Barnaby's
hearing, not to mention that vile slur set upon himself, must have cast
our hero. To be sure he scarcely knew what he did, but he put his hand
against Sir John Malyoe's breast and thrust him back most violently,
crying out upon him at the same time for daring so to threaten a young
lady, and that for a farthing he would wrench the stick out of his hand
and throw it overboard.

A little farther and Sir John would have fallen flat upon the deck with
the push Barnaby gave him. But he contrived, by catching hold of the
rail, to save his balance. Whereupon, having recovered himself, he came
running at our hero like a wild beast, whirling his cane about, and I
do believe would have struck him (and God knows then what might have
happened) had not his man-servant caught him and held him back.

"Keep back!" cried out our hero, still mighty hoarse. "Keep back! If
you strike me with that stick I'll fling you overboard!"

By this time, what with the sound of loud voices and the stamping of
feet, some of the crew and others aboard were hurrying up to the scene
of action. At the same time Captain Manly and the first mate, Mr.
Freesden, came running out of the cabin. As for our hero, having got
set agoing, he was not to be stopped so easily.

"And who are you, anyhow," he cries, his voice mightily hoarse even in
his own ears, "to threaten to strike me! You may be a bloody pirate,
and you may shoot a man from behind, as you shot poor Captain Brand on
the Cobra River, but you won't dare strike me face to face. I know who
you are and what you are!"

As for Sir John Malyoe, had he been struck of a sudden by palsy, he
could not have stopped more dead short in his attack upon our hero.
There he stood, his great, bulging eyes staring like those of a fish,
his face as purple as a cherry. As for Master Informer, Barnaby had the
satisfaction of seeing that he had stopped his grinning by now and was
holding his master's arm as though to restrain him from any further act
of violence.

By this time Captain Manly had come bustling up and demanded to know
what all the disturbance meant. Whereupon our hero cried out, still in
the extremity of passion:

"The villain insulted me and insulted the young lady; he threatened to
strike me with his cane. But he sha'n't strike me. I know who he is and
what he is. I know what he's got in his cabin in those two trunks, and
I know where he found it, and whom it belongs to."

At this Captain