CHAPTER VIII.
THE OLD BUCCANEER.
The sun shone brightly that morning in a clear blue sky, shedding aglistening light upon the bare wet branches of the trees, and upon thelittle pools of water that lay in the hollows of the land and betweenthe deep long furrows of the ploughed fields. The sleety snow of theprevious night had not rested, but had left the ground soft and slushy,and as Timothy Trollope strode down one of the narrow lanes in thedirection of the home-farm his great boots sank deep into the mud atevery stride.
"'Tis true enough. God wot 'tis true I am no gentleman," he said tohimself as he went along, regardless of the mire. "Nevertheless, I likenot the lad's manner of telling me so. 'Twas ill-bred, at the least; anddoubly hurtful in that 'twas true. Haply he knew by my raiment, or by myspeech, or my ungainly movements, that I am lowly born. 'Tis passingstrange how these gentlefolks do know their own class. They willrecognize a man of good breeding from across the street, and tell himfrom a churl though he have not so much as opened his lips. And yet 'tisnot the fashion of his coat that doth proclaim him a gentleman, elsewould Philip Oglander himself be writ down the veriest varlet, for amore ill-favoured fashion than his I have not seen upon a gentlemanthese many days. Nay, I like him not, despite Master Gilbert. And hiswords do rankle in me like the sting of a wasp. '_I thank you; but soplease you, I had rather take my lessons from a gentleman._' Agentleman, forsooth! Marry, I have taught a better gentleman than him touse the rapier. Howbeit, there is a medicine for every malady, and itmay be that yon simpering fool shall some day take from me a lesson thathe wots not of."
At the end of the lane Timothy came upon some men who were at workthatching the roof of one of the farm cottages. The man at the foot ofthe ladder was Jake Thew, the same who had ridden in pursuit of therobbers.
"What ho there, Jake!" cried Timothy, as he clambered up to the gate."Didst catch a sight of those rascally Egyptians yesternight?"
"More than a sight, Master Trollope; I catched themselves," came theready answer. "That is to say, Thomas Lee and I did catch 'em. Thomasrid round by the highroad with William his son. They doubled at thecorner of Beddington Lane with intent to meet us in the dingle. We metnigh upon half a mile from the spot where Master Gilbert was wounded,sir. The three of us did scour the country-side, now this way, now that,until well upon midnight; and at last we came upon the vagabonds lyinghidden in a place that we'd passed a good half-dozen times--BeddingtonDingle to wit. Thomas Lee let fire his pistol upon them, thoughpurposely aiming above their heads, lest he should kill one of them andso be brought up for murder; and the rascals surrendered. So we carriedthem off and lodged them in Plymouth gaol, sir, where they both noware."
"Both?" echoed Timothy. "And were there not three of them in all?"
Jake left the foot of the ladder, his companions being now on thecottage roof, and waded through the mud to where Timothy was.
"Nay, sir, there were but two; we sought for three, but the third hadmade good his escape. And well for him that he did so, for 'twas he--soRobert Harvey avers--who ran his rapier into Master Gilbert's arm."
"Plague on the man!" cried Timothy, in vexation. "But we shall catch himyet, I promise you. Prithee, did the constable search the men ere youcame away?"
"There was small need to search 'em, my master. The booty they took wasscarce so portable as to be stowed away beneath their jerkins. We foundit all in two great meal-sacks that they carried off from the barn. Anda pretty catalogue it was withal--_item_, three young capons; _item_,one fat hen; _item_, a sucking pig, divers farm implements, and a lordlygoose that Dame Trevenen the hen-wife was feeding up for Christmas."
"Ay, a goodly haul, o' my conscience," agreed Timothy. "But found yenought of what the rogues stole from the old man?"
"Nay," answered Jake with a shake of his head. "Although 'tis true thatyoung Robin Redfern passing through the dingle early this morning, didcome upon an old and worthless wallet, which might indeed have belongedto the man you speak of. 'Twas empty, though--empty as a hatchedegg,--and Robin left it where it lay among last year's brambles."
"Ah! he had better have brought it with him," said Timothy, "for it willserve as evidence to convict the thieves alike of the stealing of thepoultry and the wounding of Master Gilbert. And now," he added, "whatcanst tell me touching this same old man? Didst see him yesternightafter I left him on the road?"
Jake Thew nodded and smiled.
"That we did, my master," said he. "We encountered him nigh unto ModburyBridge. He was tramping along full contented and jovial, singing lustilyenough to wake the very birds in the trees. 'Twas the ballad of _TheBeggar's Daughter of Bednall Green_ that he sang. And in truth he mightwell have been that same beggar himself, so ill-favoured was he, and sopoorly clad withal."
"Ay," rejoined Trollope, "but, if I mind aright, your beggar man ofBednall Green did turn out in the end to be a man of substance, and morewealthy than any one of his daughter's wooers. Whereas this Jacob Hartophath not a groat in the world to call his own, saving what he may claim,by virtue of his calling, from the seamen's chest at Chatham, which SirFrancis Drake hath made for the relief of aged mariners."
"He will not want for friendly help in these parts, howsoever," remarkedThew, "for it seemeth he was born in Modbury village, and there be manythere still living who have some remembrance of him as a young man erehe went upon the sea, and who will gladly give him both food andshelter. There is the widow Frampton for one, who took him into hercottage yesternight and gave him a supper and a bed, by reason that hesailed in the same ship with her goodman to the Spanish Main. You willfind him there even now, sir, if so be you would see him."
Timothy waited only to make certain further inquiries concerning theidentity of the two men who had been taken to the gaol, and then set offon his way down to the village.
He went first to the widow Frampton's cottage, a clean little thatcheddwelling, with the dry and faded stalks of honeysuckle about thetrellised porch and a tiny garden in front. He asked for Jacob Hartop,and was told that the old man had wandered out to enjoy the freshmorning air. Timothy inquired which way he had gone, and was told thathe would perhaps find him down beside the sign of the Champernoun Arms,as he had said before going out that he had a mind to have a gossip withsome of the villagers over a pot of home-brewed ale.
Timothy made his way along the street past many whitewashed cottages,all curiously striped with cross beams of black oak, and looking verysweet and cosy with their thatched roofs and their smoking chimneys. Aturn in the road brought him within a few yards of the village well.About a dozen curly-headed boys and girls stood round it, and in theirmidst, sitting on the stone parapet that encircled the fountain, wasJacob Hartop. He was easily known by the fact that he still wore GilbertOglander's cloak, with its badge of the Oglanders on the shoulder. Theold man's back was towards Timothy, and the lad went quietly up behindhim until he came within sound of his voice. Jacob was holding forth tohis juvenile audience on the precious virtues of pure water, a cup ofwhich liquid he held in his right hand, resting on his knee.
"Ay," he was saying as Timothy drew near, "I told ye but a little whileago of all the gold and precious stones that I possessed--enough andmore in value, as I say, to buy up all Plymouth and Modbury. Well, Iwould, at times, willingly have given the whole of that treasure for onesuch little cup of water as this. Ah! 'tis a terrible thing to be dyingof thirst, my boys, as many of our brave men were a-dying at that timeaboard the _Golden Galleon_. 'Tis to be compared only with the torturesof the Inquisition. But there, bairns, methinks I have talked enoughabout myself and my ship. What would ye next--a song--a fairy tale?"
Timothy was about to break into the circle, but the voice of ayellow-haired little maid of some ten or eleven years old checked him.
"You did say you would tell us of Captain Drake," she said.
"Yes," chimed in a boy at her elbow, "thou didst say we should hear howit was that Sir Francis was cripp
led. I have oft wondered, when I haveseen him going up to my lord's great house yonder, how it was that hecame to walk lame."
Hartop laid his cup of water aside on the parapet of the well, and tookthe yellow-haired maid in his arms and perched her upon his knee. Theother children gathered closer round him.
"You must know, then," he began, looking from one to the other of therosy faces, "that our great enemies the Spaniards have long been famousfor the vast wealth that they have gathered out yonder in the islandsthat we name the West Indies. Every year King Philip doth send out afleet of his galleons to bring home to Spain their cargoes of silver andgold. 'Tis that same vast wealth that hath made him able to fit out hisarmadas and pay his armies of soldiers to fight against your fathers.Now Queen Elizabeth (God bless her!) hath ever been anxious to stopthose treasures from crossing over to Spain, and she hath allowedCaptain Drake and others of her great seamen, as well as such morehumble buccaneers as myself, to rove the Spanish Main and capture suchtreasure-ships as came in their way, also to land their forces on theSpanish islands and strip King Philip's treasure-houses of the gold andsilver therein stored."
At this point Timothy Trollope, being somewhat interested in thenarrative, sat down on the edge of the well with his back against one ofthe pillars of the winch.
"One such treasure-house was at a place which the Spaniards calledNombre de Dios," continued Hartop, "a town of the same size as Plymouth.The great building in which all the gold and silver was stored was namedthe Treasure House of the World, and I promise you it well merited thename. If all the cottages in Modbury village were made of solid silverand the church there of solid gold, there would yet be less than wascontained in the place I speak of. All the ships now lying in Plymouthharbour would not have been able to carry it away, though they had goneall together and made two voyages over their work.
"Now Captain Drake made up his mind to have that treasure and carry itoff, even though he should cast it all into the deep sea before he camehome again to England; for he well knew that if it should ever reachSpain King Philip would thus be made so rich that he could build moreships of war than any other monarch in all the world. So to Nombre deDios did Drake take his ships. Their crews were made up of the bestyoung men of Devon."
"And were you also with Drake at that time, Master Hartop?" asked one ofthe elder boys, whose name was Robin Redfern.
"I had that honour; yes," said Hartop. "And well I mind the night thatwe landed. 'Twas a stormy night. The clouds were as black as my cloak,and the rain was such as you never saw in dear old England. Bymisfortune the Spaniards got wind of our coming, and we had but reachedthe main street of the town when they sounded the alarm. They blew theirtrumpets, they rang their great bells, their soldiers appeared in vastnumbers at every corner, firing their muskets and their arrows into ourmidst. Many of our best men fell. But Captain Drake still urged us on,and we gladly followed his lead, for we knew that, despite the greaternumber of our enemies, we were more than equal to them in bravery, andthat the gold was still within our reach--that, indeed, Master Oxenhamand Captain Drake's brother John had already gone round with their mento break open the treasure-house doors. While these our comrades werethus occupied, Captain Drake meant to return to the middle of the townand engage our enemies in a wide, open market-place. Be called to us tofollow him thither. He stepped briskly forward to lead the way, and thenwith a cheery cry on his lips he suddenly rolled over in the wet sand,with his face as white as this little lady's frock.
"'Twas daylight by that time, and I had myself seen that with every stephe had taken, for the distance of it may be half a mile, he had left theimprint of his foot in blood. Ever since our first encounter with theSpaniards he had been secretly struggling against a desperate wound inhis leg, saying never a word about it, but hiding it lest the knowledgeof it might dishearten us. He had gone bravely on until he could nolonger stand. There, lying well-nigh dead upon the sand, he beseeched usto proceed with our work. We refused, and he grew angry. Again and againhe entreated us, but we told him--which was no more than the truth--thathis life was dearer to us than all the wealth of the Indies. We carriedhim down to our boats and took him aboard his ship, leaving theSpaniards and their wealth behind. And that was the end of our attemptupon the Treasure House of the World.
"'Twas long ere Captain Drake was well enough to leave his bed, but eversince that time he hath walked with a limp in his gait. May he walkthrough this life for many and many a year yet to come, say I!"
"Amen to that!" chimed in Timothy Trollope, rising and walking round tothe other side of the well and greeting Jacob Hartop.
The old man looked very different now from the weary and storm-tossedwanderer of the night before. His weather-beaten face had been newlywashed, and was of a clear ruddy brown, albeit wrinkled with many linesthat were as the river courses upon a map. His silvery hair and beardhad been trimmed and combed, and he wore a small white ruff that coveredfrom view his thin and scraggy neck. Some kindly villagers had given hima shepherd's jacket of russet frieze with red sleeves, a pair of thickstart-up boots, and a pair of rough cloth stockings. He lifted theyellow-haired maid from his knee and stood up, taking Timothy's hand.
"How fares your young master?" he inquired; and when Timothy had toldhim, he bade farewell to the children and walked by the tall youngfellow's side towards the bridge that crossed the little river. There hepaused as if about to turn back, but Timothy drew him on, telling himthat Lord Champernoun had ordered that if he could be found he was to bebrought up to the manor-house.
"My lord was ill pleased that you came not yesternight," said Tim. "Andit seemeth that Sir Walter Raleigh, hearing that you had been in theIndies, hath also expressed a wish to have speech with you."
"Sir Walter Raleigh?" repeated Hartop in a tone of surprise. "Ah! then'tis my bounden duty to go with you. I knew not that he was within ahundred miles of this place. And I have news for him. But I gave you myreasons for avoiding Modbury Manor at this present time. I wanted not tomeet again with Master Jasper Oglander, of whom, God wot, I have alreadyseen more than pleaseth me. I wot well that he did intend to go thitheryesternight. Didst find him there when ye went in, prithee?"
Timothy nodded. "We found him and his son at the table when we carriedMaster Gilbert into the dining-hall," he said.
"And the signora his wife? Was not she also present?" asked the old man,glancing up at Timothy as it were with the corner of his eye.
"No," answered Trollope; "I heard naught of her."
"Ah!" returned Hartop in a tone which Timothy did not exactlyunderstand.
And then, after a few moments' silence, Jacob added, as if speaking tohimself: "'Tis as I judged, then--and yet--?"
Timothy stroked his upper lip meditatively, and then, turning abruptlyupon the old mariner: "Now, prithee, what doubts and questions art thouturning over in thy mind?" he inquired.
Jacob Hartop set his eyes straight before him up the long lane andstrode on in resolute silence. But Timothy was pertinacious; he nudgedhis elbow against Jacob's arm.
"I'll tell thee what thou'rt thinking, Master Hartop," said he smiling."Thou'rt thinking that 'tis passing strange that Jasper Oglander and hisson were so close at hand at the time that thou wert robbed--nay, more,I'll warrant me thou'rt even questioning whether they were notthemselves the very men who robbed thee."
Jacob Hartop suddenly came to a stand-still and stared at Timothy inwonderment.
"By St George," he exclaimed, "thou'rt a very 'cute and promising lad,Timothy! Beshrew me if thou'st not hit upon my veritable thoughts! 'Twasthat in truth that I was questioning. But there be many points,nevertheless, that seem to disprove the suspicion; as, firstly, ifJasper and his son sought to rob me, why did they not rob me aboard theship, where the matter was as easy as eating and drinking? Secondly, if'twas they who robbed me, how came it that there was a third man in thework with them? And who might that third man have been? But on the otherhand, mark you, if 'twas not they who did it, who else were
myassailants? Who other than they could have known that I had aught aboutme that was worth the robbing?"
"Ah! then you were not so poor as you did look?" cried Timothy. "You didindeed carry something of value in your wallet?"
"'Twas something which would most certainly have been accounted ofvalue--of the most exceeding value--by Queen Elizabeth, or FrancisDrake, or Walter Raleigh, or even perchance by my Lord Champernoun, butby few else," answered Jacob Hartop. "Your common footpad rascal whoseeketh for that which will buy him bread would peradventure have castit into the fire, not guessing at its import."
"And yet you hinted but a moment ago that Jasper Oglander did know youhad that about you which was worth the robbing," said Timothy.
"Ay, but Jasper Oglander is different," returned Hartop gravely. "He iswithout honour, and without conscience, a vile dissembler, and--" Hebroke off, recollecting that Timothy was a servant in Modbury Manor,and that it was therefore unwise to speak thus of Lord Champernoun'sson. "But why should I catalogue his faults?" he continued. "If youwould learn more of him, you have but to question Sir Francis Drake, whowill haply tell you more than I dare tell. 'Twas indiscreet in me tomention Jasper in this connection; but your own remark took me unawares.Nevertheless I am by no means certain that it was not indeed JasperOglander who attacked and robbed me yesternight--to say nothing of thewounding of your young master who rescued me--and I am minded to findout the truth, though it cost me until the end of the year in the searchfor it."
"You might better have said to the end of this lane," smiled Timothy,"for I can at once set your mind at ease. Like yourself, Master Hartop,I had vaguely suspected that Jasper Oglander had had a hand in thisaffair; but he hath given my suspicions a very positive denial, for hehath declared that both he and Master Philip did journey round by thehighroad, and were nowhere near to Beddington Dingle. Also, the actualthieves have been discovered."
Hartop glanced at Timothy with a curious light in his eyes.
"And yet," said he, "I traced both Jasper and Philip's footprints in thesnowy ground of Beddington Lane. What should that bode, I pray you?"
"Tut!" retorted Timothy. "How know you their footprints from those ofany other honest folk?"
The old mariner answered with quiet deliberation, and with a firmnessthat seemed to show that he had little doubt upon the matter:
"By the token that Jasper Oglander's feet do turn slightly inward as hewalks, and by the fact that his boots be pointed at the toes, in theSpanish fashion. By the token, too, that in the snow, hard against theleft bootmark of him who walked by his side, there was here and there alittle line, made by the point of a rapier scabbard--made, as I take it,by the point of Philip Oglander's rapier, which, if you will haveoccasion to observe, is a weapon of unusual length."
"Marry!" cried Trollope. "Thou art surely a very bloodhound in thy skillat tracking!"
"'Tis an art that hath oft served me in good stead," returned Hartop. "Ilearned it from John Hawkins. And, touching this matter of the woundingof Master Gilbert, didst chance to regard the fashion of his adversary'ssword-play?"
Timothy shook his head. "I knew naught of the encounter till 'twasover," he answered. "Yet wait; Master Gilbert did indeed tell me thismorning that the man had enwrapped his guard arm with the skirt of hiscloak."
"Ay, Philip Oglander's own method. I had guessed so much," said Hartopwith a confident nod of his head.
"What?" exclaimed Timothy. "You will say that it was Philip Oglander?'Tis not possible, man. Why, the lad's own father informed us only thismorning that Philip was but a dullard--a very dunce--at the use of therapier. The lad admitted as much also, and even spoke of taking lessonsfrom Master Gilbert. It is not possible, I say."
"Ah! I do perceive that thou art yet but a simple countryman, MasterTrollope," rejoined Jacob Hartop as he paused at the edge of a greatslough of mud that was in front of him and turned to his companion. "Asimple country lad that doth see no guile, knowing not of man's manifoldwickednesses. But thou'lt learn wisdom with growing years. . . . And sohe declared that his son was but a dullard at sword-play, eh? Hark'ee,my lad; attend to an old man's counsel; and when Jasper Oglander--ay, orhis son--doth say that a thing is white, believe thou that 'tis in truthblack. When he doth declare that he is a devout and zealous Protestant,believe thou that he is in truth an ardent and bigoted Papist. When hedoth declare--as I doubt not he soon will--that he is heart and soul forQueen Elizabeth, believe thou that he is all in all for King Philip andSpain. When--"
"Enough!" exclaimed Timothy drawing back a step in anger. "I will hearno more. You are the man's enemy and do but speak against him falsely.He hath given you his help, and yet you turn against him and decry himas though he were a very villain. You say that it was he who robbed you.I tell you 'tis false--false as your own calumnies. Ay, and I will proveits falseness, for the men who robbed you have been caught. They werecaught at a late hour yesternight and are now lying in Plymouth gaol."
The old man started at Timothy, astonished and perplexed. Then he turnedand carefully picked his way across the slough of mud, saying never aword. At length, when the lad again came to his side, he said verycalmly:
"Are you certain sure of this that you tell me, Master Trollope? Are youcertain that these men have been caught?"
"Certain," Timothy answered curtly. And they continued their journey insilence.
At this same time Baron Champernoun was in his great gloomy library withSir Walter Raleigh and Raleigh's cousin, Sir Richard Grenville. Hislordship was seated before the fire in a large arm-chair, with his headsupported upon pillows and his feet propped up in front of him on a highhassock. Raleigh had been writing at the table, but had now swung roundhis chair and sat with his two hands clasping one of his knees, lookingdown at the crimson rosette that adorned his dainty shoe. Grenvillestood with his back to the cheek of the fireplace. He was a tall,broad-shouldered seaman of about fifty years of age, with dark curlyhair and a full, pointed beard that was sprinkled with gray. There wasan easy, careless look about him, and his voice when he spoke seemed tohave in it something of the deep low murmur of the sea.
"Ay, cousin Walter," he was saying, "thou hast made a stroke of ill-luckfor once with this _Pearl_. She hath never brought thee much profit tospeak of, and this last adventure of hers doth bring her misfortunes toa climax. 'Tis the first time I have known a ship come home from theIndies lacking a cargo that would amply repay her owners for theiroutlay. And her crew, from what Master Jasper hath told us, are of aslittle value as herself, what with graybeards for sailing-masters andnegroes for seamen. I never saw the negro yet who could handle a rope ortrim a sail. 'Tis surprising to me that with such a ship's company thecraft hath ever reached port. What wilt do with the old hulk now,Walter,--break it up for firewood, or sell it to thine enemy?"
"Sell the ship, Raleigh,--sell her to Jasper Oglander," interposed LordChampernoun with a chuckling laugh. "I'll go to the expense of fittingher out anew for him. 'Twill be a cheap enough way of getting rid of himfor another year or two."
"I will sell her most willingly, baron, an you are serious," remarkedRaleigh. "But I promise you it would be cheaper far to build a newvessel altogether. The _Pearl_ is one of your old-fashioned craft. Wehave made an hundred improvements in our ships since she waslaunched--thanks to John Hawkins and other skilled and worthynavigators. We have devised the striking of the topmast, together withthe chain-pump. We have invented studding sails, top-gallant sails,sprit sails, topsails. We now weigh our anchors by the capstan. Ourhulls are now built on longer keels than formerly, with loweredsuperstructure and finer lines, which make them swifter and capable ofcarrying more sail. Compare such a heavy cumbrous ship as the _Pearl_with our vessels of the newer sort, such as the _Revenge_. Theimprovement is too great to admit of controversy."
"Thou'rt right, cousin Walter," said Grenville, advancing a step andseating himself on an oak settle that stood beyond the too-great warmthof the fire. "Wiseacres, who knew less than we, declared that our newsh
ips would be too crank to carry sail, and only fit for smooth water,and they foretold that they would surely founder in the heavy seas ofthe Atlantic. But the result hath disproved their prophecies."
"The high charging of ships was but a huge mistake," pursued Raleigh."Those towering castles at stern and prow did but increase the ship'sleeway, made her sink too deep in the water, and tended to overset her."
"I am not learned in these matters," remarked Lord Champernoun with someimpatience. "But touching that ship the _Revenge_, which you mentionedjust now, Raleigh, did I not hear some weeks since that she had met withsome grave disaster?"
Sir Walter Raleigh picked up his quill from the table and began idly tonibble at the feather end, leaving his cousin to answer the question.
"'Twas a small matter, as things have turned out," said Grenville; "andalthough it might indeed have been serious, yet there was not a singlelife lost. She was riding at her moorings in the river Medway, off thetown of Rochester, with naught but her bare masts overhead, and in agreat storm of wind and weather she suddenly turned topsy-turvy, herkeel uppermost. Howsoever, they have righted her now, and she is beingrefitted for her next voyage, whithersoever that may be."
"Her destination hath not yet been decided upon," remarked Raleigh. "Butthere is talk of her being despatched to join others of Her Majesty'sships that are now lying in wait off the Western Islands to interceptand capture the Spanish plate fleet, which should be returning fromHavana at about this time. But I much doubt that 'tis already too latefor her to enter upon that journey, and it may be that she will becommissioned for the expedition to Panama."
Sir Richard Grenville slowly rose to his feet, and touching Raleigh onthe shoulder, "Look you, cousin Walter," he said, "'tis not often that Ido ask you a favour, but an you love me I would beseech you to use yourinfluence with Her Majesty on my account, and advise her with all youreloquence to graciously appoint me to the command of the _Revenge_."
"Thou shalt have it, Dick; on my honour thou shalt have it," returnedRaleigh, turning about and clapping the rough seaman on the broad back.
"Ay," interposed Lord Champernoun, "and thou shalt take my younggrandson Gilbert with thee, Grenville. I had rather he learnedseamanship under thee than under any other man in all Her Majesty'sservice."
At this moment there was a knock at the library door, and TimothyTrollope entered, followed by Jacob Hartop.