A Fight on the Cliffs
The three doubled back towards the chine, which was little more than
half a mile away. The Spaniards saw them ere they disappeared among
the trees, and followed with loud shouts, quickening their pace when
they reached the spot where their comrades lay. But the Englishmen,
knowing the ground, came in good time to the edge of the gully, where a
steep and winding path led down to the ledge on which the huts were
built. From the summit the ledge was not visible.
"Shall we run down at once, or give them a taste of their own lead
first?" asked Dennis, halting for a moment.
"Give the knaves a taste, to be sure," replied Amos. "They know not
how many we be, nor can they see through the trees; and we must needs
check them, to give us time to acquaint our comrades with what is
toward, and set our defences in order."
While speaking he had kindled the matches taken from the Spaniards.
The calivers were already loaded. Crouching behind the thick bushes
that lined the edge of the gully, they fired when they caught sight of
the Spaniards advancing among the trees. Two of the enemy fell; the
rest halted; and while they stood considering whether to advance, the
three Englishmen hurried down the path, guessing that the Spaniards
would hardly venture to follow while they were ignorant of the size of
the force with which they had to deal.
Arriving at the ledge, Turnpenny gave a hail to the men on the deck of
the pinnace, bidding them leave the vessel and bring their arms and
ammunition with them. They had been much alarmed by the continued
absence of their leaders, and by the sound of the shots, and asked
anxiously, when they reached the ledge, what was to be done. Dennis
rapidly told them what he had seen from the summit of the cliff, and
how for the present the Spaniards had been checked, and then, taking
Turnpenny and two or three of the others aside, began to concert a plan
of defence.
The position was naturally a strong one. The ledge was accessible only
by the narrow path from the cliff-top, and by a few yards of steep
ascent from the base of the gully. It was protected from attack from
above by the overhanging cliff; it could only be assaulted from below
if the enemy got into the bed of the gully, either by coming in boats
round the shoulder of the cliff, or by clambering down the sides
inland. The gully was forty yards across; the opposite bank was steep
and much overgrown with vegetation, trees and bushes growing thick to
the very edge. Down the middle ran the stream from the marsh, very
shallow after a season of dry weather. On their own side the defenders
could pick off the enemy if they came to attack them along the narrow
path; they were only in danger if the Spaniards took post on the summit
of the cliff opposite, and they could not reach that spot except by
making a long circuit about the marsh in which the stream took its
rise, or by clambering down the southern bank some distance up-stream,
wading through the water and climbing the other side. This would be a
matter of an hour or two at least--an invaluable respite which Dennis
resolved to make the most of.
He sent one of the maroons up the path to keep watch on the enemy, and
another to cross the gully, clamber up the opposite face, and hide
among the trees there to give notice of an approach from the
north-east. The other maroons, with several of the Englishmen, he set
to fortify the extremity of the ledge with a wall of branches, so that
the party might be screened from gunshot on the far side. Turnpenny,
with the strongest of the mariners, went down to the pinnace, and at
the cost of great exertion brought up the falcon and rabinets which
formed, with the addition of a saker, her armament. The saker was a
muzzle-loader weighing more than half a ton, and too cumbrous to be
hauled up the steep cliff; but the falcon was less than half that
weight, and the two rabinets weighed only three hundred pounds apiece.
The falcon was seven feet long, had a bore of two and a half inches,
and threw a shot of three pounds weight, with a similar weight of
powder. The rabinet was only two and a half feet in length, its bore
was one inch, and its shot weighed only half a pound. Both guns had a
point-blank range of from a hundred and twenty to a hundred and fifty
yards, and, mounted on the ledge, in embrasures of the extemporized
wall, they would prove very effective weapons of defence.
While the guns were being hauled into position, others of the men
brought buckets of water, filled at the cliff stream, and emptied them
into the casks which during the months spent on the island by Dennis
and the sailors had been depleted of the stores they had held when
brought from the hold of the _Maid Marian_. Two casks still remained
full of cider, but this having gone sour in the heat, it was poured
away, the casks were swilled out, and re-filled with water. It was
fortunate that a pure spring welled in the cliff, for the water of the
rivulet draining the marsh was unfit for drinking.
All the men worked with a will. They knew not as yet how many the
enemy numbered, but since there were three vessels, of which each, if
fully manned, might contain from forty to seventy men, they had to
reckon with a force that might be from a hundred and twenty to more
than two hundred strong. The odds were tremendously against them. All
told, they numbered only twenty-six, of whom six were maroons. But
they had only two courses open to them: to fight, and at least sell
their lives dearly, or to yield, and be shot or hanged or haled away to
a slavery worse than death. Not one of them hesitated in his choice.
As a last resort, Dennis had the cave to fall back upon; but he was
loath to retire to it until he had made a good fight at the gully, for
while, from the ledge on which his hut stood, he could command the
entrance of the gully, and to some extent protect the pinnace, the cave
was deeper in the cliff and out of sight, and however strenuously the
party might defend itself there, the pinnace would then be at the mercy
of the enemy. It was true that, even if the pinnace were carried away
or destroyed, a canoe could be dug out by the maroons, so that they
would still have a means of leaving the island; but Dennis was
determined to sail the _Minion_ back to Port Diego and to Francis Drake.
Midday came, and passed. The maroons had finished their wall; the guns
were mounted and charged; the water-casks were filled: and still there
was no sign of the enemy. But the scouts had not returned, and Dennis
began to feel somewhat uneasy. What were the Spaniards doing?
"Have we left aught undone, think you?" he said to Turnpenny, as they
sat on upturned tubs eating their dinner.
"Nowt, sir, as I can see. But methinks 't'ud be well to withdraw the
muzzles of our guns somewhat. If the knaves come on t'other side and
spy them, they may sheer off and seek some other way of troubling us;
and I would that they came to close quarters here, where we can strike
them down."
"'Tis good counsel. Not perceiving the guns they will be the more
emboldened to attack us, and 'twere well we have occasion to teach them
a sound lesson."
Accordingly the guns were withdrawn so that their muzzles did not
project from the other side of the wall. Hardly had this been done
when the nose of a boat was seen shooting round the shoulder of the
cliff.
"Lookeedesee!" cried Turnpenny. "The knaves that followed us did
assuredly go back to their comrades and tell them of the gully and the
path downwards, and they have sent their cock-boat to spy the place
from the sea."
"Let us keep out of sight and watch what they do," said Dennis.
The boat, filled with armed men, came under full sweep of oars up the
entrance to the gully. When it was still some distance from the
pinnace the men rested on their oars, and one rose in the bows to look
about him. For some time he saw nothing to indicate that the place was
defended, and his fellows in the boat began to talk over the situation,
the sound of their voices coming clearly to the men behind the wall.
Then, as the boat again moved towards the pool, some one in it suddenly
caught sight of the barricaded ledge, and the voices broke out once
more in eager discussion. The upshot of this was that they came to the
conclusion that the pinnace had been abandoned to her fate, and with a
shout of triumph they bent lustily to their oars and came on with the
evident intention of securing the vessel.
But they were now within range of the calivers of the defenders. At a
sign from Dennis eight of the men stepped forward to the wall, lit
their matches, and, resting the weapons on the top, fired when he gave
the word. Several of the oarsmen were seen to fall back; the boat came
to a stop; and while the Spaniards were hesitating whether to advance
or retreat, eight more men sent a hot volley among them, working havoc
in the crowded boat. Cries of pain were now mingled with their shouts;
the defenders heard a loud word of command; and the rowers began to
back water so as not to present the side of the boat to the hidden
marksmen. When the boat was out of danger it swung round on the
current, and in a few minutes disappeared past the shoulder of the
cliff.
Scarcely was it out of sight when the maroon who had been sent up the
cliff to the south came running down the path. He reported that he had
stealthily spied upon the Spaniards who had been baffled when Dennis
and Turnpenny vanished over the edge; they had returned to the southern
shore, where they rejoined a larger party which had assembled there. A
council had been held on the beach; horns were sounded, no doubt to
recall scattered bands who had been ranging the island in other
directions; more men had been sent off from the ships; and the whole
force, numbering, as near as he could guess, nearly two hundred men,
had set off with matches already lighted, marching northward.
Moreover, the third vessel, which had been lying off the south-western
shore, was working slowly up the coast.
"'Twas from her, without doubt, the boat put off that we have lately
routed," said Dennis. "The men aboard will tell what they have seen.
What will be the upshot, think you, Amos?"
"Be jowned if I can tell, sir. My counsel is, let the maroon go back
and spy upon them. An the knaves march directly northward they will
come upon the gully just above us, and methinks, however stout they be,
they will not dare to come down the path, where we can shoot them man
by man."
It was done as he suggested. Within half an hour the maroon came back
with the news that the boat had been run ashore on low ground to the
west: many wounded men had been lifted out of it; and the majority of
the Spaniards had hastened across country to rejoin the marching force.
It halted while a consultation was held; then the march was resumed,
but this time in a more easterly direction, which would bring them to
the gully at a point about midway between the ledge and the morass,
where the banks were sufficiently low and the stream sufficiently
shallow to permit them to cross without difficulty.
"They be coming about to fire down at us from t'other side," said
Turnpenny.
"Over the wall," added Copstone.
"We can fire back," said Whiddon.
"Zuggers! but twenty of us cannot keep two hundred in check," said Hugh
Curder, anxiously.
"Say you so?" said Dennis. "Master Drake with but few more did assault
and take a whole town. The Spaniards have learnt the worth of an
English mariner; they will not approach us rashly. And they know not
the ground as we know it. 'Twill be a matter of time to cross the
gully and climb the bank and creep along through the trees on the
further side until they face us here. There is--you know it well--a
space on the opposite cliff where the trees grow somewhat thin: a space
which the knaves must cross an they wish to gain the edge. Might we
not ensconce ourselves on the hither border of that space, and fire
upon them as they come? We are not able, 'tis true, a poor twenty, to
withstand the fervent assault of two hundred; but we can assuredly
delay them, and teach them somewhat to respect us, and give time withal
for our wall to be increased in height; meseems it is lower than is
proper. What say you, lads; shall we do this?"
"But how get back to this our fort, sir?" asked one of Drake's men.
"We must fall back before them if they push on, and then methinks they
might drive us over the brink, so that we fall headlong to the bottom,
and break in pieces."
"Nay, Wetherall," replied Dennis. "We would take two, or even three,
calivers apiece, whereby we twenty become sixty, and I warrant me we
could do so much damage among them that they would pause ere they
resolved to bring it to a push. And while they paused, we should have
time to scramble down through the trees and shrubs, and up this side
again, and come to our wall, mayhap, before they won to the edge.
Assuredly we can do them more hurt yonder than if we wait until they
stand in serried mass face to face with us above. Shall we do it,
lads, for the honour of England?"
"Ay, ay, sir," shouted the men, fired by his enthusiasm and confidence;
and Hugh Curder began to troll--
"And hey for the honour of old England,
Old England, Old England!"
The move was instantly begun. Dennis bade four of the maroons weave
more branches into the wall. The rest of the men, with two loaded
calivers apiece--three were found to be too cumbrous a load--followed
Dennis down the cliff, forded the stream on rocks just above the pool
where the pinnace and the _Maid Marian_ lay, and clambered up the
opposite cliff by a zigzag path, assisting themselves by the branches
and projecting roots of trees. Arriving at the summit, they waited
only to light their matches, then hurried forward through the
undergrowth to the edge of the somewhat open space which the enemy must
cross. Each man posted himself behind a convenient tree. For two
hundred yards in their front there were only a few scattered trees and
bushes. Dennis wished there were time to fell these and so deprive the
enemy wholly of cover; but even if they could have been cut down, there
was no means at hand of dragging them away, and they would give less
protection if left erect than if they lay lengthwise across the space.
About half an hour after they had thus taken up their positions, the
maroon who had previously been sent across the gully as a scout came
running back to announce that the enemy were approaching. They were
marching with great caution, the soldiers blowing on their smouldering
matches to keep them alight. Dennis ordered the maroon to post himself
behind a tree, and the little party waited in breathless silence for
the enemy to appear.
At last one or two men could be seen among the trees on the other side
of the clearing. They halted, evidently waiting for the main body to
appear before they moved across. Dennis took advantage of the interval
to whisper his orders to the men. If the enemy did not come on in a
mass, and at the charge, only alternate men were to fire the first
volley, then, if they had time, to reload their pieces, still having
the second loaded caliver in reserve.
In a few minutes the gleam of the Spaniards' headpieces and
shoulder-plates was seen as they joined the advance scouts among the
trees. Then, as it were out of the leafy wall, some twenty men marched
resolutely forward in closed ranks, clearly without any suspicion that
the woods beyond were occupied. Dennis waited until they were half-way
across the open space, then he sounded the "Hoo! hoo!" which was the
maroons' signal in wood fighting. The calivers flashed from the belt
of trees; several of the enemy fell; the rest, startled and confused by
this sudden and unexpected attack, rushed back instantly upon the main
body, while the men who had fired began in all haste to reload.
But they had no time to complete the priming of their weapons. A shout
was heard from beyond the clearing. Immediately afterwards a tall
Spaniard, whom his dress marked out as an officer, dashed forward at
the top of his speed, carrying a short heavy pistol of the kind known
to Englishmen as "daggs." With a yell the whole body followed at his
heels. For a moment it seemed to Dennis that nothing could stay the
rush; he and his little party must be overwhelmed. But he called aloud
to his men to hold their fire until the Spaniards should come within
point-blank range. One man, Nick Joland, in sheer nervousness, fired
wildly before the proper time; but the rest, being old mariners who had
borne a part in many a scrimmage before, had sufficient self-command to
obey his orders.
On came the Spaniards, and some of the waiting Englishmen knew them to
be trained soldiers, infantrymen reputed the finest in the world. But
none of the seamen quailed. They knew what was at stake. When the
enemy were within forty paces Dennis gave the word. Twenty calivers
sped forth their deadly missiles, and every shot took effect. Even the
splendid courage and discipline of the Spanish soldiery was unequal to
the strain put upon it. Twenty of them lay writhing or motionless upon
the ground; the mass behind recoiled, and fled to cover, some to the
few trees and shrubs that dotted the open space, others to the thick
wood beyond.
Among those who had been struck down was the gallant captain. He had
just risen on one knee when one of his men sprang from the shattered
ranks to his assistance. Reckless of consequences, the brave fellow
rushed to the middle of the clearing, fully exposed to the marksmen,
and, lifting the wounded officer, carried him bodily among the trees.
His courage drew a great cheer from the Englishmen, not one of whom
raised his weapon to shoot.
"My heart, 'tis a brave lad," roared Turnpenny; "and withal a mighty."
The advance had been checked; the enemy had disappeared; but the voice
of another officer was heard haranguing the men. Soon bullets began to
spatter among the trees behind which the Englishmen lurked, and there
were signs that the Spaniards were spreading out with the object of
taking them in flank. It was time to retreat if they were not to be
cut off. The enemy's movement would take some time,--after their check
they would hesitate to make another direct attack across the clearing;
and Dennis hoped to be able to clamber down the cliff and regain the
ledge before the Spaniards discovered that their opponents had
disappeared. The word was passed quietly along the line; the men
snatched up their weapons; and running fleetly to the edge, leapt,
rolled, swung themselves down with all possible haste.
They had crossed the stream and were half-way up the opposite side when
the movement was seen by one of a flanking party of the Spaniards. A
loud cry proclaimed his discovery of their flight; he fired his
caliver, and Hugh Curder gave a yell; the bullet had struck his foot.
But by the time other Spaniards had come to the brink of the cliff,
and, kneeling down, fired across the gully, the whole party had reached
the ledge, and dropped down panting behind the wall, where for the
moment they were safe.