e
precautions, I began to remove the stones, taking care to mark their
relative positions so that I might replace them exactly; and, in about
ten minutes work at excavation, I came upon two barrels, one of which
was filled with bundles of silk, linens, and handkerchiefs, while the
other contained a chronometer, several pieces of valuable lace, and a
beautifully bound, gilt, and ornamented _Bible_. One bundle, tied in a
Madras handkerchief, particularly attracted my attention, for I
thought I recognized the covering. Within it I found a number of
trinkets belonging to the wife of my Dutch captain, and a large
hairpin, set with diamonds, which I remember she wore the last day of
her life. Had this wretch torn it from her head, as he imbrued his
hands in her blood on that terrible night? The painful revelation
brought all before me once more with appalling force. I shuddered and
became sick. Yet, I had no time for maudlin dalliance with my
feelings. Replacing every thing with precision, and smoothing the sand
once more with my flannel shirt, I returned to the _rancho_, where I
indulged in the boyish but honest outburst of nature which I could no
longer restrain. I was not then--and, thank God, I am not now--a
stranger to tears! To the world, the human heart and the human eye,
like the coral isle of the Atlantic, may be parched and withered; yet
beneath the seared and arid surface, the living water still flows and
gushes, when the rock and the heart alike are stricken!

* * * * *

Just before sunset of this day, the deep baying of our hounds gave
notice of approaching strangers; and, soon after, four boats appeared
in the cove. The two foremost belonged to Don Rafael and his crew,
while the others were filled with strangers whose appearance was that
of landsmen rather than mariners. As Rafael received them on the
beach, he introduced them to me as his especial pets, the "AMPHIBIOUS
JEWS."

Our delicious supper of that night was augmented by a fine store of
beef, pork and fowls, brought from shore. I lingered at table as long
as the company maintained a decent sobriety, and learned that these
salt water Hebrews were, in truth, speculators from Cardenas, who
accompanied Rafael in the guise of fishermen, to purchase the
plundered cargo of my galliot.

During his visit to Cuba, Don Rafael was apprised that the Cuban
authorities were about sending an Inspector among the islands off the
coast,