bareheaded as though bereft of my wits; for I knew I
held in my hand not only the great ruby, but also my honor and all that
was dear to me in my life.

But although England had so freely given me the stone, I knew that I
must remain in that place no longer. I still had between five and six
guineas left of the money which I had brought ashore with me when I left
the _Lavinia_. With this I hired a French fisherman to transport me to
Madagascar, where I hoped to be able to work my passage either to Europe
or back to the East Indies.

As fortune would have it, we fell in with an English bark, the
_Kensington_, bound for Calcut, off the north coast of that land, and I
secured a berth aboard of her, shipping as an ordinary seaman; for I had
no mind to tell my name, and so be forced to disclose the secret of the
great treasure which I had with me. After arriving at Calcut I was
fortunate enough to be able to find a vessel ready to sail for Bombay,
whereon I secured a berth, and so arrived safe at that place about the
middle of March.

I had unrolled the ball of yarn and looked at the stone so soon as I had
been able to do so after getting it into my possession. Then, finding
that it was safe and unhurt, as I had seen it last, I had rolled it up
again, for I could perceive that there was no better hiding-place for it
than the one the cunning pirate had provided. So for all this last
voyage I had carried a fortune of three hundred and fifty thousand
pounds in my pocket, wrapped up in a ball of yarn.

* * * * *

It was early in the morning when we arrived at Bombay, and so soon as I
was able I disclosed my name and condition to the captain under whom I
had sailed, and contrived to impress him with the importance of my
commission, without disclosing anything to him in regard to the stone.
He was very complacent to me, and would have had me dress myself in a
more fitting manner, and in some of his own clothes, for I was clad no
better than the other seamen with whom I had consociated for all this
time; but I was too impatient to delay my going ashore for one moment
longer than was needful, so he kindly sent me off without any further
stay.

I went straight to the Residency, and though the attendants would have
stayed me, I so insisted, both with words and with force, that they were
constrained to show me directly into the presence of the Governor.

I found him seated with Mistress Pamela at b