as they had emptied out her freight. They sponged and loaded her
guns, brought their stores aboard her, laid their mats upon her deck,
secured the boats astern, and sailed away in search of other plunder.
They kept little discipline aboard their ships. What work had to be done
they did, but works of supererogation they despised and rejected as a
shade unholy. The night watches were partly orgies. While some slept,
the others fired guns and drank to the health of their fellows. By the
light of the binnacle, or by the light of the slush lamps in the cabin,
the rovers played a hand at cards, or diced each other at "seven and
eleven," using a pannikin as dice-box. While the gamblers cut and
shuffled, and the dice rattled in the tin, the musical sang songs, the
fiddlers set their music chuckling, and the sea-boots stamped approval.
The cunning dancers showed their science in the moonlight, avoiding the
sleepers if they could. In this jolly fashion were the nights made
short. In the daytime, the gambling continued with little intermission;
nor had the captain any authority to stop it. One captain, in the
histories, was so bold as to throw the dice and cards overboard, but, as
a rule, the captain of a buccaneer cruiser was chosen as an artist, or
navigator, or as a lucky fighter. He was not expected to spoil sport.
The continual gambling nearly always led to fights and quarrels. The
lucky dicers often won so much that the unlucky had to part with all
their booty. Sometimes a few men would win all the plunder of the
cruise, much to the disgust of the majority, who clamoured for a
redivision of the spoil. If two buccaneers got into a quarrel they
fought it out on shore at the first opportunity, using knives, swords,
or pistols, according to taste. The usual way of fighting was with
pistols, the combatants standing back to back, at a distance of ten or
twelve paces, and turning round to fire at the word of command. If both
shots missed, the question was decided with cutlasses, the man who drew
first blood being declared the winner. If a man were proved to be a
coward he was either tied to the mast, and shot, or mutilated, and sent
ashore. No cruise came to an end until the company declared themselves
satisfied with the amount of plunder taken. The question, like all other
important questions, was debated round the mast, and decided by vote.

At the conclusion of a successful cruise, they sailed for Port Royal,
with the ship full