tension he suffered was almost unbearable.

One day on a sudden determination, Brisbau set sail with his men and
companions, together with the prisoners. His purpose was to take a short
cruise and then return; meantime allowing Captain Redfield a further
opportunity to disclose his secret; otherwise--and he repeated his
threat made upon his first day at Rindout.

The ship stopped at Charleston, and, almost immediately upon its
arrival, it was seized under a suspicion of piracy, and a search made
for evidences of the unlawful traffic. The prisoners were released
through some favor of the authorities, but Brisbau and his men were
imprisoned. In the hands of the king's officers their lives were in
great jeopardy, but they finally escaped the scaffold.

As to Captain Redfield and his wife, the unexpected release was a most
welcome boon. For her he had felt the tenderest and most agonized
solicitude. The temptation to acquiesce in the demand of his captors
and thus free her from the trying situation came often to him with a
weight under which he almost broke down. When it was over, the joy of
freedom was as great as the suffering had been while they were
prisoners. He lived thereafter at Charleston, and soon outgrew the
suspicion with which he was at first regarded, of having being connected
with the buccaneers. He determined to settle down to an honest,
industrious life. My grandfather was born soon after.

Captain Redfield was never afterwards known to refer to anything
connected with a pirate in conversation with any one; and I have never
learned whether or not he ever afterwards visited Rindout. I know he was
wealthy; but then he worked hard and saved his earnings, and I do not