hedral. Within an hour
the town had been stripped clean of its gold and jewels and the
scoundrels had again joined forces at the wharves. Only the need of
absolute silence saved the town from a carnival of fire and murder.

It was by this time in the small hours of a dark, moonless night. The
pirates loaded the treasure into boats and pulled quietly for the _Santa
Theresa_, a transport which lay like a black hulk in the harbor.

The first boat was challenged by a sentinel on board, but Lobardi gave
the countersign which they had forced from the leader of the treasure
convoy.

"_Muy bien_," answered the sentry, and he at once moved away to call the
captain of the marines.

As that officer came sleepily to the deck a half dozen figures swarmed
over the side of the ship. He gave a cry, the last he ever uttered. A
knife hurtling through the dark was buried to the hilt in his throat.
Simultaneously one of the men on guard let out his death shriek and the
other fled down the hatchway to the quarters of the men.

The first rush of the troopers to the deck was met by a volley that
mowed them down. Before they could recover, the pirates were upon them
with cutlases. Taken by surprise, hemmed in by the narrow hatchway, the
soldiers made a poor defense. Some were pursued and cut down, others
escaped by swimming to the wharves. Those who surrendered were flung
into a boat and ordered ashore.

Captain Rogers worked the brig out of the harbor and set her nose to the
north. There was need of haste, for the ship's consort was expected in a
day or two. That there would be a pursuit nobody doubted.

Now occurred a state of affairs to be accounted the most strange were it
not the most natural in the world. While the plot had been fomenting,
and during its execution, these scurvy fellows had been of one mind,
amenable to discipline, and entirely loyal to each other.

The thing had been in the wind a month, yet not one of them had breathed
a word in betrayal. But no sooner had they won success than dissensions
broke out. They were jealous of their officers, suspicious of each
other.

Men whispered together in corners, and others scowled at them in
distrust. They grew unruly, were soon ripe for mutiny.

To make matters worse, the wines and liquors aboard were made too free.
It was not long before the cutthroats were in a debauch that threatened
to last as long as the rum. Fights grew frequent. Within a week one man
was buried and