for when she had laid-to and
lowered a boat, it was immediately filled with disorderly fellows, who
sang and shouted as they pulled across to us, and swarmed in on our deck
with bare cutlasses, cursing loudly. Their leader was a horrible
villain, with his face blacked and his whiskers curled in ringlets;
Teach his name; a most notorious pirate. He stamped about the deck,
raving and crying out that his name was Satan, and his ship was called
Hell. There was something about him like a wicked child or a half-witted
person, that daunted me beyond expression. I whispered in the ear of
Ballantrae that I would not be the last to volunteer, and only prayed
God they might be short of hands; he approved my purpose with a nod.

"Bedad," said I to Master Teach, "if you are Satan, here is a devil for
ye."

The word pleased him; and (not to dwell upon these shocking incidents)
Ballantrae and I and two others were taken for recruits, while the
skipper and all the rest were cast into the sea by the method of walking
the plank. It was the first time I had seen this done; my heart died
within me at the spectacle; and Master Teach or one of his acolytes (for
my head was too much lost to be precise) remarked upon my pale face in a
very alarming manner. I had the strength to cut a step or two of a jig,
and cry out some ribaldry, which saved me for that time; but my legs
were like water when I must get down into the skiff among these
miscreants; and what with my horror of my company and fear of the
monstrous billows, it was all I could do to keep an Irish tongue and
break a jest or two as we were pulled aboard. By the blessing of God,
there was a fiddle in the pirate ship, which I had no sooner seen than I
fell upon; and in my quality of crowder I had the heavenly good luck to
get favour in their eyes. "Crowding Pat" was the name they dubbed me
with: and it was little I cared for a name so long as my skin was whole.

What kind of a pandemonium that vessel was I cannot describe, but she
was commanded by a lunatic, and might be called a floating Bedlam.
Drinking, roaring, singing, quarrelling, dancing, they were never all
sober at one time; and there were days together when, if a squall had
supervened, it must have sent us to the bottom; or if a King's ship had
come along, it would have found us quite helpless for defence. Once or
twice we sighted a sail, and, if we were sober enough, overhauled it,
God forgive us! and if we were all too dr