The next morning I went sadly enough to my labor, which consisted in
cutting and making a new sail, when at about ten o'clock, the watch at
the mast-head, cried out:
"A sail! a sail!"
I went aloft, and saw that it was a large merchant vessel. The captain
weighed anchor, sailed down upon her and when he supposed himself sure
of his prey, fired off a cannon; the brig hoisted the English flag and
lay to. This unexpected manoeuvre seemed very suspicious to the
captain; he began to believe that he had to deal with a man-of-war;
changed his plan, and determined upon boarding the strange vessel; he
gave orders to have two boats manned with the bravest of his crew,
which should attack the ship upon both sides at once, and commanded me
to head the expedition. Such an order terrified me not a little.
"What," I cried, "must I fight thus shamefully with my countrymen. If
I am taken prisoner what can I expect but the most shameful death. No,
Senor, I can never obey your orders."
"Who are you," he answered fiercely, "who think yourself so much
better than me and my men? Do we not expose ourselves to death every
hour of the day? My vessel shall never be taken, for when I can no
longer defend it I will blow it up. Obey me instantly or I will have
you shot in the twinkling of an eye."
"Do it," I coolly rejoined, "I do not fear death, but I will never
obey your orders."
"Well then," he cried furiously, "to death with him. Bandage his eyes.
Five minutes respite only, and let three men aim at his head and three
at his heart."
The pirates obeyed instantly, and I commended my soul to God. When the
five minutes had gone, the captain asked:
"Are you ready, helmsman?"
"Yes, Senor."
"You persist then in your obstinacy."
"Yes, Senor."
"Attention! Make ready! Fire!"
The men fired, but I remained unhurt; a burning cork flew in my face,
but made no wound. The captain had intended to frighten me, and his
men had only loaded with blank cartridges.
"Well, helmsman," he cried, "are you mortally wounded? Have you had
enough?"
"I am not wounded, Senor," I replied, "but I am not a boy to be
trifled with; if you are going to kill me, do it quickly, for I will
never disgrace myself by obeying your orders."
"So be it then," cried the pirate, foaming with rage; "bind him to the
mainmast; unbandage his eyes; let us have plenty of tinder; lay a
train of powder, and to the devil with him!"
His orders were obeyed; I closed my eyes and awaited death for the
second time. In about ten seconds I heard a terrible explosion, which
stunned me for some minutes. When I recovered my consciousness, I
felt a terrible pain in my lower limbs; my hands were bound, and my
clothes on fire.
"Shoot me upon the spot; why do you torture me so?"
But the captain and his men only laughed; and when my stockings were
entirely burnt, he gave orders to pour water over me and unbind me,
saying composedly, as if nothing had happened:
"You provoked me or I should not have done it; now go below and get
cured."
But the moment I was unbound, I fainted away, and when I came to
myself I lay upon a matrass in the cabin, and felt the most
intolerable pain in all my limbs, but particularly in my legs. On a
chair beside me sat the cook; he told me that lemonade had been
prepared for me; I took some of it, and asked him to support me, that
I might look at my legs; they were frightfully burnt; in some places
the bone was exposed. While I was examining them, the captain
appeared, looked at my horrible wounds, and said, with a show of
compassion:
"Helmsman, ask for whatsoever you want, and you, cook, see that he has
it. Make haste and get better; by heaven, I hope you'll get over it."
With these words he left me. I called for a better bed, the medicine
chest, lint, and bandages; every thing was instantly brought, and I
did my best to soothe my sufferings. I inquired of my officious
attendants where we were, and learnt, to my surprise, that we were
again at anchor in the harbour. The captain had decided that the brig
was an English man-of-war, and had made a hasty retreat to a place of
safety.
After dinner, the cook made his appearance again, and as he had
nothing else to do, remained with me. He informed me that the captain,
a naturally quick-tempered, tyrannical man, was a perfect tiger when
he was in a passion, that he had already shot and stabbed twenty of
his men with his own hands, and begged me to be upon my guard, for I
had not a man, but a monster, to deal with.
"Whatever you want," he added, compassionately, "let me know, and be
assured that I mean you well."
With this comforting assurance he departed, while I prepared a cooling
salve and bandaged my wounds neatly. I drank quantities of lemonade
and broth, and felt that as the afternoon wore on, the heat in my
limbs was subsiding. Towards sunset, the kind cook again appeared, to
see how I was, and to inform me that the captain was raging like a
maniac on deck, for a coasting vessel had brought him news that my
former captain had sailed straight for Havana, and had there made all
sorts of complaints with regard to the robbery that he had sustained.
While he was speaking the captain himself rushed into the cabin.
"See," he cried, "what rogues your countrymen are. Spite of my
commands, that traitor sailed directly for Havana and entered a
complaint against me. But I know how to deal with him; I have sent
four bold fellows after him; he is a dead man if he lingers two days
longer, and to make all sure, I shall send a fifth this evening, who
understands his business well, and will despatch him without mercy."
With these words he left the cabin. "What a monster, what cruelty!" I
thought, but borne down by fatigue, I soon fell asleep.