The Life, Adventures & Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton

Persia upon theirown accounts. William took the hint, and, as he told me afterwards,concluded we might carry them there as well as they. But this was notWilliam's present business; he had here no less than three-and-thirtyton of nuts and eighteen ton of cloves. There was a good quantity ofmace among the nutmegs, but we did not stand to make much allowance. Inshort, they bargained, and the merchants, who would gladly have boughtsloop and all, gave William directions, and two men for pilots, to goto a creek about six leagues from the factory, where they brought boats,and unloaded the whole cargo, and paid William very honestly for it; thewhole parcel amounting, in money, to about thirty-five thousand piecesof eight, besides some goods of value, which William was content totake, and two large diamonds, worth about three hundred pounds sterling.

  When they paid the money, William invited them on board the sloop, wherethey came; and the merry old Quaker diverted them exceedingly with histalk, and "thee'd" them and "thou'd" them till he made them so drunkthat they could not go on shore for that night.

  They would fain have known who our people were, and whence they came;but not a man in the sloop would answer them to any question they asked,but in such a manner as let them think themselves bantered and jestedwith. However, in discourse, William said they were able men for anycargo we could have brought them, and that they would have bought twiceas much spice if we had had it. He ordered the merry captain to tellthem that they had another sloop that lay at Margaon, and that had agreat quantity of spice on board also; and that, if it was not sold whenhe went back (for that thither he was bound), he would bring her up.

  Their new chaps were so eager, that they would have bargained with theold captain beforehand. "Nay, friend," said he, "I will not trade withthee unsight and unseen; neither do I know whether the master of thesloop may not have sold his loading already to some merchants of Salsat;but if he has not when I come to him, I think to bring him up to thee."

  The doctor had his employment all this while, as well as William andthe old captain, for he went on shore several times a day in the Indianboat, and brought fresh provisions for the sloop, which the men had needenough of. He brought, in particular, seventeen large casks of arrack,as big as butts, besides smaller quantities, a quantity of rice, andabundance of fruits, mangoes, pompions, and such things, with fowls andfish. He never came on board but he was deep laden; for, in short, hebought for the ship as well as for themselves; and, particularly, theyhalf-loaded the ship with rice and arrack, with some hogs, and sixor seven cows, alive; and thus, being well victualled, and havingdirections for coming again, they returned to us.

  William was always the lucky welcome messenger to us, but never morewelcome to us than now; for where we had thrust in the ship, we couldget nothing, except a few mangoes and roots, being not willing to makeany steps into the country, or make ourselves known till we had news ofour sloop; and indeed our men's patience was almost tired, for itwas seventeen days that William spent upon this enterprise, and wellbestowed too.

  When he came back we had another conference upon the subject of trade,namely, whether we should send the best of our spices, and other goodswe had in the ship, to Surat, or whether we should go up to the Gulf ofPersia ourselves, where it was probable we might sell them as well asthe English merchants of Surat. William was for going ourselves, which,by the way, was from the good, frugal, merchant-like temper of the man,who was for the best of everything; but here I overruled William, whichI very seldom took upon me to do; but I told him, that, considering ourcircumstances, it was much better for us to sell all our cargoes here,though we made but half-price of them, than to go with them to the Gulfof Persia, where we should run a greater risk, and where people would bemuch more curious and inquisitive into things than they were here, andwhere it would not be so easy to manage them, seeing they traded freelyand openly there, not by stealth, as those men seemed to do; and,besides, if they suspected anything, it would be much more difficult forus to retreat, except by mere force, than here, where we were upon thehigh sea as it were, and could be gone whenever we pleased, without anydisguise, or, indeed, without the least appearance of being pursued,none knowing where to look for us.

  My apprehensions prevailed with William, whether my reasons did or no,and he submitted; and we resolved to try another ship's loading to thesame merchants. The main business was to consider how to get off thatcircumstance that had exposed them to the English merchants, namely thatit was our other sloop; but this the old Quaker pilot undertook; forbeing, as I said, an excellent mimic himself, it was the easier forhim to dress up the sloop in new clothes; and first, he put on all thecarved work he had taken off before; her stern, which was painted ofa dumb white or dun colour before, all flat, was now all lacquered andblue, and I know not how many gay figures in it; as to her quarter, thecarpenters made her a neat little gallery on either side; she had twelveguns put into her, and some petereroes upon her gunnel, none of whichwere there before; and to finish her new habit or appearance, and makeher change complete, he ordered her sails to be altered; and as shesailed before with a half-sprit, like a yacht, she sailed now withsquare-sail and mizzen-mast, like a ketch; so that, in a word, she was aperfect cheat, disguised in everything that a stranger could be supposedto take any notice of that had never had but one view, for they had beenbut once on board.

  In this mean figure the sloop returned; she had a new man put into herfor captain, one we knew how to trust; and the old pilot appearing onlyas a passenger, the doctor and William acting as the supercargoes, by aformal procuration from one Captain Singleton, and all things ordered inform.

  We had a complete loading for the sloop; for, besides a very greatquantity of nutmegs and cloves, mace, and some cinnamon, she hadon board some goods which we took in as we lay about the PhilippineIslands, while we waited as looking for purchase.

  William made no difficulty of selling this cargo also, and in abouttwenty days returned again, freighted with all necessary provisions forour voyage, and for a long time; and, as I say, we had a great deal ofother goods: he brought us back about three-and-thirty thousand piecesof eight, and some diamonds, which, though William did not pretend tomuch skill in, yet he made shift to act so as not to be imposed upon,the merchants he had to deal with, too, being very fair men.

  They had no difficulty at all with these merchants, for the prospectthey had of gain made them not at all inquisitive, nor did they make theleast discovery of the sloop; and as to the selling them spices whichwere fetched so far from thence, it seems it was not so much a noveltythere as we believed, for the Portuguese had frequently vessels whichcame from Macao in China, who brought spices, which they bought ofthe Chinese traders, who again frequently dealt among the Dutch SpiceIslands, and received spices in exchange for such goods as they carriedfrom China.

  This might be called, indeed, the only trading voyage we had made; andnow we were really very rich, and it came now naturally before us toconsider whither we should go next. Our proper delivery port, as weought to have called it, was at Madagascar, in the Bay of Mangahelly;but William took me by myself into the cabin of the sloop one day,and told me he wanted to talk seriously with me a little; so we shutourselves in, and William began with me.

  "Wilt thou give me leave," says William, "to talk plainly with thee uponthy present circumstances, and thy future prospect of living? and wiltthou promise, on thy word, to take nothing ill of me?"

  "With all my heart," said I. "William, I have always found your advicegood, and your designs have not only been well laid, but your counselhas been very lucky to us; and, therefore, say what you will, I promiseyou I will not take it ill."

  "But that is not all my demand," says William; "if thou dost not likewhat I am going to propose to thee, thou shalt promise me not to make itpublic among the men."

  "I will not, William," says I, "upon my word;" and swore to him, too,very heartily.

  "Why, then," says William, "I have but one thing more to article withthee about, and that is, that thou wilt consent that if thou dost n
otapprove of it for thyself, thou wilt yet consent that I shall put somuch of it in practice as relates to myself and my new comrade doctor,so that it be nothing to thy detriment and loss."

  "In anything," says I, "William, but leaving me, I will; but I cannotpart with you upon any terms whatever."

  "Well," says William, "I am not designing to part from thee, unless itis thy own doing. But assure me in all these points, and I will tell mymind freely."

  So I promised him everything he desired of me in the solemnest mannerpossible, and so seriously and frankly withal, that William made noscruple to open his mind to me.

  "Why, then, in the first place," says William, "shall I ask thee if thoudost not think thou and all thy men are rich enough, and have reallygotten as much wealth together (by whatsoever way it has been