something unusual. I must shorten my visit to you, I fear."

"Pray do not mention it," said Gascoyne, with a peculiar smile; "under
the circumstances I am bound to excuse you."

"But," continued Montague, with emphasis, "I should be sorry indeed to
part without some memorial of my visit. Be so good as to order your men
to come aft."

"By all means," said Gascoyne, giving the requisite order promptly; for,
having sent all his best men on shore, he did not much mind the loss of
a few of those remaining.

When they were mustered, the British commander inspected them carefully,
and then he singled out surly Dick, and ordered him into the boat. A
slight frown rested for a moment on Gascoyne's countenance, as he
observed the look of ill-concealed triumph with which the man obeyed
the order. The expression of surly Dick, however, was instantly
exchanged for one of dismay as his captain strode up to him, and looked
in his face for one moment with a piercing glance, at the same time
thrusting his left hand into the breast of his red shirt.

"Good-by," he said, suddenly, in a cheerful tone, extending his right
hand and grasping that of the sailor. "Good-by, lad: if you serve the
king as well as you have served me, he'll have reason to be proud of
you."

Gascoyne turned on his heel, and the man slunk into the boat with an
aspect very unlike that of a bold British seaman.

"Here is another man I want," said Montague, laying his hand on the
shoulder of John Bumpus.

"I trust, sir, that you will not take that man," said Gascoyne,
earnestly. "I cannot afford to lose him; I would rather you should take
any three of the others."

"Your liberality leads me to think that you could without much
difficulty supply the place of the men I take: but three are too many. I
shall be satisfied with this one. Go into the boat, my lad."

Poor John Bumpus, whose heart had been captivated by the beauties of the
island, obeyed the order with a rueful countenance; and Gascoyne bit his
lip and turned aside to conceal his anger. In two minutes more the boat
was rowed away from the schooner's side.

Not a word was spoken by any one in the boat until a mile had separated
it from the schooner. They had just turned a point which shut the vessel
out of view, when surly Dick suddenly recovered his self-possession and
his tongue, and, starting up in an excited manner, exclaimed to
Montague: "The schooner you have just left, sir, is a pirate. I tell