escape, for the sea was not breaking nearly so heavily around us; indeed
I could distinguish, at no great distance ahead, small patches of
unbroken water, with wider patches beyond; and, best of all, we had only
touched the reef once, and that but lightly. Presently the schooner
shot into a patch of unbroken water that appeared to communicate at one
point with a larger patch, and I at once steered for the point of
junction, at the same time singing out to the mate to get in the
mainsail, and for the hands to stand by the fore and staysail halliards.
A line of breakers still extended for some distance ahead of us, but
they were now detached, with clear water between them, and if we could
only contrive to keep the schooner in the unbroken water all might yet
be well. We were still rushing along at a great pace, for the gale was
blowing, if possible, more fiercely than ever; but the water was smooth,
and I was consequently hopeful that, by letting go both anchors and
giving the schooner the full scope of her cables, we might manage to
ride it out without dragging. At length we brought the last of the
visible breakers fair on our quarter, and I was in the act of putting
the helm over, singing out at the same time to haul down the staysail
and foresail, when the mate, who was on the forecastle ready to attend
to the letting go of the anchors, shouted that he thought he could make
out something like a large rock or small islet a short distance ahead.
Hurriedly instructing the helmsman to keep the schooner as she was
going, I ran forward, and immediately made out the object, which looked
amply large enough to give us a lee to anchor under. We were pretty
close to it; so without further ado the schooner was stripped of her
remaining canvas and conned into a berth close under the lee of the huge
mass, when both anchors were let go, the port anchor first and the
starboard anchor half a minute later; and in less than five minutes we
had the supreme satisfaction of finding the _Sword Fish_ riding snugly,
and in smooth water, with some three fathoms between her keel and the
sandy bottom.
I was by this time pretty well fagged out, for the hour was drawing well
on toward daybreak. Nevertheless my curiosity was so powerfully excited
with regard to the spot which we had stumbled upon that, after
thoroughly satisfying myself that the schooner was safe, and before
turning in, I got out my chart and spread it open upon the cabin table.
Our position at noon on the previous day was of course laid down upon
it, and it needed but a few moments' consideration of the courses and
distances that we had subsequently steered to demonstrate that we had
blundered right into the heart of Los Roques, or the Roccas, the most
dangerous group of islets, without exception, in the whole of the
Caribbean Sea. They are situated some seventy-five miles due north of
La Guayra, and extend over an area of ocean measuring about twenty-five
miles from east to west, and about half that distance from north to
south. The group consists of two islands proper, Cayo Grande and Cayo
de Sal, the first being triangular in shape, and measuring some six and
a half miles each way along the perpendicular and base of the triangle,
while Cayo de Sal is about seven and a half miles long by perhaps half a
mile broad.
There are about thirty other islets in the group, all of them very much
smaller than the two above named, and some of them so small as to
deserve rather the name of _rocks_ than islets. But the peculiarity
about the group which renders it so exceedingly dangerous to strangers
is that it forms part of an extensive reef, roughly of quadrangular
form, the belt of reef being about three miles wide, with a fine open
space inside divided into two fairly good anchorages by a reef
stretching across it in a north-westerly direction, from the westerly
extremity of Cayo Grande to the main reef. There are several passages
leading through the main reef into these anchorages, notably one on the
northern side of the reef, but the difficulties of the navigation are so
great to strangers that, if report is to be believed, it was, up to a
comparatively recent date, a favourite resort of pirates, who, once
through the reef, were practically safe from pursuit. Such was the spot
into which the _Sword Fish_ had rushed, blindfold as it were. And I can
only account for our escape from destruction by supposing that we had
providentially hit off one of the channels through the reef, or else
that the gale had heaped the water upon the reef to such an extent that,
with our light draught, we were able to pass over it. However, I had
only to look at the group, as portrayed upon the chart, to feel
thoroughly assured as to the safety of the schooner and ourselves; so I
turned into my bunk with an easy mind and a grateful heart at our truly
miraculous escape, and fell asleep the moment that my head touched the
pillow.
When the steward came to call me at seven bells the gale was still
raging furiously; but about four bells in the forenoon watch a break in
the sky appeared to windward, and shortly afterwards there was a
noticeable decrease in the strength of the wind. Meanwhile the break in
the clouds widened, patches of blue sky appeared here and there,
extending rapidly, and when noon arrived I was able to get a meridian
altitude of the sun, which conclusively demonstrated the truth of my
surmise that we were anchored in the Rocca group. The rock that
sheltered us was some forty feet high, and about twenty acres in extent,
situate nearly in the middle of the northern anchorage; and astern of
us, at a distance of four miles, lay Cayo Grande, with Cayo de Sal about
the same distance on our larboard beam. Now that it was daylight it was
a perfectly simple and easy matter to identify our surroundings with the
aid of the chart.
By the time that dinner was over the gale had so far moderated that, in
our sheltered position, it had become perfectly safe to lower a boat. I
therefore ordered away the gig, and, taking the ship's telescope with
me, landed upon the rock which had afforded us so welcome and timely a
shelter, and climbed to its summit to see whether any portion of the
wreck of the unfortunate stranger that had been in company with us
during the preceding night still hung together. To my surprise I found
that quite a considerable portion of her was visible; indeed at times it
appeared to me that I could see almost if not quite the whole of her
hull; but as she was some eight miles distant I could not be at all
certain of this. The sea appeared to be still breaking heavily over her
at times, but she seemed to have beaten almost entirely across the reef,
there being but little broken water between us and her; and to this
circumstance I attributed the fact that she was still in existence. I
spent quite half an hour upon the summit of the rock, gazing upon the
strange, wild scene by which I was surrounded; and when at length I
rejoined the boat the wind had moderated to such an extent that,
although it was still rather too strong for an eight-mile pull to
windward, there was no reason why we should not sail as far out as the
wreck, to see whether any of her crew still survived. I therefore
returned to the schooner, and, procuring the boat's mast and sails,
started upon our expedition. But we were rather late in getting away;
so that it took us until within half an hour of sunset to work up to the
wreck, and even then we could not approach her nearer than within a
cable's length because of the broken water; but we got near enough to
enable us to make out that she was an armed ship--she had all the look
of a small frigate--and I took her to be Spanish. But although her hull
was not nearly so much battered about as I had expected it would be,
there was no sign of life aboard her, at which I was not surprised when
I looked at the broad belt of still angry surf through which she had
beaten. But I saw enough to determine me to pay the wreck a visit
before leaving the group, and accordingly, when I got back to the
schooner, which Saunders had made all ataunto once more during my
absence, I made arrangements to weigh and beat up to the wreck
immediately after breakfast next morning.
By daylight the wind had dwindled away to a gentle breeze, while the sea
had gone down to such an extent that I anticipated no difficulty
whatever in boarding the wreck. Nor was I disappointed, for when we
reached the craft, shortly after six bells in the forenoon, the sea was
no longer breaking over her, or even round her, the breakers now being
confined to the outer fringe of the reef. But imagine, if you can, my
astonishment at seeing a man--a wretched, ragged, scarecrow of a fellow
he looked to be--on the poop, who, as we drew near, began to wave and
signal to us with frantic energy. He appeared to be desperately afraid
that we had not seen him, or that, having seen him, we should still not
trouble to take him off, for he was waving a large, dark cloth when we
first made him out, and he continued to do so until the boat was almost
alongside. We bumped against the wreck in the wake of her mizzen
chains--her main and fore chains were under water--and, the instant that
the bowman hooked on, this man, who seemed to be the only survivor of
the wreck, came slipping and sliding down the steeply inclined deck
until he stood just above us, when he stood for a few seconds staring
down upon us in silence. Then he cried, in a piercing voice: "Say, for
the love of God, are you English?"
"Ay, ay, my hearty; you have guessed right the first time," I answered.
"But, pray, who in the name of fortune are you? And what ship is this?"
For answer the fellow plumped down upon his knees, clasped his hands
before him, lifted up his eyes to heaven, and by the movement of his
lips I supposed him to be engaged either in prayer or thanksgiving. One
or two of the men in the boat with me laughed, and a third must needs
display his wit by calling out a profane jest; but I silenced them
sharply, for there was an intense abandonment in this strange man's
manner and behaviour that showed him to be under the influence of
extraordinary emotion. Presently he rose to his feet, and, scrambling
down into the boat with the most astonishing activity, grasped my hand
and pressed it to his lips fervently. Then he looked me in the face and
said:
"Oh, sir, I thank God most humbly and heartily for this His great mercy
to me, a poor, miserable sinner. But you'll take me away with you, sir;
you'll not leave me aboard here to fall into the hands of my enemies
again? Sir, sir, you are an Englishman, you say, and your tongue is
English. You have a kind, good face. Sir, take me with you, and make
me your slave if you will, but let me not fall into the hands of those
incarnate fiends the Spaniards again."
"Have no fear, my good fellow," answered I. "Of course we will take you
with us, not as a slave, but as a shipmate if you will. But you have
not yet answered the question I asked you. Who are you? And what ship
is this?"
"Who am I?" he repeated, staring wildly at me. "Why, I used to be
called Isaac Hoard to home in Exmouth, and among my shipmates, but for
the last five years, ever since I've been in the hands of the accursed
Spaniards, I've known no other name than `heretico'."
"And the ship," I reiterated; "is she Spanish?"
"Yes, sir; she is Spanish," answered the poor fellow, who looked half-
mad as well as haggard, and thin almost like a skeleton. "She was a
fine frigate forty-eight hours ago, named the _Magdalena_; now the
vengeance of God has fallen upon her and her crew, and she lies a wreck,
while every one of them has perished and gone to his own place."
"And how happens it that you survive while all the rest of the crew have
perished?" I demanded.
"By the mercy of God and the inhumanity of the Spaniards," he answered.
"They made me a slave of the crew, at whose every beck and call I was
from the beginning of the morning watch until four bells in the first
watch; and when my day's work was over they used to lock me into a cell
under the forecastle. So that when the ship struck I was unable to rush
on deck with the rest of them, and so my life was saved."
"Well," said I, "it appears that you have a story to tell that may be
well worth listening to at some future time. Now, tell me, do you know
where this frigate was last from, and whither she was bound?"
"Yes," answered Hoard, "I can tell you that, sir. She sailed from
Cartagena five days ago, and was bound to Cadiz with despatches; at
least such was the talk among the crew."
"With despatches!" I ejaculated. "Good! Now, do you happen to know
where those despatches are to be found?"
"No, sir; that I don't," answered Hoard. "I've never been abaft the
mainmast until to-day, if you'll believe me; and I don't even know the
cap'n's name. But I expect his despatches will be in his cabin, along
with any other papers of value that he may have had in his possession."
"Quite so; most likely they are," I remarked. "I'll go on board and
give the craft an overhaul. Jump on deck, a couple of you, to lend me a
hand in case I should need you; and catch a turn with the painter
somewhere."
So saying, I climbed up on the ship's poop, and with considerable
difficulty--owing to the exceedingly steep slope of the deck--made my
way to the companion, which I descended. At the foot of the ladder, I
found myself confronted by a bulkhead which, as I soon found,
partitioned off the captain's quarters from the other part of the ship.
Opening a door that faced me, I entered a fine, handsome cabin,
magnificently fitted up, and very little damaged, except that the two
guns which had evidently been in it seemed to have broken adrift and
gone through the vessel's side, the gun on the weather side having
smashed a handsome mahogany table to smithereens in its passage athwart
the cabin. There were stains of wet on the sofas on the lee side and on
the carpeted deck, showing that the water had entered through the breach
in the ship's side: but that, with the smashed table and the hole in the
side, constituted all the visible damage in the cabin. There was
another bulkhead in front of me, with an open door in it, through which
I caught a glimpse of stern windows, together with certain indications
that the cabin into which I was looking was in all probability the
captain's state-room. Here, if anywhere, I thought I should be most
likely to find the despatches which constituted the chief object of my
search; and I accordingly made my way into the after-cabin. A handsome
and roomy cot, slung on the starboard side, confirmed my impression that
this must be the captain's private sanctum; and I at once looked round
for a likely receptacle for papers of importance and other articles of
value. I had not far to look. Close to the door, against the bulkhead,
stood a massive and handsome cabinet writing-table, so placed that the
light from the stern windows would fall over a sitter's shoulders on to
the table. Right up against the starboard side of the ship stood a
large chest of drawers, with the top arranged as a dressing-table: and
against the port side was a book-case with glazed doors, three or four
of the panes of glass being smashed so completely that several of the
volumes had tumbled out on to the floor. I took up one or two of the
books and opened them, but could make nothing of their contents, they
being in Spanish, which was all but a sealed language to me. The book-
case was full of books from top to bottom, so it was clear that it was
useless to look there for the documents I desired to find; I therefore
turned to the next nearest object, which was the writing-table. This
was fitted with a sloping top that evidently lifted, and a nest of
capacious drawers occupied the back of the affair, above the writing-
desk, while a large cupboard on each side formed the base, with room for
a man's legs between the two. I tried the top, the cupboards, and the
drawers, but all were locked; and the article was so solidly constructed
that I at once saw it would be useless to think of breaking it open
without proper tools. I therefore sang out to the two men on deck to
take the boat and return to the schooner for the carpenter, bidding him
bring with him everything necessary to pick a number of locks, or
otherwise open some drawers and cupboards. And while the boat was gone
I turned my attention to the dressing-table.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.
HOARD COMMUNICATES TO ME SOME VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
This, too, was a very substantial and handsomely made piece of
furniture, the material being Spanish mahogany. But, unlike the
writing-table, all its drawers were unlocked; and, opening them one
after the other, I found them to be full of apparel: shirts of finest
linen, silk stockings, a brand-new suit of uniform, coats, breeches--in
short everything necessary to complete the toilet of a man in the very
pink of fashion. And, hanging by its belt from one of several brass
hooks screwed to the bulkhead, I saw a very handsome sword with a gold
hilt. This I took down and examined, drawing the weapon from its sheath
to do so. The blade proved to be of Toledo make, a magnificent piece of
steel, so elastic that by exerting a considerable amount of strength I
succeeded in bringing the point and hilt together, and when I released
it, the blade at once straightened itself out again as perfectly as
before my experiment. The steel was elaborately damascened with a most
beautiful and intricate pattern in gold, and altogether the weapon so
irresistibly took my fancy that I unhesitatingly appropriated it
forthwith. The shirts and stockings, too, and a few other articles of
clothing that looked as if they would fit me, promised to make a very
welcome addition to my rather meagre wardrobe; so I made them up into a
good-sized bundle for transference to the schooner.
By the time that this was done the boat was alongside again, with the
carpenter; and presently that individual came clawing his way below with
his tools. I showed him what I wanted done, and he immediately set to
work; but so substantially put together was the table, and so strong and
intricate the locks appertaining to it, that the man was compelled to
virtually take the whole affair to pieces before we could get at its
contents. But the trouble was amply worth the taking; for I found the
despatches, locked in an iron box and sealed with the great seal of the
Governor of Cartagena, together with several other important-looking
documents which subsequently proved to be of the utmost value. In fact,
as my knowledge of Spanish was altogether too imperfect to admit of my
determining what papers were valuable and what were valueless, I took
every one that I could find.
This was not all, however. There were five Orders--what they were I
knew not, but they were handsome enough, being elaborately set with
superb jewels, to show that the late captain of the _Magdalena_ was a
man of _very_ considerable distinction. Also a magnificent pair of
long-barrelled pistols, the barrels of which were damascened like the
sword. And last, but not least, an oaken casket, strongly bound with
heavy, handsomely-worked iron clamps and hinges, also sealed with the
seal of the Governor of Cartagena, and which, upon being broken open,
was found to contain a quantity of uncut gems, among which I recognised
some rubies of extraordinary size and fire. All these valuables,
needless to say, I unhesitatingly appropriated, for the twofold reason
that if I did not they would certainly go to the bottom of the sea when
the ship broke up, as she probably would in a few days; and in the next
place, they were spoils of the enemy, to which we of the _Sword Fish_
had as valid a title as anybody.
Having at length thoroughly ransacked the captain's cabin, I proceeded
to overhaul the rest of the ship, devoting, indeed, practically the
whole day to the work; but nothing else was found worthy of mention,
except a chest containing a thousand gold Spanish dollars, in what I
took to be the purser's room. And as for the rest of the ship,
everywhere forward of the stump of the mainmast, she was so strained and
battered as to be nothing better than a basket, the water washing in and
out of her as she lay. We removed from the wreck the dollars, the
casket of gems, and the few other matters that seemed to be worth
taking, and still had daylight enough left to find our way out through
the northern channel. Sunset, that night, therefore, found us once more
at sea, and heading for Jamaica, I having determined to place the
despatches and other documents, found on board the wreck, in the
Admiral's hands without loss of time. The trade-wind was again blowing,
and blowing strong, too, so that, by carrying on, night and day, we made
the passage in exactly three days, almost to a minute, from the Roccas;
and I had the satisfaction of handing the despatches to the Admiral that
same night. The jolly old fellow was at dinner when I presented myself,
and was entertaining a number of officers, naval and military; but upon
my name being announced he at once ordered me to be admitted and
directed a knife and fork to be placed on the table for me. He received
me with much cordiality, and also introduced me to his guests; but I
could see that my presence was deemed an intrusion by most of them, the
naval men especially, who were not only jealous of privateersmen, but
were also very much inclined to look down upon us as inferior beings to
themselves. There were one or two exceptions, however, notably the
Honourable Augustus Montague and his first lieutenant, both of the
frigate _Calypso_, then in port; the former a most amiable and genial
young officer, with no nonsense at all about him, while his lieutenant,
Mr Birdwood, was as fine a fellow in every way as I had ever met. The
Admiral thanked me most warmly for the despatches, which he handed over
at once to his secretary for translation; and I had the intense
satisfaction of learning, before I left the Pen that night, that the
documents were deemed of sufficient importance to justify their
immediate despatch to England by a frigate. The Admiral was kind enough
to invite me to sleep at the Pen; but I excused myself, the fact being
that the schooner's rigging needed overhauling, and her supply of stores
and water required replenishing. I therefore slept in Kingston that
night; and having arranged, the first thing next morning, for the supply
of the stores and water, I went aboard to give orders to send down
topmasts and have the rigging lifted. But an interview with Hoard, the
man that we had taken off the wreck of the Spanish frigate, suddenly
altered all my plans.
The way that it came about was this. I reached the schooner about ten
o'clock in the morning, and at once gave my orders to Mr Saunders, who
forthwith set all hands to work. I then went below to my cabin to write
some letters home, to be forwarded by the frigate that was to take the
Spanish despatches; and whilst I was thus engaged a timid, hesitating
knock came to the door.
"Come in!" shouted I; and forthwith entered the man Hoard, carefully
closing the door behind him.
"Beg pardon, Cap'n Bowen, for interrupting you," he began; "but there's
a matter that I should like to speak to you about, if I ain't making too
bold."
"Not at all, Hoard," I answered. "But is the matter important? Won't
it wait? You see I am very busy just now, but I can give you as long as
you like this afternoon."
"Well, sir," answered the man, fidgeting uneasily with his cap, "it's
for you to say whether it's important or not. It's about a galleon
that's loading at Cartagena for Spain; and, understandin' that this
schooner is a privateer, I thought that maybe you'd like to have a try
for her, and if so, sir, I'd advise you--beggin' pardon for bein' so
bold--not to start so much as a rope-yarn of this vessel's rigging, or
mayhap you'll be too late for the galleon."
"By George, man," exclaimed I, "this is important news indeed! Why in
the world did you not speak to me about it before?"