"Where do you come from?" Bougainville asked.
"I swam ashore two hours ago from the English ship Sutherland," the Canadian said.
"How did you manage to escape?"
"I would have swam ashore long ago, but at night I have always been locked up, ever since I was captured, in a cabin below. Tonight the door opened quietly, and someone came in and said:
"'Hush!--can you swim?'
"'Like a fish,' I said.
"'Are you ready to try and escape, if I give you the chance?'
"'I should think so,' I replied.
"'Then follow me, but don't make the slightest noise.'
"I followed him. We passed along the main deck, where the sailors were all asleep in their hammocks. A lantern was burning here, and I saw, by its light, that my conductor was an officer. He led me along till we entered a cabin--his own, I suppose.