up to me, and uttering fearful imprecations, the captain raised
his hand to strike me, while he shouted, "Boy! whelp! what mean you by
that?"

"If you lower your hand," said I in a loud voice, while I felt the blood
rush to my temples, "I'll tell you. Until you do so, I'm dumb."

The captain stepped back and regarded me with a look of amazement.

"Now," continued I, "I threw that keg into the sea because the wind and
waves will carry it to my friends on the Coral Island, who happen to
have a pistol but no powder. I hope that it will reach them soon; and
my only regret is that the keg was not a bigger one. Moreover, pirate,
you said just now that you thought I was made of better stuff. I don't
know what stuff I am made of--I never thought much about that subject;
but I'm quite certain of this--that I am made of such stuff as the like
of you shall never tame, though you should do your worst!"

To my surprise, the captain, instead of flying into a rage, smiled, and
thrusting his hand into the voluminous shawl that encircled his waist,
turned on his heel and walked aft, while I went below.

Here, instead of being rudely handled, as I had expected, the men
received me with a shout of laughter; and one of them, patting me on the
back, said, "Well done, lad! You're a brick, and I have no doubt will
turn out a rare cove. Bloody Bill there was just such a fellow as you
are, and he's now the biggest cut-throat of us all."

"Take a can of beer, lad," cried another, "and wet your whistle after
that speech o' your'n to the captain. If any one o' us had made it,
youngster, he would have had no whistle to wet by this time."

"Stop your clapper, Jack!" vociferated a third. "Give the boy a junk o'
meat. Don't you see he's a'most goin' to kick the bucket?"

"And no wonder," said the first speaker with an oath, "after the tumble
you gave him into the boat! I guess it would have broke your neck if
you had got it."

I did indeed feel somewhat faint, which was owing, doubtless, to the
combined effects of ill-usage and hunger; for it will be recollected
that I had dived out of the cave that morning before breakfast, and it
was now near midday. I therefore gladly accepted a plate of boiled pork
and a yam, which were handed to me by one of the men from the locker on
which some of the crew were seated eating their dinner. But I must add
that the zest with which I ate my meal was much abated in consequence of
the frightful oa