The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1901-04-26
JOHN T0PP, PIRATE
By Waatherby Chesney and AEck Munro
orrnrour, im NJ wnArmEnpy ouYsNxv AND ALICE MUNRO
ILLUSTRATIONS ny n O oouITAs I
By Weatherby Chesney and Alick Munro.


life or two. And heaven knows we
h avcn't a man to spared"
But the pearls, old ladT"
AYE, Jack, the pcorls!" he answered
bitterly. "Thcy fired you up as they
did the men forward. Not one Of you
cares how many Of his fellows fall 80
long AZ his own chest bursts with treas
ure. And once the matches cover what
you think enough there'll be n common
cry, I warrant, for the eastward cruise.
Eh, Jack"
"Grnmmercy. Alecl You'd not stay
holding on and Off this swcltcring coast
longer than we have to. would your"
"Yes," he cried horcely. "Fd stay
till we'd driven every Spaniard back to
the devil who spa wncd him. I'd stay
till we'd given the country back to the
Indian It was stolen from or till we'd
peopled 1t with honest English hearts.
And, mark me. Jack, that's what 1t will
come to. Our people ut home are in
crcasing every day, and the island that
holds them isn't. Look at London. look
nj Bristol; they're big. Overgrown cities
even now. and they're still growing.
Where, think you. must the overflow
drift tor I'll tell you. When bread
begins to fail them, as 1t soon will. and
the little ones begin to cry to their ia
theirs for food. they will pour out to the
west here. Raleigh and his friends
planted a faint hearted crew In a more
northern land, so l have heard. among
snvages and snOwstorms n barren
rocks. and. as might have been expect
cd. those that did not die came back
waillng over their mlscries and cursing
tho men who had led them away from
England. But here. l tell you, 1t Is diff
ferent. The terra flrmc bristles with
Spanish towns. There are Cumana,
Barcelona, La Guayra, Caracas, Va
lencla, Cartagena and all those In Mex
leo besides. And In every one of them
the cursed Spnniard tortures and burns
unhindered and makes the very gar
dens OF Gods earth into foul blasphem-
ing bells. l ask you, what nobler aim
could n mar have In life than to wrest
this fair land from these demons and
to bring 1t instead under the sway Of
Elizabeth of England2
Jack Topp," he went on, flushing
deeply and gripping my arm till l fairly
WINGED. 81 swear to you that II l get
back home from this voyage with
sound skin and sufficient booty for the
purpose l will get a charter and fit out
an armada-at my own cost, II no one
else will join me-and I'll sail for the
main here and take every town as l
pass along. The west Is the treasury
Of Spain, and IL her power be nee bro
ken out here In the new world there's
little doubt rs to who will be queen Of
the seas over yonder In the old"
He broke off suddenly and went to
his bunk. and l turned away to mine.
For, truth to tell, | had little heart to
argue with n who was as eager for
prottless battle as any paladin Of the
crusades. with never an eye for the
plumber which would follow n good
fight. Many a hard blow have l taken
and given. but 1t Is a sport l care little
for. unless behind it there Is that which
will pay for the broken heads and dam.
aged limbs. And to give credit where
It Is due. no nan car say that John
Topp was ever backward In a fight
against those who were defending
. goods or treasure. But be that as 1t
| may.
The sun was balancing over the west
/, ern water line when l anne on deck
again. and the cliffs of Margherita
were showing In a low. dark line fine
,n the lee bow.
Willie Trehalion was steering. Will
. his ont brawny hand on the tiller ant
the tiller rope cast on to his hook will
a couple Of half bitches. His n ey,
: took an occasional squirt aloft ant
then o W nee more along the Lane
ahead. The vessel was rising 1t rapid
I ly. charging the short seas with he
sharp stem and riding over them DIR.
decked like the beauty she vas Gu
Scourge was a craft Of which ever,
r man Of her crew might well be proud
There were non of those dull swlshinI
thuds Of green wave against round az
pie bow, which cause a ship to stol
and shudder as though cringing unde
a blow. The motion was gliding. oil,
= and pleasant. And the pace was .
great that we deemed 1t advisable t
stow the foresail and hoist the mair
II tack lest II we allowed ourselves I
u COulO INV oASut III tuc uay TIME tuc uOu
l. Of Margherita should suspect our II
t tent and make ready an uncomfortable
warm reception for us. We could nc
AFFORD to risk by such q piece of car,
o lessness the loss Of our dainty racer.
Night fell, dark. moonless. starles
II but without rain or h%axe-just such
a night as ourSDurpose asked for, A
!" hands were on deck. eager and expec
l. ant. for word had been passed that 1
70 Pueblo del Norte was close under OF
t. lee.
n Now. there is and has been from tin
a immemorial a custom among fghtin
n men to put on their best clothes to q
battle In. The sea dandy of the queen
II ships would turn out In all the drawer
ell Of puffed and bolstered hose ar
TX trunks and with a starched run circ
t. as big as a puncheon head cumberir
his chest. But we wore our best-aI
Ii ~worst-ciothes every day; in fact. v
n had no more than n suit apiece. ar
nj thai n RkimDy one. We could nc