ture, in which Amyas told her how mean it was to rob poor
sick Lucy; whereat she, as usual, threatened to drown herself; and was
running upon deck to do it, when Amyas caught her and forgave her. On
which a violent fit of crying, and great penitence and promises; and
a week after, Amyas found that she had cheated Satan and her own
conscience by tormenting the Portuguese steward into giving her some
other wine instead: but luckily for her, she found Amyas's warnings
about wine making her mad so far fulfilled, that she did several foolish
things one evening, and had a bad headache next morning; so the murder
was out, and Amyas ordered the steward up for a sound flogging; but
Ayacanora, honorably enough, not only begged him off, but offered to be
whipped instead of him, confessing that the poor fellow spoke truly when
he swore that she had threatened to kill him, and that he had given her
the wine in bodily fear for his life.

However, her own headache and Amyas's cold looks were lesson enough, and
after another attempt to drown herself, the wilful beauty settled down
for awhile; and what was better, could hardly be persuaded, thenceforth
to her dying day, to touch fermented liquors.

But, in the meanwhile, poor Amyas had many a brains-beating as to how
he was to tame a lady who, on the least provocation, took refuge in
suicide. Punish her he dared not, even if he had the heart. And as for
putting her ashore, he had an instinct, and surely not a superstitious
one, that her strange affection for the English was not unsent by
Heaven, and that God had committed her into his charge, and that He
would require an account at his hands of the soul of that fair lost
lamb.

So, almost at his wits' end, he prayed to God, good simple fellow, and
that many a time, to show him what he should do with her before she
killed either herself, or what was just as likely, one of the crew; and
it seemed best to him to make Parson Jack teach her the rudiments of
Christianity, that she might be baptized in due time when they got home
to England.

But here arose a fresh trouble--for she roundly refused to learn of
Jack, or of any one but Amyas himself; while he had many a good reason
for refusing the office of schoolmaster; so, for a week or two more,
Ayacanora remained untaught, save in the English tongue, which she
picked up with marvellous rapidity.

And next, as if troubles would never end, she took a violent dislike,
not only to John Bri