greeted me as he
would have done in the forecastle of the _Drake_. Directly he made me
at home, and told me that I must mess in his cabin.

"You must be clothed, so I will dress you as an officer. As we have no
boatswain on board, I will at once appoint you to fill the berth.
That's all settled; and after you have had some food, I must hear all
that has happened to you since we parted." He told me that he was well
aware of the treacherous disposition of the natives, and that he was
always on his guard.

How delightful it was to feel myself out of the power of those
bloodthirsty savages, and to be sitting at dinner with an intelligent
companion! He had been in the schooner ever since we parted; and so
much satisfaction had he given the Dutch authorities, that he had been
promised shortly the command of the largest vessel on the station. He
was in high spirits, and told me that he expected, on his return to
Batavia, to marry a lady of considerable fortune, and that he looked
upon his prosperity as certain. "Pretty well, is it not, I have done,
remembering the point from which I started only a few years ago?"

I very soon recovered my health and strength on board the schooner.
Newman had been sent to examine these and other neighbouring groups of
islands. We cruised about among them for some months, and then once
more shaped our course for Batavia.

On getting on board, I had no little difficulty at first in speaking
English, and I found that I had almost entirely forgotten how to read
and write. Newman, however, used to have me every day into his cabin,
and I very soon recovered the knowledge I had lost. Indeed, he took as
much pains to instruct me as he had done on board the whaler, and he
encouraged me with the hope that he might get me appointed as one of his
mates while he remained in the schooner. But alas! I found that in one
point he was still unchanged. Religion was yet a stranger to his soul.

At length we reached Batavia. He went on shore in high spirits, telling
me that he was going to visit the lady to whom he was engaged; but he
let me know that he must call also on another who had formed an
attachment for him, that he might pacify her respecting his intended
marriage. I feared from what he said that all was not right. I
expected him on board again that night, but he did not return.

In the morning he did not come, so with some anxiety I went on shore to
inquire for him. For a long time