ience hitherto has been
boy's play compared with this day's work."

"That is very true; this is by all odds the most serious affair in which
we have ever been engaged," answered Louis, as he seated himself on the
divan.

"I am not going to beat about the bush for a moment, my dear fellow; and
before we talk about anything else, even of what we will do next in this
trying situation, I want to say that I am very much troubled in my mind
in regard to the consequences of what _I_ have done," continued Scott,
as he seated himself by the side of his friend and model on the divan.

"I don't wonder that you are troubled; so am I, for I think we may well
regard what has happened as an extraordinary event," added Louis.

"I say what _I_ have done; for I purposely abstained from asking advice
of you or any other fellow, after I had decided what to do, even if
there had been time for me to consult you. In other words, I took the
entire responsibility upon myself; and there I purpose to have it rest."

"Of course you had no time to ask the opinion of any fellow, even if it
could have been of any use to you."

"I believe I did the best I could. The shallow water at the south of us
prevented me from running away in that direction, as I tried to do, and
the only avenue out of the difficulty was directly ahead of the Maud."

"I understand it all perfectly, for I could measure the situation from
the upper deck," said Louis.

"I headed the steamer to the east. Then came that shot through the
galley. The Fatime was coming about in order to bring her port gun to
bear upon us. She could not well avoid hitting us if she had tried to do
so, we were so near. If the ball went through the engine or the boiler,
both of which were exposed to the fire, that would have been the last of
us. Half of us might have been scalded to death; or, at the best,
Mazagan might have knocked the Maud all to pieces at his leisure after
he had disabled the vessel."

"Precisely so."

"I might have hoisted a white rag, and surrendered, permitting the
pirate to take you on board his steamer; but if I had done that, I
could never have held up my head again, and I could never have looked my
recording angel in the face to tell him I had let the pirate take Louis
Belgrave out of the Maud."

"It would not have ended in just the way you have pictured it, Captain
Scott," added Louis with a smile. "I think enough of the ship's company
would have stood by me to enab