" He then looked cautiously
round to see that the captain was not within hearing.
"Warn't it the 'Black Hawk' that was chased?" said he. "I think that
was our name then."
"Why, to be sure it was," said I.
"Well," sais he, "this is the 'Sary Ann' of New Bedford now," and
proceeding aft he turned a screw, and I could hear a board shift in
the stern. "Do you mind that?" said he: "well, you can't see it where
you stand just now at present; but the 'Sary Ann' shows her name there
now, and we have a set of papers to correspond. I guess the Britisher
can't seize her, because the 'Black Hawk' broke the treaty; can he?"
And he gave a knowing jupe of his head, as much as to say, ain't that
grand?
"Now our new captain is a strait-laced sort of man, you see; but the
cantin' fellow of a master you had on board before, warn't above a
dodge of this kind. If it comes to the scratch, you must take the
command again, for Cutler won't have art nor part in this game; and we
may be reformed out afore we know where we are."
"Well," sais I, "there is no occasion, I guess; put us somewhere a
little out of sight, and we won't break the treaty no more. I reckon
the 'Spitfire,' after all, would just as soon be in port as looking
after us. It's small potatoes for a man-of-war to be hunting poor
game, like us little fore and afters."
"As you like," he said, "but we are prepared, you see, for the mate
and men understand the whole thing.
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