CHAPTER IX.
"FIFTY DOLLARS TO THE MAN THAT GETS THEM!"
The newcomer was Captain Rangler.
He was descending into the hold to get the pistols he had barely finished cleaning and loading, when the preparations for anchoring brought a hurry call for him to go on deck.
His amazement at seeing both the lads free of their handcuffs, and defiantly pointing the pistols at his head, may be imagined.
"Well, I'll be hanged!" he exclaimed, pausing on the third step. "What under the North Star does this mean?"
"It means that you must set us free at once," spoke up Jack. "We are at anchor now. Send us ashore in a boat."
"And what if I don't?" demanded the captain. His voice seemed to hold more of curiosity than the ferocity the boys had been prepared for.
The question was rather a puzzling one, and caught the lads at a disadvantage. They had calculated on meeting with resistance. Instead, the captain of the tug, while appearing to be much astonished at their cleverness in escaping from their captivity, didn't seem to be in any way inclined to offer them violence.
Instead, he sat down deliberately on one of the steps, while both boys, rather perturbed in mind, kept their pistols steadily leveled. But their hands were shaky. They had been prepared for anything but this, and it took them aback.
"Well?" said Captain Rangler.