CHAPTER XVI
A QUESTION OF ETIQUETTE
Proudly sailed the Revenge and her attendant bark into the waters ofHonduras Gulf, and proudly stood Captain Stede Bonnet upon hisquarter-deck, dressed in a handsome uniform which might have been thatof a captain or admiral in the royal navy; one hand caressed his ornatesword-hilt, while the other was thrust into the bosom of hisgilt-embroidered coat. A newly fashioned Jolly Roger, in which thebackground was very black and the skull and cross-bones ghastly white,flew from his masthead.
As night came on there could be seen, twinkling far away upon thehorizon, a beacon light, which in those days was kept burning for thebenefit of the piratical craft which made a rendezvous of the waters offBelize, then the commercial centre for the vessels of the "freecompanions." Having supposed, in his unnautical mind, that his entranceinto the Gulf of Honduras meant the end of his present voyage, and notwishing to lower his own feeling of importance by asking too manyquestions of his inferiors, Captain Bonnet had bedecked himself a daytoo soon, and there were some jeers and sneers among his crew when hedescended to his cabin to take off his fine clothes. But hisself-complacency was well armoured, and he did not hear the jokes ofwhich he was the subject, especially by the little clique of which BlackPaul was the centre. But the sailing-master knew his business, and theRevenge was safely, though slowly, sailed among the coral-reefs andislands until she dropped anchor off Belize. Early in the morning thenow dignified and pompous Captain Bonnet, of that terror of the seas,the pirate craft Revenge, again arrayed himself in a manner befittinghis position, and stationed himself on the quarter-deck, where he mightbe seen by the eyes of all the crews of the other pirate vesselsanchored about them and by the glasses of their officers.
Apart from a general desire to show himself in the ranks of hisfellow-pirates and to receive from them the respect which was due to aman of his capabilities and general merits, Stede Bonnet had aparticular reason for his visit to this port and for surrounding himselfwith all the pomp and circumstance of high piratical rank. He had beeninformed that a great man, a hero and chief among his fellows--in fact,the dean of the piratical faculty, and known as "Blackbeard," the mostdesperate and reckless of all the pirates of the day--was now here.
To meet this most important sea-robber and to receive from him the handof fellowship had been Bonnet's desire and ambition since he had heardthat it was possible.
The morning was advanced and the Revenge was rolling easily at heranchorage, but Bonnet was somewhat uncertain as to the next step heought to take. He wanted to see Blackbeard as soon as possible, but itwould certainly be a breach of etiquette entirely inconsistent with hispresent position for him to go to see him. He was the latest comer, andthought it was the part of Blackbeard to make the first visit.
Paul Bittern now came aft. "The men are getting very restless," he said;"they want to go on shore. They'd all go if I'd let 'em."
Captain Bonnet gave his sailing-master a lofty glare.
"If I should let them, you mean, sir. I am sorry I cannot break you ofthe habit of forgetting that I command this ship. Well, sir, you maytell them that they cannot go. I am expecting a visit from the renownedBlackbeard, now in this port, and I wish to welcome him with all respectand a full crew."
Black Paul smiled disagreeably. "I will tell you, sir, that you cannotkeep these men on board much longer with the town of Belize within arow of half a mile. They've been at sea too long for that. There'll bea mutiny, sir, if I go forward with that message of yours. It will beprudent to let some of them go ashore now and others later in the day. Iwill go in the first boat and see to it that the men come back with me.And, by the way, it would not be a bad thing if I touch at Blackbeard'svessel and inform him that you are here; I don't suppose he knows theRevenge, nor her captain neither."
"I doubt that, Bittern," said Bonnet, "I doubt it very much. I assureyou that I am known from one end of this coast to the other, and CaptainBlackbeard is not an ignorant man. So you can go ashore and take some ofthe men, stopping at Blackbeard's ship. And, by the way, I want you togo by that bark of ours and give her the old black Roger I used to fly.I forgot to send it to her, and a man might as well not own and commandtwo vessels if he get not the credit of it."
When Black Paul had gone to execute his orders, Ben Greenway heaved aheavy sigh. "Now I begin to fear, Master Bonnet, that the day o' yoursalvation has really gone by. When ye not only murder an' rob upon thehigh seas, but keep consort with other murderers an' robbers, then Ifear ye are indeed lost. But I shall stand by ye, Master Bonnet, I shallstand by ye; an' if, ever I find there is the least bit o' ye to besnatched from the flames, I'll snatch it!"
"I don't like that sort of talk, Ben Greenway," cried Bonnet,"especially at this time when my soul swells with content at the successwhich has crowned my undertakings. This Blackbeard is a valiant man anda great one, but it is my belief that when we have sat down to compareour notes, it will be found that I have captured as many cargoes, burnedas many ships, and marooned as many people in my last cruise as he has."
"So I suppose," said Ben, "that ye think ye hae achieved the right tosink deeper into hell than he can ever hope to do?"
Bonnet made no answer, but turned away. The Scotchman was becoming moreand more odious to him every day, but he would not quarrel on this mostauspicious morning. He must keep his mind unruffled and his head high.He had his own plans about Greenway: he was not far from Barbadoes, andwhen he left the harbour of Belize it would be of advantage to his peaceof mind as well as to the comfort of a faithful old servant if he shouldanchor for a little while in the river below the town and put BenGreenway on shore.
Ben gave no further reason for quarrelling. He was greatly dejected, buthe had sworn to himself to stand by his old master, no matter what mighthappen, and when he took an oath he meant what he swore.
Dickory Charter was in much worse case than Ben Greenway. He was notmuch of a geographical scholar, but he knew that the Gulf of Honduraswas not really very far from the Island of Jamaica, where dwelt, waited,and watched Mistress Kate Bonnet and his mother. If he had known thatduring the voyage down from the Atlantic coast the Revenge had sailedthrough the Windward Passage, running in some of her long tacks withinless than a day's sail of Jamaica, he would have chafed, fumed, andfretted even more than he did now.
"Captain Bonnet," he cried, "if you could but let me go on shore, Imight surely find some vessel bound to Kingston, or to any place uponthe Island of Jamaica, from which spot I could make my way on foot, evenif it were on the opposite end. Thus I could take messages and lettersfrom you to your daughter and Mr. Delaplaine, and ease the minds both ofthem and my mother, all of whom must now be in most doleful plight, notknowing anything about you or hearing anything from me, and this for solong a time; then you could remain here with no feelings of haste untilyou had disposed of your cargoes and had finished your business."
Captain Bonnet stood loftily with a smile of benignity upon his face."It is a clever plan," said he, "and you are a good fellow, Dickory, butyour scheme, though well intentioned, is unsound. I have too much regardfor you to trust you in any vessel sailing from Belize to Kingston,where there are often naval vessels. Going from this port, you would beas likely to be strung up to the yard-arm as to be allowed to go ashore.Be patient then, my good fellow; when my affairs are settled here, theRevenge may run up to the coast of Jamaica, where you may be put off atsome quiet spot, and all may happen as you have planned, my goodDickory. Even now I am writing a letter, hoping for some suchopportunity of sending it to my daughter."
Dickory sighed in despair. It might take a month or more before Kate'sfather could settle his affairs, and how long, how long it had beensince his soul had been reaching itself out towards Kate and his mother!
When the sailing-master set out in the long-boat, crowded with men, hestopped at the bark but did not go too near for fear that some of thecrew might jump into his already overloaded boat.
"You are to run up this rag," c
ried Black Paul to Clip, the fellow incommand; and so saying, he handed up the old Jolly Roger on the blade ofan oar. "Our noble admiral fears that if you do not that you may becaptured by some of these good vessels lying hereabout."
Clip roared out with a laugh: "I will attend to the capture as soon as Iget out of reach of his guns, which he will not dare to use here, I takeit. But I want you to know and him to know that we're not goin' to stayon board and in sight of the town. If you go ashore, so go we."
"Stay where ye are till orders come to ye," shouted Black Paul, "if yewant to keep the cat off your backs!" And as he rowed away the men onthe bark gave him a cheer and proceeded to lower two boats.
From nearly every pirate ship in the anchorage the proceedings of thenewly arrived vessels had been watched. No one wanted to board them orin any way to interfere with them until it was found out what theyintended to do. The Revenge was a stranger in that harbour, although herfame was known on not a few pirate decks; but if she came to Belize tofraternize with the other pirate vessels there gathered together, whydidn't she do it? No idea of importance and dignity, which his positionimposed upon Captain Stede Bonnet, entered their piratical minds. Whenthe long-boat put forth from the Revenge, a good deal of interest wasexcited in the anchored vessels. The great Blackbeard himself stood highupon his deck and surveyed the strangers through a glass.
The men in the sailing-master's boat rowed steadily towards Blackbeard'svessel. Bittern knew it well, for he had seen it before, and had evenhad the honour, so to speak, of having served for a short time under themaster pirate of that day.
As soon as the boat was near enough Blackbeard hailed it in atremendous voice and ordered the stranger to pull up and make fast. Thisbeing done, a rope ladder was lowered and Bittern mounted to the deck,being assisted in his passage over the side by a tremendous pull givenby Blackbeard.
The great pirate seemed to be in high good spirits, and very glad to seehis visitor. Blackbeard was a large man, wide and heavy, and the firstimpression conveyed by his personality was that of hair and swarthiness.An untrimmed black beard lay upon his chest, and his long hair hung inmasses from under his slouched hat; his eyes were dark and sparkling,and gleamed like beacon lights from out a midnight sky; the sleeves ofhis shirt were rolled up, and his arms seemed almost as hairy as hishead; two pairs of pistols were stuck into his belt, and a great cutlasswas conveniently tucked up by his side.
"Ho, ho!" he cried, "Black Paul! And where do you come from, and whatare you doing here? And what is the name of that vessel with thebrand-new Roger? Has she just gone into the business, that she decksherself out so fine? Come now, sit here and have some brandy and tell mewhat is the meaning of these two vessels coming into the harbour, andwhat you have to do with them."
Bittern was delighted to know that his old commander remembered him, andwas ready enough to talk with him, for that was the errand he had comeupon.
"But, captain," said he, "I am afraid to wander away from the gunwale,for if I have not my eye upon them, my men will be rowing to the townbefore I know it. They are mad to be on shore."
Blackbeard made no answer; he stepped to the side of the vessel andlooked over. "Let go!" he shouted to the man who held the boat's rope,"and you rascals row out a dozen strokes from my vessel and keep yourboat there; and if you move an oar towards the town I will sink you!"With that he ordered two small guns to be trained upon the boat.
The boat's crew did not hesitate one second in obeying these orders.They knew by whom they were given, and there was no man in the greatbody of free companions who would disobey an order given by Blackbeard.They rowed to the position assigned them and sat quietly looking intothe mouths of the two cannon which were pointed towards them.
"Now then," said Blackbeard, turning to Bittern, "I think they'll staythere till they get some other order."
Between frequent sips at the cup of brandy Bittern told the story of theRevenge, and Blackbeard listened with many an oath and many a pound uponhis massive knee by his mighty fist.
"Oh, I have heard of him," he cried, "I have heard of him! He hasplayed the devil along the Atlantic coast. He must he a great fellowthis--what did you say his name was?"
"Bonnet," said the other.
Blackbeard laughed. "That suits him well; he must have clapped his nameover the eyes of many a merchant captain! Where did he sail before hehoisted the Jolly Roger?"
At this Bittern laughed. "He never sailed anywhere, he is no seaman; andif he were not rich enough to pay others to do his navigatin' for him hewould have run his vessel upon the first sand-bar on his way fromBridgetown to the sea. But he pays some good mariner to sail hisRevenge, and he now pays me. I am, in fact, the captain of his vessel."
"You mean," cried Blackbeard, "that he knows nothing of navigation?"
"Not a whit," replied the other; "he doesn't know the backstays from thetaffrail. It was only yesterday that he thought he was already in theport of Belize, and dressed himself up like a fighting-cock to meetyou."
"To meet me?" roared Blackbeard; "what does he want to meet me for, andwhy don't he come and do it instead of sending you?"
"Not he," said Bittern. "He is a great man, if not a sailor; he knowswhat is politeness on shipboard, and as he is the last comer you must bethe first caller. He is all dressed up now, hoping that you will rowover to the Revenge as soon as you know that he is its commander."
The hairy pirate leaned back and laughed in loud explosions.
"He is a rare man, truly," he exclaimed, "this Captain Nightcap ofyours--"
"Bonnet," interrupted Bittern.
"Well, one is as good as the other," cried Blackbeard, "and he be wellclothed if it be of the right colour. And you started out with him tosail his ship, you rascal? That's a piece of impudence almost as greatas his own."
Bittern did not much like this speech, and wanted to explain that sincehe had served under Blackbeard he had commanded vessels himself, but herestrained himself and told how Sam Loftus had been tumbled overboardfor running afoul his captain, and how he had been appointed to hisplace.
Now Blackbeard laughed again, with a great pound upon his knee. "He is aman after my own heart," he shouted, "be he sailor or no sailor, thisnightcap commander of yours. I know I shall love him!" And springing tohis feet and uttering a resounding oath, he swore that he would visithis new brother that afternoon.
"Now, away with you!" cried Blackbeard, "and tell Sir Nightcap--"
"Bonnet," interrupted Bittern.
"Well, Bonnet, or Cap, it matters not to me. Row straight back to yourship, and let him know that I shall be there and shall expect to bereceived with admiral's honours."
Bittern looked somewhat embarrassed. "But, captain," he said, "my menare on their way to the town, and I fear me they will rebel if I tellthem they cannot now go there."
In saying this the sailing-master spoke not only for his men, but forhimself. He was very anxious to go ashore; he had business there; hewanted to see who were in the place, and what was going on before Bonnetshould go to the town.
"What!" cried Blackbeard, putting his head down like a charging bull. "Iorder you to row back to your vessel and take my message; and if you doit not I will sink you all in a bunch! Into your boat, sir, and wastenot another minute. If you are not able to command your men, I will keepyou here and give them a coxswain who can."
Without another word, Bittern scuffled over the side, and, his boatbeing brought up, he dropped into it.
"Now, men," he said, "I have a message from Captain Blackbeard to theRevenge; bend to it as I steer that way."
"Give my pious regards to your Sir Nightcap," shouted Blackbeard. Andthen, in a still higher tone, he yelled to them that if they disobeyedtheir coxswain and turned their bow shoreward he would sink them all tothe unsounded depths of Hades. Without a protest the men pulledvigorously towards the Revenge, while Black Paul, considering it a newaffront to be called "coxswain" when he was in reality captain,earnestly sent Blackbeard to the same regi
ons to which he had justreferred.
Kate Bonnet: The Romance of a Pirate's Daughter Page 16