buccaneer a pirate, a sea robber.
saber a heavy cavalry sword with a slightly curved blade.
his tarry pigtail . . . Sailors of the period commonly treated their braided hair with the same tar they used to waterproof ropes and sails.
capstan an apparatus around which cables or hawsers are wound for hoisting anchors. The devise resembles a tuning peg on a stringed instrument, so the captain's voice sounds as if it had been tuned too tightly and broken.
handspike a heavy bar used as a lever, as in turning a capstan.
a man who sailed before the mast . . . a common sailor, not an officer; from the quarters of the crew ahead of the foremast.
cove a small bay or inlet.
mail a vehicle by which mail is delivered (in this case, a stage coach).
Dry Tortugas a group of small islands of Florida, west of Key West.
Spanish Main the Caribbean Sea, or that part of it adjacent to the northern coast of South America.
the sort of man that made England terrible at sea England was the strongest sea power among European nations of the period, both in its royal navy and its privateers; the man uses "terrible" in the sense of "terrifying, justifiably feared."
the cocks of his hat Sailors of the period wore hats whose brims they rolled on three sides to form a stiff triangle; the Captain's hat has come unrolled on one side.
his powder white as snow Fashionable upper- and middle-class men in the 1700s wore various styles of wig; these were often bleached white and treated regularly with white talc.
magistrate a civil officer empowered to administer the law.
assizes court sessions held periodically in each county of England to try civil and criminal cases.
cutlas an old spelling of cutlass; a short, thick, curving sword with a single cutting edge, used especially by sailors.
split him to the chine cut him through to the backbone.
I have drawn blood enough A common medical practice was to draw blood from a patient; this was standard treatment for a variety of ailments and was supposed to be effective.
swabs enlisted men or common sailors; a derisive term as the captain uses it.
Yellow Jack yellow fever, an acute, infectious tropical disease caused by a virus and spread by mosquitoes.
apoplexy a stroke.
hamlet a small village.
lugger a small vessel equipped with a lugsail (a four-sided sail supported by a spar — a slender wooden rod — that is fastened to the mast).
gully a large knife.
quadrant an instrument (later replaced by the sextant) used in navigating.
cannikin a small can; a metal drinking cup.
two brace two pair.
alow and aloft nautical terms for "below and above" meaning thoroughly, in every possible place.
their glim their light, in this case their candle, whose wax or tallow is still warm.
dingle a deep, wooded valley.
Master Pew's dead . . . if make it out they can The revenue officer (tax collector) is unpopular and knows it; he wants to report Pew's accidental death (which he caused) to the magistrate (Livesey) before someone else misreports it as deliberate.
the Hall . . . the squire The squire is the principal landowner of a district; the Hall is his place of residence, usually a large, old house.
a trump a good fellow.
sealed . . . thimble Letters and documents were sometimes stuck shut with wax, which was then impressed with a seal, a device to ensure they had not been opened; the captain has sealed his packet using a thimble, a metal cap used to protect a finger when sewing.
play duck and drake with waste, squander (from a game, "ducks and drakes," of skipping flat stones across water).
