The look-out from the mast-head of the pirate schooner must have
discovered the stranger soon after Paul had seen her, and her appearance
must have caused some uncertainty and irresolution on board. The wind
dropping, they furled sails, as if about to remain where they were and
fight it out.
"It will give the boats of the man-of-war some work to do," exclaimed
Devereux, when he saw this. "I wish that we could get off to them
first, though. I would give much to have a brush with those piratical
scoundrels."
Before long, however, the pirates again altered their minds. The breeze
returning, sail was once more made, and the schooner, with the boats
towing ahead, stood through the entrance. The time lost was probably of
the greatest consequence to them, and by the time that the schooner was
clear of the reefs, the man-of-war had drawn so near, that her character
was no longer doubtful. Devereux had been anxiously watching her for
some time, so had Reuben Cole.
"What do you think of her, Cole?" asked Devereux.
"What you knows her to be, sir--the _Cerberus_ herself, and no other,"
cried Reuben, in a more animated tone than he had indulged in for many a
long day.
"I made sure it was she, sir, five minutes ago, but I was just afraid to
speak; but when you axed me, sir, then I knowed it was all right."
"The _Cerberus_!" cried the rest of the party in the same breath.
"Ay, she's the fine old girl, no doubt about it," exclaimed O'Grady.
"Three cheers for the _Cerberus_! Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!"
All the party joined heartily in the shout. It was echoed from a
distance, and old Charcoal was seen scrambling along on his crutches
towards them. They congratulated him by signs at having escaped the
fate which his cruel taskmasters had intended for him, and he seemed no
less pleased than they were at the appearance of the English frigate.
Their attention was, however, soon fully engrossed by the chase. The
frigate had caught sight of the schooner, and was now crowding on all
sail to overtake her. The latter was keeping as close in with the shore
as the reefs would allow, with the intention, probably, of rounding the
island and putting it between herself and her enemy. She, however, by
keeping so close in, lost the sea breeze, which the frigate, keeping
from necessity further out, retained. The pirates thus lost the
advantage which the knowledge of the shore would have given them. Their
craft was a fast one, but there was no faster frigate on the station
than the _Cerberus_. She seemed putting forth all her speed, and it was
soon evident that she was gaining rapidly on the chase. The wind, it
must be understood, was off the land, along the south coast of which the
vessels were standing towards the east. It was necessary, therefore,
for the schooner, in order to get on the north side, either to stand a
long way to the east, or else to make short tacks, so as to weather the
eastern end of the island. The temptation to watch her proceedings was
very great, and though the way round was long, and over soft sand in
places, the party set off in that direction as fast as they could run.
By the time they had reached a slight elevation, whence they could watch
the further progress of the chase, the frigate had gained so greatly on
the schooner, that the latter would, in a few minutes, be within range
of her guns. The pirates must have seen that they had now little chance
of escaping, but they would not give in.
"Hurra! There goes her first shot," cried O'Grady, as a puff of smoke
and a flash was seen to proceed from the frigate's side, followed by a
report, as the iron missile went leaping over the water, but falling
short of the object at which it was aimed. For some half-hour or more
the frigate did not throw another shot away; the schooner, meantime,
made several tacks in shore, but the wind veered as she went about, and
she gained far less ground than if she had continued on one tack. Still
she managed nearly to weather the eastern point. The _Cerberus_,
however, was by this time standing directly towards her, a point off the
wind, so as to make her escape almost impossible. Again the frigate
fired--the water was smooth, and her gunnery was good. The shot struck
the schooner's hull. Another and another followed. Still she stood on.
She was in stays; another tack or two would carry her round the point,
and there were reefs amid which she might possibly make her escape, when
a shot, flying higher than the rest, struck the head of her main-mast.
Over the side went the topmast and topsail, down came the mainsail, and
the vessel's head paying off, in five minutes she was hard and fast on a
reef. The frigate had, meantime, been shortening sail, and scarcely had
the schooner struck, when she dropped her anchor in a position
completely to command the wreck with her guns.
"The villains will get their due now. Hurrah!" cried O'Grady. "But
see, they are lowering their boats to escape on shore. If they fall in
with us, they will knock us on the head to a certainty. Won't
discretion with us be the best part of valour? and hadn't we just best
get out of their way?"
"They will scarcely attempt to come on shore here, I should think,"
observed Devereux. "They will more probably pull along close in with
the shore, and, if they can, get away from the island altogether."
The attempt of the pirates to escape was immediately seen from the
frigate, which, thereon, opened her fire to prevent them, while at the
same time her boats were lowered to cut them off. The frigate's shot
had knocked one of the schooner's boats to pieces. Most of her crew
crowded into the other two, which shoved off, leaving some on board, who
loudly entreated them to return. But, overloaded as they were, they
could not have done so had they wished, and it was with difficulty they
reached the shore, swearing vengeance on the heads of their victors.
"It's time for us, at all events, to be off, if we would save our
throats from being cut, or our heads from being broken," cried O'Grady,
as he saw them about to land.
The rest of the party agreed with him, and signed to Charcoal to
accompany them. But the old black seemed bewildered, and shook his
head, to signify that he could not move as fast as they could, and that
they must hurry on without him. In vain they urged him and showed him
that they would help him on.
"Come, old fellow, just you get up on my back, and I will carry you,"
exclaimed Reuben Cole, who was by far the strongest of the party.
Still the black refused--the whole party were in despair. It was high
time, indeed, to move away from the spot, not only to escape the
pirates, but to avoid the shot from the _Cerberus_, some of which,
passing over the schooner, had struck the ground very close to them.
One of the shot at length settled the dispute by flying along and
striking the poor old man on the shoulder, and very nearly taking off
Reuben's head at the same time. His moments were evidently numbered,
and to move him while seemingly in the agonies of death, would have been
cruelty. Devereux, therefore, reluctantly ordered his followers to run
for their lives, before they were discovered and pursued by the pirates.
It was doubtful, indeed, whether they had not already been seen. Paul,
as they came along, had observed a patch of rocky ground to the south
near the shore, with low shrubs growing about it. He pointed it out to
Devereux.
"Right, Gerrard, the very place for us; we'll steer towards it," he
answered.
By running on at full speed, they had just time to conceal themselves
among the rocks as the pirates reached the shore. Devereux had ordered
them all to lie down, so that they were unable to observe the direction
the outlaws took. O'Grady and Paul were crouching down close to each
other. Both felt a strong inclination to look out from their
hiding-place.
"I say, Gerrard, don't you think that you could manage, just with half
an eye above the rock, to see what the spalpeens of pirates are about
there?" whispered the former.
"Beg pardon, sir, but our orders were not to look out at all," answered
Paul, in a very low voice.
"Right, Gerrard, right; but by the powers, our fellows are a long time
getting on shore from the frigate," said O'Grady.
"Silence, lads!" whispered Devereux, who overheard them talking. "I
hear footsteps."
Sure enough, the tramp of men running fast was heard, and, it seemed,
coming in the direction of the rock. Probably the pirates were
hastening there for shelter. Paul was sure, as most likely were the
rest of the party, that they would wreak their vengeance on their heads
if they discovered them. He felt very uncomfortable; his satisfaction
was not increased, when he heard a voice shout out, "Here they are, the
scoundrels! don't let one of them escape."
As there was no object in remaining to be cut down, he was about to
follow the ordinary instinct of nature, and to try and escape by flight,
when another voice added, "Come on, men, here they are, a dozen or two
skulking scoundrels, too."
There was a shrill squeak in the sound, which Paul was certain he had
heard many times before. He was not mistaken. There, on the top of a
rock, stood honest Bruff, and by his side, Tilly Blake.
"There are two of the villains--young ones, though," cried Tilly,
pointing to O'Grady and Gerrard.
Then he stopped, with a look of astonishment which made them almost
burst into a fit of laughter, as they sprang forward to meet him, while
the rest of the party at the same time rose up from their lair.
"Why, Devereux, old fellow, I thought that you were safe in England with
our prize by this time," cried Bruff, as he shook his messmate's hand.
Devereux could with difficulty reply, his feelings had so completely
mastered him; so Bruff continued: "Ah, I see how it was; the scoundrels
surprised and captured you, and brought you prisoners here. Well, I'm
thankful we've got you back safe, though I conclude poor old Noakes has
lost the number of his mess."
In a few words, Devereux, who soon found his tongue, explained what had
occurred, and the whole party, with the rest of the frigate's crew who
had landed, set forward in pursuit of the pirates. It was important to
come up with them before they could have time to fortify themselves. In
high glee, the whole party hurried on, led by Bruff, and guided by
Devereux and O'Grady. It was likely that the pirates would make a stand
either at the hut or on the top of a rocky mound on which some thick
brushwood, with a few trees, grew. It was a strong post naturally, and
might be made much stronger if the pirates had time to cut down the
trees and form barricades. Bruff, therefore, with his small party,
without waiting for reinforcements from the ship, pushed on. They had
already passed round the head of the lagoon without finding the enemy.
"They must have got into the hut, and we must be cautious how we
approach it, or they may pick us off without our being able to return a
shot," observed Devereux, as they came in sight of it.
Bruff, in consequence of this, at once divided his men, sending one
party to the right, another to the left, while he advanced directly
towards the hut, keeping, however, under such shelter as the cocoa-nut
trees and bushes afforded. Whether the generalship was good might be
doubted, for should the pirates break out, they might overwhelm one of
the smaller parties, and make good their retreat to another part of the
island, where they might hold out till the frigate was compelled to
leave the coast. This was Reuben's opinion, which he imparted to Paul.
Still the enemy did not appear. The parties closed in--not a shot was
fired. "Charge!" shouted Bruff. The door was burst open--the hut was
empty. There were treasures of all sorts scattered about, which the
pirates had not time to pack up when they hurriedly left the island.
The crew of the _Cerberus_ very naturally wished to take possession of
the plunder, but Bruff called them together, and ordered them to proceed
at once to the mound where Devereux and O'Grady thought that the pirates
must have gone. It was hot work. They stopped for a few seconds at the
fountain to wash the sand out of their throats, and pushed on. The hill
was soon in sight. The place looked naturally strong.
"The fellows are there, for they are cutting down the trees already,"
cried O'Grady. "If we could but wait for an hour or so, they'd be
pretty well ready for us, and we should get heaps of honour and glory in
taking them."
"Thank you, Paddy, but we'll not give them time to get ready," answered
Bruff. "On, lads, on!"
So busily engaged were the pirates, that the English were close up to
the mound, for hill it was not, before they perceived that their enemies
were on them. Led on by Bruff and the other midshipmen, the seamen
clambered up the hill in spite of all obstacles. The pirates stood to
their arms and fought desperately. They were a fierce set of ruffians.
The hairy baboon, as O'Grady called the man who had seized Paul on the
rock, led them on. Their captain, probably, had been killed, for he
seemed to be the principal officer among them. Among gentry of that
class, when the day is going against them, no one is anxious to be
looked upon as a leader. Whether he wished it or not, however, the
hairy baboon was a conspicuous object. With three brace of pistols
stuck in his belt, his arms bare, and a huge sword in his hand, he stood
like a wild beast at bay. The pirates, when overpowered at other
points, rallied round him. Again and again Bruff attempted to pick him
out, in the hopes of cutting him down, but each time calling his men
around him, the pirate avoided the combat.
The pirates were, however, getting the worst of it. Several of them had
fallen, killed, or desperately wounded. Some of the English also had
been hurt, and two killed. Bruff, determining to put an end to the
conflict, once more dashed up the slope, and with his brave fellows,
leaping over all obstacles, pushed up to where the savage stood behind
the trunk of a fallen tree. Devereux was at his side, and Paul followed
close behind, armed with a pistol which had been given him by one of the
seamen. His great wish was, should opportunity occur, of being of use
to Devereux, just as he had been, on a former occasion, to poor old
Noakes. This was fiercer work, for quarter was neither asked nor taken.
The English among the pirates were the most desperate, for they knew
that they were fighting with halters round their throats. The pirate
plied his weapon with right good will, and kept Bruff fully occupied,
bestowing, indeed, more than one wound on him. Devereux was, meantime,
engaged with another fellow, evidently an officer by his gay dress and
ornaments. He also was a good swordsman; and while the English seamen
were engaged on either side, he managed to strike down Devereux's
cutlass, and would the next moment have cut him from the head to the
neck, when Paul, seeing that the moment for action had arrived,
springing forward, fired his pistol with so good an aim, that the
pirate, shot through the heart, sprang into the air and fell forward
over the tree, while Devereux, recovering his guard, saved his head from
the blow of the falling sword, which he sent flying away among the
pirates. At liberty for a moment, he turned on Bruff's antagonist, who,
unable to parry his rapid blows, was at length brought to the ground.
As he lay writhing in the agonies of death, he attempted to fire a
pistol, which he drew from his belt, at his victor's head; but his eye
was dim--the shot flew into the air, and his hand fell powerless by his
side. The pirates, though they still fought on, were evidently
disheartened at the fall of their leaders; but the English were
proportionately encouraged, and dashing on once more, they cut down
every pirate opposing them. Some attempted to fly, prompted by the
instinct of self-preservation; but they were met by a party under
O'Grady, sent round to attack them in the rear, and at last, in the
hopes of prolonging their lives, they threw down their arms and begged
for quarter. However fierce men may be, very few will fight on with the
certainty of being killed if they do, and the possibility of escaping if
they yield. The pirates were completely disarmed, and were then
surrounded by seamen, with pistols at their heads, marched towards the
spot where the boats of the _Cerberus_ lay waiting for them. The hut
and its contents were not forgotten, and one party of men was ordered to
collect and bring along all the more valuable articles which could be
found. As they marched along, Devereux called Paul up to him.
"Gerrard, I am anxious to tell you that I feel how heavy a debt of
gratitude I owe you," he said. "You have tended me with a brother's
care since I was wounded, and I saw the way in which you saved my life
just now. Fortunately, Mr Bruff saw it also, and as you thus certainly
contributed to the success of the undertaking, I am certain that he will
place your conduct in its most favourable light before the captain, and,
for my part, I think that there is one reward which you ought to obtain,
and which you will obtain, too."
"What can that be, sir?" asked Paul, innocently. "All I know is, that I
wished to be of use to you, and I am very glad that you think I have
been of use."
"Indeed you have, Gerrard," answered Devereux. "I should have been food
for the land crabs if it hadn't been for you; but we'll not say anything
more about the reward just now."
They were approaching the beach where the boats were waiting.
"Hillo, what is that?" cried O'Grady. "Oh, you vile scoundrels--you did
that, I know you did."
He shook his fist at the prisoners as he spoke, and pointed to the body
of the poor black, which lay in their course, with the head smashed to
pieces. The pirates had evidently found him wounded on the ground when
they landed, and had thus wreaked their vengeance on him.
The seamen stopped a few short minutes to bury him in the sand, and the
midshipmen, as they passed on, muttered, "Poor old Charcoal, good bye."
The pirates would have had very little chance just then of escaping with
their lives had the seamen been their judges, and in consequence of the
cruel murder of the black, they got many a punch in the ribs and a lift
with the knee as they were bundled into the boats. Hitherto, of course,
those on board the _Cerberus_ were ignorant that Devereux and his
companions were on the island. As the boats approached the ship, all
glasses were turned towards them; but it took some time after they had
climbed up the sides to explain who they were and where they had come
from, so haggard in countenance were they, and so tattered in dress, and
blood and smoke-begrimed. Devereux lost not a moment in speaking to
Captain Walford in warm terms of Paul's conduct throughout all the
events which had occurred, adding, "To-day, sir, he saved my life by
shooting a man who was on the point of cutting me down, and I must
entreat you to give him the only reward he would value, or indeed, I
believe, accept."
"What is that?" asked Captain Walford, smiling at the idea of a ship-boy
being punctilious as to the style of reward he would receive.
"Why, sir, that you would place him on the quarter-deck," answered
Devereux, boldly. "There is no one who will do it more credit, or is
better fitted to become an officer than Paul Gerrard, sir."
"I will keep him in mind, and perhaps he may have an opportunity of
distinguishing himself while under my eye," answered the captain; but he
made no promise to promote Paul, and Devereux left him, fearing very
much that he was displeased at his having mentioned the subject.
All the party were, however, warmly welcomed on board, and Alphonse, who
had now learned a good deal of English, became a great favourite both
with officers and men. As there happened to be no fiddler among the
crew, his violin was in great requisition. He had no pride, and as he
took delight in giving pleasure, he constantly went forward to play to
the men while they danced. There was nothing they would not have done
for the "little mounseer," as they called him.
Before the _Cerberus_ left the island, one of the pirates declared that
a large amount of treasure was hidden near the hut, and volunteered to
show it, provided that his life was spared. Captain Walford would make
no promise, but let the man understand that if the treasure was found,
and he chose to turn king's evidence, the circumstance might possibly
tell in his favour. The pirate held out for the promise of a pardon and
refused to afford any further information unless it was given. The
captain, however, sent a party on shore, under Mr Bruff with O'Grady,
to search for the supposed treasure. Reuben and Paul were of the party.
There were two boats. They pulled up the lagoon.
"I feel very different now from what I did t'other day when the pirates
were after us. Don't you, Paul?" said Reuben Cole, in a moralising
tone. "Many are the ups and downs in the world. The pirates was then
thirsting after our blood, and now we're thirsting after the pirates'
gold. It's not much good our blood would have done them, and I'm
afeared the gold won't do us much good either, if it's spent as most of
us spends it when we gets ashore. Paul, don't you go and throw away
your hard-earned gains as seamen generally do--you'll be sorry for it
some day, if you do."
Paul promised to follow his friend's advice. He was very eager,
however, to find the pirate treasure, as he hoped to be able to send his
share home to his mother and sisters. He was not aware of the efforts
Devereux had been making to get him placed on the quarter-deck, in which
case the share would be considerably more than that of a cabin-boy. The
search was commenced, but except a bag of dollars and a few gold
doubloons, nothing of value could be found. The men dug about in every
direction. There was no sign of the earth having been turned up.
"I say, Reuben, I wonder where all the gold we are looking for can be,"
exclaimed Paul, after they had searched in vain again and again.
"Just possible, nowhere," answered Reuben. "Them chaps is much more
likely to spend their money ashore than to bury it in the ground."
It seemed very probable that Reuben's opinion was the right one. The
seamen dug and dug more frantically and eagerly as the prospect of
finding the gold became less and less. Reuben's spade at length struck
something hard.
"Hurrah! Here it is," cried several voices, and half a dozen spades
were plunged into the hole at the same time. A human skull was soon
brought to view.
"All right," cried O'Grady. "The pirates always bury a man above their
treasure, that his spirit may keep guard over it."
Thus encouraged, the seamen dug on, the bones were thrown up with very
little ceremony, and all expected every instant to come upon an iron
case, or an oak chest, or something of that sort, full of gold, and
pearls, and diamonds. While thus employed, a gun from the ship was
heard. They dug more desperately than ever. The gun was the signal for
their return: it must not be disobeyed. Still, within the very grasp of
their treasure, it seemed hard to lose it. They dug, and they dug, but
there was no sign of treasure. Another gun was heard.
"We must be away!" cried the leader. "Shoulder spades, and march!"
O'Grady, stopping behind, leaped into the hole and ran his sword up to
the hilt into the sand, but it met with no impediment. Again and again
he plunged his sword in all directions. He saw that it was of no avail.
"I must be out of this and run after the rest," he said to himself.
But to propose was easier than to execute. In vain he tried to get up
the sandy sides of the pit--he made desperate efforts. He ought not to
have stopped behind, and did not like to cry out. "Oh! I shall have to
take the place of the disinterred body, and that would not be at all
pleasant," he muttered--"One more spring!" But no--down he came on his
back, and the sand rushed down and half covered him up. He now thought
that it was high time to sing out, and so he did at the very top of his
voice. He shouted over and over again--no one came. His companions
were getting further and further off. He scrambled to his feet and made
another spring, shrieking out at the same time, "Help! help!"
Fortunately, Paul and Reuben were bringing up the rear, and Paul
happening to speak of Mr O'Grady, observed that he was not in front.
At that moment the cry of "Help, help!" reached his ears.
"It's Mr O'Grady," he exclaimed, and he ran forward to Mr Bruff and
obtained leave to go and look. Reuben and several other men had,
however, to go to his assistance to get poor Paddy out of the hole, and
pretty hot they all became by running towards the boats, so as not to
delay them. Nothing was said of O'Grady's adventure, and the captain
did not seem much surprised at no treasure having been found. A course
was steered for Jamaica, where the pirates were to be tried. The
_Cerberus_ arrived at her destined port without falling in with an
enemy. Numerous witnesses came forward to prove various acts of piracy
committed by the prisoners, the greater number of whom were condemned to
death, and were accordingly hung in chains, as the custom of those days
was, to be a terror and warning to like evil-doers, as dead crows and
other birds are stuck up in a field to scare away the live ones wishing
to pilfer the farmer's newly-sown seed.
The frigate having refitted in Port Royal harbour, was again to sail--
like a knight-errant--in search of adventures. It was not likely that
she would be long in finding them.
As soon as the commander-in-chief heard of the capture of the frigate by
the mutineers, he became very anxious to re-take her. A brig of war
before long arrived with a Spanish prize lately out of Puerto Cabello on
the Spanish Main. Her crew gave information that the frigate was there
fitting for sea by the Spaniards, to whom the mutineers had delivered
her; that she was strongly armed, and manned with a half more than her
former complement. It soon became known on board the _Cerberus_ that
Captain Walford had volunteered to cut out the frigate, but that the
admiral objected to the exploit as too hazardous.
"Just like our skipper," exclaimed O'Grady. "He would try it and do it
too. We'd back him, and so would every man on board."
"No fear of that," cried several voices. "Let us but find her, and she
will be ours."
"I wish that we could have the chance," observed Devereux to O'Grady.
"It would be a fine opportunity for Gerrard, and the captain would, I
think, be glad of a good excuse for placing him on the quarter-deck."
As there was no longer a reason for Alphonse Montauban remaining on
board the _Cerberus_, he had to be left at Jamaica to wait till an
opportunity should occur for sending him to France. His friends parted
from him with many regrets.
"We shall meet some day again, old fellow," said O'Grady, as he wrung
his hands. "But I say, I hope that it won't be with swords in our
fists."
"Oh no, no!" cried Alphonse; "I will never more fight against you
English. I was told that you were little better than barbarians--a
nation of fierce lords, money-making shopkeepers, and wretched slaves;
but I find you very different. I love you now, and I love you for
ever."
Alphonse parted in a most affectionate manner from Paul, telling him how
glad he should be, when the war was over, if he would come and see him
at his father's chateau, where he said he should go and remain quietly,
and escape, if possible, being sent again to sea.
The _Cerberus_ sailed with sealed orders. This was known. It was hoped
that they would give permission to the captain to attack the Spanish
frigate. The captain opened his orders off the east end of the island,
when he found that he was to proceed off Cape Delavela, on the Spanish
Main, a point of land about seventy leagues to leeward of Puerto
Cabello, and that he was to remain as long as his provisions, wood, and
water would allow, to endeavour to intercept the frigate supposed to be
bound to the Havana. Thither the _Cerberus_ accordingly proceeded. To
wait in expectation of meeting a friend is a matter of no little
interest; but when an enemy is looked-for, and there is the prospect of
a battle, and a pretty tough one to boot, the excitement is immense. In
this instance it was tenfold: the enemy was no ordinary one; the object
was to win back a ship foully taken and disgracefully retained.
"There is no necessity to tell you to keep a sharp look-out," said the
captain to the officers of the watch, as he went below the first night
of their arrival on their cruising-ground.
"She'll be clever if she escapes us," was the answer. However, the
captain was on deck that night several times, as he was on many
subsequent nights, and sharp eyes were looking out all night and all
day, and still no enemy's frigate hove in sight. Paul was very
ambitious to be the first to see her. Whenever his duty would allow, he
was at the mast-head till the hot sun drove him down, or darkness made
his stay there, useless. He often dreamed, when in his hammock at
night, that he heard the drum beat to quarters, and jumping up, slipped
into his clothes, and hurried on deck, when finding all quiet, with no
small disappointment he had again to turn in. "The opportunity will
come, however, in some way or other," said Paul to himself as he tried
to go to sleep, and succeeded, as ship-boys generally do. "I must have
patience. Even if I were to be killed the next day, I should like to
have been a midshipman." Week after week passed away; no enemy
appeared. Now and then a prize was taken; but it was always the same
story--the frigate was still in Puerto Cabello. At length it became
known that the water and wood were running short, while it was a fact no
one would dispute, that the provisions were very bad. The _Cerberus_
must return to Jamaica. The disappointment was general.
"Och, the blackguards of Dons, to keep us waiting all this time, and not
to give us the satisfaction of thrashing them after all!" cried Paddy
O'Grady, as the matter was discussed in the midshipmen's berth.
"The fellow has probably slipped by us in the dark; but we'll catch him
some day; that's a comfort," observed Devereux.
"Our skipper is not a man to take that for granted without ascertaining
the fact," remarked Bruff.
He was right. Before a course was shaped for Jamaica, the _Cerberus_
stood for Puerto Cabello. All hands were eagerly on the look out as
they approached the port, to ascertain whether the frigate was still
there. A shout of satisfaction broke from the throats of the crew as
she was discovered with her sails bent ready for sea, though moored head
and stern between two strong batteries, one on either side, at the
entrance of the harbour. By herself, she looked no insignificant
opponent; while the batteries, it was supposed, mounted not less than
two hundred guns. The _Cerberus_ stood in till she was within gun-shot
of the enemy, and then continued her course, as if fearing a contest.
Not a word was said by the captain as to what he intended doing. Hope
returned when the ship was tacked. For two or three days the _Cerberus_
continued cruising up and down before the port. Another day was drawing
to a close, when, as it seemed, she had given a farewell to the port.
Some of the officers had been dining with the captain. They came out of
the cabin with an expression of satisfaction on their countenances.
"Something is in the wind," said Reuben to Paul. "They wouldn't look so
pleased otherwise."
Not long after this, all hands were sent aft to the quarter-deck, where
the captain stood, surrounded by his officers, ready to receive them.
"I told you so," whispered Reuben to Paul. "He's got some good news,
depend on that; I see it in his eye."
"My lads, we have been waiting a long time to get hold of that
villainous frigate in there," the captain began. "If we don't take her,
somebody else will, and we shall lose the honour and glory of the deed.
She will not come out to fight us fairly, and so we must go in and bring
her out. It's to be done, I know, if you'll try to do it. What do you
say to that?"
"That we'll try and do it," cried a voice from among the seamen.
"Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" Three hearty cheers broke from the crew.
Again and again was given forth from the seamen's throats that
soul-thrilling shout which none but Englishmen can utter.
"Thank you, my lads," cried the captain. "I knew that you would be
ready to do it; and, what is more, I know that you will do it. It will
not be your fault if that frigate is not ours before many hours are
over. There will be six boats with their regular crews, and I have
arranged already of whom the boarding-parties are to consist. I will
myself lead."
Saying this, he handed a list to the first-lieutenant. All were eager
to ascertain its contents. Bruff and Devereux had command of boats; the
second-lieutenant had charge of another--the launch; the surgeon of a
fourth. Paul, with no small delight, heard his name called out for the
captain's boat--the pinnace. Reuben Cole was also to go in her. The
expedition was to consist of two divisions; the first formed by the
pinnace, launch, and jolly-boat, to board on the starboard-bow, gangway,
and quarter; and the gig, black and red cutters, to board on the
opposite side. Some of her crew were to remain in the launch to cut the
lower cable, for which they were provided with sharp axes; the
jolly-boat was to cut the stern cable and to send two men aloft to loose
the mizen-topsail. Four men from the gig were to loose the
fore-topsail, and in the event of the boats reaching the ship
undiscovered, as soon as the boarders had climbed up the sides, the
crews were to cut the cables and take the ship in tow. No arrangements
could be more perfect, and all about to engage in the undertaking felt
confident of success, eagerly waiting for the moment of action. The
ship stood towards the harbour, and in silence the crews and the
boarding-parties entered the boats and shoved off. Paul felt as he had
never felt before. He had gone through a good many adventures; but the
work he was now engaged in would probably be of a far more desperate
character. Still his heart beat high with hope. If the undertaking
should be successful--and he felt sure that it would be--he believed
that he should secure that position he had of late taught himself so
ardently to covet. The boats made rapid progress. The pinnace led; the
captain with his night-glass keeping his eye constantly on the enemy.
No light was seen, either on board her or in the batteries, or other
sign to show that the Spaniards were aware that a foe was approaching.
The night was dark; the water was smooth. There was a sound of oars.
Two large gun-boats were seen at the entrance of the harbour. At the
same instant the Spaniards, discovering the English, began firing. The
alarm was given; lights burst forth in all directions, and round-shot
and bullets came whizzing through the air. Some officers might have
turned back; not so Captain Walford. Ordering the boats to follow, and
not to mind the Spaniards, he gave three hearty cheers, and, dashing on,
was quickly up to the frigate.