The Quest Of The 'Golden Hope' Part 16

The other boats that had been destroyed must have sunk with the weight of their contents, for we saw no signs of them.

The deserted s.h.i.+p lay with her bow towards the reef on the larboard side of the channel, and having received several shot-holes 'twixt wind and water, had settled down somewhat, till the sea lapped her after ports.

"She's safe enough, sir!" exclaimed one of the boat's crew, looking over his shoulder at the wreck, as he rested on his oar. "Her hold is full of water. That'll put out any trains, if the villains have left them."

I was of the same opinion, so, having rowed completely round the stranded s.h.i.+p, which seemed quite deserted, I gave the word to run alongside.

Bidding all the men save one to remain in the boat, I made sure of the priming of my pistols, then swinging myself up the side by means of the cordage of the broken mainmast, I gained the deck.

It was deserted, save for the corpses of some half a dozen men who had been slain by the discharge of our ordnance, most of them being shockingly mangled.

A hurried yet cautious search revealed a like state of things in the after cabins, while the fo'c'sle was also empty. Peering down the main hatch I saw that, as we had expected, the main hold was flooded, though amids.h.i.+ps the depth of water was but a foot.

Making fast one end of a rope, for there was no sign of a ladder, I threw the other end down the hatchway, and by this means gained the sloping planks of the hold. Ankle deep in water, I made my way forward, till in the dim light I perceived a stout bulkhead running athwarts.h.i.+ps and pierced by a little sliding door, or hatch.

Owing to the slight list of the s.h.i.+p this door had jammed, so that it required considerable effort ere I opened it sufficiently to enable me to squeeze through.

Within it seemed as black as the darkest night, till I saw a sight that caused me to be rooted to the spot. Softly fizzing and spluttering within a few inches of two tiers of sinister-looking barrels was a fuse!

CHAPTER XIX

Blown Up

To play the part of a bold hero, I suppose I ought to have made a dash for the burning train and put out the fire. But I did nothing of the kind--I simply stood still and watched with horror-stricken eyes the dim glimmer of the fuse. Even had I had the presence of mind and the courage to make the attempt, the ordering of the barrels would have prevented me, for the train was laid 'twixt tiers standing so close together that there was scarce a hand's width between their bulging sides.

Already I regarded myself as doomed to die a swift and terrible death, but remembering my comrades in the boat, I backed away from the hatchway. I tried to raise a warning shout, but not a sound save a feeble gurgle could I utter. My tongue clave to the roof of my parched mouth, while my heart beat like a sledge-hammer.

Dipping my hand in the water that flooded the floor of the hold, I moistened my lips, then--

"Push off, men!" I shouted. "A fuse!"

The effect of my warning was instantly plain. The man who had accompanied me on deck leapt into the long-boat, and I heard the sc.r.a.ping of their oars as the crew pushed off with feverish haste.

Now that I look back upon this matter, I can scarce blame them. They acted according to my orders, combined with the thought of self-preservation. Doubtless in their panic they knew not whether one or two persons had leapt from the s.h.i.+p's bulwarks into the boat.

But be that as it may, they rowed off with all their might and left me to my fate--and a hideous one at that.

Yet, as the explosion had not taken place, I gathered courage, and seizing the rope by which I had descended into the hold, I began to swarm up it. Suddenly, although it had appeared sound and had borne my weight before, it parted like pack thread, and I fell on my back in the hold, where the water broke my fall.

I was on my feet in an instant, now alert to take every possible chance of saving myself, and seeing a shaft of light in the dim recesses of the after hold, I waded down the sloping planks till the water rose to my shoulders.

A few strokes sufficed to bring me to where a small hatch communicated with the main deck, for the water was here so high that by raising my arm I could grasp the coaming of the hatchway.

Though my sodden clothing seemed like lead as my body drew clear of the surface, I managed to drag myself through the opening and gain the deck, where, without a moment's hesitation, I rushed on to the p.o.o.p, and sprang over the taffrail into the sea.

I must have dived to a depth of from two to three fathoms, for I could see the rocky bottom of the sea a few feet below me; and just as I was on the point of ascending to the surface, I heard the roar of the explosion.

It seemed as if the drums of my ears were broken by the concussion, while the water was agitated by a sudden current, or eddy, that swept me along the bottom. I remained underneath till I could contain my breath no longer, then with a few strokes I rose to the surface.

All around a heavy, pungent cloud, or rather haze, of smoke enveloped everything, though towering above me I could discern the outlines of the s.h.i.+p's p.o.o.p. That, at all events, had withstood the shock and had proved my salvation, for the pieces of shattered timber were still falling, many of them being shot skywards to a terrific height.

I trod water for a s.p.a.ce till all danger from the falling debris was over, then, swimming round the scorched and shattered side of the s.h.i.+p, I found a place where the timbers had been torn away right to the water's edge.

Half-suffocated by the fumes, for many of the planks still smouldered, I made my way aft to where the p.o.o.p deck remained practically intact; and utterly done up, I threw myself down, too dazed to realize that I had been miraculously preserved.

How long I remained in that position I cannot tell, but at length I staggered to my feet and looked around.

The s.h.i.+ps of the escaping buccaneers were still visible, though nearly hull down. They had hauled to the wind and were standing on a northerly course parallel with the eastern sh.o.r.e of the island.

Looking round the harbour, I could see the _Golden Hope_ and the _Neptune_, their sides crowded with men, while within a few hundred yards of them was the long-boat, rowing slowly, with her gunwale barely showing. So she had not escaped unhurt, I reasoned.

Of the vessel on which I stood nearly two-thirds had quite disappeared, while of the quarter-deck only a few blackened crossbeams and ribs remained. All around were pieces of timber of all sizes and shapes, slowly drifting sh.o.r.ewards with the flood tide.

The black flag, with its grinning skull and crossbones, was trailing in the water under the wreck's quarter. This would serve for a signal, so, hauling it on board, I lashed it to a pike, which in turn I fastened to an iron socket that at one time had supported the p.o.o.p lantern.

My signal was soon observed, and a boat was put off from the _Neptune_; and while awaiting her arrival I ran below and made a second examination of the cabins and after hold. Most of the former were luxuriously furnished, though they had suffered severely, from both our shot and the effect of the explosion. Yet, brief as was my inspection, I saw that two of them were used as store places, and that they were filled with the loot of many an unfortunate vessel.

Gold and silver ornaments and plate, coins of a dozen different countries, and other precious goods filled the lockers. To me it seemed enough for the ransom of a king.

Looking through the hatch by which I had escaped from the hold, I perceived how nearly the whole of the treasure had been lost to us, for now, plainly visible in the flooded after-magazine, were barrels of powder, far more than the fore part of the s.h.i.+p had contained; while from one of them a wisp of tow floated towards the surface.

Its charred end showed how near had been the consummation of the buccaneers' diabolical plan, for when the magazine was flooded the fuse had burned to within a foot of the powder.

Great was the astonishment of the men to find me alive and unhurt, for although I had been seen standing on the p.o.o.p, no one on the s.h.i.+p had recognized me. My clothing was rent, and my damp hair hung over my face, which was black with charcoal, smoke, and dust.

Captain 'Enery had concluded that I had perished in the explosion, and that the figure they had seen on board was that of one of the buccaneers, who, on the vessel being blown up, had swum off from a neighbouring shoal.

"The wreck is full of treasure," I announced, and on hearing the good news the boat's crew gave a hearty cheer. Some were for making their way on board, but the c.o.xswain sternly ordered them to remain in the boat.

"The stuff is safe enow," said he, "and all will share and share alike when the time comes. There's plenty of work to be done before we trouble about what's aboard yon craft."

This was the case, for when the boat put me once more aboard the _Golden Hope_ I found all hands busily engaged in clearing up the damage done in the fight. The work of making good the mischief done aloft would take weeks of continuous labour, though the spars of the wrecked buccaneer could be utilized to replace our own, for, trailing over the side, they had escaped the force of the explosion.

But though the s.h.i.+ps suffered severely, our loss in men was far more to be deplored. The Golden Hope had eleven killed and fifteen wounded, including Captain Jeremy, and the _Neptune_ nine killed and seventeen wounded. In the stockade, however, not a single man had been hit. Thus, including the six men who were missing after our futile expedition to recover the treasure, only one hundred and twenty-eight were fit for duty, and of these nearly two score had received slight wounds.

My first act on returning on board was to see how Captain Jeremy was progressing. I found that he was sleeping peacefully, his wound having been carefully dressed; and that, should no feverish symptoms make their appearance, his recovery would be but a matter of a few weeks. As quietness was a necessity, it was planned that he should be carried ash.o.r.e to the stockade with the rest of the wounded on the following day, so as not to be disturbed by the s.h.i.+pwrights and riggers at their work.

That night, as I lay on my bunk, I pondered over the words of the old friar, Pedro Lopez. Surely we had gone through enough bloodshed and fire to fulfil the exacting conditions that had to be carried out ere we recovered the treasure? Would not the facts that a score of our men were awaiting burial on this far-off island, and that over thirty more were groaning on the ballast, serve to appease the wrath of the slaughtered Spaniards? And when I thought of my ordeal by fire, and my terrible position as I waited for the crash of the explosion, I prayed that we had seen the last of our perils.

It must have been about eight bells of the middle watch (4 a.m.), ere it was light, when a sharp rattle of musketry caused me to awaken with a start. Hastily rus.h.i.+ng on deck, I found our men already standing to their guns, while on sh.o.r.e a desperate conflict was in progress.

The stockade was attacked on all sides.

CHAPTER XX

The Repulse at the Stockade