break his head.

Black Paul was a powerful aid in the preservation of order among the
disorderly. Conflicts between factions of the crew were greatly feared
by him, for the schemes which happy chance had caused to now revolve
themselves in his master mind would have been sadly interfered with by
want of concord among the men of the Revenge.

Captain Bonnet, followed at a short distance by Dickory and Ben, was
interested in everything he saw. A man of intelligence and considerable
reading, it pleased him to note the peculiarities of the people of a
country which he had never visited. The houses, the shops, and even the
attire of the citizens, were novel and well worthy of his observation.
He looked over garden walls, he gazed out upon the fields which were
visible from the upper end of the street, and when he saw a man who was
able to command his speech he asked him questions.

There was a little church, standing back from the thoroughfare, its door
wide open, and this was an instant attraction to the pirate captain, who
opened the gate of the yard and walked up to it.

"That I should ever again see Master Stede Bonnet goin' into a church
was something I didna dream o', Dickory," said Ben Greenway, "it will
be a meeracle, an' I doubt if he dares to pass the door wi' his sins an'
his plunders on his head."

But Captain Bonnet did pass the door, reverentially removing his hat, if
not his crimes, as he entered. In but few ways it resembled the houses
of worship to which he had been accustomed in his earlier days, and he
gazed eagerly from side to side as he slowly walked up the central
aisle. Dickory was about to follow him, but he was suddenly jerked back
by the Scotchman, who forcibly drew him away from the door.

"Look ye," whispered Ben, speaking quickly, under great excitement,
"look ye, Dickory, Heaven has sent us our chance. He's in there safe an'
sound, an' the good angels will keep his mind occupied. I'll quietly
close the door an' turn the key, then I'll slip around to the back, an'
if there be anither door there, I'll stop it some way, if it be not
already locked. Now, Dickory boy, make your heels fly! I noticed, before
we got here, that some o' the men were makin' their way to the boats;
dash ye amang them, Dickory, an' tell them that the day they've been
longin' for, ever since they set foot on the vessel, has now come. Their
captain is a prisoner, an' they are free to hurry on board their vessel
an' carr