"Ah, that looked suspicious."
"And so, Ellis, we gave chase."
"He is one of the very men we are in search of," said I; "and I know him to be a murderer, a thief, and a deserter from the service. Bring him to Mr. Haystone, and if he makes the slightest resistance, bayonet him without mercy."
We soon dragged him to the highway, and at the fallen palm, found Lieutenant Haystone seated, with his jacket unbuttoned, a cigar in his mouth, and in his hand a large plaintain leaf, with which he was fanning himself, as the atmosphere was now close and sultry.
"Hallo—a prisoner!" said he, starting up.
"We roused him in the gully, sir," said Telfer, as our party all came rapidly in; "and Ellis says that he knows him well."
"Is this the case, sergeant?" asked the officer.
"It was he whom I saw in the piragua, accompanied by the Frenchman and negro. I know him, moreover, to be a deserter, a robber, and perhaps worse."
Knuckleduster bestowed on me a savage scowl, and then burst into a fit of gruff and contemptuous laughter.
"Come, sirrah," said Haystone, "this insolent bearing will not better your prospects; remember that a court-martial and the lash are before you, so answer me in a straight-forward manner. Know you aught of the persons who committed the outrage last night at Boscobelle?"