Part 4 (1/2)
Swayed thus between hope and fear, the hara.s.sed young lieutenant once more, and for the last time, mounted the hill and resumed his anxious watch of the town and harbour. But no indication of any happening of an unusual character, either in the town or in the harbour, was perceptible; everything seemed to be going forward precisely as usual; the only occurrence that in the slightest degree interested the watcher being that the crew of the galleon resumed their occupation of bending sails, which operation, proceeding with the same deliberation as before, they contrived to complete about half an hour before sunset; when d.i.c.k, unutterably weary and discouraged with his long and fruitless watch, arose and made his way down the hill to the place where the longboat lay hidden.
CHAPTER FIVE.
HOW THEY DISARMED THE BATTERIES ON TIERRA BOMBA.
As Chichester neared the now familiar spot where he had left the longboat, he suffered himself to indulge in a returning feeling of elation, for the notion somehow came to him that he would find Marshall in the boat calmly awaiting his return; and this feeling presently grew so strong within him that he could scarcely credit his eyes when, upon pa.s.sing through the screen of concealing foliage, he saw only the three seamen curled up in the boat. They roused themselves from their semi-somnolent condition and sat up to receive him, with glances of mute enquiry in their eyes.
For a few moments d.i.c.k remained silent, absolutely speechless with disappointment. Then he remarked:
”What, lads, has the Captain not yet returned, then?”
”No, sir,” they answered in chorus. ”We have seen naught of him, or indeed of anybody else, since you left us this morning.”
”Then,” said d.i.c.k, ”I greatly fear that evil has befallen him and that he has been discovered and taken by the Spaniards. For this is the last day of our stay here; and his orders to me were that if he returns not by midnight we are to proceed to sea and rejoin the s.h.i.+p; for his failure to return will be due to the fact of his having been captured.
Still, there are six hours to run yet before midnight, and he may return even at the very last moment. Let us hope that he will. And now, men, give me some supper, for I have eaten nothing since I left you this morning.”
The time between then and midnight was pa.s.sed by d.i.c.k in a state of feverish suspense, that toward the end became almost unendurable, causing him to start and jump at every trivial sound that reached his ear. A dozen times at least he sprang to his feet with the joyous exclamation of ”Here he is!” when the flutter of a dry leaf falling from its parent bough, the soft rustle of foliage in the night wind, or the movement of some restless bird broke the silence of that secluded spot; but he was always mistaken. The Captain came not; and at length his watch informed him that the time was half an hour after midnight. Then he rose to his feet with a sigh of bitter disappointment and said:
”It is no good, lads; we must not delay our departure any longer; we have allowed the Captain half an hour's grace, and if he could have come he would have been with us before now. Without doubt he is a prisoner, and we can best serve him now by returning to the s.h.i.+p with all speed and reporting the fact of his capture to the others, who must then decide whether or not we shall sail into the harbour, attack the town, and endeavour to rescue him. Cast off the painter, and let us be moving without further delay.”
Almost careless now whether or not they attracted attention, they hauled the boat out from her place of concealment and, stepping the masts, hoisted their sails and got under way, the wind just permitting them to lay their course down past the sand spit and out through the entrance of the cove into the lower bay without breaking tacks. Then, to save time, d.i.c.k determined to risk the pa.s.sage of the Boca Chica, the usual harbour entrance, instead of taking the longer route out to sea behind the island of Baru, relying upon the indifferent lookout of the sentinels as reported by Marshall to enable the boat to pa.s.s undetected. In this they were completely successful, the occupants of the batteries giving no sign that the pa.s.sage of the boat had been observed; and half an hour after emerging from their place of concealment they found themselves safely clear of everything and out at sea.
The night was dark but clear, with a fresh land breeze blowing, and a sky heavily flecked with fast-scurrying clouds, between which the stars and moon blinked down upon them intermittently. They were no sooner clear of the land than they began to look about them for the s.h.i.+p, and within a few minutes they caught sight of her signal lanterns about eight miles distant, dead to leeward. After that everything went quite smoothly; they hoisted their own signal lamp, and bore away dead before the wind, leaving it to the s.h.i.+p to pick them up, which she did about an hour later.
Their s.h.i.+pmates manifested the utmost interest in their return, all hands mustering on deck to see the boat come alongside and hear the news. When, upon the boat being brought to the lee gangway, d.i.c.k led the way up the side, he was met at the entrance port by Bas...o...b.. Winter, Dyer, and Harvey, each of whom at the same instant fired at him the question:
”Where is the Captain?”
”Lost--taken, I fear,” answered d.i.c.k. ”He left us four nights ago, intending to make his way into the city of Cartagena, for the purpose of learning precisely when the galleon is to sail, together with any other information which he might be able to pick up. His instructions were that I was to await his return until midnight to-night, and if he then failed to return it would be because something untoward had happened to him, in which case I was to rejoin the s.h.i.+p at once and report to you, when you would act according to your discretion after consulting together.”
For a moment there was a dead silence; then Bas...o...b..turned to his fellow officers, and said:
”My masters, this loss of our general is a very serious matter, and needs looking into. Let us all, therefore, retire to the cabin and hear what Mr Chichester has to tell us about it; after which, as was arranged when Captain Marshall left us six nights ago, we must all consult together and decide what our next step is to be. Come then, gentlemen, to the cabin. Mr Chichester, you will be pleased to accompany us.”
Therewith the three princ.i.p.al officers of the s.h.i.+p and the two gentlemen adventurers retired to the great cabin, where, seated upon the lockers, and with d.i.c.k occupying a chair in front of them, the tale was told of all that had befallen the boat and its crew, from the moment of her departure to that of her return, including the several expeditions to the top of the hill on Tierra Bomba, and the drawing of the chart.
”And where is that chart now?” demanded Bas...o...b.. ”Have you it, or did Captain Marshall take it with him?”
”I have it,” answered d.i.c.k, ”and here it is,” producing the sketch.
”Fortunately the Captain left it with me, not needing it himself, since all the information required to enable him to make his way to Cartagena he could carry in his head.”
The four who were sitting on the opposite side of the table bent over the doc.u.ment, examining it closely for several minutes. At length Bas...o...b..looked up and said:
”My masters, if this chart be reliable--and it should be, judging from the pains taken by our Captain and Mr Chichester--it should suffice to enable us to take the s.h.i.+p right up to Cartagena and lay her alongside the galleon. And if that s.h.i.+p can be taken by surprise and without loss on our part, as I think she may, what is to hinder us from taking the town and demanding a good heavy ransom for it, part of which ransom shall consist in the return to us, sound and unhurt, of our Captain?
And if they refuse, or are unable to return our Captain to us in the condition specified, what say you to sacking the place and giving it to the flames? Depend upon it, by so doing we shall soon learn the fate of Captain Marshall, and where he is to be found, for there will be a hundred who will be only too ready to curry favour with us by telling us all that they know, in the hope that thereby we may be induced to spare their property.”
”Ay, that will they, I warrant,” answered Winter. ”And woe betide the city and all in it if aught of evil has been done to our Captain! We will find every man who has been in anywise responsible for that evil, and will hang him before his own door for all men to see how dangerous a thing it is for a Spaniard to lay violent hands upon an Englishman!
Now, what say ye, gentles, shall we go in at once and do the work while our blood is hot within us?”