not address you as Captain Hunter - do you aver that there never was, at any time, an intent of your vessel and its crew to attack any Spanish settlement or dominion?”
“I do so aver.”
“You never held counsel to plan such an unlawful attack?”
“I did not.” Hunter spoke with as much certainty as he could muster, knowing that his crew dared not contradict him on this point. To admit to the vote that was held in Bull Bay was tantamount to a conviction of piracy.
“On pain of your mortal soul, do you swear that no such intent was ever discussed with any member of your company?”
“I do.”
Hacklett paused. “Let me be certain to understand your import. You sailed upon a simple logwood expedition, and by ill fortune were cast far north by a storm which did not touch these shores. Subsequently, you were captured without provocation of any sort by a Spanish warship. Is this correct?”
“It is.”
“And further, you learned that this same warship attacked an English merchantman and took as hostage the Lady Sarah Almont, giving you cause for reprisal. Is that so?”
“It is.”
Hacklett paused again. “How came you to know the warship captured the Lady Sarah Almont?”
“She was on board the warship at the time of our capture,” Hunter said. “This I learned - from a Donnish soldier, who made a slip of the tongue.”
“Most convenient.”
“Yet that was the truth of the matter. After we made our escape - which is, I hope, no crime before this tribunal - we pursued the warship to Matanceros, and thence saw the Lady Sarah debarked to the fortress.”
“So you attacked, for the sole purpose of preserving this Englishwoman’s virtue?” Hacklett’s voice was heavy with sarcasm.
Hunter glanced from one face to the next on the tribunal. “Gentlemen,” he said, “it is my understanding that the function of this tribunal is not to determine whether I am a saint” - there was amused laughter - “but only whether I am a pirate. I knew, of course, of the galleon within the Matanceros harbor. That was a most estimable prize. And yet I pray the court will perceive that there was provocation for a score of such attacks - and provocation broadly speaking, admitting no legalistic quibbling nor technical point of turning.”
He looked toward the court reporter, whose duty it was to make a note of the proceedings. Hunter was astounded to notice that the man was sitting placidly and taking no notes.
“Tell us,” Hacklett said, “how you came to escape from the Spanish warship, once captured?”
“It was through the efforts of the Frenchman, Sanson, who performed with most estimable bravery.”
“You regard this Sanson highly?”
“Indeed I do, for I owe him my very life.”
“So be it,” Hacklett said. He turned in his chair. “Call the first witness in evidence, Mr. Andre Sanson!”
“Andre Sanson!”
Hunter turned to the door, astounded again, as Sanson walked into the courtroom. The Frenchman moved quickly, with smooth, liquid strides, and took his place in the witness box. He raised his right hand.
“Do you, Andre Sanson, solemnly promise and swear on the Holy Evangelists to bear true and faithful witness between the king and the prisoner in relation to the fact or facts of piracy and robbery he does now stand accused of, so help you God?”
“I do.”
Sanson lowered his right hand, and looked directly at Hunter. The gaze was flat and pitying. He held the glance for several seconds, until Hacklett spoke.
“Mr. Sanson.”
“Sir.”
“Mr. Sanson, Mr. Hunter has given his own account of the proceedings of this voyage. We wish to hear the story in your own words, as a witness whose valor has already been remarked by the accused. Will you tell us, please, what was the purpose of the voyage of Cassandra - as you understood it in the first instance?”
“The cutting of logwood.”
“And did you discover differently at any time?”
“I did.”
“Please explain to the court.”
“After we sailed on September ninth,” Sanson said, “Mr. Hunter made for Monkey Bay. There he announced to the several crew that his destination was Matanceros, to capture the Spanish treasures there.”
“And what was your reaction?”
“I was shocked,” Sanson said. “I reminded Mr. Hunter that such an attack was piracy and punishable by death.”
“And his response?”
“Oaths and foul curses,” Sanson said, “and the warning that if I did not participate wholeheartedly he would kill me as a dog, and feed me in pieces to the sharks.”
“So you participated in all that followed under duress, and not as a volunteer?”
“That is so.”
Hunter stared at Sanson. The Frenchman was calm and unruffled as he spoke. There was not the slightest trace of a lie. He looked at Hunter repeatedly, a defiant look, daring him to repudiate the story he so confidently told.
“What then transpired?”
“We set sail for Matanceros, where we hoped to make a surprise attack.”
“Excuse me, do you mean an attack without provocation?”
“I do.”
“Pray continue.”
“While sailing for Matanceros, we came upon the Spanish warship. Seeing that we were outnumbered, we were captured by the Spanish, as pirates.”
“And what did you do?”
“I had no wish to die in Havana as a pirate,” Sanson said, “especially as I had been forced to do Mr. Hunter’s bidding thus far. So I hid, and subsequently enabled my companions to escape, trusting that they would then decide to return to Port Royal.”
“And they did not?”
“Indeed they did not. Mr. Hunter, once returned to command of his ship, forced us to set sail for Matanceros to carry out his original intent.”
Hunter could stand no more. “I forced you? How could I force sixty men?”
“Silence!” bellowed Hacklett. “The prisoner will remain silent, or he shall be removed from court.” Hacklett turned back to Sanson. “How did you fare with the prisoner at this time?”
“Badly,” Sanson said. “He clapped me in irons for the duration of the voyage.”
“Matanceros and the galleon were subsequently captured?”
“Aye, gentlemen,” Sanson said. “And I was placed in the Cassandra thusly: Mr. Hunter went aboard the ship and determined that she was unseaworthy, after the attack on Matanceros. He then gave me command of this poor ship, in the manner of marooning, for he did not expect her to survive the open sea. He gave me a small crew of men who felt as I did. We made for Port Royal when a hurricane overtook us, and our ship was shattered with the loss of all hands. I, myself, in the longboat, managed to come to Tortuga and thence here.”
“What know you of Lady Sarah Almont?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing at all?”
“Not until this moment,” Sanson said. “Is there such a person?”
“Indeed,” Hacklett said, with a quick glance at Hunter. “Mr. Hunter claims to have rescued her from Matanceros and brought her safely thus.”
“She was not with him when he left Matanceros,” Sanson said. “If I were to conjecture, I should say Mr.
