Hardly had the fleet anchored when Captain Poynings boarded the flagship
and obtained, with little ado, permission to part company. We then
revictualled, took in fresh powder, and weighed, steering a westerly
course till Negrille Point was well abeam. Thereupon we stood
nor'-westward, passing close to Grand Cayman. Here misfortune dogged us.
For days we were becalmed, the _Gannet_ wallowing motionless in the oily
sea within one hundred leagues of our destination. Then the dreaded
"yellow jack" made its appearance amongst us, and forty men lay sick to
death on the ballast, of whom, I grieve to relate, more than half died.
When the pestilence would have ended it would be hard to say, had not a
favourable breeze sprung up, and on the eighteenth day after leaving
Port Royal we brought up off the cay shown in the chart.
It was an island some three miles in extent, and about half that
distance in breadth, a line of rugged hills running from east to west,
terminating in low cliffs. Viewed from the north'ard, where we lay, the
shore appeared to be flat and lined with breakers, but Pedro told us
that a little creek opened out close to the western end, where a boat
could make a landing in safety.
No sign of a human being could be seen, even as the Portuguese had said,
yet it is passing strange how easily even a trained seaman can be
deceived.
Being late in the day when we arrived off the cay, it was decided not to
land till the morrow. Nevertheless, we made preparations for the
expedition, provisioning the longboat and the like.
Early on the morrow we weighed anchor, and, under the guidance of Pedro,
towed the _Gannet_, there being no wind, through a gap in the reef, so
that her new berth was within half a league of the landingplace--though
there was an inner reef close inshore, on which the sea brake, though
not with such violence as on the outer reef.
In his eagerness, Captain Poynings himself took command of the landing
party, though it was his duty to remain aboard. With him went the
bos'n, three midshipmen, whereof Greville Drake and I were included, and
twenty-five men. Between us we had but five musketoons and three
pistols, the men carrying, on account of the heat, nothing but their
mattocks and spades. Pedro also went as a guide, so that our party
numbered thirty-one men, sufficient, indeed, to carry off the
treasure--if treasure it were--in one journey.
After rowing for nearly a league, viz. a quarter of a league towards the
shore, and the same distance parallel to it, the breakers preventing us
from going nearer, we espied the mouth of the little cove or creek, and
ten minutes labour at the oars sufficed to beach the boat in very
sheltered water, the trees overhanging the banks and almost meeting
those on the opposite side.
We landed and formed up on a small stretch of sand, the only clear space
that was to be seen.
"Hark ye, Dommett," said the captain. "Do you stay here with the boat,
and keep her off if needs be we must embark in a hurry. 'Tis now nine
o' the clock; by five we will return. If peradventure we fail to do so,
signal to the ship for more men. Keep eyes and ears open, and if any
man shall come upon you, push off and fire your piece. Now, Senhor
Pedro, lead on."
It was an exciting moment. The Portuguese led, pressing forward with
marvellous agility and with the air of a man who is following a familiar
track. We followed in straggling order, for the way was rough, merely
allowing two men to walk abreast. Dense foliage enclosed us on either
side, and, save for the noise of the men's footsteps, and the occasional
crackle of dry underwood, not a sound either of man or beast broke the
stillness of the forest.
The path led gradually upwards, till we emerged into a clearing, the
ground rising still steeper to the foot of a low, precipitous cliff. At
the base of this cliff we halted for breath, observing that all around
lay masses of broken rock that had at some time fallen from the heights
above. Looking backwards we could see over the tops of the trees to the
sea, the _Gannet_ looking like a cockboat in the distance.
On resuming our march we had to scale the cliff, which, though steep,
was jagged with projections of rock, which, with strong tendrils of
tropical vegetation, afforded plenty of foothold for any ordinary
climber to make use of.
"A pest on these Spaniards!" exclaimed the captain angrily. "Why did
they take the treasure so far inland; eh, Pedro?"
The Portuguese shrugged his shoulders. "_Qual sabe, Senhor?_" he replied
nonchalantly.
The men, strapping their spades on their backs, began the ascent, the
Portuguese being told to remain till half the party had gained the
summit.
When my turn came I leapt with all the buoyancy of youth on to the
lowermost crag, grasping an overhanging tuft of reeds and grass to gain
the next step; but the reeds were as sharp as a razor, and before I
realized it the palm of my hand was cut to the bone, and the blood
poured in a stream down my arm and over my doublet.
The sudden pain and the loss of blood caused me to slip to the foot of
the cliff, and for a time everything became blank and my head swam.
Someone forced my head betwixt my knees, so that in a short space of
time I felt better.
"You would do well to return to the boat," said Captain Poynings in a
tone that meant no refusal. "Can you manage to find the path, or shall
I send a man with you?"
I replied that I was well enough to go, and reluctantly I turned back.
Drake laid a hand on my shoulder. "Never heed, Aubrey," said he
sympathetically. "'Tis better to return with a gashed hand like yours.
But I'll tell you all when we come back."
Slowly I went till I reached the edge of the wood. Then I lingered,
watching the party make the ascent, which they did speedily and without
further mishap. Then I heard their footsteps die away as they plunged
through the thick underwood, and I was alone.
The path, by reason of the numbers that had but recently passed, was now
well-defined, and I had no difficulty in finding it. Dommett, the
boatkeeper, received me without signs of surprise, and on telling him of
my misadventure, he merely ejaculated a loud "Well done", which was a
favourite expression of his, no matter what caused him to make it,
insomuch that on board he was dubbed by his messmates "Well done
Dommett".
However, he bathed my hand in seawater, although the salt did make it
smart mightily, and, tying it with a strip of wet linen, he told me to
keep quiet, so as not unduly to excite my head, which was by now
throbbing like to burst.
Throughout the forenoon Dommett smoked a short black pipe incessantly,
though he kept his eyes shifting, looking frequently for signals from
the _Gannet_ and the island, both towards the path and along the shore.
There was no sign or sound till about one hour after noon, when we both
heard a faint noise like a musket being fired afar off. We listened
alertly, but no other sound was heard.
"'Tis one of the men who has fallen over his piece, perchance," remarked
the sailor as he refilled his pipe, ramming the weed down with his
little finger.
Hardly had he made the flint and steel to work when there was another
noise, like the distant crashing of brushwood. The sound came nearer,
so we both stood up, the boat-keeper thrusting an oar into the water so
as to keep the longboat off shore.
Nearer came the sound, till at length a man appeared, torn and bleeding,
and spent with running. It was one of the _Gannet's_ men--the bos'n's
mate,--and, throwing himself into the boat, he lay like a log.
"Pull yourself together, man," shouted Dommett, shaking the man in his
anxiety. "What's amiss? What's amiss?"
"Push off for your life!" he panted. "It's all up; we are all undone!"
This was all he could say. Nevertheless we shoved off, and waited at
about a boat's length from the mouth of the creek--waited for any
stragglers who might appear.
Nevertheless no more of our men appeared, though a musket was fired at
us from the brushwood, followed by an irregular volley. At the whiz of
the bullets, though they passed well above us, I threw myself on the
bottom of the boat; but the firing had the opposite effect on the
bos'n's mate, for, cursing horribly, he raised himself and seized an
oar. Dommett had already done likewise, and before the volley could be
repeated we were well out of range, though throughout the whole time we
were under fire the man still kept his pipe firmly between his teeth.
Then they called upon me to take an oar, and feeling miserably ashamed
of myself I got up, and, as well as my hand would allow, I rowed with
them. By a special providence we made the gap between the reef in
safety, then rowed slowly, for the longboat was an unwieldy craft,
towards the _Gannet_.
The master, perceiving that something was amiss, sent a boat to meet us,
and on going on board we were surrounded by the anxious remainder of the
crew.
The bos'n's mate told his tale, how that the expedition came across a
flat piece of ground surrounded by steep rocks, like a basin. Here, the
Portuguese said, was the spot where the treasure was buried. The men
laid aside their arms, took their spades, and began to dig. Three feet
down in the hard soil they went, but there was no sign of the treasure.
Suddenly they heard a mocking laugh, and, looking up, saw that Pedro had
slipped away and was jeering at them from the top of the rocks, and,
what was more, he spoke like an Englishman, without any of his former
accent. Captain Poynings, maddened by the man's treachery, fired a
pistol at him, but without effect. The seamen looked around for their
arms to give pursuit, but these had been stealthily removed, and instead
they found themselves surrounded by at least a hundred armed scoundrels,
who demanded that they should yield themselves. The bos'n's mate,
however, having separated himself from the rest, took to his heels and
fled for the boat, hotly pursued by half a dozen of the villains. He
gained the longboat in safety, as I have said, and the fate of Captain
Poynings and his men was still a mystery.
Shouts and threats came from the crew of the _Gannet_ when they heard
that their beloved captain and their comrades had been treacherously
trapped. Some proposed that all hands should form an avenging landing
party, but of this our lieutenant would not hear, as the nature of the
island would be against open attack.
Several plans were discussed, with no good result, till there came a
seaman, who offered to track the villains and try and discover the fate
of our comrades. He was of New England, having joined us at the
Bermudas on our voyage hither, and was skilled in savage warfare and
woodcraft, for at one time he had been a member of the trainband of
Salem, in New England, which town had oft been in jeopardy from the
savages.
"Let me but land after it is night," said he, "and I'll warrant ye'll
see me with news of some sort by noon to-morrow. If so be I do not
return by that time, let the purser mark me off the books, 'D.D.'
(Discharged--dead), and send what money should be owing to me to my wife
at Providence, in Rhode Island."
This man's offer being accepted, and assurances given that his wishes
should be carried out if he failed to return, we could do nothing but
wait for nightfall.
Directly darkness set in we lowered a boat, the oars and tholes being
muffled to deaden all sound. The New Englander had stripped, and had
anointed himself from head to foot with a dark, offensive-smelling
grease, which, he assured us, would keep him immune from insect bites,
and at the same time render him nearly invisible.
Nimbly he lowered himself into the boat, where the men were waiting with
tossed oars. Silently they shoved off, and were lost in the darkness;
but in a quarter of an hour the boat returned, having gone as close as
possible to the inner line of breakers, so that the man could with
little difficulty swim ashore.
All night double watches were set, and the guns, double-shotted, were
run out ready for instant use. Still, not a sound was heard to cause us
alarm, only the dull roar of the surf both ahead and astern of us. It
was a miserable, anxious night, for the disaster to our shipmates (we
not knowing whether they were dead or alive) threw a gloom over the
whole ship.
For my part I could not sleep, my hand paining me greatly, while I
troubled deeply for my comrades, particularly my friend Greville Drake;
so by choice I paced the deck the entire night, till with extraordinary
suddenness day broke and the sun rose above the horizon.
The whole of the forenoon passed without incident, but just at midday
the lookout perceived a man leaping across the rocks by the tree-fringed
shore. It was the New England seaman.
Instantly a boat was lowered, and urged by lusty strokes headed straight
for the shore. The man had thrown himself into the sea, and we could
make out his head and shoulders as from time to time he appeared between
the white masses of foam. He was an active and powerful swimmer, and
gained the boat in safety, though probably it was well that the breakers
had subsided somewhat.
His tale was soon told. Fearing to follow the path from the cove, since
the villain might have set a guard there, he made his way through the
undergrowth directly towards the centre and highest part of the island.
Over and over again he had to attempt a fresh passage, the thickets
proving too dense even for his accustomed skill. At length he came
across a small stream, which he followed to its source, which afterwards
proved to be not far from the spot where our men were surprised.
Here he concealed himself till daybreak, when he found himself
practically overlooking the whole island. On the south side, opposite
to where we were lying, he espied a cove, off which was anchored a craft
which he declared was the same vessel as we had chased, and from which
Pedro had thrown himself. Another hour's careful tracking brought him
close to the creek, where he saw our comrades being escorted on board by
the buccaneers in gangs, twenty-seven all told, so that they were
apparently all alive and well. Then he made out a party of men coming
down from the hillside, where they had been posted as rearguard, and
with them was Pedro. They passed quite close to where he lay hid, and
he could swear that Pedro was no more a Portuguese than he was.
Directly this last body of men embarked the sails were shaken out, and
the swift buccaneering craft stood seaward. Having made sure that they
had all embarked, the man returned by the beaten path, striking the
north side of the island at the cove where we had landed. Thence he
skirted the shore till we perceived him and sent off a boat.
The officers now debated as to the best course to pursue--whether to
follow the buccaneer, which, undermanned as we were, was hazardous and
reckless, or to return with all haste to Port Royal, report our loss,
and join with the rest of the fleet in the capture of the insolent
pirates.
The latter course was decided upon, but again ill fortune looked upon
us. A strong southerly wind suddenly sprang up, and, though protected
by the outer reef, we were on a lee shore. The master would not attempt
to beat out through the gap in the reef, as his knowledge of the passage
was none too good, neither could we kedge nor tow the _Gannet_ against
the wind. So we had perforce to remain weatherbound for seven long days,
knowing full well that the same breeze that kept us prisoners within the
reef was bearing the buccaneers away in safety.
When at length the wind veered sufficiently to enable the _Gannet_ to
sail close-hauled through the surf-encompassed passage, all plain sail
was set, and back to Port Royal we sped.
Four days later the _Gannet_ dropped anchor in the harbour, and with
despondent mien the remaining officers went ashore to report the loss of
the captain and his men. To their unbounded astonishment and delight
they heard that Captain Poynings and his twenty-six companions were
alive and well on board the _Lizard_, man-of-war, then lying off the
castle.
Their adventures can best be described in the story that Drake told to
me on the evening of the day that they rejoined the _Gannet_:
"You must know, Aubrey," said he, after telling me of their capture and
forced embarkation on board the buccaneer's ship, "that this Pedro was
in reality a Cornishman, and second in command to the renegade Captain
Lewis, then lying under sentence of death at Port Royal. The whole of
this bad business had been carefully planned by the villain, and easily
we fell into the trap. Three days after we left the island the _Sea
Wolf_, for such is the name of the buccaneer's ship, hove to in sight of
Port Royal, and with the greatest audacity Pedro, or Red Peter, to give
him the name he is generally known by, went ashore under a flag of
truce, taking me with him as hostage. Would you believe it, he went
straight to the castle and demanded to see the governor! Oddsfish! And
his impudence took even the governor aback. 'I have on board,' quoth Red
Peter, 'twenty-five officers and men of his Britannic Majesty's ship
_Gannet_, not including this youngster (meaning me) and another; you
have Captain Lewis and four other of our men. So, my lord, I think
you'll see we hold a good balance in hand. Now, sink me! 'tis a fair
exchange: give us the five and take your enterprising' (how he sneered
when he said this) 'king's men unhurt, or else, for every man of ours
who dances at the end of a rope, five of yours shall dangle from our
yardarm. Come now, your answer?'
"What could the governor say? He gave way so easily that Red Peter
spoke again. 'And, taking into consideration our great magnanimity,
'twould not be amiss to grant a free pardon to us all; then, for our
part, we do agree to cease from plundering and fighting, and become
honest men once more. Right glad would I be to see Falmouth once more
other than with a hempen rope round my neck, or with gyves and manacles
to prevent my full enjoyment of my native place. How say you, my lord?'
"After all, I verily believe the governor was content, for he had
succeeded in ridding the Indies of these buccaneers, even as it was
ordered, though the manner of the fulfilment thereof was hardly as he
had wished. So he sent for his secretary, ordered him to write out a
general pardon, which he sealed and delivered to Red Peter with an
elaborate bow, whereat the rogue as courteously took his leave.
"The same day the _Sea Wolf_ came into the harbour and landed our
people, Lewis and his companions were released, and, after a general
carouse on shore, the ship sailed to communicate the news to her
consorts. All the same, the trick was neatly done, and little harm came
of it."
Such was the tale that Greville told. Years later I learned that both
Captain Lewis and Red Peter returned to England and were received by His
Majesty, who, with the same generosity as he showed towards Captain
Morgan, Colonel Blood, and other cutthroats of like nature, restored to
Lewis his commission; while Red Peter, under his real name of Peter
Tregaskis, became a red-hot Tory squire in his native Cornwall.
However, to resume my story, Captain Poynings rejoined the _Gannet_
without delay, and after a year or so of comparatively uneventful
sojourning in the Caribbean Sea, we received orders to proceed again to
the Mediterranean.