he
rusty old steamer and then launch itself into the sea with a mighty
roar.

"A lion!" exclaimed Jack, "by all that's wonderful, a lion."

"That explains the mystery of those noises and the predicament of those
poor fellows crowded on the stern away from the boats," said Mr.
Billings, who had quite regained his self-possession.

"But--but I don't understand," said Jack.

"That ship has a cargo of wild animals on board," explained Mr.
Billings. "Such shipments are regularly made from Hamburg, her hailing
port, to America. Most probably she had lions, tigers, leopards, great
serpents and other animals on board. When her bow was stove in a number
of cages were smashed and the wild beasts escaped."

"That accounts for the shooting I saw, then," exclaimed Jack; "they must
have been firing from the raised stern at the animals which menaced them
on the main deck."

"Unquestionably. I am glad I brought my own shooting iron," said Mr.
Billings. "I packed it along in case we had trouble with a mutinous
crew."

They were now close to the blazing ship. The heat and odor of the flames
were clearly felt.

"We'll have to pull around on the weather side," decided Mr. Brown. "If
we come up under the wind, we'd all be scorched before we could effect
any rescues.

"Pull round the stern, my lads," he ordered.

"Aye, aye, sir," came in a deep-throated chorus from the crew.

As the four boats made under the stern, white, anxious faces looked down
on them.

"Thank heaven you've come!" exclaimed the captain, whose haggard
countenance showed all that he had been through. "We're just about at
our last ditch. The animals we were taking from Jamrachs, in Hamburg,
for an American circus, broke loose after the collision with the
derelict. They've killed two of my men and maimed another."

"All right, my hearties, just hold on a minute and we'll have you out of
that," exclaimed Mr. Billings cheerfully.

More roars and screeches from the loosened animals checked him. Then
came more shots, telling of an attack on the stern, the only cool part
of the ship left, which had been repulsed. The flames shot up, seeming
to reach to the sky, and the smoke blotted out the sun, enveloping
everything in the burning ship's vicinity in a sort of twilight.

"Do you think we'll be able to get all of them off?" asked Jack eagerly.

"I'm in hopes that we will," said Mr. Billings, "if nothing untoward
happens."

There was, Jack noticed, a shade of