One evening there was a slight commotion on the deck, and the course of the steamer was changed. Then came a blowing of steam whistles lasting several minutes. Finally the steamer came to a standstill.
"You are to leave this vessel at once," said the under officer, as he opened the door of the young captain's temporary prison. "Come, we have no time to spare."
There was no help for it, and soon Ben was on deck. He was made to enter a small boat and was thus transferred to another steamer--one which had formerly been in the East Indian trade but which was now acting as a Russian supply boat.
"What a dirty craft!" was his mental comment, after having been thrust into a pen which was little better than a horse stall. The supply boat was loaded to its fullest capacity, so quarters for all on board were limited.
Two days passed and he received food which was scarcely fit to eat. When he protested he was threatened with a flogging. The air was foul and he began to fear that he would become sick.
"I won't be able to stand this much longer," he thought, dismally. "If they want to kill me why don't they do it at once and have done with it?"
On the following morning a surprise awaited him. He heard two Russian officers pause in front of his pen and one said to the other:
"Is it the fellow named Russell?" was the question from Captain Barusky, the rascal who had aided Ivan Snokoff to make so much trouble for Gilbert Pennington.
"I am sorry for that. We wanted Pennington more than we did this fellow. But I am glad we got at least one of them. As I understand it they work hand-in-glove with each other;" and then the two Russian officers passed on.
Like a flash Ben realized the truth of the situation. His taking off had been a trap set by Snokoff and this Captain Barusky, who had hired the Chunchuses to help work out their plot. He was now in the hands of the enemy in more ways than one.
"They won't treat me as an ordinary prisoner," he reasoned. "This Captain Barusky will make it as hard as possible for me--more especially so as Gilbert managed to escape his clutches. Well, I am glad Gilbert got away."
Resolved to "take the bull by the horns," Ben asked the prison guard if he might speak to Captain Barusky.