er departed.

But his conversation with me, brief as it had been, and quietly as it
had been conducted, had evidently aroused Leroy, for as I emerged from
my cabin he stepped out of his and we proceeded to the poop together,
the chief mate expressing his surprise that Marcel should have called me
instead of him. Of course I had a very shrewd idea as to the reason,
but it was my cue to feign ignorance, and I did so.

By the time that Leroy and I reached the poop the sun must have risen--
although there was no sign of him to be seen through the dense canopy of
cloud that completely obscured the heavens--for the light had
strengthened so much and the atmosphere was so clear that every detail
of the distant schooner was plainly distinguishable even to the
unassisted eye. Marcel was again examining her through the glass; it
was therefore only natural that Leroy's and my own glances should turn
toward her as soon as our heads rose above the level of the rail.
Neither of us said anything, however, until Marcel took the glass from
his eye, when, seeing Leroy, he said:

"What d'ye think of her, monsieur? I have taken it upon myself to turn
out Monsieur Fortescue to see whether he can tell us anything about
her?"

"_I_?" I ejaculated. "What the dickens should I know about her? That
she is a slaver anybody can tell with half an eye,"--as a matter of fact
the _Gadfly_ had been a slaver in her time, but having been captured,
had been purchased into the Service--"but her skipper is a sensible
fellow, evidently; he doesn't believe in threshing his canvas threadbare
in a calm, so he has furled it."

"Permit me," said Leroy, taking the telescope from Marcel and placing
it to his eye. He looked long and anxiously at the distant schooner,
and at length, with an "Ah!" that spoke volumes, passed the glass over
to me.

I understood at once from that expressive "Ah!" that Leroy knew and had
recognised the vessel, and that my pretence of ignorance would no longer
serve any good purpose. I therefore determined to abandon it and to
make a virtue of necessity by frankly admitting my knowledge. For if
Leroy recognised the schooner, as I was certain he had, he would be
fully aware of the fact that I, as an officer of the Slave Squadron,
must necessarily know her too. After regarding her attentively through
the lenses, therefore, for more than a minute, I passed the glass back
to the chief mate with the quiet remark:

"Yes, I beli