“No, Jecks,” I said; “if the pirates are given up, they’ll be executed for certain.”
“Who says so, sir?”
“First lieutenant,” I said.
“Well, he ought to know, sir. Been on the Chinee station afore. P’raps it’s best, but I don’t want ’em to be hung.”
“Don’t hang ’em here, Tommy,” growled one of the two silent men.
“What do they do, then, old know-all?”
“Chops their heads off, I’ve heerd.”
“Oh, well, I don’t want ’em to have their heads chopped off. How should we like it if we was took prisoners?”
“Oh, but we arn’t Chinees,” growled Billy Wakes.
“Nor arn’t likely to be, mate; but we’ve got heads all the same. I know how I should like to be executed if it was to-day.”