In the afternoon watch on the following day work was resumed. This time the upper portion of the casing was liberally bedaubed with paint, while on the third day the lower portion received a second coat.
"The blighters are doing this to try and keep us off," declared Peter. "Let's put on some old togs and risk it. It'll make Lopez pretty wild."
"Right-o," agreed Kenneth.
As they went below they encountered Mr. Heatherington, who had just been having a conversation with Captain Gregory.
"I want to see you fellows," remarked Kenneth's father. "Come to my cabin."
They followed him in. Mr. Heatherington shut the door and drew a curtain over it.
"Have either of you had your gear meddled with?" asked Mr. Heatherington abruptly. "No? You're not sure? Well, someone has been going through mine. I've just been speaking to Captain Gregory about it. I placed three books in a certain order in one of my cabin trunks. When I went to it again, the books had been removed and replaced in a different order. Gregory was very apologetic about it. He maintains that some light-fingered Spaniard couldn't resist his natural curiosity. That's all very well, but I'm not satisfied. You haven't discussed the subject of the black pearls in anyone's hearing, have you?"
"We've never mentioned it since we came on board," declared Kenneth.
"Good; I'm glad of that. Even Gregory doesn't know anything on that matter. What's that?"
With a rapid, noiseless movement, Mr. Heatherington drew aside the curtain and opened the door. At the end of the alley-way a steward was carrying a tray. His rope-soled shoes pattered as he moved.
"Eavesdropping," declared Kenneth's father. "How do I know? He never made a sound with his feet until I threw open the door. Well, I don't suppose he's learnt much."
"We had rather a rummy experience," remarked Kenneth. "We didn't mean to say anything about it. Didn't seem important; but now——"
"Fire away," rejoined his parent.
Kenneth did so, relating the incident of Lopez and the boiler-casing, Peter chipping in to bear out his chum's statement.
"By Jove! That's a bit of confounded cheek on the part of Señor Lopez," declared Mr. Heatherington. "I'll get Gregory to tick him off."
He touched a bell. One of the stewards answered the summons.
"Tell Captain Gregory I wish to see him," ordered Mr. Heatherington.
The man looked at him with a puzzled expression. The order was repeated.
"No onnerstan', señor."
That was a lie, and Mr. Heatherington knew it. The fellow possessed sufficient knowledge of English to realize the nature of the order, but for some unknown reason he professed ignorance of his employer's words.
"Have you lost any money?" asked Mr. Heatherington, in a matter of fact tone.
The steward clapped his hands to his pocket, reassured himself and tried to resume his former air of ignorance.
Kenneth and Peter burst out laughing. The man, his face darkening with anger and mortification, knew that he had been fooled.
"Do what I tell you—at once," said Mr. Heatherington sternly.
The man obeyed.
"Look here, Captain Gregory," began Mr. Heatherington, when the skipper appeared, "I don't want to complain, but the last few days we've been subjected to a lot of petty annoyances both from the officers and men. It will have to stop. For instance, is there any reason why Lopez should get excited because my boy tried to climb on the boiler-casing? And what is the object of having the thing continually painted?"
"I don't know, sir," replied the skipper. "I never gave orders for the work to be done. I'll see about it. As for Lopez, he's a peculiar cuss in some respects. I've had to shake him up before to-day."
"Is there anything in connection with that structure that justifies Lopez's action?" persisted Mr. Heatherington.
"Not that I know of, sir; but I'll inquire."
"I wish you would, please. And tell Mr. Third Officer that if he has cause to prohibit my son and his friend from any part of the ship he must do so through you."
Captain Gregory made a gesture of assent. Although he meant to "haul Lopez over the coals", he rather resented being ordered about by a passenger, even though the passenger were the charterer of the yacht.
"I hope it's nothing," remarked Mr. Heatherington, when the captain had left the cabin, "but several minor but somewhat disquieting incidents have occurred recently. I didn't say anything to you fellows, but in future we'll have to keep our eyes skinned. Not that there's any danger. These Spaniards are simply getting a bit out of hand for some reason, and their resentment takes the form of what is known in the army as 'dumb insolence'. Why, I know not. It may be that they've got some inkling of the real nature of the voyage, or perhaps they're kicking at the Paloma being taken so far from her usual cruising grounds. Of course, if there's any serious trouble, I'll have the whole crew of them put under arrest at the first port we touch and sign on another crew—a British one."
"It would be——" began Peter, but the sentence was never completed, for above the muffled roar of the engines came a shriek of mortal pain, followed by the rush of feet and the roar of angry voices.
A heavy body thudded against the locked door.
"Let me in, sir!" exclaimed a voice, which the lads hardly recognized as that of Captain Gregory. "Let me in! They tried to murder me, the villains!"
CHAPTER III. MUTINY
On leaving the cabin, Captain Gregory went on deck. For the moment he was undecided as to what course to pursue—whether to tackle his Third Officer at once or to make investigations concerning the boiler-casing. Now that Mr. Heatherington had drawn attention to that structure, the skipper was bound to admit that there was something out of the ordinary as far as it was concerned. Its height was out of all proportion for the work it was supposed to perform. A pantechnicon might be accommodated under it even with the boilers in position, while the absence of scuttles indicated that the space was not required to be lighted except by artificial light—an expensive and unnecessary business when the walls of the structure were in the open.
As Captain Gregory made his way for'ard he noticed that a couple of the hands were just about to give the casing another coat of paint. Had the fact not been called to his notice he would not have paid any attention to it, the Chief Officer being directly responsible for work of this nature.
"Who told you to repaint that?" demanded the skipper.
"El teniente, Señor Capitán," replied one of the men, indicating that he had received his instructions from the Chief Officer.
"Then do not paint any more until I have seen the Chief," ordered Captain Gregory. "Bring me a ladder."
The seamen hurried off, but once out of their skipper's sight made no haste to execute their orders.
While Captain Gregory was waiting he noticed that several of the hands were hanging about eyeing him curiously. As it was the second dog-watch, and the men were at liberty to stand easy there was nothing in that to cause the skipper to send them off. Presently he caught sight of Lopez partly screened by one of the ventilators.
"I sent a couple of hands for'ard to get a ladder, Señor Lopez," shouted Captain Gregory in English. "Lay for'ard, will you, and see what they're doing."
Lopez hurried past his skipper without saying a word, and disappeared behind the deck-house under the bridge. More men strolled up to watch the proceedings, while Pedro Mendoza, the Chief Officer, having exchanged signals from the bridge to the Third, strolled to the weather side of his elevated post and surveyed the scene in which the Captain was the central figure.
A whistle sounded shrilly. Gregory swung round at the noise to find Lopez and half a dozen men approaching.