The Rover's Secret Part 24

"Willingly," said I, "but with this proviso, Don Luis: If the pirates conquer your countrymen and gain possession of the _Santa Catalina_, and we, after that, are able to recover her, I shall regard her as my prize and retain possession of her by every means in my power."

Don Luis cogitated deeply for a full minute.

"Be it so," he then said. "That was agreed upon between you and Don Felix, I remember; and after all it would be infinitely preferable that we should be your prisoners than that we should fall by the murderous hands of the pirates. Do you happen to know if there is any other means of gaining the deck above than the ladder by which we descended!"

"Yes," said I; "there is another ladder abaft there which leads to the main and upper decks by way of the after hatchway."

At this moment a m.u.f.fled _boom_ smote our ears, and a crash somewhere above us, which followed a second or two later, showed that the pirate had opened fire and was within range.

This was immediately succeeded by a confused discharge from the _Santa Catalina_ of all the main-deck guns of the larboard broadside, one after the other.

"Don Luis," said I, "for Heaven's sake try to persuade Don Felix not to return the pirate's fire. Those twelve-pounder carronades are of comparatively little use except at close quarters, and Merlani is not fool enough to give you the chance to use them to advantage; he will simply heave to out of range and blaze away with his long gun until more than half your crew are killed, when he will dash alongside and carry the s.h.i.+p without an effort. Tell Don Felix to double-shot his guns and to depress them as much as he can, but not to fire. Let the schooner come alongside--haul down your ensign if you cannot otherwise get him to come--and, when the schooner is close under the muzzles of your guns, fire, and your shot will go right through her bottom. The pirates will then be obliged to board, when, with the advantage afforded by the _Catalina's_ high sides, you ought to have things all your own way."

"Thanks! thanks! I will see what I can do," said Don Luis. "But now, come this way, and bring your men with you; I will take it upon myself to arm you, and then, if the worst comes to the worst, I shall look to you to save ay daughter."

"And I will do it or peris.h.!.+" I exclaimed fervently, as I beckoned the _Dolphins_ to follow me and made sail in the wake of Don Luis.

He led us along until we reached the after hatchway, through which we ascended to the deck above, when we again turned aft until we reached a bulkhead inclosing a room beneath Don Felix's cabin. Don Luis threw open a door in this bulkhead, and exclaiming:

"There, help yourselves; I providentially noticed this room as I was coming down to you just now," rushed away on deck.

The room disclosed by the opening of the door was of some extent, occupying nearly half the breadth of the vessel; and it had evidently been fitted up as an armoury when the s.h.i.+p had been doing duty as a man- of-war, for though sundry unoccupied pegs and pins showed that the present crew had just been armed from this place, there still remained weapons enough unappropriated for more than twice our numbers. The weapons consisted of muskets, pistols, swords, and cutla.s.ses; but, as there were of course no cartridges lying about, we chose cutla.s.ses only, and, having secured them, hurried back to our former lurking-place.

Once safely back there, I lost no time in briefly, yet as fully as possible, explaining the position of affairs to my followers; after which we sat down and calmly waited the course of events, I employing the interval in comparing notes with those of the _Dolphin's_ officers who had been taken off the floating deck.

Meanwhile gun after gun had been fired by the pirates, to which Don Felix had persistently replied; but after a time the firing ceased overhead, and I was in hopes that Don Luis had been able to persuade the skipper to follow my advice.

At length, after a somewhat tedious interval of suspense, a sharp order or two was given on deck, quickly followed by the simultaneous discharge of the whole of the _Santa Catalina's_ larboard broadside. A terrible din of shrieks, yells, shouts, and imprecations--heard but very imperfectly by us down below--immediately succeeded. A crash of artillery, accompanied by the thud of shot against the s.h.i.+p's sides, and the rending of timber overhead, told us that the pirate schooner had promptly returned the broadside, and a slight but very perceptible concussion a minute later indicated that she was alongside. A rattling fire of musketry was immediately opened from the deck of the _Santa Catalina_, to which the pirates replied with their pistols. Orders were shouted on both sides, the sharp cries of the wounded, and the m.u.f.fled thud of their bodies falling to the deck, began to mingle with the officers' shouts of encouragement and the fierce defiances of the men.

There was a rush, a confused trampling of feet, more pistol-shots, the ring of steel upon steel, and a medley of human voices raised high in the excitement of mortal combat which told us that the pirates were boarding.

"There they are!" exclaimed Woodford, springing to his feet, his example in this respect being followed by the whole of the men. "Now, what do you say, Mr Lascelles, are we to go up and tackle them?"

"Not yet," said I; "I have pledged my word that we will not interfere unless the pirates absolutely gain possession of the s.h.i.+p, and that pledge must be scrupulously observed. By the way," I continued, as an idea flashed through my brain, "I wish you all to understand, my lads, that I am particularly anxious to secure the pirate captain alive, if possible; and I will give fifty pounds to the man who effects his capture. And I suppose I need not remind you that if we have to fight at all it will be for our lives. Those fellows on deck are not likely to give any quarter if they get the best of the tussle."

"Never fear, sir," answered Collins, one of the smartest of the crew; "we'll give 'em a second taste of what they got from us away over there in the lagoons."

"Ay, ay; we will. Trust us for that," etcetera, etcetera, murmured one and another; and as I looked round at them standing there like hounds in the leash, their eyes gleaming, their feet shuffling impatiently on the deck, their cutla.s.ses tightly grasped in their sinewy hands, their every movement betraying their excitement and eagerness to join in the fray, I felt that they most a.s.suredly would.

Presently hasty footsteps were heard approaching, and in another moment several of the _Santa Catalina's_ crew came helter-skelter down the ladder, and, taking not the slightest notice of us, rushed off and disappeared in the darkness.

"Steady, lads; not yet!" said I, as the _Dolphins_, like one man, pulled themselves together and braced themselves for a rush.

More footsteps, and Don Luis appeared, bareheaded, in his s.h.i.+rt-sleeves, his right arm bleeding profusely and dangling useless and broken at his side, whilst his right hand still convulsively grasped the hilt of his broken sword.

"Quick, Don Leo," he panted; "up with you, for the love of G.o.d! Captain Calderon's courage failed him half an hour ago, and he left the defence of the s.h.i.+p to the first lieutenant, who was killed a moment ago fighting gallantly, and the crew, panic-stricken, at once gave way, scattering all over the decks like frightened sheep, and huddling by twos and threes into the first corner they could find, where they are now being savagely slaughtered by those fiends of pirates. Quick, my dear boy, or you may be too late--my daughter--oh, G.o.d, have mercy!--"

"Collins," said I, "off with your neckerchief; quick, my man; tie it tightly about this gentleman's arm, _above_ the wound, mind, and stay here in charge of him until you are relieved. Now, lads, away on deck we go. Follow me; hurrah!"

The brave fellows responded with a single heart-stirring cheer as they bounded after me up ladder after ladder, and in the twinkle of a purser's dip we found ourselves on the upper deck.

A glance sufficed to show us that Don Luis' statement was literally true. The pirates were scattered all over the upper deck, killing the unresisting Spaniards as if they had been so many rats.

I hastily detailed the gunner with a dozen men to enter and explore the cabins, to defend them against all comers, and to capture any strangers they might discover therein; and then, Woodford leading one division and I the other, we swept the decks from the after hatchway right forward, cutting down everybody who attempted to oppose us. The pirates thus unexpectedly found themselves all huddled together in the eyes of the s.h.i.+p, where, their freedom of movement being seriously interfered with by the presence of the heel of the bowsprit and all the gear which so frequently hampers a s.h.i.+p's forecastle-head, they were placed at a very serious disadvantage; and, though they fought desperately, we overpowered them without much difficulty, gaining possession of the s.h.i.+p in less than two minutes from the time of our first appearance on deck.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

"ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL."

Leaving Woodford to attend to the securing of the prisoners, I hastened aft to see how Tompion and his little party were faring in the cabins.

I found them in the saloon under the p.o.o.p, with four prisoners who had been discovered ransacking the cabins, and in one of these prisoners, a fine handsome middle-aged man of swarthy complexion, with dark hair cl.u.s.tering in close ringlets all over his shapely head, dark piercing eyes, small ears, from the lobes of which depended a pair of plain gold ear-rings, and a somewhat slim yet wiry and athletic-looking figure clad in a picturesque but somewhat showy costume, I thought I identified the man I was so anxious to meet, Giuseppe Merlani. The man was badly wounded, having been run through the body by Tompion, who had been compelled to inflict the wound in order to save his own life. The fellow looked hard, almost wildly at me, and muttered something which I could not catch, as I was at the moment speaking to the gunner; and when, a minute afterwards, I found myself at liberty to interrogate him, I discovered that he had swooned from loss of blood. I directed Tompion to have him taken below, undressed, and placed in a hammock, despatching one of our men, meanwhile, to hunt up the surgeon of the _Santa Catalina_, and then made my way below to the spot where I had left Don Luis. I found him still in charge of the man Collins, who had managed in an effectual if somewhat clumsy way, to stanch the bleeding of his wound; and it is scarcely necessary to say that he was overjoyed when I informed him that we had succeeded in recapturing the s.h.i.+p. He at once staggered to his feet, and upon my a.s.suring him that there was nothing further to fear from the pirates, announced his intention of going immediately to his daughter's hiding-place, begging me to accompany him thither. We accordingly started on our way to the main-deck, Collins supporting Don Luis by placing his arm round the latter's waist. But we were barely half-way up the ladder when a sudden hubbub and confusion arose on the upper deck, and I was compelled to hasten away to see what it meant. I found that it was caused by the discovery, suddenly made, that the pirate schooner was sinking alongside, and I reached the p.o.o.p only just in time to see her heel over and founder stern first, the broadside of shot which had been fired into her when she ranged alongside having pa.s.sed through her deck and out through her bottom, thus occasioning so fatal a leak that the only wonder was that she had floated so long.

The excitement and confusion attending this incident had not subsided when the surviving Spanish officers and crew made their reappearance on deck. The former were very profuse in their compliments and thanks for what they termed our invaluable a.s.sistance; having tendered which they manifested a disposition to resume their former status on board. But I was quite determined not to allow this. The s.h.i.+p had pa.s.sed completely out of their possession into that of the pirates, and had been recaptured by us. She was therefore our lawful prize, and I was resolved to retain possession of her, as I had informed Don Felix I would. I pointed this out to the Spanish officers, and requested them to surrender their swords, which, very sensibly, they did. Don Felix, however, who had hidden himself away below somewhere, and who did not reappear until some time after the others, stormed and bl.u.s.tered and reviled us, calling us everything but gentlemen, and demanding to know whether we considered we were making him a proper return for his kindness in having rescued us. This, of course, was all very well; but he had refused our offer of a.s.sistance, as I pointed out to him, and had had his s.h.i.+p taken from him, not by us, but by the pirates. He was, of course, obliged to deliver up his sword; but he would not listen to reason, retiring to his cabin and sulking there until our arrival in Port Royal harbour, for which, on gaining possession of the s.h.i.+p, I had at once shaped a course. Previous to this, however, I had secured his despatch-box and had put it in a place of safety, otherwise I have no doubt he would have promptly dropped it overboard out of the stern windows.

I was anxious to treat my prisoners with the same generosity and consideration which they had accorded to me; and I hastened to set their minds at rest upon this point. But whilst the officers were perfectly willing to give their own parole, they reluctantly admitted that they felt it quite impossible to guarantee the good behaviour of their men; I was therefore compelled, in self-defence, to confine the latter below.

All this took up a great deal of time; it was consequently not until after the men had had their dinner that I was able to set the watches and start the carpenter upon the task of getting new spars ready for sending aloft. I had been informed by the Spanish surgeon, when we all sat down to luncheon together, that Don Luis' hurt was not of a serious character, and that he was likely to do well enough if the fever resulting from his wound could be kept under; but with regard to the pirate captain the case was different: his wound, I was a.s.sured, was mortal, and whilst the man might possibly linger for several days, he might, on the other hand, expire at any moment. The surgeon further informed me that Merlani--for he it really proved to be--had manifested quite an extraordinary inquisitiveness respecting me, and had at last requested that I might be informed he would like to speak to me.

As soon, therefore, as I found myself at liberty, I, without delaying even to wait upon Don Luis and Inez, made my way below to the sick-bay, where, in a little corner which had been separated by a screen from the part occupied by the other injured men, lay Merlani in a hammock, with one of my men to attend upon and at the same time stand sentry over him.

He was ghastly pale, and evidently suffering great pain, as I could see by the occasional twitching of his facial muscles, as well as by the perspiration which bedewed his forehead and trickled down upon the pillow; but he seemed to be quite free from fever, and he was perfectly steady and collected in his mind.

He looked long and eagerly in my face as I stood beside his hammock, and his countenance brightened up with pleasure. At length he said in Spanish:

"This is kind of you, Senor Lascelles. I wanted to see you, because in the moment that I first looked upon your face I was reminded of one who in my younger days I almost wors.h.i.+pped; and when, during the dressing of my wound, I learned your name, I could not resist the temptation of believing that you must be related to her--that you must, in fact, be her son. Tell me, am I not right? Are you not the son of Maria Bisaccia?"

"That was indeed my mother's name," I said, greatly disconcerted. "But I find it difficult to understand how it could possibly have happened that you and my mother should have--"

"Known anything of each other?" he interrupted. "Yes; and well you may.

But it is easily explained. I have not always been the blood-stained villain that I now am; when I knew your mother I was, I need scarcely say, wholly innocent of crime. Idle, perhaps; wayward; and a trifle wild I undoubtedly was; but crime and I were strangers, and strangers we should have continued to be," he added somewhat wildly, "if I had but listened to and heeded the warnings and pleadings of my sweet foster- sister."

"_Your foster-sister_!" I e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed, a great light bursting in upon me in a moment. "Was my mother your foster-sister?"

"Ay was she," replied Merlani. "Her mother died half an hour after giving her birth; and my mother--who was at that time nursing my sister Bianca, now dead, woe is me!--was summoned in all haste to the chateau to take the place of a mother to the new-born infant. I was at that time a youngster of seven years old, and as my mother became a permanent inmate of the chateau for the first four years of your mother's life, I saw a great deal of the dear child, and have played for hours with her and my sweet Bianca on the sunny terrace in front of the chateau, ay, and have dragged them in a little chariot, made by my father, many a weary mile up and down the rough steep road leading to Amalfi."

"So, then, you and my mother were friends?" I remarked, in the hope of leading him on to talk further upon the subject. "Friends!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Merlani; "well, yes, we were; but that expression is hardly the right one. She was the guardian angel; I the poor, weak, erring mortal over whom she watched. Always listening to her advice and admonitions with the profoundest and most respectful attention, and always anxious to do right, whilst I was in her presence, I had no sooner withdrawn myself and mingled once more with my usual a.s.sociates, than my natural weakness prevailed, and I found myself involved in some sc.r.a.pe or other, from the consequences of which your mother, with a patience more than mortal, rescued me as often as she could. Had I but heeded her counsels I should never have been what I now am."

"I can readily believe that," said I, "little as I know of my mother.

But do you intend me to accept that remark as _literally_ true, or--"

"It is literally true," answered Merlani. "You must know, senor, that at the time to which I refer, like many more young men of my own age, I became greatly interested in politics; so much so that after a time I united myself to a secret society, the object of which was to compa.s.s the freedom of our beloved Italy. I was on sufficiently intimate terms with your mother to confide freely to her all my hopes and aspirations, this among the rest; but, whilst she thoroughly sympathised with me in the particular matter to which I have referred, she had penetration enough to be fully sensible of the danger to which I was exposing myself; and she earnestly sought to dissuade me from having anything to do with active politics. But I was proud of being looked upon as a patriot, and blind to the fact that my country was not then ripe for the freedom which I, among others, burned to give her; I, therefore, as usual, went my own headstrong way, and eventually got into very serious trouble. I was obliged to fly; and learning that your mother--by this time married--was in Rome, I resolved to seek her in the first instance, and beg of her that pecuniary a.s.sistance which my other friends were incapable of affording me. I did so, found her, and, after considerable difficulty, succeeded in obtaining a private interview with her. I represented to her the danger of the position in which--"

"One moment," I interrupted. "What, may I ask, was your object in making the interview _private_?"

"It was on your father's account," answered Merlani. "I know not what he may be _now_, if he still lives, but he was then an exceedingly proud, haughty, and overbearing man, very impatient and hasty of temper, as I had had many opportunities of noticing; and he had, moreover, no sympathy with the movement with which I had a.s.sociated myself. I happened to know, also, that though he was unaware of the relations.h.i.+p-- if I may so term it--which existed between your mother and myself, I had been unfortunate enough to attract his unfavourable attention whilst he was prosecuting his love suit with your mother. I was therefore anxious, above all things, to avoid compromising the wife in the eyes of her husband by letting him know that she possessed so disreputable an acquaintance; and finally, I felt convinced that if he became acquainted with the facts of my case he would consider it his duty to deliver me into the hands of the authorities. Hence my desire for secrecy.

"Well, as I have said, I found your mother, represented to her the peril of my position, pointed out to her the imperative necessity for absolute secrecy, and besought her, by all she held dearest, to help me once more and for the last time. She was deeply distressed when I told her in how serious a sc.r.a.pe I had involved myself, the more so as she could see no way of helping me without appealing to her husband for the necessary funds, which I bound her not to do, a.s.suring her that such a step would inevitably bring about my ruin. At length she promised to think the matter over and do what she could for me, promising to meet me again the next evening.

"It so happened, however, that the pursuit after me was so hot that I was compelled to be closely hidden for nearly a fortnight, during which I have reason to believe that your mother suffered the keenest anxiety on my account. When at length I dared venture out again I found your mother's distress more keen than ever because she had been unable to obtain even the modest sum of money I had named as necessary to secure my safety. She bade me meet her again. I did so, only to find her still in the same pitiable state of helplessness and distress. I met her again, and yet again--seven times in all; and at our last meeting your mother pressed into my hand a small package of money--the proceeds of the sale of her own private jewels, as a hastily-written tear-blotted note inside informed me. The a.s.sistance, however, came just too late.