"I will not argue with you, sir, or contradict. You hold the power. I only say, for mercy's sake let that poor suffering invalid and his sister come. We will then push off and leave you to your prize." Jarette was resting his arms on the bulwark, gazing down at us, no doubt maliciously, but the lights were behind him and at his side, so that his features were in the dark, and as I looked up I could not help thinking how easily any one might have shot him dead and thrown him overboard. But I shuddered at this horrible idea as it flashed through my head, and waited for him to speak. Mr Frewen waited too, but he remained silent, only making a slight movement as if to pass one arm over the bulwarks, though from where I sat I could not quite make out his act. "You heard me, Jarette?" said Mr Frewen, after this painful pause. "You will let your people help Mr Denning and his sister down?" Still the man did not answer, but appeared to be staring hard at the doctor. "Mr Jarette." "Captain Jarette, doctor. There, you see what a merciful man I am. You do not know that I have been taking aim at you right between the eyes for the last five minutes, and could at any moment have sent a bullet through your head." "Yes, sir," said the doctor, calmly; "yes, Captain Jarette, I knew that you were aiming at me." "Then why did you not flinch and ask for mercy!" "Because I am accustomed to look death in the face, sir, when I am doing my duty, I am doing it now. Mr Denning's life is in danger. Come, sir, you will let him and his sister join us?" "In an open boat? No." "Mr Jarette." "Captain Jarette, doctor," cried the man, angrily. "Now all of you row and take this mad fellow away, before I am tempted to shoot him." Bob Hampton uttered a low growling sound as he sought in the darkness for the boat-hook, stood up, and began to thrust the boat from the ship's side. "No; stop," cried Mr Frewen, fiercely, "we cannot desert the Dennings like this. Ahoy!--on board there! Mr Denning, where are you?" "Here," came from one of the cabin-windows aft. "Row beneath that window," cried the doctor, and the boat was not rowed but dragged slowly there by Bob Hampton, who kept hooking on by the main and mizzen-chains. "Keep off!" roared Jarette fiercely. "Do you hear? Keep off, or I fire." But Bob Hampton paid no heed to his orders till the boat was beneath one of the round cabin-windows, and then he thrust the boat about six feet from the ship. He had a reason for so doing, and he had hardly steadied the boat when, in obedience to an order from Jarette, something tremendously heavy was thrown over the side, and fell with a loud splash between us and the ship, deluging us with the shower it raised, and making the boat rock. But Mr Frewen paid no heed to that which would have driven a hole through the bottom of the boat, perhaps killed one of its occupants at the same moment. "Are you there, Denning?" he said, in a quick whisper. "Yes."