Part 24 (1/2)
”They're a brave lot, those b.l.o.o.d.y rascals,” said one of the men of the Badger.
”They've a fool of a captain,” said another; ”he knows not the difference between a British man-of-war and a Spanish galleon, but we shall teach him that.”
Slowly they came together, the Revenge and the Badger, the bow of one pointed east and the bow of the other to the west; from neither vessel there came a word; the low waves could be heard flapping against their sides. Suddenly there rang out from the man-of-war the order to make fast. The grapnels flew over the bulwarks of the pirate, and in a moment the two vessels were as one. Then, with a great shout, the men of the Badger leaped and hurled themselves upon the deck of the Revenge, and upon that deck and from behind bulwarks there rose, yelling and howling and roaring, the picked men of two pirate crews, quick, furious, and strong as tigers, the hate of man in their eyes and the love of blood in their hearts. Like a wave of ma.s.sacre they threw themselves against the drilled ma.s.ses of the Badger's crew, and with yells and oaths and curses and cries the battle raged.
With a sudden dash the captain of the man-of-war plunged through the ranks of the combatants and stood upon the middle of the deck; his quick eyes shot here and there; wherever he might be, he sought the captain of the pirate s.h.i.+p. In an instant a huge man bounded aft and made one long step towards him. Vast in chest and shoulder, and with mighty limbs, fiery-eyed, hairy, horribly fantastic, Blackbeard stood, with great head lowered for the charge.
”A sugar-planter?” was the swift thought of Vince.
”Are you the captain of this s.h.i.+p?” he shouted.
”I am!” cried the other, and with a curse like bursting thunder the pirate came on and his blade crossed that of Captain Vince.
Forward and amids.h.i.+ps surged the general fight: men plunged, swords fell, blood flowed, feet slipped upon the deck, and roars of blasphemy and pain rose above the noise of battle. But farther aft the two captains, in a s.p.a.ce by themselves, cut, thrust, and trampled, whirling around each other, das.h.i.+ng from this side and that, ever with keen eyes firmly fixed, ever with strong arms whirling down and upward; now one man felt the keen cut of steel and now the other. The blood ran upon rich uniform or stained rough cloth and leather. It was a fight as if between a lioness and a tigress, their dead cubs near-by.
As most men in the navy knew, Captain Vince was a most dangerous swordsman. In duel or in warfare, no man yet had been able to stand before him. With skilled arm and eye and with every muscle of his body trained, his sword sought a vital spot in his opponent. There was no thought now in the mind of Vince about disarming the pirate and taking him prisoner; this terrible wild beast, this hairy monster must be killed or he himself must die. Through the whirl and clash and hot breath of battle he had been amazed that Kate Bonnet's father should be a man like this.
The pirate, his eyes now shrunken into his head, where they glowed like coals, his breath steaming like a volcano, and his tremendous muscles supple and quick as those of a cat, met his antagonist at every point, and with every lunge and thrust and cut forced him to guard.
Now Vince shut himself in his armour of trained defence; this bounding lion must be killed, but the death-stroke must be cunningly delivered, and until, in his hot rage, the pirate should forget his guard Vince must s.h.i.+eld himself.
Never had the great Blackbeard met so keen a swordsman; he howled with rage to see the English captain still vigorous, agile, warding every stroke. Blackbeard was now a wild beast of the sea: he fought to kill, for naught else, not even his own life. With a yell he threw himself upon Captain Vince, whose sword pa.s.sed quick as lightning through the brawny ma.s.ses of his left shoulder. With one quick step, the pirate pressed closer to Vince, thus holding the imprisoned blade, which stuck out behind his body, and with a tremendous blow of his right fist, in which he held the heavy brazen hilt of his sword, he dashed his enemy backward to the ground. The fall drew the blade from the shoulder of Blackbeard, whose great right arm went up, whose sword hissed in the air and then came down upon the prostrate Vince. Another stroke and the English captain lay insensible and still.
With the scream of a maddened Indian, Blackbeard sprung into the air, and when his feet touched the deck he danced. He would have hewn his victim into pieces, he would have scattered him over the decks, but there was no time for such recreations. Forward the battle raged with tremendous fury, and into the midst of it dashed Blackbeard.
From the companion-way leading to the captain's cabin there now appeared a pale young face. It was that of d.i.c.kory Charter, who had been ordered by Blackbeard, before the two vessels came together, to shut himself in the cabin and to keep out of the broil, swearing that if he made himself unfit to present to Eliza he would toss his disfigured body into the sea. Entirely unarmed and having no place in the fight, d.i.c.kory had obeyed, but the spirit of a young man which burned within him led him to behold the greater part of the conflict between Blackbeard and the English captain. Being a young man, he had shut his eyes at the end of it, but when the pirate had left he came forth quietly. The fight raged forward, and here he was alone with the fallen figure on the deck.
As d.i.c.kory stood gazing downward in awe--in all his life he had never seen a corpse--the man he had supposed dead opened his eyes for a moment and gazed with dull intelligence, and then he gasped for rum. d.i.c.kory was quickly beside him with a tumbler of spirits and water, which, raising the fallen man's head, he gave him. In a few moments the eyes of Captain Vince opened wider, and he stared at the young man in naval uniform who stood above him. ”Who are you?” he said in a low voice, but distinct, ”an English officer?”
”No,” said d.i.c.kory, ”I am no officer and no pirate; I am forced to wear these clothes.”
And then, his natural and selfish instincts pus.h.i.+ng themselves before anything else, d.i.c.kory went on: ”Oh, sir, if your men conquer these pirates will you take me--” but as he spoke he saw that the wounded man was not listening to him; his half-closed eyes turned towards him and he whispered:
”More spirits!”
[Ill.u.s.tration: ”Take that,” he feebly said, ”and swear that it shall be delivered.”]
d.i.c.kory dashed into the cabin, half-filled a tumbler with rum and gave it to Vince. Presently his eyes recovered something of their natural glow, and with contracted brow he fixed them upon the stream of blood which was running from him over the deck.
Suddenly he spoke sharply: ”Young fellow,” he said, ”some paper and a pen, a pencil, anything. Quick!”
d.i.c.kory looked at him in amazement for a moment and then he ran into the cabin, soon returning with a sheet of paper and an English pencil.
The eyes of Captain Vince were now very bright, and a nervous strength came into his body. He raised himself upon his elbow, he clutched at the paper, and clapping it upon the deck began to write. Quickly his pencil moved; already he was feeling that his rum-given strength was leaving him, but several pages he wrote, and then he signed his name. Folding the sheet he stopped for a moment, feeling that he could do no more; but, gathering together his strength in one convulsive motion, he addressed the letter.
”Take that,” he feebly said, ”and swear ... that it shall be ...
delivered.”
”I swear,” said d.i.c.kory, as on his knees he took the blood-smeared letter. He hastily slipped it into the breast of his coat, and then he was barely able to move quick enough to keep the Englishman's head from striking the deck.