Charley Laurel: A Story of Adventure by Sea and Land

by William Henry Giles Kingston

  CHAPTER ELEVEN.

  ATTACK ON THE SPANISH HIDALGO.

  As no wounded men had been brought below, we trusted that the _Dolphin_was having the best of it. At last I begged Kitty to let me go on deckand ascertain how matters were going on.

  "No, no, Charley," she answered. "They may again begin firing;" but Isaw that she was very anxious herself to learn the state of affairs.

  "I will be back again in a minute," I said, and was just escaping fromher, when once more the thundering sound of big guns, with the rattle ofmusketry, broke the silence, and she caught me and held me fast.

  The firing went on with redoubled vigour, and cries and shouts reachedour ears. The alarm of Mrs Podgers increased.

  "O dear, O dear!" she cried out, wringing her hands. "If Podgers was tobe hit, what would become of me?"

  Once more there was a cessation of the firing.

  "Do let me run up, Kitty," I said. "Some of those we care for may bewounded, and the rest too busy to bring them below."

  I knew my argument would prevail. "Let him go," said Mrs Podgers. "Ido so want to know how the captain is."

  I broke from her and climbed up the ladder. I was as active as amonkey, and quickly reached the deck. The fighting lanterns which hungagainst the bulwarks shed their light across it, and showed me severalhuman forms stretched out motionless. The crew, stripped to theirwaists, were at the guns, while the officers stood about here and thereamong them. I caught sight of the captain's stout figure, but I lookedin vain for Mr Falconer. I ran forward in hopes of finding him. I hadgot nearly to the forecastle when the matches were applied to the guns,and as they were discharged a shower of shot came hissing across thedeck.

  I made my way amidst the shower of shot and bullets and falling blocks,and the horrible din of battle, to the forecastle, where, to my greatjoy, I saw Mr Falconer directing the foremost guns. Dick at the samemoment caught sight of me.

  "Charley," he exclaimed, "what business have you here? Go back, boy,and tell the ladies we are all right, and will make the pirate sheer offbefore long, if we don't take her."

  I hurried below with the satisfactory intelligence. Miss Kitty kissedme when I told her I had seen Mr Falconer, and I was somewhat afraidthat Mrs Podgers would bestow the same reward upon me when I said thatthe captain was unhurt.

  "I wish he would make haste and sink the ship which has frightened us somuch," she observed. "It is a shame that those sort of people should beallowed to live."

  Mrs Podgers did not consider that the Spaniards would probably havesaid the same of us.

  We heard our ship fire several broadsides in rapid succession; then allwas silent.

  Supposing that the fight was over, I persuaded Miss Kitty again to allowme to run on deck. Reaching it, I caught sight, a short distance off,of the tall masts and sails of the enemy's ship.

  At that moment loud cheers burst from the throats of our crew.Gradually the dark sails of our antagonist appeared to be sinking, andwild shrieks and cries came across the waters towards us. Lower andlower the sails sank, and in another minute the spot occupied by thepirate was vacant--she had disappeared beneath the waves. No boat wassent to help the drowning wretches. Mr Falconer proposed going totheir assistance.

  "No, no!" exclaimed the captain; "they would have robbed us or sent usto the bottom; they don't deserve our pity."

  "But they are fellow-creatures, and we should try and save their lives,"exclaimed the mate.

  "You are too tender-hearted, Falconer; you should not have joined aprivateer," was the answer; and the _Dolphin_ glided rapidly away fromthe spot where her foe had gone down.

  The surgeon was meantime busy with the wounded men, while five who hadbeen killed were with little ceremony hove overboard. Mrs Podgers andKitty returned to the cabin. The latter, as before, endeavoured toalleviate the sufferings of the wounded men, and often visited them,attended by Mr Falconer and me, notwithstanding the scoldings she dailygot from Mrs Podgers for so doing.

  After this, we again stood in for the coast, capturing several Spanishmerchant vessels.

  Mr Pyke declared that he wanted to find an enemy more worthy of his andhis troops' prowess than he had hitherto encountered.

  "We will give you a chance," said the captain. "I have discovered fromsome of the prisoners that there is a town on the shores of a bay notfar off, which is unprotected by forts. We may easily make ourselvesmasters of the place, and shall probably find in it a good store ofwealth. But we must be quick about the business, or some troopsstationed at no great distance may be down upon us and interfere withour proceedings."

  "You may depend upon me for doing my part," answered the lieutenant,drawing himself up.

  We made the land early in the day, but hove-to till night, when it washoped the inhabitants might be taken by surprise. The weather was fine,and the entrance to the harbour broad and safe. We waited till pastmidnight, and then stood in and came to an anchor. Four boats wereordered to be got ready; Lieutenant Pyke and his marines went in one ofthem, the others were commanded by the sea officers, with a party ofblue-jackets.

  I had heard the men talking of what they were going to do, and I thoughtthat I should very much like to see the fun. I knew, however, thatneither Dick nor Miss Kitty would approve of my going, and that MrFalconer was also unlikely to take me, should I ask him to do so. Thelast boat which left the ship was commanded by the boatswain, a roughbut good-natured man, with whom I had become somewhat of a favourite. Iwatched my opportunity, and slipped in directly after him, and the men,thinking that he intended I should go, allowed me to stow myself away inthe bow before he saw me, the darkness favouring my design. The boatsshoved off, and away we pulled, with muffled oars, towards the shore.

  We landed just outside the town, among wild rocks. No lights weremoving about the place, only here and there a few glimmering from thewindows. Lieutenant Pyke drew up his marines; the other officersarranged their men in a compact body, I following the rear.

  Daylight broke. When all was ready, the first mate ordered us toadvance, and, stepping lightly over the ground, we made a rush into thetown. There were no gates to stop us and no sentinels on the watch. Asort of town-hall and a church were first entered, and everything theycontained, images, silver candlesticks, crucifixes, incense-pans,chalices, and several bags of money, with some silver-mounted guns andpistols, were taken possession of before the inhabitants were awake. Wethen attacked a large house in which lights were still burning, andwhere it was supposed the commandant of the place resided. The dooryielded to the blows of the marines' muskets, and rushing into agood-sized hall, we saw seated at the end of a long table a thin, tallhidalgo, and on either side of him a fat priest, with two or three otherpersonages. The table was covered with rich plate and numerous flagonsand wine-flasks. The party gazed at us with open mouths and staringeyes, but were far too tipsy to utter anything beyond a few expressionsof surprise and dismay.

  The commandant, rising, tried to draw his sword, but could not find thehilt, and tumbled back into his big armchair; while the fat friars,whose first impulse had been to make their escape, rolled over on theground, upsetting the hidalgo's chair in their struggles, when all threebegan kicking and striking out, believing each other to be foes. Therest of the party at once yielded themselves as prisoners. Our men,bursting into loud fits of laughter, let the trio fight on for sometime, till our commander, fearing, should we delay longer, that theinhabitants would make their escape, or perhaps assemble and attack us,ordered them to be lifted up and carried off, with their arms boundbehind them. It was no easy matter to do this, for the friars were soheavy that it required three stout men to each to set them on theirlegs.

  While a party was left to guard them, the rest proceeded to break intothe other houses.

  The inhabitants, now aroused from their slumbers by the hubbub, puttheir heads, with their nightcaps on, out of the windows in alldirections, but quickly withdrew them, uttering loud shrieks andex
clamations of dismay and surprise. After a little time Dick caughtsight of me.

  "Charley," he cried out, "what has brought you here?"

  "I wanted to see the fun, Dick. I hope you are not angry."

  "But I am, though, Charley," he answered; "and though, to my mind, it'sdirty work attacking sleeping people, who have never done us any harm,we may have some fighting yet, and you may get knocked on the head.Stick by me, however, and I'll look after you, though you don't deserveit."

  I felt ashamed of myself, and took good care to do as Dick told me.

  He, with about half the number of our party, now proceeded to one sideof the town, while the other marched to the farther end, three or fourarmed men entering any of the large houses which appeared likely tocontain booty worth carrying off. My party had accompanied the marinesunder Lieutenant Pyke, who was shouting out "he only wished he could seea foe worthy of his steel." As we went along, we came to a smallsquare, at the other side of which a band of some twenty personsappeared, others coming up in the distance. I am not sure that all hadarms, though they presented a somewhat military aspect. Our commanderordered the marines to charge them.

  "On, lads, on!" cried the lieutenant, waving his sword, but he did notmove very fast. The Spaniards, however, seeing the invaders coming, ranoff as fast as their legs would carry them, when the lieutenant doubledhis speed, waving his sword still more vehemently, and shouting out:"On, brave lads! Death or victory!" By the time he got across thesquare, no foe was to be seen, and after looking round the corner toascertain that they had not reassembled, he marched back his men intriumph.

  In a short time every house had been ransacked, and, with our booty andprisoners, we returned to the boats and regained the ship, not a shothaving been fired nor a life lost.

  The commandant having agreed to pay five thousand dollars as his ownransom and that of his companions, one of the fat friars was sent onshore to collect the money, having orders to return by noon. He shookhis head, and declared that this was impossible.

  "It might take four or five days, perhaps a week, to collect such asum."

  "Very well," said the captain at last. "By sunset, if the ransom is notbrought on board, we shall have a fine bonfire out there," and hepointed to the town.

  "Arra' now, captain, you may as well cook and eat us at once, for sorrowa dollar have ye left us, and all the crucifixes, and candlesticks, andbeautiful images, which we might have pledged for the money, stowed awayin your hold!" exclaimed the fat friar, betraying his Hibernian origin,and that he had understood every word which had been spoken.

  "Are you an Irishman, and living among these foreigners, and pretendingto be one of them?" cried the captain. "If I had known that, I wouldhave clapped on another thousand dollars to your ransom."

  "Sure, captain, dear, it would have been more charitable to have takenthem off," observed the jovial friar. "However, just be after giving mefour days, and ye shall resave the dollars all bright and beautiful,though not a quarter of one could all the blessed saints togethercollect in the whole of our unfortunate town and the circumjacentcountry."

  The friar's eye twinkled as he spoke. At last he proposed paying even alarger sum, provided that the captain would prolong the time to fivedays for its collection. Captain Podgers, eager to get more money, andnot suspecting treachery, agreed to the proposal, and Fra Patricio,chuckling in his sleeve, prepared to take his departure.

  "Captain, dear," he said, turning round with a comical look as hereached the gangway, "ye haven't got a bottle of potheen, the raalcratur, have ye? It would just be after comforting me in my trouble."

  A bottle of Irish whiskey being handed to the friar, he tucked it awayin his sleeve, and his boat pulled off towards the shore.

  Mr Falconer, who understood Spanish, shortly after this informed thecaptain that he had discovered, from the prisoners' conversation, thatthe object of Friar Patrick in asking for more time to collect theransom, was that troops might be sent for to protect the town. Thecaptain replied that he would hang his prisoners if any such trick wasplayed.

  We remained two days longer, and no news came from the Irish friar.

  Our prisoners were well supplied with eatables and drinkables andtobacco, and appeared perfectly happy, talking freely among themselves,as they sat at table and smoked their cigarettes. Mr Falconer, thoughunwilling to be an eavesdropper, could not help hearing what they said,and as he had prudently not let them discover that he knew Spanish, theydid not suspect that he understood what they said. He was sittingwriting in his own cabin, which opened on the gun-room, when he heardone of them remark that, in a couple of days, at furthest, the tableswould be turned, and that those who were now their masters would beprisoners, or hung up at the yard-arms of their frigate.

  "Which, pirates as they are, will be their just fate," observed another.On this, the rest of the party laughed grimly.

  "The ladies we cannot hang, though."

  "No; they can be sent to a nunnery, or perhaps you, Seignor Commandant,who are a bachelor, would wish to wed the fat widow."

  Some remarks were made about Miss Kitty, which Mr Falconer did notrepeat.

  "How soon can the two frigates be here?" inquired another.

  "In two days, or three at most," was the answer. "But we shall be in noslight danger. I wish we could escape before then."

  "No fear about that," answered one of the former speakers. "TheEnglishmen won't attempt to fight against so overpowering a force, andwill, depend on it, haul down their flag as soon as they see the twofrigates enter the harbour."

  This idea seemed to make the whole party very merry.

  Mr Falconer, after sitting quiet for some time, went on deck, andinformed the captain of all he had heard.

  Captain Podgers was not a little put out by the information he received.He was very unwilling to lose his dollars, but if he remained inharbour, he might lose his ship, and his own life into the bargain; forMr Falconer did not fail to repeat the threat of the Spaniards, to havehim hung up at the yard-arm as a pirate. He vowed that he should beready to fight one Spanish frigate, but two were more than even the_Dolphin_ could venture to tackle.

  After pacing the deck two or three times, he summoned the officers intothe cabin; and it was finally settled that the other fat friar should beat once sent on shore, with orders to make his appearance next day atnoon at the landing-place, with all the dollars that had been collected,and should the amount not be sufficient, he was to warn the inhabitantsthat their town would be set on fire. That the _Dolphin_ might run norisk of being entrapped, she was at once to put to sea, while the boatsalone were to go in the following day and bring off the ransom.

  The Spaniards were very much alarmed when they saw preparations going onfor making sail.

  Fortunately, a Spanish merchant among our prisoners spoke a littleEnglish, so that Mr Falconer had not to betray to them his knowledge oftheir language. The fat friar shrugged his shoulders when he heard whathe was to do. He seemed, however, not a little pleased to get out ofthe clutches of the terrible privateersman. As soon as he had beenlanded, the _Dolphin's_ anchor was hove up, and the land breeze stillblowing, we sailed out of the harbour.

  We were standing on and off the island during the night. It was a calmand beautiful one. I had gone on deck to be near Dick, which Ifrequently did during his watch, when, the moon shining brightly frombehind some light fleecy clouds which floated over the sky, we caughtsight of an object gliding over the glittering waters. As itapproached, Dick pronounced it to be a raft, with a small square sailset, and soon afterwards we distinguished two figures on it. He hailed.There came, in reply, a faint cry across the water. Directlyafterwards the sail was lowered. Mr Falconer, who was officer of thewatch, ordered the ship to be hove-to and a boat lowered, which quicklytowed the raft and its occupants alongside. The men were hoisted ondeck, for they were too weak to climb up by themselves. Dick and I, whohad good reason to feel for them, hurried to the gangway. Dick, with
outasking questions, filled a cup of water and brought it to them; theyboth drank eagerly.

  Mr Falconer while by his orders a couple of hammocks were being gotready for them, inquired who they were and whence they had come. One,who appeared the least exhausted, answered that they had been ten daysat sea, and for the three last they had been without food or water, withthe exception of half a biscuit apiece, and that they were the survivorsof six who had embarked on the raft.

  "I am the second mate of the _Juno_, armed whaler," continued thespeaker. "Our crew mutinied, murdered the captain and several of theother officers; but the third mate and I, with four men who refused tojoin them, were turned adrift on this wretched raft, with but a scantyallowance of water and provisions, which the mutineers gave us,asserting that it was enough to support us till we could reach theshore. Calms and light winds prevailed, and we were almost abandoninghope, when, this afternoon, we made the land, though I doubt if weshould have survived had we not fallen in with you."

  Mr Falconer treated the two mates with great kindness, and did his bestto make them comfortable, not doubting the truth of their story. Theyhad farther added, that as soon as they had been sent off from the sideof the ship, the mutineers hoisted the black flag, with three cheers,announcing that they intended to turn pirates and attack ships of allnations.

  From their account, there remained no doubt that the _Juno_ was the shipwhich had lately engaged the _Dolphin_, and met with so awful, thoughwell-deserved a fate. They also told us that the _Juno_ had been aboutto enter a harbour a short distance off, when two men-of-war were seen,with their lower masts only standing, that several boats had been sentout in chase of the ship, but, a breeze springing up, she had escaped.

  This confirmed what Mr Falconer had heard from the Spaniards, and madethe captain thankful that he had listened to his advice.

  The next day we stood in to the mouth of the harbour, when the boatswere sent on shore, each carrying half a dozen torches. Our prisonerswere in a great fright on seeing this, saying that the friars would veryprobably be unable to collect the money, and earnestly urging that wewould remain two or three days longer at anchor before setting fire tothe town.

  "We are not to be so caught, seignors," answered the captain, laughinggrimly. "If your friends bring the dollars, well and good; if not, wewill make a bonfire which will light the two frigates you expect intothe harbour."

  Away the boats pulled, one only being left alongside, in which thegovernor and his companions were ordered to seat themselves. We waitedanxiously for some time, when wreaths of smoke were seen to ascend fromvarious parts of the town, and the whole place was shortly in a blaze.The captain considered himself very humane, when he allowed hisprisoners, after having been stripped of nearly every particle ofclothing, to be put on shore on the nearest point. This he did torevenge himself for the loss of the expected dollars, which he knew, onseeing the town set on fire, had not been obtained.

  Scarcely had the boats returned and been hoisted up, when two largeships were seen steering for the entrance of the harbour. Every stitchof canvas the _Dolphin_ could carry was set. The strangers, on seeingher, made all sail in chase, and, from the way that they overhauled her,there appeared but little prospect of her escape.