H 
 
 E BARED A GREAT, SINEWY ARM, 
 WITH A KNIFE CLENCHED IN THE HAND." 
 
 (See page 213)
 
 RISONERS 
 
 OF 
 FORTUNE 
 
 Jl ^ale of the Massa 
 chusetts fBay Colony Jn* 
 
 <PERLEY SMITH 
 
 With a Frontispiece by FRANK T. JttERRILL 
 
 Boston 4* H. e.
 
 PS 
 3*37 
 
 Copyright^ 1907 
 BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY 
 
 (INCORPORATED) 
 
 Entered at Stationers' Hall, London 
 All rights reserved 
 
 First Impression, January, 1907 
 
 COLONIAL PRESS 
 
 EUctrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co. 
 Boston, U.S.A.
 
 TO 
 
 WITH HER HUSBAND'S LOVE
 
 Contents 
 
 I. PLAY PIRATES, AND REAL 
 
 II. THE PIRATE'S RHYME . . . 
 
 III. DEATH OF QUELCH'S MEN . 
 
 IV. EPHRAIM'S WANDERINGS 
 
 V. A MESS OF TROUT FOR BLACKBEARD 
 
 VI. THE WRECKING OF BELLAMY 
 
 VII. THE WANTON SEA 
 
 VIII. A VESSEL UNDER A CURSE . 
 
 IX. DRIVEN TO SEA .... 
 
 X. THE LITTLE MAID 
 
 XI. THE ISLAND OF ROUND HOUSE 
 
 XII. WILL COLE'S MEN 
 
 XIII. WE FIGHT WILL COLE'S MEN 
 
 XIV. MARY VANE .... 
 XV. A SWEETHEART AND A FRIEND 
 
 XVI. WRECKAGE CAST UP ASHORE 
 
 XVII. ELLAS AND I Do BATTLE 
 
 XVIII. DAN -o'- THE -Snip's STORY . 
 
 XIX. WE SAIL SOUTHWARD . 
 
 XX. CAPTAIN VANE Is DISAPPOINTED . 
 
 XXI. Six MEN ALONE .... 
 
 XXII. FRIENDS Do NOT BEAR MALICE . 
 
 XXIII. THE SECRET OF THE RHYME 
 
 XXIV. " FROM SKULL TO TOE " 
 XXV. THE TREASURE AT LAST 
 
 XXVI. ONCE MORE ON ROUND HOUSE 
 
 XXVII. WILL ENDICOTT PAYS A SCORE 
 
 17 
 
 36 
 
 53 
 
 63 
 
 80 
 
 100 
 
 in 
 
 123 
 
 132 
 
 146 
 
 1 60 
 
 172 
 
 187 
 
 200 
 
 213 
 
 225 
 
 242 
 
 261 
 
 274 
 
 288 
 
 305 
 316 
 
 335 
 347 
 359 
 370
 
 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PLAY PIRATES, AND REAL 
 
 ON this day, the loth of August in the year of grace 
 1757, it being my sixtieth birthday and a hot and sticky 
 one and the flies bothering me so that there was no 
 comfort in dozing in my chair, after my light noon meal of 
 pork and beans and cheese and meat pie, with a mug of 
 cider and a pipe thereafter, I sat up of a sudden, to slap 
 and to light my pipe over again ; and thereupon formed, 
 on the spur of the moment, an extraordinary resolution. 
 Now I am fond of cogitating over the curious relation that 
 events of importance in our lives bear to small and even 
 silly ones, and how the lesser may be progenitor of the 
 greater; and so I have often wondered since how much 
 the biting of the flies had to do with the formation of this 
 resolution. 
 
 But certain it is, that I sat up suddenly and, being an 
 active man, for one who has been active so long, and 
 that, too, upon the tiring seas, I lay in wait for one 
 
 i
 
 2 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 most persistent and pestiferous fly, and slew him with a 
 flirt of my red cotton handkerchief. 
 
 " And so," said I, suddenly aloud, philosophizing over 
 the fly, as profound men are wont to do over little things, 
 " shall I one day be whisked away from the scene of my 
 own buzzings and botherings ; and what shah 1 there b i left 
 in the minds and memories of my children and grand 
 children for a picture and a remembrance of me, other 
 than an idle chatterer of bygone times, with the same big 
 chair ever set for me by the hearth, and the sound of my 
 cane pegging along the streets ? " 
 
 So, my dear son, I made quickly then and there this 
 resolution, to wit : to spend the next ten years of my life in 
 setting down for you and your children the many strange 
 events of my life for fifty odd years aback ; so it may stand 
 for you and them to read, that I was, even as you, a man 
 active and strong and full of bold enterprisings, and how 
 I have had my share of dangerous adventure on land and 
 sea, among wreckers and swarthy pirates. 
 
 As for these ten years in which I promise to be busy 
 the Lord willing it may or may not take me so long as 
 that to write what I wish ; for, though I know whereof the 
 seas I fain would traverse, and have my course in a 
 measure shaped, yet is an inkhorn a tittleish craft for one 
 of my years to embark in ; and I know not whether I can 
 leave a straight wake in steering with a quill for the first 
 time. 
 
 So am I like at times to turn deviously into little coves 
 and shallows of memory, for the solace of a quiet hour 
 there, and the comfort of soft breezes that I have felt be-
 
 Play Pirates, and Real 3 
 
 fore ; and all the while you will be wishing me under way 
 again in the blue water of my narrative, that I may get to 
 my voyage's end. But you must be patient to hear of 
 some things whereof I have told you before, and let me 
 speak of some events with which you are familiar; for if 
 God so wills that you, too, shall have a son, this journal is 
 to be handed down to him. 
 
 And first do I give fair warning to any of my race that 
 may perchance not feel the red blood tingling warm in 
 their bodies, and may shrink from the story of the doings 
 of pirate men, and of the harsh perversities of the sea, that 
 they may as well rid themselves of this tale at once ; for, 
 though it doth have the light and sweetness of a woman's 
 love to leaven it, yet, in the main, is it a story full of the 
 wrath of God and man and of the angry ocean ; with the 
 hand of man often against his fellow, and the judgment of 
 the heavens and the sea upon them both. 
 
 Now in the year in which I shall begin, which was 1704, 
 in the first of the reign of the good Queen Anne, I was 
 seven years old and full as any lad of boyish pranks and 
 notions. And so, too, this fine city of Boston was then, in 
 a way, in its childhood, and, likewise, with odd notions and 
 manners at least they seem so to you, and will seem 
 stranger in the years to come. For I have seen the village 
 grow as though the houses sent out roots under the soil and 
 shoots of dwellings sprang up from them; and great 
 wharves have put roofs above the clam beds ; and tall ships 
 dig with their anchor flukes where we were used to set 
 our lobster-pots. 
 
 In those days I lived with a cousin, one Ephraim Coffin,
 
 4 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 who was somewhat of a man in the town, though he was as 
 proud of assuming to be a poor and plain man as others 
 are of being rich ; and, withal, he had a snug sum set out 
 at investment, and owned two or three small stores ; was 
 a selectman, and passed most strictly on the eligibility of 
 newcomers to citizenship in the town ; and had not infre 
 quently the parson to dinner, and good liquors to offer him. 
 
 My cousin was, moreover, a most pious and devout man, 
 for ever ready to praise God and hate the Papists, but lov 
 ing, as in duty bound, all other enemies, save and excepting 
 Frenchmen, Indians, Quakers, pirates, witches, and poor 
 debtors. He was strictly observant of the Lord's Day, 
 and we were wont to begin our observance of, or prepa 
 ration for, that on sunset of Saturday night, ceasing all 
 labours then, save some care of the cattle that must be 
 taken, and the setting of the milk in the pans. Then, of a 
 Sunday, there were stiff clothes to be put on, and stiff faces 
 to be worn in keeping, and stiff manners starched with 
 grace, so stiffly that often they were not grown limp on 
 Monday morning, but lasted piously well into the week, 
 even to the day of special meeting on Thursday. 
 
 As for my cousin's wife, she was a tall and prim and 
 rather spare woman, with such a zeal for devotion and the 
 inculcation of the gospel into youthful minds that she was 
 for ever pouring it into me, as though I were a churn 
 standing ready, and gave me frequent shakings to set it 
 working. 
 
 And I had forgotten to say that the reason for my being 
 with these kin was, because I had neither father nor 
 mother nor any one else in the world to care for me.
 
 Play Pirates, and Real 5 
 
 Nor have I remembrance of my father, beyond a kindly 
 hand that stroked my hair, and a strong arm that lifted me 
 as high as his head, and a voice that was never raised in 
 anger. As for my mother, I have no memory of her face ; 
 nor heard I her voice beyond the time of my first year, 
 when I had no thought of it only that I must have 
 turned to it and known it from others, after the mysterious 
 way of infants. 
 
 There was little my father left for me, beyond a legacy 
 of a few pounds, and a case of surgical instruments that 
 I never used, save those I could divert to carpentry 
 without my cousin's knowledge, and a small library of 
 books. And, by these latter, he was a doctor who had a 
 taste for reading; for he had, besides many books with 
 queer pictures of skeletons and things I had no pleasure in 
 looking at, a good Shakespeare, with plates of fiery men 
 in armour, absorbing to gaze upon till one came of age to 
 find the lines better than the pictures ; a few Latin books, 
 and some free translations of Virgil and of Horace; the 
 writings of Cervantes, some sermons of Cotton Mather, 
 who was our greatest preacher, the Bible, and the " Pil 
 grim's Progress," an edition of which had been but newly 
 printed in our town. 
 
 I know little more of my dear father and mother to tell 
 you, but that they came of good English family, and were 
 shortly come over to the colonies, where my father was to 
 practise medicine, when they both died, one not long fol 
 lowing the other. 
 
 My cousin's home was a good, substantial house, of 
 brick come in ballast from England, on a queer little street,
 
 6 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 or lane, called Frog Lane, just off Newbury Street, and 
 which led up into the Common. It was conveniently in 
 the way of the pond along the street of that name near by, 
 and to the fields and fish-ponds back to the westward; 
 but was, I recall, of a most trying distance from the Old 
 North Church, away over the other side of the town in 
 Clarke's Square, where we went three times of a Sunday 
 to hear Cotton Mather preach. And I remember of that, 
 that my boots always hurt me, for I was barefoot the rest 
 of the week, and my cousin Mercy would not let me take 
 them off in meeting. 
 
 Here in Frog Lane my cousin Ephraim had, I say, a 
 good house, two big barns, for cattle and hay and farming 
 implements, and did some blacksmithing and carriage 
 mending, besides his farming. And, a mile and a half 
 out of the town, he had two other farms where he cut hay 
 and grain for market. 
 
 Of the playmates I had at that time, there were two that 
 were of account to be mentioned now, for the part they 
 played then and have since played in the shaping of my 
 fortunes. These were Elias Andrews, and Elbridge Carver. 
 As for Elias, he was ten years old and bulky for his age, 
 and had a clumsy strength, which was greater than mine 
 though, indeed, I think I admit of it now for the first time, 
 since it be a sensitive point with striplings ; and Elbridge 
 was about my age, perhaps nearly a year older. 
 
 We had in those days two great afflictions to inspire 
 us in our play : the one was Indian warfare, and the other 
 piracy on the high seas. So that, on one day, the woods 
 and fields back of my cousin's farm were alive with cruel
 
 Play Pirates, and Real 7 
 
 savages, armed with wooden tomahawks and bows and 
 arrows and scalping-knives yea, and scalps, of cow's 
 hair and moss, hanging at their belts; and they yell 
 ing most hideously. And on another day, there were fine 
 ships, of logs and planking, overtaken on the ponds by 
 the buccaneers, and their crews made to walk the plank ; 
 those that could swim being put overboard in the middle, 
 and the smaller lads poled in nearer shore and tumbled 
 off into the mud. 
 
 And, indeed, it often happened that some of us luckless 
 ones, smaller than the older fellows, were not only scalped 
 and burned at the stake, but, on the same day, were made 
 to walk the plank into the pond and robbed of our gold 
 and treasure. 
 
 Now Elias Andrews, being, as I say, of a larger build 
 than most of us, and his father a member of the Governor's 
 Council, and Elias having much pocket-money, and proud 
 of it all, he was much loth to submit to the humiliation of 
 being scalped, even though it be his turn, and though he 
 had more than his share of gory trophies dangling at his 
 belt. So that, whenever we played the bloody massacre 
 of CascO; Elias must ever be the Indian chief ; and, when 
 we played the fight of Sandy Stream, where the Massa 
 chusetts men had ambushed and defeated a bigger band of 
 savages than they numbered, why there was Elias chang 
 ing his painted skin to white, and putting on his fringed 
 buckskin leggings, and playing Captain Anderson. 
 
 Moreover, he being then, as always and I say it now in 
 calmer judgment than I could have done some years 
 back of a disposition not adaptable to playing the one
 
 8 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 that yields gracefully, it were always a matter of doubt 
 whether it were pleasanter to scalp Elias, against his in 
 clination, than to be scalped by him ; for he had a way, by 
 reason of bull strength, of parting with his scalp most 
 vigorously, protesting with elbows and knees; and, in 
 dying, of leaving a mark or two on his enemy, not to 
 be too greatly humiliated. 
 
 Another sort was Elbridge Carver, for, if he had been 
 endowed with two scalps, you might have had them both 
 twice over, in the same afternoon, he was that generous; 
 and, too, he did refute what many people say, that fat 
 persons be the better natured ; for, certain, Elbridge was 
 as lean as a pickerel in the spring ; yet was he ever smiling 
 and ready to offer a hand at chores. He lived down in the 
 vicinity of some queer little lanes I forget whether it 
 was Cow Lane or Flownder Lane, but it was close by a 
 ropewalk, and his father was employed there. 
 
 Elias lived in a fine house in Marlborough Street, and 
 his father was a merchant with several vessels trading out 
 to Jamaica and Cuba. He was, I think, a kind and good 
 man though he spoiled Elias and he gave me a shil 
 ling one Christmas for pulling Elias out of the ice ; so that 
 I was never wanting money after that, and had the con 
 stant proof of his generosity ever by me ; for Cousin Mercy 
 would not have me spend so much money, but put it into 
 a tea-caddy in the china closet for me to look at. 
 
 Now I have been trying, all this time, to get down to a 
 certain day in June the i3th, to be exact ; and I have it 
 in black and white from the records of my very distant 
 kinsman, one John Campbell, who was a newspaper
 
 Play Pirates, and Real 9 
 
 publisher and made an account of all such happenings. 
 And I see the only way is, to set down the date abruptly 
 and start fair from that, and not try to beat up to it grace 
 fully; for I keep making leeway, not having the keel of 
 experience to hold up into the wind with. 
 
 On this 1 3th of June, then, although it was a Tuesday, 
 and one might have expected to lie in a calm streak of 
 spiritual contentment between Sunday and Thursday, 
 yet was my cousin Mercy seized of a great zeal for the 
 minister to come and exhort and catechize, and to taste 
 of her mince pie, and drink, after tea, of Cousin Ephraim's 
 best wine. So was I put into my boots early of the after 
 noon, and had my scalp brushed mercilessly Cousin 
 Mercy was fiercer than the Indians and a jacket on that 
 made me feel as though it was Sunday, along with the 
 prodding of Cousin Mercy as to my catechism. 
 
 But it seems I had a sudden wilting under this unex 
 pected blaze of grace, and was seized with a terrible sick 
 ness, which I did try to describe vaguely as something 
 between toothache and a pain in the belly, locating it now 
 higher and now lower according to the changing expression 
 on my cousin Mercy's face ; and when she seemed to show 
 a deeper concern for, and more consideration of, a species 
 of neuralgic toothache, she having had something of the 
 same sort not long since, there was no longer doubt left 
 in my mind that that was the matter. 
 
 So I was suffered to lie down, too ill to undress, on the 
 bed in the little room at the end of the long back hallway, 
 and slumber, uncatechized and unmolested. But the 
 room was hot and stuffy, and the flies were buzzing on the
 
 10 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 window-panes ; and it was clear to me, the fresh, outdoor 
 air were better for my suffering. So I went outside and 
 laid me down on the grass-plot ; and Cousin Mercy found 
 me groaning there, for she had heard my footsteps and 
 come quickly to see why I stirred. 
 
 But she went back soon, and I made another stage in 
 my progress as far as the edge of the orchard, where I 
 rested against a tree and sucked a piece of rock candy for 
 my toothache, and to prevent any recurrence of the pain 
 below. Then I wandered, restless with suffering, out of 
 the line of vision from the front parlor, whence the tones 
 of Parson Mather came resonantly, and sat by the edge 
 of the tiny brook that came down from a spring in the 
 meadow. There I lay for awhile, till the spirit moved me 
 to walk on again. 
 
 This time I got as far as the cow-barn, and, having that 
 between me and the seat of catechism, I removed my 
 boots and took to my heels. So great was my distress, I 
 went on a mile to see if I could outrun it and did 
 so. 
 
 When I had come to the pond which was the great 
 Bay of Honduras, and horribly beset by wicked rovers 
 there was a fine ship in the offing, flying the flag of Spain ; 
 and she had a treasure of gold-dust and doubloons and 
 other precious stuff aboard; and Elbridge Carver was 
 captain of her, and he had a crew of smaller lads, and they 
 were all mortally in fear of pirates, but ready to die fight 
 ing if boarded. They were poling across the fearful sea, 
 and their clothes were all piled in a heap on shore beneath 
 some alders.
 
 Play Pirates, and Real 11 
 
 Now in the bushes, up along the coast of the bay, was 
 Captain Kidd in hiding, on a great brig that flew a red 
 flannel flag with a skull and bones done in white paint on 
 it ; and this Kidd was a desperate fellow, with his clothes 
 on, and a blood- red sash over his shoulder, and a real 
 pistol dangling from it, and a black hat, with a red feather 
 in it by way of dreadful adornment, slouching over his 
 eyes. And he was ready to crowd on sail and pursue 
 this Spanish treasure-ship, and slaughter all on board 
 with a huge wooden cutlass that lay at his feet on the 
 quarter-deck. 
 
 Moreover, was Kidd willing and eager to venture it all 
 single-handed, against odds, for the greater glory to be 
 won, and that he might wear the fine trappings of piracy 
 and not have to swim at the finish. 
 
 So that, when I came suddenly upon the pirate retreat, 
 and said : " Hold on, Elias, I'll come aboard and help 
 you," then he was fain ready to parley with me, as they 
 say, being taken aback and not wholly pleased with the 
 idea of sharing the venture. However, we came at length 
 to an agreement, by which I should strip off my clothing 
 and ship under Kidd as William Moore ; and Kidd would 
 murder me, after we had taken the ship, as the real Kidd 
 did his gunner, and throw me overboard; only Elias 
 would not be hanged for this, as Kidd was which 
 seemed to me hardly fair, especially as the hanging could 
 be at the water's edge and need not hurt his clothes. 
 
 Now when the Spanish treasure-ship was sighted off 
 our larboard bow, we cracked on sail; that is, I did the 
 poling, most vigorously, while Elias, brandishing his
 
 12 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 cutlass, gave orders, and out we shot from our hiding and 
 made chase. It was an awful moment ; and when we had 
 come alongside, and Captain Kidd had fired his pistol 
 (purloined for the purpose from the family gun-room) and 
 I had stood by with grappling-irons and made fast to our 
 prize, I felt my pulses throbbing hard, and the thrill of 
 victory tingling through me. 
 
 Then it was a fine sight to see Kidd demand the Span 
 iard's treasure, and order the stuff brought aboard ; which 
 was done, the gold and jewels clinking (with a tinny 
 sound), in four canvas sacks. But the climax was most 
 awe-inspiring and gruesome; for the unpacified Kidd 
 would spare not a man of the whole ship's crew they 
 being all swimmers and, one by one, they must walk 
 solemnly off into the sea ; nor jump nor dive, but drop off 
 abruptly, as though there were no pleasure in it, but a 
 horrible thing to do. 
 
 Then it was all to be done over again, and yet again, 
 with variations as to cargo and the tonnage and nation 
 ality and rig of the ships engaged ; but it was ever Elias 
 who was Kidd, and the knowledge casting a depression 
 upon me that I was to be a foully murdered man, when 
 it pleased Elias, and he to cheat the gallows and revel 
 unpunished in his wickedness. So it came about that the 
 gunner was, hi a measure, false to Kidd, and employed 
 the fast fleeting moments of his existence in rank collusion 
 and conspiracy with the captain of our prize. 
 
 But it fell out not all according to their plot which 
 was but for flight together, leaving Kidd in solitary glory 
 in mid-ocean upon his brig but worse ; and it happened
 
 Play Pirates, and Real 13 
 
 that on the next capture of Captain Elbridge's vessel, 
 when Kidd and I had grappled and boarded her, there 
 was a gory battle ; and, in the midst of it, overboard went 
 Kidd, himself, into the sea, sousing his brave dress and 
 accoutrements, and maddened as any red buccaneer that 
 ever lashed himself into a fury. 
 
 Up came Captain Kidd to the surface, black with rage, 
 and yearning then and there to murder William Moore 
 and away swam the Spanish captain and William Moore, 
 and took to the woods, carrying their clothes, lest they 
 become in truth Kidd's loot, to be thrown into the pond, 
 or worse, carried back to town. Nor did this outraged 
 and betrayed buccaneer deign to pursue us rogues, but 
 strode away for home, hot with wrath. Then, at length, 
 did Elbridge Carver and I return from our harbouring 
 place and sweep the seas together, an irresistible pair 
 of freebooters, exulting in our vanquishment of Kidd 
 and at my escape from murder at his hands. 
 
 Now time passes swiftly by, when decks are swimming 
 with red blood and men fall dying on them, and great 
 ships are scuttled, with all on board. And so I heeded not 
 that the sun was dropping down in the west, and fought 
 on and drowned and died a hundred deaths and came 
 to life again whooping for more of it; till, all at once, 
 Elbridge gave a yell of dismay that had no ring of coun 
 terfeit in it, and pointed in ashore from the Spanish 
 galleon whereon we stood. 
 
 There, on the bank, in the shadow of a clump of bushes, 
 and even then stooping to cut a thick alder stick, was my 
 cousin, Ephraim Coffin, full of the stimulus of righteous
 
 14 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 exhortation, and burning, like an angel of wrath, to avenge 
 the affront and the deceit practised by me against religion. 
 
 Now I wished I had been murdered by Captain Kidd 
 a dozen times, and had it over with, rather than fall in 
 this measure a victim to his vengeance for Elias had, 
 indeed, set my cousin upon us. But there was no hanging 
 back when Cousin Ephraim spoke, and I parted sadly 
 with Elbridge, who swam ashore to the other side of the 
 pond ; and I poled my raft slowly in to land. 
 
 " And so this be your dodge, Master Philip, to forsake 
 the way of godliness, and refuse to profit by the great 
 outpouring of grace that has been ours to-day," said my 
 cousin, grimly, as I neared him. He spoke the words 
 heavily and thickly, as a man who does not wish to make 
 an exhibition of his anger, but yet is full of it; and I 
 knew he was longing to get his hands on me. 
 
 " Come ashore quick, now," continued Cousin Ephraim. 
 " Here be a sure cure for an ache in other parts of the 
 body than the head, I'm thinking ; " and he raised the 
 stick ominously. 
 
 I sat on the edge of the raft, just out of reach, wishing 
 to argue for a moment, but with not an idea in my head 
 to offer for an excuse. 
 
 " I be feeling badly yet, Ephraim," I murmured 
 and I could think of nothing else to say by way of begin 
 ning. 
 
 " Ye'll be feelin' worse a minute hence," said Cousin 
 Ephraim; "a deal worse, and ye can reckon on't." 
 And he added, " But what possessed ye, Philip, to run 
 and leave us this way, and the great Cotton Mather ready
 
 Play Pirates, and Real 15 
 
 to hear the catechism and pray that ye grow up to be a 
 Christian man ? " 
 
 " It was the devil, Ephraim," I cried, thankful for 
 the inspiration, and relieved to transfer the blame, even 
 thus vaguely. 
 
 " Aye, it was the devil, Philip," responded Ephraim, 
 smiling through his set teeth; " and I'll cast him out er 
 yer for a little time, even though it be but a few moments, 
 and he come back, raging." 
 
 Now I saw it was all up with me, and the sooner over 
 the better; and I slumped off the raft, and Cousin 
 Ephraim had me by an arm, and I winced though he had 
 not struck me a blow. 
 
 Then he gripped me till my arm ached, and he raised 
 the alder stick and let it swing; and I felt as though a 
 hundred hornets had got me on the leg. But Cousin 
 Ephraim suddenly stopped and looked about him, and 
 I heard a voice cry: 
 
 " The pirates ! The pirates ! They've got the pirates, 
 Quelch's men, Captain Coffin, and they be bringing them 
 up into the town." 
 
 It was a man whose farm adjoined Cousin Ephraim's 
 on the outskirts of Boston; and he ran past us now, 
 crying out thus that the pirates had been captured. And 
 at this, Cousin Ephraim loosed his grip of me and ex 
 claimed in astonishment : 
 
 "Aha! They've got Quelch's men, have they? The 
 bloody pirates ! " And he seemed to forget me for a 
 moment, and started to hurry away. Then he turned 
 back again but his pirate was gone. Seizing my
 
 16 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 clothes and tucking them under one arm, I ran as though 
 the Evil One, just evicted by Cousin Ephraim, were 
 indeed again seeking shelter and pursuing me. Nor did 
 I pause to dress till half a mile lay between me and Cousin 
 Ephraim.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 THE PIRATE'S RHYME 
 
 IF you would know what the capture of these pirate men 
 meant to our citizens of Boston, then you must go back for 
 a moment to the sensational seizing and trial of Captain 
 William Kidd, which was still a recent event hi the minds 
 of our townspeople, and see what suspicion some of our 
 richest business men, but, more especially, those of New 
 York, were under; and how this capture was a timely 
 opportunity for our community to clear its skirts of com 
 plicity with piratical ventures. 
 
 For it had become a scandal throughout England that 
 our coast, that is, all New England and to the south of us, 
 and even as far as the Spanish Islands, was a refuge and 
 a breeding- place for buccaneers. 
 
 Aye, and worse than that ; for, when this William Kidd 
 was put upon his trial, there were ugly rumours spread 
 that there were solemn, church-going merchants in New 
 York, and some said in Boston, too, that had shared with 
 the pirate his plunder and were all ready to fit him out 
 again when he was seized. 
 
 Indeed, this Kidd had the audacity, on and before his 
 trial, to cause the inference to be drawn from his words 
 that the king, himself, who had given him a commission 
 to prey on pirates, and had ten shares in the venture, was 
 
 17
 
 18 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 not wholly displeased at Kidd's mistakes in thinking mer 
 chantmen might be pirates or Frenchmen. 
 
 However this might be and I think there was never 
 any proof that the king was cognizant of the game 
 there was great scandal about it; and the Earl of Bello- 
 mont, who was governor of New York and Massachusetts, 
 was most anxious to get himself exonerated in the matter, 
 because he had found out that his predecessor in office, 
 Governor Fletcher, had been disgracefully mixed up with 
 pirates; and he had even recommended that Fletcher be 
 sent to England and tried for piracy; though this was 
 never done. 
 
 Now when Kidd was captured there was no law in our 
 colonies for the punishment of piracy with death ; and so 
 Kidd was sent to England and tried and put upon the 
 gallows there. And, thereupon, in that same year in which 
 he was taken, 1699, there was made a parliamentary en 
 actment applicable to all the colonies of Great Britain, 
 providing for the hanging of pirates wherever seized and 
 convicted, without transportation to England. 
 
 Still, it seemed, the business did not fade, but flourished ; 
 and there were laces and fine cloths and rare metal- work 
 put upon the counters in New York and Boston town, that 
 our good townspeople bought and asked, banteringly, 
 what time of night they had been rowed ashore. And in 
 all of which smoke there was some fire. 
 
 Now when Governor Joseph Dudley took his oath, in 
 1702, he had vowed his colony should be no nest for rogues 
 to sequester in. And in this month of June, 1704, he had 
 given orders for the capture of Captain John Quelch, who
 
 The Pirate's Rhyme 19 
 
 had been pirating in the brigantine Charles, and was seek 
 ing a refuge in our vicinage. 
 
 So had our town been mightily astir for days, we being 
 acquainted of the fact that Quelch's men lay hidden, some 
 near Salem, and others at Cape Ann, out Gloucester way. 
 And it seems Major Stephen Sewall, a plucky man, and 
 a band of some three-score volunteers had gone about the 
 business in earnest, and had rounded up Quelch and some 
 four and twenty of his men in all, following some of them 
 as far as the Isle of Sholes. And now, this Tuesday of 
 fateful date, the i3th, back he had come to Boston with 
 nine of the pirate crew ; and the news had got a mile out of 
 Boston already. 
 
 It seems the tidings had come in ahead, by way of a fast- 
 sailing fisherman, and half the town was blocking the way 
 when the men were landed at Clarke's wharf; and these 
 pirates, at least, had come into an atmosphere charged 
 with righteous indignation at their wickedness, for the 
 time being; for, but two days before, our ministers from 
 their pulpits had called forth a judgment on them and 
 exhorted a great zealousness toward their seizure and 
 punishment. 
 
 When I had fled into the town, I had no need to inquire 
 whither the pirates were coming, for men and boys, and 
 women, too, were on the way there, and the air was snap 
 ping with information. Major Sewall and a guard of 
 some thirty men had landed the pirates, and were march 
 ing them up through the streets. They had come up by 
 way of Fish and Ann Streets, and were turning into the 
 square on the way to the prison when first I saw them.
 
 20 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Here were nine of the pirates, tramping along in the dust, 
 with the chains upon them, and the shoutings of the mob 
 in their ears, and they hot and worn looking, with the 
 weariness of hiding and the menace of death all about 
 them ; and somehow it did not seem to me then that to be 
 a pirate was, after all, the merriest life to choose ; but per 
 haps it were better to be adopted by the Indians, and live 
 in a wigwam by the cool streams, and hunt the red deer in 
 the woods. 
 
 For it came sharp upon me, like a good lesson, Cousin 
 Mercy would have said, now that I was fresh from making 
 boyish sport of the thing, that the way of piracy led to the 
 gallows. Nor would I ever again put boldly out from the 
 Bay of Honduras, with Kidd or any other man, to prey on 
 ships loaded deep, nor feel again the thrill of fierce exulta 
 tion to lift the bags of rich treasure aboard. 
 
 Perhaps I even felt the guilt of piracy, too, upon my soul, 
 having run away from exhortation to embark in it, and had 
 a sort of fellow-feeling for rogues caught red-handed and 
 about to suffer. Be that as it may, I know I was not of 
 those that hooted and jeered, but that I felt sorry for the 
 pirates, and gave them, silently, my sympathy and wished 
 that they might not be hanged. 
 
 Here, too, was romance and inspiriting tradition dealt 
 a deadening blow ; for there was but one man among them 
 that answered in the least to the pirates of the Spanish 
 main, or to the rumours concerning Kidd, as I had heard 
 them; and all the others might pass for ordinary Jacks, 
 paid dogs' wages by the month to pull and haul on tarry 
 rigging and take their turn at swabbing decks.
 
 The Pirate's Rhyme 21 
 
 This man was not one with the others, neither by his 
 build, nor dress, nor walk and carriage, nor by the look 
 upon his face ; for, whereas they were of medium build and 
 thick-set, he was of a great stature, tall and very broad in 
 the shoulders, and thin in the flanks, like a man of strength. 
 He wore a coat and waistcoat of fine cloth, and they had a 
 sort of richly worked embroidery on them, though not 
 conspicuous; and there was an elegance to the shaping 
 and set of them, like our governor's. The man walked 
 along with his head erect, and his eyes snapped as he 
 looked over the heads of the crowd ; and I thought that of 
 all these men I should fear him the most. 
 
 Now, just as he was marched past where I stood, pop- 
 eyed, and singling him out from all the others, with boy 
 ish intuitiveness, it chanced that he turned and looked 
 directly toward me, and our eyes met for an instant, as 
 happens in a crowd. And I fancied his face softened 
 ever so slightly and I could not help it, but cried 
 out: 
 
 " Oh, sir! I hope they'll not hang you." 
 
 His face blazed with anger and his hands clenched in 
 their chains, and his lips parted to show his teeth set firm, 
 with strong emotion ; but it was not at me, but because the 
 thought of ignominious death, that I had recalled to him 
 suddenly, was maddening. Then a musketeer gave me a 
 cuff over the head that sent me sprawling in the street, and 
 the march went on ; and when I at length got my breath 
 to follow, there were a hundred men and women between 
 me and the pirates. So I saw at a distance the prison gate 
 open and swallow them.
 
 22 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Then I went home to Cousin Ephraim's, with my heart 
 like lead, and a great lump in my throat that it hurt me to 
 swallow; but Ephraim soon made me forget that, and 
 when he had done with me I felt that I would gladly be a 
 pirate, and be hanged for it, if I could but capture one 
 ship, with Ephraim aboard, before I had to swing. As 
 for Cousin Mercy, who sent me to bed supperless, with 
 " The Wicked Man's Portion," by Increase Mather, to 
 read by candle-light, while she sat by, sewing, it seemed 
 to me it might be best to maroon her on a cannibal island ; 
 and I fell asleep reading the scheme into the sermon, and 
 dreamed that she had the whole cannibal tribe and 
 Ephraim, too, on a gibbet a hundred feet long, and was 
 reading a chapter from the Bible to them before she 
 hanged them all. 
 
 Now there was no winking nor delay over the proceed 
 ings, but on this very day his Excellency opened the High 
 Court of Admiralty to arraign the men ; and more than a 
 score, including Captain Quelch himself, pleaded not 
 guilty. And then, on the igth, the great High Court did 
 sit again and hear of the felonies and piracies and murders 
 by this Quelch and his men. 
 
 It seemed by the evidence that they were all much in the 
 same boat with Quelch, and parties to his many villainies, 
 save one Peter, or John, Roach, who had but lately shipped 
 with Quelch as mate. And some said his name was Peter, 
 and some John ; but he gave it to the Court as John 
 though those that captured him ashore on Cape Ann de 
 clared he had said it was Peter. However, it was shown 
 by Quelch, himself, that the man had joined the brigan-
 
 The Pirate's Rhyme 23 
 
 tine Charles at a port in Cuba and had committed piracy 
 with the others. 
 
 Quelch, it seems, had grown suspicious, and perhaps 
 afraid, of him, for he had borne himself more like 
 one that was used to give commands than to receive 
 them; and a pirate captain may be deposed, as Quelch 
 well knew, if a better man be found. 
 
 As for the man, he carried himself like an English gentle 
 man before the Court, and swore he knew not that he was 
 shipping among pirates until he had gotten well to sea in 
 the Charles; but there was evidence enough to make a 
 black case against him and there was a tiny skull and 
 flag done in red ink upon his right shoulder and he was 
 sentenced to die, with twenty odd more, including Quelch. 
 And this Peter, or John, Roach was the man to whom I 
 had spoken on the march to the gaol. 
 
 Now, although there were five and twenty men clapped 
 into prison for piracy, and nearly all of them sentenced to 
 swing, it turned out that our governor had no intention of 
 any such wholesale celebration of the new law, but would 
 be content to show our respect for it by a more moderate 
 example. So, of these men, all but seven now came, 
 trembling, out of the black shadow of the death-tree, being 
 saved by reprieve, or by quasi-b&rgain for turning Crown's 
 evidence, and so on, by one reason and another. 
 
 I set down the names of these seven men, that I may 
 make a complete record of it, it being an odd thing, and 
 the first hanging of pirates, so I am told, in this town of 
 Boston. There were : Captain John Quelch, John Lam 
 bert, John Miller, Erasmus Peterson, John Roach, Francis
 
 24 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 King, and Christopher Scudamore. These men, being 
 marked for death on the last day of this month of June, 
 were set apart in the gaol and carefully guarded. 
 
 Now it came about, in the eleven days that intervened 
 between the trials and the day of execution, I was mightily 
 swollen in pride and greatly looked up to by the other lads, 
 because of my cousin Mercy's brother, Caleb Spooner, be 
 ing gaoler and letting me into the prison now and again to 
 look at the pirates. 
 
 So that, when I had but emerged from the great oaken 
 door, then I was at once surrounded by a score of com 
 rades. It were a great strain upon me to tell these lads of 
 all the wonderful things I had heard the pirate men say - 
 especially as they spoke only now and then a word or two 
 to one another, but sat for the most part silently, being 
 bound in chains against their escape. And I was fain to 
 draw largely on my own piratical experiences in the Bay 
 of Honduras, to sustain the reputation I had suddenly 
 acquired ; so that when I told, at length, how Scudamore 
 had harangued the others on how he had, with a crew of 
 twenty rovers, taken and burned a big galley off Bermuda, 
 and each had shared a great cargo of gold-dust, it were 
 really Elbridge Carver and I that had done the desperate 
 thing on one of the ponds on Cousin Ephraim's farm. 
 
 I had been four or five times into the gaol when I stood 
 one morning before a little barred enclosure where, one 
 by one, there were let in the seven condemned men to 
 walk about a bit, free from part of their chains and to 
 breathe the fresh air from the little barred window that 
 opened off to the grass and trees. There, pacing slowly
 
 The Pirate's Rhyme 25 
 
 to and fio, and so absorbed in his own thoughts that he 
 did not notice me, was the great, tall man with the piercing 
 black eyes, and the manner, still, of a captain that should 
 soon order all hands from below. 
 
 It seemed to me a dreadful thing that this fine gentle 
 man should be caged here like a beast, and I wondered 
 that he could be so stem and unmoved, with the days of 
 his life so shortly numbered ; for I could not understand 
 that one in such straits did not beg for life, and rave and 
 cry and fall into a frenzy, and swear he would never go 
 a-pirating again if let off as I should have done. And 
 I was sorry Caleb had let me in to look at him, and I felt 
 a sinking in the pit of my stomach, and the tears were in 
 my eyes ; but I could not go away. 
 
 Presently the man turned and saw me, but deigned to 
 notice me no more than if I had been a mouse, and went 
 on pacing to and fro, talking softly to himself. But soon 
 he came near to me again, and turned once more and 
 looked me in the face. He seemed surprised to see me 
 still there, for he stopped and scowled at me and 
 
 " What the devil are you doing here, brat ? " he ex 
 claimed. 
 
 " Nothing," I said. 
 
 He made a gesture of impatience and went on with his 
 walking for a moment, but came again later and looked 
 me over, curiously. 
 
 " All of a kind ! " he exclaimed, talking not to me, but 
 to express his thoughts aloud. " A breed of lean, psalm- 
 singing, sanctimonious Puritans, tickling their hands with 
 the gold and giving us an open roadway to bring it in ; and
 
 26 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 making a smug show of honesty when they've got it. Fool ! 
 Fool that I was, to knuckle to Quelch so long, and not take 
 the ship where I wanted." 
 
 He went to striding back and forth again at a great rate, 
 and would have thought no more of me had I not inter 
 rupted him. 
 
 " I'm sorry for you," I blurted out, as he strode past. 
 " I wish they wouldn't hang you. I'll tell Caleb so." 
 
 " What's that ? " he cried, fiercely. " Are you there yet, 
 boy ? Get out ! Be gone ! Will these dogs of Puritans 
 not leave me in peace now, but they must let their pups 
 in to worry me ? " 
 
 At this for he turned on me in a terrible manner 
 I dodged back and was scuttling off like a rabbit ; but he 
 roared out at me again and cried, " Come back here ! " 
 in a voice so stern that I ran back, frightened, though 
 there were the bars between us. 
 
 " So you're sorry for me, eh, lad, are you ? " he inquired, 
 in a softer voice. 
 
 " Yes, I am, sir," said I. 
 
 " Do you know what they'll do to me, boy ? " he con 
 tinued ; and his voice was harsh again. 
 
 " I I think so," I replied. 
 
 " They'll make a fine show of me for the rabble of Bos 
 ton to look at ! " he cried, sneeringly ; and again seemed to 
 say it not to me. " Aye, and they'll badger me with their 
 parsons and their psalm- singing and their prayers a league 
 long ; and give me no peace to the end the hypocrites ! 
 And pirate goods to be bought in the stores of Boston 
 to-day ! "
 
 The Pirate's Rhyme 27 
 
 I knew not what to say to this for it was beyond me 
 so I held my tongue. 
 
 " So you're sorry for me, eh, lad?" he asked again, 
 abruptly, but more gently and persuasively. 
 
 " I'm very sorry, sir," I answered. 
 
 " Then you can do me a kindness," he said. " Will you 
 do it ? " And he looked hard at me. 
 
 "I I'll try, sir," said I, and was all of a tremble ; 
 for I had heard of men escaping prison through keys and 
 weapons hidden in pies and cakes, and I feared I was 
 about to be drawn to commit myself to awful felony. 
 
 " Then, lad, you may get me some tobacco," said the 
 pirate. I felt a great hand let go its clutch upon my heart. 
 
 " I'll get it, sir, right away," said I. 
 
 " That's a good lad ! " he exclaimed. " And you must 
 smuggle it in to me, for these good, honest men will give 
 us not a bit of it and it be our last days for Cotton 
 Mather, they say, has said we must be purified and be 
 purged of our defilement, that he may the better pray for 
 us." 
 
 This, I must say, put it in a sorry light for me; for 
 Cotton Mather's word was law, and I had slighted him 
 not long since by running away from his exhorting. Still, 
 I was bound by my word and I would not break it. 
 
 " I've no money to give you, lad," added the man. " The 
 Boston men have got it, and a bag of gold-dust, too, that's 
 mine. You'll have to get the stuff yourself. And I think 
 I'll stand their preaching and their hanging, too the 
 better, with a load of it between my jaws. Now go on, my 
 good lad, and don't be long."
 
 28 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Away I scampered, troubled sore in my mind ; for how 
 I was to get tobacco I knew not, since I dared not go to buy 
 it, even if I could get my money from the teapot where 
 Cousin Mercy had it banked. 
 
 Here was fate laying my course for me, however. For, 
 as I came along the lane, there were the bells ringing for 
 the noon hour. Cousin Ephraim had gone in from the 
 carriage-shop to the kitchen, to wash up for dinner, and 
 his leather apron, with a huge pocket in it, was hanging in 
 the shop, on the wall by the forge. 
 
 Now I knew that Ephraim had ever the weed about him, 
 and chewed before breakfast to get his appetite up, and 
 between breakfast and dinner to stay himself, and after 
 dinner to settle that meal, and before bedtime to make him 
 contented to sleep. And in his apron pocket was, I knew, 
 a great piece of tobacco ; for I had seen him start the day's 
 work with it. So I slipped into the shop and took it, and 
 thrust it into my trousers pocket and felt that I was 
 lost for ever, and that it was entered in the last account 
 against me, along with yearnings toward piracy. 
 
 Not that I would steal, for pirate or any other man ; and 
 I had vowed to put the price of it back in Cousin Ephraim's 
 pocket, the first money I had of my own to keep. Yet, all 
 through dinner, I could not look Cousin Ephraim in the 
 face; and Cousin Mercy wondered why I did not eat. 
 Nor could I, for the food stuck hard in my throat, and it 
 seemed as though it would not go down. 
 
 Then I got away before Ephraim had finished his after- 
 dinner pipe, to be ready for chewing, and had not put on his 
 apron and found that his tobacco was gone. Across cor-
 
 The Pirate's Rhyme 29 
 
 ners, and with short cuts, I made hot speed for the prison, 
 and came shortly within the shadow of it, my heart beating 
 fast, and I scant of breath. 
 
 But, as I darted up to the door, a stern, solemn voice, 
 clear-cut and commanding, halted me; and, looking up, 
 there I saw, standing with one foot upon the threshold, the 
 great Cotton Mather. Never shall I forget and he be 
 some thirty years dead now that wonderful, calm, keen, 
 intelligent, aye, noble face, as he gazed wonderingly down 
 at me. 
 
 As I saw him then, so I see him now, with his huge wig, 
 carefully curled, parted evenly on the top and coming down 
 to his very shoulders ; and I note the manner hi which it 
 set off his handsome, scholarly face. And if I did not mark 
 in detail then as I did often afterwards, when he stood 
 up of a Sunday in the pulpit his splendid, broad, full 
 forehead, his prominent but finely shaped nose, his heavy 
 eyebrows, his deeply indented chin, and firm mouth, with 
 the upper lip elegantly curving upward at the edges, like 
 an Indian's bow, if, I say, I did not then define and 
 analyze the strong features of the man, certain it is that 
 the commanding effect of the whole stirred me to my very 
 depths ; and I had as lieve met at that moment an arch 
 angel with a flaming sword. 
 
 For this was the great Cotton Mather who ruled us as 
 with a rod of iron, and whose voice was the voice of 
 authority in all New England. He was, indeed, a man 
 greater than any governor, by reason of his zeal and his 
 wonderful mind and his indomitable will. 
 
 No boyhood, with its silly pranks, had this man experi-
 
 30 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 enced ; but a versifier in Latin he was at the age of twelve ; 
 steeped to the core of his brain in the mysteries and pro 
 fundities of the Scriptures ; a college graduate at the age of 
 sixteen, and now, at the age of forty-two, the greatest man 
 in the colonies. 
 
 Burning with zeal to his finger-tips was he, ever exhort 
 ing, preaching daily in the houses of his congregation, 
 stopping men in the streets to argue of the Word with 
 them, and gathering the children from their play to impress 
 upon their minds the awfulness of the divine wrath and 
 the penalties of sin. Withal, he was not free from a species 
 of vanity, and the sound of his voice was not unpleasant 
 to his ears. 
 
 Now he looked down upon me sternly and asked : 
 
 " Boy, why came you here to this abiding- place of sinful 
 men?" 
 
 " To see the pirates, sir," I answered, faintly; and I 
 could barely find voice to speak. 
 
 " Ah ! " said he. " And they have sinned most griev 
 ously in the sight of God and man and against His great 
 commands ; and grievously must they pay the wages that 
 are those of sin. And so, if you do come to look upon them, 
 not vulgarly and witlessly as a little fool, from a mere burn 
 ing of curiosity, but as upon men that have come to the 
 brink of the Pit, even as you may come, then shall it profit 
 you and may save you from their evil ways." 
 
 He paused for a moment, and stood with his face raised 
 to the skies as though lost in meditation. Then of a sudden 
 he darted a look at me, laid a hand upon my shoulder and 
 said, sharply:
 
 The Pirate's Rhyme 31 
 
 " And will you, child of sin, forsake the devil and all his 
 works ? " 
 
 I gasped assent, with my guilt wrapping me about and 
 stifling me, like a cloud of smoke. 
 
 " Will you forsake the vanities of the sinful world? " 
 he continued and, without pausing for answer, he 
 added, in a voice as one sounding alarm to men sweeping 
 on to destruction : 
 
 " Do you wish to be besooted with the smoke of the 
 Bottomless Pit?" 
 
 " No ! No ! " I cried, and clutched, with reeking hand, 
 the tobacco in my pocket that I had taken from Cousin 
 Ephraim, and felt the griping agony of remorse and attri 
 tion rack me like an ague. 
 
 " Will you be lost in the fog of iniquity? " continued 
 Cotton Mather, warming to his exhortation as he pro 
 ceeded. 
 
 " No ! no ! " I groaned ; but the fog was even then en 
 wrapping me in fabric icy cold ; and through its blackness 
 I seemed rushing forward, with the pirate leading me on, in 
 the hideous shadow of the black flag. 
 
 " Then go go boy look, if you will, upon these 
 wicked men, and let their example be as a fearful warning 
 to you in the days to come." 
 
 He turned and walked away, for he had just stepped 
 from out the prison where he had laboured to convert these 
 doomed men from their sin. 
 
 Now Caleb let me into the gaol and I got, by and by, to 
 where the pirate who called himself John Roach sat 
 chained, and passed him over Cousin Ephraim's tobacco ;
 
 32 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 and when I told him what I had been through to get it he 
 said I was a plucky lad ; and he took a great bite of the 
 stuff as though he were hungry. So I left him, staring 
 stonily at his prison walls; for he had relapsed suddenly 
 into moodiness and seemed to forget that I was there. 
 
 It was two days before I went again to the prison, and 
 this time I took another junk of the tobacco, twisted into a 
 great black rope; for I had given my confidence to El- 
 bridge Carver, not being able to cage the secret within me 
 so but that it would escape. He was a lad of resource, and 
 was under no such watchfulness as I, and had no trouble 
 in getting the tobacco for me ; and I had promised to beg 
 Caleb to let him into the gaol to reward him. 
 
 This time was the tall, swarthy pirate in two moods the 
 same minute; for the confinement had grown more irk 
 some, and the yearning for free life was strong upon him. 
 So that he called me a brave lad for my present, and cursed 
 me and all my breed in the next breath for his troubles. 
 
 But all at once he beckoned me near and said, softly : 
 " Have ye a stub of lead, boy, and a scrap of something 
 to make my mark on ? " 
 
 Of course he knew I had not, but it was his way of asking 
 me to get them. So I went and begged the loan of an ink- 
 horn and a quill and bit of paper from Caleb, who was a 
 good-natured man, not having the same brand of disposi 
 tion as Cousin Mercy. The pirate took them as handily 
 as he could, for the irons about his wrists, and sat down 
 to them La silence. 
 
 When he had done writing and it was no small labour 
 for him to work, hampered as he was he rolled the
 
 The Pirate's Rhyme 33 
 
 paper up, got a bit of string from me, tied the paper up 
 securely and tossed it out. 
 
 " Take it home, and let them that be good at riddles 
 puzzle over it," he said, as though he thought I could not 
 read, being so young ; but I could read right well, hav 
 ing been started at it at five years, partly by Cousin 
 Mercy, but more by my own inclination. 
 
 " 'Tis a bit of doggerel that the mate hitched together, 
 to keep the bearings in mind, boy," he said, " and it be no 
 verse of mine ; for, by the Lord ! Jack Brandt could do 
 a better bit of rhyming than that, an he set his hand to it." 
 
 Now what the pirate meant by all this I had not the 
 least idea in the world; but he had said that Jack 
 Brandt could have done the verse better, and I wondered 
 if he might not mean himself; and so I asked him who 
 Jack Brandt was. 
 
 " Jack Brandt ! " he exclaimed, sharply. " Who said 
 anything about Jack Brandt ? ' Jack Roach,' I said, my 
 name being Jack, or John, as they will. As for the paper, 
 lad, show it to them at home; and if they would know 
 more, let them come and ask me." 
 
 " More of what? " I asked, being muddled in my head 
 at his strange talk and his ill-tempered denial of his own 
 speech. 
 
 " Stupid ! " he snapped, impatiently. " 'Tis a passport 
 to more yellow money than you'll ever see again piled in 
 one heap if you live a hundred years. Tell them so at home. 
 Let them take it or leave it to rot. Let them get it from 
 that, if they can. It's all there in black and white 
 though 'twould puzzle any man, and like enough, Black
 
 34 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Dan Baldrick, to figure it. An he had but the lay of it, 
 he'd buy your governor out, twice over and he's sold 
 his soul to the Evil One forty times over for half it." 
 
 Here was more mystery to me, and a hint of money that 
 made my head swim more and more, and the sound of still 
 a new name. 
 
 " And who is Black Dan Baldrick ? " I asked, wonder 
 ing if he, too, would disappear and become somebody 
 else at the repetition of his name. 
 
 " Dan-o'-the-Ship ? Who is he ! " screamed the pirate, 
 rising in his chains of a sudden and bursting into a white 
 heat of fury. " I wish I had him by the throat ! I wish 
 I had him here in this cell, begging me for his life ! I wish 
 he were lying there in that corner now, asking me for 
 mercy ! Who tricked me out of my ship ? Who sent me 
 here to hang, for the birds to feed on ? Who sold his own 
 brother for a month's pay and shore leave to drink it in ? " 
 
 He grew quickly so hoarse with passion that the words 
 seemed to choke him; and he ground his teeth together 
 and shook his manacled fists, while the great drops of 
 sweat fell from his forehead to the stone floor. I had never 
 seen nor dreamed of such a picture of rage and fierce 
 hatred; and the yearning for murder, thrown upon his 
 face, as on a white screen, from the shadow of his heart, 
 appalled me. 
 
 " Curse him ! " he cried, hoarsely. " I curse him now 
 and for ever, and the minute before I swing I'll put a curse 
 on him then ; and 'twill be as near a dead man's curse as 
 I can swear it and what's next to a dead man's curse 
 is sure a dying man's and that for Black Dan, and
 
 The Pirate's Rhyme 35 
 
 may he die begging for his life like the coward that he 
 is." 
 
 Then I stayed no more, for I was all of a tremble, and 
 the man's voice sounded in my ears like a shriek from the 
 pit that Cotton Mather had warned me of; and I ran, 
 terrified, from the gaol, nor went there again to see the men 
 that were to die.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 DEATH OF QUELCH'S MEN 
 
 WHEN I had come to the supper-table that night Cousin 
 Mercy demanded to know where I had been all the after 
 noon, and leaving chores neglected, and I said I had 
 been to the prison. 
 
 " Then shame on you ! " she cried, " for spending time 
 in such a wicked place; and don't go there again." 
 
 But when I told her that the great Cotton Mather had 
 met me on the door-step, once before, and had approved 
 of my going, if I did but go in the proper spirit, she said 
 it was well, and were my face and hands clean when I had 
 met the preacher? 
 
 It was, indeed, a wicked thing, she said, to go and stare 
 at bloody pirates with no intent to profit by their example, 
 but for mere sinful curiosity ; but, soon, she asked me what 
 they looked like, and what they did, and what they talked 
 of. And I should have liked to tell her of Scudamore's 
 great sea-fight, as I had told it to the boys, for she was keen 
 to know about them, but I dared not. 
 
 So I thought me of the paper the pirate had given to me, 
 and fetched it out of my pocket. There was the rhyme, 
 lettered not badly, with something more scrawled below, 
 
 36
 
 Death of Quelch's Men 37 
 
 a tiny skull and bones in the right-hand upper comer, and 
 a finish put to it all with the crude drawing of an anchor at 
 the bottom, in lieu of signature. And I read it thus, over 
 Cousin Ephraim's shoulder, when he had taken the paper : 
 
 " When the skeleton's bones are bare, 
 When his ribs let in the air, 
 Sight across from skull to toe 
 Weigh the anchor, now, yeave-ho ! " 
 
 " Rubbish and tomfoolery ! " cried my cousin Ephraim, 
 when he had gotten thus far. "What silly doggerel be 
 this?" 
 
 " Read the rest of it," said Cousin Mercy, who, I think, 
 had the more insight to it. 
 
 " They're sailing directions of some sort," said Cousin 
 Ephraim, reading: 
 
 " ' South and west from the Fool's Cap to the Rock of 
 the Four Seals ; thence south by east, past the Blind Sisters ; 
 thence southeast south southwest to the Inlet. 
 Lay the north cape close aboard ; cross to south cape to 
 clear middle ground; west by edge of middle ground, 
 leaving breakers starboard ; north between middle ground 
 and shoal; to island below river; lie in north shore 
 bight; bar at low water.' " 
 
 " Well," said Ephraim, " and what be it all about, and 
 how did you come by it ? " 
 
 " 'Tis treasure, of course," exclaimed Cousin Mercy, 
 smartly, " and this be the key to it." 
 
 " Treasure it may be," replied Cousin Ephraim, " and 
 treasure it is like to stay for all that's written here."
 
 38 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 " But he said it was all there, Ephraim," I cried. 
 
 "Who did?" demanded my cousin, impatiently. 
 
 " Let Philip tell it," said Cousin Mercy. And I gave 
 them an account of how I had come by the paper, save 
 the small matter of the tobacco. 
 
 " Zounds ! " cried my cousin, when I had finished. 
 " There's something in this, sure and ' yellow money ' 
 did he say, ' piled high ? ' 
 
 " That he did, Cousin Ephraim," I answered, " and 
 enough to buy out our governor twice over." 
 
 " He meant gold," said Cousin Ephraim, " but how to 
 come by it is another business and the man's as good as 
 dead and how will he give up his secret but for his 
 life?" 
 
 " We must see Squire Andrews," said Cousin Mercy. 
 
 " Well, say nothing of it to any one, then," said Ephraim, 
 " for if aught can be done it needs must be done most 
 quietly." 
 
 Now it surprised me not a little to see Cousins Ephraim 
 and Mercy so eager of a sudden for the pirate gold, when 
 it had in all likelihood the taint of bloodshed about it; 
 but, for the matter of that, so has the subject of money and 
 of the making of fortunes and the changing attitude of 
 men toward it, when they have it not and after they have 
 gotten it, been a puzzle and a confusion to me all my life. 
 
 Often since, in the days gone by, have I wondered what 
 may have been the pirate's motive in giving me the paper. 
 Sometimes I have thought that, because of a sort of liking, 
 or fancy, that he had taken toward me, he had set about 
 giving up the secret of buried treasure to me, and had
 
 Death of Quelch's Men 39 
 
 changed his mind in the doing of it, and had only done 
 enough to tantalize us all ; and then, again, have I thought 
 it was in the nature of a trap he was setting for us ; for it 
 were twenty chances to one, had we gone about the seeking 
 of it then, and with accurate directions to take us to the 
 spot, we had fallen into a nest of pirates and never come 
 back again to tell of it. 
 
 But mostly do I lean upon the notion that the man had 
 some hope, even then, of getting clear by it, with the other 
 half of the secret in his brain to illumine that which he had 
 written on the paper, having a conviction that money 
 would buy even our governor which was not true. 
 
 At any rate, Cousin Ephraim saw no harm in trying to 
 save a fellow man from the gallows. So he went and saw 
 Elias Andrews 's father, who was a lawyer-merchant, and 
 one Samuel Treat, who had the ear of the governor's sec 
 retary. Then Cousin Ephraim went to the prison, and, 
 later, Treat saw the governor's secretary. But the upshot 
 was, they got a severe snubbing ; and Ephraim and Mercy 
 were so sour about it I dared not ask Ephraim what the 
 pirate had said to him. 
 
 Still, Ephraim did not give over the matter wholly, 
 but spent a deal of time in trying to find out if there were 
 a jut of land anywhere in the colonies that was called the 
 " Fool's Cap." There was not a sailor nor captain in all 
 the port but whom he inquired of also concerning the 
 Blind Sisters and the Four Seals. Yet could he get no 
 satisfaction from it, and bit his nails with vexation and 
 did not sleep well. 
 
 Then he threw down the paper in a fit of peevishness,
 
 40 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 one day, and stamped his heel on it, and left it lying there ; 
 and I picked it up and folded it carefully and, later, sewed 
 it within a scrap of sheepskin and hung it about my neck by 
 a cord; but made, laboriously, a lettered copy of it, lest 
 Cousin Ephraim might want it again. 
 
 In the meantime it came around to Sunday once more, 
 a Sunday long to be remembered and never have I seen 
 its like again. For here were seven men that had sailed 
 the wild seas for many a year, and never heard the Word, 
 nor the name of God, but in blasphemy ; and their hearts 
 hardened to all sweet influences. And now they were to be 
 brought into church and listen to the sounds of praise to 
 His great name ; to hear how He swept the wide stretches 
 of the ocean with all-seeing eye; and how nothing they 
 had ever done, yea, all their wickedness under the sun and 
 stars, but had been seen by Him. And yet to learn how 
 He would be merciful to them, after we had hanged them. 
 
 I remember, though I was but seven, as if it were yester 
 day, how Cousin Mercy had me up at half-past four in the 
 morning, and that I was scrubbed and starched and 
 jacketed and booted by daylight, and set down with a ser 
 mon of Cotton Mather's to read Cousin Mercy had one 
 ever at hand for me. We were all to go to the service, 
 though it was to be at the church in Brattle Street, and not 
 our Old North Church, for Cotton Mather was to assist the 
 minister there in a special service, and Cousin Mercy said 
 she would go to hear Cotton Mather, but she cared nothing 
 about seeing the pirates. 
 
 Then, by nine, the bells were tolling, and we were well 
 on our way to the church, with many neighbours, also, on
 
 Death of Quelch's Men 41 
 
 the way. We had set out early, so that Cousin Mercy 
 could find a good seat from which to see the preacher near 
 at hand ; but, already, when we were at the door, was the 
 church nearly filled, which caused Cousin Mercy to scold 
 Ephraim. But a seat was found for us, not too far back, 
 and soon after that there was no sitting left for anybody ; 
 and the streets and entire square in front of the church, 
 and away down to the town dock bridge and up as far as 
 Treamount Street were jammed with people. 
 
 Quickly now there arose, from all around, a loud mur 
 mur, like a rising wind, and the hum and sibilation of 
 many voices ; for the prison door was thrown open and a 
 strange group was marching down Brattle Street to the 
 church. On it came, and the tumult grew; and soon a 
 great uproar broke, like a wave, against the church door. 
 Then arose in the pulpit the great Cotton Mather on one 
 side, and the pastor, Benjamin Colman, on the other, and 
 they stretched out their hands and the church became 
 silent. 
 
 At this there fell upon our ears the menacing, the dread 
 ful sound of the clanking of chains; and down the aisle 
 were marched seven men, loaded heavily with irons, the 
 head constable and Caleb and a body of musketeers at 
 tending them. Down they marched, under the very shadow 
 of the pulpit, and sat in the front seat, where the ministers 
 could look close into their faces, and the eyes of all the 
 congregation upon them. 
 
 How strange, how terrible, it all seemed to me, I can 
 find no words to express; but it was like unto a fearful 
 dream, and I wondered if the Lord might not perform a
 
 42 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 miracle and break the chains from these men and declare 
 in a loud voice that they should live, and not be hanged. 
 I think I had some hopes of it, and whispered to Cousin 
 Mercy to know if it could happen; but she pinched me 
 and bade me keep quiet. 
 
 First, the pastor of the church stood up and prayed; 
 and his prayer was long and of great earnestness and full 
 of the fear of the terrible God, slow to anger but consuming 
 in His wrath ; yet forgiving and merciful to those that re 
 pented. And it seemed, several of the men were much 
 moved by the prayer and cried aloud for forgiveness. 
 
 When he had finished his prayer, the pastor read a 
 chapter from the Bible ; and of this I remember nothing 
 except there was something in it about the wicked being 
 scourged as with a rod of iron; and I hoped they might 
 not come into use and that Cousin Mercy would not get 
 one, for she did very well with one of alder. 
 
 The singing of the psalm came next, and we all stood 
 up to take part, the pirates rising, too, in their chains, like 
 an awful example set before us of the wrath of the Lord, 
 of which we sang. The psalm was not all unfamiliar to me, 
 for I had heard Cousin Mercy sing it, and the opening lines 
 of one verse went like this : 
 
 " The wicked shall His triumph see, 
 And gnash their teeth in agony." 
 
 It ended with the doom of everlasting night upon the 
 sinful, their names lost in darkness for ever. 
 
 I know not with what strength these lugubrious waves 
 of song beat in upon and broke against the hearts of men
 
 Death of Quelch's Men 43 
 
 doomed to die come five days more ; but for me, flitting in 
 uneasy spirit from the Bay of Honduras to the prison, and 
 back and forth thus, they rolled in upon me in a cold, 
 gray flood, beneath which my very soul lay as though 
 lost beyond the doomsday; and cast me into a gloom 
 that even the singing of Cousin Mercy, shrilly and through 
 her nose, could not enliven, as it was wont to do. 
 
 Now Cotton Mather stood up, and said not a word for 
 a full minute, but gazed fixedly at the seven sinful ones 
 in their chains and their shame. It seemed to me that I 
 should as lieves be dead as transfixed with that look, 
 had I been one of them ; for his was a face of vast and 
 varied and comprehensive expression, so that these men 
 looking into his eyes could read as in a book the story of 
 their evil doing, the horror of the righteous, the wrath of 
 God, the present humiliation that was upon them, and 
 the punishment that lay even beyond the grave. 
 
 Not that, as a lad of foolish years, I analyzed and per 
 ceived it all thus, but the picture was burned upon my 
 brain, and I have seen it often again and thought me 
 much upon the significance of it. And, indeed, in the 
 telling of it all now, and, also, of the execution of the men 
 and the words spoken to and by the pirates, I do draw not 
 wholly upon my boyish memory of it, but on the memory 
 of others, who saw it with me, and who wrote down many 
 things that I remembered on hearing again, but should 
 have forgotten otherwise. 
 
 When Cotton Mather had stood for the minute, pierc 
 ing the pirates with his glance, he opened his lips and 
 said solemnly, and with sorrow in his voice :
 
 44 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 " Lord, I am vile, conceived in sin." 
 
 Then upon a plane, even, with these men did Cotton 
 Mather put himself and the whole congregation, as he 
 spoke of the corruption and the taint that was upon each 
 and every soul born into the inheritance of the sin of 
 Adam. He pictured this original sin springing up from 
 the seeds of this corruption, and the plants thereof flour 
 ishing or blighting within us by reason of the lives we 
 led. Then he told of these men; how their souls had 
 been enwrapped by this growth as though by poisonous 
 vines, and that these must be cut ruthlessly away before 
 the sunlight of salvation could enter their hearts. 
 
 What a weight of depression fell from me, like a garment 
 cast off, when the great Cotton Mather sat down and I 
 heard sexton Goodrich lifting the bolts of the doors to let 
 us out ! Then we sat in our seats while up the aisle the 
 seven were marched, the chains upon them jingling as 
 before. 
 
 Well do I remember how I cowered in my seat, a guilty 
 wretch, as my tall, black pirate strode by, watching him 
 out of the corners of my eyes to see how he looked after 
 the sermon. Moreover, I had some boyish fear that he 
 might espy me and say something about the tobacco, or, 
 at least, my kindness to him, which would betray me; 
 and I wondered, too, if he had the tobacco with him and 
 found a secret solace in it. 
 
 But he strode along, with face of flint, though clouded 
 with anger; and it seemed to me that Cotton Mather's 
 sermon had only stirred him to a fury, though he scorned 
 to have his emotion seen of the men he hated and despised.
 
 Death of Quelch's Men 45 
 
 The days went swiftly by, and I had no stomach to play 
 at pirating more, though Elias had made it up with me, 
 and was hot for playing the capture of the pirates; and 
 I might be Captain Quelch, did I choose, and have El- 
 bridge and Sammy Holmes and a dozen other lads for 
 my crew, and Elias would play Major Sewall and capture 
 us all. Yet, though I would not enter the prison again, 
 from the horror of the thing, neither could I keep wholly 
 away from it; and I spent hours walking about in that 
 vicinity, gazing over at its sinister walls, with the spirits 
 of all the pirates that were ever confined there, from Kidd 
 and B radish to Quelch and his crew, possessing and 
 haunting me. 
 
 So, too, was the whole town in a state of uneasiness and 
 restlessness over the dread thing that was now imminent ; 
 and there was nothing else talked of anywhere between the 
 Charles River and Windmill Point and from the North 
 Battery to the fortifications to the southward. So, there 
 was fallen even a sort of lull over business and pleasures, 
 from the Sunday up to Friday ; for it was that day, ever 
 fraught with evil portent for sailormen, that was ap 
 pointed for the execution. 
 
 At length the day came. Cousin Ephraim did no work 
 that forenoon, I recall, but sat idly about in his shop, with 
 neighbours dropping in all the time, to talk about the 
 execution and ask Ephraim if he were going. 
 
 Cousin Mercy was for having me stay at home at first ; 
 and, indeed, I shook at the prospect of the sight, and 
 could not decide that I wished to go until Mercy said I 
 should not, and then I begged hard for Ephraim to take
 
 46 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 me. Cousin Mercy shifted at length and thought it would 
 cure me of playing at piracy, to see to what end it would 
 bring me and she knew I would tell her more about it 
 than Ephraim, who was a monosyllabic man, except in 
 the trading of horses. 
 
 It was about two o'clock, after we had had our dinner, 
 that Ephraim and I set out from home to walk to the 
 prison. When we had turned from Frog Lane into New- 
 bury Street there were scores of men and women on the 
 way already. We could see them coming in across the 
 fields in all directions, and the roads were dusty with the 
 wheels of farm wagons. Now and again, as we walked 
 on, the prison bell and the bells of the Brattle Street 
 and Old North Churches rang out with doleful clan 
 gour. 
 
 Soon we heard the tidings that the death-warrant had 
 been read, that prayers had been said at the gaol, and 
 the order of march formed. And so, as there were some 
 thousand people betwixt us and the prison, we cut down 
 through the lower part of the town and waited in Ann 
 Street for the procession to come up to us. 
 
 There we heard, in a little while, the heavy thudding 
 of the drums and the fierce screeching of the fifes, above 
 the roar and shoutings that filled the streets. First there 
 came in sight the two drummers that beat out, in unison, 
 a slow, reverberating tap, warning the crowd clear of the 
 procession. With them was a corps of four fifers. 
 
 Then there followed the great body of musketeers, forty 
 of them, and the provost marshal and his officers and the 
 constables. Behind them, and just in front of the seven
 
 47 
 
 pirates, there walked an officer, or deputy, of the great 
 High Court of Admiralty. He bore a large oar, sticking 
 straight up in the air, like the sweep of a yawl, only it was 
 silvered all over with a sort of silver paint, and was the 
 insignia of the Admiralty Court which had jurisdic 
 tion of this thing. It was Ebenezer Smiley who bore this 
 oar, and he seemed mighty proud of it and tramped along 
 with his nose in the air; and I wondered if he had for 
 gotten that he used to hold horses, and whisk the flies 
 away from them with a horse-tail switch while Ephraim 
 shod them. 
 
 Captain Quelch was the first pirate in line, and Chris 
 topher Scudamore next, and then the man who called 
 himself John Roach; and the others, I do not remember 
 their order. By the side of Captain Quelch, speaking 
 a word of prayer now and again to him and to the others, 
 walked Cotton Mather, in a flowing gown of black, and 
 bare-headed, save for his big wig. Dressed all alike for 
 the ordeal were the seven men, each in jacket and trousers 
 of a blue cloth, and hats of a white stuff bound with black 
 ribbons that depended in flying ends. The arms of each 
 man were pinioned behind his back and there were chains 
 upon the wrists. 
 
 Past us the procession moved along, down Ann Street 
 into Fish Street, through Moon Street into Clarke's Square, 
 and halted briefly before the Old North Church, where 
 Cotton Mather delivered prayer. Then down they moved 
 to the water-front and out on to Captain Scarlett's wharf, 
 a crowd of men, women, and children at their heels, and 
 the women and children screaming for sheer excitement.
 
 48 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Then Cousin Ephraim and I and a neighbour, Judson 
 Snow, hurried on to a shipyard above the North Battery, 
 where Ephraim had engaged for the day a small skiff in 
 which to follow the boats to the gallows. We rowed out 
 a piece and waited on our oars, Cousin Ephraim and 
 neighbour Snow having each a pair, and saw the party 
 embark and the procession continue by water. 
 
 There was much the same order as before, the drummers 
 and fifers going on ahead in boats, and the musketeers in 
 boats encircling the long-boat that bore the pirates, to 
 prevent other craft crowding. In the bow of the long 
 boat sat Ebenezer, holding the silver oar, and in the stern, 
 facing the pirates, sat Cotton Mather. In this boat were 
 no oarsmen, but it was towed by another boat, with a line 
 out from the bow. 
 
 To the north and west, following the curve of the shore, 
 past the shipyards, the fleet of rowboats slowly moved 
 in the direction of the Charlestown ferry; till, all of a 
 sudden, at a bend of the shore, not a quarter of a mile 
 away, there showed, ugly and hateful, a few feet out from 
 the land, the outlines of the gallows. And with this, the 
 whole strange setting of the death scene was spread before 
 our eyes. 
 
 At a point near the Charlestown ferry, and about mid 
 way between Hanson's Point and the warehouse of Mr. 
 Brought on, was the gallows set up, with the waters of the 
 harbour flowing all about it, according to the wording of 
 the law for the hanging of pirates : " Upon the sea, or 
 within the ebbing and flowing thereof." This gibbet was 
 a huge and awful thing, of heavy timbers, for seven men
 
 Death of Quelch's Men 49 
 
 were to die on it ; and it loomed up for men to see a mile 
 away. 
 
 Up on Broughton's Hill, overlooking the harbour, was 
 a great black cloud of men and women and boys, to the 
 number of several thousand; and all the wharves and 
 shipyards, and the ships along the one and those building 
 in the others were covered with people; and the mill- 
 dam to the northward was swarming with them. Then, 
 encircling all, and crowding in to the line drawn by the 
 boats of the musketeers, were a hundred and fifty boats, 
 and more. Back of these, stretching away to the Charles- 
 town shore, lay vessels at anchor, many of them having 
 swung into a new anchorage that those aboard, on deck 
 and in the rigging, aye, aloft on the topmost yards, might 
 see the pirates die. 
 
 Now when the gallows and the multitude four thou 
 sand men, women, and children I have heard it estimated 
 at came into view, the rowers stopped, as the plan had 
 been arranged, and Cotton Mather stood up in the stern 
 of the boat to pray. He began in these words, that I have 
 exact from our kinsman, John Campbell : 
 
 " We have told you often that you have by sin undone 
 yourselves; that you were born sinners; that you have 
 lived sinners. 
 
 " We have told you that there is a Saviour for sinners. 
 We leave you in His merciful hands." 
 
 At this, however, one of the men did cry out, loudly : 
 
 " But where is the mercy of the men of New England, 
 that we are to be hanged like dogs for doing what we were 
 made to do ? "
 
 50 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 There was a tremendous commotion in the multitude 
 round about the pirates' boat, though what the fellow 
 said was mere catch-stuff; for it was ever the ready 
 pretence of a rogue, caught in those days with rovers and 
 cutthroats for companions, that he had been an honest 
 man till he had been tricked and seized by a pirate ship 
 and made to take service. 
 
 Moreover, as I have said, there being much secret 
 sympathy for pirates and piracy among many at this time, 
 as well as the natural feeling in the crowd toward men 
 whose pathway led to the gallows, there arose a murmur 
 ing as of approval of the man's words, and some one cried : 
 
 " Aye, and why are not they hanged, too, that stay 
 ashore and hire these men to do the black-flag business 
 for them?" 
 
 Yet, as suddenly as the solemn ceremony was thus 
 thrown into confusion, as suddenly was the disturbance 
 abated, and a hush fell upon the crowd. For Cotton 
 Mather stretched out his arms in a gesture of command ; 
 and his eyes flashed the fire of indignation at this rude 
 interruption of his invocation. 
 
 Burning with anger was he, yet his face was calm, and 
 he stood, as stern and unmoved outwardly by the clamour 
 of the people, as though he were a man of marble. 
 
 " Stop ! " he commanded. And the men in the boats 
 that were accompanying far and near ceased their rowing. 
 " Let this unseemly and thoughtless outcry cease ! If 
 there be one amongst you that dares applaud the words 
 of this wicked man, let him come forth that I may look 
 upon him. Let us see whosoever be the confederates in
 
 Death of Quelch's Men 51 
 
 spirit of these outlaws that have defied the commands of 
 God and used His seas for sin ! " 
 
 There was a moment of breathless silence and then the 
 procession glided on, as Cotton Mather waved with his 
 hand for the rowers to proceed, saying, sternly, " Let the 
 judgment of God and of the law be carried out." 
 
 The rowers bent now to their oars, and the boat with 
 the seven was drawn on to the very foot of the gallows, 
 where a rude flight of steps went up to a platform. Here 
 the boat was made fast by bow and stem, and the seven 
 assisted out of it and up to the stage. One was half- 
 carried up. His name was Francis King. 
 
 Then Cotton Mather, standing alone in the boat, in the 
 shadow of the death-tree, exclaimed in a loud voice, that 
 sounded far across the waters of the harbour : 
 
 " O Thou most great and glorious Lord ! Thou art 
 a righteous and a terrible God. Evil pursueth sinners. 
 We have before us a dreadful demonstration of it. Oh, 
 sanctify unto us a sight that has in it so much of the terror 
 of the Lord. 
 
 " Oh, knock off the chains of death which are upon the 
 souls of these men. Oh, snatch the prey out of the hands 
 of the Terrible ! " 
 
 When he had ended, the pirate captain, Quelch, vowed 
 he had no fear of the gallows, but of the Great God and 
 the Judgment Day. And all the others, except the man 
 who called himself John Roach, were seemingly much 
 moved, either by fear or remorse. This man's face I could 
 not see clearly, but he stood erect, silent and scornful and 
 hating all men.
 
 52 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 It happened then, just as the ropes were being let down 
 from the great beam, there came a reprieve for the man, 
 King, and a great tumult of shouting and clapping and 
 hurrahing arose on every hand; and, no doubt, those 
 that had been as eager to see him die making the most 
 noise, as is ever the way with the witless. But to see one of 
 their number escape, seemed to make it harder for those 
 that were to die; and, of them all, Quelch was the most 
 angered and changed his demeanour most; for, as the 
 pirate Lambert was warning the crowd to beware of bad 
 company, Quelch cried out, scornfully: 
 
 " They should also take care how they bring money 
 into New England, to be hanged for it." Then he bowed, 
 like an actor making a speech before the play begins; 
 and, some of the others following his cue in a manner, it 
 seemed as though the prayers and objurgations of the 
 preachers had had but surf ace effect on the pirates, after all. 
 
 But the end came swiftly now, for there were white 
 hoods drawn over the heads of the six, and their voices 
 came thin and hollow through the cloth. A mist in my 
 eyes half-shut out the dreadful thing that came to pass. 
 I only knew that of a sudden the great platform shot from 
 under the feet of the men, and a mighty screech went 
 up from the throats of the four thousand on land and 
 water, so that persons heard it a mile and more away in 
 the streets of Boston. Then a dizziness came upon me 
 and my brain was humming like a peg-top. 
 
 When I came to my senses, a boy in a boat near by was 
 laughing as he gazed upon the gibbet and the men dan 
 gling in their chains. The boy was Elias.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 EPHRAIM'S WANDERINGS 
 
 WELL, when another day had passed and, by the morn 
 of yet another, the pirates had been cut down and put 
 away for ever, and boats going on up the Charles no longer 
 pointed the glass in at the huge gallows and its warning 
 to the wicked, six times repeated, our good town quieted 
 itself once more ; and the minds of men turned the leaves 
 of the brain over quickly from that hideous chapter. 
 
 But for my cousin Ephraim was there no such thing 
 as forgetfulness, in that the copy of the pirate's scrawl 
 that I had made remained to haunt him through daylight 
 and dark for days aye, for a year or more tanta 
 lizing him as though he had the magic ring or the lamp, 
 that the tales of Arabia tell of, and knew not how to rub 
 the thing to get the good out of it. 
 
 " And he said there was yellow money piled high, did 
 he, Philip?" he would say ever and again, pausing at 
 his hammering in the shop, while the golden glow of the 
 iron died away to black on his anvil. 
 
 " Aye, that he did, Ephraim," I would reply ; " and 
 enough to buy out our governor twice over." And 
 Ephraim would stand gazing stupidly at a corner of the 
 room for minutes at a time; and then would seize sud- 
 
 53
 
 54 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 denly upon the bellows, and blow the sparks and flame 
 in a fierce blast up the chimney, and bring the yellow 
 bar of iron out upon the anvil and hammer it like a 
 madman. 
 
 Of secret meetings at our house there were many, and 
 Elias's father and the others came to them. They got 
 out what few maps we had, and they pored over these, 
 and made their calculations, so many miles south and 
 west, and so on, from this point of land and that. So that, 
 by their figuring at guess-work, they variously located 
 the treasure, now in Virginia, now at points in the Caro- 
 linas, and again farther south or north. 
 
 In the end, they were all disgusted at their own cupidity, 
 and came even to jest over the matter and to quiz Cousin 
 Ephraim about it; which he took most ill, being sore at 
 heart and eaten up with craving for the money. 
 
 So it came about that Ephraim seemed to contract a 
 sort of itch for treasure-seeking, from the handling of 
 this paper, and neglected his work; till Cousin Mercy 
 grew worried about him and spoke to Cotton Mather 
 concerning it. Cotton Mather induced Ephraim to burn 
 the paper, and he prayed and exhorted with Ephraim 
 for the half of a day ; and Ephraim vowed he would give 
 over his folly and go about his business ; but, in a few days, 
 he had made another copy of the paper from memory 
 and, indeed, he knew it all by heart, but was afraid he 
 might forget it and the last state of his mind was even 
 worse than the first, like the man in the Scriptures. 
 
 Then Ephraim's brain was like a shingle smeared with 
 molasses, set to catch flies; and, though he by and by
 
 Ephraim's Wanderings 55 
 
 gave up the paper in despair, every other rumour or story 
 or tradition of buried treasure, of which there were great 
 numbers, as there are yet to-day, stuck in his brain and 
 buzzed there, and died only after a stinging and a pester 
 ing of Ephraim that set him to searching and to wandering. 
 
 There were coming constantly to our ears in those days, 
 when our great coast had never a light set up to warn 
 mariners off the shoals and hidden reefs all about, the 
 reports of the wrecking of vessels here and there. Par 
 ticularly was this true of the long bulwark of sand that 
 shuts out the stormy sea from the waters of our bay. On 
 the back of Cape Cod, on the seaward side, ever and again 
 a fine ship piled in on the sand and went to pieces. And 
 Cousin Ephraim had a mind to cruise out around the 
 cape, along the treacherous shore, and hunt for wreckage. 
 
 I went along, as I always did on these treasure-hunting 
 expeditions of Cousin Ephraim's; for I think he 
 associated me with his schemes for finding gold, inas 
 much as I had been the means, first, of setting him 
 at it. 
 
 In the latter part of August, 1706, then, we set out, 
 with two friends of Ephraim, in a sloop of twenty tons, and 
 went around the cape to a harbour some miles below 
 Eastham on the seaward side. While we were in this 
 harbour, a storm arose and a bark was blown in on to the 
 cape back of Eastham, and wrecked there. Early in the 
 morning, when the storm fell away, Cousin Ephraim 
 ran our sloop alongside the bark, which was not yet 
 broken up. There was not a man alive in her, but 
 plenty of merchandise and other stuffs; and we got a
 
 56 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 cargo of this and set sail before other wreckers were 
 about. 
 
 Now, it seemed, the town of Eastham was wroth over 
 this, for we had been sighted from shore, and these wrecks 
 were claimed by the town. So the stuff we got should have 
 been taken before the town clerk and inventoried, and we 
 might have had a share of it. But Cousin Ephraim knew 
 naught of this, I am sure, and took no more than he thought 
 he had a right to, deeming it only dead men's property 
 and title thereto passing to him through the sea's devise. 
 Nor did he deem it advisable to acquaint the authorities 
 later that it was he who got the stuff, inasmuch as it might 
 humiliate the fishermen that sighted us, not to have 
 recognized a familiar sail; for we had a boat built in 
 Provincetown. 
 
 Of the stuff we got from the bark, there were some fine 
 Manchester velvets, slightly damaged by water; some 
 India ginghams and brocaded silks; several dozen pairs 
 of black silk mitts; some fine India taffeties and lawn. 
 But of all the dress stuffs that most delighted the 
 heart of Cousin Mercy such be the odd vanities 
 of women there were a dozen pairs of silk stock 
 ings, that must have cost at least eight shillings a 
 pair, and would have done for a countess. If it had not 
 been for these, Cousin Mercy would have made Ephraim 
 restore the stuff to the town of Eastham; but she put a 
 seal on her lips, and wore the stockings to church on clear 
 Sundays. 
 
 This, as I have said, was in the year 1706 ; and Ephraim 
 and his friends and I went several times a-venturing
 
 Ephraim's Wanderings 57 
 
 again in that and the next year; and in the year 1708, 
 I having come of a great age to wit, eleven he took 
 me on a long voyage with him to Haverhill. There were 
 Ephraim, a man named James Hooper, Samuel Carver, 
 Elbridge's brother, and I; and we set out in the latter 
 part of July, to go cruising along the Massachusetts coast 
 to the northward. We were to catch fish and salt them, 
 do some trading, if we found any small party of Indians 
 so inclined, and, on Ephraim's part, to inquire of his 
 uncle, Captain Thomas Luce of Haverhill, a retired ship 
 master, if he knew aught concerning the Blind Sisters 
 and the Rock of the Four Seals. We had, also, some 
 trifling commissions as to trading and bartering in that 
 village. 
 
 We went along the coast, by Marblehead and Salem 
 way, and landed, about the first of August, on Cape Ann, 
 to the north of Glocester. Thence we sailed on to a 
 splendid river, the Monomac, and followed it some sixteen 
 miles, nearly to the settlement of Haverhill. But there, on 
 the 29th of August, we paused and turned us about in a 
 great hurry ; for there came a man running down to the 
 shore who gave us tidings of the massacre of that place 
 by the savages, early that morning. By his story there 
 were near to forty men and women and children lying 
 dead and scalped in the town, and several score wounded ; 
 and he begged us to bear the news in haste back to Boston, 
 that aid might be sent. 
 
 Down the river we sailed, then, with as much canvas 
 as we could crowd on to our little vessel, and gave the 
 news to the people of Cape Ann, whence it went on to
 
 58 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Boston before us by a swifter vessel. So that when we had 
 come home, the whole town was astir and aghast with 
 the horror of it. 
 
 Cousin Mercy said it was a Providence that Ephraim 
 had not been scalped; yet would it have been near a 
 miracle had the thing been accomplished, inasmuch as 
 Ephraim's head for the upper half of it had naught by 
 which a savage could lift his scalp ; and had he lain upon 
 the ground an Indian would have passed him by, thinking 
 that another had been before him. 
 
 Burning with wrath were the men of Boston to avenge 
 the massacre of Haverhill, and through all the New Eng 
 land colonies was there a setting out of men to give back 
 a blow, with interest. But the wilderness claimed its own, 
 and gave to its savage men the like protection and covert 
 that it gives to the beasts that hunt and are hunted ; and 
 so the savages dispersed into the forests, and some were 
 killed, but more escaped ; and it was not till three years 
 had gone by that our Mother Country made any strong 
 move to clear the whole matter up, with a blow struck 
 at the French, into the bargain. 
 
 Then, in the year 1711, there came over a grand fleet, 
 that should tear the very rocks of Quebec asunder, and 
 blot out the stronghold of the Canadas from the face of 
 the earth. It was, indeed, a sight to do men good, and our 
 town of Boston had never beheld the like before ; for there 
 sailed in, one day in June, fifteen huge men-of-war, 
 belching flame and smoke to mark their coming. And 
 behind these there followed two score troop-ships, with 
 an army of five thousand men aboard.
 
 Ephraim's Wanderings 59 
 
 Then, for a time, was there a great ado in and about 
 our town ; for there was a splendid dinner at the house of 
 our governor ; and the admiral of the fleet, Sir Hovenden 
 Walker, and Brigadier -General Hill, commander -in- 
 chief of all her Majesty's forces in North America, and 
 a great number of officers in lace and gold, with swords 
 clanging about their legs, were escorted there as guests 
 of honour. The high officials of our colony and several of 
 the rich merchants of Boston were invited, too, to meet 
 them. Elias's father, Squire Andrews, was one of these, 
 and had the honour of shaking the great officers' hands 
 and of making a speech, over the wine. 
 
 Now this event, it happened, was the first of the break 
 ing between Elias and me ; for it had the effect of putting 
 his nose very high in the air. Indeed, at this time, he put 
 on so many fine and dandyish manners, and wore such 
 good clothes, that there was no longer a common ground 
 for us to stand on. Withal, he made it clear that he was 
 the better of us, which Cousin Mercy said was true, as 
 his father was a great and influential man. But I think 
 that Ephraim did not agree with her. 
 
 Yet, to be fair, perhaps the real reason was that Elias 
 was grown almost to manhood, being now seventeen; 
 while I was still a boy at fourteen. He was, moreover, old 
 in the ways of the world at his age, and I was young for 
 mine, being still up to tricks that Cousin Mercy said I 
 should be ashamed of. And Elias spoke most patroniz 
 ingly to me when we did meet which was seldom 
 so that it seemed to me I must have played at Captain 
 Kidd and pirating with some one else, and not he. More-
 
 60 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 over, he had been tutoring in the languages, while I had 
 had but common schooling and reading of my father's 
 books ; and, to be honest, he was rather a handsome fellow, 
 and the women took notice of him. But I was afraid to 
 speak to them. 
 
 However, it chanced one day that I came upon Elias 
 down by the Battery, and he wore a sort of half -uniform 
 that was very smart and elegant. He told me then 
 and he seemed to be ten years older than I, instead of 
 three that his father had got him some petty commis 
 sion (he did not call it a petty commission) aboard one 
 of the great war-ships, and that he was going to help whip 
 the French. I think I was in a measure ashamed at that 
 moment of being still so young, and my head so full of 
 boyish nonsense; and I made a sort of resolution to 
 become a man, too, and put away childish things but 
 I could never keep it. 
 
 Well, the day, long delayed, came at last, and a great 
 procession went down through the town, to see the fleet 
 set sail, and to say farewell to our two New England 
 regiments that were to ally themselves with the five 
 thousand men from the Old Country. Squire Andrews 
 and his wife rode down in a fine carriage, with Elias, in 
 his uniform, sitting up proudly. Then, all at once, just 
 as Squire Andrews was speaking with an officer of the 
 ship on which Elias was to sail, and Elias was standing 
 by, feeling of the place where his moustache would come 
 but had not there ran out of the crowd on the 
 wharf a young girl of the town, named Delia Edgerly, 
 and she carried an infant, wrapped in a shawl, in her
 
 Ephraim's Wanderings 61 
 
 arms. She seized Ellas and begged him to go away with 
 her and marry her, as he had promised, and not sail off 
 to be killed. 
 
 At this there was a great commotion, and the crowd 
 closed in about them. There was the girl, pale-faced 
 and crying; and Elias's father purple- veined and raging 
 and half crazed with mortification; and Elias standing, 
 stupidly, not looking the girl, nor any one else, in the face ; 
 nor ever a word to say. 
 
 Then, it seemed, the officer of the ship and Squire 
 Andrews conferred together for a moment, and soon 
 afterward the former declared in a stern voice that Elias 
 was under commission to the queen, and the boat was 
 waiting to take him to the ship. With that, Elias was 
 hurried away and got aboard the vessel. 
 
 As for the young woman, the squire took her, fainting, 
 into the carriage with himself and his wife; and they 
 drove hurriedly away, nor waited to wave farewell to 
 Elias. Moreover, was there little heard of the matter 
 thereafter, for the young woman left the town aboard a 
 ship bound to New York; and it was rumoured that 
 Squire Andrews paid her a great sum to get her to go 
 away. 
 
 As for this mighty invasion of Canada, it was full of 
 sound and fury and brilliant in its promise. Fine, indeed, 
 did the great ships look as they unrolled their clouds of 
 sail and went on majestically out of the harbour on a 
 July day, amid the flashing of guns and the thunderings 
 thereof, and in the glory of the sunlight. Sorry, indeed, 
 did they look, cast away, a dozen of them, on the gray
 
 62 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 ledges of the St. Lawrence, grinding their keels into the 
 sand and rocks ; dim, gloomy shadows of ships in the fogs 
 that enwrapped them all about ; with the winds whistling 
 through their deserted rigging and the fish of the river 
 swimming in and out of their shattered hulls.
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 A MESS OF TROUT FOR BLACKBEARD 
 
 FOR the next half-dozen years of my life, cast in quiet 
 places, there is little use to throw the net therein; for I 
 find coming up in the meshes naught of consequence 
 and no good fish. 
 
 I do recall of my twentieth year, I having just turned 
 nineteen, that I am grown of good size, and strong, though 
 not bulky, and apply for a place on the night-watch. 
 Cousin Mercy likes not the hours ; but I am earning my 
 own living now, and seeking to get more of learning than 
 it is easy to pay for; and, by this duty at night, and cutting 
 off an hour of sleep in the day, I make a good day of it in 
 study. 
 
 In the early fall, or late summer, of the year 1716, 
 Cousin Ephraim was of a mind to embark in the business 
 of fishing for the Boston market. Having some fifty odd 
 pounds of capital at hand to put into the same, he got 
 him a small sloop of about five tons, at a shipyard in the 
 town, and rigged her over and equipped her for the enter 
 prise. He shipped as crew : Elbridge Carver, because he 
 was a handy lad about a boat, a man by the name of 
 Wainwright, who now and again went sea voyages and 
 could serve as cook, and myself. 
 
 63
 
 64 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 from 
 
 Cousin Ephraim had a brother-in-law living the 
 Eastham, some dozen or more miles up the cape f: 
 Provincetown, by the name of Silas Tetherton. He, too, 
 had a small fishing business of his own, with a dock, and 
 a storehouse for the salting and packing of fish. So, 
 with Brother Silas, Cousin Ephraim struck up a sort of 
 copartnership to supply the good people of Boston with 
 fish. 
 
 Well, we had made several voyages, and the sloop, the 
 West Wind by name, had about paid for itself, and my 
 cousin Ephraim was slapping his pocket for his good 
 fortune, when we got bad news; and it was, that the 
 pirates were back about our coast. 
 
 The years from 1716 to 1718 bred such a pest of these 
 buccaneers that it seemed as though the sea spawned 
 them, as it does the sharks and the devil-fish. Now there 
 were decks running red with blood all the way from Maine 
 to the Carolinas and from thence to the Spanish Islands. 
 Everywhere were captains and crews of honest merchant 
 men skulking in fear of the black flag, and turning and 
 running for dear life from every strange sail that came in 
 sight. 
 
 Now my cousin having a staunch boat, that was as good 
 as new, and new tackle and fittings, and always some ten 
 pounds of money for the purchase of fish, or else a cargo 
 aboard, was much averse to meeting with any pirate. 
 So we were wont to cruise alongshore, to and from the end 
 of the cape, although we lost time in doing so, having to 
 describe a long half -circle instead of laying a straight 
 course.
 
 A Mess of Trout for Blackbeard 65 
 
 bus it went along without our being once interfered 
 
 !th, because of our great caution, up to the latter part 
 of September, when we fell into adventure. 
 
 My cousin got word, from a ketch that had run in past 
 the cape, that a fine ship was cruising about near the end 
 of the land; and that it had laid a course for the ketch 
 and fired two guns to stop her, but she ran away from the 
 ship as night came on. This was ugly news for Cousin 
 Ephraim, for there was a load of fish waiting for him on 
 the dock at Eastham, and no better for the market for 
 their keeping, and soon would no longer pass for fresh, 
 unless one held the nose, and must be salted at less profit. 
 
 We left Boston harbour one afternoon, then, and ran 
 down to a cove some ten miles from Eastham, not far 
 from Plymouth, sailing alongshore where no pirate would 
 dare to go. Here we lay overnight at anchor in a secluded 
 place, intending to steal quietly alongshore the next day 
 at sunrise. But the day was without a flickering of life 
 from any wind. Then, in the next night, there came up a 
 fog that held us for two days more. 
 
 The country round about where we lay at anchor was 
 not unknown to me. So, on the second day of our tarrying, 
 I got my cousin to let Elbridge Carver and me go off 
 ashore in our dory. Then we went back inland to a place 
 I knew of, and took some two score big perch out of a 
 clear pond, of rocky bottom; and, from a little stream 
 that ran into it, a dozen fine trout. 
 
 Whether the sight of these fish, fresh from the water 
 and still wriggling a protest against the fry-pan, reminded 
 Cousin Ephraim of those fish waiting for us on the dock
 
 66 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 at Eastham, I am not sure ; but, at least, we had no s( 
 come aboard with them, than my cousin vowed he w<3! 
 up anchor and start for Brother Silas Tetherton's, fog or 
 no fog ; for he allowed he could lay a compass course that 
 would fetch us there. So we made sail forthwith, since to 
 argue with Cousin Ephraim was like unto pulling a pig 
 by the leg. 
 
 I have naught to say against Cousin Ephraim's seaman 
 ship on this day ; but I do know that, by some variance, 
 we got farther out from land than we had any of us thought, 
 and were nearer two miles from shore when we believed 
 we were but one. 
 
 Then of a sudden we heard the click of oars in oar 
 locks, and the sound of voices ; and we sat still and listened, 
 peering anxiously through the fog, though we could see 
 nothing. The voices, too, ceased, and I fancied they were 
 listening for us. Next, a ship's long-boat, with near a 
 dozen men, came vaguely into view, and a stern voice 
 called on us to bring up and take them aboard. 
 
 But Cousin Ephraim had been no laggard and, at the 
 first sight of the big boat and the strange men, had thrown 
 our sloop off the wind, so that they caught but a glimpse 
 of us before we had the fog between us again, for a curtain. 
 Now the long-boat, with six lusty fellows rowing, shot after 
 us and would have caught us, for the wind was light, but 
 that Cousin Ephraim had cunningly jibed about and was 
 beating back on his old course again. 
 
 We should have got well clear and, already, had the 
 long-boat safely passed, when the fog played us a trick 
 and there we were in a trap. Here was a fog-bank, it
 
 A Mess of Trout for Blackbeard 67 
 
 * 
 
 seemed, of a mile square perhaps, that had wandered in 
 from sea, like a few sheep gone astray from the big flock, 
 and was lingering, as though browsing lazily on the sea- 
 hillocks, for a herding breeze to chase it back to the fold. 
 Now there came a smart and nipping wind, and away it 
 scampered and left the coast and bay clear once more, 
 with the sun shining on the water ; and there, not twenty 
 rods away, a fine ship rode at anchor, with scores of men 
 swarming about the decks. 
 
 It was all up with us then, for they gave us a shot that 
 sent the water flying aboard, and Cousin Ephraim made 
 haste to run up alongside. There, a hundred evil faces 
 looked sneeringly down at us, and my knees were wobbling 
 so that I stood against the deck-house to give them support, 
 and tried to whistle, to keep up my courage, but couldn't. 
 
 Now as we came astern of the great ship and made fast 
 a line heaved to us, a huge, black shaggy head appeared 
 over the rail; and a man of great stature, broad-shoul 
 dered and with a deep voice, bade us tell who we were, and 
 what we had aboard, and whence we came, and where we 
 were bound, and what vessels we had seen, and what 
 ships we knew of bound this way all in one question ; 
 so that it made my head swim, as it did Cousin Eph- 
 raim's. 
 
 Poor Cousin Ephraim was in a cold sweat of fear, and 
 I saw the drops course down his face; he being anxious 
 for his vessel and, worse still, dreading impressment into 
 the ship's crew. He stammered and stuttered so, that the 
 great black-faced man looked blacker still, and gave 
 orders to have us brought aboard; and that looked bad,
 
 68 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 for we thought he would never trouble to set us back it 
 the West Wind again. 
 
 Cousin Ephraim was taken from his vessel half out of 
 his wits, while Elbridge Carver and Wainwright made the 
 best of it, yet feared the worst. But when I had gotten 
 my knees under control, with the friendly backing of the 
 deck-house, and had bethought me that a pirate, or any 
 other man, would see more to fancy in a brave man than 
 in a coward, I plucked up a great store of courage, and, 
 along with it, a bit of cunning; for I slipped down into 
 the galley, and took from off a chunk of ice the twelve 
 fat trout that I had pulled from the stream that afternoon, 
 knowing what a man has to feed on aboard ship and how 
 he welcomes a fresh morsel of grub. 
 
 Aft they brought Cousin Ephraim and the rest of us, 
 when we had been taken aboard the pirate ship, Cousin 
 Ephraim in the lead, as the owner of the West Wind, and 
 I last. 
 
 Then the great black giant strode across the quarter 
 deck, and roared out in a terrible voice that he was Teach, 
 the pirate, whom some called Blackbeard ; and that a man 
 that lied to him had better never been born, for he would 
 have him quartered and fed to the dogfish ; which rather 
 stiffened the spine of Cousin Ephraim a bit, for he roused 
 up and vowed that he lied to no man which was, 
 indeed, true, barring an occasional variance from the 
 strictest fact in the matter of the age of fish, and which 
 is not to be reckoned against him, seeing it be in the 
 course of business. 
 
 This Teach for he was, in truth, no less than the
 
 A Mess of Trout for Blackbeard 69 
 
 great Edward Teach, or some say Thatch was in wait 
 for a good merchantman, the Ellis Rich, bound out of 
 Boston for foreign ports, with both cargo and money, and 
 he would have news of her. But my Cousin Ephraim 
 could tell him nothing of the vessel, which was, perhaps, 
 a lapse of memory due to the fact that he had some two 
 hundred pounds of hard-earned savings put out at invest 
 ment in her. And this dulness on the part of Ephraim 
 threw Captain Teach into a fit of passion. 
 
 " Well, what have you aboard your own coffin, you 
 blockhead?" he bellowed. "Come! out with it! A 
 bit of money for trading, I'll swear. If you can't, or won't, 
 give us news of the Rich, I'll make you poor. Ha ! ha ! 
 Did you hear that, Ed Grace? " And he turned to one of 
 the mates. " We'll make him poor, eh ? Aye, that we 
 will, and by the loss of his fishing-tub, too." 
 
 " Here you, mate," he cried, fiercely, waving one of 
 his big arms to another man, " get the stuff out of that 
 boat, anything we want, and we'll make a beacon of her ; 
 something to light us against another fog." 
 
 Then Cousin Ephraim found his tongue in a hurry and 
 begged hard for his boat, saying he would produce ten 
 pounds in money from a locker aboard, which was all he 
 had. 
 
 Now it chanced that the pirates had lately seized 
 a Spanish ship with gold-dust aboard, and had more 
 money in their ship, coming to them, than they had 
 present opportunity to spend; but were looking for a 
 good cargo of provisions, with liquors and delicacies. 
 So the offer of my cousin's paltry ten pounds brought
 
 70 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Teach for the moment from a passion into a good 
 humour. 
 
 " Ten pounds he offers us, Ed Grace, as a bribe ! " 
 he bawled. " Ha ! ha ! What say you, master mate, to 
 a share of ten pounds, to be fairly divided among captain 
 and crew, each in the usual lotting? Ten pounds prize- 
 money to share with Poll in Charleston ! Will it be enough, 
 think you, to keep her till next voyage is over? " 
 
 Then the great Blackbeard laughed, with a cruel light 
 in his eyes, and turned and looked us over, as a cat might 
 look at mice. 
 
 "And what might you offer, lout?" he cried, leering at 
 me over the heads of the others. " You be a brawny 
 Calvinist, with a dunnage-box of birch bark under your 
 arm, with a week's wages and a slop-shop change of fine 
 linen in it, I'll swear. What have you to offer for your sloop 
 and the good- will of Captain Teach? " 
 
 " A dozen fresh trout for your supper," said I, making 
 a bold face of it and handing out my catch of pretty fish 
 for him to look at. 
 
 " By God ! " he cried. " You shall go free for that ! 
 Fresh, spotted fellows, from the clear leaping water aback 
 in shore. Ah, I know the places where they hide, and 
 have caught them, too, in old England, and broken a 
 warden's head into the bargain. 'Tis a dish fit for the 
 good king that I loyally serve and for whom I adjust 
 many wrongs, in that I take from the rich and give to my 
 poor sailors." 
 
 " Here, fool," he added, turning to Cousin Ephraim, 
 " here's a bit of fifty odd pounds, to put with your ten,
 
 A Mess of Trout for Blackbeard 71 
 
 and you shall share it with this young man whom you call 
 cousin. Now get you gone, the pack of you, and mind 
 you give no warning in Boston town of Edward Teach, 
 lest I fall in with you again." 
 
 So he would have dismissed us all, and we had made 
 haste to get away; when, of a sudden, he turned to me 
 again for he was a man of quick impulse, whose brain 
 worked by a series of flashes. 
 
 " Hold ! " he cried. " All of you. A dish fit for his 
 Gracious Majesty, the king, is worth repeating; and 
 fresh trout do not come aboard every day. We will set 
 you ashore, my man, and you shall catch us some more. 
 And see that you are a lucky fisherman, for your own good 
 and that of your worthy cousin and friends, lest, an you 
 did not return, we should fain fish, ourselves, with their 
 carcasses for bait." 
 
 It was mid- afternoon when this curious thing happened, 
 and I found myself alone at the tiller of the West Wind, 
 with my Cousin Ephraim and the others watching, rue 
 fully, as I sailed away. It was a half-hour's run, with a 
 light wind, in to the land, and an hour's tramp to the pool 
 where I had made my best hauls in the afternoon ; so that 
 it was near to sundown when I got my line into the water. 
 
 Now, too, I got a sorry taste of the coquetry and fickle 
 ness of fine fish ; for, whereas I have got perch and other 
 stolid swimmers out of the same hole by the hour, and 
 that as often as I chose to make a call, these dainty trout 
 flaunted their bright colours hi swift flashings before my 
 eyes, but would not deign to accept of my most tempting 
 offerings.
 
 72 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 The sun began to roll below the hills, and the shadows 
 blackened farther across the pools. The birds no longer 
 sang in the bushes, and I saw night was upon me. Then 
 I waded out of the pool and sank down in my wet clothes 
 by the shore, on a little bank, and fell asleep. Now and 
 again I awakened, shivering, through the night, and fell 
 off to sleep again, dreaming that the great pirate, Teach, 
 was lifting his black, shaggy head from out the pool where 
 I had cast for trout, glaring at me with murder in his eyes. 
 
 I was awake before the sun was up, and went farther 
 up the stream, whipping it with nervous hand, eager as 
 a schoolboy after his first fish. Then when I hooked one, 
 a fat fellow of a half-pound weight, I threw him out with 
 such a jerk that he went flying among the alders, and 
 landed in another bend of the stream and swam free again. 
 So I had to learn the old, old lesson over once more, that 
 to do one's best one must not let eagerness devour him, 
 but keep the brain cool and the hand steady. 
 
 Then I fished better and with more success, only I 
 dared not stop at a dozen fish, after being so long time 
 gone, but felt I must give Pirate Teach good catch or we 
 should all suffer. 
 
 When the sun covered nearly all the stream, and the 
 fish would no more come darting from the shady places, 
 I threw away my alder pole, wrapped my shining catch 
 more beautiful than pirate treasure away from the 
 heat, in bark lined with fresh moss, and ran, through 
 swamp and wood, back to shore. 
 
 When I had made sail on the sloop and stood out of the 
 cove, I could see the pirate ship nearly two miles out,
 
 A Mess of Trout for Blackbeard 73 
 
 still at anchor. Then my heart leaped with joy. But I 
 was even then nigh too late, for it seemed Teach had vowed 
 I had deserted them, and, shortly before I came in sight, 
 he ordered them seized and fastened, each with a band 
 about his waist, and hoisted aloft in that horrid fashion, 
 my cousin to the fore peak, Elbridge Carver to the main, 
 and Wainwright to the mizzen peak. There I saw them 
 dangling, nearly dead, as I ran alongside, but with life 
 enough to cry out faintly and groan, so that I heard them 
 as I came on deck of the pirate. 
 
 Captain Teach had vowed they should hang there till 
 the sea-birds devoured them, dead or alive; but when I 
 had brought him my catch, and he had looked at the 
 beautiful fish and handled them and gloated over their 
 shining spots and their fatness, he changed of a sudden, 
 as he was wont to do, and vowed it was but a joke, his 
 hanging of the others aloft, and laughed and ordered them 
 to be taken safely down. 
 
 " You seem a likely youth," he said, looking me in the 
 eyes, " and you have a fine mess of fish, fit for the king 
 yes, fit, too, for his loyal subject, Edward Teach. And 
 you shall stay and dine with me on these same trout. As 
 for these others," meaning Cousin Ephraim and El- 
 bridge and Wainwright, " let them be put aboard their 
 vessel." 
 
 So my cousin Ephraim and the others were bundled 
 aboard the West Wind once more, to await the pirate's 
 pleasure in letting me depart. 
 
 As for the banquet at Captain Teach's table, it seems 
 to me more like something I have read, or heard tell of,
 
 74 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 than that it actually happened. But I remember Teach 
 sat at the head of a great swinging table of mahogany, 
 with some seven or eight of his officers, and myself at 
 the foot. Though a pirate ship, the vessel had once been 
 a rich merchantman, trading to the Indies ; and the cabin 
 where we ate was trimmed in rich, dark woods, with 
 ivory and pearl inlayings, and the finest of silk and lace 
 curtains and cushions on all sides. 
 
 As for the table service, it was finer than I had ever 
 dreamed of ; as, indeed, it might well be, for a dozen and 
 more ships had been despoiled and looted to furnish it; 
 and there was massy gold and silver plate, and cups and 
 saucers richly worked and chased, and lamps of precious 
 metals to light us as we ate. 
 
 It seemed most strange to me for I had thought such 
 elegant things were mostly for the women to see the 
 fingers of this great, swarthy pirate glittering with gems, 
 and a gold chain encircling his neck and dangling upon 
 his breast beneath his shaggy, black beard. His dress, 
 too, was such as I had never seen upon man before; for 
 it was soft and fine, like a woman's, and brilliant as to 
 colouring. 
 
 I did not know of what rich cloth was his coat, but his 
 crimson doublet was of a costly damask, and his breeches 
 were of the same stuff. Two enormous pistols in his belt 
 were the most to my fancy, however, for they were mounted 
 in gold, and had each an emerald set into the stock, and 
 a great letter " T " in silver and mother-of-pearl cleverly 
 worked into each handle. 
 
 First, we drank each a small tumbler of raw brandy
 
 A Mess of Trout for Blackbeard 75 
 
 and I had never tasted any such hot, burning liquor before, 
 but only on Thanksgiving Day a glass of Jamaica rum 
 well diluted and I wept as though I had lost a season's 
 fishing pay as the stuff seared my throat ; but no one saw 
 it, for they were drinking other liquors by the time I had 
 taken my first swallow. 
 
 Great Teach, the biggest, and I think perhaps the most 
 powerful man I ever saw, save Will Endicott of whom 
 later rose up at the first of the feeding and offered a 
 health to King George in a goblet of wine ; and the goblet 
 was of some shining crystal, elaborated by cunning work 
 manship in silver and gold. Then the table of carousers 
 stood up in mock solemnity and bellowed out a cheer for 
 his Gracious Majesty. 
 
 Yet it turned out, not a fortnight later, that they boarded 
 a king's ship and slaughtered half the crew. But it seemed 
 a favourite jest of Blackbeard, the pirate, knowing him 
 self what a rogue he was, to swear himself at all times a 
 loyal subject of the king; and ever with a grave face, or 
 his smile, if he ever did smile, hidden deep in his bushy 
 beard. 
 
 Now and again this man, Teach, would speak most 
 strangely for a captain of such rascals as these, just a 
 sentence it might be, that none there could see through 
 save myself, who had had books to read; and by which 
 I saw he had not been born a tarry villain, but had mixed 
 with better company. Indeed, later, after he had been 
 killed, fighting, there came out something of his history 
 which showed him to have been a Bristol born man of 
 excellent breeding; and at this very day, at the height
 
 76 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 of his infamy, he was hand and glove with the wealthy 
 Carolina planters and a welcome guest at their tables. 
 
 The pretty, speckled trout that I had brought aboard, 
 some two score, had been served up with their heads on, 
 and their bulldog, undershot jaws fiercely distended, 
 through a device of the cook's, who was pleased to humour 
 Teach. They had, indeed, looked a dish fit for the king ; 
 for they lay all on a huge platter of solid silver, so heavy 
 that the corded muscles stood out on the arms of the man 
 that brought it on; and we had eaten of these and other 
 foods, and there had been rare wine enough poured out 
 for a school of fish to swim in, when there came to our 
 ears the low rumble of thunder back in the hills. 
 
 On the instant, the great Teach sprang up and looked 
 wildly about as though he had heard the guns of a king's 
 seventy-four. Again the thunder pealed, and heavier 
 and sharper, for the lightning storm was coming swiftly 
 upon us. At this the room rang with curses from Teach, 
 and his eyes blazed like a madman's. 
 
 " Up anchor ! " he roared. " Clear the decks for action. 
 Get her under way! No man shall ever say Edward 
 Teach was fired on and refused to give battle, though the 
 odds be an hundred to one." 
 
 Whether this were ever a clever counterfeit of dare- 
 devilry on the man's part, to strike awe into his scoun 
 drelly crew, or whether it were that the thunder and 
 lightning really wrought a sudden madness in him, no 
 one ever knew ; but certain it was that if ever a man seemed 
 maddened by the terrors of the heavens that man was 
 Edward Teach.
 
 A Mess of Trout for Blackbeard 77 
 
 Now, as the sky blackened over our heads, and the 
 bolts of living fire flashed down from the heavens and 
 buried themselves in the sea, and the thunder rolled 
 frightfully, the pirate Teach rushed into his cabin and 
 seized a naked cutlass in one hand, while with the 
 other he grasped a pistol, and ran out on deck with 
 them. 
 
 The squalls of rain beat furiously upon the ship, which 
 scudded out to sea with all the canvas they dared put on 
 her, and with Teach yelling frantically for them to crowd 
 on more. It seemed as though the man were crazed with 
 terror and was of a mind to die righting to the last; for, 
 as often as the lightning flashed and the thunder pealed, 
 he had the heavy cannon of the ship run out and fired in 
 the teeth of the storm, volley of cannon-shot to answer 
 the artillery of the sky. And all the while he raged and 
 stormed about the quarter-deck, and slashed at the rail 
 ings and roundhouse with his cutlass and fired his pistols, 
 cursing and blaspheming in a manner most horrible to 
 hear. 
 
 Whether it were feigned or real, certain it was no man 
 dared go near him then at least, since he had lopped 
 one fellow from collar-bone to middle with a cutlass blow 
 in one of these frenzies. 
 
 Take it all in all, if ever there was a hell on the seas, 
 it was this ship of the pirate Teach in a storm of light 
 ning; for it seemed every moment to be rushing to de 
 struction, with canvas spread to the gale that should have 
 been furled; and the vessel heeling over frightfully at 
 every fierce squall; then the lightning and the awful
 
 78 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 thunder, and the madness of Teach, and the horrid 
 blasphemies of the whole pirate crew all under the 
 blackness as of midnight. 
 
 The ship ran on in this wild course until Teach had 
 worn himself out with fury, and with such drinking 
 as would have put to never-ending sleep any other mortal 
 man. Then, when the crew had seen him fall, like a dead 
 man, on the deck, in a drunken stupor, they made haste 
 to get sail off the ship and run her back toward her an 
 chorage, reefed close. Later, when they dared, his mates 
 dragged the senseless giant down to his cabin, and laid him 
 in his bunk, and put his cutlass and pistols away. 
 
 In all this crazy performance I was half-way between 
 terror and laughter; for the great fool ran about like a 
 man in a play, only it were no joke to encounter him ; and, 
 in all, it was a wicked, horrible thing to see. But, while I 
 looked on from behind a water-butt, in safety, I was most 
 concerned as to whether we should ever come back to port 
 again. It chanced, however, that they had business there 
 and must come back of their own accord, else I had gone 
 a-voyaging against my will. 
 
 They were willing enough to let me go ashore the next 
 day. Teach, himself, came on deck, dressed with much 
 care, and showing little of the effects of the carouse save 
 a bruise or two. And he took the breath out of me when 
 he pulled from his sash and gave to me a great gold watch, 
 with a finely linked gold chain dangling from it, and on 
 this chain a curious sort of locket. With this gift, I was 
 set aboard the West Wind, which had come out to meet us ; 
 and that was the last I saw of the pirate Teach, for he was
 
 A Mess of Trout for Blackbeard 79 
 
 slain two years later; though not the last I saw of some 
 of his treasures, as you may learn if I can keep my quill 
 in action to set it down in its proper place. 
 
 Then on the way to Eastham in the West Wind it 
 chanced that, in handling the locket that depended from 
 the chain, I touched upon a hidden spring, and the locket 
 opened to my astonishment ; for so ingeniously had it 
 been devised by its artificer that, in the ornamentation and 
 elaboration of it, both its spring and hinges were hidden. 
 There, looking sweetly out, her eyes gazing into mine, was 
 a woman's face painted in miniature on ivory. It was a 
 wonderful face, full of a winsomeness and a light that 
 seemed to come both from the hazel eyes and from the 
 golden-brown, shining hair. It was a woman of middle 
 age, handsome, refined, matronly; and it drew me as 
 though it had been my own mother's that I had never seen. 
 
 This face I never saw before, nor have I ever seen it 
 and yet have I seen it often. And the riddle is not hard 
 to read.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE WRECKING OF BELLAMY 
 
 BEING well clear of the pirate ship and standing in 
 toward the harbour of Eastham, and Ephraim and the 
 others having recovered in a measure from the soreness 
 and sickness caused by their lofty elevation, at masthead, 
 we began to see some interest in the adventure. For here 
 was Ephraim with fifty pounds of yellow money that 
 would make good many cartloads of fish spoiling for lack 
 of a market ; and of this he gave five pounds each to the 
 others of us. 
 
 And for me, there was the great golden timepiece 
 ticking in my pocket for I was as eager as a boy to have 
 it going and a chain slipped through the buttonhole of 
 my waistcoat that a solid London merchant might have 
 paid ten pounds for; and the locket, with the sweet face 
 looking out at me, lifelike. 
 
 This, in truth, did have such a fascination in my eyes, 
 though I had made love to no woman, and knew not that 
 I could ever grow sentimental, that I looked at it 
 often and again, till Ephraim and the others began to 
 poke fun at me for being smitten with a woman's face 
 painted on ivory. 
 
 Somehow, I could see no fun in their bantering, but it 
 
 80
 
 The Wrecking of Bellamy 81 
 
 seemed a lack of courtesy and manliness in Ephraim and 
 them to make sport of so refined and high a lady ; and I 
 should have answered Ephraim sharply, but I had respect 
 for his gray hairs that would come in a few years below his 
 baldness. So I shut the locket, nor opened it any more 
 when they were by. 
 
 Now had this face within the locket been looking away 
 from me, or of a beauty coldly classical, I doubt not it 
 would have interested me only to glance at it and wonder, 
 perchance, whosoever she might be, and how the pirate 
 had come by the locket that held her; but, as often as I 
 did open the golden door, there were her wonderful brown 
 eyes looking straight into mine not staring nor bold, 
 but calm and with a sweet self-possession, as of a woman 
 loving and sympathetic, but a courage and thoughtfulness 
 and a gentle dignity blended therewith. 
 
 This face did, indeed, draw me most strongly, so that 
 I found a comfort and a helpfulness in looking upon it ; 
 and, inasmuch as she might have claimed me for a son, 
 being of sufficient years older than I, there surely was no 
 harm, and nothing for me to be ashamed of, in feeling ever 
 her sweet presence about me and looking upon her lov 
 ingly. 
 
 However, this came about by degrees, after I had worn 
 the locket for a long time and there had been a sort of com 
 panionship between us and perhaps the romance of 
 getting her from a pirate ship was also an influence. 
 In the meantime, here we were nearing Eastham, and 
 Ephraim was picking up, one by one, the familiar ob 
 jects on sea and land that guided him past the shallows
 
 82 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 and out of the reach of the slimy fingers of the reefs that 
 itched to fasten upon us. 
 
 By and by we came in close under the land ; and then 
 the way to the dock was to run in for a half-mile or more, 
 winding at length in and about the channel of a creek. 
 There on the dock was Brother Silas Tetherton, sour in 
 the face as though he had eaten green cherries; for the 
 good cargo of fresh fish he had had for market was long 
 gone stale, and he had been forced to split and salt them 
 in a hurry, for which there was less money. Moreover, 
 he was a little weazened man, dried up like a fish that has 
 shrivelled and sun-dried on the shore, after the sea has 
 cast it beyond the reclaiming of the tide. So he did not 
 improve in looks with his disappointment. 
 
 But Ephraim interested him greatly with the story of 
 our adventure, and vowed that Brother Silas had fared 
 better than we, not having been slung up to masthead 
 by his middle; to which Brother Silas did assent, Cousin 
 Ephraim having forgot to make mention of the pirate's 
 gift of fifty pounds, and we not reminding him, it being 
 nothing of our business. 
 
 However, as Cousin Ephraim had been commissioned 
 by Brother Silas to buy for him a quantity of tobacco in 
 Boston, and had brought it with him, he would take no 
 money for this, but let it stand for a present. Brother 
 Silas marvelled at his generosity, and the more so when he 
 had tried the tobacco and found it of excellent quality, 
 and not wormy. 
 
 This voyage, reckoning the gift from Captain Teach, 
 was the beginning of some considerable prosperity for
 
 The Wrecking of Bellamy 83 
 
 Cousin Ephraim. He therefore set up a permanent mar 
 ket in the lower part of the town of Boston and bought 
 and sold fish, as well as sending out his own sloop to East- 
 ham and other fishing stations along the inner rim of the 
 cape. 
 
 Then it happened that there came into his market one 
 day a tall bearded fellow, not well dressed, but with what 
 had once been fine clothes waning toward seediness, and 
 the air of gentlemanliness about him. He besought 
 Ephraim for a chance to ship in his sloop for fishing trips, 
 as he could handle a boat, and had no other means of em 
 ployment, not knowing any trade and not hankering for 
 other labour. So Ephraim gave Elias Andrews for he 
 it was employment, being sorry for him after he had 
 heard his story. 
 
 It seemed that after the fine fleet of Admiral Walker 
 had come to grief, Elias had gone over on one of the sur 
 viving vessels to England, having the influence of some 
 high officials, through his father, to advance him in the 
 navy. But something had happened we never did 
 know just what it was that put Elias out of the navy, in 
 spite of those that favoured him. 
 
 Now it may not have been Elias's fault at all, for I do 
 know of the many bitter jealousies and favouritisms in 
 his Majesty's service on land and sea in years back ; and, 
 indeed, Elias swore there was a trick put upon him to set 
 him in a false light. Certain it is, however, Elias came 
 back with no honours scored on his slate, and Squire An 
 drews was in a bad humour over it, but put Elias to work 
 in his shipping house.
 
 84 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Then they quarrelled, and I set down here none of the 
 rumours of it, since I be telling only what I know to be 
 fact, and have no desire for talebearing. Elias set out to 
 earn for himself, but had no great stomach for hard work, 
 and had got along after a fashion, on money his mother 
 sent to him, till Squire Andrews heard of that, and put a 
 stop to it, wishing, he said, to bring Elias to his senses. 
 
 And to show the humour of many townsmen toward 
 Elias, when he went to ask aid of them, I may make men 
 tion of a saying we had in those days and which I, myself, 
 heard one of them use in speaking of him. It had reference 
 to the young woman who had claimed Elias on the day 
 he embarked for the Canadas, and expressed what some 
 thought regarding him. The saying, or aphorism, was to 
 the effect that, even as an oak-tree does not bear an oak 
 till it has had the maturity of twenty years, so should not 
 a man beget a child till he be of that age. I mention this, 
 not as necessarily agreeing with it hard and fast, but 
 merely as indicating the feeling in this particular case. 
 
 However, Ephraim was willing to give Elias a chance, 
 and it is but fair to say that he took hold right well and 
 did his share of the work with us. He was, moreover, a 
 very companionable fellow to have aboard, now that he 
 had no more fine airs about him, having many stories to 
 tell of life aboard the king's ships, and going back now 
 and again, in a good-humoured way, to the days of our 
 pirating on the ponds. 
 
 So we went a number of cruises together down Eastham 
 way, Elias and I and Elbridge and Wainwright, in the 
 boat; till, finally, having the business well established,
 
 The Wrecking of Bellamy 85 
 
 and taking a fancy to the town of Eastham, we four got 
 a permit and knocked together a cabin over back in the 
 hills, a half-mile from shore, and lived there, part of the 
 time, going on fishing trips out of the harbour and carry 
 ing our cargo on to Ephraim's market at intervals. In 
 deed, we were so taken with the place that we spent the 
 winter in that town. 
 
 Now I am to pass on quickly to events more stirring ; but 
 I am reminded of one thing I did, some months after this, 
 when the land was still shivering in the late March winds, 
 but the bays and coves were open to let our boat pass in 
 and out. And that is, I found it were not fitting for a man 
 doing rough work, as I was, and drenched often by the 
 sea and rain, to wear a golden watch, like a rich man 
 riding in his carriage, or a merchant in his counting-room. 
 So I took mine off one day and put it into the iron strong 
 box in Ephraim's office, trusting to the sun not to deceive 
 me as to the time of day, as in years gone by. 
 
 But as for the locket, I was in no mind to part with that, 
 for reasons that I have given ; and so I divorced it from its 
 golden chain and hung it about my neck. Then, for 
 convenience' sake and I asked my sweet lady's pardon 
 for doing it I enclosed the pirate's paper within the 
 locket, and took a foolish notion into my head, for a time, 
 that she would be as an enchantress and good fairy to 
 guide me to the fortune that lay hidden in its writing. 
 
 It was, as I recollect, the i5th day of April of this next 
 year, 1717, and along about the middle of the afternoon, 
 that we heard in the town of Eastham the booming of 
 three guns ; and the sound came in over the hills from the
 
 86 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 outside of the cape. There were no clouds in the sky, 
 so it could not be thunder; and, indeed, my cousin 
 Ephraim, who had come with us a trip to see Brother 
 Silas Tetherton, knew in a minute that it was the pirates. 
 
 I remember how he sprang out of the cabin, and stood 
 peering anxiously in the direction whence the sounds of 
 the shots came, though there were some three miles of 
 sand-hills between us and the sea, and put his hand to his 
 better ear to catch anything more. 
 
 Then Brother Silas rowed up alongside in his dory, and, 
 " Did you hear that? " he asked. 
 
 " Aye, Silas," answered my cousin. " They're abroad 
 here again. I wonder if it be Teach." 
 
 " God knows ; and I hope they don't get near the town," 
 said Brother Silas. 
 
 When we came in, about sunset, the whole town was set 
 by the ears ; for there had rowed in on the seaward shore, 
 and tramped over to the town, two men who, it seemed, 
 had been set off from aboard ship by the pirates. 
 
 Then we learned that the dreaded Bellamy was off the 
 town, lying a mile from shore, outside the cape, in wait 
 for vessels. 
 
 You have heard much of Kidd, because he bore a king's 
 commission; and of Teach, who, indeed, could have 
 taught Kidd the very A-B-C's of piracy; but as for Bel 
 lamy, he outmatched the two in cunning and daring. Yet 
 few there be that know of him now, for he was born for 
 drowning, and not for the gallows ; and the sands of Cape 
 Cod erased his name quickly from the roll of infamy. 
 
 Well, here was Captain Samuel Bellamy with a fleet of
 
 The Wrecking of Bellamy 87 
 
 i 
 
 three ships off our coast, and wanting a harbour badly; 
 for his own ship, the Whidah, that mounted over a score 
 of guns and carried 130 as thorough scoundrels as ever 
 sailed under the skeleton, was beginning to make some 
 water. 
 
 This fleet of three had, we learned, taken, this after 
 noon, a vessel from Eastham harbour, a sloop of sixty 
 tons, and having no need of two of the crew, who were not 
 strong men, had set them ashore. 
 
 At this news, a terror spread through the town, for if 
 the pirate fleet ever made our harbour it had us all at its 
 mercy with its great guns. But soon we were in a worse 
 state. In the morning following, there was more firing; 
 and, later, there came flying into the harbour a fisherman 
 that had sailed past the pirate fleet, and had seen them 
 stand on and hold up still two other vessels, one of them 
 a snow of about seventy tons. 
 
 " She would likely be the snow Prudence Taylor" said 
 Cousin Ephraim, " for she was due out of Provincetown 
 this day. A good vessel she be, too, and I trust no harm 
 may come to Captain Jonathan Taylor, than whom no 
 better skipper hails from the cape." 
 
 " Aye, that he be," said several that heard my cousin. 
 " He be smart, too, and may show the pirate a trick, if it 
 so chance he may." 
 
 So it chanced, in truth, and came about this way : 
 
 When Captain Jonathan Taylor had found his vessel 
 boarded, and himself carried off to the Whidah by a 
 boat's crew of Bellamy's men, and was taken aft on the 
 big ship for Bellamy to glare at and cross-question, he
 
 88 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 answered up smart and prompt, and was not afraid of the 
 whole shipful. The pirate saw that here was a man he 
 might make use of, taking a fancy to him for his courage. 
 
 " Do you know the coast and harbours hereabouts? " 
 asked Bellamy. 
 
 " Like my own dooryard," answered Jonathan Taylor. 
 
 " Will you pilot us into Cape Cod harbour (meaning 
 Provincetown), if I will give you back your vessel?" 
 
 " I will sail my own snow in and show you the way," 
 said Jonathan Taylor, asking the Lord's forgiveness 
 under his breath, for he was a good Christian man and 
 would tell no lie excepting under dire necessity, to 
 pirates or Indians. 
 
 " Then you shall have your boat," said Bellamy, " though 
 I man her with more of my own men to outnumber yours, 
 that you may not give me the slip ; for I think you are a 
 clever dog, for all your sanctimonious face. When we 
 are in Cape Cod harbour, you shall sail out scot-free; 
 and the town shall not suffer at our hands." 
 
 So the upshot was, that Captain Jonathan Taylor got 
 back to his own quarter-deck, with his own crew, and a 
 dozen pirates to see that the snow did not escape. 
 
 When Captain Jonathan went aboard, he gave out the 
 good news that none was to be harmed and that they should 
 soon sail free ; and he ordered a cask of West India rum 
 to be got up and opened. Then they all drank a round 
 together, crew and pirates, to disarm suspicion; but the 
 word was passed and never a man of the snow's crew 
 touched liquor after that, though making a pretence of it, 
 and each man's mouth watering for the real thing.
 
 The Wrecking of Bellamy 89 
 
 The wind was light, but the pirate captain was eager 
 for a harbour before nightfall ; and so, about seven of the 
 evening, he ordered the fleet to stand in, following the 
 snow Prudence Taylor, with Captain Jonathan at her 
 helm. There followed in order, the big Whidah, which 
 Bellamy had captured in the East Indies, and two other 
 smaller vessels. There was a lantern hung in the shrouds 
 of the snow, that the fleet could follow, as it was shutting 
 down dark. 
 
 Now it was bad for Bellamy that he had kept his crew 
 on short grog allowance; for when they had free hand 
 aboard their prize, and good liquor without stint, they 
 soon went the way Captain Jonathan had planned, and 
 lay about the decks and cabin as drunk as fiddlers in a 
 tavern. 
 
 Captain Jonathan had told no lie when he said he knew 
 the harbours, and the coast too ; for he was a Cape Cod 
 skipper, and knew the waters and what lay hidden be 
 neath them, as a man may know Scripture by daily reading, 
 provided he do not merely mouth the words with the hatch 
 of the brain fastened, like some I know. 
 
 In he came, toward the shore, about a mile below the 
 town of Eastham, and shaved two sand-bars, so close that 
 a feather dropped on deck would have made the vessel 
 touch, and slid alongshore till he barely tickled the end 
 of a shoal, well in. But by this time there was fury on 
 board the Whidah and one of the other craft, for they had 
 lunged clean on to the sand-bars, so that no human power 
 would ever get them loose. 
 
 Bellamy called for a boat, to go in search of the snow;
 
 90 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 but Captain Jonathan had had the lantern taken down, 
 and the prize was lost in the darkness. 
 
 When Captain Jonathan heard the outcries aboard the 
 Whidah, he lowered his whale-boat, got most of the stupid 
 pirate crew into it and had them rowed ashore, where the 
 men of Eastham took them prisoners. Then the crew 
 of the Prudence Taylor kedged her off, for she was not 
 hard ashore, and Captain Jonathan and his vessel went 
 on their way. 
 
 Before three o'clock next morning, the bells in the town 
 were ringing, and men ran through the streets crying out 
 that the big pirate ship and one other were ashore off the 
 highlands. Then, while some made hurried preparations 
 to put the town in measure of defence, many of us 
 that were fast of foot set out in the early morning to 
 journey over to the cliffs, to see what had befallen the 
 pirate ships, and to give the alarm if the crews came 
 ashore. 
 
 I had been some time in this part of the cape, but 
 never had I travelled over to this forsaken shore, where 
 the sand-hillocks rose up for seventy feet above the sea, 
 in an incline so steep though changing and wearing 
 away from year to year that in the days of which I 
 write it was as much as a man's life was worth to try to 
 descend or scale them, for fear of the whole bank making 
 an avalanche and sweeping him down into the sea, across 
 the stretch of sand floor at the base. 
 
 So when we had come to the edge of these cliffs and 
 looked forth upon the sea, with the sun coming up over 
 the expanse of waters, I forgot for one brief moment the
 
 The Wrecking of Bellamy 91 
 
 pirate ships I had come to look at, with the sight of so 
 much forlorn grandeur. 
 
 Truth, I have been a sailor on the sea, off and on, for 
 much of my life ; but never had I then, nor have I since, 
 had borne in upon me the feeling of the vastness of it, 
 nor of the strength that lies hidden beneath its broad 
 bosom, as came full upon me when I gazed from these 
 huge walls of sand far out into the ocean. Here it seemed 
 the vessels of the world might sail by thousands, and room 
 for each to run its course, like the stars in the sky, without 
 danger of crashing one into the other. 
 
 Never had I seen such a sight as the bare wastes of 
 sand lying at the base of these cliffs of Eastham. For 
 miles, as far as one could see, they stretched away, hard 
 and bare, and as clean as though swept for the pathway 
 of a bride. 
 
 Gray and brown they looked, with a slightly rounded 
 surface, nearly level, just curving over very gently to meet 
 the white rim of the blue water. 
 
 Back along the sand-cliffs, the colour grew more tawny, 
 with patches deeply and brightly coloured. And beyond, 
 as far as one could see, only the mysterious ocean; the 
 solemn, cunning, treacherous wilderness of blue water, 
 out to the sweep of the horizon line, and a thousand and 
 more miles beyond. 
 
 Along this shore was no rock nor reef to batter great 
 ships to pieces upon. Here was a far more refining process 
 of destruction, the ceaseless grinding of the tiny particles 
 of sand, churning and scouring and wearing away, night 
 and day and for ever, with the working of the waters.
 
 92 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Here lay every object smooth and clean, polished and 
 scoured by sand and sea. Logs, cast ashore, stripped of 
 their bark and rubbed as smooth as glass; spars from 
 ships, shining as they used in the days when men were 
 clinging to them for dear life, calling out among the rigging 
 under the stars, and whose bones the sea had long ago 
 whitened and polished like these bits of the ship they 
 loved; trunks of young spruce-trees, with gaunt, white 
 arms, lay here like skeletons all, all whitened and 
 scoured and glazed, and helpless in the grip of the sand. 
 
 All this I saw, and more, as we came to the brow of 
 the cliffs, and then my eyes rested on the pirate ships. 
 There were two aground, and none other to be seen, 
 unless a vessel some two miles out was one of them, 
 and had taken fright at the sight of the trap the other 
 two were in, and had made haste to get well clear. 
 
 To me, though they were pirate ships, and a scourge 
 to be well rid of, the sight was, indeed, mournful. And, 
 strange to say, my pity was for the great vessel, itself, that 
 lay nearer, the huge Whidah, rather than for the men 
 aboard. 
 
 A giant in the hands of a thousand pygmies might have 
 attempted to struggle and free himself, as did this six- 
 hundred-ton ship from the millions of tiny particles of 
 sand that clutched its keel. There was still a ponderous 
 sort of heaving in the huge bulk, like an elephant swaying 
 in its chains; and, indeed, the pirate captain had still, 
 it seemed, some hope of saving his vessel, and would not 
 desert her and come ashore. 
 
 Yet not a boy of ten in the town but who could have
 
 The Wrecking of Bellamy 93 
 
 told him better; that what the cunning sand-trap closed 
 on here only entangled itself more helplessly by its strug 
 gling ; only worked its way more deeply into the clinging 
 sand; only made itself more surely the prey of sea and 
 shore. 
 
 Now six score men swarmed about the decks and in the 
 rigging of the great Whidah; and there was Bellamy, 
 himself, trumpeting orders like a madman, so he could be 
 heard by us on shore a quarter of a mile away. 
 
 We saw six ship's boats, filled with men, row seaward, 
 with anchors aboard and hawsers paying out; and then, 
 when the flukes were biting hard into the sand, came the 
 groaning of the windlasses and the sound of many voices. 
 But, who shall rob the gray sands here of their prey? 
 Not even though he be as great a robber as the pirate 
 Bellamy. 
 
 Suddenly we saw him turn and face the cliffs where 
 a score of us, men and boys, stood watching. 
 
 " Come out in your boats and help us get clear," he 
 cried through his trumpet. " You shall take your boats 
 back full of money, an I save my ship from this cursed 
 place." 
 
 The men of Eastham made no answer, but set to 
 conversing together as to whether it were good or not to 
 accept the pirate's offer. Some said it was the wrath of 
 God that had been visited upon the pirate, and that it 
 were blasphemous to work to thwart it. Others argued 
 that it might save the town from the vengeance of the 
 pirates, should we do our best to help them, though the 
 vessel should not be cleared.
 
 94 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 There was one among us, also, old Uncle Ben Winter- 
 bottom, who would come hobbling along, though his 
 wooden leg stuck deep into the sand all the way, and his 
 trail for three miles was like that of a man planting com 
 with a stick. 
 
 " No good ! No good ! " he croaked. "It be the day 
 for the big storm that for seven days now I've said was to 
 come. Seven gulls calling it over the chimney, one for 
 each day, and why should they fly ashore save for warning, 
 when 'tis not their nature ? Seven days gone by and the 
 morning blood red, and the sea lathering like a dog that 
 be furious with madness. No, no, men. Wait and see 
 what the judgment of the Lord shall be on this wicked 
 ship that He has driven ashore with His own breath." 
 
 Now when Uncle Ben spoke of his prophecy, which 
 had been a butt amongst us for a week past, we began to 
 laugh ; but, when he spoke of the judgment of the Lord, 
 there were many that thought it might be so, and that the 
 pirate had been delivered here, through days and days 
 of sailing, to meet the end foreordained ; and the laughter 
 ended. 
 
 Moreover, as Cousin Ephraim pointed out, there was, 
 indeed, a peculiar colour to the ocean ; not blue nor green, 
 nor even gray nor purple ; but of a coppery blue, blended 
 with a blackish slate hue, and other flickering, uncertain 
 shades, and shimmering like heated metal. And there 
 were long gray and metallic lines that seemed almost to 
 creep and crawl over its surface. 
 
 Then, all at once, and not coming from any quarter 
 to be seen at a distance, but as though it had dropped down
 
 The Wrecking of Bellamy 95 
 
 from the higher air currents that they do say are ever 
 moving swiftly, a wind leaped lightly upon us; and the 
 sea sprang up and danced merrily at its touch, as though 
 it played a tune. 
 
 The ripples broke about the pirate ship, and little waves 
 tumbled like frolicsome puppies about the feet and legs 
 of a master, jumping up and falling back again and rolling 
 over one another. 
 
 " See ! " cried Uncle Ben Winterbottom. " Do you 
 mark it beginning? Did you see how the wind came? 
 Where was it a moment ago, but in the hollow of the 
 Lord's hand ? " He raised his cap and stretched his hands 
 reverently. Nor was there one of us to jeer at him now, 
 for the strangeness of the thing was upon us all. 
 
 " Bring in your boats ! Bring in your boats ! " crooned 
 Uncle Ben softly, seating himself on the edge of the bank 
 and staying himself with his peg-leg thrust hard into the 
 sand. " 'Twill be soon too late; for the Lord, though 
 slow to anger, is fearful in His wrath; and in His hand 
 are the whirlwind and the storm." 
 
 Perhaps I know not somewhat of this fear lay 
 cold upon the heart of the pirate captain; for we saw 
 him rush to and fro about the deck, crying his commands, 
 and the men in the boats and at the windlass toiling des 
 perately. 
 
 Once again did Captain Bellamy turn his trumpet 
 toward the cliffs and vent his rage upon us. 
 
 " Come out, men ! " he cried. " Come out in your 
 boats before it be too late. Or, by the torments of hell, 
 I'll burn your town, if I must needs leave this fine ship
 
 96 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 for the sands of your cursed cape to swallow. Fools! 
 Cowards ! Get out your boats and lend us aid." 
 
 But the wind came harder now, and, if he spake longer, 
 it tumbled his words into confusion, for we heard him no 
 more. 
 
 Nor did any man or boy of us move ; for we knew that 
 the prophecy of Uncle Ben was come true. 
 
 It had grown rough about the boats by this time, and, in 
 an hour, there was little use of their struggling and in the 
 planting of anchors, for the boats could scarce make 
 headway into the seas ; and all the while the waves were 
 pushing the ships harder and harder in upon the sands. 
 
 Captain Samuel Bellamy must have seen the uselessness 
 of it, too, for he ordered the boats in again, and around 
 they came to the lee of the ship, to where the waves had 
 not begun to break over much. At this we scrambled 
 up and waited anxiously, lest he should see that he was 
 beaten and come ashore. But it seemed, while we were 
 making ready to flee, that he, being loth to abandon his 
 rich vessel, decided to hold on an hour longer and see 
 what the wind would do, not knowing, as did Uncle Ben 
 Winterbottom, that a judgment was upon him. 
 
 Morning was well along, but the day had grown dark, 
 with clouds so tossed about by winds that the sea seemed 
 like a reflection of the disturbance above ; and the turmoil 
 of sea and sky was blended into one. For suddenly a 
 wind came screaming in from sea, even as they say the 
 tide races in, in that strange bay far to the north of us 
 on the coast of the Canadas. This was the first act of the 
 storm in the stripping of the great Whidah ; for the teeth
 
 The. Wrecking of Bellamy 97 
 
 of the gale fastened in the folds of a bellying topsail, that 
 had been left half-furled, in the flurry of the pirate crew, 
 and, tearing it from the yard, bore it in like a fluttering 
 sea-bird upon the beach. 
 
 Up roused the pirate captain at this, and quickly we 
 saw the rigging of the ship black with agile men. But the 
 storm was in the sails, and the fingers of the wind clutched 
 and tore them from the grasp of frightened sailors. 
 
 Even as they worked, too late to get sail off the ship, 
 a wave bigger than all, and yet a mere ripple compared 
 with those soon to follow, enfolded the great craft in its 
 bosom, tore it for a moment from the grasp of the sand, and 
 then dropped it heavily upon its beam ends; so that the 
 timbers in all its ponderous hull groaned and cracked, 
 and the iron bolts that had been sledge-hammered into 
 the solid oak tore out as though from paper. 
 
 The giant masts whipped through the air and brought 
 up with a snap, as the heeling of the vessel ceased ; and a 
 dozen men dropped into the sea. A boat put out for them, 
 and we thought they were all taken in ; but suddenly the 
 boat went over and rolled bottom up, and we never saw 
 the men again alive. 
 
 So another boat did put out, with a score of men crowd 
 ing it deep in the water. It smashed upon a bar three 
 rods from shore, and the sea swallowed boat and men. 
 
 Never have I seen wind and water roused into fury 
 with such quickness. Never have I seen escape cut off 
 from men eager for life as I then saw before my eyes. 
 Por ail about the ship rose up waves frothing from the 
 sea, like an army suddenly called from ambush ; and there
 
 98 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 was no longer pathway left for flight to shore to any living 
 thing. 
 
 The day wore on, and with the change of the tide in mid- 
 afternoon the storm grew fiercer. Night seemed to be 
 shutting down when it was only four o'clock. But it was 
 not until five, or perhaps an hour later, that we saw the 
 great spectacle of destruction that marked the end of the 
 Whidah. 
 
 The sea had swollen enormously, and the waves burst 
 like bombs against the huge hulk of the ship, crashing into 
 a thousand flying fragments of gleaming water and foam, 
 or breaking over the decks like rivers in flood. High up 
 into the rigging, where a hundred men now clung, stretch 
 ing out despairing hands to the shore high into the 
 rigging leaped the seas, shouting like savages. 
 
 Higher and higher they climbed, men and seas, till the 
 lofty yards of the ship were black with men. Higher leaped 
 the wild seas, eager to seize their prey and drag it down. 
 
 All at once, just as night shut in, we saw a gigantic 
 wave curl up before the ship, and rear its wall of white 
 and green water up and up, even to the yards. Then it 
 dropped down in a huge mass, burying the deck and all 
 the hull in tons of water. We could not tell just what 
 followed, but the weight must have burst the decks in 
 and forced the sides of the ship out ; for the whole mighty 
 fabric of oak seemed to crumble and collapse. The ship, 
 wrenched mightily by stem and stem, pulled clean apart 
 in the middle, so that the fore part, with the foremast, and 
 the after part, with the main and mizzen masts, went ID 
 opposite ways.
 
 The Wrecking of Bellamy 99 
 
 The next moment down toppled the masts, one by one, 
 like trees cut in the forest, crashing into the sea with every 
 soul aboard. 
 
 Now I often think of this fearful moment as the stran 
 gest in all my life ; for it seemed to me as I gazed, though 
 white and trembling with the horror of it, as though it 
 were still not real, but like a thing read of, or a spectacle 
 fashioned to imitate the terrors of death at sea. For, what 
 with the awful turmoil of the waves, and the screaming of 
 the winds, and the din and dirl of waters where sea and 
 shore met, there came to our ears no other sounds than 
 these. And so the shrieks of near a hundred and two score 
 men going swiftly down to their doom were lost in the 
 gale; and it was to us as though the great tragedy were 
 done in silence; that is, without the sound of a human 
 voice to give it reality. And altogether was there such a 
 prodigious combination of sound and fury that it was 
 like a great unnatural silence. 
 
 Silently, it seemed, the tall masts wrenched loose from 
 the riven oak. Silently the long yards swayed and swerved. 
 Silently, it seemed, the men aloft clung to the loosening 
 rigging. Without a sound that we could hear above the 
 storm, the strong ship fell asunder and, with a mighty, 
 exultant shouting, the wild seas swept over and buried all.
 
 CHAPTER VH 
 
 THE WANTON SEA 
 
 WHY the big Whidah should have gone to pieces before 
 the other pirate craft, I have no way of reasoning, unless 
 it be that, with her lofty masts and heavy spars, she 
 wrenched harder. But so it happened, and the smaller 
 vessel held on for nearly an hour before it began to break 
 up. 
 
 But it was all the same to the men on her. They must 
 have been washed overboard, or drowned below decks, 
 at least by the time the larger ship went to pieces, for 
 nothing could live in such a sea at least, so we thought 
 then, but were happily disappointed in one respect, as 
 you shall learn. 
 
 The night shutting down, we could see but little of the 
 wreckage offshore ; but, as the sea came high up on the 
 cliffs, we could not force ourselves to go away from the 
 place, so great was the fascination of the storm. The 
 flying sand stung our faces like swarms of buzzing insects, 
 and the water drenched and blinded us; but we lay flat 
 near the edge of the cliffs and peered over at the scene of 
 destruction. 
 
 A thousand sea-fights in one might not equal the thunder 
 ing of that storm. In there rode a thousand breakers at 
 once, all along the line, galloping like troopers; struck
 
 The Wanton Sea 101 
 
 each its sledge-hammer blow, then sank down, for the 
 next, coming hard on its heels, to leap over. 
 
 Up the sand- cliffs ran the waves as they broke, like 
 troops of infantry scaling the slippery, steep ramparts. Up 
 the gray and yellow incline glided each one, pushed on and 
 on by those behind; climbing, creeping, leaping, surg 
 ing, only to fall back into the froth and tumult at the 
 bottom. 
 
 I have said that nothing could live in that sea, and 
 you might well believe it, and yet, there were two that 
 did. The manner of one's coming ashore I will tell you, 
 since my own hand aided him ; and I never stretched out 
 a hand to better man than to loyal Tom Appleton. But 
 how the other was saved from the sea, neither I nor any 
 one else can say. He was an Indian, of a tribe like the 
 Indians of Nantoecket ; and he suddenly appeared on the 
 brow of the cliffs, having been tossed ashore alive, and 
 somehow having the strength left in him to crawl out of 
 the reach of the waves. 
 
 The Whidah had gone to pieces almost half an hour 
 when I saw a great spar, or yard, of the vessel borne in 
 toward the cliff where I lay; and I thought I saw one 
 man clinging, or lashed, to it. Then soon I perceived 
 there was yet life in him, despite the beating of the waves, 
 for he gave out a faint halloo, which I answered as loud 
 as I could. 
 
 Just as the sea hurled the long yard in against the sand- 
 cliff, a miraculous thing happened ; for a clump of wreck 
 age struck the stick and slewed it about so that it came in 
 endwise, and one end of it rammed into the bank, as a
 
 102 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 man would drive a stake. It hung there for a moment, and 
 I saw the man struggle and free himself and clutch at the 
 sand, digging in his heels to hold on. But he seemed to 
 lose his balance and topple back. 
 
 Then of a sudden I did a thing begotten of quick im 
 pulse ; and, though I got great praise for it for a long time 
 after, I did no more than the arrow that is shot from a 
 bow. I slipped over the edge of the steep, treacherous 
 bank, grinding my feet hard into the surface of the incline, 
 so as not to slide into the sea, and seized the man by an 
 arm. He clutched me, too, as only a man almost despair 
 ing of life, but with hope yet tingling his nerves, can do. 
 
 It was the act of providence that at that very instant the 
 sailor partly recovered himself; for he was a man grown, 
 and heavier than I, and had he fallen he must have dragged 
 me with him. Though half-drowned, he was still the 
 stronger of us two, and he gathered his remaining strength 
 for one last effort and struggled desperately up the bank, 
 never letting go my arm. Then, as we reached the edge 
 of the cliff, a wave dashed over us, hurled us up over and 
 sent us sprawling on the sands, with the breath knocked 
 out of us, but we not much hurt. 
 
 And now I cannot help but fall to marvelling once more 
 at the strange workings of this divine providence. For 
 here was a man suddenly come out of the wild sea, without 
 whom, as I have often told you, I should never have seen 
 her who is a million times dearer to me than life itself. 
 
 When I say it was through this man whom God or 
 daining I rescued, that I met Mary Vane, I mean it 
 was he who planned to build the vessel that carried us to
 
 The Wanton Sea 103 
 
 the mysterious island I shall tell you of; and, indeed, it 
 was he who had the skill and craft to design and build the 
 boat. But of that later. At present, he was a man saved 
 from the wrath of the sea ; but, to our minds, now that he 
 was on land, one of a bloody band of pirates; and so he 
 was taken back to the town a prisoner. 
 
 The sea delivered up no more live men to our mercy; 
 nor, as yet, would it release the dead from its grasp. So, 
 when we had waited an hour or two longer, being, our 
 selves, nearly dead with the cold and from battling against 
 the wind, and with the horror of what we had seen, we 
 went back to town. 
 
 Next day, when the morning had come and the fury of 
 the storm had abated, and, likewise, the tide fallen, we 
 journeyed once more to the sand- cliffs and looked down 
 along the shore. 
 
 Never had such a sight as met our eyes been seen along 
 the whole New England coast. Nor has the telling of it 
 ceased to this day, though few there be now to describe it 
 who actually looked upon it that morning. 
 
 The long, hard, glistening floor of sand lay flooded with 
 sunlight ; and there, stretched out, as though on an enor 
 mous slab, each so you would think his own mother might 
 come to claim her son, lay row upon row of dead men. 
 Seventy and eight we counted then, and through the day 
 the sea tumbled in twenty more. Eight and ninety in all 
 that day, laid out on the great, gray sand-bier. 
 
 Beyond them, not two score feet away, was the mangled 
 body of the great ship, torn in half ; the pirate ship that had 
 preyed along our shores.
 
 104 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 There was no life in any body, nor, indeed, what with 
 the wanton play of the sea, much semblance in most of 
 them to the men they had been. 
 
 Now we were all at our wits' end, as to what we should 
 do; for here was a great, barren graveyard without a 
 grave dug in it, and eight and ninety bodies craving burial. 
 We set off again for town, and came back in a little while 
 with shovels and spades and hoes, and even rakes, and 
 whatsoever we could find to dig with. Then we set about 
 to bury these men out of the way of the sea. 
 
 But it was sorry work and terribly hard to do; for if 
 you have ever dug in the sand you know that it has a mali 
 cious and a tricky way of tormenting one. It seemed that 
 for every spadeful we threw aside there slipped cunningly 
 back, to take its place, at least two others ; and so to dig one 
 grave, or a trench that would answer for one, there was at 
 the least the labour for two. 
 
 There was no way of taking the bodies up the cliffs, for 
 it was as much as a live man could do to make the ascent, 
 without giving a hand to a dead man, and we had no tackle 
 with which to draw them up. So we must needs bury those 
 that we could, at the foot of the cliffs, out of the reach, as 
 we thought, of all but the very highest winter seas. 
 
 We took no clothing from any pirate body, though some 
 of them were richly dressed; but the money in their 
 pockets, and in the belts about their waists, we deemed as 
 though no more their property than ours, since they had 
 taken it by force, and we had now to bury them. However, 
 of the specie, there was not twenty pounds worth of it all, 
 there being but a few English gold pieces, and mostly
 
 The Wanton Sea 105 
 
 Spanish pieces of eight, and a few coppers of the stamp of 
 William and Mary. 
 
 In all, with a gold watch-case apiece, and a few dollars 
 in money, there was not enough to pay us for our frightful 
 labour; and, indeed, we did it because, after all, they 
 were men of the same clay as we, and we could not endure 
 to see them lie there for the sun and the sea-birds to shame. 
 
 All day long we toiled, men and boys, some two score 
 of us and even women and girls, though we begged 
 them keep away from the dreadful task. 
 
 When it had come noon, we must cease for weariness, 
 and to eat what victuals had been brought over to us from 
 the town ; but we had little appetite for the food, though 
 we withdrew from the horrid sight some rods down along 
 the shore, and built a fire to sit and smoke our pipes by. 
 
 Then we fell to again, the men of us, for the women had 
 had enough of the work. Yet, for our all day's labour, 
 and toil as hard as we could, there were thirty bodies to 
 bury when the sun had gone down; and not a man 
 nor boy of us with strength left to lift a shovel full of 
 sand. 
 
 We left them there upon the shore, and tramped wearily 
 back to town, intending to return on the morrow; but 
 there was a fascination that drew us back again that very 
 night, when we had had our suppers and the refreshment 
 of good tobacco. 
 
 It seemed, as I learned afterwards, that this was the 
 time of a fierce inrush of waters all along the coast, and a 
 vaster quantity of water rolled up in the tides than in 
 years, which accounted for what we saw. For, as the
 
 106 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 moon rose and the tide swelled, and a white light lay over 
 all the dark bosom of the sea, we saw its wrath again visited 
 upon those that had used it to do their evil deeds upon. 
 Even on the dead that we had put decently away beneath 
 the sand, did the cruel sea seek vengeance ; and the dese 
 cration by the waters was a fearful thing to behold. 
 
 From what cause I know not, since the wind had steadily 
 lessened and there was no more wrath and fury in it, but 
 merely a gentle sort of murmuring and whispering, as 
 though it pleaded now with the sea to relent, from 
 what cause I know not, with the flooding of the tide, 
 the surface of the sea swelled again and heaved up into 
 huge rollers. They did not hurl themselves against the 
 shore nor crash against the sand- cliffs, as in the preceding 
 night's storm, but rather lunged in a series of mighty 
 sweeps and rolls and rushes. The fierce palpitation of the 
 great heart of the ocean was indeed ended ; but now there 
 succeeded a deep, strong pulsation that was awesome and 
 a marvellous thing to see. 
 
 First, the waves clutched at the things that lay stark 
 and senseless upon the sand, and drew them back, silently 
 and swiftly, into the froth. 
 
 Up came each wave, writhing out of the depths of the 
 black ocean pool like the great sea-serpent that mariners 
 tell of. Swiftly it darted out upon the beach, paused for one 
 brief moment, frothing white along the rim of the shore, 
 and then slid back into the darkness. Silently, save for a 
 low hissing as it moved along the sands, each curling wave 
 seized dead men and dragged them down. Then back 
 they came ; and often, in cruel play, they threw the bodies
 
 The Wanton Sea 107 
 
 out upon the shore again, only to snatch them up once 
 more as the tide rose. 
 
 Stealthily the ghoulish sea rolled in to commit the sin 
 abhorred of men. Silently the desecration of the sand- 
 graves began. And a bitter thing it was to weary men to 
 watch the waters make sport of death and of decent burial. 
 
 The ocean rose mightily ten feet more at high tide 
 than it had ever risen before and still nursing in its 
 bosom the surging wrath of the storm, only no longer 
 bellowing out its rage. Up the sand- cliffs the seas swept, 
 and, as they fell back, they slid their fingers deep into the 
 sand that we had thrown up. Now these sailormen that 
 we had put away for their last sleep under the cliffs, in 
 their shallow beds, came tumbling out of them. 
 
 Up and down the sand- cliffs through half the long night 
 did the sea roll the five score and more pirate bodies; 
 tossed them up the steep incline, let them roll back again 
 and caught them in its arms. 
 
 When we could no longer endure the horror of it, we 
 turned homeward and got back to the town about mid 
 night. 
 
 Next day, we had the man I had helped to rescue out 
 from the town gaol to be taken before the magistrate, 
 Cornelius Parton ; and there was much speculation as to 
 what must be done with him, he being a bloody pirate, it 
 seemed, but one that had been saved as by a miracle of 
 the Lord. But, it came about very happily to a solution ; 
 for it turned out that he was no pirate at all, but one Tom 
 Appleton, who had been not long in the colonies, but 
 had recently come over from Nottinghamshire, England.
 
 108 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 And this rejoiced my cousin much, for he was, him 
 self, by ancestry, of the blood of that part of the old 
 country. 
 
 It seems that this Tom Appleton had gone out from the 
 colonies on a cruise to Madeira, and the ship had been 
 taken by pirates, sacked and sunk, after the crew, save 
 Tom Appleton and two more able seamen, had been im 
 pressed. 
 
 Moreover, from the story of Tom Appleton, this Captain 
 Bellamy was the most heartless scoundrel that I ever 
 heard of. There were aboard the Whidah some eight or 
 ten men whom he had taken from vessels along the Cape 
 Cod coast; and when he found himself undone and the 
 waters rising to engulf his ship, his fury against these 
 Cape Cod men knew no bounds. 
 
 So he turned suddenly from the idea of saving his ship 
 and his own life, and wreaked a fearful vengeance on these 
 men, even though he knew they were all doomed to die 
 as well as he. He called one John Peterson, mate, and 
 ordered that these Cape Cod men, and Tom Appleton 
 with them, be brought aft and butchered and cast into the 
 sea before his eyes. And so they were all stabbed and 
 thrown into the sea, save Tom Appleton, who broke 
 away and climbed aloft and fought and killed two pirates 
 with his sheath- knife in the rigging, and was saved from 
 pistoling by the ship's heeling over and the masts going 
 into the sea, with him and the pirates. 
 
 Now, when we had heard Tom Appleton's story, we 
 knew it was true from the straightforward manner of his 
 telling of it ; and, moreover, his becoming modesty in the
 
 The Wanton Sea 109 
 
 mention of his killing the pirates aloft was a matter that 
 was commended. 
 
 But there proved to be other verification of his story, 
 for there came forward a man of Eastham whose family 
 was all from Nottinghamshire; and he asked after this 
 one and that one, most of whom Tom Appleton told of 
 readily. Indeed, the Eastham man knew Tom Appleton's 
 own uncle; and so the whole town welcomed him and 
 urged him to abide with them. 
 
 Of the great tides that mocked at our concern for the 
 dead and robbed them of our poor burial there were three, 
 two following the one of which I have told you. So that 
 for two days there was no rest for the six score and odd 
 dead of the pirate crew, in that they were alternately cast 
 up by the sea and drawn back into it again ; and lay by 
 turns in whatsoever shifting grave the sea dug for them 
 amid the sand and weed, or remained, an awesome 
 sight along the shore, like drift from far off woods. 
 
 Some few, indeed, we contrived on the second day to 
 draw up over the cliffs with tackle, and bury, high out of 
 the harm of the waters ; but when we had come upon one 
 of the Cape Cod men that bore the marks of the pirate's 
 violence, our gorge rose at the whole cursed crew; and 
 we gave over trying to put away any more of them from 
 sight, at least, for that day. 
 
 When the tides had shrunk to their usual volume, 
 however, it being the fourth day subsequent to the storm, 
 we did bury more of them again on the shore, and would 
 have worked to the end, but that the task became too 
 irksome and we were forced to abandon the place.
 
 110 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 And I remember to this day how, when we sailed by 
 that shore, weeks after, the sea-birds rose in clouds at 
 our shouting, and the fishermen shook their heads grimly 
 as they gazed in at the place of wrath.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 A VESSEL UNDER A CURSE 
 
 THIS man, Tom Appleton of Nottinghamshire, was a 
 most genial fellow, and a handy one and resourceful; 
 for, though he was but ten years older than I, having 
 thirty notches cut in his staff of life to my twenty, he had 
 been on his feet, as we say, almost ever since he could 
 walk. 
 
 At ten he had been apprenticed at a ropewalk, and 
 knew, from that, much of ropes and the making of them. 
 Then, at fifteen, had he quit that and gone into a ship 
 yard and remained there till he was of age. Indeed, he 
 knew more about the insides of a ship than any man I 
 ever met with, having so intimate a knowledge of its 
 articulation and the body outside its bones that he could 
 diagnose the illness of a vessel like a physician; and he 
 might tell from the rumbling and groaning in its great 
 vitals what part of it had suffered in a storm. 
 
 He was just a trifle below medium height, thick-set, 
 and immensely strong in the body and forearms, as 
 sailors often are, and his voice was deep sounding as a 
 horn of brass. Withal, I never loved a man more in all 
 the world than Tom Appleton unless it were Will 
 Endicott. And as for him, I loved no man more than 
 Will Endicott, unless it were Tom Appleton. 
 
 in
 
 112 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Moreover, Tom Appleton had the gift, that a few men 
 have, of doing what he willed, in such a way that no man 
 could take it ungraciously. So that, if he chose to stay 
 with you for a week or a year, he did it, and you were 
 glad of it, and made him welcome ; or rather, he welcomed 
 himself and you caught the spirit of it from him. 
 
 When we had quieted down from the stir and excite 
 ment of the wrecking of the pirate ships, and had gone 
 to fishing again, Tom Appleton joined with us; and it 
 seemed as natural to have him as though he had been 
 born and brought up among us. And he was grateful in 
 all his acts, rather than by speech, for what we had done 
 for him, and was to me like an elder brother. There were 
 a hundred things he could show me, that a man should 
 know to get his living upon the sea, by means of boats; 
 and he had a dozen contrivances for doing a thing where 
 I could see but one. 
 
 In a measure, he was disputatious, putting his own 
 construction upon things and making his own interpre 
 tations, rather than seeking the precedents of other men. 
 In this he did puzzle Ephraim sorely, since he would 
 argue points of Calvinism, such as the damnation of 
 infants, and the like, instead of taking the postulate 
 of Cotton Mather. And this to Cousins Mercy and 
 Ephraim was like unto rubbing cats from their tails 
 up to their ears ; and they would have stood it from no 
 other man than Tom Appleton. 
 
 Most of all, was he skeptical of witches and witch 
 craft, and I am almost persuaded by him, myself, that 
 there are not any such, and perhaps never were. It was
 
 A Vessel under a Curse 113 
 
 by reason of this that he least liked Cotton Mather. For 
 he argued that because the Bible had spoken of witches, 
 it did not follow that they existed to-day. 
 
 So, when Tom Appleton talked and argued, I was of 
 a mind that witchcraft was a delusion and a foolishness ; 
 but when I got the proof positive of witchery from the 
 mouth of one who had known of it, then was I uneasy in 
 mind and had rather not cross a witch. Ephraim knew 
 there were witches, for he had once had a spell put on him, 
 being obsessed and thrown into a grievous sickness, with 
 fever, by a woman whose son he had caused to be fined 
 for working on the Sabbath. But Tom Appleton thought 
 this might have been a damming up of the liver from the 
 eating of pork pie and goose livers and fried bacon, with 
 syrup and sweet cakes, and drinking heavy ale, about 
 New Year's time; for that was the season. 
 
 In all I confess, I am not certain in the matter of 
 witches, and wish, for the better equilibrium of my mind, 
 that the thing could be settled surely one way or the other 
 before I die. However, I am not afraid of them 
 though I say this in no spirit of challenge, should any be 
 near by. 
 
 In the latter part of May of this year, Tom Appleton 
 first broached to me the subject of building a boat ; that 
 is, that he and I and Elbridge and Elias should do it 
 together and own her equally in shares. And, in case we 
 should decide to do this, Tom Appleton would send on 
 by ship to New York for a small sum of money, some 
 eighty odd pounds that he had there with a banker, and 
 would settle amongst us.
 
 114 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Tom Appleton's plan was, that we should build a boat 
 of about twenty-five tons, fore and aft rigged, with a square 
 foretopsail, and with a well in her hold for bringing fish 
 alive into the Boston market, besides accommodations 
 for splitting and salting others. Moreover, by cutting 
 much of our timber, and doing our own work, under Tom 
 Appleton's guidance, the whole. boat would not put us 
 out of pocket in hard money more than a hundred pounds. 
 
 Well, we talked the matter over very seriously, for 
 twenty-five pounds of clear cash was not eating its way out 
 of the money-bag of any one of us. But the project looked 
 good from the start, for we saw the fairer side of it always, 
 and that was, a measure of independence and a real 
 beginning of our fortunes. Cousin Ephraim took that 
 same view of it, having an honest desire for me to get on 
 in life, and offered to advance me the twenty-five pounds 
 outright, with my gold watch and chain for security ; and, 
 indeed, there was no risk for him in that, they being 
 worth much more money, together. But I needed only 
 fifteen pounds from him, having the rest put by from 
 my earnings. 
 
 Elias's father, too, was ready with the money for his 
 share, when he had sifted the scheme and passed his 
 judgment on it, and Tom Appleton having laid it before 
 him plausibly. 
 
 But as for poor Elbridge, he was eager for the venture, 
 yet had little to offer for it; and, in the end, he could 
 raise only ten pounds. However, Tom Appleton put up 
 the balance for him, and was to be paid in due time out 
 of Elbridge's share of the profits of our fishing.
 
 A Vessel under a Curse 115 
 
 When we had got the matter thus far under way, and 
 Tom Appleton had made us a model and drawn plans 
 and done much calculating, we went down to the south 
 part of the town, to a shipyard close by what was then 
 Flownder Lane. We got the use of a corner of this for 
 a trifling sum beyond what we should pay to the ship 
 wright for materials bought of him. 
 
 Then at length, one day, we went to work and laid 
 down our cross-pieces for the keel to rest on ; and then, 
 with some slight formality, laid the keel itself. This was 
 of great, tough pieces of elm, hewn down by Tom Appleton, 
 with Elbridge, who could use the broadaxe and adze a 
 little, to help him. This laying of the keel was witnessed, 
 I recall, by Squire Andrews and his wife, and Cous 
 ins Ephraim and Mercy, and by a Mr. Brewster, a 
 neighbour, Elbridge Carver's father, and one or two 
 others. 
 
 We worked hard then for many days, making our 
 craft as comely and graceful as possible, following Tom 
 Appleton's model. When we had got the oaken stem and 
 stern-posts up, and the ribs fastened in and the keelson 
 laid on over the floor-timbers, , and all bolted through 
 and through, likewise some hemlock knees put in to 
 strengthen and stiffen the hull, our boat began to 
 assume a definite form; and we could hardly work, from 
 desire to stand and gaze at her. 
 
 We had her well up in the stocks, and were pleased 
 enough at our progress, when a thing happened that put 
 some damper on our spirits. For, suddenly, there appeared 
 one day at the shipyard none other than the great Cotton
 
 116 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Mather, striding up aggressively, his face clouding, and 
 demanding to know if a rascal named Tom Appleton be 
 building a vessel there. So Tom, taken much aback and 
 foreseeing squalls coming, got down most decently from 
 his work, and took off his cap and replied, with deference, 
 that he was Tom Appleton ; but that he had never been 
 called rascal before, having done no dishonesty to any 
 man so far back as he could remember. 
 
 For all that, the great Cotton Mather was not to be 
 appeased by Tom's civility ; but he drew back, and lifted 
 up his right hand solemnly and pierced Tom Appleton 
 through and through with his strong eyes. Then he 
 poured out a denunciation upon him such as I had never 
 heard before against Tom Appleton or any other man. 
 Nor could Tom Appleton say aught in his own defence; 
 for, as often as he tried, then was he swept off his feet 
 by the flood of objurgation and words of wrathful warning. 
 In short, as he said afterwards, he was never so be-smoth- 
 ered and suffocated with words in all his life. 
 
 There never was a greater infidel nor scoffer brought 
 into the colonies, cried Cotton Mather, than this Tom 
 Appleton; which was outside of the truth, since Tom 
 Appleton was, to my knowledge, a good Christian man, 
 and thankful to God for saving him from the pirates and 
 the sea. But word of Tom's discussions as to witch 
 craft (which I do think the great preacher had now, 
 himself, some uneasiness in mind over), and of his ques 
 tioning of certain points of orthodoxy, that were as bed 
 rock and granite corner-stones to Cotton Mather, had 
 come to the preacher's ears. And he was a man irritable
 
 A Vessel under a Curse 117 
 
 and harsh at times, and fiercely so toward those who 
 dared to disagree with him and what he taught. 
 
 Evil should befall this rogue, cried Cotton Mather; 
 and evil should befall those that dared to keep his com 
 pany, or harbour him, or have aught to do with him. 
 As for the labours of his hands, a judgment of fire and 
 brimstone would be rained down upon them, and an 
 horrible tempest would shatter his works as though they 
 had never been. And he warned us three, as we feared 
 the blight that would come upon all abominations, to 
 forswear his company for ever, and let him go his way to 
 destruction, nor be dragged down with him. 
 
 When he had departed, as abruptly as he appeared, 
 we put away our tools for the remainder of the afternoon. 
 He had, indeed, thrown us into a sorry confusion, seeming 
 to have uttered, as a prophecy, that the vessel we were 
 building should be smitten by tempest and scourged from 
 the sea; so that it took the heart out of us for the time 
 being. 
 
 It put a check upon our work for the best part of a 
 week; and, if the building of the boat had not gone on 
 so far, it might have been abandoned altogether; for 
 Cotton Mather had great hold upon Cousin Ephraim 
 and Squire Andrews and Elbridge's father. But it seemed, 
 fortunately, that Squire Andrews's heart was set on 
 having the venture go through. 
 
 So Squire Andrews and Ephraim went to see Cotton 
 Mather, and got what Tom Appleton could not a 
 hearing from him, they being sound men in the church 
 and zealous supporters of it and of Cotton Mather. The
 
 118 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 outcome was, we might go on with the work, since it was 
 a good business venture, but for us to have as little as 
 possible to do with Tom Appleton. Above all, to listen 
 to no theological argument of his, and to bring him to 
 the front of the church Sundays, where Cotton Mather 
 might have him in mind when he prayed for the wicked. 
 
 As for our share in the venture, Cotton Mather would 
 say naught against it ; but as for Tom Appleton 's, it would 
 come to no good, but would meet with the punishment of 
 evil. So we were even then puzzled, and argued over 
 it often, as to what might befall a boat one- fourth of which, 
 or a little more, was the product of evil and would be 
 visited with wrath. 
 
 We went to work once more, then, upon our boat, and 
 did our best to follow the injunctions of Cotton Mather ; 
 for we asked Tom Appleton no more about our work 
 than was necessary for us in order to do it right, which 
 was every other minute, and we refrained from break 
 ing in upon his discourses with arguments, because none 
 of us was wont to argue with him anyway, knowing we 
 should be bested if we did. 
 
 As for theological disputation, there was none of us 
 inclined to it, save Tom Appleton; so he had no one to 
 contend with. Then, we kept no more of his company 
 than was requisite to perform our daily labours with him, 
 from six in the morning until six at night, and a few pipe- 
 fuls of tobacco together after supper, until it was time to 
 go to bed. 
 
 So we got along very well, and Tom Appleton had 
 never to pay the fine for being absent from church. More-
 
 A Vessel under a Curse 119 
 
 over, he had come out of the affair easily, for he could 
 have been made to stand in the market-place on Lecture 
 Day, with a paper pinned to his breast, and the words, 
 " A wanton Gospeller," thereon. 
 
 We got the planking all on about the latter part of July, 
 having had a few days' assistance from a skilled man in 
 the shipyard, and began caulking up the seams with 
 oakum saturated with tar and pitch. By and by, when the 
 tar was well baked and did no longer dent with the jab 
 of a stick, we covered the whole body of the boat with 
 three good coats of paint. 
 
 Then we made an excursion of it for a few days out of 
 Boston harbour, down among the islands, and cut two 
 great spruce-trees that should serve respectively as fore 
 and main mast, some handsome sticks for topmasts and 
 yards, and some pieces for booms and gaffs and bow 
 sprit. 
 
 When we had got these worked down properly, and had 
 them smooth and oiled, they were quite elegant, glisten 
 ing like the sticks of a man-o'-war's man ; and the day we 
 stepped them in our boat, setting them solidly into the 
 keelson and wedging them so they stood as though rooted, 
 was a great day in our lives. 
 
 In the meantime, having got his dimensions, Tom 
 Appleton had been busy evenings cutting and making the 
 sails, we all taking hold, on work that he would allow us 
 to touch. So by the time the standing rigging had been 
 set up and our boat was in shape for launching, the sails 
 were ready to be stretched on her, or would be by the 
 time she was slid into the water.
 
 120 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 It was a day near the end of August that we appointed 
 for the launching, our boat being finished and to be put 
 overboard with masts stepped. She was to be christened 
 on that day the Venture, there being no young woman, 
 then, that any of us would have her named after; since, 
 as for Elbridge and me, we had not been smitten as yet 
 and had had no time nor money for idle flirtations ; and 
 as for Tom Appleton, he may or may not have had a 
 sweetheart, or even a wife, hi the old country, but spoke 
 never of either. And as for Elias, he had no name to 
 offer, nor did we ask him the question directly. But 
 Cousin Ephraim suggested we call the boat the Venture, 
 and was pleased to have us accept his suggestion. 
 
 When the day arrived, we had some strips of bunting 
 brought over and made the corner of the shipyard very 
 gay with them; and some of the bunting, and a fine flag 
 lent us by Elias's father, fluttered in the rigging and made 
 a gallant show. Then we had one-half a water-butt set 
 on end, and a punch brewed in it by Tom Appleton, and 
 Cousin Mercy's glazed cups for every one to drink out of. 
 
 There were some two score and ten of us, all told 
 since a launching, even of a small vessel, was no light 
 event in the town. Of these there were, first, Cousins 
 Ephraim and Mercy and Elbridge's family; but Squire 
 Andrews and his family could not come. Then there 
 were, Neighbour Pettingill and two comely daughters of 
 his, of whom one, Annie, was to christen the boat with a 
 bottle of wine. She was, indeed, a buxom and a sweet- 
 faced young woman, but I thought nothing of her at 
 least I have not remembered of it, since I met my own
 
 A Vessel under a Curse 121 
 
 Mary. Only I do recall that I invited her to do the 
 christening, by way of neighbourly courtesy. And I need 
 mention no more of the party, for the names would be 
 unfamiliar. 
 
 On the hour that the tide was right, good Tom Appleton 
 and Elias began, all at once, to knock away the shores 
 that held the boat by the bows; and soon she began 
 moving, ever so slowly, cradle and all, down the ways; 
 which gave me a feeling of chokiness in the throat, to see 
 the thing we had laboured over so long begin to take life. 
 
 Then pretty Annie swung the bottle cleverly, by the 
 ribbon about its neck, and dashed it against the bow as 
 the boat glided by ; and so, with the foaming of the wine, 
 it met its first wave from the hand of a woman, and rode 
 through it proudly, on down into the water. There, by 
 reason of Tom Appleton's cleverness, the cradle fell from 
 it and apart, and our little vessel floated handsomely and 
 gallantly ; and we hailed it with cheering until we could 
 shout no more. 
 
 Then, before the feasting should begin, there was a 
 series of games and trials of strength between us men; 
 and Tom Appleton and Elias, who had learned it aboard 
 the man-o'-war's man, did some single stick work which 
 was very pretty to see, and whereby Elias got a lump 
 above his right ear that was like a pear. Then did Tom 
 Appleton best every one, even the larger men, at a game 
 of sitting back to back and locking arms and seeing who 
 should flip the other over his head. For Tom Appleton, as 
 I have said, had great strength wrapped up in a compact 
 body.
 
 122 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 So I had the hope and the expectation, too, of winning 
 some honour in a wrestling-match with Elias, I having 
 grown to equal him in height, though not as great of 
 girth, and feeling myself to be as strong as any man. 
 Three bouts we were to wrestle, and the better of us would 
 be he who should get the most of them. The first time, 
 we were at it some minutes, being both fresh and looking 
 for each other's tricks warily. But, in the end, I found 
 Elias had learned many things among the king's men 
 that I had not heard of; and he threw me. 
 
 However, I felt I should do better on the second trial, 
 knowing more what to expect of him, and having good 
 advice from Tom Appleton; but Elias was for winning 
 howsoever he could, and got a hold on me all at once that 
 seemed to strangle all the breath out of my windpipe 
 I have since learned the hold is barred in most matches 
 and I could not stand it long, and so was thrown again. 
 Nor did I feel, then, fit for a third bout, being still gasping 
 and sore from my strangling; but it would seem like 
 flunking not to try for one fall when the chance was open 
 to me. So I went up again, like a lamb to the butcher, 
 and Elias laughed as he laid me a third time on my back. 
 
 However, I made the best face of it that I could ; and 
 ate so heartily, to show I cared nothing for defeat, that 
 I could eat no more for the next three days, from an 
 indigestion. As for pretty Annie, I cared for her, as I 
 say, no more than for a neighbour's daughter, to whom 
 I should be courteous; and yet I had rather she did not 
 see me thrown.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 DRIVEN TO SEA 
 
 So we had, at last, got our little vessel built and into 
 the water; and that, too, without mishap. Then, having 
 tried her out a few times about the inner harbour and 
 across to Charlestown, and got our sails stretched and 
 a little refitting of them done, we put in our nets and 
 some trawls and other tackle and began to go on fishing 
 voyages in earnest. 
 
 There was good fishing then in and about the great 
 harbour out from our town, over some seventy odd square 
 miles of water; and there were the five score islands to 
 lie snug among in nasty weather, and fish in the lee of. 
 
 But in all this sailing was there need of experience, 
 and a memory of waters seen to be shoal when they lay 
 calm in the sunlight. For I remember of Ephraim's 
 telling me, in the early days of my going on voyages with 
 him, that these reefs, if a boat got in too near, had a way 
 of stretching themselves out to grasp at the keel of it. 
 And, indeed, that seemed to be so, particularly when the 
 tide was setting in strong against them. So, in this part 
 of our cruising, I was more often at the tiller than Tom 
 Appleton or the others, for I had had the most experience 
 there. 
 
 These September days were days of excellent profit 
 
 123
 
 124 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 to us, and the Venture did, in truth, seem to be good in 
 name and fact ; so that we were in a fair way to pay for 
 her, that is, the actual money we had expended, within 
 the course of the year. 
 
 The month of October came in stormy, with the sea 
 tossed about this way and that and greatly disturbed by 
 the capriciousness of the winds. So, whereas we had been 
 weather-wise to a degree that gave us a flattering opinion 
 of ourselves, now we were uncertain how the wind would 
 blow come to-morrow, as to what direction and strength ; 
 and, indeed, it were like to blow from many different 
 points in a single day, and fitfully and deceitfully, with 
 squalls springing suddenly out of hiding. This kept us 
 constantly reefing and putting on sail again, we being one 
 minute becalmed and the next crushing the water white 
 under our lee rail, and wet to our knees with waves rolling 
 aboard. 
 
 However, we were well hardened to it, and thought no 
 more of lying down to catch an hour's sleep with our 
 garments soaked through to the skin than though we had 
 been at home in a bed of feathers and corn-husks. 
 
 And as for a good, hard blow and nasty weather, we 
 were like boys with a new toy, that must try ever to see 
 how far it will go toward the breaking point ; for, when 
 it blew hardest, we would say how stiff our boat was, and 
 how well she stood up to it, and how fast she sailed close- 
 reefed. So, too, when the seas pounded us heavily, we 
 were for ever trying the pump to prove she had started 
 nowhere, but was strongly built and dry and a credit to us. 
 
 Tom Appleton was pleased to declare often that she
 
 Driven to Sea 125 
 
 could take us to England, did we choose, and was a better 
 boat for her size than Columbus had. 
 
 Thus we did make fast trips and many of them, and 
 worked very industriously; so that by the middle of 
 October we had shared more than forty pounds amongst 
 us, and had money jingling in our belts. Nor was money 
 other than scarce in those times, save to a very few, by 
 inheritance or hazardous trading or roguery. 
 
 It was about this time, or a little before, that we took 
 to going up Glocester way, and sometimes around Cape 
 Ann, where Ephraim and I had gone before, and of which 
 waters Ephraim had drawn out for himself and me a rough 
 chart. 
 
 However, Ephraim advised against this now, as the 
 season was getting far advanced, and it were safer to 
 follow the shore southward and keep inside of the long 
 cape named for the great store of codfish in its waters ; 
 and we made up our minds to follow Ephraim's advice 
 shortly, but went once too often, like a man deciding to 
 give up liquor and loth to take his last glass. 
 
 We set out one morning, about the middle of October, 
 heading for Cape Ann. I think it was to have been our 
 last trip for the season up that way, that is, unless we 
 should get a big haul quickly. We laid over in Salem 
 harbour for a night, and went out again in the morning, 
 in a light wind that came astern from the southward. 
 
 We judged there had been a hard blow outside that 
 night, for the waves were out of proportion to the strength 
 of the morning wind, as though they had rolled in from 
 a disturbance seaward.
 
 126 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Then, the sea gradually calming and the wind dying 
 and the tide beginning to slacken, we foresaw we should 
 not reach the cape before dark; nor was there a breeze 
 to set us in to any nearer harbour. By dinner-time we 
 were no more than standing still, there being only puffs 
 of wind at long intervals; and the sky was dulling with 
 a gray overcasting of clouds, though it had been clear 
 and shining when we started, and the day unnaturally 
 hot for the season. 
 
 Toward the middle of the afternoon, we saw we should 
 have bad weather; for huge white and black clouds were 
 mounting the sky to the westward over the land, distant, 
 and we heard now and again the low rumble of thunder; 
 but as yet no wind reached us. 
 
 Then the whole surface of the sea darkened from the 
 shadows of the cloud-banks, and a heaviness spread over 
 all the clouds hi the sky, fading them from gray to a more 
 sombre hue. Nor did the light show now anywhere on 
 all the expanse of the sea, save that, away out on the 
 horizon, a long, livid streak lay along the whole length 
 of it. 
 
 We had seen something like this before and were in no 
 terror of it; yet we would gladly have been running for 
 harbour, but there was no wind to do this, it holding off 
 to the last moment and gathering its strength. So we 
 shortened sail, leaving but a scrap of our forestaysail 
 and very little foresail at all, and the mainsail double 
 reefed, to work with. Likewise we shut our hatches, and 
 made our boat snug and tight in every way. 
 
 Despite all this, we were not prepared, as it turned out,
 
 Driven to Sea 127 
 
 for what was in store for us, having, even then, too much 
 sail on her. Moreover, it seemed as though the storm 
 had a certain malice in it, and a purpose to strike terror 
 into our hearts at the very outset; for, just before the 
 first fierce onrush of the wind, there came a bolt of light 
 ning darting down from the heavens, and it fell into the 
 sea near us, so we could see the waters boil about the spot ; 
 and we felt a numbness in our limbs from it. At this very 
 instant, the roar and crash of the thunder was in our ears. 
 
 Now we were, all four, thrown down by the shock, and 
 lay for a moment on the deck; and at that moment the 
 words of Cotton Mather came into my mind, that a judg 
 ment of fire and brimstone would be rained down upon us, 
 and an horrible tempest destroy the work of our hands. 
 Nor did I doubt but that time and that judgment had 
 come. And so, I think, were the others of the same mind, 
 and we were all filled with the same terror together. 
 
 However, we roused up from this, by reason of a blast 
 of wind sweeping down upon us, and laying our little 
 vessel over so that it was near to being the end of her then 
 and there; but Tom Appleton having got to the tiller, 
 and the rest of us following quickly, we got the vessel up 
 into the wind a little and she righted, rushing through the 
 water at a fearful rate when she had gotten headway. 
 
 Now we saw, too late, the magnitude of the storm, and 
 would have brought the vessel up into the wind more to 
 get all her mainsail down, since it would not drop when 
 we tried to let it run, because of the great pressure of the 
 wind. But before we could work her, there came another 
 fierce squall that blackened the sea about us like night;
 
 128 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 and at this the bolts that held the shrouds of the main 
 mast tore loose and flew for a moment about our heads, 
 menacing us. 
 
 Then the mainmast, itself, with the weight and pressure 
 of sail and the fury of the wind, bent over like a tree 
 leaning in the forest and snapped off close by the house, 
 and went overboard. So now we could not stand into the 
 wind at all, not being able to work our foresail ; but were 
 driven out to sea, with the gale trumpeting like an army 
 at our heels. 
 
 Thus the night shut down around us ; and we drove on 
 through the waves, throwing up a huge wall of green 
 water on either side of our wake, which seemed ever 
 rushing in on deck to engulf us. At first, we clung to the 
 tiller, all four of us, since the boat was in constant peril 
 of broaching and swinging around to get the sea broadside. 
 However, finally, Tom Appleton did manage to crawl 
 forward and get a piece of rope, so that we lashed the 
 tiller with it between the rails, enabling us to steer more 
 easily. 
 
 All this was bad enough, and we made a horrible night 
 of it, scarcely able to breathe, on account of the incessant 
 flying of the spray into our nostrils. But toward morning 
 things took a turn for the worse, owing to an alteration 
 of the wind. 
 
 It seemed that what had threatened to be but a shower 
 and wind-storm, such as passes quickly, had developed 
 into a great storm ; and the wind had swung now around 
 to the southward, with a slight veering eastward, and was 
 carrying us north.
 
 Driven to Sea 129 
 
 The sea grew infinitely rougher at this; for, whereas 
 there were miles of great billows pouring upon us from 
 the direction of the land, now there came up also the wild 
 sea increasing from the southward, and the two met with 
 a terrific bellowing, like herds of cattle. 
 
 So that here was now no law upon the wild ocean, even 
 that of storm, for us to be guided by and to act upon; 
 but only the madness and confusion and anarchy of the 
 sea, amidst which we tossed and scudded helplessly. 
 
 With the coming of the day, there was no diminution, 
 but rather an increase, of the gale, and, moreover, about 
 this time, our rudder became almost unmanageable from 
 some cause, either clogging with sea growth or being 
 strained by the seas. So we could have steered toward 
 no land had we seen any ; but we must have been well to 
 the north and at sea from Cape Ann ; and, withal, it were 
 safer to be at sea, helpless, than driving on to a lee shore, 
 since we could not help ourselves. 
 
 There was no sun to be discerned, but there was a light 
 ening of the sky, which was a relief, though it did but 
 disclose the sea widely flowing and all its endless spacious 
 ness thrown into tumult. Overhead, the dark clouds 
 rolled like the smoke of battle. And I remember that the 
 sea presented a sight most strange and unearthly; for 
 the effect of the great white breakers over all its black 
 surface was as if the whole sea were flowing rapidly and 
 rushing onward like a mighty river. 
 
 All that day we lay near the tiller, under the lee of the 
 stern rail and lashed thereto with ends of rope; for the 
 seas were constantly breaking over us and there was danger
 
 130 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 of their washing us overboard, since we were half-dead 
 from weariness and from hunger, having eaten nothing 
 since noon of the day before. But, toward the end of 
 that afternoon, I loosed myself and made my way forward 
 to the galley. I was thrown sprawling several times in 
 attempting this, for we were pitching and driving aim 
 lessly, and the decks all slabbery with the wash and scum 
 of the sea. I did contrive, however, to get to the hatchway 
 and open it and go below, though I let in a great wave in 
 doing so, and was nearly tumbled headlong down the 
 ladder along with it. 
 
 Down in the galley I found a sorry mess. By the 
 breaching of the seas, the water had already made an 
 entrance before this last wave ; and food and dishes were 
 soaking hi the sea-water, and floating about together 
 promiscuously. I got together, nevertheless, a pile of the 
 stuff, some biscuits, soggy and falling to pieces, a few 
 scraps of hard-bread, a piece of smoked fish, and, best of 
 all, a cask of water that had kept almost pure, being but 
 slightly brackish from the seepage of salt water about 
 the bung. 
 
 We put some life back in our bodies with this stuff, 
 though the salty food gave us a raging thirst, and we might 
 have gone out of our wits but for the water hi the 
 cask. 
 
 Then, when the night came on again, we felt that the 
 gale was abating slightly, for the gloomy canopy of cloud 
 that appalled us began to break up; and now and then, 
 as the rifts widened and stretches of the blue sky ap 
 peared, we saw, as we drove swiftly on, the countless hosts
 
 Driven to Sea 131 
 
 of gleaming stars marching rapidly above our heads; 
 and it gave us heart to look at them. 
 
 By morning, we could move about the deck a little, 
 though the sea was running high and we had as yet no 
 way of governing the course of our boat. However, we 
 were in better spirits, for the sun came out and warmed 
 us; and that, alone, was a great blessing, for we were 
 nearly perishing with the chill of the cold water.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE LITTLE MAID 
 
 ALL this afternoon of the third day of our great dis 
 tress we did little, beyond working alternately at the 
 pumps and attempting to tighten up our boat; for she 
 was badly strained and beaten open about the stem, and 
 the water coming in so that we were much logged with 
 the amount of it in the hold. By labouring at this the 
 greater part of the afternoon, jamming in sail-cloth and 
 oakum wherever it were possible, we managed to get her 
 into such condition that by working, two of us at a time 
 throughout the night, we should all get some sleep, of 
 which we were in sore need. 
 
 Still we could do scarcely anything toward guiding 
 our broken vessel, the rudder being almost unmanageable. 
 
 By our compass in the cabin, which we found un 
 harmed, we now saw we were being carried by the sea 
 and light wind north and slightly west, which would 
 bring us eventually, by our calculations, somewhere in 
 upon the coast of our great province of Maine, with which 
 none of us was familiar. I say, by our calculations we 
 figured this, but it was nothing better than guesswork; 
 for we estimated that we had been driven near to two 
 hundred miles from our town of Boston, being carried 
 very rapidly for the first twenty-four hours of the storm. 
 
 132
 
 The Little Maid 133 
 
 Toward evening, before the twilight fell, we made 
 another rummaging through the cabin and the galley, 
 for food, and got out a small bottle of brandy, a part of a 
 flitch of bacon, and a box containing about two quarts of 
 oatmeal. This, with a few swallows of water, made us a 
 good meal. 
 
 Now when the morning of the fourth day was come, 
 clear, and with the sun shining, and the sea no longer 
 troubled, we were greatly uplifted in spirit, although our 
 vessel was, indeed, in a sad way. For there were the 
 bright heavens once more declaring the glory of God, 
 and the ocean won away from its wildness by the aliena 
 tion of gentle breezes and the sunlight, and all the air 
 soft and caressing as in a summer day. 
 
 We went heartily at the pumps, then, after finishing 
 the scraps left from our supper. We set the foresails and 
 rigged one of the long sweeps of the vessel, by means of 
 rope under the stern rail, to steer by. So we went along in 
 toward the land, having the wind very light, and directly 
 aft, to favour us. Then, toward noon, we made out, some 
 seven miles ahead, the outlines of an island, with hills 
 of some considerable height rising out of the sea. This 
 was in our course, and towards it we steered. 
 
 But, now again, our fortunes darkened all in an instant ; 
 and we saw the fickleness and uncertainty of the sea, and 
 the folly of trusting it blindly. For, as we were going 
 along hopefully, and could see no warning in any shallow 
 ing of the water, nor heard the sound of any breakers 
 near, we came to a sudden stop, lifting our bow up out 
 of the water and going down by the stern, having run upon
 
 134 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 a sunken reef for the tide was high and were hard 
 and fast there. 
 
 It was so quietly done, and so easily and slowly were 
 we sailing, that we did not strike heavily; and, had our 
 boat not been already weakened and racked by the 
 storm, she might have held firm and, possibly, have been 
 worked free again ; but, as it was, she had no sooner gone 
 upon the ledge and listed a little and put her stern under, 
 than she began to open up her seams forward and along 
 her bilge; and, soon, the whole stern went clear to 
 bottom on the incline of the ledge, leaving only the forward 
 part and a little of the deck amidships above water. 
 
 So we were forced to quit the Venture then and there, 
 having our small boat to embark in, and thankful that the 
 storm had left us that. And we could get nothing but 
 some carpenter's tools and a few pieces of spare sail out 
 of the forecastle of the Venture, to stand as signs and 
 relics of the money and toil we had put into the vessel 
 and the undertaking; so that this, and some little money 
 we had left deposited at home, and about twenty pounds 
 that Tom Appleton carried ever in his belt about him, 
 and some two pounds more between the rest of us, was 
 all we had in the world. 
 
 Now we rowed sadly away, grievously hurt in spirit 
 and our -eyes moistened, and the four of us, withal, tender 
 as children; for, indeed, our griefs be the same as theirs, 
 only the toys being larger. And it was a sorry sight to 
 see our good boat lying deserted, for the barnacles and 
 sea-moss to cover ; and the worms to feed upon her timbers 
 of oak; and the sails to flutter, torn and sorrowful and
 
 The Little Maid 135 
 
 rotting, in the winds; and the sea-crabs to find a habita 
 tion where we had lain snug of nights and smoked and 
 told our stories. 
 
 Just as we drew away from our little vessel for ever, 
 there came up a shower of rain from some passing clouds. 
 Nor was there anything of threat or menace in this shower, 
 nor any gale stealing up by surreption behind its soft 
 clouds ; but only a gentle falling of the rain for a half-hour, 
 that greatly refreshed us. At the end of it, and when we 
 had rowed in to within some two miles of the island that 
 loomed up before us, over against the setting sun a splendid 
 rainbow shone amid the falling drops ; and we rowed on 
 toward it, as though we sought the golden treasure that 
 lies for ever buried at the base thereof, whether it come 
 down on sea or land. 
 
 Moreover, we did soon discover a great treasure, indeed 
 though not of gold, but more precious ; for we espied 
 a tiny sail a mile ahead. Then, as we rowed, spurring 
 ourselves on to come up with it, there came into view a 
 little pinnace, going on very lazily toward the island. As 
 we gained on the craft and hallooed for it to stop, it came 
 to, all at once, and waited for us. 
 
 We saw now that the pinnace was being rowed by a 
 swarthy, squat little man, bearded to his eyes, bushily. 
 In the stem sat a little maid, holding the tiller and man 
 aging the sails, as though she were skilled at it, for, the 
 wind being fickle, they had been alternately sailing and 
 rowing. 
 
 And of all strange things I had witnessed upon the sea, 
 that seemed to me then the strangest, to behold this little
 
 136 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 maid here amid the waste and loneliness of it ; and to us 
 that had been so recently tempest-tossed and were wan 
 derers on the face of the ocean, it seemed a miracle to see 
 her there, though she were really close to harbour. And 
 the little maid was to us like the dove that came to the 
 ark, after the days and nights of flood, and was a vision 
 and a promise of peace. 
 
 Then, as we came alongside, Tom Appleton called out 
 to them that we were men shipwrecked, having left our 
 vessel stranded away to the southward, and wished to 
 follow them in to harbour. 
 
 At this the black man shook his head and gave an 
 exclamation in a foreign tongue, pointing at the same time 
 on toward the mainland, which must have been at least 
 ten miles distant. 
 
 But the little maid, who had eyed us very sharply, 
 turned quickly upon her companion in the boat and 
 spoke to him ; and they conversed together for a moment 
 in what I knew to be Spanish, having heard the sailors 
 of Cuba and Jamaica speak the same tongue about our 
 wharves. But none of us could make out what they said. 
 
 Then the little maid turned to us again and said clearly, 
 and in our own good English : 
 
 " We will show you the way in, though Diego says not, 
 because the men are not always kind to strangers and send 
 them away. But you are wrecked and cannot go on, 
 and that is what I tell Diego, and I will tell Uncle Jack 
 so." 
 
 " And who may Uncle Jack be ? " inquired Tom 
 Appleton.
 
 The Little Maid 137 
 
 " He be Captain John Vane," said she. " He owns 
 our island, or the most of it, and the men do as he says. 
 And he will not be pleased much, I think, to see you ; but 
 I will make him so, for you have no vessel to sail away in." 
 
 She spoke so quaintly and so seriously, and with such 
 an odd flavour of foreignness to the sound of her English, 
 that I must have smiled at it, but that she looked full into 
 our faces with great, honest, brown eyes, like the young 
 deer that start back from the river's edge as one glides 
 suddenly upon them. She had, withal, a little of the 
 startled and anxious look that these gentle creatures have, 
 so that I would not have offended her for all the world. 
 
 " And what is your name, pretty one? " asked Elias, 
 who had a daring and a confident way with women, that 
 many liked. I thought the little maid deemed him too 
 free, by her looks ; yet she answered, " It is Mary Vane; " 
 and said no more than that. 
 
 "And the island, ahead, what is that?" continued 
 Tom Appleton. 
 
 " The men call it Round House," she answered; " but 
 the Indian chief that comes to see us calls it by another 
 name." And she gave the Indian name of it. 
 
 Now this Indian name be the familiar one of the island 
 among our colonists to-day ; and I am loth to set it down 
 here, lest by doing so I bring any contempt upon the 
 honest men that live there now and who do ill toward 
 none; but 'tis enough to say that we had come not far 
 from our own estimate, and were, indeed, within that 
 vast territory called Maine. And this island lies not four 
 leagues out from the shores thereof.
 
 138 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Then the little maid spoke again to the man at the oars, 
 who seemed to be a sort of servant for her, and he fell 
 to rowing once more ; and, she trimming in the two little 
 shoulder-of-mutton sails of the pinnace, they drew a 
 breath of wind from the land and the pinnace went on 
 ahead of us toward the island. 
 
 " 'Tis a trim little wench," said Elias; and I liked him 
 not for saying it, for she had borne herself as gently as 
 any maid of our town of Boston, and did not deserve to 
 be spoken of thus, simply because of her being here in this 
 wild place. " I'd like to know the sort of a crow's nest 
 this be," Elias added. " We are like not to be made much 
 of, by what the girl says and by the face of that rogue with 
 her. What the devil of an odd pair they are ! " And he 
 chuckled as he watched the black man knot his muscles 
 at the oars. 
 
 As for me, I was watching the little maid, from the 
 wonder and strangeness of rinding her there ; and to look 
 at her, was to wonder more. For she was dressed not 
 uncouthly nor in homespun, as young women would be 
 for the most part in so remote a place. But rather was 
 she dressed richly, and, indeed, with much more of 
 finery and adornment than the laws of our Massachusetts 
 Bay Colony did allow even to the wealthiest, save on 
 grand occasions. 
 
 Her skirt was of a finely woven cloth, such as we did get 
 from the wreck back of Eastham, and of which we were 
 told by the man that bought some of it quietly from 
 Ephraim that it was made in France ; her waist was of a 
 dainty embroidered stuff, with flowers worked, or woven,
 
 The Little Maid 139 
 
 into the pattern of it ; and she wore stockings that seemed 
 to be as fine as those that Cousin Mercy took a liking to ; 
 and there were good shoes of a bright, soft leather not 
 moccasins, as the Indians make on her feet ; and, 
 moreover, these had buckles on them that shone as if 
 they might be made of silver. 
 
 Strangest of all, I did see, when our boat was close 
 alongside theirs, that on her left hand were two rings of 
 gold; and hi each of these were stones that sparkled as 
 though they were rare gems, being in colour, part of them 
 red, and the others colourless, but the light dancing in them. 
 She wore no bonnet, but, twisted in and about her hair, 
 like a turban that the women in the Spanish islands wear, 
 was a silken 'kerchief. 
 
 I did guess that the little maid was in age somewhere 
 betwixt fifteen and sixteen, though slight and small for 
 her years ; but the look in her eyes had about that much 
 of experience and knowledge of life in them and she 
 would be seventeen years old, come Christmas time, as 
 I knew afterwards. 
 
 Withal, I could but think that, had our great Cotton 
 Mather beheld her, he would have cried out in amazement 
 and wrath against such wanton bedecking and such 
 unchristian homage to the beauty of the flesh. Yet I 
 thought it did not become the little maid so badly, because 
 there was that in her face and in her eyes that would put 
 a shame upon wantonness; though, had I been an elder 
 brother to her, I should have admonished her to put away 
 the rings till she were older. 
 
 However, she was naught to me but a little guide,
 
 140 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 leading the way to a haven and a rest from storm, and it 
 were no matter to concern me what she wore or what was 
 her behaviour. Still, as I say, I liked not the way Elias 
 spoke of her. 
 
 We came now to where we could look on into the 
 harbour, and could see that it was formed by a reach of 
 the sea running up in between the great island we had long 
 sighted and a small island lying over adjacent, barren and 
 rock-bound. On either hand at the entrance to this 
 thoroughfare were great blocks of ledge, like black mon 
 sters set on guard. And all the rim of the harbour made 
 by the reach was of the solid rock, as it need be, for the 
 waters were ever restless here, swinging either in or out 
 swiftly, with the turning of the tides, and ever beating on 
 the shores as they ran. 
 
 Then we saw that the harbour was really no harbour 
 at all; that is, it was not landlocked, but the sea made 
 dear through between the two islands, so that the only 
 safe place for a vessel to lie in all kinds of weather was in 
 a pool, or basin, made by the hollowing in of one shore of 
 the smaller island, where a dozen good boats might ride 
 safe from storm. 
 
 We saw, too, as we entered, that the general slope of 
 the land was on an incline upward from the reach; and 
 that a dense growth of pine and a few spruce and oak 
 climbed the slope of the hills till they could go no farther, 
 the cliffs on all but the western side of the island going 
 up sheer from the water's edge. But we could see little 
 more, then, for it was growing to be dusk as we came in 
 to a landing-place on the shore of the larger island.
 
 The Little Maid 141 
 
 Then there came shortly down to the shore a band of 
 six men, wearing each a good suit of doublet and breeches 
 of some fine, soft leather, oiled against the rain, and 
 having each a short bastard-musket slung by his bandolier. 
 And one of these, who seemed to be the leader, wore a 
 great belt about his waist, with pistols sticking in it, and 
 a great poniard also. It was he whom the little maid ran 
 up to, as he stepped out on the landing; and she threw 
 her arms about him and spoke to him softly. He was 
 Captain John, or Jack, Vane, we judged by this ; and a 
 striking man he was, not from an exceeding stature, but 
 by reason of his great breadth of chest, such as I have 
 never seen upon another man, save Will Endicott but 
 he was a bigger man in every way and well proportioned. 
 
 This Captain John Vane was, I say, a man to be noticed 
 among others, because of this exceeding breadth of chest 
 and, also, by his manner of carrying himself, being in 
 appearance one of authority and dressed more like a 
 gentleman, or a cavalier, than a fisherman or sailor. 
 
 Now was there no hand of welcome extended by him 
 or by any other of the five with him ; but, instead, he came 
 forward and demanded very roughly to know who we 
 were and what we wanted. 
 
 To this, Tom Appleton, being wretched with our 
 troubles, and famishing, as were all of us, retorted sharply 
 that we were honest men, met with shipwreck, having 
 left our boat to go to pieces on the rocks ; and that as to 
 what we wanted, it must appear evident from our situa 
 tion, and that no man, that called himself such, should 
 refuse us shelter.
 
 142 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 At this, the eyes of Captain John Vane snapped angrily, 
 and he advanced a step or two toward Tom Appleton as 
 though he would be pleased to dirk him ; but Tom Apple- 
 ton stood calmly, having what is ofttimes the best of 
 defences that is, not any. 
 
 " You have a bold tongue in your head, man," cried 
 Captain John Vane. " You are like to be from Wales, 
 or Cornwall perhaps, and meddling where there's no 
 need, there being no refusal in my hearing of a harbour 
 and shelter that is, for the night; and you can take 
 yourselves off by the noon of to-morrow, we being poor 
 men here, living by the sea and not enough to winter us 
 and you, too." 
 
 He had no more words with us, but said something to 
 the Cuban in Spanish and then strode away, abruptly, 
 up the hill, with the others following, the little maid by 
 his side, and he caressing her and stroking her hair. 
 
 Then the Cuban signed for us to go along with him, 
 and he led us to what seemed to be a fish-house close by 
 the shore, made of logs and some sawed timber. This 
 was filled with nets and hogsheads of brine, with fish 
 pickling in them, and some lances and harpoons. All 
 these showed vaguely by the light of a single candle which 
 he got for us. He uttered a few words, of no meaning to 
 us, and went away, leaving us to curse the place and 
 these heartless men, thinking they had cared nothing that 
 we were starving. But the Cuban came again in a little 
 while, leaving for us a great trencher with some cooked 
 meat and boiled codfish and potatoes on it; and he 
 showed us where a spring bubbled out under a ledge near
 
 The Little Maid 143 
 
 the cabin, which was the greatest refreshment we could 
 have. Also he gave us a pint of aqua-vitae and a couple 
 of pewter mugs to drink out of. 
 
 We ate heartily and would have eaten more, if we 
 had had it; and we warmed ourselves with the brandy, 
 and tried to plan for the morrow, but were too worn and 
 drowsy. So we soon fell over on the floor, with our sail- 
 doth over us, and slept very well. 
 
 When it was barely daybreak, Tom Appleton woke me 
 up, softly, not disturbing the others, saying he would go 
 and explore a bit and wished me with him. So we went 
 out together, leaving Elbridge and Elias asleep. Then 
 Tom Appleton said he had observed, on the night before, 
 a way up along the reach, a smoke rising as from a chim 
 ney, in a different direction than that taken by the men 
 when they had left us ; and it might be there were others 
 upon the island than Captain Vane and his men. 
 
 Nor did Tom Appleton's shrewdness disappoint us; 
 for, when we had walked about a quarter of a mile along 
 the shore, we came upon a cabin, with the land cleared 
 all about it, with some vegetables and Indian corn growing, 
 and a small sailboat moored just off the land. We went 
 up to this cabin, and a man and boy appeared in the door 
 way armed with muskets; but they lowered these when 
 they saw there were no more of us, and that we were 
 unarmed and peaceable. 
 
 It proved of great fortune to us to discover these per 
 sons; for, when we had told them of our misadventures, 
 and of our reception at the hands of the men, they said 
 we had as good a right to come upon the island as any-
 
 144 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 body, there being no settled town and no select-men to 
 pass upon our eligibility. The land, they said, was for 
 anybody that should occupy it in the king's name; and 
 they had cleared this land and had been upon the island 
 before these strange men had come. 
 
 I wondered then how they had escaped massacre at the 
 hands of the Indians, who could come out in good weather 
 in their canoes from the mainland ; but presently the man's 
 wife came out of the cabin into the dooryard, carrying 
 a baby in her arms, and I saw that she was a full-blooded 
 Indian girl. 
 
 He said the men had sailed into the harbour, first, some 
 twelve years back, in a sloop of thirty odd tons, and had 
 built themselves a fortification and mounted guns to pro 
 tect themselves against the savages; that they had come 
 and gone at intervals, and that now and then a vessel came, 
 apparently to trade with them. 
 
 This man's name we found to be Ezra Bradford; but 
 how he came to this island, and why, and whether he were 
 at all akin to the people of prominence in our colony, of 
 that name, I have never known. He knew the value of 
 our English coin, however, and on Tom Appleton's offer 
 ing him the worth of the stuff in it, he gave us two good 
 axes, a spade and shovel, and the loan of a great two- 
 handled saw for making boards, besides some provisions. 
 
 Also he gave us leave to settle upon a piece of land that 
 he claimed, but had not cleared, just to the north of his 
 own habitation; and he would be glad to have us for 
 neighbours, as we were peaceably inclined. 
 
 Then Tom Appleton and I lost no moments in getting
 
 The Little Maid 145 
 
 back to our companions. We roused them up, and we 
 all four set out without delay for Ezra Bradford's. He 
 gave us a breakfast and made us his guests ; after which, 
 he and his boy accompanying us, we went straight to the 
 piece of land he had spoken of, taking along our car 
 penter's tools and the sail-cloth we had saved, and rowing 
 our boat up along the shore. 
 
 We fell to at once and began cutting the trees, to build 
 us a cabin. Here, shortly, there appeared two men of 
 Captain Vane's band, and inquired what we were about. 
 We answered, promptly and with assurance, that we were 
 about to settle on this place in the king's name, and had 
 a right to; at which they went away again, hurriedly. 
 
 Then we were most anxious for many hours over what 
 was to happen, and fearful of being attacked; but, for 
 some reason or other, they had concluded to leave us to 
 ourselves, and did not come near us. But we slept not 
 soundly that night, nor for many more, standing guard 
 against surprise. Yet we saw nothing of them, except 
 at a distance, for a considerable time.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE ISLAND OF ROUND HOUSE 
 
 HERE, then, in this autumn of the year 1717, were we 
 oddly circumstanced; having set out from our town of 
 Boston to go a-fishing, and now we found ourselves swept 
 away and cast ashore in the great wilderness of Maine. 
 Nor had we anything to show for our enterprise, but a 
 little money two hundred miles or more out of our reach, 
 a vessel hung up on the ledges, and fish and all other sea 
 creatures copartners with us in its possession, and the 
 ownership of an unfinished log house on a strange island. 
 
 However, there was life and spirit strong within us, and 
 we set about heartily and with good faces to build us the 
 best thing we could fashion for a habitation. For 
 we foresaw we should probably winter where we were, 
 unless we were driven away by Captain Vane and his 
 men. 
 
 It was, moreover, a pretty spot that had been offered 
 us to settle on ; for it lay in a quiet interval, between two 
 hills that wore in all the days of the year their winter gar 
 ments of pine and spruce, densely grown. These cast a 
 gracious shadow over us in summer, and so filtered the 
 icy blasts of winter through their thick branches that the 
 winds, even then, came tempered and curbed against our 
 cabin. 
 
 146
 
 The Island of Round House 147 
 
 There sprang, too, out of the breasts of the hills above 
 us, many pure springs of water. These trickled down 
 darkly through beds of fern and arbutus and twin- flower, 
 in their seasons, each in its own way of winding and 
 turning, till they came all to a confluence a mile above us, 
 and each and all more joyous with the meeting. So they 
 sang one to another, and came laughing and murmuring 
 together, and flowing in a little whirling floss past our 
 very doorway, on the way to the sea. 
 
 We worked, as I say, industriously on our cabin, and 
 made good progress, having the assistance of Ezra Brad 
 ford and his boy much of the time. 
 
 At one end we laid up a great hearth of stone, which 
 was exceedingly difficult to do, filling in the interstices 
 with clay. In this manner, too, we made quite a respect 
 able chimney. 
 
 So, by the time the November weather was upon us, 
 we were housed against it tolerably well. Of wood to 
 burn, it grew all around about us ; but as to our winter's 
 food, it gave us much anxiety, for we had lost all our 
 tackle for fishing, with the Venture, and Ezra Bradford 
 had no supply of it beyond his own needs. 
 
 However, we had a few lengths of rope that were laced 
 on to the spare sails we had saved. We unlayed the 
 strands of these, and oiled them and tied them together 
 and made some fairly serviceable fish-lines, got us a few 
 hooks from Ezra Bradford, and did our fishing in that 
 way. 
 
 We ate no more of what we got now than we could 
 barely get along with, being mindful of the winter; and
 
 148 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 we split and cleaned the rest, setting them to cure on 
 flakes in the sun. 
 
 Then, one day, being emboldened by our needs, and 
 seeing that Captain Vane and his men were not of a mind 
 at present to destroy us, Tom Appleton and I resolved 
 to go up and see them. We hoped to buy from them a 
 musket, Tom Appleton having the money to pay for one. 
 We went back along the shore to the place of our first 
 landing, and then ascended the incline leading to the home 
 of the strange men. 
 
 We had sighted this abode before, in our exploring, and 
 knew it to be about three-quarters of a mile, or a little 
 more, up from the shore. Yet from the shore one could 
 get no glimpse of it, since it was hidden cunningly among 
 the trees. 
 
 When we had gone up about half a mile from the shore, 
 on a gentle rise of the land, we came upon a pitch of it that 
 was more abrupt, ascending quite steeply to a plateau. 
 Here, on this steeper incline, we saw the readiness of these 
 men to meet an attack ; for the greater part of the hillside 
 here was shorn clear of all growth, so as to afford no 
 protection to an enemy. Yet, at the very brow of it, was 
 there left a fringe of the evergreens that screened the 
 habitation from view, even from sea. 
 
 Just as we stepped from the cleared land into this last 
 thicket there suddenly appeared from behind a great 
 tree, where he had been seated, a tall fellow, carrying a 
 musket, which he levelled full at us, crying out for us to halt. 
 
 " What do you do here? " he asked. " You be not 
 wanted by Captain Vane hereabouts, I think."
 
 The Island of Round House 149 
 
 " Why, we be just a bit more neighbourly inclined than 
 you," replied Tom Appleton, with a smile, knowing how 
 to be in a good humour and of a most civil demeanour 
 when the butt of the musket was at another man's shoul 
 der; " and, since we have had no call from you, we wish 
 not to be lacking in civility now that we be neighbours; 
 and have come to pay our respects to Captain Vane." 
 
 " You may as well pay them to the devil and done with 
 it, an he be in the mood he has been in these three months 
 now," said the man with the musket. 
 
 " Well, then, we'll pay them to you, my good man," 
 responded Tom Appleton I think he meant no inci 
 vility " and thank you for lowering the end of your gun 
 away from our heads; for, sure 'twere no credit to a 
 man's marksmanship to hit another at this distance." 
 
 Upon which the man, with a grin, did indeed set his 
 musket by the butt upon the earth, and stood, holding the 
 barrel of it. For, as I say, Tom Appleton had a hail- 
 fellow way that was not easily to be denied. 
 
 " You'll be losing time going on farther," said the man, 
 " since the captain be sore over your landing, and he 
 liking to live a quiet life here, undisturbed. Sure, I know 
 he has no use for you, and you may better be gone about 
 your business than anger him." 
 
 " Why, for that matter, let him be angered and go 
 hang," said Tom Appleton to me, softly. " A man may 
 as well be shot as left to starve." And he added, for the 
 fellow to hear, " But let us go on to the gate, at least, 
 and have parley with him for a minute. He can but send 
 us away an he will not see us."
 
 150 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 " I'm not so sure of that," replied the fellow. However, 
 he let us pass, and gave a call on a boatswain's whistle, 
 for them in the barricade to take heed. 
 
 So we stepped out on the other side of the thicket and, 
 once again, found ourselves in a wide clearing on the 
 summit of the plateau; and this cleared space was for a 
 distance of some rods before one came to the home of the 
 strange men. Soon we came upon a great wall, or stock 
 ade, made of small tree trunks, sharpened and driven into 
 the ground, and sharpened again at the top. This made a 
 great oblong inclosure; but as to the houses inside of it, 
 we could not see what they were like. 
 
 There was a gate leading into this inclosure, that had 
 been open, but had swung to at the sound of the fellow's 
 whistle ; so that now there was no place for us to enter by, 
 and we dared not attempt to scale the wall even if it were 
 possible. 
 
 Presently, however, there came a man, peering over 
 the top of the palisades at us, but said not a single word, 
 as though he were dumb; and it seems he was waiting 
 instructions from within. 
 
 " We would have a word with Captain Vane, since we 
 be his neighbours," called out Tom Appleton. " Tell 
 him we be Massachusetts Bay men, and no freebooters nor 
 Frenchmen nor Quakers ; but seek only to deal with him 
 for a musket and some things we be greatly in need 
 of." 
 
 At this the man's head sank below the paling, and we 
 heard him get down and walk away. He came again 
 shortly and looked down at us blankly, shaking his head.
 
 The Island of Round House 151 
 
 Nor did he say a word, but repeated this gesture and 
 disappeared. 
 
 So Tom Appleton and I were forced to go away, baffled, 
 having come no nearer to Captain Vane and his band than 
 before. However, we did wonder greatly at their surliness, 
 and conjectured that perchance they were in hiding and 
 were sour at being discovered. But now we felt free to 
 go about over the island and explore it from end to end, 
 feeling that we should not be molested. 
 
 We found the character of it to be most rugged, frown 
 ing down upon the open sea to the south and east and 
 northeast, with cliffs that rose a hundred and more feet 
 sheer from the water. Nor were these great cliffs seemingly 
 less aggressive than the sea that warred against them for 
 ever; for, even on days of quietness, when the sea, never 
 still, did but ride up to the foot of them and then gallop 
 back without breaking a lance, have I seen a great mass 
 of the rock cleave from the lofty wall and go crashing 
 down, like an iron gauntlet cast before the sea-riders for 
 a challenge. 
 
 And often have I seen the ocean take up this challenge, 
 and ride in furiously with all its armies, till the whole 
 island was rife with the tumult, and the voice of many 
 angry waters cried loudly of the strife between sea and 
 shore. 
 
 Often did the cold, gray fogs come stealing in from sea, 
 and rolled like smoke amid the heavy branches of the 
 pines and spruce, blotting them out one by one, and every 
 other thing, quick and inanimate, till all the island lay 
 hidden. Then, wrapped about in its gray folds, it was a
 
 152 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 menace and a peril to any ship that should chance to come 
 that way. There it waited, with its sharp points of ledge 
 couched like lances, to unhorse a good ship from its sea- 
 saddle, and eager to tilt with a whole armada, lying 
 treacherously in its fog ambuscade. Then have I seen the 
 swift west wind strip its covering of fog from the island, 
 like a cloak rent and torn, and all the hills and woods leap 
 forth shining, and every glittering pinnacle and spur of 
 the ledges taking absolution from the sun for their evil 
 intended in the hour of fog. 
 
 In size, the island was, I judged, a little more than four 
 miles long from north to south, and some three miles wide 
 from east to west in its two widest parts ; but in the middle 
 of this line drawn from east to west there was a curving 
 of the shore so that it was something less than two there. 
 Dense was the growth over most of the island, being 
 sheltered by the stone cliffs to seaward, and the land 
 sloping down prettily to the reach. 
 
 So, also, because of the vigour of the vegetation upon the 
 island, was it perilous to wander about it heedlessly, or 
 by night at least, along the line of the shore. For now 
 and then there was a deep, wedge-shaped slice taken out 
 of the rim of the island and washed away completely, so 
 that of a sudden a deep ravine would open at one's feet ; 
 and this all hidden by the brush and tangle that grew 
 dose to its brink, with the sea ever swirling in and striv 
 ing unceasingly to cleave its way farther into the rock. 
 Of these pitfalls, there was one not far from our own 
 habitation; and we might easily have gone into it but 
 that we were forewarned.
 
 The Island of Round House 153 
 
 Now the days went by that were of small profit to us, 
 being bleak and dreary, and the spray freezing upon our 
 garments in our fishing, and the cold tormenting us. 
 
 As the month drew on to its close, and we were hard 
 upon that day of Thanksgiving that be a greater day than 
 any other holiday among our colonists, we were, I must 
 confess, gloomy in mind, and our spirits no longer flowing 
 on bravely, but in the doldrums. Our thoughts traversed 
 often the waste of the sea that surged between this island 
 and our own snug town, and we were sorely tried, though 
 saying little. 
 
 However, when the day before Thanksgiving had arrived, 
 and we had naught to celebrate the morrow with, save 
 codfish and lobster, nor even a cup of tea to wash these 
 down with, but only water boiling hot and a few dried 
 wintergreen leaves for flavouring, I was of a mind to try 
 my hand at shooting. So I got neighbour Bradford to 
 give me the loan of his musket for the afternoon, with 
 one extra charge of powder and shot. Then I set out up 
 the slope of the interval between the hills, to see if I might 
 not hit upon a wild turkey ; for they were still upon the 
 island, though growing cautious and wary from the hunt 
 ing of Captain Vane's men. 
 
 It was slippery travelling, I recall, for we had had a 
 snowfall that had been nearly dissolved with a rain at the 
 finish, and now there was a thin coating of crust and ice, 
 with the leaves and low shrubs showing through the 
 latter, as though encased in glass. Up I scrambled about 
 a mile, and entered upon a thicket of oak clumps with 
 some pines emerging more loftily from these. Then, all
 
 154 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 at once, I heard the call of the great bird I was seeking; 
 and I crouched low and stole noiselessly from thicket to 
 thicket, peering and listening. 
 
 Soon I saw a fluttering and flapping of a dark wing amid 
 the heavy lower branches of a pine ; and, though I could 
 not clearly make out the fowl, I judged where the rest of 
 him must He upon the branch, and so rested my gun upon 
 an oak twig for sure aim. But, even as I did this, the bird 
 seemed to take sudden alarm from a noise near by, and 
 rose up in full sight, stretching out its long neck and 
 gaunt head, and all tense for flight. Then I let drive, 
 having the creature well covered, and it came down 
 flopping, with a loud noise, dying, to the ground. 
 
 But, all unexpectedly, at this, there came the scream 
 of a woman, startled and terrified at the firing; and, the 
 next moment, a young girl darted out from the thicket 
 close by, and slipped and fell upon the icy ground. Now 
 my heart was breaking as I ran to lift her up, for I feared 
 that I had shot her. Then deep was my thankfulness, 
 as I raised her to her feet, to find her unhurt, save from 
 fright, and her fall having no more than bruised her 
 slightly. And the young woman that stood now before 
 me was Mary Vane. 
 
 "Oh! are you hurt?" I cried, even as I saw she 
 seemed not to be, for I was grieving and shameful. 
 
 She answered that she was not, though overcome and 
 trembling from the fright ; for she had not seen nor heard 
 the great bird, and had thought the shot was meant for * 
 her, believing the Indians were attacking. 
 
 Now that we had thus spoken, I knew scarce what more
 
 The Island of Round House 155 
 
 to say to her, nor she to me. For we had not met again 
 till now, since the evening she had guided us to harbour; 
 and even in that time, so brief, she seemed to have grown 
 much older, being no longer a child, but a young woman, 
 near to seventeen come the week before Christmas. 
 
 Moreover, she was dressed now against the weather, 
 more maturely, with skirts coming nearer to the ground, 
 and was neatly and warmly clad; wearing a jacket of 
 the fur of the coast seal, that was very silvery and pretty, 
 and a cap of the same. So that there seemed somehow 
 to be a far greater distance between us than when she had 
 sat at the tiller of the little pinnace, in her short skirts 
 and shoes with bright buckles; and I thought that even 
 Elias would not address her too familiarly now. 
 
 However, I was wrathful against the strange men that 
 had left us to starve, and here was the first and only 
 chance I had had to speak of it, not having been given a 
 hearing by any other of them. So I asked of Mary 
 Vane why it was they would have naught to do with 
 us. 
 
 " 'Tis no less than downright cruelty and savagery," 
 I said, warming to it, " to leave us in this plight, with the 
 winter coming on and we likely to die of hunger before 
 'tis over. The Indians, themselves, could do scarce worse, 
 for sure it be as heartless and cruel to go by and let men 
 perish of famine as to shoot them down and tomahawk 
 them, like the savages at Haverhill." 
 
 Then I paused suddenly, and could have bitten my 
 tongue off for my words; for Mary Vane was looking at 
 me, sorely troubled and hurt, with the tears standing in
 
 156 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 her soft brown eyes; and I saw she was grieving and 
 sorry for us. 
 
 " It be no fault of mine, and please do not speak angrily 
 to me," she said, simply; " for I have told the men often 
 it was cruel to leave you so, and begged them to send you 
 the food and the muskets you asked for. But Uncle Jack 
 is hard and stern always about it and will not listen to me, 
 though he be kind to me in other ways. He says you must 
 go away and leave the island, and the way to get you to 
 do it is to starve you out ; so he will not allow of anything 
 being sent to you. 
 
 " But," she added, quickly, " if you will only wait here, 
 or come along with me, I will ask him again for you, 
 though he has forbidden me to talk of you more." 
 
 " No," I answered, anxious now to make amends for 
 having spoken so rudely; "you shall take no risk of 
 angering him for us, since I know he be a man that it is 
 bad to arouse ; and I see you have done all you could for 
 us, and I thank you for it, and hope you will forgive me 
 for frightening you and for being harsh to you, also." 
 
 Then she looked at me roguishly and, with a twinkle 
 in her wonderful eyes, said she were not afraid of me at 
 all, but of the fearful noise of the gun and of the falling 
 of the great bird ; and that I need not make apology for 
 what I had said, because the men were heartless and 
 deserved it. And she went away, smiling graciously, but 
 with tears still in her eyes. 
 
 So I took the wild turkey I had shot, and slung it over 
 my shoulder, and walked home very soberly, thinking of 
 the strange meeting I had had, and forgetting to exult
 
 The Island of Round House 157 
 
 over the Thanksgiving dinner that I had brought down 
 with one lucky musket-shot. Nor, for just what reason I, 
 myself, could not have given, did I tell of my adventure 
 till Elbridge and Elias had turned in and were sleeping, 
 smacking their lips in their dreams over to-morrow's 
 feast ; and then I told it to Tom Appleton, who was like 
 an elder brother to me. 
 
 I say I could give no good reason for my reticence, only 
 I am sure that had Elias heard me and spoken lightly or 
 slightingly of Mary Vane I should have struck him. And 
 as for Tom Appleton, he did amuse me mightily by wish 
 ing that in some way I could have confided to Mary Vane 
 that we were hungering greatly for a little tobacco. 
 
 Having filled our skins, on this Thanksgiving Day, with 
 the wild turkey, which Tom Appleton roasted admirably 
 on a spit before the coals, and having shared a half -pint 
 of liquor sent us by neighbour Bradford, we were forced 
 to go on short rations again for many a day. 
 
 Then on a day, about a week before Christmas, we 
 heard much firing up at the barricade, and were greatly 
 aroused and anxious over it, fearing the men had fallen 
 to fighting and might come our way in the heat of it. But, 
 later, on our reconnoitring cautiously, we heard them 
 singing lustily, and heard other sounds, also, as though of 
 carousal. 
 
 We judged, and rightly, that the guns had been touched 
 off by way of a salute ; but knew not, then, that it was the 
 little maid's birthday and that the captain and his men 
 were celebrating it. So, indeed, deeming themselves 
 secure by reason of the weather and the snow, the men
 
 158 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 were observing it freely and without restraint. For they 
 set no watch through all that day and night, and were, 
 moreorer, well fuddled with drink ; else a certain piece of 
 good fortune could not have happened to us. 
 
 It chanced that some two hours after sundown, the 
 night falling quickly and very black, there came a knock 
 at our door that sent our hearts to our mouths, since it was 
 a thing that had not happened before, and seemed almost 
 like witchcraft. But we flung open the door, and there 
 stood the Cuban who had been in the boat with the little 
 maid. 
 
 He came into the cabin very stealthily and oddly, as 
 though fearful for what he was doing, and set down on 
 the floor a great pack that he carried over his back. Nor 
 did he tarry for us to open this, but stole out into the night 
 again and made off as secretly as he had come. 
 
 This pack, on being opened, was like a gift from the 
 good St. Nicholas, himself, inasmuch as it contained in so 
 great measure the things we longed most for, as though 
 our minds had been read by the giver. There were, 
 among other things, two good hams, a package of East 
 India tea, a little sugar, a small rundlet of Spanish wine, 
 containing about two gallons, and, best of all, some two 
 pounds of good, black smoking tobacco, which we found 
 to be very strong, and lasted the longer for that. Finally, 
 there was an old pistol, of a foreign make, long in the barrel, 
 and heavy, and with this a few charges of powder and shot. 
 
 Now at the sight of so much treasure of food, with which 
 we should make merry at Christmas, along with mankind 
 of better fortune on sea and land, though it was not a
 
 The Island of Round House 159 
 
 day made of in our colony, there was great mystifica 
 tion and conjecture in the minds of Elias and Elbridge 
 as to how it came to be sent us. At first, they considered 
 that the men had relented toward us and sent us this by 
 way of a peace-offering and an overture to further friend 
 liness; but they held not long to that interpretation of 
 the affair, and came to a conclusion, after argument, that 
 the Cuban had stolen it all, in return for the coin Tom 
 Appleton had given to him when we first landed. 
 
 As for Tom Appleton and me, we wasted no time nor 
 thought in foolish conjecturing, knowing right well in our 
 own minds who had got the fellow to bring it, either with 
 or without Captain Vane's knowledge.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 WILL COLE'S MEN 
 
 So we kept our Christmas when the day came, not so 
 noisily and roughly as they upon the hill, but in good 
 English fashion. 
 
 We were early astir on that day, and had a great back 
 log of oak rolled into the hearth and a flaming sea of fire 
 tossing and roaring all day long, from smaller sticks of 
 oak heaped in. Then, as we had taken two fat bunnies 
 in our traps the night before, we made these, one into a 
 sort of meat- pie, with a thin crust of flour that we found 
 in the pack, and shortened after a fashion with fat; and 
 the other we turned before the live coals for a roast. 
 
 Now, when this was all cooked to a pretty crispness, 
 and we had set it out on our rude table, with tea steaming 
 alongside, and the rundlet of Madeira on end, and, more 
 over the black tobacco laid invitingly near and sending 
 out its rich fragrance to titillate our nostrils when we 
 had done all this, then we were greedy to devour the mess. 
 
 However, this clever Tom Appleton did put a gentle 
 curb upon us, as we were about to begin, by pouring us 
 out each a dram of the Madeira, and holding up his mug 
 and offering a health to the giver of our feast. So did both 
 he and I drink it quietly and thoughtfully, not boister 
 ously as the others, who had not the same bent of mind 
 
 160
 
 Will Cole's Men 161 
 
 over it as we, nor saw a woman's bright eyes dance in the 
 sparkle of the wine. 
 
 Then did we fall to, as men that have taken a rich prize 
 upon the sea, and are eager for the sacking of its cabins 
 and its hold. Nor was there aught to clear away when we 
 had done, and the cheeks of each man seemed no longer 
 hollow, and his waistcoat swelling like a sail that has a 
 fair breeze within its bunt. 
 
 Lastly, did each of us fetch a hand into his jacket pocket 
 for his pipe and bring it forth lovingly and with caressing, 
 thankful that the sea had not niched away that, also. 
 
 Now, as I look back upon this winter of disappointment 
 and distress, do these few days stand forth as in a flood 
 of sunlight; and all the rest are bleak and dreary and 
 shrouded often in fog of hopelessness and despair. 
 
 Hard put to it we were soon, to eke out our diminishing 
 store of food and deny ourselves of it from day to day; 
 for we were ever hungry from dawn to dark, and our faces 
 growing thin, and our bodies hollowing like fish after they 
 have done their spawning. So in these days, that were as 
 the lean kine, devouring those that had been better, we 
 made much of fire to comfort us, having the means for 
 that always at our door, and were at least warm when we 
 needed warmth the most. 
 
 Yet, there was a single other week amid our famine 
 when we did not want for food, but had a feast fit for the 
 king or for Edward Teach. For I went one day and 
 followed up the little floss that ran past our door. And 
 as I walked up over the ridges and curvings where the 
 grip of winter had caught and held frozen the waters in
 
 162 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 the very posture of their leaping and their falling, I could 
 see, down through the clear black ice, the little stream 
 still flowing, deep in its bed, and going on to the sea. 
 
 I went on and on up the slippery ascent, and came at 
 length to a pool I had seen the fall before, but had lacked 
 the time to fish in then. There, through the ice, I soon 
 took a pretty string of trout, and slid home rejoicing like 
 a boy. These, and a few rabbits, were all we had till 
 spring to eke out our rations of dried and smoked stuff; 
 so that we were, as I say, lean and hungry and ever prowl 
 ing for food like wild creatures. 
 
 However, the spring did come again, and we had still, 
 each one of us, a strong, firm clutch upon the life that 
 be dear, though irksome. Now the early days of April 
 fell warm, and loosened up the bands of ice over fields and 
 woods and ledges ; and many little brooks, falling steeply, 
 shook off their fetters and leaped and laughed as of yore. 
 Then the air grew more lenient with the warmth of May, 
 and the ice-pools lay rotting and treacherous, and the 
 marshes about them all queachy and muddy, and the traps 
 of the quicksands set for unwary feet. 
 
 So, June arriving, and the days now long and genial, 
 we fell back into our way of working and contriving as 
 of the fall before, and were bethinking ourselves, too, of 
 some manner of planting and raising a crop of Indian com 
 to set by for use later, if need be. Not that we thought 
 of having to pass another winter upon this island; but 
 we wished to be forehanded, come what would. 
 
 Likewise, we entered busily upon our fishing, rigging 
 up a little mast and sail for our yawl-boat, and took not
 
 Will Cole's Men 163 
 
 only cod and other fish by day but hake and eels by night, 
 having soon a store of them set to drying. 
 
 Then it happened that I went out one morning, toward 
 the last of June, to tend some fish-pots off the southern and 
 western entrance to the thoroughfare and along the shore 
 of the little island contiguous, where the men of Captain 
 Vane's band never bothered us. It was, I judged, by the 
 feel of things and the sounds that do tell of the time of day 
 to those familiar with them, about an hour before the 
 light should come in the east, and, therefore, about three 
 hours after midnight. But many usual signs were lacking 
 for the verification of this, the morning coming in foggy, 
 so I could but guess the time roughly. 
 
 With the dulness of the day and the earliness of my 
 rising, I was sleepy when I got out to the pots; and so, 
 when I found there would be still an hour more of the 
 flooding of the tide, I drew a great piece of the sail-cloth 
 about my head and shoulders, having made the boat fast 
 to a stake, and laid me down in the bottom of the yawl 
 for another nap. 
 
 I know not how long I slept, and only that I came 
 suddenly out of it, hearing the play of oars in the oar 
 locks, and the sound of men's voices. Rousing up quickly, 
 I saw no one at first, for the fog was most dense; but 
 presently there came in upon the reach, and near to where 
 I sat, crouching, a ship's boat, with four men rowing and 
 two men, wrapped in cloaks, astern. 
 
 At first, being a bit stupid with drowsiness, I did 
 assume them to be the men of Captain Vane's band ; and 
 I wondered much what they would be about, this time
 
 164 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 of day and in such gray weather, since they made little 
 of fishing. 
 
 Then, in a moment, I saw the boat to be not any that 
 I had ever seen before, and the men not the men that 
 dwelt upon the hill. I felt a great thrill of joy and exulta 
 tion go tingling through me, for I doubted not there was 
 some vessel lying farther out and sending in a boat to 
 find the harbour. 
 
 Now I saw an end to our long, dreary isolation, and I 
 stood up in my boat and opened my mouth to let out a 
 shout to hail them; and what shut my jaws again and 
 left the cry still choking in my throat I know not, unless 
 it were the act of God. For suddenly the notion seized 
 me that I would wait a bit, and watch out and see an I 
 could discover what manner of men these were; in that 
 perchance they might be freebooters, and not men to be 
 startled suddenly by a shadow leaping forth at them out 
 of the fog. So, in truth, was this as narrow an escape for 
 me as a man might have in a whole lifetime; for, had 
 they seen me then, no man had ever seen me alive there 
 after. 
 
 As it was, I had made some slight disturbance, and I 
 saw, as I crouched again and lay hidden in the shadow of 
 the shore, the two men in the stern spring up and peer 
 about them in the fog; and the fellows at the oars 
 paused in their rowing. 
 
 " What the plague might that be? " I heard one of them 
 exclaim. 
 
 " Some fish, I allow, meshed over yonder," said the 
 other. " There may be nets set out from the shore.
 
 Will Cole's Men 165 
 
 And, by Heaven ! Tom Deny, you are a man of nerves 
 this morning, like a jack-in-the-box; for you did jump 
 like one at the splash of a fish which is no wonder ; for, 
 man, you have not known the hour of being lain in your 
 bunk for two weeks on the run, from drinking Wind 
 ward Island rum till you could not see the fall of the 
 dice." 
 
 " No more than you, Jack Harwood," retorted the 
 other, sharply. " Nor did I jump harder or quicker than 
 you ; for you were up like a cork out of a bottle." 
 
 " Well, never mind," said the first man. " Let's get on 
 with this heaving, and be out before the fog lifts ; for Will 
 Cole will have Dan Baldrick and his whole nest out of 
 here and hanged from the water-butts which slick Dan 
 escaped before if we do work fast, as he did urge us." 
 
 Then I saw that the men were heaving a lead astern 
 and making soundings, as they went slowly along, to get 
 the depth of water in the reach ; and glad was I to have 
 kept my tongue in my head and not have the men upon 
 me. But the next moment my heart was in my throat and 
 my hopes dead ; for I foresaw that here was no deliverance, 
 but only a new phase of trouble. Also did the name 
 " Dan Baldrick " fall strangely upon my ears, it being a 
 name I had heard before. 
 
 The boat went on out of sight, but was not long in com 
 ing down the reach again ; for it seems they had seen the 
 sloop of Captain Vane's men and marked it for further 
 action, and knew by its lying in there that the reach had 
 good water for their own vessel. They went by where I 
 lay, with a great spurt ; for they had got what they came
 
 166 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 for, and the four sailors were putting their backs into their 
 rowing. 
 
 Now I sat in my boat, sorely puzzled for a brief time as 
 to what I should do; for I had no great hankering to 
 mix with what I knew was coming. Moreover, could I 
 have seen Captain John Vane go to the yard-arm and still 
 have been consoled for his loss. Yet did I perceive that we 
 might be in worse straits to have the men routed out 
 and killed or carried away, and these new men overrunning 
 the island. 
 
 Moreover, did I think some regarding Mary Vane, who 
 had told me she were not afraid of me, and said it prettily 
 and roguishly, so that I had wondered since if she were 
 making fun of me ; and I saw again her soft brown eyes 
 with the tears springing to them, and remembered of her 
 sorrow for us, and of her kindness. 
 
 So I waited no longer, but started out upon the reach 
 and got across to the other side, quickly. Then, when I 
 had come near to the fringe of the wood, I gave out a halloo 
 of warning, being eligible for a bullet an I should burst 
 suddenly out of the fog upon the guard. However, there 
 was no delay for me this time, for the man brought me in 
 on the run to Captain Vane. I went in through the heavy 
 gate, swung back for me, and was led on toward the largest 
 of three houses that occupied the enclosure. There, on 
 the porch of this house, soon appeared Captain Vane 
 himself. 
 
 He was no genial soul to hold converse with now, for 
 he was just roused from sleep ; nor had he, I judged, gone 
 soberly to bed, for his eyes were red and rheumy, and star-
 
 Will Cole's Men 167 
 
 ing out under black, bushy brows, and the thick shock of 
 his hair was matted on his forehead. Also was he half- 
 dressed, in woollen drawers and shirt, and he spoke thickly 
 and hoarsely. 
 
 " Come now, lad," he cried, gripping me by an arm and 
 glaring out at me, as a man striving angrily to come to his 
 full consciousness, and wrathful with himself and all others 
 for being heavy- witted, " give it out quickly this boat 
 you saw and the men in it did you hear them speak ? 
 And by the blood of the king ! An you were drowsing and 
 dreaming and saw phantoms in the fog, and no live men, 
 you'll give no more alarms." 
 
 " They were phantoms and witches for aught I know," 
 I answered, hotly, for it rasped me against the grain to be 
 threatened with death when I had come on a good errand ; 
 " but I heard one of them say that Will Cole, whoever he 
 may be, would have Dan Baldrick and his whole nest 
 routed out of here and hanged from water-butts which 
 death, he said, Dan Baldrick had once before escaped. 
 Those be the words as near as I can give them, and if it be 
 a help to you to know it, then I see no cause for you to 
 threaten me for bringing you the warning." 
 
 Now at this, Captain Vane jumped like a man stung ; 
 and there was no more stupor left in him than in a man 
 cornered and valuing his life dear. Nor did he pay the 
 least heed to me nor to the angry retort I had made, but 
 rushed back into his house and cried loudly for one Will 
 Lewis, who, it seems, was his mainstay, to hurry up. This 
 man came running in, and was not, either, a pleasant man 
 to look upon ; for he was a great, gross fellow, with red
 
 168 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 eyes and heavy-hanging, weather-beaten jowls like a 
 bloodhound, and his left hand had been lopped away 
 clean by the wrist. 
 
 " 'Tis Will Cole and a crew coming in," cried Captain 
 Vane to him. " Get out the men lively, and bring up the 
 stuff from the rock, and see the powder be kept dry from 
 this cursed fog." 
 
 Then did Captain Vane, his man going about his busi 
 ness, turn again upon me in a flash, and stand and eye me 
 for a moment, silently. Then he said, shortly: 
 
 "Can you fight?" 
 
 I suppose I was slow in answering, the inquiry being 
 abrupt and confusing to me; for he beat his great fist 
 down against a table and cried: 
 
 " Can you shoot? Can you fire a gun? Do you know 
 the working of a musket ? " 
 
 " Yes, I can shoot," I answered, " that is, at wild-fowl 
 and game, but never have I shot at men." 
 
 " You'll do," he said, grimly. " And will you fight 
 with us, and will the others of you ? " 
 
 " I will fight with you," I answered ; for I had made 
 up my mind to that already and could speak promptly 
 which I think pleased him " but as for the others, I 
 must see them first and speak with them ; though I think 
 they will fight." 
 
 " They better," he cried, fiercely, " an they know what's 
 good for them. Tell them it's Captain John Vane that 
 says it." 
 
 " They'll fight without compulsion or threat, an they 
 decide that way," I said, firmly, " for they be men of
 
 Will Cole's Men 169 
 
 courage. But I would say 'twere better not to threaten 
 men who yet be free to fight on either side they see fit." 
 
 I think he had not seen the matter in just that light be 
 fore, and was a bit taken aback by it, needing our rein 
 forcement ; for he paused a moment and seemed to let his 
 fury simmer. Then he put a hand upon my shoulder and 
 smiled grimly and it was not a smile to find enjoyment 
 in. 
 
 " Young man," he said, " you have a quick answer 
 ready, and a tongue it rolls smoothly from ; and perhaps 
 there be a glimmer of truth in what you say. But I be 
 not used to hearing sharp replies, not even from these men 
 here, but give them, myself, and it were better for 
 you to be not so free. Now get back to your comrades and 
 see that you all come back here quickly. And, stay ! 
 Bring that other fellow and his boy along, for they be able 
 to shoot, I know, and have the guns for it, and the powder 
 gotten from me. 
 
 " As for this Baldrick they are seeking, I know not of 
 him ; but I do know Will Cole, and he will spare no man 
 he has at his mercy, whether he fight or not. So you be all 
 dead men, as well as we, let him gain foothold here ; and 
 that be no lie to frighten you." 
 
 So I saw at once that this Will Cole must be a pirate; 
 and, indeed, he was a bold and cruel one, serving no less 
 a master than Captain Edward Teach, and sent now by 
 him to destroy these men. I perceived, moreover, that 
 this Captain Vane did know him well. Aye, and he feared 
 him, too, by the look in his eyes ; though in what calling 
 he had known Will Cole I could only conjecture.
 
 170 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 When I had gone down the hill a piece and was half 
 way, or a little more, to our cabin, there came a lifting of 
 the fog for a brief moment, not of all its gray fabric, but a 
 sudden thinning of its clouds. I looked out upon the 
 sea and saw a fine ketch, of more than half a hundred tons, 
 and like to mount a score of guns and carry two score men. 
 Nor did this serve to put me on a keen edge for the fray, 
 since we should be outnumbered perhaps three or four to 
 one. However, the fog shut in again, though not so heavily 
 as before, and I went on to my comrades. 
 
 Now as I came in upon them, there were all three making 
 a jubilation of it, having espied the vessel; and they 
 seized me and clapped me by the hand, thinking, as I had, 
 that the time of our deliverance was near. So that it 
 wrenched me hard to cast a blight upon their happiness, 
 and tell them that the ketch was a rover and bearing in to 
 destroy the men upon the hill, and that I had sworn to 
 fight with these. 
 
 However, we all went together up the hill, first taking 
 our tool- chest and some other useful things back into the 
 woods and hiding them. As for our boat, we had left it 
 down upon the shore by the landing-place; and we were 
 sorry for that, but could not help it now. 
 
 We did get neighbour Bradford to accompany us, 
 which surprised me, he being, as I say, a silent, strange 
 man and shy to join with others. But he was, it seems, 
 a courageous man, and went along largely for that. But 
 his son, he would not let join us, leaving him to care for the 
 Indian mother and baby ; and they went and hid them 
 selves away safely in the woods, and suffered no harm.
 
 Will Cole's Men 171 
 
 It was now about five of the morning, lighting ever so 
 gradually with the coming in of the day, but no sun show 
 ing; and withal, the fog dropping down nastily from the 
 tree branches. In the breast of this fog the ketch was shut 
 from view; but out of the silence and quietude of the 
 morning, there came up to our ears the sound of oars 
 sweeping the water, by which we knew that they were not 
 relying only upon the light breeze to bring the ketch in, 
 but had boats out ahead with lines to drag her. 
 
 By the sounds, they were some way out yet, so it might 
 be the half of an hour ere they should be landed. 
 
 As we went on, I did conjecture much as to this Will 
 Cole and his enmity for Captain Vane, and think it most 
 strange that I should come to share in the outcome of it. 
 And had I known of the doings of Edward Teach and Will 
 Cole and Captain John Vane, and how deep a hatred 
 rankled in the hearts of both Captain Teach and Will 
 Cole against this Captain Vane, and how they yearned to 
 put the noose upon him, then should I have had little 
 stomach left for fighting. Indeed, I thought of home as I 
 went up to the stockade, and wondered what Ephraim 
 and Mercy were doing on this day.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 WE FIGHT WILL COLE'S MEN 
 
 WHEN we had gone in through the gate and come up to 
 the house of Captain Vane, he stepped forth to meet us; 
 and a different man he was from the Captain Vane I had 
 seen so shortly before. Now his ill temper was in a 
 measure under subjection to his better judgment, and, as 
 such, he was a man of much subtlety; and I had rather 
 go against many another man than him, even were I Will 
 Cole, or Captain Teach himself. 
 
 He gave a hand to each of us, and was not angered be 
 cause the boy had not come, but said it was good for him 
 to go with the mother, although she might have come to 
 the barricade and remained along with the women there. 
 And this was the first we had heard of other women there 
 than Mary Vane, though wondering who cared for her. 
 
 Then Captain Vane had them bring out to us each a 
 good dram of brandy, to burn the fog from our throats. 
 So, too, he had served to each man a kid of meat, chopped 
 and cooked into a stew, with dough-balls, such as sailors 
 get, sogging therein; for he would not have us fight on 
 hungry stomachs. 
 
 Then he leered in his wolfish way, as we devoured the 
 mess, and allowed we had had not much bounty at his 
 hands before. But no man had ever suffered, he said, 
 
 172
 
 We Fight Will Cole's Men 173 
 
 that lent a hand to Captain Vane which I have good 
 reason to deny and there would be good amends when 
 we had put the rascal, Will Cole, to flight. 
 
 Will Lewis came presently, and had for us each a strong 
 jerkin of leather, lined with quilting, and having over the 
 breast a cuirass, or centrepiece, of metal that would re 
 tard a bullet. There was, too, a leathern cap, or helmet, 
 for the head, to abate the stroke of a cutlass, and a musket 
 and pistols all round, with a bag of flints and a horn of 
 powder to sling from the neck. 
 
 As I looked around, I saw there had been able prepara 
 tions made for the fray, and that this fortification was no 
 Jericho to be levelled with mere noise. At the front of 
 the stockade, where an attack might be looked for, there 
 being ravines and gullies and other hindrances on the 
 rear approaches to the plateau, were set up two drakes 
 of brass, that were now well shotted and ready for the 
 match. This artillery was not to be seen from the ap 
 proach to the fort, there being a false front covering the 
 embrasure in which each was placed. 
 
 At the two rear corners of the stockade were two guns of 
 iron, mounted not by way of a surprise, but with their noses 
 sticking out of the walls. By each of these four guns was 
 there a wooden platform, with powder and balls and 
 pieces of quick-match thereon. 
 
 Of us to defend the stockade there were the five in our 
 party, and Captain Vane and nine more, making fifteen 
 in all. These men of Captain Vane's, to give them names 
 as we knew them later, were : William Lewis, who was a 
 first mate, by rights ; Robert Mackay, a ship-smith ; John
 
 174 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Trask, George Rawlins, Lawrence Sylvester, Ralph Burr, 
 Robert Hawden, or Hayden, I know not which, 
 George Watkins, and the Cuban. These last were sea 
 men, and I think Cotton Mather would not have been 
 pleased with them. However, for the business now in 
 hand, they were not out of place, being men that looked 
 to have been born for fighting. 
 
 As for the women that Captain Vane had made mention 
 of, I saw none of them, they being sheltered in the rear 
 part of the captain's house, with thick walls between them 
 and any bullets that might come that way. 
 
 Presently the man, John Trask, who was the same as 
 had stopped Tom Appleton and me in the woods before 
 the stockade, ran in to tell us that Will Cole's men were 
 landing on the beach in the harbour in great numbers; 
 that he had counted twenty-five, but that there were more 
 of them coming ashore. At this, Captain Vane told off nine 
 of us to go out, with him, to ambush the pirates from the 
 woods as they came up the slope. For this he took all of 
 our party and four of his own men, leaving Will Lewis and 
 four men under his command to work the gates as we 
 should return on the run, and to warn if the pirates ap 
 peared elsewhere. 
 
 We ten went down to the thicket that bordered the steep 
 approach from the beach and took up our places as Captain 
 Vane directed, with orders to see that our flints were fixed 
 and the priming dry hi our muskets. Each man of us had, 
 too, an extra musket to lay by his side, so he could pick it 
 up and freshen the priming and fire again quickly, and 
 thus get in two shots before we ran.
 
 We Fight Will Cole's Men 175 
 
 Now we heard soon the voices of Will Cole's men as 
 they called to one another softly, for they had not heard 
 nor seen a sign of life on our part, and doubtless hoped 
 to take the stockade by surprise. So did we hear some 
 curses roundly sworn ; for all of the way was not good for 
 men unfamiliar with it, and the fog giving them little 
 distance of vision, and the ground wet, and sludgy in 
 places. 
 
 In all, we judged there were near forty of them, and 
 knew, afterwards, that they numbered just five more than 
 that. Now when we had the great bulk of them only a 
 few rods away, and saw the faces of the nearest coming 
 weirdly to be distinguished out of the fog, Captain Vane 
 did call softly for us to fire ; and, being ready and quiver 
 ing for the word, we all let fly at once, with the big, black, 
 shadowy lump of humanity for a target. Nor would one 
 hear in all the infernal regions, I fancy, a more hideous 
 and bestial screeching than escaped from the throats of 
 these pirates when the bullets flew among them. 
 
 Then, in the first flurry of their surprise, they did get 
 the second volley, which threw them into such a state that 
 the whole pack of them, save Will Cole and one or two 
 others, made a break back for cover and left the field 
 to us. 
 
 However, Captain Vane was not to be enticed by this 
 brief success into waiting here for them again, knowing 
 the cunning and determination of Will Cole; and so he 
 withdrew us to the stockade, and we went in without the 
 scratch upon a man. 
 
 When Will Cole had got his men together again upon
 
 176 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 the shore, and had cursed them hard for their cowardice, 
 and himself, also, for his folly, and likewise, most of 
 all, Captain John Vane, he set about doing what he 
 should have done in the first place; that is, he divided 
 his force into four squads, with orders to go up the hill 
 spread out, and not bunched like a flock of partridge; 
 but to come together at the call, for a charge upon* the 
 thicket in force. 
 
 And this was carried out; for we heard, at the sound 
 of a whistle, the noise and shock of the fierce rush they 
 made, and even some firing here and there, owing to the 
 fog deceiving them with vain shadows. But they did 
 only plunge into bushes and stumpage, so that Captain 
 Vane laughed loudly at them; and I saw he was a man 
 that revelled in fighting and had no fear of it, in that he 
 could laugh at such a thing as that. 
 
 There were in the wood, then, making ready to charge 
 upon us, thirty-seven of them, including Will Cole, they 
 having lost eight of their number in our first ambush, 
 three shot dead and five wounded. But, before they came 
 on, Will Cole did call out to us through a ship's trumpet, 
 advising us to yield and trust to their mercy, to wit : 
 
 " Here, you men, I mean Ralph Burr and George 
 Rawlins and John Trask and the rest of you, all but you, 
 Dan Baldrick, and you, Will 'Lewis, you all come out here 
 and give yourselves up; and we'll give you quarter and 
 take you aboard ship again and no more said and done. 
 And you, Dan Baldrick, we'll hang you to a good tall tree 
 and leave you there ; but you, Will Lewis, I'll give you a 
 chance and take you off and let the Old Man say whether
 
 We Fight Will Cole's Men 177 
 
 you swing or not. Now there's the time for me to light 
 and smoke a pipe for you to make your choice in; and, 
 after that, there's no quarter for any man we get alive. 
 There's fifty of us and ten of you, so don't be fools." 
 
 Now Will Cole had no sooner delivered himself of this, 
 with the last word still ringing in his throat, than Captain 
 John Vane or Dan Baldrick leaped up on the walk 
 around the stockade and called out, without waiting for 
 argument with his men concerning the matter. Nor did 
 he need any trumpet to make himself heard, for the roar 
 of his voice was like a bull's that be baited into fury. 
 
 " You, Will Cole," he cried, "lie, like a Spaniard or a 
 Frenchman, as you always did. We want no quarter from 
 you, nor from Teach, either; nor from Ed Grace nor 
 John Evans, nor the pack of you. Tell Teach he can 
 come with a hundred men and a seventy-four. We've 
 got thirty stout Englishmen now, and twenty more to 
 come next month from the mainland. And as for fifty 
 men, you've counted twice over and dead ones, too." 
 
 This was bluster and braggadocio and each man 
 knew the other lied but I think Captain Vane's boast 
 of thirty men had its effect on Will Cole's crew, and 
 particularly when they had had a taste of our defence. 
 
 But soon they came on, without warning, spread out 
 widely to approach on three sides of the defences, with 
 their guns slung, and axes and pikes in their hands to 
 fight at close quarters with on the stockade. Their plan 
 was, to scale the palisades, and they carried several short 
 ladders for that purpose. We met them with a grievous 
 fire of musketry, however, having our force well disposed
 
 178 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 at the three points of attack; and I think the extent of 
 our firing puzzled and disconcerted them, for, with more 
 men to meet than they had reckoned* on and extra guns 
 on our part, there were not a few of them hit. 
 
 So, on this attack, there were only seven of them that 
 got over the stockade, the others being beaten back and 
 thrown from the wall. These seven fought desperately 
 till five of them had fallen ; and the other two fled back 
 up over the logs. 
 
 Still, we had had three men put out of action, though 
 none killed, and had they come again quickly they must 
 have overpowered us by reason of numbers. But it seems 
 they liked not to lose so many men, and, indeed, had not 
 counted on anything like so stubborn a resistance. So 
 they went back to the shore, to begin all over again, in a 
 way they might have done in the first place had they not 
 been so ardent. 
 
 They got ashore two guns of good calibre, mounted 
 them on wheels made for landing purposes, and dragged 
 them up to where they commanded the great gate of the 
 barricade. And all the while we were all wondering what 
 they would be about. I had even some hope they might 
 not come again ; but Captain Vane knew better concerning 
 Will Cole, and was not idle this while. So, by the time 
 they were ready for another attempt, we were loaded 
 and primed for them. 
 
 We learned with no uncertainty what they had been 
 about ; for, all of a sudden, the two guns broke out in a 
 terrific roar, and the heavy shot from them crashed 
 clean through the stout oak planking of the great
 
 We Fight Will Cole's Men 179 
 
 gate, and went on and tore off a comer of one of the 
 houses. 
 
 At this, I did expect the brass drakes mounted at the 
 front of the stockade would make reply, they not having 
 spoken as yet. But, it seems, this Captain Vane was a 
 clever rogue and had a use for them later, so would not 
 reveal them. However, having the position of the enemy's 
 guns betrayed by the smoke and flame, we poured in a 
 
 continuous volleying of muskets upon them, and must 
 
 i 
 
 have caused them to replace more than one gunner, judg 
 ing by the outcries. 
 
 Still, there was no halting of the fire from their cannon, 
 longer than it took to load the pieces ; and the gate had a 
 bad breach in it, nor could it withstand the battering 
 much longer. At this point I did look at Captain Vane 
 to see what he would order and lo ! the smile upon his 
 face was like unto that of a wretch that sees his enemy go 
 up to the gallows ; and I wondered what were the humour 
 of this crisis. 
 
 Then Captain Vane sent three men back to a shed 
 beside a great rock that stood as high as a house ; and they 
 rolled out from it a cannon, of a make I knew not the name 
 of, but it was shorter and thicker in the barrel than a 
 culverin and capable of taking an enormous quantity of 
 shot. This they loaded so heavily that the wonder is it 
 did not burst at the discharge. The piece, all shotted, 
 they brought up to command the approach to the gate, 
 placing it just beside the entrance. 
 
 Then the two brass drakes on either side of the gate 
 were trained to concur at a point a little distance from the
 
 180 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 entrance, so that all three cannon should focus about the 
 same. And lastly, the rest of us not needed at the pieces 
 were set ready upon the wall with loaded muskets. 
 
 Now did Captain Vane, leering ominously, station a 
 man at either side of the gate, which was made to open in 
 the centre and swing back in halves. And at the next 
 firing of the two cannon, and just as the heavy shot had 
 torn and splintered their way through the wood, the halves 
 of the gate swung open a mere foot or two, as if it had been 
 caused by the impact. 
 
 This it seems, and as Captain Vane had figured, was 
 the thing Will Cole was waiting and prepared for. For, 
 the next instant, and as the parts of the gates hung there, 
 divided and enticing, the whole pirate crew burst out 
 from shelter and came on in a pack, near thirty of them, 
 for the entrance to the stockade. 
 
 Captain Vane stood by the touch-hole of the big gun, 
 holding the piece of match in his own hand. Will Lewis 
 and George Rawlins were at the other two. And I did 
 wonder that any man could wait so patiently as did 
 Captain Vane, with the wild, howling crew coming down 
 upon him. But, all at once, he lifted the match as a signal 
 and brought the lighted end of it down upon the priming 
 of the gun. Even so did Will Lewis and George Raw 
 lins; and the three guns bellowed out in one wild con 
 cert, sweeping a clean pathway through the mass of men 
 as a wind would take a line of trees in a forest. And we, 
 adding our muskets to the chorus, did swell the carnage 
 and spread the terror and complete the rout of Will Cole's 
 men.
 
 We Fight Will Cole's Men 181 
 
 Quickly the massy gates swung to again, and the huge 
 bolts and bars were thrown into place ; but, for that there 
 was no need, and the gates might have swung wide and a 
 child could have guarded them ; for of the crew that had 
 come on there were nine stretched out dead, and four 
 more were wounded so they could not run away, and others 
 more or less hurt. In all, there were not more than 
 seventeen or eighteen at the most that got away with 
 sound skins ; and, including Will Cole, they did not cease 
 running till they had gained the shore. 
 
 When they had gone aboard their ship, Will Cole des 
 patched a fellow up to us, with a flag of truce, begging 
 of Captain Vane permission for them to carry away their 
 wounded. This, Captain Vane acceded to, being glad 
 to be rid of them, but stipulating that no harm should be 
 done to his vessel that lay anchored off the other shore; 
 which Will Cole promised. So four men brought up a 
 stretcher and carried all the wounded pirates away, save 
 three that were so grievously hurt they could not be moved. 
 Of which three, I may say, one died the next day and we 
 buried him, and the others recovered, having been born 
 to swing, and took up with Captain Vane's men. 
 
 As for Will Cole, having given a pirate's word, he was 
 bound by it no longer than it took him to get his wounded 
 men aboard, leaving his dead for us to bury ; and then he 
 warped the ketch in abreast Captain Vane's sloop and 
 brought his larboard guns to bear on her hull, and fired 
 into her until the mast fell away and she took aflame and 
 burned near to the water's edge and then sank. 
 
 After which, on the following morning, there being a
 
 182 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 fair wind through the reach, he stood out of it and sailed 
 away and we saw him no more, Captain Teach and he 
 having other business on hand off the Carolinas more 
 profitable. 
 
 Take it all in all, we had come off lightly, there being 
 only eight out of the fifteen of us wounded, and the most 
 of these not seriously hurt. Sylvester was the worst, for 
 a bullet had razed along his head and it affected his brain. 
 Moreover, he had a cutlass wound in the thigh, which was 
 a sore cut ; so he was unconscious some hours after the 
 fight. The men, Mackay and Burr, were shot through 
 the body and were, I recall, on their backs for weeks, but 
 being of a breed tenacious of life were saved for future 
 wantonness. 
 
 My good Tom Appleton had a gash from the swipe of 
 a cutlass across his cheek and kept the scar thereof ever 
 more to mark the place. And I, myself, was the least 
 hurt of those wounded, having felt the nipping of a bullet 
 early in the fight and finding it had stung me in the left 
 shoulder; which was a mere flesh-wound and would 
 quickly heal over, with cleansing and ointment. 
 
 But, for the most part, was Captain Vane furious over 
 the loss of his vessel ; and I feared he would put an end 
 to the men that had fallen into his hands; but, it seems, 
 his malice was to Will Cole mostly, and he gave the wounded 
 pirates as good care as he did his own men. 
 
 When the pirates had been some time gone away I 
 mean just after the fight and the firing had ceased and 
 we had begun to pick up the wounded, there ran out of a 
 door of Captain Vane's house three women, Cuban women
 
 We Fight Will Cole's Men 133 
 
 by their complexion and dress and, indeed, the men had 
 married them in the city of Havana. They were the wives 
 of Robert Mackay and Will Lewis and Ralph Burr; and 
 the woman that claimed Robert Mackay was a young 
 girl of not more than twenty-five, of a striking beauty, 
 with hair ebony black, and dark, flashing eyes, her teeth 
 very white and pearly, and her complexion rich and 
 perfect of its shade. 
 
 She was, I discovered later, not lacking in breeding and 
 some accomplishments, having been schooled in a convent 
 of Havana. She had run away with Mackay, who was 
 really a fine and handsome fellow though a wanton 
 rogue and who did make a gallant figure ashore, with 
 fine apparel and gold to spend freely. 
 
 These women, finding their husbands sorely wounded, 
 were nigh frantic with grief, screaming and casting them 
 selves down beside them and carrying on, as women of 
 that exotic temperament, not having our English self- 
 control, are wont to do. As for Mary Vane, we saw her 
 not, since she was overcome with the horror of it all and 
 would not venture forth. 
 
 Now we saw soon how lightly such men as these look 
 upon battle and bloodshed, and be carnal-minded only 
 after the revelry of living : for they had no sooner got the 
 dead men put under ground and the wounded cared for 
 after a fashion, than they entered upon a great carousal 
 over their vanquishment of Will Cole's crew. 
 
 They rolled in from a storehouse a cask of wine that 
 must have held some ten gallons and broached it in the 
 big living-room of Captain Vane's house. Also did they
 
 184 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 fetch in brandy and other liquors, seeming to have plenti 
 ful store of the stuff; and no man's cup would be let to 
 stay empty long, nor full either, for they poured and 
 drank as I had never seen the like before, except aboard 
 the ship of Captain Teach. 
 
 But strangest of all was this great room of Captain 
 Vane's to which we did all come in ; for it was of a variance 
 from its surroundings, having naught in it, it would seem, 
 indigenous to the lonely island whereon it stood. It had 
 been furnished all from the cabin of a ship, or, I should 
 think, rather, from more than one, being set about with 
 desks and tables and cabinets of fine wood, richly polished 
 and better even than could be seen in many of our finest 
 houses in Boston. 
 
 Especially did I take notice of two gun- racks, and a 
 broad table that reflected the light of a candle even as 
 burnished metal or crystal. These seemed very fine in 
 the grain, and hard, and of a rich umber shade for the 
 most part, though varied with veinings of a blacker, and 
 also of a lighter, hue. This wood I learned to be of the 
 sort called mahogany, and I had never seen any of it 
 before, except aboard Teach's vessel, it not having come 
 into the colonies at this date. 
 
 Also before the hearth was there a pair of huge brass 
 fire-dogs that had been cast solid of the metal. So that 
 the furnishing of this room was, as I say, most incongruous 
 and not like to be found elsewhere in all the world within 
 walls of mere logs and roughly sawed timbers. 
 
 These fellows made no account of the stuff, in their 
 wantonness, but heaped their food and dishes upon the
 
 We Fight Will Cole's Men 185 
 
 fine tables, and banged them now with their cups as though 
 they had been the rude equipment of a village tavern. 
 And throughout all, I did observe that this Captain Vane 
 was a cunning fellow, and masterful ; for, though he drank 
 ever as grossly as any, he was, by the hardness of his head 
 and the capacity of his stomach, the one man that had his 
 wits about him. 
 
 So, once in the night, amid the tossing of much liquor, 
 there came up to him the man, George Watkins, who 
 was half-maudlin, and slapped him over the shoulder, and 
 bawled out that Dan Baldrick was a match for any Will 
 Cole or Edward Teach that ever sailed the high seas. 
 And at this the captain did take offence, and raised his 
 heavy pewter drinking- cup and dealt the fellow an ugly 
 blow near the temples therewith, crying out : 
 
 " Take that from Dan Baldrick, fool ! And call me 
 Jack Vane so long as we lie here in this place." 
 
 The man staggered from the blow and toppled over 
 on the floor; but made a clutch at the other as he went 
 down, and caught him by the doublet, and tore it so that 
 there was laid bare the broad breast of Captain Vane. 
 Thereon, as the light shone, I saw tattooed in red and 
 blue ink the figure of a full- rigged ship ; a masterly piece 
 of art as sailors deem such things, intricately pricked out 
 even to the smaller ropes and rigging and the gun-ports 
 along the hull. 
 
 Now did this sudden revelation startle me and fill my 
 brain of a burning fever; for there flashed into my mind 
 the words I had heard from the lips of a man doomed to 
 die, fourteen years ago in the grim prison of Boston ; and
 
 186 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 they seemed to ring in my ears even as though they came 
 from some comer of the room: 
 
 " Dan-o'-the-Ship ! Who is he ? I wish I had him 
 by the throat ! I wish he was lying there in that corner, 
 now, asking me for mercy. I curse him now and for ever ! " 
 
 So here I saw was " Black Dan," " Dan-o'-the- 
 Ship ; " whom the man had hated with all the hatred of 
 one that sees the gaunt scaffold before his eyes. And 
 here, too, was the old puzzle come leaping into life again 
 at a bound ; for before me in this room sat he who might 
 know the secret of the paper I had long lost interest in, 
 and should have forgotten, but that it yet remained where 
 I had put it away, in the locket that hung about my neck.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 MARY VANE 
 
 I SAW these things, I say, like a flash of lightning when 
 one has not been aware of the clouds out of whose breasts 
 it comes darting. Yet I knew not how to prove my con 
 clusion save by putting the question bluntly to this man. 
 And, as I thought upon it from day to day following, the 
 more was I bound and restrained by a hesitancy growing 
 out of a distrust of him, and my remembrance, also, of 
 how he had served the fellow Watkins for the intrusion 
 upon his alias. 
 
 Now, however, for the moment and throughout all this 
 wild night my brain was tormented with the thing. So, 
 when the night had worn on to the ebbing of its blackness, 
 and the slack hour of the morning had come just preceding 
 the flooding of the light, and the lifelessness of that hour 
 had crept upon these men, and they slept as they had 
 sprawled upon the floor, still did this discovery prod and 
 spur me on to wakefulness. When, at length, I did lose 
 myself, even then was I driven far and wide by it in my 
 dreams as though I were hag-ridden. 
 
 Then, the sun blazing triumphantly once more, and the 
 fog clouds thinning before its rays, we saw the ketch make 
 sail and go on out of the reach ; and, with that, we went 
 
 187
 
 188 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 down to the shore, where we beheld the extent of the 
 mischief Will Cole's men had done. 
 
 Our own yawl-boat was a sorry thing, having the ribs 
 and planking of it all smashed. Likewise were the two 
 smaller boats of the men, one of them the little pinnace, 
 rendered useless. And of the vessel, there was but the 
 charred stump of the mast to be seen a foot or two under 
 water. 
 
 Now, the fighting being over and the ketch going down 
 into the distance, we four were of a mind to get back to 
 our own habitation, so we went and gave Captain Vane 
 word of it. He was, I must admit, very handsome and 
 liberal on this occasion; for he would have us go back 
 with him to the stockade, and he gave to us each a good 
 musket and a cutlass, and each a good suit of leather, 
 jacket and doublet and breeches, of which we were in 
 great need. 
 
 And to me, because I had been the one to give the alarm, 
 he presented a handsome pair of pistols, intricately inlaid 
 along the barrels with gold work, such as they do in Eastern 
 countries. With these, also, a good leather belt, with 
 sockets to hold the weapons. 
 
 Moreover, with this presentation, he did give a hand 
 to me most fatherly, and smile at me as graciously as a 
 man might upon another into whom he would lay a cutlass 
 an it served his purpose. 
 
 The next day, too, he did despatch several of his men 
 to us, bringing a store of salt beef and other food stuff, 
 and a quantity of powder and shot, together with a big 
 rundlet of wine and some tobacco.
 
 Mary Vane 189 
 
 The upshot of the whole was, to our minds, therefore, 
 that the men upon the hill were pirates, themselves, and 
 had got this store by the plunder and ravishing of mer 
 chant ships ; and it was plain there had been a falling out 
 at some time between them and Teach and Will Cole, 
 and they had sought refuge on this lonely island; which 
 accounted for their attitude toward us. Indeed, the won 
 der is they had not driven us away, unless it were that 
 Mary Vane had pleaded to some purpose in our behalf. 
 
 Well, by and by, when we were settled again and had 
 gone to work to make us some kind of a small boat to 
 replace the one smashed, only larger, to carry a sprit- 
 sail, I did sit down with Tom Appleton one night, the 
 others being asleep, and tell him of the conviction I had 
 regarding Captain John Vane and the paper I carried. 
 And when I had recalled to both our minds the words of 
 the man in the prison regarding Dan Baldrick, the co 
 incidences did, indeed, appeal to Tom Appleton as well 
 as to me. 
 
 It was easy to see how, there being several men, or even 
 two, aboard a vessel having the name " Dan," sailors 
 would likely hit upon the distinguishing of them by means 
 of this great tattooed design upon the breast of one, and 
 call him " Dan-o'-the-Ship." Moreover, this man was 
 past middle age, and would have been somewhere about 
 thirty, fourteen years ago. Also was he swarthy, more so 
 even than the others, with hair and brows and beard very 
 black, which would accord with his being sometimes called 
 " Black Dan." 
 
 For all this, and although I did remind Tom Appleton
 
 190 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 of the man's remark of yellow money piled high, and 
 urged that Dan-o'-the-Ship might know the intent and 
 meaning of the cryptogram, still he was not keen 
 about it. 
 
 I think, for one thing, he had heard so much of Cousin 
 Ephraim's obsession; and thought too much of me to 
 have my mind go thus awry. Also, being by instinct 
 honest, there was in him a natural aversion and distrust 
 of this man. 
 
 So, for the time being, I did let the matter lie in abey 
 ance that is, outwardly ; yet my brain was for ever 
 squirming and twisting uncomfortably about it, like a 
 fish that be hung up by the gills. 
 
 Now I come to the time that Elias forsook us and went 
 to dwell with the men upon the hill, and became one of 
 Captain Vane's crew. And the manner of Elias's going 
 was this : 
 
 We had been building for ourselves a new boat, when 
 some of Vane's men came over our way where we were at 
 work upon the shore. When they had observed the clever 
 ness of Tom Appleton, and how nice a turn of the hand he 
 had at such work, they saw he was a man that could be 
 of great service to them. This, it seems, they reported to 
 Captain Vane, flattering us also to the extent of telling 
 him we were all no fools at boat-building. 
 
 This thing put us in so good a light with Captain Vane 
 that he resolved to enlist us all in his enterprises, having 
 no doubt but we would all ultimately accept of the invita 
 tion, because he had seen many other men, as good as 
 we, decry piracy loudly and come to make bold pirates
 
 Mary Vane 191 
 
 in the end. However, he would not broach the project 
 to us save by indirection, and the real nature of it left for 
 us to surmise. Nor was it put to us all together, so it would 
 be made a subject of discussion amongst us. But his 
 manner was to meet with us singly, when the others were 
 not by, and confide to each man of us in confidence that 
 he deemed him a bold, smart fellow who was wasting his 
 talents among the other three, when he might be easily 
 in a way of winning a fortune at a stroke. 
 
 As for Tom Appleton and Elbridge Carver and myself, 
 we saw at once that the innuendo was plainly piracy and 
 nothing less; and, discovering soon each that the other 
 had been asked to go and live among the men of the 
 stockade, we talked the matter over all together and de 
 cided to give Captain Vane as fair and unoffending an 
 answer as we could, that we were plain fishermen, and 
 sought only to get back in good time to our own Boston 
 town. 
 
 We did not mark it then but recalled it later that 
 Elias was silent in the mooting of the thing, and seemingly 
 acquiescent in our decision. But, going out one morning, 
 with his musket slung by his shoulder, as though for 
 shooting, he did not come back ; and word got to us later 
 that he was among Captain Vane's men. 
 
 There was no break between us, however, over this 
 new turn of affairs, since Captain Vane had a use for us 
 in any event, which was the raising up and rebuilding 
 of his vessel; and there was a measure of agreement, or 
 understanding, between him and us, that, if the thing 
 could be accomplished, he would take us off from this
 
 192 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 island and set us ashore in the vicinity of the Massachu 
 setts Bay. So we went to work for him willingly. 
 
 Tom Appleton made a clever contrivance, with the use 
 of tackle, by which the stern of the vessel was raised and 
 held partly out of water with empty hogsheads. Then 
 we patched and botched at the thing for weeks, raising 
 the hulk a little from time to time and making temporary 
 repair of it, till we got it at length where a deal of the 
 water could be pumped out and the hull finally floated, 
 sufficiently to bring it in on the beach. There we careened 
 it and worked on it to good purpose at low water, through 
 weeks of hard labour. 
 
 As for masts, of which we should need two, it being the 
 design of Captain Vane to convert the vessel's rig into that 
 of a hermaphrodite brig, and for the rigging necessary, 
 there was no lack of either; for there were several good 
 sticks lying up on shore, being the masts of some wreck, 
 or saved in the dismantling of a vessel ; and there was a 
 quantity of the latter stuff, gotten likewise in the one way 
 or the other. 
 
 But it was all of July and August before the hull was 
 ready for new masts and rigging ; because, for one thing, 
 the men of the stockade would not work with any method 
 or regularity, but as the fit seized them, spending much 
 time hi carousal. 
 
 In the course of this, on an afternoon in early August, 
 there being a lull in the work on the vessel, I set me out 
 alone to follow up the course of the stream ; which I was 
 so fond of doing that the quiet dark water lying half- 
 asleep in the shadow of this familiar bank, and the leaping,
 
 Mary Vane 193 
 
 flashing water running down over that cascade, seemed 
 near and friendly to me, and of old acquaintance. Also 
 did I cut me an alder stick and strove to lead the pretty 
 fish astray, as I had done so often before. 
 
 But the day was warm and no fish rose; and after a 
 time I grew drowsy with the sultriness, and lazy, withal, 
 and lay me down in a little clump of bush by the bank and 
 went off soundly to sleep. Then it would be about the 
 hour before the first shading of twilight that I awoke, for 
 the little twittering of the birds and many other noises of 
 nature had the tone as of the wearing out of the day in them. 
 
 And as I lay, rousing gradually and deliciously, as a 
 healthy man does from slumber, listening to the pleasant 
 sound of the falling water and the bird utterances, there 
 came to be distinguished by me a sound that was not of 
 these, but strange and muffled, and coming now and again 
 out of the gurgling and murmuring of the floss like a sob. 
 So I raised me up softly after a time, when I had got the 
 drowsiness shaken off, and stole along the bank a little 
 way, to see whence this strange sound might come. 
 
 But when I had gone only a rod, or a little more, in 
 this sly fashion, I was put suddenly to shame for it ; for, 
 all at once, at a turn of the stream, in the shelter of a 
 little arbour made by some low trees, with the wild grapes 
 running up over them, I came upon a woman weeping. 
 She was seated beside the floss, with a hand to her face, 
 as though to shade her eyes from the fading rays of the 
 sun ; and I could see her slight frame quiver and tremble 
 with the grief that racked her. 
 
 Now, coming silently upon her in this manner, I was,
 
 194 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 indeed, abashed and sorry; and it seemed even as though 
 I had stolen into a room whereof she had bolted the door 
 to hide away. So I would have gone as softly as I had 
 come, seeing she was as yet unaware of my intrusion, but 
 a dead branch broke under my feet and, though it was a 
 slight thing, it sounded in that stillness like the firing of 
 a pistol. 
 
 She sprang to her feet, did Mary Vane, and gave a little 
 cry of alarm and started to run away ; but when she saw 
 it was I she paused and stood hesitatingly. 
 
 " You said you were not afraid of me the last time we 
 met in this wood, but of the musket I carried and the 
 fearful report of it," said I. For I was thrown into con 
 fusion, as well as she, and said this because I thought of 
 nothing else. " Now," I added, " I be unarmed, having 
 come only for fishing, and am just waked from sleep 
 and I think it was you who waked me, for I heard a sound 
 as of some one crying as I roused, and came to see what 
 it were." 
 
 " Indeed, I am not afraid of you now," said she; "but 
 you came upon me so sudden, and out of the silence, like 
 a ghost-man or a witch ; and I had crept down here to be 
 out of sight of the men, and to be alone." 
 
 Now I saw, as she said this, that her eyes were dimmed 
 from long weeping, and there was sorrow in her voice as 
 of one not seized with sudden grief but carrying a burden 
 in the heart day by day. And, liking not to see a woman 
 grieving, lonely, thus at least so fair a one as Mary 
 Vane I yearned to say a thing that would comfort her, 
 but had not wit to go about it cleverly.
 
 Mary Vane 195 
 
 " You have been very kind to us," I ventured, " and 
 we know now that had it not been for you the men would 
 have driven us away; and we (meaning myself) would 
 be grieved to know of any harm coming to you, and we 
 (I) would be glad to help you if you would tell us (me) 
 how." 
 
 Then she looked at me earnestly out of her brave eyes, 
 and said, with a strange abruptness: 
 
 " Do not join the men ! Have naught to do with them 
 that you can help. You do not know them as I have come 
 to know them. Oh, they be cruel and wicked. And to 
 think I knew naught what would be going on all these 
 years but, oh, I have learned at last. And, oh, the 
 horror it has been, these days since the fight ! The cursing 
 and the drinking; and the boasting of the things they 
 have done, and plan to do." 
 
 " But," I cried, " does not your uncle, Captain John 
 Vane, protect you against them and their carousing?" 
 
 " Ah, indeed," she answered, sadly, " I know no 
 longer now if he be uncle of mine or not; though why I 
 doubt it, I have no means of telling. But he seems further 
 away from me day by day; though he has, indeed, been 
 kind, and would not have me know, all these years, the 
 life they led, and I did think he went a-trading in the vessel 
 when he was gone away. But now he seems to care not 
 what I do know, and says I shall make a brave lass yet, 
 when I do grieve over it and beg him to have no more part 
 in such wickedness." 
 
 " And Elias," I asked, hesitatingly, and knowing then 
 in my heart that her answer would strike deep, " does he
 
 196 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 not say aught to help you ? He has been no such man as 
 these, and comes of fine people in our town." 
 
 " Oh," she replied, smiling a little, " he does, indeed, 
 say much to me and more than I would ask for ; for he 
 tells me I am a lady and very beautiful those 
 were the words but I should rather hear it from one 
 that has not said the like to so many women." 
 
 " Pray how do you know that? " I asked. 
 
 " Because I do," said she. Which be an unanswerable 
 reply, especially when one is of the same mind ; so I said 
 no more about it. 
 
 Now by this time we had gone on together, talking of 
 more than I can remember, and walking side by side 
 (though I had asked no leave, nor had she granted any ; 
 but it seemed natural to us and understood) till we had 
 come near to the stockade. Then, as we stood for a mo 
 ment, I said, after a fashion, that Tom and Elbridge and 
 I were hopeful ever of leaving this place ; and that when 
 the time came, if she would, she might go along with us 
 and we would care for her gladly, in return to her goodness 
 to us, and that she should fall into kindly hands in our 
 town. 
 
 And this, I did think often afterwards, was most stupidly 
 put, and was not what I would have said at all, but was 
 only the frittering of irresolution and of a mind muddled ; 
 and that I should far better have waited till I did know 
 what it really was within me that was seeking expression. 
 
 Certain it was, the words gave little or no comfort to 
 Mary Vane; and she did but shake her head sadly and 
 walk away.
 
 Mary Vane 197 
 
 However, we were in the way of meeting more often 
 now; for it seems she had a little pathway picked out 
 amid the tangle, from the stockade down to the floss, it 
 being the same that we had traversed that day; and it 
 would not deter her from seeking the quiet nook she were 
 fond of, to know that I was like to come that way. Nor 
 did I fear much longer that my coming would seem an in 
 trusion, being greeted with sweet looks, and eyes that 
 came at length to say more than the lips dared utter. 
 
 Whereby I came to a realization, of a day, that I was 
 wearing near to my heart a locket, whereon was a woman's 
 face that had been a sweet and fanciful comfort and ad 
 viser to me ; but that now it was as a palimpsest, and, on the 
 ivory, another woman's face was limned by the painting 
 of my mind and that face was Mary Vane's. 
 
 For I swear that by some strange trick of fancy or 
 was it more and deeper than this ? whenever I did loose 
 the golden clasp and look in upon this gentle lady, there 
 came a marvellous and enthralling transformation before 
 my eyes ; for the lines of the face altered not so much as 
 they did grow more maidenly; and a tenderer and more 
 youthful light did sparkle in the eyes. Thus, by degrees, 
 the face upon the ivory blended prettily into that of Mary 
 Vane. And so gently and so imperceptibly and so elusive 
 was this process of transformation, that I could not follow 
 it and account for it ; but only knew the face did change 
 thus by an evolution of youthfulness from the one into the 
 other. 
 
 Well, a man may think many strange thoughts and 
 roam world-wide in his day-dreams, while he be fast
 
 198 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 aground on the reefs of circumstances. So, all the while, 
 were we busy at work for Captain Vane ; and his men were 
 eager now to have the work ended and the vessel under sail 
 once more. It was some time in September that we got 
 the masts stepped and the rigging set up, and sails cut 
 over and refitted to her. Then the men dragged some 
 guns down the hill and mounted them aboard, and the 
 vessel was made ready for sea. 
 
 This put us into great apprehension ; for we feared lest 
 this Captain Vane, seeing we would not join with him, 
 should give us the slip and sail away with all his crew, and 
 leave us here marooned. So Tom Appleton, having done 
 him good service, put the matter plainly, though courte 
 ously, before Captain Vane, reminding him that he had 
 promised to give us passage with him when the time came 
 for them to leave. 
 
 Captain Vane did avow solemnly and stoutly that he 
 was not about to desert either us or the island; he was 
 going only a cruising, which we had declined to take part 
 in, and he would leave three of his men and the women at 
 the stockade, to ensure us against his not returning. 
 Moreover, he said this was a mere trial voyage of the vessel 
 and of her equipment, and that he should go wide of the 
 Massachusetts Bay colonists and only so far as a harbour 
 in the province of New Hampshire, where he looked for 
 an addition to his crew. 
 
 With this assurance we were forced to be content; and, 
 indeed, when the vessel sailed away on a day in the latter 
 part of September, there were left on shore, besides our 
 selves, the three men that had been worst wounded. Nor
 
 Mary Vane 199 
 
 could I see my old playfellow, Elias, embark with the 
 others, without the memory of the days long ago running 
 in my head, when he was Kidd and I was William Moore, 
 and seeing now a sorry realization on the part of one of 
 us of those early ambitions. 
 
 However, this voyage of Captain Vane and his men did 
 surprise us much by reason of its brevity; for it seemed 
 they had scarcely got out of sight before they were back 
 again ; that is, in a matter of four weeks, or less. Also, 
 they did a thing that sorely disappointed us, in that they 
 took a quantity of stuff out of the vessel, and stripped the 
 sails from her, and were apparently of a mind to go no 
 more voyaging. 
 
 So we saw we should be some time yet here in this place, 
 but knew not the reason then of it, to wit : that the business 
 of freebooting was even then getting what was nigh its 
 death-blow; and that in this very month, a great man 
 among them, one Major Stede Bonnett, was beaten in a 
 hard battle off Cape Fear and taken prisoner and hanged ; 
 which, with other drawbacks coming soon after, abated 
 somewhat the delights of pirating and sent a horde of 
 the merry gentlemen to cover.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 A SWEETHEART AND A FRIEND 
 
 WE passed many days now perplexed with doubts as to 
 whether we should get away from the island before the 
 winter set in ; and on my part there was much of conflict 
 ing emotion as to whether I cared, indeed, to go at all. 
 
 Then, when the month of October was nearing its close, 
 Captain Vane did surprise us by stretching the sails again 
 on the brig and preparing her as before for sea. In the 
 last days of the month he set out, once more, and went on 
 a voyage of a fortnight, and was back with a store of corn 
 and dried fish bought of the Indians. 
 
 Yet they could not get from the Indians the stuff most 
 wanted by them, which was good liquor; and the men 
 were long ago sick of lying close in this place. So Captain 
 Vane, to appease them, did consent to make another voyage 
 which was to have been away to the southward. They 
 set out again, about the end of the first week of November, 
 and were in high feather over it. But here again, in about 
 another fortnight, did they reappear, suddenly and unex 
 pectedly, and were seized of a great activity. 
 
 They were in and out of the harbour all through the day 
 time, for several days, and took out to two small ledges, 
 to the westward, a quantity of logs and other stuff, and
 
 A Sweetheart and a Friend 201 
 
 put up what seemed to us to be a makeshift shelter on 
 each. From which we assumed they would do some man 
 ner of fishing there. 
 
 These little islands lay between ours and the mainland ; 
 the first, or nearer, being less than a quarter of a mile 
 away, and the other about an equal distance from that. 
 So that a ship coming up from the French or Spanish 
 islands and bound on to the Canadas, and planning to keep 
 our Maine coast in sight, would yet not care to go inside 
 these ledges, but would wish to clear our larger island to 
 seaward. 
 
 And herein was one chance in twenty that Captain Vane 
 and his men were taking, having got wind in some way on 
 their voyage that a French ship was bound north shortly 
 and might come in near us. 
 
 But, as I say, this was then all unknown to us; and, 
 in the meantime, we had come to a resolve no less than to 
 get away with their vessel and make off with her, even 
 though there were but three of us to sail her. 
 
 Also this resolve did include another and a greater one 
 if a lesser thing may ever include a greater on my 
 own part; and this other resolve did centre about Mary 
 Vane. Yet was I puzzled and hesitant about the matter, 
 knowing not what answer she would make to me. 
 
 Now other events did suddenly and strangely intervene 
 between the planning of this project and the realizing of 
 it ; but we could not read the book of fate, so we worked 
 and watched till matters took another course. 
 
 This November, I recall, was for the most part made 
 up of days that were not to be enrolled upon the page of
 
 202 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 winter, no snow having fallen, nor were they a reversion 
 even to late summer, being too cold for that ; but it was a 
 sort of mongrel weather, breeding a litter of days that were 
 heavy with fog, and listless, unnourished by sunlight. 
 
 Well, matters were in this state when the time of Thanks 
 giving would be near again ; and I had gone to bed full of 
 the project we had in mind, and my own project with it, 
 and all uncertain concerning the matters ; and I was turn 
 ing them over and over in my brain till it was hot with the 
 friction of much thinking. So I lay for long hours, en 
 vious of Tom and Elbridge that they could breathe so deep 
 with heavy slumber. 
 
 After a time, when it would be, I judged, some two 
 hours yet to midnight, I could endure no longer this bait 
 ing of nerves and brain. So I arose and dressed me and 
 went to the door of our cabin and opened it, for a breath 
 of the cool air, and to see if the stars were keeping me 
 company. These were not to be seen, for a thin fog suf 
 ficed to hide their great light from the earth, and the moon 
 would not rise till some hours later. 
 
 Despite this murkiness of the night, yet was the sea 
 about us not all in darkness ; for I discerned, away against 
 the western sky, and flaring up weirdly from the vicinity 
 of the two off-lying islands, a dull reddish glare. 
 
 The strangeness of this thing, nor its significance, did 
 not appeal to my beleaguered brain for the moment ; but, 
 restless as I was, I buckled about me a thick woollen jerkin 
 against the sharp sting of the night air, and, closing the 
 door of our cabin softly behind me, went out to see if it 
 would appear from down along shore what the men of the
 
 A Sweetheart and a Friend 203 
 
 stockade were doing with fire out upon the ledges by 
 night. 
 
 As I went down along toward the southern and western 
 end of the island, I saw the flare of the fires grow more in 
 tense and mount higher into the sky ; and, now and again, 
 with a little flaw of the wind, they would stream laterally 
 along the sky-line, like ship's bunting flung to the breeze, 
 blood- red and weird to behold. So, with this all unusual 
 and startling thing before me, I was quickly broad awake 
 and alert as at noonday; and the real inwardness of the 
 ghastly business soon came home to me. 
 
 There in the sea, against the shroud of fog and on the 
 curtain of the night, was being written a blazing lie by the 
 men of the hill. There was treachery and deceit, foul and 
 cruel, the luring of living men into their doom by false 
 lights. For, whereas these flickering, shifting pillars of 
 flame rose up from both the inner and outer ledges, and a 
 vessel if there were such coming in from sea would 
 reckon them as being by the nature of things on the great 
 island, this island of ours, itself, lay dark and hidden and 
 in ambuscade of fog. 
 
 Now the blood in all my veins grew hot as this thing 
 was borne in on me, for it were plain to any man, what was 
 intended. However, I knew not what to do ; or rather, I 
 did know I could avail nothing, and that what they planned 
 must come to pass for aught of me, an it were the will of the 
 Lord to let it be done. 
 
 But I saw, an the thing should come to pass, this were 
 not the place to look for it ; since, did their design carry 
 true, and a vessel, that had made the passage before,
 
 204 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 swing off to clear what it should take to be the great island, 
 it would likely run in and strike fair against the tall cliffs 
 that faced south, and seaward to southeast, which was a 
 half-mile away from where I stood that is, to where the 
 huge ledge wall began to rise sheer from the sea. So I 
 set me out to walk thither, but slowly, and with frequent 
 listening and peering on ahead ; for I knew I should not be 
 alone in my vigil upon the cliffs, the men of the stockade 
 being somewhere abroad. 
 
 Going on thus, I felt the night wind blow softly in my 
 face. Then, coming at one point in view of the shore, I 
 saw that the tide was about an hour and a half to the time 
 of the slack, and that in a half-hour more from that the set 
 of the flood would be hard against us. So that from then 
 until daybreak a vessel would come swinging in with the 
 current ; and thus the lightness of the wind were a grievous 
 misfortune, since there would be no power in it to help a 
 ship beat back against the tide. 
 
 And now, coming up nearer to the cliffs, I heard the 
 pounding of the surf about the feet of them, and saw for a 
 short distance the deep heaving of the ocean ; and I knew 
 from this great disturbance and strong pulsing of the sea 
 that, when the turn of the tide should come, there would 
 be small hope for a ship caught in the turbulence of the 
 waters as they rushed in upon Round House. 
 
 Here, gazing out seaward and straining my eyes to pene 
 trate the gauzy screen of fog, I did stumble and fall 
 by stepping off a little knoll ; yet caught myself up again 
 quickly, crying out only softly to myself, more from the 
 surprise of the thing than from any hurt.
 
 A Sweetheart and a Friend 205 
 
 At this sound of my voice, there came another in re 
 sponse, close to my ear; and a slight, ghost-like figure 
 flitted out of the fog and laid a hand lightly on my arm. 
 The suddenness of this apparition, coming all unexpected 
 and quick upon me, together with my fear of encountering 
 the men of the stockade in their cruel business, threw me 
 into a sweat of alarm ; so that I gathered myself to meet an 
 attack, and laid my right hand upon the good knife that 
 was hi my belt. 
 
 But this was all in the passing of a moment, and no 
 longer than the time of a few quick beatings of the heart ; 
 for when I saw the little figure that had so affrighted me, 
 and looked into the face that was upturned anxiously to 
 mine, lo ! it was that of her who had grown so dear to me. 
 She was short of breath, with running or anxiety, and 
 breathing quickly and tremulous. 
 
 " Do not go up there by the cliffs," she cried, softly, 
 and with a quaver of fear in her voice. " The men be 
 hidden all along, on the lookout ; and they are stark mad 
 with drink and with the cruelty of what they mean to do. 
 You are one against them all ; and they will suffer no in 
 terference now. No ! no ! you must not go say you 
 will not I pray you ! " 
 
 " And how knew you that it was I here in the fog? " I 
 asked ; for I thought not so much of the danger, looking 
 at her, as I was filled with wonderment and surprise to 
 find her here. 
 
 " Oh, I have followed you from away back by the 
 shore," said she, but stopped short at that, shamed and 
 timid at the confession. " I did fear you might come to
 
 206 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 harm," she added ; " but I would have gone away again, 
 an you had turned back to the cabin but I would not 
 have you fall into the hands of the men yonder." 
 
 Now, as I looked into the eyes of Mary Vane, from 
 which the soul did shine, so that a man that was not blind 
 might read, I did know that the strong tide of our love was 
 at the flood ; and that taken now, as the great poet doth 
 say, it would lead us on to fortune and the golden goal of 
 happiness; but which availed not of, the voyage of my 
 life might, indeed, be bound henceforth in the shallows 
 and miseries of loneliness and disappointment. 
 
 So I did put my arm about my Mary, and drew her 
 close to me; and I called her by name, as I had never 
 dared to do, though yearning to often. Nor did she 
 resist, nor take it to be unmannerly in me. 
 
 " Tell me, dear heart," I said, " why you would not 
 have me go on into danger. Is it because you love me? 
 For, indeed, I do love you more than all else in the world. 
 Nor have I ever so loved another, and shall not again to 
 the day I die." 
 
 To this she did make no answer, as yet; that is, by 
 spoken word, since her heart was too full for that ; but she 
 threw her arms about my neck, and I had no need to beg 
 for kisses, taking them as of right; and thus, perhaps, 
 giving her no fair chance to reply. 
 
 Here it comes to me that I have written too plainly and 
 unseemly, of this great and tenderest moment of my life ; 
 but, in truth, the memory of it did flash upon me strongly, 
 so that I set it down before I thought. 
 
 Now we considered not, for the moment, of the dread
 
 A Sweetheart and a Friend 207 
 
 thing to come my Mary and I but sat us down upon 
 the little knoll whereon I had tripped and fallen, even 
 with the cold night mists falling heavily and drear upon 
 us, and the thin fog fashioning about us a vapoury bower. 
 And the flames out upon the ledges, bearing death in 
 their bosoms to weary men upon the sea, shining red and 
 phantom-like through the fog, were no more ominous and 
 terrifying to us, but gleamed soft and mystical. 
 
 So we sat and waited there till the hour of midnight 
 must have passed; for the waning moon rose and glim 
 mered faintly through the curtains of fog and mist 
 though I had need of no other light than two bright stars 
 that shone close into my eyes, with more of sweet mystery 
 and wonder in them than the stars of the sky. 
 
 Along about the time of the rising of the moon, there 
 came to our ears the rushing of the waters, and the sound 
 of a thousand moanings in the hollow places of the ledges ; 
 for the turn of the tide had come, and the waters would 
 be drawn in high and in great volume in their flood. 
 And God help those that should be borne in with them. 
 
 All at once, when near an hour more had gone by, 
 there was sent in to us from the blackness of the sea a 
 sound that was not of its waters, nor of the moaning wind ; 
 nor was it cry of sea-bird, but human, as a voice, or call, 
 that seemed to have enunciation, and was an utterance 
 of some sort, through trumpet or otherwise, I know not 
 what. But it roused us up and brought rushing back into 
 our hearts the fear that had drawn us there; and we 
 listened eagerly for the thing to have repetition. 
 
 Yet it came not again for seemingly a long time, having
 
 208 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 carried far by some trick of the waves and air. We thought 
 we had, perhaps, been deceived in the sound, when sud 
 denly the truth was made manifest, fearfully and most 
 grievously; for the sound of many voices came in with 
 the rush of the waters, and, with that, the beating and 
 flapping of a ship's canvas, as it does to little purpose in 
 a feeble wind. 
 
 Then did Mary Vane press me by the hand and lead 
 me on with her toward the cliffs ; not directly, in the way 
 I had been seeking, but in an oblique course, which would 
 bring us out upon the rocks to the east of the great jutting 
 of the cliff where its outermost point fronted the sea. 
 There the rush of the waters, on their divided way to that 
 eastern shore of the island, would be past us; the other 
 half of the flood going on toward the reach. 
 
 " We shall be safe from the men here," she whispered. 
 " They are all to the other side of the headland ; for the 
 wreckage that drifts this way is hard to get." 
 
 We had scarce time to climb the slope of the hill to the 
 brow of the cliff and look out, as far as we could discern 
 for the fog and mist, when the whole great tragedy un 
 folded before our eyes; and with that was shown the 
 mighty power of the sea, unaided by wind or storm. 
 
 Out of the black obscurity there loomed a big brig, with 
 sails thundering like the sound of tempest, and the cries 
 of many men among the rigging and along her decks. 
 On she came, with the fierce inrush of the tide, and no 
 earthly power now able to divert her from its current; 
 so that, with a deep groaning of its huge hull, and the 
 harsh, discrepant creaking of its rigging, and the swinging
 
 A Sweetheart and a Friend 209 
 
 and swaying of its ponderous yards, and the loud trumpet 
 ing of commands, and the crying of men, she drove her 
 bows hard on against the jagged rocks, and hung there, 
 impaled and quivering. 
 
 Nor did ever a ship go to pieces quicker than this one ; 
 for, being held hard and fast by the bows, and lifted up 
 astern by a great wave, her back was broken all in a 
 minute ; and the masts and spars fell down at the instant, 
 threshing the water so that the sea-chaff flew half-way up 
 to the brow of the cliffs. 
 
 For that matter, the whole fabric was soon as though 
 it had been put into a giant pestle and beaten ; for it was 
 churned against the face of the rocks by the deep swell, 
 and hammered into fragments in such way as no man may 
 believe that has not seen the like with his own eyes. Yet, 
 as I say, was there no storm, and even the sickly, blighted 
 light of the moon glimmering faintly over the rocks and 
 the wreckage. 
 
 Then, for a few short moments, from the gruelling mass 
 of what had been the brig, there came to our ears wild 
 cries of men whose lives had not yet been beaten out. Some 
 were swept away, out of our sight, along the shore by the 
 foot of the cliffs, clinging to spars and pieces of deck and 
 stuff from the cargo; and of these, some were near to 
 rescue, being carried past the ravines that made down 
 through the cliffs ; and they needed but a line thrown out 
 to them, to bring them safe to shore. 
 
 But no man did this thing. Aye, and I do fear the worse, 
 even, was done, such as it be a shame and humiliation 
 to acknowledge as in the hearts of men to do. For, of
 
 210 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 those that drifted on down toward the reach, not one was 
 alive to tell of it when the morning came; and no man 
 came alive out of the brig that night save Will Endicott. 
 
 By which, it be a strange coincidence, that the hand of 
 Providence did send me my two best comrades and the 
 best any man ever had delivered, unscathed, from 
 shipwreck, wherein most other men did perish. 
 
 It came about, by reason of the brig's striking near to 
 the outermost and dividing end of the cliffs, that some of 
 the wreckage came our way ; and, amid the stuff we saw 
 drifting past us, was the half of the brig's roundhouse. 
 Now we had left our hiding-place on the brow of the 
 rocks, when this wreckage had begun to float by, thinking 
 we might do better elsewhere. Mary Vane knowing the 
 way, as I did not, she having roamed about these rocks 
 from childhood, we went down by a narrow gap in the 
 cliffs, some way to the eastward, and got near to the water 
 where it surged into a ravine. 
 
 When this piece of the roundhouse came tossing off the 
 entrance where we were waiting, there was no sound of 
 life coming in from it ; and I had paid no heed to it, but 
 for Mary Vane. She, being gifted of sight, I think, beyond 
 me, did espy a man lying prone upon the house. She 
 vowed, moreover, that he was living, for she had seen him 
 move. 
 
 At this, we made our way along the dangerous edge 
 of the rocks, so that presently, the wreckage drifting in 
 closer, the man was plainly to be seen. Then we hal 
 looed, and called out to him that we would give him aid. 
 But, strangely enough, this man would make no response,
 
 A Sweetheart and a Friend 211 
 
 lying like one dead, or deaf and mute ; and we knew not 
 what to think of it. 
 
 However, we waited until, the stuff coming in still closer, 
 it was almost near enough for the man to leap to a footing 
 on the rocks. Then, suddenly, in a way that frightened 
 us not a little, from the seeming madness of it, he got to 
 his feet, and cursed us most frightfully. Also, he cried 
 out for us to keep away and not come near to him ; for he 
 was one Will Endicott, he said, and as strong as any three 
 cowardly wreckers or pirates; and no man should stave 
 his head in, even though he were half-dead of drowning 
 and nearly frozen. 
 
 So we saw he knew the inwardness of the thing, and, 
 seeing he had fallen among wreckers, took us for them, 
 also, and had kept still up to this time, hoping we might 
 not see him. 
 
 We cried out again that we were not wreckers, but 
 wished to help him get to shore ; but he only cursed us the 
 more, like a man in a frenzy, and we could give him no 
 aid. 
 
 Presently, however, he gathered himself and made a 
 mighty leap for the rocks, and landed on the slippery 
 sides, where he got a hand clenched in a bit of them and 
 held on. 
 
 Then, when he had dragged himself up to a good foot 
 ing, and stood at full length for a moment, I saw that 
 his boast was most likely to be the plain truth ; for he was 
 a giant of a man. 
 
 Now he drew a great sheath-knife from his belt and 
 started toward us; and it was well for us he must climb
 
 212 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 cautiously along the rocks, and could not come on with a 
 rush, else I might not be here to-day to write of him. As 
 it was, when he had advanced near to us, and we calling 
 out all the while that we were not of the wreckers, and only 
 meant him well, he paused and leaned against the wall of 
 the ravine. 
 
 " Hulloa! " he cried, " 'tis a woman, too, eh? Well, 
 it may be even as you say. But keep back, for all that, 
 till I do get firm footing on shore ; and I care not, then, 
 if you be wreckers or not." 
 
 So we went back, as he came on, till we had got up, 
 even, to the top of the ravine; and, in another moment, 
 came forth Will Endicott, also, on to sure footing, out of 
 the wrath and turmoil of the sea, and stood before us.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 WRECKAGE CAST UP ASHORE 
 
 WILL ENDICOTT, I have taken to be, in these many 
 years gone by, the handsomest fellow, made in God's 
 image, that it has been my fortune to look upon. This 
 year of the shipwreck, he was about five and thirty years 
 of age, and in the full tide of manhood ; of six feet, four, 
 stature, and of a proportionate breadth and girth, even as 
 a man of ancient modelling in marble. 
 
 With this, and without a mark of grossness, he was 
 thewed like a gladiator in body and limb, but of finely 
 knotted sinew ; and withal, he was a man of much refine 
 ment, having been to school in England. 
 
 But now, in the dark hour of the morning, as he came 
 out of the wreckage, with locks all matted and hanging 
 about his eyes, for his hair had grown long on ship 
 board, and having a cut above one eye, that trickled 
 the blood, and his clothing torn and hanging upon him 
 wretchedly, he was by reason of it all a most dreadful 
 sight. Also, as he bared a great, sinewy arm, with a 
 knife clenched in the hand, we were, indeed, vastly more 
 afraid of him than he of whatever fate might summon 
 against him. 
 
 However, I went up to him, and showed him that I had 
 
 213
 
 214 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 no musket nor pistol about me, nor any sort of weapon, 
 save my knife, which would count for nothing against 
 him. I put him in the way, quickly, then, with as few 
 words as would suffice, of knowing who I was, and why 
 I was there, and what he might expect from the men. 
 Will Endicott seemed, with this, to put more confidence 
 in us; and he asked us straightway which direction he 
 should turn to hide and find shelter against the pirates. 
 
 Even at this moment we heard, a little way from us, 
 the sound of men running up, and voices calling out ; and 
 one of them, whom I took to be Will Lewis, crying that 
 he had seen the man drift this way, by the point. By 
 which it was plain that it was Will Endicott they were 
 seeking. 
 
 We had barely time to run into a little clump of low 
 trees, and crouch there, before five men rushed out of the 
 fog and stood at the edge of the ravine. There were four 
 of Vane's men, besides the mate, Lewis; and 'tis of no 
 great matter whichever they were, since all the men were 
 in the cruel business; only, I may say, I saw not Elias 
 among these, he being with Captain Vane on the other 
 slope of the cliff. 
 
 These five men were armed with pistols, and cutlasses 
 by their sides, and had each a heavy stick, or club, with a 
 hook at the end, to reach for wreckage with, or for what 
 ever purpose they saw fit. They stood for a moment, all 
 of them, and spoke quick and sharp, and pointed down to 
 the water swerving below them. And of all wickedness, 
 and the lapse of men into bestiality, these, the words of 
 their lips, were the most shocking I had ever heard ; for
 
 Wreckage Cast Up Ashore 215 
 
 it was no more nor less than that here was a man that was 
 likely, perchance, to come in upon the shore alive, which 
 was a thing not to be suffered, since they were of a mind 
 that there should be no one left after this night, to tell 
 of it. 
 
 I did hear Will Endicott grind his teeth, for the fury 
 of listening to men conniving at killing him ; and he rose 
 up once or twice, with the knife in his hand, and peered 
 out at them. So that I did look to see him make a sudden 
 rush and fall upon them. But they went, all at once, down 
 the face of the ravine, close by the water's edge, and were 
 lost to our sight. 
 
 Then I saw that this was the door of opportunity left 
 ajar for us. So I called softly to Will Endicott that he 
 should follow; and Mary Vane and I went on, hand in 
 hand, ahead of him. 
 
 When we had come, at length, to the way of parting for 
 her and me, it seemed as though I could let her go no more 
 up to that abode of wicked men, but would fain keep her 
 with me ; yet did I know it were not possible to do this, 
 but that we must wait and bide our time. So we were 
 forced to go our own ways for the night, grieving and yet 
 joyful. 
 
 I saw no other way and, indeed, there was not any 
 than to have Will Endicott go with me to our cabin, and 
 take up his abode with Tom and Elbridge and me, though 
 I saw it were a thing of some menace to us, to harbour 
 a man from the wreck. So I bade Will Endicott follow, 
 and I would give him shelter. 
 
 The time would be, I judged, about four of the morning,
 
 216 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 that is, when we had got to the door of our cabin and had 
 entered therein. And, knowing Will Endicott to be half- 
 frozen, and drenched, and hollow in his stomach, I be 
 stirred myself to get for him a dram of rum ; and I raked 
 over the coals and ashes and got for him also a piece of 
 smoked fish, and hung it where it broiled, with a sweet 
 odour, before the blaze. Moreover, I loaned him Tom 
 Appleton's pipe, and we both sat us down to smoke. 
 
 In a little while, with the blaze, or the sound of our 
 voices, though we spoke softly, or the smell of food, which 
 he was a man ever keen for, good Tom Appleton came 
 awake and espied us. Also, at his exclamation, rose up 
 Elbridge Carver ; and the two sat staring at us and rubbing 
 the witch-dust from their eyes. 
 
 Then Will Endicott, seeing them sitting up stark amazed, 
 with their eyes bulging like fish that be drawn out ashore 
 with hooks, and he being much himself again, with the 
 wanning of good liquor and fire and the comfort of to 
 bacco, did laugh heartily ; which was the ordinary manner 
 of him, he being by nature a merry man, and not bloody- 
 minded. 
 
 " By the Lord ! I am no ghost, nor fish, nor fowl, nor 
 witch-man," cried Will Endicott, and Tom Appleton and 
 Elbridge Carver were on their feet at the full, strong sound 
 of his voice. "I be a man of blood and bone, such as 
 you," continued Will Endicott ; " and come ashore in a 
 wild sea whiles you were sleeping here like good men of 
 clear conscience. And, praise God ! I have drunk your 
 liquor and had the warmth of your fire, when I had thought 
 to have made good feeding for the fish of the sea. Now
 
 Wreckage Cast Up Ashore 217 
 
 here I am, Will Endicott, of London, and ready to thank 
 you for shelter and refuge from cutthroats; which in 
 debtedness I owe first to your good comrade here, and to a 
 slip of a woman whose name I know not." 
 
 Now at this mention of Mary Vane, Tom Appleton and 
 Elbridge did look at me shrewdly, seeing of a sudden that 
 more than one strange thing had come to pass while they 
 had slept ; and they having had, I think, in these latter days, 
 some insight as to my intentions more than I had conveyed 
 to them by word. So I made haste, being not of a mind 
 for further disclosures at present, to acquaint them of 
 Will Endicott and of his coming ashore. 
 
 This being told, Will Endicott got warm welcome; 
 indeed, he and Tom Appleton had much in common, 
 being both men of the old country. 
 
 But both Tom Appleton and Elbridge would have it 
 and were in the right from their way of looking at it 
 that I should have come back for them, that they might 
 see these things and, perchance, have done something 
 toward the saving of life from the wreck. I knew not just 
 what answer to make, unless it were to tell them the very 
 reason why I had not returned for them, which was of the 
 time I had been with Mary Vane. And that was too 
 near my heart to fashion in speech for any man to 
 hear. 
 
 But big Will Endicott laughed again at my embarrass 
 ment, and said I had all the help a man needed at any time ; 
 which was a pair of bright eyes and the soft voice of a 
 pretty woman. 
 
 This threw me into not a little confusion; and I was
 
 218 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 angry, too. For a man in love is jealous of small things 
 that have no meaning of wrong in them ; and, moreover, 
 I had thought to get over this much of the night's adven 
 ture with no more said. And here were Tom and Elb ridge 
 smiling, knowingly, and I thought I should hear Tom 
 Applet on, presently, declare he had been a young man 
 once, himself, and have them all girding at me. 
 
 So I answered perhaps more sharply than there was 
 need of, mindful of the innocence of my Mary, and said 
 I had come upon her by sheer accident, and no prear- 
 rangement; and that we had gone together along the 
 shore of a common errand, to save whom we might. Nor 
 would I listen to aught that should cast aspersion on her 
 in any way (which was not intended by Will Endicott), 
 but I would resent it from friend or stranger. 
 
 So, Will Endicott, seeing this last was meant for him, 
 and he having no malice in him, and realizing, too late, 
 that he had muddled things, sought quickly to make 
 amends by bearing out what I had said, so far as he knew ; 
 and Tom and Elbridge said no more. 
 
 However, in a day or two, I did disclose enough to good 
 Tom Appleton to put him right, and have him see the real 
 situation; which set him whistling hard, realizing, as he 
 did, how this new condition did add to the complications 
 of our plight, and make the problem of our escape harder 
 to solve. 
 
 But, at the present moment, we set about to make Will 
 Endicott at ease and comfortable; though we were at a 
 loss to provide for him suitable garments to displace his 
 torn ones, he being too big for anything of ours to fit him ;
 
 Wreckage Cast Up Ashore 219 
 
 so that for the time being he must needs make his own do 
 as best he could. However, we fed him, which was a 
 thing of no small accomplishment, and he laid him down 
 by the fire and fell asleep from exhaustion ; and one might 
 hrfar him above the clamour of the sea. 
 
 Then, at about nine of the morning, we were for going 
 together down to the shore, Tom and Elbridge and I, to see 
 what had been cast in from the wreck, and what the men 
 of the stockade would be doing ; but we knew not what to 
 do with big Will Endicott. So Tom Appleton would stay 
 and keep him company, and Elbridge and I should go on 
 together and see how the wind blew, as we say of things 
 uncertain. 
 
 We went down together, then, presently, Elbridge and 
 I, and came to the shore of the reach. There were Captain 
 Vane and four men, working to haul out a huge hogshead 
 upon the beach, they having passed the bight of a hawser 
 about it when it was afloat. All about upon the shore, far 
 away along to the rise of the cliffs, was here and there a 
 cask or a rundlet or a bale of stuff, besides some broken 
 pieces of the brig that had drifted around and stranded 
 with the first of the ebb. 
 
 Captain Vane and his men were glad to have us take 
 hold along with them and heave ; and the six of us, with 
 all our strength, fetched the hogshead up from the wash of 
 the tide. 
 
 Then did Captain John Vane lean himself against the 
 chines of it, and gaze out across the waters that came run 
 ning in upon Round House; and the satisfaction in his 
 face was for any man to see. Yet he was pleased to dis-
 
 220 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 semble, as he turned toward us, it being the nature of the 
 man to be cunning. 
 
 " 'Twas a good, brave ship," he said ; " and a stout 
 crew, no doubt ; and a bad thing to fetch in here, miles out 
 of her course. But a compass be no guide to men as have 
 the drink aboard." 
 
 " When came it in? And did any one see it strike? " 
 I asked. 
 
 " Of that you know the same as we," answered Captain 
 Vane and indeed spoke more truly than he knew. 
 " But 'twas twixt dark and daylight; and all alone she 
 were, and never a hand near to help. Aye, and she must 
 have broken up fast ; for when George Watkins had come 
 down at daybreak there was the stuff coming in, and drift 
 ing off and on all about, and never the shape of the hull 
 left anywhere, to show whereof she was." 
 
 " Aye, man," he continued, " and all the quick aboard 
 her gone adrift dead in the sea. God's mercy ! 'Twould 
 be a sharp death, and the tide running over them head and 
 heels now to the end, every man of them." 
 
 And, before God, Captain John Vane spoke as though 
 he was sorry for them. 
 
 " All save one," said I. 
 
 " Save one ! " cried Captain Vane, springing up and 
 putting his hand, by habit, to his belt, " Save one ! " 
 
 " Aye, sir, save one," said I. " He came up through 
 the fog this morn, afore sun-up, to our cabin." 
 
 " And where be he now, man ? " asked Captain Vane, 
 smiling like a gray wolf. 
 
 " He be one of us, sir," I replied, making bold
 
 Wreckage Cast Up Ashore 221 
 
 of it; "and will abide along of us, lacking a better 
 place." 
 
 I did never behold a man so fiercely torn by passion and 
 striving to give no expression to it, as was Captain John 
 Vane ; for the news came upon him sharp, like an arrow 
 from a thicket. 
 
 " Here, you, Will Lewis ! " he cried out ; and the mate's 
 gaunt, tall form rose from the rocks by the shore, away to 
 the mouth of the reach. Presently he came loping up, 
 with his red eyes redder still, and rheumy with the sharp 
 cutting of the spray, and dull, lacking sleep. 
 
 " Mark you what the youth here says, Will," cried Cap 
 tain Vane, " and see if you were true-spoken when you 
 did swear you and George Watkins searched the shore and 
 all about, wide from east to west, this morning, and found 
 no one to save. For here is news of one come safe to land, 
 as this man speaks the truth." 
 
 At this Will Lewis started like a man sore hit; and 
 knew not what to say of it, and stood gaping ; but his eyes 
 blazed like a hound's. 
 
 " And who be this man, captain or seaman, or what, 
 and what says he of the wreck, and of how they left 
 their course? " asked Captain Vane, turning again to 
 me. 
 
 " Why, he be one Will Endicott by name," I answered ; 
 " and a London man, and no sailor. He came, I think, 
 for the passage, though I have not all the facts from him 
 yet. As to the working of the brig, he knows nothing of 
 that, he having been fast asleep in the cabin and thrown out, 
 half-stunned, by the shock of the brig's striking ; and not
 
 222 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 long after, finding himself in the sea and clinging to a 
 piece of the roundhouse." 
 
 " And where came he in? " asked Will Lewis. 
 
 " That he knows not, himself," I answered, " it being all 
 wild shore to him ; but he says 'twas in a sort of rift of the 
 ledge, which I would take to be the deep ravine to the 
 eastward of the great headland." 
 
 I said this which was true only to see what Will 
 Lewis would make of it, knowing he had been sent there 
 by Captain Vane to cut Will Endicott off. He was hard 
 set by it, too, from the looks between him and Captain 
 Vane. But as for the rest that I said, as to Will Endicott 
 being asleep when the brig struck, it was, I fear, wide of 
 the truth though I had not heard the story yet but 
 I would have no more hatred linger against him in the 
 minds of these men that had sought his life than I could 
 help. 
 
 " Well, 'tis one and no more," said Will Lewis to Cap 
 tain Vane. 
 
 " Aye, only one," said Captain Vane, and said something 
 else I did not hear. Then they fell to work once more 
 drawing the floating stuff ashore, there being shortly some 
 seven or eight of the men at it. 
 
 So, having found out the way things were working, and 
 knowing they might have been worse, since the bringing 
 in by the sea of this good store of stuff would divert atten 
 tion for the time from Will Endicott, we went back once 
 more toward our cabin. Then, when we had come near to 
 it, I was pleased to send Elbridge in alone and go on up the 
 little stream, at a brave pace for any man to follow; for
 
 Wreckage Cast Up Ashore 223 
 
 I had the best of reasons to think I should find my Mary 
 there in the bower over-canopied with the wild grape, by 
 the shore of the floss, where I had once surprised her, weep 
 ing, but many and oft, since that, smiling and eager to 
 welcome me. 
 
 Nor was I disappointed ; for she had been there a half- 
 hour already, and vowing, prettily, that it had been four 
 times as long as that, at least. And I had rather Mary 
 Vane should make a pretence of finding fault with me than 
 that any other woman in all the world should try to flatter, 
 I knowing now of a ready way to please her and put a 
 stop to conversation at one and the same time; so there 
 could not be so much as lovers' quarrelling between us. 
 
 She was pale and worn, however, with the terrors and 
 anxiety of the night before, and yearning to see me and to 
 be comforted by some one that loved her as I did. And I 
 would ever be thorough and patient and do my full duty 
 in a matter of this kind, and spare no time, however valu 
 able, to accomplish it. So, by the time I had done my 
 best to put her in a braver humour over our affairs, and 
 we had talked over what it were best for us to do; and 
 how we should wait ; and how and when we should meet ; 
 and a world of other matters now near and dear to us, 
 why, the sun was at the point of noon ; and I wondered all 
 at once what Tom and Elbridge would be thinking, and 
 whether they would fear for me which they were not 
 doing, being shrewd to surmise what I would be about. 
 
 Then, when I had gone on with Mary Vane in the famil 
 iar path, and had parted from her at the stockade, there 
 were Captain Vane and his men coming up from shore;
 
 224 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 and so I got back to my comrades in a hurry, knowing 
 I had been gone long enough. 
 
 That afternoon, as there was still a great drift of stuff 
 all along the reach, and being in need of whatsoever we 
 could save of it, we did all four set out and go down to the 
 shore; and Ezra Bradford and his boy went with us, so 
 we were a strong party, Will Endicott being as good as 
 two or three men. 
 
 In the end, with what Captain Vane's men gathered, 
 and what we, ourselves, saved, there was good picking of 
 food and clothing and liquors ; for, though the sea and 
 rocks ground the greater part of the brig and its cargo 
 fine, yet, by reason of their shape, offering less resistance, 
 and being made very strong, were many of the hogsheads 
 and a greater number of smaller barrels and casks pre 
 served and tossed ashore so we could get them ; and this 
 stuff did accrue to the benefit of us all in common 
 though we four would gladly have gone without our share 
 than to have had it by foul means.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 ELIAS AND I DO BATTLE 
 
 Now, while we were making this replevin on the sea for 
 the goods and chattels cruelly seized by it, we were coming 
 to know Will Endicott better, and liking him the more 
 we knew him. 
 
 By his story, he was of good family, formerly of the west 
 of England, but latterly of London. He had gone over to 
 France on a secret errand ; and thence, by extension of it, 
 to the island of Martinique, in the brig, the Colon, and 
 was bound, in the same vessel, to Quebec. He had had, 
 moreover, a capital of some three hundred pounds in the 
 keeping of the Colon's captain, and this was lost with the 
 brig. 
 
 As for my account to Captain Vane of Will Endicott's 
 conduct on the night of the wreck, it was not wholly at 
 variance with the facts ; since Will Endicott had, indeed, 
 been sound asleep till near the time of the brig's strik 
 ing. But it seems he had been awakened by the noise 
 aboard, and had partially dressed and run out on deck 
 in time to see the fires flaring red through the fog, and to 
 hear the captain and the mates cry, all too late, that they 
 had been tricked and led in to destruction. 
 
 So he was knowing, when tossed in ashore, of the devil- 
 
 225
 
 226 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 try of the thing, and was alert against capture by the 
 wreckers. 
 
 It turned out, however, that I had put the matter most 
 convincingly before Captain Vane and Will Lewis; and 
 so, Will Endicott having escaped them, they could see 
 nothing to their purpose in doing away with him, nor 
 cared, when it was all over, if he knew of their wickedness 
 or not. So it came about that any enmity they had against 
 him, because he had been too clever for them, went gradu 
 ally by default. 
 
 We thought now once more, after a time, of the project 
 of seizing the brig and making off with her; but Vane's 
 men put a sudden stop to this conniving on our part by 
 running her into the northern end of the reach and strip 
 ping her of her sails. So we could but acquiesce with fate, 
 and make ready for the winter, now hard upon us the 
 second and last we should spend upon this island and 
 thank God we were no worse off. 
 
 As for me, the island was no more desolate and a place 
 of dead hopes ; but the very air of it was now sweeter to 
 breathe, and the bright stars overhead were no longer 
 cold and distant, but near above me, and friendly, shining 
 down on Mary Vane and me. 
 
 The winter came in upon us quickly, for there fell a 
 black frost that shut the ground up, so that it softened not 
 again till spring. Now, when the days were short, and the 
 afternoons blended fast into twilight, and we had the long 
 nights before us to pass by candle-light, why, right glad 
 we were to have so good a man as Will Endicott abide 
 with us. For Will Endicott had many ideas, and a knowl-
 
 Elias and I Do Battle 227 
 
 edge of the world, to enliven dull men with; but mostly, 
 having been a man preeminent in feats of strength at his 
 schools, was he fond of games and sports. So he set about 
 evenings to teach us a thing he called " boxing." 
 
 And first, that he might not do us injury in these en 
 counters, he fashioned two uncouth pairs of huge mittens 
 out of some cloth, stuffing them with the soft tips of the 
 spruce boughs, so that when one received a smart rap 
 over the nose with one of these, there was at least the con 
 solation of a pleasing odour about it. 
 
 Now I had done my share of pummelling with other 
 boys about town, but this skill of Will Endicott's was a 
 thing new to me in practice, at least, though most men 
 have some rudiments of it. For big Will Endicott would 
 stand, with one of us for opponent, and invite a blow, 
 which he would beg him to deliver hard and, maybe, full 
 at his face ; and it seemed an unfair thing, and unkind to 
 do, even by invitation. But when, at length, one of us 
 came to deliver the blow, lo ! there was no hitting the 
 man. For up would come one of his great arms and the 
 blow would glance off harmless. 
 
 Now, when he had taught us the trick of this, which be 
 a guarding with the arms as a man guards his head and 
 body at single-stick, then Will Endicott took us a step 
 further. 
 
 This I do relate, not because of its being an accomplish 
 ment acquired by me to be boasted of, but because of 
 the use I put it to, later, as you shall see. It seemed, that 
 but to ward away a blow were not the extent of this clever 
 ness; but both to interpose an arm against the blow and
 
 228 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 assume a ready attitude and posture for returning a 
 counter-blow, at one and the same time. 
 
 Which, not to weary you, this Will Endicott was most 
 artful at ; he being a man of coolness, and very quick, de 
 spite his size ; and he taught us so well a great variety of 
 feints and blows and counter-blows, as well as ways of 
 ducking and shifting the head, and how to keep lightly 
 and yet firmly on the feet and, in short, the whole art 
 of defence and attack that it was at length a great pleas 
 ure to him to take us, one by one, of an evening, and batter 
 us till we had all cried mercy, and he the only one of us 
 to finish fresh and hungry for more. 
 
 So the days went by, and the grip of winter was cold 
 and fixed upon us, and the shroud of snow covering the 
 dead earth. And all this time there had been but love, 
 unbroken, betwixt my Mary and me; for there was, 
 indeed, no foolish petulance about her, but clear, honest 
 good sense and a way of looking at things fairly. Nor was 
 an incident, that I now recall, of any magnitude, to be 
 called a quarrel, but there was to be truthful for a 
 brief hour or two (it seemed longer) a misunderstanding 
 between us, which there would be no call to relate, but 
 that it was a strange and curious thing, and the ending of 
 it was sweet and not bitter. 
 
 It happened one day, when we had wandered into the 
 wood, up the course of the floss, I had sought to know 
 what she might remember of herself in the years gone by. 
 And she, in sooth, had been all her life, for aught she 
 knew, a little island maid among these strange men. For 
 the first she remembered, she was playing about the hill
 
 Elias and I Do Battle 229 
 
 by the stockade; and that was half a score and more 
 years past. 
 
 This Captain John Vane, whom she called uncle, and 
 the other men, had come and gone upon the sea often, 
 and left her there, with the women and a few men on 
 guard; but she had never been away from this island. 
 Yet she was not wanting in some small knowledge of the 
 world, having been taught by the Cuban girl, the wife 
 of Robert Mackay. This woman had, indeed, taught her 
 so she could read and write in both Spanish and our own 
 good English which, please God ! I take to be the best 
 tongue ever spoken. 
 
 Now, when I had told my own story but saying 
 nothing about my adventure with Captain Teach I 
 came to tell of the pirate's paper that I carried with me, 
 and how in its meaning lay the secret of hidden treasure, 
 which, if ever I did chance to find it, would be ours. So 
 to show the mystic writing to Mary Vane, I took off the 
 golden locket that hung by the chain about my neck, 
 and opened it. 
 
 But, at this, as the sweet face looked out upon us, with 
 the eyes that had so moved me from the first, shining clear 
 and steadfast, Mary Vane started back, with wonder and 
 surprise. 
 
 "Why! what be this?" cried she. "You wear an 
 other woman's face near to your heart? Pray, who may 
 she be?" 
 
 Nor was this any way strange, nor for me to take offence 
 at; for, having claim upon me now above all others in 
 the world, she had, indeed, a right to know. Yet, for the
 
 230 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 moment, I did feel a foolish pique, that she who loved me 
 should feel the faintest shadow of doubt, for even one 
 brief moment of surprise. 
 
 " In truth, I do not know, myself," I answered, abruptly. 
 " Nor do I care, nor need you. For 'twas but a pirate's 
 gift, a trinket, along with a fine gold watch and chain, 
 for a service done, away in the great Massachusetts Bay ; 
 and I will one day tell you of it." 
 
 " But will you wear it now ? " asked she ; and there was 
 a quaver in her voice. 
 
 " Indeed, why not ? " asked I. 
 
 " Why, for no reason at all," said she. " Indeed, I 
 care not." 
 
 But she said it sadly, and so was I vexed, in a silly, 
 stupid manner, that she should take it amiss. And I 
 could not find words to tell to Mary Vane how I often 
 saw her own face in this same locket, lest she understand 
 not and think I did but trifle with her. 
 
 So it went that way for the time being; but she cared 
 no more to listen concerning the paper enclosed therein; 
 and there was, for a day, a shadow come into our clear 
 sky. But later, when I had thought more soberly upon the 
 matter, I took her way of seeing it, and so made haste to 
 ask her forgiveness ; and I told her the story of the locket, 
 complete, from beginning to end. Whereat she was only 
 pleased, and not jealous, of my fancy, and sorry she had 
 vexed me, which made me ashamed of my stubbornness. 
 
 Also, when I took the locket off and said I would wear 
 it no more, she put the chain about my neck again with 
 her own hands, and vowed she would be ever grateful to
 
 Elias and I Do Battle 231 
 
 the sweet lady therein, who had brought her better fortune 
 than she had to me ; and so the matter ended, with the 
 chain and its locket and my Mary's arms about 
 my neck. 
 
 But she bade me think no more of the hidden treasure ; 
 and, indeed, I cared nothing for it now, having a treasure 
 close at hand, that naught, even death, should rob me of 
 henceforth. However, I did not cast the paper away, 
 else I might have had to retrace it again from memory, 
 as Ephraim had done. 
 
 This, by my remembrance, was some time in the mid 
 winter, when the day of Christmas had come and gone; 
 which latter day is of no account to be set down to more 
 than mere mention ; since it were a day of small satisfac 
 tion to us. 
 
 Then, when we would be getting down to the dregs of 
 our winter, toward late February, I was more strongly 
 moved than I had ever been to take up my abode at the 
 stockade ; for there came to me Mary Vane, much troubled, 
 to tell me, with hesitancy and reluctance, that she were 
 annoyed and offended, and even in some fear, at the 
 conduct of Elias. 
 
 It seemed he had not dared to ask what I had, being 
 repulsed by her beyond the opportunity; but he would 
 persist in attentions clearly distasteful and unfavoured; 
 and he was, moreover, in high favour with Captain Vane, 
 and growing more so day by day. He had become em 
 boldened toward her by this strong alliance, and Captain 
 Vane had hinted to her what Elias dared not say for 
 himself ; and vowed she were come of an age when it were
 
 232 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 well to marry, and better for her, being cast among 
 so many rough men, to have a husband to protect 
 her. 
 
 This, throwing me into a fever of anger and anxiety, 
 drove me to reckoning what was to be done, with little 
 delay ; and, being alone of an afternoon with Tom Apple- 
 ton, I set the matter before him for advice. He, not being 
 devious in his way of doing things, put it bluntly and 
 sharply; which was what I needed. 
 
 " Philip," cried Tom Appleton to me, after a moment 
 or two of reflection, " if 'twas I, and I wanted the girl, I 
 should go and get her." 
 
 "Aye, but what of Captain Vane?" I asked. 
 
 " Ask him square for her," said he. " Demand her ! 
 Speak up, man. A hand on your knife rather than on 
 your cap. 'Tis the sort he likes." 
 
 Good Tom Appleton was on his feet by this time, and 
 pacing the cabin floor; and, had he wanted Mary Vane 
 for his own, he could not have been more excited. 
 
 " I think you're right," said I and so I went the next 
 day. For I could hold back no longer. 
 
 It was about mid-afternoon, then, of a February day, 
 that I went up the hill to the stockade; and I remember 
 well how the frosty ground crunched under my feet, and 
 how my pulse was throbbing and my brain hot; and it 
 seemed as though dear life or death were in the conclusion 
 of my quest. 
 
 Then, as I came up by the great gate, there strolled 
 lazily out of it Elias, looking sleek and well satisfied with 
 the world, and smoking a long pipe.
 
 Elias and I Do Battle 233 
 
 It was the first I had met him alone face to face since 
 the day he left our cabin; and I minded me of the old 
 days and old companionship, and put out a hand. 
 
 " Hulloa, Elias ! " I said. " You be much of a stranger 
 nowadays ; and my ! but you be broader in the face by 
 many good meals than in the days we sailed to Eastham." 
 
 But I cut myself short ; for Elias took not even his pipe 
 from his mouth, nor thought of giving a hand to meet 
 mine; and he strolled away, leaving me standing fool 
 ishly, and sorry, too, withal. 
 
 However, I lost no heart by this encounter, but rather 
 gained by it ; and I went in quickly through the gate and 
 into the great room where sat Captain Vane, with two of 
 the men by him at a table, the two throwing at dice and he 
 looking on. 
 
 " Sit down, lad ! " cried he, " and see George Rawlins 
 roll up a score against George Watkins, to be paid next 
 voyage; an he do not win, then he is a dog; for I, my 
 self, bet on him." 
 
 " Thank you, and I'll stand, please you," I answered; 
 for I could not sit still, for impatience. " I will beg a 
 word with you when you can spare the time, and it be 
 only for you to hear." 
 
 " What ! a mystery, eh? " cried he. " Well, these be 
 queer times when Jack Vane serves as Father Confessor 
 for youths. Get out, you dicers, and come back later; 
 but mind, I do not bet until I see the dice thrown with 
 my own eyes." 
 
 So the two men went out, grumbling at my interrup 
 tion.
 
 234 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 " Now, what be it, lad ? " asked Captain Vane. " Do 
 you run short of liquor or tobacco down at your monas 
 tery ? Does the big man eat and drink you out ? " 
 
 But I think he did banter me, being shrewd, and having 
 an inkling of what I would say. 
 
 " No, sir," I answered. " 'Tis more than that, and less 
 easy to declare. For 'tis Mary Vane, your niece, Mary, 
 that I do want, and came to ask for and no man can 
 love her more than I and she, herself " 
 
 " Hold hard, lad ! " interrupted Captain Vane, leering 
 coarsely. " There be already one stout youth ahead of 
 you, and I know not how many more to come. What say 
 you, shall I put the girl up at lottery for you all to cast the 
 dice for?" 
 
 " Not while I do live to prevent," I cried, while my 
 cheeks burned hot. " The first to throw shall die, though 
 I be the next to follow." 
 
 " So ! ho ! not so hot-breathed, man," exclaimed 
 Captain Vane, the veins standing out in his neck and upon 
 his forehead. " Pray, who gives you warrant to say what 
 shall be done and not done with my Mary? Is the girl 
 not mine to dispose of? Who gives you leave to speak? " 
 
 " She, herself, sir," said I, boldly; " and that same she 
 has given, and will give, to none other." 
 
 Captain Vane drew in a great breath and whistled it 
 out sharply. 
 
 " The devil ! " said he. " Tis a new face on the matter; 
 for I do grant, the girl may have a word to say about it. 
 But, for all of that, I be for fair play and no favour; and, 
 having as good as given my word to the youth that has
 
 Elias and I Do Battle 235 
 
 but just gone, how shall I give the same to another in the 
 next breath ? " 
 
 He sat, thinking, thrusting his hands into his belt and 
 whistling softly. 
 
 " I have it ! " he cried at last, sitting upright and slap 
 ping the table till the pewter cups on it jingled. And he 
 roared like a man that hath a mirthful inspiration. "I 
 do mind," he said, "how Ed Grace and long Nat Hawtrey 
 fought for a whole hour by the glass as we lay for two days 
 and a night off the Blind Sisters ; and an ugly fight it was, 
 for a little Spanish girl, the like of whom one may have 
 in Havana for the wearing of a new doublet, and a few 
 doubloons, to buy her trinkets. But she had a pretty 
 face. So brave Nat Hawtrey went over the rail in the end, 
 with two knife-cuts in the breast, and an able lad he was, 
 and I had rather lost Ed Grace aye, and Will Cole, 
 too than him. 
 
 " And yet," he added, " I be short-handed now, and 
 could ill spare this young man " 
 
 "Elias?" I interrupted. 
 
 " You speak it right," said he. " No other. And it 
 shall be north- country style, with bare fists, no bones 
 broken nor cutting of throats. What say you, will you 
 fight for her, or will you yield, and save your head for 
 Elias be of bigger body than you and I think will show up 
 well in a quarrel." 
 
 " I will fight," I answered. " Shall I have Tom Ap- 
 pleton up to second me?" 
 
 " That you shall not," replied Captain Vane, " for I will 
 do whatever of that be needed, for you and the other youth,
 
 236 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 too. But Will Lewis shall come in, also, to see fair play ; 
 and, in truth, 'twill please him prettily, since a good fight 
 we have not seen, save one, since the day Will Cole's 
 men went away." 
 
 Thus Captain Vane spake with huge satisfaction, as a 
 man about to sit down to a good dinner. 
 
 " When will you fight? " asked he. 
 
 " In a quarter of an hour," I answered, " and no 
 sooner." 
 
 Now that was because I felt my heart go hard against 
 my ribs ; though not from fear, but because it came over 
 me, as though I were bathed in fire, how much there was 
 at stake for me in this fight. Moreover, there had leaped 
 again into life the spirit of the pirate's paper ; for Captain 
 Vane had named a place, not mythical then, but of stone 
 and soil, a place hunted in vain through so many tiring 
 days and months, the " Blind Sisters." 
 
 The words sung in my brain till I felt myself reel ; and 
 I longed for good Tom Appleton or stout Will Endicott to 
 stand at my back and give me counsel before I began. 
 
 But soon I felt this uncertainty, born of surprise and 
 sudden shock, passing away; and, in its stead, a great 
 eagerness seized upon me for the combat to begin. So 
 that my whole frame quivered and shook with the yearn 
 ing of the blood for action. 
 
 Nor was I kept much longer in suspense ; for the door 
 swung open and there strode in Elias, with rank contempt 
 in his scowl and a sneer for me, as on the day when he 
 laid me on my back at the launching of the Venture. I 
 thought he had that day, too, in mind; for he looked
 
 Elias and I Do Battle 237 
 
 toward me once before we had begun, and said, smiling 
 cruelly: " So, then, you come back for more, do you? 
 Well, I swear it has taken you many years to get your 
 courage ; and we may be better at it quickly, lest it shall 
 leave you ; for, I mistake not, if you be shaking already." 
 
 " It has been too long, I say, indeed," I answered. " I 
 trust you may find me a better man now than then." 
 
 " A better fool ! " cried he, with a sudden burst of pas 
 sion. We said no more. 
 
 Now, as we stood up together, once again, with our 
 jackets and doublets off, we were not so illy matched as 
 in the days long past; for, whereas Elias had grown in 
 bulk and was the heavier, this would be in part from 
 gross feeding and drinking ; and big Will Endicott would 
 have said he were not wholly fit. 
 
 Now I saw here, too, how a thing got by chance and 
 thought lightly of may come to stand a man in stead, 
 when nothing else but that will suffice to bring him to the 
 goal of his desires. So I did feel grateful in heart for those 
 idle buffetings with big Will; and I minded me of his 
 teaching ; and, first of all, not to be too hot-headed in the 
 beginning of an encounter, but to measure an adversary's 
 arm and strength, even as a fencer gauges another's sword 
 and sword-arm ; and, above all, to stand up at the outset 
 like a man that has his battle already won, and no mis 
 giving in his eyes to cheer his foe. 
 
 Then, as we stepped forth to fall to, I saw as in a 
 troubled dream the evil face of Will Lewis, leering horri 
 bly; and, likewise, Captain John Vane grinning like a 
 red fox, and rubbing his' hands, to see so fine a show.
 
 238 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 The next moment, Elias came at me with a fierce rush, 
 and made a sudden feint as though to batter me about the 
 ribs ; but he swung, instead, a blow that would have left me 
 no teeth to hold a pipe with ; he thinking, at the outset, to 
 show me some of his man-o'-war tricks and have me 
 whipped out of hand. 
 
 But this onrush was only a measure that Will Endicott 
 had taught us early not to be afeared of, it being but a 
 show of savageness, to frighten novices, and also be good 
 for a heavy man to employ against a lighter. So it moved 
 me not, only to meet it with quick stepping aside, and yet 
 with a firm footing of the legs, to withstand so much of it 
 as need be, together with the blocking of the arms in the 
 right place, and not according to the pretence of the blow. 
 
 This, I saw, came in a measure of shock to Elias, who 
 had thought to have me by the heels at once ; for he per 
 ceived I had some knowledge of the art and would not 
 fight as a man may shoot with a blunderbuss, at random, 
 and trusting to some one of many chance bullets to find a 
 mark. 
 
 " Aha ! I like that," he cried. " The more skill, the 
 more credit, we used to say." 
 
 But I thought he liked it not. 
 
 Indeed, his temper, which was, at the best, unruly, did 
 get the better of him, so that he came on again in the 
 manner as before, and trusting to his weight to overwhelm 
 me. Then I thought of a saying of Will Endicott's, that 
 a man's skull will stand more sorrow than his heart, and 
 I took two smart blows there, to give Elias the like about 
 the body. Then were we quickly in the thick of fighting,
 
 Elias and I Do Battle 239 
 
 and giving and taking blows so fast there was no reckon 
 ing of them. 
 
 John Vane and Will Lewis were cheering us on, being 
 pleasingly entertained thereat, and having now and then 
 to scramble back out of our way; for we were here and 
 there and all about the room, with faces raw and red, and 
 our shirts hanging torn about us, and we panting like 
 hounds after the fox. But, in all, was I mindful to beat 
 Elias about the body and leave him to find his account in 
 blows that hurt and stung, but took not so much strength 
 from me. 
 
 Presently he stood off for a moment, to get his wind; 
 and I would not force the fighting yet, seeing that I would 
 last the longer, anyway. 
 
 We were at it once again, however, and Elias trying to 
 be more cautious, seeing that the game was not his for the 
 mere asking. But he could no more battle that way than 
 a bull may stand still at a red cloth. Moreover, now that 
 they had seen Elias had met his match, were Will Lewis 
 and Captain Vane in high feather; and they fell presently 
 to taunting Elias and goading him on, though they cared 
 no more which of us should win than which way the wind 
 would blow on the morrow. So, at their jibes, Elias 
 flamed into a great fury and lost some of his caution ; and 
 I did perceive an advantage and brought him to his knees 
 with a blow that sent the breath gasping from his throat. 
 
 For me, now, there was no more uncertainty, but an 
 assurance that I should not be beaten, feeling that all I 
 held dear in life lay in the punishing of him. And al 
 though the two pirate men were yelling, from the sheer
 
 240 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 delight of seeing the bigger man vanquished, and crying 
 out for me to follow up the blow, I would not, but waited 
 for Elias to recover and regain his feet. 
 
 He was blind with rage, when he had waited, and came 
 on again wildly, like a ship with the helmsman gone over 
 board ; and the blows I gave him stung him to madness ; 
 so that, ere the two that watched us could prevent, he had 
 snatched down a great knife that lay in a rack on the wall 
 and struck with that; and the flesh of my shoulder felt 
 as though a hot iron had seared it, and the blood stained 
 the woollen of my shirt. 
 
 But this blow, foul and cowardly, was his last; for, 
 even as it went home and I knew the sting of the white 
 steel, and before Will Lewis and Captain Vane could 
 come between us, I had caught him with a swift upward 
 blow that Will Endicott might have been proud of; and 
 Elias's head went back with the shock of it, and he was 
 lying, white and senseless, on the cabin floor, with Will 
 Lewis throwing water in his face and cursing him for his 
 treachery. 
 
 Then there came to me suddenly, as I stood quivering 
 from the exultation of the ordeal over and the fight won, 
 a sudden subtle realization that there was something gone 
 from me; a sense of something, long familiar, missing. 
 The next moment, it came to me that the chain hung about 
 my neck by Mary Vane had been torn away, and I felt its 
 touch no longer. So I stooped and looked about me, to 
 see where it might have fallen on the floor. 
 
 But at this, I beheld a strange thing, that blotted out 
 all in an instant the thought of the fight, or of my wound
 
 Ellas and I Do Battle 241 
 
 which was but a superficial cut and soon to be healed 
 and of aught else. For there sat Captain Vane, with his 
 eyes fixed on the table, staring stupidly, and glaring like 
 a man whose brains have been witch-eaten, as we say, in his 
 sleep. 
 
 There, before him, as I looked, I saw the locket, opened, 
 and the paper it had contained spread out before him. 
 
 " Ah ! you have it," I cried, joyfully, and sprang to the 
 table beside him. 
 
 " Have it ! " he shouted, hoarsely. " What deviltry is 
 this? How came you, lad, by these? Here! Here!" 
 And he held up the locket, with fingers that trembled. 
 
 " Do you know who that is? " he cried. " That face? 
 Why, I have seen that before. How came it here ? Man ! 
 It is the girl's mother she died at sea 
 
 " And that and that ! " He reeled back in his 
 chair like a man in a fit. " That," he cried, again, chok 
 ing, and pointing, sore bewildered, at the paper, " 'tis 
 Jack Brandt's own fist. Why, there's his mark at the fin 
 ish. By God ! I've seen him make it aboard the ship. 
 What deviltry be this ? Curse the man ! Isn't he dead ? 
 Isn't he dead ? Didn't they hang him years ago in Boston ? 
 Will he be alive again ? "
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 DAN - O' - THE - SHIP'S STORY 
 
 I WOULD not venture to say which of us was the more 
 taken aback by this disclosure, Captain Vane or I; he, 
 at the sight of the paper, in chief ; and I, to hear that this 
 sweet face which I had worn so long in the locket about 
 my neck was none other than the own mother of Mary 
 Vane which I could scarce credit, and yet, in the same 
 mind, knew must be true ; and was an accounting for the 
 strange transformation of the face, in my fancy, into that 
 of my Mary. 
 
 So I thought me, too, how tender and gentle an ending 
 this would prove to our misunderstanding over the locket ; 
 and I was longing to find my Mary and tell her of the dis 
 covery; and, again, was I burning to hear more from 
 Captain Vane, and how it came about that he should 
 know concerning a trinket that the pirate, Teach, had 
 given to me. 
 
 But it was not suffered me to choose concerning what I 
 should do, whether to go or stay; for now, as the early 
 dusk was coming on, there was I, perforce, seated beside 
 Captain Vane; and Elias dragged away by the two that 
 had come back to resume their gaming. There, also, was 
 the Cuban coming in with two great dips alight and setting 
 them down on the table before us; and Captain Vane 
 
 242
 
 Dan-o'-the-Ship's Story 243 
 
 gripping me hard, as though he feared I should get away ; 
 and Will Lewis, blinking, with red eyes, to discover what 
 it all meant. 
 
 " Is he dead the man who wrote that ? " asked Cap 
 tain Vane once more, calmer, but with a clutch still upon 
 my arm. 
 
 "He is dead," I answered; "dead these fourteen 
 years." 
 
 " How do you know that? " demanded Captain Vane, 
 eagerly. 
 
 " Because I saw him die," said I. 
 
 " Stand by ! Will Lewis," cried Captain Vane, spring 
 ing from his seat and clapping the other on the shoulder. 
 "D'ye mind the figure there, Will ? Have ye seen it made 
 before?" 
 
 " Aye; 'tis the long fluke and the short fluke," said the 
 other. " I knew but one man that did the like, and he 
 climbed the tree with the dead limbs." 
 
 " Right and sure, Will ! " bellowed Captain Vane. 
 " 'Twas Dandy Jack Brandt ; and why he would draw the 
 anchor like that, with one fluke long and one short, was 
 what I could never understand. But he never did the 
 thing different; and 'twas as good as a governor's seal. 
 But he came to the withered tree, did Dandy Jack. Did 
 he die white, or like a man, lad?" 
 
 " He went up straight and scornful to the gallows," 
 I answered ; " but I know no more than that, for I shut 
 my eyes when the time came and he left a curse for 
 Dan-o'-the-Ship." 
 
 " What's that !" cried Captain Vane, leaping up like a
 
 244 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 man stung, and his eyes glaring and I was sorry I had 
 said the thing ; but the words came out before I thought. 
 " Not a dying man's curse ? " cried Captain Vane, queru 
 lously. " Don't say you heard it, man, and he on the 
 gallows." 
 
 And this, I record, be the first and only time I ever saw 
 the look of fright in the eyes of Captain Vane. 
 
 " I heard him speak no word on the gallows," I an 
 swered ; and I was glad I could say it. " 'Twas hi the 
 prison, when he gave the paper to me ; and he did think 
 you might know how to read it right, though it would 
 puzzle even you ; and then, of a sudden, he fell to cursing 
 you, ' Dan Baldrick,' ' Black Dan,' ' Dan-o'-the-Ship,' 
 all three he called you, and swore he would put a curse on 
 you when he died." 
 
 " But you heard him say it not when the time came," 
 interrupted Captain Vane and his voice was almost 
 whining. " The dog ! " he burst out, all in a flame of 
 fury. " They choked the words out of him, or you'd have 
 heard them. No man can put the curse on me. You 
 can't. Say, can you?" And the sweat was dropping 
 from the man's face as he glared into mine. 
 
 " For certain, I cannot," I replied. 
 
 " Then let me hear no more of that ! " cried he. 
 
 With which he fell to studying the paper. 
 
 " Do you make it out ? " I asked, after a time. 
 
 " I do and I don't," he replied. " There's a running 
 rhyme here that I get a little drift of, but only as you or 
 any other man may ; for 'tis clear we shall find somewhere 
 a skeleton, set up as a mark to lay a course from ; and I
 
 Dan-o'-the-Ship's Story 245 
 
 do know naught of the real inwardness of it, having never 
 heard the like to this day. 
 
 " But, as for the other course, we shall lay that like 
 walking from the reach to the rocks; and, without a 
 figure, I say it will take us off the Carolinas. I do have 
 in mind the very island, for we were there twice in the 
 year that Jack Brandt went forward and I aft; and 
 I do know the way there, like a fish-hawk knows its 
 tree. 
 
 " But what's in it, at the end? " he asked. " Did he 
 speak of gold or silver, or treasure, hid away, or more 
 concerning where it may be found, than this seaman's 
 singsong? " 
 
 "I'll tell you the whole of it," I replied; and so I 
 recounted all I knew of the man that had died as John, 
 or Peter, Roach, on the gallows by the shore of the Charles ; 
 and what he had said to me ; and how he had acted. For 
 it was a thing stamped on my brain for the whole of my 
 life. 
 
 From that, I went on to the day and night I had passed 
 with Teach aboard his vessel, and to tell how I had come 
 by the locket. 
 
 Nor were ever spoken words more of meat and drink to 
 any men than these of mine to Will Lewis and Captain 
 John Vane ; and I minded that once Will Lewis exclaimed 
 to the other, " And Scudamore went up, too, along of 
 Dandy Jack ! " And they seemed to get much satisfaction 
 from that. 
 
 When I had finished, Captain Vane and Will Lewis had 
 brandy fetched in, to think on; and by this token, they
 
 246 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 thought deeply; and Captain Vane was moved as I had 
 never seen him. 
 
 " 'Tis treasure, lad, and worth the getting," he said, 
 at length. " And 'tis yours by gift, and ours by showing 
 the way; and so we share." 
 
 But I was for other things, for the moment. 
 
 " Will you tell me of the locket ? " I asked. 
 
 " Why, that I be coming to," replied he; " and more, 
 for your sake, lad ; " and he smiled on me grimly. " It 
 were a game fight you made against the hulking fellow, 
 and did please me well. So you shall have the girl, and 
 that, with a clean bill ; for she comes no more of pirates 
 than does the wood-pigeon from the nest of fish-hawks; 
 and she bears my name but by adoption. 
 
 " Moreover, you and the other three shall join with us 
 here, after all, and need not be squeamish thereat ; since 
 we shall go not to take any ship, but to find this treasure 
 which is ours for the taking. Nor do I think we, ourselves, 
 shall go again, since there be more danger now in seizing 
 a cargo of fish than there was once in taking a fleet." 
 
 Now the man spoke nearer to the truth than he knew, 
 unmindful that even the great Teach swept the seas no 
 more, but had a score and more of bullet-holes through his 
 huge body in a bloody fight off Carolina, and would never 
 again do blasphemy in the face of God's tempest. 
 
 " Listen," said Captain Vane to me. " There were 
 honest Will Lewis here, and Will Cole and Ed Grace and 
 Nat Hawtrey and Jack Harwood and I good and de 
 cent lads shipped aboard the sloop, Walrus, a big mer 
 chantman, out of Portland, England, in the fall of 1700.
 
 -/ 
 
 Dan-o'-the-Ship's Story 247 
 
 We were all of Dorset, and went down together to find a 
 berth. 
 
 " Well, we were bound a long voyage to Ceylon ; and, 
 by the time we had got to the Cape of Good Hope, we 
 were, we thought, better friends than before ; and we swore 
 to ship together again when the voyage should be over. 
 However, the voyage was over before we had thought; 
 for, when we had run up the coast of Africa a ways, a great 
 brigantine laid us aboard between Madagascar and the 
 mainland. 
 
 " Now, there was little fighting done on our side, and 
 the most of that, it turned out, was by us five ; for we got 
 into the carpenter's galley and stood them off for a half a 
 glass, with muskets and pistols; but then, when we saw 
 they had the sloop, there was no more for us to do than 
 give up ; and every man of us looking up to the yard-arm 
 to see where we should swing. 
 
 " But it seems, the captain of the brigantine was wanting 
 men ; and when it came to a choice, why he said the first 
 five he took would be the men that had fought and not 
 run. So he took us five, and as many more, out of the 
 Walrus; and several thousand pounds sterling in gold, 
 and let the sloop go. 
 
 " This pirate," Captain Vane went on, " was Jack 
 Brandt, 'Dandy Jack,' we called him, for he was such a 
 vain man on sea or land as I never saw. His eyes went 
 through a man like a flash of steel ; and he was taller than 
 any of us, and no admiral ever looked gaudier. 
 
 " I mind me to this day how he wore a scarlet coat, with 
 pearl buttons, a blue satin doublet with flowers woven
 
 248 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 into it, and yellow breeches, and boots worked with silver ; 
 and he had a chain of gems and gold links about his neck, 
 like an island girl. 
 
 " But of all, this were the strangest, that the man had a 
 fancy for dainties like a woman ; and he gorged himself 
 with barley sweets. Yet he liked his tobacco, too, and took 
 his snuff from a gold box. 
 
 " Well, here we were, aboard the brigantine. She was 
 named the Argyle, being a vessel seized and the name 
 never altered ; and here we had'to stay. So we got to be, 
 in time, as good men as any aboard; and one day Jack 
 Brandt calls me aft and he makes me a mate, which set 
 Will Cole against me, he being by nature envious. 
 
 " Now it was that very week that, getting the third 
 mate's berth, and we taking a trader with good cargo and 
 money, why, I saw it was all over for me, and that I should 
 never go ashore again with only a dog's wages and hunt 
 ing a shark to ship me; for here was a share of prize- 
 money and stuff bigger than I had earned in all my life ; 
 and the men calling me ' mate ' and ' sir/ and looking up 
 to me. 
 
 " And that week, clever Nat Hawtrey put the ship on 
 me, and he the best needle-man I ever saw. He was a 
 week and more at it ; and I was prouder of it than the new 
 doublet and the bright pistols I wore ; and so, the second 
 mate being 'Dan' too, Adkins, his name was, why, I 
 was ' Dan-o'-the-Ship ' by the picture Nat Hawtrey worked 
 on me, from the day it was done, and Jack Brandt giving 
 me the name himself. 
 
 " Well, we laid in ashore on Madagascar for a month and
 
 Dan-o'-the-Ship's Story 249 
 
 then put out again and headed toward Ceylon; but ran 
 up around the Laccadive Islands on our way. There, one 
 day, we spies a ship that Brandt makes out to be a big 
 India trader; and got up to look like one, she sure was. 
 So we cracked on sail and after her. 
 
 " She had a big press of sail and must have run away 
 from us in no time, had she gone off before the wind ; but 
 no, the big fellow kept tacks down and, all of a sudden, like 
 as though from a shift of the wind, or by bad steering, we 
 see her taken aback, and up we run to lay her aboard. 
 
 " But just as we get near, she brings to, hauls up her 
 lower gun-ports and gives it to us so hot that we lose a 
 dozen good men all in a bunch; and down flops one of 
 the yards; while the big fellow runs up the king's cloth, 
 and we see she's nothing but a man -o'- war in disguise. 
 Then, just in the midst of it, when the men are for laying 
 alongside and boarding the other, Captain Brandt takes 
 a notion there's nothing in it for us but glory, and little of 
 that, and turns and runs for it. 
 
 " That was the beginning of the end for Dandy Jack; 
 for, you see, the men don't take to a man as makes mis 
 takes. So they were clean put out and sulky, and Captain 
 Brandt, having had his first real taste of bad luck, didn't 
 handle them right, but made matters worse by being 
 harsh. Likewise, he put me forward again, for taking the 
 part of four poor fellows he ironed. 
 
 " But he thought a change of air was good to try, and 
 so we ran clear across to the West Indies; went down 
 through the Bahamas, past the foot of Cuba, and around 
 to the Isle of Pines.
 
 250 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 " Now it was, as I remember, along the summer of 1703, 
 and we had careened the brigantine, tallowed her, and 
 made her clean for a cruise, and were in fine shape. We 
 went up through the Windward Passage, passed Cape 
 Maze, and were near the lower Bahamas, not far from the 
 Hole-on-the-Rock, when we fell in with a London mer 
 chantman, the Sir Charles, raked her with shot, grappled 
 and boarded her. 
 
 " She was the richest prize we had yet taken, being 
 loaded with a costly cargo of merchandise, bound north, 
 to Charleston. She had, too, a matter of some ten thou 
 sand pounds sterling and a great quantity of plate. 
 
 " Now this was well enough ; but Captain Jack Brandt 
 must needs have the vessel, for she was new and hand 
 some. So we ran her in to Little Harbour, put out the 
 boats and set her captain and officers and crew and eight 
 passengers ashore; and Captain Brandt gave orders to 
 have everything we needed stowed from the old ship into 
 the new, and burn the old one. 
 
 " When we had done this and stood out to sea in a 
 hurry, getting word of a king's ship off Salvador, Captain 
 Jack was all in a towering fury, finding one, or, rather, 
 two, passengers left aboard; and those two, beyond all 
 reckoning, a woman and her child. It was all of the mate's 
 being soft-hearted which, the same, be true, and yet 
 I have seen him run a man through like a robin on a spit, 
 and sing a song when the fighting was done. But this 
 woman was, for certain, a fine lady, and lying ill in the best" 
 cabin, scarce able to speak, and she was too ill to be 
 moved ; and the fool let her and the child alone.
 
 Dan-o'-the-Ship's Story 251 
 
 " Now Dandy Jack Brandt would have no woman and 
 her brat lying there aft; and would have had the two 
 pitched overboard if he hadn't feared it would bring bad 
 luck and the men revolt. So he ordered a bunk fitted up 
 in the spare sail-room, off the carpenter's galley, and there 
 we stowed the woman and the child. She was a little 
 thing, about three, I guess. 
 
 " Curious you may think and so it were but the 
 men were sorry for the woman ; and I've seen more than 
 one, when he thought no one was watching, go and take 
 a peep at her and the baby. 
 
 " However, the mother put an end to all fighting about 
 her, in another week, by up and dying ; and when we had 
 put her overboard, why, the captain declared the first land 
 we sighted the child should go, too, if he had to give her 
 away to niggers. 
 
 " And this, though you may hardly believe it, made the 
 men mad ; for, sure enough, they had made a pet of her. 
 She was right saucy, too, and would sit on Will Lewis's 
 knee and he were not the prettiest man aboard, either 
 and make him growl a tune for her ; and, above all, 
 she took to me ; and the men wanted to keep her aboard 
 for good luck. 
 
 " Now, how it came about, how do I know ? How 
 does Will Lewis know? How did honest Nat Hawtrey 
 know? Being as it was a surprise to us all, when, one 
 fine day, up came the men, all hands, the first and second 
 mate's watches, and every man carrying his cutlass. This 
 was over by the Florida straits, for we had settled on going 
 south, to Honduras.
 
 252 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 " Up the men swarmed, and Dandy Jack and his mates 
 standing white on the quarter-deck, knowing well what it 
 meant. Then the men called out my name, good and 
 loud, and I struck stiff with surprise, being innocent of 
 connivance. Well, when I step forth, why, out comes 
 long Nat Hawtrey from among them, and in his right 
 hand he has a sword as fine as Dandy Jack's, which he 
 passes over to me by the blade ; and is the way a new cap 
 tain be chosen by the men when they have had enough of 
 another man but which, I swear, no man or men could 
 do to Edward Teach, to set him down." 
 
 From which I inferred, whether right or wrong, I know 
 not, that John Vane had undermined Jack Brandt, but 
 had more than met his match in Edward Teach. 
 
 " The long and short of it," he continued, " was that I 
 was in the cabin and Jack Brandt out of it ; and I made 
 honest Will Lewis here first mate, and honest Nat second, 
 and Will Cole third; and the last, I got no good-will 
 by, because I had not named him before the other 
 two." 
 
 Now what I have set down thus far, as briefly as I may, 
 was far longer in the telling by Captain Vane. So, when 
 night had shut down, there was, all at once, a knocking 
 at the door ; and there were Tom Appleton and Elbridge 
 Carver come to see what had befallen me, and Will Endi- 
 cott just beyond the stockade to aid them, if need be. So 
 out I must go to them, to show them no harm was come 
 to me, and whisper something softly for Tom Appleton 
 to be cheerful at and to tell the others later ; and he gave 
 me a warm grip of the hand for it, and then they went
 
 Dan-o'-the-Ship's Story 253 
 
 away again without me, for I was eager to be back and 
 hear the end of Captain Vane's story. 
 
 " Will they be glad you whipped the big one ? " chuckled 
 Captain Vane, as I was seated once more. 
 
 " That they are," I answered. 
 
 " 'Twas well fought," growled Will Lewis; " but I had 
 rather it were with handspikes." 
 
 "No, no, Will!" exclaimed the other. "We shall 
 have need yet, of that big fellow. Mind how short-handed 
 we be." To which he added : " Do you mind, Will, how 
 Dandy Jack left us at Honduras ? " 
 
 " I mind he climbed the tree and had to be helped 
 down." 
 
 " Ho, ho ! " roared Captain Vane, smiting the table 
 lustily. " He had to be lugged down, did Dandy Jack, 
 like a landsman from the top, gone giddy; and the tide 
 flowing under his feet. 'Twas a tall gallows, I swear, to 
 let the sea come and go free and his heels clear of it. 
 
 " Better for him to have stayed along of us and taken 
 what came to him, and plenty of good liquor, if 'twas to 
 be drunk in the forecastle and not in the cabin. But he 
 quit us sudden at Honduras; slipped away with Will 
 Cole, Scudamore, and Ed Grace and a dozen others, hi a 
 little turtle-sloop we had taken. So we heard, later, he 
 had shipped along of Quelch, whom I did see once in 
 Madagascar. 
 
 " Well, it was early that same spring of the year 1704 
 that we went up along the coast, off the Carolinas, got 
 into trouble, were chased north, and came to grief again 
 off the Massachusetts coast, by falling in with several
 
 254 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 ships bound toward Quebec. We were nearly taken in 
 by them, and only cleared by running into hiding in the 
 great Penobscot Bay; and then we hit upon this place 
 by following along the coast. 
 
 " So, the times being hot just then, we laid by snug here 
 for a whole winter, being well provisioned ; and, when the 
 spring came and we went south, why, we left the girl and 
 the Cuban women here, and a few to guard them; and 
 here we have been off and on, to this day, ever since." 
 
 " And the locket? " I asked again. 
 
 " I be coming to that," said Captain Vane. " Light 
 the pipe and sit easy, man. Will ye be on nettles now, and 
 waiting patiently all these years ? " And Captain Jack 
 Vane put a coal to his own pipe and smoked for a moment, 
 before he went on. 
 
 " Why, 'twere a good ten years," he said, at length, 
 " before I ever set eyes on big Teach. It would be the 
 year 1714, the best I can reckon and the month I know 
 well. We had run up out of the Bay of Campeche, having 
 lain ashore in Honduras through October. We were in 
 luck soon ; for there was a great sand shoal that lay be 
 tween the Isle of Pines and Grand Camaynos to the south 
 east, and there, light aground, about midway, was a big 
 galleon from Carthagena bound in for Havana. 
 
 " She was full of doubloons and pieces of eight and 
 Teneriffe wine, and all ours for the asking. That night we 
 lay close by. In the morning there hove up two fine ships, 
 coming from Jamaica, and we up to our elbows in Spanish 
 money. By noon we had a shot go through our rigging 
 and we cleared for action. But, just then, up goes the
 
 Dan-o'-the-Ship's Story 255 
 
 scarlet flag on the big ship of the two, with a white death's- 
 head ; and up goes ours at the same moment, and that was 
 the end of the fight, before it had begun. 
 
 "Sure enough, that were Edward Teach; and who 
 aboard, but Will Cole and Ed Grace, and Will Cole third 
 mate, and Teach coming to like him more and more, and 
 would one day give him the first mate's berth; and Ed 
 Grace likely to be a mate in time. 
 
 " Now Captain Teach would do no wrong when he was 
 sober to men that would help him fight a king's ship ; so 
 he was fair and civil to us, and we to him, knowing the 
 great reputation of the man and what a devil he were at 
 fighting. He would have us go along with him, he having 
 word of two great seventy-fours come out of the old har 
 bour of Port Royal, looking for such as we. We were well 
 enough suited to join him, too, for the while ; so we three 
 vessels made a pretty squadron of it. He was for lying off 
 the south shore of Hispaniola, having an eye to the two 
 great lines of passage where a ship thereabouts might 
 watch for prizes. 
 
 " We joined with him, as I say, and were not badly re 
 paid for it, until, off the Crooked Isle, one day we went 
 aground in the fog. That was the end of our ship, and all 
 of us bound to berth with Teach, or go hang. 
 
 " Now this Teach be a captain for any man to be proud 
 to ship with," continued Captain Vane. (It was a signifi 
 cant thing to me to note the wholesome respect Vane had 
 for the man.) " And so, when his first mate went aboard 
 the prize as master, and he would put me in as third mate, 
 I would not hang back, though there was Will Cole just
 
 256 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 above me, as second mate, and loving me like a dogfish 
 loves a whale. 
 
 " Well, as for the locket, it be quickly told, and yet it 
 was a strange chance, too ; for we had come out from the 
 Isle of Providence, and run up past the Booby Rocks, 
 and were just to the north of the big island off against 
 Providence toward the open sea, when we picked up a fine 
 merchantman bound in to strike the current sweeping 
 up the Florida Gulf, for the Carolinas; and she was 
 ready for us and stood us off for two hours. 
 
 " When we boarded and took her she was sinking and 
 many went down with her ; but we took some aboard and 
 picked some up adrift. And we got little enough for our 
 pains, since she went under fast. There was only a few 
 thousand pounds in the captain's cabin, and some prize- 
 money from passengers. 
 
 " Here, among these, was the man with your locket, and 
 were his name Jameson or James, or something different 
 from that and yet not much unlike it, I could not swear at 
 this day. He was come out from London to look for a 
 wife and child ; and how many trips he had made before 
 to the same purpose is no matter; but this was not the 
 first. He was a big man, but wasted from sickness. 
 
 " While we were running up to Bahama, to set these 
 people ashore, he had a way of tottering about the ship 
 and showing a locket with a painted face in it, and asking 
 this one and that if they'd ever seen or heard of the woman. 
 Ed Grace had seen the woman married to a nigger king 
 of one of the outer islands ; and long Nat Hawtrey swore 
 she was his own wife that he had left ashore in Providence ;
 
 Dan-o'-the-Ship's Story 257 
 
 and Jack Harwood had seen her selling fish in Port Royal. 
 So the poor devil of an Englishman was clear sick with 
 their cussedness. 
 
 " I had paid no heed to the thing, but to cut Jack Har 
 wood over the head with a rope for nagging the man, 
 when he pulled the thing on me one day and sure enough, 
 took my breath away. There was the woman whose girl 
 I had ashore, and me bringing her up along of Mackay's 
 Cuban woman. The man saw me clean taken aback, and 
 what does he do but give a shriek that went into me like a 
 knife, and drop dead in his tracks, at my feet. 
 
 " So there's what I know of the locket; for I took it, 
 and the gold watch and chain, for the girl; but Teach 
 wouldn't have that, but it must go into the pile with the 
 rest of the stuff; and hi the lotting it fell to him. Now 
 strange, I say, that it should turn up here again. 
 
 " 'Twas the next winter that we got into trouble, the 
 whiter of 1715, I make it, and all along of Will Cole. 
 But, before that, Long Nat had got it from Ed Grace, off 
 Carolina, over a girl they picked up to the southward; 
 and we had men aboard better to be spared, and no one 
 left to do the marking of the men like he could. 
 
 " This winter, near to the new year of 1716, we were 
 working up along the north shore of Cuba in the Straits 
 of Bahama ; and we took a good sloop and ran her up the 
 strait to the Bay of Cadiz. There was Teach in his big 
 ship; and the mate and Will Cole and I and a crew 
 aboard a brig we had seized, but were ready to quit for a 
 better craft when it should come along ; and so we had all 
 sailed in to the bay to see about refitting.
 
 258 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 " 'Twas just before this, some time after Long Nat was 
 put over, that I saw how the wind was blowing betwixt 
 Teach and me ; for, sure enough, Will Cole had got me at 
 last, and there was Teach smelling me out as looking for 
 his own ship, which I had no mind to, being well pleased 
 where I was. 
 
 " We got in under the lee, and Teach stripped his own 
 ship down for repairs, and took out our guns and put them 
 aboard the prize. Then, the new sloop being about ready 
 and fit, away go Ed Grace and Will Cole aboard Teach's 
 own ship ; and Teach gives out that I am to get the brig 
 to command, with a crew of my own choosing. By which, 
 it was clear to him every man inclined toward me would 
 be drawn out of his own crew and got aboard the 
 brig. 
 
 " Which was just what happened, only Jack Harwood 
 wouldn't come, and that I took to be queer and it set me 
 to thinking. Now who it was Will Lewis and I got the 
 truth out of, is no matter ; but we got it. Teach's game, 
 which Will Cole put him up to, was to tram the guns of 
 the ship on the brig the next night and send her to bottom, 
 with all of us, like dogs in a sack. 
 
 " So, come dark next night, a dozen of us and no 
 more to be trusted for certain put away from the brig, 
 slipped alongside the sloop and boarded her. We took her 
 as quiet as mice, there being but few of Teach's men 
 aboard and mostly asleep. Then we weighed anchor, 
 ready to sail. 
 
 " We hadn't long to wait, either, for by the time of a 
 single glass the whole bay shook, something fearful ; and
 
 Dan-o'-the-Ship's Story 259 
 
 the next moment there came the crash as the side of the 
 brig was torn out ; and the poor devils screaming as they 
 went to bottom. Teach emptied every gun into the old 
 brig. So, then, we clapped on what sail we could and 
 stood out by him; and he cursing and foaming at the 
 mouth like a man with a spell on him, seeing as his ship 
 was stripped down and he had to let us go. 
 
 " Well, he picked a few poor devils up ; but six of these 
 he wasn't sure of, so I learned afterward, and he hanged 
 them from water-butts. 
 
 " We came north here on the run ; and I was no more 
 Dan Baldrick, but John Vane. And hang me if I ever 
 stretched out a yarn to so many words since the day I first 
 drew breath. What say, Will Lewis, didst ever hear Dan 
 Baldrick talk like this before, on sea or ashore ? " 
 
 " Not without more drink," replied Will Lewis. 
 
 Now, as Captain Vane, or Dan Baldrick, ended, and 
 would say no more, lo ! it was well into the time of morn 
 ing and the dips were sputtering low, and the darkness, 
 without, thinning; and I arose to go, then stayed me for 
 a minute. 
 
 " Tell me," I asked, " where do lie the rocks, or points, 
 or islands, of the Blind Sisters and the Four Seals? " 
 
 " Why, as for the first," he answered, " 'tis a split rock 
 in a great bay that makes up into Virginia, the Chesa 
 peake; and the others be small islands that lie between 
 Virginia and Carolina." 
 
 " Hundreds of miles from our Massachusetts Bay ! " 
 I exclaimed. 
 
 " Why, yes, of course," said he.
 
 260 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 So I stumbled home to our cabin, heavy-headed, think 
 ing of Ephraim and his mad wanderings after little rocks 
 in the sea hundreds of miles away ; and wondering what 
 he would think, to know what I knew now.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 WE SAIL SOUTHWARD 
 
 WHEN I was awake, some time the next forenoon, I was 
 sore and aching about the body, and muddle-brained. 
 Accordingly, I was fain to take up with big Will Endicott's 
 suggestion to go down with him to the shore of the reach 
 and take a dip in the sea. For this were a day as though 
 almost of early summer, intercalated into the promise of 
 the spring; and when we had come down to the shore, 
 there were many little threads of water trickling over the 
 ledges, so that already was the thin veneer of ice worn 
 away from the surface of them in countless places. 
 
 We plunged in from a shelf of ledge and climbed out, 
 tingling, and dressed, and ran all the way up-hill to the 
 cabin. From this, having eaten, I had again some meas 
 ure of sense in me, and so could sit and give an account 
 of myself. 
 
 Then right proud was Will Endicott of his good pupil, 
 that had done him and his instruction credit. 
 
 Vastly elated was honest Elbridge Carver, to hear of 
 Elias beaten and humbled. 
 
 Proud was I, to have accomplished it. 
 
 Glad was good Tom Applet on, to have me back safe 
 and unhurt, save the small wound ; but, of all of us, was 
 he the least rejoiced, and for the most part disturbed, at 
 
 261
 
 262 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 the strange and unexpected turn of affairs over the pirate's 
 paper. 
 
 " Now what a fool's quest will that be ! " he cried, im 
 patiently. " Pray, what be there in that blind scrawl and 
 the sailor's doggerel along with it, to lead a man across 
 miles of ocean to a bag of gold? Will you go by guess 
 work, like poor, half-crazed Ephraim? Will you let a 
 rogue that went up to the gallows, half a score and more 
 years gone by, set you by the ears to hunting rainbows ? " 
 
 " But do you mind, Tom Appleton," I answered, sooth 
 ingly, and not to be angered by him, " that rainbows be 
 not such bad things, and all deceptive ? For did we not 
 find this island and shelter from the sea, and and 
 more, at the end of a rainbow ? Besides, we have now the 
 man who knows the very island and can sail there to 
 morrow, without map or paper to run by." 
 
 " And did he see the treasure buried, too ? " inquired 
 Tom Appleton. 
 
 " Why, suppose he did not ? " I returned. 
 
 " Will you walk up to it direct, by that rhyme? " cried 
 Tom Appleton, almost angrily. " Will you be taking a 
 witch- rod along or, mayhap, the dead man's rib will 
 do, an it turn out you find one. Does he lie under sand or 
 sea ? Pray, will you dig, think you, like Ephraim on Cape 
 Ann, or will you ' weigh the anchor and yeave ho ' what 
 ever that may signify, and drag the waters for rusty 
 money ? " 
 
 Now I was beset by the thing, seeing it had hung about 
 me, in a Tantalus way, for so many years ; and I would be 
 no more moved by Tom Appleton's scoffing than by the
 
 We Sail Southward 263 
 
 buzzing of a bee ; but yet was I grieved and sorry to have 
 him fall out with me, liking him so well ; and I went and 
 put a hand on his shoulder and spoke gently in reply. 
 
 " Yes, good friend," said I, " I be going for the treas 
 ure, for I have a strange feeling come over me such as 
 never before, and like a man that has suddenly found his 
 faith out of all uncertainties, that we shall find the stuff. 
 And you will go along, too, will you not, and share in it ? " 
 
 Tom Appleton shook his head sadly, but answered as 
 I would have him. 
 
 "I suppose I shall," said he; and added, smiling 
 grimly, " for I'm thinking you'll need a friend to stand 
 by and comfort you, when the chase be over, and gold 
 sticking to no man's hand." 
 
 " God bless you ! " I cried, and threw an arm about him. 
 
 " And Mary Vane," said he, slyly, " will she go, too, 
 or wait here till you come again?" 
 
 Now this was like a knife through the heart ; for, as I 
 say, my brains were heavy and dull with all I had been 
 through, so that the thought of this separation which 
 had been hovering about me all the while, but somehow 
 swept aside with the rush of triumph and the sudden hope 
 of riches now came in upon me sharply. 
 
 However, Tom Appleton said no more, seeing I was 
 hit, but left me to my own reflections ; and so, before long, 
 I was turned from cold to hot again, and knew how to 
 sympathize with Ephraim as I had not before. 
 
 Then the thought of the locket came to me, till I burned 
 with the glow of it ; and I strode away over the hill to the 
 stockade, to carry it and my story to Mary Vane.
 
 264 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 It were well for me that I had this certain treasure, not 
 visionary nor remote, ready in my hand when she and I 
 were alone together, in the room just off from that where 
 I had fought and won the afternoon before; else had I 
 known scarce how to begin, feeling no longer for the mo 
 ment any courage and buoyancy, but a strange sinking 
 of the heart. 
 
 She, too, was knowing of much that had happened, 
 from the recital of Captain Vane, and was yearning to 
 welcome me; being proud of my prowess, through the 
 praise of Captain Vane, and happy to have me safe from 
 harm; and, withal, distressed and sadly perplexed and 
 anxious, being by nature gentle and refined, that she 
 should have been the cause of a fierce and cruel fight be 
 tween men. 
 
 " And oh ! Philip," she cried, " will you give me the 
 locket again, now, that I may see the dear face, and bless 
 her for bringing you to me which I do in truth believe 
 and pray her forgiveness for loving her not from the 
 moment God did bless me with seeing her? " 
 
 For now she knew the face looking out upon us was none 
 other than the mother that had borne her, but whom she 
 had lost out of her childish consciousness when too young 
 to hold in remembrance. 
 
 So, looking at the one face and the other, I did observe 
 clearly how like they were ; for there were, first of all, the 
 same wonderful depth and mystery in the clear brown 
 eyes; deep and calm wells, at the bottom of which lay 
 truth and honour and courage and all things noble and 
 womanly ; and my Mary's hair only a shadow deeper than
 
 We Sail Southward 265 
 
 the other's golden brown; and the chin of each finely 
 moulded, but firm ; and the nose delicately turned at the 
 nostrils, with no more breadth than makes for refinement, 
 and yet not severe, as in those too correctly classical ; and 
 mouth not small enough to be prim or characterless, nor 
 opening too broadly with smiling; and a merry, dancing, 
 fleeting light in all the countenance, more subdued in the 
 painting than in the face often turned to mine though 
 it were not there now in the face of Mary Vane. 
 
 I thought now the locket was no longer for me to wear, 
 but that she should wear it for both of us ; and so I hung 
 it about my Mary's neck, and got repayment for that in 
 the doing of it. 
 
 " And now, Philip," said she, of a sudden, with a strange 
 fear in her eyes never shown to me before, " tell nie that 
 that wild rambling that Captain Vane and Will Lewis have 
 had over, the whole morning long, about a treasure some 
 where away off, to be sought after, be a thing you have no 
 part in. Sure, you will go no voyage with those men. 
 Will you care for treasure more than me? " 
 
 With this last, she was near to sobbing; but I tried 
 to answer bravely, thinking how we two could make good 
 use of treasure, and not liking her to be a poor man's 
 bride. 
 
 " Why, for that," said I, " it is but a voyage over and 
 done, and home again, in two summer moons at most; 
 and a shipful of gold to keep us to the end of our days. 
 Indeed, I will go and get my share of it ; not because I 
 love it more than you, but to get it all for you ; and it shall 
 be yours, and you shall do no toil in a cottage, but live like
 
 266 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Squire Andrews's wife and wear fine cloths and never 
 homespun." 
 
 " Oh, Philip! will you leave me, then?" cried she; 
 and I thought she was swooning, by the whiteness of her 
 cheeks. Then she caught herself and said bravely: "But 
 I'll not let you go; " and she tried to smile back her tears. 
 
 " Ah, but you do not understand," I went on. " Do 
 you not see, I am but a poor fisherman, at best? And 
 now, even our vessel, the bonny Venture, is gone ; and will 
 you have me tending shop for Ephraim, if, indeed, he be 
 alive, when there be a fortune for me yonder for the going 
 and taking it ? " 
 
 " But I would not have you go to sea with the men," 
 said she. " Will you be forgetting so soon the night of the 
 wreck?" 
 
 " Never till the day I die," I answered. " Nor can you. 
 But this will be no pirate venture, like to that; but an 
 honest cruise for what was given to me fifteen years ago ; 
 and my own, of right, there being no one now to claim it 
 with better title than mine." 
 
 With this, she seeing clearly how fast and firm an ob 
 session there was upon me for, in truth, the spell was 
 cast over me beyond all power of mine to break from it 
 she said not much more concerning it ; or, at least, not any 
 more than a woman will who hopes still to have her own 
 way in the end. 
 
 Moreover, in the passing of a few weeks, the venture 
 did seem robbed of much of its perils worst to be feared ; 
 for there came one day a little sloop, going up on its way 
 to the Penobscot, with some of Teach's own men aboard,
 
 We Sail Southward 267 
 
 who were quit of the trade now and bound north to take 
 up some land. It seemed they had been in a prize of 
 Teach's away to the south of Carolina, when the great 
 sea-fight was waged; and so they got clear, themselves. 
 But Teach was no more, they said, for in this last winter, 
 in the month of November, he had made his last stand 
 near the port of Bath off the Carolina coast, against ves 
 sels sent out by the governor of the colony of Virginia. 
 
 Also, were half of his crew, including Will Cole and Ed 
 Grace and Jack Harwood, killed in the fighting, and only a 
 few getting clear and ashore into the woods and swamps. 
 
 So now, with Teach and Will Cole slain, and Major 
 Bonnett executed, and scores of others swept from the 
 sea, or lying by at Providence for the king's pardon, was 
 the whole coast well-nigh cleared of the rovers ; and honest 
 men, like Dan Baldrick and Will Lewis, might venture 
 abroad. 
 
 Which account did give a great impetus to our inten 
 tions ; and Captain Vane, likewise, persuaded six of these 
 same men to remain with us and go the voyage. 
 
 In the end, there were chosen to remain upon the island : 
 Robert Mackay, John Trask, George Rawlins, Lawrence 
 Sylvester, Ralph Burr, Robert Hawden, and the Cuban. 
 All the rest of us, including Will Cole's two men, and trfe 
 six men of Teach's old crew, would go the voyage. 
 
 It was, then, sometime about the first of April that we 
 were ready to embark on the brig, or topsail schooner, 
 Fly but Captain Vane would have another name for 
 her now, he having come to be an honest man. She was 
 lettered over, the Seabird; but, as for Captain Vane, him-
 
 268 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 self, the name he had assumed seemed like to fasten to 
 him to the end, for no man thought to go back to the old 
 one, save, I think, Will Lewis. 
 
 As I look back upon this voyage, of which we had come 
 now to the beginning, am I filled with deep wonder and 
 amazement that I could have gone about the preparation 
 for it from day to day, with so light a heart and with so 
 little forethought concerning its vagueness and uncertainty. 
 
 In truth, I was dancing mad with the thought of the 
 pirate gold waiting for me to claim ; and, for all my Mary's 
 pleadings and doubts, I had ever a ready answer and a 
 picture in my brain to hold up to her, of a fine house in our 
 Boston town, and dresses of French cloth, and a servant 
 to wait on her, and a thousand and one foolish fancies to 
 beguile her which failed to beguile her at all. 
 
 Even at the moment of our setting out, and I would 
 have kissed away her tears, only that they fell too fast and 
 she was not to be comforted, even then I did go aboard 
 not sadly, but upborne by the same glittering inspiration, 
 thinking how soon I should be back and my voyaging 
 for ever done. 
 
 Yes, and when I had been at sea but a short two hours, 
 the scales had dropped from my eyes, and I was no longer 
 blind ; but I saw, with all the fiercer and more maddening 
 intensity, the folly I had committed. The one spot we 
 were seeking seemed a mere fading shadow in a vast wilder 
 ness of gloom ; and I would have given all the gold in the 
 mountains of the earth and in the sands of the shore to be 
 back on land ; and one caress of her I loved would have 
 been sweeter than all the treasures hidden in all time.
 
 We Sail Southward 269 
 
 But now it was too late; for a fair wind was blowing 
 us southward, and there was Captain Vane slapping me 
 on the shoulder and calling me a fine fellow and a brave 
 one ; and I was sick of him and of his bloody crew, and my 
 heart like lead, to think of the long, weary days to be 
 spent with him and them in the close quarters of the 
 brig. 
 
 However, there was no help for that; and so, as even 
 Tom Appleton, he being once embarked on the venture, 
 had fanned a certain flame within himself for the enter 
 prise, and Will Endicott and Elbridge Carver also seeing 
 a profit in it, I came into a better state of mind in a few 
 days ; and in the end I think I was as eager as any, and as 
 hopeful. 
 
 There were, in all, sixteen of us aboard the brig; there 
 being, besides our own party, Captain Vane and Will 
 Lewis, George Watkins, Elias, the two of Will Cole's 
 crew, and the six men that had been with Teach. And 
 of these last, though I have said they were not with Teach 
 in the great battle in which he was killed, yet I was mis 
 taken ; for it seems one of them, Charles Lambert, was ; 
 and he got ashore and into the woods and so escaped 
 hanging. 
 
 From this man we had the truth of how great Teach 
 had come to the end of his voyagings. For he said that 
 when Teach had been come up with by one Lieutenant 
 Maynard, sent out with two coasters from Virginia, he 
 stripped for fighting and boasted at the onset that he 
 neither gave nor begged quarter from any man. He set off 
 a fearful broadside that killed at once nineteen of May-
 
 270 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 nard's men on one vessel. So that the lieutenant ordered 
 all his men below, and Teach laid the vessel aboard ; which 
 was what the other wanted. For he swarmed his crew 
 on deck again, and then it was man to man, and a 
 cruel and bloody piece of business. 
 
 And it seems this Maynard was a very brave man, and 
 in no terror of Teach and his hideous black face and his 
 huge sword, but engaged him in combat; and Teach 
 went down before him, and half the other's crew fired 
 upon him as he fell, so that he never rose again ; and Will 
 Cole and the others around him fell, also. Then May 
 nard went on up to the town of Bath, with the great, black, 
 shaggy head of Teach fastened to the bowsprit of his 
 vessel, for all the townsfolk to see, and be no longer in 
 dread of him. 
 
 It was not long, either, before we came to that same 
 Fool's Cap which had caused good Cousin Ephraim so 
 many nights lacking sleep and so much of aimless wander 
 ing; for when we had turned the end of our great Cape 
 Cod and had sped southward toward that end of the Long 
 Island where the pirate, Kidd, had made many a harbour 
 ing, why, we sighted the island that they call Block Island. 
 A headland of that would be what these men and the 
 rovers with Quelch had named the Fool's Cap; though 
 whether there were any aptness in the name, we sailed 
 not close enough aboard for me to discern. 
 
 Now that on this voyaging, as it went along, there was 
 no outbreak nor overt dissension among us, was owing 
 mostly, I do believe, to the stress of weather which left 
 us small time and the less energy for discord ; for certain
 
 We Sail Southward 271 
 
 there were among us no lack of the elements that should 
 have brought us all to blows. 
 
 But, as I say, the contrariness of the winds and the 
 roughness of the sea did in a great measure contribute to 
 the keeping of the peace aboard the brig, since we were 
 for ever shifting our course and making and shortening 
 sail. Thus, too, we were greatly put back by reason of 
 the weather; and the voyage which Captain Vane had 
 hoped to make in two weeks, or a little more, took us 
 nearer four to accomplish. 
 
 We did, on the way, go in, for shelter and to make some 
 repairs, to that vast bay of the Chesapeake ; but no nearer 
 to the Rock of the Four Seals than fifteen or twenty miles ; 
 for Captain Vane was chafing at our tardiness. And I 
 was wishing that Ephraim could be there; for, had he 
 been, I swear we should have made Captain Vane put 
 us off on the rock for a moment, and let Ephraim for once 
 have footing upon it, for the mere requital of long and 
 blighted yearnings. 
 
 Then, when we had been gone a day or two out from 
 that harbourage, a great spring gale swept us southward, 
 past the huge, gloomy sand ramparts that front the coast 
 of the Carolinas ; and the gale bore us down even off the 
 inlet that Captain Vane called Ocracoke, in and out of 
 which Black Teach, he said, was wont to sail. 
 
 This was below the point for which Captain Vane was 
 making, by many leagues; though it would be some 
 sound, or sea-lake, behind these sand-hills that he sought. 
 The name of it, I know not, myself, having it not from 
 him ; and the inlet, I should not know the way into again,
 
 272 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 there being many of these breaches along the sand ram 
 parts, and the most of them, by Captain Vane's word, 
 shifting as to their channels. 
 
 However, the gale abating, we ran back for the best of 
 a day, and came at length to an opening in the sand-bars 
 that Captain Vane declared to be of good and proper 
 water; and we went in, with the breakers lying not far 
 beyond us, and the lean strips of the sand showing hun 
 grily as they stretched away from the ripple of the wave 
 line. 
 
 Captain Vane would go no great way into the sound 
 without sending on a boat ahead to look for certain land 
 marks to steer by; and, having got these, early next 
 morning we worked slowly hi under shortened sail, for 
 all that day. 
 
 It was, then, on the evening of that day, and by our 
 reckoning, the third day of May, that we ran in under the 
 lee of a small island, some few miles in length, and stood 
 along its shore for about three miles. Then we came to a 
 break in its shore, like to the shape of a bottle, as near 
 as I can liken it to anything, with the neck lying to the 
 coast-line and the body of the bottle hollowed out of the 
 land. Across the neck of the bottle ran a sand-bar, which 
 we might just clear at low tide, but cleared now with a 
 fathom and more to spare. 
 
 Being then in this landlocked pool at the hour of twi 
 light, there was a stillness in the air, so solemn that when 
 it was broken by the cry of some great birds there was not 
 a man among us of nerves so steady as not to be startled ; 
 as though the prize we had come to seek had been ours
 
 We Sail Southward 273 
 
 for the taking, but some one had come upon us unawares 
 and surprised us at it. 
 
 But the anchors went down in a great, gleaming, 
 sparkling, phosphorescent pool of gold and silver and 
 precious, flaming jewels; and Captain Vane swore it 
 was a vision of what was to be ours. So we were loth to 
 see the fall of night and the land fogs rising; being con 
 sumed, as with a burning fever, to get to shore and rill our 
 hands with treasure.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 CAPTAIN VANE IS DISAPPOINTED 
 
 BY four o'clock next morning we were on deck and 
 eager to be ashore ; for the day was coming in warm and 
 clear, and the air as soft as our early New England sum 
 mer, and very fragrant with the smell of flowers. We 
 saw now that the pool in which we lay, in the part of it 
 that would be just inside the sand-bar, was only about an 
 eighth of a mile from shore to shore ; but that it rapidly 
 broadened out to the width of half a mile, and extended 
 thus inland for the length of a mile or a mile and a half. 
 
 It was clear, green water, too, and the whole lake like a 
 thing designed for show; for through the depths of the 
 pool there swept by us, as on parade, great schools of 
 fish, among which we saw mullet and bass and herring, 
 and many other varieties that we knew, and more that we 
 did not. 
 
 This island, we now saw, lay some two, or two and a 
 half, miles off what seemed to be the mainland, and was, 
 according to Captain Vane, some seven miles long from 
 easternmost to westernmost point; and, as the mainland 
 lay due north of us, this longest extent of our island, 
 east and west, was parallel with the shore of the mainland. 
 
 274
 
 Captain Vane Is Disappointed 275 
 
 From north to south, the island would be, by Captain 
 Vane's reckoning, not more than two and a half miles, 
 in its widest parts, and less than two in the narrowest 
 part. This was at about the centre of the island, or slightly 
 west of centre, and was where the bay ran back to within 
 that distance of the southern shore. 
 
 Looking away over the tree-tops to the east, was to be 
 seen, extending from west to east down the centre of the 
 island, a high ridge like a backbone, which was wooded. 
 On the shore to the north of this ridge were one or two 
 high points ; and, again, to the west of us, some three or 
 four miles away, were two wooded hills that Captain Vane 
 said were the headlands of the western end fronting the 
 sound. 
 
 At one point between these and where we lay was to be 
 seen later a thin, silvery ribbon of creek, woven prettily 
 into the green of the island for something like a mile. 
 
 Across the sound to the north stretched the line of the 
 shore, very irregular and vague, with creeks and little 
 streams and swampy land glistening on every hand ; and 
 with growths of juniper and cypress of exceeding density 
 lying back of this. 
 
 There never were men keener to get to land than this 
 crew of the Seabird; so the brig was scarce made snug 
 and the mess over, when there was a scrambling for the 
 boats; but Captain Vane would have myself and one 
 other remain with him and Will Lewis. So Will Endicott 
 and I stayed aboard; and as for Tom Appleton and 
 Elbridge, they went no farther away than to the shore of 
 the pool for a swim.
 
 276 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 When the last boat had left us and the brig was cleared 
 of all but us four, Captain John Vane would have us all 
 come into the cabin and sit us down with him ; and a cup 
 of wine for each. Then, treating us most confidential, 
 he laid before us the reason of calling us together; and, 
 with Will Lewis's connivance, there was broached for our 
 approval a scheme which was no more nor less than rank 
 treachery toward Will Cole's and Teach's men. 
 
 But first, he disclosed to us how it had mattered naught 
 to him what Jack Brandt had written, whether of rhyme 
 or what-not, so long as Vane knew there had been treasure 
 left somewhere on the island by the other. For it seemed 
 by his own word now that he had been upon this island, 
 not twice, as he had told me of, but as many as five or six 
 times; and he and Will Lewis and Jack Brandt and 
 Christopher Scudamore had made two caches at opposite 
 ends of the island and hidden money and arms there. 
 
 Moreover, they had ever hi their selection of a suitable 
 hiding-place one thing in mind in especial : to go up and 
 back far enough from the low marshy ground to keep the 
 cache dry. Therefore, Captain Vane had no more doubt 
 than that the tide came and went but that he could find 
 the place where the treasure would be hidden, even if 
 Jack Brandt and Scudamore, and perhaps Quelch, had 
 chosen a new spot, away from the old. 
 
 Now the move that had been planned between him and 
 Will Lewis was not made openly and boldly by Captain 
 Vane; but he would have it broached by indirection, to 
 see how it should be received by us. So he had given it 
 to Will Lewis to say.
 
 Captain Vane Is Disappointed 277 
 
 Then, presently, Will Lewis, as of a sudden inspiration, 
 out with it : 
 
 " See here, Dan," he said, and, by his words, vesting 
 the title to the treasure already in the other, " you be a 
 fool an you will give away your gold to these dogs of 
 Teach and Will Cole. Will you share and share alike 
 with Will Cole's men, that came to the stockade to hang 
 you, and with Teach's men, that sank the vessel? Will 
 you be owing them gold for that ? " 
 
 " Why, I do owe them a rope and a water-butt, for each 
 man, for the matter of that ! " cried Captain Vane, with 
 well counterfeited surprise. "But what of that? 'Tis 
 a close island, and how will treasure be found and got 
 aboard here and they not smelling the musty odour of it ? " 
 
 " Let them have a taste, while we have a feast," said 
 Will Lewis. " The most to you and him," pointing to 
 me, "and the next best to them as has served you true; 
 and a bite to the rest when we have the bulk below and a 
 trifle on deck to divide amongst all." 
 
 " And pray, Will, how would you manage that? " asked 
 Captain Vane. 
 
 " Why, you be growing less up to tricks with rusty 
 years ashore," replied Will Lewis; " for even I, with no 
 head but for straightaway slashing and firing, can see a 
 clear course for that. Let you and these two here lead a 
 party as shall find the treasure; and let the others follow 
 me away to the other end of the land. When the best be 
 got aboard, why, find the rest over again, with a roaring 
 and plenty of tongue- clattering at the end, because there 
 be no more of the stuff to pass around."
 
 278 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 To this, Captain Vane made no answer, sitting as one 
 reflecting hard on the matter; but waiting, in truth, not 
 to be committed till he might see how the plan hit 
 us. 
 
 Nor was he long in finding out; for neither big Will 
 Endicott nor I would have part in it. So that Captain 
 Vane, knowing that in a division of forces he should have 
 the smaller party, in the end came over, as though by 
 honest conviction, to our way of thinking. 
 
 " No, no ! Will," said he, " let old scores go by the 
 board now; for Will Cole and Teach be dead men, and 
 these good fellows were but led by them into dishonesty. 
 Indeed, Will Lewis, though I like you no less for wishing 
 it, seeing the wrong these men once did us, yet I do, in 
 truth, like this big man and brave Philip Campbell the 
 better for standing out against you, and saying fairly what 
 they think." 
 
 And there was Dan Baldrick in his true element, swim 
 ming in deceitfulness like a fish. 
 
 " There is like to be enough for all," said he, "an it 
 falls out as Jack Brandt did say. What were it, lad, 
 ' yellow money, piled high ? ' 
 
 " Aye, it was that," I answered; but somehow, I know 
 not why, there was not so great assurance in me as before 
 we had ventured upon the voyage. 
 
 That afternoon, early, we got started, every man of us, 
 with Captain Vane and Will Lewis in the lead; like 
 sailors frolicking on shore leave. For some of the men, 
 with liquor and freedom, were bawling sea songs and 
 larking about; and every man thinking, no doubt, he
 
 Captain Vane Is Disappointed 279 
 
 should soon be plunged to the elbows in yellow doubloons 
 and pieces of eight. 
 
 Captain Vane led us along, we having crossed to the 
 easterly side of the harbour in boats, away toward the 
 middle and eastern part of the island, where the land 
 rolled up into a ridge overlooking the rest of the country. 
 We ascended easily to the summit of this ridge, going up 
 through a grove of hickory and chestnut and some wild 
 holly ; and went along the backbone of the ridge to where 
 a growth of pines seemed to mark some sort of division 
 of the soil. 
 
 " Now," said Captain Vane, pointing down along the 
 boles of the tall trees, " somewhere among these, near the 
 falling down of the ridge to the shore, there be a wedge 
 of pines, eighteen or twenty odd of them in a clump; 
 and in the point of the wedge did Jack Brandt and Will, 
 here, and I once make a cache though what may have 
 been hidden away in it since my day, we shall know the 
 better shortly. However, the first man to spy the spot 
 shall levy on the rest of us." 
 
 Then there was a hurried scattering and scrambling 
 here and there; and all of us chasing in and out among 
 the trees, and up and down the slopes of the ridge, 
 with noses to the ground, like hounds scenting a cov 
 ert. 
 
 Now, curiously enough, the place we sought was first 
 discovered by both Captain Vane and myself at one and 
 the same moment, although we chanced to be looking 
 toward it from opposite directions; and, at the cry we 
 raised, the crew came on the run from all directions, like
 
 280 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 a lot of wild men, yelling and howling out that the treasure 
 had been found. 
 
 Then, being equipped with mattocks and spades, we 
 began, every man of us, upon a plot of ground lying, as 
 Captain Vane had indicated, at the apex of a handsome 
 group of pines, that served as a wind-break for a part of 
 the ridge near the end of the island. 
 
 I had never seen I shall never see labour and mad 
 exertion such as this by us now. We tore open the bosom 
 of the ground, interlaced most tenaciously as it was with 
 a tangle of roots and running vines, hard to cut asunder 
 with the keener edge of the mattocks. 
 
 Down we went on every hand into the earth, which 
 soon became sandy beneath the overlying loam of the 
 forest; and every man toiling as though for dear life; 
 till all at once the thing we were doing did come upon me 
 as fairly shameful. 
 
 Yet I did toil most terribly and anxiously with the others ; 
 and suddenly came upon some object that had the 
 thing befallen me a month before would have shaken 
 me with anticipation like a reed in a wind; but now it 
 sent no great thrill through me, for all that my spade hit 
 upon something hard and firm and which, struck repeat 
 edly, gave out a half-hollow sound, like a tub beaten on 
 its bottom. 
 
 Not so with Will Lewis and big Will Endicott; for 
 they were in the hole, grovelling and digging furiously. 
 The next moment, they had upturned a great cask, some 
 what worm-eaten, but otherwise sound and hard, and 
 iron-fastened ; very heavy to be lifted, so that, with much
 
 Captain Vane Is Disappointed 281 
 
 effort, we rolled it up out of the hole on to the turf. There, 
 in another instant, the head of it was beaten in by the 
 blows of Will Endicott's mattock. Crowding around it, 
 was the crew, like a flock of vultures. 
 
 Never were men doomed to sharper disappointment; 
 for out of the shattered chines of the cask there rolled a 
 few paltry pieces of silver, dulled, and of little value; 
 with no gleam of riches in them for men sharp-set and 
 hungering greedily for a great treasure. For the most 
 part, was this stupid cask filled with small arms, of beau 
 tiful and intricate make; pistols, silvered and chased in 
 the barrels and stocks; knives, pearl-handled, or the 
 handles of rich woods wrought into fantastic designs of 
 birds and women and fish ; and there were many curious 
 ornaments, of little value to us. 
 
 So, the rubbish for such it was in our eyes was 
 angrily thrown aside by the men; and they fell again to 
 digging, cursing for fools whoever had planted the stuff. 
 
 There was nothing in the cask for any man's fancy 
 since one and all spurned the few trifling pieces of eight 
 like that much dirt but for Captain Vane's. He, alone, 
 picked from the discarded mess a great knife, with the 
 handle richly made of pearl and chased with gold. This 
 he examined most carefully and then thrust it in his belt ; 
 after which, I did observe he stood back from the men 
 and worked no more. 
 
 But in all the digging there came nothing more to light 
 save a huge canvas bag, or sack, coated thickly with tar 
 against its rotting. In this sack was a great quantity of 
 powder, caked very dry and hard, but still apparently
 
 282 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 good. Of this there was, by guess, a half-barrel ; and the 
 men would have put a match to it and touched it off and 
 blown the whole top of the hill asunder, but that Captain 
 Vane stayed them; so they let it lie in the hole where it 
 had been unearthed. 
 
 All the stuff we had found, therefore, had been un 
 covered in one spot; and although the digging was con 
 tinued around about on all sides of this, there was nothing 
 more revealed. Then, by the latter end of the afternoon, 
 the men, liking not hard labour, desisted from the enter 
 prise, fetched out what liquor had been brought and fell 
 to drinking. So that they were straggling back to the ship 
 all evening; and, indeed, many did not return at all, at 
 least half of them sleeping off in the woods. 
 
 Nor on the morrow was there much hankering for the 
 search, the men being sore and lame and sick from their 
 carousing; and even Captain Vane, himself, I thought, 
 having his first taste of irresolution in the matter of the 
 treasure. So, as I recall it, there was nothing done for the 
 next day at all. 
 
 Moreover, did Captain Vane continue for all of the day 
 in a fit of moodiness and ill humour, sulking in the cabin ; 
 and Will Lewis, even, could not rally him out of his con 
 dition. 
 
 Not until that night did I discover the cause of it, and 
 that by the passing of a few words with Will Lewis, when 
 I did remark upon the sudden change of heart in Captain 
 Vane. 
 
 "And why not?" muttered Will Lewis. "Does it 
 not look bad enough ? "
 
 Captain Vane Is Disappointed 283 
 
 " Why, it be only our first trial," said I. " At the least, 
 we do know now for certain that we have made no mistake 
 in the island. Will there not be more and better hidden 
 elsewhere, think you ? " 
 
 " Aye, but did you not see the knife ? " asked Will 
 Lewis. 
 
 " The knife ! " I exclaimed. 
 
 " Yes, for certain, the knife ! " he cried. " Did Dan 
 show it not to you ? " 
 
 " I saw him pick a rich one out from the rest and carry 
 it away in his belt," I answered. " But what of that? " 
 
 " Come in and see," said Will Lewis, dragging me along 
 by an arm. So we went into the roundhouse, where 
 Captain Vane sat, heavy with drink, at a table. 
 
 "Give us the knife, Dan," said Will Lewis; and 
 he reached, himself, and drew it out from the other's 
 belt. 
 
 " What will you make of that ? " he asked, and passed 
 it over to me by the handle. 
 
 There, on the handle, as I received it, was plainly to 
 be seen even as I had seen it before on the pistols of 
 Blackbeard the letter " T " inlaid elegantly in the 
 mother-of-pearl with yellow gold. 
 
 " Teach ! " I cried, astounded. 
 
 " Aye, Black Teach, curse him ! " roared Will Lewis. 
 And at the wrath of his voice, uprose Dan Baldrick and 
 cried out also, " Aye, man, 'tis Black Teach ; and will ye 
 glean for gold and treasure when he has had the first 
 picking ? The game will be as good as up." And he fell 
 back at the table, and drank again, and was asleep before
 
 284 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 our eyes in a moment, slumping off heavily on the floor 
 of the cabin. 
 
 " Come away," said Will Lewis, going out upon deck 
 once more. "It be not half so bad as he takes it, I'm 
 thinking. Let him sleep it out ; and, if he be not of an 
 other mind to-morrow, then he be not Dan Baldrick, but 
 some other man. Bah ! There will be gold aboard yet. 
 The air smells of it." So he lighted a pipe, and smoked 
 himself off to sleep. 
 
 It was as Will Lewis had forecasted ; for Captain Vane, 
 having slept off his discouragement, was a man of zeal 
 again the next day ; and he sent out, through the morning, 
 to gather up the men that were scattered here and there 
 ashore, for another expedition to the western and southern 
 end of the island. So, by noon, having eaten and made 
 ready, we all set off again, though not in so high feather 
 as before. 
 
 There would be no long searching for this hiding-place, 
 since Captain Vane, it seemed, had it clearly denned by 
 the conformation of the rocks that made out into the sound 
 in a headland there. We journeyed straight, then, down 
 throught some meadow-land, then clearing the marshes 
 that skirted the creek, and over to the south and western 
 shore. 
 
 When we had come up to this, by the middle of the 
 afternoon, we saw before us a series of little hills, formed 
 of crumbling, brittle rock, like piles of gigantic slabs 
 thrown into heaps, and with scrubby pines and stunted 
 bushes and shrubs clinging on to the mass here and there. 
 
 Up into the heart of this pile went Captain Vane, and
 
 Captain Vane Is Disappointed 285 
 
 came presently upon the blank face of a ledge, shelving 
 inward, with a great flange of rock overhanging. This 
 was hung about, as by a curtain, with long, drooping 
 pendants of ferns and vines and grasses. In against this 
 cave, thus fashioned by the giving way of the ledge be 
 neath and the over jutting shelf, was heaped a great mass 
 of loose rock, and sea sand thrown in amongst this, and 
 the whole overgrown now with weeds and what seemed to 
 be wild strawberry. 
 
 Captain Vane set us to clearing this away, lifting out 
 the loose rock and digging away the sand ; so that shortly 
 there was exposed a sort of natural cave hollowed at the 
 base of the cliff. 
 
 Here it did seem we were like to meet with some measure 
 of success ; for we came suddenly upon a great sea-chest, 
 strongly banded with iron, and fastened with an enormous 
 lock and three ponderous sliding bolts. Moreover, this 
 chest, the lid of it being forced with one of the mattocks, 
 did, in truth, disclose to our eyes a shining surface of 
 golden money ; so that we were on the moment all beside 
 ourselves, and yelling that we had found the treasure at last, 
 and every man eager to feel the touch of the yellow coin 
 between his fingers. 
 
 But, alas! the gold was, so to speak, mere top-soil; 
 a rich dressing spread over dross and grosser stuffs, being 
 of no depth. For of this money, there was not in all more 
 than a thousand pounds, which, among sixteen of us, 
 would pay but a sorry dividend on our labours and ex 
 pectations. We came, all too soon, beneath the layer of 
 money, upon a trifling and flimsy assortment of odds and
 
 286 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 ends ornamental things, such as lanterns and candle 
 sticks and knives and d rin king- cups ; all of clever work 
 manship, but of bastard metal. 
 
 Upon this, having had their expectations raised high, 
 and now the descent therefrom being sharp and bitter, 
 there arose an angry clamouring among some of the men 
 they being simple fellows mostly, and nigh as fickle as 
 children to be quit of the place at once and give over 
 the search for the treasure. 
 
 But here was Captain Vane showing himself again to be 
 a man fit to lead them ; for he put a bold face against their 
 despondency, and vowed the island would be jammed 
 from one end to the other with treasure buried by Jack 
 Brandt. 
 
 Moreover, this, he said, was not a bad day's work, 
 which would be followed by better; and were it not likely, 
 he asked, that there should have been several caches rather 
 than one or two, the better to guard the treasure against 
 discovery. 
 
 Also, seeing the game was growing desperate, and the 
 better to show his faith in the enterprise, he swore he would 
 make over his share of what we had got already, to the 
 crew ; since there would be plenty for him of what would 
 yet be found. 
 
 At the worst, he demanded, were they not in a better 
 and fairer place than New England at this time of the 
 year ? And might they not abide content for awhile, gold 
 or no gold ? And, in the end, he cried out that he would 
 lead them somehow to better fortune, either on land or 
 sea. Which, indeed, I liked not to hear him say. He
 
 Captain Vane Is Disappointed 287 
 
 vowed, moreover, that no man who stood by him should 
 go back empty-handed. By this, he got them again into 
 a more sanguine humour, and so back to the vessel, with 
 no serious outbreak amongst them.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 SIX MEN ALONE 
 
 Now, for a series of days, there was no manner of work 
 done by any one, nor any systematic search begun. The 
 first flush of disappointment being by, and the men ill- 
 disposed toward labour, they were well enough content 
 to see the days drift by in idleness ; hoping for something 
 good to happen upon the morrow, but setting naught on 
 foot to-day to bring forth the morrow's satisfaction. 
 
 So, the season being well advanced into beauty and 
 softness, the men were for quitting the vessel for the time, 
 and setting up some awnings made of the spare sail-cloth, 
 to lie under, sheltered from the dew, by night ; and bring 
 ing out from the brig a quantity of blankets, and also 
 fashioning a great stove for cooking on shore. 
 
 For the island, unlike the adjacent mainland, was in 
 most part free from any marsh-land, and was of fine, sandy 
 soil, quickly drained after a rain and very healthy. There 
 were, too, three or four pretty, sheltered brooks coming 
 down from the ridge that lay to the east, and falling toward 
 our harbour, where they babbled out upon the white sand 
 of the shore, with fresh, clear water. So we need not lack 
 for that to drink. 
 
 We set up several of these little encampments with 
 the canvas for the night, although we mostly made a 
 
 288
 
 Six Men Alone 289 
 
 common mess through the day. So there would be com 
 monly Will Endicott and Elbridge and Tom Appleton and 
 I encamped together; and Teach's men by themselves, 
 and so on. 
 
 But we had now and again one of Teach's men along 
 with us. He was one Herbert Randlett, and he had taken 
 a great fancy to Will Endicott. He was a clever fellow, 
 and not a bad companion, though he had been, by his own 
 confession, a pirate for eleven years, and no doubt was a 
 great rascal. 
 
 But most curiously, and neither sought nor to be ac 
 counted for by me, had the behaviour of Will Lewis now 
 become toward me. He had been never a man given to 
 speech nor sign of friendliness; but now it was ever a 
 good word for me when we were met, and a putting of 
 confidence in me by words concerning things of no real 
 importance. 
 
 So I go back to his coming up to us, one morning early, 
 and sitting down, with his pipe, and smoking for a time 
 silently. But, by and by, when the others had gone out, 
 he said of a sudden, most abruptly: 
 
 " And the hulking man, Elias, who got the beating by 
 you, what will he have nowadays to say for himself? " 
 
 " That you will be like to know better than I," I replied ; 
 " since he comes not near us ever, nor for all the voyage 
 had word with us." 
 
 Then Will Lewis, withdrawing his pipe and levelling it 
 at me by the stem, said strangely : " Have a look out for 
 him ! Have a sharp look out for him, man. I think some 
 day he will be plotting mischief,"
 
 290 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 This abrupt warning did, indeed, disconcert me more 
 than I would admit of, and partly from the very vague 
 ness of it ; for Will Lewis in the next breath did declare 
 he knew of no certain piece of villainy yet on foot. 
 
 " Will he come upon me in the night ? " I asked, wonder 
 ing if Will Lewis knew more than he would say. 
 
 " Not that ! " cried he. " No, he will not dare. For, 
 mind you, Phil, there be too many of us who do know of 
 the good fight you made against him; and 'twould be a 
 short rope for him to do you harm by night, with the crew 
 liking you well for beating him." 
 
 " No," added Will Lewis, lifting his gaunt limbs up 
 from the earth and slouching slowly away, " I know not 
 what he will be about, only that he be much with Dan, and 
 I think he has more favour from day to day ; and I have 
 seen his like before, having had the handling of many men 
 and I will see him do you no treachery, for the way you 
 did stand up to him." 
 
 So Will Lewis went his way. 
 
 Now whether this were all pretence and the mere work 
 ing out of the scheme to our undoing, I know not ; but I 
 do know that he spoke it fairly. 
 
 So matters went along from day to day, with no plan 
 ning, but by mere adventure ; and yet there was a search 
 ing here and there about the island in desultory fashion, 
 and mostly by Captain Vane and Will Lewis and the four 
 of our party. 
 
 But of one thing I was now grown certain : that when 
 the treasure were found if it did not for ever elude us 
 it would be according to the paper, and even by the
 
 Six Men Alone 291 
 
 clumsily running rhyme, that had been given to me so 
 many years ago; and I think perhaps Captain Vane, 
 himself, would be coming to my way of thinking. For 
 now and again he would ask me how the lines of it went, 
 since, curiously, he could not retain them well hi mind, 
 in spite of their easy singsong. 
 
 Then there came a day when the truth of my contention 
 did seem likely to be bome out ; for there came running 
 into camp one afternoon, by the falling of twilight, the 
 sailor Watkins. He was winded with running and agitated 
 with deep excitement, having covered something more 
 than a mile and a half, up-hill and down, from a point 
 close by the northern shore of the island, and to the east 
 ward of us, at a desperate pace. 
 
 He bore in one hand a yellow, brittle piece of bone, like 
 to have come from a man's thigh ; and, with this, a rusty 
 bit of buckle that he had picked up close by the other, 
 as though it had been once a part of the clasp that had 
 belted in a man's living body. 
 
 It seems that he had come upon these in a little gully 
 up from the shore, having chanced to see the bone in pass 
 ing by along the beach below; so that he went up to ex 
 amine further. Then he had discovered what seemed to 
 have been once a mound, or heap of stones, but which had 
 washed apart and were somewhat scattered by the flooding 
 of water. Having dug a little, with the end of a branch 
 cut from a tree, he had disclosed enough to see that a man 
 had once been buried there ; and at this he had set off for 
 the harbour. 
 
 So there we were, glowing red once more, like so many
 
 292 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 brands of touchwood fanned with a bellows; and every 
 man scrambling for his spade or mattock, and bawling 
 out again, as before, that the treasure was found. 
 
 As for Captain Vane, he, being harder-headed, was for 
 waiting till the morning. But they were so many crazed 
 men, who would hear to no delay; and they brought 
 ashore from the carpenter's galley a half-dozen ship's 
 lanterns; and, in short, went off over the fields like a 
 herd of cattle stampeding. 
 
 We found the spot, in due time, with George Watkins 
 to lead the way. It lay hard by a boulder, with some live- 
 oak encircling it, save to seaward, where the bank fell 
 away to the shore. Here, of a certainty, had some poor 
 fellow been laid away, with, I think, a great cloak wrapped 
 about him ; for there were some shreds of dull gold strands 
 that seemed to have faced it, and some tarnished silver 
 buttons. 
 
 Along with these were tumbled out rudely the bones of 
 what had been a man, and the skull ; and the men cheer 
 ing and bawling joyously, as though it were a pleasant 
 sight to see. However, by the light of the lanterns, held 
 down into the great hole that was quickly dug, there 
 was not so much as a single copper penny to be seen, 
 nor any token of treasure hidden away with the buried 
 man. 
 
 But Captain Vane cried out, unexpectedly, that this was 
 as it should be, and that we were on the right track at 
 last. 
 
 "How will the rhyme run, Philip?" he demanded. 
 " Is it not to sight across from the skull to the toe? And
 
 Six Men Alone 293 
 
 did the beggar not lie head to land and feet to the shore ? 
 Why, that brings it right to go with the words at the finish, 
 ' weigh the anchor and yeave-ho ! ' That will take us out 
 to a point across on the mainland, for sure ; and doth ac 
 count for Jack Brandt's saying that it would puzzle me 
 to find it, which would not be so, an the stuff were on this 
 island." 
 
 " Stay your digging, men," he added ; " and good luck 
 I did note how the man lay, before you had him mixed 
 head and heels. Why, in the morning, we shall but put a 
 boat across, sighting carefully, and 'twill be going straight 
 by the written word to the stuff." 
 
 We went along back once more to the vessel ; with the 
 men clamouring for me to say the doggerel over and over 
 to them on the way. And by and by they got the thing, 
 themselves, by rote, and even pitched it to a jangling tune. 
 So they bawled it out all the way to the vessel, till I would 
 be near mad with the silly sound of it and half the night 
 it was ringing in my ears. 
 
 We were out again and on foot early next morning, with 
 a great eagerness. Captain Vane was, it would seem, the 
 most sanguine of any, and putting life into the men as only 
 he was able to do; and gaunt Will Lewis was leering so 
 that no man might look uglier than he ; and even Elias 
 no longer stolid, but having the gold-hunger in his eyes, 
 and his heavy face lighted up as with the reflection from 
 yellow treasure. 
 
 We got two ship's boats out through the narrows, with 
 all on board ; and there were even some great canvas sacks 
 thrown into the bottom, for the stowing of the stuff. Thus
 
 294 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 we went rowing down alongshore, hallooing and shouting 
 for the best part of the way. 
 
 Then, at the spot where we had dug the night before, 
 we landed on the beach, and Captain Vane and Will Lewis 
 and Tom Appleton and I went up to get the bearings. 
 There could be apparently no serious deviation on our 
 part ; for, sighting across on a line with the skeleton from 
 head to foot, it brought us over to a tiny cape, or peninsula, 
 with a deep indentation of bay and swamp land on either 
 hand. 
 
 So we went back into the boat and started off for the 
 mainland, the men putting their backs into the rowing, 
 though the day was coming on hot. 
 
 When we had reached the peninsula, there was hardly 
 waiting to get the boats hauled out upon the shore before 
 the men had scrambled up the bank, and were scattering 
 here and there, as though the treasure were to be picked 
 up like nuts brought down by the first black frost. 
 
 Then, when we had found that the point we had landed 
 on was but a jutting out of a solid ledge, and no more to 
 be digged into than the oaken sides of our vessel, still we 
 were led on here and there over the marsh-land, by the 
 dividing of this point of land into diverse narrow cause 
 ways; but which, being followed, brought us all, one by 
 one, into a wretched country, sunken into many pitfalls 
 and queachy bogs; so that, before long, half the men 
 were calling for help, being trapped in the treacherous 
 holes of the marshes. 
 
 In truth, this mainland here, bordering the sound, was 
 an accursed country, fit for no man to set foot into ; and
 
 Six Men Alone 295 
 
 we thought it the most abandoned and hopeless bit of 
 God's earth we had ever seen. So we were right glad to be 
 quit of it, by afternoon, and to be rowing back to our 
 island. 
 
 Now, being grievously weary with our hard wanderings, 
 we were so many dumb men on the way back, save that 
 once, Elias, who was in our boat, did look at me sneer- 
 ingly, and, said he: 
 
 " This be a fine fortune you'll have brought us all these 
 miles for. You were as good a guide in the old days for 
 Ephraim, I'll be thinking." 
 
 And this were the first word from him to me since the 
 day of our battle ; nor did he say more, nor did I reply to 
 him, nor did any man take up the remark. 
 
 But this very silence were a grievous thing for me to 
 dwell upon, since it were as plain as noonday what every 
 man would be thinking ; and it be ever a sorry plight, to 
 be the fairest mark in sight when others are looking for 
 some one to put the blame for failure upon. 
 
 Now I had feared this last piece of folly would throw 
 Captain Vane into one of his black moods, and he would 
 be out of heart with the whole enterprise. But you should 
 have seen him put a new edge upon the zeal of the men 
 when they were once more back upon our island ; and that, 
 at the very time when they had gone clean despondent. 
 
 Indeed, so well did he play his part, that I had even 
 half a liking for the man, to see him meet each and every 
 one according to this and that one's bent of mind; and 
 take each man cleverly into his confidence and show him 
 how the treasure would yet be ours; and so bring them,
 
 296 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 one after another, into a renewal of hope and an eagerness 
 to continue. 
 
 So, when he would have us set off on a new expedition, 
 four days after this, to the part of the island we had left 
 unvisited, that is, the point to the north, over beyond the 
 creek, why, the willingness of the crew, and of us all, 
 was no small matter of wonder to me. 
 
 This would be no holiday jaunt, to be begun and ended 
 in an afternoon ; but he would have us pack a lot of stores 
 to keep us for two days, and fetch along our pans and 
 kettles for cooking, besides the tools we would dig with; 
 and also the spare canvas to lie under at night. This, he 
 vowed, moreover, would be but the beginning of a search 
 that we should make clear around the entire coast of the 
 island, picking out the likely places where the stuff might 
 be hidden. 
 
 " And come this to naught," cried he, " then, an you 
 still follow Jack Vane, you shall go back with money to 
 spend and no stint, since there be good treasure to be 
 taken at sea, if not ashore." 
 
 At this there was a loud hurrahing and a setting off in 
 gallant humour, at least for all but Tom Appleton and 
 Will Endicott and Elbridge Carver and me. But this 
 last speech of Captain Vane's set it sharply before us 
 whither we were drifting. 
 
 It was the first of the afternoon that we started out, 
 each man sacking his portion of the stuff to be carried. 
 We followed along the shore to the north and west of the 
 island ; and, indeed, we might have put the stuff into boats 
 and gone that way, but that there lay off to this northwest
 
 Six Men Alone 297 
 
 entrance to our harbour a chain of black reefs, with their 
 tops not enough covered even at high water, to put a boat 
 over, or anywhere among them. 
 
 When we had followed the beach for about a mile, we 
 struck down diagonally toward the shore of the creek, 
 about a mile further, where it ran into the island a con 
 siderable distance. There was a place, about midway of 
 its course, where the land was not so marshy but that we 
 could get easily to the water, and so could save the skirt 
 ing of it away around by its southern end. For we quickly 
 cut a few trees by the shore, and made a little raft that 
 carried us all across to the other side, in two or three 
 trips. 
 
 Then, taking it leisurely, we struck off over a rising 
 country, among little tumbling hills, toward the north 
 west end of the island, where we should set up the camp 
 for the night. 
 
 Here, shortly, Captain Vane came upon a good spring of 
 sweet water in a thin growth of pine wood and live-oak; 
 and he pitched on the place for us to stop. So we en 
 camped much the same as we had by the shores of the 
 harbour, with the same agreeable divisions amongst us. 
 As for Captain Vane and Will Lewis and Elias and most 
 of Vane's men, they were only a few feet away ; but the 
 others went back a little distance toward the creek, to be by 
 themselves. 
 
 So, the evening coming on, we made our fires and ate 
 our suppers, and had each a dram of liquor, and sat and 
 smoked, with I know not what fancies for the morrow. 
 
 Shortly, however, came over Will Lewis again, and
 
 298 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 sat him down, with his pipe; and he did see plainly by 
 the looks of us four that we were in bad spirits over the 
 alternative we were facing. 
 
 " Ye be over-sober much," said he, right to the point. 
 " Will you fear now we have not Jack Brandt's island, 
 after all?" 
 
 " I do yet believe that," I answered ; " but but " 
 
 " But we have no stomach for this pirating," broke in 
 Tom Appleton; " and we shall, I think, go not in for it, 
 even though the treasure here be not forthcoming." 
 
 " Look ye," cried Will Lewis. " May the devil take all 
 pirating henceforth ! And so says Dan Baldrick when the 
 crew be not by. Will you let a sop thrown to the men put 
 you in the doldrums ? Do you think he will like now at this 
 day to go off like Teach and Will Cole aye, like Dandy 
 Jack Brandt, himself now that the business be as good 
 as done for ? Pray, how will you keep the dogs at work but 
 by a smart promise, since there be so little gold as yet in 
 sight ? 
 
 " Take the word of Will Lewis, we go not pirating again, 
 but back straight for the island ; for Dan, I say, has had 
 enough of the life and will fancy it now no more than 
 you." 
 
 " Turn ye in now and sleep well for the work to be done 
 in the morning," said Will Lewis, in conclusion, and turn 
 ing away after a few more pulls at his pipe. " And here, 
 Dan will have you take a sup of the good brandy, to keep 
 out the dew and to put better hearts in each." 
 
 With which, Will Lewis stepped back a few paces and 
 drew out a pewter bottle and passed it over to me. " Think
 
 Six Men Alone 299 
 
 no more of pirating," said he again as he departed. 
 " Think no more of pirating; for, on Will Lewis's word, 
 ye shall have naught of it." 
 
 In all of which, Will Endicott and Elbridge and Tom 
 Appleton and I had no certain faith, not knowing what to 
 make of him ; but we were glad of the liquor, being down 
 in courage ; and it were heavy stuff. 
 
 It was along about four o'clock next morning, or a little 
 earlier, that I was roused up by the cawing and chattering 
 of some crows that had alighted in the branches of the 
 pines above us, and were quarrelling, it seemed, among 
 themselves. I remember I thought it comical for a few 
 minutes, to hear them berating one another like so many 
 Cousin Mercys ; and I lay and listened to them, and could 
 even fancy I understood the purport of what they said, 
 some memory of old scoldings coming back to me. 
 
 But, then, shortly, their noises came to annoy me, I 
 having fallen back into a drowse once or twice and being 
 brought awake by them. So I got up, very sleepily, and 
 picked up a dead brand from the last night's fire and 
 hurled it up as far as I could into the branches, shouting 
 out at the same time, though not loudly. 
 
 The crows, according to the manner of them, being 
 seized of fright, were struck all of a sudden dumb, and 
 flew away silently and swiftly, nor uttered a sound till 
 they were out of harm's way; when they circled about 
 afar off, being curious to know what enemy was near, and 
 screaming and crying out one to another, like a parcel of 
 schoolboys. 
 
 Well, this was a thing familiar to me from boyhood;
 
 300 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 for I had heard them, hundreds of times, chatter in this 
 very style in the woods about the ponds at home; and, 
 somehow, the thought came back to me of Ephraim's 
 farm and the old days upon the ponds, with its foolish 
 play of piracy and never a foreshadowing, then, that I 
 should come to consort with pirate men of flesh and blood, 
 and go in quest of real pirate gold. 
 
 No wall this were but a half-glance out upon the morning, 
 for I was drowsy with the sudden solution of sleep, and my 
 eyelids heavy; and I was yearning to be back upon the 
 bed of branches that we had spread our blankets over. 
 
 Yet, I did, in truth, take in, without the sense of what I 
 saw, a fact that would soon come upon me stronger. That 
 was, that looking over toward the other canvas that Cap 
 tain Vane and Will Lewis and Elias and the others had 
 spread above them for the night, there were no longer any 
 forms of men lying there beneath it. But, for the mo 
 ment, it came to my mind only that they had arisen early, 
 and, perchance, had gone down to the creek. 
 
 So I went in again and laid me down and shut my eyes ; 
 and pulled the blanket about me, and felt very comfort 
 able and at peace with the world. 
 
 Then, all at once, it came upon me in a flash, the strange 
 ness of their absence; for the light was not yet over the 
 tops of the hillocks from the eastward, but the sky begin 
 ning only to glow faintly with the coming in of the morn 
 ing. Moreover, these men were ever sluggish in their 
 arising, and not often stirring till the sun was in their faces. 
 
 Then something seemed to strike me a blow that set up 
 a dull drumming in my brain ; and the pain of it racked
 
 Six Men Alone 301 
 
 me such as I had never felt before; which was but the 
 consciousness of the truth flooding over me, sharp 
 and certain. 
 
 I struggled to arise, and could not. I tried to call out 
 to Will Endicott, who was nearest me; and my throat 
 was gripped as by a strangler's hand, so that only a chok 
 ing, groaning murmur issued from my lips. 
 
 Then I lay for an interval of what seemed endless time, 
 but was for not more than a few moments, perhaps, un 
 able to move or speak. 
 
 By and by, I seemed to lift a body of lead off the boughs, 
 and got up on my feet ; and the next I remember, I found 
 myself over at the other camp, staring stupidly about and 
 groping even among the blankets, like a foolish person; 
 as though men might be hidden beneath them and 
 there was no one there. 
 
 And, oh ! the getting of Will Endicott awake. I know 
 I lay down beside him once and cried, at what seemed 
 the utter hopelessness of it; for the man felt me not at 
 all when I would try to shake him, the strength being well- 
 nigh departed from me. Then I think all at once I 
 gathered strength and clutched him like a drowning man ; 
 and he came awake and stared up at me in amazement. 
 
 I must have looked ghastly to him, for he sprang up 
 suddenly and cried out to know what ailed me. I think 
 he believed me crazed by our troubles. 
 
 " They're gone ! Will," I whispered, and could scarce 
 hear the sound of my own voice. It sounded like the voice 
 of some one else, far away. " They've gone ! " I gasped 
 again. "We're left deserted." I pointed out toward
 
 302 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 the other camp. Then my legs collapsed all at once, so 
 that I went down upon the ground, with the tears 
 streaming from my eyes. 
 
 At this, Will Endicott only cried out, " Oh, God ! 
 Philip," and he could say no more, but turned to where 
 Elbridge was lying asleep; and he fell, himself, all in a 
 heap before he got to him. So there we were for a moment, 
 both of us helpless, as I have seen sailors struck down 
 by the gibing of a boom at sea, and gasping, with the 
 breath knocked out of them. 
 
 But presently Will Endicott staggered up and stumbled 
 over to Elbridge ; and there, thrice before my eyes, I saw 
 him try to utter Elbridge's name, but the word stuck in 
 his throat. And I was looking on, shivering, icy cold, 
 though the morning was hot ; and I had not sense enough 
 to try to help Will Endicott. 
 
 However, Will Endicott got Elbridge awake, by fum 
 bling over him and shaking him, so that Elbridge got up 
 with a start, not seeing at first who it was by him, and 
 fearing treachery. 
 
 Of all ghastly things on earth to me, it was to see 
 Elbridge standing up, amazed, with wide open mouth, 
 and his big ears standing out straight from his head, as 
 they always did, and his homely face blank with wonder. 
 Yet I fell of a sudden to laughing, as a man will in delirium, 
 and could not stop till I thought I was like to die with a 
 horrible suffocating pain in the pit of my stomach. The 
 next moment, I was crying out again, and biting at the 
 branches on the ground. 
 
 The next thing I have any clear memory of, we were
 
 Six Men Alone 303 
 
 running, all four of us, Will and Elbridge and Tom 
 Appleton and I. When and how Tom Appleton became 
 acquainted of our plight, I know not; only that he was 
 with us, and we were going on in a confused way toward 
 the spot where the others of the crew had lain. They were 
 no longer there, nor anywhere to be seen. So we set off 
 running again, for the shore of the creek, some two miles 
 distant, to where the raft had been drawn in. 
 
 I have a vague, cruel remembrance of our falling against 
 one another, and tumbling down and dragging one an 
 other up, like drunken sailors on a spree. But we got, at 
 length, to the shore of the creek, in some way. And the 
 raft was gone. 
 
 The footprints of the men were all about; and then, 
 across the creek, on the other shore, we saw the raft drawn 
 up partly out of the water. So we could have no further 
 doubt now, if indeed we had had any, of the flight of 
 Captain Vane and the men. 
 
 I know it seems beyond belief, but, as true as I live, 
 we could not swim this creek now, though it was only a 
 few rods wide here ; and for a moment we sank down upon 
 the shore, helpless. However, Will Endicott got up soon, 
 and cursed himself for his weakness, and ran as hard as 
 ever he could and dashed into the water, with the same 
 desperate look in his face that I had seen the first night I 
 ever set eyes on him. 
 
 The way he swam would have made a schoolboy laugh ; 
 but it was a pitiful thing for us to see. He beat the water 
 with his great arms like a drowning man, like a man taking 
 his first swim beyond his depth and suddenly quit of his
 
 304 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 courage. Twice he went under, and we thought him lost ; 
 but he got to shore, and lay there, half in and half out of 
 water, without strength to go up the bank. And there, 
 on the opposite side, stood Tom Appleton and Elbridge 
 and I, whimpering like children, till Will Endicott came 
 over with the raft, in a little while, and took us all across. 
 
 Then we were up and running again for dear life, with 
 two miles to cover between us and the harbour ; nor was 
 there a step of the way but that we were groaning with 
 every breath. 
 
 Well, we came up near the harbour, at last. I think 
 it must have been close on to five o'clock when we reached 
 it, and got to a little knoll where we could overlook the 
 water. And oh, God ! there was what we dreaded to 
 see, out beyond the bar, not yet a mile from shore : the 
 little vessel, scooning lightly from wave to wave, the sun 
 gleaming on her canvas, and men going about the decks. 
 
 When we had come down upon the shore, lo ! we were 
 not alone in our misery, nor was the .treachery of Vane 
 and Will Lewis and Elias all for us; for we found two 
 men, Randlett and one of Will Cole's crew, bound hand 
 and foot, and cursing and screaming like mad men for 
 us to set them free. But I know we only sank down 
 beside them, with the tears streaming from our eyes; 
 and of us all, the men pinioned, and we unbound, there 
 was no man among us less helpless than another.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 FRIENDS DO NOT BEAR MALICE 
 
 AFTER a time I know not how long it seemed as 
 though I had come suddenly awake once more ; and with 
 this new awakening was there born within me a great and 
 overwhelming sense of shame, and a dread to look into 
 the eyes of these three good comrades of mine. So I got 
 up and stole away from them, and was relieved when they 
 made no move to follow. 
 
 I sat apart from them, like an outcast, and gazed sea 
 ward upon a voyage commencing, but of which my fancy 
 leaped forward at a bound to its end. 
 
 There was the little brig, pitching ever so lightly, laying 
 a course to the eastward to fetch the inlet some thirty odd 
 miles away. On and on sped I in fancy, across gray, 
 blue, black deserts of water, and saw this little craft swing 
 in by the rocks of Round House, along the shores of the 
 reach, and come to, with fluttering sails; and men and 
 women running down to the shore from the stockade, and 
 one girlish figure flying past the others, with arms out 
 stretched. Then a mist would come before my eyes, 
 shutting out all and I was clutching hard into the sea- 
 sand and tearing away the links of grass. 
 
 35
 
 306 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Then, the vessel going away from us, so mysteriously, 
 vaguely, phantom-like, was to me a thing unreal, un 
 natural no ship of wood and iron, but a thing of sense 
 and feeling; and I would breathe a prayer after it, that 
 would be borne on and carried by it to her I loved. 
 
 I was near blind with gazing fixedly at the brig, feeling 
 that when it once were lost to sight I must fall down and 
 die; and so my eyes were smarting with the strain and 
 blurring, and once I rubbed the sand from my hands into 
 them and suffered unnamable agony. 
 
 Then, as the brig would, I saw, become hidden by the 
 hills shortly, according to its course, I set off back along 
 the shore of the harbour on my way down the island. I 
 had no means of crossing, but must go all the way around, 
 they having left us not so much as a ship's boat. Thus, 
 alternately running and walking, I went all the way back 
 to the head of the harbour, a mile and a half, and so on 
 around to the opposite, or eastern, shore, and thence down 
 along the beach toward the end of the island, following the 
 vessel with my eyes. 
 
 Well, when I had walked the whole three miles that 
 intervened, to the easternmost spur of the island, and had 
 no longer the eagerness of trying to reach a fixed goal to 
 divert me, then was the mockery of the sea like to have 
 driven me mad; for the tiny waves came dancing in 
 prettily, and raced each its brief course over the sands of 
 the beach, with a gentle, happy whispering that was 
 clearly a playfulness and sport; and all sparkling and 
 bright with the morning sunlight. Afar off from the brig 
 came they in thus, and the whole sound was alive with
 
 Friends Do Not Bear Malice 307 
 
 little chopping waves, leaping, as trout do at sundown, 
 for sheer delight. 
 
 When I had sat me down to watch the brig, why, I 
 could not remain seated, but must needs spring up again 
 and pace up and down the shore, and even wade out into 
 the water and curse each dancing drop of it, that I 
 could not tread it firmly like the earth, and so follow 
 on and on and on, after the vessel. 
 
 Now here was this slow torture working upon me for 
 all the day, since there was a light head wind for the brig 
 to head up into, and the channel tortuous and treacherous 
 and to be made not under full sail. So she were beating 
 back and forth and not yet wholly out of sight by sundown ; 
 and darkness shut her out from me while her topsails were 
 showing against the evening sky. 
 
 Then it came over me suddenly that I was famishing 
 and faint from hunger, and thirsty, too, as never before. 
 However, I was not long in quenching this, for there was 
 no lack of little springs all about the island, and I soon 
 came upon one. 
 
 After drinking, I went and picked up some mussels 
 along the shore, and ate them raw, ravenously ; so that 
 shortly I was seized with dreadful pains, and sweated with 
 the agony of them, and fell down, miserable and exceeding 
 ill. 
 
 Yet withal, being relieved somewhat after a time, I 
 fell asleep a way up from the beach under a pitch of the 
 bank, and awoke not until sometime the next day, when 
 I was slow in coming to my senses, being very weak and 
 feverish.
 
 308 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 How I spent the best part of this next day I know not ; 
 only I recall I had still in mind a vague, uncertain dread 
 of facing the comrades I had brought to such a frightful 
 pass. Then there is a half-memory of hearing them, 
 toward twilight, calling for me ; and of my running away 
 and hiding myself in the woods back from the shore ; then 
 of a dull drowsiness falling upon me and I going off to 
 sleep, but half -conscious of being taken up in some one's 
 arms and being carried, it seemed, for hours and hours, 
 and for endless miles. Which was, in truth, stout Will 
 Endicott bearing me all the way back to camp at the 
 eastern shore of the harbour. 
 
 Well, it seems, I fell into a grievous fever that lasted 
 nearly a week, they having no leeches to fasten upon me. 
 However, I came out of this state abruptly ; since, whereas 
 they had seen me one hour lying stupid and drowsy, the 
 next I was wide-eyed and gazing up curiously into their 
 faces. Then it all came back, what had happened, and, 
 with that, somewhat of the same feeling of dread that had 
 led me away from them. 
 
 But now I was childish with weakness, and could not 
 bear the agony longer of exile from their comradeship; 
 so that when good Tom Appleton came presently to have 
 a look at me, there were tears hi my eyes and I said humbly, 
 and with penitence: 
 
 " Will you be ever forgiving me, Tom ? For, oh ! but 
 I be sorry for you and the others that are all here now 
 through my contrivance and folly." 
 
 " Tut, tut, lad ! " cried Tom Appleton, gently, and 
 laying a kindly hand on my arm. " Will that be what has
 
 Friends Do Not Bear Malice 309 
 
 driven ye away to hide ? Why, 'fore God ! we be mostly 
 sorry for you, and no mistaking, since you be the one 
 like to suffer most by our mischance. 
 
 " And mind," added he, cunningly, with a small twinkle 
 of the eyes, though not to hit at me in my misfortune, 
 " d'ye not recall I did say I should be on hand and ready 
 to stand by in the hour of need ? So here I am, and Will 
 and Elbridge, too, and the sooner you be up and amongst 
 us, why the better for us." 
 
 Now this speech put some heart into me, for no man 
 could hear Tom Appleton speak fairly and not put faith 
 in him ; and by the morrow was I up again, and by another 
 day beginning to take heed of our affairs. 
 
 I found the men had made the best of the situation for 
 the time being, and had brought over from across the 
 creek the ship's canvas and whatever stuff had been left 
 there, and had set us up a habitation on the eastern shore 
 of the harbour. 
 
 But now I saw, too, the cruelty of Vane and his men 
 most seriously manifest; for, whereas they had left for 
 us, as though by way of derision, the spades and mattocks 
 to dig for treasure with, they had carried off every axe 
 and hatchet that had been brought ashore; so that we 
 had naught to cut a tree with, except our knives. 
 
 But, it would seem, as a measure of concession to the 
 two men they had deserted at the last moment, or for what 
 reason I know not, they had set ashore at the mouth of 
 the harbour on a sand-bar, where Will Endicott had found 
 the stuff, a few bladders of powder and some bags of shot, 
 large and small, and a couple of fowling-pieces ; together
 
 310 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 with a, half-cask of lines and hooks, a cask of cheese, some 
 horn flasks of powder, a bushel of oatmeal, a few bags 
 of dried peas, and a few other odds and ends that I be 
 now out of mind of. 
 
 As for these two men whom they had fallen upon and 
 bound and marooned at the very moment of their depar 
 ture, it seems that Will Endicott and my other two com 
 rades, on coming to their own senses, were of two minds, 
 at finding them there on the shore. 
 
 For it was plain, they had been one with the others for 
 deserting us; and so Will Endicott was for choking the 
 very life out of them in his first rage; but, on the other 
 hand, there they lay, companions by fate of our misery. 
 So Will Endicott and the others did at length unbind the 
 two ; but were more ready to mock at their despair, and 
 to tell them it were but their just reward for wickedness, 
 than to offer them any comfort. 
 
 But, in the end, my comrades were more grateful to 
 these two, after hearing their story and being convinced 
 that they spoke true. 
 
 For, in fact, the sailor, Randlett, and Will Cole's man, 
 John Pemberton, had brought this cruelty upon them 
 selves by reason of their defence of us; Will Lewis and 
 Elias and Captain Vane having plotted to murder us four, 
 being enraged at the fool's errand I had started them out 
 on ; and Elias, moreover, having his own ends to serve and 
 a revenge to take that would be sweet to him. 
 
 As I say, the fellow Randlett having conceived a fancy 
 for Will Endicott, he had stood out stoutly against 
 murder; and Pemberton had sided with him. So, be-
 
 Friends Do Not Bear Malice 311 
 
 tween the two, they had brought the others to a com 
 promise. 
 
 Now, queerly enough and it be a proof of the con 
 summate villainy of the man it was Will Lewis who had 
 been most set on doing away with us. And, chiefly, he 
 wished to put Will Endicott out of the way ; for, as Will 
 Lewis had said to Captain Vane, " The fellow had escaped 
 him once before." Which was an offence unpardonable 
 and never to be forgiven, in his eyes. 
 
 Well, at this so I had it from Tom Appleton 
 Will Endicott sprang up and cried out furiously that here 
 was a rogue that had sought twice to have his life; and 
 that when he did, if ever, fall in with this Will Lewis again, 
 he would wait for no stroke in the dark from him, but 
 would slay him out of hand. Yet I did not think then 
 ever to see him and Will Lewis meet again face to face. 
 
 It seems, moreover, that this scheme for our undoing 
 had been hatched some days before; and the expedition 
 beyond the creek were but the working out of it. Nor 
 had these two, Randlett and Pemberton, any inkling that 
 they were to be left, till they were knocked down suddenly 
 just as the party would be about taking to the boats. 
 
 Now it comes not all clearly back to me, as to the manner 
 of our contriving the first weeks of our desertion. Nor am 
 I certain that we went soberly about any one thing. For 
 we were hi no calm frame of mind to consider what it were 
 best to do, as against the wild impulse of the moment ; 
 and we spent a great part of our time wandering along the 
 shores and gazing off seaward. 
 
 We even went to a deal of labour in making and
 
 312 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 setting up a great mast and lashing it to the top of a pine- 
 tree, at the eastern front of the island, with a strip of the 
 ship's canvas laced to it, for a signal to any craft ; which 
 was, indeed, a foolish thing to do, and all to no purpose ; 
 only that it gave us employment and kept our minds 
 occupied. 
 
 Then, by degrees, coming to look soberly at our sit 
 uation, we saw there were two main things to set about : 
 to construct some sort of a permanent habitation against 
 the late summer and fall rains, when they should come on ; 
 and, after that, to contrive, if possible, some plan of getting 
 clear of the place. 
 
 First, however, to get in hand all that would be useful 
 and of necessity to us, we made several trips to both the 
 extremities of the island and fetched back all, or most all, 
 of the stuff we had unearthed from the caches; and 
 particularly the great sack of powder, which we saw we 
 should soon be in need of. 
 
 We got, too, an enormous number of knives of every 
 sort, some very long and massy in the blade, cumbrous 
 things for knives, but, being a small approach to axes, of 
 great value to us. Also we got a quantity of kettles and 
 pans and dishes. As for what paltry pieces of eight there 
 were in the two holes, the very sight of the coin turned us 
 sick with loathing and disgust; and we stamped them 
 into the ground. 
 
 Now, this being somewhere about the first of June, we 
 having passed the better part of a month on the island 
 already, with Vane and his men, we went about fashioning 
 our cabin very leisurely. We worked at it when we were
 
 Friends Do Not Bear Malice 313 
 
 in the spirit for it, only, and so were a fortnight or a little 
 more in finishing it. It was, then, only a little better than 
 an Indian's wigwam, having a framework of light poles; 
 but protected against the rain and wind by the spare 
 sails, which Vane and his crew had left to us in their haste. 
 
 This having been done, and our powder stored, we 
 found we were wanting a boat, or canoe, of some sort, to 
 get us over to the mainland for hunting, and, perhaps, in 
 time to set out along the sound, if we dared. We should 
 have liked a birch canoe, but had no good bark to make 
 it of, and so set to hunting for a suitable tree out of which 
 to fashion a dugout. 
 
 This we got, eventually, away over by the shore of the 
 creek. We got it down and, after many days, hacked out 
 the rough hulk of a boat, and hollowed the inside, Indian 
 fashion, with fire. This boat we brought all the way 
 around from the mouth of the creek, along the northern 
 shore of the island, and so came into our harbour with it, 
 having a care not to go upon the ledges near the entrance. 
 
 This boat soon proved most valuable to us ; for, having 
 made several trips in it to the mainland, across the sound 
 to the north of us, we found at length a part of the shore 
 to the northeast, some miles eastward of where we had 
 landed with Vane's men to hunt for treasure, which was 
 more habitable than the other. From this we could get 
 back a great way into the country, if we chose, and in the 
 woods of which there was a great abundance of game. 
 
 So we should not lack for food at least, so long as 
 our supply of powder held out ; and, indeed, we found a 
 way later to kill small game with bows and arrows, saving
 
 314 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 our powder on any hunting trip as a last resource. Then 
 there was ever a plentiful supply of fish of the choicest 
 kinds, to be had for the taking. 
 
 But we were for ever craving, like dying men for water, 
 to get clear of the place ; and that were for all times the 
 subject of our discussions. Will Endicott and Tom and 
 Elbridge and I were hopeful, when we had got good 
 command of our boat, of some day venturing to sail south 
 ward in her and, perhaps, making the port of Charleston, 
 or Bath, or some settlement, where we might be in the 
 way of getting shipment north. But, though they longed 
 as much as we for freedom, John Pemberton and Randlett 
 were fearful of this. It seemed, by their say, that it was 
 like to fare ill with us an the men of Charleston got hands 
 upon us now; since, after Teach's ship had been taken, 
 there were not a few pirates that had escaped to the woods 
 in those parts ; and these, being captured, now and again, 
 were taken and hanged summarily by the Carolinians. 
 All of which did, in a measure, disconcert us. 
 
 Of our brief voyaging for the time being, in our rude 
 boat, I may say no more now than that it was a blessed 
 relief to us to go exploring in her ; to make the circuit of 
 our island, and come home weary, so that we must fall 
 asleep perforce, and not lie awake to think of our troubles. 
 
 Mostly, we did venture in upon the mainland in the 
 part of which I have spoken, that being most accessible ; 
 for, as to the coast directly across from our harbour and 
 along to the west of that, it was an accursed, swampy, 
 malarial pest-hole; and away to the northwest, setting 
 up into a river that came down through some hills, or
 
 Friends Do Not Bear Malice 315 
 
 natural dikes, with pestilential marshes on either hand, 
 there was a fearful current driving. And this was ever 
 rushing in or out with great velocity, with the ebb and 
 flow of the tide, and we had no fancy for venturing into 
 it, seeing that it ran at half-tide like the racing of a moun 
 tain stream.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 THE SECRET OF THE RHYME 
 
 Now I find I am arrived at a great stretch of time that 
 cannot be told of fully, even had I the gift of memory to 
 do that ; for I have other events to write of that be branded 
 more deeply in the brain, and I would fain be through 
 with them and ended. 
 
 However, I may, after a fashion, sketch it along, setting 
 such warmth of ardour as I can beneath the pages of the 
 brain, so that what be written there in the invisible fluid 
 of the memory may perhaps glow up into sight, like a 
 secret scrawl held to the fire. I do recall, already, two 
 perils that were near to our undoing; and the horror of 
 the second of these may never wholly pass from me, since 
 the menace of a shameful death be a thing not easily 
 forgotten. 
 
 Here we were, then, it being sometime the month of 
 June in the year 1719, six men of us abandoned in a strange 
 wilderness, a vast and pathless distance from any settle 
 ment, and like to be looked upon with suspicion should we 
 be able to reach any. 
 
 THE MONTH OF JUNE, 1719. We did, as I have said, 
 set about the fashioning of a hut, which we completed ; 
 
 316
 
 The Secret of the Rhyme 317 
 
 and, later, undertook the shaping of a boat, which when 
 done, floated us. We were hard put to it, this and the 
 succeeding month, to reconcile ourselves to our lot could 
 not do any sustained and consecutive labour; but I have 
 seen one or another man throw down the knife he would 
 be using, and stride away, with his teeth clenched and the 
 sweat starting out on his forehead ; and we might not see 
 him again till night, or even the next morning, unless it 
 were at a distance, going sullenly along the shore. 
 
 THE MONTH OF AUGUST. We made many trips to 
 the mainland; and, finally, cut and towed back to our 
 harbour, with great labour, two trees. From these we 
 purposed constructing two canoes of a lighter and neater 
 design, to be lashed together with some rigging that had 
 been left with the sails, and to make us a craft similar to 
 the catamaran, to carry a small mast. 
 
 We were all the month, as near as memory serves me, 
 constructing this thing, but got it to suit us fairly well. 
 We should have liked a rudder for this, but found we had 
 no means of hanging one, should we make it ; and so we 
 made a great sweep to steer with, which rested in a groove 
 of what answered for the stem-rail. 
 
 THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER. We had set us up a 
 smoke-house for the curing of meat, and begun to lay up 
 a stock of the dried flesh. About this time, Randlett and 
 Pemberton made an important discovery, of a number 
 of great turtles on a trip away over to the western extremity 
 of the island. This was most excellent flesh ; and I could 
 not but think, had we a cargo of them to take into Boston, 
 what a good price they would fetch in the market ; which
 
 318 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 did cause me to smile, seeing that I had suffered this 
 reversion from treasure-hunter, aiming at great riches, 
 to my original aim of fisherman. 
 
 THE MONTH OF OCTOBER. I think the middle or 
 latter end, we were for setting out on a cruise to the south 
 ward. This was a most uncertain and hazardous under 
 taking, the land and water being alike wilderness to us ; but 
 we had, one might say, no election in the matter, being 
 driven forth by an impulse too strong to be resisted. 
 
 Not to hazard all we had, however, we made a division 
 of our powder, and set aside some spare pistols and one 
 fowling-piece, and some other stuff, including the greater 
 part of our utensils for cooking; and we dug a great 
 cache, with exceeding care, and buried all our stuff in it, 
 covering it over with the sail-cloth. 
 
 We set up, also, by the shore of our harbour, a staff, 
 with a strip of wood fastened to it, on which Will Endicott 
 carved out, in a whole night's work, the date, as near as 
 we could estimate it, of our setting out; the course we 
 intended to take; who we were, and the manner of our 
 being cast away all, so that should any chance craft 
 make our harbour those aboard might see fit to come to 
 our rescue. 
 
 We embarked then, and made our way gradually to 
 the eastward, finding our course to the southward barred, 
 as we sailed, by immense stretches of the marsh-land, 
 and knowing we were like to come to some thoroughfare, 
 at least by the inner line of the great sand-ramparts that 
 divide the sound from the sea. 
 
 So we came at length to the confines of the great swamp
 
 The Secret of the Rhyme 319 
 
 and turned us to the south, where the sound lay not so 
 much as three miles wide from sand to swamp. This was 
 dismal voyaging, the most disheartening, indeed, one 
 might enter upon ; for when it would come night, on the 
 one hand there was no firm shore on which to land and 
 eat and sleep; and, on the other hand, where the sand 
 hills stretched, it was more often so shallow that we must 
 skirt along for a mile or more to find a place fit to land. 
 
 However, hi one way and another, we made some 
 considerable progress, and got, I should say, as far as 
 fifty or sixty miles southward, where the thoroughfare 
 began to swell out widely into another immense sound, 
 when a condition we had not reckoned on brought us 
 perforce to a halt. 
 
 There began to blow up, steadily, by day and by night, 
 a cool northeast wind ; and, with it, great masses of fog 
 that loomed up thickly over the crests of the sand-hills, 
 and then poured down over us like a flood risen above its 
 dikes. This did shut us in darkly for days and days, so 
 that there was no venturing on in it. 
 
 Therefore, we did at length give over our voyage south 
 and turn about and creep alongshore, making short tacks 
 not to lose our bearings, which were the bars of the sand- 
 slopes. However, there did seem to be a belt where the 
 fog hovered within certain confines, at least at this season 
 of the year, for in time we sailed out of it and saw it lying 
 massed behind us ; and we were glad to escape from the 
 dreadful prison and to turn once more into the sound we 
 had first sailed out of. 
 
 But here we were, in a few days, like to be wrecked in
 
 320 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 sight of our own harbour ; for there came in a gale from 
 the east in which our craft was not to be controlled, and we 
 were swept past our harbour and up to the mouth of the 
 river that lay to the northwest, of which I have spoken. 
 
 Now this river being narrow, and deep and swift run 
 ning, did chance to be at the half of its ebb, and swirling 
 down fiercely into the sound. So that when it came to a 
 jousting with the sea, that was thrown up and borne west 
 ward by the gale, there was a tumultuous clashing of the 
 two waters, in which chop our catamaran was so wrenched 
 and heaved about that after a time it did work loose and 
 fall apart. 
 
 We, clinging to the canoes, must quickly have been 
 beaten off and drowned in the dancing of the chop, but 
 that we were fortunately caught by a back current and 
 carried by the eddy in to a point of the mainland, where 
 we lay all night, shivering ; but in the morning, the sound 
 having grown calm again, we managed to swim the two 
 canoes across and got back to the harbour we had left. 
 
 This bitter ending to our attempt to escape cost us so 
 dear that we must needs surrender all hope of getting clear 
 of the island by our own efforts before another year; for 
 we had lost all of the powder that we had taken with us, 
 save two bladders of it that we found still tied to one of 
 the canoes after the wreck ; and Will Endicott had saved 
 his fowling-piece by slinging it about him when he saw the 
 catamaran was breaking up. And we would hazard no 
 more of our scanty supply on a second venture till the late 
 spring, when there would be no fog and seldom rain. 
 
 THE MONTHS OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, OF THE
 
 The Secret of the Rhyme 321 
 
 YEAR 1719, AND THE EARLY PART OF 1720. We Saw WC 
 
 must now make preparations for passing the winter here, 
 though it would not, by the word of Randlett and Pember- 
 ton, be severe. So we went to work, strengthening our 
 hut, reinforcing it with stakes and withes, which we daubed 
 with clay. We did even build up a cook- stove of clay 
 and stones, with a chimney of the same, laid over a frame 
 work of poles and withes. 
 
 We did, too, dig deeply at the bed of a spring near by 
 us and make a basin for the water to stand in, so that, 
 if it came on to freeze, we should not lack for water, by 
 keeping the ice broken. 
 
 Then, too, we went over to the mainland and spent some 
 days back in the wooded country, hunting. Nor was there 
 ever any serious concern that we should go hungry, for 
 the sea gave us ever a good supply of food. 
 
 So it was mostly as to our garments that we were 
 reduced finally to savagery, having in the end to hang the 
 skins of animals about us with the thongs we cut and 
 dried. We were, indeed, like so many barbarians by 
 spring-time, and I should have hidden from Will Endicott 
 had I come upon him, a stranger, hi the woods, for, having 
 a sort of doublet fashioned of the skin of a wildcat, and 
 his huge legs swathed in rough skins, like an Indian 
 warrior, he was enough to frighten any one. 
 
 THE EARLY SPRING OF 1720. We were now mostly 
 concerned to make us a better craft for voyaging than we 
 had had before ; and we did this, making use of the two 
 canoes we already had, but taking more time and shaping 
 them over better. But we would not make us another sail
 
 322 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 till the time should come for using it, since we could not 
 spare it from our hut. 
 
 Now we were ready to start out once more southward, 
 by, I should say, the first of June ; and should have done 
 so, but that Elbridge Carver fell ill, and we thought him 
 as good as dead for more than once ; but he would rally, 
 clinging to life with a gaunt, lean hand when we were 
 fearing he must let go. So that it was not until the first of 
 August, or thereabouts, that we got under way. 
 
 We were, moreover, in hopeful spirit over this voyage, 
 seeing that for much of the distance we should be cruising 
 through waters we had once before explored. 
 
 We went southward for days, with a good southwest 
 wind, and no delaying from perverse weather. So, in a 
 week of two, we were some eighty miles south of our 
 island, having sailed more than double that number of 
 miles in beating and reaching, and were arrived somewhere 
 a little above a great inlet it may have been Ocracoke 
 though pretty well inland. 
 
 Here, sighting the mouth of a large river, we steered 
 up into it late of an afternoon, about the first shading of 
 twilight, very hopefully, seeing it was of a depth and 
 breadth so splendidly navigable as to make it probable 
 there would be some town along its banks. But here, 
 all of a moment, we came to an end of our voyaging, 
 sharply and cruelly ; and had a fleeting vision of that grim 
 death that all men may dread the most. For, as we went 
 along the northern shore of the entrance to the river, and 
 the evening very warm and pleasant, and the shadows of 
 the overhanging trees and bushes quivering tremulously
 
 The Secret of the Ehyme 323 
 
 with the light breeze, there suddenly shot out from behind 
 a point a long boat, with four men rowing and two men 
 sitting in the stern-sheets. 
 
 These two caught up guns from across their knees and 
 blazed away at us, while the four stopped in their rowing 
 and, themselves, seized guns to do likewise. However, 
 being unharmed by the first shots, we threw ourselves 
 flat so that the bullets fired by the four that had been 
 rowing went over our heads and through our sail. At 
 the same moment we heard a cry go up : 
 
 " The pirates ! the pirates ! Halt ye, and give your 
 selves up or ye be all dead men." 
 
 But being helmsman of our craft, by reason of my days 
 about Eastham, I did lose not a moment in putting us 
 about and heading off from the men ; and, to stay their 
 oncoming for the four were quickly laying to their oars 
 again we snatched out our pistols and gave them a 
 volley; which brought them to a sudden stop. 
 
 So, having got before the wind, and enough breeze still 
 stirring to move us, we drew away from them while they 
 were waiting to reload, and gave them, also, two shots 
 from our fowling-pieces, into the bargain. 
 
 Whether any of our shots took effect, we had no way 
 of knowing, hearing no loud outcry, but only a storm of 
 rough speech among them. However, they did follow 
 only in a halting way after that, rowing for a few minutes 
 briskly and then stopping to fire. And all the while we 
 were running away as fast as ever we could, praying that 
 the wind might not die down ; and, more especially, when, 
 after a little time, we observed a second boat come quickly
 
 324 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 alongside the other, whereupon the two came on together 
 in our wake. 
 
 But we caught a strong set of the current northward 
 in a little while and, with it, we being now well out of the 
 mouth of the river, a fresher breeze; so that we were 
 losing no way to them when the night fell. 
 
 We were put more in terror by this adventure than 
 though we had been seized by Indians or pirates, seeming 
 to feel the cold shadow of the gibbet with their first outcry, 
 though whether they had taken us for some of Teach' s 
 old men, or there were others by this time in hiding about 
 here, with a price set on their heads, there was no telling. 
 
 By reason of which, we had now no longer any other 
 wish than to escape back to our island and remain hidden. 
 So we sailed all that night, and were thankful for the 
 gracious breeze that kept the sail filled. 
 
 Then, by the morning, we having made fair running of 
 it in the dark, the boats were not anywhere to be seen. 
 Yet we dared not lie by to rest and sleep, but kept on all 
 that day, and were very early started again the next 
 morning. 
 
 We saw no more of the men in the boats, which made us 
 think they were king's men from some war'sman, sent 
 to patrol the coast ; for these king's men were never fond 
 cTf going far out of their way, nor seeking to be shot at 
 when it was to be avoided; since there would be better 
 fun afloat. 
 
 Within the fortnight we were back upon our island 
 again, and glad to step ashore; but very downcast and 
 gloomy, withal, since we had reckoned strongly on this
 
 The Secret of the Rhyme 325 
 
 venture and would, indeed, have reached some port of 
 ships had we not been mistaken for rovers. 
 
 Well, now, the fall being soon upon us, and our condition 
 seeming to be hopeless, we were put to the same old con 
 trivances as before, to winter us ; but we went about the 
 work more heavy-hearted, without the incentive we had 
 had the previous year to keep us in good courage. 
 
 So that Tom Appleton was no longer buoyant as of 
 old, but sadly sobered; and Will Endicott was now a 
 great hulking giant, with no spirit in him ; and the others 
 of us long of face and given less to discourse. Whereby 
 I seem to see that the wild creatures suffer not so much 
 by reason of lack of speech, the depression of the wilder 
 ness conducing to silence. 
 
 It was sometime the first of the winter, when it had not 
 begun to be cold, but we knew by the flights of the wild 
 birds to our shores that the winter was coming on, that we 
 changed our camp over to the other shore of the harbour ; 
 that is, to the western shore, we having found a spot close 
 by the water, but a few rods up from it, that was more 
 sheltered and that had a good spring by it. 
 
 Mostly to our advantage, it was nearer to the creek 
 away over to the westward, where we had noticed that 
 there were now great flocks of wild duck ; and these were 
 so many and so free from alarm, that we might get scores 
 of them at twilight even with the bow and arrow, and so 
 save our powder. 
 
 Later, when the new year had come and gone, and the 
 signs of early spring were on every hand, and the first 
 flights of the wild birds on again, they coming from the
 
 326 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 farther south, why, we took them in traps, having no pow 
 der to spare. 
 
 But now this changing of the site of our hut, which we 
 had done, as I say, the early part of the winter, is a strange 
 thing for me to contemplate, it being a chance impulse 
 at the time, to give us more comfort. Yet it seems the 
 working of Providence was in it; since, had we stayed 
 in the old place, I fear we should all have left our bones 
 on the island, even as the pirate we had found buried in 
 the lonely grave. 
 
 This spring of the new year, that of 1721, found us not 
 lean and gaunt, as after the first hard winter on Round 
 House, for we had been well fed and were in good flesh. 
 But we were all growing, I did realize, of a dull vacancy 
 of mind, having lived for the most of two years only as the 
 animals or the savages do, with all of our concern as to 
 what we should put into our mouths, and nothing to stir 
 the brain from growing torpid. 
 
 Yet, whereas I had perceived this and was sorry for it, 
 I fell to caring less and less if it were so; and even the 
 grief, of which I had not, and have not now, any words to 
 give expression only that I do believe there were in 
 tervals of time in which I was half-mad with the agony and 
 the hopelessness of it even this became in time blunted 
 in some measure, wearing itself out, as all things do. 
 
 But in this spring, when everything about us was 
 having a new awakening, why, there was the first old 
 restlessness and frenzy at our captivity seizing hold of us 
 again; and, as it came on warmer and the nights mild, 
 there was ever a certain soft invitation in the moonlight
 
 The Secret of the Rhyme 327 
 
 lying over the sound that called to me, in terms so tender 
 as to set me weeping, to venture forth once more across 
 the placid surface and go back to her who was ever waiting. 
 
 So that how to make the venture again was a continual 
 torment ; and I would spend sometimes the whole of the 
 night alone by the shore, seeming to be nearer to her then, 
 by the peaceful, moonlit sea, than at any other time. 
 
 I fancy to this day I can hear good Tom Appleton 
 calling from the hut where he and Will Endicott and the 
 others had lain them down for the night : " Will you not 
 come in, Philip, my man? It will be no good for you out 
 there alone. They do say the moon will make folk queer 
 in the brain by much gazing on it, lonely. Come in and 
 sleep, and we will talk to-morrow of getting away. I 
 think we shall go north on the next venture." 
 
 And of my answering, on such a night, in the latter part 
 of the month of April, " Sure, and I will be coming in 
 presently, Tom ; but first will I have a turn along the shore, 
 to quiet down in." And so sat me down presently, where 
 I was like to stay half the night or more, and dream that 
 I was not there, but would open my eyes on the hills of 
 Round House. 
 
 I have wondered often, what strange magic there be 
 in the moon's light, that it hath ever the effect, which the 
 sun's hath not, of transporting the mind away from the 
 present surroundings to where one has seen it glow softly 
 at other times. Is it winter? Why, one will be presently 
 mindful of how it rose on some hot summer night when 
 he lay at anchor in a still harbour. And lo ! the same 
 tune will run through the brain that came out across the
 
 328 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 water then from land. Is it summer? There will be a 
 picture quickly coming of a frozen pool, with the same 
 moonlight glinting along the ice. 
 
 So I do think I have never sat idly and seen the moon 
 rise, but I have been mindful of other moons and other 
 places; whereas the sun, in its surpassing glory, hath no 
 such wizard power; and mostly, I do think, because it 
 comes up with less of stillness and mystery, even in the 
 lonely places. Since there be, accompanying it, the voices 
 of birds singing joyously, or of men going about the decks, 
 or of vessels weighing anchor, and the rattling of blocks 
 and hoops as the sails are spread, or the stirring of cattle 
 or wild animals, if it be on land and all of which be 
 lacking by the time the moon be rising. 
 
 So here was I, in the flooding light of the first coming of 
 the moon, near a thousand miles from home ; and yet the 
 moonlight lay no longer across the waters of the sound, 
 nor along the melancholy shore beyond, nor stealing up 
 the white sands to my feet. But it lighted up now all the 
 woods that fringed the ponds back of Cousin Ephraim's, 
 and I could hear the cattle rouse up and stir sleepily amid 
 the brush. 
 
 Now it shone down upon the ghastly gibbet where 
 Quelch's men had gone up to die by the shore of the 
 Charles ; and I could see their white faces in the boat as 
 they came up to the foot of the gallows, with Cotton Mather 
 standing like an angel of wrath in the bow ; and then a 
 fearful sight in the yellow light of the moon six dangling 
 figures, with the weird glare upon the water as it flowed 
 beneath them.
 
 The Secret of the Rhyme 329 
 
 But now this died away, and the moonlight stole through 
 the pines that fronted the sea on Round House. The 
 orb wheeled higher, and the light flooded down into the 
 meadows; and it made the floss, that ran murmuring 
 joyously past our cabin door, sparkle here and there among 
 the alders. And there was one spot, away up the little 
 stream, that lay for a time in shadow, until the moon rose 
 higher. Then, as the soft light stole into that bower by 
 the floss, I saw my Mary waiting, as in the old days, for 
 me to come up along the bank and find her there. 
 
 But this was a fleeting vision ; and it went out amid the 
 sound of vaster waters, the hoarse roaring of the sea. I 
 stood on the sand-hills of Eastham ; and the bodies were 
 tumbling out of their graves and were hurled once more 
 up the banks, and rolled down again; and the faces of 
 the dead stared up at me and faded out, as the seas rose 
 and fell. 
 
 The sea and its dead ! Now the waves were tossing four 
 score bodies up the steep incline of sand, and now the sea 
 fell away calm, and still, and the storm was gone; and 
 only here and there a body lay floating, quiet and stark, 
 upon its surface, with the moon shining on the face of 
 the dead. 
 
 Then, in awesome silence, the steep sand-cliffs of 
 Eastham sank slowly, dissolved, flattened, broadened out, 
 disappeared. The sea contracted; and now the low- 
 lying, familiar shore lay just beyond the stretch of the 
 sound at my feet, and many familiar objects came again 
 into view. 
 
 Yet all was not changed, and a part of the vision re-
 
 330 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 mained a pirate body floating on the surface of the 
 gleaming water; heroic in size, bigger, indeed, than big 
 Will Endicott, but the body of a man. No, not the body, 
 either; for now it was more plainly to be seen, and was 
 not, I say, a body, but the mere skeleton of a man, huge 
 and weird. 
 
 The little waves cut crisply in between the ribs; mur 
 mured in the hollow skull; broke in tiny splashings 
 against the long bones of the legs; and washed over the 
 whole frame, with the gentle swell of the sound ; till the 
 skeleton, grisly with clotted seaweed, seemed drifting and 
 rocking, with the easy motion of the waters, borne upon 
 the surface by some unnatural disturbance of the sea. 
 
 With this, though I be little afraid of dead men, thinking 
 there be no great power for harm in any of us when the 
 life is out, yet could I feel the top of my head grow cold, 
 and the skin tighten and shrivel till it pained ; and I would 
 fain believe I were but half in my senses and half dreaming, 
 with the vision of Eastham not wholly faded away. So 
 I sprang to my feet and spoke aloud to myself, by way of 
 reassurance; and I shut my eyes from the moonlight. 
 
 Surely, said I, when I do look again there will be no 
 pirate skeleton there upon the water, to be seen. Yet, 
 withal, there was that inner consciousness which told me 
 that, when I should look again, the thing would still be 
 there. 
 
 Still there! ghastly, grotesque, misshapen; too huge 
 for reality, but still before my eyes, the skeleton of a giant 
 man, with the little, fluttering waves making sport of it, 
 as before.
 
 The Secret of the Rhyme 331 
 
 The next moment, I could have laughed at my folly; 
 for it was no longer the bony figure of a man, but only the 
 top of one of the reefs that lay just at the north and west 
 of the entrance to our harbour. And I had seen it a thou 
 sand times before, yet here was I growing chilly and 
 creepy over its fancied likeness to the poor bones of a 
 drowned man. 
 
 Then, all of a sudden, again, I was getting cold and 
 frightened with the strange significance of the thing, as it 
 played, I know not how, upon some hidden chord of con 
 sciousness within me, even before it leaped to life within 
 the brain. So, in another moment, I found myself whis 
 pering the words of that queer sailor's doggerel that the 
 man who went up to the gallows had written down those 
 long years back, and of which I seemed to see now the 
 meaning : 
 
 " When the skeleton's bones are bare, 
 When his ribs let in the air, 
 Sight across from skull to toe 
 Weigh the anchor, now, yeave-ho ! " 
 
 Now I was running back to the camp, where the others 
 were sleeping, soundly. But I had them sharp awake, 
 with a cry, before I had arrived ; so that they were sitting 
 up, amazed, when I ran in upon them. 
 
 "Why, what will be amiss, man or is it a sail?" 
 cried Will Endicott, eagerly. 
 
 " No ! no ! " I shouted. " It be the skeleton, Will. 
 Mind you, the skeleton of which the rhyme runs about 
 the treasure. It lies out yonder the skeleton we be so 
 long hunting."
 
 332 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 " The devil ! " exclaimed Will Endicott. I think he 
 thought me touched; and he added, anxiously, "It will 
 be the effect of the moon, I fear." Then he and Tom 
 Appleton looked strangely at each other, and Will Endicott 
 laid a great arm gently over my shoulder. 
 
 Now this was downright maddening to me, to be taken 
 for a poor fool, gone silly with moon-gazing ; and so, to cut 
 no foolish figure, with antics, I did sober quickly and 
 looked Will Endicott calmly in the face. 
 
 " Sure, Will," said I, " I be not touched in the brain, 
 nor have I been dreaming. But I have seen the mark to 
 steer by for the pirate treasure ; and it be no real skeleton 
 of bone, as we have been thinking all this while, but a 
 mere jagged cropping of the ledge just out from shore. 
 Come with me, and you shall see for yourself if I be mis 
 taken or not." 
 
 So they went back along with me. 
 
 Well, when we had arrived at the place where I had 
 stood, why, there was the ugly reef making a fool of me, 
 and like to prove Will Endicott's fears. For, as true as I 
 live, I could see no more a skeleton figure to it than I could 
 a full-rigged ship; having, perhaps, not just the same 
 angle, or distance, as before. 
 
 So I was staring like a half-wit, and like to be the mark 
 of all the others, when suddenly Tom Appleton got the 
 thing right. 
 
 " Why, there it is, for sure, Will," he cried. " It be, 
 indeed, a great skeleton an you get the light of the moon to 
 play upon it right. Aye, there's the big skull lying in next 
 to shore, and the legs sticking out toward the northwest.
 
 The Secret of the Rhyme 333 
 
 By the Lord ! Philip, how will the rhyme go : ' Sight across 
 from skull to toe,' sure and we shall fetch just this side 
 of the river that wrecked us. 
 
 "Here, Will, do you not see it, man?" And Tom 
 Appleton drew Will Endicott over and showed him the 
 thing. By and by Will Endicott got it, too, and I and 
 all the others; but now it was ledge to me one minute 
 and the skeleton the next, and came and went like a 
 phantom. 
 
 Then, after a time, as we stood gazing, Will Endicott 
 said grimly: 
 
 " Aye, but 'twill not drift away. 'Twill be there to 
 morrow and the next day, I'll take oath ; and of little good 
 to us now, I fear, though there be treasure a mile high. 
 And I will set out on no night jaunt for all the gold ever 
 hidden, since we shall be no nearer home for the finding 
 of it." 
 
 And Will Endicott went back to camp, with the others 
 following. 
 
 But, though I did feel the truth of Will Endicott's words, 
 yet was I drawn to the thing mightily; and I could not 
 leave it, but sat me down again by the shore to gaze upon 
 it. Strange, indeed, was its fascination ; and grievously did 
 it torment me through the night. For, when the resem 
 blance would disappear, then I had no peace till I had seen 
 it again; and, when I had once more found it, then by 
 weariness of gazing I would lose it. And so, at length, I 
 fell off to sleep by the shore. 
 
 Then, when I was awake, once, an hour later, why, 
 for one moment I thought it was all a cruel dream, there
 
 334 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 being no skeleton there, nor any ledge at all; but the 
 waters were flowing smoothly over the spot where the 
 reef had shown before the flooding of the tide had cov 
 ered it.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 " FROM SKULL TO TOE " 
 
 BIG Will Endicott had been scornful of the treasure the 
 night before; but he would be as keen as I when it had 
 come daybreak and he had stirred his wits by a dip in the 
 sea. There was never a man so out of temper with the 
 working of the tide as he; for, since it would be yet two 
 hours till the waters would begin to ebb away again, it 
 would be six hours at least, or an hour before noon, before 
 we should get the skeleton fairly in sight once more. 
 
 So Will Endicott was for setting off on the venture, as 
 soon as we had eaten, which would be four hours before 
 noon, and, having the general lay of the land, hunt the 
 place out. But Tom Appleton was wiser, having now the 
 control that Will Endicott had had the night before ; and 
 he declared we should go again on no fool's errand, but by 
 the truest course we could lay, by sighting according to 
 the rhyme. 
 
 Now why we should be, all of us, once more afire with 
 the zeal of treasure-hunting, considering our situation, is 
 beyond me to say ; unless it be that we had none of us lost 
 heart of being quit of this place some day, and thinking 
 we might come again in due time and fetch the stuff 
 away. 
 
 335
 
 336 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 But, at all events, it was the thing we had started out 
 to find; and now that there seemed fair prospect of our 
 reaching the goal, why, here we were so eager, after these 
 years of waiting, that we could scarce give the tide so 
 much as a half-dozen turnings of the glass to do the rest 
 of its flooding and its ebbing in. 
 
 " Hold your patience, Will," cried Tom Appleton to 
 Will Endicott. " Will you be walking into Boston by 
 sundown, with a bag of gold under your arm to spend, 
 that you cannot wait a bit ? " 
 
 " Ah ! but I do have an itch to see the stuff," replied 
 Will Endicott ; " and, I dare say, when I have set eyes on 
 it, you may pitch it into the sea for all I shall care." 
 
 This, I think, was in the minds of all of us. So we 
 fetched up the spades and mattocks and some of the heavi 
 est knives we had, and some of the dried turtle flesh, and 
 loaded up the catamaran with the stuff. Moreover, 
 we got the dugout ready to tow along with us, in case we 
 should need it; and we worked at these preparations 
 furiously, as though the tide was hurrying and spurring 
 us, instead of we having to wait for it. 
 
 Well, by two hours before midday we had the top of the 
 reef, that answered for the skull, well out of water; so 
 that the thing, indeed, did appear as though the skeleton 
 had been cast into the sea, shotted by the ankles, as the 
 feet and legs lay more deeply submerged than the head. 
 Before noon the upper part of the skeleton was showing, 
 and the ribs letting in the air, and dripping with the wash 
 of the sound. 
 
 Now we got around to the skull, in the dugout, and
 
 11 From Skull to Toe " 337 
 
 looked across to the mainland in line with the length of 
 the whole skeleton ; and, sure enough, as Tom Appleton 
 had said, the course was about due northwest and would 
 bring us in upon the shore near to the mouth of the river, 
 in a country that was most forbidding. It was broken 
 up all about with a multitude of little elevations, with 
 swamps lying between; and the shores of the river did 
 rise above the adjacent country, like natural dikes on 
 either side, so that the flowing of it was confined. 
 This gave to it its current, as it was not merged, as are 
 so many of the streams thereabout at their mouths, into 
 the surrounding country. 
 
 But now when we were put to it to fix upon some promi 
 nence, or some distinguishing thing, at that distance, as 
 a mark to steer by, why, we were at first taken aback, the 
 country being desolate and the distance some two and a 
 half miles. Yet we did observe what seemed to be a 
 clump of tall trees, apparently some way back from shore, 
 standing up bare and gaunt, as though they were now 
 dead. But back of these, they shutting off the view be 
 hind them, we saw no thing to get them in line with ; that 
 is, till, our boat drifting a way beyond the reef, we saw 
 what we had had no occasion before to observe that 
 this was not one clump of trees, but that there were, in 
 fact, three groups, and there was some distance between 
 them. So that when we should get to the shore opposite 
 we could not go wrong, keeping all three groups in line. 
 
 We set out, then, about midday, with the shred of sail 
 on the catamaran, and the dugout towing behind; but 
 the wind being exceeding light and dead against us, we
 
 338 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 were nearly two hours beating across, having also the last 
 of the ebb tide to contend against, and that served to carry 
 us to the eastward. 
 
 Well, when we were across the sound and arrived at the 
 point where we had a near view of the first clump of trees, 
 we saw they were a dozen tall, dead magnolias on a little 
 eminence a mile back from the shore ; and the others lay 
 behind them, each group apparently a quarter of a mile, 
 or more, apart. Now here we saw we should have no 
 further use for the larger boat ; for there was, hi the direc 
 tion of the first trees, a little, narrow slip of water, oozing 
 down sluggishly between a tangle of grasses and bushes, 
 and we might pass up along in the dugout, but not in any 
 larger craft. So we made the catamaran fast to a great 
 stump and got us all into the dugout and went in, slowly, 
 along the thread of creek. 
 
 Though the course of this creek was sinuous, yet was it 
 all of one direction in the main, and tending on in the line 
 of the trees ; so we thought we should be going on in the 
 right way. But, after some quarter of a mile, it came all 
 to a sudden ending, so far as any boat might float upon its 
 surface ; for it issued out at that point from amid the roots 
 of a dead forest of stunted pine and juniper ; and some of 
 these had been uprooted, and a great mass of fibrous tangle 
 was heaved up all about, so that it seemed impassable. 
 
 We might well have believed that here was the ending 
 of our search, but that on one hand there was a clearly 
 defined landing, and, moreover, at some time there 
 had been trees cut away, so that there was a trail leading 
 into the bush. Strangely, when we had entered upon it,
 
 " From Skull to Toe " 339 
 
 we found it following a narrow ridge of land that led by 
 the most gradual and almost imperceptible incline on to 
 higher ground. Which did, indeed, serve to show us we 
 were on a path that had at least been cleared at no remote 
 time by the hand of man. 
 
 But it was desperate travelling, for all that ; since there 
 had sprung up between the trees, after the time of its being 
 opened, a cruel snarl of wiry vines, densely intertwined; 
 and, in short, we were soon forced to go back to where 
 we had drawn the dugout on shore and fetch back all the 
 knives, in order to cut our way. The mattocks and spades 
 we left until we should need them. 
 
 When we had gone along the trail to the first group of 
 trees, we found them to be, as we had thought, dead mag 
 nolias. They must once have been very handsome, stately 
 trees ; but they were now dry and ugly. 
 
 But here we got renewed hope and a zeal for continuing ; 
 for there had been trees cut away about these magnolias, 
 for some reason, and the trunks of many lay nearly sunken 
 in the yielding soil, but still discernible. So we gave a 
 shout of triumph and pressed on. 
 
 We got in to the second clump in line more easily, there 
 being less undergrowth, and the country all about us open 
 ing up freer, with more good footing. But when we had 
 gone on a rod or two from here, through clumps of what 
 looked like our New England alder, we came abruptly to 
 the shore of a clear, inland pond, with a sandy shore not 
 boggy and it was quite symmetrical and pretty, being 
 almost a perfect circle, and a mile across in any direction. 
 
 There, a little more than a quarter of a mile away, was
 
 340 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 a dainty island of exceeding beauty, having clean, regular 
 shores, with a fringe of evergreens lining the border of the 
 sand, and the land rising prettily all around to the centre 
 of i^ whereon stood the third clump of magnolias. This 
 island was, we judged, only a few rods across. 
 
 This water, however, brought us up short. We liked 
 not to swim the pool, for fear of poisonous reptiles that 
 might be lurking ; so we were forced to turn about and go 
 all the way back to where we had left the dugout, with the 
 tools, and fetch it along; which was the hardest task for 
 no greater distance that we had ever accomplished. 
 
 However, we were across the pond in a few sweeps of 
 the paddles, being now very eager, despite our weariness, 
 believing we had come to the end of our searching ; and 
 we were out of the canoe before it had touched shore, and 
 barely waited to ground it against its drifting before we 
 were running up the bank amid the trees. 
 
 Now we had, in truth, come upon the goal for which 
 we had sailed the great seas clear from Round House, and 
 of which I had dreamed all these years since Ephraim and 
 Mercy and I had first gazed upon the pirate's scrawl ; nor 
 was there any need of a searching for hidden signs but 
 the sight that met our eyes was astounding. 
 
 Within the circle made by a rim of the great trees was a 
 space some two rods wide hi either direction ; and it was 
 all dug over from one end to the other, and great holes 
 sunken here, and mounds heaved up there ; so that there 
 was not a square foot of it that had not been touched. 
 
 There never was a more heartrending, maddening 
 sight for men eager for treasure and come at last, quivering,
 
 " From Skull to Toe " 341 
 
 to the very foot of the rainbow. There, before our eyes, 
 were no fewer than six great chests, that had been banded 
 and bound with iron ; and which had been digged up out 
 of the earth, smashed open, and emptied. There were 
 three casks, heavily hooped, with the heads knocked in, 
 half -filled with rain-water. There were half a score, or 
 more, of canvas sacks, tarred, and now rotting to pieces, 
 but still partly preserved by reason of this coating; and 
 these had been slit open, as though their contents we 
 could only imagine the precious stuff they had contained 
 had been emptied into more convenient vessels that the 
 party that had discovered them had fetched along. 
 
 There were spades and mattocks and three axes lying 
 where they had been dropped by those that had found the 
 treasure. These were mostly rusted out of their handles, 
 but the blades of the axes were good. The spades were 
 eaten through with rust. And these three axe-blades, which 
 would be very serviceable, yea, precious, to us, were the 
 treasure that was left to us of what we had come so far to find. 
 
 Then, while we stood, stupefied, dumfounded, stricken 
 all helpless, and the tears rolling down our cheeks from 
 sheer chagrin, Tom Appleton did solemnly, alone of us, 
 gather up these three rusted axe-blades. He held them up 
 and declared, with well-simulated exultation, that they were 
 the most priceless treasures we could have found ; and this 
 absurdity of all absurdities was indeed too much for us, 
 seeing we might have got better ones cheaper in Boston, 
 and need not have come so far for them ; and it set us off 
 into a fit of hysterical laughter which was the mirth, 
 without merriment, of so many fools.
 
 342 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 In the next moment we were overcome once more with 
 the reaction of disgust and chagrin; and Will Endicott 
 was put out with Tom Appleton and bade him make not 
 so light of our discomfiture, and to throw the rusty blades 
 away, seeing we should have no use now for them nor 
 for anything else, but might as well lie down here and 
 starve as to die of dry-rot over on our island, like savages. 
 
 However, Tom Appleton was cooler in the matter ; and 
 he hung the axe-blades about him, and bade Will Endicott 
 be of better cheer which, indeed, Will Endicott was, 
 right soon ; though we all of us had no heart for anything 
 but to sit us down and gaze helplessly at the spot where 
 the treasure had been. Alas ! it was dug over now, like a 
 potato patch; and we could only wonder what had be 
 come of the stuff. 
 
 We could have but little doubt that black Teach had 
 come by it in some manner, and that he and a crew had 
 entered here and sacked it away. We thought it like 
 enough that some of Brandt's old men had had the secret 
 from him, or from Scudamore, and had, later, sailed under 
 Teach, or given, again, the secret to some one that did. 
 As for its being Teach, why the fact that Vane and Will 
 Lewis had found the traces of him in the other cache 
 made us certain enough of that from the first. 
 
 So here we were, men that should have been wiser, 
 brooding and despondent over a few heaps of mouldering 
 earth that were as great a treasure to men in our condition 
 as gold would be; and we might as well have filled our 
 sacks with that and be content. 
 
 Presently the night began to fall about us, we having
 
 " From Skull to Toe " 343 
 
 been so long in getting access to the spot. We deemed it 
 best, then, to make no effort to get out to the shore until 
 morning, the trail being so bad and the dugout heavy to 
 carry; and we leaned us back each against a tree-trunk 
 and thought to go off to sleep. But, with the night, there 
 came in out of the swamps and across the pond a myriad 
 of stinging insects, so that the sound of them filled all the 
 air like a crying wind; and we could sit no longer still, 
 lest we be stung even to death. 
 
 We shoved off in the canoe, then, and, finding there was 
 far greater relief from the pests on the water, where a little 
 wind was blowing, we lay off and on there for several 
 hours, and waited till the moon had risen, that we might 
 go back along the trail more easily. 
 
 Then, on the way out, between the first group of mag 
 nolias and the shore, we came upon a sight that would have 
 caused us grievous work to no purpose had we espied it on 
 the way in. This was a grim reminder that a man as 
 heartless as Teach had been there ; for we saw, a little to 
 one side of the trail, in a spot where there was a small 
 hummock, the skeletons of four men. These, by holes in 
 their skulls, had been shot treacherously when the treasure 
 had been brought most of the way out, and no further 
 need of them. 
 
 When we had got, at last, to the shore where we had 
 moored the catamaran, it was long past midnight, so hard 
 had it been to carry out the canoe, and we dragging our 
 selves along wearily. We made what haste we could to 
 get under way, being eager to be back again to camp, nor 
 reckoned that the wind had fallen off very sluggish, nor of
 
 344 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 the tide, which would be near to two hours upon its flood ; 
 and there was good Tom Appleton hugging the only 
 treasure we had to show for our quest, the three axe-blades 
 slung about him, and we little knowing how soon we should 
 put them to use, and how strangely. 
 
 For, being clear of the land and out some way from the 
 point, we came all at once into the swift run of the current 
 bearing on to the mouth of the river; and being drowsy 
 and the waters all blended by the moonlight flickering 
 through drifting clouds, we had forgot and had not ob 
 served that it was at the height and power of its running. 
 Then the wind failing to overcome it, we saw presently 
 we were making no headway toward the other shore, but 
 were, instead, being carried rapidly back and even into 
 the very mouth of the river. 
 
 There was no escape now, for the wind did not suffice 
 to bear us out of the current ; so that we were going swiftly 
 along with it, and were well up into the river almost before 
 we knew what had happened. So it seemed best only to 
 keep headed straight amid it, and let it carry us in that 
 way for the present, since, at this stage of the tide, there 
 was such an incline of the waters, pouring from the sound 
 into this narrow channel, that we were in the rapids and 
 tide-rips, with little, snappy waves slapping us; and, to 
 swing the craft now, would likely bring us broadside so 
 that the current might flood over us. 
 
 In this fashion we were borne inland for something like 
 a mile, when all at once the river made a quick bend away 
 to the westward, between narrow shores, and here was a 
 whirlpool made by the current and the eddy. This swung
 
 " From SkuU to Toe " 345 
 
 us completely about, so that, in trying to put us right again, 
 and being met by a great rush of water, the sweep by 
 which I did steer was jammed and broken short off a little 
 way above the blade. 
 
 Thence we went along hazardously, as we'thought, with 
 no guidance of our own ; but truly now we were coming 
 to an end of our long, misguided wanderings, being borne 
 onward by the Hand that doth direct all men to their goal, 
 and most often through the strait and narrow way. So 
 it mattered naught to us clinging to the boat that we were 
 flung now toward one shore and then to the other, and we 
 much afraid of the ending. It mattered at the heart of the 
 thing naught that we saw but vaguely and in blended 
 shadow the banks along which we ran, the moon being 
 much obscured by cloudiness; seeing that what was 
 written now upon the face of these swift waters was no 
 scrawl for the eye of man to read, but beyond all scrutiny, 
 the workings and the plan of higher things. 
 
 Then, quickly, when we had been taken inland in all 
 the matter of at least three miles, there rose up in our path 
 something huge and black, undefinable in the darkness, 
 but lying across the whole breadth of the narrow stream ; 
 and, as we were borne down upon it, the roar and rush of 
 the waters grew louder, so that we cried out in sharp agony, 
 fearing we had come all so suddenly upon the brink of 
 rapids, and that there might be great falls lying soon be 
 yond. 
 
 But we were not long doubtful, and only one way left to 
 us; since we ran down, the next moment, upon a great 
 tree that had been uprooted and stretched its mighty
 
 346 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 trunk from shore to shore across the waters; and they, 
 sweeping under it and beating against it in their passing, 
 did cause the rushing sound that we had heard. 
 
 Now there was no time given us for thought ; but only 
 could we leap, one and all, as our boat darted down to the 
 swift sloping of the water where it was sucked under the 
 great body of the tree. We could but leap amid the 
 branches of the tree that protruded from the stream, and 
 cling there; and thank God we had gone over no falls, 
 but were safe, and might go ashore easily in a little 
 while, at the slack of the tide.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 THE TREASURE AT LAST 
 
 NOR were we in any serious discomfort, finding places 
 to sit among the branches, above the rising of the water, 
 so that we stayed there through the rest of the night ; and 
 by five o'clock the stream was flowing in more gently, 
 it having only two hours more to the end of the flood, and 
 its fury already spent. 
 
 Then we saw, as the morning came in, what was an ac 
 counting for the sudden madness of the stream. Through 
 the forest, perhaps a hundred yards away, there gleamed 
 the surface of a little inland lake, or pool ; and we should 
 have ridden soon at peace within its rim had we not 
 brought up on the fallen tree. And it would be the empty 
 ing out and refilling of this pool at every tide that caused 
 the disturbance of the stream, it having much to accom 
 plish between tides, and must run and flow with great zeal. 
 
 But now were we sorely puzzled to know what it were 
 best to do, seeing that our catamaran had been broken up ; 
 but we found that our canoe, which had been towing after, 
 was driven in like a wedge between two branches of the 
 tree, and we set about working that out. 
 
 Well, here all at once, as we were going cautiously along 
 the boughs of the tree, and had hold of the dugout and 
 
 347
 
 348 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 were trying to force it loose, there was Tom Appleton 
 springing up, clutching at a branch overhead for support, 
 and glaring off toward the pool. He gave a gasp, like a 
 man hurt; and then he sat down, almost collapsed, on 
 the bough; and he rubbed his eyes as a man aroused 
 from sleep, and brought from out a dream. 
 
 " What be the matter, Tom Appleton ? " I cried, and 
 climbed alongside and held him by an arm ; for the man 
 was as white as the sail-cloth on a maiden ship, and shaking. 
 
 " Oh ! " he said, all choking. " Oh ! oh ! " And he 
 held a hand to his side. 
 
 " Why, there be nothing," he said, presently, and pulled 
 himself painfully to his feet; and when I helped him I 
 could see the great drops ooze out across his temples, and 
 he was wet through with sweat. "I I had a vision," 
 he gasped ; " just a sudden turn a whirl of the brain 
 and I had one once the second time I went aloft, and all 
 but went into the sea. I be right again now. It's over. 
 Don't mind, Will (Will Endicott had made his way over to 
 us). Let us come on for the boat again." 
 
 So we took hold of the dugout once more, Will Endicott 
 and Tom Appleton on one side, and the man Randlett and 
 I on the other, we being the four strongest. But here again 
 was Tom Appleton gone clean daft, this time for certain 
 (so I was thinking), for he gave out a screech that chilled 
 the blood in me ; and he stood up again, clutching at the 
 branch overhead, shading his eyes against the sunlight 
 with the other hand. Then he was pointing out through 
 the branches beyond, toward the pool. 
 
 "Look! look! "cried he. " Will Philip Elbridge
 
 The Treasure at Last 349 
 
 what will you make of it ? D'ye see yonder, where the 
 birds hover, and some sit all perched, and some be flutter 
 ing? Oh, God! What will that be they light on? I 
 think I do not see aright, and it be some trick of the eyes." 
 
 Now we saw, indeed, where the sea-gulls were hovering 
 and their screams had been in our ears since the break of 
 day. For with the run of fish swept in by each tide there 
 would be good feeding in the pool; and now they were 
 swooping above the tree-tops by the shore; and many 
 skimming the pool; and there, where Tom Appleton 
 pointed, was a long line of them, perched uneasily, as the 
 sea-gulls do when they alight ashore, with wings spreading, 
 the birds fluttering up a little and settling again, and 
 screaming all the while in their wild way. 
 
 Then Tom Appleton for he could say no more, being 
 husky in the throat did take from his belt the pistol that 
 hung there, and, pointing it hi the direction of the birds, 
 fired. 
 
 Up rose the sea-birds, screaming, hi a great white cleud ; 
 so vast a number, it was like a fleeting whiff of the sea-fog. 
 Bare were the branches whereon they had perched, flutter 
 ing. Bare was the great shining stick Tom Appleton had 
 seen, and to which he pointed and he shouting hoarsely 
 now, bawling, howling exultantly. 
 
 Oh, the wonder, the madness, the marvel of it ! A long, 
 rounded, gleaming stick, lying horizontal amid the tree- 
 branches for the birds to perch on and where men had 
 perched, clinging to rope and tarry rigging, and had furled 
 and spread the great sail to the breeze; with the decks 
 reeling beneath them, and the seas rolling all about.
 
 350 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 The topsail yard of a vessel ! 
 
 Now we made out the standing rigging, the shrouds 
 running down; and, though we could not see it, there 
 must be the mast behind the tree-trunks, and the hull, 
 hidden by the growth that lay between. 
 
 Oh ! for a bit of the good, firm earth under our feet, 
 that we might fling our arms about one another; that we 
 might seize upon good Tom Appleton; hug him; beat 
 him; choke him with wild embracings; roll upon the 
 earth ; be madmen for a brief moment ! 
 
 Ah! but you should have seen big Will Endicott. 
 There was the strength of four men in him at the moment 
 when he seized upon the canoe and tore it free from its 
 bondage with a mighty wrench. You should have seen 
 him drag it up along the tree-trunk, and all of us lay vio 
 lent, mad hands upon it and lift it over the tree and set it 
 down on the other side. And there were two broken, 
 rough-hewn pieces of the flooring of the catamaran to use 
 for paddles, the paddles being gone ; and we were aboard 
 the canoe and going in a frenzied way along the now quiet 
 stream, toward the head of it, where it widened into the 
 pool. 
 
 There we came upon the vessel quickly. It was lying 
 snug in a little bight of the pool, near the entrance ; and 
 we could see the anchor chains forward and over the stern, 
 for they had made her fast, whoever had left her there, not 
 to be drifting in any tempest. 
 
 When we had approached nearer, we saw there was, also, 
 a sheet-cable run out from the waist to the shore and made 
 fast there, linked about the trunk of a tree. So there was
 
 The Treasure at Last 351 
 
 never a vessel lying so snug and yet hampered at the same 
 time with so much cable. 
 
 " Hooray ! " yelled Tom Appleton, as we ran up close. 
 " She be not, as I did fear, old and rotten. Those be good 
 spars, and I'll take oath the hull be sound. 'Tis fairly 
 clean and as good as new above water, though she will be 
 foul enough below, I dare say. Now to get in her, and 
 see if any sails be stored and not spoiled ; else I know not 
 how we may dare move her, our own being no more fit to 
 spread, even in a sundown breeze." 
 
 So we tossed an end of light line, that was fastened to 
 the canoe, around the mainmast shrouds, and brought it 
 down and sent Elbridge Carver up on to the channel by 
 it, he being the lightest of us. He got over the bulwark 
 there and went to look for a rope to lower to us ; but such 
 as lay about on deck had gone rotten ; and the forecastle, 
 and the cabin and carpenter's galley were fastened up 
 tight. So we were forced to go around to the bows and 
 climb up that way by the chains. 
 
 This craft we found to be a little ketch, of some fifty 
 tons burden; not so full in the beam as most of them, 
 and the mainmast set slightly forward of amidships ; and 
 the forecastle, which had both the berths for the crew and 
 the cook's and carpenter's galleys under its cover, being 
 very large, the great space of deck between the mainmast 
 and the bows allowing for it. 
 
 "And what will you make of her, Tom Appleton?" 
 I asked, as we scrambled on deck, and the sea-birds went 
 up, clamorous, all about us. 
 
 " Why, that I may know no more than you," he replied ;
 
 352 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 " at least, till we have overhauled her. She may be any 
 thing pirate or trader. Yet these craft, by the cut of 
 them, will ever look uncertain to me." 
 
 We made effort, first, to get access to the carpenter's 
 galley, thinking the sails would be there, like enough. 
 This turned out to be no easy matter, and tried our pa 
 tience; for we found the door fastened up exceeding tight, 
 with a great lock clasped into a heavy staple, as were all the 
 doors and hatches, everywhere, sealed up most securely. 
 So had Tom Appleton not brought along the axe-blades, 
 still slung about him, it must have taken us a tedious while 
 to cut our way in, with the knives we had. 
 
 But we found two capstan bars and cut these to fit as 
 handles to two of the axes, and so smashed away the lock 
 to the galley quickly and got entrance. Well, here was 
 prize enough to have set marooned men mad with joy, for 
 the store of good tools and iron and casks of nails and 
 sound cordage that first met our gaze. This last was most 
 important, seeing as the braces and stays and lifts that 
 had been left on the ketch were, some of them, very much 
 frayed and rotting, and needed renewing. 
 
 Yet, here was greater joy to our hearts; for at the 
 farther end of the galley, neatly and carefully packed in 
 above the floor and wrapped all about most snugly with 
 heavy tarpaulin, against the moisture and the rats, were 
 the sails. These, too, had been little worn; indeed, had 
 been almost new when put away ; though they were yellow 
 now from being stowed beyond the bleaching of the sun 
 light. 
 
 Now we were dancing, like men bewitched, about the
 
 The Treasure at Last 353 
 
 decks, when we had dragged out the heavy canvas and 
 found it good. For no treasure could equal this. Here 
 was the sea opening up once more its pathways to us ; and 
 Boston and Round House brought so near that I could 
 look just beyond the bulwarks of the ketch and see them 
 both lying off across the pool. 
 
 By this time, it being well into the morning, and we 
 having eaten nothing since the evening before, we were, 
 one and all, very keen for food. Yet we knew not where 
 to get any thinking the stores aboard, if any were left, 
 must be spoiled except we should go ashore and kill 
 some live thing. This we were loth to do, for eagerness 
 to overhaul the ketch and see what might be stored in her. 
 So we were wondering whether to do the one thing or the 
 other, when TonTAppleton, being hard-headed, set us 
 right about the matter. 
 
 " For," said he, " in the first place, this ketch should 
 be, of itself, enough for men in our plight to get and be 
 thankful for; since it were better to find a boat with not 
 an ounce of treasure aboard her than to find a great heap 
 of buried gold and no boat to carry it and us away in. 
 Here have we been two long years waiting ; and shall we 
 not be able now to wait only an hour longer at the most ? 
 'Twill be a long day and more we shall be hunting through 
 this vessel and, besides, do we find nothing, why, we 
 shall be better consoled on full bellies than craving 
 ones." 
 
 "Right, I say," said Elbridge Carver; "since I, for 
 one, be sick of running pell-mell on false scents and bark 
 ing at empty holes in the ground, after the hurrying."
 
 354 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 So, all being agreeable, we went back into the carpen 
 ter's galley and fetched out a small bar of steel ; and with 
 that we pried out the staple and got into the cook's galley, 
 to see whether we could stew a fowl there when we had 
 shot one. Well, here was better luck than we had bar 
 gained for. We came upon two casks, one of which had 
 contained a kind of corn flour ; and this had moulded and 
 been fouled by rats; but in the other cask was a great 
 quantity of oatmeal, the upper half of which was not good 
 to look at, though starving men might have eaten it. But 
 we threw it out and got a quantity at the bottom that was 
 fairly good and wholesome. 
 
 With this, there was also a small rundlet that had once 
 contained about three gallons of light wine, and had now 
 about two quarts. We needed no more to stay us; and 
 by soaking the dry oatmeal in a little wine poured into a 
 pan, we managed to eat it that way. 
 
 This, indeed, was a strange thing, and stirred us greatly : 
 to sit down, after our long solitude, in a place where other 
 men had come and gone; and, though by fair presump 
 tion, it had been a place of cursing and evil ways, and the 
 whole ketch given likely to blows and drinking, why, it 
 gave me, I swear, a choky, shaky feeling to use the stuff 
 and think that other men had done so before me. 
 
 However, we were through quickly enough, though we 
 had vowed we were done with haste and frenzy. And we 
 made a rush for the carpenter's galley and grabbed up, 
 each of us, the best tool we could find to slash and batter 
 with. Then we dashed across the deck and scrambled 
 aft, and ran up the companion-ladders on either side,
 
 The Treasure at Last 355 
 
 leading to the quarter-deck, as though we had just laid the 
 ketch aboard and would be presently hand-to-hand with 
 the captain and officers swarming up out of the cabin to 
 meet us. 
 
 Indeed, Will Endicott did look like the very devil of a 
 pirate, he carrying a cooper's broadaxe, and brandishing 
 it as he ran. With this, he being the first to descend the 
 companionway to the cabin, he battered the two small 
 doors in with two blows, so that they flew open on their 
 hinges and we poured into the cabin ; but the air was very 
 foul, and we could not stay till we had got two of the dead 
 lights open and freshened it. 
 
 Oh ! but here was the stuff we had so long hunted for. 
 Here was Jack Brandt's " yellow money." Aye, and 
 piled high. Though this ship was years after his time, 
 and was launched, I should say, long after he was by 
 the men of Boston in mid-air. For all about us, on 
 every hand, were the sacks heaped up against the walls of 
 the cabin, even as so much merchandise on a drover. 
 Will Endicott hit one of these sacks a blow, like a butcher, 
 with the broadaxe; and the keen blade cut the canvas 
 asunder and went clinking into the metal, and golden, 
 tarnished money dripped out of the wound, like blood. 
 
 Here it was at last ! a sight to make the brain whirl ; 
 to clean bewitch one; to make a man feel like rolling in 
 it. Big Will Endicott did seize a great handful of the 
 stuff and sent it flying broadcast all about the cabin, as a 
 man sowing wheat in a field ; and then he sat him down 
 on some bags of it, and laughed like a schoolboy that has 
 played a trick. The next, we were all tumbling over one
 
 356 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 another, rushing this way and that to see what we could 
 discover. 
 
 Tom Appleton and I got, first, into what had been the 
 captain's room, which was to starboard, off this main 
 cabin. It was larger than any other, and had two big 
 deadlights in the bulkhead that looked out upon the 
 deck, so he inside might see what was going on forward. 
 In here we came upon three great chests, like those we 
 had found ashore; and these were treasure-filled, so that 
 I had never imagined the like, nor ever shall see again. 
 
 In one there was an enormous number of precious 
 gems of many kinds, more than I knew the names of, and 
 they had been forced from their settings and lay all loose. 
 The other men, excepting Elbridge Carver, knew what 
 they were and that they were of exceeding value, especially 
 those stones, of which there were about three score, which 
 they said were rubies and of excellent quality. Also there 
 were a great number of diamonds; and also there were 
 many sapphires and some turquoises; a small box, or 
 casket, of pearls, and a few emeralds, but these of large 
 size and wonderful brilliancy. 
 
 Another of these caskets was heaped promiscuously, 
 in a confused mess, with a vast number of gold and silver 
 trinkets and ornaments, many of them elegantly wrought, 
 such as sword-handles, and gold and silver coat buttons, 
 and neck- chains, and brooches, and strands of heavy 
 gold braid. 
 
 The other cask had gold and silver things, mostly 
 watches and their chains, and, often, ornaments depend 
 ing from these.
 
 The Treasure at Last 357 
 
 Here in this cabin were, all about, the tokens of the man 
 that had owned this stuff, by right of murder and pillage 
 and that man was Edward Teach ; for he had a great 
 variety of weapons, curiously wrought and cunningly and 
 richly ornamented. But he mostly loved, as I had seen 
 before, the sight of the letter " T " on handles of knives 
 and poniards and the hilts of swords, and pistol stocks. 
 We found, hanging on the walls, near a dozen of these 
 things, each with the letter inlaid in gold, or precious 
 stones ; and there was one dagger, very long and cruel in 
 the blade, with a gold handle that had the " T " set into 
 it of blood- red rubies, and was the most marvellous weapon 
 that ever a man bore. 
 
 There were also in the main cabin and in the mates' 
 rooms, and even in a small cook-room that may have been 
 for Teach's own servant, a great many bags of gold-dust 
 to the value of many thousand pounds sterling; a lot of 
 English crown pieces; Spanish and other foreign coins; 
 small arms, several brass blunderbusses, swords and belts 
 and such things. 
 
 In all, there was, as we reckoned later, the value of 
 some sixty thousand pounds sterling for each and every 
 man of us; which we should, indeed, never have got by 
 the sale of fish, even could we have sold all that came to our 
 nets, including those caught a week and a day back. 
 
 This, moreover, is reckoning without what we found 
 in the hold. There, we got a great number of bales of 
 fine English broadcloth, and raw silks and intricately 
 patterned carpets, woven by hand, and other such goods, 
 not greatly damaged; besides some puncheons of rum;
 
 358 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 several hogsheads of sugar ; casks of good oil and vinegar ; 
 and, best of all, about a dozen casks of Aberdvne cod, 
 still good, being carefully salted and packed. 
 
 Now, having found two ship's boats on deck, and these 
 not leaking very badly after we had hung them over 
 board for half a day and swelled the seams, we got ashore 
 comfortably and found us a spring of sweet water. So, 
 with our fishing and the stuff aboard, we managed to 
 get along without going back to camp until we had 
 pumped out what little water there was in the ketch, 
 and rigged her a little, and got the mainsail on her, and 
 one of the jibs, so we could work her. 
 
 By the end of a week or ten days, at the beginning of 
 an ebb tide, and after we had spent a weary half-day in 
 chopping out the great tree that lay across the stream, 
 we got the ketch under sail and went down-stream in her. 
 Which was the most marvellous sail, to our minds, that we 
 or any other men had ever taken. 
 
 We came, at length, without mishap, into the sound; 
 and thence, of an afternoon, across it and into our own 
 harbour. The ketch went very sluggishly, for the foulness 
 of her bottom, she having gathered much seaweed and 
 barnacles; but we cared not, and were the maddest men 
 that ever sailed a ship. And we gave a broadside from two 
 of the ketch's big guns, as she brought up, to let the wild 
 fowl and the foxes and all other creatures upon our island 
 know that we had come into our own.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 ONCE MORE ON ROUND HOUSE 
 
 THE ketch had been Teach's. There was proof enough 
 of that. But why it had been so packed with treasure and 
 hidden up the stream in the pool, no man could say. We 
 thought it had been left there, like enough, some time in 
 the year Teach had been killed, or not long before, because 
 it was quite a new vessel, and still in very fair condition. 
 It was known, Teach had had many hiding-places here 
 abouts, though neither Pemberton nor Randlett had heard 
 of this one. Not that that argued against this having been 
 Teach's vessel, for they had been much on a prize with 
 Will Cole. 
 
 It seemed to us as though Teach had had a mind to 
 wind up the business of pirating shortly, having this great 
 store put by to live snug with; but had made one more 
 venture, to his undoing; by which we were now come 
 into possession of both his treasure and Jack Brandt's 
 also, which in some way he had got the key to and had dug 
 up, before us. 
 
 Now we found we must contrive some manner of 
 cleaning our vessel, seeing she were so sluggish; but we 
 dared not careen her on the beach, because of the great 
 burden of stuff in her, and we had no zeal for getting the 
 
 359
 
 360 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 cargo out and inboard again, ours being all for making 
 her ready and getting away. 
 
 We managed better, finally, by setting up a slight frame 
 work of poles, freshly cut, in the fashion of a pier, and 
 bracing this in against the shore. We brought the ketch 
 in alongside this on a spring tide and let her lie nearly 
 upright, with only a gentle list to larboard, which would 
 be heeling in toward the log pier; and, against her shift 
 ing and careening outward, we made her fast by the main 
 and mizzen to some trees up the bank, with rigging. 
 
 When we came to examine the bottom of the ketch, we 
 wondered that we had even brought it so far without 
 greater sail ; for the whole of the planking below the water- 
 line was overgrown with some sort of seaweed, and en 
 crusted deep under this tangle with barnacles and other 
 shell-fish. This being scraped away, there was, most 
 fortunately, but little of the planking that must be cut out 
 and replaced; and we were, indeed, surprised that these 
 were not more wormy. 
 
 Then, since she bore no name, the one she had got by 
 honest christening having been painted out by the pirates, 
 we gave her the name of the little craft we had lost, The 
 Venture; and, having a cleverness that way, I lettered 
 it on the stern, myself, so that we were very proud of it, 
 and I most of all. 
 
 It was, then, as near as one may guess, toward the end 
 of May, sometime, when we were rigged over and ready 
 to sail. But here, I have forgotten thus far to mention what 
 was a very great providence, for certain; since we had 
 found hi Teach's cabin a chart of all these waters 'round
 
 Once More on Round House 361 
 
 about the sounds of the Carolinas, and quite clearly de 
 nned as to our course from the harbour wherein we lay, 
 out to the inlet. With this, there was a great number of 
 charts, some of them roughly drawn, but with tolerably 
 good sailing directions, of the coasts even as far north as 
 the Penobscot River in the province of Maine. So we 
 should not sail blindly ; and, moreover, the man Randlett 
 had made many voyages from the Spanish islands north 
 ward, and his advice would profit us. 
 
 As I say, by the passing out of May, we were ready for 
 the voyage ; and, of a morning very early, with the first of 
 the ebb, we went gliding out of the harbour, feeling 
 strangely like men come all newly to life from some weird 
 burial, and seeing, first, the mouth of the golden river 
 shut out and then the harbour entrance; and so, with 
 gentle running, under easy sail, the familar places grow 
 faint settling down lower and lower, till all the island 
 blended into the sound and faded away, like a dream 
 vanished with the coming of morn and sunlight. 
 
 Then, even as this island faded not without some, 
 strange sadness tingeing our joy, and not to be accounted 
 for by me, since we were so glad to be quit of it there 
 sprang up, faintly, in its place, far, far ahead across the 
 waters, the dim outlines of another ; so distant, we should 
 never reach it; so near, we were already under its lee; 
 so strange, it had never existed and was all fancy; so 
 clear and distinct, I could see every shining stream and 
 brook running down to the sea amid the green ; so full c2 
 dear hope for me, that I was thankful to God, out of 
 great abundance of joy, and singing a song deep down
 
 362 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 in my heart that could not be uttered in the sound of 
 men. 
 
 So we went along and were cleared at length of the inlet ; 
 and the great sea welcomed us with a roaring all along the 
 dreary miles of sand-dunes ; and this, and the slatting of 
 the sails, and the discrepancy of the rigging, as we turned 
 us northward and rose and fell in the heaving of the long 
 waves, all, all was music to our ears. 
 
 This were a better voyage, too, than the one we had made 
 coming south ; for the season was settled and the winds 
 amiable and mostly from the southward, and so were fair 
 for us. Thus we went free for days and days, the Ven 
 ture proving very fast, now she were clean, and a better 
 boat than the one we had once built in Boston. 
 
 Moreover, we were no longer wild men, clad in skins 
 and what-not ; but we had found us very handsome suits 
 aboard, and had each and all fine weapons, and pistols 
 in our belts when we chose. Big Will Endicott, having 
 a pleasing vanity, was fond of wearing the marvel 
 lous dagger that Tom Appleton and I had found in Teach's 
 cabin. It was, indeed, a fearful weapon in the hands of 
 one so powerful; and, when Will Endicott had it in his 
 belt, with the gold handle showing gaudily, and the blood- 
 red rubies shining therein, why, he would swear he was 
 Teach come to life again, and we were his own sea-dogs. 
 
 We saw few sail, save what we took to be two fishing 
 craft, somewhere off our own coast of Massachusetts, in 
 the neighbourhood of what we thought would be Cape 
 Ann; but we were not sure of this land, and kept away 
 more to sea when we had sighted it.
 
 Once More on Round House 363 
 
 Having sailed this way only once before, and that with 
 no thought of guidance of our vessel, but being driven, 
 helpless, we must have gone very blindly now, and been 
 put, perhaps, to weeks of searching for the island of Round 
 House, despite such charts as we had, were it not that 
 Randlett was fairly clear as to the way. He had been 
 along here with Will Cole twice at least, and once to the 
 very island and, in fact, had been one of those that 
 fought us at the stockade. 
 
 Randlett, it seems, knew of a small isle, or rock, a few 
 miles from the mainland and some nine miles southwest 
 of Round House, where Will Cole's ketch had laid up for 
 several days, awaiting a favourable time to run over 
 and surprise the men of the island. This rock for it 
 were little more than that, being not beyond an eighth of 
 a mile in length and a few rods wide we came up to 
 one evening, standing off and on some miles till that time, 
 lest by chance we might be made out with a glass from 
 Round House. 
 
 Though it was small, there was good and safe anchorage 
 there, it being in the shape of a crescent, as much as any 
 thing, with a shallow bight to lie in, on the landward side, 
 and the outer curve of the rock breaking the brunt of the 
 waves from sea. 
 
 Here, lying snug for all the next day, it being clear and 
 bright, we could see Round House looming up very fairly ; 
 and, with our own ship's glass, we sighted a little sail in 
 the reach toward afternoon, with figures of men in the 
 boat; though how many, was not plain. 
 
 Through that night and two succeeding days and nights,
 
 364 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 we must wait, with sails snugly furled and none of us 
 stirring, even upon the rock; since it was clear weather 
 and the nights starlit, and the moon rising early, beginning 
 to full, and, withal, the wind too light after sundown to 
 serve us. 
 
 For it were plain, we could not go boldly in upon the 
 men of the stockade ; because, were the most of them not 
 gone away cruising, they must outnumber us. And, had 
 Vane taken again to piracy, as he had promised, there 
 might be a whole ship's crew ashore. 
 
 However, we saw, in a day or two, the sky overcasting 
 in a way to suit our adventure, mottling all over with 
 broken flecks of clouds, so that anything that would be 
 abroad upon it would not be seen at any distance ; and the 
 wind not falling away with the sinking of the sun, but 
 holding to a six or seven knot breeze. 
 
 We got away, then, soon after twilight, and found the 
 wind and tide very favourable ; so that in an hour and a 
 half we were under the lee of Round House and standing 
 on past the reach and along the shore of the smaller island, 
 so as to fetch in near the farther, or northwestern, entrance 
 to the reach to run in by the back door, one might say. 
 Yet we had no mind to enter, but to lay the ketch off and 
 on while two of us should go ashore and find what we might 
 discover. These two were Will Endicott and I, for he 
 would have none but him go along with me, though Tom 
 Appleton wished to. 
 
 We lowered a boat then, shortly, and Will Endicott and 
 I rowed away hi her, going in softly, not to rattle the oars 
 in the locks and to do no splashing. First, we entered the
 
 Once More on Round House 365 
 
 reach and went down along the shore of the little island 
 a way, to see if Vane's vessel were there. We saw it, 
 swinging at anchor, snug in the bight of the island, and 
 no sign of life aboard. So we ventured across the reach, 
 after going back along the same shore we had come, so as 
 to cross away from where there was likelihood of meeting 
 with any of Vane's men. 
 
 The sight of the quiet vessel did thrill me through and 
 through, and lifted a cruel fear from me, that perchance 
 they had all sailed away and deserted Round House, save 
 the Bradfords, and Mary Vane would be waiting for me 
 no longer. 
 
 We got in upon the shore of Round House not far from 
 where Ezra Bradford's cabin would be midway be 
 tween that and our own. And lo ! all at once, through 
 the stillness of the night, the sea making but little wash 
 against the shore, there came down to our ears the tinkle 
 and splashing of the little floss, where it tumbled through 
 the ravine and fell from ledge to ledge into the waters of 
 the reach. And Will Endicott knew not why I must stop 
 for a moment and hearken to it, nor that I was quivering 
 as one that hears a loved voice, long silent. 
 
 It was about a quarter to nine o'clock when we got to 
 Bradford's door. I knocked softly. The door was not 
 tightly latched, and the light of a dip shone through the 
 crack. 
 
 " Who be there? " cried Ezra Bradford; and he was 
 much startled, by his tone, seeing that the men of the 
 stockade mostly left him alone. 
 
 "It be Will Endicott and I, Philip Campbell," I
 
 366 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 answered; " and pray come quickly and let us enter; for 
 yours be the first friend's voice we have heard for two 
 long years, and we be aching to have you by the 
 hand." 
 
 Then a man came running to the door, and a boy 
 following, and a woman peering out from a comer of the 
 room as the door was thrown open; and Ezra Bradford 
 stood there, holding the candlestick up so the light fell on 
 our faces. He was a man amazed, if ever there was one, 
 and might not have trusted his own eyes had his ear not 
 known us before he saw us. 
 
 " It be Philip Campbell's voice," he exclaimed, slowly, 
 as one loth to credit what he had heard. " And, oh ! but 
 it be, indeed, you," he cried, right heartily for him, he 
 being a man sluggish of emotion. " And great Will 
 Endicott, too. There be too much meat on him for any 
 spirit of the dead. But come ye in. And where will Tom 
 Appleton and the other one be what were his name ? 
 He were a lank man. I trust they be not dead. Why, 
 ye were all dead men, killed in a sea-fight with a Spaniard, 
 by the story of the men up yonder. Pray, what will you 
 eat ? And, indeed, I have no liquor to offer, save a bit of 
 raw rum. Go and fetch it, boy." 
 
 Well, now, I will take my oath, Ezra Bradford had never 
 spoken to this length in all his life before, nor was like to 
 again; but the man was sure enough glad to behold us. 
 We drank his liquor for his sake, and not that we wanted 
 it, and we sat us down in his cabin and told him, in a few 
 words, what had befallen us, and how and why we were 
 back on Round House. The last was not all strange news
 
 Once More on Round House 367 
 
 to him, it seemed, for he had learned somewhat from 
 Mary Vane of how matters stood between us. Moreover, 
 she had left some word at one time with him, knowing he 
 was our friend, in case she should die, or be taken away 
 by the men. 
 
 " Ah, yes, lad," he said, soberly, " she be alive, and as 
 true as woman ever were to man ; and yet, I fear you may 
 not be thinking so at the first and I hate to say it but 
 she must wed the big man, Elias, that was with you at 
 first, and whom you did beat, I hear, in brave fashion 
 and glad I was to hear of that." 
 
 " 'Tis a lie ! " I cried, hotly. " She will wed no 
 man but me. Dare you tell me she, herself, has said 
 it?" 
 
 " Softly, man, wait a bit," answered me Ezra Bradford, 
 unruffled and kindly. " Things have gone as you know 
 not of. Did I not say she would be true to you? For, 
 God knows, the poor young thing sees not what to do, 
 being forced to that or worse, and will have asked me once 
 would God pardon one that should die by her own hand. 
 And she be brave enough for that, but has the Word firm in 
 her mind, the same as I, that the thing be a sin forbidden 
 and to be damned for. So she will be fairly distraught, 
 knowing not which way to turn, and hoping to die before 
 ever the day comes." 
 
 So I learned from Ezra Bradford, that which I had 
 feared and dreamed of often and again; that my Mary 
 would be driven to a marriage, cruel and abhorrent to 
 her, but the alternative were more dreadful; and it were 
 either to go back to Boston as Elias's wife, whereby Vane
 
 368 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 and his crew might have entrance to the city, also, as 
 honest men, through the aid of Elias and his people, or 
 she must go to sea with Vane and his men and take for 
 husband such man as Vane should choose. 
 
 At this, I could scarce hold myself in, to stay and listen 
 to it; and knew within me somewhat of that hot-blood 
 madness that drives a man to slay. But Will Endicott 
 bade me wait, and we should find a way to stay this thing 
 from coming to pass. 
 
 This situation had come about, it seems, by Vane's 
 having no more hankering for buccaneering. For he had 
 all but gone up to the gallows on the return voyage, being 
 nearly taken in a fight off Delaware ; and he was wishing 
 now to end his days in Boston town and no danger of 
 hanging. This, Elias had persuaded him, could be brought 
 about through him and the price was Mary Vane ; and 
 so Vane had sold her. 
 
 To make short, there were only a few days now to the 
 wedding; and the men of the stockade would make a 
 great event of it, and they had a rascal among them from 
 the men Vane had shipped on the south of Cuba, who 
 posed as a man that had once taken orders, and had the 
 right to marry. But whether this was so, or an invention 
 of Vane's to put a better face on the deed, none but the 
 two knew. Yet it sufficed for Elias. 
 
 Well, all this, which doth take time to set down, were 
 quickly told ; and Ezra Bradford was not a man to draw 
 out the telling of it. And I could stay no longer, but would 
 go up near to the stockade, if not into it; not knowing 
 what I could do when I should get there, but being bound
 
 Once More on Round House 369 
 
 to make the venture. So Will Endicott must bid Ezra 
 Bradford good night, too, not to let me go alone; and 
 we went out, promising to stop at his door on our 
 return.
 
 CHAPTER XXVH 
 
 WILL ENDICOTT PAYS A SCORE 
 
 THERE were some deep intervals lying here and there 
 in what would be the direct way to the stockade, which 
 was to the southeast, up the hill, from Bradford's cabin ; 
 so it were better and surer to go up along the floss to a 
 point opposite the stockade and then strike across through 
 the woods, even as Mary Vane and I had done one day, 
 never to be forgotten, and many times after that. 
 
 Will Endicott and I went up very quickly, so that we 
 were panting when we had come to the edge of the clearing 
 and saw the dark mass of the logs beyond in the open 
 space. We laid us down for a few moments and rested, 
 till, hearing the sound of voices, as of men carousing, and 
 nothing to prevent us, we crept on hands and knees all 
 the way up to the stockade on the side that faced us. 
 We crouched there, making sure there was no one 
 about. 
 
 It happened that there being now some twenty odd men 
 in Vane's crew was to our profit, since they were in no 
 fear of attack. Indeed, though we knew it not, they kept 
 but a slack watch at any time these days, and often only 
 a single guard by the great gate, which was not closed 
 
 37
 
 Will Endicott Pays a Score 371 
 
 always, even at night ; and this man would be more often 
 fuddled with drink than sober. 
 
 Hearing no sound at this point, I made a loop in the 
 end of a bit of rope that Ezra Bradford had lent us, slung 
 it over one of the pickets of the palisades, and went up on 
 this rope till I could see over into the inclosure. Then, 
 finding all clear, I climbed over and dropped down to the 
 ground inside, with Will Endicott quickly following. 
 
 This inclosure within the four walls of the log palisading 
 was, I should say, something like a hundred feet across 
 the front, and running back on either side say a hundred 
 and fifty, or thereabouts, though not so far on the side 
 opposite us, the ground being irregular ; and at the back, 
 the line of the palisades was curving in and out irregularly, 
 there being falling land there. 
 
 In this area, which was, therefore, of quite ample 
 proportions, there were five houses now, or, strictly, three 
 cabins and two sheds. One of these latter was a large one, 
 at the rear end of the stockade, and was used as a main 
 storehouse ; the other, a smaller shed, was about opposite 
 the place where we had come over the wall, a little toward 
 the front, and only a few rods distant from where we now 
 lay. So we crept along to the shelter of this and waited 
 there awhile. 
 
 Now when one had gone forward along the side of this 
 shed and come to the corner of it, going toward the front 
 of the stockade, why, there was the rear of the captain's 
 own house, only a rod away. The other two houses set 
 snug together off about fifty feet diagonally toward the 
 southeastern end of the inclosure; and, the hour of the
 
 372 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 night being not much more than half after nine, we could 
 hear loud sounds of voices and laughter and rough shout 
 ing, and the bawling of songs such as one may hear and 
 be ashamed for in forecastles at sea; and, withal, the 
 noisy scraping of a fiddle all coming from the two houses 
 where the most of the crew were. 
 
 Also, the doors of Vane's house, front and rear, being 
 ajar, it appeared there was gaming going on there in the 
 big room where Elias and I had fought ; and, in time, we 
 came to distinguish his and Vane's and Will Lewis's voices, 
 and another's we knew not, but it seems it were Mackay's. 
 They were loud, too, over their play, and Will Lewis 
 cursing the hardest when the play went against him. 
 
 Now, this home of Captain Vane's was, as I well knew, 
 made up of three rooms : the front one, facing the reach, 
 where Vane lived, and slept, in a hammock slung across 
 one comer; and two rooms in the rear, one larger, where 
 Robert Mackay and his Cuban wife were lodged, and a 
 smaller, that was Mary Vane's. Knowing which, and 
 being mad with waiting, I was for creeping up to the door 
 and looking within ; and I might have done so, and died 
 for it, but that, fortunately, Will Endicott was with me 
 and held me fast, saying we must be careful and patient 
 as though a man in my straits could well be either. 
 
 But, all at once, a strange thing happened to me that 
 is beyond all accounting for, seeing that I had heard no 
 sound of her footsteps, nor of her voice, nor of any rustling, 
 as of a woman's dress ; yet, for a moment, could I not move 
 one foot from the ground, nor lift so much as a hand, nor 
 yet breathe save as though I were stifling. It were all as
 
 Will Endicott Pays a Score 373 
 
 though I dreamed, yet knew I dreamed, that Mary Vane 
 was there there only a few feet away, standing within 
 the doorway, but not to be seen by Will Endicott or me. 
 Again, for this brief, strange moment, was it like also unto 
 some visitation of the spirit, such as may come to one; 
 so that I dared not try to utter so much as a sound, lest 
 the visitation it being not yet so much, even, as a 
 vision be passed. 
 
 But this and I had never felt the like before, seeing 
 that I was for the moment spellbound was of only 
 brief duration ; and then, ah ! there was no mistaking it. 
 I did hear within the doorway a sigh that was almost a 
 sobbing; and, a moment later, Mary Vane stood there, 
 before my eyes, and leaned against the door-post and put 
 a hand to her head very sadly, looking out, as one that 
 sees no thing that be near by, but only doth gaze afar off. 
 
 At that, I would not rush forth, lest she know me not at 
 the instant and be terrified ; but I called out softly to her, 
 " Mary, Mary, it is I, Philip." Then I stepped out from 
 the shadow of the shed and went toward her, with arms 
 outstretched ; and whispered again, low and very gently, 
 " Mary, Mary, dear one. See, it is I, Philip and Will 
 Endicott and I be come again, to save you. And oh! 
 will you forgive me, that left you here ? " 
 
 But she, poor soul, believing me dead these two years, 
 and, for the matter of that, had dreamed often of such a 
 return as this, and had awakened to find it but a dream, 
 why, now, she would be thinking this some cruel trick 
 of the brain, and could not trust her own eyes that looked 
 upon me, nor her ears that heard my voice. And she was
 
 374 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 all overcome by the strangeness of it, and gave a little 
 cry and sank down on the stoop by the door, and was 
 swooning, and a sorry sight to see. 
 
 Then I would have not have stayed me for all of Vane's 
 men ; but I ran to her and lifted her in my arms and carried 
 her back to where I had left Will Endicott. Nor would 
 I have him help me, feeling strong enough to bear two 
 such burdens as she. And, in truth, she was light to carry, 
 seeming to me then to have grown more slender, and her 
 face pale with sorrow, and the shock of this sudden meeting. 
 
 Yet, in a moment more, when she had opened her eyes 
 and looked into mine, and sat up and leaned against me 
 as I knelt to support her; and, seeing that she knew me 
 now, and her face lighting up with love, that had not died 
 but had grown with the long parting, why, if she had been 
 beautiful, and more than that, to me before, she were a 
 thousand times that now ; and there was that deep mystery 
 of gladness and longing in her clear eyes, that no tears 
 could dim, and that no man may know the way to tell of. 
 
 So, Will Endicott had the good wit to go and stand on 
 guard by the corner of the shed for the moment, and leave 
 Mary Vane and me to each other ; so that I might comfort 
 her, and tell her I would never more depart from off the 
 island without her, and no man should wed her save me, 
 if she were still of that mind at which she smiled, with 
 a glimmer of the old dancing light in her eyes. So we 
 spake no more of that, nor of anything else, for a sweeter 
 reason. 
 
 But the next moment, she were anxious again, seeing 
 no way for us to escape. But I would have her leave that
 
 Will Endicott Pays a Score 375 
 
 to me ; and she would find me hiding at Ezra Bradford's 
 next day, or, if she could not get there, for interruption 
 by the men, that I would lie at the edge of the clearing 
 by the entrance to the wood-path that led over to the 
 stream, just after sundown. 
 
 All this was scarcely said when Will Endicott ran back 
 to say there was the sound of footsteps in the back of 
 Vane's house ; upon which, he and I stole quickly around 
 to the rear of the shed. Presently a woman came to the 
 door and called. Mary Vane, in a moment, made answer; 
 and then the wife of Robert Mackay and, after her, Elias, 
 Came out and spoke to Mary Vane, and they all went back 
 with her to the house. 
 
 From what she, herself, had told me, they kept ever 
 this close watch upon her, so she might never be long 
 absent ; and Elias seemed, by his tone, to be reproaching 
 her as they went along. But what was said, we could not 
 hear. They went, one and all, inside, and the door was 
 shut. So, there being nothing more that Will Endicott 
 and I could do this night, we went back the way we had 
 come, and got away and down to Ezra Bradford's cabin 
 without interference. 
 
 Now I had news for Will Endicott as to two things; 
 and one was, that, this being a Monday, the day set for the 
 wedding if it could be called that was but five days 
 away, on the coming Saturday ; and the other thing was, 
 that I had sworn to Mary Vane never to quit this island 
 again without her. Will Endicott would be reconciled to 
 neither of these things, but had to be as to the latter, when 
 he found there was no moving me.
 
 376 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 In the end, I tarried with good friend Bradford, and 
 Will Endicott went back alone to the boat. But, briefly, 
 it was agreed, the ketch should come back the first night 
 that would permit of it, but in no event later than Friday, 
 if the wind served that evening, not to leave all to the ven 
 ture of the last night. Will Endicott gripped me hard at 
 leaving, and bade me be of good heart and have a care not 
 to be seen of Vane's men ; and, it seems, the wind holding 
 all night, they did beat back to the rock easily before day 
 break. 
 
 I lay close all the next day at Ezra Bradford's ; nor did 
 Mary Vane come near the cabin. But I got word to her 
 once through Ezra Bradford's boy, and learned she could 
 scarce venture forth anywhere alone, and not for any 
 distance. But she was clever in her own way, too, match 
 ing her wit against theirs ; and she set about fooling Elias 
 with fairer looks and prettier words than he had had from 
 her before, so that he was foolishly elated and boasted 
 to Vane of it. 
 
 By this, toward nightfall, she had laughingly told Elias 
 she would gather some sprigs of the dogwood that grew 
 by the clearing, and would fetch them hi to him to hang 
 about the walls. So she came, all unmolested, and walked 
 to and fro for a little while past where I lay hidden, I hav 
 ing made bold to get there early, by way of the banks of 
 the stream. 
 
 I bade her make as merry evenings as could be, with 
 Vane and Will Lewis and the others, and to see they did 
 drink her health not a little ; but to urge that the other men 
 come not about the house, to disturb them, but stay at
 
 Will Endicott Pays a Score 377 
 
 their own quarters. And when we should come for her, 
 she would know it as early as we were landed and were 
 near, by three cries of a night bird which Tom Appleton 
 would give ; and that, when we were ready for her, there 
 would be one more cry close at hand. But she should wait 
 some time after that, not to arouse the men to suspicion. 
 Then, presently, she should come out at the door at the 
 front of the cabin and run for the great gate; and we 
 would be at hand and give our own account of things after 
 that. Moreover, the first night that served us with a 
 breeze would be the one. 
 
 " But, oh ! Philip," she faltered, " I be trembling now, 
 with the very thought of it ; and I fear I may not run far, 
 but be faint; and they will give you no mercy. And 
 'twill be worse with you dead, than though I went with 
 Elias willingly." 
 
 " If I must be dead," I answered, " I swear so shall 
 Elias be. But 'twill be better than that, and you will be 
 brave. Do but get only into the dooryard, and you shall 
 go the rest of the way with Will Endicott and me." 
 
 For all that, she was sobbing bitterly as she went away ; 
 and it did seem a foolhardy thing, at best, but there was no 
 other way that I had wit enough to contrive. 
 
 I was never so low in courage, nor ever such a prey to 
 foreboding as on the next day ; for there blew an exceed 
 ingly heavy wind from the southeast and bore the seas 
 crashing in upon the rocks of Round House. So that 
 lying hidden in Ezra Bradford's cabin, I could see in my 
 mind's eye, as on the night of the wreck when Will Endicott 
 was saved, the froth and frenzy at the base of the great
 
 378 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 cliffs. And lo ! all my dear hopes were hurled in, as a 
 ship wantoned by the waves, and wrecked and shattered 
 and ground into sea-drift. 
 
 This storm lasted Wednesday and Thursday, and I 
 feared it might be of long duration ; but, praise God ! 
 it fell away Thursday night, so that the sea diminished the 
 day of Friday. That night the sky was clearing, though 
 with flying clouds bewildering it, and the seas running 
 very easily and the wind not bad. 
 
 So, when the sun had gone beyond the distant mainland 
 I was down by the shore, straining my eyes, looking out to 
 sea, through the reach ; and once I thought, in a transient 
 illumining of the waters by the clouds breaking, that I 
 saw the ketch and was beside myself ; but I saw it not 
 again until it came all at once, unexpectedly, into sight 
 from behind the little island. Then it lay into the wind 
 and the anchor went down. 
 
 Presently they came in, cautiously, in two boats, Tom 
 Appleton and Will Endicott in one, and Elbridge Carver 
 and Randlett and Pemberton in the other. 
 
 Right glad was I to have them all on Round House. 
 Nor were ever men better equipped for fighting, they 
 having, one and all, their belts stuck as full of pistols as 
 they would hold, and each, two or more good knives ; and 
 big Will Endicott, the jewelled dagger, which was a rare 
 good weapon for any man, and he a rare good man for 
 any weapon. 
 
 Now when we had sat us down for a moment, I told 
 them that friend Ezra Bradford and his boy would aid us. 
 This, not at close hand, since they had no fancy for going
 
 Will Endicott Pays a Score 379 
 
 away with us, but meant to stay and live on the island, 
 and would not have the men in the stockade know their 
 part in what should take place. But they were now over 
 toward the southern shore of the island and, when they 
 should hear shots fired, they would answer with firing 
 from that quarter, to deceive the men into thinking there 
 was a party of us over that way and so lead some of them, 
 at least, astray. The Bradfords would do no more, but 
 would get back to their cabin in a roundabout way, un 
 observed; which would profit us, as I say, to make a 
 division of Vane's forces. 
 
 When the time should come, Elbridge Carver and Will 
 Cole's two men, they being the three fleetest, should go 
 straight down the hill to the shore of the reach, firing as 
 they ran, but not stopping to fight ; while Will Endicott 
 and Tom Appleton and I, with Mary Vane, should go in 
 by the path and down along the stream. 
 
 So at this, the other three taking one of the boats down 
 to the pirates' landing to leave near there, Will Endicott 
 and Tom Appleton and I went along up the edge of the 
 ravine through the woods, slowly, till the others overtook 
 us; and then we all went ahead at good speed, it being 
 not more than a few minutes after nine o'clock. 
 
 Then, when we were, say, a quarter of a mile away from 
 the stockade, we paused a moment for Tom Appleton to 
 give the signal that I had promised ; and those three weird 
 cries had never sounded so fearful to me before, knowing 
 as I knew now, what they would mean to Mary Vane; 
 and the palms of my hands that clutched suddenly at the 
 knife in my belt were dripping wet.
 
 380 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 We went on, then, to the edge of the clearing and crept 
 out, one by one, along the ground, to the very palisades of 
 the stockade, and heard, indistinctly, the sounds of men's 
 voices. I went over the stockade where Will Endicott 
 and I had gone before, and, hi a moment, he and Tom 
 Applet on followed. The others crept along the outside 
 toward the front wall, to wait, as we had planned. 
 
 When we three had got to the corner of the shed and 
 peered around, we found the rear door of Vane's cabin 
 shut and Mary Vane had made it fast ; but the door 
 at the front was, it would seem, ajar; and we found it so, 
 as we crept along in the shadow of the stockade to 
 where we could see. Also, the great entrance gate of 
 the stockade was not shut ; and there lolled a fellow on a 
 bench beside it, with a musket across his knees, and his 
 head sunk on his breast. 
 
 For, this night before the great day to come was no 
 light one with Vane's men ; and away from the two houses 
 where the most of them were lodged came the welcome 
 sounds of their carousing, and once clearly, of brawling 
 and blows struck ; for they were never long desisting from 
 that when the liquor was flowing free. 
 
 Then Tom Appleton and I, together, but Will 
 Endicott was too big not to be remarked upon, strode 
 boldly out toward the great gate, while Will crept along 
 on hands and knees close to the logs. Tom Appleton went 
 on one side, and I the other, as though we belonged there 
 and were Vane's men; but unsteady on our legs, and 
 lurching, as with too much drink. 
 
 So we got close upon the guard, who was no man we
 
 Will Endicott Pays a Score 381 
 
 had ever seen, but a villainous fellow Vane had shipped 
 on his last voyage. 
 
 He paid little heed to us, so that Tom Appleton, darting 
 in on him quickly, got him by the throat before he could 
 cry out ; and, at that, I had him doubled up with a blow 
 in the pit of the stomach which be not fair fighting, 
 with a fair opponent, but it did the work for us. Then, 
 with Will Endicott running up, we had the fellow bound 
 and gagged and lugged out of the gate before he had his 
 dull eyes half-opened. 
 
 At this, the others came in at the gate with us. Tom 
 Appleton sat himself down on the very bench where the 
 fellow had been on guard, laid a musket across his knees, 
 and, when we had placed ourselves as we wished, gave 
 again the signal. But this, the night being treacherous 
 with sudden glimpses of the moon, not until we had seen 
 the light blotted out behind a great patch of cloud ; and, 
 by that time, Will Endicott had fetched up a huge piece 
 of the stick of a small boat, like the boom of a pinnace 
 and no other man could have carried it as he did. 
 
 He stood by the door with that, on one side, and I on 
 the other; so close that when Tom Appleton gave the 
 cry I could see within through the crack of the door. And 
 gaunt, red-eyed Will Lewis, stepping across the room, 
 started at it, and then fell to laughing over the thing. 
 
 " Ho ! ho ! " he roared. " To be frightened at a bird ! 
 Aye, a fool bird, Dan. Will I be fit, think, to go along 
 South ever again, by the track of the galleons, and a 
 screeching bird sets me jumping like a fish to bait ? " 
 
 " You be a drunken fool, Will." It was Dan-o'-the-
 
 382 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 Ship's voice that made answer, though I could not see him 
 for Will Lewis's shutting out all else. Then he added, 
 " I think Elias here will be the man " 
 
 But no more of that did I hear. For now, a slim, light 
 figure came between Will Lewis and the door, darted out 
 of the entrance, sprang from the stoop down into the door- 
 yard and then, wild with fright and the madness of 
 the thing, cried out, as I had never heard before ; a shrill, 
 piercing scream of terror, that rang from one end of the 
 stockade to the other. And Ezra Bradford and his boy 
 heard it from afar. 
 
 I swung the heavy plank door shut. Will Endicott 
 lifted the great boat's stick, planted it against the door 
 and braced it with tremendous strength. Then he and I 
 darted after the fleeing figure, snatched up Mary Vane, 
 one on either side, and, with Tom Appleton going along 
 with us, we made off across the clearing for the woods. 
 Mary Vane, even then, gasping for breath, did beg for 
 giveness for the cry she had uttered, fearing it had undone 
 us; and she cried out, one moment, for us to go on and 
 save ourselves, and, the next, clung to us, terrified, and 
 begged we would not leave her to the men of the stockade 
 and Elias. 
 
 " Why, lass," exclaimed Will Endicott, " 'twas well 
 timed, I do think, and may serve us better than silence. 
 Since, by the Lord ! it did frighten me as I never was 
 frightened before. 'Twill give them some shock, too, like 
 enough, at the outset, and put them into worse confusion." 
 
 Looking back now, we saw, dimly, Elbridge Carver 
 and Randlett and Pemberton running down the hill ; and,
 
 Will Endicott Pays a Score 383 
 
 presently, the three fired a pistol-shot, each, back at 
 the stockade. Then the men came running out, and fired 
 after them, and went running in pursuit. At this, the moon 
 shone very bright for a moment; but whether we were 
 seen or not, we did not know, and only went on as fast as 
 we could, and got quickly to the shelter of the woods. 
 About that time, we heard the shots from Ezra Bradford and 
 his boy, and hoped they might serve to divert the pur 
 suit. 
 
 We did get, too, even as far as the stream and a way 
 along its windings without harm, nor heard the sound of 
 any one following. But soon Will Endicott brought us to 
 a halt to listen. 
 
 " I think there will be some one coming, through the 
 woods, a little way back," he said ; and, listening, it was 
 not to be mistaken. Then we pushed on again, but paused, 
 a little farther down, and looked back again along the path 
 by the stream. There was one spot, at a pretty swinging 
 of the floss, where a little space of the woods lay open for 
 the moonlight to play on, like the light thrown to one 
 spot from a ship's lantern ; and three men, one following 
 another, came quickly across this cleared place and were 
 shown in relief against the blackness of the encompassing 
 woods. The foremost man was George Rawlins; the 
 second, Lawrence Sylvester; the third, unknown to 
 us. 
 
 Will Endicott would have me go forward, with Mary 
 Vane; and with some breaking of the branches and a 
 little of such disturbance, that the men who followed might 
 be hot-headed with the sound and thinking not of ambus-
 
 384 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 cade. And he and Tom Appleton lurked by the path, 
 hidden, one on either side, as we went on. 
 
 It seemed scarce a moment more when a horrid sound of 
 struggling and sudden outcry, and the voices of men taken 
 all unawares and met with the sting of death were borne 
 on to us, so that Mary Vane sank down, trembling ; then 
 I could not wait with her, but darted back upon the path. 
 Yet, I got not to where my comrades had stood, for the 
 fight there was even now over and ended; and the two 
 foremost men lay stricken in the path. The other had 
 fled off through the woods so fast that Will Endicott and 
 Tom Appleton would waste no time in pursuit of him, 
 but were running along the path to meet me. 
 
 They were untouched, the men being fallen upon ere 
 they could draw and fire; and there was that upon the 
 blade of Will Endicott's dagger that was brighter than the 
 gleaming rubies in its hilt, and had been more precious, 
 a thousand-fold, to him in whose veins it had flowed, than 
 all the blood-red rubies of the earth. 
 
 We lifted up Mary Vane and pushed on, very desperate, 
 being fearful lest the man that had escaped might fetch 
 others to follow, or intercept us. Indeed, we heard the 
 sound of firing hi the direction he had taken, as though he 
 were giving alarm. 
 
 But, even upon this, there came a grievous hurt to me, 
 through the root of a tree twisting up into the path. It 
 caught me by a foot and wrenched it sorely ; so that when 
 I set weight upon it, it gave under me, with exquisite pain, 
 and I was tumbling headlong. Then Will Endicott, seeing 
 I was thus stricken like a hamstrung horse, lifted me up
 
 Will Endicott Pays a Score 385 
 
 bodily and threw me over his shoulder like a meal-sack, 
 and made little more of my weight than he would have of 
 the other. 
 
 We got down, without more misadventure, to the point 
 where the little floss fell precipitously into the ravine; 
 and there, only a rod away, stood the rude thing that had 
 been a place of warmth and shelter to us in the days we 
 had dwelt here on Round House, the cabin Tom Appleton 
 and Elbridge and I aye, and even Elias had builded 
 together. 
 
 Here, there being a path down along the face of the 
 ravine, in through the underbrush, known of old to us, 
 and which would, moreover, be sheltered from sight all 
 the way, Will Endicott put me down and bade me wait till 
 he and Tom Appleton should help Mary Vane along the 
 ravine to the shore. This would be a matter of ten min 
 utes, or a little more, when they would return and fetch 
 me. 
 
 When they had been gone half this time, I pulled myself 
 up and leaned against a tree, straining my ears to catch 
 any sound from afar off, or near, that might tell where 
 the men were. There was, too, sound of firing somewhere 
 down along the reach. It seems, Elbridge Carver and the 
 other two had got safely to their boat, and, moreover, had 
 taken away the oars of one they found there belonging to 
 Vane's men; and the men of the stockade, or a part of 
 them, had come down to the shore and now stood there, 
 firing, but missed their mark in the half-obscured and 
 shifting light of the moon. 
 
 This firing, the sounds of it coming to me from a dis-
 
 386 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 tance, did, in truth, put me all out of mind of nearer 
 trouble; so that now, there leaping all unexpectedly out 
 of the thicket the thin flame of a pistol-shot, with the 
 puffing of smoke, and the crashing of the report in my 
 ears, I was cruelly astounded and stunned for the moment, 
 and could scarce find wit to grasp its meaning. Yet the 
 next instant, it was very clear to me ; for there burst out 
 of the thicket the man that had fired. It was Elias; 
 and but for the tremor of his hand with rage, which 
 be ever a bad thing for the nerves, and most unsteadying, 
 he had shot me through ; for he had crept up so that he 
 was but a few feet away. 
 
 Now I was a man halt and stricken to the spot where 
 I stood, by reason of having only one good leg to bear me ; 
 and I think, by my not springing forth to meet him, nor 
 moving from the support of the tree, Elias thought me 
 hit ; and he came on, without waiting to load again. But 
 when he was up to me, I had quickly my arms about him, 
 like a brother. Yet, if our embrace were brotherly, it 
 was like unto that of the first two in all the world, and one 
 of us should die at the end of it. 
 
 It was thus that we two that had played together once 
 upon a time should part now to the end of all things, and 
 say no word each to the other in all our struggling having 
 no words to express what was in our hearts, and little 
 breath to utter them. For I was clasping him now, and 
 his arms were about me ; and his hand was at my throat, 
 and mine at his ; and again and again a hand that would 
 reach for the knife at the belt was held with firm clutch, 
 it being the very hold on the life itself that each held dear.
 
 Will Endicott Pays a Score 387 
 
 I, hobbling, was not to be shaken off ; and he was wrench 
 ing and wresting to be free, like one that hath been seized, 
 all unexpected, by the arms of the sea-devil. 
 
 Now we toppled and swayed, he dragging and I clutch 
 ing, amid the underbrush and the growth of alder and 
 the wiry vines that clawed us with tiny, myriad claws. 
 We reeled and fell, and rolled among these till our faces 
 were rasped and bloody ; and he dragged me up with him. 
 
 But then I was in some way caught by the tangled growth, 
 so that there shot so keen a pain through me as though a 
 knife-blade had gone from the ankle, that was wrenched, 
 all the way up the leg to the body. It thrilled through and 
 through me, and my hold upon Elias was broken torn 
 away. He sprang back, sneering, gasping, furious; wild 
 to know now that he might have me at his mercy, seeing 
 I were lame and crippled. So stood I, waiting. 
 
 Then there, before my eyes, was the sharp way of 
 providence made manifest; and to this day I do thank 
 God it was not given to me to be the instrument of its 
 working. For, by our grappling and falling, and strug 
 gling here and there, we were even now upon the brink 
 of the great ravine ; and neither of us thinking of that, it 
 being shut out as with a screen by the green branches. 
 
 Now, the man before me, reaching for his weapon, did 
 of a sudden sink down like one that hath naught but the 
 quicksands of the shore beneath his feet. Yea, as the 
 Scriptures have it, the very earth staggered like a drunken 
 man. A slice of the bank whereon he stood was riven off, 
 it being all specious atop with shrubs and bushes, but this 
 a snare and it was honeycombed and eaten away
 
 388 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 underneath, and but a treacherous shelf. This, I say, 
 with the bushes that grew upon it, and Elias, clutching 
 madly, stupidly, at them, wrenched now away, tore off 
 and fell, down, down, into the ravine and naught to 
 break the fall for a hundred feet, to where the jagged 
 rocks lay below, only surface-clad with seaweed; where 
 the swash of the tide wetted the rocks ; where the waters 
 thereof now leaped all about and over the senseless thing 
 that had been Elias, and washed away the life-blood as 
 it flowed from his pale face. 
 
 Now were Tom Appleton and Will Endicott helping me 
 down this same ravine ; and we must stay not to lift Elias 
 from the flowing of the sea, but go on and on, carefully, 
 painfully, down to the shore and so into the boat, where 
 Mary Vane was waiting. 
 
 Now, quick and strong, out upon the reach, half-moonlit, 
 half-darkened; across the flickering, fleeting patches of 
 gleaming water; mid darting light and blackness. And 
 lo ! ahead in the shadow of the little island, lay the other 
 boat, with Elbridge Carver and the other two, all unhurt ; 
 and we were going on, thus, out of the reach and on to 
 the ketch that lay swinging with the tide. 
 
 But there came stealing swiftly out now from the shore 
 and up the reach, following us, a boat with two men in 
 her; and coming thus silently and stealthily within gun 
 shot, they swung their boat broadside and blazed away, 
 each with a musket, and, following this, with pistols. So 
 there hissed and hummed in our ears the sharp zing of the 
 bullets; and heavy swan-shot, also, cut the waters about 
 us; and one rattled against an oar blade. But of this
 
 Will Endicott Pays a Score 389 
 
 trick, there was one shot, and one only, that went home ; 
 another, that would be the death-shot of him who fired it. 
 And by the first, our good man, Randlett, whom we had 
 come, indeed, to fancy greatly, and who had served us 
 true, did roll over upon the gunwale. 
 
 " Black Dan ! " he said, feebly. " I be done for." 
 
 He was dead in the boat the next minute and we 
 buried him two miles off Round House that night, with 
 a shot at his heels, to let him lie still on the sea's bed, not 
 to wander, tide-driven. 
 
 The other shot of which I did speak tore across Will 
 Endicott's cheek, and made the red blood flow, but did 
 him no hurt. Yet it did light again the fire in his eyes that 
 a man might dread to see ; and he was overboard, silently, 
 and swimming along the shore of the reach, far in the 
 wake of the boat wherein Dan Baldrick he that was, too, 
 Captain John Vane and Will Lewis now were putting 
 quickly back. Like a great seal went Will Endicott, 
 noiselessly, without splashing ; moving his powerful arms 
 under the water, and only his dark head showing to us, as 
 we waited on our oars for what should come, since he had 
 bade us lie safe with Mary Vane, and not follow. 
 
 Clear across the reach went Will Lewis and Dan Bal 
 drick; and we saw their figures vaguely, dimly, as they 
 drew the boat out upon the shore, and stood there for a 
 moment, looking off and wondering, perchance, what 
 stayed us. 
 
 But Will Endicott we had lost to view ; till all at once 
 there came a cry across the waters, and the two leaped and 
 turned as though they had heard a sound behind them.
 
 390 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 The figure of a third man darted out, and then all the 
 three blended indistinctly together; a black mass, that 
 swayed and writhed hi the obscurity; separated; came 
 together again; reeled; fell; rose again; changed its 
 form into fantastic shapes, all shadowy, before our eyes 
 and then, lo ! it did define itself a little, and there was one 
 man standing alone by the water's edge, and none other 
 
 by. 
 
 Then, stooping, this figure a huge one dragged 
 again the boat to the water, put it afloat, leaped in and 
 came out to us ; and he that had been Dan Baldrick and 
 he that had been gaunt Will Lewis lay dead upon the shore 
 for the men of the stockade to bury. 
 
 The ledges that girt Round House, shaggy with their 
 coats of seaweed, and the rocks rising out of the sea, and 
 the tree-clad hills, fade quickly out of view. For the ketch 
 is flying swiftly now, far beyond the swash of the waves 
 upon the shingle and the stone, out of sound of the 
 tinkle and splash of the floss, dripping down the ravine, 
 never to be heard again by us ; out of the sight and sound 
 of the sea-jumble at the foot of the great cliffs. And 
 Mary Vane, falling away to sleep soon, worn and weary, 
 with some one's arms about her, shall awaken again, out 
 of the sight and harm of pirate men. 
 
 Now, as I sit here, writing, this be the blending of spring 
 into joyous summer. From the window, open wide to the 
 songs of birds and the sunshine, I see, away under the 
 hill, the river Charles, flowing smoothly on its way to the
 
 Will Endicott Pays a Score 391 
 
 bay where many green islands are ; and the memory of a 
 day, long ago, when the banks were blackened with a 
 multitude eager to see poor, sinful men go up to die, be 
 softened and much erased by sweeter, fairer things. 
 
 There was much I fain would have told and thought, 
 when I began, to do so of the voyage we made from 
 Round House to the mainland ; and thence along south 
 ward to where we went ashore and buried most of the 
 treasure that was aboard the ketch ; and how we went our 
 way in, by the old, familiar thoroughfares, to Boston har 
 bour; and how we found many things there changed; 
 and Ephraim aging a little with more of rust in his 
 bones; and Mercy no longer abiding with him save in 
 the spirit, but called away and sleeping her last sleep, very 
 quietly for her. And Ephraim would not call her back, 
 even if he could, to the trials of this world, for her own 
 good, he bearing her loss resignedly. 
 
 This, and how we went later for the treasure and 
 brought it in, from time to time, not daring to fetch it all 
 at once, lest we be hanged, too, for piracy, by men who 
 might misjudge us. All these and many other things I 
 would have set down at greater length; but, indeed, I 
 reckoned not that I had voyaged so far and wide when 
 I did set out, two score and more months ago, to tell of it. 
 And I was thinking, as I sat here, of the port now not far 
 away to fetch up in, as sailors do after the voyage has been 
 long, when there came in to me, gently, she that once was 
 Mary Vane, and put an arm about my shoulder and laid 
 her cheek softly against mine. 
 
 Now Mary Vane, that was, be, indeed, no longer the
 
 392 Prisoners of Fortune 
 
 little maid that steered the pinnace and guided us in 
 along the shore of the reach to harbour; for the golden 
 hair be not all golden now. Yet the deep, true, brown 
 eyes be the same ; and the love-light in them burns bright 
 as of long ago; and, about her neck, there is a golden 
 chain from which a locket hangs. In it, there be a face 
 that is hers and not hers, but that we shall both love 
 for all time. 
 
 And she doth take the pen from out my fingers, growing 
 weary, and bids me write no more of bloody deeds and 
 cruel men, and things that should now be forgotten and 
 forgiven ; and, since it be these two score years since first 
 I did her bidding, I think, in truth, it will be too late now 
 to begin to disobey. 
 
 THE END.
 
 3L (L page anb Company's 
 
 Hnnouncement Xiet 
 
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 I
 
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 Red Fox 
 
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 enviable place." The Outlook. 
 
 " This is a book full of delight. An additional charm lies in Mr. 
 Bull's faithful and graphic illustrations, which in fashion all their 
 own tell the story of the wild life, illuminating and supplementing 
 the pen pictures of the author." Literary Digest. 
 
 Earth's Enigmas 
 
 A new edition of Mr. Roberts's first volume of fiction, published 
 in 1892, and out of print for several years, with the addition of 
 three new stories, and ten illustrations by Charles Livingston 
 Bull. 
 
 Library 1 2mo, cloth, decorative cover . . . . #1.50 
 
 " It will rank high among collections of short stories. In 
 
 ' Earth's Enigmas ' is a wider range of subject than in the ' Kindred 
 
 of the Wild.' " Review from advance sheets of the illustrated edition 
 
 by Tiffany Blake in the Chicago Evening Post. 
 
 Barbara Ladd 
 
 With four illustrations by Frank Verbeck. 
 
 Library 1 2mo, gilt top $1.50 
 
 " From the opening chapter to the final page Mr. Roberts lures 
 us on by his rapt devotion to the changing aspects of Nature and 
 by his keen and sympathetic analysis of human character." 
 Boston Transcript.
 
 L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S 
 
 Cameron of Lochiel 
 
 Translated from the French of Philippe Aubert de Gaspe, with 
 
 frontispiece in color by H. C. Edwards. 
 
 Library I2mo, cloth decorative $1.50 
 
 14 Professor Roberts deserves the thanks of his reader for giving 
 a wider audience an opportunity to enjoy this striking bit of French 
 Canadian literature." Brooklyn Eagle. 
 
 " It is not often in these days of sensational and philosophical 
 novels that one picks up a book that so touches the heart." 
 Boston Transcript. 
 
 The Prisoner of Mademoiselle 
 
 With frontispiece by Frank T. Merrill. 
 
 Library 1 2mo, cloth decorative, gilt top .... $1.50 
 
 A tale of Acadia, a land which is the author's heart's delight, 
 of a valiant young lieutenant and a winsome maiden, who first 
 captures and then captivates. 
 
 " This is the kind of a story that makes one grow younger, more 
 innocent, more light-hearted. Its literary quality is impeccable. 
 It is not every day that such a heroine blossoms into even tempo 
 rary existence, and the very name of the story bears a breath of 
 charm." Chicago Record-Herald. 
 
 The Heart of the Ancient Wood 
 
 With six illustrations by James L. Weston. 
 
 Library I2mo, decorative cover $1.50 
 
 "One of the most fascinating novels of recent days." Boston 
 Journal. 
 
 " A classic twentieth-century romance." New York Commercial 
 Advertiser. 
 
 The Forge in the Forest 
 
 Being the Narrative of the Acadian Ranger, Jean de Mer, 
 Seigneur de Briart, and how he crossed the Black Abbe, and of 
 his adventures in a strange fellowship. Illustrated by Henry 
 Sandham, R. C. A. 
 
 Library 1 2mo, cloth, gilt top #1.50 
 
 A story of pure love and heroic adventure. 
 
 By the Marshes of Minas 
 
 Library 1 2mo, cloth, gilt top, illustrated .... $1.50 
 Most of these romances are in the author's lighter and more 
 
 playful vein; each is a unit of absorbing interest and exquisite 
 
 workmanship.
 
 LIST OF FICTION 5 
 
 A Sister to Evangeline 
 
 Being the Story of Yvonne de Lamourie, and how she went into 
 exile with the villagers of Grand Pre. 
 
 Library 1 2mo, cloth, gilt top, illustrated .... $1.50 
 Swift action, fresh atmosphere, wholesome purity, deep passion, 
 and searching analysis characterize this strong novel. 
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 LILIAN BELL 
 
 Hope Loring 
 
 Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. 
 
 Library 12010, cloth, decorative cover .... $1.50 
 
 " Lilian Bell's new novel, ' Hope Loring,' does for the American 
 girl in fiction what Gibson has done for her in art. 
 
 " Tall, slender, and athletic, fragile-looking, yet with nerves and 
 sinews of steel under the velvet flesh, frank as a boy and tender 
 and beautiful as a woman, free and independent, yet not bold 
 such is ' Hope Loring,' by long odds the subtlest study that has yet 
 been made of the American girl." Dorothy Dix, in the New York 
 American. 
 
 Abroad with the Jimmies 
 
 With a portrait, in duogravure, of the author. 
 
 Library i2mo, cloth, decorative cover .... $1.50 
 
 " Full of ozone, of snap, of ginger, of swing and momentum." 
 Chicago Evening Post. 
 
 "... Is one of her best and cleverest novels . . . filled to the 
 brim with amusing incidents and experiences. This vivacious narra 
 tive needs no commendation to the readers of Miss Bell's well-known 
 earlier books." N. Y. Press. 
 
 At Home with the Jardines 
 
 A companion volume to " Abroad with the Jimmies." 
 
 Library I2mo, cloth decorative $1-5 
 
 "Bits of gay humor, sunny, whimsical philosophy, and keen in 
 dubitable insight into the less evident aspects and workings of pure 
 human nature, with a slender thread of a cleverly extraneous love- 
 story, keep the interest of the reader fresh, and the charmingly old- 
 fashioned happy ending is to be generously commended. Typical, 
 characteristic Lilian Bell sketches, bright, breezy, amusing, and 
 philosophic." Chicago Record-Herald.
 
 L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S 
 
 The Interference of Patricia 
 
 With a frontispiece from drawing by Frank T. Merrill. 
 
 Small 1 2mo, cloth, decorative cover $1.25 
 
 " There is life and action and brilliancy and dash and cleverness 
 and a keen appreciation of business ways in this story." Grand 
 Rapids Herald. 
 
 " A story full of keen and flashing satire." Chicago Record- 
 Herald. 
 
 A Book of Girls 
 
 With a frontispiece. 
 
 Small 1 2mo, cloth, decorative cover $1.25 
 
 "The stories are all eventful and have effective humor." New 
 York Sun. 
 
 " Lilian Bell surely understands girls, for she depicts all the varia 
 tions of girl nature so charmingly." Chicago Journal. 
 
 The above two volumes boxed in special holiday dress, per set, $230 
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 ALICE MacGOWAN AND GRACE Mac- 
 GOWAN COOKE 
 
 Return 
 
 A STORY OF THE SEA ISLANDS IN 1739. With six illustrations 
 
 by C. D. Williams. 
 
 Library I2mo, cloth $1-50 
 
 " So rich in color is this story, so crowded with figures, it seems 
 like a bit of old Italian wall painting, a piece of modern tapestry, 
 rather than a modern fabric woven deftly from the threads of fact 
 and fancy gathered up in this new and essentially practical country, 
 and therein lies its distinctive value and excellence." A r . Y. Sun. 
 
 "At once tender, thrilling, picturesque, philosophical, and dra 
 matic. One of the most delightful romances we have had in many 
 a day." Chicago Record-Herald. 
 
 The Grapple 
 
 With frontispiece in color by Arthur W. Brown. 
 
 Library 12010, cloth decorative $i-5O 
 
 "The movement of the tale is swift and dramatic. The story is 
 so original, so strong, and so finely told that it deserves a large and 
 thoughtful public. It is a book to read with both enjoyment and 
 enlightenment." N. Y. Times Saturday Review of Books.
 
 LIST OF FICTION 
 
 The Last Word 
 
 Illustrated with seven portraits of the heroine. 
 
 Library I2mo, cloth, gilt top $1.50 
 
 " When one receives full measure to overflowing of delight in a 
 tender, charming, and wholly fascinating new piece of fiction, the 
 enthusiasm is apt to come uppermost. Miss MacGowan has been 
 known before, but her best gift has here declared itself." Louis 
 ville Post. 
 
 Huldah 
 
 With illustrations by Fanny Y. Cory. 
 
 Library I2mo, cloth decorative $1.50 
 
 Here we have the great-hearted, capable woman of the Texas 
 plains dispensing food and genial philosophy to rough-and-ready 
 cowboys. Her sympathy takes the form of happy laughter, and 
 her delightfully funny phrases amuse the fancy and stick in one's 
 memory. 
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 MORLEY ROBERTS 
 
 Rachel flarr 
 
 By MORLEY ROBERTS. 
 
 Library I2tno, cloth decorative $ l -S 
 
 " A novel of tremendous force, with a style that is sure, luxuriant, 
 compelling, full of color and vital force." Elia W. Peattie in Chi 
 cago Tribune. 
 
 " In atmosphere, if nothing else, the story is absolutely perfect." 
 Boston Transcript. 
 
 " Will be widely read and shrewdly and acutely commented upon 
 through many years yet to come." Philadelphia North American. 
 
 " A splendidly wrought book, strong as the winds and waves are 
 strong, and as unregardful as they of mean barriers." Chicago 
 Record- Herald. 
 
 Lady Penelope 
 
 By MORLEY ROBERTS. With nine illustrations by Arthur W. 
 
 Brown. 
 
 Library I2mo, cloth $1.50 
 
 " For celerity of movement, originality of plot, and fertility of in 
 vention, not to speak of a decided audacity in situation, ' Lady 
 Penelope ' is easily ahead of anything in the spring output of 
 fiction." Chicago News. 
 
 " A fresh and original bit of comedy as amusing as it is auda 
 cious." Boston Transcript.
 
 8 L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S 
 
 The Promotion of the Admiral 
 
 By MORLEY ROBERTS. 
 
 Library 1 2mo, cloth decorative, illustrated. . . $1-50 
 
 " If any one writes better sea stories than Mr. Roberts, we don't 
 know who it is ; and if there is a better sea story of its kind than 
 this it would be a joy to have the pleasure of reading it." New 
 York Sun. 
 
 "There is a hearty laugh in every one of these stories." The 
 Reader. 
 
 " To read these stories is a tonic for the mind ; the stories are 
 gems, and for pith and vigor of description they are unequalled." 
 N. Y. Commercial Advertiser. 
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 STEPHEN CONRAD 
 
 The Second Mrs. Jim 
 
 By STEPHEN CONRAD. With a frontispiece by Ernest Fosbery. 
 
 Large i6mo, cloth decorative $1.00 
 
 Here is a character as original and witty as " Mr. Dooley " or 
 " the self-made merchant." The realm of humorous fiction is 
 now invaded by the stepmother. 
 
 "It is an exceptionally clever piece of work." Boston Tran 
 script. 
 
 " ' The Second Mrs. Jim ' is worth as many Mrs. Wiggses as 
 could be crowded into the Cabbage Patch. The racy humor and 
 cheerfulness and wisdom of the book make it wholly delightful." 
 Philadelphia Press. 
 
 Mrs. Jim and Mrs. Jimmie 
 
 With a frontispiece in colors by Arthur W. Brown. 
 
 Library 1 2mo, cloth decorative $i-$o 
 
 This book is in a sense a sequel to " The Second Mrs. Jim," 
 since it gives further glimpses of that delightful stepmother and her 
 philosophy. 
 
 " Plenty of fun and humor in this book. Plenty of simple pathos 
 and quietly keen depiction of human nature afford contrast, and 
 every chapter is worth reading. It is a very human account of 
 life in a small country town, and the work should be commended 
 for those sterling qualities of heart and naturalness so endearing to 
 many." Chicago Record-Herald.
 
 LIST OF FICTION 
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 ARTHUR MORRISON 
 
 The Green Diamond 
 
 By ARTHUR MORRISON, author of " The Red Triangle," etc. 
 Library i2mo, cloth decorative, with six illustrations . $1.50 
 " A detective story of unusual ingenuity and intrigue." Brooklyn 
 Eagle. 
 
 The Red Triangle 
 
 Being some further chronicles of Martin Hewitt, investigator. 
 By ARTHUR MORRISON, author of " The Hole in the Wall," 
 " Tales of Mean Streets," etc. 
 
 Library i2mo, cloth decorative #1.50 
 
 " Better than Sherlock Holmes." New York Tribune. 
 " The reader who has a grain of fancy or imagination may be de 
 fied to lay this book down, once he has begun it, until the last word 
 has been reached." Philadelphia North American. 
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 ELLIOTT FLOWER 
 
 Delightful Dodd 
 
 Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. 
 
 Library I2mo, cloth decorative $1.50 
 
 " ' Delightful Dodd ' is a new character in fiction who is filled to 
 the brim with sound philosophy and who gives it quaint expression. 
 In all comments concerning every-day life, there is something which 
 appeals to the human heart and which is soundly philosophical and 
 philosophically sound. The story is one of quiet naturalness." 
 Boston Herald. 
 
 " The candor and simplicity of Mr. Flower's narrative in general 
 give the work an oddity similar to that which characterized the 
 stories of the late Frank Stockton." Chicago News. 
 
 The Spoilsmen 
 
 Library I2mo, cloth $1.50 
 
 " The best one may hear of ' The Spoilsmen ' will be none too 
 good. As a wide-awake, snappy, brilliant political story it has few 
 equals, its title-page being stamped with that elusive mark, suc 
 cess.' One should not miss a word of a book like this at a time 
 like this and in a world of politics like this." Boston Transcript.
 
 IO L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S 
 
 Slaves of Success 
 
 With twenty illustrations by Jay Hambidge. 
 
 Library izmo, cloth i-5 
 
 " In addition to having given the reading public the best collec 
 tion of political short stories we have yet seen, Mr. Flower has 
 blazed a new trail in the more or less explored country of practical 
 politics in fiction. There is not a story in the book which is not 
 clever in construction, and significant in every sentence. Each is 
 excellent, because it depicts character accurately and realistically, 
 while unfolding a well-defined plot." 'New York Evening Post. 
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 THEODORE ROBERTS 
 
 Brothers of Peril 
 
 With four illustrations in color by H. C. Edwards. 
 
 Library i2mo, cloth decorative $i-5O 
 
 A tale of Newfoundland in the sixteenth century, and of the now 
 extinct Beothic Indians who lived there. 
 
 " An original and absorbing story. A dashing story with a histor 
 ical turn. There is no lack of excitement or action in it, all being 
 described in vigorous, striking style. To be sure, the ending is just 
 what is expected, but its strength lies in its naturalness, and this 
 applies to the whole story, which is never overdone ; and this is 
 somewhat remarkable, for there are many scenes that could be 
 easily spoiled by a less skilful writer. A story of unusual interest." 
 Boston Transcript. 
 
 Hemming, the Adventurer 
 
 With six illustrations by A. G. Learned. 
 
 Library izmo, cloth decorative #1.50 
 
 " A remarkable interpretation of the nomadic war correspondent's 
 life." N. Y. Evening Post. 
 
 " Its ease of style, its rapidity, its interest from page to page, are 
 admirable; and it shows that inimitable power, the story-teller's 
 gift of verisimilitude. Its sureness and clearness are excellent, and 
 its portraiture clear and pleasing. It shows much strength and 
 much mature power. We should expect such a writer to be full of 
 capital short stories." The Reader.
 
 LIST OF FICTION 1 1 
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 T. JENKINS MAINS 
 
 The Black Barque 
 
 With five illustrations by W. Herbert Dunton. 
 
 Library i2mo, cloth 1.50 
 
 According to a high naval authority, whose name must be with 
 held, this is one of the best sea stories ever offered to the public. 
 " The Black Barque " is a story of slavery and piracy upon the high 
 seas about 1815, and is written with a thorough knowledge of deep- 
 water sailing. 
 
 " A fine breezy cut and thrust tale with plenty of fighting in it, a 
 touch of humor, a nice bit of sentiment, and unflagging entertain 
 ment." Cleveland Leader. 
 
 The Windjammers 
 
 Library i2mo, cloth, illustrated $ l -S 
 
 " A collection of short sea stories unmatched for interest, ranging 
 from the tragic to the humorous, and including some accounts of 
 the weird, unexplainable happenings which befall all sailors. Told 
 with keen appreciation, in which the reader will share." W. Y. 
 Sun. 
 
 * 
 
 Castel del flonte 
 
 By NATHAN GALLIZIER. With six illustrations by H. C. Edwards. 
 
 Library lamo, cloth $ l -S 
 
 A powerful romance of the fall of the Hohenstaufen dynasty in 
 Italy and the overthrow of Manfred by Charles of Anjou, the 
 champion of Pope Clement JV. 
 
 " There is color ; there is sumptuous word-painting in these 
 pages ; the action is terrific at times ; vividness and life are in every 
 part ; and brilliant descriptions entertain the reader and give a 
 singular fascination to the tale." Grand Rapids Herald. 
 
 A Captain of Men 
 
 By E. ANSON MORE. Illustrated, with frontispiece in colors, by 
 
 Henry W. Moore. 
 
 Library lamo, cloth $i-S 
 
 A tale of ancient Tyre and its merchant princes. 
 
 " The plot is intricate and well wrought and the dialogue is of 
 great brilliancy." Boston Transcript. 
 
 " It has the value of accuracy as well as the charm of distin 
 guished literary merit." New York Post.
 
 12 L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S 
 
 The Winged Helmet 
 
 By HAROLD STEELE MACKAYE, author of " The Panchronicon," 
 
 etc. With six illustrations by H. C. Edwards. 
 
 Library I2mo, doth $i-5O 
 
 " A rarely capable study of femininity as well as a minute picture 
 of life in France in the early sixteenth century." Cleveland Plain 
 Dealer. 
 
 " The situations are decidedly unusual, the action is abundantly 
 varied, and there is no loss of interest in any portion of the narra 
 tive. A well-constructed novel, full of dramatic incident and inter 
 est of varied order." Chicago Record-Herald. 
 
 The Motor Pirate 
 
 By G. SIDNEY PATERNOSTER. 
 
 Library I2mo, cloth decorative, with frontispiece . . $1.50 
 
 " It is a story of adventure in a strictly up-to-date method, and 
 
 is as ingenious in construction as it is fervid in telling." Pittsburg 
 
 Times. 
 
 " Its originality, exciting adventures, into which is woven a 
 charming love theme, and its undercurrent of fun furnishes a dash 
 ing detective story which a motor-mad world will thoroughly enjoy 
 reading." Boston Herald. 
 
 " The author has created a criminal gifted with rare ingenuity for 
 the titular character of the ' Motor Pirate,' and his car is the su 
 preme realization of every enthusiastic motorist's dream. It simply 
 annihilates distance." Philadelphia North American. 
 
 Stephen Holton 
 
 BY CHARLES FELTON PIDGIN, author of " Quincy Adams Saw 
 yer," " Blennerhassett," etc. The frontispiece is a portrait of the 
 hero by Frank T. Merrill. 
 
 One vol., library I2mo, cloth $1.50 
 
 " In the delineation of rural life, the author shows that intimate 
 
 sympathy which distinguished his first success, ' Quincy Adams 
 
 Sawyer.' " Boston Daily Advertiser. 
 " Stephen Holton ' stands as his best achievement." Detroit 
 
 Free Press. 
 
 " New England's common life seems a favorite material for this 
 sterling author, who in this particular instance mixes his colors with 
 masterly skill." Boston Globe.
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 PRINTED IN US A
 
 3 1970 00626 7824