er good naturedly consented, and himself led the way into the
cabin.

They took their places at the table, and the captain opened a fresh
bottle, at the very first glass of which the Spaniard's eye glistened, his
lips smacked. The conversation became more and more lively; Ready spoke
Spanish fluently, and gave proof of a jovialty which no one would have
suspected to form a part of his character, dry and saturnine as his manner
usually was. A quarter of an hour or more had passed in this way, when the
schooner gave a sudden lurch, and the glasses and bottles jingled and
clattered together on the table. The Spaniard started up.

"Captain!" cried he furiously, "the schooner is sailing!"

"Certainly," replied the captain, very coolly. "You surely did not expect,
Senor, that we were going to miss the finest breeze that ever filled a
sail."

Without answering, the officer rushed upon deck, and looked in the
direction of the Molo. They had left the fort full two miles behind them.
The Spaniard literally foamed at the mouth.

"Soldiers!" vociferated he, "seize the captain and the prisoners. We are
betrayed. And you, steersman, put about."

And betrayed they assuredly were; for while the officer had been quaffing
his Madeira, and the soldiers and boatmen regaling themselves with the
steward's rum, sail had been made on the vessel without noise or bustle,
and, favoured by the breeze, she was rapidly increasing her distance from
land. Meantime Ready preserved the utmost composure.

"Betrayed!" repeated he, replying to the vehement ejaculation of the
Spaniard. "Thank God we are Americans, and have no trust to break, nothing
to betray. As to this prisoner of yours, however, he must remain here."

"Here!" sneered the Spaniard--"We'll soon see about that you
treacherous"--

"Here," quietly interrupted the captain. "Do not give yourself needless
trouble, Senor; your soldiers' guns are, as you perceive, in our hands,
and my six sailors well provided with pistols and cutlasses. We are more
than a match for your ten, and at the first suspicious movement you make,
we fire on you."

The officer looked around, and became speechless when he beheld the
soldiers' muskets piled upon the deck, and guarded by two well armed and
determined-looking sailors.

"You would not dare"--exclaimed he.

"Indeed would I," replied Ready; "but I hope you will not force me to it.
You must remain a few hours longer my guest, and then you can return