hanged. You see he was such a prominent pirate that they wouldn't
just string him up to the yard arm, like a common buccaneer. He
was tried with the greatest ceremony, and sentenced to death by
the Lord Chief Justice himself. That was a great feather in his
cap. But when they tried to hang him the crowd around the gallows
liked him so well that they started a riot, and in the excitement
he got away, and a year later he was back on the Spanish Main,
pirating again, with all of his old crew who were still alive,--
about eight of 'em.

"He had to get a new ship, for his old one--the 'Panther,'--had
been sunk in the fight with the English Admiral. So he had one
built for him by a firm in San Domingo, who made a specialty of
pirate ships. It was the very latest thing in that kind of vessel,
strong, swift, heavily armed, and luxuriously furnished. The crew
had a social hall for holding their revels and the cabins were fit
for a king. Even The Plank was solid mahogany."

"What plank?" This from Ed Mason.

"WHAT plank? Did you ever hear such a question? I shouldn't think
you'd ever been to school. Why, THE PLANK,--the one that the
pirates' victims have to walk. Didn't you ever hear of walking the
plank?"

"Oh, yes."

"Well, old Black Pedro the First named his new ship 'The Angel of
Death' and he had a picture of the Angel embroidered in black
velvet on his foresail. He was a proud man, I tell you, when he