e lock to pieces. It is I--
Robert. _The time has come_."

"Fire away, my lad!" was the reply. "You will not hurt us."

Bob applied the muzzles of both pistols to the lock, and pulled the
triggers. Fortunately, the lock was not a particularly strong one; and
a supplementary kick sent the door flying open.

Captain Staunton and Lance at once emerged from their dark noisome
prison and glanced eagerly around them.

"Thank you, Robert," hurriedly exclaimed the skipper. "There is no time
to say more now, I know; so tell us what we are to do, my lad, and we'll
do it."

Bob pointed to the prostrate bodies of the two pirates and said:

"Take their arms, and then we must make a rush to the landing; this
firing is sure to have raised an alarm, but it could not be helped. But
how is this! Where are your manacles!"

"Slipped them off, my lad, the moment we heard your voice," answered the
skipper. "Price--fine fellow that he is--managed that for us by putting
us in irons several sizes too large for us. Now, Evelin, are you ready!
I fancy I hear footsteps running this way."

"All ready!" said Lance.

"Then, off we go!" exclaimed Bob. "This way, gentlemen--sharp round to
the right for a couple of hundred yards, and then straight for the
landing. It will give us a better chance if the pirates suspect
anything and place themselves to cut us off."

Away went the trio at racing-pace, Bob slightly taking the lead and
striking sharply away to the right. It was well for them that they did
so, as they were thus enabled to dodge a crowd of men who came excitedly
running up from the landing on hearing the pistol-shots.

The party from the cottage had safely reached the boats some few minutes
before this; Dickinson having very cleverly got them through the crowd
on the landing-place by calling out in an authoritative voice as soon as
he saw them coming:

"Now then, lads, make way there, make way for the prisoners to pass."

The men accordingly gave way, forming a lane in their midst through
which our friends passed in fear and trembling, exposed for a minute or
so to the coarsest ribaldry which the ruffianly band could summon to
their lips on the spur of the moment. It was not until they had all
been passed safely into the two whale-boats, and Dickinson's little band
had drawn themselves closely up with drawn cutlasses in a compact line
between the boats and the shore, that the suspicions of the pirates
became in the