ed, because Yaspard declared that his
"followers" would seize the messenger, and hold both him and Gloy as
hostages for their captain.

Then a brilliant idea occurred to Harry, who had always been the most
reflecting boy of the lot.

"I'll tell you what to do. Send Thor with a message tied to his leg.
That was what Svein did once, when he was hurt and in Vega. Crawbie
had gone after him; and he carved two words on the cover of his
pocket-book, tied it to Crawbie, and Crawbie went to Collaster with it."

"Splendid! Yes, the very thing!" the others cried.

So a hard-boiled egg was taken from the ferdimet, and laid temptingly
on Yaspard's hand as a lure for Thor, who was evidently averse to
trusting himself in the _Laulie_. But his weakness was an egg, and he
soon flopped across to his master's knee, where he was detained for
"further orders."

"Will he go home?" was the next debatable point. Yaspard thought Thor
would, if they made it sufficiently plain to his corvidaeous intellect
that he must not remain with the boats.

"He has often followed me, poor old chap!" said Yaspard. "I dare say
he was coming on my tracks when the shooies fell foul of him; he will
return to Moolapund if I drive him off. He won't halt by the way now,
for it is near his roosting time, and he is tired to boot."

They did as Svein Holtum had shown them how, and tearing the cover from
a pocket-book, tied it securely to Thor's leg. To make assurance
doubly sure, a duplicate was fixed around his neck. Yaspard wrote on
these boards--

"Captured on the high seas; taken in chains to Collaster.--THE VIKING."

Then he tossed Thor up from his hand, crying, "Shoo! off with you!
Home now!" But Thor flitted no farther than the _Osprey_, and,
settling in his favourite place at the bow, began to pull viciously at
the book-boards.

Bill hauled the smaller boat alongside and clambered into her, making
noise and demonstration enough, as he did so, to scare any ordinary
bird; but Thor did not stir from the spot until Bill's hands were
almost on him. Then he merely hopped from the one boat to the other,
remarking as he did it, "Just so!" which of course sent the boys off
yelling as before with wild laughter.

Now, no self-respecting raven will endure to be laughed at, especially
when he is merely repeating a boy's pet phrase. Nor will he tamely
submit to being chased from stem to stern with shouts of "Shoo! shoo!"
Thor felt trebly insulted j