The brigantine's head was canted with the sprit-sail till she gathered way again, and she was so manoeuvred that Master Stephen Laughan, who was standing on the forward castle, caught a rope which was hove to him, and made it fast to one of the knightheads. Singly the buccaneers made their way down this from the high poop which towered above, each carrying a bag filled with the more valuable of the Spaniard's plunder to pay his passage, and each, as he dropped foot on the deck, was made to swear a most comprehensive obedience. A Bible, a crucifix and a naked blade were set ready, and the oath was taken on all three, so that whether the man was of the Reformed Religion, or Papist, or confessed no creed at all, one or other of the oaths was bound to pledge him, and so there would be no wriggling out through this very common bye-way.
"By the Lord!" said Captain Wick, who was the last to come on board. "By the Lord, if formalities can make sound business, you should be in a fair way towards storing a fortune. By your leave I'll cast off this rope from the knighthead here and we'll get your cock-boat under way. My old ship is pretty well a-fire just now, and it's on the cards my drunken rascals were not very thorough when they set to drown the powder. The kegs were not all easy to get at in the magazine."
"After your handsome behaviour," said Prince Rupert with a bow, "the least I can do is to put my poor ship entirely at your present disposal. You may set your crew to work her (for I will own ingenuously that mine are somewhat unskilled), and you may navigate her where you choose. But if I might venture to suggest, I should say that the sooner you could bring up with some land, or with some desirable ship of the Spaniards, the pleasanter it would be for all of us."
Captain Wick stared. "You have a rum way of putting things," he said. "But let's go to your cabin, and talk it out over a cup of wine. I've a throat that's full of sand."
"Why," said Rupert smiling, "I'm afraid the cabin floor will be a-slop with water, as when we pressed her with sail so as to come down to you the quicker, the leaks rather gained on us."
"By the Lord!" cried Wick, fairly startled, "she feels sodden enough under the feet now you call attention to it. Why, your lower deck ports are well-nigh awash."
"Oh, I gave the brigantine no certificate for seaworthiness, when I asked you to honour us with your presence."
"Well, you're a cool one, anyway," said Wick, and gave sharp orders to his men to take a spell at the baling.—"But sink or swim, that doesn't alter my thirst, and if we can't wash our necks politely seated in the cabin, why, bid one of your blacks bring aft the wine on to the poop, and we'll drink to our better acquaintance there."
"I fear, sir," said Prince Rupert, still with his best manner, "that you will think me most cursedly remiss, but our provisioning has been plaguely ill done, and there's not a drop of wine on board."
Captain Wick stared still more, and then, as a thought struck him, he went to the scuttle-butt and took a sample from the dipper. "And your water stinks!" he spluttered. "Faugh! do you keep ducks in your casks? Man, tell me squarely, what entertainment is it that you have asked us to?"