r barrel set it afire and laid
the hatch on again, after which I hurried back to my stateroom to await
the result.

"An hour passed. I began to fear that the fire had smothered for want
of air, and wished I had left the hatch open a little. Eight o'clock
came, and I heard the crew beginning to run about, and the Captain's
voice shouting orders. I could tell by the creaking of the ropes in
the pulleys that the flag of Sunne was being hauled down and the black
flag hoisted.

"Then there was a rumbling of heavy guns being pulled about the decks,
and after that the sound of hammering, and I knew they were changing
the name plate.

"Fearing they would lock me in my stateroom I packed as much gold into
my purse as it would hold, distributed the rest throughout my clothing,
and stole out of the cabin to the little passageway, where I lay
crouched behind the stair leading to the deck.

"All at once I heard a cry of 'Fire, fire,' and then a rush of feet
towards the stern.

"Now was my chance. With a bound I rushed on deck, pulled the
tarpaulin cover off the gig and sprang in. It dropped with a splash
into the water. Fortunately the sea was comparatively calm, and the
boat did not upset. I seized the oars and rowed away. I could see the
flames shooting to a height of perhaps twenty feet, and judged from the
space over which they spread that my fire must have crept through part
of the hold. The powder was all loaded in the bow, and was in no great
danger.

"Sharply outlined against the flames the men ran to and fro hauling
water in buckets from the sea. I rowed on and on, thinking only of
getting away from the pirates before they got the fire under control
and missed me, but as I watched I saw that the fire was getting beyond
them and soon I saw that nearly the whole ship was in flames. Suddenly
there was a distant booming sound, and the flames shot into the sky in
all directions, and when the black smoke had cleared away there were
little dots of flame all over the sea, where pieces of the burning
vessel were floating about.

"I was now about two miles away, and could not tell whether any of the
crew had escaped or not. Indeed I do not care, as they had all
murdered scores of innocent men and women in the years they had been
scouring the seas. It seemed to me a fitting thing that they should
have lost their lives by the very powder with which they intended to
kill others.

"By and by all the flaming speck