Antony Waymouth Part 6

Don Antonio warmly expressed his grat.i.tude.

"I had some information, n.o.ble captain, which I purposed giving before parting, at all events, but which I have now a double gratification in affording," he said, addressing Waymouth. "During that dreadful fight, when your fleet destroyed so many of ours, some few Englishmen were carried off prisoners by those which escaped. Among them was an officer who belonged to the Lion. I saw him but once, and his name I did not hear, though I doubt not that he is the friend whose fate you so much desired to learn. He is now a prisoner in the Castle of San Pedro, to the south of Goa. I had resolved to take the earliest opportunity of sending you this information according to my promise, little supposing that I should be able to deliver it under, to me, such unfortunate circ.u.mstances."

This news raised Waymouth's spirits higher than they had been for some time. It made him feel almost sure that Raymond had survived the battle, because, as all the other officers of the Lion had been accounted for, it could be only him of whom Don Antonio spoke. On hearing this, it at once flashed across Waymouth's thoughts that he had done unwisely in giving the prisoners their liberty with so few conditions.

"I ought to have bargained that any English who might be in the hands of their countrymen should promptly be liberated without ransom; but yet-- no; I have done a liberal deed, and I will not regret it. If these Portugals have any feeling of honour, they will let my friend go free when I demand him."

From a subsequent conversation with Don Antonio, Waymouth was compelled to abandon the last expressed hope. It appeared that the governor of the castle of San Pedro was a certain Don Lobo, who was noted for his ferocity and avarice, so that he was well called Lobo, which means in the Portugal tongue a wolf.

Don Antonio stated that he was never known to do a n.o.ble or generous act, and that he was not likely to deliver up his prisoner unless a heavy ransom was paid, and that so bitter was his animosity against the English that it was possible he would not even set him at liberty.

"Then the Lion shall force the wolf to succ.u.mb," exclaimed Waymouth. "I will not ask you, Don Antonio, to fight against your countrymen, but I must beg you to give me such information as may a.s.sist me in liberating my friend, and I must then exact a promise from you that you will not return to San Pedro, or by any means allow notice of our approach to be carried there."

Don Antonio, without hesitation, gave the promise required, the more readily, perhaps, that the Lion would have the start of him for some days, and, being short of provisions and water, he could not attempt to make so long a pa.s.sage as that from Bantam to Goa without being amply supplied with both. Yet further to prevent the chance of Don Lobo being informed of the approach of the Lion, Waymouth afterwards extracted an additional promise from Don Antonio that he would not attempt to sail for a week after her.

"Ned, dear coz, we shall once more shake hands, and drink a bowl together to the health of thy lady love," he exclaimed, apostrophising his friend while walking his quarter-deck, as the Lion, under all sail, clove her way towards the west through the limpid ocean.

CHAPTER FIVE.

Our chronicle takes us back to the time when the fight between the English and Portugal fleets was raging most furiously, and when, to an inexperienced eye like that of Edward Raymond, on finding his s.h.i.+p surrounded, it might naturally have appeared that victory was siding with his foes rather than with his own party. He believed, however, that by a desperate effort the day might be retrieved, and he gallantly resolved on his part to make the effort, trusting that others would be doing the like at the same moment. Just then he caught sight of Waymouth repelling the boarders from one of the Portugal s.h.i.+ps, and so calling on all the men near to follow, he led them on to the deck of another of the enemy's s.h.i.+ps which had at that moment run alongside. So fierce was his attack, that the foe gave way, and before many minutes were over he found himself master of the s.h.i.+p; but in the mean time she had broken clear of the Lion, and was drifting down on another Portugal s.h.i.+p coming freshly into the fight. The two were soon locked together, and while he with his handful of followers was endeavouring to defend his prize at one end of the s.h.i.+p, a party of Portugals rushed on board at the other. In vain he fought with the greatest heroism. Most of his followers were cut down. Pressed on all sides, he had not a prospect of success. Another Portugal s.h.i.+p came up. His prize, so gallantly taken, was already recaptured. Unable to parry a stroke made at him, he was severely wounded, and dropping the point of his sword, he yielded himself a prisoner to the reiterated demands of a Portugal captain who had headed the chief body of his a.s.sailants. The three Portugal s.h.i.+ps had, however, fallen within the fire of the Red Dragon and the Serpent, whose shot cras.h.i.+ng on board made them glad to set all the sail they could spread and draw off. As Edward stood on the deck and saw the shattered condition of the English s.h.i.+ps, he could scarcely believe that the enemy were really drawing off; but when he afterwards saw some of the Portugals actually sinking, and others with their masts gone, he could not refrain from uttering a cheer, faint though it was, at the thought that his countrymen had gained the hard-fought victory. In this he was joined by the few survivors of his brave followers, all of whom were more or less wounded. On hearing the cheer, some of the Portugals came towards them with threatening gestures, one of them exclaiming, in tolerably good English--"You are impudent fellows indeed to cheer when you are miserable prisoners on board the s.h.i.+p of an enemy. Do not you see that we are victorious?"

"Running away is a funny mode of proving it, Senhor Portugal," answered d.i.c.k Lizard, one of the seamen, c.o.c.king his eye at the speaker. "If you had cheered, now, we might have thought you had won the day; but I sticks to my opinion that it's we have won the day; and so I say, one cheer more for Old England. Old England forever!"

The Portugal's rage was so great that he would have given d.i.c.k a clout on the head which would have finished his shouting, had not Raymond, weak as he was, stepped forward to defend his follower, who was much hurt.

"Shame on you, Senhor Portugal," he exclaimed, standing over d.i.c.k with a broken spar which he had grasped to defend him. "What! would you strike a wounded man simply because he knows the satisfaction he feels that our countrymen are free, if not the victors, and not as we are, prisoners?"

"You crow loudly for a c.o.c.k with his leg tied," said the man, desisting, however, from his attempt to strike poor d.i.c.k.

Some more seamen had now a.s.sembled, threatening to punish the English for their audacity, when their captain made his appearance among them, inquiring the cause of the disturbance.

"Senhor," he said, turning to Edward, "you are my prisoner, though I wish to treat you as a brave man and a gentleman; but I cannot always restrain my people, who are somewhat lawless in their notions; and I must therefore request that, whatever may be the feelings of your countrymen, they will keep them within bounds."

So many of the Portugals were wounded, that it was some time before the not very skilful surgeons of the s.h.i.+p could attend to the English, who had, and perhaps fortunately for themselves, to doctor their own hurts, which they did, one helping the other in their own rough but efficacious way. It was pleasant to see the hardy tars helping each other like brethren, was.h.i.+ng and cleansing each other's wounds--several of them tearing up their s.h.i.+rts to bind up their comrades' limbs, or letting their heads rest with tender care in their laps. Those who had still strength to stand anxiously watched the fast-receding fleet of the English till their loftier masts sank below the horizon, and all hope of being pursued and retaken was abandoned.

"Troth, sir, I suppose, then, we must make the best of a bad job," said Lizard, shrugging his shoulders. "That's my philosophy. I learned it when I was a little chap from my father, who was a great philosopher, seeing that he was a cobbler, and have stuck to it ever since, and never found it fail. What's the odds? says I. Why should a man sigh and groan if he can laugh? why should he cry and moan if he can sing? If things are bad, they can be mended--just as my father used to say of the old shoes brought to him. If that isn't a comfort, I don't know what is."

Most of the Portugal s.h.i.+ps escaping from the fight kept together; but meeting the same hurricane which caused such fearful havoc among the English fleet, they also were separated, some going where so many proud argosies have gone--to the bottom--the Santa Maria, the s.h.i.+p on board which Edward found himself, being left alone to pursue her voyage.

Edward suffered much from his wound, and had far from recovered his strength when the Santa Maria arrived at Goa. Goa was at that time the largest European settlement in the East; and here the Portugals, to impress the natives with the beauty of the faith they professed, had established that admirable inst.i.tution, the benign Inquisition. Here those edifying spectacles, _autos-da-fe_, frequently took place, when men of all ages, women, and even children, were paraded forth, dressed in hideous garments, to be burned alive in consequence of their unwillingness to confess their belief in the doctrines held by the Church. Our chronicle does not decide whether the Portugal priesthood were right or wrong in their proceedings; but, undoubtedly, very few converts were made to the Christian faith, and the influence of their country in the East has long since decreased to zero. The appearance of the place, though deceptive, was in its favour, and innumerable large churches, monasteries, and other public buildings reared their heads on its sandy sh.o.r.es. Those were the days of old Goa's grandeur and magnificence, soon to depart for ever.

Instead, however, of being landed here, the prisoners were conveyed to the Fort of San Pedro, to the south, lest inconvenient questions might be too often asked as to how they came to be there, and what had become of the rest of the fleet which captured them.

The Castle of San Pedro was a strong fortress with high walls and towers--a gloomy-looking place, as gloomy as any spot in that land of suns.h.i.+ne can be, but gloomy undoubtedly it appeared to poor Edward and his companions, as, strongly guarded, they were conducted through its portals, not knowing when they might repa.s.s them and obtain their liberty. They were first conducted into the presence of the governor, a surly old don of the most immovable character; his face was like smoke-dried parchment, with beard of formal cut, and eyes so sunk that nothing could be seen but two small spots of jetty hue, overhung with grey s.h.a.ggy eyebrows. Without the slightest expression of courtesy or commiseration, he at once commenced interrogating Edward in the Portugal tongue, ordering a yellow-skinned trembling clerk, who squatted at his side with a huge book before him, to write down his replies.

Edward answered succinctly to all the questions put to him, requesting that, as prisoners of war, he and his men might be treated with the courtesy usually awarded to persons in their position, by civilised nations, among whom the Portugals stood prominent.

"Call yourselves prisoners of war!" exclaimed Don Lobo, pulling his moustaches vehemently. "You are pirates--you and your countrymen-- nothing better; and as such deserve to be thrown from the top of one of the towers of this castle, or dangled from one of the turrets by a rope, or shot, or drowned--any death is too good for you; burning at the stake as heretics--ay, vile heretics as you are--is most fit for you. See that such is not your lot."

Edward made no reply to this address, feeling that such would only too probably exasperate the petty tyrant. d.i.c.k Lizard was, however, not so judicious. Having had a good deal of intercourse with the Portugals, he knew enough of their language to understand what was said; so, putting his left arm akimbo, and doubling his right fist, he exclaimed--

"Call us pirates! I'll tell you what you and your dastardly crew are, Senhor Don Governor: you are a set of garlic-eating, oil-drinking sons of sea-cooks, who rob the weak when you can catch them, and run away from the strong like arrant knaves and cowards as you are. You are--"

What other complimentary remarks poor d.i.c.k might have uttered it is impossible to say; for as he was beginning his next sentence, a blow from the b.u.t.t-end of an arquebuse laid him prostrate on the floor.

Edward, afraid that his bold countryman had been killed, knelt down by his side. But d.i.c.k's head was too hard to succ.u.mb to the strength of a Portugal's arm, even when wielding a heavy weapon.

"All right, sir," he said, opening his eyes. "I'll be at them again, and give 'em more of my mind, and my fist too, if I can get at them."

Edward, however, advised him under the circ.u.mstances to keep both one and the other to himself, and, as he did not feel disposed to be polite to his masters, to hold his tongue.

"Masters! Marry, masters, indeed!" cried d.i.c.k. "If you says they are masters, sir, I suppose they be; but they'll find me a terrible obstinate servant to deal with, let me tell them."

"No, don't tell them, Lizard, that or any thing else," said Edward soothingly. "You see that at all events we are in their power, and unless they let us go we may have some difficulty in escaping."

"Not if we can get some planks to float on, sir," whispered Lizard.

"That notion of yours, sir, has brought me to sooner nor any thing. I thinks as how now, sir, I can keep a civil tongue in my head to those baboon-faced, sneaking, blackguard scoundrels."

"Get up, then, man, and remember not to speak a word while I explain your sentiments," said Edward, glad by any means to save his follower from ill treatment.

The Portugals, who fully believed that the blow must have inflicted a mortal injury on the man, fancied that his officer was receiving his last dying words, a message to his distant home, and did not interfere with him. Their surprise, therefore, was proportionately great when they saw him got up on his legs, give a hitch to his waistband, and, after sundry scratches and pulls at his s.h.a.ggy locks, once more address the governor.

"An' may it please your honour, Senhor Don Governor, I axes your reverence's pardon for calling you and your people yellow-faced sons of sea-cooks (because as how to my mind your fathers and mothers were never any thing so respectable," he added in a low tone). "Howsomdever, as your honour knows, I am but a rough seaman who's followed his calling on the salt water all the days of his life, and will follow it, maybe, to the end, and therefore much manners can't be expected; and so, Senhor Scarecrow, or whatever is your name, I hope you'll not log down against my officer here or my s.h.i.+pmates any thing you've heard."

Edward, as soon as he could put in a word, began to offer an interpretation of what had been said. It was not very literal, but interpreters are seldom exact in translation. He remarked that his follower had forgotten himself, that the blow had brought him to his senses, and that he now wished to render every apology in his power to one like Senhor Don Lobo, who so greatly merited his respect.

The old governor pulled away at his beard for some time, and twirled his moustaches, but was at length pacified sufficiently to order the prisoners to be carried off to the ward prepared for them.

Edward, determined to maintain a courteous demeanour in spite of the harshness with which he was treated, bowed to the governor as he was marched off between two guards, who seemed to think that the pugnacious Englishmen would by some means or other break away from them, and effect their escape. For that reason d.i.c.k Lizard had no less than six guards, one on each side, and two in front, and two behind; and certainly, as he rolled along with his sea cap stuck on the back of his head, his brawny arms bare, and his broad chest exposed, he appeared capable of successfully accomplis.h.i.+ng any design he might conceive on his captors.

The rest of the seamen imitated him with more or less effect, and were evidently customers of whom the Portugals stood greatly in awe.

The ward in which the English prisoners were placed was a room in a tower on a third floor overlooking the sea. It might have made a not unpleasant chamber if nicely fitted up, but as the only aperture to admit light and air was strongly barred, as the walls were of rough stone, the floor dirty, and heaps of not the cleanest straw were made to do duty for beds, the state of the case was very different. There were no chairs or tables; so that when the prisoners got tired of walking about they were obliged to betake themselves to their heaps of straw.

Here day after day pa.s.sed by. Edward, however, with the aid of d.i.c.k, who firmly believed in his power of escaping, kept up the spirits of the party by inducing them to tell their long and astounding yarns, and singing a variety of songs. Sometimes their guards came in to inquire why they were making so much noise, but they were not generally interfered with. Occasionally they received a visit from the surly old governor, when Edward, instead of asking for better quarters, as he might reasonably have done, treated him with the same respect as at first. d.i.c.k Lizard pretended to do the same; but as soon as the stately don had pa.s.sed him the expression of his features and his gestures showed that his respect was not of an enduring quality. As the governor pa.s.sed along the ward, d.i.c.k would imitate his strut and would give a stately bow, now on one side, now on the other, his countenance all the time in a broad grin. Even the warders and guards were amused by his antics, and for fear of putting a stop to them only gave way to their laughter when they saw that the governor was not looking towards them.

"All right, sir," said d.i.c.k to Edward one day, after he had been indulging in more than his usual facetiousness, and the governor had taken his departure. "To my mind these Portugals care very little for their old don, or they wouldn't laugh at him as they do; and it's my belief that we shall be able to bribe them to let us slip out one of these fine nights without making any noise about it, and when the morning comes we shall be gone."

Edward's heart beat with joy at the thought, but after reflecting a little he answered, with a sigh--

"A bright idea, d.i.c.k, but I fear me much the wherewithal to bribe is sadly wanting. The rogues have left us little else but the clothes on our backs."

The seaman gave a well-satisfied hitch to his waistband--a movement indicative of satisfaction or hesitation, as well as other emotions of the mind, among nautical characters in all ages--and observed--

"The dons are not quite as clever as they think, sir. They left us our clothes, but I and two more of us had lined them pretty thickly with good lots of yellow-boys, and there they are all safe. You know, sir, a seaman never knows what may happen, and to my mind it's a wise custom among some of us. To be sure, if we comed to be cast away on a desolate island, all the gold in the world wouldn't help a man to get off so much as a sharp axe and a chest of carpenter's tools; but among people with manners and customs, though I can't say much for either one or the other of those hereabouts, there's nothing like gold!"

"True indeed, Lizard," said Edward, partaking somewhat of the confidence of his follower, at the same time that he saw more clearly, probably, the difficulties in their way. He therefore entreated d.i.c.k and the rest to act with the greatest circ.u.mspection, and to appear to submit with perfect readiness to the rules and regulations of the place. The good effect of this conduct was apparent by the greater liberty which the prisoners obtained, and they were now allowed to take their exercise in the open air on the flat roof of part of the castle. Thence in a short time they were allowed to descend to a terrace overlooking the sea, where, however, they were watched by several lynx-eyed guards stationed above them.

It is seldom that those sh.o.r.es are visited by storms, but when the wind does blow it makes ample amends for its usual state of quiescence. In spite of a gale which had sprung up, Edward, with d.i.c.k Lizard and several of the other prisoners, was walking up and down on the said terrace, when d.i.c.k, whose eyes were of the sharpest, exclaimed that he saw a tall s.h.i.+p driving on before the gale, which set directly on the coast.

"Alas for the hapless crew!" exclaimed Edward. "I fear me they will all be lost!"