between Spain and England,
but as they saw one of the British men-of-war lying at anchor, they did
not dare to put into the harbor, fearing they would be seized as
pirates, for throughout their whole expedition they had had no
commission. Still they were overjoyed to see some of their countrymen
again and to talk with them, as they did with the mariners on some of
the small vessels that were putting out from the island.

They set free at this place a negro who had served them as shoemaker,
giving him his liberty because he had worked so faithfully. Besides
this, they presented Captain Sharp with a mulatto body servant as a mark
of the respect and admiration they had for his skill in conducting them
through so many dangerous adventures. Then they divided the last of
their prize money and started a fund for the celebration of their
return. As a nucleus, there were a hundred pieces of eight, prize money
which they could not divide satisfactorily. To this they added the price
of a little Spanish dog which they had found on one of their prizes, and
which they had fed and cared for to the present time. Captain Sharp
bought the dog, paying forty pieces of eight for him, with the
understanding that the money should go into the "jollification fund."

On the thirtieth of January they sighted the island of Antigua, and sent
a canoe on shore to get tobacco and find out whether the governor would
permit them to come into port. They found everybody excepting the
governor willing and anxious to see them, but the latter flatly denied
them entry. Accordingly, the ship was given to those of the pirates who
had lost all their money at play, while the remainder separated
themselves into two groups and took passage for England.

Ringrose and thirteen of his companions reached England on the
twenty-sixth of March. There they were tried for piracy in the South
Seas, at the instigation of the Spanish ambassador, but were not
convicted. On the most serious charge they were released on the plea of
self-defense, as it was claimed that the Spaniards had fired first upon
them. Three of Sharp's crew were tried at Jamaica. One pleaded guilty
and was hanged, but the other two fought their cases in court and were
finally acquitted for lack of evidence.

FOOTNOTES:

[1-1] This selection is taken from _The Dangerous Voyage and Bold
Attempts of Captain Bartholomew Sharp and Others_, written in 1685 by
Basil Ringrose, one of the pirates who sailed