e of outlaws who had some
experience of the sea, he returned himself to the harbour and the little
sandy creek.

The skiff of the Good Hope lay among many others, from which it was
easily distinguished by its extreme smallness and fragility. Indeed,
when Dick and his two men had taken their places, and begun to put forth
out of the creek into the open harbour, the little cockle dipped into the
swell and staggered under every gust of wind, like a thing upon the point
of sinking.

The Good Hope, as we have said, was anchored far out, where the swell was
heaviest. No other vessel lay nearer than several cables' length; those
that were the nearest were themselves entirely deserted; and as the skiff
approached, a thick flurry of snow and a sudden darkening of the weather
further concealed the movements of the outlaws from all possible espial.
In a trice they had leaped upon the heaving deck, and the skiff was
dancing at the stern. The Good Hope was captured.

She was a good stout boat, decked in the bows and amidships, but open in
the stern. She carried one mast, and was rigged between a felucca and a
lugger. It would seem that Skipper Arblaster had made an excellent
venture, for the hold was full of pieces of French wine; and in the
little cabin, besides the Virgin Mary in the bulkhead which proved the
captain's piety, there were many lockfast chests and cupboards, which
showed him to be rich and careful.

A dog, who was the sole occupant of the vessel, furiously barked and bit
the heels of the boarders; but he was soon kicked into the cabin, and the
door shut upon his just resentment. A lamp was lit and fixed in the
shrouds to mark the vessel clearly from the shore; one of the wine pieces
in the hold was broached, and a cup of excellent Gascony emptied to the
adventure of the evening; and then, while one of the outlaws began to get
ready his bow and arrows and prepare to hold the ship against all comers,
the other hauled in the skiff and got overboard, where he held on,
waiting for Dick.

"Well, Jack, keep me a good watch," said the young commander, preparing
to follow his subordinate. "Ye will do right well."

"Why," returned Jack, "I shall do excellent well indeed, so long as we
lie here; but once we put the nose of this poor ship outside the
harbour--See, there she trembles! Nay, the poor shrew heard the words,
and the heart misgave her in her oak-tree ribs. But look, Master Dick!
how black the weather g