Westward Ho! Or, The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, of Burrough, in the County of Devon, in the Reign of Her Most Glorious Majesty Queen Elizabeth, - [e books for reading .TXT] 📗

“No more it did, senor,” said Jack Brimblecombe, stoutly: “but from Him who taught our 'hands to war, and our fingers to fight.'”

The commandant bowed stiffly. “You will excuse me, sir preacher: but I am a Catholic, and hold the cause of my king to be alone the cause of Heaven. But, senor captain, how came you thither, if I may ask? That you needed no art-magic after you came on board, I, alas! can testify but too well: but what spirit—whether good or evil, I ask not—brought you on board, and whence? Where is your ship? I thought that all Drake's squadron had left six months ago.”

“Our ship, senor, has lain this three years rotting on the coast near Cape Codera.”

“Ah! we heard of that bold adventure—but we thought you all lost in the interior.”

“You did? Can you tell me, then, where the senor governor of La Guayra may be now?”

“The Senor Don Guzman de Soto,” said the commandant, in a somewhat constrained tone, “is said to be at present in Spain, having thrown up his office in consequence of domestic matters, of which I have not the honor of knowing anything.”

Amyas longed to ask more: but he knew that the well-bred Spaniard would tell him nothing which concerned another man's wife; and went on.

“What befell us after, I tell you frankly.”

And Amyas told his story, from the landing at Guayra to the passage down the Magdalena. The commandant lifted up his hands.

“Were it not forbidden to me, as a Catholic, most invincible senor, I should say that the Divine protection has indeed—”

“Ah,” said one of the friars, “that you could be brought, senors, to render thanks for your miraculous preservation to her to whom alone it is due, Mary, the fount of mercies!”

“We have done well enough without her as yet,” said Amyas, bluntly.

“The Lord raised up Nebuchadnezzar of old to punish the sins of the Jewish Church; and He has raised up these men to punish ours!” said Fray Gerundio.

“But Nebuchadnezzar fell, and so may they,” growled the other to himself. Jack overheard him.

“I say, my lord bishop,” called he from the other end of the table. “It is our English custom to let our guests be as rude as they like; but perhaps your lordship will hint to these two friars, that if they wish to keep whole skins, they will keep civil tongues.”

“Be silent, asses! mules!” shouted the bishop, whose spirits were improving over the wine, “who are you, that you cannot eat dirt as well as your betters?”

“Well spoken, my lord. Here's the health of our saintly and venerable guest,” said Cary: while the commandant whispered to Amyas, “Fat old tyrant! I hope you have found his money—for I am sure he has some on board, and I should be loath that you lost the advantage of it.”

“I shall have to say a few words to you about that money this morning, commandant: by the by, they had better be said now. My lord bishop, do you know that had we not taken this ship when we did, you had lost not merely money, as you have now, but life itself?”

“Money? I had none to lose! Life?—what do you mean?” asked the bishop, turning very pale.

“This, sir. That it ill befits one to lie, whose throat has been saved from the assassin's knife but four hours since. When we entered the stern-gallery, we found two persons, now on board this ship, in the very act, sir, and article, of cutting your sinful throat, that they might rob you of the casket which lay beneath your pillow. A moment more, and you were dead. We seized and bound them, and so saved your life. Is that plain, sir?”

The bishop looked steadfastly and stupidly into Amyas's face, heaved a deep sigh, and gradually sank back in his chair, dropping the glass from his hand.

“He is in a fit! Call in the surgeon! Run!” and up jumped kind-hearted Jack, and brought in the surgeon of the galleon.

“Is this possible, senor?” asked the commandant.

“It is true. Door, there! Evans! go and bring in that rascal whom we left bound in his cabin!”

Evans went, and the commandant continued—

“But the stern-gallery? How, in the name of all witches and miracles, came your valor thither?”

“Simply enough, and owing neither to witch nor miracle. The night before last we passed the mouth of the bay in our two canoes, which we had lashed together after the fashion I had seen in the Moluccas, to keep them afloat in the surf. We had scraped the canoes bright the day before, and rubbed them with white clay, that they might be invisible at night; and so we got safely to the Morro Grande, passing within half a mile of your ship.”

“Oh! my scoundrels of sentinels!”

“We landed at the back of the Morro, and lay there all day, being purposed to do that which, with your pardon, we have done. We took our sails of Indian cloth, whitened them likewise with clay which we had brought with us from the river (expecting to find a Spanish ship as we went along the coast, and determined to attempt her, or die with honor), and laid them over us on the canoes, paddling from underneath them. So that, had your sentinels been awake, they would have hardly made us out, till we were close on board. We had provided ourselves, instead of ladders, with bamboos rigged with cross-pieces, and a hook of strong wood at the top of each; they hang at your stern-gallery now. And the rest of the tale I need not tell you.”

The commandant rose in his courtly Spanish way,—

“Your admirable story, senor, proves to me how truly your nation, while it has yet, and I trust will ever have, to dispute the palm of valor with our own, is famed throughout the world for ingenuity, and for daring beyond that of mortal man. You have succeeded, valiant captain, because you have deserved to succeed; and it is no shame to me to succumb to enemies who have united the cunning of the serpent with the valor of the lion. Senor, I feel as proud of becoming your guest as I should have been proud, under a happier star, of becoming your host.”

“You are, like your nation, only too generous, senor. But what noise is that outside? Cary, go and see.”

But ere Cary could reach the door, it was opened; and Evans presented himself with a terrified face.

“Here's villainy, sir! The Don's murdered, and cold; the Indian lass fled; and as we searched the ship for her, we found an Englishwoman, as I'm a sinful man!—and a shocking sight she is to see!”

“An Englishwoman?” cried all three, springing forward.