Adventure stories; French -- England -- Fiction; Great Britain -- History -- Charles II, 1660-1685 -- Fiction; Love stories
After this mishap, Jacquard went below to the cabin with Mornay to
make his plans for the future of the _Saucy Sally_. There, among the
rum-reeking effects of the captain, he discovered the royal charter
and warrant under which the vessel sailed, together with the lists of
Spanish vessels which should have left port, their destinations and
probable values. Jacquard outlined the plans he had made for their
operations when they should have reached the waters he had chosen.
Cornbury, who had been reading abstractedly in the warrant, gave a
sudden cry.
“Bresac,” he said, pointing a long forefinger upon the parchment.
“Faith, my dear man, your fortune is a silly, whimsical jade, after
all. Cast your eye hither for a moment of time.”
Mornay took the document in amazement.
Whereas it hath come to Our Notice [it began] that certain
Enemies of the State sailing in the Vessels of the Kingdom of
Spain have prepared, ordered, and levied war against Us, and
have molested and harassed Our lawful Commerce upon the Sea,
to the oppression of Our loyal Subjects carrying on the same,
by the advice of Our Privy Council we hereby grant to our good
and loyal subject Henry Heywood, Knt., that his vessel or
vessels--
“’Tis as plain as a pike-handle,” said Cornbury. And as Mornay still
scanned the document: “Faith, can ye not see?--ye’re a guest upon a
vessel of your own. The vessel and all she owns is yours, man--yours!”
“_Parbleu!_” said Mornay, when the edge of his wonderment was dulled.
“I believe you. A rare investment, indeed, for the millions of the
Bresacs.”
“A thousand per centum at the very least, with a modicum for the King.
Ye cannot wonder how Charles bewailed the man’s demise. Ye touched his
purse, René. And friendship has little to expect from the conscience of
an empty pocket.”
“By my life, it is so!” said the wide-eyed Mornay. “Jacquard shall
know. Listen, my friend.” And, with a particular reticence with
regard to the name of Mistress Clerke, he told Jacquard of the great
secret, the rape of the papers, and the other things pertaining to
his discovery. It was learned that in the matter Jacquard knew only
one Captain Brail, a ship-chandler and owner, who had the finding
of all the sea appurtenances, the making of the contracts, and the
furnishing of the stores. The sympathetic Jacquard followed Monsieur
Mornay through a description of the duel, his face wreathed in smiles,
his eyes shining with delight. He wept at the tale of the mother,
commiserated the orphan, and, when he learned how Sir Henry Heywood had
taken possession of the proofs of the boy’s birth and lineage and had
kept him from his rightful inheritance, Jacquard rose upon his long
legs and swore aloud at the man’s perfidy. When Mornay had finished, he
sat silent a moment, clasping and unclasping his knotted, bony fingers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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