sale?"

"No. Chap that owned her before that did. His name is Fearson."

"Fearson? Is he the one who went crazy?"

"The very same," put in the truckman.

"When did he give you this bill of sale?"

"Don't remember the exact date."

"The bill will show."

"Sure. Why do you want to know?"

"I want to find out if he gave it to you before a certain time. That's
all."

The strange claimant of the yacht was suspicious.

"I don't see the point," he said. "I hold the bill, and I claim the
yacht. Just found out what Benjamin had done, and I came down in a
hurry, after getting track of the boat, to warn you not to try to move
her. I won't have it."

It began to look like a scrape, but Frank was not flustered in the
least. He kept his head, saying:

"Have you the bill of sale with you, sir?"

"Yes."

"Will you be kind enough to permit me to look at it?"

The stranger started to do so, but seemed to change his mind of a
sudden, and said:

"No, I won't bother. I tell you not to move her. If you do, I'll make
you pay a big sum for damages, so look out."

Frank smiled sweetly.

"That is a very silly threat," he murmured. "If you do not show me the
document I shall not believe it exists."

"That doesn't make any difference to----"

"It makes this difference: It is now twenty minutes to nine. At nine I
shall cast off from the pier. Wind and tide being right, it will not
take me long to get out of the harbor."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"What is there to dare? I fail to see anything."

"Why, confound you! I'd make you smart for it!"

"You couldn't. You have made a lot of bluffing talk about holding a bill
of sale, but I do not take any stock in that till you produce the
document. I have purchased this yacht, and, as long as I believe myself
her rightful owner, I shall do with her as I see fit. At nine o'clock
she sails."

The fellow hesitated, and then snapped out:

"Oh, I can prove to you that I am not lying. I will prove it. Here is
the bill--see for yourself."

He took a number of papers from his pocket, and selected one among them,
which he opened and held before Frank. Merriwell looked the document
over carefully. It was a bill of sale of the yacht _White Wings_ from
Fergus Fearson to Parker Flynn.

"Is your name Parker Flynn?" asked Frank.

"It is."

"And you bought the yacht of Fearson?"

"You bet!" nodded the claimant, triumphantly. "I rather think this
document settles it."

"It does," n