on your
tongue, my man."

"But, sir," cried Nic.

"Silence!"

"You will let me write to my friends?"

"We don't want you to write to us, mate," cried Humpy grinning; "we
can't none on us read. You can tell us what you want to say."

"Silence, you, sir," said the settler, sternly; "I keep a cat here, and
that man who saw to your irons knows how to use it. Hold your tongue,
once for all."

"Oh, all right master; I on'y--"

"Silence!"

Humpy gave his mouth a slap, as if to shut it, and the settler turned to
Nic.

"Look here, young man," he said; "I have only your word for your story,
and it seems likely enough to be as your fellow-prisoner says, something
hatched up from fear. You are sent out here for your good."

"You don't believe me, sir?" cried Nic, wildly.

"Not a word of it," replied the settler. "We get too much of that sort
of thing out here. Every man, according to his own account, is as
innocent as a lamb. You were sent out of your country, and came in a
king's ship. You are assigned to me for a labourer, and if you--and all
of you," he cried, turning to the others, "behave well, and work well,
you'll find me a good master. You shall be well fed, have decent
quarters and clothes, and though you are slaves I won't make slaves of
you, but treat you as well as I do my blacks. Look at them; they're as
healthy a set of men as you can see."

The blacks grinned and seemed contented enough.

"That's one side of the case--my part," continued the settler; "now for
the other. I've had a deal of experience with such men as you are, and
I know how to treat them. If you play any pranks with me, there's the
lash. If you attack me I'll shoot you down as I would a panther. If
you try to escape: out north there are the mountains where you'll
starve; out south and east there is the swamp, where the 'gators will
pull you down and eat you, if you are not drowned or stifled in the mud;
if you take to the open country those bloodhounds will run you to earth
in no time. Do you hear?" he said meaningly, "run you to earth; for
when they have done there'll be nothing to do but for some of my blacks
to make a hole for you and cover you up. Now, then, you know what's
open to you. Your country has cast you out; but we want labour here;
and, rough and bad as you are, we take you and make better men of you."

"Thank ye, master," cried Humpy; "that's fair enough, mates."

The settler gave him a look which ma