y one whose
stature proved him to be a boy. He glided up to Dick, who said, in a low
whisper:

"Is all ready?"

"All right," replied the boy, in a whisper.

"The ooman aboard?"

"Aye."

"Now, Mr. Gascoyne," said Dick, pointing to a large boat floating beside
the rocks on which they stood, "you'll be so good as to step into that
'ere boat, and sit down beside the individual you see a-sitting in the
stern-sheets."

"Have you authority for what you do?" asked Gascoyne, hesitating.

"I have power to enforce wot I command," said Dick, quietly. "Remember
yer promise, Mister Pirate, else--"

Dick finished his sentence by pointing to the three men who stood
near--still maintaining a silence worthy of Eastern mutes; and Gascoyne,
feeling that he was completely in their power, stepped quickly into the
boat, and sat down beside the "individual" referred to by Dick, who was
so completely enveloped in the folds of a large cloak as to defy
recognition. But the pirate captain was too much occupied with his own
conflicting thoughts and feelings to bestow more than a passing glance
on the person who sat at his side. Indeed, it was not surprising that
Gascoyne was greatly perplexed by all that was going on at that time;
for he could not satisfactorily account to himself for the mystery and
secrecy which his guards chose to maintain. If they were legitimate
agents of the law, why these muffled oars, with which they swept the
boat across the lagoon, through the gap in the coral reef, and out to
sea? And if they were _not_ agents of the law, who were they, and where
were they conveying him?

The boat was a large one, half-decked, and fitted to stand a heavy sea
and rough weather. It would have moved sluggishly through the water had
not the four men who pulled the oars been possessed of more than average
strength. As soon as they passed the barrier reef, the sails were
hoisted, and Dick took the helm. The breeze was blowing fresh off the
land, and the water rushed past the boat as she cut swiftly out to sea,
leaving a track of white foam behind her. For a few minutes the mass of
the island was dimly seen rising like a huge shade on the dark sky, but
soon it melted away, and nothing remained for the straining eyes to rest
upon save the boat with its silent crew and the curling foam on the
black sea.

"We've got him safe now, lads," said Dick Price, speaking for the first
time that night in unguarded tones. "You'd better do the d