“Oh! spare me, Mary; why do you harrow my broken heart with such a picture?” cried Mr. Mason, rising and pacing the room with quick, unsteady steps, while with both hands on his head he seemed to attempt to crush down the thoughts that burned up his brain.

“I speak thus,” said the widow, with an earnestness of tone and manner that almost startled her hearers, “because I wish to comfort you.  Alice, you tell me, is on board the Foam—­”

“On board the pirate schooner!” cried Henry, almost fiercely; for the youth, although as much distressed as Mr. Mason, was not so resigned as he, and his spirit chafed at the thought of having been deceived so terribly by the pirate.

“She is on board the Foam,” repeated the widow, in a tone so stern that her hearers looked at her in surprise, “and is therefore in the hands of Gascoyne, who will not injure a hair of her head.  I tell you, Mr. Mason, that she is perfectly safe in the hands of Gascoyne.”

“Of the pirate Durward!” said Henry, in a deep, angry voice.

“What ground have you for saying so?” asked the widow, quickly.  “You only know him as Gascoyne the sandal-wood trader,—­the captain of the Foam.  He has been suspected, it is true; but suspicion is not proof.  His schooner has been fired into by a war-vessel; he has returned the fire:  any passionate man might be tempted to do that.  His men have carried off some of our dear ones.  That was their doing, not his.  He knew nothing of it.”

“Mother, mother,” cried Henry, entreatingly, “don’t stand up in that way for a pirate; I can’t bear to hear it.  Did he not himself describe the pirate schooner’s appearance in this room, and when he was attacked by the Talisman did he not show out in his true colors, thereby proving that he is Durward the pirate?”

The widow’s face grew pale and her voice trembled as she replied, like one who sought to convince herself rather than her hearer, “That is not positive proof, Henry, Gascoyne may have had some good reason for deceiving you all in this way.  His description of the pirate may have been a false one.  We cannot tell.  You know he was anxious to prevent Captain Montague from impressing his men.”

“And would proclaiming himself a pirate be a good way of accomplishing that end, mother?”

“Mary,” said Mr. Mason, solemnly, as he seated himself at the table and looked earnestly in the widow’s face, “your knowledge of this man and your manner of speaking about him surprise me.  I have long thought that you were not acting wisely in permitting Gascoyne to be so intimate; for, whatever he may in reality be, he is a suspicious character, to say the best of him; and although I know that you think you are right in encouraging his visits, other people do not know that; they may judge you harshly.  I do not wish to pry into secrets; but you have sought to comfort me by bidding me have perfect confidence in this man?  I must ask what knowledge you have of him.  How far are you aware of his character and employment?  How do you know that he is so trustworthy?”