sters are to blame, it's _you_ who will have to bear
the consequences."

Mr Quelch, however, by the time these remarks were made, was scarcely
in a condition to understand their full meaning; and he was shortly
again reduced very much to the condition in which he had been before he
had gone into the hall. At this juncture a party of men entered the
room, one of them telling him that they had come to conduct him on board
the ship which was to convey him to the coast of Africa. In vain he
urged that he had no wish to go there, and that he would do anything,
even to going back to the country from which he had come, if that would
satisfy them. No excuses, however, were available. Away he was
carried, in spite of all his struggles, down to the sea-shore, where a
boat was waiting, as he was told, for him. As I preferred remaining to
see the dancing, I can only give the story as I afterwards heard it. In
spite of his struggles he was placed in the boat, which immediately
pulled off into the bay, where he quickly found himself transferred on
board a vessel which lay there at anchor. He was carried down below,
and placed in a small cabin by himself.

"We will treat you decently," said one of the men, who appeared to be
the leader of the party. "There are just two things you will have to
do, you must understand, or have a chance of being knocked on the head.
You must not attempt to get out, and you must ask no questions. It is
to the coast of Africa we are going to carry you, and to the coast of
Africa you must go. The voyage will not be a long one if we have a fair
breeze, and they are dacent sort of people where we are going to land
you; may be they will make you a prince of their country, and let you
marry a princess, but you will understand that if you love your life, on
the shores of ould Ireland again you will never venture to set foot."

The unfortunate Mr Quelch could make no resistance. All his
expostulations were in vain. He heard, as he fancied, the anchor being
got up and sail made, and was fully under the impression that he had
begun the voyage which was to carry him away for ever from his native
land. The man who had first spoken to him again came below.

"We wish to treat you as a jintleman, though may be it's more than you
deserve," he said, "so we will not stint you in liquor. You shall have
as much as you can pour down your throat, for I have a notion you will
not get an over abundant supply whe