"No doubt of it. But he never knew what he was dloin"--he wus crazy as a loon. There"s nuthin" fer yer ter fuss over now. Tell us about it, Gates--the bath must have sobered yer up?"
I watched LeVere, but he remained motionless, a mere shadow.
"I suppose it must have been thet, sir," I confessed respectfully, "if things happened as you say they did. I haven"t any memory o" tryin"
ter slash n.o.body. Leastwise I seemed ter know whut I wus about when I c.u.m up. I don"t remember how I got ther; furst I knew I wus slushin"
"round in the water, a tryin" ter keep afloat. It wus so blame dark I cudn"t see nuthin", but sumhow I got grip on a hawser, an" hung on till I got back "nough strength ter clime on board. I knew this wa"n"t my ship, so I just lay quiet awhile, figurin" out whar I wus."
"Yer English?" "Born in Bristol, sir, but I wus workin" on the _Caroline_--she"s a Colony schooner, in the fish trade."
"Sailor?"
"At sea since I wus twelve. What"s this yere bark--Dutch, ain"t she?"
"Once upon a time; just now we are flying whatever flag c.u.mes handy.
We ain"t got no prejudice in flags."
"Is thet a gun forrard, covered with taupalin?"
"Yes, an" yer might find another aft, if yer looked fer it. Mor"n thet, we know how ter use "em. Now see here, Gates; thar"s no reason why we should beat about the bush--fact is we"re sea rovers."
"Sea rovers--pirates, sir?"
"Bah! what"s a name! We take what we want; it"s our trade, that"s all.
No worse than many another. The question is, are yer goin" ter take a chance "long with us? It"s the only life, lad--plenty of fun, the best of liquor and pretty girls, with a share in all the swag."
"What is the name of this bark?"
"The _Namur_--sailed out o" Rotterdam till we took her."
"Whut wus yer in when ye took her?"
"The _Vengeance_, a three-masted schooner, the fastest thing afloat.
She"s south in West India waters."
"Who"s the captain?"
"Silva Sanchez."
"Gawd! Sanchez--not--not "Black Sanchez?""
"That"s him; so yer"ve heerd o" "Black Sanchez?" Well, we"re sailin"
"long with him, all right, mate, an" yer ought ter know whut thet means fer a good man."
I hesitated, yet only long enough to leave the impression I sought to make on them both.
"Likely thar ain"t no sailor but whut has heerd o" him," I said slowly. "Enyhow, I sure have. I can"t say thet I have any special hankerin" after bein" a pirate, an" I never aimed ter be one; but, seem" as how I am yere on this bark, an" can"t easy get away, it don"t look like thar wus much choice, does it?"
LeVere appeared amused in his way, which was not a pleasant one.
"Oh, yes, friend, there is choice enough. Bill, here, had exactly the same choice when he first came--hey, Bill? Remember how you signed on, after we took you off the _Albatross_? This is how it stands, Gates--either go forrard quietly yerself, er the both of us will kick you there. We never give an order twice on the _Namur_. That will be enough talk. If you do your work, all right; and if you don"t, then look out, my man--there will be plenty of h.e.l.l waiting for you. Go on, now."
It was a curt dismissal, coupled with a plain threat, easy to understand. I obeyed the order gladly enough, slinking away into the black shadows forward, realizing my good fortune, and seeking some spot where I could be alone. The result was all that I could have hoped for; my position on board was a.s.sured; my story had been accepted without awakening the slightest suspicion; and it was perfectly clear that no one on board the _Namur_ possessed the slightest memory of the personal appearance of the poor fellow who had been thrown overboard, and drowned. Even Haines believed me to be the man. Of course I should be watched to some extent for a few days, my willingness to serve noted, and my ability as a seaman put to the test; but in this I had nothing to fear. I could play the a.s.sumed character with little danger of any mishap. The only remaining peril of discovery would come with the return of the absent boat, and the necessity of my encountering the giant negro. Yet I was convinced even this would not prove serious. If Cochose had glimpsed my features at all during the course of our desperate struggle on the deck of the sloop, the impression made on his mind must have been merely momentary; and, besides, he would never once conceive it possible that the same man could have reached the bark ahead of his return. Even if such a suspicion dawned, I was now in a position to positively establish my arrival aboard the _Namur_ early the evening previous, and before their expedition had departed.
I felt so safe, and so content with my success thus far, as to already believe thoroughly in the final result of my mission. This confidence developed almost into sheer recklessness. There were some difficulties ahead, to be sure. I remained sane enough to recognize these, yet I had already conquered easily, what at first had appeared insurmountable, and, in consequence of this good luck, these others yet to be met, seemed far less serious. The same happy fortune which had opened the way for me to board the _Namur_ must also intervene to aid me in solving future problems. Mine was the philosophy of a sailor, to whom peril was but a part of life. All I seemed to require now was a sufficiency of courage and faith--the opportunity would be given. In this spirit of aroused hope, I continued to stare out into the black night, watchfully, the shrouded deck behind me silent, and seemingly deserted, except for the steady tramp from rail to rail of LeVere, keeping his lonely watch aft. The crew had disappeared, lying down no doubt in corners out of the wind. And this wind was certainly rising, already attaining a force to be reckoned with, for the boom of waves hurled against the bows of the laboring bark, was steadily becoming more noticeable, while overhead the ropes sang dismally. I wondered that LeVere hung on so long in his perilous position, although, in spite of the increased strain, the anchor still clung firmly. Quite probably he had received stern orders not to shift from his present position until the boat returned, yet surely his judgment as a competent seaman, left in command, must make him aware of the threatening danger. He would never wreck his vessel merely because he had been instructed to remain at that particular spot. It seemed to me that no hawser ever made could long withstand the terrific strain of our tugging, as the struggling bark rose and fell in the grip of the sea. To him must have come the same conviction, for suddenly his high-pitched voice sang out from the p.o.o.p:
"Stand by, forrard, to lower the starboard anchor; move lively, men.
Everything ready, Haines?"
"All clear, sir. Come on the jump, bullies!"
"Then let go smartly. Watch that you don"t get the line fouled. Aloft there! Anything in sight, Cavere?"
From high up on the fore-top yard, the answer, blown by the wind, came down in broken English:
"Non, M"sieur; I see nottings."
"Well, don"t go to sleep; keep both eyes open!"
I had already joined the watch forward, aware only of the numerous dim, and shapeless figures about me, busily employed in straightening out the kinks in the heavy cable. The number of men on deck was evidence of a large crew, there being many more than were necessary for the work to be done. Most of them appeared to be able seamen, and Haines drove them mercilessly, cursing them for lubbers, and twice kicking viciously at a stooping form. There was no talking, only the growl of an occasional oath, the slapping of the hawser on deck, and the sharp orders of Haines. Then the great rope began to slip swiftly through the hawse hole, and we heard the sharp splash as the iron flukes struck the water, and sank. Almost at that same instant the voice of Cavere rang out from the mast-head:
"A sail, M"sieur--a sail!"
"Where away?"
"Off ze port quarter. I make eet to be ze leetle boat--she just round ze point"
CHAPTER XI
THE RETURN OF THE BOAT
Receiving no other orders, the moment all was secure, the crew eager to welcome back the boat party, and learn the news, hurried over to the port rail. Beyond doubt most of those aboard realized that this had been an expedition of some importance, the culmination of their long wait on the coast, part of some scheme of their chief, in the spoils of which they expected to share. It was for this end they had been inactive for weeks, hiding and skulking along sh.o.r.e; now they hoped to reap their reward in gold and silver, and then be permitted to return to the wilder, more adventurous life they loved on the high seas. Moreover this boat approaching through the darkness was bringing back their leader, and however else they might feel toward him, the reckless daring, and audacious resourcefulness of Sanchez meant success. These fellows, the sc.u.m of the seven seas, whom he had gathered about him, might hate and fear, yet were glad to follow. They had learned on many a b.l.o.o.d.y deck the merit of their chief, and in their way were loyal to him.
I was made to comprehend all this by the low, muttered utterances of those crowding near me, spoken in nearly every language of the world.
Much I could not even translate, yet enough reached my ears to convince me of the temper of the crew--their feverish eagerness to be again at sea, under command of a captain whom they both hated and feared, yet whom they would follow to the very gates of h.e.l.l. Even as they cursed him with hot oaths, in memory of some act of discipline, there came into their voices a tinge of admiration, which furnished me an accurate etching of the man. They knew him, these h.e.l.l-hounds of the sea, and from out their mouths I knew him also for what he was--a cruel, cold-blooded monster, yet a genius in crime, and a natural leader of such men as these. _Black Sanchez!_ All the unspeakable horror which in the past had clung to that name came back again to haunt me; I seemed to hear once more the tales of men who had escaped from his grip alive; to see again the scenes they had witnessed. It could not seem possible that I was actually upon one of his ships, in the very midst of his wild crew. I listened to their comments, their expectations, with swiftly beating heart. I alone knew what that boat was bringing. And when it arrived, and they knew also, what would these sea wolves say? What would they do? What would be the result when the dead body of their leader came up over the rail?
For a few moments we could perceive nothing through the black night.
The clouds were rolling low, thickened by vapor, and the increasing wind had already beaten the waves into crests of foam. We could hear them crash against the stout sides of the bark, which leaped to their impetus, yet was held in helpless captivity by the two anchors. The deck under foot tossed dizzily, the bare masts swaying above, while our ears could distinguish the sullen roar of breakers tumbling up on the sand just astern. Overhead ropes rattled noisily, the sound mingling with the flapping ends of loosened sails beating against the yards. LeVere shouted an order, and a sudden flare was lighted amidships, the circle of flame illumining a part of the deck, and spreading out over the wild expanse of water. The seaman holding the blazing torch aloft, and thrusting it forth across the rail, took on the appearance of a black statue, as motionless as though carved from ebony, while in the gleam the various groups of men became visible, lined up along the port bulwarks, all staring in the one direction, eagerly seeking a first glimpse of the approaching craft.
Scarcely had a minute elapsed before it came sweeping into the radius of light--at first a dim, spectral shadow, scarcely to be recognized; then, almost as suddenly, revealed in all its details--a boat of size, flying toward us under a lug sail, standing out hard as a board, keeling well over, and topping the sea swells like a bird on wing.
"Twas a beautiful sight as the craft came sweeping on before the full weight of the wind, out from that background of gloom into the yellow glare of the torch, circling widely so as to more safely approach the bark"s quarter. LeVere called for men to stand by, the fellows rushing past me to their stations, but, in the fascination of the moment, I failed to move. I could do nothing but stare out across the intervening water, with eyes fastened on that swiftly approaching boat. I must see. I must know the message it brought; what story it held of the tragedy. At first I could only barely distinguish the figures of those aboard, yet these gradually a.s.sumed recognizable form, and finally the faces also became dimly visible. Manuel held the tiller, with Estada seated beside him, leaning forward, and gesticulating with one hand, as he directed the course. I had never seen these two, yet I knew them beyond a doubt. Mendez and Anderson (at least I supposed these to be the two) were poised at the sail halliards, ready to let the straining sheet down at a run, while Cochose crouched low in the bow, his black hand uplifted, gripping a coil of rope. Their faces were all turned forward, lighted by the flare from our deck, and I felt a shudder of fear run over me--no expression on any countenance spoke of defeat; even the ugly features of the negro beamed with delight.
But was that all? Was that all? Surely not, yet the boat had to leap forward, and then turn broadside too, as it swept aft toward the main chains, before I succeeded in seeing what remained partially concealed between the thwarts in its bottom. Forward of the single mast was stowed the chest, which Travers" slaves had borne with such care up the bluff; while in the open s.p.a.ce between the helmsman and the two sailors were stretched two motionless bodies. LeVere, gripping a stay-rope, and leaning well out, hailed in Spanish.
"Ahoy, the boat--there is not too much sea? You can make it?"