This vessel he declared he had
found deserted at sea, and he therefore claimed it as a legitimate
prize. Knowing the character of this bloody pirate, and knowing how very
improbable it was that the captain and all the crew of a valuable
merchant vessel, with nothing whatever the matter with her, would go out
into their boats and row away, leaving their ship to become the
property of any one who might happen along, it may seem surprising that
the officials of Bath appeared to have no doubt of the truth of
Blackbeard's story, and allowed him freely to land the cargo on the
French ship and store it away as his own property.
But people who consort with pirates cannot be expected to have very
lively consciences, and although there must have been persons in the
town with intelligence enough to understand the story of pitiless murder
told by that empty vessel, whose very decks and masts must have been
regarded as silent witnesses that her captain and crew did not leave her
of their own free will, no one in the town interfered with the thrifty
Blackbeard or caused any public suspicion to fall upon the propriety of
his actions.
Chapter XXIII
A True-Hearted Sailor draws his Sword
Feeling now quite sure that he could do what he pleased on shore as well
as at sea, Blackbeard swore more, swaggered more, and whenever he felt
like it, sailed up and down the coast and took a prize or two to keep
the pot boiling for himself and his men.
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