nd then I had the chest lifted on to the middle
of the sail, seating myself beside it. Then, starting with the pearls,
I picked out fourteen of practically equal value, and laid them, singly
and well apart, on the canvas before me, explaining my intentions as I
did so. Then to these I similarly added fourteen more, and so on, until
each heap contained the same number of pearls, and was, as nearly as I
could judge, of the same value. There were five pearls left over, and
these I reserved as possible make-weights, so to speak, in the further
division of the gems. Then I proceeded with the diamonds in the same
way, following on with the rubies, and finishing off with the emeralds,
until the entire treasure was subdivided into fourteen parts of
practically equal value. This done, I inquired whether they were all of
opinion that the _division_ had been evenly made; and upon receiving a
reply to the effect that "they supposed so," I gave the tickets in the
sailor's cap a vigorous, final shaking up, and then passed the cap round
in succession, requesting each man to take one paper. Then, when all
had been drawn, I requested them to open their papers and look at the
numbers written thereon. And, finally, the man who held number one was
allowed first choice from the fourteen heaps, number two the second
choice, and so on, until only one heap was left, which fell to the man
holding ticket number fourteen. It was interesting to note the
difference in the behaviour of the men in choosing their heaps; some
hung fire and seemed quite unable to make up their minds for as much as
ten minutes or a quarter of an hour--and they would probably have been
longer but for the impatient remonstrances of their fellows--while
others simply laid their caps alongside the nearest heap and swept the
latter into the former with as little emotion as though they had been
purchasing a penn'orth of gooseberries at a street-barrow.

This process of subdivision of the treasure had run away with a
considerable amount of time, with the result that when I returned to the
brig the usual hour of "supper"--as the evening meal is generally termed
at sea--was long past; and, what was of far greater consequence, I found
that during my prolonged absence Miss Onslow had worked herself into a
perfect fever of apprehension as to my safety; which was not at all
surprising when one came to reflect upon what her situation would have
been--alone among all those ruffi