warrant for his arrest," said Charlie, with innocent
pride--"the d----d scoundrel") but had been answered with bullets. He
had been terribly frightened, he owned, when Calypso had been brought on
deck, but she had given him courage--he paused to beam on her, a
broad-faced admiration, for which he could find no words--and, as he had
never yet missed a flying duck at--I forget how many yards Charlie
mentioned--well ... perhaps he oughtn't to have risked it--And so his
story came to an end, amid reassuring applause.

"Now," said the "King," "for the Story of the Disappearing Gentleman and
the Lighted Lantern."

And then I told my story as it is already known to the reader, and I
have to confess that, when I came to the chestful of doubloons and
pieces of eight, I had a very attentive audience. But, at first, the
"King" shook his head with an amused smile.

"Ulysses is romancing for the benefit of my romantic second childhood,"
he said, and then, after his favourite manner he added--

"I might not this believe
Without the sensible and true avouch of mine own eyes ..."

Then, he was for starting off that very night. But, reminded of the
difficult seclusion in which the treasure still lay, he was persuaded to
wait till the morrow.

"At dawn then," he said, "to-morrow--'what time, the rosy-footed dawn'
... so be it. And now I am going to talk to Ajax the Far-Darter of
duck-shooting."

"But wait!" I cried. "Why did 'Jack Harkaway' go to Nassau?"

Calypso blushed. The "King" chuckled.

"I prefer not to be known in Nassau, yet some of my business has to be
done there. Nor is it safe for beauty like Calypso's to go unprotected.
So from time to time, 'Jack Harkaway' goes for us both! And now enough
of explanations!"; and he launched into talk of game and sport in
various parts of the world, to the huge delight of the great
simple-hearted Charlie.

But, after a time, other matters claimed the attention of his other
auditors. During the flow of his discourse night had fallen. Calypso and
I perceived that we were forgotten--so, by an impulse that seemed to be
one, we rose and left them there, and stole out into the garden where
the little fountain was dancing like a spirit under the moon, and the
orange trees gave out their perfume on the night breeze. I took her
hand, and we walked softly out into the moonlight, and looked down at
the closed lotuses in the little pool. And then we took courage to look
int