"I'll be bound he gave them the plainer name," said Prince Rupert.
The Governor of Tortuga shrugged1 his shoulders. "On the bills of lading they are written as Malignants; but judging from the way he packed the last cargo3, Monsieur Cromwell regards them as cattle. It is evident that he cared only to be shut of them. They were so packed that one half were dead and over the side before the ship brought up to her anchors in the harbour here. And what were left fetched but poor prices. There was a strong market too. The Spaniards had been making their raids on the hunters, and many of the engagés had been killed: our hunters wanted others; they were hungry for others; but these poor rags of seaworn, scurvy5-bitten humanity which offered, were hardly worth taking away to teach the craft—Your Highness neglects the cordial."
"I am in but indifferent mood for drinking, Monsieur. It hangs in my memory that these poor rogues6 once fought most stoutly8 for me and the King. Cromwell was ever inclined to be iron-fisted with these Irish. Even when we were fighting him on level terms he hanged all that came into his hands, till he found us stringing up an equal number of his saints by way of reprisal9. But now he has the kingdom all to himself, I suppose he can ride his own gait. But it is sad, Monsieur D'Ogeron, detestably sad. Irish though they were, these men fought well for the Cause."
The Governor of Tortuga emptied his goblet10 and looked thoughtfully at its silver rim11. "But I did not say they were Irish, mon prince. Four Irish kernes there were on the ship's manifest, but the scurvy took them, and they went overside before reaching here."
"Scots then?"
"There is one outlandish fellow who might be a Scot, or a Yorkshireman, or a Russian, or something like that. But no man could speak his lingo12, and none would bid for him at the sale. You may have him as a present if you care, and if perchance he can be found anywhere alive on the island. No, your Highness, this consignment13 is all English; drafted from foot, horse, and guns: and a rarely sought-after lot they would have been, if whole. From accounts, they must have been all tried fighting men, and many had the advantage of being under your own distinguished14 command.—Your Highness, I beseech15 you shirk not the cordial. This climate creates a pleasing thirst, which we ought to be thankful for. The jack16 stands at your elbow."
Prince Rupert looked out over the harbour, and the black ships, at the blue waters of the Carib sea beyond. "My poor fellows," he said, "my glorious soldiers, your loyalty17 has cost you dear."
"It is the fortune of war," said D'Ogeron, sipping18 his goblet. "A fighting man must be ready to take what befalls. Our turn may come to-morrow."
"I am ready, Monsieur, to take my chances. It is not on my conscience that I ever avoided them."
"Your Highness is a philosopher, and I take it your officers are the same. Yesterday they rode with you boot to boot in the field, ate with you on the same lawn, spoke19 with you in council across the same drum-head. To-day they would be happy if they could be your lackeys20. But the chance is not open to them; they are lackeys to the buccaneers."
Prince Rupert started to his feet. "Officers, did you say?"
"Just officers. The great Monsieur Cromwell has but wasteful21 and uncommercial ways of conducting a war. He captures a gentle and gallant22 officer; he does not ask if the poor man desires to be put up to ransom23, but just claps the irons on him, and writes him for the next shipment to these West Indies, as though he were a common pikeman." The Governor toyed with his goblet and sighed regretfully—"'Twas a sheer waste of good hard money."
"And you?"
"We kept to the Lord General's classification, and sold gentle officer, and rude common soldier on the same footing. There was no other way. We were too far off your England here to treat profitably for ransom. Besides, the estates of most were wasted during the war, and what was left lay in Monsieur Cromwell's hands."
"All the gentlemen of England are beggared. They sent their plate to the King's mint to be coined for the troops' pay; they pawned24 their lands; and now they are sent to be butcher-boys to horny-handed cow-killers. I think you have dealt harshly, Monsieur D'Ogeron."
"It was your war," said the Governor good-humouredly, "not mine; and the harshness of it was out of my hands. The men were sent here, and I dealt with them in the most profitable way. If it would have paid me to weed out the officers, I should have done it. As it didn't, I e'en let them stay herded25 in with the rest."
"But surely, Monsieur, you must have some regard for gentle blood?"
"Mighty26 little, mon prince, mighty little. I had it once in the old days, in France; but I lost it out here. It's not in fashion. A quick eye and a lusty arm we value in Tortuga and Hispaniola more than all the titles a king could bestow27. Gentility will not fill the belly28 here, neither will it ward29 off the Spaniards, neither will it despoil30 them of their ill-got treasure to provide the wherewithal for an honest carouse31. What we value most is a little coterie32 of Brethren of the Coast sailing in with a deep fat ship, with their numbers few and their appetites whetted33. To those we are ready to bow, as we did once in the old countries to knights34 and belted earls—till, that is, they have spent their gains."
"And then?"
"Why, then, mon prince, we are apt to grow uncivil till we see their sterns again as they go off to search the seas for more. Oh, I tell you, it's a different life here from the old one at home; and a rustling35 blade, if he can contrive36 to remain alive, soon makes his way to the top, be he gentle, or be he mere37 whelp of a seaport38 drab."
"You state your policy with clearness. This is not known in France, and there, I make bold to say, Monsieur, it would not be liked."
The Governor drank deeply. "Here's to France," quoth he, "and may she always stay a long way off! I'm my own master here, and have a strong place and a lusty following."
"Stronger places have been taken," said the Prince.
"Not if they were snugly39 guarded," said D'Ogeron. "I use my precautions. There are two entrances to this harbour, but only one channel. There are many bays, but only one anchorage. Your ships are in it now; my batteries command them."
"Monsieur," said Rupert stiffly, "do you distrust me?"
"Except for my own rogues, and you are not one of them——"
"Thank God!"
"Except for my own rogues, I trust no one."
"Monsieur," said Rupert, "I am not in the habit of having my word doubted. I have had the honour to inform you before that I came in peace."
"So have done others, and yet I have seen them bubble out with war when it suited their purpose."
"Monsieur, you may have your own individual code of honour in these barbarous islands, but I still preserve mine. You have seen fit to put in question my honesty. I must ask you to call back your words, or stand by the consequences."
The Governor winked42 a vinous eye. "You don't catch me fighting a duel," said he. "The honour of the thing we may leave out of the question: we don't deal in it here. And beyond that, I have all to lose and nothing to gain."
"Monsieur," said the Prince, "you have your sword, and I have mine. I can force you either to fight or apologise."
The Governor wagged his goblet slowly. "Neither one nor the other," said he. "Alphonse," he cried, raising his voice, "haul across that curtain."
There was a scuffle of feet. A piece of drapery that seemed to hide the wall behind the Prince's chair clattered43 back on its rings, and showed another room, long, narrow, and dusky. In it at the farther end was a demi-bombarde, a small wide-mouthed piece on a gun carriage, with a man standing44 beside its breech holding a lighted match over the touch-hole.
The Prince turned sharply to look, and then slewed45 round to the table again. "It covers me well, but I have known a single shot to miss."
"But not a bag of musket46 balls, mon prince, with a small charge behind them," said the Frenchman politely.
"They would be safer," said Rupert. "Yes, Monsieur, it is a pretty trap, but to me it scarcely seems one that a gentleman would set for a guest."
D'Ogeron shrugged his shoulders. "It contents me," he said, reaching for the black-jack. "I have ceased to be a gentleman. I am Governor of Tortuga."
"If I cannot compel you just now to fight me for your discourtesy," said Rupert, "at least I will not drink with you." And he spilled his liquor on the floor.
"Every man to his humour," said D'Ogeron. "The jack's half full yet, but I'm not averse47 to doing double duty. This sangoree puts heart in a man. Now touching48 these engagés we started from: there is a way open by which you can serve them quite to their fancy. All who are left, that is, for I make no doubt that some have not survived. Newcomers are apt to be full of vexatious faults, and the cow-killers are not wont49 to be lenient50 when their convenience is injured. Give out that you are here with money, and ready to buy, and within a month I'll have all of them brought here to look at, with their prices written in plain figures. Say the word, mon prince, and I'll send out news this very day."
It irked Prince Rupert to deal with this man, it irked him to sit in the same room with such a fellow; but the woes52 of those that had fought by his side cried aloud for relief, so he swallowed back his nausea53 and spoke him civilly. Besides, if the Governor chose to pocket the affronts54 and go on sipping his sangoree, it was the Governor's affair. So the Prince said that he was ready to buy back the liberty of those officers who had served his late majesty55 King Charles in the wars, and was prepared to remain in Tortuga harbour with his three ships till these were brought in.
"Well and good," said D'Ogeron. "But I must warn your Highness that prices will rule high. When your very excellent friends were sold here, newly out of the ship, being raw with wounds, and galled56 with their shackles57, and damaged with scurvy, they went cheap. But since then they have been in training as hunters, and porters of meat, and makers58 of bucan, and dressers of hide, and so they have acquired value as handicraftsmen. Moreover, when ransom is spoken of, it is always our custom to acquire new interest in a prisoner. You take me?"
"I do. Had I one tenth of your commercial power, Monsieur, the King, my master, for whom I came out here to glean59 the seas, could keep a richer court at the Hague."
The Governor leaned across the table and stared. "Do I hear you say you are working for Charles II.?"
"Certainly. I am his servant since his late Majesty's murder. His kingdom for the nonce is unhappily in the hands of others, and with it the natural revenues. A king must have a court; a court needs money; I sail the seas to win that money: the thing is simple."
Monsieur D'Ogeron hit the table. "The thing is unheard of," he cried. "Loyalty is a home-growth which does not bear transporting across the seas. In France, in the old days, I was the king's man—I forget what king's. I left France full of that loyalty, and for a while it lasted. But when my ship ran into the trade winds, it began to ooze60 from me, and when I got set down here, in these islands of the Caribbean, there was but a dim memory of that loyalty left. France is so many a weary league away, that the King's shadow cannot reach across the seas. For a while I missed it; for a while there was a blank in my life. And then I found another master: a master whom I could always admire and strive for; a master whose every action interested me, whose every woe51 was mine; and him I have served this many years with infinite zest61 and appetite. Never had man a master he wished to serve so well."
"May I hear his name?" the Prince asked.
The Governor turned to a silver mirror which hung against the wall, and lifted his goblet.
"I drink to him," he said, "with all heartiness62. His name is Camille Baptiste D'Ogeron, patron of the buccaneers."
"And skimmer of their gains?"
"Skimmer of their gains, most certainly, mon prince, or why Governor of Tortuga? What am I else but a king? I have no hollow pomp about my court, it is true, but I could have it if I chose to pay. I could have drums beat in my path when I went abroad, and powder burned upon my saint's day. I could have courtiers in silken robes and golden chains, and a palace with forty rooms instead of four. But I take only what suits my whim63. My visitors come in tarry breeks or the bloodied64 shirts of cow-hunters. My attendants can make a roast, or brew65 a bowl, or slit66 a throat with equal glibness67. My enemies, when they call, leave behind them their heads on the spikes68 above the gateway69. And I have also the delicate joys of domesticity. Though I have been widowed these nine times, I married a new wife brought in by one of the ships only the other day, and already she adores me."
Prince Rupert sighed. "I can conceive," he said, "that the situation would not be intolerable for some men. There is a certain relish70 in robbing the Spaniard."
"More for you, mon prince, than for me. They are Pope's men, and I was a Pope's man bred myself. You were always Protestant."
"I glory in it," said Rupert fervently71, "though it has made me a ruined fellow from my birth up."
"There you are, then," said the Governor. "Take your revenge, which is here ready to your hand, and grow rich at one and the same time."
"I shall take my revenge," said the Prince quietly, "and I shall take revenge for others also. But it is my King who will have the riches."
"Yet, if it could be otherwise," said the Frenchman musingly72: "if you would follow what is in the atmosphere out here, and be content to fight for your own hand, what a glorious future there would be before you! There are with you three ships in harbour now: a very tolerable commencement. You could take them up a creek73 to careen, and clean them from the weeds of the voyage, and re-set-up your rigging, and get all put a-tauto. You have pretty enough crews on board already. I can get you also those of your late soldiers whom Monsieur Cromwell sent me, and who will be none the worse for their short apprenticeship74 with the buccaneers. There are hundreds of the buccaneers themselves that would join in such an enterprise, and I also could lend a couple of well-found ships to assist it.
"And what is this enterprise?"
"Seize every plate ship that's sent home to Spain. Sack every city on the Main in its turn, squeeze out all the gold, and sail away and leave its people to spin more."
"You propose I should do this as your lieutenant75?"
"That sticks in your gizzard, eh, mon prince? But, as it chanced, I was not going to make any such suggestion. I never aspire76 to having men of your calibre as my subjects. They would take too much looking after, and I have no wish to find one from below climbing up and trampling77 on me, and becoming chief in my place. This governorship has been too hard to get, and is too snug40 a property to jeopardise for the mere ambition of having Rupert Palatine for a mere week or so as my dutiful lieutenant." And Monsieur D'Ogeron winked pleasantly. "No, mon prince, go and seize an island for yourself, and set up a government, and we will call ourselves allies. We will form a buccaneer kingdom with a dual41 head, and there will be no limit to our prosperity. Look at the crop there is at hand: wine, women, meat, corn, silks, pearls and gold in all abundance. All the strong men will flock to us and help in the taking. The Spanish power will melt away like sand cliffs before a sea."
Prince Rupert thrust back his chair from the table and smote78 the arm with his fist. "Have done, Monsieur!" he said. "It is against my honour that I should listen to you more. I came out here as a King's man, and if life remains79 to me, it will be as his man that I go back."
"But," said the Governor, with a puzzled brow, "your King's Cause is distant; it is weak; it is nearly on the ground; it is doubtful if it ever pulls round again. Nay80, your Highness, by this time, for aught you know, the Second Charles has followed the way of his father, and there is no Cause left."
"Then I shall build it up again and fight for it. In Europe, Monsieur, we do not esteem81 a man any the less honourable82 because he keeps his fidelity83 to a Cause that is for the moment drooping84."
"Well," said Monsieur D'Ogeron, "I am thankful that I have left Europe behind, with those old unpracticable ideas." He leaned back in his chair and stretched. Then he laughed craftily85, and went on with his speech. "As it seems, then, we cannot trade over this idea of a buccaneer kingdom, your Highness, let us go back to the question of ransoming86 these engagés. You are prepared to pay good hard money down?"
The Prince frowned. "For a gentleman, Monsieur, you are unpleasantly commercial."
"Your Highness rather wearies me," said the Governor, with a whimsical shrug2. "Gentility I have dropped, as being quite unprofitable; and as for keenness over a bargain, why, there I could skin a Jew; so now you have a fair and final warning."
"I have no money at present."
"I did not suppose you had. Ships which sail from here to the Old World are ofttimes rich; but ships coming here, never. Since history began, they have always been barren and empty—or why else should they come?"
"I will make payments, Monsieur, out of the first prizes which come into my hands."
"I hear your Highness say it. But—Tortuga is not Europe, and we give mighty little credit here. If you were known to be fighting for your own hand, it might be different. But when you openly say you are merely an admiral of some king across the water, you speak beyond our simple minds altogether. I answer not only for myself: I answer for the whole community. You must offer some other scheme, mon prince, or your friends must stay on as engagés and work out their time. Come, think it out. I do not wish to hurry you."
Prince Rupert sat with his chin in his fingers and pondered deeply, but no schemes came to him. It irked him terribly to think that the men who had fought by his side during all the battles of the war should be left unrescued in this horrible servitude, whilst he was at hand with the will to set them free, and only lacking of the bare means. And if fighting would have done the deed, the Prince would have recked little of the odds87 against him. But though he captured all Tortuga, with its forts and batteries, and killed the Governor, yet he would be no more forward in his design. For those he wished to relieve were scattered89 in ones and twos far over the Savannahs of Hispaniola across the strait, and nothing but the good-will of Monsieur D'Ogeron could make the buccaneers, their masters, bring them in.
The Governor at the end of the table smoked tobacco and sipped90 his sangoree. He seemed quite contented91, and perhaps a little drowsy92.
Prince Rupert stood up, and began to walk to and fro across the chamber93, as was his wont when thinking deeply. But scarcely had he left his chair, when the roar of an explosion shook the place, and the chamber was filled with smoke, and the chair itself and a part of the table beyond were blown to the smallest of splinters.
But at the head of the table the Governor sat unmoved, and, as it seemed, unstartled; and presently he began to laugh. "'Fore4 God," he said, "that was a sleepy rogue7 of a cannonier. Has your Highness guessed what happened?
"No," said the Prince. "Your efforts at hospitality are somewhat beyond me."
"Why, the man with the lighted match in his hand has been growing more and more drowsy, and nodding and nodding, till at last his hand drooped94 down over the priming. When the piece fired I chanced to look round, and saw him waken and start, as though he had been hit himself. 'Twas a most comic sight."
"Through his carelessness I have had a most narrow escape."
"But you did escape," said the Governor. "And the damage done to the chair and table I will forgive him for the amusement he afforded me."
"I must request you, Monsieur," said the Prince, "to order this man a flogging."
The Governor was all affability. "Mon prince," quoth he, "if it pleases you, he shall be flogged first and hanged afterwards. Or would you prefer that he should have his wakefulness improved by a generous taste of the rack? You have had a start. I had forgot you were newly from Europe and would care for these things. We think little enough of such small humours here, so long as we are not hurt. But you are fresh from the Old World, and my man shall pay dearly enough for his indiscretion."
The Prince frowned. "I wonder, Monsieur," he said, "that you do not punish the man as taking away your only guard over me."
This time Monsieur D'Ogeron laughed outright95. "Mon prince," he said, "you have small idea of the completeness of my defences. Were it my will, I could have you safe in an unbreakable prison before another second had passed."
"I do not take you, Monsieur."
The Governor rubbed his hands appreciatively. "My dungeons," he said, "are beneath this chamber, rock-hewn, deep and vastly unpleasant. The floor on which we stand is so ingeniously contrived96 that at will any portion of it can be made to give way, and drop an inconvenient97 person into safety below. I have a trusty knave98 at hand attending on the bolts."
"Who is probably asleep, like your other fellow."
The Governor frowned. "I do not think so, your Highness. But we will soon see. I might call your attention to the embrasure of the window behind you. In case other foothold goes, it will afford you a scanty99 seat." Then, lifting his voice, he cried loudly for "Jean Paul!"
On the instant a great flap of the floor beneath the Prince's feet swung downwards100, and had not Rupert been warned, there is not a doubt but that he would have been shot helplessly through the gap into the prison beneath. But as it was, with a scramble101 he reached the ledge102 of the window, and sat there cursing aloud at Tortuga and all the monkeys and the monkeyish tricks it contained.
It was plain the Governor wished to laugh—for when half drunk he was a merry enough ruffian—but he saw the Prince's rage and choked back his mirth. "Nay, your Highness," he said, "you brought it on yourself by doubting whether my man Jean Paul stayed awake. I have known all my fellows long. Alphonse drowses sometimes when the heat is great and he has liquor in him, but, Jean Paul never. That is why I have set Jean Paul over the strings103 which govern the bolts, and he has never failed me, and never pulled the wrong string. And it is no light business to keep the tally104 of them either, for there is a separate string for every square fathom105 of the floor."
"You keep a most delicate care of your health, Monsieur."
"It is necessary," said the Governor, with a shrug. "I have some queer callers. Men in these seas want many things, and when they cannot get them for the asking, they are not averse to using violence if they think it will succeed. I dare lay a wager106, mon prince, that if you saw those late officers of yours, which Monsieur Cromwell sent me, standing by the harbour side, you would not think twice about clapping them on board and carrying them to sea without a piastre of recompense?"
"It would be my bare duty to gentlemen who have been my very faithful comrades."
"And your King's servants. How far would his present Majesty go towards ransoming these unlucky soldiers?"
"He would go far, Monsieur. I have no commission from him to speak upon the matter: I could have no commission, seeing that his Majesty knew no more than I that Cromwell has sent unfortunate cavaliers to be enslaved in these savage107 seas; but I take it upon myself to say that his Majesty would sacrifice much to see them relieved."
"Well," said the Governor, "if he sends out money, I will see the matter most circumspectly108 attended to."
"He can send out no money," said Rupert gloomily. "His Majesty has nothing save for what I earn for him."
The Governor spread his hands. "Then what can you expect? There is nothing for it but to let your good friends continue their employment, unless——"
"Unless what, Monsieur?"
The Governor dropped his insouciance109 and stood to his feet. The drink seemed to warm into life within him. The Prince was still sitting absurdly enough in the window embrasure, with the fallen trap yawning beneath his feet. D'Ogeron strode up and faced him across the gap. "Give me the services of your fleet for six short months," he cried, "and the men shall be yours. We will send the ships away to-morrow to careen. I will despatch110 messengers, and these cavaliers of yours shall join them before they are cleaned. Then they shall sail away to harry111 a Spanish town on the Main, and their earnings112 during those six months shall count for all the ransom."
"It is a bargain," Rupert said. "The King will forgive my alienating113 his revenues for the sake of these cavaliers who have served him so well. So, Monsieur, I sell myself into the service of the Governor of Tortuga for six desperate months."
"Stay a moment," said the Frenchman. "I made no design on your Highness's utility. It is part of my design that the fleet should sail under an officer of my own, and that your Highness should stay on here, and accept my poor hospitality."
"And for why, Monsieur? Do you honour me by doubting my capacity as an admiral?"
"By no means. I have the highest opinion of your fighting genius, mon prince. But I would like to ensure that the fleet, after glutting114 itself with spoil on the Spanish Main, called back in this harbour here, and did not sail direct to Helveotsluys or some other port of Holland."
"So, Monsieur, you doubt my poor honesty? You do well to put a barrier between us, for this is a killing115 matter."
"I have learned to doubt everybody, your Highness; but I doubt you doubly because of your loyalty to this king without a kingdom, by whom you have been sent out a-foraging. Once you and your cavaliers had the gold aboard and under hatches, it might come to your memories that this king of yours was poor, and wanted immediate116 nourishment117, and that Monsieur de Tortuga could bear to have his account settled on a later day. You take me?"
"I cannot bargain with you," said Rupert violently. "I will not be separated from my fleet. But if hard necessity makes me desert these unfortunate cavaliers now, be assured that I do not forget them. And when opportunity arrives, and I come back to rescue them, look to yourself, Monsieur."
"You may trust me to do it," said the Frenchman. "I am always ready to receive my visitors fittingly. That is why I remain Governor of Tortuga. Well, your Highness, for the present negotiations118 seem at an end between us. To-morrow I suppose you will buy what food you have moneys for, and draw anchor, and be off outside towards the Main, to set about your earnings. But for the present I have a kindliness119 towards you, although in truth you have yielded me but very slender deference120, and I would e'en let you have a passing look at these good comrades from whom you have been so cruelly parted."
"What, you have them here, then?"
"Some of them are coming to the Island now with their produce. Looking over your Highness's shoulder through the window, I saw three canoe-loads of them disappear behind the point. If it please you to take a short promenade121 in my company, you can watch their march when they land."
"Monsieur," said the Prince, "I accept your condescension122. But first you must make me a pathway across this gap. I cannot fly."
"That can soon be done," said the Governor. He put a finger through his lips and whistled shrilly123. A man stepped into the room from behind a curtain. "Jean Paul," said the Governor, "the drawbridge." The man lugged124 a plank125 from beneath the table, threw it across the space in the flooring, and assisted the Prince to cross. The Governor himself handed his walking-cane and plumed126 hat, and together they passed out of the chamber, Jean Paul and Alphonse following, with hands upon their pistols.
They walked leisurely127 through the defences of the castle, for Monsieur D'Ogeron was by no means loth to advertise his strength, and arm in arm they went out through the massive gateway, with its decoration of shrivelled heads, once worn by Monsieur D'Ogeron's enemies. They paced with gentle gait along the sun-dried path beyond, the Prince discoursing128 on philosophy, and engraving129, and the gentler sciences, according to his wont, as though he had no thought beyond, and the Governor speaking of the fellows they passed, and the quantity of gold each in his time had wrested130 from the Spaniards. The Governor had but one thought to his head; but the Prince, whatever his thoughts might be, had always elegant words on other matters with which to cloak them.
The Prince used his eyes keenly as he walked, but could discover little of that lavish131 wealth of which the Governor spoke so glibly132. The wine shops were the most considerable buildings in the place, and these were mere thatched sheds without walls. Litter and squalor and waste lay everywhere. Rich silks and other merchandise were trodden down in the kennel133 along with garbage and filth134. There was no laden135 ship in just then, with a crew to be fleeced, and the women of the place hung about in disconsolate136 knots bewailing their draggled finery. The dwelling-houses were mere hovels of mud and leaves: the only warehouse137 for goods was the open beach.
The Governor must have read the Prince's glance, for he shrugged an apology. "You see us," he said, "in a state of ennui138. But let one shipload of plunder139 come from the Main, and another of wines arrive from Bordeaux, and the place is a babel of life and carousal140. Buccaneers returned from the foray are the merriest creatures imaginable. They will have none round them that are not cheerful. They set their casks of rum abroach in the path, and swear to pistol all who will not drink with them. They strut141 in clothes that would look fine on an emperor. They dice142 for black-jacks full of fair gold coin. They love the ladies with a vehemence143 that only seamen144 can command. They sing, they shout, they scream, they fight, and they scatter88 their plunder with a free-handedness that is more than glorious. They count it as shame if they have a piece-of-eight remaining to them after a week ashore145, and then away they go to harry the seas for more. Oh, 'tis a rustling time here in Tortuga when we have a laden ship in from the harvesting; and a Governor, who must needs drink level with the best, needs a hard head to make full use of his opportunities."
The Prince listened with a courteous146 bow, and picked his way with niceness amongst the squalors of the path; and presently they reached the outskirts147 of the sheds and the hovels, and walked between walls of tropical foliage148 that arched with delicate tracery into a graceful149 roof far above their heads. Gorgeous butterflies danced before their path, and flowers administered to them of their choicest scents150. They came into an open glade151 hung with beauty, and the Prince exclaimed that he had been led into fairyland.
"Well," said the Governor, with a laugh, "I hope your Flightless will be contented with the fairies, for here they come."
A man appeared from a path at the farther side of the glade, and after him another, and then others. They trod with heaviness, being ponderously152 laden; and the leader, tearing a switch from a tree, stepped on one side and beat the others lustily as they passed him.
"Dépêchez-vous!" he screamed. "Hurry, you slow-footed dogs!" And the train with infinite weariness shuffled153 along at a quicker gait.
They were all dressed in rude thigh154-boots of raw cowhide, with loose shirts on their upper bodies stained purple with constant bloodyings. They wore shaggy beards, and shaggy uncut hair, full of sticks and refuse. Their faces and arms were puffed155 with insect-bites. They were unspeakably disgustful to look upon, and yet the Prince regarded them with a softening156 eye.
Every third or fourth man was armed with a machete which dangled157 against his thigh, and a long-stocked buccaneering piece which he bore in his hand; and with his spare hand he carried a switch and belaboured the others. It was only the unarmed men who bore the burdens—one a great parcel of crackling hides, another a skinful of tallow, another a package of bucaned cow-meat, another a hog158 bucaned whole, and so on; and these were the engagés, the slaves for three years of the acknowledged buccaneers who were with the train, and the slaves of others who remained behind in Hispaniola to continue the hunting.
They marched across the glade, like men who had lost all interest in life, each watching the heels of the one preceding; and Rupert devoured159 them with his eyes. Then one tall fellow stumbled over a fallen bough160, and sent his burden flying, and his owner fell upon him with a very ecstasy161 of switching, and the Prince stepped out and bade the buccaneer desist. He did so sulkily enough, and the engagé scrambled162 to his feet and resumed his pack. He was a huge red-haired man, with a livid scar across his eyebrows163.
"By God!" cried the Prince, "I should know that scar."
The fellow looked up. "The Prince!" he said—"Prince Rupert! Has your Highness come in for misfortune too?"
"My share. You carried the name of Coghill, if I do not disremember?"
"Coghill," said the fellow, "and rode with your Highness through many a noisy day."
"Especially at Edgehill, lad, and earned that wipe across the face by saving my poor life."
"I did not wish to recall the debt, your Highness," said the fellow, "being in this plight164. It was General Fairfax that give it me. He'd a lusty arm, and could sit a horse."
The Prince wrung165 his hands. "I would I could serve you, lad," he said, "but I am in sorry plight myself, and the King is as bad."
"Well," said the fellow, with a sigh, "I must make shift to serve my time. I'm tough, and a common soldier looks to taking what befalls. But for officers that was delicate nurtured166, it is different. This life kills them off like flies."
The Prince groaned167. "I am powerless, lad," he said—"powerless."
"If your Highness could stretch a point," the fellow persisted, "it would be good for the Colonel. He will die else."
"What colonel?"
"Sir John Merivale,—who other? Has not your Highness picked him out?" The man turned round. "Oh, there he is, just coming into the open. He has seen much misfortune since Old Noll took him at Coventry, and sent him over seas."
Prince Rupert followed the trooper's glance. A gray-haired old man, the last of the train, was staggering into the clearing under a horrible burden. He had been apportioned168 off to carry a side of fresh beef, killed that very morning, and was bearing it, buccaneer fashion, with his head stuck through a hole in the centre. His knees bent169 under him with the weight, his frail170 hands gripped feebly at the moist edges of the joint171, but his proud old back was as straight as ever it had been in the days when he sat in his saddle at the head of the King's guards; and when a fellow engagé helped him lower his dripping burden to the ground, he thanked the man with the easy courtesy of a superior.
The Prince stepped out to greet him. "Sir John," he cried, "it grieves me terribly to see you in this shocking plight."
"Ah, Prince," the old man said, "you have caught me somewhat unawares, and my present service is at times none of the most delicate. How goes the Cause? We get sadly behind the times here both in news and attire172." And with that he incontinently fell down and fainted.
Prince Rupert turned to the Governor. "Monsieur D'Ogeron," he said gravely, "I surrender. For six months the fleet is yours on the conditions you offered. Whether I do right or whether I do wrong is another matter, and when the time comes I shall answer for it to the King, my master. But in the meantime I am Rupert Palatine, and I cannot live on to see officers of mine condemned173 to a plight like this. The opportunity is yours, and you make your gains."
"Mon prince," said the Governor delightedly, "I honour your charity. We will have a great time together here in Tortuga drinking success to the fleet whilst it is away."
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1
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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3
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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scurvy
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| adj.下流的，卑鄙的，无礼的；n.坏血病 | |
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6
rogues
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| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
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7
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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reprisal
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| n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠 | |
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10
goblet
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| n.高脚酒杯 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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12
lingo
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| n.语言不知所云，外国话，隐语 | |
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13
consignment
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| n.寄售；发货；委托；交运货物 | |
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14
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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15
beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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17
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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18
sipping
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 ) | |
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19
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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20
lackeys
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| n.听差( lackey的名词复数 )；男仆（通常穿制服）；卑躬屈膝的人；被待为奴仆的人 | |
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21
wasteful
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| adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的 | |
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22
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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23
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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24
pawned
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| v.典当，抵押( pawn的过去式和过去分词 )；以（某事物）担保 | |
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25
herded
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| 群集，纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 )； 放牧； （使）向…移动 | |
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26
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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27
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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28
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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29
ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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30
despoil
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| v.夺取，抢夺 | |
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31
carouse
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| v.狂欢；痛饮；n.狂饮的宴会 | |
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32
coterie
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| n.(有共同兴趣的)小团体，小圈子 | |
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33
whetted
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| v.（在石头上）磨（刀、斧等）( whet的过去式和过去分词 )；引起，刺激（食欲、欲望、兴趣等） | |
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34
knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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35
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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36
contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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37
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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38
seaport
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| n.海港，港口，港市 | |
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39
snugly
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| adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地 | |
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40
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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41
dual
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| adj.双的；二重的，二元的 | |
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42
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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43
clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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44
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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45
slewed
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| adj.喝醉的v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去式 )( slew的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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47
averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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48
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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49
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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50
lenient
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| adj.宽大的，仁慈的 | |
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51
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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52
woes
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| 困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉 | |
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53
nausea
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| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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54
affronts
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| n.（当众）侮辱，（故意）冒犯( affront的名词复数 )v.勇敢地面对( affront的第三人称单数 )；相遇 | |
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55
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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56
galled
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| v.使…擦痛( gall的过去式和过去分词 )；擦伤；烦扰；侮辱 | |
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57
shackles
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| 手铐( shackle的名词复数 )； 脚镣； 束缚； 羁绊 | |
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58
makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
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59
glean
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| v.收集(消息、资料、情报等) | |
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60
ooze
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| n.软泥，渗出物；vi.渗出，泄漏；vt.慢慢渗出，流露 | |
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61
zest
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| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
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62
heartiness
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| 诚实，热心 | |
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63
whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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64
bloodied
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| v.血污的( bloody的过去式和过去分词 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的 | |
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65
brew
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| v.酿造，调制 | |
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66
slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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67
glibness
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| n.花言巧语；口若悬河 | |
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68
spikes
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| n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划 | |
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69
gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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70
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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71
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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72
musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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73
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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74
apprenticeship
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| n.学徒身份；学徒期 | |
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75
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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76
aspire
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| vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于 | |
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77
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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78
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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79
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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80
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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81
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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82
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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83
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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84
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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85
craftily
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| 狡猾地，狡诈地 | |
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86
ransoming
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| 付赎金救人，赎金( ransom的现在分词 ) | |
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87
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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88
scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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89
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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90
sipped
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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91
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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92
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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93
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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94
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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95
outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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96
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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97
inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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98
knave
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| n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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99
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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100
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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101
scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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102
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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103
strings
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| n.弦 | |
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104
tally
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| n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致 | |
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105
fathom
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| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
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106
wager
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| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
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107
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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108
circumspectly
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| adv.慎重地，留心地 | |
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109
insouciance
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| n.漠不关心 | |
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110
despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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111
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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112
earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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113
alienating
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| v.使疏远( alienate的现在分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等） | |
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114
glutting
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| v.吃得过多( glut的现在分词 )；（对胃口、欲望等）纵情满足；使厌腻；塞满 | |
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115
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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116
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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117
nourishment
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| n.食物，营养品；营养情况 | |
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118
negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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119
kindliness
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| n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为 | |
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120
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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121
promenade
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| n./v.散步 | |
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122
condescension
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| n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人) | |
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123
shrilly
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| 尖声的； 光亮的，耀眼的 | |
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124
lugged
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| vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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125
plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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126
plumed
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| 饰有羽毛的 | |
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127
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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128
discoursing
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| 演说（discourse的现在分词形式） | |
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129
engraving
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| n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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130
wrested
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| （用力）拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 )； 费力取得； （从…）攫取； （ 从… ） 强行取去… | |
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131
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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132
glibly
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| adv.流利地，流畅地；满口 | |
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133
kennel
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| n.狗舍，狗窝 | |
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134
filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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135
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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136
disconsolate
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| adj.忧郁的，不快的 | |
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137
warehouse
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| n.仓库；vt.存入仓库 | |
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138
ennui
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| n.怠倦，无聊 | |
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139
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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140
carousal
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| n.喧闹的酒会 | |
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141
strut
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| v.肿胀，鼓起；大摇大摆地走；炫耀；支撑；撑开；n.高视阔步；支柱，撑杆 | |
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142
dice
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| n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险 | |
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143
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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144
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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145
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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146
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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147
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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148
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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149
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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150
scents
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| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
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151
glade
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| n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地 | |
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152
ponderously
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153
shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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154
thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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155
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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156
softening
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| 变软，软化 | |
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157
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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158
hog
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| n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占 | |
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159
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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160
bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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161
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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162
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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163
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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164
plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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165
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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166
nurtured
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| 养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长 | |
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167
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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168
apportioned
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| vt.分摊，分配（apportion的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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169
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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170
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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171
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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172
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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173
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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