on_ of these fellows offered to aid us in lightening the
galliot and depositing the cargo on the key; where, he said, there was
a hut in which he would guarantee the safety of our merchandise until,
at the full of the moon, we could float the vessel from the reef. He
offered, moreover, to pilot us out of harm's way; and, for all his
services in salvage, we were to pay him a thousand dollars.

While the master was busy making terms, his companions were rummaging
the galliot in order to ascertain our cargo and armament. It was
finally agreed by the captain and his petticoat commodore, that if, by
evening and the return of tide, our galliot would not float, we would
accept the wreckers' offer; and, accordingly, I was ordered to inform
them of the resolution.

As soon as I stated our assent, the _patron_, suddenly assumed an air
of deliberation, and insisted that the money should be paid in hard
cash on the spot, and not by drafts on Havana, as originally required.
I thought the demand a significant one, and hoped the joint partners
would neither yield nor admit their ability to do so; but,
unfortunately, they assented at once. The nod and wink I saw the
_patron_ immediately bestow on one of his companions, satisfied me of
the imprudence of the concession and the justice of my suspicions.

The fishermen departed to try their luck on the sea, promising to be
back at sunset, on their way to the island. We spent the day in
fruitless efforts to relieve the galliot or to find a channel, so that
when the Spaniards returned in the afternoon with a rather careless
reiteration of their proposal, our captain, with some eagerness, made
his final arrangements for the cargo's discharge early next morning.
Our skipper had visited the key in the course of the day, and finding
the place of deposit apparently safe, and every thing else seemingly
honest, he was anxious that the night might pass in order that the
disembarkation might begin.

The calm quiet of that tropic season soon wore away, and, when I
looked landward, at day-dawn, I perceived two strange boats at anchor
near the key. As this gave me some uneasiness, I mentioned it to the
captain and his wife, but they laughed at my suspicions. After an
early meal we began to discharge our heaviest cargo with the
fishermen's aid, yet we made little progress towards completion by the
afternoon. At sunset, accounts were compared, and finding a
considerable difference _in favor_ of the wr