e off short as a cry came from Sack Todd. The ex-counterfeiter
had caught sight of Dick as the latter was raising the hatch to drop
it in place.

"Hi!" yelled Sack Todd, and then let out a scream as the hatch hit
him on the head.

"Down you go!" answered Dick and leaped on top of the hatch to force
it into place. One of Sack Todd's fingers was caught and pinched and
he let out another yell. But he kept his footing on the iron ladder
and thus held the hatch up several inches.

"What's up?" came from Sid Jeffers.

"They are trying to shut the hatch! Help me!"

"What!" roared Gasper Pold, and sprang up beside the ex-counterfeiter.

"Tom! Sam! Hans!" yelled Dick, at the top of his lungs. "Help! Quick!"

He continued to call out and at the same time did all in his power
to force the hatch into place. He was sprawled on top, and no sooner
did he get one end down than the other bobbed up. Then he heard Gasper
Pold cry out:

"Look out! I am going to fire!"

"Don't hit me," cautioned Sack Todd.

"If you fire, so will I," answered Dick, "and you'll get the worst
of it."

"Hang the luck! We didn't disarm them!" muttered Pold.

By this time Tom was coming up on deck, followed by Sam. Hans was
told to remain behind, to keep his eyes on Dan Baxter.

As soon as Sam and Tom saw the situation they leaped to Dick's
assistance. Tom saw Sack Todd's shoulder under the hatch and gave it
a vigorous kick. This caused the man to lose his balance on the iron
ladder and he went down a step. At the same time Gasper Pold fired.

"Oh, I am hit!" groaned the ex-counterfeiter, and fell in a heap on
the head of Sid Jeffers. Then the hatch came into place with a thud
and in a twinkling the three Rovers secured it.

"We have them! We have them!" cried Sam, in delight. "Good for you,
Dick! That was a clever move."

"Run down and make certain that other door is fast," said Dick, and
away went Sam with Tom at his heels. They came back in less than two
minutes.

"It's fast," said Tom. "We've got them in as tight a box as they had us."

CHAPTER XXVII

DAN BAXTER'S REPENTANCE

The three Rover boys could scarcely believe their senses. Here they
were once more in full possession of the _Mermaid_ so far as the deck
and cabin were concerned--and those who had sought to make them
prisoners were prisoners themselves.

"This is where the biter got bit," remarked Tom. "Say, I feel so good
I could almost dance."

"Sack Todd got shot,"