with a knife.
Cussed if I knows what for, and I didn't have time to ask him
particulars, but had to drill him, and drill him I did, as I'm no man to
stand for knife-play, and as I was trotting myself back who should I come
on but the writin' chap, here, stretched in the grass, so for a time I
thought he had been stretched for good when up he pops and reaches for a
gun, and I give him the butt fair behind of the ear.

"Lucky job, Bucky; lucky for ye and lucky for me, as he'd done for ye
clean in another turnabout, and then, with Thirkle there as he is, a fine
time I'd had of it. But it wasn't myself I was mindin', nohow, Bucky, but
you, as I had my gun and could have drilled him after he drilled you; but
I couldn't stand to see ye get it in the back as he minded to give it.
Lucky for ye, hey, Bucky? We can play fair on that score, can't we,
Bucky? Not for me and he'd have ye and--"

"Oh, stop yer whining and lying!" said Thirkle. "It was yer own pelt ye
took care of, and now ye want to get thick with Bucky, but it won't do
ye a bit of good, Reddy. He'll do for us all now; but if ye got any sense
stir up Mr. Trenholm here and find what's become of the ship and his
mates.

"Step on the gentleman's neck and see if he's dead. While yer gamming
away here ye don't know how many more are in the bushes hereabout with
guns ready to chip ye. Stir him up and let's see what happened to the
_Kut Sang_ that he's here at all. It's plain she didn't go down."

Petrak kicked me in the ribs, and I groaned and opened my eyes as if I
had just recovered consciousness, for I did not care to let them know I
had been listening to any of their conversation.

"What's all the trouble?" I asked, looking about, and then sitting up and
gazing at the three pirates as if I were still confused.

"Everything lovely," said Thirkle, grinning at me. "Your old friend, Mr.
Petrak, put you to sleep. I am indeed surprised to find you so well after
all that happened on board the _Kut Sang_, and your belt there, which
Bucky removed, seems to be well filled with weapons. What became of my
old friend, Captain Riggs? And where is the _Kut Sang_?"

"She went down," I said, knowing that my time would be short if they knew
the steamer was still above water, for every minute it lay on the reef
there was a possibility that it would be sighted by some passing vessel.
I knew that if I told them it was still there Buckrow would probably
murder Thirkle and me and haste