emained afloat, they might, at any moment, be fallen in with by one of
the vessels in pursuit of them; and even should they be met by any
merchantman, they were perfectly unable to defend themselves, and should
they be recognised, they would equally be delivered up to justice. So
fast, however, did the current run, that it appeared very probable, not
only that they would be carried far to the westward, but that they might
pass the island altogether, and be obliged to attempt to gain another.
Zappa spoke but little; his mind was troubled with many thoughts, though
the present earnestly claimed his attention; he saw that if they could
not fetch the island, their voyage would be much prolonged, and they
would be exposed to many additional risks; and pointing this out to his
men, he entreated them to exert themselves to the utmost. From the
muttered words and growls he heard, he perceived that he must still be
on his guard against them, for they had conceived the idea, he had no
doubt, that if they could once free themselves of the ladies, whom they
believed to be the origin of their disasters, they should no longer be
pursued; but it did not occur to them, that unless the English lady was
restored, in safety, to her friends, their case would in no way be
bettered. Luckily, their intended victims did not understand them, and
Zappa would not alarm them by warning them of what he had heard. He
told Paolo to be on his guard, and kept his own weapons ready to be used
at a moment's notice. On went the raft, a thin pillar of smoke marking
the spot whence it had been launched.

Zappa had been silent for some time.

"Nina," he said at last, "you have endeavoured lately to induce me to
quit the life I have hitherto led. Your persuasions have influenced me
greatly, and I would now gladly follow your wishes; but, alas! all the
wealth I possess in the world went down in the hold of the Sea Hawk, and
I am now again a penniless adventurer. I could never consent to depend
on you, even had you wealth to support me, and I shall therefore once
more be driven to follow my old calling on the ocean. Not my own will,
but fate, drives me to it."

"Oh, no, no; neither fate nor necessity drives you to it!" exclaimed
Nina. "Had the wealth, for which you mourn, not been lost, I would not
have consented to use it. My brother and I have sufficient in our own
country for all our wants; what is mine, surely is yours also."

"And I have in my