and they'll _insure your cargo
against seizure by their friends_! Mark that; their presence aboard
the _Donna Philippa_ will assure her the polite and friendly attentions
of every English captain on the high seas. See the two gentlemen in my
presence, and find out their value for yourself. Were I in your place
I should fall down and thank the Mother of God for sending me such help
in my hour of need."

The captain of the galleon pondered the matter. Hernando pressed his
views upon him, and the skipper of the coaster seconded him. Morgan
and Jeffreys were brought aboard. They readily offered themselves as
working passengers; expressed themselves as willing to take an oath of
fidelity to the captain if he would take another one to them; and
assured him that no English captain would rob him of a jot of his
cargo, or treat him other than as a friend and brother, whilst they
were with him to tell of his kindness to them.

The bargain was struck. Morgan, Jeffreys, and the five sailors were
duly entered on the ship's books, owning to the Spanish names bestowed
on them by Hernando. The two gentlemen went as passengers, with a
sailor each as servant; the other three took their places amongst the
crew. Two of them had been long enough in the galleys to speak Spanish
as well as they spoke their mother tongue. They cleared Santiago
safely towards the end of January.

The _Donna Philippa_ was called upon to pay some penalty for her
rashness in crossing the Atlantic in winter. Again and again did the
tempests strike her, shattering some of her timbers, swamping her with
terrific seas, and driving her for days out of her proper course. It
is probable that the greater skill of her English sailors and
passengers alone saved her from destruction. They were more accustomed
to the stormy northern seas than were their Spanish comrades, and they
set an example of cool courage and endurance that saved the galleon
from worse disasters than those that actually befell her. If he met no
English corsairs, the Spanish captain had reason to congratulate
himself on his wisdom in accepting Hernando's advice in Santiago.
Needless to say, the ship was never becalmed, and the howling winds
that drove her out of her way would often moderate, turn round, and
send her bowling homewards. The skipper hoped to make the Azores as
his first land, but a south-westerly wind springing up in early March
and continuing for some days, he held on dire