And even these latter were of no
use, as the admiral's ship was carried by boarding, with no other arms
than swords and pistols. Le Grande had been so long at sea, without
falling in with any craft worth capturing, that his provisions were
becoming short; and his crew, pressed with hunger and brooding over
their ill success, were desperate. Thus situated, they espied the
Spaniard bearing the vice admiral's flag, and separated from the rest of
the flotilla. Notwithstanding the immense disparity of force, Le Grande
determined to capture her, and his crew took an oath to stand by him
till the last. The boat of the pirates was descried by the Spaniard in
the afternoon, and the admiral was admonished of what might be its
character; but he scorned the admonition, viewing the apparently pitiful
craft with contempt, and adopting no precautions against it. Just in the
dusk of evening the pirates ran alongside of his ship. As already
remarked, the crew of Le Grande had sworn to stand by their captain; but
in order to cut off all means of escape in the event of defeat, and
therefore to make them fight with greater desperation, their chief, at
the moment they were climbing the sides of the ship, caused the boat to
be suddenly scuttled, and sunk. Indeed the boarding of the Spaniard was
hastened by the necessity of leaping from their own vessel, already
sinking beneath them. Under these circumstances, the boarding was so
rapid, that the Spaniards were completely taken by surprise; so much so
that as the pirates rushed into the great cabin, they found the captain,
with several boon companions, engaged at a game of cards.
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