he rubbed his hands with a little bob--"but would you 'ave th' goodness to step outside for a look, sir. Hi think th' _Minnie B_ is on fire."

And the fairy dreams, evoked by a wave of Fortune's wand, crept silently back into the hearts of their owners.

CHAPTER X

THE STRANGE END OF THE _MINNIE B_

At Gaskin's announcement, bedlam broke loose among the diners. They leaped to their feet and rushed headlong from the messroom.

"Get th' buckets!" "Man th' boat!" "We'll niver get there in toime!"

"_Allons! Allons_!" "W'y didn't we put a guard on 'er!" "Hurry!

Hurry! Hurry!" "Yes, 'urry! 'urry!"

Out into the darkness to the forward pontoon rushed the howling mob.

Some gave inarticulate cries, others bewailed their lost riches to the vast empty night.

A strange sight met their eyes. The spars and sails of the _Minnie B_ stood out against the black heavens in a flickering brilliance that danced up through the rigging, but presently all saw it was a mere light shining from beneath.

"Th' fire's in th' hold!" cried Galton hoarsely. "Did you men drop a match?"

"'Ow could they drop a match, wearin' nothin' but undershirts?" flared back another navvy.

"We could do no good in a small boat!" cried Galton.

'She's afire from stem to stern!"

"But smoke--w'ere's th' smoke?"

Then, quite surprisingly, the light wavered out, leaving the schooner in stony blackness. A vague blur of complementary color swam in Madden's eyes. A gasp went up from the watchers.

"Bhoys," faltered Hogan in an awed tone, "th' banshees ar-re dancin'

to-night!"

"Banshees!" sneered Mulcher. "Th' deck's caved in--it'll break out again!"

"Th' engines must be ruint complately."

"Wot do ye make of it, Mister Madden?" asked Galton, bewildered.

"Look--there it is again!"

Sure enough the mysterious light flamed up once more as suddenly as it disappeared. It flickered and wavered over hull and spars.

"It might possibly be a phosphorescent display," hazarded Leonard, completely mystified.

"Tropical seas grow very luminous when disturbed... a school of dolphins or sharks on the other side the schooner might----"

"This must be a reg'lar fire!" cried Mulcher. "Nothin' but a furnace in th' hold----"

"W'y don't hit smoke?"

"'Ow do I know?"

"Hit ain't a fire!"

"W'ot is hit?"

"Phosphescence, didn't you 'ear Mister Madden say!"

"Will hit sink 'er?"

Deschaillon gave a sharp laugh. "What _sauvages_!"

By this time it became clear to everyone that it was not a fire. As the weird illumination continued its fantastic gambols, little points of light began moving about the deck.

Just then Caradoc's grave voice hazarded: "That must be an extraordinary display of St. Elmo's fire. I should say a storm was brewing."

"Would St. Elmo's fire 'urt th' vessel, sir?" asked a cockney.

"Not at all," replied the Englishman.

As Leonard stared a queer thought came into his head. He looked around at his companions. In the faint radiance from the mysterious schooner, he could make out their faces, pale blurs all fixed on the strange spectacle. He picked out the heavy form of Farnol Greer and moved over to his friend. Under the cover of excited talking and exclamations, he asked in a low tone.

"There was somebody on that schooner this morning, Farnol?"

"Just what I was thinking, sir."

"He could have hidden from us. You thought he must be crazy--a crazy man would probably have secreted himself."

"I had it in mind, sir, the very thing."

"Now could he possibly make a light like this?"

Greer remained silent. The queer fellow never said anything when he had nothing to say.

"I'd like to go over and see," went on Leonard. "I want one man to row with me. We want to go light and fast."

"That's me, sir."

Greer moved instantly to the rope ladder where the dinghy was tied.

Madden followed him. Caradoc was still explaining the theory of St.

Elmo's fire to the listening men. Madden broke in on it.

"Fellows," he called, "Greer and I are going to row over there. We'll let you know what we find."

Amid warning protests the two climbed down the ladder for the small boat.