"Can you explain, Captain Weaver," interrupted Miss Acton, whose irrelevancy was feminine, and whose question was based on her desire to hear something that she could understand, for the talk now as it ran was beyond her--"how it was that Miss Lucy Acton, who is one of the best known ladies who reside in these parts, should pass along the wharves and go on board the _Minorca_ to be made a prisoner of and sailed away with, without anybody seeing her--without anybody being able to say that he saw a young female pass along? Even if he could describe her dress without knowing who she was, we should have been able to conclude that Mr Lawrence had lured her on board: for we never could have supposed that she would have gone to him without his being guilty of some base stratagem to inveigle her." "I can make no other answer than this, ma'am," said Captain Weaver. "Suppose she was down on the wharves between half-past seven and eight. Most of the labourers would have been away breakfasting. The few that hung about might not have taken any notice of her, or if one or two did, then they are people we didn't come across to question. Most of the men on board the ships in the Harbour would be in their foc'sles breakfasting and smoking and the like, and those that were on deck, and few enough at that hour, might be thinking of other things than people who were passing by. I don't see how else Miss Lucy Acton's not being seen or noticed can be accounted for." "No doubt you are right," said Captain Acton. "I see no other solution to the puzzle, and a puzzle it is, for," said he, "it is quite certain that my daughter was down on the wharves and was entrapped this morning, which explains the reason of Mr Lawrence's hurried sailing." "I beg your pardon, gentlemen," said Captain Weaver very humbly and respectfully, "both your honours are sea-faring men who've seen more of the sea than my larnedest notions could heave into sight to me, but I should like to say this: if our ship is made out aboard the _Minorca_ supposing we overhaul her, is she likely to back her topsail to our hail? Mr Lawrence, we may guess, is a detarmined man, he'll know that you've got the scent of him, and I allow that he'll keep all on with his ship, even if there should be such a breeze as would sarve him to run her under water." "We must hoist foreign colours," said the Admiral quickly and decisively. "American, I should think; there are many Yankees afloat like the _Aurora_." "Still begging of your honours' pardon," said Captain Weaver, "suppose the _Minorca_ do back her topsail and we launch our boat; Mr Lawrence makes out his father and Captain Acton in the starn sheets. Will he stay to receive ye? Won't he fill on his topsail and be off?" "You forget," said Captain Acton, "that Mr Eagle and my crew are on board, and they will have something to say in response to Mr Lawrence's orders."