once, not only would there be risk of the hole being discovered by anyone sweeping the cabin, but we should be obliged to remain absolutely silent, or we should be heard immediately."

"we can begin at once, can we not?" matteo asked. "anything is better than sitting quietly here."

"certainly, matteo, if you wish. two can work at once, one on each line. choose the two sharpest edged of the daggers, and be sure to cut clean, and not to make a scraping noise or to try to break out pieces of wood. the work must be done in absolute quiet. indeed, however careful you are, it is possible that some slight sound may be heard above, but, if noticed, it will probably be taken for the rats."

matteo and another of the young men at once fell to work; but it was not until the evening of the following day that cuts were made as deep as was considered prudent. the depth of wood remaining was tested by thrusting the point of a dagger through, and it was decided that little more than a quarter of an inch remained.

upon the following day the ship anchored, and remained for two days in some port. provisions were brought on board and carried down into the hold, and the prisoners had no doubt that they were in harbour on the coast of either sicily, or the south of italy. they had not set sail many hours, when the motion of the ship told them that the wind was getting up, and by night the vessel was rolling heavily, the noise made by the dashing of the water against her planks being so great, that those below could scarcely hear each other speak. their spirits had risen with the increase of the motion, for the opportunity for which they had been waiting was now at hand. in a gale the vessels would keep well apart from each other, to prevent the danger of a collision, and any outcry would be drowned by the noise of the wind and water.

each night francis had paid a visit to the sailors forward, to enjoin patience until he should give them the order for making the attempt. they had long since cut through the planks, which were only retained in their place by the pressure of the sacks behind them. he had bade them be in readiness on the first occasion on which rough weather might set in, and knew that they would now be expecting the signal.

as soon, then, as it became dark, and the hatch over the middle hold was closed; the planks were removed, and francis and his party set to work shifting the sacks, in the corner where the sailors had cut the planks. each sack was taken up, and placed against the pile further on, without the slightest noise, until at last all were removed that stood in the way of the planks being taken down. these were carried out into the hold.

francis entered the gap. the sailors had already been informed that the occasion had come, and that they were to remain perfectly quiet until bidden to move.

"all is prepared," he said as he entered. "rinaldo, do you see that the men come out one by one. as each comes out a weapon will be placed in his hands, and he will be then led to the starboard side of the hold, which is free from encumbrance, and will there stand until he receives orders to move further. remember that not the slightest noise must be made, for if any stumbled and fell, and the noise were heard above, it might be thought that some of the stores had shifted from their places, and men would be sent below to secure them. the alarm would be given, and a light or other signal shown the other ships, before we could overpower all resistance. after the men are all ranged up as i have directed, they will have to remain there for some little time, while we complete our arrangements."

as soon as the sailors were all armed, and ready for action, francis entered the after hold, where matteo and another had been engaged in cutting the planks quite through. they had just completed the task when he reached them, and had quietly removed the two pieces of plank. francis had already given his orders to his companions, and each knew the order in which they were to ascend.

a dim light streamed down from the hole. two of his comrades lifted francis so that his head was above the level of the hole, and he was enabled to see into the cabin. so far as he could tell, it was untenanted, but it was possible that the commander might be on the divan above him. this was not, however, likely, as in the gale that was now blowing he would probably be on deck, directing the working of the ship.

francis now gave the signal, and the others raised him still further, until he was able to get his weight upon the deck above, and he then crawled along underneath the divan, and lay there quiet until parucchi and matteo had both reached the deck. then he gave the word, and all three rolled out and leaped to their feet, with their daggers in their hands, in readiness to fall upon the captain should he be on the divan.

as they had hoped and expected, the cabin was untenanted. the other volunteers now joined them, the last giving the word to rinaldo, who soon passed up, followed by the crew, until the cabin was as full as it could contain. there were now assembled some fifty men, closely packed together.

"that is ample," francis said, "as they will be unarmed and unprepared. we can issue out singly until the alarm is given, and then those that remain must rush out in a body. simply knock them down with the hilts of your swords. there is no occasion to shed blood, unless in the case of armed resistance; but remember they will have their knives in their girdles, and do not let anyone take you by surprise."

opening the door, francis walked along a passage, and then through an outer door into the waist of the ship. the wind was blowing fiercely, but the gale was not so violent as it had appeared to them when confined below. the night was dark, but after a week's confinement below, his eyes were able easily to make out almost every object on deck. there were but few sailors in the waist. the officers would be on the poop, and such of the crew as were not required on duty in the forecastle. man after man joined him, until some thirty were gathered near the bulwarks. an officer on the poop caught sight of them by the light of the lantern, which was suspended there as a signal to the other vessels.

"what are all you men doing down there?" he challenged. "there is no occasion for you to keep on deck until you are summoned."

"do you move forward with the men here, parucchi. knock down the fellows on deck, and rush into the forecastle and overpower them there, before they can get up their arms. i will summon the rest in a body, and we will overpower the officers."

he ran back to the cabin door, and bade the men follow him. as they poured out there was a scuffle on the deck forward, and the officer shouted out again:

"what is going on there? what does all this mean?"

francis sprang up the ladder to the poop, followed by his men, and before the officer standing there understood the meaning of this sudden rush of men, or had time to draw his sword, he was knocked down. the captain and three other officers, who were standing by the helm, drew their swords and rushed forward, thinking there was a mutiny among their crew; but francis shouted out:

"throw down your weapons, all of you. we have retaken the ship, and resistance is useless, and will only cost you your lives."

the officers stood stupefied with astonishment; and then, seeing that fully twenty armed men were opposed to them, they threw down their swords. francis ordered four of the sailors to conduct them to the captain's cabin, and remain in guard over them; then with the rest he hurried forward to assist parucchi's party.

but the work was already done. the genoese, taken completely by surprise, had at once surrendered, as the armed party rushed in the forecastle, and the ship was already theirs. as soon as the prisoners were secured, the after hatch was thrown off, and those whose turn to crawl up through the hole had not yet arrived came up on deck.

"rinaldo," francis said, as soon as the crew had fallen into their places, "send a man aloft, and let him suddenly knock out the light in the lantern."

"but we can lower it down, captain, from the deck."

"of course we can, rinaldo, but i don't want it lowered down, i want it put suddenly out."

rinaldo at once sent a man up, and a minute later the light suddenly disappeared.

"if we were seen to lower it down," francis said to matteo, "the suspicions of those who noticed it would be at once aroused, for the only motive for doing so would be concealment; whereas now, if it is missed, it will be supposed that the wind has blown it out. now we have only to lower our sails, and we can drop unobserved out of the fleet."

"there are sixteen lights, i have just been counting them," matteo said.

"these are probably the fourteen galleys captured with us, and two galleys as guards, in case, on their way, they should fall in with any of our ships.

"parucchi, will you at once muster the men, and see that all are armed and in readiness for fighting?

"matteo, do you and some of your friends assist the lieutenant."

in a few minutes, parucchi reported that the men were all ready for action.

"rinaldo, brail up the sails, so that we may drop into the rear of the squadron. watch the lights of the vessels behind, and steer so that they shall pass us as widely as possible."

this was the order the men were expecting to receive, but they were surprised when, just as the last light was abreast of them, francis gave the order for the brails to be loosed again.

"signor parucchi, do you tell off fifty men. i am going to lay the ship alongside that vessel, and recapture her. they will not see us until we are close on board, and will suppose it is an accident when we run alongside. no doubt they, like the pluto, have only a complement of fifty men, and we shall overpower them before they are prepared to offer any resistance.

"no doubt they have prisoners below. immediately we have recaptured her, i shall return on board with the rest, leaving you with your fifty men in charge of her. as soon as you have secured the genoese, free any prisoners there may be in the hold. i shall keep close to you, and you can hear me, and tell me how many there are."

the pluto was now edged away, till she was close to the other ship. the crew, exulting in having turned the tables on the genoese, and at the prospect of recovering another of the lost galleys, clustered in the waist, grasping their arms. the ship was not perceived until she was within her own length of the other. then there was a sudden hail:

"where are you coming to? keep away, or you will be into us. why don't you show your light?"

francis shouted back some indistinct answer. rinaldo pushed down the helm, and a minute later the pluto ran alongside the other vessel. half a dozen hands, told off for the work, sprang into her rigging, and lashed the vessels together; while francis, followed by the crew, climbed the bulwarks and sprang on to the deck of the enemy.

scarce a blow was struck. the genoese, astonished at this sudden apparition of armed men on their deck, and being entirely unarmed and unprepared, either ran down below or shouted they surrendered, and in two minutes the venetians were masters of the vessel.

"back to the pluto," francis shouted. "the vessels will tear their sides out!"

almost as suddenly as they had invaded the decks of the galley, the venetians regained their own vessel, leaving the lieutenant with his fifty men on board the prize. the lashings were cut, the pluto's helm put up, and she sheered away from her prize. her bulwarks were broken and splintered where she had ground against the other vessel in the sea, and rinaldo soon reported that some of the seams had opened, and the water was coming in.

"set the carpenter and some of the hands to work, to caulk the seams as well as they can from the inside, and set a gang to work at the pumps at once. it is unfortunate that it is blowing so hard. if the wind had gone down instead of rising, we would have recaptured the whole fleet, one by one."

the pluto was kept within a short distance of the captured vessel, and parucchi presently shouted out that he had freed two hundred prisoners.

"arm them at once!" francis shouted back. "extinguish your light, and board the vessel whose light you see on your starboard bow. i will take the one to port. when you have captured her, lower the sails of both vessels. i will do the same. you will keep a little head sail set, so as to keep them before the wind; but do not show more than you can help. i wish the rest of the fleet to outrun us, as soon as possible."

the pluto sheered off from the prize, and directed her course towards the vessel nearest to her, which she captured as easily as she had done the preceding. but this time, not only were her bulwarks stove in, but the chain plates were carried away; and the mainmast, no longer supported by its shrouds, fell over the side with a crash.

this vessel had but a hundred prisoners on board. they were wild with astonishment and delight, when they found that their vessel had been recaptured. francis told them to keep by him through the night, as possibly he might need their assistance.

for some hours the gale increased. the pluto lay head to it, her mast serving as a floating anchor. as soon as the lights of the genoese squadron disappeared in the distance, francis hoisted a lantern on his mainmast, as a signal to the other vessels to keep near him.

as soon as day broke, the galley they had last recaptured was seen, half a mile away, while the two others could be made out some six miles to leeward. the gale died out soon after daybreak, and francis at once set his crew to work to get the mast on board, and to ship it by its stump.

it was a difficult undertaking, for the vessel was rolling heavily. it was first got alongside, two ropes were passed over it, and it was parbuckled on board. shears were made of two spars, and the end was placed against the stump, which projected six feet above the deck. by the aid of the shears, it was hoisted erect and lashed to the stump, wedges were driven in to tighten the lashings, and it was then firmly stayed; and by the afternoon it was in readiness for sail to be hoisted again.

by this time parucchi, with the vessel he had captured, was alongside. the lion of saint mark was hoisted to the mainmast of the pluto, and three similar banners were run up by the other vessels, the crews shouting and cheering with wild enthusiasm.