p a creek in the harbour where she lay; while the
purser was directed in the meantime to get provisions and stores in
readiness for her. Where a body of disciplined men labour with a will,
a large amount of work can be done in a short time; and thus, before
night set in, we had the _Thisbe_ fitted for sea, provisioned, stored,
and watered. We shipped, likewise, four light guns, and a supply of
small-arms and cutlasses, that we might make sure of mastering the
pirates, in case the plan of taking them by surprise should miscarry.
We were also ordered to take with us our rough clothes, that we might
look as much as possible like merchant seamen. Our shipmates in the
_Harold_ gave us three cheers as we cast off from her side, and, with a
light breeze and a clear sky, stood out of the harbour. The merchants
had left full discretion to Mr Vernon to proceed as he judged best from
the information he might obtain; but they suggested, at the same time,
that he should run through the Greek islands, among which it was
probable the pirate would have gone; and, not finding her there, proceed
to Smyrna, where it was reported one of the pirates had said they were
going. Both Mr Vernon and Adam Stallman had been on shore all day
picking up what information they could. Among other things, they found
that the crew of the _William_ had been very profuse in their
expenditure on shore; and, as if to account for the quantity of cash
they possessed, had said that they had the luck to fall in with an
abandoned vessel. To show, however, how difficult it is for rogues to
agree in a false story, one had said that they had met her in the Bay of
Biscay, and another, inside the Straits, while a third had the audacity
or blind folly to declare that the name was the _Helen_, though the
others gave her different names. As soon as it was known that
suspicions were attached to the crew of the _William_, several tradesmen
came forward to say what they knew about them. One of these gentlemen
said that he thought it rather odd, as I think indeed he might, when one
of the men ordered twenty silk waistcoats of him of different gay
patterns, and paid the price down at once, while another bought six
green coats. I dare say Mr Snip charged him a full price. He declared
that he had not sufficient reason to give any information to the police
about the matter, as seamen were curious fellows, and sometimes fond of
displaying fine clothes. Another had spent