swam on, the boat putting about, and now the light of a lantern was
shining over the waters.

"Ha! there he is!"

"Shoot the rebel, no one will hear!"

"Yes, we've got to get him!"

Crack! There was a report, but Dick had just sunk under water and was
unhurt. On came the boat, Dick rising just astern of it. In a moment he
seized the gunwale and swung the boat around with all his might, at the
same time tipping it at one side. There was a cry of alarm, and then
some one cried from the ship Dick had seen:

"Get away from here, you water rats, or you'll get a shot or two in your
gullets that you won't like."

There was a sudden splash, and Dick knew that some one had fallen into
the river from the boat. He had released it, and was now making his way
toward the wharf at good speed. There were more outcries from the river,
but Dick could not see the lantern now, and judged that it had fallen
overboard. The inability of the men to see Dick worked for his safety
now, and he swam on to the wharf at a good rate. Nearing it, he heard
the boy Tom say in a cautious voice:

"Who is that?"

"It is I, Tom, thanks to you," said Dick. "Without that knife I should
have been drowned."

"Come this way, Captain," added the boy. "Do you see me?"

"No, but I know where you are."

Dick swam toward the boy and was helped by him to land.

"You saved me from a thrashing, and you saved the money I had for my
mother," the boy said. "But for that he would have got it, and mother
and the little children would have had nothing to eat."

"You earn money for your mother and the children, do you?" asked Dick,
interested.

"Yes, sometimes quite a good deal, but I have to be careful about it,
for if he finds out that I have it, he takes it away and then we have to
go without. I have to lie to save it often. Is that very wicked,
Captain?"

"No, it would be better for you not to lie, but to face him down and
tell him plainly that the money was for the support of the family and
not for him to squander in drink."

They were hurrying along now, the boy in the lead, the sounds from the
river showing that the men were coming back.

"Yes, that is right and I shall do it, but come, they will raise an
alarm and you will have trouble in getting away. This way, Captain."

They went down an alley, the boy taking Dick's hand, and presently
turned into a narrower one where Tom shortly pushed open a door and
entered a house.

"It is Tom, mother,"