Percy F. Westerman – The Complete Collection

Chapter 11

"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?"

I replied that I was well enough to go, and reluctantly I turned back.

Drake laid a hand on my shoulder. "Never heed, Aubrey," said he sympathetically. "'Tis better to return with a gashed hand like yours. But I'll tell you all when we come back."

Slowly I went till I reached the edge of the wood. Then I lingered, watching the party make the ascent, which they did speedily and without further mishap. Then I heard their footsteps die away as they plunged through the thick underwood, and I was alone.

The path, by reason of the numbers that had but recently passed, was now well-defined, and I had no difficulty in finding it. Dommett, the boatkeeper, received me without signs of surprise, and on telling him of my misadventure, he merely ejaculated a loud "Well done", which was a favourite expression of his, no matter what caused him to make it, insomuch that on board he was dubbed by his messmates "Well done Dommett".

However, he bathed my hand in seawater, although the salt did make it smart mightily, and, tying it with a strip of wet linen, he told me to keep quiet, so as not unduly to excite my head, which was by now throbbing like to burst.

Throughout the forenoon Dommett smoked a short black pipe incessantly, though he kept his eyes shifting, looking frequently for signals from the Gannet and the island, both towards the path and along the shore.

There was no sign or sound till about one hour after noon, when we both heard a faint noise like a musket being fired afar off. We listened alertly, but no other sound was heard.

"'Tis one of the men who has fallen over his piece, perchance," remarked the sailor as he refilled his pipe, ramming the weed down with his little finger.

Hardly had he made the flint and steel to work when there was another noise, like the distant crashing of brushwood. The sound came nearer, so we both stood up, the boat-keeper thrusting an oar into the water so as to keep the longboat off shore.

Nearer came the sound, till at length a man appeared, torn and bleeding, and spent with running. It was one of the Gannet's men--the bos'n's mate,--and, throwing himself into the boat, he lay like a log.

"Pull yourself together, man," shouted Dommett, shaking the man in his anxiety. "What's amiss? What's amiss?"

"Push off for your life!" he panted. "It's all up; we are all undone!"

This was all he could say. Nevertheless we shoved off, and waited at about a boat's length from the mouth of the creek--waited for any stragglers who might appear.

Nevertheless no more of our men appeared, though a musket was fired at us from the brushwood, followed by an irregular volley. At the whiz of the bullets, though they passed well above us, I threw myself on the bottom of the boat; but the firing had the opposite effect on the bos'n's mate, for, cursing horribly, he raised himself and seized an oar. Dommett had already done likewise, and before the volley could be repeated we were well out of range, though throughout the whole time we were under fire the man still kept his pipe firmly between his teeth.

Then they called upon me to take an oar, and feeling miserably ashamed of myself I got up, and, as well as my hand would allow, I rowed with them. By a special providence we made the gap between the reef in safety, then rowed slowly, for the longboat was an unwieldy craft, towards the Gannet .

The master, perceiving that something was amiss, sent a boat to meet us, and on going on board we were surrounded by the anxious remainder of the crew.

The bos'n's mate told his tale, how that the expedition came across a flat piece of ground surrounded by steep rocks, like a basin. Here, the Portuguese said, was the spot where the treasure was buried. The men laid aside their arms, took their spades, and began to dig. Three feet down in the hard soil they went, but there was no sign of the treasure. Suddenly they heard a mocking laugh, and, looking up, saw that Pedro had slipped away and was jeering at them from the top of the rocks, and, what was more, he spoke like an Englishman, without any of his former accent. Captain Poynings, maddened by the man's treachery, fired a pistol at him, but without effect. The seamen looked around for their arms to give pursuit, but these had been stealthily removed, and instead they found themselves surrounded by at least a hundred armed scoundrels, who demanded that they should yield themselves. The bos'n's mate, however, having separated himself from the rest, took to his heels and fled for the boat, hotly pursued by half a dozen of the villains. He gained the longboat in safety, as I have said, and the fate of Captain Poynings and his men was still a mystery.

Shouts and threats came from the crew of the Gannet when they heard that their beloved captain and their comrades had been treacherously trapped. Some proposed that all hands should form an avenging landing party, but of this our lieutenant would not hear, as the nature of the island would be against open attack.

Several plans were discussed, with no good result, till there came a seaman, who offered to track the villains and try and discover the fate of our comrades. He was of New England, having joined us at the Bermudas on our voyage hither, and was skilled in savage warfare and woodcraft, for at one time he had been a member of the trainband of Salem, in New England, which town had oft been in jeopardy from the savages.

"Let me but land after it is night," said he, "and I'll warrant ye'll see me with news of some sort by noon to-morrow. If so be I do not return by that time, let the purser mark me off the books, 'D.D.' (Discharged--dead), and send what money should be owing to me to my wife at Providence, in Rhode Island."

This man's offer being accepted, and assurances given that his wishes should be carried out if he failed to return, we could do nothing but wait for nightfall.

Directly darkness set in we lowered a boat, the oars and tholes being muffled to deaden all sound. The New Englander had stripped, and had anointed himself from head to foot with a dark, offensive-smelling grease, which, he assured us, would keep him immune from insect bites, and at the same time render him nearly invisible.

Nimbly he lowered himself into the boat, where the men were waiting with tossed oars. Silently they shoved off, and were lost in the darkness; but in a quarter of an hour the boat returned, having gone as close as possible to the inner line of breakers, so that the man could with little difficulty swim ashore.

All night double watches were set, and the guns, double-shotted, were run out ready for instant use. Still, not a sound was heard to cause us alarm, only the dull roar of the surf both ahead and astern of us. It was a miserable, anxious night, for the disaster to our shipmates (we not knowing whether they were dead or alive) threw a gloom over the whole ship.

For my part I could not sleep, my hand paining me greatly, while I troubled deeply for my comrades, particularly my friend Greville Drake; so by choice I paced the deck the entire night, till with extraordinary suddenness day broke and the sun rose above the horizon.

The whole of the forenoon passed without incident, but just at midday the lookout perceived a man leaping across the rocks by the tree-fringed shore. It was the New England seaman.

Instantly a boat was lowered, and urged by lusty strokes headed straight for the shore. The man had thrown himself into the sea, and we could make out his head and shoulders as from time to time he appeared between the white masses of foam. He was an active and powerful swimmer, and gained the boat in safety, though probably it was well that the breakers had subsided somewhat.

His tale was soon told. Fearing to follow the path from the cove, since the villain might have set a guard there, he made his way through the undergrowth directly towards the centre and highest part of the island. Over and over again he had to attempt a fresh passage, the thickets proving too dense even for his accustomed skill. At length he came across a small stream, which he followed to its source, which afterwards proved to be not far from the spot where our men were surprised.

Here he concealed himself till daybreak, when he found himself practically overlooking the whole island. On the south side, opposite to where we were lying, he espied a cove, off which was anchored a craft which he declared was the same vessel as we had chased, and from which Pedro had thrown himself. Another hour's careful tracking brought him close to the creek, where he saw our comrades being escorted on board by the buccaneers in gangs, twenty-seven all told, so that they were apparently all alive and well. Then he made out a party of men coming down from the hillside, where they had been posted as rearguard, and with them was Pedro. They passed quite close to where he lay hid, and he could swear that Pedro was no more a Portuguese than he was.

Directly this last body of men embarked the sails were shaken out, and the swift buccaneering craft stood seaward. Having made sure that they had all embarked, the man returned by the beaten path, striking the north side of the island at the cove where we had landed. Thence he skirted the shore till we perceived him and sent off a boat.

The officers now debated as to the best course to pursue--whether to follow the buccaneer, which, undermanned as we were, was hazardous and reckless, or to return with all haste to Port Royal, report our loss, and join with the rest of the fleet in the capture of the insolent pirates.

The latter course was decided upon, but again ill fortune looked upon us. A strong southerly wind suddenly sprang up, and, though protected by the outer reef, we were on a lee shore. The master would not attempt to beat out through the gap in the reef, as his knowledge of the passage was none too good, neither could we kedge nor tow the Gannet against the wind. So we had perforce to remain weatherbound for seven long days, knowing full well that the same breeze that kept us prisoners within the reef was bearing the buccaneers away in safety.

When at length the wind veered sufficiently to enable the Gannet to sail close-hauled through the surf-encompassed passage, all plain sail was set, and back to Port Royal we sped.

Four days later the Gannet dropped anchor in the harbour, and with despondent mien the remaining officers went ashore to report the loss of the captain and his men. To their unbounded astonishment and delight they heard that Captain Poynings and his twenty-six companions were alive and well on board the Lizard , man-of-war, then lying off the castle.

Their adventures can best be described in the story that Drake told to me on the evening of the day that they rejoined the Gannet :

"You must know, Aubrey," said he, after telling me of their capture and forced embarkation on board the buccaneer's ship, "that this Pedro was in reality a Cornishman, and second in command to the renegade Captain Lewis, then lying under sentence of death at Port Royal. The whole of this bad business had been carefully planned by the villain, and easily we fell into the trap. Three days after we left the island the Sea Wolf , for such is the name of the buccaneer's ship, hove to in sight of Port Royal, and with the greatest audacity Pedro, or Red Peter, to give him the name he is generally known by, went ashore under a flag of truce, taking me with him as hostage. Would you believe it, he went straight to the castle and demanded to see the governor! Oddsfish! And his impudence took even the governor aback. 'I have on board,' quoth Red Peter, 'twenty-five officers and men of his Britannic Majesty's ship Gannet , not including this youngster (meaning me) and another; you have Captain Lewis and four other of our men. So, my lord, I think you'll see we hold a good balance in hand. Now, sink me! 'tis a fair exchange: give us the five and take your enterprising' (how he sneered when he said this) 'king's men unhurt, or else, for every man of ours who dances at the end of a rope, five of yours shall dangle from our yardarm. Come now, your answer?'