Evening star., 1924-10-28
CAPTAIN BLOOD
Bv RAFAEL SABATINI
The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

those other robbers of the sea, and
make punitive raid upon an Eng
lish settlement. Unfortunately for
himself and for many others, his
brother the admiral was not at hand
| to restrain him when for this purpose
he fitted out the Einco Llagas at Sap
Juan de Porto Rico. He chose for mis-
| objective the island of Barbados
whose natural strength was apt to
render her defenders careless. He
chose 1T also because thither had the
| Pride of Devon been tracked by his
| scouts and he desired a measure of
| poetic justice to invest his vengeance.
And he chose a moment when there
were no ships of war at anchor in
| Carlisle Bay.
He had succeeded so we'll in his in
! tentions that he had aroused no sus-
picion until he saluted the fort at
| short range with broadside OF 20
| guns
And now the four gaping watchers
| in the stockade on the headland be-
held the great ship creep forward un-
der the rising cloud of smoke, her
mainsail unfurled TO increase her
steering way. and go about close
hauled to bring her larboard guns to
| bear upon the unready fort.
With the crashing roar of that sec
ond broadside. Col. Bishop awoke
| from stupefaction to a recollection Of
where his duty lay. In the town be-
lov drums were beating frantically.
and trumpet was bleating. as if the
peril needed further advertising. AS
! commander of the Barbados militia,
the place of Col. Bishop was at the
head of his scanty troops, in that fort
which the Spanish guns were pound
| ing into rubble. y
Remembering it, he went off at the
double, despite his bulk and the heat,
| his negroes trotting after him.
| Mr.. Blood turned to Jeremy Pitt
He laughed grimly. Now that" said
he, lis what l call a timely Interrupt
ton. Though whatI come of it." he
added as an afterthought, "the devil
| himself knows.
| AS a third broadsde was thunder
ing forth, he picked up the palmetto
leaf and carefully replaced it on the
| back of his fellow slave.
And then into the stockade. painting
and sweating, came Kent followed by
| best part of a score of plantation
workers. some of whom were black
| and all of whom were in a state Of
| panic. He led them into the low
white house, to bring them forth
again, within a moment. as it seemed.
armed now with muskets and hangers
and some Of them equipped with
| bandoleers.
BY this time the rebels-convict were
coming in. in twos and threes, having
abandoned their work upon finding
themselves unguarded and upon
scenting the general dismay.
| Kent paused a moment. as his has
tily armed guard dashed forth, |"
| fling an order to those slaves.
| ITO the woods" he bade them.
Take to the woods, and lie clos
there until this is over and We've
gutted these Spanish swine
On that he went off in haste after
his men, who were to be added 70
| those massing in the town, so as TO
| oppose and overwhelm the Spanish
! landing parties.
The slaves would have obeyed him
on the instant, but for Mr. Blood.
What need for haste and in this
heat?" quoth he. He was surprising
/ " cool. they thought Maybe there'll
| be no need to take to the woods at
| all. and, anyway, it will be time
! enough to do so when the Spanlards
are masters of the town
And so, joined now by the other
| stragglers and numbering in all
round score-rebels-conv all-they
stayed to watch from their vantage
| ground the fortunes of the furious
battle that was being waged below.
The landing was contested by the
! militia and by every islander capable
! of bearing arms, with the fierce reso-
| IutenesS of men who know that no
! quarter was to be expected in defeat
! The ruthlessness of Spanish soldiery
was a byword. and not az his worst
| had Morgan or L'Ollonais ever per-
! petrated such horrors as those of
which these Castflian gentlemen were
capable.
But this Spanish commander knew
! his business, which was more than
could truthfully be said for the Bar
| bados militia. Having gained the ad-
vantage of surprise blow. which had
put the fort out of action. he soon
showed them that he was master of
the situation. His guns turned now
upon the open space behind the mole,
where the incompetent Bishop had
| marshaled his men, tore the militia
| into bloody rags. and covered the
| landing parties, which were making
| the shore in their own boats and in
| several of those which had rashly
| gone out to the great ship before her
| identity was revealed.
| All through the scorching after
noon the battle went on, the rattle
| and crack of musketry penetrating
| ever deeper into the town, to show
that the defenders were being driven
steadily back. BY sunset $50 Span
| iards were masters of Bridgetown.
| the islanders were disarmed, and at
Government House, Gov. Steed-his
gout forgotten in his panic-support-
| ed by Col. Bishop and some lesser Of
| ficers, was being informed by Don
Diego with an urbanity that was it
| self a mockery. of the sum that would
be required in ransom.
! For a hundred thousand pieces of
eight and so head of cattle, Don
60 Fr@, 1tfogr
| the place to ashes. And what time
that suave and courtly commander
| was settling these details with the
| apoplectic British governor. the Span
| iards were smashing and looting.
, feasting, drinking and ravaging after
the hideous manner of their kind.
Mr. Blood greatly daring, ventured
down at dusk into the town. What
he saw there is recorded by Jeremy
Pitt-to whom he subsequently re-
lated it--in that voluminous log from
! which the greater part of my narra-
| tive is derived. l have no intention
| of repeating any of it here. 1t is all
| too loathsome and nauseating, incred--
| ible, indeed. that men however aban-,
doned could ever descend such an
| abyss of bestial cruelty and lust.
What he saw was fetching him in
| haste and white-faced out of that
| hell again. when in a narrow street
a girl hurtled into him, wild-eyed,
her unbound hair streaming behind
her as she ran. After her, laughing
and cursing in a breath. came a
heavy booted Spaniard Almost he
was upon her. when suddenly Mr..
Blood got in his way. The doctor had
| taken a sword from a dead mans
side some little time before and armed
| himself with it against an emergency.
| AS the Spaniard checked, in anger
| and surprise. he caught in the dusk
i Lii crlo af go Ii