rried him heels
over head, and he rolled and tumbled the rest of the way, bringing up in
a heap at the bottom.

[Illustration]

He scrambled to his feet, wild with rage. Peals of mirth from the cove
reached his ears. His mates and Captain Higgins, as soon as they saw
that he was not seriously hurt, had doubled up with laughter. Their
outburst of merriment increased Percy's fury.

A triumphant bleat resounded above. Outlined clearly against a
background of blue sky, legs well apart and hoofs braced stoutly, Aries
stood on the brink, gazing proudly down upon his overthrown enemy.
White with wrath, Percy groped for a stone and launched it viciously. It
just grazed the ram's head. The laughter from the cove redoubled.

A new idea struck Percy. Darting into the cabin, he ran out with Uncle
Tom's shot-gun.

"None of that, Whittington!" bellowed Spurling.

Heedless of the shouted command, Percy clapped the gun to his shoulder
and pulled first one trigger and then the other. Click! Click! Both
barrels were empty. He might have remembered that so careful a fellow as
Jim would never leave a loaded gun standing about. But there were a
half-dozen shells in a box on the shelf. Laying the gun down, he rushed
back into the cabin.

Spurling realized what Percy was after. Springing into the dory, he
sculled rapidly to the beach. He had almost reached the shore when
Whittington dashed out of the door with the shells in his hands. He
crammed two into the breech, while the ram gazed haughtily down upon
him.

"Put that gun down!" shouted Jim as the dory grounded and he leaped out
on the beach.

Up went the weapon to Percy's shoulder. His finger sought the trigger,
but no report followed. The ram had vanished and the sky-line was
unbroken.

Before the exasperated lad could decide on his next step Jim was at his
side, clutching at stock and barrel with strong hands.

"Give it to me!"

There was a short scuffle, and the gun was wrenched from Percy's grasp.

"Let me alone, Spurling! I'll kill that brute before he's ten minutes
older!"

"Oh no, you won't!" replied Jim, coolly.

Breaking open the weapon, he extracted the shells and dropped them into
his pocket.

"How many of these did you bring out?"

"Never you mind!"

"Oh, well, I know how many I had. I can count 'em. They're too dangerous
to be lying around loose where a hothead like you can get hold of 'em."

He took the gun into the cabin. In half a minute he was o