Upon arriving abreast the beach, which we were obliged to hug pretty
closely in consequence of the contracted width of the channel and the
fact that the deepest water lay close to it, we found it occupied by
fully five hundred naked blacks, all of whom appeared to be profoundly
excited, for they yelled continuously at the top of their voices and
fiercely brandished their weapons. They appeared to be acting under the
leadership of a very tall and immensely powerful man who wore a
leopard-skin cloak upon his shoulders, and a head-dress of
brilliantly-coloured feathers. He was armed with _two_ muskets, and had
a ship's cutlass girt about his waist. A white man--or a half-caste, it
was difficult to tell which at that distance, so deeply bronzed was he--
accompanied him; a man attired in a suit of white drill topped off with
a broad-brimmed Panama hat wrapped round with a white puggaree; and it
appeared that all the excitement and animosity manifested by the blacks
at our approach was instigated by him, for we saw him speaking earnestly
to the apparent leader of the blacks, gesticulating violently in our
direction as he did so, while the savage now and then turned to his
followers and addressed a few sentences to them which seemed to arouse
them to a higher pitch of frenzy than ever.
Beyond the sand beach a wide open space extended that had evidently at
one time been carpeted with grass, for small tufts and patches of it
still remained here and there, but for the most part the rich, deep
chocolate-coloured earth was worn bare by the trampling of many feet.
This open space was occupied by a native village of considerable
dimensions, the houses--or huts, rather--being for the most part square
or quadrangular structures, although there were a few circular ones
among them, built of upright logs with panels of mud and leaves between
them, roofed in with palm-leaf thatch, the eaves projecting sufficiently
at each end to form a verandah some six or eight feet deep. At a little
distance from the village, a hundred yards or so, towered the clump of
lofty trees under which the slave barracoons were said to be erected;
but whether this was so or not we could not tell, as a belt of bush
interposed between us and the trees, affording an effectual screen to
any buildings that might stand beneath their shadow.
As the schooner glided up abreast of the beach, with the hands at the
sheets, halliards, and downhauls, clewing up and hauling down
preparatory to running alongside the schooner nearest us, a great shout
was raised by the negroes, immediately followed by a confused discharge
of their muskets and the hurling of a few spears, but where the bullets
went we never knew, for certainly none of them came near us, and as for
the spears, they fell short and dropped harmlessly into the water. To
this salute we of course made no reply, as our business was not to make
war upon the natives unless absolutely compelled to do so, and three
minutes later, having taken as much room as the width of the creek would
permit, our helm was eased over and the _Felicidad_ swept round toward
the object of her first attack, which was the schooner flying French
colours. A death-like and ominous silence now prevailed on board the
four craft that we were so audaciously attacking, and not a man was to
be seen on board either of them. This state of things continued until
we were within forty fathoms of the nearest craft, when a shouted
command arose from on board the _brigantine_--which was the third craft
away from us--and instantly the ports of the two nearest schooners were
thrown open, and a rattling broadside of nine guns loaded with round and
grape was poured into us with terrible effect, for we were almost
bows-on at the moment, and the shot swept our deck fore and aft. No
less than eleven of our people went down before that murderous
discharge, and as five of them lay motionless, I greatly feared that the
poor fellows would never rise again. We reserved our fire until the
sides of our own schooner and the Frenchman were almost touching, and
then gave him our broadside and the contents of Long Tom as well; then,
as the _Felicidad_ struck her opponent pretty violently, Ryan waved his
sword above his head, snatched a pistol from his belt with his left
hand, and shouted--
"Heave the grapnels! Come along, lads, follow me, and hurroo for ould
Oireland!"
The two schooners being fast together, every man Jack of us sprang after
our leader, only to be confronted by the boarding nettings triced up on
board our antagonist, however; and as we sprang on the bulwarks and
commenced hacking away at the obstruction they opened a hot and most
destructive fire upon us with their muskets and pistols. I saw our men
dropping to right and left of me, and then one of the tricing-lines of
the netting gave way--one of our lads had shinned aloft and cut it--and
we half tumbled, half scrambled down upon her deck all in a heap, and
were instantly engaged in a desperate hand-to-hand struggle with her
crew, who greatly out-numbered ourselves, weakened as we were by the
casualties that had already seriously reduced our force. Moreover, we
soon discovered that our antagonists were by no means the despicable
poltroons that we are perhaps too prone at all times to believe them to
be; on the contrary, they fought manfully, and held their own with a
sturdy determination worthy of a better cause. The casualties were
rapidly multiplying on both sides, yet we were slowly driving the
Frenchmen forward, when they were unexpectedly reinforced by a crowd of
at least sixty people who had come alongside in boats from the other
craft, boarding on the larboard side of the schooner, on which side, as
it had been impossible for us to reach it with the _Felicidad_, the
nettings had not been triced up, and in an instant we found ourselves
confronted by overwhelming odds. Above the tumult of shouts and oaths
and groans, of pistol-shots and clashing steel, I heard Ryan give a
ringing cheer and an encouraging shout of "Hurroo, bhoys, the more the
merrier! Lay on with a will, now, and make short work of it;" and I saw
him at the head of a small division of our men laying about him manfully
and driving himself and his little band wedge-like through the thickest
of the crowd, and I turned and struck out right and left to get to his
assistance, for it seemed to me that he must be speedily overpowered.
Before I could reach him, however, he suddenly threw up his hands, and
striking one of them to his temples sank in an inert heap to the deck,
and at the same instant a sickening blow fell upon my head, the whole
scene whirled confusedly before my eyes for the fraction of an instant,
and for a time I knew no more.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
When at length I recovered my senses I found that I was undressed and
comfortably stowed away in a bunk in a small but light and airy
state-room that certainly was not my own, nor had I ever seen it before.
The snuggery was very tastefully fitted up, the bunk itself being of
polished mahogany, enclosed with handsome lace curtains, that I presumed
were intended as a protection against the mosquitoes, the sharp, ringing
buzz of multitudes of which pertinacious tormentors I heard distinctly
as I lay, weak, sick, and with a most distracting headache, safe within
the shelter of the curtains. These curtains were suspended from a
polished brass rod that traversed the underside of the deck above close
to the ship's side, so that they sloped over the bunk tent-fashion, an
ingenious arrangement of frilling along the upper edge imparting a
sufficient stiffness to the flimsy material to cause it to stand up
close to the planking, thus leaving no opening by which the persevering
little insects could obtain access to the interior. The bulkhead was
panelled with pilasters of satin-wood supporting a handsomely-carved
cornice, and the panels, like the underside of the deck, were painted a
delicate cream colour, the former being decorated with a thin gilt
moulding which formed the framework of a series of beautifully-painted
pictures of tropical flowers, butterflies, and birds. There was a
polished mahogany wash-stand in one corner of the room, and a small
mahogany swing-table against the bulkhead between the bunk and the
closed door of the berth; a horsehair sofa ran along the ship's side,
opposite the doorway; a small lamp, apparently of silver, hung in
gimbals from the ship's side, near the head of the bunk, and the
apartment was amply lighted by a large round open port or scuttle,
through which the gentle sigh of the evening breeze came pleasantly, and
the rich, orange beams of the setting sun poured with so brilliant an
effulgence that I could scarcely endure the dazzling light, and was
obliged to close my eyes again.
Where was I? Certainly not on board the _Felicidad_; for she had no
such luxurious sleeping-accommodation as this on board her. Then, if
not on board her, I must most probably be on board the French schooner;
a surmise that was to some extent confirmed by the powerful effluvium
that pervaded the ship, and proclaimed her character beyond all
question. Then there were sounds on deck--the voices of men laughing
and jesting together, and addressing occasional brutal remarks to,
presumably, the wearers of certain chains, the clanking of which,
together with the sounds of boats or canoes coming alongside, and an
occasional order issued by some one nearly overhead, powerfully
suggested the idea that the craft, whatever she was, was now taking in
her human cargo. I soon recognised, however, that the orders and
conversation generally were in Spanish, not French; still, this proved
nothing, for slavers were as a rule by no means particular as to the
colour of the flag that they fought or sailed under, often hoisting the
first ensign that happened to come to hand.
But Spanish or French, the vessel on board which I now found myself
could scarcely be other than one of those that we had engaged earlier in
the afternoon; and if so, I was in the hands of the enemy--an enemy, be
it said, that, if report spoke truly, showed but scant mercy to such of
its legalised opponents as happened to fall into his hands. Yet this
scarcely tallied with the evident care that had been taken of me, and
the exceedingly comfortable--not to say luxurious--quarters wherein I
now found myself.
I was parched with thirst, and looked round the state-room for some
liquid wherewith I might quench it. There was none; but I now observed
a small mahogany shelf, close to the head of the bunk, which had
hitherto escaped my notice, and upon it stood a small silver hand-bell,
quaint of shape, and elegantly adorned with _repousse_ work. With
considerable pain and giddiness I contrived to turn my body far enough
round to seize the bell and ring it; in instant response to which the
state-room door opened--revealing a glimpse of a small but
elegantly-furnished cabin--and a young mustee lad, clad only in a white
shirt thrown open at the neck, and white drill trousers girt to his
slender figure by a crimson sash, entered, and demanded in Spanish--
"Can I do anything for you, senor?"
"What is your name, my lad?" said I, answering his question with
another.
"I am called Pedro, senor."
"Well then, Pedro," said I, "you can do two things for me, if you will.
In the first place you can get me something to drink, if you will be so
kind; and, in the next, you can tell me the name of this ship and her
captain."
"I will willingly do both, senor, with pleasure. The drink first,"
answered the lad, with a bright smile that disclosed an array of small
and beautifully regular, ivory-white teeth. And, turning on his bare
heel, he retired as noiselessly as he had entered, only to reappear, a
moment later, with a tumbler in one hand, and a large glass jug full to
within an inch of the brim with lemonade, upon the surface of which
floated two or three slices of the fruit and a curl of the rich golden
green rind. He filled and handed me a bumper, which I instantly drained
and begged for another. The lad laughed, and handed me a second
tumblerful, which I also drained. The liquid was deliciously cool, and
of that peculiar acid and slightly bitter flavour that seems so
ineffably refreshing when one is parched with fever.
"Another yet, senor?" asked Pedro, with a laugh, as I handed the glass
back to him.
"Well--n-o--not just now, I think, thank you," answered I. "And now,
Pedro, my boy, tell me about this ship and her captain, and how I came
to be here."
"That is easily done, senor," answered the lad. "In the first place,
the brigantine is named the _Francesca_ after my mother; she hails from
Havana; and is commanded by my father, Don Fernando de Mendouca; and you
were brought here by him, when he found you lying apparently dead upon
the deck of the _Requin_ after your people had been driven off and
compelled to beat a retreat."
"_What_?" I exclaimed. "Driven off? Compelled to retreat?"
"Certainly, senor," the lad answered proudly. "You surely did not
seriously expect to capture all four of us with that paltry schooner of
yours, and so small a force as you brought against us, did you?"
"Well," I admitted, "I must confess that when I saw what we had to
contend with, I had my doubts as to the issue. But then, you see, I was
not the captain."
"Your captain must have been _mad_ to have attacked us in broad
daylight, as he did. And, indeed, he _seemed_ to be mad by the
desperation with which he fought. I never saw anything like it in my
life."
"_You_?" I exclaimed again. "Do you mean to say that you took part in
the fight?"
"Certainly, senor; why not?" demanded Pedro haughtily. "True, I am very
young; but I am strong. And I am bigger than the little officer who was
fighting near you when the French sailor struck you down with the
handspike."
"Yes; that is very true," I agreed, knowing, from the lad's description,
that he was referring to Freddy Pierrepoint. "So you were in the fight,
and saw our captain, eh, Pedro? Can you tell me what became of him?"
"He was shot--by one of our men, I believe; and I think he was killed,
but am not quite sure. He was carried back into his own schooner by two
of his men; and after the fight had lasted about two minutes longer a
very handsome, light-haired officer appeared to take the command, and
seemed to order a retreat; for your men steadily retired to their own
vessel, and, fighting to the very last, cast her adrift, set the sails,
and retired, hotly pursued by the _Requin_."
"Phew!" exclaimed I; "we seem to have made rather a mess of it this
time. Poor Ryan! I am sorry for him; very sorry indeed. You are
right, Pedro, our captain _was_ mad; the poor fellow was badly wounded
in the head not long ago, and he had by no means recovered from his
injuries. And now he is wounded again, if not killed outright. I am
_very_ sorry for him. And now, Pedro, can you tell me how your father
proposes to dispose of _me_?"
"No, senor, I cannot. Nor can he at present, I think," answered the
lad. "It was at my entreaty that he brought you on board here;
otherwise you would have been thrown overboard to the crocodiles that
swarm in the creek just here. He said that prisoners were only a
useless encumbrance and an embarrassment; but somehow I liked your looks
as you lay, white and still, upon the French schooner's deck, and I
begged him so hard to save you that he could not deny me. And I am sure
that we shall be friends--you and I--shall we not? There is no one on
board here that I can be intimate with--except my father, of course--and
he is so much older than I, that I can scarcely look upon him as a
companion. Besides--"
The lad stopped, embarrassed.
"Besides what?" demanded I.
"Well--I--perhaps I ought not to say. You see we are strangers yet, and
father has often said that it is a great mistake to be confidential with
strangers. Some other day perhaps I may feel that I can speak more
freely. And that reminds me that I have let you talk far too much
already; you need rest and perfect quiet at present, if you are to
escape a bad attack of fever, so I shall leave you for a little while to
sleep if you can. But first let me bathe your wound for you, and
bandage it afresh."
"You are very kind, Pedro," remarked I, as the lad with singular
deftness proceeded to remove the stiff and blood-stained bandage from my
head. "And I must not allow you to leave me until I have thanked you--
as I now do, very heartily--for having saved my life. Perhaps I may
have an opportunity some day to show my gratitude in some more
convincing form than that of mere words, and if so, you may depend upon
me to do so. Meanwhile, I see no reason whatever why we should not be
friends, and good friends too, if your father is willing that it should
be so. At the same time--but there, we can talk about that too, when we
know a little more of each other, and understand each other better.
Thanks, Pedro; that is very soothing and comfortable indeed. Now,
another drink of lemonade, if you please--by the way, you may as well
leave the jug and glass within my reach--and then, if you insist upon
running away, why, good-bye for the present."
The lad left me, and I fell into a rather gloomy reverie upon the fate
of poor Ryan and that of the gallant fellows who had fallen in our
ill-planned attack upon the occupants of this unlucky creek, as well as
upon my own future, the uncertainty of which stood out the more clearly
the longer I looked at it. I think I must have become slightly
light-headed eventually, for twice or thrice I caught myself muttering
aloud in a rather excited fashion, now imagining myself to be in the
thick of the fight once more, and anon fancying myself to be one of the
slaves that were imprisoned in the brigantine's noisome hold; until
finally my ideas became so hopelessly jumbled together that I could make
nothing of them, and then followed a period of oblivion from which I
awoke to find the state-room faintly illumined by the turned-down lamp
screwed to the ship's side near the head of my bunk, and by the more
brilliant rays of a lamp in the main cabin, the light of which streamed
through the lattices in the upper panel of the state-room door. The
ship was heeling slightly, and I knew by the gurgle and wash of water
along her side that she was under weigh, but still in perfectly smooth
water, for I was unable to detect the slightest heave, or rising and
falling motion in her. There was an intermittent faint murmur of voices
overhead, an occasional footfall on the deck, and now and then the creak
and clank of the wheel-chains following a call from the forecastle, all
of which led me to the conclusion that the brigantine was effecting the
passage of the creek on her way seaward. This state of things continued
for perhaps a quarter of an hour, when I felt the vessel lift as if to a
small swell, the wash and splash of the water along her side became more
pronounced, then came a light plunge, with a corresponding roar of the
bow wave; her heel perceptibly increased, and the pipe of the wind took
a more sonorous sound; an expression or two in tones that seemed to
indicate a feeling of relief and satisfaction passed between the persons
overhead, and then a string of orders pealed forth from one of them,
followed by the clatter of ropes thrown down on the deck, and the cries
of the crew as they made sail upon the vessel. The movements of the
craft now rapidly grew more lively; she heeled still more steeply under
the pressure of the wind; the splash and rush of water alongside grew
momentarily more confused; bulkheads began to creak, and cabin-doors to
jar and rattle upon their hooks; the two people overhead began to pace
the deck to and fro; the wind whistled and blustered with increasing
loudness through the rigging; and as the craft plunged more sharply I
caught the sound of an occasional clatter of spray upon the deck
forward. This went on for some considerable time, and then I became
aware of the sound of surf booming distantly, but rapidly increasing in
strength and volume, until after a period of perhaps ten minutes its
thunder seemed to suddenly fill the air, as the brigantine brought it
square abeam; then it rapidly died away again until it was lost
altogether in the tumult of wind and sea that now stormed about the
vessel, and I knew that we had passed close to either Shark or French
Point, and were fairly at sea. This conviction was confirmed a few
minutes later by the descent of some one--presumably the captain--into
the cabin, where, as I could tell by the clink of bottle and glass and
the gurgle of fluids, he mixed and tossed off a glass of grog, after
which he retired to a state-room on the opposite side of the cabin and
closed the door. Then, lulled by the motion of the ship and the sound
of the wind and sea, I gradually sank into a feverish sleep, from which
I did not fairly awake until the sun was streaming strongly in through
the glazed scuttle of my state-room next morning.
Shortly afterwards Pedro entered and bade me good-morning with a cheery
smile.
"You are looking better, senor," he remarked; "your eyes are brighter,
and there is more colour in your face. I hope you were not greatly
disturbed last night by the noise of getting the ship under weigh?"
"Not at all," I answered; "on the contrary, I did not awake until you
were clear of your moorings and passing down the creek. I remained
awake until the ship seemed to be fairly at sea, and then I went to
sleep again. I suppose we are out of sight of land by this time?"
"Yes, thanks be to the blessed Virgin! And I hope we shall see no more
until we make Anegada," was the reply.
"Anegada?" I queried. "Where is that?"
"What!" exclaimed Pedro, "do you not know Anegada? Then you have never
been to the West Indies?"
"That is very true," I admitted. "I have never been to the other side
of the Atlantic."
"I was certain of it, or you would know Anegada," answered Pedro.
"Anegada is the most easterly of the Virgin Islands; and my father
always endeavours to pick it up on his westerly runs. It makes a good
landfall, and enables us to continue the rest of our run with
confidence, and to dodge those pestilent cruisers of yours. Anegada
once sighted, my father knows every inch of the rest of the way, and
could take his ship from thence to Havana blindfold, I believe. But
while we are talking this water is cooling, and I want to bathe your
wound and bind it up afresh. So; am I hurting you?"
"Not at all," I answered. "Your touch is as light as a woman's. By the
way, where are my clothes, Pedro? I shall turn out as soon as you have
done with me, if you will kindly send somebody with some water. That
ewer seems to be empty."
"It can soon be filled, however," remarked the lad. "As to your
clothes, they are forward, drying. They were so stained and stiff with
blood that you could not possibly have put them on again, so I had them
washed. You see my clothes would not be big enough for you, while my
father's would be too big; so you will be obliged to make shift with
what you have until we reach Havana. I am glad that you feel well
enough to dress, for I am anxious that you should meet my father as soon
as possible. I fervently hope that you will succeed in impressing him
favourably."
"Why?" I demanded, laughingly. "Is he so very formidable a personage,
then?"
"Formidable enough, for one in your situation, if he should happen to
take a dislike to you," the lad answered gravely. "Not that I have very
much fear of that, however," he continued; "and in any case, my father
is all right except when anything has occurred to vex him."
"Well, I suppose that holds good of most people," I remarked. "However,
we must hope for the best. And now, since you have coopered me up so
nicely, if you will let me have some water and my clothes, I will make
my toilet as far as I can."
Upon leaving my bunk I found that I was still very shaky, with a
tendency to giddiness, added to which my head was aching most
distressingly; but I thought it possible that these disagreeable
symptoms would perhaps pass off as soon as I found myself in the open
air; I therefore dressed as quickly as possible, and made my way on
deck.
The morning was brilliantly fine, with a slashing breeze from about
east, a trifle northerly, and the brigantine was bowling along before
it, with all studding-sails set on the starboard side, in a manner that
fairly made me stare with astonishment, although I had been accustomed
to fast vessels. The _Francesca_ was an exceedingly fine and handsome
vessel, of enormous beam, and sitting very low upon the water, but the
pace at which she was travelling conclusively demonstrated that, beamy
as she was, her lines must be the very perfection of draughting; indeed
this was proved by the ease with which she appeared to glide along the
surface of, rather than _through_, the water, her progress being marked
by singularly little disturbance of the element, considering her very
high rate of speed. Her sails were magnificently cut, setting to a
nicety, and drawing to perfection, and they were white enough to have
graced the spars of a yacht. I noticed, too, that the inside of the
bulwarks, her deck-fittings, brass-work, and guns, were all scrupulously
clean and bright, while every rope was carefully coiled upon its proper
pin, the principal halliards and sheets being Flemish-coiled on the
deck. In fact, the whole appearance of the vessel was far more
suggestive of the British man-o'-war than of the slaver. The watch on
deck consisted of about a dozen men--one or two of whom looked
remarkably like Englishmen--and it did not escape me that, one and all,
they had the look of resolute, reckless fellows, who would be quite
ready to fight to the last gasp, if need be. And I was impressed, at
the very first glance, with the fact that they were all quietly and
steadily going about their work, talking quietly together, and behaving
without a single trace of that lawlessness that I had expected to
prevail among a slaver's crew.