CHAPTER XIV
"Captain 'Enery"
While the boat was away on its errand Captain Jeremy turned to me.
"You see, Master Clifford, that I am in a very awkward position. Asmaster of this vessel I look upon mutiny and similar uprisingsagainst authority as an offence of the blackest dye. 'Tis certainthat Master Oddicombe and his following have dealt hardly with thecaptain of the _Neptune_ and his crew, and for that they deserve tobe delivered up to justice at the first English settlement we touch.On the other hand, they were fighting for their liberty 'gainst atyrant, while, to go farther, they fought side by side with us underMonmouth's banner. But for the workings of Providence, I and a scoreof my men now on board this vessel would have been similarly dealtwith. Had we been in their place, how should we have acted, had themeans of regaining our freedom been opened to us?"
"Same as they, Cap'n," exclaimed 'Enery, who, with Touchstone andmyself, formed a little council in the cabin.
"I did but sound your inclinations," continued Captain Jeremy. "Sinkme! I cannot blame them. But now, by the laws of the sea, the_Neptune_ is in our keeping till we bring her into a port, when theAdmiralty courts shall decide our share of the salvage. But if we dothat, what is to become of the yokels that are on board? Nay, thatwill not serve."
"We could do with another ship and a sprinkling of fighting men,"observed the master gunner tentatively.
"You have spoken mine own mind," rejoined Captain Jeremy. "If we canbut make yon peasants see that therein lies the best chance ofsafety, I'll tranship half of them, and send thirty of our men underyou, bos'n, to work the leavening of the rest. I know these men.They are full of fight, and only need a stiffening of good seamen toturn them into a passable crew."
"Then you expect we shall have opposition, sir?" I asked. "Fromwhom?"
"From the buccaneers, unless I be greatly mistaken. With the _GoldenHope_ alone 'twould be necessary to avoid an engagement should theserogues think fit to molest us, for they swarm all over the CaribbeanSea; but with a consort like the _Neptune_ we can hold our own. Isshe a seaworthy craft?"
"As sweet a craft as I could wish for--saving our own," replied'Enery.
"And well found?"
"Both in stores and munitions of war, though I have not made a fullsearch. Eight twelvepounders and an eighteen on her fo'c'sle, and agoodly store of muskets, cutlasses, and pikes, to say naught of astock of bilboes."
"And water?"
"Enough and to spare."
"Excellent!" exclaimed Captain Jeremy. "But here is the boatalongside. We'll hear what Master Oddicombe hath to say to ourproposals."
Master Oddicombe needed but little persuasion to fall in withCaptain Jeremy's suggestions. He realized only too well that hisbold step in taking possession of the _Neptune_ brought the greaterchance of difficulties and dangers; and that, had they beenoverhauled by a King's ship, every man would assuredly have graced ahalter.
Captain Jeremy next proceeded to explain the mission of the _GoldenHope_, and our expectation of securing a vast treasure.
"Although I can offer you no share in the matter," he continued, "Ishall require you and your companions to pledge yourselves to serveus faithfully for the space of not more than two years. At the endof that time, or before, should we attain the object of our search,I'll warrant your safe discharge at some settlement, where you willbe free men. More than that, should we be able, by the united workof both vessels, to capture any buccaneering craft who think tomolest us, their cargoes will be equally divided betwixt all hands.So if you and your men are willing to serve us faithfully, andengage in an enterprise of adventure and profit, now is the chanceof that and your freedom."
Nothing loath, Master Oddicombe gave the required promise on behalfof his men, and the compact having been sealed over a bottle ofMadeira, we all repaired on deck, where Captain Jeremy gave ordersfor our crew to assemble.
"My lads," said he, "You know I'm a bluff sailor and not given tomaking speeches, so I come straight to the point. Yon brig is nowour consort. Together we'll make a match for any buccaneer thatdares to assail us. You need not fear that your shares in theexpedition will be lessened by our increased numbers--if anything,you stand to gain. I hope you'll welcome your new messmates. Some ofyou will greet them as old companions on the battlefield. That's allI'm going to say. Now, thirty men are wanted to serve aboard the_Neptune_ under Captain 'Enery." Here our former bos'n almost losthis balance, at the shock of hearing his new title. "Seven of ourmen are already aboard her," continued Captain Jeremy, with a sweepof his arm in the direction of the _Neptune_, which, like the_Golden Hope_, had been hove-to during the last hour or so. "Thosewilling to serve under Captain 'Enery will muster on the larboardside."
To my surprise, not a man crossed over to the larboard, but with oneaccord all stepped briskly and resolutely to the starboard side.
"What's this I see?" shouted Captain Jeremy.
"Do you want to cruise single-handed? Are you afraid that, againstmy word, your shares will go down? Do I scent mutiny aboard the_Golden Hope_? Bestir yourselves, my hearties!"
"'Tain't neither, Cap'n," replied one of the men, Tom Cherry byname. He had been one of the Captain's comrades in the cave, and wasa stanch, honest fellow. "We'll all go if you gives the word, but wedon't want you to think as 'ow we wants to leave you."
"You won't be leaving me; it's the _Golden Hope_ you're leaving, tojoin a consort under my orders. I thank you all for your expressionof loyalty, but as some of you must ship aboard the _Neptune_ we'llleave it to chance. Master Touchstone, do you draw the men into tworanks."
Thereupon the crew took up their position, fifty-one all told, forCaptain 'Enery and the master gunner were, with Captain Miles and meon the poop.
"Down you go, Master Clifford, and pick out a man at random," saidour Captain; and, descending the poop ladder, I walked between tworows of as fine a set of men as ever served afloat.
"Fall out, you," ordered Captain Jeremy, as I touched a smartlower-yard man on the shoulder.
"Now, count out every seventh man."
"There you are, Captain 'Enery," he continued, when the counting outwas completed; "a proper crew for you, and no favouritism. I trustthey'll do you credit. Now, lads, there's no time to be lost, sodismiss and pack up your traps."
With this there was a wild skelter, as the men dived into theforepeak to gather together their personal property; and a quarterof an hour later the backbone of the _Neptune's_ crew rowed off toour consort.
An hour or more elapsed ere the sixty peasants were brought on boardthe _Golden Hope_, for Captain 'Enery, with considerable tact, hadallowed them to settle amongst themselves who should stay and whowere to go. Thus there was no separation of relations orfriends--for, poor fellows, they had had enough of that when theyleft England--and each band of yokels had the satisfaction offinding themselves made up of practically the manhood of theirrespective villages.
Our westward course was now resumed, the two vessels keeping theirstations with commendable precision, the _Golden Hope_ leading atabout a cable's length from the _Neptune's_ larboard bow.
From early morn to late afternoon, day after day, the new arrivalswere trained in the use of arms, manning the guns under MasterTouchstone's supervision, and going through the musketry exercisesand the cuts and guards of the cutlass drill. It was not long beforetheir smocks and other homely garments had given place to clothes ofa nautical cut, while each day added to their transformation intostout-hearted British seamen.
Nor were the conditions under which the crew of the _Neptune_ livedless strenuous. Although we were unable to go aboard her, for theTrades blew steadily during this time, and both vessels kept up agood eight knots, I could see by the aid of a glass that her menwere hard at work with their ordnance and small arms; while itseemed that Captain 'Enery rarely quitted his quarter-deck. WheneverI chanced to look that way I could distinguish his tall, gaunt,bearded figure slowly pacing his domain; and I realized that, shouldwe ever find our
selves in a tight fix, we should have reason to bethankful for the aid of Captain 'Enery.