THE AUTHOR, WITH SUNDRY OF HIS COMRADES, SET OUT FOR THE CREEK
WHERE HE LEFT HIS BARK, AND THERE BRAVELY CAPTURE A SPANISH
SCHOONER.
Nearly a month passed away since the evening on which I listened to
the story of Foul-Weather Don, and no ship had yet passed within
a dozen miles of the mouth of the bay. So all hands began to grow
very impatient, and divers schemes were proposed, such as shifting
our quarters to some other point of the coast, where we might have
better luck. It was then that I, for the first time, called to mind
the boat which I had left in the creek, where I first landed on the
island. Now, as I had heard many stories of buccaneers putting to sea
in boats or canoes, and boarding and capturing Spanish vessels, it
occurred to me, that if we could get possession of the Frenchman’s
skiff, we could divide our party between it and the canoe, leaving
ample room for the stowage of provisions and water for a cruise.
This scheme I imparted to Stout Jem, by whom it was received with
approbation. We were nine in number, well armed, and therefore of
quite sufficient force to capture any Spaniard, not a man of war,
which we were likely to fall in with. It was therefore resolved that
Le Picard, one of our Frenchmen, Blue Peter, and Nicky, should start,
under my guidance, for the cove to the westward, and if we found the
boat, should navigate her round the coast to the bay, where the rest
of the party would be prepared with provisions and water, ready to
stow on board, so that, in company with the canoe, we could put to
sea at once. No time was lost in putting the scheme into execution.
Meinheer, who knew something of sail-making, cut out a small square
sail or lug, which we were to carry with us, and which would suit the
boat, it being easy for us to cut and fashion a mast and yard after
we had found her. We also carried a good-sized keg for water, and a
small quantity of beef and cassava bread, trusting chiefly, however,
to our guns for our subsistence.
We set out by moonlight, intending to sleep during the heat of the
day; and after an hour’s trudge through the wet grass and bushes,
which were quite drenched with the copious dews, passed the spot
where lay the Buccaneers who had been hanged by the Spaniards.
Truly our poor comrades slept in a tranquil resting-place—a spot of
greenest grass, with feathery palms overhead, bending and rustling
in the night wind. We stopped to rest, when the sun rose, until the
sea-breeze should set in, watching its coming from beneath a thick
mango-tree, whence we could look down upon the blue sea beneath.
After the land-breeze flickered and failed, there was a pause, during
which the sun shone with blistering power. Then, far off, on the
glassy surface of the sea, came the dark belt of roughened water,
streaked with white, which proclaims the daily return of the brisk
north-westerly trade, and in half an hour more, it was whistling
through the bushes in half a gale of wind. We dined this day by the
little runnel where I had killed the duck, and then travelled until
sunset, when we encamped in our blankets, well worn out by our long
day’s march. The journey to the cove was fatiguing, but performed
without any particular adventure. We sometimes saw wild cattle, and
heard the cry of wild dogs, and I observed, when we got glimpses of
the sea, numerous great brown pelicans, flapping heavily over the
water, somewhat like the cranes on our own coasts, and often diving
down with a splash into the sea after the fish, which they mark
from a great height. In the afternoon of the second day, I reckoned
that we could not be far from the cove, but the exact spot was
difficult to hit, as the general appearance of the coast hereabouts
was very similar, and the tangled growth of underwood prevented us
from always keeping so close to the edge of the sea-cliff as we
otherwise should have done. We had trudged along all the afternoon,
keeping a sharp look-out, and sometimes forcing our way with our
great knives through the creepers and brushwood, so as to be able to
gaze down the iron-bound sea wall to where the great driving swells
were rising and sinking upon the rock, and foaming furiously over
every projecting peak and pinnacle of stone; when, having stopped
to hold a consultation—for I was now becoming very fearful that we
had overshot our mark—we all suddenly heard the report of a musket
or fowling-piece, fired not far off. This terribly disconcerted us,
for we knew that the cove could not be distant, and we feared that
the secret of its existence was not known to me alone. However, we
withdrew into the thicket, where we could not well be discovered, and
lay close. In the course of the next hour, we heard three shots fired
from different points around us, and discoursed eagerly as to whether
they were probably Buccaneers, or Spaniards who were hunting in the
neighbourhood. At all events, we now despaired of recovering the
boat, inasmuch as the great chance was that the hunters had landed in
my cove, as I called it, and would, of course, appropriate the skiff,
if she still lay there, to their own purposes.
While we were talking lowly among ourselves, Blue Peter, the
Mosquito-man, suddenly started up on his knees, and told us to
listen. We did so, very intently, and presently heard a rustling and
a snapping of dry twigs in the wood, but although we looked with all
our eyes, we could see nothing.
‘Tush!’ says Nicky; ‘you are a fool, Peter! and take a wild pig for a
Spaniard.’
But the Indian seized his piece, cocked it, and suddenly levelling
it, fired, before we could prevent him.
‘Hush!’ quoth he, very earnestly—‘hush! and we will be safe.’
‘Safe!’ said Nicky. ‘Why, if they are Spaniards, they will be down
upon us in a twinkling.’
‘No,’ replied the Mosquito-man—‘no, no! They shooting all round:
think my gun one of their camarados—eh?’
‘The man is right,’ said Le Picard. ‘But what, in the name of the
diable, have you fired at?’
‘Me show you!’ said Blue Peter; and he crawled into the underwood
so circumspectly, that one scarcely heard a rustle, and presently,
returning, flung the body of a huge dog among us.
‘A Spanish blood-hound!’ exclaimed Nicky; and we all recognized the
fawn colour, with grim, black muzzle, and the great muscular limbs
of the animal. But to put all question aside, the creature wore a
leather collar, with a brass plate, on which was inscribed the name,
‘Manuel G. Alcansas,’ so it was quite clear, that we were surrounded
by a hunting party of the enemy, and that, had it not been for the
keen eye of the Indian, who observed the blood-hound, and shot it
almost when it was in the act of giving tongue, we should probably
have been massacred. We were all tolerably startled, and, after a
hurried consultation, agreed that we might as well lie close where we
were, as attempt to shift to less dangerous quarters, as by moving
we might unwittingly run into the very jaws of death. At last we
decided to climb up certain trees, the branches whereof interlaced,
Blue Peter having first cut the throat of the dog, and scattered the
blood copiously around, so that it would embarrass and destroy the
scent of any other hound which might pass that way. He then flung the
body up into the branches of a tree. Not long after we heard a voice
hallooing loudly, as we supposed for the slain dog, and some other
shots were fired at a distance. However, the sun sank and the stars
shone down through the leaves, and we still remained unmolested.
Making ourselves as comfortable as our position would permit, we
munched our supper, of which, however, we could eat but little, for
we suffered much from thirst. Fortunately, there was water enough in
the keg to afford us a few mouthfuls a piece, but we were afraid to
straggle abroad in search of more. With the grey dawn we were afoot,
cautiously exploring the locality, and I had much ado to restrain a
sudden burst of exclamation when I recognised the little hill, to
the top of which I had climbed to look around, after scrambling up
the precipitous banks of the cove. I now knew whereabouts we were,
almost to a yard, and carefully guiding the rest, and taking great
heed to make no noise, we made our way to the top of the very scaur
or ravine, up which I had crept from the water. It was not easy,
however, to make out whether the cove was empty, for the morning
was yet dim and grey, and the trees grew thick below. We proceeded,
however, moving in single file along the edge of the rock, which,
as the reader remembers, was thickly covered with wood, such as
bushes and parasitical plants, with great trees growing out of the
rifts and cracks in the cliff, and bending over the water so that
the branches of those on both sides interlacing, quite canopied
the still deep sea beneath. As we clambered on by the edge of the
precipice, a sound suddenly struck my ear with which I was too well
acquainted to be easily deceived—it was the flap of canvas. Nicky
heard it as well as myself, and we all paused. The land wind was
just beginning to die out, and only came in heavy dank puffs down
from the hills. We waited for the next gust; it shook the dew from
the branches in a great sparkling shower, and gave a great rustle,
as it were, down the ravine, in the middle of which, we again heard
the flap of canvas, and a rattle as of reef points against a sail.
Being guided by the sound, we proceeded a few paces onwards, and then
coming to a comparatively clear bit of ground, we crawled upon our
bellies to the edge of the cliff, and through the trees and boughs
saw a small vessel with two masts, of the class called schooners,
beneath. She was moored in the very centre of the cove, very snugly,
being made fast by four hawsers, two a-head and two astern, to the
trunks of trees growing near the water on either bank. She had two
boats in the water, floating by her main chains, and one of them
I immediately recognised to be the object of our journey. Here,
then, was the vessel to whom the hunters, whose guns we had heard,
evidently belonged: and, indeed, without other evidence, Nicky and Le
Picard knew enough about the fashion of those seas to be sure that
the schooner was Spanish built, she being, possibly, a fishing vessel
from Cuba, although what she did on the coast here, we could not well
imagine. The question now, however, was how we were to act? Thinking
themselves, no doubt, in security, there was not a single man awake
upon deck; but several stout fellows were lying asleep under canvas
and tarpaulins upon the forecastle. Presently, after we had gazed
our fill upon the schooner, Nicky asked our opinion as to whether
it would be possible to clamber down to the water’s edge, and make
off with both boats before the crew awoke. But Le Picard thought the
risk too great. Besides, he argued, when they miss the boats, they
can chase us out to sea in the schooner, where we would infallibly be
taken. While they were talking, I was turning over another plan in my
own mind.
‘Instead of taking the boats,’ quoth I, ‘why should we not take the
ship?’
At this they all started, and reminded me that we were but four men,
whereas the Spaniards might well be a dozen; and they had dogs, too,
fierce bloodhounds, of which Le Picard, in particular, professed a
great horror.
‘Look you,’ quoth I, ‘this is my plan. Yesterday the Spaniards were
hunting ashore, and to-day it is very like that they will renew
their pastime, leaving, perhaps, only one man, or perhaps not even
that to take charge of the schooner; for you see that she is moored
very safely, and with her bows pointing down the creek so as to be
ready for a start. Now, look at her rigging; see, her jib can be
hoisted in a moment, and her fore and mainsails can be set merely by
letting go the brails, and running aft the sheets; for you observe
that the gaffs are already hoisted, therefore the schooner is ready
for sea. Now I know, in a general manner, the direction of the cove
below. It runs for a little way parallel to the coast, and then turns
to the right, and so opens up into the sea. What is there to prevent
us boarding the schooner when she is left almost, if not quite,
undefended, and so carrying her away?’
They all applauded this design, and the more we talked of it the
better it seemed to be. The schooner was a trim-looking vessel, such
as the Spaniards can build very well, and we judged from her shape
that she was exceeding fast as well as easy to manage. Besides,
the greater length of the cove running westward, what puffs of
sea-breeze traversed it would be in our favour, and although there
would necessarily be some risk when we had passed the elbow, and came
to get the ship out in face of the swell, yet we determined at all
events to make the experiment. Nothing venture nothing have, so we
shook hands gaily, and thanked our stars for such a slice of good
luck.
As in many other adventures, the first and most difficult duty which
we had to perform was to wait, so we ensconced ourselves in thick
bushes, where we could see without being easily discerned, and
watched the Spaniards as keenly as hawks do larks. The sun was above
the horizon about half-an-hour, when a man issued from the cabin,
and tapped the deck loudly with a handspike. At this summons the
sluggards on the forecastle began to stir themselves, and to crawl
forth, one by one, yawning from under the sails, and presently three
or four bloodhounds, who seemed to have been sleeping among them,
came whining and stretching themselves from their warm nests. The man
who had wakened the rest, then went round the schooner, and appeared
to examine the state of the moorings. The aspect of things seemed
to satisfy him, for he went below, and presently the crew had their
breakfast, which they ate on deck—a couple of bowls of cocoa, or some
such beverage, being carried aft to the cabin. Soon after this, we
observed, with great delight, a number of muskets and pistols brought
on deck, at the sight of which, the grim bloodhounds yelped and
bayed. The captain, as we called him then, appeared again; and after
a long discourse, carried on with a great deal of gesticulation, the
whole crew gathering round and handling the arms, the bloodhounds
were fed, and the skiff—my skiff—hauled alongside, no doubt to convey
the hunters on shore. The captain then seemed to be giving orders to
one of the crew, a stout fellow, who wore a great striped woollen
cap and had a long unsheathed knife in his girdle, and then the
whole party, excepting the fellow with the knife and cap, tumbled
into the boat, the bloodhounds leaping in along with them, and rowed
towards the extreme head of the creek. The Spaniards numbered about a
dozen, without including a boy whom they had with them, and of course
weighed down the skiff until her gunwale was almost at the water’s
edge. We were for a little time in some perturbation, lest they
should chance to come our way. We heard them shouting, and laughing,
and crashing through the boughs, as they made their way up the steep
banks of the creek, and then the boat came floating down again to
the schooner, with the boy paddling her. Meantime, the man with the
striped cap had disappeared in a little cook-house or caboose, from
the funnel of which a smoke began to rise; and the boy, having made
fast the boat, went aft to the cabin, and presently returned with
the bowls, which we had seen carried thither, empty. Now, as we had
seen but one man come out of this cabin, and as breakfast had been
served there for two, we considered that there were three persons
left in charge of the ship, but that one of these was probably sick
or disabled. While we were making these observations, the reader
may be sure that we also listened attentively, in order to find out
in what direction the hunting party had proceeded; and presently,
hearing shouts and the reports of guns very faintly, and gradually
becoming more so, until they were no longer audible, we congratulated
ourselves that the hunters were out of the way, and that so far, our
task would be easy.
The next point was, how to get on board the schooner so suddenly
and so quietly as to leave those in charge of her no opportunity of
giving an alarm. First we thought of swimming, but Le Picard was not
skilful at this exercise; and, besides, we saw the backs and snouts
of several caymans, moving about in the water. Then Nicky proposed to
swing ourselves aboard, by means of the warps, fixed to the trees;
but on close examination, we found the banks so precipitous, that
it would be very difficult to make our way to the ropes, without
giving an alarm. We were thus in considerable perplexity, fearing our
scheme would miscarry in the very outset, when I observed a means
whereby we might, although at some risk, accomplish our end. I have
said that the cove or creek was so narrow that the branches of the
great trees, growing in the refts of the rock on either side, met
and interlaced, and from these branches hung perpendicularly, like
great ropes, many long tendrils or withes, very tough and strong.
Now, as it chanced, one of these depending from a stout branch,
swung close by the fore-top-mast head of the schooner, dangling
indeed to the cross-trees. I pointed this out to my comrades, and
they all agreed that it would be very possible to clamber out upon
the bough, and slide down the withe into the rigging; but that the
deck must be clear when we made the attempt, otherwise we could not
fail of being discovered. It was fortunate, therefore, that the man
with the striped cap continued in the cook-house, where we heard him
clattering amongst pots and pans, and concluded that he was preparing
a meal for the men ashore. But, as Nicky said, when one cooks a
dinner, one never knows who may eat it. The boy remained about the
deck for some time, but at length went into the cabin, and, staying
there, we concluded to make the venture. Fastening our guns across
our shoulders, we again shook hands, and vowed to stand by each other
to the death. Then we crept cautiously along, until we came to the
tree, from which sprang the great branch, which we looked to be the
first stage of our journey to the schooner’s deck. This tree grew
about a fathom beneath the edge of the rock, but it was easy to swing
ourselves down to it, by the matted vegetation, which clung to the
face of the stone. Then, one after another, we crawled out upon the
bough, which shook a little, but bore us bravely. The schooner was
now right below, and not a living thing stirring on her decks. I was
the first man, and Nicky was at my heels. The Indian came next, and
the Frenchman brought up the rear. All of us whites being sailors,
the feat was not difficult; and as for the Mosquito man, he could
climb like a cat. Having satisfied myself that the withe was well
attached to the bough, I first twined my legs round the former,
and then grasping it, slid easily down, until my feet touched the
cross-trees of the Spanish schooner, and in a moment my comrades were
clustering around me, no alarm being as yet excited. After pausing
a moment, to get firm grips of the stays, I gave the word, and the
whole four slid like lightning down the ropes, hand over hand, as
sailors say, and came with a great bounce upon deck together. Le
Picard instantly leaped to the cook-house, and the Spaniard coming
out at the same moment, the Frenchman dealt him a blow with the
butt-end of a heavy pistol, which flung him backwards, quite stunned
upon the deck, while Nicky and I ran to the cabin, meeting at the
threshold, the boy, and a comely woman, very dark, and with the
blackest eyes I ever saw, who directly set up a great shriek of
dismay.
But Nicky and I, pointing to the cabin and drawing forth pistols,
made them understand that they must go below and be silent, as they
valued their lives. The boy slunk back directly, and the woman turned
to a livid paleness, and, swooning away, would have fallen down the
ladder, but we supported her and laid her on the cabin floor; then,
directly running on deck, we shut down the hatch. All this hardly
occupied a moment; and, seeing Le Picard and Blue Peter cutting the
warps forward, we drew our knives, and, working with good will, soon
severed the tough piles of hemp, aft, and the schooner was unmoored.
We waited a moment with great impatience, to see if she would drift,
but, remaining stationary, we ran up the jib, and slackened the
brails of the mainsail, so as, without actually setting the sail, to
expose a good breadth of canvas, but it hung idly; the sea breeze
had not yet set in, or if it had it did not reach us in the depths
of the creek. We therefore flung a long line into the lightest of
the two boats alongside, and Blue Peter and Nicky leaping into it,
pulled with all their strength for the elbow at which the creek
tended seawards, and made the line fast to a tree there, while Le
Picard and I hauled upon the warp, and soon saw that the schooner
was obeying the impulse thus given to her, and slowly moving through
the water. In a twinkling, our comrades leaped on board again, and
added their strength to ours, all of us working with clenched teeth
and breathless eagerness. Just then, turning to look at the wounded
Spaniard, who was sprawling upon the deck, I felt a breath of cool
air on my face, the jib-sheet rattled, the light canvas swelled out,
and in a moment the mainsail moved out of its sleepy folds, and
the warp upon which we were hauling slackened. The schooner felt
the puff, and I ran aft and took the helm, steering her in close
by the starboard shore, which, when we turned seawards, would be
the weather side of the cove. The mingled trees and rocks seemed
to glide away from us. I looked over the side, and saw the bubbles
rippling in the transparent water; and as I lifted my head again, I
started with delight to feel the first heaving of the schooner, as
she began to meet the lazy swell. The elbow, or turn of the creek,
was not more than the length of the schooner ahead of us, and my
three comrades all ran to the bows to watch the depth of water, and
shouted that we might graze the rocks. Therefore I ported my helm,
so as to send the vessel close in, and just as we slowly opened the
corner I put the tiller hard down, and being fortunately a very handy
craft for steering, she gradually swung round, and we all uttered
a shout together as we saw, at the end of a short rocky passage,
the open sea, streaked with the white bars of breaking waves. But
we were not out yet: almost immediately on rounding the point of
the creek a gust of the sea breeze struck us on the starboard bows,
making the jib rattle and flap like thunder, and directly the head
of the schooner fell off towards the rocks on the leeward side. The
Frenchman exclaimed that we must take to the boats after all, but
Nicky answered him, “Yes—but only to carry a warp to the rocks at the
mouth of the creek!” No sooner said than done. Another line was flung
into the skiff, and Nicky and the Indian went with three strokes
to the weather extremity of the creek. Here the surf was beating
violently, coming with great lashing surges round the corner of the
cliff, and causing the water to rise and fall more than a fathom
with every undulation of the sea. Here was a jagged pinnacle of rock
beaten by the waves, which every now and then burst right above it;
over this the Indian with great dexterity cast a loose hitch of the
line, while we on board, running to the schooner’s bows, hauled upon
it as before. It was lucky for us that the sea-breeze only blew
up the ravine in uncertain puffs, and that the place was full of
counter-currents, and eddies of air, which first filled our sails
one way and then another, as we heaved and rolled upon the broken
swells which dashed from side to side of the channel. We worked at
the warp like desperate men, as, indeed, we were. Every now and then
a sudden toss of the water would fling us back; but then the counter
reflection of the seas from the opposite wall of rock would jerk us
forward, and we soon found that we were gradually making our way
towards the mouth of the cove, keeping so close to the weather side,
that every now and then the masts, when flung over to starboard,
rattled among the bushes overhead, and sent down showers of leaves,
which would fly in uncertain whirls and dives amongst the rigging.
At last, the decisive moment came. In a minute we would be hove upon
the leeward entrance of the cove, or be out clear at sea. I ran again
to take the helm. Le Picard and the Indian, running to the weather
fore-chains, gave a last surge upon the line by way of a launch. The
schooner’s head plunged into the trough of the sea, not a fathom from
the rocks, and as she rose—her bows drew beyond the shelter of the
cove—the full blast of the sea-breeze caught her jib—and her head
swung gain to leeward.
‘Help her with the foresail, comrades!’ I shouted. They had
anticipated me—the Indian letting go the brails, and then helping
the whites to draw aft the sheet. The sail surged and flapped so as
to shake the schooner to her very keel, and the great sheet-block
jerked madly to and fro with bounds which would have dashed through a
strong wall. But still, though they could not yet master the canvas,
the schooner was not insensible to its lifting power, and I felt her,
as she rose with her broadside to a great clear sea, gather way, and
start as it were from under me. There was just a moment of terrible
suspense. The masts bent to leeward until their trucks were within a
couple of fathoms of the lee promontory. You could almost leap on the
great rough masses of wet stone, which lay close abeam, and then in a
moment the schooner rose to another sea, all three sails now bellying
to the wind, and once more hove clear of the land, although I saw
through the clear water a glimpse of reef under our counter, which
the keel must have scraped, and although the head of the mainmast
actually tore away the projecting branch of a great prickly bush
which was waving and dancing in the wind.
We were drawing our first deep breath after our peril when I heard
a great shout above me, and starting round, I saw between me and
the sky the figure of a man standing with a gun upon the very verge
of the precipice which formed the line of coast. He directly fired
his piece, and set up a loud outcry to his comrades, three or four
of whom directly joined him, and fired a volley at us which did no
damage. So we jumped up on the taffrail rail, and waving our hats,
gave them a loud cheer, and told them that if they wanted their
schooner, they might swim after us, and then we would consider the
matter. They made violent gestures, but the sea-breeze blowing so
freshly, carried back their voices, and we knew not what they said.
Carrying on as we best could with our ill-set sails, until we had
made a good half mile offing, we luffed the schooner up into the
wind, and with some trouble, got the canvas properly extended; then
pulling the helm hard down, we got the jib-sheet to windward, and so
lay to, dancing and surging merrily upon the sea.
And now we shook hands again, and embraced each other cordially. Here
we stood on the deck of a fine schooner—our own by lawful capture
from our enemies—and we thought of the surprise we would give our
comrades in the bay. But the first thing to be settled was the fate
of our prisoners, and we determined very unanimously that they must
be put on board one of the boats, and left to find their way to the
shore, Nicky only stipulating that if the lady should take a fancy
to him, she should be allowed to remain on board. With some laughing
at this proposition, we opened the cabin door, and called to our
captives to come on deck, which they did, pale and trembling, for
they seemed to expect no less than instant death. Nicky would be
gallant to the lady, and to that end made her profound salutes, and
spoke some gibberish, which he said was very good Spanish, for an
expression of his admiration of her charms; but she never ceased
crying out for ‘her husband—her husband,’ and begging, in the name
of all the saints, to be put ashore. The boy, being more collected,
managed to inform us—I, with my scanty knowledge of Spanish forming
but a poor interpreter—that the schooner was called Nostra Senora
del Carmine—that she had come to catch tortoise and to hunt wild
cattle along the coast, it being the opinion of the citizens of
Havannah, to which she belonged, that the late expedition had
routed out all the privateersmen and hunters on the northern shore
of Hispaniola. We then directed our attention to the man who had
been acting as cook, and who, having partially recovered from his
blow, was sitting up and looking very scared and foolish. However,
his wits—if he had any—were still abroad, and we could not make him
understand any of our questions; only when he was shown the boat with
a couple of oars, and we pointed to the shore, and made as though
we would push him over the side, he comprehended fast enough, and
presently he and the boy got into the skiff belonging to the ship,
and the lady, who had somewhat recovered her spirits, followed them,
taking some clothing with her, and hiding her face as much as she
could in a black veil. Although the sea was rough, they had a good
boat and a favourable breeze, and we did not stand on our way until
we saw them fairly into the shelter of the cove. Then we shifted the
helm, let go the weather jib-sheet, and so began to plough our way to
the eastward against wind and sea.