Chapter 4

"--Be patient, for the prize I'll bring thee to,
Shall hoodwink this mischance--."

Tempest.

The air, audacity, and language of the unknown mariner, had produced a
marked sensation among the passengers of the periagua. It was plain, by
the playfulness that lurked about the coal-black eye of la belle Barbérie,
that she had been amused by his sarcasms, though the boldness of his
manner had caused her to maintain the reserve which she believed necessary
to her sex and condition. The Patroon studied the countenance of his
mistress, and, though half offended by the freedom of the intruder, he had
believed it wisest to tolerate his liberties, as the natural excesses of a
spirit that had been lately released from the monotony of a sea-life. The
repose which usually reigned in the countenance of the Alderman had been a
little troubled; but he succeeded in concealing his discontent from any
impertinent observation. When the chief actor in the foregoing scene,
therefore, saw fit to withdraw, the usual tranquillity was restored, and
his presence appeared to be forgotten.

An ebbing tide and a freshening breeze quickly carried the periagua past
the smaller islands of the bay and brought the cruiser called the Coquette
more distinctly into view. This vessel, a ship of twenty guns, lay abreast
of the hamlet on the shores of Staten Island, which was the destination of
the ferry-boat. Here was the usual anchorage of outward-bound ships, which
awaited a change of wind; and it was here, that vessels then, as in our
times, were subject to those examinations and delays which are imposed for
the safety of the inhabitants of the city. The Coquette was alone,
however; for the arrival of a trader, from a distant port, was an event of
unfrequent occurrence, at the commencement of the eighteenth century.

The course of the periagua brought her within fifty feet of the
sloop-of-war. As the former approached, a movement of curiosity and
interest occurred among those she contained.

"Take more room for your milk-maid," grumbled the Alderman, observing that
the schipper was willing to gratify his passengers, by running as near as
possible to the dark sides of the cruiser. "Seas and oceans! is not
York-bay wide enough, that you must brush the dust out of the muzzles of
the guns of yon lazy ship? If the Queen knew how her money was eaten and
drunk, by the idle knaves aboard her, she would send them all to hunt for
freebooters among the islands. Look at the land, Alida, child, and you'll
think no more of the fright the gaping dunce is giving thee; he only
wishes to show his skill in steering."

But the niece manifested none of the terror that the uncle was willing to
ascribe to her