had heard, and he believed it implicitly.
In the second place, he was a prisoner, hard and fast, with no chance
of escape. In the third, it was possible for the twenty-two men on the
_Mary Thomas_ to escape. The only thing which bound them was a
four-inch hawser. They dared not cut it at their end, for a watch was
sure to be maintained upon it by their Russian captors; but at this end,
ah! at his end----

Bub did not stop to reason further. Wriggling close to the hawser, he
opened his jack-knife and went to work, The blade was not very sharp,
and he sawed away, rope-yarn by rope-yarn, the awful picture of the
solitary Siberian exile he must endure growing clearer and more terrible
at every stroke. Such a fate was bad enough to undergo with one's
comrades, but to face it alone seemed frightful. And besides, the very
act he was performing was sure to bring greater punishment upon him.

In the midst of such somber thoughts, he heard footsteps approaching.
He wriggled away into the shadow. An officer stopped where he had been
working, half-stooped to examine the hawser, then changed his mind and
straightened up. For a few minutes he stood there, gazing at the lights
of the captured schooner, and then went forward again.

Now was the time! Bub crept back and went on sawing. Now two parts were
severed. Now three. But one remained. The tension upon this was so great
that it readily yielded. Splash! The freed end went overboard. He lay
quietly, his heart in his mouth, listening. No one on the cruiser but
himself had heard.

He saw the red and green lights of the _Mary Thomas_ grow dimmer
and dimmer. Then a faint hallo came over the water from the Russian
prize crew. Still nobody heard. The smoke continued to pour out of the
cruiser's funnels, and her propellers throbbed as mightily as ever.

What was happening on the _Mary Thomas_? Bub could only surmise;
but of one thing he was certain: his comrades would assert themselves
and overpower the four sailors and the midshipman. A few minutes later
he saw a small flash, and straining his ears heard the very faint report
of a pistol. Then, oh joy! both the red and green lights suddenly
disappeared. The _Mary Thomas_ was retaken!

Just as an officer came aft, Bub crept forward, and hid away in
one of the boats. Not an instant too soon. The alarm was given. Loud
voices rose in command. The cruiser altered her course. An electric
search-light began to throw its white rays across t