“Lor’ bless yer simple heart! overhaul them? No, not us; but they _very soon overhauled us_, my lad!” “Is it possible? Overhaul one of the king’s ships?” “Ha, my God; and massacred every soul on board, save one!” “And who was he?” “I myself; Ralph Spray.” “You?” “Yes, I.” “Why, how can that be? You must have had at least 150 men on board the ‘Dolphin,’” said the knight. “’Zactly; and the Skeleton Crew couldn’t muster half as many, I suppose you mean?” “Just so.” “Aye, sir, but we on board the ‘Dolphin’ were men.” “Brave men, too, no doubt.” “Yes; but them on board the Phantom Ship weren’t men at all.” “What, then, in heaven’s name?” “Why, devils!” The footman, nay, every one of Ralph’s audience, were listening open-mouthed and with staring eyes. “Devils?” asked Ned. “Yes, devils, young man.” A pause took place, and every one took a long breath, and creeped closer to the fire as Ralph continued— “We caught sight of the Phantom Ship once. It was painted red. We gave chase, and came within two miles of it, when it changed its colour to blue! We wasn’t going to be taken in, so we fired a broadside right into her, and——” “Sunk her,” asked Ned. “Not a bit on it, it vanished into _mist_.” Several of the servants and members of the household whom the kind knight had allowed to listen to the cripple’s tale, now wished themselves in their bed-rooms, or in the servants’ hall. They were unable to leave their seats, however, for they felt fastened down to them, and in some manner fascinated by the charmed eye of the speaker. The footman’s pig-tail worked to and fro like the pendulum of a clock, and, at certain passages, stood bolt upright as its owner inwardly and sometimes audibly groaned at what he heard. “Vanished into mist, eh? How extraordinary!” said the knight. “Then it must be a charmed ship, and a charmed crew.” “’Zactly, sir, and I’ll tell yer how I proves it. The ‘Dolphin’ often gave chase to this Phantom Ship, but could never catch it, although sometimes _we_ caught more than we liked.” “Indeed! what was that then?” “Why, a well-aimed broadside.” “From the Phantom Ship?” “’Zactly, and a devil of a mess they left us in more nor once, and we were glad to sheer off.” “Extraordinary! it sounds like a dream.” “But it ain’t, though, for one foggy night, when the ‘Dolphin’ lay anchored in the Sound, me and Tom Robinson were keeping watch on deck, and never thinking of any harm, for all the crew were snug in their hammocks, when it almost turned me grey to see three score of the Skeleton Crew clamber over the ship’s side like shadows, and begin to cut and hack us about awful. The deck was cleared in a second.” “Did you not alarm the ship, and beat to quarters?” “What was the use? I rushed to go below, but only put one leg down the hatchway ladder when it was cut off clean as a whistle.” “Didn’t the crew rush up to assist you?” “How could they, they were all dead!” “Dead?”