Standing well to one side, Lord Hastings thrust out a foot and kicked the door open.

“Better come out, Davis,” he said quietly.

“No, thanks,” was the reply.  “I’ll get the first man who shows his head in the doorway.”

Lord Hastings considered this point carefully.  Then he said to Frank: 

“Well, we’ve got the door open, but I don’t see that we are any better off.  We can’t go after him.  Now what, eh?”

An idea struck Frank.

“You stand guard until I come back, sir,” he said, and made his way aft.

Lord Hastings stood his ground.

Frank was back in a moment and again took his stand on the opposite side of the door from Lord Hastings.  He held something in his hand, and a long snake-like object seemed to wiggle along behind him.

“What have you there?” demanded Lord Hastings in some surprise.

“Hose, sir,” replied Frank calmly.

“And what are you going to do with it?”

“Rout Davis out, sir.”

Lord Hastings chuckled.

“I am afraid you won’t have much success,” he replied.  “It’s a poor Englishman who can’t stand a little cold water.”

“Maybe he won’t like hot water, though, sir,” replied Frank.

Again Lord Hastings looked surprised.

“Oho,” he said at length.  “Now I see what you are about.  Going to scald him a little, eh?”

“That’s the idea, sir.  I have the engineer’s word that this hose will throw a pretty strong stream.  Once it hits Davis he’ll be glad to come out.”

“All right,” said Lord Hastings.  “Turn it on.”

Still standing out of the line of fire, Frank, taking the hose well back from the nozzle, thrust it through the door and turned it on.

A thin vapor rose and the hose grew hot to Frank’s touch.

“Pretty hot,” said Lord Hastings.  “Now if you can just locate him with it, you——­”

A cry of pain interrupted him and there was the sound of hurried footsteps within.

“Got him,” cried Frank gleefully.

He stepped into the open doorway, and as he did so, Davis raised a revolver and his finger tightened on the trigger.  But even as he would have fired, Frank turned the scalding water on him.  With a howl of pain he dropped the revolver.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE PIRATES REAPPEAR.

“You got him, Frank!” cried Lord Hastings excitedly, hopping up and down like a boy.  “Keep it on him!”

“You bet I’ve got him,” Frank shouted back.  “Slip inside, sir, and get him from behind when I turn the water off.”

Lord Hastings did as Frank suggested, and keeping to one side of the stream of hot water, entered the room and drew his revolver.

“All right,” he called.  “Turn it off.  I’ve got him covered.”

Frank shut off the hose and also sprang into the room.