have gone hard with Dominick at that
moment, but so sure had they been of accomplishing their purpose
unmolested, that the idea of arming had never crossed their minds.
Before they could recover from the surprise or decide what to do, the
armed squad was upon them.

"Halt! boys," cried Joe Binney, when close to the boat. "Now, look 'ee
here. It warn't o' my seekin' that I was made prime minister, but now
that it's bin done I'll stick to it an' do my duty. If ye knock under
like good boys I'll recommend ye to the queen's marcy. If not I'll have
'ee strung up, every man jack of 'ee. Moreover, the first man as
disobeys my orders I'll blow his brains out. Now, jump aboard, boys
(turning to his own men), an' keep your revolvers handy. You lads as
wanted to run away will follow."

The mixture of humour and resolution in Joe's manner, coupled with his
well-known decision of character and his commanding size, had its
effect. The squad instantly jumped into the boat, and the conspirators
meekly followed without a word. They saw--as Hugh afterwards expressed
it--that the game was up, and made up their minds to submit to the
inevitable.

The conspirators were ordered to take the oars. Afterwards they were
made to work the ship round into the channel leading to the lagoon,
while their armed friends mounted guard over them.

It was daybreak when the ship sailed calmly over the lagoon towards
Silver Bay.

"Och! man," said Teddy Malone, in a low voice, to Jabez Jenkins, who
stood near him, "why did ye want to run away wid the owld ship? It wor
a sneakin' sort o' thing, warn't it, seein' that the poor little
childers, an' the women, depind so much on what's inside of her?"

"To tell 'ee the truth, Teddy," replied the man, an improved expression
coming suddenly over his face, "I ain't sorry that we've bin stopped in
this business, and, wot's more, I believe that most of us ain't sorry.
We was more than half led into it, d'ee see, by lies as to what the
leaders was goin' to do, an' arterwards we didn't like to draw back."

"I'm sorry for yez," returned Malone, "for I'm afeared we'll have to
skrag the wan half of ye to keep the other half in order. In a spik an'
span noo settlement, where ivvery wan thinks he may do as he likes, the
laws has to be pritty stiff. We've wan comfort, howivver--the quane is
marciful."

The Irishman was right in both his views on this subject, as the sequel
will show.

Great was the su