CHAPTER XX
The Repulse at the Stockade
Who our new enemies were, and whence they came, we knew not. Judgingby the outer ring of flashes, it would seem that they outnumberedthe defenders of the stockade by seven to one; for only twenty-fivemen had been left on shore on the preceding evening.
These were once more under the command of Touchstone, who, on thetermination of our fight with the pirate ships, had resumed his postat the base of our operations on land. Yet the handful of men, underthe spirited leadership of the master gunner, ought to provethemselves equal to their attackers, as they had the advantage of astout breastwork.
But while the fight continued we were tormented with doubts andfears. In the darkness we could tell by the rapid spurts of flamethat came from the stockade that our men were fiercely contestingtheir ground, although by the flashes encircling them we knew thatthe attack was being pushed close home.
Nor could we render any assistance, for our broadsides might do moreharm to friend than to foe; while it would be extremely hazardous toattempt to land an armed party on an open beach, as we knew not thenumbers of our enemies. Moreover, in the darkness we might fire on,or be fired upon by our own men.
Above the crackle of musketry and the shouts of the combatants wecould distinguish the deeper crash of the ordnance that had beenlanded from the _Golden Hope_, while now and again would come anominous lull, only to be broken by another crash of guns and thenoise of a hand-to-hand conflict.
Having loaded all our ordnance on the landward side, and kept suchof our boats as were still seaworthy close alongside, we could onlyawait the dawn, of which signs were already apparent.
At length it grew light, with all the splendour and rapidity of aWest Indian dawn, and we were able to see how things fared ashore.
The stockade was still in the hands of Touchstone and his men,though two gaps in the palisades showed how close home the attackhad been pushed. Yet around these breaches the dead lay thick, whilescattered over the plain were other corpses, proving how well ourpeople had handled their muskets.
Drawn up at a distance of half a mile from the stockade was a bodyof musketeers, to the number of about fifty. They were evidentlyplanning a fresh attack, for those who carried firearms had theirmatches lighted. Yet they appeared to have no heart to advance, forwe saw one whom we supposed to be their leader beckon angrily withhis sword.
One broadside from the _Neptune_ sent them helter-skelter. They fledpast the landward side of the stockade, though beyond musket range,and disappeared behind the rising ground that terminated in theheadland on the northern side of the harbour.
Captain 'Enery immediately sent two boats ashore laden with men,and, going with them, I was able to see the effects of the attack.
It appeared that our sentinels had heard the sound of footsteps and,receiving no reply to their challenge, had opened fire. The garrisonhad barely time to stand to their arms and man the stockade ere theforemost of their attackers gained the ditch, and attempted to rushthe palisade.
In the protracted defence we had lost but three men killed and fourbadly wounded, while of our enemies nearly two score were foundlying outside the defence.
One of the latter, being but slightly wounded in the leg, wasbrought into the stockade and questioned. Doubtless expecting to behanged forthwith, he maintained a sullen silence, till Touchstonepromised him his life should he speak the truth. This offer,combined with a number of veiled threats should he still proveobstinate, had its effect, and the prisoner became communicative.
His was a disquieting report. In the north-western part of theisland, some eight or nine miles by the direct route across themarshy forest, though nearly twice that distance by the coast, was asettlement inhabited by buccaneers. They had seen our arrival, but,owing to the fact that their squadron of four vessels was away on acruise, they had refrained from molesting us till the shipsreturned.
Possibly they were unaware of our expedition into the interior, forhad they known of this they would certainly have ambushed our partyon the march.
The prolonged stay of our two ships in the harbour had puzzled themnot a little, and when their three vessels returned, the fourthhaving been separated from her consorts, a combined attack by landand sea had been planned.
By some means the two buccaneering parties had failed to co-operate,so that their ships had already been beaten off ere the land forceappeared. The latter had heard the firing, but, little thinking thatwe should have held our own, they imagined the victory alreadycomplete, till in the darkness they stumbled upon our stockade.
"How many men were left to guard your settlement?" demandedTouchstone.
"Only a handful--enough to keep the slaves in order," replied ourprisoner.
"Is the place fortified?"
"By a wall and a ditch. There are eighteen guns in position."
"And when will the fourth ship return?"
"I do not know."
"Remove him," ordered the master gunner, and he hurried off to theshore, whence the crew of one of the boats rowed him to the _GoldenHope_.
In less than half an hour he returned, bringing with him anotherreinforcement of armed men.
"My lads," said he, "I have obtained Cap'n 'Enery's consent. Ipropose to lead a body of men across the island, ambush the rest ofthese rascals, and, if successful, follow that up by seizing andburning their dwellings and storehouses. Forty men will besufficient. Now, who's going to volunteer?"
Every one of us expressed his readiness for the service, but,refusing to take more than the number he had stated, the mastergunner picked out his force, and examined their arms. Then, forevery moment was precious, he gave them the word to march, and thelittle band set out on its errand.
Although I wished to share in the enterprise, Master Touchstonerefused to allow me to accompany them, and to my disappointment Iwatched them disappear in the belt of canes and scrub by the routethat we had twice traversed but a few hours before.
Four days passed without any tidings of our comrades, and we werenaturally anxious at their prolonged absence. Yet those of our menwho remained were not kept idle. The work of refitting proceededapace, while advantage was taken of a spell of fine weather to bringoff all the precious cargo that remained in the shattered hull ofthe wrecked buccaneer. Her name, we discovered, was the _BlackArrow_, her burthen being two hundred and eighty tons. She was thesmallest of the pirate fleet, the others being the _Terror_, ofthree hundred and twenty tons, the _Bonito_, of three hundred tons,and the _Secret_, of the same burthen. This last was the vessel thatwe had not as yet fallen in with. Should she have returned to thepirates' haven, her crew would be able to rout our little force; so,as this event might take place, our anxieties increased as the hourspassed with no news of Touchstone and his men.
Owing to the great reduction in the number of our men by death andwounds, together with the absence of Touchstone and his party, onlyeighty remained. Captain 'Enery therefore determined to temporarilyabandon the _Neptune_, so that our slender force might be divided tothe best advantage 'twixt the _Golden Hope_ and the stockade.
With our own ship well manned we could beat off any attack fromseawards, even should the still undamaged _Secret_ rejoin herconsorts; while the garrison ashore had to be maintained, so thatthe master gunner and his people might have a refuge should they becompelled to retreat before a superior force.
During the three days following their departure the wind had blownsteadily on shore, and we were thus prevented from hearing anysounds of an engagement with the retreating buccaneers, although onthe evening of the third day I thought I heard the sound of adistant cannonade.
"It does sound like it," assented Captain 'Enery, when I called hisattention to the circumstance, "though it may be thunder."
"Whatever it is, it comes from seaward," said the quartermaster.
"Sink me, if I like this business," replied Captain 'Enery. "No newsfor three days, and then the sound of cannonade at sea. I'll send aman away to-nigh
t, and let him gather news of Touchstone."
Accordingly Clemens, the Cornishman, was selected to make his way inthe darkness in the direction of the buccaneers' line of retreat.The man could be thoroughly trusted to look after himself, for hewas as crafty as a fox, while he possessed such a turn of speed thatfew could hope to overtake him in flight.
By daybreak, according to his instructions, he returned, withoutencountering a single living being; yet he reported that there hadbeen an engagement, for the ground bore traces of a conflict, brokenweapons lying about everywhere. Who were the victors he was unableto state, though he followed the marks left by a number of men tillthe approach of daybreak made it necessary to retrace his steps. Themystery seemed to deepen.
About noon on the same day our look-outs reported the appearance ofa body of armed men over the brow of the distant hill. Immediatelythere was a rush on deck, and glasses were brought to bear on thearrivals.
"Hurrah!" shouted one of the crew. "'Tis Master Touchstone and hisparty."
"You're right," said Captain 'Enery. "But what doth it mean? Thereare at least a score of armed men more than he took with him."