I brought it to you. I am in as bad a
condition as any of you; so I gained nothing by treachery, if I was
guilty of it."

"Ah, but you hoped to do so!" exclaimed the mate. "It wasn't your wish
to remain with us, but you could not help yourself." Thus the
discussion went on, till they arrived very nearly at the truth. I said
nothing, but listened, expecting every moment to be my last. Some
proposed throwing me overboard at once; but the black suggested that the
captain would be angry at such a proceeding, and that it would be far
better to carry me in alive, and to torment me before they put me to
death.

I told them that they had no proof of my guilt, and that I denied the
accusation of having put anything into the liquor, and that I was
certain that Captain Hawk would acquit me.

They were still threatening me, when the black, who was standing up, on
looking towards the mouth of the harbour, espied two boats pulling out
towards us. Our comrades must have seen us with their glasses from the
shore, and were coming to our assistance. They could not possibly be
more than four miles off. Scarcely had the rest time to discover the
specks they seemed on the water, when I observed a sail just rounding
the west side of the island, and standing, with a fresh breeze, directly
for us. It was not long before she was discovered by the rest.

She was a large brig, and, from the squareness of her yards, she looked
like a man-of-war. Down she came rapidly on us, as yet unperceived by
the people in the boats, as a point of high land, covered with trees,
hid her completely from them. The black jumped up, and watched her,
with lips apart and staring eyeballs, for some time.

"De brig we fought de oder day!" he exclaimed. "If he see we, den we
all hang." And he sunk down at the bottom of the boat, intimating to
the rest to follow his example.

I scarcely knew whether to wish that the American brig-of-war--for such
I felt convinced she was--should discover us, or whether we might get
into the harbour unperceived.

In the latter case, the probabilities were that the pirates would put me
to death. In the former, I ran a great risk of being hung because I was
a pirate; or the boat might drift out to sea, and a lingering death
would be our portion. Neither alternative afforded a pleasant subject
of contemplation.

The boats from the shore were all this time approaching us. At last
they saw the topgallant-mast's heads o