le replied for the ship's company--"As for
the matter of that 'ere, there was no fear of their being quiet enough
when there were more than two to one against them; but that, in fact,
they had no animosity: for even if they did feel a little sore at what
had happened, and their messmates being wounded, what was swinging at
the yard-arm made them all friends again. The gentleman might take the
cutter where he pleased, and might use her as long as he liked, and when
he had done with her it was quite time enough to take her back to
Portsmouth."

"Well, then, as we understand one another, we had now better make sail,"
said Sir Robert. "Cut away that rope," continued he, pointing to the
whip by which Vanslyperken's body was suspended.

Jansen stepped forward with his snickasee, the rope was divided at once,
and the body of the departed Vanslyperken plunged into the wave and
disappeared.

"They mayn't cut this, tho!" cried Smallbones. "I'll not trust him--
Jemm, my boy, get up a pig of ballast, I'll sink him fifty fathoms deep,
and then if so be he cum up again, why, then I give it up for a bad
job."

Jemmy brought up the pig of ballast, the body of Snarleyyow was lowered
on board, and, after having been secured with divers turns of the rope
to the piece of iron, was plunged by Smallbones into the wave.

"There," said Smallbones, "I don't a-think that he will ever bite me any
more, any how; there's no knowing, though. Now I'll just go down and
see if my bag be to be found, and then I'll dress myself like a
Christian."

The cutter flew before the breeze, which was on her quarter, and now
that the hanging was over the females came on deck. One of the Jesuit
priests was a good surgeon, and attended to the wounded men, who all
promised to do well, and as Bill Spurey said--

"They'd all dance yet at the corporal's wedding."

"I say corporal, if we only could go to Amsterdam instead of going to
Portsmouth."

"Mein Gott! yes," replied the corporal; and acting upon this idea, he
went aft and entered into conversation with Ramsay, giving him a detail
of the affair with the widow, and of her having gone to the Hague to
accuse Vanslyperken, ending with expressing his wish of himself and the
crew that they might go to the Hague instead of going to Portsmouth.
Nothing could please Ramsay better. He was most anxious to send a
letter to Mynheer Krause to inform him of the safety of his daughter,
and he immediately answered