As for the other ship, the pirates boldly attacked her and
captured her, and as she was a very fine vessel, Morgan left his own
small vessel, in which he had been commanding his fleet, and took
possession of her. Thus, in a very short time, the whole state of
affairs was changed. The Spaniards had no ships at all, and Morgan was
in command of a very fine vessel, in which he led his triumphant fleet.
Victory is a grand thing to a pirate as it is to every human being who
has been engaged in a conflict, but none of the joys of triumph could
equal the sordid rapacity of Morgan and his men. They spent days in
trying to recover the money and plate which were on board the sunken
Spanish ships. The sterns of these projected above water, and a great
deal of valuable treasure was recovered from them. The pirates worked
very hard at this, although they had not the slightest idea how they
were to pass the castle and get away with the plunder after they had
obtained it.
When the wrecks had been stripped of everything of value, the time came
for demanding a ransom for not burning the town and hanging the
prisoners, and as the poor citizens knew very well what they might
expect, they sent word to the admiral, who had escaped to the castle,
begging him to accede to the demands of Morgan, and to let the wretched
pirates go.
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