as if his career was ended and his heart broken. Ben
Greenway said no more to comfort him, but at that moment he himself was
the happiest man on the Caribbean Sea. He seated himself in the little
dirty cabin, and his soul saw visions. He saw his master, deprived of
all his belongings, and with them of every taint of piracy, and put on
shore, accompanied, of course, by his faithful servant. He saw a ship
sail, perhaps soon, perhaps later, for Jamaica; he saw the blithe
Mistress Kate, her soul no longer sorrowing for an erring father, come
on board that vessel and sail with him for good old Bridgetown. He saw
everything explained, everything forgotten. He saw before the dear old
family a life of happiness--perhaps he saw the funeral of Madam
Bonnet--and, better than all, he saw the pirate dead, the good man
revived again.

To be sure, he did not see Dickory Charter returning to his old home
with his mother, for he could not know what Blackbeard was going to do
with that young fellow; but as Dickory had thought of him when he had
escaped with Kate from the Revenge, so thought he now of Dickory. There
were so many other important things which bore upon the situation that
he was not able even to consider the young fellow.

It did not take very long for a man of practical devilishness, such as
Blackbeard was, to finish the business which had called him away, and he
soon reappeared in the cabin.

"Ho there! good Sir Nightcap--an I may freely call you that since now I
own you, uniform, cocked hat, title, and everything else--don't cry
yourself to sleep like a baby when its toys are taken away from it, but
wake up. I have a bit of liking for you, and I believe that that is
because you are clean. Not having that virtue myself, I admire it the
more in others, and I thank you from my inmost soul--wherever that may
be--for having provided such comely quarters and such fair
accommodations for me while I shall please to sail the Revenge. But I
shall not condemn you to idleness and cankering thoughts, my bold
blusterer, my terror of the sea, my harrier of the coast, my flaunter of
the Jolly Roger washed clean in the tub with soap; I shall give you
work to do which shall better suit you than the troublesome trade you've
been trying to learn. You write well and read, I know that, my good Sir
Nightcap; and, moreover, you are a fair hand at figures. I have great
work before me in landing and selling the fine cargoes you have brought
me,