their
fellow-creatures.

"It is too bad," observed Green, "that we should be spending our
energies on the West and East Coasts of Africa, and all the time that
these degenerate descendants of Spaniards out here in the Pacific should
be endeavouring to drag our fellow-creatures into a far worse slavery
than the Africans have to endure. These poor islanders, accustomed to
the perfect freedom of the breezes of the ocean, must perish miserably
in the course of a few months if compelled to work in the mines, or even
in the fields on the mainland."

"I think we should be right to hang up their captors at their own
yard-arms, and send their vessels to the bottom!" cried Tom indignantly.

Archie, though he doubted the legality of the proceeding, perfectly
agreed with Tom that it would be a just punishment for the kidnappers.
Six ruffianly-looking fellows, one of whom appeared to be the master,
most of them having their heads or arms bandaged up as if they had been
wounded, received them on deck. The master pointed to the Peruvian
flag, and inquired why he was stopped on his voyage.

"I'll tell you when we've examined your craft," answered Green.

"You'd better not go into the forecastle, where we have five of our men
suffering from the smallpox," said the skipper.

"And how many have you in the hold?" asked Green, who knew Spanish
sufficiently to carry on a conversation.

"We have no one there, but you had better not go into it, for some have
died there of smallpox, and you may carry the disease on board your own
ship," answered the skipper.

"We will run the risk," said Green; "take off the hatches, and I'll go
below."

As no one seemed inclined to obey him, he ordered his own men to lift
off the hatches. He and Tom, with two of the men, went below, while
Archie, with the rest, remained on deck, keeping an eye upon the
Peruvian crew, who, as Tim Nolan observed, "looked as if they were after
mischief." The hold was empty, but it was evidently fitted for
passengers, or rather for slaves.

"What are all those dark marks?" asked Tom.

"Bloodstains," answered Green, examining them; "and see, here are
bullets sticking in the deck and timbers. The wood has been splintered
in all directions; depend on it there has been some desperate work going
on. I believe that the account of the smallpox was false, and was
merely given to try and prevent us from examining the craft."

"You found no one, as I told you," said the