der the
forecastle, so as to be out of sight. Her officers and several
passengers had been removed to the pirate's quarter-deck. Among them
were an old gentleman of dignified bearing, and an elderly lady who
seemed to be supported, physically as well as mentally, by a tall,
dark-complexioned, noble-looking girl, who was evidently the daughter of
the old gentleman, though whether also the daughter of the elderly lady
young Foster could not discover, there being little or no resemblance
between them. The memory of his mother and sister strongly inclined the
sympathetic midshipman to approach the party and offer words of
consolation to the ladies. As he advanced to them for that purpose, a
doubt as to which language he should use assailed him. French, he knew,
was the language most likely to be understood, but a girl with such
magnificent black eyes must certainly be Spanish! His knowledge of
Spanish was about equal to that of an ill-trained parrot, but what of
that? Was he not a Briton, whose chief characteristic is to go in for
anything and stick at nothing?

We do not venture to write down what he said, but when he had said it
the blank look of the elderly lady and the peculiar look of the girl
induced him to repeat the speech in his broken--his very much broken--
French, whereupon the old gentleman turned to him gravely and said--

"My vife is Engleesh, an' my datter is Danish--no, not joost--vell, she
is 'af-an'-'af. Speak to dem in your nattif tong."

"_You_ are not English, anyhow, old boy," thought Foster, as he turned
with a mingled feeling of confusion and recklessness to the elderly
lady.

"Pardon me, madam," he said, "but from the appearance of--of--your--"

He was interrupted at this point by the captain, who, flushed and
blood-bespattered from the recent fight, came aft with a drawn scimitar
in his hand, and sternly ordered the young midshipman to go forward.

It was a humiliating position to be placed in; yet, despite the
"stick-at-nothing" spirit, he felt constrained to obey, but did so,
nevertheless, with an air of defiant ferocity which relieved his
feelings to some extent. The said feelings were utterly ignored by the
pirate captain, who did not condescend even to look at him after the
first glance, but turned to the other captives and ordered them, in
rather less stern tones, to "go below," an order which was promptly
obeyed.

On reaching the fore part of the vessel, Foster found severa