rt, his
son, was but a penniless hanger-on at the royal court; the manor of
Lorne a fire-gutted wreckage.

"Rupert followed James Stuart from England when that monarch became a
fugitive to escape the wrath of his subjects. And the Marquess of Lorne
sank to the role of pot-house bully in the back lanes of Paris."

"And then?" prompted Val.

"And then a miracle occurred. Rupert was employed by his master on a
secret mission to London, and there the Luck came again into his hands.
Perhaps by murder. But he died miserably enough of a heavy cold got by
lying in a ditch to escape Dutch William's soldiers."

"'So is this perilous Luck come again into our hands. Then did I
persevere to mend the fortunes of my house.' That's what Rupert's son
Richard wrote about the Luck," Ricky recalled. "Richard, the first
pirate."

"He did a good job of fortune mending," commented Val dryly. "Married
one of the wealthiest of the French king's wards and sailed for the
French West Indies all in a fortnight. Turned pirate with the approval
of the French and took to lifting the cargoes of other pirates."

"I'll bet that most of his success was due to the Lady Richanda,"
observed Ricky. "She sailed with him dressed in man's clothes. Remember
that miniature of her that we saw in New York, the one in the museum?
All the 'Black' Ralestones are supposed to look like her. Hear that,
Val?"

"At least it was the Lady Richanda who persuaded her husband to settle
ashore," said Rupert. "She was personally acquainted with Bienville and
Iberville who were proposing to rule the Mississippi valley for France
by building a city near the mouth of the river. And 'Black Dick,' the
pirate, obtained a grant of land lying along Lake Borgne and this bayou.
Although the city was not begun until 1724, this house was started in
1710 by workmen imported from England.

"The house of an exile," Rupert continued slowly. "Richard Ralestone was
born in England, but he left there in his tenth year. In spite of the
price on his head, he crept back to Devon in 1709 to see Lorne for the
last time. And it was from the rude sketches he made of ruined Lorne
that Pirate's Haven was planned."

"Why, we saw those sketches!" Ricky's eyes shone with excitement. "Do
you remember, Val?"

Her brother nodded. "Must have cost him plenty to do it," he replied.
"Richard had an immense personal fortune of his own gained from piracy,
and he spared no expense in building. The larger par