lacked uniformity of
design, and suggested the idea that it had been acquired in a more or
less haphazard way and at different times and places.

By the time that I had completed my survey of the cabin in which I lay I
had sufficiently regained the control of my senses to realise that I was
certainly not aboard the _Francesca_; and, that being the case, where
was I? Undoubtedly aboard the pirate brig, on the deck of which I had
been struck down senseless. And then arose the question, what had
become of the schooner and my shipmates? Had they been captured, sunk,
or driven off? That the fight was over, and had probably been over for
some time, was evident; for although there was a sound of much movement
on the deck overhead, with the jabber of many voices in Spanish,
intermingled with frequent calls and commands, the stir and bustle were
of that quiet and orderly character which conveyed to my practised ear
the suggestion that the people on deck were engaged upon the task of
repairing damages. For a moment the idea presented itself to me that we
might possibly have proved the victors, and that the brig was in our
possession, but it was dispelled the next moment by the reflection that,
had such been the case, the speech on deck would have been English, not
Spanish, and I should probably not have been left unattended. As my
mental balance gradually recovered itself, so did my anxiety touching
the fate of the _Francesca_ and my comrades intensify, until at length I
felt that I could endure the suspense no longer, but must turn out and
investigate for myself. I accordingly made an effort to raise myself in
my cot, but instantly sank back with an involuntary groan, for not only
did the effort result in an immediate and severe attack of vertigo, but
I also became aware of the fact that, in addition to the injury to my
head, I had received a very painful hurt in the left breast, close above
my heart. To get up and dress, as I had intended, was obviously
impossible, and the only thing to be done, therefore, was to remain
where I was until somebody should come to me.

I lay thus for perhaps a quarter of an hour longer, fretting and fuming
at my helplessness, and still more at my ignorance of what had happened
to the schooner, when the door of the cabin opened softly, and a rather
good-looking young Spaniard approached my cot on tiptoe. Seeing that my
eyes were open, and probably detecting a look of rationality in them, h