lford's shameful appeal, "what d'ye think? Is the
pris'ner guilty or not guilty?"

"_Guilty_!" was the unanimous declaration of the assembly.

"Guilty? In course he is. And what's the punishment to be? Death?"

"Oh, no! Not death--not death, gentlemen. For the love of God, spare
my life; I am not fit to die; I am not indeed. You see how young a man
I am; why, I have never yet thought about dying. Mercy! mercy!"
shrieked the miserable wretch as he grovelled on his knees before them,
and sought to clasp the knees of the man nearest him--an attempt which
was repulsed with an oath, a look of unutterable loathing, a kick, and a
brutal blow on the mouth.

"Come, lads, speak up," urged Rogers, wholly unmoved by the
interruption, "say what the punishment's to be, and let's have done with
it. I'm sick of this here, I am."

"Well," said Talbot, stepping forward, "I wotes that the prisoner be
first made to go and axe poor Dicky's pardon. If he can't get it, why,
let's string him up at the yard-arm to balance t'other one. But if
Dicky likes to forgi'e him, well, we'll spare his life and redooce his
punishment to two dozen at the gangway--same as he got for Rudd--and
make him do Rudd's dooty 'til the poor chap's better; arter which the
prisoner can be set to do all the dirty work o' the ship. How's that,
shipmates?"

"Ay, ay, Ben; that'll do, bo', that'll do fust-rate. And he may thank
his lucky stars at bein' let off so precious easy," was Rogers' reply;
in which the remainder of the men laughingly acquiesced.

"Then you'd better step this way at once, young feller," remarked Talbot
to the miserable Walford, "and see what you can do with poor Dicky. If
he won't forgive yer, mind, it's all up with yer."

So saying he opened the door of the state-room in which Rudd was lying,
thrust his victim into the apartment, and closed the door upon him.

The state-room into which Walford was thus unceremoniously ushered was
divided from the saloon by a bulkhead with a door in it, the upper panel
of which was fitted with sloping slats like those of the Venetian
window-blinds of the present day; it was perfectly easy, therefore, for
an occupant of the state-room to hear all that passed in the saloon, and
_vice versa_. As a matter of fact, Rudd, who was lying in his berth,
broad awake, _had_ heard every word uttered during the course of the
trial, and shrewdly suspecting that his shipmates were more anxious to
thoroughly f