revenge after my own fashion, inasmuch as my
captor--barring the irons--had behaved with uncommon civility. I had
no trouble, of course, in obtaining the commander's assent to this
request, though he yielded it under the evident displeasure of his
crew, whose Spanish blood was up against the Frenchman, and would
willingly have inflicted a signal punishment on this neutral ground.

After these preliminaries, Captain Escudero and myself returned to
the "La Perouse" with two boat-loads of armed followers, while our
approach was covered by the cannons and small arms of the "Esperanza."
Brulot received us in moody silence on the quarter-deck. His officers
sat sulkily on a gun to leeward, while two or three French seamen
walked to and fro on the forecastle.

My first command was to spike the vessel's guns. Next, I decreed and
superintended the disembarkation of the stolen slaves; and, lastly, I
concluded the morning call with a request that Brulot would _produce
the five hundred doubloons and his "promissory note" for two hundred
slaves_!

The fatal document, duly indorsed, was quickly delivered, but no
persuasion or threat induced the angry Gaul to show his gold, or a
manifest of the cargo.

After ample indulgence, I despatched a man to seek his writing-desk,
and discovered that six hundred doubloons had in reality been shipped
in St. Thomas. Of course, their production was imperiously demanded;
but Brulot swore they had been landed, with his supercargo, in the
neighboring Rio Nunez. I was near crediting the story, when a slight
sneer I perceived flickering over the steward's face, put me on the
_qui vive_ to request an inspection of the log-book, which,
unfortunately for my captor, did not record the disembarkation of the
cash. This demonstrated Brulot's falsehood, and authorized a demand
for his trunk. The knave winced as the steward descended to bring it;
and he leaped with rage as I split it with a hatchet, and counted two
hundred and fifty Mexican doubloons on the deck. _His cargo, however,
proved to be a sham of samples._

Turning innocently to Escudero, I remarked that he must have been put
to considerable trouble in rescuing me from this outlaw, and hoped he
would suffer his men to be recompensed for their extra toil under the
rays of an African sun. I would not venture to judge the value of such
devoted services; but requested him to fix his own price and receive
payment on the spot.

Escudero very naturall