blaster
had him in his arms; Tom, crawling on his face, had caught him by one
foot, and the third man had a drawn cutlass brandishing above his head.

It was not so much the danger, it was not so much the annoyance, that
now bowed down the spirits of young Shelton; it was the profound
humiliation to have escaped Sir Daniel, convinced Lord Risingham, and
now fall helpless in the hands of this old, drunken sailor; and not
merely helpless, but, as his conscience loudly told him when it was too
late, actually guilty--actually the bankrupt debtor of the man whose
ship he had stolen and lost.

"Bring me him back into the alehouse, till I see his face," said
Arblaster.

"Nay, nay," returned Tom; "but let us first unload his wallet, lest the
other lads cry share."

But though he was searched from head to foot, not a penny was found upon
him; nothing but Lord Foxham's signet, which they plucked savagely from
his finger.

"Turn me him to the moon," said the skipper; and taking Dick by the
chin, he cruelly jerked his head into the air. "Blessed Virgin!" he
cried, "it is the pirate!"

"Hey!" cried Tom.

"By the Virgin of Bordeaux, it is the man himself!" repeated Arblaster.
"What, sea-thief, do I hold you?" he cried. "Where is my ship? Where is
my wine? Hey! have I you in my hands? Tom, give me one end of a cord
here; I will so truss me this sea-thief, hand and foot together, like a
basting turkey--marry, I will so bind him up--and thereafter I will so
beat--so beat him!"

And so he ran on, winding the cord meanwhile about Dick's limbs with the
dexterity peculiar to seamen, and at every turn and cross securing it
with a knot, and tightening the whole fabric with a savage pull.

When he had done, the lad was a mere package in his hands--as helpless
as the dead. The skipper held him at arm's length, and laughed aloud.
Then he fetched him a stunning buffet on the ear; and then turned him
about, and furiously kicked and kicked him. Anger rose up in Dick's
bosom like a storm; anger strangled him, and he thought to have died;
but when the sailor, tired of this cruel play, dropped him all his
length upon the sand and turned to consult with his companions, he
instantly regained command of his temper. Here was a momentary respite;
ere they began again to torture him, he might have found some method to
escape from this degrading and fatal misadventure.

Presently, sure enough, and while his captors were still discussing what
to