For God and Gold

by Julian Stafford Corbett

'True,' I answered; 'but how should we get back to England?'

'God would send us means,' says he. 'A smart frigate or so would fall into our hands when we wanted it. Indeed, it would be a mercy if one ship were taken! Then we could make a store-house of the other, and make our voyage with the full-manned pinnaces.'

'Perhaps it would be well,' I answered; 'but such a thing is not to be looked for.'

'Cortez burnt his ships,' said Frank, as though he were thinking, and had not heard me. 'Why should not I destroy mine? Yet I think he cannot have loved his as I love mine, the smartest sailers that ever left Plymouth harbour.'

'Frank,' cried I, 'this is madness; besides, your company would never permit it.'

'Not permit it!' says he, with a sort of dull fire under his frown. 'None of my company must talk so, Jasper. And yet I love the lads for their love of the ships; nor must a captain, who would be cheerfully followed, strain obedience further than is necessary. A great captain, as I trust by God's help to be ere I die, differs only from his fellows in that he is readily obeyed. Any man of ordinary wit can see what should be done, yet must he often abstain from commanding it because he knows how hardly he will be obeyed, and as often, if he do command it, find the labour of procuring obedience too great for his constancy. But your great captain fears not to command anything, seeing he is always cheerfully obeyed, and why, lad? Because by policy he shall cheat those under him into a cheerful willingness towards all he intends.'

'Well,' said I, 'I will call you before all men a great captain, if to-morrow you can make your men cheerfully fire either of these ships.'

'Then, lad,' says he, 'I pray you go fetch hither Tom Moone, the carpenter of the Swan. That is my own ship, and that is the one I must burn. To-morrow arise betimes and come with me fishing in the pinnace and you shall see how, by my policy, my brother and his crew shall willingly fire her.'

I did all he said, and in the early morning we were off to the fishing, for about the island where we lay was a great store of fishes. As we passed the Swan we fell aboard of her, and Frank cried out to his brother to come fishing with him. John Drake jumped up at once, willingly agreeing to follow us presently. We cast off, but before we had gone but a few strokes Frank asked us if the Swan did not sit very low in the water, which we saw at once that she did.

'Ahoy, Jack!' sung out our captain then, 'what makes your bark so deep?'