on the plantations, and dunning letters from
metropolitan merchants to their provincial customers. Of these last
mentioned, the captain said:

"Look sharp, boys! Here are the New Year's bills coming down! They won't
be answered by return mail this time; but they will be sent down again.
After which remittances will begin to go up! We must keep a bright
look-out for the up coaches about New Year's time! And we shall bag some
neat thousands!"

"If we are not all bagged ourselves before that!" growled Moloch.

"Oh, raven! hush your croaking! If we should listen to it long, we would
never venture upon an enterprise of spirit! Halloa, what's this?
Something that concerns you, Mrs. Berners!" exclaimed the captain,
breaking off his discourse with his band and turning to Sybil, who was
sitting quietly apart; and he held in his hand an open letter, from
which he had taken a bright ribbon.

"Something that concerns me!" echoed poor Sybil, as a wild, irrational
hope that the letter might contain news of her husband flashed across
the dark despair of her soul.

"Yes," answered the captain. "This letter is from Miss Beatrix Pendleton
to her brother. It acknowledges the safe receipt of her valuable India
shawl, and sends love and thanks to _you_ for recovering it from _us_
and dispatching it to _her_. Moreover she sends kind remembrances and
this gay ribbon to some old nurse of the name of Margy! Here is the
letter! Would you like to read it?" he laughingly inquired, as he
offered it to Sybil.

"No!" she answered, in strongly marked disapprobation; "that letter is a
private one! not intended for my perusal, nor for yours!"

"No? And yet you see I read it! Here Gentilly! here is a

"'Bit of bright ribbon
To bind up your bonny black hair!'"

laughed the captain, tossing the gay remnant to the girl, who caught it
up and immediately twisted it in coquettishly among her ebon locks.

It occupied the band for nearly an hour to open and examine all the
letters. When they had done so, and had taken everything that was
valuable out of them, they gathered the whole refuse mass of papers
together, and ruthlessly committed them to the flames.

Then they divided the money among themselves, the captain and his men
having each an equal, instead of a graduated share.

"And now," said Captain Inconnu, "we will bid each other good-night, and
try to get some rest. Princess, take our guest up-stairs to the large
room immediately