"No; but I can defend myself," answered the doctor's son just as quickly. "I am not afraid of you."
"And we are not afraid of ghosts, either," was Snap's sarcastic comment.
These last words made Ham Spink and one or two of his cronies furious. They had been up to the distant lake where the "ghost" had held forth, and had been so badly frightened that they had come home, "on the run," as Whopper expressed it now that the matter had been fully explained, Ham and his followers felt decidedly sheepish over it consequently, to mention the affair was as bad as to wave a red rag in front of a bull.
"You shut up about ghosts!" cried Ham, shaking his fist in Snap's face.
"Say, Ham, let us give 'em a dressing down before we leave," whispered
Carl Dudder. He looked around the dock. "Nobody here but ourselves."
"That's the talk," put in another of the Spink crowd. "They deserve it for trying to crow over us."
Shep and Snap heard the talk and looked at each other. They endeavored to back away in the direction of the street, but before they could accomplish this the entire Spink crowd threw down their guns, rods and bundles and advanced upon them.
"Keep back!" cried the doctor's son.
"If you hit us you'll take the consequences!" added Snap.
An instant later Ham Spink and his cohorts closed in. Snap and Shep were caught, front and back, and several blows were quickly exchanged. It was an uneven contest, and the doctor's son and his chum might have fared badly had not a sudden cry rang out: