the best of their way to the shore.
Having heard of the barbarities they practise, and my boat's crew being
well armed, and having a gun in the bows of the boat, I determined to
rescue some of the victims. My men gave way with a will, and we dashed
after the pirates. They had had experience of the effects of our
fire-arms and when they saw us in chase they suspected our intentions,
and did their utmost to reach the shore. All escaped except two. We
sent a shot through the bows of the first, and the people on board,
finding her sinking, leaped into the water, and endeavoured to escape by
swimming; the other we ran alongside. The crew fought very bravely. We
saw three prisoners among them. Before we could prevent them, they cut
the throats of two of the unhappy men. One of their chiefs was going to
treat the third, a young lad, in the same way, when I shot the rascal
dead. The rest of the people then jumped overboard and swam on shore.

"If there were any prisoners on board the vessel which sunk, they must
have gone down in her, for we could find none, and they would certainly
have swam towards us had their hands been free. It afterwards struck me
that I had no right to interfere as I did. I certainly caused of great
loss of life, and the preservation of the lad was the only result.
However, I had no time for consideration, and could not help it; indeed,
I should probably act exactly in the same way if I were placed in a
similar situation again. The lad was very grateful, and became very
much attached to me. I took him on board the whaler, and he very soon
got into our ways; but as we were bound to the southward, I was afraid
the cold would kill him, accustomed as he was to a torrid zone, so put
him on board a vessel we fell in with, sailing to Borneo, to which
country I understood he belonged. I managed to explain to him, with
some difficulty, my reasons for parting with him. When he comprehended
them, he appeared very grateful, and shed many tears as he went over the
side. I certainly never expected to see him again."

"If, as I think, you did rightly, by attempting to save the lives of
some fellow-creatures, from the hands of cannibals, you see you are
likely to benefit by the deed; for I have no doubt that this young lad
will do his best to be of service to us. He tries to show us his good
wishes," I said.

"I am sure he will. I know that I intended to do right when I saved his
life," remarked Fai