m to have made rather a mess of it this
time. Poor Ryan! I am sorry for him; very sorry indeed. You are
right, Pedro, our captain _was_ mad; the poor fellow was badly wounded
in the head not long ago, and he had by no means recovered from his
injuries. And now he is wounded again, if not killed outright. I am
_very_ sorry for him. And now, Pedro, can you tell me how your father
proposes to dispose of _me_?"

"No, senor, I cannot. Nor can he at present, I think," answered the
lad. "It was at my entreaty that he brought you on board here;
otherwise you would have been thrown overboard to the crocodiles that
swarm in the creek just here. He said that prisoners were only a
useless encumbrance and an embarrassment; but somehow I liked your looks
as you lay, white and still, upon the French schooner's deck, and I
begged him so hard to save you that he could not deny me. And I am sure
that we shall be friends--you and I--shall we not? There is no one on
board here that I can be intimate with--except my father, of course--and
he is so much older than I, that I can scarcely look upon him as a
companion. Besides--"

The lad stopped, embarrassed.

"Besides what?" demanded I.

"Well--I--perhaps I ought not to say. You see we are strangers yet, and
father has often said that it is a great mistake to be confidential with
strangers. Some other day perhaps I may feel that I can speak more
freely. And that reminds me that I have let you talk far too much
already; you need rest and perfect quiet at present, if you are to
escape a bad attack of fever, so I shall leave you for a little while to
sleep if you can. But first let me bathe your wound for you, and
bandage it afresh."

"You are very kind, Pedro," remarked I, as the lad with singular
deftness proceeded to remove the stiff and blood-stained bandage from my
head. "And I must not allow you to leave me until I have thanked you--
as I now do, very heartily--for having saved my life. Perhaps I may
have an opportunity some day to show my gratitude in some more
convincing form than that of mere words, and if so, you may depend upon
me to do so. Meanwhile, I see no reason whatever why we should not be
friends, and good friends too, if your father is willing that it should
be so. At the same time--but there, we can talk about that too, when we
know a little more of each other, and understand each other better.
Thanks, Pedro; that is very soothing and comfortable in