She will go well enough under
that and the foresail. If the mizzen is too much for her, we can
take it off."
It was nearly half an hour before all was clear, and the last of
the yachts in the race had passed them before the leeward sheet of
the foresail was hauled aft, and the Phantom resumed her course. As
soon as she did so, the captain came aft with part of the copper
bar of the bobstay.
"There has been foul play, sir," he said. "I thought there must
have been, for I could not imagine that this bar would have broken
unless there had been a flaw in the metal or it had been tampered
with. I unshackled it myself, for I thought it was better that the
men should not see it until I had told you about it."
"Quite right, Hawkins. Yes, there is no doubt that there has been
foul play. The bar has been sawn three-quarters of the way through
with a fine saw, and, of course, it went as soon as she began to
dip her bowsprit well into it in the race. You see, whoever has
done it has poured some acid into it, and darkened the copper,
partly perhaps to prevent the colour of the freshly-cut metal from
being noticed, and partly to give it the appearance, after it was
broken, of being an old cut.
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