As I was in such a ferment of spirit for all this time, and so fearful
of an attack from the pirate craft, having continually in my mind not
only the treasure, but also the helpless women intrusted to my keeping,
it might occur to the reader to ask why I did not send both it and them
to such a place of safety upon the land as the king's town offered to
English people beset as we were. I may now say that I had considered it,
and had perceived that more than one difficulty lay in the way. In the
first place, I could not send the ship's boat to the king's town,
because that in passing the cape to the northward they would come within
a mile or less of the pirate craft, from which they might not hope to
escape without molestation. Secondly, I could not send them across the
country, because it would require not only an escort such as could be
ill spared at this juncture, but also an efficient leader, who might be
spared even less readily. Besides this, I could not tell what dangers
such a party might encounter, not only from natives, of whose
disposition I knew nothing, but also from wild beasts, which we could
hear distinctly every night, howling in the jungles in a most
melancholy, dreadful manner.
Thirdly and lastly, I did not believe the pirates would stay long where
they were, as I had often heard of the cowardly disposition of these
bloody wretches; wherefore I hoped that, seeing how well we were posted
to guard ourselves against an attack from them, they might take
themselves away upon the first occasion, which they could not now do
because of the calm weather. I furthermore argued that in any event,
should occasion render it necessary, I could easily disembark my
passengers with but little loss of time, and as easily and safely then
as now.
Such had been the nature of my thoughts whenever I had directed them
upon the melancholy and gloomy state of our affairs. Yet had the most
sinister forebodings which I had entertained at those times been
fulfilled, our misfortunes could not have equalled those which in truth
fell upon us, the history of which I have immediately to tell.
Captain Leach's trip in search of a new berth had been undertaken so
early in the morning that it was not yet noon when he had returned. Some
little time after that, I being in my own cabin at the time, there came
of a sudden a sound that was, as it were, the first muttering of the
storm that was so soon to fall upon us. It was the dull and heavy boom
of a single cannon, sounding from a great way off, and which I instantly
knew had been fired aboard of the pirate craft. I went straight upon
the deck, where I found the weather still as dead a calm as it had been
the two days before, with not so much as a breath of air stirring or a
cat's-paw upon the water. The ground-swell rose and fell as smoothly as
though the sea ran with oil instead of water, and the sky above had an
appearance as of a solid sheet of steel-blue, with not so much as one
single cloud upon the whole face of it. But the first thing that I
beheld was the pirate craft, and that they were hoisting sail as though
they perceived a breeze coming, of which we saw nothing. Across her port
bow the smoke of her gun still hung like a round white cloud just above
the glassy surface of the sea.
"Sure she means to quit us, Mr. Langely," said I; but Mr. Langely never
answered, for just as he opened his lips to speak, the lookout roared,
"Sail ho!"
"Where away?" sang out Mr. White, who was officer of the deck at that
time. But before the word reached us I myself, and I suspect most of
the others, had sighted the craft away to the southward, coming up under
full sail, and with a breeze of which we could see nothing.
She was at that time some six or seven miles distant, and just emerging
from behind a raised thicket of scrub bushes that lay betwixt her and
the _Cassandra_, and which had hidden her until now.
The strange craft was a large sloop, of such an appearance that even had
not the pirate fired that which was no doubt a signal-gun, methinks I
should have entertained the most sinister and gloomy forebodings
concerning her nature and her character.
"What do you think of her, Mr. Langely?" said I, after watching her for
some time in silence.
"It is the pirate's consort, sir," said he, very seriously.
"I do believe you are right," said I, "and that is why she has been
waiting for all these days, keeping us bottled up so that we could not
have got away even if we had had a breeze."
I did not tell Mr. Langely all that was upon my mind; nevertheless, I
could not but regard our present position as one of the most extreme
peril. For if one pirate craft, with its crew of blood-thirsty wretches,
was a match for us sufficient to hold us where we now were, what harm
might not two of them accomplish should they attack us peaceful
merchantmen, unused as we were to the arts of war, in this narrow
harbor, where we might hope neither to manoeuvre nor to escape.
We were already cleared for action, having had full time to prepare
ourselves since danger had first threatened us; accordingly, leaving Mr.
Langely to supervise such few details as might still remain to demand
attention, I had my gig lowered, and went aboard of the _Greenwich_ to
consult with Captain Kirby as to means of defending ourselves against
this new and additional danger that threatened our existence.
The Ostend captain was there when I came aboard, and I fancied, though I
then knew not why, that he and Captain Kirby looked at one another in a
very strange and peculiar manner when I entered the cabin. Besides that,
I noticed little or no preparation for action had been made.
"We'll stand by you," says Captain Kirby; "in course we'll stand by you,
though you must know it is each one for himself, and devil take the
hindmost, at such times as these."
I was mightily amazed and taken aback at this speech. "And why do you
talk so about standing by me, Captain Kirby?" said I. "Is it not, then,
that we stand by one another? Is my craft in greater peril than yours,
or am I to be given up as a sacrifice to these wicked and bloody
wretches?"
I thought he seemed vastly disturbed at this speech. "In course," says
he, "we'll stand by one another. All the same, each must look out for
himself."
I regarded Captain Kirby for a while without speaking, and he seemed
more than ever troubled at my gaze.
"Sir! sir!" I cried, "I must tell you that I do not understand this
matter. Do you not mean to make a fight of it?"
At this he flew into a mighty fume. "How!" says he; "do you mean to
question my courage? Do you call me a coward?"
"No, sir," says I, "I call you nothing; only I did not understand your
speech. Sure, sir, you cannot but remember that I have three helpless
women aboard my ship, and that it behooves you as a man and an
Englishman to stand by me in this time of peril."
So saying, I left the cabin and the ship, but with the weight of trouble
that lay upon my mind anything but lightened, for I could not
understand why, we all being in this peril together, neither he nor the
Ostend captain had spoken a single word concerning our defence.
However, I yet retained the hope that the pirates would not venture into
our harbor, seeing that we were three to two, and lying in a chosen
position whence we might hope to defend ourselves for a long time, and
to their undoing.
Upon my return I found my passengers all in the great cabin, and in a
very serious mood, having heard some rumor as to the danger that
threatened. I stood for a while as though not knowing what to say, but
at last I made shift to tell them how matters stood, and in what danger
we were like to be, though I smoothed everything over as much as lay in
my power. I think that our peril had been pretty well discussed amongst
them before I confirmed it with that which I said. Nevertheless, I am
amazed even now at the coolness with which all hands regarded it.
Mistress Pamela, I recollect, laid her hand lightly upon my arm.
"Whatever our danger may be," she cried, "this we all know, that we
could confide our safety to no truer sailor nor more gallant man than he
who commands this ship." This she said before them all who were there
standing.
In my cabin I summoned Mr. Langely and Mr. White (my second mate) to a
serious consultation, which was the last we were to hold before that
great and bloody battle concerning which so much hath been writ and
spoken of late. When we had finished our councils we came upon deck
again, and found that the sloop was rather less than a mile distant from
the other craft, and in a little while she hove to nigh to the barque,
and let go her anchor with a splash and rattle of the cable which we
could hear distinctly whence we lay.
For half an hour Mr. Langely and I stood upon the poop-deck watching
the two crafts by aid of the telescope, and what we saw in that time
foreboded to my mind no good to ourselves.
First we beheld a boat pass from the barque to the sloop, and in which
was one evidently of great consequence amongst the pirates, for by aid
of the glass we could distinguish that his apparel was better than the
others, and also that he wore what appeared to be a crimson scarf tied
about his body.
He remained aboard the sloop for maybe the space of ten minutes, at the
end of which time he returned again to the barque, where they
immediately began lowering away the boats. Four of these boats were
filled with men who were all transported to the sloop, up the side of
which we soon saw them swarm to the number of fifty or more.
Whilst these things had been going forward, Mr. Langely and I had been
standing in silence, but now my first mate turned to me, "Sir," said
he, "methinks that they mean to attack us."