possession, Ned, we had better put a man at the
helm--for the speronare is having it all her own way."

"Very true," replied Gascoigne; "and as I can steer better than you, I
suppose it must be me."

Gascoigne went to the helm, brought the boat up to the wind, and then
they resumed their conversation.

"That rascal of a boy gave me a devil of a lick on the shoulder; I don't
know whether he has hurt me--at all events it's my left shoulder, so I
can steer just as well. I wonder whether the fellows are dead."

"The padrone is, at all events," replied Jack. "It was as much as I
could do to get my legs from under him--but we'll wait till daylight
before we see to that--in the meantime, I'll load the pistols again."

"The day is breaking now--it will be light in half an hour or less.
What a devil of a spree, Jack!"

"Yes, but how can one help it? We ran away because two men are
wounded--and now we are obliged to kill four in self-defence."

"Yes, but that is not the end of it; when we get to Sicily what are we
to do? we shall be imprisoned by the authorities--perhaps hung."

"We'll argue that point with them," replied Jack.

"We had better argue the point between ourselves, Jack, and see what
will be the best plan to get out of our scrape."

"I think that we just have got out of it--never fear but we'll get out
of the next. Do you know, Gascoigne, it appears to me very odd, but I
can do nothing but there's a bobbery at the bottom of it."

"You certainly have a great talent that way, Jack. Don't I hear one of
these poor fellows groan?"

"I should think that not impossible."

"What shall we do with them?"

"We will argue that point, Ned--we must either keep their bodies or we
must throw them overboard. Either tell the whole story or say nothing
about it."

"That's very evident; in short, we must do something, for your argument
goes no further. But now let us take up one of your propositions."

"Well then, suppose we keep the bodies on board, run into a seaport, go
to the authorities, and state all the facts, what then?"

"We shall prove, beyond all doubt, that we have killed three men, if not
four; but we shall not prove that we were obliged so to do, Jack. And
then we are heretics--we shall be put in prison till they are satisfied
of our innocence, which we never can prove, and there we shall remain
until we have written to Malta, and a man-of-war comes to redeem us, if
we are not stabbed, or someth