74 THE BOY CAPTAIN.

“Tf you do not understand all my words,” he said, in
conclusion, ‘I am satisfied you have a pretty good general
idea of what I mean; therefore I shall not hesitate to do
exactly as I have said.”

The prisoners looked at him impassively, as if wholly
at a loss to know what he had been talking about, and
yet, from a certain twinkle in the eyes of one, he felt
quite confident this particular fellow could, if he were so
disposed, speak English as well as the majority of his
countrymen in that vicinity.

Therefore he walked aft, leaving them alone to discuss
the matter among themselves, as he said, with a cautionary
flourish of the weapon :

“You'd better make up your minds to understand me,
or else there'll be a considerable amount of shooting
going on here, which won't be at all pleasant.”

That they did know, or at least one of them did, what
he had said, seemed evident from the fact that, as soon as
he was near the companionway once more, the three
began talking earnestly among themselves, and Ben said
to the young girl, who had been watching him curi-
ously :

«T fancy we shall make a go out of this thing. At all
events it is a scheme worth trying, for the chances are
decidedly against us if we stay here until those fellows
ashore can muster in sufficient force to take the brig by
sheer press of numbers.”

Miss Dunham made no reply to this remark, and Ben
understood from her silence that she was not at all in