you
will be in the very jaws of the lion - pshaw of no lion, neither; but of
treacherous tigers - in their very jaws and beyond support. Have the flints
counted, and examined in the morning - and - farewell, Dunham, farewell.«
    The serjeant took the extended hand of his superior, with proper respect,
and they finally parted; Lundie hastening into his own moveable abode, while the
other left the fort, descended to the beach, and got into a boat.
    Duncan of Lundie had said no more than the truth, when he spoke of the
painful nature of distrust. Of all the feelings of the human mind, it is that
which is the most treacherous in its workings, the most insidious in its
approaches, and the least at the command of a generous temperament. While doubt
exists, every thing may be suspected, the thoughts having no definite facts to
set bounds to their wanderings, and distrust once admitted it is impossible to
say to what extent conjecture may lead, or whither credulity may follow. That
which had previously seemed innocent, assumes the hue of guilt, as soon as this
uneasy tenant has taken possession of the thoughts, and nothing is said, or
done, without being subjected to the colourings and disfigurations of jealousy
and apprehension. If this is true, in ordinary affairs, it is doubly true, when
any heavy responsibility, involving life or death, weighs on the unsettled mind
of its subject, as in the case of the military commander, or the agent in the
management of any grave political interest. It is not to be supposed, then, that
Serjeant Dunham, after he had parted from his commanding officer, was likely to
forget the injunctions he had received. He thought highly of Jasper, in general,
but distrust had been insinuated between his former confidence and the
obligations of duty, and, as he now felt that every thing depended on his own
vigilance, by the time the boat reached the side of the Scud, he was in a proper
humour to let no suspicious circumstance go unheeded, or any unusual movement in
the young sailor, pass without its comment. As a matter of course, he viewed
things in the light suited to his peculiar mood, and his precautions, as well as
his distrust, partook of the habits, opinions and education of the man.
    The Scud's kedge was lifted, as soon as the boat with the serjeant, who was
the last person expected, was seen to quit the shore, and the head of the cutter
was cast to the eastward, by means of the