WOULD HE BE HUNG? 187

 another fellow too; we'll call him White," said Jack,
 floundering desperately in the difficulty of inventing
 so many fictitious names, and then having safely
 christened them all, he told the entire story, and
 wound up with the inquiry, "Now, supposing Adol-
 I mean Black, were to die, and that it was found out
 that Jones had put the pin in the saddle, would
 Jones be hung?"
 Old Joe had preserved a stolid silence during the
 whole narrative, and had kept on calmly puffing
 away at his pipe with his gaze fixed on the distant
 horizon whilst Jack was speaking.
 Not once had he turned to look on the boy at his
 side, nor interrupted his speech by a single question.
 Now, however, he stuck his pipe in a corner of his big
 mouth, suddenly faced Jack, who felt rather uneasy
 at beholding an undoubted twinkle in the old sailor's
 eyes, and said grimly, to Jack's great horror and
 profound amazement-
 So that was the reason why you cut away to sea,
 young master! you were afraid of being hung!"
 Jack gasped, What do you mean ? It was not I
 who did it, only I was afraid I might let out, that
 is," but here Jack, fearful of having further com-
 promised his friend, and yet unable to extricate
himself from the dilemma into which he had been