n a keg of water and
several small boxes and tins.

"Ship ahoy!" came hoarsely over the water, as the steam yacht drew
closer to the small craft.

"Ahoy!" called back Dick, and ran forward, while Sam signaled to Tom
to stop the engine.

"Can you take us on board?" was the question from a man in the rowboat.
"We've lost our ship and we are played out."

"Certainly we can take you on board," answered Dick. "Wait a minute,
and I'll throw you a rope ladder."

"Thank you very much!" called back the man.

The steam yacht was brought to a standstill and the ladder thrown
out. Soon the rowboat came tip to the ladder, and one after another
those aboard the small craft mounted to the deck of the _Mermaid_.
The three Rovers and Hans were at hand to see who they were.

"Dan Baxter!"

"Sack Todd!"

Such were the cries that came from Sam and Tom. Two of the new arrivals
were indeed the persons named, and a third was Gasper Pold.

"Did you come from the _Dogstar_?" demanded Dick.

"We did," answered Dan Baxter, sullenly. Evidently he was much
chagrined over this unexpected meeting.

"Have you been following us in this steam yacht?" asked Sack Todd,
with a sickly grin on his hard face.

"We were certainly following you," answered Tom. "But we didn't start
out in this vessel. We--"

"Tom!" said Dick, warningly, and then Tom shut up instantly.

"Who's the captain here?" demanded one of the men from the rowboat.

"I suppose I am, for the present," answered Dick.

"You!" And the man, a burly fellow, took a step back in astonishment.

"Yes. Who are you?"

"I am Sid Jeffers, first mate of the _Dogstar_. We sprung several
bad leaks in that storm last night and made up our mind the schooner
was going down. So we got out the boats and I and two men and these
three chaps manned one of them. We lost sight of the ship in the
dark,--and here we are. We're mighty hungry and we'd like something
to eat. And if you've got any liquor on board let us have it by all
means," concluded Sid Jeffers.

CHAPTER XXII

AN UNEXPECTED MEETING ON THE WATER

It was plainly to be seen that the first mate of the _Dogstar_ was
in no wise an agreeable person to meet, and the Rovers and Hans were
sorry that he and the others had come aboard the steam yacht. The
two sailors from the lumber schooner were also rough men and probably
under the thumb of the mate.

"We can give you what is on board of the _Mermaid_," said Dick, a
little stiff