CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR.
AN ENTERPRISE BY NIGHT.
As soon as darkness had fairly descended over the deep, the men tooktheir places in the boats.
The flotilla was comprised of three barges or whale-boats, and a smallcanoe--in which altogether not more than fifty men could be embarked;but as it was at this period the sole fleet possessed by the insurgents,they were forced to make the best of it.
With oars carefully muffled, they rowed out from the beach; and, thanksto the darkness of the night, they succeeded in passing the castlewithout causing any alarm.
They were soon out of sight of the shore; and after rowing a mile or sofurther, the dark _silhouette_ of the cliffs ceased to be visiblethrough the obscurity.
The canoe commanded by Captain Lantejas carried, besides himself, Costaland two rowers. As it was the lightest vessel in the flotilla, it wasdirected to keep the lead, as a sort of _avant-courier_, to announcewhatever might be seen ahead.
Costal sat in the stern guiding the craft; and while engaged in thisduty, he could not resist the temptation of pointing out to his captainwhat the latter had already tremblingly observed:--three or four greatsharks keeping company with the canoe.
"Look at them!" said the Indian; "one might almost imagine that theinstinct of these fierce sea-wolves told them--"
"What?" inquired Lantejas, with an anxious air.
"Why, that this vessel we are in is not sea-worthy. She is as rottenand ricketty as an old tub; and very little--Bah! I only wish that myfriend Pepe Gago was one of those fellows in the water, and I hadnothing more to do than leap in and poniard him in presence of theothers!"
"What! are you thinking still of that fellow?"
"More than ever!" replied Costal, grinding his teeth; "and I shall neverleave the army of Morelos--even when my time of service is out--so longas there's a hope of capturing the castle of Acapulco, and getting myhands on the miserable traitor."
Lantejas was paying only slight attention to what the Indian said. Thedoubt which the latter had expressed about the sea-worthiness of thecanoe, was at that moment occupying his thoughts more than Costal'sproject of vengeance; and he was desirous that they should reach theisland as soon as possible. Even an engagement with a human enemy--solong as it should take place on _terra firma_--would be less perilousthan a struggle in the water with those terrible monsters--the sharks.
"The canoe goes very slowly!" remarked he to Costal mere than once.
"Senor Don Cornelio!" exclaimed the Indian with a smile, "you are alwaysin a hurry to get into the fight; but we are now approaching the isle;and, with your permission, I think we would do well to obtain leave fromthe admiral (by his title Costal designated Don Hermenegildo) to go alittle more in advance, and reconnoitre the way for the others. Thecanoe can approach near the schooner without much risk of being seen;whereas those great whale-boats would just now stand a pretty fairchance of being discovered. That's my advice--do you agree to it,Captain?"
"Willingly," replied Lantejas, scarce knowing between the two dangerswhich might be the greatest.
At a command from Costal the two rowers now rested upon their oars; and,shortly after, one of the barges arrived alongside. It was that whichcarried the admiral.
"What is it?" inquired the latter, seeing that the canoe had stopped forhim. "Have you discovered anything?"
Don Cornelio communicated to him the proposition of Costal. The ideaappeared good to the Marshal; and, in accordance with it, the threebarges were ordered to lie to, while the lighter craft glided on inadvance.
In a short time the isle appeared in sight--a dark spot upon the bosomof the water, like some vast sea-bird that had settled down upon thewaves, to rest a moment before resuming its flight.
Presently, as they drew nearer, the dark mass appeared to grow larger,but still lay buried in sombre silence, with no light nor any visibleobject distinguishable through the gloom.
Still drawing nearer, they at length perceived, rising over the tops ofthe trees that thickly covered the island, the tall tapering masts andcross-yards of a ship. It was the schooner they were in search of.
Continuing their course, in a few moments they were able to make out herhull against the white background of the beach, and then the two cabinwindows in her stern. Through these, lights were shining, that in twobroad bands were flung far over the surface of the water. In thedarkness, the vessel might have been likened to some gigantic whale thathad risen a moment, and was bending its huge eyes to reconnoitre thesurface of the sea.
"We must change our course," muttered Costal. "If the canoe gets underthat light, some sentry on the quarterdeck may see us. We must make adetour, and approach from the other side."
In saying this the Indian shifted the rudder, and turned the head of thecraft into a new direction, while the rowers still continued to plytheir muffled oars.
The sharks turned at the same time, and kept on after the canoe, ascould be told by the luminous traces left by their viscous bodies inpassing through the water.
Beyond, the surface was sparkling with phosphoric points, as if the sky,now covered with a uniform drapery of dark clouds, had dropped itsstarry mantle upon the sea.
At intervals there came a slight puff of wind, and the water curlingunder it glanced more luminously; while an occasional flash of lightningannounced that the clouds above were charged with electricity.
In all these signs Costal recognised the precursors of a storm.
The canoe had now passed far out of sight of the barges, and wascircling around, to get upon the other side of the schooner--stillfollowed by five of the shining monsters of the deep.
Both Costal and the Captain believed themselves too far distant from theschooner to be seen by any one aboard when all at once a brilliant lightenveloped the Spanish vessel, revealing her whole outlines from stem tostern. Those in the canoe had just time to perceive that it was theblaze of a cannon, when the report followed, and the hissing of a ballwas heard. Almost on the instant the little craft received a terribleshock; and, in the midst of a cloud of spray thrown around it, the tworowers were seen tumbling over the side and sinking below the surface ofthe water. Two of the sharks disappeared at the same moment!
Costal, seated in the stern, at once perceived that the canoe no longerobeyed the rudder; and Lantejas, who was more amidships, saw to hishorror that the vessel was sinking at the forward part, where she hadbeen struck by the ball.
"_Por los infiernos_! an unlucky shot!" cried Costal.
"What will be the result?" anxiously demanded Lantejas.
"Why, a very simple thing: the bullet has crushed in the bow of thecraft, and she will go down head foremost, I suppose."
"_Por Dios_! we are lost then!" cried Don Cornelio in a voice of terror.
"Not so sure of that yet," calmly returned Costal, at the same timerising and stepping forward in the canoe. "Keep your place!" whisperedhe to Lantejas, "and don't lose sight of me."
Notwithstanding the assuring air with which the Indian spoke, the thirdrower, under the excitement of a terrible alarm, at this moment rushedup and caught him around the knees--as if clinging to him for help.
"Ho!" cried Costal, endeavouring to disengage himself, "hands off there,friend! Off, I say--here it is every one for himself!" And as he saidthis he pushed the man backward.
The latter, staggering partly under the impulsion he had received, andpartly under the influence of his fright, tumbled back into the water.At the same instant a third shark disappeared from the side of thecanoe, while a cry of despair appeared to rise up from the bottom of thesea!
"It was his own fault," said the impassable Zapoteque, "his exampleshould be a warning to others!"
At this frightful innuendo the ex-student of theology, more dead thanalive, commenced invoking God and the saints with a fervour such as hehad never felt in all his life.
"_Carrambo_! Captain," cried the imperturbable pagan, "put moreconfidence in your own courage than you
r saints. Can you swim?"
"Only a few strokes," feebly replied Lantejas.
"Good! that will be enough. There is only one way to hinder the canoefrom going head downwards. Look out, then, and keep close by my side!"
Saying this, Costal waited until the canoe rose upon the top of a wave;and then, throwing all his strength into the effort, he kicked thecraft, overturning it keel upwards.
Both men were for the moment under water; and Lantejas, on coming to thesurface, felt himself violently grasped by the garments. He fancied itwas one of the sharks that had seized hold of him; but the voice ofCostal close to his ear once more reassured him.
"Do not fear: I am with you," said the Indian, dragging him through thewater towards the capsized canoe, which was now floating wrong side up.
The efforts of the Indian, joined to those which Lantejas mechanicallymade for himself, enabled the latter to get astride the keel of thecanoe; where Costal, after swimming a few strokes through the water,mounted also.
"Another minute," said the Indian, "and the old tub would have gone tothe bottom. Now she may keep afloat till the whale-boats get up--thatis, if the storm don't come down before then."
Lantejas cast a despairing glance towards the distant ocean, which,lashed by the wind, had already commenced under its mantle of foam. Thesight drew from him a fresh invocation to the saints, with an improvisedbut earnest prayer for his own safety.
"_Carrambo_!" cried the pagan Costal, "keep a firm seat, and don't trusttoo much to your gods. If you let yourself be washed off, you'll findthey won't do much for you. Stay! you've nothing to hold on by! let memake a catch for you."
Saying this, Costal bent towards his companion; and with the blade ofhis knife commenced opening a hole in the keel of the canoe. In theworm-eaten wood this might be easily effected; and, working with all the_sang-froid_ of a wood-carver, in a few seconds Costal succeeded inmaking an aperture large enough to admit the hand. Through thisLantejas thrust his fingers; and, clutching firmly underneath, was nowin a condition to maintain his seat against the waves that werethreatening every moment to roll over the spot.
Costal, having thus secured his companion, and provided for his ownsafety in a similar fashion, now commenced peering through the darknessin hopes of seeing the barges.
In this he was disappointed. Though the lightning now flashed atshorter intervals, its gleams revealed only the dark and scowling water,the isle sleeping in sullen gloom, and farther off the frowning mass ofthe fortress-crowned cliff.
Notwithstanding that the castaways now shouted at the highest pitch oftheir voices, there was no response from the whale-boats. Their criespealed along the seething surface of the waters, and died without evenan echo.