|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 38
"That is true," said Lucretia; "but I find, in going through my reticule,
that my maid, for some reason unknown to me, has failed to renew my supply
of poisons. I shall discharge her on my return home, for she knows that I
never go anywhere without them; but that does not help matters at this
juncture. The sad fact remains that I could prepare a thousand delicacies
for these pirates without fatal results."
"You mean immediately fatal, do you not?" suggested Xanthippe. "I could
myself prepare a cake which would in time reduce our captors to a state of
absolute dependence, but of course the effect is not immediate."
"We might give a musicale, and let Trilby sing 'Ben Bolt' to them,"
suggested Marguerite de Valois, with a giggle.
"Don't be flippant, please," said Portia. "We haven't time to waste on
flippant suggestions. Perhaps a court-martial of these pirates,
supplemented by a yard-arm, wouldn't be a bad thing. I'll prosecute the
case."
"You forget that you are dealing with immortal spirits," observed
Cleopatra. "If these creatures were mortals, hanging them would be all
right, and comparatively easy, considering that we outnumber them ten to
one, and have many resources for getting them, more or less, in our power,
but they are not. They have gone through the refining process of
dissolution once, and there's an end to that. Our only resource is in the
line of deception, and if we cannot deceive them, then we have ceased to
be women."
"That is truly said," observed Elizabeth. "And inasmuch as we have already
provided ourselves with a suitable committee for the preparation of our
plans of a deceptive nature, I move, as the easiest possible solution of
the difficulty for the rest of us, that the Committee on Treachery be
requested to go at once into executive session, with orders not to come
out of it until they have suggested a plausible plan of campaign against
our abductors. We must be rid of them. Let the Committee on Treachery say
how."
"Second the motion," said Mrs. Noah. "You are a very clear-headed young
woman, Lizzie, and your grandmother is proud of you."
[Illustration: "'YOU ARE A VERY CLEAR-HEADED YOUNG WOMAN, LIZZIE,' SAID
MRS. NOAH"]
The Committee on Treachery were about to protest, but the chair refused to
entertain any debate upon the question, which was put and carried with a
storm of approval.
Five minutes later a note was handed through the port, addressed to
Cleopatra, which read as follows:
"DEAR MADAME,--Six bells has just struck, and the officers and
crew are hungry. Will you and your fair companions co-operate
with us in our enterprise by having a hearty dinner ready within
two hours? A speck has appeared on the horizon which betokens a
coming storm, else we would prepare our supper ourselves. As it
is, we feel that your safety depends on our remaining on deck.
If there is any beer on the ice, we prefer it to tea. Two cases
will suffice.
"Yours respectfully,
"HENRY MORGAN, Bart., First Mate."
"Hurrah!" cried Cleopatra, as she read this communication. "I have an
idea. Tell the Committee on Treachery to appear before the full meeting at
once."
The committee was summoned, and Cleopatra announced her plan of operation,
and it was unanimously adopted; but what it was we shall have to wait for
another chapter to learn.
XI
MAROONED
When Captain Holmes arrived upon deck he seized his glass, and, gazing
intently through it for a moment, perceived that the faithful Shem had not
deceived him. Flying at half-mast from a rude, roughly hewn pole set upon
a rocky height was the black flag, emblem of piracy, and, as Artemus Ward
put it, "with the second joints reversed." It was in very truth a signal
of distress.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|