"'Glad to hear it; and what latitude does he hail in now?'
"'That,' said I, 'is private and confidential.'
"'Oh,' said he, 'there are no outsiders here, we are all sworn friends of Dick's, every mother's son of us.'
"'Then,' said I, 'Dick is off the Cove in the schooner Nancy, of Brest,'"
"Holloa, Willis," cried Jack, "there was a fib!"
"Well, I told you to look out for something of that sort when I began."
"'What!' cried the landlord, 'Dick in a schooner off the Irish coast?'
"'Yes,' said I; 'and aboard that schooner there is as tight a cargo of brandy and tobacco as ever you set eyes upon.'
"Here the landlord pricked up his ears, and the rest of the company began to listen attentively. The fellow that sat next me coolly told me that both he and Dick had been lagged for horse-stealing, and had subsequently broken out of prison and escaped. He further told me that most of the gentlemen present had been all, one way or another, mixed up with Dick's doings; from which I concluded they were a rare parcel of scamps, and resolved, within myself, to try and bag the whole squad. They were all stout fellows enough, most of them seamen. I thought they might be able to 'do the State some service,' and determined to convert them into honest men, if I could.'
"'Dick cannot come ashore,' said I; 'some one of his old pals here has peached, and there is a warrant out against him.'