A few minutes later Sir Noble and the other prisoners were being marched down the gangplank into Santa Cruz. True, they could not actually march. They were forced to shuffle along in their chains. Noble prayed no one would notice that the locks on their leg irons were hanging open. If one of the locks should slip off and clatter to the cobblestones, all would be lost! The pirates must be unaware that their captives were loose.
The marketplace was only a few feet away from the docks. Vendors were already calling their wares, and townswomen moved among the stalls and booths searching for their food for the day, or perhaps a length of cloth with which to make a new dress. Chickens, pigs, even cows added to the noise of the marketplace. All kinds of smells, both good and bad, filled the air, as well.
Noble and the others looked around them as they were pushed and shoved through the market. Their eyes darted here and there as they searched for possible ways of escape. Noble tried to memorize the layout of the place. If their chance came to run, he wanted to be able to lead the men without hesitation. Of Pedro, there was no sign. This worried Noble. He would not go off without the boy, but on the other hand, how could they pass up an opportunity to flee if one arose?
They had reached the center of the market place and suddenly something caught their attention. Three pillars stood in the middle of the square, and to each of the pillars a man was chained. A group of men stood around them, laughing and jeering and looking them over. It was the slave market. Another ship had arrived before them and now the terrible trade was going on for the lives of these men. Sellers loudly proclaimed the merits of the poor creatures chained before them, while buyers shouted out their bids. The men at the pillars looked on in despair. Noble noticed a dozen or more men locked in a nearby corral as if they were livestock. Their turns at the pillars would be next.
El Capitán Gascon called out greetings to several of the traders he knew, and gave orders to his own men to bring their prisoners to a halt. Noble and the others were forced to sit on the ground to one side of the pillars. The captain wandered off to speak with the other slave dealers, leaving his men to stand guard over their captives.
Noble knew the minutes were ticking by before they, too, would be put up for sale in the slave market. John, Hugh, Charles and the rest of them were looking at him nervously, waiting for him to make some sort of move to lead them out of this nightmare they were in. Where was Pedro? They could cast off their chains and make a run for it, but not without the Spanish boy who had risked so much for them. “Father,” he prayed desperately now, “give us wisdom and guidance, protection and strength. Help us, Father, and save us now, we pray!”
Captain Gascon was on his way back over to his group. The bidding was going on for the men chained to the pillars. Each minute, each second seemed to be slipping through their fingers without an opportunity for escape. “Lord!” the men of the Sea Eagle prayed silently, but in unison. “Save us!”
Suddenly a bell rang out loudly across the docks and through the marketplace. A voice followed, crying, “¡Fiero! ¡Fiero!” People everywhere turned to look. Smoke was billowing from the direction of the docks. Fire!
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CHAPTER TEN
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Tanausu
A figure came running out of the billows of smoke. Pedro! Now Noble recognized his voice. “¡Fiero!” he shouted. “¡El Capitán! ¡El Capitán! ¡Fiero en El Lobo del Mar!” He did not glance at the prisoners but ran past them to Capitán Gascon. He grabbed the captain’s arm. “¡Fiero en El Lobo!”
El Capitán shook off Pedro’s hand and shoved him out of the way. He started to run, followed by his men. Others around the square took off running, as well. A fire on a wooden ship was disastrous, and with several other ships docked closely beside it, the fire could quickly spread. They were all in danger! The captains and men of the other ships joined the race to the docks. The townspeople and merchants ran, as well, to see the excitement and perhaps to help if needed.
The marketplace was soon emptied of the crowds except for the prisoners and a few older people. They paid no attention to the captives or the men chained to the pillars, but gathered in little groups, looking toward the docks and talking excitedly.
Pedro had stayed behind in the mad dash to the docks. Noble and the others were already pulling the leg irons from around their ankles and untangling themselves from their chains. Now the Spanish boy pulled John Roby to his feet and called to the others, “Hurry!” Noble grabbed John’s other arm and they began to run.
“Wait!” Sir Noble suddenly cried. “We cannot leave these other prisoners to be sold as slaves! We must help them!”
“There is no time!” Pedro argued. “We must leave this place before anyone notices we are gone!”
“Go that way,” Noble directed him, pointing away from the old people who were clustered together. “I’ll only be a minute behind you. I’ll catch up to you!” He did not wait to discuss it any further, but turned back to the square.
The prisoners in the corral had seen them and now they called to Noble. “¡Ayudanos! Help us!” they pleaded. He rushed over to the pen and grabbed hold of the gate. It had been latched, but fortunately not locked. He threw open the gate and the men rushed out. There were no thanks for their rescuer. Without a backward glance they scattered in every direction and disappeared.
Noble started to follow in the footsteps of Pedro and his friends, when suddenly he caught sight of the men still chained to the pillars in the middle of the square. He ran over to them. He had no key for their locks, nor anything with which to cut their chains. They begged him to help them, but he stood there for a moment, trying to figure out just what he could do.
Finally he had an idea. He bent down and tried to lift one of the men on his shoulder, at least high enough that he could slip his chained hands over the top of the pillar. Noble was strong enough, but the pillar was high and the man could not quite get his hands over the top. “Stand up! Stand up!” Noble said urgently. He winced as the man struggled to his feet on his shoulder and his boots cut in. At last the chain slid over the post and the man dropped to the ground. He, too, ran off without a word.
Noble looked at the other two men. There must be a better way. This was too slow. Someone would surely notice them, and in the meantime his friends were slipping further away. He could not think of anything else, but bent once more to help the second prisoner. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone rushing toward him—and in that person’s hand was a machete!
Noble stumbled back. The figure lunged past him toward the prisoner and took a mighty swing. Iron clashed with iron as the machete hit the chain that hung around the pillar. Two more strong whacks and the chain broke, freeing the captured man. Three more quick swings of the machete and the third man had been released, as well. They fled the marketplace.
Noble had quickly realized this stranger was there to help, not hurt, him. Now, when he motioned for him to follow him, Noble did not hesitate. They ran in the direction that Pedro and the others had gone, and soon had put the marketplace far behind them.
They followed the twists and turns of the narrow streets of Santa Cruz de La Palma. His guide did not falter, but led him swiftly and surely until at last he stopped and pointed. There, just ahead of them, were Pedro, John, Charles, Will, Hugh and the rest. Noble called to them.
“Sir Noble!” John exclaimed, relief and joy evident on his gaunt face. “You’re safe!”
“So far!” Noble smiled. “But come—we must not linger here. The search for us will be on once the fire is out and they discover we are gone.”
“And it will not take them long to put out the fire. There was not time to set a bigger one, I am afraid. It was more smoke than fire, I think,” Pedro said.
“You! You set the fire on purpose, Pedro?” Noble exclaimed.
“But of course! How else could I provide a distraction to enable your escape?” the Spanish boy grinned. He turned suddenly to the small figure b
y his side and the rest of them turned their attention to him, as well.
Noble’s guide was a small man, slight of build but wiry and strong by the looks of him. He was a strange sight. His long fair hair reached his waist. He wore a goat skin and black and red beads around his neck. He was old, but his years did not seem to have affected his strength or his speed. He said something now to Pedro. They could not understand his words, but his tone was urgent.
They carried on a short conversation in Spanish before finally Pedro turned back to them. “This is Tanausu,” he said quickly. “He is a guanche, one of the native people in Las Islas Canarias who were conquered by the Spanish a hundred years ago. He has offered to lead us.”
“But why?” Will questioned. “Can we trust him?”
“I think so,” Pedro replied. “He says his father and his grandfather were made slaves by the Spanish, and he feels it is his duty to help others escape slavery when he can. Besides, I think we have no choice but to trust him. I told you, I am not familiar with La Palma. We need his help.”
“Then we will take him up on his offer,” Noble decided for them. “Thank you, my friend. Thank you,” he said with a smile as he took the hand of the strange little man and clapped him on the shoulder. “Let us go!” he gestured. Tanausu turned to lead the way.
The way through the streets and alleys of Santa Cruz was winding and full of dead ends. They were soon thoroughly confused, but their guide never faltered.
It did not take long to find themselves on the outskirts of town. The land sloped upwards from the sea into a mountainous terrain. Tanausu led them to a cave just outside of Santa Cruz. He motioned for them to wait and then ducked through the small opening. They heard voices inside, one of them a woman’s, and a few minutes later the old guanche reappeared. He was carrying a dirty cloth bag and a water skin. A wooden sword was tucked into the rope around his goatskin. He did not say anything, however, but beckoned them to follow him. To their surprise, he did not lead them up into the mountains or to another cave, but back down toward the coast of La Palma.
“What is he doing?” Hugh suddenly growled. “He’s taking us back to the harbor! What is this? He’s leading us into a trap!” Tanausu ignored him and kept going. He did not seem to notice that the others had stopped.
“I don’t think so,” Noble replied. “I think he has a plan of escape and is leading us to it. We must trust him. We have no other choice.” They hurried to keep up with the nimble old man.
There was no path, but Tanausu led them quickly and surely back down to the beach. The curve of the island hid the harbor at Santa Cruz from them, but they knew they were not far from it. In the distance they could hear shouting, and a plume of smoke rose into the sky.
The old man hurried down the beach to a grove of trees that stood back away from the water’s edge. He beckoned to them to follow. Tanausu was deep in the midst of the trees when Noble and Pedro caught up to him. There before them was hidden an old fishing boat.
Tanausu began speaking to Pedro, gesturing toward the boat and then pointing out to sea. Pedro nodded and turned to Noble. “He says he found this old boat a long time ago and hid it here. He says he does not like to go out on the water and we are welcome to take it. It is not big, and it would not last long out on the sea, but it would probably get us to one of the other islands where we can find another way to escape.”
Noble looked at the boat. Tanausu was right. It was small, but perhaps they might all fit inside, and since they all had lost weight, perhaps they would not sink it. He wondered how far it was to the nearest island. The boat was old and did not look to be in good shape, but if it was going to leak or fall apart they would probably know it before they got very far from shore. They would have to take the chance.
Pedro went back and called for the rest. There were plenty of them to push the boat out of the grove of trees and across the sand. Noble wondered how the old man had pulled it into the trees on his own.
The boat was soon in the water. They inspected it carefully before climbing in. They were relieved to see that the bottom was dry except for a small trickle along one seam. The men started climbing in as Noble turned to thank Tanausu. Before he could say a word, though, the old guanche handed him the cloth bag and water skin he had brought from the cave. “Pan. Bread,” he said. He held out his long wooden sword to Noble and spoke some words to Pedro.
“He says he wants to give you his sword. He says he has seen that you are a leader and a brave man and that you will make a good warrior.” Pedro listened as Tanausu spoke again. He turned back to Noble. “He says that the blade is hardened by fire and it is nearly as strong as the iron blades of the Spanish Conquistadores. The sword is called a magido. He honors you with this gift, my friend.”
“Thank you, Tanausu,” Noble said as he bowed his head to the old man. “We owe you a great deal. I will pray that God will bless you for your kindness to us.”
Pedro repeated his words in Spanish to the old man. Tanausu replied and then quickly turned and sped off the way they had come. “What did he say?” Noble asked.
“He said he worships many gods, so if you want to pray to your God for him, too, he will be happy.”
Noble’s heart was grieved that he had not told Tanausu about the one true and living God. He resolved to remember the old guanche in prayer for a long time to come. He looked up the slope after the old man and then finally turned back to the boat.
They were waiting for him. The boat was in shallow water and Noble climbed in, squeezing alongside John Roby. Charles and Hugh gave it a good shove out into deeper water before they finally clambered in themselves. It was a tight fit. The boat was meant for maybe six or eight, and there were fourteen of them, including Pedro. It hung low in the water with all their weight. Will manned the only sail now, and several of the others picked up the oars to propel the boat more quickly through the waves.
It was slow going at first, but at last the shoreline began to recede and they moved out into the bay. As they pulled away from the island they could see the port at Santa Cruz again. El Lobo del Mar still stood at the dock, no longer smoking but listing heavily to one side. By now, Noble thought, el capitán and his men will have discovered we are missing. They are probably searching the town for us right now. He smiled. I would have liked to have seen his face when he found us gone!
La Palma slowly faded into the distance. Free! They were free! They had escaped the ship, the chains and the pirates! Together they bowed their heads in praise and prayers of thanksgiving to God as the small boat sailed away.
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CHAPTER ELEVEN
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Shadows of Dusk
There was only one man on board, other than Pedro, who had been in that part of the world before. Will thought back to his earlier travels and scratched his head. “Without a map I am not sure,” he said, “but I believe the island of La Gomera is the closest of the other Canary Islands, although Tenerife is nearly as close and bigger. Tenerife might be the better choice since it is larger and may have more ways of escape available to us. If we continue on this course, going east-southeast, I am sure we will make it. We have no instruments to steer by, but if we miss it, we could end up on the west coast of Africa!”
Hugh snorted. “If this boat holds together we will not miss it! I’ll see to that!”
Pedro held up his hands. “¡Señores!” he said with a laugh. “There is the sun in the west. Simply put the sun to our backs and go to the east and you will surely make it to one of the islands!”
“If the boat holds up!” Hugh reminded him again.
“How long will it take us to get there?” John Roby asked.
Pedro shrugged. “That all depends on the wind and currents and how hard you men can row! I doubt that we will reach it before nightfall, but we may arrive tomorrow morning if El Señor Diós is with us.”
“Oh, He is with us, to be sure, but what His plan for us is, we do not yet know.” Noble sai
d quietly. “Now, it is past noon. Why don’t we see what is in this bag Tanausu gave us? It will do us all some good to have a little food in our bellies after all we have been through so far today!” He handed out some of the flatbread that was in the bag, and then passed around the goatskin of water.
The afternoon was long. The small sail was puffed out with the wind, and the men took turns rowing as hard as they could, but it seemed the overloaded fishing boat got nowhere in the strong currents between the islands. Hugh pulled his spyglass out of his pocket from time to time and searched the horizon for any sign of land. He did not say so, but he also searched the sea behind them for any sign of pursuit. The thought was in all of their minds that perhaps El Capitán Gascon would not let them go so easily, but they did not talk about it. They all knew that if they were spotted by El Lobo del Mar there would be no way they could outrun her.
The sun was low in the sky by the time they finally began to breathe more easily. Once night fell they knew they would be able to escape without being seen by the pirates. Noble watched as the rays of the setting sun touched the waves and left a golden trail behind them. Would the trail betray them and lead El Lobo to them?
Streaks of orange and gold and pink painted the darkening sky and were reflected in the water. Hugh took his spyglass out one more time for a last look before it got too dark to see anything. There was nothing but open water before them. Hopefully by first-light they would see Tenerife, or at least La Gomera.
He swung the spyglass back to the west. Hugh blinked his eyes and rubbed the lens on his shirt. He stared through the glass again, and then handed it to Noble. He nodded his head and pointed behind them.
Noble took the spyglass and peered through it. Though dark was quickly falling before them, the western sky was still light enough to have a clear view to the horizon. A black speck had appeared against the sunset glow of the sky. Noble continued to watch, aware that the men around him were staring at him and holding their breath. As he looked through the spyglass, he could swear the speck was growing larger by the minute.
Sea of Honor (Noble Heart Book 5) Page 7