em.

"I have seven," Wade announced.

"Six," said I.

"I took nine," Raed observed.

"You gave me five," reported Weymouth. "I have used one. Here's the
other four."

"Thirty-four in all," said Raed. "Now, boys, these are worth their
weight in gold to us. Not one must be wasted."

"My butcher-knife is like to come into good use." Donovan remarked,
feeling the edge of it.

"Yes; and we've got our jack-knives too," said Kit.

"How about a fire?" Wade asked.

At that there were blank looks for a moment; till, with a queer grin,
Donovan began to fumble in his waistcoat-pocket, and drew out, in
close company with a rounded plug of tobacco, seven or eight grimy
matches.

"Hurrah!" shouted Kit.

"You've allus been dippin' into me pretty strong about smokin'," said
Don, looking around to Raed; "but you can't say that smokin' don't
have its advantages sometimes."

"That's an argument for the weed that we can all appreciate at
present, no mistake," Raed replied. "Don, keep hold of those matches,
and see that they all strike fire, and I'll never preach to you again,
so sure as my name is Warren Raedway."

_Bang!_ A distant _boom_ from the hated ship, now low down on the sea.

"The schooner is almost out of sight," said Kit. "She's a long way
off. Perhaps it's the last time we shall ever set eyes on her pretty
figure!"

"Oh, not so bad as that, I hope!" cried Raed. "Don't go to getting
poetical, Kit. How about dinner? That's of more consequence just now
than poetry. Time enough to make verses on this rather awkward episode
when we're safe in Boston. Make a proposal for dinner, somebody.
Wade's starving."

"What say for the sea-horse!" exclaimed Donovan.

"Yes; how about that walrus?" Kit demanded.

"That sea-horse has got us into a fine scrape," muttered Wade. "It
would have been better if we had left him undisturbed on his island."

"That's neither this nor there, now," said Kit. "Question arises, Can
we eat him? Is it fit to eat? Did ever anybody hear of their being
eaten?"

"The Huskies eat them, I believe," said Raed.

"The Huskies! Well, I mean civilized folks; ship's crews?"

Nobody knew.

"The best way will be to try it for ourselves," remarked Donovan. "But
we don't know that we killed him yet. We didn't stop to find out, you
know."

"Then that is clearly the next thing to do," said Raed. "Let's go
down to the boat, and take that round to the place where we fired at
the second one."

"Bu