ease.

"We have not even asked you, Captain Ratlin, what trade you are in,"
said the mother, as they sat together, her daughter and the young
commander, upon the quarter-deck beneath an awning which had been rigged
for their comfort.

"Ahem! madam!" hesitated the young officer, "we are, that is, yes, we
are on a trading voyage to the coast--just at the present time."

Whether the mother saw that the subject was not one which was of an
agreeable nature to him, or otherwise, she at once changed the subject,
and congenial themes were discussed, to the delight of the daughter, who
dwelt with evident pleasure upon the manly tones of the captain's voice,
which seemed to have some secret charm upon her. Even her mother noticed
this, and seemed to regard her with sensitive watchfulness while the
captain was near, though there was no well defined suspicion or fear in
her mind.

"Is it customary for traders upon these seas to go so thoroughly armed,
Captain Ratlin?" asked the daughter, one day, after she had been shown
about the decks, at her own request, where she had marked the heavy
calibre of the gun amidship, its well as the neat and serviceable array
of small arms within the entrance to the cabin.

"It is a treacherous latitude, lady, and the strong arm often makes the
right," he answered again, evasively, as he called her attention to some
distant object in the horizon, while at the same moment there was
shouted from aloft: