"Ha! do you threaten me on my own ship?" bellowed the captain.
"We certainly do!" said Dick, as Fred glanced at him questioningly.
"I can put you in irons for it, young man!"
"No, you can't. We are not going to touch you or any of your crew. But unless you serve us with first-class food from now on I, for one, shall make a complaint against you as soon as we land, and have you arrested."
At this announcement the face of the captain of the Mascotte grew purple with rage. He stepped forward as if to strike Dick. But the latter stood his ground, looked the irate officer full in the eyes, and the man paused.
"We have had trouble enough without your adding to it," said Harold Bird. "We ask only that which is due us."
"The young man is perfectly right," said an elderly passenger. "The food is horrible. If he makes a complaint to the authorities I shall sustain him."
"So will I," added several.
"All right, have your own way," grumbled the captain. "I see you are bound to get me in a hole. If the food wasn't good it was the fault of the cook."
"He says it is your fault, and he is going to leave you at the end of this trip."
