, senor," was the reply. "It _used_ to
be profitable enough at first, I believe, when el capitano had it all in
his own hands. But now that Giuseppe has admitted other traders, we not
only have to pay higher prices for the goods, but we also have to take
our turn with others for a cargo. Then, too, Giuseppe has not been so
very fortunate of late; the British cruisers have given him a great deal
of trouble."

"Ah, yes, they are a pestilent lot, those British--always thrusting
their noses into other people's business!" agreed my unabashed chum.
"Well," he continued to me, "shall we go on deck and take a look round?
Uncommonly good cigars these of your uncle's, Francisco. Leave the box
on the table, my lad, will ye?"

On reaching the deck we were now, for the first time, able to take
particular note of the vessel on board which we, by some inexplicable
blunder, thus found ourselves--for that a blunder had been perpetrated
by somebody we now fully realised. The craft proved to be a sturdy
little felucca of some sixty tons or so; very shallow and very beamy in
proportion to her length; stoutly built, with high quarters, and low but
widely-flaring bows, which tossed the seas aside in fine style and
enabled her to thrash along with perfectly dry decks. She was rigged
with a single stout, stumpy mast, raking well forward, upon which was
set--by means of an immense yard of bamboos "fished" together, and twice
the length of the craft herself--an enormous lateen or triangular sail,
the tack of which consisted of a stout rope leading from the fore-end of
the yard to a ring-bolt sunk into the deck just forward of the mast,
whilst the sheet travelled upon an iron hawse well secured to the
taffrail. There were five hands on deck when we made our appearance,
namely, the skipper and the helmsman--who were having a quiet chat
together--and three men in the waist, on the weather side of the deck,
who were busy patching a sail. The weather was gloriously fine, with
scarcely a cloud to be seen in the clear sapphire vault overhead; and a
fresh cool breeze from about east-north-east was ruffling up the white-
caps to windward, straining at the huge sail until the yard bent like a
fishing-rod, and careening the gallant little craft to her covering-
board, whilst it drove her along at the rate of a good honest nine knots
in the hour. There was no other sail anywhere in sight, nor indeed
anything to distract attention from the little v