The Jolly Roger Tales: 60+ Pirate Novels, Treasure-Hunt Tales & Sea Adventures. Лаймен Фрэнк Баум

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      Chapter XXXIV

       Table of Contents

      Hark to the insult loud, the bitter sneer,

       The fierce threat answering to the brutal jeer;

       Oaths fly like pistolshots, and vengeful words

       Clash with each other like conflicting swords —

       The robber’s quarrel by such sounds is shown,

       And true men have some chance to gain their own,

       Captivity, a Poem.

      When Cleveland, borne off in triumph from his assailants in Kirkwall, found himself once more on board the pirate-vessel, his arrival was hailed with hearty cheers by a considerable part of the crew, who rushed to shake hands with him, and offer their congratulations on his return; for the situation of a Buccaneer Captain raised him very little above the level of the lowest of his crew, who, in all social intercourse, claimed the privilege of being his equal.

      When his faction, for so these clamorous friends might be termed, had expressed their own greetings, they hurried Cleveland forward to the stem, where Goffe, their present commander, was seated on a gun, listening in a sullen and discontented mood to the shout which announced Cleveland’s welcome. He was a man betwixt forty and fifty, rather under the middle size, but so very strongly made, that his crew used to compare him to a sixty-four cut down. Black-haired, bull-

      necked, and beetlebrowed, his clumsy strength and ferocious countenance contrasted strongly with the manly figure and open countenance of Cleveland, in which even the practice of his atrocious profession had not been able to eradicate a natural grace of motion and generosity of expression. The two piratical Captains looked upon each other for some time in silence, while the partisans of each gathered around him. The elder part of the crew were the principal adherents of Goffe, while the young fellows, among whom Jack Bunce was a principal leader and agitator, were in general attached to Cleveland.

      At length Goffe broke silence. — ” You are welcome aboard, Captain Cleveland. — Smash my taffrail! I suppose you think yourself commodore yet! but that was over, by G — , when you lost your ship, and be d — d!”

      And here, once for all, we may take notice, that it was the gracious custom of this commander to mix his words and oaths in nearly equal proportions, which he was wont to call shotting his discourse. As we delight not, however, in the discharge of such artillery, we shall only indicate by a space like this the places in which these expletives occurred; and thus, if the reader will pardon a very poor pun, we will reduce Captain Goffe’s volley of sharp-shot into an explosion of blank cartridges. To his insinuations that he was come on board to assume the chief command, Cleveland replied, that he neither desired, nor would accept, any such promotion, but would only ask Captain Goffe for a cast of the boat, to put him ashore in one of the other islands, as he had no wish either to command Goffe, or to remain in a vessel under his orders. “And why not under my orders, brother? “ demanded Goffe, very austerely; “are you too good a man, with your cheese-toaster and your jib there, to serve under my orders, and be d — d to you, where there are so many gentlemen that are elder and better seamen than yourself?”

      “I wonder which of these capital seamen it was,” said Cleveland coolly, “that laid the ship under the fire of yon six-gun battery, that could blow her out of the water, if they had a mind, before you could either cut or slip? Elder and better sailors than I may like to serve under such a lubber, but I beg to be excused for my own share, Captain — that’s all I have got to tell you.”

      “By G — , I think you are both mad!” said Hawkins the boatswain — ” a meeting writh sword and pistol may be devilish good fun in its way, when no better is to be had; but who the devil that had common sense, amongst a set of gentlemen in our condition, would fall a-quarrelling with each other, to let these duck-winged, web-footed islanders have a chance of knocking us all upon the head?”

      “Well said, old Hawkins! “ observed Derrick;the quartermaster, who was an officer of very considerable importance among these rovers; “ I say, if the two captains won’t agree to live together quietly, and club both heart and head to defend the vessel, why, d — n me, depose them both, say I, and choose another in their stead!”

      “Meaning yourself, I suppose, Master Quartermaster!” said Jack Bunce; “but that cock won’t fight. He that is to command gentlemen, should be a gentleman himself, I think; and I give my vote for Captain Cleveland, as spirited and as gentlemanlike a man as ever daffed the world aside, and bid it pass!”

      “What! you call yourself a gentleman, I warrant! “ retorted Derrick; “ why,your eyes! a tailor would make a better out СКАЧАТЬ