s his scandalous aspersions, I will bring him to trial as a
deserter and mutineer."

I had no means of resistance, and his orders were carried out, the
scoundrel who had tricked me into waiting for Rupert's return, taking
especial pleasure to see that my irons were made secure. I scorned to
question the dirty rascals further as to how my cousin came to be in
command, but I guessed there had been some foul work on board since
the vessel had left Yarmouth; and the next morning I learnt the whole
story.

Old Muzzy, my firm friend, had been ashore all that night, very drunk,
but soon after dawn he came off to the ship, and hearing of my plight,
at once betook himself to where I was imprisoned. He embraced me very
heartily, and as soon as I had satisfied him as to my recovery and
subsequent adventures, he disclosed to me the situation of the _Fair
Maid_.

"You see it's like this, my boy. Mr. Sims is a good seaman, no one
can't say he's not, but he's too much of a lawyer to handle a craft
like this. Now that cousin of yours, though he be a bloodthirsty,
revengeful beast, as you should know by this time, yet he's no lawyer.
Captain Sims, there, he was all for letters of marque and such, but
then, once a peace breaks out, where's your letters of marque? They
ain't no more use than so much ballast. Now when we came out here, the
lieutenant he says, 'Let's go into Gheriah, and join the pirates
there'--though according to him they aren't what you may call pirates,
being under a king of their own, who has as much right to give them
commissions as King George himself. But Captain Sims he wouldn't hear
of it, the more so as there was a British squadron under Commodore
Porter had been out from Bombay in the spring, and knocked some of
their forts about their ears for them. But, you see, unless we joined
them, we had nothing to do till such time as the war began again,
unless we chose to take the risk of standing up and down the coast, as
you may say, on our own hook. So the crew they sided with the
lieutenant, that's your cousin, and the end of it was there was a sort
of a mutiny, and Captain Sims he was carried ashore at Gheriah and
given up to the pirates, leastways to their king, and the lieutenant
took his place."

"Then the long and short of it is that this is a pirate ship," was all
I could say.

"Well, we are, and, in a manner of speaking, we aren't. When we want
to come into Bombay here we sail under King George's flag,