on
as their host had fairly disappeared. "I hope, captain, you will
succeed in persuading him to take us over to the mainland."

The skipper was apparently plunged deep in thought, for he made no
reply.

"Does it not strike you, Bowles, that there is something rather
peculiar about the craft, and her crew?" remarked Lance.

"These Yankees are generally a queer lot," answered the mate
nonchalantly; but immediately afterwards he made a sudden and stealthy
movement of his fingers to his lips, while the ladies were looking in
another direction, throwing at the same time an expression of so much
caution and mystery into his glance that Lance made no attempt to
continue the conversation.

Shortly afterwards Captain Staunton rose from his seat at the table,
and, touching his chief mate lightly on the shoulder, said--

"Come, Bowles, let us go on deck and see if we can make terms with this
Captain Johnson. The rest of you had perhaps better follow that
gentleman's advice in the meantime and remain here, since he evidently
has some motive for expressing the wish."

As the two were ascending the companion-ladder the skipper turned and
whispered hurriedly to his mate--

"What is your opinion of things in general Bowles?"

"Can't say yet," answered that individual. "Looks mighty queer though.
She ain't a man-o'-war, that's certain."

On reaching the deck they found the after-hatch off, and their host in
somewhat hot discussion with the ship's carpenter.

"That is quite sufficient," they heard him say, without a trace of the
Yankee twang in his speech, "you have your orders, and see that they are
executed forthwith. In this matter I intend to have my own way."

The man muttered something in a sullen undertone, and then turned to go
forward, saying he would get his tools and set about the job at once.

Johnson turned impatiently away from him with an ugly frown upon his
brow, which however vanished in an instant upon his finding our two
friends at his elbow.

"See here, stranger," he said, passing his arm within that of Captain
Staunton, and drawing him toward the hatchway, "I want to show you what
I'm going to do. See them beams? Waal, I'm going to send some hands
down below to trim a few of them bales you see there up level with the
tops of the beams; then we'll lay a couple of thicknesses of planking
over all, which 'll make a tol'able floor; and then I'm going to have a
sail nailed fore and aft to the deck-b