it unquestionably did, where were the pearls that had been extracted
from them? George glanced round the sombre interior, lighted by only
one open aperture guarded by a heavily framed shutter, and saw two large
boxes dimly revealed in one shadowy corner of the store. He strode
across to these, and, flinging them open, stood transfixed with
amazement; for one box--the larger of the two--was three-fourths full of
small pearls of the kind usually known as seed pearls, while the other
was nearly half full of lovely gems of the most exquisite satiny
whiteness, ranging in size from that of a small pea up to beauties as
big as the top of a man's thumb! What their value might be he had not
the vaguest idea, but there were hundreds of them; ay, possibly a
thousand or more, and he knew instinctively that if he never laid hands
upon another particle of booty, the contents of those two boxes would
pay the whole cost of the expedition and leave a very handsome margin
over for prize money. The boxes were iron-bound, and were furnished
with stout lids which were capable of being secured by means of strong
padlocks which hung in the hasps, with the keys still in them. So,
having satisfied his curiosity by closely examining a few of the finer
specimens, George closed and locked both boxes, slipped the keys into
his pocket, and then, going to the door, called to eight of his men,
and, indicating the boxes, instructed the seamen to carry them down to
the boats forthwith. Then, waiting until he had seen the task
accomplished, he walked to the church door, unlocked and threw it open,
and announced to the prisoners that they were now free to come forth and
proceed about their business, adding that if they would walk down to the
beach after he and his men were gone they would find their swords left
for them upon the sand. This done, he gave orders for the men to march
down to the boats, himself bringing up the rear.
As George quite expected, the cavalier in gorget and headpiece, who had
met the Englishmen upon their arrival, and who seemed to be the officer
in charge of the settlement, no sooner found himself free than he
proceeded straight to the big shed, entered it, and a moment later re-
appeared and came running after the retiring Englishmen.
"Senor," he cried, as soon as he arrived within speaking distance, "you
have taken our pearls, the proceeds of the entire fishing season up to
the present, and the loss of them will mean to me irreparable ruin. I
beg you to return them to me, senor, and in acknowledgment of your
courtesy I pledge you the honour of a Spanish gentleman that I will
remain silent as to your visit to this island. Otherwise I promise you
that I will immediately spread the news of your presence in these
waters, and of your atrocious act of piracy, throughout the length and
breadth of the Spanish Main, with the result that you will be hunted by
every Spanish ship of war in the Caribbean Sea, with consequences to
yourself and your piratical crew which I leave to your own imagination
to picture. Come, senor, I beg you to think better of this, and to
return the pearls to me. You will find it pay you far better in the
long run."
"Senor," retorted George, "if I understand you aright, you would buy
back your pearls at the expense of your own countrymen in the various
settlements scattered along the coast, by leaving them unwarned of my
presence in these seas, so that I may have the opportunity to fall upon
them unawares. If you are sincere in making this proposal, senor
cavalier, you are a traitor to your own countrymen; if not, you have it
in your mind to betray me and my crew. In either case your proposal
smacks of treachery, and I will have none of it. Now, mark you this,
senor. You are at perfect liberty to take whatever steps you please to
warn your countrymen of my presence in the region which Spain arrogantly
claims as exclusively her own. And you will be doing your compatriots a
service by acquainting them with the reason for my presence here.
"Last year Captain Hawkins, my countryman, had occasion to put into San
Juan de Ulua in distress. He entered into a solemn covenant and
agreement with Don Martin Enriquez, the new Viceroy of Mexico, whereby
the English were to be permitted to refit their ships in peace, without
let or hindrance from the Spaniards. Yet, despite this covenant, the
Spaniards most shamefully and treacherously attacked the English at the
very moment when they were least capable of defending themselves, with
the result that many of my countrymen were slain--_murdered_, senor, is
the right word--and many ethers taken prisoners, my brother, Mr Hubert
Saint Leger, among them. Now, my business here is to rescue that
gentleman, and to exact reparation for his imprisonment and such
hardships and suffering as he may have been called upon to endure in
consequence of the treachery of the Spaniards. My first act, in
pursuance of this policy, is the seizure of your pearls. If by any
chance you happen to know anything of my brother's whereabouts, you will
be rendering your countrymen a signal service by imparting such
information to me. For I intend to carry fire and sword throughout the
Main until I have found my brother and exacted reparation; and when I
have done that, my ravages will cease. If you can tell me where my
brother is to be found, I will proceed thither direct, and spare your
other towns. If not, I shall attack each as I come to it. Now, can you
tell me where I shall be most likely to find my brother?"
"No, senor Englishman, I cannot," answered the Spaniard; "nor would I if
I could. Your brother is no doubt long since dead, probably at the
hands of the Inquisition. It is into its hands that heretics generally
fall. Go your way, senor pirate, go your way to the fate that awaits
you, and do your worst. I look to have the pleasure of seeing you
publicly burnt alive in the square of one of our cities ere long." And
the Spaniard turned upon his heel and left George standing there, in a
tumult of feeling too complex for description. But he did not stand
long, for his men had continued on their way down to the boats, and were
now waiting for him to rejoin them, which he did without further waste
of time.
Upon the arrival of the boats alongside they were at once hoisted in,
after which the two chests of pearls were taken out of them and
carefully deposited below then the anchor was hove up to the bows, and
the _Nonsuch_ once more got under way. The distance from the island
which they had just left--and which they incontinently called "Pearl
Islet," but which they afterwards learned was named Coche Island--was
not far, being a mere matter of some seven miles and when they arrived
within a mile of the rock-studded coast the ship was kept away before
the wind, and Dyer ascended to the foretop, taking with him a
"perspective glass," or telescope, belonging to George, in order that he
might the better be able to find the harbour of which he was in search.
And after remaining there nearly an hour and a half he found what he
wanted, namely, a low point covered with coconut trees backed up with
thick palmetto scrub, with an opening to the westward of it beyond which
rose three peaks. This opening was the mouth of the harbour which he
was seeking, and a most unpromising-looking place it was, for there was
white water stretching apparently right across it, showing that the
approach to the harbour was guarded by a reef or bar of some sort. But
Dyer knew what he was about; he had already been in that harbour once,
and he was aware that somewhere in that barrier, if he could only find
it, there was a channel, narrow, it is true, but nevertheless wide
enough and deep enough to allow the passage of an even bigger ship than
the _Nonsuch_. And if he wished for confirmation of such knowledge,
there it was before his eyes, in the shape of the upper spars of a ship
showing above the top of the coco palms, the distance apart of the spars
indicating that the craft to which they belonged was at least as big as
the English ship, if not a trifle bigger.
It was not, however, until the _Nonsuch_ arrived immediately opposite
the opening that Dyer was able, with the assistance of the perspective
glass, to pick up the little narrow streak of unbroken water in the
midst of the flashing surf which marked the channel through the reef,
and from his lofty perch he immediately shouted down the necessary
orders to George, who stood aft upon the poop, and who in his turn
repeated them to the mariners, whereupon the ship was brought to the
wind and, under the pilot's directions, headed straight for the passage.
Then Dyer communicated the further information that there was a large
ship lying at anchor in the harbour; upon hearing which Saint Leger,
after demanding and receiving certain further information, gave orders
for the ordnance, great and small, to be loaded, and for the crew to arm
themselves and stand ready for any emergency.
The _Nonsuch_, when brought to the wind, was within two miles of the
shore; a quarter of an hour later, therefore, found her sliding in
through the short, narrow passage of clear water, with the surf pounding
and thundering and churning in great spaces of white froth on either
hand. Then, suddenly, the commotion receded on the quarters and the
adventurers found themselves in a gulf some eight miles long, running
due east and west, and so narrow that there was only barely width enough
in it for a ship of size like the _Nonsuch_ to turn to windward in it--
as she must do in order to reach the settlement, some three miles to the
eastward, off which the strange ship rode at anchor. The water inside
this gulf was almost glass-smooth, being to a considerable extent
sheltered from the trade-wind by the high land to the eastward, and
Dyer, still occupying his coign of vantage in the foretop, perceived to
his amazement, that while the spit on the south side of the gulf
gradually widened out as the land trended eastward, the island, at this
particular part of it, was so narrow that the gulf was only separated
from the sea to the northward by a spit so attenuated that he could see
the Caribbean across it less than three miles away. This narrow
northern spit was also quite low, fringed with coconut palms, and
covered with low, dense scrub, as was the southern spit for a distance
of some two miles, while the land to the east and west of the gulf rose
up in a series of lofty peaks, tree-crowned to their summits, the
vegetation seeming to consist mostly of ceibas, palms, bois immortelles,
bamboo, tree ferns, calabash trees, crimson-hued hibiscus, and other
tropical trees, gorgeous now with multi-coloured blossoms, the whole
presenting a most beautiful and delectable picture as it shimmered under
the rays of the mid-day sun.
But there was one part of the scene which was not quite so delectable,
and that was a spot some three miles up the gulf, where rode at anchor a
race-ship quite as large as, if not something larger than, the
_Nonsuch_. She was surrounded by boats, to the number of twenty or
more, into which she was discharging cargo which the boats were
conveying to the shore for disposal in certain sheds forming part of a
settlement at least four times as large as that on Coche Island. It was
a busy scene, some ninety or a hundred men being engaged upon the wharf
and about the warehouses, in addition to those in the boats and aboard
the ship. Moreover, the _Nonsuch_ was scarcely clear of the channel
through the reef, when the red and gold banner of Spain was hoisted upon
the flagstaff aboard the other ship, and on a flagstaff ashore, which
was of course a polite hint to the new arrival to display her colours in
turn. There was therefore very little prospect of the English being
able to effect anything in the nature of a surprise, unless they chose
to cloak their real character under a display of false colours, and this
young Saint Leger positively refused to do. Instead he ordered the
white flag bearing the crimson Cross of Saint George--which was at that
time the ensign of England--to be bent on to the ensign halliards, but
not to be hoisted until he gave the word, since there was no sense in
prematurely alarming the enemy if it could be avoided.
The enemy, however, in this case, promised to be less easily hoodwinked
than their compatriots over on Coche Island; at all events their
suspicions were more readily awakened, for when, after an interval of
about five minutes, the _Nonsuch_ still delayed to show her colours, the
race-ship fired an unshotted gun by way of calling attention to the
invitation implied in the display of her own colours and when this hint
also was ignored signs of intense activity began to immediately manifest
themselves aboard the ship and at the settlement, the boats alongside
the Spaniard hurriedly casting off and pulling for the wharf, while the
race-ship's rigging and yards suddenly grew thick and dark with men
hastening aloft to loose her canvas.
"The Don's goin' to get under way, Cap'n, I du believe," hailed Dyer
from the foretop where he was still perched. "Do 'e see his men
swarmin' aloft?"
"Ay, ay; I see them," answered George. "Well, let him come, if so be he
will. I would rather fight him here than where he is now, where he
could receive the support of his friends. Do you see any sign of
galleys anywhere about, Mr Dyer?" Dyer took a long, searching look
through his glass, and at length reported that nothing of the kind was
to be seen.
"Good!" returned George. "Then our first fight promises to be one of
fair play and no favour--that is to say, if the fellow means to fight
and not to attempt to slip away, which we must take care that he does
not do. Mr Dyer, you may come down as soon as the Spaniard is fairly
under way, for I shall want you to help me fight the ship. Now, men of
Devon," he continued, turning to the crew, who had of their own accord
and without waiting for orders gone to their stations, "we shall soon be
fighting our first fight. Show these haughty Spaniards what you can do,
in such fashion that the _Nonsuch_ shall soon become a name of fear
throughout the length and breadth of the Spanish Main. Stand to your
ordnance, lads; keep cool; and take good aim."
The _Nonsuch_ had tacked twice, working to windward up the narrow
channel, when Dyer shouted the news that the Spanish ship had apparently
slipped her cable, and was under way, running down toward them; and he
followed up the news by descending the fore-rigging and making his way
aft, where he stationed himself on the poop beside George, in readiness
to supervise the working of the ship while the latter fought her.
The two men had only time to exchange a few hurried words together when
the Spanish ship was seen to windward, coming down toward them under
full sail. And a gallant sight she looked, with her brightly-painted
hull, her big gilded figure-head and head rails flashing in the sun, her
mastheads and yard-arms bedizened with banner and pennons streaming in
the breeze, and her painted sails bellying and straining at yard and
stay with the warm breathing of the trade-wind. She was still some two
miles distant, and it would be at least ten minutes before she arrived
within gun-shot.
"Pilot," said George, turning to Dyer, after he had eyed the stranger
carefully, "let the mariners clew up and furl our topgallants. I
believe we can do without them, by the look of yonder ship, which seems
to be not nearly so fast as ourselves, and there will be the less tackle
for the men to handle when it comes to manoeuvring, and consequently the
more men free to fight."
The order was given; the men sprang to the topgallant halliards and
sheets, cast them off, manned the clewlines and buntlines, and clewed up
the topgallants. Then a dozen of them--six forward and six aft--leapt
into the rigging, clambered it with the alacrity of squirrels, neatly
furled the sails, and were on their way down again from aloft when the
first gun from the Spaniard boomed out across the still waters of the
channel, to be echoed a little later by the distant hills. The shot
flew wide, striking the water nearly a hundred fathoms away on the
_Nonsuch's_ lee bow.
"_Now_," cried George, turning to a man who had for some time been
standing by the ensign staff, "you may hoist away and let the Dons see
with whom they are about to fight." And in obedience to his command the
glorious Red Cross on its white field floated out over the taffrail and
went soaring majestically to the head of the staff, to be greeted with
cheer after cheer by the crew.
The _Nonsuch_ was now on the starboard tack, heading to the northward,
and it looked as though the Spaniard meditated crossing her stern and
raking her at close quarters as she crossed. To counter this manoeuvre,
therefore, Dyer gave the order "Ready about!" and as the sail-trimmers
sprang to their stations, George shouted an order to the gunners of the
starboard battery to be ready to fire at the word of command. The men
accordingly blew their smouldering matches vigorously, again looked to
the priming of their ordnance, and held themselves ready to discharge at
the word. Up swept the _Nonsuch_ into the wind, with all her sails
ashiver in the brisk breeze, and, watching carefully, George gave the
order to fire at the exact moment when the Spanish ship was square
abeam. The Spaniard discharged her broadside at the same instant, and
immediately succeeding the thunder of the two broadsides those on board
the _Nonsuch_ heard the distant thud of their pounding shot and the
crackling crash of splintering spars; and, looking eagerly in the
direction of the Spanish ship, they saw that they had shot away her
foremast and bowsprit, both of which were in the very act of falling.
So they raised three joyous cheers and fell to loading their pieces
again, while their comrades, who had not yet fired, looked to see where
the Spanish shot had gone. But, with the exception of two holes in the
_Nonsuch's_ mainsail, and a severed brace dangling from the fore-topsail
yardarm, no damage was discoverable, whereat they cheered again.
The Spanish ship continued to forge ahead on her original course for a
distance of a few fathoms, and then the wreck of her foremast and
bowsprit, towing alongside and still attached to her hull by the
standing and running rigging, dragged her head round to starboard,
whereupon she instantly broached to. Meanwhile the _Nonsuch_, having
stayed, was paying off on the larboard tack, the relative positions of
the two ships being such that a collision seemed imminent. George saw
that the situation was such as to demand instant decision, and he
immediately made up his mind what to do.
"Keep her away, Mr Dyer," he commanded, "and run alongside the enemy to
leeward. Keep your head sail aback to deaden our way, or we shall never
get the grapnels to hold. Stand by there to larboard to heave your
grappling irons. Archers and musketeers, discharge me a volley upon the
decks of yonder ship; and, gunners of the larboard battery, be ready to
fire a broadside of ordnance, great and small, into her at the moment
when you feel us touch. Then, boarders, be ready to follow me." And he
drew his sword.
The next moment a shower of arrows and musket balls swept the decks of
the stranger with devastating effect, as might be gathered from the
chorus of shrieks and yells of anguish that arose from the deck of the
Spaniard. An answering volley was instantly returned by the enemy, but
it was wild, straggling, and feeble, bearing eloquent testimony to the
state of confusion that already prevailed on board her, and which did
little harm; and this state of confusion was further demonstrated by the
sight of an officer on her poop waving his sword violently and shouting
orders to which nobody seemed to pay the slightest attention. A minute
later the hulls of the two ships crashed together, the grappling irons
were thrown at the precise instant that the _Nonsuch_ poured a
destructive broadside into her antagonist, and before the ships had time
to recoil from the impact, George, at the head of some fifty boarders,
leapt from the one ship to the other, and the party proceeded to lay
about them with sword, pike, and musket butt with such fell
determination that after a few seconds' resistance on the part of the
Spaniards the latter flung down their weapons and called for quarter.
George turned to the officer, who had now descended from the poop to the
main deck and was valiantly fighting, single-handed, with his back to
the front of the poop cabins, and cried to him:
"Do you surrender, senor?"
"I will, if you will promise me good _guerra_, senor," replied the
Spaniard, dexterously parrying the thrust of a pikeman and running his
antagonist neatly through the shoulder.
"Then stop, men; hold your hands, and leave this cavalier to me," cried
George, dashing in and striking up the points of the English weapons
that still threatened the Spaniard. Then, as the men drew sullenly and
unwillingly back, the young captain advanced, with lowered point, and
his left hand held out. "Your sword, senor," he demanded. "On the word
of an Englishman, I promise you _buena guerra_."
Whereupon the Don, taking his sword by the point, tendered it, hilt
first, with a bow, to George, who tucked it under his left arm, bowing
in turn as he received it. And so the _Santa Maria_, fifty tons bigger
than the _Nonsuch_, and carrying even more guns, with a crew which, at
the beginning of the action, had numbered one hundred and thirty, became
the first prize of George's prowess and that of the Devon mastiffs.
CHAPTER SIX.
HOW THEY CAME TO A DESERT ISLAND AND BURIED THEIR TREASURE.
The ships being still held fast together by the chains of the grappling
irons, and driving slowly down the channel before the wind, George first
ordered the _Nonsuch_ to be brought to an anchor; and when this was done
he further instructed Dyer to take steps for the effectual securing of
the unwounded prisoners, and the tending of the wounded on both sides.
Then, inviting the officer who had surrendered to him--and whom he
rightly assumed to be the captain of the prize--to accompany him into
the state cabin of the captured ship, he formally introduced himself as
Senor Don George Saint Leger, an Englishman, and captain of the ship
_Nonsuch_; the stranger returning the compliment by explaining that he
was Senor Don Pasquale Alfonso Maria Francisco of Albuquerque, a servant
of his Most Catholic Majesty, Philip of Spain, and commander of the ship
_Santa Maria_, dispatched from Cadiz by his Majesty to convey munitions
of various descriptions to his Majesty's possessions in the Western
Indies. And when requested to specify more particularly of what those
munitions consisted, Don Pasquale, etcetera, etcetera, mentioned wines,
cloths, silk, and brocades of various descriptions, salt, leather,
articles of furniture, arms and ammunition, and--he hesitated, whereupon
George gently invited him to complete his enumeration.
"Before I do so, senor," remarked Don Pasquale, "I should like to ask
what you intend to do with my ship, now that you have captured her."