“Maybe,” says I, “Mr. House or Mr. Robbins—on board the _Porpoise_—will miss you and come to see what’s the matter.”
“And maybe,” says I, “our party will miss us and start a search.”
“Well, they’d just get into trouble, and besides, that’s not the way it’s done. We don’t want to be _rescued_, do we? I should say not. Pretty heroes we’d be, letting somebody get us out of a fix. Our job is to get other folks out of fixes.”
“Say,” says Mr. Dunn, “what do you think you’re talking about?”
Catty’s voice sounded kind of pitying as he answered.
“Wee-wee and I are the heroes of this adventure. You’re the victim, and it’s our business to rescue you by overcoming terrible obstacles. It would spoil the whole thing if somebody else stepped in and did it. What kind of an adventure would you call it where the hero isn’t the big man? Tell me that. Why, I never heard of such a thing! I’d never hold up my head again.”
“I was never in anything like it before. It’s—it’s grand.”
“We just _are_. We can’t help it. No heroes in stories start out to be heroes. Things just happen, and they have to be whether they want to or not. That’s how this is.”
“All right,” says Mr. Dunn, “go ahead and be a hero. I’m willing. Only be quick about it. I’m thirsty and this confounded tent pole is jamming a hole in my backbone. I’m all ready to be rescued now. Get busy and rescue me.”
“We’ve got to think about the treasure, too. It would be fairly easy to escape. But whoever heard of the good people escaping and leaving the treasure to the mutineers. I should say _not_.”
“Are you going to give me the treasure when you get it?” says Mr. Dunn kind of sarcastic.
“You.... No siree. That treasure belongs to the party on the _Albatross_—and we’re going to have it. All you get is to escape with your life. The minute we escape, you and I are enemies like we were before.”
“Did Mr. Topper describe this treasure to you?” says Mr. Dunn.
“No, but all buried pirate treasure is alike. Pieces-of-eight and jewels and Spanish things. The mutineers say there’s a million dollars worth of it. They’re going to take fifty thousand each and live happy forever after.”
“Hum.... They’re right about one thing, anyhow. It’s worth all of a million.”