one appeared to have a good effect on the others, for
although many a menacing glance was east upon us, and many a
half-uttered oath was checked, yet there was no more struggling, or
thoughts of resistance.

"I thought you dead," muttered Nosey, after a keen glance at the face of
the lieutenant.

"It is not your fault that we are not," answered Murden, dryly.

"No, that it is not, for I meant to roast you and your force; in a few
hours we intended to start on an expedition, and look for your bones.
How did you escape?" asked the unabashed robber.

"That you will never know; be assured that Providence has no such
fortune in store for you, and that if enough wood and rope can be found,
the manner of your death will not remain a mystery."

"Perhaps you mean by that I shall die on the gallows?" demanded the
bushranger.

Murden nodded his head in token of assent.

"I'll bet you two to one, that a rope will never end my existence,"
cried the fellow, with an impudence and coolness that almost surpassed
belief.

"Bind the villains with stout cords, for the present," cried the
lieutenant, returning no answer to the banter of Nosey, who fired with
indignation at the epithet.

"Whom do you call villains?" he demanded. "We were forced to become
robbers by the tyrants of the hulks, and all the wrongs which were there
inflicted upon us we have returned; and we should not have been human
had we acted otherwise."

"I have no time to bandy words with you, even if I had the inclination,"
returned Murden; "get upon your feet, and submit to be bound like the
rest; we know no distinction, and serve all the same."

The bushranger slowly rose to his feet, and his hideous face seemed
almost to burst, so livid were the scars which marked it; his eyes were
injected with blood, and glared like those of a wild beast.

"Bind me as soon as you please; here are my hands; you see that I am
harmless and unarmed; the lion can be taken by his mane, for his claws
are clipped, and his teeth are broken."

"You bloodthirsty monster, do not compare yourself to a lion; bah! you
are like the skulking wolf that sneaks and steals upon its prey, and
after appeasing its hunger, slays for the sake of showing its strength.
Give his cords an extra twist, men, for his impudence." Murden uttered
the words with an expression of disgust that did not fail to convince
the bushranger of the estimation in which he was held.

"You think, I suppose," Nosey sa