As the last handful of
sand made it level with the beach, I walked into their midst, and
found myself face to face with the three candidates for the now
vacant captaincy.
"Give you good-day, gentlemen," I cried. "Is it your captain that
you bury or one of your crew, or is it only pezos and pieces of
eight?"
CHAPTER XXII IN WHICH I CHANGE MY NAME AND OCCUPATION
"THE sun shining on so much bare steel hurts my eyes," I said.
"Put up, gentlemen, put up! Cannot one rover attend the funeral of
another without all this crowding and display of cutlery? If you
will take the trouble to look around you, you will see that I have
brought to the obsequies only myself."
One by one cutlass and sword were lowered, and those who had
drawn them, falling somewhat back, spat and swore and laughed.
The man in black and silver only smiled gently and sadly. "Did you
drop from the blue?" he asked. "Or did you come up from the sea?"
"I came out of it," I said. "My ship went down in the storm
yesterday. Your little cockboat yonder was more fortunate." I
waved my hand toward that ship of three hundred tons, then
twirled my mustaches and stood at gaze.
"Was your ship so large, then?" demanded Paradise, while a
murmur of admiration, larded with oaths, ran around the circle.
"She was a very great galleon," I replied, with a sigh for the good
ship that was gone.
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