land was sighted ahead, and Dyer, having hurried aloft and carefully
studied the features of the coast stretching athwart the ship's bows, at
length announced with great satisfaction that Nombre de Dios lay
straight ahead. Then George and he retired to the main cabin, where, in
conjunction with the other responsible officers of the ship, they held a
council, at which it was ultimately determined to take the ship into a
small creek, some twenty miles to the eastward, which Drake had
discovered when in those waters the year previously; there make all
preparations for a boat attack upon the town during the night of the
following day, capture Nombre, and then propose, as ransom, the
surrender of Hubert Saint Leger, and any other Englishmen that might be
in the hands of the Spaniards. The project was a sufficiently daring
one, for Nombre de Dios had at that time the reputation of being the
Treasure-house of the World, since to it was brought across the isthmus,
from Panama, all the treasure of Peru, for shipment to Spain, therefore
it would almost certainly be well guarded by soldiers. On the other
hand, however, probabilities favoured the assumption--which, as we have
already seen, was correct--that the plate ships would by this time have
sailed from Nombre on their homeward voyage, in which case, since there
would be no treasure to guard, the vigilance of the authorities might be
somewhat relaxed, and a surprise might reasonably be expected to result
in success. Also it was hoped that from the creek which the adventurers
proposed to enter, the party might be able to get into touch with the
terrible tribe of Cimarrones--or Maroons, as the English called them.
This tribe originated in a number of African negroes who, some eighty
years previously, had escaped from their Spanish masters and taken to
the "high woods," or virgin forest, where, having taken to themselves
wives from among the neighbouring Indians, they had in process of time
grown into a formidable tribe, having one mission in life, and one only,
namely, to harry the Spanish settlements generally, and to destroy, with
every circumstance of the most refined and diabolical cruelty, every
Spanish man, woman, or child who might be so unfortunate as to fall into
their hands. Dyer knew something of these terrible blacks, having
already met them in Drake's company; he knew that they were ever to be
found lurking in the immediate vicinity of the half-dozen or so Spanish
settlements established on the isthmus, and believed that it might be
possible to obtain valuable information from them concerning the
condition of Nombre, and perhaps even to secure their assistance in the
contemplated attack upon the town. But when he suggested this last
proposal, George and the others at once vetoed it from motives of policy
and humanity, arguing that if the Cimarrones were permitted to gain
access to the interior of the town, there was no knowing what barbarous
excesses they might indulge in, which would necessitate the English
making common cause with the Spaniards to protect the latter, and so
convert the friendly feeling of the Cimarrones for the English into
deadly enmity, which was a consummation to be carefully avoided.
The creek which Dyer proposed to enter proved to be so small, when at
length the _Nonsuch_ arrived in it, that, anchored as nearly as might be
in its centre, there was only barely enough room to allow the vessel to
swing clear of the banks when riding to a very short scope of cable. It
was so late when the adventurers arrived in this miniature harbour that
the fast-fading light showed but little of the surroundings save the
fact that the place was completely land-locked, and was so hemmed-in on
all sides by lofty trees of the virgin forest that, even moored as she
was to a single anchor and a short scope of cable, the ship might ride
there safely in practically all weathers, while the lofty trees
effectually screened her presence both seaward and landward. The canvas
was hastily furled, and then the crew went below to supper, with the
understanding that after supper they would be permitted to turn in and
take a long night's rest. But they were warned that, secluded and cut
off as the place appeared to be, it was not without its dangers, and
they must hold themselves prepared to turn out and fight for their lives
at a moment's notice, while a strong and alert anchor watch must be
maintained all through the night.
Not that there was much danger of an attack from the Spaniards, for
close as the creek was to the port and town of Nombre, it was still
sufficiently distant to render observation of the presence of the
English ship more than doubtful. No, it was of the Cimarrones that Dyer
was apprehensive, for if by any chance the presence of the ship in the
creek should be prematurely discovered by these, an attack by them upon
her would be more than likely to follow. For so deadly was the hatred
borne by these savages for the Spaniards that, to find a few of the
latter isolated and apparently at their mercy was quite sufficient
inducement to the former to attack them. And so ignorant were the
Cimarrones that they could scarcely discriminate between an Englishman
and a Spaniard, and were equally ready to attack either--both being
white--on the general principle that it was better that the innocent
should suffer than that the guilty should escape. Yet Drake had already
proved that they bore no hatred to white men, as such, for he had been
in touch with them during the previous year, and had found them quite
disposed to be friendly when once it had been satisfactorily
demonstrated that the English were not Spaniards and were, like
themselves, the enemies of the Dons. The great thing, of course, was to
get into touch with the savages and to establish friendly relations with
them before they should find and attack the English.
A sharp look-out was therefore maintained on board the _Nonsuch_
throughout the hours of darkness, but the night passed uneventfully,
except for the frequent recurrence of certain mysterious sounds
emanating from the woods, which Dyer privately informed George were
produced by monkeys or a prowling jaguar, and which, innocent enough in
themselves, were yet sufficiently uncommon to keep the watch broad awake
and on the alert; and at length the dawn of a new day came stealing to
them over the tree-tops, and, with it, the dissipation of their
apprehensions.
As soon as it was light enough to see, the crew, refreshed by a whole
night's rest, went to breakfast; immediately after which they turned to,
under the supervision of Basset and the boatswain, to make every
necessary preparation for the boat attack upon Nombre de Dios, while
George and Dyer, armed to the teeth, were put ashore and went in quest
of the Cimarrones.
The young captain caused himself and the pilot to be landed upon the
western extremity of the small sandy beach which, fringed with coconut
palms, half encircled the creek, and bidding their small boat's crew
push off a spear's cast from the shore and there hold themselves in
readiness to dash in to the rescue, if necessary, upon hearing the blast
of the captain's whistle, proceeded to walk slowly round the cove,
carefully examining the surface of the sand, as they went, in quest of
footprints to serve as a guide, while Dyer at frequent intervals raised
his hands trumpet-wise to his mouth and gave utterance to a peculiar,
penetrating wailing cry which the pilot asserted was a call used by the
Cimarrones to summon their comrades.
When they had traversed about two-thirds of the length of the beach
certain marks were discovered in the fine, yielding sand, which, they
decided, were prints of naked feet, several days old, and, carefully
following these, they at length discovered a narrow but tolerably well
defined footpath leading from the shore into the heart of the high
woods. This they at once proceeded to follow, George leading the way
with his drawn sword in his right hand and a musket in his left, while
Dyer, close behind him, assiduously repeated his mysterious call at
frequent intervals.
At a distance of but a few yards from the beach the sombre shadow of the
woods was so deep that the explorers at first found it exceedingly
difficult to trace the footpath in the subdued light, but in the course
of a few minutes their eyes grew accustomed to the gloom and they were
able to perceive something of their more immediate surroundings. They
found themselves hemmed-in on every hand by giant tree trunks, dimly
revealed in the green twilight which penetrated with difficulty the vast
overarching masses of foliage, the space between the enormous trunks
being choked with undergrowth of a thousand varied forms, conspicuous
among which were immense ferns towering high above their heads, while
above these, and drooping in many cases right down to the ground, was an
inextricable maze and tangle of lianas, or "monkey rope," intertwined
with which were countless festoons of flowering creepers, the mingled
perfumes of which were almost overpowering in their pungency. Long
pliant twigs thickly studded with needle-sharp thorns constantly
protruded across the path, menacing their faces and tenaciously
grappling their clothing, so that they had to halt at almost every other
step to free themselves; and frequent quick rustlings among the long
tangled herbage underfoot warned them of the presence of many hidden
creeping things, some at least of which, as Dyer grimly suggested, were
certain to be snakes or some other kind of venomous creature. The truth
of this was very soon afterward rather unpleasantly demonstrated, for as
George was battling with an exceptionally thick tangle of thorns which
obstructed his way, he suddenly felt beneath his right foot a thick,
cable-like something that yielded and squirmed beneath his tread, and
like a flash there came a fierce hiss instantly followed by a sharp blow
upon his boot. He at once realised that it was a snake upon which he
was treading, and had enough presence of mind to throw his whole, weight
upon his right foot, thus pinning the reptile firmly to the ground. The
blows upon his boot were repeated some half a dozen times before he was
able to clear away the herbage about his feet, when he found that he was
standing upon the body of a most ugly and repulsive-looking snake about
five feet long, thick in the body, blunt tailed, of a dark olive green
colour, variegated with irregular blotches of darker tint, and having
the broad, flat, heart-shaped head that marked it as a venomous species.
It was striking fiercely but rather ineffectually, because of its
constrained position, at his boot, while its tail part was coiled
tightly about his boot leg. A quick and lucky stroke of his sharp
sword-blade whipped off the cruel head, and then, stooping down, George
saw that his boot had been several times partially punctured by the long
poison fangs. Fortunately for him he had, at Dyer's suggestion, donned
a pair of long sea boots of thick leather which had become hardened by
frequent washings of salt water, and thus the fangs had failed to
penetrate, to which fact he undoubtedly owed his life.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
HOW THE ENGLISHMEN TOOK NOMBRE DE DIOS.
For fully two miles the adventurers pursued their devious course through
the tropical forest, sometimes groping their way cautiously through the
deep green twilight, and anon almost blinded by a sudden glare of
dazzling sunshine, as they emerged into an open space caused either by
fire or a windfall, and all the time Dyer kept up the curious cry, at
frequent intervals, which was the call of the Cimarrones. And all the
time, too, they were accompanied by a constantly increasing company of
monkeys of various kinds who, led no doubt by curiosity, went swinging
and springing from branch to branch beside and above the pathway,
exchanging strange cries which, Dyer averred, were remarks upon the
personal appearance of the strangers, uttered in monkey language!
Nor were monkeys and snakes the only inmates of the forest, for they had
scarcely progressed a quarter of a mile beyond the spot where the snake
had been encountered when a great creature like a long-legged cat, but
standing over thirty inches high at the shoulder, suddenly emerged from
the tangled underwood and halted abruptly, staring at the approaching
strangers for a few seconds before, with an angry snarl, it bounded out
of sight down the path. It was not easy to detect its colour and
markings in that dim light, but its shape stood out clear and sharply
denned against the brilliant sunlight streaming down into a windfall
just beyond, and Dyer pronounced it to be a jaguar. Then, a little
farther on, they had just sighted the glint of water between the trees
some distance away on their left front, when a heavy crashing was
suddenly heard among the underbush, and a moment later a creature about
the size of a half-grown calf was glimpsed trotting heavily towards the
water. As in the case of the jaguar, its colour could not be
distinguished, but its shape was very remarkable. Dyer compared it to a
pig with exceptionally thick legs and a peculiar, elongated snout; and
that was about as near as he could reasonably be expected to get to it.
It subsequently became known to natural historians as the tapir.
It was about a quarter of an hour afterwards that an answering cry to
Dyer's signal shout was first heard, and some five minutes later, as the
two Englishmen emerged from the gloom of the forest and entered a
natural clearing of about fifteen acres in extent, they were suddenly
confronted by six big, stalwart blacks, who barred their further
progress with threatening spears of most formidable appearance. These
men seemed to be a cross between the African negro and the Indian of
Central America, for they were somewhat lighter of colour and slighter
of build than the negro, while their black hair hung down to their
shoulders in crisp curls. They were naked, save for a skin apron girt
about their loins; and by way of ornament they wore necklaces composed
of the teeth and claws of animals and the beaks of birds strung upon
thin strips of hide. They also all wore bits of bone thrust through the
lobes of their ears.
The individual who appeared to be the leader of the party addressed the
two white men in a somewhat thick, throaty tone of voice, but in
language of which the Englishmen were quite ignorant, the only thing
that was at all clear being that it was a question of some sort that he
was propounding.
"Speak you to un, cap'n," said Dyer. "I don't understand their lingo,
but I think most of 'em understands Spanish. Cap'n Drake could always
make hisself understood."
The six blacks gazed intently at Dyer as he spoke, apparently striving
to gather some conception of the meaning of his words, and George
noticed that at the mention of Drake's name they all started, while two
or three of them murmured to each other, "Drake--Drake--_El Draque_?"
questioningly. He at once jumped to the conclusion that Drake's name
was familiar to them, and promptly acted upon the assumption.
"Yes," he said in Spanish, "we are friends of _El Draque_. Do you
remember him?"
"_Si, senor_," answered the leader of the party eagerly, also in a
mongrel kind of Spanish which George was able to comprehend without very
much difficulty. "Yes, we remember _El Draque_, the great white chief
and the enemy of our enemy the Spaniard. Is he here again?"
"No," answered George, "I regret to say that he is not; the Great White
Queen needed his services, so he could not come. But I have come in his
stead to punish the Spaniards for their treachery to him last year, and
I want some information concerning Nombre de Dios. Can you give it me?
You are Cimarrones, are you not?"
"_Si, senor, si_," answered the black; "we are Cimarrones; and perhaps
our chief may be able to tell you what you wish to know about Nombre.
Will you come to our village? It lies yonder."
And, indeed, in the far corner of the clearing George could now
distinguish a small village consisting of about thirty low huts huddled
together in the bordering shadow of the next belt of high timber. The
path from the wood zigzagged across the clearing, winding here to avoid
an enormous stump, and there to pass round a fallen tree--for the
Cimarrones were far too lazy to attempt what they regarded as the
unnecessary labour of clearing away obstacles--but trending generally
toward the conglomeration of huts in the far corner of the clearing.
The village of Lukabela--so named after its chief--did not favourably
impress George Saint Leger, when the little party presently reached it.
It was the young Englishman's first introduction to actual savagedom,
and the filthy condition of the huts and their surroundings, the lean
and hungry look of the pack of snarling village dogs which rushed out to
meet them, red-eyed with semi-starvation and ferocity, and with bared
fangs, ferocious as wild beasts and only restrained from attack by the
presence of the native escort, and the overpowering reek of many mingled
forms of dirt and decay which pervaded the place, were in the last
degree repulsive to the somewhat fastidious young man. But this was
only a first impression, and it quickly yielded to one of admiration
when, as the villagers poured out of their huts to learn the cause of
the unwonted excitement of their dogs, George noted with appreciative
eyes the splendid physique of the men and women who constituted its
inhabitants. They were of mixed breed, ranging from the robust, full-
blooded African negro to the slimmer and slighter figure of the Central
American Indian with long, straight, black hair and copper-coloured
skin. But these were the extreme types; the majority were a mixture of
the two races, and the mingling of African and American blood appeared
to have had a beneficent effect upon both, the product being an
individual of less bulky frame perhaps than his negro progenitor, but
lithe, active, supple, and apparently of tireless endurance, superior in
intelligence, courage, and good looks to either of the extremes.
The appearance of the two white men, escorted by half a dozen of their
own tribe, but apparently not as prisoners, was productive of tremendous
excitement among the villagers, to whom such an occurrence was almost
unique, for they had only known it to occur once before; but the
excitement soon became passive when the leader of the party who had
found George and Dyer explained in a few words that the strangers were
Englishmen and friends of _El Draque_, and that they had landed from a
big canoe, in which they had crossed the Great Water, in order to obtain
certain information concerning the city of Nombre.
The tale was scarcely told when there emerged from a hut somewhat larger
than the others an individual who, in addition to the apron round his
loins, wore a cloak composed entirely of feathers of the most varied and
beautiful colours, worked into a sort of pattern, and a coronet made of
wing and tail feathers bound about his brows. This was of course
Lukabela, the village chieftain, and as George beheld the man coming
forward attired in all his finery, he more than suspected that Lukabela
had purposely delayed his appearance in order to gain time for the
assumption of those symbols of his rank.
Lukabela, petty chieftain of the Cimarrones, was certainly a very fine
and imposing figure of a man, as tall as George, with a body and limbs
that might have been modelled by a Greek sculptor, and a rather small
head. His features were well shaped, his expression keenly intelligent,
indomitably resolute, fearless, and somewhat haughty, and there was a
certain hardness about the chiselling of his mouth that suggested
cruelty. But he listened gravely, yet with a certain restraint, as
George explained to him in Spanish the object of his and Dyer's inland
journey; and when, in the course of his explanation, George mentioned
that _El Draque_ was a personal friend of his, Lukabela's reserve
vanished, and he cordially invited the two Englishmen to enter his hut
and partake of his hospitality. George would fain have declined that
invitation; but he perceived that the moment was one when squeamishness
must yield to diplomacy; and, bowing gravely, he accepted the
invitation, and the two white men followed the black into the interior
of his hut.
The refreshment offered to the Englishmen was not of a very inviting
character, for it consisted chiefly of raw flesh--of what particular
animal it was difficult to say, but it was, luckily, supplemented by a
quantity of delicious fruit of different kinds, with a drink of pungent,
and slightly subacid flavour, inviting to the palate and wonderfully
refreshing in effect, so that, after all, George and Dyer were able to
do full justice to their host's hospitality. At the conclusion of the
meal Lukabela produced a bag of deerskin, from which he extracted some
dry leaves of a rich brown colour, out of which he deftly manufactured
three _cigarros_, and for the first time in his life George had an
opportunity to sample the delights of the curious herb now called
tobacco. Truth to tell, he did not altogether like the experience; the
smoke had a tendency to get into his throat and nostrils, choking him
and making him sneeze violently; but Dyer, who had sampled the weed on
his previous voyage, and liked it, smoked his _cigarros_ as avidly as
Lukabela himself; and after the tobacco had been solemnly consumed the
chief, who was now in a very placid humour, confessed himself ready to
talk and eager to afford his white brothers all the information and help
in his power.
It was not help, however, that George wanted just then, as he explained
with all the diplomacy he was able to summon to his aid; he informed
Lukabela that all he required at that moment was the fullest information
possible relative to the defences of Nombre de Dios and the strength of
its garrison; and this the Cimarrone was fortunately able to give, for
it chanced that he had been in the immediate neighbourhood of the town
only a week or two before, and, from a hiding-place beside the road, had
actually beheld some five hundred soldiers march out _en route_ for
Panama, to which place they were returning after having escorted the
last gold-train of the year across the isthmus and guarded it in Nombre
until it had been shipped and carried safely out to sea. The garrison
remaining to guard the town he estimated at less than two hundred,
inclusive of the artillerymen who manned the shore battery. Asked what
he could tell relative to this same shore battery, Lukabela sketched
upon the floor of his hut, with the aid of a charred stick, a rough plan
of the town and harbour, upon which he indicated the situation of the
battery, giving also the number of guns which it mounted. This
completed the measure of the information which he was in a position to
furnish, but he added that if any further intelligence was required his
English brothers had only to specify it, and he would see that it was at
their disposal within four days. Time, however, was now of the utmost
value to George; he was burning with impatience to get into the town and
ascertain, if he might, his brother's fate, and he believed he had now
acquired enough knowledge to enable him to accomplish at least the first
of those two objects; he therefore rose to bid the chief farewell, at
the same time presenting him with a necklace of big, vari-coloured beads
which Lukabela accepted with obvious yet dignified delight. Then he
called a man to whom he spoke for a few moments in the peculiar language
of the tribe, afterward explaining to George, in Spanish, that he had
given instructions that they were to be guided back to the creek by an
easier and more direct route than that by which they had come. He also
added that if at any future time George should need the assistance of
the Cimarrones all that he had to do was to either come or send and ask
for it, and it should be his.
The preparations for the descent upon Nombre were all completed in good
time before sunset, after which the crew were sent to early supper, and
then directed to turn in and secure a few hours' rest before making the
start, and this they all did with the exception of the dozen who, under
the purser, were to remain and take care of the ship during the absence
of the rest, and these kept watch while the others slept.
The night proved admirably adapted for such an expedition as the one
contemplated; it was fine, and starlit except when masses of cloud came
driving slowly up before the trade-wind and obscured the heavens for a
space; although even then the stars in the unclouded portions of the
firmament afforded a sufficient amount of light to enable the
adventurers to see where they were going, and to distinguish the half-
dozen boats that constituted the flotilla. The trade-wind in the offing
was blowing a moderate breeze, and there was a young moon, but it would
set early, some two hours indeed before the moment at which the
expedition was timed to start. George and his officers had fixed upon
two o'clock in the morning as the most suitable time for the attack upon
the town, and it was estimated that the run from the creek to Nombre,
under sail, would occupy about four hours; but in order to allow a small
margin for unforeseen contingencies it was arranged that the start
should be made at half-past nine o'clock in the evening; at nine
o'clock, therefore, all hands were called, and after partaking of a good
second supper which they found awaiting them, they were finally
inspected and ordered down into the boats, which pushed off from the
ship punctually at the moment arranged.
The creek in which the _Nonsuch_ rode concealed was so completely land-
locked that not a breath of air stirred within it as the boats left the
ship's side, the surface of the water was mirror-like in its absolute
placidity, and it was only when the men began to descend into the boats,
rocking them more or less as they entered them, and so sent a few
ripples undulating away across the glassy surface, or when some fish
stirred in the depths below, that the phosphorescence latent in the
black water awakened and sent forth little threads and evanescent gleams
of sea-fire. The complete absence of wind in the creek rendered it
necessary that the men should take to their oars when getting under way,
and then, indeed, as the blades dipped and rose, the placid surface
broke into swirling patches and streaks of brilliant light that enabled
the ship-keepers to watch their comrades' progress, and trace it until
the boats rounded the point and disappeared.