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self.
214 PORTO BELLO GOLD
 Not I!
He smiled.
 We ll leave that to Mistress Moira.
 Maybe you forget der Walrus, interposed Peter.
 Not so, Peter. I shall dispose of the Walrus within the next few
hours.
 Andt Gott, added Peter as if Murray had not spoken.
My great-uncle laughed merrily.
 My dear Peter, men of judgment will inform you that there is no
God or, if we concede a God, there is every reason to assign a supe-
rior degree of power to the inevitable Devil representing the oppos-
ing virtue of godliness. Indeed, did I incline to bow down before any
superhuman authority I should elect Satan by preference. But a ripe
experience has inclined me to the view that the Devil is as much a
figment of men s imaginations as God.Since the beginning of recorded
time a priestly caste But here we are drifting into a philosophical
discussion; and as you very properly reminded me, the Walrus awaits
our attention. Let us go on deck.
 Der wise man don t know eferyt ing, answered Peter.  Neen!
 Essentially true, agreed my great-uncle.  I must confess myself
ignorant of such staple points as why we are here, the excuse for
human existence, the relative significance of this world of ours, the
utility of the differing qualities of goodness and evil. But any serious
consideration, friend Peter, must convince as profound a thinker as
yourself that the very existence of men and women is of itself prima-
facie evidence that there can be no Divine Author of omnipotent or
sentient powers.
 We better go on deck, said Peter.
 After you, protested my relative as we rose.   Tis a pleasure to
debate with you, Peter.Take care, pray! Gunn has not removed all of
the evidence of Diomede s passing. Strange, is it not, how a black fel-
low like Diomede and a man who hath been the confidant of princes
like O Donnell should both be abolished by a simple organic dis-
ruption? That alone, Peter, should suffice to disprove the humbug of
an all-wise Providence. An all-wise Providence, forsooth! Here am I,
arranging to reconstruct for the better a most unhappy trio of king-
doms, with consequences bound to improve the well-being of the
PORTO BELLO GOLD 215
entire world, and my plan is suffered to be placed in jeopardy by an
ignorant sailor s blind shot in the dark! What could be more absurd?
Peter did not answer him, and we passed out upon the maindeck,
where sailors were busy removing the traces of the Walrus first
broadside which had wrought a certain amount of minor damage and
caused the deaths of several men.  Twas now light enough to see
about us, but the light was of a quality I had never known before
hard, coppery glare, with the sun obscured from view. The sea was
quite flat, and the wind continued intermittent, veering from one
quarter of the south to the other. Spyglass Island lay to larboard, its
contour amazingly distinct as if it were bitten into the frame of
steel-blue sea and dully shimmering sky that encompassed it. The
Walrus, like the James, had cleared Captain Kidd s Anchorage, and
was running due north before the wind betwixt us and the islet
called Skeleton Island.
Murray bent a shrewd eye aloft and hailed Martin.
 How is it you carry no sail on the mizzen? he demanded.
 Account o that there          shot, cap n, answered the
mate, tugging his forelock.  If ye look to it ye ll see as how a   
   twelve-pounder bored into her.
We all followed his pointing finger to a gouge beneath the mizzen
yard. The shot that had grazed Colonel O Donnell s head had done
more than graze the mizzen.The mast was whittled away to a depth
of several inches as cleanly as if a giant s ax had chopped into it.
My great-uncle took snuff very slowly.
 What luck! What luck! he muttered.
And then louder:
  Twas an expensive shot for us, gadzooks! Well, Martin, we must
fish the mast at our earliest opportunity, but we can make shift to
corner Flint without it. The Walrus is foul and heavy in the water.
The James can sail circles round her in this wind.
There was a worried look in Martin s weather-beaten face.
 Askin your pardon, sir, I don t like this       wind. We re
in for a    of a storm or I m a          lubber.
My great-uncle shrugged his shoulders.
 Storm or no storm, Martin, the Walrus carries nigh four hundred
thousand pounds.
216 PORTO BELLO GOLD
 Aye, sir; and by your favor, best sink her and be done wi it and
run for shelter.
 Sink her! Man, we d lose the treasure.
 Better lose the Walrus treasure than go down ourselves, insisted
Martin doggedly.  Have it your own way, sir, but I m a      
   if it ain t fixin to blow up one o these here tarrible Caribbee
storms as pluck the hairs outn your head.
Murray regarded the four quarters of the sky for several moments.
 With your prognostications I find no quarrel, Martin, he said
finally;  but I believe we have ample time to head the Walrus. Flint
dares not run south because he knows the hornet s nest we have
stirred up in those seas. My purpose is to box him in and force him
to beach. If this wind continues we should bring him to book on the
north coast of the island, and so soon as the Walrus has taken ground
we will wear and beat in for the North Inlet. Doth that satisfy you?
The mate hesitated.
 You be cap n, sir. But if  twas my say we d head back in to the
Anchorage, Walrus or no Walrus.
My great-uncle stiffened.
  Tis impossible, he replied haughtily.  However, we will bear up
for the Walrus, and you may bid Coupeau to see what harm he can
contrive against her with his chase-guns.
Martin saluted and went for ard. My great-uncle led us to the poop.
 Your old sailor is eke much of an old woman into the bargain,
he remarked perfunctorily, climbing the sta b d ladder ahead of me.
 Let him but sniff the approach of a tempest, and he is all for the
nearest haven aye, the hardiest buccaneer no less than the law-abid-
ing merchantman.
 O Donnell was right, it seems, when he advised you to finish the
task you had begun in the inlet, I snapped, none too pleased, myself,
with the outlook.
 In that case, my dear nephew, a half of us must have perished,
retorted my relative. You have had some experience of these wolves
of ours when their lusts are roused. No, no; I am no milk-and-water
fighter, but I prefer to batter my enemy safely at long range rather
than give him an equal opportunity to tear my throat.
Peter grunted. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]