gentleman. I telled you
that Mr Allen has been in bed with fever, and it's left him, as you
see, very shaky upon his legs. Your coming has upset him and made him a
bit nervous. Here, I'll put in a word for him, poor chap. Jes' you ask
your skipper to give him a small bottle o' quinine. You won't want
paying for that, being charity."

The lieutenant turned his back upon the speaker angrily, and spoke to
the feeble-looking planter.

"Look here, sir," he cried, "you are nominally owner of this plantation
and the slaves upon it."

"Now, look here, mister," said the American angrily; "I spoke civil to
you, and I offered to help you and your ship with what you wanted in the
way of fresh meat and vegetables. What's the good of returning stones
for stuff?"

"My good fellow, will you be silent," cried the lieutenant, "and let me
deal with your master?"

"My master!" snarled the American. "I am my own master, sirr. I tell
you I'm boss of all this here show, and if I like to turn nasty--"

"My dear Huggins--" interposed the planter.

"Shut your mouth, you old fool," growled the American, "and don't
interfere."

"Why, you insulting scoundrel!" roared the lieutenant. "Here, Mr
Allen--that is your name, I believe?--you had better leave this matter
in my hands, and I will settle it."

The American stood listening with his eyes half closed and a peculiarly
ugly look upon his countenance, while the planter made a deprecating
sign with his hands.

"I see very plainly, sir," continued the lieutenant, "that this insolent
Yankee is presuming upon your weak state of health and assuming a power
that he cannot maintain. You have been placing yourself in a position
in which it would be better to--"

"Now see here, stranger," burst in the American, "I'm a man who can
stand a deal, but you can go too far. You come swaggering here with a
boat-load of your men and think that you're going to frighten me, sirr--
but you're just about wrong, for if I like to call up my men they'd
bundle you and your lot back into your boat--for I suppose you have got
one."

"Look here, sir," said the lieutenant, as he caught the flashing eyes of
the two middies and the fidgety movements of his men, "I am loth to
treat an American with harshness, but take this as a warning; if you
insult your master and me again I'll have you put in irons."

"What!" cried the man, with a contemptuous laugh. "You'd better!"

The lieutenant started slightl