Gascoyne waited till the dusk of evening, and then embarked along with Ole Thorwald; that stout individual having insisted on being one of the party, despite the remonstrances of Mr.Mason, who did not like to leave the settlement, even for a brief period, so completely deprived of all its leading men.

But Ole entertained a suspicion that Gascoyne intended to give them the slip; and having privately made up his mind to prevent this, he was not to be denied.
The men who formed the crew--twelve in number--were selected from among those natives and settlers who were known never to have seen the pirate captain.

They were chosen with a view to their fighting qualities; for Gascoyne and Henry were sufficient for the management of the little craft.

There were no large guns on board, but all the men were well armed with cutlasses, muskets, and pistols.
Thus equipped, the Wasp stood out to sea with a light breeze, just as the moon rose on the coral reef and cast a shower of sparkling silver across the bay..