“And thus this wicked plot was found out, and those wicked men punished, and thus it pleased Heaven to preserve your great-grandfather’s life—first by reason of the gratitude and devotion of Mr Birt, and secondly through his stout old watch which did him good service and turned aside the enemy’s bullet.”
Aunt Hannah paused, and looked up at the picture again.
“But,” said Susan, “what became of Mr Birt?”
“He was pardoned,” replied my aunt, “on the representation of my father—because of the service he had rendered in saving the ship and crew at the risk of his own life.”
“I’m glad of that,” said Sophia Jane; “because it was so very good of him to tumble down the hatchway.”
“He never returned to England,” continued Aunt Hannah, “but settled in China, where I believe he prospered and became at last a rich man. My father often heard from him and always spoke of him with affection.”
“That’s a very nice story, indeed,” said Susan. “I’m sorry it’s over.”
The account of the convicts’ mutiny is taken from the Unpublished diary of Captain John Marshall, In command of the ship Scarborough at the time.