The Cruise of the Nonsuch Buccaneer Part 6

"Very well," returned George. "I will remain near you until the sea goes down sufficiently to launch a boat. Until then you must do the best you can."

"But, Senor," shrieked the black-bearded one, "if you wait until then it will be too late. It will be hours before the sea goes down enough to permit of a boat being launched, and meanwhile our s.h.i.+p is filling fast.

Cannot you devise some means of taking us off at once? See how we are rolling, and how the sea is breaking over us! Every moment I am in fear that a heavier sea than usual will strike us and roll our vessel completely over. Holy Mother of G.o.d! Do not leave us to drown like rats in a trap, Senor!"

But by this time the two craft had drifted so far apart that further speech just then was impossible, and as George descended from the rigging he gave orders to fill the main topsail and get way on the s.h.i.+p again. Then he ascended to the p.o.o.p and joined Dyer, who was already there.

"Well, Cap'n, what be us goin' to do?" demanded the pilot, whose knowledge of Spanish was just sufficient to enable him to gather the drift of what had pa.s.sed. "Shall us wait a bit longer, and chance the hooker stayin' right side up till the sea do go down a bit more; or shall us try to launch a boat? I don't doubt but what, if us watches carefully and works quickly, we can get a boat afloat and unhooked; but us couldn't get alongside the wrack to take her people off--they'd have to jump overside and trust to we to pick mun up. Then how would us all get out of the boat a'terwards and get mun hoisted up again? But it do surely look to me as though we must do some'at pretty soon, because I don't believe as that wrack'll last so very much longer. Look to mun, how her do roll, and look how the sea do breach her! There must be tons o' water a-pouring down into her hold every minute, and--Lard be merciful--there a goeth. She be turnin' over now, as I'm a livin'--No, no; 'tis all right; her be rightin' again, but Cap'n, her can't live much longer to that rate."

"No," agreed George, who, like Dyer, had been breathlessly watching the outrageous antics of the waterlogged craft, and had seen how very nearly she had come to capsizing as the sea flung her up and hove her over on her beam ends--"I'm afraid she cannot. As you say, something must be done if we are to save those poor wretches; but the only thing that I can think of is to at least make the attempt to launch a boat. We will get to windward of the wreck, and then, everything having been previously made ready, we will lower a boat and--if we can get away without being stove--run down to the wreck in the 'smooth' of the _Nonsuch's_ lee; get under the lee of the wreck; and her people must jump overboard, two or three at a time, and trust to us to pick them up.

I will take command of the boat, and as soon as you see us safely under the lee of the wreck you must fill and keep away, pa.s.s to leeward of the wreck, and heave-to as close to her as you can, when we will come round under your lee and get the people aboard one at a time by means of a 'whip' from the lee mainyard-arm, trusting to luck for the chance to get the boat aboard again without smas.h.i.+ng her to staves. Now try her about, Dyer; I think we ought to be able to fetch well to windward of her now. And I believe the starboard quarter boat will be the easiest to lower and unhook."

CHAPTER SEVEN.

HOW THEY CAME TO SAN JUAN DE ULUA.

Having explained to Dyer his proposed scheme of operations, George left to the pilot the task of attending to the necessary manoeuvring of the s.h.i.+p, and, going forward, called for four volunteers to go with him in the boat to handle her and a.s.sist, if it might be, in saving the unfortunate crew of the Spanish s.h.i.+p. As he had antic.i.p.ated, he met with no difficulty in obtaining a sufficient number of men for his purpose, four of his old _Bonaventure's_ at once stepping forward at his call. Directing these men to follow him, he then returned aft to where the boat he intended to use hung swinging from the davits and, pointing to her, instructed his volunteers to enter her, remove the plug from her bottom to allow all the water to run out of her, and, while this was doing, pa.s.s out the masts, sails, and all other gear not absolutely required in the execution of the task which the intrepid quintette were about to undertake. Then, these things being done, the plug was returned to its place and driven well home, the oars were unlashed, the thole pins s.h.i.+pped, the tackle falls well-greased, the coils cast off the belaying pins, and every preparation made for the delicate operation of launching. While these matters were being attended to the young captain stood looking on, directing the men's movements, and pondering upon the difficulty which he foresaw in connection with the quick release of the boat from her tackles as soon as she should become water- borne. It was absolutely necessary that this should be infallibly accomplished at precisely the right instant, otherwise there was the risk on the one hand of the boat being smashed to staves by being violently dashed against the side of the heavily rolling s.h.i.+p; or, upon the other, of her being released at one end only, in which case the unreleased end of the boat would be lifted high out of the water again by the counter roll of the s.h.i.+p and her crew all flung into the water.

Suddenly he saw his way clear; the solution of the difficulty had come to him, and he issued his orders rapidly, for time was pressing, the _Nonsuch_ had been hove about, and was now bearing down to take up a position just to windward of the wreck. First of all, the boat was temporarily slung by stout ropes from the davit ends; then the tackles were let go and unhooked. Next, two stout rope strops were pa.s.sed through the ringbolts by which the boat was suspended from the tackles and one bight pa.s.sed through the other and secured in place by a well- greased toggle, or piece of wood capable of being easily and quickly withdrawn; and finally the bights thus formed were pa.s.sed over the hooks of the blocks, the tackles, were boused taut and made fast again, and the temporary supports were cast off, thus leaving the boat once more suspended by the tackles. George explained the device to the men, and when he was satisfied that they perfectly understood the working of it, ordered them into the boat, himself following them and stationing himself at the craft's tiller, when a short wait occurred during which the _Nonsuch_ was working her way toward the position necessary for the success of the experiment which was about to be made.

At length the critical moment arrived; the _Nonsuch_ rolled and plunged, with creaking timbers and groaning yards, up to windward of and some fifty fathoms distant from the wallowing Spaniard, and, the mainyard having been backed with perfect judgment by Dyer, came to a standstill exactly abreast the dismasted hulk, thus affording a lee and comparatively smooth water in which her boat might make a dash for the wreck; then, taking advantage of a heavy lee roll, the boat was very smartly lowered away upon an even keel, and struck the water with a resounding splash.

"Let go!" yelled George, as he felt the boat take the water, and prompt at the word the two men who were stationed at the tackles drew the well- greased toggles, releasing the boat, oars were thrown out, and away dashed the boat right down to leeward, heading to pa.s.s under the stern of the wreck and come up in the comparatively sheltered water under her lee. The pa.s.sage was but a short one, and some three minutes later the small craft, tossed buoyantly aloft upon the great foaming surges, had safely pa.s.sed under the stern of the _Dona Catalina_ and rounded-to under her lee. Then the _Nonsuch_, which had by this time driven down perilously near to the wreck, filled away again and just managed to handsomely draw clear.

The three Spaniards were still clinging for their lives to the broken bulwarks, and as George looked up he caught a momentary glimpse of some seven or eight other heads peering over the rail down in the vessel's waist; but there was nothing to indicate that anything had been done by those on board to help those who were risking their own lives to save theirs. There was no time for argument or discussion, however; therefore George simply hailed the trio on the p.o.o.p, tersely explaining that he dared not attempt to lay the boat alongside, and that consequently those who were anxious to have a chance for life must simply jump overboard and trust to those in the boat to pick them up.

And at the same time he directed the two bow oarsmen to lay in their oars and hold themselves ready to pick up those who cared to jump while the other two oarsmen paddled the boat up as close to the heaving and staggering wreck as it was prudent to go.

Then ensued a long and heated debate among the Spaniards themselves, not one of whom seemed to possess the courage necessary to trust himself even momentarily to the raging sea, during which the crew of the boat patiently maintained their position within a fathom or so of the wallowing hulk; but at length some sort of a decision seemed to have been arrived at, for the short, stout, black-bearded man suddenly made his appearance at the gangway, grasping a handspike, and, having first inquired whether those in the boat were ready, and receiving an affirmative reply, sprang outward, feet foremost. He struck the water within less than half a fathom of the boat, vanished beneath the surface for a moment, and re-appeared, coughing and spitting, still convulsively clutching the handspike, close enough to enable those in the boat to instantly seize him by the collar and haul him in over the gunwale, none the worse for his plunge and dip. He was at once hustled aft into the stern sheets, out of the way, and his rescue had been effected with such absolute prompt.i.tude and simplicity that there was now no further hesitation on the part of those left behind, who, one after another, presented themselves at the gangway, some provided with handspikes, some with oars, and one or two with short lengths of planking, or a grating, and leaped, with the courage of desperation, into the swirling foam, to the number of just a dozen. Then, as no more appeared, George inquired where the remainder were; upon which the black-bearded man, after counting heads, informed him that all the living had now left the s.h.i.+p, the rest of the crew having been either killed or washed overboard when the s.h.i.+p became dismasted.

And now came the most difficult part of the whole undertaking, namely, getting the boat and its cargo safe aboard the parent s.h.i.+p. The _Nonsuch_ was just then about a mile distant from the derelict, hove-to on the larboard tack, awaiting a signal from George indicating that the rescue had been effected and that he was now ready to make the great attempt. That signal was now made by las.h.i.+ng a handkerchief to the end of a boathook and waving it wildly in the air; upon seeing which, Dyer, who had been manoeuvring the s.h.i.+p with the most consummate judgment, filled upon her and brought her close up under the derelict's lee.

Then, and not until then, George gave the word, and the now heavily loaded boat, floating deep in the water, headed out from under the sheltering lee of the derelict, made a dash across the short s.p.a.ce of turbulent surges that separated her from the _Nonsuch_, accomplished the pa.s.sage safely, slipped round under the stern of the s.h.i.+p, now once more hove-to on the larboard tack, and rounded-to in the comparative "smooth"

of her lee.

But now that she was there, how were the people to be got out of her?

For it was just as dangerous to attempt to lay her alongside the _Nonsuch_ as it had been to make the same attempt with the _Dona Catalina_. But Dyer had seen to this; for while the boat had been absent on her errand of mercy the pilot had ordered a block to be lashed to the starboard mainyard-arm, a whip rove through it, a boatswain's chair made fast to the end of the whip, and a hauling line bent on to the boatswain's chair; and when the boat ranged up under the _Nonsuch's_ lee, there was the whole apparatus dangling in the air, ready to effect the transfer. To manoeuvre the boat under it and to lower the chair into the boat was an easy matter, when all that remained was for a man to get into the contrivance and be hoisted aloft and hauled into safety.

The transfer of the twelve rescued Spaniards was safely accomplished in considerably less than an hour; and now all that remained was to hook on the boat and hoist her up to the davits. Yes; that was all; but it was the most difficult and delicate part of the whole undertaking; yet the seamans.h.i.+p of George and Dyer proved equal to the task, and another quarter of an hour saw the boat once more safely dangling at the davits, with scarcely a scratch on her paint to show what a trying ordeal she had pa.s.sed through, and the _Nonsuch_ was again speeding away to the westward, leaving the derelict to her not long delayed fate.

The quarter boat safely hoisted, George at once turned his attention to his guests. The black-bearded man, it appeared, was the captain of the ill-fated _Dona Catalina_, and he introduced himself as simply Captain Robledo Martinez, without the pretentious prefix of "Don" or anything else. Him, George took under his own wing, ordering a cot to be slung for him down on the half-deck, with a screen of canvas triced up round it to insure privacy. The poor fellow, like all the rest of the rescued Spaniards, had, of course, only the clothes that he stood up in, and they were dripping wet; but, fortunately, the _Nonsuch_ was well provided in the matter of slop chests, and Captain Martinez, together with the other survivors of the _Dona Catalina_, was soon rigged afresh.

It transpired that the Spanish vessel was on her way from Cartagena to San Juan de Ulua, with despatches to the Viceroy of Mexico, when she encountered the hurricane that had overwhelmed her, and that, before being rescued, her crew had been exposed to the full fury of the elements for twenty-six hours, in momentary expectation that the vessel would founder under their feet; they were therefore given a warm meal, and then dispatched below to make up their arrears of rest and recover from the exhaustion induced by prolonged exposure.

But the conjunction of the names Cartagena and San Juan de Ulua, casually mentioned by Martinez in his brief conversation with George before retiring below, set the young Englishman thinking hard. The conjunction was suggestive, to say the least of it; for Cartagena was the city from which the plate fleet convoy started upon its annual long ocean voyage to Spain, accompanied by the Cartagena contingent of plate s.h.i.+ps, with which it proceeded to Nombre de Dios--regarded as "The Treasure-House of the World"--to take charge of the s.h.i.+ps which proceeded thence annually, loaded with treasure of incalculable value for the replenishment of the Spanish coffers; while from thence the combined fleet was wont to proceed to San Juan, there to be joined by the s.h.i.+ps carrying the Mexican contribution of treasure, of scarcely less value than that s.h.i.+pped from Nombre. George Saint Leger had not been for so many months intimately a.s.sociated with Dyer, the pilot of the expedition, and a survivor of the disaster which had overtaken Admiral John Hawkins at San Juan de Ulua only a year previously, without hearing all about the twelve large treasure galleons which the Devonians had found lying defenceless in the harbour of that city when they arrived there, torn and shattered by such a hurricane as that which had reduced the _Dona Catalina_ to a waterlogged and sinking hulk, and he wondered whether perchance it might be his good fortune to find another such fleet in the harbour upon his arrival there. If so--well, Admiral Hawkins had spared the treasure which he found there, for the best of all reasons, namely, that his own s.h.i.+ps were in no condition to engage in a fight with the sh.o.r.e batteries, which it would be necessary to silence before he could seize the plate s.h.i.+ps, while, on the other hand, it was imperative that he should enter the harbour to refit, and he could not do so without the consent of the Spanish authorities; therefore he had been obliged to sign a convention whereby in consideration of his receiving permission to refit in peace and without hindrance, he was to leave the plate s.h.i.+ps unmolested. Hawkins had scrupulously adhered to his part of the agreement, but the Spaniards had deliberately broken theirs; and George was determined that now they should dearly pay for their treachery, if Dame Fortune would but favour him. He talked the matter over, first with Dyer, and then they together discussed it with Ba.s.set, the captain of the soldiers, and Heard, the purser; with the result that it was unanimously agreed among them that they would make a determined attempt upon the fleet, if it should happen to be in harbour upon their arrival.

But, in order to insure the success of their daring project, it was necessary that they should be possessed of the fullest information possible; therefore when Martinez came on deck that evening, after several hours of refres.h.i.+ng sleep, George informed the unfortunate man, in a perfectly friendly way, that he and the survivors of his crew were prisoners; and demanded to know what had become of the despatches with which he had been entrusted. Martinez, who proved to be quite a simple straightforward sailor, at once replied that he had them in his pocket; and upon Saint Leger demanding them he handed them over with merely a formal protest; whereupon George found himself possessed of a small packet carefully enveloped in several folds of oiled silk in which the honest skipper had wrapped them prior to jumping overboard, when escaping from his wrecked s.h.i.+p.

Of course George opened the despatches forthwith, to find that they consisted, for the most part, of doc.u.ments which possessed no interest at all for him; but there was one letter which furnished him with precisely the information that it was most important for him to possess.

It was from the Governor of the city of Cartagena, and was addressed to "His Excellency Don Martin Enriquez, Viceroy of his Most Catholic Majesty's Province of Mexico, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera," and was to the effect that, news having reached the writer from Lima that an epidemic of sickness had broken out among a large body of soldiers due to return home with that year's plate fleet, the sailing of the Lima contingent had been postponed, to allow time for the epidemic to exhaust itself; and that therefore the departure of the convoy from Cartagena had likewise been postponed. The object of this letter, the writer went on to say, was to acquaint His Excellency with the fact of, and reason for, the delay, that he might not be rendered unduly anxious, through the non-arrival of the convoy; and to request that on no account should the plate s.h.i.+ps be allowed to proceed to sea until the arrival of the convoy under the protection of which they were to make the homeward voyage. Which meant, as George pointed out to his officers when he translated the doc.u.ment to them, that upon their arrival at San Juan de Ulua, they would a.s.suredly find a certain number of plate s.h.i.+ps in the harbour, laden with treasure, and quite defenceless, save for such protection as the sh.o.r.e batteries might be able to afford. It was the chance of a lifetime, _if_ they could but render those sh.o.r.e batteries innocuous; and an informal council of war was at once held in the great state cabin of the _Nonsuch_ to decide how this most desirable end might be achieved.

To start with, Dyer, who was the only man among them who had ever been in the harbour of San Juan de Ulua, was furnished with pencil and paper, and commanded to draw a chart of the place, to scale, as nearly as he could, from memory; and after half an hour's arduous labour--for chart drawing was not one of Dyer's strong points--he produced a sketch that, rough as it was, promised to be of the utmost value to the adventurers.

For it showed how, owing to the conformation of the land, Hawkins, with his small squadron, had, a year ago, been able to keep the whole of the Spanish fleet from entering the harbour until he had concluded an agreement with the treacherous Viceroy to permit them to do so; and how a small, well-found fleet outside might, if not driven off by bad weather, effectually blockade the port and prevent the escape of all s.h.i.+pping from it. Further than that, it disclosed to the more acute perceptions of George and Ba.s.set, the fact, which Dyer's denser intellect had failed to grasp, that the much dreaded batteries had been mainly constructed, not so much to defend the place from an attack by sea, but to render a land attack by Indians practically impossible. For if the chart were correctly drawn--and Dyer was very straitly questioned upon this particular point--it showed that there was a certain spot in the harbour where, if a s.h.i.+p were moored, she would be sheltered from the fire of both batteries while at the same time the entire town, which, after all, was but a very small place, would be fully exposed to the artillery fire of the s.h.i.+p. Once completely satisfied upon this point, Saint Leger and Ba.s.set believed they saw their way to the capture and subjugation of the town, and laid their plans accordingly.

Three days later, shortly after noon, they made the land and, as soon as Dyer had verified his bearings, hove-to for the night, some ten miles off-sh.o.r.e and well out of sight of the town, the day being by then too far advanced to permit of decisive action. But with the first appearance of dawn on the following day, sail was made, and the _Nonsuch_ stood boldly into San Juan de Ulua harbour and came to an anchor in the spot previously determined upon, where, as Dyer's chart had indicated, she was safe from the fire of the two batteries which had been constructed to defend the northern and southern extremities of the town, which were its most vulnerable points, from a land attack. Twelve large plate s.h.i.+ps were riding at anchor in the harbour, of which ten appeared to be fully loaded, while cargo was being actively transferred from the sh.o.r.e to the other two when the English s.h.i.+p ran in and anch.o.r.ed between them and the sh.o.r.e.

The appearance of the _Nonsuch_ in the harbour was immediately productive of something very nearly approaching to panic, both in the town and on board the plate s.h.i.+ps; for she had entered with the cross of Saint George flaunting from her ensign staff, and the first impression of the Spaniards was that their dreaded enemy, Drake, had returned; the bells of the cathedral clanged out a wild alarm; and it was seen that the crews of some of the plate s.h.i.+ps were making hasty preparations to get under way, with the evident object of attempting to escape to the open sea. This last, of course, had to be at once put a stop to; therefore the moment that the anchor was down, George caused a boat to be lowered, and, with its crew armed to the teeth, pulled round the Spanish fleet, hailing each s.h.i.+p belonging to it, and informing the captains that any s.h.i.+p seen to be getting under way would at once be fired into and sunk. This threat, backed up as it was by the display of the English s.h.i.+p's ordnance, had the desired effect, and there were no further attempts at flight just then on the part of the plate s.h.i.+ps.

George's next act was to send Captain Martinez, of the wrecked _Dona Catalina_, ash.o.r.e in one of the _Nonsuch's_ boats, under a flag of truce. The captain was handed his dispatches, and was instructed to either deliver or forward them to the persons to whom they were addressed; and he was also given a letter addressed to the governor or chief magistrate of the town, summoning that functionary, together with twelve of the most influential inhabitants of the place, to a conference on board the English s.h.i.+p, upon a matter of vital import; the conference to begin not later than noon that day; the penalty of non-attendance being the bombardment of the town. Then, every preparation having been made to carry into effect the threatened bombardment, the English sat down and patiently awaited developments.

Half an hour before the expiration of the specified time a large boat, flying a flag of truce, was seen to leave the wharf, and some ten minutes later she came up to within a few fathoms of the _Nonsuch_ gangway, when it was seen that, in addition to eight oarsmen, she carried in her stern sheets thirteen men, most of whom had pa.s.sed beyond middle age, while all were, in appearance at least, and so far as dress was concerned, men of position and substance.

Arrived within easy hailing distance, the oarsmen ceased their efforts at a sign from the man at the tiller, and an elderly individual, attired in what might be supposed to be robes of office, rose to his feet and, doffing his plumed hat, bowed to the little group of officers mustered on the s.h.i.+p's p.o.o.p. Then, hat in hand, he remarked:

"n.o.ble senors, I am Juan Alvarez, the alcalde of San Juan de Ulua, very much at your service; and in response to your somewhat imperatively worded letter I and my fellow townsmen have come out to confer with you.

But before we board your s.h.i.+p I should like to ask you just one question. I see by your flag that you are English. Come you in peace, or in war, senors?"

"That," answered George, stepping forward, "is for you and your fellow townsmen to decide. But meanwhile I give you the a.s.surance of an Englishman who has never yet broken his word to friend or foe, that you may come aboard without fear, and that when our conference is at an end you shall all be permitted to return to the sh.o.r.e without molestation-- unless it becomes apparent that hostages are necessary."

The old gentleman bowed and, still with his hat in his hand, ventured upon a further inquiry. "And pray, n.o.ble senor, who is to determine whether or not hostages are regarded as necessary?" he demanded.

"I and my officers will determine that point," answered George. "But,"

he continued, "I give you the further a.s.surance that, should we decide upon the necessity to retain any of you as hostages, their persons will be as safe, and they will be treated with as much honour, on board this s.h.i.+p, as in their own houses--unless treachery of any kind be attempted, in which case I will hang them at my yard-arms as a wholesome warning to others."

This statement caused the utmost perturbation to the alcalde and his companions, as might easily be seen, for they all at once started to their feet and burst into excited conversation. But, as is usual in such cases, there were two or three--of whom the alcalde was one--who soon obtained an ascendency over the rest, quieting them and themselves carrying on the discussion; and after some ten minutes of earnest debate the rest sat down, leaving the alcalde standing alone to propound a still further question.

"Ill.u.s.trious senor," he said, addressing himself to George, "my companions and I feel that, before we proceed further, or place ourselves altogether in your power, it is very necessary that we should know what acts you would be likely to construe as treachery on our part."

"The reply to such a question is not difficult," replied George. "We should regard as an act of treachery any attempt on the part of either of those s.h.i.+ps to put to sea; and also any attempt to attack us at disadvantage and without due warning, such as was perpetrated last year, in this very harbour, on my countryman, Admiral Hawkins."

This answer was received with much shaking of heads and uplifting of hands, followed by further eager consultation and debate, which ended at last by the alcalde putting a further and final question:

"And, in the event of our refusing to board your s.h.i.+p under such conditions, senor, what will happen?"

"You will be permitted to return to the sh.o.r.e without molestation,"

answered George. "But," he continued, "as soon as you shall have arrived and are landed, I shall seize every s.h.i.+p in this harbour; and, that done, shall proceed to bombard your town until you see fit to surrender it to me unconditionally!"

More perturbation, more shaking of heads and agitated waving of hands, followed by further excited discussion lasting for close upon a quarter of an hour, after which the alcalde, standing in the midst of his companions and again addressing himself to George, observed:

"Most ill.u.s.trious senor, we, the alcalde and twelve of the representatives of the inhabitants of the city of San Juan de Ulua, have decided to rely upon your a.s.surances, and now declare ourselves ready to board your s.h.i.+p, there to listen with all deference and attention to such communication as you may desire to make to us." And therewith the old gentleman, bowing with much dignity, seated himself, replaced his hat, and gave an order to the steersman of the boat, who repeated it to the oarsmen; whereupon the boat got under way and pulled up alongside to where the gangway ladder already hung over the side for the accommodation of the Committee. And while this was doing, George, followed by his little knot of officers, descended from the p.o.o.p to the main deck and grouped themselves about the gangway in readiness to receive their by no means willing visitors.

Don Juan Alvarez, the alcalde of San Juan de Ulua, was the first to ascend the side and pa.s.s through the _Nonsuch's_ gangway, when, again removing his hat and bowing profoundly to the little group of Englishmen, he stood aside until his twelve companions had joined him, when he proceeded to ceremoniously introduce them, one after the other, until he had named them all. Then George followed suit in like fas.h.i.+on, first introducing himself and then each of his officers to the group of visitors.

This ceremony duly performed, the alcalde once more took up the tale.

"Most ill.u.s.trious senors," he said, bowing to the Englishmen collectively, "touching the exceedingly delicate matter of treachery, you have the a.s.surance of myself and colleagues that, so far as the city is concerned, you may absolutely depend that nothing of an overt nature shall be permitted to occur until an understanding of some sort--an amicable one, we all trust--shall have been arrived at between us. But with regard to the s.h.i.+ps in the harbour, we feel that we cannot undertake to be answerable for the conduct of their captains and crews, since we have had no opportunity to communicate with them; we therefore venture to suggest that, in order to avoid anything in the nature of an untoward event, I, as chief magistrate, be permitted to write and dispatch to each s.h.i.+p an order embodying the instructions contained in the communication received by me, through your courtesy, this morning, from the governor of Cartagena."

"Or, perhaps, what would be still better," replied George, "I would advise that you write an open order to the captain and chief officer of each s.h.i.+p, commanding their immediate presence here. I will then place them in honourable confinement until our negotiations are concluded, when we will, of course, release them. By adopting such a course I think we may make quite sure that none of them, through mistaken zeal, will do anything to interrupt the smooth course of our rather delicate negotiations. What say you?"

The idea at once strongly commended itself to the party, who, it was quite evident, were more deeply interested in the preservation of their own skins than in anything else, and who, it was equally evident, were mortally afraid that some over-zealous individual might be tempted to do something for which this stern-faced young Englishman would hold them accountable; accordingly the order was written in the cabin of the _Nonsuch_, summoning the commanding officers and their immediate subordinates to at once a.s.semble on board the English s.h.i.+p to a.s.sist in the arrangement of a matter of vital importance to themselves and the city; and when it had been submitted to and approved by George and his officers, the alcalde's boat was despatched with instructions to go the round of the plate s.h.i.+p fleet, show the order, and bring the officers back upon her return. That done, refreshments--including a liberal service of wine taken out of the _Santa Maria_--were placed upon the table in the state cabin, and the alcalde and his companions were invited to partake thereof pending the arrival of the men from the s.h.i.+ps; but they were much too anxious to do justice to the viands spread before them, and would fain have forthwith proceeded to the business which they had been summoned to discuss. But George refused to say a word until the officers of the plate s.h.i.+ps were safe under hatches; and a long interval now elapsed during which the anxiety and apprehension of the alcalde and his a.s.sociates visibly increased, which was precisely the effect that the astute young captain desired to produce. At length, however, certain sounds from the deck outside reached the ears of those in the cabin, announcing the arrival of the men from the fleet, while other sounds, especially those of Spanish voices raised high in angry protest, proclaimed, a little later, that the new arrivals were being conducted below somewhat against their will; and finally Dyer appeared in the doorway with the information that the Spanish sailors had been taken below and were safe under guard; whereupon George rose to his feet and, addressing his visitors in his best Spanish, said: