"You are a sensible man, Senhor Capitan," answered one of them in return, in very fair English. "If you had not made any resistance at all, you would have saved a great deal of trouble and some hard knocks. We see that you are a passenger ship, and not laden with Manchester or Birmingham goods, as we hoped. We don't want to harm you, but we must be paid for our hot pull and the fighting you have given us. Here, Antonio, let the captain have a list of the stores we require, and the provisions and some water. You see your cruisers have driven us off the coast, and we are rather in want of such things. And then, let me see-- we have been put to a good deal of expense--we shall require some eight or ten dollars a-head from the passengers and crew. That will not be much. We should have asked ten times the sum had you been going home; but we wish to be moderate in our demands." Thus the pirate captain ran on. Whether he was an Englishman or an American I could not make out; but he was either one or the other. Captain Gunnell stood astounded. He began to consider whether it was still too late to resist; but on glancing towards the brig, he saw that she had her sweeps out, and was gradually creeping up towards us, to strengthen with her broadside the arguments which might be employed to induce us to comply with the requests just made to us. When he saw this, our captain stamped with rage. "You have got the better of us," he exclaimed. "But look out. Some of the men-of-war in these seas may catch hold of you, and they are not likely to let you go without punishment for this day's work." "Not the first time I have got the better of you, Captain Gunnell," answered the stranger, laughing. "And as for your men-of-war, my brig can show a faster pair of heels than any of them. However, we are only indulging in child's play talking thus. We'll proceed to business, if you please."