CHAPTER XV.
WE FALL INTO SORE DISASTERS OF RAGING TEMPEST AND BLOODY BATTLE.
As soon as I was got on board I told Captain Wilkins of ourgeneralissimo's intention, which he heard with much satisfaction, anddid straightway communicate with his crew, who thereupon set up a greatcheer. About two o'clock, the breeze freshening, the _Faithful Friend_changed her course and we with her, and for two hours we ran west,though the wind had been more prosperous for making south. Yet did theblack ship follow us in the course persistently as in the other, keepingalways the same distance in our wake. Then did Sir Bartlemy signal us toopen all our ports for the guns to play, and to stand every man to hispost, which we did very cheerfully and as smartly as ever the company onthe _Faithful Friend_ did. And though this preparation might well beseen from the black ship, we could see with our perspectives no suchpreparation on her, so that the simple would have conceived she had nolower ports for guns, and was an unarmed trader. Then Sir Bartlemysignaled us to stand-to, yet to be in readiness to come to his help ifneed arose, which we did; meanwhile he puts about and sails down on theblack ship, who kept her ports closed, but stayed his coming patiently.
Being come within speaking distance, Sir Bartlemy takes his speakinghorn and spreads out his ancient; whereupon the black ship spread hers,which was true English, and every way as good as ours. Then our generalthrough his horn demanded what ship that was and why she did sopersistently dog us. To this a man from the black ship replied, that shewas the _Robin Goodfellow_, of Southampton, commanded by Richard Simons,and a very peaceable trader, bound for Campeachy Bay to barter fordye-wood, and that she meant us no harm, but only sought to haveprotection against pirates by sailing in the company of two ships sowell armed as we.
"Then," shouts my uncle, "be you like your ship, a good fellow, andsheer off, for we like your room better than your company; and sheer offat once (adds he) or I will pepper your jacket to a pretty tune."
To show that he meant to be as good as his word, he bade his gunner firea broadside wide of the black ship, which did the gunner veryfaithfully, hurting no one. "Though, would to God!" says my uncleafterwards, "I had been wise enough to fire amongst his rigging for abetter earnest."
The black ship made no response; but, turning about, held off before thewind half a mile and no more; and my uncle, sailing upon her to make hergo to a greater distance, she sheered off, keeping always the samedistance; and this maneuver was repeated twice or thrice till SirBartlemy, guessing she was endeavoring to lure him away from us, and,seeing it was useless to try and come up to close quarters with a shipthat could sail two furlongs to his one, gave up this attempt andrejoined us. Our captain tried to make his men believe that the blackship was what her captain represented, and that he, in still followingus--which he did as though he had received no warning, or scorned toaccept it--was merely showing a stubborn spirit and not a hostile one,since he had not showed any guns or fired in defiance to us. Some of ourbetter men accepted this; but there were many who could not stomach it,and openly cursed the day when they had come to sea on this venture.
So held we on, and my uncle, hoping the black ship would have to stayfor water and refreshment at the Azores (for we had gone from our coursethat if the black ship were indeed bound for Campeachy she might have nofurther pretext to hang on our heels), and being himself still very wellvictualed, would not stay there, but, passing them, bore down towardsthe Bermudas; but neither would the black ship stay there, but kept toour heels as perversely as ever.
Now, being come to the Bermudas, that befell which I feared, for theseas, which are greatly disturbed at those parts, rose prodigiously, andwith it there came a most terrible hurricane, which obliged us to runwith a single small sail. This gale did so buffet and hurl us about aswe could with much pain keep to our course and reasonably near ourconsort during the day; but at night it was worse, for no lamps of ourscould be kept burning, nor was any of the _Faithful Friend's_ to beseen, though from time to time we fired off our petereros for a signal,yet answer got we none. In this terrible tempest we were sorely bruised,our little sail split to shreds, and no chance to rig another, so thatwe tossed helpless on the water, expecting every moment to founder. Butit pleased God to spare us this time.
I shall not dwell on the terrors of that night, nor of the next day, andthe night following, but come briefly to the morning of the third day ofour tribulation, when, by help of such sails as we could set, we driftedout of that horrid region and came into calmer waters; in which time wehad been swept an incredible distance; but, lord! so broken in ourmasts, riggings, and elsewhere as it was pitiable to see; besides threemen short of our number, who we counted were washed away in thathurricano. Then looking around could we see nothing of the _FaithfulFriend_, nor of the black ship neither; so that we reckoned one or bothhad gone to the bottom.
To think that Lady Biddy was no more affected me so grievously that Ithrew myself on the deck, not caring what became of me, and lamentingthat I lay not at the bottom of that cruel sea with her. But CaptainWilkins kept a brave heart (God be praised!), and, hoping yet to see ourconsort again, contrived to set up some sort of sails, fresh rig hisrudder, and restore order on board, so that ere long we were making goodway towards Trinidado (as we judged), where it had been agreed we shouldin case of separation seek rendezvous. On the morning of the fourth day,ere yet there was full daylight, but only twilight, as I was standing onthe poop deck very melancholy and dejected, I heard the sound of guns tothe south of the course we were making; and Captain Wilkins, to whom Iran in all speed to communicate these tidings, did likewise believe heheard this sound; whereupon he at once shaped our course in thatdirection, whereby in a little time we were further assured that thesesounds were real, and not bred of imagination. The reports were notapart, like signals, but continuous; so that we knew it was thecannonading of ships in battle, which stirred every man to make allhaste; and indeed we did all we could think on to speed our ship; stillwere we slow, for our want of sail, which made us furious withimpatience.
There was a haze upon the water, so that when the tumult of guns wasloud in our ears, we could see nothing; but now the sun getting upstrong over the horizon and sucking up the mist, we of a sudden caughtsight of the flashing guns, and then of a ship not many furlongs off,broadside towards us, which we presently descried to be the black ship;though now her whole side was open with ports, from which her guns shoneout like teeth. At the same time we perceived that she was grappled onstem and stern to another ship on the further side, which we doubted notwas the _Faithful Friend_; upon which we did all set up a prodigiouscheer; and Captain Wilkins putting about, we passed the black ship atless than a furlong distance, and dealt into her the whole weight of ourgreat guns on that side without getting a single shot in return. Thereason of this was that all the ship's company were occupied on theother side plying their cannon and boarding the _Faithful Friend_ (whichwe recognized in nearing the black ship), as was evident from the rattleof muskets and small arms between the peals of the great guns.
But after getting this dose from us, they were not long in manning theirguns on the hither side, as we found to our cost when, putting aboutonce more, we sailed down to give him the other broadside; for theircannon belched out with such fury as laid many a stout seamen betweenour decks low, besides shooting away our rudder, which rendered ushelpless, as it were.
Seeing this, I begged Captain Wilkins to give me a boat and such of hismen as could be spared to go and succor our friends, to which he agreedreadily enough, and forthwith lowered our barge; whereupon I, with ascore of hearty fellows, all armed to the teeth, sprang in, and rowedwith all our might to that side of the grappled ships where lay the_Faithful Friend_. Through one of her lower ports we scrambled, oneafter the other, but I the first, you may be sure; and there it was allthick with stinking gunpowder and smoke, and strewn with dead men, andsuch as were too sorely wounded to join in the battle above, and no manever heard greater din than there was of big guns and sm
all, theclashing of steel, the trampling on the decks, the shouting and cursingof men fighting, and the sad groaning of the hurt, and such confusion asyou could not tell one sound from another scarcely.
This did but spur us on to be doing, and like so many cats we sprang upthrough the hatchways and ladders, and so came on the main deck, takingno heed of the poor fellows who lay heaped at the foot of those ladders,nor of the blood that trickled in thick drops from step to step,splashing in our faces as if it had been mere rain-water, and smeareddown the handrails, where many a good man had pressed his bleeding bodyfor support.
Now, as I sprang on deck, did I find myself in the very midst and thickof these wicked pirates, who were readily to be distinguished fromhonest seamen by red skirts which they wear who bind themselves to theregulations of their Order.
Just before me was a culverdine pointed against the roundhouse, intowhich the crew of the _Faithful Friend_ (such as were not laid low) hadretired, and were there barricaded, and a fellow stood over against it,blowing his match to fire the piece. And this man I knew full well for avillain of the old _Sure Hawk's_ company, and with the axe in my hand, Istruck him between the teeth right through to his neck-joint. He was thefirst man I had ever slain; but I counted it as nothing, being wroughtto very madness with passion, and wrenching my axe from his bone, Iturned upon another rascal who was making at my side with his knife, andwith a back-handed blow, the hinder part of my weapon crashed hisforehead into his brains as you might with your thumb break the shell ofan egg into the yolk. By this time my good comrades had sprung up behindme to my help, else had my fight soon come to an end; for the pirates,getting over the amazement into which my sudden attack had thrown them,with a shout of rage turned all upon me. Then did we so lay about usthat we beat the pirates back into the fore part of the ship, and trulyI do think that if those of our friends in the roundhouse could thenhave come to our help we should have won the day; but, as ill-luck wouldhave it, they had taken such pains to barricado themselves, to preventthe pirates coming at them, that they could not immediately get out tocome at them, and so, for want of support, were we undone. For therewere of the pirates two score, I take it, and more coming to theirsuccor over the side every moment, while we, not counting those who mayhave fallen, were but one score, all told.
Foremost among our enemies was Rodrigues himself, who did look a verydevil for rage, with the grime of smoke and blood about his face, hiswhite, pointed tusks bared to the gums, and his eyes flaming with fury.His head was bound about with a bloody clout, for he had got a wound,and through the grime of powder-smoke on his face there was a brightchannel where the blood still wept. But for all his wounds he foughtbetter and more desperately than any of the rest; and seeing that thosein the roundhouse were struggling to get out to our help, and that hisonly chance lay in beating us down ere they succeeded, he threw himselfforward with nothing but a long curved knife in his hands. His intentionwas to settle my business, seeing that I had done him this mischief; andsurely he would (for I was closely grappled with a fellow, my arms abouthim and his about me, each seeking to get freedom for the use of theknives in our hands), but that a comrade, seeing my peril, dealt at himwith his brown bill, driving the spike into his shoulder. On this,Rodrigues, with a howl of rage, struck out the point from his shoulder,and turning on this poor man with his hooked knife ripped him up fromthe navel as you might a rabbit. At that moment I threw my man on hisback, and in falling on the deck my knife was driven up to the hiltthrough his loins. Then did I get a terrible blow on the head (from whomI know not), so that I lost all consciousness, and lay like one dead.