d Frank.

"Why, the middle mast, of course. What's the matter with you?" he added,
turning suddenly upon Archie, who seemed to be on the point of
strangling.

"Nothing," was the reply, "only something got stuck in my throat."

Arthur had taken up a dangerous subject when he began to talk about
nautical matters; for they were something in which Frank and his cousin
had always been interested, and were well posted. Archie lived in a
sea-port town, and, although he had never been a sailor, he knew the
names of all the ropes, and could talk as "salt" as any old tar. He
knew, and so did Frank, that what Arthur had called the "middle mast,"
was known on shipboard as the mainmast. They knew that the "very top" of
the mainmast was called the main truck; and that the look-outs were not
generally stationed so high up in the world.

"We can talk as we ride along," said Johnny. "We have ten miles to go,
and we ought to reach the captain's by twelve o'clock. The old fellow
tells a capital story over his after-dinner pipe."

The boys mounted their horses, and, led by Johnny, galloped off in the
direction of the old fur-trader's ranch. They rode in silence for a few
minutes, and then Archie said:

"If you wouldn't think me too inquisitive, Arthur, I'd like to know at
what age you began your travels?"

"At the age of eleven," was the prompt reply, "I was a midshipman in the
navy, and made my first voyage under the gallant Decatur. I spent four
years at sea with him, and during that time I had those terrible fights
with the Algerines, of which I have before spoken. In the last battle, I
was captured, and compelled to walk the plank."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Johnny, who had never devoted any of
his time to yellow-covered literature.

"Why, you must know that the inhabitants of Algiers, and the adjacent
countries, were, at one time, nothing but pirates. When they captured a
vessel, their first hard work, after taking care of the valuable part of
the cargo, was to dispose of their prisoners. It was too much trouble to
set them ashore, so they balanced a plank out of one of the
gangways--one end being out over the water, and the other on board the
ship. The pirates placed their feet on the end inboard, to hold it in
its place, and then ordered their prisoners, one at a time, to walk out
on the plank. Of course, they were compelled to obey; and, when they got
out to the end of the plank over the water, the pirates lifted