t and
threatening, which would have broken the spirit of a less resolute man.
There was one among the officers he was sure of and upon whom he could
depend in an emergency, and that was young Teach. He had flattered him
by unusual marks of kindness, and alone among the officers this fellow
did not seem to cherish the rancor and suspicion of the others. He was
too young to have experienced a betrayal as had the rest; this was his
first venture in actual piracy and he found it marvelously pleasant.

The officers, too, were all suspicious of one another. As each one
nursed his own private designs he suspected the others of doing
likewise--and with reason. But there was as yet little outward friction
among them. Raveneau, for instance, was most scrupulously polite to the
captain and his associates. Velsers was too stupid in his cups--and he
was generally in them--to do more than growl, and the Brazilian had all
the capacities of his race for subtle concealment.

Although the necessary orders for working the ship were obeyed and
Morgan personally imposed implicit obedience and respect for his
commands, no duties other than those required were performed by the men.
During the day when not at work or at drill, they drank, smoked,
gambled, and fought at pleasure, although, as the captain mercilessly
exercised them during long hours at the great guns and with small arms,
they did not have any too much leisure for play. During the night they
kept watch and watch, of course, but in it all they took no care of the
ship, and filth and dirt abounded. If they had anticipated a long cruise
things would necessarily have been different, but as they had gone far
to the southward now, and might make a landfall at any moment there was
no necessity for bothering about mere cleanliness, which, as it is
supposed to be next to godliness, was naturally far removed from this
band of cut-throats. Morgan had not communicated his ultimate purposes
to his men as yet, but as he was the only navigator on the ship he was,
perforce, allowed to have his own way.

Breakfast had been served--a meagre breakfast it was, too, for all hands
were on short allowance of everything but spirits, on account of the
unprovided state of the ship. Fortunately for their contentment, there
was plenty of rum on board. The men were congregated forward on the
forecastle or in the waist, wrangling and arguing as usual. The officers
gathered on the quarter-deck, and Morgan pa