Mór Jókai

“ The pirates gazed doubtfully into Barthelemy's face, uncertain whether he was jesting or in earnest.
"This will afford an opportunity to show whose heart is boldest!" said Barthelemy, "each one of us must cope with a hundred men, and each individual must perform every minute a miracle at which he himself will afterwards wonder."
"Captain," said Asphlant, after a long pause, "that borders on the impossible."
"A minute ago you were all boasting of your hard hearts; Moody doesn't seem to have interpreted your feelings correctly when he said that the pirate should fear nothing. ”

“ Nothing was heard at present of Barthelemy. The English and Dutch agencies were perfectly aware that his ships were anchored in the harbor of Cape Corso. Who would venture to tempt Providence by putting to sea in such weather? The heart of the boldest pirate trembles when he sees sky and water transformed into darkness, illumined only by flashes of lightning. It would be a devil and not a man who, amid this illumination, would risk a battle in the midst of peals of thunder and the howling of the gale. ”

“ Swiftly as the wine poured into their throats, songs and laughter poured out, the wildest shouts of revelry which buccaneers ever uttered; even the English captain was obliged to drink his own wine, and the more he swallowed, the more firmly he began to believe that he himself was the pirate chief who had captured and plundered a ship, and advised the men to hang each other, being affected in precisely the opposite manner from Scudamore, who, under the influence of the wine, believed himself an honest man who had been taken prisoner by bandits ”

“ The corsairs burst into a loud roar of laughter and pressed closer to the ship, whose defenders, terrified by the sight of the fierce, laughing faces, discharged their guns without taking correct aim, not even doing the rigging of the Sea Devil the slightest damage. The grappling irons of the latter were already flung on her foe, and the next instant the savage pirates sprang on deck, so overwhelming the crew by their furious onslaught that, unheeding their officers' commands, they flung down their weapons and leaped into the sea. ”

“ The rain was pouring, black and white stormy petrels fluttered around the vessel, and ever and anon the waves tossed aloft one of the sharks swimming around the ship, which looked down greedily a moment, with its cold, fixed eyes, at the trembling sailors.
Every man had his hands full; in the midst stood Captain Trahern; the boldest of the crew were in the rigging, trying to secure the sails; others were attempting to rig a jury mast in place of one which had been carried away. ”

“ The main-mast was shattered and fell with all the rigging, into the sea.
They were lost. They could fight no longer.
"Throw the flag into the water that it may not fall into the hands of the enemy!" gasped Skyrme, only half of whose gigantic body remained. "Go to the powder room and fire among the kegs!"
Five pirates, with loaded pistols, instantly leaped below, and at the end of a minute, with a roar like thunder, a cloud of smoke rose into the air; otherwise there was no harm done. There was not powder enough to shatter the ship. ”

“ Are we members of the Inquisition, that we seek to learn truth by torture? No, my friends; let no one have the right to say that the pirates use the tools of the auto-da-fé! Should not we, who call ourselves the heroes of the free sea, honor freedom? If Captain Rolls will not reveal the hiding-place in his vessel we will take her into port, pull every plank apart, and find the silver without committing a deed which would dishonor us. ”

“ Moody did not utter a syllable in reply, but hastily threw off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, loosed his collar and, with sparkling eyes, eagerly looked about for a weapon.
"Give him arms," said Barthelemy; "which will you have, pistol or sabre?"
"Give me a sword," gasped Moody hoarsely, "we shall be nearer each other."
"Make room for this brave man, lads; keep out of the reach of his arm, for he'll strike at any one. Excuse our fighting in your ship, Captain Rolls, but satisfaction must be given in the presence of those who witnessed the offence. Well, Moody, are you ready? ”

“ If we meet no ship for two days, we will have a true pirate banquet; whoever draws the fatal lot will yield us his body for food, his blood for drink. We are supplied for forty days; those who survive will inherit our need of vengeance. Forward!"
The savage shouts of the pirates echoed far over the waves as they boldly steered toward the open sea, and that very day they met two well-armed sloops coming from the island of Defrada.
The buccaneers were thirsting for carnage. ”

“ With Barthelemy, the moving spirit of the pirates fled. Throwing down their weapons, they surrendered. No man knew exactly what he was doing; they sank like a headless body.
Scudamore was the only one who thought of anything. He recognized Rolls on the other ship and, seizing a lighted slow-match, rushed to the powder magazine, but met Henry Glasby standing with a drawn sword at the door.
"What are you doing here?" he shrieked.
"Keeping you back," replied Glasby, wrenching the match from his hand and stamping out the light.
"Oho! Asphlant, Moody, here!" shouted Scudamore. "Here is a traitor. ”

“ These Dutch and Portuguese merchantmen already fear us to such a degree that they almost love us. Let us go where we are not known, among the English and French, whose troops sleep secure in their fortresses along the coast, where Fortune is still a coy maiden who permits her favors to be grasped only by strong hands. Let us win honor and fame in the places where the wise law-makers have written a hundred paragraphs against us in their code of laws, let us tear out the page, and place in its stead the words that there are no laws for the brave. ”

“ Barthelemy coolly awaited the end of the punishment, and then called Scudamore to write his name in the list of pirates. Scudamore seized the pen with eager joy, and wrote his signature with such horrible glee that even the robbers were startled, and then, turning to Captain Rolls, exclaimed scornfully:
"When you reach London, inform the government of my new occupation."
Skyrme laid his huge hand on his shoulder and muttered between his teeth: "You scoundrel, you'll make a first-class devil." ”

“ While the fight had been raging on one side, six pirates in a boat had rowed around her and crept noiselessly to her deck, which they reached just as their captain fell. These men, too, turned to fly, but one of their number, a young, slender fellow, with a bronzed face, thick curling locks, and sparkling eyes, sprang behind Rolls, and, pinioning his arms, wrested his pistol from his hold and forced him to his knees.
"Let no one stir or you are all dead men!" ”

“ The sailors gave no sign of emotion, while Scudamore tried to lock arms with one after another of the pirates, constantly asserting that he had nothing to do with the other party.
"Silence!" ordered Barthelemy sternly. "You will neither scuttle the ship nor hang the crew. That might do for miserable Spanish privateers, pitiful Tunisian cut-throats, but not for us, Englishmen and Frenchmen. Are we to make ourselves ashamed of the name of pirate, admit that it has nothing in common with the word honor? Were not the first inhabitants of Rome also corsairs? ”

“ There can be no discrimination, captain, we need one another, whoever seeks to leave us is a traitor. We want no path for retreat, only for advance. Whoever has once sworn faith, is ours forever, belongs to hell, no power can free him, and if he will not live with us he must die. ”

“ You could not, captain! Whoever is in [Pg 69] love, is always thinking of the future, and longing, sooner or later, to retire to some quiet nook where he can be happy, grow old, and die; he is always gaping at the moon, he scorns his comrades and wants to be better than they. Such a man is not fit for us. Captain, I never loved any one in my life, never, and these stout fellows around you have neither father, mother, wife, nor sweetheart. Such men belong to the sea, men who, when tempests howl and bullets hiss, do not think of quiet homes and loving maidens. ”

“ Already they could see distinctly on the prow the hideous figure of the Sea Devil, and as the pirates recognized one man after another they whispered, gnashing their teeth: "There is so and so!"
[Pg 140] "Keep your weapons ready," Barthelemy commanded in a low tone.
"We need no knives, we'll tear them to pieces with our nails," said Asphlant.
On arriving within gunshot range, the black flag suddenly fluttered from every masthead of the Sea Devil, and a bullet, hissing between the Royal Fortune's sails was the challenge to speak. The deepest silence reigned on Barthelemy's ship. ”

“ Trahern began to scan the vessel through his spy-glass.
"That's no spectre ship," he said after a short pause.
"What else could she be, sir? Would any [Pg 156] mortal man carry sail in such a tempest? See how fast she approaches us! She does not heed the shock of the waves, but flies like a bird."
"That is no spectre ship," the captain repeated, "they are pirates."
"Living devils," muttered Philip.
"It must be Barthelemy," said Trahern. "What a pity that we cannot approach him, we would capture him at once. But who could fight in such a storm?" ”

“ The eyes of all the pirates were fixed upon him. Every one had the firmest belief that nothing was impossible for Barthelemy.
The latter beckoned to Moody and whispered in his ear:
"Old comrade, I need not tell you that this will be the hour of greatest peril which we have ever experienced. We must hold by each other. I have decided to approach the enemy with all sail set, receiving and returning his fire. If he dismasts us, we will try to escape to land; if that fails, we will grapple the enemy and blow both ships into the air." ”

“ The orgy was closed by an illumination furnished by the flames consuming Fletcher's ship, which lighted the whole harbor.
The negroes were chained together in couples, and the harbor swarmed with sharks. Whenever a pair was thrown into the sea the waves around were reddened; at each death shriek Barthelemy drained a glass of wine, muttering: "That is for the cottage in Hispaniola." The negroes were all murdered, but Barthelemy was not yet drunk. ”

“ There are as many customs as there are countries. We should think such proceedings very strange.
The governor's wife was a beautiful [Pg 106] Creole, whose eyes fired men's hearts. Her face was pale, but when the sun of passion glowed upon it, her cheeks at first flushed faintly with the rose-hue of dawn, then deepened into crimson.
To watch the alternation of these tints was the school of madness.
Everyone was affected by the contagion of this frenzy, save her husband—and no one more than the pirate chief Barthelemy. ”

“ Be bold, and with the help of your stout comrades throw them down on our knives; I, a pirate, am worth a hundred negroes; don't disown me."
The negroes, with threatening gestures began to surround Kennedy and his men, who in great terror, tried to defend themselves.
"Brave friends, don't believe the words of that devil, we never saw him; those men are our worst enemies."
"Oh, Kennedy, you disgrace us, how can you disown us when you, too, sail under the black flag? ”

“ He showed mercy to no one, burning or sinking the captured ships, unmoved by submission or entreaties, but if a vessel chanced to have a woman on board, and he heard her voice he would take nothing from the ship and let her pursue her way uninjured.
One day he assembled the crews of both [Pg 126] pirate cruisers on the deck of the Commodore.
"My lads," he said, "life here is beginning to grow wearisome. Fortune offers her favors in vain, there is no one on this side of the world whom we fear; we have plenty of booty, but no fame, for we encounter no foemen worthy of us. ”

“ There is not a single dwelling left standing on the northern coast of Hispaniola.
Drops of cold perspiration stood on Barthelemy's brow, his eyes stared fixedly into vacancy, his fingers clenched the paper convulsively; then, starting up, he flung the Creole aside and dealt the table such a blow with his clenched fist that the pirates, to a man, instantly became silent and stared at him in wonder.
"The carouse is over!" thundered their [Pg 111] leader in a terrible voice. "Hence to the ship, drop toying, and seize your weapons." ”

“ The pirates soon returned, exultingly bearing the chests of silver on their shoulders. Barthelemy ordered them to be placed on board their own vessel, while Scudamore showed the utmost zeal in helping the men, calling each, meanwhile, his dear, kind friend, a compliment which they repaid with all sorts of abusive epithets and the command not to touch their property.
The last to come on deck was Asphlant, who said with great satisfaction: "We shall leave nothing here, captain! The ship is entirely empty. Shall we bore a hole in her bottom? ”

“ Once the young pirate chief ran into the harbor of St. Barthelemy and went on shore with his whole crew. The inhabitants illuminated their city, the governor came to meet him with a band of music [Pg 104] and ordered fireworks in their honor, while the ladies gave them a ball.
The buccaneers knew how to entertain. True, with them dancing was very apt to close with an orgy, and the orgy to end in a brawl; but fair women feared kisses as little as broken heads; for the pirates scattered gold with lavish hands in every direction. ”