on deck he was very much pleased to see that the
_Summer Shelter_ was not far away, and was steaming close after the
larger vessel. He waved his hat, and then he turned to look about him.
There seemed to be a good many men on the steamer, a very large crew, in
fact; and after noticing the number of sailors who were at work not far
away from him, Shirley came to the conclusion that there were more
reasons than one why he would not hold conversation with them.

From their speech he thought that they must all be foreigners--French,
or Italians, he could scarcely tell which. It did not seem to him that
these belonged to the class of seamen which a careful captain of a
British merchantman would wish to ship when carrying a cargo of treasure
to a distant land, but then all sorts of crews were picked up in English
ports. Her Captain, in fact, surprised Shirley more than did the seamen
he had noticed. This Captain must, of course, be an Englishman, for the
house of Blackburn Brothers would not be likely to trust one of their
vessels, and such an important one, to the charge of any one but an
Englishman. But he had a somewhat foreign look about him. His eyes and
hair were very black, and there was a certain peculiarity in his
pronunciation that made Shirley think at first that he might be a
Welshman.

While Shirley was considering these matters, the _Summer Shelter_ was
rapidly gaining on the other steamer and was now alongside and within
hailing distance, and Burke was on the bridge with a trumpet in his
hand. At this moment Shirley was accosted by the Captain. "I've got
something to say to you," said he; "step in my room. Perhaps we can give
your friend an answer at once."

[Illustration: WHEN SHIRLEY WENT ON DECK HE WAS MUCH PLEASED TO SEE THE
SUMMER SHELTER]

Shirley followed the other, the door was shut, and the Captain of the
_Dunkery Beacon_ began to tell how extremely injudicious it would be, in
his opinion, to turn back, for if pirates really were following
him,--although he did not believe a word of it,--he might run right into
their teeth, whereas, by keeping on his course, he would most likely
sail away from them, and when he reached Rio Janeiro, he could make
arrangements there for some sort of a convoy, or whatever else was
considered necessary.

"I'll go and hail my skipper," said Shirley, "if you'll let me have a
speaking-trumpet."

"No," said the other, "I don't want you to do that. I don't mind tellin'