Chapter XLI.
THE TRAP.
A cheery proverb declares there is no cloud so black that it hath not asilver lining. Conversely we may say that there is no sky so blue thatno cloud is gathering in it. The sky over the heads of Captain Drakeand his men glowed like a firelit, flawless sapphire; yet behind, wherethe giant trees shut out the view of the heavens, a cloud wasgathering, charged with the very mirk of death.
For days and nights before the _Golden Boar_ had come abreast of themouth of the creek, the summit of the bluff had not been without akeen-eyed sentinel. Squatted on his haunches, or lying prone on thegrass, a patient Indian had scanned sea and horizon for a sign of asail. His watch was duly rewarded. He heard the shout of the lookoutman; saw the ship put about for the entrance near which he lay; then heslipped into the trees behind him, and ran down the declivity andthrough the forest like a creature born to a life in the tree-packedsolitudes. He passed round the bay, and ran for another couple ofmiles along the creek. Then, in a natural clearing, he came upon atent around which were gathered about fifty warriors of his own tribe.At the entrance to the tent he bowed himself down to the earth, and laythere until a voice bade him arise.
"The ship of the white men, O my father!"
"Where?"
"They come into the harbourage."
"Get thy canoe." Basil came forth, and was soon speeding down to thebay. He got out on the side opposite to the cluster of mangroves,climbed a tree, and watched the _Golden Boar_ as it beat into thenarrow entrance from the sea. The sun shone on the gilded monster thatstood "rampant" under the bows and lit up the tall figure of Morgan,who stood watching the muddy waters as they ran lapping along the sidesof the ship. Basil recognized all, and smiled in triumph. He wentback to his tent and dispatched swift messengers along the track acrossthe isthmus; the Spanish troops were lagging somewhere on the road, andmust needs be hurried.
All that night, sleepless, noiseless Indians lay near the ship andheard every call of the watch. With the coming of the dawn theyslipped farther back, but maintained a close espionage. Basil'smessenger returned. The troops were bivouacked not far away. Theywould start with the earliest light, and might be expected within twohours of sunrising. The natives were sent down to the fringe of thebay to keep unseen watch over every movement of the Englishmen. Basilwaited for the white troops. His plans were carefully made, and hehoped to capture the ship and every soul of her company.
Morgan and Jeffreys pushed their way through the trees, seeking someopen glade where deer might be feeding. Each carried bow and arrows,so that the quarry might be obtained without raising any alarm thatmight arouse near-dwelling natives or any chance party of Spaniards.The laughter of their comrades died away behind them little by little,and was presently lost altogether. Once or twice the undergrowthrustled, and both paused, hoping to sight some eatable prey; but theysaw nothing, and wandered farther and farther on.
They had gone for nearly a mile, when suddenly an Indian stood in theirpath. The fellow paused for an instant, then turned and fled as thoughin affright. Both were about to cry out to reassure him, when theywere stealthily assailed from behind. A native cloth or blanket wasthrown over the head of each; brown arms closed round and pinionedtheir limbs. They were thrown to the ground, and a heavy blow on thehead rendered them unconscious. They had no chance to cry out, andwere trapped with scarcely a struggle. When they recovered theirsenses they were in a canoe going rapidly up-stream; their heads werestill muffled, and their limbs bound with tight thongs.
Between the trees the digging went on merrily enough. About three feetdown a skull was found; then another; then various human bones. Thesegruesome discoveries checked the singing and laughter, and for a whilethe men worked in silence. But there was nothing to dull the spiritsof the water-carriers, and they romped and skylarked like a party ofschoolboys. Those on board ship envied their companions who wereashore, and the relief digging party leant over the bulwarks, eager totake their turn amongst the mangroves.
Meanwhile a net of fire and steel was being drawn around the workers.
The net was set; every mesh was tested, and yet the fowler hesitated todraw it in: all the birds were not gathered in the baited area. Thewater-carriers were too far from the diggers, and the ship rode clearof the shore. The Indian allies hid, waiting with inexhaustiblepatience. The Spanish troops were restless and ill-controlled. Theysaw two small parties of Englishmen busily engaged, and withoutsuspicion of danger. It was so easy to form two bands, surround andcapture all. Barely a dozen men remained aboard the ship; surely theycould seize the vessel at their leisure! The Spanish commander did notpossess Basil's gift of caution. He determined to attack, and launcheda mixed force against the water-carriers and seized every one. Anotherband dashed for the mangroves; but warning had been given. Sir Johnand his gentlemen whipped out their swords, and the workers seizedpick-axe and shovel. Captain Drake saw the movement in the trees,shouted an alarm, and at once turned his guns on the rustling patch. Acouple of terrific charges followed; trees splintered and crashed, andthe Indian allies fled in terror, freeing some of the water-carriers,who plunged at once into the bay and swam to the ship. The group ofmangroves was a natural fortress, and the Dons failed to get in at thefirst rush. The flight of the Indians threw them into a momentarydisorder; and Captain Drake, instant in appreciating an opportunity,turned a gun a little wide of the cluster, and sent a ball smashinginto the rallying place of the foe. Covered by the armed gentlemen,the workers retreated to their boat; arrows and a few musket balls flewafter them, but the ship's guns again spoke out, and no Don dared showhimself. The boat was reached at the cost of a few wounds. At theship's side the men received arms, and the soldiers aboard leaped downto take the place of the wounded. The boat went ashore once more, andthe whole of its company made for the spring, hoping to rescue the menthere. The enemy opposed their way, but they drove them before them,and the guns from the vessel swept and cleared the surrounding patchesof woodland. The spring was reached; the Dons had fled; and the marksof the short struggle were all the rescue party discovered. Theyfollowed the trail for a while, but the foe had got the start and thehelp of their native guides. The men reluctantly returned to the shoreof the bay, fortunately picking up a couple of wounded sailors on theirway. The undergrowth around was diligently searched, but it yieldednothing alive.
The ship's roll was called, and the losses counted. No one had seenanything of Jeffreys and Morgan since the first landing; they had gonea-hunting, and their fate could hardly be doubted. The digging partyhad escaped death and capture, and no man was seriously wounded. Ofthe water party, the two Johnsons, who had acted as leaders, werewounded and prisoners; three others were captives with them; the resthad escaped. There were no further attempts at digging that day. Thiswas, perhaps, just as well, for the earth contained no treasure. TheDons had seized that long before.