fight. Mayo
proposed to hang to him until he discovered the meaning of this peculiar
ferocity.

He flipped across his prisoner, clutched him by both ears, and rapped
the man's head so smartly on the deck planks that his victim relaxed,
half unconscious.

Then he opened staring eyes. "Let me go! Let me go! I quit. Run for it.
Let me run. We're goners!" he squalled.

"Run? Why?" demanded the victor.

"Dynamite! I've planted it. The fuse is going."

"Where is it?"

"Below--somewhere. I've forgot. I, can't remember. My mind is gone. I'm
too scared to think. Run!"

Mayo jumped up and yanked the man to his feet. "Take me to it!" he
shouted.

"There ain't time. I guessed at the fuse--it may burn quicker than I
reckoned."

The young man drove his fist into the other's face and knocked him down.
Then he jerked him upright again.

"Take me where you've planted that dynamite or we'll stay here and go up
together. And now you know I mean what I say."

The last blow had cowed his man; he raised his fist again.

The visitor leaped away from him and ran along the lower deck, Mayo
at his heels. He led the way aft. In the gloom of betweendecks there
gleamed a red spark. Mayo rushed to it, whipped off his cap, and snuffed
the baleful glow. When he was sure that the fuse was dead he heard his
man scrambling up the companion ladder. He pursued and caught the quarry
as he gained the upper deck, and buffeted the man about the ears and
forced him into a stateroom.

"This means state prison for you! You were guilty of barratry before,
and you know it! How did you dare to try this last trick?"

"I had my orders."

"Orders from what man?"

"No matter. You needn't ask. I won't tell." The stranger was sullen, and
had recovered some of his assurance, now that his fear of the dynamite
was removed.

"You're a lunatic. You ought to have known you couldn't pull off a thing
of this kind."

"I don't know about that! It was working pretty slick. If she had split
and gone off these ledges, you couldn't have proved anything special.
I've got good backing. You better let me go."

Mayo glared at him, deprived of speech by this effrontrery.

"You'd better come over with the big fellows," advised the man. "I can
tell you right now that every hole in Limeport has been plugged against
you. You can't hire equipment there, or get a cent's credit. It has all
been nicely attended to. You're here fooling with a dead duck. You'd be
better o