"Look out! I am going to fire!"
"Don't hit me," cautioned Sack Todd.
"If you fire, so will I," answered Dick, "and you'll get the worst of it."
"Hang the luck! We didn't disarm them!" muttered Pold.
By this time Tom was coming up on deck, followed by Sam. Hans was told to remain behind, to keep his eyes on Dan Baxter.
As soon as Sam and Tom saw the situation they leaped to Dick's assistance. Tom saw Sack Todd's shoulder under the hatch and gave it a vigorous kick. This caused the man to lose his balance on the iron ladder and he went down a step. At the same time Gasper Pold fired.
"Oh, I am hit!" groaned the ex-counterfeiter, and fell in a heap on the head of Sid Jeffers. Then the hatch came into place with a thud and in a twinkling the three Rovers secured it.
"We have them! We have them!" cried Sam, in delight. "Good for you, Dick! That was a clever move."
"Run down and make certain that other door is fast," said Dick, and away went Sam with Tom at his heels. They came back in less than two minutes.
"It's fast," said Tom. "We've got them in as tight a box as they had us."
