remark, but he said nothing,
being occupied at the moment rolling up a paper cigar with one hand, and
wetting the brown fore finger of the other.

"Well, _caballeros_, I peeped through the lattice-work of the cabin
door, and there reclined my pretty prize--I recall her as if it were
yesterday--on one of the large blue satin damask lounges of the after
transoms. Her head rested on one of her round ivory arms, half hidden in
the luxurious pillows; her shawl, too, was thrown back; and with a
somewhat disordered dress, and a mass of glossy hair clustering in
ringlets about her neck and white shoulders, I thought then, as I do
now, that she was a paragon of loveliness. I saw her, as she thus
reclined, by the light of a large shaded crystal lamp, which hung by
silver chains from the cabin beams, and shed a rose-tinted effulgence
over the whole apartment. When I first approached the door the girl was
looking out of her own large liquid lamps, so superbly framed in a heavy
fringe of dark lashes, in evident curiosity around the elegant cabin.
Her looks wandered from the Turkey carpet on the floor to the beautiful
silk hangings, that exquisite set of inlaid pearl ebony furniture, the
display of knickknacks, and Dresden porcelain panels of the sides, and,
in fact, nothing seemed to escape her; and the good taste of the
fittings evidently met her approbation. At times, too, she would turn
her gaze out of the narrow little window of the stern, and peer
anxiously over the vessel's wake, which by this time was skimming along
like a wild duck, and leaving countless bubbles behind her. At the first
sound I made, however, in opening the door, she started up and stepped
forward to meet me.

"'Oh, _Senor Capitano_, _mi madre_! (My mother!) What detains her? We
seem to be going very fast through the water!'

"I gently took the girl's outstretched hands and led her back to the
cushioned transom. Then I told her, as kindly as I could, that I did
all in my power to save her good mother, but that the crew had
mutinied--they had taken possession of the unfortunate ship--great
confusion existed--and as I feared, you know, that my own boat would be
swamped by remaining longer alongside, I was compelled to leave her to
her fate.

"'But my mother, _senor_!' exclaimed the girl, with anguish; 'she was
saved?'

"'No, _senorita_,' I said, 'she went down with the ship; but the last
words she uttered--that is to me--were to invoke a blessing on my h