Joe Hawkridge was puzzled by this gentle fire-eater with the complexion
of a girl. Nothing could have been more unlike the ramping, roaring
pirates of Blackbeard's dirty crew who tried to terrify by their very
appearance. After the lieutenant had returned to his frigate, Jack
Cockrell remarked:

"A most misleading man, Joe. You cannot picture him seeking the bubble
reputation at the cannon's mouth, as Will Shakespeare saith."

"Blackbeard will bite him in two," replied Joe. "He is too pretty to be
risked in such a slaughter pen. I own up to feelin' squeamish on my own
account, hardy pirate though I be."

"This Lieutenant Maynard is welcome to measure swords with Blackbeard,"
said Jack, "and I shall not quarrel with him for the honor. Pick me a
pirate with a wooden leg, Joe, or one that still shakes with Spanish
fever."

"My only chance of getting out with a whole skin is to lug a sack of
flour under one arm and play the ghost o' Jesse Strawn."

Expeditiously the brigantine and the two sloops sailed out of the James
River to head for the North Carolina coast and first rake the nooks and
bays of Pamlico Sound. There was no intention of offering Blackbeard
fair odds in battle. With men and vessels enough it was resolved to
exterminate him, like ridding a house of rats or other vermin. If he had
gone out to sea, then the pursuers would wait and watch for his return
to his favorite haunts in these waters. There was every reason to
believe, however, that he was concealed inshore, within easy distance of
his friend Governor Eden.

Failing to find him in Pamlico Sound, it was debated whether to cruise
farther to the southward. Now Master Jack Cockrell and his chum had said
nothing to the officers concerning the treasure in the Cherokee swamp.
They felt bound in honor not to reveal it without the consent of Bill
Saxby and old Trimble Rogers who were partners in the enterprise.
Moreover, Lieutenant Maynard and the Virginia officers would feel bound
to turn the treasure over to the crown or its representatives. Governor
Eden of North Carolina would undoubtedly claim it as found within his
territory and this meant that he would steal most of it for himself.

It thrilled the lads when Colonel Stuart told them that this Provincial
squadron would cruise as far as Cherokee Inlet before working to the
northward again. Information had led the officers to believe that
Blackbeard had lost many men by desertion while his ship lay