ats his crew like his own children, and victuals his
ship like an eating-house: but a seaman's rig and forty dollars is all
you need, and with this you'll fare off to the American Consul's and
swear that I've made life a burden to you.' 'Why forty dollars?' I
asked. He winked. 'That's earnest money that when you reach the United
States you'll have the law of me for ill-usage.' 'And what shall I get
in exchange?' 'You will get a certificate enabling you to pass from
port as a discharged sailor seeking a ship.' I thanked him warmly, and
agreed; climbed down the ship's side in my new rig, waved an affecting
farewell to my benevolent tyrant, and sought the American Consul who (it
seemed) was used to discontented seamen. At all events, he accepted
without suspicion his share in the dishonouring comedy, took my forty
dollars, and made out my certificate."

Here the Captain glanced at Doctor Gonsalvez, who blinked.

Said I: "Even a Protestant must sometimes understand the relief of
confession."

"Armed with this," he went on, "I made my way to the mouth of the Loire,
to St. Nazaire, between which and Le Croisic lies a small island where,
in the present weakness of the French marine, English ships of war are
suffered to water unmolested. For ten napoleons I bribed an old
fisherman to row me out at night to this island, which we reached at
daybreak, and to our dismay found the anchorage empty. We cast our
nets, however, for a blind, and taking a few fish on our way, worked
slowly down to the south-west, where my comrade (and a faithful one he
proved) had heard reports of an English frigate nosing about the coast.
Sure enough, between breakfast and noon we caught sight of her topmasts:
but to reach her we must pass in full view and almost within point-blank
range of a coast battery. We were scarcely abreast of it when a
round-shot plumped into the sea ahead of us and brought us to, and
almost at once a boatful of soldiers put off to board us.

"Their object, it turned out, was merely to warn us not to pass the
battery, or the chances were five to one that the Englishman would
capture us. In no way discomposed, my friend maintained that we (he
passed me off as his son) must either fish or starve; that we had come a
long distance, knew every inch of the coast, and ran no danger.
He backed this up by bribing the soldiers with our whole morning's
catch, and in the end they contented themselves by insisting that we
shou