old,
dry, and uncommonly coarse; but now the suspicion forced itself upon
him that there was some special meaning behind the rude and contemptuous
manner in which his request had been received.

"You don't seem to have understood me," he said. "I should like the
white bread."

"It belongs to the captain," was the reply; "we mustn't take it."

"I will pay for it. Your captain will certainly have no objection."

The men pretended not to hear.

Heideck repeated his request in a stern and commanding tone. The men
looked at each other; then one of them went to the cupboard, took out
the white bread, and set it on the table. Heideck cut it and found it
very good. He ate heartily of it, wondering at the same time why the
men had been so disobliging about it at first. When he took up the bread
again to cut himself off a second piece, it occurred to him that it was
remarkably heavy. He cut into the middle and, finding that the blade
of the knife struck on something hard, he broke the loaf in two. The
glitter of gold met his eyes. He investigated further and drew out,
one after the other, thirty golden coins with the head of the Queen
of England upon them. Thirty pounds sterling had been concealed in the
loaf.

"Very nourishing bread of yours," said he, looking keenly at the men,
who merely shrugged their shoulders.

"What has it to do with us how the captain keeps his money?" said one of
them.

"You are quite right. What has it to do with you? We will wait till
the captain comes. There, put the bread and the money back into the
cupboard, and then make a nice glass of grog for my men, the poor
fellows will be frozen. Here are three marks for you."

The men did as they were asked. One of them went upstairs with the
smoking jug, bringing it back empty some time afterwards, with the
thanks of the Herr major's men.

A few minutes later one of the soldiers appeared at the cabin door and
announced that two men were approaching from land. "Good," said Heideck;
"keep quiet, till they are on deck; then don't let them go down again,
but tell them to come here."

Almost immediately steps and voices were heard above, and in a few
minutes two men entered the cabin. The first, who wore the dress of a
skipper, was of unusually powerful build, broad-shouldered, bull-necked,
with a square weather-beaten face, from which two crafty little
eyes twinkled. The second, considerably younger, was dressed rather
foppishly, and wore a beard