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Moreover, in his hands were the lives of Joe Hawkridge and those other marooned seamen, as he had every reason to believe. It was a grave responsibility to be thrust upon a raw lad in his teens who had been so carefully nurtured by his fretful guardian of an uncle, Mr. Peter Arbuthnot Forbes.
"And are riding hard," added Capt. Asbury, who liked the young man. "I ride hard," replied Hawkridge, gravely, "because there is need of it; I was looking for you." "And why looking for me?" inquired the captain. "Because you and your men are in great peril." "Ah. What might be its nature?" "From the rustlers."
Little the worse for his watery pilgrimage, Joe Hawkridge explained at his leisure: "Ned Rackham took the others away in the snow, as I tell ye, Cap'n Bonnet, and there was I in the doleful dumps. Prayers get answered and miracles do happen, for next day there come a-floatin' to the beach a cask full of grub and water.
AN hour before dawn the anchor was aweigh and the Royal James drifted ahead like a shadow, in between the outer islands where the fairway was wide and safe. Her gun-ports were open and every man was alertly at his station. It was a silent ship excepting when an officer passed an order along. Joe Hawkridge began to feel more sanguine of winning against odds.
"I pray my keel scrapes soon," spluttered the waterlogged Hawkridge as he kicked himself along in a final effort. Huzza, their feet touched the soft ooze and they fell over stumps and rotted trunks buried under the surface. Scratched and beplastered with mud, they crawled out in muck which gripped them to the knees, and roosted like buzzards upon the butt of a prostrate live-oak.
It was foolish to assume that the dozen seamen who had been left to keep the ship would attempt resisting Blackbeard's mob of pirates all primed for slaughter. When quietude seemed to reign all through the ship Joe Hawkridge whispered this opinion: "If his fancy was to deal with 'em later, he would pitch the lot down here in the hold. Failing that, Jack, he has offered 'em the chance to enlist.
They have seen me about the decks with Joe Hawkridge as my boon comrade. 'Tis their fancy that I am likely to enlist." "Well said, Jack," was the skipper's compliment. "Yes, you might make your way for'ard without interference, but the fo'castle hatches are stoutly guarded. Again, should my brave fellows find exit, they are weaponless, unready.
And now the ship's officers drove the men to their work but they were less abusive than usual. They seemed to reflect Blackbeard's milder humor and it was manifest that they wished to avoid the crew's resentment. Joe Hawkridge was puzzled and began to ferret it out among his friends who were trustworthy.
"You can see that we are going to be favoured with a very dark night, and Vesey is so anxious to befriend me that I am sure he will find the way, though Hawkridge and the captain are less confident." "But suppose they recognize you?" "They can't do that in the darkness, and my rustling friend will not draw me into a peril that is greater than that of staying here." "I feel as do Mr.
Jack dodged into the cabin to watch the sand trickle into the bottom of the glass. Never was a half-hour so long in passing. A yell from Joe Hawkridge recalled him to the deck. He listened but heard no distant pistol shots or the hoarse uproar of men in mortal combat. Joe raised a warning hand and told him to stand still. There came a faint splash.
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