tanchion, where they
won't have any too good a time. I reckon we've got to treat 'em
somewhere near decent, though it goes mightily agin the grain. How is
breakfast comin' on? I could eat the toughest mule that ever walked!"

Fortunately for him Jerry announced at this moment that the meal was
ready, and Darius would have it that I should eat in the cuddy with
the officer; but I insisted he was the one who could best do the
honors aboard the Avenger, when we had seamen as guests, and literally
forced him to act the host.

Dody Wardwell and Josiah Coburn were detailed to feed the prisoners,
including the curs in the hold, and Jerry, Jim and I ate on the deck
aft, where I could at the same time keep the pungy in the channel.

Jim brought out some of the stores he had taken from home, and we lads
had a veritable feast, with the cause of success to give flavor to
food which could not be improved upon even though it had been served
on a king's table.

It is needless for me to set down all that was said during the
forenoon when we sailed very slowly up the river, chatting in friendly
fashion with our prisoners--meaning such of them as were allowed to
remain on deck--, or discussing our plans for the future among
ourselves, and as we did this last we almost unconsciously reckoned
Jim and his friends as belonging to the pungy. In fact, after what
they had done toward helping out on the night's work, it was no more
than right they should be allowed to consider themselves as a portion
of the Avenger's crew, if so be their desire ran that way.

It was half an hour past twelve o'clock when we came in sight of the
flotilla anchored off Nottingham, and seemingly blocking the river
until it would have been difficult for anything larger than a canoe to
pass through.

"Where shall we find the commodore among all that crowd of vessels?" I
asked in perplexity, and Darius replied promptly:

"He's like to be aboard the Scorpion, unless havin' gone ashore. At
all events, it's there we should look for him."

Fortunately for us, the schooner was anchored nearer down stream than
the remainder of the craft, and there was no difficulty in running the
Avenger alongside.

"You shall do the talking, Darius," I said as Jim Freeman passed a
hawser, and his friends dropped the sails.

"I'll look after that part of it so far as tellin' Joshua Barney who
you are; but after that you'll take the tiller, for the owners of a
vessel are the ones