mit.

"Bluff, Squire; pure bluff!" he remarked, as the baronet took it from
him. "Nary a cartridge in it--couldn't have raised one to save my life.
But it answered just the same. Say, what air you going to do with me,
eh?"

Sir Reginald dropped the revolver into his pocket without a word, and
passed out of the cabin, closing and locking the door behind him. From
there he went out on deck again, to find the remainder of the party busy
upon the hoisting and securing of the second of the two boats. He
helped them with the work; and then, with a brief word or two of
heartfelt thanks to Mildmay and the others for the skill and resource by
which they had all been enabled to get so cheaply out of such an ugly
adventure, he retired below and joined his wife in Ida's cabin, where
mutual confidences were exchanged. The child was now awake and quite
lively again; and, apart from her poor little chafed and swollen wrists
and ankles, seemed little or nothing the worse for her share of the
adventure. Satisfied, at length, of this, Sir Reginald retired to his
cabin, discarded his saturated clothes, took a bath, and proceeded to
dress for dinner.

That night, over the dinner-table, the question was raised of what
should be done with the prisoner.

"Of course," said Sir Reginald, "we could take him home with us, charge
him with piracy, and get him punished. But that would involve just the
publicity that, for many reasons, I desire to avoid. On the other hand,
I have a very strong feeling that the fellow should be punished, not so
much, perhaps, for what he has actually done, as for what, apparently,
he was perfectly willing to do. What sort of a scheme he had in his
mind when he plotted to steal this ship, it is very difficult to say,
for I think we may take it for granted that he is absolutely ignorant of
her diving and flying powers; but it is clear enough that, whatever his
intentions may have been, he would have--indeed, did--unhesitatingly
leave five of us to perish on that barren rock, which, he knew, afforded
neither food nor water. It is this brutal indifference to the
consequences, to others, of his nefarious scheme, that, to my mind,
calls for punishment."

"It would rightly serve him if you were to take him back and put him
upon the place from which you rescued him," suggested Sziszkinski.

"He would have no right to complain if we did," answered Sir Reginald.
"But that would be equivalent to passing a death-