from the frightful position I was placed in showed themselves to
me as plainly as I see them now.

"I turned and led the way to the higher part of the beach, where some
fishing-boats were drawn up which completely screened us from the view
of any one landing on the shore below. Seeing probably that I had a
purpose of some kind, Manuel followed me without uttering a word. As
soon as we were safely under the shelter of the boats, I forced myself,
in my own defense, to look at him again.

"'What should you say,' I asked, 'if I was rich instead of poor? What
should you say if I could afford to give you a hundred pounds?'

"He started. I saw plainly that he had not expected so much as half the
sum I had mentioned. It is needless to add that his tongue lied, while
his face spoke the truth, and that when he replied to me the answer was,
'Nothing like enough.'

"'Suppose,' I went on, without taking any notice of what he had said,
'that I could show you a way of helping yourself to twice as much--three
times as much--five times as much as a hundred pounds, are you bold
enough to put out your hand and take it?'

"The greedy glitter came into his eyes once more. His voice dropped low,
in breathless expectation of my next words.

"'Who is the person?' he asked. 'And what is the risk?'

"I answered him at once, in the plainest terms. I threw Armadale to him,
as I might have thrown a piece of meat to a wild beast who was pursuing
me.

"'The person is a rich young Englishman,' I said. 'He has just hired the
yacht called the _Dorothea_, in the harbor here; and he stands in need
of a sailing-master and a crew. You were once an officer in the Spanish
navy--you speak English and Italian perfectly--you are thoroughly
well acquainted with Naples and all that belongs to it. The rich young
Englishman is ignorant of the language, and the interpreter who assists
him knows nothing of the sea. He is at his wits' end for want of useful
help in this strange place; he has no more knowledge of the world than
that child who is digging holes with a stick there in the sand; and
he carries all his money with him in circular notes. So much for the
person. As for the risk, estimate it for yourself.'

"The greedy glitter in his eyes grew brighter and brighter with every
word I said. He was plainly ready to face the risk before I had done
speaking.

"'When can I see the Englishman?' he asked, eagerly.

"I moved to the seaward end of the fishing-