it at
once. Perhaps, under the circumstances, monsieur will be generous
enough to be content with the treasure, and allow me to retain my
lugger, which represents all that I possess in the world?"

"And thus restore to you the power to inflict further injury upon our
commerce? I am afraid not, monsieur," answered I. "Had you been a mere
harmless trader, it might possibly have been different; but, as it is,
the proposal is--pardon me for saying so--preposterous."

"As monsieur pleases, of course. But it will be my ruin," remarked the
man gloomily. "With monsieur's permission, then, I will retire to my
cabin." And he turned away as though to go below.

"Pardon me, monsieur," said I, hastily interposing between him and the
companion; "I am afraid that my duty necessitates my requesting that
monsieur will be so obliging as to remain on deck for the present."

"Then take that, curse you!" ejaculated he, whipping a big, ugly knife
out of his bosom, and striking savagely at my heart with it.
Fortunately the sudden glitter in his eyes warned me, and I succeeded in
catching his upraised arm in my left hand, with which I gripped his
wrist so strongly that he was perforce obliged to drop the knife to the
deck or submit to have his wrist broken. Kicking the weapon overboard,
through an open port close at hand, I called to one of my men to clap a
lashing round the hands and feet of my antagonist, and then went forward
to superintend the securing of the remainder of our prisoners. There
were only fourteen of them uninjured, or whose wounds were so slight as
to leave them capable of doing any mischief, and these we drove down
into the hold, where, finding plenty of irons, we effectually secured
them.

By the time that this was done, the wreck of the masts cut away, and the
sails--which had been towing overboard--secured, the _Dolphin_ was ready
to pass a towrope on board us. This we at once took, securing the end
to the windlass bitts, when the schooner filled away, with the lugger in
tow, and stood after the Indiaman, which was by this time a couple of
miles to windward of us, heading to the northward on an easy bowline, on
the starboard tack. Russell, the _Dolphin's_ surgeon, came aboard us
about the same time as the tow-line, and while he busied himself in
attending to the hurts of the Frenchmen, we went to work to rig up a set
of jury-masts--suitable spars for which we were lucky enough to find
aboard the lugger--an