The Pirate, and The Three Cutters

by Frederick Marryat

'Take that, babbler, for your intelligence; if these men are obstinate, we may have worked for nothing.'

'None,' replied the bishop, 'except this poor girl; she is, indeed, beyond price, and will, I trust, soon be an angel in heaven.'

'Yet is this world, if what you preach be true, a purgatory which must be passed through previous to arriving there, and that girl may think death a blessing compared to what she may expect if you refuse to tell me what I would know. You have good store of gold and silver ornaments for your churches—where are they?'

'They are among the packages entrusted to my care.'

'How many may you have in all?'

'A hundred, if not more.'

'Will you deign to inform me where I may find what I require?'

'The gold and silver are not mine, but are the property of that God to whom they have been dedicated,' replied the bishop.