"I dinna ken. But I think so," he responded cautiously. "Some of me's here, anyhow. Whist, Jack, we're in a tight place."
"And a dark one, too," said Jack gloomily.
"What d'ye think they'll do wi' us?"
"I have no notion. But what they have done already gives a sufficient idea of what they are capable of. There may be bigger rascals on earth than this outfit, but I don't know where you'd look for them."
"By the peak of Ben Nevis, that was a dire crack on the head that Captain Mangler gave me when they attacked us in that lumber yard."
"His name's Rangler—though 'Mangler' would about fit him," rejoined Jack. "They didn't strike me, but just picked me up and stifled my cries—just as I was going to the rescue of the poor professor, too, I fear they may have killed him."
"I dinna think so. But I hope he is not on board this tug."
"Why?"
"Because, if he is, there'll be no one left behind to give a clue as to our whereabouts."
"Even if they could, I don't see what good it would do," was the gloomy rejoinder. "Poor Tom's still missing, and——"