eamen were
all anxious to reach England, and would not volunteer, we had only three
other men; so that, considering the size of the _Dolphin_, we were
somewhat short-handed.

Before committing the heads to the deep, we examined their features, and
it was the opinion of all on board, who had known Walter Stenning, that
none of them bore any resemblance to him; so that if the young man, who
had for so long been on board the _Rainbow_, was the same person who
lately commanded this unfortunate vessel, his fate was still uncertain.
Too probably, however, he had been murdered by the miscreants on deck.
Scarcely less melancholy would be his lot if he still survived, for he
would have been carried away to Morocco, and there sold as a slave, to
labour in the fields or gardens.

One or two other bits of arms and ornaments were found about the deck;
and the captain, on examining them, gave it as his opinion that the
pirate was one of those craft which had long been known under the name
of Salee Rovers. At one time the greater number of vessels fitted out
by the Moors to plunder on the high seas hailed from that port. Before
the captain left the vessel, every part of her was examined, but not a
trace of a living being could be found. Still, too clearly to be
mistaken did she tell her own dreadful tale. The log-book showed that,
three days before, she had been in a dead calm since sunrise, and that a
strange sail was in sight. Little did her crew dream of the woe that
stranger was to work them!

We were allowed to go on board the _Rainbow_ to get our chests, and to
wish our shipmates good-bye; and then I bade farewell to my old captain,
and the craft I had learned to love as a seaman only can,--the vessel
within whose wide timbers I had spent many a happy day, and which had
carried me in safety across many a wide sea.

We found nearly everything we required on board the _Dolphin_. It took
some time, however, to get her to rights, to wash out the stains of
blood, and to put the cabin in order, and to remove all remnants of the
horrid deed which had been enacted there. It was some time, however,
before Mr Gale could prevail on himself to take possession of the
cabin. At last all the necessary arrangements on board the _Dolphin_
were made, and Captain Helfrich ordering Mr Gale to proceed on his
voyage, bore away to the north-east, while we kept to the westward of
north. I felt very strange as I found myself on board a new