Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1904-10-26

HAPPIER XXXIII.

oA1oe/ VI Iue ItOydl James (late he
venge) had always enjoyed cool nights
and invigorating morning air, and
therefore 1t was that he said to his
faithful servitor. Ben Greenway, when
hrst he stepped out upon the deck as
his vessel lay comfortably anchored in
little cove in the Cape Fear river
that he did not remember ever having
been in a more pleasant harbor This
We1l-trled pirate captain-Stede Bon
net. as we shall call him, notwith-
standing his assumption of another
name-Was in a genial mood as he
drank in the morning air.
From his point of view he had right
to be genial he had right to be
pleased with the scenery and the air;
ne mad right to swear at the Scotch
man. and to ask him why he did not
put on merrier visage on such a
sparkling morning, for since he had
first started out as Capt Thomas, of
the Royal James, he had been a most
successful pirate. He had sailed up
the Virginia coast; he had burned, he
had sunk, he had robbed, he had slain;
he had gone up the Delaware bay, and
the people in ships and the people on
the coasts trembled even when they
heard that his black f1ag had been
sighted.
No man could now say that the for
mer captain of the Revenge was not an
accomplished and seasoned desperado
Even the great Blackboard would not
have cared to give him nicknames, nor
dared to play his blithesome tricks
upon him; he was now no more Capt.
Nightcap to any man. his crew OF
hairy ruffians had learned to under
stand that he knew what he wanted,
and. more than that, he knew how 70
order it done. They listened to his
great Oaths and they respected him.
This powerful pirate now commanded
q small fleet, for in the cove where lay
his flagship also lay two good sized
slOOps, manned by their own crews,
which he had captured in Delaware
bay and had brought down with him
to this quiet spot, few miles up the
Cape Fear river, where now he was
repairing his own ship, which had had
q hard time of it since she had again
come into his hands.
For many a long day the sound OF
the hammer and the saw had mingled
with the song of the birds, ard Capt
Bonnet felt that in day or two he
might again sail out upon the sea, con-
veying his two prizes to some con-
venient mart, while he, with his good
ship, freshened and restored, would go
in search of more victories, more booty,
and more blood.
There were great prospects before
have the grand good fortune to fall in
with that low-born devil, Blackboard,
who, when last he had been heard
from, commanded but a small vessel,
fearing no attack upon this coast
What a proud and glorious moment it
would be when broadside and an
other and another should be poured
In upon his little craft from the long
guns of the Royal James
Bonnet was still standing, rejecting,
with bright eyes, upon this dazzling
future, and wondering what would DC
the best way of letting the dastardly
Blackboard know whose guns they
we e which had sunk his ship, when a
boat was seen coming around the head
land. This was one of his own boats,
which had been posted as sentinel,
and which now brought the news that
two vessels were coming in at the
mouth Of the river but that as the
distance was great and the night was
coming on they could not decide what
manner of craft they we're.
This information made everybody
Jump, on board the Royal James, and
the noise of the saving and the ham,
mering ceased as completely as had
the songs Of the birds. In a few min
utes that quick and able mariner, Bon
net, had sent three armed boats down
the river to recOnnoiter. If the vessels
entering the river were merchantmen,
they should not be allowed to get
away; but if they were enemies, al
though it was difficult to understand
how enemies could make their appear
ance in these quiet waters, they must
be attended to, either by fight or flight.
When the three boats came back,
and it was late before they appeared,
every man upon the Royal James was
crowded along her side to hear the
news, and even the people on the prizes
knew that something had happened,
and stood upon every point Of vantage,
hoping that in some way they could
find out what it was
The news brought by the boats was
to the effect that two vessels, not sail
Ing as merchantmen and we'll armed
and manned, we're now ashore on sand
bars, not very far above the mouth
of the river. Now Bonnet swore brave
ly. If the work upon his vessel had
been finished he would up anchor and
away and sail past these two grounded
ships, whatever they were and what
ever they came for. He would sail
past them and take with him his two
prizes; he would glide out to sea with
the tide, and he would laugh at them
as he left them behind. But the Royal
James was not ready to sail.
The tide was now low; five hours
afterward, when it should be high,
those two ships, whatever they were,
would float again, and the Royal
James, whatever her course OF action
should be, would be cut off from the
mouth of the river. This was greater
risk than even a pirate as bold as Bon
net would wish to run, and SO there
!; was no sleep that night on the Royal
James. The blows of the hammers
and the sounds Of the saws made q
greater noise than they had ever done
hsfsgss GO that the 3nisht birds wsrs