"Oh," said Harlan, "some things I learned in history at school, but a great deal I got from books of adventure that father has given me. If you only could read English I would lend you some of them, and you would find out much more than I can possibly tell you.
"But let me tell you about Morgan and his men. The old pirate chief himself was a Welshman, and if I remember correctly his father was a respectable farmer.
"The son didn't love the quiet life of a Welsh farmer, and so he left home when quite young. He joined the crew of a merchant vessel, and sailed for Barbados.
"Here he had very bad luck, which no doubt was partly the cause of his awful cruelty to his enemies in later years. He fell into the hands of the Spaniards and was sold into slavery."
"I'm mighty glad there are no slaves now," broke in Enrique. "I've heard my father tell some things about the way they lived, and it must have been terrible."
"It surely was," replied Harlan, "and yet the conditions of slavery with which your father is familiar were as nothing compared with the sufferings of slaves in Morgan's time. Probably his case was no better than others, but, as matters turned out, he succeeded after a time in getting his freedom. I can't tell you just how this was brought about, though I am sure his great strength and daring must have had much to do with it.
"Morgan next went to Jamaica, where he joined a band of pirates—mostly English and French—who attacked the Spanish treasure-ships in these waters. You can easily imagine that Morgan's part in this business wasn't small. He never thought of such a thing as mercy. The crews of captured ships who weren't killed in the battles had to walk the plank.
"Fortune favoured Morgan, and, unlike most of his companions, he saved his booty, and in a little while was able to buy a ship. In this vessel he had as villainous a body of men as ever walked the deck.
"With his ship he joined other pirate captains, and it was not long before he was in command of a fleet of fifteen vessels, with over five hundred men,—men who were not afraid of anything, and who did dreadful things wherever they went.