"In that case then, you ought to be our friend," struck in Jack. "We are not runaways at all, but lads out on a pleasure trip, and besides, Dampier and Walstein are old enemies of my uncle. They think he wronged them, and are taking this means of avenging themselves."
"Humph," said the captain thoughtfully, emitting a cloud of blue smoke from his lips, "so them two fellers wasn't telling me the truth either, eh?"
"Of course not. They are two of the biggest rascals at large. They——"
Jack got no further. A strong arm was thrown about him from behind. At the same instant Sandy was tripped and thrown flat. The captain burst into a roar of laughter, and sprang down the stairs toward them. His smoking of the pipe had been a signal to those above that all was not well below, and Dampier and Walstein had silently descended by another way, and, sneaking through the hold, had accomplished this disastrous rear attack. Captain Rangler, as the lads might have guessed, had been merely talking against time, to allow his accomplices to descend into the cabin from another direction. The column of smoke from his pipe, curling out of the companion-way, had done its duty well—too well.
But both Jack and Sandy were strong, wiry lads. Though their activity had been much impaired by the hardships they had gone through during the night, there was still a lot of fight left in them, as their attackers soon discovered.
With a quick twist, Jack freed himself from Dampier, and thrust the pistol—which he still held—into the rascal's face. Dampier, who was an arrant coward at heart, as are most men of his stripe, shrank back. His face was a sickly, pasty yellow.
"D-d-d-d-don't shoot!" he begged, trembling.
Jack looked as fierce as he could, and flourished his pistol at Walstein, who was struggling with Sandy.
The leonine-headed ex-sea captain took the hint, and joined Dampier in begging the lad not to shoot.
But, in the excitement of this dramatic scene, Jack had forgotten all about Captain Rangler. As Walstein relaxed his hold on Sandy, Rangler jumped forward, aiming a terrific blow at Jack's head. The lad ducked just in time, and the huge, knotted fist whistled harmlessly over his head.