St. Mark had regained his composure at
the conclusion of the story and, in a calm, clear voice, said:
"Captain, I may have the sequel to your story. I am a native of Vermont
and, at the age of twenty-two, married Bertha Rigdon of Boston, whose
brother Alfred, like myself, was a sea captain. We were both young,
ardent lovers of liberty, and thoroughly imbued with the ideas of Thomas
Jefferson in regard to the French Revolution. When our government
refused to take up the quarrel with France, we determined to espouse her
cause ourselves. Both our fathers had died prisoners on board the old
_Jersey_ prison ship, and we felt that our lives should be devoted to
avenging them. This resolution was wicked, and perhaps the punishment
which followed we deserved.
"We each commanded a vessel which began a warfare on English commerce,
defying all their embargo acts and neutrality laws. We were soon
declared outlaws and prices set on our heads. Not only Great Britain,
but Spain, Prussia and Austria declared us pirates, and our own
government dared not shelter us.
"My wife, with our infant child, accompanied me on my last voyage. I was
sailing in company with her brother, Captain Alf Rigdon, when we were
chased by some British cruisers off Rio in June, 1796, and Alf's brig
being the swiftest sailer, I sent my wife and child aboard his vessel,
with a large sum of money to have them conveyed to the United States and
cared for until we could return.
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