w. He had not encountered them afterwards; and well had it been for
him,--for certainly they would have wreaked their vengeance upon him
without stint Snowball had sense enough to be aware of this; and
therefore his aversion to any further intercourse with the castaways of
the lost ship was quite as strong as that of either Ben Brace or the
boy.

As for Lilly Lalee, her fears were due to a less definite cause, and
only arose from observing the apprehension of her companions.

"De big raff," said Snowball, mechanically repeating the sailor's last
words. "You b'lieve 'im be dat, Massa Brace?"

"Shiver my timbers if I know what to think, Snowy! If it be that--"

"Ef 'im be dat, wha' den?" inquired the Coromantee, seeing that Brace
had stopped short in what he was going to say.

"Why, only that we're in an ugly mess. There's no reason to think they
have picked up a stock o' provisions, since we parted wi' them. I don't
know how they've stuck it out,--that is, supposin' it be them. They may
have got shark-meat like ourselves; or they have lived upon--"

The sailor suddenly suspended his speech, glancing towards William, as
if what he was about to say had better not reach the ears of the lad.

Snowball, however, understood him,--as was testified by a significant
shake of the head.

"As for water," continued the sailor, "they had some left; but not
enough to have lasted them to this time. They had rum,--oceans o'
that,--but it 'ud only make things worse. True, they mout a caught some
o' the rain in their shirts and tarpaulins, as we did; but they weren't
the sort to be careful o' it wi' a rum-cask standin' by; an' I dar say,
by this time, though they may have some'at to eat,--as you knows,
Snowy,--they'll be dyin' for a drop o' drink. In that case--"

"In dat case, dey rob us ob de whole stock we hab save. Den we perish
fo' sartin."

"Sure o' that, at least," continued the sailor. "But they wouldn't stop
by robbin' us o' our precious water. They'd take everything; an' most
likely our lives into the bargain. Let us hope it ain't them we've
heard."

"Wha' you say, Master Brace? 'Pose 'um be de capten an' dem odders in
de gig? Wha' you tink?"

"It mout," answered the sailor. "I warn't thinkin' o' them. It mout
be; an' if so, we han't so much to fear as from t' other 'uns. They
arn't so hard up, I should say; or even if they be, there arn't so many
o' 'em to bully us. There were only five or six o'