even her old friends would not have
known her.

It should have been said that most of the pirates had been hung at Port
Royal, as people in those days thought nothing of stringing up a couple
of dozen of human beings at a time without any very strict examination
as to their guilt. Two had escaped by turning King's evidence, on
condition of their acting as pilots to the squadron in search of their
comrades, should they be required to do so.

Captain Benbow considered that he should be most likely to meet with the
piratical fleet by sailing to the westward. Accordingly, the _Ruby_ and
_Pearl_ stood in that direction, and, having a fair breeze, in a short
time got round the western point, and entered the Channel between
Jamaica and Cuba. They had a long cruise, however, without sighting the
pirates, or falling in with any vessel which had escaped from them. The
Captain began to fear that by some means they had heard of him, and were
keeping out of his way. He determined, should he fall in with them, to
sink all he could come up with, rather than allow the rest to escape.
He had been at sea a month, when not far from the spot where the pirate
fleet had before been, he sighted one evening, soon after dark, bright
flames ascending from the ocean. Captain Benbow immediately made a
signal to Roger to stand on in that direction as fast as sails could
carry him, while the _Ruby_ followed.

"What do you think those flames come from?" asked Roger of Bates.

"From a burning ship, most probably one set on fire by the pirates,"
answered Bates. "They little thought we were so near them. We will
summon the pilot, Jacques Tronson, and learn what he thinks about the
matter. He knows that he is to be shot through the head if he misleads
us. Besides which, I think he has seen the error of his ways, and
wishes to be honest."

Tronson was summoned, and acknowledged that he considered it the work of
his late friends. Probably they were not far off, engaged in stowing
away the cargo of the burning ship.

"Then we will try and get up alongside one of them before the _Ruby_
appears, and they take to flight," said Roger.

Tronson engaged, so far as he could, to enable them to do this. The
_Pearl_ stood on. Unfortunately the flames of the burning ship, falling
on her white canvas, would betray her approach to the pirates, who at
present, however, were not likely to have observed her. Suddenly, as
the _Pearl_ was about a couple