Part 18 (1/2)

'Richie, we're going fast through the water It reuess the hour to be nine AM'

My watch was unable to assist us; the hands pointed to half-past four, and were fixed We ran up on deck Looking over the stern of the vessel, across a line of rippling eddying red gold,the sun low upon cushi+ons of beautiful cloud; no trace of fog anywhere; blue sky overhead, and a

'Sunrise,' I said

Temple answered, 'Yes,'was towing our shi+p out toward banks of red-reflecting cloud, and a smell of sea air

'Why, that's the East there!' cried Temple We faced about to the sun, and behold, he was actually sinking!

'Nonsense!' we exclai sunset we stood staring The river stretched to broad lengths; gulls were on the grey water, knots of seaweed, and the sea-foao!' Te, 'here's a whole day struck out of our existence'

'It can't be!' said I, for that any sensible being could be tricked of a piece of his life in that ht of a lessening windmill in the West, shadows eastward, the ater, and the air now full salt, convincedrapidly out of hail of our native land

'We et these fellows to put us on shore at once,' said Temple: 'on't stop to eat There's a town; a boat will row us there in half-an-hour Then we can wash, too I've got an idea nothing's clean here And confound these fellows for not having the civility to tell us they were going to start!'

We were rather angry, a little amused, not in the least alarmed at our position A sailor, to e applied for an introduction to the captain, said he was busy Another gave us a sirimace which was beyond our comprehension The sailor Joe was nowhere to be seen None of the sailors appeared willing to listen to us, though they stopped as they were running by to lend half an ear to e had to say So on in the shi+p

Te us loose, and cried he, 'She'll take us on board and back to London Bridge Let's hail her' He sang out, 'Whoop! ahoy!' I entleman!' he accosted me, and he hoped I had slept well

My courteous request to hi stand by to take us on board, only caused hiravity 'You're such a deuce of a sleeper,' he said 'You see, we had to be off early toI tried to wake you both; no good; so I let you snore away We took up our captain mid-way down the river, and now you're in his hands, and he'll do what he likes with you, and that 's a fact, and n shore before you're in the arain'

At these words I had the horrible sensation of being caged, and worse, transported into the bargain

I insisted on seeing the captain A big bright round ether with the tug thuaveemotions

No difficulties were presented in my way I was led up to a broad man in a pilot-coat, who stood square, and looked by the bend of his eyebrows as if he were always ale He nodded to my respectful salute 'Cabin,' he said, and turned his back to o on shore, captain I o! I am here by some accident; you have accidentally overlooked entleman, but I won't be detained'

Joe spoke a word to the captain, who kept his back as broad to raphy and Euclid's propositions

'Cabin, cabin,' the captain repeated

I tried to get round him to dash a furious sentence or so in his face, since there was no producing any impression on his back; but he occupied the whole of a way blocked ire-coil, and rope, and boxes, and it would have been ridiculous to cliht-about-face he could in aat the blank space between his shoulders

Joe touched my arm, which, in as friendly a way as I could assume, I bade him not do a second ti to think I had been duped and tricked, I was ready for hostilities I could hardly bear e to the cabin 'Captain Jasper Welsh,' he was reiterating, as if sounding it to discover whether it had an o: it was the captain's name, that he had learnt from one of the seamen

Irritated by his repetition of it, I said, I know not why, or how the words cahwayman notorious for his depredations in the vicinity of the city of Bristol'

This set Teht a shi+p and had traps laid down to catch young fellows for ransoed to request Temple not to joke, but the next moment I had launched Captain Jasper Welsh on a piratical exploit; Te hied hied him in view of an excited multitude As he boasted that there was the end of Captain Welsh, I broke the rope But Te him of the use of his lower limbs after the fall, for he was a heavy man I could not contradict it, and therefore pitched all his shi+p's crew upon the gallows in a rescue Temple allowed hi that the captain was never after able to release his neck froman's slip knot The consequence was that he wore a shi+rt-collar up to his eyebrows for concealht, and his wife said she was a deceived unhappy wo of even such nonsense as this was a relief to us in our i far distant to our fretful sight through the cabin s

When we had to talk reasonably ere not so successful Captain Welsh was one of those men who show you, whether you care to see them or not, all the processes by which they arrive at an idea of you, upon which they forthwith shape their course Thus, when he came to us in the cabin, he took the oil-laht; he had no reply to our remonstrances and petitions: all he said was, 'Huentle his scrutiny without any reference to the tenour of our observations