"Miss O'Regan has not recovered as rapidly as I trusted she would, from
the trials she has gone through, and I think it probable that she will
accompany some of her relatives to England, so that I cannot hope to
meet her again till we return home; indeed, she is firm in her
determination not to marry, at all events, till I pay off the corvette,
and I suppose she is right, although I would rather make her mine at
once. Archy Gordon, I am thankful to say, under her and her friends'
care, is gradually recovering, and will, I hope, in a few weeks, join
the frigate. However, you must not forget your prize. Here comes your
boat with her skipper."
The Spanish captain now stepped on board, and protested loudly against
the legality of his capture, and declared that the English brig-of-war
had fired into him without provocation, and that he had been obliged to
board her, as the only means of saving his vessel.
"Very probably," answered Jack, "and you expected to take us and our
prizes into the bargain. As to the legality of the affair, that will be
decided when we arrive at Jamaica. In the meantime, as I am
overcrowded, you and your officers will go on board the corvette, where
your wounds will be attended to."
Murray had agreed to relieve Jack of some of his prisoners, and to send
a prize-crew on board the _Caterina_. All arrangements having been
made, the two men-of-war and four prizes made sail for Port Royal.
Scarcely had they got their tacks aboard than a large ship was sighted
from the masthead of the _Tudor_, standing off the land. She was soon
made out to be the _Plantagenet_, which had sailed from Port Royal ten
days before her. The frigate made the signal to close, and the small
squadron was soon hove to at a short distance from her. As directly
afterwards it fell calm, visits were exchanged between the officers of
the different ships. Murray and Jack went on board the _Plantagenet_ to
make their report to Captain Hemming.
"You have had better fortune than we can boast of, Rogers," he said,
laughing in a tone which showed his vexation; "those rascally
slave-dealers have contrived to do us, though, as we are up to their
tricks, I hope that we shall turn the tables on them another time."
When Jack went into the gunroom, Adair gave him an account of the
circumstance to which the captain alluded.
"We were on our way from Jamaica to Havannah, to look after you, Jack,
and to prevent you from getting into mischief or catching a Tartar, as
it seems you nearly did, when the captain thought fit to stand into the
Bay of Guantimo; it's away there on the southern coast of Cuba, towards
the east end. The admiral had received information that Don Pepe, the
very rascal whose acquaintance we made on the coast of Africa, and who
is now settled at Havannah, was fitting out a large and powerful craft,
calculated to give a little pigmy, like you, some trouble.
"We came off Guantimo just before dark. It is, I should say, a
beautiful and deep bay, with numerous small harbours in it, in which
slavers may hide securely without any risk of being seen by our
cruisers, unless expressly looked for. As we were standing in,
intending to run up the bay, we made out a large brig at anchor with
sails loose, ready for sea. She had a suspicious look about her,
unusually square yards, taunt and raking masts, and low black hull.
Though she might be well armed and disposed to show fight, had you for
instance attempted to question her, she would not, of course, dare to
resist the frigate; and as she could not escape us, we felt pretty sure
that, should she be what we suspected, she would soon become our prize.
"We had got some little way up the bay, and within half a mile of her,
when the wind fell. We were by this time more certain than ever, from
her appearance, that she was a slaver, and the captain therefore ordered
a shot to be fired close ahead of her, that we might see how she would
take it. She made no reply, neither hoisted colours, nor attempted to
get under weigh.
"`At all events we will see what she is,' said the captain. He then
ordered me and Norris to take the pinnace and jollyboat, and board her.
The men had just time to buckle on their cutlasses before they tumbled
into the boats. I was sorry after we had shoved off that they were not
better armed, for the Spaniards might very possibly try to play us some
trick or other, such as heaving cold shot into our boat and knocking us
on the head as we got alongside, though they were much more likely to
blow up their vessel or to run her on shore and make their escape. As
we pulled on, we observed numerous boats passing from the brig to the
shore, and we felt pretty certain that the fellows were landing the
unfortunate slaves, so that we should not be in time to rescue them. I
ordered our men to give way, in the hopes of saving some of the poor
wretches, and a single slave remaining on board would, of course, be
enough to condemn her. It was now nearly dark, though we could still
make out the brig with her white canvas loose, not far ahead. I was
somewhat surprised as we approached to observe no sign of life aboard
her; not a man could I make out on her deck, no boat alongside. We had
got almost up to her when we observed a large schooner lying close in
shore on the farther side of a high point which had hitherto concealed
her from us. Almost at the same instant a shot came flying from the
schooner towards us, so well aimed that, as it struck the surface, it
threw the water right over us. The splash of our oars must have shown
the schooner's people where we were, for, although we could see her,
they could not have made out in the dark such small objects as our
boats.
"The first shot was followed by a second, which very nearly did for the
jollyboat, as, after striking the water, it bounded over her, smashing
one of her oars, and knocking in her gunwale, happily hitting no one.
Not wishing to be exposed to this sort of peppering, as shot after shot
came in quick succession, giving us not a most agreeable kind of
shower-bath, we at once dashed at the brig, I boarding on the starboard
side, and Norris on the port. We fully expected to have some hot work,
but on reaching the deck, not a soul appeared, and we found ourselves
masters and, as we supposed, possessors of as fine a brig as I have ever
seen engaged in the slave-trade.
"I could not help feeling, however, a little uncomfortable on
recollecting the tricks the rascals are apt to play, and I half expected
to find myself and my men hoisted into the air by the explosion of the
magazine, when, as I was about to send below to examine the vessel, I
heard voices in the after-cabin, and presently a Spanish officer in full
rig appeared, followed by half a dozen men-of-war's men. He announced
himself as a midshipman belonging to the Spanish man-of-war schooner
which lay at anchor in shore, the same craft which had fired at us, and
said that he had been put in charge of the brig, which had been captured
by his vessel.
"`And pray, then, why did your schooner fire at our boats?' I asked,
eyeing the young fellow narrowly, for I much doubted that he was really
a midshipman.
"`Your boats were seen approaching our prize under suspicious
circumstances in the dusk of evening, and you probably were taken for
pirates,' he answered, quite coolly.
"`There was light enough when we were first seen to make out our
ensign,' I answered. `If that schooner is a man-of-war, her commander
shall be made to apologise for the insult he has offered to the British
flag.'
"`Of course he will, and if you choose to send on board you will find
that what I have told you is the case,' he answered, biting his lips, as
if, so I supposed, he disliked having his honour doubted.
"`Well, you will remain here, and I will send one of my boats on board
the schooner. Should any treacherous trick be played, I shall make you
answerable,' I said, eyeing him sternly. He did not quail, and I was
pretty well satisfied that he spoke the truth. I accordingly ordered
Norris to go on board the schooner and ascertain the facts of the case,
and to tell the captain that I wished to see him immediately on board
the brig; after he was gone, I felt no little anxiety as to the
reception he might meet with. The Spanish midshipman, however, appeared
at his ease, and accompanied me over the brig; I found that she was a
brand-new vessel, having never before been to sea; she was laden with
cotton goods, and had the planking for a slave-deck, with leaguers, and
a large cauldron for boiling farina; indeed, she was in every way fitted
for a slaver, and would, I felt sure, if we could not stop her career,
bring back some seven or eight hundred slaves in her capacious hold.
"`She is a slaver, you will allow?' I said, turning to the midshipman.
"`A slaver!' he said, `worse than that. She is a regular pirate; as
such we captured her.'
"Notwithstanding what he said, I was convinced that she was simply a
slaver, though the Spaniards are generally in no hurry to take such
vessels. We returned on deck, and I kept my eye on my friend and his
men.
"The brig's crew had all been removed, he told me.
"`We shall see them, then, hanging at your yardarm tomorrow morning,' I
observed.
"`Oh no! we do not treat our prisoners in so summary a manner,' he
answered.
"We paced the deck for some time together, while I turned a somewhat
anxious eye towards the schooner, hoping soon to see Norris return.
"Norris, as I afterwards learnt, as he got near the Spanish schooner
observed her guns pointed down at his boat, ready to sink her in a
moment. Undaunted, however, he pulled alongside. No opposition was
offered to his coming on board. When he got on deck he found the
fighting-lanterns ranged along it, sixty marines drawn up with muskets
in their hands and swords by their sides, and fully two hundred men at
their quarters. At the gangway stood the captain, a thin, short,
wizen-faced man, with an immense moustache, who, as Norris appeared,
began stamping with his feet, and swearing roundly in Spanish--
"`Who are you? How dared you go on board yonder brig?' he asked.
"`I am an officer of her Britannic Majesty's frigate _Plantagenet_,'
answered Norris, having a good notion of the proper way to meet such a
fellow. `I obey the orders of my captain. He supposes her to be a
slaver, and if she is not, all I can say is, she is very much like one.'
"`She is not a slaver, but a pirate, and I have captured her under the
same treaty that you English take slavers, and she is therefore mine and
under my charge, and no one shall interfere with her.'
"`In that case, why did you fire at us, I beg to know?' asked Norris.
"`Because it was dark, and I could not see your flag,' answered the
little Don.
"`You could have seen our frigate, and you must have known perfectly
well all the time that the boats you were firing at were English,'
replied Norris. `My superior officer, who has taken possession of the
brig, wishes to see you on board her immediately.'
"While Norris was carrying on this conversation, the Spanish crew looked
so bent on mischief, and the moustaches of the marines curled so
fiercely that he expected every moment to be attacked, and he saw his
own men put their hands on the hilts of their cutlasses as if they
thought the same. They would have had to contend with fearful odds, but
I have not the slightest doubt that they would have made a good fight of
it, and perhaps have got off scot free, though they had not a pistol
among them.
"The Spanish captain considered a moment, and Norris heard him order his
gig to be manned.
"`Well, remember that my superior officer expects you,' he said, and
having no inclination to remain longer on board than was necessary,
ordering his men into the jollyboat, he came back as fast as they could
pull to the brig.
"He had just time to give me an account of what had occurred, when we
made out a Spanish boat coming towards us.
"I should have said by-the-bye that alongside the captain was an
Englishman, or a man who spoke English perfectly, and interpreted for
Norris--or at all events, helped him out with the conversation.
"I stood with my men ranged behind me, their shirt-sleeves tucked up and
their cutlasses in their hands, ready to receive my visitor. I
determined to show him that I was not to be trifled with. After his
impudent behaviour, he had no right to expect any courtesy from me, so I
let him find his own way on deck.
"`Well, senor,' I asked when he appeared, followed by his interpreter,
`how did you dare to fire at my boats?'
"Instead of stamping and swearing as he had done when on board his own
vessel, he was in a moment an altered being. Taking off his hat, he
stood before me humbly bowing, and with his hand on his heart, declared
that he much regretted what had occurred.
"`Indeed, senor, I had no notion that the boats I fired at were English,
and took you for pirates, about to attempt the recapture of the brig.'
This was said by means of the interpreter.
"`That's as big a bouncer as ever was spoken,' I heard some one behind
me growl out. I don't know whether the interpreter thought fit to
explain the polite remark to his superior.
"`As to that I have no means of judging, but how comes it that I find
one of your officers on board this vessel? She is evidently fitted for
the slave-trade, and as such she will most certainly be condemned,' I
observed.
"`Of course! no doubt about it,' answered the Spanish captain, quite
coolly, `she is not only a slaver but a pirate, and discovering such to
be the case I captured her, and I give you my word of honour that I am
about to take her into Saint Jago da Cuba for adjudication.'
"`Of course I cannot doubt the word of honour of a Spanish officer,' I
replied. `I must consequently leave you in possession, and I only hope
you will take care that she is condemned and her piratical career
stopped.'
"`Oh, of course, senor. I will take good care of that,' he answered,
again bowing, and putting his hand to his heart.
"I fancied that by the light of the lantern which fell on his
countenance, I could see a twinkle in his eyes as he said this, and I
felt strongly tempted to pitch him and his crew into their boat, cut the
brig's cable and make sail. However, as I was compelled to take his
word for the truth of what he asserted, I had nothing to do but to
trundle with my men into our boats, and pull back to the frigate.
Hemming approved of what I had done, though he agreed with me that it
was all humbug, and that the Spanish captain pretended to have captured
the brig for the sake of saving her from our claws. He determined
therefore to watch the two vessels, and we accordingly hove-to to see
what they would do.
"It was not till nearly dawn that the breeze came off the land, when we
saw the brig stealing out, followed by the man-of-war schooner. The
latter, by the bye, was a magnificent vessel, one of the largest
schooners I have come across, requiring the numerous crew she carried to
handle her enormous canvas. We at once made sail and followed them into
Saint Jago, which is about thirty miles west of Guantimo. We there
found that the Spanish captain had actually brought the brig to trial as
a pirate, though, as he well knew, there was not the slightest proof
that she was one. As the trial was likely to last some weeks, or, at
all events, till we were out of the port, Hemming considered that it
would be useless to remain, so we sailed again, and were on our passage
round to Havannah when we sighted you."
Such was Adair's account of his adventure.
A breeze soon afterwards springing up, the _Plantagenet_ proceeded on to
her destination, while the corvette and brig, with the prizes, continued
their course to Jamaica. It was not till the return of the
_Plantagenet_ to Port Royal, that Jack heard of the full rascality of
the Spanish captain. On the arrival of the frigate at Havannah Captain
Hemming laid a complaint before the Admiralty Court for the adjudication
of slavers. He then discovered that the brig belonged to Pepe, or, as
he was now called, Don Matteo, who had bribed the Spanish captain to
keep by his vessel and to pretend to have captured her should an English
man-of-war appear. On the acquittal of the brig for piracy at Saint
Jago, the Spanish captain who had pledged his honour on the subject
escorted her through the windward passage as far as seventy degrees of
longitude, when she was out of the range of West India cruisers. Jack
afterwards heard an account of her from a friend on the African station.
She had then really become a pirate. She used to watch for the slavers
after they had run the gauntlet of the British cruisers, and would then
capture them, take their slaves out, and give them her cargo of coloured
cottons in exchange. When she did not manage to fall in with slavers
she occasionally took a run in on her own account, and her captain being
well informed of the movements of the blockading squadron, she
invariably managed to pick up a fresh cargo and get clear off again.
Being, however, in no ways particular, if she had no cargo of coloured
cloths, she would sink the slavers she took, with their crews, so as to
leave no trace of the transaction behind.
Being armed with a long gun amidships and six long nines, not a slaver
had a chance with her. It was not till long afterwards that Jack became
acquainted with the last-mentioned particulars. She at length
disappeared from the coast, and he could never hear what ultimately
became of her. She was probably either burnt, or driven on shore, or,
still more likely, she was capsized and went down with her living
freight of eight hundred human beings.