d murder here enacted, to revert to it upon a
subsequent occasion.

[Illustration]

With the crew slain, gagged or in chains, with all possible resistance
overcome, the coming of the day was awaited. And as the first faint
streaks of gray broke in upon the darkness of the night and the
harbingers of the dawn sent their shafts athwart the horizon, the ship
rode proudly at her anchor, silently and stately, giving no indication
of the carnage of the night. The creaking of the chain around the
capstan was but the mariners' music to sing the glory of the voyage to
be begun, and so, without creating the least suspicion in the vessels
lying round about, the captors brought their prize abreast their old
vessel, transferred their stock of provisions and merchandise, if any,
to the newly captured vessel, and, thus prepared, sailed grandly out of
the harbor. When once again the breath of the ocean bellied their sails
and sped them on to the unknown argosy, the dead, vanquished crew was
rudely cast into the sea, without the semblance of respect for the dead,
the decks thoroughly scrubbed, the scuppers flushed, the inventory
prepared, and so, once again, the course was set for a port in which to
dispose of their cargo. The argus-eyed lookout stationed far up in the
foremast scanned every point of the far-reaching horizon, signalling to
his mates the appearance of a spar against the heavens. Then, with
course changed and wheel set, and sped on by conspiring winds, they bore
down upon the unfortunate vessel, displaying at the proper moment the
ominous and fateful black flag and its ghastly emblem of skull and
cross-bones.

[Illustration]

Thus, for months perhaps, the fitful winds and steady currents carried
them hither and thither, ever alert, ever ready for combat and plunder.
With guns primed and powder-horn stocked, these plunderers roamed the
trackless sea, at times with impatience and drooping hopes, until the
sight of a large, heavily riding merchantman sent their blood a-leaping
and transformed the deck into a scene of feverish activity. If we recall
the peaceful errand of the merchantmen and reflect that their armature
was little calculated to cope with the war-waging outlaws, it is quite
apparent how gross the inequality of the struggle must necessarily be.
While most of the merchantmen carried defensive armament, the
unpractised, unskilled crew made the guns in their hands little more
than ineffective. As the pirate sh