CHAPTER XI
THE LOSS OF THE CARAK
On the day after I had given my fortune and letters into the charge ofCaptain Bell, I watched the 'Adventuress' drop slowly round the moleof Cadiz, and so sad was I at heart, that I am not ashamed to confessI wept. I would gladly have lost the wealth she carried if she had butcarried me. But my purpose was indomitable, and it must be some othership that would bear me home to the shores of England.
As it chanced, a large Spanish carak named 'Las Cinque Llagas,' or 'TheFive Wounds,' was about to sail for Hispaniola, and having obtained alicence to trade, I took passage in her under my assumed name of d'Aila,passing myself off as a merchant. To further this deception I purchasedgoods the value of one hundred and five pesos, and of such nature as Iwas informed were most readily saleable in the Indies, which merchandiseI shipped with me. The vessel was full of Spanish adventurers, mostlyruffians of varied career and strange history, but none the lessgood companions enough when not in drink. By this time I could speakCastilian so perfectly, and was so Spanish in appearance, that it wasnot difficult for me to pass myself off as one of their nation and thisI did, inventing a feigned tale of my parentage, and of the reasonsthat led me to tempt the seas. For the rest, now as ever I kept my owncounsel, and notwithstanding my reserve, for I would not mingle in theirorgies, I soon became well liked by my comrades, chiefly because of myskill in ministering to their sicknesses.
Of our voyage there is little to tell except of its sad end. At theCanary Isles we stayed a month, and then sailed away for Hispaniola,meeting with fine weather but light winds. When, as our captainreckoned, we were within a week's sail of the port of San Domingo forwhich we were bound, the weather changed, and presently gathered to afurious tempest from the north that grew more terrible every hour. Forthree days and nights our cumbrous vessel groaned and laboured beneaththe stress of the gale, that drove us on rapidly we knew not whither,till at length it became clear that, unless the weather moderated,we must founder. Our ship leaked at every seam, one of our masts wascarried away, and another broken in two, at a height of twenty feet fromthe deck. But all these misfortunes were small compared to what was tocome, for on the fourth morning a great wave swept off our rudder, andwe drifted helpless before the waves. An hour later a green sea cameaboard of us, washing away the captain, so that we filled and settleddown to founder.
Then began a most horrid scene. For several days both the crew andpassengers had been drinking heavily to allay their terror, and now thatthey saw their end at hand, they rushed to and fro screaming, praying,and blaspheming. Such of them as remained sober began to get out the twoboats, into which I and another man, a worthy priest, strove to placethe women and children, of whom we had several on board. But this was noeasy task, for the drunken sailors pushed them aside and tried to springinto the boats, the first of which overturned, so that all were lost.Just then the carak gave a lurch before she sank, and, seeing thateverything was over, I called to the priest to follow me, and springinginto the sea I swam for the second boat, which, laden with someshrieking women, had drifted loose in the confusion. As it chanced Ireached it safely, being a strong swimmer, and was able to rescue thepriest before he sank. Then the vessel reared herself up on her sternand floated thus for a minute or more, which gave us time to get out theoars and row some fathoms further away from her. Scarcely had we doneso, when, with one wild and fearful scream from those on board of her,she rushed down into the depths below, nearly taking us with her. Fora while we sat silent, for our horror overwhelmed us, but when thewhirlpool which she made had ceased to boil, we rowed back to where thecarak had been. Now all the sea was strewn with wreckage, but among itwe found only one child living that had clung to an oar. The rest,some two hundred souls, had been sucked down with the ship and perishedmiserably, or if there were any still living, we could not find them inthat weltering sea over which the darkness was falling.
Indeed, it was well for our own safety that we failed in so doing, forthe little boat had ten souls on board in all, which was as many as shecould carry--the priest and I being the only men among them. I have saidthat the darkness was falling, and as it chanced happily for us, so wasthe sea, or assuredly we must have been swamped. All that we coulddo was to keep the boat's head straight to the waves, and this we didthrough the long night. It was a strange thing to see, or rather tohear, that good man the priest my companion, confessing the women oneby one as he laboured at his oar, and when all were shriven sending upprayers to God for the salvation of our souls, for of the safety of ourbodies we despaired. What I felt may well be imagined, but I forbearto describe it, seeing that, bad as was my case, there were worse onesbefore me of which I shall have to tell in their season.
At length the night wore away, and the dawn broke upon the desolate sea.Presently the sun came up, for which at first we were thankful, for wewere chilled to the bone, but soon its heat grew intolerable, since wehad neither food nor water in the boat, and already we were parched withthirst. But now the wind had fallen to a steady breeze, and with thehelp of the oars and a blanket, we contrived to fashion a sail that drewus through the water at a good speed. But the ocean was vast, and wedid not know whither we were sailing, and every hour the agony of thirstpressed us more closely. Towards mid-day a child died suddenly and wasthrown into the sea, and some three hours later the mother filled abailing bowl and drank deep of the bitter water. For a while it seemedto assuage her thirst, then suddenly a madness took her, and springingup she cast herself overboard and sank. Before the sun, glowing like ared-hot ball, had sunk beneath the horizon, the priest and I were theonly ones in that company who could sit upright--the rest lay upon thebottom of the boat heaped one on another like dying fish groaning intheir misery. Night fell at last and brought us some relief from oursufferings, for the air grew cooler. But the rain we prayed for didnot fall, and so great was the heat that, when the sun rose again in acloudless sky, we knew, if no help reached us, that it must be the lastwhich we should see.
An hour after dawn another child died, and as we were in the act ofcasting the body into the sea, I looked up and saw a vessel far away,that seemed to be sailing in such fashion that she would pass within twomiles of where we were. Returning thanks to God for this most blessedsight, we took to the oars, for the wind was now so light that ourclumsy sail would no longer draw us through the water, and rowed feeblyso as to cut the path of the ship. When we had laboured for more than anhour the wind fell altogether and the vessel lay becalmed at a distanceof about three miles. So the priest and I rowed on till I thought thatwe must die in the boat, for the heat of the sun was like that of aflame and there came no wind to temper it; by now, too, our lips werecracked with thirst. Still we struggled on till the shadow of the ship'smasts fell athwart us and we saw her sailors watching us from the deck.Now we were alongside and they let down a ladder of rope, speaking to usin Spanish.
How we reached the deck I cannot say, but I remember falling beneaththe shade of an awning and drinking cup after cup of the water that wasbrought to me. At last even my thirst was satisfied, and for a while Igrew faint and dizzy, and had no stomach for the meat which was thrustinto my hand. Indeed, I think that I must have fainted, for when I cameto myself the sun was straight overhead, and it seemed to me that I haddreamed I heard a familiar and hateful voice. At the time I was alonebeneath the awning, for the crew of the ship were gathered on theforedeck clustering round what appeared to be the body of a man. By myside was a large plate of victuals and a flask of spirits, and feelingstronger I ate and drank of them heartily. I had scarcely finished mymeal when the men on the foredeck lifted the body of the man, which Isaw was black in colour, and cast it overboard. Then three of them, whomfrom their port I took to be officers, came towards me and I rose to myfeet to meet them.
'Senor,' said the tallest of them in a soft and gentle voice, 'sufferme to offer you our felicitations on your wonderful--' and he stoppedsuddenly.
Did I still dream, or did I know the voice? Now
for the first time Icould see the man's face--it was that of JUAN DE GARCIA! But if I knewhim he also knew me.
'Caramba!' he said, 'whom have we here? Senor Thomas Wingfield I saluteyou. Look, my comrades, you see this young man whom the sea has broughtto us. He is no Spaniard but an English spy. The last time that I sawhim was in the streets of Seville, and there he tried to murder mebecause I threatened to reveal his trade to the authorities. Now he ishere, upon what errand he knows best.'
'It is false,' I answered; 'I am no spy, and I am come to these seas forone purpose only--to find you.'
'Then you have succeeded well, too well for your own comfort, perhaps.Say now, do you deny that you are Thomas Wingfield and an Englishman?'
'I do not deny it. I--'
'Your pardon. How comes it then that, as your companion the priest tellsme, you sailed in Las Cinque Llagas under the name of D'AILA?'
'For my own reasons, Juan de Garcia.'
'You are confused, senor. My name is Sarceda, as these gentlemen canbear me witness. Once I knew a cavalier of the name of de Garcia, but heis dead.'
'You lie,' I answered; whereon one of De Garcia's companions struck meacross the mouth.
'Gently, friend,' said de Garcia; 'do not defile your hand by strikingsuch rats as this, or if you must strike, use a stick. You haveheard that he confesses to passing under a false name and to being anEnglishman, and therefore one of our country's foes. To this I addupon my word of honour that to my knowledge he is a spy and a would-bemurderer. Now, gentlemen, under the commission of his majesty'srepresentative, we are judges here, but since you may think that, havingbeen called a liar openly by this English dog, I might be minded to dealunjustly with him, I prefer to leave the matter in your hands.'
Now I tried to speak once more, but the Spaniard who had struck me, aferocious-looking villain, drew his sword and swore that he would run methrough if I dared to open my lips. So I thought it well to keep silent.
'This Englishman would grace a yardarm very well,' he said.
De Garcia, who had begun to hum a tune indifferently, smiled, lookingfirst at the yard and then at my neck, and the hate in his eyes seemedto burn me.
'I have a better thought than that,' said the third officer. 'If we hunghim questions might be asked, and at the least, it would be a waste ofgood money. He is a finely built young man and would last some years inthe mines. Let him be sold with the rest of the cargo, or I will takehim myself at a valuation. I am in want of a few such on my estate.'
At these words I saw de Garcia's face fall a little, for he wished tobe rid of me for ever. Still he did not think it politic to interferebeyond saying with a slight yawn:
'So far as I am concerned, take him, comrade, and free of cost. Only Iwarn you, watch him well or you will find a stiletto in your back.'
The officer laughed and said: 'Our friend will scarcely get a chance atme, for I do not go a hundred paces underground, where he will find hisquarters. And now, Englishman, there is room for you below I think;'and he called to a sailor bidding him bring the irons of the man who haddied.
This was done, and after I had been searched and a small sum in goldthat I had upon my person taken from me--it was all that remained to meof my possessions--fetters were placed upon my ankles and round my neck,and I was dragged into the hold. Before I reached it I knew fromvarious signs what was the cargo of this ship. She was laden with slavescaptured in Fernandina, as the Spaniards name the island of Cuba, thatwere to be sold in Hispaniola. Among these slaves I was now numbered.
How to tell the horrors of that hold I know not. The place was low, notmore than seven feet in height, and the slaves lay ironed in the bilgewater on the bottom of the vessel. They were crowded as thick as theycould lie, being chained to rings fixed in the sides of the ship.Altogether there may have been two hundred of them, men, women andchildren, or rather there had been two hundred when the ship sailed aweek before. Now some twenty were dead, which was a small number, sincethe Spaniards reckon to lose from a third to half of their cargo in thisdevilish traffic. When I entered the place a deadly sickness seized me,weak as I was, brought on by the horrible sounds and smells, and thesights that I saw in the flare of the lanterns which my conductorscarried, for the hold was shut off from light and air. But they draggedme along and presently I found myself chained in the midst of a lineof black men and women, many feet resting in the bilge water. There theSpaniards left me with a jeer, saying that this was too good a bedfor an Englishman to lie on. For a while I endured, then sleep orinsensibility came to my succour, and I sank into oblivion, and so Imust have remained for a day and a night.
When I awoke it was to find the Spaniard to whom I had been sold orgiven, standing near me with a lantern and directing the removal of thefetters from a woman who was chained next to me. She was dead, and inthe light of the lantern I could see that she had been carried off bysome horrible disease that was new to me, but which I afterwards learnedto know by the name of the Black Vomit. Nor was she the only one, for Icounted twenty dead who were dragged out in succession, and I couldsee that many more were sick. Also I saw that the Spaniards were nota little frightened, for they could make nothing of this sickness, andstrove to lessen it by cleansing the hold and letting air into it bythe removal of some planks in the deck above. Had they not done this Ibelieve that every soul of us must have perished, and I set down my ownescape from the sickness to the fact that the largest opening in thedeck was made directly above my head, so that by standing up, which mychains allowed me to do, I could breathe air that was almost pure.
Having distributed water and meal cakes, the Spaniards went away. Idrank greedily of the water, but the cakes I could not eat, for theywere mouldy. The sights and sounds around me were so awful that I willnot try to write of them.
And all the while we sweltered in the terrible heat, for the sun piercedthrough the deck planking of the vessel, and I could feel by her lack ofmotion that we were becalmed and drifting. I stood up, and by restingmy heels upon a rib of the ship and my back against her side, I foundmyself in a position whence I could see the feet of the passers-by onthe deck above.
Presently I saw that one of these wore a priest's robe, and guessingthat he must be my companion with whom I had escaped, I strove toattract his notice, and at length succeeded. So soon as he knew whoit was beneath him, the priest lay down on the deck as though to resthimself, and we spoke together. He told me, as I had guessed, that wewere becalmed and that a great sickness had taken hold of the ship,already laying low a third of the crew, adding that it was a judgmentfrom heaven because of their cruelty and wickedness.
To this I answered that the judgment was working on the captives as wellas on the captors, and asked him where was Sarceda, as they named deGarcia. Then I learned that he had been taken sick that morning, and Irejoiced at the news, for if I had hated him before, it may be judgedhow deeply I hated him now. Presently the priest left me and returnedwith water mixed with the juice of limes, that tasted to me like nectarfrom the gods, and some good meat and fruit. These he gave me throughthe hole in the planks, and I made shift to seize them in my manacledhands and devoured them. After this he went away, to my great chagrin;why, I did not discover till the following morning.
That day passed and the long night passed, and when at length theSpaniards visited the hold once more, there were forty bodies to bedragged out of it, and many others were sick. After they had gone Istood up, watching for my friend the priest, but he did not come then,nor ever again.