“No use, ’t won’t work, Prowler.”  The Chief grinned and waved a paw to one of the spotted sailors.  “Here, you, bring along the Cat-O’-Nine-Tails!”

At this the children were immediately very much interested, for they had never in their lives seen a cat with more than one tail.

“It would take nine times as much pulling—­” Rudolf was whispering to Peter, when he noticed a new commotion among the sailors.  The black and white sea-cat had turned to carry out the Chief’s order when suddenly some one called out “A breeze, a breeze!” and in the excitement of getting the Merry Mouser under way, the captain’s attention was turned, and Prowler and his crime were forgotten.

All this time Ann and Rudolf and Peter had been standing a little apart from the rest under guard of the Maltese pirate at whose feet lay the dreadful black bags all ready for use.  In the confusion Rudolf turned to Ann and whispered, “Do you suppose we could possibly stir up a mutiny?  Prowler must be pretty sore against the Chief!  If we could only get him and Growler on our side and make them help us seize Mittens and drop him overboard.”

But Ann shook her head, and as for Peter he doubled up his little fists and cried out loud:  “Nobody sha’n’t touch my Mittens!  I don’t care if he is a pirate cat.  I’m going to ask my Aunt Jane if I can’t take him home with me to Thirty-fourth Street!”

“Sh—­sh!” Ann whispered, putting her hand over his mouth, but it was too late!  Mittens had crept stealthily up behind Peter and now he popped one of the black bags over his head.  At the same instant, Ann, kicking and struggling, vanished into another held open by two of the spotted cats, and before Rudolf could rush to her rescue a third bag descended over his own head.  It was no use struggling, yet struggle they did, till Mittens sent three of the spotted sailors to sit on them, and then they soon quieted down.  There were one or two small breathing holes in each bag, or else the children would surely have suffocated, so stout and heavy were those spotted cats.  After what seemed to them a very long time a cry of “Land ho!” was raised, and the cats got up and rushed away to join in the general fuss and confusion of getting the Merry Mouser ready for her landing.

Rudolf had been working his hardest at one of the holes in his bag and soon he was able to get a good view of his immediate surroundings.

“Cheer up!” he called to Ann and Peter.  “We’re coming close to the island.”

“Has it got coral reefs and palm-trees and cocoanuts and savages, friendly ones, I mean?” came in muffled tones from Ann’s bag.

“Has it got monkeys and serpents an’ turtles an’—­an’—­shell-fish?” demanded Peter from his.

“N-no,” said Rudolf, “I don’t see any of those things yet.  There are a great many trees, some of ’em coming most down to the edge of the water, but they’re not palm-trees, they’re willows, the kind you pick the little furry gray things off in early spring—­”