292 FOR THE FLAG

unable to render Roch incapable of harm. His shells are
ready to be thrown the moment the vessels enter upon
the danger zone, and then, even without being struck,
they will be destroyed.

These last hours of the night I am condemned to pass
in my cell. The moment has come to re-enter it. - How
do I know that during the night the Roch Fulgurator may
not blow up the ships before their guns can be directed
against the island ? |

At that moment I cast a last glance around me. On
the opposite side burned a bright light—only one—that
of the laboratory, and its reflection quivered on the waters
of the lagoon. The banks are deserted, so is the jetty. I
thought the Beehive must be empty, and that the pirates
had gone to their fighting places.

Then an irresistible instinct urged me, instead of enter-
ing my cell, to creep along by the rock walls, listening,
watching, ready to slip into some crevice on hearing
footsteps or voices. Thus I reached the entrance to the
corridor. There was no one on guard! The passage
was free !

Without giving myself time to think I advanced into
the dark tunnel, and groped along its sides. Soon a fresh
breeze cooled my face—salt air, sea air, that I had not felt
for five long months. I inhaled it eagerly.

I could see the sky sprinkled with stars at the far end
of the passage. No shadow obstructed the way.

Was I about to get out of Backcup ?

Throwing myself flat on my face, I crept slowly along,