King. Why not, my boy? It’s only half-past eleven, and you are one of us until the clock strikes twelve.
Sam. True, and until then you are bound to protect our interests.
All. Hear, hear!
Fred. Well, then, it is my duty, as a pirate, to tell you that you are too tender-hearted. For instance, you make a point of never attacking a weaker party than yourselves, and when you attack a stronger party, you invariably get thrashed.
King. There is some truth in that.
Fred. Then, again, you make a point of never molesting an orphan!
Sam. Of course: we are orphans ourselves, and know what it is.
Fred. Yes, but it has got about, and what is the consequence? Every one we capture says he’s an orphan. The last three ships we took proved to be manned entirely by orphans, and so we had to let them go. One would think that Great Britain’s mercantile navy was recruited solely from her orphan asylums—which we know is not the case.
Sam. But, hang it all, you wouldn’t have us absolutely merciless?