wered Fritz, who was watching the bandits.

"Why don't you?"

"See vot dey vos doin'!"

A chill of dismay passed over the inventor, for he now saw the bandits
setting fire to the long grass.

The wind was blowing toward the Terror.

That kept the fire burning in her direction, while the bandits galloped
away from it, setting fire to it as they proceeded.

In a short space of time there was a roaring wall of flame and smoke
opposed to the Terror.

In order to prevent Jack from coming in on a flank, the outlaws, spread
out like a fan, and kept dropping lighted matches into the combustible
grass.

It did not take long to thus create such a wide barrier that the Terror
could not hope to get around it in time to overtake the miscreants.

Jack stopped her short.

Clouds of spark-laden smoke were being swept into their faces by the
wind, and an intense heat was generated.

"Fritz, we are thwarted."

"Donner vetter! Dey cover deir redreat vell!"

"We can't remain here; those flames will roast us."

"Make a large circle vunct."

"That's the only way," said Jack, starting the Terror.

She now ran off at an angle, and the flames swept to the rocky section
and burned out.

There was not enough grass there to keep tha fire going, but behind the
first avalanche of flame came another.

It was, therefore, impossible to chase the bandits further.

The fire rendered the air stifling.

Timberlake and Tim were disgusted at this turn of affairs, for both had
been confidant of capturing the outlaws.

"If it hadn't ben for ther escape of Wood Hite," growled the old sailor,
"we'd aheerd yer signal in ther town, an' reached yer wi' ther Terror
afore them lubbers got away."

"Regrets are useless now, Tim."

"O' course. But it allers makes a feller mad ter think he didn't do sich
an' sich a thing at ther time he wuz doin' anything wot don't pan out
jist as he'd like it ter."

"Perhaps we can head them off yet."

"If thar's a livin' show, Jack'll get it, When I wuz in ther navy we was
once asallin' up ther Red Sea, when an Arabian dhow collided with us,
an' busted a hole in ther side o' ther Wabash below ther water line;
then ther willain coolly sailed away without ever excusin' himself.

"We could astood ther damage, but his indifference about ther injury he
done ter us riled us all up. Seein' as he didn't care a blame, our
skipper sent ther friggte aflyin' arter him. Waal, sir, ther cuss
cracked on sail an' fle