A SPELL ASHORE
Ten days later they arrived at Jamaica, and Will at once went to make his
report to the admiral.
“Well,” the admiral said heartily, “you have brought in another prize, Mr.
Gilmore. She looks a mere hulk, and is remarkably deep in the water. What
is she?”
“She is the schooner that sank the _Northumberland_.”
“You must have knocked her about terribly, for she is evidently sinking.”
“No, sir, she is all right except that the stern is shattered. We have
covered it over with tarpaulins backed by battens; otherwise she is almost
uninjured.”
“I am glad, indeed, to hear that you have caught that scoundrel, Mr.
Gilmore, but I hardly think she can be worth towing in.”
“She is worth a good deal, sir, for both she and the cutter are choke-full
of loot.”
“Indeed!” the admiral said in a tone of gratification. “In that case she
must be valuable; but let me hear all about it.”
“I have stated it in my report, sir.”
“But you always leave out a good deal in your report. Please give me a
full account of it. First, how many guns did she carry?”
“Six guns a-side, sir.”
“Then you must have done wonders. Now tell me all about it.”
Will modestly gave a full account of the fight and of the steps he had
afterwards taken to prevent them from playing a treacherous trick upon
him, and of the land fight and the arrangements made to secure the goods
he found at their head-quarters.
“And now, what have you brought home this time?” the admiral asked.
“This is the list, sir. I took it from the bills of lading which we found
at the pirate head-quarters. Altogether the storehouses contained the
cargoes of eleven ships. We picked out the most valuable goods and loaded
the cutter and schooner with them, but that was only a very small portion
of the total. I have left nearly half my crew there to guard the
storehouses until you could send some ships from here to bring home their
contents. With the cutter to navigate and the schooner to tow I dared not
weaken myself further. I have left sixteen of my men there under my
boatswain, and have erected four batteries with cotton bales, each
mounting two guns, which are charged to the muzzle with grape and
langrage. I have every confidence, therefore, that the little garrison
will be able to hold its own against a greatly superior force.”
“It was a great risk,” the admiral said gravely.
“I am aware of that, sir, but it was worth running the risk for such a
splendid prize. The value of nearly eleven cargoes must be something very
great.”
“Indeed it must,” the admiral said; “what are they composed of?”
“You will see the entire list in the bills of lading, sir. I should say
that nearly half the goods are sugar, rum, and molasses; the other half
are bales and boxes, of which the details are given. Those we have brought
home are silks, satins, cloth, shawls, and other materials of female
dress, coffee, and spices.”
“Well, Mr. Gilmore, this certainly appears to be the richest haul that has
ever been made in these islands, at any rate since the days of the Spanish
galleons. I will lose no time in chartering some ships. How many do you
think will be necessary?”
“I should say, sir, that if you had five vessels you could do it in two
trips. Meanwhile I wish you would give me another thirty men to strengthen
the garrison.”
“Certainly I will do so. There are several vessels in the harbour which
have discharged their cargoes and have not yet taken fresh ones on board,
but are waiting to sail for England under a convoy. They will, no doubt,
be glad of a job in the meantime.”
Four days later the cutter again put to sea, with five merchantmen and a
frigate, which was charged to act as a convoy. When they arrived off the
inlet Will went ashore, and to his delight found the storehouses intact,
and the little garrison all well. The crews of all the ships were at once
landed, and in a short time the place was a scene of bustle and activity.
In spite, however, of their exertions it was a fortnight before all the
ships were loaded.
Before setting sail again Will told off the thirty additional men to
remain, and Harman was left in command. Dimchurch had reported that only
once had the pirates shown in force. He had allowed them to come within a
hundred yards of the battery they were facing, and then poured the
contents of both guns into them, whereupon they had at once fled, leaving
ten killed behind them.
When the little fleet arrived at Jamaica again, Will found that the goods
which he had brought in the cutter and schooner were valued at a far
higher price than his estimate.
The merchantmen were unloaded as fast as possible, and started again for
Cuba without delay. All was well with the garrison at the inlet. A serious
attack had been made on the forts the day after the fleet had sailed for
Jamaica, but the garrison had repulsed it so effectually that they had not
seen a sign of the enemy since. Even the hope of plunder was not strong
enough to induce the negroes to make another attempt, and as for the
pirates, they had been almost entirely wiped out.
After the storehouses had been emptied they were burned, and Harman and
his party returned to the cutter, and the fleet once more sailed for
Jamaica.
Will immediately started again on a short cruise. This time he met with no
adventures. At the end of three weeks he returned, and when he went to
make his report the admiral told him that the total value of the capture
amounted to £140,000.
“I must congratulate you,” he said, “as well as myself, on this haul. I
should say it would make you the richest midshipman in the service. My
share, as you know, is an eighth. You, as officer in command, and
altogether independent of the fleet, will get one quarter. Mr. Harman’s
share will be an eighth, and the rest will be divided among the crew, the
boatswain getting four shares.”
“I am astounded, sir,” Will said, “it seems almost impossible that I can
be master of so much money.”
“You have the satisfaction at any rate, Mr. Gilmore, of knowing that you
have earned it by your own exertions, courage, and skill. I think now that
it is only fair that I should send you back to your ship when she next
comes in, and give someone else a chance.”
“I agree with you, sir, and I cannot but feel deeply indebted to you for
having put me in the way of making a fortune.”
“I little knew what was coming of it,” the admiral said, “when I gave you
the command of that little craft. If I had had the slightest notion I
should assuredly have given it to an older officer.”
Will returned to the cutter in a state of bewilderment at his good
fortune. When he came on deck a little later he found waiting for him a
gentleman who advanced with open arms.
“Mr. Gilmore,” he said, “my name is Palethorpe. I am the father of the
young girl whose life you so gallantly saved when the _Northumberland_
sank. I have been trying to catch you ever since, but I live up among the
hills, except when business calls me down here, and your stay here has
always been so short that I never before heard of your arrival until you
had started again. I cannot say, sir, how intensely grateful I feel. She
is my only child, and you may guess what a terrible blow it would have
been to me had she been lost.”
“I only did my duty, sir, and I am glad indeed that I was able to save
your daughter’s life. Pray do not say anything more about it.”
“But, my dear sir, that is quite impossible. One man cannot render so vast
a service to another and escape without being thanked. I have driven down
here to carry you off to my home whether you like it or not. I called on
the admiral this morning, and he said that he would willingly grant you a
week’s leave or longer, and, in fact, that you would be unemployed until
the _Hawke_ came in, as a master’s mate would take over your command.”
Will felt that he could not decline an invitation so heartily given.
Accordingly he packed up his shore-going kit, left Harman in temporary
command, and went with his new friend ashore. A well-appointed vehicle
with a pair of fine horses was waiting for them, and as soon as they were
seated they at once started inland. After leaving the town they began to
mount, and were soon high among the mountains. The scenery was lovely, and
Will, who had not before made an excursion so far into the interior, was
delighted with his drive. So much so, indeed, that Mr. Palethorpe
gradually ceased speaking of the subject nearest his heart, and suffered
Will to enjoy the journey in silence. At last they drove up to a handsome
house which was surrounded by a broad veranda covered with roses and other
flowers. As they stopped, a girl of fourteen ran out. Will would scarcely
have recognized her. She was now dressed in white muslin, and her hair was
tied up with blue ribbon, while a broad sash of the same colour encircled
her waist. She had now also recovered her colour, which the shock of her
adventure had driven from her cheeks, and she looked the picture of health
and happiness.
“Oh, you dear boy!” she cried out, and to Will’s astonishment and
consternation she threw her arms round his neck and kissed him. “Oh, how
much you have done for us! If it hadn’t been for you father would have had
no one to pet him and scold him. It would have been dreadful, wouldn’t it,
daddy?”
“It would indeed, my child,” her father said gravely; “it would have taken
all the joy out of my life, and left me a lonely old man.”
“I have told you before,” she said, “that you are not to call yourself
old. I don’t call you old at all; I consider that you are just in your
prime. Now come in, Mr. Gilmore, I have all sorts of iced drinks ready for
you.”
Alice and Will soon became excellent friends. She took him over the
plantations and showed him the negro cabins, fed him with fruit until he
almost fell ill, and, as he said, treated him more like a baby than as an
officer in His Majesty’s service.
“The stars don’t look so bright to-night,” Will said, as he stood on the
veranda with Mr. Palethorpe on the last evening of his visit.
“No, I have been noticing it myself, and I don’t like the look of the
weather at all.”
“No!” Will repeated in surprise; “it certainly looks as if there was a
slight mist.”
“Yes, that is what it looks like, but at this time of year we don’t often
have mists. I am afraid we are going to have a hurricane; it is overdue
now by nearly a month. October, November, and the first half of December
are the hurricane months, and I fear that, as it is late, we shall have a
heavy one.”
“I have seen one since I came out, and then we were at sea and were nearly
wrecked. I saw its effects on land, however, for we spent some weeks
ashore in consequence of it. The forest was almost levelled. I certainly
should not care to see another one.”
“No, it is not a thing that anyone would wish to see a second time. Words
cannot describe how terrible they are. I hope, however, if we have one,
that it will be a light one, but I am rather afraid of it.”
Nothing more was said on the matter till they retired to bed, when Mr.
Palethorpe said, half in fun and half in earnest: “I should advise you to
have your clothes handy by your bedside, Mr. Gilmore, for you may want
them quickly and badly if a hurricane comes.”
Will laughed to himself at the warning, but nevertheless took the advice.
He had been asleep for an hour when he felt the whole house rock. A moment
later the roof blew bodily from over his head, and at the same time there
was a roar so terrible that he did not even hear the crash of the falling
timber. He leapt out of bed, seized his clothes, and hurried down. He met
Mr. Palethorpe coming from his daughter’s room, carrying her wrapped up in
her bed-clothes. They went down together to the front door. Will turned
the handle, and the door was blown in with a force that knocked him to the
floor. He struggled to his feet again and tried to get out, but the force
of the wind was so tremendous that for some time he could not stem it.
When he did manage to get through the doorway he saw Mr. Palethorpe
standing some distance from the house. He fought his way towards him
against the wind.
“Are you not going to get into shelter?” he shouted in the planter’s ear.
“It is safer here in the open,” the planter said; “I dare not get below a
tree, but I will put my daughter in a place where she will be safe.”
Struggling along against the gale he led the way to a small shed where the
gardener’s tools were kept. It was about six feet long and three broad,
and was built of bricks. The floor was some feet below the surface of the
ground, so in entering one had to descend a short flight of steps.
“Just hold my daughter on her feet,” the planter said, “while I clear this
place out.”
Much as he tried, Will was unable to keep the girl upright, and after a
vain effort he allowed her to sink down on her knees and then knelt by her
side. As soon as he had cleared away the tools Mr. Palethorpe came up and
carried her down into the shed.
“I think we are quite safe here,” he said; “the wall is only two feet
above the ground, so even this gale will not shake us. The roof is
strongly put together to keep out marauders. Now, Mr. Gilmore, there is
room for us to crouch inside; it is the only place of safety I know of,
for even in the open we might be struck by the flying branches torn from
the trees. Besides, it will be a comfort to Alice to know that we are in
safety beside her.”
They spoke only occasionally, for the roar of the tempest was deafening.
Every now and then they would hear a crash as some tree yielded to the
force of the hurricane. Towards morning the gale abated, and soon after
sunrise the wind suddenly stilled. When they looked out a scene of
terrible devastation met their eyes. Some trees had been torn up by the
roots, and branches twisted from others were strewed upon the ground
everywhere. The house was a wreck; the whole of the roof was gone, and
parts of the wall had been blown down. Inside there was utter confusion;
the furniture was scattered about in all directions, and even
looking-glasses had been torn from the walls and smashed. The planter,
however, wasted but little time in looking at the wreck.
“You had better go up and dress at once, Alice,” he said, “though you will
have some trouble in finding your clothes. I have no doubt that all the
loose ones are scattered about everywhere, and that some of the things are
miles away. I will go down with Will at once to the slave-huts; I am
afraid the damage and loss of life there has been great.”
During his passage from the house to the shed the wind had several times
threatened to tear Will’s clothes from his arms, but he had clung to them
with might and main, and succeeded in carrying them safely into shelter.
He had therefore been able to dress while they waited for the storm to
abate. Mr. Palethorpe had felt so sure that a hurricane was impending that
he had simply lain down on his bed without taking off his clothes.
Accordingly they started at once for the slave-huts. As they had expected,
the destruction there was complete. Every hut had been blown down. The
negroes, who had fled to various places for shelter, were just returning,
and Mr. Palethorpe soon learned from them that many were missing. He at
once set all hands to remove the fallen timbers, and after two hours’ work
sixteen dead bodies were recovered, for the most part children, and nearly
as many injured. Some, also, of those who had come in had broken limbs.
Alice came down as soon as she was dressed, and brought a bundle of
sheets, needles, and thread, and Mr. Palethorpe took off his coat and set
to work to bind and bandage the limbs and wounds. Alice suggested that a
man on horseback should be sent down to the town for a surgeon, but her
father pointed out that it would be absolutely useless to do so, as,
judging by what they could see, the destruction wrought in the town would
be terrible. Every surgeon would have his hands full, and certainly none
would be able to spare time to come into the country. He decided to have
all the worst cases carried down to the town and seen to there; slighter
cases he could deal with himself.
“I don’t know much about bandaging wounds,” he said, “but I know a little,
and some of the native women are very good at nursing.”
Alice, aided by the negresses, tore up the linen into strips and sewed
these together to make bandages. Canes split up formed excellent splints.
Will rendered all the assistance in his power. Now he held splints in
position while Mr. Palethorpe wound the bandages round them, and now he
helped to distribute among the wounded the soothing drinks that the
servants of the house brought down.
“What are you going to do now?” he asked as the last bandage had been
applied.
“I will drive down to the town and see how things are doing there. Peter
tells me that two of my horses are killed, but the other two seemed to
have escaped without injury, as the part of the stable in which they stood
was sheltered by a huge tree, which lost its head, but was fortunately
otherwise uninjured. You had better come down with us, Alice; we must stop
at our house in town till things are put straight here. I will, of course,
ride backwards and forwards every day.”
“Can’t I be of some help here, father?”
“None at all; by nightfall the slaves will have built temporary shelters
of canes and branches of trees. The overseer is among those who were
killed; he was on his way from his house to the huts when a branch struck
him on the head and killed him on the spot. I will put Sambo in his place
for the present; he is a very reliable man, and I can trust him to issue
the stores to the negroes daily. I am afraid it will be some time before
we get the house put right again, as there will be an immense demand for
carpenters in the town. We may feel very thankful, however, that we have
got a house there. It is a good strong one, built of stone, so we may hope
to find it intact.”
The carriage was brought round and they took their seats in it. The
planter ordered two strong negroes to get axes and to stand on the steps,
and when all was ready they started. The journey was long and broken; at
every few yards trees had fallen across the road, and these had to be
chopped through and removed before the carriage could pass. It was
therefore late in the day before they reached the town. Will could not
help grieving at the terrible destruction wrought in the forest. In some
places acres of ground had been cleared of the trees, in others the trunks
and branches lay piled in an inextricable chaos. All the huts and cottages
they passed on their way were in ruins, and their former inhabitants were
standing listlessly gazing at the destruction. Mr. Palethorpe had placed
in the carriage two gallon jars of spirits and a large quantity of bread,
and these he had distributed among the forlorn inhabitants while his men
were chopping a road through the trees.
When they arrived in the town they beheld a terrible scene of devastation.
The streets occupied by the dwellings of well-to-do inhabitants had, for
the most part, escaped, but in the suburbs, where the poorer part of the
population dwelt, the havoc was something terrible. Parties of soldiers
and sailors were hard at work here, clearing the ruins away and bringing
out the dead and injured. Will, after saying good-bye to his friends at
their door, joined one of these parties, and until late at night laboured
by torchlight. At midnight he went to Mr. Palethorpe’s house, to which he
had promised to return, and slept till morning. Two long days were
occupied in this work, and even then there was much to be done in the way
of clearing the streets of the debris and restoring order. Not until this
was finished did Will cease from his labours. He then drove up with Mr.
Palethorpe to his estate. They found that a great deal of progress had
been made there, and that a gang of workmen were already engaged in
preparing to replace the roof and to restore the house to its former
condition. The slaves were still in their temporary homes, but with their
usual light-heartedness had already recovered from the effects of their
shock and losses, and seemed as merry and happy as usual.
On his return to Port Royal, Will was the object of the greatest
attentions on the part of the other passengers of the _Northumberland_,
and received so many invitations to dinner that he was obliged to ask the
admiral to allow him to give up his leave and to take another short cruise
in _L’Agile_, promising that if he did so he would take good care not to
capture any more prizes. The admiral consented, and in a few days the
cutter set sail once more.
After they had been out a month Will found it necessary to put in to get
water. He chose a spot where a little stream could be seen coming down
from the mountains and losing itself in the shingle, and he rowed ashore
and set some of his men to fill the barrels. When he saw the work fairly
under weigh he started to walk along the shore with Dimchurch and Tom.
They had gone but a short distance when a number of negroes rushed
suddenly out upon them. Will had just time to discharge his pistols before
he was knocked senseless by a negro armed with a bludgeon. Tom and
Dimchurch stood over him and made a desperate defence, and just before
they were overpowered Dimchurch shouted at the top of his voice: “Put off,
we are captured,” for he saw that the number of their assailants was so
great that it would only be sacrificing the crew to call them to their
assistance. They were bound and carried away by the exulting negroes.
[Illustration: “TOM AND DIMCHURCH MADE A DESPERATE DEFENCE”]
“This is a bad job,” Will said when he came to his senses.
“A mighty bad job, Master Will. Who are these niggers, do you think?”
“I suppose they are escaped slaves; there are certainly many of them in
the mountains of Cuba. I suppose they saw us sailing in, and came down
from the hills in the hope of capturing some of us. It is likely enough
they take us for pirates, who are a constant scourge to them, capturing
them in their little fishing-boats and either cutting their throats or
forcing them to serve with them. I am afraid we shall have but very little
opportunity of explaining matters to them, for, of course, they don’t
speak English, and none of us understand a word of Spanish.”
They were carried up the hill and thrown down in a small clearing on the
summit. Will in vain endeavoured to address them in English, but received
no attention whatever.
“What do you think they are going to do with us, sir?” Dimchurch asked.
“Well, I should say that they are most likely going to burn us alive, or
put us to death in some other devilish way.”
“Well, sir, I don’t think these niggers know much about tying ropes. It
seems to me that I could get free without much trouble.”
“Could you, Dimchurch? I can’t say as much, for mine are knotted so
tightly that I cannot move a finger.”
“That won’t matter, sir. If I can shift out of mine I have got my
jack-knife in my pocket, and can make short work of your ropes and Tom’s.”
“Well, try then, Dimchurch. Half those fellows are away in the wood, and
by the sounds we hear they are cutting brushwood; so there is no time to
lose.”
For five minutes no remark was made, and then Dimchurch said: “I am free.”
Immediately afterwards Will felt his bonds fall off, and half a minute
later an exclamation of thankfulness from Tom showed that he too had been
liberated.
“Now we must all crawl towards the edge of the forest,” Will said, “and
then, instead of going straight down the hill we will turn off for a short
distance. They are sure to miss us immediately, and will believe that we
have made direct for the sea.”
They had barely got into the shelter of the forest when they heard a
sudden shout, so they at once turned aside and hid in the brushwood. A
minute or two later they had the satisfaction of hearing the negroes
rushing in a body down the hill. They waited until their pursuers had
covered a hundred yards, and then they jumped to their feet and held on
their way along the hillside for nearly a quarter of a mile, after which
they began to descend. Just as they changed their course they heard an
outburst of musketry fire.
“Hooray!” Dimchurch exclaimed, “our fellows are coming up the hill in
search of us. That’s right, give it them hot! I guess they’ll go back as
quick as they came.” They now changed their direction, taking a line that
would bring them to the rear of their friends. The firing soon ceased, the
negroes having evidently got entirely out of sight of the sailors, but by
the shouting they had no difficulty in ascertaining the position of the
party, who were pushing on up the hill, and presently Will hailed them.
“That is the captain’s voice,” one of the party exclaimed, and then a
general cheer broke from the seamen. In another two minutes they were
among their friends. Harman had landed with three-and-thirty men, leaving
only five on board _L’Agile_. Great was their rejoicing on finding that
the three missing men were all safe.
“We had better fall back now,” Will said. “There must be at least three
hundred negroes at the top, and though I don’t say we would not beat them
we should certainly suffer some loss which might well be avoided. There is
no doubt they took us for pirates and believed they were going to avenge
their own wrongs. So we may as well make our way down before their whole
force gathers and attacks us.”
They retired at once to the shore, and had but just taken their places in
the boats when a crowd of negroes rushed down to the beach. Four or five
shots were fired, but by Will’s order no reply was made. They pushed off
quietly and in a few minutes reached the cutter.
“That has been a narrow escape,” Will said when he and Harman were
together again on the quarter-deck; “as narrow as I ever wish to
experience. If it hadn’t been for Dimchurch I don’t think you would have
arrived in time, for they were cutting brushwood for a fire on which they
intended to roast us. Fortunately he was not so tightly bound as we were,
and so managed to free himself and us.”
“I cannot say how thankful I was when I heard your voice. Of course we
were proceeding only by guesswork, and could only hope that we should find
you at the top of the hill. If they had carried you any farther away we
could not have followed. I was turning this over in my mind as we
advanced, when we heard the rushing of a large number of men down the hill
towards us, and we at once concluded that you had escaped and that they
were in pursuit, and as soon as the negroes appeared we opened fire.”
“Well, all is well that ends well. It was very foolish of me to wander
away from the men. Of course there was nothing whatever to tell us that we
were being watched, but I ought to have assumed that there was a
possibility of such a thing and not to have run the risk. I’ll be mighty
careful that I don’t play such a fool’s trick again. It was lucky that
Dimchurch shouted when he did to the watering-party, otherwise we should
have lost the whole of them, and with ten gone you would have found it
very hazardous work to land a sufficiently strong party.”
“I should have tried if I had only had a dozen men. I concluded that it
must have been negroes who had carried you off, and my only thought was to
rescue you before they set to work to torture you in some abominable
manner.”
“Well, I expect it would soon have been over, Harman, but certainly it
would have been a very unpleasant ending. To fall in battle is a death at
which none would grumble, but to be burnt by fiendish negroes would be
horrible. Of course every man must run risks and take his chances, but one
hardly bargains for being burnt alive. It makes my flesh creep to think of
it, more now, I fancy, than when I was face to face with it. When I was
lying helpless on the hill, there seemed something unreal about it, and I
could not appreciate the position, but now that I think of it in cold
blood it makes me shiver. I will take your watch to-night; I am quite sure
that if I did get to sleep I should have a terrible nightmare.”
“I can quite understand that you would rather be on deck than lying down
and trying to sleep. I am sure I should do so myself, and even now the
thought of the peril you were in makes me shudder.”
For a time _L’Agile_ cruised off the shore of Cuba, effecting a few small
captures, but none of importance. Finally she fell in with three French
frigates and was chased for two days, but succeeded in giving her pursuers
the slip by running between two small islands under cover of night. The
passage was very shallow, and the Frenchmen were unable to follow, and
before they could make a circuit of the islands _L’Agile_ was out of
sight. When the cutter at length returned to Jamaica the admiral decided
to lay her up for a time, and the crew was broken up and retransferred to
the vessels to which they belonged.
Will was greeted with enthusiasm when he rejoined the _Hawke_.
“You certainly have singular luck, Gilmore,” said Latham, who was the
_Hawke’s_ master’s mate. “Here we have been cruising and cruising, till we
are sick of the sight of islands, without picking up a prize of
importance, while you have been your own master, and have made a fortune.
And now, just as there is a rumour that we are to go home you rejoin.”
A few weeks after this conversation the _Hawke_ received orders to sail
for Portsmouth, and after a long and wearisome voyage arrived home late in
the summer of the year 1793.