A rush was made by Mr. Rover, the boys and several others, and to the astonishment of all Bahama Bill was discovered on the deck locked arm in arm with Walt Wingate, who was doing his best to break away.
"Wingate, you rascal!" shouted Anderson Rover, and caught the deck hand by the collar.
"Let me go!" yelled the fellow, and struggled to free himself. He held a pistol in one hand and this went off, but the bullet merely cut the air. Then the weapon was taken from him.
"So you are still on board, eh?" roared Captain Barforth, when he confronted the man. "What have you to say for yourself?"
"I—er—I haven't done anything wrong," was Wingate's stubborn reply.
"Oh, no, of course not!"
"He came at me in my sleep," cried Bahama Bill. "He had something in a little white paper and he was trying to put it into my mouth when I woke up an' caught him. I think he was going to poison me!" And he leaped forward and caught the prisoner by the throat.
"Le—let up!" gasped the deck hand. "It—it's all a mis—mistake! I wasn't going to poi—poison anybody."
"Maybe he vos poison does sandwiches, doo,"
