and remained for nearly half an hour in a state of
deep cogitation, during which he often asked himself the question,
whether he had not been a traitor to the king and country in whose pay
he was employed. The answer that he gave to himself was anything but
satisfactory: but the prospect of possessing the fair Portsmouth widow,
and the gold displayed upon the table, were very satisfactory, and the
balance was on the latter side; so Vanslyperken gradually recovered
himself and had risen from his chair to collect the gold and deposit it
in a place of safety, when he was interrupted by a tap at the door.
Hastily sweeping off the gold pieces, he cried, "Come in;" when who, to
his surprise, should appear, in excellent condition and fresh as a
peony, but the lost and almost forgotten Corporal Van Spitter, who,
raising his hand to his forehead as usual, reported himself man-of-war
fashion, "Vas come on board, Mynheer Vanslyperken." But as the corporal
did not tell all the facts connected with his cruise in the jolly-boat
to Mr Vanslyperken, for reasons which will hereafter appear, we shall
reserve the narrative of what really did take place for another chapter.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

IN WHICH ARE NARRATED THE ADVENTURES WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THE CORPORAL'S
CRUISE IN THE JOLLY-BOAT.

Corporal Van Spitter, so soon as he had expended all his breath in
shouting for help, sat down with such a flop of despair on the thwart of
the boat, as very nearly to swamp it. As it was, the water poured over
the starboard gunwale, until the boat was filled up to his ankles. This
alarmed him still more, and he remained mute as a stock-fish for a
quarter of an hour, during which he was swept away by the tide until he
was unable to discover the lights on shore. The wind freshened, and the
water became more rough; the night was dark as pitch, and the corporal
skimmed along before the wind and tide. "A tousand tyfels!" at last
muttered the corporal, as the searching blast crept round his fat sides,
and made him shiver. Gust succeeded gust, and, at last, the corporal's
teeth chattered with the cold: he raised his feet out of the water at
the bottom of the boat, for his feet were like ice, but in so doing, the
weight of his body being above the centre of gravity, the boat careened
over, and with a "Mein Gott!" he hastily replaced them in the cold
water. And now a shower of rain and sleet came down upon the
unprotected body of the corporal, w