CHAPTER V
A PIRATE HOLD
A fortnight later the _Cerf_ passed along under easy sail between theisland of Margarita and the mainland. She was now getting very close tothe spot where, if the prisoner was right, the pirates' hold lay. TheStars and Stripes was hanging from the peak, and with her high bulwarksand ten ports on each side no one would have suspected that she was not,as she seemed, an American man-of-war, heavily armed. Passing close toanother island, they headed more south into the bay as they nearedCaracas. Every foot of the islands was closely scanned. Five milesfarther, they came abreast of the Chimana isles, and pointing to one ofthese that lay nearer the shore than the others, the prisoner exclaimedthat he was certain that that was the island.
"I am sure of it," he exclaimed, "both from the look of the islanditself, and from that high range of mountains on the mainland to thesouth-east."
"You are quite sure?"
"Certain, captain; there are the large trees I spoke of growing downclose to the water. It is behind them that there is a little ravine bywhich one can climb up."
No alteration was made in the ship's course, but she continued her wayuntil sunset, when she dropped anchor off the mouth of the river LaPasqua, some twenty miles west of the islands.
As soon as it was dark Curtis was sent off in a gig manned by sixrowers. The oars were muffled; the orders were to row round the islandwithin an oar's length of the shore, and to find the entrance to thechannel, which, if the prisoner was right as to the place, should be onthe side facing the mainland. Pierre, the French lad, was taken withthem. It was a long row to the island, but the gig was a fast one, and,at three o'clock in the morning, she returned with the news thatPierre's information had been correct. They had found the opening buthad not entered it, as Mr. Playford had given strict orders on thispoint, thinking it probable that there would be a sharp look-out kept inthe batteries, especially as the supposed cruiser would certainly havebeen closely watched as she passed.
An hour later the anchor was got up and the _Cerf_ sailed for Oruba, offwhich she arrived three days later. There were no signs of the frigate,and indeed the _Cerf_ had arrived at the rendezvous before the timefixed. At daybreak on the third morning the topsails of the _Orpheus_were made out from the mast-head, and four hours later she and the_Cerf_ met, and Mr. Playford went on board the frigate to report.
"This is good news indeed," the captain said when he heard that thehaunt of the pirates had been discovered. "Of course you have taken theexact position of the island, for we must, if possible, take them bysurprise?"
"Yes, sir; it lies as nearly as possible in 64 deg. 30' west longitude and10 deg. 22' north latitude."
"We will lay our course east, Mr. Playford, for, of course, you willkeep company with us. The water is deep all along the coast, and thereseems to be from thirty to thirty-eight fathoms to within a mile or twoof the coast. I shall lay my course outside the Windward Islands as faras Blanquilla, thence an almost due south course will take us clear ofthe western point of Margarita and down to this island. We will discussour plan of attack later on."
On the morning of the third day after leaving Oruba the island ofBlanquilla was sighted. The frigate made the signal for Mr. Playford togo on board, and on entering the captain's cabin he found him and Mr.Hill examining the chart.
"You see, Mr. Playford, we are now as nearly as possible a hundred milesnorth of the island; with this wind we should pass the point ofMargarita at about four o'clock in the afternoon; if it freshens we willtake in sail, I want to be off the island say three or four hours beforedaybreak. You will send that French lad on board when you go back; assoon as we anchor he will go in the gig with Mr. Hill to reconnoitre andmake sure that there is no mistake about the place. When he finds thatit is all right he will come back. The boats will be in the water, andthe men on board in readiness, and will at once start, so that thelanding may, if possible, be effected just at daybreak at this ravine onthe north of the island. At the same hour you will sail in and take upyour place opposite the mouth of the harbour, and fight anything thattries to come out.
"It is quite possible that as soon as our party attack the place on theland side any craft there may be there will cut their cables and try tomake off. On no account try to enter; the batteries would blow you outof the water. You will start as soon as the boats leave the ship, andwill therefore have light enough for you to go in and to avoid makingany mistake, for you see there are half a dozen islands lying closetogether. There is no objection to their seeing you, and indeed Ishould be rather glad if they do, for in that case they are the lesslikely to discover the landing-party, and though they must see thefrigate they will think that she is only lying there to cut them off ifthey try to escape. They will be manning their batteries and gettingeverything ready to give you a warm reception, and I hope that we shalldrop upon them as if out of the clouds.
"Mr. Hill will command the landing-party, which will consist of ahundred and fifty seamen and the thirty marines, which, with theadvantage of surprise, ought to be sufficient. As you report that theisland is less than a mile long and not much more than half a mileacross, the landing-party will soon be at work. After they have landed,Mr. Hill will divide them into two parties, and will endeavour to makehis way round the inlet, keeping up among the trees, and then rush downupon the batteries. When he has captured these he will fire three gunsas a signal to you. You will have your boats in readiness, and will atonce tow the schooner in, and, on reaching the boom, bring her broadsideto bear upon any craft there, and generally aid the landing-party withyour guns. If, by good luck, the three craft we have been so longlooking for are all there you will have a strong force to tackle; youmay certainly take it that their crews will together mount up to threehundred men, and it is likely that there may be a hundred others whoform what we may call the garrison of the place when they are away."
"Very well, sir."
The two vessels headed south under easy canvas, passed the point ofMargarita at the hour that had been arranged, and then taking in stillmore sail proceeded slowly on until, about one o'clock in the morning,the island could be made out with the night-glasses. Then both were laidto, Captain Crosbie having forbidden anchoring, in the first place owingto the great depth of water, and in the next because, although theisland was three miles away, the chain-cable running out might be heardat night if the pirates had anyone on watch on the hill. Nat, whosewatch it was, saw the gig shoot away from the side of the frigate. Anhour later and there was a bustle and stir on board the _Orpheus_, andall her boats were lowered. At five bells the crew began to take theirplaces in them, and soon afterwards the gig returned. The watch belowwere called up and sail was made, and at half-past three the boatsstarted, and the _Cerf_ was headed towards the land. Dawn was justbreaking when they reached the island. All was still. It had beenarranged that, unless discovered, the attack on the batteries was not tobe made until five o'clock, and just at that hour the _Cerf_ arrived offthe narrow entrance to the port. Half an hour before, a musket had beendischarged on the hill above them, and it was clear that their cominghad been observed; but as no sound of conflict could be heard inlandthere was every reason to suppose that the pirates had no suspicion of alanding having been effected on the other side.
"That is what I call being punctual," Nat said to Curtis as two bellsrang out just as they opened the passage.
A light kedge anchor was dropped, and as this was done a patter ofmusketry broke out from the hill above them. Their action showed thatthe arrival of the brigantine was no matter of chance, but that she wasthere expressly with the intention of attacking the pirates' stronghold,and those who had been watching her, therefore, saw that any furtherattempt at concealment was useless. In the night the canvas band hadbeen taken down, as there was no longer any reason for concealing theidentity of the brigantine. The musketry fire only lasted for a minute,for suddenly a roar of battle broke out within a hundred yards of themouth of the entrance. The sailors burst into a loud cheer
. It wasevident that the landing-party had met with complete success so far, andhad approached the batteries unobserved, and that a hand-to-hand fightwas going on.
Above the cracking of pistols the cheers of the seamen could be plainlyheard, but in two or three minutes the uproar died away, and then threeguns were fired at short intervals. The boats were already in the water,the kedge lifted, and the crews bending forward in readiness for thesignal.
"Take her in, lads!" the lieutenant shouted, and the schooner's head atonce began to turn towards the inlet.
A moment later two broadsides were fired.
"There are two of their craft in there!" Curtis exclaimed. "Now ourfellows have carried the batteries they have opened fire on them."
As he spoke there was another broadside, which was answered by a hurrahfrom all on deck. It was clear that they had had the good luck to catchall the pirates at once. Three minutes' rowing and the boom was insight. Mr. Playford called to one of the boats to take a rope from thestern to the battery on the right-hand side, and ordered the others tocease rowing.
"We have way enough on her!" he shouted. "As soon as you get near theboom take her head round to port, and carry the rope to shore. You canfasten it to the chain at the end of the boom."
As he gave the order a gun spoke out from the battery on the right,followed almost immediately by one on the left.
"They are slueing the guns round!" Nat exclaimed. "We shall be havingour share of the fun in another minute or two."
They could now obtain a view into the piece of water inside the passage.It was nearly circular, and some three hundred yards across. Twobrigantines and a schooner were lying in line, within fifty yards of theopposite shore. A large range of storehouses stood by the water's edge,while the hillsides were dotted with huts, and dwelling-places of largersize. By the time that the brigantine was got into position by the sideof the boom the pirates had loaded again, and several shots struck her.
Her guns were already loaded, and those on board poured a broadside intothe brigantine at the end of the line. The sailors in the battery wereworking with might and main to slue all the guns round to bear upon thepirates. On the hillsides above them a scattered fire of musketry wasbeing kept up, and Mr. Hill hailed the schooner.
"Mr. Playford, will you land a party of fifteen men on each side toclear the hills of those rascals? I don't think there are many of them,but they are doing us a good deal of damage, for they can hardly miss usclosely packed as we are here."
"Ay, ay, sir. You hear the orders, gentlemen. Mr. Curtis, you land withfifteen men on the starboard side, and do you, Mr. Glover, take theparty that lands to port. Clear the scoundrels out--give no quarter!"
The boats had just returned. The two midshipmen leapt into them, and afew strokes took them ashore.
"Up the hill, lads!" Nat shouted. "Don't fire until you are at closequarters. Give them one volley if they are together, then sling yourguns, and go at them with the cutlass!"
There was but little fighting, however, for there were only ten ortwelve pirates on either side, as their main force was distributedbetween the batteries and the ships. They were therefore very easilydriven off, five or six of them being killed and the rest flying withall speed towards their village, where those who had escaped from thebatteries were already going off in boats to the ships. The twomidshipmen therefore returned to the schooner.
"Don't come on board!" Mr. Playford shouted. "See if you can free oneend of the boom. If so we will go in and engage one of those craft."
It was found that the boom was fastened at Nat's side, and the chain wassoon unwound from the stump of a large tree. Then the two boats togethergot hold of the end of the boom and swung it round so that the schoonercould pass. The enemy kept up a heavy fire upon them while they weredoing this, and just as the job was completed, Curtis's boat was smashedto pieces by a round shot. The breeze was very light, but it was in theright direction.
"Shall we tow, sir?" Nat called to his commander.
"Certainly not. Get your men on board at once."
The sails, which had been loosely furled, were dropped again, and thebrigantine stole past the batteries, which saluted her with a rousingcheer, while the guns were worked with redoubled energy to keep down thefire of the pirates. The _Cerf_ was swept with round shot and grape bythe guns of the three piratical craft, but the distance to be traversedwas so small, and the fire from the battery to which the pirates workingtheir guns were exposed was so heavy, that the men fired wildly, and the_Cerf_ suffered less than might have been expected while crossing theintervening two hundred yards of water. She was steered straight for theschooner, and as her bowsprit ran in between the pirate's masts thecrew, who had been crouching forward, leapt down on to her deck, headedby their commander and the two midshipmen.
The pirates, although they had suffered heavily, were still insufficient force to offer an efficient resistance, but their courage hadbeen shaken by the suddenness of the attack. They had lain down to sleepwith the assurance that the port was unknown and unsuspected, that thebatteries that guarded it could sink any hostile ship that attempted toenter, and their dismay when these batteries were attacked and carriedby an enemy who seemed to spring out of the earth, and their onlyretreat cut off, was overwhelming.
Already the heavy guns of the battery had done terrible execution. Twoof the guns on that side had been dismounted, and a third of the crewkilled; consequently, although a small portion of the number led bytheir captain fought desperately, and were killed to the last man, themajority leapt overboard at once and swam ashore. Leaving ten men incharge of the prize, the lieutenant called all the rest back on boardthe _Cerf_, which remained in the position in which she had run head onto the schooner, and she was now able to bring her broadsides into playupon the brigantines, the pieces forward raking them from stem to stern,while the batteries continued their terrible fire. In a few minutes thepirates began to take to the boats, which were lying by their sides justas they had come off from the shore. Once begun, the movement spreadrapidly. The boats were soon crowded, and those who could not findplaces in them leapt overboard.
"Take the boat and a dozen men, Mr. Curtis, and haul down the black flagof the craft to starboard; and you, Mr. Glover, take one of the prize'sboats and do the same to the other brigantine."
They turned to execute the order when all on board the _Cerf_ werehurled to the deck--one of the brigantines had blown up with atremendous explosion, that brought most of the huts on the hillside tothe ground, carried away both masts of the _Cerf_, and drove fragmentsof wreckage high into the air, whence they fell partly in the pool,partly on shore. Fortunately for the _Cerf_ only a few fragments of anysize struck her deck, the pieces for the most part falling in a widercircle. Numbers of the pirates who had just landed from their boats werekilled, and many more were injured by being hurled down on to therocks, dazed and half-stunned. Those on board the _Cerf_ who had escapedsevere injury rose to their feet.
Not more than twenty-five did so. Lieutenant Playford lay dead, crushedunder a mast; Curtis had been hurled against one of the guns and hisbrains dashed out; ten of the sailors had been killed either by thefalling masts or by being dashed against the bulwarks; twelve had fallenunder the enemy's fire as the _Cerf_ crossed the pool; twelve otherswere hurt more or less either by the enemy's missiles or by the shock.It was three or four minutes before the silence that followed wasbroken. Then Mr. Hill hailed across the water:
"_Cerf_ ahoy! have you suffered much?"
"Terribly," Nat shouted back; "Lieutenant Playford and Mr. Curtis areboth killed. We have only twenty-five men in any way fit for serviceleft."
"If you have got a boat that will swim send it ashore."
Nat looked over the side, the boat had been stove by a falling fragment;then he crossed to the prize, and found that one of the boats wasuninjured. Four men were just getting into it, when Mr. Hill hailedagain:
"Let them bring a rope with them, Mr. Glover; we will tow you overhere."
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The end of a hawser was put into the boat, and the men rowed with it tothe battery.
"Mr. Glover!" the lieutenant again hailed.
"Yes, sir."
"I am sending the boat back again. I think that had they put a slowmatch in the magazine of the other brigantine it would have explodedbefore this. However, you had better remain where you are for a quarterof an hour, to be sure; then, before you move, board the brigantine andflood the magazine. Otherwise, as soon as you have left, some of thesedesperadoes might swim off to her and put a match there."
"Very well, sir, I will go at once if you like."
"No, there is no use running any unnecessary risk. You had better floodthe schooner's magazine first."
"Ay, ay, sir."
Taking half a dozen hands with buckets, Nat went on board the prize andsoon flooded the magazine; then he and those who were able to help didall they could for the wounded, several of whom, who had only beenstunned, were presently on their legs again. When the quarter of an hourhad passed he asked for volunteers. All the survivors stepped forward.
"Four men will be enough," he said. "Bring buckets with you."
It was not without a feeling of awe that Nat and the four sailorsstepped on to the deck of the brigantine, for although he was convincedthat had a match been lighted the explosion would have taken place longbefore, as it was now five-and-twenty minutes since the crew haddeserted her, neither he nor the men had entirely recovered from thesevere shock of the explosion. He led the way below; all was quiet; thedoor of the magazine was open, but there was no smell of burning powder,and they entered fearlessly.
"All right, lads; now as quick as you like with your buckets."
An abundance of water was thrown in; then, to make quite certain, Natlocked the door of the magazine, and put the key in his pocket. A cheerbroke from the men in the battery as he and his companions again tooktheir places in the boat and rowed to the _Cerf_. He was hailed again byMr. Hill.
"I have changed my mind, Mr. Glover; now that I know there is no risk ofanother explosion, I think perhaps you had best remain where you are. Wewill give you a pull to get you free of the schooner, then you hadbetter range the _Cerf_ alongside of her; keep your guns and those ofthe brigantine both loaded with grape; send your boat ashore to fetchoff the wounded."
"I have two boats now, sir; one of the brigantine's was left behind, andis uninjured."
"Then send them both ashore, the sooner we get the wounded off thebetter. I am going to move forward with all my men; we have spiked theguns here, and if they should come down into the batteries again you canclear them out. You will, of course, help us, if we meet with strongresistance, with your guns on the shore-side."
"Ay, ay, sir."
The two boats were sent ashore, and the wounded came off with Dr.Bemish. As soon as they all came on board Nat said:
"I will leave you with the wounded here, doctor, with four of my men tohelp you. We are so littered up that we could hardly work the guns, andas you see, three of them were dismounted by the explosion; besides, theprize alongside would hamper us, therefore I will take the rest of themen on board the brigantine."
"I think that will be a very good plan, my lad," the doctor replied. "Iquite agree with you, that with the spars and wreckage on one side andthe prize on the other, you are practically helpless."
The men were at once set to work bringing up powder cartridges from themagazine; grape and round-shot they would find on board the brigantine.
In ten minutes the guns of that craft were reloaded. The two bodies ofmen from the batteries had by this time reached the storehouses. Not ashot had been fired, but a minute later there was a loud word ofcommand, followed by a fierce yell, and in a moment both parties wereengaged, a heavy fire being opened upon them from every spot of vantageon the hillside in front of them.
"Now, my lads, give them a dose of grape!" Nat shouted. "I expect theyare two to one to our fellows still. Train them carefully."
Gun after gun sent showers of grape among the hidden foe, who were forthe most part lying behind the cactus hedges of the gardens thatsurrounded the huts. The three forward guns assisted Mr. Hill's party,while the others aided that commanded by Needham. Although but four mento a gun, the sailors worked so hard that the pieces were discharged asrapidly as if they had been manned by a full complement, and theireffect was visible in the diminution of the enemy's fire, and by theline of smoke gradually mounting the hill, showing that the pirates werefalling back, while the cheers of the sailors and marines as theypressed steadily upwards, rapidly plying their muskets, rose louder andlouder. Near the upper edge of the cleared ground the pirates made astand, but the fire of the guns proved too much for them, and they tookto the forest. Presently a sailor ran down to the shore.
"The first lieutenant says, sir, will you please continue your fire intothe forest. He is going to cut down all the hedges and fire the huts, sothat they will have to pass over open ground if they attack again."
"Tell Mr. Hill I will do so," Nat shouted back.
It was not long after the fire had been turned in that direction beforethe puffs of smoke that darted out from the edge of the forest ceasedaltogether. The sailors could now be seen slashing away with theircutlasses at the lines of cactus hedge, while the huts that still stoodwere speedily in flames. Numbers of women and children now came down tothe shore, where they were placed in charge of six of the marines and anon-commissioned officer. A quarter of an hour later, while Nat waswatching what was going on on shore, one of the men touched him.
"Look, sir, they are going down to the batteries!"
The men were at once ordered across to the guns on the other side, andthese opened with grape upon two bodies of pirates, each some seventy oreighty strong, who were rushing down to the batteries. The discharge ofthe six guns did terrible execution, but the survivors without pausingdashed down to the works. Cries of disappointment and rage broke outfrom them on finding the guns spiked, and before they could be reloadedthey ran up the hill again, and were in shelter in the forest.
"I fancy that is about the end of it," Nat said to the petty officerstanding by his side. "I don't think that above fifty of either partygot safely away."
"Not more than that, sir. I expect it has taken the fight out of them."
"It was a hopeless attempt, for although, if the guns had been loaded,they might have sunk us, our fellows on shore would soon have been uponthem again, and it would have come to the same thing."
"Yes, sir, the same thing to the pirates, but not the same thing to us."
"No, you are right there; those twenty-four guns loaded with ball wouldhave sent us to the bottom in no time. You see, our men only used grapebefore, and aimed at the decks."
Mr. Hill now hailed from the shore again:
"Mr. Glover!"
"Ay, ay, sir!"
"Have the goodness to send your boat ashore, I want to send a note offto the captain. On their way the men must stop at the boats on the otherside of the island, and tell the boat keepers to bring them round hereat once."
Four men were sent ashore in the boat, and one of the petty officerstook his place in the stern, with a hasty note which the firstlieutenant had written in pencil stating that the loss had been veryheavy, that the work of rooting out the pirates had not yet beencompleted, and that he should be glad of some more men to occupy thevillage while he searched the woods. The boat started at once, andtwenty minutes later the captain's gig shot into the cove. As soon asthe report of the first gun was heard on board the frigate, and therewas no longer any motive for remaining at a distance, her head had beenturned to the island, and the boat had met her but half a mile away fromthe entrance.
After reading the note, Captain Crosbie sent one of the gigs to orderthe boats round to the inlet, and proceeded in his own boat toinvestigate the state of affairs, ordering the _Cerf's_ boat to rowahead of the frigate, which was to work in under very reduced sail,sounding as she went, and was, if the water was deep
enough, to anchoroff the mouth of the cove.
"Then you found all the pirates here, Mr. Hill?" the captain said as helanded.
"Yes, sir, but they blew up one of their craft when they left her."
"Yes, of course we heard the report; it shook the frigate as if she hadstruck on a rock. It must have been tremendous here."
"Yes, sir, she must have had an immense deal of powder in her magazine;the shock was something terrible. Although we were over there in thatbattery, every one of us was thrown to the ground and several werekilled. Two of the guns were dismounted."
"It was a veritable battle for a time, Mr. Hill. It sounded like a navalengagement on a large scale."
"Yes, we had twenty-four guns in the batteries all at work, and the gunsof the _Cerf_, while the three pirates had the same number in theirbroadsides, besides two heavy swivel-guns."
"You say the loss is heavy. What does it amount to?"
"I cannot tell you exactly, sir. There were twenty-five killed on boardthe _Cerf_, in addition to Mr. Playford and Mr. Curtis. The two officersand about half the men were, Mr. Glover reported, killed by theexplosion, which, as you see, dismasted her."
"Dear me! That is heavy indeed, and I most deeply regret the death ofthe two officers."
"So do I indeed, sir. Mr. Playford was an excellent officer, and as gooda fellow as ever walked. Mr. Curtis would have made, I am sure, a goodofficer in time. I hardly thought he would when he first joined, but hewas improving greatly, and he showed great courage in working to removethe boom under a very heavy fire from the pirates, which sunk his boatunder him."
"Your division, Mr. Hill--what are your casualties?"
"We took the batteries almost without loss, sir, but in the duel withthe pirates we lost in the two batteries fourteen killed; nine more werekilled by the explosion; we sent eighteen off to the _Cerf_ allseriously wounded; as to contusions and minor hurts, I should say thatthere is not a man who escaped them."
"Well, well, that is a heavy bill indeed; forty-eight men killed and twoofficers--why, we should probably have lost less in an action against afrigate of our own size! However, we have destroyed this nest ofpirates, and have captured three of their four ships, the other is blownup. Now, what is the state of things here?"
"There are, I believe, some hundred and fifty or two hundred of thepirates still on the island. They are divided into two parties, and thelast firing you heard was when they rushed down into the batteries,thinking, no doubt, to take revenge by sinking the brigantine and thetwo prizes. Mr. Glover opened fire upon them with grape with greateffect. When they got into the battery they found that I had spiked theguns, which I did when I left them, thinking they might make just such amove. I sent off to you, sir, in order that the storehouses andbuildings might be held while we cleared the wood on one side down tothe mouth of the cove. When we have done that we can do the same on theother side."
"Did you have any casualties in taking the village?"
"Several wounded, sir, none killed. Mr. Glover drove them out withgrape, and so rendered our work comparatively easy. I am sorry to saythat almost the last shot fired by them hit Mr. Needham high up in theleft arm. The doctor came ashore a few minutes ago, after attending tothe wounded sent on board the _Cerf_. He examined the arm, and tells methat the bone is completely smashed, and that he must amputate ithalf-way between the elbow and shoulder."
"That is bad indeed. However, it is better than if it had been his rightarm. Mr. Harpur," said the captain to the midshipman who had come ashorewith him, "take the gig off and meet the boats. Tell the launch andpinnace to go alongside the frigate, and request Mr. Normandy to sendMr. Marston ashore with fifty more men. What on earth are we to do withthese poor creatures?" he went on to the first lieutenant as the gigrowed away. "Of course we must take them to Jamaica. Theirs is aterrible position. No doubt they have all been captured in the prizesthe villains have taken, and most of them must have seen their husbandsor fathers murdered before their eyes. Some of them may have been herelong enough to become accustomed to their lot, many of them may havebeen captured lately. What is to become of them I don't know.
"You have not opened any of the storehouses yet?"
"No, sir, we have been pretty busy, you see. We cut down all the cactushedges round the huts high up on the hill, so as to keep the piratesfrom working down and making a fresh attack upon us. As to the otherhouses, I have given strict orders that no one is to enter them. The menhave piled arms and are lying down by them; many of them have notcompletely recovered from the shock of the explosion, and all arebruised more or less by being hurled on to the rocks or against theguns. I fancy the doctor will have his hands full for many a day."
"Well, you must pick out twenty or so from those most fit for duty. Theycan join the men I sent for and finish the business. The rest can be onguard here, in case the party on the other side take it into their headsto make an attack."