"His men put her in place and the Spanish crew had the pleasure of
starting the long procession of victims who were to go overboard
by that route in the years to come.

"Such was the first fight of 'The Angel of Death' and just such
success (excepting, of course, the hitch about The Plank) rewarded
the efforts of old Pedro for over twenty years. Up and down the
Spanish Main he sailed, and the sight of that foresail, with its
terrible picture of the Black Angel, struck terror to the heart of
every man afloat. Even men-of-war fought shy of the three Pedros.
Once 'The Angel of Death' rounded the Cape of Good Hope and
attacked a treasure fleet on its way back from the Indies. On that
occasion it captured so many chests of gold doubloons that they
quite blocked up the social hall, where the crew used to hold
their revels, and they had to revel on deck, until 'The Angel of
Death' got back to Rum Island, where they buried their treasure.

"Finally, old Pedro the First was taken sick. There was a fight,
early one morning when the air was very damp, between the 'Angel'
and a rich merchantman. The pirate captain got rather over-heated,
during his usual duel with the captain of the merchantman, and
then he foolishly sat down in a draft while he ate his breakfast.
He had a bad attack of rheumatism, and it made it very hard for
him to scramble over the bulwarks when he led a boarding party to
the enemy's decks. The next time they put in at Rum Island the old
man took his bed, dolefully predicting that his end was near.

"'Just at this season, when the plate-ships are all sailing for
Spain,' he grumbled, 'I don't see what I've done to be put upon