"No, no, children, don't be so absurd," said I, "drunken people are not so helpless as you imagine, and, besides, they may not be all so. Some may be watching elsewhere, some others may still be in the ship; they will soon be tired of looking for us, and leave us in peaceable possession of our dear little island."
Schillie.—"I am not quite sure if it would not be a good plan to pick them off one by one, when we can find them at an advantage."
Mother.—"For heaven's sake don't be mad. The report of a gun would bring them all on us, and the smoke betray us."
Sybil.—"Besides, little Mother, they may after all be good people, and we have no right to kill them until they have tried to hurt us."
Hargrave.—"Oh Miss Sybil, whatever can you go for to say they 'ave not 'armed hus. I never, no never saw such wickedness! My mistress's best lace dress! I shall never forget it to my dying day, no nor never forgive it. The 'eathens, the monsters, I am willing to 'old any hinstrument for my young master while he shoots the dreadful scrummagers."
Gatty.—"You don't say so! Hargrave, then take hold of this."
Hargrave shuddered as she grasped the gun, but she resolutely held it at arms length. Gatty having put her to the proof, applauded her, and we went on with our conversation.
Mother.—"I can never feel sufficiently grateful to you, Madame, for your forethoughts and wisdom. We are now at all events our own mistresses and masters, but no one knows what would have become of us, had we gone open-armed to meet these people."
Madame.—"They look capable of any wickedness, Madam, and I really begin to think from all I can make out that they are pirates, and then they would have had no scruples in carrying us all off, and selling us for slaves."
Schillie.—"Or worse, they might have turned us into wives, a thing I could by no means consent to, even to be Queen of the Pirates."