e of
coral rocks that formed the quay of Sandy Cove, surrounded by some of
his shipmates, all of whom, as well as himself, were smoking their pipes
and discussing things in general.

Corrie went forward and pulled Dick by the sleeve.

"Hallo! boy, what d'ye want with me?" said the boatswain.

"I want to speak to you."

"Well, lad, fire away."

"Yes, but I want you to come with me," said the boy, with an anxious and
rather mysterious look.

"Very good!--heave ahead," said the boatswain, getting up, and following
Corrie with a peculiarly nautical roll.

After he had been led through the settlement and a considerable way up
the mountain in silence, the boatswain suddenly stopped, and
said--"Hallo! hold on; my timbers won't stand much more o' this sort o'
thing. I was built for navigatin' the seas,--I was not for cruisin' on
the land. We're far enough out of ear-shot, I s'pose, in this here bit
of a plantation. Come, what have ye got to say to me? You ain't
a-goin' to tell me the Freemasons' word, are ye? For, if so, don't
trouble yourself, I wouldn't listen to it on no account w'atever. It's
too mysterious that is for me."

"Dick Price," said Corrie, looking up in the face of the seaman, with a
serious expression that was not often seen on his round countenance,
"you're a man."

The boatswain looked down at the youthful visage in some surprise.

"Well, I s'pose I am," said he, stroking his beard complacently.

"And you know what it is to be misunderstood, misjudged, don't you?"

"Well, now I come to think on it, I believe I _have_ had that
misfortune--specially w'en I've ordered the powder-monkies to make less
noise, for them younkers never do seem to understand me. As for
misjudgin', I've often an' over again heard 'em say I was the crossest
feller they ever did meet with, but they _never_ was more out in their
reckoning."

Corrie did not smile; he did not betray the smallest symptom of power
either to appreciate or to indulge in jocularity at that moment. But
feeling that it was useless to appeal to the former experience of the
boatswain, he changed his plan of attack.

"Dick Price," said he, "it's a hard case for an innocent man to be
hanged."

"So it is, boy,--oncommon hard. I once know'd a poor feller as was
hanged for murderin' his old grandmother. It was afterwards found out
that he'd never done the deed; but he was the most incorrigible thief
and poacher in the whole place, so it warn'