advise me to do, brother?«
    »In my opinion you should put this Master Freshwater under arrest, on the
spot; send him below, under the charge of a sentinel, and transfer the command
of the cutter to me. All this you have power to perform, the craft belonging to
the army, and you being the commanding officer of the troops present.«
    Serjeant Dunham deliberated more than an hour on the propriety of this
proposal, for, though sufficiently prompt when his mind was really made up, he
was habitually thoughtful and wary. The habit of superintending the personal
police of the garrison had made him acquainted with character, and he had long
been disposed to think well of Jasper. Still that subtle poison, suspicion, had
entered his soul, and so much were the artifices and intrigues of the French
dreaded, that, especially warned as he had been by his commander, it is not to
be wondered the recollection of years of good conduct, should vanish under the
influence of a distrust so keen, and seemingly so plausible. In this
embarrassment, the Serjeant consulted the Quarter Master, whose opinion, as his
superior, he felt bound to respect, though, at the moment, independent of his
control. It is an unfortunate occurrence, for one who is in a dilemma, to ask
advice of another who is desirous of standing well in his favor, the party
consulted being almost certain to try to think in the manner which will be the
most agreeable to the party consulting. In the present instance, it was equally
unfortunate, as respects a candid consideration of the subject, that Cap,
instead of the Serjeant himself, made the statement of the case, for the earnest
old sailor was not backward in letting his listener perceive to which side he
was desirous that the Quarter Master should lean. Lt. Muir was much too politic
to offend the uncle and father of the woman he hoped and expected to win, had he
really thought the case admitted of doubt, but, in the manner in which the facts
were submitted to him, he was seriously inclined to think that it would be well
to put the control of the Scud temporarily into the management of Cap, as a
precaution against treachery. This opinion, then, decided the serjeant, who,
forthwith, set about the execution of the necessary measures.
    Without entering into any explanations, Serjeant Dunham simply informed
Jasper that he felt it to be his duty to deprive him, temporarily, of the
command of the cutter, and to confer it on his own brother-in-law. A natural and