inst
his inclination. We had in vain questioned and cross-questioned our
prisoners, to discover if they knew anything of the fate of the
_Ariadne_, but not a particle of information could we obtain; and I was
myself satisfied that they really knew nothing about her. Our late
peril suggested a new cause of alarm to the mind of Mr Vernon, which
apparently had not before occurred to him; and he began to fear that the
vessel in which the Normans had sailed might have been overtaken by one
of those white squalls so common in the Mediterranean, and might have
suffered the fate we so narrowly escaped. Since the squall, our
prisoners had remained unusually quiet; though, while the plague was
aboard, they were as noisy and blasphemous in their conversation as
ever. The sick man continued in the same state as before, though he
seemed more reserved when I spoke to him than he had been at one time.
He continued reading all day, as long as there was light, and asked to
be allowed to have a candle to read at night; but this, of course, could
not be permitted. There was evidently something working in his mind,
which he would gladly be rid of, but could not. Having lost so many
hands, the duty fell, naturally, more severely on the survivors; and we
had enough to do to keep watch on deck, and a vigilant guard over our
prisoners.

One night I had charge of the deck. Besides the man at the helm there
was the look-out forward, and two hands lying down by the windlass.
There was no moon, and the sky was covered with clouds, so that it was
very dark. As I kept moving about, now looking out to windward, now
over the lee-side, and then at the binnacle, to see that the schooner
was kept on her proper course, I fancied that I saw a dark figure come
up the main-hatchway; and while I stopped at the waist, I heard a voice,
in a low whisper, say--

"Hist, sir, hist! I want to speak to you."

"Who is it?" said I, in the same low tone.

"Bobby Smudge, sir; listen: there are not many moments to lose, before
we shall all have our throats cut, if we don't take care."

This piece of intelligence put me on the _qui vive_, though, remembering
Master Smudge's pranks, I own that I did not much credit it.

"Come here," said I, rather impatiently, "and let me know all about it."

"I didn't like to be seen, sir," he replied, coming cautiously up to me,
and looking round to ascertain that no one was near. "I don't know,
sir, who's a friend and w