y the pirate is gone out of these seas;
how can they meet with him then?"--"Why, that is true," said he, "they
do say so; but he was, as I tell you, in the bay of Siam, in the river
Cambodia, and was discovered there by some Dutchmen who belonged to the
ship, and who were left on shore when they ran away with her; and some
English and Dutch traders being in the river, they were within a little
of taking him. Nay," said he, "if the foremost boats had been well
seconded by the rest, they had certainly taken him; but he finding only
two boats within reach of him, tacked about, and fired at these two, and
disabled them before the others came up; and then standing off to sea,
the others were not able to follow him, and so he got away. But they
have all so exact a description of the ship, that they will be sure to
know him; and where-ever they find him, they have vowed to give no
quarter to either the captain or the seamen, but to hang them all up at
the yard-arm."

"What!" said I, "will they execute them, right or wrong; hang them
first, and judge them afterwards?"--"O Sir!" said the old pilot, "there
is no need to make a formal business of it with such rogues as those;
let them tie them back to back, and set them a-diving; it is no more
than they rightly deserve."

I knew I had my old man fast aboard, and that he could do me no harm; so
I turned short upon him. "Well, Seignior," said I, "and this is the very
reason why I would have you carry us to Nanquin, and not to put back to
Macao, or to any other part of the country where the English or Dutch
ships came; for be it known to you, Seignior, those captains of the
English and Dutch ships are a parcel of rash, proud, insolent fellows,
that neither know what belongs to justice, or how to behave themselves
as the laws of God and nature direct; but being proud of their offices,
and not understanding their power, they would get the murderers to
punish robbers; would take upon them to insult men falsely accused, and
determine them guilty without due inquiry; and perhaps I may live to
call some of them to an account of it, where they may be taught how
justice is to be executed; and that no man ought to be treated as a
criminal till some evidence may be had of the crime, and that he is
the man."

With this I told him, that this was the very ship they had attacked; and
gave him a full account of the skirmish we had with their boats, and how
foolishly and coward-like they had beha