"I have those papers still; and before I die I will give them to you, Master Trevose. They may be useful to you; and if you can translate the cipher, why, there are millions there for you, unless, indeed, Jose Leirya removes them before you can get there. Well, sirs, Jose did not discover the loss by the time that we fell in with this sand-bank, and, according to his promise to the crew, I was marooned here; but he gave me a musket, with powder and ball, and enough provision to keep me for a year. The men who went in the boat to put me ashore were, however, my most deadly enemies; and before we reached the shore, and when they were far enough away from the vessel not to be seen, they dropped musket and all overboard, leaving me only a very little provision, saying that they did not wish me to die too soon. Then, after landing me, they returned, the ship disappeared, and I have seen no sail but yours since they left me here two months ago. That, gentlemen, is my story. To help you hunt down that bloody pirate, however, I will tell you that he intended sailing up through the bays of Honduras and Guatemala, and through the Yucatan channel into the Gulf of Mexico, to cruise there for merchantmen sailing to and from Vera Cruz and the other ports. And it is there that you will find him, sirs. Chase him; run him down; take him, at all costs, and hang him and his crew from his own yard-arm, and burn his ship; so shall you exterminate one of the most cruel, ferocious, bloodthirsty devils who ever sailed the sea, and avenge me, sirs. For I shall soon die; the hardship and exposure that I have suffered here have killed me! But now that I have told you my story, I can die comfortably, for I have only lived to impart my information to someone else, and so help them to hunt that man down. But see, the dawn is breaking!"