The door was at
the end of the passage. I wakened because of the heat, and found the
door locked on the outside. I lit a match, and found I could unscrew
the lock with my knife. I thought I had been locked in as a joke by
the crew. While I was kneeling, some one passed outside the door."
"How did you know that?"
"I felt a board rise under my knee as if the other end had been trod
on. Shortly after, a woman screamed, and I burst open the door."
"How long after you felt the board rise?"
"Perhaps a minute, possibly two."
"Go on."
"Just after, the ship's bell struck six--three o'clock. The main
cabin was dark. There was a light in the chart-room, from the
binnacle light. I felt my way to Mr. Vail's room. I heard him
breathing. His door was open. I struck a match and looked at him.
He had stopped breathing."
"What was the state of his bunk?"
"Disordered--horrible. He was almost hacked to pieces."
"Go on."
"I ran back and got my revolver. I thought there had been a mutiny-"
"Confine yourself to what you saw and did. The court is not
interested in what you thought."
"I am only trying to explain what I did. I ran back to the
storeroom and got my revolver, and ran back through the chart-room
to the after companion, which had a hood. I thought that if any
one was lying in ambush, the hood would protect me until I could
get to the deck.
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