“You mean the people aboard that tug, don’t you?” asked Casper Blue, sneeringly.

“Yes, they seemed to be chasing after us, and I only hope they do keep moving,” replied Andy, “because they must have seen the accident, that is if they had any sort of a marine glass aboard, which I reckon they did.”

“And I suppose, now, you think there might be officers aboard that same tug?” the other went on to say.

“Oh! we don’t know anything about that,” Andy remarked, carelessly.  “But if they came along after a while it’d save us from a lot of worrying.  Just think, if the night set in, and the four of us weighing this poor old hydroplane down like we are what a time we’d have before another morning came around.”

“It would like as not rise, if there was only two aboard, wouldn’t it?” Casper asked quickly, and before Andy could understand what his question meant he had replied to it.

“Sure thing, Frank and myself have left the water many a time in a less powerful hydroplane than this, haven’t we, Frank?”

“Well, turn about is only fair,” said Casper, fiercely.

“Why, I don’t understand what you mean by that,” complained Andy.

“Two’s company, four a crowd; so please skip out of this, both of you boys.  My pal and me can run this shebang, and just take my word for it, we mean to do the same.  Get that straight, both of you?  Now, jump, I tell you, and lively, or I might be tempted to let her go; and that would be a shame after the way you rescued the two of us.  Overboard with you!”

Andy gaped when he saw that the man had actually drawn out a revolver, and was aiming the same directly at him.

“Here, quit that, will you?” he demanded, feeling a flush of alarm, for even a seasoned veteran of many battles does not fancy having such a threatening weapon thrust under his nose.

“Jump, then, d’ye hear, consarn you?” shouted the man, menacingly waving his pistol; “take a header, and over you go, both of you!  I’m a desperate man, and not to be fooled with.  P’raps you c’n keep afloat on that wreckage long enough for the tug to come up, and pull you in.  But no matter, over you go, one way or the other!”

“Just wait a bit, Casper,” said a quiet voice, and turning his head the man saw that Frank had him covered very neatly, “you must know that your weapon has been soaked, and wouldn’t go off, the chances are.  Besides, I don’t believe there’s a single cartridge in the chambers.  Throw it overboard, do you hear, Casper, or I may be tempted to cripple that other arm of yours!”

No doubt Frank was speaking the exact truth when he declared his belief that the revolver had not been charged since the time when Casper emptied it at the pursuing airship, in the hope of either frightening the boy aviators; or else doing some sort of damage.

He stared hard at Frank for half a minute; then with some muttered words, as if he realized the folly of butting up against fate, threw the useless weapon far out on the heaving surface of the lake.