Across the Spanish Main Part 10

"Roger," said he, "I have been much exercised in my mind lately as to what shall be done with these Spanish prisoners we have on board. There are nearly three hundred of them, and although many of them are in irons, and all are imprisoned below, I do not altogether like the idea of carrying them about with me too long, for they are a dangerous cargo; and not only that, they are also a great drain upon our stock of provisions. When we leave this island we shall probably be at sea for a very long time, as I intend to cruise in the Caribbean Sea, out of sight of land for the most part, on the lookout for the plate and bullion galleons from Mexico; and when we finally sail from here I wish to take on board as much fresh meat, fruit, and vegetables as I can, to help eke out the s.h.i.+ps' stores. Now I do not want to carry about with me nearly three hundred men who will be of no use to me, and who will only help us to eat up our provisions faster than I wish. Moreover, these men are a constant menace to us while they are on board.

"Now I have been working out our position with a view to seeing exactly where we are, and discovering how far we are at present from the nearest Spanish settlement on the island. For it has been in my mind for some days past that we could not do better than land those fellows here, when we are ready to sail, giving them a few of their own weapons wherewith to procure food by the way, and defend themselves against any savages they may meet, and tell them where their nearest settlement lies, directing them to make their way to it. It is true that I do not much like the idea of letting loose nearly three hundred Spaniards who are the enemies of our beloved queen--G.o.d bless her--and who will perhaps compa.s.s the death of many an Englishman before they come to their own, but what else can I do, Roger? Have you any suggestion to offer?"

"No, sir," replied the boy; "I think, with you, that the only thing to do is to release them and let them make their way to some settlement of theirs on the island."

"Well then, that settles it," said Cavendish. "While you were ash.o.r.e I conferred with others of my officers, and all offer the same advice; so, when we are ready for sea once more, ash.o.r.e they shall go. And now it is quite time that I went on deck and saw about getting the vessels hauled ash.o.r.e; that is if the tide yet serves, which it should do by this time. Let us go."

The captain rose, and was about to leave the cabin, when Roger said he had something to tell him.

"What is it then, lad? tell me quickly, as I want to get on deck," said the captain.

Roger then recounted what Martin and he had observed, adding that these occurrences seemed to him to signify the presence of a body of men hiding in the brushwood.

"It is possible, Roger," agreed Cavendish, "seeing that you and Harry were attacked but yesterday. But I thought that we gave the savages so sharp a lesson then that they would not wish to renew our acquaintance.

Are you sure that it was not wind moving the trees, and that it was not the sun s.h.i.+ning on the palm-leaves that made Martin think of the glitter of steel?"

"I am sure there was no wind, sir," replied Roger, "for I looked very closely; and it was no leaf that produced the glitter that Martin saw; he knows the glint of steel too well to be mistaken."

"Well, many thanks for the information at any rate!" said the skipper.

"I will order a doubly sharp lookout to be kept. We must avoid a surprise at all hazards, for we might lose a great number of men thereby."

He then turned and went on deck, followed closely by Roger.

When they arrived on deck, Cavendish considered, upon inspection, that the tide would serve, as it was now rising rapidly; he therefore immediately gave orders that the winches and capstans should be manned, and the s.h.i.+ps hove in towards the beach until their keels touched bottom.

This was done, and soon the two vessels had been hauled in until they grounded gently.

Then the boats were again got over the side, together with a number of rafts which had been constructed for the purpose, and the guns were lifted out by derricks and deposited in the boats and on the rafts, and so carried ash.o.r.e.

This unloading occupied a considerable amount of time, and when at length Cavendish considered the two vessels sufficiently lightened, the tide was almost at high-water mark.

The boats and rafts were then taken back to the s.h.i.+ps, the men climbed on board, the windla.s.ses and capstans were again manned, and, the vessels being considerably lightened, and so once more well afloat, were again hauled in until their keels touched bottom.

The captain considered that they were now far enough up the beach, as the receding tide would leave them high and dry.

Tackles were next fastened to the masts above the topsail-yards, and fastened to convenient trees, and all was in readiness to heave the vessels down as the tide left them.

Roger and Harry had been busy with the rest of the crew, and, as they worked, Roger had found time to inform his friend of the peculiar occurrence which he and Martin had witnessed, and he asked Harry his opinion of it.

"Well," said Harry, "it would seem to me to denote the presence of savages near us. That there are hostile natives in this part of the island we know from past experience. Have you informed the skipper?"

"Yes," replied Roger, "I told him what I had seen; but it seemed to me rather as if he put the circ.u.mstance down to my imagination and Martin's. Nevertheless he thanked me for the information, and promised to be on the lookout."

"Well," said Harry, "it strikes me as rather a foolish thing to leave the s.h.i.+ps' guns scattered about the beach as they are at present. If we should be attacked we could never use them, pointing as they are in all directions; we could not fire without danger of hitting one another. It would be a good thing, I think, if the captain, instead of leaving the weapons strewed about the beach as at present, were to arrange them in a circle round the place where we are working on the two vessels, and get them loaded in readiness, and we should then be prepared to repel an attack if it came."

"A very good idea, Harry," exclaimed Roger; "you always seem to be prepared with good schemes. Go and tell the captain, and see what he says."

Harry at once ran off and told Cavendish what Roger and he thought of the matter.

"You two lads," said Cavendish, "seem ever to be thinking of attacks by natives. Yet your scheme, young man, is a good one, and I will have it carried out at once; it is well to be on the safe side."

He accordingly gave the necessary orders, and the men turned to with a will, with the result that the guns were soon arranged as Harry had suggested, with the muzzles so pointing as to command not only the adjacent bush but also the whole range of the beach. The weapons were then loaded, and the party were reasonably secure from an attack in that direction.

By this time the tide was ebbing fast, and the men took a pull on the ropes secured to the s.h.i.+ps' masts, with the result that the vessels soon began to heel over perceptibly on their sides. As the tide continued to drop, the ropes were hauled upon, and soon the vessels were down on their beam-ends. Then the men, like a swarm of ants, grew busy on their exposed sides, working with hammer and chisel, paint-pot and brush, and the scene became one of great activity.

The tide had by this time retreated so far that the hulls of the vessels were clear of the water, and the men could work right down to their keels, the s.h.i.+ps being hard and fast aground, so that they could not possibly be moved until the next tide.

As they could not leave the captured Spaniards in the careened s.h.i.+ps, and dared not let them loose to help with the work, they had been transferred to the two craft still afloat, the _Elizabeth_ and the _Good Adventure_.

Roger and Harry were slung over the bow of the _Tiger_, both of them busy with sc.r.a.pers taking off the old paint before the new was put on.

It thus happened that they were higher above the level of the beach than any of the others, the part of the hull upon which they were working being just below the starboard cat-head.

Roger was sc.r.a.ping away merrily, when Harry plucked his sleeve.

"Is that the movement you were speaking of, Roger?" said he, pointing to the brush.

"Yes, there it is again," said Roger excitedly; "only it is somewhat nearer this time; and see, I am certain that was the flash of the sun upon some steel weapon."

"Yes, I see; there it is again. I see it clearly now," answered Harry.

Just then a hail came from below in the captain's voice.

"Roger, my man, the cable secured to the maintopmast seems to be working loose, and may carry away. Get up aloft, boy, and look at the seizing, and, if necessary, put a fresh one on."

Roger hastened away up into the main-top, leaving Harry still in his perch, and examined the seizing. It was, as the captain had said, loose, so the boy proceeded to secure it afresh.

Having finished his job to his satisfaction, he prepared to descend from aloft, but, before doing so, cast his eyes round the scene, and nearly fell out of the main-top in his alarm; for there, coming round a point half a mile away, and concealed as yet from those on the beach by a low point, was a large fleet of canoes filled with natives, who were doubtless hoping to come upon the beached vessels unawares. They would certainly have done so had it not been for the fortunate circ.u.mstance of Roger being sent aloft.

He threw another glance to seaward, to see if he could count the canoes, and found that there must be quite a hundred of them; then he took a survey of the brushwood inland, and found that his suspicions as to savages being present there were only too true. At his greater elevation he found himself looking down upon quite a horde of them armed with spears, bows and arrows, and clubs. They were advancing slowly through the bush, and their stealthy movement forward had occasioned the swaying to and fro of the foliage that Roger first, and Harry afterwards, had observed.

Roger could not tell whether or not the natives had seen him, and were aware that they were discovered, but hurried down from the main-top with such speed that, when he had reached the last ratline of the rigging, he lost his footing and fell on his back on the sand at the very feet of Cavendish.

Fortunately for him the sand was soft, and he was not much hurt, though a good deal shaken. Pulling himself together, he got on his feet and at once told Cavendish what he had seen.

There was no time to lose; a boat was promptly sent away with messengers to the two vessels afloat, the _Good Adventure_ and the _Elizabeth_, to warn them to be in readiness; and the trumpet sounded for the men to cease work and muster. Arms were hurriedly served out; men were stationed at the guns, which the captain was now very glad he had loaded and arranged according to Harry's advice; and very soon they were as ready for the attack as was possible in the short time at their disposal.

Meanwhile the two vessels afloat had lifted their anchors, and were standing closer in, the better to defend their now helpless consorts.

It was evident that the natives in the bush were waiting for their friends in the canoes to approach closer before they attacked, and this hesitation saved the English the loss of a number of men; for had the savages attacked while the men were at work on the s.h.i.+ps, the latter would have been taken at a serious disadvantage, and the loss would have been very heavy.

As the first canoe made its appearance round the point, a perfect pandemonium of savage and ear-splitting yells arose from the bush, and a loud noise of cras.h.i.+ng and crackling announced that the enemy there were coming along at their utmost speed. The outcry was answered from seaward as the canoes came pouring into the inlet.

"Now, stand steady, lads!" shouted the captain. "As they come in upon us give them a round from the guns, and load again if you have time; then a volley from the muskets; and after that we must trust to our good swords. But keep cool, and do not throw away a shot."

As he finished speaking the enemy burst from the bush like a swarm of angry bees, and charged at full speed at the little band of white men opposed to them; whereupon a perfect storm of grape-shot, old nails, rusty bolts, pieces of sc.r.a.p-iron, and even stones, with which the cannon had been hastily loaded, went hissing through their close ranks; and, from the piercing screams and yells of agony that at once arose from them, the execution must have been terrible. Yet they poured out, checked only for a moment.

"Fire again!" roared the captain; and the muskets crashed out in a rattling volley, the bullets mowing the natives down in swathes.