The Argosy, Vol. 75, No. 4 — page 169: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

SAILING WITH MORGAN. her name. She had no more than an- swered him when I knocked up his hand with: “ Prize of war, captain! She is mine. I claim her as my prize.” The men about us laughed. Heth- erington was furious. I had seen the look in his eyes and I knew what it foreboded, and even then that had en- tered. into my soul which made it 1m- possible for me to stand aside in such a case. “Prize of war,” I said again. “‘ Real treasute trove!”’ He grinned at me _ maliciously. ‘What good will it do you, youngster, to claim as prize of war what you are not strong enough to keep? Like all else she will be sold and her ransom - put in the common stock.” He stepped back and a moment later Oakes joined me. I was angry and I showed it and he laid hand upon my arm, “Steady lad! Steady! ton is a dangerous man—”’ “ Am I a child, Jack?” ‘No, but he has made up his mind to have your Spanish beauty and I’m thinking that her ransom will be a heavy one and—maybe—not all—paid in gold—” “Then listen, John Oakes! As God is my judge I tell you only what I mean word for word, thought for thought, intent for intent! The man who lifts hand against that girl, I will run through the body, if it were King Charles himself. Captain, mate or buccaneer I will kill him as I “ee a mad dog.” L think I must have managed to im- press Oakes with the fact that I meant every word of what I said, for he stood a moment with his arms akimbo, nod- ding gravely at me. _ “ Aye,” he said. ‘* Sits the wind in that quarter? Then, Stephen, we will need to keep our weather eyes open. Caution the lady to keep below and to stay as much as she can where she will not be seen. What is her name?” I told him in a low voice, adding thereto: ‘ No man can see the end of Hethering~ S71 this affair, Oakes, but I give you my word of honor that come “what may | mean every word of what I told you a moment since.” “ And so did Hetherington or I mis- take him! Do you think that you, a mere boy of twenty-two, can come down here on your first freebooting cruise and beard an old buccaneer cap- tain? He has raided and ravagéd all the coast. ~I tell you, man, you need to keep your weather leeches lifting. Mind what I tell you! There goes the bo’swain piping the boats away. Mind . you tell the lady to keep below and as far from the well of the hatch as she can.’ I caught the combings of the hatch and swung myself down into the ‘tween-decks and thence into the hold, where I soon routed out the Spanish priest, to whom I told the advice that Oakes had given me, and then I scur- ried back again to the decks to find that the men in the boats were swear- ing at me for causing the delay. It was a mad race to Maracaibo with the hard-bitten rascals panting on their oar-loomis as they’sent their light craft switling up the shingle, letting loose upon the doomed city three hundred of the greatest rufhans that the world has ever seen. Shouting, swearing, raving, they swept up the streets from the muella to the plaza where the great church opened its doors to all. Little heed did they pay to aught save the desire for gain. The silver work on the altar was pried or wrenched loose from the wood-work, and as I turned away I saw two of our own crew of the Black Prince struggling with each other with bared knives for the possession of a ereat golden pyx. The gutters ran with wine, for the Spaniards were a luxurious people in the tropics, though hardy and virtuous enough at home. Men, women and children were herded into the plaza, and finally, when there seemed no fur- ther chance of getting gold or jewels (€(0) DOO ANG S (E@)