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  CHAPTER XXVIII

  WE DEFY JENSEN

  That unhappy Barbara! Her sin had found her out indeed. She was a wickedwoman, for she had been part and parcel in the treason, she had beenhand and glove with the traitors. But she did not mean such wickednessto the women-folk, and she did what she had done for her husband's sake,thinking that he would be a pirate king and she his consort. This waswhat she meant when she had called herself a queen. With such falsehoodshad Jensen stuffed the ears of the man and his wife, snaring them totheir fate. As I had loved her once, so I pitied her now. She had sharedin a great crime, but it would be hard to shape a greater penalty forher sin.

  By the time that the parson had finished his story we who were listeningto him felt dismal, and we looked at each other grimly.

  'What is the first thing to be done?' Lancelot said softly, more tohimself than as really asking any advice upon the matter from us.

  'Fire a volley upon those devils when they draw near, and so rid theearth of them,' I suggested.

  Lancelot shook his head.

  'They are under the protection of a flag of truce----' he began, when Iinterrupted him hotly.

  'What right,' I raged at him, 'what right have such devils to theconsideration of honourable warfare and of honourable men?'

  Lancelot sighed.

  'None whatever; but that does not change us from being honourable menand from carrying on our contest according to the rules of honourablewarfare. They are devils, ruffians, what you will, but we--we aregentlemen, and we have passed our word. We cannot go back from that.'

  I know very well that I blushed a fiery red, from rage against our enemyand shame at Lancelot's reproof. But I said nothing, and Mr. Ebrowspoke.

  'Mr. Amber,' he said, clasping Lancelot's hand as he spoke, 'you are inthe right, in the very right, as a Christian soldier and a Christiangentleman. Their hour will come without our anticipating it.' And thenhe wrung my hand warmly, in token that he understood my feelings too,and did not overmuch blame me.

  'One thing at least is certain,' said Lancelot. 'You must not return tothe mercies of those villains.'

  Mr. Ebrow drew himself stiffly up. He was wet and weary, and the uglycut on his forehead did not add to the charm of his rugged face, butjust at that moment he seemed handsome.

  'Mr. Amber,' he said, 'I passed my word to those men that I would returnafter I had given you their message, and I will keep my word.'

  'But,' said Lancelot, 'they will kill you!'

  'It is possible,' said the man of God calmly. 'It is very probable. ButI have in my mind the conduct of the Roman Regulus. Should I, who am aminister of Christ, be less nice in my honour than a Pagan?'

  'Nay, but if we were to restrain you by force?' asked Lancelot.

  'Mr. Amber,' Ebrow answered, 'it was your duty just now to administer areproof to your friend; I hope you will not force me to reprove you inyour turn. I have given my word, and there is an end of it; and if youwere to hold me by the strong hand I should think you more worthy toconsort with those pirates than with me.'

  It was now Lancelot's turn to blush. Then he gripped Mr. Ebrow's hand.

  'I beg your pardon,' he said, and there were tears in his eyes as hespoke. 'You have taught me a noble lesson.'

  Mr. Ebrow seemed as if he would be going, but I stayed him.

  'Reverend sir,' said I, 'may I make so bold as to ask what is thismessage that you have to deliver to us?'

  For, as a matter of fact, we had so plied him with questions, and he hadbeen so busy in answering us, that he had not as yet delivered to us thepirates' message, of which he was the spokesman.

  There came a spot of colour on his grey jaws as I spoke.

  'True. I fear I make but a poor intermediary,' he said. 'The piratespropose, in the first place, that you make common cause with them, andrecognise the authority of Cornelys Jensen as your captain, in the whichcase Cornelys Jensen guarantees you your share of the spoiling of theRoyal Christopher, and in future a fitting proportion of whateverprofits may come from their enterprises.'

  'I suppose you do not expect us to consider that proposition?' saidLancelot.

  Mr. Ebrow almost smiled.

  'No, indeed,' he said, 'and I do but discharge my promise in repeatingit to you. I must tell you too that he added that he was wishful to makeyour sister his wife.'

  There came into Lancelot's eyes the ugliest look I ever saw there, andfor myself I know not how I looked, I know only how I felt, and I willnot put my feelings into words. I suppose Mr. Ebrow understood us andour silence, for he went on with his embassy. 'In the second place,then, they call upon you to swear that you will take no part againstthem, and will, on the contrary, do your endeavour to protect them incase they should be attacked by other forces.'

  'That also needs no consideration,' said Lancelot.

  Mr. Ebrow nodded.

  'Of course not, of course not. Then, in the third place, they call uponyou to throw down your weapons and to surrender yourselves to them asprisoners of war, in which case they pledge themselves to respect yourlives and preserve you all as hostages for their own safety.'

  'And if we refuse even this offer,' Lancelot asked, 'what is to happenthen?'

  'In that case,' said Mr. Ebrow, 'they declare war against you; they willgive you no quarter----'

  'Let them wait till they are asked!' I broke in; but Lancelot rested hishand restrainingly upon my arm.

  'As for the matter of quarter,' he said, 'it may prove in the end moreour business to give it than to seek for it. Quarter we may indeed givein this sense, that even those villains shall not be killed in coldblood if they are willing to surrender. But every man that we takeprisoner shall most assuredly be tried for his life for piracy andmurder upon the high seas. Will you be so good as to tell those men fromme that if they at once surrender the person of Cornelys Jensen andtheir own weapons they shall be treated humanely, kept in decentconfinement, and shall have the benefit of their conduct when the timefor trial comes? But this offer will not hold good after to-day, and ifthey attempt again to approach the island they shall be fired upon.'

  'Well and good, sir,' said Mr. Ebrow. 'Have you anything more to say,for my masters did but give me a quarter of an hour, and I feel surethat my time must be expired by now?'

  'Only this,' answered Lancelot, 'that if they want to fly their blackflag over this island they must come and take it from us.'

  I never saw Lancelot look more gallant, with courage and hope in hismien, and the soft wind fretting his hair. But the brightness faded awayfrom his face a moment after as he added:

  'It grieves me to heart, sir, that you have to return to thoseruffians.'

  Mr. Ebrow extended his hand to Lancelot with a wintry smile.

  'It is my duty. I do but follow my Master's orders, to do all in HisName and for His glory.'

  He wrung Lancelot's hand and mine, and the hand of every man in ourtroop. He gave us his blessing, and then, turning, walked with erecthead to the sea.

  As soon as the pirates saw him coming they rowed their boat a littlenearer in, when they rested on their oars, while we stood to our gunsand the parson waded steadily out into the deeper water.

  When he reached their boat they dragged him on board roughly, and wecould see from their gestures and his that he was telling them theresult of the interview with us.

  The telling did not seem to give any great satisfaction to the villains,and least of all to Jensen, for he struck the parson a heavy blow in theface with his clenched hand that felled him, tumbling down among therowers. Then Jensen turned and shook his fist in our direction, andshouted out something that we could not hear because of the distance andthe slight wind.

  It seemed to me as if for a moment Jensen had a mind to order his boatsto advance and try to effect a landing, and I wished this in my heart,for I was eager to come to blows with the villains, and confident thatwe should prove a match for them.

  But it would seem as if discretion were to prevail with them, i
n which,indeed, they were wise, for to attempt to land even a more numerousforce in the face of our well-armed men would have been rash and a roughbusiness. We saw the boats sweep round and row rapidly away, and wewatched those scarlet coats dwindle into red spots in the distance.