'em something to dream about if I could lay hands on them,"
said the captain. Jim laughed and strode to the hood of the
forecastle.

Now let us see what had become of the two practical jokers. It looked
very much as though they were trapped and the joke had turned out more
seriously than they expected, as is often the case, and they knew it
would go hard with them when they were captured.

"We have got to hide," cried Jo, "those idiots have roused the whole
ship. I didn't think they would act like that."

"We will probably be keel-hauled for this," said Tom. "Where are you
going to hide, Jo?"

"Don't know, but we have got to hide somewhere, and soon, too."

Jo was more daring than Tom, and he made a dash for the deck with the
hope that he would be able to get back to his cabin and be innocently
asleep when an investigation should be made, but no sooner did he get
out than he saw that all retreat was cut off, for he could dimly see
Jim's form coming along the passageway. He hesitated for a second
undecided which way to turn, then he crouched quickly in the direction
of the bow. It had come to him like an inspiration. There was a
covered cubby hole roofed over, where old chains and such things were
kept, in the bow.

CHAPTER XIII

TOM'S BAD LUCK

Jo crawled as far back as he could into his hiding place, bumping his
head and bruising his knees on the rusty chains, and in the remotest
corner he crouched much like a scared kitten. He had just got safely
hidden when Jim reached the hood of the forecastle.

Then Jim descended in search of the ghosts. No sooner had he lighted
a lantern than Pete appeared hobbling down the steps into the dim
interior with the bell, that Jo had tied to the ladder, in his hand.
This the old sailor felt would give the clue to the mystery, and it
did.

"Here, Skipper, I found this tied aft." Jim took it and recognized it
at a glance.

"Ho! ho!" he cried, "this is some of Jo's work. He and Tom have been
up to some devilment. I bet my sombrero that those two rascals were
the ghosts you saw." But the old sailor did not want to give up the
dubious honor of having seen some live spirits, and so he stuck to his
story.

"But these were real ghosts, sir. I seen 'em with my two eyes, and
their faces were white and green, like nothing human."

"He's shure roight, sor," declared the boy who had now put in a
cautious appearance. "My grandfather has seen ghosts in his time."

Jim laug