“O’er the glad waters of the dark blue sea,Our thoughts as boundless, and our souls as free,Far as the breeze can bear the billows foam,Survey our empire, and behold our home!These are our realms, no limits to their sway,Our flag the sceptre all who meet obey;Ours the wild life, in tumult still to range,From toil to rest, and joy in every change.”Byron,The Corsair.
“O’er the glad waters of the dark blue sea,Our thoughts as boundless, and our souls as free,Far as the breeze can bear the billows foam,Survey our empire, and behold our home!These are our realms, no limits to their sway,Our flag the sceptre all who meet obey;Ours the wild life, in tumult still to range,From toil to rest, and joy in every change.”Byron,The Corsair.
“O’er the glad waters of the dark blue sea,Our thoughts as boundless, and our souls as free,Far as the breeze can bear the billows foam,Survey our empire, and behold our home!These are our realms, no limits to their sway,Our flag the sceptre all who meet obey;Ours the wild life, in tumult still to range,From toil to rest, and joy in every change.”Byron,The Corsair.
“‘AFTER Morgan had concluded the story of his wild adventures,—
“‘“Well, Bassanto,” he said, “you’ll join us, of course? Mind, we are not pirates, but cruisers under the British flag, and we have private orders to do our traditional enemy the Spaniard all the harm we can, and try to cripple his commerce.
“‘“And this,” he added, “is good for us, you know. All that our country desires is the name and tonnage of the vessel destroyed. With the gold and silver
After we had left there was a terrible explosion.After we had left there was a terrible explosion.
found on board they do not interfere. We divide the spoil among ourselves, and according to our rank.
“‘“I have made so much money already, that, assisted by some of my comrades, I have bought a fine ship, and armed her. The boys have chosen me to be captain of her, and she lies round here in the bay. So get ready to join us. It will be a grand thing for you, lad, and in a few years you will be able to go back and lead a quiet and peaceful life in England. What say you?”
“‘I thought for a few minutes, then held out my hand.
“‘“I will go,” I said, and we shook hands.
“‘I was to be a sailor now in earnest.
“‘But little did I know that I was to be a pirate as well.
“‘TheRoverwas not only a very large ship, but she had a large crew. Both crew and ship were armed in a most formidable way.
“‘She was well found in the matter of provisions, though I should have liked if less rum had been in the hold. This fiery and maddening poison the men drank, forenoon, noon, and night.
“‘The discipline was in some ways lax, in others terribly severe.
“All sorts of coarse songs might be sung fore and aft or down below. The men might speak roughly to each other, and even fight with cudgels or fists; but one day shortly after I joined, a sailor gave an officer an insolent answer. To my astonishment the latter at once drew his sword and ran him through the body. Then wiping his sword on the dead man’s clothing, calmly ordered the poor fellow’s corpse to be tossed overboard.
“‘In five minutes more his body was being torn to pieces by the sharks.
“‘Horrified beyond measure, I at once betook myself to the private cabin of Captain Morgan to report the matter. I found him drinking rum which had simply been heated in a pannikin, and molasses added to it.
“‘He made me sit down, and offered me some; but I was sick at heart, and could touch nothing.
“‘When I told him what the officer had done, he merely laughed.
“‘“Too tender-hearted, Bassanto,” he said, with a hiccup or two. “Soon get over all that. Discipline, you know, discipline mus’ be maintained—any cost. ’F a man insults you, shoot ’m down. ’Xpect you to do the same.”
“‘I did not like to wound Morgan’s feelings, nor to quarrel with him, so I sat talking for some little time on different subjects, then quietly retired. Yet to my sorrow I could see that his character was entirely changed, the result of rum-drinking and bad company, and that the once gentle and religious boy had been transformed into a bloodthirsty and cruel desperado.
“‘Our ship’s head was turned westward from Jamaica, which might have been called our headquarters.
“‘We passed betwixt the most south-westerly point of Cuba, Yucatan, and our cruising-ground was the shores of Campeachy, in the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. The weather was fiercely hot, and a wild band our cut-throat crew did look; for they kept watch naked to the waist or nearly so, with bare feet and cotton pugarees bound round their heads. Their faces and chests were burned as brown as the back of a fiddle.
“‘One day when the captain was ill, I succeeded in getting him to give up rum to a great extent, and he also put strict limits to that served out to the men.
“‘There was much growling and even threatened mutiny for a time; but after this the men cooled down, and theRoverwas a far happier ship.
“‘Then came our first battle.
“‘We sighted a Spanish man-o’-war bearing down on us one morning; for we had already captured several of their merchantmen, robbed them of everything that was valuable, and after putting those of the crew and passengers whose lives we had spared into boats and turning them adrift, set fire to the vessels.
“‘But all hands were now at once called to arms, and it was lucky for Morgan that they were sober.
“‘The leviathan thought she would have an easy victory, because we had hoisted all sail, and were flying before the wind. The man-o’-war was coming up slowly, and we could hear the men’s wild cheers as they thought they should speedily overhaul us.
“‘The fact is, that we were running away in order to make better preparations.
“‘Morgan was making hand-grenades, and the men were loading the guns ready to run out, and sharpening their cutlasses till they were like razors.
“‘Then an extra supply of rum was served out.
“‘“Double the allowance,” cried Morgan, “if we sink and burn the Spaniard. If we don’t, we shall all hang to our own yard-arms, like herrings drying in the sun.”
“‘A wild, defiant shout shook the ship from stemto stern. Sails were clewed, only enough being left shaken out to manage her, and we waited for the man-o’-war to come along.
“‘We gave her a telling and terrible broadside as soon as she was near enough. As her decks were crowded, and it was unexpected, it caused fearful carnage. Away we went now before the wind again, but shortly tacked and crossed her stern.
“‘That was the most fearful volley of all, and so crippled the man-o’-war that her return volley or broadside did us little harm.
“‘We raked her again, and this time destroyed her rudder.
“‘We got near enough now to try the hand-grenades.
“‘These were simply large bottles filled with gunpowder and bullets, with a lighted fuse, the whole rolled round with cloth.
“‘They were terribly effective.
“‘Now Morgan could have sunk that ship without boarding; but he was a man of impatience and spirit, and besides, his crew longed to get their brown hands on the throats of the foe.
“‘So we hauled alongside.
“‘I never wish to see so awful a fight again, norto hear such shrieks and cries of pain or for mercy on the one hand, or such maledictions on the other.
“‘Soon the Spaniards threw away their arms, and were hounded forward, a mere mob, to await their doom at the forecastle-head.
“‘Then the ship was plundered, and the captain and officers were hanged.
“‘“It is the death you intended for us, Señor Capitan,” said Morgan brutally; “and you shall be the first to have the hempen handkerchief around your neck. If you find it too tight, tell us after you reach the yard-arm.”
“‘I closed my eyes. I felt sick, and bitterly repented having joined the pirate ship.
“‘Next the boats were lowered. The captain himself was the last to leave, for he had lit a time-fuse attached to the magazine.
“‘In a very short time after we had left there was a terrible explosion. The air was darkened with broken masts and spars, and with the bodies of men. Then all was over; a blackened spar or two floating on top of the blue, blue sea was all that was left to tell of this fearsome battle and tragedy.
* * * * *
“‘TheRover’shead was turned once more eastwardsto Jamaica. Morgan treated his men well, and gave them all a large share of the booty. I took mine as did the others. I considered I had more right to it than any one there. Was I not a Spaniard myself, and did this gold not belong to my countrymen?
“‘At Jamaica Morgan lay up for a time, under the very guns of a British fort. From his country he received praise and honours for what he had done; and concerning the cruelties he had been guilty of, not only to men, but to women, girls, and even to helpless children, never a question was asked.
“‘Morgan Meets Mansvelt.
“‘Morgan was fond of dash and show, and armed to the teeth, one day he was swaggering along the streets of Jamaica, the observed of all observers, when he was met by a gentleman who was quite as much of a hero as, if not more so than, Morgan himself.
“‘It was “Hail, fellow, well met.”
“‘But Mansvelt quickly explained that he was no longer to confine his attentions to Spanish ships at sea, but that he meant to attack cities by land, and that indeed he had a fleet of sixteen ships armed and manned, and almost ready for the sea. He had heardof the daring and fame of Morgan, and now begged him to accept the post of vice-admiral of the fleet.
“‘Morgan was overjoyed at heart, but did not show it. He preferred to act the stoic.
“‘“What is your intended cruising-ground,” he asked, “should I see my way to accept the post you would honour me with?”
“‘“The wealthy Isthmus of Panama, captain, and the province of Costa Rica.”
“‘“The cowardly Spaniards,” he added, with a scornful smile, “have a well-garrisoned island—namely, St. Catherine—to protect their coast. The smart way we shall handle their fort will be highly amusing. Pray honour me by accepting.”
“‘“Well,” said Morgan, “I want to see a bit of shore fighting, so shall accept. The booty will be plentiful, I suppose?”
“‘“You will have more wealth than ever you could have dreamt of in all your life.”
“‘So hands were shaken, and the bargain made.
“‘I myself would have remained behind when the fleet sailed, but I hoped that secretly I might be of service to some of my poor countrymen.
“‘The capture of the Spanish fort was what a soldier would have called “a pretty bit of fighting.” Imyself did not land. I was in Vice-Admiral Morgan’s ship, preferring to be near him as friend and counsellor to being captain of a ship of my own. The island was now garrisoned by pirates, and by negroes who were ordered to till it most carefully, and keep the crops for the crews of the Mansvelt fleet when it should return.
“‘During this our first cruise, although many villages along the coast were destroyed, and many demoniacal cruelties enacted, little real harm was done to the country. Then the Governor of Panama organized an expedition to retake the island and fort, which it did one beautiful Sabbath morning, killing many of the pirates, and chasing the rest to the woods.
“‘Morgan was at this time in Jamaica. Mansvelt himself had gone with one ship to that hornet’s nest of pirates, Tortuga, and there, being seized with sudden illness,died.
“‘And now Morgan assumed entire command of the fleet, and a brave one it was—over a dozen huge ships marvellously well armed, and with crews in the aggregate numbering a thousand men.
“‘A thousand desperados! A thousand fiends incarnate, as the sequel will show.
“‘There was nothing that these pirates would nothave dared and done. Some even proposed attacking and sacking the wealthy city of Habana; but wiser counsels prevailed, and the scheme was abandoned. But the inland town of Puerto Principe was marked down for attack.
“‘This town lies on the south side of Cuba, and was even then in a flourishing condition; but never expecting to be attacked, was not in much of a condition for defence.
“‘We sailed, and after a speedy passage anchored one evening off the coast.
“‘Had the admiral—Morgan—had the slightest inkling of what I was now about to do, and did do despite the fact of our long friendship, I should have been hanged without a trial.
“‘There was on board a Spanish prisoner; him I determined to liberate, and send to the far-off town to warn the poor inhabitants of the danger that was hovering over them.
“‘Luckily for me, the man lay in an out-of-the-way corner of the second deck, the night was very dark, and the men were carousing.
“‘I cut his cords. He divested himself of most of his clothing, and dropped silently out of a porthole into the sea.
“‘The danger, he afterwards told me, was extreme; for he could see the sharks in dozens about him, with eyes like fire, and fins and skins of phosphorescent light. Every moment he expected to be dragged under, and when he at last found himself on the beach he swooned. On recovering, he prayed long and earnestly, then set out on his mission.
“‘Little pathways through the forest guided him safely at last to the city.
“‘The consternation caused by his tidings was dreadful; but while the women and children were hiding the treasures, the governor himself had collected every man able to carry arms.
“‘They cut down trees and formed ambuscades.
“‘But when next day Morgan, with his army of nearly a thousand fiends incarnate, came up, they avoided these, and came upon the doomed city by a more circuitous route.
“‘The battle lasted for nearly four hours, and was both desperate and bloody.
“‘Then came the capture and the sack.’”
My friend Captain Reeves paused just here.
“I have not the heart,” he said, “to read to you an account of the torture of men, women, and children—it is harrowing in the extreme—nor of the foul and awful crimes the pirates committed before hurrying southwards with their booty for fear of being cut off.”
“‘But,’ says my ancestor, Bassanto, ‘the pirates quarrelled among themselves now, reducing Morgan’s fleet to only nine ships, with about five hundred men.
“‘Yet so daring was the fellow that he determined, even with this handful, to attack, sack, and plunder the wealthy town of Puerto Velo.
“‘Although the governor and his troops fought most heroically, the pirates, literally with halters round their necks, fought with even greater ferocity. At last the huge fort was taken, and every soldier put to the sword, and the city itself was captured. Many of the inhabitants fled to the woods, but enough were driven into the castle—nuns, mothers, maidens—to enable these awful fiends to hold such a wild carousal that even to think of makes one’s blood run cold.’
“And now, my friend,” said Captain Reeves, “let us close the narrative for a time, and return home. You shall dine with me to-morrow night, for young Miguel himself is coming, and we will have merriment and music enough to drive the memory of these terrible crimes from our minds.”
“Besides,” he added, “the strange story takes a new turn, and this it is I want your advice concerning.”
We soon after said good-bye, and Dash and I went back to the manse.
“Ay, at set of sunThe breeze will freshen when the day is done.Sling on thy bugle; see that free from rustMy carbine-look springs worthy of my trust;Be the edge sharpened of my boarding-brand,And give the guard more room to fit my hand.This let the armourer with speed dispose;Last time it more fatigued my arm than foes.”Byron.
“Ay, at set of sunThe breeze will freshen when the day is done.Sling on thy bugle; see that free from rustMy carbine-look springs worthy of my trust;Be the edge sharpened of my boarding-brand,And give the guard more room to fit my hand.This let the armourer with speed dispose;Last time it more fatigued my arm than foes.”Byron.
“Ay, at set of sunThe breeze will freshen when the day is done.Sling on thy bugle; see that free from rustMy carbine-look springs worthy of my trust;Be the edge sharpened of my boarding-brand,And give the guard more room to fit my hand.This let the armourer with speed dispose;Last time it more fatigued my arm than foes.”Byron.
IHAD read books about Morgan before making Captain Reeves’s acquaintance, but somehow, hearing the dreadful story told first-hand, as it were, from the log of one who had seen the many fearful tragedies, it seemed all the more realistic and awful.
It was some time before I fell asleep that night, for from thinking of the atrocities committed by pirates my mind turned to the fearful and indescribable cruelties perpetrated upon British women and children in the inhuman Indian Mutiny.
Naturally enough there arose a question that did not tend towards inducing
“Tired Nature’s sweet restorer, balmy sleep”—
“Tired Nature’s sweet restorer, balmy sleep”—
“Tired Nature’s sweet restorer, balmy sleep”—
namely, Why should God, our God, permit such cruelties to overtake innocent girls and little children? But, after all, what are we that we should dare to arraign the Maker of heaven and earth before the tribunal of our imperfect knowledge? I live in hope—a hope which nothing, I trust, shall ever be able to take from me—that all shall yet be revealed in another and a better world; all made clear as the noonday sun.
* * * * *
When I went over next evening, accompanied by Dash as usual, I found all the trees lit up as they had been on the first night I had wandered hither.
Don Miguel had, therefore, I felt sure, already arrived. Nor was I mistaken.
Here he was, looking as bold, handsome, and interesting as ever, only sun-browned beyond all belief: for betwixt the Spanish blood or skin and the sun an affinity seems to exist.
Miguel hastened to shake hands with me.
“You look happy and jolly,” I said.
“Yes, and I am happy and jolly,” he replied. “Who wouldn’t be who has been favoured as I have been? My harvest was but a holiday and all the girls fell in love with me. I had plenty to eat and drink, and every evening they all danced while I played. Then, to finish off, we had a ball—girls all in white, lads mostly in the kilt, and a nice string band; so I myself could dance, and did dance till morning light.
“They all said I was the merriest minister ever they had met, and if only their own parish parson came to a dance now and then, and didn’t carry quite so long a face, they would go to his church much oftener than they did.”
“Bravo, Miguel!” I replied. “Well, I for one am happy to see you; and I am like yourself, for I do not believe we were sent into this world to moan and groan, and shake our faces from side to side till they look as long as to-day and to-morrow.”
“Ah, well,” I added, “I am sure you will give us a song to-night.”
“That will I, with the greatest of pleasure.”
“But dinner first,” cried Captain Reeves, laughing. “The mind, you know, takes its cue from the state of the body.”
And a most tasteful and delightful little dinner itwas which was now placed on the captain’s hospitable board, and everybody, including even Mina, did ample justice to it.
I have always thought that the violin and the Spanish guitar were made for each other—made to be wedded to each other, as it were, in sweet accord. I could not help thinking so to-night, as the soft, delightful music—madly merry one minute, tender and plaintive next—filled all the room.
But the instruments were laid aside at last, and then, encouraged by a few questions put to him by Captain Reeves and Mina, Miguel entertained us with a delightful narrative of harvest life at “An Auld Fairm Toon.” That is the quaint title he gave it.
It was indeed a laughable and delightful yarn, and had I been able to take it down just as it fell from the young fellow’s lips, it should have been all in print somewhere ere now.
But at last Mina, showing some signs of fatigue, was advised to retire.
There was no sleepiness about any one else, not even about honest Dash, whose eyes were very open indeed.
Perhaps he was wondering what kind of sport he should have next day among the hills, and after the ptarmigan and grouse.
Captain Reeves sat for a short time holding the bowl of that great meerschaum in his hand, and blowing a cloud which quite hid the upper part of his body. Seeing his feet and his legs up as far as the knees, we came to the conclusion, from a process of analogical reasoning, that he was behind that cloud somewhere; and presently we knew we were right, for an arm appeared, and the pipe was laid down. Then the fog cleared away, and there was Reeves smiling.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said; “I always think best when smoking.”
The captain was a most temperate man, and now what he called his “brew” was a very small allowance indeed of the wine of Green Caledonia. He sipped it slowly.
Then he arose, and soon returned to the table with the weather-stained old piratical log itself. Considering that it was fully two hundred years of age, it was certainly very well preserved indeed.
“I am only,” he said, “going to read a few snatches more of Morgan’s fearful life. I consider it is too horrible for any young man to listen to. However, there is a ring of truthfulness in every line penned by our ancient ancestor, Captain Bassanto; and whenhe comes down to the hiding of the treasure, he gives very definite instructions indeed. The only wonder is that no one has ever found it before now.”
“Can you be sure,” I asked, “that this is not the case?”
“Quite certain, my friend Gordon; because this log had been lost for more than a hundred years, and there is ample evidence to show that it has never been tampered with or even read.”
“Well, I shall epitomize,” he continued. “I have myself carefully read the horrors described with no unmasterly hand over and over again, till they interfered even with my sleep at night, and I have then had to hide the log even from myself, and try to banish its awful story from my mind by working hard in the garden or climbing the mountains that rise high on every side of this glen.
“Bassanto says: ‘I sent much of my own gold home, and I knew it was safe. Fain would I have gone home myself to end my days in peace, and only the thought that by remaining under Morgan’s command I might be able to save the lives of some of my countrymen now and then prevented me from retiring.
“‘The wrath of Heaven,’ continues my ancestor, ‘seemed to be opened at last against those inhumanwretches. Pestilence broke out, and many died in the most awful agonies. Still the torture of the people in order to get them to reveal the hiding-places of their treasure was continued, and it is terrible to think of the sufferings endured by the poor wretches. Death to me personally would at times have been welcomed, and more than once have I clutched my dagger to plunge into the black and hardened heart of my friend Morgan himself. No shark of the ocean, no panther of the jungle, could have been more callous than he; while his pirate crews regarded the sufferings and the struggles of the men or maidens under torture as calmly and heartlessly as the fisherman beholds the worm that wriggles on his hook.
“‘Morgan was a man of very great skill—a man made to command men. Had his talents been expended in a good cause, he might have been a blessing to the world, instead of a firebrand and a curse.
“‘The skill with which he could manœuvre his troops was well seen before he left Puerto Velo. For even while the awful plague was still raging, he found out that the Governor of Panama was coming on to attack him and cut off his retreat. He hurriedly brought his ships into the harbour and placed all the collected plunder on board.
“‘Quickly indeed did he repair the ports and remount the guns. Then, with a well-armed but small and well-chosen force, he sallied forth to give battle to the governor.
“‘They hid miles from the town, in a dense, impenetrable jungle, through which the narrow road went winding, every man making a loophole where he could command the advancing foe, certain that his bullet would find a billet in some bosom.
“‘The Spaniards numbered about five hundred, and expecting no such ambuscade, were soon in the very centre of this terrible hornet’s nest.
“‘The signal was given by Morgan himself. No more fatal volley was ever fired. Not a pirate fired at the same man, and one hundred Spaniards bit the dust.
“‘The confusion and terror were fearful to witness, for I myself was there, though I fired but in blank.
“‘Again and again the pirates, invisible themselves, poured in their volleys. Alas! how my heart bled for my poor countrymen. Had I seen Morgan then, I should certainly have slain him. The victory was complete. The Spaniards were almost annihilated. The wounded were murdered and robbed, and then we returned to the pestilential city.
“‘But Puerto Velo was at last left to its fate: it was destroyed by fire, sword, and pestilence, and by torture, out and out. Fiends from the lower regions could not have behaved with greater cruelty.
“‘And the reward of the pirates for all the crimes they had committed was but little. They found this out when they came to divide the spoil. This they did in a solitary harbour off the coast of Cuba.
“‘We next returned to Jamaica, and were received with public rejoicings by the people. We were made heroes of, and the excesses of the pirates, in drinking, gambling, and worse, were so great that their gold was nearly all squandered in a few weeks or a month. Morgan thought it time then to plan some other expedition.
“‘Tortuga was at this time a hot-bed of pirates.
“‘Morgan went to Isle de la Vaca, on the southern-most shore of Hispaniola, and was speedily refitted and remanned.
“‘By-and-by there came from Tortuga a big Frenchman who had no less than three-and-thirty guns. Trade was bad, however, and the crew wanted to turn their talents to buccaneering. Morgan had his eye on that ship, and asked them to join his next expedition. The officers, however, would have noneof him. Little did they know the craft and cunning of this immortal pirate. He had found out that they had taken provisions from an English ship at sea, paying only in paper money. This was enough. He invited the captain and officers on board to a carousal, and charging them with piracy, when they were still drinking, Morgan clapped them in irons and seized their ship.
“‘There was a fleet of merchant ships (Spaniards) expected every day off Saona Island, near to San Domingo, and thither they determined to sail. A terrible carousal followed on board the captured Frenchman. The drunken men were actually staggering about firing volley after volley by way of rejoicing.
“‘Suddenly the magazine in the fore part of the ship blew up with terrible force.
“‘Although those carousing in the cabin escaped with their lives, all forward perished, and this was the terrible end of the captured ship.
“‘But Morgan had still fifteen ships and nearly a thousand men, and recruiting their provisions from an English ship, they pressed on to Ocoa, on the south shore of the great island of Hispaniola.
“‘Seven of his ships had not come up when Morganand I reached Ocoa, so we determined to wait for them.
“‘Here we ran a risk of being starved; for the Spaniards, although unable to attack, drove away all the cattle. Here, too, a band of fifty men sent on shore to hunt were surrounded by the Spaniards and almost decimated.
“‘Morgan himself landed with two hundred men to take full vengeance, but could find no one to fight with, and had therefore to return, but he burned every house or hut he came across.’”
Captain Reeves paused, and began to turn over the pages of the old yellow-leaved log somewhat languidly.
“I must say,” he observed, “that my ancestor has spared no pains to make the history of this great pirate as exact and complete as possible, and I have material from which one day to build a book.
“Many of the writers on the pirates of the Spanish Main differ, and doubtless several of them are dependent upon their imagination for their facts. On the contrary, this Miguel Bassanto, our far-distant ancestor, seems to be nothing unless truthful and punctilious.
“The more I read about Morgan, afterwards madeSir Henry Morgan by the British Government, the more I admire his skill as a commander of forces, either by sea or on land, and the more I abhor and detest his character. To call him inhuman is to pay him a compliment. He was more than inhuman, he was a fiend incarnate, and instead of being honoured with high rank, made Governor of Jamaica, and Governor of Gibraltar, he ought to have been burned alive over a slow fire.
“At Maracaybo, another writer tells us, all kinds of inhuman cruelties were practised upon the innocent people. Those who would not confess, or who had nothing to declare, died under the hands of those tyrannical men. Those tortures and racks continued for the space of three whole weeks, during which time the pirates ceased not to send out daily parties of men to seek for more people to torment and rob. They never returned home without booty and riches.”
“Thank God,” I said, “we live in less perilous, less terrible times.”
“Ah! thank God indeed.”
“But now I come to the last adventure described in this book, and it is this to which I wish to draw your particular attention, as it is connected with theburied treasure which I hesitate not again to say belongs to me and mine.
“If we set about the business properly and scientifically, I do not doubt for a single moment that we shall be able to unearth it.—Then, my dear nephew, my sister’s struggles, and yours too, will be at an end.”
“So when a raging fever burns,We shift from side to side,And ’tis a poor relief we gainTo change the place but keep the pain.”“But sorrow returned with the dawning of morn,And the voice in my dreaming ear melted away.”Campbell.
“So when a raging fever burns,We shift from side to side,And ’tis a poor relief we gainTo change the place but keep the pain.”“But sorrow returned with the dawning of morn,And the voice in my dreaming ear melted away.”Campbell.
“So when a raging fever burns,We shift from side to side,And ’tis a poor relief we gainTo change the place but keep the pain.”
“But sorrow returned with the dawning of morn,And the voice in my dreaming ear melted away.”Campbell.
“‘THE fiendish atrocities and cruelties of the terrible pirate Morgan,’ begins Miguel Bassanto, in this final chapter of his log, ‘had almost worn me out at last, and when cruising around Cuba, up the Gulf of Mexico, and along the shores of Florida in search of Spanish ships and gold, I was laid down with fever, and it was while thus prostrated that I tried to take into review all the events of my past life during those many, many years. Ought I to have remained with Morgan at all? I had often restored him to life and health when laid low with the illness that neverfailed to follow his drunkenness and awful carousals. Had I been doing my duty in acting thus? Would it not have been better for my poor, oppressed, and persecuted countrymen had I let him die, or even slain him some day in his tracks? But no; I had ever shuddered at the idea of committing murder, and by continuing to sail with Morgan I had, unknown to him, so worked and plotted and schemed as to save many a Spanish life, many a Spanish ship, and more than one town or village.
“‘Even when awake I could not accuse myself of remaining with Morgan’s fleet to do aught save good, and I did not blame myself for having spared his life, nay, even saved it many times, and oft for the simple reason that he trusted me most implicitly. I could not kill even a savage dog if he trusted me.
“‘But it was not all daylight with me during this burning fever. We were lying at the time in a lonesome little harbour off the southern coast of Cuba, and oh, when night fell—night and darkness, night but not silence, for sunset but heralded the commencement of orgies fore and aft that lasted long into the middle watch—then my spirits fell to zero. I felt no comfort in life, and yet I desired not to die. But when I did drop off to sleep at last, then thesufferings my dreams gave me were ten times more terrible than those of my waking hours.
“‘Fighting and bloodshed were ever before me, and, worse than all, the awful torture of innocent maidens and beautiful children. I daresay I had ever a well-balanced mind, and one which it was difficult to unhinge, else, when starting with gasp and shriek from dreams like these, I would have hurried on deck and thrown myself to the sharks that swarmed everywhere around us.
“‘One day Morgan, who, strangely enough, was sober, came off from the shore accompanied by a curious little half-caste, partly Spaniard, partly negro.
“‘“He is a native doctor, Miguel,” said the captain. “We are such old friends that I could not bear to see you die.”
“‘This was the only real act of kindness I had ever known Morgan perform.
“‘I thanked him, and so weak was I that the tears came trickling adown my cheeks.
“‘I held out my trembling hand to the native doctor, and he felt it, then pressed it down by my side.
“‘After examining me still further, he shook hishead gravely and took Morgan aside, and as he spoke to him I saw Morgan’s face fall.
“‘“Let me know the worst,” I said, when the native doctor left.
“‘“He says you are at death’s door, but he will make an effort to save you.”
“‘And sure enough the little man came speedily back. He gave me medicine that was both bitter and nauseous. He ordered me wine and raw meat, and he gave me some soothing draft which entirely banished the fearful dreams.
“‘When he came to see me next morning, he patted my cheek and smiled.
“‘And sure enough from that very day I began to get hopeful, and health itself came close upon the heels of hope, so that in a short time I was myself again.
“‘Soon after this we went to sea once more, for we had got word of a bullion-ship, which, with her consort, a protective man-o’-war, might be expected off the coast of Florida in a month’s time.
“‘The news came in a swift sloop direct from Gibraltar—a sloop that was carrying letters and dispatches to British troops and sailors in the West Indies.
“‘“The gold doubloons on board that ship,” said the messenger, “were like ten great fortunes rolled into one.”
“‘Morgan believed him implicitly, and indeed the result showed that his statement was perfectly true. But the news had one very strange effect upon the arch-pirate. He became to a very great extent a reformed man as far as drinking was concerned.
“‘He had at this time a bold little fleet of seven well-armed ships, with about five hundred and twenty men in all.
“‘Now he assembled the captains and officers of these on board our own ship. He gave them rum to drink, as was the custom; then he explained to them the dangerous nature of the expedition he was about to undertake, for the man-o’-war was larger than any he had yet encountered, and able, unless soon crippled, to blow his ships, one by one, out of the water. If, however, they could sink her and capture the bullion-ship, great indeed would be their reward.
“‘“And now, men,” he continued, “it cannot have escaped your notice that I have drunk but very little to-night. Only sober men can carry out an enterprise like this with any hope of success. I charge you,therefore, to keep your crews sober, and your rum under lock and key. You all know me by this time, and you know I am a man of my word.”
“‘Here he placed a brace of pistols on the table;
“‘“You see these little guns,” he said. “If when cruising to meet the ships I come on board and find any drunkenness on any ship, I shall with my own hand shoot the captain of that vessel through head or heart, and throw every officer on board of her into irons.”
“‘And every man gave his word there and then that Admiral Morgan should be obeyed to the hilt.
“‘Then they separated, each lot of officers repairing to its own ship.
* * * * *
“‘The adventure I have now to relate is wholly and solely my own,’ continues Bassanto. ‘The admiral had spread his ships pretty well out along the shores of Florida, and they were to cruise backwards and forwards, to and fro, as it were, and thus go slowly north. There was no hurry. A signal-gun fired from one would be heard three miles away, and each ship would repeat it in turn, so that union could speedily be effected.
“‘But the giving up of his customary stimulanthad had a very depressing effect upon Morgan, and arriving off the shores of a beautiful and wooded island called Amelia, four miles from Florida, he determined to send me off for a day to shoot, and thus bring back for him some dainty that his stomach could relish.
“‘Though only about four miles wide and sixteen long, this island was not supposed to be very safe, owing to a tribe of warlike Indians who inhabited it. It was said, however, that there were one or two British agricultural families here, so that, despite any hostility the Indians might evince, I expected a hearty welcome. I was to take two well-armed men with me, and stay for one night on the island.
“‘As I stepped on shore a feeling came over me that I was quite at a loss to account for. A kind of wave of extreme happiness—I am unable otherwise to express it—stole over my heart and brain. I experienced for the time being a newness of life. Why had I spent all the long years of the past on board the blood-dyed, pestilential ships of the arch-pirate Morgan, when there was so much real joy and happiness everywhere in nature?
“‘I never saw the ocean brighter, bluer, or calmerthan it was to-day; it reflected, too, the colour of the cerulean sky, with its patches of green low down by the horizon, and its slowly-sailing fleecy cloudlets. Then the still, quiet woods and jungles, many of the trees draped to their very tops with a wealth of beautiful climbing wild flowers, and the patches of sward between, also spread with a floral carpet—flowers, flowers everywhere; and birds as well, birds that vied in the splendour of their plumage with the flora around them. Oh, how I wished just then that there was no necessity for me to evermore put foot on murder’s awful decks! I confess I had half a mind just then to give up even Morgan. I had money enough in the Jamaica bank to live a life of ease as far as earthly comforts were concerned. I—but no, no, no, I must not give up my trust yet a little; I must not throw Morgan over. So long as his life lasted there would be hope of repentance.
“‘“Hide the boat in a clump of trees, my lads, and follow me.”
“‘“Ay, ay, sir,” one replied cheerily.
“‘In less than an hour’s time we were on the hunting path.
“‘I was surprised, however, to find so little game. We had wandered on for many miles, and I onlyfound two or three birds that in any way resembled game.
“‘These I did not shoot. I preferred to take stock of the island to-day, camp by the sea-shore all night, sinking some creels which I had brought with me, and thus secure for the sick pirate some crabs and other shell-fish, as well as a few birds, which would have gone bad if killed this forenoon.
“‘It must have been nearly three o’clock, and although we saw some Indians at a distance, and had even come in sight of an Indian village of wigwams low down by the side of a hill and near a meandering stream, there were no other signs of life.
“‘Judge then of my horror and astonishment when suddenly from a neighbouring thicket there arose the most pitiful screams for help. The voice was a girl’s, and she was evidently English.
“‘“Follow me, lads,” I cried, drawing my sword.
“‘Next minute I found myself in a kind of glade. Here, close to a fire, were no fewer than five almost naked savages, their arms lying near by. They were as fearsome as a nightmare, and covered with war-paint.
“‘But near by, and tied to a tree, was a young white girl, evidently a captive, for whom torture unmentionable was being prepared.
“‘Although convulsed with terror and bedewed with tears, I could not help thinking—and thoughts travel quickly—that she was exceedingly beautiful.
“‘But I and my merry men gave those savages no time to think.
“‘I had a revolver in each hand. One fell dead at my first fire, and another was shot through the shoulder.
“‘They quickly fled, and with a blood-curdling yell which spoke of revenge to come.
“‘Then I turned my attention to the poor girl. My men cut her cords; but her hands were so swollen as to be for a time paralyzed. So, too, were her feet, so that even to stand was impossible.
“‘“To Heaven and you,” she said, as I lowered her down on a bank of green grass—“to Heaven and you I owe my life.”
“‘“Do not talk too much just yet,” I said. “The savages will not return. We should welcome them warmly if they did. But surely it was Providence who sent us here.”
“‘Then I made her swallow a little of something from my flask. It was well watered, and could not hurt.
“‘She revived a little, and with her own handkerchief I wiped the tears from her eyes and face. Then I chafed her hands and tiny feet, and told her she must rest until my men made a kind of litter to carry her to her father’s home, which, she said, was very many miles away.
“‘Then she told me how the abduction had occurred.
“‘There dwelt here, she said, a tribe of what the few whites on the island called the Amphibious Indians, because they lived as much on the water, or even in it, as upon dry land. They were implacable savages, but the whites and they had always been on the most friendly terms till now, and Red Toad, the chief, often came to the Hall, as their home was called, to beg for medicine for his braves, and never failed to bring fish and game. The Indians who had stolen the girl were irreclaimable renegades.
“‘“Oh,” she cried, tears beginning to flow afresh, “but for your fortunate arrival the awful torture would have already commenced. Then they would have buried me, and no one could have told what had become of me.
“‘“I came away from home to-day to wander in the woods and cull wild flowers. The servants will not even yet miss me. Father is in Florida, but returns to-night. Mother, did you say? Ah! she isdead and gone years ago, and I am the only child. But never before have the savages attempted to molest us.”
“‘Well, if there was one thing more than another that I now felt certain about, it was this: I had fallen suddenly but deeply in love with this beautiful and innocent young girl.
“‘I lifted her gently into the litter the men had prepared. How light she felt in my strong arms! Perhaps I held her therein just one brief second longer than was necessary.
“‘I walked and talked by the litter all the way, I did not tell her all my terrible story just then, however.
“‘I should wait.’”