familiarly to him; and seeing he was looking so earnestly at the ship, he asked him if he would go on board; our man faintly declined it, as on purpose to be asked again, and upon just as much farther pressing as was sufficient to satisfy him that the gunner (for that was his office) was in earnest, he yielded; so the gunner called back the boat, and they went on board.
Our man viewed the ship very particularly, and pretended to like everything he saw; but, after some conversation, asked him this home question, namely, Why they did not go to sea, and seek purchase, having so many good ships at their command?
He shook his head, and told him very frankly, that they were in no condition to undertake anything, for that they were a crew of unresolved, divided rogues; that they were never two days of a mind; that they had nobody to command, and therefore nobody to obey; that several things had been offered, but nothing concluded; that, in short, they thought of nothing but of shifting every one for himself as well as he could.
My mate replied, he thought it had been quite otherwise, and that made him tell them the night before that he had an inclination to stay with them.
I heard you say so, said the gunner, and it made me smile; I thought in myself that you would be of another mind when ye knew us a little better; for, in a word, said he, if our people should agree to lend you a boat to go back to your ship, they would fall together by the ears about who should go with you, for not a man of them that went with you would ever come back again hither, if your captain would take them on board, though the terms were, to be hanged when they came to England.
My mate knew that this was my opinion before; but he was really of another mind himself, till he saw things and till he talked with the gunner, and this put new thoughts in his head; so he entertained the gunner with a scheme of his own, and told him, if it was so as he related it, and that he had really a mind to come off from the gang, he believed that he could put him in a way how to do it to his advantage, and to take a set of his people with him, if he could pick out some of them that might be depended upon.
The gunner replied, I can pick out a set of very brave fellows, good seamen, and most of them such as, having been forced into the pirates' ships, were dragged into that wicked life they had lived, not only against their consciences, but by a mere necessity to save their lives, and that they would be glad at any price to go off.
The mate then asked him, Pray, gunner, how many such men can you answer for?
Why, says he, after a short pause, I am sure I can answer for above a hundred.
Upon this my mate told him the circumstances we were in, the voyage we were upon; that we were a letter of mart ship of such a force, but that we were over-manned and double-stored, in hopes of getting a good ship upon our cruise to man out of the other; that we had been disappointed, and had only got the sloop or brigantine which we bought at the Cape; that, if he could persuade the men to sell us one of their ships, we would pay them for it in ready money, and perhaps entertain a hundred of their men into the bargain.
The gunner told him he would propose it to them; and added, in positive terms, that he knew it would be readily accepted, and that he should take which of the three ships I pleased.
The mate then desired that he would lend him his shallop to go on board our ship, to acquaint me with it, and bring back sufficient orders to treat.
He told him, he would not only do that, but, before I could be ready to go, he would propose it to the chief men that he had his eye upon, and would have their consent, and that then he would go along with him on board to make a bargain.
This was as well as our mate could expect; and the gunner had either so much authority among them, or the men were so forward to shift their station in the world, that the gunner came again to our mate in less than two hours, with an order, signed by about sixteen of their officers, empowering him to sell us the ship which the gunner was on board of, and to allot so many guns, and such a proportion of ammunition to her, as was sufficient, and to give the work of all their carpenters for so many days as were necessary to repair her, calk, and grave her, and put her in condition to go to sea.
She was a Spanish-built ship; where they had her the gunner said he did not know; but she was a very strong, tight ship, and a pretty good sailer.
We made her carry two-and-thirty guns, though she had not been used to carry above twenty-four.
The gunner being thus empowered to treat with my mate, came away in their shallop, and brought the said gunner and two more of their officers with him, and eight seamen. The gunner and I soon made a bargain for the ship, which I bought for five thousand pieces of eight, most of it in English goods such as they wanted; for they were many of them almost naked of clothes, and, as for other things, they had scarce a pair of stockings or shoes among them.
When our bargain was made, and the mate had related all the particulars of the conference he had had with the gunner, we came to talk of the people who were to go with us: the gunner told us that we might indeed have good reason to suspect a gang of men who had made themselves infamous all over the world by so many piracies and wicked actions; but, if I would put so much confidence in him, he would assure me, that, as he should have the power in his hands to pick and choose his men, so he would answer body for body for the fidelity of all the men he should choose; and that most, if not all of them, would be such as had been taken by force out of other ships, or wheedled away when they were drunk: and he added, there never was a ship load of such penitents went to sea together as he would bring us.
When he said this, he began to entreat me that I would please to give him the same post which he held in the ship, viz., of gunner, which I promised him; and then he desired I would permit him to speak with me in private; I was not at first very free to it, but he having consented to let the mate and Captain Merlotte be present, I yielded.
When all the rest were withdrawn, he told me, that having been five years in the pirates' service, as he might call it, and being obliged to do as they did, I might be sure he had some small share in the purchase; and however he had come into it against his will, yet, as he had been obliged to go with them, he had made some advantage; and that, being resolved to leave them, he had a good while ago packed up some of the best of what he had got, to make his escape, and begged I would let him deposit it with me as a security for his fidelity.
Upon this he ordered a chest to be taken out of the shallop, and brought into my great cabin; and, besides this, gave me out of his pocket, a bag, sealed up, the contents of which I shall speak of hereafter.
The shallop returned the next day, and I sent back the mate with my long-boat and twenty-four men, to go and take possession of the ship; and appointed my carpenter to go and see to the repairs that were necessary to be done to her: and some days after, I sent Captain Merlotte with the supercargo, in our sloop, to go and secure the possession, and to cover the retreat of any of the men who might have a mind to come away, and might be opposed by the rest; and this was done at the request of the gunner who foresaw there might be some debate about it.
They spent six weeks and some odd days in fitting out this ship, occasioned by the want of a convenient place to lay her on shore in, which they were obliged to make with a great deal of labour; however, she was at last completely fitted up.
When she was equipped, they laid in a good store of provisions, though not so well cured as to last a great while. One of the best things we got a recruit of here was casks, which, as said before, we greatly wanted, and which their coopers assisted us to trim, season, and fit up.
As to bread, we had no help from them; for they had none but what they made of rice, and they had not sufficient store of that.
But we had more to do yet: for, when the ship was fitted up, and our men had the possession of her, they were surprised one morning, on a sudden,
