Falk looked up at him angrily. "That'll get you nowhere," he retorted. "Come, stand away, or so help me, I'll see you hanged anyhow." Roger smiled at him coldly. "The word of a gentleman? The money first, Captain Falk." "Well, if you are so stupid that you haven't discovered the truth yet, I haven't the money." "Where is the money?" "In the safe in the cabin, as you very well know," replied Falk. "You lie!" Roger responded. With a ripping oath, Captain Falk whipped out his pistol. "You lie!" Roger cried again, hotly. "Put down that pistol or I'll blow you to hell. Stand by, boys. We'll show them!" Though we were fewer than they, we had them at a tremendous disadvantage, for we were protected by the bulwarks and could pour our musket-fire into the open boat at will, and in a battle of cutlasses and pikes our advantage would be even greater. "Don't a flag of truce give us no protection?" Kipping asked in that accursedly mild voice--I could not hear it without thinking of poor Bill Hayden, and to the others, they told me later, it brought the same bitter memory. "How long since Cap'n Falk's ol' unde' shirt done be a p'tection?" muttered the cook grimly. "Yes, laugh! Laugh, you black baboon! Laugh, you silly little fool, Lathrop!" Falk yelled. "I'll have you laughing another time one of these days. Give way men! We'll have out their haslets yet." A hundred feet from the ship, the men rested on their oars, and Falk put on a very different manner. "Roger Hamlin," he cried, "you ain't going to send us away, are you?" I was astounded. As long as I had known Falk, I had never realized how many different faces the man could assume at the shortest notice. But Roger seemed not at all surprised. "Yes," he said, shortly, "we're going to send you away, you black-hearted scoundrel." "Good God! We'll perish!" Although obvious retorts were many, Roger made no reply. Now Kipping spoke up mildly and innocently:-- "What'll we do? We can't land--the Malays was waiting for us on shore with knives, all ready to cut our throats. We can't go to sea like this. What'll we do?" "Supposing," cried old Blodgett, sarcastically, "supposing you row back to Salem. It's only three thousand miles or more. You'll find it a pleasant voyage, I'm sure, and you'd ought to run into enough Ladronesers and Malays to make it interesting along the way." "Ain't we human?" Kipping whined, as if trying to wring pity from even Blodgett. "Ain't you going at least to give us a keg o' water and some bread?" "If you're not out of gunshot in five minutes," Roger cried, "I'll train the long gun and blow you clean out of water." Without more ado they rowed slowly away, growing smaller and smaller, until at last they passed out of sight round the point. "Ah me," sighed Neddie Benson, "I'm glad they're gone. It's funny Falk ain't quite a light man nor yet a real dark man."