A Pirate of the Caribbees Part 11

So saying, I left the fellow and hastened to my room, where, closing the door, I opened my chest and furnished myself with a supply of money, and then, closing and locking the chest, I hastened away to where the negro was waiting for me. As I pa.s.sed through the hall several men of my acquaintance were lounging there, smoking, and one of them hailed me with--

"Hillo, Courtenay! whither away so fast, my lad?"

It was on the tip of my tongue to explain to them my errand, but I bethought me just in time that if Lindsay had been doing anything foolish he might not care to have the fact blazoned abroad; so I kept my own counsel, merely replying that I was called out upon a small matter of business, and so effected my escape from them into the dark street.

"Oh, here you are!" exclaimed I, as the negro emerged, at my appearance, from the deep shadow of the hotel portico. "Now, then, which way? Is Mr Lindsay in the town jail?"

"No, sar, no; he am in de harbour lock-up," answered my guide. "Dis way, sar; it am not so bery far."

"The _harbour_ lock-up?" queried I. "Where is that? I didn't know that there was such a place."

"Oh yes, sar, dar am. You follow me, sar; I show you de way, sar,"

answered the negro.

"All right, heave ahead then," said I; and away we went a little way down the main street, and then turned to the right, plunging into one of the dark, narrow side streets which then intersected the town of Kingston.

"Keep close to de wall, sar," cautioned my guide; "dere am a gutter in de middle ob de road, and if you steps into dat you go in ober your shoes in muck."

I could well believe this, for although it was too dark in this narrow lane to see anything, the abominable odour of the place told me pretty well what its condition must be. We plodded on for nearly ten minutes, winding hither and thither, and penetrating deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of dark, crooked lanes, but gradually edging nearer to the harbour, while, as I thought, working our way a considerable distance to the westward. Presently my guide, who had been humming some negro melody to himself, lifted up his voice in a louder key and began to chant the praises of a certain "lubly Chloe, whose eyes were like the stars, and whose 'breaf' was like the rose!" The fellow had a wonderfully melodious voice, and in listening to him as he strode easily along at a swinging pace, improvising verse after verse in honour of the unknown Chloe, I lost my bearings as well as my count of time, and was only brought back to a consciousness of the present by suddenly finding my head closely enveloped in what seemed to be a blanket, while at the same instant my feet were tripped from under me, so that I should have fallen forward but for the restraining influence of the blanket and of a pair of arms that gripped mine tightly behind my back, so that I was instantly overpowered and effectually precluded from making the slightest effort to free myself. Then, before I had time to realise what was happening, I was lifted off my feet, and, despite my desperate struggles and ineffectual efforts to shout for a.s.sistance, carried in through an open doorway and flung upon my face upon the ground, where someone at once knelt upon me and securely lashed my hands behind my back, some other individual at the same instant las.h.i.+ng my ankles firmly together.

"Dere, dat will do, Peter; I t'ink him cannot do much harm now,"

remarked the voice of my whilom guide; and as the fellow spoke I was relieved of the very considerable weight that had been pressing upon me and holding me down. Then I was rolled over on my side, and, as the blanket that enveloped my head and very nearly suffocated me was cautiously removed, I felt the p.r.i.c.k of something sharp against my left breast, and the same voice that had spoken before observed--

"Ma.s.sa Courtenay, we hab no wish to hurt you, sah; but it am my painful duty to warn you dat, if you sing out, or make de slightest attempt to escape, I shall be obleeged to dribe dis lilly knife ob mine home to yo'

heart, sar. So now you knows what you hab to expec'. Does you understan' what I say, sah?"

"Certainly I do," answered I, with suppressed fury, "your meaning is clear enough, in all conscience. But beware what you do, my fine fellow. You were seen by several of my friends at the hotel, who will have no difficulty in identifying you; and I warn you that you will be made to pay dearly for this outrage to a British naval officer. What is the meaning of it all? Have you any idea of the enormity of your offence?"

"Oh yes, sah," answered my guide cheerfully, "we hab a very clear idea ob dat, haben't we, Peter?" addressing another big, powerful negro of somewhat similar cut to himself, but attired in much less respectable garments.

Peter grinned affirmatively, but said nothing; whereupon his companion continued--

"Now, Peter, where am dat gag? Just bring it along, and let us fix it up, so as to make all safe. It would be a most drefful misfortune if Ma.s.sa Courtenay was to sing out, and force me to split him heart wid dis knife ob mine; so we will just make it onpossible for him to do any such foolis' t'ing."

All this time the knife--a formidable dagger-shaped blade fully a foot long--was kept pressed so firmly to my breast that it had drawn blood, the stain of which was now dyeing the front of my white s.h.i.+rt, so the moment was manifestly inopportune for any attempt at escape or resistance even; I therefore submitted, with the best grace I could muster, to the insertion of the gag between my teeth, reserving to myself the right to make both ruffians smart for their outrage upon me at the first available opportunity. But before the gag was placed between my teeth, I contrived to repeat my inquiry for an explanation.

"Nebber you mind, Ma.s.sa Courtenay; you will find out all about dat in good time, sah," answered the leading spirit of the twain; and with that reply I was perforce obliged to be content for the moment.

Having made me perfectly secure, the two negroes squatted down upon their haunches, and, with much deliberation, produced from their pockets a short clay pipe each, a plug of tobacco, and a knife; and, after carefully shredding their tobacco and charging their pipes, proceeded to smoke, with much gravity and in perfect silence. It struck me that possibly they might be waiting for someone, whose appearance upon the scene would, I hoped, throw some light upon the cause of this extraordinary outrage, and give me an inkling as to what sort of an end I might expect to the adventure. Meanwhile, having nothing else to do, I proceeded to take stock of the place, or at least as much of it as I could command in my cramped and constrained position.

There was little or nothing, however, in what I saw about me of a character calculated to suggest an explanation of the motive for my seizure. The building was simply one of those low, one-storey adobe structures, thatched with palm leaves, such as then abounded in the lower quarters of Kingston, and which were usually inhabited by the negro or half-breed population of the place. The interior appeared to be divided into two apartments by an unpainted part.i.tion of timber framing, decorated with cheap and gaudy coloured prints, tacked to the wood at the four corners; and as a good many of these pictures were of a religious character, in most of which the Blessed Virgin figured more or less prominently, I took it that the legitimate occupant of the place was a Roman Catholic. The furniture was of the simplest kind, consisting of a table in the centre,--upon which burned the cheap, tawdry, bra.s.s lamp that illumined the apartment,--a large, upturned packing-case, covered with a gaudy tablecloth, and serving as a table against the rear wall of the building, and three or four old, straight- backed chairs, that had evidently come down in the world, for they were elaborately carved, and upholstered in frayed and faded tapestry. A few more cheap and gaudy coloured prints adorned the walls; a heavy curtain, so dirty and smoke-grimed that its original colour and pattern was utterly unrecognisable, s.h.i.+elded the unglazed window; two or three hanging shelves--one of which supported a dozen or so of dark green bottles--depended from the walls; and that was all. The floor upon which I lay was simply the bare earth, rammed hard, thick with dust and swarming with fleas,--as I quickly discovered,--and the whole place reeked of that hot, stale smell that seems to pervade the abodes of people of uncleanly habits.

The two negroes smoked silently and gravely for a full half-hour, about the end of which time my captor slowly and with due deliberation knocked the ashes from his pipe, and, rising to his feet, yawned and stretched himself. In so doing his eye fell upon the shelf upon which stood the bottles, and, sauntering lazily across the room, he laid his hand upon one of the bottles and placed it on the centre table. Then, lifting up the cloth which covered the packing-case, he revealed a shelf within the interior, from which he withdrew a water monkey, two earthenware mugs, and a dish containing a most uninviting-looking mixture, which I presently guessed, from its odour, to be composed of salt fish and boiled yams mashed together, cold. These he placed upon the table, and, still without speaking, the pair drew chairs up to the table and, seating themselves opposite each other, proceeded to make a hearty meal, helping themselves alternately, with their fingers, from the central dish, and was.h.i.+ng down the mixture with a mug of rum and water each.

They were still thus agreeably engaged when the distant sound of rumbling wheels and clattering hoofs became audible, rapidly drawing nearer, and accompanied by the persuasive shouts and e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns of a negro driver.

"Dat am de boy Moses wid de cart, I 'spects," remarked the negro whose name I had not yet learned. "What a drefful row de young rascal makes!

Dat n.i.g.g.e.r won't nebber learn discreshun," he continued, wiping his fingers carefully on a flaming red handkerchief which he drew from his breeches pocket.

Peter grunted an unintelligible reply, and the next moment the vehicle pulled up sharply at the door; the cessation of its clatter being immediately followed by the entrance of a negro lad, some eighteen years of age.

"I'se brought de cart, as you tole me, Caesar," he remarked. "Am it all right?"

"It am, sar," remarked Caesar--the hitherto unnamed negro--loftily; "when did you ebber know me to fail in what I undertooken, eh, sar?"

"Nebber, sah, nebber," answered Moses appreciatively. "An' so dat am de gebberlum, am it?" pointing at me with his chin, as I lay huddled up on the floor.

"Yes, sar, it am," answered Caesar curtly, in a tone of voice which was evidently intended to cut short all further conversation. "An' now, Peter," he continued, "if you has finished yo' supper we better be movin'. Nebber mind about puttin' de t'ings away; de ole 'oman will see to dat when she comes home in de mornin'. Now den, Peter, you take hold ob de genterman's legs, and help me to carry him out; does you hear?"

Peter the Silent grunted an affirmative, stooping as he did so and seizing my legs, while Caesar raised me by the shoulders in his powerful arms, remarking, as he did so--

"Ma.s.sa Courtenay, jus' listen to me, if you please, sah. We am goin' to take you for a nice, pleasant lilly dribe in a cart, and I am goin' to sit on you, so dat you may not fall out. Now I still has my knife wid me, and if I feels you begin to struggle, I shall be under de mos'

painful necessity ob drivin' it into you to keep you quiet; so I hope dat you will lie most particular still durin' yo' little journey. You sabbe?"

I nodded my head.

"Dat's all right, den," resumed Caesar. "Now, Peter up wid him, and away we goes."

And therewith the two black rascals raised me carefully, and carrying me into the open, placed me in a mule cart, covered me with a thick layer of green forage, and--Caesar coolly carrying out his threat to sit upon me--drove away.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

IN THE POWER OF THE ENEMY.

Our drive was a most unpleasant one for me, for the cart had no springs, and the boy Moses, like Jehu, drove furiously. It fortunately lasted only some five-and-twenty minutes or so, however; and at the end of that period we pulled up on what I guessed, from the running of the vehicle and the sound of rippling water, to be a sandy beach. My conjecture proved to be correct, for when presently I was hauled out from underneath the forage, and stood upon my feet, more dead than alive, I found that we were on the margin of a tiny creek or cove, about three- quarters of a mile to the westward of the outskirts of Kingston. A small canoe lay hauled up on the sand, and in the bottom of this craft I was carefully deposited; after which she was run down into the water, when Caesar and Peter sprang lightly into her, giving her a final shove to seaward as they did so, and paddled away, leaving Moses and his cart to make the best of their way back to the town.

Lying upon my back in the bottom of the canoe, with my face turned upward to the stars, I was able to see that we were heading eastward toward Kingston harbour; and about half an hour later the canoe glided up alongside a small felucca, of some thirty tons burden and was made fast by her painter. The canoe secured to his satisfaction, the negro Caesar climbed over the felucca's low bulwarks, and I heard his bare feet pattering along the deck until, as I supposed, he reached the companion, when the sounds became m.u.f.fled, and were presently lost.

Then I caught the sound of voices,--Caesar's and others'--but so indistinctly that I was unable to distinguish what was being said. The conversation, however, was brief, for in three or four minutes the tread of Caesar's bare feet again became audible, accompanied by that of others; and I then discovered that a conversation, of which I was the subject, was being conducted in Spanis.h.!.+ This seemed to suggest that I had fallen into the hands of the enemy, though why the Spaniards should wish to kidnap so very unimportant a personage as myself I could not for the life of me imagine, unless they had adopted some new system of warfare, one element of which consisted in kidnapping as many of the enemy's officers as possible, without much reference to their importance or otherwise!

But of course I should soon see; for as I lay there in the bottom of the canoe, cogitating to this effect, I became aware, from the remarks interchanged by those on deck, that I was about to be transferred to the felucca; and if the Spaniards had adopted the novel system of kidnapping British officers, I should doubtless find some of my fellow-officers on board in the same plight as myself.

Presently Caesar swung himself over the felucca's bulwarks and down into the canoe, when he at once seized me by the shoulders, and, calling upon his friend Peter to lend him a hand, proceeded to pa.s.s me up over the felucca's rail to the three Spanish-speaking individuals who stood on deck stretching out their arms to receive me. They were very careful not to hurt me unnecessarily during the process of transfer, from which circ.u.mstance I derived a certain amount of comfort; the inference being that, whatever might be their motive in thus seizing me, no bodily harm to me was intended. Having safely transferred me from the canoe to the deck of the felucca, my abductors next conveyed me below to the hot, stuffy little cabin of the craft, where, outstretched upon a locker that was barely long enough to accommodate my length, they left me without a word, and returned to the deck, carefully closing the doors and drawing over the slide at the head of the companion ladder, and then as carefully closing both flaps of the hitherto open skylight. This done, their conversation with Caesar and his satellite was continued in a leisurely, desultory fas.h.i.+on for about half an hour,--the burden of it being unintelligible to me through the closed skylight,--when I heard the two negroes descend into their canoe and shove off, wis.h.i.+ng the others a quick and pleasant pa.s.sage. Then followed some leisurely movements on deck, accompanied by the throwing down of a rope or two, the creaking of blocks and parralls, a _few_ quiet e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns as of men pulling and hauling, the clink of windla.s.s pawls, the loud slatting of loose canvas in the strong land-breeze that was blowing; and finally--as the latter sounds ceased--I felt the felucca heel strongly over to port, and heard the increasing gurgle and wash of water along the bends and under the counter of the little craft, accompanied by an occasional call from for'ard to the helmsman, by which I knew that we were under way, and standing down the harbour toward Port Royal.

By and by I felt the felucca come upright, there was a warning cry on deck, a sudden, violent flap of canvas overhead, and the felucca heeled slightly over to starboard; by which I knew that she had squared away, jibed over, and was running out of the harbour. A few minutes later I felt her beginning to rise and fall over the gathering seas as she skimmed away off the land; the motion steadily grew stronger, merging into a swift, floating, forward rush, as the seas came up astern of her, followed by a long, dragging pause as the crest swept past; and presently the companion slide was pushed back, the doors at the head of the ladder were flung open, and a man--one of those who had helped to convey me below--descended into the cabin.

"Phew! senor, you are warm down here!" he exclaimed, in perfect English, as he stood gazing thoughtfully down upon me. I could of course make no reply, as I was still gagged; but he probably observed the dreadful condition that the gag and the las.h.i.+ngs round my wrists and ankles had reduced me to, for he continued, as he stooped over me--

"We are now at sea; and as it is therefore impossible for you to raise an alarm, or effect your escape, I think I may safely make you a little more comfortable. You look terribly distressed, amigo; and my orders are imperative that you are to be delivered safe and sound. There!" as he removed the gag and cast off the las.h.i.+ngs, "that ought to be more to your liking."

"For pity's sake," I e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed, "give me something to drink! That horrible gag has all but suffocated me!"

"Something to drink? With pleasure, senor. What shall it be--plain water or 'grog,' as you English call it? I think it had better be grog, for I cannot recommend the water we carry in our scuttle-b.u.t.t."

So saying, he went to a little cupboard alongside the companion ladder, and produced therefrom a water monkey, two tin pannikins, and a bottle of rum, all of which he placed on the cabin table.

"There, senor, help yourself freely; the little _Josefa_ and all that she contains is yours!"