Hallton. Perhaps
he is inclined to treat the crew rather leniently, and to put more
confidence in their promises than he would do if he were aware of her
real character."

Harry on this desired Tubbs to watch the pirate.

"I should be glad to do it, sir, but I should like a sniff of the
sea-breeze," answered Tom. "I want just to pump out all the foul air
I've got down my throat."

"Well," said Charley, laughing, "one of my men shall remain instead of
you. Noakes, stand by this man, and shoot him through the head if any
one approaches to set him free or he manages to cast off the lashings,
although he'll not do that in a hurry, I suspect."

On going on deck, we found Mr Hallton, the second lieutenant of the
"Rover," standing aft, giving directions to heave the dead bodies
overboard and to collect the wounded, to attend to whom he summoned
several of the most respectable-looking of their shipmates. The
"Vulture" had not suffered much in her rigging, and was now hove to
under a closely-reefed main-topsail. She rode so easily that I was not
aware until then that a heavy sea was running, and had been surprised at
Charley telling me that the two ships could not communicate. Charley
introduced me to Mr Hallton, and briefly ran over the events of which I
had given him an account.

"A pirate, do you say she is?" exclaimed the lieutenant. "I must really
beg leave to doubt that. She is full of slaves, in the first place, and
the captain and his crew very naturally fought to defend their property.
But you say, Westerton, that you have found the captain. I will
examine him and ascertain the state of the case."

"But my brother here, sir, and Mr Bracewell, and the boatswain of the
`Arrow,' aver that they were taken out of their vessel and detained by
force on board this ship, and there can be no doubt of her piratical
character."

"I beg that you will wait to give your opinion until you are asked for
it, Mr Westerton," answered the lieutenant in a gruff tone. "I say
that she's a slaver, and, as such, being taken full of slaves, we will
condemn her. With regard to her piratical character, that has to be
proved."

I was very much surprised at the way in which the lieutenant spoke.
Charley told me that the report on board was that he himself had served
on board a slaver, if not a pirate, in his younger days, and that he was
stubborn and ill-tempered in the extreme. "Whether or not he has found
any of his old assoc