THE FIGHT ON THE SANDS
I must now tell of all incident I would willingly have left unrecorded,
but as I have undertaken to set down here, in the order of its
sequence, each event which took place upon my voyages with Dirk Hartog
on southern seas, I must not, as a faithful chronicler, omit to record
each happening in its order.
Now it so fell out that our first supercargo, Gilles Miebas Van Luck,
bore me a grudge, although I could recall no act on my part upon which
to attribute it, unless it be that I had gained the favour of the
captain, of which I could see Van Luck was jealous. From the first Van
Luck made no secret of his dislike of me, and more than once he
complained to Hartog that by reason of my youth; I being at the time of
sailing but nineteen years old, it would be more seemly if I took my
meals with the men in the forecastle instead of in the cabin. But
Hartog had overruled his objections. As his secretary he maintained I
was entitled to berth with the officers, and after my rescue from the
inhospitable shores of Terra Australis I continued to occupy my former
place at the captain's table, although I would as lief have messed with
the men sooner than have been the cause of a quarrel.
At length matters came to a climax, when Van Luck ordered me to set
about some menial work which I did not consider compatible with my
position as the captain's secretary, and which, therefore, I declined
to perform. In his rage at my refusal Van Luck came at me with a
belaying pin in his hand, but I had fought many a battle with the
fisher lads upon the sands at Urk, and was well able to take my own
part, so that when Van Luck was almost upon me I nimbly stepped aside,
and with a trick I had been taught by an old smuggler at Urk, I tripped
him as he passed so that he fell into the scuppers, when, with a
muttered oath, he scrambled to his feet, and, plucking a pistol from
his belt, he would have shot me had not Hartog at this moment appeared
on deck, and commanded him to throw down his arms.
"How now," said Hartog, "am I captain of this ship or not? What means
this mutiny? Come both of you to my cabin that I may hear the case and
see justice done."
Without so much as a look at either of us Hartog then descended to his
state room, whither we followed him in shamefaced silence, for when the
captain spoke we knew he must be obeyed.
When Hartog had heard what we had to say, and the argument advanced by
each on his own behalf, he delivered judgment in the following terms:
"You are both of you in the wrong," said he. "Peter should not have
refused to obey an order without referring the matter to me, and you
Van Luck ought not to have taken the law into your own hands when I,
your captain, am the proper judge upon such matters. Still I am willing
to overlook your dereliction of duty (though by every rule of the sea
you are both deserving of death at the yard arm) provided that at the
first suitable place, and time, you fight out your quarrel as man to
man, and pass me your words that, whatever the result, the survivor, or
victor, shall bear the other no ill will."
This was a favourite method of Hartog's for settling disputes that were
occasionally bound to arise among his crew upon so long a voyage. Order
upon the ship, he maintained, must, for the common safety, be rigidly
observed, but if bad blood arose between men of high spirit and hot
temper, the malcontents were landed at some convenient place where, in
the presence of the ship's company to see fair play, they fought the
matter out, afterwards returning on board with their ardour cooled, and
their anger properly chastened. This plan, on the whole, was found to
work well. Sometimes one and sometimes both of the combatants were
killed, but, as a rule, the matter was settled without the sacrifice of
life, and the parties returned from their blood-letting the better
friends.
After hearing Hartog's decision we both bowed and retired, and, in the
terms of our promise, resumed the ordinary routine of our duties as
though nothing out of the common had occurred. But the news of the
coming fight spread among the crew and became the subject of gossip
throughout the ship.
I was now near twenty-one and Van Luck was three years my senior, we
being all young men on board the "Endraght"; but I had led a hardy
life, and my spell ashore had taken off superfluous flesh, and left me
active and alert, with muscles like steel, an advantage not given to my
older antagonist, who had, perforce, lived a monotonous existence for
months past on shipboard. So I looked forward to the coming trial of
strength and endurance with some degree of confidence, notwithstanding
that Van Luck and his supporters promised me I would lose both my ears
as forfeit, if not my life, in the encounter.
The discussion over the right at length became so keen that Hartog,
fearing it might lead to further disputes, determined to get it over as
soon as possible, and for this purpose he altered the ship's course to
an island he sighted on the horizon which we made during the same
afternoon, when we came to anchor in a natural harbour formed by a
coral reef and opposite to a hard sandy beach well suited to the matter
in hand.
At daybreak the following morning we landed two boats' crews on the
beach, only the watch being left on board, who would nevertheless be
able to see the fight from over the ship's bulwarks. It was a fine
summer's morning, with little wind and no sea. The waves broke in crisp
diamond sparkles upon the sand, and the feathery palms and coconut
trees, with which the island abounded, imparted to the place a
fairy-like aspect such as the hand of man could never design. The
island appeared to be uninhabited and it seemed likely we would have
the arena to ourselves, although our men were armed in order to repel
attack.
When Hartog had taken up a position upon a spot he had selected
as suitable for the contest, he explained the conditions under which the
dispute was to be settled. The fight won to be to the death, or until
either party confessed himself vanquished or was unable to continue,
and in no case was malice to be shown after the event, whatever might
be the result. Having then proclaimed strict silence he ordered us to
make ready and begin. Both my opponent and I were now stripped to the
waist, our singlets being used as bandages for the right arm to protect
it from a chance wound from the dagger knives with which we were armed,
we being allowed no other weapon. My adversary was stouter than I, but
we were both of a height, and what I lacked in strength I made up for
in agility.
And know we began to circle each other, waiting an opportunity to
strike, which presently came to my opponent, who aimed a blow at me
which I caught when his blade was within an inch of my heart. Putting
forth my strength I strove to force his hand so that with his own blade
he might kill or wound himself, but after a desperate struggle he broke
away. Not a word was spoken by the onlookers, and no sound was heard
save only the tread of our feet as we circled and waited for a chance
to strike again.
It now occurred to me that since my adversary had proved himself the
stronger when I had tried to force his hand, my better plan would be to
tire him if possible before taking the offensive again, and to this end
I led him on, always nimbly avoiding the strokes he aimed at me instead
of spending my strength by attempting to oppose them, and this method
proved so successful that I presently had the satisfaction of observing
in my opponent evident signs of exhaustion. Realizing his impotence,
and now beside himself with anger, Van Luck suddenly rushed upon me,
when, using a trick I had learnt, I tripped him so that he fell,
dropping his knife, which, before he could recover it, I secured. By
all the rules of the game he was now at my mercy, and I called upon him
to surrender, but, with a scowl, he refused to give in. The advantage
I had gained now entitled me to stab him to death where he stood, or to
cut off his ears if I had the mind to do it, but I could not bring
myself to kill, or maim, an unarmed man. I therefore threw down both
knives at Hartog's feet, and returned once more to the fight with bare
hands. My superior agility now began to tell in my favour, and I found
I was the better boxer and wrestler of the two, so that I rained blows
upon my opponent, some of which drew blood. He then tried to clinch
with me, but I had waited for this, and when he seized me in his
powerful grip I held myself as I had been taught to do by my friend the
smuggler, so that when he tried to throw me, he himself, by his own
weight and a dexterous twist I gave him, was hurled over my head some
distance along the sand, where he fell upon the broad of his back the
breath being knocked clean out of his body. For some time he lay to all
appearance dead, and it being evident he would not be able to continue
the fight, Hartog awarded me the victory, and, later, when Van Luck
regained consciousness, he ordered him to shake hands with me, which he
did with an ill grace, though of a surety I bore him no malice.
"Peter," said Hartog to me when we were alone together in his cabin
after the fight, "henceforth I look upon you as my comrade as well as
my secretary; but do not, on that account, believe I shall be less
strict to enforce discipline upon you equally with all under my
command. At the great distance we are from home it behoves some one to
be in authority, if we are ever to see the Netherlands again. Promise
me then to set a curb upon your temper, and when Van Luck is able to
resume his duties after the drubbing you have given him, let there be
no bad blood between you."
I gave my promise willingly, and I can honestly say that, on, my part,
I bore no grudge against Van Luck, nor against any man of the ship's
company, though I could see that Van Luck would never forgive me for
having bested him, nor could I disguise from myself the fact that there
were some among the crew who sided with him.