ull of new canvas, and
by the time I had finished another cigar he was up again, beckoning to
us. I went below to him, and he took me into the forecastle, and I saw
what I knew to be the body of Harris sewed up and ready for burial.

"I know he'd want to go into the sea, rather than be buried ashore or be
left here, so I've done the best I could for him," said the captain.
"We'll take him along to deeper water, and, if you don't mind, we'll
drop him away from the cattle that have gone down hereabout, and nothing
will ever disturb him. I'll say some sort of a prayer."

We carried the body up and got the catamaran over the side and stowed
with food and water and cigars and such things as Riggs knew we would
need if we had to make a camp on the island.

I also wrote out a brief account of what had befallen us since leaving
Manila, closing with the explanation that we were going after the
pirates. We left this message between the covers of an old book, and
nailed to the saloon table, with chalk arrows drawn on the floor and
about the ship pointing toward it. There any person who should board the
vessel in our absence would find directions to come to our assistance.

But about the gold we said nothing, simply stating that there had been a
mutiny and that pirates had looted the ship, and offering a reward of ten
pounds to each man in the party who should come to our rescue, and a
thousand pounds, or five thousand dollars, in general to the man who
should direct the party to seek us--this to be claimed either by the
master of the vessel or the owners of the vessel which furnished the
expedition.

Before embarking we had a hasty meal and drank a toast to our success and
the confusion of the Devil's Admiral and his men. We looked to our
pistols and ammunition, and, thrilled with the prospect of battle, felt
better than we had since the death of Trego.

As the ship was listed over so far, we had little trouble in getting the
raft into the water. As it floated alongside I felt like giving a cheer,
but as Captain Riggs had done most of the work and had gone about his
tasks as dispassionately as if he were building a hencoop, I stifled my
emotions and held her off while Riggs stepped aboard.

We caught the breeze from the land as soon as we cleared the steamer, and
we rounded her bows and headed for the island, steering to pass the point
of rocks which jutted out from the island into the channel. Riggs said
that he would cut