"Keep off, or it will be
the worse for you!"
"We are not afraid of you, Baxter, and you ought to know it by
this time," answered Dick. "You may as well give in now as later
on."
"Give in! You must be crazy!"
"We are two to one, and you know what we have been able to do in
the past."
"Humph! I don't intend to go to jug again, and that is all there
is to it."
"Maybe you can't help yourself."
"We'll see about that. Are you - going to keep off or not?
"Don't ask foolish a question."
"You won't keep off?"
"No."
"If you don't I -- I'll shoot you."
As Dan Baxter spoke he stopped rowing and brought from a hip
pocket a highly polished nickel-plated revolver.
"Do you see this?" he demanded, as he pointed the weapon toward
the Rover boys.
Both Dick and Tom were taken aback at the sight of the weapon.
But they had seen such arms before, and had faced them,
consequently they were not as greatly alarmed as they right
otherwise have been. They knew, too, that Dan Baxter was a
notoriously bad shot.
"Put that up, Baxter," said Dick calmly. "It may only get you
into deeper trouble."
"I don't care!" said the bully recklessly. "I'm not going back to
jail and that is all there, is to it!"
"You won't dare to shoot at us, and you know it," put in Tom, as
the two boats drifted closer together.
"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.
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