[Illustration: The Challenge Studio April 7 1903. H. Pyle. Del. ]

 [Illustration:

 Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates

 Ye Pirate Bold, as imagined by a Quaker Gentleman in the-- Farm Lands of Pennsylvania--

 Howard Pyle--Chadds Ford September 13th 1903--]

 [Illustration: AN ATTACK ON A GALLEON]

 Howard Pyle's

 Book of Pirates

 Fiction, Fact & Fancy concerning the Buccaneers & Marooners of the Spanish Main: _From the_ writing & Pictures _of_ Howard Pyle: _Compiled by_ Merle Johnson

 Harper & Brothers _Publishers_

 New York & London

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CONTENTS

 PAGE

 FOREWORD BY MERLE JOHNSON xi

 PREFACE xiii

I. BUCCANEERS AND MAROONERS OF THE SPANISH MAIN 3

II. THE GHOST OF CAPTAIN BRAND 39

III. WITH THE BUCCANEERS 75

IV. TOM CHIST AND THE TREASURE BOX 99

V. JACK BALLISTER'S FORTUNES 129

VI. BLUESKIN, THE PIRATE 150

VII. CAPTAIN SCARFIELD 187

VIII. THE RUBY OF KISHMOOR 210

[Illustration]

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[Illustration]

ILLUSTRATIONS

AN ATTACK ON A GALLEON _Frontispiece_

ON THE TOTUGAS _Facing p. _ 6

CAPTURE OF THE GALLEON " 10

HENRY MORGAN RECRUITING FOR THE ATTACK " 14

MORGAN AT PORTO BELLO " 16

THE SACKING OF PANAMA " 20

MAROONED " 26

BLACKBEARD BURIES HIS TREASURE " 32

WALKING THE PLANK " 36

"CAPTAIN MALYOE SHOT CAPTAIN BRAND THROUGH THE HEAD" " 40

"SHE WOULD SIT QUITE STILL, PERMITTING BARNABY TO GAZE" " 68

BURIED TREASURE " 76

KIDD ON THE DECK OF THE "ADVENTURE GALLEY" " 85

BURNING THE SHIP " 92

WHO SHALL BE CAPTAIN? " 104

KIDD AT GARDINER'S ISLAND " 108

EXTORTING TRIBUTE FROM THE CITIZENS " 116

"PIRATES USED TO DO THAT TO THEIR CAPTAINS NOW AND THEN" " 124

"JACK FOLLOWED THE CAPTAIN AND THE YOUNG LADY UP THE CROOKED PATH TO THE HOUSE" " 132

"HE LED JACK UP TO A MAN WHO SAT UPON A BARREL" " 136

"THE BULLETS WERE HUMMING AND SINGING, CLIPPING ALONG THE TOP OF THE WATER" " 142

"THE COMBATANTS CUT AND SLASHED WITH SAVAGE FURY" " 146

SO THE TREASURE WAS DIVIDED " 154

COLONEL RHETT AND THE PIRATE " 162

THE PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS " 174

"HE LAY SILENT AND STILL, WITH HIS FACE HALF BURIED IN THE SAND" " 182

"THERE CAP'N GOLDSACK GOES, CREEPING, CREEPING, CREEPING, LOOKING FOR HIS TREASURE DOWN BELOW!" " 186

"HE HAD FOUND THE CAPTAIN AGREEABLE AND COMPANIONABLE" " 190

THE BUCCANEER WAS A PICTURESQUE FELLOW " 196

THEN THE REAL FIGHT BEGAN " 200

"HE STRUCK ONCE AND AGAIN AT THE BALD, NARROW FOREHEAD BENEATH HIM" " 206

CAPTAIN KEITT " 212

HOW THE BUCCANEERS KEPT CHRISTMAS " 224

THE BURNING SHIP " 236

DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES " 240

"I AM THE DAUGHTER OF THAT UNFORTUNATE CAPTAIN KEITT" " 244

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FOREWORD

Pirates, Buccaneers, Marooners, those cruel but picturesque sea wolveswho once infested the Spanish Main, all live in present-dayconceptions in great degree as drawn by the pen and pencil of HowardPyle. 

Pyle, artist-author, living in the latter half of the nineteenthcentury and the first decade of the twentieth, had the fine faculty oftransposing himself into any chosen period of history and making itspeople flesh and blood again--not just historical puppets. Hischaracters were sketched with both words and picture; with both wordsand picture he ranks as a master, with a rich personality which makeshis work individual and attractive in either medium. 

He was one of the founders of present-day American illustration, andhis pupils and grand-pupils pervade that field to-day. While he boreno such important part in the world of letters, his stories are modernin treatment, and yet widely read. His range included historicaltreatises concerning his favorite Pirates (Quaker though he was);fiction, with the same Pirates as principals; Americanized version ofOld World fairy tales; boy stories of the Middle Ages, still bestsellers to growing lads; stories of the occult, such as _In Tenebras_and _To the Soil of the Earth_, which, if newly published, would behailed as contributions to our latest cult. 

In all these fields Pyle's work may be equaled, surpassed, save inone. It is improbable that anyone else will ever bring his combinationof interest and talent to the depiction of these old-time Pirates, anymore than there could be a second Remington to paint the now extinctIndians and gun-fighters of the Great West. 

Important and interesting to the student of history, theadventure-lover, and the artist, as they are, these Pirate stories andpictures have been scattered through many magazines and books. Here, in this volume, they are gathered together for the first time, perhapsnot just as Mr. Pyle would have done, but with a completeness andappreciation of the real value of the material which the author'smodesty might not have permitted. 

MERLE JOHNSON. 

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

PREFACE

Why is it that a little spice of deviltry lends not an unpleasantlytitillating twang to the great mass of respectable flour that goes tomake up the pudding of our modern civilization? And pertinent to thisquestion another--Why is it that the pirate has, and always has had, acertain lurid glamour of the heroical enveloping him round about? Isthere, deep under the accumulated debris of culture, a hiddengroundwork of the old-time savage? Is there even in thesewell-regulated times an unsubdued nature in the respectable mentalhousehold of every one of us that still kicks against the pricks oflaw and order? To make my meaning more clear, would not every boy, forinstance--that is, every boy of any account--rather be a piratecaptain than a Member of Parliament? And we ourselves--would we notrather read such a story as that of Captain Avery's capture of theEast Indian treasure ship, with its beautiful princess and load ofjewels (which gems he sold by the handful, history sayeth, to aBristol merchant), than, say, one of Bishop Atterbury's sermons, orthe goodly Master Robert Boyle's religious romance of "Theodora andDidymus"? It is to be apprehended that to the unregenerate nature ofmost of us there can be but one answer to such a query. 

In the pleasurable warmth the heart feels in answer to tales ofderring-do Nelson's battles are all mightily interesting, but, evenin spite of their romance of splendid courage, I fancy that themajority of us would rather turn back over the leaves of history toread how Drake captured the Spanish treasure ship in the South Sea, and of how he divided such a quantity of booty in the Island of Plate(so named because of the tremendous dividend there declared) that ithad to be measured in quart bowls, being too considerable to becounted. 

Courage and daring, no matter how mad and ungodly, have always aredundancy of _vim_ and life to recommend them to the nether man thatlies within us, and no doubt his desperate courage, his battle againstthe tremendous odds of all the civilized world of law and order, havehad much to do in making a popular hero of our friend of the blackflag. But it is not altogether courage and daring that endear him toour hearts. There is another and perhaps a greater kinship in thatlust for wealth that makes one's fancy revel more pleasantly in thestory of the division of treasure in the pirate's island retreat, thehiding of his godless gains somewhere in the sandy stretch of tropicbeach, there to remain hidden until the time should come to rake thedoubloons up again and to spend them like a lord in polite society, than in the most thrilling tales of his wonderful escapes fromcommissioned cruisers through tortuous channels between the coralreefs. 

And what a life of adventure is his, to be sure! A life of constantalertness, constant danger, constant escape! An ocean Ishmaelite, hewanders forever aimlessly, homelessly; now unheard of for months, nowcareening his boat on some lonely uninhabited shore, now appearingsuddenly to swoop down on some merchant vessel with rattle ofmusketry, shouting, yells, and a hell of unbridled passions let looseto rend and tear. What a Carlislean hero! What a setting of blood andlust and flame and rapine for such a hero!

Piracy, such as was practiced in the flower of its days--that is, during the early eighteenth century--was no sudden growth. It was anevolution, from the semilawful buccaneering of the sixteenth century, just as buccaneering was upon its part, in a certain sense, anevolution from the unorganized, unauthorized warfare of the Tudorperiod. 

For there was a deal of piratical smack in the anti-Spanish venturesof Elizabethan days. Many of the adventurers--of the Sir Francis Drakeschool, for instance--actually overstepped again and again the boundsof international law, entering into the realms of _de facto_ piracy. Nevertheless, while their doings were not recognized officially by thegovernment, the perpetrators were neither punished nor reprimanded fortheir excursions against Spanish commerce at home or in the WestIndies; rather were they commended, and it was considered notaltogether a discreditable thing for men to get rich upon the spoilstaken from Spanish galleons in times of nominal peace. Many of themost reputable citizens and merchants of London, when they felt thatthe queen failed in her duty of pushing the fight against the greatCatholic Power, fitted out fleets upon their own account and sent themto levy good Protestant war of a private nature upon the Pope'sanointed. 

Some of the treasures captured in such ventures were immense, stupendous, unbelievable. For an example, one can hardly credit thetruth of the "purchase" gained by Drake in the famous capture of theplate ship in the South Sea. 

One of the old buccaneer writers of a century later says: "TheSpaniards affirm to this day that he took at that time twelvescoretons of plate and sixteen bowls of coined money a man (his numberbeing then forty-five men in all), insomuch that they were forced toheave much of it overboard, because his ship could not carry it all. "

Maybe this was a very greatly exaggerated statement put by the authorand his Spanish authorities, nevertheless there was enough truth in itto prove very conclusively to the bold minds of the age thattremendous profits--"purchases" they called them--were to be made frompiracy. The Western World is filled with the names of daring marinersof those old days, who came flitting across the great trackless oceanin their little tublike boats of a few hundred tons burden, partly toexplore unknown seas, partly--largely, perhaps--in pursuit of Spanishtreasure: Frobisher, Davis, Drake, and a score of others. 

In this left-handed war against Catholic Spain many of the adventurerswere, no doubt, stirred and incited by a grim, Calvinistic, puritanical zeal for Protestantism. But equally beyond doubt the goldand silver and plate of the "Scarlet Woman" had much to do with thepersistent energy with which these hardy mariners braved themysterious, unknown terrors of the great unknown ocean that stretchedaway to the sunset, there in far-away waters to attack the huge, unwieldy, treasure-laden galleons that sailed up and down theCaribbean Sea and through the Bahama Channel. 

Of all ghastly and terrible things old-time religious war was the mostghastly and terrible. One can hardly credit nowadays the cold, callouscruelty of those times. Generally death was the least penalty thatcapture entailed. When the Spaniards made prisoners of the English, the Inquisition took them in hand, and what that meant all the worldknows. When the English captured a Spanish vessel the prisoners weretortured, either for the sake of revenge or to compel them to disclosewhere treasure lay hidden. Cruelty begat cruelty, and it would be hardto say whether the Anglo-Saxon or the Latin showed himself to be mostproficient in torturing his victim. 

When Cobham, for instance, captured the Spanish ship in the Bay ofBiscay, after all resistance was over and the heat of the battle hadcooled, he ordered his crew to bind the captain and all of the crewand every Spaniard aboard--whether in arms or not--to sew them up inthe mainsail and to fling them overboard. There were some twenty deadbodies in the sail when a few days later it was washed up on theshore. 

Of course such acts were not likely to go unavenged, and many aninnocent life was sacrificed to pay the debt of Cobham's cruelty. 

Nothing could be more piratical than all this. Nevertheless, as wassaid, it was winked at, condoned, if not sanctioned, by the law; andit was not beneath people of family and respectability to take part init. But by and by Protestantism and Catholicism began to be atsomewhat less deadly enmity with each other; religious wars were stillfar enough from being ended, but the scabbard of the sword was nolonger flung away when the blade was drawn. And so followed a time ofnominal peace, and a generation arose with whom it was no longerrespectable and worthy--one might say a matter of duty--to fight acountry with which one's own land was not at war. Nevertheless, theseed had been sown; it had been demonstrated that it was feasible topractice piracy against Spain and not to suffer therefor. Blood hadbeen shed and cruelty practiced, and, once indulged, no lust seemsstronger than that of shedding blood and practicing cruelty. 

Though Spain might be ever so well grounded in peace at home, in theWest Indies she was always at war with the whole world--English, French, Dutch. It was almost a matter of life or death with her tokeep her hold upon the New World. At home she was bankrupt and, uponthe earthquake of the Reformation, her power was already beginning tototter and to crumble to pieces. America was her treasure house, andfrom it alone could she hope to keep her leaking purse full of goldand silver. So it was that she strove strenuously, desperately, tokeep out the world from her American possessions--a bootless task, forthe old order upon which her power rested was broken and crumbledforever. But still she strove, fighting against fate, and so it wasthat in the tropical America it was one continual war between her andall the world. Thus it came that, long after piracy ceased to beallowed at home, it continued in those far-away seas with unabatedvigor, recruiting to its service all that lawless malign element whichgathers together in every newly opened country where the only law islawlessness, where might is right and where a living is to be gainedwith no more trouble than cutting a throat. 

[Illustration: Howard Pyle, His mark]

Howard Pyle'sBook of Pirates

[Illustration]

Ye Pirate Bold. 

It is not because of his life of adventure and daring that I admirethis one of my favorite heroes; nor is it because of blowing winds norblue ocean nor balmy islands which he knew so well; nor is it becauseof gold he spent nor treasure he hid. He was a man who knew his ownmind and what he wanted. 

Howard Pyle

[Illustration]

Chapter I

BUCCANEERS AND MAROONERS OF THE SPANISH MAIN

Just above the northwestern shore of the old island of Hispaniola--theSanto Domingo of our day--and separated from it only by a narrowchannel of some five or six miles in width, lies a queer little hunchof an island, known, because of a distant resemblance to that animal, as the Tortuga de Mar, or sea turtle. It is not more than twenty milesin length by perhaps seven or eight in breadth; it is only a littlespot of land, and as you look at it upon the map a pin's head wouldalmost cover it; yet from that spot, as from a center of inflammation, a burning fire of human wickedness and ruthlessness and lust overranthe world, and spread terror and death throughout the Spanish WestIndies, from St. Augustine to the island of Trinidad, and from Panamato the coasts of Peru. 

About the middle of the seventeenth century certain French adventurersset out from the fortified island of St. Christopher in longboats andhoys, directing their course to the westward, there to discover newislands. Sighting Hispaniola "with abundance of joy, " they landed, andwent into the country, where they found great quantities of wildcattle, horses, and swine. 

Now vessels on the return voyage to Europe from the West Indies neededrevictualing, and food, especially flesh, was at a premium in theislands of the Spanish Main; wherefore a great profit was to be turnedin preserving beef and pork, and selling the flesh to homeward-boundvessels. 

The northwestern shore of Hispaniola, lying as it does at the easternoutlet of the old Bahama Channel, running between the island of Cubaand the great Bahama Banks, lay almost in the very main stream oftravel. The pioneer Frenchmen were not slow to discover the doubleadvantage to be reaped from the wild cattle that cost them nothing toprocure, and a market for the flesh ready found for them. So down uponHispaniola they came by boatloads and shiploads, gathering like aswarm of mosquitoes, and overrunning the whole western end of theisland. There they established themselves, spending the timealternately in hunting the wild cattle and buccanning[1] the meat, andsquandering their hardly earned gains in wild debauchery, theopportunities for which were never lacking in the Spanish West Indies. 

[Footnote 1: Buccanning, by which the "buccaneers" gained their name, was a process of curing thin strips of meat by salting, smoking, anddrying in the sun. ]

At first the Spaniards thought nothing of the few travel-wornFrenchmen who dragged their longboats and hoys up on the beach, andshot a wild bullock or two to keep body and soul together; but whenthe few grew to dozens, and the dozens to scores, and the scores tohundreds, it was a very different matter, and wrathful grumblings andmutterings began to be heard among the original settlers. 

But of this the careless buccaneers thought never a whit, the onlything that troubled them being the lack of a more convenient shippingpoint than the main island afforded them. 

This lack was at last filled by a party of hunters who ventured acrossthe narrow channel that separated the main island from Tortuga. Herethey found exactly what they needed--a good harbor, just at thejunction of the Windward Channel with the old Bahama Channel--a spotwhere four-fifths of the Spanish-Indian trade would pass by their verywharves. 

There were a few Spaniards upon the island, but they were a quietfolk, and well disposed to make friends with the strangers; but whenmore Frenchmen and still more Frenchmen crossed the narrow channel, until they overran the Tortuga and turned it into one great curinghouse for the beef which they shot upon the neighboring island, theSpaniards grew restive over the matter, just as they had done upon thelarger island. 

Accordingly, one fine day there came half a dozen great boatloads ofarmed Spaniards, who landed upon the Turtle's Back and sent theFrenchmen flying to the woods and fastnesses of rocks as the chaffflies before the thunder gust. That night the Spaniards drankthemselves mad and shouted themselves hoarse over their victory, whilethe beaten Frenchmen sullenly paddled their canoes back to the mainisland again, and the Sea Turtle was Spanish once more. 

But the Spaniards were not contented with such a petty triumph as thatof sweeping the island of Tortuga free from the obnoxious strangers;down upon Hispaniola they came, flushed with their easy victory, anddetermined to root out every Frenchman, until not one single buccaneerremained. For a time they had an easy thing of it, for each Frenchhunter roamed the woods by himself, with no better company than hishalf-wild dogs, so that when two or three Spaniards would meet such aone, he seldom if ever came out of the woods again, for even hisresting place was lost. 

But the very success of the Spaniards brought their ruin along withit, for the buccaneers began to combine together for self-protection, and out of that combination arose a strange union of lawless man withlawless man, so near, so close, that it can scarce be compared to anyother than that of husband and wife. When two entered upon thiscomradeship, articles were drawn up and signed by both parties, acommon stock was made of all their possessions, and out into the woodsthey went to seek their fortunes; thenceforth they were as one man;they lived together by day, they slept together by night; what onesuffered, the other suffered; what one gained, the other gained. Theonly separation that came betwixt them was death, and then thesurvivor inherited all that the other left. And now it was anotherthing with Spanish buccaneer hunting, for two buccaneers, reckless oflife, quick of eye, and true of aim, were worth any half dozen ofSpanish islanders. 

By and by, as the French became more strongly organized for mutualself-protection, they assumed the offensive. Then down they came uponTortuga, and now it was the turn of the Spanish to be hunted off theisland like vermin, and the turn of the French to shout their victory. 

Having firmly established themselves, a governor was sent to theFrench of Tortuga, one M. Le Passeur, from the island of St. Christopher; the Sea Turtle was fortified, and colonists, consistingof men of doubtful character and women of whose character there couldbe no doubt whatever, began pouring in upon the island, for it wassaid that the buccaneers thought no more of a doubloon than of a Limabean, so that this was the place for the brothel and the brandy shopto reap their golden harvest, and the island remained French. 

[Illustration: On the Tortugas

_Illustration from_BUCCANEERS AND MAROONERS OF THE SPANISH MAIN

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published in_HARPER'S MAGAZINE, _August and September_, 1887]

Hitherto the Tortugans had been content to gain as much as possiblefrom the homeward-bound vessels through the orderly channels oflegitimate trade. It was reserved for Pierre le Grand to introducepiracy as a quicker and more easy road to wealth than the semihonestexchange they had been used to practice. 

Gathering together eight-and-twenty other spirits as hardy andreckless as himself, he put boldly out to sea in a boat hardly largeenough to hold his crew, and running down the Windward Channel and outinto the Caribbean Sea, he lay in wait for such a prize as might beworth the risks of winning. 

For a while their luck was steadily against them; their provisions andwater began to fail, and they saw nothing before them but starvationor a humiliating return. In this extremity they sighted a Spanish shipbelonging to a "flota" which had become separated from her consorts. 

The boat in which the buccaneers sailed might, perhaps, have servedfor the great ship's longboat; the Spaniards outnumbered them three toone, and Pierre and his men were armed only with pistols andcutlasses; nevertheless this was their one and their only chance, andthey determined to take the Spanish ship or to die in the attempt. Down upon the Spaniard they bore through the dusk of the night, andgiving orders to the "chirurgeon" to scuttle their craft under them asthey were leaving it, they swarmed up the side of the unsuspectingship and upon its decks in a torrent--pistol in one hand and cutlassin the other. A part of them ran to the gun room and secured the armsand ammunition, pistoling or cutting down all such as stood in theirway or offered opposition; the other party burst into the great cabinat the heels of Pierre le Grand, found the captain and a party of hisfriends at cards, set a pistol to his breast, and demanded him todeliver up the ship. Nothing remained for the Spaniard but to yield, for there was no alternative between surrender and death. And so thegreat prize was won. 

It was not long before the news of this great exploit and of the vasttreasure gained reached the ears of the buccaneers of Tortuga andHispaniola. Then what a hubbub and an uproar and a tumult there was!Hunting wild cattle and buccanning the meat was at a discount, and theone and only thing to do was to go a-pirating; for where one suchprize had been won, others were to be had. 

In a short time freebooting assumed all of the routine of a regularbusiness. Articles were drawn up betwixt captain and crew, compactswere sealed, and agreements entered into by the one party and theother. 

In all professions there are those who make their mark, those whosucceed only moderately well, and those who fail more or lessentirely. Nor did pirating differ from this general rule, for in itwere men who rose to distinction, men whose names, something tarnishedand rusted by the lapse of years, have come down even to us of thepresent day. 

Pierre François, who, with his boatload of six-and-twenty desperadoes, ran boldly into the midst of the pearl fleet off the coast of SouthAmerica, attacked the vice admiral under the very guns of twomen-of-war, captured his ship, though she was armed with eight gunsand manned with threescore men, and would have got her safely away, only that having to put on sail, their main-mast went by the board, whereupon the men-of-war came up with them, and the prize was lost. 

But even though there were two men-of-war against all that remained ofsix-and-twenty buccaneers, the Spaniards were glad enough to maketerms with them for the surrender of the vessel, whereby PierreFrançois and his men came off scot-free. 

Bartholomew Portuguese was a worthy of even more note. In a boatmanned with thirty fellow adventurers he fell upon a great ship offCape Corrientes, manned with threescore and ten men, all told. 

Her he assaulted again and again, beaten off with the very pressure ofnumbers only to renew the assault, until the Spaniards who survived, some fifty in all, surrendered to twenty living pirates, who pouredupon their decks like a score of blood-stained, powder-grimed devils. 

They lost their vessel by recapture, and Bartholomew Portuguese barelyescaped with his life through a series of almost unbelievableadventures. But no sooner had he fairly escaped from the clutches ofthe Spaniards than, gathering together another band of adventurers, hefell upon the very same vessel in the gloom of the night, recapturedher when she rode at anchor in the harbor of Campeche under the gunsof the fort, slipped the cable, and was away without the loss of asingle man. He lost her in a hurricane soon afterward, just off theIsle of Pines; but the deed was none the less daring for all that. 

Another notable no less famous than these two worthies was RochBraziliano, the truculent Dutchman who came up from the coast ofBrazil to the Spanish Main with a name ready-made for him. Upon thevery first adventure which he undertook he captured a plate ship offabulous value, and brought her safely into Jamaica; and when at lastcaptured by the Spaniards, he fairly frightened them into letting himgo by truculent threats of vengeance from his followers. 

Such were three of the pirate buccaneers who infested the SpanishMain. There were hundreds no less desperate, no less reckless, no lessinsatiate in their lust for plunder, than they. 

The effects of this freebooting soon became apparent. The risks to beassumed by the owners of vessels and the shippers of merchandisebecame so enormous that Spanish commerce was practically swept awayfrom these waters. No vessel dared to venture out of port exceptingunder escort of powerful men-of-war, and even then they were notalways secure from molestation. Exports from Central and South Americawere sent to Europe by way of the Strait of Magellan, and little ornone went through the passes between the Bahamas and the Caribbees. 

So at last "buccaneering, " as it had come to be generically called, ceased to pay the vast dividends that it had done at first. The creamwas skimmed off, and only very thin milk was left in the dish. Fabulous fortunes were no longer earned in a ten days' cruise, butwhat money was won hardly paid for the risks of the winning. Theremust be a new departure, or buccaneering would cease to exist. 

Then arose one who showed the buccaneers a new way to squeeze moneyout of the Spaniards. This man was an Englishman--Lewis Scot. 

The stoppage of commerce on the Spanish Main had naturally tended toaccumulate all the wealth gathered and produced into the chieffortified cities and towns of the West Indies. As there no longerexisted prizes upon the sea, they must be gained upon the land, ifthey were to be gained at all. Lewis Scot was the first to appreciatethis fact. 

Gathering together a large and powerful body of men as hungry forplunder and as desperate as himself, he descended upon the town ofCampeche, which he captured and sacked, stripping it of everythingthat could possibly be carried away. 

When the town was cleared to the bare walls Scot threatened to set thetorch to every house in the place if it was not ransomed by a largesum of money which he demanded. With this booty he set sail forTortuga, where he arrived safely--and the problem was solved. 

After him came one Mansvelt, a buccaneer of lesser note, who firstmade a descent upon the isle of Saint Catharine, now Old Providence, which he took, and, with this as a base, made an unsuccessful descentupon Neuva Granada and Cartagena. His name might not have been handeddown to us along with others of greater fame had he not been themaster of that most apt of pupils, the great Captain Henry Morgan, most famous of all the buccaneers, one time governor of Jamaica, andknighted by King Charles II. 

[Illustration: Capture of the Galleon

_Illustration from_BUCCANEERS AND MAROONERS OF THE SPANISH MAIN

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published in_HARPER'S MAGAZINE, _August and September_, 1887]

After Mansvelt followed the bold John Davis, native of Jamaica, wherehe sucked in the lust of piracy with his mother's milk. With onlyfourscore men, he swooped down upon the great city of Nicaragua in thedarkness of the night, silenced the sentry with the thrust of a knife, and then fell to pillaging the churches and houses "without anyrespect or veneration. "

Of course it was but a short time until the whole town was in anuproar of alarm, and there was nothing left for the little handful ofmen to do but to make the best of their way to their boats. They werein the town but a short time, but in that time they were able togather together and to carry away money and jewels to the value offifty thousand pieces of eight, besides dragging off with them a dozenor more notable prisoners, whom they held for ransom. 

And now one appeared upon the scene who reached a far greater heightthan any had arisen to before. This was François l'Olonoise, whosacked the great city of Maracaibo and the town of Gibraltar. Cold, unimpassioned, pitiless, his sluggish blood was never moved by onesingle pulse of human warmth, his icy heart was never touched by oneray of mercy or one spark of pity for the hapless wretches who chancedto fall into his bloody hands. 

Against him the governor of Havana sent out a great war vessel, andwith it a negro executioner, so that there might be no inconvenientdelays of law after the pirates had been captured. But l'Olonoise didnot wait for the coming of the war vessel; he went out to meet it, andhe found it where it lay riding at anchor in the mouth of the riverEstra. At the dawn of the morning he made his attack--sharp, unexpected, decisive. In a little while the Spaniards were forcedbelow the hatches, and the vessel was taken. Then came the end. One byone the poor shrieking wretches were dragged up from below, and one byone they were butchered in cold blood, while l'Olonoise stood upon thepoop deck and looked coldly down upon what was being done. Among therest the negro was dragged upon the deck. He begged and implored thathis life might be spared, promising to tell all that might be asked ofhim. L'Olonoise questioned him, and when he had squeezed him dry, waved his hand coldly, and the poor black went with the rest. Only oneman was spared; him he sent to the governor of Havana with a messagethat henceforth he would give no quarter to any Spaniard whom he mightmeet in arms--a message which was not an empty threat. 

The rise of l'Olonoise was by no means rapid. He worked his way up bydint of hard labor and through much ill fortune. But by and by, aftermany reverses, the tide turned, and carried him with it from onesuccess to another, without let or stay, to the bitter end. 

Cruising off Maracaibo, he captured a rich prize laden with a vastamount of plate and ready money, and there conceived the design ofdescending upon the powerful town of Maracaibo itself. Without loss oftime he gathered together five hundred picked scoundrels from Tortuga, and taking with him one Michael de Basco as land captain, and twohundred more buccaneers whom he commanded, down he came into the Gulfof Venezuela and upon the doomed city like a blast of the plague. Leaving their vessels, the buccaneers made a land attack upon the fortthat stood at the mouth of the inlet that led into Lake Maracaibo andguarded the city. 

The Spaniards held out well, and fought with all the might thatSpaniards possess; but after a fight of three hours all was given upand the garrison fled, spreading terror and confusion before them. Asmany of the inhabitants of the city as could do so escaped in boats toGibraltar, which lies to the southward, on the shores of LakeMaracaibo, at the distance of some forty leagues or more. 

Then the pirates marched into the town, and what followed may beconceived. It was a holocaust of lust, of passion, and of blood suchas even the Spanish West Indies had never seen before. Houses andchurches were sacked until nothing was left but the bare walls; menand women were tortured to compel them to disclose where more treasurelay hidden. 

Then, having wrenched all that they could from Maracaibo, they enteredthe lake and descended upon Gibraltar, where the rest of thepanic-stricken inhabitants were huddled together in a blind terror. 

The governor of Merida, a brave soldier who had served his king inFlanders, had gathered together a troop of eight hundred men, hadfortified the town, and now lay in wait for the coming of the pirates. The pirates came all in good time, and then, in spite of the bravedefense, Gibraltar also fell. Then followed a repetition of the scenesthat had been enacted in Maracaibo for the past fifteen days, onlyhere they remained for four horrible weeks, extorting money--money!ever money!--from the poor poverty-stricken, pest-ridden souls crowdedinto that fever hole of a town. 

Then they left, but before they went they demanded still moremoney--ten thousand pieces of eight--as a ransom for the town, whichotherwise should be given to the flames. There was some hesitation onthe part of the Spaniards, some disposition to haggle, but there wasno hesitation on the part of l'Olonoise. The torch was set to the townas he had promised, whereupon the money was promptly paid, and thepirates were piteously begged to help quench the spreading flames. This they were pleased to do, but in spite of all their efforts nearlyhalf of the town was consumed. 

After that they returned to Maracaibo again, where they demanded aransom of thirty thousand pieces of eight for the city. There was nohaggling here, thanks to the fate of Gibraltar; only it was utterlyimpossible to raise that much money in all of the poverty-strickenregion. But at last the matter was compromised, and the town wasredeemed for twenty thousand pieces of eight and five hundred head ofcattle, and tortured Maracaibo was quit of them. 

In the Ile de la Vache the buccaneers shared among themselves twohundred and sixty thousand pieces of eight, besides jewels and balesof silk and linen and miscellaneous plunder to a vast amount. 

Such was the one great deed of l'Olonoise; from that time his starsteadily declined--for even nature seemed fighting against such amonster--until at last he died a miserable, nameless death at thehands of an unknown tribe of Indians upon the Isthmus of Darien. 

 * * * * *

And now we come to the greatest of all the buccaneers, he who standspre-eminent among them, and whose name even to this day is a charm tocall up his deeds of daring, his dauntless courage, his truculentcruelty, and his insatiate and unappeasable lust for gold--Capt. HenryMorgan, the bold Welshman, who brought buccaneering to the height andflower of its glory. 

Having sold himself, after the manner of the times, for his passageacross the seas, he worked out his time of servitude at the Barbados. As soon as he had regained his liberty he entered upon the trade ofpiracy, wherein he soon reached a position of considerable prominence. He was associated with Mansvelt at the time of the latter's descentupon Saint Catharine's Isle, the importance of which spot, as a centerof operations against the neighboring coasts, Morgan never lost sightof. 

The first attempt that Capt. Henry Morgan ever made against any townin the Spanish Indies was the bold descent upon the city of Puerto delPrincipe in the island of Cuba, with a mere handful of men. It was adeed the boldness of which has never been outdone by any of a likenature--not even the famous attack upon Panama itself. Thence theyreturned to their boats in the very face of the whole island of Cuba, aroused and determined upon their extermination. Not only did theymake good their escape, but they brought away with them a vastamount of plunder, computed at three hundred thousand pieces of eight, besides five hundred head of cattle and many prisoners held forransom. 

[Illustration: Henry Morgan Recruiting for the Attack

_Illustration from_BUCCANEERS AND MAROONERS OF THE SPANISH MAIN

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published in_HARPER'S MAGAZINE, _August and September_, 1887]

But when the division of all this wealth came to be made, lo! therewere only fifty thousand pieces of eight to be found. What had becomeof the rest no man could tell but Capt. Henry Morgan himself. Honestyamong thieves was never an axiom with him. 

Rude, truculent, and dishonest as Captain Morgan was, he seems to havehad a wonderful power of persuading the wild buccaneers under him tosubmit everything to his judgment, and to rely entirely upon his word. In spite of the vast sum of money that he had very evidently made awaywith, recruits poured in upon him, until his band was larger andbetter equipped than ever. 

And now it was determined that the plunder harvest was ripe at PortoBello, and that city's doom was sealed. The town was defended by twostrong castles thoroughly manned, and officered by as gallant asoldier as ever carried Toledo steel at his side. But strong castlesand gallant soldiers weighed not a barleycorn with the buccaneers whentheir blood was stirred by the lust of gold. 

Landing at Puerto Naso, a town some ten leagues westward of PortoBello, they marched to the latter town, and coming before the castle, boldly demanded its surrender. It was refused, whereupon Morganthreatened that no quarter should be given. Still surrender wasrefused; and then the castle was attacked, and after a bitter strugglewas captured. Morgan was as good as his word: every man in the castlewas shut in the guard room, the match was set to the powder magazine, and soldiers, castle, and all were blown into the air, while throughall the smoke and the dust the buccaneers poured into the town. Stillthe governor held out in the other castle, and might have made goodhis defense, but that he was betrayed by the soldiers under him. Intothe castle poured the howling buccaneers. But still the governorfought on, with his wife and daughter clinging to his knees andbeseeching him to surrender, and the blood from his wounded foreheadtrickling down over his white collar, until a merciful bullet put anend to the vain struggle. 

Here were enacted the old scenes. Everything plundered that could betaken, and then a ransom set upon the town itself. 

This time an honest, or an apparently honest, division was made of thespoils, which amounted to two hundred and fifty thousand pieces ofeight, besides merchandise and jewels. 

The next towns to suffer were poor Maracaibo and Gibraltar, now justbeginning to recover from the desolation wrought by l'Olonoise. Oncemore both towns were plundered of every bale of merchandise and ofevery piaster, and once more both were ransomed until everything wassqueezed from the wretched inhabitants. 

Here affairs were like to have taken a turn, for when Captain Morgancame up from Gibraltar he found three great men-of-war lying in theentrance to the lake awaiting his coming. Seeing that he was hemmed inin the narrow sheet of water, Captain Morgan was inclined tocompromise matters, even offering to relinquish all the plunder he hadgained if he were allowed to depart in peace. But no; the Spanishadmiral would hear nothing of this. Having the pirates, as he thought, securely in his grasp, he would relinquish nothing, but would sweepthem from the face of the sea once and forever. 

That was an unlucky determination for the Spaniards to reach, forinstead of paralyzing the pirates with fear, as he expected it woulddo, it simply turned their mad courage into as mad desperation. 

A great vessel that they had taken with the town of Maracaibo wasconverted into a fire ship, manned with logs of wood in montera capsand sailor jackets, and filled with brimstone, pitch, and palm leavessoaked in oil. Then out of the lake the pirates sailed to meet theSpaniards, the fire ship leading the way, and bearing down directlyupon the admiral's vessel. At the helm stood volunteers, the mostdesperate and the bravest of all the pirate gang, and at the portsstood the logs of wood in montera caps. So they came up with theadmiral, and grappled with his ship in spite of the thunder of all hisgreat guns, and then the Spaniard saw, all too late, what his opponentreally was. 

[Illustration: Morgan at Porto Bello

_Illustration from_MORGAN

_by_ E. C. Stedman

_Originally published in_HARPER'S MAGAZINE, _December, 1888_]

He tried to swing loose, but clouds of smoke and almost instantly amass of roaring flames enveloped both vessels, and the admiral waslost. The second vessel, not wishing to wait for the coming of thepirates, bore down upon the fort, under the guns of which the cowardlycrew sank her, and made the best of their way to the shore. The thirdvessel, not having an opportunity to escape, was taken by the pirateswithout the slightest resistance, and the passage from the lake wascleared. So the buccaneers sailed away, leaving Maracaibo andGibraltar prostrate a second time. 

And now Captain Morgan determined to undertake another venture, thelike of which had never been equaled in all of the annals ofbuccaneering. This was nothing less than the descent upon and thecapture of Panama, which was, next to Cartagena, perhaps, the mostpowerful and the most strongly fortified city in the West Indies. 

In preparation for this venture he obtained letters of marque from thegovernor of Jamaica, by virtue of which elastic commission he beganimmediately to gather around him all material necessary for theundertaking. 

When it became known abroad that the great Captain Morgan was aboutundertaking an adventure that was to eclipse all that was ever donebefore, great numbers came flocking to his standard, until he hadgathered together an army of two thousand or more desperadoes andpirates wherewith to prosecute his adventure, albeit the ventureitself was kept a total secret from everyone. Port Couillon, in theisland of Hispaniola, over against the Ile de la Vache, was the placeof muster, and thither the motley band gathered from all quarters. Provisions had been plundered from the mainland wherever they could beobtained, and by the 24th of October, 1670 (O. S. ), everything was inreadiness. 

The island of Saint Catharine, as it may be remembered, was at onetime captured by Mansvelt, Morgan's master in his trade of piracy. Ithad been retaken by the Spaniards, and was now thoroughly fortified bythem. Almost the first attempt that Morgan had made as a master piratewas the retaking of Saint Catharine's Isle. In that undertaking he hadfailed; but now, as there was an absolute need of some such place as abase of operations, he determined that the place _must_ be taken. Andit was taken. 

The Spaniards, during the time of their possession, had fortified itmost thoroughly and completely, and had the governor thereof been asbrave as he who met his death in the castle of Porto Bello, theremight have been a different tale to tell. As it was, he surrendered itin a most cowardly fashion, merely stipulating that there should be asham attack by the buccaneers, whereby his credit might be saved. Andso Saint Catharine was won. 

The next step to be taken was the capture of the castle of Chagres, which guarded the mouth of the river of that name, up which river thebuccaneers would be compelled to transport their troops and provisionsfor the attack upon the city of Panama. This adventure was undertakenby four hundred picked men under command of Captain Morgan himself. 

The castle of Chagres, known as San Lorenzo by the Spaniards, stoodupon the top of an abrupt rock at the mouth of the river, and was oneof the strongest fortresses for its size in all of the West Indies. This stronghold Morgan must have if he ever hoped to win Panama. 

The attack of the castle and the defense of it were equally fierce, bloody, and desperate. Again and again the buccaneers assaulted, andagain and again they were beaten back. So the morning came, and itseemed as though the pirates had been baffled this time. But just atthis juncture the thatch of palm leaves on the roofs of some of thebuildings inside the fortifications took fire, a conflagrationfollowed, which caused the explosion of one of the magazines, and inthe paralysis of terror that followed, the pirates forced their wayinto the fortifications, and the castle was won. Most of the Spaniardsflung themselves from the castle walls into the river or upon therocks beneath, preferring death to capture and possible torture; manywho were left were put to the sword, and some few were spared and heldas prisoners. 

So fell the castle of Chagres, and nothing now lay between thebuccaneers and the city of Panama but the intervening and tracklessforests. 

And now the name of the town whose doom was sealed was no secret. 

Up the river of Chagres went Capt. Henry Morgan and twelve hundredmen, packed closely in their canoes; they never stopped, saving nowand then to rest their stiffened legs, until they had come to a placeknown as Cruz de San Juan Gallego, where they were compelled to leavetheir boats on account of the shallowness of the water. 

Leaving a guard of one hundred and sixty men to protect their boats asa place of refuge in case they should be worsted before Panama, theyturned and plunged into the wilderness before them. 

There a more powerful foe awaited them than a host of Spaniards withmatch, powder, and lead--starvation. They met but little or noopposition in their progress; but wherever they turned they foundevery fiber of meat, every grain of maize, every ounce of bread ormeal, swept away or destroyed utterly before them. Even when thebuccaneers had successfully overcome an ambuscade or an attack, andhad sent the Spaniards flying, the fugitives took the time to striptheir dead comrades of every grain of food in their leathern sacks, leaving nothing but the empty bags. 

Says the narrator of these events, himself one of the expedition, "They afterward fell to eating those leathern bags, as affordingsomething to the ferment of their stomachs. "

Ten days they struggled through this bitter privation, doggedlyforcing their way onward, faint with hunger and haggard with weaknessand fever. Then, from the high hill and over the tops of the foresttrees, they saw the steeples of Panama, and nothing remained betweenthem and their goal but the fighting of four Spaniards to every one ofthem--a simple thing which they had done over and over again. 

Down they poured upon Panama, and out came the Spaniards to meet them;four hundred horse, two thousand five hundred foot, and two thousandwild bulls which had been herded together to be driven over thebuccaneers so that their ranks might be disordered and broken. Thebuccaneers were only eight hundred strong; the others had eitherfallen in battle or had dropped along the dreary pathway through thewilderness; but in the space of two hours the Spaniards were flyingmadly over the plain, minus six hundred who lay dead or dying behindthem. 

As for the bulls, as many of them as were shot served as food thereand then for the half-famished pirates, for the buccaneers were nevermore at home than in the slaughter of cattle. 

Then they marched toward the city. Three hours' more fighting and theywere in the streets, howling, yelling, plundering, gorging, dram-drinking, and giving full vent to all the vile and nameless luststhat burned in their hearts like a hell of fire. And now followed theusual sequence of events--rapine, cruelty, and extortion; only thistime there was no town to ransom, for Morgan had given orders that itshould be destroyed. The torch was set to it, and Panama, one of thegreatest cities in the New World, was swept from the face of theearth. Why the deed was done, no man but Morgan could tell. Perhapsit was that all the secret hiding places for treasure might be broughtto light; but whatever the reason was, it lay hidden in the breast ofthe great buccaneer himself. For three weeks Morgan and his men abodein this dreadful place; and they marched away with _one hundred andseventy-five_ beasts of burden loaded with treasures of gold andsilver and jewels, besides great quantities of merchandise, and sixhundred prisoners held for ransom. 

[Illustration: The Sacking of Panama

_Illustration from_BUCCANEERS AND MAROONERS OF THE SPANISH MAIN

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published in_HARPER'S MAGAZINE, _August and September, 1887_]

Whatever became of all that vast wealth, and what it amounted to, noman but Morgan ever knew, for when a division was made it was foundthat there was only _two hundred pieces of eight to each man_. 

When this dividend was declared, a howl of execration went up, underwhich even Capt. Henry Morgan quailed. At night he and four othercommanders slipped their cables and ran out to sea, and it was saidthat these divided the greater part of the booty among themselves. Butthe wealth plundered at Panama could hardly have fallen short of amillion and a half of dollars. Computing it at this reasonable figure, the various prizes won by Henry Morgan in the West Indies would standas follows: Panama, $1, 500, 000; Porto Bello, $800, 000; Puerto delPrincipe, $700, 000; Maracaibo and Gibraltar, $400, 000; variouspiracies, $250, 000--making a grand total of $3, 650, 000 as the vastharvest of plunder. With this fabulous wealth, wrenched from theSpaniards by means of the rack and the cord, and pilfered from hiscompanions by the meanest of thieving, Capt. Henry Morgan retired frombusiness, honored of all, rendered famous by his deeds, knighted bythe good King Charles II, and finally appointed governor of the richisland of Jamaica. 

Other buccaneers followed him. Campeche was taken and sacked, and evenCartagena itself fell; but with Henry Morgan culminated the glory ofthe buccaneers, and from that time they declined in power and wealthand wickedness until they were finally swept away. 

The buccaneers became bolder and bolder. In fact, so daring were theircrimes that the home governments, stirred at last by these outrageousbarbarities, seriously undertook the suppression of the freebooters, lopping and trimming the main trunk until its members were scatteredhither and thither, and it was thought that the organization wasexterminated. But, so far from being exterminated, the individualmembers were merely scattered north, south, east, and west, eachforming a nucleus around which gathered and clustered the very worstof the offscouring of humanity. 

The result was that when the seventeenth century was fairly packedaway with its lavender in the store chest of the past, a score or morebands of freebooters were cruising along the Atlantic seaboard inarmed vessels, each with a black flag with its skull and crossbones atthe fore, and with a nondescript crew made up of the tags and remnantsof civilized and semicivilized humanity (white, black, red, andyellow), known generally as marooners, swarming upon the decks below. 

Nor did these offshoots from the old buccaneer stem confine theirdepredations to the American seas alone; the East Indies and theAfrican coast also witnessed their doings, and suffered from them, andeven the Bay of Biscay had good cause to remember more than one visitfrom them. 

Worthy sprigs from so worthy a stem improved variously upon the parentmethods; for while the buccaneers were content to prey upon theSpaniards alone, the marooners reaped the harvest from the commerce ofall nations. 

So up and down the Atlantic seaboard they cruised, and for the fiftyyears that marooning was in the flower of its glory it was a sorrowfultime for the coasters of New England, the middle provinces, and theVirginias, sailing to the West Indies with their cargoes of salt fish, grain, and tobacco. Trading became almost as dangerous asprivateering, and sea captains were chosen as much for theirknowledge of the flintlock and the cutlass as for their seamanship. 

As by far the largest part of the trading in American waters wasconducted by these Yankee coasters, so by far the heaviest blows, andthose most keenly felt, fell upon them. Bulletin after bulletin cameto port with its doleful tale of this vessel burned or that vesselscuttled, this one held by the pirates for their own use or that onestripped of its goods and sent into port as empty as an eggshell fromwhich the yolk had been sucked. Boston, New York, Philadelphia, andCharleston suffered alike, and worthy ship owners had to leave offcounting their losses upon their fingers and take to the slate to keepthe dismal record. 

"Maroon--to put ashore on a desert isle, as a sailor, under pretenseof having committed some great crime. " Thus our good Noah Webstergives us the dry bones, the anatomy, upon which the imagination mayconstruct a specimen to suit itself. 

It is thence that the marooners took their name, for marooning was oneof their most effective instruments of punishment or revenge. If apirate broke one of the many rules which governed the particular bandto which he belonged, he was marooned; did a captain defend his shipto such a degree as to be unpleasant to the pirates attacking it, hewas marooned; even the pirate captain himself, if he displeased hisfollowers by the severity of his rule, was in danger of having thesame punishment visited upon him which he had perhaps more than oncevisited upon another. 

The process of marooning was as simple as terrible. A suitable placewas chosen (generally some desert isle as far removed as possible fromthe pathway of commerce), and the condemned man was rowed from theship to the beach. Out he was bundled upon the sand spit; a gun, ahalf dozen bullets, a few pinches of powder, and a bottle of waterwere chucked ashore after him, and away rowed the boat's crew back tothe ship, leaving the poor wretch alone to rave away his life inmadness, or to sit sunken in his gloomy despair till death mercifullyreleased him from torment. It rarely if ever happened that anythingwas known of him after having been marooned. A boat's crew from somevessel, sailing by chance that way, might perhaps find a few chalkybones bleaching upon the white sand in the garish glare of thesunlight, but that was all. And such were marooners. 

By far the largest number of pirate captains were Englishmen, for, from the days of good Queen Bess, English sea captains seemed to havea natural turn for any species of venture that had a smack of piracyin it, and from the great Admiral Drake of the old, old days, to thetruculent Morgan of buccaneering times, the Englishman did the boldestand wickedest deeds, and wrought the most damage. 

First of all upon the list of pirates stands the bold Captain Avary, one of the institutors of marooning. Him we see but dimly, half hiddenby the glamouring mists of legends and tradition. Others who cameafterward outstripped him far enough in their doings, but he standspre-eminent as the first of marooners of whom actual history has beenhanded down to us of the present day. 

When the English, Dutch, and Spanish entered into an alliance tosuppress buccaneering in the West Indies, certain worthies of Bristol, in old England, fitted out two vessels to assist in this laudableproject; for doubtless Bristol trade suffered smartly from the Morgansand the l'Olonoises of that old time. One of these vessels was namedthe _Duke_, of which a certain Captain Gibson was the commander andAvary the mate. 

Away they sailed to the West Indies, and there Avary became impressedby the advantages offered by piracy, and by the amount of good thingsthat were to be gained by very little striving. 

One night the captain (who was one of those fellows mightily addictedto punch), instead of going ashore to saturate himself with rum at theordinary, had his drink in his cabin in private. While he lay snoringaway the effects of his rum in the cabin, Avary and a few otherconspirators heaved the anchor very leisurely, and sailed out of theharbor of Corunna, and through the midst of the allied fleet riding atanchor in the darkness. 

By and by, when the morning came, the captain was awakened by thepitching and tossing of the vessel, the rattle and clatter of thetackle overhead, and the noise of footsteps passing and repassinghither and thither across the deck. Perhaps he lay for a while turningthe matter over and over in his muddled head, but he presently rangthe bell, and Avary and another fellow answered the call. 

"What's the matter?" bawls the captain from his berth. 

"Nothing, " says Avary, coolly. 

"Something's the matter with the ship, " says the captain. "Does shedrive? What weather is it?"

"Oh no, " says Avary; "we are at sea. "

"At sea?"

"Come, come!" says Avary: "I'll tell you; you must know that I'm thecaptain of the ship now, and you must be packing from this here cabin. We are bound to Madagascar, to make all of our fortunes, and if you'rea mind to ship for the cruise, why, we'll be glad to have you, if youwill be sober and mind your own business; if not, there is a boatalongside, and I'll have you set ashore. "

The poor half-tipsy captain had no relish to go a-pirating under thecommand of his backsliding mate, so out of the ship he bundled, andaway he rowed with four or five of the crew, who, like him, refused tojoin with their jolly shipmates. 

The rest of them sailed away to the East Indies, to try their fortunesin those waters, for our Captain Avary was of a high spirit, and hadno mind to fritter away his time in the West Indies, squeezed dry bybuccaneer Morgan and others of lesser note. No, he would make a boldstroke for it at once, and make or lose at a single cast. 

On his way he picked up a couple of like kind with himself--twosloops off Madagascar. With these he sailed away to the coast ofIndia, and for a time his name was lost in the obscurity of uncertainhistory. But only for a time, for suddenly it flamed out in a blaze ofglory. It was reported that a vessel belonging to the Great Mogul, laden with treasure and bearing the monarch's own daughter upon a holypilgrimage to Mecca (they being Mohammedans), had fallen in with thepirates, and after a short resistance had been surrendered, with thedamsel, her court, and all the diamonds, pearls, silk, silver, andgold aboard. It was rumored that the Great Mogul, raging at the insultoffered to him through his own flesh and blood, had threatened to wipeout of existence the few English settlements scattered along thecoast; whereat the honorable East India Company was in a pretty stateof fuss and feathers. Rumor, growing with the telling, has it thatAvary is going to marry the Indian princess, willy-nilly, and willturn rajah, and eschew piracy as indecent. As for the treasure itself, there was no end to the extent to which it grew as it passed frommouth to mouth. 

Cracking the nut of romance and exaggeration, we come to the kernel ofthe story--that Avary did fall in with an Indian vessel laden withgreat treasure (and possibly with the Mogul's daughter), which hecaptured, and thereby gained a vast prize. 

Having concluded that he had earned enough money by the trade he hadundertaken, he determined to retire and live decently for the rest ofhis life upon what he already had. As a step toward this object, heset about cheating his Madagascar partners out of their share of whathad been gained. He persuaded them to store all the treasure in hisvessel, it being the largest of the three; and so, having it safely inhand, he altered the course of his ship one fine night, and when themorning came the Madagascar sloops found themselves floating upon awide ocean without a farthing of the treasure for which they hadfought so hard, and for which they might whistle for all the good itwould do them. 

[Illustration: Marooned

_Illustration from_BUCCANEERS AND MAROONERS OF THE SPANISH MAIN

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published in_HARPER'S MAGAZINE, _August and September, 1887_]

At first Avary had a great part of a mind to settle at Boston, inMassachusetts, and had that little town been one whit less bleak andforbidding, it might have had the honor of being the home of thisfamous man. As it was, he did not like the looks of it, so he sailedaway to the eastward, to Ireland, where he settled himself atBiddeford, in hopes of an easy life of it for the rest of his days. 

Here he found himself the possessor of a plentiful stock of jewels, such as pearls, diamonds, rubies, etc. , but with hardly a score ofhonest farthings to jingle in his breeches pocket. He consulted with acertain merchant of Bristol concerning the disposal of the stones--afellow not much more cleanly in his habits of honesty than Avaryhimself. This worthy undertook to act as Avary's broker. Off hemarched with the jewels, and that was the last that the pirate saw ofhis Indian treasure. 

Perhaps the most famous of all the piratical names to American earsare those of Capt. Robert Kidd and Capt. Edward Teach, or"Blackbeard. "

Nothing will be ventured in regard to Kidd at this time, nor in regardto the pros and cons as to whether he really was or was not a pirate, after all. For many years he was the very hero of heroes of piraticalfame; there was hardly a creek or stream or point of land along ourcoast, hardly a convenient bit of good sandy beach, or hump of rock, or water-washed cave, where fabulous treasures were not said to havebeen hidden by this worthy marooner. Now we are assured that he neverwas a pirate, and never did bury any treasure, excepting a certainchest, which he was compelled to hide upon Gardiner's Island--andperhaps even it was mythical. 

So poor Kidd must be relegated to the dull ranks of simply respectablepeople, or semirespectable people at best. 

But with "Blackbeard" it is different, for in him we have a real, ranting, raging, roaring pirate _per se_--one who really did burytreasure, who made more than one captain walk the plank, and whocommitted more private murders than he could number on the fingers ofboth hands; one who fills, and will continue to fill, the place towhich he has been assigned for generations, and who may be dependedupon to hold his place in the confidence of others for generations tocome. 

Captain Teach was a Bristol man born, and learned his trade on boardof sundry privateers in the East Indies during the old Frenchwar--that of 1702--and a better apprenticeship could no man serve. Atlast, somewhere about the latter part of the year 1716, a privateeringcaptain, one Benjamin Hornigold, raised him from the ranks and put himin command of a sloop--a lately captured prize--and Blackbeard'sfortune was made. It was a very slight step, and but the change of afew letters, to convert "privateer" into "pirate, " and it was a veryshort time before Teach made that change. Not only did he make ithimself, but he persuaded his old captain to join with him. 

And now fairly began that series of bold and lawless depredationswhich have made his name so justly famous, and which placed him amongthe very greatest of marooning freebooters. 

"Our hero, " says the old historian who sings of the arms and braveryof this great man--"our hero assumed the cognomen of Blackbeard fromthat large quantity of hair which, like a frightful meteor, coveredhis whole face, and frightened America more than any comet thatappeared there in a long time. He was accustomed to twist it withribbons into small tails, after the manner of our Ramillies wig, andturn them about his ears. In time of action he wore a sling over hisshoulders, with three brace of pistols, hanging in holsters likebandoleers; he stuck lighted matches under his hat, which, appearingon each side of his face, and his eyes naturally looking fierce andwild, made him altogether such a figure that imagination cannot forman idea of a Fury from hell to look more frightful. "

The night before the day of the action in which he was killed he satup drinking with some congenial company until broad daylight. One ofthem asked him if his poor young wife knew where his treasure washidden. "No, " says Blackbeard; "nobody but the devil and I knows whereit is, and the longest liver shall have all. "

As for that poor young wife of his, the life that he and his rum-crazyshipmates led her was too terrible to be told. 

For a time Blackbeard worked at his trade down on the Spanish Main, gathering, in the few years he was there, a very neat little fortunein the booty captured from sundry vessels; but by and by he took itinto his head to try his luck along the coast of the Carolinas; so offhe sailed to the northward, with quite a respectable little fleet, consisting of his own vessel and two captured sloops. From that timehe was actively engaged in the making of American history in his smallway. 

He first appeared off the bar of Charleston Harbor, to the no smallexcitement of the worthy town of that ilk, and there he lay for fiveor six days, blockading the port, and stopping incoming and outgoingvessels at his pleasure, so that, for the time, the commerce of theprovince was entirely paralyzed. All the vessels so stopped he held asprizes, and all the crews and passengers (among the latter of whom wasmore than one provincial worthy of the day) he retained as though theywere prisoners of war. 

And it was a mightily awkward thing for the good folk of Charleston tobehold day after day a black flag with its white skull and crossbonesfluttering at the fore of the pirate captain's craft, over across thelevel stretch of green salt marshes; and it was mightily unpleasant, too, to know that this or that prominent citizen was crowded down withthe other prisoners under the hatches. 

One morning Captain Blackbeard finds that his stock of medicine islow. "Tut!" says he, "we'll turn no hair gray for that. " So up hecalls the bold Captain Richards, the commander of his consort the_Revenge_ sloop, and bids him take Mr. Marks (one of his prisoners), and go up to Charleston and get the medicine. There was no task thatsuited our Captain Richards better than that. Up to the town he rowed, as bold as brass. "Look ye, " says he to the governor, rolling his quidof tobacco from one cheek to another--"look ye, we're after this andthat, and if we don't get it, why, I'll tell you plain, we'll burnthem bloody crafts of yours that we've took over yonder, and cut theweasand of every clodpoll aboard of 'em. "

There was no answering an argument of such force as this, and theworshipful governor and the good folk of Charleston knew very wellthat Blackbeard and his crew were the men to do as they promised. SoBlackbeard got his medicine, and though it cost the colony twothousand dollars, it was worth that much to the town to be quit ofhim. 

They say that while Captain Richards was conducting his negotiationswith the governor his boat's crew were stumping around the streets ofthe town, having a glorious time of it, while the good folk gloweredwrathfully at them, but dared venture nothing in speech or act. 

Having gained a booty of between seven and eight thousand dollars fromthe prizes captured, the pirates sailed away from Charleston Harbor tothe coast of North Carolina. 

And now Blackbeard, following the plan adopted by so many others ofhis kind, began to cudgel his brains for means to cheat his fellowsout of their share of the booty. 

At Topsail Inlet he ran his own vessel aground, as though by accident. Hands, the captain of one of the consorts, pretending to come to hisassistance, also grounded _his_ sloop. Nothing now remained but forthose who were able to get away in the other craft, which was all thatwas now left of the little fleet. This did Blackbeard with some fortyof his favorites. The rest of the pirates were left on the sand spitto await the return of their companions--which never happened. 

As for Blackbeard and those who were with him, they were that muchricher, for there were so many the fewer pockets to fill. But even yetthere were too many to share the booty, in Blackbeard's opinion, andso he marooned a parcel more of them--some eighteen or twenty--upon anaked sand bank, from which they were afterward mercifully rescued byanother freebooter who chanced that way--a certain Major Stede Bonnet, of whom more will presently be said. About that time a royalproclamation had been issued offering pardon to all pirates in armswho would surrender to the king's authority before a given date. So upgoes Master Blackbeard to the Governor of North Carolina and makes hisneck safe by surrendering to the proclamation--albeit he kept tightclutch upon what he had already gained. 

And now we find our bold Captain Blackbeard established in the goodprovince of North Carolina, where he and His Worship the Governorstruck up a vast deal of intimacy, as profitable as it was pleasant. There is something very pretty in the thought of the bold sea rovergiving up his adventurous life (excepting now and then an excursionagainst a trader or two in the neighboring sound, when the need ofmoney was pressing); settling quietly down into the routine of oldcolonial life, with a young wife of sixteen at his side, who made thefourteenth that he had in various ports here and there in the world. 

Becoming tired of an inactive life, Blackbeard afterward resumed hispiratical career. He cruised around in the rivers and inlets andsounds of North Carolina for a while, ruling the roost and with nevera one to say him nay, until there was no bearing with such a pest anylonger. So they sent a deputation up to the Governor of Virginiaasking if he would be pleased to help them in their trouble. 

There were two men-of-war lying at Kicquetan, in the James River, atthe time. To them the Governor of Virginia applies, and pluckyLieutenant Maynard, of the _Pearl_, was sent to Ocracoke Inlet tofight this pirate who ruled it down there so like the cock of a walk. There he found Blackbeard waiting for him, and as ready for a fight asever the lieutenant himself could be. Fight they did, and while itlasted it was as pretty a piece of business of its kind as one couldwish to see. Blackbeard drained a glass of grog, wishing thelieutenant luck in getting aboard of him, fired a broadside, blew sometwenty of the lieutenant's men out of existence, and totally crippledone of his little sloops for the balance of the fight. After that, andunder cover of the smoke, the pirate and his men boarded the othersloop, and then followed a fine old-fashioned hand-to-hand conflictbetwixt him and the lieutenant. First they fired their pistols, andthen they took to it with cutlasses--right, left, up and down, cut andslash--until the lieutenant's cutlass broke short off at the hilt. Then Blackbeard would have finished him off handsomely, only up stepsone of the lieutenant's men and fetches him a great slash over theneck, so that the lieutenant came off with no more hurt than a cutacross the knuckles. 

At the very first discharge of their pistols Blackbeard had been shotthrough the body, but he was not for giving up for that--not he. Assaid before, he was of the true roaring, raging breed of pirates, andstood up to it until he received twenty more cutlass cuts and fiveadditional shots, and then fell dead while trying to fire off an emptypistol. After that the lieutenant cut off the pirate's head, andsailed away in triumph, with the bloody trophy nailed to the bow ofhis battered sloop. 

Those of Blackbeard's men who were not killed were carried off toVirginia, and all of them tried and hanged but one or two, theirnames, no doubt, still standing in a row in the provincial records. 

But did Blackbeard really bury treasures, as tradition says, along thesandy shores he haunted?

[Illustration: Blackbeard Buries His Treasure

_Illustration from_BUCCANEERS AND MAROONERS OF THE SPANISH MAIN

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published in_HARPER'S MAGAZINE, _August and September, 1887_]

Master Clement Downing, midshipman aboard the _Salisbury_, wrote abook after his return from the cruise to Madagascar, whither the_Salisbury_ had been ordered, to put an end to the piracy with whichthose waters were infested. He says:

 "At Guzarat I met with a Portuguese named Anthony de Sylvestre; he came with two other Portuguese and two Dutchmen to take on in the Moor's service, as many Europeans do. This Anthony told me he had been among the pirates, and that he belonged to one of the sloops in Virginia when Blackbeard was taken. He informed me that if it should be my lot ever to go to York River or Maryland, near an island called Mulberry Island, provided we went on shore at the watering place, where the shipping used most commonly to ride, that there the pirates had buried considerable sums of money in great chests well clamped with iron plates. As to my part, I never was that way, nor much acquainted with any that ever used those parts; but I have made inquiry, and am informed that there is such a place as Mulberry Island. If any person who uses those parts should think it worth while to dig a little way at the upper end of a small cove, where it is convenient to land, he would soon find whether the information I had was well grounded. Fronting the landing place are five trees, among which, he said, the money was hid. I cannot warrant the truth of this account; but if I was ever to go there, I should find some means or other to satisfy myself, as it could not be a great deal out of my way. If anybody should obtain the benefit of this account, if it please God that they ever come to England, 'tis hoped they will remember whence they had this information. "

Another worthy was Capt. Edward Low, who learned his trade ofsail-making at good old Boston town, and piracy at Honduras. No onestood higher in the trade than he, and no one mounted to more loftyaltitudes of bloodthirsty and unscrupulous wickedness. 'Tis strangethat so little has been written and sung of this man of might, for hewas as worthy of story and of song as was Blackbeard. 

It was under a Yankee captain that he made his first cruise--down toHonduras, for a cargo of logwood, which in those times was no betterthan stolen from the Spanish folk. 

One day, lying off the shore, in the Gulf of Honduras, comes MasterLow and the crew of the whaleboat rowing across from the beach, wherethey had been all morning chopping logwood. 

"What are you after?" says the captain, for they were coming back withnothing but themselves in the boat. 

"We're after our dinner, " says Low, as spokesman of the party. 

"You'll have no dinner, " says the captain, "until you fetch offanother load. "

"Dinner or no dinner, we'll pay for it, " says Low, wherewith he upwith a musket, squinted along the barrel, and pulled the trigger. 

Luckily the gun hung fire, and the Yankee captain was spared to steallogwood a while longer. 

All the same, that was no place for Ned Low to make a longer stay, sooff he and his messmates rowed in a whaleboat, captured a brig out atsea, and turned pirates. 

He presently fell in with the notorious Captain Lowther, a fellowafter his own kidney, who put the finishing touches to his educationand taught him what wickedness he did not already know. 

And so he became a master pirate, and a famous hand at his craft, andthereafter forever bore an inveterate hatred of all Yankees because ofthe dinner he had lost, and never failed to smite whatever one of themluck put within his reach. Once he fell in with a ship off SouthCarolina--the _Amsterdam Merchant_, Captain Williamson, commander--aYankee craft and a Yankee master. He slit the nose and cropped theears of the captain, and then sailed merrily away, feeling the betterfor having marred a Yankee. 

New York and New England had more than one visit from the doughtycaptain, each of which visits they had good cause to remember, for hemade them smart for it. 

Along in the year 1722 thirteen vessels were riding at anchor in frontof the good town of Marblehead. Into the harbor sailed a strangecraft. "Who is she?" say the townsfolk, for the coming of a new vesselwas no small matter in those days. 

Who the strangers were was not long a matter of doubt. Up goes theblack flag, and the skull and crossbones to the fore. 

"'Tis the bloody Low, " say one and all; and straightway all wasflutter and commotion, as in a duck pond when a hawk pitches andstrikes in the midst. 

It was a glorious thing for our captain, for here were thirteen Yankeecrafts at one and the same time. So he took what he wanted, and thensailed away, and it was many a day before Marblehead forgot thatvisit. 

Some time after this he and his consort fell foul of an English sloopof war, the _Greyhound_, whereby they were so roughly handled that Lowwas glad enough to slip away, leaving his consort and her crew behindhim, as a sop to the powers of law and order. And lucky for them if noworse fate awaited them than to walk the dreadful plank with a bandagearound the blinded eyes and a rope around the elbows. So the consortwas taken, and the crew tried and hanged in chains, and Low sailed offin as pretty a bit of rage as ever a pirate fell into. 

The end of this worthy is lost in the fogs of the past: some say thathe died of a yellow fever down in New Orleans; it was not at the endof a hempen cord, more's the pity. 

Here fittingly with our strictly American pirates should stand MajorStede Bonnet along with the rest. But in truth he was only a poorhalf-and-half fellow of his kind, and even after his hand was fairlyturned to the business he had undertaken, a qualm of conscience wouldnow and then come across him, and he would make vast promises toforswear his evil courses. 

However, he jogged along in his course of piracy snugly enough untilhe fell foul of the gallant Colonel Rhett, off Charleston Harbor, whereupon his luck and his courage both were suddenly snuffed out witha puff of powder smoke and a good rattling broadside. Down came the"Black Roger" with its skull and crossbones from the fore, and ColonelRhett had the glory of fetching back as pretty a cargo of scoundrelsand cutthroats as the town ever saw. 

After the next assizes they were strung up, all in a row--evil applesready for the roasting. 

"Ned" England was a fellow of different blood--only he snapped hiswhip across the back of society over in the East Indies and along thehot shores of Hindustan. 

The name of Capt. Howel Davis stands high among his fellows. He wasthe Ulysses of pirates, the beloved not only of Mercury, but ofMinerva. 

He it was who hoodwinked the captain of a French ship of double thesize and strength of his own, and fairly cheated him into thesurrender of his craft without the firing of a single pistol or thestriking of a single blow; he it was who sailed boldly into the portof Gambia, on the coast of Guinea, and under the guns of the castle, proclaiming himself as a merchant trading for slaves. 

The cheat was kept up until the fruit of mischief was ripe for thepicking; then, when the governor and the guards of the castle werelulled into entire security, and when Davis's band was scattered aboutwherever each man could do the most good, it was out pistol, upcutlass, and death if a finger moved. They tied the soldiers back toback, and the governor to his own armchair, and then rifled whereverit pleased them. After that they sailed away, and though they had notmade the fortune they had hoped to glean, it was a good snug round sumthat they shared among them. 

[Illustration: Walking the Plank

_Illustration from_BUCCANEERS AND MAROONERS OF THE SPANISH MAIN

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published in_HARPER'S MAGAZINE, _August and September, 1887_]

Their courage growing high with success, they determined to attemptthe island of Del Principe--a prosperous Portuguese settlement on thecoast. The plan for taking the place was cleverly laid, and would havesucceeded, only that a Portuguese negro among the pirate crew turnedtraitor and carried the news ashore to the governor of the fort. Accordingly, the next day, when Captain Davis came ashore, he foundthere a good strong guard drawn up as though to honor his coming. Butafter he and those with him were fairly out of their boat, and wellaway from the water side, there was a sudden rattle of musketry, acloud of smoke, and a dull groan or two. Only one man ran out fromunder that pungent cloud, jumped into the boat, and rowed away; andwhen it lifted, there lay Captain Davis and his companions all of aheap, like a pile of old clothes. 

Capt. Bartholomew Roberts was the particular and especial pupil ofDavis, and when that worthy met his death so suddenly and sounexpectedly in the unfortunate manner above narrated, he was chosenunanimously as the captain of the fleet, and he was a worthy pupil ofa worthy master. Many were the poor fluttering merchant ducks thatthis sea hawk swooped upon and struck; and cleanly and cleverly werethey plucked before his savage clutch loosened its hold upon them. 

"He made a gallant figure, " says the old narrator, "being dressed in arich crimson waistcoat and breeches and red feather in his hat, a goldchain around his neck, with a diamond cross hanging to it, a sword inhis hand, and two pair of pistols hanging at the end of a silk slingflung over his shoulders according to the fashion of the pyrates. "Thus he appeared in the last engagement which he fought--that with the_Swallow_--a royal sloop of war. A gallant fight they made of it, those bulldog pirates, for, finding themselves caught in a trapbetwixt the man-of-war and the shore, they determined to bear downupon the king's vessel, fire a slapping broadside into her, and thentry to get away, trusting to luck in the doing, and hoping that theirenemy might be crippled by their fire. 

Captain Roberts himself was the first to fall at the return fire ofthe _Swallow_; a grapeshot struck him in the neck, and he fell forwardacross the gun near to which he was standing at the time. A certainfellow named Stevenson, who was at the helm, saw him fall, andthought he was wounded. At the lifting of the arm the body rolled overupon the deck, and the man saw that the captain was dead. "Whereupon, "says the old history, "he" [Stevenson] "gushed into tears, and wishedthat the next shot might be his portion. " After their captain's deaththe pirate crew had no stomach for more fighting; the "Black Roger"was struck, and one and all surrendered to justice and the gallows. 

 * * * * *

Such is a brief and bald account of the most famous of these pirates. But they are only a few of a long list of notables, such as CaptainMartel, Capt. Charles Vane (who led the gallant Colonel Rhett, ofSouth Carolina, such a wild-goose chase in and out among the sluggishcreeks and inlets along the coast), Capt. John Rackam, and CaptainAnstis, Captain Worley, and Evans, and Philips, and others--a score ormore of wild fellows whose very names made ship captains tremble intheir shoes in those good old times. 

And such is that black chapter of history of the past--an evilchapter, lurid with cruelty and suffering, stained with blood andsmoke. Yet it is a written chapter, and it must be read. He whochooses may read betwixt the lines of history this great truth: Evilitself is an instrument toward the shaping of good. Therefore thehistory of evil as well as the history of good should be read, considered, and digested. 

Chapter II

THE GHOST OF CAPTAIN BRAND

[Illustration]

It is not so easy to tell why discredit should be cast upon a manbecause of something that his grandfather may have done amiss, but theworld, which is never overnice in its discrimination as to where tolay the blame, is often pleased to make the innocent suffer in theplace of the guilty. 

Barnaby True was a good, honest, biddable lad, as boys go, but yet hewas not ever allowed altogether to forget that his grandfather hadbeen that very famous pirate, Capt. William Brand, who, after so manymarvelous adventures (if one may believe the catchpenny stories andballads that were written about him), was murdered in Jamaica by Capt. John Malyoe, the commander of his own consort, the _Adventure_ galley. 

It has never been denied, that ever I heard, that up to the time ofCaptain Brand's being commissioned against the South Sea pirates hehad always been esteemed as honest, reputable a sea captain as couldbe. 

When he started out upon that adventure it was with a ship, the_Royal Sovereign_, fitted out by some of the most decent merchants ofNew York. The governor himself had subscribed to the adventure, andhad himself signed Captain Brand's commission. So, if the unfortunateman went astray, he must have had great temptation to do so, manyothers behaving no better when the opportunity offered in thosefar-away seas where so many rich purchases might very easily be takenand no one the wiser. 

To be sure, those stories and ballads made our captain to be a mostwicked, profane wretch; and if he were, why, God knows he suffered andpaid for it, for he laid his bones in Jamaica, and never saw his homeor his wife and daughter again after he had sailed away on the _RoyalSovereign_ on that long misfortunate voyage, leaving them in New Yorkto the care of strangers. 

At the time when he met his fate in Port Royal Harbor he had obtainedtwo vessels under his command--the _Royal Sovereign_, which was theboat fitted out for him in New York, and the _Adventure_ galley, whichhe was said to have taken somewhere in the South Seas. With these helay in those waters of Jamaica for over a month after his return fromthe coasts of Africa, waiting for news from home, which, when it came, was of the very blackest; for the colonial authorities were at thattime stirred up very hot against him to take him and hang him for apirate, so as to clear their own skirts for having to do with such afellow. So maybe it seemed better to our captain to hide hisill-gotten treasure there in those far-away parts, and afterward totry and bargain with it for his life when he should reach New York, rather than to sail straight for the Americas with what he had earnedby his piracies, and so risk losing life and money both. 

[Illustration: "Captain Malyoe Shot Captain Brand Through the Head"

_Illustration from_THE GHOST OF CAPTAIN BRAND

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published in_HARPER'S WEEKLY, _December 19, 1896_]

However that might be, the story was that Captain Brand and hisgunner, and Captain Malyoe of the _Adventure_ and the sailing masterof the _Adventure_ all went ashore together with a chest of money (noone of them choosing to trust the other three in so nice an affair), and buried the treasure somewhere on the beach of Port RoyalHarbor. The story then has it that they fell a-quarreling about afuture division of the money, and that, as a wind-up to the affair, Captain Malyoe shot Captain Brand through the head, while the sailingmaster of the _Adventure_ served the gunner of the _Royal Sovereign_after the same fashion through the body, and that the murderers thenwent away, leaving the two stretched out in their own blood on thesand in the staring sun, with no one to know where the money was hidbut they two who had served their comrades so. 

It is a mighty great pity that anyone should have a grandfather whoended his days in such a sort as this, but it was no fault of BarnabyTrue's, nor could he have done anything to prevent it, seeing that hewas not even born into the world at the time that his grandfatherturned pirate, and was only one year old when he so met his tragicalend. Nevertheless, the boys with whom he went to school never tired ofcalling him "Pirate, " and would sometimes sing for his benefit thatfamous catchpenny song beginning thus:

 Oh, my name was Captain Brand, A-sailing, And a-sailing; Oh, my name was Captain Brand, A-sailing free. Oh, my name was Captain Brand, And I sinned by sea and land, For I broke God's just command, A-sailing free. 

'Twas a vile thing to sing at the grandson of so misfortunate a man, and oftentimes little Barnaby True would double up his fists and wouldfight his tormentors at great odds, and would sometimes go back homewith a bloody nose to have his poor mother cry over him and grieve forhim. 

Not that his days were all of teasing and torment, neither; for if hiscomrades did treat him so, why, then, there were other times when heand they were as great friends as could be, and would go in swimmingtogether where there was a bit of sandy strand along the East Riverabove Fort George, and that in the most amicable fashion. Or, maybethe very next day after he had fought so with his fellows, he would goa-rambling with them up the Bowerie Road, perhaps to help them stealcherries from some old Dutch farmer, forgetting in such adventure whata thief his own grandfather had been. 

Well, when Barnaby True was between sixteen and seventeen years old hewas taken into employment in the countinghouse of Mr. Roger Hartright, the well-known West India merchant, and Barnaby's own stepfather. 

It was the kindness of this good man that not only found a place forBarnaby in the countinghouse, but advanced him so fast that againstour hero was twenty-one years old he had made four voyages assupercargo to the West Indies in Mr. Hartright's ship, the _BelleHelen_, and soon after he was twenty-one undertook a fifth. Nor was itin any such subordinate position as mere supercargo that he acted, butrather as the confidential agent of Mr. Hartright, who, having nochildren of his own, was very jealous to advance our hero into aposition of trust and responsibility in the countinghouse, as thoughhe were indeed a son, so that even the captain of the ship hadscarcely more consideration aboard than he, young as he was in years. 

As for the agents and correspondents of Mr. Hartright throughout theseparts, they also, knowing how the good man had adopted his interests, were very polite and obliging to Master Barnaby--especially, be itmentioned, Mr. Ambrose Greenfield, of Kingston, Jamaica, who, upon theoccasions of his visits to those parts, did all that he could to makeBarnaby's stay in that town agreeable and pleasant to him. 

So much for the history of our hero to the time of the beginning ofthis story, without which you shall hardly be able to understand thepurport of those most extraordinary adventures that befell him shortlyafter he came of age, nor the logic of their consequence after theyhad occurred. 

For it was during his fifth voyage to the West Indies that the firstof those extraordinary adventures happened of which I shall havepresently to tell. 

At that time he had been in Kingston for the best part of four weeks, lodging at the house of a very decent, respectable widow, by name Mrs. Anne Bolles, who, with three pleasant and agreeable daughters, kept avery clean and well-served lodging house in the outskirts of the town. 

One morning, as our hero sat sipping his coffee, clad only in loosecotton drawers, a shirt, and a jacket, and with slippers upon hisfeet, as is the custom in that country, where everyone endeavors tokeep as cool as may be--while he sat thus sipping his coffee MissEliza, the youngest of the three daughters, came and gave him a note, which, she said, a stranger had just handed in at the door, going awayagain without waiting for a reply. You may judge of Barnaby's surprisewhen he opened the note and read as follows:

 MR. BARNABY TRUE. 

 SIR, --Though you don't know me, I know you, and I tell you this: if you will be at Pratt's Ordinary on Harbor Street on Friday next at eight o'clock of the evening, and will accompany the man who shall say to you, "The _Royal Sovereign_ is come in, " you shall learn something the most to your advantage that ever befell you. Sir, keep this note, and show it to him who shall address these words to you, so to certify that you are the man he seeks. 

Such was the wording of the note, which was without address, andwithout any superscription whatever. 

The first emotion that stirred Barnaby was one of extreme and profoundamazement. Then the thought came into his mind that some witty fellow, of whom he knew a good many in that town--and wild, waggish pranksthey were--was attempting to play off some smart jest upon him. Butall that Miss Eliza could tell him when he questioned her concerningthe messenger was that the bearer of the note was a tall, stout man, with a red neckerchief around his neck and copper buckles to hisshoes, and that he had the appearance of a sailorman, having a greatbig queue hanging down his back. But, Lord! what was such adescription as that in a busy seaport town, full of scores of men tofit such a likeness? Accordingly, our hero put away the note into hiswallet, determining to show it to his good friend Mr. Greenfield thatevening, and to ask his advice upon it. So he did show it, and thatgentleman's opinion was the same as his--that some wag was minded toplay off a hoax upon him, and that the matter of the letter was allnothing but smoke. 

Nevertheless, though Barnaby was thus confirmed in his opinion as tothe nature of the communication he had received, he yet determined inhis own mind that he would see the business through to the end, andwould be at Pratt's Ordinary, as the note demanded, upon the day andat the time specified therein. 

Pratt's Ordinary was at that time a very fine and well-known place ofits sort, with good tobacco and the best rum that ever I tasted, andhad a garden behind it that, sloping down to the harbor front, wasplanted pretty thick with palms and ferns grouped into clusters withflowers and plants. Here were a number of little tables, some inlittle grottoes, like our Vauxhall in New York, and with red and blueand white paper lanterns hung among the foliage, whither gentlemen andladies used sometimes to go of an evening to sit and drink lime juiceand sugar and water (and sometimes a taste of something stronger), andto look out across the water at the shipping in the cool of the night. 

Thither, accordingly, our hero went, a little before the timeappointed in the note, and passing directly through the Ordinary andthe garden beyond, chose a table at the lower end of the garden andclose to the water's edge, where he would not be easily seen byanyone coming into the place. Then, ordering some rum and water and apipe of tobacco, he composed himself to watch for the appearance ofthose witty fellows whom he suspected would presently come thither tosee the end of their prank and to enjoy his confusion. 

The spot was pleasant enough; for the land breeze, blowing strong andfull, set the leaves of the palm tree above his head to rattling andclattering continually against the sky, where, the moon then beingabout full, they shone every now and then like blades of steel. Thewaves also were splashing up against the little landing place at thefoot of the garden, sounding very cool in the night, and sparkling allover the harbor where the moon caught the edges of the water. A greatmany vessels were lying at anchor in their ridings, with the dark, prodigious form of a man-of-war looming up above them in themoonlight. 

There our hero sat for the best part of an hour, smoking his pipe oftobacco and sipping his grog, and seeing not so much as a single thingthat might concern the note he had received. 

It was not far from half an hour after the time appointed in the note, when a rowboat came suddenly out of the night and pulled up to thelanding place at the foot of the garden above mentioned, and three orfour men came ashore in the darkness. Without saying a word amongthemselves they chose a near-by table and, sitting down, ordered rumand water, and began drinking their grog in silence. They might havesat there about five minutes, when, by and by, Barnaby True becameaware that they were observing him very curiously; and then almostimmediately one, who was plainly the leader of the party, called outto him:

"How now, messmate! Won't you come and drink a dram of rum with us?"

"Why, no, " says Barnaby, answering very civilly; "I have drunk enoughalready, and more would only heat my blood. "

"All the same, " quoth the stranger, "I think you will come and drinkwith us; for, unless I am mistook, you are Mr. Barnaby True, and I amcome here to tell you that the _Royal Sovereign is come in_. "

Now I may honestly say that Barnaby True was never more struck abackin all his life than he was at hearing these words uttered in sounexpected a manner. He had been looking to hear them under suchdifferent circumstances that, now that his ears heard them addressedto him, and that so seriously, by a perfect stranger, who, withothers, had thus mysteriously come ashore out of the darkness, hecould scarce believe that his ears heard aright. His heart suddenlybegan beating at a tremendous rate, and had he been an older and wiserman, I do believe he would have declined the adventure, instead ofleaping blindly, as he did, into that of which he could see neitherthe beginning nor the ending. But being barely one-and-twenty years ofage, and having an adventurous disposition that would have carried himinto almost anything that possessed a smack of uncertainty or dangerabout it, he contrived to say, in a pretty easy tone (though God knowshow it was put on for the occasion):

"Well, then, if that be so, and if the _Royal Sovereign_ is indeedcome in, why, I'll join you, since you are so kind as to ask me. " Andtherewith he went across to the other table, carrying his pipe withhim, and sat down and began smoking, with all the appearance of easehe could assume upon the occasion. 

"Well, Mr. Barnaby True, " said the man who had before addressed him, so soon as Barnaby had settled himself, speaking in a low tone ofvoice, so there would be no danger of any others hearing thewords--"Well, Mr. Barnaby True--for I shall call you by your name, toshow you that though I know you, you don't know me--I am glad to seethat you are man enough to enter thus into an affair, though you can'tsee to the bottom of it. For it shows me that you are a man of mettle, and are deserving of the fortune that is to befall you to-night. Nevertheless, first of all, I am bid to say that you must show me apiece of paper that you have about you before we go a step farther. "

"Very well, " said Barnaby; "I have it here safe and sound, and see ityou shall. " And thereupon and without more ado he fetched out hiswallet, opened it, and handed his interlocutor the mysterious note hehad received the day or two before. Whereupon the other, drawing tohim the candle, burning there for the convenience of those who wouldsmoke tobacco, began immediately reading it. 

This gave Barnaby True a moment or two to look at him. He was a tall, stout man, with a red handkerchief tied around his neck, and withcopper buckles on his shoes, so that Barnaby True could not but wonderwhether he was not the very same man who had given the note to MissEliza Bolles at the door of his lodging house. 

"'Tis all right and straight as it should be, " the other said, afterhe had so glanced his eyes over the note. "And now that the paper isread" (suiting his action to his words), "I'll just burn it, forsafety's sake. "

And so he did, twisting it up and setting it to the flame of thecandle. 

"And now, " he said, continuing his address, "I'll tell you what I amhere for. I was sent to ask you if you're man enough to take your lifein your own hands and to go with me in that boat down there? Say'Yes, ' and we'll start away without wasting more time, for the devilis ashore here at Jamaica--though you don't know what that means--andif he gets ahead of us, why, then we may whistle for what we areafter. Say 'No, ' and I go away again, and I promise you you shallnever be troubled again in this sort. So now speak up plain, younggentleman, and tell us what is your mind in this business, and whetheryou will adventure any farther or not. "

If our hero hesitated it was not for long. I cannot say that hiscourage did not waver for a moment; but if it did, it was, I say, notfor long, and when he spoke up it was with a voice as steady as couldbe. 

"To be sure I'm man enough to go with you, " he said; "and if you meanme any harm I can look out for myself; and if I can't, why, here issomething can look out for me, " and therewith he lifted up the flap ofhis coat pocket and showed the butt of a pistol he had fetched withhim when he had set out from his lodging house that evening. 

At this the other burst out a-laughing. "Come, " says he, "you areindeed of right mettle, and I like your spirit. All the same, no onein all the world means you less ill than I, and so, if you have to usethat barker, 'twill not be upon us who are your friends, but only uponone who is more wicked than the devil himself. So come, and let us getaway. "

Thereupon he and the others, who had not spoken a single word for allthis time, rose from the table, and he having paid the scores of all, they all went down together to the boat that still lay at the landingplace at the bottom of the garden. 

Thus coming to it, our hero could see that it was a large yawl boatmanned with half a score of black men for rowers, and there were twolanterns in the stern sheets, and three or four iron shovels. 

The man who had conducted the conversation with Barnaby True for allthis time, and who was, as has been said, plainly the captain of theparty, stepped immediately down into the boat; our hero followed, andthe others followed after him; and instantly they were seated the boatwas shoved off and the black men began pulling straight out into theharbor, and so, at some distance away, around under the stern of theman-of-war. 

Not a word was spoken after they had thus left the shore, andpresently they might all have been ghosts, for the silence of theparty. Barnaby True was too full of his own thoughts to talk--andserious enough thoughts they were by this time, with crimps to trepana man at every turn, and press gangs to carry a man off so that hemight never be heard of again. As for the others, they did not seem tochoose to say anything now that they had him fairly embarked upontheir enterprise. 

And so the crew pulled on in perfect silence for the best part of anhour, the leader of the expedition directing the course of the boatstraight across the harbor, as though toward the mouth of the RioCobra River. Indeed, this was their destination, as Barnaby couldafter a while see, by the low point of land with a great long row ofcoconut palms upon it (the appearance of which he knew very well), which by and by began to loom up out of the milky dimness of themoonlight. As they approached the river they found the tide wasrunning strong out of it, so that some distance away from the streamit gurgled and rippled alongside the boat as the crew of black menpulled strongly against it. Thus they came up under what was either apoint of land or an islet covered with a thick growth of mangrovetrees. But still no one spoke a single word as to their destination, or what was the business they had in hand. 

The night, now that they were close to the shore, was loud with thenoise of running tide-water, and the air was heavy with the smell ofmud and marsh, and over all the whiteness of the moonlight, with a fewstars pricking out here and there in the sky; and all so strange andsilent and mysterious that Barnaby could not divest himself of thefeeling that it was all a dream. 

So, the rowers bending to the oars, the boat came slowly around fromunder the clump of mangrove bushes and out into the open water again. 

Instantly it did so the leader of the expedition called out in a sharpvoice, and the black men instantly lay on their oars. 

Almost at the same instant Barnaby True became aware that there wasanother boat coming down the river toward where they lay, now driftingwith the strong tide out into the harbor again, and he knew that itwas because of the approach of that boat that the other had calledupon his men to cease rowing. 

The other boat, as well as he could see in the distance, was full ofmen, some of whom appeared to be armed, for even in the dusk of thedarkness the shine of the moonlight glimmered sharply now and then onthe barrels of muskets or pistols, and in the silence that followedafter their own rowing had ceased Barnaby True could hear the chug!chug! of the oars sounding louder and louder through the waterystillness of the night as the boat drew nearer and nearer. But he knewnothing of what it all meant, nor whether these others were friends orenemies, or what was to happen next. 

The oarsmen of the approaching boat did not for a moment cease theirrowing, not till they had come pretty close to Barnaby and hiscompanions. Then a man who sat in the stern ordered them to ceaserowing, and as they lay on their oars he stood up. As they passed by, Barnaby True could see him very plain, the moonlight shining full uponhim--a large, stout gentleman with a round red face, and clad in afine laced coat of red cloth. Amidship of the boat was a box or chestabout the bigness of a middle-sized traveling trunk, but covered allover with cakes of sand and dirt. In the act of passing, thegentleman, still standing, pointed at it with an elegant gold-headedcane which he held in his hand. "Are you come after this, AbrahamDawling?" says he, and thereat his countenance broke into as evil, malignant a grin as ever Barnaby True saw in all of his life. 

The other did not immediately reply so much as a single word, but satas still as any stone. Then, at last, the other boat having gone by, he suddenly appeared to regain his wits, for he bawled out after it, "Very well, Jack Malyoe! Very well, Jack Malyoe! you've got ahead ofus this time again, but next time is the third, and then it shall beour turn, even if William Brand must come back from hell to settlewith you. "

This he shouted out as the other boat passed farther and fartheraway, but to it my fine gentleman made no reply except to burst outinto a great roaring fit of laughter. 

There was another man among the armed men in the stern of the passingboat--a villainous, lean man with lantern jaws, and the top of hishead as bald as the palm of my hand. As the boat went away into thenight with the tide and the headway the oars had given it, he grinnedso that the moonlight shone white on his big teeth. Then, flourishinga great big pistol, he said, and Barnaby could hear every word hespoke, "Do but give me the word, Your Honor, and I'll put anotherbullet through the son of a sea cook. "

But the gentleman said some words to forbid him, and therewith theboat was gone away into the night, and presently Barnaby could hearthat the men at the oars had begun rowing again, leaving them lyingthere, without a single word being said for a long time. 

By and by one of those in Barnaby's boat spoke up. "Where shall you gonow?" he said. 

At this the leader of the expedition appeared suddenly to come back tohimself, and to find his voice again. "Go?" he roared out. "Go to thedevil! Go? Go where you choose! Go? Go back again--that's where we'llgo!" and therewith he fell a-cursing and swearing until he foamed atthe lips, as though he had gone clean crazy, while the black men beganrowing back again across the harbor as fast as ever they could layoars into the water. 

They put Barnaby True ashore below the old custom house; but sobewildered and shaken was he by all that had happened, and by what hehad seen, and by the names that he heard spoken, that he was scarcelyconscious of any of the familiar things among which he found himselfthus standing. And so he walked up the moonlit street toward hislodging like one drunk or bewildered; for "John Malyoe" was the nameof the captain of the _Adventure_ galley--he who had shot Barnaby'sown grandfather--and "Abraham Dawling" was the name of the gunner ofthe _Royal Sovereign_ who had been shot at the same time with thepirate captain, and who, with him, had been left stretched out in thestaring sun by the murderers. 

The whole business had occupied hardly two hours, but it was as thoughthat time was no part of Barnaby's life, but all a part of some otherlife, so dark and strange and mysterious that it in no wise belongedto him. 

As for that box covered all over with mud, he could only guess at thattime what it contained and what the finding of it signified. 

But of this our hero said nothing to anyone, nor did he tell a singleliving soul what he had seen that night, but nursed it in his ownmind, where it lay so big for a while that he could think of little ornothing else for days after. 

Mr. Greenfield, Mr. Hartright's correspondent and agent in theseparts, lived in a fine brick house just out of the town, on the MonaRoad, his family consisting of a wife and two daughters--brisk, livelyyoung ladies with black hair and eyes, and very fine bright teeth thatshone whenever they laughed, and with a plenty to say for themselves. Thither Barnaby True was often asked to a family dinner; and, indeed, it was a pleasant home to visit, and to sit upon the veranda and smokea cigarro with the good old gentleman and look out toward themountains, while the young ladies laughed and talked, or played uponthe guitar and sang. And oftentimes so it was strongly upon Barnaby'smind to speak to the good gentleman and tell him what he had beheldthat night out in the harbor; but always he would think better of itand hold his peace, falling to thinking, and smoking away upon hiscigarro at a great rate. 

A day or two before the _Belle Helen_ sailed from Kingston Mr. Greenfield stopped Barnaby True as he was going through the office tobid him to come to dinner that night (for there within the tropicsthey breakfast at eleven o'clock and take dinner in the cool of theevening, because of the heat, and not at midday, as we do in moretemperate latitudes). "I would have you meet, " says Mr. Greenfield, "your chief passenger for New York, and his granddaughter, for whomthe state cabin and the two staterooms are to be fitted as hereordered [showing a letter]--Sir John Malyoe and Miss Marjorie Malyoe. Did you ever hear tell of Capt. Jack Malyoe, Master Barnaby?"

Now I do believe that Mr. Greenfield had no notion at all that oldCaptain Brand was Barnaby True's own grandfather and Capt. John Malyoehis murderer, but when he so thrust at him the name of that man, whatwith that in itself and the late adventure through which he himselfhad just passed, and with his brooding upon it until it was soprodigiously big in his mind, it was like hitting him a blow to sofling the questions at him. Nevertheless, he was able to reply, with apretty straight face, that he had heard of Captain Malyoe and who hewas. 

"Well, " says Mr. Greenfield, "if Jack Malyoe was a desperate pirateand a wild, reckless blade twenty years ago, why, he is Sir JohnMalyoe now and the owner of a fine estate in Devonshire. Well, MasterBarnaby, when one is a baronet and come into the inheritance of a fineestate (though I do hear it is vastly cumbered with debts), the worldwill wink its eye to much that he may have done twenty years ago. I dohear say, though, that his own kin still turn the cold shoulder tohim. "

To this address Barnaby answered nothing, but sat smoking away at hiscigarro at a great rate. 

And so that night Barnaby True came face to face for the first timewith the man who murdered his own grandfather--the greatest beast of aman that ever he met in all of his life. 

That time in the harbor he had seen Sir John Malyoe at a distance andin the darkness; now that he beheld him near by it seemed to him thathe had never looked at a more evil face in all his life. Not that theman was altogether ugly, for he had a good nose and a fine doublechin; but his eyes stood out like balls and were red and watery, andhe winked them continually, as though they were always smarting; andhis lips were thick and purple-red, and his fat, red cheeks weremottled here and there with little clots of purple veins; and when hespoke his voice rattled so in his throat that it made one wish toclear one's own throat to listen to him. So, what with a pair of fat, white hands, and that hoarse voice, and his swollen face, and histhick lips sticking out, it seemed to Barnaby True he had never seen acountenance so distasteful to him as that one into which he thenlooked. 

But if Sir John Malyoe was so displeasing to our hero's taste, why, the granddaughter, even this first time he beheld her, seemed to himto be the most beautiful, lovely young lady that ever he saw. She hada thin, fair skin, red lips, and yellow hair--though it was thenpowdered pretty white for the occasion--and the bluest eyes thatBarnaby beheld in all of his life. A sweet, timid creature, who seemednot to dare so much as to speak a word for herself without looking toSir John for leave to do so, and would shrink and shudder whenever hewould speak of a sudden to her or direct a sudden glance upon her. When she did speak, it was in so low a voice that one had to bend hishead to hear her, and even if she smiled would catch herself and lookup as though to see if she had leave to be cheerful. 

As for Sir John, he sat at dinner like a pig, and gobbled and ate anddrank, smacking his lips all the while, but with hardly a word toeither her or Mrs. Greenfield or to Barnaby True; but with a sour, sullen air, as though he would say, "Your damned victuals and drinkare no better than they should be, but I must eat 'em or nothing. " Agreat bloated beast of a man!

Only after dinner was over and the young lady and the two misses satoff in a corner together did Barnaby hear her talk with any ease. Then, to be sure, her tongue became loose, and she prattled away at agreat rate, though hardly above her breath, until of a sudden hergrandfather called out, in his hoarse, rattling voice, that it wastime to go. Whereupon she stopped short in what she was saying andjumped up from her chair, looking as frightened as though she had beencaught in something amiss, and was to be punished for it. 

Barnaby True and Mr. Greenfield both went out to see the two intotheir coach, where Sir John's man stood holding the lantern. And whoshould he be, to be sure, but that same lean villain with bald headwho had offered to shoot the leader of our hero's expedition out onthe harbor that night! For, one of the circles of light from thelantern shining up into his face, Barnaby True knew him the moment heclapped eyes upon him. Though he could not have recognized our hero, he grinned at him in the most impudent, familiar fashion, and never somuch as touched his hat either to him or to Mr. Greenfield; but assoon as his master and his young mistress had entered the coach, banged to the door and scrambled up on the seat alongside the driver, and so away without a word, but with another impudent grin, this timefavoring both Barnaby and the old gentleman. 

Such were these two, master and man, and what Barnaby saw of them thenwas only confirmed by further observation--the most hateful couple heever knew; though, God knows, what they afterward suffered should wipeout all complaint against them. 

The next day Sir John Malyoe's belongings began to come aboard the_Belle Helen_, and in the afternoon that same lean, villainousmanservant comes skipping across the gangplank as nimble as a goat, with two black men behind him lugging a great sea chest. "What!" hecried out, "and so you is the supercargo, is you? Why, I thought youwas more account when I saw you last night a-sitting talking with HisHonor like his equal. Well, no matter; 'tis something to have a brisk, genteel young fellow for a supercargo. So come, my hearty, lend ahand, will you, and help me set His Honor's cabin to rights. "

What a speech was this to endure from such a fellow, to be sure! andBarnaby so high in his own esteem, and holding himself a gentleman!Well, what with his distaste for the villain, and what with suchodious familiarity, you can guess into what temper so impudent anaddress must have cast him. "You'll find the steward in yonder, " hesaid, "and he'll show you the cabin, " and therewith turned and walkedaway with prodigious dignity, leaving the other standing where he was. 

As he entered his own cabin he could not but see, out of the tail ofhis eye, that the fellow was still standing where he had left him, regarding him with a most evil, malevolent countenance, so that he hadthe satisfaction of knowing that he had made one enemy during thatvoyage who was not very likely to forgive or forget what he mustregard as a slight put upon him. 

The next day Sir John Malyoe himself came aboard, accompanied by hisgranddaughter, and followed by this man, and he followed again by fourblack men, who carried among them two trunks, not large in size, butprodigious heavy in weight, and toward which Sir John and his followerdevoted the utmost solicitude and care to see that they were properlycarried into the state cabin he was to occupy. Barnaby True wasstanding in the great cabin as they passed close by him; but thoughSir John Malyoe looked hard at him and straight in the face, he neverso much as spoke a single word, or showed by a look or a sign that heknew who our hero was. At this the serving man, who saw it all witheyes as quick as a cat's, fell to grinning and chuckling to seeBarnaby in his turn so slighted. 

The young lady, who also saw it all, flushed up red, then in theinstant of passing looked straight at our hero, and bowed and smiledat him with a most sweet and gracious affability, then the next momentrecovering herself, as though mightily frightened at what she haddone. 

The same day the _Belle Helen_ sailed, with as beautiful, sweetweather as ever a body could wish for. 

There were only two other passengers aboard, the Rev. Simon Styles, the master of a flourishing academy in Spanish Town, and his wife, agood, worthy old couple, but very quiet, and would sit in the greatcabin by the hour together reading, so that, what with Sir John Malyoestaying all the time in his own cabin with those two trunks he held soprecious, it fell upon Barnaby True in great part to show attention tothe young lady; and glad enough he was of the opportunity, as anyonemay guess. For when you consider a brisk, lively young man ofone-and-twenty and a sweet, beautiful miss of seventeen so throwntogether day after day for two weeks, the weather being very fair, asI have said, and the ship tossing and bowling along before a finehumming breeze that sent white caps all over the sea, and with nothingto do but sit and look at that blue sea and the bright sky overhead, it is not hard to suppose what was to befall, and what pleasure it wasto Barnaby True to show attention to her. 

But, oh! those days when a man is young, and, whether wisely or no, fallen in love! How often during that voyage did our hero lie awake inhis berth at night, tossing this way and that without sleep--not thathe wanted to sleep if he could, but would rather lie so awake thinkingabout her and staring into the darkness!

Poor fool! He might have known that the end must come to such a fool'sparadise before very long. For who was he to look up to Sir JohnMalyoe's granddaughter, he, the supercargo of a merchant ship, and shethe granddaughter of a baronet. 

Nevertheless, things went along very smooth and pleasant, until oneevening, when all came of a sudden to an end. At that time he and theyoung lady had been standing for a long while together, leaning overthe rail and looking out across the water through the dusk toward thewestward, where the sky was still of a lingering brightness. She hadbeen mightily quiet and dull all that evening, but now of a sudden shebegan, without any preface whatever, to tell Barnaby about herself andher affairs. She said that she and her grandfather were going to NewYork that they might take passage thence to Boston town, there to meether cousin Captain Malyoe, who was stationed in garrison at thatplace. Then she went on to say that Captain Malyoe was the next heirto the Devonshire estate, and that she and he were to be married inthe fall. 

But, poor Barnaby! what a fool was he, to be sure! Methinks when shefirst began to speak about Captain Malyoe he knew what was coming. Butnow that she had told him, he could say nothing, but stood therestaring across the ocean, his breath coming hot and dry as ashes inhis throat. She, poor thing, went on to say, in a very low voice, thatshe had liked him from the very first moment she had seen him, and hadbeen very happy for these days, and would always think of him as adear friend who had been very kind to her, who had so little pleasurein life, and so would always remember him. 

Then they were both silent, until at last Barnaby made shift to say, though in a hoarse and croaking voice, that Captain Malyoe must be avery happy man, and that if he were in Captain Malyoe's place he wouldbe the happiest man in the world. Thus, having spoken, and so foundhis tongue, he went on to tell her, with his head all in a whirl, thathe, too, loved her, and that what she had told him struck him to theheart, and made him the most miserable, unhappy wretch in the wholeworld. 

She was not angry at what he said, nor did she turn to look at him, but only said, in a low voice, he should not talk so, for that itcould only be a pain to them both to speak of such things, and thatwhether she would or no, she must do everything as her grandfatherbade her, for that he was indeed a terrible man. 

To this poor Barnaby could only repeat that he loved her with all hisheart, that he had hoped for nothing in his love, but that he was nowthe most miserable man in the world. 

It was at this moment, so tragic for him, that some one who had beenhiding nigh them all the while suddenly moved away, and Barnaby Truecould see in the gathering darkness that it was that villainmanservant of Sir John Malyoe's and knew that he must have overheardall that had been said. 

The man went straight to the great cabin, and poor Barnaby, his brainall atingle, stood looking after him, feeling that now indeed the lastdrop of bitterness had been added to his trouble to have such a wretchoverhear what he had said. 

The young lady could not have seen the fellow, for she continuedleaning over the rail, and Barnaby True, standing at her side, notmoving, but in such a tumult of many passions that he was like onebewildered, and his heart beating as though to smother him. 

So they stood for I know not how long when, of a sudden, Sir JohnMalyoe comes running out of the cabin, without his hat, but carryinghis gold-headed cane, and so straight across the deck to where Barnabyand the young lady stood, that spying wretch close at his heels, grinning like an imp. 

"You hussy!" bawled out Sir John, so soon as he had come pretty nearthem, and in so loud a voice that all on deck might have heard thewords; and as he spoke he waved his cane back and forth as though hewould have struck the young lady, who, shrinking back almost upon thedeck, crouched as though to escape such a blow. "You hussy!" he bawledout with vile oaths, too horrible here to be set down. "What do you dohere with this Yankee supercargo, not fit for a gentlewoman to wipeher feet upon? Get to your cabin, you hussy" (only it was somethingworse he called her this time), "before I lay this cane across yourshoulders!"

What with the whirling of Barnaby's brains and the passion into whichhe was already melted, what with his despair and his love, and hisanger at this address, a man gone mad could scarcely be lessaccountable for his actions than was he at that moment. Hardly knowingwhat he did, he put his hand against Sir John Malyoe's breast andthrust him violently back, crying out upon him in a great, loud, hoarse voice for threatening a young lady, and saying that for afarthing he would wrench the stick out of his hand and throw itoverboard. 

Sir John went staggering back with the push Barnaby gave him, and thencaught himself up again. Then, with a great bellow, ran roaring at ourhero, whirling his cane about, and I do believe would have struck him(and God knows then what might have happened) had not his manservantcaught him and held him back. 

"Keep back!" cried out our hero, still mighty hoarse. "Keep back! Ifyou strike me with that stick I'll fling you overboard!"

By this time, what with the sound of loud voices and the stamping offeet, some of the crew and others aboard were hurrying up, and thenext moment Captain Manly and the first mate, Mr. Freesden, camerunning out of the cabin. But Barnaby, who was by this fairly setagoing, could not now stop himself. 

"And who are you, anyhow, " he cried out, "to threaten to strike me andto insult me, who am as good as you? You dare not strike me! You mayshoot a man from behind, as you shot poor Captain Brand on the RioCobra River, but you won't dare strike me face to face. I know who youare and what you are!"

By this time Sir John Malyoe had ceased to endeavor to strike him, butstood stock-still, his great bulging eyes staring as though they wouldpop out of his head. 

"What's all this?" cries Captain Manly, bustling up to them with Mr. Freesden. "What does all this mean?"

But, as I have said, our hero was too far gone now to contain himselfuntil all that he had to say was out. 

"The damned villain insulted me and insulted the young lady, " hecried out, panting in the extremity of his passion, "and then hethreatened to strike me with his cane. But I know who he is and whathe is. I know what he's got in his cabin in those two trunks, andwhere he found it, and whom it belongs to. He found it on the shoresof the Rio Cobra River, and I have only to open my mouth and tell whatI know about it. "

At this Captain Manly clapped his hand upon our hero's shoulder andfell to shaking him so that he could scarcely stand, calling out tohim the while to be silent. "What do you mean?" he cried. "An officerof this ship to quarrel with a passenger of mine! Go straight to yourcabin, and stay there till I give you leave to come out again. "

At this Master Barnaby came somewhat back to himself and into his witsagain with a jump. "But he threatened to strike me with his cane, Captain, " he cried out, "and that I won't stand from any man!"

"No matter what he did, " said Captain Manly, very sternly. "Go to yourcabin, as I bid you, and stay there till I tell you to come out again, and when we get to New York I'll take pains to tell your stepfather ofhow you have behaved. I'll have no such rioting as this aboard myship. "

Barnaby True looked around him, but the young lady was gone. Nor, inthe blindness of his frenzy, had he seen when she had gone nor whithershe went. As for Sir John Malyoe, he stood in the light of a lantern, his face gone as white as ashes, and I do believe if a look couldkill, the dreadful malevolent stare he fixed upon Barnaby True wouldhave slain him where he stood. 

After Captain Manly had so shaken some wits into poor Barnaby he, unhappy wretch, went to his cabin, as he was bidden to do, and there, shutting the door upon himself, and flinging himself down, all dressedas he was, upon his berth, yielded himself over to the profoundestpassion of humiliation and despair. 

There he lay for I know not how long, staring into the darkness, until by and by, in spite of his suffering and his despair, he dozedoff into a loose sleep, that was more like waking than sleep, beingpossessed continually by the most vivid and distasteful dreams, fromwhich he would awaken only to doze off and to dream again. 

It was from the midst of one of these extravagant dreams that he wassuddenly aroused by the noise of a pistol shot, and then the noise ofanother and another, and then a great bump and a grinding jar, andthen the sound of many footsteps running across the deck and down intothe great cabin. Then came a tremendous uproar of voices in the greatcabin, the struggling as of men's bodies being tossed about, strikingviolently against the partitions and bulkheads. At the same instantarose a screaming of women's voices, and one voice, and that Sir JohnMalyoe's, crying out as in the greatest extremity: "You villains! Youdamned villains!" and with the sudden detonation of a pistol firedinto the close space of the great cabin. 

Barnaby was out in the middle of his cabin in a moment, and takingonly time enough to snatch down one of the pistols that hung at thehead of his berth, flung out into the great cabin, to find it as blackas night, the lantern slung there having been either blown out ordashed out into darkness. The prodigiously dark space was full ofuproar, the hubbub and confusion pierced through and through by thatkeen sound of women's voices screaming, one in the cabin and the otherin the stateroom beyond. Almost immediately Barnaby pitched headlongover two or three struggling men scuffling together upon the deck, falling with a great clatter and the loss of his pistol, which, however, he regained almost immediately. 

What all the uproar meant he could not tell, but he presently heardCaptain Manly's voice from somewhere suddenly calling out, "You bloodypirate, would you choke me to death?" wherewith some notion of whathad happened came to him like a flash, and that they had been attackedin the night by pirates. 

Looking toward the companionway, he saw, outlined against the darknessof the night without, the blacker form of a man's figure, standingstill and motionless as a statue in the midst of all this hubbub, andso by some instinct he knew in a moment that that must be the mastermaker of all this devil's brew. Therewith, still kneeling upon thedeck, he covered the bosom of that shadowy figure point-blank, as hethought, with his pistol, and instantly pulled the trigger. 

In the flash of red light, and in the instant stunning report of thepistol shot, Barnaby saw, as stamped upon the blackness, a broad, flatface with fishy eyes, a lean, bony forehead with what appeared to be agreat blotch of blood upon the side, a cocked hat trimmed with goldlace, a red scarf across the breast, and the gleam of brass buttons. Then the darkness, very thick and black, swallowed everything again. 

But in the instant Sir John Malyoe called out, in a great loud voice:"My God! 'Tis William Brand!" Therewith came the sound of some onefalling heavily down. 

The next moment, Barnaby's sight coming back to him again in thedarkness, he beheld that dark and motionless figure still standingexactly where it had stood before, and so knew either that he hadmissed it or else that it was of so supernatural a sort that a leadenbullet might do it no harm. Though if it was indeed an apparition thatBarnaby beheld in that moment, there is this to say, that he saw it asplain as ever he saw a living man in all of his life. 

This was the last our hero knew, for the next moment somebody--whetherby accident or design he never knew--struck him such a terribleviolent blow upon the side of the head that he saw forty thousandstars flash before his eyeballs, and then, with a great humming in hishead, swooned dead away. 

When Barnaby True came back to his senses again it was to find himselfbeing cared for with great skill and nicety, his head bathed withcold water, and a bandage being bound about it as carefully as thougha chirurgeon was attending to him. 

He could not immediately recall what had happened to him, nor until hehad opened his eyes to find himself in a strange cabin, extremely wellfitted and painted with white and gold, the light of a lantern shiningin his eyes, together with the gray of the early daylight through thedead-eye. Two men were bending over him--one, a negro in a stripedshirt, with a yellow handkerchief around his head and silver earringsin his ears; the other, a white man, clad in a strange outlandishdress of a foreign make, and with great mustachios hanging down, andwith gold earrings in his ears. 

It was the latter who was attending to Barnaby's hurt with suchextreme care and gentleness. 

All this Barnaby saw with his first clear consciousness after hisswoon. Then remembering what had befallen him, and his head beating asthough it would split asunder, he shut his eyes again, contriving withgreat effort to keep himself from groaning aloud, and wondering as towhat sort of pirates these could be who would first knock a man in thehead so terrible a blow as that which he had suffered, and then takesuch care to fetch him back to life again, and to make him easy andcomfortable. 

Nor did he open his eyes again, but lay there gathering his witstogether and wondering thus until the bandage was properly tied abouthis head and sewed together. Then once more he opened his eyes, andlooked up to ask where he was. 

Either they who were attending to him did not choose to reply, or elsethey could not speak English, for they made no answer, excepting bysigns; for the white man, seeing that he was now able to speak, and sowas come back into his senses again, nodded his head three or fourtimes, and smiled with a grin of his white teeth, and then pointed, asthough toward a saloon beyond. At the same time the negro held up ourhero's coat and beckoned for him to put it on, so that Barnaby, seeing that it was required of him to meet some one without, arose, though with a good deal of effort, and permitted the negro to help himon with his coat, still feeling mightily dizzy and uncertain upon hislegs, his head beating fit to split, and the vessel rolling andpitching at a great rate, as though upon a heavy ground swell. 

So, still sick and dizzy, he went out into what was indeed a finesaloon beyond, painted in white and gilt like the cabin he had justquitted, and fitted in the nicest fashion, a mahogany table, polishedvery bright, extending the length of the room, and a quantity ofbottles, together with glasses of clear crystal, arranged in a hangingrack above. 

Here at the table a man was sitting with his back to our hero, clad ina rough pea-jacket, and with a red handkerchief tied around histhroat, his feet stretched out before him, and he smoking a pipe oftobacco with all the ease and comfort in the world. 

As Barnaby came in he turned round, and, to the profound astonishmentof our hero, presented toward him in the light of the lantern, thedawn shining pretty strong through the skylight, the face of that veryman who had conducted the mysterious expedition that night acrossKingston Harbor to the Rio Cobra River. 

This man looked steadily at Barnaby True for a moment or two, and thenburst out laughing; and, indeed, Barnaby, standing there with thebandage about his head, must have looked a very droll picture of thatastonishment he felt so profoundly at finding who was this pirate intowhose hands he had fallen. 

"Well, " says the other, "and so you be up at last, and no great harmdone, I'll be bound. And how does your head feel by now, my youngmaster?"

To this Barnaby made no reply, but, what with wonder and the dizzinessof his head, seated himself at the table over against the speaker, whopushed a bottle of rum toward him, together with a glass from theswinging shelf above. 

He watched Barnaby fill his glass, and so soon as he had done so beganimmediately by saying: "I do suppose you think you were treatedmightily ill to be so handled last night. Well, so you were treatedill enough--though who hit you that crack upon the head I know no morethan a child unborn. Well, I am sorry for the way you were handled, but there is this much to say, and of that you may believe me, thatnothing was meant to you but kindness, and before you are through withus all you will believe that well enough. "

Here he helped himself to a taste of grog, and sucking in his lips, went on again with what he had to say. "Do you remember, " said he, "that expedition of ours in Kingston Harbor, and how we were all of usbalked that night?"

"Why, yes, " said Barnaby True, "nor am I likely to forget it. "

"And do you remember what I said to that villain, Jack Malyoe, thatnight as his boat went by us?"

"As to that, " said Barnaby True, "I do not know that I can say yes orno, but if you will tell me, I will maybe answer you in kind. "

"Why, I mean this, " said the other. "I said that the villain had gotthe better of us once again, but that next time it would be our turn, even if William Brand himself had to come back from hell to put thebusiness through. "

"I remember something of the sort, " said Barnaby, "now that you speakof it, but still I am all in the dark as to what you are driving at. "

The other looked at him very cunningly for a little while, his head onone side, and his eyes half shut. Then, as if satisfied, he suddenlyburst out laughing. "Look hither, " said he, "and I'll show yousomething, " and therewith, moving to one side, disclosed a couple oftraveling cases or small trunks with brass studs, so exactly likethose that Sir John Malyoe had fetched aboard at Jamaica thatBarnaby, putting this and that together, knew that they must be thesame. 

Our hero had a strong enough suspicion as to what those two casescontained, and his suspicions had become a certainty when he saw SirJohn Malyoe struck all white at being threatened about them, and hisface lowering so malevolently as to look murder had he dared do it. But, Lord! what were suspicions or even certainty to what BarnabyTrue's two eyes beheld when that man lifted the lids of the twocases--the locks thereof having already been forced--and, flingingback first one lid and then the other, displayed to Barnaby'sastonished sight a great treasure of gold and silver! Most of it tiedup in leathern bags, to be sure, but many of the coins, big andlittle, yellow and white, lying loose and scattered about like so manybeans, brimming the cases to the very top. 

Barnaby sat dumb-struck at what he beheld; as to whether he breathedor no, I cannot tell; but this I know, that he sat staring at thatmarvelous treasure like a man in a trance, until, after a few secondsof this golden display, the other banged down the lids again and burstout laughing, whereupon he came back to himself with a jump. 

"Well, and what do you think of that?" said the other. "Is it notenough for a man to turn pirate for? But, " he continued, "it is notfor the sake of showing you this that I have been waiting for you hereso long a while, but to tell you that you are not the only passengeraboard, but that there is another, whom I am to confide to your careand attention, according to orders I have received; so, if you areready, Master Barnaby, I'll fetch her in directly. " He waited for amoment, as though for Barnaby to speak, but our hero not replying, hearose and, putting away the bottle of rum and the glasses, crossed thesaloon to a door like that from which Barnaby had come a little whilebefore. This he opened, and after a moment's delay and a few wordsspoken to some one within, ushered thence a young lady, who came outvery slowly into the saloon where Barnaby still sat at the table. 

It was Miss Marjorie Malyoe, very white, and looking as though stunnedor bewildered by all that had befallen her. 

Barnaby True could never tell whether the amazing strange voyage thatfollowed was of long or of short duration; whether it occupied threedays or ten days. For conceive, if you choose, two people of flesh andblood moving and living continually in all the circumstances andsurroundings as of a nightmare dream, yet they two so happy togetherthat all the universe beside was of no moment to them! How was anyoneto tell whether in such circumstances any time appeared to be long orshort? Does a dream appear to be long or to be short?

The vessel in which they sailed was a brigantine of good size andbuild, but manned by a considerable crew, the most strange andoutlandish in their appearance that Barnaby had ever beheld--somewhite, some yellow, some black, and all tricked out with gay colors, and gold earrings in their ears, and some with great long mustachios, and others with handkerchiefs tied around their heads, and all talkinga language together of which Barnaby True could understand not asingle word, but which might have been Portuguese from one or twophrases he caught. Nor did this strange, mysterious crew, of God knowswhat sort of men, seem to pay any attention whatever to Barnaby or tothe young lady. They might now and then have looked at him and her outof the corners of their yellow eyes, but that was all; otherwise theywere indeed like the creatures of a nightmare dream. Only he who wasthe captain of this outlandish crew would maybe speak to Barnaby a fewwords as to the weather or what not when he would come down into thesaloon to mix a glass of grog or to light a pipe of tobacco, and thento go on deck again about his business. Otherwise our hero and theyoung lady were left to themselves, to do as they pleased, with no oneto interfere with them. 

[Illustration: "She Would Sit Quite Still, Permitting Barnaby to Gaze"

_Illustration from_THE GHOST OF CAPTAIN BRAND

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published in_HARPER'S WEEKLY, _December 19, 1896_]

As for her, she at no time showed any great sign of terror or of fear, only for a little while was singularly numb and quiet, as though dazedwith what had happened to her. Indeed, methinks that wild beast, hergrandfather, had so crushed her spirit by his tyranny and his violencethat nothing that happened to her might seem sharp and keen, as itdoes to others of an ordinary sort. 

But this was only at first, for afterward her face began to growsingularly clear, as with a white light, and she would sit quitestill, permitting Barnaby to gaze, I know not how long, into her eyes, her face so transfigured and her lips smiling, and they, as it were, neither of them breathing, but hearing, as in another far-distantplace, the outlandish jargon of the crew talking together in the warm, bright sunlight, or the sound of creaking block and tackle as theyhauled upon the sheets. 

Is it, then, any wonder that Barnaby True could never remember whethersuch a voyage as this was long or short?

It was as though they might have sailed so upon that wonderful voyageforever. You may guess how amazed was Barnaby True when, coming upondeck one morning, he found the brigantine riding upon an even keel, atanchor off Staten Island, a small village on the shore, and thewell-known roofs and chimneys of New York town in plain sight acrossthe water. 

'Twas the last place in the world he had expected to see. 

And, indeed, it did seem strange to lie there alongside Staten Islandall that day, with New York town so nigh at hand and yet so impossibleto reach. For whether he desired to escape or no, Barnaby True couldnot but observe that both he and the young lady were so closelywatched that they might as well have been prisoners, tied hand andfoot and laid in the hold, so far as any hope of getting away wasconcerned. 

All that day there was a deal of mysterious coming and going aboardthe brigantine, and in the afternoon a sailboat went up to the town, carrying the captain, and a great load covered over with a tarpaulinin the stern. What was so taken up to the town Barnaby did not thenguess, but the boat did not return again till about sundown. 

For the sun was just dropping below the water when the captain cameaboard once more and, finding Barnaby on deck, bade him come down intothe saloon, where they found the young lady sitting, the broad lightof the evening shining in through the skylight, and making it allpretty bright within. 

The captain commanded Barnaby to be seated, for he had something ofmoment to say to him; whereupon, as soon as Barnaby had taken hisplace alongside the young lady, he began very seriously, with apreface somewhat thus: "Though you may think me the captain of thisbrigantine, young gentleman, I am not really so, but am under orders, and so have only carried out those orders of a superior in all thesethings that I have done. " Having so begun, he went on to say thatthere was one thing yet remaining for him to do, and that the greatestthing of all. He said that Barnaby and the young lady had not beenfetched away from the _Belle Helen_ as they were by any mere chance ofaccident, but that 'twas all a plan laid by a head wiser than his, andcarried out by one whom he must obey in all things. He said that hehoped that both Barnaby and the young lady would perform willinglywhat they would be now called upon to do, but that whether they did itwillingly or no, they must, for that those were the orders of one whowas not to be disobeyed. 

You may guess how our hero held his breath at all this; but whatevermight have been his expectations, the very wildest of them all did notreach to that which was demanded of him. "My orders are these, " saidthe other, continuing: "I am to take you and the young lady ashore, and to see that you are married before I quit you; and to that end avery good, decent, honest minister who lives ashore yonder in thevillage was chosen and hath been spoken to and is now, no doubt, waiting for you to come. Such are my orders, and this is the lastthing I am set to do; so now I will leave you alone together for fiveminutes to talk it over, but be quick about it, for whether willing ornot, this thing must be done. "

Thereupon he went away, as he had promised, leaving those two alonetogether, Barnaby like one turned into stone, and the young lady, herface turned away, flaming as red as fire in the fading light. 

Nor can I tell what Barnaby said to her, nor what words he used, butonly, all in a tumult, with neither beginning nor end he told her thatGod knew he loved her, and that with all his heart and soul, and thatthere was nothing in all the world for him but her; but, nevertheless, if she would not have it as had been ordered, and if she were notwilling to marry him as she was bidden to do, he would rather die thanlend himself to forcing her to do such a thing against her will. Nevertheless, he told her she must speak up and tell him yes or no, and that God knew he would give all the world if she would say "yes. "

All this and more he said in such a tumult of words that there was noorder in their speaking, and she sitting there, her bosom rising andfalling as though her breath stifled her. Nor may I tell what shereplied to him, only this, that she said she would marry him. At thishe took her into his arms and set his lips to hers, his heart allmelting away in his bosom. 

So presently came the captain back into the saloon again, to findBarnaby sitting there holding her hand, she with her face turned away, and his heart beating like a trip hammer, and so saw that all wassettled as he would have it. Wherewith he wished them both joy, andgave Barnaby his hand. 

The yawlboat belonging to the brigantine was ready and waitingalongside when they came upon deck, and immediately they descended toit and took their seats. So they landed, and in a little while werewalking up the village street in the darkness, she clinging to hisarm as though she would swoon, and the captain of the brigantine andtwo other men from aboard following after them. And so to theminister's house, finding him waiting for them, smoking his pipe inthe warm evening, and walking up and down in front of his own door. Heimmediately conducted them into the house, where, his wife havingfetched a candle, and two others of the village folk being present, the good man having asked several questions as to their names andtheir age and where they were from, the ceremony was performed, andthe certificate duly signed by those present--excepting the men whohad come ashore from the brigantine, and who refused to set theirhands to any paper. 

The same sailboat that had taken the captain up to the town in theafternoon was waiting for them at the landing place, whence, thecaptain, having wished them Godspeed, and having shaken Barnaby veryheartily by the hand, they pushed off, and, coming about, ran awaywith the slant of the wind, dropping the shore and those strangebeings alike behind them into the night. 

As they sped away through the darkness they could hear the creaking ofthe sails being hoisted aboard of the brigantine, and so knew that shewas about to put to sea once more. Nor did Barnaby True ever set eyesupon those beings again, nor did anyone else that I ever heard tellof. 

It was nigh midnight when they made Mr. Hartright's wharf at the footof Wall Street, and so the streets were all dark and silent anddeserted as they walked up to Barnaby's home. 

You may conceive of the wonder and amazement of Barnaby's dearstepfather when, clad in a dressing gown and carrying a lighted candlein his hand, he unlocked and unbarred the door, and so saw who it washad aroused him at such an hour of the night, and the young andbeautiful lady whom Barnaby had fetched with him. 

The first thought of the good man was that the _Belle Helen_ had comeinto port; nor did Barnaby undeceive him as he led the way into thehouse, but waited until they were all safe and sound in privitytogether before he should unfold his strange and wonderful story. 

"This was left for you by two foreign sailors this afternoon, Barnaby, " the good old man said, as he led the way through the hall, holding up the candle at the same time, so that Barnaby might see anobject that stood against the wainscoting by the door of the diningroom. 

Nor could Barnaby refrain from crying out with amazement when he sawthat it was one of the two chests of treasure that Sir John Malyoe hadfetched from Jamaica, and which the pirates had taken from the _BelleHelen_. As for Mr. Hartright, he guessed no more what was in it thanthe man in the moon. 

The next day but one brought the _Belle Helen_ herself into port, withthe terrible news not only of having been attacked at night bypirates, but also that Sir John Malyoe was dead. For whether it wasthe sudden shock of the sight of his old captain's face--whom hehimself had murdered and thought dead and buried--flashing so outagainst the darkness, or whether it was the strain of passion thatoverset his brains, certain it is that when the pirates left the_Belle Helen_, carrying with them the young lady and Barnaby and thetraveling trunks, those left aboard the _Belle Helen_ found Sir JohnMalyoe lying in a fit upon the floor, frothing at the mouth and blackin the face, as though he had been choked, and so took him away to hisberth, where, the next morning about ten o'clock, he died, withoutonce having opened his eyes or spoken a single word. 

As for the villain manservant, no one ever saw him afterward; thoughwhether he jumped overboard, or whether the pirates who so attackedthe ship had carried him away bodily, who shall say?

Mr. Hartright, after he had heard Barnaby's story, had been veryuncertain as to the ownership of the chest of treasure that had beenleft by those men for Barnaby, but the news of the death of Sir JohnMalyoe made the matter very easy for him to decide. For surely ifthat treasure did not belong to Barnaby, there could be no doubt thatit must belong to his wife, she being Sir John Malyoe's legal heir. And so it was that that great fortune (in actual computation amountingto upward of sixty-three thousand pounds) came to Barnaby True, thegrandson of that famous pirate, William Brand; the English estate inDevonshire, in default of male issue of Sir John Malyoe, descended toCaptain Malyoe, whom the young lady was to have married. 

As for the other case of treasure, it was never heard of again, norcould Barnaby ever guess whether it was divided as booty among thepirates, or whether they had carried it away with them to some strangeand foreign land, there to share it among themselves. 

And so the ending of the story, with only this to observe, thatwhether that strange appearance of Captain Brand's face by the lightof the pistol was a ghostly and spiritual appearance, or whether hewas present in flesh and blood, there is only to say that he was neverheard of again; nor had he ever been heard of till that time since theday he was so shot from behind by Capt. John Malyoe on the banks ofthe Rio Cobra River in the year 1733. 

Chapter III

WITH THE BUCCANEERS

_Being an Account of Certain Adventures that Befell Henry Mostyn UnderCapt. H. Morgan in the Year 1665-66_

[Illustration]

I

Although this narration has more particularly to do with the taking ofthe Spanish vice admiral in the harbor of Porto Bello, and of therescue therefrom of Le Sieur Simon, his wife and daughter (theadventure of which was successfully achieved by Captain Morgan, thefamous buccaneer), we shall, nevertheless, premise something of theearlier history of Master Harry Mostyn, whom you may, if you please, consider as the hero of the several circumstances recounted in thesepages. 

In the year 1664 our hero's father embarked from Portsmouth, inEngland, for the Barbados, where he owned a considerable sugarplantation. Thither to those parts of America he transported withhimself his whole family, of whom our Master Harry was the fifth ofeight children--a great lusty fellow as little fitted for the Church(for which he was designed) as could be. At the time of this story, though not above sixteen years old, Master Harry Mostyn was as big andwell-grown as many a man of twenty, and of such a reckless anddare-devil spirit that no adventure was too dangerous or toomischievous for him to embark upon. 

At this time there was a deal of talk in those parts of the Americasconcerning Captain Morgan, and the prodigious successes he was havingpirating against the Spaniards. 

This man had once been an indentured servant with Mr. Rolls, a sugarfactor at the Barbados. Having served out his time, and being oflawless disposition, possessing also a prodigious appetite foradventure, he joined with others of his kidney, and, purchasing acaravel of three guns, embarked fairly upon that career of piracy themost successful that ever was heard of in the world. 

Master Harry had known this man very well while he was still with Mr. Rolls, serving as a clerk at that gentleman's sugar wharf, a tall, broad-shouldered, strapping fellow, with red cheeks, and thick redlips, and rolling blue eyes, and hair as red as any chestnut. Manyknew him for a bold, gruff-spoken man, but no one at that timesuspected that he had it in him to become so famous and renowned as heafterward grew to be. 

The fame of his exploits had been the talk of those parts for above atwelvemonth, when, in the latter part of the year 1665, CaptainMorgan, having made a very successful expedition against the Spaniardsinto the Gulf of Campeche--where he took several important purchasesfrom the plate fleet--came to the Barbados, there to fit out anothersuch venture, and to enlist recruits. 

He and certain other adventurers had purchased a vessel of some fivehundred tons, which they proposed to convert into a pirate by cuttingportholes for cannon, and running three or four carronades across hermain deck. The name of this ship, be it mentioned, was the _GoodSamaritan_, as ill-fitting a name as could be for such a craft, which, instead of being designed for the healing of wounds, was intendedto inflict such devastation as those wicked men proposed. 

[Illustration: BURIED TREASURE]

Here was a piece of mischief exactly fitted to our hero's tastes;wherefore, having made up a bundle of clothes, and with not above ashilling in his pocket, he made an excursion into the town to seek forCaptain Morgan. There he found the great pirate established at anordinary, with a little court of ragamuffins and swashbucklersgathered about him, all talking very loud, and drinking healths in rawrum as though it were sugared water. 

And what a fine figure our buccaneer had grown, to be sure! Howdifferent from the poor, humble clerk upon the sugar wharf! What adeal of gold braid! What a fine, silver-hilted Spanish sword! What agay velvet sling, hung with three silver-mounted pistols! If MasterHarry's mind had not been made up before, to be sure such a spectacleof glory would have determined it. 

This figure of war our hero asked to step aside with him, and whenthey had come into a corner, proposed to the other what he intended, and that he had a mind to enlist as a gentleman adventurer upon thisexpedition. Upon this our rogue of a buccaneer captain burst outa-laughing, and fetching Master Harry a great thump upon the back, swore roundly that he would make a man of him, and that it was a pityto make a parson out of so good a piece of stuff. 

Nor was Captain Morgan less good than his word, for when the _GoodSamaritan_ set sail with a favoring wind for the island of Jamaica, Master Harry found himself established as one of the adventurersaboard. 

II

Could you but have seen the town of Port Royal as it appeared in theyear 1665 you would have beheld a sight very well worth while lookingupon. There were no fine houses at that time, and no great countinghouses built of brick, such as you may find nowadays, but a crowd ofboard and wattled huts huddled along the streets, and all so gay withflags and bits of color that Vanity Fair itself could not have beengayer. To this place came all the pirates and buccaneers that infestedthose parts, and men shouted and swore and gambled, and poured outmoney like water, and then maybe wound up their merrymaking by dyingof fever. For the sky in these torrid latitudes is all full of cloudsoverhead, and as hot as any blanket, and when the sun shone forth itstreamed down upon the smoking sands so that the houses were ovens andthe streets were furnaces; so it was little wonder that men died likerats in a hole. But little they appeared to care for that; so thateverywhere you might behold a multitude of painted women and Jews andmerchants and pirates, gaudy with red scarfs and gold braid and allsorts of odds and ends of foolish finery, all fighting and gamblingand bartering for that ill-gotten treasure of the be-robbed Spaniard. 

Here, arriving, Captain Morgan found a hearty welcome, and a messagefrom the governor awaiting him, the message bidding him attend HisExcellency upon the earliest occasion that offered. Whereupon, takingour hero (of whom he had grown prodigiously fond) along with him, ourpirate went, without any loss of time, to visit Sir Thomas Modiford, who was then the royal governor of all this devil's brew ofwickedness. 

They found His Excellency seated in a great easy-chair, under theshadow of a slatted veranda, the floor whereof was paved with brick. He was clad, for the sake of coolness, only in his shirt, breeches, and stockings, and he wore slippers on his feet. He was smoking agreat cigarro of tobacco, and a goblet of lime juice and water and rumstood at his elbow on a table. Here, out of the glare of the heat, itwas all very cool and pleasant, with a sea breeze blowing violently inthrough the slats, setting them a-rattling now and then, and stirringSir Thomas's long hair, which he had pushed back for the sake ofcoolness. 

The purport of this interview, I may tell you, concerned the rescue ofone Le Sieur Simon, who, together with his wife and daughter, was heldcaptive by the Spaniards. 

[Illustration]

This gentleman adventurer (Le Sieur Simon) had, a few years before, been set up by the buccaneers as governor of the island of SantaCatharina. This place, though well fortified by the Spaniards, thebuccaneers had seized upon, establishing themselves thereon, and soinfesting the commerce of those seas that no Spanish fleet was safefrom them. At last the Spaniards, no longer able to endure theseassaults against their commerce, sent a great force against thefreebooters to drive them out of their island stronghold. This theydid, retaking Santa Catharina, together with its governor, his wife, and daughter, as well as the whole garrison of buccaneers. 

This garrison was sent by their conquerors, some to the galleys, someto the mines, some to no man knows where. The governor himself--LeSieur Simon--was to be sent to Spain, there to stand his trial forpiracy. 

The news of all this, I may tell you, had only just been received inJamaica, having been brought thither by a Spanish captain, one DonRoderiguez Sylvia, who was, besides, the bearer of dispatches to theSpanish authorities relating the whole affair. 

Such, in fine, was the purport of this interview, and as our hero andhis captain walked back together from the governor's house to theordinary where they had taken up their inn, the buccaneer assured hiscompanion that he purposed to obtain those dispatches from the Spanishcaptain that very afternoon, even if he had to use force to seizethem. 

All this, you are to understand, was undertaken only because of thefriendship that the governor and Captain Morgan entertained for LeSieur Simon. And, indeed, it was wonderful how honest and how faithfulwere these wicked men in their dealings with one another. For you mustknow that Governor Modiford and Le Sieur Simon and the buccaneers wereall of one kidney--all taking a share in the piracies of those times, and all holding by one another as though they were the honestest menin the world. Hence it was they were all so determined to rescue LeSieur Simon from the Spaniards. 

III

Having reached his ordinary after his interview with the governor, Captain Morgan found there a number of his companions, such as usuallygathered at that place to be in attendance upon him--some, thosebelonging to the _Good Samaritan_; others, those who hoped to obtainbenefits from him; others, those ragamuffins who gathered around himbecause he was famous, and because it pleased them to be of his courtand to be called his followers. For nearly always your successfulpirate had such a little court surrounding him. 

Finding a dozen or more of these rascals gathered there, CaptainMorgan informed them of his present purpose--that he was going to findthe Spanish captain to demand his papers of him, and calling upon themto accompany him. 

With this following at his heels, our buccaneer started off down thestreet, his lieutenant, a Cornishman named Bartholomew Davis, upon onehand and our hero upon the other. So they paraded the streets for thebest part of an hour before they found the Spanish captain. Forwhether he had got wind that Captain Morgan was searching for him, orwhether, finding himself in a place so full of his enemies, he hadburied himself in some place of hiding, it is certain that thebuccaneers had traversed pretty nearly the whole town before theydiscovered that he was lying at a certain auberge kept by a PortugueseJew. Thither they went, and thither Captain Morgan entered with theutmost coolness and composure of demeanor, his followers crowdingnoisily in at his heels. 

The space within was very dark, being lighted only by the doorway andby two large slatted windows or openings in the front. 

In this dark, hot place--not over-roomy at the best--were gatheredtwelve or fifteen villainous-appearing men, sitting at tables anddrinking together, waited upon by the Jew and his wife. Our hero hadno trouble in discovering which of this lot of men was Captain Sylvia, for not only did Captain Morgan direct his glance full of war uponhim, but the Spaniard was clad with more particularity and with moreshow of finery than any of the others who were there. 

Him Captain Morgan approached and demanded his papers, whereunto theother replied with such a jabber of Spanish and English that no mancould have understood what he said. To this Captain Morgan in turnreplied that he must have those papers, no matter what it might costhim to obtain them, and thereupon drew a pistol from his sling andpresented it at the other's head. 

At this threatening action the innkeeper's wife fell a-screaming, andthe Jew, as in a frenzy, besought them not to tear the house downabout his ears. 

Our hero could hardly tell what followed, only that all of a suddenthere was a prodigious uproar of combat. Knives flashed everywhere, and then a pistol was fired so close to his head that he stood likeone stunned, hearing some one crying out in a loud voice, but notknowing whether it was a friend or a foe who had been shot. Thenanother pistol shot so deafened what was left of Master Harry'shearing that his ears rang for above an hour afterward. By this timethe whole place was full of gunpowder smoke, and there was the soundof blows and oaths and outcrying and the clashing of knives. 

As Master Harry, who had no great stomach for such a combat, and novery particular interest in the quarrel, was making for the door, alittle Portuguese, as withered and as nimble as an ape, came duckingunder the table and plunged at his stomach with a great long knife, which, had it effected its object, would surely have ended hisadventures then and there. Finding himself in such danger, MasterHarry snatched up a heavy chair, and, flinging it at his enemy, whowas preparing for another attack, he fairly ran for it out of thedoor, expecting every instant to feel the thrust of the blade betwixthis ribs. 

A considerable crowd had gathered outside, and others, hearing theuproar, were coming running to join them. With these our hero stood, trembling like a leaf, and with cold chills running up and down hisback like water at the narrow escape from the danger that hadthreatened him. 

Nor shall you think him a coward, for you must remember he was hardlysixteen years old at the time, and that this was the first affair ofthe sort he had encountered. Afterward, as you shall learn, he showedthat he could exhibit courage enough at a pinch. 

While he stood there, endeavoring to recover his composure, the whilethe tumult continued within, suddenly two men came running almosttogether out of the door, a crowd of the combatants at their heels. The first of these men was Captain Sylvia; the other, who was pursuinghim, was Captain Morgan. 

As the crowd about the door parted before the sudden appearing ofthese, the Spanish captain, perceiving, as he supposed, a way ofescape opened to him, darted across the street with incredibleswiftness toward an alleyway upon the other side. Upon this, seeinghis prey like to get away from him, Captain Morgan snatched a pistolout of his sling, and resting it for an instant across his arm, firedat the flying Spaniard, and that with so true an aim that, though thestreet was now full of people, the other went tumbling over and overall of a heap in the kennel, where he lay, after a twitch or two, asstill as a log. 

At the sound of the shot and the fall of the man the crowd scatteredupon all sides, yelling and screaming, and the street being thuspretty clear, Captain Morgan ran across the way to where his victimlay, his smoking pistol still in his hand, and our hero followingclose at his heels. 

Our poor Harry had never before beheld a man killed thus in an instantwho a moment before had been so full of life and activity, for whenCaptain Morgan turned the body over upon its back he could perceive ata glance, little as he knew of such matters, that the man wasstone-dead. And, indeed, it was a dreadful sight for him who washardly more than a child. He stood rooted for he knew not how long, staring down at the dead face with twitching fingers and shudderinglimbs. Meantime a great crowd was gathering about them again. 

[Illustration]

As for Captain Morgan, he went about his work with the utmost coolnessand deliberation imaginable, unbuttoning the waistcoat and the shirtof the man he had murdered with fingers that neither twitched norshook. There were a gold cross and a bunch of silver medals hung by awhipcord about the neck of the dead man. This Captain Morgan brokeaway with a snap, reaching the jingling baubles to Harry, who tookthem in his nerveless hand and fingers that he could hardly close uponwhat they held. 

The papers Captain Morgan found in a wallet in an inner breast pocketof the Spaniard's waistcoat. These he examined one by one, and findingthem to his satisfaction, tied them up again, and slipped the walletand its contents into his own pocket. 

Then for the first time he appeared to observe Master Harry, who, indeed, must have been standing, the perfect picture of horror anddismay. Whereupon, bursting out a-laughing, and slipping the pistol hehad used back into its sling again, he fetched poor Harry a great slapupon the back, bidding him be a man, for that he would see many suchsights as this. 

But indeed, it was no laughing matter for poor Master Harry, for itwas many a day before his imagination could rid itself of the image ofthe dead Spaniard's face; and as he walked away down the street withhis companions, leaving the crowd behind them, and the dead body whereit lay for its friends to look after, his ears humming and ringingfrom the deafening noise of the pistol shots fired in the close room, and the sweat trickling down his face in drops, he knew not whetherall that had passed had been real, or whether it was a dream fromwhich he might presently awaken. 

IV

The papers Captain Morgan had thus seized upon as the fruit of themurder he had committed must have been as perfectly satisfactory tohim as could be, for having paid a second visit that evening toGovernor Modiford, the pirate lifted anchor the next morning and madesail toward the Gulf of Darien. There, after cruising about in thosewaters for about a fortnight without falling in with a vessel ofany sort, at the end of that time they overhauled a caravel bound fromPorto Bello to Cartagena, which vessel they took, and finding herloaded with nothing better than raw hides, scuttled and sank her, being then about twenty leagues from the main of Cartagena. From thecaptain of this vessel they learned that the plate fleet was thenlying in the harbor of Porto Bello, not yet having set sail thence, but waiting for the change of the winds before embarking for Spain. Besides this, which was a good deal more to their purpose, theSpaniards told the pirates that the Sieur Simon, his wife, anddaughter were confined aboard the vice admiral of that fleet, and thatthe name of the vice admiral was the _Santa Maria y Valladolid_. 

[Illustration: KIDD ON THE DECK OF THE _Adventure Galley_]

So soon as Captain Morgan had obtained the information he desired hedirected his course straight for the Bay of Santo Blaso, where hemight lie safely within the cape of that name without any danger ofdiscovery (that part of the mainland being entirely uninhabited) andyet be within twenty or twenty-five leagues of Porto Bello. 

Having come safely to this anchorage, he at once declared hisintentions to his companions, which were as follows:

That it was entirely impossible for them to hope to sail their vesselinto the harbor of Porto Bello, and to attack the Spanish vice admiralwhere he lay in the midst of the armed flota; wherefore, if anythingwas to be accomplished, it must be undertaken by some subtle designrather than by open-handed boldness. Having so prefaced what he had tosay, he now declared that it was his purpose to take one of the ship'sboats and to go in that to Porto Bello, trusting for some opportunityto occur to aid him either in the accomplishment of his aims or in thegaining of some further information. Having thus delivered himself, heinvited any who dared to do so to volunteer for the expedition, telling them plainly that he would constrain no man to go against hiswill, for that at best it was a desperate enterprise, possessing onlythe recommendation that in its achievement the few who undertook itwould gain great renown, and perhaps a very considerable booty. 

And such was the incredible influence of this bold man over hiscompanions, and such was their confidence in his skill and cunning, that not above a dozen of all those aboard hung back from theundertaking, but nearly every man desired to be taken. 

Of these volunteers Captain Morgan chose twenty--among others ourMaster Harry--and having arranged with his lieutenant that if nothingwas heard from the expedition at the end of three days he should sailfor Jamaica to await news, he embarked upon that enterprise, which, though never heretofore published, was perhaps the boldest and themost desperate of all those that have since made his name so famous. For what could be a more unparalleled undertaking than for a littleopen boat, containing but twenty men, to enter the harbor of the thirdstrongest fortress of the Spanish mainland with the intention ofcutting out the Spanish vice admiral from the midst of a whole fleetof powerfully armed vessels, and how many men in all the world do yousuppose would venture such a thing?

But there is this to be said of that great buccaneer: that if heundertook enterprises so desperate as this, he yet laid his plans sowell that they never went altogether amiss. Moreover, the verydesperation of his successes was of such a nature that no man couldsuspect that he would dare to undertake such things, and accordinglyhis enemies were never prepared to guard against his attacks. Aye, hadhe but worn the king's colors and served under the rules of honestwar, he might have become as great and as renowned as Admiral Blakehimself. 

But all that is neither here nor there; what I have to tell you now isthat Captain Morgan in this open boat with his twenty mates reachedthe Cape of Salmedina toward the fall of day. Arriving within view ofthe harbor they discovered the plate fleet at anchor, with twomen-of-war and an armed galley riding as a guard at the mouth of theharbor, scarce half a league distant from the other ships. Havingspied the fleet in this posture, the pirates presently pulled downtheir sails and rowed along the coast, feigning to be a Spanish vesselfrom Nombre de Dios. So hugging the shore, they came boldly within theharbor, upon the opposite side of which you might see the fortress aconsiderable distance away. 

Being now come so near to the consummation of their adventure, CaptainMorgan required every man to make an oath to stand by him to the last, whereunto our hero swore as heartily as any man aboard, although hisheart, I must needs confess, was beating at a great rate at theapproach of what was to happen. Having thus received the oaths of allhis followers, Captain Morgan commanded the surgeon of the expeditionthat, when the order was given, he, the medico, was to bore six holesin the boat, so that, it sinking under them, they might all becompelled to push forward, with no chance of retreat. And such was theascendancy of this man over his followers, and such was their awe ofhim, that not one of them uttered even so much as a murmur, thoughwhat he had commanded the surgeon to do pledged them either to victoryor to death, with no chance to choose between. Nor did the surgeonquestion the orders he had received, much less did he dream ofdisobeying them. 

By now it had fallen pretty dusk, whereupon, spying two fishermen in acanoe at a little distance, Captain Morgan demanded of them in Spanishwhich vessel of those at anchor in the harbor was the vice admiral, for that he had dispatches for the captain thereof. Whereupon thefishermen, suspecting nothing, pointed to them a galleon of great sizeriding at anchor not half a league distant. 

[Illustration]

Toward this vessel accordingly the pirates directed their course, andwhen they had come pretty nigh, Captain Morgan called upon the surgeonthat now it was time for him to perform the duty that had been laidupon him. Whereupon the other did as he was ordered, and that sothoroughly that the water presently came gushing into the boat ingreat streams, whereat all hands pulled for the galleon as thoughevery next moment was to be their last. 

And what do you suppose were our hero's emotions at this time? Likeall in the boat, his awe of Captain Morgan was so great that I dobelieve he would rather have gone to the bottom than have questionedhis command, even when it was to scuttle the boat. Nevertheless, whenhe felt the cold water gushing about his feet (for he had taken offhis shoes and stockings) he became possessed with such a fear of beingdrowned that even the Spanish galleon had no terrors for him if hecould only feel the solid planks thereof beneath his feet. 

Indeed, all the crew appeared to be possessed of a like dismay, forthey pulled at the oars with such an incredible force that they wereunder the quarter of the galleon before the boat was half filled withwater. 

Here, as they approached, it then being pretty dark and the moon notyet having risen, the watch upon the deck hailed them, whereuponCaptain Morgan called out in Spanish that he was Capt. AlvarezMendazo, and that he brought dispatches for the vice admiral. 

But at that moment, the boat being now so full of water as to belogged, it suddenly tilted upon one side as though to sink beneaththem, whereupon all hands, without further orders, went scrambling upthe side, as nimble as so many monkeys, each armed with a pistol inone hand and a cutlass in the other, and so were upon deck before thewatch could collect his wits to utter any outcry or to give any otheralarm than to cry out, "Jesu bless us! who are these?" at which wordssomebody knocked him down with the butt of a pistol, though who it wasour hero could not tell in the darkness and the hurry. 

Before any of those upon deck could recover from their alarm or thosefrom below come up upon deck, a part of the pirates, under thecarpenter and the surgeon, had run to the gun room and had takenpossession of the arms, while Captain Morgan, with Master Harry and aPortuguese called Murillo Braziliano, had flown with the speed of thewind into the great cabin. 

Here they found the captain of the vice admiral playing at cards withthe Sieur Simon and a friend, Madam Simon and her daughter beingpresent. 

Captain Morgan instantly set his pistol at the breast of the Spanishcaptain, swearing with a most horrible fierce countenance that if hespake a word or made any outcry he was a dead man. As for our hero, having now got his hand into the game, he performed the same servicefor the Spaniard's friend, declaring he would shoot him dead if heopened his lips or lifted so much as a single finger. 

All this while the ladies, not comprehending what had occurred, hadsat as mute as stones; but now having so far recovered themselves asto find a voice, the younger of the two fell to screaming, at whichthe Sieur Simon called out to her to be still, for these were friendswho had come to help them, and not enemies who had come to harm them. 

All this, you are to understand, occupied only a little while, for inless than a minute three or four of the pirates had come into thecabin, who, together with the Portuguese, proceeded at once to bindthe two Spaniards hand and foot, and to gag them. This being done toour buccaneer's satisfaction, and the Spanish captain being stretchedout in the corner of the cabin, he instantly cleared his countenanceof its terrors, and bursting forth into a great loud laugh, clappedhis hand to the Sieur Simon's, which he wrung with the best will inthe world. Having done this, and being in a fine humor after this hisfirst success, he turned to the two ladies. "And this, ladies, " saidhe, taking our hero by the hand and presenting him, "is a younggentleman who has embarked with me to learn the trade of piracy. Irecommend him to your politeness. "

Think what a confusion this threw our Master Harry into, to be sure, who at his best was never easy in the company of strange ladies! Youmay suppose what must have been his emotions to find himself thusintroduced to the attention of Madam Simon and her daughter, being atthe time in his bare feet, clad only in his shirt and breeches, andwith no hat upon his head, a pistol in one hand and a cutlass in theother. However, he was not left for long to his embarrassments, foralmost immediately after he had thus far relaxed, Captain Morgan fellof a sudden serious again, and bidding the Sieur Simon to get hisladies away into some place of safety, for the most hazardous part ofthis adventure was yet to occur, he quitted the cabin with MasterHarry and the other pirates (for you may call him a pirate now) at hisheels. 

Having come upon deck, our hero beheld that a part of the Spanish crewwere huddled forward in a flock like so many sheep (the others beingcrowded below with the hatches fastened upon them), and such was theterror of the pirates, and so dreadful the name of Henry Morgan, thatnot one of those poor wretches dared to lift up his voice to give anyalarm, nor even to attempt an escape by jumping overboard. 

At Captain Morgan's orders, these men, together with certain of hisown company, ran nimbly aloft and began setting the sails, which, thenight now having fallen pretty thick, was not for a good whileobserved by any of the vessels riding at anchor about them. 

Indeed, the pirates might have made good their escape, with at mostonly a shot or two from the men-of-war, had it not then been about thefull of the moon, which, having arisen, presently discovered to thoseof the fleet that lay closest about them what was being done aboardthe vice admiral. 

At this one of the vessels hailed them, and then after a while, havingno reply, hailed them again. Even then the Spaniards might notimmediately have suspected anything was amiss but only that the viceadmiral for some reason best known to himself was shifting hisanchorage, had not one of the Spaniards aloft--but who it was CaptainMorgan was never able to discover--answered the hail by crying outthat the vice admiral had been seized by the pirates. 

At this the alarm was instantly given and the mischief done, forpresently there was a tremendous bustle through that part of the fleetlying nighest the vice admiral--a deal of shouting of orders, abeating of drums, and the running hither and thither of the crews. 

But by this time the sails of the vice admiral had filled with astrong land breeze that was blowing up the harbor, whereupon thecarpenter, at Captain Morgan's orders, having cut away both anchors, the galleon presently bore away up the harbor, gathering headway everymoment with the wind nearly dead astern. The nearest vessel was theonly one that for the moment was able to offer any hindrance. Thisship, having by this time cleared away one of its guns, was able tofire a parting shot against the vice-admiral, striking her somewhereforward, as our hero could see by a great shower of splinters thatflew up in the moonlight. 

At the sound of the shot all the vessels of the flota not yetdisturbed by the alarm were aroused at once, so that the pirates hadthe satisfaction of knowing that they would have to run the gantlet ofall the ships between them and the open sea before they could reckonthemselves escaped. 

And, indeed, to our hero's mind it seemed that the battle whichfollowed must have been the most terrific cannonade that was everheard in the world. It was not so ill at first, for it was some whilebefore the Spaniards could get their guns clear for action, they beingnot the least in the world prepared for such an occasion as this. Butby and by first one and then another ship opened fire upon thegalleon, until it seemed to our hero that all the thunders of heavenlet loose upon them could not have created a more prodigious uproar, and that it was not possible that they could any of them escapedestruction. 

By now the moon had risen full and round, so that the clouds of smokethat rose in the air appeared as white as snow. The air seemed full ofthe hiss and screaming of shot, each one of which, when it struck thegalleon, was magnified by our hero's imagination into ten times itsmagnitude from the crash which it delivered and from the cloud ofsplinters it would cast up into the moonlight. At last he suddenlybeheld one poor man knocked sprawling across the deck, who, as heraised his arm from behind the mast, disclosed that the hand was gonefrom it, and that the shirt sleeve was red with blood in themoonlight. At this sight all the strength fell away from poor Harry, and he felt sure that a like fate or even a worse must be in store forhim. 

But, after all, this was nothing to what it might have been in broaddaylight, for what with the darkness of night, and the littlepreparation the Spaniards could make for such a business, and theextreme haste with which they discharged their guns (many notunderstanding what was the occasion of all this uproar), nearly allthe shot flew so wide of the mark that not above one in twenty struckthat at which it was aimed. 

Meantime Captain Morgan, with the Sieur Simon, who had followed himupon deck, stood just above where our hero lay behind the shelter ofthe bulwark. The captain had lit a pipe of tobacco, and he stood nowin the bright moonlight close to the rail, with his hands behind him, looking out ahead with the utmost coolness imaginable, and paying nomore attention to the din of battle than though it were twenty leaguesaway. Now and then he would take his pipe from his lips to utter anorder to the man at the wheel. Excepting this he stood there hardlymoving at all, the wind blowing his long red hair over his shoulders. 

[Illustration: BURNING THE SHIP]

Had it not been for the armed galley the pirates might have got thegalleon away with no great harm done in spite of all thiscannonading, for the man-of-war which rode at anchor nighest to themat the mouth of the harbor was still so far away that they might havepassed it by hugging pretty close to the shore, and that without anygreat harm being done to them in the darkness. But just at thismoment, when the open water lay in sight, came this galley pulling outfrom behind the point of the shore in such a manner as either to headour pirates off entirely or else to compel them to approach so near tothe man-of-war that that latter vessel could bring its guns to bearwith more effect. 

This galley, I must tell you, was like others of its kind such as youmay find in these waters, the hull being long and cut low to the waterso as to allow the oars to dip freely. The bow was sharp and projectedfar out ahead, mounting a swivel upon it, while at the stern a numberof galleries built one above another into a castle gave shelter toseveral companies of musketeers as well as the officers commandingthem. 

Our hero could behold the approach of this galley from above thestarboard bulwarks, and it appeared to him impossible for them to hopeto escape either it or the man-of-war. But still Captain Morganmaintained the same composure that he had exhibited all the while, only now and then delivering an order to the man at the wheel, who, putting the helm over, threw the bows of the galleon around more tothe larboard, as though to escape the bow of the galley and get intothe open water beyond. This course brought the pirates ever closer andcloser to the man-of-war, which now began to add its thunder to thedin of the battle, and with so much more effect that at everydischarge you might hear the crashing and crackling of splinteredwood, and now and then the outcry or groaning of some man who washurt. Indeed, had it been daylight, they must at this juncture allhave perished, though, as was said, what with the night and theconfusion and the hurry, they escaped entire destruction, though moreby a miracle than through any policy upon their own part. 

Meantime the galley, steering as though to come aboard of them, hadnow come so near that it, too, presently began to open its musketryfire upon them, so that the humming and rattling of bullets werepresently added to the din of cannonading. 

In two minutes more it would have been aboard of them, when in amoment Captain Morgan roared out of a sudden to the man at the helm toput it hard a starboard. In response the man ran the wheel over withthe utmost quickness, and the galleon, obeying her helm very readily, came around upon a course which, if continued, would certainly bringthem into collision with their enemy. 

It is possible at first the Spaniards imagined the pirates intended toescape past their stern, for they instantly began backing oars to keepthem from getting past, so that the water was all of a foam aboutthem; at the same time they did this they poured in such a fire ofmusketry that it was a miracle that no more execution was accomplishedthan happened. 

As for our hero, methinks for the moment he forgot all abouteverything else than as to whether or no his captain's maneuver wouldsucceed, for in the very first moment he divined, as by some instinct, what Captain Morgan purposed doing. 

At this moment, so particular in the execution of this nice design, abullet suddenly struck down the man at the wheel. Hearing the sharpoutcry, our Harry turned to see him fall forward, and then to hishands and knees upon the deck, the blood running in a black poolbeneath him, while the wheel, escaping from his hands, spun over untilthe spokes were all of a mist. 

In a moment the ship would have fallen off before the wind had not ourhero, leaping to the wheel (even as Captain Morgan shouted an orderfor some one to do so), seized the flying spokes, whirling them backagain, and so bringing the bow of the galleon up to its former course. 

In the first moment of this effort he had reckoned of nothing but ofcarrying out his captain's designs. He neither thought of cannon ballsnor of bullets. But now that his task was accomplished, he camesuddenly back to himself to find the galleries of the galley aflamewith musket shots, and to become aware with a most horrible sinking ofthe spirits that all the shots therefrom were intended for him. Hecast his eyes about him with despair, but no one came to ease him ofhis task, which, having undertaken, he had too much spirit to resignfrom carrying through to the end, though he was well aware that thevery next instant might mean his sudden and violent death. His earshummed and rang, and his brain swam as light as a feather. I know notwhether he breathed, but he shut his eyes tight as though that mightsave him from the bullets that were raining about him. 

[Illustration]

At this moment the Spaniards must have discovered for the first timethe pirates' design, for of a sudden they ceased firing, and began toshout out a multitude of orders, while the oars lashed the water allabout with a foam. But it was too late then for them to escape, forwithin a couple of seconds the galleon struck her enemy a blow soviolent upon the larboard quarter as nearly to hurl our Harry upon thedeck, and then with a dreadful, horrible crackling of wood, commingledwith a yelling of men's voices, the galley was swung around upon herside, and the galleon, sailing into the open sea, left nothing of herimmediate enemy but a sinking wreck, and the water dotted all overwith bobbing heads and waving hands in the moonlight. 

And now, indeed, that all danger was past and gone, there were plentyto come running to help our hero at the wheel. As for Captain Morgan, having come down upon the main deck, he fetches the young helmsman aclap upon the back. "Well, Master Harry, " says he, "and did I not tellyou I would make a man of you?" Whereat our poor Harry fella-laughing, but with a sad catch in his voice, for his hands trembledas with an ague, and were as cold as ice. As for his emotions, Godknows he was nearer crying than laughing, if Captain Morgan had butknown it. 

Nevertheless, though undertaken under the spur of the moment, Iprotest it was indeed a brave deed, and I cannot but wonder how manyyoung gentlemen of sixteen there are to-day who, upon a like occasion, would act as well as our Harry. 

V

The balance of our hero's adventures were of a lighter sort than thosealready recounted, for the next morning the Spanish captain (a verypolite and well-bred gentleman) having fitted him out with a shift ofhis own clothes, Master Harry was presented in a proper form to theladies. For Captain Morgan, if he had felt a liking for the young manbefore, could not now show sufficient regard for him. He ate in thegreat cabin and was petted by all. Madam Simon, who was a fat andred-faced lady, was forever praising him, and the young miss, who wasextremely well-looking, was as continually making eyes at him. 

She and Master Harry, I must tell you, would spend hours together, shemaking pretense of teaching him French, although he was so possessedwith a passion of love that he was nigh suffocated with it. She, uponher part, perceiving his emotions, responded with extreme good natureand complacency, so that had our hero been older, and the voyageproved longer, he might have become entirely enmeshed in the toils ofhis fair siren. For all this while, you are to understand, the pirateswere making sail straight for Jamaica, which they reached upon thethird day in perfect safety. 

In that time, however, the pirates had well-nigh gone crazy for joy;for when they came to examine their purchase they discovered her cargoto consist of plate to the prodigious sum of £130, 000 in value. 'Twasa wonder they did not all make themselves drunk for joy. No doubt theywould have done so had not Captain Morgan, knowing they were still inthe exact track of the Spanish fleets, threatened them that the firstman among them who touched a drop of rum without his permission hewould shoot him dead upon the deck. This threat had such effect thatthey all remained entirely sober until they had reached Port RoyalHarbor, which they did about nine o'clock in the morning. 

[Illustration]

And now it was that our hero's romance came all tumbling down abouthis ears with a run. For they had hardly come to anchor in the harborwhen a boat came from a man-of-war, and who should come steppingaboard but Lieutenant Grantley (a particular friend of our hero'sfather) and his own eldest brother Thomas, who, putting on a verystern face, informed Master Harry that he was a desperate and hardenedvillain who was sure to end at the gallows, and that he was to goimmediately back to his home again. He told our embryo pirate thathis family had nigh gone distracted because of his wicked andungrateful conduct. Nor could our hero move him from his inflexiblepurpose. "What, " says our Harry, "and will you not then let me waituntil our prize is divided and I get my share?"

"Prize, indeed!" says his brother. "And do you then really think thatyour father would consent to your having a share in this terriblebloody and murthering business?"

And so, after a good deal of argument, our hero was constrained to go;nor did he even have an opportunity to bid adieu to his inamorata. Nordid he see her any more, except from a distance, she standing on thepoop deck as he was rowed away from her, her face all stained withcrying. For himself, he felt that there was no more joy in life;nevertheless, standing up in the stern of the boat, he made shift, though with an aching heart, to deliver her a fine bow with the hat hehad borrowed from the Spanish captain, before his brother bade him sitdown again. 

And so to the ending of this story, with only this to relate, that ourMaster Harry, so far from going to the gallows, became in good time arespectable and wealthy sugar merchant with an English wife and a finefamily of children, whereunto, when the mood was upon him, he hassometimes told these adventures (and sundry others not hererecounted), as I have told them unto you. 

[Illustration]

Chapter IV

TOM CHIST AND THE TREASURE BOX

_An Old-time Story of the Days of Captain Kidd_

I

To tell about Tom Chist, and how he got his name, and how he came tobe living at the little settlement of Henlopen, just inside the mouthof the Delaware Bay, the story must begin as far back as 1686, when agreat storm swept the Atlantic coast from end to end. During theheaviest part of the hurricane a bark went ashore on theHen-and-Chicken Shoals, just below Cape Henlopen and at the mouth ofthe Delaware Bay, and Tom Chist was the only soul of all those onboard the ill-fated vessel who escaped alive. 

This story must first be told, because it was on account of thestrange and miraculous escape that happened to him at that time thathe gained the name that was given to him. 

Even as late as that time of the American colonies, the littlescattered settlement at Henlopen, made up of English, with a few Dutchand Swedish people, was still only a spot upon the face of the greatAmerican wilderness that spread away, with swamp and forest, no manknew how far to the westward. That wilderness was not only full ofwild beasts, but of Indian savages, who every fall would come inwandering tribes to spend the winter along the shores of thefresh-water lakes below Henlopen. There for four or five months theywould live upon fish and clams and wild ducks and geese, chippingtheir arrowheads, and making their earthenware pots and pans under thelee of the sand hills and pine woods below the Capes. 

Sometimes on Sundays, when the Rev. Hillary Jones would be preachingin the little log church back in the woods, these half-clad redsavages would come in from the cold, and sit squatting in the backpart of the church, listening stolidly to the words that had nomeaning for them. 

But about the wreck of the bark in 1686. Such a wreck as that whichthen went ashore on the Hen-and-Chicken Shoals was a godsend to thepoor and needy settlers in the wilderness where so few good thingsever came. For the vessel went to pieces during the night, and thenext morning the beach was strewn with wreckage--boxes and barrels, chests and spars, timbers and planks, a plentiful and bountifulharvest to be gathered up by the settlers as they chose, with no oneto forbid or prevent them. 

The name of the bark, as found painted on some of the water barrelsand sea chests, was the _Bristol Merchant_, and she no doubt hailedfrom England. 

As was said, the only soul who escaped alive off the wreck was TomChist. 

A settler, a fisherman named Matt Abrahamson, and his daughter Molly, found Tom. He was washed up on the beach among the wreckage, in agreat wooden box which had been securely tied around with a rope andlashed between two spars--apparently for better protection in beatingthrough the surf. Matt Abrahamson thought he had found something ofmore than usual value when he came upon this chest; but when he cutthe cords and broke open the box with his broadax, he could not havebeen more astonished had he beheld a salamander instead of a baby ofnine or ten months old lying half smothered in the blankets thatcovered the bottom of the chest. 

Matt Abrahamson's daughter Molly had had a baby who had died a monthor so before. So when she saw the little one lying there in the bottomof the chest, she cried out in a great loud voice that the Good Manhad sent her another baby in place of her own. 

The rain was driving before the hurricane storm in dim, slantingsheets, and so she wrapped up the baby in the man's coat she wore andran off home without waiting to gather up any more of the wreckage. 

It was Parson Jones who gave the foundling his name. When the newscame to his ears of what Matt Abrahamson had found he went over to thefisherman's cabin to see the child. He examined the clothes in whichthe baby was dressed. They were of fine linen and handsomely stitched, and the reverend gentleman opined that the foundling's parents musthave been of quality. A kerchief had been wrapped around the baby'sneck and under its arms and tied behind, and in the corner, markedwith very fine needlework, were the initials T. C. 

"What d'ye call him, Molly?" said Parson Jones. He was standing, as hespoke, with his back to the fire, warming his palms before the blaze. The pocket of the greatcoat he wore bulged out with a big case bottleof spirits which he had gathered up out of the wreck that afternoon. "What d'ye call him, Molly?"

"I'll call him Tom, after my own baby. "

"That goes very well with the initial on the kerchief, " said ParsonJones. "But what other name d'ye give him? Let it be something to gowith the C. "

"I don't know, " said Molly. 

"Why not call him 'Chist, ' since he was born in a chist out of thesea? 'Tom Chist'--the name goes off like a flash in the pan. " And so"Tom Chist" he was called and "Tom Chist" he was christened. 

So much for the beginning of the history of Tom Chist. The story ofCaptain Kidd's treasure box does not begin until the late spring of1699. 

That was the year that the famous pirate captain, coming up from theWest Indies, sailed his sloop into the Delaware Bay, where he lay forover a month waiting for news from his friends in New York. 

For he had sent word to that town asking if the coast was clear forhim to return home with the rich prize he had brought from the Indianseas and the coast of Africa, and meantime he lay there in theDelaware Bay waiting for a reply. Before he left he turned the wholeof Tom Chist's life topsy-turvy with something that he brought ashore. 

By that time Tom Chist had grown into a strong-limbed, thick-jointedboy of fourteen or fifteen years of age. It was a miserable dog's lifehe lived with old Matt Abrahamson, for the old fisherman was in hiscups more than half the time, and when he was so there was hardly aday passed that he did not give Tom a curse or a buffet or, as like asnot, an actual beating. One would have thought that such treatmentwould have broken the spirit of the poor little foundling, but it hadjust the opposite effect upon Tom Chist, who was one of your stubborn, sturdy, stiff-willed fellows who only grow harder and more tough themore they are ill-treated. It had been a long time now since he hadmade any outcry or complaint at the hard usage he suffered from oldMatt. At such times he would shut his teeth and bear whatever came tohim, until sometimes the half-drunken old man would be driven almostmad by his stubborn silence. Maybe he would stop in the midst of thebeating he was administering, and, grinding his teeth, would cry out:"Won't ye say naught? Won't ye say naught? Well, then, I'll see if Ican't make ye say naught. " When things had reached such a pass asthis Molly would generally interfere to protect her foster son, andthen she and Tom would together fight the old man until they hadwrenched the stick or the strap out of his hand. Then old Matt wouldchase them out of doors and around and around the house for maybe halfan hour, until his anger was cool, when he would go back again, andfor a time the storm would be over. 

Besides his foster mother, Tom Chist had a very good friend in ParsonJones, who used to come over every now and then to Abrahamson's hutupon the chance of getting a half dozen fish for breakfast. He alwayshad a kind word or two for Tom, who during the winter evenings wouldgo over to the good man's house to learn his letters, and to read andwrite and cipher a little, so that by now he was able to spell thewords out of the Bible and the almanac, and knew enough to changetuppence into four ha'pennies. 

This is the sort of boy Tom Chist was, and this is the sort of life heled. 

In the late spring or early summer of 1699 Captain Kidd's sloop sailedinto the mouth of the Delaware Bay and changed the whole fortune ofhis life. 

And this is how you come to the story of Captain Kidd's treasure box. 

II

Old Matt Abrahamson kept the flat-bottomed boat in which he wentfishing some distance down the shore, and in the neighborhood of theold wreck that had been sunk on the Shoals. This was the usual fishingground of the settlers, and here old Matt's boat generally lay drawnup on the sand. 

There had been a thunderstorm that afternoon, and Tom had gone downthe beach to bale out the boat in readiness for the morning's fishing. 

It was full moonlight now, as he was returning, and the night sky wasfull of floating clouds. Now and then there was a dull flash to thewestward, and once a muttering growl of thunder, promising anotherstorm to come. 

All that day the pirate sloop had been lying just off the shore backof the Capes, and now Tom Chist could see the sails glimmeringpallidly in the moonlight, spread for drying after the storm. He waswalking up the shore homeward when he became aware that at somedistance ahead of him there was a ship's boat drawn up on the littlenarrow beach, and a group of men clustered about it. He hurriedforward with a good deal of curiosity to see who had landed, but itwas not until he had come close to them that he could distinguish whoand what they were. Then he knew that it must be a party who had comeoff the pirate sloop. They had evidently just landed, and two men werelifting out a chest from the boat. One of them was a negro, naked tothe waist, and the other was a white man in his shirt sleeves, wearingpetticoat breeches, a Monterey cap upon his head, a red bandannahandkerchief around his neck, and gold earrings in his ears. He had along, plaited queue hanging down his back, and a great sheath knifedangling from his side. Another man, evidently the captain of theparty, stood at a little distance as they lifted the chest out of theboat. He had a cane in one hand and a lighted lantern in the other, although the moon was shining as bright as day. He wore jack boots anda handsome laced coat, and he had a long, drooping mustache thatcurled down below his chin. He wore a fine, feathered hat, and hislong black hair hung down upon his shoulders. 

All this Tom Chist could see in the moonlight that glinted andtwinkled upon the gilt buttons of his coat. 

They were so busy lifting the chest from the boat that at first theydid not observe that Tom Chist had come up and was standing there. Itwas the white man with the long, plaited queue and the gold earringsthat spoke to him. "Boy, what do you want here, boy?" he said, in arough, hoarse voice. "Where d'ye come from?" And then dropping his endof the chest, and without giving Tom time to answer, he pointed offdown the beach, and said, "You'd better be going about your ownbusiness, if you know what's good for you; and don't you come back, oryou'll find what you don't want waiting for you. "

[Illustration: WHO SHALL BE CAPTAIN?]

Tom saw in a glance that the pirates were all looking at him, andthen, without saying a word, he turned and walked away. The man whohad spoken to him followed him threateningly for some little distance, as though to see that he had gone away as he was bidden to do. Butpresently he stopped, and Tom hurried on alone, until the boat and thecrew and all were dropped away behind and lost in the moonlight night. Then he himself stopped also, turned, and looked back whence he hadcome. 

There had been something very strange in the appearance of the men hehad just seen, something very mysterious in their actions, and hewondered what it all meant, and what they were going to do. He stoodfor a little while thus looking and listening. He could see nothing, and could hear only the sound of distant talking. What were they doingon the lonely shore thus at night? Then, following a sudden impulse, he turned and cut off across the sand hummocks, skirting aroundinland, but keeping pretty close to the shore, his object being to spyupon them, and to watch what they were about from the back of the lowsand hills that fronted the beach. 

He had gone along some distance in his circuitous return when hebecame aware of the sound of voices that seemed to be drawing closerto him as he came toward the speakers. He stopped and stood listening, and instantly, as he stopped, the voices stopped also. He crouchedthere silently in the bright, glimmering moonlight, surrounded by thesilent stretches of sand, and the stillness seemed to press upon himlike a heavy hand. Then suddenly the sound of a man's voice beganagain, and as Tom listened he could hear some one slowly counting. "Ninety-one, " the voice began, "ninety-two, ninety-three, ninety-four, ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, onehundred, one hundred and one"--the slow, monotonous count comingnearer and nearer; "one hundred and two, one hundred and three, onehundred and four, " and so on in its monotonous reckoning. 

Suddenly he saw three heads appear above the sand hill, so close tohim that he crouched down quickly with a keen thrill, close beside thehummock near which he stood. His first fear was that they might haveseen him in the moonlight; but they had not, and his heart rose againas the counting voice went steadily on. "One hundred and twenty, " itwas saying--"and twenty-one, and twenty-two, and twenty-three, andtwenty-four, " and then he who was counting came out from behind thelittle sandy rise into the white and open level of shimmeringbrightness. 

It was the man with the cane whom Tom had seen some time before--thecaptain of the party who had landed. He carried his cane under his armnow, and was holding his lantern close to something that he held inhis hand, and upon which he looked narrowly as he walked with a slowand measured tread in a perfectly straight line across the sand, counting each step as he took it. "And twenty-five, and twenty-six, and twenty-seven, and twenty-eight, and twenty-nine, and thirty. "

[Illustration]

Behind him walked two other figures; one was the half-naked negro, theother the man with the plaited queue and the earrings, whom Tom hadseen lifting the chest out of the boat. Now they were carrying theheavy box between them, laboring through the sand with shuffling treadas they bore it onward. 

As he who was counting pronounced the word "thirty, " the two men setthe chest down on the sand with a grunt, the white man panting andblowing and wiping his sleeve across his forehead. And immediately hewho counted took out a slip of paper and marked something down uponit. They stood there for a long time, during which Tom lay behind thesand hummock watching them, and for a while the silence wasuninterrupted. In the perfect stillness Tom could hear the washing ofthe little waves beating upon the distant beach, and once the far-awaysound of a laugh from one of those who stood by the ship's boat. 

One, two, three minutes passed, and then the men picked up the chestand started on again; and then again the other man began his counting. "Thirty and one, and thirty and two, and thirty and three, and thirtyand four"--he walked straight across the level open, still lookingintently at that which he held in his hand--"and thirty and five, andthirty and six, and thirty and seven, " and so on, until the threefigures disappeared in the little hollow between the two sand hills onthe opposite side of the open, and still Tom could hear the sound ofthe counting voice in the distance. 

Just as they disappeared behind the hill there was a sudden faintflash of light; and by and by, as Tom lay still listening to thecounting, he heard, after a long interval, a far-away muffled rumbleof distant thunder. He waited for a while, and then arose and steppedto the top of the sand hummock behind which he had been lying. Helooked all about him, but there was no one else to be seen. Then hestepped down from the hummock and followed in the direction which thepirate captain and the two men carrying the chest had gone. He creptalong cautiously, stopping now and then to make sure that he stillheard the counting voice, and when it ceased he lay down upon the sandand waited until it began again. 

Presently, so following the pirates, he saw the three figures again inthe distance, and, skirting around back of a hill of sand covered withcoarse sedge grass, he came to where he overlooked a little open levelspace gleaming white in the moonlight. 

The three had been crossing the level of sand, and were now not morethan twenty-five paces from him. They had again set down the chest, upon which the white man with the long queue and the gold earrings hadseated to rest himself, the negro standing close beside him. The moonshone as bright as day and full upon his face. It was looking directlyat Tom Chist, every line as keen cut with white lights and blackshadows as though it had been carved in ivory and jet. He satperfectly motionless, and Tom drew back with a start, almost thinkinghe had been discovered. He lay silent, his heart beating heavily inhis throat; but there was no alarm, and presently he heard thecounting begin again, and when he looked once more he saw they weregoing away straight across the little open. A soft, sliding hillock ofsand lay directly in front of them. They did not turn aside, but wentstraight over it, the leader helping himself up the sandy slope withhis cane, still counting and still keeping his eyes fixed upon thatwhich he held in his hand. Then they disappeared again behind thewhite crest on the other side. 

So Tom followed them cautiously until they had gone almost half a mileinland. When next he saw them clearly it was from a little sandy risewhich looked down like the crest of a bowl upon the floor of sandbelow. Upon this smooth, white floor the moon beat with almostdazzling brightness. 

The white man who had helped to carry the chest was now kneeling, busied at some work, though what it was Tom at first could not see. Hewas whittling the point of a stick into a long wooden peg, and when, by and by, he had finished what he was about, he arose and stepped towhere he who seemed to be the captain had stuck his cane upright intothe ground as though to mark some particular spot. He drew the caneout of the sand, thrusting the stick down in its stead. Then he drovethe long peg down with a wooden mallet which the negro handed to him. The sharp rapping of the mallet upon the top of the peg sounded loudin the perfect stillness, and Tom lay watching and wondering whatit all meant. The man, with quick-repeated blows, drove the pegfarther and farther down into the sand until it showed only two orthree inches above the surface. As he finished his work there wasanother faint flash of light, and by and by another smothered rumbleof thunder, and Tom, as he looked out toward the westward, saw thesilver rim of the round and sharply outlined thundercloud risingslowly up into the sky and pushing the other and broken driftingclouds before it. 

[Illustration: Kidd at Gardiner's Island

_Illustration from_SEA ROBBERS OF NEW YORK

_by_ Thomas A. Janvier

_Originally published in_HARPER'S MAGAZINE, _November, 1894_]

The two white men were now stooping over the peg, the negro manwatching them. Then presently the man with the cane started straightaway from the peg, carrying the end of a measuring line with him, theother end of which the man with the plaited queue held against the topof the peg. When the pirate captain had reached the end of themeasuring line he marked a cross upon the sand, and then again theymeasured out another stretch of space. 

So they measured a distance five times over, and then, from where Tomlay, he could see the man with the queue drive another peg just at thefoot of a sloping rise of sand that swept up beyond into a tall whitedune marked sharp and clear against the night sky behind. As soon asthe man with the plaited queue had driven the second peg into theground they began measuring again, and so, still measuring, disappeared in another direction which took them in behind the sanddune where Tom no longer could see what they were doing. 

The negro still sat by the chest where the two had left him, and sobright was the moonlight that from where he lay Tom could see theglint of it twinkling in the whites of his eyeballs. 

Presently from behind the hill there came, for the third time, thesharp rapping sound of the mallet driving still another peg, and thenafter a while the two pirates emerged from behind the slopingwhiteness into the space of moonlight again. 

They came direct to where the chest lay, and the white man and theblack man lifting it once more, they walked away across the level ofopen sand, and so on behind the edge of the hill and out of Tom'ssight. 

III

Tom Chist could no longer see what the pirates were doing, neither didhe dare to cross over the open space of sand that now lay between themand him. He lay there speculating as to what they were about, andmeantime the storm cloud was rising higher and higher above thehorizon, with louder and louder mutterings of thunder following eachdull flash from out the cloudy, cavernous depths. In the silence hecould hear an occasional click as of some iron implement, and heopined that the pirates were burying the chest, though just where theywere at work he could neither see nor tell. 

Still he lay there watching and listening, and by and by a puff ofwarm air blew across the sand, and a thumping tumble of louder thunderleaped from out the belly of the storm cloud, which every minute wascoming nearer and nearer. Still Tom Chist lay watching. 

Suddenly, almost unexpectedly, the three figures reappeared frombehind the sand hill, the pirate captain leading the way, and thenegro and white man following close behind him. They had gone abouthalfway across the white, sandy level between the hill and the hummockbehind which Tom Chist lay, when the white man stopped and bent overas though to tie his shoe. 

This brought the negro a few steps in front of his companion. 

That which then followed happened so suddenly, so unexpectedly, soswiftly, that Tom Chist had hardly time to realize what it all meantbefore it was over. As the negro passed him the white man arosesuddenly and silently erect, and Tom Chist saw the white moonlightglint upon the blade of a great dirk knife which he now held in hishand. He took one, two silent, catlike steps behind the unsuspectingnegro. Then there was a sweeping flash of the blade in the pallidlight, and a blow, the thump of which Tom could distinctly hear evenfrom where he lay stretched out upon the sand. There was an instantechoing yell from the black man, who ran stumbling forward, whostopped, who regained his footing, and then stood for an instant asthough rooted to the spot. 

Tom had distinctly seen the knife enter his back, and even thoughtthat he had seen the glint of the point as it came out from thebreast. 

Meantime the pirate captain had stopped, and now stood with his handresting upon his cane looking impassively on. 

Then the black man started to run. The white man stood for a whileglaring after him; then he, too, started after his victim upon therun. The black man was not very far from Tom when he staggered andfell. He tried to rise, then fell forward again, and lay at length. Atthat instant the first edge of the cloud cut across the moon, andthere was a sudden darkness; but in the silence Tom heard the sound ofanother blow and a groan, and then presently a voice calling to thepirate captain that it was all over. 

He saw the dim form of the captain crossing the level sand, and then, as the moon sailed out from behind the cloud, he saw the white manstanding over a black figure that lay motionless upon the sand. 

[Illustration]

Then Tom Chist scrambled up and ran away, plunging down into thehollow of sand that lay in the shadows below. Over the next rise heran, and down again into the next black hollow, and so on over thesliding, shifting ground, panting and gasping. It seemed to him thathe could hear footsteps following, and in the terror that possessedhim he almost expected every instant to feel the cold knife bladeslide between his own ribs in such a thrust from behind as he had seengiven to the poor black man. 

[Illustration]

So he ran on like one in a nightmare. His feet grew heavy like lead, he panted and gasped, his breath came hot and dry in his throat. Butstill he ran and ran until at last he found himself in front of oldMatt Abrahamson's cabin, gasping, panting, and sobbing for breath, hisknees relaxed and his thighs trembling with weakness. 

As he opened the door and dashed into the darkened cabin (for bothMatt and Molly were long ago asleep in bed) there was a flash oflight, and even as he slammed to the door behind him there was aninstant peal of thunder, heavy as though a great weight had beendropped upon the roof of the sky, so that the doors and windows of thecabin rattled. 

IV

Then Tom Chist crept to bed, trembling, shuddering, bathed in sweat, his heart beating like a trip hammer, and his brain dizzy from thatlong, terror-inspired race through the soft sand in which he hadstriven to outstrip he knew not what pursuing horror. 

For a long, long time he lay awake, trembling and chattering withnervous chills, and when he did fall asleep it was only to drop intomonstrous dreams in which he once again saw ever enacted, with variousgrotesque variations, the tragic drama which his waking eyes hadbeheld the night before. 

Then came the dawning of the broad, wet daylight, and before therising of the sun Tom was up and out of doors to find the young daydripping with the rain of overnight. 

His first act was to climb the nearest sand hill and to gaze outtoward the offing where the pirate ship had been the day before. 

It was no longer there. 

Soon afterward Matt Abrahamson came out of the cabin and he called toTom to go get a bite to eat, for it was time for them to be awayfishing. 

All that morning the recollection of the night before hung over TomChist like a great cloud of boding trouble. It filled the confinedarea of the little boat and spread over the entire wide spaces of skyand sea that surrounded them. Not for a moment was it lifted. Evenwhen he was hauling in his wet and dripping line with a strugglingfish at the end of it a recurrent memory of what he had seen wouldsuddenly come upon him, and he would groan in spirit at therecollection. He looked at Matt Abrahamson's leathery face, at hislantern jaws cavernously and stolidly chewing at a tobacco leaf, andit seemed monstrous to him that the old man should be so unconsciousof the black cloud that wrapped them all about. 

When the boat reached the shore again he leaped scrambling to thebeach, and as soon as his dinner was eaten he hurried away to find theDominie Jones. 

He ran all the way from Abrahamson's hut to the parson's house, hardlystopping once, and when he knocked at the door he was panting andsobbing for breath. 

The good man was sitting on the back-kitchen doorstep smoking his longpipe of tobacco out into the sunlight, while his wife within wasrattling about among the pans and dishes in preparation of theirsupper, of which a strong, porky smell already filled the air. 

Then Tom Chist told his story, panting, hurrying, tumbling one wordover another in his haste, and Parson Jones listened, breaking everynow and then into an ejaculation of wonder. The light in his pipe wentout and the bowl turned cold. 

"And I don't see why they should have killed the poor black man, " saidTom, as he finished his narrative. 

"Why, that is very easy enough to understand, " said the good reverendman. "'Twas a treasure box they buried!"

In his agitation Mr. Jones had risen from his seat and was nowstumping up and down, puffing at his empty tobacco pipe as though itwere still alight. 

"A treasure box!" cried out Tom. 

"Aye, a treasure box! And that was why they killed the poor black man. He was the only one, d'ye see, besides they two who knew the placewhere 'twas hid, and now that they've killed him out of the way, there's nobody but themselves knows. The villains--Tut, tut, look atthat now!" In his excitement the dominie had snapped the stem of histobacco pipe in two. 

"Why, then, " said Tom, "if that is so, 'tis indeed a wicked, bloodytreasure, and fit to bring a curse upon anybody who finds it!"

"'Tis more like to bring a curse upon the soul who buried it, " saidParson Jones, "and it may be a blessing to him who finds it. But tellme, Tom, do you think you could find the place again where 'twas hid?"

"I can't tell that, " said Tom, "'twas all in among the sand humps, d'ye see, and it was at night into the bargain. Maybe we could findthe marks of their feet in the sand, " he added. 

"'Tis not likely, " said the reverend gentleman, "for the storm lastnight would have washed all that away. "

"I could find the place, " said Tom, "where the boat was drawn up onthe beach. "

"Why, then, that's something to start from, Tom, " said his friend. "Ifwe can find that, then maybe we can find whither they went fromthere. "

"If I was certain it was a treasure box, " cried out Tom Chist, "Iwould rake over every foot of sand betwixt here and Henlopen to findit. "

"'Twould be like hunting for a pin in a haystack, " said the Rev. Hilary Jones. 

As Tom walked away home, it seemed as though a ton's weight of gloomhad been rolled away from his soul. The next day he and Parson Joneswere to go treasure-hunting together; it seemed to Tom as though hecould hardly wait for the time to come. 

V

The next afternoon Parson Jones and Tom Chist started off togetherupon the expedition that made Tom's fortune forever. Tom carried aspade over his shoulder and the reverend gentleman walked along besidehim with his cane. 

As they jogged along up the beach they talked together about the onlything they could talk about--the treasure box. "And how big did yousay 'twas?" quoth the good gentleman. 

"About so long, " said Tom Chist, measuring off upon the spade, "andabout so wide, and this deep. "

"And what if it should be full of money, Tom?" said the reverendgentleman, swinging his cane around and around in wide circles in theexcitement of the thought, as he strode along briskly. "Suppose itshould be full of money, what then?"

"By Moses!" said Tom Chist, hurrying to keep up with his friend, "I'dbuy a ship for myself, I would, and I'd trade to Injy and to Chiny tomy own boot, I would. Suppose the chist was all full of money, sir, and suppose we should find it; would there be enough in it, d'yesuppose, to buy a ship?"

"To be sure there would be enough, Tom; enough and to spare, and agood big lump over. "

"And if I find it 'tis mine to keep, is it, and no mistake?"

"Why, to be sure it would be yours!" cried out the parson, in a loudvoice. "To be sure it would be yours!" He knew nothing of the law, butthe doubt of the question began at once to ferment in his brain, andhe strode along in silence for a while. "Whose else would it be butyours if you find it?" he burst out. "Can you tell me that?"

"If ever I have a ship of my own, " said Tom Chist, "and if ever I sailto Injy in her, I'll fetch ye back the best chist of tea, sir, thatever was fetched from Cochin Chiny. "

Parson Jones burst out laughing. "Thankee, Tom, " he said; "and I'llthankee again when I get my chist of tea. But tell me, Tom, didst thouever hear of the farmer girl who counted her chickens before they werehatched?"

It was thus they talked as they hurried along up the beach together, and so came to a place at last where Tom stopped short and stoodlooking about him. "'Twas just here, " he said, "I saw the boat lastnight. I know 'twas here, for I mind me of that bit of wreck yonder, and that there was a tall stake drove in the sand just where yon stakestands. "

Parson Jones put on his spectacles and went over to the stake towardwhich Tom pointed. As soon as he had looked at it carefully he calledout: "Why, Tom, this hath been just drove down into the sand. 'Tis abrand-new stake of wood, and the pirates must have set it herethemselves as a mark, just as they drove the pegs you spoke about downinto the sand. "

Tom came over and looked at the stake. It was a stout piece of oaknearly two inches thick; it had been shaped with some care, and thetop of it had been painted red. He shook the stake and tried to moveit, but it had been driven or planted so deeply into the sand that hecould not stir it. "Aye, sir, " he said, "it must have been set herefor a mark, for I'm sure 'twas not here yesterday or the day before. "He stood looking about him to see if there were other signs of thepirates' presence. At some little distance there was the corner ofsomething white sticking up out of the sand. He could see that it wasa scrap of paper, and he pointed to it, calling out: "Yonder is apiece of paper, sir. I wonder if they left that behind them?"

[Illustration: EXTORTING TRIBUTE FROM THE CITIZENS]

It was a miraculous chance that placed that paper there. There wasonly an inch of it showing, and if it had not been for Tom's sharpeyes, it would certainly have been overlooked and passed by. The nextwindstorm would have covered it up, and all that afterward happenednever would have occurred. "Look, sir, " he said, as he struck the sandfrom it, "it hath writing on it. "

"Let me see it, " said Parson Jones. He adjusted the spectacles alittle more firmly astride of his nose as he took the paper in hishand and began conning it. "What's all this?" he said; "a whole lot offigures and nothing else. " And then he read aloud, "'Mark--S. S. W. S. By S. ' What d'ye suppose that means, Tom?"

"I don't know, sir, " said Tom. "But maybe we can understand it betterif you read on. "

"'Tis all a great lot of figures, " said Parson Jones, "without a grainof meaning in them so far as I can see, unless they be sailingdirections. " And then he began reading again: "'Mark--S. S. W. By S. 40, 72, 91, 130, 151, 177, 202, 232, 256, 271'--d'ye see, it must besailing directions--'299, 335, 362, 386, 415, 446, 469, 491, 522, 544, 571, 598'--what a lot of them there be--'626, 652, 676, 695, 724, 851, 876, 905, 940, 967. Peg. S. E. By E. 269 foot. Peg. S. S. W. By S. 427foot. Peg. Dig to the west of this six foot. '"

"What's that about a peg?" exclaimed Tom. "What's that about a peg?And then there's something about digging, too!" It was as though asudden light began shining into his brain. He felt himself growingquickly very excited. "Read that over again, sir, " he cried. "Why, sir, you remember I told you they drove a peg into the sand. And don'tthey say to dig close to it? Read it over again, sir--read it overagain!"

"Peg?" said the good gentleman. "To be sure it was about a peg. Let'slook again. Yes, here it is. 'Peg S. E. By E. 269 foot. '"

"Aye!" cried out Tom Chist again, in great excitement. "Don't youremember what I told you, sir, 269 foot? Sure that must be what I saw'em measuring with the line. "

Parson Jones had now caught the flame of excitement that was blazingup so strongly in Tom's breast. He felt as though some wonderful thingwas about to happen to them. "To be sure, to be sure!" he called out, in a great big voice. "And then they measured out 427 footsouth-southwest by south, and they then drove another peg, and thenthey buried the box six foot to the west of it. Why, Tom--why, TomChist! if we've read this aright, thy fortune is made. "

Tom Chist stood staring straight at the old gentleman's excited face, and seeing nothing but it in all the bright infinity of sunshine. Werethey, indeed, about to find the treasure chest? He felt the sun veryhot upon his shoulders, and he heard the harsh, insistent jarring of atern that hovered and circled with forked tail and sharp white wingsin the sunlight just above their heads; but all the time he stoodstaring into the good old gentleman's face. 

It was Parson Jones who first spoke. "But what do all these figuresmean?" And Tom observed how the paper shook and rustled in the tremorof excitement that shook his hand. He raised the paper to the focus ofhis spectacles and began to read again. "'Mark 40, 72, 91--'"

"Mark?" cried out Tom, almost screaming. "Why, that must mean thestake yonder; that must be the mark. " And he pointed to the oakenstick with its red tip blazing against the white shimmer of sandbehind it. 

"And the 40 and 72 and 91, " cried the old gentleman, in a voiceequally shrill--"why, that must mean the number of steps the piratewas counting when you heard him. "

"To be sure that's what they mean!" cried Tom Chist. "That is it, andit can be nothing else. Oh, come, sir--come, sir; let us make hasteand find it!"

"Stay! stay!" said the good gentleman, holding up his hand; and againTom Chist noticed how it trembled and shook. His voice was steadyenough, though very hoarse, but his hand shook and trembled as thoughwith a palsy. "Stay! stay! First of all, we must follow thesemeasurements. And 'tis a marvelous thing, " he croaked, after a littlepause, "how this paper ever came to be here. "

"Maybe it was blown here by the storm, " suggested Tom Chist. 

"Like enough; like enough, " said Parson Jones. "Like enough, after thewretches had buried the chest and killed the poor black man, they wereso buffeted and bowsed about by the storm that it was shook out of theman's pocket, and thus blew away from him without his knowing aught ofit. "

"But let us find the box!" cried out Tom Chist, flaming with hisexcitement. 

"Aye, aye, " said the good man; "only stay a little, my boy, until wemake sure what we're about. I've got my pocket compass here, but wemust have something to measure off the feet when we have found thepeg. You run across to Tom Brooke's house and fetch that measuring rodhe used to lay out his new byre. While you're gone I'll pace off thedistance marked on the paper with my pocket compass here. "

VI

Tom Chist was gone for almost an hour, though he ran nearly all theway and back, upborne as on the wings of the wind. When he returned, panting, Parson Jones was nowhere to be seen, but Tom saw hisfootsteps leading away inland, and he followed the scuffling marks inthe smooth surface across the sand humps and down into the hollows, and by and by found the good gentleman in a spot he at once knew assoon as he laid his eyes upon it. 

It was the open space where the pirates had driven their first peg, and where Tom Chist had afterward seen them kill the poor black man. Tom Chist gazed around as though expecting to see some sign of thetragedy, but the space was as smooth and as undisturbed as a floor, excepting where, midway across it, Parson Jones, who was now stoopingover something on the ground, had trampled it all around about. 

When Tom Chist saw him he was still bending over, scraping away fromsomething he had found. 

It was the first peg!

Inside of half an hour they had found the second and third pegs, andTom Chist stripped off his coat, and began digging like mad down intothe sand, Parson Jones standing over him watching him. The sun wassloping well toward the west when the blade of Tom Chist's spadestruck upon something hard. 

If it had been his own heart that he had hit in the sand his breastcould hardly have thrilled more sharply. 

It was the treasure box!

[Illustration]

Parson Jones himself leaped down into the hole, and began scrapingaway the sand with his hands as though he had gone crazy. At last, with some difficulty, they tugged and hauled the chest up out of thesand to the surface, where it lay covered all over with the grit thatclung to it. 

It was securely locked and fastened with a padlock, and it took a goodmany blows with the blade of the spade to burst the bolt. Parson Joneshimself lifted the lid. 

Tom Chist leaned forward and gazed down into the open box. He wouldnot have been surprised to have seen it filled full of yellow gold andbright jewels. It was filled half full of books and papers, and halffull of canvas bags tied safely and securely around and around withcords of string. 

Parson Jones lifted out one of the bags, and it jingled as he did so. It was full of money. 

He cut the string, and with trembling, shaking hands handed the bag toTom, who, in an ecstasy of wonder and dizzy with delight, poured outwith swimming sight upon the coat spread on the ground a cataract ofshining silver money that rang and twinkled and jingled as it fell ina shining heap upon the coarse cloth. 

Parson Jones held up both hands into the air, and Tom stared at whathe saw, wondering whether it was all so, and whether he was reallyawake. It seemed to him as though he was in a dream. 

There were two-and-twenty bags in all in the chest: ten of them fullof silver money, eight of them full of gold money, three of them fullof gold dust, and one small bag with jewels wrapped up in wad cottonand paper. 

"'Tis enough, " cried out Parson Jones, "to make us both rich men aslong as we live. "

The burning summer sun, though sloping in the sky, beat down upon themas hot as fire; but neither of them noticed it. Neither did theynotice hunger nor thirst nor fatigue, but sat there as though in atrance, with the bags of money scattered on the sand around them, agreat pile of money heaped upon the coat, and the open chest besidethem. It was an hour of sundown before Parson Jones had begun fairlyto examine the books and papers in the chest. 

Of the three books, two were evidently log books of the pirates whohad been lying off the mouth of the Delaware Bay all this time. Theother book was written in Spanish, and was evidently the log book ofsome captured prize. 

It was then, sitting there upon the sand, the good old gentlemanreading in his high, cracking voice, that they first learned from thebloody records in those two books who it was who had been lying insidethe Cape all this time, and that it was the famous Captain Kidd. Everynow and then the reverend gentleman would stop to exclaim, "Oh, thebloody wretch!" or, "Oh, the desperate, cruel villains!" and thenwould go on reading again a scrap here and a scrap there. 

And all the while Tom Chist sat and listened, every now and thenreaching out furtively and touching the heap of money still lying uponthe coat. 

One might be inclined to wonder why Captain Kidd had kept those bloodyrecords. He had probably laid them away because they so incriminatedmany of the great people of the colony of New York that, with thebooks in evidence, it would have been impossible to bring the pirateto justice without dragging a dozen or more fine gentlemen into thedock along with him. If he could have kept them in his own possessionthey would doubtless have been a great weapon of defense to protecthim from the gallows. Indeed, when Captain Kidd was finally brought toconviction and hung, he was not accused of his piracies, but ofstriking a mutinous seaman upon the head with a bucket andaccidentally killing him. The authorities did not dare try him forpiracy. He was really hung because he was a pirate, and we know thatit was the log books that Tom Chist brought to New York that did thebusiness for him; he was accused and convicted of manslaughter forkilling of his own ship carpenter with a bucket. 

So Parson Jones, sitting there in the slanting light, read throughthese terrible records of piracy, and Tom, with the pile of gold andsilver money beside him, sat and listened to him. 

What a spectacle, if anyone had come upon them! But they were alone, with the vast arch of sky empty above them and the wide white stretchof sand a desert around them. The sun sank lower and lower, untilthere was only time to glance through the other papers in the chest. 

They were nearly all goldsmiths' bills of exchange drawn in favor ofcertain of the most prominent merchants of New York. Parson Jones, ashe read over the names, knew of nearly all the gentlemen by hearsay. Aye, here was this gentleman; he thought that name would be among 'em. What? Here is Mr. So-and-so. Well, if all they say is true, thevillain has robbed one of his own best friends. "I wonder, " he said, "why the wretch should have hidden these papers so carefully away withthe other treasures, for they could do him no good?" Then, answeringhis own question: "Like enough because these will give him a hold overthe gentlemen to whom they are drawn so that he can make a goodbargain for his own neck before he gives the bills back to theirowners. I tell you what it is, Tom, " he continued, "it is you yourselfshall go to New York and bargain for the return of these papers. 'Twill be as good as another fortune to you. "

The majority of the bills were drawn in favor of one RichardChillingsworth, Esquire. "And he is, " said Parson Jones, "one of therichest men in the province of New York. You shall go to him with thenews of what we have found. "

"When shall I go?" said Tom Chist. 

"You shall go upon the very first boat we can catch, " said the parson. He had turned, still holding the bills in his hand, and was nowfingering over the pile of money that yet lay tumbled out upon thecoat. "I wonder, Tom, " said he, "if you could spare me a score or soof these doubloons?"

"You shall have fifty score, if you choose, " said Tom, bursting withgratitude and with generosity in his newly found treasure. 

"You are as fine a lad as ever I saw, Tom, " said the parson, "and I'llthank you to the last day of my life. "

Tom scooped up a double handful of silver money. "Take it, sir, " hesaid, "and you may have as much more as you want of it. "

He poured it into the dish that the good man made of his hands, andthe parson made a motion as though to empty it into his pocket. Thenhe stopped, as though a sudden doubt had occurred to him. "I don'tknow that 'tis fit for me to take this pirate money, after all, " hesaid. 

"But you are welcome to it, " said Tom. 

Still the parson hesitated. "Nay, " he burst out, "I'll not take it;'tis blood money. " And as he spoke he chucked the whole double handfulinto the now empty chest, then arose and dusted the sand from hisbreeches. Then, with a great deal of bustling energy, he helped to tiethe bags again and put them all back into the chest. 

They reburied the chest in the place whence they had taken it, andthen the parson folded the precious paper of directions, placed itcarefully in his wallet, and his wallet in his pocket. "Tom, " he said, for the twentieth time, "your fortune has been made this day. "

And Tom Chist, as he rattled in his breeches pocket the half dozendoubloons he had kept out of his treasure, felt that what his friendhad said was true. 

 * * * * *

As the two went back homeward across the level space of sand Tom Chistsuddenly stopped stock-still and stood looking about him. "'Twas justhere, " he said, digging his heel down into the sand, "that they killedthe poor black man. "

[Illustration: "Pirates Used to Do That to Their Captains Now andThen"

_Illustration from_SEA ROBBERS OF NEW YORK

_by_ Thomas A. Janvier

_Originally published in_HARPER'S MAGAZINE, _November, 1894_]

"And here he lies buried for all time, " said Parson Jones; and as hespoke he dug his cane down into the sand. Tom Chist shuddered. Hewould not have been surprised if the ferrule of the cane had strucksomething soft beneath that level surface. But it did not, nor was anysign of that tragedy ever seen again. For, whether the pirates hadcarried away what they had done and buried it elsewhere, or whetherthe storm in blowing the sand had completely leveled off and hiddenall sign of that tragedy where it was enacted, certain it is thatit never came to sight again--at least so far as Tom Chist and theRev. Hilary Jones ever knew. 

VII

This is the story of the treasure box. All that remains now is toconclude the story of Tom Chist, and to tell of what came of him inthe end. 

He did not go back again to live with old Matt Abrahamson. ParsonJones had now taken charge of him and his fortunes, and Tom did nothave to go back to the fisherman's hut. 

Old Abrahamson talked a great deal about it, and would come in hiscups and harangue good Parson Jones, making a vast protestation ofwhat he would do to Tom--if he ever caught him--for running away. ButTom on all these occasions kept carefully out of his way, and nothingcame of the old man's threatenings. 

Tom used to go over to see his foster mother now and then, but alwayswhen the old man was from home. And Molly Abrahamson used to warn himto keep out of her father's way. "He's in as vile a humor as ever Isee, Tom, " she said; "he sits sulking all day long, and 'tis my beliefhe'd kill ye if he caught ye. "

Of course Tom said nothing, even to her, about the treasure, and heand the reverend gentleman kept the knowledge thereof to themselves. About three weeks later Parson Jones managed to get him shipped aboardof a vessel bound for New York town, and a few days later Tom Chistlanded at that place. He had never been in such a town before, and hecould not sufficiently wonder and marvel at the number of brickhouses, at the multitude of people coming and going along the fine, hard, earthen sidewalk, at the shops and the stores where goods hungin the windows, and, most of all, the fortifications and the batteryat the point, at the rows of threatening cannon, and at thescarlet-coated sentries pacing up and down the ramparts. All this wasvery wonderful, and so were the clustered boats riding at anchor inthe harbor. It was like a new world, so different was it from thesand hills and the sedgy levels of Henlopen. 

Tom Chist took up his lodgings at a coffee house near to the townhall, and thence he sent by the postboy a letter written by ParsonJones to Master Chillingsworth. In a little while the boy returnedwith a message, asking Tom to come up to Mr. Chillingsworth's housethat afternoon at two o'clock. 

Tom went thither with a great deal of trepidation, and his heart fellaway altogether when he found it a fine, grand brick house, threestories high, and with wrought-iron letters across the front. 

The counting house was in the same building; but Tom, because of Mr. Jones's letter, was conducted directly into the parlor, where thegreat rich man was awaiting his coming. He was sitting in aleather-covered armchair, smoking a pipe of tobacco, and with a bottleof fine old Madeira close to his elbow. 

Tom had not had a chance to buy a new suit of clothes yet, and so hecut no very fine figure in the rough dress he had brought with himfrom Henlopen. Nor did Mr. Chillingsworth seem to think very highly ofhis appearance, for he sat looking sideways at Tom as he smoked. 

"Well, my lad, " he said, "and what is this great thing you have totell me that is so mightily wonderful? I got what's-his-name--Mr. Jones's--letter, and now I am ready to hear what you have to say. "

But if he thought but little of his visitor's appearance at first, hesoon changed his sentiments toward him, for Tom had not spoken twentywords when Mr. Chillingsworth's whole aspect changed. He straightenedhimself up in his seat, laid aside his pipe, pushed away his glass ofMadeira, and bade Tom take a chair. 

He listened without a word as Tom Chist told of the buried treasure, of how he had seen the poor negro murdered, and of how he and ParsonJones had recovered the chest again. Only once did Mr. Chillingsworthinterrupt the narrative. "And to think, " he cried, "that the villainthis very day walks about New York town as though he were an honestman, ruffling it with the best of us! But if we can only get hold ofthese log books you speak of. Go on; tell me more of this. "

When Tom Chist's narrative was ended, Mr. Chillingsworth's bearing wasas different as daylight is from dark. He asked a thousand questions, all in the most polite and gracious tone imaginable, and not onlyurged a glass of his fine old Madeira upon Tom, but asked him to stayto supper. There was nobody to be there, he said, but his wife anddaughter. 

Tom, all in a panic at the very thought of the two ladies, sturdilyrefused to stay even for the dish of tea Mr. Chillingsworth offeredhim. 

He did not know that he was destined to stay there as long as heshould live. 

"And now, " said Mr. Chillingsworth, "tell me about yourself. "

"I have nothing to tell, Your Honor, " said Tom, "except that I waswashed up out of the sea. "

"Washed up out of the sea!" exclaimed Mr. Chillingsworth. "Why, howwas that? Come, begin at the beginning, and tell me all. "

Thereupon Tom Chist did as he was bidden, beginning at the verybeginning and telling everything just as Molly Abrahamson had oftentold it to him. As he continued, Mr. Chillingsworth's interest changedinto an appearance of stronger and stronger excitement. Suddenly hejumped up out of his chair and began to walk up and down the room. 

[Illustration]

"Stop! stop!" he cried out at last, in the midst of something Tom wassaying. "Stop! stop! Tell me; do you know the name of the vessel thatwas wrecked, and from which you were washed ashore?"

"I've heard it said, " said Tom Chist, "'twas the _Bristol Merchant_. "

"I knew it! I knew it!" exclaimed the great man, in a loud voice, flinging his hands up into the air. "I felt it was so the moment youbegan the story. But tell me this, was there nothing found with youwith a mark or a name upon it?"

"There was a kerchief, " said Tom, "marked with a T and a C. "

"Theodosia Chillingsworth!" cried out the merchant. "I knew it! I knewit! Heavens! to think of anything so wonderful happening as this! Boy!boy! dost thou know who thou art? Thou art my own brother's son. Hisname was Oliver Chillingsworth, and he was my partner in business, andthou art his son. " Then he ran out into the entryway, shouting andcalling for his wife and daughter to come. 

 * * * * *

So Tom Chist--or Thomas Chillingsworth, as he now was to becalled--did stay to supper, after all. 

 * * * * *

This is the story, and I hope you may like it. For Tom Chist becamerich and great, as was to be supposed, and he married his prettycousin Theodosia (who had been named for his own mother, drowned inthe _Bristol Merchant_). 

He did not forget his friends, but had Parson Jones brought to NewYork to live. 

As to Molly and Matt Abrahamson, they both enjoyed a pension of tenpounds a year for as long as they lived; for now that all was wellwith him, Tom bore no grudge against the old fisherman for all thedrubbings he had suffered. 

The treasure box was brought on to New York, and if Tom Chist did notget all the money there was in it (as Parson Jones had opined hewould) he got at least a good big lump of it. 

And it is my belief that those log books did more to get Captain Kiddarrested in Boston town and hanged in London than anything else thatwas brought up against him. 

[Illustration]

Chapter V

JACK BALLISTER'S FORTUNES

I

We, of these times, protected as we are by the laws and by the numberof people about us, can hardly comprehend such a life as that of theAmerican colonies in the early part of the eighteenth century, when itwas possible for a pirate like Capt. Teach, known as Blackbeard, toexist, and for the governor and the secretary of the province in whichhe lived perhaps to share his plunder, and to shelter and to protecthim against the law. 

At that time the American colonists were in general a rough, ruggedpeople, knowing nothing of the finer things of life. They lived mostlyin little settlements, separated by long distances from one another, so that they could neither make nor enforce laws to protectthemselves. Each man or little group of men had to depend upon his ortheir own strength to keep what belonged to them, and to preventfierce men or groups of men from seizing what did not belong to them. 

It is the natural disposition of everyone to get all that he can. Little children, for instance, always try to take away from othersthat which they want, and to keep it for their own. It is only byconstant teaching that they learn that they must not do so; that theymust not take by force what does not belong to them. So it is only byteaching and training that people learn to be honest and not to takewhat is not theirs. When this teaching is not sufficient to make a manlearn to be honest, or when there is something in the man's naturethat makes him not able to learn, then he only lacks the opportunityto seize upon the things he wants, just as he would do if he were alittle child. 

In the colonies at that time, as was just said, men were too few andscattered to protect themselves against those who had made up theirminds to take by force that which they wanted, and so it was that menlived an unrestrained and lawless life, such as we of these times ofbetter government can hardly comprehend. 

The usual means of commerce between province and province was by waterin coasting vessels. These coasting vessels were so defenseless, andthe different colonial governments were so ill able to protect them, that those who chose to rob them could do it almost without danger tothemselves. 

So it was that all the western world was, in those days, infested witharmed bands of cruising freebooters or pirates, who used to stopmerchant vessels and take from them what they chose. 

Each province in those days was ruled over by a royal governorappointed by the king. Each governor, at one time, was free to doalmost as he pleased in his own province. He was accountable only tothe king and his government, and England was so distant that he wasreally responsible almost to nobody but himself. 

The governors were naturally just as desirous to get rich quickly, just as desirous of getting all that they could for themselves, as wasanybody else--only they had been taught and had been able to learnthat it was not right to be an actual pirate or robber. They wanted tobe rich easily and quickly, but the desire was not strong enough tolead them to dishonor themselves in their own opinion and in theopinion of others by gratifying their selfishness. They would evenhave stopped the pirates from doing what they did if they could, buttheir provincial governments were too weak to prevent the freebootersfrom robbing merchant vessels, or to punish them when they cameashore. The provinces had no navies, and they really had no armies;neither were there enough people living within the community toenforce the laws against those stronger and fiercer men who were nothonest. 

After the things the pirates seized from merchant vessels were oncestolen they were altogether lost. Almost never did any owner apply forthem, for it would be useless to do so. The stolen goods andmerchandise lay in the storehouses of the pirates, seemingly withoutany owner excepting the pirates themselves. 

The governors and the secretaries of the colonies would not dishonorthemselves by pirating upon merchant vessels, but it did not seem sowicked after the goods were stolen--and so altogether lost--to take apart of that which seemed to have no owner. 

A child is taught that it is a very wicked thing to take, forinstance, by force, a lump of sugar from another child; but when awicked child has seized the sugar from another and taken it around thecorner, and that other child from whom he has seized it has gone homecrying, it does not seem so wicked for the third child to take a biteof the sugar when it is offered to him, even if he thinks it has beentaken from some one else. 

It was just so, no doubt, that it did not seem so wicked to GovernorEden and Secretary Knight of North Carolina, or to Governor Fletcherof New York, or to other colonial governors, to take a part of thebooty that the pirates, such as Blackbeard, had stolen. It did noteven seem very wicked to compel such pirates to give up a part of whatwas not theirs, and which seemed to have no owner. 

In Governor Eden's time, however, the colonies had begun to be morethickly peopled, and the laws had gradually become stronger andstronger to protect men in the possession of what was theirs. GovernorEden was the last of the colonial governors who had dealings with thepirates, and Blackbeard was almost the last of the pirates who, withhis banded men, was savage and powerful enough to come and go as hechose among the people whom he plundered. 

Virginia, at that time, was the greatest and the richest of all theAmerican colonies, and upon the farther side of North Carolina was theprovince of South Carolina, also strong and rich. It was these twocolonies that suffered the most from Blackbeard, and it began to bethat the honest men that lived in them could endure no longer to beplundered. 

The merchants and traders and others who suffered cried out loudly forprotection, so loudly that the governors of these provinces could nothelp hearing them. 

Governor Eden was petitioned to act against the pirates, but he woulddo nothing, for he felt very friendly toward Blackbeard--just as achild who has had a taste of the stolen sugar feels friendly towardthe child who gives it to him. 

At last, when Blackbeard sailed up into the very heart of Virginia, and seized upon and carried away the daughter of that colony'sforemost people, the governor of Virginia, finding that the governorof North Carolina would do nothing to punish the outrage, took thematter into his own hands and issued a proclamation offering a rewardof one hundred pounds for Blackbeard, alive or dead, and differentsums for the other pirates who were his followers. 

Governor Spottiswood had the right to issue the proclamation, but hehad no right to commission Lieutenant Maynard, as he did, to take downan armed force into the neighboring province and to attack the piratesin the waters of the North Carolina sounds. It was all a part of therude and lawless condition of the colonies at the time that such athing could have been done. 

[Illustration: "Jack Followed the Captain and the Young Lady up theCrooked Path to the House"

_Illustration from_JACK BALLISTER'S FORTUNES

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published by_The Century Company, 1894]

The governor's proclamation against the pirates was issued upon theeleventh day of November. It was read in the churches the Sundayfollowing and was posted upon the doors of all the government customoffices in lower Virginia. Lieutenant Maynard, in the boats thatColonel Parker had already fitted out to go against the pirates, setsail upon the seventeenth of the month for Ocracoke. Five days laterthe battle was fought. 

 * * * * *

Blackbeard's sloop was lying inside of Ocracoke Inlet among the shoalsand sand bars when he first heard of Governor Spottiswood'sproclamation. 

There had been a storm, and a good many vessels had run into the inletfor shelter. Blackbeard knew nearly all of the captains of thesevessels, and it was from them that he first heard of the proclamation. 

He had gone aboard one of the vessels--a coaster from Boston. The windwas still blowing pretty hard from the southeast. There were maybe adozen vessels lying within the inlet at that time, and the captain ofone of them was paying the Boston skipper a visit when Blackbeard cameaboard. The two captains had been talking together. They instantlyceased when the pirate came down into the cabin, but he had heardenough of their conversation to catch its drift. "Why d'ye stop?" hesaid. "I heard what you said. Well, what then? D'ye think I mind it atall? Spottiswood is going to send his bullies down here after me. That's what you were saying. Well, what then? You don't think I'mafraid of his bullies, do you?"

"Why, no, Captain, I didn't say you was afraid, " said the visitingcaptain. 

"And what right has he got to send down here against me in NorthCarolina, I should like to ask you?"

"He's got none at all, " said the Boston captain, soothingly. "Won'tyou take a taste of Hollands, Captain?"

"He's no more right to come blustering down here into Governor Eden'sprovince than I have to come aboard of your schooner here, Tom Burley, and to carry off two or three kegs of this prime Hollands for my owndrinking. "

Captain Burley--the Boston man--laughed a loud, forced laugh. "Why, Captain, " he said, "as for two or three kegs of Hollands, you won'tfind that aboard. But if you'd like to have a keg of it for your owndrinking, I'll send it to you and be glad enough to do so for oldacquaintance' sake. "

"But I tell you what 'tis, Captain, " said the visiting skipper toBlackbeard, "they're determined and set against you this time. I tellyou, Captain, Governor Spottiswood hath issued a hot proclamationagainst you, and 't hath been read out in all the churches. I myselfsaw it posted in Yorktown upon the customhouse door and read it theremyself. The governor offers one hundred pounds for you, and fiftypounds for your officers, and twenty pounds each for your men. "

"Well, then, " said Blackbeard, holding up his glass, "here, I wish 'emgood luck, and when they get their hundred pounds for me they'll be ina poor way to spend it. As for the Hollands, " said he, turning toCaptain Burley, "I know what you've got aboard here and what youhaven't. D'ye suppose ye can blind me? Very well, you send over twokegs, and I'll let you go without search. " The two captains were verysilent. "As for that Lieutenant Maynard you're all talking about, "said Blackbeard, "why, I know him very well. He was the one who was sobusy with the pirates down Madagascar way. I believe you'd all like tosee him blow me out of the water, but he can't do it. There's nobodyin His Majesty's service I'd rather meet than Lieutenant Maynard. I'dteach him pretty briskly that North Carolina isn't Madagascar. "

 * * * * *

On the evening of the twenty-second the two vessels under command ofLieutenant Maynard came into the mouth of Ocracoke Inlet and theredropped anchor. Meantime the weather had cleared, and all the vesselsbut one had gone from the inlet. The one vessel that remained was aNew Yorker. It had been there over a night and a day, and the captainand Blackbeard had become very good friends. 

The same night that Maynard came into the inlet a wedding was held onthe shore. A number of men and women came up the beach in oxcarts andsledges; others had come in boats from more distant points and acrossthe water. 

The captain of the New Yorker and Blackbeard went ashore together alittle after dark. The New Yorker had been aboard of the pirate'ssloop for all the latter part of the afternoon, and he and Blackbeardhad been drinking together in the cabin. The New York man was now alittle tipsy, and he laughed and talked foolishly as he and Blackbeardwere rowed ashore. The pirate sat grim and silent. 

It was nearly dark when they stepped ashore on the beach. The New Yorkcaptain stumbled and fell headlong, rolling over and over, and thecrew of the boat burst out laughing. 

The people had already begun to dance in an open shed fronting uponthe shore. There were fires of pine knots in front of the building, lighting up the interior with a red glare. A negro was playing afiddle somewhere inside, and the shed was filled with a crowd ofgrotesque dancing figures--men and women. Now and then they calledwith loud voices as they danced, and the squeaking of the fiddlesounded incessantly through the noise of outcries and the stamp andshuffling of feet. 

Captain Teach and the New York captain stood looking on. The New Yorkman had tilted himself against a post and stood there holding one armaround it, supporting himself. He waved the other hand foolishly intime to the music, now and then snapping his thumb and finger. 

The young woman who had just been married approached the two. She hadbeen dancing, and she was warm and red, her hair blowzed about herhead. "Hi, Captain, won't you dance with me?" she said to Blackbeard. 

Blackbeard stared at her. "Who be you?" he said. 

She burst out laughing. "You look as if you'd eat a body, " she cried. 

Blackbeard's face gradually relaxed. "Why, to be sure, you're a brazenone, for all the world, " he said. "Well, I'll dance with you, that Iwill. I'll dance the heart out of you. "

He pushed forward, thrusting aside with his elbow the newly madehusband. The man, who saw that Blackbeard had been drinking, burst outlaughing, and the other men and women who had been standing arounddrew away, so that in a little while the floor was pretty wellcleared. One could see the negro now; he sat on a barrel at the end ofthe room. He grinned with his white teeth and, without stopping in hisfiddling, scraped his bow harshly across the strings, and theninstantly changed the tune to a lively jig. Blackbeard jumped up intothe air and clapped his heels together, giving, as he did so, a sharp, short yell. Then he began instantly dancing grotesquely and violently. The woman danced opposite to him, this way and that, with her knuckleson her hips. Everybody burst out laughing at Blackbeard's grotesqueantics. They laughed again and again, clapping their hands, and thenegro scraped away on his fiddle like fury. The woman's hair cametumbling down her back. She tucked it back, laughing and panting, andthe sweat ran down her face. She danced and danced. At last she burstout laughing and stopped, panting. Blackbeard again jumped up in theair and clapped his heels. Again he yelled, and as he did so, hestruck his heels upon the floor and spun around. Once more everybodyburst out laughing, clapping their hands, and the negro stoppedfiddling. 

[Illustration: "He Led Jack up to a Man Who Sat upon a Barrel"

_Illustration from_JACK BALLISTER'S FORTUNES

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published by_The Century Company. 1894]

Near by was a shanty or cabin where they were selling spirits, and byand by Blackbeard went there with the New York captain, and presentlythey began drinking again. "Hi, Captain!" called one of the men, "Maynard's out yonder in the inlet. Jack Bishop's just come acrossfrom t'other side. He says Mr. Maynard hailed him and asked for apilot to fetch him in. "

"Well, here's luck to him, and he can't come in quick enough for me!"cried out Blackbeard in his hoarse, husky voice. 

"Well, Captain, " called a voice, "will ye fight him to-morrow?"

"Aye, " shouted the pirate, "if he can get in to me, I'll try to give'em what they seek, and all they want of it into the bargain. As for apilot, I tell ye what 'tis--if any man hereabouts goes out there topilot that villain in 'twill be the worst day's work he ever did inall of his life. 'Twon't be fit for him to live in these parts ofAmerica if I am living here at the same time. " There was a burst oflaughter. 

"Give us a toast, Captain! Give us something to drink to! Aye, Captain, a toast! A toast!" a half dozen voices were calling out atthe same time. 

"Well, " cried out the pirate captain, "here's to a good, hot fightto-morrow, and the best dog on top! 'Twill be, Bang! bang!--this way!"

He began pulling a pistol out of his pocket, but it stuck in thelining, and he struggled and tugged at it. The men ducked andscrambled away from before him, and then the next moment he had thepistol out of his pocket. He swung it around and around. There wasperfect silence. Suddenly there was a flash and a stunning report, andinstantly a crash and tinkle of broken glass. One of the men criedout, and began picking and jerking at the back of his neck. "He'sbroken that bottle all down my neck, " he called out. 

"That's the way 'twill be, " said Blackbeard. 

"Lookee, " said the owner of the place, "I won't serve out another dropif 'tis going to be like that. If there's any more trouble I'll blowout the lantern. "

The sound of the squeaking and scraping of the fiddle and the shoutsand the scuffling feet still came from the shed where the dancing wasgoing on. 

"Suppose you get your dose to-morrow, Captain, " some one called out, "what then?"

"Why, if I do, " said Blackbeard, "I get it, and that's all there is ofit. "

"Your wife 'll be a rich widdy then, won't she?" cried one of the men;and there was a burst of laughter. 

"Why, " said the New York captain, --"why, has a--a bloody p-pirate likeyou a wife then--a--like any honest man?"

"She'll be no richer than she is now, " said Blackbeard. 

"She knows where you've hid your money, anyways. Don't she, Captain?"called out a voice. 

"The divil knows where I've hid my money, " said Blackbeard, "and Iknow where I've hid it; and the longest liver of the twain will git itall. And that's all there is of it. "

The gray of early day was beginning to show in the east whenBlackbeard and the New York captain came down to the landing together. The New York captain swayed and toppled this way and that as hewalked, now falling against Blackbeard, and now staggering away fromhim. 

II

Early in the morning--perhaps eight o'clock--Lieutenant Maynard sent aboat from the schooner over to the settlement, which lay some four orfive miles distant. A number of men stood lounging on the landing, watching the approach of the boat. The men rowed close up to thewharf, and there lay upon their oars, while the boatswain of theschooner, who was in command of the boat, stood up and asked if therewas any man there who could pilot them over the shoals. 

Nobody answered, but all stared stupidly at him. After a while one ofthe men at last took his pipe out of his mouth. "There ben't any pilothere, master, " said he; "we ben't pilots. "

"Why, what a story you do tell!" roared the boatswain. "D'ye supposeI've never been down here before, not to know that every man abouthere knows the passes of the shoals?"

The fellow still held his pipe in his hand. He looked at another oneof the men. "Do you know the passes in over the shoals, Jem?" said he. 

The man to whom he spoke was a young fellow with long, shaggy, sunburnt hair hanging over his eyes in an unkempt mass. He shook hishead, grunting, "Na--I don't know naught about t' shoals. "

"'Tis Lieutenant Maynard of His Majesty's navy in command of themvessels out there, " said the boatswain. "He'll give any man five poundto pilot him in. " The men on the wharf looked at one another, butstill no one spoke, and the boatswain stood looking at them. He sawthat they did not choose to answer him. "Why, " he said, "I believeyou've not got right wits--that's what I believe is the matter withyou. Pull me up to the landing, men, and I'll go ashore and see if Ican find anybody that's willing to make five pound for such a littlebit of piloting as that. "

After the boatswain had gone ashore the loungers still stood on thewharf, looking down into the boat, and began talking to one anotherfor the men below to hear them. "They're coming in, " said one, "toblow poor Blackbeard out of the water. " "Aye, " said another, "he's sopeaceable, too, he is; he'll just lay still and let 'em blow and blow, he will. " "There's a young fellow there, " said another of the men; "hedon't look fit to die yet, he don't. Why, I wouldn't be in his placefor a thousand pound. " "I do suppose Blackbeard's so afraid he don'tknow how to see, " said the first speaker. 

At last one of the men in the boat spoke up. "Maybe he don't know howto see, " said he, "but maybe we'll blow some daylight into him aforewe get through with him. "

Some more of the settlers had come out from the shore to the end ofthe wharf, and there was now quite a crowd gathering there, alllooking at the men in the boat. "What do them Virginny 'baccy-eatersdo down here in Caroliny, anyway?" said one of the newcomers. "They'vegot no call to be down here in North Caroliny waters. "

"Maybe you can keep us away from coming, and maybe you can't, " said avoice from the boat. 

"Why, " answered the man on the wharf, "we could keep you away easyenough, but you ben't worth the trouble, and that's the truth. "

There was a heavy iron bolt lying near the edge of the landing. One ofthe men upon the wharf slyly thrust it out with the end of his foot. It hung for a moment and then fell into the boat below with a crash. "What d'ye mean by that?" roared the man in charge of the boat. "Whatd'ye mean, ye villains? D'ye mean to stave a hole in us?"

"Why, " said the man who had pushed it, "you saw 'twasn't done apurpose, didn't you?"

"Well, you try it again, and somebody 'll get hurt, " said the man inthe boat, showing the butt end of his pistol. 

The men on the wharf began laughing. Just then the boatswain came downfrom the settlement again, and out along the landing. The threatenedturbulence quieted as he approached, and the crowd moved sullenlyaside to let him pass. He did not bring any pilot with him, and hejumped down into the stern of the boat, saying, briefly, "Push off. "The crowd of loungers stood looking after them as they rowed away, andwhen the boat was some distance from the landing they burst out into avolley of derisive yells. "The villains!" said the boatswain, "theyare all in league together. They wouldn't even let me go up into thesettlement to look for a pilot. "

 * * * * *

The lieutenant and his sailing master stood watching the boat as itapproached. "Couldn't you, then, get a pilot, Baldwin?" said Mr. Maynard, as the boatswain scrambled aboard. 

"No, I couldn't, sir, " said the man. "Either they're all bandedtogether, or else they're all afraid of the villains. They wouldn'teven let me go up into the settlement to find one. "

"Well, then, " said Mr. Maynard, "we'll make shift to work in as bestwe may by ourselves. 'Twill be high tide against one o'clock. We'llrun in then with sail as far as we can, and then we'll send you aheadwith the boat to sound for a pass, and we'll follow with the sweeps. You know the waters pretty well, you say. "

"They were saying ashore that the villain hath forty men aboard, " saidthe boatswain. [2]

[Footnote 2: The pirate captain had really only twenty-five men aboardof his sloop at the time of the battle. ]

Lieutenant Maynard's force consisted of thirty-five men in theschooner and twenty-five men in the sloop. He carried neither cannonsnor carronades, and neither of his vessels was very well fitted forthe purpose for which they were designed. The schooner, which hehimself commanded, offered almost no protection to the crew. The railwas not more than a foot high in the waist, and the men on the deckwere almost entirely exposed. The rail of the sloop was perhaps alittle higher, but it, too, was hardly better adapted for fighting. Indeed, the lieutenant depended more upon the moral force of officialauthority to overawe the pirates than upon any real force of arms ormen. He never believed, until the very last moment, that the pirateswould show any real fight. It is very possible that they might nothave done so had they not thought that the lieutenant had actually nolegal right supporting him in his attack upon them in North Carolinawaters. 

It was about noon when anchor was hoisted, and, with the schoonerleading, both vessels ran slowly in before a light wind that had begunto blow toward midday. In each vessel a man stood in the bows, sounding continually with lead and line. As they slowly opened up theharbor within the inlet, they could see the pirate sloop lying aboutthree miles away. There was a boat just putting off from it to theshore. 

The lieutenant and his sailing master stood together on the roof ofthe cabin deckhouse. The sailing master held a glass to his eye. "Shecarries a long gun, sir, " he said, "and four carronades. She'll behard to beat, sir, I do suppose, armed as we are with only light armsfor close fighting. "

The lieutenant laughed. "Why, Brookes, " he said, "you seem to thinkforever of these men showing fight. You don't know them as I knowthem. They have a deal of bluster and make a deal of noise, but whenyou seize them and hold them with a strong hand, there's naught offight left in them. 'Tis like enough there 'll not be so much as amusket fired to-day. I've had to do with 'em often enough before toknow my gentlemen well by this time. " Nor, as was said, was it untilthe very last that the lieutenant could be brought to believe that thepirates had any stomach for a fight. 

The two vessels had reached perhaps within a mile of the pirate sloopbefore they found the water too shallow to venture any farther withthe sail. It was then that the boat was lowered as the lieutenant hadplanned, and the boatswain went ahead to sound, the two vessels, withtheir sails still hoisted but empty of wind, pulling in after withsweeps. 

The pirate had also hoisted sail, but lay as though waiting for theapproach of the schooner and the sloop. 

[Illustration: "The Bullets Were Humming and Singing, Clipping Alongthe Top of the Water"

_Illustration from_JACK BALLISTER'S FORTUNES

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published by_The Century Company, 1894]

The boat in which the boatswain was sounding had run in a considerabledistance ahead of the two vessels, which were gradually creeping upwith the sweeps until they had reached to within less than half amile of the pirates--the boat with the boatswain maybe a quarter of amile closer. Suddenly there was a puff of smoke from the pirate sloop, and then another and another, and the next moment there came the threereports of muskets up the wind. 

"By zounds!" said the lieutenant. "I do believe they're firing on theboat!" And then he saw the boat turn and begin pulling toward them. 

The boat with the boatswain aboard came rowing rapidly. Again therewere three or four puffs of smoke and three or four subsequent reportsfrom the distant vessel. Then, in a little while, the boat wasalongside, and the boatswain came scrambling aboard. "Never mindhoisting the boat, " said the lieutenant; "we'll just take her in tow. Come aboard as quick as you can. " Then, turning to the sailing master, "Well, Brookes, you'll have to do the best you can to get in over theshoals under half sail. "

"But, sir, " said the master, "we'll be sure to run aground. "

"Very well, sir, " said the lieutenant, "you heard my orders. If we runaground we run aground, and that's all there is of it. "

"I sounded as far as maybe a little over a fathom, " said the mate, "but the villains would let me go no nearer. I think I was in thechannel, though. 'Tis more open inside, as I mind me of it. There's akind of a hole there, and if we get in over the shoals just beyondwhere I was we'll be all right. "

"Very well, then, you take the wheel, Baldwin, " said the lieutenant, "and do the best you can for us. "

Lieutenant Maynard stood looking out forward at the pirate vessel, which they were now steadily nearing under half sail. He could seethat there were signs of bustle aboard and of men running around uponthe deck. Then he walked aft and around the cabin. The sloop was somedistance astern. It appeared to have run aground, and they were tryingto push it off with the sweeps. The lieutenant looked down into thewater over the stern, and saw that the schooner was already raisingthe mud in her wake. Then he went forward along the deck. His menwere crouching down along by the low rail, and there was a tensequietness of expectation about them. The lieutenant looked them overas he passed them. "Johnson, " he said, "do you take the lead and lineand go forward and sound a bit. " Then to the others: "Now, my men, themoment we run her aboard, you get aboard of her as quick as you can, do you understand? Don't wait for the sloop or think about her, butjust see that the grappling irons are fast, and then get aboard. Ifany man offers to resist you, shoot him down. Are you ready, Mr. Cringle?"

"Aye, aye, sir, " said the gunner. 

"Very well, then, be ready, men; we'll be aboard 'em in a minute ortwo. "

"There's less than a fathom of water here, sir, " sang out Johnson fromthe bows. As he spoke there was a sudden soft jar and jerk, then theschooner was still. They were aground. "Push her off to the lee there!Let go your sheets!" roared the boatswain from the wheel. "Push heroff to the lee. " He spun the wheel around as he spoke. A half a dozenmen sprang up, seized the sweeps, and plunged them into the water. Others ran to help them, but the sweeps only sank into the mud withoutmoving the schooner. The sails had fallen off and they were flappingand thumping and clapping in the wind. Others of the crew hadscrambled to their feet and ran to help those at the sweeps. Thelieutenant had walked quickly aft again. They were very close now tothe pirate sloop, and suddenly some one hailed him from aboard of her. When he turned he saw that there was a man standing up on the rail ofthe pirate sloop, holding by the back stays. "Who are you?" he called, from the distance, "and whence come you? What do you seek here? Whatd'ye mean, coming down on us this way?"

The lieutenant heard somebody say, "That's Blackbeard his-self. " Andhe looked with great interest at the distant figure. 

The pirate stood out boldly against the cloudy sky. Somebody seemed tospeak to him from behind. He turned his head and then he turned roundagain. "We're only peaceful merchantmen!" he called out. "Whatauthority have you got to come down upon us this way? If you'll comeaboard I'll show you my papers and that we're only peacefulmerchantmen. "

"The villains!" said the lieutenant to the master, who stood besidehim. "They're peaceful merchantmen, are they! They look like peacefulmerchantmen, with four carronades and a long gun aboard!" Then hecalled out across the water, "I'll come aboard with my schooner assoon as I can push her off here. "

"If you undertake to come aboard of me, " called the pirate, "I'llshoot into you. You've got no authority to board me, and I won't haveyou do it. If you undertake it 'twill be at your own risk, for I'llneither ask quarter of you nor give none. "

"Very well, " said the lieutenant, "if you choose to try that, you maydo as you please; for I'm coming aboard of you as sure as heaven. "

"Push off the bow there!" called the boatswain at the wheel. "Lookalive! Why don't you push off the bow?"

"She's hard aground!" answered the gunner. "We can't budge her aninch. "

"If they was to fire into us now, " said the sailing master, "they'dsmash us to pieces. "

"They won't fire into us, " said the lieutenant. "They won't dare to. "He jumped down from the cabin deckhouse as he spoke, and went forwardto urge the men in pushing off the boat. It was already beginning tomove. 

At that moment the sailing master suddenly called out, "Mr. Maynard!Mr. Maynard! they're going to give us a broadside!"

Almost before the words were out of his mouth, before LieutenantMaynard could turn, there came a loud and deafening crash, and theninstantly another, and a third, and almost as instantly a cracklingand rending of broken wood. There were clean yellow splinters flyingeverywhere. A man fell violently against the lieutenant, nearlyoverturning him, but he caught at the stays and so saved himself. Forone tense moment he stood holding his breath. Then all about him arosea sudden outcry of groans and shouts and oaths. The man who had fallenagainst him was lying face down upon the deck. His thighs werequivering, and a pool of blood was spreading and running out fromunder him. There were other men down, all about the deck. Some wererising; some were trying to rise; some only moved. 

There was a distant sound of yelling and cheering and shouting. It wasfrom the pirate sloop. The pirates were rushing about upon her decks. They had pulled the cannon back, and, through the grunting sound ofthe groans about him, the lieutenant could distinctly hear the thudand punch of the rammers, and he knew they were going to shoot again. 

The low rail afforded almost no shelter against such a broadside, andthere was nothing for it but to order all hands below for the timebeing. 

"Get below!" roared out the lieutenant. "All hands get below and liesnug for further orders!" In obedience the men ran scrambling belowinto the hold, and in a little while the decks were nearly clearexcept for the three dead men and some three or four wounded. Theboatswain, crouching down close to the wheel, and the lieutenanthimself were the only others upon deck. Everywhere there were smearsand sprinkles of blood. "Where's Brookes?" the lieutenant called out. 

"He's hurt in the arm, sir, and he's gone below, " said the boatswain. 

Thereupon the lieutenant himself walked over to the forecastle hatch, and, hailing the gunner, ordered him to get up another ladder, so thatthe men could be run up on deck if the pirates should undertake tocome aboard. At that moment the boatswain at the wheel called outthat the villains were going to shoot again, and the lieutenant, turning, saw the gunner aboard of the pirate sloop in the act oftouching the iron to the touchhole. He stooped down. There was anotherloud and deafening crash of cannon, one, two, three--four--the lasttwo almost together--and almost instantly the boatswain called out, "'Tis the sloop, sir! look at the sloop!"

[Illustration: "The Combatants Cut and Slashed with Savage Fury"

_Illustration from_JACK BALLISTER'S FORTUNES

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published by_The Century Company, 1894]

The sloop had got afloat again, and had been coming up to the aid ofthe schooner, when the pirates fired their second broadside now ather. When the lieutenant looked at her she was quivering with theimpact of the shot, and the next moment she began falling off to thewind, and he could see the wounded men rising and falling andstruggling upon her decks. 

At the same moment the boatswain called out that the enemy was comingaboard, and even as he spoke the pirate sloop came drifting out fromthe cloud of smoke that enveloped her, looming up larger and larger asshe came down upon them. The lieutenant still crouched down under therail, looking out at them. Suddenly, a little distance away, she cameabout, broadside on, and then drifted. She was close aboard now. Something came flying through the air--another and another. They werebottles. One of them broke with a crash upon the deck. The othersrolled over to the farther rail. In each of them a quick-match wassmoking. Almost instantly there was a flash and a terrific report, andthe air was full of the whiz and singing of broken particles of glassand iron. There was another report, and then the whole air seemed fullof gunpowder smoke. "They're aboard of us!" shouted the boatswain, andeven as he spoke the lieutenant roared out, "All hands to repelboarders!" A second later there came the heavy, thumping bump of thevessels coming together. 

Lieutenant Maynard, as he called out the order, ran forward throughthe smoke, snatching one of his pistols out of his pocket and thecutlass out of its sheath as he did so. Behind him the men werecoming, swarming up from below. There was a sudden stunning report ofa pistol, and then another and another, almost together. There was agroan and the fall of a heavy body, and then a figure came jumpingover the rail, with two or three more directly following. Thelieutenant was in the midst of the gunpowder smoke, when suddenlyBlackbeard was before him. The pirate captain had stripped himselfnaked to the waist. His shaggy black hair was falling over his eyes, and he looked like a demon fresh from the pit, with his frantic face. Almost with the blindness of instinct the lieutenant thrust out hispistol, firing it as he did so. The pirate staggered back: he wasdown--no; he was up again. He had a pistol in each hand; but there wasa stream of blood running down his naked ribs. Suddenly, the mouth ofa pistol was pointing straight at the lieutenant's head. He duckedinstinctively, striking upward with his cutlass as he did so. Therewas a stunning, deafening report almost in his ear. He struck againblindly with his cutlass. He saw the flash of a sword and flung up hisguard almost instinctively, meeting the crash of the descending blade. Somebody shot from behind him, and at the same moment he saw some oneelse strike the pirate. Blackbeard staggered again, and this timethere was a great gash upon his neck. Then one of Maynard's own mentumbled headlong upon him. He fell with the man, but almost instantlyhe had scrambled to his feet again, and as he did so he saw that thepirate sloop had drifted a little away from them, and that theirgrappling irons had evidently parted. His hand was smarting as thoughstruck with the lash of a whip. He looked around him; the piratecaptain was nowhere to be seen--yes, there he was, lying by the rail. He raised himself upon his elbow, and the lieutenant saw that he wastrying to point a pistol at him, with an arm that wavered and swayedblindly, the pistol nearly falling from his fingers. Suddenly hisother elbow gave way and he fell down upon his face. He tried to raisehimself--he fell down again. There was a report and a cloud of smoke, and when it cleared away Blackbeard had staggered up again. He was aterrible figure--his head nodding down upon his breast. Somebody shotagain, and then the swaying figure toppled and fell. It lay still fora moment--then rolled over--then lay still again. 

There was a loud splash of men jumping overboard, and then, almostinstantly, the cry of "Quarter! quarter!" The lieutenant ran to theedge of the vessel. It was as he had thought: the grappling irons ofthe pirate sloop had parted, and it had drifted away. The few pirateswho had been left aboard of the schooner had jumped overboard and werenow holding up their hands. "Quarter!" they cried. "Don'tshoot!--quarter!" And the fight was over. 

The lieutenant looked down at his hand, and then he saw, for the firsttime, that there was a great cutlass gash across the back of it, andthat his arm and shirt sleeve were wet with blood. He went aft, holding the wrist of his wounded hand. The boatswain was still at thewheel. "By zounds!" said the lieutenant, with a nervous, quaveringlaugh, "I didn't know there was such fight in the villains. "

His wounded and shattered sloop was again coming up toward him undersail, but the pirates had surrendered, and the fight was over. 

Chapter VI

BLUESKIN, THE PIRATE

I

Cape May and Cape Henlopen form, as it were, the upper and lower jawsof a gigantic mouth, which disgorges from its monstrous gullet thecloudy waters of the Delaware Bay into the heaving, sparklingblue-green of the Atlantic Ocean. From Cape Henlopen as the lower jawthere juts out a long, curving fang of high, smooth-rolling sanddunes, cutting sharp and clean against the still, blue skyabove--silent, naked, utterly deserted, excepting for the squat, white-walled lighthouse standing upon the crest of the highest hill. Within this curving, sheltering hook of sand hills lie the smoothwaters of Lewes Harbor, and, set a little back from the shore, thequaint old town, with its dingy wooden houses of clapboard andshingle, looks sleepily out through the masts of the shipping lying atanchor in the harbor, to the purple, clean-cut, level thread of theocean horizon beyond. 

Lewes is a queer, odd, old-fashioned little town, smelling fragrant ofsalt marsh and sea breeze. It is rarely visited by strangers. Thepeople who live there are the progeny of people who have lived therefor many generations, and it is the very place to nurse, and preserve, and care for old legends and traditions of bygone times, until theygrow from bits of gossip and news into local history of considerablesize. As in the busier world men talk of last year's elections, herethese old bits, and scraps, and odds and ends of history are retailedto the listener who cares to listen--traditions of the War of 1812, when Beresford's fleet lay off the harbor threatening to bombard thetown; tales of the Revolution and of Earl Howe's warships, tarryingfor a while in the quiet harbor before they sailed up the river toshake old Philadelphia town with the thunders of their guns at RedBank and Fort Mifflin. 

With these substantial and sober threads of real history, other andmore lurid colors are interwoven into the web of local lore--legendsof the dark doings of famous pirates, of their mysterious, sinistercomings and goings, of treasures buried in the sand dunes and pinebarrens back of the cape and along the Atlantic beach to thesouthward. 

Of such is the story of Blueskin, the pirate. 

II

It was in the fall and the early winter of the year 1750, and again inthe summer of the year following, that the famous pirate, Blueskin, became especially identified with Lewes as a part of its traditionalhistory. 

For some time--for three or four years--rumors and reports ofBlueskin's doings in the West Indies and off the Carolinas had beenbrought in now and then by sea captains. There was no more cruel, bloody, desperate, devilish pirate than he in all thosepirate-infested waters. All kinds of wild and bloody stories werecurrent concerning him, but it never occurred to the good folk ofLewes that such stories were some time to be a part of their ownhistory. 

But one day a schooner came drifting into Lewes harbor--shattered, wounded, her forecastle splintered, her foremast shot half away, andthree great tattered holes in her mainsail. The mate with one of thecrew came ashore in the boat for help and a doctor. He reported thatthe captain and the cook were dead and there were three wounded menaboard. The story he told to the gathering crowd brought a verypeculiar thrill to those who heard it. They had fallen in withBlueskin, he said, off Fenwick's Island (some twenty or thirty milesbelow the capes), and the pirates had come aboard of them; but, finding that the cargo of the schooner consisted only of cypressshingles and lumber, had soon quitted their prize. Perhaps Blueskinwas disappointed at not finding a more valuable capture; perhaps thespirit of deviltry was hotter in him that morning than usual; anyhow, as the pirate craft bore away she fired three broadsides at shortrange into the helpless coaster. The captain had been killed at thefirst fire, the cook had died on the way up, three of the crew werewounded, and the vessel was leaking fast, betwixt wind and water. 

Such was the mate's story. It spread like wildfire, and in half anhour all the town was in a ferment. Fenwick's Island was very nearhome; Blueskin might come sailing into the harbor at any minute andthen--! In an hour Sheriff Jones had called together most of theable-bodied men of the town, muskets and rifles were taken down fromthe chimney places, and every preparation was made to defend the placeagainst the pirates, should they come into the harbor and attempt toland. 

But Blueskin did not come that day, nor did he come the next or thenext. But on the afternoon of the third the news went suddenly flyingover the town that the pirates were inside the capes. As the reportspread the people came running--men, women, and children--to the greenbefore the tavern, where a little knot of old seamen were gatheredtogether, looking fixedly out toward the offing, talking in lowvoices. Two vessels, one bark-rigged, the other and smaller a sloop, were slowly creeping up the bay, a couple of miles or so away and justinside the cape. There appeared nothing remarkable about the twocrafts, but the little crowd that continued gathering upon the greenstood looking out across the bay at them none the less anxiously forthat. They were sailing close-hauled to the wind, the sloop followingin the wake of her consort as the pilot fish follows in the wake ofthe shark. 

But the course they held did not lie toward the harbor, but ratherbore away toward the Jersey shore, and by and by it began to beapparent that Blueskin did not intend visiting the town. Nevertheless, those who stood looking did not draw a free breath until, afterwatching the two pirates for more than an hour and a half, they sawthem--then about six miles away--suddenly put about and sail with afree wind out to sea again. 

"The bloody villains have gone!" said old Captain Wolfe, shutting histelescope with a click. 

But Lewes was not yet quit of Blueskin. Two days later a half-breedfrom Indian River bay came up, bringing the news that the pirates hadsailed into the inlet--some fifteen miles below Lewes--and hadcareened the bark to clean her. 

Perhaps Blueskin did not care to stir up the country people againsthim, for the half-breed reported that the pirates were doing no harm, and that what they took from the farmers of Indian River and Rehoboththey paid for with good hard money. 

It was while the excitement over the pirates was at its highest feverheat that Levi West came home again. 

III

Even in the middle of the last century the grist mill, a couple ofmiles from Lewes, although it was at most but fifty or sixty yearsold, had all a look of weather-beaten age, for the cypress shingles, of which it was built, ripen in a few years of wind and weather to asilvery, hoary gray, and the white powdering of flour lent it a lookas though the dust of ages had settled upon it, making the shadowswithin dim, soft, mysterious. A dozen willow trees shaded withdappling, shivering ripples of shadow the road before the mill door, and the mill itself, and the long, narrow, shingle-built, one-storied, hip-roofed dwelling house. At the time of the story the mill haddescended in a direct line of succession to Hiram White, the grandsonof old Ephraim White, who had built it, it was said, in 1701. 

Hiram White was only twenty-seven years old, but he was already inlocal repute as a "character. " As a boy he was thought to behalf-witted or "natural, " and, as is the case with such unfortunatesin small country towns where everybody knows everybody, he was made acommon sport and jest for the keener, crueler wits of theneighborhood. Now that he was grown to the ripeness of manhood he wasstill looked upon as being--to use a quaint expression--"slack, " or"not jest right. " He was heavy, awkward, ungainly and loose-jointed, and enormously, prodigiously strong. He had a lumpish, thick-featuredface, with lips heavy and loosely hanging, that gave him an air ofstupidity, half droll, half pathetic. His little eyes were set farapart and flat with his face, his eyebrows were nearly white and hishair was of a sandy, colorless kind. He was singularly taciturn, lisping thickly when he did talk, and stuttering and hesitating in hisspeech, as though his words moved faster than his mind could follow. It was the custom for local wags to urge, or badger, or tempt him totalk, for the sake of the ready laugh that always followed the fewthick, stammering words and the stupid drooping of the jaw at the endof each short speech. Perhaps Squire Hall was the only one in LewesHundred who mis-doubted that Hiram was half-witted. He had haddealings with him and was wont to say that whoever bought Hiram Whitefor a fool made a fool's bargain. Certainly, whether he had commonwits or no, Hiram had managed his mill to pretty good purpose and wasfairly well off in the world as prosperity went in southern Delawareand in those days. No doubt, had it come to the pinch, he might havebought some of his tormentors out three times over. 

Hiram White had suffered quite a financial loss some six monthsbefore, through that very Blueskin who was now lurking in Indian Riverinlet. He had entered into a "venture" with Josiah Shippin, aPhiladelphia merchant, to the tune of seven hundred pounds sterling. The money had been invested in a cargo of flour and corn meal whichhad been shipped to Jamaica by the bark _Nancy Lee_. The _NancyLee_ had been captured by the pirates off Currituck Sound, the crewset adrift in the longboat, and the bark herself and all her cargoburned to the water's edge. 

[Illustration: SO THE TREASURE WAS DIVIDED]

Five hundred of the seven hundred pounds invested in the unfortunate"venture" was money bequeathed by Hiram's father, seven years before, to Levi West. 

Eleazer White had been twice married, the second time to the widowWest. She had brought with her to her new home a good-looking, long-legged, black-eyed, black-haired ne'er-do-well of a son, a yearor so younger than Hiram. He was a shrewd, quick-witted lad, idle, shiftless, willful, ill-trained perhaps, but as bright and keen as apin. He was the very opposite to poor, dull Hiram. Eleazer White hadnever loved his son; he was ashamed of the poor, slack-witted oaf. Upon the other hand, he was very fond of Levi West, whom he alwayscalled "our Levi, " and whom he treated in every way as though he werehis own son. He tried to train the lad to work in the mill, and waspatient beyond what the patience of most fathers would have been withhis stepson's idleness and shiftlessness. "Never mind, " he was used tosay. "Levi 'll come all right. Levi's as bright as a button. "

It was one of the greatest blows of the old miller's life when Leviran away to sea. In his last sickness the old man's mind constantlyturned to his lost stepson. "Mebby he'll come back again, " said he, "and if he does I want you to be good to him, Hiram. I've done my dutyby you and have left you the house and mill, but I want you to promisethat if Levi comes back again you'll give him a home and a shelterunder this roof if he wants one. " And Hiram had promised to do as hisfather asked. 

After Eleazer died it was found that he had bequeathed five hundredpounds to his "beloved stepson, Levi West, " and had left Squire Hallas trustee. 

Levi West had been gone nearly nine years and not a word had beenheard from him; there could be little or no doubt that he was dead. 

One day Hiram came into Squire Hall's office with a letter in hishand. It was the time of the old French war, and flour and corn mealwere fetching fabulous prices in the British West Indies. The letterHiram brought with him was from a Philadelphia merchant, JosiahShippin, with whom he had had some dealings. Mr. Shippin proposed thatHiram should join him in sending a "venture" of flour and corn meal toKingston, Jamaica. Hiram had slept upon the letter overnight and nowhe brought it to the old Squire. Squire Hall read the letter, shakinghis head the while. "Too much risk, Hiram!" said he. "Mr Shippinwouldn't have asked you to go into this venture if he could have gotanybody else to do so. My advice is that you let it alone. I reckonyou've come to me for advice?" Hiram shook his head. "Ye haven't? Whathave ye come for, then?"

"Seven hundred pounds, " said Hiram. 

"Seven hundred pounds!" said Squire Hall. "I haven't got seven hundredpounds to lend you, Hiram. "

"Five hundred been left to Levi--I got hundred--raise hundred more onmortgage, " said Hiram. 

"Tut, tut, Hiram, " said Squire Hall, "that'll never do in the world. Suppose Levi West should come back again, what then? I'm responsiblefor that money. If you wanted to borrow it now for any reasonableventure, you should have it and welcome, but for such a wildcatscheme--"

"Levi never come back, " said Hiram--"nine years gone--Levi's dead. "

"Mebby he is, " said Squire Hall, "but we don't know that. "

"I'll give bond for security, " said Hiram. 

Squire Hall thought for a while in silence. "Very well, Hiram, " saidhe by and by, "if you'll do that. Your father left the money, and Idon't see that it's right for me to stay his son from using it. Butif it is lost, Hiram, and if Levi should come back, it will go well toruin ye. "

So Hiram White invested seven hundred pounds in the Jamaica ventureand every farthing of it was burned by Blueskin, off Currituck Sound. 

IV

Sally Martin was said to be the prettiest girl in Lewes Hundred, andwhen the rumor began to leak out that Hiram White was courting her thewhole community took it as a monstrous joke. It was the common thingto greet Hiram himself with, "Hey, Hiram; how's Sally?" Hiram nevermade answer to such salutation, but went his way as heavily, asimpassively, as dully as ever. 

The joke was true. Twice a week, rain or shine, Hiram White neverfailed to scrape his feet upon Billy Martin's doorstep. Twice a week, on Sundays and Thursdays, he never failed to take his customary seatby the kitchen fire. He rarely said anything by way of talk; he noddedto the farmer, to his wife, to Sally and, when he chanced to be athome, to her brother, but he ventured nothing further. There he wouldsit from half past seven until nine o'clock, stolid, heavy, impassive, his dull eyes following now one of the family and now another, butalways coming back again to Sally. It sometimes happened that she hadother company--some of the young men of the neighborhood. The presenceof such seemed to make no difference to Hiram; he bore whatever broadjokes might be cracked upon him, whatever grins, whatever gigglingmight follow those jokes, with the same patient impassiveness. Therehe would sit, silent, unresponsive; then, at the first stroke of nineo'clock, he would rise, shoulder his ungainly person into hisovercoat, twist his head into his three-cornered hat, and with a "Goodnight, Sally, I be going now, " would take his departure, shutting thedoor carefully to behind him. 

Never, perhaps, was there a girl in the world had such a lover andsuch a courtship as Sally Martin. 

V

It was one Thursday evening in the latter part of November, about aweek after Blueskin's appearance off the capes, and while the onesubject of talk was of the pirates being in Indian River inlet. Theair was still and wintry; a sudden cold snap had set in and skins ofice had formed over puddles in the road; the smoke from the chimneysrose straight in the quiet air and voices sounded loud, as they do infrosty weather. 

Hiram White sat by the dim light of a tallow dip, poring laboriouslyover some account books. It was not quite seven o'clock, and he neverstarted for Billy Martin's before that hour. As he ran his fingerslowly and hesitatingly down the column of figures, he heard thekitchen door beyond open and shut, the noise of footsteps crossing thefloor and the scraping of a chair dragged forward to the hearth. Thencame the sound of a basket of corncobs being emptied on the smolderingblaze and then the snapping and crackling of the reanimated fire. Hiram thought nothing of all this, excepting, in a dim sort of way, that it was Bob, the negro mill hand, or old black Dinah, thehousekeeper, and so went on with his calculations. 

At last he closed the books with a snap and, smoothing down his hair, arose, took up the candle, and passed out of the room into the kitchenbeyond. 

A man was sitting in front of the corncob fire that flamed and blazedin the great, gaping, sooty fireplace. A rough overcoat was flung overthe chair behind him and his hands were spread out to the roaringwarmth. At the sound of the lifted latch and of Hiram's entrance heturned his head, and when Hiram saw his face he stood suddenly stillas though turned to stone. The face, marvelously altered and changedas it was, was the face of his stepbrother, Levi West. He was notdead; he had come home again. For a time not a sound broke the dead, unbroken silence excepting the crackling of the blaze in the fireplaceand the sharp ticking of the tall clock in the corner. The one face, dull and stolid, with the light of the candle shining upward over itslumpy features, looked fixedly, immovably, stonily at the other, sharp, shrewd, cunning--the red wavering light of the blaze shiningupon the high cheek bones, cutting sharp on the nose and twinkling inthe glassy turn of the black, ratlike eyes. Then suddenly that facecracked, broadened, spread to a grin. "I have come back again, Hi, "said Levi, and at the sound of the words the speechless spell wasbroken. 

Hiram answered never a word, but he walked to the fireplace, set thecandle down upon the dusty mantelshelf among the boxes and bottles, and, drawing forward a chair upon the other side of the hearth, satdown. 

His dull little eyes never moved from his stepbrother's face. Therewas no curiosity in his expression, no surprise, no wonder. The heavyunder lip dropped a little farther open and there was more than usualof dull, expressionless stupidity upon the lumpish face; but that wasall. 

As was said, the face upon which he looked was strangely, marvelouslychanged from what it had been when he had last seen it nine yearsbefore, and, though it was still the face of Levi West, it was a verydifferent Levi West than the shiftless ne'er-do-well who had run awayto sea in the Brazilian brig that long time ago. That Levi West hadbeen a rough, careless, happy-go-lucky fellow; thoughtless andselfish, but with nothing essentially evil or sinister in his nature. The Levi West that now sat in a rush-bottom chair at the other side ofthe fireplace had that stamped upon his front that might be both eviland sinister. His swart complexion was tanned to an Indian copper. Onone side of his face was a curious discoloration in the skin and along, crooked, cruel scar that ran diagonally across forehead andtemple and cheek in a white, jagged seam. This discoloration was of alivid blue, about the tint of a tattoo mark. It made a patch the sizeof a man's hand, lying across the cheek and the side of the neck. Hiram could not keep his eyes from this mark and the white scarcutting across it. 

There was an odd sort of incongruity in Levi's dress; a pair of heavygold earrings and a dirty red handkerchief knotted loosely around hisneck, beneath an open collar, displaying to its full length the lean, sinewy throat with its bony "Adam's apple, " gave to his costumesomewhat the smack of a sailor. He wore a coat that had once been offine plum color--now stained and faded--too small for his lean length, and furbished with tarnished lace. Dirty cambric cuffs hung at hiswrists and on his fingers were half a dozen and more rings, set withstones that shone, and glistened, and twinkled in the light of thefire. The hair at either temple was twisted into a Spanish curl, plastered flat to the cheek, and a plaited queue hung halfway down hisback. 

Hiram, speaking never a word, sat motionless, his dull little eyestraveling slowly up and down and around and around his stepbrother'sperson. 

Levi did not seem to notice his scrutiny, leaning forward, now withhis palms spread out to the grateful warmth, now rubbing them slowlytogether. But at last he suddenly whirled his chair around, rasping onthe floor, and faced his stepbrother. He thrust his hand into hiscapacious coat pocket and brought out a pipe which he proceeded tofill from a skin of tobacco. "Well, Hi, " said he, "d'ye see I've comeback home again?"

"Thought you was dead, " said Hiram, dully. 

Levi laughed, then he drew a red-hot coal out of the fire, put it uponthe bowl of the pipe and began puffing out clouds of pungent smoke. "Nay, nay, " said he; "not dead--not dead by odds. But [puff] by theEternal Holy, Hi, I played many a close game [puff] with old DavyJones, for all that. "

Hiram's look turned inquiringly toward the jagged scar and Levi caughtthe slow glance. "You're lookin' at this, " said he, running his fingerdown the crooked seam. "That looks bad, but it wasn't so close asthis"--laying his hand for a moment upon the livid stain. "A coolydevil off Singapore gave me that cut when we fell foul of an opiumjunk in the China Sea four years ago last September. This, " touchingthe disfiguring blue patch again, "was a closer miss, Hi. A Spanishcaptain fired a pistol at me down off Santa Catharina. He was so nighthat the powder went under the skin and it'll never come out again. ---- his eyes--he had better have fired the pistol into his own headthat morning. But never mind that. I reckon I'm changed, ain't I, Hi?"

He took his pipe out of his mouth and looked inquiringly at Hiram, whonodded. 

Levi laughed. "Devil doubt it, " said he, "but whether I'm changed orno, I'll take my affidavy that you are the same old half-witted Hithat you used to be. I remember dad used to say that you hadn't nomore than enough wits to keep you out of the rain. And, talking ofdad, Hi, I hearn tell he's been dead now these nine years gone. D'yeknow what I've come home for?"

Hiram shook his head. 

"I've come for that five hundred pounds that dad left me when he died, for I hearn tell of that, too. "

Hiram sat quite still for a second or two and then he said, "I putthat money out to venture and lost it all. "

Levi's face fell and he took his pipe out of his mouth, regardingHiram sharply and keenly. "What d'ye mean?" said he presently. 

"I thought you was dead--and I put--seven hundred pounds--into _NancyLee_--and Blueskin burned her--off Currituck. "

"Burned her off Currituck!" repeated Levi. Then suddenly a lightseemed to break upon his comprehension. "Burned by Blueskin!" herepeated, and thereupon flung himself back in his chair and burst intoa short, boisterous fit of laughter. "Well, by the Holy Eternal, Hi, if that isn't a piece of your tarnal luck. Burned by Blueskin, wasit?" He paused for a moment, as though turning it over in his mind. Then he laughed again. "All the same, " said he presently, "d'ye see, Ican't suffer for Blueskin's doings. The money was willed to me, fairand true, and you have got to pay it, Hiram White, burn or sink, Blueskin or no Blueskin. " Again he puffed for a moment or two inreflective silence. "All the same, Hi, " said he, once more resumingthe thread of talk, "I don't reckon to be too hard on you. You be onlyhalf-witted, anyway, and I sha'n't be too hard on you. I give you amonth to raise that money, and while you're doing it I'll jest hangaround here. I've been in trouble, Hi, d'ye see. I'm under a cloud andso I want to keep here, as quiet as may be. I'll tell ye how it cameabout: I had a set-to with a land pirate in Philadelphia, and somebodygot hurt. That's the reason I'm here now, and don't you say anythingabout it. Do you understand?"

Hiram opened his lips as though it was his intent to answer, thenseemed to think better of it and contented himself by nodding hishead. 

That Thursday night was the first for a six-month that Hiram White didnot scrape his feet clean at Billy Martin's doorstep. 

VI

Within a week Levi West had pretty well established himself among hisold friends and acquaintances, though upon a different footing fromthat of nine years before, for this was a very different Levi fromthat other. Nevertheless, he was none the less popular in the barroomof the tavern and at the country store, where he was always the centerof a group of loungers. His nine years seemed to have been crowdedfull of the wildest of wild adventures and happenings, as well by landas by sea, and, given an appreciative audience, he would reel off hisyarns by the hour, in a reckless, devil-may-care fashion that setagape even old sea dogs who had sailed the western ocean sinceboyhood. Then he seemed always to have plenty of money, and he lovedto spend it at the tavern taproom, with a lavishness that was at oncethe wonder and admiration of gossips. 

[Illustration: Colonel Rhett and the Pirate

_Illustration from_COLONIES AND NATION

_by_ Woodrow Wilson

_Originally published in_HARPER'S MAGAZINE, _May_, 1901]

At that time, as was said, Blueskin was the one engrossing topic oftalk, and it added not a little to Levi's prestige when it was foundthat he had actually often seen that bloody, devilish pirate with hisown eyes. A great, heavy, burly fellow, Levi said he was, with a beardas black as a hat--a devil with his sword and pistol afloat, but notso black as he was painted when ashore. He told of many adventures inwhich Blueskin figured and was then always listened to with more thanusual gaping interest. 

As for Blueskin, the quiet way in which the pirates conductedthemselves at Indian River almost made the Lewes folk forget what hecould do when the occasion called. They almost ceased to remember thatpoor shattered schooner that had crawled with its ghastly dead andgroaning wounded into the harbor a couple of weeks since. But if for awhile they forgot who or what Blueskin was, it was not for long. 

One day a bark from Bristol, bound for Cuba and laden with a valuablecargo of cloth stuffs and silks, put into Lewes harbor to take inwater. The captain himself came ashore and was at the tavern for twoor three hours. It happened that Levi was there and that the talk wasof Blueskin. The English captain, a grizzled old sea dog, listened toLevi's yarns with not a little contempt. He had, he said, sailed inthe China Sea and the Indian Ocean too long to be afraid of anyhog-eating Yankee pirate such as this Blueskin. A junk full of cooliesarmed with stink-pots was something to speak of, but who ever heard ofthe likes of Blueskin falling afoul of anything more than a Spanishcanoe or a Yankee coaster?

Levi grinned. "All the same, my hearty, " said he, "if I was you I'dgive Blueskin a wide berth. I hear that he's cleaned the vessel thatwas careened awhile ago, and mebby he'll give you a little trouble ifyou come too nigh him. "

To this the Englishman only answered that Blueskin might be----, andthat the next afternoon, wind and weather permitting, he intended toheave anchor and run out to sea. 

Levi laughed again. "I wish I might be here to see what'll happen, "said he, "but I'm going up the river to-night to see a gal and mebbywon't be back again for three or four days. "

The next afternoon the English bark set sail as the captain promised, and that night Lewes town was awake until almost morning, gazing at abroad red glare that lighted up the sky away toward the southeast. Twodays afterward a negro oysterman came up from Indian River with newsthat the pirates were lying off the inlet, bringing ashore bales ofgoods from their larger vessel and piling the same upon the beachunder tarpaulins. He said that it was known down at Indian River thatBlueskin had fallen afoul of an English bark, had burned her and hadmurdered the captain and all but three of the crew, who had joinedwith the pirates. 

The excitement over this terrible happening had only begun to subsidewhen another occurred to cap it. One afternoon a ship's boat, in whichwere five men and two women, came rowing into Lewes harbor. It was thelongboat of the Charleston packet, bound for New York, and wascommanded by the first mate. The packet had been attacked and capturedby the pirates about ten leagues south by east of Cape Henlopen. Thepirates had come aboard of them at night and no resistance had beenoffered. Perhaps it was that circumstance that saved the lives of all, for no murder or violence had been done. Nevertheless, officers, passengers and crew had been stripped of everything of value and setadrift in the boats and the ship herself had been burned. The longboathad become separated from the others during the night and had sightedHenlopen a little after sunrise. 

It may be here said that Squire Hall made out a report of these twooccurrences and sent it up to Philadelphia by the mate of the packet. But for some reason it was nearly four weeks before a sloop of war wassent around from New York. In the meanwhile, the pirates had disposedof the booty stored under the tarpaulins on the beach at Indian Riverinlet, shipping some of it away in two small sloops and sending therest by wagons somewhere up the country. 

VII

Levi had told the English captain that he was going up-country tovisit one of his lady friends. He was gone nearly two weeks. Then oncemore he appeared, as suddenly, as unexpectedly, as he had done when hefirst returned to Lewes. Hiram was sitting at supper when the dooropened and Levi walked in, hanging up his hat behind the door asunconcernedly as though he had only been gone an hour. He was in anugly, lowering humor and sat himself down at the table withoututtering a word, resting his chin upon his clenched fist and gloweringfixedly at the corn cake while Dinah fetched him a plate and knife andfork. 

His coming seemed to have taken away all of Hiram's appetite. Hepushed away his plate and sat staring at his stepbrother, whopresently fell to at the bacon and eggs like a famished wolf. Not aword was said until Levi had ended his meal and filled his pipe. "Look'ee, Hiram, " said he, as he stooped over the fire and raked out ahot coal. "Look'ee, Hiram! I've been to Philadelphia, d'ye see, a-settlin' up that trouble I told you about when I first come home. D'ye understand? D'ye remember? D'ye get it through your skull?" Helooked around over his shoulder, waiting as though for an answer. Butgetting none, he continued: "I expect two gentlemen here fromPhiladelphia to-night. They're friends of mine and are coming to talkover the business and ye needn't stay at home, Hi. You can go outsomewhere, d'ye understand?" And then he added with a grin, "Ye can goto see Sally. "

Hiram pushed back his chair and arose. He leaned with his back againstthe side of the fireplace. "I'll stay at home, " said he presently. 

"But I don't want you to stay at home, Hi, " said Levi. "We'll have totalk business and I want you to go!"

"I'll stay at home, " said Hiram again. 

Levi's brow grew as black as thunder. He ground his teeth together andfor a moment or two it seemed as though an explosion was coming. Buthe swallowed his passion with a gulp. "You're a----pig-headed, half-witted fool, " said he. Hiram never so much as moved his eyes. "Asfor you, " said Levi, whirling round upon Dinah, who was clearing thetable, and glowering balefully upon the old negress, "you put themthings down and git out of here. Don't you come nigh this kitchenagain till I tell ye to. If I catch you pryin' around may I be ----, eyes and liver, if I don't cut your heart out. "

 * * * * *

In about half an hour Levi's friends came; the first a little, thin, wizened man with a very foreign look. He was dressed in a rusty blacksuit and wore gray yarn stockings and shoes with brass buckles. Theother was also plainly a foreigner. He was dressed in sailor fashion, with petticoat breeches of duck, a heavy pea-jacket, and thick boots, reaching to the knees. He wore a red sash tied around his waist, andonce, as he pushed back his coat, Hiram saw the glitter of a pistolbutt. He was a powerful, thickset man, low-browed and bull-necked, hischeek, and chin, and throat closely covered with a stubble ofblue-black beard. He wore a red kerchief tied around his head and overit a cocked hat, edged with tarnished gilt braid. 

Levi himself opened the door to them. He exchanged a few words outsidewith his visitors, in a foreign language of which Hiram understoodnothing. Neither of the two strangers spoke a word to Hiram: thelittle man shot him a sharp look out of the corners of his eyes andthe burly ruffian scowled blackly at him, but beyond that neithervouchsafed him any regard. 

Levi drew to the shutters, shot the bolt in the outer door, and tilteda chair against the latch of the one that led from the kitchen intothe adjoining room. Then the three worthies seated themselves at thetable which Dinah had half cleared of the supper china, and werepresently deeply engrossed over a packet of papers which the big, burly man had brought with him in the pocket of his pea-jacket. Theconfabulation was conducted throughout in the same foreign languagewhich Levi had used when first speaking to them--a language quiteunintelligible to Hiram's ears. Now and then the murmur of talk wouldrise loud and harsh over some disputed point; now and then it wouldsink away to whispers. 

Twice the tall clock in the corner whirred and sharply struck thehour, but throughout the whole long consultation Hiram stood silent, motionless as a stock, his eyes fixed almost unwinkingly upon thethree heads grouped close together around the dim, flickering light ofthe candle and the papers scattered upon the table. 

Suddenly the talk came to an end, the three heads separated and thethree chairs were pushed back, grating harshly. Levi rose, went to thecloset and brought thence a bottle of Hiram's apple brandy, as coollyas though it belonged to himself. He set three tumblers and a crock ofwater upon the table and each helped himself liberally. 

As the two visitors departed down the road, Levi stood for a while atthe open door, looking after the dusky figures until they wereswallowed in the darkness. Then he turned, came in, shut the door, shuddered, took a final dose of the apple brandy and went to bed, without, since his first suppressed explosion, having said a singleword to Hiram. 

Hiram, left alone, stood for a while, silent, motionless as ever, thenhe looked slowly about him, gave a shake of the shoulders as though toarouse himself, and taking the candle, left the room, shutting thedoor noiselessly behind him. 

VIII

This time of Levi West's unwelcome visitation was indeed a time ofbitter trouble and tribulation to poor Hiram White. Money was of verydifferent value in those days than it is now, and five hundred poundswas in its way a good round lump--in Sussex County it was almost afortune. It was a desperate struggle for Hiram to raise the amount ofhis father's bequest to his stepbrother. Squire Hall, as may have beengathered, had a very warm and friendly feeling for Hiram, believing inhim when all others disbelieved; nevertheless, in the matter of moneythe old man was as hard and as cold as adamant. He would, he said, doall he could to help Hiram, but that five hundred pounds must andshould be raised--Hiram must release his security bond. He would loanhim, he said, three hundred pounds, taking a mortgage upon the mill. He would have lent him four hundred but that there was already a firstmortgage of one hundred pounds upon it, and he would not dare to putmore than three hundred more atop of that. 

Hiram had a considerable quantity of wheat which he had bought uponspeculation and which was then lying idle in a Philadelphiastorehouse. This he had sold at public sale and at a very greatsacrifice; he realized barely one hundred pounds upon it. Thefinancial horizon looked very black to him; nevertheless, Levi's fivehundred pounds was raised, and paid into Squire Hall's hands, andSquire Hall released Hiram's bond. 

The business was finally closed on one cold, gray afternoon in theearly part of December. As Hiram tore his bond across and then tore itacross again and again, Squire Hall pushed back the papers upon hisdesk and cocked his feet upon its slanting top. "Hiram, " said he, abruptly, "Hiram, do you know that Levi West is forever hanging aroundBilly Martin's house, after that pretty daughter of his?"

So long a space of silence followed the speech that the Squire beganto think that Hiram might not have heard him. But Hiram had heard. "No, " said he, "I didn't know it. "

"Well, he is, " said Squire Hall. "It's the talk of the wholeneighborhood. The talk's pretty bad, too. D'ye know that they say thatshe was away from home three days last week, nobody knew where? Thefellow's turned her head with his sailor's yarns and his traveler'slies. "

Hiram said not a word, but he sat looking at the other in stolidsilence. "That stepbrother of yours, " continued the old Squirepresently, "is a rascal--he is a rascal, Hiram, and I mis-doubt he'ssomething worse. I hear he's been seen in some queer places and withqueer company of late. "

He stopped again, and still Hiram said nothing. "And look'ee, Hiram, "the old man resumed, suddenly, "I do hear that you be courtin' thegirl, too; is that so?"

"Yes, " said Hiram, "I'm courtin' her, too. "

"Tut! tut!" said the Squire, "that's a pity, Hiram. I'm afraid yourcakes are dough. "

After he had left the Squire's office, Hiram stood for a while in thestreet, bareheaded, his hat in his hand, staring unwinkingly down atthe ground at his feet, with stupidly drooping lips and lacklustereyes. Presently he raised his hand and began slowly smoothing down thesandy shock of hair upon his forehead. At last he aroused himself witha shake, looked dully up and down the street, and then, putting on hishat, turned and walked slowly and heavily away. 

The early dusk of the cloudy winter evening was settling fast, for thesky was leaden and threatening. At the outskirts of the town Hiramstopped again and again stood for a while in brooding thought. Then, finally, he turned slowly, not the way that led homeward, but takingthe road that led between the bare and withered fields and crookedfences toward Billy Martin's. 

It would be hard to say just what it was that led Hiram to seek BillyMartin's house at that time of day--whether it was fate or illfortune. He could not have chosen a more opportune time to confirm hisown undoing. What he saw was the very worst that his heart feared. 

Along the road, at a little distance from the house, was a mock-orangehedge, now bare, naked, leafless. As Hiram drew near he heardfootsteps approaching and low voices. He drew back into the fencecorner and there stood, half sheltered by the stark network of twigs. Two figures passed slowly along the gray of the roadway in thegloaming. One was his stepbrother, the other was Sally Martin. Levi'sarm was around her, he was whispering into her ear, and her headrested upon his shoulder. 

Hiram stood as still, as breathless, as cold as ice. They stopped uponthe side of the road just beyond where he stood. Hiram's eyes neverleft them. There for some time they talked together in low voices, their words now and then reaching the ears of that silent, breathlesslistener. 

Suddenly there came the clattering of an opening door, and then BettyMartin's voice broke the silence, harshly, shrilly: "Sal!--Sal!--SallyMartin! You, Sally Martin! Come in yere. Where be ye?"

The girl flung her arms around Levi's neck and their lips met in onequick kiss. The next moment she was gone, flying swiftly, silently, down the road past where Hiram stood, stooping as she ran. Levi stoodlooking after her until she was gone; then he turned and walked awaywhistling. 

His whistling died shrilly into silence in the wintry distance, andthen at last Hiram came stumbling out from the hedge. His face hadnever looked before as it looked then. 

IX

Hiram was standing in front of the fire with his hands clasped behindhis back. He had not touched the supper on the table. Levi was eatingwith an appetite. Suddenly he looked over his plate at hisstepbrother. 

"How about that five hundred pounds, Hiram?" said he. "I gave ye amonth to raise it and the month ain't quite up yet, but I'm goin' toleave this here place day after to-morrow--by next day at thefurd'st--and I want the money that's mine. "

"I paid it to Squire Hall to-day and he has it fer ye, " said Hiram, dully. 

Levi laid down his knife and fork with a clatter. "Squire Hall!" saidhe, "what's Squire Hall got to do with it? Squire Hall didn't have theuse of that money. It was you had it and you have got to pay it backto me, and if you don't do it, by G----, I'll have the law on you, sure as you're born. "

"Squire Hall's trustee--I ain't your trustee, " said Hiram, in the samedull voice. 

"I don't know nothing about trustees, " said Levi, "or anything aboutlawyer business, either. What I want to know is, are you going to payme my money or no?"

"No, " said Hiram, "I ain't--Squire Hall 'll pay ye; you go to him. "

Levi West's face grew purple red. He pushed back, his chair gratingharshly. "You--bloody land pirate!" he said, grinding his teethtogether. "I see through your tricks. You're up to cheating me out ofmy money. You know very well that Squire Hall is down on me, hard andbitter--writin' his ---- reports to Philadelphia and doing all he canto stir up everybody agin me and to bring the bluejackets down on me. I see through your tricks as clear as glass, but ye sha'n't trick me. I'll have my money if there's law in the land--ye bloody, unnaturalthief ye, who'd go agin your dead father's will!"

Then--if the roof had fallen in upon him, Levi West could not havebeen more amazed--Hiram suddenly strode forward, and, leaning halfacross the table with his fists clenched, fairly glared into Levi'seyes. His face, dull, stupid, wooden, was now fairly convulsed withpassion. The great veins stood out upon his temples like knottedwhipcords, and when he spoke his voice was more a breathless snarlthan the voice of a Christian man. 

"Ye'll have the law, will ye?" said he. "Ye'll--have the law, will ye?You're afeared to go to law--Levi West--you try th' law--and see howye like it. Who 're you to call me thief--ye bloody, murderin' villainye! You're the thief--Levi West--you come here and stole my daddy fromme--ye did. You make me ruin--myself to pay what oughter to beenmine--then--ye--ye steal the gal I was courtin', to boot. " He stoppedand his lips writhed for words to say. "I know ye, " said he, grindinghis teeth. "I know ye! And only for what my daddy made me promise I'da-had you up to the magistrate's before this. "

Then, pointing with quivering finger: "There's the door--you see it!Go out that there door and don't never come into it again--if yedo--or if ye ever come where I can lay eyes on ye again--by th' HolyHoly I'll hale ye up to the Squire's office and tell all I know andall I've seen. Oh, I'll give ye your belly-fill of law if--ye want th'law! Git out of the house, I say!"

As Hiram spoke Levi seemed to shrink together. His face changed fromits copper color to a dull, waxy yellow. When the other ended heanswered never a word. But he pushed back his chair, rose, put on hishat and, with a furtive, sidelong look, left the house, withoutstopping to finish the supper which he had begun. He never enteredHiram White's door again. 

X

Hiram had driven out the evil spirit from his home, but the mischiefthat it had brewed was done and could not be undone. The next day itwas known that Sally Martin had run away from home, and that she hadrun away with Levi West. Old Billy Martin had been in town in themorning with his rifle, hunting for Levi and threatening if he caughthim to have his life for leading his daughter astray. 

And, as the evil spirit had left Hiram's house, so had another and agreater evil spirit quitted its harborage. It was heard from IndianRiver in a few days more that Blueskin had quitted the inlet and hadsailed away to the southeast; and it was reported, by those who seemedto know, that he had finally quitted those parts. 

It was well for himself that Blueskin left when he did, for not threedays after he sailed away the _Scorpion_ sloop-of-war dropped anchorin Lewes harbor. The New York agent of the unfortunate packet and agovernment commissioner had also come aboard the _Scorpion_. 

Without loss of time, the officer in command instituted a keen andsearching examination that brought to light some singularly curiousfacts. It was found that a very friendly understanding must haveexisted for some time between the pirates and the people of IndianRiver, for, in the houses throughout that section, many things--someof considerable value--that had been taken by the pirates from thepacket, were discovered and seized by the commissioner. Valuables of asuspicious nature had found their way even into the houses of Lewesitself. 

The whole neighborhood seemed to have become more or less tainted bythe presence of the pirates. 

Even poor Hiram White did not escape the suspicions of having haddealings with them. Of course the examiners were not slow indiscovering that Levi West had been deeply concerned with Blueskin'sdoings. 

Old Dinah and black Bob were examined, and not only did the story ofLevi's two visitors come to light, but also the fact that Hiram waspresent and with them while they were in the house disposing of thecaptured goods to their agent. 

Of all that he had endured, nothing seemed to cut poor Hiram so deeplyand keenly as these unjust suspicions. They seemed to bring the lastbitter pang, hardest of all to bear. 

Levi had taken from him his father's love; he had driven him, if notto ruin, at least perilously close to it. He had run away with thegirl he loved, and now, through him, even Hiram's good name was gone. 

Neither did the suspicions against him remain passive; they becameactive. 

Goldsmiths' bills, to the amount of several thousand pounds, had beentaken in the packet and Hiram was examined with an almostinquisitorial closeness and strictness as to whether he had or had notknowledge of their whereabouts. 

Under his accumulated misfortunes, he grew not only more dull, moretaciturn, than ever, but gloomy, moody, brooding as well. For hours hewould sit staring straight before him into the fire, without moving somuch as a hair. 

One night--it was a bitterly cold night in February, with three inchesof dry and gritty snow upon the ground--while Hiram sat thus brooding, there came, of a sudden, a soft tap upon the door. 

Low and hesitating as it was, Hiram started violently at the sound. Hesat for a while, looking from right to left. Then suddenly pushingback his chair, he arose, strode to the door, and flung it wide open. 

It was Sally Martin. 

[Illustration: The Pirate's Christmas

_Originally published in_HARPER'S WEEKLY, _Christmas, 1893_]

Hiram stood for a while staring blankly at her. It was she who firstspoke. "Won't you let me come in, Hi?" said she. "I'm nigh starvedwith the cold and I'm fit to die, I'm so hungry. For God's sake, letme come in. "

"Yes, " said Hiram, "I'll let you come in, but why don't you go home?"

The poor girl was shivering and chattering with the cold; now shebegan crying, wiping her eyes with the corner of a blanket in whichher head and shoulders were wrapped. "I have been home, Hiram, " shesaid, "but dad, he shut the door in my face. He cursed me just awful, Hi--I wish I was dead!"

"You better come in, " said Hiram. "It's no good standing out there inthe cold. " He stood aside and the girl entered, swiftly, gratefully. 

At Hiram's bidding black Dinah presently set some food before Sallyand she fell to eating ravenously, almost ferociously. Meantime, whileshe ate, Hiram stood with his back to the fire, looking at herface--that face once so round and rosy, now thin, pinched, haggard. 

"Are you sick, Sally?" said he presently. 

"No, " said she, "but I've had pretty hard times since I left home, Hi. " The tears sprang to her eyes at the recollection of her troubles, but she only wiped them hastily away with the back of her hand, without stopping in her eating. 

A long pause of dead silence followed. Dinah sat crouched together ona cricket at the other side of the hearth, listening with interest. Hiram did not seem to see her. "Did you go off with Levi?" said he atlast, speaking abruptly. The girl looked up furtively under her brows. "You needn't be afeared to tell, " he added. 

"Yes, " said she at last, "I did go off with him, Hi. "

"Where've you been?"

At the question, she suddenly laid down her knife and fork. "Don'tyou ask me that, Hi, " said she, agitatedly, "I can't tell you that. You don't know Levi, Hiram; I darsn't tell you anything he don't wantme to. If I told you where I been he'd hunt me out, no matter where Iwas, and kill me. If you only knew what I know about him, Hiram, youwouldn't ask anything about him. "

Hiram stood looking broodingly at her for a long time; then at last heagain spoke. "I thought a sight of you onc't, Sally, " said he. 

Sally did not answer immediately, but, after a while, she suddenlylooked up. "Hiram, " said she, "if I tell ye something will you promiseon your oath not to breathe a word to any living soul?" Hiram nodded. "Then I'll tell you, but if Levi finds I've told he'll murder me assure as you're standin' there. Come nigher--I've got to whisper it. "He leaned forward close to her where she sat. She looked swiftly fromright to left; then raising her lips she breathed into his ear: "I'man honest woman, Hi. I was married to Levi West before I run away. "

XI

The winter had passed, spring had passed, and summer had come. Whatever Hiram had felt, he had made no sign of suffering. Nevertheless, his lumpy face had begun to look flabby, his cheekshollow, and his loose-jointed body shrunk more awkwardly together intoits clothes. He was often awake at night, sometimes walking up anddown his room until far into the small hours. 

It was through such a wakeful spell as this that he entered into thegreatest, the most terrible, happening of his life. 

It was a sulphurously hot night in July. The air was like the breathof a furnace, and it was a hard matter to sleep with even the easiestmind and under the most favorable circumstances. The full moon shonein through the open window, laying a white square of light upon thefloor, and Hiram, as he paced up and down, up and down, walkeddirectly through it, his gaunt figure starting out at every turn intosudden brightness as he entered the straight line of misty light. 

The clock in the kitchen whirred and rang out the hour of twelve, andHiram stopped in his walk to count the strokes. 

The last vibration died away into silence, and still he stoodmotionless, now listening with a new and sudden intentness, for, evenas the clock rang the last stroke, he heard soft, heavy footsteps, moving slowly and cautiously along the pathway before the house anddirectly below the open window. A few seconds more and he heard thecreaking of rusty hinges. The mysterious visitor had entered the mill. Hiram crept softly to the window and looked out. The moon shone fullon the dusty, shingled face of the old mill, not thirty steps away, and he saw that the door was standing wide open. A second or two ofstillness followed, and then, as he still stood looking intently, hesaw the figure of a man suddenly appear, sharp and vivid, from thegaping blackness of the open doorway. Hiram could see his face asclear as day. It was Levi West, and he carried an empty meal bag overhis arm. 

Levi West stood looking from right to left for a second or two, andthen he took off his hat and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. Then he softly closed the door behind him and left the mill as he hadcome, and with the same cautious step. Hiram looked down upon him ashe passed close to the house and almost directly beneath. He couldhave touched him with his hand. 

Fifty or sixty yards from the house Levi stopped and a second figurearose from the black shadow in the angle of the worm fence and joinedhim. They stood for a while talking together, Levi pointing now andthen toward the mill. Then the two turned, and, climbing over thefence, cut across an open field and through the tall, shaggy grasstoward the southeast. 

Hiram straightened himself and drew a deep breath, and the moon, shining full upon his face, showed it twisted, convulsed, as it hadbeen when he had fronted his stepbrother seven months before in thekitchen. Great beads of sweat stood on his brow and he wiped them awaywith his sleeve. Then, coatless, hatless as he was, he swung himselfout of the window, dropped upon the grass, and, without an instant ofhesitation, strode off down the road in the direction that Levi Westhad taken. 

As he climbed the fence where the two men had climbed it he could seethem in the pallid light, far away across the level, scrubby meadowland, walking toward a narrow strip of pine woods. 

A little later they entered the sharp-cut shadows beneath the treesand were swallowed in the darkness. 

With fixed eyes and close-shut lips, as doggedly, as inexorably asthough he were a Nemesis hunting his enemy down, Hiram followed theirfootsteps across the stretch of moonlit open. Then, by and by, he alsowas in the shadow of the pines. Here, not a sound broke the midnighthush. His feet made no noise upon the resinous softness of the groundbelow. In that dead, pulseless silence he could distinctly hear thedistant voices of Levi and his companion, sounding loud and resonantin the hollow of the woods. Beyond the woods was a cornfield, andpresently he heard the rattling of the harsh leaves as the two plungedinto the tasseled jungle. Here, as in the woods, he followed them, step by step, guided by the noise of their progress through the canes. 

Beyond the cornfield ran a road that, skirting to the south of Lewes, led across a wooden bridge to the wide salt marshes that stretchedbetween the town and the distant sand hills. Coming out upon this roadHiram found that he had gained upon those he followed, and that theynow were not fifty paces away, and he could see that Levi's companioncarried over his shoulder what looked like a bundle of tools. 

He waited for a little while to let them gain their distance and forthe second time wiped his forehead with his shirt sleeve; then, without ever once letting his eyes leave them, he climbed the fence tothe roadway. 

For a couple of miles or more he followed the two along the white, level highway, past silent, sleeping houses, past barns, sheds, andhaystacks, looming big in the moonlight, past fields, and woods, andclearings, past the dark and silent skirts of the town, and so, atlast, out upon the wide, misty salt marshes, which seemed to stretchaway interminably through the pallid light, yet were bounded in thefar distance by the long, white line of sand hills. 

Across the level salt marshes he followed them, through the rank sedgeand past the glassy pools in which his own inverted image stalkedbeneath as he stalked above; on and on, until at last they had reacheda belt of scrub pines, gnarled and gray, that fringed the foot of thewhite sand hills. 

Here Hiram kept within the black network of shadow. The two whom hefollowed walked more in the open, with their shadows, as black as ink, walking along in the sand beside them, and now, in the dead, breathless stillness, might be heard, dull and heavy, the distantthumping, pounding roar of the Atlantic surf, beating on the beach atthe other side of the sand hills, half a mile away. 

At last the two rounded the southern end of the white bluff, and whenHiram, following, rounded it also, they were no longer to be seen. 

Before him the sand hill rose, smooth and steep, cutting in a sharpridge against the sky. Up this steep hill trailed the footsteps ofthose he followed, disappearing over the crest. Beyond the ridge lay around, bowl-like hollow, perhaps fifty feet across and eighteen ortwenty feet deep, scooped out by the eddying of the winds into analmost perfect circle. Hiram, slowly, cautiously, stealthily, following their trailing line of footmarks, mounted to the top of thehillock and peered down into the bowl beneath. The two men weresitting upon the sand, not far from the tall, skeleton-like shaft ofa dead pine tree that rose, stark and gray, from the sand in which itmay once have been buried, centuries ago. 

XII

Levi had taken off his coat and waistcoat and was fanning himself withhis hat. He was sitting upon the bag he had brought from the mill andwhich he had spread out upon the sand. His companion sat facing him. The moon shone full upon him and Hiram knew him instantly--he was thesame burly, foreign-looking ruffian who had come with the little manto the mill that night to see Levi. He also had his hat off and waswiping his forehead and face with a red handkerchief. Beside him laythe bundle of tools he had brought--a couple of shovels, a piece ofrope, and a long, sharp iron rod. 

The two men were talking together, but Hiram could not understand whatthey said, for they spoke in the same foreign language that they hadbefore used. But he could see his stepbrother point with his finger, now to the dead tree and now to the steep, white face of the oppositeside of the bowl-like hollow. 

At last, having apparently rested themselves, the conference, ifconference it was, came to an end, and Levi led the way, the otherfollowing, to the dead pine tree. Here he stopped and began searching, as though for some mark; then, having found that which he looked for, he drew a tapeline and a large brass pocket compass from his pocket. He gave one end of the tape line to his companion, holding the otherwith his thumb pressed upon a particular part of the tree. Taking hisbearings by the compass, he gave now and then some orders to theother, who moved a little to the left or the right as he bade. At lasthe gave a word of command, and, thereupon, his companion drew a woodenpeg from his pocket and thrust it into the sand. From this peg as abase they again measured, taking bearings by the compass, and againdrove a peg. For a third time they repeated their measurements andthen, at last, seemed to have reached the point which they aimed for. 

Here Levi marked a cross with his heel upon the sand. 

His companion brought him the pointed iron rod which lay beside theshovels, and then stood watching as Levi thrust it deep into the sand, again and again, as though sounding for some object below. It was somewhile before he found that for which he was seeking, but at last therod struck with a jar upon some hard object below. After making sureof success by one or two additional taps with the rod, Levi left itremaining where it stood, brushing the sand from his hands. "Now fetchthe shovels, Pedro, " said he, speaking for the first time in English. 

The two men were busy for a long while, shoveling away the sand. Theobject for which they were seeking lay buried some six feet deep, andthe work was heavy and laborious, the shifting sand sliding back, again and again, into the hole. But at last the blade of one of theshovels struck upon some hard substance and Levi stooped and brushedaway the sand with the palm of his hand. 

Levi's companion climbed out of the hole which they had dug and tossedthe rope which he had brought with the shovels down to the other. Levimade it fast to some object below and then himself mounted to thelevel of the sand above. Pulling together, the two drew up from thehole a heavy iron-bound box, nearly three feet long and a foot wideand deep. 

Levi's companion stooped and began untying the rope which had beenlashed to a ring in the lid. 

What next happened happened suddenly, swiftly, terribly. Levi drewback a single step, and shot one quick, keen look to right and toleft. He passed his hand rapidly behind his back, and the next momentHiram saw the moonlight gleam upon the long, sharp, keen blade of aknife. Levi raised his arm. Then, just as the other arose from bendingover the chest, he struck, and struck again, two swift, powerfulblows. Hiram saw the blade drive, clean and sharp, into the back, andheard the hilt strike with a dull thud against the ribs--once, twice. The burly, black-bearded wretch gave a shrill, terrible cry and fellstaggering back. Then, in an instant, with another cry, he was up andclutched Levi with a clutch of despair by the throat and by the arm. Then followed a struggle, short, terrible, silent. Not a sound washeard but the deep, panting breath and the scuffling of feet in thesand, upon which there now poured and dabbled a dark-purple stream. But it was a one-sided struggle and lasted only for a second or two. Levi wrenched his arm loose from the wounded man's grasp, tearing hisshirt sleeve from the wrist to the shoulder as he did so. Again andagain the cruel knife was lifted, and again and again it fell, now nolonger bright, but stained with red. 

Then, suddenly, all was over. Levi's companion dropped to the sandwithout a sound, like a bundle of rags. For a moment he lay limp andinert; then one shuddering spasm passed over him and he lay silent andstill, with his face half buried in the sand. 

Levi, with the knife still gripped tight in his hand, stood leaningover his victim, looking down upon his body. His shirt and hand, andeven his naked arm, were stained and blotched with blood. The moon litup his face and it was the face of a devil from hell. 

At last he gave himself a shake, stooped and wiped his knife and handand arm upon the loose petticoat breeches of the dead man. He thrusthis knife back into its sheath, drew a key from his pocket andunlocked the chest. In the moonlight Hiram could see that it wasfilled mostly with paper and leather bags, full, apparently of money. 

All through this awful struggle and its awful ending Hiram lay, dumband motionless, upon the crest of the sand hill, looking with a horridfascination upon the death struggle in the pit below. Now Hiram arose. The sand slid whispering down from the crest as he did so, but Leviwas too intent in turning over the contents of the chest to notice theslight sound. 

[Illustration: "He Lay Silent and Still, with His Face Half Buried inthe Sand"

_Illustration from_BLUESKIN, THE PIRATE

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published in_THE NORTHWESTERN MILLER, _December, 1890_]

Hiram's face was ghastly pale and drawn. For one moment he opened hislips as though to speak, but no word came. So, white, silent, he stoodfor a few seconds, rather like a statue than a living man, then, suddenly, his eyes fell upon the bag, which Levi had brought with him, no doubt, to carry back the treasure for which he and his companionwere in search, and which still lay spread out on the sand where ithad been flung. Then, as though a thought had suddenly flashed uponhim, his whole expression changed, his lips closed tightly together asthough fearing an involuntary sound might escape, and the haggard lookdissolved from his face. 

Cautiously, slowly, he stepped over the edge of the sand hill and downthe slanting face. His coming was as silent as death, for his feetmade no noise as he sank ankle-deep in the yielding surface. So, stealthily, step by step, he descended, reached the bag, lifted itsilently. Levi, still bending over the chest and searching through thepapers within, was not four feet away. Hiram raised the bag in hishands. He must have made some slight rustle as he did so, for suddenlyLevi half turned his head. But he was one instant too late. In a flashthe bag was over his head--shoulders--arms--body. 

Then came another struggle, as fierce, as silent, as desperate as thatother--and as short. Wiry, tough, and strong as he was, with a lean, sinewy, nervous vigor, fighting desperately for his life as he was, Levi had no chance against the ponderous strength of his stepbrother. In any case, the struggle could not have lasted long; as it was, Levistumbled backward over the body of his dead mate and fell, with Hiramupon him. Maybe he was stunned by the fall; maybe he felt thehopelessness of resistance, for he lay quite still while Hiram, kneeling upon him, drew the rope from the ring of the chest and, without uttering a word, bound it tightly around both the bag and thecaptive within, knotting it again and again and drawing it tight. Onlyonce was a word spoken. "If you'll lemme go, " said a muffled voicefrom the bag, "I'll give you five thousand pounds--it's in that therebox. " Hiram answered never a word, but continued knotting the rope anddrawing it tight. 

XIII

The _Scorpion_ sloop-of-war lay in Lewes harbor all that winter andspring, probably upon the slim chance of a return of the pirates. Itwas about eight o'clock in the morning and Lieutenant Maynard wassitting in Squire Hall's office, fanning himself with his hat andtalking in a desultory fashion. Suddenly the dim and distant noise ofa great crowd was heard from without, coming nearer and nearer. TheSquire and his visitor hurried to the door. The crowd was coming downthe street shouting, jostling, struggling, some on the footway, somein the roadway. Heads were at the doors and windows, looking down uponthem. Nearer they came, and nearer; then at last they could see thatthe press surrounded and accompanied one man. It was Hiram White, hatless, coatless, the sweat running down his face in streams, butstolid and silent as ever. Over his shoulder he carried a bag, tiedround and round with a rope. It was not until the crowd and the man itsurrounded had come quite near that the Squire and the lieutenant sawthat a pair of legs in gray-yarn stockings hung from the bag. It was aman he was carrying. 

Hiram had lugged his burden five miles that morning without help andwith scarcely a rest on the way. 

He came directly toward the Squire's office and, still surrounded andhustled by the crowd, up the steep steps to the office within. Heflung his burden heavily upon the floor without a word and wiped hisstreaming forehead. 

The Squire stood with his knuckles on his desk, staring first at Hiramand then at the strange burden he had brought. A sudden hush fellupon all, though the voices of those without sounded as loud andturbulent as ever. "What is it, Hiram?" said Squire Hall at last. 

Then for the first time Hiram spoke, panting thickly. "It's a bloodymurderer, " said he, pointing a quivering finger at the motionlessfigure. 

"Here, some of you!" called out the Squire. "Come! Untie this man! Whois he?" A dozen willing fingers quickly unknotted the rope and the bagwas slipped from the head and body. 

Hair and face and eyebrows and clothes were powdered with meal, but, in spite of all and through all the innocent whiteness, dark spots andblotches and smears of blood showed upon head and arm and shirt. Leviraised himself upon his elbow and looked scowlingly around at theamazed, wonderstruck faces surrounding him. 

"Why, it's Levi West!" croaked the Squire, at last finding his voice. 

Then, suddenly, Lieutenant Maynard pushed forward, before the otherscrowded around the figure on the floor, and, clutching Levi by thehair, dragged his head backward so as to better see his face. "LeviWest!" said he in a loud voice. "Is this the Levi West you've beentelling me of? Look at that scar and the mark on his cheek! _This isBlueskin himself. _"

XIV

In the chest which Blueskin had dug up out of the sand were found notonly the goldsmiths' bills taken from the packet, but also many othervaluables belonging to the officers and the passengers of theunfortunate ship. 

The New York agents offered Hiram a handsome reward for his efforts inrecovering the lost bills, but Hiram declined it, positively andfinally. "All I want, " said he, in his usual dull, stolid fashion, "isto have folks know I'm honest. " Nevertheless, though he did notaccept what the agents of the packet offered, fate took the matterinto its own hands and rewarded him not unsubstantially. Blueskin wastaken to England in the _Scorpion_. But he never came to trial. Whilein Newgate he hanged himself to the cell window with his ownstockings. The news of his end was brought to Lewes in the earlyautumn and Squire Hall took immediate measures to have the fivehundred pounds of his father's legacy duly transferred to Hiram. 

In November Hiram married the pirate's widow. 

[Illustration: "There Cap'n Goldsack goes, creeping, creeping, creeping, Looking for his treasure down below!"

_Illustration from_CAP'N GOLDSACK

_by_ William Sharp

_Originally published in_HARPER'S MAGAZINE, _July_, 1902]

Chapter VII

CAPTAIN SCARFIELD

PREFACE

[Illustration: CAPTAIN SCARFIELD]

_The author of this narrative cannot recall that, in any history ofthe famous pirates, he has ever read a detailed and sufficient accountof the life and death of Capt. John Scarfield. Doubtless some dataconcerning his death and the destruction of his schooner might begathered from the report of Lieutenant Mainwaring, now filed in thearchives of the Navy Department, but beyond such bald and bloodlessnarrative the author knows of nothing, unless it be the littlechap-book history published by Isaiah Thomas in Newburyport about theyear 1821-22, entitled, "A True History of the Life and Death ofCaptain Jack Scarfield. " This lack of particularity in the history ofone so notable in his profession it is the design of the presentnarrative in a measure to supply, and, if the author has seen fit tocast it in the form of a fictional story, it is only that it may makemore easy reading for those who see fit to follow the tale from thisto its conclusion. _

CAPTAIN SCARFIELD

I

Eleazer Cooper, or Captain Cooper, as was his better-known title inPhiladelphia, was a prominent member of the Society of Friends. He wasan overseer of the meeting and an occasional speaker upon particularoccasions. When at home from one of his many voyages he never failedto occupy his seat in the meeting both on First Day and Fifth Day, andhe was regarded by his fellow townsmen as a model of businessintegrity and of domestic responsibility. 

More incidental to this history, however, it is to be narrated thatCaptain Cooper was one of those trading skippers who carried their ownmerchandise in their own vessels which they sailed themselves, and onwhose decks they did their own bartering. His vessel was a swift, large schooner, the _Eliza Cooper_, _of Philadelphia_, named for hiswife. His cruising grounds were the West India Islands, and hismerchandise was flour and corn meal ground at the Brandywine Mills atWilmington, Delaware. 

During the War of 1812 he had earned, as was very well known, anextraordinary fortune in this trading; for flour and corn meal sold atfabulous prices in the French, Spanish, Dutch, and Danish islands, cutoff, as they were, from the rest of the world by the British blockade. 

The running of this blockade was one of the most hazardous maritimeventures possible, but Captain Cooper had met with such unvariedsuccess, and had sold his merchandise at such incredible profit that, at the end of the war, he found himself to have become one of thewealthiest merchants of his native city. 

It was known at one time that his balance in the Mechanics' Bank wasgreater than that of any other individual depositor upon the books, and it was told of him that he had once deposited in the bank a chestof foreign silver coin, the exchanged value of which, when translatedinto American currency, was upward of forty-two thousand dollars--aprodigious sum of money in those days. 

In person, Captain Cooper was tall and angular of frame. His face wasthin and severe, wearing continually an unsmiling, mask-likeexpression of continent and unruffled sobriety. His manner was dry andtaciturn, and his conduct and life were measured to the most absoluteaccord with the teachings of his religious belief. 

He lived in an old-fashioned house on Front Street below Spruce--aspleasant, cheerful a house as ever a trading captain could return to. At the back of the house a lawn sloped steeply down toward the river. To the south stood the wharf and storehouses; to the north an orchardand kitchen garden bloomed with abundant verdure. Two large chestnuttrees sheltered the porch and the little space of lawn, and when yousat under them in the shade you looked down the slope between two rowsof box bushes directly across the shining river to the Jersey shore. 

At the time of our story--that is, about the year 1820--this propertyhad increased very greatly in value, but it was the old home of theCoopers, as Eleazer Cooper was entirely rich enough to indulge hisfancy in such matters. Accordingly, as he chose to live in the samehouse where his father and his grandfather had dwelt before him, heperemptorily, if quietly, refused all offers looking toward thepurchase of the lot of ground--though it was now worth five or sixtimes its former value. 

As was said, it was a cheerful, pleasant home, impressing you when youentered it with the feeling of spotless and all-pervadingcleanliness--a cleanliness that greeted you in the shining brassdoor-knocker; that entertained you in the sitting room with itsstiff, leather-covered furniture, the brass-headed tacks whereofsparkled like so many stars--a cleanliness that bade you farewell inthe spotless stretch of sand-sprinkled hallway, the wooden floor ofwhich was worn into knobs around the nail heads by the countlessscourings and scrubbings to which it had been subjected and which leftbehind them an all-pervading faint, fragrant odor of soap and warmwater. 

Eleazer Cooper and his wife were childless, but one inmate made thegreat, silent, shady house bright with life. Lucinda Fairbanks, aniece of Captain Cooper's by his only sister, was a handsome, sprightly girl of eighteen or twenty, and a great favorite in theQuaker society of the city. 

It remains only to introduce the final and, perhaps, the mostimportant actor of the narrative--Lieut. James Mainwaring. During thepast twelve months or so he had been a frequent visitor at the Cooperhouse. At this time he was a broad-shouldered, red-cheeked, stalwartfellow of twenty-six or twenty-eight. He was a great social favorite, and possessed the added romantic interest of having been aboard the_Constitution_ when she fought the _Guerriere_, and of having, withhis own hands, touched the match that fired the first gun of thatgreat battle. 

Mainwaring's mother and Eliza Cooper had always been intimate friends, and the coming and going of the young man during his leave of absencewere looked upon in the house as quite a matter of course. Half adozen times a week he would drop in to execute some little commissionfor the ladies, or, if Captain Cooper was at home, to smoke a pipe oftobacco with him, to sip a dram of his famous old Jamaica rum, or toplay a rubber of checkers of an evening. It is not likely that eitherof the older people was the least aware of the real cause of hisvisits; still less did they suspect that any passages of sentiment hadpassed between the young people. 

[Illustration: "He Had Found the Captain Agreeable and Companionable"

_Illustration from_SEA ROBBERS OF NEW YORK

_by_ Thomas A. Janvier

_Originally published in_HARPER'S MAGAZINE, _November_, 1894]

The truth was that Mainwaring and the young lady were very deeply inlove. It was a love that they were obliged to keep a profound secret, for not only had Eleazer Cooper held the strictest sort of testimonyagainst the late war--a testimony so rigorous as to render italtogether unlikely that one of so military a profession as Mainwaringpracticed could hope for his consent to a suit for marriage, butLucinda could not have married one not a member of the Society ofFriends without losing her own birthright membership therein. Sheherself might not attach much weight to such a loss of membership inthe Society, but her fear of, and her respect for, her uncle led herto walk very closely in her path of duty in this respect. Accordinglyshe and Mainwaring met as they could--clandestinely--and the stolenmoments were very sweet. With equal secrecy Lucinda had, at therequest of her lover, sat for a miniature portrait to Mrs. Gregory, which miniature, set in a gold medallion, Mainwaring, with a mild, sentimental pleasure, wore hung around his neck and beneath his shirtfrill next his heart. 

In the month of April of the year 1820 Mainwaring received orders toreport at Washington. During the preceding autumn the West Indiapirates, and notably Capt. Jack Scarfield, had been more than usuallyactive, and the loss of the packet _Marblehead_ (which, sailing fromCharleston, South Carolina, was never heard of more) was attributed tothem. Two other coasting vessels off the coast of Georgia had beenlooted and burned by Scarfield, and the government had at last arouseditself to the necessity of active measures for repressing these pestsof the West India waters. 

Mainwaring received orders to take command of the _Yankee_, a swift, light-draught, heavily armed brig of war, and to cruise about theBahama Islands and to capture and destroy all the pirates' vessels hecould there discover. 

On his way from Washington to New York, where the _Yankee_ was thenwaiting orders, Mainwaring stopped in Philadelphia to bid good-by tohis many friends in that city. He called at the old Cooper house. Itwas on a Sunday afternoon. The spring was early and the weatherextremely pleasant that day, being filled with a warmth almost as ofsummer. The apple trees were already in full bloom and filled all theair with their fragrance. Everywhere there seemed to be the pervadinghum of bees, and the drowsy, tepid sunshine was very delightful. 

At that time Eleazer was just home from an unusually successful voyageto Antigua. Mainwaring found the family sitting under one of the stillleafless chestnut trees, Captain Cooper smoking his long clay pipe andlazily perusing a copy of the _National Gazette_. Eleazer listenedwith a great deal of interest to what Mainwaring had to say of hisproposed cruise. He himself knew a great deal about the pirates, and, singularly unbending from his normal, stiff taciturnity, he begantelling of what he knew, particularly of Captain Scarfield--in whom heappeared to take an extraordinary interest. 

Vastly to Mainwaring's surprise, the old Quaker assumed the positionof a defendant of the pirates, protesting that the wickedness of theaccused was enormously exaggerated. He declared that he knew some ofthe freebooters very well and that at the most they were poor, misdirected wretches who had, by easy gradation, slid into theirpresent evil ways, from having been tempted by the governmentauthorities to enter into privateering in the days of the late war. Heconceded that Captain Scarfield had done many cruel and wicked deeds, but he averred that he had also performed many kind and benevolentactions. The world made no note of these latter, but took care only tocondemn the evil that had been done. He acknowledged that it was truethat the pirate had allowed his crew to cast lots for the wife and thedaughter of the skipper of the _Northern Rose_, but there were none ofhis accusers who told how, at the risk of his own life and the livesof all his crew, he had given succor to the schooner _Halifax_, foundadrift with all hands down with yellow fever. There was no defenderof his actions to tell how he and his crew of pirates had sailed thepest-stricken vessel almost into the rescuing waters of Kingstonharbor. Eleazer confessed that he could not deny that when Scarfieldhad tied the skipper of the _Baltimore Belle_ naked to the foremast ofhis own brig he had permitted his crew of cutthroats (who were drunkat the time) to throw bottles at the helpless captive, who died thatnight of the wounds he had received. For this he was doubtless veryjustly condemned, but who was there to praise him when he had, at therisk of his life and in the face of the authorities, carried a cargoof provisions which he himself had purchased at Tampa Bay to theIsland of Bella Vista after the great hurricane of 1818? In thisnotable adventure he had barely escaped, after a two days' chase, theBritish frigate _Ceres_, whose captain, had a capture been effected, would instantly have hung the unfortunate man to the yardarm in spiteof the beneficent mission he was in the act of conducting. 

In all this Eleazer had the air of conducting the case for thedefendant. As he talked he became more and more animated and voluble. The light went out in his tobacco pipe, and a hectic spot appeared ineither thin and sallow cheek. Mainwaring sat wondering to hear theseverely peaceful Quaker preacher defending so notoriously bloody andcruel a cutthroat pirate as Capt. Jack Scarfield. The warm andinnocent surroundings, the old brick house looking down upon them, theodor of apple blossoms and the hum of bees seemed to make it all themore incongruous. And still the elderly Quaker skipper talked on andon with hardly an interruption, till the warm sun slanted to the westand the day began to decline. 

That evening Mainwaring stayed to tea and when he parted from LucindaFairbanks it was after nightfall, with a clear, round moon shining inthe milky sky and a radiance pallid and unreal enveloping the oldhouse, the blooming apple trees, the sloping lawn and the shiningriver beyond. He implored his sweetheart to let him tell her uncle andaunt of their acknowledged love and to ask the old man's consent toit, but she would not permit him to do so. They were so happy as theywere. Who knew but what her uncle might forbid their fondness? Wouldhe not wait a little longer? Maybe it would all come right after awhile. She was so fond, so tender, so tearful at the nearness of theirparting that he had not the heart to insist. At the same time it waswith a feeling almost of despair that he realized that he must now begone--maybe for the space of two years--without in all that timepossessing the right to call her his before the world. 

When he bade farewell to the older people it was with a chokingfeeling of bitter disappointment. He yet felt the pressure of hercheek against his shoulder, the touch of soft and velvet lips to hisown. But what were such clandestine endearments compared to whatmight, perchance, be his--the right of calling her his own when he wasfar away and upon the distant sea? And, besides, he felt like a cowardwho had shirked his duty. 

But he was very much in love. The next morning appeared in a drizzleof rain that followed the beautiful warmth of the day before. He hadthe coach all to himself, and in the damp and leathery solitude hedrew out the little oval picture from beneath his shirt frill andlooked long and fixedly with a fond and foolish joy at the innocentface, the blue eyes, the red, smiling lips depicted upon thesatinlike, ivory surface. 

II

For the better part of five months Mainwaring cruised about in thewaters surrounding the Bahama Islands. In that time he ran to earthand dispersed a dozen nests of pirates. He destroyed no less thanfifteen piratical crafts of all sizes, from a large half-deckedwhaleboat to a three-hundred-ton barkentine. The name of the _Yankee_became a terror to every sea wolf in the western tropics, and thewaters of the Bahama Islands became swept almost clean of the bloodywretches who had so lately infested it. 

But the one freebooter of all others whom he sought--Capt. JackScarfield--seemed to evade him like a shadow, to slip through hisfingers like magic. Twice he came almost within touch of the famousmarauder, both times in the ominous wrecks that the pirate captain hadleft behind him. The first of these was the water-logged remains of aburned and still smoking wreck that he found adrift in the greatBahama channel. It was the _Water Witch_, of Salem, but he did notlearn her tragic story until, two weeks later, he discovered a part ofher crew at Port Maria, on the north coast of Jamaica. It was, indeed, a dreadful story to which he listened. The castaways said that they ofall the vessel's crew had been spared so that they might tell thecommander of the _Yankee_, should they meet him, that he might keepwhat he found, with Captain Scarfield's compliments, who served it upto him hot cooked. 

Three weeks later he rescued what remained of the crew of theshattered, bloody hulk of the _Baltimore Belle_, eight of whose crew, headed by the captain, had been tied hand and foot and heavedoverboard. Again, there was a message from Captain Scarfield to thecommander of the _Yankee_ that he might season what he found to suithis own taste. 

Mainwaring was of a sanguine disposition, with fiery temper. He swore, with the utmost vehemence, that either he or John Scarfield would haveto leave the earth. 

He had little suspicion of how soon was to befall the ominousrealization of his angry prophecy. 

At that time one of the chief rendezvous of the pirates was the littleisland of San José, one of the southernmost of the Bahama group. Here, in the days before the coming of the _Yankee_, they were wont to putin to careen and clean their vessels and to take in a fresh supply ofprovisions, gunpowder, and rum, preparatory to renewing their attacksupon the peaceful commerce circulating up and down outside theislands, or through the wide stretches of the Bahama channel. 

Mainwaring had made several descents upon this nest of freebooters. Hehad already made two notable captures, and it was here he hopedeventually to capture Captain Scarfield himself. 

A brief description of this one-time notorious rendezvous offreebooters might not be out of place. It consisted of a littlesettlement of those wattled and mud-smeared houses such as you findthrough the West Indies. There were only three houses of a morepretentious sort, built of wood. One of these was a storehouse, another was a rum shop, and a third a house in which dwelt a mulattowoman, who was reputed to be a sort of left-handed wife of CaptainScarfield's. The population was almost entirely black and brown. Oneor two Jews and a half dozen Yankee traders, of hardly dubioushonesty, comprised the entire white population. The rest consisted ofa mongrel accumulation of negroes and mulattoes and half-casteSpaniards, and of a multitude of black or yellow women and children. The settlement stood in a bight of the beach forming a small harborand affording a fair anchorage for small vessels, excepting it wereagainst the beating of a southeasterly gale. The houses, or cabins, were surrounded by clusters of coco palms and growths of bananas, anda long curve of white beach, sheltered from the large Atlanticbreakers that burst and exploded upon an outer bar, was drawn like anecklace around the semicircle of emerald-green water. 

Such was the famous pirates' settlement of San José--a paradise ofnature and a hell of human depravity and wickedness--and it was tothis spot that Mainwaring paid another visit a few days after rescuingthe crew of the _Baltimore Belle_ from her shattered and sinkingwreck. 

[Illustration: THE BUCCANEER WAS A PICTURESQUE FELLOW]

As the little bay with its fringe of palms and its cluster of wattlehuts opened up to view, Mainwaring discovered a vessel lying at anchorin the little harbor. It was a large and well-rigged schooner of twohundred and fifty or three hundred tons burden. As the _Yankee_rounded to under the stern of the stranger and dropped anchor in sucha position as to bring her broadside battery to bear should theoccasion require, Mainwaring set his glass to his eye to read the namehe could distinguish beneath the overhang of her stern. It isimpossible to describe his infinite surprise when, the white letteringstarting out in the circle of the glass, he read, _The Eliza Cooper, of Philadelphia_. 

He could not believe the evidence of his senses. Certainly this sinkof iniquity was the last place in the world he would have expected tohave fallen in with Eleazer Cooper. 

He ordered out the gig and had himself immediately rowed over to theschooner. Whatever lingering doubts he might have entertained as tothe identity of the vessel were quickly dispelled when he beheldCaptain Cooper himself standing at the gangway to meet him. Theimpassive face of the friend showed neither surprise nor confusion atwhat must have been to him a most unexpected encounter. 

But when he stepped upon the deck of the _Eliza Cooper_ and lookedabout him, Mainwaring could hardly believe the evidence of his sensesat the transformation that he beheld. Upon the main deck were eighttwelve-pound carronade neatly covered with tarpaulin; in the bow aLong Tom, also snugly stowed away and covered, directed a veiled andmuzzled snout out over the bowsprit. 

It was entirely impossible for Mainwaring to conceal his astonishmentat so unexpected a sight, and whether or not his own thoughts lentcolor to his imagination, it seemed to him that Eleazer Cooperconcealed under the immobility of his countenance no small degree ofconfusion. 

After Captain Cooper had led the way into the cabin and he and theyounger man were seated over a pipe of tobacco and the invariablebottle of fine old Jamaica rum, Mainwaring made no attempt to refrainfrom questioning him as to the reason for this singular and ominoustransformation. 

"I am a man of peace, James Mainwaring, " Eleazer replied, "but thereare men of blood in these waters, and an appearance of great strengthis of use to protect the innocent from the wicked. If I remained inappearance the peaceful trader I really am, how long does thee supposeI could remain unassailed in this place?"

It occurred to Mainwaring that the powerful armament he had beheld wasrather extreme to be used merely as a preventive. He smoked for awhile in silence and then he suddenly asked the other point-blankwhether, if it came to blows with such a one as Captain Scarfield, would he make a fight of it?

The Quaker trading captain regarded him for a while in silence. Hislook, it seemed to Mainwaring, appeared to be dubitative as to how farhe dared to be frank. "Friend James, " he said at last, "I may as wellacknowledge that my officers and crew are somewhat worldly. Of a truththey do not hold the same testimony as I. I am inclined to think thatif it came to the point of a broil with those men of iniquity, myindividual voice cast for peace would not be sufficient to keep mycrew from meeting violence with violence. As for myself, thee knowswho I am and what is my testimony in these matters. "

Mainwaring made no comment as to the extremely questionable manner inwhich the Quaker proposed to beat the devil about the stump. Presentlyhe asked his second question:

"And might I inquire, " he said, "what you are doing here and why youfind it necessary to come at all into such a wicked, dangerous placeas this?"

"Indeed, I knew thee would ask that question of me, " said the Friend, "and I will be entirely frank with thee. These men of blood are, afterall, but human beings, and as human beings they need food. I have atpresent upon this vessel upward of two hundred and fifty barrels offlour which will bring a higher price here than anywhere else in theWest Indies. To be entirely frank with thee, I will tell thee that Iwas engaged in making a bargain for the sale of the greater part of mymerchandise when the news of thy approach drove away my bestcustomer. "

Mainwaring sat for a while in smoking silence. What the other had toldhim explained many things he had not before understood. It explainedwhy Captain Cooper got almost as much for his flour and corn meal nowthat peace had been declared as he had obtained when the war and theblockade were in full swing. It explained why he had been so strong adefender of Captain Scarfield and the pirates that afternoon in thegarden. Meantime, what was to be done? Eleazer confessed openly thathe dealt with the pirates. What now was his--Mainwaring's--duty in thecase? Was the cargo of the _Eliza Cooper_ contraband and subject toconfiscation? And then another question framed itself in his mind: Whowas this customer whom his approach had driven away?

As though he had formulated the inquiry into speech the other begandirectly to speak of it. "I know, " he said, "that in a moment theewill ask me who was this customer of whom I have just now spoken. Ihave no desire to conceal his name from thee. It was the man who isknown as Captain Jack or Captain John Scarfield. "

Mainwaring fairly started from his seat. "The devil you say!" hecried. "And how long has it been, " he asked, "since he left you?"

The Quaker skipper carefully refilled his pipe, which he had by nowsmoked out. "I would judge, " he said, "that it is a matter of four orfive hours since news was brought overland by means of swift runnersof thy approach. Immediately the man of wickedness disappeared. " HereEleazer set the bowl of his pipe to the candle flame and began puffingout voluminous clouds of smoke. "I would have thee understand, JamesMainwaring, " he resumed, "that I am no friend of this wicked andsinful man. His safety is nothing to me. It is only a question ofbuying upon his part and of selling upon mine. If it is anysatisfaction to thee I will heartily promise to bring thee news if Ihear anything of the man of Belial. I may furthermore say that I thinkit is likely thee will have news more or less directly of him withinthe space of a day. If this should happen, however, thee will have todo thy own fighting without help from me, for I am no man of combatnor of blood and will take no hand in it either way. "

It struck Mainwaring that the words contained some meaning that didnot appear upon the surface. This significance struck him as soambiguous that when he went aboard the _Yankee_ he confided as much ofhis suspicions as he saw fit to his second in command, LieutenantUnderwood. As night descended he had a double watch set and hadeverything prepared to repel any attack or surprise that might beattempted. 

III

Nighttime in the tropics descends with a surprising rapidity. At onemoment the earth is shining with the brightness of the twilight; thenext, as it were, all things are suddenly swallowed into a gulf ofdarkness. The particular night of which this story treats was notentirely clear; the time of year was about the approach of the rainyseason, and the tepid, tropical clouds added obscurity to the darknessof the sky, so that the night fell with even more startling quicknessthan usual. The blackness was very dense. Now and then a group ofdrifting stars swam out of a rift in the vapors, but the night wascuriously silent and of a velvety darkness. 

[Illustration: THEN THE REAL FIGHT BEGAN]

As the obscurity had deepened, Mainwaring had ordered lanthorns tobe lighted and slung to the shrouds and to the stays, and the faintyellow of their illumination lighted the level white of the snuglittle war vessel, gleaming here and there in a starlike spark uponthe brass trimmings and causing the rows of cannons to assumecuriously gigantic proportions. 

For some reason Mainwaring was possessed by a strange, uneasy feeling. He walked restlessly up and down the deck for a time, and then, stillfull of anxieties for he knew not what, went into his cabin to finishwriting up his log for the day. He unstrapped his cutlass and laid itupon the table, lighted his pipe at the lanthorn and was aboutpreparing to lay aside his coat when word was brought to him that thecaptain of the trading schooner was come alongside and had someprivate information to communicate to him. 

Mainwaring surmised in an instant that the trader's visit relatedsomehow to news of Captain Scarfield, and as immediately, in therelief of something positive to face, all of his feeling ofrestlessness vanished like a shadow of mist. He gave orders thatCaptain Cooper should be immediately shown into the cabin, and in afew moments the tall, angular form of the Quaker skipper appeared inthe narrow, lanthorn-lighted space. 

Mainwaring at once saw that his visitor was strangely agitated anddisturbed. He had taken off his hat, and shining beads of perspirationhad gathered and stood clustered upon his forehead. He did not replyto Mainwaring's greeting; he did not, indeed, seem to hear it; but hecame directly forward to the table and stood leaning with one handupon the open log book in which the lieutenant had just been writing. Mainwaring had reseated himself at the head of the table, and the tallfigure of the skipper stood looking down at him as from a considerableheight. 

"James Mainwaring, " he said, "I promised thee to report if I had newsof the pirate. Is thee ready now to hear my news?"

There was something so strange in his agitation that it began toinfect Mainwaring with a feeling somewhat akin to that which appearedto disturb his visitor. "I know not what you mean, sir!" he cried, "byasking if I care to hear your news. At this moment I would rather havenews of that scoundrel than to have anything I know of in the world. "

"Thou would? Thou would?" cried the other, with mounting agitation. "Is thee in such haste to meet him as all that? Very well; very well, then. Suppose I could bring thee face to face with him--what then?Hey? Hey? Face to face with him, James Mainwaring!"

The thought instantly flashed into Mainwaring's mind that the piratehad returned to the island; that perhaps at that moment he wassomewhere near at hand. 

"I do not understand you, sir, " he cried. "Do you mean to tell me thatyou know where the villain is? If so, lose no time in informing me, for every instant of delay may mean his chance of again escaping. "

"No danger of that!" the other declared, vehemently. "No danger ofthat! I'll tell thee where he is and I'll bring thee to him quickenough!" And as he spoke he thumped his fist against the open logbook. In the vehemence of his growing excitement his eyes appeared toshine green in the lanthorn light, and the sweat that had stood inbeads upon his forehead was now running in streams down his face. Onedrop hung like a jewel to the tip of his beaklike nose. He came a stepnearer to Mainwaring and bent forward toward him, and there wassomething so strange and ominous in his bearing that the lieutenantinstinctively drew back a little where he sat. 

"Captain Scarfield sent something to you, " said Eleazer, almost in araucous voice, "something that you will be surprised to see. " And thelapse in his speech from the Quaker "thee" to the plural "you" struckMainwaring as singularly strange. 

As he was speaking Eleazer was fumbling in a pocket of hislong-tailed drab coat, and presently he brought something forth thatgleamed in the lanthorn light. 

The next moment Mainwaring saw leveled directly in his face the roundand hollow nozzle of a pistol. 

There was an instant of dead silence and then, "I am the man youseek!" said Eleazer Cooper, in a tense and breathless voice. 

The whole thing had happened so instantaneously and unexpectedly thatfor the moment Mainwaring sat like one petrified. Had a thunderboltfallen from the silent sky and burst at his feet he could not havebeen more stunned. He was like one held in the meshes of a horridnightmare, and he gazed as through a mist of impossibility into thelineaments of the well-known, sober face now transformed as fromwithin into the aspect of a devil. That face, now ashy white, wasdistorted into a diabolical grin. The teeth glistened in thelamplight. The brows, twisted into a tense and convulsed frown, weredrawn down into black shadows, through which the eyes burned a balefulgreen like the eyes of a wild animal driven to bay. Again he spoke inthe same breathless voice. "I am John Scarfield! Look at me, then, ifyou want to see a pirate!" Again there was a little time of silence, through which Mainwaring heard his watch ticking loudly from where ithung against the bulkhead. Then once more the other began speaking. "You would chase me out of the West Indies, would you? G---- ---- you!What are you come to now? You are caught in your own trap, and you'llsqueal loud enough before you get out of it. Speak a word or make amovement and I'll blow your brains out against the partition behindyou! Listen to what I say or you are a dead man. Sing out an orderinstantly for my mate and my bos'n to come here to the cabin, and bequick about it, for my finger's on the trigger, and it's only a pullto shut your mouth forever. "

It was astonishing to Mainwaring, in afterward thinking about it all, how quickly his mind began to recover its steadiness after that firstastonishing shock. Even as the other was speaking he discovered thathis brain was becoming clarified to a wonderful lucidity; his thoughtswere becoming rearranged, and with a marvelous activity and analertness he had never before experienced. He knew that if he moved toescape or uttered any outcry he would be instantly a dead man, for thecircle of the pistol barrel was directed full against his forehead andwith the steadiness of a rock. If he could but for an instant divertthat fixed and deadly attention he might still have a chance for life. With the thought an inspiration burst into his mind and he instantlyput it into execution; thought, inspiration, and action, as in aflash, were one. He must make the other turn aside his deadly gaze, and instantly he roared out in a voice that stunned his own ears:"Strike, bos'n! Strike, quick!"

Taken by surprise, and thinking, doubtless, that another enemy stoodbehind him, the pirate swung around like a flash with his pistolleveled against the blank boarding. Equally upon the instant he sawthe trick that had been played upon him and in a second flash hadturned again. The turn and return had occupied but a moment of time, but that moment, thanks to the readiness of his own invention, hadundoubtedly saved Mainwaring's life. As the other turned away his gazefor that brief instant Mainwaring leaped forward and upon him. Therewas a flashing flame of fire as the pistol was discharged and adeafening detonation that seemed to split his brain. For a moment, with reeling senses, he supposed himself to have been shot, the nexthe knew he had escaped. With the energy of despair he swung his enemyaround and drove him with prodigious violence against the corner ofthe table. The pirate emitted a grunting cry and then they felltogether, Mainwaring upon the top, and the pistol clattered with themto the floor in their fall. Even as he fell, Mainwaring roared in avoice of thunder, "All hands repel boarders!" And then again, "Allhands repel boarders!"

Whether hurt by the table edge or not, the fallen pirate struggled asthough possessed of forty devils, and in a moment or two Mainwaringsaw the shine of a long, keen knife that he had drawn from somewhereabout his person. The lieutenant caught him by the wrist, but theother's muscles were as though made of steel. They both fought indespairing silence, the one to carry out his frustrated purposes tokill, the other to save his life. Again and again Mainwaring felt thatthe knife had been thrust against him, piercing once his arm, once hisshoulder, and again his neck. He felt the warm blood streaming downhis arm and body and looked about him in despair. The pistol lay nearupon the deck of the cabin. Still holding the other by the wrist as hecould, Mainwaring snatched up the empty weapon and struck once andagain at the bald, narrow forehead beneath him. A third blow hedelivered with all the force he could command, and then with a violentand convulsive throe the straining muscles beneath him relaxed andgrew limp and the fight was won. 

Through all the struggle he had been aware of the shouts of voices, oftrampling of feet and discharge of firearms, and the thought came tohim, even through his own danger, that the _Yankee_ was beingassaulted by the pirates. As he felt the struggling form beneath himloosen and dissolve into quietude, he leaped up, and snatching hiscutlass, which still lay upon the table, rushed out upon the deck, leaving the stricken form lying twitching upon the floor behind him. 

It was a fortunate thing that he had set double watches and preparedhimself for some attack from the pirates, otherwise the _Yankee_ wouldcertainly have been lost. As it was, the surprise was so overwhelmingthat the pirates, who had been concealed in the large whaleboat thathad come alongside, were not only able to gain a foothold upon thedeck, but for a time it seemed as though they would drive the crew ofthe brig below the hatches. 

But as Mainwaring, streaming with blood, rushed out upon the deck, thepirates became immediately aware that their own captain must havebeen overpowered, and in an instant their desperate energy began toevaporate. One or two jumped overboard; one, who seemed to be themate, fell dead from a pistol shot, and then, in the turn of a hand, there was a rush of a retreat and a vision of leaping forms in thedusky light of the lanthorns and a sound of splashing in the waterbelow. 

The crew of the _Yankee_ continued firing at the phosphorescent wakesof the swimming bodies, but whether with effect it was impossible atthe time to tell. 

IV

The pirate captain did not die immediately. He lingered for three orfour days, now and then unconscious, now and then semi-conscious, butalways deliriously wandering. All the while he thus lay dying, themulatto woman, with whom he lived in this part of his extraordinarydual existence, nursed and cared for him with such rude attentions asthe surroundings afforded. In the wanderings of his mind the sameduality of life followed him. Now and then he would appear the calm, sober, self-contained, well-ordered member of a peaceful society thathis friends in his far-away home knew him to be; at other times thenether part of his nature would leap up into life like a wild beast, furious and gnashing. At the one time he talked evenly and clearly ofpeaceful things; at the other time he blasphemed and hooted with fury. 

Several times Mainwaring, though racked by his own wounds, sat besidethe dying man through the silent watches of the tropical nights. Oftentimes upon these occasions as he looked at the thin, lean facebabbling and talking so aimlessly, he wondered what it all meant. Could it have been madness--madness in which the separate entities ofgood and bad each had, in its turn, a perfect and distinct existence?He chose to think that this was the case. Who, within his innerconsciousness, does not feel that same ferine, savage man strugglingagainst the stern, adamantine bonds of morality and decorum? Werethose bonds burst asunder, as it was with this man, might not the wildbeast rush forth, as it had rushed forth in him, to rend and to tear?Such were the questions that Mainwaring asked himself. And how had itall come about? By what easy gradations had the respectable Quakerskipper descended from the decorum of his home life, step by step, into such a gulf of iniquity? Many such thoughts passed throughMainwaring's mind, and he pondered them through the still reaches ofthe tropical nights while he sat watching the pirate captain struggleout of the world he had so long burdened. At last the poor wretchdied, and the earth was well quit of one of its torments. 

[Illustration: "He Struck Once and Again at the Bald, Narrow ForeheadBeneath Him"

_Illustration from_CAPTAIN SCARFIELD

_by_ Howard Pyle

_Originally published in_THE NORTHWESTERN MILLER, _December_ 18, 1897]

A systematic search was made through the island for the scatteredcrew, but none was captured. Either there were some secret hidingplaces upon the island (which was not very likely) or else they hadescaped in boats hidden somewhere among the tropical foliage. At anyrate they were gone. 

Nor, search as he would, could Mainwaring find a trace of any of thepirate treasure. After the pirate's death and under close questioning, the weeping mulatto woman so far broke down as to confess in brokenEnglish that Captain Scarfield had taken a quantity of silver moneyaboard his vessel, but either she was mistaken or else the pirates hadtaken it thence again and had hidden it somewhere else. 

Nor would the treasure ever have been found but for a most fortuitousaccident. 

Mainwaring had given orders that the _Eliza Cooper_ was to be burned, and a party was detailed to carry the order into execution. At thisthe cook of the _Yankee_ came petitioning for some of the Wilmingtonand Brandywine flour to make some plum duff upon the morrow, andMainwaring granted his request in so far that he ordered one of themen to knock open one of the barrels of flour and to supply the cook'sdemands. 

The crew detailed to execute this modest order in connection with thedestruction of the pirate vessel had not been gone a quarter of anhour when word came back that the hidden treasure had been found. 

Mainwaring hurried aboard the _Eliza Cooper_, and there in the midstof the open flour barrel he beheld a great quantity of silver coinburied in and partly covered by the white meal. A systematic searchwas now made. One by one the flour barrels were heaved up from belowand burst open on the deck and their contents searched, and if nothingbut the meal was found it was swept overboard. The breeze was whitenedwith clouds of flour, and the white meal covered the surface of theocean for yards around. 

In all, upward of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars was foundconcealed beneath the innocent flour and meal. It was no wonder thepirate captain was so successful, when he could upon an instant'snotice transform himself from a wolf of the ocean to a peaceful Quakertrader selling flour to the hungry towns and settlements among thescattered islands of the West Indies, and so carrying his bloodytreasure safely into his quiet Northern home. 

In concluding this part of the narrative it may be added that a widestrip of canvas painted black was discovered in the hold of the _ElizaCooper_. Upon it, in great white letters, was painted the name, "TheBloodhound. " Undoubtedly this was used upon occasions to cover thereal and peaceful title of the trading schooner, just as its captainhad, in reverse, covered his sanguine and cruel life by a thin sheetof morality and respectability. 

This is the true story of the death of Capt. Jack Scarfield. 

The Newburyport chap-book, of which I have already spoken, speaks onlyof how the pirate disguised himself upon the ocean as a Quaker trader. 

Nor is it likely that anyone ever identified Eleazer Cooper with thepirate, for only Mainwaring of all the crew of the _Yankee_ wasexactly aware of the true identity of Captain Scarfield. All that wasever known to the world was that Eleazer Cooper had been killed in afight with the pirates. 

In a little less than a year Mainwaring was married to LucindaFairbanks. As to Eleazer Cooper's fortune, which eventually came intothe possession of Mainwaring through his wife, it was many times asubject of speculation to the lieutenant how it had been earned. Therewere times when he felt well assured that a part of it at least wasthe fruit of piracy, but it was entirely impossible to guess how muchmore was the result of legitimate trading. 

For a little time it seemed to Mainwaring that he should give it allup, but this was at once so impracticable and so quixotic that hepresently abandoned it, and in time his qualms and misdoubts fadedaway and he settled himself down to enjoy that which had come to himthrough his marriage. 

In time the Mainwarings removed to New York, and ultimately thefortune that the pirate Scarfield had left behind him was used in partto found the great shipping house of Mainwaring & Bigot, whose famoustransatlantic packet ships were in their time the admiration of thewhole world. 

[Illustration]

Chapter VIII

THE RUBY OF KISHMOOOR

_Prologue_

A very famous pirate of his day was Capt. Robertson Keitt. 

Before embarking upon his later career of infamy, he was, in thebeginning, very well known as a reputable merchant in the island ofJamaica. Thence entering, first of all, upon the business of theAfrican trade, he presently, by regular degrees, became a pirate, andfinally ended his career as one of the most renowned freebooters ofhistory. 

The remarkable adventure through which he at once reached the pinnacleof success, and became in his profession the most famous figure of hisday, was the capture of the Rajah of Kishmoor's great ship, _The Sunof the East_. In this vessel was the Rajah's favorite Queen, who, together with her attendants, was set upon a pilgrimage to Mecca. Thecourt of this great Oriental potentate was, as may be readilysupposed, fairly aglitter with gold and jewels, so that, what withsuch personal adornments that the Queen and her attendants had fetchedwith them, besides an ample treasury for the expenses of theexpedition, an incredible prize of gold and jewels rewarded thefreebooters for their successful adventure. 

Among the precious stones taken in this great purchase was thesplendid ruby of Kishmoor. This, as may be known to the reader, wasone of the world's greatest gems, and was unique alike both for itsprodigious size and the splendor of its color. This precious jewel theRajah of Kishmoor had, upon a certain occasion, bestowed upon hisQueen, and at the time of her capture she wore it as the centerpieceof a sort of coronet which encircled her forehead and brow. 

The seizure by the pirate of so considerable a person as that of theQueen of Kishmoor, and of the enormous treasure that he found aboardher ship, would alone have been sufficient to have established hisfame. But the capture of so extraordinary a prize as that of theruby--which was, in itself, worth the value of an entire Orientalkingdom--exalted him at once to the very highest pinnacle of renown. 

Having achieved the capture of this incredible prize, our captainscuttled the great ship and left her to sink with all on board. ThreeLascars of the crew alone escaped to bear the news of this tremendousdisaster to an astounded world. 

As may readily be supposed, it was now no longer possible for CaptainKeitt to hope to live in such comparative obscurity as he had beforeenjoyed. His was now too remarkable a figure in the eyes of the world. Several expeditions from various parts were immediately fitted outagainst him, and it presently became no longer compatible with hissafety to remain thus clearly outlined before the eyes of the world. Accordingly, he immediately set about seeking such security as hemight now hope to find, which he did the more readily since he hadnow, and at one cast, so entirely fulfilled his most sanguineexpectations of good fortune and of fame. 

Thereafter, accordingly, the adventures of our captain became of amore apocryphal sort. It was known that he reached the West Indies insafety, for he was once seen at Port Royal and twice at Spanish Town, in the island of Jamaica. Thereafter, however, he disappeared; nor wasit until several years later that the world heard anything concerninghim. 

One day a certain Nicholas Duckworthy, who had once been gunner aboardthe pirate captain's own ship, _The Good Fortune_, was arrested in thetown of Bristol in the very act of attempting to sell to a merchant ofthat place several valuable gems from a quantity which he carried withhim tied up in a red bandanna handkerchief. 

In the confession of which Duckworthy afterward delivered himself hedeclared that Captain Keitt, after his great adventure, having sailedfrom Africa in safety, and so reached the shores of the New World, hadwrecked _The Good Fortune_ on a coral reef off the Windward Islands;that he then immediately deserted the ship, and together withDuckworthy himself, the sailing master (who was a Portuguese), thecaptain of a brig, _The Bloody Hand_ (a consort of Keitt's), and avillainous rascal named Hunt (who, occupying no precise position amongthe pirates, was at once the instigator of and the partaker in thegreatest part of Captain Keitt's wickednesses), made his way to thenearest port of safety. These five worthies at last fetched the islandof Jamaica, bringing with them all of the jewels and some of the goldthat had been captured from _The Sun of the East_. 

But, upon coming to a division of their booty, it was presentlydiscovered that the Rajah's ruby had mysteriously disappeared from thecollection of jewels to be divided. The other pirates immediatelysuspected their captain of having secretly purloined it, and, indeed, so certain were they of his turpitude that they immediately set abouttaking means to force a confession from him. 

In this, however, they were so far unsuccessful that the captain, refusing to yield to their importunities, had suffered himself to dieunder their hands, and had so carried the secret of the hiding placeof the great ruby--if he possessed such a secret--along with him. 

[Illustration: CAPTAIN KEITT]

Duckworthy concluded his confession by declaring that in his opinionhe himself, the Portuguese sailing master, the captain of _The BloodyHand_, and Hunt were the only ones of Captain Keitt's crew who werenow alive; for that _The Good Fortune_ must have broken up in a storm, which immediately followed their desertion of her; in which event theentire crew must inevitably have perished. 

It may be added that Duckworthy himself was shortly hanged, so that, if his surmise was true, there were now only three left alive of allthat wicked crew that had successfully carried to its completion thegreatest adventure which any pirate in the world had ever, perhaps, embarked upon. 

I

_Jonathan Rugg_

You may never know what romantic aspirations may lie hidden beneaththe most sedate and sober demeanor. 

To have observed Jonathan Rugg, who was a tall, lean, loose-jointedyoung Quaker of a somewhat forbidding aspect, with straight, dark hairand a bony, overhanging forehead set into a frown, a pair of small, deep-set eyes, and a square jaw, no one would for a moment havesuspected that he concealed beneath so serious an exterior anyappetite for romantic adventure. 

Nevertheless, finding himself suddenly transported, as it were, fromthe quiet of so sober a town as that of Philadelphia to the tropicalenchantment of Kingston, in the island of Jamaica, the night brilliantwith a full moon that swung in an opal sky, the warm and luminousdarkness replete with the mysteries of a tropical night, and burdenedwith the odors of a land breeze, he suddenly discovered himself to beovertaken with so vehement a desire for some unwonted excitement that, had the opportunity presented itself, he felt himself ready toembrace any adventure with the utmost eagerness, no matter whither itwould have conducted him. 

At home (where he was a clerk in the countinghouse of a leadingmerchant, by name Jeremiah Doolittle), should such idle fancies havecome to him, he would have looked upon himself as little better than afool, but now that he found himself for the first time in a foreigncountry, surrounded by such strange and unusual sights and sounds, allconducive to extravagant imaginations, the wish for some extraordinaryand altogether unusual experience took possession of him with asingular vehemence to which he had heretofore been altogether astranger. 

In the street where he stood, which was of a shining whiteness andwhich reflected the effulgence of the moonlight with an incredibledistinction, he observed, stretching before him, long lines of whitegarden walls, overtopped by a prodigious luxuriance of tropicalfoliage. 

In these gardens, and set close to the street, stood severalpretentious villas and mansions, the slatted blinds and curtains ofthe windows of which were raised to admit of the freer entrance of thecool and balmy air of the night. From within there issued forth brightlights, together with the exhilarating sound of merry voices laughingand talking, or perhaps a song accompanied by the tinkling music of aspinet or of a guitar. An occasional group of figures, clad in lightand summerlike garments, and adorned with gay and startling colors, passed him through the moonlight; so that what with the brightness andwarmth of the night, together with all these unusual sights andsounds, it appeared to Jonathan Rugg that he was rather the inhabitantof some extraordinary land of enchantment and unreality than a dwellerupon that sober and solid world in which he had heretofore passed hisentire existence. 

Before continuing this narrative the reader may here be informed thatour hero had come into this enchanted world as the supercargo of theship _Susanna Hayes_, of Philadelphia; that he had for several yearsproved himself so honest and industrious a servant to the merchanthouse of the worthy Jeremiah Doolittle that that benevolent man hadgiven to his well-deserving clerk this opportunity at once ofgratifying an inclination for foreign travel and of filling a positionof trust that should redound to his individual profit. The _SusannaHayes_ had entered Kingston harbor that afternoon, and this wasJonathan's first night spent in those tropical latitudes, whither hisfancy and his imagination had so often carried him while he stood overthe desk filing the accounts of invoices from foreign parts. 

It might be finally added that, had he at all conceived how soon andto what a degree his sudden inclination for adventure was to begratified, his romantic aspirations might have been somewhat dashed atthe prospect that lay before him. 

II

_The Mysterious Lady with the Silver Veil_

At that moment our hero suddenly became conscious of the fact that asmall wicket in a wooden gate near which he stood had been opened, andthat the eyes of an otherwise concealed countenance were observing himwith the utmost closeness of scrutiny. 

He had hardly time to become aware of this observation of his personwhen the gate itself was opened, and there appeared before him, in themoonlight, the bent and crooked figure of an aged negress. She wasclad in a calamanco raiment, and was further adorned with a variety ofgaudily colored trimmings, vastly suggestive of the tropical world ofwhich she was an inhabitant. Her woolly head was enveloped, after thefashion of her people, in the folds of a gigantic and flaming redturban constructed of an entire pocket handkerchief. Her face waspock-pitted to an incredible degree, so that what with this deformity, emphasized by the pouting of her prodigious and shapeless lips, andthe rolling of a pair of eyes as yellow as saffron, Jonathan Ruggthought that he had never beheld a figure at once so extraordinary andso repulsive. 

It occurred to our hero that here, maybe, was to overtake him such anadventure as that which he had just a moment before been desiring soardently. Nor was he mistaken; for the negress, first looking this wayand then that, with an extremely wary and cunning expression, andapparently having satisfied herself that the street, for the moment, was pretty empty of passers, beckoned to him to draw nearer. When hehad approached close enough to her she caught him by the sleeve, and, instantly drawing him into the garden beyond, shut and bolted the gatewith a quickness and a silence suggestive of the most extravagantsecrecy. 

At the same moment a huge negro suddenly appeared from the shadow ofthe gatepost, and so placed himself between Jonathan and the gate thatany attempt to escape would inevitably have entailed a conflict, uponour hero's part, with the sable and giant guardian. 

Says the negress, looking very intently at our hero, "Be you afeared, Buckra?"

"Why, no, " quoth Jonathan; "for to tell thee the truth, friend, thoughI am a man of peace, being of that religious order known as theSociety of Friends, I am not so weak in person nor so timid indisposition as to warrant me in being afraid of anyone. Indeed, were Iof a mind to escape, I might, without boasting, declare my belief thatI should be able to push my way past even a better man than thy largefriend who stands so threateningly in front of yonder gate. "

At these words the negress broke into so prodigious a grin that, inthe moonlight, it appeared as though the whole lower part of her facehad been transformed into shining teeth. "You be a brave Buckra, " saidshe, in her gibbering English. "You come wid Melina, and Melina takeyou to pretty lady, who want you to eat supper wid her. "

Thereupon, and allowing our hero no opportunity to decline thisextraordinary invitation, even had he been of a mind to do so, shetook him by the hand and led him toward the large and imposing housewhich commanded the garden. "Indeed, " says Jonathan to himself, as hefollowed his sable guide--himself followed in turn by the giganticnegro--"indeed, I am like to have my fill of adventure, if anything isto be judged from such a beginning as this. "

Nor did the interior sumptuousness of the mansion at all belie theimposing character of its exterior, for, entering by way of anilluminated veranda, and so coming into a brilliantly lighted hallwaybeyond, Jonathan beheld himself to be surrounded by such a wealth ofexquisite and well-appointed tastefulness as it had never before beenhis good fortune to behold. 

Candles of clarified wax sparkled like stars in chandeliers ofcrystal. These in turn, catching the illumination, glittered inprismatic fragments with all the varied colors of the rainbow, so thata mellow yet brilliant radiance filled the entire apartment. Polishedmirrors of a spotless clearness, framed in golden frames and builtinto the walls, reflected the waxed floors, the rich Oriental carpets, and the sumptuous paintings that hung against the ivory-tintedpaneling, so that in appearance the beauties of the apartment werecontinued in bewildering vistas upon every side toward which thebeholder directed his gaze. 

Bidding our hero to be seated, which he did with no small degree ofembarrassment and constraint, and upon the extreme edge of the giltand satin-covered chair, the negress who had been his conductor lefthim for the time being to his own contemplation. 

Almost before he had an opportunity to compose himself into anythingmore than a part of his ordinary sedateness of demeanor, the silkencurtains at the doorway at the other end of the apartment weresuddenly divided, and Jonathan beheld before him a female figuredisplaying the most exquisite contour of mold and of proportion. Shewas clad entirely in white, and was enveloped from head to foot in thefolds of a veil of delicate silver gauze, which, though hiding hercountenance from recognition, nevertheless permitted sufficient of herbeauties to be discerned to suggest the extreme elegance andloveliness of her lineaments. Advancing toward our hero, and extendingto him a tapering hand as white as alabaster, the fingers encircledwith a multitude of jeweled rings, she addressed him thus:

"Sir, " she said, speaking in accents of the most silvery and musicalcadence, "you are no doubt vastly surprised to find yourself thusunexpectedly, and almost as by violence, introduced into the house ofone who is such an entire stranger to you as myself. But though I amunknown to you, I must inform you that I am better acquainted with myvisitor, for my agents have been observing you ever since you landedthis afternoon at the dock, and they have followed you ever since, until a little while ago, when you stopped immediately opposite mygarden gate. These agents have observed you with a closeness ofscrutiny of which you are doubtless entirely unaware. They have eveninformed me that, owing doubtless to your extreme interest in your newsurroundings, you have not as yet supped. Knowing this, and that youmust now be enjoying a very hearty appetite, I have to ask you if youwill do me the extreme favor of sitting at table with me at a repastwhich you will doubtless be surprised to learn has been hastilyprepared entirely in your honor. "

So saying, and giving Jonathan no time for reply, she offered him herhand, and with the most polite insistence conducted him into anexquisitely appointed dining room adjoining. 

Here stood a table covered with a snow-white cloth, and embellishedwith silver and crystal ornaments of every description. Having seatedherself and having indicated to Jonathan to take the chair opposite toher, the two were presently served with a repast such as our hero hadnot thought could have existed out of the pages of certainextraordinary Oriental tales which one time had fallen to his lot toread. 

This supper (which in itself might successfully have tempted the tasteof a Sybarite) was further enhanced by several wines and cordialswhich, filling the room with the aroma of the sunlit grapes from whichthey had been expressed, stimulated the appetite, which without themneeded no such spur. The lady, who ate but sparingly herself, possessed herself with patience until Jonathan's hunger had beenappeased. When, however, she beheld that he weakened in his attacksupon the dessert of sweets with which the banquet was concluded, sheaddressed him upon the business which was evidently entirely occupyingher mind. 

"Sir, " said she, "you are doubtless aware that everyone, whether manor woman, is possessed of an enemy. In my own case I must inform youthat I have no less than three who, to compass their ends, wouldgladly sacrifice my life itself to their purposes. At no time am Isafe from their machinations, nor have I anyone, " cried she, exhibiting a great emotion, "to whom I may turn in my need. It wasthis that led me to hope to find in you a friend in my perils, for, having observed through my agents that you are not only honest indisposition and strong in person, but that you are possessed of aconsiderable degree of energy and determination, I am most desirous ofimposing upon your good nature a trust of which you cannot for amoment suspect the magnitude. Tell me, are you willing to assist apoor, defenseless female in her hour of trial?"

"Indeed, friend, " quoth Jonathan, with more vivacity than he usuallyexhibited, with a lenity to which he had heretofore in his lifetimebeen a stranger--being warmed into such a spirit, doubtless, by thegenerous wines of which he had partaken--"indeed, friend, if I couldbut see thy face it would doubtless make my decision in such a matterthe more favorable, since I am inclined to think, from the little Ican behold of it, that thy appearance must be extremely comely to theeye. "

"Sir, " said the lady, exhibiting some amusement at this unexpectedsally, "I am, you must know, as God made me. Sometime, perhaps, I maybe very glad to satisfy your curiosity, and exhibit to you my poorcountenance such as it is. But now"--and here she reverted to her moreserious mood--"I must again put it to you: are you willing to help anunprotected woman in a period of very great danger to herself? Shouldyou decline the assistance which I solicit, my slaves shall conductyou to the gate through which you entered, and suffer you to depart inpeace. Should you, upon the other hand, accept the trust, you are toreceive no reward therefor, except the gratitude of one who thusappeals to you in her helplessness. "

For a few moments Jonathan fell silent, for here, indeed, was heentering into an adventure which infinitely surpassed any anticipationthat he could have formed. He was, besides, of a cautious nature, andwas entirely disinclined to embark in any affair so obscure andtangled as that in which he now found himself becoming involved. 

"Friend, " said he, at last, "I may tell thee that thy story has so farmoved me as to give me every inclination to help thee in thydifficulties, but I must also inform thee that I am a man of caution, having never before entered into any business of this sort. Therefore, before giving any promise that may bind my future actions, I must, incommon wisdom, demand to know what are the conditions that thou hastin mind to impose upon me. "

"Indeed, sir, " cried the lady, with great vivacity and with morecheerful accents--as though her mind had been relieved of a burden offear that her companion might at once have declined even aconsideration of her request--"indeed, sir, you will find that thetrust which I would impose upon you is in appearance no such greatmatter as my words may have led you to suppose. 

"You must know that I am possessed of a little trinket which, in thehands of anyone who, like yourself, is a stranger in these parts, would possess no significance, but which while in my keeping isfraught with infinite menace to me. "

Hereupon, and having so spoken, she clapped her hands, and anattendant immediately entered, disclosing the person of the samenegress who had first introduced Jonathan into the strange adventurein which he now found himself involved. This creature, who appearedstill more deformed and repulsive in the brilliantly lighted room thanshe had in the moonlight, carried in her hands a white napkin, whichshe handed to her mistress. This being opened, disclosed a small ivoryball of about the bigness of a lime. Nodding to the negress towithdraw, the lady handed him the ivory ball, and Jonathan took itwith no small degree of curiosity and examined it carefully. Itappeared to be of an exceeding antiquity, and of so deep a yellow asto be almost brown in color. It was covered over with strange figuresand characters of an Oriental sort, which appeared to our hero to beof Chinese workmanship. 

"I must tell you, sir, " said the lady, after she had permitted herguest to examine this for a while in silence, "that though thisappears to you to be of little worth, it is yet of extreme value. After all, however, it is nothing but a curiosity that anyone who isinterested in such matters might possess. What I have to ask you isthis: will you be willing to take this into your charge, to guard itwith the utmost care and fidelity--yes, even as the apple of youreye--during your continuance in these parts, and to return it to me insafety the day before your departure? By so doing you will render me aservice which you may neither understand nor comprehend, but whichshall make me your debtor for my entire life. "

By this time Jonathan had pretty well composed his mind for a reply. 

"Friend, " said he, "such a matter as this is entirely out of myknowledge of business, which is, indeed, that of a clerk in themercantile profession. Nevertheless, I have every inclination to helpthee, though I trust thou mayest have magnified the dangers that besetthee. This appears to me to be a little trifle for such an ado;nevertheless, I will do as thou dost request. I will keep it in safetyand will return it to thee upon this day a week hence, by which time Ihope to have discharged my cargo and be ready to continue my voyage toDemerara. "

At these words the lady, who had been watching him all the time with amost unaccountable eagerness, burst forth into words of such heartfeltgratitude as to entirely overwhelm our hero. When her transports hadbeen somewhat assuaged she permitted him to depart, and the negressconducted him back through the garden, whence she presently showed himthrough the gate whither he had entered and out into the street. 

III

_The Terrific Encounter with the One-Eyed Little Gentleman in Black_

Finding himself once more in the open street, Jonathan Rugg stood fora while in the moonlight, endeavoring to compose his mind intosomewhat of that sobriety that was habitual with him; for, indeed, hewas not a little excited by the unexpected incidents that had justbefallen him. From this effort at composure he was aroused byobserving that a little gentleman clad all in black had stopped at alittle distance away and was looking very intently at him. In thebrightness of the moonlight our hero could see that the littlegentleman possessed but a single eye, and that he carried agold-headed cane in his hand. He had hardly time to observe theseparticulars, when the other approached him with every appearance ofpoliteness and cordiality. 

"Sir, " said he, "surely I am not mistaken in recognizing in you thesupercargo of the ship _Susanna Hayes_, which arrived this afternoonat this port?"

"Indeed, " said Jonathan, "thou art right, friend. That is myoccupation, and that is whence I came. "

"To be sure!" said the little gentleman. "To be sure! To be sure! The_Susanna Hayes_, with a cargo of Indian-corn meal, and from my deargood friend Jeremiah Doolittle, of Philadelphia. I know your goodmaster very well--very well indeed. And have you never heard him speakof his friend Mr. Abner Greenway, of Kingston, Jamaica?"

"Why, no, " replied Jonathan, "I have no such recollection of thename--nor do I know that any such name hath ever appeared upon ourbooks. "

"To be sure! To be sure!" repeated the little gentleman, briskly, andwith exceeding good nature. "Indeed, my name is not likely to haveever appeared upon your employer's books, for I am not a businesscorrespondent, but one who, in times past, was his extremely intimatefriend. There is much I would like to ask about him, and, indeed, Iwas in hopes that you would have been the bearer of a letter from him. But I have lodgings at a little distance from here, so that if it isnot requesting too much of you maybe you will accompany me thither, sothat we may talk at our leisure. I would gladly accompany you to yourship instead of urging you to come to my apartments, but I must tellyou I am possessed of a devil of a fever, so that my physician hathforbidden me to be out of nights. "

"Indeed, " said Jonathan, who, you may have observed, was of a veryeasy disposition--"indeed, I shall be very glad to accompany thee tothy lodgings. There is nothing I would like better than to serve anyfriend of good Jeremiah Doolittle's. "

And thereupon, and with great amity, the two walked off together, thelittle one-eyed gentleman in black linking his arm confidingly intothat of Jonathan's, and tapping the pavement continually with his caneas he trotted on at a great pace. He was very well acquainted with thetown (of which he was a citizen), and so interesting was hisdiscourse that they had gone a considerable distance before Jonathanobserved they were entering into a quarter darker and less frequentedthan that which they had quitted. Tall brick houses stood upon eitherside, between which stretched a narrow, crooked roadway, with a kennelrunning down the center. 

In front of one of these houses--a tall and gloomy structure--ourhero's conductor stopped and, opening the door with a key, beckonedfor him to enter. Jonathan having complied, his new-found friend ledthe way up a flight of steps, against which Jonathan's feet beatnoisily in the darkness, and at length, having ascended two stairwaysand having reached a landing, he opened a door at the end of thepassage and ushered Jonathan into an apartment, unlighted, except forthe moonshine, which, coming in through a partly open shutter, lay ina brilliant patch of light upon the floor. 

His conductor having struck a light with a flint and steel, our heroby the illumination of a single candle presently discovered himself tobe in a bedchamber furnished with no small degree of comfort, and evenelegance, and having every appearance of a bachelor's chamber. 

"You will pardon me, " said his new acquaintance, "if I shut theseshutters and the window, for that devilish fever of which I spoke isof such a sort that I must keep the night air even out from my room, or else I shall be shaking the bones out of my joints and chatteringthe teeth out of my head by to-morrow morning. "

So saying he was as good as his word, and not only drew the shuttersto, but shot the heavy iron bolt into its place. Having accomplishedthis he bade our hero to be seated, and placing before him someexceedingly superior rum, together with some equally excellenttobacco, they presently fell into the friendliest discourseimaginable. In the course of their talk, which after a while becameexceedingly confidential, Jonathan confided to his new friend thecircumstances of the adventure into which he had been led by thebeautiful stranger, and to all that he said concerning his adventurehis interlocutor listened with the closest and most scrupulouslyriveted attention. 

[Illustration: How the Buccaneers Kept Christmas

_Originally published in_HARPER'S WEEKLY, _December 16, 1899_]

"Upon my word, " said he, when Jonathan had concluded, "I hope that youmay not have been made the victim of some foolish hoax. Let me seewhat it is she has confided to you. "

"That I will, " replied Jonathan. And thereupon he thrust his hand intohis breeches' pocket and brought forth the ivory ball. 

No sooner did the one eye of the little gentleman in black light uponthe object than a most singular and extraordinary convulsion appearedto seize upon him. Had a bullet penetrated his heart he could not havestarted more violently, nor have sat more rigidly and breathlesslystaring. 

Mastering his emotion with the utmost difficulty as Jonathan replacedthe ball in his pocket, he drew a deep and profound breath and wipedthe palm of his hand across his forehead as though arousing himselffrom a dream. 

"And you, " he said, of a sudden, "are, I understand it, a Quaker. Doyou, then, never carry a weapon, even in such a place as this, whereat any moment in the dark a Spanish knife may be stuck betwixt yourribs?"

"Why, no, " said Jonathan, somewhat surprised that so foreign a topicshould have been so suddenly introduced into the discourse. "I am aman of peace and not of blood. The people of the Society of Friendsnever carry weapons, either of offense or defense. "

As Jonathan concluded his reply the little gentleman suddenly arosefrom his chair and moved briskly around to the other side of the room. Our hero, watching him with some surprise, beheld him clap to the doorand with a single movement shoot the bolt and turn the key therein. The next instant he turned to Jonathan a visage transformed assuddenly as though he had dropped a mask from his face. The gossipingand polite little old bachelor was there no longer, but in his steada man with a countenance convulsed with some furious and namelesspassion. 

"That ball!" he cried, in a hoarse and raucous voice. "That ivoryball! Give it to me upon the instant!"

As he spoke he whipped out from his bosom a long, keen Spanish knifethat in its every appearance spoke without equivocation of the mostmurderous possibilities. 

The malignant passions that distorted every lineament of thecountenance of the little old gentleman in black filled our hero withsuch astonishment that he knew not whether he were asleep or awake;but when he beheld the other advancing with the naked and shiningknife in his hand his reason returned to him like a flash. Leaping tohis feet, he lost no time in putting the table between himself and hissudden enemy. 

"Indeed, friend, " he cried, in a voice penetrated withterror--"indeed, friend, thou hadst best keep thy distance from me, for though I am a man of peace and a shunner of bloodshed, I promisethee that I will not stand still to be murdered without outcry orwithout endeavoring to defend my life!"

"Cry as loud as you please!" exclaimed the other. "No one is near thisplace to hear you! Cry until you are hoarse; no one in thisneighborhood will stop to ask what is the matter with you. I tell youI am determined to possess myself of that ivory ball, and have it Ishall, even though I am obliged to cut out your heart to get it!" Ashe spoke he grinned with so extraordinary and devilish a distortion ofhis countenance, and with such an appearance of every intention ofcarrying out his threat as to send the goose flesh creeping like icyfingers up and down our hero's spine with the most incredible rapidityand acuteness. 

Nevertheless, mastering his fears, Jonathan contrived to speak up witha pretty good appearance of spirit. "Indeed, friend, " he said, "thouappearest to forget that I am a man of twice thy bulk and half thyyears, and that though thou hast a knife I am determined to defendmyself to the last extremity. I am not going to give thee that whichthou demandest of me, and for thy sake I advise thee to open the doorand let me go free as I entered, or else harm may befall thee. "

"Fool!" cried the other, hardly giving him time to end. "Do you, then, think that I have time to chatter with you while two villains arelying in wait for me, perhaps at the very door? Blame your own selffor your death!" And, gnashing his teeth with an indescribable menace, and resting his hand upon the table, he vaulted with incredibleagility clean across it and upon our hero, who, entirely unpreparedfor such an extraordinary attack, was flung back against the wall, with an arm as strong as steel clutching his throat and a knifeflashing in his very eyes with dreadful portent of instant death. 

With an instinct to preserve his life, he caught his assailant by thewrist, and, bending it away from himself, set every fiber of his bodyin a superhuman effort to guard and protect himself. The other, thoughso much older and smaller, seemed to be composed entirely of fibers ofsteel, and, in his murderous endeavors, put forth a strength soextraordinary that for a moment our hero felt his heart melt withinhim with terror for his life. The spittle appeared to dry up withinhis mouth, and his hair to creep and rise upon his head. With avehement cry of despair and anguish, he put forth one stupendouseffort for defense, and, clapping his heel behind the other's leg, andthrowing his whole weight forward, he fairly tripped his antagonistbackward as he stood. Together they fell upon the floor, locked in themost desperate embrace, and overturning a chair with a prodigiousclatter in their descent--our hero upon the top and the littlegentleman in black beneath him. 

As they struck the floor the little man in black emitted a mostpiercing and terrible scream, and instantly relaxing his efforts ofattack, fell to beating the floor with the back of his hands anddrubbing with his heels upon the rug in which he had become entangled. 

Our hero leaped to his feet, and with dilating eyes and expandingbrain and swimming sight stared down upon the other like one turned toa stone. 

He beheld instantly what had occurred, and that he had, without sointending, killed a fellow man. The knife, turned away from his ownperson, had in their fall been plunged into the bosom of the other, and he now lay quivering in the last throes of death. As Jonathangazed he beheld a thin red stream trickle out from the parted andgrinning lips; he beheld the eyes turn inward; he beheld the eyelidscontract; he beheld the figure stretch itself; he beheld it becomestill in death. 

IV

_The Momentous Adventure with the Stranger with the Silver Earrings_

So our hero stood stunned and bedazed, gazing down upon his victim, like a man turned into a stone. His brain appeared to him to expandlike a bubble, the blood surged and hummed in his ears with everygigantic beat of his heart, his vision swam, and his trembling handswere bedewed with a cold and repugnant sweat. The dead figure upon thefloor at his feet gazed at him with a wide, glassy stare, and in theconfusion of his mind it appeared to Jonathan that he was, indeed, amurderer. 

What monstrous thing was this that had befallen him who, but a momentbefore, had been so entirely innocent of the guilt of blood? What washe now to do in such an extremity as this, with his victim lying deadat his feet, a poniard in his heart? Who would believe him to beguiltless of crime with such a dreadful evidence as this presentedagainst him? How was he, a stranger in a foreign land, to totallydefend himself against an accusation of mistaken justice? At thesethoughts a developed terror gripped at his vitals and a sweat as coldas ice bedewed his entire body. No, he must tarry for no explanationor defense! He must immediately fly from this terrible place, or else, should he be discovered, his doom would certainly be sealed!

At that moment, and in the very extremity of his apprehensions, therefell of a sudden a knock upon the door, sounding so loud and sostartling upon the silence of the room that every shattered nerve inour hero's frame tingled and thrilled in answer to it. He stoodpetrified, scarcely so much as daring to breathe; and then, observingthat his mouth was agape, he moistened his dry and parching lips, anddrew his jaws together with a snap. 

Again there fell the same loud, insistent knock upon the panel, followed by the imperative words, "Open within!"

The wretched Jonathan flung about him a glance at once of terror andof despair, but there was for him no possible escape. He was shuttight in the room with his dead victim, like a rat in a trap. Nothingremained for him but to obey the summons from without. Indeed, in thevery extremity of his distraction, he possessed reason enough toperceive that the longer he delayed opening the door the less innocenthe might hope to appear in the eyes of whoever stood without. 

With the uncertain and spasmodic movements of an ill-constructedautomaton, he crossed the room, and stepping very carefully over theprostrate body upon the floor, and with a hesitating reluctance thathe could in no degree master, he unlocked, unbolted, and opened thedoor. 

The figure that outlined itself in the light of the candle, againstthe blackness of the passageway without, was of such a singular andforeign aspect as to fit extremely well into the extraordinary tragedyof which Jonathan was at once the victim and the cause. 

It was that of a lean, tall man with a thin, yellow countenance, embellished with a long, black mustache, and having a pair offorbidding, deeply set, and extremely restless black eyes. A crimsonhandkerchief beneath a lace cocked hat was tied tightly around thehead, and a pair of silver earrings, which caught the light of thecandle, gleamed and twinkled against the inky darkness of thepassageway beyond. 

This extraordinary being, without favoring our hero with any word ofapology for his intrusion, immediately thrust himself forward into theroom, and stretching his long, lean, birdlike neck so as to direct hisgaze over the intervening table, fixed a gaping and concentrated stareupon the figure lying still and motionless in the center of the room. 

"Vat you do dare, " said he, with a guttural and foreign accent, andthereupon, without waiting for a reply, came forward and knelt downbeside the dead man. After thrusting his hand into the silent andshrunken bosom, he presently looked up and fixed his penetrating eyesupon our hero's countenance, who, benumbed and bedazed with hisdespair, still stood like one enchained in the bonds of a nightmare. "He vas dead!" said the stranger, and Jonathan nodded his head inreply. 

"Vy you keel ze man?" inquired his interlocutor. 

"Indeed, " cried Jonathan, finding a voice at last, but one so hoarsethat he could hardly recognize it for his own, "I know not what tomake of the affair! But, indeed, I do assure thee, friend, that I amentirely innocent of what thou seest. "

The stranger still kept his piercing gaze fixed upon our hero'scountenance, and Jonathan, feeling that something further was demandedof him, continued: "I am, indeed, a victim of a most extravagant andextraordinary adventure. This evening, coming an entire stranger tothis country, I was introduced into the house of a beautiful female, who bestowed upon me a charge that appeared to me to be at onceinsignificant and absurd. Behold this little ivory ball, " said he, drawing the globe from his pocket, and displaying it between his thumband finger. "It is this that appears to have brought all this disasterupon me; for, coming from the house of the young woman, the man whomthou now beholdest lying dead upon the floor induced me to come tothis place. Having inveigled me hither, he demanded of me to give himat once this insignificant trifle. Upon my refusing to do so, heassaulted me with every appearance of a mad and furious inclination todeprive me of my life!"

At the sight of the ivory ball the stranger quickly arose from hiskneeling posture and fixed upon our hero a gaze the most extraordinarythat he had ever encountered. His eyes dilated like those of a cat, the breath expelled itself from his bosom in so deep and profound anexpiration that it appeared as though it might never return again. Norwas it until Jonathan had replaced the ball in his pocket that heappeared to awaken from the trance that the sight of the object hadsent him into. But no sooner had the cause of this strange demeanordisappeared into our hero's breeches' pocket than he arose as with anelectric shock. In an instant he became transformed as by the touch ofmagic. A sudden and baleful light flamed into his eyes, his face grewas red as blood, and he clapped his hand to his pocket with a suddenand violent motion. "Ze ball!" he cried, in a hoarse and stridentvoice. "Ze ball! Give me ze ball!" And upon the next instant our herobeheld the round and shining nozzle of a pistol pointed directlyagainst his forehead. 

For a moment he stood as though transfixed; then in the mortal perilthat faced him, he uttered a roar that sounded in his own ears likethe outcry of a wild beast, and thereupon flung himself bodily uponthe other with the violence and the fury of a madman. 

The stranger drew the trigger, and the powder flashed in the pan. Hedropped the weapon, clattering, and in an instant tried to drawanother from his other pocket. Before he could direct his aim, however, our hero had caught him by both wrists, and, bending his handbackward, prevented the chance of any shot from taking immediateeffect upon his person. Then followed a struggle of extraordinaryferocity and frenzy--the stranger endeavoring to free his hand, andJonathan striving with all the energy of despair to prevent him fromeffecting his murderous purpose. 

[Illustration]

In the struggle our hero became thrust against the edge of the table. He felt as though his back were breaking, and became conscious that insuch a situation he could hope to defend himself only a few momentslonger. The stranger's face was pressed close to his own. His hotbreath, strong with the odor of garlic, fanned our hero's cheek, whilehis lips, distended into a ferocious and ferine grin, displayed hissharp teeth shining in the candlelight. 

"Give me ze ball!" he said, in a harsh and furious whisper. 

At the moment there rang in Jonathan's ears the sudden and astoundingdetonation of a pistol shot, and for a moment he wondered whether hehad received a mortal wound without being aware of it. Then suddenlyhe beheld an extraordinary and dreadful transformation take place inthe countenance thrust so close to his own; the eyes winked severaltimes with incredible rapidity, and then rolled upward and inward; thejaws gaped into a dreadful and cavernous yawn; the pistol fell with aclatter to the floor, and the next moment the muscles, so rigid but aninstant before, relaxed into a limp and listless flaccidity. Thejoints collapsed, and the entire man fell into an indistinguishableheap upon and across the dead figure stretched out upon the floor, while at the same time a pungent and blinding cloud of gunpowder smokefilled the apartment. For a few moments the hands twitchedconvulsively; the neck stretched itself to an abominable length; thelong, lean legs slowly and gradually relaxed, and every fiber of thebody gradually collapsed into the lassitude of death. A spot of bloodappeared and grew upon the collar at the throat, and in the samedegree the color ebbed from the face, leaving it of a dull and leadenpallor. 

All these terrible and formidable changes of aspect our hero stoodwatching with a motionless and riveted attention, and as though theywere to him matters of the utmost consequence and importance; and onlywhen the last flicker of life had departed from his second victim didhe lift his gaze from this terrible scene of dissolution to stareabout him, this way and that, his eyes blinded, and his breath stifledby the thick cloud of sulphurous smoke that obscured the objects abouthim in a pungent cloud. 

V

_The Unexpected Encounter with the Sea Captain with the Broken Nose_

If our hero had been distracted and bedazed by the first catastrophethat had befallen, this second and even more dreadful and violentoccurrence appeared to take away from him, for the moment, everypower of thought and of sensation. All that perturbation of emotionthat had before convulsed him he discovered to have disappeared, andin its stead a benumbed and blinded intelligence alone remained tohim. As he stood in the presence of this second death, of which he hadbeen as innocent and as unwilling an instrument as he had of thefirst, he could observe no signs either of remorse or of horror withinhim. He picked up his hat, which had fallen upon the floor in thefirst encounter, and, brushing away the dust with the cuff of his coatsleeve with extraordinary care, adjusted the beaver upon his head withthe utmost nicety. Then turning, still stupefied as with the fumes ofsome powerful drug, he prepared to quit the scene of tragic terrorsthat had thus unexpectedly accumulated upon him. 

But ere he could put his design into execution his ears were startledby the sound of loud and hurried footsteps which, coming from below, ascended the stairs with a prodigious clatter and bustle of speed. Atthe landing these footsteps paused for a while, and then approached, more cautious and deliberate, toward the room where the double tragedyhad been enacted, and where our hero yet stood silent and inert. 

All this while Jonathan made no endeavor to escape, but stood passiveand submissive to what might occur. He felt himself the victim ofcircumstances over which he himself had no control. Gazing at thepartly opened door, he waited for whatever adventure might next befallhim. Once again the footsteps paused, this time at the very threshold, and then the door was slowly pushed open from without. 

As our hero gazed at the aperture there presently became disclosed tohis view the strong and robust figure of one who was evidently of aseafaring habit. From the gold braid upon his hat, the seals danglingfrom the ribbon at his fob, and a certain particularity of custom, hewas evidently one of no small consideration in his profession. He wasof a strong and powerful build, with a head set close to hisshoulders, and upon a round, short bull neck. He wore a black cravat, loosely tied into a knot, and a red waistcoat elaborately trimmed withgold braid; a leather belt with a brass buckle and hanger, and hugesea boots completed a costume singularly suggestive of his occupationin life. His face was round and broad, like that of a cat, and acomplexion stained, by constant exposure to the sun and wind, to acolor of newly polished mahogany. But a countenance which otherwisemight have been humorous, in this case was rendered singularlyrepulsive by the fact that his nose had been broken so flat to hisface that all that remained to distinguish that feature were twocircular orifices where the nostrils should have been. His eyes wereby no means so sinister as the rest of his visage, being of alight-gray color and exceedingly vivacious--even good-natured in themerry restlessness of their glance--albeit they were well-nigh hiddenbeneath a black bush of overhanging eyebrows. When he spoke, his voicewas so deep and resonant that it was as though it issued from a barrelrather than from the breast of a human being. 

"How now, my hearty!" cried he, in stentorian tones, so loud that theyseemed to stun the tensely drawn drums of our hero's ears. "How now, my hearty! What's to do here? Who is shooting pistols at this hour ofthe night?" Then, catching sight of the figures lying in a huddle uponthe floor, his great, thick lips parted into a gape of wonder and hisgray eyes rolled in his head like two balls, so that what with hisflat face and the round holes of his nostrils he presented anappearance which, under other circumstances, would have been at onceludicrous and grotesque. 

"By the blood!" cried he, "to be sure it is murder that has happenedhere. "

"Not murder!" cried Jonathan, in a shrill and panting voice. "Notmurder! It was all an accident, and I am as innocent as a baby. "

The newcomer looked at him and then at the two figures upon thefloor, and then back at him again with eyes at once quizzical andcunning. Then his face broke into a grin that might hardly be calledof drollery. "Accident!" quoth he. "By the blood! d'ye see 'tis astrange accident, indeed, that lays two men by the heels and lets thethird go without a scratch!" Delivering himself thus, he came forwardinto the room, and, taking the last victim of Jonathan's adventure bythe arm, with as little compunction as he would have handled a sack ofgrain he dragged the limp and helpless figure from where it lay to thefloor beside the first victim. Then, lifting the lighted candle, hebent over the two prostrate bodies, holding the illumination close tothe lineaments first of one and then of the other. He looked at themvery carefully for a long while, with the closest and most intentscrutiny, and in perfect silence. "They are both as dead, " says he, "as Davy Jones, and, whoever you be, I protest that you have done yourbusiness the most completest that I ever saw in all of my life. "

"Indeed, " cried Jonathan, in the same shrill and panting voice, "itwas themselves who did it. First one of them attacked me and then theother, and I did but try to keep them from murdering me. This one fellon his knife, and that one shot himself in his efforts to destroy me. "

"That, " says the seaman, "you may very well tell to a dry-lander, andmaybe he will believe you; but you cannot so easily pull the wool overthe eyes of Captain Benny Willitts. And what, if I may be so bold asfor to ask you, was the reason for their attacking so harmless a manas you proclaim yourself to be?"

[Illustration: The Burning Ship

_Originally published in_COLLIER'S WEEKLY, _1898_]

"That I know not, " cried Jonathan; "but I am entirely willing to tellthee all the circumstances. Thou must know that I am a member of theSociety of Friends. This day I landed here in Kingston, and met ayoung woman of very comely appearance, who intrusted me with thislittle ivory ball, which she requested me to keep for her a few days. The sight of this ball--in which I can detect nothing that could belikely to arouse any feelings of violence--appears to have driventhese two men entirely mad, so that they instantly made the mostferocious and murderous assault upon me. See! wouldst thou havebelieved that so small a thing as this would have caused so muchtrouble?" And as he spoke he held up to the gaze of the other thecause of the double tragedy that had befallen. But no sooner hadCaptain Willitts's eyes lighted upon the ball than the most singularchange passed over his countenance. The color appeared to grow dulland yellow in his ruddy cheeks, his fat lips dropped apart, and hiseyes stared with a fixed and glassy glare. He arose to his feet and, still with the expression of astonishment and wonder upon his face, gazed first at our hero and then at the ivory ball in his hands, asthough he were deprived both of reason and of speech. At last, as ourhero slipped the trifle back in his pocket again, the mariner slowlyrecovered himself, though with a prodigious effort, and drew a deepand profound breath as to the very bottom of his lungs. He wiped, withthe corner of his black-silk cravat, his brow, upon which the sweatappeared to have gathered. "Well, messmate, " says he, at last, with asudden change of voice, "you have, indeed, had a most wonderfuladventure. " Then with another deep breath: "Well, by the blood! I maytell you plainly that I am no poor hand at the reading of faces. Well, I think you to be honest, and I am inclined to believe every word youtell me. By the blood! I am prodigiously sorry for you, and aminclined to help you out of your scrape. 

"The first thing to do, " he continued, "is to get rid of these twodead men, and that is an affair I believe we shall have no trouble inhandling. One of them we will wrap up in the carpet here, and t'otherwe can roll into yonder bed curtain. You shall carry the one and I theother, and, the harbor being at no great distance, we can easily bringthem thither and tumble them overboard, and no one will be the wiserof what has happened. For your own safety, as you may easily see, youcan hardly go away and leave these objects here to be found by thefirst comer, and to rise up in evidence against you. "

This reasoning, in our hero's present bewildered state, appeared tohim to be so extremely just that he raised not the least objection toit. Accordingly, each of the two silent, voiceless victims of theevening's occurrences was wrapped into a bundle that from withoutappeared to be neither portentous nor terrible in appearance. 

Thereupon, Jonathan shouldering the rug containing the littlegentleman in black, and the sea captain doing the like for the other, they presently made their way down the stairs through the darkness, and so out into the street. Here the sea captain became the conductorof the expedition, and leading the way down several alleys and alongcertain by-streets--now and then stopping to rest, for the burdenswere both heavy and clumsy to carry--they both came out at last to theharbor front, without anyone having questioned them or having appearedto suspect them of anything wrong. At the waterside was an open wharfextending a pretty good distance out into the harbor. Thither thecaptain led the way and Jonathan followed. So they made their way outalong the wharf or pier, stumbling now and then over loose boards, until they came at last to where the water was of a sufficient depthfor their purpose. Here the captain, bending his shoulders, shot hisburden out into the dark, mysterious waters, and Jonathan, followinghis example, did the same. Each body sank with a sullen and leadensplash into the element, where, the casings which swathed thembecoming loosened, the rug and the curtain rose to the surface anddrifted slowly away with the tide. 

As Jonathan stood gazing dully at the disappearance of these lastevidences of his two inadvertent murders, he was suddenly andvehemently aroused by feeling a pair of arms of enormous strengthflung about him from behind. In their embrace his elbows wereinstantly pinned tight to his side, and he stood for a moment helplessand astounded, while the voice of the sea captain, rumbling in hisvery ear, exclaimed, "Ye bloody, murthering Quaker, I'll have thativory ball, or I'll have your life!"

[Illustration]

These words produced the same effect upon Jonathan as though a doucheof cold water had suddenly been flung over him. He began instantly tostruggle to free himself, and that with a frantic and vehementviolence begotten at once of terror and despair. So prodigious werehis efforts that more than once he had nearly torn himself free, butstill the powerful arms of his captor held him as in a vise of iron. Meantime, our hero's assailant made frequent though ineffectualattempts to thrust a hand into the breeches' pocket where the ivoryball was hidden, swearing the while under his breath with a terrifyingand monstrous string of oaths. At last, finding himself foiled inevery such attempt, and losing all patience at the struggles of hisvictim, he endeavored to lift Jonathan off of his feet, as though todash him bodily upon the ground. In this he would doubtless havesucceeded had he not caught his heel in the crack of a loose board ofthe wharf. Instantly they both fell, violently prostrate, the captainbeneath and Jonathan above him, though still encircled in his ironembrace. Our hero felt the back of his head strike violently upon theflat face of the other, and he heard the captain's skull sound with aterrific crack like that of a breaking egg upon some post or billet ofwood, against which he must have struck. In their frantic strugglesthey had approached extremely near the edge of the wharf, so that thenext instant, with an enormous and thunderous splash, Jonathan foundhimself plunged into the waters of the harbor, and the arms of hisassailant loosened from about his body. 

The shock of the water brought him instantly to his senses, and, beinga fairly good swimmer, he had not the least difficulty in reaching andclutching the crosspiece of a wooden ladder that, coated with slimysea moss, led from the water level to the wharf above. 

After reaching the safety of the dry land once more, Jonathan gazedabout him as though to discern whence the next attack might bedelivered upon him. But he stood entirely alone upon the dock--notanother living soul was in sight. The surface of the water exhibitedsome commotion, as though disturbed by something struggling beneath;but the sea captain, who had doubtless been stunned by the tremendouscrack upon his head, never arose again out of the element that hadengulfed him. 

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The moonlight shone with a peaceful and resplendent illumination, and, excepting certain remote noises from the distant town, not a soundbroke the silence and the peacefulness of the balmy, tropical night. The limpid water, illuminated by the resplendent moonlight, lappedagainst the wharf. All the world was calm, serene, and enveloped in aprofound and entire repose. 

[Illustration: Dead Men Tell No Tales

_Originally published in_COLLIER'S WEEKLY, _December 17, 1899_]

Jonathan looked up at the round and brilliant globe of light floatingin the sky above his head, and wondered whether it were, indeed, possible that all that had befallen him was a reality and not sometremendous hallucination. Then suddenly arousing himself to a renewedrealization of that which had occurred, he turned and ran like onepossessed, up along the wharf, and so into the moonlit town once more. 

VI

_The Conclusion of the Adventure with the Lady with the Silver Veil_

Nor did he check his precipitous flight until suddenly, being ledperhaps by some strange influence of which he was not at all themaster, he discovered himself to be standing before the garden gatewhere not more than an hour before he had first entered upon theseries of monstrous adventures that had led to such tremendousconclusions. 

People were still passing and repassing, and one of these groups--aparty of young ladies and gentlemen--paused upon the opposite side ofthe street to observe, with no small curiosity and amusement, hisdripping and bedraggled aspect. But only one thought and one intentionpossessed our hero--to relieve himself as quickly as possible of thattrust which he had taken up so thoughtlessly, and with such monstrousresults to himself and to his victims. He ran to the gate of thegarden and began beating and kicking upon it with a vehemence that hecould neither master nor control. He was aware that the entireneighborhood was becoming aroused, for he beheld lights moving andloud voices of inquiry; yet he gave not the least thought to thedisturbance he was creating, but continued without intermission hisuproarious pounding upon the gate. 

At length, in answer to the sound of his vehement blows, the littlewicket was opened and a pair of eyes appeared thereat. The nextinstant the gate was cast ajar very hastily, and the pock-pittednegress appeared. She caught him by the sleeve of his coat and drewhim quickly into the garden. "Buckra, Buckra!" she cried. "What youdoing? You wake de whole town!" Then, observing his dripping garments:"You been in de water. You catch de fever and shake till you die. "

"Thy mistress!" cried Jonathan, almost sobbing in the excess of hisemotion; "take me to her upon the instant, or I cannot answer for mynot going entirely mad!"

When our hero was again introduced to the lady he found her clad in aloose and elegant negligee, infinitely becoming to her gracefulfigure, and still covered with the veil of silver gauze that hadbefore enveloped her. 

"Friend, " he cried, vehemently, approaching her and holding out towardher the little ivory ball, "take again this which thou gavest me! Ithas brought death to three men, and I know not what terrible fate maybefall me if I keep it longer in my possession. "

"What is it you say?" cried she, in a piercing voice. "Did you say ithath caused the death of three men? Quick! Tell me what has happened, for I feel somehow a presage that you bring me news of safety andrelease from all my dangers. "

"I know not what thou meanest!" cried Jonathan, still panting withagitation. "But this I do know: that when I went away from thee Ideparted an innocent man, and now I come back to thee burdened withthe weight of three lives, which, though innocent, I have beeninstrumental in taking. "

"Explain!" exclaimed the lady, tapping the floor with her foot. "Explain! explain! explain!"

"That I will, " cried Jonathan, "and as soon as I am able! When I leftthee and went out into the street I was accosted by a little gentlemanclad in black. "

"Indeed!" cried the lady. "And had he but one eye, and did he carry agold-headed cane?"

"Exactly, " said Jonathan; "and he claimed acquaintance with friendJeremiah Doolittle. "

"He never knew him!" cried the lady, vehemently; "and I must tell youthat he was a villain named Hunt, who at one time was the intimateconsort of the pirate Keitt. He it was who plunged a deadly knife intohis captain's bosom, and so murdered him in this very house. Hehimself, or his agents, must have been watching my gate when you wentforth. "

"I know not how that may be, " said Jonathan, "but he took me to hisapartment, and there, obtaining a knowledge of the trust thou didstburden me with, he demanded it of me, and upon my refusing to deliverit to him he presently fell to attacking me with a dagger. In myefforts to protect my life I inadvertently caused him to plunge theknife into his own bosom and to kill himself. "

"And what then?" cried the lady, who appeared well-nigh distractedwith her emotions. 

"Then, " said Jonathan, "there came a strange man--a foreigner--whoupon his part assaulted me with a pistol, with every intention ofmurdering me and thus obtaining possession of that same littletrifle. "

"And did he, " exclaimed the lady, "have long, black mustachios, anddid he have silver earrings in his ears?"

"Yes, " said Jonathan, "he did. "

"That, " cried the lady, "could have been none other than CaptainKeitt's Portuguese sailing master, who must have been spying uponHunt! Tell me what happened next!"

"He would have taken my life, " said Jonathan, "but in the strugglethat followed he shot himself accidentally with his own pistol, anddied at my very feet. I do not know what would have happened to me ifa sea captain had not come and proffered his assistance. "

"A sea captain!" she exclaimed; "and had he a flat face and a brokennose?"

"Indeed he had, " replied Jonathan. 

"That, " said the lady, "must have been Captain Keitt's piratepartner--Captain Willitts, of _The Bloody Hand_. He was doubtlessspying upon the Portuguese. "

"He induced me, " said Jonathan, "to carry the two bodies down to thewharf. Having inveigled me there--where, I suppose, he thought no onecould interfere--he assaulted me, and endeavored to take the ivoryball away from me. In my efforts to escape we both fell into thewater, and he, striking his head upon the edge of the wharf, was firststunned and then drowned. "

"Thank God!" cried the lady, with a transport of fervor, and claspingher jeweled hands together. "At last I am free of those who haveheretofore persecuted me and threatened my very life itself! You haveasked to behold my face; I will now show it to you! Heretofore I havebeen obliged to keep it concealed lest, recognizing me, my enemiesshould have slain me. " As she spoke she drew aside her veil, anddisclosed to the vision of our hero a countenance of the mostextraordinary and striking beauty. Her luminous eyes were like thoseof a Jawa, and set beneath exquisitely arched and penciled brows. Herforehead was like lustrous ivory and her lips like rose leaves. Herhair, which was as soft as the finest silk, was fastened up in massesof ravishing abundance. "I am, " said she, "the daughter of thatunfortunate Captain Keitt, who, though weak and a pirate, was not sowicked, I would have you know, as he has been painted. He would, doubtless, have been an honest man had he not been led astray by thevillain Hunt, who so nearly compassed your destruction. He returned tothis island before his death, and made me the sole heir of all thatgreat fortune which he had gathered--perhaps not by the most honestmeans--in the waters of the Indian Ocean. But the greatesttreasure of all that fortune bequeathed to me was a single jewel whichyou yourself have just now defended with a courage and a fidelity thatI cannot sufficiently extol. It is that priceless gem known as theRuby of Kishmoor. I will show it to you. "

[Illustration: "I AM THE DAUGHTER OF THAT UNFORTUNATE CAPTAIN KEITT"]

Hereupon she took the little ivory ball in her hand, and, with a turnof her beautiful wrists, unscrewed a lid so nicely and cunninglyadjusted that no eye could have detected where it was joined to theparent globe. Within was a fleece of raw silk containing an objectwhich she presently displayed before the astonished gaze of our hero. It was a red stone of about the bigness of a plover's egg, and whichglowed and flamed with such an exquisite and ruddy brilliancy as todazzle even Jonathan's inexperienced eyes. Indeed, he did not need tobe informed of the priceless value of the treasure, which he beheld inthe rosy palm extended toward him. How long he gazed at thisextraordinary jewel he knew not, but he was aroused from hiscontemplation by the sound of the lady's voice addressing him. "Thethree villains, " said she, "who have this day met their deserts in aviolent and bloody death, had by an accident obtained knowledge thatthis jewel was in my possession. Since then my life has hung upon athread, and every step that I have taken has been watched by theseenemies, the most cruel and relentless that it was ever the lot of anyunfortunate to possess. From the mortal dangers of their machinationsyou have saved me, exhibiting a courage and a determination thatcannot be sufficiently applauded. In this you have earned my deepestadmiration and regard. I would rather, " she cried, "intrust my lifeand my happiness to you than into the keeping of any man whom I haveever known! I cannot hope to reward you in such a way as to recompenseyou for the perils into which my necessities have thrust you; butyet"--and here she hesitated, as though seeking for words in which toexpress herself--"but yet if you are willing to accept of this jewel, and all of the fortune that belongs to me, together with the personof poor Evaline Keitt herself, not only the stone and the wealth, butthe woman also, are yours to dispose of as you see fit!"

Our hero was so struck aback at this unexpected turn that he knew notupon the instant what reply to make. "Friend, " said he, at last, "Ithank thee extremely for thy offer, and, though I would not beungracious, it is yet borne in upon me to testify to thee that as tothe stone itself and the fortune--of which thou speakest, and of whichI very well know the history--I have no inclination to receive eitherthe one or the other, both the fruits of theft, rapine, and murder. The jewel I have myself beheld three times stained, as it were, withthe blood of my fellow man, so that it now has so little value in mysight that I would not give a peppercorn to possess it. Indeed, thereis no inducement in the world that could persuade me to accept it, oreven to take it again into my hand. As to the rest of thy generousoffer, I have only to say that I am, four months hence, to be marriedto a very comely young woman of Kensington, in Pennsylvania, by nameMartha Dobbs, and therefore I am not at all at liberty to consider myinclinations in any other direction. "

Having so delivered himself, Jonathan bowed with such ease as hisstiff and awkward joints might command, and thereupon withdrew fromthe presence of the charmer, who, with cheeks suffused with blushesand with eyes averted, made no endeavor to detain him. 

So ended the only adventure of moment that ever happened him in allhis life. For thereafter he contented himself with such excitement ashis mercantile profession and his extremely peaceful existence mightafford. 

_Epilogue_

In conclusion it may be said that when the worthy Jonathan Rugg wasmarried to Martha Dobbs, upon the following June, some mysteriousfriend presented to the bride a rope of pearls of such considerablevalue that when they were realized into money our hero was enabled toenter into partnership with his former patron the worthy JeremiahDoolittle, and that, having made such a beginning, he by and by aroseto become, in his day, one of the leading merchants of his native townof Philadelphia. 

[Illustration]

The End

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BOOKS BY

HOWARD PYLE

HOWARD PYLE'S BOOK OF PIRATESMEN OF IRONA MODERN ALADDINPEPPER AND SALTTHE RUBY OF KISHMOORSTOLEN TREASURETHE WONDER CLOCK

HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS

ESTABLISHED 1817

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