'And you?' continued the captain. 'A poor sacristan attending upon my lord the bishop.' 'And you?' cried he to a third. 'The supercargo of this vessel.' 'Put him aside, Hawkhurst!' 'Do you want the others?' inquired Hawkhurst significantly. 'No.' Hawkhurst gave a signal to some of the pirates, who led away the sacristan and the servant. A stifled shriek and a heavy plunge in the water were heard a few seconds after. During this time the pirate had been questioning the supercargo as to the contents of the vessel and her stowage, when he was suddenly interrupted by one of the pirates, who, in a hurried voice, stated that the ship had received several shot between wind and water and was sinking fast. Cain, who was standing on the slide of the carronade with his sword in his hand, raised his arm and struck the pirate a blow on the head with the hilt, which, whether intended or not, fractured his skull, and the man fell upon the deck. 'Take that, babbler, for your intelligence; if these men are obstinate, we may have worked for nothing.' The crew, who felt the truth of their captain's remark, did not appear to object to the punishment inflicted, and the body of the man was dragged away. 'What mercy can we expect from those who show no mercy even to each other?' observed the bishop, lifting his eyes to heaven. 'Silence!' cried Cain, who now interrogated the supercargo as to the contents of the hold--the poor man answered as well as he could--'the plate! the money for the troops--where are they?' 'The money for the troops is in the spirit-room, but of the plate I know nothing; it is in some of the cases belonging to my lord the bishop.' 'Hawkhurst! down at once to the spirit-room and see to the money; in the meantime I will ask a few questions of this reverend father.' 'And the supercargo--do you want him any more?' 'No; he may go.' The poor man fell down on his knees in thankfulness at what he considered his escape: he was dragged away by the pirates, and it is scarcely necessary to add that in a minute his body was torn to pieces by the sharks, who, scenting their prey from a distance, were now playing in shoals around the two vessels. The party on the quarter-deck were now (unperceived by the captain) joined by Francisco, who, hearing from the Krouman, Pompey, that there were prisoners still on board, and amongst them two females, had come over to plead the cause of mercy. 'Most reverend father,' observed Cain, after a short pause, 'you have many articles of value in this vessel?' [Illustration: '_Take that, babbler, for your intelligence; if these men are obstinate, we may have worked for nothing._'] 'None,' replied the bishop, 'except this poor girl; she is, indeed, beyond price, and will, I trust, soon be an angel in heaven.'