"Armed, by George!" exclaimed Copplestone. "No chance for you, Chatfield!" The agent suddenly sprang to his feet with a howl of terror. He gave one more glance at the men and then he ran, clumsily, but with a speed made desperate by terror. He made straight for the rocks--and at that, two of the men, at a word from their leader, raised their rifles and fired. And with a shriek that set all the echoes ringing, the sea-birds screaming, and made Audrey clap her hands to her ears, Chatfield threw up his arms and dropped heavily on the sands. "That's sheer murder!" exclaimed Vickers, as the yachtsmen came running up. "You'll answer for that, you know. Unless you mean to murder all of us." The leader, a smiling-faced fellow, touched his cap respectfully, and grinned from ear to ear. "Lor' bless you, sir, we shot twenty feet over his head!" he said. "He's too precious to shoot: they want him badly on board there. Now then, men, pick him up and get him into the boat--he'll come round quick enough when he finds he hasn't even a pellet in him. Handy, now! Captain's compliments, sir," he went on, turning again to Vickers, and pointing to certain things which were being unloaded from the boat, "and as he understands that no vessel will pass here for two more days, sir, he's sent you further provisions, some more wraps, and some books and papers." CHAPTER XXIV THE TORPEDO-BOAT DESTROYER Before Vickers and his companions had recovered from the surprise which this extraordinary cool message had given them, the men had bundled Chatfield across the beach and into the boat and were pulling quickly back to the _Pike_. Audrey broke the silence with a ringing laugh. "Captain Andrius is certainly the perfection of polite pirates," she exclaimed. "More food--more wraps--and books and papers! Was any marooned mariner ever one-half so well treated?" "What's the fellow mean about no vessel passing here for two more days?" growled Copplestone, who was glaring angrily at the yacht. "What's he so meticulously correct for?" "I should say that he's referring to some weekly or bi-weekly steamer which runs between Kirkwall and the mainland," replied Vickers. "Well--it's good to know that, anyhow. But wait until the _Pike's_ vamoosed again, and we'll make up such a column of smoke that it'll be seen for many a mile. In fact, I'll go and gather a lot of dried stuff now--you two can drag those boxes and things up the beach and see what our gaolers have been good enough to send us." He went away up the cliffs, and Audrey and Copplestone, once more left alone, looked at each other and laughed. "That's right," said Copplestone. "What I like about you is that you take things that way."