This is the only vessel with respect to which there is any good ground for suspecting that Kidd’s proceedings were irregular. His omission to make any reference to this ship in his narrative is significant; and points to the conclusion that he felt some difficulty in justifying what had been done. It is not improbable that he was forced by stress of circumstances to acquiesce in what was undoubtedly an act of piracy on the part of his crew, though it may have been regarded by them as a very justifiable reprisal for the damage and loss of life which the _Galley_ had sustained by the recent unprovoked attack of the Portuguese man-of-war. That Kidd was placed by their action in this case in great difficulty is obvious. In their then temper, it is unlikely that if he had had time to reason with them, he could have induced them to return to the Portuguese the goods they had wrongfully brought on board the _Galley_. As it was, the sudden appearance of several other ships bearing down on them left him no alternative, but either to make off at once, or to hand over the wrongdoers to be dealt with by their enemies, who might in the meanwhile themselves make off with his two lawful prizes. Kidd’s paramount object during his voyage seems to have been to do his best for his employers, and he may well have thought that it was not to their interest that he should await the arrival of the approaching ships. CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER III KIDD’S RETURN HOME Had Kidd been fortunate enough on his first visit to Madagascar to find his pirates there, it is possible but not very probable that his crew might have done their best to kill or catch their fellow-countrymen, who were preying on the Indian commerce. On the other hand, had he not been so unfortunate as to find the pirates awaiting him there on his way back to Boston, he would probably have been able to bring his two prizes home safely within a reasonable time and have ended his voyage to the satisfaction of his employers and with credit to himself. Even as it was, had he been in command of a disciplined crew, as determined as their captain was, faithfully to discharge the painful duties they had undertaken, his finding the pirates at St. Marie’s would have given him a fair chance of crowning his patient efforts with a success which might have been handed down to posterity as a proof of the fortitude by which a great Scotch sea captain had been able to surmount apparently insuperable difficulties. But it would be hard to find in history, sacred or profane, an unluckier man than Kidd. The _Adventure Galley_ came back to Madagascar in a sinking condition, with her crew on the brink of mutiny, worn out with repeated mishaps, having lost a large number of their fellows by sickness, disgusted at the ill-luck and strait-laced proceedings of their conscientious commander, in possession, it is true, of a rich prize, but in some doubt, owing to his hesitation in retaining