404 THE MUTINEERS DISARMED.

head, and giving it a twirl about, sneering in his face, says he to
him, “‘ And you, Seignior Jack Spaniard, shall have the same sauce,
if you do not mend your manners.” The Spaniard, who though a
quiet civil man, was as brave as a man could be desired to be, and
withal a strong well-made man, looked steadily at him for a good
while, and then, having no weapon in his hand, stepped gravely up
to him, and with one blow of his fist knocked him down, as an ox
is felled with a pole-axe; at which one of the rogues, insolent at
the first, fired his pistol at the Spaniard immediately. He missed
his body indeed, for the bullets went through his hair, but one of
them touched the tip of his ear, and he bled pretty much. The
blood made the Spaniard believe he was more hurt than he really
was, and that put him into some heat: for before, he acted all in a
perfect calm; but now, resolving to go through with his work, he
stooped to take the fellow’s musket whom he had knocked down,
and was just going to shoot the man who had fired at him, when
the rest of the Spaniards, being in the cave, came out, and calling
to him not to shoot, they stepped in, secured the other two, and
took their arms from them.

When they were thus disarmed, and found they had made all the
Spaniards their enemies, as well as their own countrymen, they
began to cool, and giving the Spaniards better words, would have
had their arms again. But the Spaniards, considering the feud that
was between them and the other two Englishmen, and that it would
be the best method they could take to keep them from killing one
another, told them they would do them no harm, and if they would
live peaceably, they would be very willing to assist and sociate
with them, as they did before; but that they could not think of
giving them their arms again while they appeared so resolved to
do mischief with them to their own countrymen, and had even
threatened them all to make them their servants.

The rogues were now no more capable to hear reason than to act
reason, and being refused their arms they went raving away and
raging like madmen, threatening what they would do, though they
had no firearms. But the Spaniards, despising their threatening,
told them they should take care how they offered any injury to
their plantation or cattle; for if they did, they would shoot them as