ted in the dark water, made the placid surface of the bay look as
though studded with gems, presenting a most beautiful spectacle.

Roger and Harry, although they would have to work as hard as any of the
others next morning, did not feel inclined to sleep, their minds being
still in a state of unrest after their two hairbreadth escapes of the
day. They therefore remained on deck, walking so softly up and down as
to disturb nobody. They had taken but a few turns when their attention
was attracted by the sound of low voices, being those of the men
constituting the anchor watch. Roger and his friend strolled up to
them, and, sitting down on the breech of a gun, prepared to listen to
what was evidently a yarn that the old quarter-master, Cary, was
spinning.

"Yes," they heard him say, "this arn't by no means the furst taime I was
in thaise seas.--Good-even to ye, Mr Trevose and Mr Edgwyth!--No; I
tall 'ee I was 'ere in the zummer of 1582, just after the taime that
that there bloody pirate, Jose Leirya, was sailing of these vury seas.
'E was a fiend in 'uman shape, if there ever was one; nobody was zafe in
anny of the ships 'e tuk. All the men--passengers or zeamen--that 'e
captured 'e did bind and put under 'atches in their own ship, aifter 'e
'ad taken all out 'e wanted. Then 'e zet 'em adrift; but afore 'e zet
'em adrift 'e used to fire the ship in zeveral places, and all they poor
creatures did roast. The childer 'e took aboard his own ship, keepin'
zum on 'em, and the others 'e zold to the plantations. 'E was a reg'ler
devil, 'e was; and they do zay as 'ow 'e be about 'ere even now,
although 'e baint been 'eard of for zum taime. And more; they zay that
zumwheres near this vury plaace 'o 'as buried tons of goold and silver,
precious stones, and all kinds of vallybles; but 'ow far that be true I
doen't knaw. But I do knaw as 'ow I would laike to fall in with 'e with
these 'ere ships; we'd taich 'un a vaine lesson, wouldn't us, laads?"

"Harry, come here a moment," said Roger, jumping down from the gun at
this point in the old man's narrative, and walking aft. Harry joined
him.

"What do you want, old fellow?" said he.

"Well, lad," remarked his friend, "it has just come to me, somehow, as
old Cary mentioned about the treasure of that scoundrel, Jose Leirya,
being buried somewhere about here, that possibly that cipher of ours
which we brought from the _Gloria del Mundo_ may refer to that very
treasure. You