Even as he spoke Yaspard saw the danger he had not considered, and promptly dropped his sail. By that time the boats were almost within an oar's length of each other, but the Osprey was ahead. With wondrous speed the Viking-boy had his oars out, and would soon have been round the holme and on his course again, but at that moment Tom Holtum caught up a coil of rope lying handy, and flung it like a lasso over the Osprey. The bight fell over her rudder and horn, and before the hapless Viking could leave his seat or lift a finger to save himself, his boat was hauled alongside of the Laulie, and he was captured.
"Fairly caught!" cried Bill, leaning over to thump him on the back, while Tom clutched the Osprey with both hands, determined that she should not escape.
Then Yaspard struck his colours, and remarked, "You need not be so particular with your grappling-irons, Holtum; I yield myself to the fortune of fair fight."
"Come aboard us," said Harry. "You did awfully well, and needn't mind that Tom's dodge was more successful than yours. It was a low kind of trick on the whole, but we were determined to make you our prisoner."
By that time Yaspard was in the Laulie, and his boat towing ignobly in the rear. Thor, puzzled out of his dignity by such extraordinary proceedings, afraid to trust himself with his master in the enemies' hands, and too tired to seek refuge in flight, then gave vent to his feelings in speech—
"Uncle, uncle. Croak! bad boy! croak! croak! croak! Yap! yap! yap! Pirate; hi, good dog! Dog! Uncle! oh my!"
He had never spoken so much at one time before, but the situation called for a supreme effort.
When he concluded his oration, amid yells of laughter, Thor turned up his eyes till nothing but a streak of white was visible, and shoved his beak among the feathers on one shoulder as if he meant to go to sleep.
"What a fellow, to be sure!" exclaimed Tom. "He licks Crawbie all to nothing."
Harry explained to Yaspard that Crawbie was a hoodie crow belonging to Svein Holtum, and a great talker, but nothing like Thor in that respect.