*II*
Thus many days passed. I looked often out to sea for a friendly ship,but none touched on the island, and those that sailed by were Spanishbuilt, and I durst not hail them.
One night a great storm arose. Rain fell in floods, thunder roared allaround, the sky was by moments ablaze with lightning such as I had neverseen. Driven from my hut, I wended my way toilsomely through theblinding torrents to the cavern, and took shelter for the remainder ofthe night with Captain Q on board the galleon. Towards morning the furyof the storm abated, but the wind was still high, and when we left ourrefuge and stood on the cliff, so that the sunbeams might dry ourdrenched garments, we espied a ship fast on the rocks a little distancefrom shore. The sea was tempestuous: mighty waves smote and batteredupon the vessel, and I perceived very clearly that she was fast going topieces.
While we stood watching, and pitying the poor wights gathered upon deck,a man sprang overboard with a rope, and struck out for the land, thewaves buffeting him sorely, dashing over him, so that many times heseemed to have sunk to the bottom. Stirred by the spectacle, theCaptain put off his caution and timorousness, and stepped forth frombehind the rock where hitherto he had stood at gaze. His red garbflashed upon the eye of the swimmer, and methought I heard a despairingcry for help. On the instant I ran down to the shore, with Captain Q atmy side. Half witless as he was in general, the Captain had all hisfaculties at this moment of great need. With me he plunged to his waistinto the sea, with no less calmness than a man might wade a brook, andcaught the swimmer as he was on the point of sinking. And as we hauledhim safe ashore, I lifted my voice in a shout of joy: for thehalf-drowned seaman was none other than Richard Ball, boatswain of myown ship, the _Elizabeth_.
HE CAUGHT THE SWIMMER AS HE WAS ON THE POINT OF SINKING]
"Why, Dick, man," I cried, "'tis you!"
"God bless 'ee!" panted the man, and then, unable to speak more, hepointed to the wreck, and seemed to urge that something should be donefor his messmates there.
And now Captain Q once more showed the mettle of a man. Catching up therope that was looped about the boatswain's body, he called to me to helphim to lash it about a rock; and when this was done, the crew and theadventurers came along it one by one, hand over hand, from the vessel,until all, to the number of thirty-seven, were safe on shore. JoyouslyI greeted them, calling each man by name. Hilary Rawdon, the captain,came the last; and he had but set his feet upon the strand when thehapless vessel fell apart, and was swept away upon the waves.
Groans and cries of lamentation broke from the shipwrecked mariners;their grief at the loss of their vessel for a time outweighed allthankfulness for their escape from death. But Hilary clapped me on theback, and wrung my hand, and cried--
"Gramercy, lad, but 'tis good to see thee once again. Verily I believedthee dead, and what was I to say to thy good folk at home?"
And then we fell a-talking eagerly, and the other adventurers flockedabout us, desiring to know what had befallen me since the day when Iwent ashore on Hispaniola and returned not. And I was so rapt with joyat the sight of my friends that I laughed, and for sheer gladnessgreeted them again by name--"Tom Hawke, old friend!" and "Harry Loveday,my bawcock!"--and was so possessed by my ecstasy that I forgot Captain Quntil Hilary recalled me to the present with a question--
"And who is our blood-red friend, old lad?"
I swung myself about. The Frenchman was gone.
"'Tis Captain Q," I said, and was about to tell more, when I caughtmyself up, in doubt of what the Captain would say if his secret weredisclosed. Having trusted me, peradventure he would deem himselfbetrayed if I should make any revelation. 'Twas borne upon me that Imust needs consult with him before telling any whit of his story.
"Methinks your Captain Kew is of a backward disposition, seeing that hehath departed without our thanks," said Hilary. "We must e'en go afterhim, my lad. But let us hear all that hath happed to thee since we gavethee up for dead."
I told how I was taken prisoner, and of my captivity and servitude underDon Alfonso de Silva de Marabona, and Tom Hawke, in his boyish way,instantly caught at the name, and wished he might live to pluck OldMarrow-bones by the beard. Then I told of my escape and journey toTortuga, where I had been, as I guessed, a matter of a month.
"And your Captain Kew, what of him?" asked Hilary. "Is he of the Kewsof Ditchingham, and how came he here?"
And I saw that the secret must come out. If I did not myself tell it,my friends would certainly not rest until they had discovered it forthemselves, and 'twas not unlike that Captain Q would fare very ill attheir hands, and lose all the treasure whereby he set such store.Better that his story should be told by one who had fellow-feeling forhim than that all should be left to chance. So I took Hilary Rawdonaside and acquainted him with my discoveries.
"Why, 'tis he that is the thief," cried Hilary when he had heard all."We have as good a right to the treasure as he."
"Some of it belongs by right to Antonio de Marabona, whom his uncle hasdefrauded," I replied.
"Tuts, lad, in this part of the world it belongs to them that can takeit. Did we not sail hither, I ask you, in quest of treasure? Have wenot lost men and suffered shipwreck in this very adventure against theQueen's enemies? Should we not have captured this very galleon had wecome but eleven years ago? Is not your answer 'Yes,' and 'Yes,' and'Yes'?"
He looked at me with triumph. Certainly there was no gainsaying hisreasoning, though the third of his questions had a smack ofinconsequence that bid for laughter. But I made a condition, as seemedto me just.
"Give me your word," I said, "that Captain Q shall suffer no hurt, andshall have a fair share of the treasure. As for Antonio, I fear me hemust suffer for having been born a Spaniard."
"He is no worse off than he was," said Hilary. "The galleon, as hebelieves, lies at the bottom of the sea; and I trow if you returned tohim, and brought him here, and restored to him what was once his, TomHawke or Harry Loveday, or one of the mariners, would incontinentlyknock him on the head (being a Spaniard), and all be as before. And asfor Captain Q, 'tis the fortune of war, my lad; we take from him what hehimself took."
"Yet 'tis by his help that you, and Tom Hawke, and Harry Loveday, andall the mariners, are this moment alive," I said.
"True, old lad," said he, "and we must not forget it. But come, let uswend to this wondrous vault of his, and see with our own eyes the marvelyou tell us of."
With us we took only Hawke and Loveday, leaving the mariners to theirdevices. This was at my wish, for I feared lest the men, if they intheir present distress should learn of rich treasure so close at hand,should forget gratitude and discipline, and leap like hungry wolves upontheir prey. They were good seamen, and honest souls withal, but lawlessand ill-taught, and possessed with a marvellous scorn of men of otherrace. And now they stood upon the beach and bemoaned their fate, andcursed the day when they sailed out of Southampton on this ill-starredand bootless quest.
We four went on to the cavern. Captain Q seemed to have expected us,for when we came to the entrance, there was he, sword in hand, ready todispute our advance. Tom Hawke, a wild young spirit, was for rushingupon him there and then, and beating him down by main force, and indeedhe stepped forward to cross swords with the Frenchman. But I could notendure that my friend should be dealt with thus, and calling Tom Hawkeback (who indeed already repented of his discourtesy), I proposed thatwe should humour the Frenchman--call him Captain, place ourselves at hisorders, and promise to attempt to make a passage for the vessel, so thathe might once more sail the seas with a merry crew.
"I'faith, a right excellent conceit!" cried Hilary. "I salute you,Captain Q," he added, with a profound bow. "Unfold to him our purpose,Kitt."
And I went before them and spoke to the Captain, and when he understoodhe smiled with pleasure, dropped his point, and, with a commandinggesture that mightily became him, bade us bring up his new company toset about the work
.
"Oui, certainement, mon Capitaine," said Hilary; and when by and by themen, in sober mood, came up, and the matter was put to them, "Ay, ay,sir," cried Richard Ball, the boatswain; "Ay, ay, sir," the men chimedin, and the Captain led us into the cavern.
Cries of astonishment broke from the men's lips when they saw thatmiracle of Nature, and of admiration as they walked around about thegalleon and marked her noble lines.
"A rare craft indeed!" said Hilary. "She is worth a fortune to us,Kitt, even without the treasure she contains. And that same treasure,my lad--I yearn to dip my fingers into it."
"Wait; let me bargain with Captain Q," I said, and I followed theFrenchman up the ladder to the deck, and stood long in talk with him.When I returned to my friends I told them that the Captain was willingto share a great portion of his gold among them, if they would bring thevessel to the sea and rig her for a voyage.
"Vive le Capitaine Q!" cried Hilary, and the whole company broke forthinto lusty cheers. The Captain's eyes gleamed with pleasure; he calledthem his children, vowing to lead them a-roving and do great despiteupon the Spaniards. But his face darkened when Hilary offered to mounton board and inspect the treasure.
"No, no," he cried; "that is for none to see but my corporal."
And I persuaded my friends to accept the denial for the time, and toaccompany me in a circuit of the cavern to find a spot where a passagemight be made to the sea.
The fore-part of the cavern, towards the cliff, was much encumbered withfragments of rock, large and small. The sides were of rock; if thefore-wall was of rock also, 'twas clear that with all the tools we hadat hand--pikes and belaying-pins, and such-like gear--'twould beimpossible to open a passage. With gunpowder we might have blasted therock but for the water which flowed in at every tide, and so shut usfrom access to the lower part of the wall. But if this were of earth,the task was one that could be compassed with time and patience. 'Twasour first concern to discover the thickness of the wall, and to this endRichard Ball clambered on to the loftiest of the rocky fragments, andanother man mounted upon his shoulders, so that he might reach to one ofthe narrow fissures that let the daylight in. And then, by passing apike through it, he proved by the report of a man without that the wallwas no more than six feet thick.
Next, our task was to remove a number of rocks that lay without like anatural rampart about the base of the cliff, and were washed by a strongcurrent. Ropes, whereof the galleon held a plenty, were fixed aboutthem, and by dint of much hauling, the rocks were displaced one by one,and being removed, the sea entered the cavern more freely, though 'twasclear that the water in it would never be of depth enough to float thegalleon.
As soon as the tide was gone down, we essayed to pierce a hole throughthe wall a little above the water level. To our great joy, we foundthat this portion of the wall was of earth, and before the tide roseagain the men had cut a narrow tunnel through to the base of the cliff.It being night by the time this was done, the men made for themselvesbeds of grass and leaves upon the skirts of the woodland, being dividedinto watches as on board ship.
With morning light we took up our task again. We perceived that the ebbtide had carried away a great deal of the loose earth, and so made thetunnel wider. The men toiled all day by companies, increasing thepassage both in width and height, the sides and roof being shored upwith timber from the woods against a fall of earth from above. CaptainQ watched the labour with a childish curiosity, and, in pursuance of myplan of humouring him, I now and then prompted him with commands to givethe men, and they responded with obsequious and cheerful cries of "Ay,ay, sir," winking to each other the while.
So the work went on, day after day, until an opening had been made ofwidth enough for the passage of the galleon. There was a danger nowlest it might be espied from a passing ship, the which to prevent, themen brought down great armfuls of brushwood from above, and arrangedthem to form a screen. A sentinel was posted at a point on the risingground behind the cliff to give warning of any vessel that shouldapproach. While some of the men had been employed at the hole, others,the more skilful of the crew, were set to work to caulk the seams of thegalleon, to fell trees for new masts and spars, and to repair the sailswhich were found on board. By the time this was accomplished, noughtremained but to dislodge the rocks that still choked the passage-wayfrom the cavern. Some of these were so large as to require the labourof our whole company to remove them. We had hauled away many and laidthem at the foot of the cliff, when one day, a week or more after thebeginning of the work, the sentinel gave out that he saw two vesselsbeating up against the wind towards the island.
"Maybe they are the Spaniards that were in chase of us when we werewrecked," said Hilary. "'Tis not unlike they have come to see what hasbecome of us. Mayhap they saw us run aground, and I doubt not wouldhave been here before but that the wind has been too strong against themall this while."
Our whole company being gathered in the cavern, arms were served out tothe men from the galleon's armoury in case the Spaniards should land.The news of their coming wrought marvellously upon Captain Q. Hesharpened his sword, donned a breastplate, and told the men, with greatexaltation of spirit, that the moment was at hand when we should rovethe seas and deal doughtily with our enemies.
The vessels came slowly towards us, and anchored a little westward ofthe cavern. We saw two boats put off from each, filled with men wearingthe leather hats and steel cuirasses of the Spanish soldiery. Spying atthem with Hilary, I reckoned that they must number sixty or more. Theylanded at a point near where my hut had been, and 'twas soon plain fromtheir cries that they had come upon parts of the wreckage of the_Elizabeth_. Some of them ascended the cliff, and went into thewoodland, doubtless to gather fruits; whereupon I quitted the cavern,and stealthily made my way up, to see what they were about. I enteredthe woods after them, and witnessed their stark amazement when theylighted upon signs of the recent felling of trees. Anon they hastedback to their main body on the beach; a council was held, and then thewhole company, save only a few men left to guard the boats, set forthwith the manifest purpose to search for the woodcutters.
Thereupon Tom Hawke proposed we should seize the boats and row out tothe galleons and board them. But this bold device Hilary would by nomeans countenance. Besides that we knew not what force of men theremight still be left on the vessels, we must needs go at the very leasttwo hundred yards in the open ere we could win to the boats, in fullsight of the men on guard. The alarm would be given, and the Spaniardsmight be upon us before we could put off. But since the advantage isever with the attack, I made bold to put forward another plan, to wit,that we should quit the cavern, steal into the woods, and lay an ambushfor the men that were prowling there. This proposal was debated for awhile among our assembly, and being presently approved by all, CaptainQ, who comprehended everything with perfect soundness of mind, set offwith drawn sword in the quality of leader.
We stole out of the cavern secretly by favour of the brushwood screen,and followed him in great quiet round the shoulder of the cliff, windingabout thence until we gained the wood. There we stood fast, and I wentalone among the trees to discover the direction of the Spaniards' march.I crept in and out as a hunter might stalk his quarry, and by and byperceived them proceeding slowly, in close ranks, silently, and withtheir matches already kindled. I knew that the course they were takingwould bring them in due time to a ravine, narrow, and of no great depth,that wound through the woodland, a little brook running along itsbottom. Bethinking me that, could we gain the further side of theravine, we should be in rare good case to deal with the Spaniards, Isped back to my friends, acquainted them with what I had seen, and ledthem swiftly through the wood.
We had no sooner taken post in the copse I had designed for our ambush,than we espied the Spaniards coming directly towards us. And then 'twasCaptain Q who made our dispositions. However disordered his wits mightbe in common matters, he lacked nothing in the parts of a skilfulcommander. Keeping ten with
him, of whom I was one, he bade the rest tosteal down the ravine, ascend the nearer bank at a convenient spot, and,when they should hear sounds of a fray with us, come with great speedand fall upon the enemy in the rear. Hilary departed very willingly onthis errand, and we ten remained close in hiding with Captain Q. Imarked how his eyes gleamed, and his lips pressed firmly the one uponthe other, and I was fain to conclude he had a very great courage anddelight in battle.
His design was to wait until the Spaniards came to the brink of theravine, and then salute them with a volley. But just as it was thevivid red of his garments that first drew my eyes to him, so now thesame brightness made our situation known to the enemy before they camewithin gunshot of us. One of them spied him, and cried out; the companyhalted and blew upon their matches; then their captain called to us in aloud voice to yield ourselves, and when we made no answer, he bade hismen advance. They pressed forward until they were come within a fewpaces of the ravine, and set up their muskets on the rests to have goodaim at us. And then, to be beforehand with them, Captain Q gave us theword to fire, the which we obeyed all ten together, whereby a half-dozenof the Spaniards fell; and while in all haste we primed our weaponsagain, their captain divided his company into two bands, and sent themto right and left to scale the ravine and come through the wood upon ourflanks. To a seasoned man of war, as doubtless he was, the fewness ofour numbers was made apparent when we discharged our guns.
There was not a man of us but knew we stood in great peril. The enemywas of Spain's finest soldiery, and though by the grace of God weEnglish have beaten them many times on field and flood, we have hadproofs enough of their valour. If our friends should fail to come atpoint to our aid, we could not by any means prevail against them. ButCaptain Q bade us set our backs against trees, half of us facing to theright, half to the left, and we stood there ready to do what Englishmenmight against our Queen's enemies.
We could not hear their approach; doubtless they hoped to creep close tous and then overwhelm us in one general assault. My heart smote upon myribs, and my lips grew wondrous dry; 'tis no mean trial to a man tostand thus awaiting an enemy whom he cannot see, and knowing that in oneswift moment he may be at grips with death. And suddenly there was aroar of muskets, and immediately afterwards, through the smoke, I sawthe Spaniards rushing towards us. My musket was in its rest; blindlyand with fumbling fingers I set my match to the touch-hole and pulledthe cock, and, having fired my shot, drew my sword and stood to defendmyself. Our volley had checked the onrush, but only for a moment, and Isaw a crowd of Spaniards leaping as it were straight upon me. ThenCaptain Q came to my side, crying out that we would fight shoulder toshoulder, and his presence and cheerful words filled me with a newcourage.
The enemy were yet a dozen paces from us, and we had our swordsoutthrust to meet them, when the air rang with English shouts, and agreat din of firing, and some of the Spaniards fell on their faces, androse not again. The rest came to a halt, threw a glance behind, andbeheld our men, with Hilary at their head, springing like deer from theedge of the ravine. This sight was enough for their stomachs. TheSpaniards fled as one man, leapt into the ravine, clambered up the otherside, and made all speed by the way they had come, to regain theirboats. Our men ran after them, and pursued them to the verge of thewoodland, and would have continued to the very margin of the sea, butCaptain Q forbade them, fearing that, if the enemy saw the smallness ofour company, they would rally, and on the open strand would have us atadvantage. And so we did not show ourselves much beyond the line oftrees, but stood there and watched the Spaniards as they hasted down tothe shore, and, embarking on their boats, returned to the galleons.
THE SPANIARDS LEAPT INTO THE RAVINE AND CLAMBERED UP THEOTHER SIDE]
The tale of our loss was exceeding small. One poor fellow was killed,four had received hurts, but slight. We were all wondrous merry at thehappy issue of our ambush, and Captain Q put on the high look andswelling port of a conqueror.