He was never more sinister than when he was most polite,
which is probably the truest test of breeding; and the elegance of his
diction, even when he was swearing, no less than the distinction of his
demeanour, showed him one of a different cast from his crew. A man of
indomitable courage, it was said that the only thing he shied at was
the sight of his own blood, which was thick and of an unusual colour.
In dress he somewhat aped the attire associated with the name of Charles
II, having heard it said in some earlier period of his career that he
bore a strange resemblance to the ill-fated Stuarts; and in his mouth
he had a holder of his own contrivance which enabled him to smoke two
cigars at once. But undoubtedly the grimmest part of him was his iron
claw.

Let us now kill a pirate, to show Hook's method. Skylights will do. As
they pass, Skylights lurches clumsily against him, ruffling his lace
collar; the hook shoots forth, there is a tearing sound and one screech,
then the body is kicked aside, and the pirates pass on. He has not even
taken the cigars from his mouth.

Such is the terrible man against whom Peter Pan is pitted. Which will
win?

On the trail of the pirates, stealing noiselessly down the war-path,
which is not visible to inexperienced eyes, come the redskins, every one
of them with his eyes peeled. They carry tomahawks and knives, and their
naked bodies gleam with paint and oil. Strung around them are scalps, of
boys as well as of pirates, for these are the Piccaninny tribe, and not
to be confused with the softer-hearted Delawares or the Hurons. In
the van, on all fours, is Great Big Little Panther, a brave of so many
scalps that in his present position they somewhat impede his progress.
Bringing up the rear, the place of greatest danger, comes Tiger Lily,
proudly erect, a princess in her own right. She is the most beautiful
of dusky Dianas [Diana = goddess of the woods] and the belle of the
Piccaninnies, coquettish [flirting], cold and amorous [loving] by turns;
there is not a brave who would not have the wayward thing to wife, but
she staves off the altar with a hatchet. Observe how they pass over
fallen twigs without making the slightest noise. The only sound to be
heard is their somewhat heavy breathing. The fact is that they are all a
little fat just now after the heavy gorging, but in time they will work
this off. For the moment, however, it constitutes their chief danger.

The redskins disapp