twas His Majesty's birthday."

Wearne tried a fresh tack. "We'll take that yarn later on," he said.
"You can't deny a cargo was run this morning."

"We'll allow it for the moment. But that only proves that no boat was
warned away."

"And when I sent a boat in to capture it, you deliberately opened fire;
in other words, tried to murder me, His Majesty's representative."

"Tried to murder you? Look here." Captain John stepped to one of his
still loaded guns and pointed it carefully at a plank floating out at
the mouth of the Cove--a plank knocked by the cutter's guns out of Uncle
Bill Leggo's 'taty patch, and now drifting out to sea on the first of
the ebb. He pointed the gun carefully, let fly, and knocked the bit of
wood to flinders. "That's what I do when I try," he said. "Why, bless
'ee, I was no more in earnest than _you_ were!"

This made Wearne blush for his marksmanship. "But _you'll_ have to
prove that," he said.

"Why, damme," said John Carter, and fined himself another sixpence on
the spot; "if you are so partic'ler, _get out there in the boat again,
and I will_."

Well, the upshot was that after some palaver Wearne agreed to walk up to
the captain's house and reckon the accounts between them. He had missed
a pretty haul and been openly defied. On the other hand he hadn't a man
hurt, and he knew the King's Government still owed John Carter for a
lugger he had lent two years before to chase a French privateer lying
off Ardevora. Carter had sent the lugger round at Wearne's particular
request; she was short handed, and after a running fight of three or
four hours the Frenchman put in a shot which sent her to the bottom and
drowned fourteen hands. For this, as Wearne knew, he had never received
proper compensation. I fancy the two came to an agreement to set one
thing against another and call quits. At any rate, John was put to no
further annoyance over that day's caper. As for the preacher, I'm told
that no person in these parts ever set eyes on him again. And Ann Geen
drove home that evening with her Phoby beside her. "I'm sorry to let
'ee go, my son," said John; "but 'twould never do for me to have your
mother comin' over here too often. I've a great respect for all the
Lemals; but on the female side they be too frolicsome for a steady-going
trade like mine."

[1] Drinking-house.
[2] Huguenot's house.
[3] Feu de joie.

THE MAN WHO COULD HAVE TOLD.

It was ten o'clock--a s