it was time, indeed, for the little band of adventurers to be turning their faces towards england. their original strength, of eighty men, was reduced to fifty; and of these, many were sick and weak. they had gained a vast store of wealth, although they had missed the plunder of nombre de dios and of carthagena. their doings had caused such consternation and alarm that it was certain that the spaniards would, ere long, make a great and united effort to crush them; and fifty men, however valiant, could not battle with a fleet. the men were longing for home, looking forward to the delight of spending the great share of prize money which would fall to each. the sudden death which had stricken many of their comrades had, too, cast a chill on the expedition, and made all long more eagerly to be away from those beautiful, but deadly, shores.
when, therefore, on the day after the return of captain francis, the word was given to prepare for the homeward voyage, the most lively joy prevailed. the stores were embarked; the simeroons, who had done them good service, dismissed with rich presents; and all embarked, with much joy and thankfulness that their labors and dangers were overpast.
they were, however, extremely shorthanded, and were scattered among the three or four prizes which were the best among the ships which they had taken. ned and gerald, being now able to give good assistance, in case of need, to the sailors, were put on board one of the prizes with four seamen. captain drake had determined to keep, for a time, the prizes with him; for as it might well be that they should meet, upon their way, a great spanish fleet, he thought that by keeping together, with the flag of saint george flying on all the ships, the spaniards would believe that the pacha had been joined by ships from england, and so would assuredly let her and her consorts pass at large. at the last land at which they touched captain drake intended to dismiss all but one of the prizes, and to sail across the atlantic with her and the pacha.
this, however, was not to be.
one day, shortly after their departure, ned said to gerald:
"i do not like the look of the sky. it reminds me of the sky that we had before that terrible hurricane, when we were moored off the isle of pines; and with our scanty crew we should be in a mightily unfavorable position, should the wind come on to blow."
in that wise the sailors shared ned's apprehensions, and in the speediest possible time all sail was lowered, and the ship prepared to meet the gale. it was not long before the whole sky was covered with black clouds. captain drake signaled to the vessels that each was to do its best; and, if separated, was to rendezvous at the spot before agreed upon. then, all having been done that could be thought of, they waited the bursting of the storm.
it came at last, with the suddenness and almost the force of an explosion. a faint rumbling noise was first heard, a white line of foam was seen in the distance; and then, with a roar and a crash, the hurricane was upon them. the vessel reeled over so far under the blow that, for a time, all on board thought that she would capsize. the two sailors at the helm, however, held on sturdily; and at last her head drifted off on the wind, and she flew along before its force.
the sea rose as if by magic. where, for weeks, scarcely a ripple had ruffled the surface of the water; now great waves, with crested tops, tore along. the air was full of blinding foam, swept from the tops of the waves; and it was difficult for those on board even to breathe, when facing the force of the wind.
"this is tremendous," ned shouted in gerald's ears, "and as there seem to be islands all over these seas, if we go on at the rate we are doing now, methinks that it will not be long before we land on one or another. we are, as i reckon, near hispaniola, but there is no saying which way we may drift; for these storms are almost always changeable, and while we are running south at present, an hour hence we may be going in the opposite direction."
for twenty-four hours the storm continued, with unabated fury. at times it seemed impossible that the vessel could live, so tremendous were the seas which struck and buffeted her. however, being light in the water, and buoyant, she floated over it. during the next night the wind sensibly abated, and although still blowing with tremendous force, there was evidence, to the accustomed eyes of the sailors, that the storm was well-nigh blowing itself out. the sea, too, sensibly went down, although still tremendous; and all began to hope that they would weather the gale, when one of the sailors, who had crawled forward to the bow, shouted:
"breakers ahead!"
it was now, fortunately, morning; although the darkness had been so intense, since the storm began, that the difference between night and day was faint, indeed. still it was better, if danger were to be met with, that there should be as much light as possible.
all hands looked out over the bows and saw, before them, a steep coast rising both to the right and left.
"it is all over with the ship," gerald said to ned, "and i do not think that there is a chance, even for you. the surf on those rocks is terrible."
"we must do our best," said ned, "and trust in god. you keep close to me, gerald, and when you want aid i will assist you as far as i can. you swim fairly, but scarce well enough, unaided, to get through that surf yonder."
the men, seeing that what appeared to be certain destruction stared them in the face, now shook hands all round; and then, commending their souls to god, sat down and waited for the shock.
when it came, it was tremendous. the masts snapped at the board, like rotten sticks. the vessel shivered from stem to stern and, drawing back for an instant, was again cast down with terrible force; and, as if struck by lightning, parted amidships, and then seemed to fall all to pieces, like a house of cards.
ned and gerald were standing, hand in hand, when the vessel struck; and as she went to pieces, and they were precipitated into the water, ned still kept close to his friend, swimming side by side with him. they soon neared the edge of the line where the waves broke upon the rocks. then ned shouted to gerald to coast along, outside the broken water; for that there was no landing there, with life. for upwards of an hour they swam on, outside the line of surf. the sea, although tremendously high, did not break till it touched a certain point, and the lads rose and fell over the great billows. they had stripped off the greater portion of their clothing, before the ship struck; and in the warm water had no sensation of chill, and had nothing to fight against, but fatigue.
when they were in the hollow of the waves their position was easy enough, and they could make each other hear, by shouting loudly. when, however, they were on the crest of one of the mountainous waves, it was a hard struggle for life. the wind blew with such fury, taking the top of the water off in sheets, and scattering it in fine spray, that the boys were nearly drowned; although they kept their back to the wind, and held their breath as if diving, except when necessary to make a gasp for air.
gerald became weak and tired, at the end of the hour; but ned kept up his courage, and aided him by swimming by his side, and letting gerald put his hand upon his shoulder, every time that they were in the hollows of the waves, so that he got a complete rest at these periods.
at last, ned thought he saw a passage between two of the big rocks, through which it might be possible, he thought, that they might swim, and so avoid the certain death which seemed to await them at every other spot.
the passage was about 40 feet wide, and it was no easy matter to calculate upon striking this, in so wild a sea. side by side with gerald, ned made for the spot, and at last swam to the edge of the surf. then a great wave came rolling in, and the boys, dizzy and confused, half smothered and choking, were hurled with tremendous force, through the great rocks, into comparatively calm water beyond. ned now seized gerald's hair, for his friend was nearly gone; and, turning aside from the direct line of the entrance, found himself speedily in calm water, behind the line of rocks. a few minutes' further struggle and the two boys lay on the beach, well-nigh insensible after their great exertions.
after a while they recovered their strength and, with staggering feet, made their way further inland.
"i owe you my life, ned," gerald said. "i never could have struggled ashore; nor, indeed, kept myself up for half that time, had it not been for your aid."
"i am glad to have been able to help you," ned said simply. "we may thank heaven that the storm had abated a little, in its force, before the vessel struck; for had it been blowing as it was yesterday, we could not have swum five minutes. it was just the lowering of the wind that enabled us to swim without being drowned by the spray. it was bad enough, as it was, on the top of the waves; but, yesterday, it would have been impossible."
one of the first thoughts of the boys, upon fairly recovering themselves, was to kneel down and thank god for having preserved their lives; and then, having rested for upwards of an hour, to recover themselves, they made their way inland.
"our dangers are by no means over, gerald," ned said. "if this island is, as i believe, a thickly cultivated one, and in the hands of the spaniards, it will go hard with us, if they find us, after all the damage to their commerce which we have been inflicting, for the last year."
upon getting to some rising ground, they saw, to their surprise, a large town lying on a bay in front of them. instinctively they paused at the sight, and both sat down, so as to be out of view of any casual lookers on.
"what are we to do, ned?" gerald said. "if we stay here, we shall be starved. if we go into the town, we shall have our throats cut. which think you is the best?"
"i do not like either alternative," ned said. "see, inland there are many high mountains, and even close to the town there appear to be thickets and woods. there are houses, here and there, and no doubt plantations. it seems to me that if we get round to that side we may conceal ourselves; and it is hard, in a country like this, if we cannot, at any rate, find fruit enough to keep us for some time. and we had better wait till dark. our white shoulders will be seen at too far a distance, by this light."
creeping into a thicket, the lads lay down and were soon sound asleep; and it was night before they awoke, and looked out. all signs of the storm had passed. the moon was shining calmly, the stars were brilliant, and seemed to hang like lamps in the sky, an effect which is only seen in tropical climes.
there were lights in the town, and these served as a sort of guide to them. skirting along at the top of the basin in which the town lay, they passed through cultivated estates, picking some ears of maize; thus satisfying their hunger, which was, when they started, ravenous; for, during the storm, they had been unable to open the hatchways, and had been supported only by a little biscuit, which happened to be in the caboose on deck.
towards morning they chose a spot in a thick plantation of trees, about a mile and a half from the town; and here they agreed to wait, for a while, until they could come to some decision as to their course.
three days passed without any change. each night they stole out and picked maize, pineapple, and melons in the plantations for their subsistence; and as morning returned, went back to their hiding place. close to it a road ran along to a noble house, which stood in some grounds at about a quarter of a mile from their grove. every morning they saw the owner of this house, apparently a man of distinction, riding towards the town; and they concluded that he was one of the great merchants of the place.
one day he came accompanied by a young lady, carried in a litter by four slaves. the boys, who were weary of their solitude, pressed to the edge of the thicket to obtain a clear view of this little procession, which broke the monotony of their day.
"gerald," ned exclaimed, grasping him by the arm, "do you know, i believe that the lady is the girl i picked out of the water, the day we took that ship three months ago."
"do you think so?" gerald said. "it is too far, surely, to see."
"i do not know for certain," ned answered, "but methinks that i cannot be mistaken."
"perhaps she would help us, or intercede for us," gerald suggested.
"perhaps so," ned said. "at any rate, we will try. tonight we will make a move into the gardens of the house she came from, and will hide there till we see her alone in the garden. then i will sally forth, and see how she takes it."
accordingly, that night, after obtaining their supply of fruit, the boys entered the enclosure when morning broke there was speedily a stir, negroes and negresses went out to the fields, servants moved hither and thither in the veranda outside the house, gardeners came out and set to work at their vocations.
it was evident that the owner or his family was fond of gardening, for everything was kept with beautiful order and regularity. mixed with the cactus, and other gaudy-flowering plants of mexico and south america, were many european plants, brought out and acclimatized. here fountains threw up dancing waters in the air, cool shady paths and bowers afforded protection from the heat of the day; and so carefully was it clipped, and kept, that a fallen leaf would have destroyed its perfection.
the point which the boys had chosen was remote from the house, for it was of importance that there should be no witnesses of the meeting. here, in a spacious arbor, were chairs, couches, and other signs that some of the family were in the habit of taking their seats there; and although the boys knew that it might be days before they succeeded in carrying out their object, yet they determined to wait, and watch patiently, however long it might be.
their success, however, surpassed their expectations; for it was but an hour or two after they had taken up their post, and soon after the sun had risen, that they saw, walking along the path, the young lady whom they so desired to meet. she was not alone, for a black girl walked a little behind her, chatting constantly to her, and carrying some books, a shawl, and various other articles. when they reached the arbor the attendant placed the things there, and then, as she took her seat, the young lady said to the girl:
"go in and fetch me my coffee here. say i shall not come in until breakfast time, and that if any orders are required, they must come here for them."
"will you want me to read to you?"
"no," the young lady said. "it is not hot. i shall take a turn round the garden, first, and then read to myself."
the black girl went off at a trot towards the house, and the young lady strolled round and round that portion of the garden, until her black attendant returned, with a tray containing coffee, lemonade, and fruits. this she placed on the table, and then in answer to the "you need not wait," of the lady, again retired.
now was the time for the boys, who had watched these operations with keen interest, and anxiety. it was uncertain whether she would keep the black attendant by her side, and all depended upon that.
as soon as she was alone, ned advanced from their hiding place. the boys had agreed that it was better, at first, that he should approach alone; lest the sudden appearance of the two, especially as gerald was nearly as tall as a man, might have caused alarm; and she might have flown away, before she had identified ned as the lad who had jumped into the water to save her.
ned approached the arbor with hesitating steps, and felt that his appearance was, indeed, sorely against him. he had no covering to his head, had nothing on, indeed, but a pair of trousers. he was shoeless and stockingless, and presented the appearance of a beggar boy, rather than the smart young sailor whom she had seen on board the ship.
ned introduces himself
the lady started up, with a short exclamation, on seeing a white, ragged boy standing before her.
"who are you?" she exclaimed, "and by what right do you enter these gardens? a white boy, and in rags, how comes this?"
"our ship has been wrecked," ned said, using his best spanish. "do you not remember me? i am the boy who picked you up when you fell overboard, on the day when the english captured the ship you came out in, some four months ago."
"are you, indeed?" the young lady said, in surprise. "yes, and now that i look close at you, i recognize your face. poor boy, how have you got into a strait like this?"
ned understood but little of what she said, as he only knew a few words in spanish. it was with difficulty that he could understand it, even when spoken slowly; while, spoken as a native would do, he scarce gathered a word. he saw, however, from her attitude, that her meaning was kind, and that she was disposed to do what she could for him.
he therefore, in his broken spanish, told her how a ship, on which he and five of his comrades were embarked, had been driven ashore in the hurricane; and all lost, with the exception of another boy, and himself.
"it is lucky, indeed," the girl said to herself, when he had finished, "that i found that my father had left nombre de dios, and had come down to his house here; for, assuredly, the people would have made short work of these poor lads, had i not been here to aid them. but, after all, what can i do? my father would, i know, do anything for my sake; and i have told him how this lad jumped overboard, to save my life; but there is one here greater than he, that terrible inquisition. these boys are heretics, and it will be impossible to conceal, for any time, from the priests that they are here. still, at any rate, for a time we might hide them; and in gratitude only, i would do all in my power for them."
ned watched her face, as these thoughts passed through her mind. he saw at once that she was willing to do all in her power, but saw also that there were difficulties in the way.
"poor boy," she said, looking at him kindly; "you must be hungry, indeed," and, taking an ivory mallet, she struck a gong which hung in the arbor, and made signs to ned to retire for the present.
the little black girl came running out.
"i have changed my mind," her mistress said. "let my breakfast be sent out here to me, instead of indoors. and i am hungry. tell the cook to be sure and let it be a good one, and as soon as possible."
much surprised by these orders, the black girl again left her.
"my father has gone to town," she said to the boys, when they joined her. "when he comes back, i will ask him what can be done. it will not be easy to hide you, for these negroes chatter like so many parrots; and the news will spread all over the town that some english boys are here, and in that case they will take you away, and my father would be powerless as i to help you."
the black cook was, indeed, astonished at the demolition of the breakfast effected by her young mistress; but she put it down to the fact that she must have given a large portion of it to her dogs, of which one or more were generally her companions, in the garden.
fortunately, on the present occasion, the great bloodhound zeres had gone down into the town with his master. of this, however, the cook knew nothing; and muttered to herself somewhat angrily, as she saw the empty dishes which were brought back to her, "that it was a sin to give, to that creature, a meal which was sufficient for five noblemen."
when senor sagasta returned to his beautiful villa, in the afternoon, his daughter at once confided to him what had happened. he entered warmly into her scheme for the aid and protection of the lads, and expressed himself willing to do anything that she could suggest.
"but," he said, "you know as well as i do that, if the news gets about that two boys of captain drake's band are here, nothing will save them from the rage of the population; and indeed, if the people and the military authorities were disposed to let them alone, the inquisition would be too strong for them, and would claim its own; and against the inquisition even governors are powerless. therefore if they are to stop, and stop they must, at least for a time, it must be done in perfect secrecy.
"there is no possibility of disguising two english boys to look like negroes. the only plan i can suggest is that they should have that gardeners' hut. i can remove the man who lives there at present, and will send him up the country to look after my place there. then you must take old david into our confidence. he and his wife floey are perfectly faithful, and can be trusted to the death. it is lucky that she is cook, for she will be able to prepare food for them. the hut must be kept, of course, locked up at all times; but as it is close to the fence, and the window indeed looks into the garden, you can go there of a day and speak to them, and take them books, and lighten their captivity.
"when it gets dark i will go with you down the garden, and will see these brave lads. in the meantime, old david shall get some shirts, and shoes, and other necessaries for them. we have a plentiful store of things in the magazine, and he can rig them up there, perfectly. i will at once get the gardener out of the house, and will give david instructions to carry the things there, as soon as it is empty."
that evening after it was dark the boys, who had been anxiously listening for every movement, saw in the dim light the white figure of the girl advancing, with her father beside her. when she came to the arbor, she raised her voice.
"are you here?" she cried. "you can come out without fear."
and, as they advanced, "my father will do all in his power to protect the savior of his daughter."
the merchant shook the hands of the boys, with the stately ceremony of the spaniard, and assured them that he was their servant, indeed, for their treatment of his daughter; and that his house, and all that it contained, was at their disposal. ned and gerald understood little enough of what he was saying, but his manner and gestures were sufficient, and they thanked him heartily for his kindness.
he now led the way, along many winding paths, till they reached a low fence forming the border of the garden, and distant a long way from the house. a light was already burning in it, and a black servant was at work within. there was a break in the fence, by which they passed through without difficulty; and on entering the hut, they found everything prepared for them.
on a table stood a dainty supper. the rooms were swept, and fresh furniture had been placed in them. in these countries furniture is of the slightest kind. a hammock, to swing in by day or sleep in by night; a couple of cane chairs; and a mat, of beautifully woven straw, for the floor. this is nearly all the furniture which is required, in the tropics.
first the negro beckoned the boys into an inner room, and there, to their intense delight, they saw a large tub full of water, and two piles of clothes lying beside it.
don sagasta and his daughter, after a few more words, left them; assuring them that they would be safe from observation there, but that they must not stir out, during the day; and must keep the door securely fastened, and must give no answer to anyone who might come and knock, or call, unless to themselves, to the black who was now with them, or his wife, who would accompany him, perhaps, the next evening. donna anna herself promised that she would come and see them the next morning, and that she hoped to find that they were comfortable.
when left alone, the boys luxuriated in the bath; and then, having put on fresh suits, they felt clean and comfortable once again. the clothes were those used by the upper class of slaves, employed as overseers. don sagasta had determined to get them some clothes of a superior class; but he felt that it was better that, so long as they were in hiding, they should be dressed in a costume which would, should anyone perchance get a distant look at them, excite no curiosity or surprise.
the boys ate a hearty supper; and then, throwing themselves into the swinging hammocks, were soon fast asleep. they were up with dawn, next morning, tidied up their room, and made all ready for the visit of donna anna.
she soon appeared, having got rid of her little black maid, as upon the morning before. she brought them a store of books, and among them a spanish dictionary and grammar. she told them that she thought it would be of assistance, to pass away their time; and be of the greatest use, for them to learn to speak as much spanish as possible; and that she was willing, when she could spare time, unobserved, to teach them the language. very gratefully the boys accepted her offer; and, day by day for the next month, the young lady came every morning, and for an hour taught them the meaning and pronunciation of the words, which during the day they learnt by heart.
they found that the island upon which they had been cast ashore was porto rico, an island of considerable size, not far from hispaniola.
