“I have no fancy for this sort of work,” observed Dick, who was a thorough man-of-war’s man. “The decks won’t be fit to tread on for another week.”
However, we had the decks dirtied in the same way many a time for several weeks after that, being very successful in catching whales.
At last the fighting part of the crew, who were not accustomed to whaling, began to grumble, and wished to return to the coast, to carry on the privateering, or, as Dick called it, the pirating work, which they looked upon as the chief object of the voyage.
Lieutenant Pyke was especially urgent about the matter, and proposed that a descent should be made on some of the towns, which he and his brave troops, he asserted, could capture without difficulty.
On reaching the coast, we brought up in a small bay with a town on its shore.
We had not been long at anchor, when in the evening a boat came off, manned by natives, with three Spaniards in her. The captain received them very politely, and introduced them to his wife and Kitty. They seemed highly pleased, and said they had come to trade, taking the Dolphin to be a smuggler, many English vessels visiting the coast for the purpose of landing goods free of the high duties imposed on them by the Spanish Government. As many pieces of cloth and cotton as could be found were shown to them as samples. The captain told them that if they would return on board with their dollars, the goods should be ready for them.
Mr Falconer, when he heard of the shameful trick which it was proposed to play the unfortunate Spaniards, was very indignant, and I believe would have warned them if he could. The captain, hearing what he had said, backed by Lieutenant Pyke and one of the other officers, declared that he would shoot him through the head if he did any such thing.
During the night, two boats came off with our former visitors and four others, all bringing a large supply of dollars. On going down below, great was their dismay on finding that they were prisoners, and that, when released, they would have to leave their money behind them and go without the goods.
In the morning, another boat appeared with two more merchants, who were treated in the same way. Altogether, ten thousand dollars were thus stolen from the Spaniards.
“They are breaking the laws of their country,” observed Dick to me, “and they deserve punishment. For my part, I don’t like this way of doing things; but if Mr Pyke is as good as his word, and was to land with his marines and attack the town, it would be more ship-shape and honourable.”