id for it with good money, and I mean to hold
it. If you really are Sheriff Ulmer, which I am inclined to doubt, you
have been deceived by that rascal in the bow of the launch. He holds a
worthless bill of sale of this boat, which, if it is not a forgery, was
made out by a crazy man who did not own the boat at the time."

"It's a lie!" snarled Flynn. "The bill of sale is all right, and we're
going to take that yacht!"

"You will have to fight for her, if you do!"

"If you fight, you fool, you will go to jail. There is a first-class
jail in Rockland, too."

"I'll take my chances of going to jail. Keep off! This is a fair
warning."

By this time the launch was close to the yacht, and the faces of all the
persons in the small boat could be seen and studied. Wat Snell was
pale, and it was plain he did not relish his position. With the fellow
who claimed to be sheriff was a hang-dog looking chap who looked like a
fighter. The man who was running the launch acted as if he had no
intention of taking any part in the fight, if one should occur. It was
plain he had been hired to set the others on board the _White Wings_,
and he did not mean to do anything more than that.

"Hans!" called Frank, "take the wheel and hold her steady as she is. You
will get out of the scrimmage, and I want to have a hand in that."

Hans took the wheel, and Frank prepared to take a hand in the repulse if
the enemy tried to board.

The man in the launch who had claimed to be sheriff stood up and waved
his clinched fist above his head.

"In the name of the law, I command you to surrender!" he shouted.

"Show your authority," calmly returned Merriwell.

"Here it is--the bill of sale of that yacht."

"That is no authority. Do you think you can bluff us because we are
young? You will find you have made a big mistake."

"Board them!" cried Flynn. "Take the yacht! That is the only way to do
it!"

"You will find that is a mighty hard way to do it!" grated Bart Hodge.
"Come on, Snell! I want to get at you!"

The launch ran alongside the yacht, and the man with the fellow who
claimed to be the sheriff caught the rail of the _White Wings_ with a
boat hook.

"Come on!" roared the black-whiskered chap.

"Stand by to repel boarders!" rang out Frank's clear voice.

CHAPTER VI.

THE STRUGGLE FOR THE YACHT.

The big man with the whiskers was the first to make an attempt to reach
the deck of the yacht. He gave a leap that landed him on