"Surely the villains deserve condign punishment," observed Jack; "if they are your Highness's subjects, you will, of course, at once have them all hung up." His Highness shrugged his shoulders. "If I had to hang all the cut-throats in my dominions, there would be more work than a dozen executioners could get through," he answered. "If they are my subjects, I give you full leave to treat them as you think fit; and if they are not, you are the best judges as to what should be done with them." Jack, who was convinced that all the Arabs on board the dhow, taken red-handed as they were, deserved hanging, would gladly have left the task of putting them out of this world to the Sultan. The difficulty was to prove that they were his subjects; and they were not likely to acknowledge this to be so, unless they thought that he would pardon them. After some further conversation, the two officers, with their companions, took their leave, feeling that they had taken very small change out of His Highness. Jack accompanied Murray on board to dinner, and Adair, of course, was asked to join them. It was the first time for several years that they had been together with time to talk over old days. Though now and then a shade of melancholy came over Jack's honest face, a joke of Adair's, or some pleasant recollection conjured up by Murray, quickly banished it, and a very pleasant evening they had. "Here's to your speedy promotion, Terence," said Jack; "the last letter I had from Admiral Triton, he told me that he had seen Lord Derrynane, who had promised that he would stir heaven and earth, and such bowels of compassion as the Lords of the Admiralty might possess, to obtain it, so that I've little doubt that you will ere long hear that you've got your step." "Faith, I've a great deal of doubt about the matter," answered Terence. "To tell you the truth, I would rather get it in consequence of some dashing deed which would give me a claim to it than through family influence, by which any dolt may be pushed forward in the service." "Well, for my part, I hold that we should be thankful for favours on whatever account they may be granted," said Jack; "you have seen as much service as any officer nowadays, and have twice been highly spoken of, and no one who knows you doubts that you will do any work which may fall in your way as well as it can be done." The three old shipmates were laughing and talking right merrily, when they were interrupted by a loud cry. Murray sprang on deck, followed by the rest of the party. Just as he reached it, an uproar of voices arose from forward, amid which those of Pango and Bango were the loudest, shrieking for help, while Ben Snatchblock was calling out, "Seize the rascals! tumble them overboard! knock them on the head! they've no business here!" while other voices in Arabic and negro language were uttering various incomprehensible cries, betokening either anger or alarm.