ed to be stepping between them. Napoleon was getting
together a combination of powers against England, and in order to
coerce Denmark into using her navy--a small but efficient one--on the
side of the alliance, he threatened to send a force overland. He
counted without the resources of Nelson, who, with no more ado than
setting sail, got across to Copenhagen, took possession of every ship
of war that lay in Danish waters, and brought them home to England in
a troop.

When Adam heard of this he saw his opportunity in a moment, and
hurrying away to Nelson at Spithead he asked if among the Danish
ships that had been captured there was a sloop of war that had lain
near two years off the island of Grimsey. Nelson answered, No, but
that if there was such a vessel still at liberty he was not of a mind
to leave it to harass him. So Adam told why the sloop was there, and
Nelson, waiting for no further instructions, despatched an English
man-of-war, with Adam aboard of her, to do for the last of the Danish
fleet what had been done for the body of it, and at the same time to
recover the English prisoner whom she had been sent to watch.

Before anything was known of this final step of Nelson, his former
proceeding had made a great noise throughout Europe, where it was
loudly condemned as against the law of nations, by the rascals who
found themselves outwitted. When the report reached Reykjavik,
Jorgen Jorgensen saw nothing that could come of it but instant war
between Denmark and England, and nothing that could come of war with
England but disaster to Denmark, for he knew the English navy of old.
So to make doubly sure of his own position in a tumult wherein little
things would of a certainty be seized up with great ones, he
conceived the idea of putting Michael Sunlocks out of the way, and
thus settling one harassing complication. Then losing no time he made
ready a despatch to the officer in command of the sloop of war off
Grimsey, ordering him to send a company of men ashore immediately to
execute the prisoner lying in charge of the priest of the island.

Now this despatch, whereof the contents became known throughout
Reykjavik in less time than Jorgen took to write and seal it, had to
be carried to Grimsey by two of his bodyguard. But the men were
Danes, and as they did not know the way across the Bursting-sand
desert, an Iceland guide had to be found for them. To this end the
two taverns of the town were beaten up for a ma