By Right of Conquest | Page 7

whispered as to their cruelty to the natives be true,
pirates are an innocent and kindly folk compared to them. They openly proclaim that all
found in these seas, which they claim as their own, will be treated as enemies and slain
without mercy; and we shall be, therefore, fully justified in treating as an enemy any
Spanish ship that we may come across; and holding her as a fair prize, if we are strong
enough to take her."
"But you must not go out with that intent, Reuben. If I fit out the Swan to go to the Indies,

it is that she may trade honestly with such natives as are ready to trade with her, and not
that she may wage war against the Spaniards."
"I quite understand that, Cousin Diggory," Reuben Hawkshaw said, with a grim smile;
"and that also is my intent, if the Spaniards will but let me adhere to it; only if we are
attacked, we must defend ourselves. If they try to capture us, and we beat them, it is but
natural that we should capture them."
"Against that I have nothing to say, Reuben. I can find no authority, in Scripture, for the
Spaniards claiming a portion of the seas as their right. The world is all, as it seems to me,
open to trade, and neither the pope nor anyone else has a right to parcel it out, for the
exclusive use of one or two nations. As we all know, the seas within a mile or two of
shore are held to belong, naturally, to those who own the land; but that is a different thing,
altogether, to holding that more than half the seas, inasmuch as we know of them, are to
be held as private property by Spaniards and Portugals.
"Well, we will say no more about it, at present. There is plenty of time to think it over,
while the Swan is unloading. I certainly do not like to take so great a risk as this would be
on my own shoulders; but if I could get two or three others to join me, I should be willing
enough to embark upon it."
"I need not tell you, Diggory, that it behooves you to be right careful as to those to whom
you may broach it. Remember that an incautious word might ruin the enterprise
altogether. If so much as a whisper of it reached the ear of the Spanish ambassador in
London, he would apply to the king to put a stop to it; and whatever King Harry might
think of it, he could hardly permit the Swan to sail in the face of such a remonstrance, for
to do so would assuredly embroil him with Spain."
"I will be careful, Reuben; for I see this as well as you do, and shall only speak to men
who have, before now, worked with me in joint adventures, and on whose discretion I can
surely rely. I will talk the matter over with them, Reuben, first; and if they appear
favorably disposed, you shall meet them here, show them your map, and explain your
intentions fully to them. If three others join me, in equal shares, I shall propose that, as it
is your idea, and as you have obtained this map, you shall have an equal share with each
of us in the business; and shall, in addition to your pay as master, take one-fifth of the
profits, after payment of expenses. Will that content you?"
"Right well, Cousin Diggory; and from this moment I shall, I can tell you, regard myself
as a rich man."
The unloading of the Swan occupied some time. There was no undue haste, in those days.
The bales were hoisted by whips from the hold, and then carried up to Master Beggs'
warehouse. The sailors had earned a fair time for repose, after the hardships of the
voyage, and took matters easily, and it was more than a week before the Swan's hold was
empty.
During that time the merchant had not made any allusion, to Reuben, as to their
conversation on the evening after the Swan came into port. But Reuben was neither

surprised nor anxious at this silence. He knew that his cousin although an enterprising
was a cautious man, and had hardly hoped to find his proposal so favorably entertained.
He had looked for absolute refusal at first, and expected that he would only arrive at his
end after long disputes and discussion. Therefore he doubted not that Diggory was
turning the matter over and over in his mind, settling the details, and perhaps broaching
the matter to the merchants he had spoken of.
The Swan, once empty, was laid up on the shore; where she dried at low