he said, "take me in to the captain."

"Sir," said I, "upon my word I dare not."

"Oh," he sneered, "that's it! Take me in straight, or I'll break your
arm."

He gave it, as he spoke, a wrench that made me cry out.

"Sir," said I, "it is for yourself I mean. The captain is not what he
used to be. He sits with a drawn cutlass. Another gentleman--"

"Come, now, march," interrupted he, and I never heard a voice so cruel,
and cold, and ugly as that blind man's. It cowed me more than the pain,
and I began to obey him at once, walking straight in at the door and
towards the parlor, where the sick old buccaneer was sitting, dazed with
rum. The blind man clung close to me, holding me in one iron fist, and
leaning almost more of his weight on me than I could carry. "Lead me
straight up to him, and when I'm in view, cry out, 'Here's a friend for
you, Bill.' If you don't, I'll do this," and with that he gave me a
twitch that I thought would have made me faint. Between this and that, I
was so utterly terrified by the blind beggar that I forgot my terror of
the captain, and as I opened the parlor door, cried out the words he had
ordered in a trembling voice.

The poor captain raised his eyes, and at one look the rum went out of
him and left him staring sober. The expression of his face was not so
much of terror as of mortal sickness. He made a movement to rise, but I
do not believe he had enough force left in his body.

"Now, Bill, sit where you are," said the beggar. "If I can't see, I can
hear a finger stirring. Business is business. Hold out your left hand.
Boy, take his left hand by the wrist and bring it near to my right."

We both obeyed him to the letter, and I saw him pass something from the
hollow of the hand that held his stick into the palm of the captain's,
which closed upon it instantly.

"And now that's done," said the blind man, and at the words he suddenly
left hold of me, and with incredible accuracy and nimbleness, skipped
out of the parlor and into the road, where, as I stood motionless, I
could hear his stick go tap-tap-tapping into the distance.

It was some time before either I or the captain seemed to gather our
senses; but at length, and about the same moment, I released his wrist,
which I was still holding, and he drew in his hand, and looked sharply
into the palm.

"Ten o'clock!" he cried. "Six hours! We'll do them yet!" and he sprang
to his feet.

Even as he did so, he reeled, put his hand to