Stolen Treasure | Page 7

into the great cabin.
Here they found the captain of the vice-admiral playing at cards with
the Sieur Simon and a friend, Madam Simon and her daughter being
present.
Captain Morgan instantly set his pistol at the breast of the Spanish
captain, swearing with a most horrible fierce countenance that if he
spake a word or made any outcry he was a dead man. As for our hero,
having now got his hand into the game, he performed the same service
for the Spaniard's friend, declaring he would shoot him dead if he
opened his lips or lifted so much as a single finger.
All this while the ladies, not comprehending what had occurred, had sat
as mute as stones; but now having so far recovered themselves as to
find a voice, the younger of the two fell to screaming, at which the
Sieur Simon called out to her to be still, for these were friends who had
come to help them, and not enemies who had come to harm them.
All this, you are to understand, occupied only a little while, for in less

than a minute three or four of the pirates had come into the cabin, who,
together with the Portuguese, proceeded at once to bind the two
Spaniards hand and foot, and to gag them. This being done to our
buccaneer's satisfaction, and the Spanish captain being stretched out in
the corner of the cabin, he instantly cleared his countenance of its
terrors, and bursting forth into a great loud laugh, clapped his hand to
the Sieur Simon's, which he wrung with the best will in the world.
Having done this, and being in a fine humor after this his first success,
he turned to the two ladies. "And this, ladies," said he, taking our hero
by the hand and presenting him, "is a young gentleman who has
embarked with me to learn the trade of piracy. I recommend him to
your politeness."
Think what a confusion this threw our Master Harry into, to be sure,
who at his best was never easy in the company of strange ladies! You
may suppose what must have been his emotions to find himself thus
introduced to the attention of Madam Simon and her daughter, being at
the time in his bare feet, clad only in his shirt and breeches, and with no
hat upon his head, a pistol in one hand and a cutlass in the other.
However, he was not left for long to his embarrassments, for almost
immediately after he had thus far relaxed, Captain Morgan fell of a
sudden serious again, and bidding the Sieur Simon to get his ladies
away into some place of safety, for the most hazardous part of this
adventure was yet to occur, he quitted the cabin with Master Harry and
the other pirates (for you may call him a pirate now) at his heels.
Having come upon deck, our hero beheld that a part of the Spanish
crew were huddled forward in a flock like so many sheep (the others
being crowded below with the hatches fastened upon them), and such
was the terror of the pirates, and so dreadful the name of Henry Morgan,
that not one of those poor wretches dared to lift up his voice to give any
alarm, nor even to attempt an escape by jumping overboard.
At Captain Morgan's orders, these men, together with certain of his
own company, ran nimbly aloft and began setting the sails, which, the
night now having fallen pretty thick, was not for a good while observed
by any of the vessels riding at anchor about them.

Indeed, the pirates might have made good their escape, with at most
only a shot or two from the men-of-war, had it not then been about the
full of the moon, which, having arisen, presently discovered to those of
the fleet that lay closest about them what was being done aboard the
vice-admiral.
At this one of the vessels hailed them, and then after a while, having no
reply, hailed them again. Even then the Spaniards might not
immediately have suspected anything was amiss but only that the
vice-admiral for some reason best known to himself was shifting his
anchorage, had not one of the Spaniards aloft--but who it was Captain
Morgan was never able to discover--answered the hail by crying out
that the vice-admiral had been seized by the pirates.
At this the alarm was instantly given and the mischief done, for
presently there was a tremendous bustle through that part of the fleet
lying nighest the vice-admiral--a deal of shouting of orders, a beating
of drums, and the running hither and thither of the crews.
But by this time the sails of the vice-admiral had filled with a strong
land breeze that