his question as to whether
there was anything to dispose of, he replied to him, "You must put that
question to the captain. There he is."

The fellow turned to me; he looked at me, stared, and was mute, when his
cub of a boy cried out, "As sure as a gun it's he, father, and no
mistake."

"Oh, you imp of Satan, you know me, do you?" replied I. "Yes, it is he.
Send all the men aft."

The men came fast enough. They were only waiting till I had spoken to
them to come and give information against him.

"Now, my lads," said I, "this is a scoundrel who fell in with some of us
when we were in distress, after we had lost our vessel. Instead of
behaving as one seaman does to another, he robbed us of all we had, and
turned us adrift naked to be killed by the Indians. Of all, I and the
two Portuguese you took on board about four months back are the only
three left: the others perished. The one who was with me was burnt to
death by the Indians, and I narrowly escaped. I leave you to decide
what this scoundrel merits."

"But there is more against him, captain," said the men, and then four of
them stepped out and declared that he had run away with the money
belonging to the crew of which they were a part, and that the sum he had
stolen amounted to 25,000 dollars.

"What have you to say for yourself?" said I to him.

"That I've been a cursed fool to be caught as I have been."

"What will they do, father?"

"Hang us, I suppose," replied he.

"Captain Toplift," said I, "I do not command this vessel, and I shall
therefore leave you to decide upon the fate of this miscreant;" and,
having said that, I was going below to the cabin, when the captain of
the Transcendant's son ran to me, and said, "I want to speak to you,
Sir, when you are alone."

"What are you after, Peleg?" cried his father.

"I'm going to save your life, father, if I can," replied he.

"You'll be clever if you do that, boy," said the man, sneeringly.

I allowed the boy to follow me down into the cabin, and then asked him
what he had to say.

"I have that to tell you which is of more value than the lives of a
hundred boys like me."

"Boys like you? Why I thought it was to save your father's life that
you came down, Sir?"

"Pooh!" said he, "let him hang; he was born for a halter. I am come to
save my own life. I only said that to gammon him."

"You're a hopeful youth," said I; "and pray what is that you can tell me
that will save your own ne