"What do you say, Tommy?" asked the chief, when he had finished reading the "shipping articles." "Them's our rules, an' you can say yes or no to 'em, jest as you like."
"I say yes!" answered Tom. "I'll obey all orders."
The new member then stepped up to the flour barrel, and affixed his signature to the paper with a blunt lead-pencil, about an inch in length, which was the only thing in the shape of writing material possessed by the band. He was then hailed as a member by the chief, who shook him cordially by the hand and patted him on the back, while the others complimented him in language that grated harshly on his ears.
"No time for foolin', fellers!" said the chief, at length. "Set down agin, an' let's have a talk about the Storm King."
"There aint no need of talkin' much about her," said Friday. "It wouldn't be healthy for us to get into a fight now. We might get whipped, an' that would be the last of the Crusoe band."
"We ought to have her," said Sam, "for she'd jest suit us. What do you say, Tommy?"
"I say, take her by all means," replied the new member. "I joined you because I thought you would go to sea in her."
"But mebbe we can't get her. We don't like the looks of the muskets them 'cademy fellers carry. They might punch us with their bayonets."
"We must run that risk," said Tom, who would have been the last one to face the muskets of the students. "I am not captain of this band; if I was, I would capture her."
"Well, if you could do it, I guess I can," said Sam. "But, before we lay any plans fur capturin' that boat, we ought to find out exactly how the land lays. Friday, you an' Jack Spaniard will go up to the 'cademy to-morrow, an' see how many fellers there are to guard her. If there's not more'n six or eight of 'em, we'll have her; but if they are too heavy for us, we'll have to stick to our old plan of goin' to sea in my yawl. The meetin' is out, now."
Upon hearing these words the fisher-boy, who had stood just outside the door of the cave while all this conversation was going on, stepped back into the water, and concealed himself behind the timbers that supported the wharf, believing that, as the meeting had been dismissed, the band would at once leave their hiding-place. No doubt they would have done so if it had not been for Tom Newcombe. As this was his first visit to the cave, he was greatly interested in every thing he saw, and he stopped to examine the different articles, and to ask the chief's advice about the share of the outfit he was expected to furnish. The fisher-boy heard the talking, and thinking they might be saying something that would be useful for him to know, he crawled out of the water, and again took his stand close to the door of the cave, just in time to hear Tom remark--