“The ship’s yours, again, Captain Wallingford.”

“Mr. Diggens,” I said, approaching the master’s-mate, “as I have a necessity for this vessel, which is my property, if you please, sir, I’ll now take charge of her in person.  You had better go below, and make yourself comfortable; there is good brandy to be had for the asking, and you may pass an agreeable evening, and turn in whenever it suits you.”

Diggens was a sot and a fool, but he did not want for pluck.  His first disposition was to give battle, beginning to call out for his men to come to his assistance, but I put an end to this, by seizing him by the collar, and dropping him, a little unceremoniously, down the companion-way.  Half an hour later, he was dead drunk, and snoring on the cabin floor.

There remained only the man at the wheel to overcome He was a seaman, of course, and one of those quiet, orderly men, who usually submit to the powers that be.  Approaching him, I said—­

“You see how it is, my lad; the ship has again changed owners.  As for you, you shall be treated as you behave.  Stand to the wheel, and you’ll get good treatment and plenty of grog, but, by becoming fractious, you’ll find yourself in irons before you know where you are.”

“Ay—­ay, sir—­” answered the man, touching his hat, and contenting himself with this brief and customary reply.

“Now, Mr. Marble,” I continued, “it is time to have an eye on the boat, which will soon find the man, or give him up.  I own, that I wish we had recovered the ship without tossing the poor fellow overboard.”

“Fellow overboard!” cried Marble, laughing—­“I’d ha’ thrown all England into the sea had it been necessary and in my power, but it wasn’t necessary to throw overboard so much as a child.  The chap they’re arter is nothing but one of the fenders, with the deep sea lashed to its smaller end, and a tarpaulin stopped on the larger!  Mr. Sennit need be in no great hurry, for I’ll engage his ‘man overboard’ will float as long as his yawl!”

The whole of Marble’s expedient was thus explained, and I confess I was much relieved by a knowledge of the truth.  Apart from the general relief that accompanied the consciousness of not having taken human life, should we again fall into English hands, a thing by no means improbable, in the situation in which we were placed, this circumstance might be of the last importance to us.  In the mean time, however, I had to look to the boat and the ship.

The first thing we did was to clew up the three top-gallant-sails.  This gave us a much easier command of the vessel, short-handed as we were, and it rendered it less hazardous to the spars to keep the Dawn on a wind.  When this was done, I ordered the after-braces manned, and the leaches brought as near as possible to touching.  It was time; for the oars were heard, and then I got a view of the boat as it came glancing down on our weather quarter.  I instantly gave the order to fill the after sails, and to keep the ship full and by.  The braces were manned, as well as they could be, by Marble, Neb and the cook, while I kept an eye on the boat, with an occasional glance at the man at the wheel.