"This went on for another fortnight, during which time he told me a
deal about himself, very frank--as that he was the son of an English
sea-captain and a Spanish woman, and was born in Havana; that he had
been educated by the Jesuits, who had meant to make a priest of him;
that, not being able to abide the Spaniards, he had chased over to
Port Royal and studied chemistry in the college there. It was there,
he said, he had discovered a preparation for curing the hides of
animals so that the hair never dropped off, but remained as firm and
fresh as life. He told me that for this secret Davis and Atchison
paid him better than any of their clerks.
"At the end of a fortnight he sailed for Carbonear. He returned as I
was making ready for the summer trip, and laid a scheme before me
that took my breath away. He had spoken to Mr. Atchison, the junior
partner, and engaged a schooner, the _Willing Mind_; likewise a crew.
I was to command her, being the only one of the lot that understood
navigation. For the crew he had picked up a mixed lot at Carbonear
and St. John's--good seamen, but mostly unknown to one another.
They were the less likely, he said, to smell out our purpose until we
reached the island, and for the rest I might trust to him.
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