! I ups an' loads one o'ther guns ter fire at him when he slipped
aroun' asturn us. As we couldn't train no gun ter b'ar on him in that
ther sitiwation wot should I do but git a coil o' rope, mount ther
riggin' an' lasso his capstan, It wuz a mighty good throw too. Waal,
sir, we heaved an' hauled on that ere rope, dragging ther lubber over to
our ship until we got him alongside---"

"And none of them attempted to cut your lasso from their capstan?" asked
Jack. "They must have wanted to get captured."

"It's werry funny," said Tim, "but none o' them seemed ter think o'
doin' that. Waal, sir, as soon as we hauled 'em alongside we had a
broadside ready ter pour inter that craft ter blow her ter pieces, an'
ther gunners wuz at ther posts ready ter fire. But afore we could carry
out this plan ther willians boarded us an' captured us an' our ship."

"It can't be possible?"

"But it wuz, my lad."

"How did you escape?"

"One night I got free an' rushed into the powder magazine with a lit
pipe in my mouth, an' them arter me."

"If you were a prisoner where did you got the lit pipe?"

"Oh, I had it," replied Tim. "Ter continer, seein' my enemies all
rushin' arter me, I took ther pipe an' yelled fer 'em ter go back or I'd
drop ther burnin' baccy inter ther powder. They refused---"

"And you dropped the light into the powder?"

"No. Ther light had gone out," grinned Tim. "It skeered 'em so though,
that when they recovered they bolted out, an' fearin' ter git blowed
up, they all jumped overboard an' was drowned. I released my messmates,
an' we took ther ship."

"Tim, is that a lie, or a fabrication?"

"A fabrication, o' course," indignantly and innocently answered the old
salt. "D'yer s'pose Tim Topstay would tell a lie?"

CHAPTER XVI.
THE CAPTURE OF WOOD HITE.

On the second day after the aforegoing events occurred Fritz happened to
glance into the water tank of the Terror and noticed that their supply
of liquid was running low.

This was very unpleasant, as they were then nowhere near any spring or
stream, and he walked into the front room where Jack sat talking to
Timberlake, and said:

"Dere don't vos more as enough water to last bis to-night."

"That's too bad. Can't we get a supply near here?" said Jack.

"Not that I am aware of," answered the sheriff. "But, about three miles
along the road there is a farm-house, and we can get all we want from
the countryman's cistern."

"Suppose we go there and tr