A very short time, some three minutes or so, sufficed to carry us
through the channel into the lagoon, which once reached, away we went
for the back of the island, under the friendly cover of which we hoped
to reach undiscovered within about a cable's length of our foe. Half a
dozen strokes of the oars sufficed to carry our little flotilla across
the narrow strip of water, during the traversing of which there was a
possibility of our premature discovery; and whilst we were dashing
across this open space, I made the best possible use of my eyes to take
in the position of affairs. I was enabled to note the situations of the
three feluccas, which were lying at anchor about a mile distant, and we
could see men moving about the decks of each, but there was no movement
or sound on board either that we could discern indicative of our
presence being observed. I was earnestly hoping and praying that the
eyes and the whole attention of the pirates would be turned in the
opposite direction, from whence they doubtless expected us to make our
appearance, and we subsequently learned that such was actually the case.
The moment we were fairly under cover of the island I ordered the men to
ease up on their oars, in order that they might husband their strength
as much as possible for the final dash and the ensuing struggle, which I
could see would be a severe one, and waving Courtenay to range
alongside, the next few minutes were devoted to a final settlement of
the plan of attack. I had observed that the two small feluccas were
lying inside the larger one, all three of the craft being nearly in a
straight line; and it was arranged that our three boats should, on
emerging from the shelter of the island, make a dash at the nearest, as
if about to board her, Courtenay making for the larboard side of the
vessel, whilst Fidd and I made a feint of attacking on the starboard
side. The bulk of the crew we considered would naturally, seeing this,
muster on the starboard side to oppose the strongest division of the
attacking force, thus leaving the larboard side but weakly defended, and
so rendering it a tolerably easy matter for Courtenay and his boat's
crew to gain a footing upon her deck. Having thus given the gigs what
aid we could, the launch and quarter-boat were to pass on and make for
the large felucca, leaving Courtenay to gain possession of the first
vessel attacked, to secure her crew, and then to further act according
to his own discretion.
Shortly after the completion of these arrangements we found that we were
getting into close proximity with our foes, the masts of the feluccas
opening out simultaneously from behind a high bluff, and showing over a
sloping spur or point of the island between them and ourselves. We
accordingly got the boats into line, the men braced themselves for a
dash, and in another minute or two the boats were unmasked by rounding
the point. Even then we managed to get a length or two nearer the
vessels before we were discovered, for I had given the strictest
injunctions to the men not to cheer until we heard from the feluccas,
but the roll of the oars in their rowlocks at length betrayed us, as was
announced by a shout of unmistakable dismay from the nearest felucca,
immediately succeeded by a tremendous amount of confusion and bustle on
board. Then, indeed, our lads _did_ cheer once, with an enthusiasm
which must have been eminently disconcerting to the enemy, after which
they laid down to their oars in a style which, I must confess, fairly
astonished me. We went through the water like race-horses over the
ground, dashing alongside the first felucca in so short a time that her
crew were unable to train their guns upon us, and so greeted us only
with a confused volley of musketry which hurt nobody. As we swerved
away from her, and headed for the large craft a couple of cable's-
lengths distant, I caught sight of Courtenay's head and shoulders over
the bulwarks, showing that he, gallant fellow, had already gained a
footing on her deck; and a few seconds later, amid the clash of steel
and the popping of pistols, another British cheer told us that the gigs
were all hard at it, and evidently gaining the advantage.
The crews of the other two feluccas now began to haul on their springs,
in order that their broadsides might be brought to bear upon us, but we
were too quick for them both as it happened; the second small craft
could not be got round smartly enough to do us any harm, and as for the
big one, in their hurry to annihilate us, her crew fired too high, and
their whole broadside whizzed harmlessly over our heads. We replied
effectively with our six-pounder, which was loaded with round and grape,
and pointed so high that we were enabled to fire within three fathoms of
the felucca's side, and before the smoke had cleared away we were
alongside, Fidd tackling them on the larboard side, whilst we in the
launch attacked on the starboard.
It was well for us that we had had the forethought to bring the gun with
us, for the deck of the vessel we were now attacking was crowded with
men, so crowded, indeed, that the bulwarks were closely lined on each
side to oppose us, whilst others were seen behind the first line all
ready to support their comrades, and but for the confusion created by
the timely discharge of our piece, not one of us could possibly have
lived to reach her deck. As it was, I slightly altered my plans at the
last moment, for seeing that the pirates had mustered strongly in the
waist, evidently expecting us to board there, I gave orders for the
launch to be allowed to shoot along the vessel's side until we reached
her bows, where there were fewer men to oppose us. It proved to be a
happy inspiration, for whilst we were busy forcing our way in over the
felucca's low rail, several cold shot were hove over her side amidships,
evidently with the intention of sinking the boat, but being where we
were, they of course all missed and splashed harmlessly into the water.
Poor Fidd was less fortunate than ourselves, his boat being stove the
instant she ran alongside, and for a few minutes he and his crew were in
a pretty pickle, hanging on to the bulwarks and channels, and wherever
they could gain a hold, vainly striving to force their way inboard.
Indeed, for that matter, none of us were over-comfortably situated, our
party being outnumbered in the proportion of fully four to one, with the
further disadvantage that we were _outside_ the bulwarks, whilst our
opponents were _inside_, and with a firm spacious deck to stand upon.
It was perceptible at a glance that the case was one wherein a prompt
and bold dash was necessary, for unless we could succeed in establishing
a footing at the first rush, the chances were that we should fail
altogether. I therefore hastily called to my men to reserve their
pistol-fire until they were sure of their mark, and, placing my cutlass
between my teeth and whipping a pistol from my belt, sprang for the
bulwarks the instant we touched. A great brawny fellow, whose ferocious
visage I well-remembered having seen among those of the drunken party
who boarded the _Pinta_, instantly stepped forward with an upraised axe
to oppose me, but I was fortunate enough to send a bullet crashing
through his brain ere the weapon descended, and as he staggered and fell
backwards on the deck I leapt in over the rail and gained the spot which
he had occupied. A dozen opponents at once closed in upon me, but my
second pistol accounted for one; another lost his weapon and his right
hand together by the first stroke of my cutlass; and by that time most
of the launches had gained a footing on the deck, so that we began to
make our presence felt. About this time, too, Fidd, with three or four
of his best men, were on the right side of the bulwarks; and in another
minute the entire party, or at least all those who were not killed or
desperately wounded, were on the felucca's deck, and settling down to
their work in grim earnest. And now ensued a hand-to-hand encounter of
as desperate and sanguinary a character as it has ever been my fortune
to witness, our tars on the one hand realising that if we were
vanquished very few of us would ever be allowed to escape alive from the
lagoon, whilst the pirates, of course, knew only too well that they were
fighting with halters round their necks. For fully a quarter of an hour
was the hellish conflict waged upon the deck of the felucca, our lads
now gaining a yard or two, and anon being driven back by sheer force of
numbers until our backs were pressed against the rail, and further
retreat, unless over the side, became impossible. And all the while the
air was full of the gleam and clash of steel, the crack of pistol and
musket, the tramp of feet, the heavy breathing of the combatants, with
their muttered execrations and ejaculations, the sharp cries of the
newly wounded, and the groans and moans of those who were already down,
and whose lives were being trampled out of them in the press and stress
of the strife. And, oh! the sickening odour of blood which tainted the
hot, still atmosphere, and assailed our nostrils with every gasping
breath we drew! The deck planking was slippery with the sanguinary
flood, the bulwarks were splashed with it, our hands, faces, and
clothing were bespattered with it, the scuppers were flowing with it,
for a time it almost seemed to be _raining_ blood! Faugh! the very
memory of that dreadful scene is sickening; let us say no more about it
but pass on. At length our lads--that is to say the launches and
quarter-boat's crews--managed to get the pirates fairly jammed in
between them, and then the very numbers of our foes were in our favour,
for, huddled together as they were in the waist, not half of them could
find room enough to strike an effective blow. Moreover, it became
pretty evident that they had had enough of it, and were beginning to
lose heart; instead of pressing eagerly to the front to meet us, as at
first, each man now seemed anxious only to retire into the centre of the
crowd, leaving to somebody else the glory of carrying on the defence.
Seeing this, I rallied the launches, and with them made a final and
desperate charge into the thickest of the enemy, when the rout of the
latter at once became complete, some of them flinging away their weapons
and leaping overboard, whilst others tore up the hatches and sprang
headlong into the hold. Example of this kind is always contagious; if
one gives way, another does the same, and is immediately imitated by a
third, and so it was in the present case; the panic instantly spread,
and before we well knew what was happening the two boats' crews had
joined forces, our enemies had vanished, and victory was ours.
The cheer raised by the victors was immediately responded to from the
second of the small feluccas, which we now had time to notice had, like
the first, been boarded and carried by Courtenay and his gallant little
band. My dashing shipmate had, it seemed, on capturing his first prize,
promptly clapped her crew under hatches, after which he immediately cut
her cables, loosed her canvas, and ran her on board her consort, by
which piece of skilful generalship he was enabled to board his enemy
upon equal terms, instead of having to clamber in over her bulwarks from
the boat. He was just securing his second batch of prisoners,
preparatory to bearing down to lend us a helping hand, when our cheer of
victory announced to him that his assistance was no longer necessary.
We now set to work to clap the whole of our prisoners in irons, a task
in the execution of which I anticipated a considerable amount
difficulty; but, fortunately for us, they seemed to have had quite as
much fighting as they cared for, and therefore submitted with a
tolerably good grace--or, perhaps, I ought rather to say with the apathy
of hardened men fully conscious of the fact that further resistance was
utterly unavailing. This task completed, and the whole of the captured
pirates transferred to the hold of the big felucca--round the open
hatchway of which four of her brass nine-pounders were ranged, loaded
with langridge, within view of our prisoners, and their muzzles
depressed so that they pointed right down into the interior of the
hold--our next business was to land a party for the purpose of securing
whatever booty could be found, and afterwards to destroy the various
buildings and stores of the depot. As yet we had detected no sign of
life anywhere on shore; the pirates seemed, one and all, to have betaken
themselves to their craft, apparently confident of their ability with
them to achieve an easy victory over us in the--to them--unlikely event
of our forcing a passage through the various obstructions which they had
prepared for us at different parts of the channel; but notwithstanding
this apparent absence of foes on shore I deemed it best to send a very
strong party, fully armed of course, under Courtenay's command. The
entire force of the expedition, with the exception of six hands which I
retained on board our biggest prize to keep an eye on the prisoners, was
accordingly sent away in the launch--now, unhappily, in consequence of
our numerous casualties, of ample capacity to accommodate the men
composing it--and ten minutes later we who were left behind had the
satisfaction of witnessing its unopposed landing. The launch, with two
boat-keepers in her, was shoved off a few fathoms from the beach; and
the remainder of the party, led by Courtenay, headed at once for the
buildings which crowned the highest spot in the little island.
They reached their destination unmolested, broke up into parties which
entered the various buildings, and, after an interval of some twenty
minutes, reappeared, each man loaded with evidently as much as he could
carry. The spoil--or whatever it was--was piled upon the sandy beach,
close to the water's edge; and a second journey to the buildings then
followed. Three of these journeys in all were made, and at the
conclusion of the third the launch was hailed to run in and commence
taking in cargo. That the articles shipped were tolerably weighty was
evident from the fact that the boat repeatedly needed to be pushed
further and still further astern to keep her afloat, and from the
rapidity with which she settled down in the water. It was no very long
job to transfer the goods from beach to boat; after which the men who
had been doing the work scrambled on board and took their places, the
water reaching above their waists as they waded off to her. A shrill
signal whistle was then given from the boat; a lookout on the summit of
the hill answered it with a wave of the hand and then disappeared
through the door of the principal building. A pause of a minute or two
followed, when a little party of four, Courtenay being one of them,
emerged from the various buildings and set off down the hill. By the
time that they reached the launch thin wreaths of light bluish smoke
were seen issuing from the buildings they had just left; and by the time
the launch had arrived once more alongside the felucca the smoke had
assumed a darker hue, had increased in volume and density, and was seen
to be streaked here and there with flickering tongues of flame.
"Well," said I, as Courtenay clambered in over the low bulwarks of the
felucca, "you met with no resistance, I was glad to see, and you appear
to have taken pretty effectual measures for the destruction of the
hornets' nest yonder. Did you see no sign of anybody about there?"
"No sign whatever," was the reply. "We could see all over the place
from the top of the hill, and I do not believe there is a living
creature of any description on the island. If there is, it will be so
much the worse for them half an hour hence, about which time something
very like an earthquake will take place, for I have lighted a slow match
communicating with a magazine containing about three tons of powder in
bulk, to say nothing of perhaps a couple of thousand cartridges. The
buildings are all effectually fired, as you may see; and we have brought
off a boat-load of plunder which, from its weight, I judge must consist
largely of specie, the doubloons, doubtless, of which our friend Carera
discoursed so eloquently. Now what is the next thing to be done?"
"Why," said I, "I think you had better take the wounded into the launch,
and proceed with her, just as she is, as quickly as possible to the
schooner. Turn the wounded over to Sanderson, stow your booty in the
hold, hoist in the launch, and then make sail for the mouth of the
lagoon, where I hope to fall in with you in the felucca. I shall only
be able to spare you six hands to pull the boat, but that will not
greatly matter, as I think you are not likely to be interfered with
during your passage to the schooner; and I do not wish to start short-
handed, as we may possibly have a little more fighting to do on our way
down the lagoon. Now, hurry away as fast as you can, please; those two
small craft which you so gallantly took are not worth the trouble of
carrying away; I shall therefore fire them and then get under way
forthwith."
The painful task of moving the wounded was then undertaken; and it was
most distressing to see how severe our loss had been. Out of a total of
thirty-six, all told, which had left the schooner in the boats, five
only had escaped uninjured--Courtenay and I had both been hurt, though
nothing to speak of--nine were killed, and thirteen so severely wounded
as to be unfit for duty.
Having at length seen the launch fairly under weigh for the schooner, I
sent Fidd away with four hands in the gig to fire our two smaller
prizes--a task which was soon accomplished, as the vessels were lying
alongside each other. The felucca's canvas was then loosed, her anchor
was roused up to her bows, and we got under weigh.
We had not proceeded further than a couple of miles down the lagoon
before--as I had quite expected--we came upon a battery constructed upon
a small projecting spit; which battery, had we been passing _up_ instead
of _down_ the lagoon, could have raked us fore and aft for at least
twenty minutes, and peppered us with grape for another ten, without our
being able to fire a single shot in return. This battery was a hastily
constructed affair of sods, and it mounted only one gun, but that gun
was a long eighteen; and had we removed the chain barrier which formed
the first obstruction, and persevered in our original attempt to pass up
the lagoon, there can be no doubt that this gun would have destroyed the
schooner and all hands. The people who manned the battery could not
possibly have failed to hear the firing that had been going on at the
head of the lagoon; but they seemed to have failed to comprehend its
full significance, and, therefore, to have been unable to make up their
minds to slue the gun round and point it in the opposite direction.
This state of indecision on their part not only enabled us to approach
them with impunity but also to take them in flank; and a couple of
rounds of grape from the felucca so astonished and demoralised them that
those who were not killed or disabled by our fire incontinently
abandoned the battery and sought safety in flight to the deepest
recesses of the bush which lined the shore.
Fidd, with a dozen hands, then jumped into the schooner's gig, which had
been towing astern of the felucca, and shoved off with the object of
destroying the battery; and we now had another specimen of the ability
with which the defences of the lagoon had been planned; for, on
approaching the battery, it was found to be bordered on three sides by a
bank of ooze, some ten fathoms broad, which ooze proved to be of such a
consistency that, whilst it was much too liquid and too deep to permit
of a man wading through it, it was at the same time so thick as to
render the passage of a boat through it almost impossible. It took the
crew of the gig more than twenty minutes to force the boat through this
semi-liquid mass, they exerting themselves to their utmost, meanwhile;
so that, had the schooner, in passing up the lagoon, managed to survive
the fire of the gun, any attempt to storm the battery with the aid of
boats must have resulted in irretrievable disaster. However, Fidd and
his blue-jackets managed to reach _terra firma_ eventually; and it was
then the work of only a few minutes to capsize the gun and all its
appurtenances over the edge of the bank into the ooze, where the whole
was instantly swallowed up.
Meanwhile, the felucca, slowly drifting down the lagoon, encountered--at
a distance of some fifty fathoms below the battery--another obstacle, in
the shape of a second chain, similar to the former, stretched across the
channel, which rendered our further progress impossible until the
barrier had been removed. This--there being nobody to interfere with
our actions--was soon done; and we then passed on, meeting with no
further obstruction until we came to the first chain. This, like the
one previously passed, was removed by casting off both ends and allowing
the whole affair to sink to the bottom of the lagoon--where it was
doubtless instantly swallowed up by the mud--and in less than half an
hour afterwards we found ourselves clear of the terrible lagoons
altogether and fairly in Santa Clara Bay, where we fell in with the
_Foam_, hove to and waiting for us.
It was by this time within an hour of sunset; so, as I was anxious to
get into open water before nightfall, it was arranged that we should go
out to sea through the Manou Channel and Cardenas Bay, as we had before
done in the _Pinta_; and the passage was accomplished without mishap;
Diana Cay being passed on our larboard hand, and the vessels' heads
being laid north by east just as the first stars began to twinkle out
from the darkening blue above us.
Shortly after this it fell calm; and advantage was taken of the brief
period of inactivity preceding the springing up of the land-breeze to
apportion the few effective hands remaining to us as fairly as possible
between the schooner and her prize, the latter being, of course, put
under Courtenay's command, with Pottle, the quarter-master, as
lieutenants, gun-room officers, and midshipmen all rolled into one.
Courtenay's crew, with their kits and hammocks, were transferred to the
felucca in good time to fill on her and stand on in the wake of the
_Foam_ with the first of the land-breeze; and then, with Pottle in
temporary charge of the prize, and Tompion keeping a lookout on the deck
of the schooner, Courtenay and I, more firmly knit together than ever by
the trying events of the day we had just passed through, sat down to
talk matters quietly over together while we discussed the very
creditable dinner which the steward had provided for us.
On the following morning the melancholy task of burying our dead was
performed, both vessels being hove to, with their colours' hoisted half-
mast high, during the ceremony; and I think it was a very great relief
to all hands when, the poor fellows--ten in all, including O'Flaherty--
having been consigned with all solemnity to their last resting-place
beneath the heaving billow, we were able to fill away again and resume
our course to the northward and eastward.
Noon that day found us three miles to windward of the Anguilas, situate
at the south-east extremity of the Cay Sal Bank; and an hour later the
lookout on board the _Foam_ reported a sail, apparently a large
schooner, on our weather-beam, running up the Old Channel under easy
canvas. The breeze was then blowing rather fresh at about east by
north, the _Foam_ thrashing along with her lee covering-board awash, her
royal stowed, and her topmasts whipping about like a couple of fishing-
rods; whilst the felucca was about three miles ahead of us and broad on
our weather bow, going two feet to our one, and weathering on us at
every plunge. We were consequently sailing at right angles to the
stranger, and rather drawing away from the line of her course than
otherwise; yet such was the speed with which she came along that in half
an hour she was hull-up from our deck. It now became apparent that she
was manifesting a certain amount of curiosity as to who and what we
might happen to be; for instead of gradually revealing her starboard
broadside to us, as she would have done had she held on her original
course, she was gradually hauling her wind by keeping her bowsprit
pointed straight for us. I was at first disposed to regard her as
English, but the enormous spread of her lower and topsail-yards
convinced me, upon her nearer approach, that I was mistaken. That same
peculiarity of rig was a strong argument against the assumption of her
being French; and, considerably puzzled what to make of her, I sent for
my glass, in order to get a clearer view of her. By the time that the
instrument had been brought on deck and put into my hand she was within
four miles of us; and a single glance through the telescope sufficed to
tell me who and what she was. Yes, there could be no doubt about it;
the craft running down so rapidly toward us was none other than
Merlani's schooner, the identical craft Courtenay and I had seen hove
down on the occasion of our visit to the Conconil lagoons.
Here was a pretty kettle of fish, indeed! The fellow's decks would, of
course, be crowded with men, whilst I had not enough hands to man a
single broadside, supposing even that I sent every available man to the
guns, leaving the canvas to take care of itself! And as for Courtenay,
he was even worse off than myself. I was puzzled what to do for the
best; for I felt that a single false move at such a juncture, and in the
presence of such an enemy, might involve us in absolute ruin. A hurried
consultation with the boatswain and gunner, however, decided me to put a
bold face upon the affair and "brazen it out;" in accordance with which
resolution our ensign and pennant were hoisted, the topgallant-sail was
clewed up and furled, and the gaff-topsail hauled down and stowed.
Courtenay very smartly followed suit in the matter of showing his
colours, tacking at the same time and edging down toward us. This
evidently shook the nerves of our unwelcome neighbour somewhat; he
seemed to think two to one rather long odds, for he immediately bore
away far enough to show us his gaff-end clear of his topsail, when he at
once ran up the stars and stripes. With this display of bunting we, of
course, feigned to be perfectly satisfied, and each vessel held on her
course, Merlani, doubtless, chuckling to think how smartly he had
hoodwinked us, whilst we were only too pleased at having got out of the
difficulty so easily. On Courtenay rounding to under our stern it
appeared that he, too, believed the strange craft to be Merlani's
schooner; like me, he had been temporarily thrown off his balance; and
like me, also, he had just come to the conclusion that a bold front was
the proper game to play, when the sight of our colours and our
shortening of sail gave him his cue, and he had forthwith put down his
helm and come round to take his part in the game of braggadocio.
This incident of our rencontre with Merlani (for we subsequently learned
that it actually _was_ he) was the last occurrence worthy of record
which befell us on our somewhat eventful cruise; for after losing sight
of the suspected schooner we never fell in with another sail of any
description until we entered Port Royal harbour, where we arrived, after
a pleasant but somewhat tardy passage, exactly one week after our fight
in the Conconil lagoons. I may as well here state, parenthetically,
that, under Sanderson's skilful hands and assiduous care, all the
wounded, myself included, did marvellously well; and though some of the
poor fellows, on arrival, had to be removed to the hospital, every one
of them eventually recovered. As for me, contrary to all expectation
the excitement and exertion to which I had been unavoidably exposed did
me no harm whatever; and on the morning of our arrival I was able to
dispense with the cumbersome and unsightly swathing of turban-like
bandages which I had up to then been compelled to wear, a liberal
application of sticking-plaster being all that I thenceforward required
until my wound was completely healed.
Our black pilot berthed us, at my request, close under the guns of the
flag-ship; and our anchor had scarcely taken a fair grip of the ground
before I found myself seated in the stern-sheets of my gig, with my
carefully written report in my hand, _en route_ for an interview with
the admiral I found the old gentleman on the quarter-deck of the _Mars_,
up and down which he was stumping in evidently no very amiable mood.
Something or other, I forget what, had put his temper out of joint; and
he was expressing himself with a freedom, vigour, and fluency of
language which I have seldom heard equalled, certainly never surpassed.
He was inclined to be ironical, too; for on my presenting myself before
him he brought up abruptly, and, surveying me fiercely for a moment,
exclaimed:
"Well, young gentleman, pray, who may you be, and what do you want, if I
may venture so far as to make the inquiry?"
"I am Mr Lascelles, sir, of the schooner _Foam_, just arrived; and I
have come on board to make my report," I replied.
"Oh!" said he, somewhat less sternly, "you are Mr Lascelles, of the
schooner _Foam_, are you? And pray, sir, where is Mr O'Flaherty, that
you should find it necessary to discharge his functions? He is not
wounded, I hope?"
"I regret to say, sir, that he is dead," said I.
"Dead!" he repeated; "tut, tut; that is bad news, indeed. Here, come
into my cabin with me, and sit down; you look as pale as a ghost, and
have been wounded yourself, if that fag-end of sticking-plaster which I
see projecting beneath the rim of your hat has any significance. There,
take a chair, help yourself to a glass of wine, and make yourself
comfortable," he continued, as we reached his cool, roomy cabin. "Give
me your report, and let me have a short verbal account of how you got on
and what has befallen you. You brought in a prize with you, I see, and
a very fine craft of her class she seems to be. There, now, fire away
with your yarn."
I refreshed myself with a sip of the old gentleman's very excellent
Madeira, and then proceeded to give him an outline of the principal
events of our cruise, my narrative being frequently broken in upon by
him with questions of a decidedly searching character in reference to
such matters as seemed to him to require further elucidation.
At the close of my narrative the old gentleman rose from his seat and
shook me warmly by the hand, exclaiming:
"Well done, my dear boy; well done! You have behaved admirably, and
with a discretion far beyond your years. Had I known as much at the
outset as I do now I need not have sent Mr O'Flaherty at all. Poor
fellow! he was a good officer and a brave man, none braver, but he was
rash. He had seen a great deal of boat service, and I thought--well,
well! never mind. It is a pity he gave the alarm to those feluccas so
prematurely, though. I am very pleased with you, young gentleman, and
with your shipmate too--very pleased indeed. You got out of two bad
scrapes very cleverly, to say nothing of the way in which you afterwards
weathered upon the arch-pirate himself. Ha! ha! that was neatly done,
upon my word. You did quite right, my boy, not to turn your stern to
him. Never turn tail to an enemy, even though he be big enough to eat
you, until the very last moment, nor then, if you think you have the
ghost of a chance of thrashing him. Which does not mean, however, that,
when retreat is necessary, you are to stay until it is too late and be
eaten. I should have liked to see the fellow chuckling to himself as he
thought how cleverly he had hoodwinked you. Poor chap! he little
dreamed that you were walking off with all his hard-earned savings
snugly stowed away beneath your cabin-floor. And it shall not be so
very long, please God, before we will have him also and his crew safe in
irons. Well, well! Now, be off aboard your hooker again, and see all
ready for turning over the prisoners and the plunder; and, harkye,
youngster, come and dine with me at the Penn to-night. Seven, sharp!
and give my compliments to your shipmate, and say I shall be glad to see
him too."