The battle quickly became a competition of speed and precision, both sides determined to exterminate the other, first from a distance then from close range. The odds were with the fleet; they outnumbered their foe in men and arms and could easily manoeuvre to divide the enemy’s fire, yet despite their superiority they could not gain the advantage.
The village put up a magnificent resistance. Defended by a small group of brave men, it matched every shot, unleashing deadly torrents of grenades and cannon fire. Hurricanes of grapeshot tore through the sides of the enemy vessels, shredding their riggings and decimating their crews.
The pirates had iron for everyone, their voices roaring above the thunder of the fleet’s cannons as they fended off the brave souls trying to land on those formidable shores. Again and again their enemy came, only to be showered with a rain of steel that quickly forced them to retreat.
Surrounded by his brave men, Sandokan had taken command of a twenty-four pound cannon, firing a barrage of enormous shells from its dark black throat.
“Fire my brave ones!” he thundered, “Sweep the sea; sink those ships that have come to steal our Queen!”
His words did not go unheeded. Unperturbed by that rain of cannonballs as it smashed ramparts, shattered walls, and tore holes in the embankments, the pirates intrepidly aimed their artillery, roaring in defiance.
One of the sultan’s prahus had caught fire and blown up while attempting with great bravado to land at the base of the great cliff. Her wreckage had floated within range of the pirate village and the seven or eight men who had survived the explosion were killed in a cloud of grapeshot.
A Spanish gunboat made the next attempt, but several well-placed shots quickly brought down her mast and set fire to her engine. Within minutes an explosion tore through the air, killing all hands, her smoking hulk quickly disappearing beneath the waves.
“Come!” thundered Sandokan. “Come measure yourselves with the Tigers of Mompracem!”
No ship would have drawn near the formidable island’s shores for as long as they had powder. Unfortunately, the pirates’ luck was about to turn.
Towards six, just as the fleet was on the verge of retreating, unexpected reinforcements arrived in the island’s waters, a thunderous hurrah resounding from the enemy ships. That unexpected surprise consisted of two British cruisers, a large Dutch curvet and a heavily armed brigantine.
At the sight of that new enemy, Sandokan and Yanez both turned pale. Defeat was now inevitable, the fortress would fall in a matter of hours; however, they did not lose spirit and pointed some of their cannons towards those new ships.
Bolstered by those reinforcements, the squadron advanced towards the shore, furiously shelling the pirates’ defences. Grenades fell by the hundreds on the embankments, ramparts and redoubt, shattering what remained of the battered stronghold. In less than an hour, the first five lines were reduced to rubble. Sixteen cannons had been destroyed, and a dozen swivel guns lay among the ruins, surrounded by the corpses of the brave Tigers of Mompracem who had been slaughtered at their posts.
Sandokan tried one last manoeuvre. He pointed all his cannons at the lead ship, leaving only the swivel guns to fire upon all the others.
Attacked from all sides the cruiser withstood that rain of shells for twenty minutes, until a twenty-one kilogram grenade launched by Giro-Batol’s mortar ripped an enormous hole in her bow.
Water gushing into her hold, she listed to one side and quickly began to sink. The other ships scrambled to save her crew; numerous launches were immediately lowered, but few escaped the pirates’ grapeshot. Within three minutes the cruiser had sunk, all hands swallowed by the sea.
The squadron’s cannons fell silent for an instant then resumed their attack with even greater determination, advancing to within four hundred metres of the shore. The flank batteries were blanketed with shells and quickly silenced, forcing the pirates to retreat behind the second line of ramparts, then the third, which had already been destroyed. Soon only the large central redoubt remained, cannons thundering defiantly as they fired without pause.
Sandokan did not stop encouraging his men, but he knew the moment to retreat would soon be at hand. Half an hour later, a powder magazine exploded and debris rained down upon the trenches, burying twelve pirates and twenty-two Dyaks in the rubble.
Attempting one last time to halt their enemies’ advance, the pirates turned their fire on another cruiser, but with only a few cannons still remaining, they could do little to stem the attack. At ten past eight, the great redoubt gave way, burying men and artillery in a shower of rubble.
“Sandokan!” shouted Yanez, rushing towards the pirate, who was aiming his cannon. “It’s over, we’ve lost.”
“You’re right,” the Tiger replied sadly.
“Order the men to retreat before it’s too late.”
Sandokan cast a last desperate look at his defences; only sixteen cannons and twenty swivel guns still thundered. Determined to storm the island, the squadron had begun putting launches in the water, heavy with troops. A prahu had dropped anchor at the base of the great cliff, her men preparing to attack.
Defeat was imminent; it was only a matter of time. Within minutes, the British and their allies, their forces still thirty times larger than his own, would have landed and attacked the trenches, quickly crushing all resistance. Even a brief delay could endanger their escape.
Sandokan gathered his strength to utter words that had never before left his lips. With a heavy heart, he commanded his men to retreat. As the Dyaks fled in all directions, the tear-stricken, broken-hearted Tigers of Mompracem, stunned by their defeat, set off towards the forest, just as the enemy charged ashore and rushed at the trenches, bayonets drawn as they stormed what remained of the pirate’s stronghold.
Mompracem’s star had finally been put out.
Chapter 28
At Sea
REDUCED TO ONLY seventy men, most of them injured, the pirates were still thirsting for blood and revenge. Though ready to resume the struggle, they retreated, led by their brave captains, Yanez and the Tiger of Malaysia, both men having miraculously escaped the rain of enemy iron and lead.
Despite having lost his beloved island, his home, the seat of all his power, Sandokan maintained an admirable calm during that retreat. Having announced the end of his pirating days and become accustomed to the idea of abandoning those waters, the pirate leader was undoubtedly consoling himself with the thought that he still had his beloved Pearl of Labuan. But however calmly he may have acted, his face betrayed traces of strong emotion that he could not conceal.
Hurrying their pace, the pirates quickly reached the banks of a dry riverbed, where they found Marianna and her six guards. The young woman rushed into Sandokan’s arms and the pirate embraced her tightly.
“Thank God!” she said. “You’ve come back to me alive.”
“Alive but defeated,” he replied sadly.
“It’s the will of Fate, my brave one.”
“Time to go, Marianna, the enemy is not far off. Onward men, let’s not let ourselves get captured. We may yet have one last battle to fight.”
The victors’ triumphant cries could be heard in the distance. A bright orange light blazed above the battlefield, the enemy had set fire to the village. Sandokan helped Marianna mount a horse brought there the previous day, and the small band of men quickly headed towards the island’s western shore before the enemy could move to block their escape. At eleven that night, they arrived at a small village along the coast, before which three prahus rested at anchor.
“Quickly, everyone aboard,” Sandokan said. “There’s no time to waste.”
“Do you expect an attack at sea?” asked Marianna.
“Perhaps, but my scimitar will protect you and I myself will shield you from the enemy, no matter how many I have to fight.”
He quickly scanned the waters, but found nothing menacing in that sea of black.
“I didn’t spy any lanterns,” he
told Marianna. “We may still be able to escape.” He sighed heavily, wiped his brow, and added, “Let’s get aboard.”
The pirates embarked, barely able to restrain their tears. Thirty men climbed aboard the smallest prahu, the remainder were split evenly amongst Sandokan’s vessel and the treasure ship under Yanez’ command. When the time came to raise anchor, Sandokan clutched his chest in agony.
“My love,” said Marianna, embracing him.
“Ah!” the pirate exclaimed in anguish, “my heart’s breaking.”
“Perhaps one day we’ll come back, you’ll retake this island and we’ll make it our home.”
“No, the Tiger of Malaysia’s days have come to an end. I’m no longer the man I once was.” He lowered his head and sighed heavily, then gathered his strength, rose to his feet and shouted, “Cast off!”
The three ships shed their moorings and quickly set off, manned by the last survivors of that formidable band of men who for the last twelve years had spread terror throughout the waters of Malaysia. They had gone six miles, when a howl of rage erupted from one of the ships. Two bright specks had suddenly appeared upon those dark waters, sailing towards the fleet with menacing speed.
“The cruisers!” shouted a voice. “Careful, my friends.”
Sandokan, who had been sitting at the stern with his eyes fixed on his island, watching as it slowly disappeared into the night, stood up, roaring in anger.
“Our enemy is back!” he thundered, drawing the young woman to him. “So, the wretches pursue me at sea as well? My Tigers, the Lions are still after us! Men, draw your weapons!”
Those words were greeted with joy for the pirates still burned with the desire for revenge and perhaps secretly believed they could recapture their lost island with one last desperate fight. They quickly drew their blades, ready to board the enemy ships at their captain’s command.
“Marianna,” Sandokan said, turning toward the young woman who was looking at those two bright specks with terror, “best you go to your cabin, my love!”
“My God, it’s hopeless,” she murmured.
“Not yet, the Tigers of Mompracem want blood.”
“Those two lights could be two mighty cruisers, Sandokan.”
“We’d still board them, even if they were manned by a thousand men.”
“Do not attempt another battle, my valiant friend. Those two ships may not have spotted us yet; we may still be able to avoid them.”
“You’re right, Lady Marianna,” confirmed one of the Malay captains. “They’re looking for us that much is certain, but I doubt they’ve spotted us. It’s dark and we haven’t lit a single lantern, so there’s little chance they’re aware of our presence. Be cautious, Tiger of Malaysia, there’s a lot to be gained by avoiding a fight.”
“So be it,” said Sandokan, after a moment’s thought. “We’ll leave them be, but woe to them if they attempt to follow us! I’ll do whatever I must to be rid of them, even attack.”
“We’ll board them if need be,” added the Malay captain, “but for now we’ll exercise a bit of caution.”
The darkness favoured their retreat. At Sandokan’s command, the prahu tacked and headed towards the island’s southern shore, where he knew there was a bay deep enough to shelter a small fleet. The other two ships rushed to copy that manoeuvre, having quickly grasped the Tiger of Malaysia’s intentions. The wind was cool and favourable, blowing from the northeast; if it held, the prahus would reach the bay while it was still dark.
“Have the two ships changed course?” asked Marianna, anxiously scanning the sea.
“I can’t tell just yet,” replied Sandokan, having climbed onto the bulwark to get a better look at the two bright specks. He studied them in silence for a minute or two then added, “They may have spotted us; they seem to have tacked as well.”
“Are they heading toward us?”
“It appears so.”
“So we won’t be able to escape them?” the young woman asked nervously.
“We’d never outrun their engines, the wind isn’t strong enough. We may still have a chance if we can hold out until dawn, the wind always picks up at first light.”
“Sandokan!”
“Marianna…”
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
“There’s no need to worry; the Tigers of Mompracem are ready to die for you.”
“I know, Sandokan. I fear for what may happen to you, my brave friend.”
“There’s no need to fear!” the pirate exclaimed boldly. “Those two Lions do not frighten me! We’ll battle them if we must, the Tiger may have been beaten, but he has yet to be tamed.”
“Cannonballs don’t glow in the dark and there’s no light burning aboard our ships, besides…”
A voice from the second prahu cut her off.
“Little brother!”
“What is it, Yanez?” shouted Sandokan, recognizing the Portuguese’s voice.
“It seems to me those two ships are preparing to cut off our escape route. Those lanterns were red, now they’re green, they’ve obviously changed course.”
“Then the British have spotted us.”
“I’m afraid so, Sandokan.”
“What do you advise we do?”
“Change course and try to pass between them. Look, as I predicted, they’ve parted to attempt to block our escape.”
The Portuguese had not been mistaken.
The two enemy vessels, which had been advancing side by side, had suddenly moved apart. While one sailed off towards the southern coast of Mompracem, the other rapidly moved towards the north, there was no doubt as to their intentions. They planned to get between the prahus and the coast to prevent them from finding refuge in some bay or stream, forcing them out onto the sea so they could attack on open water. Having become aware of their plans, Sandokan howled in anger.
“Ah!” he screamed. “You want a fight? So be it!”
“Not yet, little brother,” said Yanez, from the bow of his prahu. “We can still change course and try to sail between them.”
“They’d capture us, Yanez. There’s not enough wind to make such an attempt.”
“We have no other option, Sandokan. Men, Man the sheets! Tack to starboard! Gunners to their stations!”
A minute later the three prahus changed course, heading determinedly towards the west.
The two ships appeared to have spotted that manoeuvre, for they quickly tacked and headed away from the shore, planning to prevent the prahus from reaching the safety of another island. Believing, however, that their enemy had changed direction by chance, Sandokan and Yanez did not alter their course, in fact, they ordered the crew to raise more sails to increase their speed.
For twenty minutes the three prahus continued on their way, attempting to escape the two warships, which were drawing closer with every minute. The pirates did not take their eyes off the two lanterns, trying to guess their enemies’ intentions, ready to fire their rifles and cannons at their captains’ first command. They had already gone a great distance when they spotted the lanterns tacking once again. A minute later they heard Yanez shout, “Look! They’re following us!”
“Scoundrels!” Sandokan exclaimed. “Destroying my home wasn’t enough for them? Must they dog our every move? So be it! If they won’t leave us be, we’ll shower them with iron and lead!”
“We’ve lost, haven’t we, Sandokan?” asked Marianna, grabbing hold of the pirate.
“Not yet, my beloved,” replied the Tiger. “Quickly, get to your cabin. It’s going to start raining cannonballs in a few minutes.”
“I want to remain by your side, my brave one. If you die, I’ll die with you.”
“No, Marianna. I’d fear for your life and safety; I wouldn’t be able to fight with you in danger, I need a clear mind to lead my men.”
“At least wait until those ships get a little closer. They may not even have spotted us yet.”
“They’re coming at us at full steam. I can already see th
em.”
“Are they mighty ships?”
“A curvet and a gunboat.”
“You won’t be able to defeat them.”
“My men are seasoned warriors, we will not fail. We’ll attack the largest vessel, once we defeat her, the gunboat will flee. Now, I beg you, go to your cabin.”
“Sandokan…” sobbed the young woman.
“There’s no need to worry. The Tigers of Mompracem will make quick work of them.”
A blast thundered off in the distance and a cannonball sailed over the prahu, flying over her masts.
“Did you hear that?” asked Sandokan. “They’ve spotted us and are preparing for battle. Look! They’re moving to ram us!”
The two enemy vessels were advancing at full steam, intending, or so it seemed, to ram the three small ships. As the gunboat attempted to rush Yanez’ prahu, the curvet increased her speed, straining her engines to the limit, spewing clouds of red smoke and cinders as she headed towards Sandokan’s ship.
“Get below!” shouted Sandokan, as the curvet unleashed a second volley of cannon fire. “There’s only death here!”
He raised the young woman in his arms and carried her into the cabin. An instant later, a cloud of grapeshot swept over the ship’s deck, spraying the hull and masts. Marianna clung desperately to Sandokan.
“Don’t leave me, my brave one,” she sobbed. “Don’t leave me! They’re going to kill you, Sandokan!”
The pirate set her down gently.
“There’s no need to worry,” he said. “Let me go fight my last battle. Let me lead my men one last time.”
“I have a bad feeling about this, Sandokan. Let me remain by your side. I’ll defend you against my countrymen!”
“No harm will come to me, my men and I will beat them back!”
The enemy cannons continued to thunder over the battle cries of the Tigers of Mompracem and first groans of the wounded.
Sandokan pulled away from the young woman’s embrace and rushed up the stairs shouting, “Attack, my brave ones! The Tiger of Malaysia is with you!”
Sandokan: The Tigers of Mompracem (The Sandokan Series Book 1) Page 24
