516 The Adventurer's Story. [MAY, 



the common table with ourselves, it was not at first evident that his sun- 

 burnt visage was that of my eccentric crony, Roberts. Such, however, 

 was the case. To recognise him was not easy, but his eyes had no sooner 

 fallen on me, than he exclaimed with all his former heartiness, " What, 

 my good friend, Ned, are you here ? Well ! the very last person ! And 

 you too, Harvey ? This is a pleasure ! I fancied I was come to a land 

 of strangers, and I am greeted by two of the best fellows I ever knew." 

 And so saying, he grasped us heartily by the hand, with a force that 

 might almost have seemed unfriendly. 



" I am not the same youth, you see, as when you left me." 



" Pardon me/' said I, " when you left us/' 



e ' Aye, aye, it was so ; well, never mind that ; I have since then seen 

 strange things." 



" And what became of you after you trotted away from Cadiz ?" 



" Why, why I tell you what, Ned, about that we'll say nothing j 

 perhaps 'twas a foolish affair but 'tis past ; and now for other matters." 



" But my dear Roberts " 



te No, Ned I entreat you, as you love me, not a syllable about it." 



And the matter has remained a mystery unto this day. Anon, we came 

 to the subsequent adventures of the hero. The Chroniclers of that period 

 may perhaps tell some of his valiant deeds j his perils by water and flood ; 

 his gay enterprises and happy achievements. But for me, poor tale-teller 

 as I am, such a memorial is too weighty. He had been roving up and 

 down the East, a complete knight-errant, and with much success, if to be 

 injured, and beaten, and maltreated, in all moods, have in them aught that 

 may seem satisfactory. How he descanted upon the Black Flag of the 

 Archipelago, and the freebooters of the Morea ! What marvellous 'scapes 

 of annihilation had he undergone ! My pulses beat more fiercely than 

 is their wont, as I remind me of his long disasters amongst Jews and 

 Heathens, ' Anthropophagi, and men whose heads do grow beneath their 

 shoulders.' These were recounted in suitably long discourse, and I began 

 to consider him prolix, just at the point when Harvey had set him down 

 as a gasconader. But still he proceeded in wordy toil, and not a bit 

 seemed anxious to abate, when one of his hearers showed first symptoms 

 of impatience. 



<f Roberts," said he ; " I beg pardon for interrupting you ; but was not 

 your ardour subdued by these everlasting trials of it ?" 



' ' Not in the least, my boy, as you shall hear." 



" Nay, but one other word first ; are you still willing to encounter 

 these mishaps, as we should call them, even though you have had such a 

 life of them ?" 



ff Why, yes," replied the other, " if any present themselves." 



" Humph !" drawled out Harvey, and sate patiently till the budget 

 was exhausted, and we parted for the night. 



On the following morning, as we were sitting together after breakfast, 

 a small dirty piece of paper, folded up in a most careful fashion, was 

 delivered to Roberts. The superscription, written in bold, strong cha- 

 racters, was French ; and the contents were expressed in the same lan- 

 guage, fortunately for Roberts, who as yet knew scarcely a word of 

 Italian. He read it, twisted his moustache, re-read it, smiled, stared, and 

 swallowed at a draught a boiling cup of coffee. Then, mute as the grave, 

 he handed the despatch to me, which ran as follows : " Sir We have 

 heard of you, no matter how, down the Adriatic. To-morrow night a 

 deed is to be done, which requires such gallants as yourself. Our 

 numbers are incomplete. If you will join us in this enterprise, a gondola 



