“But this is New York City. Surely they wouldn’t dare——”
“They’d dare anything fast enough if they could get you up a dark street,” said the mate sententiously.
“But they’ll be sailing with us again, anyhow,” said Jack.
“They will not!” said Mr. Brown with emphasis. “But recollect that some of them are desperate characters. Firemen, some of them at least, are as bad as they make ’em. You’ve sent their pals to jail. Very well then, their code of justice requires them to avenge themselves on you. So look out for squalls!”
“Oh, I’ll be careful,” laughed Jack as they shook hands and parted.
At the Brooklyn Bridge he paused to buy a paper. The first thing that caught his eye made him flush and then laugh.
There at the top of the page and spread out over two columns was a portrait of himself, drawn by an artist possessed of a vivid imagination, inasmuch as he had never seen Jack.
Then there was a half-tone of the Ajax, labeled “Scene of the Thrilling Battle for Life.”
Underneath came headlines:
WIRELESS HERO BATTLES FOR