"I will, and don't you fool yourself on it."

"Drop those oars or I'll fire, as sure as my name is Dan Baxter,"
and the revolver, which had been partly lowered, was raised a
second time.

It must be confessed that Dick and Tom were much disconcerted.
The two rowboats were now less than fifty feet apart, and any kind
of a shot from the weapon was likely to prove more or less
dangerous. Baxter's eyes gleamed with the hatred of an angry
snake ready to strike.

"You think you are smart, you Rover boys," said the bully, after
an awkward pause all around. "You think you did a big thing in
rescuing Dom Stanhope and in putting me and my father and Buddy
Girk in prison. But let me tell you that this game hasn't come to
an end yet, and some day we intend to square accounts."

"There is no use in wasting breath in this fashion, Baxter,"
returned Dick, as calmly as he could. "We are two to one, and the
best thing to do is for you to submit. If you fire on us, we may
do a little shooting on our own account."

"Humph! Do you imagine you can scare me in that fashion? You
haven't any pistol, and I know it. If you had you would have
drawn the weapon long ago."

At this Dick bit his lip. "Don't be too sure," he said steadily,
as the boats drifted still closer together. "The minute I heard