"We," he said slowly, "we are Americans, sir. I am Forbes Russell, a native of Philadelphia, and this is my daughter Dorcas.
"And I," Scott said wonderingly, "am Scott Rogers of Charleston, master of the brig alongside. Tell me, what are you doing in this pirate ship?"
"We were going home," Russell said simply.
"To . . . Philadelphia?"
Russell passed a thin hand through thinning hair. "Ultimately, sir. Or so we planned. I had begun to think we might not get there."
The girl patted his arm and spoke for the first time. "We're all right now, Father." She hesitated and a dimple appeared fleetingly in her left cheek. "I won't be anybody's slave."
Scott looked at her again, her real beauty registering with him. She stood a little higher than his chin; and her face was narrow and delicately shaped. Beside him Peary cleared his throat loudly; and Scott made the proper introductions. Then he said:
"Make a quick, thorough search, Mr. Peary. Bring off any wounded and anything of value. Then set her afire."
"I—I have some books and things," Russell said hesitantly. "I'd like to save them."
"And I have a few articles of clothing," the girl said. "They took everything else."
Scott rubbed his chin. "Suppose you show me what you want to save. Then we'll go aboard the Caroline."
A goggle-eyed Fox helped the Russells into the brig.
"Mr. Fox," Scott said, "you and Mr. Peary will move for'ard, so that Miss Russell can have your quarters. Mr. Russell will share the cabin with me."
"Aye, aye, sir! We are delighted to have you aboard, Miss Russell . . . you and your father, of course."
"Captain!" cried a voice from the Santa Ines.
"Well?"
"We found another white man, sir. Dead, though. Throat cut."
"That would be Captain Alvarez, I'm sure," Dorcas Russell said. "Besides us, he was the only one spared when the ship was taken."
"Bring the body aboard and sew it in a shroud. We'll commit his body to the sea along with Boyd's. And bring aboard any gunpowder and good arms that you may find."
Fox, who had disappeared briefly, now spoke up. "Sir, I was wondering if Miss Russell might not like a cup of tea or a glass of Madeira. She's had a—well—hard time of it, I'd say."
"Tea, please," Dorcas said. "And thank you for thinking of it, Mr. Fox."
Fox beamed and turned to Russell. "And you, sir?"
"Er—spirits, if you have any."
"Have the steward bring rum, water and tea to my cabin, Mr. Fox," Scott said. "And issue an extra ration of rum to all hands as soon as we're under way again."
In the cabin, sipping grog, Russell explained their presence in the Santa Ines.
"We were living in Manila," he said, "and it became expedient to leave hurriedly. So I contracted with Captain Alvarez to take us to any port where we could find an American or British ship. Six days out of Manila, having successfully eluded the Spanish Coast Guard, we were taken by this pirate Suran, who butchered everybody aboard but my daughter, Captain Alvarez and myself." He paused and sighed. "If Alvarez had remained out of sight today, as we did, he might not have been slain; but he got panicky while you were shelling us and ran among the Malays. I think we were forgotten in the confusion. At any rate, Captain Rogers, we are indebted to you for our rescue."
"What did you mean when you said, "having successfully eluded the Spanish Coast Guard'?" Scott asked.
"Just that, sir."
"Oh, Father," Dorcas broke in, "Captain Rogers thinks you may be a criminal or something. Tell him the whole story."
Russell finished his grog and Scott made more for him, pouring two parts of water to one of rum. He took off his glasses, blew on the lenses, and polished them with a ragged handkerchief.
"It goes back a long way, Captain Rogers," he said finally. "You see, I have been an expatriate American for twenty years. It was that long ago that I went to Spain as an English tutor in the employ of a Spanish grandee. While there I married a Spanish lady, the mother of my daughter; and I continued to tutor, the only way I had of making a living. Ultimately my employer at the time—another Spanish nobleman—was sent to Manila as an officer of the colonial administration. He asked me to continue tutoring his children, and I agreed. Thus my wife, Dorcas—she was a child of ten then—and I went to Manila.
"We fared quite well there while my patron lived, but things became a bit difficult after he died. For one thing, I am not a Catholic, though my wife was, and I always resisted the idea of rearing Dorcas as a Catholic. It is not that I'm opposed to the Church as such, although I don't agree with it, but I've always thought that people should make up their own minds after growing mature. Anyway, my wife was not insistent and my patron was especially tolerant for a Spaniard, and tilings went along.
"But soon after my patron died my wife, who had some property of her own, also died. And suddenly the zealots of the Church turned on us. They were aided and abetted by distant relatives of my wife, people who stood to benefit if I were dispossessed of what she left me.
"To shorten the story, I not only was robbed of what my wife left me, but also of what little I had accumulated. Oh, it was done legally, all right; as a Protestant, I had virtually no legal rights in Manila. When it began to look as if both Dorcas and I were to be put to the question by the Inquisition, I grew thoroughly frightened. I found this Captain Alvarez and I bargained with him to smuggle us out of Manila in the Santa Ines. It was a risky business, but I gave him a diamond bracelet and a ruby which had belonged to my wife and which 1 had hidden for Dorcas. After his fashion, he was a man of honor, this Alvarez; he took us aboard—at great risk to himself—and he set out for Madras, in India. There I hoped to find help in getting home, especially since I knew the war between the United States and Great Britain was over."
Scott rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You are more than welcome aboard the Caroline; but I can't promise when you'll get home. We're going to Sumatra to trade for pepper with the Malays there. I'm hoping they'll be more peaceful and trustworthy than our late friend Suran."
"And if they are not?" Dorcas asked interestedly.
Scott smiled grimly. "We've come a long way to get pepper, ma'am, and we're going home with the hold full of the stuff—or not at all. If there's pepper in Sumatra, I aim to get it."
There was a knock at the door, and Peary presented himself. "I took sugar, tobacco and gunpowder out of the bark, sir. Such arms as I found were no good."
"Very good," Scott said, rising. "I'll read the services over Boyd and Captain Alvarez, while you fire the Santa Ines. A little later I'll want to look at Mr. Fox's chart, and I want both of you to study it with me. We should make a landfall tonight.
"And another thing, while I think of it: I want the anchor watch doubled and kept armed at all times. Guns are to be kept loaded with grape."
"Aye, aye, sir."
Scott bowed slightly in the direction of the Russells. "Miss Russell. . . Mr. Russell. . . you'll excuse me."
11
WHILE by nature hospitable, and surely human enough to enjoy the company of a beautiful young woman after weeks at sea, Scott nevertheless paid next to no attention to the Russells during the eighteen hours immediately following their rescue by the Caroline. The clash with the pirates had underscored his responsibility to all aboard and to the owners. Thus, theorizing that the pirates who escaped the destruction of the Santa Ines would head for Tapanuli, the nearest port known to Fox, Scott took advantage of a brisk southerly wind to stand in well above there. He made his landfall off Troumon, a village the second officer assured him was of small importance, then coasted in a northwesterly direction for Stallapoo. In the decision as to the first port of call he allowed himself to be influenced by Fox.