ring from hunger and thirst, as we could see,
my brother and I, although she never uttered a word of complaint!"

"Poor, brave lady," observed the captain. "She deserved a better fate!"

"Si, si, yes, yes," said the other, "She did not complain--no, never;
but, how could we stand by and see her suffer? My brother Pedro, when
it came on to nightfall on the close of the second day of our blockade
in the cabin, said that he would adventure out in search of food and
water, the mutineers then having drunk themselves to sleep. I, however,
pointed out that he had a wife and child dependent on his life, while I
had no claims on mine and insisted on my right to take the risk, the
more especially from my being the master of the ship. Still, he would
not give in; and, ultimately, we cast the dice to decide the matter and
I won the cast."

"You then left the cabin?"

"Yes, senor. My brother barricaded the door behind me and kept watch
with his revolver, while I crept forwards stealthily. I reached the
steward's pantry in the deckhouse amidships, without being seen and
secured some polenta and a baraca of water; when, as I was creeping aft
again and close to the poop, that villain of a mate caught hold of my
arm, pointing a stiletto in my face at the same time, and threatening to
stab me if I uttered a cry. But, before I could open my mouth, he
shoved a gag in it and then proceeded to drag me to the side of the
ship, lashing me to the spot whence your two officers released me some
three days afterwards, if my calculation is correct."

"Good heavens!" exclaimed the captain. "What agony you must have
suffered tied up like that, and without anything to eat or drink, I
suppose, all the while?"

"Nothing, not a bite or drop, passed my lips from the time of the night
of the mutiny until your brave officers and men, Senor Capitano, so
nobly came to my assistance."

"You must then have been quite five days without sustenance," said
Captain Farmer, astonished at his endurance. "I wonder you lived
through it, with all that exposure to the weather, too!"

"Ah, it was nothing. I did not think of myself," replied the other. "I
was in torture for my brother and his poor wife and little child, for,
as soon as I was gagged and bound, I saw Gomez and six of the villains
all draw their knives and start towards the poop; and, presently, I
heard the shriek of a woman's voice which I recognised as my sister's,
the senora, and then fo