CHAPTER XVI
NED RACKHAM'S PLANS GO MUCH AMISS
THE armed brigantine had been out several days on the voyage to Virginiawhen a vessel was sighted hull-down. Captain Wellsby and Colonel Stuartdecided to edge over and take a look at the stranger although they werenot anxious to engage an enemy of heavier metal. If, however, thisshould happen to be Blackbeard in the _Revenge_ they were in no mood toavoid him, despite the odds. After an hour of sailing in a strongbreeze, it was seen that this other vessel was a small merchantman whichshifted her course as though to shake off pursuit.
"They take us for a pirate," chuckled Captain Wellsby. "I have no wishto scare 'em, poor souls. They will feel easy as soon as we bring thewind abeam."
He was about to give the order when Joe Hawkridge, gunner's mate, calledto Jack Cockrell standing his watch at the helm:
"Remember the snow I told ye of? Yonder is the same rig and tonnage,alike it as peas in a pod."
Jack spoke to the shipmaster who summoned Joe to the quarter-deck. Theboy was confident that this was the New England coasting vessel in whichNed Rackham and his pirates had appeared off Cherokee Inlet and hadcarried the marooned seamen from the sandy cay.
"A brown patch in the big main-topsail, and the bowsprit steeved more'nordinary," said Joe. "Tit for tat, Cap'n Wellsby. Your men can have thefun of jamming them in the fo'castle. And you won't find me or Jackhelpin' these picaroons to break out."
"No fear of that," sternly spoke the shipmaster. "They shall make theirexit with a taut rope and a long drop when I deliver them in Virginia."
It was to be gathered that the bold Ned Rackham had failed in hisdesperate enterprise of capturing a larger ship and that he was probablycruising up the coast in hopes of rejoining Blackbeard. The snow had toofew guns to cope with the _King George_ brigantine which could throw abattering broadside. As soon as identification was certain, CaptainWellsby hauled to windward to hold the weather gauge and Colonel Stuartcalled the men to quarters. The _Plymouth Adventure_ hands weredisappointed that they would be unable to pay their own grudge. They hadno doubt that Ned Rackham would strike his colors without a battle.
The _King George_ ran close enough for Captain Wellsby to shout throughthe trumpet:
"The snow ahoy! Send your men aboard or I'll sink you. No tricks,Rackham. Lively, now."
They saw the men running to cut the boat lashings and struggle tolaunch the boats from the deck. Ned Rackham, handsome and debonair,stared coolly at the brigantine but gave no sign that he had heard theultimatum. With a shrug he walked across the poop, glanced up at theBritish ensign which flew from his main truck, and made no motion topull it down.
"Blow your matches, boys," roared Colonel Stuart from his station in thewaist of the _King George_. "Five minutes' grace, no more."
Captain Wellsby said to wait a little. The pirates were endeavoring toquit the snow. And presently Rackham appeared to change his own purpose.No longer ignoring the _King George_, he doffed his hat in a gracefulflourish and bowed with a mocking obeisance. Then he strolled to thecabin hatch and went below, presumably to get a change of clothing orsomething of the sort. But he failed to reappear and his men were in afrenzy of haste, with one boat already in the water.
So incensed was Colonel Stuart by the insolent refusal of Ned Rackham tostrike his colors in token of surrender that he gave orders to fire atthe mainmast and try to bring it down. An instant before the starboardbattery thundered, the snow seemed to fly upwards in a tremendousexplosion. The masts were flung out of her and the hull opened like ashattered basket. So violent was the shock that men were thrown to thedeck of the _King George_ and she quivered as though her bows hadrammed a reef. Black smoke spouted as from a crater and debris raineddown on a boiling sea.
A few survivors, scorched or half-stunned, were clinging to bits ofwreckage and wailing for succor. Where the snow had floated was adiscolored eddy, broken timbers, a lather of dirty foam. CaptainJonathan Wellsby picked himself up, rubbed a bump on his head, and gazedwildly at the tragic scene. Collecting his wits, he exclaimed:
"That 'ud be like Ned Rackham, to blow up the ship sooner than be takenand hanged. More than likely he had the train all laid to the powderbarrels."
"He saved us a lot of trouble," said Colonel Stuart as he climbed to thepoop. "A fellow of iron will and courage, this Rackham, by all accounts.I have conceived a respect for him."
"I forgive him his sins," replied the skipper. "Now, lads, boats away,and fish up those dying wretches."
Joe Hawkridge emitted a jubilant whoop and dived over the rail withoutwaiting for a boat. He had caught a glimpse of a feeble swimmer whosesquare, solid features and bushy brows were familiar. It was PeterTobey, the carpenter's mate, who had befriended him on the cay and whohad set adrift that miraculous cask of food and water. A few strokes andJoe was at his side, clutching him by the neck-band and towing himtoward the _King George_ like a faithful retriever. Ropes were flung tothem and Joe saw his good friend safely aboard before he went up theside.
The carpenter's mate was both burned and bruised but his hurts were notgrievous and he was able to drag himself aft with Joe as a crutch.
"My own particular prize, sir, by your gracious leave," said JoeHawkridge, addressing Captain Wellsby. "This is Mr. Peter Tobey, a poor,faint-hearted pirate like me. May I have him to keep, sir?"
"Bless me, but there will be no pirates left to hang," was the quizzicalreply. "Master Cockrell has adopted you, and now I am ordered to be kindto Bill Saxby and Trimble Rogers if I meet up with 'em."
"That's the whole list, sir. Ask Jack Cockrell. You can string the restof the bloody pirates to the yardarm, for all we care. Do I getexemption for this Peter Tobey?"
"What is your verdict, Colonel Stuart?" asked the captain.
"I heard the tale from Hawkridge," answered the brusque but generoussoldier. "The carpenter's mate has won my allegiance. What say you inyour own behalf, Peter Tobey?"
The blistered, singed survivor touched a hand to his forehead andrespectfully responded:
"A carpenter by trade and nature, and allus was. I never see one happyday a-piratin' nor did I shed the blood of any human creatur'. With abench and tools, you will find me a proper handy man in Charles Town."
"That clinches it," cried Colonel Stuart. "I should call it a crime tohang an artisan like Peter Tobey. Your prize is awarded you, Hawkridge.See that he is well cared for."
"The first booty that ever was handed me from a sinkin' ship," said Joe."Come along, Master Tobey, and roll into my bunk."
"Verily I was castin' bread upon the waters when I gave that cask to thewind and tide," devoutly murmured the carpenter's mate as he limpedbelow with his new owner.
No more than a dozen other pirates were rescued alive and several ofthese expired soon after they were lifted aboard the brigantine. Thiswas the only sensational incident of the coastwise voyage to the JamesRiver. Comfortably quartered, with no more work than was wholesome, JackCockrell and Joe Hawkridge thought it a holiday excursion after theirprevious adventures at sea.
In the roadstead of the James were two men-of-war, small frigates flyingthe broad pennant of the Royal Navy. A conference was held in the cabinof the senior officer, to which Captain Wellsby and Colonel Stuart wereinvited. The latest advices made it seem certain that Blackbeard stilllurked off the coast of the Carolinas. Planters had reported seeing hisship in Pamlico Sound and it was also learned that he had been incommunication with the disloyal Governor Eden at Bath Town. A letter hadbeen intercepted, in handwriting of the Governor's secretary, andaddressed to Captain Teach, which included these words:
"_I have sent you four of your men. They are all I can meet with abouttown. Be upon your guard._"
This was readily construed to mean that Blackbeard was in haste torecall such of his crew as had strayed ashore. At the council of war inthe frigate's cabin, a proclamation was read. It offered a handsomereward for the capture of Captain Edward Teach, dead or alive, andlesser rewards for othe
r pirates.
It was the decision that the two frigates were unhandy for cruisinginshore. Therefore officers and men would be chosen from them to fillthe complements of two sloops, light and active craft which would beunhampered by batteries of cannon. They would be employed for boardingBlackbeard's ship while the Charles Town brigantine _King George_ shouldconvoy them and engage in the attack if the depth of water shouldpermit. The naval officer selected to command the sloops was LieutenantMaynard who went off to the _King George_ to inspect her and make a callof courtesy.
He was especially cordial to Master Cockrell and Gunner's Mate JoeHawkridge, laying aside the stiff dignity of naval rank. To hispersuasive argument that they enter the royal service with promise ofquick promotion, they turned a deaf ear although they were wonderfullytaken with him. He was a gentle, soft-spoken young man with a boyishsmile who blushed when pressed to talk of his own exploits against theSpanish, the Dutch, and the French in Britannia's wooden walls. His ownquestions were mostly about Blackbeard's fighting quality. Would he makea stand against disciplined tars who were accustomed to close in,hammer-and-tongs? Joe Hawkridge answered to this:
"I ne'er saw him in action against a king's ship, and all his wildnonsense is apt to delude ye into thinkin' him a drunken play-actor. Butyou will never take him alive, so long as those bandy legs have strengthto prop him up."
"I look forward to meeting him with a deal of pleasure. It may be mygood fortune to measure swords with him," observed Lieutenant Maynard.
Joe Hawkridge was puzzled by this gentle fire-eater with the complexionof a girl. Nothing could have been more unlike the ramping, roaringpirates of Blackbeard's dirty crew who tried to terrify by their veryappearance. After the lieutenant had returned to his frigate, JackCockrell remarked:
"A most misleading man, Joe. You cannot picture him seeking the bubblereputation at the cannon's mouth, as Will Shakespeare saith."
"Blackbeard will bite him in two," replied Joe. "He is too pretty to berisked in such a slaughter pen. I own up to feelin' squeamish on my ownaccount, hardy pirate though I be."
"This Lieutenant Maynard is welcome to measure swords with Blackbeard,"said Jack, "and I shall not quarrel with him for the honor. Pick me apirate with a wooden leg, Joe, or one that still shakes with Spanishfever."
"My only chance of getting out with a whole skin is to lug a sack offlour under one arm and play the ghost o' Jesse Strawn."
Expeditiously the brigantine and the two sloops sailed out of the JamesRiver to head for the North Carolina coast and first rake the nooks andbays of Pamlico Sound. There was no intention of offering Blackbeardfair odds in battle. With men and vessels enough it was resolved toexterminate him, like ridding a house of rats or other vermin. If he hadgone out to sea, then the pursuers would wait and watch for his returnto his favorite haunts in these waters. There was every reason tobelieve, however, that he was concealed inshore, within easy distance ofhis friend Governor Eden.
Failing to find him in Pamlico Sound, it was debated whether to cruisefarther to the southward. Now Master Jack Cockrell and his chum had saidnothing to the officers concerning the treasure in the Cherokee swamp.They felt bound in honor not to reveal it without the consent of BillSaxby and old Trimble Rogers who were partners in the enterprise.Moreover, Lieutenant Maynard and the Virginia officers would feel boundto turn the treasure over to the crown or its representatives. GovernorEden of North Carolina would undoubtedly claim it as found within histerritory and this meant that he would steal most of it for himself.
It thrilled the lads when Colonel Stuart told them that this Provincialsquadron would cruise as far as Cherokee Inlet before working to thenorthward again. Information had led the officers to believe thatBlackbeard had lost many men by desertion while his ship lay at BathTown and near by. They had been roving about the plantations and makinga nuisance of themselves and seemed ready to quit their red-handeddespot of a master. In this event he might have sought his oldhiding-place at the Inlet sooner than risk a clash with the force whichhad been sent after him and of which he had been warned by GovernorEden.
Lieutenant Maynard scouted in advance with the two sloops because therewas small danger of their getting aground and they could be moved alongwith oars if the wind failed. The brigantine kept further offshore butwithin signaling distance. She was running within sight of thescattering barrier of low islands when Captain Wellsby summoned JoeHawkridge and informed him:
"You will act as pilot, Joe, once we fetch sounding on the Twelve FathomBank. The chart is faulty, as ye know, and me and my mates are instrange waters with a'mighty little elbow-room. You know the marks, Itake it."
"Aye, sir, I do that," answered Joe. "Then I stays aboard ship and missthe chance to go pokin' about with a cutlass? I'm all screwed up toterrible deeds, Cap'n Wellsby, after a spell o' mortal fear. And whotakes care of Master Cockrell if he goes in a boat?"
"His own lusty right arm, Joe. Avast with your melancholy. We must firstcatch this Blackbeard."
Presently Joe Hawkridge footed it up the main shrouds to scan the seaahead and try to get a glimpse of that sandy bit of exposed shoal onwhich he had been marooned. This would enable him to find the entranceto the outer channel and so con the brigantine in from seaward. While heshaded his eyes with his hand against the glare of the morning sun, oneof the sloops hoisted a string of bright signal flags and fired twoguns. The other sloop was seen to lower her topsail and wait for the_King George_ to come up.
Joe Hawkridge climbed higher and found a perch where he could discernthe spars of a vessel etched almost as fine as threads against the azurehorizon. He was almost certain that the ship he saw was very close tothat tiny cay of which he had such unhappy knowledge. Soon he was ableto perceive that the vessel's sails were furled. This was an odd placefor an anchorage. His conjecture was confirmed when the _King George_passed close to the nearest sloop and Lieutenant Maynard shouted:
"Stranded hard and fast! And she is deucedly like Blackbeard's brig."
Scampering to the deck, Joe Hawkridge mustered his gun's crew as JackCockrell came running up to say:
"Trapped on the very islet where he cast you and the other pirates! Hischickens have come home to roost."
"Call me no pirate or I'll stretch ye with a handspike," grinned Joe."'Tis a plaguey poor word in this company. Aye, Cap'n Ed'ard Teach has ataste of his own medicine and he will get a worse dose this day thanever he served me."