o other than old Jerry Smith, the one-eyed seaman Birch, and
Yorke, the old seaman with the twisted, leering mouth that was always
smiling horribly. Mart chuckled.

"Well, what about it, Holly? Haven't they as much right here as we
have?"

"But the nerve o' them!" Bob straightened up, his blue eyes flashing
angrily. "Seamen like them comin' out here to Waikiki as if they were
millionaires!"

"Well, I'm no millionaire myself," rejoined Mart quickly. "Judging from
the crowd, everybody's welcome here that's got the price to pay, Bob.
You're no better than anyone else, are you?"

"I didn't mean that!" retorted his chum, flaring up. "And you know it.
Only it seems funny. Huh! look at that!"

Mart looked again, and saw Jerry fling a gold piece to the waiter. The
crew had been given their wages up to date, he knew, so there was
nothing strange in this, but when the quartermaster carelessly waved the
waiter to keep the change, it did look queer.

"Well, boys," and the thin clear voice of old Jerry pierced to them,
"here's a health to the old crowd, and a quick passing to the Pirate
Shark! Pity all the boys ain't here."

"Blast that Swanson!" growled the one-eyed Birch evilly. "He kep' Jimmy
Dailey an' Borden in his watch--"

"Shut up!" snapped out Yorke, with a leer around. Jerry laughed softly.

"Perfectly safe, Yorke, perfectly safe! Best place to talk is in the
middle of a crowd, as old Bucko Tom used to say. You mind old Bucko Tom,
boys? Fish tell no tales--"

"Stow that jaw o' yours," exclaimed Yorke again. "I say it ain't safe."

The two boys looked at each other. Bob's eyes were burning, and Mart
knew his own cheeks were flushed.

"Lay low," he said softly, his hand on Bob's wrist. "There's somethin'
going on here, Holly. Remember when Swanson an' Jerry met, the night we
sailed?"

Bob nodded excitedly, and Mart pressed him back out of sight. The young
wireless operator was more deeply alarmed than he showed, and had no
scruples about listening. They were not intentionally spying, and even
if they had been, he would have thought little of it.

He remembered the strange things that had already chanced--the evident
acquaintance between Swanson and the rest of their crew, the significant
conversation between the first mate and the quartermaster, the tales
about Jerry's former life. Then there was this toast to the Pirate
Shark! What did it all mean? And Bucko Tom--that was the man Jerry had
"got" according