Frederic : Has been accumulating Ruth : Forty-seven year- Frederic : horrified Forty-seven year?! Sergeant of Police : "They come in force, With stealthy stride. Our obvious course Is now to hide! Pirate King: Am I to understand that, to save his contemptible life, he dared to practice on our credulous simplicity?
Sergeant of Police: It is most distressing to us to be the agents whereby our erring fellow-creatures are deprived of that liberty which is so dear to us all— but we should have thought of that before we joined the force. Major General: I ask you, have you ever known what it is to be an orphan? Pirate King: Often! Major General: Yes, orphan. Have you ever known what it is to be one? Pirate King: I say, often. Pirates: Often, often, often.
Major General: I don't think we quite understand one another. I ask you, have you ever known what it is to be an orphan, and you say "orphan". As I understand you, you are merely repeating the word "orphan" to show that you understand me. Pirate King: I didn't repeat the word often. Major General: Pardon me, you did indeed. Pirate King: I only repeated it once.
Major General: True, but you repeated it. Pirate King: But not often. Major General: Stop! Frederic meets Mabel "All is prepared" , and she pleads with him to stay "Stay Frederic, stay" , but he explains that he must fulfil his duty to the pirates until his 21st birthday in He promises to return then and claim her.
They agree to be faithful to each other until then, though to Mabel "It seems so long" "Oh here is love and here is truth" , and Frederic departs.
Mabel steels herself "No, I'll be brave" and tells the police that they must go alone to face the pirates. They muse that an outlaw might be just like any other man, and it is a shame to deprive him of "that liberty which is so dear to all" "When a felon's not engaged in his employment".
The police hide on hearing the approach of the pirates "A rollicking band of pirates we" , who have stolen onto the grounds, meaning to avenge themselves for the Major-General's lie "With cat-like tread". The police and the pirates prepare for the fight "Hush, hush! Just then, the Major-General appears, sleepless with guilt, and the pirates also hide, while General Stanley listens to the soothing sighing of the breeze "Sighing softly to the river". The girls come looking for him "Now what is this and what is that".
Their father, the General, is horrified at this prospect and declares himself to be an orphan, knowing that this will effect their immediate release. As an ex-pirate, Frederic now feels that his duty is to society and he wastes no time in assembling a police force to capture the pirates. He is, therefore, dismayed when he learns from Ruth and the Pirate King that, due to the fact that his birthday is on 29th February and only occurs once every four years, he has in effect only had five birthdays; the terms of his apprenticeship state that he is bound to the pirates until his 21 st birthday.
Consequently, feeling that his loyalty is now to the pirates again, he reveals that the General is not really an orphan. The Pirate King is furious that he has been tricked and he plots to capture the General, his daughters and the policemen and take his revenge. This task proves no problem to his band of men until the Sergeant demands that they surrender in the name of Queen Victoria. This is too much for them and they yield to the request.
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