raised up these men to punish ours!" said Fray
Gerundio.

"But Nebuchadnezzar fell, and so may they," growled the other to
himself. Jack overheard him.

"I say, my lord bishop," called he from the other end of the table. "It
is our English custom to let our guests be as rude as they like; but
perhaps your lordship will hint to these two friars, that if they wish
to keep whole skins, they will keep civil tongues."

"Be silent, asses! mules!" shouted the bishop, whose spirits were
improving over the wine, "who are you, that you cannot eat dirt as well
as your betters?"

"Well spoken, my lord. Here's the health of our saintly and venerable
guest," said Cary: while the commandant whispered to Amyas, "Fat old
tyrant! I hope you have found his money--for I am sure he has some on
board, and I should be loath that you lost the advantage of it."

"I shall have to say a few words to you about that money this morning,
commandant: by the by, they had better be said now. My lord bishop, do
you know that had we not taken this ship when we did, you had lost not
merely money, as you have now, but life itself?"

"Money? I had none to lose! Life?--what do you mean?" asked the bishop,
turning very pale.

"This, sir. That it ill befits one to lie, whose throat has been saved
from the assassin's knife but four hours since. When we entered the
stern-gallery, we found two persons, now on board this ship, in the very
act, sir, and article, of cutting your sinful throat, that they might
rob you of the casket which lay beneath your pillow. A moment more, and
you were dead. We seized and bound them, and so saved your life. Is that
plain, sir?"

The bishop looked steadfastly and stupidly into Amyas's face, heaved a
deep sigh, and gradually sank back in his chair, dropping the glass from
his hand.

"He is in a fit! Call in the surgeon! Run!" and up jumped kind-hearted
Jack, and brought in the surgeon of the galleon.

"Is this possible, senor?" asked the commandant.

"It is true. Door, there! Evans! go and bring in that rascal whom we
left bound in his cabin!"

Evans went, and the commandant continued--

"But the stern-gallery? How, in the name of all witches and miracles,
came your valor thither?"

"Simply enough, and owing neither to witch nor miracle. The night before
last we passed the mouth of the bay in our two canoes, which we had
lashed together after the fashion I had seen in the Moluccas, to keep
them afloat in the surf.