THE BUSINESS BEGINS
With toil we set up the front of our stockade and a portion of the sides
of the parallelogram. It was all loopholed for our musketry, and was
firm and strong, being carefully stiffened behind by cross beams and
shored up with buttresses of big logs in a manner that, if not
thoroughly workmanlike, was at least satisfactory from the point of
strength, which was just then our main consideration. Our palisade was
about double the height of a man, and in the centres, both front and
back, there was a gate, that was held in its place when shut by heavy
bars of wood which fitted into holes cut to receive them.
Ere set of sun we had our outworks completed, and found ourselves the
possessors of a very creditable stockade, which under ordinary
conditions ought, if properly manned and well supplied with ammunition,
to resist the attack of a very much greater number than the defending
party. It was still in our mind to run out a palisade that should
connect our stronghold with the place where the skiff lay, but it was
too late, and we were now too exhausted to think of that, for we had
worked at our task ever since we had got the alarm, and it was really
impossible for us to do more in that work.
But before we rested we conveyed from our boat all our stores and all
our arms and ammunition--of which latter, indeed, we had no great
quantity, a matter which we had not heeded before, but which now gave us
great trouble. We brought in abundance of water, and we had ample
provisions, which the island itself had in chief part offered to us, so
that we could hold our own very well for a time in case it came to a
siege. Our hope, however, was that we might be able to prevent the
pirates from effecting a landing at all.
When we went to seek rest for the night we took care to set good guard
and to keep strict watch, for a night attack was possible, if it was not
very likely.
Though we were all very tired, both bodily and mentally, by reason of
the labour of our hands and the strain upon our minds, I do not think
that any of us found sleep very easy to come at first. I only know that
I lay on my back and stared up at the stars--for the night was too hot
to sleep under cover--for long enough. At last I fell asleep, and
through sleep into a fitful feverish dream, which chopped and changed
from one place and subject to another; but at last it settled down into
one decided dream--and that was a good dream, for it was a dream of
Marjorie. It seemed that I was walking with her along the downs beyond
Sendennis, not far from that place where Lancelot found me blubbering in
years gone by, and that I was telling her that I loved her, and that she
let me hold her hand while I told her, which showed that she was not
averse to my tale, and that when I had done she turned and looked me
full in the face, and there was love--love for me--in her eyes.
Then I awoke suddenly and found it was full day, and that Marjorie was
bending over me. For the moment I did not recollect where I was, and
stared in surprise at the great wooden paling by which we were
surrounded. Then recollection of the whole situation came back to me in
a flash, and I leapt to my feet.
All around me the men were making preparations for the morning meal, or
were engaged in looking to their weapons, testing the sharpness of a
cutlass or seeing to the priming of a matchlock. The big door of the
stronghold was open, and through it I could see the white beach and the
sea-edge, where Lancelot stood scanning the horizon with the spy-glass.
The sun was very bright, and I could hear the parrots screaming away in
the woods behind us.
'Come outside, Ralph,' said Marjorie. 'I want to speak with you.'
We went out together through the gate into the open, and walked slowly a
little way in the direction of the sea. Both of us looked, naturally
enough, to that island where our enemies lay. Presently we halted and
stood in silence a few minutes, and then Marjorie spoke.
'Ralph,' she said quietly, 'you are my friend, I believe.'
I had it in my heart to cry wild words to her; to tell her again that I
loved her then and for ever, but though the words tingled on my lips
they never took life and sound. For Marjorie was looking at me so
steadfastly and sadly with a strange gravity in the angel-blue of her
eyes that I could not speak what she might not wish to hear. So I simply
nodded my head and held out my hand and caught hers and clasped it
close.
'Ralph,' she said again. 'We fight for the right, but right is not
always might, and our enemies may overpower us. If they do--' here I
thought she paled a little, but her voice was as firm as ever--'if they
do, I want you to promise me one promise.'
I suppose the look in my face assured her that there was nothing she
could ask of me that I would not obey, for she went on without waiting
for me to speak:
'I have the right to ask you because of some words you once said to me,
words which I remember. If the worst comes you must kill me. Hush'--for
I gave a groan as she spoke.
'That must be. I have heard enough to know that I must not live if our
enemies triumph. If I were alone I should kill myself; if you were not
here I should have to ask Lancelot, but you are here and I would rather
it happened by your hand.'
It was strange to stand on that quiet shore by that quiet sea and look
into that beautiful face and listen to that beautiful voice and hear it
utter such words. But my heart thrilled with a wild pride at her prayer.
'I will do your bidding,' I said, and she answered 'I thank you.' We
might have been talking of nothing in particular so even were our voices
and so simple was our speech. I pressed her hand and let it go. Then,
swiftly, she came a little nearer and took my face in her dear hands
and kissed me on the forehead, and there are no words in the world sweet
enough or sacred enough to interpret my thoughts in that moment. Then
she moved away and made to go towards Lancelot, but even as she did so I
saw him turn and run towards us along the beach. As soon as he joined us
he bade Marjorie go to our hut and blow the horn to bring our people
together. After that she was to wait in her own shelter till he came for
her. She obeyed him unquestioningly, as she always did in those days of
danger, and for a moment Lancelot and I were alone.
'Here they come,' he said very tranquilly. 'See for yourself.' And he
handed the spy-glass to me.
As I put it to my eye he added: 'I can't understand where they get their
rig from.'
Neither could I. As I looked through the glass I could see that two
boats were coming slowly towards us, and that each boat was full of men.
It was surprising enough to see them coming in boats, but it was not
that which had chiefly surprised either Lancelot or me. Our wonder was
caused by the fact that all the men in the boats were clad in scarlet
coats, scarlet coats that looked very bright and clean and new.
'Can these be our men at all?' I asked of Lancelot in amazement. I could
not for the life of me conceive what other men they could be, but the
sight of all those scarlet coats filled me with astonishment.
Lancelot took the spy-glass from me again without replying, and looked
long and patiently at the approaching boats.
'Yes,' he said at last, 'they are our men sure enough, for I see the
face of Jensen among them. But how on earth has he contrived to deck out
all his gang of rascals in the likeness of soldiers?' He paused for a
moment; then added thoughtfully: ''Tis our Providence that the Royal
Christopher lost her cannon. Yonder stronghold would be no better than
so much pasteboard against a couple of the ship's guns.'
We had no time for further converse. The sound of the horn had rallied
our party, and soon the whole of our men were gathered about us, staring
over the sea at those two moving blots of scarlet. I cast an anxious
glance at the face of each man of our little party, and when I had
finished I did not feel anxious any more. I could see by the face of
every man that he meant to fight and to fight his best.
Lancelot lost no time in getting the men into order and in arranging
exactly what was to be done. It was curious, perhaps, although I did
not think it curious then, that these men should have accepted so
unquestioningly Lancelot's command over them. But they were old
soldiers, who had promised to obey Captain Amber, and he had himself
devolved his command upon Lancelot. And so, until Lancelot went stark
staring mad, which he was not in the least likely to do, they were
perfectly prepared to obey him.
I should not be adhering to the spirit of truthfulness which I have
observed in setting down these my early experiences if I did not confess
that I faced the fact of coming conflict with very mingled emotions.
This was the very first time that I had ever seen human beings about
to close in bloody strife. Here I found myself standing up with arms
in my hands, ready to take away the life of a fellow-creature--to take
away the lives of several fellow-creatures, if needs must. Moreover, I
knew very well that there were plenty of chances of my getting knocked
on the head in this my first scrimmage, and I trembled a little
inwardly--though not, as I believe, outwardly--at the thought of my
promise to Marjorie. And yet even with that thought a new courage came
into my heart. For I immediately resolved that, come what might, I would
endeavour to carry myself in such a manner as Marjorie would have me
carry myself, namely, as an honest man should, fighting to the best of
his ability for what he believed to be the right cause, and not making
too much of a fuss about it. And that resolve nerved me better than a
dram of spirits would have done, and I set aside the flask from which I
had been on the point to help myself.
I do not know if Lancelot felt like that in any degree, and I never
presumed to question him on the point afterwards, as there are some
topics upon which gentlemen cannot approach each other, however great
the degree of intimacy may be between them. But he certainly carried
himself as composedly as if we were standing in a ball-room before the
dancing began. It is true that he had been brought up to understand the
military life and the use of arms, and he had seen a battle fought in
the Low Countries, and had fought a duel himself in France with some
uncivil fellow. He never looked handsomer, brighter, more gallant than
then, and his faded sea-clothes became him as well as the richest gala
suit or finest uniform that courtier or soldier ever wore. He had an
exquisite neatness of his person ever, and had contrived every day upon
that island to shave himself, so that while most of his fellows bore
bristling beards, and my own chin was as raspy as a hedgehog, he might
have presented himself at the Court of St. James's, so spruce was his
appearance.
When all was ready Lancelot drew up his men very soldierly and made them
a little speech. He bade them bear in mind that the men who were about
to attack us were not merely our own enemies, but the King's; and not
merely the King's enemies, but Heaven's, because, being pirates, they
sinned against the laws of Heaven as well as the laws of earth. He bade
them be sure that they need look for no mercy from such fellows, and
that therefore it behoved every man of them to fight his best, both for
his own sake and for the sake of his companions; but also he conjured
them, if the victory went with them, not to forget that even those
pirates were made in God's image, albeit vilely perverted, and that it
was our duty as Christians and as soldiers to show them more mercy than
they would deal out to us. He ended by reminding them that they were
Englishmen, and that a portion of England's honour and glory depended
upon the way in which they carried themselves that day. To all of which
they listened attentively, every man standing steady as if on parade.
When Lancelot had quite finished he pulled off his hat and swung it in
the air, calling upon them to huzza for the King.
Then there went up from our band such a cheer as did my heart good. The
island rang for the first time in its life to the huzzaing with which
those stout fellows greeted the name of the King. Again and yet again
their voices shook the silence with that manly music, and I, while I
shouted as loud as the rest of them, glowed with pride to think that
courage and loyalty were the same all the world over. Nothing has ever
made me prouder than the courage of that knot of men about to engage in
a doubtful conflict in a nameless place with a gang of devils, and
gallantly cheering for their King before beginning it.
Those men in scarlet must have heard that cheer and been not a little
amazed by it. I dare say that by this time Cornelys Jensen had seen us
through his spy-glass. If so, how he must have cursed at our readiness
and at the sight of our stockade!
It was decided by Lancelot that the first thing to do was to prevent the
pirates from landing. If they succeeded by untoward chance in effecting
a landing, then all of us who were lucky enough to be left alive were
to retreat with all speed to the stronghold and fasten ourselves in
there. To this end the gate was left open, and in the charge of two men,
whose duty it would be to swing it to and bolt it the moment the last of
our men had got inside. A few men were left inside the stockade,
including the fugitives, to whom we had given arms. The main body of our
men were drawn up along the beach, with their muskets ready. Between
these and the stockade a few men were thrown out to cover our retreat,
if retreat there had to be.
It was anxious work to watch the advance of those two boats with their
scarlet crews over that tranquil tropic sea. The water was smooth, as it
had been now for days, and their coming was steady and measured. As had
been the case ever since we made Fair Island, there was almost no wind,
so that their sails were of little service, but their rowing was
excellent, as the rowing of good seamen always is. And, villains though
they were, those underlings of Jensen's were admirable sailors.
When they were quite near we could recognise the faces of the fellows in
the two boats. Cornelys Jensen was in the first boat, and he was dressed
out as sumptuously as any general of our army on a field day. For
though every man jack of them in the two boats was blazing in scarlet,
and though that scarlet cloth was additionally splendid with gold lace,
the cloth and the cut of Jensen's coat were finer and better than those
of the others, and it was adorned and laced with far greater profusion.
With his dark face and evil expression he looked, to my mind, in all his
finery more like my lady's monkey in holiday array than man, pirate, or
devil, although he was indeed all three.
Every man in those two boats was decked out in scarlet cloth and gold
lace--except one. Every man in those two boats was heavily armed with
muskets, pistols and cutlasses--except one. The exception was a man who
sat by the side of Jensen. He was clad in black, and his face was very
pale, and there was an ugly gash of a raw wound across his forehead. I
could see that his hands were tied behind him, and in the wantonness of
power Jensen had laid his own bare hanger across the prisoner's knees. I
knew the captive at once. He was the Reverend Mr. Ebrow, who had so
strengthened us by his exhortation during our peril on board the Royal
Christopher.
When Lancelot saw whom they had with them and the way that those
villains treated their captive I noted that his face paled, and that
there came a look into his eyes which I had not often seen there, but
which meant no good for Jensen and his scum if Lancelot got the top of
them. For Lancelot was a staunch Churchman and a respecter of ministers
of God's Word, and as loyal to his religion as he was to his King.
There was one face which I missed out of those boatloads of blackguards,
a face which I had very confidently expected to find most prominent
amongst them. When I missed it in the first boat I made sure that I
should find it in the second, and probably in the place of command; but
it was not there either, very much to my surprise. At that crisis in our
affairs, at that instant of peril to my life, I was for the moment most
perturbed, or at least most puzzled by the fact that I could not find
this familiar face among the collection of scarlet-coated scoundrels who
were creeping in upon us.
The face that I was looking for was a face that would have gone well
enough too with a scarlet coat, for it was a scarlet face in itself. I
looked for that red-haired face which I had seen for the first time
leering at me over Barbara's shoulders on the last day that ever I set
foot within the Skull and Spectacles. I was looking for the face of
Jensen's partner in treason--Hatchett.
By this time our enemies had come to within perhaps ten boats' lengths
of Fair Island. All this time they had kept silence, and all this while
we had kept silence also. But now, as if Lancelot had made up his mind
exactly at what point he would take it upon him to act, we assumed the
defensive. For Lancelot gave the command to make ready and to present
our pieces, and his words came from his lips as clearly and as
composedly as if he were only directing some drilling on an English
green. In a moment all our muskets were at the shoulder, while Lancelot
called out to the pirates that if they rowed another inch nearer he
would give the order to fire. Our men were steady men, and, though I am
sure that more than one of them was longing to empty his piece into the
boats, all remained as motionless as if on parade.
The pirate boats came to a dead stop, and I could see that all the men
who were not busy with the oars were gripping their guns. But Jensen
kept them down with a gesture. Then, as the boats were steady, he rose
to his feet and waved a white handkerchief in sign that he wished for
parley. It was part of the foppishness of the fellow that the
handkerchief was edged with lace, like a woman's or a grandee's.
Lancelot called out to him to know what he wanted. Jensen shouted back
that he wished to parley with us. Lancelot promptly made answer that he
needed no parley, that he knew him and his crew for traitors, murderers,
and pirates, with whom he would have no dealings save by arms.
At those bold words of his we could see that the fellows in the scarlet
coats were furious, and we could guess from their gestures that many of
them were urging Jensen to attack us at once, thinking, no doubt, that
they might return our fire and, being able to effect a landing before we
could reload, might cut us to pieces.
But, whatever their purposes were, Jensen restrained them, and it was a
marvel to see the ease with which he ruled those savages. He again
addressed himself to Lancelot, warning him that it would be for his
peace and the peace of those who were with him to come to some
understanding with the invaders. And at last, having spoken some time
without shaking Lancelot's resolve, Jensen asked if he would at least
receive an envoy upon the island.
Lancelot was about to refuse again when something crossed his mind, and
he shouted back to Jensen to know whom he would send. Jensen, who had
probably divined his thoughts, clapped his hand upon the shoulder of
that prisoner of his who sat by his side all in black, and called out to
Lancelot that he proposed to send the parson as his envoy. To this
Lancelot agreed, but I saw that he looked anxious, for it crossed his
mind, as he afterwards told me, that this proposition might merely serve
as an excuse for the pirate boats to come close, and so give them a
better chance of attacking us. However, the pirates made no such
attempt. It may be that Jensen, who was quick of wit, guessed Lancelot's
thought. The boats remained where they were. We saw the reverend
gentleman stand up. One of Jensen's fellows untied his hands, and then
without more ado Jensen caught the poor man up by his waistband and
straightway flung him into the sea.
A cry of anger broke from Lancelot's lips when he saw this, for he
feared that the man might drown. But he was a fair swimmer, and the
distance was not so great, so within a few seconds of his plunge he
found his depth and came wading towards us with the water up to his
middle, looking as wretched as a wet rat, while all the rogues in the
boats laughed loud and long at the figure he cut.
[Illustration: "LANCELOT RUSHED FORWARD INTO THE WATER."]
Lancelot rushed forward into the water to give him his hand, and so drew
the poor fellow on to the dry land and amongst us again.
The first thing he did was to assure us--which was indeed hardly
necessary, considering his cloth and his character--that he was in no
wise leagued with the pirates, but simply and solely a prisoner at their
mercy, whose life they had preserved that he might be of use to them as
a hostage.
Lancelot called out to the pirate boats to withdraw further back, which
they did after he had passed his word that he would confer with them
again in a quarter of an hour, after he had heard what their envoy had
to say. When they had withdrawn out of gunshot, their scarlet suits
glowing like two patches of blood on the water, then Lancelot, still
bidding our line to be on guard against any surprise, withdrew with me
and the clergyman and two or three of our friends a little way up the
beach. And there we called upon Mr. Ebrow to tell us all that he had to
tell.