"Oh, no! oh, no!" sneered the Admiral. "He will have company—perhaps not the company that he has been accustomed to, but the company of—What did you tell me was your rating aboard the——"
"Yankee Blade," said I haltingly. "I was the First Mate, sir. I have friends at home and friends at Christophe's court." I did not stick at a lie, since I had heard his tone. "They will——"
"Ah! will they? I fear not. Unworthy as your position is, Mr.—Mr. Jones—ah, yes, Mr. Hiram Jones—you shall have the honour of bearing the Lord George Trevelyan company. Thanks to me, Mr. Hiram Jones, you will associate with a more exalted personage than it has yet been your lot to meet. Another cage! another cage! Bring another cage!" called out the Admiral in excited tones. "We will see whether Mr. Hiram Jones, late First Mate of the Yankee ship——"
The Smith left the unconscious boy, whom he had fastened in his living tomb, and approached the Admiral respectfully. He glanced at me, hardly perceptibly.
"There is no other cage, Admiral. You ordered only one brought ashore."
"No other cage? No other cage? Hereafter, always bring two. One never knows what may turn up, what spies may be about——"
I broke in.
"I am no spy, Admiral. I happened to be in your neighbourhood and met the lad running, and I——"
"How about the death of The Rogue? Answer me that, Mr. Jones. You have shed the blood of——"
I saw that my case was hopeless.