"All is not lost yet. Go on, go on, my dear Onésime." So Onésime continued as follows:
"'Segoffin and I went to Dieppe, where we shipped as common sailors on a privateer, for we realised that we must both serve an apprenticeship at our new trade. We made several voyages in that capacity. In my leisure moments I studied mathematics and the art of navigation assiduously, so I should be able to command a vessel myself when the necessary practical knowledge had been acquired.
"'My apprenticeship lasted two years, during which we were engaged in a number of bloody conflicts. At the end of that time I was offered the position of mate aboard a well-known privateer. After eighteen months spent in this way, I had become so well known that a ship owner offered me the command of a vessel called the Hell-hound, that he was fitting out.
"'Strange to say, I was never wounded, though I took part in so many desperate conflicts. I received my first wound on coming to your assistance the other night.
"'I dare not tell you the cause to which I attribute this singular immunity from danger. I should be obliged to mention your mother's name, and that would revive your grief, and possibly it is only a superstitious fancy, after all.
"'Fate has not been equally kind to Segoffin, unfortunately. He has received several wounds, and, in boarding a vessel during our last fight, he lost an eye by a blow from a pike. No words could do justice to this worthy man's wonderful devotion. I no longer regard him as a servant, but as a friend.
"'One more brief explanation, my child.
"'I knew your affection for me. I knew, too, that your nervous system had received a severe shock at the time of your poor mother's death, so I resolved to save you from constant anxiety by concealing my real occupation from you. So it was agreed between Segoffin and me that we should explain our frequent absences by pretending that we were travelling around the country selling dry goods. I also arranged that the letters you sent to the different towns agreed upon should be forwarded to Dieppe.
"'When I returned after a cruise, I got these letters, and dated my replies from different towns, where I had previously arranged to have them mailed.
"'Such were some of the many precautions that I was obliged to take to conceal the truth from you and allay any suspicions that might be excited in your mind.