as well as consternation, and if
there had been any way of going out to sea to rescue their unhappy
fellow-citizens, every able-bodied man in the town would have enlisted
in the expedition. But they had no vessels of war, and they were not
even in a position to arm any of the merchantmen in the harbor. It
seemed to the Governor and his council that there was nothing for them
to do but to submit to the demands of Blackbeard, for they very well
knew that he was a scoundrel who would keep his word, and also that
whatever they did must be done quickly, for there were the three
swaggering pirates in the town, strutting about the streets as if they
owned the place. If this continued much longer, it would be impossible
to keep the infuriated citizens from falling upon these blustering
rascals and bringing their impertinence to a summary end. If this should
happen, it would be a terrible thing, for not only would Mr. Wragg and
his companions be put to death, but the pirates would undoubtedly attack
the town, which was in a very poor position for defence.

Consequently the drugs were collected with all possible haste, and Mr.
Marks and the pirates were sent with them to Blackbeard. We do not know
whether or not that bedizened cutthroat was satisfied with the way
things turned out; for having had the idea of going to Charles Town and
obliging the prisoners to help him confiscate the drugs and chemicals,
he may have preferred this unusual proceeding to a more commonplace
transaction; but as the medicine had arrived he accepted it, and having
secured all possible booty and money from the ships he had captured, and
had stripped his prisoners of the greater part of their clothing, he set
them on shore to walk to Charles Town as well as they could. They had a
miserably difficult time, making their way through the woods and
marshes, for there were women and children among them who were scarcely
equal to the journey. One of the children was a little boy, the son of
Mr. Wragg, who afterward became a very prominent man in the colonies. He
rose to such a high position, not only among his countrymen, but in the
opinion of the English government, that when he died, about the
beginning of the Revolution, a tablet to his memory was placed in
Westminster Abbey, which is, perhaps, the first instance of such an
honor being paid to an American.

Having now provided himself with medicines enough to keep his wild crew
in good physical condition, no