For a few minutes the canoes clustered
round this necromantic craft, and I could notice that two or three hands
from each of them jumped on board; they then paddled off in a string,
and vanished one by one amongst the mangrove bushes as suddenly as the
felucca had appeared. All this puzzled me exceedingly I looked at Obed
he was evidently sorely perplexed.
"I had thought to have put you on board a British vessel before this, or
failing that, to have run down, and landed you at St Jago, Mr Cringle,
as I promised; but you see I am prevented by these honest men there.
Get below, and as you value your life, and, I may say, mine, keep your
temper, and be civil."
I did as he suggested but peeped out of the cabin skylight to see what
was going on, notwithstanding. The felucca was armed with a heavy
carronade on a pivot, and as full of men as she could hold, fierce, half
naked, savage looking fellows,--she swept rapidly up to us, and closing
on our larboard quarter, threw about five--and--twenty of her genteel
young people on board, who immediately secured the crew, and seized
Obed. However, they, that is, the common sailors, seemed to have no
great stomach for the job, and had it not been for the fellow I had
frightened overboard, I don't think one of them would have touched him.
Obed bore all this with great equanimity.
"Why, Francisco," he said, to this personage, in good Spanish, "why,
what madness is this? your suspicions are groundless; it is as I tell
you, he is my prisoner, and whatever he may have been to me, he can be
no spy on you.
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