they went
together to the main cabin. Bob's father, Mr. Ghent, the Captain, and
Job Howland settled themselves comfortably over long pipes and glasses
of port, and prepared to hear the boys' story. Jeremy, bashful in such
fine company, was persuaded to recount his adventures from the time Job
had gone over the side till the kidnapped Delaware boy had come aboard.
Then Bob took up the tale and told with much spirit of the storm, the
trip up the Chesapeake and the subsequent pursuit of the _Francis_ off
the Capes. From this point on the two lads told the story together,
eagerly interrupting each other to put in some incident forgotten for
the moment. When they came to the discovery of Pharaoh Daggs' chart, Job
sat up with a jerk. "I always thought he knew!" he exclaimed. "Jeremy,
lad, could ye draw me a picture of what 'twas like?" The boy readily
consented, and given a piece of paper, proceeded to set down, from his
memory of the outline and from the general measurements he had taken, a
very fair copy of the original. The ex-buccaneer leaned over him as he
drew, and shook his head doubtfully as the work went on. "No," he said
when the boy had finished, "I can't recall such a bay just this minute.
An' as there was nothin' on it to tell where it might be, I don't know
as there's anything for us to do. Like as not it's on some little island
as isn't set down, so 'twould be scant use to look over the ship's
charts. Still, I'll try it." A half-day of poring over the maps produced
no result. There were bays large and small that resembled the one Jeremy
had drawn, but none closely enough to warrant the belief that it was the
same. "Well," remarked Job as he put away the charts, "Daggs'll never
live to reach his bay. He'll swing on Charles Town Dock, an' I mistake
not." But in that saying at least the ex-pirate proved himself no
prophet.

The light wind held and the _Indian Queen_ made reasonable speed down
the coast for nearly two days. Then, after drifting under short sail all
night, she made in with the dawn, past the small island which nearly a
century and a half later was to be the scene of a great war's beginning,
crept up against the tide till noon and anchored off the thriving port
of Charles Town. Mr. Curtis and Job went ashore in the cutter, as soon
as all was snug aboard. On landing they went directly to the Governor's
house.

Governor Johnson was at home and gladly welcomed the Delaware merchant,
who was an old ac