IMPRISONED.
Before anything further could be said on this matter Pedro's voice was
heard at the door, and when Catalina was assured that he was alone she
let him in, being herself very curious to know the ins and outs of the
occupation, and, as the Marquis had really returned, what was expected
of her and her charges.
'Thank heaven, Pedro, that you have come up! Tell me what all this
means, and are we to be roasted and eaten alive by those cannibals, who
are, I suppose, gobbling up all our stores?'
Pedro's face was doleful in the extreme, and not at all reassuring.
'In truth, Captain Morgan is our master now; and so I suppose we must
make the best we can of the matter. He is very angry at the death of
one or two of his men, and says we have broken our engagement. As if
one could make engagements with such paltry ragamuffins! It seems we
were never meant to resist, but I said it was by your orders, Senorito.
You remember that you would insist on taking us out to the walls, though
our orders were to do nothing. Anyhow, Captain Morgan wishes you, Senor
Carlo, to come and deliver up your sword to him at once. He was going
to send some of his drunken fellows to fetch you; but, thinking of the
ladies, I interfered, and I said you would prefer to come of your own
accord.'
'Let me come with you, Senorito,' said Harry Fenn, thinking that he
could perhaps soften the Captain's wrath, which, he had learnt by this
time, was not to be despised, especially by a Spaniard, who would find
but little favour in the English pirate's eyes.
Felipa, pale and utterly miserable, tried to dissuade her brother from
going down below, but in vain. Carlo did not know the meaning of the
word fear.
'No, no, dear Felipa; that would be the action of a coward. Besides,
you might suffer for my refusal. This captain shall see that I am not
afraid of his threats.'
'You will petition Captain Morgan for Carlo, will you not?' asked Etta,
turning towards Harry. 'How is it that he lets you have your own way?'
'I know not. He took a fancy for me and calls me his godson, which is a
title very little fitting. I often think that if my poor father could
see me, and kind Mr. Aylett, they would indeed be astonished; and yet I
have tried to do my duty and not forget my God and country in the midst
of this godless crew. But trust me, even if I did not like this bold
young Spaniard, I would do my best for your sake, young Mistress
Allison. You should have seen how he scorned to budge a step.'
Etta smiled at these words, and then said impulsively, 'Call me Etta,
and I will call you Harry Fenn. Seeing you is almost as if I were at
home among my relations, who, my mother used to say, would love me
dearly and would not let me want.'
But there was no time now for more words, even though the young people
seemed to have much to say to each other. Carlo followed Pedro and
Harry, feeling altogether angry and ashamed of his position. He was,
too, a little jealous of Etta's evident happiness at talking to one from
her own country; and besides, he could not bear to feel that he was
himself virtually a prisoner in his own house; and yet, thought he, 'I
have never delivered up my sword, and I have never owned myself
defeated.' As for his father, he could not bear to think of him as a
traitor to his king and country.
When they entered the hall Carlo was dismayed by a sight such as he had
never expected to see in Santa Teresa.
Some long wooden planks had been laid on trestles and placed in two rows
down the hall, and round them sat some forty or fifty of Captain
Morgan's chief men eating and drinking voraciously. A dozen or more of
the negro slaves waited on them, filling up their goblets when empty--a
duty which was by no means light or infrequent. At a smaller table at
the upper end of the hall Captain Henry Morgan was also enjoying what he
considered a well-earned breakfast; for daylight was beginning to flood
the hall, showing that the long night of anxiety was over. In the sky
beautiful clouds tinged with every conceivable shade of crimson and gold
were making lovely backgrounds for the tall palm-trees and the other
forest giants; but of all this beauty the soldiers and the buccaneers
thought nothing. Henry Morgan was anxious, now that he was in
possession of the island, to secure it permanently for future need, and,
as soon as he could, to send on some of his men in search of still more
booty, the thirst for gold in these pirates being quite unquenchable.
After a moment's pause Carlo walked proudly up to the top table, bent on
showing no fear; yet what made the deepest impression upon him was, not
the sight of the much-dreaded sea-robber, but that of his own father
seated opposite to the foe, and being treated apparently, not as a
prisoner, but as a friend, by the man whom Carlo hated as being both a
buccaneer and an Englishman.
The poor Marquis, however, could not be said to look happy; he carefully
turned away from Morgan, and now and then rose hastily from his chair
and paced nervously up and down the small platform, muttering audibly,
'I did it for the best. There has been no massacre of the people. Who
will dare to blame me? How could I do otherwise? Why has Don Francisco
left me, and where is my son?'
'Marry! here comes the culprit!' cried Captain Morgan, seeing Carlo
approaching. 'Senor Governor, I suppose this young sprig is your son,
and the one who led the assault before sunrise? The young scoundrel has
a puissant sword and despiteful ire.'
'My son knew nothing of our plans,' said the poor Marquis, who in spite
of his own conduct could not help feeling proud of his boy.
'Then, i'fecks, you should have told him. Some one is answerable for the
death of two of my men and the wounds of several more.'
'Here, young sirrah! What's your name, and what do you mean by having
gone out to prevent the entrance of my skirmishing party, when they held
a pass from the Governor himself? Speak out, silly coxcomb, and tell me
who set your thoughts agog in this manner.'
'I knew nothing of the pass,' said Carlo haughtily, 'and I was bound to
fight in the defence of the castle. We give no quarter to our foes.'
'Marry! proud as a strutting peacock, eh? Ah, well, we'll soon teach
you better. How now, Harry--what hast thou been about? Thou shouldst
have taught this young pate more wisdom. I'll have no jesting from such
a stripling.'
Harry did not answer, thinking silence the wisest course. The curious
fancy which Captain Morgan had taken for the kidnapped lad was
apparently without rhyme or reason; for Harry, though respectful enough,
had never yet been made to act against his will and his conscience; and
when some of the men would have liked to use brute force, and shake what
they called the young fool's stubborn will out of him, Captain Morgan
always interfered; he would not have the lad touched, he said, and
whoever did it would have to answer personally to him.
Carlo, the Spaniard, however, touched no chord of sympathy in the
Captain's breast. He heartily despised the Governor, who had been such
a weak tool in his hands, and was rather glad to punish him through his
son, as he had given a sort of promise that his person would be safe
from insults.
'Ignorance is a very convenient excuse, young Senor. By my faith, you
are answerable for the death of two of my men, and should by rights be
hanged on one of your own bananas; but, considering your youth, I will
merely imprison you in your own castle. Deliver up your sword to me,
sirrah! and, marry, you may thank me for dealing so leniently with you;
'tis more than you deserve.'
Henry Morgan spoke fluent Spanish, having had to mix much with the
various traders of the West Indies. Harry Fenn, who could not well
understand the language, though he could see the angry frown on the
Captain's face, looked from the latter to Carlo, wondering what was
being said. Then he suddenly saw the young Spaniard angrily lift his
head and clasp his right hand upon the hilt of his sword as he
exclaimed:
'I did but my duty, Senor Captain, and I will never deliver my sword to
any man, least of all to such rascals as you are.'
'Carlo, it is best to obey; pray do not anger the Captain,' called out
his father anxiously. 'Silly boy! what can you do against all these
men? If you persist you must abide by the consequences.'
At these words Carlo hung his head, but he did not answer, nor did he
look at all as if he meant to give way; so that now Harry Fenn clearly
understood what was taking place, and secretly much admired the Spanish
boy; but he knew only too well that in the end he would have to yield.
As well try to bend a full-grown oak as turn the iron will of Henry
Morgan.
'And what good will that toy blade do for you?' asked the pirate
captain, laughing scornfully; and when he laughed he was more to be
dreaded than when he swore. 'It is no tried steel, young jackanapes,
but a somewhat spick-and-span new plaything.'
'I demand a free pass for myself, for my father, and the women in this
house,' said Carlo, not daunted, but flushing with anger; 'for it is a
shame to remain under the same roof with such as you.'
'A shame! Come, enough of thy vapouring and huffing! We'll see whose
shame it will be. Here, Cross, Simon, Watkins: seize that young scorpion
and fling him into the dungeons here; for I guess there are some down
below in which brave Englishmen have before now groaned away their
lives. "A tooth for a tooth" is no bad saying, and in the dark thou
mayest learn that "haste makes waste."'
'Prithee, Captain,' said Harry, rushing between Carlo and the advancing
men, 'spare this young Spaniard: he was as brave as a lion under the
walls, and bravery ought to find favour with you--he rallied a mere
handful of men when there was no hope for him.'
'Pshaw, Harry! away, boy, and mind thine own business. I hear there are
girls here, and that one is an English prisoner or slave: go and tell
them to come here--that is work more befitting thee--and leave this boy
alone.'
[Illustration: _CARLO BEFORE CAPTAIN MORGAN_.]
In a moment Carlo was seized by the three strong, lusty men; his sword
was wrenched from him; and with two long Spanish scarves his arms were
bound tightly behind him, and in this helpless state he was dragged from
the hall; whilst the Marquis, rising to his feet, protested in vain
against the outrage to his son. The truth was that Captain Morgan
wished to make an example of some one, and Carlo, being the Governor's
son, would satisfy any murmurs his men might be inclined to raise at the
death of their comrades.
All was now noise and confusion, for the men began loudly to make all
kinds of requests to the Captain; and, seeing nothing would be got out
of them in the way of going to seek for cattle and provisions in the
island till they had finished their feast, Captain Morgan (who was a
very abstemious man himself) left the hall, begging the Marquis somewhat
roughly to show him over the place and to give him all the keys of the
stores. Harry Fenn was also commanded to be of the company, which
request he was glad enough to comply with, so as to get away from the
sight of the carouse and the sound of the rude jokes and laughter.
In the meanwhile Carlo, struggling bravely to the last against his fate,
and angry and indignant at his treatment, was carried down to the
dungeon below, old Pedro being forced to show the way. Presently, after
passing through dark passages, the porter opened the door of a cell-like
chamber where no light was visible, and which looked most unfit for a
living being, much less for the delicately nurtured Carlo.
'This is the only dungeon I know of,' grumbled Pedro; 'and many a pirate
has made acquaintance with it,' he added in a low voice. 'Would that I
could lock up many more!'
'I fancy this will be good enough,' said Simon in a French accent.
'Here, fellow, give me the key and let me lock it myself; there's no
treachery these Spaniards are not equal to. Bum! that will do; the
silly boy is safe enough.'
'Take it, then,' growled Pedro, 'it locks well enough;' but as he
delivered up the key he thought with a smile on his face, 'but there's
sometimes more doors than one even in a dungeon.'