few days after the rescue of the survivors of the
_Luckenback_, watching the phosphorescence of the sea, "we're getting
down to the old Spanish Main, now."

"Isn't that a great word for bringing up ideas!" exclaimed Eric in
reply. "It makes one think of the old stories we used to read as kids,
of the black flag with the skull and crossbones and all that sort of
thing. Too bad there aren't any pirates left!"

"I suppose you'd want us to go chasing them!"

"Of course. We should have to, if there were any, wouldn't we?"

"Certainly," his friend answered. "Don't you remember how the old bos'n
of the _Itasca_ used to tell us about the early days of the Revenue
Cutter Service when chasing pirates was a regular part of its duties?
Officially it is still, I suppose, but there aren't any more pirates to
chase."

"What has put them all out of business?" Eric said thoughtfully. "I've
often wondered."

"Steam, mainly," his friend replied, "that 'insult to a seaman's
intelligence,' as our friend the fluent skipper of the _Northwestern_
called it."

"But I don't see why," persisted Eric. "After all, in the days of
sailing ships, the pirates only had sailing ships--and they weren't
always such an awful lot faster. Why couldn't pirates to-day have
steamships, just as fast in comparison to the steamers of to-day as
their clippers were to the sailing ships of old? They'd get much bigger
hauls. Why, one good hold-up of an Atlantic steamer would make a pirate
crew rich for life!"

"You'd better take to the trade," suggested his companion.

"I'd sooner do the chasing," replied the boy; "it's much more fun,
anyway, and I'd rather be on the right side, every time. But don't you
think that there really would be a chance for a big Atlantic greyhound
pirate?"

"I don't think so," the other answered meditatively. "For one thing,
we'd have pirates if there was any such chance. After all, Eric, you've
got to remember that a pirate was successful because of his own
personality. They were a mighty forceful lot--Kidd, Blackbeard,
Lolonnois, and all those early pirates. On a big steamer, the pirate
captain wouldn't have the same sort of chance. There's too many in a
crew, for one thing. Then he'd be practically at the mercy of his
engineers and engine hands. In a mutiny, he'd be up against it for
fair."

"But if a pirate captain could bluff a couple of mates and forty sailors
in his crew, I don't see why he shouldn't he able to bluff a c