by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER III
A FIGHT WITH THE SPANIARDS
As soon as it became dark, and the wharves were deserted, CaptainMartin sent two sailors aloft with grease pots, with orders thatevery block was to be carefully greased to ensure its runningwithout noise. A boat which rowed six oars was lowered noiselesslyinto the water, and flannel was bound round the oars. The men,who had been aware of the danger that threatened their captain,sharpened the pikes and axes, and declared to each other thatwhether the captain ordered it or not no Spaniards should set footon board as long as one of them stood alive on the decks. The cookfilled a great boiler with water and lighted a fire under it, andthe carpenter heated a caldron of pitch without orders.
"What are you doing, Thompson?" the captain asked, noticing theglow of the fire as he came out of his cabin.
The sailor came aft before he replied, "I am just cooking up alittle hot sauce for the dons, captain. We don't ask them to come,you know; but if they do, it's only right that we should entertainthem."
"I hope there will be no fighting, lad," the captain said.
"Well, your honour, that ain't exactly the wish of me and my mates.After what we have been hearing of, we feel as we sha'n't be happyuntil we have had a brush with them 'ere Spaniards. And as tofighting, your honour; from what we have heard, Captain Hawkins andothers out in the Indian seas have been ashowing them that thoughthey may swagger on land they ain't no match for an Englishman onthe sea. Anyhow, your honour, we ain't going to stand by and seeyou and Master Ned carried away by these 'ere butchering Spaniards.
"We have all made up our minds that what happens to you happens toall of us. We have sailed together in this ship the Good Venturefor the last seventeen or eighteen years, and we means to swimor sink together. No disrespect to you, captain; but that is thefixed intention of all of us. It would be a nice thing for us tosail back to the port of London and say as we stood by and saw ourcaptain and his son carried off to be hung or burnt or what notby the Spaniards, and then sailed home to tell the tale. We don'tmean no disrespect, captain, I says again; but in this 'ere businesswe take our orders from Mr. Peters, seeing that you being consarnedas it were in the affair ain't to be considered as having, so tospeak, a right judgment upon it."
"Well, well, we shall see if there is a chance of making asuccessful fight," Captain Martin said, unable to resist a smileat the sailor's way of putting it.
The night was dark, and the two or three oil lamps that hung suspendedfrom some of the houses facing the port threw no ray of light whichextended to the shipping. It was difficult to make out against thesky the outline of the masts of the French vessel lying some twentyyards away; but presently Ned's attention was called towards herby a slight splash of her cable. Then he heard the low rumble asthe ropes ran out through the hawse holes, and saw that the mastswere slowly moving. In two or three minutes they had disappearedfrom his sight. He went into the cabin.
"The Frenchman has gone, father; and so noiselessly that I couldhardly hear her. If we can get out as quietly there is little fearof our being noticed."
"We cannot be as quiet as that, Ned. She has only to slack awayher cables and drift with the tide that turned half an hour ago,we have got to tow out and set sail. However, the night is dark,the wind is off shore, and everything is in our favour. Do you seeif there be anyone about on the decks of the ships above and belowus."
Ned went first on to the stern, and then to the bow. He couldhear the voices of men talking and singing in the forecastles, butcould hear no movement on the deck of either ship. He went downand reported to his father.
"Then, I think, we may as well start at once, Ned. There arestill sounds and noises in the town, and any noise we may make istherefore less likely to be noticed than if we waited until everythingwas perfectly still."
The sailors were all ready. All were barefooted so as to move asnoiselessly as possible. The four small cannon that the Good Venturecarried had been loaded to the muzzle with bullets and pieces ofiron. A search had been made below and several heavy lumps of stone,a part of the ballast carried on some former occasion, broughtup and placed at intervals along the bulwarks. The pikes had beenfastened by a loose lashing to the mast, and the axes leaned inreadiness against the cannon.
"Now, Peters," Captain Martin said, "let the boat be manned. Do yousend a man ashore to cast off the hawser at the bow. Let him takea line ashore with him so as to ease the hawser off, and not letthe end fall in the water. The moment he has done that let himcome to the stern and get on board there, and do you and he getthe plank on board as noiselessly as you can. As soon as the bowhawser is on board I will give the men in the boat the word torow. Ned will be on board her, and see that they row in the rightdirection. The moment you have got the plank in get out your knifeand cut the stern warp half through, and directly her head is out,and you feel the strain, sever it. The stern is so close to thewharf that the end will not be able to drop down into the waterand make a splash."
Ned's orders were that as soon as the vessel's head pointed seawardhe was to steer rather to the right, so as to prevent the stream,which, however, ran but feebly, from carrying her down on the bowsof the French ship. Once beyond the latter he was to go straightout, steering by the lights on shore. The men were enjoined to droptheir oars as quietly as possible into the water at each stroke,and to row deeply, as having the vessel in tow they would churn upthe water unless they did so. The boat rowed off a stroke or two,and then, as the rope tightened, the men sat quiet until CaptainMartin was heard to give the order to row in a low tone; then theybent to their oars. Peters had chosen the six best rowers on boardthe ship for the purpose, and so quietly did they dip their oarsin the water that Captain Martin could scarce hear the sound, andonly knew by looking over the other side, and seeing that the shorewas receding, that the ship was in motion. Two minutes later Peterscame forward.
"I have cut the warp, Captain Martin, and she is moving out. I haveleft Watson at the helm." Scarce a word was spoken for the nextfive minutes. It was only by looking at the light ashore that theycould judge the progress they were making. Every one breathed morefreely now the first danger was over. They had got out from theirberth without attracting the slightest notice, either from theshore or from the ships lying next to them. Their next danger wasfrom the ships lying at anchor off the port waiting their turn tocome in. Were they to run against one of these, the sound of thecollision, and perhaps the breaking of spars and the shouts of thecrew, would certainly excite attention from the sentries on shore.
So far the boat had been rowing but a short distance in advance ofthe end of the bowsprit, but Captain Martin now made his way outto the end of that spar, and told Ned that he was going to givehim a good deal more rope in order that he might keep well ahead,and that he was to keep a sharp lookout for craft at anchor. Anotherquarter of an hour passed, and Captain Martin thought that theymust now be beyond the line of the outer shipping. They felt thewind more now that they were getting beyond the shelter of thetown, and its effect upon the hull and spars made the work lighterfor those in the boat ahead.
"Now, Peters, I think that we can safely spread the foresail andcall them in from the boat."
The sail had been already loosed and was now let fall; it belliedout at once.
"Haul in the sheets, lads," Captain Martin said, and going forwardgave a low whistle. A minute later the boat was alongside. "Lether drop astern, Peters," the captain said, as Ned and the rowersclambered on board; "we may want her presently. Hullo! what's that?It's one of the guard boats, I do believe, and coming this way."The men heard the sound of coming oars, and silently stole to themast and armed themselves with the pikes, put the axes in theirbelts, and ranged themselves along by the side of the ship towardswhich the boat was approaching. "Will she go ahead of us or astern?"Captain Martin whispered to the mate.
"I cannot tell yet, sir. By the sound she seems making pretty nearlystraight for us."
"How unfortunate," Captain Martin murmured; "just a
s it seemed thatwe were getting safely away."
In another minute the mate whispered, "She will go astern of us,sir, but not by much."
"I trust that she will not see us," the captain said. "But now weare away from the town and the lights, it doesn't seem so dark,besides their eyes are accustomed to it."
There was dead silence in the ship as the boat approached. She wasjust passing the stern at the distance of about a ship's length,when there was a sudden exclamation, and a voice shouted, "Whatship is that? Where are you going?" Captain Martin replied in Dutch."We are taking advantage of the wind to make to sea."
"Down with that sail, sir!" the officer shouted: "this is againstall regulations. No ship is permitted to leave the port betweensunrise and sunset. Pull alongside, lads; there is something strangeabout this!"
"Do not come alongside," Captain Martin said sternly. "We arepeaceable traders who meddle with no one, but if you interfere withus it will be the worse for you."
"You insolent hound!" the officer exclaimed furiously, "do youdare to threaten me. Blow your matches, lads, and shoulder yourarquebuses. There is treason and rebellion here."
Those on board saw six tiny sparks appear, two in the bow and fourin the stern. A minute later the boat dashed alongside. As it didso three great pieces of stone were cast into it, knocking downtwo of the rowers.
"Fire!" the officer exclaimed as he sprang up to climb the ship'sside. The six muskets were discharged, and the men rose to followtheir leader, when there was a cry from the rowers "The boat issinking! She is staved in!"
At the same moment the officer fell back thrust through with a pike.Two of the soldiers were cut down with axes, the other sprang backinto the sinking boat, which at once drifted astern.
"Up with her sails, lads!" Captain Martin shouted; "it is a questionof speed now. The alarm is spread on shore already." The sentriesof the various batteries were discharging their muskets and shouting,and the roll of a drum was heard almost immediately. The crew soonhad every stitch of sail set upon the brig. She was moving steadilythrough the water; but the wind was still light, although occasionallya stronger puff gave ground for hope that it would ere long blowharder.
"They will be some time before they make out what it is all about,Peters," Captain Martin said. "The galleys will be manned, and willrow to the spot where the firing was heard. Some of the men in theboat are sure to be able to swim, and will meet them as they comeout and tell them what has happened. The worst of it is, the moonwill be up in a few minutes. I forgot all about that. That accountsfor its being lighter. However, we have got a good start. One ortwo guard boats may be out here in a quarter of an hour, but itwill take the galleys twice as long to gather their crews and getout. It all depends on the wind. It is lucky it is not light yet,or the batteries might open on us; I don't think now they will getsight of us until we are fairly out of range."
Now that there was no longer occasion for silence on board the GoodVenture, the crew laughed and joked at the expense of the Spaniards.They were in high spirits at their success, and their only regretwas that the brush with their pursuers had not been a more seriousone. It was evident from the talk that there was quite as much hopeas fear in the glances that they cast astern, and that they wouldhave been by no means sorry to see a foe of about their own strengthin hot pursuit of them. A quarter of an hour after the shatteredboat had dropped astern the moon rose on the starboard bow. It wasthree-quarters full, and would assuredly reveal the ship to thoseon shore. Scarcely indeed did it show above the horizon when therewas the boom of a gun astern, followed a second or two later by aheavy splash in the water close alongside.
"That was a good shot," Captain Martin said; "but luck rather thanskill I fancy. There is little chance of their hitting us at thisdistance. We must be a mile and a half away; don't you think so,Peters?"
"Quite that, captain; and they must have given their gun a lot ofelevation to carry so far. I almost wonder they wasted their powder."
"Of course they can't tell in the least who they are firing at,"the captain said. "They cannot have learnt anything yet, and canhave only known that there was firing off the port, and that acraft is making out. We may be one of the sea beggars' vessels foranything they know, and may have come in to carry off a prize fromunder their very noses."
"That is so," the mate replied; "but the gun may have been firedas a signal as much as with any hope of hitting us."
"So it may, so it may, Peters; I did not think of that. Certainlythat is likely enough. We know they have several ships cruising inthe Zuider Zee keeping a lookout for the beggars. On a night likethis, and with the wind astern, the sound will be heard miles away.We may have trouble yet. I was not much afraid of the galleys, forthough the wind is so light we are running along famously. You seewe have nothing in our hold, and that is all in our favour so longas we are dead before the wind. Besides, if the galleys did comeup it would probably be singly, and we should be able to beat themoff, for high out of water as we are they would find it difficultto climb the sides; but if we fall in with any of their ships itis a different matter altogether."
Four or five more shots were fired, but they all fell astern; andas they were fully two miles and a half away when the last gun wasdischarged, and the cannoneers must have known that they were farout of range, Captain Martin felt sure that the mate's idea was acorrect one, and that the cannon had been discharged rather as asignal than with any hope of reaching them.
"Ned, run up into the foretop," the captain said, "and keep asharp lookout ahead. The moon has given an advantage to those whoare on our track behind, but it gives us an advantage as againstany craft there may be ahead of us. We shall see them long beforethey can see us."
Peters had been looking astern when the last gun was fired, andsaid that by its flash he believed that he had caught sight of threecraft of some kind or other outside the ships moored off the port.
"Then we have two miles' start if those are their galleys," thecaptain said. "We are stealing through the water at about the rateof four knots, and perhaps they may row six, so it will take theman hour to come up."
"Rather more than that, I should say, captain, for the wind at timesfreshens a little. It is likely to be an hour and a half beforethey come up."
"All the better, Peters. They will have learnt from those theypicked up from that boat that we are not a large craft, and thatour crew probably does not exceed twenty men; therefore, as thosegalleys carry about twenty soldiers besides the twenty rowers, theywill not think it necessary to keep together, but will each do hisbest to overtake us. One of them is sure to be faster than theothers, and if they come up singly I think we shall be able tobeat them off handsomely. It is no use discussing now whether itis wise to fight or not. By sinking that first boat we have allput our heads in a noose, and there is no drawing back. We haverepulsed their officers with armed force, and there will be nomercy for any of us if we fall into their hands."
"We shall fight all the better for knowing that," Peters saidgrimly. "The Dutchmen are learning that, as the Spaniards are findingto their cost. There is nothing like making a man fight than theknowledge that there is a halter waiting for him if he is beaten."
"You had better get two of the guns astern, Peters, so as to firedown into them as they come up. You may leave the others, one oneach side, for the present, and run one of them over when we seewhich side they are making for. Ah! that's a nice little puff. Ifit would but hold like that we should show them our heels altogether."
In two or three minutes the puff died out and the wind fell evenlighter than before.
"I thought that we were going to have more of it," the captain saiddiscontentedly; "it looked like it when the sun went down."
"I think we shall have more before morning," Peters agreed; "butI am afraid it won't come in time to help us much."
As the moon rose they were able to make out three craft astern ofthem. Two were almost abreast of each other, the third some littledistance behind.
"That is just what I expected, Peters; they are making a race ofit. We shall have two of them on our hands at once; the other willbe too far away by the time they come up to give them any assistance.They are about a mile astern now, I should say, and unless the windfreshens up a bit they will be alongside in about twenty minutes.I will give you three men here, Peters. As soon as we have firedload again, and then slew the guns round and run them forward tothe edge of the poop, and point them down into the waist. If theSpaniards get on board and we find them too strong for us, thoseof us who can will take to the forecastle, the others will run uphere. Then sweep the Spaniards with your guns, and directly youhave fired charge down among them with pike and axe. We will dothe same, and it is hard if we do not clear the deck of them."
Just at this moment Ned hailed them from the top. "There is a shipnearly ahead of us, sir; she is lying with her sails brailed up,evidently waiting."
"How far is she off, do you think, Ned?"
"I should say she is four miles away," Ned replied.
"Well, we need not trouble about her for the present; there willbe time to think about her when we have finished with these fellowsbehind. You can come down now, Ned."
In a few words the captain now explained his intentions to his men.
"I hope, lads, that we shall be able to prevent their gettinga footing on the deck; but if they do, and we find we can't beatthem back, as soon as I give the word you are to take either tothe forecastle or to the poop. Mr. Peters will have the two gunsthere ready to sweep them with bullets. The moment he has fired givea cheer and rush down upon them from both sides. We will clear themoff again, never fear. Ned, you will be in charge in the waist untilI rejoin you. Get ready to run one of the guns over the instant Itell you on which side they are coming up. Depress them as much asyou can. I shall take one gun and you take the other, and be sureyou don't fire until you see a boat well under the muzzle of yourgun. Mind it's the boat you are to aim at, and not the men."
Captain Martin again ascended to the poop and joined Peters. Thetwo boats were now but a few hundred yards astern, and they couldhear the officers cheering on the rowers to exert themselves tothe utmost. The third boat was fully a quarter of a mile behindthe leaders. When they approached within a hundred yards a fire ofmusketry was opened.
"Lie down under the bulwarks, men," Captain Martin said to the threesailors. "It is no use risking your lives unnecessarily. I expectone boat will come one side and one the other, Peters. If they dowe will both take the one coming up on the port side. One of usmay miss, and it is better to make sure of one boat if we can. Ithink we can make pretty sure of beating off the other. Yes, therethey are separating. Now work your gun round a bit, so that itbears on a point about twenty yards astern and a boat's length onthe port side. I will do the same. Have you done that?"
"Yes, I think I have about got it, sir."
"Very well, then. Stoop down now, or we may get hit before it istime to fire."
The bulwarks round the poop were only about a foot high, but sittingback from them the captain and the mate were protected from thebullets that were now singing briskly over the stern of the ship.
"They are coming up, Peters," Captain Martin said. "Now kneelup and look along your gun; get your match ready, and do not firetill you see right into the boat, then clap on your match whetherI fire or not."
The boat came racing along until when within some twenty yards ofthe stern, the cannons were discharged almost simultaneously. Thesound was succeeded by a chorus of screams and yells; the contentsof both guns had struck the boat fairly midships, and she sankalmost instantly. As soon as they had fired Captain Martin ranforward and joined the crew in the waist. He had already passedthe word to Ned to get both guns over to the starboard side, andhe at once took charge of one while Ned stood at the other. TheSpaniards had pushed straight on without waiting to pick up theirdrowning comrades in the other boat, and in a minute were alongside.So close did the helmsman bring the boat to the side that the gunscould not be depressed so as to bear upon her, and a moment laterthe Spaniards were climbing up the sides of the vessel, the rowersdropping their oars and seizing axes and joining the soldiers.
"Never mind the gun, Ned; it is useless at present. Now, lads,drive them back as they come up."
With pike and hatchet the sailors met the Spaniards as they triedto climb up. The cook had brought his caldron of boiling water tothe bulwarks, and threw pailful after pailful down into the boat,while the carpenter bailed over boiling pitch with the great ladle.Terrible yells and screams rose from the boat, and the soldiers invain tried to gain a footing upon the ship's deck. As they appearedabove the level of the bulwarks they were met either with thrustof pike or with a crashing blow from an axe, and it was but threeor four minutes from the moment that the fight began that the boatcast off and dropped behind, more than half those on board beingkilled or disabled. A loud cheer broke from the crew.
"Shall I run the guns back to the stern again," Peters asked fromabove, "and give them a parting dose?"
"No, no," Captain Martin said, "let them go, Peters; we are fightingto defend ourselves, and have done them mischief enough. See whatthe third boat is doing, though."
"They have stopped rowing," Peters said, after going to the stern."I think they are picking up some swimmers from the boat we sank.There cannot be many of them, for most of the rowers would havebeen killed by our discharges, and the soldiers in their armourwill have sunk at once."
Captain Martin now ascended to the poop. In a short time the boatjoined that which had dropped astern, which was lying helpless inthe water, no attempt having been made to man the oars, as most ofthe unwounded men were scalded more or less severely. Their reportwas evidently not encouraging, and the third boat made no attemptto pursue. Some of her oarsmen were shifted to the other boat, andtogether they turned and made back for Amsterdam.
"Now then for this vessel ahead," Captain Martin said; "that is amuch more serious business than the boats."
The vessel, which was some two miles ahead of them, had now setsome of her sails, and was heading towards them.
"They can make us out now plainly enough, Peters, and the firingwill of course have told them we are the vessel that they are insearch of. I don't think that there is any getting away from them."
"I don't see that there is," the mate agreed. "Whichever way weedged off they could cut us off. The worst of it is, no doubt shehas got some big guns on board, and these little things of ours areof no good except at close quarters. It would be no use trying tomake a running fight with her?"
"Not in the least, Peters. We had better sail straight at her."
"You don't mean to try and carry her by boarding?" Peters askeddoubtfully. "She looks a large ship, and has perhaps a hundred andfifty men on board; and though the Spaniards are no sailors theycan fight on the decks of their ships."
"That is so, Peters. What I think of doing is to bear straightdown upon her as if I intended to board. We shall have to stand onebroadside as we come up, and then we shall be past her, and withour light draught we should run right away from her with this wind.There is more of it than there was, and we are slipping away fast.Unless she happens to knock away one of our masts we shall get awayfrom her."
When they were within half a mile of the Spanish ship they saw herbows bear off.
"Lie down, lads," the captain ordered, "she is going to give us abroadside. When it is over start one of those sea beggar songs youpicked up at Brill; that will startle them, and they will think weare crowded with men and going to board them."
A minute later eight flashes of fire burst from the Spanish ship,now lying broadside to them. One shot crashed through the bulwarks,two others passed through the sails, the rest went wide of theirmark. As soon as it was over the crew leapt to their feet and burstinto one of the wild songs sung by the sea beggars.
"Keep our head straight towards her, Peters," Captain Martin said."They will think we mean to run her down, and it will flurry andco
nfuse them."
Loading was not quick work in those days, and the distance betweenthe vessels was decreased by half before the guns were again fired.This time it was not a broadside; the guns went off one by one asthey were loaded, and the aim was hasty and inaccurate, for closeas they were not a shot struck the hull of the Good Venture, thoughtwo or three went through the sails. In the bright moonlight mencould be seen running about and officers waving their arms and givingorders on board the Spaniard, and then her head began to pay off.
"We have scared them," Captain Martin laughed. "They thought we weregoing to run them down. They know the sea beggars would be quitecontent to sink themselves if they could sink an enemy. Followclose in her wake, Peters, and then bear off a little as if youmeant to pass them on their starboard side; then when you get closegive her the helm sharp and sweep across her stern. We will giveher the guns as we pass, then bear off again and pass her on herport side; the chances are they will not have loaded again there."
The Spanish ship was little more than a hundred yards ahead. Whenshe got before the wind again Captain Martin saw with satisfactionthat the Good Venture sailed three feet to her two. The poop andstern galleries of the Spaniard were clustered with soldiers, whoopened a fire with their muskets upon their pursuer. The men wereall lying down now at their guns, which were loaded with musketballs to their muzzles.
"Elevate them as much as you can. She is much higher out of thewater than we are. Now, Peters, you see to the guns, I will takethe helm."
"I will keep the helm, sir," the mate replied.
"No, you won't, Peters; my place is the place of danger. But ifyou like you can lie under the bulwark there after you have fired,and be ready to take my place if you see me drop. Now, lads, getready."
So saying the captain put down the tiller. The Good Venture sweptround under the stern of the Spaniard at a distance of some fortyyards, and as she did so the guns loaded with bullets to themuzzle were fired one after the other. The effect was terrible,and the galleries and poop were swept by the leaden shower. Thenthe captain straightened the helm again. The crew burst into thewild yells and cries the beggars raised when going into battle. TheSpaniards, confused by the terrible slaughter worked by the gunsof their enemies, and believing that they were about to be boardedon the port side by a crowd of desperate foemen, hastily put upthe tiller, and the ship bore away as the Good Venture swept up,presenting her stern instead of her broadside to them.
To the momentary relief of the Spaniards their assailant insteadof imitating their maneuvers kept straight upon her course beforethe wind, and instead of the wild cries of the beggars a heartyEnglish cheer was raised. As Captain Martin had expected, the gunson the port side had not been reloaded after the last discharge,and the Good Venture was two or three hundred yards away beforethe Spaniards recovered from their surprise at what seemed theincomprehensible maneuver of their foes, and awoke to the factthat they had been tricked, and that instead of a ship crowded withbeggars of the sea their supposed assailant had been an Englishtrader that was trying to escape from them.
A dozen contradictory orders were shouted as soon as the truthdawned upon them. The captain had been killed by the discharge ofgrape, and the first lieutenant severely wounded. The officer incommand of the troops shouted to his men to load the guns, only tofind when this was accomplished that the second lieutenant of theship had turned her head in pursuit of the enemy, and that not asingle gun would bear. There was a sharp altercation between thetwo authorities, but the military chief was of the highest rank.
"Don't you see," he said furiously, "that she is going away fromus every foot. She was but a couple of hundred yards away when Igave the order to load, and now she is fully a quarter of a mile."
"If I put the helm down to bring her broadside on," the seamansaid, "she will be half a mile ahead before we can straighten upand get in her wake again; and unless you happen to cripple hershe will get away to a certainty."
"She will get away anyhow," the soldier roared, "if we don't crippleher. Put your helm down instantly."
The order was given and the ship's head swayed round. There was aflapping of sails and a rattling of blocks, and then a broadsidewas fired; but it is no easy matter for angry and excited men tohit a mast at the distance of nearly half a mile. One of the shotsploughed up the deck within a yard of the foot of the mainmast,another splintered a boat, three others added to the holes in thesails, but no damage of importance was done. By the time the Spaniardhad borne round and was again in chase, the Good Venture was overhalf a mile ahead.
"It is all over now, captain," Peters said as he went aft. "Unlesswe light upon another of these fellows, which is not likely, weare safe."
"Are any of the men hit, Peters?"
"The carpenter was knocked down and stunned by a splinter from theboat, sir; but I don't think it is serious."
"Thank God for that," the captain said. "Now, will you take thehelm?" There was something in the voice that startled the mate.
"Is anything the matter, sir? Don't say you are hit."
"I am hit, Peters, and I fear rather badly; but that matters littlenow that the crew and ship are safe."
Peters caught the captain, for he saw that he could scarce stand,and called two men to his assistance. The captain was laid down onthe deck.
"Where are you hit, sir?"
"Halfway between the knee and the hip," Captain Martin repliedfaintly. "If it hadn't been for the tiller I should have fallen,but with the aid of that I made shift to stand on the other leg. Itwas just before we fired, at the moment when I put the helm down."
"Why didn't you call me?" Peters said reproachfully.
"It was of no good getting two of us hit, Peters; and as long asI could stand to steer I was better there than you."
Ned came running aft as the news was passed along that the captainwas wounded, and threw himself on his knees by his father's side.
"Bear up, Ned; bear up like a man," his father said. "I am hithard, but I don't know that it is to death. But even if it is, itis ten thousand times better to die in battle with the Spaniardsthan to be hung like a dog, which would have befallen me and perhapsall of us if they had taken us."
By Peters' directions a mattress was now brought up, and the captaincarried down to his cabin. There was no thought on board now of thepursuers astern, or of possible danger lying ahead. The news thatCaptain Martin was badly wounded damped all the feelings of triumphand enthusiasm which the crew had before been feeling at the successwith which they had eluded the Spaniard while heavily punishingher. As soon as the captain was laid on a sofa Peters examined thewound. It was right in front of the leg, some four inches abovethe knee.
"There is nothing to be done for it," Captain Martin said. "It hassmashed the bone, I am sure."
"I am afraid it has, captain," Peters said ruefully; "and it is nouse my saying that it has not. I think, sir, we had best put in atEnkhuizen. We are not above four or five miles from it now, and weshall find surgeons there who will do all they can for you."
"I think that will be the best plan, Peters."
The orders were given at once, and the ship's course altered, andhalf an hour later the lights of Enkhuizen were seen ahead.
