Then he saw the inquiring faces of his rescuers, and said:
“Well, friends, I suppose you would like my story. I will tell it to you, and you will agree it is a queer one.”
With this, Matt Williams dropped into a chair.
CHAPTER III.
THWARTING A GANG OF VILLAINS.
Barney and Pomp and Frank Reade, Jr., sat opposite.
They were much interested.
They could see now that Williams, though a sailor, was a handsome and well-bred man.
He told his story in a succinct and interesting way.
“I belong in St. Johns,” he said, explanatively. “I live with my uncle, Peter Davison, a very wealthy man. There are three cousins of us--myself, Pete Clifford and Jim Mason.
“Now my uncle don’t like Peter nor Jim very well. But he supports them on account of the relationship.