The survivors of the Virago had been understandably withdrawn the first few days and preferred their own company, but as their health returned, so, too, did their spirits. Most, like their captain, vowed certain death to the master and crew of the Talon if and when they caught them, and when all the treacherous details became known to the crew of the Egret, it stirred equally strong sentiments in every quarter. To abandon any ship in distress was to do the unthinkable. To leave so famous a ship as the Virago and her crew as sacrifice to Spanish predators put every man’s blood to the boil and had more pairs of eyes than those belonging to the lookouts scouring the distant horizons for sight of the fleeing vessel. Dante de Tourville had appeared on deck to the cheers of his own men and those of the Egret Spence was there to greet him and celebrate his recovery with a cask of rumbullion, inviting both crews to toast the brave memory of the Virago and her daring forays against the papist plague.
