“Under Watling, the Trinity sailed to Iquique and there captured several prisoners, among them an aged Indian from whom they sought to obtain information of Arica, which they planned to raid the second time. Evidently, from what transpired, Captain Sharp had seen the error of his ways and had made up his mind to be a most moral pirate in future. Having been released from the hold, he was on deck when the Indian prisoner was questioned, and he protested most vehemently against Watling’s orders to shoot the prisoner because, so the buccaneers imagined, he had not told them the truth. Finding his pleas for the Indian in vain, Sharp dipped his hands in a basin of water and dramatically declared, ‘Gentlemen, I am clear of the blood of this old man. And I will warrant you a hot day for this piece of cruelty whenever we come to fight at Arica.’ “And verily did the buccaneers learn to their sorrow how they had misjudged the Indian and how true was Sharp’s prophecy, for Arica had been strongly fortified and garrisoned, just as the captive had related; the buccaneers were ignominiously defeated with heavy loss; Captain Watling and a number of other officers were killed, and the beaten and decimated buccaneers clamored loudly for Bartholomew Sharp once more to take command. Sharp, however, refused at first to listen to them, having had enough of their fickle natures, but finding that, unless he or some one took charge immediately all would be destroyed, he at last consented, and after severe fighting managed to get the survivors to their ship, although the surgeons were left behind. In fact the buccaneers had the closest shave of all their lives at Arica. Not only were they beaten back, killed and wounded by scores, and forced to retreat to the outlying country in disorder, but the Dons were on the point of destroying their boats when they were rallied by Sharp, and only by a sharp hand-to-hand struggle did the English succeed in recovering them. Now, however, the men looked upon Sharp with reverence and awe, for not only had he saved their lives, but with the superstition of sailors, they remembered his prophecy, believed he had occult power and cursed the late Watling right and left for having destroyed the Indian prisoner and disregarded Sharp’s warning.