She was the pirate schooner of Jose Leirya!

The man had doubtless missed his papers, and, guessing who had taken them, had come back to secure them. Evidently knowing the bad landing, Leirya was waiting for daylight before attempting to send his boats ashore.

"Six hours more of darkness!" thought Roger, and he bounded back to the hut as fast as he could go. He awoke the two seamen, and told them all in a few words. They were naturally overwhelmed with consternation, not knowing what to do. But said Roger: "I have a plan that may possibly save us. We must put all our provisions back in the casks, and bury them in the sand. Then we must hide everything that we brought ashore, leaving out only poor Evans's belongings. The new hut we must, of course, leave—they will think that Evans built that himself,—but we must remove from it every trace of our own presence on the islet. Then, poor fellow, we must unearth his body and lay it in the hut, covering him up. When they come ashore in the morning, as of course they will, they will see that he is recently dead, and will not dream that he has been once buried already, if we are careful to remove all traces. It will naturally be thought that he died here alone and untended. We must be very careful to efface every sign of our presence here, and leave only such things as Evans had when we arrived, or may be reasonably supposed to have collected from the beach. Then, as to hiding ourselves—At the extreme seaward end of the rocks, where you to-day caught your fish, there is a hollow big enough to conceal a dozen men; I particularly noticed it when I was on the spot. We must take some food and water, and hide there until the pirates leave. They will not attempt to land at that place, for the reason that a boat could not be safely put alongside the rocks; and if we carefully hide everything belonging to ourselves they will not suspect that anyone else is here, and will not search. Now we must be quick, for our lives depend upon it. If we are found we shall certainly die horribly. Quick now, men! we must do everything that has to be done, and be safely hidden before daybreak, or we shall be seen."



CHAPTER TWELVE.

NARROW ESCAPES OF THE CASTAWAYS—THE SQUADRON HEAVES IN SIGHT AGAIN.

The seamen needed no second bidding. From Roger's description it could be none other than the pirate vessel, and both knew what their fate would be if they were so unfortunate as to be discovered by the pirates. Rapidly throwing on their clothes, they came out of the hut, and an examination of the vessel over the top of the bank convinced them that Roger's statement was only too true.

"How about the flag though, sir?" said Bevan. "If they have seen that— and it is almost certain that they have—they will think there are others here, and will search. It will be no use hiding then; for if they believe anybody else to be here, they will search till they find us."

"I think we need not greatly trouble about the flag," responded Roger. "They will imagine that poor Evans set up the staff and flag before he died, in the hope of attracting attention; they will hardly trouble to examine it closely enough to discover that it is made of two red shirts. Besides, for aught that they know, Evans might have taken two red shirts ashore with him in his chest when he was marooned. No, it matters not if the flag has been seen. But come along, men; every moment lost now only increases our danger."

They forthwith set to work in grim earnest, labouring for their lives. The casks were rolled out of the store, and holes were scooped in the sand for their reception. To bury them was not a long job. They took care, however, to set aside some provisions and water for their use while in hiding. Next came the job of burying their simple utensils, such as they were, and also the shell of the turtle. Then there was the gruesome task of digging up the body of poor Evans. It had to be done, and the sooner the better, as Roger said; so all three went to the unpleasant duty. The mound of sand was removed, the tilling taken out, and they presently came upon the body. The sand was brushed from the hair and clothing of the corpse, and it was then carried to the hut, placed in its previous position, and covered with the blanket in which it had been buried.

This completed their preparations for the pirates' landing—for it was certain that they would land; otherwise why should they have returned to the island? Their work had lasted longer than they thought, and away to the east the first sign of dawn was apparent by the time they had finished. They knew the marvellous rapidity with which the day comes and goes in those regions, and recognised the need for haste if they were to gain their proposed place of concealment unperceived; for there would certainly be sharp eyes on board the pirate, looking for the first sign of the marooned man. They therefore took, each man, his share of the provisions, and, keeping carefully below the concealing top of the sand-bank, started to run at their utmost speed for the ledge of rocks which was to be their refuge.

Meanwhile daylight was coming with terrible rapidity. The shore extremity of the ledge of rocks was reached after what seemed an eternity, and they began their passage out along it as fast as they could go. It was dangerous going among the rocks, but danger, frightful danger, spurred them on. Looking seaward they could make out the hull of the pirate vessel quite distinctly, and they all prayed that they might not be so easily perceived. At last they reached the hollow among the rocks, which was to be their haven of refuge, and tumbled over one another into it.

Having at length got their breath, Jake Irwin put forward the sensible suggestion that they should take their morning meal at once; and they proceeded to do so, all, however, with a very unpleasant feeling that it might quite possibly be their last. They finished with a hearty draught of brandy-and-water, to put some spirit into them after their toilsome night's work, Bevan and Irwin having taken especial care to bring a good quantity of the liquor along. Then they scrambled cautiously up and had a look at the schooner, taking care to remain well hidden themselves. They were, in their present position, much nearer to the pirate vessel than when they first saw her, and, as the sun got up and shone on her stern, they could, with some little difficulty, make out her name—the Black Pearl,—which was painted in large red letters across her counter. Presently signs of returning life were apparent on board, and soon afterwards a boat was filled with men and lowered. It pushed off as soon as it touched the water, and made for the shore.

How fortunate was it, thought Roger, and how much like a special dispensation of Providence for their safety, that they had forgotten to replenish the fire on the night before! Had it been burning, the pirates would have known that living beings were on the island, for Evans's body gave evidence that it had been dead too long for them to suppose that a fire lit by him would still be burning. The remains of it they certainly would see, but they would doubtless believe that Evans had made it, and that it had gone out after his death, little dreaming that at the moment when they let go their anchor the ashes could have been scarcely cold.

While these thoughts were passing through Roger's mind, the boat landed, and her people got out and proceeded quickly up the beach. A shout presently announced that they had caught sight of the new hut, toward which all hands at once wended their way. For some time nothing was seen or heard of the pirates; but eventually three of them went down to the beach again, and, entering the boat, pulled off to the ship.

"Going to inform Leirya that the victim of his cruelty is dead," whispered Roger to Bevan; and the latter nodded.

After the boat had remained some few minutes alongside the Black Pearl, a man of enormous size was seen to descend the ship's side and enter her, when she again pushed off, and was pulled shorewards once more.

"I'll stake my allowance of grog for the day," whispered Jake Irwin to the two others, "that that man in the stern-sheets there, handlin' the tiller, is Jose Leirya hisself, comin' ashore to make sure that the man is really dead, and to secure they there papers what Evans said he stole from the cabin; that's what's brought him back, I'll warrant. It's a pity you didn't remember, sir, to take 'em from the body. Evans said they was vallyble."

Roger, according to his promise, did not inform Jake that he had the papers in his possession at that moment.

"Ss—sh!" whispered Jake, suddenly withdrawing his head from its point of lookout, "here they come! God in heaven! why don't they go back to the ship now they see as Evans is dead? What more do they want? Surely, sir, we didn't leave nothin' about that'd show 'em we was here, did we? I thought we cleared away all our traces."

"So we did," replied Roger, "so far as I can remember, that is. It is perhaps only by chance that they are coming this way."

The men came nearer and nearer, and ventured out a little way along the rocks. Presently they heard a voice at some distance away shout in Spanish: "Ha, you, Gomez, go out to the end of that ledge and see if the water is deep enough for boats to lie alongside the rocks."

A voice replied: "Ay, ay, Captain!" from a point so close to them that its owner must have come almost to their hiding-place without the fugitives either seeing or hearing him.

The three looked at one another, and then, as if the same thought had come to each of them at the same moment, they with one accord advanced cautiously and stationed themselves behind a rock by which the man must pass to reach the edge of the ledge. Here, where they now were, everything that might transpire would be screened from the others, unless some of them were following Gomez out along the ledge. But they must risk that. Crouching low, and as silent as watching cats, they waited for the man Gomez.

In a moment or two they heard his footsteps on the rocks, and his heavy breathing. Nearer and nearer he came, and now he was almost on them! Then with a spring they had him, and he was down among the rocks before he could utter a sound. Quick as lightning Jake pushed a handful of sand and sea-weed into the Spaniard's mouth, and clapped his hand over it to prevent its ejection, Roger and Bevan at the same instant seizing the man's arms and legs. The eyes of Gomez were staring and starting out of his head with mortal terror at this utterly unexpected attack. Jake drew his knife. Roger shook his head violently in dissent, but Jake whispered hastily: "It must be, sir; we can't help it; it is his life or ours!"

Roger turned his head away, and the next moment he heard a horrible choke and gurgle, while the body writhed violently as he held the arms. A flood of something hot rushed over his hands and arms, and he felt quite sick.

"Now, sir, quick!" said Jake. "It's our only chance. There's an overhanging ledge of rock here. We must take the provisions, and this 'ere corpse, and git into the water, floatin' under the ledge until they goes; for when this chap Gomez is found to be missin', they'll search and find us if we don't do as I say. We must risk the sharks!"

There was clearly nothing else for it; so they slipped in, taking the corpse with them, and all got under the ledge—which quite concealed them—and supported the dead body, that it might not float away and betray them.

The proceeding was fraught with danger, as sharks swarmed in those waters, and the blood that was oozing from the Spaniard's body would be almost certain to attract those monsters of the sea,—their scent for blood being very keen. The flesh of the fugitives crept, and the knowledge that one of them might be seized kept them in a state of perfectly agonising suspense. They had been in for some time, and the position was becoming unendurable when: "Gomez, Gomez, where are you? Hasten, man; we do not want to wait here all day!" came from the very ledge underneath which they were floating, and holding, meanwhile, the corpse of the man who was then being called by name.

"Where can he be, curse him?" growled the same voice. "What has become of the lazy hound? Carrajo, I will flog him when we get on board! Gomez!"

There was, of course, no reply.

"He may have fallen in and been drowned, or taken by a shark, perchance," suggested another voice.

More oaths followed, together with a lengthy dissertation on Gomez's ancestors, both immediate and remote. At this moment Bevan gave vent to a suppressed gasp, and, following his gaze, the others saw the dorsal fins of several sharks which had evidently scented the blood still draining from the body of the slain man, and were now searching for their prey. Then the concealed listeners heard—from someone who had evidently been to the edge of the ledge to search for the missing man—

"I have looked, Captain, and Gomez is nowhere to be found."

There were more awful oaths from Jose—for it was indeed that renowned and most notorious scoundrel,—and then he again spoke:

"He must have fallen in and been drowned—curses on him for a clumsy fool! Yes; and there are the sharks that have taken his worthless carcass. Come, you; we will return to the schooner. It is useless to search further for him, for he will never come back."

Meanwhile the sharks were coming ever closer and closer still, while the footsteps of the pirate and his companions were heard retreating. The minds of the hiding trio were much relieved at the departure of Jose Leirya and his villains, and particularly at Jose's mention of his intention to return to the vessel; but the suspense of waiting for them to retire, while the sharks were edging ever nearer and nearer, was awful. The triangular fins of these terrible monsters were now darting rapidly hither and thither, and at every dart the voracious fish came nearer than before. Momentarily they expected to see one or more of the fins disappear below the surface, and they knew that when that happened they might anticipate seizure by the shark a few seconds later. But as yet the fins remained visible on the surface of the water.

Poor Roger was nearly fainting with anxiety and apprehension, while Bevan was rapidly becoming exhausted. At length the strain on their nerves became unendurable, and Jake Irwin said: "I don't think those fellows'll hear us now, even if we splash; and if we don't splash, they sharks'll be at us in a few minutes. Anyhow, I'm a-goin' to risk it!"

Forthwith they all began to splash vigorously, although as yet they dared not shout. The sudden commotion of the water, coming after the dead silence that had previously reigned, startled the great fish, and the fins instantly scattered in all directions, to the great relief of the fugitives. But, as Jake said: "That won't keep 'em off very long; they've smelled blood, and they'll be around again directly."

He then swam a stroke or two, very cautiously, out from under the ledge, in order to have a peep at the pirates and ascertain whether they were still in sight. They were, but if they pushed on without stopping they would be out of sight in a few moments. But the question was—would they be able to keep the sharks at bay for that short time? It was doubtful, to say the least of it, yet they dared not move out of their hiding-place just then, or the pirates would be certain to see them making the attempt. The inaction was beginning—nay, had long since begun—to tell on their nerves, and poor Roger felt as though he could scarcely refrain from shrieking aloud, so great was the tension. And those terrible fins were again gathering about them! One by one they came edging back, ever nearer and nearer. At last the fugitives could endure it no longer, and, taking the corpse by the shoulders and turning it into a more favourable position for his purpose, Bevan said: "They'll wait no longer. Now, when I push this 'ere dead body off, jump for your lives back on to the ledge. We must risk being seen; for they sharks don't mean to be denied."

He then gave the corpse a violent push seaward, and the three made a simultaneous scramble for the safety of the ledge. Jake was up first, and extended his hand to Roger, while behind them they heard the clashing and snapping of jaws, and the sudden rushing wash of water, as the body of Gomez was torn to pieces by the hungry monsters.

The commotion in the water was terrible, and horribly suggestive, as the sharks snapped and struggled and fought for their share of the prey; and they thought that surely the pirates must hear, and, hearing, return to see what all the noise was about. Roger was out now, and only Bevan remained in the water. Jake and Roger stretched out their hands, Bevan grasped them with his own, and, with a simultaneous pull, out he came, landing on his knees on the rock. But only just in time; for even as he left the water a huge shark, of at least twenty-five feet in length, came dashing at him with such furious determination that he ran his great snout, with its rows of shining saw-edged teeth, right up on the ledge, so close as actually to graze Bevan's body. The man, however, hastily sprang aside, capsizing Irwin and Roger, and the three fell pell-mell into the hollow in the rocks which had served as their former hiding-place.

Safe at last; but what a narrow and providential escape! And now to discover whether the pirates had seen them. Jake climbed up to his former coign of vantage, and as soon as he clapped his eye to the peep-hole he held up his hand in warning. Roger shuddered. "After all," thought he, "after those hairbreadth escapes, have they seen us, and are they coming back to take us?"

Jake now came creeping cautiously down, and whispered that the pirates had not gone off as far as they had anticipated; indeed they were not very far away even now. They had evidently not seen the fugitives leave the water, but they were all standing in a group, looking back toward the hiding-place, and, so far as Jake could judge, they seemed to be listening. Bevan now crawled up and had a look, and then beckoned to the rest. They climbed up alongside him, and, through the peep-hole, saw that the pirates had now relaxed their attitude of attention, and were once more walking slowly away, ever and anon taking a backward glance over their shoulders. Presently they disappeared from sight behind the rocks, and the fugitives breathed more freely.

Roger said: "If now they but go straight off to their ship we are saved. I trust they will not chance to stumble upon any of our buried provision-barrels, or they will at once suspect our presence and search until they find us; for I can see that they are not altogether easy in their minds over the strange disappearance of Gomez."

"I don't think that's so, Master Trevose," replied Bevan. "'Tis only our fancy. For my part, I'm convinced that they believe Gomez have fallen off the rocks and been taken by a shark. But how pale you do look sir! better have a drop of brandy."

But, alas! there was no brandy. In their haste to escape from the jaws of the sharks both brandy and their small store of food had been dropped, and were both now, without doubt, safe in the maw of one of the monsters. Roger turned still more pale, and Bevan put his arm round his shoulder to support him. Presently his head fell back, and he went off in a dead swoon. The experiences of the last few hours had been too much for the poor lad, and overstrained nature would bear no more.

"He'll soon come round, Jake," said Bevan. "Get a drop of water, if you can without being seen. Bring it in your hat and slop it on his face; that'll soon bring him to."

Jake accepted the suggestion, and presently returned without having seen anything of the pirates. They soused Roger's head and shoulders with sea-water, and the boy soon recovered, feeling a little ashamed of his weakness.

"Don't you worry yourself about that, Master Roger," replied Jake. "I've seen men stronger and older than you faint for less than what we've just gone through."

Roger was soon himself again. They took another look round, and this time they saw Jose Leirya and his crew down on the beach, preparing to get into their boat.

"We'd better not leave this here spot until we see 'em up-anchor and get well away," advised Jake. "For all we know they may come ashore again, and if they was to do that a'ter we'd left our hidin'-place, 'twould be all up with us."

The others agreed to this proposal, and watched the boat pulling away to the ship. She soon got there, and was forthwith hoisted inboard, and presently the watchers saw her sails fall from the yards, while up came the anchor, the schooner canted, the sails filled, the vessel gradually gathered way—and she was off! The three felt strongly inclined to give a hearty cheer; but prudence prevailed, and they remained silent. Presently, however, they got out of the hole in which they were crouching, and made their way cautiously along the ledge, taking the utmost care to keep always out of sight of the schooner; and by and by they reached the beach, and over the top of the near-most rock saw the Black Pearl rapidly growing smaller in the distance. By crawling and creeping and dodging behind anything big enough to conceal them, they finally gained the back beach, and then, having the ridge between the pirate vessel and themselves, they set off at a brisk pace for the hut. When at length they reached it they found that nothing had been disturbed, but the body of Evans had evidently been searched, and was now lying upon the sand, instead of where they had left it, on its improvised couch. Their first act was to unearth the cask of brandy and take a good draught apiece, feeling that they both needed and deserved it after what they had gone through that morning.

Then Evans received his second burial. Poor fellow! his inanimate body had been put to a strange use; but they felt that, could he know, he would not in the least object.

The provisions were next got up and re-stored, and then they found time to take a look at the retreating pirate vessel. Yes, there she still was, now very small to their view, yet hardly as far off as they had expected her to be.

They continued to gaze for a few moments longer, and were just about to turn away, with relief and thankfulness in their hearts, when they saw the pirate vessel hurriedly setting some additional canvas; then suddenly she bore up and went off on the other tack, presenting her port side instead of her stern to the island.

"Now, what's the matter?" queried Jake; "he's headin' away south for La Guayra way! But what's he in such a tearin' hurry for?"

"Can't make it out at all," answered Bevan.

They felt their sleeves plucked, and, turning round, beheld Roger pointing, but unable to speak, toward the horizon on the side of the island opposite to the pirate ship. And there, at last, they perceived the fleet, hull-up above the horizon, in plain sight, with every sail set, carrying on after the pirate at their utmost speed.



CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

THEY ARE RESCUED AT LAST—CAPTURE OF THE PIRATE SHIP BLACK PEARL AND HER CAPTAIN, JOSE LEIRYA.

It was scarcely possible that Cavendish should not recognise the island—both by sight and from his reckoning—as the one on which Roger and his little crew had been left; yet all three of the vessels comprising his squadron were cracking on in chase of the Black Pearl, and evincing not the least interest in the sand-bank, which they were leaving on their starboard beam.

"Well," ejaculated Roger, "having come thus far, one at least of those ships might have hauled in and hove-to long enough to send a boat ashore and take us off. Mr Cavendish will scarcely need all three of his vessels to capture that one craft. But I expect old Cary has recognised the schooner as Leirya's ship, and the captain is determined to make sure of her, trusting that we shall be able to hold out here until he has captured her and found time to return for us. Still, the pirate may lead them a long chase, lasting perhaps for several days; and if they are going to catch him, I should like to be aboard to help in the fight with Jose."

The seamen said nothing, but it was clear that they fully shared Roger's disappointment as they stood staring at the fleet of ships that went sailing past at a distance of some four or five miles—too far off for the castaways to be observed from their decks.

Suddenly Bevan uttered an ejaculation, and, turning, ran at full speed to the hut, and reappeared in a moment with an armful of wood from the stock which they kept for replenishing the fire. He cast this down on the beach, and, kneeling beside it, proceeded with feverish haste to strike a light from his tinder-box.

"Quick!" he exclaimed; "get some damp wood, wet sea-weed, anything you like that'll make a smoke; only for goodness' sake be quick! It's our only chance!"

The other two, infected by his excitement, at once ran to do his bidding, but they were quite at a loss to understand the reason for such violent hurry.

Having secured several armfuls of varied material, just damp enough to make a good smoke, but not sufficiently so to extinguish a fire, they returned and tossed it on the flames, which Bevan had now succeeded in causing to burn brightly.

"More! get more!" said he; "and look sharp about it! Quick! quick!"

"Yes; all right, Bevan!" laughed Roger; "but what is all this tremendous hurry for? Even if the captain does not now take us off, he will come back for us as soon as he has captured the pirate."

"Ay, ay; but don't you see, man," answered Bevan, forgetting in his excitement the deference due to Roger as his officer,—"don't you see, man, that the captain's notion is that the pirate have been here and captured us, and that we are now aboard that there Black Pearl of his'n? He'll catch her if he can, and bring her to action; but when that's done there'll be a great slaughter o' both sides, and, supposin' that the schooner isn't sunk with all hands, Mr Cavendish won't find us when he boards her. And, not findin' us, he'll believe as we have been murdered and throw'd overboard, or else he'll think that we're among the dead as'll be unrecognisable. Then, thinkin' us dead—for he'll not dream that it's been possible for us to have hidden ourselves here and escaped these ruffians—he will continue his v'yage wi'out troublin' to come back here; and here we shall remain, perhaps till we die. That's the reason why I'm so anxious to attract their attention afore they runs out o' sight of us; for, if we're not seen now, you may depend upon it we may as well make up our minds to remain here for the rest of our lives. What would he be sending all his vessels in pursuit for, if he didn't believe as we're aboard that there Black Pearl. Ye see, sir, what I'm thinkin' about is this. They few barrels of food as we've got won't last us for so very long, even if we goes on short commons. And we can't always reckon on catchin' fish and turtle, or gettin' eggs, and a few months 'd find us in the same plight as was pore William Evans when we first came ashore on this here island. Oh, I pray that they may be keepin' a sharp lookout aboard they ships!"

The fire was now blazing up bravely, and the castaways industriously continued to toss on damp fuel, so that a dense column of smoke was now ascending high in the air, being sheltered from the wind by the palm-grove just behind them. The three men were careless as to the pirates seeing the smoke now, knowing that even Jose, with all his reputation for courage and daring, would not venture to return in the teeth of the British squadron, to attempt to secure them; yet they could not help speculating as to what the pirate must be thinking, or what his feelings must be, now that it was borne in upon him that people had been on the island, though he had not found them. He would, of course, be able to make a shrewd guess as to Gomez's fate, and Roger could picture to himself the fellow's disappointment and anger. For, having failed to find the papers, in search of which he had returned to the sand-bank, he would almost certainly arrive at the conviction that the unknown people on the island, who had evaded his keen eye in so mysterious a manner, had come into possession of them. To have been so near the recovery of his cherished papers, and yet to have missed them! Roger could picture the man standing on the quarterdeck of the Black Pearl gnashing his teeth in impotent fury, and shaking his fist at the island as he beheld the column of thick smoke rising from it. But for the swiftly-disappearing pirate none of them cared a jot, since were not their own dearly-loved ships near them? And, if God were good, would they not soon be once more treading those white decks that they knew and loved so well? Meanwhile, however, it seemed as though, even after all, there might be a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip; for, despite the smoke-signal that they were sending up, the ships were holding persistently on their course after the pirates.

More fuel was piled on, and the smoke went driving away to leeward in dense clouds. Still there was no response or sign from the ships of its having been seen, while they were now drawing rapidly away from the island.

"I reckon," said Jake, "that they're all lookin' at the chase, aboard they there craft. Why can't some of 'em take a squint aft at the island? Then they would see us, or the smoke at any rate."

As if in answer to his complaint, and immediately following upon it, they saw a stream of flags float up from the first vessel—which, as they rightly guessed, was the ship that Mr Cavendish had taken command of as his flag-ship,—and a few moments later the answering signal was displayed from the rearmost vessel, which, evidently obeying the signal, now came round upon the opposite tack, with her bows pointing toward the island.

They were seen! At last they were seen! All their troubles and anxiety and waiting were now over; hurrah! hurrah!! hurrah!!! The three castaways seemed to lose their heads completely. They shouted, leaped into the air, shook hands, and embraced each other, cutting all kinds of capers, and, in short, behaving like very madmen in the reaction of their joy after waiting for so long in suspense. For now all recognised very clearly the truth of what Bevan had said, as to their being seen and rescued now or never. The ship approached rapidly, under the influence of the fresh breeze, seeming literally to grow out of the water, and looking, with her clouds of gaily-painted canvas, like some huge bright-plumaged tropic bird. Presently they saw her yards thrown aback, and she came up into the wind, remaining hove-to until a boat was lowered, and then slowly tacking to and fro opposite them. The watchers on the beach saw the boat lowered down the side, and the men scramble into her; then they saw the sunlight glitter on the oar-blades as they dipped into the water and the boat shot away from the parent vessel's side. She came rushing toward the beach as fast as the arms of a dozen lusty men could drive her, her coxswain standing up in the stern-sheets and peering eagerly ahead at the island. The foam curled white and high about her stem, showing the great speed at which she was being forced through the water.

Said Bevan to Jake: "The skipper have evidently give his orders that they're not to waste any time on the road, or in takin' of us off. Just look you at the speed of that there cutter! I expect, if we could only but see him, that he's stampin' up and down his quarterdeck, bitin' his nails with impatience to be away again a'ter that Black Pearl; and prob'ly swearin' at this boat's crew for bein' a set of lazy lubbers in not puttin' her through the water faster." And he laughed.

A sudden thought struck Roger. "Jake and Bevan," said he, "cut away up to the hut and get those fresh provisions down here to the beach; we have a lot of fresh meat still left, and I know how tired a ship's company gets of salt provisions. That turtle meat will prove a very welcome change of food for them. So away you go, and look sharp, for those people will not want to be kept waiting."

Off went the two men, and presently returned with the dried turtle flesh, which they laid down on the beach in readiness to be put aboard the cutter. The small brandy cask was also conspicuously present. Jake Irwin's quick eye fell upon it. Said he to Roger:

"Before we go, sir, let's have one more drink, 'to the Isla de Corsarios'; for I'm sure 't has proved a very good friend to us."

Roger thought that there would be no harm in such a proceeding, so he raised no objection, and Bevan, pouring out a generous allowance into their wooden beaker—which he had brought down to the beach without being asked—handed it to his officer for the latter to take the first drink. He took it, drinking the toast, and the other two followed his example, helping themselves liberally, and smacking their lips after it with much satisfaction depicted on their bronzed countenances.

The cutter was by this time quite close, and Jake, standing on a rock, pointed out by signs to the coxswain where he could come alongside and float in deep water, thus allowing them to embark easily and also put the little stock of provisions aboard. The craft came dashing up until within a few fathoms of the place indicated by Jake, and then the crew, as one man, threw in their oars, and the boat glided rapidly alongside the rocks, coming to a stand-still just opposite the spot where Jake was standing.

"Now then, jump in quick!" yelled the coxswain, who happened to be also second officer on board the Elizabeth, the vessel which was waiting for them to come on board. "Look sharp, our captain is in all haste to overtake the squadron before it comes up with that pirate craft yonder. You need not imagine you are going to take that stuff aboard; I cannot wait; I have not the time."

Irwin and Bevan looked somewhat taken aback at this brusque harangue, but Roger, stepping forward, said:

"I do not know you, sir, but my name is Roger Trevose, and I am an officer on board the flag-ship. This is fresh turtle meat, for the most part, and I am sure your captain would not grudge the few extra moments spent in taking that aboard."

"I beg your pardon, Mr Trevose," replied the officer; "I did not recognise you. My name is Reynolds—Ralph Reynolds, and, as you say, seeing that your cargo consists of fresh meat, I think we can spare time to take it aboard, pressed though we are for time."

In a brace of shakes the meat was transferred to the boat. Roger, following the two seamen, stepped into the boat, and she instantly shoved off. Roger sat next to Ralph Reynolds in the stern-sheets, and, as they made their way at top speed towards the ship, Reynolds said to Roger:

"Young man, let me tell you that you and your two seamen have had a very narrow escape from imprisonment on that island for the remainder of your lives! We were running up before a fine breeze, this morning, for that wretched sand-bank of yours, intending to take you off, when we saw a craft steal out from under the lee of the island. One of the men aboard at once recognised her as the Black Pearl—the ship of that arch-scoundrel Jose Leirya. We signalled the commodore to that effect, and he replied, ordering all the ships to make sail and chase; for, you see, there is no doubt he very naturally supposed that the pirate had carried you off with him. Of course, sooner or later we should have brought the rogue to action; but that would not have helped you, as by all accounts he is the sort of man who goes down fighting his ship to the very last, rather than surrender, and that, I fully expect, is what will happen. Then the captain, I take it, thinking, of course, that you had gone down with the ship, would have dismissed you from his mind; and in yonder bit of an island you would have remained for the rest of your lives, or until taken off by some passing ship. The latter contingency, however, is a very unlikely one, so far as English ships are concerned, since the island is unknown to the English. And I have a notion that you would find it much more comfortable to die there, than be taken off by a Spanish vessel and delivered into the clutches of the Dons. The fact is, that all hands were too busily engaged in watching the chase to take much notice of your island. But here we are alongside. Now, men, up you come on deck smartly, and get that boat hoisted in. Hook on the falls there, and up with her!"

Reynolds sprang up the side ladder and, reaching the deck, closely followed by Roger, saluted the captain, who was waiting for him at the gangway, and reported himself.

"Very well," said the captain, "get that boat lifted out the water. She must be hauled up and secured after we have swung the yards and are once more on the move. Up helm, Mr Widdicombe, and get way on her!"

Then he turned to Roger and welcomed him on board the ship; commiserating with him on his discomforts while on the sand-bank, and congratulating him upon his as yet unexplained and inexplicable escape from the pirates. He then recommended Roger to the care of one of his officers, and, directing Jake and Bevan to take up their quarters and duties with the other seamen until such time as they could be transferred to their own craft, turned away to give orders and attend to the sailing of his ship.

Even as the cutter had dashed alongside, the vessel, as though impatient to resume the chase, had paid off and had begun to move through the water, her bows having been turned in the direction of the other ships, and the craft herself merely thrown into the wind for a moment to lessen her way while the boat came up to her and the falls were hooked on. Then the helm was put up and the ship was away on her old course once more, cracking on and showing every stitch of canvas to the freshening breeze, in full and eager pursuit of her consorts and the pirate, the latter now being hull-down on the southern horizon with nothing below her topsail-yard showing. The flag-ship was the leading ship of the three pursuing vessels; and she was distant some nine miles from the Elizabeth. El Capitan—or the Tiger as she was now named—was two miles astern of the flag-ship, and some seven miles ahead of the Elizabeth; the latter vessel therefore had some considerable distance to cover before she could overtake her consorts. Night was now beginning to fall, and the masts of the Black Pearl gradually disappeared from the sight of those aboard the Elizabeth; but the flag-ship, being so far in advance, still had the pirate well in view; and now she lighted her three poop-lanterns as a guide to the Tiger, which in turn lighted hers to pilot the way for the Elizabeth. The darkness soon falls in those regions, and in a very few minutes, as it seemed, night enveloped them like a pall. There was no moon, and, the night being cloudy, no stars were visible; the blackness, consequently, was intense.

All that could be seen was the triangle of lights in the flag-ship, very dim in the distance, and those on the Tiger, shining somewhat more brightly because nearer at hand. The captain of the Elizabeth commanded that no lanterns should be lighted on board his ship, and indeed that no lights of any kind should be shown on board at all.

"For," said he, "we sail somewhat faster than the Tiger and the Good Adventure, and can see their lights, so that we can tell where they are. But it is in my mind to have a little sport with good Mr Cavendish, by letting him find us alongside him at daybreak. We will, therefore, carry on as hard as our spars and gear will suffer us, all through the night; and, not to give the others an inkling of our purpose, will edge away to the westward sufficiently to enable us to pass the Tiger about a mile to starboard of her, and the same with the flag-ship."

At this time it was about two bells in the first dog-watch, and they could therefore reckon on some ten hours of complete darkness— sufficient, as the captain believed and hoped, to allow them to overtake the other two ships of the squadron. They continued to crack on; and, as the skipper had enjoined the maintenance of strict silence, the ship seemed to those on board to resemble some dim phantom vessel, leaping ghost-like from wave to wave before the strengthening wind. No sound whatever was to be heard on board save the "swish" of the water alongside, the low roar of the bow-wave as she plunged through it and turned it aside from her bows, the weird crying of the wind through her maze of rigging aloft, and the occasional "cheep" of parral or block-sheave to the 'scend of the ship.

At about ten o'clock, much to the captain's satisfaction, the lights at the stern of the Tiger could be much more distinctly seen; and he judged that she could at that time be only some four miles distant, showing that in the past three hours they had gained some three miles on her, which was good sailing. They were also, at this time, a good mile to the westward of the starboard quarter of the Tiger, and, if anything, edging a trifle more to starboard of her as they went along. The reason for this was that the captain did not wish to pass the Tiger at a less distance than a mile; because, although it certainly was a very dark night, on even the blackest of nights, if the weather be clear, there is always a certain "loom" or faint image of a ship thrown against the sky; and this loom would be visible to sharp eyes unless the Elizabeth kept some distance away from her consort.

Little by little they crept up, overtaking the Tiger; and bit by bit her triangle of lights at the stern was becoming merged into one; then the one light became gradually eclipsed, until at length they could not see it at all, and by one o'clock in the morning they knew that they must be running parallel with the Tiger and at a distance of about a mile and a half on her starboard beam.

It was possible now to make out the light of her battle-lanterns in her interior, shining through her open port-holes, through which the gun muzzles also showed, all in readiness for the attack as soon as the pirate was brought to bay. As they opened her up, and came abreast of her, they could see that she was lit up fore-and-aft, and it became perfectly clear that not only was she cleared for action, but that her captain had given orders to his men to sleep at their quarters, and thus be ready for the fight at a moment's notice.

Having overtaken the Tiger, the Elizabeth began to draw ahead perceptibly, and the brilliantly lighted interior of her consort was soon eclipsed, while the bright triangle of lights at the stern of the Good Adventure now showed up clearly about two and a half miles distant, broad on the port bow.

Captain Pryce was in great glee, for, if all went well, his little jest would be a brilliant success, and by daybreak his would be the foremost vessel of the squadron, and therefore the first to come up with the Black Pearl.

But where was the pirate? It seemed certain that the flag-ship must have her in view, since she was standing steadily along on her course; but not a sign of the schooner could be made out by the people on board the Elizabeth.

"Surely," said the captain, who, in his keenness, was spending the night on deck, "we ought by this time to be able to see something of that craft, a binnacle light, or a glimmer of some sort, to show us where she is! We are nearly abreast of the flag-ship, and I cannot see a trace of the Black Pearl; yet Mr Cavendish seems to be standing on with perfect confidence, which he would hardly do were she not within his view. Still, it may be that he has lost her, and is merely trusting that she will hold her course, and has the hope of sighting her at daybreak."

He had barely finished speaking, when Roger, who had been gazing long and earnestly into the dusky blackness to the south-west, came up beside him and said in a low tone of voice:

"Sir, I have been looking for some time over in that direction, and within the last few minutes it has come to me that there is a black something over there—can you not see it, sir?—that is growing very rapidly bigger!"

"You are very right, Mr Trevose," replied the captain; "you have done well to tell me. There is, indeed, something away there; I can make out the loom of a vessel's sails quite plainly. Now, who or what may she be? Ah! I have it. The flag-ship is sailing at haphazard after all. The pirate has doubled and, putting out all lights, has trusted to his luck to run past the squadron in the darkness. What good fortune for us that he doubled to starboard, and that I took it into this noddle of mine to have a jest against the commodore to-night! Had he turned the other way he would certainly have escaped, as there is no ship over there to see him, while here are we, with all lights out, and he will run right into our arms in a few moments. Let her go off a couple of points, Mr Reynolds."

Orders were now given by passing the word instead of by drum or whistle, and in a few minutes the men were all standing silently at quarters, with battle-lanterns lighted but carefully masked, and everything ready to pour in a deadly broadside as the pirate came abreast of their ship.

As she approached, the poop-lanterns on the stern of the Elizabeth were lighted to serve as a guide to the Tiger's people, who, for their part, were vastly astonished at their sudden appearance, and a light was also displayed in the port mizzen rigging, to enable the flag-ship to distinguish friend from foe.

Of course all disguise and concealment was now at an end; the pirate had seen them, but—too late! She was now less than a cable's length distant from the Elizabeth, and as she was bearing up, and before even her men could leap to their quarters, the Elizabeth had luffed and delivered her starboard broadside with murderous effect. Down came the mainmast, severed just above the deck, bringing the fore-topgallant-mast with it; down on her crowded decks crashed the wreckage, adding its own quota of killed and wounded to that effected by the guns of the English vessel.

The flag-ship had already borne up, and now came foaming down to the scene of the combat, with the Tiger lumbering along astern.

The pitchy blackness of the night was illuminated redly and vividly by the flashes of the guns. The Black Pearl, finding escape impossible, had determined to fight to the bitter end. Her guns were run out, and they at once opened a galling and well-directed fire upon the Elizabeth, which replied in kind, and the night air resounded with the report of cannon and small-arms, and was rent with cries, groans, and screams from the wounded, and shouts and oaths from all.

The flag-ship now arrived on the scene, and, taking a wide sweep and luffing up with main-topsail aback under the stern of the Black Pearl, poured in a raking broadside that traversed the whole length of the pirate's decks, leaving them a very shambles of dead and wounded.

The artillery tight did not last very long. Anxious to capture Jose Leirya alive, Cavendish—perhaps not too well advisedly—laid his ship alongside the schooner, and poured his men on to the pirate's decks.

Seeing this, the captain of the Elizabeth, not to be behindhand, did the same. Ordering his men away from the guns, and forming them up, he led them in person over the side on to the decks of the Pearl, which was by this time a scene of dreadful carnage. Blood was everywhere; her planking was so slimy with it that men slipped and fell in it. It ran in little rivulets from the scuppers.

Roger, who followed close upon the heels of the captain, thought involuntarily of William Evans's description of how Jose Leirya had captured this very vessel, cutting her out from under San Juan fort in Puerto Rico; and his tale of how freely the blood flowed on these same decks then.

But he had no time for mere thought; his attention was wholly taken up with the fighting, and the problem of how to avoid being impaled or cut down by some furious pirate.

The villains knew that they were fighting with halters round their necks, and laid about them like very demons from the pit. Cut and thrust, cut and thrust, they came at the Englishmen, and, headed by Jose himself, for several moments swept the invaders before them.

Roger was, as ever, well in the front rank of the combatants, and was carrying himself right manfully, when he saw one of his countrymen slip and fall in a pool of blood, losing his sword as he fell. A burly black-bearded ruffian, whom he had been engaging, instantly set his foot on the prostrate body, and shortened his hanger to thrust him through; but Roger, who was engaged with another pirate, nimbly evaded the blow aimed at him, and, with one spring, like a young leopard, was on the would-be slayer, and, taking him before he could turn, passed his sword through the pirate's body with such force that it penetrated to the hilt, while both rescuer and corpse went rolling to the deck together. Roger disencumbered himself from the dead body, and, setting his foot upon it, pulled violently at his sword to get it free again.

Then another hand was laid over his on the hilt of the weapon, and a well-known voice said in his ear: "Pull, Roger, lad, pull, and out she'll come." And out she did come; and Roger faced round right into the arms of his friend Harry.

"What, Harry," said he joyfully, "you here! So you were the man whom I was lucky enough to rescue from that black-bearded rascal just now. How on earth did you get here?"

"Yes, lad," replied Harry; "you have saved my life again, and I am once more in your debt. And as for how I got here, why, how otherwise than over the bulwarks from my ship? I might rather ask how you came here. But we must leave our experiences until a more convenient season, or we shall not live to see the end of this good fight."

The pirates were fighting now with the fury of desperation, and, encouraged by the bull voice of Jose Leirya—who seemed to bear a charmed life,—they prepared to form up into line and attempt with one furious charge to sweep the English from the decks of their beloved schooner.

The Englishmen, however, who were more or less separated and scattered about the decks, each engaging his own antagonist, saw the move, and themselves retreated to their own main body in order to strengthen it for the threatened rally of the pirates.

At this moment Harry and Roger found themselves isolated from their own countrymen, and in great danger, as the whole surviving pirate crew was between them and their friends.

Luckily for them, however, only four of the enemy turned their attention to the two friends, the others being too busy preparing to attack the English main body to think about them. Yet, even as it was, the odds were quite unequal enough—four stalwart men in the very prime of life, and hardened by years of toil and activity on the seas, against two youngsters who were but little more than boys!

Harry and Roger knew, of course, that they were fighting for their lives, and as both had their long swords as against the shorter weapon of the pirates, they contrived to keep them at a safe distance for some time.

Meanwhile the pirates had massed together, and the whole body of them, even to such of the wounded as could stand, and excepting only the four men who were attacking the two chums, had charged the Englishmen with irresistible fury, driving them along the deck as chaff is swept before the wind. After the first rush, however, the Englishmen rallied again, and were now slowly but surely driving the pirates back along their own deck, and recovering their lost ground. The carnage was fearful; the dead and dying were everywhere; the decks were heaped with them; both sides had lost an enormous proportion of men, and it seemed as though the fight could only end in both parties being exterminated.

Roger and Harry were still fighting doggedly for their lives; but their countrymen were now very widely separated from them, and their strength was fast-failing them in face of the furious and persistent attack of their four assailants.

They were driven back, and still back, until they were forced against the port bulwarks, and could retreat no farther. Blow after blow was aimed at them by their foes, and the best that they could do was to ward off the blows, without daring to assume the offensive.

They were at their very last gasp, and had mentally resigned themselves to death, when there came a tremendous shock, throwing the two lads off their feet only just in time to avoid the final thrusts from the two pirates, to which fortuitous circumstance they owed their lives. As they lay on the deck, struggling to regain their footing, they were trampled on and knocked over again by a swarm of men who were rushing in over the port bulwarks. It was the Tiger's crew, who had boarded in the very nick of time. With this reinforcement the English very quickly turned the tables; and, all massing in one body, swept the deck, compelling the few surviving pirates—among whom was the redoubtable Jose Leirya himself—to surrender at discretion.

The fierce conflict was at last over, and the pirate, long a terror in the Caribbean Sea, was a captive, while his dreaded but beautiful schooner, the Black Pearl, was a prize in the hands of the English.



CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

EXECUTION OF THE PIRATES—A RECONNAISSANCE BY NIGHT OFF LA GUAYRA.

At the commencement of the fight the pirate vessel had been manned by a crew numbering well over one hundred men.

But now her dead lay upon her decks literally in heaps; and, alas! there were also many English bodies lying among them. Only seventeen of the crew of the Black Pearl remained alive, among the survivors being Jose Leirya himself. It was not due to cowardice, or any shrinking from death on his own part, that he had survived the fight; on the contrary, he had exhibited a fine degree of courage, and it was only by an accident, for which he was in nowise responsible, that he was still alive, and was now standing, with hands lashed behind his back, scowling heavily at his captors. They, on their side, had suffered almost as severely as the pirates, having lost an enormous number of men.

The coming of the sailors from the Tiger in the nick of time it was that had saved the day, and turned the tide of battle in favour of the English. Roger and Harry had both had their senses trampled out of them by the headlong rush of the boarders from that ship; but, as the circumstance undoubtedly saved their lives, they were not greatly disposed to grumble at it. Both had soon recovered, and, after examining themselves to discover whether they were badly wounded or not, were now engaged in exchanging confidences and experiences, and relating to each other all that had occurred since their parting prior to the wreck on the sand-bank of Isla de Corsarios.

The captured pirate, having been bound securely, were now consigned to the care of an armed guard, who conducted them below to the hold and bade them make themselves as comfortable as they could on the ship's ballast.

The commodore then called the roll of the three vessels of his squadron, and found that he had lost no fewer than one hundred and eighty men, killed and wounded, in the engagement. As for the ships, the Tiger was untouched, and the flag-ship practically intact, but the Elizabeth had been somewhat severely mauled. Captain Cavendish's first instructions were that the vessels should at once proceed to execute such repairs as were necessary, in order that they should not be at a disadvantage in the event of a storm overtaking them. But before even this business could be undertaken came the disposal of the dead.

With so many slain to deal with, this was necessarily a brief business, and was accomplished by the simple process of tossing the lifeless bodies over the side, to find a last resting-place on the sand below, if, indeed, the multitude of sharks that were swimming round and round the four vessels did not intervene and otherwise arrange matters.

This unpleasant duty ended, the decks were washed down with water pumped up from alongside, and all sanguinary traces of the recent conflict obliterated. Then Cavendish sent the men who had performed these duties to aid their fellow-seamen in effecting the necessary repairs to those vessels that required them, whilst he and his officers made a tour of inspection of the Black Pearl, to acquaint themselves thoroughly with the vessel, and to secure her papers, arms, and ammunition, and any valuables that might be on board her. Roger and Harry, having had a brief chat, followed Mr Cavendish down the companion-ladder, and found themselves in the vessel's main cabin. This was most beautifully fitted up, evidently with the spoils which had been taken out of her numerous captures; but beyond the confines of the captain's cabin the entire vessel was filthily dirty, eloquently testifying to the objectionable habits of the pirates; and everywhere they went they encountered significant traces of the recent furious combat, in the shape of splintered timbers, riven planking, blood splashes, gashes in the wood-work from sword and axe-blade, holes made by cannon-shot—havoc and destruction reigned supreme. But even this could not disguise the barbaric splendour of the fittings and furniture of the ship. Rich silken curtains were hung anywhere and everywhere where they could be fastened; thick carpets from Turkey and Persia and India were strewn wholesale on the soiled planking. Every available space on wall or bulkhead was ornamented with some trophy or another. Stars of pistols, swords, hangers, boarding-axes, and pikes were hung wherever there was room for them. Roger noticed some pieces of exquisite and priceless old tapestry beside the carriage of one of the main-deck guns, that had probably served as a curtain, but was now torn down, trampled upon, smeared with blood, and blackened with powder smoke. The officers of the vessel had evidently each enjoyed a cabin to himself, furnished according to the occupant's taste; and in every one there were articles of enormous value, while the silken cushions, thick-piled carpets, and dainty coverlets to the bunks might have led one to suppose that the cabins had been inhabited by delicate ladies rather than by savage pirates, to whom murder was an almost everyday occurrence. They all exhibited, however, as might have been expected from such a crew, the most execrable taste in arrangement. All the colours of the rainbow were combined together, and every article seemed totally out of place in all the apartments save that belonging to Jose Leirya himself.

The cabin belonging to the captain was situated at the stern of the vessel, and for windows had two large openings leading out on to a little stern gallery, where Jose could walk in privacy and be in the open air. This cabin had received the full benefit of the raking fire from the flag-ship, and presented a scene of lamentable destruction.

Instead of the two windows leading out on to the gallery there was now an enormous gaping hole, the lower edge of which was within a hand's-breadth of the water, which occasionally rippled in as the schooner rose and fell upon the swell. The rich hangings of silk and tapestry were pierced and rent; long gashes had been gouged out of the floor by the round-shot; fragments of silver and gold statues and candlesticks lay here and there scattered in confusion, and it was evident that had a single living thing been in that cabin at the moment when the broadside was delivered it could not possibly have escaped. Yet, strangely enough, there were three splendid pictures hanging still upon the cabin-walls absolutely uninjured, and these Cavendish gave orders to be at once removed and sent on board his ship.

In a magnificently inlaid and ornamented bureau there were found all the private papers belonging to Jose, together with the ship's log, both of which provided, later, the most gruesome reading.

Of valuables there were none to be found in the drawers, or hidden away, and Roger mentally decided that the man, for his own safety, had never allowed valuables to accumulate on board the Black Pearl, but had always transferred them, at the first opportunity that presented itself, to his hiding-place at Lonely Inlet. But he kept his surmise to himself and Harry.

The vessel's hold, which was next investigated, contained nothing of any importance or value, and, in fact, the whole vessel yielded but small return for their careful search.

The officers now returned to the deck, to find that it was once more broad daylight; and each went back to his own vessel for breakfast. Roger, having said good-bye to the captain and officers of the Elizabeth, and thanked them for their kindness in taking him off the island and afterwards, pushed off to the flag-ship with Mr Cavendish and Harry. Jake Irwin and Walter Bevan, poor fellows, would rejoin their shipmates no more. They had both fallen, fighting bravely, and were now lying fathoms deep in the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. Little did they imagine, when they left the Isla de Corsarios the day before, that death was so close to them!

After breakfast Cavendish called a council of officers in his own cabin, to discuss the fate of the surviving pirates and their schooner.

The decision was soon made as to the pirates, and it was that they should be hanged, one and all, from the yards of their own vessel. As to the vessel herself, it took somewhat longer to arrive at an agreement; but in view of the fact that she was little better than a shattered wreck, and that, even if she were to be repaired, they had lost so many hands that they could not very well spare the men to handle her, it was finally decided that she should be destroyed.

This business settled, the council broke up, and the members of it went on deck. The flag-ship's boats were then manned, and the officers of the fleet went on board the schooner. Orders had meanwhile been given, on board the vessels of the squadron, that their crews should turn up to witness the execution. The captives were then brought up on deck, and Cavendish himself read the sentence over to them, and bade them prepare for death. They met the announcement with the utmost callousness. One or two of them exchanged remarks in a low tone of voice, and one man was actually heard to laugh outright. As for Jose Leirya, he heard the sentence with absolute indifference, and, when asked whether he had anything to say, answered not a word.

A whip was now rove from each of the fore yard-arms of the Black Pearl, and a gun on the forecastle loaded with a blank charge. A number of men were then detailed to run aft with the tail end of the whip as soon as the noose should have been fitted round each man's neck.

Mr Cavendish decided that he would hang the captain first, so that every survivor of his crew might witness the death of their leader.

All being now in readiness, four seamen walked up to Jose Leirya and, stooping, cut the bonds that secured his feet. The pirate stood still for a moment to allow the blood to circulate once more freely through his limbs, and then, bound though his arms were, he wrenched himself free from the grasp of the four seamen and made a furious dash towards the side of his ship, actually succeeding in scrambling on to her bulwark, with the evident intention of drowning himself, and thus evading the indignity of death by hanging.

The seamen, however, who had been hurled right and left by his herculean effort, closed upon him promptly, and, with very little ceremony, hauled him off with violence, hurling him to the deck and themselves falling on the top of him and holding him down with their weight. Yet once again he succeeded in wrenching himself free from the men's clutches and, staggering to his feet, made another dart for the ship's side. But he was pounced upon again, and once more they all fell upon the deck together.

A taunting laugh rang out from the group of bound ruffians who were awaiting their fate, and stung the English sailors to madness. That one man, and he partly bound, should keep four stalwart seamen at bay was too much for their temper. They rushed at the pirate again, and this time seized him securely; then, tripping him up, they slipped a running bowline over his ankles and hauled it taut, thus rendering the man helpless. Yet even then they could scarcely keep their grip on him, so enormous was the strength with which he turned and twisted in their grip.

At length, after an infinity of trouble, they succeeded in dragging him to the forecastle; the running noose attached to the whip was brought up to the pirate and slipped over his neck; Cavendish then gave the signal, the gun was fired, the men holding the end of the whip ran aft, the seamen holding the man sprang aside, and the pirate's body, still struggling and writhing, went flying aloft, to stop presently with a jerk as it reached the jewel-block, and dangle at the end of the fore yard-arm, still plunging and struggling with such violence that the yard itself fairly shook. It was some considerable time before the struggles ceased. The body was allowed to hang a little longer, and then the rope was cut, and the corpse plunged downward into the sea among the sharks, whose clashing teeth and noisy splashes gave conclusive evidence as to the whereabouts of the pirate's last resting-place.

The remainder of the ruffians betrayed not the slightest emotion at the terrible fate of their leader, but went silently and calmly to their doom, without struggling as their captain had done; and very soon the dread ceremony was over, and the pirates had met their deserts.

The only matter that now remained was the destruction of the notorious Black Pearl.

Powder and shot there were in plenty, on board the squadron; so Mr Cavendish decided to give his ships' crews a little practice in gunnery. By this time also the necessary repairs to the vessels engaged had been executed, and all was now in readiness for the resumption of the cruise. Sail was therefore made, and the vessels drew off to a distance of about three-quarters of a mile, when they hove-to and began to practise on the pirate vessel with their guns. The flag-ship was the first to make a hit, which she did between wind and water with her bow-chaser. The other vessels then got the range, and hulled the Black Pearl with nearly every shot.

Harry and Roger, once more together on the flag-ship, had already recounted in detail all their adventures during the time that they were separated, the one on the sand-bank and the other on the ship driven away to leeward of the island by the storm. They were both now standing amongst the crew of the bow-chaser gun, watching the effect of every shot with the utmost interest; and Roger presently asked the captain of the gun to allow him to have a shot. The man, who was much attached to the lad by reason of many little acts of kindness received, made no demur. The gun was reloaded, and Roger, with the firing-match in his hand, cocked his eye along the chase of the piece, watching until the heaving of the ship should bring the sights to bear on the hulk. Presently the Good Adventure dipped to a large wave, and Roger, who was watching like a cat, applied the match. There came the sharp report of the discharge, and, as the smoke swept away, the young man had the satisfaction of seeing his shot strike the vessel right between wind and water, just at the side of a hole where two others had penetrated. This shot of his, of course, much enlarged the already large hole, through which the water of the Caribbean was now pouring like a sluice; and it was seen that the pirate vessel was on the point of foundering. Even as they watched, the craft seemed to settle visibly deeper in the water, and she rolled heavily two or three times. A few seconds later her stern was seen to lift high and her bows to point downward; steeper and steeper became the angle of her decks and then, with a slow forward movement that quickly became a diving rush, she plunged to the bottom, vanishing from their sight in a whirl and froth of water.

Such was the end of the Black Pearl! For years she had been the terror of all the seas around the West Indies and the coasts of New Spain. She had been a floating den of vice, murder, and every conceivable form of infamy, and now her lawless and adventurous career had terminated in her becoming a target for the guns of the avengers of the evil she had wrought, while her captain and surviving crew had swung from the yard-arm of their own vessel before she herself was destroyed. Her career of murder and terror and destruction was ended at last, and the evil spirit of those seas was laid.

All now being over, and it being no longer necessary to carry out their original intention of scouring the Mexican Gulf for the pirate—chance having so fortunately thrown him in their way,—it was decided to carry out the other part of their programme; which, it will be remembered, was to run to La Guayra and see whether there were any plate ships lying there, and, if so, to endeavour to cut them out and capture them. A course was therefore set, and the little squadron bore away to the southward and eastward in the direction of that port.

Roger and Harry had now a little time to themselves, and, having so recently witnessed the destruction of the pirate vessel and the execution of her notorious captain, the conversation naturally enough turned to the cipher which Roger had in his possession. He had already acquainted his friend with the news that the marooned man, William Evans, had given him an exact duplicate of the cipher that he had in his possession, taken from the Gloria del Mundo, and the two lads now seriously turned their attention to its translation. But again it foiled them; they could make nothing of it. They did not wish to communicate the fact of it being in their possession to any third person, and ask his advice, knowing that a secret shared with others is usually a secret no longer. So he and Harry kept their knowledge to themselves, and went over the remainder of the papers which Evans had given Roger, as well as the cipher. These also proved to be of no importance to anyone but their former owner, as they merely contained notes from the log and diary of the pirate, and, indeed, consisted mainly of a skeleton account of his many atrocities, recorded for who knows what reason. The two lads could not see that any useful purpose would be served by retaining these memoranda; they therefore tore them up small, and consigned them to the deep. For this reason the history of the doings and exploits of the pirate Jose Leirya has never been written, and never will be.

As the two lads could make nothing of the cipher, they put it away, deciding not to worry their heads about the matter until some time in the future, when they should have nothing else to occupy them. The two ciphers were therefore folded up into a neat packet, and, with the assistance of a needle and thread, Harry sewed the little parcel into the lining of his friend's coat, in such a position and manner that even a rigorous search would probably fail to disclose the presence of the papers.

"Now you have them quite safe, my friend," said Harry, "and so long as you stick to your jacket you need never be afraid of losing that cryptogram. And should anybody ever come, by any chance, to know that you have the key to Jose's treasure, he will never be able to find it, even if he attempts to rob you."

"No, Harry, I should say not," laughed Roger. "But I do not think I need fear that any person will try to rob me of that cipher; for, so far as I know, the only person now alive who is aware that one existed is that evil-looking fellow Alvarez, and he will imagine, doubtless, that the cryptogram went down with all the other papers in the Spanish man-of-war. And he probably thinks, too, that I also went down with her. At any rate it was not his fault that I did not."

"Well," objected Harry, "I am not so sure about his thinking you were drowned on that occasion, for, when we sent him and the other Spaniards ashore at Lonely Inlet, I saw him looking very hard at you, and I believe he recognised you, for he spoke to another man beside him, and tapped his own pocket. The other fellow then looked at you, as though to make sure of recognising you again, and nodded to Alvarez as they both went down the side. Yes, I am pretty sure that Alvarez recognised you, and I think it not unlikely that he may have some idea that you saw him looking for something in that cabin, and that when you were rescued you took with you those papers that he left behind in his fright; and, if so, he of course believes that you have that cipher in your possession at this moment."

"Well, Harry, old lad," laughed Roger in reply, "I do not suppose I shall ever see Alvarez again, and if I do I shall take care that I do not fall into his power, you may be quite sure. There is one thing certain. Now that Jose and his crew are dead, that treasure will never be found except by us, and only by us if we can succeed in translating the cryptogram, for there is no one else on earth now who knows even its locality."

"Quite true, Roger, my friend," replied Harry. "But I do most sincerely hope that the possession of that paper will not bring you to any harm."

The conversation between the two lads was at this moment interrupted by the cry of "Land, ho!" from above, and both boys ran up on deck to catch the first glimpse of it.

"Hurrah!" shouted Roger in great glee. "Hurrah! this shows that we are not far from La Guayra now, and then for more fighting and adventure, and perhaps we may be able to get ashore for an hour or two."

The land could be discerned fairly clearly from the fore topmast cross-tree, to which Roger and his friend ascended. It showed as a bold headland, apparently of great height and rocky in formation.

Having satisfied their curiosity, the two came down from aloft, and, seeing one of the officers attentively looking at the fast-rising land, asked him what it might be; if it was anywhere near La Guayra, and how far away it was.

"You two youngsters seem very eager to sight land again," replied the lieutenant, smiling. "I should have thought that you, Trevose, would have had enough of land for a time, after being so very nearly left behind on that sand-bank. But, to satisfy your curiosity, I will tell you. That tall headland that you see yonder, and toward which we are now steering, is called Cape Oruba, and is the north-north-west extremity of the island of Oruba. We shall leave that island on our starboard hand, and as we pass it we ought to see the island of Curazao in the distance, which island we, of course, leave on our port hand. Then we head into the Gulf of Triste, and so on to La Guayra. Now, young men, I have posted you up in the different landmarks that we shall pass, and you can look them up for yourselves, and see where we are, from that Spanish chart that you were so thoughtful as to bring with you from the Gloria del Mundo."

Roger and Harry thanked the lieutenant for the information, and went below to see where was the ship's actual position.

Nothing of any interest happened here, and in three days from the time when they first sighted Oruba Point they were as close in to La Guayra as they dared venture without further investigation.

Once more a council of officers was held in Mr Cavendish's cabin, on board the flag-ship, and a plan of campaign arranged. The squadron, it was decided, was to lie-to in a little bay not many miles to the north-westward of the Port of La Guayra. There was no danger of its presence there being discovered, there being no town or port near; the cliffs rose up almost perpendicularly from the water's edge, and the little bay itself was practically landlocked, and thus hidden from seaward. Then three boats were to be provisioned with food and water for two days, and, leaving the ships early in the afternoon, were to arrive off La Guayra about midnight or thereabout. They were to make as close an investigation of the harbour, and any ships that might be in it, as could be made with safety. They were to ascertain, if possible, whether there were any plate ships in the roadstead, and, if so, the precise positions in which they were lying. They were also to determine, as nearly as they could, what the chances of a night attack would be; whether likely to be successful or otherwise. In short, they were to accumulate all the information they could, without being seen.

The little squadron—which had been hove-to during the consultation— filled away once more, and carefully felt its way into the bay, and, after many very narrow escapes of falling foul of the rocks and sand-banks with which the entrance was encumbered, came to an anchor in safety in the spot where it was to remain until such time as the boat expedition should return. A boat was provisioned and manned by each ship in the squadron, and Roger and Harry, who were always ready for any adventure that promised a spice of danger, pleaded so eloquently to be allowed to accompany the boat sent by the flag-ship, that Mr Cavendish, after considerable demur, agreed to their going, at the same time cautioning them that even a very slight indiscretion on their part might easily involve the expedition in something nearly approaching disaster.

The next day, all being in readiness, the boats set off on their dangerous errand about two bells in the afternoon watch, immediately after the seamen had taken their mid-day meal. They were accompanied by the prayers and good wishes for success from all in the fleet, but no cheering was indulged in, lest perchance some wandering herdsman on the heights should catch the sound, look for its source, discover the lurking ships, and hasten away to the city to give it warning.

They kept as close under the huge cliffs that towered above the narrow beach as they could with safety, in order to lessen the danger of being seen to seaward, and after dark pulled slightly farther out to sea to avoid the possibility of running on some rock which they might see and avoid by daylight, but not after dark.

About nine o'clock, Roger, who was away up in the bows of the leading boat, keeping a lookout, passed the word aft to the officer in charge that they had just opened up a light, apparently on shore.

"That's our goal, then," said the officer; "that's La Guayra! And now to find out whether there is anything in there that it may be worth our while to attack."

He then made the signal for the other two boats to close, to give the officers in command an opportunity for a final consultation. It was presently arranged that, on entering the bay, they were to separate, and each was to scour a certain part of the harbour, and join the others again at three o'clock in the morning at the spot where they parted company, the bearings of which were to be carefully and accurately taken.

La Guayra lies in the hollow of an extensive but open roadstead, and is built at the foot of a range of huge mountains, which tower up into the clouds behind it, and at the back of which lies Caracas, now the capital of Venezuela.

It was to the extremity of this roadstead that the three boats had now come, and the twinkling lights of the town were clearly discernible at some distance.

Anxiously they scanned the bay for any sign of ships lying there, and after a few moments they were able to make out certain detached sparks of light, which they felt certain were the riding-lights of a number of vessels. It now remained for them to pull quietly and unobtrusively shoreward, and ascertain what the vessels were, and, as far as possible, discover their strength, and how they lay for protection from the shore batteries.

The oars were therefore muffled with pieces of cloth that had been brought for the purpose, and, orders having been given that no light was to be shown in any of the boats for any purpose whatever, they separated, all making for the several points agreed upon before starting.

The boat belonging to the flag-ship had the position of honour, and therefore of most danger. She was to take a middle course, and pull down to the foot of the bay, close inshore, and right under the guns of the batteries; a task so dangerous that, should they by any misfortune be seen, there would be no hope or possibility of escape for them. In dead silence they pulled slowly along, peering carefully about them, and getting ever nearer and nearer to the town. The lights began to show more clearly, and large objects ashore to assume a somewhat definite outline. The dark background of the mighty mountains behind the town could be made out towering far above them, their heads seemingly among the few stars that were that night shining.

They were creeping on and inward, steering for a cluster of lights that evidently betokened the presence of a large vessel at anchor about a mile farther in, when those same lights were suddenly obscured, and a little later there came plainly to their ears a swish of water, strongly suggestive of some vessel moving at speed. At the whispered command of the officer the boat's crew backed water simultaneously, and brought the boat to a stand-still, just in time to avoid being run down by a dark mass that came swiftly, and with no lights showing, out toward the open sea. As she passed the boat, within oar's-length, they could hear quite distinctly the sound of voices, and, to their utter amazement, the speech of those voices was English. The vessel was moving so swiftly that only a few words could be caught, and these were: "All is well so far, John, my lad; in an hour from this we shall be out of this bay, and, once on the open sea, it will take more than—" and the voice was lost in the distance.

Roger had, some time before, come aft, and was now by the side of the lieutenant.

He said in a hushed voice: "What does that mean, Mr Story? There is some strange happening abroad this night. That ship had Englishmen aboard her; yet, so far as we know, there are no English ships beside ourselves in these seas just now. Besides, why was she carrying no lights?"

"'Pon my word, Roger, I don't know," replied Story. "As you say, there are no other English about here excepting ourselves; yet the people in possession of that craft are undoubtedly English. Ah! can it be, I wonder, that these people are English prisoners who are effecting their escape from the Spaniards to-night of all nights; and, having managed to get hold of a ship, are now clearing off? Zounds! I believe I am right, and that is what has happened. This is doubly annoying. First, because we are very short-handed ourselves, and if we could only have got those fellows to join us it would have helped us to make up our crews once more; and, secondly, because their escape will surely be discovered before long, and a search made, which will render it very awkward for us. I wish I could somehow contrive to communicate with those other two boats, and let them know; for, this having happened, it is high time for us to beat a retreat, or we shall be caught like rats in a trap! But there is no way, so we had better make the best and most of it, get what information we can, and then be off back to the rendezvous to wait for the others, and start for the ships directly they appear. Give way again, boys; but be silent for your very lives' sake."

Therewith they went swiftly and silently forward again, and shortly afterward came close alongside a ship for which they had been cautiously steering. They discovered that she was a Spanish war-vessel, and her very presence there suggested a plate fleet, which she was probably destined to convoy.

After pulling very cautiously round her, and ascertaining her strength, they made off toward another group of lights, and, on arrival there, found another war-ship. This craft was apparently a sister ship to the first one they had seen, and of the same strength.

Having ascertained this, and seeing no more lights but such as lay in the tracks of the other two boats, they turned the bows of the boat seaward, and, finding that it was well-nigh time for them to be at their rendezvous, pulled vigorously in that direction. They had taken but a few strokes when, from somewhere behind them in the town, they heard a distant clamour, suggestive of voices calling and shouting.

"Listen a moment," said Story. "Stop pulling, lads; I want to hear what that is going on behind there."

The men lay on their oars, and all strained their ears, listening. Presently the sound rose from a dull murmur to one of greater volume, and a trumpet pealed out from the shore, answered almost immediately afterwards by one from each of the warships; and suddenly, from one of the batteries, a flash of fire rushed out, illuminating for a few seconds, as does a flash of lightning, the whole bay, and then came the dull report of the gun.

"Now, men," said the lieutenant, "give way; give way for your lives! They have discovered the escape of those other fellows, and will find us also, if we are not out quickly. Resistance to such overwhelming odds as we should meet with would be hopeless; so pull, put your backs into it and make her move!"

Lights now began to flash out from all parts of the bay, disclosing the presence of vessels which they had not supposed to be there; and, indeed, it seemed as though they were surrounded on all sides by craft of all rigs and sizes. How they had threaded their way in without falling foul of some of them now seemed a mystery. They prayed fervently that the other two boats might be making their escape while there was yet time to do so.

The men set their backs to the work and pulled like very Trojans, and the boat shot through the water. Picking out a course that would take them as far away as possible from the lights now shining all over the roadstead, the lieutenant steered with the utmost caution, for he knew that his life depended on it, together with those of the boat's crew.

At length, after what seemed an eternity, they passed out clear of the encircling ships; nothing stood between them and the open sea; and in another hour they took their bearings and pulled to the rendezvous. Luckily, and to the joy of all hands, when they arrived there one boat was already waiting, and even as they lay on their oars, the third came up from the other direction.

News was now quickly and eagerly exchanged, and it was ascertained, putting it all together, that a plate fleet consisting of three ships was indeed there, and that it was guarded by the two warships. The other craft in the bay were mostly coasting and other small vessels, about which they need not very much concern themselves when they came in to the attack. The positions of the land batteries had also been ascertained, and now nothing remained but to return to the squadron with all speed, acquaint the captain with the information obtained, and then sail for La Guayra forthwith, so as to arrive there before the plate fleet could effect its escape from the port. For, once out of sight below the horizon, they could scarcely hope to find it again except after a long and wearisome search.

Once more united, the boats began their return journey, pulling hard while the darkness lasted, so as to make a good offing by daybreak, and also to leave themselves less toil after the sun rose.

It was about four in the morning when they rounded the promontory that shut in the roadstead, and they could not reckon on more than two hours more of darkness. The men, although fatigued, held well to their work, and the boats moved along at a very good speed.

Day broke with the suddenness usual in the tropics, and, the sun rising, disclosed to their view, but a short half-mile in advance of them, the identical vessel that had made such a hurried exit from the roadstead on the previous night. This was excellent, and the English flag was at once hoisted at the staves of the three boats, to show that they were English, and not, as the people aboard the stranger would naturally suppose, Spaniards in pursuit.

Seeing the English flag, the vessel hove-to, and the boats soon came alongside. Arriving on deck, Story asked for the captain, and a man stepped forward saying that he was an English seaman, who had originated the plan of escape, and finally contrived it. There were nearly a hundred Englishmen on board, who had been captured in small parties at various times, and had been incarcerated in the prison at La Guayra. They had nearly all been subjected to the tortures of the Holy Office, and bore the most dreadful scars as mementoes of its attentions. Many, under the influence of the torture, had recanted and abjured their own faith in order to save themselves from being burnt alive.

It appeared that for some time past they had been considering plans of escape, but the difficulties in the way were many and great, and had, of course, been immeasurably increased by their numbers. The first opportunity, therefore, had only come on the previous night, and they had made the most of it, with what success the reader has seen.

Story then informed them of the reason of the boats' presence there, and, telling them of the proposed attack on the plate fleet, invited them, subject to Cavendish's approval, to join the squadron.

They all gladly acquiesced, without a single dissentient voice, and expressed themselves as right glad of the opportunity to be revenged on their enemies, the Spaniards.

With this understanding Story took charge of the ship, and, calling the boats' crews on deck, made fast the boats themselves astern, and towed them, as, with the freshening breeze that arose with the sun, they made better progress sailing than pulling.

As a result of this arrangement they arrived sooner than they were expected, and there was much joy throughout the fleet at the news of the plate fleet, and also because of the valuable reinforcement to their strength, which was very badly needed, and which now made the crews up to almost their full complement.