CHAPTER VII
Ramon Porfirio
After four days and four nights of captivity, during which period the_Donibristle_ had covered about 600 miles, the engines ceased theirsteady throb, and the prisoners heard the muffled roar of achain-cable running through the hawse-pipe.
Speculation was rife as to where the captured merchantman hadbrought-up, while the majority of the captives expressed an opinionthat, provided they found themselves in the open air, the locality ofthe anchorage didn't very much matter just at present. After nearly ahundred hours of close confinement, fed on meagre and monotonousfare, unwashed and unkempt, they welcomed the prospect of a change.
Their guards, too, had been removed. Evidently the pirates were nowsatisfied that the prisoners were no longer in a position to causetrouble; while in support of that theory a half-caste South Americanappeared and unbolted the dead-lights.
The flow of pure, balmy air through the now opened scuttles was likea draught of the sweetest nectar to the jaded and dishevelled men.There was a rush to see where the ship was lying, until at everyscuttle two or three people were simultaneously trying to look out.
The _Donibristle_ was lying in a circular and apparently completelylandlocked harbour surrounded by tall cliffs. Further examinationrevealed a narrow gap, which, in turn, was fronted on the seawardside by a lofty ridge of rock, which, harmonizing with the cliffs ofthe island, presented at first sight an appearance of continuity. Thecliffs were so high and close to the water's edge that from the_Donibristle_ it was impossible to see what lay beyond--whether theground rose to a still greater height, whether it was wooded orotherwise, or whether the island was of large or small extent.
About two cables away lay the _Malfilio_, also at anchor, whilecloser in shore were two vessels that Burgoyne rightly concluded werethe ill-fated _Alvarado_ and _Kittiwake_. A few sailing craft,_bêche de mer_ traders seized by the pirates, were also to be seen,some of them lying aground with a heavy list.
It was now close on sunset. The tranquil waters of the harbour wereshrouded in deepening shadow, while the horizontal rays of thesetting sun bathed the summit of the eastern cliffs in a glint ofreddish gold. Beyond that serrated line of sun-bathed cliff the skywas broken by three thin columns of smoke rising slowly in the stillair.
"It's a snug berth at all events," observed Burgoyne, with a sailor'sunerring instinct for a safe harbour. "But it would puzzle a strangerto find his way in."
"Will they set us ashore to-night, do you think?" asked ColonelVivian.
Before Alwyn could reply the door was thrown open, and the engineerofficers of both watches entered. That was a sign that their work inthe engine-room was finished.
In the dim light no one noticed that Withers was not with them, butthat instead there was a stranger, a tall, slender fellow of almostWithers's height and build, rigged out in the company's uniform, andwith the peaked cap raked jauntily over the left eye. And until the"fellow" went straight up to the Colonel and took hold of his hands,even Burgoyne failed to recognize Hilda Vivian.
"We couldna let the wee lassie bide there," declared Angusapologetically, as if he were ashamed of having brought her along."An' ye ken fine why."
"And where's Withers?" asked Burgoyne.
The old Scot shook his head.
"A' would do it," he declared, and went on to explain that the SecondEngineer had insisted in donning a fireman's boiler-suit and givinghis uniform to Miss Vivian.
"An' in the gloamin' they'll no ken the difference," he concluded.
"So far so good," soliloquized Alwyn. "But in daylight there may bequite a different story. The rascals have seen Withers and the otherfellow going in and out of the engine-room. They'll twig a strangeofficer in a trice, I'm afraid."
But a glance at Hilda convinced him that running the risk had itscompensations. The girl, even in her sorrow at her mother's death,was happy at being reunited to her father--her sole survivingrelative. Clearly she was taking little or no thought for the morrow.
When it became a practically assured fact that the prisoners were toremain on board at least another night, there was general activity onthe part of all the able-bodied men, with one exception, to fix upMiss Vivian in her new quarters. Willing hands quickly clearedout--it could not truthfully be said "cleaned out"--one of the cabinsfor her use, making far less fuss about having to sleep uncomfortablycrowded than they had when they had fifteen hundred cubic feet morespace.
BLACK STROGOFF ADDRESSES THE "DONIBRISTLE'S" CREW]
The exception was Jules Miles, the Canuk bagman. At daybreak thesurvivors of the _Donibristle's_ original crew were ordered on deck.Evidently the pirates were in a desperate hurry, for the _Malfilio_was lying with steam raised ready to proceed to sea. During the nightshe had coaled, receiving her coal from the captured _Alvarado_.
So, without even the formality of a search, the prisoners were sentashore, the wounded being carried in strips of canvas cut fromdiscarded awnings.
The undamaged boats of the _Alvarado_ were employed to convey theprisoners from the _Donibristle_ to the beach, and in consequence thejourney was a painful one for the wounded.
But in the hasty performance of the operations Hilda Vivian escapeddetection, and once again Burgoyne, in his capacity of seniorunwounded officer, thanked Heaven that so far the villainous pirateshad so far failed to penetrate the deception. Incidentally he wasthankful that the prisoners had had no opportunity to wash duringtheir four days incarceration. Their faces were black with the grimeof battle, and thus Hilda Vivian was furnished with an additionaldisguise.
On landing, the _Donibristle's_ crew were formed up in a hollowsquare, with armed guards patrolling the outer face of the formation.Here they were kept in suspense for more than a quarter of an hour,until the arrival of the pirate captain, Don Ramon Porfirio, attendedby his lieutenants, Pablo Henriques and Black Fritz Strogoff.
Ramon Porfirio was a Bolivian by birth, but had spent most of histime since the age of sixteen in various seaports of Chili and Peru.He was about thirty-five years of age, of medium height, and inclinedto corpulence. His features were remarkable, his face being round andflabby; but instead of the broad short nose usually associated withthis type of countenance his nasal organ was very pronounced, andbeaked like a parrot's. His hair, bluish black and liberally oiled,hung a good six inches below the back of his gilt-braided cap. Withthe exception of closely-cropped side-whiskers he was clean shaven,although the bluish tint of the lower part of his face pointedclearly to the fact that he had not renewed his acquaintance with therazor that morning.
The pirate captain was rigged out in the undress uniform of anadmiral of the Imperial Russian Navy. The tarnished buttons stilldisplayed the double-headed eagle of the Romanoffs; the salt-stainedblue coat was considerably the worse for wear. Burgoyne found himselfwondering what had been the fate of the original wearer of theuniform, and by what roundabout way it had come into the possessionof Ramon Porfirio.
Pablo Henriques requiring no further introduction, it will benecessary only to portray the third pirate officer, "Black" FritzStrogoff.
He was short in stature, being only about five feet four inches, andgrotesquely broad in proportion to his height. He had hardly anyneck, literally speaking, although figuratively he possessed plenty.His features were swarthy, while by a curious contrast his hair wasof a light straw colour. In point of age he was the eldest of thethree. Although the date of his birth was unknown to him, he was fondof announcing that he entered the University of Dorpat in 1893; so,assuming him to be seventeen or eighteen at that time, he was nowabout forty-four or forty-five.
He could speak three languages fluently--Russian, German, andSpanish--and had a useful knowledge of English, French, and some ofthe dialects of Eastern Asia. In the days of the Russian Empire hehad experienced the horrors of Siberia. During the war he had playedno unimportant part in the intrigue between Soviet Russia andGermany. Not receiving what he deemed to be adequate reward fromLenin and Trotsky, he made
his way, via Vladivostok, to one of theSouth American republics, where he came in contact with RamonPorfirio.
It was Fritz Strogoff who engineered most of the latter'senterprises. He was the brains of the pirate organization, and whileup to the present he was content to let Porfirio take precedence, hewas merely awaiting a favourable opportunity of cutting hisconnection with the _Malfilio_, taking with him considerably morethan the agreed share of the ill-gotten booty. He did not believe inplaying too long with Fate.
Ramon Porfirio was literally the tool of his second lieutenant,although, with the arrogance of a Spaniard with a decided dash ofIndian blood, he failed utterly to recognize Strogoff's influence. Ofan imaginative, reckless, and hot-tempered disposition, he firmlybelieved that he was a leader of men, and a worthy successor toMorgan, Mansfield, and other famous buccaneers.
Beginning his career as a small public official at Lima, Porfiriosoon found that existence was far too tame. He absconded, taking20,000 dollars of public money, and found a temporary refuge inChile. At Talcahuano he came in touch with German agents, who were atthat time busily engaged in picking up news in order to keep von Speeinformed of the movements of Craddock's squadron. At that time therewas hardly such a thing as British propaganda, and Porfirio, throughhis German associates, was well primed with utterly erroneous ideasof the might of Britain's sea-power.
It was to the Huns at Talcahuano that he owed the thought of becominga sea-corsair, and preying upon unprotected British shipping. Theidea grew and took tangible form. After acquiring a smattering of thearts of seamanship and navigation, he felt confident enough to embarkupon his career of piracy, but the difficulty was to find a vesselsuitable to his pocket and his needs.
About this time he met Strogoff. Hinting at his ambition and hisdifficulties, Porfirio found, as he thought, a kindred spirit.Strogoff suggested that the Kamtchatkan port of Petropavlovsk wouldfurnish the necessary vessel. It was about that time that Siberiasuccumbed to Bolshevism, and several Russian light cruisers andgunboats were lying at Petropavlovsk. Since it was hopeless for themto return either to the Black Sea or the Gulf of Finland, it was morethan likely that an armed vessel might be acquired at a reasonableprice.
Incidentally Strogoff mentioned that he knew of a secret naval base,situated in a remote island in the North Pacific. It had beenprepared some years before the Great War for the use of the Germansquadron stationed in these waters, so that when "der Tag" dawned theHun commerce-destroyers would have a base to operate from shouldKiao-Chau prove useless--as it quickly did--to the squadron.
Fortunately, owing to the total destruction of von Spee's ships, andthe transference of the _Emden's_ and _Königsburg's_ activities tothe Indian Ocean, the secret base was not brought into operation. Thegarrison of German marines "stuck it" for nearly a twelvemonth intotal ignorance of what was going on in the outside world. At lengththey abandoned the island, sailing, it was assumed, in a small vesselattached to the base. But no one in Germany or elsewhere ever heardmore of the lost garrison, and the fate of that handful of Hunmarines remains an unsolved mystery.
Enlisting the services of Pablo Henriques, master of a Chiliantrading schooner, Porfirio and Strogoff, accompanied by a nucleus ofhalf-castes of doubtful character, arrived at Petropavlovsk a fewweeks before the port was due to be come icebound. Under hatches theycarried six casks of wine, a quantity of woollen blankets, and twothousand dollars in gold. Before they reached the Kamtchatkan coastthe cargo was augmented by booty forcibly removed from a couple ofKanaka-manned traders. The Kanakas were easily persuaded to becomemembers of the pirate band.
The acquisition of the light cruiser _Zarizyno_ was accomplished soeasily that even Strogoff opened his eyes in astonishment. ABolshevik official, Lipski by name, readily agreed to hand over theship in exchange for the wine, blankets, and half the gold. He, too,had an eye for the main chance, and had no great faith in thestability of the Soviet Government. Moscow and Petrograd werethousands of miles away. Before Lenin and Trotsky could demand anaccount of his stewardship, Lipski would also be miles away, with hisnest well feathered, to seek an asylum in Chicago, in the vastSlavonic family domiciled under the protection of the Stars andStripes.
Augmenting their numbers by the enlistment of Chinese and Malayseamen, together with a handful of Slav desperadoes otherwisemarooned in Petropavlovsk, Porfirio and his two lieutenants took the_Zarizyno_ to sea. Slightly disguised by means of differentfunnel-markings, and given the name of _Malfilio_, she was taken tothe secret base, where her active career as a pirate began.
On the island they found an abundance of Welsh steam-coal, tinnedprovisions, clothing, quick-firing guns, machine-guns, and rifles,with a large quantity of suitable ammunition in fair condition.
At first Porfirio was content to confine his activities to thecapture of small trading vessels plying between Hawaii and thearchipelagoes south of the line; then, becoming bolder, he directedhis attention to bigger game.
The _Kittiwake_, his first big prize, was a comparatively easycapture. She furnished him mainly with flour consigned for Japan,where quite recently a large demand for wheat had arisen in place ofrice, this demand being one of the causes of the shortage of flour inEurope.
The _Kittiwake_ was taken without loss of life. Porfirio had rathershrunk from murder, owing to a mistaken idea on his part,communicated by his German friends at Talcahuano, that piracy withoutmurder was not a hanging matter. Ramon had a strong objection to ahempen rope.
But with the capture of the _Alvarado_, which yielded a richer booty,his record for milk-and-water piracy ended. Nor did he know that theprize was a Yankee until he was in possession of her, and fifteencorpses lay in her scuppers.
Having crossed the Rubicon, he was less scrupulous in his methods,but he refrained from taking life except in actual fight, or fordisregard of his orders on the part of his prisoners. To impress uponthe survivors of the _Donibristle_ his views on the subject, he hadcaused them to be formed up in a hollow square on the beach of thesecret base.
Ramon Porfirio's knowledge of English being, to say the least,imperfect, he called upon Black Strogoff to address the assembly.This the Russian proceeded to do, his speech including a number ofwords and sentences of an academic nature interspersed with thevernacular of Wapping.
He informed the _Donibristle's_ crew that they would be well treatedif they behaved, and dealt with severely if they did not. They wouldhave to work under their own officers. Failure to perform theirallotted tasks would be punished by reduction of rations, solitaryconfinement, and in exceptional cases by death.
He also mentioned in an off-hand kind of way that there werevacancies in the crew of the _Malfilio_, vacancies which offered alife that would appeal to the adventurous, with prospects of becomingrich in a very short space of time. He did not propose to ask forvolunteers at that moment (he knew that none would be forthcoming,although it was possible that later on some of the _Donibristle's_crew would secretly hand in their names) but he would be willing toconsider applications in due course.
The men heard his appeal in stolid silence. The offer fell on deafears. They were "not having any". Ramon Porfirio would have to casthis net elsewhere to obtain his recruits.