Governor Spottiswood had the right to issue the proclamation, but

he had no right to commission Lieutenant Maynard, as he did, to



take down an armed force into the neighboringprovince and to

attack the pirates in the waters of the North Carolina sounds. It



was all a part of the rude and lawless condition of the colonies

at the time that such a thing could have been done.



The governor's proclamation against the pirates was issued upon

the eleventh day of November. It was read in the churches the



Sunday following and was posted upon the doors of all the

government custom offices in lower Virginia. Lieutenant Maynard,



in the boats that Colonel Parker had already fitted out to go

against the pirates, set sail upon the seventeenth of the month



for Ocracoke. Five days later the battle was fought.

Blackbeard's sloop was lying inside of Ocracoke Inlet among the



shoals and sand bars when he first heard of Governor

Spottiswood's proclamation.



There had been a storm, and a good many vessels had run into the

inlet for shelter. Blackbeard knew nearly all of the captains of



these vessels, and it was from them that he first heard of the

proclamation.



He had gone aboard one of the vessels--a coaster from Boston. The

wind was still blowing pretty hard from the southeast. There were



maybe a dozen vessels lying within the inlet at that time, and

the captain of one of them was paying the Boston skipper a visit



when Blackbeard came aboard. The two captains had been talking

together. They instantly ceased when the pirate came down into



the cabin, but he had heard enough of their conversation to catch

its drift. "Why d'ye stop?" he said. "I heard what you said.



Well, what then? D'ye think I mind it at all? Spottiswood is

going to send his bullies down here after me. That's what you



were saying. Well, what then? You don't think I'm afraid of his

bullies, do you?"



"Why, no, Captain, I didn't say you was afraid," said the

visiting captain.



"And what right has he got to send down here against me in North

Carolina, I should like to ask you?"



"He's got none at all," said the Boston captain, soothingly.

"Won't you take a taste of Hollands, Captain?"



"He's no more right to come blustering down here into Governor

Eden's province than I have to come aboard of your schooner here,



Tom Burley, and to carry off two or three kegs of this prime

Hollands for my own drinking."



Captain Burley--the Boston man--laughed a loud, forced laugh.

"Why, Captain," he said, "as for two or three kegs of Hollands,



you won't find that aboard. But if you'd like to have a keg of it

for your own drinking, I'll send it to you and be glad enough to



do so for old acquaintance' sake."

"But I tell you what 'tis, Captain," said the visiting skipper to



Blackbeard, "they're determined and set against you this time. I

tell you, Captain, Governor Spottiswood hath issued a hot



proclamation against you, and 't hath been read out in all the

churches. I myself saw it posted in Yorktown upon the customhouse



door and read it there myself. The governor offers one hundred

pounds for you, and fifty pounds for your officers, and twenty



pounds each for your men."

"Well, then," said Blackbeard, holding up his glass, "here, I



wish 'em good luck, and when they get their hundred pounds for me

they'll be in a poor way to spend it. As for the Hollands," said



he, turning to Captain Burley, "I know what you've got aboard

here and what you haven't. D'ye suppose ye can blind me? Very



well, you send over two kegs, and I'll let you go without

search." The two captains were very silent. "As for that



Lieutenant Maynard you're all talking about, said Blackbeard,

"why, I know him very well. He was the one who was so busy with



the pirates down Madagascar way. I believe you'd all like to see

him blow me out of the water, but he can't do it. There's nobody



in His Majesty's service I'd rather meet than Lieutenant Maynard.

I'd teach him pretty briskly that North Carolina isn't



Madagascar."

On the evening of the twenty-second the two vessels under



command of Lieutenant Maynard came into the mouth of Ocracoke

Inlet and there dropped anchor. Meantime the weather had



cleared, and all the vessels but one had gone from the inlet. The

one vessel that remained was a New Yorker. It had been there



over a night and a day, and the captain and Blackbeard had become

very good friends.



The same night that Maynard came into the inlet a wedding was

• fisherman [´fiʃəmən] n.渔民，渔夫，打鱼人 (初中英语单词)


• belief [bi´li:f] n.相信；信仰，信条 (初中英语单词)


• governor [´gʌvənə] n.总督；州长 (初中英语单词)


• province [´prɔvins] n.省；领域；范围 (初中英语单词)


• knowing [´nəuiŋ] a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词)


• mostly [´məustli] ad.主要地；多半；通常 (初中英语单词)


• fierce [fiəs] a.残忍的；强烈的 (初中英语单词)


• disposition [,dispə´ziʃən] n.安排；性情；倾向 (初中英语单词)


• everyone [´evriwʌn] pron.=everybody 每人 (初中英语单词)


• instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)


• constant [´kɔnstənt] a.坚定的；坚贞的 (初中英语单词)


• commerce [´kɔmə:s] n.商业；社交；交流 (初中英语单词)


• colonial [kə´ləuniəl] a.(关于)殖民地的 (初中英语单词)


• western [´westən] a.西的；西方的 (初中英语单词)


• responsible [ri´spɔnsəbəl] a.尽责的；责任重大的 (初中英语单词)


• actual [´æktʃuəl] a.现实的；实际的 (初中英语单词)


• robber [´rɔbə] n.强盗；盗贼 (初中英语单词)


• punish [´pʌniʃ] vt.(惩)罚；痛击；折磨 (初中英语单词)


• ashore [ə´ʃɔ:] ad.向岸上 (初中英语单词)


• stolen [´stəulən] steal 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• altogether [,ɔ:ltə´geðə] ad.完全；总而言之 (初中英语单词)


• useless [´ju:sləs] a.无用的，无价值的 (初中英语单词)


• wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)


• savage [´sævidʒ] a.野蛮的 n.蛮人 (初中英语单词)


• endure [in´djuə] vt.忍耐，忍受；坚持 (初中英语单词)


• protection [prə´tekʃən] n.警戒；护照；通行证 (初中英语单词)


• virginia [və´dʒinjə] n.佛吉尼亚(州) (初中英语单词)


• reward [ri´wɔ:d] n.&v.报答；报酬；奖赏 (初中英语单词)


• lieutenant [lef´tenənt] n.陆军中尉；代理；副手 (初中英语单词)


• neighboring [´neibəriŋ] a.邻近的；接壤的 (初中英语单词)


• aboard [ə´bɔ:d] ad.&prep.在…上 (初中英语单词)


• instantly [´instəntli] ad.立即，立刻 (初中英语单词)


• anchor [´æŋkə] n.锚 v.抛锚 (初中英语单词)


• meantime [´mi:ntaim] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)


• vessel [´vesəl] n.容器；船；脉管 (初中英语单词)


• wedding [´wediŋ] n.婚礼，结婚 (初中英语单词)


• pension [´penʃən] n.津贴 vt.给予…抚恤 (高中英语单词)


• grudge [grʌdʒ] vt.&n.吝啬；怨恨 (高中英语单词)


• parson [´pɑ:sən] n.教区牧师 (高中英语单词)


• comprehend [,kɔmpri´hend] vt.了解；领会；包含 (高中英语单词)


• pirate [´paiərət] n.海盗 v.做海盗；掠夺 (高中英语单词)


• theirs [ðeəz] pron.他们的 (高中英语单词)


• community [kə´mju:niti] n.团体；社区；公众 (高中英语单词)


• merchandise [´mə:tʃəndaiz] n.商品 v.经商 (高中英语单词)


• knight [nait] n.骑士；爵士 (高中英语单词)


• thickly [´θikli] ad.厚厚地；密密地 (高中英语单词)


• hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)


• foremost [´fɔ:məust] a.最重要的；最先的 (高中英语单词)


• finding [´faindiŋ] n.发现物；判断；结果 (高中英语单词)


• offering [´ɔfəriŋ] n.提供；礼物；捐献 (高中英语单词)


• commission [kə´miʃən] n.委任(状) vt.委任 (高中英语单词)


• colonel [´kə:nəl] n.海(陆)军上校 (高中英语单词)


• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)


• schooner [´sku:nə] n.纵帆船 (高中英语单词)


• lawless [´lɔ:ləs] a.无法无天的 (英语四级单词)


• desirous [di´zaiərəs] a.渴望的；想往的 (英语四级单词)


• dishonor [dis´ɔnə] n.耻辱 vt.凌辱 (英语四级单词)


• seemingly [´si:miŋli] ad.表面上；似乎 (英语四级单词)


• proclamation [,prɔklə´meiʃən] n.宣布；公告；声明 (英语四级单词)


• southeast [,sauθ´i:st] n.&a.东南(方) (英语四级单词)


• skipper [´skipə] n.&vi.(当)船长 (英语四级单词)


• briskly [´briskli] ad.轻快地；活泼地 (英语四级单词)


• selfishness [´selfiʃnis] n.自私；不顾别人 (英语六级单词)


• holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)