"What did you do?"
"What could I do? I couldn't run away. I told my men to get on board the Spaniard and I took all the sailors from that boat and made 'em surrender and put 'em on my ship. So the other boats didn't dare fire at my ship for fear of killing their own men and they didn't dare fire at the boat I was on for fear of sinking their own ship. So we opened fire on them and they didn't dare fire a shot back."
"That was mighty clever."
"Wasn't it? I sunk two of the Spaniards and the others surrendered and I brought 'em back to Manila Bay. I was given a medal for that."
Captain Royal looked very pleased with himself, and he dug into a capacious pocket and produced a plug of tobacco, taking a huge bite.
"Oh, I've had experiences," he said, wagging his head. "Are you going to be around here long?"
"Just a few days."
"I'd invite you to come and live in my cave, only there ain't much room."
"We have a cave of our own, farther down the shore."
"That's fine. I'll call and see you some time."