--waiting hopelessly for they knew
not what bitter, degrading end. One night had changed them from happy
wives, honored mothers, light-hearted, innocent girls, to wrecks of
womanhood. The light of life was dead in them. They were dumb and
unprotesting. The worst had come upon them; there was nothing of sorrow
and shame they had not tasted. What mattered anything else? Their
husbands, fathers, children, lovers had gone. Homes were broken up;
their property was wasted, and not even honor was left. They prayed to
die. It was all that was left to them.

The gates of the town and forts were closed and some slight attempt was
made to institute a patrol of the walls, although the guard that was
kept was negligent to the point of contempt. As no enemy was apprehended
Morgan did not rigorously insist upon strict watch. Many of the
buccaneers were still sodden with liquor and could be of no service
until they were sobered. They were dragged to the barracks, drenched
with water, and left to recover as best they could.

Fortune favored them in one other matter, too, in that late in the
afternoon a handsome frigate bringing despatches from Carthagena, ran in
and anchored in the roadstead. Her officers at once came ashore to pay
their respects to the Commandante of the port and forward their papers
to the Viceroy. Before they suspected anything, they were seized and
ruthlessly murdered. To take possession of the frigate thereafter was a
work of no special difficulty. The crew were disposed of as their
officers had been, and the buccaneers rejoiced greatly at the good luck
that had brought them so fine a ship. On the next morning Morgan
intended to march toward Caracas, whence, after plundering that town and
exacting a huge ransom for the lives of those he spared, he would lead
his band back to La Guayra, embark on the frigate, and then bear away
for the Isthmus.

During the day, Hornigold, whose wound incapacitated him from active
movement, remained in command of the fort with special instructions to
look after Mercedes. By Morgan's orders she and her companion were
removed to the best room in the fort and luxuriously provided for. He
had not discovered the escape of Alvarado, partly because he took no
manner of interest in that young man and only kept him alive to
influence the girl, and partly because Hornigold had assured him that
the prisoner was taking his confinement very hardly, that he was mad
with anger, in a raging fever