CHAPTER NINETEEN.
HELP FROM AN UNEXPECTED QUARTER--PLANS MADE FOR ESCAPE.
With wildly beating hearts, and with no further thoughts for their food,which was tumbled unceremoniously on to the floor, the lads tore openthe folded paper, and eagerly scanned its contents. It ran asfollows:--
"To the two Englishmen at present imprisoned in the Inquisition at Vera Cruz. It is known all through the city here that the man Alvarez, who calls himself governor of the town and viceroy of the province, intends to have you both burnt alive at an auto-da-fe in the plaza five days from now. It was intended that you should be exhibited and tortured in public here, and sent back to La Guayra for final execution; but the news has come that your countryman, Cavendish, has captured a plate fleet of nineteen ships near Acapulco, and the populace demand that you should both be sacrificed in revenge, to which Alvarez has consented. Unless you can escape before the expiry of the five days you are doomed. There is one chance for you, if you can take it, and I am here to assist you. You can trust me implicitly. I am an English sailor who was made to renounce my religion through torture, and I am now in service here; but I have not forgotten my country. To escape, you must contrive to lower a thin cord from the window, the thinner the better, so that I can communicate with and send small articles to you. Leave this cord hanging from your window, at midnight on the third night from now, without fail; I can do nothing until then. I have contrived to get this message concealed in your food on this one occasion, but I shall never be able to do so again. So you must somehow or another manage to lower to the ground the thin cord of which I told you. Without that I cannot aid you.
"I shall wait here for a time, so that you can throw down a note saying you have received my message; but say no more besides that. If I do not hear from you now, I shall return on the third night, and the cord must be in its place by then. For the present, farewell!
"From a true friend."
This was a long message; but the man who wrote it had done so in suchsmall letters that it occupied but little space. So small, indeed, wasthe writing that it was as much as they could do to decipher it.
When they had finishing reading this remarkable communication, the ladslooked at each other for a moment in utter amazement.
Suddenly Roger ejaculated: "Ah, of course! Now I have it, Harry! Theman that we saw waiting below the window--he was the person who wrotethis; and he was waiting for the answer, as he said in the note. Thatis why he seemed to expect us to throw him something. Oh, why, why didwe not think of looking sooner? But, of course, we expected nothing ofthe kind. Anyhow he says he will return on the third night from now.But where, Harry, are we going to get that cord that he wants us to hangfrom the window? Our escape hinges upon our getting it; and yet--whereis it to come from? It is utterly impossible for us to get hold of acord or line of any sort, so far as I can see. I wonder who the fellowis; and can we trust him?"
"Well," replied Harry, "you saw what he wrote in that message. In fivedays from now, unless we can meanwhile escape, we are doomed to die anawful death. The man would, I should say, have no object in betrayingus; because, if we are already sentenced to death, they do not need anyexcuse for executing us. And I do not see what the man has to gain bydeceiving us. No, Roger, I think the man is genuine enough; and in anycase, if we are to suffer death, we may as well die in the attempt toescape as wait here for death to come to us. Is it not so, my friend?
"But perhaps we had better put off the further discussion of this untilwe have eaten the food. If, when they come to put in our next supply,they find this still uneaten, they may suspect that something is amiss,and remove us to another cell, or even separate us; either of whichhappenings would put an end for good and all to our chances of escape.Besides, we can talk as we are eating. Come, Roger, wake up, man, andfall to! Eat as much as you can, for we shall need all our strength togo through with what is before us."
Roger saw the wisdom of Harry's argument, and, replacing the food on thetable, whence it had fallen in their eagerness to read the message, theyset to, and very soon demolished the whole of it, replacing the platter,as usual, when they had finished, by the side of the trap, to be removedwhen the next meal was put in.
"Now," remarked Harry, "let us resume our discussion of this strangebusiness, Roger. So far as I can see, the matter stands--Hullo! what'sthat? Did you hear that, Roger?" he suddenly interjected.
"Yes," replied Roger, "I did. What can it be, I wonder?"
There had come a slight sound from the direction of the grating, as ofsome hard substance striking against the iron bars.
Both lads hurried to the grating, and glanced up at it; but they couldsee nothing to account for the sound.
"This is most remarkable," said Harry. "I heard the sound quiteplainly. It was just like two pieces of iron striking together; and itsounded in the cell itself, or just outside the grating. Jump up on myshoulders again, Roger, and see if you can see anything or anybodyabout."
Harry bent his back, and helped Roger to climb up on his shoulders. AndRoger had just drawn himself upright with his face reaching to the levelof the grating, when he uttered a suppressed exclamation, and half-fell,half-slid down to the floor from his perch, and started vigorouslyrubbing his cheek.
"Whatever is the matter with you, Roger?" ejaculated Harry somewhatcrossly; "you nearly broke my back coming down like that." Then, as hesaw Roger rubbing his face, his tone changed, and he enquired anxiously,"What is it, old fellow; are you hurt?"
"No; not much, that is," rejoined his friend. "Just as I got my head uplevel with the grating, and was going to look out, something hit me onthe cheek with considerable force, and, losing my balance, I cametumbling down. I am sorry if I hurt you, Harry, old lad."
As he finished speaking, both caught the sound of quick and stealthyfootsteps retreating across the courtyard below, and retiring, so far asthey could judge by the sound, through the gateway by which the writerof their message had disappeared.
"Ha!" said Harry; "someone has been below our window again. I wonderwhat it is this time? And what was it that struck you, Roger; could youtell?"
"No," answered Roger. "I know only that something hit me hard on thecheek, and I thought for the moment that my eye was struck. No, I havenot the least idea what it could have been."
"Could it," suggested Harry, "have been that fellow whom we saw thismorning, come back again with another message; and was he trying toattract our attention, think you?"
"That I cannot say," answered Roger; "but I certainly heard footstepsdisappearing just now. Did not you?"
"Yes, I did," answered Harry; "but I did not attach very muchsignificance to the matter until the individual had gone. Well, we donot know what it was, and we have no time to waste; so let us give ourwhole attention to the matter of that message. Have you got the paper?Well, when we have finished with it, you had better hide it awaysomewhere safely, or, better still, destroy it altogether; for we neverknow when we may be searched. They may take it into their heads to doso at any moment."
"Ay, we will do so," agreed Roger; "'twill, as you say, be safer. Butgo on with what you were about to say before that interruption came."
"Well," resumed Harry, "as I was saying, it seems to stand like this:Alvarez, it would appear, has doomed us to die at an auto-da-fe, fivedays hence, in order to satisfy the demand of the people of this townfor revenge, their desire for which has been aroused by the capture byMr Cavendish of the plate fleet off Acapulco. This fact is known byeverybody in the town, and consequently has come to the ears of thisman, who says he is an English sailor.
"I should say that he is probably a man--one of the very few that theDons have ever taken--captured during some action, and tortured to makehim recant. He apparently did so in order to spare himself furtherpain, as men have done on several occasions, and he is now possibly aserving-man, or something of the kind, in the employ of some Spanishg
randee or another. But he has not forgotten the fact that he is anEnglishman, and, hearing that two of his fellow-countrymen are to be putto a painful death at an auto-da-fe in the Plaza in five days' time, hasmade up his mind to save our lives, if possible. If successful, Ishould say that he himself will try to get away with us.
"At very considerable risk, and doubtless with great difficulty, he hasbeen able to get one message to us, but will not be able to do so again.So he wishes us to procure a piece of cord thin enough to escape easydetection, and hang it from our window, so that he can communicate withus as may be necessary, and so that he can perhaps send up to us certainsmall articles. For some reason he cannot come again until three days'hence, when he will be waiting below our grating at midnight for us tolower the line to him, when we may expect another message, and probablyinstructions what to do so that we may escape. Why he cannot come untilmidnight on the third night I cannot guess, but evidently there issomething very weighty and important to prevent his doing so, otherwise,knowing that there are but five days altogether before our execution, hewould commence at once to arrange for our escape without losing anytime; for a delay of three days now may make all the difference whetherwe are to live or die.
"All this we learn from his letter; and my opinion is that we must justtrust this man, and hope that he will be able to succeed in his efforts;for until we hear again from him, as to what he wishes us to do toassist him, we can do nothing--absolutely nothing. Now, the firstdifficulty that confronts us is the matter of that line of which hespeaks, and without which, he tells us, escape is impossible. How inthe world can we secure a rope or cord of any sort? We never even seeour jailer, much less talk to him, so that we have no opportunity ofattempting to bribe him, and it is most unlikely that we could do so,even if we could speak to him. There is nothing in the cell that we canpossibly turn to account; so I do not see at all what we can do. Itseems very hard to lose our lives just because we are at a loss for asmall thing like a piece of cord or rope."
"For my own part," said Roger, "I wonder somewhat why the man did notmake some suggestion as to how we might secure such a thing. Surely hemust know that it is utterly impossible for us to procure anything ofthe kind in prison. I wonder, now, whether that was he or not whosefootsteps we heard in the yard a little time ago; and what--Why, Harry,what if that thing that hit me in the face should be another messagewrapped round something to make it carry up to the window?"
"Roger," exclaimed Harry in great jubilation, "I believe you have hitupon the very thing. The man said he could not get another messageconveyed for him. The cord is not in position so that he can sendanything up by that. What more likely than that he should try to throwa note up to us through the bars? In fact it is the only way. Let uslook at once. It must have fallen somewhere in the cell, I should say,since it struck you in the face. That fact shows that it came betweenthe bars; and it would hardly rebound outside again."
And in the now fast-failing light both lads dropped on their hands andknees and began a feverish search for what might very easily make allthe difference to them between living and dying a horrible and painfuldeath. Hound and round the fast-darkening cell they crawled, but not asign of anything could they find, until Harry, who was searching acorner where the faint light from the grating could not reach, suddenlyplaced his hand upon something hard, which rolled under the pressure.Clasping it tight in his fist, he rushed to the grating and looked atthe article. Yes, sure enough, it was a piece of paper wrapped round apebble. He softly called Roger to his side, and, opening the foldedmissive, both began to read. And, as they read, both faces becameseveral shades paler, and their hearts beat thickly. The note ran asfollows:--
"I waited for some time below your window in the hope that you would drop an answer from it to my first letter; but I found that I was being watched, and had therefore to leave. How I shall get this present note to you I do not know, but if nobody is about I shall wrap it round a stone and try to throw it through your window. This is to tell you that Alvarez has decided to advance the day for your execution, which will take place on the day after to-morrow. Therefore you must act at once. I am myself in great danger through my attempts to help you, and if the date had not been altered should not have come until the third night from now. But there is no time to lose, so I must endeavour to come to you to-night. I may be discovered, but I must risk that. Now, attend well to what I am going to write. At midnight to-night, instead of three nights hence, I shall be here, underneath your window. You must at any cost let down a thin cord, or all my efforts will be vain. I will then attach to the cord several small files and a saw of fine temper. If the line is not strong enough to bear the weight I will tie a light line which I shall bring with me to yours; you will then haul that up first, and, making fast the end, you can then pull up the things I shall bring. If I have any more news then, I will also send up a letter to you. With the files and saw you must cut away all the bars of your grating except one. This will leave room for you to climb through. The one bar must be left to secure a stout rope to, so that you may slide down it. The work of cutting the bars will take you all to-morrow; so after my visit to-night I shall not come again until the time arrives for you to make your escape. Be very careful to work silently, or you will be discovered, for spies are everywhere. When the bars are cut, put them back in their places, so that if anyone enters your cell they shall not notice the change.
"For your first line to lower down to me, unravel your hose or under-jerkin, or any garment you can spare without it being noticed. This will give you a long, thin line, to the end of which you must secure a light weight to prevent it from blowing about. Now, until to-night, farewell! I shall be there at midnight exactly, and you must be quite ready. Make no mistake, for this is your only chance, and any mistake will mean the loss of my life as well as your own."
This ended the letter, and Roger immediately took it from Harry's hand,and concealed it, with the first missive, in the lining of his jerkin.
"Now, Harry," said he, "we must act at once; for, as the fellow says,there is no time to lose, and it will take us all the time we have leftbefore darkness sets in to unravel a garment to form our line. He willsend us up several files, he says in the letter. Now, if we can putthose two stools one on top of the other we shall both be able to standon them and work together; which is a fortunate thing, as it will takeus a long time to cut those bars, so thick are they. I hope the noisewill not be heard through the walls, and draw the attention of ourjailers; but we must be as silent as we can, and risk the rest. I ammore glad than ever now that we closed up that spy-hole, for, had we notdone so, we should certainly have been discovered already. Now, Harry,we had best begin on this under-jerkin of mine; the absence of that willnot be noticed if I keep my doublet buttoned well up and over. Youbegin at one end and I will start at the other corner, so that, if weare pressed for time, we can break the threads off and join yours andmine together, and have twice the length we should get otherwise."
Roger stripped his jerkin off, replaced his doublet, and both set towork. By this time the daylight had nearly gone, but, as fortune wouldhave it, a full moon rode high in the sky, and one shaft of lightfiltered in through the barred window. The court below, however, was indarkness, as the walls were so high that the moonbeams never strucklower than about half-way down them. In this small patch of light,then, the two lads worked for their lives.
When they began their task they considered that about three hours wouldsuffice to complete the work. As time passed, however, it seemed tothem as though their fingers were made of lead, so slow did they appearto move, to the lads' excited imagination. Yard by yard the silk becameunravelled, and was rolled carefully round Roger's finger, so that, whenthe time came, there might be no hitch in paying it out.
Every yard that they unravelled seemed to take them an hour in theprocess, and so occupied were they that it was some few moments beforet
hey became aware that at least two small pebbles had been thrownthrough the window, and then they only noticed it because one of thestones happened to fall directly upon the remnant of the garment uponwhich they were employed.
"Roger, Roger, there he is," whispered Harry in great excitement."Quick, quick! unwind that silk from your finger, and--Where can we findanything to tie on the end for a weight?" he added.
Roger unwound the silk as fast as he knew how, and Harry desperatelysearched every nook and cranny of the cell for something to secure tothe end.
"I have it," said Roger in a low tone, as he finished unwinding the silkand coiled it carefully on the stone table, so that it might run freewithout being entangled. "I have it. We will secure your knife to theend, Harry; it will bear that weight, I should say, and we can haul itup again when the stouter line is attached."
"Very well," answered Harry, producing the article in question, whichwas soon tied firmly to the end of the unravelled silk.
The two stools were then dragged to the window, and on these Rogermounted, whilst Harry handed up the knife with the silk tied to it.
"God grant that the line may bear the weight!" said Roger to himself, ashe took the apparatus from Harry.
Then he leant forward and extended his arm so far that any personstanding below would be able to see it in the moonlight, although theperson himself in the courtyard would be hidden in the shadow cast bythe high walls of the prison. He allowed his hand to remain for a fewmoments, shining white in the moonlight, in order to signify to the manbelow that he was in readiness, and was prepared to let down the line.As if in answer, another small pebble came clattering against the walljust below the grating, and Roger's heart stood still for a moment withdeadly fear, lest any unwelcome listener might be about.
But there was no sign of such being the case, and the lad loweredcarefully away until he felt the knife touch the ground.
A few seconds later he felt a gentle vibration of the silk, as the manbelow fastened something to it, and then came three light pulls on theline. Roger rightly took this for a signal to haul up, and immediatelydid so.
He hauled away with the utmost care, for he knew that his very lifedepended upon it, and when he had hauled in his own line he foundattached to it a cord of stouter proportions, and capable of sustaininga very much heavier burden.
To be on the safe side, he at once secured the end of this second lineto a bar of the grating, in case it should slip through his fingers, andhanded the silken line to Harry, asking him to re-coil it for use againshould it be required. Then he gave three light tugs to the line at hisend, as a signal that he was ready for the next operation. Immediatelyhe had done so, the gentle movement of the line began again, and wasfollowed directly afterward by the three signal pulls, but stronger onesthis time. Up came the cord, and this time it was evident that therewas something quite heavy at the other end. Roger pulled up quickly,and presently a dark bundle made its appearance at the window. Hegrasped this carefully and handed it to Harry, who placed it upon thecell table.
Then the cord was sent down once more. There was a longer pause thistime, and Roger was on the point of pulling up the cord, thinking thattheir unknown friend had finished his part of the business, when thethree pulls came again, and Roger once more hoisted away on the line.
It was not so heavy on this occasion, and on taking it in through thewindow he found that Harry's knife and a piece of paper were the onlyarticles that were attached.
He surmised, therefore, that nothing else was to be sent up, and readthe missive before sending down the cord again. It was short and to thepoint this time.
It ran thus:--
"I am writing this in the courtyard below. I have sent up all thenecessary tools; so you need not lower the cord again to-night. Itrests with you now to cut the bars, and it must be done by midnightto-morrow night or all will be in vain. I shall be here again then, andwill send up a rope thick enough to bear your weight. You must climbdown this, and I will be at the bottom to receive and guide you tosafety. Till to-morrow, farewell!"
When this had been read, it was placed, together with the other twomissives, in the lining of Roger's doublet.
"Now, Harry, lad," the latter whispered, "quick! let us see what thereis in this bundle, and then set to work at once. No sleep to-night, mylad. When next we sleep we shall either be out of the clutches of theInquisition, or--we shall be sleeping the last long sleep of all!"
CHAPTER TWENTY.
HOW ROGER EFFECTED HIS ESCAPE.
On opening the bundle it was found to contain three files, very thin,extremely sharp, and of wonderful temper. There were also two smallsaws, with handles to them, and a bottle of very thick oil, to make thesaws and files cut faster, and also to prevent that harsh, squeakingsound which usually arises when steel cuts against steel.
The two lads, in their eagerness, snatched the tools from the leatherbag, and, replacing the stools one above the other, mounted them andbegan to work swiftly and silently.
"We must remember, Roger," whispered Harry, "that we shall have tolisten very carefully for footsteps coming along that passage, and hidethese tools somewhere at the first sound. Of course, if we were seenworking here, or if the tools were discovered, we might just as wellgive up at once, for there would be no hope left."
"You are right, my friend," answered Roger. "But I do not intend thatanybody shall catch us at this work; nor shall they catch sight of thetools. At the first sound of any person approaching you must jump downfor your life, remove the stools, and sit down and pretend to be asleep.I will wrap the tools up quickly in their bag, and slip them into myjerkin. If we are summoned from the cell, and are likely to besearched, I shall endeavour, as we go, to drop the parcel behind thedoor, where it cannot be seen unless someone enters the cell anddeliberately looks behind the door, which is not very likely unless theysuspect us of having got hold of any tools. Now remember what I say.No more talk now, Harry; we shall require all our breath for working."
They slaved away with file and saw, never ceasing work for a moment,until their muscles utterly refused to allow their tired arms to makeanother movement, and then they rested for a moment to recover. Harryand Roger each worked on a separate bar of the grating, and so equal hadbeen their efforts that each lad's bar was cut through at the same time.
"There go two nails drawn from our coffins, Roger," said Harry, and heattacked his second bar with the energy born of deserved success. Rogeruttered no word, but saved all his breath, and put every ounce of hisstrength into his arms, cutting away with file and saw like a verymadman.
As the bars were cut out they were laid carefully on the sill in frontof them, so as to be at hand for replacement directly any suspicioussound was heard. All night long they worked, and with such a will thatsoon after daybreak next morning but two bars remained to be cutthrough. As usual, an hour or two after dawn they heard the click ofthe trap as their food was placed in the cell; but it startled them onlyfor a moment, for they had not overlooked the fact that their food wasdue to arrive. Moreover, they knew that the aperture was so small thatthere was but just room to pass a small platter through it, and that,even if the jailer should attempt to spy on them, the window was beyondhis range of vision. The sound, however, recalled the fact to theirminds that they were very hungry, and that if they wished to keep uptheir strength they must eat. And, as Harry said, they had done goodwork during the night, so that they could spare the time. The toolswere therefore packed up and hidden away; the bars already cut werereplaced so that anybody chancing to look in should notice nothing outof the ordinary; then the stools were removed from below the window, andboth lads sat down to their morning meal with keener appetites than theyhad known for some months past. Everything in the cell presented itsusual appearance, and the twain were hastily finishing their meal whenthe tramp of feet was heard in the passage. No quiet, stealthy footstepthis time, but a clatter of several approaching men which there was nomistaking. Rog
er and Harry looked at one another, dismay written allover their countenances. What was to happen now? Had the hour fortheir execution been advanced again, and were they to be led out todeath at once, or was their cell to be changed and all their labourrendered useless, and their chance of escape destroyed at the very lastmoment? These, and a hundred other surmises, chased each other rapidlythrough the lads' minds as they listened with bated breath to the noiseof the approaching footsteps. Each, however, pulled himself together,and by the time that the cell door was opened the lads presentedabsolutely expressionless faces to their enemies. The door clangedopen, disclosing to their sight a number of men in black robes andcowls.
"His Excellency the Viceroy requires the attendance of you both," saidone of the masked inquisitors in a deep voice and in remarkably goodEnglish. "Follow me at once."
The man turned to lead the way. Harry followed close on his heels; butas Roger prepared to leave the cell he pretended to stumble, and whenpicking himself up adroitly deposited the little satchel of tools behindthe open door. His action, he was much relieved to notice, attracted noattention, and he had the satisfaction of seeing the cell door closedafter them, and of knowing, therefore, that the precious implements weresafe for the time being.
They were led through the self-same passages and corridors by which theyhad walked to the torture-chamber a few days before, and their heartssank within them, for this second journey seemed to them ominous ofevil.
Yes, it was but too true. In a few minutes they reached the door ofthat Chamber of Horrors, passed through it, heard it shut after them,and found themselves once more in the presence of that arch-fiend,Alvarez, "Viceroy of the Province, Governor of the City, and Chief ofthe Holy Inquisition in the town of Vera Cruz". They were not long leftin doubt as to what was in store for them. Alvarez spoke:
"I understand that you two young men formerly belonged to the squadronof that most pestilent heretic and pirate, Cavendish; is it not so?Answer me!"
"Yes," replied Harry, "we belonged, and consider that we still belong,to the ship of Mr Cavendish, who is no pirate, but a noble and trueEnglish gentleman."
"Silence!" snarled Alvarez. "Do not dare to speak in that way to me!Answer my questions only, and make no remarks of your own. I say thatthe man Cavendish is a pirate, and that is sufficient. Now, you areboth heretics, that I know, and I am shortly going to the trouble ofattempting to convert you to the only true faith, through the gentle,loving, and persuasive methods applied to heretics by the most HolyInquisition. You had an example, only the other day, of the way inwhich Mother Church deals with those who obey her not. She always usesthe most gentle means to bring about conversion, and would lead hereticsto a knowledge of the true faith by loving-kindness alone, as no doubtyou noticed in the case of the man de Soto, who was undergoing theprocess of persuasion when you were last here." And he gave vent to amost horrible and grating laugh.
"I am deeply grieved to inform you," he continued, "that de Sotopersisted in denying all knowledge of a certain matter, and--well, he isdead now, rest his soul!" he added sardonically.
"Since seeing you two," he resumed, "I have come to the conclusion thatI was perhaps somewhat hasty with de Soto, and imagine it is possiblethat he did not possess the knowledge I credited him with, and it may bethat I punished him unjustly. But that little matter is now pastregret, and we have to deal with the present. The matter in hand dealswith the loss of a certain document from the cabin of a Spanishwar-vessel, the _Gloria del Mundo_, which ship you both doubtlessremember. I thought at first that de Soto was responsible for itsdisappearance; but, if my memory serves me aright, you two lads left thevessel after de Soto and myself, and, from what I have gathered, Iimagine that you may know something about the paper. If you know, tellme where it is, and I will spare you; but if you decide not to speak--well, you saw what de Soto suffered the other day, and his treatment wasgentle compared with what yours will be unless you decide to tell mewhere that paper is to be found, for I am convinced that you know. Now,speak; speak--you!" Again Harry acted as spokesman, and replied:
"Senor Alvarez, we have heard what you say, and we know to what paperyou refer; but we have it not. It is no longer in existence, andconsequently it can never be found. You may do your worst; but thoughyou should torture us both to death, it is not in our power, or that ofany other mortal, to give you a document which does not now exist."
"I do not believe you," shouted Alvarez. "It cannot be so. That papermust be somewhere," he foamed, "and I will have it if I am compelled totear you limb from limb to get it. Will you speak, or will you not?"Alvarez literally foamed at the mouth with rage, for indeed he wasnearly mad with disappointment. In spite of himself, he had an inwardconviction that what Harry said was true, and that, do what he might, hewould never again set eyes on that paper, the possession of which he soearnestly desired.
Revenge, however, sweet revenge, still remained, and that he could andwould have. He had worked himself up to a pitch of fury that veryclosely approached madness; moreover, his bitter disappointment demandedalleviation through the suffering of him who had inflicted it. So,without waiting for a reply, he roared, pointing to Harry:
"Seize that lad who spoke, and put him to the torture. I will soon seewhether he still refuses to speak when I command! Bind that other one,and let him see all that happens; for it will be his turn next, and hemay as well know what is in store for him. Ha! ha!" and he laughedagain with sardonic fury.
Both lads struggled desperately in the grip of the black-cowledinquisitors; but their struggles were fruitless, and in a few minutesHarry was lying on the floor bound, while Roger was tied in an uprightposition to one of the pillars of the chamber, in such a fashion that,do as he would, he could not avoid witnessing the tortures that were tobe executed upon the body of his dear friend and bosom companion fromhis boyhood upwards. At the last moment Roger would have intervened tosave Harry, actually offering to yield up the coveted secret if Alvarezwould relent. But the latter refused; his lust of blood was aroused,his passion for witnessing the agony of others must be satiated at anycost. Moreover, was not Roger in his power? He would compel the lad towitness his friend's sufferings; give him the night wherein to dwellupon them; and, next morning, first wring the secret from him under athreat of torture, and afterwards--
It is unnecessary to harrow the feelings of the reader with adescription of what next took place in that ghastly chamber. Suffice itto say that the torture and examination of Harry lasted until mid-day,when it was seen that his senses had left him, and that he was no longerconscious of the dreadful injuries that were being inflicted upon him.He was then carried back to the cell and laid upon the floor, whileRoger was unbound and allowed to accompany him. The door was closed andbolted, and Roger was alone with the pitiful, scarred, torn, andbleeding wreck of his friend. He fetched water from the jug and forceda few drops down Harry's throat, laved his brow, and bound up his searedand bleeding wounds as best he could. Presently Harry opened his eyes,and, seeing Roger bending over him, smiled even amid his pain.
"Do not weep, Roger, old friend," he said, noticing the tears runningdown his chum's face; "they have done their utmost on me, and I shallnot last out long enough to surfer at their hands again. Nay, Roger,dear lad, it is of no use. You cannot save me, and indeed I do notdesire to live; for of what use would life be to one in my condition?They have torn the life so nearly from my poor body that there is butlittle remaining, and that little you could not save, my dear oldfriend. You did your best before they began upon me, and failed. Noman could do more. Just put your doublet under my head to keep it offthe hard stone, dear lad; and oh, Roger, do not weep so bitterly; ittears my heart to see you. I feel but little pain now, and what stillremains will not be for long. Now, Roger, listen to me, my friend. Ishall be gone very soon; do not, I pray you, stay grieving over my bodyafter I am dead, for that will avail me nothing, and only involve you inmy fate. Therefore, get those tools and cut aw
ay at that grating, sothat you will be ready when that unknown friend of ours comes to assistyou to escape. Promise me, Roger. You will win home safely; I know it;I feel that you will. And you will take care of Mary, my dear sisterMary, will you not, Roger? See that she comes to no harm, old friend.Remember the secret of that cryptogram, Roger, and fetch that treasureaway; my share of it is yours, my friend. I do not tell you to give itto Mary, for I think you can guess what I mean when I say I do not thinkit will be necessary. Roger," he resumed after a short silence, brokenonly by the deep sobs of his sorrowing companion, "Roger, dear lad, holdmy hand, for it is getting very dark, and I cannot see. I like to feelthat you are near me, and I have no fear." His breathing now grewrapidly weaker, until presently only a faint fluttering sigh could beheard; then his eyes opened again, and he said: "Good-bye, Roger, I amgoing, dear lad and faithful comrade; good-bye, and God bless you!Remember what I said about preparing for to-night; and do not grieve forme, for indeed I am quite happy. Good-bye!" His head fell back, hisbreathing ceased, and Roger knew that he was now alone. Alone inprison, and still in the hands of the Holy Office. He reverently closedthe eyes of his chum, and covered his face, after which he remainedseated by the side of the body of the beloved dead, lost in bitterthought and sorrowful retrospection.
He was aroused by hearing the click of the trap-door in the wall as thefood was thrust in, and this recalled him to himself.
He remembered Harry's last injunction, that he was to continue the workof cutting through the bars of the grating in order to be ready toescape when midnight came. And he also remembered that Harry had givenhis sister Mary into his charge, and enjoined him to look after and takecare of her.
How could he do this if he remained where he was, and lost his life,even as poor Harry had lost his? No, he must put away his grief andmelancholy thoughts until a more convenient season. If he wished tofulfil his promises to his dead friend, he must first escape. Actuatedby these reflections, he feverishly seized the tools once more and setto work on the remaining two bars of the grating. The work took longer,labouring by himself, but eventually one bar was cut through entirely,and but one more remained. The night was getting on, however. Therewas no means of knowing what hour it was, but he felt that it must benearing the appointed time. He seized one of the saws and began work onthe last bar, and at last cut it through also at the top. He had barelyfinished that part of his task when a pebble came clattering up againstthe wall just below the grating. The man was there already then! Heleft the bar for a moment and lowered away the cord, and presently hefelt the now familiar jerking at the end and hauled it up. There was amissive at the end, and, unfastening it from the cord, Roger took it tothe friendly patch of moonlight and read as follows:--
"I have heard the news already, and am sorry. But I have come to save you, as it is to be your turn to-morrow. Come at once, if you can; but if you have not quite finished, I can wait a little. When you are ready, send down the cord, and I will attach the rope. You can haul that up and fasten it securely. Then climb down as quickly as you can.
"We are in luck to-night. Before dark fell I noticed an English vessel in the offing. She is still there. If we can but seize a boat we shall be able to reach her, and we shall then be safe, so hasten."
Roger very quickly glanced through this communication, and prepared tofinish his work on the bar, when he noticed that it was the only oneremaining. In his abstraction he had already cut through one end of thelast bar--the only one to which he could secure the rope. Luckily, hehad cut it at the top end; so he trusted that, if the rope were fastenedsecurely at the bottom, it would bear his weight. He quickly loweredaway his cord again, and in another minute felt the welcome tug, whichsignified that the means of his escape was secured at the end of thecord. He hauled away slowly, for this time the burden was heavy, buteventually he saw the end of a good stout rope make its appearance atthe grating. He gathered in a sufficient length, and secured it firmlyto the one remaining bar; and, as he did so, it dawned upon him that,had his rescue come but a little later, he would himself, in his griefand abstraction, have destroyed his only chance of ever being able toescape, by removing the last bar altogether.
All being now ready, Roger went over to Harry's body, and, tenderlykissing the poor white lips, said, very softly: "Good-bye, dear lad,until we meet again. I will amply avenge thee!" Then, with his knifehe cut off a lock of his friend's hair, and placed it securely in hisbosom. He cast one more look round the cell, and then hauled himself upinto the embrasure, and, forcing his body through the opening, seizedthe rope, with a fervent prayer in his heart for deliverance, and beganthe descent. After what seemed an eternity he felt a pair of strongarms flung round him, and he was eased to the ground.
"Come along, sir," exclaimed the unknown man in a whisper; "we have notime to lose. They seem more wakeful than usual to-night, aloft there,"pointing upward at the building with his thumb, "and they may find outyour absence at any moment. Then we should both be lost, unless we werewell clear of this accursed building. Now, speak no more, on your life,but do as I do, and follow me. If anybody accosts us, leave theanswering to me. Cover your face as well as you can, and come along."
He grasped Roger's hand, and together they set off through the darkness.The rope they were obliged to leave as it was, having no means ofremoving it. Through the little gateway--which Roger had seen this sameman pass on one occasion--they went, and found themselves in another andmuch larger courtyard, planted with all kinds of flowering shrubs andtrees. These could only be dimly seen in the darkness, but Rogerjudged, from their presence, that they were now going through that partof the building where the quarters of the occupants were situated.After a short time, occupied in fast walking, they came to an alleyway,or small avenue, down which they hastened, and at the end of this was aclosed door of exceptionally stout and strong construction. Rogerbelieved, seeing it closed, that their attempt at escape had met with apremature end; but no, the guide pressed a handle gently, and the doorswung open, and as Roger stepped out he felt the cool salt breezeblowing on his face, and he knew that he was free at last. Free, aftermonths of weary imprisonment, torture, and suffering; yes, free! Hiswhole body seemed to expand to the grateful influence of the gentlesea-breeze; but his heart was very, very sad for the loss of his friend.
The two fugitives plunged onward, across streets, down alleys, and upsteps, until they come to a huge open square, at the rear of which anenormous building towered high. In the middle of the square was to bemade out, dimly, a pile or heap of some sort, with what looked liked ashort, thick pole, standing upright above it. Roger asked his guide ina whisper what it was. The man replied:
"This big square is the Plaza of Vera Cruz, and the large buildingyonder is the cathedral. That peculiar-shaped object you see there is aheap of wood and straw surrounding a stake, and on that heap, bound tothat stake, you and your friend were doomed to die to-morrow!"
Roger felt his flesh creep, and hurried forward at an increased rate ofspeed. Presently, after going down a very narrow and steep street,Roger perceived that they had reached the beach, and he heard the dull"boom" of the surf as it rolled in and broke on the sand.
The guide now spoke to him. "Do you see a small light out there, wellaway in the offing?"
"I think I can see something of the kind," replied Roger.
"Well," explained the man, "that vessel is my old ship, the _Elizabeth_.I was aboard her last time she came out here, and I was captured duringone of her actions. She is one of Mr Cavendish's vessels. I hear thathe left her in these seas to harry the Spaniards, whilst he took therest of the fleet round the other side, where he has just captured theirplate fleet. I shall be right glad to get back aboard her again."
"What!" exclaimed Roger in astonishment; "is that the dear old_Elizabeth_? Why, I know her captain and crew well. Many is the time Ihave been aboard her."
"Is that so, sir?" queried the man. "Then you
will know old Cary,perhaps, who used to be aboard her."
"Ay," replied Roger, "I know him well; but he was on the flag-ship, the_Stag Royal_, and not the _Elizabeth_, when I saw him last."
"Well," said the sailor, "in any case we must not waste time--hark,hark, there go the bells! They have discovered your escape. Now wemust be moving, for our very lives. This way."
And he hurried along a quay wall, which formed one of the arms of alittle harbour where small craft might lie.
The bells were indeed clanging wildly, and the noise was deafening.Voices were to be heard now--snouts and cries; though whether the peoplewere yet on their track or not they could not tell. Along the wall theyhastened at a run, until they came to a small lateen-rigged vessel,secured to the farthest end of the mole, and with her one huge sailroughly furled round the yard. They dashed on board, cut the ropesthrough, and the sailor, swarming up the rigging, cut the lashings, andthe foot of the lateen sail dropped down on deck. Roger hauled thesheet aft and made it fast, then sprang to the tiller, and the littlecraft began to move away from the mole under the influence of thebreeze.
"Lucky we found no one aboard," gasped the sailor, whose name wasMathews; "but then I did not expect that there would be anybody about;they never leave a watch on these little craft."
Roger still grasped the helm, and steered through the harbour's mouthfor the tiny point of light, which was the beacon of their safety, whileMathews busied himself with the sail, and with making all snug on deck.
Although the town of Vera Cruz itself was still in darkness, away to theeastward the first streaks of day were already showing, and the light onthe English man-of-war lying in the offing was growing fainter. Awaybehind them, from the direction of the mole, the two fugitives couldhear a sound as of many people in pursuit, and presently a dark patchdetached itself from the darkness, and appeared to be following them;and soon they made it out to be the sail of a vessel very similar to theone they had so unceremoniously captured. She was a much larger craft,and after a while there could be no doubt that she was overhauling them.But they were now drawing well out toward the English vessel, althoughthe latter had not yet sighted them, and the issue, so far, hung on therace between the two feluccas. The pursuing vessel crept up closer andever closer, and Roger and Mathews began to picture themselves asadorning that bonfire in the plaza after all.
But now the English ship seemed to awake to what was going forward, andto take in the situation at once. That one felucca was flying and theother pursuing they could see at a glance. There was a puff of whitesmoke from her side, and a shot flew screaming over their heads andplunged into the water just in front of the pursuing felucca. Still sheheld on, gaining remorselessly. Her crew began to fire at thefugitives, compelling them to steer in a crouching position below thebulwarks. By an occasional backward glance Roger saw her graduallycreeping up, and wondered why the English ship did not fire again; thenhe discovered that his own vessel was in the line of fire. TheSpaniards had cleverly managed to get exactly behind him, so that theEnglish could not fire without hitting the foremost vessel. ThereforeRoger risked his life and liberty in a desperate manoeuvre. With asweep of the tiller he put the helm hard over, and the little vesselbounded away on the opposite tack, leaving her pursuer without shelter.The English ship--the crew of which were evidently waiting for somethingof the sort to happen--took immediate advantage of her opportunity, andlet fly her whole broadside, luckily bringing down the pursuer's mast.After that the fugitives were safe, and half an hour later were on boardthe old _Elizabeth_, Roger talking to the captain and hisfellow-officers, and Mathews below, relating marvellous adventures tohis former mess-mates. Roger gave a full and graphic account of allthat had happened to himself and Harry, and told of his poor friend'sdeath.
Luckily it turned out that the _Elizabeth_ was on her way from theIndies to England, and had only anchored during the night in the hope ofsighting one more prize; so it was by the merest chance that Rogerescaped after all. The captain now made sail, and pointed his vessel'sbows for home. The voyage lasted just three months, and they met withno single enemy on the whole way.
The ship sailed into Plymouth Sound one bright summer's morning, and,after his long absence, Roger looked once more on the country of hisbirth. Taking leave of the captain and officers the moment that theship was moored and he was at liberty, he made his way up the river, asonce before, to his home.
He found all his people alive and well, and great and long-continuedwere the rejoicings at his safe return; but poor Mary Edgwyth remainedfor a long time quite inconsolable at the loss of her dearly-lovedbrother.
But time heals all wounds, and when at length Roger asked her a certainquestion, her sorrow had sufficiently abated to admit of her saying"Yes" by way of answer.
Prior to this, however, Roger fitted out a small expedition on his ownaccount, and sailed for Lonely Inlet, in order to secure the treasure ofJose Leirya.
He found it, strangely enough, in the identical cave where Harry and hehad kept the savages at bay, and its value proved to be vastly greaterthan even he had imagined, despite all that he had heard regarding it.
Roger remained in those seas only long enough to secure the treasure,upon successfully accomplishing which he turned his bows once again forhome, arriving in the summer, even as he had done before. Meanwhile thelapse of time had so far ameliorated Mary's sorrow for the loss of herbrother that there was nothing now to prevent the marriage taking place,and on a certain lovely summer's morning Roger and Mary were united inPlympton Church; and their married life was all that their best friendscould desire for them.
With part of the treasure Roger fitted out a few small ships of his own,which he sent to the Indies to harry the Dons and avenge the death ofhis friend; but he did not himself go with the expeditions, saying that,unless his country required his services, he would remain at home andtake care of Mary.
In due course a little son came to them, whom they named Harry, inremembrance of the one who was gone; and with the arrival of the littlenew-comer all sorrowful memory of the past was finally wiped out,leaving only the future to be looked forward to, bright androse-coloured.
Thus, after all the deeds of horror and bloodshed by which the treasureof Jose Leirya had been accumulated, that same treasure was productiveof good at last; for by Roger's judicious use of it, and his generousyet discriminative charity, he healed as many hurts perhaps as had beeninflicted in the accumulation of it.
The story of those expeditions fitted out by Roger against his hatedenemies the Spaniards, and of the dire and terrible vengeance that theywrought upon Alvarez, constitute in themselves a very complete history,teeming with adventure, which the present chronicler hopes some day toplace upon record.
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