By Right of Conquest | Page 9

men are well fed they will assuredly lose their health, and likely
enough become mutinous. If we come upon a Spanish ship when three parts of the crew
are weak with scurvy, we shall make but a poor fight of it. Therefore, I want to keep my
men in good strength and in good heart, and to do this they must be well fed. Such a
voyage as this no English ship has ever made before and, cooped up as we shall be in the
Swan--for we must carry a great crew--everything depends upon there being no fair
ground for grumbling. Many a ship has been lost from the crew being weakened by
scurvy, and if you are to bring this enterprise to a good end, I say that there must be no
stint in the matter of provisions, and that all must be the very best of their kind.
"I trust that, once out there, we shall be able to obtain an abundance of fruit and
vegetables from the natives; for these are things, above all, necessary to keep men's blood
sweet on shipboard.
"Then, as to arms. I think we should carry twelve pieces, six of a side; of which four
should be of good size, and yet not too large to be quickly handled. In the matter of
weight, the Spaniards are sure to have the advantage of us; but if we can shoot much
more quickly than they can, it will equalize matters. Then, of course, there will be bows
and arrows. I do not hold greatly to the new musketoons--a man can shoot six arrows
while he can fire one of them, and that with a straighter and truer aim, though it is true
they can carry somewhat farther. Then, of course, there will be pikes, and boarding axes,
and a good stock of powder and balls for the cannon. These are the complete lists I have
made out.
"Now I hold that we should carry from eighty to a hundred men. These I should pay only

the ordinary rate of wage, but each should have an interest in the venture, according to his
rank. As to the profits, I would leave it to you, my masters, to reckon; but seeing that in
fair trade one can get gold, to say nothing of silver, weight for weight for iron; and other
things in proportion; you can judge for yourselves what it will amount to--to say nothing
of the chance of our falling in with a Spanish treasure ship, which may be rash enough,
regarding us an easy prize, to fall foul of us."
"There is no doubt that the profits will be great, if you return safely home, Master
Hawkshaw," Nicholas Turnbull said; "but the chances of that seem but small."
"I think that the chances are good enough to risk my life upon, Master Turnbull," Reuben
replied; "and no man can show greater confidence than that. This is the map of which my
Cousin Diggory has no doubt spoken to you. You see that the islands are many, and some
of them great; and that the places at which the Spaniards have ports are few, in
comparison. We have to avoid these, but anywhere else we can open trade with the
natives. If we are chased, and find the place too hot for us, we can make away to the
mainland and, cruising along there, may come upon places that the Spaniards have never
visited, and may there gather great store of gold and silver, without danger. But I wish no
one, and certainly not my Cousin Diggory, to enter upon this affair unless with
confidence and good heart. I would far rather take a horse and travel to Bristol, and lay
my scheme before some of the traders there."
This idea was most distasteful to the traders, for Plymouth regarded Bristol with great
jealousy; and Diggory Beggs at once said:
"No, no, Reuben. My friend Master Nicholas Turnbull did not mean that he regarded
your scheme as hopeless, only that the risks were doubtless great. But we all know that to
earn great profit one must run such risk; and the venture, divided between four of us,
would not be a very heavy one--that is to say, not beyond what we are justified in
periling.
"Would you leave us for a while, Reuben? We will examine these lists that you have
made, and reckon up the total cost; and we shall then see the better how much we shall
each have to contribute, to make up our venture."
Reuben nodded and, putting on his hat, left the room, saying, "In an hour I will return;"
and then strolled over to a tavern much frequented by the masters of the ships in the port.
Chapter