wo,
Drew?"

"Nothing at all that day," said the young man promptly. "But another
day I was over there, at the _Normandy_, to see--er--Captain Peters,
and this fellow showed up half drunk and gave me the dirty side of his
tongue. I knocked him down."

"Seems to me you're mighty sudden with your fists," growled Captain
Hamilton.

"And Mr. Grimshaw can tell you something about Ditty, too," Drew began;
but the master of the schooner stopped him.

"Never mind about that. We're discussing your affair with Ditty. I've
got to judge between you two. I'm judge, jury, and hangman in this
case--until we make some port where there's a consul, at least. Now,
here's the mate. No more fighting, remember or I'll take a hand in it
myself."

The battered Ditty stumbled down the cabin steps. He could scarcely
see out of his single eye; but that eye glittered malevolently when it
fell upon Allen Drew.

"Sit down, Mr. Ditty," said the captain evenly. "We've got to get to
the bottom of this business. You've said something, Mr. Ditty, that's
got to go down on the log--and it's going to make you a peck of trouble
if you don't prove it. You understand that?"

"I know it," snarled Ditty, through his puffed lips. "He done it."

"You lying hound!" muttered Drew.

Captain Hamilton ignored this. He said:

"What makes you say that Mr. Drew flung Mr. Parmalee overboard?"

"Because I seen him do it," answered Ditty.

Drew started for the mate again, but Tyke held him back.

"Go ahead, Mr. Ditty. Tell your story," commanded the captain curtly.

"They was both standin' abaft the mizzen," the mate began, "and I heard
'em quarrelin' about something. I went there, thinkin' to stop 'em if
it was anything serious, and jest as I got near 'em I seen Mr. Parmalee
up and hit Mr. Drew on the head with his cane. Then, before you could
say Jack Robinson, Mr. Drew picked up Mr. Parmalee as if he had been a
baby and threw him over the rail."

There was a stifled murmur from the group.

"Why didn't you give the alarm and lower a boat?" asked the captain.

"I was goin' to, but Mr. Drew turned round and saw me. He whipped a
gun out of his pocket and swore he'd shoot me if I gave the alarm or
said a word. He held me under the point of his gun till it was too
late to lower a boat, and only let me go after I promised him I'd keep
mum about the hull thing."

"You're a fine sailorman," charged the captain bitterly, "to let a man
drown