"We have deserted Lesher," put in Marny. "We came over here on the raft to see if you wouldn't take us in."
"Were you alone?" asked Captain Blossom.
"No, we had Hackenhaven with us. But he fell overboard just after we left the wreck, and the sharks caught him," answered Gibson, with a bitter shake of his face.
"What did Lesher say to your leaving?" asked Tom.
"He didn't know it until after we were a hundred yards or more from the wreck. You see, he and the others were drinking in the cabin, so we got away without much trouble," answered Marny. "They might have shot at us, but it was too dark for them. We had a hard pull to get over here, and when poor Hackenhaven was gobbled up both of us felt bad, I can tell you."
It was now seen that both sailors were almost exhausted, and Captain
Blossom allowed them to rest, while Dick prepared a pot of coffee.
While they were drinking, Gibson told them the particulars of how
the mate had made himself leader of the sailors now left on the wreck.
CHAPTER XXIX
THE BURNING OF THE WRECK
"When Lesher and Baxter got back to where they left us they were very bitter against you," began Gibson. "They told us that you had tried to make them work like niggers, fixing up this house. They said that they wanted to come right back and bring us here, but you wouldn't let them go until the house was finished."
"Which is not true, as all of us here know," said Captain Blossom.