Hullo!" he said sternly, "what's the matter here?"

"Your son, sir, won't answer my questions," cried Fitz excitedly.

"Quite right, my lad. I told him not to until you get better, so don't
ask."

"I am better," cried the boy, trying to spring up, but sinking back with
a groan.

"There, you see," said the skipper, "you are not. You are far too weak.
Why not take my word for it, my lad, as a bit of a doctor? Now, look
here! You want to know how it is you came on board my craft--wait
patiently a little while, and when I think you are well enough to bear
it I will tell you all."

"But I don't want to be told now," cried the boy passionately--"not
that. I boarded with our men, and I can remember I felt a heavy blow.
I must have been knocked down and stunned. What has become of our
lieutenant, the boat and men?"

"Oh, well, my lad, if the murder must out--"

"Murder!" cried Fitz.

"Murder, no! Nonsense! That's a figure of speech. I mean, if the
story must come out, here it is. I was going peacefully down channel
when your boat boarded us."

"As she had a right to," cried Fitz, "being from one of the Queen's
ships on duty."

"Oh, I am not going to argue that, my lad," said the skipper coolly. "I
was sailing down channel, interfering with nobody, when I was boarded by
a lot of armed men in the dark, and I did what any skipper would do
under the circumstances. The boat's crew meant to capture my craft and
my valuable cargo, so after a scuffle I had them all pitched overboard
to get back to their boat, and gave them the go-by in the darkness, and
I haven't seen anything of them since."

"Oh!" exclaimed Fitz. "Resisting one of Her Majesty's crews! Do you
know, sir, what it means?"

"I know what the other means, my lad--losing my craft and valuable
cargo, and some kind of punishment, I suppose, for what I have done."

"But you have taken me prisoner, then?" cried Fitz.

"Well, not exactly, my lad," said the skipper, smiling. "I shouldn't
have done that if I had known. Nobody knew you were on board till the
next morning, for we were all too busy clapping on all sail so as to
give your gunboat a clean pair of heels."

"Never mind me," cried Fitz excitedly. "What about the boat's crew?"

"Oh, they'll be all right. They got back to their boat. We could hear
plainly enough the shouting one to the other, and your officer hailing
till the last man was picked up. They were showing their lantern then