The next day (it was Saturday), I was hovering near Captain Desmond's
quarters on some excuse to enquire after my comrade, when there came a
summons for hands forward, and a general stir as of something untoward
afoot.
So far as I could judge, we were bowling along before a smart westerly
breeze with all canvas set, just about where the Channel straitens
betwixt Dover on the English side and Calais on the French. Though we
were towards the French side, we could clearly see the white cliffs of
England to our left, and betwixt us and them, scarcely a mile to rear of
us, hovered a certain number of English craft which had not followed
their greater ships into Dover. To our right the towers and steeples of
Calais town rose up clear and bright, while straight ahead of us the
long line of the Armada, of which we closed in the rear, swept forward
as though they would dart clean past the Straits and make for the
Dutchman's land beyond.
But as I went forward I marked a rapid passing of signals along the
line, and a crowding on each ship at the forecastle. The great anchors
of the _Rata_ were swung in readiness over the prow, and a score of men
stood by to pay out the cable. Then, as we strained our eyes eagerly
ahead, we could see the tall masts of the Duke's ship, and of all the
ships betwixt him and us, suddenly swing round into the wind's eye.
There was a great flapping of canvas, a rattle of chains, and a plunging
of anchors, and then, as if by magic, the great Armada stood still, at
bay.
It was easy to guess the object of this strange movement, and as I
looked away towards the English fleet, I felt uneasy. For so suddenly
was the Spanish fleet halted, and so near upon its heels were the
pursuers, that, unless these could halt as suddenly, they would
assuredly slip past, and so give the Spaniard--what he so greatly
desired and longed for--the wind of them.
Already the young nobles on the _Rata_ were laughing at the smart policy
of their Admiral, and rejoicing in the near prospect of a turning of the
tables--(for could they once get the Englishman betwixt them and the
Duke of Parma's fleet, which was waiting on the Dutch coast, they would
crumple him up like chaff between two mill-stones)--already, I say, they
were counting on seeing the enemy run past them, down the wind; when,
lo, with a derisive shot or two into the air, the Englishmen put about
quietly, and after hovering a little, and running a little in the teeth
of the wind to get a nice distance from us, they dropped anchor too, and
turned every one his broad-stern upon us, so that we might all have an
eye full of the Queen's ensigns which floated there.
I confess I lifted my hat in joy and loyalty to see how cunningly the
Don had been out-reached. And the Spanish oaths which hissed out from a
hundred lips, as they saw the same thing, sounded to me (Heaven forgive
me!) like music.
So overjoyed was I, that without leave I went off, laughing, to tell
Ludar the news. But alack! at the very entrance to the officer's
quarters, whom should I run against but Don Alonzo himself? So smartly
did I come against him, that, had I not caught him roughly by the arm,
he might have fallen backwards.
When he saw who it was, his brow darkened (and little wonder!) and he
said something in Spanish that I was glad I did not know the meaning of.
He recovered himself, however, and drew up coldly a moment after.
"This eternal printer!" said he. "The way to the main-mast you know
already, sirrah. Take with you this time to the top three days'
rations. If you are found lower than the top-mast yard before then, you
swing at the bowsprit."
I was sorely tempted to retort then--so put about was I--that there was
less chance of my countrymen seeing me if I swung at his bowsprit than
if I swung at his stern. But I prudently forebore.
"Sire," said I, "permit me first--"
He turned on me with such a look that I ventured no more parley; and sad
at heart, wondering what Ludar would think of me for not coming to him,
and wishing this cursed sea-fight was at an end, I went to the hold for
biscuits and a bottle of water, and, with no better armour than this,
crawled miserably aloft.
Little I guessed what a revenge I was to have on the Dons before my
three days were over!
For a while, not a little of my pleasure in seeing her Majesty's ships
on the right side of the wind was lost by this untoward accident. And
since the wind freshened increasingly during the day, and the Channel in
those Straits is wickedly rough, I was soon too ill and out of humour to
think of anything at all. I had more than one mind to venture an
escape, and perhaps swim to the French coast. Yet, so long as Ludar was
on the ship, I could not do it; and he in his grandee's quarters was as
close a prisoner from me as if he had still been in the Tower.
I was growing tired of the Invincible Armada, and thought with longing
of the snug parlour in the printing house without Temple Bar, where I
had sat of old, listening to the music of a certain sweet voice which
now seemed all but lost to me in the howling of winds and booming of
guns and grinding of Spanish teeth.
Where now was she, and that fair maiden whom Ludar loved? What hope
were there of our ever meeting or hearing of one another's fate?
The night passed, and as Sunday dawned, I could see the English ships
still hovering not far to rearward; while across, toward the English
coasts, shone many white sails, as of the greater Queen's ships
returning to join the fleet.
The wind slackened, so that the anchorage of the Armada, which had been
sore strained in the night, held good; and with the French town so close
on their flank, I thought, despite their loss of the wind, they rode
safely enough where they were, and would have leisure to say mass and
celebrate their popish rites without fear of disturbance that Sunday.
So it fell out. All day long bells sounded instead of cannons, and
instead of powder the smoke of incense rose to where I perched.
Moreover, I could guess, by the merry laughter which now and then came
the same way, that their Don-ships were in better heart than yesterday.
Perchance the Duke of Parma was already on his way.
As for the English, they lay quietly in their moorings, sparing powder
and shot too, and, as it seemed, ready to wait on the Spaniard for the
next move.
Towards nightfall, I seemed to detect a stir in their quarters; and
presently some seven or eight moderate sized craft fell out of the line,
and, with sails set, bore down our way. I marvelled very much that if
an attack was to be made, it should be left to ill-armed craft like
these to make it, while the greater ships hung idle at a distance. But
I supposed it was but a device to take off the Spaniard's notice from
something else, and waited curiously to see the result.
They came leisurely towards us, those eight ugly craft, about a cable
length apart, steering towards the very centre of our line. As they
approached night fell rapidly. But still they held on. I could see
their lights hoisted one by one, and strained my ears to catch the first
sound of a shot.
Strange to say, they saved their powder. The last I saw of them, as
night closed in, they were bearing down full in the wind, each with his
cock-boat in tow, within a gunshot's distance of the centre of our line.
One of the Spaniards there gave them a disdainful shot, by way of
challenge; but they gave never an answer.
Then, all of a sudden, there was a flare, and a roar of flame which
leapt up and lit the heavens; and eight blazing vessels drifted full
into the middle of the Invincible Armada.
Never shall I forget the scene that followed. There was a moment of
bewilderment and doubt; then a hurried random shot or two; then, as the
burning masses, spreading before the wind, scattered their fires within
the lines, a mighty shout, a rush of footsteps on deck, a hacking of
cables and running of chains, a frantic hauling round into the wind; and
then, amid panic cries, the galleons of Spain swung round, and, huddled
together with tails turned, stood out for sea.
The glare of the English fire-ships lit up the sea like a lake of hell,
and amidst the roar of the flames, and the yells of the Spaniards, might
be heard the crashing of bowsprits and tumbling of masts, as galleon ran
into galleon in the race for safety. A few of them took fire from the
English fire-ships; some blew up; others, stove in by their own
consorts, foundered miserably; some went ashore on the shallows; but
most got into the wind and fled for their lives out of the Straits.
The _Rata_, being last of the line, escaped with little hurt; for all
the vessels ahead of her had cleared off before she got under weigh.
That was a merry night for me up in my perch. I hallooed and cheered,
and shouted "God save the Queen!" till I was hoarse. I jeered the King
of Spain, and hooted his men. No one heard me; but it did me good.
When day broke, there we were, the glorious Armada, like a scared flock
of sheep, six miles away from Calais, looking round at one another with
white faces, and counting the cost of that night's fireworks. A few
charred hulks drifting in the distance were all that were left of the
terrible brands which had routed the Don from his beauty sleep; while
many a disabled galleon on our side told of the panic they had caused.
Like sheep, at a safe distance, the Spaniards swung round cautiously to
face the danger that had passed; and a cry presently arose, not
unmingled with shame, of "Back to Calais!"
But the cunning Englishmen had risen too early in the morning to permit
that. Already their sails crowded the western horizon and, as we lay in
a long crooked line, waiting the Admiral's signal to beat up again for
our lost anchorage, down they bore upon us--half of their sail swooping
on the right of our line, the other half on the left.
Then followed the biggest battle of all that great sea-fight. For,
taking us on either flank, the Englishmen, coming for the first time to
close quarters, huddled our ships in towards the centre, sending us one
on the top of the other, so that for every ship they sank by their own
shot, another went down, stove in by her next neighbour. Where I was,
the smoke was soon so dense that I could see but little clearly. More
than once, I know, the _Rata_ was in the thick of the fight, pounding
away at the Englishmen, and receiving broadside after broadside in
return, which crashed against the hull and shook me where I hung at the
mast-head. The sails round me were riddled with shot, and once or twice
I, coming suddenly into view, became a special target for the enemy's
marksmen.
Little cared I! For at every shot that day the banner of Spain tottered
lower and lower to its fall, and the flag of old England spread wider
and more proudly in the breeze!
Presently, I remember, an English ship named the _Vanguard_, slipped
suddenly in betwixt the _Rata_ and another tall Spaniard, so close that
we swung there all three together, with our yards entangled, and blazing
away at one another, till I wondered if there could be a man left alive
below.
As for me, up where I was, I thanked Heaven that the smoke around me
rose in clouds and hid me. As it was, many a bullet, shot at random,
whizzed through the cords to which I clung, and once a great booming
shot tore away the streamer at the mast-head. But so busy were all down
below that no one troubled himself to look for the skulker aloft, who
sat there, as it seemed, above the clouds, not even knowing, as the day
wore on, whether the _Rata_ still belonged to the King of Spain or to
her glorious Majesty.
Suddenly, hard by, I heard a loud shout, and looking round, saw, on the
yard-arm of the Englishman's ship, a smoke-bedimmed fellow, with his
knife betwixt his lips, crawling towards where, at every lurch, the pole
on which I squatted swung across his own. I was in a sore strait when I
saw him. For how could I fight against my Queen? Yet, if I let him and
the fellows that swarmed up the tackle after him pass, what of my debt
of honour to the King of Spain?
The matter was settled for me; for, perceiving me as we swung together,
the fellow made a wild grab at me, and, slashing with his knife at the
hand by which I clung to the mast, forced me to quit my hold, and clutch
at him instead. Then, as I did so, the masts swung asunder, and, lo and
behold, I was no longer on the _Rata_, but a prisoner of my own Queen.
I made a dash to spring back to the Spanish ship, but it was too late.
The Don was already hauling off, and every moment the gap between him
and the English ship became wider. Half-a-dozen stout British hands
held me fast, and as many blades at my breast warned me that the game
was up.
"Hands-off, comrades!" I shouted; "I am an Englishman."
At that they laughed, and bade me say my prayers, for my hour was come,
and they had other work on hands.
"God save her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and curse the King of Spain!"
cried I.
Then one or two of them stared round, and cursed me for a Jesuit.
"I am no Jesuit, but a London 'prentice lad," said I, "and have broken
heads better than yours for my Queen before now, as I will prove to any
two of you that like, even here."
This pleased them better, and they bade me, as I loved my Queen, take a
musket and slay them the first Spaniard I could spy on the enemy's deck.
"Give me the gun," said I, with a laugh, "and bullets enough for every
dog of them."
At that moment the smoke below me drifted, so that I could just espy, as
in a frame of cloud, a little spot on the deck of the _Rata_, where
stood a man. He was tall like a giant. The tawny hair waved carelessly
in the wind. He carried no weapon, but leaned with both hands heavily
on the rail, like a man wounded, and his face, when he turned it, was
pale. There was a grim smile on his lips as he watched the panic-
stricken sailors hauling off their ship; and once he turned and looked
up, not at me, but at where I had been.
"Fire!" shouted the men at my side, "or we strike."
I dropped the gun into the waves below, and with a mighty lump in my
throat, whipped out my knife and waited for what should follow.
They fell back amazed at my madness, and, while they consulted what to
do with me, I took my chance to grip the first of them by the throat and
swing him off his perch.
At that moment a shrill whistle came up from below.
"You are wanted on deck, comrade," said I; "will you go down by the
mast, or a shorter way?"
"The mast," he gasped.
So I had my way, and we all went below together.
The English captain--one Admiral Winter--swore roundly when he saw me;
and, when he heard my story, said he had bellies enough to fill without
a great hulk of a fellow like me to eat more. And he promised me, if he
caught me idle at my work, he would trip me by the heels himself.
Whereat I thanked him and went forward.
But I was in doleful dumps. For I had lost my friend--perhaps for ever.
"Come, haul away, land lubber that thou art," cried a voice at my side.
Looking round, whom should I see but that same Will Peake, the mercer's
man of London Bridge, with whom I had had so many a merry bout in times
past.
He was too busy just then to do aught but grin in my face and bid me
haul away. For the other Spanish ship had fared worse than the _Rata_,
and was already heeling over on her side.
"Haul away, you hulking lubber," yelled Will, "or she'll be on her beam-
ends before we are clear."
So, for five minutes, we and a parcel of other fellows worked might and
main to cut away tackle and clear ourselves of the doomed galleon, which
settled over farther and farther, showing her whole broadside from
gunwale to keel, and blazing despairingly heavenward with her guns.
"Why not give her a broadside to help her over?" asked one who worked
near.
"Because," said Will, wisely, "we have no shot left to do it."
"What!" I asked, "are we in such a plight as that?"
"'Tis true," said Will; "I heard it from the gun officer an hour ago.
And not only are we at an end, but so is all her Majesty's fleet."
"Then we are lost!" I said.
"No doubt," replied he. "Yet we had merry sport with the Don while it
lasted; and methinks he will run a bit without our help, before he find
out that we fight him with one arm bound."
So it turned out. The fight dragged on through the afternoon, and ship
after ship of the King of Spain went to her doom, or drifted helplessly
on the mud banks of Gravelines. But the English fire dropped shorter
and shorter; and as evening closed (had the enemy but known it!) we had
scarce a broadside left among us.
Yet Heaven remembered us in our extremity. For no sooner had our guns
become mute than the south wind came down on us with a burst, catching
us in the small of our backs, and sending the Don away in front of us,
staggering and reeling seaward, for his very life.
'Twas a sad spectacle for me. I had long since lost sight of the
_Rata_. In vain I scanned the smoke-laden horizon for a sight of her.
I never saw her more. I could fancy Ludar stalking the deck, or scaling
the masts wildly, in search of me; and then, when he found me not, with
the cloud deep on his noble brow, crawling to his berth in the dark to
tell himself that I was dead.