r the jar, by
which all the liquor was spilt, very much to the disappointment of those
who had not had any.

"I don't mean to say that these respectable old ladies put anything into
the spirits, but somebody did, and you would have been very sorry for
yourselves if you had taken much of it," he observed, as he reseated
himself.

This little incident rather astonished the old ladies, but not
understanding what was said, they took it to be the effect of pure
accident, and continued as attentive as before.

"When the boats come back, you shall have your grog, my lads," said
Hemming; "in the meantime, if any of you are thirsty, there's a well of
cool water. The pirates will scarcely have thought of poisoning that."

By the time the feast was concluded, very little of the pig remained;
the seamen declared that they had never eaten better pork in their
lives. The rest of the day was spent in searching for stolen property,
though only a few bales of merchandise were discovered, stowed away here
and there, in the oddest places imaginable. Meantime Hemming and Jack
began to be somewhat anxious about Mr Thorn and the boats. Evening was
coming on, and they ought long before to have returned. In vain the old
mate and the midshipman scanned the horizon. Not a sail was to be seen
approaching the island. Two or three vessels only passed far away in
the offing. Many other rocky isles were rising out of the ocean like
blue mounds, some of them faint and misty from the distance they were
off. Towards one of them the boats had directed their course. It was
well-known that many of them were, and had been for ages, the haunts of
pirates.

"I say, Hemming, suppose Mr Thorn has been entrapped by some of those
piratical fellows out there; what will become of them, I wonder?" said
Jack.

"We shall have to go and hunt them out," was the answer. "The pirates
will scarcely venture to hurt them."

The evening drew on and darkness returned, and still no boats made their
appearance. Mr Hemming, who was really a very good officer, especially
when in command, and when he felt the responsibility of his position,
had a strict watch kept all night, for he thought it probable that some
of the pirates might be hid in the island, and, when they found how few
were left in charge of the fort, might attempt a surprise to recover the
booty. The night, however, passed away quietly, and in the morning Jack
was despatched in the cutter to carr