Smart.—"I will make every haste, dear young ladies, but I don't rightly know where to begin. The sight of all your beautiful faces and my young gentlemen grown into men, and looking so proud and handsome, makes me in a manner beside myself; and me and the old captain was but a-saying last night no longer could we bear the trouble, but must do ourselves a mischief."
Felix.—"You, a mischief! No, no, Smart, you were always a very good boy. It's only me was a mischief."
Smart.—"You are a very fine young gentleman, and be growed; dear me, Sir, how you be growed. I would not a known you but for them eyes, and that bit of mischief they have in them. Give me leave, Ma'am, just to take one good look of you all. My heart, how the young ladies have sprung up, like lilies on a stalk. Miss Gatty no doubt as free as ever, only quite a woman; and you, Ma'am, be a sight stouter. Oh, what a sight this is. Little did we think, ould captain and I, when we seed this onlucky island agin, little did we think as you was still here. When they brought us up out of the hold, I knowed the spot in a minute. Says I to the cap'in, 'Not content with murdering us they mean to cut our hearts in two. Here's the very blessed place as I saw them all last time as ever I laid eyes on them.' With that he gave a great shout and has never rightly been himself since. And, truly, with my own heart nigh bursting, his'n was a mighty heavy one to bear up. Spite of all our hard work, we did our best to examine every spot to find traces of you, and we came to the notion, as you were all gone, through good whiles, maybees safe, unknowst of our fate, maybees dead; any way, we thought you had escaped our sad hap."
Schillie.—"But, Smart, that's the end of your story, begin at the beginning."
Smart.—"Where's that, Ma'am? I know neither beginning or end of anything since that unlucky morn we slipped away."
Schillie.—"Where did you go to then?"
Smart.—"Why we sailed away some few days; the vessel was but a cockle on the water, she was so light, so that we were noways comfortable in the matter of steadiness and good walking ground. Anyways, however, we had plenty to do spelling at the pumps, and so we went on, I won't say with hearts as light as the vessel, until a shot struck the big stick as stands in the middle of the ship. Well, we looked about, and saw an evil-disposed, black-looking, hang-dog of a vessel, that sent shot upon shot into us. Well, the smell of powder did me good, and we gave it them back right well with them two brass guns, Master. I beg your pardon, Sir, you being so growed, Mr. Oscar. And so we should ha' gone on peppering them to this minute, until they were all dead or gave in, had it not been for them same guns getting so hot, they were next to no use at all. Howsumdever, when they came aboord, we gave it them in a manner as some will carry to their dying day. And though that never mended the matter, it's a poor heart that does not rejoice over something, and that something was the settling of a round dozen of them rascally pirates by my own hand."
The boys (together).—"Twelve pirates! Did you really kill twelve?"
Smart.—"Kill or drown 'em, you may reckon on that, Sirs, and many more would I have served out in like manner, but four great brutes came behind me, and cracked my skull to that degree as neither sight to my eyes or sense to my tongue came for a length of weeks. And, maybe, but for the good old captain, it's in heaven only (if God in his goodness will grant me to go there) that I ever thought to see your sweet faces again."
Lilly.—"Now, dear Smart, go on."