cost, so they compounded with him,
seeing that the admiral disdained to treat, for the sum of 20,000 pieces
of eight and 500 cattle. The gold was paid, and the cattle duly counted
over, killed, and salted; but Morgan did not purpose to release his
prisoners until his ship was safely past the fort. He told the Maracaibo
citizens that they would not be sent ashore until the danger of the
passage was removed. With this word he again set sail to attempt to pass
the narrows. He found his ship still anchored near the wreck, but in
more prosperous sort than he had left her. Her men had brought up 15,000
pieces of eight, with a lot of gold and silver plate, "as hilts of
swords and other things," besides "great quantity of pieces of eight"
which had "melted and run together" in the burning of the vessel.

Morgan now made a last appeal to the Spanish admiral, telling him that
he would hang his prisoners if the fortress fired on him as he sailed
past. The Spanish admiral sent an answer to the prisoners, who had
begged him to relent, informing them that he would do his duty, as he
wished they had done theirs. Morgan heard the answer, and realised that
he would have to use some stratagem to escape the threatened danger. He
made a dividend of the plunder before he proceeded farther, for he
feared that some of the fleet might never win to sea, and that the
captains of those which escaped might be tempted to run away with their
ships. The spoils amounted to 250,000 pieces of eight, as at Porto
Bello, though in addition to this gold there were numbers of slaves and
heaps of costly merchandise.

When the booty had been shared he put in use his stratagem. He embarked
his men in the canoas, and bade them row towards the shore "as if they
designed to land." When they reached the shore they hid under the
overhanging boughs "till they had laid themselves down along in the
boats." Then one or two men rowed the boats back to the ships, with the
crews concealed under the thwarts. The Spaniards in the fortress watched
the going and returning of the boats. They could not see the stratagem,
for the boats were too far distant, but they judged that the pirates
were landing for a night attack. The boats plied to and from the shore
at intervals during the day. The anxious Spaniards resolved to prepare
for the assault by placing their great guns on the landward side of the
fortress. They cleared away the scrub on that side, in order to give
their gunne