www.freeclassicebooks.com

which she had thought at the time but the empty, and vainglorious boasting of

the man in love--"Why I'd die for you, Barbara, and welcome the chance!"

Poor boy! How soon, and how terribly has the chance come!" moaned the girl.

Then a rough hand fell upon her arm.

Here, youse," a coarse voice yelled in her ear. "Come out o' de trance," and at the

same time she was jerked roughly toward the companionway.

Instinctively the girl held back, and then the mucker, true to his training, true to

himself, gave her arm a sudden twist that wrenched a scream of agony from her

white lips.

"Den come along," growled Billy Byrne, "an' quit dis monkey business, or I'll sure

twist yer flipper clean off'n yeh."

With an oath, Anthony Harding sprang forward to protect his daughter; but the

butt of Ward's pistol brought him unconscious to the deck.

Go easy there, Byrne," shouted Skipper Simms; "there ain't no call to injure the

hussy--a corpse won't be worth nothing to us."

In mute terror the girl now permitted herself to be led to the deck below. Quickly

she was lowered into a waiting boat. Then Skipper Simms ordered Ward to search

the yacht and remove all firearms, after which he was to engage himself to

navigate the vessel with her own crew under armed guard of half a dozen of the

Halfmoon's cutthroats.

These things attended to, Skipper Simms with the balance of his own crew and

six of the crew of the Lotus to take the places upon the brigantine of those left as

a prize crew aboard the yacht returned with the girl to the Halfmoon.

The sailing vessel's sails were soon hoisted and trimmed, and in half an hour,

followed by the Lotus, she was scudding briskly southward. For forty-eight hours

this course was held until Simms felt assured that they were well out of the lane

of regular trans-Pacific traffic.

During this time Barbara Harding had been kept below, locked in a small, untidy

cabin. She had seen no one other than a great Negro who brought her meals to

her three times daily--meals that she returned scarcely touched.

Now the Halfmoon was brought up into the wind where she lay with flapping

canvas while Skipper Simms returned to the Lotus with the six men of the yacht's

crew that he had brought aboard the brigantine with him two days before, and as

many more of his own men.

The Mucker