"Who would have thought, Peter, to have beheld such a sight in these seas! 'Tis a childhood dream come back again! 'Tis like the lads and maids sporting on the village green! Ah, the lambs! the innocents! There is no war for them.

It does my soul good, Peter, to behold once more such innocent trust in human nature." The shudder, more violent than ever, swept over Robert again.

He felt that he was in the presence of something unclean, something that exhaled the foul odor of the pit.

The man had become wholly evil, and he shrank away.
"Steady, Peter," said the slaver.

"Why shouldn't you rejoice with the happy lads on yon ship?
Think of your pleasant fortune to witness such a play in the West Indian seas, the merry sailormen dancing to the music in the moonlight, the ship sailing on without care, and we in our schooner bearing down on 'em to secure our rightful share in the festival.