laives us 'aven't zeen un, an' wants to attrac'
our attention."

"Very well, Martin," answered the captain; "stay where you are, man," as
he perceived the old fellow making preparations to descend, "stay where
you are. Keep a sharp lookout, and let me know if anything further
takes place, or if any more men make their appearance.

"I expect, gentlemen," said the captain, turning to the assembled
officers, "that there is only one man there; the others would have
joined him by this time, had there been any more of them. In a way, I
am sorry; for I could very well have done with a great many more men--
always provided, of course, that they had been Englishmen,--for we are,
as you all know, very short-handed. This man is possibly the sole
survivor of a shipwrecked crew; but, as there seems, so far as we can
see at present, to be no trace of others being there, I should be more
inclined to think that he has been marooned. Marooning is, of course, a
very common practice, particularly among pirates, and, in my opinion, it
is one of the most cruel forms of punishment ever conceived by the brain
of man. Now, it has occurred to me as quite within the limits of
possibility that this man ashore there may be a marooned member of the
crew of that scoundrel, Jose Leirya. It would not be so very
extraordinary, after all, if he were. Leirya is practically the only
pirate at present in these seas, and we are all aware that marooning is
practised chiefly among pirates. Should it happen to be as I somewhat
suspect, the man will, at all events, know something worth telling us
about that arch villain; for I shall never be happy until I have hunted
the scoundrel down, and hanged him for the dog he is!"

The captain's face blazed with righteous anger as he spoke, and his
expression was reflected on the countenances of the officers gathered
round him. It boded ill indeed for the pirate if ever the squadron
should fall in with him.

"Send a man into the chains," continued Cavendish, speaking to Roger.
"As the land lies so low in the water, it is not unlikely that the water
round it is very shoal, and I have no wish to get any of the vessels
ashore if I can help it. And order the signalman to signal the rest of
the fleet to keep the lead going."

Roger obeyed, and a leadsman was soon perched in the chains to windward,
busy with his sounding-line to ascertain the depth of water in which
they were then sailing, and to give timely war