CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
THEY ARE RESCUED AT LAST--CAPTURE OF THE PIRATE SHIP BLACK PEARL AND HERCAPTAIN, JOSE LEIRYA.
It was scarcely possible that Cavendish should not recognise theisland--both by sight and from his reckoning--as the one on which Rogerand his little crew had been left; yet all three of the vesselscomprising his squadron were cracking on in chase of the _Black Pearl_,and evincing not the least interest in the sand-bank, which they wereleaving on their starboard beam.
"Well," ejaculated Roger, "having come thus far, one at least of thoseships might have hauled in and hove-to long enough to send a boat ashoreand take us off. Mr Cavendish will scarcely need all three of hisvessels to capture that one craft. But I expect old Cary has recognisedthe schooner as Leirya's ship, and the captain is determined to makesure of her, trusting that we shall be able to hold out here until hehas captured her and found time to return for us. Still, the pirate maylead them a long chase, lasting perhaps for several days; and if theyare going to catch him, I should like to be aboard to help in the fightwith Jose."
The seamen said nothing, but it was clear that they fully shared Roger'sdisappointment as they stood staring at the fleet of ships that wentsailing past at a distance of some four or five miles--too far off forthe castaways to be observed from their decks.
Suddenly Bevan uttered an ejaculation, and, turning, ran at full speedto the hut, and reappeared in a moment with an armful of wood from thestock which they kept for replenishing the fire. He cast this down onthe beach, and, kneeling beside it, proceeded with feverish haste tostrike a light from his tinder-box.
"Quick!" he exclaimed; "get some damp wood, wet sea-weed, anything youlike that'll make a smoke; only for goodness' sake be quick! It's ouronly chance!"
The other two, infected by his excitement, at once ran to do hisbidding, but they were quite at a loss to understand the reason for suchviolent hurry.
Having secured several armfuls of varied material, just damp enough tomake a good smoke, but not sufficiently so to extinguish a fire, theyreturned and tossed it on the flames, which Bevan had now succeeded incausing to burn brightly.
"More! get more!" said he; "and look sharp about it! Quick! quick!"
"Yes; all right, Bevan!" laughed Roger; "but what is all this tremendoushurry for? Even if the captain does not now take us off, he will comeback for us as soon as he has captured the pirate."
"Ay, ay; but don't you see, man," answered Bevan, forgetting in hisexcitement the deference due to Roger as his officer,--"don't you see,man, that the captain's notion is that the pirate have been here andcaptured us, and that we are now aboard that there _Black Pearl_ ofhis'n? He'll catch her if he can, and bring her to action; but whenthat's done there'll be a great slaughter o' both sides, and, supposin'that the schooner isn't sunk with all hands, Mr Cavendish won't find uswhen he boards her. And, not findin' us, he'll believe as we have beenmurdered and throw'd overboard, or else he'll think that we're among thedead as'll be unrecognisable. Then, thinkin' us dead--for he'll notdream that it's been possible for us to have hidden ourselves here andescaped these ruffians--he will continue his v'yage wi'out troublin' tocome back here; and here we shall remain, perhaps till we die. That'sthe reason why I'm so anxious to attract their attention afore they runsout o' sight of us; for, if we're not seen now, you may depend upon itwe may as well make up our minds to remain here for the rest of ourlives. What would he be sending all his vessels in pursuit for, if hedidn't believe as we're aboard that there _Black Pearl_. Ye see, sir,what I'm thinkin' about is this. They few barrels of food as we've gotwon't last us for so very long, even if we goes on short commons. Andwe can't always reckon on catchin' fish and turtle, or gettin' eggs, anda few months 'd find us in the same plight as was pore William Evanswhen we first came ashore on this here island. Oh, I pray that they maybe keepin' a sharp lookout aboard they ships!"
The fire was now blazing up bravely, and the castaways industriouslycontinued to toss on damp fuel, so that a dense column of smoke was nowascending high in the air, being sheltered from the wind by thepalm-grove just behind them. The three men were careless as to thepirates seeing the smoke now, knowing that even Jose, with all hisreputation for courage and daring, would not venture to return in theteeth of the British squadron, to attempt to secure them; yet they couldnot help speculating as to what the pirate must be thinking, or what hisfeelings must be, now that it was borne in upon him that people had beenon the island, though he had not found them. He would, of course, beable to make a shrewd guess as to Gomez's fate, and Roger could pictureto himself the fellow's disappointment and anger. For, having failed tofind the papers, in search of which he had returned to the sand-bank, hewould almost certainly arrive at the conviction that the unknown peopleon the island, who had evaded his keen eye in so mysterious a manner,had come into possession of them. To have been so near the recovery ofhis cherished papers, and yet to have missed them! Roger could picturethe man standing on the quarterdeck of the _Black Pearl_ gnashing histeeth in impotent fury, and shaking his fist at the island as hebeheld the column of thick smoke rising from it. But for theswiftly-disappearing pirate none of them cared a jot, since were nottheir own dearly-loved ships near them? And, if God were good, wouldthey not soon be once more treading those white decks that they knew andloved so well? Meanwhile, however, it seemed as though, even after all,there might be a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip; for, despite thesmoke-signal that they were sending up, the ships were holdingpersistently on their course after the pirates.
More fuel was piled on, and the smoke went driving away to leeward indense clouds. Still there was no response or sign from the ships of itshaving been seen, while they were now drawing rapidly away from theisland.
"I reckon," said Jake, "that they're all lookin' at the chase, aboardthey there craft. Why can't some of 'em take a squint aft at theisland? Then they would see us, or the smoke at any rate."
As if in answer to his complaint, and immediately following upon it,they saw a stream of flags float up from the first vessel--which, asthey rightly guessed, was the ship that Mr Cavendish had taken commandof as his flag-ship,--and a few moments later the answering signal wasdisplayed from the rearmost vessel, which, evidently obeying the signal,now came round upon the opposite tack, with her bows pointing toward theisland.
They were seen! At last they were seen! All their troubles and anxietyand waiting were now over; hurrah! hurrah!! hurrah!!! The threecastaways seemed to lose their heads completely. They shouted, leapedinto the air, shook hands, and embraced each other, cutting all kinds ofcapers, and, in short, behaving like very madmen in the reaction oftheir joy after waiting for so long in suspense. For now all recognisedvery clearly the truth of what Bevan had said, as to their being seenand rescued now or never. The ship approached rapidly, under theinfluence of the fresh breeze, seeming literally to grow out of thewater, and looking, with her clouds of gaily-painted canvas, like somehuge bright-plumaged tropic bird. Presently they saw her yards thrownaback, and she came up into the wind, remaining hove-to until a boat waslowered, and then slowly tacking to and fro opposite them. The watcherson the beach saw the boat lowered down the side, and the men scrambleinto her; then they saw the sunlight glitter on the oar-blades as theydipped into the water and the boat shot away from the parent vessel'sside. She came rushing toward the beach as fast as the arms of a dozenlusty men could drive her, her coxswain standing up in the stern-sheetsand peering eagerly ahead at the island. The foam curled white and highabout her stem, showing the great speed at which she was being forcedthrough the water.
Said Bevan to Jake: "The skipper have evidently give his orders thatthey're not to waste any time on the road, or in takin' of us off. Justlook you at the speed of that there cutter! I expect, if we could onlybut see him, that he's stampin' up and down his quarterdeck, bitin' hisnails with impatience to be away again a'ter that _Black Pearl_; andprob'ly swearin' at this boat's crew for bein' a set of lazy lubbers
innot puttin' her through the water faster." And he laughed.
A sudden thought struck Roger. "Jake and Bevan," said he, "cut away upto the hut and get those fresh provisions down here to the beach; wehave a lot of fresh meat still left, and I know how tired a ship'scompany gets of salt provisions. That turtle meat will prove a verywelcome change of food for them. So away you go, and look sharp, forthose people will not want to be kept waiting."
Off went the two men, and presently returned with the dried turtleflesh, which they laid down on the beach in readiness to be put aboardthe cutter. The small brandy cask was also conspicuously present. JakeIrwin's quick eye fell upon it. Said he to Roger:
"Before we go, sir, let's have one more drink, `to the Isla deCorsarios'; for I'm sure 't has proved a very good friend to us."
Roger thought that there would be no harm in such a proceeding, so heraised no objection, and Bevan, pouring out a generous allowance intotheir wooden beaker--which he had brought down to the beach withoutbeing asked--handed it to his officer for the latter to take the firstdrink. He took it, drinking the toast, and the other two followed hisexample, helping themselves liberally, and smacking their lips after itwith much satisfaction depicted on their bronzed countenances.
The cutter was by this time quite close, and Jake, standing on a rock,pointed out by signs to the coxswain where he could come alongside andfloat in deep water, thus allowing them to embark easily and also putthe little stock of provisions aboard. The craft came dashing up untilwithin a few fathoms of the place indicated by Jake, and then the crew,as one man, threw in their oars, and the boat glided rapidly alongsidethe rocks, coming to a stand-still just opposite the spot where Jake wasstanding.
"Now then, jump in quick!" yelled the coxswain, who happened to be alsosecond officer on board the _Elizabeth_, the vessel which was waitingfor them to come on board. "Look sharp, our captain is in all haste toovertake the squadron before it comes up with that pirate craft yonder.You need not imagine you are going to take that stuff aboard; I cannotwait; I have not the time."
Irwin and Bevan looked somewhat taken aback at this brusque harangue,but Roger, stepping forward, said:
"I do not know you, sir, but my name is Roger Trevose, and I am anofficer on board the flag-ship. This is fresh turtle meat, for the mostpart, and I am sure your captain would not grudge the few extra momentsspent in taking that aboard."
"I beg your pardon, Mr Trevose," replied the officer; "I did notrecognise you. My name is Reynolds--Ralph Reynolds, and, as you say,seeing that your cargo consists of fresh meat, I think we can spare timeto take it aboard, pressed though we are for time."
In a brace of shakes the meat was transferred to the boat. Roger,following the two seamen, stepped into the boat, and she instantlyshoved off. Roger sat next to Ralph Reynolds in the stern-sheets, and,as they made their way at top speed towards the ship, Reynolds said toRoger:
"Young man, let me tell you that you and your two seamen have had a verynarrow escape from imprisonment on that island for the remainder of yourlives! We were running up before a fine breeze, this morning, for thatwretched sand-bank of yours, intending to take you off, when we saw acraft steal out from under the lee of the island. One of the men aboardat once recognised her as the _Black Pearl_--the ship of thatarch-scoundrel Jose Leirya. We signalled the commodore to that effect,and he replied, ordering all the ships to make sail and chase; for, yousee, there is no doubt he very naturally supposed that the pirate hadcarried you off with him. Of course, sooner or later we should havebrought the rogue to action; but that would not have helped you, as byall accounts he is the sort of man who goes down fighting his ship tothe very last, rather than surrender, and that, I fully expect, is whatwill happen. Then the captain, I take it, thinking, of course, that youhad gone down with the ship, would have dismissed you from his mind; andin yonder bit of an island you would have remained for the rest of yourlives, or until taken off by some passing ship. The latter contingency,however, is a very unlikely one, so far as English ships are concerned,since the island is unknown to the English. And I have a notion thatyou would find it much more comfortable to die there, than be taken offby a Spanish vessel and delivered into the clutches of the Dons. Thefact is, that all hands were too busily engaged in watching the chase totake much notice of your island. But here we are alongside. Now, men,up you come on deck smartly, and get that boat hoisted in. Hook on thefalls there, and up with her!"
Reynolds sprang up the side ladder and, reaching the deck, closelyfollowed by Roger, saluted the captain, who was waiting for him at thegangway, and reported himself.
"Very well," said the captain, "get that boat lifted out the water. Shemust be hauled up and secured after we have swung the yards and are oncemore on the move. Up helm, Mr Widdicombe, and get way on her!"
Then he turned to Roger and welcomed him on board the ship;commiserating with him on his discomforts while on the sand-bank, andcongratulating him upon his as yet unexplained and inexplicable escapefrom the pirates. He then recommended Roger to the care of one of hisofficers, and, directing Jake and Bevan to take up their quarters andduties with the other seamen until such time as they could betransferred to their own craft, turned away to give orders and attend tothe sailing of his ship.
Even as the cutter had dashed alongside, the vessel, as though impatientto resume the chase, had paid off and had begun to move through thewater, her bows having been turned in the direction of the other ships,and the craft herself merely thrown into the wind for a moment to lessenher way while the boat came up to her and the falls were hooked on.Then the helm was put up and the ship was away on her old course oncemore, cracking on and showing every stitch of canvas to the fresheningbreeze, in full and eager pursuit of her consorts and the pirate, thelatter now being hull-down on the southern horizon with nothing belowher topsail-yard showing. The flag-ship was the leading ship of thethree pursuing vessels; and she was distant some nine miles from the_Elizabeth. El Capitan_--or the _Tiger_ as she was now named--was twomiles astern of the flag-ship, and some seven miles ahead of the_Elizabeth_; the latter vessel therefore had some considerable distanceto cover before she could overtake her consorts. Night was nowbeginning to fall, and the masts of the _Black Pearl_ graduallydisappeared from the sight of those aboard the _Elizabeth_; but theflag-ship, being so far in advance, still had the pirate well in view;and now she lighted her three poop-lanterns as a guide to the _Tiger_,which in turn lighted hers to pilot the way for the _Elizabeth_. Thedarkness soon falls in those regions, and in a very few minutes, as itseemed, night enveloped them like a pall. There was no moon, and, thenight being cloudy, no stars were visible; the blackness, consequently,was intense.
All that could be seen was the triangle of lights in the flag-ship, verydim in the distance, and those on the _Tiger_, shining somewhat morebrightly because nearer at hand. The captain of the _Elizabeth_commanded that no lanterns should be lighted on board his ship, andindeed that no lights of any kind should be shown on board at all.
"For," said he, "we sail somewhat faster than the _Tiger_ and the _GoodAdventure_, and can see their lights, so that we can tell where theyare. But it is in my mind to have a little sport with good MrCavendish, by letting him find us alongside him at daybreak. We will,therefore, carry on as hard as our spars and gear will suffer us, allthrough the night; and, not to give the others an inkling of ourpurpose, will edge away to the westward sufficiently to enable us topass the _Tiger_ about a mile to starboard of her, and the same with theflag-ship."
At this time it was about two bells in the first dog-watch, and theycould therefore reckon on some ten hours of complete darkness--sufficient, as the captain believed and hoped, to allow them to overtakethe other two ships of the squadron. They continued to crack on; and,as the skipper had enjoined the maintenance of strict silence, the shipseemed to those on board to resemble some dim phantom vessel, leapingghost-like from wave to wave before the strengthening wind. No soundwhatever was to be h
eard on board save the "swish" of the wateralongside, the low roar of the bow-wave as she plunged through it andturned it aside from her bows, the weird crying of the wind through hermaze of rigging aloft, and the occasional "cheep" of parral orblock-sheave to the 'scend of the ship.
At about ten o'clock, much to the captain's satisfaction, the lights atthe stern of the _Tiger_ could be much more distinctly seen; and hejudged that she could at that time be only some four miles distant,showing that in the past three hours they had gained some three miles onher, which was good sailing. They were also, at this time, a good mileto the westward of the starboard quarter of the _Tiger_, and, ifanything, edging a trifle more to starboard of her as they went along.The reason for this was that the captain did not wish to pass the_Tiger_ at a less distance than a mile; because, although it certainlywas a very dark night, on even the blackest of nights, if the weather beclear, there is always a certain "loom" or faint image of a ship thrownagainst the sky; and this loom would be visible to sharp eyes unless the_Elizabeth_ kept some distance away from her consort.
Little by little they crept up, overtaking the _Tiger_; and bit by bither triangle of lights at the stern was becoming merged into one; thenthe one light became gradually eclipsed, until at length they could notsee it at all, and by one o'clock in the morning they knew that theymust be running parallel with the _Tiger_ and at a distance of about amile and a half on her starboard beam.
It was possible now to make out the light of her battle-lanterns in herinterior, shining through her open port-holes, through which the gunmuzzles also showed, all in readiness for the attack as soon as thepirate was brought to bay. As they opened her up, and came abreast ofher, they could see that she was lit up fore-and-aft, and it becameperfectly clear that not only was she cleared for action, but that hercaptain had given orders to his men to sleep at their quarters, and thusbe ready for the fight at a moment's notice.
Having overtaken the _Tiger_, the _Elizabeth_ began to draw aheadperceptibly, and the brilliantly lighted interior of her consort wassoon eclipsed, while the bright triangle of lights at the stern of the_Good Adventure_ now showed up clearly about two and a half milesdistant, broad on the port bow.
Captain Pryce was in great glee, for, if all went well, his little jestwould be a brilliant success, and by daybreak his would be the foremostvessel of the squadron, and therefore the first to come up with the_Black Pearl_.
But where was the pirate? It seemed certain that the flag-ship musthave her in view, since she was standing steadily along on her course;but not a sign of the schooner could be made out by the people on boardthe _Elizabeth_.
"Surely," said the captain, who, in his keenness, was spending the nighton deck, "we ought by this time to be able to see something of thatcraft, a binnacle light, or a glimmer of some sort, to show us where sheis! We are nearly abreast of the flag-ship, and I cannot see a trace ofthe _Black Pearl_; yet Mr Cavendish seems to be standing on withperfect confidence, which he would hardly do were she not within hisview. Still, it may be that he has lost her, and is merely trustingthat she will hold her course, and has the hope of sighting her atdaybreak."
He had barely finished speaking, when Roger, who had been gazing longand earnestly into the dusky blackness to the south-west, came up besidehim and said in a low tone of voice:
"Sir, I have been looking for some time over in that direction, andwithin the last few minutes it has come to me that there is a blacksomething over there--can you not see it, sir?--that is growing veryrapidly bigger!"
"You are very right, Mr Trevose," replied the captain; "you have donewell to tell me. There is, indeed, something away there; I can make outthe loom of a vessel's sails quite plainly. Now, who or what may shebe? Ah! I have it. The flag-ship is sailing at haphazard after all.The pirate has doubled and, putting out all lights, has trusted to hisluck to run past the squadron in the darkness. What good fortune for usthat he doubled to starboard, and that I took it into this noddle ofmine to have a jest against the commodore to-night! Had he turned theother way he would certainly have escaped, as there is no ship overthere to see him, while here are we, with all lights out, and he willrun right into our arms in a few moments. Let her go off a couple ofpoints, Mr Reynolds."
Orders were now given by passing the word instead of by drum or whistle,and in a few minutes the men were all standing silently at quarters,with battle-lanterns lighted but carefully masked, and everything readyto pour in a deadly broadside as the pirate came abreast of their ship.
As she approached, the poop-lanterns on the stern of the _Elizabeth_were lighted to serve as a guide to the _Tiger's_ people, who, for theirpart, were vastly astonished at their sudden appearance, and a light wasalso displayed in the port mizzen rigging, to enable the flag-ship todistinguish friend from foe.
Of course all disguise and concealment was now at an end; the pirate hadseen them, but--too late! She was now less than a cable's lengthdistant from the _Elizabeth_, and as she was bearing up, and before evenher men could leap to their quarters, the _Elizabeth_ had luffed anddelivered her starboard broadside with murderous effect. Down came themainmast, severed just above the deck, bringing the fore-topgallant-mastwith it; down on her crowded decks crashed the wreckage, adding its ownquota of killed and wounded to that effected by the guns of the Englishvessel.
The flag-ship had already borne up, and now came foaming down to thescene of the combat, with the _Tiger_ lumbering along astern.
The pitchy blackness of the night was illuminated redly and vividly bythe flashes of the guns. The _Black Pearl_, finding escape impossible,had determined to fight to the bitter end. Her guns were run out, andthey at once opened a galling and well-directed fire upon the_Elizabeth_, which replied in kind, and the night air resounded with thereport of cannon and small-arms, and was rent with cries, groans, andscreams from the wounded, and shouts and oaths from all.
The flag-ship now arrived on the scene, and, taking a wide sweep andluffing up with main-topsail aback under the stern of the _Black Pearl_,poured in a raking broadside that traversed the whole length of thepirate's decks, leaving them a very shambles of dead and wounded.
The artillery tight did not last very long. Anxious to capture JoseLeirya alive, Cavendish--perhaps not too well advisedly--laid his shipalongside the schooner, and poured his men on to the pirate's decks.
Seeing this, the captain of the _Elizabeth_, not to be behindhand, didthe same. Ordering his men away from the guns, and forming them up, heled them in person over the side on to the decks of the _Pearl_, whichwas by this time a scene of dreadful carnage. Blood was everywhere; herplanking was so slimy with it that men slipped and fell in it. It ranin little rivulets from the scuppers.
Roger, who followed close upon the heels of the captain, thoughtinvoluntarily of William Evans's description of how Jose Leirya hadcaptured this very vessel, cutting her out from under San Juan fort inPuerto Rico; and his tale of how freely the blood flowed on these samedecks then.
But he had no time for mere thought; his attention was wholly taken upwith the fighting, and the problem of how to avoid being impaled or cutdown by some furious pirate.
The villains knew that they were fighting with halters round theirnecks, and laid about them like very demons from the pit. Cut andthrust, cut and thrust, they came at the Englishmen, and, headed by Josehimself, for several moments swept the invaders before them.
Roger was, as ever, well in the front rank of the combatants, and wascarrying himself right manfully, when he saw one of his countrymen slipand fall in a pool of blood, losing his sword as he fell. A burlyblack-bearded ruffian, whom he had been engaging, instantly set his footon the prostrate body, and shortened his hanger to thrust him through;but Roger, who was engaged with another pirate, nimbly evaded the blowaimed at him, and, with one spring, like a young leopard, was on thewould-be slayer, and, taking him before he could turn, passed his swordthrough the pirate's body with such force that it penetrated to thehilt, while both rescue
r and corpse went rolling to the deck together.Roger disencumbered himself from the dead body, and, setting his footupon it, pulled violently at his sword to get it free again.
Then another hand was laid over his on the hilt of the weapon, and awell-known voice said in his ear: "Pull, Roger, lad, pull, and outshe'll come." And out she did come; and Roger faced round right intothe arms of his friend Harry.
"What, Harry," said he joyfully, "you here! So you were the man whom Iwas lucky enough to rescue from that black-bearded rascal just now. Howon earth did you get here?"
"Yes, lad," replied Harry; "you have saved my life again, and I am oncemore in your debt. And as for how I got here, why, how otherwise thanover the bulwarks from my ship? I might rather ask how you came here.But we must leave our experiences until a more convenient season, or weshall not live to see the end of this good fight."
The pirates were fighting now with the fury of desperation, and,encouraged by the bull voice of Jose Leirya--who seemed to bear acharmed life,--they prepared to form up into line and attempt with onefurious charge to sweep the English from the decks of their belovedschooner.
The Englishmen, however, who were more or less separated and scatteredabout the decks, each engaging his own antagonist, saw the move, andthemselves retreated to their own main body in order to strengthen itfor the threatened rally of the pirates.
At this moment Harry and Roger found themselves isolated from their owncountrymen, and in great danger, as the whole surviving pirate crew wasbetween them and their friends.
Luckily for them, however, only four of the enemy turned their attentionto the two friends, the others being too busy preparing to attack theEnglish main body to think about them. Yet, even as it was, the oddswere quite unequal enough--four stalwart men in the very prime of life,and hardened by years of toil and activity on the seas, against twoyoungsters who were but little more than boys!
Harry and Roger knew, of course, that they were fighting for theirlives, and as both had their long swords as against the shorter weaponof the pirates, they contrived to keep them at a safe distance for sometime.
Meanwhile the pirates had massed together, and the whole body of them,even to such of the wounded as could stand, and excepting only the fourmen who were attacking the two chums, had charged the Englishmen withirresistible fury, driving them along the deck as chaff is swept beforethe wind. After the first rush, however, the Englishmen rallied again,and were now slowly but surely driving the pirates back along their owndeck, and recovering their lost ground. The carnage was fearful; thedead and dying were everywhere; the decks were heaped with them; bothsides had lost an enormous proportion of men, and it seemed as thoughthe fight could only end in both parties being exterminated.
Roger and Harry were still fighting doggedly for their lives; but theircountrymen were now very widely separated from them, and their strengthwas fast-failing them in face of the furious and persistent attack oftheir four assailants.
They were driven back, and still back, until they were forced againstthe port bulwarks, and could retreat no farther. Blow after blow wasaimed at them by their foes, and the best that they could do was to wardoff the blows, without daring to assume the offensive.
They were at their very last gasp, and had mentally resigned themselvesto death, when there came a tremendous shock, throwing the two lads offtheir feet only just in time to avoid the final thrusts from the twopirates, to which fortuitous circumstance they owed their lives. Asthey lay on the deck, struggling to regain their footing, they weretrampled on and knocked over again by a swarm of men who were rushing inover the port bulwarks. It was the _Tiger's_ crew, who had boarded inthe very nick of time. With this reinforcement the English very quicklyturned the tables; and, all massing in one body, swept the deck,compelling the few surviving pirates--among whom was the redoubtableJose Leirya himself--to surrender at discretion.
The fierce conflict was at last over, and the pirate, long a terror inthe Caribbean Sea, was a captive, while his dreaded but beautifulschooner, the _Black Pearl_, was a prize in the hands of the English.
Across the Spanish Main: A Tale of the Sea in the Days of Queen Bess Page 13
