THE ESCAPE.
Captain Morgan had done wisely in thinking that it was quite necessary
for him to have some base of operations on the mainland before crossing
the narrow neck of land which separated him from the coveted prize, the
city of Panama. It was for this reason that the expedition under
Captain Brodely was sent out, whilst he detained the rest of his ships
at safe anchor at St. Catherine, and also kept his men in good temper by
letting them do as they pleased and ransack the two fair Spanish islands
of this name.
Captain Brodely was a daring seaman, who had seen before now the inside
of Spanish prisons, and knew the ground round about Panama pretty
accurately; but the Castle of Chagres was on the opposite side of the
isthmus, and the river Chagres, which flowed at the foot of the hill on
which stood the castle, was difficult to navigate, and great care would
therefore be needed to steer the ships into safe anchorage. The Captain
had been told that the Marquis's son knew well the castle and its
surroundings; but when Harry Fenn entered his cabin accompanied by
Carlo, the sturdy rover looked with scorn on the slight stripling whom
Captain Morgan had sent him for guide. As hostage he might be all very
well, but for aught else the Englishman preferred trusting his own good
sense to the doubtful information abstracted from an unwilling prisoner
whose Spanish blood prevented him, in the eyes of Captain Brodely at
least, from having any regard for truth.
Carlo found himself, therefore, treated with silent contempt rather than
with severity by his new jailor, and as the 'Falcon' bounded over the
water he could not help feeling happier than in his dungeon, wondering
much how it was that he had appreciated liberty so little until now.
After the first interview he received no special orders, nor was he
expected to do anything; so, wishing to be alone, he retired for the
night under a bale of goods stolen from one of the fortresses in St.
Catherine. Harry Fenn, however, soon joined him, and the two spent the
rest of the night by no means unpleasantly under this shelter, which had
the merit of being out of the way of the crew. The next morning land was
dimly in sight, and they expected to strike it in the afternoon; so
before this time the Captain had several confabulations with his men.
They knew that their ships were certain to be seen, so that it was
hopeless to attempt to creep up in the dark unperceived, as their own
safety required them to use the daylight.
Chagres, as has been said, was built on a high hill close to the river;
it was surrounded by strong palisades buttressed with earth, and a ditch
thirty feet deep defended its near approach. It had but one entry, and
that reached by a drawbridge over the said ditch. Four bastions looked
landward and two seaward. On the north side ran the river, and on the
south the hill was too steep for any invader to climb. At the foot of
the mountain was another fort with eight guns commanding the river, and
two other batteries were placed a little lower down. This, then, was the
well-fortified place which the pirates were now determined to possess
themselves of; and no wonder that Carlo spoke rather scornfully to Harry
of the expedition as an impossible and rash dream.
'My uncle, Don Alvarez, is as wise and brave a man as can be found in
all the dominions of the King of Spain,' he whispered to his companion,
when the two were left alone, unnoticed by the excited sailors.
'I have seen enough of these men, Senorito, to make me disbelieve in
nothing. They will leap down headlong into danger, and get up unhurt.
But I see they are not making straight for the mouth of the river;
doubtless we shall land a little way off, so as to avoid the fire from
the fort.'
'If I could but warn my uncle!' said Carlo earnestly. 'Look you, Master
Harry Fenn, I will give you a handsome reward if----'
Harry tossed back his fair hair even as a young colt who is galloping
before the wind, as he answered:
'You forget, Senor, that though I may be among thieves, yet I am an
honest Englishman, and I take no reward for doing what I can. I am no
knave that gripes after a reward.'
Carlo saw that he had insulted the boy who had saved his life, and with
his usual impetuous generosity he apologised fully.
'Indeed, indeed, I meant no harm. I am sorely troubled; but you at
least will forgive me. This luckless affair has made me foolish.'
Harry was easily pacified, and he himself at once suggested a plan by
which Carlo might accomplish his purpose.
'Look now, Senor Carlo: when our ships come to anchor, they will put
more than half the men ashore in order to carry the castle by assault,
and they will not trouble themselves much about us, I see. If we could
escape then, and go faster than the attacking party, we might do some
good in warning Don Alvarez.'
'Yes, that is indeed a first-rate idea, and that also reminds me that,
close by the landing at the foot of the castle, there is a small steep
staircase cut out of the solid rock. I have often climbed up by it for
quickness when I have been staying with my uncle and was late for
supper. If we could somehow get there, trust me to distance them. What
think you of this possibility?'
Harry's smile showed that he appreciated the idea, so they were soon
deep in ways and means; for they could not help entering into the spirit
of the attack, now that they were planning a counter-expedition of their
own. Very soon there was more than enough excitement, however. Their
ships had been discovered, and the pirates seeing the enemy's guns begin
to play upon them, Captain Brodely clearly understood it was useless
attempting to enter the river, so the ships bore down on a small port
about three miles from Chagres, and when the sun went down they lay at
anchor. There was to be no rest for any one that night. All was bustle
and confusion, some of the crew declaring they would land, some that
they would find it easy to run the gauntlet of the forts; and among all
this discord the Captain had more than enough to do to keep the peace,
and some show of authority.
'Now, Senor, here's our time,' said Harry, with eagerness, for some of
his fresh ardour and adventurous spirit was returning now that he could
lawfully indulge it. 'We can take a small boat from our masters; or if
not, perhaps we can swim to shore from here and walk along the coast, if
that is possible in the darkness.'
'Yes, for the tide is low; but the moon will soon be up, and then trust
me for the rest. But how shall we baffle the men?'
'The men are too busy to notice us. I can let myself down by a rope.
Or wait--I will hold the rope for you, and when you are in the boat,
which is moored below, I will let myself down. But cut the rope as soon
as you are in, for I can swim out to you.'
'But the sharks--are you not afraid of them?' asked Carlo, who knew that
these dreaded enemies had always to be taken into account.
'They are less likely to be about at this time,' said Harry, cheerfully;
'but of course I must chance them. "Nothing venture, nothing have," is
an English proverb which the buccaneers certainly act upon.'
In truth, Harry's plan was very cleverly thought out. The pirates,
aware that no enemy would dare to come and attack them after dark, had
let down their small boats and canoes, and were busily preparing
everything for an early start.
Carlo now nimbly scrambled down, helped by Harry's steady hand, and
safely descended into a canoe which was tied to the ship, and which was
ordinarily used for running up narrow creeks in the islands. Then he
crouched down and waited breathlessly for Harry to follow; but, to his
horror, he suddenly heard voices above, and distinctly caught Harry's
words, evidently meant for him to hear--
'I shall stay here as long as I choose: don't wait for me. Off with
you: your business brooks no delay.'
A gruff voice answered:
'Marry! but you'll come with me too, young Pug-robin; the Captain says
there's a good deal to do in stowing away the provision for to-morrow,
and idle hands are not wanted here. Those that won't work can filch no
booty.'
Then came the sound of retreating footsteps, and Carlo knew that all was
up as far as Harry was concerned; so, cutting the rope, and not caring
much whether he were discovered or not, so desperate had he become, he
took the oars, and as silently as possible he shot off into the
darkness, going, as far as he was able to judge, straight for the shore.
No one, however, seemed to have discovered his escape, for he heard no
hue and cry raised, nor sound of pursuers; and this fact, after a time,
raised his spirits. Happily, his expeditions with Andreas had made him
a skilful oarsman, and when the moon rose he was able to see that he had
got well forward and was out of sight of the pirates, having turned
round a projecting cliff, and being now well in sight of the river's
mouth.
If only Harry had been with him Carlo would have thoroughly enjoyed the
adventure. He was so sure that, once in Chagres Castle, he should be
safe and free, that he was all eagerness to push on.
'I shall save my uncle, and be ready to fight for him,' thought he.
'Ah, if only my father had not been so deluded, perhaps Chagres would
not now have to defend itself against this fierce horde.'
With these thoughts mingled ideas of the praise he should receive, and
also sad remembrances of the desolation of his own home, and of the
terrible story which he should have to tell his uncle; but he had
immense faith in Don Alvarez, and longed for his advice and kind
sympathy. As he neared the shore he saw that great excitement prevailed
there, the authorities fancying he was a pirate ambassador come to
parley; for the arrival of the ships was known, and a strict look-out
was kept. A boat full of soldiers was immediately dispatched, and was
soon alongside of him; and the astonishment was great when the men saw,
on close inspection, that the boat contained only a young fellow rowing
himself to shore. At last Carlo, by dint of showing he had nothing with
him but food, and that he was in reality only the son of Don Estevan del
Campo, was allowed to land. Then, fearful of some ruse, the soldiers
surrounded him, and took him before the officer who was now on guard at
the lower fort. Fortunately, this latter had once seen Carlo, and then
all were intensely eager to hear the news. After hastily telling the
bare facts, Carlo hastened up the rocky stairs, accompanied by a
soldier, who took the precaution of bringing a safe-conduct, signed by
the superior officer, for the edification of the porter; otherwise there
might have been some difficulty in entering the castle, so watchful and
so suspicious had every one become on hearing of the approach of the
dreaded pirates; for the name of Henry Morgan was sufficient to cause
almost a panic in a Spanish garrison.
The surprise and pleasure of Don Alvarez and his gentle wife, Dona
Elena, can easily be imagined when they saw their nephew, and heard of
his marvellous escape from the pirates' ship; but the outline only of
the events which had taken place at St. Catherine could be now
discussed, Don Alvarez being so busy and eager to do everything in his
power to repulse the enemy.
'From what you say, Carlo,' said Don Alvarez, 'the buccaneers cannot be
here till the afternoon, for the roads hither from the bay are almost
impassable since the rain. That will give us some few hours before
sunset to rout them. I doubt much if there will be any left. For my
part, I call it a most impudent assault; but I shall use every
precaution, and not fall into the error of my poor brother-in-law; for,
in truth, to parley with such fellows is to disgrace the Spanish flag.'
Carlo retired to rest, kindly tended by his aunt, who rubbed sweet
ointments into his blistered hands and provided him with clean linen and
a new doublet of sturdy buff; for, in truth, Carlo was hardly
recognisable after all he had gone through, and his clothes were much
torn and soiled.
'God has indeed taken care of you, my brave Carlo; you have the true
Alvarez blood in your veins. Your uncle will not forget your brave
conduct; and directly we are delivered from these men, he will go over
to St. Catherine with sufficient force to restore order and to give back
the island to its proper masters. My heart grieves sore for my poor
little Felipa.'
'They will indeed be glad to see him, and you too, Aunt Elena; but
Felipa and the English Etta have been civilly treated. Only, it seems
to me that these pirates think that so long as they have enough to eat
it does not matter if others starve. If it had not been for Harry
Fenn--him I told you of--the girls would have fared badly enough. But I
am as sleepy as a porpoise. Do not forget to wake me early, and you
will see how I will fight these jailors of mine, and pay them back their
cudgelling with interest.'