“I am glad, indeed, to hear that you have caught that scoundrel, Mr. Gilmore, but I hardly think she can be worth towing in.”
“She is worth a good deal, sir, for both she and the cutter are choke-full of loot.”
“Indeed!” the admiral said in a tone of gratification. “In that case she must be valuable; but let me hear all about it.”
“I have stated it in my report, sir.”
“But you always leave out a good deal in your report. Please give me a full account of it. First, how many guns did she carry?”
“Six guns a-side, sir.”
“Then you must have done wonders. Now tell me all about it.”
Will modestly gave a full account of the fight and of the steps he had afterwards taken to prevent them from playing a treacherous trick upon him, and of the land fight and the arrangements made to secure the goods he found at their head-quarters.
“And now, what have you brought home this time?” the admiral asked.
“This is the list, sir. I took it from the bills of lading which we found at the pirate head-quarters. Altogether the storehouses contained the cargoes of eleven ships. We picked out the most valuable goods and loaded the cutter and schooner with them, but that was only a very small portion of the total. I have left nearly half my crew there to guard the storehouses until you could send some ships from here to bring home their contents. With the cutter to navigate and the schooner to tow I dared not weaken myself further. I have left six[pg 180]teen of my men there under my boatswain, and have erected four batteries with cotton bales, each mounting two guns, which are charged to the muzzle with grape and langrage. I have every confidence, therefore, that the little garrison will be able to hold its own against a greatly superior force.”