Chapter Fourteen.

Chapter Fourteen.Execution of the Pirates—A Reconnaissance by Night off La Guayra.At the commencement of the fight the pirate vessel had been manned by a crew numbering well over one hundred men.But now her dead lay upon her decks literally in heaps; and, alas! there were also many English bodies lying among them. Only seventeen of the crew of theBlack Pearlremained alive, among the survivors being José Leirya himself. It was not due to cowardice, or any shrinking from death on his own part, that he had survived the fight; on the contrary, he had exhibited a fine degree of courage, and it was only by an accident, for which he was in nowise responsible, that he was still alive, and was now standing, with hands lashed behind his back, scowling heavily at his captors. They, on their side, had suffered almost as severely as the pirates, having lost an enormous number of men.The coming of the sailors from theTigerin the nick of time it was that had saved the day, and turned the tide of battle in favour of the English. Roger and Harry had both had their senses trampled out of them by the headlong rush of the boarders from that ship; but, as the circumstance undoubtedly saved their lives, they were not greatly disposed to grumble at it. Both had soon recovered, and, after examining themselves to discover whether they were badly wounded or not, were now engaged in exchanging confidences and experiences, and relating to each other all that had occurred since their parting prior to the wreck on the sand-bank of Isla de Corsarios.The captured pirate, having been bound securely, were now consigned to the care of an armed guard, who conducted them below to the hold and bade them make themselves as comfortable as they could on the ship’s ballast.The commodore then called the roll of the three vessels of his squadron, and found that he had lost no fewer than one hundred and eighty men, killed and wounded, in the engagement. As for the ships, theTigerwas untouched, and the flag-ship practically intact, but theElizabethhad been somewhat severely mauled. Captain Cavendish’s first instructions were that the vessels should at once proceed to execute such repairs as were necessary, in order that they should not be at a disadvantage in the event of a storm overtaking them. But before even this business could be undertaken came the disposal of the dead.With so many slain to deal with, this was necessarily a brief business, and was accomplished by the simple process of tossing the lifeless bodies over the side, to find a last resting-place on the sand below, if, indeed, the multitude of sharks that were swimming round and round the four vessels did not intervene and otherwise arrange matters.This unpleasant duty ended, the decks were washed down with water pumped up from alongside, and all sanguinary traces of the recent conflict obliterated. Then Cavendish sent the men who had performed these duties to aid their fellow-seamen in effecting the necessary repairs to those vessels that required them, whilst he and his officers made a tour of inspection of theBlack Pearl, to acquaint themselves thoroughly with the vessel, and to secure her papers, arms, and ammunition, and any valuables that might be on board her. Roger and Harry, having had a brief chat, followed Mr Cavendish down the companion-ladder, and found themselves in the vessel’s main cabin. This was most beautifully fitted up, evidently with the spoils which had been taken out of her numerous captures; but beyond the confines of the captain’s cabin the entire vessel was filthily dirty, eloquently testifying to the objectionable habits of the pirates; and everywhere they went they encountered significant traces of the recent furious combat, in the shape of splintered timbers, riven planking, blood splashes, gashes in the wood-work from sword and axe-blade, holes made by cannon-shot—havoc and destruction reigned supreme. But even this could not disguise the barbaric splendour of the fittings and furniture of the ship. Rich silken curtains were hung anywhere and everywhere where they could be fastened; thick carpets from Turkey and Persia and India were strewn wholesale on the soiled planking. Every available space on wall or bulkhead was ornamented with some trophy or another. Stars of pistols, swords, hangers, boarding-axes, and pikes were hung wherever there was room for them. Roger noticed some pieces of exquisite and priceless old tapestry beside the carriage of one of the main-deck guns, that had probably served as a curtain, but was now torn down, trampled upon, smeared with blood, and blackened with powder smoke. The officers of the vessel had evidently each enjoyed a cabin to himself, furnished according to the occupant’s taste; and in every one there were articles of enormous value, while the silken cushions, thick-piled carpets, and dainty coverlets to the bunks might have led one to suppose that the cabins had been inhabited by delicate ladies rather than by savage pirates, to whom murder was an almost everyday occurrence. They all exhibited, however, as might have been expected from such a crew, the most execrable taste in arrangement. All the colours of the rainbow were combined together, and every article seemed totally out of place in all the apartments save that belonging to José Leirya himself.The cabin belonging to the captain was situated at the stern of the vessel, and for windows had two large openings leading out on to a little stern gallery, where José could walk in privacy and be in the open air. This cabin had received the full benefit of the raking fire from the flag-ship, and presented a scene of lamentable destruction.Instead of the two windows leading out on to the gallery there was now an enormous gaping hole, the lower edge of which was within a hand’s-breadth of the water, which occasionally rippled in as the schooner rose and fell upon the swell. The rich hangings of silk and tapestry were pierced and rent; long gashes had been gouged out of the floor by the round-shot; fragments of silver and gold statues and candlesticks lay here and there scattered in confusion, and it was evident that had a single living thing been in that cabin at the moment when the broadside was delivered it could not possibly have escaped. Yet, strangely enough, there were three splendid pictures hanging still upon the cabin-walls absolutely uninjured, and these Cavendish gave orders to be at once removed and sent on board his ship.In a magnificently inlaid and ornamented bureau there were found all the private papers belonging to José, together with the ship’s log, both of which provided, later, the most gruesome reading.Of valuables there were none to be found in the drawers, or hidden away, and Roger mentally decided that the man, for his own safety, had never allowed valuables to accumulate on board theBlack Pearl, but had always transferred them, at the first opportunity that presented itself, to his hiding-place at Lonely Inlet. But he kept his surmise to himself and Harry.The vessel’s hold, which was next investigated, contained nothing of any importance or value, and, in fact, the whole vessel yielded but small return for their careful search.The officers now returned to the deck, to find that it was once more broad daylight; and each went back to his own vessel for breakfast. Roger, having said good-bye to the captain and officers of theElizabeth, and thanked them for their kindness in taking him off the island and afterwards, pushed off to the flag-ship with Mr Cavendish and Harry. Jake Irwin and Walter Bevan, poor fellows, would rejoin their shipmates no more. They had both fallen, fighting bravely, and were now lying fathoms deep in the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. Little did they imagine, when they left the Isla de Corsarios the day before, that death was so close to them!After breakfast Cavendish called a council of officers in his own cabin, to discuss the fate of the surviving pirates and their schooner.The decision was soon made as to the pirates, and it was that they should be hanged, one and all, from the yards of their own vessel. As to the vessel herself, it took somewhat longer to arrive at an agreement; but in view of the fact that she was little better than a shattered wreck, and that, even if she were to be repaired, they had lost so many hands that they could not very well spare the men to handle her, it was finally decided that she should be destroyed.This business settled, the council broke up, and the members of it went on deck. The flag-ship’s boats were then manned, and the officers of the fleet went on board the schooner. Orders had meanwhile been given, on board the vessels of the squadron, that their crews should turn up to witness the execution. The captives were then brought up on deck, and Cavendish himself read the sentence over to them, and bade them prepare for death. They met the announcement with the utmost callousness. One or two of them exchanged remarks in a low tone of voice, and one man was actually heard to laugh outright. As for José Leirya, he heard the sentence with absolute indifference, and, when asked whether he had anything to say, answered not a word.A whip was now rove from each of the fore yard-arms of theBlack Pearl, and a gun on the forecastle loaded with a blank charge. A number of men were then detailed to run aft with the tail end of the whip as soon as the noose should have been fitted round each man’s neck.Mr Cavendish decided that he would hang the captain first, so that every survivor of his crew might witness the death of their leader.All being now in readiness, four seamen walked up to José Leirya and, stooping, cut the bonds that secured his feet. The pirate stood still for a moment to allow the blood to circulate once more freely through his limbs, and then, bound though his arms were, he wrenched himself free from the grasp of the four seamen and made a furious dash towards the side of his ship, actually succeeding in scrambling on to her bulwark, with the evident intention of drowning himself, and thus evading the indignity of death by hanging.The seamen, however, who had been hurled right and left by his herculean effort, closed upon him promptly, and, with very little ceremony, hauled him off with violence, hurling him to the deck and themselves falling on the top of him and holding him down with their weight. Yet once again he succeeded in wrenching himself free from the men’s clutches and, staggering to his feet, made another dart for the ship’s side. But he was pounced upon again, and once more they all fell upon the deck together.A taunting laugh rang out from the group of bound ruffians who were awaiting their fate, and stung the English sailors to madness. That one man, and he partly bound, should keep four stalwart seamen at bay was too much for their temper. They rushed at the pirate again, and this time seized him securely; then, tripping him up, they slipped a running bowline over his ankles and hauled it taut, thus rendering the man helpless. Yet even then they could scarcely keep their grip on him, so enormous was the strength with which he turned and twisted in their grip.At length, after an infinity of trouble, they succeeded in dragging him to the forecastle; the running noose attached to the whip was brought up to the pirate and slipped over his neck; Cavendish then gave the signal, the gun was fired, the men holding the end of the whip ran aft, the seamen holding the man sprang aside, and the pirate’s body, still struggling and writhing, went flying aloft, to stop presently with a jerk as it reached the jewel-block, and dangle at the end of the fore yard-arm, still plunging and struggling with such violence that the yard itself fairly shook. It was some considerable time before the struggles ceased. The body was allowed to hang a little longer, and then the rope was cut, and the corpse plunged downward into the sea among the sharks, whose clashing teeth and noisy splashes gave conclusive evidence as to the whereabouts of the pirate’s last resting-place.The remainder of the ruffians betrayed not the slightest emotion at the terrible fate of their leader, but went silently and calmly to their doom, without struggling as their captain had done; and very soon the dread ceremony was over, and the pirates had met their deserts.The only matter that now remained was the destruction of the notoriousBlack Pearl.Powder and shot there were in plenty, on board the squadron; so Mr Cavendish decided to give his ships’ crews a little practice in gunnery. By this time also the necessary repairs to the vessels engaged had been executed, and all was now in readiness for the resumption of the cruise. Sail was therefore made, and the vessels drew off to a distance of about three-quarters of a mile, when they hove-to and began to practise on the pirate vessel with their guns. The flag-ship was the first to make a hit, which she did between wind and water with her bow-chaser. The other vessels then got the range, and hulled theBlack Pearlwith nearly every shot.Harry and Roger, once more together on the flag-ship, had already recounted in detail all their adventures during the time that they were separated, the one on the sand-bank and the other on the ship driven away to leeward of the island by the storm. They were both now standing amongst the crew of the bow-chaser gun, watching the effect of every shot with the utmost interest; and Roger presently asked the captain of the gun to allow him to have a shot. The man, who was much attached to the lad by reason of many little acts of kindness received, made no demur. The gun was reloaded, and Roger, with the firing-match in his hand, cocked his eye along the chase of the piece, watching until the heaving of the ship should bring the sights to bear on the hulk. Presently theGood Adventuredipped to a large wave, and Roger, who was watching like a cat, applied the match. There came the sharp report of the discharge, and, as the smoke swept away, the young man had the satisfaction of seeing his shot strike the vessel right between wind and water, just at the side of a hole where two others had penetrated. This shot of his, of course, much enlarged the already large hole, through which the water of the Caribbean was now pouring like a sluice; and it was seen that the pirate vessel was on the point of foundering. Even as they watched, the craft seemed to settle visibly deeper in the water, and she rolled heavily two or three times. A few seconds later her stern was seen to lift high and her bows to point downward; steeper and steeper became the angle of her decks and then, with a slow forward movement that quickly became a diving rush, she plunged to the bottom, vanishing from their sight in a whirl and froth of water.Such was the end of theBlack Pearl! For years she had been the terror of all the seas around the West Indies and the coasts of New Spain. She had been a floating den of vice, murder, and every conceivable form of infamy, and now her lawless and adventurous career had terminated in her becoming a target for the guns of the avengers of the evil she had wrought, while her captain and surviving crew had swung from the yard-arm of their own vessel before she herself was destroyed. Her career of murder and terror and destruction was ended at last, and the evil spirit of those seas was laid.All now being over, and it being no longer necessary to carry out their original intention of scouring the Mexican Gulf for the pirate—chance having so fortunately thrown him in their way,—it was decided to carry out the other part of their programme; which, it will be remembered, was to run to La Guayra and see whether there were any plate ships lying there, and, if so, to endeavour to cut them out and capture them. A course was therefore set, and the little squadron bore away to the southward and eastward in the direction of that port.Roger and Harry had now a little time to themselves, and, having so recently witnessed the destruction of the pirate vessel and the execution of her notorious captain, the conversation naturally enough turned to the cipher which Roger had in his possession. He had already acquainted his friend with the news that the marooned man, William Evans, had given him an exact duplicate of the cipher that he had in his possession, taken from theGloria del Mundo, and the two lads now seriously turned their attention to its translation. But again it foiled them; they could make nothing of it. They did not wish to communicate the fact of it being in their possession to any third person, and ask his advice, knowing that a secret shared with others is usually a secret no longer. So he and Harry kept their knowledge to themselves, and went over the remainder of the papers which Evans had given Roger, as well as the cipher. These also proved to be of no importance to anyone but their former owner, as they merely contained notes from the log and diary of the pirate, and, indeed, consisted mainly of a skeleton account of his many atrocities, recorded for who knows what reason. The two lads could not see that any useful purpose would be served by retaining these memoranda; they therefore tore them up small, and consigned them to the deep. For this reason the history of the doings and exploits of the pirate José Leirya has never been written, and never will be.As the two lads could make nothing of the cipher, they put it away, deciding not to worry their heads about the matter until some time in the future, when they should have nothing else to occupy them. The two ciphers were therefore folded up into a neat packet, and, with the assistance of a needle and thread, Harry sewed the little parcel into the lining of his friend’s coat, in such a position and manner that even a rigorous search would probably fail to disclose the presence of the papers.“Now you have them quite safe, my friend,” said Harry, “and so long as you stick to your jacket you need never be afraid of losing that cryptogram. And should anybody ever come, by any chance, to know that you have the key to José’s treasure, he will never be able to find it, even if he attempts to rob you.”“No, Harry, I should say not,” laughed Roger. “But I do not think I need fear that any person will try to rob me of that cipher; for, so far as I know, the only person now alive who is aware that one existed is that evil-looking fellow Alvarez, and he will imagine, doubtless, that the cryptogram went down with all the other papers in the Spanish man-of-war. And he probably thinks, too, that I also went down with her. At any rate it was not his fault that I did not.”“Well,” objected Harry, “I am not so sure about his thinking you were drowned on that occasion, for, when we sent him and the other Spaniards ashore at Lonely Inlet, I saw him looking very hard at you, and I believe he recognised you, for he spoke to another man beside him, and tapped his own pocket. The other fellow then looked at you, as though to make sure of recognising you again, and nodded to Alvarez as they both went down the side. Yes, I am pretty sure that Alvarez recognised you, and I think it not unlikely that he may have some idea that you saw him looking for something in that cabin, and that when you were rescued you took with you those papers that he left behind in his fright; and, if so, he of course believes that you have that cipher in your possession at this moment.”“Well, Harry, old lad,” laughed Roger in reply, “I do not suppose I shall ever see Alvarez again, and if I do I shall take care that I do not fall into his power, you may be quite sure. There is one thing certain. Now that José and his crew are dead, that treasure will never be found except by us, and only by us if we can succeed in translating the cryptogram, for there is no one else on earth now who knows even its locality.”“Quite true, Roger, my friend,” replied Harry. “But I do most sincerely hope that the possession of that paper will not bring you to any harm.”The conversation between the two lads was at this moment interrupted by the cry of “Land, ho!” from above, and both boys ran up on deck to catch the first glimpse of it.“Hurrah!” shouted Roger in great glee. “Hurrah! this shows that we are not far from La Guayra now, and then for more fighting and adventure, and perhaps we may be able to get ashore for an hour or two.”The land could be discerned fairly clearly from the fore topmast cross-tree, to which Roger and his friend ascended. It showed as a bold headland, apparently of great height and rocky in formation.Having satisfied their curiosity, the two came down from aloft, and, seeing one of the officers attentively looking at the fast-rising land, asked him what it might be; if it was anywhere near La Guayra, and how far away it was.“You two youngsters seem very eager to sight land again,” replied the lieutenant, smiling. “I should have thought that you, Trevose, would have had enough of land for a time, after being so very nearly left behind on that sand-bank. But, to satisfy your curiosity, I will tell you. That tall headland that you see yonder, and toward which we are now steering, is called Cape Oruba, and is the north-north-west extremity of the island of Oruba. We shall leave that island on our starboard hand, and as we pass it we ought to see the island of Curazao in the distance, which island we, of course, leave on our port hand. Then we head into the Gulf of Triste, and so on to La Guayra. Now, young men, I have posted you up in the different landmarks that we shall pass, and you can look them up for yourselves, and see where we are, from that Spanish chart that you were so thoughtful as to bring with you from theGloria del Mundo.”Roger and Harry thanked the lieutenant for the information, and went below to see where was the ship’s actual position.Nothing of any interest happened here, and in three days from the time when they first sighted Oruba Point they were as close in to La Guayra as they dared venture without further investigation.Once more a council of officers was held in Mr Cavendish’s cabin, on board the flag-ship, and a plan of campaign arranged. The squadron, it was decided, was to lie-to in a little bay not many miles to the north-westward of the Port of La Guayra. There was no danger of its presence there being discovered, there being no town or port near; the cliffs rose up almost perpendicularly from the water’s edge, and the little bay itself was practically landlocked, and thus hidden from seaward. Then three boats were to be provisioned with food and water for two days, and, leaving the ships early in the afternoon, were to arrive off La Guayra about midnight or thereabout. They were to make as close an investigation of the harbour, and any ships that might be in it, as could be made with safety. They were to ascertain, if possible, whether there were any plate ships in the roadstead, and, if so, the precise positions in which they were lying. They were also to determine, as nearly as they could, what the chances of a night attack would be; whether likely to be successful or otherwise. In short, they were to accumulate all the information they could, without being seen.The little squadron—which had been hove-to during the consultation—filled away once more, and carefully felt its way into the bay, and, after many very narrow escapes of falling foul of the rocks and sand-banks with which the entrance was encumbered, came to an anchor in safety in the spot where it was to remain until such time as the boat expedition should return. A boat was provisioned and manned by each ship in the squadron, and Roger and Harry, who were always ready for any adventure that promised a spice of danger, pleaded so eloquently to be allowed to accompany the boat sent by the flag-ship, that Mr Cavendish, after considerable demur, agreed to their going, at the same time cautioning them that even a very slight indiscretion on their part might easily involve the expedition in something nearly approaching disaster.The next day, all being in readiness, the boats set off on their dangerous errand about two bells in the afternoon watch, immediately after the seamen had taken their mid-day meal. They were accompanied by the prayers and good wishes for success from all in the fleet, but no cheering was indulged in, lest perchance some wandering herdsman on the heights should catch the sound, look for its source, discover the lurking ships, and hasten away to the city to give it warning.They kept as close under the huge cliffs that towered above the narrow beach as they could with safety, in order to lessen the danger of being seen to seaward, and after dark pulled slightly farther out to sea to avoid the possibility of running on some rock which they might see and avoid by daylight, but not after dark.About nine o’clock, Roger, who was away up in the bows of the leading boat, keeping a lookout, passed the word aft to the officer in charge that they had just opened up a light, apparently on shore.“That’s our goal, then,” said the officer; “that’s La Guayra! And now to find out whether there is anything in there that it may be worth our while to attack.”He then made the signal for the other two boats to close, to give the officers in command an opportunity for a final consultation. It was presently arranged that, on entering the bay, they were to separate, and each was to scour a certain part of the harbour, and join the others again at three o’clock in the morning at the spot where they parted company, the bearings of which were to be carefully and accurately taken.La Guayra lies in the hollow of an extensive but open roadstead, and is built at the foot of a range of huge mountains, which tower up into the clouds behind it, and at the back of which lies Caracas, now the capital of Venezuela.It was to the extremity of this roadstead that the three boats had now come, and the twinkling lights of the town were clearly discernible at some distance.Anxiously they scanned the bay for any sign of ships lying there, and after a few moments they were able to make out certain detached sparks of light, which they felt certain were the riding-lights of a number of vessels. It now remained for them to pull quietly and unobtrusively shoreward, and ascertain what the vessels were, and, as far as possible, discover their strength, and how they lay for protection from the shore batteries.The oars were therefore muffled with pieces of cloth that had been brought for the purpose, and, orders having been given that no light was to be shown in any of the boats for any purpose whatever, they separated, all making for the several points agreed upon before starting.The boat belonging to the flag-ship had the position of honour, and therefore of most danger. She was to take a middle course, and pull down to the foot of the bay, close inshore, and right under the guns of the batteries; a task so dangerous that, should they by any misfortune be seen, there would be no hope or possibility of escape for them. In dead silence they pulled slowly along, peering carefully about them, and getting ever nearer and nearer to the town. The lights began to show more clearly, and large objects ashore to assume a somewhat definite outline. The dark background of the mighty mountains behind the town could be made out towering far above them, their heads seemingly among the few stars that were that night shining.They were creeping on and inward, steering for a cluster of lights that evidently betokened the presence of a large vessel at anchor about a mile farther in, when those same lights were suddenly obscured, and a little later there came plainly to their ears a swish of water, strongly suggestive of some vessel moving at speed. At the whispered command of the officer the boat’s crew backed water simultaneously, and brought the boat to a stand-still, just in time to avoid being run down by a dark mass that came swiftly, and with no lights showing, out toward the open sea. As she passed the boat, within oar’s-length, they could hear quite distinctly the sound of voices, and, to their utter amazement, the speech of those voices was English. The vessel was moving so swiftly that only a few words could be caught, and these were: “All is well so far, John, my lad; in an hour from this we shall be out of this bay, and, once on the open sea, it will take more than—” and the voice was lost in the distance.Roger had, some time before, come aft, and was now by the side of the lieutenant.He said in a hushed voice: “What does that mean, Mr Story? There is some strange happening abroad this night. That ship had Englishmen aboard her; yet, so far as we know, there are no English ships beside ourselves in these seas just now. Besides, why was she carrying no lights?”“’Pon my word, Roger, I don’t know,” replied Story. “As you say, there are no other English about here excepting ourselves; yet the people in possession of that craft are undoubtedly English. Ah! can it be, I wonder, that these people are English prisoners who are effecting their escape from the Spaniards to-night of all nights; and, having managed to get hold of a ship, are now clearing off? Zounds! I believe I am right, and that is what has happened. This is doubly annoying. First, because we are very short-handed ourselves, and if we could only have got those fellows to join us it would have helped us to make up our crews once more; and, secondly, because their escape will surely be discovered before long, and a search made, which will render it very awkward for us. I wish I could somehow contrive to communicate with those other two boats, and let them know; for, this having happened, it is high time for us to beat a retreat, or we shall be caught like rats in a trap! But there is no way, so we had better make the best and most of it, get what information we can, and then be off back to the rendezvous to wait for the others, and start for the ships directly they appear. Give way again, boys; but be silent for your very lives’ sake.”Therewith they went swiftly and silently forward again, and shortly afterward came close alongside a ship for which they had been cautiously steering. They discovered that she was a Spanish war-vessel, and her very presence there suggested a plate fleet, which she was probably destined to convoy.After pulling very cautiously round her, and ascertaining her strength, they made off toward another group of lights, and, on arrival there, found another war-ship. This craft was apparently a sister ship to the first one they had seen, and of the same strength.Having ascertained this, and seeing no more lights but such as lay in the tracks of the other two boats, they turned the bows of the boat seaward, and, finding that it was well-nigh time for them to be at their rendezvous, pulled vigorously in that direction. They had taken but a few strokes when, from somewhere behind them in the town, they heard a distant clamour, suggestive of voices calling and shouting.“Listen a moment,” said Story. “Stop pulling, lads; I want to hear what that is going on behind there.”The men lay on their oars, and all strained their ears, listening. Presently the sound rose from a dull murmur to one of greater volume, and a trumpet pealed out from the shore, answered almost immediately afterwards by one from each of the warships; and suddenly, from one of the batteries, a flash of fire rushed out, illuminating for a few seconds, as does a flash of lightning, the whole bay, and then came the dull report of the gun.“Now, men,” said the lieutenant, “give way; give way for your lives! They have discovered the escape of those other fellows, and will find us also, if we are not out quickly. Resistance to such overwhelming odds as we should meet with would be hopeless; so pull, put your backs into it and make her move!”Lights now began to flash out from all parts of the bay, disclosing the presence of vessels which they had not supposed to be there; and, indeed, it seemed as though they were surrounded on all sides by craft of all rigs and sizes. How they had threaded their way in without falling foul of some of them now seemed a mystery. They prayed fervently that the other two boats might be making their escape while there was yet time to do so.The men set their backs to the work and pulled like very Trojans, and the boat shot through the water. Picking out a course that would take them as far away as possible from the lights now shining all over the roadstead, the lieutenant steered with the utmost caution, for he knew that his life depended on it, together with those of the boat’s crew.At length, after what seemed an eternity, they passed out clear of the encircling ships; nothing stood between them and the open sea; and in another hour they took their bearings and pulled to the rendezvous. Luckily, and to the joy of all hands, when they arrived there one boat was already waiting, and even as they lay on their oars, the third came up from the other direction.News was now quickly and eagerly exchanged, and it was ascertained, putting it all together, that a plate fleet consisting of three ships was indeed there, and that it was guarded by the two warships. The other craft in the bay were mostly coasting and other small vessels, about which they need not very much concern themselves when they came in to the attack. The positions of the land batteries had also been ascertained, and now nothing remained but to return to the squadron with all speed, acquaint the captain with the information obtained, and then sail for La Guayra forthwith, so as to arrive there before the plate fleet could effect its escape from the port. For, once out of sight below the horizon, they could scarcely hope to find it again except after a long and wearisome search.Once more united, the boats began their return journey, pulling hard while the darkness lasted, so as to make a good offing by daybreak, and also to leave themselves less toil after the sun rose.It was about four in the morning when they rounded the promontory that shut in the roadstead, and they could not reckon on more than two hours more of darkness. The men, although fatigued, held well to their work, and the boats moved along at a very good speed.Day broke with the suddenness usual in the tropics, and, the sun rising, disclosed to their view, but a short half-mile in advance of them, the identical vessel that had made such a hurried exit from the roadstead on the previous night. This was excellent, and the English flag was at once hoisted at the staves of the three boats, to show that they were English, and not, as the people aboard the stranger would naturally suppose, Spaniards in pursuit.Seeing the English flag, the vessel hove-to, and the boats soon came alongside. Arriving on deck, Story asked for the captain, and a man stepped forward saying that he was an English seaman, who had originated the plan of escape, and finally contrived it. There were nearly a hundred Englishmen on board, who had been captured in small parties at various times, and had been incarcerated in the prison at La Guayra. They had nearly all been subjected to the tortures of the Holy Office, and bore the most dreadful scars as mementoes of its attentions. Many, under the influence of the torture, had recanted and abjured their own faith in order to save themselves from being burnt alive.It appeared that for some time past they had been considering plans of escape, but the difficulties in the way were many and great, and had, of course, been immeasurably increased by their numbers. The first opportunity, therefore, had only come on the previous night, and they had made the most of it, with what success the reader has seen.Story then informed them of the reason of the boats’ presence there, and, telling them of the proposed attack on the plate fleet, invited them, subject to Cavendish’s approval, to join the squadron.They all gladly acquiesced, without a single dissentient voice, and expressed themselves as right glad of the opportunity to be revenged on their enemies, the Spaniards.With this understanding Story took charge of the ship, and, calling the boats’ crews on deck, made fast the boats themselves astern, and towed them, as, with the freshening breeze that arose with the sun, they made better progress sailing than pulling.As a result of this arrangement they arrived sooner than they were expected, and there was much joy throughout the fleet at the news of the plate fleet, and also because of the valuable reinforcement to their strength, which was very badly needed, and which now made the crews up to almost their full complement.The captured vessel, by means of which the prisoners had effected their escape, was only a carrack of very small tonnage; and therefore, being of no use, she was sunk.The squadron weighed and made sail toward evening, Cavendish’s purpose being to arrive after dark and attempt a surprise attack, the odds being so very greatly in favour of the enemy. Sunset, therefore, saw them under easy sail, heading along the coast toward La Guayra.

At the commencement of the fight the pirate vessel had been manned by a crew numbering well over one hundred men.

But now her dead lay upon her decks literally in heaps; and, alas! there were also many English bodies lying among them. Only seventeen of the crew of theBlack Pearlremained alive, among the survivors being José Leirya himself. It was not due to cowardice, or any shrinking from death on his own part, that he had survived the fight; on the contrary, he had exhibited a fine degree of courage, and it was only by an accident, for which he was in nowise responsible, that he was still alive, and was now standing, with hands lashed behind his back, scowling heavily at his captors. They, on their side, had suffered almost as severely as the pirates, having lost an enormous number of men.

The coming of the sailors from theTigerin the nick of time it was that had saved the day, and turned the tide of battle in favour of the English. Roger and Harry had both had their senses trampled out of them by the headlong rush of the boarders from that ship; but, as the circumstance undoubtedly saved their lives, they were not greatly disposed to grumble at it. Both had soon recovered, and, after examining themselves to discover whether they were badly wounded or not, were now engaged in exchanging confidences and experiences, and relating to each other all that had occurred since their parting prior to the wreck on the sand-bank of Isla de Corsarios.

The captured pirate, having been bound securely, were now consigned to the care of an armed guard, who conducted them below to the hold and bade them make themselves as comfortable as they could on the ship’s ballast.

The commodore then called the roll of the three vessels of his squadron, and found that he had lost no fewer than one hundred and eighty men, killed and wounded, in the engagement. As for the ships, theTigerwas untouched, and the flag-ship practically intact, but theElizabethhad been somewhat severely mauled. Captain Cavendish’s first instructions were that the vessels should at once proceed to execute such repairs as were necessary, in order that they should not be at a disadvantage in the event of a storm overtaking them. But before even this business could be undertaken came the disposal of the dead.

With so many slain to deal with, this was necessarily a brief business, and was accomplished by the simple process of tossing the lifeless bodies over the side, to find a last resting-place on the sand below, if, indeed, the multitude of sharks that were swimming round and round the four vessels did not intervene and otherwise arrange matters.

This unpleasant duty ended, the decks were washed down with water pumped up from alongside, and all sanguinary traces of the recent conflict obliterated. Then Cavendish sent the men who had performed these duties to aid their fellow-seamen in effecting the necessary repairs to those vessels that required them, whilst he and his officers made a tour of inspection of theBlack Pearl, to acquaint themselves thoroughly with the vessel, and to secure her papers, arms, and ammunition, and any valuables that might be on board her. Roger and Harry, having had a brief chat, followed Mr Cavendish down the companion-ladder, and found themselves in the vessel’s main cabin. This was most beautifully fitted up, evidently with the spoils which had been taken out of her numerous captures; but beyond the confines of the captain’s cabin the entire vessel was filthily dirty, eloquently testifying to the objectionable habits of the pirates; and everywhere they went they encountered significant traces of the recent furious combat, in the shape of splintered timbers, riven planking, blood splashes, gashes in the wood-work from sword and axe-blade, holes made by cannon-shot—havoc and destruction reigned supreme. But even this could not disguise the barbaric splendour of the fittings and furniture of the ship. Rich silken curtains were hung anywhere and everywhere where they could be fastened; thick carpets from Turkey and Persia and India were strewn wholesale on the soiled planking. Every available space on wall or bulkhead was ornamented with some trophy or another. Stars of pistols, swords, hangers, boarding-axes, and pikes were hung wherever there was room for them. Roger noticed some pieces of exquisite and priceless old tapestry beside the carriage of one of the main-deck guns, that had probably served as a curtain, but was now torn down, trampled upon, smeared with blood, and blackened with powder smoke. The officers of the vessel had evidently each enjoyed a cabin to himself, furnished according to the occupant’s taste; and in every one there were articles of enormous value, while the silken cushions, thick-piled carpets, and dainty coverlets to the bunks might have led one to suppose that the cabins had been inhabited by delicate ladies rather than by savage pirates, to whom murder was an almost everyday occurrence. They all exhibited, however, as might have been expected from such a crew, the most execrable taste in arrangement. All the colours of the rainbow were combined together, and every article seemed totally out of place in all the apartments save that belonging to José Leirya himself.

The cabin belonging to the captain was situated at the stern of the vessel, and for windows had two large openings leading out on to a little stern gallery, where José could walk in privacy and be in the open air. This cabin had received the full benefit of the raking fire from the flag-ship, and presented a scene of lamentable destruction.

Instead of the two windows leading out on to the gallery there was now an enormous gaping hole, the lower edge of which was within a hand’s-breadth of the water, which occasionally rippled in as the schooner rose and fell upon the swell. The rich hangings of silk and tapestry were pierced and rent; long gashes had been gouged out of the floor by the round-shot; fragments of silver and gold statues and candlesticks lay here and there scattered in confusion, and it was evident that had a single living thing been in that cabin at the moment when the broadside was delivered it could not possibly have escaped. Yet, strangely enough, there were three splendid pictures hanging still upon the cabin-walls absolutely uninjured, and these Cavendish gave orders to be at once removed and sent on board his ship.

In a magnificently inlaid and ornamented bureau there were found all the private papers belonging to José, together with the ship’s log, both of which provided, later, the most gruesome reading.

Of valuables there were none to be found in the drawers, or hidden away, and Roger mentally decided that the man, for his own safety, had never allowed valuables to accumulate on board theBlack Pearl, but had always transferred them, at the first opportunity that presented itself, to his hiding-place at Lonely Inlet. But he kept his surmise to himself and Harry.

The vessel’s hold, which was next investigated, contained nothing of any importance or value, and, in fact, the whole vessel yielded but small return for their careful search.

The officers now returned to the deck, to find that it was once more broad daylight; and each went back to his own vessel for breakfast. Roger, having said good-bye to the captain and officers of theElizabeth, and thanked them for their kindness in taking him off the island and afterwards, pushed off to the flag-ship with Mr Cavendish and Harry. Jake Irwin and Walter Bevan, poor fellows, would rejoin their shipmates no more. They had both fallen, fighting bravely, and were now lying fathoms deep in the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. Little did they imagine, when they left the Isla de Corsarios the day before, that death was so close to them!

After breakfast Cavendish called a council of officers in his own cabin, to discuss the fate of the surviving pirates and their schooner.

The decision was soon made as to the pirates, and it was that they should be hanged, one and all, from the yards of their own vessel. As to the vessel herself, it took somewhat longer to arrive at an agreement; but in view of the fact that she was little better than a shattered wreck, and that, even if she were to be repaired, they had lost so many hands that they could not very well spare the men to handle her, it was finally decided that she should be destroyed.

This business settled, the council broke up, and the members of it went on deck. The flag-ship’s boats were then manned, and the officers of the fleet went on board the schooner. Orders had meanwhile been given, on board the vessels of the squadron, that their crews should turn up to witness the execution. The captives were then brought up on deck, and Cavendish himself read the sentence over to them, and bade them prepare for death. They met the announcement with the utmost callousness. One or two of them exchanged remarks in a low tone of voice, and one man was actually heard to laugh outright. As for José Leirya, he heard the sentence with absolute indifference, and, when asked whether he had anything to say, answered not a word.

A whip was now rove from each of the fore yard-arms of theBlack Pearl, and a gun on the forecastle loaded with a blank charge. A number of men were then detailed to run aft with the tail end of the whip as soon as the noose should have been fitted round each man’s neck.

Mr Cavendish decided that he would hang the captain first, so that every survivor of his crew might witness the death of their leader.

All being now in readiness, four seamen walked up to José Leirya and, stooping, cut the bonds that secured his feet. The pirate stood still for a moment to allow the blood to circulate once more freely through his limbs, and then, bound though his arms were, he wrenched himself free from the grasp of the four seamen and made a furious dash towards the side of his ship, actually succeeding in scrambling on to her bulwark, with the evident intention of drowning himself, and thus evading the indignity of death by hanging.

The seamen, however, who had been hurled right and left by his herculean effort, closed upon him promptly, and, with very little ceremony, hauled him off with violence, hurling him to the deck and themselves falling on the top of him and holding him down with their weight. Yet once again he succeeded in wrenching himself free from the men’s clutches and, staggering to his feet, made another dart for the ship’s side. But he was pounced upon again, and once more they all fell upon the deck together.

A taunting laugh rang out from the group of bound ruffians who were awaiting their fate, and stung the English sailors to madness. That one man, and he partly bound, should keep four stalwart seamen at bay was too much for their temper. They rushed at the pirate again, and this time seized him securely; then, tripping him up, they slipped a running bowline over his ankles and hauled it taut, thus rendering the man helpless. Yet even then they could scarcely keep their grip on him, so enormous was the strength with which he turned and twisted in their grip.

At length, after an infinity of trouble, they succeeded in dragging him to the forecastle; the running noose attached to the whip was brought up to the pirate and slipped over his neck; Cavendish then gave the signal, the gun was fired, the men holding the end of the whip ran aft, the seamen holding the man sprang aside, and the pirate’s body, still struggling and writhing, went flying aloft, to stop presently with a jerk as it reached the jewel-block, and dangle at the end of the fore yard-arm, still plunging and struggling with such violence that the yard itself fairly shook. It was some considerable time before the struggles ceased. The body was allowed to hang a little longer, and then the rope was cut, and the corpse plunged downward into the sea among the sharks, whose clashing teeth and noisy splashes gave conclusive evidence as to the whereabouts of the pirate’s last resting-place.

The remainder of the ruffians betrayed not the slightest emotion at the terrible fate of their leader, but went silently and calmly to their doom, without struggling as their captain had done; and very soon the dread ceremony was over, and the pirates had met their deserts.

The only matter that now remained was the destruction of the notoriousBlack Pearl.

Powder and shot there were in plenty, on board the squadron; so Mr Cavendish decided to give his ships’ crews a little practice in gunnery. By this time also the necessary repairs to the vessels engaged had been executed, and all was now in readiness for the resumption of the cruise. Sail was therefore made, and the vessels drew off to a distance of about three-quarters of a mile, when they hove-to and began to practise on the pirate vessel with their guns. The flag-ship was the first to make a hit, which she did between wind and water with her bow-chaser. The other vessels then got the range, and hulled theBlack Pearlwith nearly every shot.

Harry and Roger, once more together on the flag-ship, had already recounted in detail all their adventures during the time that they were separated, the one on the sand-bank and the other on the ship driven away to leeward of the island by the storm. They were both now standing amongst the crew of the bow-chaser gun, watching the effect of every shot with the utmost interest; and Roger presently asked the captain of the gun to allow him to have a shot. The man, who was much attached to the lad by reason of many little acts of kindness received, made no demur. The gun was reloaded, and Roger, with the firing-match in his hand, cocked his eye along the chase of the piece, watching until the heaving of the ship should bring the sights to bear on the hulk. Presently theGood Adventuredipped to a large wave, and Roger, who was watching like a cat, applied the match. There came the sharp report of the discharge, and, as the smoke swept away, the young man had the satisfaction of seeing his shot strike the vessel right between wind and water, just at the side of a hole where two others had penetrated. This shot of his, of course, much enlarged the already large hole, through which the water of the Caribbean was now pouring like a sluice; and it was seen that the pirate vessel was on the point of foundering. Even as they watched, the craft seemed to settle visibly deeper in the water, and she rolled heavily two or three times. A few seconds later her stern was seen to lift high and her bows to point downward; steeper and steeper became the angle of her decks and then, with a slow forward movement that quickly became a diving rush, she plunged to the bottom, vanishing from their sight in a whirl and froth of water.

Such was the end of theBlack Pearl! For years she had been the terror of all the seas around the West Indies and the coasts of New Spain. She had been a floating den of vice, murder, and every conceivable form of infamy, and now her lawless and adventurous career had terminated in her becoming a target for the guns of the avengers of the evil she had wrought, while her captain and surviving crew had swung from the yard-arm of their own vessel before she herself was destroyed. Her career of murder and terror and destruction was ended at last, and the evil spirit of those seas was laid.

All now being over, and it being no longer necessary to carry out their original intention of scouring the Mexican Gulf for the pirate—chance having so fortunately thrown him in their way,—it was decided to carry out the other part of their programme; which, it will be remembered, was to run to La Guayra and see whether there were any plate ships lying there, and, if so, to endeavour to cut them out and capture them. A course was therefore set, and the little squadron bore away to the southward and eastward in the direction of that port.

Roger and Harry had now a little time to themselves, and, having so recently witnessed the destruction of the pirate vessel and the execution of her notorious captain, the conversation naturally enough turned to the cipher which Roger had in his possession. He had already acquainted his friend with the news that the marooned man, William Evans, had given him an exact duplicate of the cipher that he had in his possession, taken from theGloria del Mundo, and the two lads now seriously turned their attention to its translation. But again it foiled them; they could make nothing of it. They did not wish to communicate the fact of it being in their possession to any third person, and ask his advice, knowing that a secret shared with others is usually a secret no longer. So he and Harry kept their knowledge to themselves, and went over the remainder of the papers which Evans had given Roger, as well as the cipher. These also proved to be of no importance to anyone but their former owner, as they merely contained notes from the log and diary of the pirate, and, indeed, consisted mainly of a skeleton account of his many atrocities, recorded for who knows what reason. The two lads could not see that any useful purpose would be served by retaining these memoranda; they therefore tore them up small, and consigned them to the deep. For this reason the history of the doings and exploits of the pirate José Leirya has never been written, and never will be.

As the two lads could make nothing of the cipher, they put it away, deciding not to worry their heads about the matter until some time in the future, when they should have nothing else to occupy them. The two ciphers were therefore folded up into a neat packet, and, with the assistance of a needle and thread, Harry sewed the little parcel into the lining of his friend’s coat, in such a position and manner that even a rigorous search would probably fail to disclose the presence of the papers.

“Now you have them quite safe, my friend,” said Harry, “and so long as you stick to your jacket you need never be afraid of losing that cryptogram. And should anybody ever come, by any chance, to know that you have the key to José’s treasure, he will never be able to find it, even if he attempts to rob you.”

“No, Harry, I should say not,” laughed Roger. “But I do not think I need fear that any person will try to rob me of that cipher; for, so far as I know, the only person now alive who is aware that one existed is that evil-looking fellow Alvarez, and he will imagine, doubtless, that the cryptogram went down with all the other papers in the Spanish man-of-war. And he probably thinks, too, that I also went down with her. At any rate it was not his fault that I did not.”

“Well,” objected Harry, “I am not so sure about his thinking you were drowned on that occasion, for, when we sent him and the other Spaniards ashore at Lonely Inlet, I saw him looking very hard at you, and I believe he recognised you, for he spoke to another man beside him, and tapped his own pocket. The other fellow then looked at you, as though to make sure of recognising you again, and nodded to Alvarez as they both went down the side. Yes, I am pretty sure that Alvarez recognised you, and I think it not unlikely that he may have some idea that you saw him looking for something in that cabin, and that when you were rescued you took with you those papers that he left behind in his fright; and, if so, he of course believes that you have that cipher in your possession at this moment.”

“Well, Harry, old lad,” laughed Roger in reply, “I do not suppose I shall ever see Alvarez again, and if I do I shall take care that I do not fall into his power, you may be quite sure. There is one thing certain. Now that José and his crew are dead, that treasure will never be found except by us, and only by us if we can succeed in translating the cryptogram, for there is no one else on earth now who knows even its locality.”

“Quite true, Roger, my friend,” replied Harry. “But I do most sincerely hope that the possession of that paper will not bring you to any harm.”

The conversation between the two lads was at this moment interrupted by the cry of “Land, ho!” from above, and both boys ran up on deck to catch the first glimpse of it.

“Hurrah!” shouted Roger in great glee. “Hurrah! this shows that we are not far from La Guayra now, and then for more fighting and adventure, and perhaps we may be able to get ashore for an hour or two.”

The land could be discerned fairly clearly from the fore topmast cross-tree, to which Roger and his friend ascended. It showed as a bold headland, apparently of great height and rocky in formation.

Having satisfied their curiosity, the two came down from aloft, and, seeing one of the officers attentively looking at the fast-rising land, asked him what it might be; if it was anywhere near La Guayra, and how far away it was.

“You two youngsters seem very eager to sight land again,” replied the lieutenant, smiling. “I should have thought that you, Trevose, would have had enough of land for a time, after being so very nearly left behind on that sand-bank. But, to satisfy your curiosity, I will tell you. That tall headland that you see yonder, and toward which we are now steering, is called Cape Oruba, and is the north-north-west extremity of the island of Oruba. We shall leave that island on our starboard hand, and as we pass it we ought to see the island of Curazao in the distance, which island we, of course, leave on our port hand. Then we head into the Gulf of Triste, and so on to La Guayra. Now, young men, I have posted you up in the different landmarks that we shall pass, and you can look them up for yourselves, and see where we are, from that Spanish chart that you were so thoughtful as to bring with you from theGloria del Mundo.”

Roger and Harry thanked the lieutenant for the information, and went below to see where was the ship’s actual position.

Nothing of any interest happened here, and in three days from the time when they first sighted Oruba Point they were as close in to La Guayra as they dared venture without further investigation.

Once more a council of officers was held in Mr Cavendish’s cabin, on board the flag-ship, and a plan of campaign arranged. The squadron, it was decided, was to lie-to in a little bay not many miles to the north-westward of the Port of La Guayra. There was no danger of its presence there being discovered, there being no town or port near; the cliffs rose up almost perpendicularly from the water’s edge, and the little bay itself was practically landlocked, and thus hidden from seaward. Then three boats were to be provisioned with food and water for two days, and, leaving the ships early in the afternoon, were to arrive off La Guayra about midnight or thereabout. They were to make as close an investigation of the harbour, and any ships that might be in it, as could be made with safety. They were to ascertain, if possible, whether there were any plate ships in the roadstead, and, if so, the precise positions in which they were lying. They were also to determine, as nearly as they could, what the chances of a night attack would be; whether likely to be successful or otherwise. In short, they were to accumulate all the information they could, without being seen.

The little squadron—which had been hove-to during the consultation—filled away once more, and carefully felt its way into the bay, and, after many very narrow escapes of falling foul of the rocks and sand-banks with which the entrance was encumbered, came to an anchor in safety in the spot where it was to remain until such time as the boat expedition should return. A boat was provisioned and manned by each ship in the squadron, and Roger and Harry, who were always ready for any adventure that promised a spice of danger, pleaded so eloquently to be allowed to accompany the boat sent by the flag-ship, that Mr Cavendish, after considerable demur, agreed to their going, at the same time cautioning them that even a very slight indiscretion on their part might easily involve the expedition in something nearly approaching disaster.

The next day, all being in readiness, the boats set off on their dangerous errand about two bells in the afternoon watch, immediately after the seamen had taken their mid-day meal. They were accompanied by the prayers and good wishes for success from all in the fleet, but no cheering was indulged in, lest perchance some wandering herdsman on the heights should catch the sound, look for its source, discover the lurking ships, and hasten away to the city to give it warning.

They kept as close under the huge cliffs that towered above the narrow beach as they could with safety, in order to lessen the danger of being seen to seaward, and after dark pulled slightly farther out to sea to avoid the possibility of running on some rock which they might see and avoid by daylight, but not after dark.

About nine o’clock, Roger, who was away up in the bows of the leading boat, keeping a lookout, passed the word aft to the officer in charge that they had just opened up a light, apparently on shore.

“That’s our goal, then,” said the officer; “that’s La Guayra! And now to find out whether there is anything in there that it may be worth our while to attack.”

He then made the signal for the other two boats to close, to give the officers in command an opportunity for a final consultation. It was presently arranged that, on entering the bay, they were to separate, and each was to scour a certain part of the harbour, and join the others again at three o’clock in the morning at the spot where they parted company, the bearings of which were to be carefully and accurately taken.

La Guayra lies in the hollow of an extensive but open roadstead, and is built at the foot of a range of huge mountains, which tower up into the clouds behind it, and at the back of which lies Caracas, now the capital of Venezuela.

It was to the extremity of this roadstead that the three boats had now come, and the twinkling lights of the town were clearly discernible at some distance.

Anxiously they scanned the bay for any sign of ships lying there, and after a few moments they were able to make out certain detached sparks of light, which they felt certain were the riding-lights of a number of vessels. It now remained for them to pull quietly and unobtrusively shoreward, and ascertain what the vessels were, and, as far as possible, discover their strength, and how they lay for protection from the shore batteries.

The oars were therefore muffled with pieces of cloth that had been brought for the purpose, and, orders having been given that no light was to be shown in any of the boats for any purpose whatever, they separated, all making for the several points agreed upon before starting.

The boat belonging to the flag-ship had the position of honour, and therefore of most danger. She was to take a middle course, and pull down to the foot of the bay, close inshore, and right under the guns of the batteries; a task so dangerous that, should they by any misfortune be seen, there would be no hope or possibility of escape for them. In dead silence they pulled slowly along, peering carefully about them, and getting ever nearer and nearer to the town. The lights began to show more clearly, and large objects ashore to assume a somewhat definite outline. The dark background of the mighty mountains behind the town could be made out towering far above them, their heads seemingly among the few stars that were that night shining.

They were creeping on and inward, steering for a cluster of lights that evidently betokened the presence of a large vessel at anchor about a mile farther in, when those same lights were suddenly obscured, and a little later there came plainly to their ears a swish of water, strongly suggestive of some vessel moving at speed. At the whispered command of the officer the boat’s crew backed water simultaneously, and brought the boat to a stand-still, just in time to avoid being run down by a dark mass that came swiftly, and with no lights showing, out toward the open sea. As she passed the boat, within oar’s-length, they could hear quite distinctly the sound of voices, and, to their utter amazement, the speech of those voices was English. The vessel was moving so swiftly that only a few words could be caught, and these were: “All is well so far, John, my lad; in an hour from this we shall be out of this bay, and, once on the open sea, it will take more than—” and the voice was lost in the distance.

Roger had, some time before, come aft, and was now by the side of the lieutenant.

He said in a hushed voice: “What does that mean, Mr Story? There is some strange happening abroad this night. That ship had Englishmen aboard her; yet, so far as we know, there are no English ships beside ourselves in these seas just now. Besides, why was she carrying no lights?”

“’Pon my word, Roger, I don’t know,” replied Story. “As you say, there are no other English about here excepting ourselves; yet the people in possession of that craft are undoubtedly English. Ah! can it be, I wonder, that these people are English prisoners who are effecting their escape from the Spaniards to-night of all nights; and, having managed to get hold of a ship, are now clearing off? Zounds! I believe I am right, and that is what has happened. This is doubly annoying. First, because we are very short-handed ourselves, and if we could only have got those fellows to join us it would have helped us to make up our crews once more; and, secondly, because their escape will surely be discovered before long, and a search made, which will render it very awkward for us. I wish I could somehow contrive to communicate with those other two boats, and let them know; for, this having happened, it is high time for us to beat a retreat, or we shall be caught like rats in a trap! But there is no way, so we had better make the best and most of it, get what information we can, and then be off back to the rendezvous to wait for the others, and start for the ships directly they appear. Give way again, boys; but be silent for your very lives’ sake.”

Therewith they went swiftly and silently forward again, and shortly afterward came close alongside a ship for which they had been cautiously steering. They discovered that she was a Spanish war-vessel, and her very presence there suggested a plate fleet, which she was probably destined to convoy.

After pulling very cautiously round her, and ascertaining her strength, they made off toward another group of lights, and, on arrival there, found another war-ship. This craft was apparently a sister ship to the first one they had seen, and of the same strength.

Having ascertained this, and seeing no more lights but such as lay in the tracks of the other two boats, they turned the bows of the boat seaward, and, finding that it was well-nigh time for them to be at their rendezvous, pulled vigorously in that direction. They had taken but a few strokes when, from somewhere behind them in the town, they heard a distant clamour, suggestive of voices calling and shouting.

“Listen a moment,” said Story. “Stop pulling, lads; I want to hear what that is going on behind there.”

The men lay on their oars, and all strained their ears, listening. Presently the sound rose from a dull murmur to one of greater volume, and a trumpet pealed out from the shore, answered almost immediately afterwards by one from each of the warships; and suddenly, from one of the batteries, a flash of fire rushed out, illuminating for a few seconds, as does a flash of lightning, the whole bay, and then came the dull report of the gun.

“Now, men,” said the lieutenant, “give way; give way for your lives! They have discovered the escape of those other fellows, and will find us also, if we are not out quickly. Resistance to such overwhelming odds as we should meet with would be hopeless; so pull, put your backs into it and make her move!”

Lights now began to flash out from all parts of the bay, disclosing the presence of vessels which they had not supposed to be there; and, indeed, it seemed as though they were surrounded on all sides by craft of all rigs and sizes. How they had threaded their way in without falling foul of some of them now seemed a mystery. They prayed fervently that the other two boats might be making their escape while there was yet time to do so.

The men set their backs to the work and pulled like very Trojans, and the boat shot through the water. Picking out a course that would take them as far away as possible from the lights now shining all over the roadstead, the lieutenant steered with the utmost caution, for he knew that his life depended on it, together with those of the boat’s crew.

At length, after what seemed an eternity, they passed out clear of the encircling ships; nothing stood between them and the open sea; and in another hour they took their bearings and pulled to the rendezvous. Luckily, and to the joy of all hands, when they arrived there one boat was already waiting, and even as they lay on their oars, the third came up from the other direction.

News was now quickly and eagerly exchanged, and it was ascertained, putting it all together, that a plate fleet consisting of three ships was indeed there, and that it was guarded by the two warships. The other craft in the bay were mostly coasting and other small vessels, about which they need not very much concern themselves when they came in to the attack. The positions of the land batteries had also been ascertained, and now nothing remained but to return to the squadron with all speed, acquaint the captain with the information obtained, and then sail for La Guayra forthwith, so as to arrive there before the plate fleet could effect its escape from the port. For, once out of sight below the horizon, they could scarcely hope to find it again except after a long and wearisome search.

Once more united, the boats began their return journey, pulling hard while the darkness lasted, so as to make a good offing by daybreak, and also to leave themselves less toil after the sun rose.

It was about four in the morning when they rounded the promontory that shut in the roadstead, and they could not reckon on more than two hours more of darkness. The men, although fatigued, held well to their work, and the boats moved along at a very good speed.

Day broke with the suddenness usual in the tropics, and, the sun rising, disclosed to their view, but a short half-mile in advance of them, the identical vessel that had made such a hurried exit from the roadstead on the previous night. This was excellent, and the English flag was at once hoisted at the staves of the three boats, to show that they were English, and not, as the people aboard the stranger would naturally suppose, Spaniards in pursuit.

Seeing the English flag, the vessel hove-to, and the boats soon came alongside. Arriving on deck, Story asked for the captain, and a man stepped forward saying that he was an English seaman, who had originated the plan of escape, and finally contrived it. There were nearly a hundred Englishmen on board, who had been captured in small parties at various times, and had been incarcerated in the prison at La Guayra. They had nearly all been subjected to the tortures of the Holy Office, and bore the most dreadful scars as mementoes of its attentions. Many, under the influence of the torture, had recanted and abjured their own faith in order to save themselves from being burnt alive.

It appeared that for some time past they had been considering plans of escape, but the difficulties in the way were many and great, and had, of course, been immeasurably increased by their numbers. The first opportunity, therefore, had only come on the previous night, and they had made the most of it, with what success the reader has seen.

Story then informed them of the reason of the boats’ presence there, and, telling them of the proposed attack on the plate fleet, invited them, subject to Cavendish’s approval, to join the squadron.

They all gladly acquiesced, without a single dissentient voice, and expressed themselves as right glad of the opportunity to be revenged on their enemies, the Spaniards.

With this understanding Story took charge of the ship, and, calling the boats’ crews on deck, made fast the boats themselves astern, and towed them, as, with the freshening breeze that arose with the sun, they made better progress sailing than pulling.

As a result of this arrangement they arrived sooner than they were expected, and there was much joy throughout the fleet at the news of the plate fleet, and also because of the valuable reinforcement to their strength, which was very badly needed, and which now made the crews up to almost their full complement.

The captured vessel, by means of which the prisoners had effected their escape, was only a carrack of very small tonnage; and therefore, being of no use, she was sunk.

The squadron weighed and made sail toward evening, Cavendish’s purpose being to arrive after dark and attempt a surprise attack, the odds being so very greatly in favour of the enemy. Sunset, therefore, saw them under easy sail, heading along the coast toward La Guayra.

Chapter Fifteen.Capture of the Plate Fleet and Sack of la Guayra—Disappearance of Roger and Harry.To make certain of not arriving at their destination too soon, and before the townspeople and the garrison had retired for the night, the English ships carried but a small amount of canvas, and consequently made only some two to three knots per hour.It was a little after midnight when Roger, who was, as usual, on the lookout, and who was credited with the sharpest pair of eyes in the ship, saw for the second time the lights of La Guayra opening up. As they came into fuller view of the town itself, and of the roadstead, they were somewhat astonished to find that both were enveloped in almost perfect darkness—there was scarcely a light to be seen, either ashore or afloat. There were one or two scattered here and there about the town, but there were none at all in the forts, and not a single glimmer was to be made out anywhere in the roadstead.Surely it was not possible that the vessels of the plate fleet, and its two protecting warships, could have left the port and disappeared during the short time that had elapsed since the boat expedition had made its reconnaissance! At that time, too, there had been numerous other craft lying there at anchor; yet now it seemed as though the bay were deserted. Some fresh arrangement—some new plan—was obviously necessary.The English ships showed no lights whatever, and the strictest silence was observed. The captains had received their orders beforehand, and would have known exactly what course to pursue had there been any lights showing. But now it became necessary to take fresh counsel among themselves, and decide how to act.The flag-ship was, as usual, in the van, and Mr Cavendish ordered all the boats to be lowered and manned. These were then to spread out in line, so as to make sure of intercepting the other two vessels as they came up, and, having found them, to give orders for them to heave-to, and for their respective captains to repair on board theGood Adventure. The boats themselves were to return to the flag-ship as soon as these orders had been carried out.Luckily there was no difficulty in picking up the other ships, even in the pitchy blackness that prevailed that night, and with but a few minutes’ delay the officers of the fleet were once more assembled in the cabin of the flag-ship. The situation was discussed as briefly as possible, for there was no time to lose, and it was presently decided that, instead of the remainder of the fleet following the flag-ship’s lead, as originally agreed, the officer of each ship who had been with the boat expedition should do his best to pilot the vessel under his care to the berth occupied by the warships. Arrived there, should the Spanish ships be present, as all on board fervently hoped would prove to be the case, they were to attack at once. Whichever of the two Spaniards might happen to be first attacked, the other would almost certainly come to the help of her consort, and the flash of the guns and noise of the tumult would serve to guide the remainder of the English squadron to the scene of the conflict.If, on the other hand, it should be found that the warships and plate ships had made their escape, each vessel was to return to the entrance of the roadstead and await the arrival of her consorts as they too retreated from the bay, when, all having rejoined, they were to return to their former hiding-place, where fresh plans would be discussed and made.This matter being arranged, the captains returned each to his own ship, and very shortly afterward the fleet were again under weigh and standing inshore in the same order as at first.Slowly and noiselessly as ghosts they glided on, each heading for the place where the pilots thought, and all hoped against hope, to find the warships lying, with behind them the plate fleet, which was the actual objective of the expedition.The English ships had separated, and on board the flag-ship nothing could now be seen or heard of the remainder of the squadron, each pilot having taken the direction in which he personally considered the enemy to be lying. Nothing could be made out, either ashore or afloat, to guide them in the slightest degree in their search. They were, indeed, groping blindly forward in the hope of accidentally coming upon their quarry. The few lights of the town that were visible were away at the other side of it, at a long distance from them, and were so far from being of any service that they were positively misleading, to such an extent that at any moment it might happen that they would find their ship ashore.Roger and Harry were standing in their usual position on the fore-deck, gazing eagerly ahead, each anxious to be the first to sight the enemy, when Harry caught his friend’s sleeve, and, pointing into the darkness at a faint blur upon their port bow, said:“There’s something there, Roger. D’ye see it, lad? It’s a ship of some sort. I can just make out her masts. We shall pass her at very close quarters. Now, I wonder if perchance she is one of the warships that we are searching for?”The words were scarcely out of his mouth when a perfect volcano of flame flashed from the side of the vessel which Harry had just sighted, immediately followed by a thunderous roar, and the shot from the well-aimed broadside came crashing aboard, doing a considerable amount of execution. Men fell in every part of the ship. Cries, shrieks, groans, and curses arose from the decks, which for a moment were a perfect pandemonium of confusion.The captain, rushing along the deck, shouted: “Steady, lads, and stand to your guns! The Spaniards expected and are ready for us; but do not forget that you are Englishmen. Pull yourselves together, men, and give them back better than we received.”The confusion was but momentary. The crews were by this time too well disciplined to become panic-stricken, and, awaiting the word of command, they presently poured in their already-prepared broadside with great effect, for the mainmast of the war-ship was seen to quiver, totter, and finally fall with a rending crash over the side remote from theGood Adventure, throwing the crew of the Spaniard into momentary disorder.As the flag-ship came up to her antagonist, she took in her sails and ranged up alongside, inshore of her. There were no batteries opposite where the vessels were lying, so that no danger was to be apprehended on that score.Like magic, the lights flared up from all parts of the town, and aboard all the vessels in the bay, as also in the fort at the opposite extremity of the roadstead. The war-ship herself became a blaze of illumination, as did also her consort, which could now be seen lying but a half-cable’s-length distant, and which also opened a tremendous fire upon the flag-ship. The other two ships of the English squadron, meanwhile, had shifted their helms and were fast approaching, guided by the flashing of guns and the uproar of the action.Even the ships of the plate fleet, lying near at hand, and which proved to be heavily armed, now began to open fire, as well as the distant fort; and it was soon very evident that the English fleet had entered into an engagement in which the odds were vastly against them. They had anticipated surprising the enemy; but the surprise was all the other way. Neither had they reckoned on the plate vessels being nearly so heavily armed.The booming of cannon now resounded from all sides, and the darkness was made light by the flashes from the guns, whilst the air became thick and heavy with powder smoke. TheElizabethand theTigerhad come upon the scene, and were attacking the second war-ship, which was resisting gallantly, supported as she was by the guns from the ships composing the plate fleet.Indeed the English were in a very warm corner.The flag-ship was engaging the first war-ship—the name of which they discovered to be theSotomayor—yard-arm to yard-arm, and both vessels fairly reeled under the concussion as the heavy shot crashed in at one side and out at the other, while theGood Adventurewas already on fire below from the flashes of the guns of her opponent. English sailormen, however, were ready then, as now, to meet all emergencies, and the fire was speedily quenched, only to start again, however, and be again put out.Three times did Cavendish pour his boarders on to the decks of theSotomayor, and three times they were driven back by the desperate valour and greatly superior numbers of the Spaniards.The Spaniard had lost every mast but her foremast, and the English ship was in almost as bad a plight. Both ships were badly riddled by shot, and their crews were decimated. It seemed as though, unless some decisive move were made to end the conflict, that the combatants would be exterminated to a man.The second war-ship, theVilla de Mejico, was in even worse plight than her consort, having two vessels to engage her instead of only one. She fought with the valour of desperation, however, and was packed with soldiers who had been put aboard her from the fort in anticipation of the attack.It had somehow got to be known, although it was never discovered how, that the English were near at hand, and were suspected of contemplating an attack on the fleet; and in view of this suspicion elaborate preparations had been made for their reception.The crews of theTigerand theElizabethhad several times endeavoured to board, but had been swept back to their own ships on every occasion by the combined sailors and soldiers on the Spaniard.Harry and Roger were, as usual, in the very thick of it, fighting side by side like the young heroes that they were, and, truth to tell, doing a considerable amount of execution.They were pausing for a moment to take breath, when both happened to glance forward, and at once saw that the two ships, theGood Adventureand theSotomayorwith her, were drifting right down upon the second Spaniard and her antagonists. The Spaniards on theSotomayor, finding themselves almost overpowered, had cut their cable purposely, to drift down with the tide on board their consort, in the hope of being able to make a better stand together than separately. But they were mistaken in their expectation. The other vessel, having had two to contend with, was in no condition to render assistance of any kind; rather, indeed, did she stand in need of help from theSotomayor.A brief minute later the flag-ship, still grappling with her quarry, was aboard the other three craft, and the confusion became worse confounded.The Spaniards, determined to make one last desperate effort to beat off the English, rallied, and, combining their forces, forestalled their antagonists by attempting to board.The two Spanish ships acted in concert, and hurled their soldiers and sailors aboard the three English craft; but it was a hopeless attempt from the first. The English closed up, and, forming a solid phalanx, cut them down right and left, driving them back, and quickly compelling the shattered remnant of the boarders to seek the refuge of their own decks. Nor did they stop at that, but followed them pell-mell and close on their heels in their retreat to the decks of the Spanish ships. The Spaniards fought with the courage of desperation, but their utmost efforts were unavailing; the blood of the Englishmen was now thoroughly up, and there was no stopping them. They rushed with irresistible courage and determination among the shattered and now completely disheartened remnants of the enemy, and cut them down wholesale. Mere mortal flesh and blood could no longer withstand the impetuous onslaught of the Englishmen, and presently a voice was heard from their diminished ranks shouting: “We surrender! we surrender! Mercy, mercy!”Cavendish raised his voice in command; the slaughter ceased, and the two armadas were in the hands of the English. The Spaniards were ordered to fling down their weapons, and they obeyed.They were then at once sent below and secured under hatches, and the victors were now free to turn their attention to the plate ships that were their primary objective.Such boats as would swim were quickly lowered and filled with armed men, whose orders were to board the vessels, capture them out of hand, and carry them out to sea under their own canvas; after which the English vessels and their two prizes would make their way out of the roadstead as well as might be in their shattered state.Once out of the bay, the uninjured vessels of the plate fleet would be able to tow their companions in misfortune.At sight of the approaching boats, containing the victorious English, the crews of the plate ships were seized with uncontrollable panic, and many of them incontinently jumped overboard, whilst the remainder hurriedly lowered their boats and pulled shoreward, anxious only to escape by any means from so terrible a foe. And this they were allowed to do without let or hindrance from the English, as the latter had already quite as many prisoners as they could conveniently look after.The vessels were boarded, and sail made; and presently the enraged population of La Guayra had the bitter mortification of seeing the plate ships sail out of the roadstead in the possession of the English.They swore vengeance, deep and awful, should any of those “pirates”—as they always termed the English adventurers—ever fall into their hands; but the latter were equally ignorant of and indifferent to such threats.The vessels, injured and uninjured, in due time gained the outside of the roadstead, and there hove-to, in order to effect temporary repairs.Meanwhile Cavendish had resolved to jury-rig his vessels, and sink the two armadas in full view of the town, to make the defeat and capture still more bitter to the Spaniards.The Spaniards were transferred from theSotomayorand theMejicoto the English fleet, and at daylight the warships were sunk in full view of the town. The English fleet then anchored, and proceeded with their work of repair; whilst, for safety’s sake, a prize crew was put on board each of the plate ships, which were then sent away to the former hiding-place at the little bay down the coast.Whilst the repairs were going forward, Cavendish held another council, at which it was resolved to send an expedition by night to attack La Guayra itself. He argued that the Spaniards would deem them content with the capture of the plate ships, and would never expect them to land and attack the city. They would be taken by surprise; and, as the crowning event of the successful enterprise just executed, he would sack and burn the town, “to give the Spaniards something to remember him by”, as he phrased it.The sailors were only too delighted at the idea of attacking their enemies again, as also at the prospect of the plunder to be obtained at the looting and sack of the city.The boats were therefore lowered over the side of the ships remote from the town, and lay under the vessels’ lee during the day, in readiness for the attack that night.All day long the repairs were gone on with, and after nightfall torches and lanterns were lit, to deceive the Spaniards into believing that they were working hard all through the night, and so lessen their suspicion as to the probability of any further attack.A keen watch was kept on the town all day long, to discover whether any preparations were being made to resist attack, but nothing of the kind could be discovered.Evidently the Spaniards, as Cavendish had anticipated, were lulled to security by the supposition that the English, having secured the plate fleet, would have no reason or incentive for returning, and fondly hoped that, as soon as the repairs to the ships were finished, they would sail away; and that would be the last they would see of the heretic dogs.But they little knew the character of Cavendish; he was not the man to abandon any enterprise upon which he had once entered. It was a principle of his to inflict the greatest possible amount of damage on the enemy that he could; and meanwhile the town of La Guayra still remained uninjured.Therefore—so ran his argument—La Guayra must be sacked and laid in ashes before he could consider his duty as thoroughly finished.As a consequence, shortly after midnight the boats of the fleet stole silently out from under the sheltering lee of their parent vessels, and made swiftly and noiselessly, with muffled oars, for the town.Roger and Harry, ready as ever for an adventure, no matter how dangerous it might be, were in the boats, and keeping a sharp lookout ahead; for by this time there were but few lights to guide them, the whole city being wrapped in darkness.Everything ahead of and around them was perfectly quiet; not a sound disturbed the still night air save only the scarcely audible ripple of water under the boats’ bows as they swept gently shoreward.Presently there was a grating of pebbles under their keels, and the boats stopped dead.The crews silently disembarked, and all stood still for a few moments, listening intently to ascertain whether the noise of the boats grounding on the beach had been heard. But no sound came to them, and, after waiting a little longer to make certain, the boats were gently pushed off again, each in charge of a couple of hands to take care of them, and the marauders proceeded up the beach, soon arriving on the road that ran the whole length of the town at the edge of the shingle.The first thing to be done was to obtain possession of the fort; and, feeling their way as best they could in the dense darkness, they set off in the direction in which they knew it lay.Up the hill they marched, and presently a black mass, somewhat darker than their surroundings, showed itself against the sky. They were there.Stealing quietly round, they searched for the gateway, which they soon found.Everything was now ready for the attack, and the officers went silently among the men to discover whether all were present, when it was found that not a single man was missing, or had lost his way in the dark.Two sacks ready filled with powder, tightly pressed down, and tied at the mouth, were now brought forward.They were placed in position against the ponderous iron-bound door, a train was laid to them, and the men then retreated to a safe distance and lay down, waiting for the explosion.Presently there was a flicker of light as the spark was struck, and at the same moment Roger and Harry grasped hands for a second, for bloody work was about to begin.There was a splutter, a stream of fire ran along the ground, and, as they gazed, an enormous flash of brilliant white light blazed up, nearly blinding them, followed by a deafening report and a tremendous concussion that seemed to make the very earth tremble. And with it came the sound of wrenching iron, cracking timber, and the crash of falling masonry, and from the interior of the fort the clamour and outcry of the sudden awakening of its occupants.But the English, with no cheer or shout to announce their approach, leaped to their feet, dashed across the intervening ground, and plunged over the fallen masonry and wreckage of the gate into the interior of the fort and into the dim radiance of hastily kindled lanterns.Here and there they found a man, only half-awake, confusedly running to ascertain what might be the origin of the uproar, and him they cut down at once. From room to room they went, giving no quarter—knowing that they themselves would receive none,—and one by one the unhappy Spaniards were killed.There was no organised resistance; it was every man for himself, for they had been taken most completely by surprise.Roger, with Harry and a few more, ran at once up aloft and came out upon the battlements, where with mallet and spike they industriously proceeded to render the guns useless.Into the touch-hole of every gun a spike nail was driven as far as it would go, thus effectually preventing the possibility of the weapon being fired until the spike was drilled out, which would necessitate the expenditure of at least an hour of hard work.In a very short time every gun was effectually spiked, and, the capture of the fort being by this time completely accomplished, the men formed up again outside, and descended at the double to the town, which was now thoroughly awakened and alarmed.The cathedral was to be the next place of call, the object being to remove the gold and silver plate with which it was known to be furnished.Meanwhile the tocsins were being sounded. The brazen voices of the church bells pealed out high above all the other clamour. To add to the confusion and terror, the English halted, and, fixing their arquebuses, fired a volley into a square where some troops seemed to be mustering.Immediately upon the crash of the volley came cries and screams from the terrified populace, bearing eloquent witness to the execution wrought by the flying bullets. Then, picking up their weapons, the English flew like fiends through the town, cutting down all who had the temerity to oppose them.The cathedral was soon reached, and they entered it.Lights were glimmering far up the aisles, just lit by the trembling priests, who had come in by ones and twos to find out what all the uproar was about. But the English pressed on, undeterred by their presence, and, moving up the long chancel, reached the altar.Two or three seamen made their way to the belfry, and, loosing the bell-ropes, in the madness of their excitement began to ring the bells in the steeple; and presently, clang, clang, clang, came from the tower as they hauled on the ropes. Rushing from one bell-rope to another, they started every bell in the steeple ringing, with an effect that was appalling and terrible.As the bells gained momentum, and swung on their beams, so did the ropes attached to them fly up and down through their appointed holes in the belfry roof, with ever-increasing velocity.Now they began to twine round each other like living, twisting serpents, and the sailors pulling them had to spring quickly aside to avoid being caught by the flying and coiling ends.Clang! clang! The sound of the bells now became a mad jangle, and the steeple fairly rocked to their swinging.Everywhere the people were pouring out of their houses in terror and panic, not knowing whither to turn for safety.Those who were below in the church were now tearing all the gold and silver ornamentation from the altar, and the communion plate was scattered on the floor of the chancel.Vainly the frightened priests strove to stay the work of destruction and violation; the seamen were deaf to all entreaty, and cut and tore the silken hangings from the altar, wrapping the costly fabric over their own tarry and soiled clothing. Every man plundered for himself only, and would allow none to rob him of his intended spoil.Above the altar stood a life-sized figure of the Blessed Virgin Mother, exquisitely modelled in solid gold, and clothed in rich fabric that was adorned with precious stones innumerable. The sailors saw it, and leaped one after another upon the altar, drawing their swords and hacking off the gems, whilst the priests covered their eyes with horror at the desecration and sacrilege.The eyes of the figure consisted of two magnificent sapphires of great size, and, being unable to reach these with their swords, the sailors put their weapons behind and under the image, and with a few violent wrenches it came crashing to the ground with a thunderous noise.As it fell, from above them in the belfry came a most awful, piercing, and agonising scream of anguish. It rose in one shrill cry above every other sound, and echoed, long-drawn out and ghastly, among the dim arches of the roof high above them.The fearful cry rose and fell, while all below stood still, frozen into silence by the utter horror of the sound. It was as the voice of a lost soul in the most dreadful torment. As suddenly as it had arisen it ceased, and it was now noticed that the tenor bell was no longer clanging its deep mellow voice above them in the steeple.An old priest stepped out from among his brethren.“Cease, ye wicked men!” cried he in excellent English. “Cease, ye heretics and sacrilegious dogs, ere worse befall ye! That awful shriek was the despairing cry of a soul torn from its body in awful torment. Take warning, ye, from that man’s dreadful fate; for a man it was, although ye might have deemed the voice that of a devil!“I can tell ye his doom. He was caught up by the whirling ropes of the bells which ye have rung to your own confusion, and his body has been torn to pieces in the pipe through which the bell-rope runs. Take warning, I say, and leave this sacred place in peace!”He spoke no more, for one of the officers, fearing the effect his words might have on the superstitious seamen, seized him by the shoulders and hustled him down the long aisle of the building and through the door into the street.Harry and Roger could not bring themselves to take part in the shocking work of desecration, and were standing some distance away, surveying the scene with disgust, when suddenly above the bestial shouts and uproar came the cry: “Save yourselves, lads, run! There is no time to lose; the church is on fire! Run! Run!”Startled amid their work of destruction, the men paused and looked round to see whence the voice had come, but could not discover its whereabouts.As they looked, however, columns of smoke were seen drifting about the building and issuing from the crevices of the roof and walls.Evidently the alarm was genuine, by whomsoever given, and the sailors made for the doors. Those who had overturned the golden figure still clung to their booty, and, raising it in their arms, half-carried and half-dragged it away with them by main force.It was a scene of the most utter confusion; some staggered away overladen with gold and silver cups, others with costly silks and fabrics, whatever most appealed to their erratic taste.When nearly all were out of the building, Roger and his friend awoke to the fact that they were being left alone, and ran forward to escape while there was time; but, even as they turned to go, the ground seemed to fall from beneath their feet, and they plunged down, down, until they struck the hard ground below, the shock causing them to lose consciousness.

To make certain of not arriving at their destination too soon, and before the townspeople and the garrison had retired for the night, the English ships carried but a small amount of canvas, and consequently made only some two to three knots per hour.

It was a little after midnight when Roger, who was, as usual, on the lookout, and who was credited with the sharpest pair of eyes in the ship, saw for the second time the lights of La Guayra opening up. As they came into fuller view of the town itself, and of the roadstead, they were somewhat astonished to find that both were enveloped in almost perfect darkness—there was scarcely a light to be seen, either ashore or afloat. There were one or two scattered here and there about the town, but there were none at all in the forts, and not a single glimmer was to be made out anywhere in the roadstead.

Surely it was not possible that the vessels of the plate fleet, and its two protecting warships, could have left the port and disappeared during the short time that had elapsed since the boat expedition had made its reconnaissance! At that time, too, there had been numerous other craft lying there at anchor; yet now it seemed as though the bay were deserted. Some fresh arrangement—some new plan—was obviously necessary.

The English ships showed no lights whatever, and the strictest silence was observed. The captains had received their orders beforehand, and would have known exactly what course to pursue had there been any lights showing. But now it became necessary to take fresh counsel among themselves, and decide how to act.

The flag-ship was, as usual, in the van, and Mr Cavendish ordered all the boats to be lowered and manned. These were then to spread out in line, so as to make sure of intercepting the other two vessels as they came up, and, having found them, to give orders for them to heave-to, and for their respective captains to repair on board theGood Adventure. The boats themselves were to return to the flag-ship as soon as these orders had been carried out.

Luckily there was no difficulty in picking up the other ships, even in the pitchy blackness that prevailed that night, and with but a few minutes’ delay the officers of the fleet were once more assembled in the cabin of the flag-ship. The situation was discussed as briefly as possible, for there was no time to lose, and it was presently decided that, instead of the remainder of the fleet following the flag-ship’s lead, as originally agreed, the officer of each ship who had been with the boat expedition should do his best to pilot the vessel under his care to the berth occupied by the warships. Arrived there, should the Spanish ships be present, as all on board fervently hoped would prove to be the case, they were to attack at once. Whichever of the two Spaniards might happen to be first attacked, the other would almost certainly come to the help of her consort, and the flash of the guns and noise of the tumult would serve to guide the remainder of the English squadron to the scene of the conflict.

If, on the other hand, it should be found that the warships and plate ships had made their escape, each vessel was to return to the entrance of the roadstead and await the arrival of her consorts as they too retreated from the bay, when, all having rejoined, they were to return to their former hiding-place, where fresh plans would be discussed and made.

This matter being arranged, the captains returned each to his own ship, and very shortly afterward the fleet were again under weigh and standing inshore in the same order as at first.

Slowly and noiselessly as ghosts they glided on, each heading for the place where the pilots thought, and all hoped against hope, to find the warships lying, with behind them the plate fleet, which was the actual objective of the expedition.

The English ships had separated, and on board the flag-ship nothing could now be seen or heard of the remainder of the squadron, each pilot having taken the direction in which he personally considered the enemy to be lying. Nothing could be made out, either ashore or afloat, to guide them in the slightest degree in their search. They were, indeed, groping blindly forward in the hope of accidentally coming upon their quarry. The few lights of the town that were visible were away at the other side of it, at a long distance from them, and were so far from being of any service that they were positively misleading, to such an extent that at any moment it might happen that they would find their ship ashore.

Roger and Harry were standing in their usual position on the fore-deck, gazing eagerly ahead, each anxious to be the first to sight the enemy, when Harry caught his friend’s sleeve, and, pointing into the darkness at a faint blur upon their port bow, said:

“There’s something there, Roger. D’ye see it, lad? It’s a ship of some sort. I can just make out her masts. We shall pass her at very close quarters. Now, I wonder if perchance she is one of the warships that we are searching for?”

The words were scarcely out of his mouth when a perfect volcano of flame flashed from the side of the vessel which Harry had just sighted, immediately followed by a thunderous roar, and the shot from the well-aimed broadside came crashing aboard, doing a considerable amount of execution. Men fell in every part of the ship. Cries, shrieks, groans, and curses arose from the decks, which for a moment were a perfect pandemonium of confusion.

The captain, rushing along the deck, shouted: “Steady, lads, and stand to your guns! The Spaniards expected and are ready for us; but do not forget that you are Englishmen. Pull yourselves together, men, and give them back better than we received.”

The confusion was but momentary. The crews were by this time too well disciplined to become panic-stricken, and, awaiting the word of command, they presently poured in their already-prepared broadside with great effect, for the mainmast of the war-ship was seen to quiver, totter, and finally fall with a rending crash over the side remote from theGood Adventure, throwing the crew of the Spaniard into momentary disorder.

As the flag-ship came up to her antagonist, she took in her sails and ranged up alongside, inshore of her. There were no batteries opposite where the vessels were lying, so that no danger was to be apprehended on that score.

Like magic, the lights flared up from all parts of the town, and aboard all the vessels in the bay, as also in the fort at the opposite extremity of the roadstead. The war-ship herself became a blaze of illumination, as did also her consort, which could now be seen lying but a half-cable’s-length distant, and which also opened a tremendous fire upon the flag-ship. The other two ships of the English squadron, meanwhile, had shifted their helms and were fast approaching, guided by the flashing of guns and the uproar of the action.

Even the ships of the plate fleet, lying near at hand, and which proved to be heavily armed, now began to open fire, as well as the distant fort; and it was soon very evident that the English fleet had entered into an engagement in which the odds were vastly against them. They had anticipated surprising the enemy; but the surprise was all the other way. Neither had they reckoned on the plate vessels being nearly so heavily armed.

The booming of cannon now resounded from all sides, and the darkness was made light by the flashes from the guns, whilst the air became thick and heavy with powder smoke. TheElizabethand theTigerhad come upon the scene, and were attacking the second war-ship, which was resisting gallantly, supported as she was by the guns from the ships composing the plate fleet.

Indeed the English were in a very warm corner.

The flag-ship was engaging the first war-ship—the name of which they discovered to be theSotomayor—yard-arm to yard-arm, and both vessels fairly reeled under the concussion as the heavy shot crashed in at one side and out at the other, while theGood Adventurewas already on fire below from the flashes of the guns of her opponent. English sailormen, however, were ready then, as now, to meet all emergencies, and the fire was speedily quenched, only to start again, however, and be again put out.

Three times did Cavendish pour his boarders on to the decks of theSotomayor, and three times they were driven back by the desperate valour and greatly superior numbers of the Spaniards.

The Spaniard had lost every mast but her foremast, and the English ship was in almost as bad a plight. Both ships were badly riddled by shot, and their crews were decimated. It seemed as though, unless some decisive move were made to end the conflict, that the combatants would be exterminated to a man.

The second war-ship, theVilla de Mejico, was in even worse plight than her consort, having two vessels to engage her instead of only one. She fought with the valour of desperation, however, and was packed with soldiers who had been put aboard her from the fort in anticipation of the attack.

It had somehow got to be known, although it was never discovered how, that the English were near at hand, and were suspected of contemplating an attack on the fleet; and in view of this suspicion elaborate preparations had been made for their reception.

The crews of theTigerand theElizabethhad several times endeavoured to board, but had been swept back to their own ships on every occasion by the combined sailors and soldiers on the Spaniard.

Harry and Roger were, as usual, in the very thick of it, fighting side by side like the young heroes that they were, and, truth to tell, doing a considerable amount of execution.

They were pausing for a moment to take breath, when both happened to glance forward, and at once saw that the two ships, theGood Adventureand theSotomayorwith her, were drifting right down upon the second Spaniard and her antagonists. The Spaniards on theSotomayor, finding themselves almost overpowered, had cut their cable purposely, to drift down with the tide on board their consort, in the hope of being able to make a better stand together than separately. But they were mistaken in their expectation. The other vessel, having had two to contend with, was in no condition to render assistance of any kind; rather, indeed, did she stand in need of help from theSotomayor.

A brief minute later the flag-ship, still grappling with her quarry, was aboard the other three craft, and the confusion became worse confounded.

The Spaniards, determined to make one last desperate effort to beat off the English, rallied, and, combining their forces, forestalled their antagonists by attempting to board.

The two Spanish ships acted in concert, and hurled their soldiers and sailors aboard the three English craft; but it was a hopeless attempt from the first. The English closed up, and, forming a solid phalanx, cut them down right and left, driving them back, and quickly compelling the shattered remnant of the boarders to seek the refuge of their own decks. Nor did they stop at that, but followed them pell-mell and close on their heels in their retreat to the decks of the Spanish ships. The Spaniards fought with the courage of desperation, but their utmost efforts were unavailing; the blood of the Englishmen was now thoroughly up, and there was no stopping them. They rushed with irresistible courage and determination among the shattered and now completely disheartened remnants of the enemy, and cut them down wholesale. Mere mortal flesh and blood could no longer withstand the impetuous onslaught of the Englishmen, and presently a voice was heard from their diminished ranks shouting: “We surrender! we surrender! Mercy, mercy!”

Cavendish raised his voice in command; the slaughter ceased, and the two armadas were in the hands of the English. The Spaniards were ordered to fling down their weapons, and they obeyed.

They were then at once sent below and secured under hatches, and the victors were now free to turn their attention to the plate ships that were their primary objective.

Such boats as would swim were quickly lowered and filled with armed men, whose orders were to board the vessels, capture them out of hand, and carry them out to sea under their own canvas; after which the English vessels and their two prizes would make their way out of the roadstead as well as might be in their shattered state.

Once out of the bay, the uninjured vessels of the plate fleet would be able to tow their companions in misfortune.

At sight of the approaching boats, containing the victorious English, the crews of the plate ships were seized with uncontrollable panic, and many of them incontinently jumped overboard, whilst the remainder hurriedly lowered their boats and pulled shoreward, anxious only to escape by any means from so terrible a foe. And this they were allowed to do without let or hindrance from the English, as the latter had already quite as many prisoners as they could conveniently look after.

The vessels were boarded, and sail made; and presently the enraged population of La Guayra had the bitter mortification of seeing the plate ships sail out of the roadstead in the possession of the English.

They swore vengeance, deep and awful, should any of those “pirates”—as they always termed the English adventurers—ever fall into their hands; but the latter were equally ignorant of and indifferent to such threats.

The vessels, injured and uninjured, in due time gained the outside of the roadstead, and there hove-to, in order to effect temporary repairs.

Meanwhile Cavendish had resolved to jury-rig his vessels, and sink the two armadas in full view of the town, to make the defeat and capture still more bitter to the Spaniards.

The Spaniards were transferred from theSotomayorand theMejicoto the English fleet, and at daylight the warships were sunk in full view of the town. The English fleet then anchored, and proceeded with their work of repair; whilst, for safety’s sake, a prize crew was put on board each of the plate ships, which were then sent away to the former hiding-place at the little bay down the coast.

Whilst the repairs were going forward, Cavendish held another council, at which it was resolved to send an expedition by night to attack La Guayra itself. He argued that the Spaniards would deem them content with the capture of the plate ships, and would never expect them to land and attack the city. They would be taken by surprise; and, as the crowning event of the successful enterprise just executed, he would sack and burn the town, “to give the Spaniards something to remember him by”, as he phrased it.

The sailors were only too delighted at the idea of attacking their enemies again, as also at the prospect of the plunder to be obtained at the looting and sack of the city.

The boats were therefore lowered over the side of the ships remote from the town, and lay under the vessels’ lee during the day, in readiness for the attack that night.

All day long the repairs were gone on with, and after nightfall torches and lanterns were lit, to deceive the Spaniards into believing that they were working hard all through the night, and so lessen their suspicion as to the probability of any further attack.

A keen watch was kept on the town all day long, to discover whether any preparations were being made to resist attack, but nothing of the kind could be discovered.

Evidently the Spaniards, as Cavendish had anticipated, were lulled to security by the supposition that the English, having secured the plate fleet, would have no reason or incentive for returning, and fondly hoped that, as soon as the repairs to the ships were finished, they would sail away; and that would be the last they would see of the heretic dogs.

But they little knew the character of Cavendish; he was not the man to abandon any enterprise upon which he had once entered. It was a principle of his to inflict the greatest possible amount of damage on the enemy that he could; and meanwhile the town of La Guayra still remained uninjured.

Therefore—so ran his argument—La Guayra must be sacked and laid in ashes before he could consider his duty as thoroughly finished.

As a consequence, shortly after midnight the boats of the fleet stole silently out from under the sheltering lee of their parent vessels, and made swiftly and noiselessly, with muffled oars, for the town.

Roger and Harry, ready as ever for an adventure, no matter how dangerous it might be, were in the boats, and keeping a sharp lookout ahead; for by this time there were but few lights to guide them, the whole city being wrapped in darkness.

Everything ahead of and around them was perfectly quiet; not a sound disturbed the still night air save only the scarcely audible ripple of water under the boats’ bows as they swept gently shoreward.

Presently there was a grating of pebbles under their keels, and the boats stopped dead.

The crews silently disembarked, and all stood still for a few moments, listening intently to ascertain whether the noise of the boats grounding on the beach had been heard. But no sound came to them, and, after waiting a little longer to make certain, the boats were gently pushed off again, each in charge of a couple of hands to take care of them, and the marauders proceeded up the beach, soon arriving on the road that ran the whole length of the town at the edge of the shingle.

The first thing to be done was to obtain possession of the fort; and, feeling their way as best they could in the dense darkness, they set off in the direction in which they knew it lay.

Up the hill they marched, and presently a black mass, somewhat darker than their surroundings, showed itself against the sky. They were there.

Stealing quietly round, they searched for the gateway, which they soon found.

Everything was now ready for the attack, and the officers went silently among the men to discover whether all were present, when it was found that not a single man was missing, or had lost his way in the dark.

Two sacks ready filled with powder, tightly pressed down, and tied at the mouth, were now brought forward.

They were placed in position against the ponderous iron-bound door, a train was laid to them, and the men then retreated to a safe distance and lay down, waiting for the explosion.

Presently there was a flicker of light as the spark was struck, and at the same moment Roger and Harry grasped hands for a second, for bloody work was about to begin.

There was a splutter, a stream of fire ran along the ground, and, as they gazed, an enormous flash of brilliant white light blazed up, nearly blinding them, followed by a deafening report and a tremendous concussion that seemed to make the very earth tremble. And with it came the sound of wrenching iron, cracking timber, and the crash of falling masonry, and from the interior of the fort the clamour and outcry of the sudden awakening of its occupants.

But the English, with no cheer or shout to announce their approach, leaped to their feet, dashed across the intervening ground, and plunged over the fallen masonry and wreckage of the gate into the interior of the fort and into the dim radiance of hastily kindled lanterns.

Here and there they found a man, only half-awake, confusedly running to ascertain what might be the origin of the uproar, and him they cut down at once. From room to room they went, giving no quarter—knowing that they themselves would receive none,—and one by one the unhappy Spaniards were killed.

There was no organised resistance; it was every man for himself, for they had been taken most completely by surprise.

Roger, with Harry and a few more, ran at once up aloft and came out upon the battlements, where with mallet and spike they industriously proceeded to render the guns useless.

Into the touch-hole of every gun a spike nail was driven as far as it would go, thus effectually preventing the possibility of the weapon being fired until the spike was drilled out, which would necessitate the expenditure of at least an hour of hard work.

In a very short time every gun was effectually spiked, and, the capture of the fort being by this time completely accomplished, the men formed up again outside, and descended at the double to the town, which was now thoroughly awakened and alarmed.

The cathedral was to be the next place of call, the object being to remove the gold and silver plate with which it was known to be furnished.

Meanwhile the tocsins were being sounded. The brazen voices of the church bells pealed out high above all the other clamour. To add to the confusion and terror, the English halted, and, fixing their arquebuses, fired a volley into a square where some troops seemed to be mustering.

Immediately upon the crash of the volley came cries and screams from the terrified populace, bearing eloquent witness to the execution wrought by the flying bullets. Then, picking up their weapons, the English flew like fiends through the town, cutting down all who had the temerity to oppose them.

The cathedral was soon reached, and they entered it.

Lights were glimmering far up the aisles, just lit by the trembling priests, who had come in by ones and twos to find out what all the uproar was about. But the English pressed on, undeterred by their presence, and, moving up the long chancel, reached the altar.

Two or three seamen made their way to the belfry, and, loosing the bell-ropes, in the madness of their excitement began to ring the bells in the steeple; and presently, clang, clang, clang, came from the tower as they hauled on the ropes. Rushing from one bell-rope to another, they started every bell in the steeple ringing, with an effect that was appalling and terrible.

As the bells gained momentum, and swung on their beams, so did the ropes attached to them fly up and down through their appointed holes in the belfry roof, with ever-increasing velocity.

Now they began to twine round each other like living, twisting serpents, and the sailors pulling them had to spring quickly aside to avoid being caught by the flying and coiling ends.

Clang! clang! The sound of the bells now became a mad jangle, and the steeple fairly rocked to their swinging.

Everywhere the people were pouring out of their houses in terror and panic, not knowing whither to turn for safety.

Those who were below in the church were now tearing all the gold and silver ornamentation from the altar, and the communion plate was scattered on the floor of the chancel.

Vainly the frightened priests strove to stay the work of destruction and violation; the seamen were deaf to all entreaty, and cut and tore the silken hangings from the altar, wrapping the costly fabric over their own tarry and soiled clothing. Every man plundered for himself only, and would allow none to rob him of his intended spoil.

Above the altar stood a life-sized figure of the Blessed Virgin Mother, exquisitely modelled in solid gold, and clothed in rich fabric that was adorned with precious stones innumerable. The sailors saw it, and leaped one after another upon the altar, drawing their swords and hacking off the gems, whilst the priests covered their eyes with horror at the desecration and sacrilege.

The eyes of the figure consisted of two magnificent sapphires of great size, and, being unable to reach these with their swords, the sailors put their weapons behind and under the image, and with a few violent wrenches it came crashing to the ground with a thunderous noise.

As it fell, from above them in the belfry came a most awful, piercing, and agonising scream of anguish. It rose in one shrill cry above every other sound, and echoed, long-drawn out and ghastly, among the dim arches of the roof high above them.

The fearful cry rose and fell, while all below stood still, frozen into silence by the utter horror of the sound. It was as the voice of a lost soul in the most dreadful torment. As suddenly as it had arisen it ceased, and it was now noticed that the tenor bell was no longer clanging its deep mellow voice above them in the steeple.

An old priest stepped out from among his brethren.

“Cease, ye wicked men!” cried he in excellent English. “Cease, ye heretics and sacrilegious dogs, ere worse befall ye! That awful shriek was the despairing cry of a soul torn from its body in awful torment. Take warning, ye, from that man’s dreadful fate; for a man it was, although ye might have deemed the voice that of a devil!

“I can tell ye his doom. He was caught up by the whirling ropes of the bells which ye have rung to your own confusion, and his body has been torn to pieces in the pipe through which the bell-rope runs. Take warning, I say, and leave this sacred place in peace!”

He spoke no more, for one of the officers, fearing the effect his words might have on the superstitious seamen, seized him by the shoulders and hustled him down the long aisle of the building and through the door into the street.

Harry and Roger could not bring themselves to take part in the shocking work of desecration, and were standing some distance away, surveying the scene with disgust, when suddenly above the bestial shouts and uproar came the cry: “Save yourselves, lads, run! There is no time to lose; the church is on fire! Run! Run!”

Startled amid their work of destruction, the men paused and looked round to see whence the voice had come, but could not discover its whereabouts.

As they looked, however, columns of smoke were seen drifting about the building and issuing from the crevices of the roof and walls.

Evidently the alarm was genuine, by whomsoever given, and the sailors made for the doors. Those who had overturned the golden figure still clung to their booty, and, raising it in their arms, half-carried and half-dragged it away with them by main force.

It was a scene of the most utter confusion; some staggered away overladen with gold and silver cups, others with costly silks and fabrics, whatever most appealed to their erratic taste.

When nearly all were out of the building, Roger and his friend awoke to the fact that they were being left alone, and ran forward to escape while there was time; but, even as they turned to go, the ground seemed to fall from beneath their feet, and they plunged down, down, until they struck the hard ground below, the shock causing them to lose consciousness.

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