l, lying flat, began to fizz, sending a shower of
sparks across the other pieces.

"Quick! out with that stuff!" cried Anderson Rover and sent the
pinwheel flying into a corner with his hand. Then he stepped on it,
putting out the fire.

In the meantime, Dick and Sam pulled down the burning curtain and
stamped on that. The others scattered the fireworks and saw to it that
not a spark remained in the cabin.

"A close call!" murmured Captain Barforth, when the excitement was
over. "It is lucky we got down here so soon."

"I was thinkin' de hull ship was gwine ter bust up!" said Aleck, with a
shiver. "Dis chile knows jess how quick fireworks kin go off. I see a
big combustication of dem one summer in a hotel where I was waiting. Da
had to call de fire department to put dem out an' da shot out moah dan
a dozen winders, too!"

"We had a similar trouble, when the yacht club had a celebration," said
the captain. "A Japanese lantern dropped on some rockets and set them
off. The rockets flew in all directions and one struck a deck hand in
the arm and he had to go to the hospital to be treated. We have had a
lucky escape."

The accident put a damper on more celebrating, and Tom was requested to
store away what remained of the fireworks. Little did he dream of how
useful those fireworks were to become in the future.

Early on the following morning Bahama Bill presented himself. The boys
had been told how he looked, yet they had all they could do to keep
from smiling when he presented himself. He was a short, thickset man,
with broad shoulders, and legs which were very much bowed. He wore his
reddish hair long and also sported a thick beard. He had a squint in
one eye which, as Sam said, "gave him the appearance of looking
continually over his shoulder. When he talked his voice was an
alternate squeak and rumble.

"Well, of all the odd fellows I ever met he is the limit," was Tom's
comment. "Why, he'd do for a comic valentine!"

"I almost had to laugh in his face," said Sam. "Even now I can't look
at him without grinning."

"He's a character," was Dick's opinion. "You'll never get tired with
that chap around," and in this surmise he was correct, for Bahama Bill
was as full of sea yarns as some fish are full of bones, and he was
willing to talk as long as anybody would listen to him.

"Very much pleased to know ye all," said he with a profound bow to the
ladies. "Ain't seen such a nice crowd since I sailed on the _Mary