"O, we aint goin' to fight the bugglars," said Sam, quickly. "Tommy an' me aint so foolish as to believe that six boys are a match fur two men with loaded pistols in their pockets. We're goin' to fool 'em, somehow. We'll either get the revolvers away from 'em, or study up a plan to get hold of the valise, without puttin' ourselves in the way of the shootin' irons. The matter is in the cap'n's hands, an' he is thinkin' it over now. We'll larn them fellers a thing or two before we are done with 'em."
The governor left his men to talk the matter over at their leisure, and walked toward the robbers, who had brought their consultation to a close, and seemed to be awaiting an opportunity to speak to him. "Look here, boy," said one of them, as Sam came up, "who are you, and where are you going?"
"Well, mister," replied the governor, "it's a long story, but, if you want to hear it, I reckon I can tell it to you."
The passengers declared their willingness to listen, and Sam proceeded to give them a complete history of the Crusoe band from the day it was organized down to the time he met the robbers at Mr. Henry's store, describing their adventures in glowing language, and dwelling, with a good deal of pride, upon the exploits of this particular night. The men were no less astonished than every one else had been who had heard the story, and Sam could see that they were uneasy, too.
"So you really set fire to a vessel before you left the harbor, did you?" asked one.
"Sartin. We might as well have let it alone, howsomever, fur her crew put out the fire before it had a chance to do any damage, an' she is after us now. But that needn't scare you none, fur we are leavin' her behind fast."
"That makes no difference," replied the robber. "If she can't catch you, there are plenty of other vessels that can do it. You'll have the whole town after you before long, and we are in danger as long as we remain with you. We want you to set us ashore at once."
"Why, the thousand dollars you promised to pay us fur takin' you out to sea."
"O, you haven't earned that yet. We told you that you should have it when you had carried us safely out of sight of Newport. That's something you can't do, and so you need not expect to receive the money. We can't give it to you for nothing, you know."