een.

"They are armed, hang the luck!" muttered Sack Todd. "And they tell
me they can shoot, too!"

"Look here, we don't want any shooting," said Gasper Pold. "We want
this affair conducted peaceable-like."

"I know what you want," said Tom, boldly. "You want to make us
prisoners."

"Like as not Sam and Hans are already prisoners," said Dick. "If they
were not we'd surely hear something from them."

"They are prisoners," answered Dan Baxter.

"And you might as well give in. It won't do you any good to hold
out--we are six to two, remember."

"Baxter, did you plan this?" asked Tom.

"Oh, I'm not saying who planned it. We have simply made up our minds
to take command of the steam yacht, that's all."

"The yacht was a derelict," put in Sid Jeffers. "We have as much
right to her as you have."

"Not at all--we found her," answered Dick.

"But you couldn't have brought her safely in to port," put in Gasper
Pold. "We are going to do that--and get the salvage money," he added,
triumphantly.

CHAPTER XXIV

IN THE ENGINE ROOM

After the bold declaration of Gasper Pold there was an awkward pause.
Dick and Tom did not know what to do and neither did the party at
the top of the engineroom ladder.

"Are you going to give in or not?" demanded Sack Todd, at length.

"Why should we give in?" asked Dick.

"Because if you do, we'll treat you well."

"And if we don't--" came from Tom.

"Then you'll have to take the consequences. As Baxter says, we are
six to two, so it is all nonsense for you to think you can hold out
against us."

"Supposing we do give in, what are you going to do with us?" asked
Dick, curiously but with no present intention of submitting to the
evildoers.

"Oh, we'll treat you fairly enough," put in Gasper Pold. "We'll give
you all you want to eat and drink and put you off at some safe place
along the coast."

"Come, do you submit?" demanded the mate of the _Dogstar_.

"What do you say, Dick?" whispered Tom, so faintly that the others
could not hear.

"I don't want to give in to them."

"Neither do I. But it looks pretty shaky, doesn't it?"

"Yes, they have us cornered."

"We are armed, and if there is to be any shooting we can do our share
of it," resumed Sack Todd. "But there is no need to go to such an
extreme. Better submit quietly and let that end it. We wish you no
harm, but we are bound to have our way."

"Let Sam and Hans come down and we'll talk it over," said Dick, st