In this I calculate we could stow seventy men; then the
peat could be piled over it, and if you entered the port somewhat late
in the afternoon you could manage that it was not unladen so as to
uncover the roof of our shelter before work ceased for the night. Then
we could sally out, overpower the guard on the quay, make for one of
the gates, master the guard there, and open it to our friends without."
"It is a bold plan and a good one," Van de Berg said, "and I am ready
to run my share of the risk with you. I am so well known in Breda that
they do not search the cargo very closely when I arrive, and I see no
reason why the party hidden below should not escape observation. I will
undertake my share of the business if you decide to carry it out. I
served the prince for fifteen years, and am ready to serve his son.
There are plenty of planks to be obtained at a place three miles above
here, and it would not take many hours to construct the false deck. If
you send a messenger here giving me two days' notice, it shall be built
and the peat stowed on it by the time you arrive.
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