explain yourself; I cannot imagine what reason I have to be afraid
of any of the company’s ships, or Dutch ships. I am no interloper.
What can they have to say to me?” – “Well, sir,” says he, with a
smile, “if you think yourself secure you must take your chance; but
take my advice, if you do not put to sea immediately, you will the
very next tide be attacked by five longboats full of men, and
perhaps if you are taken you will be hanged for a pirate, and the
particulars be examined afterwards. I thought, sir,” added he, “I
should have met with a better reception than this for doing you a
piece of service of such importance.” – “I can never be
ungrateful,” said I, “for any service, or to any man that offers me
any kindness; but it is past my comprehension what they should have
such a design upon me for: however, since you say there is no time
to be lost, and that there is some villainous design on hand
against me, I will go on board this minute, and put to sea
immediately, if my men can stop the leak; but, sir,” said I, “shall
I go away ignorant of the cause of all this? Can you give me no
further light into it?”
“I can tell you but part of the story, sir,” says he; “but I have a
Dutch seaman here with me, and I believe I could persuade him to
tell you the rest; but there is scarce time for it. But the short
of the story is this – the first part of which I suppose you know
well enough – that you were with this ship at Sumatra; that there
your captain was murdered by the Malays, with three of his men; and
that you, or some of those that were on board with you, ran away
with the ship, and are since turned pirates. This is the sum of
the story, and you will all be seized as pirates, I can assure you,
and executed with very little ceremony; for you know merchant ships
show but little law to pirates if they get them into their power.”
– “Now you speak plain English,” said I, “and I thank you; and
though I know nothing that we have done like what you talk of, for
I am sure we came honestly and fairly by the ship; yet seeing such
a work is doing, as you say, and that you seem to mean honestly, I
will be upon my guard.” – “Nay, sir,” says he, “do not talk of
being upon your guard; the best defence is to be out of danger. If
you have any regard for your life and the lives of all your men,
put to sea without fail at high-water; and as you have a whole tide
before you, you will be gone too far out before they can come down;
for they will come away at high-water, and as they have twenty
miles to come, you will get near two hours of them by the
difference of the tide, not reckoning the length of the way:
besides, as they are only boats, and not ships, they will not
venture to follow you far out to sea, especially if it blows.” –
“Well,” said I, “you have been very kind in this: what shall I do
to make you amends?” – “Sir,” says he, “you may not be willing to
make me any amends, because you may not be convinced of the truth
of it. I will make an offer to you: I have nineteen months’ pay
due to me on board the ship -, which I came out of England in; and
the Dutchman that is with me has seven months’ pay due to him. If
you will make good our pay to us we will go along with you; if you
find nothing more in it we will desire no more; but if we do
convince you that we have saved your lives, and the ship, and the
lives of all the men in her, we will leave the rest to you.”
I consented to this readily, and went immediately on board, and the