, it costs you
nothing to encounter danger; on the other hand, it even gives you
delight. You enjoy it. You may be unafraid, Mr. Larsen, but you must
grant that the bravery is mine."

"You're right," he acknowledged at once. "I never thought of it in that
way before. But is the opposite true? If you are braver than I, am I
more cowardly than you?"

We both laughed at the absurdity, and he dropped down to the deck and
rested his rifle across the rail. The bullets we had received had
travelled nearly a mile, but by now we had cut that distance in half. He
fired three careful shots. The first struck fifty feet to windward of
the boat, the second alongside; and at the third the boat-steerer let
loose his steering-oar and crumpled up in the bottom of the boat.

"I guess that'll fix them," Wolf Larsen said, rising to his feet. "I
couldn't afford to let the hunter have it, and there is a chance the
boat-puller doesn't know how to steer. In which case, the hunter cannot
steer and shoot at the same time."

His reasoning was justified, for the boat rushed at once into the wind
and the hunter sprang aft to take the boat-steerer's place. There was no
more shooting, though the rifles were still cracking merrily from the
other boats.

The hunter had managed to get the boat before the wind again, but we ran
down upon it, going at least two feet to its one. A hundred yards away,
I saw the boat-puller pass a rifle to the hunter. Wolf Larsen went
amidships and took the coil of the throat-halyards from its pin. Then he
peered over the rail with levelled rifle. Twice I saw the hunter let go
the steering-oar with one hand, reach for his rifle, and hesitate. We
were now alongside and foaming past.

"Here, you!" Wolf Larsen cried suddenly to the boat-puller. "Take a
turn!"

At the same time he flung the coil of rope. It struck fairly, nearly
knocking the man over, but he did not obey. Instead, he looked to his
hunter for orders. The hunter, in turn, was in a quandary. His rifle
was between his knees, but if he let go the steering-oar in order to
shoot, the boat would sweep around and collide with the schooner. Also
he saw Wolf Larsen's rifle bearing upon him and knew he would be shot ere
he could get his rifle into play.

"Take a turn," he said quietly to the man.

The boat-puller obeyed, taking a turn around the little forward thwart
and paying the line as it jerked taut. The boat sheered out with a rush,
a