Carried Off Part 4

In spite of his objection, however, Carlo, as well as every one else, had to work with a will within the walls of Santa Teresa; whilst the Marquis, hardly able to hide his fears, paced restlessly up and down without the castle, often sending negro scouts on all sides to ascertain the real truth; but he got such contradictory answers that he half feared the negroes were too much afraid to venture near enough to the advancing enemy to ascertain how matters stood.

CHAPTER V.

THE SCOUTS.

The council of war presided over by the Marquis took place late that afternoon; and Carlo, bent on proving his capabilities as a soldier, slipped in with the officers and various Spaniards in authority who had been able to leave their several stations to join in the discussion.

The Marquis was so much disturbed and troubled that he took no heed of his son, for as the officers entered the private room of the Governor the sound of cannon was distinctly heard in the distance, much to the dismay of many present.

'Those are the guns of St. Jerome,' said one of the officers. 'The enemy must have reached the bridge, and we may expect them here by sunset. Shall we give the order for all the neighbouring guns to fire, sir.'

'That will not be necessary,' answered the Marquis, testily. 'How many guns are there at St. Jerome? Surely enough to drive these robbers back to their boats?'

'We have eight, Senor, at St. Jerome, and those will play freely on them; they will be caught in a trap.'

'Well, then, that will settle them. We know they cannot advance up the river below this hill.'

'Only a canoe could reach us here, and that would hold but a few men,'

said Don Francisco.

'The blacks declare that Captain Morgan has only four hundred men with him; if so, there will be no great difficulty.'

'Nay, but the Indian Andreas,' said Carlo, 'has just told me they are more like a thousand strong. I believe Andreas is the only scout who gets near enough to know.'

Carlo had an especial liking for Andreas, who often accompanied him out into the woods to kill the birds. He was a very sharp fellow, and knew every turn and winding in the islands.

'A thousand strong! What nonsense, Carlo! Your opinion was not asked, boy, and silence is your best course,' said the Marquis, angrily.

Carlo blushed, but all the same he knew he was right, and was terribly annoyed at hearing his father ask counsel first of one and then of another, without coming to any decision. He saw several of the officers looking evidently anxious, and when the council of war broke up--having decided nothing but that a scout should be sent to St. Jerome for news, and that there should be another meeting next morning--Carlo went up to an officer and said hastily:

'Why do we not collect a force of men and go out to meet them in the marshes?--for that is surely the way they will advance.'

'The Marquis thinks otherwise, Senorito; and he may be right, for they may find themselves in a sad fix in some of the swamps in the low ground or in the woods, and then they may think it better to return without trying to take a fortress. Besides, we do not know how much powder they may have brought, and we must not waste our own ammunition.'

This was all the consolation Carlo could get, and he went back to his sister's room looking very crestfallen and anxious. So to her eager questioning he answered:

'I wish father would let Don Francisco de Paratta take the command; he himself is quite unable to take it. I could see by Don Francisco's face that he thinks we are doing wrong. We have not even got true information yet as to their number. I have a great mind----' Carlo paused, for a sudden idea now entered his head.

'What are you thinking of?' said Felipa, turning pale. 'Oh, Carlo, do not do anything rash. What should we do without you?'

'Oh, you are safe enough here at Santa Teresa; it would be impossible to take this place by storm with a thousand men, or even double that number, so you need not be afraid, dear Felipa.'

'I know you mean to go and see for yourself,' said Etta. 'I wish I were a boy and I could go with you. To stay still makes one imagine many impossible things.'

'Hush! don't tell any one, especially Catalina,' said Carlo, looking round and seeing they were alone; 'she chatters so much. My plan is this: I will slip outside presently before the gate is shut and run down the hill to the river. There Andreas has a canoe safely hidden in the bushes, and he will paddle me down to the mangrove swamps, and from there we may get near to them and see for ourselves how the pirates are situated.'

'But you will get killed,' sobbed Felipa. 'These wicked English pirates are worse than cannibals; Catalina says that they roast their prisoners alive, and----'

'Nonsense! Dry your tears, little sister, and believe me, Andreas is too clever a fellow to let us get eaten. I shall be back before very late, and I know the only breach that can be climbed.'

Seeing her brother so cheerful, Felipa dried her tears, and hung a little coin round his neck, which, she said, would keep him from harm; and then she and Etta determined to sit up till he should come back, for when he was once gone they would not mind telling Catalina.

In the meantime all was bustle within the fort. The Spaniards had found out now that the Governor had entirely lost his nerve, and this increased the panic of the garrison. The men on watch amused themselves by telling thrilling and horrible stories of the various tortures inflicted by the pirates on their prisoners, and speculated as to the fate of the garrison of St. Jerome, whose fire had ceased when the sun went down. However, every one knew that Santa Teresa was safe enough, and that even if some bold spirits climbed up the steep path on the land side no great number could come on at the same time and so carry the place by a.s.sault.

At nightfall, Carlo, unseen by any one, slipped out of the fort; and, plunging into the wood, he was soon joined by the Indian Andreas, who was a fine fellow, a Christian, and, moreover, devotedly fond of the young Spaniard, who had always treated him with kindness. Andreas spoke fluent Spanish, from having been early taught by the Spanish priests, who had brought him up after his father's death.

'That's right, Andreas,' said Carlo, when he saw him. 'Now make haste and show me your path down to the river; the other one is watched by the slaves, and they might set the dogs on us by mistake. I reckon we can reach the swamps in two hours with your canoe, and you tell me that you are sure the enemy is encamped near there.'

'Yes, Senorito, that is the truth; my little boy brought me word. And I believe they are in great distress for want of food; but we shall see.

Look, n.o.ble Carlo: I have brought my arrows; and woe to any one that tries to touch us!'

After some very difficult walking in the mazes of the forest, through which no one but an Indian could have steered, the two at last reached the river, which ran far below Santa Teresa; and though this stream was only navigable for canoes, it was often used by the Indians and Spaniards when in haste to reach the sea, instead of taking the longer journey by the land road. Andreas had powers of sight which appeared quite extraordinary to Carlo; and when the two were seated in the frail canoe, it was wonderful how the Indian paddled the boat, swiftly and surely, avoiding the rocks as if it were broad daylight, and never mistaking the many bends. Had Carlo been alone he would have grounded the boat half a dozen times, and not have reached his destination before daylight; but as it was, in two hours the boat glided swiftly into the midst of the mangrove swamp through which the river here made its way.

All was quiet at first; the canoe did not even disturb the herons and pelicans which slept near by on the interlaced roots of the mangroves.

'If the pirates could have got into this swamp,' whispered Andreas, 'there would be no need of our cannon; but they are too crafty for that.

They have doubtless seized a good guide who would not dare to betray them; otherwise they never could have reached Guana's Creek, where, I hear, they have encamped to-night.'

They drew up the canoe near to a great stump standing out in the water, and, mooring it there, Andreas stepped on to a dry piece of ground; then, stooping down, he listened intently, till like a stealthy animal he returned to Carlo.

'I am sure, Senorito, that I can hear the sound of the enemy. I must creep up through the grove and get to the higher ground; then I will return with news, if you will wait. I dare not let you come till I have seen how the land lies. Lie down in the canoe, and I will make haste.

But cover yourself up, for the air is bad here, Senor; indeed you must chew this root, and then you will feel no harm.' And so saying, Andreas drew a dark-looking bit of root from his pocket, which was a secret remedy against the swamp malaria, known only to the Indians; then, walking quickly towards the jungle, he disappeared into the darkness.

Carlo had to wait what seemed to him a long time before Andreas came back; and what made it worse for him was the rain, which began to fall heavily. At last, when he was beginning to think his Indian friend had been caught by the pirates, he was startled by hearing a little splash in the water beside him, and in another moment Andreas himself was in the canoe.

'The young Senor did not hear me,' said the Indian, smiling at the start Carlo gave. 'It was to show him how well Andreas can walk in silence that I came so quietly.'

'Did you see them, good Andreas? Tell me quickly, shall I come now, or must we go back?'

'Yes, yes, Senor, I saw them. They are many--a thousand, I fancy, or about that number; but they are in a bad position; they have no food, and no fire to cook it with. I went up quite close and saw the Captain.'

'Captain Morgan! Oh, Andreas, did he look a wicked man? Tell me what he looked like.'

'A tall, fair Englishman, Senor, but not evil-looking; only some of his followers had the bad countenances of wicked men. I could see that they were discontented; and I heard some discussing if they should go back to their ships. Look now, Senor Carlo: if you can persuade the n.o.ble Governor to send a hundred well-armed soldiers to-night against these same men, we shall have no more trouble with them. We could drive them into the swamp, and then the swamp would do the rest. Why, they were badly off: some had naked feet like the poor Indians, and some had but ragged clothes, and very few had firearms. They were angry with the Captain at being led into the marsh, and they huddled together when the rain began to fall, cursing their misfortunes.'

'It will go on raining all night, I fancy,' said Carlo. 'I have been nicely sheltered here; but out where they are camped there are but few trees. How could you see all this, good Andreas, for it is still dark?'

'Well enough, Senor, for the rascals had pulled down some of the Indian huts that lie up above, and had made a fire of them. Captain Morgan was trying to make himself comfortable; and I saw a young lad about your size and your age, Senorito, in the Captain's rude tent. I thought he must be his son; but he looked sad and dejected, and not like one of the pirates. Perhaps some young prisoner they have taken. He was busy making up the fire, but I noticed that another fellow watched him pretty closely whenever he strayed a little. Yes, I am sure he was a prisoner.'

This did not interest Carlo so much as Andreas' idea about the hundred men being sent out against the pirates.

'Andreas, you are right. Quick, let us make haste home, and I will do my best to persuade my father to send a body of soldiers here by daybreak. If only he will believe us! Are you tired? Let me row a little.'

But Andreas laughed.

'The Senorito would stick us in the mud at the next bend,' he said, and, taking up his paddle, he sent the frail boat into mid-stream, and as silently as they had come they returned towards Santa Teresa. During the journey Carlo hardly spoke; he was planning the morning's expedition in his own mind; and already he had cleared the whole island of the dreaded horde, and covered the name of Estevan del Campo with glory and honour.