Under Drake's Flag: A Tale of the Spanish Main Read online

  Upon making inquiries, Ned Hearne found that Captain Drake had,upon the return of his expedition, set aside the shares of theprize money of Gerald Summers, himself, and the men who were lostin the wreck of the prize, in hopes that they would some day returnto claim them. Upon the evidence given by Gerald and himself of thedeath of the others, their shares were paid, by the bankers atPlymouth who had charge of them, to their families; while Ned andGerald received their portions.

  Owing to the great mortality which had taken place among the crews,each of the lads received a sum of nearly a thousand pounds, thetotal capture amounting to a value of over a million of money. Asboys, they each received the half of a man's share. The officers,of course, had received larger shares; and the merchants who hadlent money to get up the expedition gained large profits.

  Ned thought, at first, of embarking his money in the purchase of ashare in a trading vessel, and of taking to that service; but,hearing that Captain Drake intended to fit out another expedition,he decided to wait for that event, and to make one more voyage tothe Spanish main, before determining on his future course. Having,therefore, his time on his hands, he accepted the invitation of theparents of his three boy friends, Tom Tressilis, Gerald Summers,and Reuben Gail. He was most warmly welcomed, for both Tom andGerald declared that they owed their lives to him. He spent severalweeks at each of their homes, and then returned to Plymouth, wherehe put himself into the hands of a retired master mariner, to learnnavigation and other matters connected with his profession, andoccupied his spare time in studying the usual branches of agentleman's education.

  It was some months before Captain Francis returned from Ireland,but when he did so, he at once began his preparations for his nextvoyage. The expedition was to be on a larger scale than that inwhich he had formerly embarked, for he had formed the resolve tosail round Cape Horn, to coast along north to the Spanishsettlements upon the great ocean he had seen from the tree top inthe Isthmus of Darien; and then, if all went well, to sail stillfurther north, double the northern coasts of America, and to findsome short way by which English ships might reach the Pacific.These projects were, however, known to but few, as it wasconsidered of the utmost importance to prevent them from beingnoised abroad, lest they might come to the ears of the Spaniards,and so put them upon their guard.

  In spite of the great losses of men upon the former expedition, thenumber of volunteers who came forward, directly Captain Drake'sintention to sail again to the Indies was known, was greatly inexcess of the requirements. All, however, who had sailed upon thelast voyage, and were willing again to venture, were enrolled, andCaptain Drake expressed a lively pleasure at meeting Ned Hearne andGerald Summers, whom he had given up as lost.

  The expenses of the expedition were defrayed partly from the fundsof Captain Drake and his officers, partly by moneys subscribed bymerchants and others who took shares in the speculation. These weretermed adventurers. Ned embarked five hundred pounds of his prizemoney in the venture, as did each of his three friends.

  He was now nineteen, and a broad, strongly-built young fellow. Hisfriends were all somewhat older, and all four were entered byCaptain Francis as men, and ranked as "gentlemen adventurers," andwould therefore receive their full share of prize money.

  On the 12th of November, 1577, the fleet sailed out of PlymouthSound amid the salutes of the guns of the fort there. It consistedof five ships: the Pelican, of 100 tons, the flagship, commanded byCaptain General Francis Drake; the Elizabeth, 80 tons, Captain JohnWinter; the Marigold, a barque of 30 tons, Captain John Thomas; theSwan, a flyboat of 50 tons, Captain John Chester; and theChristopher, a pinnace of 15 tons, Captain Thomas Moore.

  The voyage began unfortunately, for, meeting a headwind, they wereforced to put into Falmouth, where a tempest ill-treated themsorely. Some of the ships had to cut away their masts, and thewhole were obliged to put back into Plymouth, to refit, enteringthe harbor in a very different state to that in which they had leftit, a fortnight before. Every exertion was made and, after a fewdays' delay, the fleet again set sail.

  They carried an abundance of stores, of all kinds, together withlarge quantities of fancy articles, as presents for the savagepeople whom they might meet in their voyaging. The second start wasmore prosperous than the first and, after touching at variouspoints on the west coast of Africa, they shaped their way to themouth of the La Plata, sailing through the Cape de Verde Islands,where their appearance caused no slight consternation among thePortuguese. However, as they had more important objects in view,they did not stop to molest any of the principal towns, onlylanding at quiet bays to procure a fresh supply of water, and toobtain fruit and vegetables, which in those days, when ships onlycarried salt provisions, were absolutely necessary to preserve thecrews in health. All were charmed with the beauty and fertility ofthese islands, which were veritable gardens of tropical fruits, andthey left these seas with regret.

  The fleet reached the La Plata in safety, but made no long staythere; for the extreme shallowness of the water, and the frequencyand abundance of the shoals in the river, made the admiral fear forthe safety of his ships; and accordingly, after a few days' rest,the anchors were weighed and the fleet proceeded down the coast.For some time they sailed without adventure, save that once ortwice, in the storms they encountered, one or other of the shipswere separated from the rest.

  After several weeks' sailing, they put into the Bay of SaintJulian, on the coast of Patagonia. Here the crews landed to obtainwater. Soon the natives came down to meet them. These were tall,active men, but yet far from being the giants which the Spaniardshad represented them, few of them being taller than a tallEnglishman. They were dressed in the scantiest clothing--the menwearing a short apron made of skin, with another skin as a mantleover one shoulder; the women wearing a kind of petticoat, made ofsoft skin. The men carried bows and arrows and spears, and werepainted strangely--one half the head and body being painted white,the other black. Their demeanor was perfectly friendly, and CaptainDrake, fearing no harm, walked some distance inland, and many ofthose not engaged in getting water into the boats also strolledaway from the shore.

  Among those who rambled farthest were Ned and Tom Tressilis,together with another gentleman adventurer, named Arbuckle. Whenthey left Captain Francis, the armorer, who had brought a bow onshore with him, was showing the natives how much farther ourEnglish bow could carry than the native weapon.

  Wondering what the country was like beyond the hills, the littleparty ascended the slope. Just as they reached the top, they hearda shout. Looking back, they saw that all was confusion.

  The string of the armorer's bow had snapped, and the natives,knowing nothing of guns, believed that the party were now unarmed.As the armorer was restringing his bow, one of the natives shot anarrow at him, and he fell, mortally wounded. One standing near nowraised his arquebus; but before he could fire, he too was piercedby two arrows, and fell dead. The admiral himself caught up thearquebus, and shot the man who had first fired.

  The little party on the hill had been struck with amazement andconsternation at the sudden outburst, and were recalled to a senseof their danger by the whiz of an arrow, which struck MasterArbuckle in the heart; and at the same moment a dozen of thesavages made their appearance, from among the trees below them.Seeing the deadliness of their aim, and that he and Tom would beshot down at once, before they could get to close quarters, Nedturned to fly.

  "Quick, Tom, for your life!"

  Fortunately, they stood on the very top of the ascent, so that asingle bound backwards took them out of sight and range of theirenemies. There was a wood a few hundred yards inland, apparently ofgreat extent, and towards this the lads ran at the top of theirspeed. The savages had to climb the hill and, when they reached itscrest, the fugitives were out of bow-shot range.

  A yell broke from them as they saw the lads, but these had made thebest use of their time, and reached the wood some two hundred yardsahead of their pursuers. Ned dashed into the undergrowth and torehis way thr
ough it, Tom close at his heels. Sometimes they came toopen spaces, and here each time Ned changed the direction of theirflight, choosing spots where they could take to the underwoodwithout showing any sign, such as broken boughs, of their entrance.

  After an hour's running the yells and shouts, which had at firstseemed close behind, gradually lessened, and were now but faintlyheard. Then, utterly exhausted, the lads threw themselves on theground. In a few minutes, however, Ned rose again.

  "Come, Tom," he said, "we must keep on. These fellows will trace uswith the sagacity of dogs; but, clever as they may be, it takestime to follow a track. We must keep on now. When it gets dark,which will be in another hour or so, they will be able to follow usno longer, and then we can take it easily."

  "Do as you think best, Ned. You are accustomed to this kind ofthing."

  Without another word they started off at a run again, keeping asnearly as they could a straight course; for Ned's experience inforest life enabled him to do this, when one unused to woodcraftwould have lost all idea of direction. The fact, however, that themosses grew on the side of the trees looking east, was guide enoughfor him; for he knew that the warm breezes from the sea wouldattract them, while the colder inland winds would have an oppositeeffect.

  Just as it was getting dark they emerged from the wood, and couldsee, stretching far before them, an undulating and almost treelesscountry.

  "Fortunately there has been no rain for some time, and the groundis as hard as iron," Ned said. "On the damp soil under the treesthey will track our steps, but we shall leave no marks here; and inthe morning, when they trace us to this spot, they will be atfault."

  So saying, he struck off across the country. For some hours theywalked, the moon being high and enabling them to make their waywithout difficulty. At last they came upon a clump of bushes, andhere Ned proposed a halt. Tom was perfectly ready, for they had nowwalked and run for many hours, and both were thoroughly fatigued;for after so long a voyage, in a small ship, they were out ofcondition for a long journey on foot.

  "The first thing to do is to light a fire," Ned said; "for it isbitterly cold."

  "But how do you mean to light it?"

  "I have flint and steel in my pouch," Ned said, "and a flask ofpowder, for priming my pistols, in my sash here. It is a pity,indeed, we did not put our pistols into our belts when we cameashore. But even if I had not had the flint and steel, I could havemade a fire by rubbing two dead sticks together. You forget, I havelived among savages for a year."

  "You don't think that it is dangerous to light a fire?"

  "Not in the least. It was dark when we left the wood, and they musthave halted on our track, far back among the trees, to follow it upby daylight. Besides, we have walked five hours since then, andmust be twenty miles away, and we have crossed five or six hills.Find a few dead sticks and I will pull a handful or two of driedgrass. We will soon have a fire."

  Ned made a little pile of dried grass, scooped out a slightdepression at the top, and placed a dead leaf in it. On this hepoured a few grains of powder, added a few blades of dried grass,and then set to work with his flint and steel. After a blow or two,a spark fell into the powder. It blazed up, igniting the blades ofgrass and the leaf, and in a minute the little pile was in a blaze.Dried twigs, and then larger sticks were added, and soon a brightfire burned up.

  "Throw on some of the green bush," Ned said. "We do not want ablaze, for although we have thrown out the fellows in pursuit ofus, there may be others about."

  "And now, Ned," Tom said, after sitting for some time gazing intothe red fire, "what on earth are we to do next?"

  "That is a question more easily asked than answered," Ned said,cheerfully. "We have saved our skins for the present, now we havegot to think out what is the best course to pursue."

  "I don't see any way to get back to the ship," Tom said, after along pause. "Do you?"

  "No," Ned replied. "I don't, Tom. These savages know that they havecut us off, and will be on the watch, you may be sure. They shootso straight, with those little bows and arrows of theirs, that weshould be killed without the least chance of ever getting to closequarters. Besides, the admiral will doubtless believe that we havebeen slain, and will sail away. We may be sure that he beat off thefellows who were attacking him, but they will all take to thewoods, and he would never be able to get any distance among thetrees. Besides, he would give up all hope of finding us there. Asto our getting back through the wood, swarming with savages, itseems to me hopeless."

  "Then whatever is to become of us?" Tom asked, hopelessly.

  "Well, the lookout is not bright," Ned said thoughtfully, "butthere is a chance for us. We may keep ourselves by killing wildanimals, and by pushing inland we may come upon some people lesstreacherous and bloody than those savages by the seashore. If so,we might hunt and live with them."

  Tom groaned.

  "I am not sure that I would not rather be killed at once, than goon living like a savage."

  "The life is not such a bad one," Ned said. "I tried it once, andalthough the negroes and Indians of Porto Rico were certainly avery different people to these savages, still the life led on thesegreat plains and hills, abounding with game, is more lively thanbeing cooped up in a wood, as I was then. Besides, I don't meanthat we should be here always. I propose that we try and cross thecontinent. It is not so very wide here, and we are nearly in a linewith Lima. The admiral means to go on there, and expects a richbooty. He may be months before he gets round the Horn, and if wecould manage to be there when he arrives, we should be rescued. Ifnot, and I own that I have not much hope of it, we could at leastgo down to Lima some time or other. I can talk Spanish now veryfairly, and we shall have such a lot of adventures to tell that,even if they do not take us for Spanish sailors, as we can try tofeign, they will not be likely to put us to death. They would do soif we were taken in arms as buccaneers; but, coming in peaceably,we might be kindly treated. At any rate, if we get on well with theIndians we shall have the choice of making, some day or other, forthe Spanish settlements on the west coast; but that is all in thedistance. The first thing will be to get our living, somehow; thesecond to get further inland; the third to make friends with thefirst band of natives we meet. And now, the best thing to do is togo off to sleep. I shall not be many minutes, I can tell you."

  Strange as was the situation, and many the perils that threatenedthem, both were in a few minutes fast asleep. The sun was risingabove the hills when, with a start, they awoke and at once sprangto their feet, and instinctively looked round in search ofapproaching danger. All was, however, quiet. Some herds of deergrazed in the distance, but no other living creature was visible.

  Then they turned their eyes upon each other, and burst into asimultaneous shout of laughter. Their clothes were torn literallyinto rags, by the bushes through which they had forced their way;while their faces were scratched, and stained with blood, from thesame cause.

  "The first thing to be done," Ned said, when the laugh was over,"is to look for a couple of long springy saplings, and to make bowsand arrows. Of course they will not carry far, but we might knockdown any small game we come across."

  Both lads were good shots with a bow, for in those days, althoughfirearms were coming in, all Englishmen were still trained in theuse of the bow.

  "But what about strings?" Tom asked.

  "I will cut four thin strips from my belt," Ned said. "Each pair,tied together, will make a string for a five-foot bow, and will befully strong enough for any weapon we shall be able to make."

  After an hour's walk, they came to a small grove of trees growingin a hollow. These were of several species and, trying thebranches, they found one kind which was at once strong andflexible. With their hangers, or short swords, they cut down asmall sapling of some four inches in diameter, split it up, paredeach half down, and manufactured two bows; which were rough,indeed, but sufficiently strong to send an arrow a considerabledistance. They then made each a dozen shafts, pointed and notchedthem. Withou
t feathers, or metal points, these could not flystraight to any distance; but they had no thought of long-rangeshooting.

  "Now," Ned said, "we will go back to that bare space of rock wepassed, a hundred yards back. There were dozens of little lizardsrunning about there, it will be hard if we cannot knock some over."

  "Are they good to eat?" Tom asked.

  "I have no doubt they are," Ned said. "As a rule, everything ismore or less good to eat. Some things may be nicer than others, buthardly anything is poisonous. I have eaten snakes, over and overagain, and very good they are. I have been keeping a lookout forthem, ever since we started this morning."

  When they reached the rock, the lizards all darted off to theircracks and crevices; but Ned and Tom lay down, with their bows bentand arrows in place, and waited quietly. Ere long the lizardspopped up their heads again, and began to move about, and the ladsnow let fly their arrows. Sometimes they hit, sometimes missed, andeach shot was followed by the disappearance of the lizards; butwith patience they found, by the end of an hour, that they had shota dozen, which was sufficient for an ample meal for them.

  "How will you cook them, Ned?"

  "Skin them as if they were eels, and then roast them on a stick."

  "I am more thirsty than hungry," Tom said.

  "Yes, and from the look of the country, water must be scarce.However, as long as we can shoot lizards and birds, we can drinktheir blood."

  The fire was soon lighted, and the lizards cooked. They tasted likelittle birds, their flesh being tender and sweet.

  "Now we had better be proceeding," Ned said, when they had finishedtheir meal. "We have an unknown country to explore and, if we everget across, we shall have materials for yarns for the rest of ourlives."

  "Well, Ned, I must say you are a capital fellow to get into ascrape with. You got Gerald and me out of one, and if anyone couldget through this, I am sure you could do so. Gerald told me that healways relied upon you, and found you always right. You may be surethat I will do the same. So I appoint you captain general of thisexpedition, and promise to obey all orders, unquestioningly."

  "Well, my first order is," Ned said, laughing, "that we each make agood pike. The wood we made our bows from will do capitally, and wecan harden the points in the fire. We may meet some wild beasts,and a good, strong six-foot pike would be better than our swords."

  Two hours' work completed the new weapons, and with their bowsslung at their backs, and using their pikes as walking staves,they again set out on their journey across the continent.

  Chapter 11: The Marvel of Fire.