Part 4 (1/2)
During this episode the buccaneer had shown us a remarkably clean pair of heels, so that nothing short of an accident to the crowd of canvas she was carrying could ever make us hope to overhaul her.
But in spite of enquiries Captain Poynings gathered little from the rescued man.
”Me Portugee, me Portugee; me honest; me no rogue. Me see Senhor Capitan alone, den me tell him ebberything,” he reiterated.
”I will not talk with you alone,” replied Captain Poynings sternly. ”You are a pirate or an accomplice of that rascally crew. Now, give an account of yourself, or a taste of the cat will make you speak.”
At the mention of the ”cat” the man's eyes glittered ominously, then, instantly relapsing into his subservient manner, he jabbered in broken English: ”Me no rogue. Me Pedro Alvarez of Habana. By de Virgin me speak truth!” And holding a small wooden crucifix that hung from his neck, the man kissed it with exaggerated fervour.
”Me speak only to Senhor Capitan. Tell him ebberything. Senhor Capitan much please wid my tale.”
”No!” roared Captain Poynings, knitting his brows in that manner peculiar to him when aught vexes him.
”Vell, den, me speak to Senhor Capitan an' three odder. Pedro's tale too 'portant for odders to hear.”
To this the captain a.s.sented, and the Portuguese, having been deprived of his knife, and searched for any concealed weapons he might have had, was taken below to the stateroom, whither repaired the captain, two lieutenants, and the master.
For over an hour they remained, and on coming on deck we noticed that Captain Poynings and his officers looked highly pleased, though the Portuguese still wore an impa.s.sive look.
”Send the s.h.i.+p's company aft,” said the captain. ”'Tis but right that they should know.”
Eagerly the men cl.u.s.tered in the waist, while from the p.o.o.p their gallant leader addressed them.
”Hearken, my men,” quoth he. ”It has come to our knowledge that a vast amount of treasure lieth hidden on a cay the bearing whereof is known only to this Portuguese. He is willing to guide us to the spot in consideration of a safe conduct to Europe and one-seventh of the spoil. By my commission His Majesty gives me power to engage in such enterprise, whereof one-tenth reverteth to our sovereign lord, the king. Be it understood that I will deal fairly with all men, dividing the residue into shares according to the regulations pertaining to treasure trove. For your part do your work with a will. Let no stranger learn and forestall our mission, and I warrant ye the purser shall pay in gold where heretofore ye had but silver.”
Cheers greeted the announcement, and the men retired to discuss this matter amongst themselves. We, however, learned still more. Briefly, the Portuguese's tale was this:-- Less than ninety years ago a Spanish treasure-s.h.i.+p left Vera Cruz, richly laden with plate and specie. A few days after leaving port yellow fever decimated the crew, and the survivors, unable to handle the s.h.i.+p, ran her aground on a small cay in the Rosario Channel, between the Isla de Pinos and Cuba. The treasure was landed and hidden, but bickerings and disease still further reduced their number, till only one man remained. He was rescued by a galliot the owner of which was Pedro's grandfather. In grat.i.tude, the Spaniard showed his rescuer a plan of where the specie lay, the men agreeing to share the spoil. Both men were lost in an attempt to reach the island in a small craft in which they had sailed alone, so as to keep their secret, and thus all trace of the spot vanished till five years ago, when Pedro came across the rough chart and an account of the matter, which had been hidden in the rafters of his hut. Pedro himself visited the cay, saw the treasure, but was unable to carry off the stuff single-handed. He returned to Habana, entrusted six others with the secret, and fitted out a small felucca to secure the spoil.
On the voyage the little craft was seized by the buccaneers, and all his companions were murdered. Pedro alone was kept a prisoner, the pirate intending that he should pilot them when occasion served.
Never a word concerning the treasure did he say to the buccaneers, but, taking a favourable opportunity, he had left the s.h.i.+p under the circ.u.mstances that we had observed.
Captain Poynings eagerly examined the chart. Already the l.u.s.t for gold had entered into his soul, and he was ready to hazard everything for the sake of that which had cost the lives of hundreds of men in these seas--the quest of hidden treasure.
”Bring out a larger chart, Master Widdicombe,” he exclaimed, ”and let us see where this island should be.”
The chart was produced, and the lat.i.tude and longitude carefully p.r.i.c.ked off, whereat Captain Poynings turned purple with rage and swore horribly.
”The villain would send us on a fool's errand,” he declared, bringing his fist down on the table with tremendous force. ”The position he would have us believe to be an island is in the midst of the Yucatan Pa.s.sage, with nothing less than eighty fathoms.”
For the moment we were all dumbfounded Visions of untold wealth were rudely dispelled.
”Bring out that rascally Portuguese, trice him up, and give him five dozen!” cried the captain, a strain of his choleric ancestor betraying itself.
”Stay!” replied the master. ”I have it! This position is shown by our longitude, whereas this rough chart is of Spanish draughtsmans.h.i.+p. Now, taking the longitude of Madrid as zero, we find that----”
”Good, Widdicombe, you have hit it! Yet, forsooth, 'twas but your duty. p.r.i.c.k out, then, a fresh position, and pray 'twill be better than the last!”
A few minutes' calculation enabled the master to announce that 22 4' N., 82 46' W. was the corrected position, and to the unbounded satisfaction of us all it was found that it marked a small island almost in the centre of the Rosario Channel, agreeing with the description which Pedro Alvarez had given.
As there was now no sign of the buccaneering craft, the Gannet put about and returned to Port Royal, there to wait until the return of the cruising squadron should set us free to pursue our adventure. For nearly two weeks we remained in suspense, Captain Poynings refusing leave for fear that a man's tongue might get the better of his discretion, till early one morning we perceived to our great joy the sails of our consorts approaching the port.
CHAPTER VII.
--Concerning the Treasure Island.
Hardly had the fleet anch.o.r.ed when Captain Poynings boarded the flags.h.i.+p and obtained, with little ado, permission to part company. We then revictualled, took in fresh powder, and weighed, steering a westerly course till Negrille Point was well abeam. Thereupon we stood nor'-westward, pa.s.sing close to Grand Cayman. Here misfortune dogged us. For days we were becalmed, the Gannet wallowing motionless in the oily sea within one hundred leagues of our destination. Then the dreaded ”yellow jack” made its appearance amongst us, and forty men lay sick to death on the ballast, of whom, I grieve to relate, more than half died.
When the pestilence would have ended it would be hard to say, had not a favourable breeze sprung up, and on the eighteenth day after leaving Port Royal we brought up off the cay shown in the chart.
It was an island some three miles in extent, and about half that distance in breadth, a line of rugged hills running from east to west, terminating in low cliffs. Viewed from the north'ard, where we lay, the sh.o.r.e appeared to be flat and lined with breakers, but Pedro told us that a little creek opened out close to the western end, where a boat could make a landing in safety.
No sign of a human being could be seen, even as the Portuguese had said, yet it is pa.s.sing strange how easily even a trained seaman can be deceived.
Being late in the day when we arrived off the cay, it was decided not to land till the morrow. Nevertheless, we made preparations for the expedition, provisioning the longboat and the like.
Early on the morrow we weighed anchor, and, under the guidance of Pedro, towed the Gannet, there being no wind, through a gap in the reef, so that her new berth was within half a league of the landingplace--though there was an inner reef close insh.o.r.e, on which the sea brake, though not with such violence as on the outer reef.
In his eagerness, Captain Poynings himself took command of the landing party, though it was his duty to remain aboard. With him went the bos'n, three mids.h.i.+pmen, whereof Greville Drake and I were included, and twenty-five men. Between us we had but five musketoons and three pistols, the men carrying, on account of the heat, nothing but their mattocks and spades. Pedro also went as a guide, so that our party numbered thirty-one men, sufficient, indeed, to carry off the treasure--if treasure it were--in one journey.
After rowing for nearly a league, viz. a quarter of a league towards the sh.o.r.e, and the same distance parallel to it, the breakers preventing us from going nearer, we espied the mouth of the little cove or creek, and ten minutes labour at the oars sufficed to beach the boat in very sheltered water, the trees overhanging the banks and almost meeting those on the opposite side.
We landed and formed up on a small stretch of sand, the only clear s.p.a.ce that was to be seen.
”Hark ye, Dommett,” said the captain. ”Do you stay here with the boat, and keep her off if needs be we must embark in a hurry. 'Tis now nine o' the clock; by five we will return. If peradventure we fail to do so, signal to the s.h.i.+p for more men. Keep eyes and ears open, and if any man shall come upon you, push off and fire your piece. Now, Senhor Pedro, lead on.”
It was an exciting moment. The Portuguese led, pressing forward with marvellous agility and with the air of a man who is following a familiar track. We followed in straggling order, for the way was rough, merely allowing two men to walk abreast. Dense foliage enclosed us on either side, and, save for the noise of the men's footsteps, and the occasional crackle of dry underwood, not a sound either of man or beast broke the stillness of the forest.
The path led gradually upwards, till we emerged into a clearing, the ground rising still steeper to the foot of a low, precipitous cliff. At the base of this cliff we halted for breath, observing that all around lay ma.s.ses of broken rock that had at some time fallen from the heights above. Looking backwards we could see over the tops of the trees to the sea, the Gannet looking like a c.o.c.kboat in the distance.
On resuming our march we had to scale the cliff, which, though steep, was jagged with projections of rock, which, with strong tendrils of tropical vegetation, afforded plenty of foothold for any ordinary climber to make use of.
”A pest on these Spaniards!” exclaimed the captain angrily. ”Why did they take the treasure so far inland; eh, Pedro?”
The Portuguese shrugged his shoulders. ”Qual sabe, Senhor?” he replied nonchalantly.
The men, strapping their spades on their backs, began the ascent, the Portuguese being told to remain till half the party had gained the summit.
When my turn came I leapt with all the buoyancy of youth on to the lowermost crag, grasping an overhanging tuft of reeds and gra.s.s to gain the next step; but the reeds were as sharp as a razor, and before I realized it the palm of my hand was cut to the bone, and the blood poured in a stream down my arm and over my doublet.
The sudden pain and the loss of blood caused me to slip to the foot of the cliff, and for a time everything became blank and my head swam. Someone forced my head betwixt my knees, so that in a short s.p.a.ce of time I felt better.
”You would do well to return to the boat,” said Captain Poynings in a tone that meant no refusal. ”Can you manage to find the path, or shall I send a man with you?”