"Ahoy! what lunatic are you?"

"Bluewater Bill of the Eleanor Jones of Bath,--castaway," yelled back
the drifter in the launch, who had by this time shut off his engine.

"We'll stand by and lower a boat," was the next hail and soon Bill was
on his way aboard the Yucatan--for that was the vessel's name--and the
tiny launch, which had been the means of saving his life and almost of
his losing it, was tossing far astern.

But Bill, perilous as his position was until he was actually in the
Yucatan's lifeboat, had not lost his presence of mind. He realized in
a flash that a castway with a pocket full of gold would be an object
of suspicion and he had his own reasons for not wanting to tell how he
had obtained it, so, before the ship's boat reached the launch the old
mariner emptied his pockets of their golden freight and sent the coins
tumbling into the sea. He retained only the one piece that he had
loaned to Billy Barnes as an evidence of his good faith.

"And now, boys," concluded the old mariner, "what do you think of my
story?"

"Why, it's the most marvelous thing I ever heard of!" exclaimed Frank.

"But do you think it is TRUE? You believe me?"

"We certainly do," chorused both the boys, much impressed by the old
salt's narration.

"Well, the only problem is to get to the galleon," resumed Bill.