"There comes Cap'en Doak, an' he's got the gun with him!" Sam cried, for he could make out, in the gloom, the outlines of a man emerging from the cabin of the schooner. "P'rhaps he's jest crazy-mad enough to fire off the thing without stoppin' to think of the rust!"
"I don't see but that we'll have to take our chances on it, 'cause it's too late to make a move now. Get a couple of rocks ready, an' when I say the word let 'em drive the best you know how. We're bound to do him all the damage we can. He started all this, and its his fault if he gets hurt."
Sam armed himself as his companion had suggested, but at the same time he was far from feeling comfortable in mind. It was to him a very serious matter, this attempting to work injury to a human being, and the idea came into his mind that he would be solely responsible for whatever might happen, because, by at once giving himself up, to his stepfather, he could put an end to further trouble on the island, but in such case he would receive most terrible punishment.
"Look here, Tom," he said in a tearful tone as he allowed the rocks to drop from his hands, "this row wouldn't have come off if I hadn't run away from the schooner an' I can stop it all now by goin' aboard the 'Sally' an' takin' what the cap'en sees fit to deal out in the way of a thumpin'. I'm goin' to give in, an' then there won't be any danger Uncle Ben's shanty will be burned."
"You ain't goin' to do any sich foolish thing!" Tom cried, excitedly. "An' what's more, your Uncle Ben's shanty won't be burned while there are plenty of rocks near by! S'pose you hadn't run away, where'd I be now? Swashin' 'round off the shore with the fish havin' a Thanksgivin' dinner, an' on account of that I'm bound to hold up the biggest end of this 'ere scrimmage. You won't go aboard the schooner to-night, not if I have to hold you on this cliff with one hand while I fight the cap'en with the other. Here comes the old pirate, so get busy!"
Captain Doak had lost no time in coming ashore after getting possession of his weapon, and as Tom spoke he was advancing rapidly toward the shanty, apparently confident of speedily reducing the defenders to subjection.
"Hold on there! You've come far enough!" Master Falonna cried when the angry captain was a hundred feet away. "The next time we knock you down it won't be so easy to get up!"
"I'll shoot you loafers full of holes!" the commander of the "Sally D." cried, the tremor of his voice telling that he was almost beside himself with rage; but to Tom's relief, he took good care to remain at a respectful distance from the foot of the cliff. "I'm willin' to give you one chance more, an' if you ain't wise enough to take it, there's goin' to be a whole lot of trouble on this island. Let that worthless Sam go aboard the 'Sally' this minute, an' I'll get the schooner under way in a jiffy. If he——"
"Never mind 'bout the rest of it, mister, 'cause Sam's goin' to stay right where he is, 'less we have ter come down an' wipe the earth up with you. I reckon you're right when you say there's goin' to be trouble; but you're the one what'll have it!"
For reply Captain Doak raised the gun as if to take aim, and Tom whispered excitedly: