Lord Thomas, it seemed, had been making a tour of his fleet that morning, inspecting the ships and givingvarious instructions to his captains. When Timothy came on board the whole company of theRevengewere being mustered on the upper deck. Gilbert Oglander presented him to the purser, who straightway entered his name on the ship's books.
When the roll had been called, the admiral and the vice-admiral, standing at the forward rail of the quarter-deck, looked down upon the sea of sunburnt faces and continued their conversation. Presently Sir Richard Grenville leaned over the rail and spoke to one of the officers who stood below.
"Master Tremayne," said he, "send me up the man Hartop—Jacob Hartop."
And when the word had been passed forward, Jacob Hartop strode towards the stairs and mounted to the quarter-deck, where he saluted the two great men.
Lord Thomas Howard signed to him to approach nearer, saying at the same time:
"It seemeth you are passing well acquainted with these islands, my man?"
"I have good reason to know them well, my lord," returned Jacob. "I lost my ship off this same island of Flores—a ship that was loaded even to the gunwales with Spanish treasure—and for two weeks I cruised among the Azores in an open boat in search of a vessel to fetch me home to England. I have been ashore on every island in the group, and have lived in Terceira for full three months. Yes, my lord, so please you, I know them well."
"Good!" nodded the admiral. "And I doubt not you can manage a small boat if need be?"
"Ay, or a large," said Jacob. "I am well trained in navigation, as Sir Richard Grenville can avouch."
"Enough," said Lord Thomas. And then, becoming more familiar in his tone of speech, he told Jacob that he had a mind to send him off for a cruise to the westward with the purpose of keeping an outlook for the appearance of the Spanish treasure-ships. "You shall have a good, swift-sailing fly-boat," he said, "and may choose your own companions for crew. And when you catch sight of the plate fleet it shall be your object to hasten back with all speed to our anchorage here and warn us of their coming."
"Right well do I understand," agreed Jacob. "Prithee, when do I set off?"
"When you list," said Lord Thomas; "but at noon to-day at the latest, for it may be that they are already within a day's sail of the islands."
So Jacob Hartop, having received full instructions, returned to the upper deck. And as he was passing the main-mast he caught sight of Timothy Trollope and touched him on the elbow, bidding him follow him.
"I am glad to see thee aboard of us, Master Timothy," said he, shaking the lad by the hand. "And in truth you are in goodly time. Art willing for an adventure, lad?"
"Ay, in faith am I that," said Tim. "I am ill ofthis weary waiting and ceaseless idleness. But what mean you by adventure, Master Hartop?"
Then Jacob opened out to him his plans for the cruise in search of the enemy, and asked him to be one of his little crew.
Timothy at first leapt gladly at the proposal, but at the next moment he shook his head in doubt.
"How will it be," said he, "if the Spaniards should come before we return? I should then see naught of the fighting, and I would not for anything in the world miss such an experience."
"You need have no fear as to that, my boy," returned Jacob, "for shall we not be the first to see them when they come? Yea, 'tis for that reason that we go, so that we may hasten back and give the alarm. Come, be not afraid that we shall miss aught by our absence; for I do vouch for it that if you remain on board theRevengeit will be but a weary time of waiting and inactivity, whereas in our boat we shall at the least be moving from place to place with the chance of adventure. I had thought that you would rejoice at the opportunity, as did Master Oglander when I broached the matter to him."
Timothy's face brightened up at these last words.
"You had not told me that Master Gilbert was to come," said he. "In that case, I will certainly consent."
"'Twas he who bade me ask you," remarked Hartop; "for you must know that we had word of thething full three days ago, when Sir Richard Grenville, with more impatience than my Lord Thomas hath yet shown, saw the merit of sending out scouts, and made up his mind to speak with Lord Thomas as he hath done this morning."
In something less than an hour's time Jacob was ready with his little crew, which he had chosen with the thought of friendliness rather than with any regard to their special fitness for the expedition. The old gunner, Edward Webbe, was a useful man, in that he could not only manage a boat, but could also, if necessary, speak with any Spaniards or Portuguese in their own tongue, and he also knew the islands. Timothy Trollope was strong for the pulling of an oar when the wind would not serve for the use of the sail, while Gilbert Oglander had marvellously keen eye-sight, and might therefore be depended upon for a look-out. Young Robin Redfern was chosen for no greater reason than that he had pleaded to accompany Master Oglander, and because he was of no great bulk and would therefore occupy very little room in a boat whose accommodation was limited. All five were disguised as fishers, and their boat, which was rigged with a lateen-sail, might well be mistaken at a distance for a Biscayan fishing-boat. The provisions wherewith she was stored were sufficient to serve for two weeks.
A light breeze from the south-east blew over the sea as Jacob Hartop took his little craft out of theroadstead at the north of Flores Island where the fleet lay at anchor. A projecting headland soon hid the ships from view, and towards evening the land itself was but a dim blue line on the horizon in the east. At nightfall the crew was divided into watches, and Timothy, Webbe, and Robin Redfern slept while Hartop and Gilbert remained awake, keeping the boat before the wind as she sailed ever westward. But at sunrise on the next morning the course was altered to the south, and so maintained until noon, when it was again altered to the north. And so, backward and forward, north and south, the cruising was kept up day after day. But it was not until the evening of the ninth day that a single sail was sighted.
It was Robin Redfern who caught the first glimpse of the vessel—a mere dark speck against the sunset sky.
"They are coming! they are coming!" he cried, half in terror and half in joy. And in a moment his four companions were standing up on the boat's half-deck and gazing out with searching eyes across the ocean.
"What make you of her, Master Oglander?" questioned Jacob Hartop in a quiet, deeply earnest tone as he gripped one of the stays to steady himself while the boat rose to meet the great Atlantic rollers.
Gilbert shielded his eyes from the strong light of the sunset as he stood with one arm clasped about the mast.
"'Tis a goodly ship in the matter of size," he presently said; "yet I can see but little of her hull, for she is bow-on, sailing eastward as it seemeth."
"Haply 'tis one of their quick-sailing advance guards," suggested Webbe.
But Hartop silently continued to look out upon the sea with his brows bent and an expression of grim expectancy in his cold gray eyes.
"Canst make out if there be more than one ship?" he asked after a long pause. "Mark it well, my boy; for it were best that we make the matter full certain ere we fly back with the alarm."
Gilbert's eyes slowly swept the line of the horizon.
"No," he said; "there is but the one."
"Then we may not yet return," said Hartop; and turning to Timothy Trollope he added: "Take you the tiller, Tim, and keep our head to the westward until the dusk hath fallen. By that time we should know more."
The wind served well for this new course, and the boat sped on. But when the sun had sunk the strange ship could no more be seen, for the bright yellow afterglow was speedily obscured by a gray sea-mist.
Earlier on that same day they had observed that the sea was plentifully strewn with tufts of sea-weed, and below their boat, when they had looked over the gunwale and peered down into the depths of the water, they had seen dense forests of marine growththickly entangled, and many thousands of jelly-fish and other denizens of the deep.
Jacob Hartop had shown more interest and concern in this fact than any of his companions.
"'Tis for all the world like what I have seen many times in the Sargasso Sea," said he. "And yet it cannot surely be that we have come so far to the westward as that."
But as the evening wore on and the water became yet more densely full of living things, he shook his head gravely and murmured a wish that they had turned back towards the Azores. "For," said he, "if it be that we are on the fringe of the Sargasso Sea there is no knowing what may befall us."
"And prithee, Jacob, what manner of dangers do you fear?" questioned Edward Webbe. "Sure there can be no peril in sailing over a forest of harmless sea-weeds."
"'Twas in the Sargasso Sea that I lost my ship," said Jacob. "I know the place full well, and never do I wish to be back in it again. Hast never heard of it, Ned?"
Webbe shook his head and smiled as he answered:
"Mayhap I have heard the name. But it seemeth to me that we are now in the Atlantic Ocean; and if thou dost declare that we are nigh unto any other sea, why, I can only believe that thou art dreaming."
"Well do I know that we are in the Atlantic," returned Hartop, "though a good piece farther to thewestward than we had intended. But you must know that this Sargasso Sea of which I speak, is itself a part of the Atlantic—and a part which all wise mariners do avoid. 'Tis in places naught but a solid mass of sea-weed, so dense as to support the weight of a man, yea, even of a ship. Once within its confines, 'tis rare that a vessel doth ever escape; and most men who have been through it will tell you strange and marvellous tales of hideous monsters with hundreds of arms, that dart out and entwine in their grip of death all who come within their venomous reach."
"Then I pray you let us adventure no farther," said Webbe, "for I, at least, have no great wish to be embraced by such arms. Let us turn back, Jacob."
"I would that we were once more aboard of theRevenge," muttered young Robin Redfern, who lay stretched upon the half-deck at Gilbert Oglander'a feet. "Who knows but that the Spaniards have already passed us, and been overmastered and taken home to England."
"There can be little harm in keeping on our present course until sunrise," said Jacob Hartop, not heeding the boy's remark. "Then, if we see no sign of the plate fleet, we can turn about and make a run for Flores."
"Ay," added Webbe, "it were even wise to turn at the first peep of dawn; for, mind you, it would go ill with us if we should find ourselves in the very midst of the galleons without a chance of escape."
And so they held on westward; and when darkness fell over the sea, Hartop and Gilbert curled themselves up under their rugs in the boat's well and went to sleep, leaving Timothy in charge of the tiller and Webbe and Robin on the watch forward.
It may be that the recent mention of the loss of his ship lingered in Jacob's mind as he fell asleep, for, as he dreamt, he saw himself once again upon her deck. A great galleon she was. He had won her in battle from the Spaniards, and as she was a better vessel than his own poor craft, he had converted her to his own use, and taking his own crew aboard of her had hoisted the red cross of St George and cruised with her as a buccaneer on the Spanish Main, conquering many another ship of Spain and transferring their treasures to his own hold, until the galleon was weighed down almost to her lower port-holes with the weight of gold that she carried. And then on a certain night when he was homeward bound he lay in his cabin asleep, and there had come to him one of the ship's boys to tell him that the galleon had sprung a leak and was sinking. He heard the boy calling him now as he lay in his dreams in theRevenge'sboat, sailing on those same seas.
"Master Hartop!" the boy cried, laying his hand on the old buccaneer's breast. "Master Hartop! Quick! quick!"
Jacob turned over and sat up, and found himself not in his ship's cabin but in an open boat. And theboy who had called him was young Robin Redfern, who now stood over him with a face as white as the sea-foam, and with his hand that held the boat's lantern trembling as if with palsy.
"'Sdeath, boy!" cried Hartop. "What in the world hath happened?"
Robin raised his free hand and pointed over the boat's gunwale across the water.
"Look!" he cried. "What can it mean?"
THE GREEN LIGHT UPON THE SEA.
JACOBwas on his feet in a moment. His eyes were dazed by a strange pale-green light that shone luminous over the boat's larboard bow. The sea was calm, with only a gentle swell rolling from the east; the sky was black and starless, and all was dark around saving only in the one direction where shone the ghostly green light, that reared itself like a cloud of radiant mist out of the sea, only a few yards from where he stood.
Even as he gazed upon it, bewildered and speechless, the light seemed to approach, or else it was the boat that sailed into the luminance. It shed its ghastly green glare upon everything, making all on board as plain as though the craft were bathed insoft moonlight. All was as green as grass. Webbe, Timothy, and Gilbert stood staring about them like phantoms, silently glancing at one another with the emotions of men who had been suddenly hurried into another world. Their faces, their clothing, even their hair was green, and it seemed that the mysterious light had deprived them of speech, for none spoke.
Timothy Trollope, who had been at the helm, had suddenly ceased to pay any regard to the steering, and now the boat's sail swayed idly to and fro, empty of wind. Gilbert Oglander, regaining his sober senses, looked over the side to search for the origin of the strange radiance. But there was no flame to the light, which seemed to be a mere transparent shaft of air, as unsubstantial as a rainbow. And when he turned to see if Jacob Hartop were yet awake, and found the old man at his side, he implored an explanation of the mystery.
"What means it, Master Hartop?" he asked in an awe-stricken voice. "Hast seen its like ever before?"
But the old buccaneer made no answer. Clambering over the coaming of the well, he crept on hands and knees towards the bow near where Gilbert stood. He peered out into the light, gripping the gunwale with trembling hands. He remained thus for many moments. Then suddenly he drew back, flung his left arm round Gilbert's legs, and with a wild, frantic cry upon his lips pointed out with his skinny right hand into the midst of the green light.
"See! see!" he cried. "It is a ship!"
Gilbert's eyes followed the direction in which the old man pointed, and presently he discovered, at the farther fringe of the light, the towering form of a vessel's hull. He could clearly see her stern port-holes, with the gallery above them, and above the gallery the projecting rail of her poop-deck. Her counter was richly carved with many strange devices, and the carvings were covered with tarnished gold. Her stout masts rose high above her, and her ragged sails were ample evidence that it was long since the ship had known their use.
"Can you not see her?" continued Hartop. "Od's life, boy! Look where I point."
"I see her, Master Hartop," returned Gilbert; "I see her. 'Tis a galleon, and a Spaniard by her build."
"Ay, faith, a galleon indeed," nodded Hartop; "and a galleon upon which mine eyes now look not for the first time, if she be not a ghost!" He rose to his feet, still keeping his arm about Gilbert, and added in a strange, dry voice that was scarcely more than a breath: "'Tis a ghost, Master Oglander, 'tis a ghost that you look upon—the ghost of the Golden Galleon!"
And so saying, he turned from the sight and sank upon the narrow deck, covering his face with his hands.
By this time Timothy Trollope also had seen the galleon. Clasping the tiller, he held it over. But it had no effect, for the pinnace had no way upon her;the wind had fallen to an absolute calm, and the sail hung loose and motionless against the mast.
"Out with the sweeps!" cried Edward Webbe, and Timothy, leaving his post, took up one of the long oars, while Gilbert Oglander took the other, and together they pulled and pulled, striving to bring the boat round and so escape from the grim phantom galleon. But with the first stroke they made their oar-blades caught in a mesh of sea-weeds. The disturbed water flashed with phosphorescent fire, and when the oars were with difficulty dragged up they rose dripping with a shower of sparks and heavy with clinging weeds. Again the oars were dipped, and again they were weighted with the tangled growth of weeds.
"'Tis of no avail, Tim," declared Gilbert as he drew in his oar. He leaned over the boat's side and looked down into the calm, shadowy water, where fitful tracks of shining white light showed the movements of coiling writhing monsters of the deep.
"Nay, pull at your oars!" cried Jacob Hartop, rising now from the deck and slipping down into the well. "Let us not be carried nearer to that horrid ship! Dip not your blades so deep, but pull her round that we may get beyond this phantom light. Here, Ned," he added to Webbe, "take thou a hand of Timothy's oar, while I give a help to Gilbert. 'Twill go ill if four of us cannot move her. Robin, my lad, get thee to the tiller and steer us back into the darkness."
He looked aft to where Robin stood and saw the lad obediently approach the tiller, while he himself pulled at Gilbert's oar. The boat began to move, but scarcely had a second stroke of the oars been made when a frantic scream came from Robin Redfern, and the lad, starting forward, plunged himself headlong into the midst of his companions.
"In heaven's name, what hath bewitched the lad?" cried Hartop. He abandoned the oar and bent down to pick Robin up, and felt him trembling in every limb. The boy was comforted by the touch of human hands, but he positively refused to return to the helm.
"I cannot, I cannot!" he cried.
"Take you the oar, then, Robin," said Timothy, "while I go."
But Timothy, bold though he was, came back even more quickly than Robin had done, with his face transfixed with terror.
"Look! look!" he stammered, pointing with fearful eagerness to the boat's stern.
All turned their gaze towards the tiller, and saw something which might well fill them with dread. A long flesh-like arm, half-pink half-green, was gliding slowly over the gunwale, with the movements of a huge caterpillar. Its farther end was not visible at first, but Gilbert Oglander, glancing over into the water, traced the thing for many yards to where it was rooted in a great green shining body midway betweenthe boat and the galleon. The body was furnished with two great glaring eyes as large as plates. From near the eyes some eight or nine other arms or tentacles were stretched forth, some lying inactive on the water's surface, others poised in the green air, with rows of immense sucking discs on their under side; and two of them had climbed up the galleon's hull and were entwined about her like a pair of giant serpents. All this Gilbert perceived in a momentary glance. But he told naught of the matter to his mates. Going down on his hands and knees in the boat's well he crept to one of the little lockers that were under the side-seats. He pulled open the door, thrust in his arm end brought out two swords, and flung one of them to Timothy.
"FOR THE LOVE OF HEAVEN CUT THE THING IN TWAIN!"
"Here, Tim, quick!" he cried. "For the love of heaven cut the thing in twain!"
Then again thrusting his arm into the locker he brought out an axe, which he gripped in his hand. Springing aft to the stern, he then began to hew at the monstrous arm at the part which was lying across the gunwale. Timothy got to the other side, and in like manner struck with all his might at the creature. Stroke after stroke of sword and axe fell upon the writhing thing.
Suddenly the boat swayed over, the sail drew wind, and as suddenly the mysterious green light flickered, faded, flickered again, and then faded into utter darkness. There was a faint splash under the stern.
"'Tis done!" shouted Timothy, stamping his heel on the severed portion of the monster's arm as it lay across the deck. "Give us a hand here, Master Webbe, and help us to heave this thing overboard. Touch it not but with your boot, lest it sting you with its poison. Now, all together!"
"Down with the helm!" cried Hartop, himself springing to the tiller. And then, as the remnant of the animal's tentacle was plunged into the sea, the pinnace moved slowly onward over the darkened waters, and the little crew breathed in thankful freedom. Yet a strange superstitious terror had seized upon them, and for a long time no word was spoken and no sound heard but the creaking of the ropes, the light bubbling of the water at the bow, and the intermittent sobbing of young Robin Redfern. They yearned for the coming of daylight, and dreaded every moment that the eerie green light might again surround them. Again and again Jacob Hartop as he sat at the tiller glanced furtively behind him, as if to assure himself that he was not being pursued by what he firmly believed to be the phantom of his lost ship. Timothy Trollope, too, whose simple and untutored mind had yielded to the same superstitious fear that was oppressing the skipper, stood up time after time and, rubbing his eyes, glanced backward across the sea. Gilbert Oglander had but an uneasy sleep, while Webbe, who sat with his legs outstretched before him and his back firmly planted against the boat's side-planks, refused to close his eyes.The only one who slept peacefully was Robin, who had literally cried himself to sleep.
At last, in the eastern sky there appeared the faint gray gleam of coming dawn. The welcome light crept over sky and sea. The men could now see each other's pale and troubled faces, and then, for the first time since the mysterious green radiance had vanished, Jacob Hartop spoke.
"It hath been a most merciful escape," said he, "a most merciful deliverance. The Lord be thanked!"
"Ay, the Lord be thanked!" murmured Edward Webbe.
The two old men had been feasting their eyes on the dawn-light over in the east. But Gilbert Oglander, who now rose to his feet and faced the westward, gave a slight start and quietly placed his hand on Hartop's shoulder.
"The galleon is still in sight, Master Hartop," said he.
"Ay," echoed Timothy Trollope, "she is still in sight."
Slowly and deliberately Jacob turned his head. His hand lost its hold of the tiller. Slowly he looked back again at his companions.
"What means it?" he muttered hoarsely through his dry, parched lips. His face was ashen gray and woefully haggard. He seemed to have aged a score of years since the last evening. "What means it?" he repeated dryly.
"It seemeth to me," said Gilbert, "that your golden galleon is no ghost after all, but a veritable floating ship."
"Said you not that she was loaded with Spanish treasure, Master Hartop?" questioned Timothy.
Jacob nodded.
"As full laden as ever ship could be," he answered.
"And wilt thou leave her there, where she is, to drift at random on the wide sea, to rot upon the water, and to go down at last to bestow her treasure upon the mermaids? I pray thee, let us go back to her, that we may bring away with us some of the gold whereof thou hast spoken."
"What!" cried Hartop, fixing his glassy eyes in astonishment upon the bold lad.
"'Tis daylight now," pursued Tim. "Mark how the coming sunlight spreads across the sky. Mark how its bright reflection gleams upon your galleon's golden hull. Why need we fear to approach her, ay, or even to board her, in the broad light of day?"
Hartop shook his head in grave rebuke.
"Thou'rt over bold, Master Timothy," said he. "The ship were a wealthy prize, I will allow. But I would have thee know that 'twas not to ransack drifting derelicts that we came out upon this voyage, but in quest of King Philip's plate fleet. Having failed to discover the fleet in our allotted time, we shall now return to Queen Elizabeth's ships at Flores and inform Her Majesty's admiral of the result of our quest. Asfor the golden galleon, let her rot, let her sink, say I. Let her treasures go down to the mermaids' halls, that the precious gems may bedeck the mermaids' necks withal. It will not be the first ship-load of Spanish doubloons that hath gone unto the depths for the children of the ocean to play with. And I say to you, were the galleon thrice her size, with thrice her present wealth aboard of her, I would not turn back a fathom's distance with the thought of entering her. And now," he added, "I pray you, just hitch me up another inch or two of the peak halliard there, while Gilbert doth set about preparing our breakfast."
And so they sailed back to Flores.
SIR RICHARD GRENVILLE.
FOURmonths went by—four months of weary, monotonous waiting—and still Lord Thomas Howard's fleet lay in its old anchorage in the roadstead off the north of Flores Island. The long-expected homeward-bound treasureflotafrom the Spanish Main had not yet come in sight. The King of Spain, who was now well aware of the presence of the English ships at the Azores, and who knew their drift as surely as did Lord Thomas himself, was sensible of how much the safety of his galleons concerned hisown interests and the interests of his country; and by secret means he had communicated with his admirals at Nombre de Dios, causing them to delay their starting; for he chose to hazard the perishing of ships, men, and goods by bringing them over in a season of storms rather than endanger their falling into our hands.
He had two distinct designs in bringing his fleet home so late. One was that he thought that Lord Thomas would have consumed his victuals and have been forced accordingly to abandon his quest and return to England; and the other was that he might meanwhile gain time to furnish a great fleet, which he was preparing to act as the guardian of his treasure galleons. In the first design he found himself deceived, for Admiral Howard had not been two months at the Western Isles ere he received supplies of victuals from England; and in the second he was equally prevented, for the Earl of Cumberland, who was then cruising off the coast of Spain, was keeping a constant watch upon the port of Ferrol, where the new armada was being hurriedly fitted out, and Cumberland was prepared to send intelligence to Flores to warn Lord Thomas at the moment of danger.
But despite the arrival of supplies from home, the provisions of the English fleet at the Azores were meagre in quantity, and in quality wretchedly poor, and it was found necessary to add to them by making frequent raids upon the nearer islands and takingforcible possession of food from the islanders' homesteads. The hot summer months of June and July had brought additional discomforts to the crews, and early in August a pestilent sickness spread from ship to ship. On theDefiancea score of men had died before the middle of August, and an equal number of the ship's company of theLionwere carried off. Sir Robert Cross of theBonaventurehad buried in the sea no fewer than thirty-six of his picked men, and the disease in a more or less virulent form had made an entrance upon every one of the Queen's six ships, as well as the victuallers, fly-boats, and small pinnaces that were of the expedition. Jacob Whiddon's little ship, thePilgrim, had escaped so far with but one death.
On board theRevengeSir Richard Grenville had much ado to stem the tide of the dread visitation. His ship was small, and her crowded crew had but indifferent accommodation even when in good health, and when the illness seized them there was little chance of a recovery. The matter was made worse by the fact that, for want of a more convenient hospital, her sick men were forced to lie upon the ballast, down below, where no fresh air could reach them, where the light of the sun could not penetrate, and where even the best and freshest food became speedily rank and nasty. Her surgeons were ignorant men, of a low and ill-educated class, to whom the payment of five shillings a week was considered an ample return for the exerciseof their profession. Of medicine and the laws of health they scarcely knew anything. They could saw off a shattered limb or patch a broken head passing well; but they had no more than a child's skill in dealing with a sickness that came of bad sanitation, putrid food, and insidious infection. The ship's lower decks were so pestilential that a sound man might hardly hope to go below without catching the disease.
At the first it was the men of the commoner sort, the working mariners and the ill-fed soldiers, who were affected, but betimes the gentlemen of the poop were struck down one by one by the fell complaint, and there were few among them who did not suffer in some wise, if it were no more than to experience a sickly headache. So general did the complaints become, that many of the men, led by Red Bob, threatened more than once to break out into open mutiny. They declared that they were being poisoned by sour beer and rancid meat, and day after day, as the expected treasure-ships failed to come into view, the discontent became stronger and more noisy.
Sir Richard Grenville held a firm and determined authority over his ship's company, however, for he was a most resolute man, and none dared to openly offend him. He was a man very unquiet in his mind, always eager and impatient, and greatly affected to war. It was perhaps from this same resolute spirit that he had been able to perform the many valiant acts that are recorded of him. At the age of sixteenhe had distinguished himself for bravery and fearlessness in the wars in Hungary under the Emperor Maximilian against the Turks; he had fought in the great sea-fight at Lepanto with the Christians against the Turks, when thirty thousand of the Saracens fell or were taken prisoners, and twelve thousand Christian slaves were liberated. Also he had taken prominent part in the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Of his life in Virginia, whither he went to found the first English colony, many heroic acts are recorded. His rivals thought him harsh and overbearing, and certify that he exercised a most tyrannical rule over his colonists and shipmates from first to last; and Master Ralph Lane (who is remembered as being the first to introduce the herb tobacco into England) wrote of him in an ample discourse addressed to Sir Walter Raleigh, that Grenville's pride was intolerable, his ambition insatiable, and that his proceedings towards them all in Virginia, and to Lane in particular, were unendurable. It seems certain that among the islanders of the Azores he was greatly feared for his severity in leading his men to plunder the homesteads for food for the ships. Some things that are written of him show that at times he could be boastful and inclined to bravado.
"He was of so hard a complexion," says Jan van Linschoten in a document that is to be found in Hakluyt'sVoyages, "that as he continued among the Spanish captains while they were at dinner or supper with him, he would carouse three or four glasses ofwine, and in a bravery take the glasses between his teeth and crash them in pieces and swallow them down, so that oftentimes the blood ran out of his mouth, without any harm at all unto him. And this was told me by divers credible persons that many times stood and beheld him."
Yet he was a very excellent gentleman, a loyal subject of the Queen, and a very proper Christian. In an age when cruelty in war was common he fought with a truly British sense of fairness, and while the Spaniards treated their prisoners with unnameable tortures Sir Richard Grenville was ever just and humane with the enemies who fell into his hands. He hated the Spaniards with a fierce envenomed hatred, and was never known to shrink from an encounter with them, or to neglect a chance of striking a blow which should help to lessen their vaunted power upon the seas. No man in his time—not even Drake himself—was more bold or more courageous in attacking them. His self-confidence and his trust in English pluck were supreme. He considered an Englishman equal to any dozen Spaniards.
On one occasion when he was returning from the Spanish Main in a ship which had been sorely battered by storms and badly bored by the teredo-worm, he sighted a richly-laden galleon. His ship could not be brought to a close encounter, and he had no boats, yet he was bent upon capturing that galleon. So he made a raft out of the boards of chests and boxes, took ahandful of men with him, and on this frail craft adventured an attack. He brought the raft alongside the galleon and clambered up upon her decks. As soon as his men were all off the raft it fell asunder and sank at the galleon's side, thus cutting off the adventurers' retreat. Yet they captured the galleon and brought her home as a prize to England.
It was towards the end of the hot month of August that the sickness on board theRevenge, as on board all the other ships of the fleet, became more general and severe. Lord Thomas Howard, realizing at last that it was the ships themselves that were unhealthy, and that if he would preserve his little army from actual dissolution he had better institute an hospital of some sort on shore, issued orders to his various captains, instructing them to land their sick men upon the beach, where huts and tents and other shelters were erected. This proceeding was found to be of vast benefit. Each ship's company was kept separate in their own shelters, with a goodly number of healthy men to attend to their wants.
Gilbert Oglander and Roland Grenville were among those who were told off to take charge of theRevenge'sinvalids. Timothy Trollope and Robin Redfern were with them, acting for the greater part of the time as water-carriers. Red Bob was among the sick, so was Edward Webbe. Hartop remained on board the ship.
It was weary work looking after men who, in the midst of their sickness, were for ever grumbling at thebad food and the lack of good doctors. But the purer air and an abundance of fresh water, together with such ripe fruit as could be procured, gradually brought the sufferers round to a better condition. The deaths were fewer and the pestilence ceased to spread. Also on the thirtieth day of the month there arrived two ships from England, sent out by the merchants of Plymouth with a supply of victuals; and the news of home brought additional cheer to those who had been lingering here in the Azores for over five months, waiting for the treasure-ships that they were to waylay and capture, waiting until the very clothes on their backs were worn to rags.
DRUSILLA'S LETTER.
ONthe morning following the arrival of the ships, boats were sent shoreward for water and for shingle. The shingle was required for ballast, the old and polluted ballast having been cast overboard in the endeavour to clear the vessels of the infection.
Jacob Hartop was in charge of one of the boats from theRevenge, and all through the day he laboured in the heat of the sun with his men, shovelling shingle into his boat and making trip after trip between the shore and the ship. When he landed on his second trip he sought out Gilbert Oglander.
Gilbert looked very different now from the gaily-apparelled lad who had gone on board the vice-admiral's ship at Plymouth in the early spring-time. His face was burned to a rich ruddy brown; his clothes were soiled and ragged, the gilt lace trimmings tarnished; the feathers had been torn from his cap, which was now but a sorry covering for his long-grown hair. Like all his companions, he had, for reasons of economy as much as for those of comfort and convenience, altogether abandoned his boots, and his bare feet, like his face and hands and arms, were as sunburnt as those of a Sicilian fisherman. He was kneeling in the shade of a large spreading date-palm, peeling a ripe orange for Red Bob, when Jacob Hartop approached him. He glanced up and nodded to the old buccaneer, smiled in greeting, and proceeded to divide the orange into liths, handing them one by one to his patient.
Jacob sat down on the soft warm sand and watched the lad for a few moments in silence.
"Art weary, Jacob?" asked Gilbert, hearing the old man's heavy breathing.
"Ay, weary of waiting for the Dons," answered Jacob, bending over and taking up a handful of the sand and letting it slowly stream out again between his gnarled fingers. Then presently he added: "Thou hast heard of the coming of the two ships from home,—eh, Master Gilbert?"
"Yes," returned Gilbert, wiping his hot brow withthe back of his hand. "Phew! Would that they had brought a few hogsheads of our Devonshire cider with them. But that were too much to expect, methinks." He rose to his feet and stood beside Jacob, with his hands lightly clasped behind his back, and gazed out upon the sea towards where the littleRevengerode at anchor. "Hast heard aught of their news, Master Hartop?" he asked.
Hartop shook his head.
"Naught to speak of," he answered. "It seemeth that Sir Francis Drake hath been summoned to Her Majesty's court, where he is in great favour, and that Sir Walter Raleigh hath fallen into disgrace; but more than this I have heard nothing. It may be, however, that thou'lt learn more from the letter that I bring thee," he added, thrusting his hand into his doublet. "Sir Richard bade me give it thee, saying as he handed it unto me, 'Tell Master Oglander that I would willingly have kept the letter myself, for that by the superscription I do judge it to be a message from my little sweetheart Drusilla'."
Gilbert fairly leapt at the letter when it was produced.
"It is! It is from Drusilla!" he cried, as he glanced at his name upon it. "'Twas she indeed that writ it!" Whereupon he pressed the missive to his lips, glanced at it yet again, and then exclaimed; "Only to think on't, Jacob! Is't not truly passing strange that my sister had this in her hand—ay, and haply kissedit as I do now—scarcely a month ago!" He was about to break the seal, but he forebore. "Nay," he said, "I will not read it now. Let me wait until the joy of receiving it hath abated;" and kissing it again he thrust it securely under his belt and went once more among the sick men, attending to their wants, and giving them such cheer as they had not known for many a day.
In the afternoon, when most of the invalids were asleep, Gilbert escaped from the beach and climbed the high bank of land to the level ground above, where the olive-trees grew. He perched himself upon one of the lower boughs of one of the largest of the trees, and, resting his back against the main trunk, took out his letter.
It had been written, not at Modbury Manor but at Willoughby Grange, the Devonshire seat of Sir Lester Willoughby. Gilbert read it slowly, dwelling on each word with fond interest.
Writ at Willoughby Grange, in the County ofDevon, the 5th day of August, 1591.
I know not, dear my brother Gilbert, if this letter will ever reach thee, but Master Christopher Pym hath but now ridden hence from Plymouth to tell me that the good ship "Barbara Jane" is being fitted to sail to the Western Isles with victuals for the Lord Thomas Howard his fleet, and to bid me write to thee in the hope that if thou art alive (as I pray God thoube) thou shall know hereby the things which have befallen us in thy so long absence, and of how Jasper Oglander hath proved himself to be a most iniquitous person with no good in him, who hath been secretly working to the ruination of our home and family, to the uttermost grief and distress of our saintly mother.
These things I must confide to thee, dear Gilbert, even in the order in which they happened; for 'tis meet that thou shouldst know them at the soonest possible time, so that thou mayest come back to us, if haply thou canst, and aid us in our tribulation. Yet even now, as I do indite these lines, I can scarce put the matter in its true order, so much confused am I in mind concerning all that hath disturbed our happiness, and so greatly do I fear (despite Master Pym's assurances) that thou art indeed and in truth dead and gone, as Jasper hath so positively averred. Of this terrible report of thine untimely death, we have no assurance either of truth or of disproof, and can only devoutly pray (as we do daily and nightly pray) that 'tis yet another of Jasper Oglander's evil and wicked falsehoods, set forth to gain his own advantage and advancement. But alas! I much fear me that I shall never, never see thee again, and that thou art, as the letter said, no more in this world.
We were concerned (as thou knowest) about the strange absence of cousin Philip. It was said by hisfather that he had gone on horseback upon a journey of pleasure into the country. But this report hath been proved false, utterly false. Philip is even at this present time abroad in Spain, working in league with our country's enemies. We learnt it at the time of our dear grandfather's sudden death—
Gilbert started back in amazement as he read these last words, almost falling from his seat on the olive-tree.
"Grandfather's death!" he cried aghast, dropping the letter on his lap. And then, as in a flash, his thoughts sped back to the time of his leaving Plymouth and the sight of the flag flying at half-mast on the towers of Modbury Manor. "Grandfather's sudden death!" he repeated, and for many minutes his brain seemed to be stunned by the news. His tear-filled eyes wandered eastward across the broad blue sea. Far away in the mid-distance between him and the clear horizon he saw, almost unconsciously, a little ship ploughing her way under full sail onward in the direction of Flores. At any other time and in a different mood the sight of that ship, where ships were so seldom to be seen, would have aroused in him a keen concern. But now he gave it only an instant's thought, and turned to continue the reading of Drusilla's letter.
We learnt it at the time of our dear grandfather's sudden death, which befell within an hour after thouhadst gone off to join the "Revenge". A messenger had ridden in hot haste to the manor, bearing a letter for grandfather. What the letter contained and whence it had come we knew not; nor could it be found anywhere in the library. But later, when, at the instance of our mother, Jasper took horse for Plymouth to warn thee of what had happened and bring thee back if there were yet time, Christopher Pym came within to our mother and handed her the letter, saying that he had discovered it at the spot where uncle Jasper had mounted his horse, and declaring that the letter had fallen from Jasper's belt. The letter was from Master Peter Trollope in Plymouth, and it told that both Jasper and Philip Oglander were traitors; that it was they who had contrived the escape of the Spanish prisoners of war, and that Philip Oglander had sailed with them for Spain in the ship "Pearl", which Jasper had purchased, from Sir Walter Raleigh out of money stolen, on the night ye wot of, from poor old Jacob Hartop.
Master Pym hath always held to the belief that 'twas the shock of reading this letter that brought about my Lord Champernoun's death.
Greatly were we all concerned when we heard that the "Revenge" had set sail, and that thou hadst departed in her. 'Tis hard to believe, but Master Pym doth continually aver that Jasper (although 'tis certainhe had ample time to warn thee) purposely held back from seeing thee or telling thee of my lord's death, desiring that thou shouldst quit the country in ignorance and run the risk of death by battle or storm, rather than that thou shouldst return home to thy rightful heritage, and so deprive him of his heart's desire. For it is now manifest to us all that Jasper, even from the first moment of his landing in Plymouth, hath been scheming and planning how he might cheat thee of thy rights, and become himself the Baron Champernoun and the owner of Modbury Manor and all the family estates.
And he hath now gained his wish: whether honestly or not can only depend upon whether thou art still alive. At the first he affected to sorrow over thine absence, speaking of thee as "Lord Champernoun" and "his lordship, my dear nephew", and the like. But on a day in the month of May he returned from Plymouth town in great haste and seeming grief, and when his wife, Donna Lela, besought him to tell her wherefore he wore a so doleful countenance, he produced a letter. "'Tis for this that I mourn," said he with a great sorrowful sigh, as he handed the letter to our mother. "'Tis a letter newly come from Sir Richard Grenville," said he. "Read it, good my sister, and God give thee strength to bear its terrible news." And ere mother had read beyond a dozen of thewritten lines she uttered a scream that might have been heard in the buttery, and fell back in her chair crying, "Oh! my son, my dear son! dead! dead! dead!" And Christopher Pym, seeing that her eyes were flooded with tears ere yet she would read the letter to its end, rose from the supper-table where we all were, and, said he, "I pray you, my lady, let me read you the letter;" and she gave it unto him, and he read it aloud so that all could hear. It told of a great storm that my lord Thomas Howard his fleet had encountered in the Bay of Biscay, and of how the "Revenge" in particular had been sorely buffeted by the mountainous waves, and of how one great wave, sweeping over her decks, had carried off many gallant men, and among them Master Gilbert Oglander.
When Master Pym came to the end and read the name of Richard Grenville, his eyes darted across the table to Jasper Oglander, and the look that Jasper returned to him was dreadful to behold. Master Pym with no more ado went round to where Jasper sat and touched him on the shoulder, and presently Jasper rose and they quitted the room together. We knew not what their intent might be, but 'tis certain that they quarrelled, and 'tis certain that from that day to this good Master Christopher Pym hath never set foot in Modbury Manor.
Now it was not many days thereafter that Jasperbegan to show by his bearing the thing that was in his mind. He bade all the servants and household address him and speak of him as "my lord", he signed his letters "Champernoun", and if Parliament had been in session, I doubt not that he would have hastened to take his seat in the House of Peers. He gave orders for many changes in the manor-house, he commanded the foresters to hew down our best and bravest oak-trees in the park, and he sold the timber to the shipwrights with which to build ships withal. But more unhappy than all else was his overbearing manner towards our mother. He treated her as though she had no right to remain under the roof, and his Papist wife, whom (as Master Pym hath told me) he had brought over from some hovel in Honduras, was thrust into our mother's place as Lady Champernoun.
Thou canst well understand, dear my brother, how grieved was our mother at all this. She lingered not longer in the place than was barely needful to gather her own personal possessions together, and then, carrying me with her, she set off to Willoughby Grange, where we now are.
'Twas but this morning (as I have said) that Master Christopher Pym came hither with word that the "Barbara Jane" is about to sail for the Azores. He hath spoken long and earnestly with our mother,and she is so sorely distressed that she hath bidden me do what she had willingly have done with her own hand—write to thee, in the hope that thou art still alive, and tell thee of these things. And what hath given her a strong hope is, that Christopher Pym doth now positively declare that the letter which Jasper averred had come to him from Sir Richard Grenville came not from Sir Richard at all, but was a base and wilful forgery.
Much more have I to tell thee. But I have already spent many hours over this long letter, which hath yet to be read by our mother and writ out again by Master Pym, who will set it forth in more seemly English than I, an ignorant girl, can command.
Farewell, dear my brother. The Lord bless thee and bring thee home in safety, and govern thee with His grace and make thee a good servant to our Queen and country. Thy loving sister, so long as thou livest in the fear of God,
DRUSILLA OGLANDER.
Grasping the letter in his hand, Gilbert bent forward with his head upon his knees and wept.
Long, long he remained thus, now weeping in sorrow for his mother, now yearning to be back in England, now fretting over the fate that kept him, as it were, a prisoner on foreign shores. Oh, why were the Spanish so long in coming? Why did they delay?
Suddenly he was aroused by hearing strange sounds: the tinkling of distant bells, the shrill, penetrating whistle of boatswains' pipes, and then the loud report of a cannon. He stood up and glanced through the foliage down at the fleet, and there he saw that the ships were in unwonted commotion. Boats were passing to and fro along the line. Near to the admiral's flag-ship there was a strange vessel with fresh white sails that had been newly furled. It was the same ship that he had already seen making her way across the sea. He turned and glanced over the water to make sure that this was so, for he could not well believe that she had come so quickly, or that he had remained inactive so long, brooding over the letter. Yes, it was indeed the same ship.
But what was this that he now saw upon the far horizon? He strained his eyes in eagerness. Away in the east, like a string of threaded beads upon the line of the horizon, there appeared a whole armada of ships—ten, twenty, forty, nay, more even than this. And they were sailing westward towards Flores—westward from Spain!
A SPLENDID DISOBEDIENCE.
GILBERTcame down upon the beach at the spot where the men of theDefianceand theBonaventurewere encamped. Sir Robert Cross and Sir Richard Grenville had come ashore, and their voices sounded loud and re-echoed among the rocks as they issued orders to the men to carry the invalids down to the boats and hasten on board. All was bustle, noise, and confusion. Here a stalwart man of Devon had shouldered one of his sick shipmates and was carrying him over the shingle, here others were rolling down water-breakers that had been left from the early morning, and others again carrying bedding and tent-poles, with their wrappings of ropes and sail-cloth.
The first person whom Gilbert recognised in the crowd was Timothy Trollope.
"What means all this commotion, Tim?" he inquired. "Is't the treasure-ships in sight?"
"No such good luck," answered Tim, looking up from his work of lifting one of the admiral's men upon his shoulder. "Here, I pray you, lend me a hand, Master Gilbert, and I'll tell you as we carry this poor fellow to his boat."
Gilbert took the man's legs in his arms while Timothy laid hold of him by his body, and as they bore him downward over the rough beach Tim said:
"Didst thou not see the coming of the ship, then?"
"I indeed saw a little ship approach," returned Gilbert, "but I know not whence she came nor—"
"'Tis Captain Middleton's ship," interrupted Timothy. "Captain Middleton's ship come hence from Spain to give the alarm that full half a hundred of King Philip's warships are even now bearing down upon us with intent to do battle!"
"I have seen them. I saw them from the heights," declared Gilbert. And then questioning Timothy further he learned that Captain Middleton had been one of the Earl of Cumberland's fleet, that he had had a race with the galleons and had outstripped them by only a few hours' sail. He had counted three-and-fifty galleons—the best that Spain possessed, and it seemed that the King of Spain, knowing of Lord Thomas Howard's presence and intention at the Azores, had sent out this formidable fleet to frustrate his foes and protect his treasure-ships against the English.
The news had come upon Lord Thomas Howard like a thunder-clap, when he was all unprepared for the emergency. As we have seen, more than half the crew in every ship were away on shore, lying sick, while a large part of the remainder were busy collecting ballast and getting water. On board most of the ships only a few officers and ship-keepers were left. Yet taken by surprise as they were, the captains were now meeting the perilous situation with a prompt alacrity worthy of the navy of which they were proud to forma part. Sir Richard Grenville as vice-admiral had hastened ashore, knowing that it was his duty to remain behind with his ship until the last man was on board. He now gave his orders calmly and with no show of hurry, and when he had seen the men of the flag-ship well in the way of getting on board, he passed on along the beach to where those of theBonaventurewere preparing to quit their temporary dwelling-place. In like manner he saw to the men of Captain Fenner'sLion, Captain Vavasour'sForesight, Captain Duffield'sCrane, and to those of theBark Raleigh, thePilgrim, theGeorge Noble, and the other smaller ships. Lastly, he came to his own men of theRevenge, and when these had been sent on board he again made his way along the beach to pick up all the possible stragglers. This work occupied him little more than half an hour, for all knew what was at stake, and each man had taken his own duty in hand with ready promptitude.
The first alarm-gun had been fired at one o'clock. By two o'clock five of the six men-of-war and all the victuallers, flyboats, and pinnaces had slipped their cables or weighed their anchors, had shaken out their sails and were beginning to work out seaward for an offing.
While Sir Richard Grenville was on shore the admiral himself had not been idle. It was too late now to think of ballasting his ships, which were all too light by reason of having been emptied of all the old and infected ballast that they had brought in themfrom England; but he knew that more than half his forces were sick and useless for the work of battle, that on theBonaventure, his largest ship, there were not so many men in health as could handle her mainsail, so he ordered that a score of the best should be transferred to her from the ship that Sir George Cary had sent out with the expedition, while Sir George Cary's ship was at the last moment scuttled and left to go to the bottom.
Lord Thomas Howard signalled his orders to his little fleet, and his own ship, theDefiance, led the way out into the offing, for the Spanish galleons were already approaching the nearest headland of the island and he deemed it wise to escape as speedily as he could. He saw that theRevengehad not yet weighed anchor, and he signalled to her yet again, intending that Grenville should loiter no longer, but that, whatever her condition or the condition of the few men still remaining ashore, she should at once slip her cable and follow in her appointed place at the rear.
Sir Richard Grenville saw the signal, but thinking only of the sick men in his charge he would not start until he had collected and shipped the last of his crew, who, if he had left them on shore, must have been lost.
"We cannot leave the poor fellows here to die," said he to Timothy Trollope, who had been with him during this time helping the men into the boats. "It were surely cowardly to abandon them. Heave yourself up on my back, lad," he added, speaking to Red Bob, whowas now the last remaining man. "There is yet time if we are but quick." And with Timothy's help he carried Bob down to the boat, and then they were rowed out to theRevenge.
Then with every man safe on board he at last weighed. At the same instant as the dripping anchor came to the bows, the tall masts with their bellying sails and the towering hulls of the two vanguard squadrons of the Spanish fleet appeared under the headland. On the galleons swept to the windward of theRevenge, with their ports triced up and the gun muzzles showing, and the brass patereros glittering in the afternoon sun.
Sir Richard, standing, as it seemed, quite unconcerned upon his quarter-deck, took in the position in which he was placed. To the windward of him were the fifty-three great galleons of Spain. On his lee, now drawing wind and sailing quickly into safety, were the ships of Lord Thomas Howard. Grenville was not a trained seaman, and he knew but few of the mariner's tricks and tactics, but he understood his present case well enough to know that his best and only chance of safety was to 'bout ship and run for it in the endeavour to weather the leaders of the Spaniards.
He cast a moment's glance at his sailing-master and in turn at Captain Robinson, who stood near him.
"It seemeth to me," remarked the master, "that we have lingered over long."
"Ay," added Captain Robinson. "The delay hath cost Her Majesty her goodliest ship and us our lives and our long-cherished honour."
"How so?" questioned Grenville, in the blunt direct tone which signified his inward excitement.
Captain Robinson raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, and his fingers played with the point of his well-trimmed black beard.
"Why," answered he in a seemingly careless tone, "methinks we are caught in a very pretty trap, that is all." And then a new and earnest light flashing in his beautiful blue eyes, he added: "Look you, Sir Richard, we have but one way only. Let out your mainsail, sir, and cast about, and trust to the sailing of the ship. She is ill-conditioned, 'tis true; but 'twill go ill if we cannot even yet escape and join our squadron."
Sir Richard Grenville regarded him with a stern determined glance.
"What!" he cried. And then he laughed, and in a softer voice added: "No, no. I never yet turned tail on devil or Don, nor will I do so now. Rather would I die this day than dishonour myself, my country, or Her Majesty's ship!" He strode slowly across the deck and as slowly returned. Then he looked out over the rail at the approaching galleons. They now appeared in two well-ordered squadrons on his weather-bow, sailing down upon him between the two neighbour islands of Flores and Corvo. "Trulythey are a brave sight," he went on, "as gallant a sight as mine eyes have rested upon these three years agone. But, mark you, Master Robinson, I mean not to fly from them, not I. 'Tis one against fifty-three, but, by thunder, I mean to adventure it! In despite of their so great strength I intend to pass in betwixt those two squadrons and force them to give me way!"
"Nay, 'tis impossible; 'twere rank madness to make the attempt," cried the master. "Sure 'tis no dishonour to fly before such overwhelming numbers. Cast about, sir, while yet there is time. Believe me, 'tis the better course."
But Sir Richard Grenville would not be persuaded, and the word was passed aft to the steersman to take the ship in between the two lines of galleons.
It was at this moment that Gilbert Oglander showed himself before his chief. He was about to ask some question, but Sir Richard cut him short.
"Bring me my casque, boy, and my breastplates and tassets, also my best sword!" Then to the master he added: "Let beat the men to their fighting quarters. Run out the guns, and let every one be manned by a brave son of Devon that will stick to his post while there be powder to shoot and ships to be shot."
None on board had expected this order. All were appalled by Sir Richard's boldness. But when once the word had gone forth that there was fighting to be done, there was not a man or a boy whose bodily health permitted him who did not fly to his particularpost with joy at the thought of having it out with the hated Spaniards.
Already theRevengewas drifting onward to meet her foes. With her hundred eager fighting-men on her decks, and her ninety sick lying unserviceable on the ballast, she slowly made her way into the narrow channel between the oncoming galleons. The first four of them, either awed by her boldness or else not quite prepared, permitted her to pass, but immediately "sprang their luff" and fell under her lee, where they contented themselves with firing a few shots into one of the English victualling ships, theGeorge Noble, of London, that with greater spirit than might have been expected of so small a craft, had detached herself from Her Majesty's ships and fallen behind to offer aid to the hard-pressedRevenge. Her captain, scorning the few shots that had rattled through his shrouds, now brought her under theRevenge'scounter and called out to Sir Richard Grenville, asking him for commands.
"Nay, seek no commands of me," cried Grenville in reply. "But save yourself, in God's name, while there be time. As for me, why, prithee, leave me to my fortune. I can look after myself if any man can."
At this moment occurred the catastrophe which Captain Robinson and the sailing-master had clearly foreseen. The great galleon,San Philip, being to the windward of theRevenge, and coming speedily towards her, becalmed her sails, which flapped loose, flattenedagainst her masts, hung down, and ceased to draw. TheRevengelost the way that was upon her, and she could neither move onward nor obey her helm. TheSan Philipwas a huge and high-charged ship of fifteen hundred tons—three times the burden of theRevenge,—carrying three tiers of ordnance on a side, and eleven pieces in every tier. She had eight great guns peeping out of her chase-ports, and from these she belched forth a volley of cross-bar shot that crashed into Grenville's gallant little ship, making her tremble in every plank, yet doing but slight mischief. And at the same time the three galleons that were to his leeward luffed up, and fired their forward guns into his rigging. These ships were all high in the hull, and their guns were so trained that the shots passed over theRevenge'supper bulwarks, only severing a few ropes or clipping some splinters of timber from off her masts and yards. One of the nearest galleons was the admiral, or flag-ship, of the Biscayan squadron, a very mighty and powerful vessel, commanded by the great Spanish warrior Britandona.
Gilbert Oglander, as he strode towards the companion stairs after having helped Sir Richard Grenville to don his body armour, glanced round at the vast fleet of the enemy. Each galleon's decks and fighting-tops were crowded with soldiers, whose morions and breastplates glistened in the afternoon sun. On theSan Philip'sdecks there were, as he afterwards estimated, no fewer than six or sevenhundred soldiers, apart from her seamen, and the others of the Spanish ships must certainly have been equally well manned; while on theRevengethere were no fighting-men beside the mariners, excepting only the servants of her officers and some few gentlemen volunteers like himself.
Already the dread sounds of battle greeted Gilbert's unaccustomed ears. The loud rumbling roar of the cannons coming from the lumbering hulls below was mingled with the sharp crackling of musketry from above, where the Spaniards posted in the tops were firing in the hope of picking off some of the English officers. The air was even at this early time charged with a faint smell of burnt gunpowder. Gilbert did not pause to watch the opening of the battle, but hastened down to the main-deck, where, for the present, he was to occupy himself in helping the gunners and carrying out the powder from the magazines.
Here, down below, he found Edward Webbe with his lighted lintlock coolly glancing outward along the barrel of a great brass gun. There was no need to take careful aim, for wheresoever the cannon might be fired its contents of heavy shot were certain to strike into the oaken hull of one of the galleons. Webbe applied his fuse, and the cannon flung forth its spurt of fire with a thunderous boom that made the very deck shake and the strained lashings creak. Along the whole space of the 'tween decks and at both sides the gunners applied themselves to their workwith quiet and unruffled movements, and presently Edward Webbe gave up his gun to another man and undertook the task of directing his shipmates in the work, only peering out now and again through one of the portholes to watch the movements of the enemy, as galleon after galleon came within close range.
"Steady, my lads!" he cried, "and take good aim. Waste not a shot, but mark well where it must find its home. Lower your gun's muzzle, Matthew Giles," he said to one who was training his piece to fire against the walls of one of the nearer galleons. "Take her below the water-line, and sink her."
It was the greatSan Philipthat was alongside now. Having blocked out the breeze from theRevenge'ssails by her own vast stretch of canvas, she had forced herself full into the path of the English man-of-war, and swung herself round broadside to broadside, with her grapplings ready to hold her intended victim fast and so overpower her by superior strength, and riddle her with shot until she should sink. This was just at three o'clock in the afternoon, and forthwith the terrible and memorable combat was begun in desperate earnest.
At the same time four other of the most formidable of the Spanish galleons—the smallest of them double the size of theRevenge—drew out to support theSan Philip, and took up positions round Sir Richard Grenville's ship, two on her larboard side, one astern of her, and the fourth under her bows. And all fiveassailed her with a storm of iron shot and heavy stone balls and langrage and cross-bar shot. The noise of the discharge of so many guns was deafening to hear. But it was seen that the greater number of the shots passed over her, so low in the hull was she compared with the towering height of her enemies. Nevertheless many a shot buried itself in her stout sides, many crashed through her bulwarks, cut great pieces out of her masts, and tore her sails and rigging. But her gallant flag of St George waved gloriously on high; her men stuck to their work with ever-ripening courage, and small though she was in the midst of her huge foes, she dealt them as much as they gave: nay, even more than that, for she had British guns on board of her and British men to fire them, and never a shot did they fire that did not tell.