CHAPTER XVII.
AN ALARM FROM THE "FURIE."
Now, it would be useless, as well as tedious to my hand, for me to write down all the little incidents that took place on board our ship day by day, and likewise to keep accounts of every ounce of silver brought up from the rich mine we had discovered. Moreover, I have weighty matters to write about-which shall be the very things to advantage those who come after me when they read this-so at once I begin again.
And, therefore, I now proceed to say that ere we had been many days at our dredging and fishing, it was come to bringing of the silver up by tons, so that, at last, our Furie began to sink low in the water until she almost touched the reef herself, and we became obliged to discard all ballast and use the silver in its place! I do not say that tons came up daily-since, indeed, twenty sows of about fifty to fifty-five pounds each was our usual haul, but we reckon'd now by tons. And so well had I made my calculations that I considered there to be in all thirty-two tons of silver, and this was what it eventually turned out to be. Now, since silver was worth in the London market at this time sixty pence an ounce, it was therefore very easy for us to reckon what our find would be worth when we had got all, exclusive of the jewels, wrought plate, and other things.
So that, as Phips said, we must one way or another take back with us something between one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand pounds' worth.
"Which," says he, "will be very good for all of us, especially for you and me, Nick. Perhaps, indeed, we need never go to sea again, though I think we both love it dearly."
Though that Phips should ever cease from wreck fishing or treasure hunting I could not well believe, seeing that such things were ever in his mind. Even now, when we were doing so wondrous well, and were like to be, perhaps, the most notorious of finders ever known from any sunken ship-as, in truth, we did become-he was always a-pondering over other searches. Thus, he would ever be telling me that, not very far away from here, there had sunk the ship which was taking home Bobadilla, another Adelantado (but of Hispaniola), and that 'twas full of treasure gotten by him. Amongst other things which he said he knew there were, was a solid gold table of three thousand three hundred and ten pounds weight6 and much coin and jewels. And he talked of coming forth from England after he had once gotten this treasure of ours home, and seeking for that. But I told him-for we were now as intimate as brothers-that first let us finish this job, and then time enough to think of others.
Now, our next task was to get into the bullion room, and this we did after very considerable difficulties, seeing that those locks of which I spake were so extremely strong; but even they yielded to us at last, and we got to it. And, Lord! what a sight was there! The silver was packed in bars and sows and bags, tons and tons of it, so that verily I did come to think that our ship of two hundred tons would never move again, unless 'twere to sink, and that we should never get all up. Yet, as it did happen, what we found was less than our ballast, which for a two hundred ton ship is usually twenty-five tons of iron and thirty tons of shingle; so in that respect all went very well.
During all this time Alderly had been behaving in such a manner that there was no earthly fault to be found with him, and so, it is but just to say, had our Coromantee. They, the men of Provydence, helped at the hauling with a good will, working hard all day long, and singing cheerfully and pleasantly at night, and Alderly even went so far as to express himself satisfied enough with what was to be his portion, or percentum. For, he said-
"Never did I think there was aught like this in the ship, and, though I do see very well what I have lost, yet also do I see my gain, and shall go back to Nassau a very well satisfied honest man."
And his diver, who was a Bermudan, descended of the early English settlers in that island-which rich Mr. Waller, whom I had often seen about the late King's court, a gentleman and a poet, wrote so much about in its praise-certainly did do his very best, and so did the negro, both working under Woods. And in this way, though a careful watch was always kept on all that was found below the surface and all that came above, they did so manage to delude us and throw dust into our eyes, that-but this you shall find later. They were villains all, and they deceived us, yet at last a righteous vengeance was had of them. So I go on.
Now it came about at this time that we ran short of fresh water-which in such a tropic place is above all things the first necessity of man-and so it was arranged that I should take the tender and go to our isle in charge of her, leaving Phips to do as he had ever been doing, namely, superintending the bringing up of the plate to the surface. In my place as chief diver, or officer in charge of the divers, there was to go down our bos'un, a worthy, honest man, who could be trusted in all. The tender was-as Heaven would have it, and as 'twas afterwards most providentially proved-a very fast, swift sailer, and was a Dutch galliot that had come to Porto, and had been seized for debt by the man from whom we bought her. Also she was armed, or rather fit to be armed, having cannon-ports in her sides capable of taking small cannon, and, as we never trusted in this region to chance, I took with me four of our little guns, a swivel gun, and, of course, our muskets. As you shall see, 'twas well I did. They were soon to be wanted.
So we parted from our companions, to be gone from them for two or three days at most, yet there were some of us never more to meet in this world. So I parted from my tried friend and comrade, Phips, thinking that we should sail home together as we had sailed out-yet, alas! but little more was I to set eyes upon him in this world neither. Both of us were to succeed and prosper-though he to die young-yet were we only to come together once again for a short time. Yet, why digress from my story? Better to go straightforward and plain, and so make an ending.
We reached our little isle, and rounding the point to get to our old landing place, lost sight of the Furie, and, taking the boat after we had anchored her in "Safety Cove," as we called it, all went ashore but two, being right glad to once more step on land for a stretch. We meant that day, by Phips' leave, to take our ease, to lie about, and to gather some of the sweet fruits that therein do grow, and to catch some fish to take back to our comrades. Then, the next day, we did intend to fill up our casks, cut some wood for the cook's galley, and so back. And this we did do, getting yams and shaddocks, and so forth-and catching of many pounds of what in these parts are called mullets, though, indeed, they are full-sized trouts, and many crayfish and some soft-shell'd crabs. So the day went and we lay down to sleep.
And on the next we fished again and gathered more fruits; we filled all our casks and carried them in the boat to the galliot; we cut and corded of the wood, and made all ready for rejoining the Furie at daybreak, since on that burning sea the first two hours of day are best and coolest. Then the muskettoes are, I think, not awake, the sun is not so fierce as later, the air is cool and fresh, with generally a soft pleasant wind. So that second night, ere we lay down, we put in all our fruits, our ananas, bananas, toronias, limes, and wild apricots, as well as some wild parrots we had shot, which are sweet and good eating, and then all was done and we distributed ourselves for taking of our rest. Only we set a watch, there being six of us in all, and so broke the night into three, I and a young lad taking the first watch.
'Twas eleven of the clock, as we made it by the nearly full moon, when we were relieved, and all was most calm and peaceful. The birds of the isle were all long since hushed to rest, and even the insects that do here abound disturbed us not. So I and the boy lay ourselves down, and soon we were asleep.
How long I so slept I knew not, yet 'twas not day when I awoke, springing up as did the others, all as though shot, while the watch came running to us. For through the calm night air-or, rather, that of the morning, for the chill told us the dayspring was nigh-there had come the loud booming of a cannon-Once, twice! "What did it mean?" we asked each other, with wonder starting from our fresh opened eyes. "What did it mean?" and then all with one voice we exclaimed, "'Tis from the Furie! from the Furie!"
So, swift as we could run, down we got to the boat, and so by threes to the galliot-for although we heard no more cannon, we knew that our place was in the ship at such a time-and getting to her and all in at last, we dragged up her anchor, pulled in the boat, and, to the fresh breeze arising with the coming day, shook out her main, her mizen, and her gaff-main sail. And so out of the cove and away.
And as we did so, up over the trees of the little isle there went from the neighbourhood of where the Furie lay two bright blue rockets, which, as Phips and I had agreed upon, should be the signal for our immediate return, as well as to warn us to be ready for danger.
CHAPTER XVIII.
TREACHERY AND FLIGHT
"What can it mean?" the sailors asked of one another as we got into the open, while, for myself, I was as lost in wonderment as it was possible to be. Naturally, my first thought was that the Furie had been attacked by either the Spanish or the French, the first from St. Dominic, or the latter from Aittii. Yet I knew not either how this could be, since the sound we had heard was that of our own cannon, which I knew well enough, we having practised all of them considerably on our voyage out. Moreover, two cannon shots, and that from one side only, do not make a battle, so I was sorely puzzled as I stood at the tiller of the galliot.
Yet when we had rounded the point, 'twas pretty easy to perceive what had happened.
For in the rays of the waning moon we did see that the Provydence ship had got away from the Furie, and that, with all her sails filled, she was shaping her course to the south-east. And in another moment also did we see that the Snow's trysail mast was shotted away-broken off clean down, leaving but a short stump, and with the sail itself all a-dragging in the water. And now from us, as we headed for the Furie, arose a babble of talk and questionings as to what this must mean, while all of us decided that, at least in some way, these scoundrels had managed to steal some of the sows of silver, or the bars or bags, and to get away from our bark in the night.
But ere long we knew how much far worse than these things were; we knew that we had been robbed of a terrible deal of what was ours. And soon, too, we knew it.
For when our course was still set dead for the Furie, we did see coming towards us with great swiftness one of the cotton-wood canoes we had made-under Phips' direction and partly with his own hands-and in it three of our men, who instantly signalled to us that we should come about and pick them up, for, calls out one to me-
"You must away, sir, at once after those villains, and we are to go with you to help. For they have robbed us, the thieves, oh! treacherously! They are, after all, but buccaneers from the Provydence in the Gulf."
So, much startled, we did bring ourselves to, putting our foremast aback, and throwing off a line to the canoe, and so had them all soon aboard, and then, losing no time, away after the Snow we went, while from the Furie we saw Phips standing on the poop a-waving of his hands as though in encouragement or farewell, and from her there did, come a ringing English cheer.
And now we were to hear a story indeed of treachery unequalled, of villainy extreme. For it appeared, as I did gather from our bos'un, who had come to join us with the other two, that these scoundrels had all along been a-planning of their scheme; and thus it happened.
After we had sailed for the isle, it seems that the bullion room was rapidly emptied of the plate, so that, at last, there was gotten up thirty-two tons in all, and then 'twas perceived that below the sows and bars there was still much else, so that the place was a very treasure-hold of wealth. For there were more bags of gold pieces and more of silver, which were at once took up into the Furie-and then underneath them there were two chests marked with the names of the Adelantado and of his wife. And feeling sure, as they did, that herein must be great wealth, the curiosity of the bos'un-as, wringing his hands, he did tell me-was too great for him, and so, not being a discreet man, which neither was Woods, they opened of the chests and saw in them a startling sight. For there, free now from the layers in which once they had without doubt been enveloped, they did perceive jewels of all kinds, pearls, diamonds, the blue sapphires, and much else. Then alarmed at having so looked, they decided that they must not tell the Captain of their curiosity, for fear of punishment. And neither did they tell him (which, if done, might have saved all that followed) that both the Black and the Provydence diver had seen anything. So, saying only to Phips that such chests were down there, they said no more, and arrangements were made that on the morrow all should be brought up. And this, 'twas thought, should finish off the fishing, and soon we should be ready for home. But alas! how far off from that were we now.
Therefore, since the plate was being got up on the first day we were away in the tender, which was the galliot, and also on the second, it came to be that the chests of which I speak were but discovered too late that second day to be brought up. Now, on that night the watch forward was kept by the negro, Juan, and the after-watch by a sailor, who was a dull-pated, heavy fellow, of little use in a ship at any time and one who ought never to have been with us. And, as it was discovered later, Juan had been plying this man with drink which he had concealed, so that on his watch-as though his stupidity was not enough-the fellow was flustered and sleepy.
At midnight Phips went to his cabin all being well, and the master's mate came forth to take his place-and, terrible to relate, from that time never was he heard of nor seen again. The bos'un who told me all this said he thought either that the Coromantee murdered him, or that one of the crew from the Etoyle got aboard and did do that office; but, any way, he disappeared. Perhaps he was first stunned and then given to the sharks. Who knows? – leastways, there was no sign of blood.
Then, next, it would seem that from the far side of the Etoyle the diver of that ship must have been most quietly lowered into the water, must have passed under our forefoot-I mean of the Furie-and thence to the bullion room of the wreck, and so fastened the lines to the chests that, with his own help below, they could easily get them up to the Etoyle.
And then, when this was done, there was but to get up sail as quick as possible, and away. And that was not so hard of accomplishing as a sailor might think. For, firstly, the Etoyle was not anchored, but moored and made fast to the Furie, so that, while all were asleep below, and while the master mate was murdered and gone, the after-watch drunk and stupid, and the fore-watch a traitor and conspirator, that Snow might very easily be unmoored. Therefore, it was but to get up the sails and catch the fast rising morning breeze, and so off and away. Moreover, so deeply was the plot laid, that, as 'twas found shortly, the door of the captain's cabin was made fast from the outside, the ladder was set loose of the main hatch, so that, when the men came tumbling up, it shifted, and they came tumbling down instead, and two of the cannon's touch-holes were spiked. Yet, whoever was the wretch who did all this, still was he a fool likewise, since in his haste he had not spiked the cannon that gave on the bow from which the Etoyle must move, but on the other.
But now, as they brailed up their sails they could not disguise the noise they made, and in a moment Phips heard them, being ever on the alert, and was at his door, sword in one hand and pistol in the other, to get out. And, said the bos'un to me, his cries were terrifying to hear when he did discover how he was trapped. First he smashed with his fists a panel, all the while he was roaring for his men to come and set him free, and also for his poor dead master's mate, and then he flung himself against the door with such fury that it gave way, and out he came.
"He look't, sir," said the bos'un to me, as he told all this while we were tearing through the water after the buccaneers, who I did see sorrowfully were gaining on us, "he look't like a demoniac. And when he saw that the Etoyle was already under weigh, his rage was such as mortal man might indeed fear to see."
It appeared from this man's account that Phips in his madness discharged his pistol at Alderly, who was on the poop, and miss't him, whereupon Alderly returned his fire, missing also; that next the captain called for the gunner, who could not get his linstock ready all at once, and by this time the sails of the Etoyle had caught the breeze and she was under weigh.
"Haste! haste! man," cries Phips to the gunner, now running with his light, and snatching it from his hand applies it to the breech himself, doing no harm with his shot; and then the gunner, having trained the next gun better on to the fugitives, they did hit their trysail. This impeded them somewhat, though not sufficient to prevent them getting away.
And then, the bos'un went on to tell me, Phips roared for the watch, calling them, as was his wont in an emergency, dogs and traitors, and soon learnt that the poor master's mate was slaughtered, or, at least, had disappeared.
"And," went on our informant, "then we all trembled. For while the tears sprang to his eyes, which in an instant he dashed away, he said also, in now a very low voice which seem'd mighty ominous, 'And the other watch? The fore and aft watch. Where are they? Bring them to me.'"
Then, with a howl, the Coromantee sprang forward-wringing his hands, imploring pardon, saying he too had been deceived by Alderly, who had drugged him.
"Ay!" says Phips, between his teeth, while as he spake he shook the powder into the pan of his pistol-"Ay! no doubt. Deceived by Alderly. because he got away and left you behind for me to slay you."
"No, no!" yelled the brute. "No, no! Signor Capitan. No, Signor Phips, no slay me!" and he clutched, said the bos'un, at Phips' legs and tried to seize his pistol hand.
"Ay, but I will, though," said Phips. – "No man betrays me twice;" whereupon he drew back from the howling wretch, and seizing his wool by one hand blew out his brains with the other, so that the deck was all bespattered with them.
"Fling him over," said Phips, "and swab up the mess, and now bring forth the other. Meanwhile, where is Crafer with the tender? She should be round the point by now."
Then they brought forth that other poor crazed traitor-weeping and sobbing with despair, and shrieking as he saw the great negro's dead body-and to him strides Phips, his sword in hand.
"You dog," says he, "you have betrayed us too. So must you die also. They say you drank with the Coromantee and slept on your watch. Therefore, to the yard-arm with him."
'Midst his shrieks and howls they dragged him away, calling on his mother's name, which softened Phips so much that, the bos'un said, he seemed at one time like to spare him, only he remembered all he had been robbed of. And then, ere the man was executed, the boat was lowered that was to bring them to us in the galliot, and so they came away.
"And," said Phips to the bos'un, "tell Mr. Crafer that so long as his galliot will swim, so long as there is a man left alive in it, so long as he can sail, fight, or move, he is to follow those buccaneers-even though it be into their stronghold. And while there is one of you left alive, that one is to attempt it, and is to get back the stolen treasure. And then, when that is done, the rendezvous shall be Portsmouth town, to which those of you who live must find your way back somehow. Now go; do your duty, commend me to Nicholas Crafer and tell him to do his. And more, say that at the sign of the 'Navy Tavern' I will leave word for him or he for me-whoever by God's grace reaches there first. And reach it I pray we all may do."
Such was the message brought to me, this the duty I had to perform, this the errand on which now we sped. Ahead of us, and still gaining on us, went the Snow, Etoyle, with the buccaneering thieves on board, and with them a fourth of our treasure; behind us slowly faded into dimness the reef and the Furie moored fast to it. That Phips himself would have given chase had he been able, was certain-only, before he could have got under weigh the buccaneers would have been out of sight. For nought was ready, the plate was not bestowed away, the sails were unbent and all in disorder.
So, instead, 'twas I got the commission to chase those thieves, to follow them to their lair, and to wrench back from them the stolen goods. And as the galliot danced along, following the course they had betaken-which was now set due east, so that I could not but think they did mean to 'bout ship shortly and run for Porto Rico, or, perhaps, one of the Virgin Isles-I took a solemn and a fervent oath that never would I fail in my endeavour while life lasted to me. If I could catch and defeat those thieves, I swore to do it, and so upon that I set myself to see to the arrangements necessary in our small craft, and to make all ready for what might be before us.