"Whatever suspicion or fear may have entered Miss Huntington's mind, I
beg of her to dispel, as it regards her own and her mother's safety and
comfort. Both shall be my sole care until you are safely landed upon
shore, where I shall at the earliest moment place you in a situation to
reach your homes in England."

"I know you will do this," she replied, "and if my looks betrayed any
anxiety, it was not for our safety, but for your own, Captain Ratlin."

"My safety, lady? do you then consider that worth your anxiety?" he
asked, with unmistakable earnestness in his voice.

"You have been more than kind to us, sir," she continued, "you have been
preserver, protector, and friend, and it were strange if I did not feel
an interest for your welfare."

This she uttered so ingenuously, so frankly, that it seemed not in the
least indelicate or forward, while it thrilled the young commander's
heart.

"Lady, since the moment you came on board, and I heard the tones of your
voice, a strange interest sprang up in my heart, an indescribable one,
and now that you express an interest in a poor wanderer's fate, you
attach to it a value that he himself has never regarded it as
possessing. But I read your suspicions, you have feared the worst--your
looks have betrayed it, and you were ready to believe that I am a--"

"Pirate!" almost groaned his companion, "You are not, pray say you are
not."