d Jerry lay
us over that there wreck!"

This invitation the boys promptly accepted. The afternoon was hot, but
Jerry seemed like a new man as he assumed command of the yacht, taking
charge of the steam steering gear himself. As they could not get under
way for some time, he set Birch to work with a few Kanakas breaking out
the dynamite in the forward hold. Jerry was needed to identify the case
in question, however, and soon went down to the deck for that purpose.

Now happened an incident which in some measure served to open the eyes
of both boys. Among the stores broken out from the hold was a barrel of
beef which had gone bad. After Jerry had identified the case containing
the dynamite, he ordered the Kanakas to fling the bad beef overboard,
and started back to the bridge. The Kanakas had not fully understood the
order, and thinking that the case of dynamite was indicated, they
cheerfully picked it up and heaved it over the rail.

Mart let out one wild yell, which was echoed by Yorke and Dailey, but
nothing happened; the dynamite simply went to the bottom, the force of
the shock not being sufficient to explode it. When Jerry comprehended
what had happened, however, he was changed instantly from a mild,
gentle-appearing old man into a raging maniac. He ran forward, his face
terrible to see, and leaping into the crowd of Kanakas began striking
right and left in mad fury.

The white-faced boys saw Yorke catch hold of him, but Jerry sent the
twisted-mouthed man reeling with a blow; not until Dailey and Birch
flung themselves on him was he quieted. Then he once more became
himself, but he had been struck a hard blow; he looked ten years older,
as Mart commented below his breath.

"No wonder," said Bob commiseratingly. "Poor old Jerry--he'd been
counting on that dynamite to blow up the Pirate Shark, Mart. Just the
same, I guess my bullet sent Mr. Shark a-kiting out to the open sea."

Jerry climbed back to the bridge, vouchsafing no comment, but still
trembling and muttering to himself. Calling down the tube, he found that
the engineer had enough steam up to give the _Seamew_ steerage way, and
without further delay he ordered the anchor tripped and rang for half
speed ahead.

Slowly the yacht gathered way and swung about, pointing up past the
island toward the channel beyond. Beyond this, again, the lagoon
continued for a quarter-mile farther, in a rounded bay where little
rock-points showed their jagged teeth. As th