makin' prisoners o' all the strongest and
most likely-lookin' men and women--with a good sprinklin' o' childer,
too--and cuttin' out the Portingal caravels wherever we found 'em. Ah!
that work o' boardin' and cuttin' out the Portingals! It was fine and
excitin', and suited Cap'n Drake and Mr Saint Leger a sight better than
nagur huntin'. They was always the first to come forward for such work,
and never was two men so happy as they was when news was brought of a
caravel bein' near at hand.

"Three months we stayed on that there terrible Guinea coast, and durin'
that time we got together over five hunderd nagurs, besides takin',
plunderin', and burnin' more than a dozen caravels. Then, wi' pretty
nigh half of our company down wi' fevers and calentures taken on the
Coast and in the rivers, we all sailed for the Spanish Main. A matter
o' seven weeks it took us to cross to t'other side o' the world,
although we had fair winds and fine weather all the way, as is usual on
the voyage from Africa to the Indies. Then we arrived at a lovely
island called Margarita, one o' the Spaniards' Indian possessions, where
I was told they find pearls. Here we found several storehouses crammed
with food of all sorts and great casks o' wine intended for distribution
among the ports of the Spanish Main; and here our admiral decided to re-
victual the fleet. And mun did, too, in spite of the objections o' the
Spaniards, who vowed that they had no food to spare. We took from 'em
all that we wanted, but we paid for it in good Portingal goold, seein'
that we was no pirates, but good honest traders.

"Then we sailed westward again, past La Guaira and the great wall of
mountains that tower aloft behind it far into the deep blue sky. On the
third day after leavin' Margarita we sailed into as snug a little
harbour as you'd wish to see. And there we stayed for a matter o' two
months, landin' our sick and our blacks, clearin' out our ships' holds,
cleanin', careenin', scrapin', paintin', overhaulin', and refittin'
generally, the blacks helpin' us willin'ly enough when we made 'em
understand what we wanted done.

"By the time that we'd a done everything that we wanted to, our sick had
got well again--all except four what died in spite of us--and then we
put to sea again, coastin' along the Main and callin' in here and there
to trade our blacks for goold and pearls. But at first the trade
weren't at all good; and bimeby the admiral lost pati