Part 3 (1/2)
”Yes, yes; I see what you mean,” interrupted Marshall. ”Well, what is your suggestion?”
”My suggestion,” answered d.i.c.k, ”is that we remain concealed until nightfall, and then that we should take the boat and explore that creek, or whatever it is; and if it proves to be a suitable hiding-place, well and good. We will conceal the boat and her crew there, and to-morrow morning you and I can climb to the top of that hill and make all the observations we need, even, perhaps, to the extent of drawing a rough chart of the place. It will cost us twenty-four hours of time; but I believe that the information which we shall thus obtain will more than repay us.”
”I am sure of it,” answered Marshall, heartily; ”and we'll do it, my lad. Meanwhile, the mosquitoes are becoming something more than troublesome; so, as we have now seen all that it is possible for us to see from here, we'll get away back to the boat, or the men will begin to think that something has happened to us.”
CHAPTER FOUR.
HOW MARSHALL AND d.i.c.k ENTERED CARTAGENA HARBOUR IN THE LONGBOAT.
As Marshall had antic.i.p.ated, the men were beginning to feel distinctly alarmed at the prolonged absence of their officers, admitting, indeed, that they were seriously debating the advisability of leaving the boat and inst.i.tuting a search at the moment when Marshall and d.i.c.k reappeared. This admission drew forth a sharp rebuke from the Captain, who there and then gave them strict orders that under no circ.u.mstances were they ever to dream of doing such a thing. ”For instance,” said he, ”what a pretty pickle should we all be in if, being discovered and pursued hotfoot by the enemy, we were to retreat to the boat and find that you men had left her. It would mean that Mr Chichester and I would be obliged to shove off without you; and that in turn would mean that sooner or later you would inevitably fall into the hands of the enemy. And let me tell you, men, that to fall into the hands of the Spaniards here means being clapt into the Inquisition. And of those who get into the Inquisition not one in a hundred ever gets out again.
Therefore, never leave your boat, under any circ.u.mstances whatsoever, except at the express command of your officers.”
It was by this time considerably past noon; the food was therefore produced, and all hands partook of a meal, after which there was nothing to be done until the evening; the men therefore disposed themselves in the bottom of the boat and took such s.n.a.t.c.hes of sleep as the mosquitoes permitted, while Marshall and d.i.c.k sat in the stern-sheets and discussed plans for the morrow.
At length, however, after an interval of waiting that soon grew terribly wearisome, the sun went down, darkness fell, and they pushed off the boat and got under way. There was now a young moon of about four days old, and before she too set she afforded them light enough to make their way across the lower bay, a distance of about three and a half miles, to the island of Tierra Bomba, and to find the indentation to which d.i.c.k had directed Marshall's attention earlier in the day. It proved to be a particularly snug little cove, about half a mile long by perhaps a quarter of a mile wide, with thickly wooded hills sloping down toward it on either side at its upper extremity. Two small islets pretty effectually masked its entrance; and a dry sandbank in the middle of it occupied more than half its area, leaving a narrow channel all round it, the water in which was only just deep enough to afford unimpeded pa.s.sage to the boat. It was stark calm inside the cove, they were, therefore, obliged to lower the sails, strike the masts, and use the oars to reach the head of the creek; but when they arrived there they found a steep bank so completely overhung with trees and bushes that, when once the boat had been forced in underneath the branches, she might remain there for days with little or no fear of discovery.
In this exceedingly snug berth it seemed almost ridiculous to think of keeping a watch; yet, being in the enemy's territory, they decided to do so; Marshall undertaking to stand the first watch of two hours, while d.i.c.k agreed to take the second.
When, at ten o'clock, Marshall aroused d.i.c.k, in order that the latter might stand his watch, the Captain whispered:
”I've been thinking about a good many things while I have been sitting here these two hours agone in the stern-sheets of this boat. And, among other matters, I have thought that it might be very useful to know something more than we do about those two batteries that we took notice of while we were on the point yonder to-day. Now, I'm not a bit sleepy.
I don't believe I could get to sleep if I tried--also the night is delightfully cool; and, although the moon has gone down, the stars give quite enough light for my purpose, therefore, I am going to take a little walk along the sh.o.r.e to that battery on the beach. It can't be very much more than two miles away; and night is the only time when it will be possible to examine the forts without running too much risk. If I do not feel too tired I'll take that fort on the top of the hill on my way back; so if I do not return until close before daybreak you need not be unduly alarmed.”
”Very well, sir,” answered d.i.c.k. ”We will keep a bright lookout. And if by any chance things should go amiss, and you should be pursued, if you will fire two pistol shots, one close after the other, I will come, with one of the men, to meet you, provided, of course, that we are within hearing of the shots.”
”Yes; you may do that--if you hear the signal shots,” agreed Marshall.
”But,” he added, ”I shall need to be very hard pressed indeed to fire my pistols. For shots at night-time anywhere near a battery would be certain to put everybody on the alert, and probably bring a bigger hornet's nest about my ears than you and all hands could beat off.
Still, if I want help very badly I shall know what to do. And now, I'll be off. Keep a sharp lookout, and don't allow yourself to be surprised.
Good night!” As d.i.c.k murmured an answering ”Good night” the Captain turned and disappeared in the darkness.
All through the night a careful watch was maintained, but nothing in the slightest degree alarming occurred; and about an hour before daybreak Captain Marshall returned, having accomplished his mission to his own complete satisfaction.
”I had no difficulty whatever,” he explained to d.i.c.k, ”nor did I encounter a single soul; indeed I am strongly of opinion that the island, or at least the southern half of it, is uninhabited, except for the garrisons of the fort and battery. I tackled the battery first, making my way to it by pa.s.sing round the base of the hill until I reached the sh.o.r.e-line of the next bay, which I then followed for the remainder of the distance. And heavy walking I found it, with a murrain on it; for the sand was loose and deep, except where I came upon mangroves, and there the mud was even deeper than the sand, while, as for the mosquitoes, they were as eager for my blood as the Spaniards themselves would be if they but knew what my business is here. However, I was not to be turned back by the mosquitoes, even though they a.s.sailed me in legions; and after trudging through the heavy sand for a full hour or more I found myself beneath the walls of the battery.
”It is planned like a triangle, one face, mounting four guns, commanding the seaward end of the Boca, while the second face commands its inner extremity, the third face being turned toward the land and containing the entrance gate. The point or apex of the triangle juts out into the water; I was therefore unable to walk completely round it; nevertheless I examined both sides by walking past the back of it. The faces of the walls are quite smooth, and about twelve feet high; but the angles are set with rough quoin stones, up which, there being no lights in the battery, and no sign of a sentinel, I essayed to climb, accomplis.h.i.+ng the ascent with no greater difficulty or hurt than the wearing of the soles off my stockings--for I took off my shoes for the sake of quietness and to gain a better foothold. Having gained the parapet, I found two sentries sitting there, with their backs against the wall, fast asleep, with their matchlocks beside them. Gently lifting their weapons in my hand, I shook out the priming--lest perchance they should awake and, seeing me, open fire upon me before I could get away--and then, replacing the weapons as I had found them, pa.s.sed quietly on to examine the ordnance. The guns are very formidable, of a pattern such as I have never before seen, being a good twenty foot in length, and of a bigness to take a shot the size of a man's head, as I learned by pa.s.sing my hands over the topmost shot of a pile which stood beside each gun. There are eight of these pieces of great ordnance, besides falcons and swivels which I did not stay to count, the heavy ordnance being all that caused me any anxiety. And even now they do not greatly trouble me; for if they keep no better watch there on other nights than they did on this, it would be easy for a couple of resolute men to enter the place, even as I did, bind and gag the sentinels, and spike all eight of the guns, and never a man of them any the wiser until they came to put fire to their pieces.
”Then, having seen all that I desired, I left the battery as I had entered it, and made my way up the hill to the castle on the top. Here, however, I was less fortunate, there being no way of entering the building, save by walking in through the gate, or climbing the walls with the help of a scaling ladder. The place is much more formidable looking than the battery, being in appearance a strong castle, with dry ditch, drawbridge, and portcullis to the main and, so far as I could see, the only entrance. In plan it is shaped like the letter L, with the angle turned harbour-ward; and it must mount about thirty pieces of ordnance, for I managed to count that number of embrasures on its two faces. But of sentinels I saw none; so, if they set a watch, I presume that, like those in the battery, the rascals are in the habit of sleeping their watch through; which is so much the better for freebooters like ourselves. For the dry ditch is not difficult to cross, and I estimate that, once on the other side, a ladder of twenty foot in length should enable a party of half a dozen to reach the top; and, once on the parapet, they should be able to spike the whole thirty of those footy ordnance in ten minutes. And all this means, friend d.i.c.k, that with the whole of the heavy ordnance spiked, in castle and in battery, there is nothing to prevent the _Adventure_ from sailing into the harbour, coming to an anchor, storming and blowing up both defences, and then holding the town to ransom, as well as capturing the galleon!
For, as my soul liveth, I firmly believe that the castle and the battery const.i.tute the entire defences of Cartagena! And then, hey for old England again; for, with the ransom of the town and the booty from the galleon, there ought to be enough to make us all rich for life.”
”And if there is not, it ought not to be very difficult for us to play the same game with two or three other towns,” remarked d.i.c.k. ”For I suppose it is safe to reckon that all the towns along the Main are wealthy enough to pay for looting?”
”Ay; no doubt there are good pickings to be had out of every one of them,” answered Marshall. ”But 'one thing at a time' is a good maxim in such a business as ours, my lad; and we will see what Cartagena yields before we begin to think seriously about any of the other towns. And now, here comes the dawn at last, for which thanks be; for I am as hungry as if I had spent all night to the top of Dartymoor, and want my breakfast.”
An hour later the meal had been prepared and eaten; after which Marshall and d.i.c.k, having provided themselves with food and water sufficient to last them until nightfall, if necessary, and having given the crew of the longboat most precise instructions as to how to act in the event of certain contingencies arising, cautiously emerged from their place of concealment, and, carrying the boat compa.s.s with them for the purpose of enabling them to take such bearings as might be required, set out upon their way to the top of the hill which dominated the north-east corner of the island. The going was exceedingly difficult, for the slope was rough and steep, also it was so thickly overgrown with vegetation that for a good part of the distance they had literally to cut a way for themselves; therefore, although the distance which they had to traverse was little more than a mile it was well on toward noon when at length they reached the summit. But, when there, they were fain to admit that their labour had been well spent; for as they topped the last rise the vegetation suddenly became much thinner, so that they found themselves able to force a way through it without being obliged to have recourse to their hangers; and presently they emerged upon the bare hilltop, and beheld, spread out at their feet, a magnificent panorama embracing a view of the whole upper bay and inner harbour, with the town of Cartagena a bare four miles distant. And there, in the midst of a whole fleet of smaller craft, they also beheld a tall and stately s.h.i.+p, a single glance at which sufficed to a.s.sure them that she could be none other than the plate s.h.i.+p which was the great object of their quest.
”There she be!” exclaimed Marshall, pointing. ”All of seven hundred ton, or more; and deep in the water, too. She must have pretty nearly, or quite, finished loading. Seems to me that we're only just in time.
Now, d.i.c.k, my lad, this is your opportunity to make the chart that you were talking about. Come along, and let's get about it; I'll help you.
To-night we must make our way into the city, somehow, and find out by hook or by crook exactly when she is to sail. Now, how do we begin upon the chart?”