up on the quarterdeck, followed by Mr
Culpepper and his steward.

There was no defence or excuse to be made: the pockets of his jacket and
of his trowsers were stuffed with raisins; and at the bottom of his
pocket, when they were emptied by the master-at-arms, was found the
squirt.

As soon as the hue and cry was over, and all the parties were on the
quarter-deck, as the coast was clear, I thought I might as well take
advantage of it; and therefore I came out from my hiding-place, went
into the steward's room, filled my handkerchief with raisins, and
escaped to the berth unperceived; so that while Tommy Dott was
disgorging on the quarter-deck, I was gorging below.

Mr Dott was reported to the captain for this heinous offence; and, in
consequence, was ordered below under arrest, his place in the captain's
gig being filled up by me; so that in every point of view Tommy
suffered, and I reaped the harvest. What pleased me most was, that,
being midshipman of the captain's boat, I was of course continually in
the company of the coxswain, Bob Cross.

But I must not delay at present, as I have to record a very serious
adventure which occurred, and by which I, for a long while, was
separated from my companions and shipmates.

In ten days we sailed in search of a pirate vessel, which was reported
to have committed many dreadful excesses, and had become the terror of
the mercantile navy. Our orders were to proceed northward, and to
cruise off the Virgin Islands, near which she was said to have been last
seen.

About three weeks after we had left Carlisle Bay, the look-out man
reported two strange sail from the mast-head. I was sent up, as signal
mid, to examine them, and found that they were both schooners, hove to
close together; one of them very rakish in their appearance. All sail
in chase was made immediately, and we came up within three miles of
them, when one, evidently the pirate we were in search of, made sail,
while the other remained hove to.

As we passed the vessel hove to, which we took it for granted was a
merchantman, which the pirate had been plundering, the captain ordered
one of the cutters to be lowered down with a midshipman and boat's crew
to take possession of her. The men were all in the boat, but the
midshipman had gone down for his spy-glass, or something else, and as it
was merely with a view of ascertaining what the vessel was, and the
chief object was to overtake the pirate vessel, to prev