, but they were quite at a loss to understand the reason for such
violent hurry.

Having secured several armfuls of varied material, just damp enough to
make a good smoke, but not sufficiently so to extinguish a fire, they
returned and tossed it on the flames, which Bevan had now succeeded in
causing to burn brightly.

"More! get more!" said he; "and look sharp about it! Quick! quick!"

"Yes; all right, Bevan!" laughed Roger; "but what is all this tremendous
hurry for? Even if the captain does not now take us off, he will come
back for us as soon as he has captured the pirate."

"Ay, ay; but don't you see, man," answered Bevan, forgetting in his
excitement the deference due to Roger as his officer,--"don't you see,
man, that the captain's notion is that the pirate have been here and
captured us, and that we are now aboard that there _Black Pearl_ of
his'n? He'll catch her if he can, and bring her to action; but when
that's done there'll be a great slaughter o' both sides, and, supposin'
that the schooner isn't sunk with all hands, Mr Cavendish won't find us
when he boards her. And, not findin' us, he'll believe as we have been
murdered and throw'd overboard, or else he'll think that we're among the
dead as'll be unrecognisable. Then, thinkin' us dead--for he'll not
dream that it's been possible for us to have hidden ourselves here and
escaped these ruffians--he will continue his v'yage wi'out troublin' to
come back here; and here we shall remain, perhaps till we die. That's
the reason why I'm so anxious to attract their attention afore they runs
out o' sight of us; for, if we're not seen now, you may depend upon it
we may as well make up our minds to remain here for the rest of our
lives. What would he be sending all his vessels in pursuit for, if he
didn't believe as we're aboard that there _Black Pearl_. Ye see, sir,
what I'm thinkin' about is this. They few barrels of food as we've got
won't last us for so very long, even if we goes on short commons. And
we can't always reckon on catchin' fish and turtle, or gettin' eggs, and
a few months 'd find us in the same plight as was pore William Evans
when we first came ashore on this here island. Oh, I pray that they may
be keepin' a sharp lookout aboard they ships!"

The fire was now blazing up bravely, and the castaways industriously
continued to toss on damp fuel, so that a dense column of smoke was now
ascending high in the air, being sheltered from the w