"Pretty good story," said Captain Avery. "Maybe it's true. There's enough of 'em killed. We'll take care of him." "I wish you would," said Guert. "Seems to me the right man got away." "Not all of 'em," said the man himself in English that had very little foreign accent. "There were three more a good deal like me. Some o' the black men weren't reg'lar pirates. All the rest of 'em, though, belonged to the sharks. It was one o' the worst crews that ever floated. My name's Groot. I'm from Amsterdam, but I was brought up mostly in Liverpool. Sailed on British craft and French, too. I'm a true man, Captain Avery!" The captain was willing to believe it, if he could, and he questioned him closely, all the crew of the _Noank_ agreeing among themselves that Groot was their prize, anyhow, and ought not to be turned over to any Spanish authority. All the while, the rescued _Santa Teresa_ was drifting nearer, her bulwarks lined with eager people of all sorts, who were gazing gratefully at what seemed to them the very beautiful American schooner. She had arrived just in time to save them, and they had never before seen a ship that they were so pleased with. Loud hails were exchanged, and then followed, from the Spanish ship, a perfect storm of thanks. "Guert," said Captain Avery, "I'm goin' aboard of her. You may come along. You may find some more Dutchmen. I can talk Spanish and French. I want to know just what shape they're in." A boat was already lowered, and in a few minutes they were on the deck of the _Santa Teresa_. "Women and children!" was Guert's first thought and exclamation. "To think of all of them being murdered! I don't feel half so sorry as I did about the pirates. I wish mother could see just what we've been saving from 'em. I guess it's perfectly right to shoot straight, sometimes. Glad I didn't miss once!" All his shudders of regret and of horror over the work of the sharks passed away from him as those passengers crowded around him. There were four more _Noank_ sailors, but the Spanish crew had captured them. The two captains were talking business, therefore Guert was taken in hand by the women and young people. One short, fat señora, who came at him first, had long, white hair tumbling down over her shoulders. She hugged him and kissed him, and cried and laughed, and she pointed--saying a great deal in Spanish--at a woman who was throwing her arms around a pretty pair of children. It was easy for Guert to understand that the old woman was thanking God and the Americans for the lives of her daughter and her grandchildren. Other women did not altogether follow her example, for Guert showed a little bashfulness, there were so many of them; but he shook hands quite freely with the boys and girls. The Spanish youngsters showed him their weapons, too, trying to tell him how ready they had been to fight the buccaneers.