ths and the terrible language that flowed from the lips
of these godless men, even in the midst of their hilarity and
good-humour. The man who had been alluded to as Bloody Bill was seated
near me, and I could not help wondering at the moody silence he
maintained among his comrades. He did indeed reply to their questions
in a careless, off-hand tone, but he never volunteered a remark. The
only difference between him and the others was his taciturnity and his
size, for he was nearly, if not quite, as large a man as the captain.

During the remainder of the afternoon I was left to my own reflections,
which were anything but agreeable; for I could not banish from my mind
the threat about the thumbscrews, of the nature and use of which I had a
vague but terrible conception. I was still meditating on my unhappy
fate when, just after nightfall, one of the watch on deck called down
the hatchway:

"Hallo, there! One o' you tumble up and light the cabin lamp, and send
that boy aft to the captain--sharp!"

"Now, then, do you hear, youngster? the captain wants you. Look alive!"
said Bloody Bill, raising his huge frame from the locker on which he had
been asleep for the last two hours. He sprang up the ladder, and I
instantly followed him, and going aft, was shown into the cabin by one
of the men, who closed the door after me.

A small silver lamp which hung from a beam threw a dim, soft light over
the cabin, which was a small apartment, and comfortably but plainly
furnished. Seated on a camp-stool at the table, and busily engaged in
examining a chart of the Pacific, was the captain, who looked up as I
entered, and in a quiet voice bade me be seated, while he threw down his
pencil, and rising from the table, stretched himself on a sofa at the
upper end of the cabin.

"Boy," said he, looking me full in the face, "what is your name?"

"Ralph Rover," I replied.

"Where did you come from, and how came you to be on that island? How
many companions had you on it? Answer me, now, and mind you tell no
lies."

"I never tell lies," said I firmly.

The captain received this reply with a cold, sarcastic smile, and bade
me answer his questions.

I then told him the history of myself and my companions from the time we
sailed till the day of his visit to the island--taking care, however, to
make no mention of the Diamond Cave. After I had concluded, he was
silent for a few minutes; then looking up, he said, "Boy, I believe