even more richly
laden than the last. She saw that flight was useless. She was speedily
boarded, and found to contain more dollars, bars of gold and silver, and
other treasure. It took no long time to transfer the whole to the
"Pallas."

"If we go on at this rate, Morton, we shall have enough of the needful
to satisfy all the land sharks in the kingdom, and to establish your
rights, whatever they may be, against all opposition."

Morton's hopes began to rise high. The wealth they were collecting
seemed almost fabulous; though he knew that but a small share would come
to him, he thought that it would be ample to carry out his objects.

The treasure had not long been stowed away, when the wind got up with a
heavy sea, and the ship laboured considerably. Hardman, when sitting
over his wine with his messmates in the gun-room, began to talk of
planks starting, and rich argosies going suddenly to the bottom. No
one, however, paid much attention to his prognostications of evil. By
dawn the next day another sail hove in sight. Chase was made, but the
stranger showed that she had a fast pair of heels; the "Pallas,"
however, had a faster pair, and by noon had gained upon her so much that
she was seen to be an armed ship of considerable size. No sooner
however did the "Pallas" get her under her guns, than she hauled down
her flag and hove-to. Though a heavy sea was running, she was
immediately boarded and found to be a richly laden Letter of Marque.
She also had a chest of dollars; but as there would have been great
danger of losing them in transferring them to the "Pallas," they were
allowed to remain on board; Evans was sent in charge of her.

"Take care that you do not slip into a lion's mouth," said Morton, as
his brother officer took his departure.

"If I do, I hope that I shall slip out again before he has time to shut
it," was Evans's reply.

Fortune was smiling, it seemed, on the "Pallas." Four rich prizes had
already been made; it was difficult to calculate their worth. The
sanguine temperament of the captain might have over-estimated it.

"My share alone is little short of a hundred thousand pounds," he
exclaimed, showing Morton a sheet of paper on which he had been making a
rough calculation--"a splendid fortune for a man of moderate wishes. I
wish that you had a larger share. We captains get the lion's part
certainly; but perhaps it is as well as it is. What a stimulus it is to
an officer to exe