The Argosy, Vol. 75, No. 4 — page 193: what you’re looking at

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

SAILING WITH MORGAN. “A Christian ordinance? And in this place?” I did not wonder that the worthy father showed surprise. “T will tell him all about it, Up- holme,” said Captain Morgan. ‘“ Do you prepare the lady. Sit down, padre.” A tap on the door brought Dolores to the entrance to the state cabin, and in a few words I explained the matter to her. She had been weeping, but a quick flush of color chased away the tears, “Ves, Esteban,” she said slowly, “I will marry you. The Holy Virgin knows my heart, and though my friends may blame me, yet I do not think that their censure—”’ She fell to weeping again at the thought of it. “ Come, then,” I said; ‘and as I do with you, so may I also be dealt with.” As we entered the main cabin I saw that it was empty, and that Morgan and the priest had withdrawn to a small room that was quite within ear- shot. “ Senor,” said the priest, “ I will not do it! She is a Spaniard, and the man is a heretic and a buccaneer! I will not marry them!” “Nothing of the kind,” rejoined Morgan lightly. And in a few words he told him my story. Where he had heard it I do not know, but he had it pat enough. “And for further argu- ment,” he said, “if argument be need- ed, when I have you in my power | will say that it is better for the lady to have you marry her than to leave with- out the ceremony. If she should have to wait till her arrival at Jamaica her good name would suffer, and that is your business.” They reentered the main cabin and saw us standing by the open port. “Ts it your wish, seviora, that you be married thus?” asked the priest. Dolores flushed and half smiled as she answered: “ The surroundings could be better chosen, but it is perhaps better thus. Yes, [ am content.” “Then God guard you, sefora. I 895 will marry you. And you, sefior,”’ he said, turning to me, “may the saints turn you to a better life and give you knowledge of your prize.” It took but a few minutes. What it must have cost Dolores in pride I will never know, for men do not measure those things; but I do know that it was with tear-wet eyes and smiling lips that she turned to me—my wife. There remained a problem for us to solve. We must get to sea, and that right speedily, lest a greater force should shut us in the bay. The fort at the entrance still held out, and under its heavy guns it would be madness for us to attempt to run the gantlet of the straits. For an hour after the priests had left the ship Morgan sat alone in his cabin. At the end of that time he called for a boat and went from ship to ship among the fleet, and I noticed that each vessel, as soon as he left it, shifted her anchorage a little so that she came in plain view of the fort and promptly lowered all of her boats. I could not guess what was afoot, so I sat in wonderment. The. fort, as has been said, stood on the end of a high promontory that was connected with the mainland by a low and narrow neck, easily defensible, but on which no batteries had been erected. Ship after ship, the vessels of our squadron manned their boats and sent them ashore on the low ground, per- haps half-way between Maracaibo and the fort. | The boats held perhaps twelve men each; and on their return, though I saw no men in them, yet the boats were not an inch lighter in the water than when they left the ships full of men. I marveled at this till they came close enough for me to see what had caused it. The men had sat on the seats dur- ing the trip to the shore, and on the return passage they had lain prone in the bottom of the craft, thus making the watchers on shore believe that the | entire personnel of the fleet had been landed. CEORMICLOOOKS (C@)