The Bravest of the Brave or, with Peterborough in Spain. Henty George Alfred

your life by agreeing to sail with them, I suppose?’ the captain said contemptuously.

      “‘I did, sir,’ I said; ‘but I was the last they asked; all the others had gone, and there warn’t no one to back me up.’

      “‘Well, boy, you know what your fate will be,’ the captain said; ‘there’s no mercy for pirates.’

      “The next day the captain sent for me again, and I took heart a little, for I thought if they had made up their minds to hang me they wouldn’t have questioned me.

      “‘Look here, lad,’ the captain said; ‘you are the youngest of the prisoners, and less steeped in crime than any here, therefore I will at once make you an offer. If you will direct us to the lair of the pirates, I promise your life shall be spared.’

      “‘I don’t know the latitude and longitudes sir,’ I said, ‘and I doubt if any besides the captain and one or two others do, but I know pretty well whereabout it is. We always set sail at night and came in at night, and none was allowed on deck except the helmsman and two or three old hands till morning; but when I was ashore and on duty at the lookout I noticed three trees growing together just at the edge of the cliff at the point where it was highest, two miles away from the entrance to the cove. They were a big un and two little uns, and I feel sure if I were to see them again I should know them.’

      “‘Very well,’ the captain said, ‘I shall make for port at once, and hand over the prisoners to the Spanish authorities, then I will start on a cruise with you, and see if we can find your trees.’

      “From the description I could give him of the islands we passed after we had been at sea a few hours, and the time it took us to sail from them to some known points, the captain was able to form a sort of idea as to which group of islands it belonged to, and when he had reached port and got rid of his prisoners, all of whom were garroted—that’s a sort of strangling, you know—by the Spaniards, a week afterward, we set out again on our search for the island.”