h a small quantity of fresh, white, wholesome
cabin-biscuit broken into it--"soft tack" was a comparatively unknown
luxury at sea in those days--and a glass of port wine being brought in
to George by the captain's steward about ten minutes later; and, having
demolished these, the patient once more dropped off to sleep, and passed
a comfortable night.

Three days more of Doctor Pearson's skilful treatment sufficed to put
both George and Tom upon their pins once more, and then, and not until
then, Captain Singleton asked of the former an account of the
circumstances which had resulted in placing them in the desperate
situation in which they had been found.

"Well," said the captain at the conclusion of George's story, "I
heartily sympathise with you, Mr Leicester, in all that you have
suffered, and I as heartily congratulate you on your plucky escape. It
was rather a clever trick, the way in which those rascals took your ship
from you, I _must_ say that. It is a wrinkle which, possibly, I may
some day play off in turn upon their own countrymen. By your
description of them, I should say that the fellows were undoubtedly
pirates; the sea swarms with them all round about here--indeed, we are
now cruising for the purpose of putting a stop to their depredations,
and were returning from an unsuccessful chase after a very
suspicious-looking schooner when we picked you up. There is one craft
in particular--a barque of undoubtedly English build--which we are most
anxious to lay our hands upon; her crew are a peculiarly bloodthirsty
set of ruffians, and have perpetrated an unusually large number of
atrocities. By-the-bye, did you not say that your vessel was
barque-rigged and a fast sailer? I should not be at all surprised to
find that she is the identical craft we are so anxious to get hold of.
Would you mind giving me a particular description of the _Aurora_?"

George, of course, readily acceded to this request, detailing with
seaman-like fidelity every peculiarity of hull and rigging. When he had
finished, Captain Singleton said--

"Thank you. The set of the spars and rigging, and the cut of the
canvas, does not coincide with the description with which I have been
furnished; but your description of the _hull_ tallies with mine in every
particular, and I have not a doubt that it is the same vessel. And now,
to turn to other matters, what do you propose to do with yourself when
we land you at Kingston?"

"Well," sai