I am fully aware _now_ that in thus persuading the commandant's daughter
and her companion to meet us in the park we were quite inexcusable, and
that the fact that they were members of the family of a man who had very
materially befriended us should have deterred us from tempting them to
act in a clandestine manner such as the father of Inez would certainly
have disapproved. And if we had been honourable _men_ it would
doubtless have done so. But we were not men, we were simply _boys_, and
thought only of the pleasant companionship. I frankly plead guilty to
the charge of deplorable _heedlessness_. We were as heedless as lads of
our age usually are; and, thinking no harm, we at once succumbed to the
temptation to neglect the task on which we were employed and to devote
ourselves to the society of Inez and her companion. The consequences
were, almost as a matter of course, such as an older and more
experienced head would at once have foreseen--so far, at least, as Dona
Inez and I were concerned--for we discovered that we were as desperately
in love as ever boy and girl believed themselves to be.
But at length our rosy dream was rudely broken in upon and our souls
filled with consternation by the news that in three days' time the
commandant hoped to be once more at home. We knew at once what that
meant. We felt instinctively that, blameless as our love for each other
might be, it would meet with no sympathy from Don Luis, nor would he
tolerate its continued indulgence for a moment. At first a wild hope
sprang up within my heart that such might not be the case; that the fact
of my being a British officer might have some weight with the haughty
don. But Inez dispelled that hope in a moment.
"No," she sobbed, "you do not know my father or you would understand
that nothing of that kind would influence him in the slightest degree in
our favour. He loves me; oh, yes! he loves me more than anything else
in the world; and I believe he would do almost anything to secure my
happiness--but not _that_. My father is proud--_very_ proud--of his
birth and lineage; and whenever the idea of my marriage may suggest
itself to him I am certain he will wish me to wed some noble of at least
equal rank with himself. Of you, my poor Leo, he knows nothing save
that you are a prisoner; and were you to go to him and plead our cause,
not only would he refuse to listen to you, but I greatly fear his anger
would fall heavily upon us both. Our only hope, dear Leo, lies in your
speedily recovering your freedom, and gaining such distinction in your
profession as shall justify you in asking him for my hand."
"And that is precisely what I _will_ do," I exclaimed in an ecstasy of
mingled hope and despair; "Courtenay and I will make good our escape
before your father's return, even if we have to take to the sea in an
open boat."
"And where would you go in your open boat, supposing that you could
secure one, and could make good your escape from the shore?" asked Inez.
"We should head for Jamaica, and take our chance of being picked up by a
friendly craft," I replied.
"And supposing that you were _not_ picked up by a friendly craft?"
persisted my fair questioner.
"In that case," said I rather ruefully, "we should have to push on,
taking our chance as to wind and weather, and also as to our being able
to hit Jamaica. It is only some twelve hundred miles or so across, and
with favourable weather and a good boat we might accomplish the run in
from ten days to a fortnight."
"_A fortnight! in an open boat_!" exclaimed Inez. "Oh no, Leo, that
would never do! You must not attempt it; the risk is far too great. It
were better that you should remain here prisoners than that you should
lose your lives in any such desperate attempt as that. Let me think.
You want to get to Jamaica, do you not? And to get there safely you
must be conveyed there in a vessel. Ha! I have it. Eugenia, when does
your brother sail?"
"In about a week hence, so he told me yesterday," was the answer.
"A week hence! that is too late," exclaimed Inez. "Send for him, and
tell him to call at the castle early to-morrow morning, without fail."
I inquired who and what this brother of Eugenia's might happen to be,
and was informed that he was the owner and master of a small felucca
which traded regularly between La Guayra and Santiago de Cuba, and that
by a lucky chance his vessel happened at that moment to be lying in the
former port. This was eminently satisfactory, as I did not doubt for a
moment that an arrangement might be come to whereby we could get him to
run us directly across to Port Royal, we of course undertaking to insure
him and his craft against capture during the run and on arrival there.
There was a fair amount of prize-money due to us from the Jean Rabel
affair; and even if it had not yet been awarded I felt certain that we
could raise cash enough upon it to defray the expenses of the trip.
On the following morning, whilst we were at the workshop, the two girls
made their appearance, accompanied by a hearty, honest-looking young
fellow, who was introduced to us as Juan Gonzalez, Eugenia's brother.
In answer to our inquiries he informed us that he would be quite willing
to convey us to Port Royal, and to land us safely there, in
consideration of the sum of one hundred dollars, to be paid to him
within six hours of our arrival, with the proviso that we should
guarantee him against capture during the entire trip, the said sum of
one hundred dollars to cover everything, provisions included, and to
entitle us to the sole use of the felucca's cabin during the passage
across. These terms we considered exceedingly reasonable, and upon
inquiring of him when he would be ready to sail, and being informed that
he could start at any moment, we at once closed the bargain. That
matter satisfactorily settled we determined upon leaving forthwith,
since there was nothing to detain us; and it was then arranged, upon
Juan's suggestion, that instead of making our way into town and boarding
the felucca in harbour, we should avoid all risk of capture by taking
our departure from a little cove about three miles to the westward of
the castle, the felucca calling off the place about nine o'clock that
night and sending her boat ashore for us.
As may be supposed, the conclusion of these arrangements threw us all
into a state of such excitement that it was quite impossible to think
further of work. Courtenay and I therefore hastily put the workshop
into something like decent order, wrote a joint note to the commandant--
which we left conspicuously displayed on the workshop table--wherein we
expressed our most sincere thanks for all the kindness he had shown us,
and begged that he would not think too hardly of us for seizing upon an
opportunity which had presented itself for our escape.
Now I am painfully aware that--keeping in view our exceeding
youthfulness--any reference which it may be necessary for me to make to
the mutual attachment subsisting between myself and Dona Inez is liable
to be received with a certain amount of gentle ridicule and incredulity.
But in deprecating any such reception of my confidential communications
I will only say that we ourselves were thoroughly in earnest, and that
the prospect of our speedy separation reduced us both to a condition of
the keenest anguish and despair. The luncheon hour passed unheededly
by, and it was not until the deepening shadows warned us of approaching
night that we reluctantly turned our steps castleward, to complete the
very trifling preparations necessary for the coming flight.
Courtenay, I was glad to see, was so completely heart-whole that he was
in the highest possible spirits; and he did such ample justice to the
dinner set before us as in some degree to make up for my own
shortcomings in that respect. The meal over we dismissed Pedro for the
night, and then proceeded to pack up our dilapidated uniforms in a small
parcel, to assist in our identification as British officers should such
prove necessary. This brought the time on to about half-past seven, at
which hour we had arranged to meet again in the park, Inez having
insisted--much against my wish--in accompanying us to the cove and
satisfying herself as to the fact of our actual escape.
The walk to the cove was not a long one, only some three miles or so,
but it occupied us a full hour and a half, and a very wretched time it
proved for both of us.
We reached the place fixed upon as the point for our embarkation at nine
o'clock, and a few minutes later a small wavering black blotch appeared
through the intense darkness off the entrance. We heard the sound of a
coil of rope being flung upon a deck, followed by a creaking of blocks;
then a scraping sound and a splash such as would be caused by the
launching of a boat over the low gunwale of a small craft, an indistinct
murmur of voices for a moment, and then the plash of oars in the water.
The distance to be traversed by the boat was not more than three or four
hundred feet; I therefore had time only to breathe a hurried and
inarticulate word or two of final farewell to Inez, during which I
slipped on to her slender finger the only ring I possessed, when a
grating sound down by the water's edge told us that the boat had
grounded, and we hurried away down the beach.
The boat was a tiny cockle-shell of a craft, with only one man in her,
and he was just hauling her nose up out of the water as we reached him.
"Oh, you are here, excellencies!" he exclaimed in a tone of some little
surprise, I thought. "So much the better. Jump in, caballeros, and let
us be off; there is another craft creeping down under the land, only a
mile or so astern of us, of which el capitano feels somewhat suspicious,
and he will be glad to make a good offing before she comes up."
"All right, my man!" said Courtenay as we tumbled into the stern-sheets
of the small craft; "shove off as soon as you like."
The man placed his shoulder against the stem of the boat and gave her a
powerful shove, scrambling in over the bows as she slid stern-foremost
into the deep water, and thereby nearly capsizing all hands. However we
managed, between us, to keep the boat right side up, and the man seating
himself at the oars the craft was slewed round by one powerful stroke
until her nose pointed seaward, and away we went, a faint clear silvery
cry of "_A mas ver_! _A Dios_!" floating after us into the darkness,
accompanied by a ghostly flutter of scarcely discernible handkerchiefs.
"_A Dios_!" we shouted back as the two lingering forms vanished in the
gloomy shadow of the precipitous slope leading down to the shore; and in
another minute or so we shot alongside the felucca and sprang in over
her low bulwarks.
"Welcome, gentlemen!" exclaimed the figure who received us. "This is
better than I expected. I was afraid we should have been obliged to
wait for you; and there is a craft creeping down alongshore there whose
movements I do not like. I fear she has been watching us, since she can
have no other business down here so close in with the land. However,
here you are, so we will bear away at once, if you please; and if he
wants to watch us let him follow. It will take a smart craft to
overhaul the little _Pinta_. Perhaps you would like to go below at once
and inspect your berths?"
We replied that we should, whereupon he ushered us aft to the small
companion, and, cautioning us against the almost perpendicular ladder
and the lowness of the beams, shouted to some unseen "Francisco" to show
a light below and to attend generally to our wants.
We dived below and entered the small cabin; a gruff order or two on
deck, accompanied by a creaking of blocks and gear bearing testimony to
the fact that the _Pinta_ was bearing away for the open sea, and that
our escape was actually an accomplished fact.
"Francisco" proved to be a bright intelligent lad of some thirteen or
fourteen years of age, jauntily rigged in a picturesque costume somewhat
similar to that of the Neapolitan fishermen in "Masanielo;" but his
shapely features were somewhat marred by the long white cicatrice of an
ugly wound across his forehead which showed up with startling
distinctness against the somewhat dusky hue of his skin. The wound must
have given him a rather narrow squeak for it when it was inflicted; and
I was about to question him as to the particulars concerning it when he
bustled away, and in a few minutes returned with a couple of bottles of
wine and the materials for an excellent supper, which he laid out upon
the table and then with a graceful bow invited us to fall to. This
diverted our thoughts in another direction. We seated ourselves, and in
a very few minutes--I, at least, having eaten scarcely anything at
dinner--were thinking of nothing beyond the satisfaction of our
appetites.
Before the meal was over the little vessel began to roll and tumble
about in such a lively manner as to satisfy us that she was hauling out
fast from under the lee of the land, and presently we heard the sharp
patter and swish of rain upon the deck overhead. It was by this time
past ten o'clock; the two standing berths, one on each side of the small
cabin, looked tolerably clean and inviting; so, instead of going on deck
as we had originally intended, we turned in, and tried to lose
remembrance of the somewhat exciting events of the day in a sound sleep.
The sun was shining brightly down through the diminutive sky-light when
I awoke next morning, and the lad Francisco was busy sweeping out the
cabin. Seeing me astir he inquired at what time we would choose to have
breakfast, to which I answered that we would have it as soon as it could
be got ready; but that in the meantime we should be glad to be supplied
with water, soap, and towels. These he scuttled away to get, whilst I
tumbled out of my bunk and began to dress, calling out at the same time
to rouse Courtenay, who was snoring away most melodiously in his berth
on the opposite side of the cabin. The little _Pinta_ was lying over a
good deal, and the loud gurgling rush of the water past her sides seemed
to indicate that she was travelling through it at a fairish speed,
whilst the long regular heel to leeward, the steady buoyant soaring
motion of the little vessel, with the succeeding recovery and weather-
roll and rapid drop as she settled away down into the trough, informed
us that we were favoured with a fresh breeze, accompanied by quite a
respectable beam-sea. With the exception of an occasional footstep, or
a word or two from the vicinity of the binnacle, everything, save for
the singing of the wind in the rigging and the hissing of the surges
past our lee side, was quiet enough on deck; but below Courtenay and I
could scarcely hear each other speak for the noise and clatter; bulk-
heads creaking, the crockery in the pantry rattling, the weapons in the
rack abaft the table clanking and jarring, and Heaven knows how many
other sounds beside.
By the way, those same weapons had attracted my notice on the previous
evening, though my thoughts were at the time so much preoccupied with
other things that I made no remark about them. Now, however, their
persistent clank and clatter forced them so prominently upon our
attention that we both burst simultaneously into some exclamation
respecting the incongruity of so small a craft being so well provided
with arms. So well-furnished indeed was the _Pinta_ in this respect
that anyone entering her cabin might naturally have supposed himself to
have been on board a privateer, or something worse. In the first place
there was a rack stretching right athwart the aftermost bulkhead, in
which were stacked a dozen good serviceable-looking muskets, their
barrels brightly polished, the stocks carefully oiled, and new flints in
every one of the locks. These were flanked on each side by a sheaf of
some half a dozen boarding-pikes, the points of which had been ground
almost to the sharpness of a needle. Above the muskets, forming a star-
shaped trophy, which occupied almost the whole remaining surface of the
bulkhead, were a dozen brace of sturdy pistols, their muzzles pointing
inward, whilst their butts, all turned one way, formed the outer
extremities of the star-rays. These, too, were as bright and clean as
it was possible for them to be; and I noticed that, fancifully as they
were arranged, they were merely suspended from nails, from which they
could be snatched at a moment's notice. And, finally, over each stand
of pikes was arranged another star formed of sheathed cutlasses, with
belts and cartridge-pouches attached, all ready, in short, for instant
service.
"I cannot for the life of me imagine why our friend Juan should arm his
cock-boat like this," I remarked; "why, there must be enough weapons
here for twice the number of men the _Pinta_ carries."
"Who can tell!" returned Courtenay. "For my part I fancy all Spaniards
have very lax notions of commercial morality, and Master Juan may
perhaps amuse himself, as opportunity offers or when times are bad, with
a little quiet smuggling. Although, even in such a case," he continued,
"I can scarcely see the need for such a formidable armoury; for I should
hardly suspect him of the inclination to undertake the risk of running a
cargo worth fighting for. Well, shall we go on deck and take a look
round before sitting down to breakfast?"
"By all means," said I; and we were in the very act of ascending the
companion-ladder when Francisco made his appearance at its head, coming
down stern-foremost, with a coffee-pot in one hand and a smoking dish of
broiled fish in the other, so we had to give way for him or run an
imminent risk of being scalded.
"El capitano kisses your hands, excellencies," said the lad, as he laid
his double burden on the table, "and he hopes you have both slept well."
"Admirably," I answered, adding, as I looked at the appetising dish
which sent up its grateful odours from the table, "Put out another
plate, knife and fork, and so on; and tell `el capitano' that we shall
be very pleased if he will join us at breakfast."
The lad stared at us in mute astonishment for a moment, flushing like a
bashful girl meanwhile. Then, recovering himself, he muttered: "I will
tell him, gentlemen; he will feel himself highly honoured."
"That is all right," laughed Courtenay, as the lad slid up the
companion; "a very right and proper feeling, though I scarcely know why
he should experience it."
A minute later a heavy tramp was audible coming along the deck. The
sunlight streaming down through the open companion suffered a temporary
eclipse; a pair of legs, encased in enormous sea-boots, presented
themselves to our admiring gaze, and finally a huge fellow of fully six
feet in height, and broad in proportion, came towards us, bowing and
stooping in the most awkward manner, partly by way of salutation and
partly to avoid striking his head against the low deck-beams. He was
dark-complexioned, bushy whiskered, with keen restless black eyes, and a
shock of ebon hair very imperfectly concealed by a black-and-red-striped
fisherman's cap of knitted worsted, which he removed deferentially the
moment his eye fell upon us. He wore large gold ear-rings in his ears,
and was attired in a thick dreadnought jacket over a black-and-red-
striped shirt, which was confined about his waist by a broad leather
belt, to which was attached a sheath-knife of most formidable
dimensions. The skirts of the shirt were worn _outside_ his trousers,
so that his _tout ensemble_ was exactly that of a dashing pirate or
smuggler bold, as that interesting individual is presented on the boards
of a third-rate transpontine theatre of the present day. He was a
picturesque-looking person enough, _but he certainly was not Juan
Gonzalez_, to whom he bore no more resemblance than I did.
Courtenay and I glanced at each other in surprise, but neither of us
said a word.
"_Muchisimos gracias_ for your honoured invitation, excellencies," said
our friend, again bowing awkwardly, as he slid into a seat at the head
of the table, leaving Courtenay and me to stow ourselves on the lockers,
one on each side of him. "I am gratified to learn from Francisco that
you rested soundly during the night I was afraid the motion of the
felucca would prove disagreeable to you. We have had a fine breeze from
the eastward all night, and La Guayra is now nearly a hundred miles
astern of us."
"That is good news," I remarked. "But why should you have anticipated
any evil results to us from the motion of the craft? Are you not aware
that we are pretty well seasoned sailors?"
"No," said our companion; "I was not aware of it. When I urged the
captain-general to send naval officers I understood him to say that he
had none available for the service, but that he would send two officers
of marines. I did not like his proposal, and I am very glad to find
that he has thought better of it. What can a soldier--even though he be
a marine--know about soundings, and bearings, and sea-marks? And the
entrance to the place is very difficult indeed, as you will see,
gentlemen, when we come to it."
"What in the world is the man talking about?" thought I, glancing across
the table at Courtenay to see what he thought of it. That irrepressible
young gentleman elevated his eyebrows inquiringly, tipped me a wink of
preternatural significance with his left eye--our host was sitting on
Courtenay's starboard hand--and then devoted himself most assiduously to
the red snapper off which he was breakfasting.
"How long do you reckon it will take us to make the run?" I asked, with
the view of maintaining the conversation rather than because of my
comprehension of it.
"Well," said our picturesque friend, "let me reckon. To-day is
Thursday. If this breeze holds steady we ought to be off Cape Irois
about daybreak next Wednesday morning. Then, unless the wind heads us,
we may hope to weather Cape Maysi about sunset the same day; after which
we may expect to have the breeze well on our starboard quarter, which
will enable us to complete the run in good time to pass through the
Barcos Channel and reach our anchorage before nightfall on the following
Friday evening."
"Ah!" remarked Courtenay, as coolly as though he fully understood the
whole drift of this singular conversation, "a little over a week, if the
weather remains favourable. When you say that the entrance is
difficult, do you refer to the Barcos Channel more particularly or
to--?"
"Oh no!" was the reply; "that is easy enough--for a small vessel of
light draught, that is to say--although there are one or two awkward
places there which I will point out to you; but it is the entrance to
the lagoon itself which will give you the most trouble."
"Precisely; that is what we have been given to understand," said
Courtenay, addressing himself to us both. "I presume you have a chart
of the place?"
"No," said our friend; "the place has never yet been surveyed, and
Giuseppe will not permit anyone to sound anywhere within the entrance to
the lagoon. I told the captain-general this when he asked me the same
question. Did he not mention this to you?"
"No, he did not," said Courtenay, with all the seriousness imaginable;
"he never said a word to me about it. Did he mention it to you?" with a
glance across the table at me.
"Not a word," said I. "I suppose he forgot it in his hurry. You must
understand," I continued, turning to the unknown one, "that so far as
_we_ are concerned, this business has been arranged in the most hurried
manner, and we must look to you for enlightenment upon any points which
the captain-general may have omitted to explain to us."
"Oh, yes! assuredly, senors, assuredly," was the satisfactory reply.
"It is part of my bargain, you know."
"Quite so," chimed in Courtenay. "And if, as my friend and I talk the
matter over, we happen to come to something which is not altogether
clear, we will not fail to apply to you. By the by, do you happen to
have such a thing as a decent cigar on board this smart little felucca
of yours?"
Our interlocutor glanced from one to the other of us with a merry
twinkle in his eye, as though Courtenay's innocent inquiry veiled the
best joke he had heard for a long time.
"A decent cigar!" said he. "Ha! ha! if I have not, then I don't know
where else you should look for one, gentlemen. Allow me." And, pushing
past me to the after part of the locker, he raised a lid and produced a
box of weeds which he laid upon the table. Then, with an awkward bow,
he said, as he made for the companion-ladder:
"If you have finished breakfast, gentlemen, I will send Francisco down
to clear the table."