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while to  slacken away! and so I came down again with a bump that
was like to crack my knee-caps, deposited as so much cargo upon
the pitchy deck.
Dazed by treatment I had never sustained before, I stood heedless
as the ropes were unfastened beneath my arm-pits, my bonds slipped
off and the gag extracted from my aching jaws. I was just beginning
to take in the aspect of my surroundings when Corlaer s cask of a
body topped the bulwarks, swung with ludicrous unconcern for an
instant as I dare say mine had done and then lurched in and crashed
to the deck.The Dutchman was purple in the face, with white spots
dotting the congested area of his cheeks, and gasping for breath. His
stomach heaved tumultuously as the gag was removed.
 What ails you, Peter? I cried.
 Der water, he moaned. It makes me sick.
And sick he was violently.
I helped him to the side as a whistle trilled.
 Capstan men for ard, shouted a voice.
 What d ye say? called Bill Bones.  Who ordered the anchor up?
The longboat s still alongside.
 Captain s orders, rumbled the answer from the darkness. Said to
cat the anchor, Bill, and get sail on her. We m to start so soon as the
Spanisher goes off his boat s under the sta b d gangway.
Bones ripped off an admirable stream of oaths.
 Might ha told me, he complained. Slack aft the longboat, a pair
o you. Is the jollyboat hove up? Aloft, topmen! Clear the braces. John,
you d better take the helm. I s pose his lordship ll come up to con us
out when he gets good and ready, seein he s the only one o us as
knows his way about this blasted harbor!
 Aye, aye, Bill.
Silver stumped out of the shadow for ard into the glare of the big
lanthorn that swung from a lower yard of the mainmast over the
waist.
 But what about our pris ners? Silver asked.
54 PORTO BELLO GOLD
Mr. Bones cast an uneasy glance at us.
 I can t have that there bloomin volcano a-muckin up the decks,
let alone cabin or fo c sle. Leave  em be, John.They can t do no harm,
and any man as goes into that water tonight will freeze before he
makes the shore.
 Spoke most accurate, Silver agreed in his cheerful way.
The rascal had a manner which contrived to invest whatever he
said to you to any one with the implication that you were the
most intelligent person he had ever had to do with and that it was
an honor to obey and serve you.
He disappeared aft now, and Bones with him. I heard the latter
continuing to shout orders; and there was a constant bustle of men
running back and forth over the decks, a clattering of ropes and
shrieking of falls and blocks. For ard sounded an ordered trampling
of feet and a chorus of rough voices bellowing the wild sea-song I
had heard in the Whale s Head Tavern:
 Fifteen men on the Dead Man s Chest
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Corlaer, weak as a rag, sank in a heap of buckskin in a dark cor-
ner by the bulwarks.
 Neen, neen, he answered when I would have helped him.
 Not ings, Bob. I get better by and by. Der salt water it is always so
with me.
 I ll get you some rum, I said firmly.
And, rising, I was on the point of seeking the nearest man to ask
where a drink might be obtained when footsteps clicked on the deck
behind me.
 They are a dangerous company, said a voice with an unmistak-
able brogue to it.
 What would you? returned my great-uncle.
I could imagine the graceful shrug which went with the words.
 We could not employ his Majesty s people in such a business.And
all things considered, my fellows can handle it far better and more
expeditiously.
PORTO BELLO GOLD 55
They passed through the rays of the lanthorn which swung from
the mainyard. Aye, the first speaker was Colonel O Donnell.The little
Irish maid! His daughter. My father had been right in his suspicions.
But what could be the tie of interest between a colonel in the
Army of the King of Spain and an outlaw who had defied the whole
structure of civilization? A Jacobite plot? It seemed preposterous!
  Tis my daughter I was thinking of, explained O Donnell as they
reached the starboard gangway close by where I stood over Peter s
prostrate form.
 Ah!
My great-uncle went through his courtly formula of taking snuff,
and I watched him, fascinated.
 Your forebodings do you credit, chevalier. But you have no cause
for concern. For reasons which I need not go into I have with me
here men from the crew of my associate. On board the Royal James
I think I may promise you and your daughter all the deference you
might receive upon a King s ship. I will go so far as to say that I have
taken steps to secure you additional protection. My great-nephew
and heir of whom I have spoken to you, sails with me, a fine youth
who shall yet make his mark in the world.
 But a woman on a pirate ship! protested O Donnell anew.
 My dear sir, Rule Four of the Code of Articles under which our
company is governed does it surprize you that we have our own
laws? forbids the taking and keeping of women as spoil aboard our
ships.We have had experience in the past of the evils which flow in
the wake of a struggle for women s favors.
 Shall you not flout your own rule if my daughter comes aboard?
pressed the Irishman.
 She will not come as a prisoner, but as a guest, returned Murray
blandly.  After all, colonel, the Royal James is my ship and in that
respect differs from most outlaw craft which are held by the entire
crew as a community. No, no; you need not concern yourself.
 I like it not, I say! persisted O Donnell. Why did you bid me bring
her? You were hot for her coming so soon as you heard I had a
daughter.
 Would you have left her by her lone in a strange country?
answered my great-uncle impatiently.  Tut, man, be sensible. Who
56 PORTO BELLO GOLD
would suspect a man who had his daughter with him?  Tis true this
enterprise is fraught with danger, but no maid can go through life
without sniffing peril. We will guard her as we shall the treasure.
 I ll hold you to that, rapped O Donnell as he climbed over the
bulwarks and felt for the ladder.  I am not proud of myself when I
think of her innocence. Holy saints, what a coil! Well, well, no mat-
ter. I must be going, for the night wanes.
 Yes, assented Murray.  And stir your frigate s captain to a swift
passage.
The Irishman nodded.
 If necessary we ll pass by the Havana. Luckily Porto Bello is the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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