CHAPTER LXVI.
TOUCHING THOSE INCIDENTS THAT HAD HAPPENED TO SIR BARTLEMY AS HE LAY ATTHE MOUTH OF THE ORONOQUE.
Turning from this grisly spectacle while still the flame was bright,Thomas Palmer cries of a sudden: "Why, this is none of our ships; forour sides are painted of a lively hue."
Whereupon, casting my eyes that way, I perceived that this was none butthat great black ship which had been our undoing.
So now, guessing pretty well how matters stood, we no longer hesitatedto draw towards that light we had been making for. And coming to itanon, and calling out loudly for those aboard, we were answered at onceby the lusty voice of my stout old uncle, who had been brought on deckby the watch on perceiving our light alongside the black ship.
Hearing his voice, my Lady Biddy cried in her sweet voice, as clear asany bell: "We are here, dear heart; we have come back to you."
To tell of the great, unbounded joy in every heart when we came on deckwould call for more wit than I possess, so I must span that over andcome to the time when, the day beginning to break, my Lady Biddy wasinduced to go into the cabin prepared for her; and my uncle and I, growncalm, sat us down together with a bottle and a paper of tobacco, and hefell to telling of his adventures; of which (not to weary the reader)will I repeat no more than is necessary.
"You see, nephew," says my uncle, "when we anchored in these roads, thewater was prodigiously swollen by reason of the flux of rains; for youmust understand that there is a bar to the east, which does in a mannerhem in the flood. Well, here lay we very peacefully a week after theparty had set out in search of you, when what should we spy in theoffing one early morn but the black ship, which I knew at once for myold enemy, and another, which hath turned out to be none other than ourfirst ship, the _Adventurer_, fitted out as a pirate, and commanded bythat villain Parsons. My first intent was to stand up to them and payoff old scores; but having regard to the weakness of our company by theabsence of those picked men gone up the Oronoque, and reflecting that ifI were by any accident crippled in this bout, it would go hard with youon your coming hither, I was persuaded from my purpose; but as toshowing our heels to the enemy, as some advised, that would I not do.They came on, thinking to make light work of such small fry as we were;but we stood to our guns and beat 'em off all day. However, when wecould no longer see to fight, I found myself so crippled that I resolvedto draw our little barks into shallow water, where their heavy shipsmight not dance round us on the morrow as they had that day. Accordinglywe put our boats and towed us in till we touched bottom. The next dayour enemy, spying us in our new ground, lifted anchor and bore down onus, thinking to pepper us all round and about as before; but presentlythey ran aground at a decent distance from us by reason that they drewso much more than we; nevertheless, they were near enough to bruise usagain sorely with their great guns, and that was all they wanted, for'twas the design of that accursed Rodrigues to waste none of his men inhand-to-hand fight, but just riddle us day after day with his large shotuntil we sank or yielded. But herein did he reckon without takingaccount of the hand of Providence, which is ever on the side of right;though it does seem at times as if He would be for ever a-scourging us.That night the waters sank so prodigiously that ere daybreak both we andthe pirate careened over in such sort that our guns could no longer bebrought to bear one upon another, which was a comfort to us. Out of thispickle was there no way until the waters should again swell. Seeingwhich, this Rodrigues sent me a mighty civil letter, saying that he hadcome there but to refresh his company and get water; bearing me noill-will, but rather the contrary; and since, as it was evident, we mustlie there neighbors for months to come, we should do better to maketerms of peace and live in comfort than to go plaguing each other out ofexistence. To this I sent answer that I would by no means make termswith a villain, and that if he would live he must keep out of my reach.A reply came saying that he should certainly have regard to my amiablewarning, and that as he was averse to useless bloodshed, he should orderhis company to keep to the east of our position in their expeditionsashore, and while mine kept to the west no injury would be offered us;therewith he signed himself my 'obedient, humble servant, Rodrigues.'Well, nephew, I perceived it would be to our advantage to agree to thiscondition--tacitly, for I would never put my hand to compact with such arascal. And, to be brief," says my uncle, "we passed the summer withoutconversing or coming to blows with our neighbors. But foreseeing fullwell that Rodrigues, as soon as the waters rose, and he could float hisships, would certainly give his company the pleasure of spoiling usbefore going away, I took my measures to be prepared against him,keeping my company cheerful, sober, hopeful, and God-fearing, whichRodrigues could not do by his men, because they were naturally of aviolent, willful disposition. So while mine daily increased insteadfastness and vigor, his grew more violent and lawless, as we couldhear every night by their drunken revelry and singing of filthy songs.And then, knowing the advantage must be to him who could first getafloat, I did secretly by night convey all my heavy stores out of thisship into my companion bark, keeping aboard only such shot as I intendedto deliver into that scurvy pirate. The first day of the rains welifted; yet I still of purpose kept her careened over to deceiveRodrigues. The second morning, the water having risen in the bay stillfurther, I found we might contrive, with the next breeze, to right theship and get into that deeper water where the _Black Death_ lay; andwith this design I got all my men to their posts, and everything readyfor a speedy start. In the afternoon came a sweet little breeze from theland, on which I gave the signal; and all replying with a hearty cheerand stout hearts, we presently righted ourselves, and shaking out oursails slid easily off the sand, like a duck into a mill-pond. And now,nephew, I bore right up to Rodrigues with a warlike blast of ourtrumpets, and passing to that side of her where she lay exposed belowthe water-line, I poured such a volley through her timbers as would stayher from taking to the water if she had the mind, Then wore we round byher other side, and gave her just such another dose over her bulwarksand through her decks; but my gunners, at my desire, did take especialcare to bruise all her boats, so that they could not put off to ourattack. And having served Rodrigues' ship in this sort, we wore away andserved his consort--for they were a couple--in the like fashion. Inline, Benet, we riddled 'em both like a pair of colanders, and seeing bythe disablement of their boats that they could neither do us any furthermischief, I held off, knowing they must come to yield themselves up toour mercy in the end from sheer starvation; for they had no storeaboard, by reason of their wilful improvidence and headstronginsubordination, and no means to provide themselves with necessariesfrom the land neither, now that every boat was disabled. We counted thata few days would humble Rodrigues and bring his rascals to their knees;but they were in no mood to suffer privation long, and that very eveningone of their number swam to us, while his fellows spread out a whitesheet over the side of their ship for a sign of peace. Coming aboard,this messenger said he had been sent by his commanders, Edward Parsonsand Sanchey Rodrigues, to acknowledge themselves at my mercy, and toknow what terms I would make with them and their company.
"'Surrender yourselves prisoners to me,' says I, 'and you shall receivesuch treatment at my hands as humanity prescribes, until I may deliveryou to the ministers of justice to be dealt with according to yourdeserts.'
"'Why, your honor,' says he ruefully, 'that is but to offer us a safeconduct to the gallows; and for my own part I would as soon trust toProvidence in these wilds as to justice in England. 'Tis hard on us poorfellows, who would die honest men, and have no love for such plaguyadventures as those who have brought us to ruin.'
"'Nay,' says I, 'if you would have indulgence of me I must have goodassurance that you are not willing accomplices of your commanders.'
"'I take your honor at that," says he quickly, "for though I be here inthe name of our commanders, my chief purpose is to plead for my mates.You shall have that assurance you demand before another day is past: setevery one of us down for a born
scoundrel else.'
"And with that he leaps into the sea, and swims back to his ship. In themiddle of the night following we were aroused by shots fired on the_Black Death_, whereby we knew that the men had risen in mutiny againsttheir captains; but clearly they were prepared for this assault, for thefighting continued on and off all that night and best part of the dayfollowing; but about six in the evening the battle grew to its loudest,and after half an hour we perceived that it 'twas decided one way or theother by the firing coming to an end, and a prodigious cheer beingraised. Nor were we long in learning how matters stood, for shortlyafter the company, coming to the side of their ship with a waving ofhats and much hallooing, swung up that wretch Rodrigues and his fellow,Parsons, by their necks to the yard-arm."
When my uncle had made an end of his discourse, I ventured to ask him ifhe had chanced to hear anything of Sir Harry Smidmore since he had beenlying in these parts.
"'Nay," says he, "I have seen naught of him; but I got tidings of himonly yesterday from one of the pirates we have now aboard. He tells methat before coming hither Rodrigues put ashore on that island where heset you and Smidmore, to see if hardship had subdued your spirits andinclined you to cast in your lot with him. There, on a post planted inthe shore, they found a bottle tied, with a letter inside it signed bySir Harry, telling how--to his great joy and the praise of Heaven--hehad been found by an honest merchant putting in for water, and was aboutto sail with him thence for the city of Bristol. And so, Benet," sayshe, "you have no reason to torment yourself on that score."
The Admirable Lady Biddy Fane Page 66