s! Why, it 'ud be so tremendous heavy that it 'ud
go a good ways towards payin' 'em off for all that they've made you
suffer. It 'ud be a fine bit of revenge, now, wouldn't it?'

"Now, I know well enough that this cravin' for revenge is wrong, and
I've been fightin' against it with all my strength. But, somehow or
another, it won't do, Cap'n! it won't do! The temptation is too great
for me, miserable sinner that I am!" He smote his forehead despairingly
with his hand. "I feel that I _can't_ keep quiet and let that galleon
slip by! That gold and them jewels that she's goin' to ship has been
dragged out of God's earth by God's creatures with sufferin', and tears,
and blood more than any man can measure; and I say that it ain't right
that the Spaniards should have it. If all this heap of treasure was to
get safely across the Atlantic, and into the Spaniards' treasure-chests,
it would just encourage 'em to strive for more; and then there would be
more tears, more blood, more despair, more lives rendered a burden and a
curse to their owners. But if all this treasure that they keeps sendin'
across to Old Spain was to be taken from 'em, then, perhaps, they'd
cease to collect it; and the poor, unhappy wretches who're made to dig
for it would have some peace. And above and beyond all that, I want the
cowardly curs to suffer, in return for all the sufferin' that they've
inflicted upon me and thousands that are a good deal better than me.
They love wealth. Then make 'em suffer, by takin' it from 'em. And
they love their lives. Make 'em suffer all the horrors of death, by
goin' against 'em with fire and steel! Let 'em know the pain, and
horror, and despair of feelin' that they're not only goin' to lose their
treasure, but that they stand a good chance to lose their lives as well.
And, above all, Cap'n, let me be there to witness their anguish. They
taunted me, and gloated over me when they'd made my misery such that I
begged 'em to finish me off at once, and have done with it; and now I
want to pay off some of my debt to 'em, I do."

It was really terrible to witness the frenzy of passion and fury into
which this unhappy man goaded himself, as he recalled his past
sufferings, and spoke of those who had made him endure them. His eyes
gleamed and flashed like those of a savage beast; his face went deadly
pale; his lips contracted into a snarl that showed his clenched teeth;
he actually foamed from the mouth at last, a