Adventure Magazine Cover — page 77: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

76 Adventure FOR *the remainder of that day Levasseur’s thoughts were of any- thing but love. He remained on deck, his eyes now upon the land, now upon those two slowly gaining ships. To run for the open could avail him nothing. He must stand at bay and fight. And then toward evening when within three miles of shore and when he was about to give the order to strip for battle he almost fainted from relief when a voice from the crow’s-nest above announced that the larger of the two ships was the ‘Colleen. Her companion was presumably a prize. But the pessimism of Cahusac abated nothing. “What will Blood say about this Dutchman?” “Let him say what he pleases.” Levasseur laughed in the immensity of his relief. “And what about the children of the governor of Tortuga?”’ “He must not know.” ““He’ll come to know in the end.” “Aye; but by then, morbleu, the matter will be settled. I shall have made my peace with the governor. I tell you I know the way to compel him to come to terms.” Presently the four vessels lay to off the northern: coast of La Virgen’ Magra, a narrow little island, arid and treeless, unin- habited save by birds and turtles and un- productive of anything but salt, of which there were many ponds to the south. Levasseur put off in a boat, accompanied by Cahusac and two other officers, and went to visit Captain Blood aboard the Colleen. “Our brief separation has been mighty profitable,” was the Irishman’s greeting. “Tt’s a busy morning we’ve both had.” He was in high good humor as he led the way to the great cabin for a rendering of accounts. The tall ship that accompanied the Colleen was a Spanish vessel of sixteen guns, the Santiago from Puerto Rico, with a hundred and twenty thousand weight of. cacao, forty thousand pieces of eight and the value of ten thousand more in jewels. A rich capture of which two-fifths, under the articles, went to Levasseur and his crew. Of the money and jewels a division was made on the spot. The cacao, it was agreed, should be taken to Tortuga to be sold. Then it was the turn of Levasseur, and black grew the brow of Captain Blood as the Frenchman’s tale was unfolded. At the end he roundly expressed his disap- proval. whom it was a folly to alienate, particularly for so paltry a matter as these hides and tobacco, which at most would fetch a bare twenty thousand pieces. But Levasseur answered him as he had answered Cahusac, that a ship was a ship, and that it was ships they needed against their projected enterprise. Perhaps _be- cause things had gone well with him that day, Blood ended by shrugging the matter aside. Thereupon Levasseur proposed that the Colleen and her prize should return to Tortuga to unload the cacao and enlist the further adventurers that could now be accommodated. Levasseur meanwhile would effect certain necessary repairs, and then, proceeding south, await his admiral at Saltatudos, an island conveniently situ- ated in the latitude of 11° rr’ N. for their enterprise against Maraca¥bo. To Levas- seur’s relief Captain Blood not only agreed, but pronounced himself ready to set sail at once.” No sooner had the Colleen departed than Levasseur brought his ships into the lagoon and set about the erection of temporary quarters ashore for himself, his men and his enforced guests during the careening of La Foudre. At sunset that evening the wind fresh- ened; it grew thence to a gale, and from . that to such a hurricane that Levasseur was thankful to find himself ashore and his ships safe within the ample shelter of the ~ lagoon. In the glory of the following morning, fresh and clean after the storm, with an invigorating briny tang in the air from the salt-ponds on the south of the islands, Levasseur set about the matter of making himself safe with the governor of Tortuga. With his back to a ridge of bleached dunes, beside the spread of sail from which - he had improvised a tent, sat Levasseur, enthroned upon an empty cask. A guard of honor of a half-dozen of his officers hung about him. Before him, guarded by two negroes in cotton drawers, stood young La Place, in frilled shirt and satin breeches. His comely face was haggard, his hands were tied be- hind him in a thong of leather. Near at Eomichbooks.co The Dutch were a friendly people :