Bellamy
and his men were taken aboard the Mary
Anne. “What will it be?” Captain Ben asked the marooned treasure hunters. “Sail
with us, share and share alike or – stay on the island and rot.”
“Cut
their throats,” Louie Lebous suggested pleasantly.
“Faith!
Happy we’d be to join your band,” Bellamy said. “Ye have men, guns and proper
vessels. ‘Tis a prosperous trade.”
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“Good!
It’s agreed! Share and share alike!” said Captain Ben, “There is room for you
here aboard the Mary Anne.”
Later in
the day the two pirate ships spread their sails and scudded over the
silver-tipped waves toward the Spanish islands where rich booty might be won by
brave lads. Bellamy and Williams stood by the rail, idly watching a school of
porpoises. The sun was high and most of the freebooters were napping in shaded
portions of the deck.
“Glad I would
be to sail this ship myself. With you in command of the Postillion, we could win a fine fortune. Staunch, large ships these
are – fast sailers for a trade needing swift vessels to chase the fat, rich
merchantmen. We must win friends among the crew. Perhaps we may someday become
their leader.”
“Not the
Postillion! Lebous is a hard man,”
Williams commented.
“Aye! He
knows not the way of proper seafarers. Methinks he’d cut a blind man’s throat
to steal the pennies o’ his begging.”
Seaboots
sounded on the deck behind the pair.
“This
sun has been known to addle the brains of ambitious men, Mr. Bellamy,” said
Hornigold, “It would be better to mingle with the other members of the
brotherhood.”
Unexpectedly
the Mary Anne and the Postillion captured a large Indiaman
bound for Holland with a rich cargo of logwood. It was an English ship with an
English crew. For two days the pirates sailed alongside their prize while
Hornigold and Lebous angrily argued over the disposition of her. Later it
became known to the pirate crews that Captain Ben would not allow an English
ship to be plundered. The officers of the Indiaman were freed and returned to
their ship. Sardonically they saluted the pirates with a ten-gun salute and sailed
away toward Jamaica. There were any disgruntled sailors aboard the Mary Anne and the Postillion who cursed heartily to see a fortune slip from their
grasp because of Hornigold’s foolish principles.
Black
Sam Bellamy fostered the discontent. He said aloud that if the brotherhood ever
elected him as their commander, “dammed if he would at any time let
mollycoddling sentiment stand in the way of securing riches for his crew.” A
bright gold English sovereign bought the pleasures of liquor and women just as
quickly as a Spanish ducat.
From
that day on, the crew of the Mary Anne
began to speak openly of an election. Lebous backed Bellamy. Finally, late in
May, Sam challenged Captain Ben’s leadership. On the Isle of Pines, the crew
held their election for captain. Sam won by a ninety to twenty-six margin.
In a
small snow (a square-rigged, briglike ship), Hornigold sailed away with the few
crewmen who were willing to follow him.*
Luck smiled
on Bellamy. Ship after ship surrendered to the flaming guns of the two pirate
vessels. Captured sailors were given the choice of joining the brotherhood or
walking the plank.* Most of them joined.
Near the
Isle of Saba the Mary Anne and her
consort captured the Sultana, a fast new
ship laden with fine liquors, salted beef and milled wheat. Bellamy
double-crossed his partner by placing the Mary
Anne in charge of his friend Paul Williams and taking over the command of
the prize. Louis Lebous, finding his ship outgunned by the combined armament of
the Mary Anne and the Sultana, sullenly withdrew and sailed
away.
-- To be continued--
*Laura’s note: These men included one named Edward
Teach, later to be known as Blackbeard.
*Laura’s note: This is a folklore tale, after all.
