and, near New York.

Cruising next off the coast of Carolina, Bonnet took a brace of prizes,
but began to have trouble with his unruly crew, who, seeing that their
captain knew nothing whatever of sea affairs, took advantage of the fact
and commenced to get out of hand. Unluckily for Bonnet, he at this time
met with the famous Captain Teach, or Blackbeard, and the latter, quickly
appreciating how matters stood, ordered the Major to come aboard his own
ship, while he put his lieutenant, Richards, to command Bonnet's vessel.
The poor Major was most depressed by this undignified change in his
affairs, until Blackbeard lost his ship in Topsail Inlet, and finding
himself at a disadvantage, promptly surrendered to the King's proclamation
and allowed Bonnet to reassume command of his own sloop. But Major Bonnet
had been suffering from qualms of conscience latterly, so he sailed to
Bath Town in North Carolina, where he, too, surrendered to the Governor
and received his certificate of pardon. Almost at once news came of war
being declared between England and France with Spain, so Bonnet hurried
back to Topsail, and was granted permission to take back his sloop and
sail her to St. Thomas's Island, to receive a commission as a privateer
from the French Governor of that island. But in the meanwhile Teach had
robbed everything of any value out of Bonnet's ship, and had marooned
seventeen of the crew on a sandy island, but these were rescued by the
Major before they died of starvation. Just as the ship was ready to sail,
a bumboat came alongside to sell apples and cider to the sloop's crew, and
from these they got an interesting piece of news. They learnt that Teach,
with a crew of eighteen men, was at that moment lying at anchor in
Ocricock Inlet. The Major, longing to revenge the insult he had suffered
from Blackbeard, and his crew remembering how he had left them to die on a
desert island, went off in search of Teach, but failed to find him. Stede
Bonnet having received his pardon in his own name, now called himself
Captain Thomas and again took to piracy, and evidently had benefited by
his apprenticeship with Blackbeard, for he was now most successful, taking
many prizes off the coast of Virginia, and later in Delaware Bay.

Bonnet now sailed in a larger ship, the _Royal James_, so named from
feelings of loyalty to the Crown. But she proved to be very leaky, and the
pirates had to take her to the mouth of Cape Fear River for repai