WHAT DID THE ADMIRAL DISCOVER?
Not a month had elapsed ere I stood alone on the beach of Viana, which
is in the province of Entre-Douro-é-Minho, in Portugal, and watched,
with somewhat sad thoughts in my mind, the white foresail and mainsail
of the _Pembroke's_ jolly boat rising and falling on the waters as,
gradually, it made its way out to sea to where, a league off, there
lay the English fleet. The English fleet, and bound for England!
Vigo was freed of its enemies and captors; over night, at dark, the
whole of the British forces had cleared out of the bay, and, this
morning, Juan Belmonte and myself had been put ashore at this
miserable Portuguese town, or rather village, lying some twenty miles
south of the Spanish frontier.
Briefly, this was the reason why I found myself standing alone upon
this beach watching that fast disappearing boat, while, walking up to
the town, went Señor Juan to seek for lodgings for us for the night.
After that council was concluded on board the _Royal Sovereign_--and
from which Father Jaime, Belmonte and myself had retired after our
interview with the admirals--the conclusion had been arrived at that,
the work being done here--namely, the French fleet in our power and
the Spanish galleons destroyed--it would be impolitic as well as
unnecessary for the English to remain any longer in the place. This
decision was, however, come to totally against the desire of the Duke
of Ormond, who himself was anxious to take possession of the town of
Vigo, to lie there during the winter months, and, in the spring, to
open again the campaign against France in that portion of Spain.
Unfortunately, however, for this idea--which was in fact a mighty good
one, and, if carried out, might have gone far toward crippling France
even more than she was eventually crippled--it was impossible. There
were no provisions whereby his army could be sustained for the winter,
nor had Rooke a sufficiency in his ships to provide him with, and
neither would the admiral consent to leave behind a portion of his
fleet with which--should it come to that--the duke could escape in
case of necessity.
"For," said he to Ormond, as I learnt, "you have seen, my Lord Duke,
the disaster which has followed on our enemies trusting themselves
within this narrow and landlocked bay. Would your Grace, therefore,
think it wise to follow their bad example and give them an opportunity
which, doubt not, they would take as soon as possible, of retaliating
upon us?"
And to this Ormond could but shrug his shoulders, being able to find
no answer to such remark. Therefore, at last--for all was not decided
on the instant, but only after many more councils and much further
argument--it was resolved that the fleet should remain no longer, nor,
of course, the land forces neither.
But while all these determinations were being come to, I had had more
than one interview with Rooke and Ormond (both of whom had entertained
and made much of, nor ceased ever their commendations of, me), since
it was very necessary that a decision should be come to as to what was
to be my future course. For my work was done, my connection with this
fleet over; I had no more business there. It was time I got back to my
own regiment. Only how to get there--that was the question!
"You will scarce find at any port, Spanish or Portuguese," said the
admiral to me, "a vessel putting to sea now; the risk is too great.
For, consider, we are all about, and none know what may be our next
move--this one has frightened all this part of the world. Then that
old dog, Benbow, lieth in wait farther up. While to make the seas
still more dangerous, the French ships of war and the privateers are
everywhere. In truth, all traffic on the water is at an end for a
time."
"Tis not so on land, though, sir," I ventured to say, "with a good
horse I would undertake----"
"What!" exclaimed Ormond, with a laugh, "not surely to make your way
to Flanders by land! You would scarce try that."
"Ay! but I would, though, my Lord Duke," I said, laughing, too, at the
look of amazement on his face. "In very truth, I would. I have thought
it all over."
"'Tis impossible! You would never arrive."
"Your Grace, I think I should. Permit me to explain. We are here in
Spain----"
"Ay," said Rooke, interposing, "and so we are. But, Mr. Crespin, you
would never get ashore, or, getting there, would never escape out of
Vigo. Remember, the town itself is not in our hands, and the moment we
were gone you would be set upon, or, even though you should be
unmolested while we remain here, you would be followed from Vigo
and----"
"Sir," I interrupted in my excitement, "this is my plan: There
is a seaport hard by here, called Viana, and 'tis in Portuguese
territory--therefore neutral--yet inclining more to us than to
France."
"Aye," said Rooke, "and will come over to us ere long. The king leans
to our side the most, because we are strongest on the seas--this
taking of the galleons will decide him."
"Meanwhile," I went on, "'tis neutral. Now, from there I can make my
way to Spain----"
"There's the rub! When you are in Spain. And afterward, in France.
What then?"
"In both countries I can be a Frenchman," and now I saw these two
great officers look at me attentively. "I have the French tongue very
well--well enough to pass through Spain as a Frenchman, while--when in
France--I can pass as a Spaniard who knows the French."
"'S heart!" exclaimed Ormond, slapping of the table with his be-ringed
hand, "but I would you were in one of my regiments. You have a brain
as well as a stalwart form. You must go far; and shall, if my word is
any good with Jack Churchill."
"My Lord Duke, you are most gracious. Yet may I not ask if the plan is
a fair one? At least, remembering that, by sea, the way is closed."
Fair or not fair, at least I brought them to it--more especially
since, even though they had most utterly disapproved of my proposed
method, they could neither of them have opposed it. For I was the Earl
of Marlborough's officer; nay, more, I was his own particular and
private messenger; I had come under his orders, and was still under
them. Moreover, his last words to me had been: "Do your duty; fulfil
the task I charge you with; then make your way back to me as best you
can." That was all, yet enough.
Therefore it was arranged without more demur, though Sir George Rooke,
who was now growing old, shook his head somewhat gravely, even as he
ceased endeavouring to turn me from what I had resolved on.
"For," said he, kindly, "I like it not. You are still young--some
years off thirty, I should suppose--and you are a good soldier--too
good to be spared to any crawling Spaniard's knife or to fall into any
truculent Frenchman's hands. And I would have taken you to England and
put in the first queen's ship for Holland, had you chosen. Still, as
you will, you will. Only, be very careful."
"Sir!" I said, touched at his fatherly consideration. "Be sure I will.
Yet I think I can take care of myself. I have a good sword and a
strong arm, and--well, one bullet is much the same as another. If one
finds me in Spain or France, 'twill be no worse than one in Flanders.
And, perhaps, my bullet is not moulded yet!"
As for his Grace, he took a different tack, he being younger and more
_débonnair_ than the admiral.
"Oddsbobs," he said, "bullets are bullets, and may be a soldier's lot
or not. But for you, Lieutenant, I fear a worse danger. You are a
good-looking fellow enough, with your height and breadth, blue eyes
and brown hair. Rather, therefore, beware of the Spanish girls, and
keep out of their way--or, encountering them, give them no cause for
jealousy! Oh! I know them, and--well, they are the devil! 'Tis they
who wield the knife--as often as not against those whom they loved
five minutes back."
And, looking at the duke--who was himself of great manly beauty--I
could well enough believe he knew what he was talking of. For, if all
reports were true--but this matters not.
The time had not, however, yet come, for some day or so, for me to set
out, since 'twas arranged that I should be put ashore by one of the
_Pembroke's_ boats when the fleet went out of the bay, and that then
my last farewell would be made to those amongst whom I had now lived
for some weeks. Meanwhile, Sir George asked me what had become of my
young friend, the Spanish gentleman, whom he called my "captive."
Now, this young captive had had still another interview with him after
that first one, Sir George having sent for him from the Pembroke, into
which he had been temporarily received as a guest--since _La Sacra
Familia_ had been sunk by us after being dismantled of all in her of
any worth--and he had once more renewed his offer of taking him to
England. And it surprised me exceedingly--I being present at this
interview--to observe the extraordinary courtesy and deference which
he--who was more used to receive deference from his fellow-men than to
accord it--showed to the youth; for he took him very graciously by the
hand when he entered the cabin, led him to a seat, and, when there,
renewed once more that offer of which I have spoken.
Indeed, his politeness was so great that I began to wonder if, by any
chance, the admiral knew of this young man being any one of extreme
importance, to whom it might be worth his while, as the chief
representative of England here, to pay court. Yet, so silly was that
wonderment that I dismissed it instantly from my mind, deciding that
it was pity for his youth and loneliness which so urged the other.
"If you would go with us," he said, sitting by Belmonte's side, and
speaking in the soft, well bred tones which were special to him, "you
should be very welcome, I assure you, sir; and I do not say this as a
sailor speaking to one who has by chance fallen into his hands, so to
put it, but as an old man to a--to a young one; for, sir, I have
children myself, some young as you, some older; have sons and--and
daughters, and I should be most grateful to all who would be kind to
them."
Now, as he spoke thus there became visible in Señor Juan another trait
of character which I had scarce looked to see, it proving him to be a
youth of great susceptibility. For, as the admiral made his kindly
speech, I saw the beautiful dark eyes of the young man fill with
tears--'twas marvellous how handsome he appeared at this moment--and,
a second later, he had seized the old man's hand and had clasped it to
his breast and kissed it.
But, even as he performed this action, I also saw Sir George start a
little, give, indeed, what was but the faintest of starts; yet beneath
the bronze upon his manly face there rose a colour which, had he not
been a sailor, and that a pretty old one, might have appeared to be a
blush. But because he was so manly and so English himself--being
always most courteous and well bred, though abhorring, as it seemed to
me, all signs of emotion--I concluded that this foreign style of
salutation did not commend itself over-much to him; yet he listened
very courteously, deferentially almost, it appeared, to the words of
gratitude which the youth was now pouring out--words of gratitude for
his offer, yet combined also with an absolute refusal of that offer.
"Very well; since you will not, sir," he said, when the young man had
finished, "there is no more to be done. Yet, take a word of warning
from me, I beseech you. You will find it hard to reach England in a
better way than I have suggested to you. Both France and Spain must be
overrun with troops of all kinds at this time and--if you fall into
their hands with your papers about you, showing you are an English
subject--it may go hard. Also"--and now he tapped the cabin deck with
his red-heeled shoe and looked down at it for a moment--"also--you are
extremely well favoured. That, too, may injure you should--should--but,"
he went on, and without concluding his last sentence, "you understand
what I mean," and now he gazed at Señor Juan with clear, frank eyes;
gazed straight into his own.
For the life of me I could not understand what he was driving at, even
if the youth himself could; since how a man should be injured by his
good looks, even though in a hostile country, I failed to conceive.
Certain, however, it was that the other understood well enough Sir
George's meaning--his next action showed plainly enough that he did.
For now the rich warm colouring left his soft downless cheeks, even
the full lips became pale, and he lifted his long slim hand and thrust
it through the clusters of curls that hung over his forehead, as
though in some distress of mind; then said, a moment later, looking up
now and returning the admiral's glance fearlessly, while speaking very
low.
"Yes, I understand. Yet, Señor, have no fear."
But I noticed, all the same, that he lifted his other hand as though
to deprecate Sir George saying another word, which gesture he too
seemed quite to understand, since he gave a half bow very solemnly ere
he turned away.
Later, after Señor Juan had departed, and when Admiral Hopson had come
over to the _Royal Sovereign_, to prepare for another of those endless
councils which took place daily, Sir George looked up at me from some
papers he was perusing, and said: "You are in the _Pembroke_, Mr.
Crespin. Where have they bestowed that young man?"
"He is very comfortable, sir," I replied. "They have given him a spare
cabin in the after flat."
"And the officers? Do they make him welcome, treat him with courtesy?"
"Oh, yes, indeed. He is popular with them already, sings them sweet
songs accompanied by that instrument of his; is a rare hand at tricks
of all kinds with the pass-dice and cards, and so forth. They will
miss him when he has gone."
"Humph! Does he say who or what he is--which island in the Indies he
belongs to--who are his kith and kin?"
"He says not much, sir, on that score; except that he is well enough
to do--is traveling more or less to kill time--cares very little where
he goes to for the present, so that he sees the world. As for his
home, he appears best acquainted with Jamaica."
"Ha!" said Sir George. "He says all that, does he? Yet, though 'tis
not permissible to doubt those who stand more or less in the degree of
guests, I somewhat suspect that young man of not being all he appears
to be. There is some other reason for his voyage to Europe than that
he gives; he comes not on mere pleasure only. I know that--some day if
you ever meet him again you will very likely know it, too, Mr.
Crespin."
"Perhaps," exclaimed Admiral Hopson--who was soon to become Sir John
Hopson (with a good pension) for the gallant part he had played in the
late fight--"he was a friend of that accursed monk, although he has
not levanted as he did. And since you talk of meetings, why, i'fags, I
would like to meet that gentleman once more."
"Levanted!" Sir George and I exclaimed together. "Is the monk set
out?"
"Ay, he is," replied the other. "Went last night--the instant he could
get his necessaries out of the galleon's hold. It was discourteous,
too, since I had previously sent to crave a few words with him."
"'S faith," Sir George exclaimed with a laugh, "you are not turning
Papist, old friend, are you? Didst want the monk to shrive or confess
you, or receive you into his church?"
"Not I--no Papistical doings for me," the blunt old gentleman replied.
"The church my mother had me baptised in, and under whose blessing I
have been fighting all my life, is good enough for me to finish in.
Still, had I a foolish woman's mind to change, 'twould not be to that
man I should go."
"Why!" exclaimed Sir George, "what know you of him? Yet--yet," and he
spoke slowly, "you know the Indies, Tom--and the monks are not always
what they might be. Did you chance to know him, since you sent to
demand an interview?"
"I thought so," said the inscrutable old sea dog quietly, "wherefore I
sent asking him for a meeting. Yet, as our beloved friends the French
say, the cowl does not always make the monk. Hey? And, if 'tis the
man I think, 'twas not always the cowl and gown that adorned his
person--rather, instead, the belt and pistols, buff jerkin, scarlet
sash, long serviceable rapier handy, and--have at you, ha! one, two
and through you. Hey!"
And as he spoke he made a feint of lunging at his brother admiral with
a quill that lay to his hand.