come on board of the Islander and accused him of taking
the package, and he had been compelled to give him half of it to
prevent him from exposing him. But all he said was no more than we had
reasoned out before, and the confession seemed to be hardly original.

"You can do something for me, Captain Alick," he continued. "If you
will get me out of this scrape I will never do anything wrong again as
long as I live!"

"I can do nothing for you," I replied, as gently as I could.

"They say you are thick with the governor, Alick. If you say the word,
he will let me off," pleaded the culprit.

"He can do nothing for you any more than I can. You are in the hands of
the law now, and nothing but the law can settle your case, Nick.
Good-by."

I had hardly uttered the last words before I felt a heavy hand laid
upon my throat, which was followed by a choking sensation.

"What are you about, Sandy Duddleton?" demanded my ancient enemy. "What
have you been sayin' ag'in my boy? He's a hund'ed times as honest as
ever you was!"

I thought I should be choked to death; and the instinct of
self-preservation took possession of me. I sprang at the throat of my
old tyrant. He went down upon the floor, and I on the top of him,
before my father or any other person could come to my aid. As he went
down he released his grasp on my throat in his effort to save himself.

[Illustration: "I sprang at the throat of my old tyrant." _Page 343._]

"Arrest that person!" cried the justice, in the sternest of tones.

In another instant two officers had Captain Boomsby in their clutches.
A complaint was made against him for a breach of the peace. The justice
made short work of him; he was sentenced to pay a fine of one hundred
dollars, and to stand committed until paid. It was more money than he
had, and he was sent to jail. As usual, he was more than "half seas
over," as he used to call intoxication when I sailed with him in the
Great West. It appeared that he had followed the officers, but had some
difficulty in finding "his boy."

In the afternoon the Florida party took a boat down to New Orleans,
intending to return home by the steamer to Cedar Keys. I afterwards
learned that both Nick and Cornwood were convicted, and sentenced to
the penitentiary for three years. Though Cornwood was only an
accomplice after the fact, he was the greater villain of the two. I
never saw either of them again.

We spent another Sunday in Baton Rouge, and deli