"Not all, lad," replied Jack; "but I fear by far too many have followed in the wake of Sir Henry Morgan and his buccaneers. By my faith, lad, we must be going over very nearly the same course pursued by that infamous outlaw of the sea when he sailed with his expedition to sack the coast of Venezuela in the last half of the seventeenth century. In 1668 he captured the important city of Puerto Bello, the booty obtained amounting to over 250,000 pieces of eight, to say nothing of rich merchandise and precious gems. Encouraged in his unholy warfare by these ill-gotten gains, he rallied his lawless forces for another raid. So, early in 1669, he sailed with fifteen vessels and 800 men in this direction, making the rich city of Maracaibo his object. Again success came to him, and at that city and Panama he reaped a greater harvest of spoils than he had done at Puerto Bello. But this time Spain had got wind of his intentions, and sent a mighty squadron to intercept and capture him. At last it seemed as though the bold outlaw must yield, but his daring stood him still in hand, and by a sudden and unexpected swoop upon his unsuspecting foe he carried confusion and dismay into their midst, burning several of their ships and actually routing the fleet. There was still a blockading fort to pass, but throwing his colors to the breeze, now bearing directly down upon the guns, and then veering off, he succeeded in running the gantlet without the loss of a vessel.
"As may be imagined, Morgan was king of the buccaneers now. Did he need more men he had but to say so, and they flocked to his standard by scores. So a year later, in command of thirty-seven vessels and over two thousand men, he started upon the most difficult and the most audacious expedition ever planned by the wild outlaws of this coast. The outcome was too horrible to contemplate. The Spaniards fought well, for their all was at stake, but against the demoniac followers of a man who knew neither mercy nor hesitation in carrying out his infamous purposes. Panama was laid in ruins, and her unhappy inhabitants were nearly all inhumanly butchered or spared to fates even worse. Following this terrible expedition, the infamous leader was knighted by an infamous king, and for a time it seemed as if his evil deeds were to bear him only fruits of contented peacefulness. But it was not long before his old spirit began to reassert itself, he fell into trouble, was seized for some of his crimes, thrown into prison, where his history ends in oblivion."
Ronie was about to speak, when the cry of "land—oh!" came from the lookout, when their attention was quickly turned toward a dark line that had seemed to come up on the distant horizon.
"The sloop is about to lay to," declared Jack.
"And it looks as if they were going to lower a boat," added Ronie.
"By the horn of rock—Gibraltar, if you please! that is what they are doing. I wonder what is on hand now?"
They were kept in suspense but a short time, when Captain Hawkins approached them, saying:
"Whatever else Jerome Hawkins may have to answer for, it cannot be said that he ever failed to keep his word. You said you wanted to go to Venezuela. Yonder lies its shore, and I bid you a hearty God-speed. No thanks, sirrah," as Jack was about to speak, "you go your way and I'll go mine."
Without further words he turned upon his heel, and our twain had no further opportunity to exchange speech with him. A moment later they were ordered by gestures more forcible than speech to enter the boat, and knowing they could do no better, they obeyed. A crew of four accompanied them, and in a short time the keel of the boat grated upon the sandy shore of a point of land jutting out into the sea.
Understanding what was expected of them, and knowing it would avail nothing to resist, Jack and Ronie sprang out upon the land. Without even a parting gesture, the boatmen started upon their return to the sloop, whose dark hull loomed up gloomily in the distance. So intense was the feeling of the utter loneliness hanging over the hapless couple that neither of them spoke until they had seen the boat reach the strange sloop and the four seamen climb to the deck, when Jack said: