"I shouldn't wonder. We can—— Hist! somebody is coming!"
Dick was right; Captain Langless was descending the companion way. On tiptoes the three boys hurried to the door leading to the hold. As they flung it back they found themselves confronted by Arnold Baxter and Dan.
CHAPTER XI.
GAINING A POINT.
The sudden turn of affairs chagrined the Rover boys greatly, and for the moment none of them knew what to say.
Arnold Baxter and Dan grinned at the trio sarcastically, and the bully was the first to break the silence.
"Didn't get away that time, did you?" he sneered.
"Ha! so they are here!" came from Captain Langless, who had just stepped into the cabin. "And without the handcuffs, too."
"Let us alone," cried Tom hotly. "If you touch me again, I'll shoot somebody." And so speaking, he raised one of the pistols taken from the cabin wall.
His aim was at Dan, and the bully fell back with a cry of terror, for, as old readers know, Dan was a coward at heart.