"

There was no help for it, and soon Ben was on deck. He was made to enter
a small boat and was thus transferred to another steamer--one which had
formerly been in the East Indian trade but which was now acting as a
Russian supply boat.

"What a dirty craft!" was his mental comment, after having been thrust
into a pen which was little better than a horse stall. The supply boat
was loaded to its fullest capacity, so quarters for all on board were
limited.

Two days passed and he received food which was scarcely fit to eat. When
he protested he was threatened with a flogging. The air was foul and he
began to fear that he would become sick.

"I won't be able to stand this much longer," he thought, dismally. "If
they want to kill me why don't they do it at once and have done with
it?"

On the following morning a surprise awaited him. He heard two Russian
officers pause in front of his pen and one said to the other:

"Here is the prisoner, Captain Barusky."

"Is it the fellow named Russell?" was the question from Captain Barusky,
the rascal who had aided Ivan Snokoff to make so much trouble for
Gilbert Pennington.

"The same."

"They did not capture his friend?"

"No--in the struggle he slipped away."

"I am sorry for that. We wanted Pennington more than we did this fellow.
But I am glad we got at least one of them. As I understand it they work
hand-in-glove with each other;" and then the two Russian officers passed
on.

Like a flash Ben realized the truth of the situation. His taking off had
been a trap set by Snokoff and this Captain Barusky, who had hired the
Chunchuses to help work out their plot. He was now in the hands of the
enemy in more ways than one.

"They won't treat me as an ordinary prisoner," he reasoned. "This
Captain Barusky will make it as hard as possible for me--more especially
so as Gilbert managed to escape his clutches. Well, I am glad Gilbert
got away."

Resolved to "take the bull by the horns," Ben asked the prison guard if
he might speak to Captain Barusky.

"I will see about it," answered the sailor, and went off to find out. On
his return he stated that the captain would visit the pen some time
during the day.

The Russian officer came late in the afternoon, when nobody else was
near the pen. There was a sarcastic look on his face when he gazed at
the young captain.

"So you want to talk to me," he said, abruptly.

"I do, Captain Barusky. I want to know why this plot was