"Why, it's Captain Spark!" he cried.
"That's what. You read my signals right, my lad, and if I'm not mistaken, you're Bob Henderson."
"Yes, sir."
Captain Jeremiah Spark was an old seafaring man. He was a distant relative of Bob's mother, and, in fact, he was on his way to call on her, having just returned from a long voyage, when he ran into the boys, or, rather, they collided with him.
"So you're playing tricks on a poor, lone widow woman, are you?" asked the captain in no very pleasant tones.
"We—we didn't mean any harm," said Bob.
"No, I suppose not. Boys never do, but the harm comes. Now I'm going to march you two lads right up before the mast; and you're going to apologize to the widow. If you don't, why, I reckon a cat-o'-nine-tails will fit the case pretty well."
Mrs. Mooney was standing in her door as the captain led the two boys up to her.
"Here's the burglars you were shouting about, ma'am," he said. "One of 'em a relative of mine, I'm sorry to say. They've come to beg your pardon. Go ahead, boys."
"I'm sorry about the tic-tac," said Bob in a low voice.