s dozen men and, insinuating his hand in the crook of the
Spanish captain's arm, led that individual below to the main deck, where
they found a few Spanish seamen still hanging about between the great
culverins, apparently quite uncertain what to do, or whether they ought
to do anything. The Spanish captain spoke sharply to them; apparently
he was very much surprised and disappointed to find so few men there,
and seemed to be asking them where the rest were, for by way of reply
the seamen said something and pointed to the hatchways. The Spanish
captain relieved his feelings by stamping on the deck, grinding his
teeth, and indulging in a good deal of Castilian profanity; after which
he seemed to give certain instructions, the result of which was that the
men laid down their arms and went up on deck, one of their number having
previously gone to the main hatchway and shouted something down it which
caused the remainder of the crew to come up from below and surrender
their weapons.

It took Dick and his party about half an hour to explore thoroughly the
interior of the galleon--which they discovered was named the _Santa
Margaretta_--and satisfy themselves that none of the Spanish crew were
lurking below in hiding; and when at length they returned to the upper
deck to report, they found that Bascomb and Winter had mustered the
surviving Spaniards forward on the fore deck, under a strong guard,
while the English had lowered one of the galleon's boats and in her had
boarded and captured a small coasting felucca, which they were at that
moment towing alongside their bigger prize. This, Bascomb explained, he
had done with the object of getting rid of his Spanish prisoners, whom
he proposed to send ashore in the felucca, having no fancy for keeping
them aboard the prize, where they would need a strong body of the
English to maintain an efficient guard over them. And, with the
released prisoners, he proposed to send ashore a letter to the Governor
of the city, demanding the immediate surrender of Captain Marshall, safe
and sound, together with payment of the sum of five hundred thousand
ducats ransom for the city, failure of either condition to be followed
by the sack and destruction of the place.

"But," objected Dick, "you can neither speak nor write Spanish; and it
may very well be that there will be nobody in Cartagena who understands
English; in that case we shall be at a deadlock, and how will you manage
then?"

"Tha