Part 13 (1/2)
”Will Master Morgan care for the recital?” queried Rob
”My ears are burning,” cried Johnnie ”I seeht into America Stint not a word of thy story if thou hast any desire to please me”
”So be it, friends I cannot but wish that so of it You will remember--at least thou wilt, Timothy--how Captain John Oxenham sailed out from Plymouth with the _Hawk_, one hundred and forty ton barque, and a crew of seventy men, for the Spanish Main?”
”Ay; report says that all were slain by fever and the Indians”
”Therein doth report speak falsely We three ith Oxenham, and we sit here to-day to tell the tale Whether any other tongue hath told it I cannot say There is scant hope of any more survivors Well, to the story itself We went out of Plymouth Sound, threescore and ten, men and boys, well armed and victualled for six ood adventurers to take what fortune the seas ular lack of ungentle weather: good oht, for the success of our enterprise On the way our captain's plans, which had been somewhat uncertain at the first, took fixed shape We passed south of thefor the eastern seaboard of the Isth an anchorage, and we found e sought in a wooded creek, fringed and thronged with islets A winding river emptied into the creek, and the banks were so thickly clothed with forest as al our shi+p, we thrust her into a tiny bay o'erhung by giant trees, and neither froli aboard; then we loaded ourselves with provisions and arms, and set out to cross the isth to rob the Spanish nest of the golden eggs that daily were laid therein
”There is little to tell of the story of our h woods that ell-nigh impassable We clih streaht of our burdens; giant thorns tore, first our clothes, then afterwards our flesh The sun roasted us by day; ht; areptiles harassed our steps Some of us were quickly doith fever, and added to the burdens of our cohs
Oxenhaive ruoal we sought
”By good hap we ca ards We followed it for a while, until we felt assured that it was navigable, and also that it emptied itself into the Pacific Then we halted, built huts for our sick, cut down ti of a stout pinnace that would carry us on the rest of our quest
We also scoured the woods for game and fruits, and harvested the waters for fish When our boat was builded, our sick were also upon their feet again We had brought with us three light cannon; these we ed up mast and sail, and went down the swift current, ard ho! once er possible to avoid the native towns and villages, so at the first we engaged a guide who knew enough of coast Spanish to understand our wants and be our interpreter to his friends We found that the Indians hated the Spaniards and dreaded their rapacity and cruelty As Englishot a welcoenerous, and so win a welcoe down the river was a sort of triuress, and we made ten thousand faithful allies
At last came the day when the river broadened to an estuary;the tide roves, and the salt flavour was in the air, and white-winged gulls swept screaaudy, noisy parrots that had been our feathered co the sun shot up for us, a golden ball of cheering presage, fro bosom of the Pacific What a shout we raised! Weeks of toil and fever were forgotten, scars and bruises healed--or were felt no longer--when the glorious heave of ocean waters lifted our keel!”
Paignton Rob paused and lifted his flagon to his lips He put it down reflectively ”Do ye et it!” exclaimed the two Plymouth men in a breath
The company nodded to Rob, and took a friendly sip of sack in his honour He took up again the thread of his story
”A native that had come down the coast from the direction of Panama came to our captain with information that two treasure-shi+ps were expected frouide to the Isle of Pearls, situated about five-and-twenty leagues fro to the city We accepted his offer gladly, and the fellow led us to a snug anchorage whence we could espy our prey and make ready to sally forth and seize hiht and the better part of a day before our lookout in a tree-top at the edge of a steep cliff sang out, 'Sail ho! Spanish rig!' We were alert on the instant, watching the Spaniard bowling north-eastwards before a stiff breeze At the right moment we slipped our cable, hoisted sail, and stood out to sea right in his path No news of our presence on the isthot abroad, and the foe did not suspect us until he ithin range of our s into his bulwarks He was not long before he swung round and replied But ere too low in the water to be in any danger froer pieces, and in a little while ere under his lee and swarht asand thren his weapons
”Well, we rifled cabins and holds; got about a hundred goodly bars of gold and a chest of pearls The cabin gave us an excellent supply of wine and soes of native work, then let the Spaniard go his way
”For twoabout the island, then seized a shi+p with a cargo, mostly of silver bars Our pinnace was now so heavily laden that we durst not venture to put anythingthat the authorities at Panama would soon hear of our exploits, we turned south to our river again, and set out on our journey back to our hidden shi+p and the Atlantic
”So far we had lost but two men, and one of these had died from fever
Half a score of us, ht alleon offered us hardly any resistance 'Tis easy work enough, this gathering of Spanish gold in the Indies Do I speak within the strict bounds of truth, comrades?”
”True as a Bible verse, Rob,” said Nick Johnson; and brother Ned assented with a seae of the pause to take another peep into his flagon, and Johnnie asked hih to float er,” replied Rob
”We did not wastewith our Indian allies; we just stayed long enough for civility and the procuring of a couple of canoes and rowers to ease the burden in our pinnace Then we set off up-stream An under-chief came with us, and he was to obtain carriers for our booty and provisions at the last village before we should be forced to quit the river and take to the forests andso quickly as we purposed at the first News of our victories over the detested Dons had spread like a fire through the isthifts, and sue for our protection The whole land wanted to shelter beneath the banner of St George, and our eastward voyage was a sort of triumphal procession This was all very pleasant, but 'twas dallying with danger The Spaniards were acquainted with our doings--the captains of the rifled shi+ps would tell theued that if every petty Indian chief knew exactly where to meet us, then assuredly the Dons must be aware of our route also However, 'tis hard to make victors cautious We had a hearty conteive the in a fool's paradise, surrounded by ad Indians, and so laden with booty and presents that we could only move at a snail's pace
”One day a native runner cae with the news that a force of a hundred Spaniards, well arer for us to stay andus help if ould do so Oxenhaht it wiser to get back to his shi+p and sail for home; our spoil was too precious to be risked, and was a te to a place where two streams entered thethus to baffle pursuit, for our real path lay along the main streaht The Dons ca of the ways, and were nonplussed as to our route They had decided to follow the main stream, and were seated in their canoes ready to resume the pursuit, when a bunch of plucked feathers came down the smallest strea, and souessed that these were evidence that we had prepared food soh the forest coht well, and our Indian friends proved no cowards Fifty of us, fairly well laden with gold, got away, and after a toilsome march reached the place where our shi+p had been hidden--only to find it gone!