'No,' replied Ellen firmly, 'I will not.'

'Then your blood be upon your head!' exclaimed the pirate, as springing
suddenly forward, he inflicted a severe wound upon the person of sweet
Ellen Armstrong, with his poniard, which caused her to fall fainting and
bleeding upon the floor of the cabin.

'My God, what have I done,' muttered Blackbeard, as he gazed upon his
prisoner's prostrate form.

'Murdered your sister!' exclaimed a shrill female voice, which emanated
from a person who had entered the cabin unperceived, just after Ellen
was wounded.

'Ha, who is that, that speaks of murder!' exclaimed the Pirate
involuntarily.

'It is your mother, Elvira, who accuses you of having murdered that
beautiful girl, who now lays gasping at your feet,' replied the strange
female, who although she was far advanced in years, beyond the prime of
life, still possessed a tall and commanding form, together with
features, which, though they were somewhat wrinkled and withered, had
once been pre-eminently fair and beautiful.

'Avaunt! hag,' exclaimed Blackbeard, as Elvira ceased speaking, 'begone
I say, and if ever thou darest to call thyself, my mother, in my
hearing, I will stab you to the very heart.'

'Am I not thy father's wife, Herbert?' replied the female.