could as if he had been a pestilence. At a sign from
his taciturn body-servant at the open door that the horse was ready, he
rose to his feet.

"Shall I kill this one now?" asked the maroon.

Morgan looked at the young man reflectively. The tongue of the ensign
clave to the roof of his mouth; the sweat stood out on his forehead; he
could not utter a word from fright. He was bound and trussed so tightly
that he could not make a move, either. His eyes, however, spoke volumes.

"Well," said Sir Henry deliberately, "it would be a pity to kill him--"
he paused; "in a hurry," he added.

"Dead men tell no tales."

"Eh, well, we can take care of that. Just lay him near his friend, lock
the doors when I am gone and set the place on fire. The people are all
out of the house. See they remain away. 'Twill make a hot, glorious
blaze. You know the landing opposite Port Royal?"

The half-breed nodded.

"Meet me there as quick as you can. Lose no time."

"Aye, aye, sah," answered the Carib. "And Lady Morgan, sah?"

"Let her burn with the other two. She is so saintly she may like the
fire, for I am afraid there will be none where she has gone. Good-by,
Master Bradley. You allowed me ten minutes. I take it that this house
will burn slowly at first, so perhaps you may count upon--let us
say--half an hour. I'm generous, you see. Harry Morgan's way! 'Tis a
pity you can't live to take my message to Lord Carlingford. The next
time he sends any one for me let him send men, not fools and--cowards."

"You villain! You cursed, murdering villain!" gasped Bradley at last.

"To our next meeting, Mr. Bradley, and may it be in a cooler place than
you will be in half an hour!"

CHAPTER II

HOW MASTER BENJAMIN HORNIGOLD, THE ONE-EYED, AGREED TO GO WITH HIS OLD
CAPTAIN

Close under the towering walls of the old Spanish fort, now for a
quarter of a century dominated by the English flag, as if seeking
protection from its frowning battlements with their tiers of
old-fashioned guns, stood the Blue Anchor tavern. It had been a famous
resort for the bold spirits of the evil sort who had made Port Royal the
base of their operations in many a desperate sea venture in piracy in
the two decades that had just passed; but times had changed, even if men
had not changed in them.

[Illustration]

The buccaneer had been banished from the Caribbean. Whereupon, with a
circumspect prudence, he had extended his operations into the South
Seas, w