Despite that, “Just me!” a half dozen men with uplifted arms implored the Skipper. “Just me, Skipper, just me!” Most persistent of all was young Gillis. “Just me, and make a good prize crew. That’ll be eight men and myself--nine men all told. Luck in odd numbers. Besides, I’m Sam’s watch-mate, and Sam said he never had a watch-mate like me.” “H’m-- I cal’late that’s right. Just you, then, but hurry.” Gillis hurried, so much so that instead of dropping aboard the bark he fell into the sea between the bark and the schooner. He came spluttering to the top. “Heave me a line, somebody!” A dozen lines were hove at him and two draw buckets; one, hitting him on the head, all but drove him under again. “Lord, don’t kill me!” “There’s a fine waste of draw buckets,” commented one of the prize crew ere they had him safe on the bark. “Oh, but that fire feels good!” chattered Gillis, and took station by the main hatch, where he might heave buckets of water on the fire without removing too far from the heat of it. It took them the better part of two hours to master the fire. “To the pumps!” said Sam then, and, double-manned by fresh vigorous men, the pumps soon began to lessen the deluge in the hold. “And now make sail, Sam,” called Crump from the _Buccaneer_. “Aye. Who’s ever been square-riggin’?” asked Sam of his prize crew then. Two men answered to that. “You’ll be captain of one watch, and you of the other. That’s for knowin’ about a square-rigger. And now let’s make sail.” They could not make sail very well, however, because there was not sail enough to make--that is, to set sail as it should be set on a square-rigger. But there was enough for half-sails, and they made half-sails for her accordingly. “Now she’s a fore-and-after, isn’t she?” commented Sam. “All right, now--we can do somethin’ with her now--hah, what?” “Yes, and we won’t need any captains of watches in her, will we, Sam?” queried Gillis, thereby betraying a slight jealousy of the superior ranks. “That’s so--we won’t, will we? You two square-riggers, you Charlie and you Dinnie, you’ll be just ordinary hands again.” “Well, well, ordinary hands ain’t bad--there’ll be good prize money out of this, Sam.” “If we keep her afloat there’ll be.” “Oh, we’ll keep her afloat, Sam.” “It’s good you think so. But to the wheel now. Who’s first watch?” “O Sam”-- Gillis was peering into the binnacle--“her compass is busted!” Sam ran aft to see for himself. “So it is. Man, but they’ve had crazy doin’s aboard this one.” “Aye, and her rudder’s been pounded off,” came from another. “No compass and no rudder, hah? Wouldn’t that jolt you, though? Well--” Sam looked around. “O Skipper,” he hailed to his vessel, “you’ll have to come under our stern and make the _Buccaneer_ act as a rudder for this one.” “It’s easy done,” said Crump, and passed up the lines to hold the _Buccaneer_ in proper fashion to the bark.