England was very cruel to many of her American prisoners, and Captain
Jones fixed upon a bold and novel plan for compelling her to show more
mercy toward those unfortunate enough to fall into her power. It was to
capture some prominent nobleman and hold him as a hostage for the better
treatment of our countrymen. It must be remembered that Jones was
cruising near his birthplace and when a sailor boy had become familiar
with the Scottish and the English coasts. The _Ranger_ was a fast
vessel, and, as I have shown, Jones himself was a master of seamanship.
It would seem, therefore, that all he had to do was to be alert, and it
need not be said that he and his crew were vigilant at all times.

The Earl of Selkirk was a Scottish nobleman who had his country seat at
the mouth of the Dee, and Jones made up his mind that he was just the
man to serve for a hostage. At any rate, he could not be put to a
better use and certainly would not suspect the purpose of the American
vessel which, as night was closing in, anchored offshore. Indeed, no one
dreamed that the vessel was the terrible American "pirate," which had
thrown the whole country into terror.

Fortunately the night was dark and the men rowed to land without being
noticed. The task was an easy one, for there was no one to resist them.
They walked silently through the darkness to the fine grounds, and,
having surrounded the handsome building, the officer in charge of the
party presented himself at the door and made known his startling errand.
He was informed that the Earl was absent. A careful search revealed that
such was the fact, and all the trouble of the Americans went for naught.

It was a keen disappointment and the party decided to compensate
themselves so far as they could. The Earl was wealthy and the house
contained a great deal of valuable silver plate. A quantity of this was