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But to return to our story.

Finding himself surrounded by four or five armed and desperate men, Huntington, concluding that resistance would be in vain, signified his readiness to follow them, whereupon he was led by two of their number to the cavern above alluded to, whilst the remaining pirates bestowed their attention upon poor Patrick O’Leary, whom, (as he had not yet recovered his powers of locomotion,) they lifted upon their shoulders and bore him away after his master, much in the same manner as they would have carried a slaughtered beast.

Having arrived with their prisoners at the place assigned for their confinement, the pirates conversed amongst themselves, as follows:

‘I say, Poplin,’ exclaimed one who seemed to be a kind of petty officer, ‘what do you suppose our captain intends to do with these two bear cubs that we have here?’

‘I cannot say, Mr. Pepper,’ replied the person to whom that worthy had spoken, ‘what he will do with that red-headed son of a mushroom, that lays rolled up there yonder, like a bundle of half dead lobsters, but as for the other one, he, you know, killed Pedro, and I heard the captain say that he would be hanged.’

‘Then of course he will be, so that settles that affair,’ replied Mr. Pepper, very coolly. ‘But what do you suppose, Poplin, he is going to do with that fine lady, that he’s got up overhead there?’

‘Which one do you mean? He’s got two of them,’ said Poplin.

‘Ah, yes, so he has, I recollect now. I mean both,’ said Pepper.

‘I cannot tell only about the youngest one,’ replied Poplin, ‘whom the captain is going to take on board the brig.’

‘What, has the pretty little craft arrived?’ asked Pepper.

‘She has,’ rejoined the other.

‘Then its all over with the Indiaman.’

‘Of course it is,’ replied Poplin, significantly.

‘But the Indiaman you know,’ suggested Pepper, ‘carried double the number of guns that the brig does.’

‘She carries a Captain Rowland also,’ said Poplin, drily.

‘Ah, I understand it all now,’ said Pepper, ‘so let us confine the prisoners, and then go up and see the fun.’

So saying, a few moments afterwards, Pepper and his companions departed, leaving Henry Huntington and Pat to their own reflections.

What these reflections were, we shall leave for the present to the imagination of our readers, and resume in our next chapter the further adventures of Blackbeard, Arthur Huntington, and sweet Ellen Armstrong.

CHAPTER VI.

Interview between Blackbeard and Ellen–Attempted Murder of the latter. Interference of Elvira. Blackbeard’s Departure. Elvira’s History. The Escape.

After having ordered her close alongside the East Indiaman, Blackbeard immediately descended to the place where sweet Ellen Armstrong was confined as a prisoner, and addressed its occupant, in the following manner,

‘So Miss Armstrong, you acted the heroine to perfection, this afternoon.’

A look of utter loathing and contempt, being the only answer which the fair Ellen deigned to bestow on the pirate’s words, he continued:

‘You must certainly be mad, my lovely lily of the valley, to look so scornfully upon me, who at present holds in his hand the power of thy life or death.’

‘As I am well assured that you will use the awful power you speak, to put a speedy end to my wretched existence,’ replied Ellen, ‘I must beg of you, instantly to retire, and thus rid me of your hateful presence.’

‘Stop, stop, my pretty Miss,’ exclaimed Blackbeard, ‘not quite so fast, if you please. In the first place you must learn, that I have at present no intention of taking your life, but on the contrary, I intend to make you my wife, as soon as circumstances will permit.’

‘Pirate, fiend, villain,’ exclaimed Ellen, starting up from her seat and confronting Blackbeard, with all the majesty of injured innocence, ‘learn, that rather than become the wife of a desperate robber like thyself, Ellen Armstrong will die, die by her own hand, and–‘