s _no_ good, I tell you! But I feex him!"

With a yell Sambo Ebony flopped over on his face, placing his hands behind
his back.

"Let him alone, Nicolas, as long as he minds," ordered Reade, catching the
excited Mexican by the collar. "Only, if he shows signs of making trouble
then sail into him fast."

No sign of trouble, however, was there in Sambo. He lay as meek as a lamb
while Tom used a lot of the spare cord in taking sundry hitches around the
negro's wrists.

"I don't believe he'll get out of that," said Reade grimly, "Now, we'll
fix his feet."

This, too, was done, and Sambo lay helpless on the ground.

"You'll make a fine-looking jailbird, my friend," mocked Tom, looking down
at the prisoner. "Nor did any man ever better deserve the striped suit
that the State of Alabama will present you. Now, Nicolas, I'll stay and
watch this black treasure while you run and find help."

"Senor, you go yourself," begged the Mexican. "The men will obey you more
queeckly than they would me."

"Oh, you find some of the men and tell 'em to come here to get the fellow
who has been blowing up the wall, and they'll come fast enough," smiled
Tom.

"But, Senor, suppose thees scoundrel free himself?"

"I won't let him, Nicolas."

"But eef he do?" persisted the Mexican. "Then, as I have shown you, Senor,
I can take fine care of heem!"

"There's something in that, too," laughed Tom. "Nicolas, I don't believe
it will be risking you any if I leave you here. Besides, I won't have to
be gone very long."

"If this black scoundrel he get restless, Senor, I will amuse heem with my
forefinger."

Sambo groaned; Nicolas grinned.

"All right," Tom Reade laughed. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Away he raced at a dog-trot, chuckling. The contrast between bulky Sambo
and little Nicolas and the big negro's comic fear of the slim little
fellow kept Reade laughing.

"But where on earth did Nicolas learn that trick?" Tom wondered. "I shall
have to get him to show it to me. Plainly that trick is worth more than
all the muscle that I spent so many years in piling on."

Tom headed his course for the shore end of the wall. Here he would find
men in abundance. Moreover, now that the big black was a prisoner the men
would hardly be needed on the wall.

"I think I know just how Sambo worked it, too," the engineer reflected, as
he ran. "He swam out into the Gulf, towing that little scow behind him.
Neither his black head