by Tim Severin
‘We take the Acapulco Galleon by surprise.’ Eaton was relishing the chance to display his cunning. ‘When the vessel enters the strait, our Chamorro allies will go out in their canoes to meet the ship, as is their custom. No one on board the galleon will suspect anything.’ He paused to look out over the expectant faces of his men. ‘As usual the Chamorro will offer to barter. Hidden among them will be some of us with our muskets. At the right moment we spring our ambush, shoot down the helmsmen, board the ship. We can rely on the indios to deal with the rest.’
There was an interval while his audience digested the audacity of the plan.
‘I wouldn’t trust those heathens,’ shouted the old man. ‘They’d slit our throats.’
But his shipmates were looking at one another, considering the captain’s proposal. Some were doubtful. They didn’t like the idea of working with the natives, and said so. Others were more excited. There was a babble of comment, nearly all of it favourable. Suddenly the loot from a rich Spanish galleon seemed within their grasp.
Arianz stepped up to the rail. ‘We put it to the vote. Those in favour of attempting to seize the Acapulco Galleon, raise your hands.’
The quartermaster counted the vote.
‘Those who would continue on for home.’
Fewer hands rose.
‘Then it’s decided.’
Standing among the men, Hector’s mind was in turmoil. He was giddy with excitement that he had located Maria. She was alive and apparently well, and he longed to see her. For a mad moment he toyed with the idea of deserting the Nicholas, swimming ashore, finding his way to the Presidio and locating Maria. But he knew that was utterly impractical. It would mean abandoning his friends, which he couldn’t do, and it was reckless. Governor Costana, when he came back from campaign, would be merciless. In his eyes Hector was still a murderous sea robber. Maria, who had once seemed so far away, was very much closer. But in another sense she was still as distant as she had ever been.
ELEVEN
MAESTRE DE CAMPO DAMIAN DE ESPLANA proved to be as efficient as his manner had suggested. The evening after Jacques got back to the ship, a galaide layak delivered a dozen kegs of gunpowder to the Nicholas, and with them a Chamorro pilot. A gaunt, taciturn man with a heavily pockmarked face, he was dressed in cast-off European clothing and had a small crucifix on a cord around his neck. In halting Spanish he said that his name was Faasi, and he had a paper to deliver to the captain.
‘Let’s have a look at it,’ said Eaton. It was a crude sketch map of the Ladrones. The fifteen islands, varying in size, stretched away in a chain running northwards. Guahan was marked by name, as were half a dozen of the others. The rest were anonymous.
‘Is that where we find the Governor?’ said Eaton, placing his finger where Esplana had drawn an arrow on the map against one of the farther islands.
The Chamorro stared at the map, but looked blank when Hector translated the question.
‘I don’t think he understands maps,’ said Hector. ‘He probably hasn’t seen one before.’
‘Maug – the island is called Maug, according to what’s written here,’ snapped Eaton.
At the mention of the name, Faasi’s face cleared. He nodded. ‘Yes, Governor at Maug,’ he said.
‘How long to sail there?’ enquired Eaton.
‘Two days, no more,’ answered the Chamorro.
Eaton frowned. It was impossible to judge the scale of the sketch map. But clearly Esplana had made an attempt to draw the islands to their relative sizes.
‘Looks like more than two days’ sail to me,’ he said, ‘unless the ship grows wings.’
‘Best to get started right away, now that we’ve got our powder,’ suggested Arianz.
Eaton treated the Chamorro to a thoughtful glance. Hector guessed the captain was trying to judge whether Faasi was capable of recognizing that the ship wasn’t French.
The quartermaster must have been thinking along the same lines. Laying a hand on the captain’s arm, he drew him to one side and Hector overheard him ask quietly, ‘Do we really need a pilot now that we’ve got a map? We should toss him overboard as soon as we’re off-shore.’
Eaton shook his head. ‘The map’s too vague, and we still need the man to tell us exactly where we lie in wait for the galleon and where we can recruit our new allies.’
Arianz tugged at his earlobe doubtfully. ‘You seem very sure that the natives will fall in with our plan.’
‘That is where the pilot can be even more helpful, though he does not know it yet,’ the captain assured him.
Eaton wasted little time. He weighed anchor at first light, and by early evening the Nicholas was abreast of the northern end of Guahan. Here the Chamorro pilot pointed out the place where the Acapulco Galleon normally paused to transfer her cargo.
‘Ask our pilot if he knows a safe anchorage on the next island along the chain,’ the captain demanded. He had the sketch map in his hand. ‘It’s name is written here as Rota.’
When Hector relayed the question, Faasi’s eyes widened in alarm.
‘He says the people that live there are his enemies. It’s not the place where he was told to bring us.’
Eaton allowed himself a mirthless smile. ‘Then that’s precisely where we pay our next call.’ He ordered the helmsman to maintain course and the crew to shorten sail. Throughout the night the Nicholas crept forward until the rising sun showed Rota’s hills some five miles ahead. The masthead lookout called down to say that he saw no sign of a barrier reef. ‘Make a slow, leisurely approach,’ Eaton ordered the helmsman. ‘The slower, the better. We want our arrival known. Lynch,’ the captain went on, ‘I’m sending you ashore to contact the locals. Our pilot here will go with you.’
‘I doubt he’ll want to.’
Faasi was fingering his little wooden cross nervously and casting worried glances around the ship. Clearly the sight of Rota so close up had rattled him badly.
‘He’ll have no choice,’ said Eaton. He nodded to Stolck and Arianz. The unfortunate pilot was seized and his arms pinioned. He was so shocked that he offered no resistance as his wrists were lashed behind his back.
‘We’ll offer him to our future allies,’ Eaton smirked. ‘When they see you land with him trussed up like a chicken and recognize him as an enemy, they’ll listen to what you have to propose.’
‘And what am I meant to tell them?’
Eaton grinned, a flash of white teeth in his tanned face. ‘Explain that we come as foes of the Spanish and wish to loot the Acapulco Galleon. Say that we’ll supply four musketeers for every sailing craft they can provide for an ambush.’
Hector’s mind raced. Here was an opportunity to get off the Nicholas – and maybe his friends as well. Once ashore, they might be able to take control of their lives.
‘I want my friends with me – Jezreel, Dan and Jacques,’ he said.
‘By all means,’ Eaton was expansive. ‘The striker looks enough of an indio himself. That should reassure the locals.’ He paused. ‘But I wouldn’t want you getting any ideas as soon as you are out of sight. So I’m sending Stolck with you to keep an eye on you.’
OVER THE NEXT few hours, Hector watched the coast of Rota take shape. Low cliffs made a landing difficult. The swells heaved and broke against them, churning into froth. Here and there great lumps of reddish-brown rock had broken off and tumbled into the sea. Beyond the cliff wall the ground swept upwards to the rim of what must be an interior plateau, its edge sharply defined against the puffy white clouds and a blue sky. The cliff tops and hill slopes were smothered with dense green vegetation. Despite the lushness of the landscape and the gentle, summery feel of the air, the place looked inaccessible and mysterious, as if it was guarding secrets. Apart from the flittering swoops of two fairy terns in their brilliant white plumage, there was no sign of life.
The ship hove-to a cable’s length off the first suitable spot to get ashore, a small cove backed by a low cliff. Watched by the crew, Hector and his frien
ds climbed down into the jolly boat. Jezreel had his backsword slung over his shoulder, and Dan chose to bring along his satchel of artist’s materials. Hector and Jacques had nothing more than their sailors’ knives. Only Stolck carried a musket. Arianz had claimed that if the landing party showed too many weapons, they’d scare off the natives, and Hector wondered if the quartermaster was conniving with Eaton to put them deliberately in harm’s way. But Stolck’s presence reassured him. The big Hollander was a close friend of Arianz, and Hector doubted that his countryman would allow him to be abandoned.
The luckless Faasi was passed down like a bundle, his hands still bound. The boat crew bent to their oars and Hector watched the sides of the Nicholas recede. The ship looked weary and sea-worn. Her hull planks were pale grey, bleached by months of sun and salt spray. The tracery of rigging was marred with knots and splices, the ropes whiskery with use. But she was still remarkably seaworthy, a testimony to the ship skills of her crew. She rolled gently, showing the beard of weeds that coated the tar applied so long ago in the Encantadas. Someone had hoisted a home-made French ensign at the mizzen. Hector doubted that the colours of France rippling in the slight breeze meant anything to those on Rota who were watching.
The keel of the little boat crunched on the shingle, and a moment later he climbed over the gunwale, feeling smooth pebbles slither beneath his bare feet. Behind him he heard Jezreel grunt as he lifted the Chamorro pilot out of the boat and set him upright.
The boat crew backed water, Dan gave the prow of the boat a shove to help it on its way, and the jolly boat began its return journey to the waiting ship. Hector paused at the water’s edge and gazed up at the wall of broken cliff behind the little cove. Now that he was closer, he could see the faint trace of a footpath. It led upwards, picking its way back and forth between scree and boulders, a sign that someone occasionally came here. Beside him, Faasi was petrified and shivering with fright.
Hector asked Jezreel for the loan of his backsword and walked over to the wretched pilot, intending to cut his bonds.
‘I wouldn’t do that,’ growled Stolck. He pointed his musket at Hector. ‘You heard what the captain said. This savage is our calling card.’
Hector ignored the warning. He cut through the ropes that bound Faasi’s wrists. The instant he was free, the Chamorro took to his heels. With a clatter of shingle, he ran back down the narrow beach and plunged into the water. Stolck raised his musket to shoot the runaway, but then thought better of it and lowered the gun. Soon only Faasi’s head could be seen as he swam out. He headed beyond the line of breaking swells and turned southwards and, still swimming strongly, kept parallel to the coast until he was out of sight.
‘Well, there goes our interpreter,’ said Jacques, picking up a pebble and skimming it across the water. ‘Let us hope our reception party shows up soon.’
The five men settled down to wait. The narrow beach was less than forty paces long. Cliffs closed it off at each end. The only access was by the little track Hector had noticed earlier. Out to sea the Nicholas hovered, still hove-to. An occasional glint of light indicated that someone on her aft deck, either Eaton or Arianz, was watching them through a spyglass. Dan, as unconcerned and calm as always, took pen and ink and a sheet of paper from his satchel and began to sketch the distant vessel. Jezreel took off his backsword, laid it on the ground, lay down beside it, closed his eyes and began to doze. After some minutes of fidgeting, Jacques copied him. Stolck was in a grumpy mood after Faasi’s escape. He moved away from the others and sat by himself, his musket across his knees. Only Hector continued to watch the lip of the cliffs above, waiting for some activity.
An hour passed. The shadow cast by the cliff gradually shortened as the sun rose higher. The only sound was the low grumble of the swells on the pebbles. The two fairy terns Hector had noticed earlier were joined by another pair, which circled for some time, then all four birds abruptly flew off. Behind the salt tang of the sea he caught the faint, musty smell of tropical vegetation.
Jacques suddenly sat up. ‘I ought to tell you a story that I heard from the Maestre de Campo.’
Jezreel opened his eyes. ‘As long as it helps pass the time.’
‘He was escorting me back to the Presidio gate. Before he said goodbye, he wanted to emphasize why he was so committed to the programme of reducción – converting the natives.’
‘What did he tell you?’ asked Hector.
‘That the missionary who was murdered recently was not the first priest to be killed by the Chamorro. Some years back they assassinated the chief apostle to these islands, a man named Vitores. They ran him through with a spear, then slashed his head open with a cutlass.’
‘Charming,’ muttered Jezreel.
‘The murderers tried to dispose of the corpse at sea. They took it out on one of their canoes and threw it overboard. But twice the dead man came floating back to the surface and reached out and grasped the outrigger. He only sank when the Chamorro smashed in the skull with a paddle.’
‘You could have told us that story earlier,’ said Jezreel. ‘We might have thought twice about being dumped on this beach.’
‘Oddly enough,’ Jacques went on, ‘Esplana was rather proud of what had happened. He said that every new-found country needs a martyr.’
‘I hope we won’t add to that number,’ said Hector softly. ‘There’s someone coming down the cliff path now, and he certainly doesn’t look like a Christian.’
The newcomer was well over six feet tall. A muscular, heavy-set but athletic-looking man, his chocolate-brown skin was smeared with oil so that it glistened. His long, dark hair had also been oiled and was tied up in a double knot and piled on the crown of his head. His easy, confident stride as he came down the path gave Hector the impression that here was someone of importance. The stranger was empty-handed, and there was no question that he had any concealed weapons. Apart from a belt of coconut rope, he was completely naked.
Stolck scrambled to his feet and levelled his musket at the stranger. ‘Stop where you are,’ he shouted.
The newcomer gave him a puzzled glance, ignored him and turned to face Hector. Everything about the stranger was large: a barrel-shaped torso, heavily muscled arms and legs, powerful hands, and big feet set firmly on the shingle. His deep-set brown eyes under prominent brows regarded Hector coolly. Then he smiled and Hector’s stomach lurched. The stranger’s lips parted to reveal teeth sharpened to points so that they resembled a row of fangs. Appallingly, the gums and teeth were stained blood-red. Visions of cannibals and human sacrifice flashed into Hector’s mind. Then he realized the stranger had been eating some sort of highly coloured food.
Tearing his gaze away from that hideous mouth, Hector said in slow, careful Spanish, ‘We are friends. We wish to speak with your headman.’
There was no response. The brown eyes continued to observe him, placid and uncomprehending.
Hector repeated himself, first in Spanish, then again in all the languages he knew – English, French, the lingua franca of the Barbary slave barracks, even the Irish he had learned as a child. There was still was no reaction. He might as well have been speaking to a graven image, except for that bloody smile.
Finally, when Hector had fallen silent, the man spoke. His voice was deep and powerful, the words musical and clear. They made no sense whatsoever.
The big man turned his head deliberately and looked at Dan, Jacques and the others for several moments. Moving quietly across to Dan, he leaned over to examine the sketch of the Nicholas. Then he looked out at the ship and back at the drawing. His face was full of wonder. ‘Maulek, maulek,’ he said and made an admiring, chuckling noise. Next he walked across to Jezreel, and pinched the giant on his upper arm and nodded approvingly. Before Jezreel could stop him, the man bent down and picked up the backsword from the ground, slid it half out of the sheath and gave a low snort of admiration. ‘Maulek, maulek,’ he said again. He turned his head aside and spat – evidently a sign of approval – and a blood-
red blob of spittle splattered on the stones.
‘That’s betel nut he’s been chewing. I saw it in my time in the Indies,’ said Stolck, who had regained his composure. It was evident that the big stranger was peaceable.
The naked man was showing an interest in the Hollander’s musket. He reached out and stroked it and frowned, then shook his head wonderingly.
‘He has no idea what it is,’ said Stolck. ‘He must have come right from the hills.’
‘He is certainly more curious than fearful of us,’ observed Jacques.
‘I’ll show him that we are not to be trifled with,’ said Stolck. He raised the gun. ‘Here, you,’ he called out. ‘Watch this. Magic.’
Turning on his heel, Stolck took aim at the cliff face at the far end of the beach where a landslip had exposed bare soil studded with small stones. He pulled the trigger. The bang of the musket and the cloud of smoke were instantly followed by a shower of earth and gravel as the musket bullet struck home.
If Stolck had expected the savage to be impressed, he was badly mistaken. The report of the gun was still echoing back from the cliffs when the big native let out a loud, shrill whistle. In the same instant he sprang forward and scooped up Jezreel’s backsword. Jezreel lunged, trying to retrieve the weapon. The two men grappled, struggling for possession. They fell, rolled over on the ground and began to fight, gouging and punching.
Stunned by the sudden turn of events, Hector was groping for the knife from his belt, ready to go to Jezreel’s rescue, when he felt a violent stab of pain as something struck his left shoulder. The force of the blow spun him half around, and for a moment he was disoriented. A yard away Jacques had mysteriously been knocked to the ground. Dan was still on his feet, but acting strangely. He was ducking and weaving from side to side as though fighting off an unseen attacker. He had his canvas satchel wrapped around his right arm and was holding it up as a shield. Something smacked on to the pebbles at Hector’s feet and skittered off. It was a disc-shaped stone about the size of a hen’s egg. Looking in the direction from where it had come, Hector saw a line of naked men standing on the lip of the cliff. They were whirling slings and discharging a hail of missiles at the beach.
