The author shows his ferocity and cruelty, and depicts him without lightening the dark shadows of his character. Yet at the same time he brings out the man's dauntless courage, his military ability, his absolute disregard of odds, his wonderful capacity as a sailor, his fertility and resourcefulness, which awaken our admiration in spite of ourselves. His is shown, a real pirate, just as he was--great and brave, small and mean, skillful and cruel, and the great lesson of the story is one of just retribution, in the awful punishment that is finally visited upon him, by those whom he so fearfully and terribly wronged.