The men knew nothing about Mistress Lucy, or of what
went on at the house, having recently been brought up by Vetch,
along with a dozen or more shipmates, from a brig belonging to
their employer that now lay in a cove on the north of the island
some ten miles away. They made no bones about acknowledging that
they had formed part of the crew of a buccaneer vessel and had been
hired by Vetch for a month's service on shore, which suited them
very well, since they had nothing to do, good pay, and were given a
liberal allowance of bumbo, which was, I discovered, a concoction
of rum and water, sugar and nutmeg.
"Well, now," says I, thinking the time had come for my proposal, "I
don't ask you what pay you are getting, but whatever it is, I will
double it if you'll let me loose, and help me to get down to
Spanish Town."
"Come up, now!" says Bill, "d'ye think to gammon us? We know what a
lieutenant's wages is, we do, and 'twould take a dozen of you
together to pay us enough for that there job."
"And you shall have it," I said.
"Ay, and a dose of irons into the bargain," said the man. "No, no;
we don't want no lobsters up from Spanish Town; not if we know it.
"Besides, we knows what king's officers be, don't we, Jack?
"We've bin on king's ships, Lord love you, and we knows where the
pay goes to. Once you get to Spanish Town you'd forget all about
us; we've bin done like that afore."
And then what must I do but produce a handful of silver and show it
them as earnest of my promise.
Pages:
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284