MUTINY AND A RUSE THAT FAILED
"WE wish to know why we are freezing to death in this fearful
climate, instead of capturing rich prizes, as we were led to believe,
and for which we signed on?" said the spokesman, a Greek who spoke
four Latin languages fluently.
"And if I refuse to give you the information?" asked Cervillo.
"We'll have the ordering of things in our own hands----"
"And a fine mess you'll make of it," added the captain. He knew that
once he showed the white feather it would be all up with him. The
only way to treat a polyglot crowd was to put a bold face on the
matter, and let them see that the man whom they served was a worthy
leader of such a pack of ruffianly scoundrels. "All those men who
speak or understand Spanish will cross over to the starboard side. If
I don't treat you fairly then on my head be it."
Slowly, almost reluctantly, about forty of the men walked across to
the side indicated, their comrades regarding the act with suspicion
until they were assured by the Greek that their Iberian comrades were
"solid" in their determination to see the matter through.
"Now, lads," continued Cervillo, "you ask an explanation; I will give
it. It can be repeated to the others as soon as I have finished. When
I brought the ship north I did it with the best intentions, to lie
low until the strict watch maintained by those accursed English and
American cruisers was relaxed, and we could still further increase
our booty ere disbanding at Caracas or Monte Video. Unfortunately I
did not take into consideration the chances of meeting with ice at
this time of the year. We did so, with consequences extremely awkward
both to the ship and ourselves. We must get out of the difficulty
somehow; and the remedy I suggest is this: That we capture the first
vessel we meet that is large enough to take us all; remove the
treasure, and scuttle the _Independencia_. Then, without exciting
suspicion, we can go south once more, and land quietly on South
American soil. Your share of the booty will, I regret to say, fall
short of the sum anticipated had all gone well with us; but there
will be quite enough to keep you all in ease for the rest of your
lives. Those are my intentions, mainly for your benefit. If you can
suggest a better plan I am only too willing to lend my ear."
Cervillo paused. To his unbounded satisfaction he observed his bold
front was making a favourable impression upon the handful of men he
addressed. There was one exception amongst the Spanish-speaking
audience. That was the Greek spokesman. It was in his mind that the
mutiny should go its whole course; that Cervillo should be made
prisoner, and that he should be the new captain. But he had given his
fellow mutineers no plan of what he should do to save himself and
them from the hangman's rope, and on that point Cervillo scored.
A few exclamations of approval warmed the captain to his task, and in
an easy, confidential manner he continued.
"You are, I know, aware that there is a source of danger already in
the ship. I refer to that English dog and his comrades who have
contrived to seize the after part of the ship. I do not wish to make
a secret about it, but the greater portion of the treasure lies in
their hands. Yes, men, it is enough to make you have long faces; but
the worst is not yet told. They refuse to give up the gold. How can
we compel them to do so? If we use force they threaten to sink the
ship. As you know, we have only three boats left, and they have been
considerably damaged. This is the situation. More than that, I see
you men are standing before me armed, and with every appearance of
being mutineers. Is not that so?"
"We mean to have our rights," interrupted the Greek, surlily. "If we
don't look after ourselves, who else will?"
"I'm the person to do that," retorted Juan Cervillo, with a
fierceness that made the Greek--although he was standing twenty feet
from the pirate captain--recoil and seek refuge behind his comrades.
"And, what is more, I mean to get you all out of this business in the
best possible manner. Could you dislodge the Englishman and his
companions from the half-deck? I think not. I have a plan; but before
I divulge it I must have your promise of complete obedience. Now go
and explain to your comrades on the port side the state of affairs. I
will wait here and receive your answer."
Those of the crew who did not understand Spanish were regarding their
captain with hostile eyes until their fellows on the starboard side
raised their shouts of approbation. They could not understand the
sudden change of opinion; but very easily led, they soon agreed to
accept Cervillo's terms as explained by the Spanish-speaking portion
of the crew, who were, for the most part, capable of making
themselves understood by every member of the polyglot assembly. Only
the Greek held out, striving to influence his compatriots against the
captain's authority; but, failing miserably, he subsided, and tried
to retire into oblivion by diving into the crowd of reconciled
mutineers.
"Now," exclaimed Cervillo, after a while, "are you willing to submit
to my authority once again? For my part I will overlook this affair
knowing that you have erred in thinking that I had no desire to study
the interest of my crew."
"We are with you, señor capitan!" shouted the men.
"Excellent! Now this is my plan: Señor Da Silva will muster forty men
armed with rifles upon the quarter-deck. The rest of you will go
for'ard, and on the signal being given, commence to shout 'All hands
on deck!' and 'Everyone for himself--the ship's sinking!' Make as
much noise as you can. The prisoners will at once bolt from below,
and as soon as the last man is up through the hatchway Señor Da Silva
will give the word for them to be shot down. No one must be allowed
to escape below. We can then recover the gold, and on the first
available opportunity we will tranship the booty and ourselves to
another vessel. Have I made myself clear?"
The mutineers expressed themselves satisfied, and at once went
for'ard to carry out the proposed stratagem.
Meanwhile Fielding and his companions kept well on the alert,
maintaining regular watches, and leaving nothing to chance. Through
the ports they had witnessed the cruiser's mishaps in the submerged
bed of ice, and her perilous passage betwixt the horns of the berg.
They knew that the _Independencia_ was heading southwards, but for
what purpose they were in ignorance. Certain it was that for the time
being Cervillo's idea of sheltering on the east coast of Greenland
had been knocked on the head.
"They're pretty well at the end of their tether," remarked the sub.
"Something's gone wrong with the engines, I fancy; and I shouldn't be
a bit surprised if she's leaking badly. They've been pumping
continuously for the last few hours."
"There's one blessing, they won't be able to do any more damage to
shipping," added Cardyke. "But I can't say that I appreciate being
cooped up here. Couldn't we make a rush for it and drive them below?"
"Too early," objected his superior. "They must be lulled into a sense
of security first. No, Cardyke, we must sit tight and await our
opportunity. It's bound to come. You see, if we attempted to capture
the ship, and failed--we cannot rely upon success--our position might
be infinitely worse. We cannot come to much harm here. The gold acts
as an invisible breastplate to shield us all."
Just then there was a heavy crash somewhere amidships, followed by a
babel of yells that roused the sleeping watch from their berths.
"What's happening now?" asked Fielding. "Can you make out what they
are shouting about, Mr. Rutter?"
The American, who was a fairly good Spanish linguist, understood the
nature of the yells. For a few seconds he stood chewing the end of a
huge cigar.
"I guess they're celebrating someone's nameday," he remarked, calmly.
"Let 'em yell. Maybe they'll want their wasted breath before long."
Then, taking Fielding aside, he said, in an undertone, "They're
trying to lure us out, I reckon. Say the ship's sinking. Guess she's
been going down some these twenty-four hours past, and she hasn't
gone yet; so sit tight."
Thus, by the coolness of Hiram B. Rutter, the knavish plot of Da
Silva fizzled out like a damp squib. Finger on trigger the platoon
waited to mow down the hostages as they issued pell-mell through the
hatchway; but they waited in vain.
"Ten thousand fiends take them!" exclaimed the pirate captain in his
wrath when he saw that treachery failed to accomplish his ends.
"There must be a traitor amongst the crew."
Disgusted and foiled, Cervillo retired to his quarters, and spent the
rest of the day in sulky isolation. Meanwhile Da Silva, to whom the
care of the vessel had been entrusted, kept the cruiser pointing due
south at a modest ten knots. He, too, began to realise that, with her
diminished speed and rapidly burning oil supply, it was only a
question of hours before the _Independencia_ floated idly at the
mercy of wind and wave. With the exhaustion of the oil fuel the
auxiliary engines would be useless, and the centrifugal pumps would
be powerless to check the inrush of water. The pumps worked by manual
labour might keep the vessel afloat for twenty-four hours, but Da
Silva, who had been mate of a Levant trader, knew only too well how
quickly men will tire at the arduous task of manning the pumps.
Another day had almost passed. The sun was on the point of dipping
for a few short hours beneath the horizon when the look-out
announced, "Sail on the port quarter."
Cervillo and most of the officers made their way up to the bridge.
Glasses were brought to bear upon the distant vessel, whose topmasts
only were as yet visible from where the pirate captain stood. Was it
a British cruiser that by some unfortunate freak of circumstance had
penetrated the almost deserted northern ocean?
"What do you make of her?" shouted Cervillo to the man in the
fire-control platform, which, useless for its primary purpose, had
been used as a spacious and well-sheltered "crow's-nest."
"There are two vessels, señor capitan. One is in tow of the other."
"Are they cruisers?"
"I think not, señor capitan. One of them is square-rigged."
Unable to conceal his anxiety, Cervillo entered the narrow door in
the base of one of the tripods, and climbed inside the hollow mast
till he stood beside the look-out in the fire-control platform.
For quite a minute Cervillo kept the two vessels under observation,
then with a gesture of relief he returned the telescope to the
seaman. Regaining the bridge he gave orders for the helm to be
starboarded, so as to bring the _Independencia_ on a converging
course to that of the strange vessel and her tow.
This done he called Da Silva to his side.
"Now is our chance," he said, in an undertone. "Yonder ships are a
disabled whaler and a steam yacht. We must capture both, place the
crew of the yacht on board the whaler, and cut them adrift. Since
these obstinate dogs will not let us have the gold we must be content
with what is stored amidships."
"But we shall be very poorly off," objected the lieutenant.
"If we had to share with the whole of our crew," replied Juan
Cervillo. "Listen, Da Silva; we must find a means of getting the
booty that is still in our possession on board the yacht with all the
officers and some of the men who are Spaniards by birth. The rest
must shift for themselves."
Even Da Silva, hardened villain that he was, looked astounded at the
calculated heartlessness of his superior.
"But how?" he whispered.
Cervillo placed his finger on his lips.
"Leave that to me," he replied. "Only see that my orders are properly
carried out, and all will be plain sailing."
"Gaspar!" he shouted, addressing the man who had superseded the
English renegade as bo'sun. "Send up signals of distress!"