The Filibusters, Charles John Cutcliffe Hyne [best book clubs .TXT] 📗

I guess the oil-drum arrangement to be a primitive kind of spar torpedo, such as the Russians used against Turkish war vessels in the Danube.”

“It was.”

“But,” the General added, ” your story, and a matter which happened on the Key here, told me this. I do not fancy I should have discovered it for myself had I been in your shoes on the steamer.”

Davis stood up and bowed; then resumed his chair and continued:

“I was on the upper bridge myself, and not till too late did I make out that the naphtha launch carried but one man on board of her. He came out of the darkness at full speed; did not slow down; but holding the tiller under his knee steered so as to sweep past a fathom from the gangway. In one hand he had the fall of a tackle which formed a kind of lift to the top of the spar; in the other he held the lanyard of a trigger.

“My fellows saw him, and some of them understood his business, and yelled. Two of them who carried revolvers (without orders) fired. But they did not hit, and the naphtha launch came on. Then in an instant, so it seemed, the spar was lowered into the water with a surge, the lanyard pulled, and an explosion followed which careened the steamer till her bridge end splashed the water. Then she recovered herself, and at once began to settle down.”

“Ah,” said the General. “And the launch?”

“She broke in two and went down like a stone. That spar torpedo was more destructive than the scoundrel reckoned upon.”

“I don’t know,” said the General thoughtfully. “I think you had a coolly desperate man to deal with there, who would be aware that an oil-drum of dynamite kicks at both ends when it is exploded, and so would be ready for the next move. I should say he was quite ready to swim when the launch failed him. Now if that man did escape, I would offer a good deal to win him on to my side.”

“Then I am afraid, sir,” said Davis rather stiffly, “that you will be disappointed. I conceived it my duty to order any man with weapons to fire on him if he reappeared, and as it happened not a bullet was let off. He must have sunk once and for all.”

“Well,” said the General, ” we will take it that our cause is rid of a very dangerous enemy. And now, what happened to you next?”

“We had a dozen square yards of plate crumpled away beneath the water-line on two sides of a bulk head, and we were sinking fast. The engine-room and the fireholds were luckily untouched, and so we gave her the steam and went for the beach with all the speed we could make. She took the ground in three fathoms, and then the surf got her in charge and drove her still further on. One boat was swamped in the lowering, but with the other three we all got safely on the shingle. Not a man was drowned; not a man retained his freedom.”

“How do you mean?” the General asked.

“They had a guard of honour drawn up to receive us,” Davis said grimly; ” a battery of artillery, a regiment of foot, and two squadrons of Lancers. We came ashore single boat loads at a time, with five revolvers to the whole ship’s company. Mr. Fluellen wished to fight; Mr. Coffin said he would do whatever anybody fancied; but I saw no use in being killed without the smallest shred of profit to you, sir, or Sacaronduca, or anyone else.”

“Quite right,” said the General, with a nod.

“So under protest we surrendered, were marched into the church, and were gaoled there for thirteen days. What they intended to do with us we did not know, and I do not think they had made up their minds. Probably a messenger had been sent to some bigger town to ask for instructions, and as the roads out there are bad, and transit consequently slow, these were long in arriving. So in the meantime they kept strong patrols round the church both night and day, fed us well, let us do practically what we liked.

“I don’t think the men found the time fall particularly heavy. One young sportsman from the Cape managed somehow or other to get hold of a roulette table, and we had the whole crew of them gambling for each twelve hours on end. There is an Eton boy from New South Wales who is a millionaire twice over, I believe, if only he could get half his I. O. U.‘spaid. And there is a stonebroke Irish peer who had mortgaged his prospective loot to the tune of ten thousand pounds. We three officers did not conceive it our duty to scare them too soon about the gravity of the position.”

“You had formed your own plans, though?”

Davis spread his hands helplessly. ” How could we, sir? Our prison was most strongly guarded; we were without arms; we knew nothing of the country outside, except that there was no shipping, and no overland route to Sacaronduca. If we had attempted the utmost, we should have done nothing more than make ourselves look undignified.”

“Which you considered,” said the General, ” a worse fate than being killed.”

“I may be humbly born, sir,” said Davis stiffly, “but I have the instincts of a gentleman, and I shrank from putting myself in the way of ridicule.”

“A king would have done the same,” said Briggs. “But get on with your tale, man. Get on!”

“Why, sir, I’ve so thin a tale to tell that I am almost ashamed to bring it out. There was no government we could apply to for protection. We were practically outlaws. We were in the hands of a power which is noted for its lawlessness, and which (owing to past events) has a horrible fear of filibusters. We were entirely helpless to avoid any penalty they might choose to put upon us. We could not guess what would happen, and did not try. We expected everything except having another steamer given and being sent off along our ways. Yet here we are with you on the White Tortuga Key.

“I cannot explain these things to you, because I do not understand them myself. I only know that one night half our guard rose upon the other half, and in the middle of the skirmish the church door opened and a lady with a mask came in, who very civilly told us to be off. We should find our own boats, she said, on the beach, and a steamer was lying off whose master would take us on board, and afterwards go wherever we bade him.

“‘This is great news, madame,’ says Coffin, ‘ and whom have we to thank for this most suitable gaol delivery?’

“‘Me,’ says she.

“”Tis a curious thing,’ says Coffin. ‘I’m sure we must have met before, but for the life of me I’ve been rude enough to forget your name.’

“She put up a small, very white hand to hide her laugh, and I noticed a wedding ring. ‘ I believe, sir,’ she says, ‘ I’ve forgot it too just this moment, though it’s probable someone else will remember it afterwards and introduce us in form next time we meet. But for the present, if you want to make a note, you might put me down as a Friend to Sacaronduca.’

“‘Well,’ says Coffin, ‘ I’m sure we’re all mightily obliged to you, madame, for your thoughtfulness in ridding this building of our wicked selves and letting us get off after business again; but if you’d lift your mask I’m sure you’d add a lot to the obligation.’

“‘I might scare you if I did,’ she said.

“‘Of that I must keep my doubts,’ says Coffin.

“She laughed. ‘ Then, I think, sir,’ she said, ‘ we are wasting time which may be valuable. I have contrived to set by the ears the troops who are told off to guard you; but they may tire before long of cutting one another to bits, and join hands again to attend you; and so you would put me to the pains of coming to nurse you again.’

“‘Madame,’ says Coffin, ‘ we are only human. This is tempting us to stay on here for ever.’

“‘You silly fellow,’ says she, laughing, ‘probably I should send a deputy next time. But if you want to see me again, I should be very pleased to receive you on one of my afternoons, and give you tea or, but let me see, in your country you prefer whisky and soda. Is it not so? ‘

“‘But where?’

“‘Why, at my own house, to be sure,’ says she.

“‘Er—Paris, isn’t it?’ said Coffin.

“‘Paris, no. I’m a Sacaronducan, and,’ she added, backing towards the church door, ‘ being a person of position, naturally I live at Dolores. Gentlemen,’ she says, with a pretty bow to the whole wondering crowd of us, ‘ to the pleasure of seeing you all quickly again,’ and with that slipped out into the darkness.

“Coffin darted out after her; I at his heels; but we caught no other sight of her. We saw a pair-horsed carriage driving away at speed, and if she was not in that, she must have vanished like a wraith.

“Coffin was for following the carriage to see if a lady so interested in Sacaronduca would not come with us to take new possession of it; but Fluellen and I said no; and with the men we marched down to the beach with all the speed we could make. Twice small knots of cavalry rode up to us, but we went at them with our naked hands, and they did us the honour to turn their horses; so that we got down to the beach without a man hurt; and found our own boats waiting, and three other boats beside.

“A steamer’s three lights swung in the offing; her hull was thrown up black against a swill of phosphorescence; and half an hour later we were on board of her, asking questions. But the steamer’s master could tell us nothing of frivolous interest. He knew only that his ship was placed at our entire command as a transport, and that was exactly all.

“‘It’s of naw use coming to me, me lads,’ said he. ‘ I’ve been chartered by cable, and the money paid. An agent did it. I’ve been kept to secrecy over what you want to know, in the simplest manner possible. They’ve told me nothing. I’m to take my herders from a Mr. Andrew Davis till we pick up the White Tortuga Key, and afterwards from a General Esteban Puentos, who also (it appears) writes himself ” Stephen Briggs.” I’ve signed on to remain in this employ for as long as the steamer’s required/ and the master added with a chuckle, ‘ I don’t mind how long it lasts. The pay’s very much to my liking.’ ‘

“So,” said the General, with a queer look, ” you heard no more of the lady who was so instrumental in rescuing you?”

“Not a whisper, sir, except amongst ourselves,” Davis replied. ” We steamed on about our busi. ness, picked up the balance of the men all save twenty-three who failed to come off at the rendezvous and then came straight here.”

“Twenty-three men missing,” said the General. “That is a serious item. At what place did they fail you?”

Davis mentioned three points on the shores of the Mexican Gulf.

“Ah,” said the General, ” Carew’s men all, aren’t they?”

“No, sir; five were recruited by Mr. Fluellen in British Columbia. But the rest are Sir William’s.”

“Well,” said the General, ” gone they