THE NEW FIRST LIEUTENANT
When the boat of the Revenge was pulled back to that vessel Bonnet did
not go in it; it was Blackbeard who sat in the stern and held the
tiller, while one of his own men sat by him.
When Blackbeard stepped on deck he announced, much to the delight of the
crew and the consternation of Paul Bittern, that the Revenge now
belonged to him, and that all the crew who were fit to be kept on board
such a fine vessel would be retained, and that he himself, for the
present at least, would take command of the ship, would haul down that
brand-new bit of woman's work at the masthead and fly in its place his
own black, ragged Jolly Roger, dreaded wherever seen upon the sea. At
this a shout went up from the crew; the heart of every scoundrel among
them swelled with joy at the idea of sailing, fighting, and pillaging
under the bloody Blackbeard.
But the sailing-master stood aghast. He had known very well what was
going to happen; he had talked it all over in the town with Blackbeard;
he had drunk in fiery brandy to the success of the scheme, and he had
believed without a doubt that he was to command the Revenge when Bonnet
should be deposed. And now where was he? Where did he stand?
Trembling a little, he approached Blackbeard. "And as for me," he asked;
"am I to command your old vessel?"
"You!" roared Blackbeard, making as if he would jump upon him; "you! You
may fall to and bend your back with the others in the forecastle, or you
can jump overboard if you like. My quarter-master, Richards, now
commands my old vessel. Presently I shall go over and settle things on
that bark, but first I shall step down into the cabin and see what rare
good things Sir Nightcap, the sugar-planter, has prepared for me."
With this he went below, followed by the man he had brought with him.
It was Dickory, half dazed by what he had heard, who now stepped up to
Paul Bittern. The latter, his countenance blacker than it had ever been
before, first scowled at him, but in a moment the ferocity left his
glance.
"Oho!" he said, "here's a pretty pickle for me and you, as well as for
Bonnet and the Scotchman!"
"Do you suppose," exclaimed Dickory, "that what he says is true? That
he has stolen this ship from Captain Bonnet, and that he has taken it
for his own?"
"Suppose!" sneered the other, "I know it. He has stolen from me as well
as from Bonnet. I should have commanded this ship, and I had made all my
plans to do it when I got here."
"Then you are as great a rascal," said Dickory, "as that vile pirate
down below."
"Just as great," said Bittern, "the only difference being that he has
won everything while I have lost everything."
"What are we to do!" asked Dickory. "I cannot stay here, and I am sure
you will not want to. Now, while he is below, can we not slip overboard
and swim ashore? I am sure I could do it."
Black Paul grinned grimly. "But where should we swim to?" he said. "On
the coast of Honduras there is no safety for a man who flees from
Blackbeard. But keep your tongue close; he is coming."
The moment Blackbeard put his foot upon the deck he began to roar out
his general orders.
"I go over to the bark," he said, "and shall put my mate here in charge
of her. After that I go to my own vessel, and when I have settled
matters there I will return to this fine ship, where I shall strut about
the quarter-deck and live like a prince at sea. Now look ye, youngster,
what is your name?"
"Charter," replied Dickory grimly.
"Well then, Charter," the pirate continued, "I shall leave you in charge
of this vessel until I come back, which will be before dark."
"Me!" exclaimed Dickory in amazement.
"Yes, you," said the pirate. "I am sure you don't know anything about a
ship any more than your master did, but he got on very well, and so may
you. And now, remember, your head shall pay for it if everything is not
the same when I come back as it is now."
Thereupon this man of piratical business was rowed to the bark, quite
satisfied that he left behind him no one who would have the power to
tamper with his interests. He knew the crew, having bound most of them
to him on the preceding night, and he trusted every one of them to obey
the man he had set over them and no other. As Dickory would have no
orders to give, there would be no need of obedience, and Black Paul
would have no chance to interfere with anything.
* * * * *
When Bonnet had been left by Blackbeard--who, having said all he had to
say, hurried up the companion-way to attend to the rest of his
plans--the stately naval officer who had so recently occupied the bench
by the table shrunk into a frightened farmer, gazing blankly at Ben
Greenway.
"Think you, Ben," he said in half a voice, "that this is one of that
man's jokes! I have heard that he has a fearful taste for horrid
jokes."
The Scotchman shook his head. "Joke! Master Bonnet," he exclaimed, "it
is no joke. He has ta'en your ship from ye; he has ta'en from ye your
sword, your pistols, an' your wicked black flag, an' he has made evil
impossible to ye. He has ta'en from ye the shame an' the wretched
wickedness o' bein' a pirate. Think o' that, Master Bonnet, ye are no
longer a pirate. That most devilish o' all demons has presarved the rest
o' your life from the dishonour an' the infamy which ye were labourin'
to heap upon it. Ye are a poor mon now, Master Bonnet; that Beelzebub
will strip from ye everything ye had, all your riches shall be his. Ye
can no longer afford to be a pirate; ye will be compelled to be an
honest mon. An' I tell ye that my soul lifteth itsel' in thanksgivin'
an' my heart is happier than it has been since that fearsome day when ye
went on board your vessel at Bridgetown."
"Ben," said Bonnet, "it is hard and it is cruel, that in this, the time
of my great trouble, you turn upon me. I have been robbed; I have been
ruined; my life is of no more use to me, and you, Ben Greenway, revile
me while that I am prostrate."
"Revile!" said the Scotchman. "I glory, I rejoice! Ye hae been
converted, ye hae been changed, ye hae been snatched from the jaws o'
hell. Moreover, Master Bonnet, my soul was rejoiced even before that
master de'il came to set ye free from your toils. To look upon ye an'
see that, although ye called yoursel' a pirate, ye were no like ane o'
these black-hearted cut-throats. Ye were never as wicked, Master Bonnet,
as ye said ye were!"
"You are mistaken," groaned Bonnet; "I tell you, Ben Greenway, you are
mistaken; I am just as wicked as I ever was. And I was very wicked, as
you should admit, knowing what I have done. Oh, Ben, Ben! Is it true
that I shall never go on board my good ship again?"
And with this he spread his arms upon the table and laid his head upon
them. He felt as if his career was ended and his heart broken. Ben
Greenway said no more to comfort him, but at that moment he himself was
the happiest man on the Caribbean Sea. He seated himself in the little
dirty cabin, and his soul saw visions. He saw his master, deprived of
all his belongings, and with them of every taint of piracy, and put on
shore, accompanied, of course, by his faithful servant. He saw a ship
sail, perhaps soon, perhaps later, for Jamaica; he saw the blithe
Mistress Kate, her soul no longer sorrowing for an erring father, come
on board that vessel and sail with him for good old Bridgetown. He saw
everything explained, everything forgotten. He saw before the dear old
family a life of happiness--perhaps he saw the funeral of Madam
Bonnet--and, better than all, he saw the pirate dead, the good man
revived again.
To be sure, he did not see Dickory Charter returning to his old home
with his mother, for he could not know what Blackbeard was going to do
with that young fellow; but as Dickory had thought of him when he had
escaped with Kate from the Revenge, so thought he now of Dickory. There
were so many other important things which bore upon the situation that
he was not able even to consider the young fellow.
It did not take very long for a man of practical devilishness, such as
Blackbeard was, to finish the business which had called him away, and he
soon reappeared in the cabin.
"Ho there! good Sir Nightcap--an I may freely call you that since now I
own you, uniform, cocked hat, title, and everything else--don't cry
yourself to sleep like a baby when its toys are taken away from it, but
wake up. I have a bit of liking for you, and I believe that that is
because you are clean. Not having that virtue myself, I admire it the
more in others, and I thank you from my inmost soul--wherever that may
be--for having provided such comely quarters and such fair
accommodations for me while I shall please to sail the Revenge. But I
shall not condemn you to idleness and cankering thoughts, my bold
blusterer, my terror of the sea, my harrier of the coast, my flaunter of
the Jolly Roger washed clean in the tub with soap; I shall give you
work to do which shall better suit you than the troublesome trade you've
been trying to learn. You write well and read, I know that, my good Sir
Nightcap; and, moreover, you are a fair hand at figures. I have great
work before me in landing and selling the fine cargoes you have brought
me, and in counting and dividing the treasure you have locked in your
iron-bound chests. And you shall attend to all that, my reformed
cutthroat, my regenerated sea-robber. You shall have a room of your own,
where you can take off that brave uniform and where you can do your work
and keep your accounts and so shall be happier than you ever were
before, feeling that you are in your right place."
To all this Stede Bonnet did not answer a word; he did not even raise
his head.
"And now for you, my chaplain," said Blackbeard, suddenly turning toward
Ben Greenway, "what would you like? Would it suit you better to go
overboard or to conduct prayers for my pious crew?"
"I would stay wi' my master," said the Scotchman quietly.
The pirate looked steadily at Greenway. "Oho!" said he, "you are a
sturdy fellow, and have a mind to speak from. Being so stiff yourself,
you may be able to stiffen a little this rag of a master of yours and
help him to understand the work he has to do, which he will bravely do,
I ween, when he finds that to be my clerk is his career. Ha! ha! Sir
Nightcap, the pirate of the pen and ink!"
Deeply sunk these words into Stede Bonnet's heart, but he made no sign.
When Blackbeard went back to the Revenge he took with him all of his own
effects which he cared for, and he also took the ex-pirate's uniform,
cocked hat, and sword. "I may have use for them," he said, "and my clerk
can wear common clothes like common people."
When her new commander reached the Revenge, Dickory immediately
approached him and earnestly besought him that he might be sent to join
Captain Bonnet and Ben Greenway. "They are my friends," said Dickory,
"and I have none here, and I have brought a message to Captain Bonnet
from his daughter, and it is urgently necessary that I return with one
from him to her. I must instantly endeavour to find a ship which is
bound for Jamaica and sail upon her. I have nothing to do with this
ship, having come on board of her simply to carry my message, and it
behooves me that I return quickly to those who sent me, else injury may
come of it."
"I like your speech, my boy, I like your speech!" cried Blackbeard, and
he roared out a big laugh. "'Urgently necessary' you must do this, you
must do that. It is so long since I have heard such words that they come
to me like wine from a cool vault."
At this Dickory flushed hot, but he shut his mouth.
"You are a brave fellow," cried Blackbeard, "and above the common, you
are above the common. There is that in your eye that could never be seen
in the eye of a sugar-planter. You will make a good pirate."
"Pirate!" cried Dickory, losing all sense of prudence. "I would sooner
be a wild beast in the forest than to be a pirate!"
Blackbeard laughed loudly. "A good fellow, a brave fellow!" he cried.
"No man who has not the soul of a pirate within him could stand on his
legs and speak those words to me. Sail to Jamaica to carry messages to
girls? Never! You shall stay with me, you shall be a pirate. You shall
be the head of all the pirates when I give up the business and take to
sugar-planting. Ha! ha! When I take to sugar-planting and merrily make
my own good rum!"
Dickory was dismayed. "But, Captain Blackbeard," he said, with more
deference than before, "I cannot."
"Cannot!" shouted the pirate, "you lie, you can. Say not cannot to me;
you can do anything I tell you, and do it you shall. And now I am going
to put you in your place, and see that you hold it and fill it. An if
you please me not, you carry no more messages in this world, nor receive
them. Charter, I now make you the first officer of the Revenge under me.
You cannot be mate because you know nothing of sailing a ship, and
besides no mate nor any quarter-master is worthy to array himself as I
shall array you. I make you first lieutenant, and you shall wear the
uniform and the cocked hat which Sir Nightcap hath no further use for."
With that he went forward to speak to some of the men, leaving Dickory
standing speechless, with the expression of an infuriated idiot. Black
Paul stepped up to him.
"How now, youngster," said the ex-sailing-master, "first officer, eh? If
you look sharp, you may find yourself in fine feather."
"No, I will not," answered Dickory. "I will have nothing to do with this
black pirate; I will not serve under him, I will not take charge of
anything for him. I am ashamed to talk with him, to be on the same ship
with him. I serve good people, the best and noblest in the world, and I
will not enter any service under him."
"Hold ye, hold ye!" said Black Paul, "you will not serve the good people
you speak of by going overboard with a bullet in your head; think of
that, youngster. It is a poor way of helping your friends by quitting
the world and leaving them in the lurch."
At this moment Blackbeard returned, and when he saw Bittern he roared at
him: "Out of that, you sea-cat, and if I see you again speaking to my
lieutenant, I'll slash your ears for you. In the next boat which leaves
this ship I shall send you to one of the others; I will have no
sneaking schemer on board the Revenge. Get ye for'ad, get ye for'ad, or
I shall help ye with my cutlass!"
And the man who had safely brought two good ships, richly laden, into
the harbour of Belize, and who had given Blackbeard the information
which made him understand the character of Captain Bonnet and how easy
it would be to take possession of his person and his vessels, and who
had done everything in his power to enable the black-hearted pirate to
secure to himself Bonnet's property and crews, and who had only asked in
return an actual command where before he had commanded in fact though
not in name, fled away from the false confederate to whom he had just
given wealth and increased prestige.
The last words of the unfortunate Bittern sunk quickly and deeply into
the heart of Dickory. If he should really go overboard with a bullet in
his brain, farewell to Kate Bonnet, farewell to his mother! He was yet a
very young man, and it had been but a little while since he had been
wandering barefooted over the ships at Bridgetown, selling the fruit of
his mother's little farm. Since that he had loved and lived so long that
he could not calculate the period, and now he was a man and stood
trembling at the point where he was to decide to begin life as a pirate
or end everything. Before Blackbeard had turned his lowering visage
from his retreating benefactor, Dickory had decided that, whatever might
happen, he would not of his own free-will leave life and fair Kate
Bonnet.
"And so you are to be my first lieutenant," said Blackbeard, his face
relaxing. "I am glad of that. There was nothing needed on this ship but
a decent man. I have put one on my old vessel, and if there were another
to be found in the Gulf of Honduras, I'd clap him on that goodly bark.
Now, sir, down to your berth, and don your naval finery. You're always
to wear it; you're not fit to wear the clothes of a real sailor, and I
have no landsman's toggery on this ship."
Dickory bowed--he could not speak--and went below. When next he appeared
on deck he wore the ex-Captain Bonnet's uniform and the tall plumed hat.
"It is for Kate's sweet sake," he said to himself as he mounted the
companion-way; "for her sake I'd wear anything, I'd do anything, if only
I may see her again."
When the new first lieutenant showed himself upon the quarter-deck there
was a general howl from the crew, and peal after peal of derisive
laughter rent the air.
Then Blackbeard stepped quietly forward and ordered eight of the jeerers
to be strung up and flogged.
"I would like you all to remember," said the master pirate, "that when I
appoint an officer on this ship, there is to be no sneering at him nor
any want of respect, and it strikes me that I shall not have to say
anything more on the subject--to this precious crew, at any rate."
The next day lively times began on board the two rich prizes which the
pirate Blackbeard had lately taken. There had been scarcely more hard
work and excitement, cursing and swearing when the rich freight had been
taken from the merchantmen which had originally carried it. Poor
Bonnet's pen worked hard at lists and calculations, for Blackbeard was a
practical man, and not disposed to loose and liberal dealings with
either his men or the tradefolk ashore.
At times the troubled and harassed mind of the former captain of the
Revenge would have given way under the strain had not Ben Greenway
stayed bravely by him; who, although a slow accountant, was sure, and a
great help to one who, in these times of hurry and flurry, was extremely
rapid and equally uncertain. Blackbeard was everywhere, anxious to
complete the unloading and disposal of his goods before the weather
changed; but, wherever he went, he remembered that upon the quarter-deck
of his fine new ship, the Revenge, there was one who, knowing nothing of
nautical matters, was above all suspicion of nautical interferences, and
who, although having no authority, represented the most powerful
nautical commander in all those seas.