CHAPTER V SCOURGES OF THE SEA
Breathless and faint from their tremendous exertions, the knightsremoved their helmets.
"By St. Mary," Sir Louis said, "this has been as hard a fight as I haveever been engaged in, and well may we be content with our victory! Wellfought, my brave comrades! Each of these vessels must have carried twiceour number at least, and we have captured four of them; but I fear thecost has been heavy."
Seven knights had fallen, struck down by sword, arrow, or thrust ofspear. Of the rest but few had escaped unwounded, for, strong as wastheir armour, the keen Damascus blades of the Moslems had in many casescut clean through it, and their daggers had found entry at points wherethe armour joined; and, now that the fight was over, several of theknights sank exhausted on the deck from loss of blood.
But the dressing of wounds formed part of a knight of St. John'straining. Those who were unwounded unbuckled the armour and bandaged thewounds. Others fetched wine and water from the galley. The chains of thegalley slaves were removed, and these were set to clear the decks of theMoslem corpses. The anchors were dropped, for what little wind therewas drifted them towards the shore. They had learned from a dying piratethat the vessels were part of the fleet of Hassan Ali, a fact that addedto the satisfaction felt by the knights at their capture, as this manwas one of the most dreaded pirates of the Levant. They learnt that hehimself had not been present, the expedition being under the command ofone of his lieutenants, who had fallen in the fight.
"Now, comrades, let us in the first place take food; we have not brokenour fast this morning. Then let us consider what had best be done, forindeed we have got as much in our hands as we can manage; but let usleave that till we eat and drink, for we are faint from want of foodand from our exertions. But we shall have to eat what comes to hand, andthat without cooking, for our servants all joined the pirates when theyboarded us, and are either dead or are ashore there."
A meal was made of bread and fruit, and this with wine sufficed torecruit their energies.
"It seems to me, comrades," Sir Louis said, when all had finished, "thatthe first thing is to search the holds of these vessels and see whatvaluables are stored there. These may be all carried on board one ship,and the others must be burnt, for it is clear that, as there are four ofthem, we cannot take them to Rhodes; and even with one and our galleywe should fare but ill, if we fell in with two or three more of Hassan'sships."
"But how about the pirates on shore, Sir Louis?" a knight asked. "Therewere very many who could not get off to their ships during the fight,and scores must have swum ashore. I should say that there must be fulltwo hundred, and it will be a grievous thing for the islanders if weleave them there."
"It is certain," the commander said, "that we are not strong enoughto attack them, for were we to land, a party would have to be left onboard, or the pirates might elude our search, seize some fishing boats,and regain possession. Certainly, we are in no position to divide ourforces."
"Methinks," Sir John Boswell said, "that the best plan would be to senda boat, manned with ten galley slaves, taking two or three of us to therendezvous, to fetch hither the other two galleys. With their aid wemight take all the four ships safe into port, after first clearing theisland of these pirates. It is but forty miles away, and eight hours'rowing would take us there."
There was a general murmur of assent, for all wished that the trophiesof their bravery should, if possible, be carried to Rhodes.
"That will certainly be the best plan, Sir John, though it may detain ushere for two or three days, or even more, for it is quite uncertain whenthe other two galleys may put in at the rendezvous. Will you yourselfundertake the mission?"
"With pleasure."
"How many will you take with you?"
"Two will be sufficient, for we shall have no fighting to do, as weshall have to trust to our speed if we fall in with an enemy. I willtake, with your permission, Sir Ralph Harcourt and Sir Gervaise Tresham,both of whom have today fought with distinguished bravery. Indeed, Iowe my life to them, for more than once, when I was hotly pressed, theyfreed me from my assailants. Truly none bore themselves better in thefray than they did."
Three or four others joined in hearty commendations of the two youngknights.
"Indeed," one said, "I was greatly surprised to see how Tresham borehimself. He is but a lad, with scarce, one would think, strength to holdhis own in such a fray. It chanced that he was next to me in the circle,and for a time I kept my eye on him, thinking he might require my aid;but I soon saw that I need not trouble myself on his account, for hewielded his weapon as doughtily as the best knight of the Order couldhave done, and one of the proofs is that, while most of us bear marks ofthe conflict, he has escaped without scratch. I trust, Sir Louis, thatwhen you give an account of the fighting you will specially mention thatthis, the youngest knight of the Order, bore himself as stoutly as anyof them. I say this, Sir John, because, not being of your langue, I canspeak more warmly than you can do of his skill and bravery."
"I thank you, De Boysey," Sir John Boswell said, "and I am proud thatmy young countryman should have so gained your approbation. And now,"he went on, "while the galley slaves are getting a meal--which they haveright well earned today--I should like to see what there is under thehatches of these ships, so that I can give our comrades in the othergalleys some idea of the value of this booty we have taken."
They rose from the table, and, going on board the prizes, lifted thehatches.
"Beware!" De Boysey exclaimed, looking down into the hold, when thefirst hatch was taken off. "There are people below."
A chorus of cries followed his exclamation.
"They are the voices of women and children," Sir Louis exclaimed. "Theymust be captives."
This turned out to be so. In the holds of the four ships were found overa hundred and fifty women and children; these had been brought on boardin the first boat loads by the pirates, and when the Christian galleyhad been seen coming round the point, had been thrust below, and thehatches thrown over them. They had heard the din of battle above, butknew not how the conflict had terminated, and, being afraid to cry out,had remained silent until, on the hatch being lifted, they had seen thefigures of Christian knights standing in the bright sunshine. All hadcome from the village on the other side of the island. They related howthe pirates had suddenly burst upon them, had slaughtered all the men,set fire to the village, and had driven them before them across theisland to the ships. The poor creatures were delighted at their escapefrom slavery, but at the same time were full of grief at the loss ofhusbands, fathers, and sons.
Some laughed, others cried; while some thanked God for their rescueothers heaped imprecations upon the authors of their misfortunes.
The knights explained to them that for a short time they must remain onboard, as half the pirates were still on shore, but that aid would soonarrive that would enable them to clear the island.
Half an hour later Sir John Boswell, with the two young knights, startedin a rowing boat, manned by ten of the galley slaves. The wind hadsprung up since the fight ceased, and as it was nearly astern, theyanticipated that they would make a good passage, and be at the littleislet, named as the place of rendezvous, before nightfall.
Among the many bales of rich merchandise in the hold of the piratevessels an abundance of wine had been discovered, and of this a tankardhad been given to each of the slaves, by Sir Louis's orders, as a tokenof satisfaction at their work in the morning.
They had gone some two miles when, from one of the inlets in the islandthey had left a large fishing boat was seen to issue out.
"By St. George!" Sir John exclaimed, "that boat must be full of pirates.And if they see us, which they cannot help doing, and take it in theirheads to chase us, we shall have a hard time of it."
The fishing boat for a few minutes kept along the coast, and thensuddenly her course was altered, and her head directed towards theirboat.
"Now stretch to your oars," Sir John, wh
o spoke some Turkish, said tothe slaves. "Keep ahead of that boat, and I promise you, on my honour asa Christian knight, that I will myself purchase your freedom as soon aswe get to Rhodes."
With a shout of delight, the galley slaves bent to their oars, and theboat flew along at a greatly increased speed.
"There is but small chance of our getting away," Sir John said quietly."At present we must be rowing as fast as they sail; but wind nevertires, while there are limits to the powers of muscle and bone. If thosefellows follow us--and I doubt not that they will, for they must bethirsting for vengeance--they will overtake us long before we get to therendezvous; and even did we reach it, the chances are that we should notfind either of the galleys there. We must hold on as long as we can,and as a last resource must run ashore. Unfortunately there are no largeislands on our way. Nor have we any hope of assistance from our friendsbehind. The inlet looks east, and they will know nothing of our danger;nor, if they did, could they help us. The galley is short handed now,and there are the captured ships to look after, and the captives werescued. We have only ourselves to depend on."
At the end of an hour's rowing the boat astern had gained little; butthe exertions of the rowers were telling severely upon them. They werestill doing their best, but their breath came in short gasps, the rowingwas getting short and unsteady, and there was a sensible decrease in thespeed of the boat. Three miles ahead of them was an islet about halfa mile in diameter. In some parts it was covered with foliage, butelsewhere it was bare rock.
"That must be our goal," Sir John said. "They will be close to us by thetime we get there." Then he said to the rowers, "Stop for a minute toget breath. We will land at that islet ahead, and I shall hold to mypromise if we get there in time. Those of you who like can remain in theboat until your countrymen come up; those who choose can leave the boatand hide yourselves as best you may. I leave the choice to yourselves.If we are overtaken and fall, I cannot keep my promise, and it will bebest then for you to remain in the boat."
For three or four minutes the slaves bent forward over their oars; butas soon as Sir John gave the word they straightened themselves up andbegan rowing again. The rest had done them good, and they again fellinto a long, steady stroke.
"Shall we buckle on our armour again?" Sir Ralph Harcourt asked; forthey had not put it on when they left the ship, as the heat was verygreat.
"I think we had better don our mail shirts only. In climbing about thatrock ahead of us, the less weight we carry the better, and with thisheat I would rather fight unprotected than in casque and armour.Besides, there can be little doubt that, if they come upon us, it willbe our last battle. That craft behind is crowded with men, and, armouror no armour, it will come to the same in the end. If it were not thatwe have a mission to fulfil, and that it is of all things important tosend the galleys to aid our friends, I would say let us choose a spotat the foot of the rocks there, where they cannot attack us in the rear,and there fight it out as becomes knights of the Cross; but as it is ourduty above all things to carry this message, we must strive to preserveour lives, and must, if we can, conceal ourselves from these paynims."
"What are you going to do?" Sir John asked the slaves, when they werewithin a quarter of a mile of the islet. "I should think, after we haveleft the boat, it will be best for you to sit quietly on your benchestill our pursuers arrive."
"They would cut our throats at once, Sir Knight; they will be furious atour having given them so long a chase. Hassan Ali's men care little whomthey slay, and, irritated by their misfortune, it will be naught to themwhether we are Moslem or Christian. I, for one, shall take to the woods,and hide."
There was a chorus of assent among the other rowers.
"I trust that you may escape," the knight said. "It is for us theywill be hunting, and if they catch and slay us they will not trouble tosearch the island further."
"It seems to me, Sir John," Gervaise said, "that with the aid of thesegood fellows we may yet have a chance of escape."
"What is your plan, Sir Gervaise?"
"I think, Sir John, that if, when we land, we climb straight up thathill, in full sight of the shore, the pirates, when they see us, willfollow at once. The slaves should, therefore, be safe for a time if theyhide in that wood to the left of the spot we are making for. Will youtell them to keep down by the water's edge among the bushes, and thatafter crossing that crest, we will try to make a dash round, so as tojoin them there. 'Tis probable that most of the pirates will start inpursuit of us, and if we and the slaves make a rush for the shore we mayseize our boat, push off, and capture their craft, if there are buta few left on board, knock out a plank and scuttle her, and then rowaway."
"By St. George, your plan is a good one, Tresham! A right good scheme,and we will try it."
He at once translated what Gervaise had said to the rowers, by whomit was received with short exclamations of approval, for they were toobreathless and exhausted for talk. Already they could hear the yells ofthe pirates, who, as the boat ran up on the beach were but a quarter ofa mile behind.
"Now, away for that wood!" Sir John cried, as he leapt ashore. "Now,comrades, for a climb up the hill!"
It was a steep ascent, and more than once one had to be helped up by theothers, and then in turn to assist them to get up beside him. Louder andlouder rose the shouts of the pirates, but the knights did not glanceback until they reached the top of the hill; then they turned and lookedround. A swarm of men were climbing after them, and were already halfwayup the cliff.
"Heave them down!" Sir John exclaimed, pointing to some loose rocks, andset the example by lifting a great stone and hurling it over the edge.Harcourt and Gervaise at once did the same, and twenty or thirty rockswere speedily sent rolling down the steep ascent, and yells, shouts, andcries were heard below.
"That will check them a bit. Now let us be off," Sir John Boswell said,and they at once started. After crossing a hundred yards of bare rockthey stood at the edge of another slope into a deep valley, beyond whichrose the central hill of the island. The valley ran right across,and was filled with trees extending to the sea at either end. Runningrapidly down, the knights were within the shelter of the wood before theMoslems had reached the brow behind them. A minute later they heard theshouts of their enemies. Once in the wood they turned to the left, andin a few minutes stood on the sea shore. It was a little bay some twohundred yards across, and at either point the cliffs rose abruptly fromthe water.
"We shall have to swim round the point," Sir John said.
"Take off your mail shirts. We will make our way along the rocks as faras we can, and then drop them into the sea, otherwise they will knowthat we have taken to the water."
They hurried along the rocks, and were able to make their way to withinfifty yards of the point; then, throwing their mail shirts into the sea,they plunged in. All knew the importance of getting round before any ofthe pirates, who would be searching the valley, came down on the shore,and they swam their hardest until they rounded the corner. The woodrang with the shouts of their pursuers, but no yell had risen from thewater's edge. A hundred yards farther, and they were able to land, andwere in a short time in the shelter of the trees that fringed the waterto the point where they had left the boat. There was no longer anyoccasion for speed, and they made their way through the thick bushes andundergrowth quietly, until they recovered breath after their exertions.They had gone a few hundreds yards when from the bushes the slavessuddenly rose up.
"All has gone well," Sir John said to them in their own language. "Thepirates are searching for us on the other side of the hill. There arenot likely to be many of them left here. We shall soon be in possessionof our boat again."
Followed by the slaves, they made their way forward until they stood atthe edge of the wood. Five or six pirates were standing on the shore.
"I expect they have been left there," Harcourt said, "to prevent theslaves from carrying off the boat. They must have seen them run into thewood. They won't reckon on our being w
ith them."
Drawing their swords, the three knights rushed out, followed by theslaves. They had but a hundred yards to run. The pirates, on seeingthem, raised a yell and drew their scimitars; but the sight of theknights rushing upon them, when they had expected but a few unarmedrowers, was too much for their courage, and when their assailants werestill fifty yards away they turned and fled. The fishing craft had beenrun ashore but a few yards from their boat.
"Get her afloat, Harcourt, and bring her to the stern of the fisherman.Now, Tresham, follow me."
Sir John Boswell climbed up on to the fishing boat, which was a craft ofsome fifteen tons burden. She was entirely deserted, but the sail stillhung from the yard, and a fire was burning on a stone hearth, raised onsome logs of wood in the centre of the deck.
"Look for something to stave in a plank, Tresham."
Gervaise leapt down into the hold. There were some nets and spare sailslying there, but nothing that would answer the purpose. He examined theplanks. The boat was very strongly and roughly built.
"There is nothing here, Sir John, that will do, and nothing short of aheavy sledge hammer would suffice to smash one of these planks."
"There are a lot of them coming down the hill, Tresham. We have not manyminutes to spare, but we must disable the craft. They will soon be afterus again; they have run her hard and fast here, but when they all comeback they will soon get her off. Let us try one of these sweeps."
He lifted one of the heavy oars, and holding it upright he and Gervaisetogether tried to drive the handle through the bottom. Again and againthey raised it and drove it down; but the plank was too strong, and toosecurely fastened to the timbers.
"We must give it up," the knight said, with a sigh. "Fortune hasbefriended us so far, Tresham, but she has deserted us at last. Anotherthree minutes, and we shall have thirty or forty of them upon us."
At this moment the lad's eye fell upon the fire.
"We shall manage yet," he exclaimed, and, seizing a blazing brand, hejumped below and set fire to the sails stowed there; they were as dry astinder, and the flame shot up at once.
"That is good, Tresham," the knight said; "but they will put it outbefore it has caught the boat."
"Not before it has burnt the sails," Gervaise replied. "Now for thisone," and he applied the brand to the lower edge of the great sail.Without a word Sir John seized another brand, and fired the sail on theother side of the deck. The flames flashed up, and a wild yell of rageand alarm broke from the pirates, who were now rushing down towards thebeach.
"Now to the boat, Tresham; we have no time to lose if we would avoidbeing pounded with stones."
They dropped over the stern into the boat. The galley slaves dippedtheir oars into the water, and she shot away just as the foremost of thepirates reached the edge of the water. A few stones were thrown; butthe pirates were so anxious about the craft, by which alone they couldescape from the island, that the majority at once climbed on board.
At a word from the knight, the slaves stopped rowing a hundred yardsfrom the shore. The sail was already consumed, and the yard and theupper part of the mast were in flames. A dense smoke was rising from thehold, and the pirates were throwing buckets of water down into it. In afew minutes the smoke decreased.
"I thought that they would be able to put it out; but, as far as we areconcerned, it matters little. They have lost their sails, and as I sawbut four sweeps, we can travel five miles to their one. If we find thegalleys we will look in here on our way back, and if they have not leftwe will fire that craft more effectually, and then the pirates will betrapped, and we can leave them till we have fetched off Sir Louisand his prizes, and then have a grand hunt here. We took no prisonersbefore, and a hundred slaves will be a useful addition to our wallbuilders. Now, Tresham, I have to thank you warmly, for Harcourt and Idoubly owe our lives to you. It was thanks to your quickness of wit thatwe regained our boat, for I would not have given a ducat for our chanceshad you not thought of that scheme. In the second place, we shouldassuredly have been overtaken again had it not been for your happythought of crippling them by burning their sails. By St. George,Harcourt, this young countryman of ours is as quick and as ready of witas he has shown himself a brave and gallant fighter! We have no lack ofsturdy fighters; but the wit to devise and to seize upon the right thingin the moment of danger is vastly more rare. As for myself, I have noshame that this lad, who is young enough to be my son, should have thus,twice in a single hour, pointed out the way to safety. With sword andbattleaxe I can, I trust, hold my own with any man; but my brain is dullwhen it comes to hatching schemes. If we live, we shall see Sir Gervaiseone of the most distinguished knights of the Order."
"While I feel gratified indeed, as I may well be by your commendation,Sir John, I must, under your favour, say that you have given me a fargreater degree of credit than is my due. There was the fire, and therewas the sail, and the thought that the one would destroy the other wassimply a natural one, which might have occurred to a child. As to theplan about the boat, seeing that there was the hill and the wood, itflashed upon me at once that we might make a circuit and come back toher."
"Just so, lad; but those thoughts did not flash upon my mind, nor uponthat of Harcourt. It is just because those sort of ideas do flash uponthe minds of some men, and not of others, that the first rise to therank of distinguished commanders, while the others remain simple knightswho would play their part in a charge or in the defence of a breach, butwould be of no account as leaders.
"Now row along steadily, men," he went on, speaking to the slaves."We are still in good time, for it was not an hour from the moment wetouched the island to our departure from it, and much of that time wehave gained by the speed with which you rowed before. At any rate, weshall make out the island before sunset, and whether we arrive there alittle sooner or later matters little. Harcourt, hand me that wineskinand a goblet. A draught will do us good after our climb and swim, andthese good fellows will be none the worse for a cup also."
Inspired with the hope of freedom, the slaves rowed steadily, and thesun had just set when they entered a little inlet in the rocky isle thatwas their place of rendezvous.
"Thanks be to the saints!" Sir John exclaimed, as they reached theentrance. "There is Santoval's galley."
There was a stir on board the galley as the boat was seen approaching.The knights had put on their armour, which they had found still lyingin the boat, the pirates, in their haste to pursue, having left herunexamined, while those who had remained on guard had abstained fromtouching anything until the return of their captain and comrades.
"Whence come you, Sir John, and what is the news? No misfortune hasbefallen Ricord's galley, I hope?" the Spanish knight in commandshouted, as the boat came near enough for him to recognize the featuresof its occupants.
"All is well," Sir John shouted back; "but we have taken more prizesthan we can manage, though not without hard fighting. Seven knights havefallen, and at least ten others will not be able to buckle their armouron again for some time to come, so I have been sent here to beg yourassistance; and it is well that it should be given speedily, for if morepirate vessels come up before you join, Ricord and his companions willbe in a sorry plight."
By this time the boat had reached the side of the galley, and as SirJohn and his two companions stepped on board, the knights crowdedround to hear the details of the news. Exclamations of approval andsatisfaction arose when Sir John related the incidents of the fight, andtold them that the four vessels that had fallen into their hands formedpart of Hassan Ali's fleet.
"That is good news indeed, Boswell," Don Santoval said; "and I would Ihad been there to take part in so gallant a fight. It is well you foundus here, for with four prizes on hand, and with half his strength deador disabled, Ricord must be in sore need of aid. We will start tomorrowmorning at daybreak. As all the ships were taken, there is little fearof any of the other pirates hearing news of what has happened."
"I don't know," Sir John replied.
"There were, as I told you, some twohundred pirates left on the island. About half those, we know, seized afishing boat and escaped, for they chased us, and we have had as narrowan escape from death as has ever fallen to my lot, though I have beenin over a score of hard fought battles. The rest may well have takenanother fishing boat and made off also, for we saw several craft alongthe shores of the island. If so, they may have made for Hassan Ali'srendezvous, wherever that may be, just as I made here, and by this timesome of his ships may be on the way there."
"By St. Anthony, this alters the situation gravely!" Don Santoval said."Fellow knights, we must lose no time in going to Ricord's assistance.The slaves have had a long row today, but they must start on another.Let them have a good meal to strengthen them, and a cup of wine each.Whatever their scruples at other times, they never refuse wine whenthere is heavy work to be done, knowing full well that a draught of ithelps them mightily in their labours. Your men must have rowed well, SirJohn, to have brought you here so quickly?"
"I have promised them their freedom," Sir John said; "and they shallhave it, even if I have to pay their value into the treasury. As I toldyou, we were hotly pursued, for the craft with her sail went faster thanwe with our oars; and, knowing the importance of bringing the news here,I encouraged them by promising them their freedom, should we get away.Not only did they row right manfully, but they proved faithful in ourextremity, and, when all seemed lost, stuck to us instead of desertingand joining the pirates."
"But how did you get away, Sir John, if their craft outsailed you?"
"I owe my life entirely to the quick wit of my young countryman, SirGervaise Tresham here." And Sir John then related the incidents of theiradventure on the island, his narrative eliciting warm expressions ofapproval from the knights.
"Of course, you will go with us, Boswell?" Don Santoval said, when themaster of the slaves announced that these had eaten their meal, and wereready.
"I must do so," Sir John replied. "I want you, on your way, to look inat that island where we had so narrow an escape, and if we find theircraft still there we can destroy it. The place is directly in ourcourse; we shall, therefore, lose but little time in looking in. Ofcourse, they may have gone as soon as they got their vessel afloat,but it is hardly likely. They would have no idea of my returning witha galley so soon, and will probably set to to make a dozen more oarsbefore they start, for she had but four on board, which will scarcesuffice to send her a mile an hour through the water. Therefore, I fancythey will not put off until tomorrow morning. If that is so, and wedestroy their craft, they will be trapped in the islet, and on ourreturn we can capture them all. I think of leaving Harcourt and Treshamin the boat, in order that when Piccolomini's galley comes in, they maydirect him also to join us."
"He may be in at any moment; we met him three days since. He hadcaptured a pirate, and sent her off under charge of ten of his knights.We agreed to meet him this evening; and as he is not here, he willprobably be in the first thing in the morning."
Gervaise and Harcourt took their places in the boat again. The galleygot up its anchor and started. Just as she reached the mouth of theinlet another galley rounded the point and nearly ran into her.
"I am going to Ricord's assistance, Piccolomini," Don Santoval shouted.
"Is it urgent?" the commander of the galley shouted back. "We have hada very long row, and can go no farther, unless his strait is a very soreone."
"No. Come on in the morning. You will hear all the news from a boatlying two hundred yards astern. Two young English knights are waiting inher to give you the news. Ricord has made a fine capture. Row on, men."And the galley proceeded on her way, while the newcomer proceeded up theharbour.
Harcourt and Gervaise at once went on board, and the former gave theItalian commander an account of the battle that had taken place, andthe capture of the four pirate vessels. After the exclamationsof satisfaction by the knights had ceased, he recounted their ownadventures, which were heard with lively interest.
"I hope indeed that Santoval will burn that fishing boat, and that weshall capture the pirates," the commander said. "We have need ofmore slaves to carry out the works at Rhodes. Now, let us to supper,gentlemen, and then to sleep. In six hours we will be off again, for ifsome more of these villains have escaped and carried the news to HassanAli, our swords may be sorely needed by Ricord and Santoval tomorrow."