CHAPTER THIRTY.
"Thank Heaven, you are so far safe, dearest," said Fleetwood, as heplaced Ada in the stern sheets of the boat, by the side of Jack Raby,who, it was arranged, should steer, while he took the stroke oar, hiscompanions pulling the others.
With heartfelt gratitude did Ada thank Heaven, for having thus farconducted them in safety through the perils which surrounded them, andimplored protection for herself, and for the gallant men, herdeliverers, through those they had still to encounter.
They had well employed the time spent in waiting, by carefully mufflingthe oars, so that they should make no noise as they worked in therullocks, and it was now only necessary to take care to let the bladesfall into the water, and to draw them out again with as little splash aspossible.
Marianna sat opposite to her mistress; and if not the most delighted ofthe party at the success which had hitherto attended them, she, at allevents, gave more vehement expression to her feelings; and Raby had toapply his former remedy to keep her quiet.
At a sign from Fleetwood, the boat was sent gliding off from the rock;but instead of at once steering out into the bay, she was kept close inshore, under the shadow of the cliffs: the blades of the oars justclearing the sand as they went along.
The boat was a very rough specimen of naval architecture, and wore theyto have depended on her speed, the chance of escape would have beensmall indeed. She was built to pull six oars, with a high bow andstern, and though well suited to serve as a fishing-boat, or to live inthe short seas of the Archipelago, was not intended to be used whenrapid progress was important. The adventurers had, indeed, selectedher, not on account of the qualities she possessed adapted for theirpurpose, but because she happened to be moored close into the shore,near the east side of the bay, and, what was very important, had heroars left on board her. Pietro, who was a good swimmer, had, itappeared, gone off with his knife in his mouth, and cutting her cable,towed her close enough in for the other two to step into her. They hadthen brought her round, with the same cautious silence, to whereFleetwood had found her.
The hearts of all beat quick with hope, not unmixed, however, withapprehension, as the boat glided along the shore close to the cliffs.
Fleetwood's glance was roving watchfully round, to notice the first signof their being discovered, and of any preparations made for theirpursuit. The figure of the unhappy Paolo Montifalcone was the only onediscernible, as he stood at the end of the rock, to catch a last glimpseof the faint outline of her on whom he had so devotedly set theaffection of his ardent nature, without a prospect of return, and hisfigure soon faded away in the obscurity.
From the shore, the adventurers had now, they thought, less cause tofear; but they looked with suspicious eyes towards the brig, and the twomisticos, on the decks of which, at least, one person ought to have beenon the watch; but neither of them gave any signs of having life onboard.
"If we had suspected the sort of watch there rascals keep, we shouldhave had little difficulty in taking them by surprise," thoughtFleetwood. "We may profit by our knowledge on another occasion, but Iam afraid they will not _forget_ the lesson I hope we shall give them,to be more vigilant in future."
Of course, it is difficult to describe the sensations which alternatelyfilled Ada's bosom, as the boat progressed round the harbour; hope, joy,gratitude, love, and fear, all were there; and those who wouldunderstand what they were, must either have been placed in a similarposition, or must endeavour to fancy themselves so placed. At lengththe eastern point of the harbour was passed, and with the toweringcliffs of the entrance rising above them on either side, the clearboundless sea appeared ahead. Jack Raby, with the natural impulse ofhis age, forgetting his own lessons to Marianna, was very nearly givingway to a shout of joy as he found the boat floating freely on the oceanhe had learned to love and to confide in; but he recollected himself intime, and merely uttered a whispered "hurra," which could not have beenheard above the splash of the water on the rocks close above them.
"Port your helm, Raby, and let us shut out the bay as fast as we can,"whispered his captain. "We shall still keep under the shadow of thecliffs for a short distance, to avoid the risk of being seen from theeastern towers. That will do, steady.
"Keep up your courage, my sweet Ada, for a few minutes more," he said,turning his eyes to her countenance, from which, indeed, his glance hadnever been absent longer than was necessary to watch for their safety."We may now congratulate ourselves on having every chance of escape. Inless than half an hour we shall fall in with the _Ione's_ boats, andthen we may defy the whole nest of pirates to stop us."
"I shall have no further fear when we have lost sight of that dreadfulvessel, which looks even now like some slumbering monster about to awakeand rush after us," she answered, pointing to the _Sea Hawk_, which laystill open inside the harbour's mouth.
She had scarcely uttered these words when a loud shout was heard, whichseemed to proceed from some one on board her, and a musket wasdischarged at them. The shouting was repeated, and words were clearlydistinguished.
"We are discovered," exclaimed the Greek captain. "Pull, pull, as hardas we can, the watch on deck is calling on us to come into the harbour.He has evidently just woke up, and is yet uncertain what we are, thoughhe suspects us. He threatens to fire the guns at us if we do not obeyhim, and that will have the effect, though we escape the shot, of wakingup the rascals in all quarters, and we shall have a whole fleet of boatsafter us: stay, I will hail in return, and pretend we are fishermen."
On this he stood boldly up in the boat, and cried out in Romaic, at thetop of his voice--
"What fool is that on board the _Sea Hawk_, who has been sleeping on hiswatch these four hours past, and now makes so much noise, because othersmore industrious get up early in the morning to follow their avocations?We should have little fish to eat if we were to trust to you for thesupply."
"Who is it?" exclaimed the same voice. "Is it you, Balbo?"
"Yes, yes," answered Captain Vassilato; "I should have thought you wouldhave known my voice."
"Who is it?" hailed another person, apparently on shore.
"Gerasimo Listi," answered the watch on the _Sea Hawk's_ deck.
"No, no, the old fellow lies drunk at home!" exclaimed the secondspeaker. "Treachery, treachery. They are the spies endeavouring toescape."
"It is hopeless to deceive them," said Captain Vassilato, when he heardthese words, which he translated to his companions as he resumed hisseat and oar. "We must pull for our lives; we have a good start, and itmay be some time before any boats' crews can be collected to pursue us."
It is needless to say with what energy all hands bent to their oars--concealment was of no further use, and they were able to put their wholestrength into their strokes. There was no time to be lost. The brigwas swinging with her broadside across the mouth of the harbour, and assoon as those on her deck could procure matches, they rushed to theguns, and discharged them in quick succession; and Ada could scarcelyrestrain a shriek of terror as she saw their bright flashes lighting upthe mouth of the harbour--the sides and rigging of the vessel nowcrowded with people--and heard their loud report echoing among thecliffs, as also the rushing noise of the shot as they came flying by--some over their heads, some close astern, and others ahead of them; forthough the pirates' aim was very uncertain, yet, as from the narrowentrance of the bay, the only shot which could reach them must comebetween the cliffs, they could not go far distant from them. One ortwo, apparently, from the peculiar noise they made, hit the cliffs, andrebounded back into the bay. Marianna, whose fears had completelyovercome her, crouched down at the bottom of the boat, where she thoughtshe should be more secure; and Fleetwood entreated Ada in that respectto follow her example, desiring Jack Raby to place her as low down aspossible, where a shot was less likely to strike the boat. Though shewas unwilling to be more sheltered from danger than he was, yet she sawthat her so doing would relieve him from some of his fear for hersafety, and she
complied with his wishes; reclining on some jackets andcloaks which Jack Raby spread out for her, she saw no more of what tookplace, though the noise of the firing soon ceasing told her that theyhad shut in the brig by the western cliffs.
"Remain where you are, dearest," said Fleetwood, as she was about torise. "We may still have some shot sent after us, when the boats, whichwill probably pursue us, get outside; and though, with the start wehave, they are not likely to take good aim, a fatal one may come onboard; and think, Ada, of how little use would be the risk we have run,if you were to be the victim. But do not be alarmed; no enemy has yetapproached."
I do not know if I have explained clearly the position of the boat: shewas at this time about an eighth of a mile from the lofty cliffs whichformed the western side of the bay, with her head to the west, going atthe rate of between four and five knots an hour, which was the utmostspeed with which, with all their exertions, they could urge her throughthe water. The cleft in the rock, as now the entrance of the harbourappeared to be, was seen over their starboard quarter, and in thatdirection their eyes were anxiously turned for the appearance of theboats they fully expected would follow them. A new danger also appearedfrom a quarter they had not expected, for along the summit of thecliffs, as seen against the bright blue sky, they could discern somefigures running at full speed, and they were not left long in doubt asto their intentions. The persons halted, and the bright barrels oftheir guns gleamed in the moonlight, as they brought them to theirshoulders and fired. Several balls flew by them, and one struck thegunnel of the boat, though, fortunately, no other damage was done. Thepirates kept shouting out their threats of vengeance, and firing away,apparently to intimidate the fugitives, little understanding thecharacter of the people with whom they had to deal.
Here, of course, Ada was exposed to as much danger as the rest; andthough Fleetwood would have joyfully interposed his own person topreserve her, it was impossible for him to do so, and all he could dowas to entreat her to remain down as much as possible under the seat,and to redouble his efforts at the oar.
"We shall soon be beyond the range of those fellows' guns!" heexclaimed. "But ah, there's a boat's bow creeping out from between therocks. We've a good start of her, however. Give way, gentlemen. We'lllead her a long chase, and find her a warm reception at the end of it, Ihope."
"She's not alone, though!" exclaimed Bowse, whose eyesight wasremarkably keen. "There's another close astern of her, and, by heaven,there's another just rounding the point. We shall have enough of themto look after us, at all events."
"It matters little how many, provided we keep ahead of the leading one,"said Captain Fleetwood, in a cheerful tone, not as much for the objectof encouraging his rude companions, as for the sake of keeping up Ada'sspirits. "I don't think any of them are likely to pull much faster thanwe do."
These remarks were made slowly and at intervals, and perhaps even fewerwords were really used, as any one who has pulled a heavy oar, for lifeand death, will know the utter impossibility of carrying on an unbrokenconversation, as I have written it down.
They had by this time nearly doubled the distance they were from theshore when the first boat was seen, and had thus gained the best part ofhalf a mile from the harbour's mouth. The nearest of the pirate's boatswas rather more than a quarter of a mile off, which in a stern chase,with slow-pulling boats, was a considerable distance.
The other boats they would not have seen at that distance, had not, asthey pulled out, a gleam of moonshine fallen on their bows, and tingedtheir foaming wake with a line of gold, as they rounded the point beforethey could stand to the westward in pursuit. The night remained as calmand beautiful as at first, and the moon, though still young, affordedsufficient light to enable the pursuers and pursued to distinguish eachother, as they urged their boats through the water.
Fleetwood's arrangements had been as follows: Provided the weather wassufficiently moderate, in Mr Saltwell's opinion, with whom allauthority rested, to permit him to venture to sea, with safety, in anopen boat, he was to get under-weigh, in the _Ione_ every evening; tostand in till within sight of the island, and to send the boats on withall hands, well armed, to within about two miles of the island, due westof the harbour, or much nearer if the night should prove dark; but theywere especially to avoid any risk of being seen from the island. Asmorning dawned they were to retire gradually, keeping a bright look-outfor him, and they were then to return on board, and the _Ione_ was tostand back to her anchorage.
As the night was decidedly bright, Fleetwood did not expect to find theboats nearer than within the distance he had fixed on, and they had thena mile and a half at least to sail before they could come up with them;but he hoped that the firing would have attracted their attention, andthat, suspecting its true cause, they would have pulled closer in. Rabystood up as he steered, to peer into the darkness, but no sign could beseen of the wished-for boats.
"May I hail, sir?" he asked. "The pirates will only think that we arelaughing at them, and perhaps some of those with Mr Linton may know myvoice."
"Yes, hail if you like; but we are still too far off for them to hearyou," said Fleetwood.
On this, Jack Raby, putting his hand to his mouth, gave a long shrillcry, which might have been heard a mile off; and it must have made thepirates think that one of them was wounded; but no answering hail wasgiven.
The pirates' boats, though so suddenly manned, were pulled well, andwere decidedly overhauling the fugitives. Fleetwood remarked it, but hesaid nothing. He still hoped that as the distance was short betweenthem, and when they might not only obtain assistance, but retaliate onthe enemy, they might gain it before they were overtaken.
"It's surprising that the pirates in the boats don't fire on us,"observed Bowse. "They must see us clearly enough to take good aim atthis distance. I suspect they have no fire-arms with them."
"Depend on it, they are not without them," replied Captain Vassilato."His rifle was the first thing every man snatched up, as he left his hutand sprang on deck to jump into his boat. No, no, they make sure ofcoming up to us, and anticipate too much satisfaction in cutting ourthroats, to throw away a shot on us."
"They would be less chary of their powder if they knew how short adistance our friends are from us," said Fleetwood.
It occurred to him, also, that probably Zappa himself was on board oneof the boats, and that he would not fire for fear of injuring Ada; for,judging from his own feelings, he had from the first, thought, andjustly too, that the pirate was influenced to carry her off, more by hisadmiration of her than for the sake of her ransom, and this caused himstill more anguish, when he saw the probability of her again fallinginto his power.
"I think there is a slight air springing up from the eastward, sir,"said Jack Raby, as he sat down again to steer. "I wish we had a sail todrive her on faster."
"I fear, indeed, that there is a breeze getting up," said Fleetwood, ina tone which ill concealed the apprehensions he felt. "The other boats,however, may not have sails. They must all have come off in a greathurry."
"I see something which has a sail, though," exclaimed Bowse. "Therascals have towed out one of their cursed misticos, and we shall haveher after us presently. I see her white canvas, even now, gleaming inthe moon-light. She does not feel the breeze yet, for there is a littlenortherly in it, and the cliffs becalm her."
"I fear you are right, Bowse," said Fleetwood. "I have just now, also,caught a glimpse of her; but the breeze is still very light, and willnot send her faster through the water than the boats can pull, so weneed not fear her, I hope. It convinces me, also, that the boats haveno sails; but that they believe we have, and might, if the windincreases, get away from them. Courage, my friends, we must notdespair."
"We may give them a tough job to take us, sir, even if they come up withus," exclaimed the young midshipman, glancing over the boats, which wereclearly overhauling them. "There are five of us,"--he reckoned himselfa man in strength, as he was in courag
e--"and, with arms in our hands,we may thrash a few dozen rascally pirates, any day. But it may be aswell to sing out again, and let our friends know our whereabouts."
He jumped up as he said this, and shouted at the top of his voice; butno hail was heard in return; and it now became too probable that, owingto the calm which had prevailed all day, the _Ione_ had been delayed,and that her boats had not reached their station; for, otherwise, asFleetwood suggested, they would most certainly have pulled towards themdirectly they heard the guns of the _Sea Hawk_. Again and again JackRaby hailed, with the same result; and it now became very certain thatthey must not depend on the speedy assistance of their friends. To saythat Fleetwood's heart sank within him, as this circumstance becameevident, would be wrong; at the same time that he saw clearly the verygreat danger to which he and those with him were exposed.
"That they have refrained from firing shows that they will not injureAda; and when she tells the pirate that a large ransom is ready to bepaid for her, he will send her, unharmed, on board the _Ione_; and, forourselves, we must sell our lives dearly, as brave men should do."
He thought this, as he saw the leading Greek boat rapidly gaining onthem, and now little more than two-thirds the distance she had beenbefore; while they had pulled rather more than a mile from the shore,which now rose dim and frowning astern of them. At the same rate theymight thus pull two additional miles before they were overtaken; butthen it was utterly impossible that their strength would enable them tocontinue urging the boat through the water at the same speed they hadhitherto been doing. Could they indeed do so, it would be, they soonsaw, to little purpose, for every instant the breeze increased, and themistico was already up to the sternmost boats. They now saw that shehad her sweeps out, as well as her canvas set--which, of course, stillfurther lessened their chances of escape.
"I fear the knaves will have the best of it, sir," exclaimed Bowse,incautiously, forgetting the effect his observation might have upon Ada."But, never fear, sir, we'll fight it out as long as we've hands tomove. I'm sure Captain Vassilato and Mr Raby will, and I'll answer forPietro and myself."
"Thanks--thanks--my friends; I fear it must come to that," saidFleetwood. "Raby, have you got the muskets ready? We will give them afew shot, to show that we do not intend to yield, and at the same timethe report may be heard by our friends."
"Yes, sir; there are three muskets here," replied the midshipman. "Isuppose they are loaded."
"Oh, never fear; Captain Vassilato and I examined them after we got downto the boat, and we loaded them on board the mistico," said Bowse."Take a steady aim when you fire, sir. If you can but hit one or two ofthe men at the oars, it will throw them into great confusion."
"Shall I fire, sir?" asked Jack of his captain.
"No, wait till they get nearer; we must not throw a shot away," was theanswer.
Ada had heard, with the most intense anxiety, all the observations whichhad been made, and she could resist speaking no longer, which she did,in a voice weak and trembling with agitation and alarm.
"Oh, Fleetwood, I implore you, do not, for my sake, resist," she said."The pirates must inevitably overpower us, from what I hear; and you cando no good by fighting, but will certainly sacrifice your own life andthat of your friends. Yield, without striking a blow, and they will notinjure you; and you will surely find another opportunity to escape,while I must bear my lot as I best can. For myself I have no fears."
"Ada, it is not death I fear; but the thought of losing you almostunmans me," exclaimed Fleetwood. "And even if I felt, which I do not,that my life would be safe, were I again in the pirate's power, I couldnot yield without fighting, nor would those with me, I am sure. I knowall you feel, my beloved Ada; but were we this moment to cease pulling,and to allow the pirates to come alongside, it would but hasten ourfate."
Ada saw that further remonstrance would be useless, and relying, as shejustly did, on Captain Fleetwood's discretion and judgment, and feelinghe was acting for the best, she said nothing, but waited in silence anddread the coming contest. Poor little Marianna, though her fate wasless cruel than that of her mistress, as a short captivity was all shehad to fear, was not the less alarmed, and lay at the bottom of theboat, giving way to her fears in floods of tears without attempting torise.
The first boat approached within three cables' length of that of thefugitives.
"Now, Raby, fire, and aim steadily," exclaimed Fleetwood.
The midshipman, leaving the helm for an instant, took one of themuskets: and resting it on the stern of the boat, fired. A loud crysucceeded the report, and the boat's progress was evidently stopped.
"You have hit one of them," said Fleetwood. "Now, load your piece andfire again. If you can hit another, it will throw them into furtherconfusion."
Jack Raby eagerly did as he was desired, and taking his aim in the mostdeliberate manner, another pirate was either killed or wounded. Theeffect was to make her drop so much astern that the second boat took thelead of her.
Jack again loaded his piece. He looked up at the star of which he hadbeen steering, just touching the tiller with his arm, to bring the boat,which had gone off half a point, back to her proper course; and thenturning round, and half kneeling on the seat, he fired with the samedeliberate coolness as before. The bullet struck the boat, but no oneappeared to be wounded, for on she came faster than ever. He loaded andfired again, with the same want of effect; a third shot, however, toldon the body of one of the pirates, in the after part of the boat, buthis place was instantly taken by another; though the delay allowed theboat which had so long led to come almost abreast of her; and they now,to Fleetwood's grief, came up together, one pulling for each quarter.
"Load once more, Raby, and pass two of the muskets forward," heexclaimed. "As they hook on, we will all fire together, two on eachside; then, with our pistols, shoot those who are attempting to grapplethe boat, and trust to our cutlasses for the rest. The moment we canfree ourselves we will again take to our oars; and I hope we may givethem such a taste of our quality, that the rest may not wish to molestus."
"We'll do our best," was the unanimous cry, for all saw that Fleetwood'sproposal, however desperate, was the only one to afford them the chanceof escape. It would have been as great folly to have trusted to themercy of pirates, such as they were, as it is to confide in the honouror fair dealing of grasping, money-loving rogues on shore, moreespecially of those who fancy that they have the protection of the lawsto shelter them, while they carry out their nefarious projects. The twoleading boats were close to them, while the others were some way astern,with the mistico, which was bringing up the breeze, nearly abreast ofthe latter.
"Now," exclaimed Fleetwood, throwing in his oar, and seizing a musket,as the bows of the two boats came up with their counter, "fire."
The order was obeyed, and a man in each boat was seen to fall, but itdid not check them, and they dashed alongside. The gallant adventurersdrew their pistols, and fired them with equally good aim, for two moreof their opponents fell wounded; and then grasping their cutlasses usedthem with such effect, that for some minutes their assailants were keptat bay, without either of themselves receiving a wound. Suddenly, inthe midst of the clashing of swords and the cries of the combatants,Jack Raby jumped up on the seat at the risk of being cut down by theenemy; and, while he was still using his sword with one liana, he putthe other to his mouth, and shouted out at the top of His voice--
"_Ione_--ahoy--ahoy! I thought so, I thought so," he exclaimed, as afaint hail came across the waters. "I thought I heard their hail beforewe fired."
On hearing this, Fleetwood and the rest simultaneously joined in the cryof--
"_Ione_--ahoy--ahoy!"
If, however, it had the effect of letting their friends know where theywere, it also made the pirates see the necessity of finishing the affairwithout delay, if they would secure their prize. A tall figure had beenseen standing in the after part of one of the boats. He now sprangforward, and cr
ossed his blade with Fleetwood, who at once recognisedhim as Zappa. Both were good swordsmen, but the pirate had greater sizeand strength, and his arm was, besides, untired, while Fleetwood couldscarcely wield his weapon. Zappa shouted to his men.
"Beware!" cried the Greek captain, who knew what was said.
The pirates from both boats made a simultaneous rush; a third came up atthe same time. A blow, he could not parry, struck Fleetwood down,senseless, into the bottom of the boat; and at the same moment hiscompanions fell desperately wounded, except Jack Raby, who found hissword whirled into the sea, and himself lifted, by main force, into oneof the boats, with Pietro in his company. As Fleetwood tottered onreceiving his wound, Ada Garden uttered a shriek of terror, but beforeher fears overpowered her she mustered her energies for the occasion,and endeavoured, as she knelt at the bottom of the boat, to prevent himfrom receiving any further injury as he fell. Regardless of the noiseand confusion around, she raised his head on the cloaks, on which shehad been reclining; she endeavoured to stanch the blood flowing from adeep wound in his head; she called on his name, in accents of anguish,to revive and speak to her, but in vain--no answer could he give. Sheobserved not what was taking place, scarcely that his companions weretaken away; that other men filled their places, and that the boat wasbeing urged rapidly back towards the shore, by six fresh and powerfuloarsmen. Meantime the mistico had come up, and now hauled her wind withher head to the northward, so that her guns might cover the retreat ofthe pirate boats; but as soon as they got in order, and began to movetowards the harbour, she let draw her head sails, went about, and stoodin the same direction, none of the pirates having the slightestintention of coming in contact with the British, if they could avoid it;for they also, it afterwards appeared, had heard the hail of the_Tone's_ boats, and rightly guessed from whence it came. The crews ofthe British boats gave way with a will; for, finding that all the firinghad ceased, and that their hail was no longer answered, they began tosuspect the truth, and that their friends had been overtaken andcaptured. Linton, it must be remembered, could not tell to a certaintywhat had taken place, and he therefore acted to the best of hisjudgment. He ordered the boats to accompany him, pulling as fast asthey could, in the direction in which they had seen the firing; but theyhad come clearly in sight of the lofty cliffs of the island before theyperceived the mistico standing in for the land, and a fleet of boatsnear her, just distinguishable through the gloom. The tables were nowreversed, and it was this time the smaller force chasing the larger one;but even had there been twice the number of boats, Linton would not havehesitated to chase them. The British crews, as they found that theywere in sight of the enemy, gave forth three of those hearty cheerswhich they can seldom resist uttering in moments of excitement, and,with redoubled energy, dashed after the retreating boats.
That cheer was heard by those of the captives who still retained theirconsciousness, and though it showed them that they were not deserted bytheir friends, it made the pirates still more eager to return to theirstrong-hold, to avoid encountering an enemy so evidently in good spiritsand courage.
The mistico sailed well; but, as the wind stood, it was evident that shewould be obliged to make one tack, if not more, before she could fetchthe harbour, and this gave the British a hope that they should at allevents be able to cut her off; and Linton doubted whether it would notbe better first to get hold of as many of the boats as they could, andthen to wait for her off the mouth of the harbour.
"I think the boats have got the captain, and the rest of them, on board,by the way they pull," shouted Linton, to Tompion, who commanded thecutter. "Tackle them first, and we may pay the other rascals offafterwards. Huzza, my men--give way, or they will be into their denbefore we can get alongside them."
"The mistico has tacked," shouted Tompion, in return. "Shall I fireinto her?"
"No--no; no firing--we may be hitting our friends," cried Linton. "Lether go--we can get her afterwards."
As the boats drew near her, the mistico opened a fire of small arms andswivels on them over the larboard side; for she was now standingdirectly across their course, bringing them, as she got more to thenorthward, under her stern; so that when she again tacked, she would beable to bring her starboard broadside to bear on them. The pirate boatsalso commenced a slight and uncertain fire, showing that very few ofthem had arms; but, as they drew near the shore, the cliffs appearedfringed with a blaze of fire, which opened down upon them.
Still undaunted, Linton pushed on: the boats were occasionally hit, butno one was wounded. The mistico again tacked; but she found the windmore scant than she had probably expected, and she consequently felloff, and instead of having the English boats on her starboard side, shepassed astern of them, unable to fire, so close were both partiestogether, without an equal chance of injuring her own friends. The samecause also prevented the people on the cliffs from keeping up the hotfire they might otherwise have done; for in the darkness of night it wasdifficult to distinguish the position of the English boats, inconsequence of their carefully abstaining from firing. Linton and hisfollowers were almost up with the sternmost of the pirate boats when thelofty cliffs opened, as it seemed, by magic--the enemy disappeared inthe narrow opening, and, as they were boldly pushing after them, theyfound a thick chain drawn across the passage, and at the same time ablaze of fire opened from the broadside of the brig, moored across it.
"Back your larboard oars, pull up your starboard oars, my men," shoutedLinton. "We are in a trap--must give it up, or be knocked to pieces,I'm afraid. Let all the boats pull to the south-west as fast as theycan till we are out of the range of their guns."
It was, indeed, time for the British to retire; for besides the big gunsand swivels of the brig, every accessible point of the cliffs abovetheir head appeared covered with musketry, and several heavy pieces sentforth their messengers of destruction from beneath the walls of thecastle. Never were boats perhaps exposed to a hotter fire--to penetrateinto the harbour was utterly impossible, and the probability of theirescaping was small indeed.
"Pull on--pull for your lives, my men," shouted the young lieutenant, asthe boats' heads came round, and their crews endeavoured to escape fromthe showers of round shot and bullets, which dashed the water up onevery side of them, wounding several, and sending more than one braveheart to its last account.
"We shall do yet, my men. We'll pay the villains off for this!" heshouted. "Oh, Heaven! They've done for me. Take the helm, Duff, andtell Mr Tompion--"
He spoke in a low tone, and before he finished the sentence he sunk downat the bottom of the boat.