“Oh, don’t let ’em give you any guff,” put in Bill Ferguson, who had followed Captain Gilsen to the deck. “They know they’re in wrong just as well as we do.”
“How long do you expect to remain in this vicinity?” questioned Fred.
“We’re not going to remain at all, now we’ve discharged our cargo,” answered the captain.
“You mean to say you are going to carry us off?” cried Gif.
“We won’t carry you very far. We’re headed down the coast, so when we let you go you’ll be able to get ashore easy.”
A bitter war of words followed, all of the boys insisting upon it that the captain of the Hildegarde had no right to carry them off in this fashion. Andy and Randy were strongly in favor of fighting for their rights; but upon seeing this both the captain and Ferguson showed their pistols.
“You behave yourselves and act like gentlemen, or else somebody is going to get hurt,” warned the captain. “This is my ship, and I won’t stand for any nonsense while you’re on board. Now the whole bunch of you get forward, and don’t let me hear another word out of you until I let you go.”
Then, as the boys were forced to retreat in the direction of the forecastle of the schooner, Captain Gilsen called his mate, a fellow named Letts, and told him to take charge of the newcomers.
“Watch ’em closely,” the captain ordered. “Don’t give ’em a chance to arm themselves or put up any kind of a job on us.”