ang up, gave one glance toward the stern window
as if he were going to spring out, and then flung himself between the
burning train and the powder tins, rolling himself over and over in the
hissing flame, and at the same time sweeping the powder, so carefully
laid in zigzag curves, right and left and away toward the cabin window,
where it sputtered and flashed innocuously.

"Quick, Tom!" he panted; "sweep away. Mind it don't go off."

"Why, it has gone off," cried Tom, rising up on his knees and speaking
from out of the dense white smoke, which now completely filled the cabin
and rendered the men invisible to each other.

He was making for the cabin door, when Mark seized and clung to him.

"Come on, my lads," cried Tom. And then, "All right, sir; you lead
them."

"Don't--don't you see?" panted Mark.

"No, sir; who is to see in this blessed smoke? But you're losing time.
Come on."

"The door isn't open."

"What? It must be. Come on."

"I mustn't go near," cried Mark. "Look. These sparks."

"Ay, you're all afire, sir. What made you go so soon? You ought to
have waited."

"You don't understand," cried Mark, who could hardly sneak for
trembling. "That was not the explosion. I--I stopped it."

"You stopped it, sir," cried Tom Fillot, as he kept on passing his hands
over Mark's garments to press out a few sparks which lingered there.

"Yes, of course. Didn't you hear what that was?"

"Course I did, sir, though I was down on my face with my fingers in my
ears. It went off well. Come on, the door must be down."

Another heavy report seemed to strike the schooner again, as the smoke
curled rapidly out of the cabin window, and Mark pressed to it, thrust
out his head, and uttered a loud cheer.

"Why--no--yes--hooray!" roared Tom Fillot, as he caught a glimpse of
something half a mile away, seen through the thick white smoke. "Cheer,
lads, cheer! It's the _Naughtylass_ just astarn."

"I--I knew it," panted Mark, "and stopped the train just in time. Look
at the floor and sweep away any sparks that are left. I--I can't now.
Mind the powder doesn't go off."

The smoke in the cabin was less dense now, and, awakening fully to the
fact that there were sparks here and there where the train had ignited a
few tindery spots between the boards, Tom Fillot and Bannock carefully
trampled them out and swept away with their caps any portions of the
loose powder which might communicate with the heap by the