CHAPTER XXII.



I fall into the hands of pirates - How they treated me, and what I
said to them - The result of the whole ending in a melancholy
separation and in a most unexpected gift.


MY heart seemed to leap into my throat at the words; and, turning
round, I beheld a man of immense stature, and fierce aspect
regarding me with a smile of contempt. He was a white man, - that
is to say, he was a man of European blood, though his face, from
long exposure to the weather, was deeply bronzed. His dress was
that of a common seaman, except that he had on a Greek skull-cap,
and wore a broad shawl of the richest silk round his waist. In
this shawl were placed two pair of pistols and a heavy cutlass. He
wore a beard and moustache, which, like the locks on his head, were
short, curly, and sprinkled with gray hairs.

"So, youngster," he said, with a Sardonic smile, while I felt his
grasp tighten on my shoulder, "the villains have been baulked of
their prey, have they? We shall see, we shall see. Now, you
whelp, look yonder. As he spoke, the pirate uttered a shrill
whistle. In a second or two it was answered, and the pirate-boat
rowed round the point at the Water Garden, and came rapidly towards
us. "Now, go, make a fire on that point; and hark'ee, youngster,
if you try to run away, I'll send a quick and sure messenger after
you," and he pointed significantly at his pistols.