The pounding had now ceased entirely, the men evidently having been warned by the light. It seemed to Clay that the unwelcome visitors were now crouching in the darkness ready to attack any one who might attempt to come on board.
"Just wait a minute," whispered Clay in Jule's ear. "Just you wait a minute, and there'll be something pulled off here! If I'm not mistaken, this drama is going to shift to a comedy in about one minute."
"I don't understand what you mean by that," Jule declared. "What new deviltry are those fellows planning?" he added.
"In just about a second you'll see," Clay repeated. "The only wonder is that Captain Joe hasn't pulled off his stunt before this."
"Captain Joe isn't here," replied Jule doubtfully.
Then the boat swayed frightfully, tipping toward the pier. There was a heavy thud on deck, and cries of fright and pain, followed by another thud.
"Captain Joe isn't here, eh?" shouted Clay unlocking and opening the door. "Just look at that mess out there."
The white bulldog was mixing freely with the intruders, who seemed to be devoting their best energy to getting off the boat. There was a struggling, cursing, growling mass in the middle of the deck, and then from the roof of the cabin leaped another combatant!
Seeing the dog mixing with the pirates, and evidently believing that some new game was in progress, the cub leaped fairly into the midst of the struggling mass! If the men had been frightened before, they were now wild with terror. It seemed to them as if the bear had dropped from the clouds. They felt his teeth and claws, and the rough hair of him appeared to bristle like the quills of a porcupine.
Frightened beyond all measure, rendered more desperate still by the onrush of the boys from the cabin, the outlaws finally succeeded in breaking away and springing to the pier. As they did so, they nearly fell over Alex and Case who were making all haste to ascertain the cause of the excitement on the _Rambler_.
In a moment, however, they were up and away, clattering like race-horses up the pier.
When Alex and Case reached the deck of the _Rambler_, they found Clay and Jule leaning against the gunwale laughing hard enough to split their sides. A searchlight in the latter's hand revealed Captain Joe and Teddy standing by the cabin door, looking around as if inquiring what it all meant.