sleep in the house, drew
his blanket over his shoulders and went out.

It is a little singular that such a circumstance should not have
produced on the minds of my shipmates the same effect it did on
mine, as the weather was then uncomfortably cool to me within the
hut. But in justice to them I ought to add, that a singular dream
the night before our shipwreck, had produced on my mind a kind
of sailor's superstition, which banished sleep from my eyes, even
now while they were enjoying its refreshing influence.

After I had paced the room several times, one of the fishermen
arose and extinguished the light, and when all was still, I went
to the door that had been fastened after the master fisherman,
drew the bolt without disturbing any one, and went out. At the
threshold of the door I found an axe which I took in my hand,
walked around the hut several times, but could not discover the
object of my search. I at length found his blanket tucked up
among the thatch under the eaves of the hut, and immediately
re-entered the room to tell my companions I was apprehensive that
this strange departure of the Spaniard was influenced by another
motive than that expressed.

He could not go far without wading in the water, which was two or
three feet deep all over this extensive key, except the spot
around the huts, on which he was not to be found; and it is well
known to mariners, that these keys are dissected by numerous
creeks like the one already described, which in some instances
extend miles among the mangrove bushes, where a sea robber might
conceal himself for months without the fear of detection.

Without disturbing the Spaniards, I shook Mr. Merry and whispered
to him my suspicions, on which we both went to the door and sat
down to await the fisherman's return. When I first awaked him he
trembled with fear that some unnatural fate awaited us. But the
night passed without any further disturbance, and at day-light we
all, by previous arrangement, commenced loading the two canoes,
(which were of the same dimensions of that already described) by
wading off to them with the fish in our arms. It was about
sunrise when we had completed loading, and while we were all in
the huts, the master fisherman suddenly entered--saluted Capt.
Hilton in Spanish, and requested all our people and three of his
own to accompany him to the schooner before named, in order to
haul her out of the creek and moor her off, preparatory to our
depar