THE PIRATE SPEAKS FOR HIMSELF.
The next morning was one of pleasant bustle in the island home. The
little household was astir early. And directly after breakfast they went
about preparing to receive their company.
Justin went out with his tackle to the little creek making up from the
cove, where at this season he could catch fine fish.
Britomarte began to sweep and dust the parlor, and to arrange the
furniture and put fresh flowers in the vases. These vases, by the way,
were of wickerwork, woven by Justin from the fibres of the palm leaves,
and provided with wooden cups hollowed out from blocks of palm logs, to
hold the water for the flowers.
Judith, in the kitchen, was up to her eyes in pastry, jelly and custard.
“Sure it is a blissing intirely that I was so saving of the sugar, using
the sweet sap from the canes in the swamp as offen as iver I could to
make it last. And a notable favor iv Crummie not to go dhry. True for
ye, ma’am, wid the sugar, and the milk, and the eggs, and the fresh
fruit itself I can make a dessert fit for the royal family to sit down
to, let alone the dinner that will go before it, wid fresh fish and ham,
and roast chicken and pigeon pie. And the idea iv our having company to
dinner, ma’am. Sure it’s in a dhrame I’m thinking I am all the time.
Plaise, ma’am, will ye be so good as to pinch me, to see if I’m awake
itself?” said Judith to Miss Conyers, who had come into the kitchen for
more water for her flowers.
“Don’t you think if you were to put your finger to the hot stove, it
would do as well, Judith?” laughed Britomarte.
“Faix, no, ma’am. I niver could abide a burn. And troth if it is a
dhrame itself, I don’t know as I care to wake. To think I used to say,
whin we came into this new house, that if we had only one neighbor
living across the fields there some-ers, where we could go and take tay
oncet in a while, it would be pleasanter like. And sure now me words are
coming thrue, for if we haven’t a neighbor itself to come and take tay
wid us, we have a company iv gintlemen and officers coming to dine wid
us. Troth, it is a dhrame, sure enough.”
Miss Conyers left Judith to her work and her wanderings of fancy, and
returned to the parlor to complete the decorations of that pleasant
room.
By and by Justin returned with a large string of fresh fish, which he
took into the kitchen and handed over to Judith.
As he left the kitchen, he met, coming out of the opposite door, the
pirate captain.
“Ah, you feel better to-day. You feel able to be up?” said Justin.
“Yes. Come in, I want a word with you,” said the man.
Justin went into his bedroom, which, for the last two days, had been
almost entirely given up to the prisoner.
“Well?” said Justin, taking a chair and seating himself.
“Well,” said the prisoner, throwing himself into another chair, “there
is a Yankee man-of-war in the cove below.”
“The United States sloop of war _Xyphias_, commanded by Captain Yetsom,
is out there.”
“Exactly. And the officers are all coming here to dine to-day?”
“The captain, and as many officers as he can bring, are coming.”
“Precisely. So I understood from the gabble of the women flying past my
door. Now I tell you what, Mr. Rosenthal, I wish to surrender myself to
the captain of the _Xyphias_.”
“You will do well,” said Justin, with a feeling of intense relief; “that
will be your best possible course, and it will save me from the
distressing duty of delivering up a man whom I have sheltered in his
need and nursed in his illness.”
“And shaken and choked in his cups, and handcuffed and locked up in his
sleep, ha! ha! ha! ho! ho! ho!” laughed the man.
“It was the monster who proclaimed himself a rebel and a pirate, boasted
himself a throat-cutter and a shipsinker, that I took care of in that
way. Such a monster was not to be let loose upon two helpless women, who
had not even the means of securely barricading their doors against him,”
calmly replied Justin.
“Ha! ha! ha! Ho! ho! ho! Yes, when I’m in liquor I’m always a monster by
my own account. I have then a mad delight in inspiring fear, horror and
detestation.”
“Then you must expect unpleasant consequences from indulging in such a
mad delight. But how could I know then, how can I know now, whether you
spoke the truth of yourself or not?”
“By my word of honor to the contrary, given in my sober senses, if you
choose to take it. If you do not, I have no other way at hand to
convince you. Did even my mutinous crew accuse me of anything worse than
taking a little too much?”
“No!”
“And then again, the lady saw through me better; but it is true that
women are keener sighted than we are.”
“Why did you not say all these things to me long ago? If you had, your
captivity would have been very much ameliorated,” said Justin,
regretfully.
“Why? Can a brave man ask? Do you suppose that I was going to explain
and apologize and supplicate my captor? I’ll tell you what, so far from
that, if I could have got loose I should have killed you!”
“Or tried to do it, you mean. You used some bad language on waking up
and finding yourself fettered.”
“Yes, I ‘cussed sum,’ as the darkies say; that’s a fact.”
“Why do you make now the explanations you have withheld to your hurt for
six months?”
“Why again? Can a good man ask? It is because you brought me in from the
storm, struck the fetters from my wrists, gave me your own clothes, laid
me upon your own bed, and nursed me like a brother. That’s the reason
why I have explained to you first. In any case, I should have to give a
true account of myself to the captain of the _Xyphias_, to whom I intend
to surrender.”
“Then you are not really what you reported yourself to be?”
“What exactly did I report myself to be—Captain Kidd?” laughed the man.
“A pirate! throat-cutter! ship-burner!”
“Ha, ha, ha! Rebel I am, since you dub as such the commanders of all
Confederate privateers. But I never cut a throat or burned a ship in my
life! I never harmed a woman or child in my life, or man either, for
that matter, except in fair fight!”
“I am glad to hear you say so. I hope you will be able to convince
Captain Yetsom of the truth of your statement. You had better surrender
to him as soon as he arrives. I will give you an opportunity of doing so
in the parlor! After you have made your case clear to the captain, I
shall be glad to have you join us at dinner. There is my wardrobe—a
limited one, indeed—at your disposal. All that can be expected of us
Crusoes is cleanliness. We have none of us swallow-tailed coats or kid
gloves to go to dinner in,” laughed Justin.
“Thank you; they would be an inconvenience if we had them, especially
the kid gloves. Do you know when the ship sails again?”
“In three or four days. She is anchored here for repairs of injuries
received in the late gale.”
“And your party goes with her, of course?”
“Yes. We shouldn’t like to stay here and chance the coming of another
ship.”
“Whither goes she?”
“Cruising after privateers.”
“After privateers! I’ll be——” (and here the captain swore a tremendous
oath) “if I don’t hope she’ll overhaul the _Sea Scourge_! That has
turned pirate unquestionably, and I should like to see all those
mutinous rascals hung in a row from the yard arms.”
“The arms would break with their weight,” laughed Justin.
“Then they’d be killed by the fall, and that would be just as well.”
The cheerful bustle of a numerous arrival startled Justin, and with a
nod to the rebel sailor, he left the room and hurried to the hall door
to receive his guests.
There was the florid captain, the two lieutenants, the chaplain, the
surgeon, the doctor and the purser—a party of six, come to dine with
Justin.
“How do you do? how do you do?” said the captain, heartily shaking
Justin’s offered hands. “That pair of fowls was delicious, I tell you;
and the fish and eggs were a fine addition to my breakfast this morning.
Let me introduce these gentlemen: the Rev. Mr. White, ship’s chaplain;
Lieutenant Ethel, you know; Lieutenant Robins; Dr. Brown, ship’s
surgeon; Mr. Bruce, ship’s purser. Gentlemen, Mr. Rosenthal.”
Having accomplished this introduction with a great deal of ceremony, the
captain, with his officers, followed his host into the parlor, where
there was another introduction—namely, to Miss Conyers, who received the
party with graceful courtesy.
“And now, Mr. Rosenthal,” said the captain, as soon as they were all
seated, “my men with the boat are down below there waiting your orders
concerning the shipping of those provisions you talked of. If you will
send one of your hands to show them where they are, they will go to work
immediately.”
“You forget,” said Justin, smiling, “that I have no hands but those with
which nature has provided me. I should not like to part with either of
them. But, if you will be good enough to excuse me for fifteen minutes,
and allow Miss Conyers to entertain you, I will go and show the men
where the provisions are stored, and set them to work.”
“Do so, then, my young friend! Of course, we will excuse you for so good
a work,” said the captain.
Justin bowed and left the room. But, before leaving the house, he put
his head into the bedroom door and looked to see if the rebel captain
was ready for the interview with the Union officer. He saw Captain
Spear, with his head in the wash-basin, engaged in a very much-needed
ablution.
“You will be ready in fifteen minutes?” inquired Justin.
“Yes, or in twenty.”
“Then I will come for you.”
“Thank you.”
Justin hurried down to the beach where the boat was waiting, called the
men to follow him and took them to the mountain grotto, where his
provisions were stored; set them to work at its removal, and then went
back to the house.
He found the rebel captain all ready to go in the parlor.
“You will remain here a few minutes while I go to Captain Yetsom and
prepare him to see you. Remember that he has not even heard of your
presence here yet.”
“And my sudden appearance might kill him with joy! Is that it? Well, go
and break the news gently, Mr. Rosenthal,” laughed the rebel,
sarcastically.
Justin went into the parlor.
“Back already!” exclaimed the jolly captain of the _Xyphias_.
“Yes, and I have some news to tell you!”
“News! what, on this place? It must be that Columbus has discovered
America, or the Dutch taken Holland.”
“No; but it is that we have taken the captain of the _Sea Scourge_!”
“Lord bless my soul and body! man, are you mad?”
“No, nor dreaming. We have taken the captain of the _Sea Scourge_!”
“Taken the captain of the _Sea Scourge_? We know that he was reported
cruising about in these latitudes, lying in wait for East Indiamen; but
we have seen nothing of him; there was no _Sea Scourge_ nor any other
ship in sight when we anchored here, or when we came ashore.”
“And yet we have the notorious sea rover.”
“Spear?”
“Yes, Spear.”
“Bosh, man, you are jesting with us! You mean that you have him in his
photograph, or something.”
“No; I mean that I have him in person.”
“Then there must be some other play upon the words. Have Spear
personally present on this remote Indian isle! You might as well boast
that you have Davis here!—as you may have in his ambrotype, just as you
have Spear.”
“I assure you that the captain of the _Sea Scourge_ is on this island,
in this house, and waiting to surrender himself to you!”
“For Heaven’s sake, explain yourself! Read me the answer to this riddle
before my head goes!” said Captain Yetsom, while his officers listened
with the same sort of curiosity they might have felt in an ingenious
enigma, or as if the case had been put to them in conundrum style, as:
“Why have we the captain of the _Sea Scourge_ here?” and they were
trying to guess the answer, or expecting one from the propounder of the
question that should set the room in a roar.
“I will explain,” said Justin, and turning to Lieutenant Ethel, he
continued:
“You may remember, lieutenant, I told you yesterday, in reply to an
observation of yours, that the _Xyphias_ had not been the only ship
which had passed here, in the two years and a half we have spent on this
island—that there had been another ship?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“That other ship was the _Sea Scourge_, driven out of her course by a
furious gale. She came into our cove sailing under the rebel flag, which
greatly perplexed us, as we had never seen or heard of it.”
“Yes? Well?” exclaimed the captain and several of the officers,
listening eagerly.
“The captain landed here; brought us the first news of the war which,
you may judge, much astonished and grieved us. He proclaimed himself a
Confederate privateer, sailing under letters of _marque_ from his
government. He drank more brandy than was good for him, and went to
sleep on the floor. In the afternoon his crew mutinied, deposed him from
his command, put another man in his place and sailed without him.”
“Good! Where did you say the fellow is now?”
“On this island! in this house! He has been here ever since he was
abandoned by his ship, of course. He is now ready to give himself up to
you. You will treat him, I hope, as a prisoner of war.”
“That, as it may be. I must see and question the fellow first,” said the
captain of the _Xyphias_.
Justin went out and returned, accompanied by Spear.
The prisoner walked straight up to the captain of the _Xyphias_, whom he
recognized by his uniform, saluted him, and said:
“Sir, I am Captain Spear, of the Confederate ship _Sea Scourge_. I
surrender myself to you, claiming the usage of a prisoner of war. If I
had a sword I would hand it over; but I have none.”