Dungeon Rock; or, the pirate's cave, at LynnEmerson, N. S. (Nannette Snow)
History
Dungeon Rock; or, the pirate's cave, at Lynn
Emerson, N. S. (Nannette Snow)
Pirates -- Massachusetts -- Lynn -- History
At this time the first history, that is considered as really authentic,
is commenced. A vessel, afterward known as the phantom ship, was seen
in the waters off Nahant, at or near sunrise. It presented to the eye a
strange optical delusion of a ship resting motionless upon the water,
and another, the exact counterpart of the first, suspended keel upwards
in the air; the masts and rigging of the two apparently touching each
other. It was the pirate ship Arabel, that had come too far in at high
tide, and was therefore obliged to wait until the water rose again in
order to get out to sea.
Don Jose returned to Spain, but his honor was gone, his queen
dethroned, and he himself treated like a traitor on all sides. “I’ll
not have the name without the game, I reckon,” he said, with true
Spanish bitterness; and taking his only living relative, a boy about
twelve years of age, left him by his sister, he joined the banditti as
a wanderer, and not as a resident, determined to wreak his vengeance on
the Spanish government.
The next time the pirates came to America, Don Jose and the boy both
accompanied them. They landed early in the morning, and the boy Carl
took his place in the village as spy. All the long day he wandered up
and down, his quick ear catching every suspicious word, and at night,
while returning to the place fixed upon as the lookout, he arranged
the whole matter in his mind, making an accurate calculation of how
many reliable men the settlement numbered when they would make their
exploration, etc. By the time he had settled it all in his own thoughts
he arrived at “Lookout Hill,” or “High Rock,” as it is now called. With
a light, eager step, he clambered up the rocks, and reached the firm
platform upon the top. Soon he espied a moving speck far out upon the
blue waves, and immediately hoisting the signal agreed upon, he raised
a small glass to his eye, and commenced scanning the distant object.
He was dressed in the Spanish costume of that day; but there was an
oriental richness about it which is now lost to the world. It looked
more like the Turkish apparel of the present time; the flowing trousers
and tunic giving a graceful air to his slender form, and quick,
agile motions; and the whole occurrence gave rise to the interesting
novelette entitled, “The Child of the Sea.”
“What success, Carl?” asked Don Jose, as he came up the long path from
the boat-landing, and clasped the boy in his arms.
“The best, father,” was the reply, “but they are to have a meeting
tonight, which it will be best for some one of us to attend.” He then
told what he had heard through the day, and with his help the father
rehearsed it again to the band.
“I must go,” said Harris, springing up and preparing to leave.
“Why you, Sir Harris?” asked several voices.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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