XXII. HOW TO ESCAPE FROM A PIRATE.

Bill Sturdy paused to take a whiff at his pipe, and then resumed his story, in which Charlie manifested no slight interest.

"I was taken all aback," he continued, "when I found it was the Sally Ann I was expected to join hands with the pirates against. I couldn't help thinking of the many pleasant hours I had spent on board that[187] vessel, chatting and spinning yarns with the crew. What to do I didn't know.

"The pirates were already clearing for action, and all seemed as busy as bees. You ought to have seen the eager look there was on their villainous faces, as they watched the Sally Ann, just, for all the world, like a crafty spider, lying in wait for a fat fly.

"Just then the captain came up to where I was standing, and fixed his sharp glance on me. 'Now, my man,' said he, 'here's a chance for you to distinguish yourself. That vessel will no doubt prove a rich prize. Do your duty, like a man, in the coming engagement, and you shall have a good share of the spoils. If you don't, or if you prove false to us, you know your fate.'

"He pointed up to the yard-arm, as much as to say that I should be strung up, if I refused obedience, and I've no doubt he would have kept his word.

"I just answered, 'Aye, aye, sir,' without looking particularly concerned.

"'What will you do to the crew when the ship has fallen into your hands?' I asked.

[188]

"'Send them to Davy Jones's locker,' he said, with no more compunction than if he were speaking of a litter of kittens.

"Well, I felt as if I was in a pretty tight place; some like a man I've heard of somewhere, who was being chased by a buffalo across a large field. At last he came to a precipice a hundred feet high. Of course, it would be death for him to jump off, and it would be just as much death for him to stay where he was. So he just waited till the old buffalo was close to him, and then he dodged out of the way, and the buffalo, who was going at full speed, leaped over the precipice, and was dashed to pieces. Well, I thought whether I couldn't do something of that kind. I knew that, if I shouldn't fight, the pirates would be as good as their word, and kill me, and if I did, I should be guilty of piracy, and be liable to be hung as a pirate, if ever I got caught."

"That was a pretty hard choice," said Charlie.

"So it seemed to me," said Bill. "The only thing I thought of that would do me[189] any good, was to turn upon the pirates some way. If I could only have jumped into the water, unobserved, and swam to the other ship, I would have fought to the last, in their defence."

"Why didn't you do it?"

"Well, my lad, there were two objections. In the first place, the pirates would have seen what I was at, and fired at me in the water. In the second place, the sailors on board the Sally Ann, thinking that I was a pirate, would have suspected I was up to some mischief, and so, most likely, they would have blazed away at me, too. So, between the two fires, I shouldn't have stood a very good chance."

"I don't know but you are right."

"No, my lad, it didn't take me very long to decide that there was nothing to be gained in this way. At that moment, I chanced to go down below for something, when my eye rested on—what do you think?"

"What was it?"

"It was a keg of powder," said Bill, shaking the ashes from his pipe. "Perhaps, my[190] lad, you can guess what thought that put me up to."

"Was it to blow them all up?" asked Charlie, in excitement.

"You've hit it, my lad."

"But that would be dangerous to you."

"I knew that well enough," said the sailor. "There was precious little chance of old Bill Sturdy living to tell the story; but, my lad, I'll tell you what made me overlook that. I must either turn pirate and always remain so, with a pretty considerable chance of swinging from the gallows some time, or else be butchered by the pirates for refusing to join them. So, as there didn't seem to be much but death in prospect, that consideration didn't weigh much. Then I thought that, if I did die by the explosion, I should have the satisfaction of knowing that the rascally pirates would share my fate, and the Red Rover, the scourge of the seas, would never do any more harm. Besides that, I should save the Sally Ann, and the lives of the captain and crew, and that was something glorious to think of."

[191]

The boy's cheek glowed with sympathetic ardor, and he clasped Bill Sturdy's rough hand, in token of understanding and appreciating his motive.

"That seemed the only way open to me," resumed Bill, "and I determined to adopt it. Of course, there were nine chances out of ten that I should be blown up with the rest of them, but still there was a possibility of escape. I couldn't help thinking of that, and the more I thought, the more I had a kind of feeling that I should escape. I thought I would go up on deck a minute, before carrying out my design, and see what was going on. Well, the pirates had about got ready for action. The decks had been cleared, the cutlasses and pistols and other murderous weapons had been distributed among the men, and, altogether, there seemed precious little chance for the poor fellows on board the Sally Ann, especially, as I knew well enough that they had no cannon, and only a few pistols, that were not likely to do them much good. There wasn't much time to lose, as the action was going to commence. So I slipped down[192] below, and fixed a slow match, so that it would reach the powder in about a minute. I had just about got it fixed, when who should I see coming down, but the pirate captain. It seemed as if all my plans were going to be knocked in the head. No doubt he suspected that all was not as it should be, and was coming down to see what was to pay. I felt desperate, and fetched him as powerful a blow as I was able, on the side of his head, and he fell like an ox, pretty effectually stunned."

"What next?"

"The next thing I did was to hurry upon deck. 'Where's the captain?' asked the mate. 'He'll be up directly,' said I. And so he was, but not in the sense that he understood it.

"Well, I listened on deck for about half a minute, in a terrible state of anxiety, you may be sure. Then, feeling that it was not safe for me to stay any longer, I jumped into the water, and began to swim towards the Sally Ann. As my head rose above the water, I saw the mate about to fire at me,[193] and I dove. When my head was fairly out of water again, such a sound as smote upon my ear! The light had reached the powder, and there was a terrible explosion. The ship was shattered to pieces. The pirates were hurled into the air, some with mutilated limbs, and I rather think that some of them were considerably astonished. The captain did go up as I promised. He was flung a hundred feet into the air, and never came down again alive. For my part, I was lucky enough to reach the Sally Ann, untouched by the falling fragments. When they found out who I was, and how I had saved them, their gratitude knew no bounds. The owners made up a purse of two thousand dollars, and presented it to me."

"And what did you do with it?"

"When I got back to Boston, I put it in one of the places you call Savings Banks, and I expect it's there now."