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

  The four boys, upon gaining the Pacha's deck, were taken below; andafter drink and food had been given them, were called to thecaptain's cabin. He spoke to them gravely, and inquired how it wasthat they had all got adrift, together. They told him thecircumstances, and said that they thought there was no chance ofany mishap occurring; the knot was well fastened, the night wascalm, and though they regretted much the pains and trouble whichthey had given, and the delay to which they had put the fleet, yetit did not appear to them, they said frankly, that they had been sovery much to blame, as they could hardly have believed that theboat would have broken afloat; and indeed, Ned said plainly, theybelieved that it was not the result of chance, but that an enemyhad done them an evil turn.

  "Why think you so?" Captain Drake said sharply. "How can boys likeyou have an enemy?"

  Gerald then detailed the account of their trouble with MasterTaunton.

  "He is a rough man," Captain Drake said, "and a violent man, maybe,but he is useful and brave. However, I will have reason with him.Of course it is a mere suspicion, but I will speak to my brother."

  When the boat had first come in sight, the Pacha had made thesignal to the Swanne that the boys were found, and that she was tokeep her course, drawing gradually alongside. Before dark thevessels were within hailing distance, and Captain Drake, lowering aboat, went himself on board the Swanne with the four lads. CaptainJohn was at the top of the ladder, and was about to rate themsoundly.

  Captain Francis said, "Let us talk together, John, first;" and herepaired with him to his cabin, while the crew swarmed round theboys, to gather an account of how they got adrift.

  Then Captain John appeared at the door of his cabin, and called forMaster Taunton, who went in and remained, for some time, inconverse with the two captains. Then he came out, looking surly andblack, and Captain Francis soon after issued out with his brother,walked round the ship, said a few cheery words to all the crew;and, with a parting laugh and word of advice to the boys, to bemore careful where they slept in future, descended the side andwent off to his ship again.

  Opinions were much mingled, on board the Swanne, as to whether theslipping of the knot had been the effect of accident or of an evilturn; however, the boys said little about it, and endeavored, sofar as might be, to let it pass as an accident. They felt that thematter between themselves and Master Taunton had already gone toofar for their safety and comfort. They doubted not that he had beenreprimanded by the admiral, as well as by Captain John, and thatthey had earned his hatred; which, although it might slumber for awhile, was likely to show itself again, when a chance might occur.

  Not wishing to inflame farther his fury against them, theyabstained from giving such a complexion to their tale as might seemto cast a suspicion upon him. Nevertheless there was a strongfeeling, amongst many of the crew, that Master Taunton must havehad a hand in the casting adrift of the boys; or that if he did nothimself do it, it had been done by one of the party who alwaysworked with him.

  Whatever the feelings of Giles Taunton might be, he kept them tohimself. He now never interfered with the boys, by word or deed,working sullenly and quietly at his craft as armorer The boys felttheir lives much lightened thereby, and now thoroughly enjoyed thevoyage.

  Although as boys it was not a part of their duty to go aloft, whichwas done by the regular sailors who were hired for the purpose, yetthey spent no small part of their time, when not engaged--and theirduties truly were but nominal--in going aloft, sliding down theropes, and learning to be thoroughly at home among the sails.

  Every day, too, there would be practices with arms. It was of theutmost importance that each man should be able to use sword and axewith the greatest skill; and on board each ship those who were bestskilled would exercise and give lessons to those who were lesspracticed with their arms; and, using wooden clubs in place ofboarding axes, they would much belabor each other, to the amusementof the lookers on. The boys were most assiduous at this kind ofwork. It was their highest ambition to become good swordsmen, andto have a chance of distinguishing themselves against theSpaniards; and so they practiced diligently, with point and edge.The knowledge of singlestick and quarterstaff still lingered, inthe country parts of England. They had all already some skill withthese, and picked up fast the use of the heavier, and more manlyarms.

  It was the end of July before they sighted land. Great was thedelight of all; for, cooped up in what were after all but narrowquarters, they longed for a sight of the green and beautifulforests, of which they had heard so much. They were still far fromthe destination which the admiral had marked as his base ofoperations. They cruised along for days, with the land often insight, but keeping for the most part a long distance out; for theyfeared that the knowledge of their coming might be carried, by thenatives, to the Spaniards in the towns; and that such preparationsmight be made as would render their journey fruitless.

  Near, however, to some of the smaller islands, which were known tobe uninhabited by Spaniards, the vessels went closely, and one daydropped anchor in a bay. They observed some natives on the shore,but the white men had so bad a name, caused by the cruelty of theSpaniards, that these withdrew hastily from sight. The captain,however, had a boat lowered; which, pulling towards shore, andwaving a white flag in token of amity, met with no resistance.There were on board some who could speak Spanish, and one of theseshouted aloud to the Indians to have no fear, for that they werefriends, and haters of the Spaniards; whereupon the natives cameout from the woods, and greeted them.

  They were a fine race of men, but gentle and timid in theirdemeanor They were copper in color, and wore headdresses of brightfeathers, but the men had but little other clothing; of which,indeed, in such a climate, there is but slight necessity.

  In exchange for some trifles from the ship they brought manybaskets of fruits, such as none of those who had fresh come fromEngland had ever before seen. Great was the joy on board ship,especially among the four boys, at the profusion of strange fruits;and they were seen, seated together, eating pineapples, bananas,and many other things of which they knew not so much as the name,but which they found delicious, indeed, after so long a voyage uponsalted food.

  Then, sailing on, they dropped anchor in the bay which CaptainDrake had himself christened, during his last voyage, PortPheasant; for they had killed many of this kind of bird there. Herethe admiral purposed waiting for a while, to refresh the crews andto put the pinnaces together. Accordingly the anchors were put out,and all was made snug.

  A boat's crew was sent on shore to see that all was safe, for therewas no saying where the Spaniards might be lurking. They returnedwith a great plate of lead, which they had found fastened to atree, close to the water's edge. Upon it were these words:

  "Captain Drake, if it is your fortune to come into this part, makehaste away; for the Spaniards which were with you here, last year,have betrayed the place; and taken away all that you left here. Ideparted hence on this present 7th July, 1572. Your very lovingfriend, John Garrett."

  "I would I had been here a few days earlier," Captain Drake said,when he read this notice, "for John Garrett would assuredly havejoined us, and his aid would have been no slight assistance in thematter in which we are about to engage. However, it will not do todespise his caution; therefore, lest we be attacked while on shoreby the Spaniards, we will even make a fort; and we shall be able tounload our stores, and put our pinnaces together, without fear ofinterruption."

  The crew were now landed; and set to work, with hatchet and bill,to clear a plot of ground. Three quarters of an acre was, afterthree days' work, cleared; and the trees were cast outwards, andpiled together in such form as to make a sort of wall, 30 feethigh, round it. This hard work done, most of the crew were alloweda little liberty; the carpenters, and experienced artificers, beingengaged in putting the three pinnaces together.

  The boys, in pairs, for all could never obtain leave together,rambled in the woods, full of admiration for the beauties ofnature. Huge butterflies flitted about
upon the brilliant flowers.Long trailing creepers, rich with blossom, hung on the trees. Hereand there, as they passed along, snakes slipped away among theundergrowth; and these, in truth, the boys were as ready to leavealone as the reptiles were to avoid them, for they were told thatit was certain death to be bitten by these creatures. Most of allthe boys admired the little birds, which indeed it was hard forthem to believe not to be butterflies, so small were they, so rapidtheir movements, and so brilliant their color.

  On the 7th day from landing the pinnaces were finished; and, thevessels being anchored near the shore, the crews went on board forthe last time, preparatory to making their start the next day.

  There was one tall and bright-faced sailor with whom the boys hadstruck up a great friendship. He had sailed before with CaptainDrake; and as the evening was cool, and there was naught to do,they begged him to tell them of his former visits in the CaribbeanSeas.

  "My first," he said, "was the worst, and might well have been mylast. Captain John Hawkins was our captain, a bold man and a goodsailor; but not gentle as well as brave, as is our good CaptainFrancis. Our fleet was a strong one. The admiral's ship, the Jesus,of Lubeck, was 700 tons. Then there were the smaller craft; theMinion, Captain Hampton, in which I myself sailed; the William andJohn of Captain Boulton; the Judith with Captain Francis Drake; andtwo little ships, besides. We sailed later in the year. It was the2nd October, five years back; that is, 1567. We started badly, fora storm struck us off Finisterre, the ships separated, and someboats were lost.

  "We came together at Cape de Verde, and there we tried to getslaves; for it was part of the object of our voyage to buy slaveson the coast of Africa, and sell them to the Spaniards, here. Itwas a traffic for which I myself had but little mind; for though itbe true that these black fellows are a pernicious race, given tomurder, and to fightings of all kinds among themselves, yet arethey human beings; and it is, methinks, cruel to send them beyondthe seas into slavery, so far from their homes and people. But itwas not for me, a simple mariner, to argue the question with ouradmirals and captains; and I have heard many worshipful merchantsare engaged in the traffic.

  "However that be, methinks that our good Captain Francis did,likewise, turn himself against this kind of traffic in human flesh;for although he has been three times, since, in these regions, hehas never again taken a hand in it.

  "With much to do at Cape de Verde, we succeeded in getting ahundred and fifty men; but not without much resistance from thenatives, who shot their arrows at us, and wounded many; and most ofthose who were wounded did die of lock-jaw, for the arrows had beensmeared in some poisonous stuff. Then we went farther down thecoast, and took in two hundred more.

  "Coasting still farther down, to Saint Jorge de Mina, we landed;and Captain Hawkins found that the negro king there was at war withan enemy, a little farther inland. He besought our assistance, andpromised us plenty of slaves, if we would go there and storm theplace with him. Captain Hawkins agreed, cheerfully enough; and setoff, with a portion of his crews, to assist the king.

  "The enemy fought well, and it was only after a very hard fight onour part, and a loss of many men, that we took the town. Methinksthe two hundred and fifty slaves which we took there were dearlypaid for; and there was much grumbling, among the ships, at thereckless way in which our admiral had risked our lives, for meagergain. It is true that these slaves would sell at a high price, yetnone of us looked upon money, gained in that way, quite as we doupon treasure taken in fair fight. In the one case we traffic withthe Spaniards, who are our natural enemies; and it is repugnant, toa Christian man, to hand over even these poor negroes to suchwillful masters as these; in the other we are fighting for ourqueen and country. The Spaniards are the natural enemies of allgood Protestants, and every ship we see, and every treasure bag wecapture, does something to pare the nails of that fierce andhaughty power.

  "Having filled up our hold with the slaves which we had captured atSaint Jorge de Mina, we turned our back upon the African coast, andsailed to the West Indies. At Rio de Hacha, the first port at whichwe touched, the people did not wish to trade with us; but theadmiral was not the man to allow people to indulge in fancies ofthis kind. We soon forced them to buy, or to sell, that which wechose; and not what they had a fancy for.

  "Sailing along, we were caught in a storm; and in searching for theport of Saint Juan d'Ulloa, where we hoped to refit, we capturedthree ships. In the port we found twelve other small craft, butthese we released; and sent some of them to Mexico, to ask thatvictuals and stores might be sent.

  "The next day thirteen great ships appeared off the harbor In themwas the Viceroy of Mexico. We had then only the Jesus, the Minionof 100 tons, and the Judith of 50 tons, and this big fleet waslarge enough to have eaten us; but Captain Hawkins put a good faceon it, and sailed out to meet them, waiting at the mouth of theharbor Here he told them haughtily that he should not allow theirfleet to enter, save on his terms. I doubt not that Hawkins wouldhave been glad enough to have made off, if he could have done so;for what with the sale of the slaves, and the vessels we hadcaptured, we had now 1,800,000 pounds, in silver and gold, on boardof the ships. The Spanish admiral accepted the terms which CaptainHawkins laid down, and most solemnly swore to observe them.

  "So with colors flying, both fleets sailed into the harbortogether. It is true, however, that the man who places faith in aSpaniard is a fool, and so it proved to us. No sooner had theyreached the port than they began to plot, secretly amongthemselves, how to fall upon us. Even then, though they hadthirteen big ships, the smallest of which was larger than theJesus, they feared to attack us openly.

  "Numbers of men were set to work by them on the shore, secretly, toget up batteries by which they might fire into us; while a greatship, having 500 men on board, was moored close alongside theMinion.

  "I remember well talking the matter over with Jack Boscowan, whowas boatswain on board; and we agreed that this time we had runinto an ugly trap, and that we did not see our way out of it.Englishmen can, as all the world knows, lick the Spaniards whenthey are but as one to five; but when there are twenty of the Donsto one of us, it is clear that the task is a hard one.

  "What made it worse was that we were in harbor At sea, ourquickness in handling our ships would have made us a match for theSpanish fleet; but at anchor, and with the guns of the portcommanding us, we did not truly see how we were to get out of it.

  "The fight began by the Spaniards letting their big ship driftalongside the Minion; when, suddenly, 500 men leapt out on ourdecks. We were beaten below in no time, for we were scarce preparedfor so sudden an onslaught. There, however, we defended ourselvesstoutly, firing into the hull of the ship alongside, and defendingour ports and entrances from the Spaniards.

  "For a while our case seemed desperate. The Jesus was hard at work,too; and when she had sunk the ship of the Spanish admiral, shecame up, and gave a broadside into the ship alongside of us. Hercrew ran swiftly back to her; and we, with much rejoicing, pouredon deck again, and began to pay them hotly for their sudden attackupon us.

  "It was a great fight, and one that would have done your heartgood, to see the three English ships, two of them so small as to belittle more than boats, surrounded by a whole fleet of Spaniards,while from on shore the guns of the forts played upon us. Had itnot been for those forts, I verily believe that we should havedestroyed the Spanish fleet. Already another large vessel hadfollowed the example of their admiral's ship, and had gone to thebottom. Over 540 of their sailors we had, as they have themselvesadmitted, slain outright.

  "We were faring well, and had begun to hope that we might get tofind our way out of the toils, when a cry came from the lookout,who said that the Jesus was hoisting signals of distress, and thathe feared she was sinking.

  "Close as she was lying to a battery, and surrounded by enemies,our bold captain did not hesitate a minute; but sailed the Minion,through a crowd of enemies, close to the Jesus. You should haveheard the cheer that the two crews gave each other.
It rose aboveall the noise of the battle, and would assuredly have done yourheart good. The Jesus was sinking fast, and it was as much as theycould do to tumble into the boats, and to row hastily to our side.We should have saved them all, but the Spaniards, who dared not layus aboard, and who were in no slight degree troubled by the braverywith which we had fought, set two of their great ships on fire, andlaunched them down upon us, preferring to lose two of their ownships for the sake of capturing or destroying our little bark. Thesight of the ships coming down, in flames, shook the hearts of ourmen more than all the fury of the Spaniards had been able to do;and without waiting for orders, they turned the ship's head for themouth of the port.

  "The admiral, who had just come on board, cursed and shouted whenhe saw what was being done; but the panic of the fire ships got thebetter of the men, and we made off, firing broadsides at theSpaniards' fleet as we passed through them; and aided by the littleJudith, which stuck to us through the whole of the fight.

  "When we cooled down and came to think of it, we were in no slightdegree ashamed of our desertion of our comrades in the Jesus.Fortunately the number so left behind was not large; but we knewthat, according to their custom, the Spaniards would put all todeath, and so indeed it afterwards turned out, many of them beingdispatched with horrible tortures.

  "This terrible treatment of the prisoners caused, when it wasknown, great indignation; and although Queen Elizabeth did notdeclare war with Spain, from that time she gave every countenanceshe could to the adventurers who waged war, on their own account,against her.

  "The Minion suffered severely, packed close as she was with all herown crew, and a great part of that of the Jesus, vast numbers ofwhom were wounded. However, at length a hundred were, at their ownrequest, landed and left to shift for themselves, preferring to runthe risk of Indians, or even of Spaniards, to continue any longeramid the horrors on board the ship. I myself, boys, was not one ofthat number, and came back to England in her.

  "Truly it was the worst voyage that I ever made, for though fortunewas for a time good to us, and we collected much money; yet in theend we lost all, and hardly escaped with our lives. It has seemedto me that this bad fortune was sent as a punishment upon us, forcarrying off the negroes into slavery. Many others thought thesame, and methinks that that was also the opinion of our presentgood admiral."

  "Did you come out with him, in his further voyages here?" Nedasked.

  "I was with him in the Dragon, two years ago, when with the Swanneshe came here. Last year I sailed with him in the Swanne, alone."

  "You did not have any very stirring adventures?"

  "No, we were mainly bent on exploring; but for all that we carriedoff many prizes, and might, had we been pilgrims, have bought farmsin Devonshire, and settled down on our share of the prize money;but there, that is not the way with sailors. Quick come, quick go,and not one in a hundred that I have ever heard of, however much hemay have taken as his share of prizes, has ever kept it, orprospered greatly therefrom."

  It was now evening, and many of the men had betaken themselves tothe water, for a swim. The heat had been great all day, and as itwas their last, they had been pressed at work to get the stores,which had been landed, again on board ship; and to finish all up,ready for the division of the party, next day.

  "I do not care for bathing here," Ned said, in reply to a sailor,who asked him why he too did not join in the sport. "I confess thatI have a dread of those horrible sharks, of which we have heard somuch, and whose black fins we see from time to time."

  "I should have thought," said the harsh, sneering voice of GilesTaunton, "that an Otter would have been a match for a shark. Theswimmers of the South Isles, and indeed the natives here, attackthe sharks without fear. I should have thought that anyone whoprides himself, as you do, upon swimming, would have been equallywilling to encounter them."

  "I do not know that I do pride myself on my swimming, GilesTaunton," Ned said composedly; "at any rate, no one has ever heardme speak of such abilities as I may have in that way. As to thenatives, they have seen each other fight with sharks, and know howthe matter is gone about. If I were to be present a few times, whensuch strife takes place, it may be that I should not shirk fromjoining in the sport; but knowing nothing whatever of the methodpursued, or of the manner of attack, I should be worse than a fool,were I to propose to venture my life in such a sport."

  Many sailors who were standing round approved of what Ned said.

  "Aye, aye, lad," one said, "no one would think of making his firstjump across the spot where he might be dashed to pieces. Let a manlearn to jump on level ground; and then, when he knows his powers,he may go across a deep chasm."

  By this time a good many of the men were out of the water, whensuddenly there arose the cry of, "Shark!" from the lookout on thepoop. There was a great rush for the ship, and the excitement onboard was nearly as great as that in the water. Ned quietly droppedoff his jacket and his shoes and, seizing a short boarding pike,waited to see what would come of it.

  It chanced that his friends, the other boys, were farther out thanthe men; having, with the ardor of youth, engaged themselves inraces, regardless of the admonition that had frequently been giventhem to keep near the ship; for the terror of these water beastswas very great.

  The men all gained the ship in safety, but the shark, which hadcome up from a direction in which it would cut them off, wasclearly likely to arrive before the boys could gain the side. Atfirst it seemed, indeed, that their fate was sealed; but the shark,who in many respects resembles a cat with a mouse, and seems toprefer to trifle with its victim to the last, allowed them to getclose to the ship; although, by rapid swimming, it could easilyhave seized them before.

  The nearest to it, as it approached the ship, was Tom Tressilis,who was not so good a swimmer as the others; but he had swumlustily, and with good heart, though his white face showed howgreat the effect of the danger was upon him. He had not spoken aword, since the shark first made its appearance. As he struckdespairingly to gain the ship, from which the sailors were alreadycasting him ropes, his eye caught that of Ned, who cried to himcheerily:

  "Keep up your spirits, Tom. I will be with you."

  As the huge fish swept along, at a distance of some four yards fromthe side of the ship, and was already turning on its back, openingits huge mouth to seize its victim, Ned dived head foremost fromthe ship onto him. So great was the force and impetus with which hestruck the creature, that it was fairly driven sideways from itscourse, missing by the nearest shave the leg of Tom Tressilis. Nedhimself was half stunned by the force with which his head hadstruck the fish, for a shark is not so soft a creature to jumpagainst as he had imagined; however, he retained consciousnessenough to grasp at the fin of the shark, to which he held on forhalf a minute.

  By this time the shark was recovering from the effects of thesudden blow, and Ned was beginning to be able to reflect. In amoment he plunged the half pike deep into the creature's stomach.Again and again he repeated the stroke; until the shark, rollingover in his agony, and striking furiously with his tail, shook Nedfrom his hold. He instantly dived beneath the water, and came up ata short distance. The shark was still striking the water furiously,the sailors on board were throwing down upon him shot, pieces ofiron, and all sorts of missiles, and some of the best archers werehastily bringing their bows to the side.

  The shark caught sight of his opponent, and instantly rushed athim. Ned again dived, just before the creature reached him; and,rising under him, inflicted some more stabs with the pike; then heagain swam off, for he was in no slight fear that he might bestruck by his friends on board ship, of whose missiles, indeed, hewas more in dread than of the shark himself.

  When he rose, at a short distance from the shark, he was againprepared for a rush on the part of his enemy; but the great fishhad now had enough of it. He was still striking the water, but hismovements were becoming slower, for he was weakened by the loss ofblood from the stabs he had received from below, and from thear
rows, many of which were now buried to the goose quill in him. Ina minute or two he gradually turned on one side, and floated, withhis white belly in the air.

  A shout broke from the crew of the Swanne, and also of the Pacha,who had been attracted to the side by the cries. When he saw thatthe battle was over, and that the enemy had been vanquished withoutloss of life, or hurt to any, Ned speedily seized one of the ropes,and climbed up the side of the ship; where he was, you may be sure,received with great cheering, and shouts of joy and approval.

  "You are a fine lad," Captain John Drake said, "and your name ofOtter has indeed been well bestowed. You have saved the life ofyour comrade; and I know that my old friend, Mr. Frank Tressilis,his father, will feel indebted indeed to you, when he comes tolearn how gallantly you risked your life to preserve that of hisson."

  Ned said that he saw no credit in the action, and that he wasmightily glad to have had an opportunity of learning to do thatwhich the negroes thought nothing of; for that it shamed him tothink that these heathens would venture their lives boldly againstsharks, while he, an English boy, although a good swimmer, and not,he hoped, wanting in courage, was yet afraid to encounter thesefierce brutes.

  This incident acted, as might be expected, as a fresh bond betweenthe boys; and as it also secured for Ned the cordial goodwill ofthe sailors, they were, in future, free from any persecution at thehands of Master Taunton, or of his fellows.

  Chapter 4: An Unsuccessful Attack.