IN WHICH I LEARN SOMETHING.
Confusion reigned at the house in the Rue Etienne. The Sieur de la
Notte, sick at heart and searching peace for Madame, had set his mind
upon going with Admiral Ribault to Florida, in hope of escaping the
persecution of those who hated him at the French court. For my part,
since I had yet to perform my duty to the men who employed me and must
find Admiral Coligny at Paris, it mattered little whether Mademoiselle
were in France or Florida. I would probably not see her again in any
event. Yet I could not forbear asking to speak with her before the
ships sailed away.
When I reached the house she was with Madame and could have but a word
with me. She was, I thought, a little haughty; but none the less, she
graciously promised me an hour in the morning. So I stopped below for
two hours or more with the Sieur de la Notte, telling him of my plans
and arranging that I might have, through Ribault, two companions under
arms, to go with me and my sailors to Paris. I also helped him in the
disposition of some of his own affairs, so that it was near midnight
when I left the house. I went straightway to the hostel where I had
left my seamen.
An account of the conduct of Smith and Goddard at the hostel did not
reach my ears until many days afterwards when leagues at sea, with
their consciences purged and their minds cleared by the strife of winds
and seas, they came to me and told me what had happened.
As it was, when I reached the door, the place was reeking with the
fumes of spilled liquor and prone upon the floor lay Salvation Smith.
Half across a bench with a cut over his pate was Goddard, snoring
and swearing by turns. The keeper of the place, a small, fat, greasy
person, moved from the one to the other, using all his arts to persuade
them to leave the place, with a frequent threat of calling the watch,
vowing that the town council would be upon him and that the good repute
of his house was gone forever. Whenever he came near the one or the
other, there would be an outburst of maudlin oaths from Goddard, who
still held by the handle a drinking pot, and made a play to strike with
it at the Frenchman as he approached.
I was in no mood to look upon the offense of my henchmen lightly.
I knew not what indiscretion they might have committed, and bearing
about me the jewels I had received that day, I had no humor to stay
longer in so public a place where an unlucky accident might rid me of
both my money and friends, to say nothing of employment. Yet I could
not leave them in this plight, for if found they must surely have
been known by De Baçan and his friends and ill treated, if not done
away with. I first kicked Smith, who seemed the least drunk, and then
Goddard; bringing them both at last to a sullen sitting posture, to
the great joy of mine host, who saw at last a chance of being rid of
his troublesome guests. When they saw it was I, they sobered for the
moment, and by shaking them and dashing water in their faces I got them
in some sort out of the door--to have it speedily shut to and barred
behind us.
They were drunk as flying-fish and went reeling from one side of
the street to the other, Goddard at last coming against a wall
headforemost, so that he fell in a heap and would move no more. Smith
had revived in the air and was fairly well set upon his legs. But he
stood by my side as I tried to lift his friend, looking first at the
ground and then at the stars, saying foolishly many times over, “God
help us! What have I done!” to the end that I thought he had lost his
wits altogether. I questioned him and bade him help me, but he stood
there looking like the fool that he was and offering no hand in aid.
Tiring at last of his gibberish, I fetched him a cuff upon the head
which brought him up into the wind. And between us we got Job Goddard
again upon his feet.
The street now took a sharp turn down past the Church of Saint Jacques
and into a portion of the town I had not entered before. The way was
very dark, the gloom being lightened but little by the fluttering
glimmer of a rush-light here and there behind some half-closed shutter.
The streets were deserted, no sign of guards or soldiers being heard or
seen. We made no little commotion as we shuffled down toward the port,
for Smith was staggering from this side to that and Goddard lay upon my
shoulder a dead weight, his feet scraping along upon the cobblestones
as we went! His arm was around my back and neck and this may have
prevented my hearing the sound of footsteps behind us.
For, of a sudden, there flew past my head a stone the size of my two
fists, which went against a wall hard by and broke into a hundred
pieces. I turned just in time to note the bulk of a man pitching
upon me in the starlight. He had me well off my guard and caught me
sidewise, so that I tripped upon Goddard and we three went to the
ground in one snarling, struggling mass, kicking and rolling about
upon the pavement, he first uppermost and then I.
There were others too, for I saw Smith strike out and then go down with
his man, struggling fiercely. I had no wish to draw a weapon, for I
still thought them but common thieves and felt I might protect myself.
But my opinion of my ability was to be my undoing, as it has often
been. At last I shook myself free of this fellow upon the ground and
got upon one knee, when I saw two others with bludgeons dancing about
and aiming at my head. Twice, thrice, did I catch stinging blows upon
my arms and wrists which were like to have broken them, when another
more strongly dealt than the others, caught me full upon the bare head
and I knew no more.
* * * * *
It seemed hours, days and then weeks that I lay in a hideous dream in
which I knew not whether I lived or was dead. I fancied I heard the
voice of Mademoiselle speaking to me and then there would come the
menacing laugh of Diego de Baçan. I dimly saw flickering lights and
felt the presence of people about me, but there was such a ringing in
my ears that I could hear nothing. By and by my brain was less clouded
and I had a mind to open my eyes. With the coming of consciousness
there was a great pain in my head, which from numbness turned to
burning and caused much anguish. But I could now hear the sound of
voices and I knew it was no dream, so I gave no sign. Faintly I made
out a row of brown ceiling rafters, which seemed to float here and
there in a moving haze. I saw uncertainly the wooden floor upon which
I lay stretched stark as one dead, and then discerned a table at which
sat several persons. A light burned upon it, casting, as it flickered,
great shadows which moved unsteadily from wall to rafter and back
again. As I began to see clearly I made out one of the men to be a
priest. His cowl was pushed back from his face and he listened to the
man opposite him, who was talking.
This man was bent forward over a parchment on the table and he read
portions of it to his companions. He had a high forehead and an
imperious air which carried weight with the others. But his face was
hard and cruel, and his mouth and nose at the corners wore deep and
ugly lines which looked to have been seared in with an iron. When
he smiled it was as though he twisted his features unwillingly, so
unnatural did it seem. I marked all these things as one sometimes will
in moments of great tension. I had good reason afterwards to learn that
my judgment was true. He was Pedro Menendez de Avilés, the hardest man
in all the Spanish marine, now but just appointed Adelantado of the
Floridas. The face of the third man was turned away from me. He was
a big man and his shadow fell over me so that I could make him out
the more clearly. There was no mistaking the easy set of the head and
shoulders as he lolled upon his chair, or the grace of his limbs and
body. He had not spoken; but I knew it was De Baçan.
This for the first time brought me to my wits. I knew not how long I
had lain or where I was. It was enough that I was in the hands of this
Spaniard and that my girdle of jewels and gold was stolen. It tried me
sorely to think at all, and with Mademoiselle gone I hardly cared what
might happen. But I knew that my chance of escape, had I any, lay in
making them believe me still unconscious and done almost to death. So
I lay quite still with my eyes half closed, fearing almost to breathe,
and straining my ears to catch every word of their talk, which, carried
on in French, now came to my ears quite clearly.
“These Huguenots, you say, father, will go to the River of May?” asked
De Avilés.
“It is so reported in the town. They will sail in seven small ships
and will muster three hundred men, with some women and many artisans
bearing everything necessary to form this colony.”
“And the colony of Laudonnière, what of that?”
“Word has been received that there is mutiny against the Commander
Laudonnière,--who is accused of many misdemeanors by those who have
returned. I am bidden tell you, by those who are close in our councils
at Paris, that you need fear nothing from them.”
“But they have a fort and are well provided with munitions of war,--we
may not be able to strike them separately. If they combine forces
they may even be too much for us; for heretics though they be these
Huguenots are still very excellent fighters.”
“Your Excellency knows best the qualities of good men-at-arms. The
Adelantado of Florida must not be defeated. Though you and your people
be Spaniards, they are still Catholics and firm in the Christian faith.
It is a sainted war which you are waging and when you strike, the hand
of God will be with you. Therefore, I say, have no fear. For those who
have sent me to you know what they know when they pray the Holy Virgin
for your success.”
I could hardly believe what I heard. Were there bigots so base
that they would destroy their own people and their own nation? And
Mademoiselle had gone with the Huguenots! I grew weak again and
trembled from head to foot as one with an ague.
De Baçan began speaking now and I nerved myself to listen.
“Your Excellency needs no information of mine upon the designs of these
French people in the territory of Spain. They will lose no time in
setting with fine skill upon the ignorant minds of the savage peoples
of those parts who otherwise may yet be saved. Yet your Excellency
should take no chances of defeat.”
Menendez was stroking his mustache. His eyes glittered strangely.
“What would you advise, father?” he said.
“There is no way to stop or even delay this Ribault,” said the Jesuit.
“There remains but to petition the King to increase your force. ’Tis an
expedition,” he laughed, “which is as good for the soul as the purse
and the body, and there will be many to profit by it. But a few hundred
more men and three or four more ships will make you as secure in your
possessions as the most Catholic King himself in his throne and his
people.”
“There is much that is wise in what you say,” said the Adelantado,
“but the King has no money for this enterprise. The money which I have
secured has come from my own people of the Asturias, and I know not
whither to go for more.”
De Baçan here arose from his seat and walked cautiously to the door
and window. I lay as one dead, holding my breath in fear lest I should
be discovered. He came and bent over me for a moment. It seemed an
eternity, and I felt the look of his eyes as they pierced me through
and through. He seemed satisfied with the scrutiny, for he went back
to the table; putting both hands upon it, he leaned far over toward the
Adelantado.
“What would your Excellency do for one who could find this money?” he
said.
Menendez looked up, smiling his strange smile.
“You are eager, my friend,” he replied calmly. “It might be worth much
or little,--perhaps a share of my profits--perhaps--nothing. But what
do you know?”
“It is for this I wished to see your Excellency.” He paused. “I have
managed an affair of no small profit,” he laughed, “and I am no
glutton.”
Unfastening his doublet he unwrapped from around his body the treasure
of Coligny, and tossed it upon the table. “There is enough for a
thousand men and more,” he said.
The Adelantado undid the leather bands gravely, while the eyes of the
priest started almost out of their sockets as the glittering stones
tumbled out upon the table. The Adelantado uttered an exclamation
and the three of them sat there silent for a moment, with their eyes
shining like the wonderful stones they looked upon.
The priest was the first to speak. “A thousand men, surely!” he said.
Then the Adelantado ran the jewels through his fingers. He gloated over
them fiercely, for in the glittering faces of those little baubles he
saw before him the scenes of blood and persecution which were to come.
He saw himself master of all the great domain that had been allotted to
him and he dreamed of conquests and treasures such as no man had won
since the beginning of the world.
He raised his head at last. “You have done well, De Baçan,” he said.
“You have done well, my son. You shall be my Captain of Camp. We will
reach an agreement upon your duties and profits without difficulty.
These jewels shall go with me to the Biscayan ports and we will have a
fleet and company of men great enough to take the islands of Elizabeth
if need be. We will have galleons of a thousand tons, the tallest that
float and----”
“But your Excellency cannot fail,” interposed the priest, who had been
eying him narrowly, “to give some tribute to the Church--some tribute
for your safety?”
“Yes, father. But for the present, as you can see, we will need all of
this treasure to prepare for our journey, which indeed is as much for
God as for the King.”
The Jesuit pulled the cowl up over his head and turned upon De Baçan
fiercely.
“You have told me, Diego de Baçan, that you have done this hulking
English heretic to death for the profit of your soul and the glory of
the Church. In this you have lied,--I know now that he was set upon
because of a private quarrel. It is plain you have taken him and his
money unfairly. You become a servant of the Evil One, a thief and
murderer, and should suffer the penalty of the Church.”
Both Diego and Menendez arose, uncovered their heads, and crossed
themselves. Then the Adelantado leaned over and picked up three large
stones. These he extended to the priest. The cleric lowered his head to
conceal his cupidity; but took the jewels quickly, putting them inside
his gown, mumbling the while some Latin words to himself. “_Absolvo
te_, my son,” he said.
Then De Baçan put the rest of the jewels back in the girdle and
fastened it about him.
“This Englishman was a most comfortable prize,” he laughed. “It was a
little quarrel of my own, father. I confess it, yonder Englishman has
caused me great trouble since the taking of the _Cristobal_. There
is a lady and--well,--he was forever balking me and I hated him. But
faugh! to-morrow he will be dead and there is an end of the matter.”
The three of them came over to me and De Avilés fetched me a kick in
the ribs. Had it been Diego, I must have groaned outright, for De Baçan
did nothing lightly. But I lay quiet, and aided by the darkness escaped
notice. They took the light and went out through the iron door,
locking it behind them, and I heard their laughter and jesting as they
went down the hallway and so out through a gate which must have been at
the end of the passage.
The sound of their footsteps had not died away before I was upon my
hands and knees groping my way toward the window, through which stole a
dusky light. It was not until then that I discovered how weak I was. My
shirt and doublet were dank with blood, for my head had been sadly cut;
and my neck was so stiff I could scarce turn my head from the one side
to the other. I got up with difficulty, but my head swam and I fell
heavily to the floor again. The room seemed to be pitching from this
side to that and the square of light where the window was swayed to
and fro, sickening me at last so that I lay still until I might gather
resolution and not again overdo my strength. My mind was chaos. What
had become of Goddard and Smith, and how long had I been in this place?
I knew not--nor for a time seemed much to care. With the weakness there
came a feeling of indifference and I was content to lie there, with no
thought for anything. But presently the faintness passed and I began
trying to unravel the skein of my thoughts.
Mademoiselle had sailed with the expedition of Admiral Ribault,--and
yet the Jesuit had said they would sail on the morrow. They had then
been delayed,--or else--yes, it must be--the night of the robbery had
not yet passed away. And with that I grew more collected. Perhaps there
was yet time to see the Sieur de la Notte and the Admiral Ribault, and
warn them of this plot of the Catholics, the secret of which had come
into my possession. The Catholics of Spain would destroy the Huguenot
colony and certain Catholics of France had connived at the villainy.
That was a great secret of State and surely one to make the blood of
any honest Frenchman, whether Catholic or Calvinist, boil with shame
and anger.
Then, when I thought that it was through my loss of the treasure of
Coligny that this thing had come to be possible, I was in great turmoil
of spirit and clinched my jaws fiercely as I searched in mind for some
plan to redeem myself. I tried to rise and at last got upon my feet
with a great effort, and to the table, where I limply hung. And Captain
Hooper! What would he say when I went to him? I had no heart to think
of it--I knew him well. He would ask me why was I there to tell him
of it? Yes, truly, I was out of employment. Fortune had smiled too
favorably upon me to smile for long.
I sat swaying there, trying to gather strength to break out of this
vile place, when I heard the sound of whispering close at hand; but
whether it came from inside or out I could not tell. If it were De
Baçan, I resolved to dash upon him with a chair and so, if I could stay
upon my feet, perhaps gain the outer door. I listened for a moment and
then heard plainly that it came from outside the window. I crouched
down below the jamb listening intently. Then to my great joy there came
a low whistle in exact counterfeit of a call upon the _Great Griffin_.
My friends had not forgotten me then!
My joy was so great I could scarce refrain from shouting. But I found
I could not even if I would. I managed so to answer that they heard my
whistle, for there came an exclamation and a bulky shape appeared at
the bars of the window.
“Master Sydney, sir, are ye safe?” came in a half whisper, and there
was a world of comfort in the voice. It was Smith! And I reassured him
in a moment; then managing to get the table over under the window,
mounted upon it and found my head and shoulders just abreast of the
sill. There were heavy bars of iron before the window, but rough and
rusty to the touch. So Smith brought a piece of timber, which he used
as a pry, and with help managed to snap and then bend a bar so that
I could let them haul me up and out through the narrow opening. But
my strength had been sorely tried and so it was some moments before I
could stand upright and look about me.
It was but a short time before the dawn. The Sieur de la Notte upheld
me on one side and on the other was a tall man whom I knew not. He
had a beard reaching to his waist and gave several brisk orders; I
afterwards learned it was Admiral Jean Ribault. Several men went about
the building, knocking and seeking to discover if there were any one
within; but the Admiral called them back, bidding them be quiet.
Withal, being very weak, by great effort I managed to tell them of the
Catholic plot and that the Spaniards would doubtless soon return and it
might be possible to recover the treasure.
This was as important for Ribault as it was for me, for it meant much
to the Lutheran cause. But he would not have it so, saying Menendez was
well upon his way and letting me know, in a sad way which I liked not
in one of so fine a bearing, that it would be unwise to foment trouble.
He believed in his strength and ability to hold the land of Florida
against all nations; he wished only to depart without molestation or
hindrance. Of a truth, I was so sick and weak that I knew not what they
did. My effort of mind had been too great, for now that I was safe and
had told my story, it grew weaker and I could not think. They half led,
half carried me, to the Rue Etienne and there put me to bed.