“Precious or not, they must stay where they are till the shot-holes are plugged, unless you choose to carry them yourselves.”
“Oh, sacrilegious heretic, we will be revenged on you some day,” muttered one of the priests, while the other hurled some curses at Nigel’s head, to which he did not stop to listen, remembering the proverb that “Curses, like birds, go home to roost at night.”
By plugging the shot-holes and setting strong gangs to work the pumps, the prize was kept afloat sufficiently long to get out some of the provisions and water, as well as a portion of her cargo. The priests again loudly called on their countrymen to assist them in transferring the goods to the Madeline, though few of them showed any disposition to do so, but by the assistance of the French crew, their valuables were at length got out of the sinking ship.
The rest of the fleet had now come up, and the prisoners were distributed among them. The priests, however, would not desert their baggage, which, they insisted, was their own private property.
“If it is found to be so on inspection you shall retain it,” observed Captain Beauport; “but as the cases may possibly contain munitions of war, we cannot allow them without examination to fall into the hands of your countrymen.”
The priests protested that there was nothing warlike in them, but the captain was determined to have the cases examined. On opening them one was found to contain a large coarsely painted figure of the Virgin and Child, another half a dozen small figure of saints, the third was full of flat leaden figures and crosses.
“What are these?” asked the captain, coming to a fourth, full of small boxes and parcels.
“Those,” answered the priest, who was looking indignantly on, “are the bones of saints and martyrs. Let them not be touched, I beseech you, by sacrilegious hands.”
Each package was labelled, a score or more having the name of Saint Anthony.
“Why, you must have got two or three saints’ bodies here,” exclaimed the captain.