Evening star., 1924-10-30
CONTINUED from Yesterdays Starr

1t was soon after sunrise that the
rebel-convict who paced the quarter
deck in Spanish corselet and head
piece, a Spanish musket on his
. shoulder, announced the approach OF
~ boat 1t was Don Diego de ES-
pinosa y Valdez coming aboard with
four great treasure chests, containing
each twenty-five thousand pieces OF
eight, the ransom delivered to him at
dawn by Gov. Steed. He was accom-
panied by his son. Don Esteban, and
by six men who took the oars.
Aboard the frigate all was quiet
and orderly as il should be. She rode
at anchor, her larboard to the shore
and the main ladder on her star
, board side. Round to this came the
boat with Don Diego and his treasure.
Mr.. Blood had disposed effectively.
1t was not for nothing that he had
served under de Ruyter. The swings
were waiting and the windlass man
ned. Below, Sun-crew held itself
in readiness under the command of
Ogle, who--as | have said--had been
a gunner in the Royal Navy before
he went in for politics and followed
the fortunes of the Duke of Mon
mouth. He was sturdy, rcSolutc
fellow who inspired confidence by the
very confidence he displayed in HIM
self
stepped upon the deck. alone and en-
tirely unSuspicious. What should the
poor man suspect?
Before he could even look round
and survey this guard drawn up to
receive him a tap over the head with
a capstan bar efficiently handled by
1fagthorpe put him to sleep without
the least fuss.
He was carried away to his cabin,
whilst the treasure chests, handled by
the men he had left in the boat, were
being hauled to the deck. That being
I satisfactorily accomplished. Don Es-
teban and the fellows who had man
ned the boat came up the ladder, one
by one, to be handled with the same
quiet efficiency. Peter Blood had a
genius for these things and almost,
] suspect, an eye for the dramatic.
Dramatic, certainly, was the spec
tacle now offered to the survivors OF
the raid.
With Col. Bishop at their head, and
Gout-ridden Gov Steed sitting on the
ruins of a wall beside him, they
Elumly watched the departure of the
eight boats containing the weary
Spanish rufiians who had glutted
themselves with rapine, murder and
yiolences unspeakable.
They looked on between relief at
this departure of their remorseless
SlteHleS anu despair at lne VIII raw =
ages which, temporarily at least, had
wrecked the prosperity and happi-
ness of that little colony.
The boats pulled away from the
shore with their loads of laughing,
jeering Spaniards, who were still
flinging taunts across the water at
their surviving victims They had
come midway between the wharf and
the ship when suddenly the air was
shaken by the boom of a gun.
\ round shot struck the water
within fathom of the foremost boat,
sending a shower of spray over its
occupants. They paused at their oars,
astounded into silence for a moment.
Then speech burst from them like
an explosion. Angrily voluble they
mathematical this dangerous ca~e-
lessness on the part of their gunner,
who should know better than to fire
q salute from a cannon loaded with
shot They were still cursing him
when a second shot, better aimed
than the first, came to crumple one
OF the boats into splinters, finging
its crew, dead and living, into the
water.