Trusting to this, as well as the garb I wore for concealment, I walked boldly back as far as the mainmast, meeting no one.

Then, fearful of observation from the officer still pacing the poop, I skulked stealthily along in the black shadow of the cook's galley, until I reached the cuddy door, quaking with fear lest it fail me.

It opened instantly to the touch of the hand, and with heart throbbing wildly, for now all that had been accomplished hung in the balance of this last experiment, I groped about within seeking to solve the mystery of that gloomy interior.

The place had the feel of a big, square box; by stretching out across the edge I could barely reach the farther side, but could touch no bottom, nor did I feel the rungs of any ladder leading down.

It resembled a well, and the thought immediately took possession of me that the crew hauled up their provisions by use of ropes, yet I could discover no hoisting apparatus of any kind.