m again, they had
vanished. However, a letter in my mail next morning told me that the
observation had not been all on my side. My eyes had not deceived me. It
was my friend--and, at dinner with him and his lady, next evening, I
heard the story of some of those lost years. Moreover, he confided to me
that a certain portion of his adventures had seemed so romantic that he
had been tempted to set them down in a narrative, merely, of course, for
the amusement of his family and friends. On our parting, he entrusted me
with this manuscript, which I found so interesting that I was able to
persuade him to consent to its publication to that larger world which it
seemed to me unfair to rob of one of those few romances that have been
really lived, and not merely conjured up out of the imaginations of
professional romancers._

_His consent was given with some reluctance, for, apart from a certain
risk which the publication of the manuscript would entail, it contains
also matters which my friend naturally regards as sacred--though, in
this respect, I feel sure that he can rely upon the delicacy of his
readers. He made it a condition that every precaution should be taken to
keep secret the name and identity of his wife and himself._

_Therefore, in presenting to the world the manuscript thus entrusted to
me, I have made various changes of detail, with the purpose of the more
surely safeguarding the privacy of my two friends; but, in all
essentials, the manuscript is printed as it came originally into my
hands._

R. Le G.

CONTENTS

PAGE
Prologue vii

_Book I_

Out of the Constant East the Breeze 2

CHAPTER

I. Introduces the Secretary to the Treasury
of His Britannic Majesty's Government
at Nassau 3

II. The Narrative of Henry P. Tobias, Ex-Pirate,
as dictated on his deathbed,
in the year of our Lord, 1859 13

III. In which I charter the _Maggie Darling_ 21

IV. In which Tom catches an enchanted fish,
and discourses of the dangers of treasure
hunting 30

V. In which we begin to understand our unwelcome
passenger 40

VI. The incident of the Capta