He had caught sight of Mr. Blunt's figure, and stood up to catch the expected rope. But it was a very different missile which descended at his feet. Mr. Blunt was not the man to muddle an affair like this by missing his aim. He leaned well over the rail, poised the anchor above his head, and then threw it down into the boat with all the force of which he was capable. There was a sickening thump as it struck one of the rascals, and this was followed instantly by the crash of splintering woodwork, and then by a babel of sounds, oaths, threats, and cries of fear. A shot was fired, while one of the more active of the men, realizing what had happened, made a desperate leap at the rail, and hung to it for a moment. But it was for only a brief moment, for again a pistol sounded, the sharp report drowning the shouts of the men below. The man dropped into the water like a stone, leaving Mr. Blunt staring down at the place which his figure had occupied. Then it was the turn of the rascals aboard the other boat.

"Let them shout," said Mr. Blunt calmly. "They are beaten, hopelessly beaten, for we have the legs of them now. Keep down, lads, for it would be sad to be hit now that the affair is almost over. That is, over for us. For these rascals, I promise you and them that it is by no means over. I will probe this matter to the bottom. Whatever it costs I will discover who is the ringleader, the scoundrel who sits quietly down at Montevideo and incites men to make an attack upon me, and I will do my utmost to punish these brigands for their work to-night. Ah, there go the pistols! Shoot till you are tired, my friends."

A furious volley came from the men aboard the boat which Dudley and his friends had so recently left, and for a minute the shooting continued till darkness and the increasing interval between the vessels had separated the combatants. As for those who had manned the smaller boat, into which the anchor had been cast, their shouts were soon drowned by the river. For the heavy piece of iron had beaten a hole in the bottom of the craft, and in a little while she had filled to the gunwale. Indeed, while those aboard the ship now being left behind were emptying their revolvers, their luckless comrades were struggling for life in the water. More than one of the wretches sank almost at once, while but two managed to reach the safety of the bank and scramble ashore. The tables had been turned, in fact. The rascally attackers, who had been in such great force, and who had hoped to take advantage of the Englishman, and secure his money, had been badly beaten. They had lost many from their gang, and, worse perhaps for those who remained—for such desperadoes think little of losses,—they had failed in their enterprise.

The cheer which the trio aboard the escaping vessel gave as they sailed away must have been maddening to the ruffians.

"That will tell them that we are alive and well," said Mr. Blunt. "Later we will do more to prove the fact. And now that we are under way, and have some breath to spare, let me say how grateful I am to this young gentleman. Shake hands, Mr. Joyce! Your gallantry has saved our lives. Dudley Compton and I are your debtors."

Each in turn took the blushing Harold by the hand and gripped his fingers warmly. This was his reward for acting the man, and for the resolution and courage which he had shown in the matter.

CHAPTER XIV
BACK TO THE RANCHO

Great indeed was the happiness of the trio who had made such an eventful escape from the gang who had attacked them. As they stood in the stern of their captured vessel, listening for a time to the shouts of rage which followed them, and the occasional pistol shots which echoed down the river, each of the three was deeply grateful for what had been a most lucky escape, and Dudley and Mr. Blunt in particular felt that they were specially fortunate.

"We can never hope for such luck again," said Mr. Blunt, as he stood, tiller in hand. "Those rascals would have murdered us as we lay in the cabin had it not been for the warning we received. Come, Mr. Joyce, tell us the whole tale again, and how it came about that you were in this country, and took passage with those men."