e me believe, answer me!"

I hesitated for a moment--I confess it with shame--for I felt convinced
that in the man's present mood a reply in the affirmative would
assuredly provoke him to some dreadful act in proof of the contrary; the
hesitation was but momentary, however, and, that moment past, I
replied--

"Yes; I believe Him to be omnipotent, both on earth and in heaven."

It was as I had expected--my reply had provoked him to murder; for as
the words left my lips he, for the second time, drew his pistol from his
belt, cocked it, and deliberately pressed the muzzle of the barrel to my
temple, exclaiming, as he did so--

"Very well. Then let us see whether He has the power to save you from
my bullet!"

And, glaring like a madman straight into my eyes, he held it there while
one might perhaps have slowly counted ten, and then pulled the trigger.
There was a sharp click and a little shower of sparks as the flint-lock
fell, and--that was all.

"Missed fire, by all the furies!" he exclaimed, dashing the weapon
violently to the deck, _where it instantly exploded_. "Well, you have
proved your faith, at all events, and have escaped with your life by the
mere accident of my pistol having missed fire, and there is an end of it
for the present. Here, take my hand; you are a plucky young dog and no
mistake, but you did wrong to provoke me; take my advice and don't do it
again, lest worse befall you."

"No," said I, "I will _not_ take your hand. You saved--or rather,
spared--my life once, it is true, but you have threatened it twice, and
it is no thanks to you that I am alive at this moment. We are now
quits, for this last act of yours has wiped out whatever obligation I
may have owed you for your former clemency. I will not take your hand;
and I warn you that I will leave your ship on the first opportunity that
presents itself."

And I turned away and left him.

Shortly afterwards Mendouca went below; and a few minutes after his
disappearance the steward came up to me and informed me that "supper"--
as the evening meal is called at sea--was ready.

"I shall not go below, steward," I said. "If Captain Mendouca will
allow you to do so, I should like you to bring me a cup of coffee and a
biscuit up here."

"Very well, senor," the man answered. "I will bring them."

He disappeared, but returned, after an interval of a minute or two, and
handed me a note scrawled on a small slip of paper. It was written in
E