CHAPTER XV
MR. PETER FORBES MOURNS HIS NEPHEW
IT seems a long time, in the course of this story, since the honorableSecretary of the Council, Mr. Peter Arbuthnot Forbes, was forced to sailin to Charles Town from the _Plymouth Adventure_ on that mosthumiliating errand of finding medicines for Blackbeard's fever-smittenrogues. For the sake of his own dear nephew and the other hostagesdetained on board, he had endeavored to perform his bargain and wasreturning across the bar when the threatening clouds and other portentsof a violent storm caused the seamen to lose heart. They put about anddrove back into the harbor for shelter in the very nick of time.
These were pirates from Blackbeard's crew, it may be recalled, with hisgrizzled, scarred boatswain at the tiller. They had felt safe enough toswagger and ruffle it through the streets of Charles Town and to terrifythe people. Their worthless lives were protected by the hostages whowaited in fear and trembling. The town seethed with indignation and washot with shame. There would be no more of the friendly traffic withpirates.
It was fully believed that the wretched Blackbeard would be as good ashis word in allowing no more than two days' grace. Therefore when Mr.Peter Forbes came back in the boat to inform his neighbors that he hadbeen unable to reach the ship, it was sadly taken for granted that thosehelpless passengers had been put to death. Forthwith the pirates of theboat's crew were seized and thrown in gaol. There they lay in doubleirons until the Council met and ordered them to be tried. In accordancewith the verdict the six seamen and the boatswain were promptly hangedby the neck from the same gallows at White Point hard by the town. Andthe people no longer shivered at the name of Blackbeard nor feared hisvengeance. Their fighting blood was thoroughly aroused.
Not long after this, there arrived from England a new Governor of theProvince, a man of honor and resolution who approved what had been done.This Governor Johnson proceeded to organize the town for defense,building batteries on Sullivan's Island, recruiting the seafaring men inthe militia, and seeking to obtain merchant vessels which could beemployed as armed cruisers. Learning that the Governor of North Carolinawas in a corrupt partnership with pirates, he sent messages to Virginiato solicit cooperation.
This activity made much work for Secretary Peter Forbes who forsook hisintention of going to England to beg the cooperation of his Majesty'sGovernment against the plague of pirates. Dapper and plump andimportant as of yore, his florid face was clouded with sorrow and heseemed a much older man. He mourned his nephew, Jack Cockrell, as nomore and felt as though he had lost an only son. Every angry word he hadever addressed the lad, every hasty punishment inflicted, hurt himgrievously.
It was a solace to talk with winsome Dorothy Stuart because hers was thebright optimism of youth and she held so exalted an opinion of Jack'sstrength and courage that she refused to abandon hope. And the fact thathe had confided to her his rash intention of running away and signing asa pirate sooner than be transported to school in England, persuaded herthat he might be alive.
"From what you saw yourself, Mr. Forbes," said she, "when Blackbeardboarded the _Plymouth Adventure_ with his dreadful men, our Jack won hisfancy."
"So it appeared, Dorothy. The boy boasted of knocking a tall pirate onthe head, and he read this monster of a pirate more shrewdly than I.Yes, Blackbeard took it with rough good humor. But Jack would ne'erconsent to sail with him. 'Twas that confounded Stede Bonnet with hisgallant air that turned the lad's head. He cast a glamor over this tradeof murder and pillage."
"Be that as it may," returned Dorothy, with a sigh and a smile, "Iconfess to a romantic admiration for this bold Captain Bonnet. He wearsan air of mystery which is most becoming. We must not blame poor Jack."
"No, no, I am done with all that," hastily exclaimed Uncle Peter. "All Idare hope is that when Blackbeard is captured, we may learn what fatebefell the boy. It makes the torture worse to have him vanish withouttrace."
"And yet I have faith the sea will give him back to us, Mr. Forbes. Hewill find you a chastened guardian, not so apt to box his ears."
Uncle Peter was so distressed by this gentle raillery that the girlbegged pardon and vowed that she would never again offend. It sohappened that they were sitting together in Parson Throckmorton's gardena day or so after this when a friend came running in with tidings themost unexpected and incredible. A negro slave had come from a plantationa few miles inland and he bore a letter written by none other thanCaptain Jonathan Wellsby of the _Plymouth Adventure_. It narrated how heand the survivors of his ship had journeyed that far after weeks ofsuffering and frequent skirmishes with Indians. They were compelled torest and take shelter before undertaking the last stage of the journey.
Councilor Peter Forbes was magically changed. He shed his dignity andthrew his hat in air. Clasping Miss Dorothy's slender waist, he planteda kiss on her damask cheek. Parson Throckmorton was ramming snuff intohis nostrils, his wig all awry, while he sneezed trumpet blasts ofrejoicing.
"Survivors? _Kerchooh!_ God bless me, that lusty stripling will beamongst them,--_kerchooh_,--he can survive anything but Greek andLatin,--_kerchooh_,--I will spare the rod in future."
"I told you so, Uncle Peter Forbes," laughed Dorothy.
"Not so fast," quoth he, in a mood suddenly sobered. "Captain Wellsbyincludes no list of those in his party."
"But, of course, one of them is _sure_ to be Master Jack," she insisted.
"I am a selfish man and a laggard officer of the Crown," he exclaimedwith air of great self-reproach. "There are women in that company andwounded men, no doubt. We must take them clothing, horses, food, asurgeon."
He bustled off to the Governor's house to find that energetic gentlemanabsent at Sullivan's Island. Acting for him, the Secretary of theCouncil sent the town crier to summon all good citizens to the taverngreen. In the space of an hour the men and supplies were assembled andwith Mr. Forbes in command the band of mercy made haste to reach theplantation. During the march there was a buzz of anxious surmise. Wasthis one and that alive or dead? Had the hostages been slain and werethese the sailormen of the _Plymouth Adventure_ who had been set adriftby Blackbeard? Councilor Forbes winced at hearing such talk as this, buthis heart beat high nevertheless, so confident was he that he was aboutto behold his manly nephew.
There was loud cheering when they came to the cleared land of the indigofields and saw a tattered British ensign fluttering from the logstockade which enclosed the huts of the overseer and his laborers. Inthe gateway appeared the stalwart figure of Captain Wellsby in raggedgarments and with a limping gait. Other men crowded behind him andresponded with huzzas which were like a feeble echo. The friends fromCharles Town rushed forward to embrace them, loudly demanding to knowwhere the rest were.
"We fetched the women safe through," answered Captain Wellsby whose eyeswere sunken and the brown beard streaked with gray. "Twelve good men ofmy crew are dead, and three of the gentlemen passengers. The swamps tooktoll of some and the Indians slew the others. We were besieged afortnight by the Yemassees,--a hard experience all of it, and wondrousluck to have escaped----"
Councilor Forbes delayed while his companions entered the huts to attendthe invalids. He struggled to ask a question but his voice was beyondcontrol.
"I understand," kindly spoke the shipmaster. "Your lad is not with us,nor can I say if he be dead or alive."
"The Indians carried him off?" weakly inquired the uncle.
"No, he was never seen after we abandoned ship. Your Jack and a chum ofhis from Blackbeard's crew were for making the beach on a small raft oftheir own contrivance. This was after nightfall, Councilor, and whatwith a land'ard breeze and a crotchety set of the tide amongst theshoals, they floated out to sea."
"On a small raft," muttered Mr. Forbes, "and a vast ocean. I know of noship voyaging to or from these ports which might have found them."
"I was in hopes of hearing news of the lads from you," sorrowfully saidthe shipmaster. "There is the chance, tiny though it be, that they weresighted by some vessel boun
d to foreign parts, across the WesternOcean."
The uncle shook his head in a manner profoundly dejected. There wereduties which summoned him and he choked down his own grief, turning fromthe sympathetic mariner to minister to those in distress. Horse litterswere soon ready for the exhausted but heroic women who had been keptalive by the devotion of the noble British seamen in accordance with thetraditions of the merchant service. Those unable to walk farther wereplaced in carts. Clothed and fed, the sailors were in blithe spirits andtalked of going to sea again as soon as they could find a ship.
In the crowd which met them on the outskirts of the Charles Townsettlement was Dorothy Stuart. She scanned the straggling column andthen ran from one cart to another. It was impossible to convince herthat Jack Cockrell was not there. But when she heard from Uncle Peterthe news that Jack was missing but not surely dead, her faith burnedanew, triumphant over fact and reason.
"See how the great storm came to save him from Blackbeard," she cried,her hand nestling in Uncle Peter's arm. "And look how he came unscathedthrough that bloody battle with the pirates in the _Plymouth Adventure_.Why, a cruise on a raft is merely a frolic after all that."
"I would not discourage your dear dreams, sweet maid," was the gentleresponse. "And may they be truer than my own forebodings."
Charles Town was more than ever resentful when it learned from thesepoor people how the pirate sailing-master, Ned Rackham, had plotted toget rid of them and how mournful had been their sufferings after theshipwreck. The one boat left to them had been too rotten to send alongthe coast and they had plunged into a wilderness almost impassable.
Meanwhile Governor Johnson, stirred by this episode, had received wordthat the province of Virginia was both ready and anxious to join in anexpedition against Blackbeard. Governor Spottswood of Virginia would beoutfitting such craft as he could get together in the James River whilehe awaited a reinforcement from Charles Town.
The best vessel available for immediate use was a small brigantine, the_King George_. There was no lack of eager seamen when Councilor Forbesand Colonel Stuart proclaimed the muster on the tavern green. Amongthose selected were several of Captain Jonathan Wellsby's sailors whowere primed to fight even though there was not much flesh on theirbones. He himself was a forlorn mariner who had lost his good ship andfound no joy in life. With a grim smile of gratitude he accepted theinvitation to go as master of the _King George_, with Colonel Stuart asa sea soldier to drill the men and lead them in action.
It was while they were slinging guns aboard the brigantine that some ofthe men happened to notice a small boat coming into the harbor under arag of sail. At first it was taken for a fishing craft and there was nocomment until it was quite close. Then they saw that it was a ship'sjolly-boat much the worse for wear, with only two occupants. These werehalf-naked lads, burned black to the waist, with a queer kind of canvashead-gear as a protection against the sun.
The boat was steered to pass under the stern of the _King George_ andthe crew was unable to fathom if these were pirates or victims ofanother shipwreck. Captain Wellsby solved it by shouting:
"Both your guesses are right! One is the pirate younker that served ourcause in the _Plymouth Adventure_ and t'other is Master Jack Cockrell!"
One of the Charles Town volunteers heard only the word _pirate_ andgrowled, with an oath:
"One o' Blackbeard's spawn? We'll make precious short work of him. Handme a musket and I will save trouble for the hangman."
"Here, stop that," said Captain Wellsby, beckoning his own men. "You old_Adventure_ hands know better. Quell these lubbers. If there's to behostile feeling ashore I shall take this lad aboard under my ownprotection."
During this argument the sea-worn pilgrims in the jolly-boat hadrecognized the shipmaster and were joyfully yelling at him. In responseto his gesture, they pulled down the sail and rowed to the gangway ofthe brigantine. There was no need to fear the wrath of the Charles Townseamen, because the _Adventure_ hands stood by as a guard while theyexplained how this young Joe Hawkridge had valiantly helped to turn thetide of battle against the prize crew of pirates. And there was such arousing welcome for Master Cockrell that all else was forgotten. His oldshipmates fairly mobbed him.
"I will fire a gun and hoist all the bunting to signal the town," criedthe skipper, his face shining. "And presently I'll send you to the wharfin my own boat, but first tell me, boys, who took you off the littleraft and whence come you in this ship's boat?"
"Blackbeard rescued us. And we borrowed the boat from him," demurelyanswered Jack, watching the effect of this bombshell of a sensation.
"_Blackbeard!_" echoed the bedazed shipmaster and the others chimed itlike a chorus.
"Aye, old Buckets o' Blood hisself," grinned Joe Hawkridge. "We had himtamed proper when we parted company. First we chased him through a swamptill his tongue hung out and left him mired to the whiskers. Then foranother lark we scared him in his own ship so he begged us on his kneesto forbear. We learned Cap'n Ed'ard Teach his manners, eh, Jack?"
This was too much for the audience which stood agape. A dozen voices atonce implored enlightenment. With a lordly air for a youth whose costumewas mostly one leg of his breeches, Master Cockrell reproved them towit:
"Captain Stede Bonnet was more courteous to our distress when we sailedwith him. He gave us a thumping big breakfast."
"Right-o," declared Joe. "'Tis our custom to spin strange yarns forclothes and vittles in payment."
The men scampered to the galley and pantry but refused to let CaptainWellsby carry these rare entertainers into the cabin. Graciously theysketched the chief events, omitting all mention of the treasure chest,and Jack explained in conclusion:
"And so I was stricken homesick, like an illness, and Joe had his fillof pirates, too. The wind was wrong to rejoin Captain Bonnet in theInlet harbor after we shipped as ghosts in the jolly-boat, and we had amariner's chart of the Carolina coast and----"
"But what did you do for subsistence?" broke in Captain Wellsby.
"Food and water?" answered Joe. "Oh, we landed when the thirst plaguedus too bad. And there was rain to fill a bight of the sail and apannikin to save it in."
"And we lived on oysters mostly," said Jack, "and Joe killed a fatopossum with a club, and we caught some fish in a net which I knottedfrom a ball of marline that was in the boat. And we foraged for pawpawsand persimmons."
"And whenever the breeze was fair we put to sea again," said Joe, "andit was a long and weary voyage, though not so many leagues on thechart."
The captain's boat was ready and they tumbled in, two wayfarers of thesea who were as lean and sun-dried as the buccaneers of old TrimbleRogers' fond memories. Hardships had seasoned and weathered them likegood ash staves. On the wharf was Uncle Peter Forbes and GovernorJohnson and a concourse of townspeople drawn by the joyous signals flownfrom the brigantine. Jack looked in vain for Dorothy Stuart and wasthankful that her welcome was deferred. Shears and a razor andChristian raiment would make him look less like a savage from the coastof Barbary.
Uncle Peter wasted a vast deal of pity, thinking the castaways too weakand wasted to walk. Jack strode along with him, the crowd at theirheels, and soon had the plump Councilor puffing for breath. Theyinsisted on taking Joe Hawkridge with them although he was for seekinglodgings at the tavern. He was one of the household, declared Mr.Forbes, while Jack warned him to beware of impertinence lest he besentenced to chop wood for the kitchen fire.
The neighbors and friends, as curious as they were joyful, were barredfrom the house while the lads talked and Uncle Peter carefully madenotes of it all. It was too much for him to realize that Jack wassitting there lusty and laughing and with the dutifully respectfulmanner as of yore, in spite of the man's part he had played to the hilt.Of all the exploits, that which most fascinated Mr. Peter Forbes was thechase after Blackbeard's sea-chest weighty with treasure and thediscovery of the knoll in the Cherokee swamp where he might have buriedother booty. Here was a picaresque romance which allur
ed the methodicalbarrister and Councilor and he was as boyishly excited as his nephew. Heexamined the chart which Jack had copied from his rude sketch made on apiece of bark and this raised a question which he was quick to ask:
"What of Bill Saxby and this old bloodhound of a Trimble Rogers? Assoon as Stede Bonnet could get the _Revenge_ to sea, I have no doubt hesailed to Cape Fear River to get these pirate comrades of yours and theseamen he left to find them. Once aboard, they would urge Bonnet toreturn to Cherokee Inlet and let them go hunt the treasure."
"That may be, but we can trust them to deal fair by us," replied Jack.
"Possibly," was the skeptical comment. Mr. Forbes was not too ready tobelieve in honest pirates.
"I'm not sure Cap'n Bonnet had a mind to bother with this treasurehunting," suggested Joe Hawkridge. "Leastwise, he may ha' put it off toan easier day. He has friends that keep him well informed, such as theGovernor of North Carolina at Bath Town. And all this flurry againstpiratin', here and in Virginia, 'ud be apt to make Cap'n Bonnet wary ofbein' trapped on the coast."
"Joe is full of wisdom, as usual," said Master Cockrell. "And ifBlackbeard has cruised to the Spanish Main, as we suspect, the treasuremay lie undisturbed for a while."
"Concerning Blackbeard, the evidence then in hand warranted yourconclusions," was Uncle Peter's judicial comment, "but I have receivedlater information. The rumor is, and well-founded, that he turned hisship and made for the Pamlico River with the intention of obtainingpardon from the false and greedy Governor Eden. This would baffle ourplans against him, or so he would assume. And it would enable him toremain within convenient distance of his treasure."
"Would this Province and Virginia respect such a pardon as that?"queried Jack.
"Not in the case of Blackbeard," snapped the Councilor, "because we knowit would be violated as soon as this treacherous villain could safelyreturn to his piracies."
"Then Joe and I will enlist in the _King George_ brigantine," criedJack. "Captain Wellsby tells me she will sail for Virginia inside theweek."
Uncle Peter was about to make violent protest but he checked himself andhis emotions were torn betwixt pride and yearning affection. He couldnot bear to let his nephew go so soon to new perils, but what right hadhe to try to shield him when the public duty called? It was idle topretend that Jack was too young and tender to embark on such service asthis. He was fitter for it than some of the other volunteers. And so theunhappy Uncle Peter walked the floor with his cheeks puffed out and hishands clasped behind him and said, with a tremulous sigh:
"I swore to treat you no more as a child, Jack. 'Tis right and naturalfor you to desire to go in the _King George_ as a fighting man tried andtrue. As for Joe Hawkridge, I have acquainted the Governor with hismerits and his pardon is assured."
"Thankee, sir," returned the reformed young pirate. "A respectable lifeis what I crave, and the parson for company."
"It sounds almost pleasant to me, including the parson," admitted Jack,"as soon as we shall have settled this matter with Blackbeard."
Blackbeard: Buccaneer Page 15