o' us an' our fortins?"

"Have ye spoken to the other men, Elliot?" inquired one of the group.

"Ay, in coorse I have; an' they're all agreeable. Young Spense stood
out pretty stiff at first; but I talked him over. Only I said nothing
to Larry O'Neil or Bill Jones. I know it's of no use. They'll never
agree; and if we wos to speak of it to either on 'em, he'd go right away
aft an' tell the captain. Their watch below 'll come on in an hour, an'
then the watch on deck'll be on our side. So, lads, go and git ready--
an' sharp's the word."

The party broke up, and went quietly below to prepare for flight,
leaving no one on deck except O'Neil and Jones, and two of their
comrades, who formed part of the watch. As Elliot had said, the watch
was changed in about an hour. The mate and captain came on deck, looked
round to see that all was right, and then returned to the cabin, to
consult about the preliminary arrangements for disposing of the remnant
of the cargo. Ned Sinton had turned in to have a good sleep before the
expected toil and bustle of the following day; O'Neil and Jones, being
relieved from duty, were glad to jump into their hammocks; and the deck
was left in charge of the conspirators.

It was a clear, lovely night. Not a zephyr stirred the surface of the
sea, in whose depths the starry host and the images of a hundred ships
of all shapes and tonnage were faithfully mirrored. Bright lights
illumined the city, those in the tents giving to them the appearance of
cones and cubes of solid fire. The subdued din of thousands of human
voices floated over the water, and mingled with the occasional shout or
song that rose from the fleet and the splash of oars, as boats passed to
and from the shore. Over all, the young moon shed a pale, soft light,
threw into deep shadow the hills towards the north, which rose abruptly
to a height of 3000 feet, and tipped with a silver edge the peak of
Monte Diavolo, whose lofty summit overlooks all the golden land between
the great range of the Sierra Nevada and the ocean. It was a scene of
peaceful beauty, well fitted to call forth the adoration of man to the
great and good Creator. Doubtless there were some whose hearts rose
that night above the sordid thoughts of gain and gold; but few such were
recognisable by their fellow-men, compared with the numerous votaries of
sin and so-called pleasure.

Towards midnight, Captain Bunting turned in, ordering the steward to
cal