CARTAGii IN j-\. 
 
 OR 
 
 THE LOST BRIG A 
 
 SUr JL 
 
 CHARLES W HAL 
 
PRIVATE 
 
 OF 
 
 C. d. KENNEDY, 
 
 DETROIT, MICH. 
 
 No 
 Cost, 
 
Cartagena 
 
Cartagena 
 
 or 
 
 The Lost Brigade 
 
 A story of Heroism in the British War 
 with Spain, 1740-1742 
 
 By 
 
 CHARLES W. HALL 
 
 Author of 
 
 Drifting Round the World," "Adrift in the 
 Icefields,", - , Twice Taken," etc. 
 
 VTCRESCIT 
 
 Lamson, Wolffe and Company 
 
 Boston, New York, and London 
 
 M DCCC xcvni 
 
Copyright, 1898, 
 By Lamson, Wolff e and Company. 
 
 . . All rigfos reserved, . 
 
 The Pinkham Press, 
 
 Tremont Temple, 
 Boston, Mass., U.S.A. 
 
TO 
 
 THE BRAVE AND DEVOTED 
 AMERICAN VOLUNTEERS 
 
 Who, for nearly three centuries, have defended our coasts, 
 advanced our frontiers, repulsed our invaders, 
 and carried our country s flag beyond 
 its borders to honorable vic 
 tory on sea and land, 
 Who have never sought war, or accepted a 
 
 dishonorable peace, 
 
 Who have always scorned cruelty to a fallen foe, or ar 
 rogance and inhumanity to the vanquished, 
 Who, however terrible in battle, or successful in conquest, 
 have ever willingly laid aside the sword, choosing 
 rather to be good citizens than that perpet 
 ual menace to popular government, 
 
 a standing army, 
 This book is dedicated by the Author. 
 
 99.1280 
 
Contents 
 
 Chapter , Page 
 
 I. On the Ledges .... 1 
 
 II. The Household at Ploughed Neck 14 
 
 III. The Sabbath .... 26 
 
 IV. Beating Up Recruits ... 38 
 V. "Old Hewson" .... 51 
 
 VI. The Sack of Cartagena . . 03 
 VII. The Parting .... 74 
 
 VIII. The Muster at Boston . . 86 
 
 IX. Off for Jamaica . . .99 
 
 Caneotus . . . . .110 
 
 The Arrival of the Armada . 133 
 
 XII. The Sailing of the Fleet . .157 
 
 XIII. Punta Del Canoa . . . 170 
 
 XIV. Preparing for Battle . . 182 
 XV. The Landing . . . .195 
 
 XVI. Blazing a Path . , . 220 
 
 XVII. Opening the Trenches . . 241 
 
 XVIII. The Barradera Batteries . . 262 
 
 XIX. The Taking of Boca Chica . 273 
 
Contents 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 XX. News From the Expedition . 282 
 
 XXI. The Last of Earth . . . 304 
 
 XXII. Castillo Grande . . .318 
 
 XXIII. Texar de Gracias . . .330 
 
 XXIV. On Picket at La Quinta . . 341 
 XXV. The Hospital of Saint Lazarus . 353 
 
 XXVI. The Spanish Musket . . .380 
 
 XXVII. The Assault on San Lazaro . 393 
 
 XXVIII. After the Battle . . .404 
 
 XXIX. The Sinking of the Gallicia . 413 
 
 XXX. Death in Life . . . .410 
 
 XXXI. A L outrance . . . .442 
 
 XXXII. Acharne 452 
 
 XXXIII. In the Wilderness . . .464 
 
 XXXIV. Avenged 47G 
 
 XXXV. Bereaved 488 
 
 XXXVI. Popayan 499 
 
 XXXVII. Homeward Bound . . .529 
 
 XXXVIII. Under the Locusts . . .551 
 
 XXXIX. In Gurgite Vasto . . . 5GO 
 
 XL. Conclusion 573 
 
PROLOGUE. 
 
 On the 19th of October, 1739, war was declared 
 between England and Spain, and the following year 
 was one of constant warfare both on the European 
 continent and in the New World. 
 
 In the succeeding year a vast armada was fitted 
 out in England to conquer the Spanish dependencies 
 of the West Indies and Central and South America, 
 and the flower of the British army were re-enforced 
 by a Jamaican contingent, and by volunteers from all 
 the loyal colonies of North America, to the number, 
 it is said, of some five thousand men. 
 
 Of that ill conducted and fatal enterprise I pro 
 pose to tell the story, and have chosen rather to 
 attempt to embody these shreds of history in a tale, 
 than to make a matter of dry details of one of the 
 least known and most interesting epochs of our 
 colonial historv. 
 
Cartagena 
 
 Chapter I. ; *" . 
 On tlae Ledges 
 
 Early on the forenoon of a foggy June morning, 
 in the year of bur Lord 1740, two dories strained 
 heavily at their grapnels, amid the surges that 
 swept over "the Cod Ledge," then a favorite fishing 
 ground opposite the eastern portion of the ancient 
 town of S . 
 
 The dense seafogs, sweeping shoreward before 
 the increasing gale, had not as yet shrouded from 
 view the long high barrier of sandy bluffs, which, 
 crowned with a scanty verdure of coarse beach- 
 grass, marks the curving shore of "the right arm of 
 Massachusetts"; although it was evident that they 
 would soon hide from the fishermen both the shores 
 of the cape, and the narrow entrance of the shallow 
 creek from whence they had set out at sunrise. 
 
 While one dory had but a single occupant, the 
 other, of larger and heavier build, held three. 
 These sat quietly watching their lines, heedless of 
 the tossing and veering of their light skiff, save 
 when some combing billow covered them with spray, 
 in which case the recipient of the most water be 
 came the laughing stock of his companions. 
 
 In the seat nearest the bow, sat "Black Bill," the 
 
Cartagena 
 
 Indian apprentice boy of Elisha Hay, who was the 
 largest land holder of the district, and the father of 
 his two companions. He was barely twenty years of 
 age, tall, slender, and finely formed, with handsome, 
 but slig^ly aquiline features, whose habitual ex 
 pression was on,e of quiet good humor, although at 
 .^im es ke wa& subject to fits of melancholy, lasting 
 for days together. For the rest he was a faithful 
 servant, a perfect master of woodcraft, and the lore 
 of fisherman and fowler, a skilful sailor, and ready 
 to do anything for either of the brothers, who 
 treated him rather as a kinsman than an inferior. 
 
 Amidships sat the younger brother, Elisha (com 
 monly called "Lish") Hay, notorious as the greatest 
 madcap of the whole quiet district, and the darling 
 of every one who recognized the warm impulsive 
 heart, whose superabundant life, and no meaner 
 motive, was the mainspring which set in motion half 
 the mischief devised in the whole county. Of me 
 dium size, but strongly built, and possessing a good 
 figure, brown hair, black eyes, and a naturally fair 
 complexion, he was beyond doubt a handsome man, 
 and his constant good humor lent a double charm 
 to his beauty. 
 
 But Stephen Hay, his elder brother, w r as es 
 teemed both the handsomest and strongest man of 
 the county, measuring, at twenty-five, six feet four 
 inches in his stocking feet, and finely proportioned 
 from head to heel. His features were regular, their 
 expression firm and noble, and his clear blue eyes, 
 at times dark and tender, at others had a steely 
 glint, which told of fearless courage, and an indom- 
 
On the Ledges 
 
 itable will. His high, white forehead, and massive 
 shoulders, were swept by a torrent of golden hair, 
 whose heavy curling masses gave a lion-like majesty 
 to his features, despite the worn slouched hat and 
 ancient clothes he had put on for the occasion. In 
 him seemed realized the dream of the idealist, the 
 perfect man, the microcosmos in whose person the 
 universe is reproduced, and to whose rule and use 
 all things earthly are created aid subject. 
 
 Yet now, as he sat in his well-worn homespun suit, 
 surmounted by a venerable hat, his splendid beauty 
 could not save him from the good-natured ridicule 
 of his brother, who, from his seat amidships, 
 watched the abstracted look with which Stephen 
 gazed into the wild waste of white-capped waves 
 and drifting mists before him. 
 
 "Bill! do look at Steve, dreamin wide awake! He 
 looks as wise as Parson Giddings himself, if we 
 could but fancy* that the good man had changed 
 clothes with some last year s scarecrow." 
 
 The half-civilized Indian s face grew grave as he 
 answered : "It s very funny, sir, but he looked so, the 
 old people say, when he sat by the fire of council, 
 and saw through its smoke the faces he should meet 
 in battle"; and Black Bill s dusky face became al 
 most as rapt as that of Stephen, who, hearing not, 
 and seeing nothing of this by-play, saw only in the 
 wild chaos of mist and wave a reflex of thoughts and 
 passions which battled within him. 
 
 Lish knew well to whom the Indian had alluded 
 in his answer the ill-fated chieftain of Manomet, 
 the ally of Philip of Mount Hope; and even his care- 
 
Cartagena 
 
 less levity shrank from farther question on such a 
 topic. But he turned readily enough on his brother, 
 who almost started to his feet at the laughing query, 
 "What are you dreaming of, brother?" 
 
 "Of many things, but, most of all, of that strange 
 text Parson Giddings read last Sunday." 
 
 "What text was that, pray? for I m afraid I 
 slept through the whole sermon, in spite of catnip 
 and flagroot." 
 
 "He was talking of the vanity of all human acqui 
 sitions, and even of human renown; and the sight 
 of the fog-banks brought it to mind." And he re 
 peated, with a strangely sad undertone in his voice, 
 a verse or two of that weird book of the Apocrypha 
 styled "The Wisdom of Solomon:" 
 
 " And our name shall be forgotten in time, and 
 no man shall have our works in remembrance, and 
 our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud, and 
 shall be dispersed as the mist that is driven away 
 with the beams of the sun, and overcome with the 
 heat thereof. 
 
 " For our time is a very shadow, that passeth 
 away, and after our end there is no returning; for it 
 is fast sealed, so that there is no returning. " 
 
 "And why so sad, brother?" asked the younger 
 man, lightly. " Tis our common fortune, and such 
 measure as we deal others. I m sure, I don t know 
 half the names on the tombstones that stand by the 
 town pond yonder, let alone what they who owned 
 to them in life did in the flesh; and as to Bill, here, 
 I doubt if he could find even the graves of the great 
 men of his people." 
 
On the Ledges 
 
 The native answered with something of scorn in 
 his tone, ."There are stones which bear no letters, 
 and trees too old to shed leaves on the graves from 
 which they grew, and yet the deeds of those who 
 sleep beneath them are not forgotten among their 
 people." 
 
 "You are right," said Stephen, gravely, "and yet 
 you too, Lish, speak but the truth, for in this new 
 world we eat, drink, die and are forgotten, almost 
 as surely as the sheep that range our woods, or the 
 cattle of our pastures. And yet although I know I 
 have no right to better luck than my neighbors, I 
 can t bear the thought of being forgotten." 
 
 "Well, what will you do to become famous? 
 There s no chance that I know of except you go out 
 against the Spaniard, as you have done already be 
 fore now." 
 
 "That s just what I think of doing," said Stephen, 
 quietly. "The papers came two nights ago I hear, 
 and Captain Timothy Kuggles is to raise a company 
 ini Barnstable county. He will drum up recruits 
 next week I suppose, and I m going with him." 
 
 "I ll go too, sir," said the Indian gravely, "I m out 
 of my time tomorrow night, and I don t like farm 
 ing." 
 
 Lish, suddenly grew grave, and when he spoke 
 there was a half sullen ring to a voice usually merry 
 and carelessly insouciant. "And I will make the 
 third; I ye never been off of the farm hardly, and 
 I want to see something of the world before I die." 
 
 "We can t all go," said Stephen hurriedly, "for 
 father is too feeble to manage alone. Bill here has a 
 
Cartagena 
 
 motive for wishing to go that neither of us can have, 
 and you or I must stay at home, that s certain. Now 
 which shall it be?" 
 
 "You ve been out cruising twice in a privateer," 
 said Lishjiotly, "and I ve never left the Cape but 
 once and that was on a three days trip in the wood- 
 sloop. I m bound to go off on my own hook once 
 at least, before I settle down to live and die on 
 Ploughed Neck." 
 
 "But mother will never hear of it," said Stephen, 
 earnestly. "You are her youngest and best loved, 
 and it would kill her should anything happen to 
 you." 
 
 "I don t care," said the young man; "this time I ll 
 have my way. I m no baby to stay at home, slaving 
 away with axe and hoe, when you and Bill are 
 filling yourselves with oranges and pine-apples, and 
 your pockets with doubloons. But what s Uncle 
 Zene wanting now?" 
 
 A stentorian halloo came struggling against the 
 freshening breeze, from the occupant of the other 
 dory, Capt. Zenas Freeman, a retired shipmaster. 
 Called "Uncle Zenas" by every one in the village, 
 small and great; at sixty, still hale and vigorous; 
 with keen, pleasant gray eyes, and hair which sil 
 vered but refused to desert its post; he was held to 
 be a well-to-do farmer, a keen hunter and fisherman, 
 and "the best hearted man in the world." 
 
 "Steve! Steve! I say, Steve!" 
 
 "What say, uncle?" went down the wind in full 
 clear tones. 
 
 "I m goin in. There s a heavy gale comin in from 
 
On the Ledges 
 
 the eastward and it s rough on the bar now. Ye d 
 better up anchor an go in too!" 
 
 "All right! We ll be with you!" 
 
 "Come, boys," he added in a lower tone, "reel up 
 your lines, trim the fish, and get ready to row with 
 out hindrance." 
 
 The lines were drawn in and wound on the reels; 
 the fish properly disposed, the rowlocks carefully 
 examined, the oars laid ready to hand, and soon all 
 was ready for the passage over the intervening 
 surges, which swept between them and the quiet in 
 let, which custom has dignified with the title of 
 Scorton Harbor. 
 
 "Bill ! up with the grapnel ! Lish ! keep her head to 
 until Bill gets his oars out! I ll sit aft and steer. 1 
 
 The anchor was soon aboard, and as a surge lifted 
 the dory high in air the oarsmen, with a quick sweep 
 of their starboard oars, swung her deftly round be 
 fore the next sea could strike her sides, and then 
 as she shot shoreward with the send of the sea, and 
 the sharp, regular strokes of his stalwart crew, 
 Stephen scanned with restless glances the half- 
 hidden surges before him, and in low, quick tones, 
 directed the efforts of his companions. 
 
 "Easy, Bill ! the wind blows hard anfl you pull too 
 strong with your left. It won t do to let her broach 
 to and run the risk of shipping a sea." 
 
 "Not too deep, Lish, or you ll hamper your oar. 
 Pull quick, boys, or that sea ll be over us." 
 
 The extra effort carried them beyond the danger 
 and the roller breaking behind them swept them on 
 its crest of foam a score of yards shoreward. 
 
8 Cartagena 
 
 "Ain t this glorious?" exclaimed Lish, as wave 
 after wave swept them to leeward like leaves before 
 the winds of autumn. 
 
 "Yes! but not safe, by long odds," exclaimed hia 
 more cautious brother, as, rising to his feet, he sur 
 veyed the breakers on the bar close before them. 
 
 "Where is Uncle Zenas?" said he, at length. 
 
 "Help! Halloo-oo! help!" The half-despairing 
 cry caught his ear, and through blinding mists and 
 flying spray the youth saw the capsized dory, and 
 a beseeching face amid the foam, and then the suc 
 ceeding surge hid the old man s struggle with the 
 cruel waves from all eyes save those of the All-See 
 ing. 
 
 "Pull her. around, head to the sea quick! That s 
 right. Back water! So steady!" said Stephen, as 
 he drew in his steering-oar, and peered steadily 
 shoreward. "There he is! Back water! Look out 
 for the dory! Hold on, uncle, a second all right! 
 Pull, boys, or we shall strike her. Thank God!" 
 
 He* had good reason to thank- God, for he had 
 caught the arm of the exhausted man as he was 
 sinking for the last time, and with a tremendous 
 effort had dragged him aboard the dory. There was 
 still enough of peril to be encountered, and so Uncle 
 Zenas sat resting his listless head on Stephen s 
 knees, while the stout oarsmen backed cautiously in 
 through the surf, past the hidden rocks and shelter 
 ing sand-point, until upon the new flood they rowed 
 swiftly up the narrow creek to the landing. 
 
 "You have saved my life, Stephen, and I shall 
 never forget it," faltered the old man, chilled by the 
 
On the Ledges 
 
 cold seas and exhausted with his efforts. "I broke 
 my rullock, an she broached to an filled. My poor 
 Maggie would have been indeed an orphan but for 
 you." 
 
 "Never mind that, uncle," said Stephen, kindly; 
 "we must get you home now. Can you walk be 
 tween us two?" 
 
 "Oh, yes! I can get along alone well enough, I 
 reckon." 
 
 But, after a few steps, Uncle Zenas was glad 
 enough to lean on the strong men, of whom he had 
 so often spoken as the boy-babies he had taken on 
 his knee in the prime of his own manhood; and it 
 was with joy that he at last emerged from the lo 
 cust-shaded lane, and entered the open door of his 
 own homestead. 
 
 They supported his feeble steps to the huge fire 
 place, and seated him in a softly-cushioned chair, 
 brought by an elderly little woman whose sharp, 
 nervous questionings did not prevent her from mak 
 ing herself generally useful. 
 
 "Been upset, ain t ye? I knew ye would, an now 
 it s come true. Well, I won t scold ye now, brother, 
 for ye look a most beat out. What can I do fer ye?" 
 
 "Some Santa Cruz, Luciny, quick! I am so cold," 
 said the old man, feebly. 
 
 "Senserble to the last," remarked the little 
 woman, grimly, as she brought a large square glass 
 bottle, covered with gaily-painted figures and flow 
 ers. "I do believe that ef ye were dyin a leetle 
 Santy Cruz would bring ye too." 
 
 Whatever might have been the effect of Santa 
 
10 Cartagena 
 
 Cruz on Uncle Zene in a moribund state, its virtues 
 were certainly fully shown in his rapid improve 
 ment, in the case in hand. The generous liquid 
 quickly stirred the sluggish blood of the veteran, 
 who, assisted by Stephen, soon repaired to his cham 
 ber, where under the combined influences of fatigue, 
 warm blankets and Santa Cruz, he fell into a deep 
 refreshing sleep. 
 
 As Stephen silently descended from the old man s 
 chamber, he was met in the room below by the veter 
 an s only daughter, Margaret. 
 
 Panting with exertion, the flush of overheated 
 blood striving with the pallor of ill-defined fear; her 
 tiny coral lips half open to ask the question her 
 large, dark, spirituelle eyes had asked already; and 
 with her graceful figure set off to advantage by its 
 spotless muslin drapery in strong contrast to her 
 dark beauty and jetty locks, she seemed to 
 Stephen the embodiment of some heavenly vision 
 rather than a mortal maiden. 
 
 "O, Stephen! will my father live? Is he better 
 now?" 
 
 "Yes, Margaret, he sleeps soundly and has re 
 gained the warmth he lost in the waves." 
 
 "And you saved him, Stephen, they tell me. How 
 shall we ever repay you ?" she continued. 
 
 Stephen, tall and manly as he was, blushed like a 
 girl as he hastened to disavow any peculiar merit, 
 saying not without a tinge of solemnity in his tone, 
 
 "God saved him, but we who were his instru 
 ments alike risked what little danger we ran, and 
 Lish and Bill are as worthy of praise as I." 
 
On the Ledges 11 
 
 She shook her pretty head incredulously. "But 
 they did not bend down into the cold waves as you 
 did to grasp and save my father, nor could they like 
 you, have raised him into the dory unassisted." 
 
 "Who told you that I did?" 
 
 "William, your father s apprentice, and he says no 
 man living in the Bay plantation could have done 
 as you have done to-day." 
 
 "Then it is enough Margaret, that I have saved 
 your father, and heard your kind words of praise. He 
 will soon awake antf then you can see him. We 
 must go now, for it is Saturday, and much remains 
 to be done before nightfall." 
 
 "It will be pleasant tomorrow, for it is breaking 
 up in the west. Come over tomorrow and see us I 
 mean niy father for he will be anxious to see and 
 thank you for his life and my happiness." 
 
 With a gladness born of the warm thanks of one 
 whom he had long admired in secret, Stephen set out 
 on his way homewards, full of hope and of golden 
 visions, such as men have in the flush of youthful 
 vigor and inexperience. 
 
 What if the drizzling rain still fell, and the seafogs 
 hung over the barren sand-dunes that overlooked the 
 raging surges? the sunshine of the heart illumined 
 his way, and he lived in the summer of successful 
 love and limitless ambition. 
 
 Suddenly he looked up, and saw near the wind 
 ing pathway a rude enclosure, the burial place of the 
 fathers of his hamlet, and within many a sunken 
 mound was destitute of the poor slabs of thin slate- 
 stone, which once bore in rude letters and ruder 
 
12 Cartagena 
 
 sculpture the brief record of earthly pilgrimages 
 long since finished, and even those standing were 
 often so corroded by frost and weather, that the 
 inscriptions were illegible. 
 
 And again over the bright skies of his dream-sum 
 mer of fame and love, came the haunting words of 
 the sagest and greatest of Judah s princes, who 
 more than all men, having drank of earthly power 
 and pleasure, has also left us the saddest testimony 
 to the insufficiency of earthly blessings. 
 
 "And our name shall be forgotten in time, and 
 no man shall have us in remembrance; and our life 
 shall pass away as the trace of a cloud, and shall 
 be dispersed as a mist that is driven away with the 
 beams of the sun and overcome with the heat 
 thereof." 
 
 "So speaks the text," said Stephen to himself, "but 
 must all the high resolves and fair ambition of mor 
 tals end thus? Cannot unselfish deeds for others 
 weal; the service of the State, or a life untinged 
 with selfishness or shame, save from oblivion the 
 name of a man, beyond the scanty measure of exist 
 ence vouchsafed him here?" 
 
 His eyes flashed, his form dilated, as his thoughts 
 proceeded with the theme. "Strong of limb and 
 above others in stature am I, and my life and spirit 
 shall not be unworthy of their dwelling here. Strong 
 of body, I will dare all that man may dare, do all 
 that man may do ; and strong of soul, I will bear the 
 ills of life not only for myself, but as much as may 
 be for others weaker than I. My deeds shall be 
 brave without cruelty, my pride unbending to man, 
 
On the Ledges 13 
 
 but humbled before God, and my love and friendship 
 capable of any sacrifice. So shall I live, if not in 
 history, yet in the hearts and traditions of my fam 
 ily and village, when my spirit shall have long since 
 returned to the God who gave it." 
 
 As he spoke, he heard the tinkling bells of the 
 kine as they came leisurely homeward from the 
 oaken coverts of the "Brush pasture," the bleating 
 of the sheep, as they gathered around the almost 
 empty stackyard, and as he entered he saw his 
 mother s gentle face welcome him with a loving 
 smile to the huge fireplace, glowing with oaken logs, 
 and the table laden with rural dainties. 
 
 And when the daily round of labor was over and 
 the sun sank slowly in the cloudless west, the mem 
 bers of the household of Ploughed Neck sat quietly 
 and unemployed around the hearth, for with them 
 the holy Sabbath had begun. 
 
Chapter II. 
 The Household at Ploughed Neck 
 
 Although the legislative enactment of the earlier 
 colonial days that "the Lord s day should be ob 
 served from three of the clock on Saturday after 
 noon" had lost its force with the lapse of nearly five 
 generations, still custom and family discipline 
 strongly preserved the feeling of reverence, which 
 made the evening before the Sabbath, part of, and 
 a preparation for the same. 
 
 And so the household at Ploughed Neck, as the 
 sun sank slowly behind the purple cliffs of Manomet, 
 laid aside the implements of husbandry, and all 
 labor of spindle and loom, and silently gathered by 
 the hearth or at door and window, noting the 
 shadow of the long northern twilight as it deepened 
 into night. 
 
 By the dying fire sat Elisha Hay the elder, enjoy 
 ing the evening pipe which he had invariably 
 smoked for nearly half a century except on such 
 rare occasions of sickness, accident or great mental 
 disturbance, as had for a time altered the even cur 
 rent of his life. Of rather moderate stature but 
 strongly and even actively proportioned, he had pre 
 served unimpaired by sixty years of temperate life 
 his white even teeth and the sight of his pleasant 
 blue eyes. He had acquired in early years, a local 
 reputation as a scholar, had held various offices of 
 trust in the State and county, and his lands marched 
 
The Household at Ploughed Neck 15 
 
 many a rood from the surf -beaten sands of the sea- 
 beach, across marsh, meadow, swamp and upland, 
 to the ponds which lay like hidden gems, amid the 
 oak-shadowed forest lands to the south and west. 
 Faultlessly moral, a devoted husband and kind 
 father, and respected for his piety in the church, he 
 nevertheless had a strong tinge of that Puritan 
 spirit of self repression, w r hich even to this day, takes 
 out of the life of many New Englanders all color and 
 beauty, and much of contentment and pleasure; 
 leaving little to be admired save the strength of 
 purpose which so staunchly endures and directs a 
 life, sternly limited to the performance of duty and 
 the accumulation of wealth. It is but just however, 
 to aver that none went hungry or naked from his 
 door, or lay in want or sickness without proving his 
 bounty; neither could any man say with truth that 
 he had oppressed the poor, or cheated the ignorant 
 who trusted in him. 
 
 His blood, unmixed for generations, was derived 
 from a poor, but noble family of English ancestry 
 from the borders of Wales, and early in, life he had 
 chosen a wife descended like himself from one of the 
 earliest settlers of "the Plymouth Colony." 
 
 Pretty Deliverance Clarke brought him little 
 dow r er in gold or silver, save the string of massive 
 gold beads around her w r hite neck, and a few quaint 
 ly fashioned spoons, small and great, with -the tiny 
 silver porringer whence her infant lips had taken 
 that first meal, which presaged the yearly widening 
 separation between mother and child. But she 
 brought a goodly trousseau in chests of snowy linen 
 
16 Cartagena 
 
 and soft woollen fabrics, spun, woven, bleached and 
 colored by her own hands, and with them beauty, 
 health and a love which labor could not lessen or 
 care diminish. Many children had been born to 
 them, to receive the old scriptural names in bap 
 tism, and to grow up in the simple school of cease 
 less labor and "godly living," which, w r hile it has 
 given place to wider learning and more liberal 
 views, doubtless in its day produced men of sterner 
 integrity and simpler purity of soul. 
 
 The house itself was then new, framed from the 
 slow-growing, tough, close-grained oaks of the in 
 terior belt of woodland, which still shelters the red 
 deer, fox and partridge, although over two centuries 
 have passed since first the sachem of Manomet saw 
 his hunting grounds invaded by the men of 
 Plymouth. 
 
 It was large for a farm-house of that epoch, and 
 not over-low in the w r alls, although the great beams 
 everywhere showed their unpolished, rudely painted 
 surfaces amid the rough plaster. 
 
 Huge fireplaces 3 r awned in three of the lower 
 rooms, and two chambers boasted of a like conven 
 ience and luxury, in all of which gleamed curiously 
 wrought andirons surmounted by huge brazen balls. 
 
 In all the rooms but one the furniture was heavy, 
 and even costly, wrought, as was the fashion, in 
 massive* mahogany, ironwood and oak, and embel 
 lished with fittings of brass. A few shells, whale s 
 teeth curiously worked, with the sword and half- 
 pike carried by the elder Hay as lieutenant in the 
 colonial militia, together with some little display of 
 
The Household at Ploughed Neck 17 
 
 china, pewter and silver on the beaufet, were the 
 only indications of an attempt at ornament. 
 
 The kitchen, however, (often in those days styled 
 "the living room 1 ) was by far the largest room, run 
 ning acrpss the rear of the house, and forming with 
 its huge fireplace, an apartment over a score of feet 
 in length, by nearly as many in breadth. A long, nar 
 row mantel bordered the wainscotting above the 
 fireplace, and was set with candlesticks, trays and 
 snuffers of iron and brass, above which, on deer s 
 horns, hung several heavy musquets, with rude 
 leathern shot pouches, bullet bags and powder 
 horns. A massive table, a large settle capable of 
 forming a bed upon occasion, with chairs seated 
 with leather and plaited rushes, simDl TT furnished 
 the apartment. 
 
 Here, then, all were gathered Deacon Hay in his 
 great arm chair, reading by the flickering light of 
 the hearth the last issue of the Boston Newsletter* 
 Opposite him, his wife caressed with one motherly 
 hand the golden curls of her youngest daughter 
 "Tempie," for even Puritan nearts felt that Tem 
 perance was no fitting name to be used in terms of 
 endearment. Joshua, the first born, and his father s 
 chief reliance upon the farm, with Stephen, "Lish" 
 and Black Bill sat by the windows in silence, until 
 their father, finishing his perusal of the little sheet 
 at last laid it on the light stand by his side, and 
 igniting a pine splinter at the fire lit one of the long 
 "tallow dips" which gave light to our forefathers. 
 
 "Is there any news of the great expedition, 
 father?" asked Joshua, quietly. 
 
18 Cartagena 
 
 "Little to note, save that Col. Spotswood, of Vir 
 ginia, who was to have commanded our men, died 
 suddenly at Annapolis on the seventh. A strange 
 providence, and a sad one at such a time, but even 
 thus uncertain is human life." 
 
 "Who is spoken of as his successor?" 
 
 "The Hon. Col. Gooch, now lieutenant governor 
 of Virginia. A brave and gallant gentleman tis 
 said, but fond of worldly display, and foolish pleas 
 ures. I would that worthier men were to take 
 charge of the lives of our young men, and essay the 
 defence of our rights, and the king s honor and 
 glory." 
 
 "Are the officers appointed for this colony?" con 
 tinued Stephen, with the bearing of one who in 
 this last question had exhausted all his interest in 
 the subject. 
 
 "Not yet, my son, although the men should soon 
 be ready for sea, but tis said at New York, I hear, 
 that already the king s officers begrudge our colo 
 nists commissions, even over our own troops." 
 
 "There s a horse coming down the lane," said Bill, 
 suddenly raising his head. " Tis on the grass now 
 and coming round to the west door." 
 
 As he spoke the beat of the animal s hoofs became 
 audible to all, and a black stallion, bearing the 
 saddle and accoutrements of a colonel of militia, 
 and covered with flecks of white foam, curvetted an 
 grily for a moment under the restraining hand of its 
 rider, and then halted, trembling in every limb, but 
 motionless as a statue of black marble. 
 The rider, an athletic and dark haired man, grace- 
 
The Household at Ploughed Neck 19 
 
 ful as Apollo, and almost gigantic in stature, leapt 
 from the saddle, and threw reins and-wand to a huge 
 deerhound, who gravely seating himself by the 
 horse s head, caught the loose reins in his mouth 
 and placed one huge forepaw upon the fallen rod. 
 
 Mr. Hay met the new comer at the open door, and 
 with somewhat cold civility asked him to enter. 
 
 "Nay, not so, friend Hay, for, as all men know, 
 you love not to receive guests on the eve of the 
 Sabbath, nor would I now trouble you, save that I 
 am pressed with urgent affairs both public and! 
 private. I must start to go back to Boston tomor 
 row night, however, and would speak for a moment 
 with your son, Stephen. Tis upon the king s busi 
 ness, and I may not tarry for courtesy, or com 
 pliment." 
 
 "It shall not need, Mr. Timothy Ruggles," said 
 Elisha Hay coldly, "for the lad is of age and shall 
 act his own pleasure, and even I, in such case as 
 yours, would not hinder if I might, for, if I judge 
 aright, you are about to raise the Barnstable com 
 pany for the great expedition." 
 
 The somewhat scornful features of Ruggles re 
 laxed first into wonder and then into a smile, which 
 lit up his usually saturnine face with a genial 
 glow. 
 
 "Even old Molly Pognet, whom the charitable call 
 witch, and the fearful sorceress, could scarcely 
 guess better than thou hast done. But what has 
 given you such power of divination, I confess I 
 should be glad to discover." 
 
 "That a company of the ten would be raised here, 
 
20 Cartagena 
 
 none could doubt, and it needed no conjurer to di 
 vine on whom the lot would fall, when the governor 
 chose according to his pleasure. To few has it been 
 given to become lawyer, landlord and representa 
 tive to the General Court, aye, and husband of a 
 fair widow, within the short space which you have 
 spent among us, and I doubted not of the result if 
 military glory was another of your aspirations. But 
 here is Stephen, who is anxious to hear you, and 
 ready " 
 
 "To do his duty, neighbor Hay, I doubt not," in 
 terrupted Buggies heartily enough, although his lips 
 had worked angrily more than once, during Hay s 
 somewhat cynical review of his not uneventful life. 
 "But come, Stephen, let us talk while Beelzebub is 
 drinking," and, followed by the young man, the fu 
 ture general, chief justice, mandamus councillor, 
 loyalist and refugee partisan, walked his steed to 
 the horse trough beside the curb of the ancient well. 
 
 "Your father likes me not, Stephen Hay," said 
 the landlord of Newcomb s tavern, after a short 
 pause, "but his dislike is honest and comes rather 
 from old prejudices and old time ideas than malice, 
 and I w r ill not count him an enemy. Let him 
 know from me that it were not well to forestall the 
 governor s proclamation, in which, within ten days, 
 my name will be found as one of the captains of 
 the new regiment. You are the first man whom I 
 have asked to go with me, and you shall have the 
 colors, if I can compass it, and the first sergeant s 
 stripes at worst." 
 
 Although he had had no hope of such prospect of 
 
The Household at Ploughed Neck 21 
 
 comparative rank and distinction, expecting to carry 
 a musket in the ranks as a simple private, or rather 
 "gentleman volunteer," as it was still the custom to 
 call such as entered the ranks from a sense of duty 
 and love of adventure, Stephen hesitated a moment 
 ere he answered. 
 
 "Come, man !" said his companion almost angrily, 
 "What sayest thou? Yes or no? Or are my offers 
 too low to tempt you to leave Ploughed Neck, and 
 its promises of wealth and renown ?" 
 
 "I thought not of such matters," said Stephen 
 simply, and I thank you for your good .will. But I 
 fear to take such responsibility as you offer me. It 
 were better that you had rated me as a simple 
 private and chose as officers those of more experi 
 ence than I." 
 
 Buggies burst into a laugh, checked suddenly as 
 he glanced at the open windows of the homestead 
 where in silence almost unbroken the descendants 
 of the Pilgrims awaited the coming darkness and 
 the day of rest. 
 
 "Truly," said he, "I am scant of courtesy, and 
 you must pardon my rudeness. Nevertheless your 
 over-modesty is strange in the hero of half a dozer 
 perilous conflicts with Spanish corsair and Indian 
 savage, and did I not know your father, and the in 
 tegrity in which you were nurtured, I should have 
 deemed it but a false show of feigned humility. I 
 know you to be shrewd, brave and true, and it is no 
 boy s play, but hard, bitter, earnest that lies before 
 us, and one such man as I shall find in you, is worth 
 a dozen of the fine gentlemen who are trying to se^ 
 
22 Cartagena 
 
 cure commissions. So once for all, will you go? or 
 rather will you come?" 
 
 "Bear with me a moment," said Stephen, gravely, 
 "and tell me, if you will, why you would go on this 
 expedition, knowing as you must know that he who 
 adventures in this matter, may scarce in anywise 
 hope to bring away his life. You have spoken open 
 ly to me, and you are not wont, men say, to venture 
 aught for empty show or without hope of advantage. 
 Tell me, therefore, frankly, if you will, why you are 
 ready to leave a good business, a fair wife, your 
 young children and the comfortable tavern yonder 
 on such a desperate errand as ours." 
 
 The last dull belt of lurid color had faded out of 
 the western sky, and the stars were beginning to 
 glimmer above in the darkening heavens. Buggies 
 gathered the reins of his grazing steed, and stepped 
 beside him as if ready to leap into the saddle, while 
 the great dog gambolled and barked around him, 
 There was a strange sadness in the clear, manly 
 voice, and unwonted trembling about the firmly set 
 lips as he answered: 
 
 "I have doubtless done much that may be ques 
 tioned to secure success, and it may be that men 
 may hereafter blame, and Heaven punish me there 
 for, for in poverty I was nurtured, and early I swore 
 that I would yet possess both wealth and fame, if 
 only in friendship and loyalty to my word I might 
 be true, and blameless in devotion to my king. Yet 
 truly in this matter I have little to gain and much 
 to lose, and I go upon this expedition only from loy 
 alty, and for the public weal, unless," added he in 
 
The Household at Ploughed Neck 23 
 
 a lighter tone, "the love of adventure may count 
 somewhat heavily in the balance. What say you 
 then, Stephen, do you go with me?" 
 
 "I will go," said Stephen briefly. 
 
 His tall companion sprang to the saddle, whistled 
 to his hound, and with a gay "good night," was gone. 
 Stephen w r atched horse and rider until they were 
 lost in the darkness, and re-entered the house. 
 
 "Have you promised, my son?" asked his father 
 quietly. 
 
 "I have promised," said Stephen, gently adding 
 as he saw his mother s lips quiver, and his sister s 
 starting tears, "it may be that I may not go, after 
 all, but at the worst little will be done before fall ; 
 so it is best not to borrow trouble." 
 
 "It is not well to dissemble even in kindness," said 
 the sterner father, "neither must we shrink, even 
 though, like Abraham, we are called upon to offer 
 our first born. So let us have the truth even if we 
 sorrow therefor." 
 
 "I am not wont to lie," said Stephen, a little hurt, 
 "but no man knows when the governor s message 
 will be issued, and we are not to tell of tonight s 
 visit to any. Moreover, I know that no man in his 
 senses will land on the Spanish Main before late in 
 the fall, and now it lacks many weeks to the end 
 of summer." 
 
 As he finished speaking his father arose, and tak 
 ing the family Bible, put on his glasses, seated him 
 self by the dying embers of the hearth, and drew the 
 candle-stick nearer as he chose out, as was his cus 
 tom, a chapter fitting the occasion and the especial 
 
24 Cartagena 
 
 needs of the hour, while the others, without a word, 
 gathered around the high priest of the family altar. 
 From the 20th chapter of Deuteronomy he read that 
 last w r onderful and final counsel of the dying 
 prophet, to the people he had led out of bondage and 
 to the borders of their inheritance. 
 
 "When thou goest out to battle against thine ene 
 mies, and seest horses and chariots and a people 
 more than thou, be not afraid of them ; for the Lord 
 thy God is with thee which brought thee up out of 
 the land of Egypt. 
 
 "And it shall be when ye come nigh unto the bat 
 tle, that the priest shall approach, and speak unto 
 the people. 
 
 "And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel; ye ap 
 proach this day unto battle against your enemies; 
 let not your hearts faint; fear not and do not trem 
 ble, neither be ye terrified because of them. 
 
 "For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you 
 to fight for you, against your enemies, to save you." 
 
 With a strange, grave enthusiasm, the simply 
 dressed, gray haired farmer, who had never seen a 
 blow struck in mortal strife, read the assuring 
 promises of Jehovah to his people, as if doubting 
 nothing that they were as applicable to the wars of 
 the eighteenth century and the new world, as to the 
 conquest of Canaan and the destruction of the sons 
 of Anak. And kneeling, he prayed that the Lord 
 would protect his servant going forth against the 
 enemies of his king and the foes of true religion 
 dwelling afar off; that the battle might spare and 
 the pestilence pass him by in its wrath, and the ter- 
 
The Household at Ploughed Neck 25 
 
 rible storms and fearful wonders of the mighty deep 
 might not prevail against him. 
 
 "And now, O Lord," the petitioner concluded, "we 
 leave him in thy hands, knowing that with thee 
 naught can harm or make afraid, and confessing 
 that as we have received our lives of thee, so thou 
 hast a right to take them of us again, and especially 
 for thy honor and glory. Yet, if it be thy will, re 
 turn thy servant unto us in health and strength 
 again; and if not, reunite us forever in heavenly 
 kingdoms, where we shall no more go out, but re 
 joice in the mercy and love of thv crucified son for 
 ever and ever. Amen." 
 
 And as mother, sisters and brother rose from 
 their knees, all felt that their best and bravest had 
 been offered as an acceptable sacrifice to advance 
 the glory of God and king and country, and with 
 a tender good night they separated, and peaceful 
 repose enthralled the household at Ploughed Neck. 
 
Chapter III. 
 The Sabbath 
 
 The next morning broke clear and balmy, with 
 the sun the cattle were afield, the pigs and poultry 
 fed, and the family horse stood harnessed under 
 the wagon shed, while the household, after prayers, 
 sat down to breakfast on such viands as time and 
 custom have almost universally established as the 
 Sunday breakfast of the children of the Pilgrims 
 unto this day. 
 
 A huge pot of nicely browned baked beans, sur 
 mounted by its cube of delicately cooked pork, a 
 loaf of true brown bread, composed of two parts of 
 corn and one of rye meal kneaded with hot water 
 and salt, and baked in the great oven until its crust 
 was nearly an inch thick; with plenty of sweet, yel 
 low butter, rich home-made cheese, and the invari 
 able plate of yellow molasses gingerbread, formed a 
 meal whose counterpart, it might have been safely 
 wagered, could be found in every house in sight of 
 the chimney of Deacon Hay s homestead. 
 
 After breakfast, Joshua and Stephen, Elisha and 
 Bill, the Indian apprentice, set out on foot across 
 the fields towards the town, some three miles dis 
 tant, knowing that there would be but scant room 
 in the old-fashioned, two-seated wagon for "father, 
 mother and the girls," for save old "Buff, 7 the watch 
 dog, none were left to guard the house, left with un 
 locked doors and unfastened windows, untenanted 
 for the day. 
 
The Sabbath 27 
 
 And, as they proceeded over the sparse herbage, 
 whose coarse, scant grasses and sapless "poverty 
 weed" told of the ocean origin of the sterile soil, they, 
 walked for the most part silently and soberly, as 
 became men in whose eyes the Sabbath was God s 
 day, sacred only to his service, and consecrating all 
 the universe for the time being as a temple for His 
 worship and for that alone; and, therefore it was, 
 that there was no wonder experienced by any that, 
 during the greater part of their journey, nothing 
 was said to break the current of their several trains 
 of thought. 
 
 On their left, not half a mile away, the higher 
 ridge of wooded land lay in all the fresh beauty of 
 perfect leafage and the freshness of spring, and 
 between it and the party were dense swamps* redolent 
 of brier, vinebuds, swamp pink, sweet flag, and 
 honeysuckle, amid which hovered and built the pur 
 ple grakle, redwing blackbird, robin and bluebird, 
 whose soft sweet love notes mingled with the spring 
 voices of other songsters of the wood and plain. 
 
 The quail called mournfully from hill to hill and 
 cover to cover; the bittern boomed amid the lily- 
 pads of "the Springs" at the headwaters of Naomet 
 creek; the wary crows even seemed less fearful of 
 man, and their harsh cawing came, softened by the 
 distance, from the tall saplings of "the Brush 
 swamp," while the jocund frogs from amid their in 
 numerable haunts kept up their monotonous yet not 
 unpleasing chorus, with w r hich all other sounds 
 blended like the variations of a time-honored 
 melody. 
 
28 Cartagena 
 
 Yet it should be confessed that none of the four 
 could keep out of mind all sublunary thoughts and 
 worldly considerations, although all, in a certain 
 sense, tried to, and on the whole flattered themselves 
 that they succeeded in so doing. Joshua, for in 
 stance, wondered if Holway s meadow would cut as 
 much hay as his heavily-dressed mowing land below 
 the orchard, and recollected with something of self- 
 reproach that half a score of cords of oaken wood 
 still remained piled up in the wood-lot, though 
 needed to swell the huge family wood-pile; while 
 the tumultuous rush of a flock of silly sheep in a 
 field near the road recalled the sheep-washing, now 
 near at hand, and he opened his lips to speak, when 
 the distant church bell warned him of his forget- 
 fulness of holy things, and he held his peace. 
 
 The vivacious Lish was less self-contained, and 
 several times "broke bounds," to the evident distress 
 of Joshua, whose moderate but grave reproof was, 
 answered only by a careless laugh, but was gen 
 erally acquiesced in so far as a momentary gravity 
 of demeanor and staid carriage were concerned. But 
 he leapt a fence to draw from the swamp border a 
 root of sweet calamus, which he washed and 
 trimmed with his knife as the party proceeded; he 
 stopped at the brook to peer under the rude bridge, 
 and regretted greatly that he had no line at hand 
 to beguile a great trout which lay, just moving his 
 scarlet-tipped fins, under its shadow, and in fact at 
 every moment showed how T much the self repression, 
 habitual to his companions, confined and galled his 
 superabundant and versatile nature. 
 
The Sabbath 29 
 
 The Indian walked gravely along a little behind 
 the others, as was his wont, but it was evident that 
 nothing of the grand prospect around him, nor the 
 lightest sound that struck the ear, the most trivial 
 remark of the brothers, nor even those slight facial 
 shadows and changes which to the experienced be 
 tray the workings of the mind within, passed un 
 noticed by the keen, dark, restless eyes, or the 
 small ears, almost erectile and tremulous, as phil 
 osophers say the organs of hearing, now fixed from 
 generations of confinement and disuse, were in 
 tended to be by their Almighty designer. 
 
 As for Stephen, his thoughts were too busy for 
 speech, for the scenes around him brought by asso 
 ciation and contrast, a flood of meditation of deep 
 and varied interest. Across yonder bay, lying tran 
 quil and waveless in the sunlight, where he had 
 sailed as fisherman, coasting captain and roving 
 privateer, he was soon to sail again on a more dan 
 gerous errand; for umbrageous oak, lithe hickory, 
 spreading orchards and harmless shrubbery, amid 
 which he had labored and hunted, he was soon to 
 behold the gigantic, fantastic and wonderful forms 
 of that tropical vegetation, which, like the tree of 
 the garden, bore alike the fruit of life and destruc 
 tion. And, as he was passed by the heavy chaise in 
 which uncle Zenas and his sister, with smiling, 
 blushing Margaret, drove by toward the church, 
 the whole vision of wonder, glory and high emprise 
 was for a moment lost in softer hopes, and momen 
 tary regrets that the path of duty ran far apart from 
 the rosy parterres of love. 
 
30 Cartagena 
 
 But now, the weather-beaten, square-belfried 
 church was close at hand, standing on a little rise of 
 ground, not far removed from the village street and 
 near a deep, clear, sinuous pond, bordered with over 
 hanging trees and shrubbery, on whose opposite 
 bank the founders of the town, with the dead of an 
 hundred years, slept under the feathery foliage of 
 the locusts, and the long, rank grass their ashes had 
 nourished. 
 
 Entering, they sat down in the huge, square pew, 
 which, as one of the deacons of the church and the 
 substantial landowners of the district, the father of 
 Elisha Hay had occupied before him. 
 
 The son, now gray haired, sat in "the deacon s 
 seat," under the huge unornamented pulpit, above 
 which the sounding board hung suspended by its 
 iron rods, and around the walls on either side to the 
 door the border pews held the assembled yeomen of 
 the district. In front, "the middle aisle" was bor 
 dered on either side by three long pews, the first 
 on the right of the minister for deaf and aged men 
 and on the left for females thus afflicted, while the 
 others were free pews for the poor and strangers, 
 the male and female occupants being assigned sepa 
 rate seats and divided by the middle aisle. Three 
 large pews, like the one above spoken of, on either 
 side of the aisle, took up the remainder of the body 
 of the house. 
 
 In the rear gallery sat the choir, for whose bene 
 fit a huge bass viol, violoncello, several violins and a 
 bassoon discoursed the music of the old, time-hon 
 ored psalm tunes, while the ancient leader of the 
 
The Sabbath 31 
 
 choir, pitchpipe in hand, faced a long array of gray 
 haired men, stout young farmers and blooming lass 
 es, who, we regret to say, too often shot bewildering 
 glances across the dividing aisle or down into the 
 pews below. And in either corner to right and left, 
 in seats especially allotted, sat negro slaves and 
 Indian apprentices, for the freedom desired by our 
 ancestors was, in both its religious and civil aspect, 
 far from catholic in its application, and Black Bill, 
 whatever he may have thought, would never have 
 dreamed of seating himself At church with those 
 who worked beside him in the fields and ate with 
 him at the same table. 
 
 The sermon was long, scholarly and exhaustive, 
 "reaching tenthly," as the old people expressed it, 
 but none the less vital and interesting, for the text 
 was taken from the book of Neliemiak, and his nar 
 rative of the building of the second temple: 
 
 "And it came to pass from that time forth that 
 the half of my servants wrought in the work, and 
 the other half of them held both the spears, the 
 shields and the bows and the habergeons, and the 
 rulers were behind all the house of Judah. 
 
 "They which builded on the wall and they that 
 bare burdens with those that laded, every one with 
 one of his hands wrought in the work and with the 
 other hand held a weapon. 
 
 "For the builders every one had his sword girded 
 by his side and so builded ; and he who sounded the 
 trumpet was by me." 
 
 The argument related of course to the building 
 up of New England by the descendants of the Pil- 
 
32 Cartagena 
 
 grims, and in his artificial yet strong and manly 
 way the minister told of the dark days of the past 
 and the wars with Narragansett, Pequot, Tarratine 
 and Frenchman, in which the men of Massachusetts 
 Bay had readily perilled life and limb for the safety 
 of their firesides, the freedom of the seas and the 
 honor of the king. 
 
 And although Samuel Jennings, the town clerk 
 and treasurer, looked ruefully at his maimed leg, 
 cut off by a huge shark in a West Indian port, as he 
 essayed to desert from a British man-of-war on 
 board of which he had been cruelly impressed, and 
 Goodman Gibbs, blinded by an Indian arrow, and 
 homeless in his old age, groaned audibly at the men 
 tion of "the savage enemy," nevertheless the clarion 
 voice of the earnest preacher rang in the ears of the 1 
 young like a trumpet, and Squire Kuggles, as he 
 rose in his seat to receive the final benediction, felt 
 that his company would not lack brave men, ready 
 to fill up the ranks and to do their duty. 
 
 An hour s nooning was allotted to luncheon, after 
 which another discourse, on less interesting topics, 
 ended the day s services, greatly to the relief of 
 Elisha, whom neither the frowns of his father nor 
 the fear of the tithing man s rod of office could keep 
 awake, so sultry was the heat, and so monotonously 
 did the voice of the minister mingle with the hum 
 of insect life in the sunlight out of doors. 
 
 Then followed the walk homeward, the hearty early 
 supper, to atone for long fasting save for the slight 
 lunch eaten on the shore of the pond, under the 
 shade of a huge willow, and then the cattle were 
 
The Sabbath 33 
 
 called to the milking, the other stock cared for and 
 fed, and as the sun set the Sabbath ended, and 
 worldly cares and earthly hopes again engrossed the 
 thoughts of the household at Ploughed Neck. 
 
 Then Stephen walked again across the fields as 
 the sun s last beams gilded the distant cliffs of Ma- 
 nomet, and this time little thought of military glory, 
 or fear of coming oblivion, mingled with his 
 meditations. Often before he had threaded the narrow 
 footpath that led to the sunny dwelling of the re 
 tired sea captain, but without such hopes as now 
 cheered him on his lover s errand, for the goddess 
 he had worshipped was a fickle, merry-hearted little 
 deity, whom he had often deemed more propitious 
 and accessible to the careless merriment and heed 
 less gallantries of his mischievous brother, than to 
 his own deep and unpresuming devotion. 
 
 But to-night his eyes caught the shimmer of her 
 white dress beside the well curb, and his heart 
 leaped like a charging war horse as he caught the 
 sweet words of her welcome. 
 
 "I have waited for you," she said simply, "though 
 I feared you would not come, for I owe you so much 
 and I have deserved so little," and as in a dream he 
 clasped her proffered hand, and beneath the late- 
 blossoming trees passed down through to the grass- 
 bordered pathway. 
 
 At the door sat Uncle Zenas^ enjoying his evening 
 pipe; and Aunt Lucina, quietly knitting, sprang up 
 to welcome the young man, and led the way into the 
 keeping-room, odorous of camphor and sandal wood, 
 covered a a to the floor with Canton mattings and 
 
34 .Cartagena 
 
 wonderful rugs of home-made woolen, and orna 
 mented with souvenirs of many an adventurous 
 voyage. 
 
 Teeth of the whale, "scrimshawed" or etched with 
 rude but spirited pictures of the death throes of the 
 huge animal from whose terrible lower jaw they had 
 been taken, canes curiously made of the spinal 
 column of the shark, or of tropical woods and whale 
 ivory, and slender riding wands of baleen or whale 
 bone, with beautiful feather flow r ers from the Azores, 
 wonderful lacework from the convents of Manila, 
 rare shells from desert islands of the Pacific, curious 
 weapons and a few bits of silversmith s work, cov 
 ered the long, narrow mantel-shelf, and the iron- 
 wood teapoys and heavy brass-mounted writing 
 desk. 
 
 "Sit down, Stephen, and make yerself to home, for 
 thene ain t no livin man more welcome than you be," 
 and, giving a wonderfully shining chair a superflu 
 ous rub with her apron, the little woman caught up 
 a small waiter, drew the other corner of her apron 
 across her eyes and left the apartment. 
 
 "Thet s so, Steve," said Uncle Zenas, giving the 
 young man s hand a grip that nearly brought the 
 tears to his eyes. "The old man came very near los 
 ing the number of his mess, as the reg lar old sea 
 dogs say, an I ain t goin to forget it." 
 
 "There, there!" sa>id the young man, hastily. 
 "Don t talk of it, Uncle Zenas. You ve often done^ 
 as much for strangers, and would luw done as 
 much for us had our boat capsized on the bar. By 
 the way, Black Bill will go down to the creek and 
 
The Sabbath 35 
 
 bail your dory out to-morrow, for while we helped 
 you home he got her as she came in with the tide." 
 
 "Wai, wal ! you re certainly right about one thing, 
 an thet is thet I ve tried to do my duty when any 
 poor mortal was strugglin with the waves; an , ah s 
 me! how many despairin wretches I ve seen go to 
 leeward when none could help an even a parting 
 cry could not be heard. But thet don t change the 
 matter between us, or lessen my debt; an I m your 
 debtor, boy, henceforrad, an shel be glad to begin 
 to pay up any time thet you want anything I hev 
 to give, lend or bestow." 
 
 At this juncture Miss Lucina entered with the 
 little tray, on which were arrayed a curiously cut 
 and gilded decanter of Dantzic liqueur, with tiny 
 French glasses, and a plate of cake, w r hich latter she 
 was famed for making throughout the county. 
 
 In those day no one refused such refreshment, 
 and they sipped the oily, honey-like cordial, and ate 
 the rich cake, heavy with fruit and frosting, while 
 Aunt Lucina kept up a running commentary on the 
 viands : 
 
 "Xow, don t stent yeself on thet cake, Stephie, f er 
 ef I say it as shouldn t say it, there s no better made 
 in the county; an when Squire Ruggles married she 
 thet was Bathsheba Newcomb, nothin would do but 
 I must mix the big cake an I do think thet this same 
 cake we are eatin is ruther the best of the two." 
 
 "It s good enough for the king," said the young 
 man, warmly "and I hope, if ever I m married, that 
 you ll make one just like it for me." 
 
 "Thet she shell," said her brother heartily. "An 
 
36 Cartagena 
 
 ez fer the cordial, thet shan t be wantin either, fer 
 I ve a half a dozen cases thet never was opened. 1 
 bought them down to Jamaiky out of a French brig 
 brought in by a privateer, an the gov nor hasn t a 
 drop like it in the cellars of the Province House, I ll 
 be bound." 
 
 Thus the old people gossiped until the clock struck 
 nine, when uncle Zenas and his sister retired, for 
 such were the early hours kept by our forefathers in 
 the rural settlements. 
 
 Half an hour later, Stephen parted from Margaret 
 at the porch door, for the dews were falling heavily 
 and he would not permit her to go with him to the 
 gate beside the ancient well sweep. Her eyes were 
 bright with tears and her lips trembled, as she smil 
 ingly twined her slight arms around Stephen s neck 
 and laid her darks locks against the golden curls of 
 her lover. ^ 
 
 "You are not sorry that you have promised me, 
 are you, dearest?" asked the young man simply. "If 
 you are, I shall never hold you to your promise, and 
 you are free." 
 
 "Why do you ask?" she said in surprise. "You 
 cannot surely love me since you could part with me 
 so easily." 
 
 "Do not mistake me, darling," he answered, with 
 a faint tremor in his deep, low tones, "I prize you 
 above all earthly things, and death alone shall part 
 us, unless you so will it. But I love you better than 
 myself; yes, even enough to lose you, should your 
 happiness demand it." 
 
 "That can never be," said Margaret gently, "for I 
 
Tin* Sabbath 37 
 
 could never hope to find one so handsome and brave 
 and generous, and I know that I shall never regret 
 my loving you. Only I do feel that you are too good 
 and noble for uie." 
 
 And therein she spake the truth, but the time 
 had not yet come for either to realize that between 
 the pretty, spoiled child and the grand, passionate, 
 yet self-devoted nature she had enthralled, there 
 could never be perfect union, or the well-founded 
 and mutual appreciation and sympathy, which 
 alone can strengthen and* develop that wonderful 
 germ of mutual attraction, whose perfect growth is 
 love. 
 
 But Stephen went homeward, looking longingly 
 behind him, as long as he could see through the foli 
 age the white-robed form in the sumach-shaded 
 porch; while Margaret, when her lover s receding 
 figure was lost in the darkness, went to her room 
 and, seated by the open window, thought over the 
 events of the last two days, and the change her en 
 gagement of an hour ago w 7 ould work in her life. 
 
 "Father will be delighted," she soliloquized, as the 
 murmur of the distant sea came up across the inun 
 dated marshes. "Aunt Lucina has always teased 
 me to take Stephen, and all the other girls will be 
 as jealous as can be; but what will Lish say now?" 
 and the fair speaker, as she rose to retire for the 
 night, sighed as if her joy w r as not altogether un- 
 iningled with doubts for the future. 
 
Chapter IV. 
 Beating Up Recruits 
 
 A fortnight later, the governor s proclamation 
 had been promulgated by press and pulpit, and the 
 following gentlemen appointed captains of as many 
 companies to be raised in their respective sections, 
 each company to consist of one hundred and one 
 rank and file, with four commissioned officers; a 
 captain, first and second lieutenants, and ensign to 
 each. 
 
 Major Ammi Kuhamah Wise of Ipswich, Colonel 
 John Prescott of Concord, Daniel Goffe, Stephen 
 Richards, Thomas Philips, John Furney and Dr. 
 George Stewart of Boston, Win. Phipps of Cam 
 bridge, Joshua Barker of Pembroke, and as Deacon 
 Hay had never doubted, Timothy Kuggles, the land 
 lord-lawyer of Newcomb s tavern, were the men 
 chosen to receive the commissions, which his grac 
 ious majesty King George the Second, had been 
 pleased to send in blank to the royal governors and 
 other influential personages, who were to raise in 
 America a contingent of at least 3000 men. 
 
 Of this large force the legislators, influenced by 
 the executive of the "Province of Massachusetts 
 Bay," determined to raise one third, and to that end 
 offered a bounty of five pounds of the somewhat de 
 preciated currency of the colony, and sundry other 
 provisions for the comfort of its soldiers, unknown 
 in the more frugal administration of the regular ser 
 vice. 
 
Beating Up Recruits 39 
 
 The news reached the quiet household at 
 Ploughed Neck even before its announcement from 
 the pulpit, and the tardy coming of the Newsletter; 
 for at least two days before the arrival of the mail, 
 the family just then about to retire for the night, 
 heard the hoofs of the galloping steed as he emerged 
 from the sandy lane upon the level sward before the 
 house. 
 
 "It is Squire Ruggles Beelzebub," said the Indian 
 apprentice. 
 
 The hoofbeats, suddenly interrupted, stopped close 
 to the door, as the rough-rider s hand bore too 
 heavily on the strong curb, and the black stallion 
 rearing almost upright, planted his fore feet heavily 
 on the rough walk of flat stones, and Ruggles, low 
 ering his bridle hand, relaxed the pressure and 
 flung himself out of the saddle just as the elder Hay 
 and the male members of the family appeared at the 
 door. 
 
 "Your pardon, Deacon Hay, for a second untimely 
 visit, but this business of the West Indian expedi 
 tion is ever vexatious at every turn, and I have come 
 since last night from Boston; yet have not even 
 staid at home for needful refreshments, for I would 
 press the raising of my company as fast as may be 
 without loss of a day." 
 
 "But wherefore such haste?" said the senior Hay, 
 in his deliberate, sententious way. "You have doubt 
 less the appointment of the governor and the ap 
 proval of the general court." 
 
 "There may be no trouble," said the captain, quiet 
 ly, "but there were but three thousand men re- 
 
40 Cartagena 
 
 quired, and the governor seems determined that the 
 Massachusetts Bay shall furnish one-third thereof. 
 I know that they of New York, Virginia and the 
 Jerseys will not readily let ten commissions issue 
 among us; and he who first raises his company will 
 outrank the others, and be surest of receiving his 
 captaincy." 
 
 While he was speaking Black Bill (or William 
 TJntequit, as we shall henceforth call him) had 
 brought out a measure of grain for the horse, a ser : 
 vice which Ruggles, as he smilingly relinquished the 
 loose rein, would have rewarded by the gift of a sil 
 ver pistareen, but Untequit shook his head gravely 
 and said, "Not now, for you are my captain hence 
 forward." 
 
 "Well said, man," said Ruggles, earnestly. 
 "Would I had an hundred such now on my list. 
 Stephen, you of course are still of the same mind? 
 Nay, friend Hay, trouble not the women with get 
 ting refreshment at this late hour. Give me but r, 
 slice of bread and cheese and a draught of milk, and 
 I shall do as well as the good steed yonder until I 
 am at home again." 
 
 "I am at your service, captain," said Stephen, "and 
 to-morrow will begin to beat up for recruits if you 
 command. Untequit goes with me, and if you would 
 have Indians, can get you a score that can shoot to 
 a hand s breadth, and trail as subtly as the Tarra- 
 tines themselves." 
 
 "And I will go too," said Elisha, coming forward. 
 
 "Oh no! my son," said his mother sadly; "surely 
 two of our household, and one of our blood, are 
 
Beating Up Recruits 41 
 
 enough to risk in so long and dangerous an adven 
 ture, and then your father needs your aid, for the 
 farm work must suffer sadly even as it is." 
 
 "Do not be hasty, my son," said his father in tones 
 that, despite his habitual self-repression, showed 
 that he was both astonished and grieved at his son s 
 determination; "I will not stand in the way of 
 whatsoever seemeth to be duty, but all are not called 
 to do battle, and some must stay by the stuff and 
 labor, that the soldier faint not for want of food." 
 
 "I ought not to discourage so promising a recruit, 
 I confess," said Buggies sympathetically, "but I do 
 think, madam, that two men are more than your 
 share of those set apart to serve His Majesty, the 
 King. It may be that Elisha will think differently 
 on the morrow, and, in that case, I shall not think 
 of him any less worthily, for I know, if he feels in 
 this matter as I do, it will be greater hardship to 
 stay than to go; and I will not try to induce him 
 to act against your wishes. Nevertheless, friend 
 Hay, you should have been wiser than to have 
 trained up such sons, all willing and able to worth 
 ily serve and honor the king." 
 
 "You are kind, Esquire Buggies," said Hay with 
 sudden warmth, "and I repent me of past coldness 
 and uncharitable thought. What I may, I will do to 
 help you, for you can feel for a father s anxieties 
 and a mother s tears. Yet the will of God be done," 
 he added resolutely; "for I will never stand in the 
 way, when we must needs fight against the enemies 
 of the king and the bloody persecutors of the Pro 
 testant church." 
 
42 Cartagena 
 
 Buggies produced au ample wallet, from which 
 he drew a roll of the paper "bills of credit," cur 
 rent at that day, and, selecting a roll, handed them 
 with a receipt ready for signature to the young vol 
 unteer. "There, friend Stephen (lieutenant I hope 
 to call you ere long), are thirty pounds. Each man 
 is to have five pounds for bounty, in addition to 
 arms, clothing and accoutrements, such as are is 
 sued to the royal army, and the subsistence of the 
 men begins on the day of enlistment. Spare not for 
 labor of man or beast, and, if you will, take Untequit 
 with you to Mashpee, and send the men to me at 
 Sandwich tow r n as soon as may be." 
 
 The receipt was duly signed and Kuggles sprang 
 into the saddle, but suddenly drew 7 rein and beck 
 oned to Stephen to draw near ; as he did so, he said 
 in tones so low that no one else could hear, "I want 
 not any who are weak of body or cow r ardly at heart, 
 neither would I tempt any with strong liquors to 
 do that which they may hereafter repent of. Still it 
 has been the custom to suitably refresh and treat 
 such as are loyal enough to proffer their lives in the 
 king s service, and I would not be thought ungen 
 erous or mean. But you will know how to act best 
 in this matter, so good night and God speed you in 
 your errand," and setting spurs to his horse he was 
 soon out of sight and hearing. 
 
 "He spares not himself or his horse either," said 
 Hay slowly, "and I see well that whosoever marches 
 under him will not lack service." 
 
 "That is the best kind to serve under," said 
 Stephen joyously, "for such dare not let their men 
 
Beating Up Recruits 43 
 
 suffer, lest when they would do more than others, 
 they lack support by reason of neglect, sickness or. 
 poor equipment ; but your easy good-natured man is 
 a curse to any service." 
 
 The next day was spent among the neighboring 
 farmers and the sailors of the little port, two of 
 whom added their names to the roll already headed 
 by Stephen arid his servant, for in such capacity 
 Untequit chose to serve. In the next week seventeen 
 more were added, and a day later Stephen and his 
 servant took horse and rode into the forest toward 
 the Indian settlement at Mashpee. 
 
 The woods of mingled pine, oak and hickory were 
 in their full beauty, and as they rode slowly along 
 in the cool shadows of the narrow forest roads they 
 talked much of the future, and their coming soldier 
 life. 
 
 "Why is it, Bill, that you do not enlist as a vol 
 unteer, and not as a servant?" asked Stephen, as 
 they rode along. 
 
 "Master Stephen," said the Indian, with some 
 emotion, "you have always treated me like a man; 
 yes, as if I were of your own blood, and I w r ould go 
 to the war for your sake, even if I had no other end 
 to serve. As a servant I can be with you more, and 
 serve you better, but I will never be such to any 
 other were it the king himself." 
 
 "We are all servants of the king," said Stephen, 
 gently, "and there are at all times those whom 
 every man must, for the time, respect and obey. 
 Nevertheless I shall never forget your love, and if 
 we seem to others master and servant, it shall be 
 
44 Cartagena 
 
 only that we may be nearer and truer comrades," 
 and each took the hand of the other in token of 
 fealty. 
 
 "But what is this mysterious matter that you 
 spoke of a moment ago? What else but the king s 
 service urges you to go with us?" 
 
 As Stephen spoke, Untequit suddenly halted by 
 the wood-side, and pointed to a mossy boulder a 
 little away under the shadow of some saplings, 
 which appeared to have sprung, for the most part, 
 from a large stump already far gone in decay, and 
 as he spoke his voice was broken, and a variety of 
 emotions seemed striving for utterance. 
 
 "That I may not tell, even to you master Stephen, 
 except- on one condition, and that, I fear, you would 
 think foolish or worse; yet chiefs have stood under 
 yonder oak, and thus promised friendship and aid 
 to each other." 
 
 "What do you mean, Will?" asked Stephen, in 
 surprise. 
 
 "You whites," said the Indian, with some bitter 
 ness, "think illy of us because we cannot change 
 the traditions and customs of our race, and, taking 
 up those of the white man, add land to land, and 
 cattle to cattle: and, indeed, as we see the game 
 grow scarcer, and even the rivers and sea plundered 
 of their fish, we grow fewer, poorer, and lose heart, 
 until many believe us not only poor white men, but 
 poorer Indians, spiritless, and ignorant even of the 
 history and traditions of our fathers. 
 
 "But there is no Indian so low, that the stories told 
 by our old people do not move him; none so ignorant, 
 
Beating Up Recruits 4r> 
 
 that they do not carry in their minds the words 
 spoken to them in childhood, for we who for the 
 most part know little of books, carry all that we 
 learn in our hearts. But you are not like other 
 white men, and you wish to know why I would go 
 yonder, do you not?" and as he spoke the red man 
 pointed to the south. 
 
 "I confess I would like to know, and I think you 
 can trust me to keep your secret," said Stephen, con 
 fidently. 
 
 "I would trust you with my life, but the secret is 
 not mine to give, except you will bind yourself as I 
 have been bound, by the bond of blood." 
 
 "What do you mean, Untequit?" asked Stephen, 
 sternly. "What old time sorcery would you teach a 
 Christian man; or has some unhappy witch-wife of 
 your people deluded you into forbidden practices?" 
 
 "Master," said Untequit, coldly, "come with me 
 to yonder stone, and I will explain to you the nature 
 of what our fathers called the bond of blood. It is 
 nearly noon and the sun is hot. It will not hurt 
 the horses to cool a moment after that steep hill and 
 sandy level, and I should like to show you some 
 thing that no white man every knew or saw before." 
 
 Stephen acceded, and alighting the men pene 
 trated the intervening underbrush and stood in the 
 little natural alcove, overhung by arched saplings, 
 beside the mossgrown rock, one of those w r orn and 
 water-rounded boulders which some ancient sweep 
 of glacier or drift of iceberg had left there ages be 
 fore. Untequit removed his hat and bowed his head 
 above it, saying something unintelligible to his com- 
 
46 Cartagena 
 
 panion the while, but the words ran in a wild but 
 regular rhythm, and Stephen rightly judged that 
 they constituted a part or the whole of some for 
 mula of Indian invocation, adjuration or worship. 
 
 "Beneath this stone," said Untequit, "lie the 
 bones of a great chief, a friend of the whites, but 
 the victim of their hasty anger; who died of ex 
 posure and want of food, sick and a fugitive, and 
 was buried far from the ashes of his village and his 
 wasted cornfields. Over his grave, his descendants 
 have plighted their faith in love and friendship, and 
 the secrets of his house can be known to those only 
 who are of our race, or become of it by the bond of 
 blood of which I spoke." 
 
 "And what do you mean by the bond of blood ? 
 Methinks, Untequit, to a Christian man it savors, as, 
 I said before, somewhat of sorcery or the like." 
 
 "We have little faith in witches," said the Indian 
 disdainfully, "unless those are witches, who by vigil 
 and fasting attain to a closer knowledge of those 
 things which most people overlook. But to be 
 brief, what I would have of you, is this. Let us 
 exchange blood, and I can then tell you the secrets 
 of the living and the purposes I hold." 
 
 "Exchange blood," said Stephen, wonderingly, 
 "how can that be done?" 
 
 As he spoke, he felt a slight puncture in his arm, 
 and raising it saw that a thorn had wounded his 
 wrist, on which stood a few drops of blood; and 
 the next moment felt it seized bv his companion, 
 who with his lips cleansed the wound and bound it 
 up with his neckerchief. 
 
Beating Up Recruits 47 
 
 "I am of your blood now, master," said the Indian 
 exult ingly, as he drew from his side a keen knife 
 and with its point scored his own fore-arm, until the 
 red drops chased each other over the rounded 
 muscles like raindrops on a blade of grass. "Taste 
 but one drop of this blood, and we are one in race, 
 for our veins will have mingled, and who can prove 
 false to his own blood?" 
 
 For a moment Stephen hesitated. A natural re 
 pugnance to so savage a rite almost nauseated him, 
 and he w r as about to refuse peremptorily and for 
 ever. The Indian read his look, a deep dejection re 
 placed his former exulting attitude and, before 
 Stephen could answer, he swept away the drops and 
 with a bandage stopped the flow of blood. 
 
 "Forgive me, master," said he sadly, "if I have 
 offended. Your traditions are not ours, and neither 
 should be angry at the other for holding the belief 
 of his fathers. Nevertheless, believe me, I would 
 almost that I were dead, since we cannot be in all 
 things of one mind and knowledge, that you may 
 help me as I will serve you." 
 
 "Untequit," said his companion, much moved, "I 
 would not be unkind; nay, I will help you blindly 
 in all things you may ask, if I wrong no one thereby, 
 but this thing seems to me unnatural, and beyond 
 what a man may do even for his friend. Is it neces 
 sary this should be done now and done here, or can. 
 I please you in this matter hereafter, if that I see 
 reason to repent of my refusal?" 
 
 "It matters not," said the Indian, sadly, "when 
 promises are made, or rather uttered, but it would 
 
48 Cartagena 
 
 have advantaged us and you much, had you been 
 willing to please me in this matter. Still you are not 
 of those who will turn from belief because of gain, 
 and perhaps it may be that you will not lose by your 
 refusal. Certainly it will not be by my choice if you 
 do; so let us go to Mashpee and forget the cloud 
 that has come between us." 
 
 So in amity they resumed their journey, and rode 
 by copses of sassafras, thickets of brier and whortle 
 berry, ponds shaded by vine-hung woods and 
 clumps of sweet flowered elder and climbing clema 
 tis, until from a higher ridge they caught a glimpse 
 of the "Southern Sea," and found themselves in the 
 Indian settlement of Mashpee. 
 
 Here the remainder of the tribes, once ruled by 
 the luckless lyanough, had for over a generation 
 been gathered, and although sadly diminished in 
 numbers from the thronging hundreds who in the 
 earlier part of the seventeenth century had fought 
 with Champlain and Poitrincourt at Chatham and 
 Nauset, still formed a community which in every war 
 had furnished many staunch warriors to the forces 
 of Massachusetts. 
 
 Here they parted, Stephen to keep on to Falmouth 
 and Edgartown, where Captain Ruggles had already 
 commenced the enlistment of recruits; and on his 
 
 return the next day came into S with half a 
 
 dozen fishermen and young farmers, although be it 
 said, each could be either farmer or sailor, as is still 
 the manner of men among the amphibious people of 
 those shores. 
 
 But Untequit, late on the night of his arrival, sat 
 
Beating Up Recruits 49 
 
 by the hearth of a small log cabin, opposite a woman 
 whose whitened hair, fleshless limbs, hollow fea 
 tures, and corrugated skin, gave evidence of an ex 
 istence long protracted beyond the ordinary life of 
 mortals. 
 
 As he finished his story of the events of the past 
 few days, his hostess raised her head and revealed a 
 countenance noble even in its wreck of beauty, and 
 lit up by keen black eyes which seemed to pierce 
 into the very soul of her companion. "He refused 
 then? And you have not told him all? Are our 
 young men to leave life, and home, and friends, and 
 return no more for his sake?" 
 
 "What mean you, grandmother?" asked Untequit, 
 "who but God knows the future?" 
 
 "None, boy ! none !" said the aged svbil with flash 
 ing eyes ; "yet those who live until all they knew and 
 loved in youth are long dead have strange fancies 
 that are not always dreams, and I feel my heart 
 grow faint within me as I think of the men you will 
 lead southward to their death. But your master is 
 true, think you, nevertheless?" 
 
 "I would lay my life on his word," said the young 
 man vehemently. 
 
 "Then he must have the men, that is those who 
 have no wives or children to weep for their loss ; but, 
 had he done as we wished, he should have a score 
 more that would have been missed sadly in the com 
 ing time." 
 
 "And I, shall I " The young man hesitated, but 
 the woman took up the question before; he could 
 finish. 
 
50 Cartagena 
 
 "Do you ask in fear, or from curiosity to know 
 what most men shrink from knowing?" she asked 
 keenly. 
 
 "I do not fear death," was the answer, "but I 
 would know if I shall live to bring him back to his 
 home and his mother." 
 
 "I cannot tell," she said, after a pause, "but I feel 
 no fear but that I shall live to hear from your lips 
 how you have fared in your search. Oh, Un- 
 tequit! grandchild of my son, last of all the race of 
 Caneotus, do not forget what you have sworn by the 
 bond of blood and the graves of your fathers; only 
 promise me this and your white master shall not 
 want braves to stand before him in battle." 
 
 "I will not forget it," said the young Indian. And, 
 by the end of that w y eek, ten dusky rangers of Mash- 
 pee had added to the roll of the company such sur 
 names as lawannut, Mantwammuch, Quaron, Pome- 
 tuck, Webquish, Cottowaw and Suonish, names 
 which, for the most part, no longer appear on the 
 slate tombstones around the ancient forest church 
 at Mashpee. 
 
 So, day by day, the indefatigable Captain Bug 
 gies and his assistants beat up recruits, from East- 
 ham to Plymouth until the tale was nearly com 
 pleted and the company ordered to Boston. 
 
 And, in spite of his father s entreaties and his 
 mother s and sister s tears, Elisha Hay had still per 
 sisted in his purpose to take part in the Great Expe* 
 dition, against the King of Spain s dominions in the 
 West Indies. 
 
Chapter V. 
 "Old Hewson" 
 
 It was about the middle of August, and only a few 
 days before the final muster of the enlisted men at 
 
 S , preparatory to their march to Boston, that 
 
 Stephen, after a long day of wearisome endeavor, 
 was on the way homeward in the early twilight, and 
 having looked in vain for any neighbor going in his 
 direction, set out on foot. 
 
 Diverging from the main road he turned into a 
 rustic byway, winding along the base of a sandy 
 eminence, on whose summit stood a large building 
 with many square windows and an unornamental 
 porch, into which two doors gave access, and on 
 either side of which a long row of horse-sheds, form 
 ing the eastern boundary of a rural burying ground, 
 told that the edifice, although plain and unornamen 
 tal even to the point of ugliness, was nevertheless a 
 house of worship and erected in honor of the Most 
 High. 
 
 As he came nearer, the road wound along the 
 verge of a large swamp, from whose tangled vegeta 
 tion came the confused chattering of many birds, 
 and on its western side upon a slope shaded by apple 
 trees and bordered by a luxuriant meadow stood a 
 small dwelling, even at that day bearing the marks 
 of decay on the cedar shingles which covered roof 
 and walls. 
 
 The occupant of the cottage sat alone on the broad 
 
52 Cartagena 
 
 flat stone which served as a doorstep, a man whose 
 age showed itself in the whiteness of his unkempt 
 hair and shaggy beard, but could not render vener 
 able the still burly, long armed and short limbed 
 body and fiery visage of a man, whose antecedents 
 to say the least were questionable, and whose mys 
 terious, unsocial and eccentric mode of life had 
 made him a veritable hermit, a source of fear to 
 child and maiden, and the subject of much invidious 
 discourse throughout the country. 
 
 He had suddenly appeared one night in the little 
 hamlet, accompanied by a huge negro, whose gay 
 neckerchief, gold ear-rings and unutterable profan 
 ity told unmistakably of a seafaring life, and had 
 sought to hire the cottage of its owner, a mild, staid 
 man, whose rustic curiosity and prudent inquiries as 
 to references had been answered by irreverent blas 
 phemy, and a proposition characteristic of all the 
 after-carriage of his eccentric visitor. 
 
 "Look ye here, sir," concluded the stranger, 
 "there s enough of this backing and filling about a 
 small matter. My name you shall know if we trade 
 together, but if not it s no man s business, though a 
 ship has sailed before now under more names than 
 she had masts, hey, Scip," and here master and man 
 indulged in a singular smile of almost sinister im 
 port. "But here s my offer; name a price for yon 
 house and bit of ground, an so the price be fair you 
 shall have your money in true Spanish doubloons, or 
 we part an there s an end." 
 
 The offer was made, and accepted, the .papers 
 signed and delivered, and the price told out in for- 
 
"Old Hewson" 53 
 
 eign gold coin with this brief but compendious dec 
 laration: "Well, old man, our business is done, and 
 I hope that yonder papers are as good as my gold, 
 but if not, God help the man who shall try to make 
 me quit yonder anchorage by force of arm, or sher 
 iff s warrant. 
 
 "You may call me John Ilewson," he added, as he 
 turned to go, and that night the windows of the long 
 unoccupied cottage were ablaze with light, and 
 from within the notes of a violin, the rhythm of 
 dancing feet, and the sound of oaths, boisterous 
 laughter and coarse sea songs were heard until long 
 after midnight, to the utter and unspeakable hor 
 ror and discomfort of the sedate and pious inhabi 
 tants of the hamlet. 
 
 The next morning the house was closed and ten- 
 antless, the windows hopelessly obscured by heavy 
 inner shutters, and some had even begun to talk of 
 foul play, or the especial judgment of God on such 
 unhallowed revelry, when late at night man and 
 master were met by several, coming up the mail 
 road with a wagon laden with sea chests and 
 heavy furniture, and driven by a stranger who was 
 almost as close mouthed as his employers, but 
 claimed to hail from the vicinity of a small inlet on 
 the southern shore of the cape. 
 
 That night the house was again illuminated, and 
 again the evidences of unholy revelry were but 
 too patent to all dwelling near by; but the night 
 ended at last and with it passed away all traces of 
 the presence of teamster, equipage and negro, and 
 only a large and savage hound, evidently of tropical 
 
54 Cartagena 
 
 origin, remained to serve as companion to the vet 
 eran who lived henceforth alone, suffering neither 
 man, woman or child to cross his threshold on any 
 pretext or errand whatever. 
 
 He paid liberally and in coin for all supplies, and 
 evidently lived well, cooking but two meals a day, 
 with no mean skill, judging from the savory odors 
 distinguishable by the passers by, and spent much 
 of his time angling in the trout brook, which wound 
 through the swamp, or hunting with a long barreled 
 Spanish gun, of marvelous accuracy and range, 
 whose stock was wondrously inlaid with plates and 
 tracery of sterling silver and gold. 
 
 A retired sea-captain, from a hill to the westward, 
 had w r ith a powerful ship s glass discovered a ham 
 mock in the attic window, and a curious youth of 
 the neighborhood had once taken advantage of the 
 old man s absence, and peeping through the open 
 window had seen a brace of pistols and cutlass over 
 the door, a few mahogany chairs filled up with 
 cast-off clothing and various tackle, a heavy table on 
 which a silver flagon and crystal decanter stood be 
 side the pewter platter and porringer from whence 
 Hewson had eaten the morning meal, and last, but 
 not least, a great oaken chest banded with massive 
 yet curiously wrought braces of iron. 
 
 Only this and nothing more, yet even this was 
 dearly purchased, for the next time he passed that 
 way the great dog, leaping the fence at a bound, 
 threw him to the earth, and crouching upon his body 
 gave a deep hollow bay which called his master to 
 the spot. 
 
"Old Hewson" 55 
 
 "Many thanks for your call, younker," said the 
 master grimly, as at a word the great hound al 
 lowed the terrified boy to arise, "but next time 
 twould be better to come when I m to home, for the 
 dog knows I don t want people looking into my win 
 dows, an no one can come here day or night but 
 he ll find him out." 
 
 This story, added to all else that seemed strange 
 and unaccountable, had given to this man, as years 
 went by, the only privilege he seemed to claim of 
 humanity, almost complete isolation from his 
 species. 
 
 It was therefore to his great surprise that 
 Stephen, as he approached, saw the old man rise 
 from his seat, advance to the close-shut wicket, and 
 extending his hand as if in greeting, address him as 
 follows: 
 
 "Welcome, younker. I ve been wantin to see you 
 for some time, an had made up my mind to go down 
 to your father s house. Come in! come in, man, for 
 your time is short, an so is mine, but in different 
 ways, I reckon, for you re bound south again; but 
 poor old Jack Hew r son has only one more voyage 
 to take, and that up yonder," and he pointed with 
 his thumb over his shoulder to the graveyard be 
 hind the Quaker meeting house. 
 
 Stephen, although almost speechless with aston 
 ishment, followed the old man toward the house, 
 while the great dog, which liad given a single hoarse 
 growl, at a word from his companion quietly turned 
 away and crouched beside the door step. 
 
 "Don t be afraid, younker," said Hewson, with 
 
56 Cartagena 
 
 rough courtesy, "the brute s a true Afrikin blood 
 hound and wild tear ye limb from limb, if I said 
 the word ; but he isn t quick to use his strength un 
 less it s wanted, an it s me that tells him so." 
 
 "But how do you know my name?" asked Stephen 
 curiously. "I ve seen you anytime for these last ten 
 years and never even spoken to you until now. What 
 can you know or want of me?" 
 
 "Come in man," said his strange companion quiet 
 ly, opening the door so long shut to everyone else 
 in the hamlet. "I ve kept out the curious and ma 
 licious that call me pirate and murderer behind my 
 back, and don t dare to say their soul s their own 
 to my face; but there s different metal in you, boy, 
 an if I had fewer years and more men like you, I 
 would like well to go to the Spanish main with you 
 myself." 
 
 Stephen entered the mysterious dwelling, and 
 found himself in a room plainly but amply fur 
 nished, in very much the same way as had been de 
 scribed by the luckless youth before spoken of. The 
 chairs were of carved mahogany, the table of inlaid 
 woods, the pistols and cutlass, with a rifle and the 
 long barreled gun before mentioned, hung from a 
 brace of deer s antlers above the fireplace, and the 
 iron-banded chest was not wanting, but stood in the 
 corner furthest from the door. 
 
 "It looks pretty much as he said, doesn t it?" 
 asked his singular host somewhat sardonically. 
 "Well, he did get a bad scare, and it served the 
 rascal right. But it didn t need any of the devil s 
 help to find him out, for I saw him with my glass 
 
"Old Ilewson" 57 
 
 from the grove of hickory up yonder, although 
 1 oiutis here would have trailed him out for me if I 
 hadn t, for he knows nothing is to couie in here with 
 out my asking. But sit down, and if a little of the 
 true south side Madeira will suit you, say the word 
 and you are welcome." 
 
 "I thank you heartily," said Stephen, simply, "but 
 I am in a hurry, and care little for wine while my 
 blood runs as freely in my veins as now. So, let me 
 know what I can do for you; for you surely have not 
 broken your long habit of living by yourself Tor 
 naught." 
 
 "I was told that you were brave and honest, lad," 
 said Hewson, w r ith a gratified smile, "and I have but 
 a simple thing to ask of you; but, before I can ask it, 
 you must promise to keep a secret. Nay, man don t 
 refuse," he said, bitterly; "I ve no fear of priest or 
 sheriff, but I won t have every old woman in the 
 town chewing over my history with her tea and 
 shortcake." 
 
 Stephen laughed at his vehemence, but as sud 
 denly grew grave, and said, "Your pardon, sir. You 
 are right, and your wishes shall be respected. I 
 shall be happy to hear whatever you may please to 
 tell me, without further question." 
 
 "Well, then, younker, to be brief, I have a brother 
 somewhere in the West Indies, who was born in 
 the same hour as myself, and who, as boy and man, 
 was as like me as one bullet is like another. He was, 
 when I last heard of him, at Cartagena, where I have 
 no doubt you also are bound; but since we parted, 
 forty years since, he married there, and when I came 
 
58 Cartagena. 
 
 here ten years ago was well-to-do, and in favor 
 among the Dons as interpreter in the courts. But I 
 am old, and would at least send him one more mes 
 sage before I die, and that message must be by word 
 of mouth; for if it were written, he would be shot 
 or garroted without mercy should it fall into the 
 hands of the Spaniard!" 
 
 "I will take your message if I can," said Stephen, 
 "but how am I to know him, for of course he no 
 longer bears an English name among the Spaniards." 
 
 "He was called Carlos de Olivera when last I heard 
 from him, young sir, and stood in high, favor with 
 priest and people, or else I had not been here this 
 day. But the hour grows late and you have far to 
 go. I must look into yonder chest, whose secrets 
 would be cheap to any old woman in the district at 
 the loss of an eye, an I don t know but some on em 
 would give both, an they could still keep the use 
 of their tongues to tell what was in it. But come, 
 you must hold the candle, for my eyes are poor, and 
 one must be careful how he opens this chest of 
 mine." 
 
 As he spoke he drew from his pocket a small key 
 and knelt by the chest, one of those curious master 
 pieces of Flemish art, whose thick oaken sides are 
 but the background for wondrous tracery in deftly 
 wrought steel and iron. The great hasp, formed like 
 a dragon s head, seemed to descend into the cav 
 ernous keyhole below it, but Hewson touched a 
 knob to the right and -disclosed a smaller aperture, 
 into which he inserted the smal-1 key he had pro 
 duced. In a shallow recess lay disclosed the large, 
 
"Old Hewson" 59 
 
 cunningly wrought key of the coffer, and some cu 
 rious mechanism to which the old man called the at 
 tention of his guest. 
 
 "The old smith \vho made this key," and he 
 pointed to the involved and delicate wards as he 
 spoke, "knew that the robber s skill might well undo 
 what he had fastened, and so he set a watch on yon 
 der lock which should hold all fast and catch the 
 thief as well," and turning a button he unlocked the 
 chest, and raising the hasp showed a small 
 slit by which the lid might be lifted. Then touching 
 a concealed spring a sharp shock was heard; a hid 
 den bolt secured the lid and several sharp needles 
 barred the aperture, and would certainly have trans 
 fixed the hand of any one attempting to open the 
 box. He also showed him that any attempt to lift 
 the lid by the hasp would bear on the same spring 
 and relock the coffer. 
 
 "They say," said the old man, coolly, "that the 
 needles are pisoned, but tis a good hundred years 
 since that bit of deviltry was done, and tis like its 
 vartue is long since lost; but we lose time over such 
 matters." 
 
 So saying with the handle of the large key he 
 wound up the secret machinery, releasing the bolt, 
 and setting the safety catch, heaved up the heavy lid 
 and revealed, not treasures of price, but a strange 
 melange of articles, carefully packed in curious jux 
 taposition to each other. 
 
 A box of rare woods, roughly inlaid with bits of 
 gold and silver coin, was evidently but the old man s 
 "ditty box," or receptacle for pins, thread, needles 
 
GO Cartagena 
 
 and other small necessaries, for the ends of a few 
 threads protruded from between box and lid, and 
 the style of ornamentation was of the figures formed 
 of circles and diamonds known, to every seaman, 
 though the materials might be worth a score of 
 pounds or more. 
 
 "There s a deal of work in this/ said the old sailor 
 as he opened it, "an ev ry bit tells of some long calm 
 or hot day under the palm trees among the islands, 
 an thar isn t a bit of wood or metal in the whole 
 but has its history, an some of it none of the pleas- 
 antest either." 
 
 "But here s what we want," said he, opening the 
 box; and producing from amid its odds and ends a 
 small parcel done up in soft cotton, he extracted 
 therefrom a curious ring, evidently the product of 
 some unskilled artisan, but representing in virgin 
 gold a rattlesnake with emerald eyes, two of whose 
 coils encircled the finger, while the third held en 
 closed a large, roughly-cut garnet. 
 
 "There, boy!" continued Hewson; "ther were two 
 of them rings taken when we took Cartagena in 1G97, 
 when De Pointis, the French admiral, summoned the 
 buccaneers of the Gulf to help France against the 
 Spaniards. These I found in the commandant s 
 house; I gave one to my brother, and we agreed that 
 they should be tokens by which we might send help 
 or seek assistance in all straits an peril whatsoever. 
 But he who carries it may well be in peril should he 
 be a prisoner in the city from which it was taken, 
 for no common man ever made such a ring as that." 
 
 "But why do you send to your brother?" asked 
 
"Old Hewson" Gl 
 
 Stephen. "If you are in want of anything, there are 
 many ready to help who will not make charity a 
 pretext for curiosity." 
 
 "Charity!" said the old man, sneeringly "charity! 
 it shall never be spoken of me that I lived by the 
 bounty of others, as long as death is so near that 1* 
 can seek him by bullet, steel or cord; and though 
 there seems to be but little here beside such mat 
 ters as an old sailor picks up here and there, there 
 are more shot in the locker than will last out my 
 cruise. But, never mind! Take this ring; and if vou 
 enter the city of Cartagena, and Don Carlos be not 
 dead or departed elsewhere, tell him" and the old 
 man s voice grew husky "tell him for me, that, if 
 he will, I have a home for him and his, and that I 
 wax old and weak, and would see him before I die." 
 
 "I will tell him," said Stephen, kindly "that is, if 
 I may; for there are many chances that we may 
 never meet, even if, as men seem to think, we go 
 to make our first attack on Cartagena." 
 
 "And why should I not trust to such chance? 
 which, indeed, so long as the war lasts, may well be 
 my only hope of again hearing from him. Twas a 
 less likely chance which separated us two young lads 
 when but twenty-three or ther about, an made him a 
 Spanish officer an left me with the brethren of the 
 coast." 
 
 "And are you then indeed a " The young man 
 hesitated to speak the word. so fearfully significant 
 of the terrible scourge of the ocean, in those daya 
 infested in every part of the world by relentless rob 
 bers and murderers of their kind; and more than 
 
62 Cartagena 
 
 one had in his hearing, hinted that his companion 
 had doubtless amassed the gold he had from time 
 to time exhibited by piracy. 
 
 "No, young man; I am not a pirate, although I 
 have known aye, have messed and slept with many 
 who afterward became pirates accursed of God and 
 man. But I was a buccaneer or filibuster, as we 
 were called thirty years ago; and if you care to stay 
 an hour or so into the night, I can tell you some 
 thing of the country you are going to, and of how 
 the brethren of the coast took Cartagena, now some 
 forty-odd years agone." 
 
 And, Stephen gladly acceding, the old man 
 opened the low w r indow T s, took from a cupboard a 
 bottle of wine, some choice tobacco, and several long- 
 stemmed clay pipes, and, having with some diffi 
 culty pressed his guest to partake of his hospitality, 
 drew from the chest a small pennon of crimson, on 
 which was emblazoned a black raven. "It was the 
 pennant of my yawl," said he, proudly, "and a 
 larger one hung at the mainmast-head of my old ves 
 sel, <Le Corbeau, forty years since." 
 
Chapter VI. 
 The Sack of Cartagena* 
 
 "It was forty-three years ago, lad, that I, a stout 
 buccaneer of three and twenty, with my brother, 
 rendezvoused at Hispaniola, where twelve hundred 
 of the brethren of the coast had been gathered by 
 Governor Du Casse to join the Baron de Fointis, com 
 mander of the king s fleet, after whom yonder hound 
 is called, because he holds so well whatever he gets 
 between his teeth, as the baron held to prize money 
 and plunder. 
 
 "It was the greatest gathering of the buccaneers 
 for many years, and we who were still but young in 
 experience met there with men who had cruised with 
 Sharp and fought under Morgan, and even one or 
 two who had known Pierre le Grand; Montbars, 
 whose sword never spared a Spaniard; Bartolomeo 
 Portaguez, sly as a fox, who more than once made 
 his cunning save him from steel and cord; L Olon- 
 nois, the butcher of whole ship s crews, and Mans- 
 velt, whose buccaneers first settled New Providence. 
 
 "We were to set out by the middle of February at 
 farthest, but March was well begun when De Point is 
 fleet made Cape St. Francois, and began to refit at 
 Tiburon. 
 
 "There were about seven hundred of us, who were 
 true buccaneers, in seven vessels of from eight to 
 twenty and twenty-four guns, but Du Casse took 
 from his forts about two hundred regulars, and 
 
64 Cartagena 
 
 enough of our relations and connections, who were 
 planters; and others with their slaves came in to 
 make our force twelve hundred men, all trained to 
 seamanship and hunting, and keen marksmen with 
 their long buccaneer guns. 
 
 "De Pointis had seven ships and four frigates, 
 with bomb-ketches, storeships and transports, and 
 about three thousand eight hundred men of all 
 grades, and we thought that with six thousand men 
 we could conquer San Domingo City, and gain there 
 by much booty and a fort which we could hold for 
 ever against the bloody Spaniards. 
 
 "But De Pointis, although he scorned the very 
 name of buccaneer, was at heart as greedy a dog 
 as the most cowardly filibuster that ever robbed 
 periaguas around the river mouths, or plundered 
 farmers of a few pesos, and he from the first gave 
 little heed to our entreaties or the counsels of Du 
 Casse, and chose rather to plunder a city he could 
 not hope to hold for the king, than to spend blood 
 arid life for the safety of the French colonists and 
 the glory of France; and so on the first part of April 
 we sailed for Cartagena, having with much pains got 
 De Pointis to promise that w r e should share in all 
 plunder, on the same terms as the men of the king s 
 ships. 
 
 "Du Casse, although governor and a captain in the 
 French navy, was allowed to share only as a captain 
 and, indeed, so hard and overbearing was De Pointis 
 to us all, that many times our men murmured and 
 threatened to turn back, but the captains told them 
 of the silver and gold of Cartagena, and by the 
 middle of the month we lay off the city." 
 
The Sack of Cartagena 65 
 
 "And what is the city like?" asked Stephen with 
 much interest. 
 
 " Twas in those days, and I dare say is now, the 
 next richest city to Mexico of all the Spanish king s 
 possessions on this side the sea, and stands almost 
 surrounded by lagoon and sea on a sandy plain, so 
 low that less than two fathoms brings the digger to 
 springs of sweet water. An hundred and eighty 
 brass guns were mounted on its walls and bastions, 
 and the forts around it were as well provided as to 
 number. The walls and works are of limestone filled 
 in with earth, and over the great gate of the city 
 hangs, in Spanish, the legend Defiance to the 
 World. 
 
 "Well, lad, first we tried to land to the eastward, 
 hoping to cut off all way of escape on the land side, 
 but, in spite of all we could say, we of the coast were 
 told off to land about four miles from the city; and, 
 after we, with great pains, had got suitable rations 
 of sea biscuit from the admiral, De Pointis himself 
 tried to find us a place fit for landing, but he was 
 nearly lost in the surf, and we had to land after all 
 on the island which commands Boca Chica, where 
 stands the castle which covers the entrance of the 
 harbor. And here some few of us, the despised buc 
 caneers, did what the cannon of the ships could not 
 do; for, with our long guns, we so swept the Span 
 iards from their guns that, with little loss, the 
 French soldiers carried the works and the fleet en 
 tered the harbor. 
 
 "On the seventeenth we had taken the convent of 
 De la Popa, whose nuns must have known more of 
 
66 Cartajrena 
 
 war than of praying, for the place was a perfect 
 fortress, and covered the road inland by which a few 
 days before all the rich ladies of Cartagena, with 3 
 great train of mules laden with valuables including 
 no less than one hundred and ten carrying gold, had 
 fled inland at our approach. 
 
 "Then we moved upon St. Lazar, our musketeers 
 keeping the gunners under cover until De Pointiai 
 and his grenadiers were close upon their works, al 
 though, as I heard since, he spared not to call us cow 
 ardly dogs because we did not set pistols and cutlass 
 against bayonet and pike. De Pointis himself fell 
 wounded by grape from the last cannon fired by tjie 
 Spaniards ere they fled into Xexemani, that part of 
 the city lying without the walls and separated from 
 it by a marsh crossed by a causeway scarce a musket 
 shot in length. There batteries had to be thrown up, 
 and the heaviest guns of the squadron landed, whicty 
 soon dismounted the light cannon of the Spaniards, 
 and made a breach in the works of Xexemani. 
 
 "Then again we were sent to cover the storming 
 party with our fire, and many of our bravest men fell 
 under the grape shot that searched our slight cover 
 of paling, hedge, and garden wall, but we kept clos 
 ing in, as we saw opportunity until the grenadier^ 
 and marines of Marolles, Du Roullon and Marigny 
 rushed on to the assault. 
 
 "Marolles fell, shot through and through, at the 
 foot of the ragged wall. Du Roullon and a score ot 
 his men went down under the grape that swept the 
 breach, as a hurricane dismasts a lugger ; but they 
 were brave men who followed, and young Marolles 
 
The Sack of Cartagena 67 
 
 led his arquebusiers past his dying father, and swept 
 the Spaniards from their flankers, and through the 
 streets and gardens of Xexemani. But when the 
 Spaniards came to the sally ports beyond the cause 
 way, those in the inner works would not open ; and 
 in despair they turned again upon us, and charged, 
 broken and without order as they were, in the teeth 
 of a storm of bullets and the bombs of the grena 
 diers, who, when the last shell was gone, headed a 
 charge that swept them back across the causeway, 
 under the guns of the city wall. 
 
 "The next day the causeway was covered with 
 dead bodies, which we had to have removed, when, 
 on the 3d of May, the white flag flew above the forts, 
 and De Pointis made his own terms with the gov 
 ernor of the port. He allowed the garrison to march 
 out with flying colors, their drums beating, and 
 their arms, baggage and personal effects, always ex 
 cepting plate, jewels and money, save only a small 
 amount per man, for personal expenses. Four gun?, 
 they were allowed to take, but those they chose were 
 small, dragged only by men, -and two they soon left 
 by the way, rough with the ruins of their walls, and 
 the houses shattered by the bombardment. Twas a 
 long procession and a motley; for there were many 
 women, children, priests and *nuns, laborers and 
 merchants, all anxious to get away from the terri 
 ble brethren of the coast and the tender mercies of 
 the French infantry. 
 
 "Once inside the city, De Pointis soon showed the 
 cloven foot more openly than ever ; for, although the 
 silver came in faster than M. Tilleul could weigh it, 
 
Cartagena 
 
 neither Du Casse nor our captains were allowed to 
 take accompt of the same, or in any way to satisfy 
 themselves that the interests of their men would be 
 fairly consulted. Even the convents were plund 
 ered; in which matter one Father Paul, who for 
 many years had consorted with us of the coast, was 
 very useful and full of zeal until De Pointis came to 
 seize the plate of the convent of St. Dominic, and 
 then our ghostly father turned upon him, and threat 
 ened his sacrilege with the judgment of heaven, not 
 withstanding he himself had had no pity for the fat 
 prior of the house of St. Francis of Assisi; but, then, 
 Father Paul had been bred a Dominican. 
 
 "We soon found that we had little chance of fin 
 gering any of the booty so diligently sought by De 
 Pointis, and every man soon set himself to secure all 
 that he could lay his hands upon, even the regular 
 troops joining in the pillage; and De Pointis gave 
 little heed to the inhabitants, but in his jealousy 
 of the buccaneers got us outside the city, on a report 
 that a vast army of Indians were coming to attack 
 our outposts. 
 
 "But w r e after much pains found none to trouble 
 us and, marching back, found the gates closed, the 
 walls guarded and the French troops with matches 
 lighted and guns pointed, as if we were the enemy 
 and about to attack them. We who were leaders 
 had gathered to consult when we came in sight of 
 the city, when one of our number who had been left 
 behind came forth with a message from the general, 
 which requested us to stay in the suburbs, as he was 
 afraid of some disturbance if we returned into the 
 
The Sack of Cartagena 69 
 
 city, and this, when our men knew it, enraged them 
 almost beyond restraint. 
 
 "Even Pierre, an old freebooter, and Blou, who 
 never spoke twice to give an order, were unheeded in 
 the tumultuous rush toward the causeway, and the 
 men unslung their long guns or threw them down, 
 and with their long knives between their teeth, and 
 cutlass and boarding pistol in hand, rushed down to 
 the narrow road across the slimy marsh. But once 
 there the boldest faltered, for the breach had been 
 repaired, the guns replaced and pointed to sweep the 
 causeway; and we knew that only death and certain 
 defeat w r ould come of a charge in the face of such 
 odds. 
 
 "Nevertheless De Pointis himself trembled at our 
 rage, and sent out a second message asking us to re 
 main outside but a few days, and with many fair prom 
 ises assured us of an equal distribution of the booty. 
 He paid to each captain among us large sums, as he 
 said, in reward of our. conduct, and also to a number 
 of our best marksmen, whose services had saved him 
 many men ; and to every one of the wounded he or 
 dered sums of money, according to the injury each 
 had suffered. 
 
 "But nearly two weeks passed before we marched 
 again into the city, and then most of the treasure 
 was on board of the Sceptre, the flagship of the fleet. 
 
 "Then a vast amount of merchandise was put up 
 at auction and sold to any who w r ould buy, and the 
 money thus received went on board the ships, until 
 De Pointis, wiio had hitherto given out that the city 
 was to be held for France, with Du Casse as gov- 
 
70 Cartagena 
 
 eruor, gave out that owing to the losses of the fleet 
 by the fevers of the country, he should abandon the 
 place and began to take on board the fleet the brass 
 cannon on the walls ; and on the 25th of May sudden 
 ly embarked without notice to Du Casse, with whom 
 he had had some discourse but a few moments be 
 fore, and as his ships began to move down the har 
 bor sent orders to Du Casse to embark his people. 
 
 "Again we sent to know when the distribution 
 would be made, but the old answer was given that 
 accounts were not ready/ and there was much 
 anxiety among our men, which was with difficulty 
 appeased until the men were all aboard, and our 
 little frigates were following De Pointis out the har 
 bor of Cartagena. 
 
 "Then Du Casse called the officers on board of his 
 vessel, the Ponchartrain, and informed us of the ad 
 miral s last perfidy. He had taken treasure by his 
 own confession to the amount of 9,000,000 livres> 
 and M. Du Casse had estimated it at double the 
 amount, but M. De Tilleul s accompt gave us as our 
 share but 40,000 crowns to repay us for our services 
 and dangers. 
 
 "Many proposed that we should board the Sceptre 
 and turn her guns upon the fleet, for her crew was 
 weak with sickness, and had lost half their number, 
 but a single broadside would have sunk us, and be 
 tween rage and helplessness we knew not what to 
 do. 
 
 "Suddenly McCary, an Irish rover, spoke out: Let 
 us leave De Pointis, and no longer trouble ourselves 
 about a villain without sense of honor or truth. He 
 
The Sack of Cartagena 71 
 
 nas left us our share yonder at Cartagena; let us go 
 back and get it. The counsel seemed good, and by 
 next morning, despite the orders and promises of Du 
 Casse, we were back and in the city. 
 
 "Then we seized and imprisoned the merchants, 
 shutting them up in the great cathedral, until, by 
 dint of threats and close search, we had raised a sum 
 which, upon division, gave us nearly a thousand 
 crowns per man ; and then, with our ships laden with 
 goods and slaves, we sailed for Hispaniola, but, on 
 the second day out, met the English and Dutch fleets 
 sent from Barbadoes to save Cartagena from cap 
 ture. 
 
 "Of our nine vessels, two were taken, and of 
 three vessels commanded by Blou, my brother and 
 myself, two were driven ashore, and one of then} 
 close to Cartagena, whose crew I had to leave to 
 their fate; but mine with four others came at last 
 to Isle a Vache, and from thence to Hispaniola. 
 
 "But, after some years, I learned through certain 
 of our brotherhood, that our friends, although at 
 first forced to labor at rebuilding the walls, had 
 many of them married into wealthy and influential 
 families, and among them my brother, the captain, 
 who, as it turned out, espoused a connection of the 
 same Don Sancho Ximenez whose arquebusiers he 
 had so unmercifully fusilladed at Boca Chica. 
 
 "Since then I spent some years in smuggling, and 
 once received, through an Indian canoernan, word 
 that a guarda costa had s.ure information, through 
 one of my own men, of my whereabouts, and that 
 no prisoners would be taken. There was no signa- 
 
72 Cartagena 
 
 ture, but the boatman gave me this ring and I sent 
 back my own in exchange. 
 
 "And now, again Cartagena will be taken, and he 
 will be plundered, as he has plundered others; for 
 none can doubt that Lord Vernon must take any 
 port on this side of the ocean, with such force of men 
 and ships, and all men feel that tis against that city 
 that you are to go. So, carry my message ; and when 
 you set out, I will see that you lack not gold to help 
 the only relative I have on earth." 
 
 The hour was late when they parted, for much 
 good counsel was imparted concerning: the natural 
 features of the surrounding country, its dangers, 
 diseases and insect plagues, and the best means of 
 preserving health and securing personal comfort, to 
 all of which Stephen listened wonderingly; for, in 
 sensibly, the old man had thrown off his rugged 
 bearing, as if he had worn it as a mask to cover bet 
 ter breeding and a higher grade of education. 
 
 "Good-night, Mr. Hewson," said our hero, as they 
 parted, "I will remember all you have said, and do 
 your errand if I may. As to secrecy, you have my 
 word; and I shall look for your messenger when 
 word comes to march into Boston, which must be 
 soon." 
 
 "Good-night, lad," said his strange host, as if re 
 lapsing into his old character. "There are strange 
 dreams that one has at times, an tis a question 
 sometimes whether the dream or the awakening is 
 the strangest." 
 
 The great hound rose as Stephen passed out, and 
 laid his huge head fawningly against his. out- 
 
The Sack of Cartagena 73 
 
 stretched hand; and as he looked back, he took in 
 with a glance the antique furniture, the ornamented 
 arms, the rover s flag, the heavy coffer, and the 
 figure of his mysterious host, but years passed be 
 fore he was to meet the privateersman again. 
 
Chapter VII. 
 The Parting 
 
 For within, three days, came home from Boston 
 Captain Ruggles, full of news and in great haste to 
 march his men into the town, before further compli 
 cations should arise to render their brisk enrollment 
 and much care of no avail; for the thousand men al 
 ready nearly recruited in the Massachusetts were 
 like to go weaponless and ununif ormed to the wars, 
 if the truth was known. 
 
 "But how happens it that there is any lack of arms 
 and munitions?" asked Stephen in some surprise. 
 "Hitherto, I have always heard that it was harder 
 to find men than either arms or ships." 
 
 " Tis the governor s fault," said Ruggles quietly. 
 "He learned that the king wanted three thousand 
 men from out of the colonies, and Col. Spottswood, 
 of Virginia, was to command the battalion, while 
 Col. Blakeney, with thirty officers, one for each com 
 pany, comes from England with the King s commis 
 sion for the first lieutenancy of each of the compa 
 nies. But our governor must needs call for ten com 
 panies here and half as many more in New Hamp 
 shire; little Khode Island recruits five companies, 
 the Connecticut River patent as many more, and 
 New York, the Jerseys, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vir 
 ginia, and the Carolinas are all anxious and ready 
 to do more than their share. Tis easy to see that w r e 
 can t get ten commissions in this colony, and I fear 
 we shall be too late as it is." 
 
The Parting 
 
 "Why, captain, we can march by to-morrow noon, 
 if you will," said Stephen. "Most of our men arc- 
 here now, and there are but a few away on business, 
 with some that are to join from Plymouth and Scitu- 
 ate on our march northward." 
 
 "That is well, and it must be done," said Ruggles. 
 "But you know not how near to completion the Bos 
 ton companies are already. Captain Goffe has had 
 five tavern keepers in his pay from the first, and even 
 kept an advertisement in the Newsletter, as per 
 haps you have seen; Captain Phips, of Cambridge, 
 was not far behind him, but changed his mind, and 
 now will keep watch and ward with his men at the 
 castle, instead of risking a stormy passage and the 
 perils of a siege; Dr. Stewart has laid aside lancet 
 and potion, and has a company of stout fellows all 
 ready for the examining officers; and John Prescott, 
 of Concord, and Thomas Phillips and John Furney, 
 of Boston, are about equally ready for their commis 
 sions, while all the other officers have, like ourselves, 
 nearly filled their lists. Nevertheless, but four 
 officers of the regulars are here, and four commis 
 sions, I am told, are all that have come from Col. 
 Blakeney, who has notified the commissary of but 
 one shipment of muskets and uniforms, and those 
 the Boston companies will get, tis certain enough." 
 
 "But what will be done in that case?" asked Ste 
 phen, biting his lips; for he had set his heart on go 
 ing in the great expedition against the Spaniards. 
 "What hope have we, after all our pains and 
 trouble?" 
 
 "In sooth, I know not," answered Ruggles, "ex- 
 
TO Cartagena 
 
 cept that, should more commissions come, I feel cer 
 tain of receiving one should our company be on the 
 spot early enough; and I hear it said that the gov 
 ernor hath spoilt much white paper in essaying to 
 draught blank certificates which shall secure arms 
 and clothing for the men, and commissions for the 
 officers, when they reach the fleet. Howbeit, the 
 men lose nothing if they go not, for their bounty and 
 subsistence is to be paid, and the captains who have 
 borne the expense of getting men will be reimbursed 
 therefor; but, should I fail of my commission, I see 
 not how you are to be paid for the good service 
 you have done, in finding so stout a company to 
 serve the Bay Colony and the king." 
 
 "It mattersi not, captain," said Stephen. "You 
 have been fair and honest; if we meet not with the 
 reward we expected, we have at least done our duty, 
 and I have no blame to lay upon any one, since all 
 men meet in this life some sort of loss or disap 
 pointment." 
 
 "We will send out at once for all on leave, and by 
 the end of the week should be in Boston ; and if good 
 shots and stout fellows are wanted, we shall hardly 
 be sent home again." 
 
 But Euggles shook his head ominously, although 
 he sent out horsemen to warn all of his company to 
 meet at S - by the next day at high noon, from 
 thence to march to Boston, to be enrolled in the ser 
 vice of the king. 
 
 And Stephen and Lish busied themselves about 
 their little kits of clothing, newly made by the 
 women of the household, and wetted with many 
 
The Parting 77 
 
 tears in warp and woof by the sisters, as they spun 
 out the carded rolls of wool, or manipulated the 
 golden flax threads, and by their mother, as she 
 worked at the loom in the hot August afternoons, or 
 sewed by the window as the sun sank in the west, 
 or knitted long, soft stockings in the dim twilight, 
 with loving tears and saddening forebodings. 
 
 But now the last preparations were over, and the 
 supper, rich and varied beyond its wont, spoke anew 
 of the Render and loving care to which they were so 
 soon to be strangers, although little was eaten by 
 any one except the hired man, Joel, who made huge 
 inroads on the eatables, after a rough but well- 
 meant attempt at consolation. 
 
 The elder Hay and his sons ate sparingly, but 
 conversed as usual on all matters pertaining to the 
 farm, studiously avoiding in the main all that per 
 tained to coming parting or possible disaster; for 
 such is the manner of the men of the Puritans. The 
 women, however, were less self-contained; and the 
 youngest sister, little Tempie, burst into a choking 
 sob, and went out into the orchard, where, half an 
 hour later, Stephen, on his way to bid farewell to 
 Margaret, found her lying on the damp grass, in a 
 passion of childish despair. 
 
 He raised her in his arms, and sat down for a 
 moment on the gnarled and twisted trunk of an 
 ancient apple-tree, while the child threw her arms 
 around his neck, buried her hot face in his hair, and 
 kissed his face and neck passionately once or twice. 
 
 "I shall die, Stepliie dear, if you leave me," said 
 the child, "and you will never see your little Tempie 
 
78 Cartagena 
 
 again. Why can t you stay with mother and me and 
 all of us. We should be happy again, just as we 
 were before this dreadful war." 
 
 "Oh, dear little sister, it isn t always right to be 
 happy," said Stephen, kindly. "Do you remember 
 how you kissed me for saving Uncle Zenas from 
 drowning, last spring?" 
 
 "Yes, dear, and Margie told me how brave and 
 good you were, and I was so proud of you, and that s 
 one reason why I love you so very much." * 
 
 "Would you have loved me if I had let him sink in 
 the deep bay, Tempie, and come home safe myself 
 to you and mother?" 
 
 "Why no, I " and the child hesitated as if un 
 able to reconcile herself to the possibility of any 
 such act on the part of her idolized brother. 
 
 "Well, dear, that is something like the way that 
 we are going to leave you and all the dear friends 
 here, to face danger for our country and the honor 
 of our king. Some one must fight and bear weari 
 ness and pain, and why should your brother stay at 
 home in safety while the brothers of other sisters are 
 fighting for him? Besides, dear," and here the man 
 ly voice grew reverent and strangely sweet, "our 
 lives are not in our hands, and God will guard us in 
 all dangers there as he does everywhere that we go. 
 We will trust Him, and do as He would have us, will 
 we not, Tempie?" 
 
 The child was wise beyond her years, and her re 
 ligious teaching had been so interwoven with her 
 every day life, that her convictions of duty were 
 stronger than either hope or fear. Her answer was 
 
The Parting 79 
 
 strangely composed, and she rose to go as she spoke, 
 "You can go, and I will try to be good and patient, 
 but I shall never be happy any more until you come 
 back to your little Tempie." 
 
 But Stephen went on along the shaded path, and 
 as before saw the shimmer of Margaret s snowy 
 dress beside the well-curb, at the turn-stile, and with 
 her went down to the trim little cottage where Uncle 
 Zenas received him with hearty greetings, and en 
 tertained him with his best cheer, and many reminis 
 cences of past experiences "among those bloody 
 Spaniards down to the Main." 
 
 "Don t trust none on em, lad," he said, as he rose 
 to retire in obedience to a hint from his sister. 
 "Don t trust none on em, for they d jest as soon 
 knife a man es eat their dinner, an seldom show 
 quarter even in fair fight. But I ll see ye to-morrow, 
 lad, never fear; an here s to Admiral Vernon an 
 Lord Cathcart, an confusion to them cut-throat 
 Spaniards." 
 
 So saying, Uncle Zenas finished his "night-cap" of 
 Santa Cruz, and Stephen and his affianced were left 
 to themselves and the sorrows of their parting. It 
 was late when they separated at the well, and the 
 pledges of constancy which each uttered were such 
 as neither man nor woman should hold less sacred 
 than the legalized marriage vow, which only death 
 should set aside. There were tender words, and fond 
 embraces, and bitter tears on the part of poor Mar 
 garet, whose soul shrank from the terrible possi 
 bilities of the near future. Yet Stephen, as he went 
 homeward, felt that in some way his love was not 
 
80 Cartagena 
 
 such a source of deep and confident satisfaction as 
 it should have been. 
 
 "She is pretty and loving and good," he solilo 
 quized as he came in sight of the old homestead. 
 "Yet poor Tempie loves me better than she, for 
 Tempie would have me noble and self-sacrificing 
 even while she suffers, but Margaret has never 
 ceased to importune me to give up going and settle 
 down at home, and seems only half reconciled be 
 cause I may win the king s commission. I would 
 that she had been less petted and more self-sacrific 
 ing, but father ever said that Uncle Zenas, though 
 an upright and liberal man, was always too lax in 
 life, and careless in spiritual things, and poor Mar 
 garet is not to blame that she thinks differently from 
 me." 
 
 He found his father awaiting him, seated Bible in 
 hand by the light-stand before the hearth, on which 
 a few red coals still gave forth a mild warmth not 
 ungrateful, for the night wind was cool and the dew 
 heavy and chill. 
 
 "Sit down beside me, Stephen," said his father in 
 a tone which, if not severe, was at least too passion 
 less for affection, and better calculated to awaken 
 veneration and respect than love. Stephen felt, 
 with a curious sense of mingled amusement and vex 
 ation, something of that filial fear with which in boy 
 hood he had submitted to parental reproof and cor 
 rection, but quietly seated himself as directed. 
 
 "I have stayed up, Stephen, to speak with you of 
 several matters of importance, which it seems to 
 me you ought to settle before you set out on so 
 
The Parting 81 
 
 serious a business as that which, in the providence 
 of God, now lies before you. I have no wish to in 
 terfere with what does not concern me, for you are 
 of age and have a right to do as you please, but as 
 your father I should wish to see certain matters 
 settled before you go." 
 
 "I shall never refuse to listen to your counsel, 
 father," said Stephen, "and shall be glad to hear 
 what things you refer to." 
 
 "In the first place," said Deacon Hay, "I have 
 heard that you are betrothed to Margaret Freeman. 
 Is that the case?" 
 
 "It is," said Stephen, coloring slightly as he spoke; 
 "we are to be married on my return, should I be 
 spared to do so." 
 
 "She is not just such a wife as I should have pre 
 ferred for you," said the elder Hay, with grave re 
 gret, "but I know that in such matters remonstrance 
 would be useless, even were the matter not settled as 
 it is. In such case, however, my first piece of ad 
 vice is that, if you desire to marry her, you do so be 
 fore setting out." 
 
 "And why?" said Stephen. 
 
 "I have no reason to give which would be satis 
 factory to you, but if your happiness rests on her 
 companionship through life, marry her now," said 
 Hay, sententiously. "Those who are married are 
 firmly bound; those who are only contracted may 
 change their fetters, or throw them off at will." 
 
 "I would not leave her a widow," said Stephen, 
 hastily, "and she has no need of the little property 
 I have acquired, which in due course of inheritance 
 will benefit you all in case of my death." 
 
82 Cartagena 
 
 "That is another matter that you should settle," 
 said Hay, quietly. "You ought to leave a will giving 
 to each person nearly related to you something, be 
 it ever so little, and so set forth your desires, as to 
 your estate, that there may be left no room for dis 
 pute or contention." 
 
 "I should hope," said Stephen, as if somewhat 
 startled, "that there is no fear of contention or ill 
 blood between members of our family. I am sure a 
 wish on your part would reconcile me to any possible 
 division of your property, father." 
 
 "Truly, I think it would," said the father in a 
 softened tone, "but you have less of that love of gold, 
 which divides families and sows hate among broth 
 ers, than most men ; and I may say that I have taken 
 much delight in seeing that it was so, and the child 
 Tempie shows much of the same spirit. Yet I would 
 that you should settle this matter. See, yonder are 
 pens, ink and paper; draw up your will tonight; 
 there is one your great grandfather made ere he 
 sailed the last time for the West Indies, and you can 
 sign and have it witnessed to-morrow." And Dea 
 con Hay arose as if to retire. 
 
 "Stay a moment, father," said Stephen, earnestly, 
 "I should like to know something of what disposi 
 tion you have made of your own property, that I 
 may know who has the most need of mine." 
 
 "That is well thought of," said Elisha Hay, as he 
 again seated himself, "and this, in the main, is the 
 purport of my will, drawn but a year ago. The 
 homestead has ever passed to the eldest son, the 
 widow receiving a life interest therein, sufficient to 
 
The Parting 83 
 
 secure her shelter and sustenance so long as she 
 may remain unmarried. That rule I shall not be the 
 first to break. To you and Elisha I have left the 
 wood sloop of which I am owner, my interest in the 
 salt-works and whale-fishery, and certain lots of 
 woodland and marsh, with various bequests of 
 money, wearing apparel and silver. The girls are to 
 have doweries, charged upon the other devises, suffi 
 cient to give them a fair out-fit at marriage, and that 
 is about all that can be said. The Lord has pros 
 pered you above your brothers, and it seems to me 
 that with the exception of Joshua all should share 
 in your estate, if so be you should never return to 
 enjoy it, which, Stephen, may God forbid." 
 
 Left to himself, Stephen seated himself at the 
 table, perused the ancient will, creased and yellow, 
 faded as to its ink, and blotted and blurred with 
 tears and time, and after much thought, and con 
 siderable pains, for his strong, shapely fingers did 
 not readily turn themselves to clerkly exercise, he 
 drew up the desired instrument; a part of which we 
 insert, mainly as a specimen of the temper and tone 
 of the men who dwelt in New England some eight 
 score years ago: 
 
 "!N THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN! I, Stephen Hay, of 
 
 S , in the County of Barnstable, and Colony of 
 
 Massachusetts Bay, yeoman, being of sound and dis 
 posing mind and memory and about to proceed, 
 through God s providence, on the proposed Expedi 
 tion to the Spanish West Indies against the Ene 
 mies of my God and King, do make and declare this 
 to be my last Will and Testament. 
 
84 Cartagena 
 
 "Item. I give my soul to God through the media 
 tion of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and my 
 body to be decently interred. 
 
 "Item. I bequeathe to my dear brother, Elisha, 
 his heirs, administrators and assigns, the whole of 
 my real estate, wheresoever situate, to be held by 
 him in fee simple, subject only to bequests hereinaf 
 ter written, and the support of our common parents, 
 should the decrees of Providence dispossess them of 
 their present property." 
 
 Then followed various bequests to each sister and 
 brother, and even the servants, of money, personal 
 property, mourning rings, etc., etc., and the paper 
 was ready for declaration and signature. 
 
 It was after midnight when all was done, and be 
 fore Stephen retired he stepped into the back room 
 for a draught of w r ater, for he was thirsty and fever 
 ish, with conflicting thoughts. In the centre of the 
 floor lay a strange object like a belt, with a hand 
 some dagger sheathed beside it. He took it up and 
 carefully inspected it. It was a belt of a curious 
 leather, banded with black and brown, its sur 
 face mottled and rough with tiny depressions, like 
 those left by the removal of the scales of a serpent. 
 The weapon was a long Spanish knife such as the 
 factories of Albacete have turned out for centuries, 
 and the mountings of the hilt and scabbard were of 
 solid silver. 
 
 The belt was formed of small pockets, in each of 
 which were found Spanish gold pieces, to the amount 
 of over an hundred pounds sterling. The following 
 note, traced on the torn leaf of a ship s log book, 
 
The Parting 85 
 
 left no doubt as to the source from whence they 
 came: 
 
 "A snake s skin, they say, brings luck and good 
 sight, but I know it to be light, tough and water 
 proof, and gold and steel will win anywhere, if bold 
 ly used. 
 
 Use the gold freely. As to the steel, you may 
 drive it through a silver dollar without harm to 
 point or edge. 
 
 "When you bring back news of my brother, leave 
 word at the Swan Tavern in Boston town for John 
 Hewson. So, lad, wishing you good luck and fair 
 booty, I send you with these, farewell." 
 
 It was barely dawn when the recruits ate break 
 fast by candle-light, and, bidding farewell to friend 
 and neighbor, drove under the dewy locusts and 
 along the sandy mail road into the town; and, at 
 noon, with beat of drum and sound of fife, amid cry 
 ing, cheering, the discharges of an ancient cannon, 
 and adieus and blessings innumerable, the company 
 of nearly one hundred stout fellows, without arms 
 or uniforms and with little regard to military order, 
 took up their line of march for Boston town. 
 
Chapter VIII. 
 The Muster at Boston 
 
 The march of the company, although wearisome 
 enough, and rendered even more so by the haste of 
 Kuggles, anxious to forestall, if possible, some other 
 captain in the distribution of the expected commis 
 sions, had little about it of the pomp and circum 
 stance of glorious war. The line of march was by 
 the old country roads to Plymouth, where mine host 
 Witherell furnished the men with bread and home 
 made cheese and the inevitable glass apiece of New 
 England rum, then used almost universally among 
 the colonists. At Kingston, landlord Brewster en 
 tertained them ; at Hanover Four Corners they gath 
 ered around the ancient tavern then kept by one of 
 the Sylvesters, and since replaced by the Howard 
 House, the last dwelling place of the murderer Cos- 
 telo and his victim. But the landlord here had more 
 than he could attend to at short notice, and the old 
 papers at the State House tell of disbursements to 
 Seth Gushing and Captain Adams, who, like the 
 loyal recruits they busied themselves to entertain, 
 are hardly to be individualized from among the 
 many who lie under the turf of the Hanover ceme 
 teries. 
 
 Thence they came to Braintree, and there were 
 fed by one Crosby; and at Milton, took their 
 last refreshment at the hands of Captain Pierce, 
 and weary, dusty and travel-worn marched into Bos- 
 
The Muster at Boston 87 
 
 ton town, and rested at their rude quarters in cer 
 tain warehouses owned by one Brackett and Simon 
 Dillis. 
 
 A day or two passed and a general muster of the 
 nine companies present took place on Boston Com 
 mon, and Goffers, Phillips , Prescott s and Stewart s 
 men, in their new scarlet coats and cocked hats, 
 with their bright English muskets and pipeclayed 
 belts, headed the column, and behind them the men 
 of Furney, Richards, Bloggett, Wise and Kuggles 
 marched past the Province House and through 
 Bromfield s lane into Marlboro street and out upon 
 the Common, where the governor and his aides in 
 spected them, and expressed much gratification at 
 the stalwart regiment so soon recruited for the ser 
 vice of the king in the Bay Colony. 
 
 The whole town was ablaze with enthusiasm and 
 crowded by visitors from the surrounding country; 
 the taverns were thronged with thirsty and loyal 
 subjects, who drank to the success of Vernon and 
 Cathcart and to the utter destruction of Spanish do 
 main in the West Indies, while the rabble shouted 
 themselves hoarse and eddied from point to point, 
 as the whim of the moment or some new object of at 
 traction called them. 
 
 But already, among the soldiery and in the coun 
 cils of the colony, were felt the premonitory indica 
 tions of that insidious yet resistless spirit of jeal 
 ousy, indecision and discontent which in the end re 
 sulted in complete and crushing defeat and disgrace. 
 
 The governor, in the midst of his gratification at 
 the prompt concurrence with his wishes on the part 
 
Cartagena 
 
 of the legislature and people of the colony, was al 
 ready at his wits end as to how he should meet the 
 desires of the captains who had raised their quota of 
 men, but on whom he had no hopes of conferring the 
 promised royal commission. 
 
 The officers of the ununifornied companies chafed 
 at what they believed to be unwarranted neglect, 
 and at the drain on their purses, which was onerous 
 indeed, for the allowance of ten shillings weekly per 
 man granted by the colony for subsistence, was alto 
 gether inadequate while the companies remained de 
 tached and without a regular commissariat depart 
 ment. 
 
 Even the men of the four uniformed companies 
 were dissatisfied; for their first lieutenants, young 
 English gentlemen, unaccustomed to meet with men 
 of spirit and native independence in the ranks, made 
 enemies at every step by brutal tyranny or supercil 
 ious insolence, and scarcely concealed their con 
 tempt for the colonial magnates who had raised and 
 commanded their companies. Then the uniforms 
 sent were but ill-made and ill-fitting, though showy ; 
 watch-coats, especially needful in the cold fall 
 nights and on a sea voyage, had been altogether for 
 gotten; and while the leather stock and heavy kit 
 of the regulars galled and chafed necks and should 
 ers used only to warm and loosely-fitting clothing, 
 allowing free circulation and movement, the men 
 shivered at night in their quarters until the legisla 
 ture supplied the necessary blankets, overlooked 
 by the British quartermaster-general. 
 
 But most of all, these men, drawn from among the 
 
The Muster at Boston 89 
 
 hunters, seamen and scouts of a people habituated 
 to a constant state of warfare, and especially skilled 
 in the use of fire-arms, found their greatest griev 
 ance in the new and bright, but heavy, cumbrous and 
 inefficient muskets sent out for their especial use. 
 Scarcely one in ten was there among them but was 
 weak in the lock, over hard on the trigger, straight 
 of stock, and ill-fitted, and in all the workmanship 
 of the poorest and coarsest description. Many of 
 them were sent to the provincial gunsmiths, and good 
 Samuel Miller, locksmith and gunwright, labored 
 long and wearily to put the uncouth weapons into 
 something like effective shape for his discontented 
 countrymen. 
 
 "Thar s the piece, lad," he said to one of his cus 
 tomers, as he handed over the regulation musket he 
 had just ceased work upon, "but God forbid thet I 
 should call it a gun. I ve fixed the hammer so s to 
 hold a flint, an tempered the steel, stiffened the 
 mainspring an eased the trigger, an if I could cut 
 a bit out n the stock so ye could look along the bar l, 
 ye might manage to shoot bird shot purty well. But 
 it s a .horse s weight o iron an brass, an to call it a 
 weapon is very near lyin to my mind." 
 
 "Thet s so," said his customer, a stout sun- 
 browned man of from twenty-five to thirty, with 
 something of the seaman in his gait and manner. 
 "I only wish I could carry the gun thet I hed in the 
 Revenge privateer the last two years an hed to 
 send down home again, because everything s regula 
 tion with us now. She was only a French musket 
 taken from one of those red devils on the Penobscot, 
 
90 Cartagena 
 
 but she threw a bullet to a hair s breadth, an I 
 couldn t miss a Spaniard with her if I tried. Tis too 
 bad thet we should have such guns as they ve given 
 us. About as much use as so many broomsticks." 
 
 Just then two officers, in the rich uniform of the 
 period, entered, the elder of them being evidently a 
 little ill at ease in his regimentals, but of a manly 
 carriage and gravely benevolent face. His com 
 panion, a true military dandy, cast a supercilious 
 glance around and received without notice the awk 
 ward military salute of the privateersman, and 
 beckoned to his servant, who carried under his arm 
 an elegantly inlaid pistol case. 
 
 "Good-day, neighbor Miller," said the elder man 
 cheerily, "how fares the good wife and the little lad 
 I attended last spring; hath he got over the dis 
 temper and become strong and hearty again?" 
 
 "He hath, I thank God an you, doctor," said the 
 strong-armed smith, with some feeling. "But, truly, 
 he was nearly taken from us, an the disease, they 
 say, hath been sorely felt in the western towns, an 
 even at the college at Cambridge, which was for a 
 time sorely afflicted an broken up thereby. As to 
 business, what with the birding season close upon 
 us, an the many muskets your men bring in to 
 have put in something like order, I can scarce keep 
 up with the work on hand." 
 
 "Indeed, I am glad to hear it. But here is Lieu 
 tenant Woodside, who has just come with Colonel 
 Blakeney from England, and goes out as my first 
 officer. He has a pair of fine pistols, one of which 
 is somewhat injured, and I have prevailed on him to 
 consult your skill." 
 
The Muster at Boston 91 
 
 "Stairs," said the Englishman, curtly, "where s 
 the box?" 
 
 "Here, sir," said the valet, obsequiously, stepping 
 forward and opening with a tiny key the case, which 
 he laid on the rough counter, having first spread a 
 snow-white handkerchief to save the varnish from 
 scratch or harm. 
 
 "Now, my man," said the officer, briskly, "I ll lay 
 a guinea that you never saw in your life a brace of 
 pops like these, and, damme, I m half afraid to trust 
 such a pair of beauties to any colonial tradesman; 
 but Capt. Stewart here says that you can do the job; 
 an faith, they must go with me any way, and the 
 best pistol is of no use without a hammer. Be care 
 ful, man," he added, as the smith took up one of the 
 delicate weapons. "You handle them as if they were 
 Doune tacks, and all steel, both butt and barrel." 
 
 "They are a little weak here an there, thet s a 
 fact, sir," said the gunsmith, carelessly, "but I ll buy 
 em if they re any the worse for my handlin . As for 
 repairing on em, thet I can do easily, as a broken 
 hammer is soon replaced." 
 
 "But can you make a hammer just like the other?" 
 asked the Englishman somewhat incredulously. "I 
 don t want the pair spoiled or botched, and I ll be 
 sworn such work ain t often done this side of the 
 water." 
 
 "No, sir," said the gunmaker, composedly, "thet s 
 true; but it can be, ef thar was anybody thet would 
 pay for it. I can make you a hammer just like thet, 
 but the extra work will cost you two guineas." 
 
 "Is that all? Why, man, the pair cost fifty; and 
 
02 Cartagena 
 
 Mortimer, of London, would charge me five for 
 what you say you will do for two. But can you 
 really match the other?" 
 
 The colonist s cheek flushed a little, as if the evi 
 dent depreciation of his abilities had begun to rouse 
 a feeling of resentment, and, turning, he took from a 
 chest a long pine case, and laid it on the counter 
 before the officer. Very deliberately he opened it, 
 and took from it a small carbine swathed in waxed 
 cloth, which he slowly unrolled, revealing a piece of 
 exquisite workmanship and ornamentation. 
 
 "Thar s a little piece thet I made for my own 
 pleasure. If you know what good work is, tell me 
 what you think of thet." 
 
 The officer took the weapon with an exclamation 
 of admiration and surprise, and inspected the care 
 fully-sighted, inlaid barrel, the lock, curiously fash 
 ioned and exquisitely carved, and the stock of deep- 
 hued rosewood, inlaid with gold and silver w r ire, and 
 mounted in engraved steel and silver plate. 
 
 " Tis impossible!" he murmured to himself, and 
 then said aloud, " tis French workmanship, an 
 that of the best. No colonial botcher ever turned 
 out work like that." 
 
 The Bostouian laid his hands upon the counter, 
 vaulted lightly across it, and the next moment 
 would have had his hands on the Englishman s 
 throat, had not Stewart stepped in between. 
 
 "Nay, nay, neighbor Miller! you must not forget 
 yourself and the law of the colony. Lieutenant Wood- 
 side, you owe this man an apology. I, myself, have 
 seen him at work on the weapon half a dozen times 
 in the past three years." 
 
The Muster at Boston 93 
 
 "Well, well! if you say so, I can t doubt it; so take 
 the pistols, and finish them as soon as may be d ye 
 hear? But what is this that you re doing to the 
 men s guns? Can t your Yankee farmers get along 
 with the arms furnished His Majesty s soldiers?" 
 
 "Xor, sir!" thundered the irate smith. "Thar isn t 
 a gun of the four hundred sent here last month thet 
 I d dare to sell to a drunken Injin; an as to taking 
 any aim in battle with em, I defy the best man in 
 the colony to be sure of his man at fifty yards with 
 any of em." 
 
 "Take aim? Damme! what are you talking of? 
 Who ever heard of one of the regulars taking aim? 
 Do you want our soldiers to turn murderers, and 
 aim at a man as if he were a brute beast? A soldier 
 draws up his weapon breast-high or thereabouts, 
 and lets drive; and I ll have no man under me taking 
 aim like a Tyrolese jager." 
 
 "Wai, cap n," replied Miller, in utter scorn, "it 
 may be as you say; an ef thet s the way to sojer. 
 why, all I hev to say is, thet you ve got jest the right 
 weepons for it. But it s a sin an shame to send out 
 the best lads of the frontier an our smartest priva- 
 teersmen, as ef they was ign rant Yorkshire clod 
 hoppers." 
 
 "And so I think," said Stewart, pleasantly but 
 firmly, as he turned to go. "So do your best to make 
 the guns serviceable, and if the colony don t pay the 
 bills, I will, myself. Good-day, neighbor." And, tak 
 ing his fellow-officer s arm, he went out. 
 
 "Come, Woodside," he said kindly to his subal 
 tern, as they turned down the street; "you must for- 
 
94 Cartagena 
 
 get some of your regular army ideas in dealing with 
 our colonial tradesmen, aye, and our volunteers, too. 
 They are not such stuff as the cringing shopmen of 
 Cheapside, or the yokels of your provincial counties, 
 nnd the man who bullies or browbeats them will 
 find himself in sorry case." 
 
 His companion turned upon him: "Look ye, Mr. 
 Stewart, you are my senior and commanding officer, 
 and, I doubt not, mean well by your counsel; but 
 damme if I wouldn t rather die than have my friends 
 say that Jem Woodside treated a lot of scurvy colo 
 nists better than true British subjects, and so think 
 we all who came to take service in America." 
 
 "Well, have your way, man," said Stewart gravely. 
 "I am not given to obtruding advice on any; but, if 
 you will listen, I should like to tell you of a man I 
 did w T arn once in vain. He was an officer of the 
 Eoyal Americans stationed up at Lake George, and 
 he treated the private soldier, who saluted you in 
 yonder shop, as he would have done his own stupid 
 levies at home in England. 
 
 "At last, the soldier s time was up, for he was a 
 ranger employed only for a few months, and the 
 officer started back for the settlements with the 
 same party that Jack Coggeshall left the fort with. 
 I counseled him to wait, for Jack had told him, 
 when he struck him w r ith his riding whip, that the 
 day would come when he would mark him for life. 
 Nevertheless he w r ould go, and go he did." 
 
 "And what did yonder hound do? Shoot him from 
 behind some thicket, or drive a knife into his back 
 at night?" asked Woodside scornfully. 
 
The Muster at Boston 95 
 
 "Neither," said Stewart; "although, as he since told 
 me, it often seemed as if he could no longer keep 
 from slaying a man who had dared to strike him 
 like a dog, and whose insolence daily led him to add, 
 to the sense of injury. But one day they fell Into an 
 Indian ambush. Two of their party were killed and 
 several wounded, among the latter this officer, who 
 fell with his leg broken, close beside Coggeshall, and 
 two savages sprang out of the cover to take the 
 wounded man s scalp. 
 
 "Jack shot down the first, and was about to take 
 to his heels, when the doomed man looked up at him 
 in perfect despair, and hopeless of assistance from 
 the one whose feelings he had so often outraged, 
 bowed down his head as if to await the fatal stroke. 
 Coggeshall called to his companions, and, reversing 
 his gun, rushed up to the second savage, beat down 
 his guard and laid him senseless, and then, with the 
 officer s fusee, shot a third assailant, while his 
 friends rallied, beat off the war party and saved the 
 wounded lieutenant." 
 
 "He s a brave fellow, and true man," said Wood- 
 side, whose better nature was now thoroughly 
 aroused, "and what did the officer do for him?" 
 
 Stewart s face assumed a peculiarly bitter expres 
 sion as he answered, "He insulted him again; took 
 out his purse and offered him fifty guineas, and 
 promised him a bottle of rum at the halting-place, 
 when he could get to the baggage." 
 
 "And Coggeshall?" 
 
 "O, Jack flung the purse at his feet, and told him 
 that he had had his revenge on a fool who hadn t 
 
9G Cartagena 
 
 sense enough to know a man when he saw one, or 
 was gentleman enough to respect him when he 
 found him out, and a day or two later the party got 
 into the settlements, and they parted. 
 
 "Now, Woodside," he continued, "we ve got a 
 good lot of men, many of them as well educated as 
 either of us, and all of them good shots and brave 
 and self-respecting men. They are like horses that 
 will not bear the spur, and a few like Coggeshall are 
 dangerous w r hen angry, and used to peril and blood 
 shed from their youth. It w r e treat these like men, 
 they will not only follow wherever we will lead, but 
 many will go where we have neither skill or strength 
 to follow, and we should be but fools to count our 
 judgment in war better than theirs. For my part I 
 shall try to treat them like men." 
 
 "And so will I," said Woodside, heartily. "Gad- 
 zook s, but a man would be a fool to spur a willing 
 horse, and I ll e en try to remember that I am not in 
 England, or commanding a scurvy lot of clumsy 
 knaves; but I m certain that most of our company 
 who came over with me, will hardly learn their les 
 son as easily as I." 
 
 "So much the worse for them, Woodside," said 
 Stew r art, sadly, "but I blame them little, for such hath 
 always been the manner of Englishmen who come 
 to do the king service among us, and great have been 
 the perils arising therefrom. I will not deny that I 
 myself find it difficult to bear w r ith the ill-advised 
 carriage of English army and naval officers I have 
 met, and much I fear that in the present expedition, 
 we shall suffer more from neglect and insult, than 
 from disease and battle." 
 
The Muster at Boston 97 
 
 "Why then do you leave wife and child, and 
 friends, and a position of wealth and honor on such 
 an errand?" asked Woodside, as if in amazement. 
 
 "Because we of Massachusetts are anxious to 
 show ourselves loyal, brave and adventurous; and 
 also because we all have suffered much from the in 
 humanity and selfishness of the Spaniards. And the 
 Bay Colony would have raised double the number 
 she has raised to go on such a service had the king 
 been pleased to ask for them." 
 
 So ended the conversation, and henceforth a bet 
 ter feeling existed between Captain Stewart s men 
 and the "regular leftenant," who made his peace 
 with the gunsmith, praised his work when finished, 
 paid him liberally as agreed, and while always dig 
 nified and exacting, was always carefully consider 
 ate of the feelings and comfort of his volunteers. 
 
 A day or tw r o later Captain Ruggles handed into 
 the governor a paper, still in existence, entitled "A 
 List of Men under ye Command of Capt. Timo. Rug 
 gles for ye Intended Expedition against ye Spanish 
 W r est Indies," and then followed a list of about one 
 hundred men, after which the paper concluded in the 
 following characteristic words: 
 "May it Please Your Excellency: 
 
 "Pursuant to your Excellency s order to me Given, 
 for raising a Company of Volunteers for the In 
 tended Expedition against ye Spanish West Indies, 
 I have Done it and beg leave to Lay before your Ex 
 cellency ye foregoing list; being a List of their 
 names for your Excellency s approbation, and are 
 y r Excellency s most Obedient humble servant, 
 
 TIMO. RUGGLES. 
 
98 Cartagena 
 
 Boston, Aug. 26, 1740. 
 
 To his Excellency, Jonathan Belcher, Captain Gen 
 eral & Governor in Chief." 
 
 But although assurances, public and private, were 
 not wanting, that commissions, arms and clothing 
 for the remaining six companies would soon arrive 
 from New York, each day the hopes of Timothy Bug 
 gies and the other captains grew fainter, and the 
 people began to doubt the wisdom of their governor 
 and the probability of any expedition for that year at 
 least, while day by day the commands of Wise of 
 Ipswich, Furney and Kichards of Boston, Bloggett 
 of Woburn, and Ruggles of Sandwich were losing 
 men, who wearied of the uncertainty and delays of 
 the enterprise. 
 
Chapter IX. 
 Off for Jamaica 
 
 A few days later, however, the action of the leg 
 islature cut the gordian knot by giving to all the 
 companies not already supplied with arms, and 
 sworn into the service, permission to disband, the 
 men being allowed to retain their bounty and to be 
 paid their dues until the date of disbandment; and 
 in a few hours most of the men had departed for 
 their several homes, leaving the gentlemen who had 
 spent so much time and money in vain, to digest 
 their disappointment as best they might. 
 
 The blow was a heavy one to Captains Furney, 
 Richards and Buggies, who had really desired active 
 service; to the governor, whose efforts when so near 
 complete success had been doomed to so bitter a de 
 feat; and especially so to Stephen and Untequit,who 
 were more strongly interested in the especial work 
 of the expedition than many others. Lish seemed 
 rather glad, upon the whole, that the scheme had 
 miscarried, and the Indians were ready to go or stay, 
 as Untequit might determine. 
 
 "I can do nothing more for you, Stephen," said his 
 late captain, mournfully, as the little group stood 
 for the first time in the empty warehouse which had 
 formed their barracks, "except to promise you pay 
 for your lost time as soon as my petition for com 
 pensation can be put before the general court. Of 
 course you will go home as soon as maybe, and I 
 
100 Cartagena 
 
 heard that Captain Blackwell s sloop was to sail 
 to-morrow, and can secure a passage home without 
 cost for such of the company as choose to go by 
 water." 
 
 "You can set me down for one," said Lish, with 
 more of his old spirit than he had shown for several 
 days. "I ve had enough of the regular service and 
 British upstart officers, and though I m ready to go 
 privateering or out on the frontier, I m mighty glad 
 to go home." 
 
 "I am glad to hear you say so," said Stephen 
 quietly, "and shall have nothing to regret if the ser 
 vice proves deadlier than we hope. For my part, 
 however, I have determined to go as a simple volun 
 teer, and so I learn will Captain Furney, whose men 
 have also disbanded." 
 
 "And I go with you," said Untequit, whose whole 
 bearing had been gloomy and dejected for some 
 days past, "and all Indian men too, that is if we 
 may." 
 
 "Are you really in earnest?" asked Ruggles in 
 some amazement. "Will you, who at the least would 
 have carried our ensign s half-pike, assume the 
 rough uniform and clumsy muskets the king has 
 sent us?" 
 
 "I will if I get the chance, captain, assuredly," 
 said Stephen quietly. "I think, as to myself, that Dr. 
 Stewart will readily give me a place in his company, 
 and if I could get another for William here, I should 
 be perfectly satisfied." 
 
 Ruggles beckoned him aside and in a low tone 
 said: "A new company is being formed by Captain 
 
Off for Jamaica 101 
 
 Edward Winslow, who is willing to trust to the gov 
 ernor s promise that he shall receive his commission 
 and arms for his men, as soon as they join^iiic Isd, 
 gade headquarters, which will probably b<; in 
 ca. He would like the dozen of men yoti - can 
 ence, and a sergeant s stripes are better than noth 
 ing. Shall I tell him that you will bring him the 
 Mashpee hunters?" 
 
 Stephen pondered a moment before he answered, 
 and then said frankly, "When I enlisted these men 
 I trusted in your promise, and had you received your 
 commission, should have been able to care for them 
 and promised Untequit thus to do; but as, through 
 no fault of yours, that may not be, I would not that 
 they should fall into unmanly and ungenerous hands 
 by trusting me. If you can arrange matters so that 
 William and I can have a place under Stewart, I 
 shall be more than satisfied." 
 
 "I can promise you so much, at least," said Rug- 
 gles, "but I would that wiser men had planned this 
 matter, for the king never had a better chance of 
 raising six thousand stout fellows in the Americas." 
 
 Two hours later, Stephen and Untequit had made 
 arrangements to enter themselves in Stewart s com^ 
 pany; and the worthy physician had in parting given 
 them friendly and disinterested advice. "Come to 
 me in a day or two; I will keep a place for you,. never 
 fear, for Captain Ruggles has long been priding him 
 self on his lieutenant and the Indian marksmen he 
 brought with him. I am only sorry that every com 
 mission and warrant are filled, and I can only prom 
 ise you to be a kind officer and a true comrade to 
 
102 ( 1 artagena 
 
 all who trust me as their captain. Now be off and 
 bid your friends good-bye, and then come back to 
 me*." 7 "~ * 
 
 So -Steplven and his servant bade adieu to the men 
 x * of ^a lidwich as the little sloop made sail at Scar 
 
 lett s wharf, and then went to Captain Stewart and 
 took the oath and bounty ; which latter, as both had 
 received it before, they handed over to their captain, 
 to be added to the company fund for extra stores to 
 be used during the coming voyage. 
 
 Thereafter the enterprise seemed to draw more 
 speedily to its fit conclusion, and from all quarters 
 came news of the embarkation of the quotas of the 
 various colonies. Early in September Lieut. Col. 
 Cope, governor of the English settlements at Pla- 
 centia, Newfoundland, had arrived at headquarters 
 in New York, and with Colonels Gooch and Blake- 
 ney had arranged for the rendezvous at that city of 
 the contingents of the northern colonies. The com 
 mittee appointed for the purpose had prepared suit 
 able transports, and by the twenty-second day of the 
 month the four companies already raised were em 
 barked on board the large sloops chosen for the ser 
 vice, and dropped down to Nantasket Roads ; where, 
 in the last three centuries, so many Massachusetts 
 men have wearily awaited the leisure of bungling 
 and incapable officials, through the intolerable dis 
 comfort, noise and ennui of transport life; until after 
 interminable delays the signal for sailing has been 
 given, and the soldiers last adieus are blent with a 
 sense of relief from utter weariness of inaction and 
 discomfort. 
 
Off for Jamaica 103 
 
 From that anchorage sailed Sir Hovenden Walker, 
 on his disastrous attempt against Quebec in 1711; 
 Sir William Hiips s luckless transports awaited his 
 signal for sailing there scarce a generation before; 
 there lay at anchor the fleets destined for Louisburg 
 in 1745 and 1755; and the British fleet after the 
 evacuation of Boston, in 177G, for nearly two 
 months awaited there their consorts and supply 
 ships due from England. 
 
 There are still living those who can tell of similar 
 experiences in the war of 1812 and the days of the 
 Mexican invasion; and hundreds can number among 
 their dreariest experiences of the great rebellion, 
 their first contemplation of the narrow quarters as 
 signed at sea to a private soldier, while awaiting 
 "further orders" or fairer weather in Nantasket 
 Roads. 
 
 But by the twenty-seventh, Captain Edward Win- 
 slow had filled up his company, which with only the 
 watchcoats and blankets procured for them by the 
 colony were sent on board the little fleet, which, 
 with a favorable breeze, started on the -voyage to 
 New York, a voyage which then was not without its 
 share of peril from private armed cruisers, an occa 
 sional pirate and "the public enemy." 
 
 Early in the voyage the guns were "scaled," i. e., 
 discharged, to cleanse them from rust and ensure 
 perfect dryness, for all the vessels carried an arma 
 ment mostly of small iron cannon of three, four and 
 six pound calibre, with an equal number of one 
 and two pounder swivels, whose pivots fitting into 
 sockets in the rail and on the forecastle were easily 
 
104 Cartagena 
 
 removed to any desired position, and when loaded 
 with musket or pistol balls were calculated to make 
 sad havoc among attacking boats, or a mass of ad 
 vancing boarders. 
 
 As soon as the little fleet was fairly at sea, the 
 men were supplied with cartridges, allotted to their 
 several stations, and a few whose former experience 
 as privateersmen had especially fitted them for the 
 task, w 7 ere appointed to serve at certain of the gun? 
 and swdvels aforesaid. 
 
 To the officers and the captain and mate of each 
 transport was allotted the great cabin, with its wide 
 berths and yawning fireplace, at w r hich the servants 
 with much petty quarrelling prepared little delica 
 cies, or made tea and heated water for their masters 
 delectation. 
 
 The forecastles were given up to the crews, who 
 failed not to turn an honest penny by parting with 
 their coarse but ample fare of fish, bacon, baked 
 beans, vegetables, apple and mince pies, doughnuts 
 and other Yankee comestibles to the poor recruits 
 for whom hard salt beef, pork, ship s bread and rum 
 were all that the commissariat departments had pro 
 vided. 
 
 For their accommodation the sloops had been bal 
 lasted with clean gravel, strongly secured and floored 
 over, and on the deck thus formed rough berths had 
 been constructed, to which rude stairs down the 
 hatchways gave access in fine weather, but in storma 
 or wet days the only means of exit was through 
 the forecastle. Of the size of the vessels one can 
 judge by the fact, that the five Massachusetts com- 
 
Off for Jamaica 105 
 
 panies required six or seven vessels to transport 
 them to New York. 
 
 On their arrival they found encamped at the Bat 
 tery, two Rhode Island, four Connecticut, and five 
 New York companies, which, with the six Massachu* 
 setts and New Hampshire companies, made a total 
 of seventeen preparing to sail. Several English 
 men-of-war were in port with orders to convoy the 
 fleet, and it was evident that the stay at New York 
 would be brief indeed. 
 
 Seven companies had already sailed from Penn 
 sylvania, and an eighth was soon to follow ; Virginia 
 had despatched four companies of her con 
 tingent of eight, Maryland had three hundred men 
 ready for sea, and North Carolina had raised four 
 companies for the great expedition. About four 
 thousand men were thus under arms, and yet, as we 
 have seen, it was not the fault of the colonists that 
 the number was not nearly six thousand men. 
 
 But the delays of the enterprise were not yet 
 ended, and it was nearly the middle of October be 
 fore the fleet of transports, some forty in number, 
 sailed out by Sandy Hook with the usual fuss of sig 
 nal guns and display of colors, with which the cruise 
 of a large convoy always commences. The voyage 
 was tedious, but not disastrous, lasting in all about 
 three weeks, and under date of Dec. 3, 1740, an 
 officer high in command, probably Col. Gooch, wrote 
 from Port Royal, Jamaica, to a friend, 
 
 "I am in a great hurry, having the whole care of 
 3100 men until the other field officers arrive. Shall 
 then have charge of the 1st Battalion. There are 
 
106 Cartagena 
 
 four companies of Virginia, three of Maryland, and 
 four of North Carolina troops yet to come." 
 
 There the troops were kept awaiting the slow com 
 ing of the great fleet, which, like all the cumbrous 
 armadas of the past, was delayed by adverse winds 
 and scattered by storms, and the Massachusetts offi 
 cers saw with amazement the beauties of that tropical 
 island, and the strange laxity of life among the Eu 
 ropean residents and their friends of the regular ser 
 vice. Those who were led to join therein sorely la 
 mented their heavy losses at play, and the general 
 utter disregard of money, which, if it made the guest 
 the recipient of unstinted entertainment, bore so 
 heavily on him when he in turn became the host, 
 that even the sudden and frequent loss of their com 
 rades, which soon, alas, became but too common, 
 seems to have scarcely awakened such surprise and 
 admiration among the American captains, as the 
 dissipations of the country, and the high cost of liv 
 ing and entertainment. 
 
 But Stephen and Untequit saw but little of such 
 folly, for their captain grew grave and watchful, and 
 warned his men against many things which seemed 
 pleasant and inviting, keeping his men quiet -at 
 noondays, temperate in the use of fruit and stimu 
 lants, well clothed and under cover in the dewy 
 nights, and, above all, so far as he could, sufficiently 
 drilled to secure needed exercise and employment, 
 and to raise their minds and keep their spirits above 
 the especial trials of their situation. 
 
 For already the dangerous fluxes of that climate 
 had fastened upon the intemperate and careless. 
 
Off for Jamaica 107 
 
 Yellow Jack had made its appearance on ship and 
 shore, and at almost any hour of the day could be 
 seen the hasty obsequies of soldier and sailor, or the 
 more ceremonious funeral cortege of some officer, 
 whose aspirations had been summarily ended by the 
 diseases peculiar to a tropical climate. 
 
 Nevertheless, many of the provincials were de 
 lighted with the excesses and epicurean delights of 
 their Jamaican acquaintances, and the compliments 
 paid them on every hand by officers high in rank, 
 who praised their loyalty, wondered at the readiness 
 with which so large and fine a body of men had been 
 raised, and predicted for them a more than ordinary 
 share in the laurels and more substantial rewards 
 of the success sure to attend their enterprise. 
 
 The men, how r ever, w r ere less satisfied, complain 
 ing bitterly of insults and even blows received at the 
 hands of British officers, many of whom were of the 
 brutal school of such as had served in Germany, 
 whose canes were but too ready to punish the slight 
 est lapse from the iron rules of military etiquette 
 and respect for one s superiors. 
 
 And so, although Captain Winslow received his 
 commission, and drew arms and uniforms for his 
 men, and those high in rank were but too anxious 
 to keep every promise made to their colonial allies, 
 it was not without anxiety that the American 
 officers awaited the corning of Lord Vernon and 
 Lord Cathcart, under whose leadership they hoped 
 to end, at once and forever, the long feud between 
 Englishman and Spaniard, so far as the new world 
 was concerned. 
 
108 Cartagena 
 
 But while here, Untequit met with an adventure 
 not uncommon in the West Indies, but one of no very 
 agreeable nature nevertheless; yet one which in the 
 end more firmly cemented the strong attachment al 
 ready existing between Stephen and himself; for as 
 they w r ere at work one day preparing some firewood 
 for the use of the company cooks, Untequit sudden 
 ly uttered a cry of pain, and shook from his wounded 
 hand a centipede which had been hidden in one of 
 the faggots. 
 
 "He s pisoned," shouted a volunteer, and crushed 
 
 ^the reptile with his heel. After which he started for 
 
 a doctor, calling out at every rod that "Untequit was 
 
 pisoned and would die if he didn t git a doctor to 
 
 once t." 
 
 Luckily he soon met Captain Stewart, who at once 
 hastened to the spot, where in the centre of a dozen 
 men he found the patient already in the hands of 
 Stephen, who had caught up a piece of cord, tightly 
 encircled the bitten finger, and was engaged in suck 
 ing the poison from the tiny wound, rinsing his 
 mouth from time to time with a little rum offered 
 him by a bystander. 
 
 "Well done, Hay," said Stewart, kindly. "That is a 
 pretty sure way to cure a snake bite and it won t 
 hurt now, but a little ammonia will make everything 
 all right in a few hours, and you must look out for 
 such creatures hereafter/ 
 
 "Aren t they dangerous, then?" asked Stephen, 
 simply. 
 
 "Not in the case of temperate and healthy men, 
 although those whose blood is corrupted by drink 
 
Off for Jamaica 109 
 
 and high living, sometimes lose their lives from gan 
 grene, I am told; but Untequit is not of that class. 
 Nevertheless you are none the less to be praised for 
 your unselfish services, and I am sure you will not 
 regret it." 
 
 Untequit cast a look of gratitude at his officer, 
 and rising, followed him to obtain the promised 
 remedy. 
 
 "I shall never forget it, brother," he whispered as 
 they waited a moment alone together, "but you 
 have done even more than you thought for me, and 
 henceforth I am yours to the death, for you have 
 at lastmade forever complete the bond of blood." 
 
 "So be it," said Stephen, with a smile; "I have 
 often thought that I might have humored you in so 
 small a matter, but now you are content in spite of 
 my refusal. Now that it is so I am no more true 
 comrade than before, for I think you can trust me 
 in whatever a man may expect of his friend, or rely 
 on in his brother in arms." 
 
 "Then tonight I will tell you why I desired to trust 
 you, and wherefore I came with you to this ac 
 cursed place, for I have come too late to save him." 
 
 As he spoke a look of anguish overcast his face, 
 but it passed, nor did the stinging alkaline-lotion 
 bring a shadow to the impenetrable features, which 
 greeted the captain when he came back on his er 
 rand of healing. 
 
Chapter X. 
 Caneotus 
 
 It was nearly noon the next day before the 
 friends received leave until the next morning, a priv- 
 lege only obtained at the urgent solicitation of Cap 
 tain Stewart, to whom Stephen had explained that 
 peculiar circumstances had induced his servant to 
 come upon the expedition, which were unknown 
 even to himself. 
 
 "It is wholly against rule to grant your request," 
 said his indulgent superior, "and in most cases I 
 should not hesitate to refuse you at once. Have 
 you no idea of the purpose Untequit has in view, in 
 this night journey?" 
 
 "None in the least, and I do not know that I can 
 enlighten you on my return. Of this I am certain, 
 however, that I shall return promptly and that Unte 
 quit will accompany me also." 
 
 "Where is he now?" 
 
 "I left him talking with a stranger whom I took 
 to be an Indian at first, but from his dress, I sup 
 pose he must be a descendant of one of the native 
 chiefs of this part of the world. But here he comes, 
 and seems anxious to speak with you, captain." 
 
 The Indian came forward, and saluted as he 
 halted before the captain, but his face seemed even 
 graver and sadder than ever, and in his dark, deeply 
 sunken eyes there was that eloquent look of suppli 
 cation, of wistful entreaty, which is seen only in the 
 
Caneotus 111 
 
 animal kingdom, and in human beings whose emo 
 tions and passions are still untrammeled by artificial 
 restraints. 
 
 "What is it, Untequit?" asked Stewart, gently. 
 
 "My brother has asked leave to go yonder to the 
 hills?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "I have come to ask still more. I would ask you 
 to go with us." 
 
 "For what?" asked the surprised captain, while 
 over Stephen s face a shade of doubt, suspicion and 
 alarm showed that even his trust in Untequit wav 
 ered. 
 
 "There is a sick and, I fear, a dying friend await 
 ing me in the hills; one whose blood runs in my 
 veins, whose name I bear among my own people. I 
 must save his life if I can. The captain is a great 
 doctor, and can heal him if it is not too late; and if 
 he wants gold, he shall be paid; if he requires ser 
 vice I will follow him to the death." 
 
 "How far must we go, Untequit?" asked Stewart, 
 quietly, as, taking out an old medicine case, he ex 
 amined the tiny phials, and then on a slip of pre 
 scription paper wrote a brief note, with which he 
 despatched his orderly to the colonel s quarters. 
 
 "Will you go without asking who or what the 
 man may be, and wherefor Untequit is so inter 
 ested in one who may be a slave, an outlaw, or at 
 best an obscure and poor mountaineer?" asked Ste 
 phen, in surprise. "I, indeed, who am bound by 
 many ties to him, am content to risk all things for 
 him ; but why you should be ready to do so surprises 
 me, I must confess." 
 
112 Cartagena 
 
 "I do not care who the man is," said Stewart, 
 quietly. "If he is sick, the true physician cares to 
 know nothing more, except how best to restore him 
 to health. For the rest, although I ana your cap 
 tain, we are still comrades, and if I cannot join you 
 in a night march, I am scarcely fit to lead you in the 
 sterner work before us. As to Untequit, he has, I 
 doubt not, good reasons for being silent in the city 
 and where the walls are but of canvas. He perhaps 
 w ill tell us more in the greenwood." 
 
 The Indian s eyes fell, and for a moment he 
 seemed troubled to give expression to his utterance^ 
 but at last he said: 
 
 "There is nothing that you shall not know in due 
 season, nor shall you find Untequit ungrateful. But 
 let us take yonder canoe, and cross to the other 
 shore." 
 
 "But shall we not take our arms?" asked Stephen. 
 "The mountains are full of outlaws, they say, and 
 even now a reward is offered for the head of Caneo- 
 tus and his sons." 
 
 "You may take your pistols if you will, captain," 
 said Untequit, "and had we good muskets we might 
 bring back a wild hog or some parrots to eat, instead 
 of this half-spoiled beef we are receiving; but where 
 we are going we shall not need arms to protect us 
 unless, indeed," he added, bitterly, "we fall in with 
 white men in the hills." 
 
 Half an hour later, the three, armed and pro 
 vided with rations for a day s absence, went down to 
 the dockyard, and from a raft of floating mast-logs, 
 embarked in a Jamaican canoe brought there by tho 
 
Caneotus 113 
 
 stranger who had been seen conversing with Unte- 
 quit. The latter took a paddle, and, heading to the 
 north, they crossed to a comparatively unfrequented 
 part of the shore, and, ascending the bank, and fol 
 lowing a winding forest path, found themselves on 
 the highroad leading into the centre of the island. 
 
 On every hand the vegetation peculiar to the* 
 tropics greeted their eyes. The huge cottonwood, 
 the graceful cocoa palm, with its crown of spread 
 ing fronds, the kingly mahogany, the crooked fustic, 
 the straight and slender lancew r ood and dwarfed 
 ebony, with occasional enclosures of bananas, plan 
 tains, oranges, pineapples and other fruits, refreshed 
 their eyes, wearied of their camp upon a barren 
 sandspit, and shocked with the constant prospect of 
 scenes of suffering and death. 
 
 Suddenly their guide turned into a narrow path, 
 leading up a ravine between two spurs of the lower 
 ranges of the Blue Mountains, and after following 
 the winding trail a mile or more bade his com 
 panions refresh themselves and await his coming, 
 striking off on a cross path by which scarcely half an 
 hour later a boy, laden with fruits, came in search 
 of the party, laying at their feet a small bunch of red 
 bananas, another of yellow plantains, several pine 
 apples, sappodillas, custard apples and other fruits, 
 
 Of these they ate leisurely, lying on the close green 
 sward of a natural plateau, near the top of a range 
 nearly a thousand feet above the town and harbor, 
 into which last it almost seemed that one might 
 cast a stone, so clear was the air and so rapid the 
 grade of ascent as they went inland. 
 
Cartagena 
 
 "I wish our poor fellows migW camp here until 
 the fleet comes," said Captain Stewart, sadly. "We 
 are losing men nearly every day, whose lives are 
 thrown away by the stupid officials yonder. No 
 fever is found up here, and yonder you can see where 
 the semaphore stands, not two hundred yards from 
 where the port-admiral lives in perfect safety, while 
 men are dying like rotten sheep in that fleet of 
 transports." 
 
 "It is a pity that so many should die within a 
 day s march of safety, for they tell me that fever 
 is unknown up here." 
 
 " ? Tis so, doubtless; and what is worse is, that this 
 matter of moving troops disembarking here inland, 
 has again and again been urged upon the govern 
 ment, on every possible ground of argument that 
 could be used. Any one can see, that even those who 
 are not actually down with fever are growing thin, 
 haggard and unfit for duty, and of what avail is it 
 to embark on the most trying service imaginable, 
 skeleton companies of weak and inefficient soldiers?" 
 
 "Well," said Stephen, bitterly, "let us pray for the 
 coming of the fleet, and perhaps it may get in before 
 our journey is ended. But truly my heart bleeds to 
 see poor fellows buried out yonder on the palisades 
 to be eaten by the land crabs, who have done our 
 colony good service in the Maine garrisons and 
 against the Spaniards." 
 
 As he spoke their guide returned, leading three 
 small, but sleek mules, saddled and bridled, and ad 
 dressed Untequit in a tongue which, while neither 
 English nor Spanish, seemed not unfamiliar to Ste- 
 
Caneotus 115 
 
 phen, although he could not readily remember where 
 he had heard it before. 
 
 "He says that we have yet ten miles to go, and that 
 the way is steep and rocky much of the way, but 
 that these beasts are sure-footed and used to the 
 road. If you are rested, captain, we must hasten on, 
 or we may be too late." 
 
 Mounting the animals, the party in single file rode 
 up hill and down dale, winding among rocks and 
 tangled copses, climbing up ledges of disintegrated 
 rock where a single misstep would prove fatal, and 
 descending others where the riders were fain to 
 bend backward until nearly prone along the ani 
 mal s backbone, to avoid pitching head first over the 
 ears of their sure-footed beasts. The night came on, 
 and their guide, lighting a torch, led the way for a * 
 short distance, until a mountain stream, whose fall 
 over a ledge had been audible for some time, seemed 
 close beside them; and as they came out upon the 
 plateau beside it, the guide gave a sharp whistle and 
 the mules came suddenly to a halt. 
 
 Before them lay a narrow valley; above them a 
 steep ravine extended up to the higher mountain 
 ridge; through it flowed a brawling stream to plunge 
 a good three score feet into the chasm below, and 
 around them a score of men, half naked and armed 
 to the teeth, stood watching their every movement ; 
 while as many women, catching up the brands of 
 their bivouac fires, came to light up a scene which 
 to even Stephen s nerves and Stewart s confidence 
 was sufficiently trying. 
 
 It needed no second glance to tell who these 
 
11G Cartagena 
 
 rovers were, for the gay toque or brilliant kerchief 
 turban, their dress of light calico and leggins of hide 
 and slave cloth, their rusty Spanish fowling pieces, 
 blunderbusses and knives, long curved powder 
 horns, and moccasins of untanned hide, proclaimed 
 them at once to be of the untamed blood of the Ma 
 roons, even then half at peace with and half -out 
 lawed by the Jamaican government. 
 
 They, however, made no hostile movement, but, at 
 a signal from their guide, took charge of the animals, 
 and led the new comers to the side of one of the 
 fires, where bundles of freshly cut aromatic herbs 
 and grasses were spread for their reception, and 
 after some little delay a simple repast of cassava 
 bread, game and fruits, with bowls of milk, and a 
 flask of the fiery spirit of the colony was offered 
 them, to which Captain Stewart and Stephen did 
 full justice; but Untequit, in the midst of the repast, 
 slipped away unseen, accompanied by the guide, who 
 shortly returned, and in fair enough English asked 
 them to accompany him. 
 
 "Untequit asks for the captain and his white 
 brother, and the sick man wishes to see his physi 
 cian." 
 
 Taking his pocket-case Stewart arose, and accom 
 panied by Stephen followed their guide to the sido 
 of the ravine, and saw that a gigantic wall of rock 
 rose almost perpendicularly above their heads to a 
 height, of which the darkness precluded an estimate, 
 but which was evidently immense. By the light of 
 a brand carried by their leader they ascended a nar 
 row path which wound suddenly around a project- 
 
Caneotus 117 
 
 ing spur, on turning which they found themselves 
 at the entrance of a cave into which they entered. 
 They were left standing in the presence of an aged 
 man, reclining on a kind of dais of skins and rugs, 
 supported on either hand by rude pillows, and at 
 tended by women who fanned him assiduously, and 
 seemed expectant of his slightest wish. 
 
 But one man, beside their guide and Untequit, oc 
 cupied this presence chamber, on whose walls were 
 hung more weapons than would have armed the 
 whole number of men already met with. There were 
 muskets, rifles and fowling pieces, of many degrees 
 of excellence and variety of origin, heavy Spanish 
 machetes, trenchant cane-knives, stout broad-bladed 
 pikes and boar spears, and even a long ponderous 
 wooden tube, in which Captain Stewart recognized 
 the fatal blow-pipe or gravatana of the Indians of 
 Guiana. A long bow, with a quiver of steel-headed 
 arrows, clumsy blunderbusses and heavy pistols 
 were also a part of the ill-assorted display of lethal 
 weapons. 
 
 Even the sick man was armed; a keen dagger and 
 a brace of handsome pistols lay within reach of his 
 nerveless hands, a long rifle leaned against the rocky 
 wall close at hand: and as the visitors came forward, 
 the failing eyes seemed to regain something of the fire 
 of former years, and the attenuated form sought to 
 attain and assert the dignity of conceded leadership. 
 
 "It is the first time for two-score years," he feebly 
 faltered, "that a white man has heard words of 
 peace from the lips of Caneotus." 
 
 "Caneotus," exclaimed both in one breath, "are 
 you Caneotus?" 
 
118 Cartagena 
 
 "Caneotus I was called many, many years since, 
 after one who was a dear friend of Philip of Pok- 
 anoket. There are three of the name now, and each 
 has made it a terror to the white destroyers of all 
 whom the Great Spirit has not pleased to make of 
 their race. I had sworn never to spare a white 
 man s life, but my hands are feeble as an infant s, 
 and you are from the land of my youth and the 
 friends of my grandson." 
 
 "Your grandson?" said Stephen wonderingly. 
 
 "Untequit is the grandchild of Caneotus," said the 
 volunteer proudly, "and if the captain can heal him, 
 the outlaw of the Yallah and the Blue Hills shall 
 return to his kindred, for all are dead who sought 
 to do him harm." 
 
 Captain Stewart unfastened his belt, first laying 
 aside his pistols, and stepped to the side of the aged 
 outlaw, for he saw that he was in sore extremity, if 
 not in the very article of death, and as he noted the 
 thin and hollow temples and snow-white hair, the 
 face seamed with scars and corrugated with 
 wrinkles, he shook his head ominously, and pouring 
 out a cordial held it to the lips of Caneotus, who had 
 fallen into a sleep, half doze half stupor. The stim 
 ulant acted promptly, the dim eyes opened and 
 gathered something of the old fire and energy, a 
 slight fever flush glowed on brow and cheek, and 
 the thin voice seemed to gather strength, as the vet 
 eran again strove with mortal weakness, to main 
 tain his ancient bearing in the presence of one of a 
 hatred race. 
 
 "Why does a white man wait before Caneotus," 
 
Caneotus 119 
 
 he asked angrily, "take him away and slay; but no, 
 he is a friend, touch him not; he comes to heal, to 
 strengthen the tree rent by the storms of an hun 
 dred winters." 
 
 "An hundred years old," repeated Stewart in 
 quiringly. "Can it be that your grandsire has out 
 lived a century?" 
 
 "I have little doubt that it is so," said Untequit 
 respectfully. "Old Molly Pognet, whom he left a 
 young girl, is nearly an hundred, and he must be 
 some years older." 
 
 "And how is it that he is here?" asked the captain 
 in a low tone. 
 
 But Caneotus had heard the question, and as he 
 answered it the false strength of passion, and the 
 hatreds of a wronged and blasted life, kept the at 
 tenuated frame erect and gave dignity to the wasted 
 face, and strength to his voice until it rang out like 
 a clarion through the rocky cavern, and up the clefts 
 of the sharply defined cliffs forming the crest of the 
 mountain range. 
 
 "Why is Caneotus here, far from the forests of 
 Mashpee, and the bright swift tides of Cohasset? 
 Why are the bones of his fathers torn up by the 
 plow-share, and the ashes of the fire of council scat 
 tered over the white man s cornfields? Why does 
 the Indian live poor and despised where his fathers 
 roved free and happy; and why is the daughter 
 of a great chief almost a beggar in the land of her 
 fathers? Listen, captain of an hundred, to the words 
 of Caneotus, for he is very old, and hearken to the 
 story of a wrong, done so long ago, that the child 
 
120 Cartagena 
 
 then unborn has been laid in the grave by his chil 
 dren s children. 
 
 "Caneotus was once young, and in all the tribe of 
 lyanough none could equal him in war or hunting; 
 he was the friend and ally of the whites, and more 
 than once he has guided their musketeers through 
 the forests, into the hunting grounds of the Pequots, 
 and the Narraganset lands. But he was the friend 
 of King Philip, and inherited the broad lands by the 
 southern sea, and the white rulers feared the hand 
 that had struck the war-post for them, and their 
 people looked with ravenous eyes upon his hunting 
 grounds and broad meadows; for he would not sell 
 his heritage for fire-water, or the graves of his 
 fathers for a woman s toys. 
 
 "So he who had never taken a nail that was 
 not his own was charged with robbery of many goods, 
 and a chief taught to ask admittance to a summer 
 lodge, was brought before the council for breaking 
 into a white man s dwelling. Two more were 
 charged with the crime, and all were condemned, 
 for we had no counsel, and the people laughed at our 
 words when we said that we did not know how the 
 goods came to be hidden near our lodges; for among 
 the whites they believe that the Great Spirit only 
 punishes the liar who calls upon him to bear witness 
 to his, words. 
 
 "The punishment was death, but they would not 
 have our blood on their hands, and we were sent 
 here, away from home and friends, to be sold as 
 slaves. One died of a broken heart and was thrown 
 to the sharks, the other, sold to a planter, was taken 
 
Caneotus 121 
 
 away by the first fever of the lower lands, but Caneo 
 tus was taken to a farm in the hills and set to tend 
 ing cows and the milking of goats. 
 
 "All weapons were kept away from him but a 
 knife; but he who has a knife has all, and Caneotus 
 bore patiently with his captivity, until he had all 
 that a w^arrior of the Massachusetts could need for 
 war or hunting. A bow and quiver of arrows headed 
 with sharks teeth and spines of the stingray, a lance 
 headed with a rusted file, and a knife ground down 
 by days of labor to edge and point hung in a cleft of 
 the rocks ready for the day of freedom ; and the Ma 
 roons, hunting through the forests, came to me and 
 told me of their freedom, and promised that I should 
 lead their band, if I would leave my white master. 
 
 "But he was old and poor and feeble, nor did he 
 strike or threaten, but was ever kind and gentle, and 
 he died in my arms, thanking me for good service 
 and faithful nursing in his need. But the heir, who 
 had left him to die alone, came for his heritage 
 armed with pistol and cutlass, and with cowhide in 
 hand ordered me to gather in the cattle and bo 
 ready to go w r ith him to the fever swamp below ; and 
 when I spoke of my master s promise that I should 
 go back to the Massachusetts a free man, he laughed 
 scornfully and, with a blow across the face, sent me 
 to my work. 
 
 "I felled him to the earth and fled to the forest, 
 but he rose and followed after, and as I reached 
 my weapons was close upon me. He fired, and 
 missed me, but I sent an arrow to his heart and since 
 that day have been an outlaw. I have never known 
 
122 Cartagena 
 
 want or fear; I have had children born to me, who 
 bear my name and w r ill lead my people when I am 
 gone, and I have spoiled the oppressor and plund 
 ered and slain the dealers in human flesh. 
 
 "But I would go back to my own land, and die 
 amid the scenes of my childhood and lie amid the 
 graves of the chiefs of my father s house, although 
 there, only poverty and degradation are the lot of 
 the sons of lyanough." 
 
 "Then drink of this draught, and sleep until morn 
 ing," said Stewart in mild, calm tones, "and we will 
 see what can be done to restore you to your home." 
 The potion was taken without hesitation, and al 
 most as he sank upon his pillow, the dreaded outlaw 
 of the Blue Range was buried in a profound sleep. 
 
 As they went out into the night and descended the 
 winding path to the ravine below, Stewart halted 
 and motioned to his companion to survey the scene 
 before him, for the whole ravine was now ablaze 
 w r ith the fires of the Maroons, fifty at least of whom 
 stood, torch in hand, at the foot of the cliff. 
 
 Their gay turbans and barbaric ornaments, the 
 bright steel of their machetes and cane knives, their 
 fierce and swarthy faces, and bright hued cotton dress, 
 and the utter silence and statuesque pose of the 
 members of the band, formed of themselves a scene 
 not easily to be forgotten. But in the background 
 beyond their bivouac fires, where the women went 
 backwards and forwards w r ith fruit and curious ves 
 sels of honey, milk and water, or sheaves of coarse 
 grass and aromatic herbs for the couches of their 
 guests, the ravine rapidly narrowed, and the brawl* 
 
Caneotus 123 
 
 ing stream, almost lost in the shadows of broad- 
 leaved water plants and lofty tropical trees, here and 
 there flashed down a score of feet in a shimmering 
 cascade, or flowed down and through a dense cur 
 tain of mountain moss and tangled lianas. Above 
 them all the midnight sky, clear and cloudless, dis 
 played that glory of the host of heaven which, in all 
 tropical climes, has so enchained the fancy and the 
 longings of the hearts of men, that they have often 
 forgotten the Creator in their worship of his mar 
 vellous universe. 
 
 "How beautiful !" exclaimed the physician, in that 
 low yet intense tone which is most indicative of deep 
 feeling or appreciation. " Tis wonderful, how little 
 we of the icy north and the thronged cities know of 
 this beautiful w r orld He has made, or the wonders of 
 His greater kingdom." 
 
 " Tis so indeed, sir," answered Stephen ; "and yet, 
 I often think that, perhaps, we who are rovers by 
 sea or land think more upon these things, than you 
 w r ho know more of books and try to study more 
 deeply into the causes of all that is strange or won 
 derful. There s a German doctor dow r n yonder, who 
 sails in Lord Vernon s fleet. He knows every bird 
 and plant and insect which the men bring him, but 
 he cares nothing for their beauty; and, would you 
 believe it," and here the volunteer s voice sank to an 
 almost inaudible whisper, "he says there is no God." 
 
 "Indeed!" said Stewart. "There are many like 
 him among his people; but such belief seems almost 
 impossible in one who stands in the presence of a 
 scene like this. Do you know, it almost seems to 
 
124 Cartagena 
 
 me that David must have stood near some midnight 
 bivouac amid the mountains, when he looked upon 
 the stars and poured forth that famous apostrophe 
 to the heavens: When I behold the works of Thy 
 hands, the moon and the stars which Thou hast or 
 dained: what is man that Thou art mindful of him? 
 or the son of man that Thou visitest him? " 
 
 As he recited the inspired words of the warrior- 
 poet of Israel, the enthusiast poured forth the words 
 with such fervor and richness of intonation, that his 
 voice filled the whole ravine as he stood in sight of 
 the waiting Maroons drawn up to do him honor; and 
 as if by magic the whole band fell upon their knees 
 and bowed their faces to the earth, nor did they 
 again raise them until the whites, accompanied by 
 Untequit and his newly found relatives, had 
 reached the foot of the cliff and stood beside them. 
 Then they arose, and at a signal from one of their 
 leaders, passed out of the ravine and disappeared 
 from view with the exception of a kind of reserve, or 
 picket guard, who posted themselves at the entrance 
 of the ravine, on a small platform of rocky and open 
 ground. 
 
 No question was asked until a second repast, more 
 varied than the first, was set before them, and 
 bundles of country-made cigars, and long-stemmed 
 earthen pipes were offered for their gratification; 
 but at last the elder son of the sick man removed the 
 long cane pipe-stem from his lips, and spoke the 
 thought that had for some moments troubled him. 
 
 "What has the god of the white magician said of 
 the life of Caneotus?" 
 
Caneotus 125 
 
 There was an uncertain ring in the outlaw s tones, 
 as if he was in doubt as to the meaning of the cap 
 tain s unwonted fit of enthusiasm, but Stewart was 
 as shrewd at need, as he was brave and fearless, and 
 had heard something of the savage and super 
 stitious nature of the lawless men in whose power 
 he had placed himself; while Untequit, no less 
 watchful, made an almost imperceptible movement, 
 which had been agreed upon as a signal of caution in 
 case of danger or treachery. 
 
 Stewart drew from his breast a pocket Bible and 
 held it up to the fire. "Does my brother know what 
 book this is?" he asked quietly. 
 
 "It is the fetish of the white priests of the city be 
 low us," said the chief, gravely. "What has that to 
 say of Caneotus?" 
 
 "For every man this book has a message," said 
 Stewart, solemnly, "sent by the maker of all men 
 to his children alike, w T hether they be crowded in the 
 city, or rove freely and without care in the wilder 
 ness. In it is a message for the chief, your father." 
 
 "I will hear it, for he sleeps, but he shall know it 
 when he awakens. If it please him you shall have 
 gold and pearls; if it be ill, Caneotus has many fol 
 lowers, and know r s how to punish." 
 
 "The message is not mine," said Stewart, without 
 a trace of trepidation in voice or manner, "but gold 
 cannot purchase the good will of my God or change 
 His decrees. Listen and you shall hear w r hat he says 
 to Caneotus," and in the almost fearful silence he 
 read as follows: 
 
 "The days of a man are threescore years and ten, 
 
126 Cartagena 
 
 and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, 
 yet is their strength, labor and sorrow." 
 
 The savage turned to Untequit, and as they con 
 versed the latter grew more and more earnest, point 
 ing by turns to his comrades, the cavern and a huge 
 cottonwood which stood in the light of the fire. The 
 Maroon s face at first was fierce and malign in its 
 expression, the Indian s sorrowful in the extreme, 
 but both at last became calmer; the son of the out 
 law at last arose, and extended his hand to the 
 physician. 
 
 "It is well. You have spoken truly. Untequit will 
 hear your words, and bear them to our father in the 
 morning," and so speaking the friends saw him 
 shoulder his gun and stride away into the darkness, 
 as if he wished, like some dying animal, to be alone 
 in his agony. 
 
 "What did your uncle say, Untequit?" asked Ste 
 phen of his servant as soon as they w r ere again alone. 
 
 "He called the captain a treacherous sorcerer, and 
 said we should all die if Caneotus was not restored 
 to health," said the Indian quietly. 
 
 "How did you appease him?" 
 
 "I said to him See yonder great tree. Is it old, 
 very old? and he said, It was old and decaying 
 when I was a boy/ 
 
 "I said, Is it firmly rooted and solid at heart? and 
 he said that its roots were strong, but that he could 
 sleep inside its trunk when the rain was pouring; 
 and I asked if anyone could make it young and 
 strong again, and he answered, No one/ 
 
 "Then I said, Caneotus is an old tree, deep- 
 
Caneotus 127 
 
 rooted here, but weak and infirm; for many years 
 have whitened his hair and decayed the strength of 
 his youth. It would kill him to go back to the cold 
 northern land, and he may not be cured of the weak 
 ness of many years and much sorrow, but he may 
 yet be many months among his children in the 
 shelter of the mountains. 
 
 "You have said well, Untequit," said Stewart, ad 
 miringly, "for my skill cannot heal the decay of 
 years or stop the ravages of time. Your grandsire 
 would die if you tried to remove him thence ; he may 
 yet live some months and perhaps years among his 
 kindred." 
 
 In the morning they paid a last visit to the exile, 
 who awoke apparently refreshed by needed repose, 
 and calmer than the evening before. He had first 
 sent for Untequit, arid when Stephen and his com 
 panion again entered the cavern, the old chief had 
 again assumed his weapons and apparel of state, 
 and with a calm and even pleasant voice bade them 
 welcome. 
 
 "Untequit has told me what the skill of the white 
 physician has determined, and repeated the message 
 of the great book given by his God. Caneotus has 
 often heard it read in his younger days, for there 
 came among his people just men who loved the In 
 dians, and read it to them in their own tongue, and, 
 had the whites kept its sayings, many would not 
 have died who have fallen in battle and perished in 
 great torments. 
 
 "But Caneotus knows that he is old and weak, 
 and he could no longer bear a long journey or the 
 
128 Cartagena 
 
 tossing of the great sea, and only in the land of 
 spirits beyond the setting sun can he hope to see the 
 bride of his youth, now old and weak like himself. 
 So when you may no longer tarry with us, take the 
 thanks and gifts of Caneotus and his message of 
 farewell to the remnant of his people." 
 
 Stewart took from his case a small flask, and 
 affixed to it three strands of a tough creeper and a 
 tiny measure made from the shell of a gourd. "The 
 pure air, clear water and delicate food of your hills 
 are better than any medicines of mine, Caneotus j 
 and with rest and a quiet mind, your life will last 
 longer than in anger, revenge and vain regrets. God, 
 w r ho knows neither white, nor red, nor black, but 
 only just or unjust men, will avenge all wrongs in His 
 own good time and comfort all who carry their sor 
 rows to Him. But should sudden faintness come upon 
 you, let him you trust most give you as many meas 
 ures of this cordial as there are strands around the 
 neck of the flask; not all at once, but the second only 
 when the first fails to bring you clear sight and per 
 fect speech, and the third only when the second is no 
 longer sufficient. In no case let them dare to give 
 you more, for then no power on earth can save you 
 from certain death." 
 
 "It is well," said the exile. "Untequit, come and 
 hear the w r ords of the last chief of Manomet," and as 
 he spoke the soldier knelt at his feet and laid there 
 on a small belt of ill-shapen beads, rudely made of 
 the shells of the quahaug, and curiously strung, ap 
 parently without pattern or design. 
 
 "You have borne the wampum and proved your- 
 
Caneotus 129 
 
 self of my blood, and you have given to Caneotus 
 messages from those he has never hoped to hear 
 from again, since the days when a lie sent him across 
 the sea, to a strange island and a slave s doom. Now 
 you shall be my son s son, and lead with him when 
 his father is old like myself and I am no longer with 
 the living." 
 
 Untequit took the belt again and reversed it in his 
 hands. "The wampum asks for an answer, O my 
 father, and an old woman will weep for the boy she 
 nourished, and the messenger she waits for in vain. 
 Besides, a brave on the warpath must not lie, and 
 we must be in the camp by the sea before the setting 
 sun." 
 
 "It is well, Untequit," said the exile, calmly. "Bear 
 back the wampum, and tell the wife of my youth 
 that, if the Master of Life wills it, I will wait for her 
 at the first night encampment on the crowded path 
 way of souls. Tell her that I have never forgotten 
 our betrothal by the grave in the forest, and let 
 her not want while the gold I give you can buy her. 
 food or shelter." 
 
 "White men," he continued, "do not fear to receive 
 from my people the gifts of Caneotus, for we have 
 little need of gold, and you are the first who have 
 met us in peace for many years. We shall never 
 meet again under the sun ; perhaps in the land of the 
 hereafter we shall look again upon each other, and 
 see that we are indeed the sons of one father." 
 
 They left the cavern, leaving Untequit at hia 
 grandsire s feet, and how they parted none else ever 
 knew, but at the foot of the cliff their animals stood 
 
130 Cartagena 
 
 saddled, and all the band crowded around them to 
 shake hands and bid them "good bye." To each sad 
 dle was slung a small basket, tightly covered, and at 
 Untequit s hung a finely ornamented Spanish musket 
 and a curious hunting knife, such as the Albacete 
 manufactories of Spain have for generations sent out 
 to her colonies in the new world. 
 
 The descent was easy and rapid compared with 
 the ascent, and by mid-day they had crossed the 
 Yallah, and reached the foot hills, and the skirts of 
 the lowland along the coast. Suddenly the mules 
 stopped at a signal from their driver, and from the 
 thickets on either side rose the son and grandson of 
 Caneotus and the outlying members of his band. 
 
 The elder man greeted them warmly, while their 
 guide of the day before opened the baskets beside 
 them, and took from each a small square package of 
 rawhide, wrapped in a curious scarf of woven fibre 
 as red as blood. 
 
 "For this," said the elder, "the whites will risk all 
 dangers and commit all crimes, and in the years to 
 come, the men of the red blood and the black will be 
 come so many, that they will be crowded into the 
 sea and so perish forever. But, if in that day you 
 or yours shall be here, let them send me this toque, 
 or wear it, and I will burn alive with fire whoever 
 shall touch a hair of your head." 
 
 As he spoke he delivered to each a package and the 
 accompanying token, and an instant later was lost 
 in the thick, tropical forest, while the friends follow 
 ing the path soon struck the post-road, and saw be 
 low 7 them the white walls of Port Royal and the fleet 
 
Caneotus 131 
 
 of Lord Vernon, which, with transport and storeship, 
 still awaited the coming of Sir Chaloner Ogle and 
 the great Armada. 
 
 "We need not speak further of these adventures/ 
 said Captain Stewart, "than to say that we have 
 camped a night in the mountains, and had our fill of 
 fruit and clear spring water. We have been good 
 comrades to each other, but henceforth, as your cap 
 tain, I must show you no more favor than is due to 
 good conduct and brave men. Perhaps, should God 
 spare us to return to the Massachusetts, we may 
 meet as friends and talk over our strange adventure 
 in the recesses of the Blue Mountains." 
 
 They entered the encampment as the sun was 
 setting, and Stewart, at the request of the others, 
 took the musket given to Untequit, and the pack 
 ages of native gold (for such they indeed were) w r ith 
 the intention of sending them home by a Captain 
 Barker, master of the transport Two Brothers, soon 
 to sail for Boston. He met his mate at the landing 
 the next morning and hailed him cheerily. 
 
 "Good morning, Mr. Atkins. Where s Barker? 
 I ve a little business for him to attend to, and some 
 letters to send by you." 
 
 "He ll carry no more letters for any one, poor fel 
 low," said the mate wearily, "and although I m will 
 ing enough, it seems as if I couldn t bear to try to 
 do aught. We were eight in all when we cast anchor 
 in this accursed harbor, and now but three of us, and 
 what niggers I can pick up, must take the old hooker 
 back to the owners and poor Barker s widow." 
 
 "It is indeed a deadly port. Would to God that 
 
132 Cartagena 
 
 the fleet would come, for the troops are sickening 
 fast, and I have had to turn surgeon myself to help 
 our wearied doctors." 
 
 "Yes, tis a bad port, but I never saw the fever 
 so bad before in a dozen v.oyages, and what is worse 
 our colony boys are so despised and insulted by the 
 regular officers, that they ve lost heart, I think, and 
 the fever takes such hold that they can t shake it off. 
 Poor Barker was struck by a drunken major, and 
 would have thrown him into the street, but he had 
 him taken by a file of men and ironed, and let him 
 go at the pier, after cursing him to his heart s con 
 tent, and the captain never got over it. All the 
 time he was sick he was moanin over the disgrace, 
 and I hear that our poor boys in the regiment fare 
 even worse." 
 
 "Well, well, Atkins, it s bad enough, but it can t 
 be helped. You ll take the package and the letters, 
 won t you, for I don t like to trust them to the pack- 
 et-masters." 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir, I ll do my best, though between fever, 
 an Spanish privateers an the perils o the seas, tis 
 a question if either I or the sloop ever reach home 
 agin." 
 
 The mate s apprehensions were but too well 
 founded, and although a crew was procured and he 
 sailed in a small convoy for New York, the little fleet 
 was scattered by a storm off Hatteras; and neither 
 the household at Ploughed Neck nor the family of 
 Captain Stewart ever received the letters or the gifts 
 of the exiled chief of Manomet, the outlaw of the Ja 
 maican mountain ridges, Caneotus. 
 
Chapter XL 
 
 The Arrival of the Armada 
 
 by day the men sickened and died in their 
 encampments; the crews of the transports wasted 
 away more than decimated by the fatal fever, until 
 over forty mates and captains had perished and Phil- 
 lips s company alone had lost more than one-fourth 
 of its whole muster roll, including Ensign Christo 
 pher Goffe and Lieutenant Vryling. 
 
 For some reason, however, the other companies 
 suffered less in proportion, and good Captain Stewart 
 won the praise and love of all the battalion by his 
 skillful treatment and generous care of the sick, 
 from whom he utterly refused to receive pay of any 
 kind, merely saying, "We are comrades, sir, and you 
 can best pay me by helping some one else in your 
 turn, should God put it in your way to do so." 
 
 But worse than the fatal malaria which claimed 
 its victims every hour, and threatened every day to 
 become irrepressible in its ravages, was the attitude 
 of insult and contempt already taken by the officers 
 of LordVernon s fleet towards the hapless colonists, 
 whose patriotism had urged them into the false and 
 trying position of a private soldier. 
 
 For to the Englishman of to-day, a resident of a 
 British colony is never a British citizen in the sense 
 which pertains to the humblest native of English 
 soil, and it is simply wonderful that an empire whose 
 originally contracted limits cover so many narrow 
 
134 Cartagena 
 
 and bitter sectional antipathies, should ever have 
 become dominant over so vast a territory, and so 
 many peoples; who in their turn are alike scorned 
 by their English protectors, and ever made to feel 
 that bitter sense of insolent contempt, which your 
 true Saxon never refrains from openly showing to a 
 supposed inferior. 
 
 For the Englishman scorns above all the Irishman, 
 next the Welshman, and to a less extent the Scotch 
 man, who in their turn distrust each other more or 
 less, but the Englishman most of all; but each and 
 every native of the British Isles looks upon a colonist 
 as a dependent and unhappy being, hopelessly de 
 prived of the higher privileges of the British citizen, a 
 source of heavy outlay to the British Empire, and of 
 questionable benefit to that "tight little island/ to 
 whose greed and glory so many vast empires are 
 tributary. 
 
 It followed, as a matter of course, that in an age 
 so brutal, coarse and even cruel as that in which the 
 events we chronicle took place, the free and tameless 
 hunters, sailors and yeomen, who, for the most part, 
 had filled up the quotas of the American colonies, 
 found themselves from the first in a position con 
 trary to all the experiences of their former life. 
 Their own discipline, though strict in essentials, was 
 loose in detail, and better calculated to develop 
 marksmanship and individual prowess than con 
 certed movement in the open field; and the amphibi 
 ous character of their pursuits added to the difficulty 
 of restricting their activity to the stiff, artificial and 
 mechanical movements, characteristic of the disci- 
 
The Arrival of the Armada 135 
 
 plined marines and grenadiers with whom they were 
 to be associated. 
 
 Nevertheless brigadier Blakeney, and his corps of 
 lieutenants, strove at every turn to reduce their 
 somewhat erratic recruits to the mechanical move 
 ments and utter subjection of the soldier of the regu 
 lation standard, and could not sufficiently express 
 their contempt of soldiers, who shot better than they 
 could wheel; who objected to polishing the barrels 
 of their muskets "because it spoilt their aim," and 
 w T ere as much at home in a boat with sail, oar, 
 line, net, harpoon or cutlass as they were in camp 
 or on parade. 
 
 Many utterly refused to clean the officers boots 
 and perform similar menial offices, and the guard 
 houses w r ere often crowded with men up for punish 
 ment for breaches of martial law, until at last some 
 severe examples were made, and the authority of the 
 officers shown to be absolute. But the effect on the 
 men, whose natural training had utterly unfitted 
 them for such service, was depressing in the extreme, 
 and many who had been beaten with canes by their 
 officers, or flogged publicly, unable to endure their 
 deep sense of undeserved disgrace, fell sick and died, 
 or were devoured by sharks, or drowned in trying 
 to desert by swimming on board vessels bound home 
 ward. Others of sterner mould bided their time of 
 vengeance, and Col. Gooch, early during his stay at 
 Jamaica, became utterly disgusted with the dissen 
 sions arising between his English officers and the 
 Colonial gentlemen, who better knew the temper of 
 their men, and resented with more or less spirit the 
 abuses which they were powerless to prevent. 
 
136 Cartagena 
 
 But when the Jamaican government marched in 
 under armed guards, and a corps of slave-drivers, the 
 most mutinous, useless and refractory slaves of the 
 whole island to the number of some two thousand, and 
 parties of the Americans began to be detailed to cut 
 pickets and fascine material in the woods, in com 
 pany with this refuse of the slave-pen and canefield, 
 even the English officers murmured at the terrible 
 degradation, only to be imagined by those who have 
 themselves lived where men are held in bondage. 
 But there was no help for it; the admiral laughed at 
 complaint, and became angry at petition, while the 
 few soldiers in garrison at Port Koyal added by their 
 taunts to the spirit of humiliation and disaffection 
 already but too rife. 
 
 It was therefore with a general sense of relief that 
 the Americans learned from the semaphores, used 
 to telegraph the approach of vessels, that a large 
 fleet was off the coast and was supposed to be the 
 long expected expedition. 
 
 On the morning of the 9th of January the whole 
 population of Spanishtown and Port Royal, and the 
 soldiers and sailors already at the harbor of rendez 
 vous, gathered on the shores of the bay to watch the 
 imposing spectacle of the entering fleet. 
 
 As far as the eye could reach the ocean was cov 
 ered with sails, and the larger ships of the fleet, in 
 three divisions, came on before the sea breeze, their 
 huge hulls surmounted by lofty pyramids of canvas, 
 and the emerald seas foaming under each mas 
 sive cutwater, while from their open ports long tiers 
 of black cannon told of the care with which the Eng- 
 
The Arrival of the Armada 137 
 
 lish ministry had chosen the flower of her famous 
 navy for this last supreme effort against the Span 
 iard. 
 
 Behind them, flanked by frigates, bomb ketches, 
 sloops and fire ships, came nearly eighty transports 
 and hospital ships, and from every friendly island, 
 passed in their tedious voyage, had gathered such 
 English merchantmen as by good fortune were fa 
 vored with the sure protection of the great expedi 
 tion. 
 
 And now, after nearly eleven weeks of unwontedly 
 tempestuous weather, in which the fleet was for 
 several days utterly dispersed, the great armada had 
 gradually reassembled, and, w r ith the exception of 
 a small squadron sent two days before to observe a 
 French fleet of equal force, all the war ships and 
 most of the transports safely entered the chief port 
 of Jamaica. 
 
 "They re no fools at shortenin sail," said a veteran 
 privateersman at Stephen s elbow, as he stood upon 
 the seawall of snow-white limestone. "Jest see 
 them take in their kites," and as he spoke, the lead 
 ing division let go their lighter sails by the run, and 
 the heavy yards w r ere alive with topmen, who se 
 cured the canvas as if by magic, and with equal 
 celerity lay down to await the next order of the 
 admiral. 
 
 " Tis a splendid sight," said Stephen enthusias 
 tically; "and they come in good time. God grant we 
 have no more delays, for we have left enough of the 
 poor fellows yonder to the landcrabs of the pali 
 sades, w r ho had far better been killed under the 
 walls of Cartagena." 
 
138 Cartagena 
 
 "Thet s so, mate," said the stranger gravely; "but 
 ther won t be no gret of a hurry to get to sea again, 
 when once the anchor is down. Thet fleet hes hed 
 its share of bad weather, an vender s a seventy thet s 
 got a jury mainmast, an thar s plenty of light spars 
 missin among the transports too." 
 
 "We ought to get to sea again in three days at the 
 least," said Stephen, "and it seems to me that a week 
 would be a fatal delay, if the men on board suffer 
 as we have done." 
 
 "Thar ll be plenty of food for the landcrabs yon 
 der," replied his companion coolly, "an ef we sail 
 in less than two w r eeks, I ll lose all my share of the 
 gold of Cartagena. But there s the flagship leading 
 in, and they re takin in sail now in earnest." 
 
 The huge Russell, carrying the blue pennant of 
 Sir Chaloner Ogle, was now fairly within the en 
 trance, and under her heavy foresail alone, swept 
 slowly but majestically up the bay to her anchorage 
 beyond the fleet of Lord Vernon, saluting as she 
 passed. The great flagship in answer opened fire, 
 which was taken up in turn by the other vessels of 
 both squadrons and the forts of the harbor, while the 
 light guns of the transports, privateers, slavers and 
 even more questionable small craft congregated in 
 the port, added their sharper reports to the heavy 
 thunder of the great ordnance of the fleet. 
 
 All day long the excitement continued, and when 
 the careful tactics of the heavier ships was suc 
 ceeded by the loose seamanship of the transports, 
 there were many staved bulwarks and broken 
 spars to employ the carpenters and sparmakers of 
 the port, and to add to the general causes of delay. 
 
The Arrival of the Armada 139 
 
 But as theTorbay forged in beside her sister ships 
 at the anchorage, the seaman pointed to her ensign 
 floating at half-mast and said, " Tis for no common 
 man thet thet flag hangs thar , an as fer me I m 
 positive thet we shall hev bad news by the first boat 
 thet reaches the shore." 
 
 "Don t talk so, man," said Stephen, impatiently, 
 " Tis only a colonel of marines or perhaps an officer 
 of the ship. Hear the men cheer as they man the 
 yards. Why should we borrow any more cause of 
 trouble than we have already?" 
 
 But boats were already manned and w r aiting at 
 the gangways, and the admiral s barge was soon 
 seen to push from the side of the Russell and seek 
 the flagship of Lord Vernon. There was the usual 
 ceremonial of reception, the regulation salute, the 
 sound of martial music and the guard of honor, but 
 when all w r as over the new^s spread like wild fire, 
 that the great general who was to command the land 
 forces of the expedition, Lord George Cathcart, the 
 veteran of more than one successful campaign under 
 and against the great leaders of continental wars, 
 was dead and buried in the ballast of the Torbay. 
 Owing to his death the command would devolve 
 on Brigadier General Wentw r orth, of whom little 
 was known and less expected, if one might judge by 
 the comments made by military and naval critics, 
 even amid the unexampled rejoicings which filled 
 the towns of Kingston and Port Royal on the night 
 of the safe arrival of the fleet. 
 
 For when the sun went down bonfires glared on 
 every eminence; every window was ablaze with 
 
140 Cartagena 
 
 candles; the ports of the warships were revealed by 
 tiers of battle lanterns, and frem every yard and 
 truck blue lights and portfires lit up the glassy sea 
 and the deep shadows of the w 7 ood-fringed haven. 
 Every mansion was open to the officers of the army 
 and navy; the ordinaries were full to overflowing, 
 and in the streets, as the night wore away, the whole 
 people, white and black, rich and poor, male and 
 female, naval and military, seemed to have given 
 themselves up to unbridled license and shameless 
 debauchery. 
 
 It was nearly midnight, when Stephen, who had 
 been sent to care for a comrade just committed to 
 the hospital, set out on his return to camp ; and as he 
 emerged from the guarded gateway and found him 
 self in the street, he saw on every hand that reckless 
 pursuit of unlicensed pleasure, which, strangely 
 enough, is most noticeable where death comes most 
 suddenly and unexpectedly. 
 
 Through the open windows of the finest residences 
 lu? saw on either hand the tables burdened with 
 choice viands and varied vintages, and around them 
 the best blood of England, in the gorgeous costumes 
 of that. age of personal display, engaged in the aim 
 less and unceasing round of "healths and bumpers," 
 which left few in possession of their senses at the 
 close of the orgies. From others came the sound of 
 sweet music and the rhythm of dancing feet, where 
 the pale, dark-eyed beauties of the tropics joined in 
 the dreamy waltz, with partners rejoicing in their 
 temporary escape from narrow quarters and the un 
 stable footing of the sea; while in the illuminated 
 
The Arrival of the Armada 141 
 
 gardens and under the shadow of tropical trees, 
 glided in couples those who chose the subtle charm 
 of sweet converse and fair companionship, in the 
 stillness of night, under the strange spell of the 
 voiceless stars. 
 
 But around him the streets were thronged with 
 revellers, the soldiers from the camps, seamen of 
 many nationalities, the burly captains of colonial 
 transports and English merchantmen, the free ne 
 groes of the town and their companions still doomed 
 to bondage; and Stephen caught a glimpse of one 
 or two, who from their dress, springy tread and wild 
 bearing, he knew must be of the blood of the 
 Maroons, and he thought of the band of Caneotus 
 himself. 
 
 At every turn, met as she sought or issued from 
 the taverns and low resorts, whence issued ruder 
 music and more boisterous merriment, or beckoning 
 from street and window, woman, degraded, fallen, 
 but enthralling still, brought to the aid of brutal 
 Bacchus and degraded Terpsichore her wondrous 
 charms of beauty, spirit and fascination, which even 
 coarseness, vice and dissipation fail to wholly alien 
 ate from the daughters of Eve. 
 
 Suddenly there issued from a tavern m?ar by, an 
 officer of the American contingent; a young Vir 
 ginian of herculean mould and graceful proportions, 
 notorious throughout the battalion for his wealth 
 and even more so for the boldness with which, even 
 in that day of gaming and its kindred vices, he vied 
 with wealthier if less powerful revellers. 
 
 He was evidently in complete and extreme accord 
 
142 Cartagena 
 
 with the general spirit of rejoicing, and held high 
 in air a slender crystal goblet full to the brim, while 
 on his arm hung one who, even in that cesspool of 
 tropical passion, was alike notorious for her beauty 
 and for her crimes. His uniform, velvet waistcoat 
 and cocked hat blazed with the richest lace; at his 
 side a rapier, with velvet scabbard and gilded hilt, 
 hung in a belt of Cordovan leather, and the buckles 
 on his shoes and the rings upon his large, shapely 
 hands were set with diamonds of the purest water. 
 
 "Here s to all loyal hearts and gallant men," he 
 shouted wildly. "Here s to Lord Vernon and his 
 brave tars, and Wentworth and his grenadiers. Fill 
 your glasses, comrades," he continued, as several 
 officers came near, and, at the word, his valet stepped 
 forward with a tray, from which he took another 
 beaker, while the servant courteously offered to 
 serve the new comers. 
 
 "Long live war and love," he cried in ecstacy. 
 "Drink, Cerise, to the toast, the only labor worthy of 
 a gentleman, the only pleasure which even the gods 
 cannot despise. Come, comrades, fill your glasses 
 again. Here s to the loyal Americans. May they be 
 first in the field,, as they have been first at the rendez 
 vous." 
 
 One or two drank to the toast, but a third handed 
 the cup back untasted. In an instant the American 
 flung off the arm of the flower-crowned Creole, and 
 confronted the stranger who had refused his pledge. 
 
 "Why do you refuse my toast, sir?" he cried, an 
 grily. "How dare you offer such an insult, and to 
 me?" 
 
The Arrival of the Armada 143 
 
 The answer came back in those cold, calm tones, 
 icily sardonic and pitilessly menacing, which at once 
 indicate the blasd man of the world, who, from being 
 preyed upon, has learned how to devour, and has de 
 voted every resource of mind and body to his own 
 advancement, success and pleasure; who can creep 
 like the serpent and strike as fatally, and at need can 
 put on the tiger and crush out opposition without 
 pity or remorse. 
 
 "I dare," he said quietly. "I would as soon drink 
 w r ith the overseer of the colony negroes, as with one 
 of the officers of your contingent. You are to per 
 form the same duties, I hear." 
 
 The blood receded for a moment from the Ameri 
 can s face, and then surged into his temples until 
 his face was crimson with pent-up passion. "Give me 
 a glass, Forbes," he muttered, and the next moment 
 the contents w r ere dashed into the Englishman s face. 
 
 There was neither anger nor annoyance visible in 
 the air of the latter, as he wiped off the wine with a 
 laced kerchief, and turned for a moment to one of his 
 companions, but a slight compression of his lip and 
 the relentless gleam of his steel-blue eyes told that 
 he intended to exact complete vengeance for the 
 insult. 
 
 "At once, if you please," said he, pointing, to the 
 outskirts of the city. "There is plenty of space on 
 the sands, and we shall have light enough before 
 yonder bonfires burn out, if we hasten." 
 
 "As you please, sir. Forbes, follow me. I have 
 no second, and must request one of your companions 
 to perform that office," and with a word and a smile 
 
144 Cartagena 
 
 he bade adieu to his companion, and walked arm-in 
 arm with one of the strangers down to the sandy 
 peninsula, on which a tar-barrel or two still gave 
 ample light for the tragedy about to be enacted. 
 
 Without a word, each threw off his coat, waist 
 coat and belt, and the seconds, having measured the 
 rapiers, returned them to their owners, and, placing 
 the duellists on guard, drew their swords and stood 
 ready to strike in at the first wound given or re 
 ceived. 
 
 They had not long to wait. The American, though 
 powerful and no mean master of his weapon, was no 
 match for the Englishman, who met his fierce attack 
 with almost imperceptible guards, given by a w r rist 
 like iron and muscles like steel ; and it was soon ap 
 parent to Stephen that he was only biding his time 
 to make a thrust, which should end both the contest 
 and the life of his antagonist. Slowly, but surely, 
 he drew him on inch by inch, until at last his foe 
 w r as within his reach, and a lightning-like thrust 
 transfixed the American from breast to back; but 
 despite a wound almost instantaneously mortal, the 
 Virginian, shortening his sword, drove it through the 
 lung of his triumphant antagonist. 
 
 The seconds rushed in, but before they could reach 
 them the Virginian, throwing up his arms, uttered a 
 stifled sob and fell back into the arms of Stephen and 
 the officer, who laid him gently down upon the sand, 
 but, at the first glance at the handsome young face, 
 saw that he was dead. 
 
 As they looked up, a low exclamation of horror 
 came instinctively to their lips, as they saw the victor 
 
The Arrival of the Armada 145 
 
 still erect, but transfixed from breast to back by the 
 slender rapier of his antagonist; his face fast losing 
 its expression of confident and deadly purpose as the 
 reality of his terrible condition, and the horrible cost 
 at which he had gained his hollow triumph dawned 
 upon him. 
 
 "Killed by a boy at last," he muttered, as his 
 friends ran to his support. "Spitted by a green vol 
 unteer as a hawk is trussed by a heron. Vane, you 
 are a doctor. Can I is there any chance I can t 
 speak. Tell me, for God s sake." 
 
 The surgeon cast a single glance at the protruding 
 point of the weapon, and turned to his friend. "The 
 lung is transfixed and I fear that nothing can be 
 done. If we can get you to the city, there might per 
 haps be a chance." 
 
 "I can t bear this pain," moaned the wounded man. 
 "Take out this cursed blade, for I suffer infernal tor 
 ments. Will no one rid me of that fellow s rapier?" 
 
 The surgeon s answer w r as quick and startling. 
 "If it is withdrawn here you die. If you have any 
 thing to say or write, do it before the blade is with 
 drawn." 
 
 A cold sweat stood on the brow of the duellist, 
 but in that supreme moment, the conventional spirit 
 of his race and kind failed him not. "I understand 
 you, Vane. You will see to my effects here. Send 
 me home to England. One of the Fortescues can 
 surely lie among his kindred. You will see, doctor 
 that my commands : 
 
 "We understand you, Fortescue," said Doctor 
 Vane, kindly. "But have you no wish for a lawyer, 
 
14G Cartagena 
 
 "Or a priest? No, no, I die as I have lived. The 
 estate is entailed and I cannot even support those 
 whom I have ruined. It grows dark I am dying, 
 Vane " The finely chiselled face grew strangely 
 drawn and set ; the dark eyes, no longer full of con 
 scious power and pride, were fixed and glassy. A 
 mortal shiver shook the symmetrical limbs, and with 
 a single convulsiA T e heave of the broad chest, the 
 spirit of Captain Fortescue parted from all in which 
 it had delighted in this mortal life. 
 
 "He is gone," said Stephen, in a low tone; "and 
 now what is to be done with the bodies of these un 
 fortunate men?" 
 
 "What business is that of yours, sirrah? 1 was the 
 rather brusque answer of the third stranger; while 
 Vane, who had carefully withdrawn the rapier from 
 the wound, turned to survey the bold infantry 
 soldier, who had dared, unasked, even at such a mo 
 ment, to question an English officer. 
 
 "I am a volunteer of the American battalion," 
 answered Stephen, sternly, "and was therefore com 
 rade to the man who lies yonder, slain, as I hold, by 
 one whose provocation was ruffianly, and whose in 
 tention in this affray was murderous. He has only 
 met with his deserts ; but each should have reverent 
 care, and I am here to see that my countryman s 
 body is not plundered or slighted, until word is sent 
 to our camp and his body is taken in charge." 
 
 " Sdeath, fellow!" said Fortescue s second, raising 
 his cane and advancing angrily toward the provin 
 cial. "How dare you presume to speak thus to an 
 officer in His Majesty grenadiers?" And, with a 
 
The Arrival of the Armada 147 
 
 torrent of strange oaths, he announced his intention 
 of at once inflicting a severe chastisement upon our 
 hero. 
 
 Stephen caught up the Englishman s weapon and 
 calmly awaited the bully s approach; but at the sig 
 nificant action he stopped short, and changed the 
 method though not his air of menace. 
 
 "Ha, mutiny? Damme, my fine fellow, but I ll 
 have you shot or hanged for this. I ll not dirty my 
 hands with your blood, but send you under guard to 
 the provost marshal." 
 
 "Peace!" said a deep, stern voice; and at the word, 
 the officers, turning, saw Gooch, the lieutenant- 
 colonel of the Americans, and a near friend of the 
 hapless Virginian. Behind him stood the valet of 
 the slain officer, and several files of men with 
 stretchers were in attendance. 
 
 "Gentlemen," said he, sternly, "you are under ar 
 rest. Take their swords, Johnson, but show them 
 every attention at our quarters, and bear the dead 
 into camp, reporting to Captain Hopkins, who is 
 officer of the day. He will see that the bodies are 
 suitably cared for." 
 
 "Sirrah! why are you here, and with your rapier 
 drawn on an officer?" he continued, turning to 
 Stephen, as the soldiers, gently raising their bur 
 dens, set out on their return to camp. 
 
 "I was out on leave, with an errand to the hospital. 
 I saw the beginning of the quarrel between Lieut. 
 Lee and Capt. Fortescue. The lieutenant had no 
 second except one of Fortescue s companions; and 
 as it lay in my way, I stayed to see fair play and aid 
 
148 Cartagena 
 
 any who might be hurt. I wished to know what was 
 best to be done when both lay dead at our feet, and 
 yonder bully cursed me for my insolence, and threat 
 ened me with his cane. I said nothing, but picked up 
 Fortescue s sword; and 
 
 "There; sir, that will do; I must hear no threats; 
 and you may deem yourself lucky that the thing has 
 gone no farther. Return to your quarters. Stay! 
 give me you name and company; and hand your 
 weapon to my aid." 
 
 Stephen did so, and saw the little procession move 
 down the low peninsula in the fitful light, with a 
 heavy heart; for the dead American, although per 
 sonally unknown to him, had by his splendid 
 physique, dashing manner, and untiring good nature 
 and gay spirits become one of the most popular offi 
 cers in the battalion. He walked slowly along by the 
 strand, reviewing the events of the night, and saw 
 in imagination the dead man again in the bloom of 
 perfect physical health, surrounded by gaiety and 
 pleasure, flushed with the hope of fame, the fire of 
 loyalty and the consciousness of strength and cour 
 age; and now a few scornful words had turned mirth 
 to hate, the soft spell of love to the concentrated 
 fury of mortal conflict, and the splendid frame and 
 fair face were now no more than so much carrion, 
 which ere another sun should set, must be hidden 
 from the shocked senses of even those who had loved 
 the strong spirit which it had enshrined in life. 
 
 "So runs the saying," he said, musingly, as he 
 walked along the midnight beach and heard the sigh 
 of the breaking ripples on the outer coast. "He had 
 
The Arrival of the Armada 149 
 
 wealth, family, strength, beauty, love, knowledge 
 and a kindly heart, but an hour has swept them 
 away, and the pride of birth and rank of his slayer 
 has but hurried him also to the inevitable destiny 
 of us all. Truly, our time is a very shadow that pass- 
 eth away, and after our end there is no returning; 
 for it is fast sealed so that there is no returning." 
 
 And as he entered the camp the blaze of the battle 
 lanterns was suddenly extinguished; in the distant 
 towns the lighted windows grew dim and died out 
 like setting stars; the bonfires were smouldering 
 along the strand, and of the brilliant displays on 
 shore only an occasional rocket fitfully lit up the 
 midnight sky, or fell hissing into the waters of the 
 harbor, now dimly seen through the deadly mists of 
 the tropics; but afar off to the south and west, a 
 single balefire, red and lurid, blazed upon the crest 
 of the mountains. 
 
 As he reached his own quarters, a few of his com 
 rades stood in front of the tent watching the strange 
 light. 
 
 " Tis some loyal planter just at home after the 
 day s carousal," said one. 
 
 "No! The news of the coming of the fleet has just 
 reached some farmer who never gets so far from 
 home as Spanishtown," quoth a second. 
 
 "It is more likely to be a cottage or a coffee barn 
 burnt by the thieving Maroons," observed a third, 
 who had visited the place in previous voyages. "No 
 one can keep slaves or carry on a plantation so far 
 inland as that, although every now and then some 
 one tries it and gets murdered for his pains." 
 
150 Cartagena 
 
 Untequit alone was silent, and greeting his friend, 
 led him away from the rest to the harbor side of the 
 encampment, and, as they again turned toward the 
 mountains, a second bonfire blazed in the southwest, 
 apparently a mile or more from the first. Stephen 
 uttered an exclamation of surprise, but Untequit 
 laid his finger on his lips, and intently watched the 
 beacons, as they paled and grew bright by turns 
 against the dark mountain ranges. 
 
 Suddenly, between the two, a bright spark ap 
 peared, and grew each second in size and brilliancy, 
 until a column of flame sixty feet in height towered 
 between the two former, and even at that distance 
 the limbs and trunk of a huge tree seemed to writhe 
 and blacken in the fervid and glowing conflagration. 
 
 "It is the signal!" said Untequit sadly, "Caneotus 
 is dead, and I have only his last words to carry back 
 to Monamet." 
 
 "How know you this?" asked Stephen, in some 
 surprise. "Perhaps yonder fires are the blaze of a 
 planter s building, as yonder sailor hinted." 
 
 "No! no!" said Untequit. "Before we parted, 
 his son, my uncle of the half-blood said, Yonder 
 ceiba-tree, like the old chief, is dying of age! it shall 
 not survive him. When you see a blaze in the moun 
 tains, look for another a mile to the west and then 
 you w r ill see the ceiba-tree a mass of fire, for I will fill 
 it with reeds and cover it with pitch from the ground 
 to its highest branches. Then you will know that 
 Caneotus is dead, and that- 1 have borne him to his 
 tomb in the heart of the mountains, where no white 
 man comes, and no hand shall ever disturb his last 
 resting place. " 
 
The Arrival of the Armada 151 
 
 "I am sorry, Untequit, if this be so," said Stephen, 
 gently, "but as they say in our own country, the young 
 may die but the old must. It is almost a miracle 
 that he lived to become free, and attained so many 
 years beyond the ordinary life of man, and it is 
 strangest of all that your people should know of his 
 existence, hope for his return, and send you on so 
 strange an errand, in the hope of bringing him back 
 to his own land again." 
 
 Untequit raised his face, which he had buried in 
 his hands, and answered, "You whites know us but 
 poorly, or you would have learned that we, who have 
 no books and but little knowledge of the world, re 
 member all we see and hear, and treasure up in our 
 hearts the traditions of the old men handed down 
 from generation to generation. Many a man among 
 you knows not how it is that he is avoided by the In 
 dians, so that even the poorest will not let their chil 
 dren live under his roof. But it is because the lands 
 he holds were wrongly taken from our people, per 
 haps by ancestors of whom he knows scarcely the 
 name; and, had we the power, many wrongs done 
 long, long ago, would be avenged upon the living. 
 The Indian s heart is a deep well into which one can 
 not look farther than the surface, but in it are gath 
 ered many and deep waters." 
 
 "And have mine ever done you or yours wrong, 
 Untequit?" asked Stephen gravely. 
 
 "Of your people have I never heard aught but good," 
 answered the Indian, "but he of whom your grand- 
 sire bought his land was of the blood of one, who, 
 though not a warrior, was wily as a fox and merci- 
 
152 Cartagena 
 
 less in the pursuit of gain. You have found arrow 
 heads of stone, and the scattered ashes of our camp- 
 fires in the east pasture; by the sweet springs and in 
 the shelter of the great swamp. Think you that the 
 Indians willingly left their ancient encampment, 
 beside the great marsh, and the creek full of all 
 kinds of fish?" 
 
 "I know not, Untequit, but sure I am that our title 
 is good, and was honestly paid for in bright guineas 
 and sterling silver." 
 
 "No one can question it now, comrade," said the 
 Indian, sadly, "nor would it bring back the game and 
 fish, nor the shade of the forest trees, even if the 
 land were restored to the children of those who once 
 dwelt there. The Great Spirit knows best, and it is 
 his w r ill, that his red children should no longer stand 
 before him in the land of their forefathers." 
 
 "Hist, Untequit, a boat is near us. Who can it 
 be, that comes into our lines at this time of the 
 night?" 
 
 "Friends!" said his companion, quietly, and the 
 next moment his low whistle was answered from the 
 mists. A light canoe was run in upon the beach, and 
 the son of the dead outlaw stepped lightly ashore 
 and stood beside them. 
 
 "I have come to look once more upon your face," 
 he said in the Indian tongue, "and to ask why Unte 
 quit, who is the son of chiefs, and may have warriors 
 to lead and broad lands to hold by rifle and steel, 
 is willing to stay among the hated whites, and 
 ready to shed his blood for those who have neither 
 love nor pity for those who are not of their color." 
 
The Arrival of the Armada 153 
 
 "Speak English, Caneotus," said Untequit, calmly, 
 "Stephen is niy friend and brother and just although 
 a paleface." 
 
 "Canoetus is dead," said the outlaw, bitterly, "and 
 we dare stay no longer so near the dwellings of our 
 foes. Already our tribe is many leagues away 
 among the hills. But I knew that Untequit was left 
 a common soldier among those who despise his race, 
 and who every day degrade their own warriors with 
 cruel scourgings and strange tortures, and so I come 
 to offer him one-half of his grandsire s riches and an 
 equal command over all my band." 
 
 "It is impossible, fellow," said Stephen, angrily. 
 "You are among our sentinels, and risk your own 
 life and liberty every moment of your stay. How 
 dare you then come on such an errand among the 
 loyal Americans?" 
 
 The outlaw laughed sardonically. "The nearest 
 sentinel is at yonder point, but he has smoked the 
 leaves of the wanga with his tobacco, and though 
 he walks his beat he is in a dream from which he 
 will not awaken for a good half hour. You are un 
 armed, and I could pistol you and escape, long before 
 the alarm could be spread far enough to cut me off," 
 and he significantly took a pistol from his belt as he 
 spoke. 
 
 "Put up your weapon," said Untequit calmly. "He 
 will not injure you or be unjust to his friend. 
 Stephen!" he continued, turning to the colonist, 
 "Why should I not go to those who love me and be 
 come again a chief and a leader of men. Are we 
 not dying every day of disease, fed with repulsive 
 
154 Cartagena 
 
 food which even the officers dogs despise, and are 
 not those over us growing more cruel and insolent 
 every day. Has the king kept his promises to us as 
 we have to him?" 
 
 "No, Untequit, no ! Yet our oath is sacred, and as 
 for me I should be disgraced among my people were 
 I to break it. Yet for you there need be no such 
 feeling, for when you return you come back to those 
 who have little of that honor, which among us is 
 held dearer than life itself." 
 
 "You are unjust, Stephen," said Untequit sadly. 
 "We hold ourselves justified in breaking promises 
 made from a sense of weakness and the contempt in 
 which our race is held, but there are bonds that we 
 never break and promises that we never forget. But 
 you see, I may be free, rich and powerful; an out 
 law, but still a chief ; a dweller in the wilderness, but 
 above want, and secure in the strength of the hills ; 
 and if I stay, I must endure our common miseries 
 and coining perils, and go" back to beggary, or at 
 least to gain a pitiful living among a people who 
 scorn the race they have wronged. What say you, 
 comrade, shall I go or stay?" 
 
 "I will not choose," said Hay, much affected, "for 
 on the decision too much depends, and on you, at 
 least, the claims of the English crown and people are 
 weak indeed. But do not desert to-night, for I must 
 know nothing of it, if indeed you will leave me and 
 go to your new life in this strange land." 
 
 "Your words are wise," said the outlaw, surprised 
 at the turn matters had taken, "and need not fear 
 for yourself. It will be many days ere you leave 
 
The Arrival of the Armada 155 
 
 this place, aiid Untequit shall come to his people, 
 aud the whites never know how he went from among 
 them." 
 
 "It cannot be," said the Indian resolutely. "Bid 
 me farewell and return to your people. She who 
 sent me will look for my coining, and longs for the 
 answer of Caneotus, and my people yonder are poor 
 and oppressed, and I must help them if I can. Here, 
 too, is my comrade, and the good doctor. I have 
 promised them to be true and to stand by them in 
 war and sickness, and I can never be false to my 
 word." 
 
 "Then farewell, grandson of Caneotus. Go on from 
 miseries, of which you have had but little, to the 
 woes you must endure. Stay under the insolent 
 officers who whip better men than themselves; 
 starve, while they throw away dainties which might 
 save the lives of their soldiers; and thirst, while they 
 know nothing of fever or pain. But if in the 
 future you flee to our mountains, come freely; for 
 though you scorn our offers, we can trust your word 
 in life or death. 
 
 "Here is my last gift, Untequit," he continued hur 
 riedly, for afar off they heard the challenge of the 
 sentinels as the guard was relieved, and he took from 
 his breast a small packet of leaves curiously swathed 
 in stout creepers. "We fear not the fever which de 
 stroys your people, but, although you have escaped 
 thus far, you can hardly hope if you stay long in this 
 spot. This is a poison, deadly and almost without 
 remedy to the well ; but when the fever settles upon 
 you and the brain begins to reel, then take so much 
 
156 Cartagena 
 
 as you can lay in powder upon a crown piece arid boil 
 it until the water is red as blood. Then strain and 
 drink it, and cover yourself with blankets, for when 
 the sweat runs in streams from your limbs the fever 
 will be over. 
 
 "But farewell, white man ; farewell, Untequit,- for 
 the guard draws near and we must be gone. 77 
 
 He stepped noiselessly into the light boat, pushed 
 silently out into the mists, and in a moment was lost 
 from view; while Stephen and his friend, crossing 
 the fog-veiled parade ground, easily escaped obser 
 vation and sought in their tents needed repose, after 
 the day of excitement and adventure which had re 
 sulted from the arrival of the fleet. 
 
Chapter XII. 
 The Sailing of the Fleet 
 
 Two days later the vessels sent out by Sir Chal- 
 oner Ogle, to observe a strange squadron on his way 
 through the Archipelago, also came into port, having 
 had a sharp sea fight in the night off Cape Tiburon 
 with a portion of the French fleet in those seas, in 
 which, after much damage to rigging, spars and 
 bulwarks, and the loss of over one hundred men on 
 each side, both parties suddenly discovered that 
 they w r ere the representatives of nations at peace 
 with each other, and, after many very pretty apolo 
 gies and complimentary regrets, parted to pursue 
 their several courses. 
 
 On the 10th of January Lord Vernon, Sir Chaloner 
 Ogle, General Wentworth, General Guise and Gov 
 ernor Trelawney held a council of war at the Govern 
 ment House in Spanishtow T n, and there decided that, 
 in view of the hostile meeting briefly chronicled 
 above, it would not be w^ise to attempt anything 
 against Cartagena before ascertaining whether the 
 French admiral, D Antin, had any intention of join 
 ing his forces to those of the king of Spain, a thing 
 far from unlikely in the unsettled state of feeling 
 between France and England. Accordingly, the 
 Wolf sloop, Captain Dandridge, was despatched to 
 windward to reconnoitre, and orders were given to 
 the fleet to hasten forward their preparations for a 
 new cruise. But the delays were many and una- 
 
158 Cartagena 
 
 voidable, and sickness had so ravaged the crews of 
 many of the men-of-war, that some of them counted 
 the disabled by hundreds. Four of the great war 
 ships had lower masts so damaged as to be unser 
 viceable, three by M. Kochefeuille s shot and one 
 shattered by lightning in a storm, while all of Yer- 
 Don s own vessels had long needed new rigging and 
 stores, which arrived in the transports convoyed by 
 Sir Chaloner Ogle. 
 
 Besides this, the vessels were nearly all short of 
 water; and although Yernon had made the best pos 
 sible provision for speedily supplying that necessary 
 element, it was not until the 22d that Sir Chaloner 
 Ogle, with his division, sailed out of Port Royal har 
 bor, followed by Lestock on the 24th, and the admiral 
 himself on the 26th, accompanied by the transports, 
 guarded by the Falmouth and Litchfield men-of-w r ar. 
 
 On the 31st the whole fleet had beat up to Port 
 Morant, and, seven days later, lay oif Cape Tiburon, 
 the western point of Hispaniola, where the next day 
 the Wolf joined them, with news that the Marquis 
 D Antin with nineteen ships lay at anchor in Port 
 Louis; and Lord Yernon at once beat up to the Isle 
 de Yache, about six miles to the west of Port Louis, 
 where a French officer going on board the Wey- 
 mouth informed Captain Knowles that D Antin had 
 sailed for Europe. 
 
 Knowles at once communicated with the admiral, 
 who despatched him in the Spence sloop to recon 
 noitre, and, having satisfied himself that but one ves- 
 sel-of-war lay in the suspected port, he returned ; but 
 the next day, with Captain Boscawen and General 
 
The Sailing of the Fleet 159 
 
 Wentworth, landed at Port Louis, where they were 
 politely entertained, returning with the information 
 that the admiral, with twelve of his nineteen ships, 
 had sailed for Europe nearly a fortnight before. 
 
 In consequence of this, the fleet put into Tiberon, 
 Donna Maria and Irish Bays, where all the empty 
 water casks were filled, and the Americans were 
 again exposed to the indignity of being brigaded 
 with the Jamaican negroes, and detailed to cut 
 fascine and gabion materials; but the health of the 
 men was much improved, and on the 25th the signal 
 was given, and one hundred and twenty-four sail 
 drew out from the wooded bays of western Hispanio- 
 la, and glided before the trade winds southward with 
 out storm or accident, until, on the evening of 
 Wednesday, the 4th of March, the leading ships sig 
 nalled that strange sails were in sight ; and Knowles, 
 in the Weymouth, with his attendant sloops, Experi 
 ment and Spence, led the way in shore under the 
 Isle of Arenas, and into the anchorage of Punta de 
 la Canoa, Playa Grande. 
 
 It was nearly daylight, however, before the trans 
 port in which Stephen s company had been bestowed 
 came down under foresail and jib, and ran in be 
 tween two of the triple row of warships which 
 strained heavily at their ground tackle, in from fif 
 teen to twenty fathoms, with the trade winds still 
 blowing a light breeze, and the land currents setting 
 strongly westward toward the goal of their hopes, 
 the city of Cartagena. 
 
 With the daylight all were on deck, except the 
 sick and dying, of whom there was no lack, for every 
 
160 Cartagena 
 
 hour in the day some poor fellow, scantily coffined 
 in his hammock, but too often not even provided 
 with sufficient ballast to carry the wasted body to 
 the bottom of the sea, splashed overboard from the 
 transports and men-of-war, to float on the swift tides 
 until the sharks fought over their terrible banquet, 
 not infrequently in the sight of the very com 
 rades and shipmates of the dead. 
 
 But misery had become too universal to excite re 
 mark, and even on board of the cleanly Salem trans 
 port, in which Captain Stewart s good fortune had 
 still ordained that he should remain, there had been 
 sad changes. The honest, hard-featured Yankee 
 skipper had long since succumbed to the fatal fever, 
 and his son, still emaciated by the same disease, had 
 almost lost heart, and ever brooded over his father s 
 death, the long detention of the transports, and his 
 fears of meeting his bereaved mother and the owners 
 of the Two Friends. 
 
 Nevertheless he kept the cook a freed Guinea 
 negro, black as the ace of spades and as cheery and 
 large-hearted as black well supplied with all that 
 the resources of his sea-going experience had been 
 able to secure, and daily the men had enjoyed fresh 
 fish, porpoise liver and plenty of sweet water, with 
 lime juice, sugar and thick, black molasses; while 
 the unhappy men on board the English ships fed on 
 spoilt beef and putrid pork, washed down with grog, 
 unsweetened, and without lime juice or even vitriol 
 to correct its fiery nauseousness. 
 
 And now as they pitched heavily in the long 
 groundswell which swept the almost open roadstead 
 
The Sailing of the Fleet 161 
 
 of Punta del Canoa, the boy-skipper sat soberly on 
 the top of the low cabin, and beside him Captain 
 Stewart and Stephen, now Sergeant Hay, were talk 
 ing over the situation and their hopes, while Wood- 
 side, the English first lieutenant, seated on the 
 quarter, stood angling for groupers and joining from 
 time to time in the conversation. 
 
 "I did not know, Hay, that you had ever visited 
 these coasts before; I suppose, then, that the dim 
 lights we saw last night to the south-west were the 
 beacons of Cartagena," said Captain Stewart. 
 
 "I reckon not," said Skipper Clarke, "for the epi 
 tome says thet the entrance is near thirteen miles to 
 the westward of the city." 
 
 "That is so," said Stephen, pleasantly. "There s 
 no man in the fleet that studies chart and book closer 
 than our skipper. I w r as in here once, driven upon 
 the coast by a gale, in the Revenge, letter-of -marque, 
 and had to run into this very anchorage. No Span 
 ish vessel could put to sea in such a gale, but we 
 were only six miles or so from the city; and they 
 sent out a battery of light guns and drove us to sea, 
 before we half liked the look of the sea and sky, I 
 promise you." 
 
 "Know you aught of the land hereabouts, ser 
 geant?" asked Stewart. 
 
 "No, sir! The only thing I know is that I landed 
 in a whaleboat just inside that ledge, and filled a 
 couple of casks with fair water, while two of my 
 men gathered half a bushel or so of guavas and cus 
 tard apples." 
 
 "There s a new book in my kit, Stairs," said 
 
162 Cartagena 
 
 Woodside wearily, for the stout, ruddy Englishman 
 had failed sadly during his short stay in the tropics. 
 " Tis said to be a translation from the work of. a 
 Spanish pilot, and ought to be correct." 
 
 Stairs, who had lost much of his trim appearance 
 and stiff pomposity, soon returned with the little 
 book, one of the numerous brochures brought out 
 by the absorbing interest of that year pregnant 
 with coming war, 1740, and by his master s direction 
 handed it to Captain Stewart, who spread out the 
 map w r hich prefaced the letter press, on the top of 
 the companion way. 
 
 "We are lying here, I suppose," said he, after a 
 moment s thought, "and, if the map is correct, oppo 
 site a neck of land which, once occupied, would shut 
 out Cartagena from all succor or hope of reinforce 
 ment from the interior. I suppose we shall soon be 
 sent ashore, although I must say that the prospect 
 of landing through yonder surf is not inviting." 
 
 "Had we such boats as that," said Stephen, point 
 ing toward a long American whaleboat which was 
 lashed amidships, "we could easily do so, but such 
 heavy, clumsy, low-lying craft as the boats of the 
 squadron are fotally unfit for such work. If, how 
 ever, there s any scouting to be done, I could 
 easily find a crew on board here." 
 
 Stewart started to his feet. "Do you hear him, 
 Woodside? What say you, shall we have the honor 
 of the first landing?" 
 
 Woodside threw his tackle down upon the deck. 
 "With all my heart, Stewart, but first we must get 
 leave of the Admiral, or at least of the captain of the 
 
The Sailing of the Fleet 163 
 
 Weymouth yonder. I knew him slightly in London, 
 and if he is in a good humor, I can, I think, get per 
 mission." 
 
 "Well, sergeant, choose your crew. Captain, I 
 suppose you ll let us have the boat?" he continued, 
 turning to Clarke, who, however, showed little ap 
 parent pleasure at the proposed adventure. 
 
 "I don know," he said, thoughfully. "Thar s 
 more than an even chance o losin the boat, an she 
 cost f orty a dollars in good silver, an besides the ol 
 man sot a heap by her, an I wouldn t sell her fer 
 more n she s wo th." 
 
 "I ll pay for her, sirrah," said the lieutenant, 
 wrathfully. "I ll leave ten guineas in your hands 
 before she leaves the side; if we come back you shall 
 keep two, and if not, the whole are yours." 
 
 "I didn t say ye couldn t hev the boat," said Clarke, 
 quietly. "An yer money ye may keep ef she comes 
 back all right, an welcome. But I ve a mother, an 
 three sisters thet hes no father now, an I somehow 
 doubt ef they ll ever see me agin, an ef so thar ll be 
 a hard show fer em in this world, I tell ye." 
 
 "Forgive me, captain," said Woodside, touched 
 by his evident depression of spirits, "you are right 
 to look out for your poor mother and your sisters ; let 
 us have the boat, and you shall have the guineas and 
 my thanks too." 
 
 "Wai," said the young man, "thar s one more con 
 dition, an thet is thet you ll take me w 7 ith you. I m 
 at home in thet old craft, an I d like one more look 
 at the ken try before I leave it ; I ve a rifle in my berth 
 yonder thet I reckon might be of a leetle use if, as is 
 
164 Cartagena 
 
 more then likely, thar s Spaniards watchin us from 
 the woods ashore." 
 
 Woodside was almost speechless at this new de 
 velopment of character in a man whom he had once 
 deemed sordid and grasping and, at the best, spirit 
 less and unmanly, if not actually cowardly. 
 
 "What say you, Captain Stewart?" said he at last, 
 "it is for you to make up the party of course." 
 
 "I think as to the men we had better leave it to 
 Sergeant Hay, but the skipper of course has a right 
 to go or not, as he chooses, and for my part I am 
 glad he is going with us. How many will she carry, 
 sergeant ?" 
 
 "We ought not to take more than the regular 
 crew, cap n," said Stephen hesitatingly, "for the surf 
 is heavy, and we don t go to fight, but to scout and 
 learn what is to be seen under yonder palms and 
 ceibas. Six men are her crew, and we can take 
 eight, but more would be in the way, and all must 
 know how to swim." 
 
 "That last will shut me out of your list," said 
 Stewart, regretfully. "I shan t submit to it in my 
 case, I assure you." 
 
 "Now, what s the use, cap n?" said Clarke, quickly. 
 "I tell ye, we ve got an ugly job to land yonder, even 
 with good men ; an one man thet can t swim is sure 
 to drown himself, an perhaps three or four others." 
 
 "There s another thing, captain," said Stephen, 
 gravely. "When we land, unless we can find a lee, 
 we shall have to run her up the beach on a roller, 
 and be ready to jump out and catch her before the 
 undertow sucks her back under the next breaker; 
 
The Sailing of the Fleet 165 
 
 and if we re pursued, we ve got to launch her into 
 the surf and jump aboard with no time to spare, and 
 you re not used to that kind of work." 
 
 "He s right," said Woodside, "and you ll have to 
 stay, captain, I think. An officer must go, or I d stay 
 myself and trust to the sergeant. However, I can 
 swim like a fish, and know something of boating in 
 the surf, for I spent two summers among the Ork 
 neys, and they know what a heavy sea is there." 
 
 "Well, I suppose I must yield to younger men," 
 said the doctor, slowly. "Detail your men, sergeant, 
 and get everything ready at once." 
 
 "Will you take an oar, skipper, or go bowsman?" 
 asked Hay of Clarke, who had just come upon deck 
 with a long, heavy rifle in his hand, which he pro 
 ceeded to divest of a close swathing of woolen rags, 
 completely saturated with porpoise oil. 
 
 "I kin do both, I reckon," he said quietly as he 
 slowly rubbed the brass-mounted stock and massive 
 barrel with a dry cloth, and poured in a loose charge 
 of fine powder 2 preparatory to testing her condition 
 for service. "Best to take no more then one extra 
 man, I guess," and"squibbing off" his piece, he tested 
 the barrel by blowing out the smoke through the 
 pan, and taking a small charger of alligator tooth, 
 measured out with the utmost nicety a charge 
 of powder, which he slowly poured into the 
 narrow bore of his piece. From a small 
 pouch attached to a shoulder-strap, he took 
 a tin box of greased buckskin patches, one 
 of which he laid upon the muzzle, and selecting a 
 bullet with great care from a handful token from 
 
100 Cartagena 
 
 the same pouch, he placed it in the centre of the 
 leather, and with his loading rod drove the tightly 
 fitting missile down upon the powder. After loading 
 he primed the piece, and slightly waxing the edges 
 of the pan, shut down the cover firmly and tied it 
 with a piece of whipcord. 
 
 "I ll lay a guinea thet thar s a piece will answer 
 all demands at sight, es Squire Tompkins used to 
 say, an ef so be the pan dont get a knock, she ll dew 
 it jest the same ef the boat rolls over an over a dozen 
 times in goin ashore. Mr. Sampson, git out the 
 boat." 
 
 The mate, a huge Cape-Codder, called to his aid 
 a dozen by-standers, who in less time than it takes 
 to tell it, had the lashings off, the boat raised from 
 her supports, turned right side up on deck, and her 
 oars, mast, and other fittings cut loose from their 
 fastenings. Her tholepins were carefully fitted, the 
 oars laid in place, her mast taken out and stowed 
 away, and her lockers cleaned of whale tub, line, 
 boat hatchet and other whaling gear. "There s an 
 old lance slung in its hooks too," said the mate, 
 "take it out, Jones, and clear away all this craft." 
 
 "Leave the whale line in, Jones," said Stephen. 
 "As for the lance it may serve to fend off with among 
 the rocks." The soldier deftly put in order the some : 
 what tangled fakes of the whale line, and Stephen 
 saw at once by his wistful expression, that the fellow 
 was longing to go on the proposed excursion. 
 
 "Jones, Coggeshall, Gibbs, take your muskets and 
 bayonets, but leave your accoutrements on board. 
 Untequit, you will go too, and as we have no cart- 
 
The Sailing of the Fleet 167 
 
 ridges, get out your powderhorns and bullet-bags 
 in that wooden box in my berth." 
 
 Jones, a Cape Ann shore fisher, was off like a flash. 
 Coggeshall, a Marbleheader, and the privateersman 
 whom we saw in good Samuel Miller s gun shop, had 
 already brought his musket on deck and was loading 
 it from some private source of supply, displaying 
 as he did so a handful of musket-balls carefully 
 sewed up in soft leather; and Gibbs, of Falmouth, 
 deliberately finishing his pipe, went below to prepare 
 himself for the trip. 
 
 Woodside had already received his sword and pis 
 tols, and stood awaiting the launch of the boat, 
 which was soon alongside and rising and falling with 
 the rough sea. Untequit leaped in and took the after 
 oar, and Jones and Coggeshall, the privateersman, 
 the two next forward, and Clarke the bow, after 
 having first carefully secured his weapon to the 
 thwart w r ith a piece of marline. 
 
 "Come, Gibbs, bear a hand," cried Stephen, as he 
 took the long steering oar, and motioned Woodside 
 to rather contracted quarters in the stern sheets. 
 
 "Aye! aye, sir!" answered the volunteer, but a roar 
 of laughter greeted his appearance, for he had laid 
 aside his cocked hat and wig, and a stout oilskin 
 fisherman s "sou wester" was tied tightly over his 
 ears, above the gay coat and stiff stock of his regi 
 mentals. 
 
 "Here, sirrah !" said Woodside sternly, "go below 
 and put on your hat and wig at once; it won t do, 
 you know, to go in such trim aboard the Weymouth. 
 We should have all hands laughing at us, from the 
 first luff down to the powder boys." 
 
168 Cartagena 
 
 Gibbs returned, with his despised head-gear, and 
 soon the light boat was lying under the lee of the 
 Weymouth, and Woodside, having sent his card on 
 board, was invited into Captain Knowles cabin. 
 
 "I am glad to see you, sir," said he, after the first 
 greeting; "but Vernon has been pleased to keep me 
 very busy, and I cannot spare you much of my time 
 at present. Still, I am really glad to see you, and if 
 there is any favor that I can do you, command me." 
 
 Woodside bowed his acknowledgments. "I thank 
 you, sir, but I come to ask your permission to recon 
 noitre yonder shore with some of my Americans. 
 I have alongside one of their whale-boats, and a crew 
 accustomed to heavy seas and landing through the 
 surf, and skilled in Indian fighting and privateering 
 service ; and if there is a landing, we will find it." 
 
 "Dear me! dear me!" said the captain, w r ho was 
 fast verging on fifty. "I don t know what to say. I 
 have no specific orders, and yet it might be of great 
 use. Still, I shouldn t dare to risk boats or any of 
 His Majesty s stores on such service." 
 
 "I risk the boat, and as to the men, all are of my 
 company, except two belonging to the transport. 
 We will be prudent, and will search the shore thor 
 oughly." 
 
 "Well! well! if you will go, I won t hinder you, 
 and the Spence sloop shall be ordered to cover you 
 with her guns if you are attacked. Be prudent 
 though, for I know your father well, and would not 
 have him blame me if aught befalls you. James, pass 
 Lieutenant Woodside the decanter. Sir, I drink to 
 your good fortune and speedy promotion; but be 
 careful! be careful!" 
 
The Sailing of the Fleet 169 
 
 Woodside thanked him heartily, drained his glass 
 and ran on deck. Half the crew were at the side 
 gazing curiously at the long, sharp craft as she rode 
 like a duck at the end of a line from the boom. At 
 a motion of his hand, they veered in, he descended 
 the side and stepped aboard, and, five minutes later, 
 they were to leeward of all the fleet, except the 
 sloop, which was already answering the signals 
 from the Weyrnouth. 
 
 As they swept by her, an officer on her quarter 
 waved his hand to them, and already she lay with a 
 spring upon her cable, ready to lay her broadside to 
 the shore, although, thus far, no sign of human life 
 w r as to be seen on the beach or in the dense forest 
 bevond. 
 
Chapter XIII. 
 Punta Del Canoa 
 
 Two hundred yards from the beach they lay upon 
 their oars, while Woodside with his glass swept 
 every yard of the alternate patches of glistening 
 rock and yellow sea sand, on which the heavy rollers 
 dashed into foam with a roar which made it difficult 
 to hear what was said close to the ear, unless uttered 
 at the top of the voice; w r hile even the staunchest 
 surf men shook their heads as they noticed the weight 
 of the huge green rollers and saw the refluent foam 
 sucked back by the strong undertow. 
 
 "I m afraid we must give it up to-day," shouted 
 Woodside; "we can t face such a sea as that," and, 
 as he spoke, he pointed to a rocky islet rising 
 some feet above the surrounding waves, which, 
 struck by a sea heavier than its companions, disap 
 peared for a moment beneath a whirl of foam and the 
 cloud of spray that dashed across the highest peaks. 
 
 But the next moment, Clarke had seized and was 
 about to level his rifle at an object w T hose presence 
 no one had heretofore suspected. 
 
 Leaping up from behind the highest fragments of 
 the submerged island, a naked Indian sprang into 
 the sea, and was borne like a withered leaf along on 
 the crest of a roller until lost from view behind some 
 projecting point of rock; and the skipper, putting his 
 weapon down, pointed to the islet and took up his 
 oar as if ready to pull the head of the boat round 
 
Punta Del Canoa 171 
 
 toward the hidden cove, which he felt must lie in 
 side the ledge. 
 
 Stephen smiled, but held up his hand and shook 
 his head, motioning to Woodside to turn his glass 
 toward the point at which the spy, for such all felt 
 that he must be, would have to land. The landing 
 was rocky, but the cliffs were flat and open on top, 
 with neither brush nor grass to cover an enemy, al 
 though a single stunted cedar stood near the further 
 edge of the little promontory, behind which seemed 
 to crouch a naked human figure. Handing his sub 
 ordinate the glass, Woodside pointed to the native, 
 for such he seemed to be, and shouted in a lull of 
 the surf beat, "Let us try it." 
 
 Hay raised the glass and saw a dusky-hued arm 
 raised in air, and a gleam of steel ; and dropping the 
 perspective caught up his musket, took a quick aim 
 and fired. The distance was extreme, a good two 
 hundred yards, and the motion of the boat precluded 
 certain aim, but a dry twig flew into splinters 
 above the Indian s head, and the next moment 
 his lithe form was gliding at full speed toward the 
 forest, which lay perhaps a quarter of a mile inland, 
 although many clumps of bayonet-grass, low thorny 
 chapparal, and beds of cactus lay scattered over the 
 more sterile belt of open ground. 
 
 Stephen lowered his piece, steadied it between his 
 knees and loaded it with that grave and steady 
 deliberation, which to the novice is provocative of 
 much irritation, but is really the result of experi 
 ence founded on numerous mischances arising from 
 undue haste and careless preparation. Having ex- 
 
172 Cartagena 
 
 amined his flint and lock, and finally primed the 
 piece with equal care, he laid her down beside him, 
 while his men took the same opportunity, by turns, 
 of assuring themselves of the state of the priming 
 of their own weapons. 
 
 Then nodding his head as a signal to give way, 
 Stephen headed the boat toward the narrow opening 
 between the islet and the shore, and taking advan 
 tage of a lull in the heavy sw r ell, ran in under its lee, 
 and laying the boat s head off shore hastily glanced 
 round at the cliffs. The prospect was 
 not reassuring, for the walls of the chasm, although 
 low, were steep and smooth, and the seas, although 
 much broken on the outer ledges, were nevertheless 
 too heavy to risk laying a boat alongside the rocks, 
 which would soon have splintered the light whaler 
 into kindling wood. 
 
 Suddenly Clarke stood up in his place and pointed 
 to the tree, from which a rude kind of ladder of roots 
 and creepers hung dangling over a projecting shelf 
 of the rock. 
 
 Hay saw at once his opportunity, and giving the 
 steering oar to Woodside, stepped lightly forward, 
 and taking the whale line made a running bowline, 
 which he committed to Clarke with directions how to 
 use it. Then, seeing that the tub was old and shaky, 
 he dashed in the bottom, and taking the lower end 
 of the coil carried it aft, and assisted by Untequit 
 coiled some twenty fathoms there ready for use. 
 
 Clarke, in the meantime, laid aside his oar and 
 took his place in the bow, while Hay, watching his 
 opportunity, ran the boat close up to the high- 
 
Punta Del Canoa 173 
 
 est point of the little islet, and the skip 
 per leaping ashore threw the bowline over 
 a projecting ledge, tightened the noose and 
 leaped aboard just in time to escape a heavy sea, 
 which swept them half way to the cliffs before he 
 could check the boat s headway by a turn of the 
 warp around the loggerhead. 
 
 Stephen waited for one or two seas to test the 
 safety of his new mooring; but, finding that the boat 
 rode easily amid the broken rollers, he signed to 
 Clarke to ease away on the whale line, and to the 
 men to back up to the cliff, until the stern of the boat 
 rose and fell close to the ladder, and not a dozen 
 feet from the volcanic rock of the surf -beaten ledges. 
 
 He seized the rude ladder, fearing to have it come 
 down by the run, for he knew that the spy had 
 sought its destruction ; but a sudden fall of the boat, 
 which left him hanging by it above the water, some 
 what assured him of its safety, and, clambering up 
 its rude projections, he found himself on the sum 
 mit; the next moment, the warp flung by Untequit 
 fell across his outstretched hands, and, passing it 
 around the dead cedar, he returned the end into 
 the boat, and in five minutes more the little party, 
 with their weapons, were safely landed on the shore 
 of Punta Del Canoa. 
 
 AYoodside s first care was to survey the surround 
 ing country with his glass ; but he was soon assured 
 that no immediate danger was to-be feared, for the 
 point was narrow and several hundred yards in 
 length, w r ith nothing upon it which could conceal 
 a foe, while the woods were even farther away than 
 he had at first supposed. 
 
174 Cartagena 
 
 He accordingly led the way inland a little out of 
 the din of the surf, and the party, throwing them 
 selves down on the short, dry herbage, proceeded to 
 stretch their limbs, cramped by their long boat ser 
 vice, and to take breath after the hard rowing neces 
 sary to counteract the swift sweep of the seas. 
 
 "We must not be taken, at all events," said Wood- 
 side, "for we now know that a landing is possible 
 even in such a sea as this; and that is a point of 
 the utmost importance, for even the clumsy boats of 
 the men-of-war can be moored where our boat is 
 lying." 
 
 "Thet s true," said Clarke, "but I reckon that few 
 on em would ever git thar onless the steerin was 
 better than I ve seen so far, any way. But a leetle 
 less sea would make it safe enough." 
 
 "We must leave one man here to keep guard over 
 the boat," continued Woodside; "and as he must 
 be keen-sighted, vigilant and of good judgment, I 
 must leave it to you, sergeant, to choose the man; 
 for on the boat-keeper may depend the liberty, if not 
 the lives, of all." 
 
 "Then, if it is left to me, I should ask the skipper 
 to take that duty; and if I might presume, lieuten 
 ant, I would ask that you lead us at once inland to 
 reconnoitre the woods; for if there are no troops 
 there now, we can look around all that we wish to, 
 and there certainly will be some here in a few hours 
 at most." 
 
 "Let me go, Master Stephen," said Untequit, 
 quietly. "If anything should occur, the whole of us 
 could hardly get aboard and pull off before cavalry 
 
Punt a Del Canoa 175 
 
 would be down upon us. I can outrun a horse for 
 a half-mile, and, if you will let me, will crawl up 
 yonder dry water- course that flanks the wood to the 
 left; then, if all is clear, I will signal you to come 
 up and join me." 
 
 1 don t think we could do better," said Woodside, 
 musingly. "Untequit, you can go, but hasten as 
 much as you can with safety." 
 
 The Indian asked permission to throw aside his 
 uniform coat, hat, wig and belts, and tying a dingy 
 kerchief around his head, drew off his heavy gaiters 
 and spatterdashes, and with only a long knife and 
 pistol in his girdle went back to the cliff, and laid 
 his musket and clothes beside the tree where Clarke 
 also took his post as boat-keeper. 
 
 Untequit, keeping to the w r est, followed the edge 
 of the promontory for a moment or two and was 
 then lost to view, having found a succession of 
 rough shelves, under cover of which he skirted the 
 shore, entering the mouth of the dry gully without 
 the knowledge of even his own party, by whom he 
 passed while they were busily engaged in looking 
 around them. 
 
 Suddenly Lieutenant Woodside, who was using 
 his glass, lowered the instrument, stared open-eyed 
 at a clump of bushes near the edge of the gully some 
 two hundred yards away, took another look through 
 the instrument, and finally turned to Stephen mut 
 tering, "We must get out of this ! There s an Indian 
 yonder in that gully that our man was to take. By 
 the way, where is he? He went down to the boat 
 to leave his clothing." 
 
176 Cartagena 
 
 Stephen caught up the glass, but instantly lowered 
 it and broke into a low laugh. "Well, he s got by- 
 us easily enough, and I guess no one yonder, if there 
 are Spaniards up there, will see what we haven t Jbeen 
 able to." 
 
 "Well done!" said Woodside, heartily. "Do you 
 know though that, when I came out here, I had 
 nothing but contempt for colonial soldiers," he 
 added in a low tone. "But now I am certain that 
 almost any one here, is better fitted to manage a 
 matter like this than I am myself." 
 
 "I don t think that, sir," said Stephen, gravely. 
 "Nevertheless I am glad to see that you appreciate 
 those things to which our men have been trained, 
 and in which, for my part, I hold them more skil 
 ful than any other people in the world, and that is 
 the use of boats, general skill in marksmanship and 
 individual fighting." 
 
 "I don t believe there are any troops yonder," said 
 Woodside, thoughtfully, "for our man entered the 
 wood some moments ago, and I have seen him 
 several times since then gliding from tree to tree 
 around its border, and penetrating deeper into the 
 forest." 
 
 "There he is!" cried Coggeshall, rising to his feet. 
 "We may go forward now, an get some fruit, may 
 hap, before we hev to go off on board again." 
 
 Just then Untequit was seen waving his kerchief, 
 and the whole party, rising, took their muskets and 
 moved rapidly across the open, leaving only Clarke 
 at his post by the dead cedar. Fifteen minutes later 
 they reached the wood, and, passing through for 
 
Tunta Del Canoa 177 
 
 it was a mere belt, found themselves in a country 
 road, whose broad ruts showed that the rotas, or 
 wooden-wheeled ox-carts of the country people, were 
 about the only vehicles that ever passed that way. 
 
 "There s a small hill yonder that commands a view 
 of the forts and the city," said Untequit; and, as 
 cending the eminence, which, indeed, gave the 
 anchorage its name from its shape, which somewhat 
 resembled in outline an overturned canoe, they 
 crawled cautiously up until they could overlook the 
 summit, and saw, some six miles away, the spires 
 of Cartagena, the fortress of San Lazaro, and the 
 convent-citadel of Nuestra Senora de la Popa. 
 
 "We hed better get off at once," said Coggeshall, 
 pointing to a turn in the road some two miles away, 
 where it wound around a sandy hill slightly wooded 
 w T ith huge cotton-trees. "Those lancers will soon 
 be here, at the rate of speed they re makin , an we 
 can t gain anythin by stayin ." 
 
 "I move we have some of the fruit from yonder 
 enclosure," said Stephen, pointing to the foot of 
 the hill, a little to their right. "The boys on board 
 would like some plantains, I guess, and we can each 
 take a bunch as well as not." 
 
 "So be it; but no time is to be lost, for in fifteen 
 minutes they ll be here," said Woodside; and plung 
 ing down the side of the declivity, they found them 
 selves beside the deserted cottage of a fisherman, 
 whose nets, paddles and rude household equipage 
 showed signs of recent occupancy. In the little gar 
 den around it were a score or more of plantains, 
 bananas, guavas, orange and other fruit trees, nearly 
 
Cartagena 
 
 all of which were in bearing; but as the former were 
 most plentiful, each man cut a bunch of yellow plan 
 tains or red Baracoa bananas, and, crossing the 
 road, plunged into the forest, emerging at the begin 
 ning of the gully by which their scout had come in 
 reconnoitring the place. 
 
 Down this they raced in single file, until reach 
 ing the cliff they emerged on the shelf of rock from 
 which they could see the islet, which was now much 
 larger in extent, the tide having sensibly fallen since 
 their landing, and at the same moment they heard 
 apparently from just beyond the hill, the clear notes 
 of a well blown bugle and the "Andela! Anda!" of 
 the captain of lancers as he urged on his men. 
 
 No time was to be lost, and Woodside hurried his 
 men to the platform where Clarke still sat, keeping 
 well out of sight behind its trunk, and evidently 
 anxious about something or other. 
 
 "I m glad you re come," said he, "for I consait 
 the- 7 :; somethin ahind yonder side of the cove thet 
 isn t thar for any good. Pursued did ye say? Tum 
 ble right in thar," he said, catching up his rifle. 
 "Fust the fruit, then the men an then myself." 
 
 "Well said," laughed Woodside, "but I come last, 
 skipper. In with you, Jones, Gibbs and Coggeshall. 
 Carefully, now. Here are the muskets. In with 
 you, Untequit. Go down, skipper, for yonder are 
 the lancers at last, just beyond the gully, and by 
 heaven! by the side of the captain rides that naked 
 Indian that tried to cut the rope. In with you, Hay." 
 
 "By the Eternal!" 
 
 It was Clarke who spoke, and as he caught the 
 
Punta Del Canoa 179 
 
 officer s wrist to call his attention to seaward, his 
 lips were drawn firmly over his teeth and his glance 
 was painfully fixed and keen as he pointed out an 
 unexpected danger. 
 
 From beyond the suspected point shot out into 
 the heaviest of the surf, a rude balsa, or raft of logs 
 of the light cotton-wood, joined three abreast, with 
 the central one turned up into the shape of a prow, 
 and, kneeling upon it, a single Indian, with a broad 
 paddle, drove it with surprising swiftness toward 
 the islet. Arms, save a knife in his belt, -at first 
 sight he seemed not to possess, but Stephen pointed 
 to a tiny quiver on his shoulders and a long, slender 
 reed which lay between his naked knees, and even 
 Woodside grew white as Hay -said impressively: 
 "He has a gravatana there; the arrows he carries 
 yonder are fatal. If he reaches the islet we are lost." 
 
 As he spoke, he poised his musket and fired, but 
 the ball caught on the rising crest of an intervening 
 wave, and ricochetted over the head of the occu 
 pant of the balsa; and from behind them, those on 
 the top of the cliff heard the nearing hoof -beats of 
 the cavalry. 
 
 "Git daown intew the boat, leftenant, an yew, tew, 
 Hay, an tell your men I ll tend to yonder varmint, 
 an they may save their fire to cover me. I ll git him 
 when he lands ; ef I don t, may I never hear Salem 
 church bells ag in." 
 
 Woodside lowered himself into the boat. Stephen 
 unrove the bight of the whale line, threw it into the 
 stern, dropped down the native ladder, and reload 
 ing his piece, looked from the figure above him to 
 
180 Cartagena 
 
 the Indian balsa and its occupant, who had just 
 drawn in under the lee of the ledge, and, catching 
 up his weapon and drawing his knife, leaped from 
 his rude craft to the summit of an isolated rock a 
 couple of yards from the main islet. With a cry of 
 triumph, he drew himself together for the final leap; 
 but the tall, gaunt rifleman overhead raised his heavy 
 weapon, and a sharp, whip-like crack, scarce heard 
 above the surf, told that the death shot had parted. 
 The war cry died away on the dusky lips, the deadly 
 tube fell from the outstretched hand, and the Guay- 
 queria, faithful to the death to the Spaniard, fell 
 dead in the midst of the surf. 
 
 "Hello! below thar ! look out for her, sergeant," 
 and Stephen caught- in his hands the trusty weapon, 
 as its owner dropped lightly into the stern, and 
 sprang over the thwarts to the bow, where, seizing 
 the line, he joined with the others to warp the boat 
 out of musket shot of the shore. 
 
 "We needn t mind their muskets much," said 
 Coggeshall, "but them Spanish scopetas are the 
 devil to carry. Ah! here they come, boys!" and as 
 he spoke, the lancers drew up on the edge of the 
 cliff and opened fire. As Coggeshall had intimated, 
 their arms and ammunition were poor, and the one 
 or two balls which struck the boat rebounded or 
 fell harmlessly into the sea; but one of the 
 troop, reserving his fire, drew up a short, clumsy 
 bell-mouthed weapon, and, taking deliberate aim, 
 fired just as Clarke bent over to cut the line short off 
 at the chocks for that was no time to count a few 
 feet of rope against men s lives. 
 
Punta Del Canoa 181 
 
 The splinters were seen to fly in the bow of the 
 boat, a terrible burst of profanity followed, and all 
 thought that their skipper had been severely if not 
 mortally wounded; but when he rose, he held in his 
 hands the stock and barrel of his long-tried piece, 
 cut short off at the small of the stock by the huge 
 bullet of the trabuco. 
 
 As the boat shot out into the open sea, the men 
 caught up their muskets and returned the fire by 
 way of bravado; but only one bullet took effect, 
 killing the horse of the commander of the pursuing 
 force. 
 
 By this time the heaviest guns of the Spence 
 sloop opened upon the lancers, who disappeared 
 promptly from a field where so unequal a game 
 offered itself; and as the boat passed her, a hearty 
 cheer burst from the lips of the tars, in honor of the 
 success of the adventurers. 
 
 Going on board of the Weymouth, Lieut. Wood- 
 side reported the events of the day, and urged on 
 Capt. Knowles the acceptance of one of the bunches 
 of fruit; and having received orders to hold himself 
 and men in readiness for farther service, the men 
 returned to receive the thanks and applause of their 
 captain and comrades on board the Two Friends. 
 
Chapter XIV. 
 Preparing for Battle 
 
 The next day at dawn, a boat came alongside the 
 Two Friends, and Lientenant Woodside received 
 an order requiring him to report with his whaleboat 
 and crew to Captain Cotteril of the Lion, a large 
 60-gun ship; and with the same crew as the day 
 before (with the exception of Skipper Clarke, who 
 remained on board to repair his broken rifle), he 
 hastened alongside the Lion, and found her men at 
 quarters. A few moments later, General Went- 
 worth came on board, and, albeit the sea was 
 rougher than that of the day before, the ship got 
 under way and stood down the coast, carefully 
 conned by her Spanish pilots and keeping the lead 
 going continuously, as the course lay nearer the 
 dangerous shallows on which the heavy rollers broke 
 into masses of white foam. 
 
 As they drew out from the shelter of the islets, 
 the sea grew still more terrible, and the oldest sea 
 men shook their heads as the ship staggered along 
 under short sail, unable to open her ports on the 
 lower decks, and so tossed and buffeted by the long, 
 heavy rollers that the sailing master and his as 
 sistants looked anxiously to the condition of spars 
 and stays, and rove and applied preventer gear 
 wherever additional strength could be secured; for 
 the Lion had been long on service, and much of her 
 rigging needed replacing, for which neither time nor 
 material had been afforded. 
 
Preparing for Battle 183 
 
 But, although the day was clear and cloudless, 
 and the wind gradually lulled as the sun rose higher 
 over head, the danger only became more pressing, 
 for the shoreward current set them nearer the break 
 ers, and the heavy yards and booms swung and 
 slatted as the ship was heaved and listed to lar 
 board and starboard by the mountainous rollers. 
 
 "We shall lose our boat, lieutenant," said Stephen 
 anxiously, "and much I fear that harm will come to 
 Gibbs yonder, for they say among the men that the 
 masts are shaky and the shrouds old and rotten, 
 and should it go it will crush both the whaler and 
 the other boat at the boom." 
 
 Woodside spoke to the officer of the deck and, ten 
 minutes later, in obedience to orders, Gibbs made 
 fast one end of the whale line to the painter and, 
 bringing the other in on the boom, let the boat run 
 astern, where, at the end of thirty fathoms of warp, 
 she danced like an eggshell over the heavy sea, and 
 awakened no little admiration of her graceful make 
 and lively qualities among the English officers, and 
 the crews of the clumsy yawls and heavy cutters of 
 the ship. 
 
 They had scarcely, however, ceased canvassing 
 the peculiarities of American boat building than the 
 watch was called to take in the maintopsail, for the 
 wind was now almost- insufficient for steerage way, 
 and the slatting of the yards promised at every 
 roll to carry away the topmast, which sprung like a 
 piece of steel. 
 
 "We had better return, your excellency," said Cot- 
 teril to the commander of the land forces, who stood 
 
184 Cartagena 
 
 with him near the break of the quarter-deck. "We 
 are losing the wind in here under the land, and our 
 only hope of safety lies in standing off shore into 
 yonder streak of blue water." 
 
 "We can t have much reason to fear," replied 
 Wentworth, rather contemptuously. "There is no 
 wind, as you say, and Lord Yernon says you have 
 one of the staunchest ships of his squadron. What 
 danger can there be?" 
 
 More he would have said ; but at that moment the 
 slender pole of the main-top-gallant-mast snapped 
 its stay, and the broken rope in its fall struck a top- 
 man, who, with a bruised and bloody face, still man 
 aged to cling to his hold on the top-sail yard; but 
 a larger sea than before was seen coming a half- 
 mile to seaward, and Cotteril roared, in a voice of 
 thunder: 
 
 "Lay down there in the main-top ! Lay down from 
 aloft, all! Lively, men! lively!" 
 
 The order came not a moment too soon, and, for 
 tunately for the lives of the men, was obeyed as 
 promptly as it was given. Some slid down by the 
 stays, others swarmed down the shrouds, while a 
 few of the older and less active men had hardly 
 quitted the ratlines when the wave, racing down 
 upon them, filled the deck Ijalf full of water, and 
 sent the faithless main-mast .with all its gear over 
 the side, bringing down in its fall the lighter spars 
 of the fore and mizzen masts. 
 
 Wentworth stared aghast at the terrible scene 
 of confusion which followed and the view presented 
 alongside, where a huge mass of wooden spars, 
 
Preparing for Battle 185 
 
 heavy rigging and wide-spread canvas lay under 
 the lee, forming a dangerous raft, against whose 
 projections each roller dashed the ship with a force 
 which momentarily threatened to be fatal. 
 
 "Let us take to the boats," said the general, 
 hastily, but Cotteril, with somewhat of disdain in 
 his tone, made answer: 
 
 "It would cost me my commission to give up one 
 of His Majesty s ships while a chance of saving her 
 remained, and I do not despair of carrying her back 
 to Plaza Grande, although the case is serious. Your 
 own boat or that of the Americans is at your service 
 if you desire to return to the fleet, but my duty lies 
 here." 
 
 "Pardon me, captain," said Wentworth heartily, 
 "you know we of the army are poor sailors, and ig 
 norance they say is the parent of fear. I will re 
 main and share your fortunes ; perhaps you can make 
 use of the Americans you spoke of. Captain 
 Knowles recommended them to me very highly, as- 
 better than ordinary for dangerous service." 
 
 Cotteril nodded pleasantly, but turned to give 
 orders through his trumpet to extricate his vessel 
 from her dangerous predicament, and the splashing 
 of the anchors and rattling of the chains through 
 the hawse-pipes soon followed, and after some mo 
 ments of suspense, the ship begun to swing head to 
 the wind and pitch into the tremendous rollers with 
 a force which, but for the sandy nature of the 
 ground, which allowed the anchors to drag, would 
 have torn away the windlass or snapped the chains 
 like pipe-stems. 
 
18G Cartagena 
 
 Meanwhile, the men with axes and knives cut 
 and slashed at the rigging in order to got clear of 
 the wreck which still lay alongside, giving a heavy list 
 to the ship and adding to the strain upon her cable. 
 Gibbs, Jones and Coggeshall joined in the work, cut 
 ting quickly, but so as to save the largest possible 
 amount of material. Stephen, with his Spanish 
 knife, did almost the work of two men, and Unte- 
 quit, the most agile of the crew, saved much of the 
 gear belonging to the canvas of the foremast and 
 foretop, in which service he caught an approving 
 glance from the captain himself. 
 
 "I d like to save the wreck from yonder Spanish 
 hounds," said Cotteril to his companion, "but the 
 anchors won t stand the strain, and it must go to 
 leeward, I fear." But Stephen, who was just de 
 scending the mizzen rigging, forgetful of etiquette 
 and rank, spoke as he would have spoken on the 
 deck of the Two Friends. 
 
 "Why not bend on a large kedge, and let them 
 drift into shallow water? There they ll be out of 
 reach of the Spaniards, and we can get them when 
 the sea goes down." 
 
 "Well said, my man. How they ever got you into 
 a red coat, I don t see. Pass the word forward, 
 Mr. Alston, and let them make fast a strong warp 
 to the wreckage and* bend on one of our heaviest 
 kedges." 
 
 " Tis easier said than done, sir," said the first luff 
 rather contemptuously, "for the drift .must be dead 
 aft, and our drift is now so fast that we should 
 be right amid it again in a few moments. If we 
 
Preparing for Battle 187 
 
 could carry the kedge to the westward an hundred 
 fathoms, it might help us." 
 
 "Say the word, sir, and we ll do it with our whale- 
 boat," said Woodside eagerly; "and as to the warp, 
 our whale line, they say, will stand more than ordi 
 nary cordage of nearly three times the circumfer 
 ence. Only I d recommend you to trust details to 
 Sergeant Hay here, who knows most about it." 
 
 "Very well! very well! How much of the whale 
 line have you sir?" asked the lieutenant. 
 
 "About one hundred and eighty fathoms, I think, 
 sir," said Stephen. "I d like to have you sling the 
 kedge by a piece of spar, so that we can get its 
 weight more amidships," he continued. 
 
 "All right, sir! Get your boat under the lee and 
 your gear shall be ready," and two minutes later 
 the boat was lying under the quarter, and one end 
 of her line lashed to one of the shrouds remaining 
 uncut, while the rest lay coiled in the stern of the 
 whaler. The kedge, brought aft by a dozen men, 
 was slung by two ropes to a long stretcher, and the 
 other end of the warp having first been bent to the 
 kedge, the boat was run under the spar, and being 
 carefully eased away the kedge hung beneath the 
 keel of the whaler just under the amidships thwart. 
 The men bent to their oars and rowed out under the 
 lee of the vessel, while Stephen paid out the line, 
 for the men kept the proper course, keeping the 
 sharp stern to the crests of the huge ocean rollers, 
 and then cautiously edging away to the westward 
 until only a few coils were left in the boat. 
 
 "Stand ready to cut the line in the centre of the 
 
188 Cartagena 
 
 spar, Gibbs," cried Stephen, as he caught the few 
 remaining fakes in his hands and threw them clear 
 of the gunwale, just as they had safely escaped the 
 crest of a huge green roller and looked across the 
 green abyss to another equally huge. 
 
 "Aye, aye, sir," said Gibbs, laying his keen knife 
 on the rope, which secured only by slight lashings, 
 lay stretched along the spars. 
 
 "Cut then, and stand clear," cried Stephen. The 
 knife fell, the rope parted, one moiety slipping 
 through the lashings and the other carrying the spar 
 end over end into the sea, and the light craft lay 
 clear of danger, ready to return to the Lion, which 
 still dragged under the added strain of the wreck. 
 
 Stephen waved his cap; the axes of the tars fell 
 on the few shrouds which still held; and as the 
 American, w r ith his long steering oar, made for the 
 lee of the vessel, he saw the submerged tops gradu 
 ally draw apart, and the dismasted man-of-war 
 righting and riding more easily at her dangerous 
 moorings. 
 
 Later the next day, the wind breezed up suf 
 ficiently to allow the Lion to get under way and 
 return to the squadron, and the New Englanders 
 were sent to their vessel, with orders to join a small 
 squadron detached for special duty on the morrow; 
 and, indeed, it seemed likely that, for a time, at least, 
 Capt. Stewart would have little assistance from the 
 presence of his tall sergeant and the crew of "the 
 Yankee whaleboat." 
 
 On the 9th of March the sea was still heavy, and 
 the huge rollers, as they broke upon the shallows 
 
Preparing for Battle 189 
 
 to the westward, forbade any decided general move 
 ment; but the smaller frigates about noon got under 
 way, and, manning their deck batteries, stood down 
 the coast, running close in shore, as if about to can 
 nonade the city, while the Dunkirk, Capt. Cooper, 
 with the tw r o sloops so often mentioned, kept on 
 down the coast of Tierra Bomba, an island which, 
 separated by a shallow strait from the city, 
 stretches westward for several leagues to the pas 
 sage of Boca Chica, or the "Little Mouth," the only 
 navigable entrance to the great lagoon of Cartagena. 
 
 Nothing, how r ever, came of these movements; for, 
 although Don Sebastian de Eslava, the military gov 
 ernor, sent his men to the outer walls, he well knew 
 that neither his own brass pieces nor the iron guns 
 and short carronades of the frigates could work 
 harm across the broad expanse of sandy shallows 
 and dangerous surf which defended his stronghold 
 on the seaward side; and threatened its future ex 
 istence with the same fate which had befallen what 
 was formerly a broad and level, although sandy 
 plain, but was now a shoal unsafe for the lightest 
 canoe, except in perfectly calm weather. 
 
 But that night as they returned, wet, weary and 
 hungry, they noted an unusual stir in the fleet, which 
 seemed to intimate that on the morrow the long 
 delay would be ended, and the great struggle be 
 tween the Briton and Spaniard would be brought 
 to an issue. 
 
 Clarke met them at the rail. "I ve sold the boat 
 an I reckon I sold her well, tew; an arter this I 
 s pect you ll hev to live aboard the Weymouth, 
 
190 Cartagena 
 
 fer Captain Knowles I hear has begged ye fer special 
 service. Hows ever, I ll be sorry to hev ye leave, an 
 to-night the cook lies somethin hot an hearty fer ye 
 in the caboose. We ve hed good luck fishing to-day, 
 an you ll be the better for some fried pompano, I 
 reckin." 
 
 Capt. Stewart confirmed the news, and handed 
 Lieut. Woodside his orders to report to Capt. 
 Knowles the next morning. His men were to take 
 their kits, and be quartered on board until further 
 orders. 
 
 "You ll hev a chance to see how you like the 
 food an lodgin thar," said Clarke, meaningly; "but 
 I reckin if they ll on y let ye off by yourselves once 
 a day, you can find somethin decent to eat." 
 
 "We can t always expect to live as well on board 
 ship as we have with you, skipper," said Stephen, 
 heartily, "and I, for one, shall never forget your 
 kindness; but we will carry some bird-shot and 
 fishing tackle with us, and it will go hard but we 
 manage to pick up fish and meat enough for our 
 selves, while we are detached." 
 
 "They say that we are to go on board Commo 
 dore Lestock s vessels," said Capt. Stewart, a little 
 wearily. "I hope not, for I was on board a vessel 
 of the fleet yesterday, and the men are crowded 
 together so that there is little chance for the sick, 
 and great danger to those not yet attacked by the 
 fever. It s a pity, that the council of war has de 
 cided not to attack on this side of the town ; and as 
 we have to enter the harbor over thirty miles from 
 here, they will have every opportunity to send out 
 
Preparing for Battle 191 
 
 their treasure and ineffective population, and bring 
 in supplies and reinforcements. We have come, 
 I hear, to a fair basis for the division of plunder, 
 but I m afraid we are selling the lion s skin on the 
 back of the beast." 
 
 "The captain is not himself," said Woodside, as 
 they sat on deck enjoying their food, so thought 
 fully prepared for them by the young skipper ; "and 
 he has enough on his hands as an officer, without 
 trying to be surgeon to his own command and hon 
 oring every call that is made on his kind heart; 
 although God knows it would be well were all in 
 authority here as humane as he." 
 
 As he spoke the captain came up from below, 
 and stepping to the rail looked across the inter 
 vening waters tow r ard the shore, where here and 
 there the gleam of the bivouac fires, or the glim 
 mer of a lantern, told that Don Sebastian de Eslava 
 was not yet minded to withdraw the corps of ob 
 servation, which for the last three days had been 
 entrenching themselves, and awaiting any attempt 
 to disembark. 
 
 The sea was going down fast, and the rollers, 
 though large, seldom broke into foam, but swept 
 lazily along with an occasional gleam of phos 
 phorescent fire wherever the oily surface was 
 broken by prow or cable, or the occasional passage 
 of a boat from one vessel to another. Above the 
 sky was clear, and in the deep blue the tropical 
 constellations shone w r ith a wondrous beauty, and 
 as Stewart raised his eyes to gaze upon them, his 
 regular and noble features seemed almost like the 
 
192 Cartagena 
 
 profile of a marble statue, so pale and thin had he 
 become with over anxiety and unremitting labor 
 for others. 
 
 " Tis a question/ said Woodside gravely, "if we 
 keep our captain long, and though once I d have 
 deemed it a bit of luck to get the grade, damme if 
 I shouldn t be sorry to step into his shoes, for a 
 kinder man I never saw." 
 
 "That is true, sir, and as brave as he is kind, 
 I m sure," said Stephen. "But you must talk to 
 him, lieutenant, for he has a noble wife and loving 
 daughter at home there in Boston, and I doubt if 
 he will leave them over well provided for should 
 aught befall him." 
 
 "Come, Woodside, this won t do," said Stewart, 
 approaching them, "the night air is not the best 
 thing in the w r orld for you who have been hungry 
 and weary all day. Tis a beautiful evening 
 though, and even the great war ships seem 
 less grim and cruel. The sky, too, is so clear and 
 the stars so brilliant, that all things seem full of 
 peace, and rest and beauty. Why, the very waves 
 that have swept against us so heavily for the past 
 week seem going to sleep, and one would think 
 that neither human suffering nor the destructive 
 passions of man could exist in such a scene. I as 
 sure you, gentlemen, that the contemplation of so 
 much peaceful beauty is a great relief to me, for I 
 weary of the human suffering and death that so far 
 has surrounded us." 
 
 Suddenly a terrific scream, or rather series of 
 , cries, came up the hatchway of the schooner ; a half 
 
Preparing for Battle 193 
 
 clad figure emerged, and, eluding the sentinel, 
 crossed the gangway at a bound, leaped upon the 
 rail, and ere Stephen could prevent it, sprang into 
 the sea. Hay was about to follow, but Untequit, 
 who had followed the delirious man from below, 
 laid his hand upon his shoulder and ejaculated, 
 "Look!" 
 
 On the inner crest of the roller which had just 
 passed beneath them, a sharp object, cutting the 
 water with great velocity, appeared above the water, 
 and the next instant a huge shark was seen envel 
 oped in a phosphorescent glow, which rendered the 
 squaliform monster almost supernaturally terrible 
 and repulsive; and as the spectators stood almost 
 petrified with horror, the man-eater glided down into 
 the depths where the doomed man had disappeared. 
 
 Stephen broke from his trance and seized the 
 sentinel s musket, Woodside felt mechanically for 
 the heavy pistols he had laid aside, and Untequit 
 looked in vain for a weapon; but the terrible epi 
 sode was soon over. For an instant the head and 
 outstretched arms of the doomed man were seen 
 above the surface, and then there was a shriek of 
 mortal agony, a gleam of crimson in a circle of phos 
 phorescent water, and all was over. 
 
 "Poor Jarvis!" exclaimed the captain. "He was a 
 stout shipwright at Medford Bridge last summer, 
 and left a good home and prospect of a fair heritage 
 to die thus terribly. Well ; well ! I must to bed, but 
 I fear me I shall not rest much after such a sight." 
 
 " Tis the lot of man, captain," said Stephen 
 quietly, "and what matters it how we go out of life, 
 
194 Cartagena 
 
 so that our work is well done. I ve seen many die 
 of the black vomit, and to my mind the shark s jaws 
 were a better choice. You must harden yourself to 
 such sights, for we go where worse awaits at the 
 best, and perhaps more than even the strongest and 
 cheeriest can endure." 
 
 "True, sergeant; and in Him there is strength to 
 endure all things as good soldiers. Good night and 
 needed rest." And soon only the sentinel and the 
 drowsy sailor who kept the anchor watch were left 
 upon the deck of the little transport. 
 
Chapter XV. 
 
 The Landing 
 
 The 9th day of March, at dawn, Lieutenant Wood- 
 side with his crew rowed away to their new quarters 
 on board the Weymouth, which the day before, 
 with the huge Dunkirk and her satellites, the sloops, 
 had carefully reconnoitred the coast of Cartagena, 
 and sounded with all their boats disposed en echelon 
 at a cable s length apart the whole shore line of the 
 isle of Terra Bomba, which extends north and west 
 from the old entrance of the port called El Boca 
 Grande to El Boca Chica, "the little mouth," now 
 the only feasible entrance to the grand lagune, 
 which all ships must enter at a good ten leagues 
 from the walls of the city. 
 
 The Lieutenant was treated as a guest rather than 
 as on duty, but the men viewed with ill-concealed 
 disgust the crowded quarters assigned them, where 
 in reach of their own hammocks hung many sick 
 men, who were allowed to remain there, because 
 the sick bay was already too full of victims to that 
 scourge of the tropics, "Yellow Jack." Luckily for 
 them they soon received orders to transfer them 
 selves, with all they might deem needful for night 
 service, to their boat, and stowing their hammocks 
 in the nettings they seated themselves in their trim 
 craft, and soon saw the ships appointed for the day s 
 service get under way and stand up the coast, in 
 which direction the greater moiety of the squadron, 
 
196 Cartagena 
 
 with the exception of the transports, soon followed. 
 
 On the shore, they could discern the cavalry and 
 light infantry of the Spaniards passing along the 
 roads to join in resisting any attempt to land near 
 the city, which, strangely undefended on the sea 
 ward side, trusted only to the shoal quicksands and 
 unceasing surf which broke for a mile or more across 
 the Playa Grande, which ten years before had been 
 a level and sandy plain, as its name implies. 
 
 Here Don Sebastian de Eslava had anchored two 
 of his largest men-of-war just inside the shallow 
 boat entrance of El Boca Grande; but it was not a 
 part of the play to send crowded boats and men with 
 cutlass and pistol to certain destruction: so, leav 
 ing several vessels to blockade the inlet, the armada 
 ran down the sinuous coast of the Isle of Tierra 
 Bomba, which, at times a mere neck of sandy emi 
 nences, some three or four miles from the city, ex 
 panded into a large island cut up by ponds and 
 swamps, and heavily wooded with the peculiar vege 
 tation of the tropics. 
 
 Suddenly the three leading ships, the Norfolk, 
 Russell and Shrewsbury, were seen to shorten sail 
 and crawl in toward the land, at a point less than 
 a league from the fortifications at the main entrance, 
 and from the wooded shores of Salmedina bay darted 
 out several puffs of white smoke, and the distant 
 thunder of several eighteen-pounders told that the 
 real work of the expedition had begun. 
 
 "There s two batteries there just built by the 
 viceroy," said Stephen, who had heard from Wood- 
 side some details of the probable plan of attack. 
 
The Landing 197 
 
 "Just beyond there, around the point, the ships 
 would lie open to the fire of four or five other forts, 
 but, unless they drift past it, will have only a fascine 
 battery and the guns of the Charaba fort not over 
 thirty eighteen-pounders in all to silence." 
 
 "They strip es prettily as boxers goin into the 
 ring," said Coggeshall, his heavy face lighting up 
 with the fire of battle. "There go all the sails down 
 to the courses; an see how the big Shrewsbury runs 
 close in an comes into the wind to anchor. Close 
 quarters an plenty of grape is the word now, I ll 
 warrant." 
 
 As he spoke, Townsend in the Shrewsbury, Graves 
 in the Norfolk, and Norris in the Russell, all of 
 them eighty-gun ships of the line, in the order 
 named; running boldly in shore, close under the 
 fire of the partially masked batteries; came to 
 anchor, and having first corrected by means of 
 springs upon their cables, the tendency to swing 
 in shore, were the next instant lost from view in the 
 smoke of their own tremendous broadsides, which 
 made the huge hulks quiver, roll and tremble, until 
 the spars above the hidden spar-deck swayed fo 
 and fro in the ascending volumes of sulphurous 
 vapor. 
 
 The iron storm vomited from six score iron 
 throats, was seen to throw up huge clouds of sand, 
 dashing into the air fragments of rock and the shat 
 tered tops and limbs of trees, but the shore and 
 ships were soon so lost to view that only a few high 
 spars and lofty branches, swaying in the storm of 
 war, could be distinguished; for it was high noon, 
 
198 Cartagena 
 
 and the fresh sea breeze with which the fleet had 
 come gaily down the coast, "killed by the cannon 
 ade," had died away, and most of the fleet were 
 drifting along with the westward current, until the 
 signal to anchor was given and obeyed. 
 
 But soon the fire of the Spaniards seemed to 
 slacken, for the tongues of red flame from the 
 shrouded shore grew strangely infrequent, while 
 the fire of the English ships, and the hoarse, mad 
 cheers of her gunners came more distinct and tri 
 umphantly across the water, and Stephen, who had 
 been summoned on deck by Woodside, heard 
 Captain Knowles say to his first officer, "The 
 first move is ours, and with small loss I ll wager a 
 score of sovereigns, for the dons are no lovers of so 
 close a game." 
 
 "I won t bet, thank ye," said Ashton, dryly. "But 
 what the mischief is the matter with Townsend in 
 the Shrewsbury yonder? By heaven, they ve cut 
 his cables, and he ll be under their whole fire in less 
 than twenty minutes." 
 
 "If he does we can t help him much except with 
 heavy loss, for there s no breeze, and we can only 
 drift in under fire," said Knowles, anxiously, "and, 
 with our part of the squadron crowded with troops, 
 it would be murder to go into action under such 
 circumstances," 
 
 "Well, it s Lestock s business to get him out of 
 the hobble, but God help his crew," said Ashton, 
 bitterly. "Look at her now; there she goes yawing 
 and swinging clear of the smoke, and with no more 
 steerage-way than a coal barge with a crew of 
 drunken colliers." 
 
The Landing 199 
 
 Every glass in the fleet, and almost every eye, it 
 might be said, was upon the apparently doomed ship, 
 as she drifted close to the outer ledges of the promon 
 tory which alone intervened between her and the 
 entrance, along whose shore, bending to the south 
 and west, lay first the outer castle of St. Jago, then 
 the sister fort of St. Phillip, and half a cannon shot 
 farther away the great ramparts of Boca Chica and 
 Fort St. Joseph, guarding the floating boom, which 
 shut with huge logs and gigantic chains, the narrow 
 entrance. Beyond it the Spanish Admiral Don 
 Bias, in his great warship, the Gallicia, with the 
 Africa, San Carlos and St. Phillip, lay ranged along 
 the boom, with their broadsides sweeping the nar 
 row channel, while on the opposite shores of the 
 Island of Varu, several lesser batteries awaited the 
 first appearance of the Shrewsbury s hull from be 
 hind the protecting cape. 
 
 "She s past the ledges now," gasped Knowles, his 
 face perfectly white. "There go the first guns from 
 the Barradera batteries, but he needn t mind them 
 if he could only anchor in time. There, he catches 
 the harbor current! See how fast he s sweeping 
 up under the guns. No, there she stops; he s got 
 another anchor down, but he s too far out and under 
 fire from all their guns. There! there they rake him. 
 Good God! what a place for a single ship." 
 
 "Townsend is good for it," said Ashton, with com 
 pressed lips. "That was a raking discharge, but 
 he ll soon get his guns to bear unless they ve killed 
 his sailing master at the first fire. See! his maintop- 
 mast go into splinters. Why doesn t Lestock signal?" 
 
200 Cartagena 
 
 As tliis conversation proceeded, the Shrewsbury, 
 with her moorings cut by a cannon ball, had, as we 
 have seen, drifted by the protecting cape, opened 
 the harbor, and, before another anchor could be 
 bent and let go, lay within close range of the two 
 outer forts, and not beyond the reach of the heavier 
 guns of the main defences of the pass, and the Span 
 ish fleet. A tremendous cannonade was opened 
 upon her, and as she swung stern-to, the raking fire 
 severely damaged her rigging and upper works, kill 
 ing and wounding over a score of her crew. But, 
 as Ashton had said, the Shrewsbury s sailing- 
 master was a veteran and tried mariner; and when 
 once moored, the great ship was soon lying across 
 the current, with her guns bearing upon the hostile 
 batteries, and quickly the smoke of her own fire 
 told friends as well as foes, that the flags she ran 
 up at every mast-head might be shot down, but 
 would never be lowered while men enough were 
 left to fight the heavy batteries below them. Her 
 fire opened with a crash, as her men ran madly 
 to their quarters from being shot down like sheep 
 at their labor with capstan and windlass; but the 
 discharges speedily became more regular, as section 
 after section fired in regular rotation, showing that 
 Townsend was getting his men w r ell in hand, and 
 making his officers sight each gun, so as to make 
 every shot tell; and later the signals shown to the 
 admiral told that, although suffering heavily, she 
 could hold her own without risking any of the other 
 ships of the squadron, although several vessels got 
 out their boats and kedges, and essayed to work to 
 
The Landing 201 
 
 a position from which, if the worst came to the 
 worst, they might drift in and take part in the une 
 qual contest. 
 
 "He ll do," said Knowles, shutting his glass, "and 
 now, lieutenant, your work is to come. Norris and 
 Graves have silenced yonder batteries. Can you 
 reconnoitre them, and see if the Spaniards have 
 really abandoned them?" 
 
 "Certainly, sir ; shall we go at once ?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; I will send a boat to the men-of-war, 
 who will cease firing as you near the shore, which 
 you will do well to the eastward of the Chamba fort, 
 which lies well out on this side of the Salmedina. Let 
 only one man land, and don*t be ashamed to run rather 
 than fight, for the troops won t be ready to land 
 this two hours yet. But send your best man; and, 
 by the way, who is he?" 
 
 "Well, sir, that s hard to say. Sergeant Hay here 
 is good enough for any service, and his judgment I 
 can trust implicitly; but his servant, yonder Indian 
 in the boat, is as lithe as an eel, as noiseless as a 
 serpent, and, as his Puritan friends would say, 
 would deceive the very elect; being in all things of 
 that kind a scout equal to the best of his people." 
 
 "Very well! Let the Indian lead by wading, and 
 reconnoitre a little; then, if he reports all safe, let 
 your sergeant join him and, if feasible, enter the 
 works. If they are deserted let both report at once, 
 and you will signal me by means of a weft which 
 the signal officer will give you." 
 
 A few more directions as to the kind of signals 
 to be given followed, a cutter was manned, and the 
 
202 Cartagena 
 
 two boats darted off toward the two eighties, which 
 still kept up a desultory fire upon the silent bat 
 teries. 
 
 "Cease rowing," said Woodside, as they drew near 
 the Russel, and, as the Americans rested on their 
 oars, the officer in charge of the cutter, with a wave 
 of his hand, kept on his course and boarded the 
 man-of-war, which soon after ceased firing, and a 
 few seconds later the Norfolk did the same, while 
 a boat passed and repassed between them, after 
 which the cutter came back to the whaler, now al 
 most alongside. 
 
 "The ships will re-open their fire in a moment," the 
 officer said breathlessly, "for they say a few men are 
 still to be seen in the Chamba battery; but they 
 will use grape and round shot, and under the smoke 
 you can land unseen. Make haste, for the land 
 breeze will soon set in, and then the smoke will 
 blow away almost as fast as it is made." 
 
 "Give way, men," said Woodside quietly, as he 
 set the direction by a pocket compass laid upon 
 his knee. "There s the first gun ; we shall soon have 
 smoke enough," and five minutes later they swept 
 under the stifling vapors, through which only the 
 sough of the seas breaking upon the beach could 
 be heard, in the intervals between the roar of the 
 deliberate and measured but heavy fire of the ships. 
 
 Suddenly Untequit raised one hand and gave a 
 light knock on the gunwale of the boat; Woodside as 
 suddenly motioned to ease rowing, and bent forward 
 as if inquiring the Indian s purpose. 
 
 " 7 Tis only that we are a little out of our course," 
 
The Landing 203 
 
 said Stephen, pointing eastward. "The current is 
 strong and we are inside the point. If we keep 
 her up a couple of points, we can land when we hear 
 the sea on the ledges." 
 
 "Do so," said Woodside quietly; and in a short 
 time he saw the outlines of the shore and found 
 himself a boat s length from a sheltered nook, where 
 no great danger of ambuscade or accident from the 
 seas seemed possible. Stephen laid the boat s head 
 to the waves, and Jones, who took the bow oar, 
 threw over the grapnel and paid out the line until 
 the stern lay scarce three yards from an isolated 
 boulder, the first of a line of several extending into 
 the sea and occasionally submerged by a wave larger 
 than usual. 
 
 Untequit had already laid aside his heavy gaiters, 
 and catching up his piece, brought her to the trail, 
 and awaiting a lull in the seas, motioned to Hay to 
 swing the boat near the rocks; then stepping upon 
 the covered stern leaped from his precarious footing 
 to the slippery ledge, and thence from rock to rock 
 until he stood safely upon the strand. Then stealth 
 ily following the base of the cliff, he ascended by 
 a series of crumbling ledges and disappeared from 
 view. 
 
 Fifteen or twenty minutes later the firing had 
 ceased, and soon after Untequit came back breath 
 less with the information that the fascine battery 
 was empty, and that in Chamba there were only 
 some wounded men and one or two friends who had 
 refused to desert them ; and that although he had fol 
 lowed the trail of the fugitives to the edge of the 
 
204 Cartagena 
 
 woods he had seen no one else; and as the smoke 
 still hung heavily and the signals could not be seen, 
 Untequit came on board, and the party returned on 
 board the Weymouth. 
 
 Captain Knowles was much pleased with the re 
 port, and complimented Woodside and his crew 
 highly, giving each man a Spanish dollar, and what, 
 perhaps, they valued even more, an order on the pur 
 ser for an extra ration of rum, after which they were 
 given their dinner, consisting of the regular navy 
 rations of hard ship s bread, beef, and pork; which, 
 owing to the inefficiency of the commissariat depart 
 ment, w r ere the worst of their kind, the bread being 
 alive with worms and maggots, and the meat tainted 
 and salt as brine. 
 
 " Tis a pity we couldn t have foraged a little," 
 said Jones, dolefully. "I m thinking we shall miss 
 the old schooner an her cook, boys, arter this." 
 
 "Don t grumble, Jones," said Hay, sharply. "This 
 ship is as well found as any, and the Shrewsbury s 
 crew would like time and leisure to eat even this, 
 if they were out of their death trap, I reckon." 
 
 "Well said, mate," said a burly topman who sat 
 near them, with his clasp-knife, kid and tin can, 
 eating heartily. "Th o I must say tis no wonder 
 that yon Yankee grumbles, for rations so bad I never 
 zee, an t drink be as bad as the atin . Try un, man." 
 
 Stephen placed his lips to the can, but barely 
 managed to swallow a few drops of the fiery spirit, 
 which, half diluted with water, and neither sweet 
 ened nor mixed with lime juice, formed a draught 
 nauseous enough to disgust the most confirmed 
 lover of spirits. 
 
The Landing 205 
 
 "What is it, shipmate?" asked Stephen, curiously. 
 
 The fellow roared heartily. " Needcessity they do 
 call it, zur," he chuckled, "an sure enough, tis 
 ayther this or nothin , for about three half pints o 
 water is all they gives us beside the grog, although 
 we filled ivry cask an bar l at Jamaiky." 
 
 "Well ! well ! let s go on deck," was all that Stephen 
 could say, and the party hastened to leave the 
 greater part of their viands behind them, and went 
 up to see what else should come of the day s nd ven 
 tures. 
 
 To the northward the fight was ovor, for the land 
 breeze had sprung up, and the Shrewsbury, slipping 
 her cables, was standing out to sea from the terribly 
 exposed condition, in which for nearly three hours 
 she had been fought with consummate skill and 
 bravery. Over a score of brave fellows lay dead 
 along her larboard gangway, and forty others had 
 been wounded. Her lower masts were pitted with 
 shot, and her rigging and canvas hung in ribbons; 
 but she had several times almost silenced the fire 
 of St. Jago and St. Phillip, and their gunners were 
 scarcely sorry to see so stubborn an antagonist draw 
 out of range. 
 
 On the Russell and Norfolk the loss was much 
 smaller, numbering only some half dozen slain out 
 right and fifteen or sixteen wounded on both ships, 
 for their fire was so heavy, and delivered at such 
 close quarters, that most of the guns were deserted 
 by the Spaniards after one or two discharges. And 
 now the crews lay at quarters, resting after their 
 herculean labors, their canvas kilts, bare arms, 
 
206 Cartagena 
 
 breasts and faces black with powder, and flecked 
 with tar and blood, and nearly all in that deep, al 
 most death-like sleep, which follows excessive ex 
 citement and exhausting labors. 
 
 " Tis time that the troops were ready for land 
 ing," said Knowles, impatiently. "Unless we soon 
 make a move the Spaniards will take heart, re- 
 occupy Cliamba, and send Norris and Graves to their 
 guns again. 
 
 "Lestock is slow at any time," said Ashton, "but 
 the wind is baffling, and the Stromboli ketch is six 
 or eight miles to leeward, and Wynyard, with a part 
 of his grenadiers, went on board her this morn 
 ing, as I saw r myself. But there s the signal to land 
 the troops; luckily for us we haven t any of the 
 clumsy cattle on board." 
 
 "I beg your pardon, Mr. Woodside," he added 
 quickly, as he noted the quick flush that mounted 
 to the temples of the other. "I don t mean your colo 
 nists, who are as amphibious as seals. But those 
 redcoats are all under foot in a seaway, and in a 
 boat " and he ended with an expression of utter 
 disgust which need not here be written. 
 
 "No offense, Mr. Ashton," said Woodside with a 
 smile. "I hope, Captain I^nowles, that we may join 
 the landing parly. We can move more quickly than 
 the regulars, and will come off in the morning if you 
 wish it." 
 
 Knowles hesitated a moment. "You can go," he 
 said at length, "but I can t spare you later than at 
 noon to-morrow, for I ve no doubt it will take us 
 until then to land the troops in this division. Mr. 
 
The Landing 207 
 
 Ashton, see that the watch take in a little more on 
 that spring, our battery may be wanted. Be pru 
 dent, Woodside, for I have need of you." 
 
 Taking their arms, blankets and a supply of food 
 and ammunition, the Americans started in their 
 light craft with the heavier flotilla of ships boats 
 which, laden to the gunwale with their own crews 
 and the starched and stiff but athletic men of the 
 British infantry, moved slowly and heavily through 
 the water, in spite of the regular, powerful strokes 
 of the men-of-war s men. 
 
 From the officer in charge of the landing, who 
 occupied a position on the flank of the flotilla, Wood- 
 side got permission to precede the boats and test 
 the practicability of landing in safety and without 
 opposition. 
 
 It was now between five aad six o clock, and the 
 land breeze had toned dow T n the sea until, almost un 
 ruffled, it lapped gently on the sandy beach of the 
 nearly semi-circular Bay of Salmedina; and indeed 
 it appeared that the heavyjsurf which protected the 
 Cartagena shore, was seldom found to prevail farther 
 to the north and west. 
 
 Without waiting for farther orders, and merely 
 steering a little to the eastward of the batteries, 
 Woodside laid the boat on a sandy beach, and 
 Stephen and Untequit jumping overboard, ran 
 quickly up the beach until they gained the cover 
 of the woods, through which they scouted carefully 
 but quickly until assured that only the dead and 
 wounded were left to dispute the possession of the 
 batteries with the English soldiery. Returning they 
 
208 Cartagena 
 
 beckoned to their companions, who lay on their oars 
 just outside the line of breaking sea, and running 
 in they beached their boat, leaping into the water 
 and running her up just clear of danger from the sea. 
 
 The main flotilla was now close at hand, and 
 several of the boats seeing that no harm had come 
 to the whaler s crew, followed their example, the 
 sailors bending sharply to their oars, and the men 
 cheering lustily, and in as many moments no less 
 than half a dozen boats had landed their quota of 
 grenadiers, who promptly fell in, opened their pouches 
 and were lighting their matches and slinging their 
 muskets, when the officer in charge appeared and 
 angrily ordered them to re-embark at once in spite 
 of all expostulation. 
 
 "Col. Wynyard is not here, and we have not over 
 four hundred men to hold the batteries in case of 
 an attack. I won t take the responsibility, sir. I 
 tell you I won t take it. Ke-embark your men at 
 once, and keep outside the surf until the rest of the 
 battalion comes to join us," and despite the evident 
 disgust of the naval officers, and the remonstrances 
 of his own comrades, the fussy little major had his 
 own way in the matter; and after much lifting, tug 
 ging, profanity and wetting of clothing and arms, 
 the stranded boats rejoined the rest, and the flotilla 
 lay on their oars in a close body within easy reach 
 of the guns of the deserted battery. 
 
 Woodside turned to his crew. "Well, boys, we at 
 least are not under his orders, and it seems to me 
 that we can do no better than to watch that no force 
 takes advantage of this blunder, to give yonder poor 
 
The Landing 209 
 
 fellows a volley of grape or musketry from the bat 
 tery or these thickets of underbrush. Can we keep 
 guard, Hay, with our boat s crew over the ap 
 proaches?" 
 
 Untequit raised his head as if to answer, and 
 Stephen checking himself made an almost impercep 
 tible motion of acquiescence. "Why not, sir? The 
 woods are thick and plenty of thorns. There are 
 only two roads and a path. Three men are enough; 
 the rest can stay in the boat." 
 
 "Let us two and Coggeshall go," said Stephen. 
 "We will help you launch the boat, and you can 
 fish, for there are lines in the lockers and a rind 
 of pork will do for bait until you get a grouper or 
 parrot-fish. In a couple of hours the troops will 
 be ready, and we can come down and join you." 
 
 "Well said!" cried the lieutenant. "Come, boys, 
 off with the boat Of course you will not fire except 
 in the last resort, for an alarm might spoil all if it 
 was causeless." 
 
 While they were speaking the boat had been 
 righted, and the united crews easily ran her down 
 the sloping beach after a retreating wave. Wood- 
 side and his three men pushed off, and twenty min 
 utes later rode easily at anchor outside the line of 
 breakers, fishing with a success which promised 
 them a toothsome repast, when the slow-moving 
 disembarking force should take possession. 
 
 Meanwhile, the three scouts entered the woods 
 and, having looked carefully to their weapons, tra 
 versed the inner boundaries of the cleared space in 
 which the works stood, and found, as the Indian had 
 
210 Cartagena 
 
 said, that there were but three approaches through 
 the almost impenetrable forest, and also that the 
 Spaniards had left in great haste ; for several of their 
 dead and wounded lay near the inner battery, and 
 one young fellow lay groaning in the very entrance 
 of the covered way to Boca Chica. 
 
 Stephen stopped and bent over him. A grape 
 shot had shattered his elbow, he was evidently deliri 
 ous, and an occasional moan of agua! agua! told of 
 the thirst which consumed him. 
 
 Silently they raised him and drew him to the 
 edge of the clearing, where no harm could come to 
 him in case of a night attack, and Stephen held to 
 his lips his own canteen, motioning to Coggeshall 
 to pour a little from his into a jetty oxhorn, mounted 
 with silver, that hung by the Creole s side. The 
 sheath at his side was empty, but the pistols at his 
 belt were loaded, and, taking them, Hay gave one to 
 the ex-privateer, retaining the other for himself. 
 
 "Untequit, you will take the woodpath leading 
 inland, follow it a short distance, and if you come 
 to an opening take your stand there. Coggeshall, 
 you will go toward the city an hundred yards or 
 more until you can find clear space, and I will follow 
 down this road toward the castles. Keep quiet, and 
 don t fire, except in the last extremity. Stay, give 
 me a strip of this poor fellow s kerchief, or he will 
 bleed to death." 
 
 Quickly he extemporized a rude tourniquet, which 
 he applied and secured with a short stick, and then 
 turning to his companions, motioned to them to be 
 gone. The Indian glided into the shadow of the 
 
The Landing 211 
 
 dusky thickets like a spectre, and the privateers- 
 nian followed as quickly, if less silently than his 
 companion; and as they were lost to view, Hay 
 caught up his musket, loosened his Spanish knife 
 in its sheath, and, despite his weight and stature, 
 moved noiselessly down the darkening wood-path, 
 over which, scarce three hours before, the retreating 
 enemy had hurried. 
 
 Pausing at every turn and angle, scanning closely 
 every jagged stump and ragged boulder, distorted 
 by the twilight, he, nevertheless, soon saw before 
 him an opening, through which he could catch a 
 glimpse of evening sky, still faintly tinted with the 
 last rays of the sunset. 
 
 Before him lay a broad lagoon, and between him 
 and its waters were the castles of Tierra Bomba, 
 which guarded the nearer bank of the narrow and 
 tortuous channel of Boca Chica. But nearer still, 
 in truth scarce half a musket shot away, he caught 
 the gleam of a bayonet above the scattered bushes 
 beyond the edge of the forest, and saw that he was 
 close to the advanced pickets of the enemy. 
 
 Still, he desired to see more, and, passing through 
 a side path, he stole along on his hands and knees, 
 and, peering through the bushes, saw that a second 
 sentinel stood between him and the castle or, 
 rather, battery of St. Jago, which lay nearly half 
 a mile away, and, between it and the pickets, at their 
 bivouac fire, the reserve guard of some fifty men 
 were grouped ; but he saw nowhere any signs of any 
 intention to reoccupy the southern batteries or con 
 test a landing. 
 
212 Cartagena 
 
 As noiselessly as he had come, he returned, leav 
 ing the sentinels, who laughed, chatted and cursed 
 alternately, as they met at the end of their beats, 
 totally unconscious of the fact that within pistol- 
 shot of their posts had lurked the first of the in 
 vaders, who had that day won the first move in the 
 great game of war, and were even now taking pos 
 session of the captured forts of Salmedina. 
 
 For, as he hastened back over the winding, 
 covered way, he heard the cheers of the troops as 
 they entered the batteries, and met at the entrance 
 of the road a guard on the way to picket the ap 
 proaches, accompanied by Untequit, who had been 
 called back from a fruitless watch by the noise of 
 the disembarkation. 
 
 By midnight the grenadiers were all landed, 
 and to the number of about eight hundred were 
 bivouacked in the clearing, rejoicing in their success 
 and the pleasure of once more standing on terra 
 firma; and their fires lit up the dark woods and the 
 dusky outlines of the forts, where the engineers 
 labored until late into the night in pointing a part 
 of the guns to sweep the land approaches with grape 
 and bags of musket balls, and setting palisades to 
 strengthen the feeble defences in rear of the works. 
 
 Hastening down to the shore, they found their 
 whaleboat carefully drawn up to the edge of the 
 woods, and under a ledge their friends were grouped 
 around a fire, intently engaged in discussing a sup 
 per of fish, cooked after a way learned by Jones 
 during a short sojourn amid the fishermen of the 
 lower Potomac. 
 
The Landing 213 
 
 Against the rocks, and suspended to them by pins 
 of wood set into the crevices, the fish, nicely split 
 and washed, were suspended, and exposed to the 
 heat of a bed of coals ; and from time to time, with 
 a sharp stick, the presiding genius of the feast re 
 versed the position of the fish until equally cooked. 
 They w r ere then taken down and laid on some broad 
 leaves gathered near by. 
 
 "You are just in time," said Woodside, heartily, 
 "and no doubt you are hungry enough by this time. 
 But, fall to, for those fish are tempting enough for 
 an epicure." 
 
 "They ain t jest what they might be," said Jones, 
 hesitatingly, "fer we used to hev oak planks about 
 two inches through, an we could turn em better 
 an oftener. But anythin is better then such stuff 
 as we hev to eat yender." 
 
 The fish were indeed delicious, and for some mo 
 ments little was said, until a bright flash and heavy 
 roar to seaw r ard brought the whole party to their 
 feet, but they reseated themselves as they saw that 
 several small vessels were closing in under the cape, 
 by which the Shrewsbury had drifted under the fire 
 of the castles. 
 
 " Tis the bomb ketches getting to work on the 
 batteries," said Woodside. "The Stromboli an 
 chored there before landing the grenadiers, and 
 she ll give the Spaniards in Boca Chica little chance 
 of sleeping on guard after this, for the thirteen-inch 
 shells from her mortars are terrible things when 
 they drop in the right place." 
 
 Another burst of vivid flame lit up for a moment 
 
214 Cartagena 
 
 the distant cliffs. Another thunderous report rolled 
 across sea and forest and jarred the very earth, and 
 a hissing, coruscating point of light ascended high in 
 the heavens, rushed down in a swift parabolic curve, 
 and ended in midair with a crashing explosion 
 which sent the ponderous missile to earth in a cloud 
 of jagged fragments. 
 
 " Twill go hard with the dons if they don t keep 
 under cover," said Stephen, as two more heavy ex 
 plosions burst out almost simultaneously. "The 
 Etna and Basilisk are at it, and they say that Cap 
 tain Knowles calculated the ranges and charges 
 himself." 
 
 "There s an answer from the Spaniards at last," 
 cried Jones, as a large shell suddenly exploded near 
 one of the frigates outside the line of bomb 
 ketches. "I reckon we shall git it ourselves afore 
 mornin , fer they know the distance to an inch." 
 
 Even as he spoke, a swiftly moving speck shot up 
 into the heavens above the forest, rushed down 
 toward the batteries and exploded, as- Stephen 
 judged, near the boundaries of the cleared space. 
 
 There was a terrified rush among s^ome of the 
 troops who were moving idly about, but when an 
 other came even closer, the order to "fall in" was 
 sounded, and the men moved into a position aside 
 from the line of fire. 
 
 "The bear is hunting the hunter," laughed Wood- 
 side coolly, "and after this we shall have sterner 
 work than before; but we shall have good cover 
 here, and we had best haul our boat under yonder 
 cliff and sleep beside her. Look well to your arms 
 
The Landing 215 
 
 and make a better fire, for the night fogs and mos 
 quitoes will trouble us the less if we keep up a little 
 blaze until morning." 
 
 Stephen started to his feet. "We ve forgotten the 
 wounded Spaniard," he said, and catching up a 
 brand he hurried up the bank and across the clear 
 ing toward the entrance of the covered way, and 
 Untequit and Coggeshall following more slowly, 
 came up just in time to find their comrade arrested 
 in his errand by the guard, posted to keep men from 
 that part of the clearing invaded by the enemy s 
 shells. 
 
 "It won t do, sirrah," cried the officer in charge, 
 who happened to be on his rounds, and came up 
 promptly to see who was parleying with his senti 
 nels. "Damme me if you Americans have any more 
 idea of discipline than so many sheep. Go back at 
 once to your command, if you have one, or if not, 
 let me find you at the fascine battery to-morrow 
 morning." 
 
 Stephen waited quietly and then said, "I was 
 wrong, sir, I see, not to wait for orders, but we are 
 a part of the crew of the whaleboat, and when we 
 scouted through here, we found a wounded officer 
 out yonder and forgot him, until the shells began 
 to come this way, and we thought " 
 
 "Bless my soul! yes, sir; of course, sir! and very 
 creditable to you, sir. Go out at once, and bring 
 him into the Chamba battery. Here, John," he 
 added, turning to his orderly, "take your lantern 
 and go with them, but keep a good look-out for the 
 shells." 
 
216 Cartagena 
 
 The sentry shouldered his musket and recom 
 menced his regular and measured walk, while the 
 four hastened toward the gloomy wall of black, 
 where the tropical forest was at times disclosed by 
 the sudden meteor flashes of the bombs, which, 
 while evidently true to a well-calculated range, were 
 fortunately propelled by too little powder to invade 
 the quarters of the men in and around the fort. 
 
 But every step the party took drew them closer 
 to the forest, on whose verge the crashing of tree- 
 tops and the downward rush of huge palm-leaves, 
 cut off by the breaking missiles, told that their er 
 rand of mercy might well cost some of them limb or 
 life. 
 
 "We must get to him," said Stephen, firmly. 
 "Give me the lantern, and I will go in alone. I can 
 make shift to bring him out, I think, for he was a 
 mere boy, and of slight build at that." 
 
 "Heavens!" ejaculated Coggeshall, as a huge shell 
 burst just over the top of a tall tree, which for an 
 instant seemed to be the centre of a flash of light 
 ning. "We rested his head ag in the root o that very 
 tree; an I d bet anything thet their mortars are laid 
 by it, fer its top is nearly es high ag in es the trees 
 around it." 
 
 "Keep to the left, and under cover of the trees," 
 said Stephen ; and at full speed they rushed in under 
 the shelter of the thick coppice, and at last stood, 
 tired and panting, by the side of the Spaniard, who 
 lay with his face to the earth a little way from the 
 oak. 
 
 "He has fainted," said Hay; "get him behind the 
 
The Landing 217 
 
 tree before another shell comes." And, raising him, 
 they drew him behind the spreading bole, while the 
 Englishman held up his lantern until its rays fell 
 upon the motionless face. 
 
 "He s dead," said Coggeshall, as he pointed to 
 the half-closed eyes and fallen jaw. "We ve come 
 too late to save him." 
 
 Stephen hastily opened the breast of the gay vel 
 vet doublet, and placed his hand over the region of 
 the heart. "It can t be," he said, "for the bandages 
 have not loosened, and the loss of an arm is a com 
 mon chance of war." Suddenly, however, he with 
 drew his hand and shook it as if in disgust and hor 
 ror; then threw open the stiffened garment and held 
 the lantern close to the body. A deep, contused 
 wound, which might be the work of either bullet 
 or poinard, had pierced to the very heart. 
 
 "The man hes been murdered," said Coggeshall 
 in a strident whisper, "an by no British hand, I ll 
 be bound. There s be n devilish work done here 
 sence we stood here over him, an not fer gold either 
 I consait, fer that ring is on his han s, an yonder 
 chain round his neck is wo th mor n one doubloon, 
 I reckon. Good God! thet was close." 
 
 Over their heads a tremendous explosion deafen 
 ing, blinding, suffocating, filled the air with frag 
 ments of iron and masses of shattered wood, and 
 all four lay for a moment half-stunned beside the 
 dead. 
 
 One by one, however, they .all rose to their feet 
 except Untequit, who seemed insensible, and as the 
 lantern was still fortunately alight, Stephen seized 
 
218 Cartagena 
 
 it and bent in much anxiety over his faithful com 
 rade. But he quickly revived, and after one or two 
 futile efforts sat up and looked in a dazed way 
 around him. "It s all right," he said; "a Branch 
 struck me and I feel a little sore and out of breath, 
 but I shall be better soon. Here s a knife, though," 
 he continued, "I found it in getting up." 
 
 As he spoke, he gave into the sergeant s hands a 
 short but polished poniard with a nearly round but 
 slightly fluted blade, still stained with a drop or 
 two or red blood, which encrimsoned a hilt of rare 
 workmanship, such as Italian artists alone have been 
 wont to expend on weapons of this nature. The 
 gripe and guard were of silver in the form of a 
 Medusa, whose feet were encircled by the coils of 
 a huge serpent, and while small rubies formed the 
 eyes of the boa, the cold glitter of a brace of emer 
 alds set with consummate art gave to the tiny statue 
 a weird and strangely malign effect. 
 
 " Tis the very weapon," said Coggeshall, as he 
 pointed out on the edges of the wound the peculiar 
 creases of the fluted blade. "But this is no place 
 for us. Let us take him to the camp an give him 
 burial. Mayhap we may learn his name an help to 
 avenge him." 
 
 An hour later, after removing from the body 
 such articles as were of value or might help in 
 identifying the dead, the young Spaniard was buried 
 in the ditch of the fascine battery, under the orders 
 of the old major, to whose servant was given the 
 purse Of the deceased. Lieut. Wood side received the 
 chain, rings and other valuables, with orders to 
 
The Landing 219 
 
 hold them, until such time as the chances of the 
 siege, should give him the opportunity of ascertaining 
 the name and rank of the dead and communicating 
 with his friends. In default of this, they were to be 
 sold, and their value divided among the crew of the 
 whaleboat, according to the customs of that period. 
 
 Hay and Coggeshall retained the pistols they had 
 taken, but they bore only the unmeaning but costly 
 and elegant inlaid work of that period, except that 
 under the trigger-guard of each, a close inspection 
 revealed a rude "H" burned into the rosewood of 
 the stock. 
 
 "The face was not altogether Spanish," said honest 
 Jack Coggeshall; and Stephen felt a thrill of 
 strangely blended wonder and fear, as he drew from 
 his pouch the gift of the old buccaneer, and com 
 pared the workmanship of the serpent ring with 
 the scaly coils that supported the emerald-eyed 
 Medusa. 
 
Chapter XVI. 
 Blazing a Path 
 
 Before daylight, Woodside awoke his men, and 
 announced to them the landing of nearly all the 
 regulars, and the occupation without farther blood 
 shed of the two small forts of St. Jago and St. Phil 
 lip. "We must be on board the Weymouth by to 
 day at noon," he said ; "but the engineers are talking 
 of cutting a way across the island to the lagoon, and 
 have asked me to get you, who are used to forestry, 
 to explore the line to be followed." 
 
 "There is your man," said Stephen, pointing to 
 Jones, who was busily engaged in devouring some 
 remnants of last night s supper. "He has stepped 
 out more patents than any man in the brigade, and 
 just give him a pocket compass and the course, and 
 a surveyor with all his instruments won t be able 
 to do a great deal in the way of straightening his 
 blaze." 
 
 "Well, you shall do as you please about volunteer 
 ing for this job," said the officer kindly. "We have 
 done what was asked of us in reconnoitring the 
 forts, and you may rest here until it is time to go on 
 board, or take up this new duty; but I confess I 
 should like to see more of the land hereabouts, and, 
 if possible, something of the lagoon yonder." 
 
 "Besides, there might be a chance to get some 
 information or capture a picket of the enemy," said 
 Stephen eagerly. 
 
Blazing a Path 221 
 
 "I ll venture to say thet we ll git some fruit, an 
 perhaps some game," suggested Jones, who de 
 spaired of another mess of fish. 
 
 "I m agreed," said Coggeshall thoughtfully; "ef 
 tain t too far, we may hev to drag our boats acrost, 
 an come in back of them batteries." 
 
 "What do you say, Gibbs?" asked Coggeshall of 
 the Falruouth whaler, who sat smoking deliberately 
 by the side of the boat. 
 
 "Why, I ain t particular, sir, whether I go or stay. 
 Somebody ought to stay with the boat, an I jest 
 as lieves stay as not. Ef you want me to go, I m 
 here, an ready to chop brush, forage for bananas, 
 or fight Spaniards, jest as it happens." 
 
 Woodside laughed heartily: "You ought to be 
 a regular, Gibbs, you re so ready to obey orders. 
 However, you re right, and, if you will, shall be ap 
 pointed guard over our boat and stuff. Hay, take 
 a man and go to the new battery for some axes; you 
 will find a lot among the intrenching tools. Four 
 will do, for I m not used to wood-chopping, and my 
 sword is a true Ferrara, and will cut underbrush 
 with any machete that a Spaniard ever wore on 
 thigh." 
 
 Half an hour later, just as the first rosy gleam 
 tinged the eastern sea, Hay and Jones returned with 
 two axes, a hatchet, and a pair of heavy, horn-hafted 
 machetes, which, as our readers may not know, we 
 will describe as short, very broad-bladed cutlasses 
 without hilts, much used in the Spanish and Mexi 
 can territories, and generally worn in a leathern 
 sheath at the side. 
 
222 Cartagena 
 
 Coggeshall had already chosen the heaviest 
 machete. Stephen and Untequit took Avith ill-con 
 cealed contempt the broad-bladed, clumsy, straight- 
 handled Spanish axes. Jones poised the short- 
 handled hatchet, and, after a minute inspection of 
 its edge, stuck it in his belt; and, leaving the re 
 maining cutlass to Gibbs for cutting firewood, the 
 party, after looking well to their priming and flints, 
 moved through the busy encampment to the edge 
 of the wood, where several officers of the engineer 
 corps were already marshalling a lazy rabble of 
 Jamaican negroes. 
 
 "Give us your course, gentlemen," said Woodside, 
 saluting them, "and we will try and lead the way for 
 your axemen; we will only blaze a path, and you 
 can correct its defects at your leisure." 
 
 "You are welcome to try," said the elder of the 
 engineers, "though tis against rule to trust to any 
 thing but theodolite and compass. You had better 
 look well to your steps though, for snakes seem but 
 too plentiful, and we ve killed a rattlesnake already." 
 
 Jones slung his musket, took his hatchet from 
 his belt, took a long sight over the theodolite and 
 marched into the thick coppice, cutting and slash 
 ing at the thorny twigs and passing them behind 
 to be carried off by the others, until a passage just 
 wide enough for men in single file had penetrated 
 the narrow belt of close underbrush and let fhem 
 into a more open growth of ceibas, myrabolans, 
 cocoa palms, plantains and mameis; some of which 
 the men quickly attacked with their axes, and 
 though the season was late, secured enough fruit 
 
Blazing a Path 223 
 
 to give each sufficient to fill their almost empty 
 haversacks. 
 
 In such a growth, with the exception of lianas, 
 there was little tq obstruct Jones, who carelessly 
 lopping off the cable-like vines, and occasionally 
 cutting a huge blaze on the side of any tree abut 
 ting on his line of inarch, kept straight forward 
 until over two miles had been traversed and the guns 
 of Boca Chica seemed so near that one of the en 
 gineer officers, who had followed them with a com 
 pass, became alarmed and counselled a return. 
 
 "I don t know after all that it will be best to make 
 this covered way, for the Boca Grande is watched 
 by our ships by day and night and no force can cross 
 from the city without their movements being tele 
 graphed to us before they have gone a single league ; 
 and it will be easier for them to send reinforcements 
 by the lagoon, until we are masters of Boca Chica," 
 
 "Still," said another, "we shall be better able to 
 survey their movements, and perhaps to take advan 
 tage of their knowledge to strike when they least 
 expect it. Let us go on and see what is being done 
 in the lagoon." 
 
 "Agreed," said the other, "but we must go quietly 
 and use the cutlass only to force a way through; 
 for an axe-stroke rings through these woods like a 
 musket shot, and I m jealous we shall have a brush 
 with the dons before we get back." 
 
 Stephen spoke in a low tone to Untequit, who 
 stepped lightly forward, passing Jones, who at a 
 whisper at once stuck his axe in his belt and took 
 his musket in hand. The Indian led the wav hence- 
 
224 Cartagena 
 
 forward, simply by the direction of the sun s rays, 
 until about a mile further on they saw an open path 
 which they crossed at right angles. The path was 
 a mere cattle road, but the stumps of several large 
 mahogany trees showed recent marks of the axe, 
 and Coggeshall, as he stole across it, picked up the 
 coarse brown paper of an empty cartridge casing. 
 
 Thenceforth they spoke only in whispers, and 
 moved forward quickly but watchfully, unmindful 
 of the golden bunches of plantains, grateful custard 
 apples and other tropical fruits, and not daring to 
 fire, although great flocks of gaudy parrots, huge 
 iguanas, and occasional coveys of the white-meated 
 guan, crossed their path from time to time. The 
 way grew boggy and wet, the hiss of large serpents 
 was heard from clumps of tall grass and thick-set 
 reeds, and occasional detours were necessary to pass 
 by pond holes and quaking morasses. 
 
 "We must be nearly across," said the engineer in 
 a husky voice, for the heat was now almost over 
 powering. "See, yonder there seems to be a gleam 
 of blue water, and I hope we may be able to see 
 without being seen, and rest an half hour before 
 we set out to return." 
 
 "That we can do," replied Woodside cheerily. 
 " Tis only six o clock and twenty minutes, and we 
 have a good five hours to cover as many miles. Hay, 
 see why it is, that Jones and the Indian are stop 
 ping yonder." 
 
 As he spoke, Untequit beckoned and stepped 
 boldly into a glade which opened on a little bay 
 of the lagoon, which the party as they emerged, 
 
Blazing a Path 
 
 beheld spread out before them, a sliallow inland sea 
 bordered with wooded islets, between which they 
 could see twenty miles away the farther shore and 
 the deep ship channel, now beaten into short 
 chop seas by the fresh ocean breeze. The shore 
 where they stood was sandy, but on the south, a 
 long, muddy point ending in a tangled grove of man 
 groves forbade farther exploration in that direc 
 tion. Moving carefully northwest, they approached 
 the ridges of a woody promontory, and found that 
 between them and Boca Chica a second mangrove 
 marsh intervened. 
 
 The grass gave no intimation of human habita 
 tion or the presence of a foe, and several species of 
 water fow T l, w r ading and swimming near the mouth 
 of the bayou, gave proof that no boat was near them, 
 unless most cunningly concealed, which was not 
 likely. 
 
 "I will go yonder," said Untequit, pointing to a 
 huge ceiba near the end of the promontory, " and 
 keep watch in that tree. I will answer for any party 
 from that direction, but you must see that no sly 
 canoe or scouting party surprises you in the open." 
 
 So saying, the Indian took from his haversack 
 a juicy custard apple, and eating as he went, saun 
 tered off through the woods toward the great cotton- 
 wood, in whose foliage he was soon lost to view. 
 
 The rest of the party were soon reclining on the 
 smooth sward on the border of the little cove, and 
 near a spring of cool, sweet water, with which they 
 bathed their heated faces and filled their canteens, 
 before sitting down to breakfast, or rather lunch, 
 
226 Cartagena 
 
 for all were hungry, and the fruit they had 
 gathered had suffered somewhat in forcing a way 
 through the woods. Nevertheless they enjoyed the 
 luscious plantains and pulpy mameis, which they 
 ate with their coarse shipbread, and scooped out 
 the cold, creamy pulp of the cocoa nuts with their 
 knives, not without some little apprehension of sud 
 den surprise, for they were at least a league and a 
 half from any support in case of attack. 
 
 "Juba, go and fill my canteen yonder," said the 
 officer of engineers to the Jamaica negro who had 
 accompanied him. The negro rose slowly, and grum 
 bling at being disturbed, shambled off to the brook, 
 and was about to fill the receptacle when, with a 
 kind of howl of terror, he sprang backward and ran 
 at full speed toward the party, followed rapidly by 
 a huge, yellowish snake. The boa, on seeing the oth 
 ers, suddenly threw itself into a coil, and, as if fear 
 ing to advance, yet unwilling to retreat, reared its 
 shining crest above the convoluted folds, and with 
 glittering eyes, erected fangs and forked tongue vi 
 brating like a lambent flame, filled the air with loud 
 hisses, which seemed to be echoed and re-echoed 
 from the woods. 
 
 Coggeshall started, then threw up his musket, and 
 called to the negro who stood between him and the 
 monster, "Stand clear, thar, blackey, an I ll soon 
 stop his devilish noise. What in time ails ye; what 
 are ye lookin at now?" 
 
 Following the upturned glance of the negro s 
 eyes the party glanced into the tree above them, 
 and with singular unanimity sprang from the ground 
 
Blazing a Path 22 
 
 and rushed down to the shore, for in the branches 
 above a second serpent, even larger than the first, 
 hung, slowly swinging back and forth, with four or 
 five feet of his burnished neck and glittering, un 
 dulating body pendant from the branch around 
 which he had been coiled. 
 
 Jones struck his musket strongly on the lock to 
 settle his priming, and spoke sharply and firmly to 
 his comrade, "I take this, you t other. Ready?" 
 
 "Aye, aye, mate/ responded the privateersman, 
 as his heavy musket settled down to perfect and 
 deadly aim. 
 
 "Then fire," exclaimed Jones, and so promptly 
 was the order obeyed that it seemed as if but one 
 report echoed through the glade. 
 
 The wading herons, with startled cries, leaped 
 awkwardly into the air to seek the distant tree tops; 
 the wild duck sprang into flight with a rush of 
 wings and confused calls until the air was full 
 of circling birds; flocks of screaming parrots swept 
 away into the deeper woods and, as the smoke 
 cleared aw r ay, Coggeshall saw that his bullet had 
 sped truly to its mark, and the serpent, with shat 
 tered head, was writhing in the death agony. 
 
 Scarcely less fatal was his comrade s aim, but 
 he had loaded with buckshot instead of ball, and 
 the agonies of the wounded monster were something 
 terrible to witness. The tree-top was shaken as with 
 a tempest by the muscular contractions and rapid 
 movements of the serpent, and leaves, twigs and 
 drops of blood, which almost seemed to burn the 
 flesh, flew all around and over the party. 
 
228 Cartagena 
 
 Suddenly the reptile relaxed its hold, and half 
 glided, half fell to the ground, and, either blinded 
 by its wounds or enraged to the point of desperation, 
 wriggled out to attack the party; but a blow from 
 Hay s machete ended the episode and its life together. 
 
 "There! they re dead! But we must be off," cried 
 Stephen, as he wiped the crimsoned blade on a hand 
 ful of grass. "If the Spaniards are not all shut up 
 in Boca Chica, we shall have plenty of company on 
 our march back. By heaven! there are oars coming 
 around the point yonder. Let us be off." 
 
 "You are right. Off with you, boys!" said Wood- 
 side. But just as the men had slung their haver 
 sacks, and w r ere about to send word to Untequit, 
 who, despite the noise of the guns, had not made his 
 appearance, a tongue of flame flashed from the man 
 groves a hundred yards away, and the negro fell 
 dead, riddled with bullets. 
 
 The next instant the bow of a large periauga, full 
 of men, and carrying one or two swivels, evidently 
 one of the guardboats of the harbor, darted out of 
 the thick cover, and came on, her crew pouring in an 
 ill-aimed volley, which for the most part flew high 
 above the heads of the little party. 
 
 "We must leave the Indian to his fate," said Wood- 
 side, sadly ; and the Americans in single file entered 
 the cover, Coggeshall, who brought up the rear, load 
 ing as he ran. 
 
 For three hundred yards or more they saw nothing 
 of their pursuers, although an occasional missile, 
 aimed at random, passed now and then too close to 
 be pleasant; and, although the Americans grumbled 
 
Ulazing a Pa Hi 220 
 
 at his orders, Woodside utterly refused to let them 
 fire in return. 
 
 The lieutenant is right, men," said Hay, at last. 
 "There s that path a good mile ahead to cross be 
 fore we are even passably sure of not being cut off, 
 and if we want to get back with whole skins, we had 
 better not lose time in potting one or two out of a 
 dozen Spaniards." 
 
 Nothing could be said against this, for twenty 
 minutes later, as they burst into the narrow wood- 
 path, the whistling bullets of half a dozen muskets, 
 fired by the advance of a small party from the forts, 
 told them they had stirred up a veritable hornet s 
 nest from which there was scant hope of escaping. 
 
 A mile farther on the engineer cried out that he 
 could stand the pace no longer. Woodside s face 
 was flushed, and his breath came thick and panting, 
 and even Hay looked distressed and weary. 
 
 "Let us turn and fight," said Woodside, as the 
 rustling woods told of the hot pursuit. " Tis better 
 to die fighting than to have our throats cut, like 
 deer run down by the pack." 
 
 "There s an opening a little further on," said 
 Stephen, breathing hard as he ran. "If we get 
 across it they must charge us, up to the muzzles of 
 our muskets." 
 
 " Tis between two swamps, I consait," said Jones, 
 hopefully. "I remember we passed yonder old 
 greenheart, for I minded the dead top with the yel 
 low flowered vines." 
 
 "Let us hurry across it, in God s name," said 
 Woodside, "and woe be to them if they try to charge 
 in the teeth of our fire." 
 
230 Cartagena 
 
 A hoarse shout, or rather half savage yell of 
 assent burst from the lips of all, and even the ex 
 hausted officer of engineers grasped his fusil more 
 eagerly, and broke into increased speed as he is 
 sued into the opening, which might measure from 
 three to five hundred- feet across, and perhaps half 
 as many more in width from one deep pond-hole to 
 another. On the farther side a rocky cliff projected 
 from a small eminence, and offered a little vantage 
 ground of defence to the pursued, who, on reaching 
 it, fell flat behind loose boulders and one or two 
 large trees which stood near the top of the acclivity. 
 They had scarcely looked to priming and flint, before 
 the first of their foes made their appearance in the 
 glade. 
 
 Some half a dozen, mostly Spanish sailors, wiry, 
 bronzed and bearded, bare-headed and bare-footed, 
 with long knives and boarding pistols in their sashes, 
 and their naked cutlasses in their hands, sprang into 
 the glade, followed by an infantry soldier or two 
 with heavy muskets and cumbrous trappings. 
 
 A single shot rang out from a clump of yucca which 
 covered a fragment of granite, the leading sailor 
 sprang an ell into the air and fell; dead long before 
 his riven breast touched" the parched herbage. 
 
 Coggeshall turned upon his back, and merely bit 
 ing his cartridge poured in the powder, and throw 
 ing away the bullet rammed down a neatly made 
 cartridge of buckshot. "Fire away, boys," he cried, 
 as he struck the stock of his musket sharply against 
 the rock; "I m ready for em again." The engineer 
 fired, and the leading sailor, a slight, gaily dressed 
 
1 ,-ilh 
 
 officer, dropped his rapier with a volley of Spanish 
 oaths, but caught it up with his left hand, and led 
 on his men to the attack. 
 
 Jones fired, and a man beside him fell dead. Hay s 
 musket sorely wounded a third, but the survivors, 
 eight or ten in number, still pressed on to avenge 
 their comrades, and Coggeshall alone had his weapon 
 charged. 
 
 "Give em your pistols, leftenant," he whispered 
 coolly. "Fire es ef ye were practisin at a mark 
 hangin from the foreyard." 
 
 Woodside levelled and fired his pistol, setting the 
 hair-trigger and aiming at the centre of the group. 
 A marine dropped his long musket from his crushed 
 right hand, then turned and fled, and Coggeshall 
 uttered a yell of triumph, which sounded strangely 
 like a Tarratine war-w r hoop, as indeed it was. 
 
 "Good again, Cap," he cried. "Give em tother 
 one. I m jest awaitin till they pass yonder bush, 
 an then ef they keep together es they hev I ll drop 
 more n one, or my name s not Jack Coggeshall." 
 
 The second pistol rang out from the cover, but no 
 effect was visible, and the young officer, scarce forty 
 yards away, bounded on in advance of his men, 
 swinging his bright blade and crying his war-cry of 
 "God and Spain!" The hindmost pursuers began 
 to make their appearance at the edges of the wood, 
 and already two or three soldiers, with their cum 
 brous muskets, had met and passed their wounded 
 comrade as he ran for shelter to the rear. 
 
 "Andela! Anda! Dios y Expand!" The clear, young 
 voice rang like a bugle through the glade, which lay 
 
232 Cartagena 
 
 strangely still as the last faint wreath of smoke 
 rose slowly up from the ambushed hill. The men who 
 followed him had reached the bush; the privateer s 
 musket was raised to its level and slowly swung as 
 the rushing footmen changed places, swinging in and 
 out of line. Suddenly three swart faces came for 
 an instant into range; the trigger was pressed, the 
 shower of mitraille hurtled through the yucca leaves, 
 and the boy officer saw the deadly gap open between 
 him and his surviving sailors, part of whom turned 
 as if to flee, while the rest stood irresolute; but the 
 Spaniard, with his sword-blade, threatened instant 
 death to all cowards, and promised honor and gold 
 to those who should follow and sweep the "hereticos" 
 from the face of the earth. 
 
 " Tis a pity; but tis his life or ourn," Jones mut 
 tered regretfully to Stephen, as he raised his piece. 
 The death shot parted, the brave mariner cried his 
 war-cry once more as he clapped his hand to his 
 left breast, and, as he sank to earth insensible, his 
 companions took to flight, nor halted until they 
 were safely ensconsed on the borders of the opposite 
 wood. 
 
 "We ve beaten em off," said Coggeshall with a 
 grim laugh; "but they re comin in fast thar , an 
 there s twenty at least in the cover by this time. 
 Ef ye ve got your wind, we d better start fer camp 
 afore we re cut off in the rear." 
 
 "It won t do to start just yet," said Stephen, "for 
 they re gathering for another charge. If we hold 
 our fire and use buck and ball cartridge, we can drive 
 them back, I think; and then, we ll let the officers 
 go first, while one or two of us bring up the rear." 
 
r.I;mng a Path 
 
 Woodside reddened. "Damme, sergeant, if I can 
 stand this. I m willing to let you do your bush 
 fighting in your own way, and I m free to say that 
 you do know better how to do it than I can tell you ; 
 but I m no baby, sirrah, to run first out of danger 
 and leave my men to throw their lives away behind 
 me." 
 
 Hay saluted respectfully: "I meant no disrespect, 
 sir. You have no piece, and you are not used, as 
 both Jones and Coggeshall have been, to running at 
 speed through woods. We shall have our fill of 
 fighting in ten minutes from now, for I see the 
 bayonets of the men gathering among the thickets. 
 If we drive them back, we shall be able to give you 
 a quarter of a mile the start; and a few shots from 
 here will make them think that we are disposed to 
 stay and fight it out, and we can steal off, one by 
 one." 
 
 "You re right, as usual," said Woodside, heartily. 
 "But what a pity we haven t the skipper s rifle, to 
 pitch a bullet or tw r o across the open, into that squad 
 of men." 
 
 "Thar ll be two less to fight before they git twenty 
 paces clear of cover," said Coggeshall, coolly, "for 
 Jones and I have loaded w 7 ith ball, an ought not 
 to miss at forty rod at sech a mark as thet. W r e ll 
 be reloaded before they reach us, an ready fer a 
 volley." 
 
 "I ll fire too," said the officer of engineers, as he 
 handled his light, long-barrelled Spanish piece. 
 "I ve killed a seal at full the distance, ere now, with 
 this little piece." 
 
234 Cartagena. 
 
 "She s a good one/ replied Hay, "but you ll have 
 to load quicker than you re used to, I reckon ; so hand 
 her to me when you ve fired, and I ll have a load of 
 buckshot ready for her." 
 
 "They re comin ag in," muttered Jones, as the 
 bushes slowly parted, and a score or more of men, 
 mostly soldiers, with bayonets fixed and muskets at 
 the charge, marched four deep out of the forest, and 
 advanced deliberately into the glade. 
 
 Jones fired first, and a marine fell out of the first 
 rank with a broken leg, but the second rank man 
 stepped into his place just in time to break the fall 
 of his left-hand man, who received the ball from the 
 engineer s fusil in the breast, while a third man in 
 the second rank fell stunned by Coggeshall s bullet, 
 which ploughed an ugly scalp wound along the whole 
 top of the skull. 
 
 Hay hurriedly reloaded the officer s piece, but the 
 Spaniards were quickening their pace, and their 
 bravery, discipline and numbers threatened a dis 
 astrous defeat to the little handful of colonists; when 
 a puff of smoke burst from the thicket behind them, 
 and the officer in charge of the scouts fell dead in 
 his tracks. A second musket rang out, and another 
 file closer, a sergeant, lay mortally wounded, while 
 the detachment halted just as a third musket car 
 ried death into their ranks. 
 
 "Who can it be?" said Woodside, who with a 
 pistol in each hand and his sword beside him, had 
 anxiously awaited the proper moment to give the 
 command for their final volley. "Who can we have 
 out scouting this way who would open fire so slowly? 
 
Blazing a Path 235 
 
 It can t be the grenadiers or the marines that landed 
 with us." 
 
 Hay s face gleamed with a strange joy as he 
 answered, " Tis no regular that fired those shots, 
 for the best marksman of old Barnstable County is 
 behind yonder cover. Twas a bold thing to do, but 
 he knew their strength, and I ll risk that he gets 
 clear. See, they are sending back half a dozen men. 
 Now for our own part of this last struggle." 
 
 The remaining officers, a corporal and ensign, had 
 for a moment hesitated as to the course to be pur 
 sued. But a dozen at least were left for the subal 
 tern to lead against the scouts, who now with a 
 stronger confidence awaited the attack of the 
 lessened number, which again advanced at the run to 
 carry the little hill. 
 
 Hay with some anxiety watched the movements 
 of the others as they dashed toward the wood 
 whence the hidden marksman had fired ; for his keen 
 eye caught a glimpse of a cocked hat peering above 
 the shelter of a large stump, and at the same moment 
 the Spaniards opened fire on the object. 
 
 On the instant, from another point of the glade a 
 long gunshot to the westward another shot was 
 heard, another victim fell, and at the same moment 
 a cry w r hich none who had ever heard it could mis 
 take ; full of the lust of battle and savage triumph ; 
 pealed through the forest, echoing and re-echoing 
 until it seemed as if a dozen throats must have joined 
 in the savage war-cry. 
 
 "Ett het tee keel Eu het tee teak!" The strangely- 
 modulated cry pealed forth again, but this time on 
 
236 Cartagena 
 
 the flank of the regulars, whose thinned ranks 
 counted one the less as another musket-shot rang 
 out almost even with their advancing lines. 
 
 Hay laughed silently as he drew himself up for 
 the final volley: " Tis the Indian war-cry, though 
 few white men have heard it, for none of the tribes 
 that once used it wear war-paint, or fight except in 
 the ranks of the Massachusetts militia. But give 
 the word, lieutenant, as soon as you please, for 
 they are getting near enough now." 
 
 "Are you ready?" cried Woodside. 
 
 A murmur of assent came from the cover. 
 
 "Then make ready! fire!" The volley which 
 swept from the coppice left but half of the charging 
 force alive, and they, without leaders or courage 
 for further endeavor, took to their heels and fled for 
 shelter to the distant forest; while, from the bushes 
 which skirted the nearer swamp, Untequit, without 
 hat or wig, and minus all his trappings except waist- 
 belt knife and bayonet, sprang like a deer, and, run 
 ning across the open space, rejoined his friends. 
 
 His story was soon told. Suddenly alarmed by the 
 reports of the muskets discharged at the boas, he 
 was about to leap down and run to the aid of his 
 companions, when he saw a small body of soldiers 
 cross the ridge from the forest, and hasten in the 
 direction of his comrades. Then came the crashing 
 discharge of the boat-gun and the noise of pursuit, 
 and he rightly judged that a guardboat had sud 
 denly come upon the party. 
 
 Cautiously descending, he laid aside his heavy 
 cartridge box, canteen, haversack, and leather stock, 
 
Blazing a Path 237 
 
 and determined to essay his own deliverance and the 
 succor of his friends, if skill and courage could 
 effect it. 
 
 "I found the negro dead," he said briefly. "All 
 the Spaniards followed; I followed, too. I heard 
 firing. The sailors came back, and three left their 
 muskets yonder. They went by me, wounded and 
 bleeding, through the woods, toward the boat. 
 
 "I waited until the soldiers marched out of the 
 woods. Then I crept up to the muskets; tw r o were 
 loaded. I shot three times, and each time I drew 
 blood; and then reloaded, and left my hat and wig 
 on a ramrod behind a tree. When they fired, I was 
 a gunshot nearer you ; and, if they had followed " 
 
 "What would you have done?" asked the officer 
 of engineers eagerly. 
 
 "He would not have left one of them Spanish sol 
 diers alive, sir," said Coggeshall eagerly. 
 
 Untequit nodded gratefully to his comrade, and 
 the next moment rose and darted out into the plain, 
 where lay the wounded and dead of the enemy. 
 Several of them gave utterance to cries of pain and 
 terror, evidently fearing that no" quarter was to be 
 given, and Woodside turned anxiously to Stephen: 
 
 "Surely he won t scalp or harm a wounded man. 
 If he does, I won t answer for his life at the hands 
 of the provost marshal." 
 
 "Have no fear, sir," replied Hay gravely. "We 
 are none of us cruel; and Untequit, although .an 
 Indian and descended from great warriors, is an 
 honest man and a Christian. See! he is stripping 
 the cartouch box, belts and stock from that dead 
 
238 Cartagena 
 
 marine, and, I dare say, will go back yonder to get 
 his hat and wig again, for, I ll venture the dons have 
 had enough of it." 
 
 On his return from this errand, Untequit found 
 that his friends had assisted the wounded into the 
 shade of the forest, bound up their injuries and 
 given them water to quench their thirst, filling their 
 oxhorn canteens from the nearest pool. The dead 
 officer was left as he had fallen, for none cared to 
 unclasp the slender fingers, which even in death 
 gripped the silver-hilted rapier with a clasp which 
 only brutal force could have unloosened. 
 
 A little later they issued from the woods and 
 found the pickets alarmed, and the working force 
 strongly reinforced; while Capt. Knowles, whose 
 ship they were to have rejoined at noon, stood talk 
 ing with the engineers, who had made but little head 
 way on the proposed path through the woods across 
 the island of Tierra Bomba. 
 
 "I excuse you, sir!" he said to Woodside, after 
 hearing his story, "and will see that the admiral 
 hears of the bravery and good conduct of your party. 
 But henceforth be more careful how you expose 
 yourselves, for w r e cannot easily replace such men 
 as your boat s crew, and we count you no longer as 
 part of the army, but as attached to the fleet." 
 
 Woodside bowed low to his superior, and his hopes 
 of promotion and advancement seemed brighter than 
 ever, but the army officers around him and the dig 
 nitaries of the engineer force exchanged curious and 
 bitter glances; for already the evil seed was sown 
 which was to utterly and shamefully estrange ad- 
 
Blazing a Path 230 
 
 miral and general, marine and grenadier, seaman 
 and soldier, to the utter ruin and deep disgrace of 
 all. 
 
 A party was sent out to scout through the blazed 
 line, but came upon a heavy force of Spaniards, and 
 were repulsed with some loss; but the Americans 
 had been dismissed for the time, and found that 
 Gibbs had not been unmindful of their comfort. 
 He had fished from the rocks with good success; 
 killed half a dozen parrots as a flock disordered by 
 the noise flew overhead, and had found in the woods 
 to the southward a few pineapples and limes. These 
 he had properly prepared and cooked, exchanging 
 a part with an officer s servant for some bread, sugar 
 and rum; and upon these healthy viands the men 
 feasted, tempering the vapid water of the shallow 
 springs with the juice of the limes and bananas, and 
 the more fiery spirit of St. Croix. 
 
 "The captain says that we may yet be called upon 
 to haul our boat across the island, and lead an at 
 tack of the yawls and cutters on St. Louis de Boca 
 Chica; for he thinks the mortar battery ill-placed, 
 and the engineers slow and inefficient." 
 
 Thus said Woodside to Hay as, after supper, they 
 went down to the nearest point of rock, and cooled 
 their heated faces in the ocean waves. 
 
 "I m sorry," said Hay, "that at this time there 
 should be any cause for ill-feeling between the fleet 
 and the army, for we who are of no rank will be 
 ground to pieces, as corn is between the upper and 
 lower millstones." 
 
 "You say truly, Hay, and I would it were other- 
 
240 Cartagena 
 
 wise; but we who are on detached service have some 
 chance of escape, and it may be that fortune or provi 
 dence will send us an easy victory, and end all in 
 triumph." 
 
Chapter XVII. 
 Opening the Trenches 
 
 The next day and the next came, and still the 
 Massachusetts troops were not landed; and at last 
 Woodside s party, in the midst of their constant and 
 varied boat-service, found themselves, one sultry 
 afternoon, going alongside the huge Prince Freder 
 ick; which, as one of the "crack 70 s" of Lestock s 
 division, had, under the command of Lord Aubrey 
 Beauclerc de Vere, been put into complete prepara 
 tion for the final terrible bombardment, which must 
 sooner or later end the contest for the possession 
 of Boca Chica, 
 
 A light awning covered the whale-boat, and pro 
 tected the colonists from coup de soldi; and as they 
 came under the side of the huge man-of-war, many 
 an idler and officer peered out from under the awn 
 ings and the heavy quarter-galleries, where such 
 as were of sufficiently high rank languidly puffed 
 away at mild Manila and fragrant Havana, or sought 
 in vain to cool their feverish thirst with tropical 
 fruits, and choice clarets and Rhenish wines. 
 
 "There s our captain," said Hay, eagerly, as he 
 swept the long, sharp boat deftly in between a heavy 
 twelve-oared yawl and the ladder. "I wonder what 
 brings him aboard this vessel, and what has become 
 of our old skipper of the Two Friends? Please to let 
 us know will you, lieutenant?" 
 
 Woodside lowered his voice as he spoke: "God 
 
242 Cartagena 
 
 help them if they are here; for the yellow fever, 
 they say, is getting worse on board the fleet, and 
 the captain, as you know, was hardly himself when 
 we spent our last night on the schooner. If I can 
 get permission for you to go on deck, I will; and 
 you shall have all the time I can spare to see your 
 comrades." 
 
 The generous young Englishman leaped lightly 
 to the ladder, and ran up the side almost as nimbly 
 as a topman, so much had active employment, out- 
 of-door life and fitting food done to re-create the 
 strength and health impaired by wearisome delays, 
 crowded quarters, and disgusting and insufficient 
 aliment. For a moment only he w r as lost to their 
 view, when he again appeared at the gangway, and 
 beckoned to them to ascend. Their old, kind-hearted 
 commander stood beside him, but the strong, grave 
 face was strangely wan, and the thin lips had lost 
 their quiet firmness, in the pitiable tremors that tell 
 of a vitality sapped to the last foundations of life. 
 
 The bronzed oarsmen swarmed up the side, and 
 took his cold hand with a grasp, which in spite of 
 themselves told of love, pity and despair; but the 
 weak, weary voice bade them welcome cheerily, and 
 praised their little exploits with a heartiness which 
 forbade all thought of the existence of envy or jeal 
 ousy in that brave, true heart. "I wish you would 
 come back to me when your errand is done," he said 
 to Wood side, as the latter took the folded despatch 
 from his waist-belt. "I ve a favor to ask, and God 
 knows when I shall meet you again." 
 
 For a moment the men stood silent, as Woodside 
 
Opening the Trenches 243 
 
 passed on to the door of the great cabin, while Stew 
 art seemed to lose himself in an enthralling reverie, 
 which ended in a heavy sigh. "I beg your pardon, 
 sergeant," he said to Hay, "I suppose you would like 
 to know how it is that I am here, and something 
 about your old friend Skipper Clarke?" 
 
 "That we should indeed, sir," replied Hay. "I 
 hope nothing has befallen him." 
 
 "Surely he was well when we bade him good 
 bye, " said Gibbs, anxiously. 
 
 "He has sailed northward, but unless the terrible 
 experiences of late are false teachers, the fever was 
 in his veins and in those of half his crew. Twenty- 
 five of our men were put on board this ship and 
 there are ten on the Falmouth, and five on the Dun 
 kirk, that fourth-rate astern." 
 
 "And how do you find the quarters and provisions 
 on board here, sir?" asked Hay. 
 
 "It is no use to conceal the truth, Hay. Our men, 
 like the sailors of the fleet, are half-starved from the 
 disgraceful state of the provisions and lack of water; 
 which, in such a climate, is needed in large quanti 
 ties to supply the loss by perspiration; and as 
 officers we fare but little better than the men. As 
 I am a physician, I have had some extra favors shown 
 me, but I have lost flesh and strength of late, and I 
 fear am going as only too many poor fellows have 
 gone before me," and he pointed significantly over 
 the side to the surrounding ocean. 
 
 "You must not talk so, sir," said Hay eagerly; 
 "and you must take a trip with us on shore for a 
 day or two. Mr. Woodside will, I know, get per- 
 
244 Cartagena 
 
 mission of Captain Knowles, and there is plenty of 
 room in the whaler. A change of scene, and plenty 
 of fruit and fish will make a new man of you." 
 
 "It can t be/ said Stewart gravely. "I have my 
 duties, and must, if it be God s will, die at my post. 
 Half of my own men are sick, and I have a boat to 
 visit them daily; and we are told to keep in readiness 
 to serve at the guns in a few days. It would never 
 do for me to be pleasuring with you. I should think 
 of the poor fellows crowded together in their filthy 
 quarters, where but a few ever leave their hammocks 
 in life." 
 
 "Can we do nothing for you? It seems wrong 
 that you should be cooped up here. But here comes 
 Lieutenant Woodside; perhaps lie can see some way 
 out for our poor comrades, that will give you a 
 chance to rest." 
 
 "A word with you, Captain Stewart," said that 
 officer hastily, and the two drew as much as possi 
 ble apart from the sailors and soldiers who thronged 
 the over-crowded decks. 
 
 "I find that my errand here concerns rather the 
 Americans on board than anyone else. The engi 
 neers ashore open the trenches to-night, and need 
 axemen and scouts. The regulars are neither, and 
 the negroes are too stupid for such delicate service. 
 As you know, many of our comrades from the south 
 ern colonies feel aggrieved at having to perform such 
 service." 
 
 "It should excite no surprise, sir," said Stewart 
 a little haughtily, "that we should not delight in the 
 praise of a proficiency as axemen, which is given us 
 
Opening the Trenches 245 
 
 by those who feel themselves disgraced by similar 
 duties." 
 
 "This feeling," continued Woodside, "I can readily 
 understand and heartily acquiesce in; but so deep 
 have been the murmurs and so sensitive are the 
 fears or jealousies of those in charge of the expedi 
 tion, that already over half the American contin 
 gent are looked upon as disaffected and far more 
 likely to join the Spaniards than to fight them." 
 
 "Join the Spaniards? not fight? >Tis ridiculous," 
 said Stewart. "And yet we are strangely enough 
 kept on board the fleet, when it would seem that we 
 were needed on shore." 
 
 "Depend upon it, I am right in what I say. And 
 now for my errand. I want skilled men for pioneer 
 and picket work ashore, and Lord Aubrey has di 
 rected me to ask you to parade your men and ask 
 for volunteers. I will take you to the other vessels, 
 and will carry your answer to Mr. Moore, the en 
 gineer, on shore." 
 
 Stewart at once gave the necessary orders, the 
 drummer sounded the assembly, and the men began 
 to fall into line; but the wan and faded appearance 
 of many terribly shocked their more fortunate com 
 rades. Still they were for the most part desirous 
 of more stirring service, and as they ordered their 
 muskets and listened to his words, they showed in 
 every look and gesture the stamp of that individual 
 intelligence and character, seldom to be noticed 
 among the stolid faces of the ship s marines. 
 
 "I am asked, men," said Stewart, with some of 
 the old, quiet humor in his manner, "to beat up vol- 
 
246 Cartagena 
 
 unteers for pioneer service ashore; a service I am 
 assured that we can perform as well, if not better, 
 than any other troops in the army. It is, however, 
 to be performed under fire, and it may be that some 
 parties will be ordered to especially dangerous 
 duties. 
 
 "You will bear me witness that I have ever treated 
 my men as gentlemen volunteers, and I have had 
 no part in the attempts made to degrade us to the 
 level of rebellious slaves and ignorant negroes, as 
 hewers of wood and drawers of water for the army, 
 nor will I ever acquiesce in such degrading associa 
 tions. 
 
 "But I know that you are not afraid to labor, and 
 that you will not shrink from danger, while it may 
 be that many may find in a needed change of air, and 
 perhaps of food, a cure for their ailments and benefit 
 to their general health. I, therefore, volunteer to go 
 and take an axe myself." 
 
 "So do I," said Woodside, and close behind him 
 his boat s crew echoed his words, with a smile of en 
 couragement and willingness on their bron/ed faces. 
 
 A hoarse murmur rang through the ranks, "I will 
 go! I will go!" but at a word from their leader all 
 were silent as became men under military discipline. 
 
 "Shoulder arms," cried the captain, and the fire 
 locks came up with precision sharp and soldierly 
 despite their short service. "Now let every man 
 who is willing to go, keep his musket at his shoulder 
 win 11 I give the command to order arms. Company, 
 attention! Order arms!" The wearied voice rang 
 out clear and soldierly, but no rattle of band and 
 
Opening the Trenches 247 
 
 ramrod followed, for not a man stirred from the 
 position first taken. "I thank you, men," he said, 
 proudly. "Now get ready to land at half an hour s 
 notice. Port arms! Break off!" 
 
 Before night the remnant of the company, some 
 fifty men in all, were encamped with the New York 
 and other levies; still deemed sufficiently reliable 
 and orthodox to be landed from the floating hos 
 pitals of the fleet and transports. 
 
 In the cool of the afternoon a heavy detachment, 
 armed and provided with mattock, spade and axe, 
 were marched as silently as possible toward the 
 point chosen for the breaching battery, a rocky ele 
 vation surrounded by a dense growth of tropical 
 vegetation. Already the lines of ditch, parapet, 
 banquette, glacis and tcrre plelne were marked by 
 white stakes, and as they left the beach they had 
 seen the boats towing shoreward heavy barges, 
 which sustained one or more of the 24-pound breach 
 ing guns and their carriages. A detachment of sap 
 pers and miners, and some score of Jamaican ne 
 groes rested under the trees, awaiting the word to 
 begin, and already a score or more of the latter had 
 cleared away with their machetes all the underbrush 
 on the acclivity itself. 
 
 Stewart, as senior captain, was directed to begin 
 the work of clearing away the smaller trees in rear 
 of the works, and carefully cautioned his men 
 against felling any tree by daylight which might 
 rouse the suspicion of the enemy by its absence. 
 
 Only four hundred and fifty yards lay between 
 the battery and the fortress of Boca Chica, where 
 
248 Cartagena 
 
 ninety-four guns and a full garrison of soldiers and 
 sailors, stood on the alert to open fire on the first 
 object which even excited their suspicion. 
 
 A score or more of his best men were sent for 
 ward to act as scouts and form a picket line on the 
 edge of the jungle, which came up on the land side 
 to within three hundred yards of the fort, and Wood- 
 side, at his own request, was permitted to lead 
 with his own boat s crew upon this dangerous duty. 
 
 "We will keep to the south and west, sir," said 
 he to Moore, the engineer, "until we are at least 
 half a mile inland. Then, if you please, I will fell a 
 few tall trees and draw their fire, unless too strong a 
 force stops our progress." 
 
 "You must do nothing of the kind, sir, just now; 
 but you may make a circuit around the fort and, 
 if possible, surprise a picket or two on that side; 
 and if you will light a bonfire that shall burst out 
 after dark, you will probably effect as much in the 
 way of misleading the enemy. The sergeant will 
 give you a fireball and fuse ; all you have to do is to 
 collect sufficient dry fuel, light the fuse and place it 
 therein." 
 
 About an hour before dark the scouts started, and 
 pushing in single file through the tangled woods, for 
 half a mile or so, found themselves in the road 
 crossed by the party in their flight from the Span 
 iards, and as it was bordered by clumps of detached 
 bushes Untequit was sent to follow it up toward the 
 fort. In about five minutes he came back, saying 
 that a picket guard of four men were posted a hun 
 dred yards or more around a bend of the road, and 
 
Opening the Trendies 24!) 
 
 that with an equal number of men he could capture 
 them. 
 
 The detail made, however, was larger, and com 
 prised twelve men who, in Indian file, wound 
 through the woods until half their number under 
 Hay could take position just above the thought 
 less picket guard, and between them and the castle. 
 
 Untequit and four others, all old Indian fighters, 
 stole like serpents through the grass, until only the 
 very clump by which the Spaniards were posted 
 lay between them and their foes. 
 
 The tallest, a bearded Catalan marine, stood 
 idly leaning on his musket; the other three had 
 placed their guns against a palm three or four yards 
 away and were rolling and smoking the inevitable 
 husk cigar it o. 
 
 "Thou sayest, Carlos," said one of the smokers, 
 "that these English fought like devils." 
 
 "Curamba! So they did, if they were English; 
 but I count them rather of the Americanos who some 
 times cruise upon our coast. We had them, as we 
 thought, at point blank range of the patcraro and 
 killed only a black slave, and they killed and 
 wounded ten of the best men of the Gallicia." 
 
 "But thinkest thou they will come through the 
 forest again, Carlos?" 
 
 "Why not, O most timorous Pepe! Surely, as long 
 as their tents stand over yonder, there will be parties 
 ranging the woods, were it only for the wild fruit 
 of the island. But trust me, they shall not come 
 on us unheard, were they to slide through the bushes 
 like a serpent." 
 
250 Cartagena 
 
 "Methinks I heard one just now, Carlos," 
 cried Pepe, about to rise in alarm; but before the 
 three could get to their muskets, the scouts stood 
 over them with levelled weapons, while Untequit, 
 with a leap like a wildcat, had hurled the huge 
 Catalan to the ground. 
 
 The four were bound and gagged ; and, while the 
 main party prepared a huge pile of fuel deep in the 
 jungle, Hay and the Indian hastened to make their 
 way to the outlet of the woodland path. They found 
 no other force inside the forest; but the reserve 
 of a dozen men lay by their fires half-way between 
 the wood and the castle. 
 
 On their return they found the alarm fire ready, 
 and at Hay s suggestion the muskets and boarding 
 pistols of their captives were heavily loaded and 
 placed in the pile of dry boughs, amid which the fuse 
 as they retired gave out an occasional warning spark 
 of the conflagration that in an hour or two at most 
 must ensue. 
 
 The return was difficult, but owing to the wood 
 craft of their leaders and the use of a pocket com 
 pass, and a vial of phosphoric composition, they suc 
 ceeded in reaching the place selected for a battery, 
 and being readily recognized by signals previously 
 agreed upon, came within the line of pickets. 
 Here row on row of dim and carefully shaded lan 
 terns lit up the trenches and two thousand men bent 
 over their task of throwing up the huge mounds and 
 excavating the deep ditches below and around them. 
 
 All worked in absolute silence and without loss; 
 although from time to time a shell or shot whistled 
 
Opening the Trenches 251 
 
 high overhead in search of the English camp beyond 
 them. 
 
 "You have done well," said the engineer, as the 
 report was made, "and if your bonfire alarms them 
 in that direction to-night it will perhaps help us 
 greatly, and certainly save the lives of some of our 
 poor -fellows, for they have the range very prettily." 
 
 The prisoners were placed in charge of the reserve 
 guard, who were bivouacked midway between two 
 heavy working parties ; for, by the light of the lan 
 terns, several hundred men were rolling up large 
 casks, which, set on end, secured by fascines and 
 pickets, and filled with sand, grew rapidly into the 
 desired proportions of a battery for large siege 
 mortars. 
 
 Pepe and two of his companions in misfortune 
 were garrulous and womanish in their lamentations 
 at the untoward fortune of war; but Carlos, the 
 Catalan, bore his evil destiny quietly, and, instead 
 of throwing himself down beside his weeping com 
 panions, seated himself against the half reclining 
 trunk of a stunted cedar, and, asking a light, by 
 signs, of a good-natured grenadier, seemed, as far 
 as could be seen in the darkness, to be wholly occu 
 pied in the constant rolling and smoking of innu 
 merable cigarettes; and as the sentry strode back 
 and forth, he could easily discern the heavily bearded 
 face and fiery black eyes, as an occasional puff of 
 more vehemence than its fellows lit up the little 
 nook of overhanging foliage. 
 
 Suddenly, a mile or more away, a deep-hued radi 
 ance, lit up the midnight sky above the woods, and 
 
252 Cartagena 
 
 as the scouts and engineers listened, three or four 
 dropping shots, fired in quick succession, were fol 
 lowed by a scattering volley, and, after an ominous 
 pause, by a heavy fire from castle and shipping. 
 
 "They have fallen into the trap," said Moore, rub 
 bing his hands, "and I doubt if they dare send out 
 a party to reconnoitre. Go, Mr. Woodside," said 
 he hurriedly, "take your crew and carry those prison 
 ers on board the Weymouth. I would not for a 
 whole company s lives, that they should escape now 
 to set those stupid dons right as to our whereabouts. 
 Off with them at once; and by the time you are 
 back to-morrow, I hope you will see the parapets 
 well forward and our men beginning to lay the plat 
 forms for our twenty-four pounders." 
 
 Woodside started, little loath ;for the scene, though 
 striking, soon became monotonous, and the strange 
 effects produced by the uncertain and fitful glare 
 of the lanterns on gay uniforms, tropical vegetation 
 and the constantly changing array of busy workers, 
 were insufficient to distract the attention from 
 swarms of mosquitoes, clouds of gnats and the 
 myriad other insect plagues with which a tropical 
 forest generally abounds. 
 
 With an order for the prisoners Woodside ap 
 proached the guard reserve, and the major in charge 
 with unnecessary zeal routed up from their slum 
 bers Pepe and his co-prisoners, who, with a vague 
 idea that they were ordered for instant execution, 
 burst into a passion of tears and entreaties, inter 
 rupted by sundry appeals and genuflections made to 
 tiny reliquaries, heretofore concealed under their 
 
Opening the Trendies 253 
 
 coarse linen shirts. Carlos alone seemed unmoved, 
 as the red coal at the end of his cigarito gleamed from 
 under the shadow of his brass-fronted military cap. 
 
 "That beggar s good stuff, if he is a don," said 
 the major gruffly, indignant at his prisoners fears. 
 "However, you must go too, so come out of your seat 
 and be jogging. Do you hear, sirrah. Fane, make 
 him come out of that." 
 
 The man, little loath, stepped into the shadow 
 of the cedar, but the next moment sprang out stam 
 mering and shaking with fright. " Tis the devil 
 that sits there," said he tremblingly, "and no mortal 
 man. His eyes are like fire, and he has no beard, 
 though when I saw his face by the lantern he was 
 bearded to the very eyes." 
 
 "Nonsense, sirrah," said the officer angrily; "how 
 dare you tell such a story, when the man has sat 
 there smoking for the last hour. Come here, sir," 
 he continued, drawing a pistol from his belt, "come, 
 sir," he added more savagely, cocking the weapon 
 as he spoke, "move at once, or you are like to lie 
 there forever." 
 
 Woodside was about to speak for the prisoner and 
 suggest that perhaps he did not understand the 
 order, given as it was in a foreign tongue, but the 
 report rang out and the bullet was seen to cut a 
 shower of splinters from the bough against which 
 the head reclined; but still the bright coal at the end 
 of the cigarito remained immovable, and the major 
 fairly foamed at the mouth as he drew his second 
 pistol. 
 
 "If you can t be frightened, you may be hit, ras- 
 
254 Cartagena 
 
 cal," lie cried savagely. "Ven aca hombre, presto! pres 
 to!" lie essayed in Spanish, but no movement fol 
 lowed, and this time the hat flew off and the body 
 fell to the ground. The men rushed in, but only to 
 find that Carlos had taken advantage of the care 
 lessness of the guard and the shadow of the tree 
 to use a part of his garments and his hat in con 
 structing a rude imitation of the upper part of a 
 man, to which the semblance of a lighted cigarito 
 was added by fixing a bit of lighted "spunk" taken 
 from his tinder box, on the end of a stick. 
 
 "Idiots," roared the officer to the perplexed 
 soldiers, "if he escapes it shall cost you dearly, for 
 no man could pass through your lines unless you 
 knew it or were sleeping." 
 
 "Thet s so," said Jones, in his peculiar nasal tones, 
 "but he never did, I reckon." 
 
 The major turned in utter wonder at the sang froid 
 of the American in thus addressing him, but Jones 
 was intently eyeing the somewhat perilous bridge 
 by which the Catalan had passed out of the cordon 
 of sentinels who had surrounded him. A single 
 greenheart tree grew close beside the cedar, and up 
 and down its smooth trunk, alternately embracing 
 it and the branches of the cedar, a multitude of 
 creeping lianas, from the size of a ship s cable to that 
 of a small line, offered a ladder by which any man 
 of moderate agility might climb to the broad and 
 spreading branches. One of these, the largest, 
 stretching out some twenty : five feet, overhung the 
 opposite limb of a huge macanilla, which stood sur 
 rounded by some low thorny bushes, and which from 
 
Opening the Trenches 255 
 
 its supposed poisonous qualities had been studiously 
 avoided by the soldiers. 
 
 "There s plenty o chance fer two to go abreast 
 over thet bridge, an the on y wonder is thet he 
 didn t make noise enough among them climbers to 
 be heard by some one." 
 
 "Silence, fellow!" thundered the irate major. "Be 
 off with you and try to cut him off, for I see he has 
 not tried to cross the opening here. Twenty guineas 
 for him, alive or dead." 
 
 The men, with a hoarse cheer, obeyed, scattering 
 into the woods in all directions, only to be turned 
 back by their own pickets, who assured them that no 
 one had passed the guarded covered way, which, cut 
 to an uniform width of two rods, lay just inside the 
 belt of vegetation left to cover their siege opera 
 tions. Stephen and Untequit, with Gibbs and Jones, 
 still in a state of boundless indignation at what they 
 termed the "hastiness" of the major, took a different 
 course. 
 
 " Twas no fool that played us that trick," said 
 Stephen quietly, "and when the rear s unguarded and 
 he knew the shore, he wasn t likely to put his head 
 right into the trap, I think. Unless you think other 
 wise, sergeant, let s take the other line of guards." 
 
 Heading to the northward, they rapidly ques 
 tioned each sentinel until they were told that but 
 one more stood between them and the sea. " Tis a 
 long tramp he has sure, an I ve not seen him fer 
 a good half-hour ; an thin he said that he reckoned 
 he had heard some one behind him down by the 
 rocks beyond." 
 
256 Cartagena 
 
 "That s it," cried Jones, with a strange mixture 
 of triumph and horror in his tone. "Thar was some- 
 thin in the bushes, an I reckon somethin worse 
 than a painter. Look out fer your throat, Pat, ef 
 thet s your name. Come on, boys, we ve no time to 
 lose," and leaving the puzzled sentinel they rushed 
 down toward the beach. 
 
 The beaten path before them lay open and unten- 
 anted, but they saw the sentinel, as he stood look 
 ing out across the sea where the great war-ships lay 
 at anchor, and the bomb-ketches from time to time 
 emitted vivid flashes and reeled beneath the tre 
 mendous recoil of their huge mortars. 
 
 He heard the rush of the coming feet, and turned 
 quickly to challenge the party; a white form 
 leaped upon him, felled him to the earth, and the 
 next instant was leaping like a deer toward the 
 fortress of Boca Chica. 
 
 "After him, boys!" shouted Stephen, as he dashed 
 across the low plain tangled w T ith thorny cacti, vines 
 and low bushes, w T hile Jones, Gibbs and the Indian 
 with vengeful shouts and at varying angles, essayed 
 to cut off the fugitive, who made for the low cliff 
 above the sea, leading down to the hard sands be 
 low, for the tide was at ebb. Stephen fired from the 
 brow of the cliff, but missed, Jones tripped and fell 
 into a thicket of thornbushes from which he emerged 
 sadly torn and out of temper, while Gibbs, firing at 
 long range but practicable distance, inflicted only a 
 slight flesh wound which made the fugitive run all 
 the faster. 
 
 Untequit alone, silent after the first burst of ex- 
 
Opening the Trenches 257 
 
 citement, followed on down the cliff and up the 
 winding beach, making, despite his heavy accoutre 
 ments, wonderful leaps, that carried him safely over 
 every impediment, and rapidly reduced the distance 
 between him and the fugitive. 
 
 But now the Spanish lines were close at hand, and 
 Carlos uttered a despairing shout of "Hola! Amigos!" 
 and saw not fifty yards away the figure of a Spanish 
 sentinel on the verge of the upland, while close by 
 the beach the -rattle of rowlocks and a hoarse hail 
 warned Untequit that his chase was like to be in 
 vain. 
 
 Dropping on one knee, he fired at the instant the 
 heavy breech struck his outstretched hand, but 
 though a bitter exclamation, half prayer, half curse, 
 broke from the Catalan s lips, the soldier kept on up 
 the cliffs, whence the reserve were already opening 
 fire on his daring pursuer. Untequit was in the act 
 of turning to retreat when he gave a last glance 
 backward. The white camiso of the Catalan gleamed 
 close against the top of the escarpment, when sud 
 denly the strong arms relaxed their hold and Carlos 
 rolled like a log to the sands below. 
 
 Drawing off out of range, scratched and breath 
 less, but sternly triumphant, the little party stood 
 over the dead sentinel and drew from his breast 
 the needle-pointed blade and silver-studded handle 
 of the Catalan s knife; and later reported to the 
 choleric major and Col. Moore, the chief engineer, 
 the result of their chase. 
 
 "I am glad you shot him," said the latter quietly, 
 "for although he was a brave and daring man, he 
 
258 Cartagena 
 
 could have done us great mischief, had he told them 
 of what he has seen us doing here. You think, then, 
 that he is certainly dead/ he added, turning to 
 Stephen. 
 
 "Untequit said that he sighted him by his white 
 shirt, and that he fell from the top of the cliff, which 
 he had nearly reached, to the beach below. It was 
 unlikely that he could speak when taken up." 
 
 "We will hope so," said the engineer doubtfully, 
 "so keep your men hard at it, to get sufficient force 
 under cover to work the flying sap. If the man is 
 dead we shall have our battery ready to open in 
 forty-eight hours ; if he can tell them where we are 
 we shall have warm work before daylight." 
 
 Lieut. Woodside, in the absence of most of his 
 party, had handed over Pepe and his companions to 
 the charge of a midshipman found on board the flag 
 ship, and Hay and his men, joining Captain Stew 
 art s company, plied axe and spade until the birds 
 began to call to one another, and they knew that the 
 first dawn drew near at hand. 
 
 The lanterns burned wan and lazily flared under 
 the smoky glasses; the colonists weakened by their 
 long confinement on shipboard staggered under the 
 burdens of timber such as they had often borne with 
 ease in the shipyards of the north, while the ne 
 groes, with no noise or excitement to stimulate their 
 brutal strength, plodded along with barrow and fas 
 cine like wearied oxen, and almost fell asleep over 
 pick and shovel. 
 
 Suddenly the clear call of a bugle rang out from 
 the hostile battlements, and w r as followed by a single 
 
Opening the Trenches 259 
 
 gun from the Barredera batteries in the isle of Varu. 
 
 The large shot fell near the mortar battery, rico- 
 chetted, and striking a fascine of the principal work, 
 killed with splinters two negroes engaged in filling 
 it, and struck a shovel from the hands of a third. 
 
 A general stampede began which was promptly 
 checked by the guard, while the engineer in charge 
 attempted to soothe their fears. 
 
 " Tis only a chance shot," said he, "and not un 
 likely fired at some boat from our fleet that has ven 
 tured too near the shore. Drive on the work, gentle 
 men, until daylight, for every hour that they let us 
 alone " 
 
 The words were never finished, for instantane 
 ously from castle, batteries and fleet, a storm of 
 heavy shot and shell searched every part of the 
 woods occupied by the besiegers, and so well di 
 rected was the deadly shower that even the best 
 trained troops fled for shelter. 
 
 Trees were broken down or despoiled of their 
 branches; fascines splintered, thrown down and de 
 stroyed; the casks of the mortar battery pierced and 
 shattered, and the half excavated ditches, deserted 
 by the whilom crowd of busy workers, were left 
 strewn with writhing sappers and horribly shattered 
 fragments of what a short moment before were 
 living men. 
 
 Woodside moved his squad of workers into a 
 deeper angle of the ditch and encouraged them to 
 increase its depth and their own safety; and other 
 small parties at salient angles of the works, hastened 
 all the more to raise the thick mounds and prepare 
 the ground for the platforms of the heavy guns. 
 
260 Cartagena 
 
 But all the while the storm came heavier and 
 fiercer; the pickets and their reserve, the axemen 
 and the negro woodsmen, with machetes and bill 
 hook, and even the regular engineers, with their 
 attendants and instruments, fell back one by one 
 from the more exposed situations, and drifted by the 
 advanced works toward the safer encampment. It 
 was just dawn when Col. Moore drew his horse up by 
 the battery, where a twenty-four pound shot had 
 just dashed an American volunteer twenty feet into 
 the air, having picked him out from the very centre 
 of a group of four or five engaged in setting a 
 fascine. 
 
 "You may draw off your men, lieutenant," he 
 shouted, "for we are discovered and must approach 
 by more regular and slower means. They have found 
 us out, and twill be a longer job than I had hoped to 
 make it." He wheeled his horse and galloped off 
 just in time to escape a shot which ploughed a deep 
 furrow through the mound where his horse s hoofs 
 had rested, and the men, awaiting a temporary lull 
 in the storm, went back to camp, to find that the 
 guns of the Barredera batteries, across the strait, 
 had already sent their shot with fatal effect into 
 their very leaguer. 
 
 For several days thereafter, with smaller parties, 
 work in the trenches was resumed with fair progress 
 and comparatively little loss from the direct fire of 
 the fleet, and castles of Boca Chica and St. Joseph; 
 but the enfilading fire from the batteries on the oppo 
 site side of the entrance became so destructive and 
 fatal that it was decided to send a boat expedition 
 
Opening the Trenches 201 
 
 by night to spike, and if possible destroy the cannon 
 of those works, which could not readily be silenced 
 by the fire of the fleet 
 
Chapter XVIII. 
 The Barradera Batteries 
 
 In a few days the new fort became a formidable 
 work, and the mortar battery added its missiles to 
 the bombs of the fire-ships and the shells of the Lud- 
 low Castle; which ship being provided with a large 
 mortar, gave Don Bias, the Spanish admiral, who 
 commanded at Boca Chica, more employment and 
 mental anxiety than by the more direct fire of her 
 heavy battery. 
 
 On the Isle of Varu, opposite, the palms moved 
 gracefully in the sea breeze, the great ceibas and 
 greenhearts rose majestically from copses of carob, 
 myrabolans and cedar; the sandy beach, glaring 
 snowy white in the noon-day sun, lay skirted closely 
 by the living green of the jungle, and along the 
 whole line of the strand one at times could see 
 naught that betokened the presence of man. 
 
 Then, like lightning from a clear sky, jets of red 
 flame and white smoke would issue from the wood, 
 and the twenty-four pounders of the masked bat 
 teries that lay ambushed by the tropical forest, 
 swept the parapet of the new works with their shells, 
 and even slew the grenadiers in their very quarters 
 in the main encampment, until the engineers, repre 
 senting the inadequacy of the force on shore to the 
 work to be performed, besought the admiral that he 
 would take measures to silence the enfilading fire of 
 the Barradera batteries. 
 
The Barradera Butteries 203 
 
 The udmiral consented, not without protests and 
 implied censure of almost everything done or left 
 undone by the land forces, as may still be seen by 
 the letters and minutes of the siege, published by 
 him after the great armada had miscarried ; and on 
 the 17th of March, at a council of war held on board 
 the admiral s ship, it was determined that a boat at 
 tack should be made on the batteries, whose fire had 
 proved more devastating than all the other defences 
 of the port. 
 
 The barges and pinnaces of the fleet were told off, 
 each having fifteen seamen armed with cutlass and 
 pistol, and provided with hand grenades, who were 
 chosen to attack the works, while ten marines were 
 to follow in the reserve, and meet the charge of the 
 Spanish infantry in case of repulse. In all the three 
 divisions there were nearly a thousand men ; and 
 Capts. Watson, Norris and Colby, of Vernon s, 
 Ogle s and Lestock s divisions, commanded on the 
 right, centre and left, respectively, while Capts. Bos- 
 cawen, Laws and Coates were to command the ma 
 rines on shore. The arrangements were made with 
 the utmost care as to every detail of movement and 
 equipment, and so quietly was all made ready, that 
 even on shore, in the British camp, none but those 
 high in rank knew of what was to be done that 
 night. 
 
 The Americans, although detailed to act with the 
 others, knew nothing of the work in store for them, 
 and lay in their contracted quarters among the guns, 
 looking out over the water, watching the woods 
 which covered the Barradera batteries, and trying to 
 
264 Cartagena 
 
 judge of the extent and force of the annoying works. 
 Their lieutenant stood talking with Boscawen the 
 captain of marines, who was to lead in the attack 
 on the break of the quarter-deck, not far distant, and 
 caught a part of the following remark made by Hay, 
 in answer to something Coggeshall had said of the 
 number of guns in position. 
 
 "You may be right as to the number of guns, but 
 there are either two batteries there, or a very long 
 breastwork with guns on both flanks." 
 
 "How do you know that, sergeant?" asked Wood- 
 side, quickly. 
 
 Stephen rose to his feet and saluted, then sprang 
 into the lower rigging and pointed to the battery in 
 question, which had just discharged several guns. 
 
 "When the guns nearest us are fired," said he, "the 
 smoke rises slower and lies longer than from those 
 just fired. There are guns planted almost on the 
 level of the sea there and, I think, in swampy 
 ground." 
 
 "You may come up here, sir," said Ashton, the 
 lieutenant on duty. "Williams, my glass. Now, sir, 
 let us see if your eyes are any sharper than ours." 
 
 Hay took the glass, and watched the cannonade, 
 which was heavy and continuous, although every 
 gun was evidently carefully pointed before firing. 
 "There are at least three guns this side of the dead 
 tree that stands near the second point," he said. 
 
 " Tis impossible," said Boscawen, a little obsti 
 nately, "no man in his senses would put cannon in 
 such a place as that, with high land and a better 
 range on both sides of him. There s only one work 
 to carry, I ll lay my life." 
 
The Barradcra Hat lories 265 
 
 Woodside laid his finger 011 his lip, while Ashton 
 ahemmed significantly, but Hay gave no sign that he 
 comprehended the significance of the remark, as he 
 answered, "I may be wrong, but I think I can catch 
 the gleam of a brass gun through the foliage. There 
 is a man below, however, who can beat any of us 
 when it comes to the strongest and quickest eye 
 sight. Let him be sent for, and just ask him if he 
 sees anything where that line of cedars looks broken 
 and open." 
 
 The Indian came, and was pointed to the spot. For 
 a moment or two he looked steadily through the long 
 tube, then laid aside the glass and turned to Wood- 
 side: "I see a brass gun just this side of yonder dead 
 tree." 
 
 "It can t be," insisted Boscawen. "There may be 
 a pond or slough with the glint of the sun upon it, 
 but there are no guns, except those of the battery 
 whose fascines you can see plainly enough on the 
 hill." 
 
 "Well," said Ashton laughingly, "we shall know 
 all about it before many days, I hope. You may go, 
 sergeant. No! stay a moment; this way, if you 
 please." 
 
 "Can you land me on that beach tonight?" asked 
 the officer in a low tone. 
 
 "The sea is too high now to do it safely, and it is 
 growing w r orse every moment. We shall not go to 
 night, sir," said Hay, quietly. 
 
 Ashton stared at the speaker. "Who has dared, 
 s i r? There, never mind that. Let me advise you 
 to keep whatever you think to yourself, for a com 
 mon soldier should not know " 
 
266 Cartagena 
 
 "Too much, you were about to say, sir," said Hay 
 composedly. " Tis a lesson we Americans find 
 hard to learn, and especially in matters of life and 
 death. If Captain Boscawen lands us, however, un 
 der cover of that point, God grant the Spaniards 
 know nothing of our approach, or we are like to lose 
 more brave men than we can spare." 
 
 "A score, more or less, we can spare," answered 
 Ashton haughtily; "and I know you will not let your 
 fears keep you from doing your duty. If I did not, 
 you should pass the night under guard and in irons." 
 
 "Ah, sir!" said Hay sadly, "such men as I are out 
 of place here, for I count every life lost to no pur 
 pose, whether for want of proper food, attendance 
 and shelter, or through useless delays and reckless 
 leadership, as a terrible offense for which some one 
 must account before the last dread tribunal here 
 after. But if I speak plainly to you, I am silent 
 among the men ; and to you I would offer one piece 
 of advice. If you land yonder, get your men into 
 yonder cove as soon as you may." 
 
 Ashton nodded slightly in token of dismissal ; but 
 Hay knew from his thoughtful mood as he walked 
 briskly back and forth, that he would not slight the 
 warning he had given. The attack, however, did not 
 take place that night, for a slight gale came on, and 
 the fleet had much ado for the next thirty-six hours 
 to hold their anchorage and replace cables and an 
 chors lost on that foul mooring ground. 
 
 On the 19th of the month, however, the sun set 
 clear and beautiful amid an almost oppressive calm, 
 although in the twilight the land breeze rose, cover- 
 
The Barradera Batteries 2(57 
 
 ing the sea with a gentle ripple, and helping to 
 drown the sounds of brisk preparation which began 
 with the first shadow of night. 
 
 By eight o clock the men were in their boats, with 
 theirs arms loaded, their matches cased but burning, 
 their oars carefully muffled, and at the signal the 
 hoisting of a lantern at the peak of the Boyne the 
 boats moved noiselessly out from under the lee of 
 their respective ships, and led by Captain Watson, in 
 the twelve-oared barge of the admiral himself, 
 moved silently toward the Island of Varu, not a 
 league distant. 
 
 Near him and within hail, the light whaleboat 
 moved like a wraith, under the long, silent strokes 
 of the colonists, and Woodside wondered at the 
 deathly silence as he looked to either side and 
 saw the other divisions moving in beautiful order, 
 in parallel lines with the central boats. 
 
 "There s the point," whispered Hay, suddenly, as 
 the low, dense wall of the jungle rose close before 
 them, and the next moment a musket flashed out of 
 its cover and the ball struck close to the boat. 
 
 "Give way, men," said Watson, sharply. "Run 
 her ashore and charge into the woods at once." The 
 men rose at every stroke of their oars, and the next 
 moment half a dozen boats were stranded, their sea 
 men rushing, cutlass in hand, into the cover, and the 
 marines more deliberately forming on the beach. 
 
 Woodside s party were with the foremost, and as 
 Stephen saw before him a wall of fascines, defended 
 by sharp palisades, he bethought him of the brass 
 piece, seen through the ship s glass, and catching 
 
268 Cartagena 
 
 Woodside s arm drew him to the right to Hank the 
 battery; and as the grenades, with their sputtering 
 fuses, began to fly over the parapet, he saw the dis 
 charge of the first cannon and heard the cheers be 
 hind him turn to groans, curses and screams of 
 agony. 
 
 "On, to the rear boys," cried Woodside. "Down 
 with the palisades," shouted Ashton ; and while the 
 axes of his boarders rang against the tough iron- 
 wood, Hay took from the ground a huge picket and, 
 placing it between two of the posts, called to the 
 men to pry down the obstruction. A dozen rushed 
 forward to add their strength to his and, although 
 the steel of the axes broke like brittle glass against 
 the tough qucbracha wood, the sandy soil could not 
 resist the strain, and a section bent outward, the 
 fastenings gave way, and a moment later half a 
 dozen logs had been thrown down, and a stream of 
 men were pouring over the palisade, striking, thrust 
 ing, shouting, careless of life and fearless of death. 
 Pitting pistol against musket, the short cutlass 
 against rapier and Toledo, and opposing catlike 
 agility and native courage to the heavier weapons 
 and better vantage ground of their adversaries, the 
 English sailors writhed through palisades, chevaux 
 dc frise and the narrow embrasures, swarmed over 
 fascine, gabion and parapet, and after a brief but 
 bloody contest found themselves in possession of a 
 small lunette, mounting five guns, and advanced 
 some two hundred yards to seaward of the main 
 battery, where the long roll was already furiously 
 calling its defenders to arms to repel the unexpected 
 attack. 
 
The Barradera Batteries 269 
 
 For a moment or two there was some confusion 
 and needless bloodshed where Hay and his com 
 panions had entered ; for a few of the Spanish artill 
 erists, with their sponges and rammers, had terribly 
 mangled several of their assailants, and it needed 
 all that authority could effect to make them give 
 quarter and reform for the greater task before them. 
 
 "Fall in and fall on!" cried Boscawen, waving his 
 sword, as he stood in the centre of the work. "Five 
 guns are well enough, but we want the fifteen up 
 yonder." 
 
 As he spoke a gun thundered on the hill above, and 
 a shower of grape shot rattled into the works, killing 
 and w r ounding several around him. 
 
 "We must take it or lose more men," cried Coates, 
 a brother officer of marines, as he dashed out at the 
 rear of the work. "Forward, men! save your fire 
 and go in at the point of the bayonet." 
 
 A second gun thundered from the battery, cutting 
 a gap in the swarm of advancing sailors, but they 
 only cheered in answer and dashed on at speed, 
 brandishing their cutlasses and blowing their 
 matches to keep them alive and red. 
 
 "Away with you, Burfords!" "On with you, 
 Boynes !" "Don t let them beat you, Suffolks !" "At 
 them, Tilburys!" cried captain, lieutenant, reefer 
 and warrant officer, as with a rush they reached the 
 brow of the eminence, took without flinching the 
 musketry fire from the black ramparts above them, 
 and, launching a shower of grenades into the fort 
 over the parapets, followed them with an elan which 
 carried all before it; and by the time the slower ma- 
 
270 Cartagena 
 
 rines had entered the fort, it was taken, its guns 
 were spiked, and all was ready for the heavier but 
 no less important work of destruction. 
 
 Strong parties were at once detailed to follow up 
 the retreating foe sufficiently far to give timely 
 warning of a coming attack, and then the victors 
 gave themselves to the w r ork of destroying the tro 
 phies, which they could not hope then to remove. 
 
 The guns were spiked and dismounted, the heavy 
 platforms torn up, and the materials, with the mas 
 sive carriages of the cannon, the rammers, sponges, 
 buckets, and other ordnance material, piled to 
 gether, and the whole given to the flames, together 
 with the camp equipage of the garrison. 
 
 Then, giving a final cheer of triumph, the victors 
 moved off to their boats, and in good order returned 
 to the fleet, whose battle lanterns had been lighted 
 in the open ports, and w r hose crews at their ap 
 proach greeted their comrades with applauding 
 shouts, which were taken up by the army on shore, 
 and passed on from the camp to the trenches, until 
 even the reserve of the picket guard made them 
 heard by the mortified enemy. 
 
 It was a sore blow to the hopes of Don Sebastian 
 de Eslava, the governor of Cartagena, and more es 
 pecially to Don Bias, the admiral of the fleet and 
 commandant at Boca Chica; and the very next day 
 a strong scouting party was sent out across the 
 island of Tierra Bomba to see what communi 
 cation took place between the forts and the city, and 
 whether farther reinforcements were sen4 to defend 
 the entrance of the port. 
 
The Barradera Batteries 271 
 
 Two days later, they reported the arrival of new 
 guns and supplies, with small reinforcements from, 
 the vessels of war lying near the city walls; and 
 when, on the 21st of March, the new batteries began 
 to play on Boca Chica, an occasional shot from the 
 Barradera batteries, fired with the old annoying pre 
 cision, did far more execution in camp and trench 
 than the heavier, direct fire of the sorely pressed 
 Castle of Boca Chica. 
 
 A ship, ordered to drive the men from the guns, 
 failed utterly, as, after her fire became too heavy, 
 the Spaniards simply got under cover; and, as in 
 those days direct fire with shell was unknown, the 
 vessel and her crew suffered materially, and as soon 
 as she retired out of range, the Spaniards began 
 again to rake the breaching battery on Tierra 
 Bomba. 
 
 It soon became necessary, therefore, to repeat the 
 exploit of carrying the batteries; and, as no one 
 knew with what force the enemy had reoccupied 
 Varu, it was decided that the second attack should 
 take place by daylight, and should also be followed 
 up by a reconnoisance in force, which should enable 
 the fleet to make a strong demonstration on the 
 castle of St. Joseph, opposite that of St. Louis de 
 Boca Chica. 
 
 Previously, however, the American brigade, with 
 such of the Jamaican negroes as had not been killed 
 by the enemy s fire, in a single night, that of the 
 20th of March, laid low all the dense forest of 
 tangled vines, shrubs, trees and lianas, which, like a 
 mask, had covered the heavy batteries erected under 
 
272 Cartagena 
 
 the superintendence of Colonel Moore. These in 
 cluded the grand battery of twenty-one twenty-four 
 pounders, and the mortar battery of two large and 
 twenty-four small Coehorns, so called from the in 
 ventor, Baron Coehorn. These light mortars of 
 bronze, provided with a simple carriage consisting 
 of a block of wood with two handles by which even 
 two artillerists could move them from place to place, 
 could, nevertheless, send their small shell with great 
 force and accuracy into besieged places, and were 
 at that day justly considered of great use in assault 
 ing large works. 
 
 It was with great surprise that the Spaniards, on 
 the morning of the 21st, saw a levelled forest, and 
 batteries which seemed to have sprung from the 
 ground as if by magic, and, for a time, they quailed 
 under the tremendous fire of the guns, which were 
 chiefly worked by details of men from the fleet; and 
 the garrison suffered heavily from the steady rain 
 of huge bombs and small shells from the fleet and 
 the battery just noted. But they soon found that 
 their walls were as yet tenable, and returned the 
 fire with an accuracy and intensity which argued ill 
 for the besiegers, and determined the admiral to op 
 pose a part of his fleet to the seaward face of Boca 
 Chica ; which could be done by a limited number of 
 ships, without coining under the fire of the Spanish 
 fleet and the large fort of St. Joseph. 
 
Chapter XIX. 
 The Taking of Boca Chica 
 
 It is difficult at this day to determine, which of the 
 leaders of the English forces were most to blame in 
 the incessant disputes and evident ill-feeling, which, 
 thinly disguised under the seeming calm of official 
 verbiage, is nevertheless fully patent in the orders, 
 communications and petitions which, in later years, 
 were published for the attempted exculpation of the 
 various branches of the service, from the deserved 
 condemnation of the British public. 
 
 Certain it is, however, that on Col. Moore, the 
 leader of the engineer corps, no deserved reproach 
 seems to rest; and in the light of similar modern 
 achievements, it would seem that the erection of ef 
 fective breaching and mortar batteries within less 
 than ten days, under the fire of four forts and bat 
 teries, and as many heavy men-of-war, should have 
 satisfied even the doughty and energetic Vernon 
 himself. 
 
 But, although the fire of the battery, when once 
 begun, never slackened by day or night, and red-hot 
 balls, round shot and shell, alternated with rounds 
 of grape, rapidly reduced the curtains of Boca Chica 
 castle to rubble, and materially lessened the force of 
 seamen and marines which, under Don Bias, the 
 admiral of the fleet, seems to have constituted its 
 only defenders, Vernon chafed angrily at the delay; 
 and ever saw the mighty apparition of the combined 
 
274 Cartagena 
 
 French and Spanish fleets coming down with the 
 trade winds, to catch his weakened ships between 
 their recruited forces and the still formidable de 
 fences between him and Cartagena. 
 
 Therefore, on the22d of March, after much debate, 
 he determined to allow a part of his fleet to bom 
 bard the seaward face of Boca Chica, and the Span 
 ish vessels; and accordingly, Commodore Lestock, 
 with the huge Boyne, Suffolk, Prince Frederick and 
 Hampton Court, was ordered to take part in the 
 bombardment. 
 
 On the morning of the 23d, the division deliber 
 ately moved in with the sea-breeze, and, taking posi 
 tion between the captured castle of St. Jago and 
 Boca Chica, anchored as near as possible to the shore 
 of Tierra Bomba, and, by means of springs upon 
 their cables, under a tremendous fire worked silently 
 into position, until, their guns having been brought 
 to bear, they were lost from view under the murky 
 smoke of their heavy batteries. 
 
 Moving more to starboard, Sir Chaloner Ogle sent 
 in the Princess Amelia and Norfolk to batter St. 
 Joseph and also the Barradera batteries, which al 
 ready had several guns in position; and these ships 
 were further supported to some extent by the Cum 
 berland and other ships, less boldly advanced, while 
 the rest of the great fleet lay idly at their anchorage; 
 although some brave captains, like Knowles of the 
 Weymouth, who had desired .permission to grapple 
 and cut through the boom, saw no reason why such 
 a force as theirs should not silence the guns of the 
 forts and take the four ships of Don Bias. 
 
The Taking of Boca Ohica 275 
 
 But partial measures prevailed, and all day long 
 the heavy, suffocating vapors covered battery and 
 war-ships, where, choked with sulphurous fumes, 
 and fainting under the tropical sun, Spaniards and 
 Englishmen struggled uselessly for victory ; useless 
 ly, we say, for at nightfall, when the ships drew off, 
 with a heavy loss of men and material, the Spaniards 
 still stood to their guns, and the cannon of the Bar- 
 radera had proved their efficacy in camp and battery; 
 killing in the latter the brave Col. Moore, as he 
 stood watching the effect of his steadily and care^ 
 fully directed fire. 
 
 Indeed, it became painfully apparent that only in 
 a concentrated assault of men, batteries and ships 
 could lie a reasonable hope of immediately securing 
 the possession of the works of the besieged; and 
 again the men of the fleet were told off for another 
 attempt on the outworks of the island of Varu. 
 
 But on the next day the same ships repeated the 
 bombardment of the day before, while Capts. Wat 
 son and Coates under cover of the smoke landed on 
 Varu, carried the guns lately mounted, utterly 
 ruined the works for further use, and burned a small 
 sloop, which had conveyed thither the cannon, men 
 and ammunition; returning to the ships with little 
 loss, although the attack was made at high noon. 
 
 But the ships, although partially successful in 
 silencing the guns of the fort, found the metal of 
 the Spanish war-ships and St. Joseph far heavier 
 than their own, and were glad to haul off in the af 
 ternoon, with heavy loss. 
 
 Lord Aubrey Beauclerc De Vere, of the Prince 
 
276 Cartagena 
 
 Frederick, was slain on his own quarter-deck. Le- 
 stock himself let the splendid Boyne lie too far out in 
 the swift channel, and she was mercilessly raked un 
 til her bulwarks were torn to splinters, and her masts 
 and rigging so cut up, that Lord Vernon, in very 
 desperation at the state of some of the best vessels 
 of his fleet, ordered, on the 25th, that the assault 
 should be made at nightfall; and Capt. Knowles, 
 with grim joy, received orders to join his brother 
 officers, Watson and Coates, in a diversion on tho 
 Barradera batteries and the isolated castle of St. 
 Joseph. 
 
 Accordingly the boats were got ready, with the 
 same complement of ten seamen and fifteen marine! 
 to each as in the former expeditions, while the 
 barge of the Weymouth was furnished with several 
 sw r ivels and Coehorn mortars, with which to create 
 a panic among the defenders by a shower of shells 
 and grape shot. 
 
 At dark, the storming party were in the trenches, 
 led by the forlorn hope of twelve grenadiers under 
 their sergeant, and ready with lighted matches to 
 throw over the walls a shower of the destructive mis 
 siles which w r ere formerly the peculiar arm of their 
 service. A picked body of fifty of their comrades on 
 their left formed the reserve, who, with bullet and 
 bayonet, were to ascend the precarious footing and 
 deadly trou tfcnfcr of the still scarcely practicable 
 breach; and six hundred men of Bland s and Whin- 
 yard s regiments, with small parties of the colonists 
 and the Jamaican negroes with scaling ladders, axes, 
 fascines and grenades, were ready to act on the 
 flanks. 
 
The Taking of Boca Ckica 277 
 
 As the sun went down, the fire slackened and died 
 aw r ay until only an occasional shot thundered across 
 the water or hurtled over the bullet-seamed inter 
 val between the forts; but Don Bias felt in the air 
 the coming of the storm, and, feeling that his forces 
 were inadequate to the struggle, began to make 
 preparations for flight, rather than for a resistance 
 to the death. 
 
 And so while the soldiers lay like hounds in the 
 leash, waiting for the word to advance, and while the 
 boats were stealing silently out from under the 
 shadow of the war ships to the shores of the Barra- 
 dera, the seamen on the walls knew that their boats 
 lay ready to bear them to the distant city ; the com 
 bustibles were ready piled in barracks and hold; and 
 the apertures which were to sink across the channel, 
 the huge hulks of the Galicia and her sister ships, 
 only awaited the finishing blows of the axe, which 
 should let in a torrent which scores of pumps and 
 the strength of hundreds of men should essay in 
 vain to diminish or counteract. A great calm fell 
 over all as the hour drew near, and the gunners as 
 they stood by their charged pieces, the engineers 
 who saw the matrosses holding their portfires by the 
 three Coehorns whose shells were to be the signal 
 for attack, and the surgeons awaiting in the cock 
 pits the shock and thunder of the ready batteries, 
 were silent as the grave or spoke only below their 
 breath. 
 
 At last the final preparations were concluded and 
 the word was given. The matrosses applied their 
 matches, the shells hurtled into mid-heaven and fell 
 
278 Cartagena 
 
 one after another into the enceinte of Boca Chica. 
 Then from battery, frigate and war ship hurtled a 
 shower of missiles to which the heaviest fire of the 
 previous days was as the opening skirmish of a de 
 cisive battle, and the Spaniards on the battered 
 walls shrank from the hail of grape, langrage, bar 
 and chainshot, bursting shell and red-hot balls, 
 which searched every foot of parapet and traverse 
 and wrought sad havoc even in the ships beyond 
 them. Then the fire of the shore batteries slowly 
 slackened as the head of the advancing column ad 
 vanced, led by a Spanish pilot, who, prompted by the 
 hope of reward and menaced with instant death by 
 the bayonets of his guard, walked before the for 
 lorn hope. 
 
 At the very foot of the breach they stood, amid 
 shattered masonry and splintered palisades, and 
 the men, opening their pouches, began to blow 7 their 
 matches and handle their grenades before their pres 
 ence was discovered ; and as the first musket shot its 
 fire into their faces, they raised their w r ar-cry and 
 dashed up the ascent of the breach. Few, indeed, 
 lived to see the result of the show r er of grenades 
 w r hich hurtled from their hands into the mass of 
 dark faces and levelled tubes before them; but the 
 reserve came on fiercely close behind, and, although 
 Col. Whinyard was killed, and Col. Gooch was car 
 ried to the rear, wounded in both thighs, the troops 
 dashed in and the fort was won. 
 
 Then burst upon the night the flames of the great 
 St. Phillip, her eighty guns exploding as the confla 
 gration, fed by masses of combustibles, swept from 
 
The Taking of Boca Chica 279 
 
 deck to deck and writhed from spar to spar, and 
 the bay was lurid with light, as her sister ships, 
 the great St. Carlos, Africa and Cassadada, deserted 
 by their crews, were seen to go down at their an 
 chorage beside the huge floating boom, which, with 
 the exception of the castle of St. Joseph, and the 
 Gallicia, the flag-ship of Don Bias, alone remained of 
 the strong harbor defences of Cartagena. 
 
 In the meantime the boat expedition had safely 
 landed its men, who moving carefully up the shore 
 of the Baru had occupied without resistance the de 
 serted batteries, and pressing on beheld the short 
 defense and final capture of the principal fort, while 
 seeking to approach the island castle of St. Joseph, 
 and with mingled rage and disappointment found 
 that nature had proved stronger than art, and that 
 deep mud and tangled mangroves, covered waist 
 deep with water, were obstacles not to be overcome 
 by human agility or the most desperate courage. A 
 few marines and sailors essayed in vain the impass 
 able slough, while the rest, scarcely noticed by the 
 flying enemy, gazed at the sinking ships and de 
 serted forts. But suddenly a commotion was noticed 
 among the bushes, and the light whaler, drawn by 
 her crew and a few stragglers, was set down at the 
 water s edge. The example was quickly followed, 
 and half a dozen or more of the lighter boats were 
 emptied of their heavier appurtenances, borne 
 across the island and launched into the inner bay. 
 
 Fort St. Joseph was first visited, but no fire was 
 opened from its deserted bastions, and the portal 
 stood open, the draw-bridge lowered, the lanterns 
 
280 Cartagena 
 
 unlit, while all around were the evidences of hasty 
 flight and careless desertion. Only one man, maud 
 lin with over-much wine, brandishing an unlighted 
 torch beside the tar-smeared door of the magazine, 
 and bearing the evidences of recent wounds, in a 
 bandaged shoulder and an useless arm slung in a 
 silken kerchief, remained of all the men who for 
 two , days had so sternly answered the fire and 
 quelled the courage of Lestock s trained seamen. 
 
 When seized, his hand, as if instinctively, sought 
 the sheath at his belt, but it was empty, and with a 
 laugh, grim even in its maudlin inebriety, he yielded 
 to the will of his captors and sank into a drunken 
 sleep in a nook beside the southern platform ; while 
 the boats, leaving a small guard, rowed off to the 
 Gallicia, on board of which some score of men were 
 still to be seen. 
 
 These, however, deserted by their comrades and 
 unable to fight or flee, yielded without question, and 
 by midnight of the 25th of March, 1741, the first 
 great move on the chessboard of the siege had been 
 won by the English, and to all appearance the 
 speedy fall of Cartagena was a foregone conclusion. 
 
 As for our friends of the crew of the whaler, they 
 were kept busy until daylight, when they lay down 
 in the captured vessel to rest after the fatigues and 
 excitement of the night before; but as they did so, 
 Coggeshall turned to Stephen, and remarked: 
 
 "Did you notice thet drunken fellow at the castle 
 last night? It seems to me thet I have seen him be 
 fore." 
 
 "Very likely you have," answered Stephen, quietly. 
 
The Taking of Boca Chica 281 
 
 "Untequit here did not kill the Spanish marine, as 
 we thought; and if he had not left his knife in the 
 sentinel s heart that night, we might, some of us, 
 have lost more blood at the hand of Carlos, the Cata 
 lan marine, as poor Pepe used always to call him." 
 
 "We ll hev him hung to-morrow,"- grumbled Jones 
 angrily. 
 
 "What for?" asked Hay, sleepily. " Twas his duty 
 to get off if he could, and it was not his fault that 
 he had to use subtlety to make a short knife better 
 than bullet and bayonet. He s a brave fellow, and 
 I hope will get well of the bullet you gave him, Un 
 tequit." 
 
 And, without farther conversation, they inconti 
 nently fell asleep. 
 
Chapter XX. 
 
 News From the Expedition 
 
 It was nearly a month after the events described 
 in the last chapter, that news of the first success of 
 the combined forces reached the northern colonies; 
 for, although Admiral Vernon promptly despatched 
 the Spence sloop under Captain Laws with des 
 patches to England, via Jamaica, it was only by let 
 ters sent to that centre of British naval operations, 
 and afterwards forwarded by packets and priva 
 teers, that the press and people of the northern colo 
 nies learned of the first victories of the great ex 
 pedition. 
 
 It was on the morning of the 1st of June, next 
 ensuing, that, as the household at Ploughed Neck 
 had seated themselves around the breakfast table, 
 set out with snow-white, but coarse linen, on which 
 were arrayed the huge pewter chargers, platters, 
 plates, porringers, mugs, and other articles of metal 
 no longer known to the descendants of the men of 
 those days, that the road of a heavy gun came up 
 from the bay to the north and east on the ocean 
 breeze, which, just strong enough to rustle the 
 fringy foliage of the great locust tree by the foot of 
 the lane before the house-yard, gently rattled the 
 cheap shades of stout green paper, which, after the 
 fashion of all careful New England housewives in 
 summer time, had been lowered "to keep out the 
 flies," and, we fear, the sunshine. 
 
News from the Expedition 283 
 
 Deacon Hay had just lifted his hand and com 
 menced the blessing, which none of his household had 
 ever known to be omitted in joy or sorrow, health or 
 sickness, whether many or few were gathered 
 around the hospitable board never forbidden to any, 
 however poor; never deemed by the sturdy farmer 
 too humble to supply the "creature wants" of the 
 noblest and proudest of the magnates of his time; 
 but, although at that day a gun at sea might well 
 betoken the presence of marauding enemy or merci 
 less pirate, the somewhat prolix form of prayer was 
 not one whit abridged, nor the homely fervor of the 
 speaker the least abated, as he prayed "for those 
 upon the seas, and warring against the enemies of 
 the king." 
 
 Lish, however, was less self-contained, and the 
 prayer was scarcely concluded w 7 hen he had flung 
 aside his chair and was heard rapidly ascending to 
 the garret, whence by a trap door he reached the 
 roof, and levelled an old ship s glass toward the dis 
 tant waters. 
 
 " Tis the Viana, father," he was heard to shout. 
 "Her flag is flying at the main mast head, and there 
 goes another gun from her deck. I ll be bound Uncle 
 Zenas has bought a swivel for the sloop, and is firing 
 it to let us know of his coming." 
 
 " Tis scarcely that, my son," said his father in his 
 habitual grave, self-contained tones, "Mr. Freeman 
 is not like to waste so much powder for naught. De 
 pend upon it he has heard some great news, per 
 chance of the fortunes of our men and the great 
 fleet". 
 
284 Cartagena 
 
 "Perhaps he has letters for us/ said his wife, the 
 moisture standing in her sweetly patient, loving 
 eyes, and her sensitive lip trembling, in spite of the 
 strong power of self-control then practised under 
 the stern rules of life and thought, followed by our 
 sires of the Puritan and Pilgrim colonies, "and per 
 haps" 
 
 "Perhaps he has come !" broke in Tempie, bursting 
 into a passion of smiles and tears. "Perhaps he is 
 on board, my dear, beautiful brother. He was to 
 come in the spring with the leaves; he said it, and 
 she said so too," and the child, crying and laughing, 
 broke down into one of those strange hysterical cli 
 maxes of emotion, so often seen among the feminine 
 descendants of the pioneers of New England. 
 
 The mother s arms were at once around her child, 
 and her deft fingers gently unloosened the neckties 
 of the plain dress, as smoothing back the jetty 
 hair from the pale temples, she drew the sobbing 
 child to her breast in speechless sympathy. 
 
 It w r as the nearest to a caress that any living per 
 son had seen Deacon Hay offer his faithful com 
 panion, when he laid his arm kindly across her 
 shoulder, and with his hard, brown hand, touched 
 the soft cheek of his youngest daughter, nor was it 
 until after an evident effort, that he spoke in his 
 wonted calm, cold tones. 
 
 "It may be he brings news, but I expect no letters 
 and least of all the return of our friends. If they 
 have taken a city they will have to garrison it, until 
 the king sends troops to relieve them, and our last 
 news was of long delays and sore losses. It were 
 
News from the Expedition 285 
 
 not wise to hope for so great a blessing from the 
 Lord." 
 
 "Well," said Lish somewhat impatiently, "he s 
 burning powder for something anyhow, and I move 
 we harness up the horse and go down to the harbor 
 to meet him. She ll be at anchor before we get there, 
 and in an hour or so you will know why Uncle Zenas 
 has kept the sloop s ensign wearing out in this stiff 
 breeze, and set half the militia along the coast to 
 thinking of musket and cartridge box." 
 
 "I had thought," replied his father quietly, "of 
 fencing in the new wheat field by the Brush pasture, 
 but Joshua and I can get along I reckon and you can 
 bring back Uncle Zenas and the things he was to 
 purchase for me in Boston." 
 
 An hour or two later the heavy farm wagon re 
 turned and in it Uncle Zenas, red as a boiled lobster 
 with sea-tan, enthusiastic loyalty and, we fear, a 
 little Santa Cruz. A large audience, considering the 
 size of the little hamlet, awaited him at the door of 
 the Hay mansion when he drove up and, leaping to 
 the ground, kissed his daughter, whom Tempie had 
 run to summon, and then turned to tell of the re 
 ceipt of the news of the taking of Boca Chica ; which 
 tidings had reached Boston on the 29th of May, 
 nearly tw r o months after the surrender. 
 
 "You ought to hev seen the town," cried the old 
 captain, "when the news became known; the har 
 bor was full of smoke from the guns of the shipping, 
 the Common an streets alive with the townsmen, 
 an the country people coming in to hear the news 
 an see the rejoicin s. The taverns an ordinaries 
 
286 Cartagena 
 
 were full of good fellows an officers drinking suc 
 cess to our brave boys an his majesty s arms; an 
 tis said thet more men will be raised at once, an the 
 Spanish dominions on this side the water utterly 
 wasted an occupied. 
 
 "Then in the evenin thar were bonfires on all 
 the heights, an such rockets an bluelights as I 
 hev never seen since I was in Canton among the 
 heathen Chinese, who are more curious in such mat 
 ters then any other people I ever saw." 
 
 "But is Cartagena itself taken?" asked Hay, so 
 berly. "If I understand you they have only cracked 
 the outer covering of the nut, and the harder shell 
 still lies between them and the kernel." 
 
 "Aye! aye! So tis I take it," answered the old sea 
 dog. "An as far s I know there are several forts, 
 an more than one stout ship between them an the 
 walls them boasting dons have called the defiance of 
 the world, for so a Portagee told me they hed hed 
 cut on the outer arch o the city gate. But, how- 
 somever, ef Vernon hasn t got the city before now 
 he never will, fer thar s a worse thing to fight then 
 Spaniards thar at this season, an well the admiral 
 knows it." 
 
 "What is that father?" asked Margaret, anxiously. 
 
 " Tis the Chapetonadas, child, es the Spaniards 
 call it," answered the blunt old seaman, a little un 
 easily, as if some dim sense of thoughtlessness had 
 begun to intrude itself on his dull apprehension, "so 
 called because only the Chapetones, es they call the 
 strangers who come thar from other parts, are 
 liable to hev it. Tis a kind of fever, child, an many 
 
News from the Expedition 287 
 
 a poor sailor lies died of it in times past in Cartagena 
 an Porto Bello, too." 
 
 "You mean the yellow fever, don t you, uncle?" 
 asked Lish, quickly, "You know Steve has had that 
 in the Young Eagle privateer, an is not like to have 
 it again." 
 
 "Wai, I spose it s like yallow fever, an still thar s 
 a difference es I m told, but ef he s scaped Yallow 
 Jack, as they call him in the West Indies, we needn t 
 worry, though many a good man, they say, hes died 
 already of it in the fleet an army." 
 
 "Are any of note gone?" asked Hay, gravely. 
 
 "Wai, thar s the Rev. Mr. Pigot, thet used to be 
 settled down to Marblehead, an Mr. Ramsay, a sur 
 geon, died just afore the fleet left Jamaiky, an of 
 Prescott s company over a score went with 
 the fever, besides Lieutenant Flagg an Ensign 
 Goffe. Tis a bad climate an tryin service, an I 
 hope Vernon hes taken the city ere this." 
 
 "But did you hear nothing from our Stephie him 
 self?" asked Ternpie, tremblingly. 
 
 "Yes, dear child. I met an old shipmate who went 
 out on one of the transports an got rid on his load 
 of flour an pork, shortly a ter the fleet got fairly at 
 work at the forts. He says thet Dr. Stewart s leften- 
 ant, with Stephen, Bill an three or four more men, 
 lied taken a whaleboat an was kind of scoutin like 
 fer a man-o -war, an Steve sent home this letter fer 
 his mother an one fer 
 
 "O father!" said Margaret, with downcast face, 
 while Lish s face whitened a moment and then 
 flushed red as blood; but Mrs. Hay looked upward 
 
288 Cartagena 
 
 in thankfulness, seeming as Uncle Zene was after 
 wards heard to say "a most like one o the marble 
 saints, in them palaces up the Mediterranean?" 
 
 But little Temple, almost w r ild with joy, flew to 
 the side of the old sea-captain, as, with a strange 
 mixture of burly good humor and tenderness, he 
 extracted from the pockets of his small-clothes two 
 letters, each written on a single sheet of the coarse, 
 unruled paper then in use. 
 
 With annoying deliberation he adjusted his large 
 spectacles to his satisfaction, spelled out the super 
 scriptions, and gave them to the child, who, covering 
 each with kisses, bore them respectively to her 
 mother and Margaret. 
 
 The little missives were simply folded and secured 
 by a spot of wax, for in those days envelopes were 
 an unknown refinement of civilization; and on their 
 long and devious errand, the once white paper had 
 acquired certain smutches, creases, and strange 
 odors of tar and tobacco, scarcely inviting to femi 
 nine tastes; but no perfumed and dainty billet could 
 have been more welcome to the mother of Stephen 
 Hay. 
 
 She was about to break the seal, but turned to her 
 husband: "Bead it, Elisha," she said, placing it in 
 his hands; and he, with hands trembling visibly as 
 he did so, opened and read the first letter received 
 since the transports of the Massachusetts troops left 
 the waters of New York harbor. It ran as follows : 
 
 "BOCA CHICA, Mar. 28, 1741. 
 "DEAR AND HONOURED MOTHER: This is to let 
 
News from the Expedition 289 
 
 you all know that William and I are Well, and so far 
 in Good Spirits, although many Poor Fellows have 
 passed into An Awful Eternity. We have taken the 
 Harbor Forts, and are but a few leagues from the 
 Town, and We hope to take it before the Rains set in. 
 Our Captain Stewart is very poorly, and I fear can 
 not live long. He is worn out with Service, having 
 proved himself a good Souldier, and a healer of Body 
 and Soul to his Men. It would grieve Any one to 
 see how Changed he is from what he Was; but he 
 says that he has no Doubt of meeting his Dear Ones 
 Again. Truly, I doubt not Thereof, but it must be, 
 I fear, in those Heavenly Mansions, in which, dear 
 Mother, may we all Meet again when Life is over. 
 Give my love to my Honoured Father and all In* 
 quireing Friends and Especially to dear Little Tern- 
 pie, who will, I know, be Patient if I come not till 
 the Snow falls. Tell her to Fear not, whatever may 
 betide; for I have I know not why the Full As 
 surance of Coming back to Home and those I Love. 
 "Nevertheless, should this prove but a Delusion, I 
 have faith through Christ s love that I may be Num 
 bered among His Saints, in which Hope Dear and 
 Honoured Mother I subscribe myself 
 
 "Your Loving and Obed t Son 
 
 "STEPHEN HAY." 
 
 That evening, as the household knelt beside the 
 family altar, Deacon Hay heard around him stifled 
 sobs as he offered up the accustomed form of thanks 
 giving, to w r hich in simple words he added thanks 
 for the brief message, which, in spite of many 
 
290 Cartagena 
 
 chances of war and wreck, had safely reached its 
 destination : 
 
 "We thank thee for our creation, preservation, 
 and all the blessings of this life, and the special priv 
 ileges thou hast so lately accorded to us, but above 
 all for the inestimable gift of thy dear Son, who for 
 us endured the cross, despising the shame, and be 
 came an acceptable propitiation for our sins. Grant, 
 O most merciful Father, the safe return of those 
 dear and faithful ones far distant from us, but if 
 it be thy will reconcile us to earthly separation, and 
 give us hope and trust in a never-ending life in thy 
 kingdom." 
 
 In such manner, clear, distinct and unimpas^ 
 sioned, ran the prayer of the father, and to many 
 ears the words will convey little of the deep and ten 
 der paternal love, which for generations back has 
 underlain the undemonstrative, outward man of the 
 descendants of Pilgrim and Puritan. As the lava 
 lies under the ice of Hecla, so every strong, true and 
 deep emotion known to noble natures, lives in the 
 hearts of the men of New England. It is not for 
 light cause that they break the bonds of hereditary 
 self-repression, but a thousand acts of generosity, 
 self sacrifice, tenderness and courage, have given 
 the lie to the charge, which ascribed to austerity and 
 narrow selfishness the customary moderation of 
 New England character. 
 
 And so little Tempie knew and felt that night, as 
 her father drew her to his side and laid his heavy 
 hand upon her curls, that her father loved her and 
 sympathized in her hopes and fears, and she went to 
 
News from the Expedition 291 
 
 bed comforted; although she would have liked to kiss 
 those firmly-set, smoothly-shaved lips, and feel them 
 return the mute caress of filial tenderness. 
 
 But Margaret carried her letter homeward and 
 under the blossoming apple trees, seated herself on 
 one of the low wind-twisted trunks, and read her 
 first love missive. 
 
 It was dated, folded and sealed like the other and 
 ran something as follows: 
 
 "Miss MARGARET FREEMAN : 
 
 "I have written several letters both to you and to 
 my Honoured Parents, the w r hich I have cause to 
 Fear have never reached you, as the whole Sea is 
 thronged with Picaroons and Privateers, and We 
 hear Almost Daily of the Loss of our Vessels. Let 
 not that Misfortune dear Friend, lessen your Trust 
 in my Love, which dwells ever on your Perfections 
 and knows no Change with Absence, but rather like 
 Hunger grows with Deprivation. I have written the 
 News to Mother, which w r ill also come to you 
 through the Newsletter more fully. Also the Packet 
 has her Signal flying, and my Time is short. 
 
 "This, however, I w r ould say, that although I My 
 self doubt not of Returning to you, yet as I daily see 
 Many cut off in the Midst of Life, and I see no pres 
 ent Hope of Speedy Return, I Hereby freely release 
 you from your Promise of Betrothal ; if at the End 
 of a Year and a Day from the Date of my Last Letter 
 I appear not to be Among the Living. And in such 
 Case I beseech you fear not to favor a more Fortu 
 nate Servitor, lest I although Dead grieve at his 
 
292 Cartagena 
 
 Happiness, for I protest that I so much Love you, 
 that I would not bind you to any except such Bonds, 
 as Love makes light, and Honour glorifies. 
 
 "Speak not of this to any, for Tempie would grieve 
 as also my Loving Mother. I would that you and 
 I could see together the Strange Beauties of this 
 Fair Land, but Death goes Hand in Hand with Beau 
 ty and the serpent often lurks under every Flower 
 of the Forest. I would Fain walk with you under 
 the Apple boughs again at Home, but Duty and 
 Honour keep me Here in the King s Service, and 
 until His Majestie s further Pleasure I can only sub 
 scribe myself 
 
 "Your Devoted Servitor and True Friend, 
 
 "STEPHEN HAY." 
 
 A slight rustle startled the young girl as she 
 ceased reading; and as she turned in alarm, she saw 
 close to her shoulder the swarthy face, coarse white 
 hair and beady eyes of Molly Pognet, who stood 
 leaning on her long, horn-handled staff, regarding 
 her with a strange smile, half sneer, half pity, which, 
 as Margaret in after years declared, "made her 
 blood run cold to think of." 
 
 For in that day, scarce two generations removed 
 from the sad scenes of the "witchcraft delusions," 
 which left so terrible a stigma on the fair fame of 
 many of New England s noblest sons, belief in the 
 supernatural, although perhaps not more general 
 than now, was more honestly and openly avowed, 
 and attested in almost every neighborhood by tales 
 of the prowess of reputed witches, of strange ap- 
 
News from the Expedition 293 
 
 paritions, wonderful sounds, and indubitable evi 
 dences of the machinations and subtle devices of the 
 enemy of souls. 
 
 Mary, or Molly, Pognet stood first of the few 
 strange characters who, among a population singu 
 larly pure of thought and deed, and universally 
 habituated to at least the outward forms of a Chris 
 tian life, were more than suspected of partial idola 
 try and of the practice of impious rites whose origin 
 was lost in the night of tradition, and whose secrets 
 have been for the most part forgotten with the ex 
 tinction of the sept of powwaws or medicine men. 
 
 Far and wide, her skill in making healing salves 
 and soothing embrocations was established; and the 
 best housewives acknowledged that their own efforts 
 with the costliest dyes fell far short of the hues 
 which old Molly could produce from the wide range 
 of simples known to her native pharmacopoeia. And 
 there were many fair matrons who, when pressed, 
 had to acknowledge that she had held their hands 
 and told them of their destined husbands, perhaps 
 unknown to them, and far away amid the icefields 
 of Baffin s Bay, or stretching off across the southern 
 Atlantic to the fatal west coast for gold, palm oil, 
 and perhaps, alas! slaves. 
 
 She seldom exercised the gift for money, and never 
 unless interested somewhat in the individual, either 
 through favors done .or insult offered, and in more 
 than one weary watch it was told how one stout 
 captain, who had roughly berated her as "an Indian 
 beggar fit only for the gallows," had heard from her 
 in reply only a single sentence, " Tis you that should 
 
294 Cartagena 
 
 fear the rope, bold captain," and six months later, 
 had been carried down in the tangled fakes of his 
 own line when fast to a huge sperm whale. 
 
 "And so he has set you free, Margaret Freeman," 
 said the wise woman, coldly, as she looked intently 
 into the girl s swollen eyes. "It is well; when one 
 can hold his own no longer, it is wise to give away 
 that which he knows must be taken from him." 
 
 "How came you to know I mean how dared you 
 read my letters? I should think you would be 
 ashamed," said Margaret, brokenly, but the dame 
 raised her hand, and in spite of herself she was 
 silent. 
 
 "Listen !" she said, almost pityingly, and so gently 
 that Margaret wondered at the human softness of 
 her tone. "I can read and did, for I hoped to learn 
 of my good son, who went as comrade and friend 
 with Stephen Hay. I dare do anything, and I am 
 not ashamed that I looked for tidings of the only 
 living descendant I have on earth. . But tell me," 
 she continued, "how long is it since the talking paper 
 started to come across the great sea?" 
 
 "It was written more than a month ago," said 
 Margaret, quietly, "and all were well, as he says, 
 then." 
 
 "Many things happen in a single moon," said 
 Molly, solemnly, "and I know that much of harm 
 may come in a single day to the. bravest warrior and 
 the wisest man. But see you," she continued, more 
 calmly, "he has done wisely in setting you free, as he 
 has said." 
 
 "But I am not to be free for a year and a day from 
 
News from the Expedition 295 
 
 the date of his last letter, and that will be eleven 
 months at least," said Margaret, hurriedly. "Be 
 sides he will come back before then, and I shan t 
 want to change at all." 
 
 When the bird struggles in the net it is not in 
 love with its bonds, and I know, girl, that you at 
 least begin to be weary of a promise. Be content; 
 he will not come back to complain that you have 
 broken it." 
 
 "What do you mean? You frighten me. Have 
 you also heard from the fleet?" and the young girl, 
 weak, trembling and agitated, turned as if to fly 
 from the spot. 
 
 A hand, strong despite its age, was laid upon her 
 shoulder, and the Indian sybil spoke once more in 
 tones w 7 hich convinced, in spite of the strangeness of 
 the message : "How I know I may not say, but I have 
 seen both since yesterday at noon, and both are 
 wounded and Stephen Hay is a prisoner. Yet I fear 
 not but that I shall see my boy again, for the hurts 
 are slight, but long months may come and go before 
 either come back to the land of the Massachusetts; 
 so if you care for the man and your word to him, fear 
 not, no matter what you may hear, but that you 
 shall gaze on his face again." 
 
 She turned to go, but Margaret stopped her with 
 a word, "Shall I tell his parents of your words?" 
 
 "Say what you please, and yet, as evil news comes 
 fast at its slowest, if you say nothing, it may save a 
 moon or two of sad and bitter thoughts to those who 
 love him. As for Molly Pognet, she is no white 
 woman, that she should carry long stories from one 
 house to another." 
 
296 Cartagena 
 
 AYith a wave of the hand the aged woman de 
 parted, still erect and active, as if nearly an hun 
 dred winters had not blanched the long coarse hair, 
 which plaited and tied with a plain dark blue ribbon, 
 fell almost to her knees from under a pointed cap of 
 woollen cloth, ornamented with a few coarse beads 
 of wampum. Margaret watched her until she had 
 crossed the high road at the foot of the lane and dis 
 appeared beneath the shadow of the woods beyond ; 
 then turning, re-read the missive she still held in her 
 hand. As she read the tears gathered in her eyes, 
 and at last burying her face in her hands she sobbed 
 aloud. 
 
 Then rising, she dashed away the tears almost 
 fiercely as she said, "There, I won t cry any more. 
 He s good, too good for me; unselfish, generous, 
 brave and handsome, and I ought to be true and 
 glad to give myself to him; and yet he is too grave 
 and thoughtful, and when he talks of duty, he 
 frightens and vexes me by turns. Why should life 
 be all duty? and why cannot men and women be 
 happy as the birds, who have no care, and do in all 
 things as they please? 
 
 "Now there s Lish, always merry and full of fun, 
 but not bad I m sure, though he is a little selfish at 
 times I do think; but he ll get over that in time, and 
 I m sure I should be happier with him than Stephen, 
 although I know " but leaving the sentence uncom 
 pleted she sauntered off toward the sea, struggling 
 with a vague sense of disquiet ; for the poor, petted 
 child, unaccustomed to self-denial and discipline, 
 felt that she of all women could least afford to sac- 
 
News from (he Expedition 297 
 
 rifice a love strengthened by duty, and a heart that, 
 whatever the temptation, would never be false 
 to her. 
 
 The way led down a gently undulating pasture, 
 flecked with ponds, by which the killdeer plover 
 stalked and fed, springing into the air when star 
 tled, with their strange, querulous cry; and flocks 
 of purple grakles from time to time swept up from 
 the verdant maize fields, and blackened the bronze 
 green leaves of the great trees of the western swamp. 
 
 Beyond the latter, the great green marsh stretched 
 many a mile west and north, defended from the 
 sea by the huge sand hills which mark where ages 
 ago the first reef of white sand shut off from the sea 
 a part of its waters, since made solid land by the silt 
 of the tide, the drainings of the inland springs and 
 the wash of the upland hills. 
 
 She was sad at heart, and she found in the wide 
 landscape and its accessories a silent companion 
 ship fitted to the conflict going on in her heart, and 
 she drank in the odor of the ocean and the strong 
 aroma of the broad marshes; as if they were the 
 health-giving perfumes of medieval Italy in the 
 days of occult pharmacy. 
 
 She gathered sprigs of aromatic pennyroyal, and 
 tasted the delicate inner shoots of the sweet cala 
 mus, sighing as she thought of the old days, not so 
 very long ago, when the brothers in boyish gallantry 
 had made of such simple gifts, the sacrifices of their 
 budding admiration, the proofs of their nascent de 
 votion to the embryo woman; and wished that the 
 swift feet of Time could have passed her in his 
 
298 Cartagena 
 
 course, and left her the tiny coquette of the district 
 school, the girl pet of a household whose only aim 
 was to make her happy. 
 
 The roadway became sandy and less grassy as it 
 entered a low growth of scrubby oaks and pines, 
 here and there dotted with heavier groves of walnut, 
 and thickets of wild grape vines, where herons 
 sprawled about the loftier tree tops, and the ma 
 rauding crow, conscious of the price set upon his 
 thieving head by the laws of the colony, spread his 
 huge black wings and sailed off across the marshes, 
 uttering his rough cry of warning, to be taken up 
 and repeated from every copse for miles away. 
 
 She recalled even here some memories of the 
 past which had led to her present doubts and ques 
 tionings; how Lish had risked life and limb in climb 
 ing the highest monarch of the grove for the crow s 
 eggs, still hanging on the rosary of nidarian spoils 
 w r hich ornamented her Venetian mirror, beside 
 which again, neatly handled, as a delicate brush, 
 hung the tail of the first fox which had fallen to the 
 sure aim of the elder brother. 
 
 Under the shadow of a great vine, whose wide 
 leaves, supported by a stunted cedar, formed a 
 broad canopy, she sat on a carpet of soft short herb 
 age, and gave herself up to thought. Her mouth 
 grew parched, and she plucked the young shoots of 
 the aromatic checkerberry and ate, finding here and 
 there a berry which had escaped the winter snows 
 and the close search of the hare and squirrel, but 
 the longer she vexed her soul w r ith thought, the less 
 pleasing seemed the prospect of a love which en- 
 
News from the Expedition 299 
 
 tailed long and perhaps hopeless waiting; of an 
 union in which her own heart told her that happi 
 ness could only be secured by a recognition of the 
 sovereignty of duty, and a forgetfulness of self. 
 
 "I could sway him much," she murmured, "but he 
 would blame himself for letting me, and he is too 
 clear of sight to be long blinded by love. If he were 
 only less thoughtful I could love him, but I feel that 
 I fear him, and the man I choose must think me the 
 most perfect woman in the world." 
 
 She plucked the vine leaves from the lower shoots, 
 and plaited a chaplet, as she had done often before 
 at school, and, removing her hat, with short thorns 
 fitted it over her jetty curls, and here and there set 
 in the coral berries with the aid of a tiny pocket-mir 
 ror, a present from her father on returning from one 
 of his long voyages. 
 
 "That is pretty, but my eyes are red and swollen, 
 and make me look like a perfect fright. Well, I 
 must be going, or aunty will think I am lost, and 
 visit half the neighborhood to find out where I have 
 stra3 ed to." 
 
 Swinging her light hat by its strings she was step 
 ping into the road when she heard a resonant 
 whistle, and a brisk step, which she well knew could 
 belong to none other than Lish, who at the next 
 moment came round the turn of the road, carrying 
 over his shoulder a slender fishing-pole, and in his 
 hand a fine string of brook trout, strung by the gills 
 on a withe of alder. 
 
 But as he saw who stood in his path the joyous 
 whistle ceased, and his springing step grew heavy, 
 
300 Cartagena 
 
 while into his face there came a hot flush, succeeded 
 by the pale and listless look which had made Deacon 
 Hay, even in the press of his "first hoeing," insist 
 that his best and quickest assistant should "leave off 
 work and get a mess of big trout." 
 
 Margaret too felt the same strange heaviness at 
 her heart, although she, better skilled in the art of 
 hiding her feelings, greeted him gaily enough as she 
 saucily readjusted her leafy chaplet. 
 
 "O, what beauties, Lish! Where did you get them? 
 Father went fishing yesterday, down to Scorton, and 
 brought back a long string, but all small fish. Why, 
 I haven t seen such trout this year." 
 
 "I went clear to the head of Freeman s Brook, and 
 then struck across Spring Hill way up into the 
 swamp, takin them one at a time, for I know every 
 hole and eddy; but they seemed to want to be 
 caught, and if they hadn t I was in no mood to take 
 such shy fish as these are." 
 
 "Why, what s the matter, Lish?" she asked, inno 
 cently, but with a slight tremor in her voice, which 
 seemed strangely distinct to Lish s ears, for he fixed 
 his eyes keenly on her face, which flushed blood 
 red, and then as suddenly paled again. 
 
 "Your wreath becomes you," he said quietly, "but 
 after all you re not looking well of late, kind of wor 
 ried and pale, it seems to me. You mustn t worry 
 about Steve so much. He ll come back all right, I m 
 certain, and rich enough too, if all the stories are 
 true about the gold and silver those Spaniards 
 gather together in Cartagena. I m sure I wish I 
 had gone instead of wasting life and heart here on 
 Ploughed Neck." 
 
News from the Expedition 301 
 
 "I can t tell you how glad I am you didn t go," 
 broke out the young girl impetuously. " Tis bad 
 enough to think of Steve, and of Black Bill that I ve 
 always known, exposed to battles and fevers and all 
 kinds of dangers, and see everybody else sad and 
 worried about them, until even you that used to be 
 always cheerful, are now almost as grave and sol 
 emn as your father himself." 
 
 "I shall never be so merry again, Margie," said the 
 young man gloomily, "for there don t seem to be any 
 thing ahead in life to hope for. I m sick of farming; 
 sick of work without pay, and life without pleasure, 
 and I m heartily sorry now that I didn t go as Steve 
 did to the wars, where, if I lived, I might gain wealth 
 and glory and " 
 
 "And what if you died, Lish?" broke in Margaret 
 plaintively. "What if we should hear that you died 
 of fever, or were torn to pieces by one of those dread 
 ful shells that father tells about?" 
 
 "Why then I should be at rest, and know no more 
 weariness or sadness. Why, as I looked down into 
 the depths of the great cold spring up yonder, I al 
 most felt as if I could leap in and settle quietly down 
 into the cool, clear water, and know neither pain nor 
 disappointment nor weariness more." 
 
 "Stop, Lish ! do stop ! you frighten me," cried Mar 
 garet, and then burst into tears. And then Lish, with 
 the usual consistency of his age and condition, be 
 came as penitent and self-accusing as he had before 
 been abnormally desperate, reckless and despon 
 dent." 
 
 "I do think you are too bad, Lish," she at last said 
 
302 Cartagena 
 
 through her tears. "I ve had this letter from Steve, 
 and it made me so sad; and I came down here alone 
 to think over matters, and cheer up if I could. But 
 first old Molly Pognet must steal up behind me and 
 read mj letter, and then frighten me half to death 
 with her strange talk. You all seem to think I m 
 very happy, but I ve many things that trouble me 
 to keep to myself, for I don t want to make others 
 needlessly unhappy." 
 
 "Then tell them to me, Margaret," broke in Lish 
 impetuously. "Steve and I never had a quarrel that 
 lasted over night, and when we parted, the last thing 
 he told me to do was to be kind to you. She s been 
 like a sister to us both, said he, and now that she s 
 promised to be my wife, should be dearer than ever 
 to you all. So if the time ever comes when she needs 
 a true friend, do for her all that you would do for 
 me. I know I m careless and thoughtless," Lish 
 went on, blushing as he spoke, "but I can keep a 
 secret, and w r ould do anything in the world to save 
 you from pain or sorrow." 
 
 "I believe you would, Lish," she said gravely and 
 scarcely above a whisper, and then silently handed 
 him the letter. Lish trembled as he took it, but read 
 it, changing color the while, and then as silently 
 handed it back again. 
 
 "Old Molly told me, as we stood up yonder, that 
 both Steve and Bill were wounded, and that neither 
 would return for many months. And although it 
 don t seem right to trust to such things, yet I know 
 father, at least, would be worried to death if he 
 heard it. There, Lish, I ve told you all; at least, al- 
 
News From the Expedition 303 
 
 most all that troubles me, and you must not say a 
 Avoi-d to any one, for it will only worry others as it 
 does me." 
 
 As she spoke they passed out of the wildwood 
 into the open fields, and soon passed under the half- 
 lowered bars into the house yard, where already the 
 men with their clean-scoured pails, were going to 
 call the cattle from the pastures beyond the maize 
 fields. 
 
 Lish left his pole against the gable, and his fish in 
 a great crock filled with cool water from the depths 
 of the mossy draw-well, and went forth to his even 
 ing labor. But his heart was full of conflicting 
 thought and feeling, in which were strangely 
 blended past despondency, the old love and new ad 
 miration of his brother s noble nature, and half- 
 formed hopes and nascent expectations born of the 
 train of thought suggested by his brother s missive. 
 
 "If he comes not before the orchards are again in 
 bloom, she is free to wed another," he said within 
 himself, as he lowered the bars for the entrance of 
 the sleek kine. "Will she be sorry if the news should 
 come, that poor Stephen has fallen in battle, or died 
 of those fatal fevers?" 
 
 And then he stamped his foot impatiently, as if 
 angry and horrified at his own thoughts as Cain 
 may have done in the land at the borders of Eden, 
 when first he wavered between fraternal love and 
 that jealousy of a brother s better fortune, which 
 grew in time into the bitter and accursed fruit of his 
 vast remorse for the first fratricide. 
 
Chapter XXI. 
 The Last of Earth 
 
 Captain Stewart had taken an active part in the 
 latter days of the siege, although it was evident to 
 all that the extraordinary duties of captain and sur 
 geon, unflinchingly performed by him, had so less 
 ened his vitality and enfeebled his constitution, that 
 any attack of acute disease would probably prove 
 fatal. 
 
 He had, however, found the duties of the siege and 
 the comparative freedom of service on shore, some 
 alleviation of the terrible discomforts endured on 
 shipboard; and when the grenadiers rushed through 
 the crumbled curtain of Boca Chica Castle, his 
 Americans were close at their heels, although as 
 signed a place several hundred yards behind the re 
 serve of regulars. 
 
 Colonel Gooch, their commanding officer, was 
 wounded, and Captain Washington of Virginia is 
 incidentally mentioned in the annals of the siege as 
 acting w r ith great bravery and decision. But all 
 that English contempt for colonial troops could do, 
 was done to leave in utter obscurity the services of 
 the provincials, and succeeded so well, that only the 
 story of their degradation to the most menial service, 
 and the terrible record of their mortality, is left to 
 their descendants. 
 
 But when the narrow portals of the lagoon were 
 opened to the fleet, Vernon hastened to place his 
 
The Last of Earth 305 
 
 ships in safety, and then, leaving Lestock s division 
 to clear away the obstructions and embark the 
 forces landed, made his way up the lagoon to attack 
 the inner defences which lay between him and the 
 city. 
 
 The embarkation was fatal to many of those 
 wearied with want of sleep, and the excitement and 
 labor of the siege, for they went back to narrow 
 quarters, noisome smells, and the spoilt rations, and 
 stinted water supply, which had for so many weeks 
 kept the hospitals full of patients, who seldom 
 quitted them but for the coffinless grave or the 
 depths of the sea. 
 
 But there was no disputing the orders of the ad 
 miral, and the men after almost ceaseless labor in 
 removing their siege and camp equipage, and em 
 barking the heavy cannon, with much exposure to 
 mud, water, and the chill night air of the miasmatic 
 lagoon, found themselves almost swooning by day in 
 the hot sun, and shivering by night, as the fatal 
 mists, rising from mangrove marsh and pestilential 
 swamps, drifted before the light land breeze and 
 covered the warships with a misty veil which was 
 indeed "the shadow of death." 
 
 The good captain was one of the first to feel the 
 change, and on the evening of the third or fourth 
 day after the taking of the castles, Lieutenant Wood- 
 side, who with his boat had been sent down to com 
 municate with Commodore Lestock, visited his com 
 rade and found him in a high fever, yet persistently 
 refusing to take to his berth. "If I lie down I shall 
 never get up again here," he said, quietly; "and I 
 
306 Cartagena 
 
 must be ready to go in the boats when the army 
 lands." 
 
 "But my dear fellow, you know it won t do," plead 
 ed Woodside good naturedly. "We want you to rest 
 and get well, and we re not yet past the Castillo 
 Grande, although night before last we destroyed the 
 Manzanilla fort that covers the other side of the 
 channel, and are going this evening to shut up the 
 Cavallo Pass to the west, so that no provisions can 
 be got to the city. When Castillo Grande falls we 
 shall want you and the rest of our boys, and in the 
 meantime you must take good care of yourself you 
 know." 
 
 "It s no use, Woodside," said Stewart quietly, 
 "I ve got the fever, and I m doing the best I can for 
 myself, although in another s case I should have 
 little hope. I won t be killed by one of those ignor 
 ant surgeon s mates, who bleed, blister and purge, 
 as if the fever didn t have victims enough without 
 their aid, and if I give up I shall be delirious and 
 fall into their hands. You won t "betray this confi 
 dence, will you, Woodside?" he added earnestly. 
 
 The honest, brave, generous fellow hesitated and 
 answered disconnectedly, for he felt that his supe 
 rior was in great jeopardy, and he felt that rest and 
 attention were all that offered a hope of recovery. 
 "Yes; no; Oh, certainly. There, Stewart, I don t 
 know what to say to you, you know. How can you 
 ask me to leave you to yourself under such circum 
 stances?" 
 
 "Have you ever looked into the sick bay since we 
 lay here?" asked Stewart, quietly. "If you have not, 
 
The Last of Earth 307 
 
 just step down a moment, and you will see the sur 
 geons and their assistants at work. Then come back, 
 and tell me if I am not better off when left to my 
 self." 
 
 With a strange sinking of the heart, such as the 
 honest lieutenant had never experienced under the 
 fire of the enemy, Woodside inquired his way to the 
 sick bay or hospital, whence, in spite of the open 
 ports, a horrible stench issued, and constant moan- 
 ings and delirious cries reminded the stout soldier 
 irresistibly of the tortures of the damned. Neverthe 
 less he resolutely pushed forward and soon saw be 
 fore him some six or seven score hammocks, hung 
 so closely together that they formed an almost con 
 tinuous bed, in each of which a sick or wounded man 
 lay awaiting the visit of the surgeon and his mates. 
 
 The former, a fine looking, well dressed man, 
 stood in a small open place, surrounded by the ap 
 pliances of his calling, and a set of bloody instru 
 ments told that some painful operation had just been 
 concluded. He stood now, however, engaged in di 
 recting the operations of his assistants, who, di 
 vested of much of their clothing, and clad otherwise 
 in their worst raiment, visited one by one the over 
 crowded sufferers, by creeping beneath the ham 
 mocks and forcing their heads up between their pa 
 tients, not unfrequently eliciting heart piercing 
 shrieks and groans in the operation. 
 
 This done the state of the patient s symptoms was 
 called off in a sing-song tone of voice, and the sur 
 geon in answer briefly ordered whatever in his judg 
 ment should be done. After which dressings, plas- 
 
308 Cartagena 
 
 ters, etc., etc., were renewed or applied, and the 
 lancet was so freely used, that there was scarcely 
 a hammock that did not show the marks of its recent 
 use. 
 
 But to Woodside the coup d ocil was awful. Men 
 with amputated limbs, mortal wounds, spinal in 
 juries, and splintered arms and legs, lay among the 
 many victims of the persistent fluxes and raging 
 fevers, which of late had so terribly increased; and 
 the merciful stupor of imminent death, the ravings 
 of delirium, the varied emotions of men aghast in 
 the expectation of dissolution, presented a scene 
 which it were almost blasphemy for the pen to 
 describe. 
 
 Sick at heart the soldier staggered from the hos 
 pital to the deck, and found his friend awaiting him 
 in his narrow quarters, with a calm smile upon his 
 flushed face. "Here, take this cordial," he said, 
 pouring a mixture from one of a case of bottles on 
 the table before him. "Pardon me for exposing your 
 untried nerves to such a shocking exhibition, but I 
 knew you had no idea to what torments your kind 
 ness would consign me." 
 
 " Tis horrible," said Woodside, feverishly drain 
 ing the proffered glass, "but surely an officer would 
 not be consigned to such a pandemonium. I would 
 rather die than be carried there." 
 
 "There are no officers of the regulars there," said 
 Stewart, meaningly, "but several of our colonial gen 
 tlemen have died in that very place. I do not really 
 think that I should fare quite so badly, but the offi 
 cers hospital is equally crowded, and the attend- 
 
The Last of Karlh 309 
 
 ance almost as bad. I have done all that I could to 
 alleviate the terrible misery of both places, but I 
 can no longer bear the labor, and must try to save 
 my own life. Don t, for my wife s and daughter s 
 sake, take away the only chance that is left me." 
 
 "Capt. Stewart," exclaimed Woodside, warmly, 
 "you shall have your wish, and I would that I could 
 stay with you to help and care for you. Is there no 
 one who can be hired to wait on you until I see you 
 once more?" 
 
 "Would I do, your honor ?" asked a weak, childish 
 voice; and both saw, standing near them, one of the 
 ship s boys, a favorite of the ship s crew, who had 
 been under the care of Dr. Stewart during the voy 
 age from Jamaica. "I m not very big," he continued, 
 "and I m not able yet to do much; for I m quite weak, 
 an somehow, sir, I don t seem to get stronger. But 
 he did so much for me an t other poor fellows, that 
 I d be glad to do anything I could to help him until 
 he s well, sir." 
 
 Stewart s eyes glistened as he spoke: 
 
 "You ve a kind, brave heart in your little body, 
 Frank, and it s easy to see that this is no place for 
 you. How could you ever leave your mother to go 
 to sea, my poor boy?" 
 
 "I ve no mother," the child answered, quietly; "I 
 mean, sir, she died a year ago, and my uncle was go 
 ing to put me on the parish. So I ran away and 
 shipped as powder boy; but I think I would have 
 been better off even in the workhouse, for there I 
 should be taught something, at least. But you ll let 
 me help you 3 sir?" 
 
310 Cartagena 
 
 "Yes, Frank," said the doctor, gratefully, "you 
 shall be my little nurse, and I ll try and build your 
 strength up if I can. Woodside, you ll see the first 
 lieutenant, and get permission for Frank to hang his 
 hammock here, won t you?" 
 
 Woodside did as requested, and, having arranged 
 matters to Stewart s satisfaction, asked if anything 
 more could be done for the invalid s comfort. 
 
 "You must be off to your duty, my dear fellow," 
 replied Stewart; "but if you have time after your ex 
 pedition up yonder, bring Hay with you, for I must 
 see him once more, if I can, before I grow too weak 
 to talk with him. If you could bring me a canteen 
 of fresh water from a spring, it would be a great 
 luxury here, for our water is almost putrid now." 
 
 "There s no time like the present," said Woodside 
 abruptly; and at once, going on deck, he called to 
 Hay, who came quickly on board, bringing a small 
 keg, and a native bag of coarse, tough grass, both of 
 which he brought into the captain s quarters. 
 
 "Here are some limes," said Woodside heartily, 
 "and the water, if warm, is sweet and pure. Come 
 Frank, let us leave the captain for a moment." And 
 taking the boy by the hand, the two went out upon 
 deck, and stood silently looking out over the lagoon, 
 whose sluggish tide swept slowly past the refuse, 
 cast overboard by the ships. 
 
 Suddenly a splash was heard some fifty yards 
 away, and amid a melange of shavings, drift weed, 
 lumber and other refuse, the great dorsal fins of 
 two or three sharks were seen cutting the water, and 
 then the water flew into foam as they tore and 
 
The Last of Earth 311 
 
 tugged at some object which could not be dis 
 tinguished. 
 
 "What can they be fighting over?" asked the lieu 
 tenant curiously; but he felt the little hand tighten 
 on his, and looking down he saw the boy s face 
 whiten and the blue eyes almost convulsed with 
 horror. 
 
 "They say that shot are getting scarce, sir," he 
 said with an effort ; "an we do see such things every 
 day, but I can t bear it. Don t let them throw me over 
 so when I die, will you, sir?" And Woodside in his 
 turn saw with horror, that the sharks of the lagoon 
 were tearing to pieces the swollen corpse of an 
 European. 
 
 "Don t fear, my boy. I hope to see both you and 
 the captain well and hearty yet, and if we get home 
 to England, there s a good home where you shall 
 never want for food or shelter while I live; but if 
 not" 
 
 "If not," said the child quietly, "you ll carry me 
 ashore, will you not? I m very light and little, they 
 say. Don t take too much trouble, but I would like 
 to sleep under the trees, as my mother does in dear 
 old England." 
 
 "Don t fear, my boy," huskily answered the stout 
 soldier, "you won t die, and I shall see you strong 
 and happy in England yet. But here comes the ser 
 geant, and we must leave you for to-day." 
 
 Stewart shook his hand heartily as he took his 
 leave, "You will be kind to the men I know, if it 
 chance that you take my place over them. There are 
 few r left now, but they are good brave fellows and 
 
Cartagena 
 
 deserve better fortune. Come back if you can. Good 
 by and God bless you." 
 
 "Come lieutenant," said an officer kindly, 
 "Knowles is getting out his boats, and the signal of 
 recall is flying for you," and as men must in time 
 of war, they turned from their friend in his extrem 
 ity, and in a short time were pulling up the lagoon. 
 
 "What had the captain to say to you?" asked 
 Woodside, after some time spent in utter silence 
 and deep thought. 
 
 "We had some little conversation, sir, about va 
 rious matters relating to his death, and the disposal 
 of his outfit and share of plunder; but his great 
 anxiety was that he might receive Christian burial 
 at our hands." 
 
 "Do you think then, Hay, that he will die. He 
 seems strong and in his senses." 
 
 "Aye, sir ! He has his faculties, and is resigned to 
 God s providence beyond all I have ever seen so near 
 to death, for he talked of his decease and burial, as if 
 of a trip ashore. But I ve seen such cases as this 
 before; the doctors call it a walking case, sir, and 
 he ll die beyond a doubt in a few days at most." 
 
 That afternoon the Weymouth, with the cruiser 
 sloop, sailed over to the western arm of the lagoon, 
 where a narrow channel leads between the western 
 end of Varu and the main land, affording a passage 
 to the outports of Tolu and Sina, whence supplies to 
 the forts and city had been easily conveyed since 
 the commencement of the siege. The forts com 
 manding this were two in number, mounting four 
 and eight guns respectively; but no defense was 
 
The Last of Earth 313 
 
 made, and the sloop and the boats dashed up a 
 creek on the main shore, meeting with no opposition 
 save a few harmless volleys of musketry, which were 
 quickly silenced by a shower of grape poured into 
 the wooded slopes surrounding the river. 
 
 Near the plantation, at its mouth, were moored 
 six or seven large "Sinu hulks," as they were called, 
 being canoes constructed from gigantic trees, some 
 of them fifty feet long and of a burden of twenty 
 tons, yet so thin and light that their draft w r as 
 something almost miraculous. 
 
 A few of the boats landed, their crews foraging 
 w T ith fair success, and the little flotilla returned to 
 the fleet, and the next day, as nothing especial oc 
 curred, Woodside visited his friend, finding him 
 weaker, but calm, if not hopeful, and sedulously at 
 tended by the little powder-boy, w r ho seemed to en 
 joy the fruit and wine which Woodside had pro 
 cured for their comfort, but he seemed to grow weak 
 almost as fast as his older companion. 
 
 So strongly impressed was Woodside with the be 
 lief that both were dangerously ill, that he proposed 
 to stay on board that night, but Stewart negatived 
 the proposition. 
 
 "No, Woodside, it must not be; you have your 
 duties, and to-morrow you tell me the fleet are to 
 move on Castillo Grande; you will need rest, and I 
 if I cannot fight can still watch and pray, and bear 
 what the will of our Heavenly Father has ordained. 
 Come to see me whenever you can, but don t take 
 a man from his duty for my sake." 
 
 That night, as the morning drew near at hand, 
 
314 Cartagena 
 
 Stewart called to his little nurse, whose hammock 
 lay within reach, and asked him to hand him a drink 
 from a shelf beside him. The child aroused himself 
 and essayed to pass the cup, but it dropped from his 
 fingers on the deck and w r as dashed to pieces. 
 
 "What is the matter, Frank?" said Stewart quick 
 ly. "Do you feel any worse, dear boy?" 
 
 "No, sir ; only very weak and cold. I I think, sir, 
 I am going to rny mother. I am sorry I broke the 
 cup." 
 
 "Never mind that, dear," answered Stewart "I ll 
 try and make some one hear outside, for I feel too 
 weak to rise, and think I am going with you. Are you 
 afraid?" 
 
 "No, sir, I m not afraid to die. Mother said that I 
 must keep myself pure and good, so that I could 
 come to her in heaven, and that God would love us 
 then, and never let me weep or suffer any more." 
 
 "Give me your wrist, Frank," said the doctor, his 
 old habits for a moment clouding his mind. "One, 
 two, three, four, five, h m ! weak and thready." But 
 the little fingers sought his own, and soon the face 
 of the child was drawn close to the breast of the dy 
 ing man. 
 
 "We shall have no sorrow there, child," he said 
 feebly; "neither sorrow nor crying, for the former 
 things have passed away. And yet, my wife and 
 children it seems hard to pass away with none of 
 all my loved ones to say farewell, without one whose 
 lips I can kiss in token of parting." 
 
 "I love you, sir," said the child; "and I am sorry 
 that your children are so far away. I ve never 
 
The Last of Earth 315 
 
 kissed anyone since mother died; but I would like to 
 kiss you just once, for you have been so kind to me." 
 
 The dying man with an effort raised himself, and 
 pressed his lips to those of the lad. "May God bless 
 you, my child," he said, "and take you into His eter 
 nal kingdom, through Jesus Christ, our Lord." 
 
 Exhausted, he sank back upon his pillow, and 
 Frank scarcely knew when the strong, brave spirit 
 passed away, save that the kindly grasp relaxed and 
 the loosening fingers were strangely cold and chill. 
 
 Then the child broke into a weak but bitter cry 
 which brought the watch to the scene of death, and, 
 as in the grey of the morning Woodside pulled along 
 side, anxious about his comrade, the body of the good 
 captain had already been prepared for burial, being 
 sewed up in the hammock he had occupied while liv 
 ing. 
 
 With little difficulty he obtained permission to 
 bury the body on shore, and hastily rowing to the 
 inner shore of Boca Chica, they excavated a shallow 
 grave beneath the shadow of a huge mahogany tree 
 and laid their sorrowful burden therein. 
 
 On their return to the ship, Lieutenant Woodside 
 visited little Frank, who was visibly sinking fast. 
 "Don t weep, sir," said he, "I am glad that I am go 
 ing. I shall soon be with my dear mother and the 
 good captain. I am sorry that I could not have gone 
 with him last night, and been buried with him un 
 der the trees and flowers, but God knows best." 
 
 A rough old sea dog sat near at hand, fanning 
 away the flies, and striving to create a coolness in 
 the stifling atmosphere. Woodside turned to him 
 
316 Cartagena 
 
 and said, "You know, comrade, what Frank wants, 
 and I must go to my duty. Here are five guineas. 
 Take care of him well, and if I cannot return, do for 
 him what I would do if I could." 
 
 "Avast there, sir, Ben Moreham doesn t take 
 money for such service, an there isn t a man in the 
 ship, that ud see poor Franky here want for any 
 thing, alive or dead. I thank your honor though all 
 the same, an unless we re engaged, all shall be done 
 as he wishes." 
 
 "O, thank you, Ben, and you too, Mr. Woodside. I 
 am so glad that I shall sleep my last sleep beside 
 him." 
 
 The great tears were rolling down the face of the 
 captain of the main-top, and Woodside and Stephen 
 could no longer restrain their own emotions. 
 
 "God bless and keep you, dear child," said the lat 
 ter, lying his hand gently on the pale young brow. 
 "Good bye until w r e meet again, here or hereafter." 
 
 Stooping he kissed the childish lips, and received 
 a thankful smile that told but too sadly of the vast 
 thirst for and wealth of love, which had so long been 
 restrained and pent up in the orphan s heart, and 
 then went with a heavy heart to the waiting boat. 
 
 Woodside would have spoken but could not, and 
 pressing the tiny hand, kissed the child in token of 
 parting, rushed upon deck, and pushing off into the 
 still lagoon sought the side of the Weymouth, 
 whose boats were already in the water, and prepar 
 ing for service. 
 
 Two days later, the English lieutenant heard from 
 Ben Moreham that Frank had died the same day, 
 
The Last of Earth 317 
 
 and had been buried beside the grave of Captain 
 Stewart. 
 
 The will of the latter, as contained in the register 
 of probate for the County of Suffolk, Mass., Vol. 34, 
 Folio 480, and the inventory of his estate in the suc 
 ceeding volume, are all that are left to tell of the 
 fate of this brave soldier and good man, who doubt 
 less died a martyr to his exertions in behalf of his 
 comrades; whom he saw perishing around him 
 through a lack of food, pure water, shelter and at 
 tendance, and the utter inefficiency and culpable 
 jealousy of their commanders. 
 
 Through those papers it appears that he left a son, 
 John Viscount Stewart, who was married and pos 
 sessed a son, but of the subsequent fortunes of his 
 family nothing can be substantiated, for the news 
 papers of the period do not contain even a brief 
 notice of his death. 
 
Chapter XXII. 
 
 Gastillo Grande 
 
 But, in war, the death of a friend is but an inci 
 dent soon overlooked, if not forgotten, in the intense 
 interest of the greater tragedy which war presents 
 to the spectator and actor alike; and Woodside, on 
 reporting the death of his senior officer, was at once 
 recommended by Captain Knowles to take command 
 of his men, and to leave the charge of the whaleboat 
 to his sergeant, Stephen Hay. 
 
 "He is perfectly competent," said Woodside mag 
 nanimously; "but I hate to be parted from him; and 
 the life of my poor men on board the fleet is not so 
 pleasant that I like the prospect of returning to it." 
 
 "I don t blame you, sir," said Knowles pleasantly; 
 "but duty must be obeyed, and I think I can promise 
 you, that our future operations will be more decided 
 and successful than those of the siege below." 
 
 "I obey," said Woodside; "but I would rather stay 
 with my men as a simple lieutenant than take my 
 step, and lie stifling on board those motionless hulks 
 down the lagoon." 
 
 That night the boats of the Weymouth were 
 manned at dusk, and the officers in charge were met 
 on deck by Captain Knowles, who gave them their 
 orders in person. 
 
 "As you know, gentlemen," said he, "we have to 
 force a passage closed by seven sunken galleons, ex 
 cept a channel guarded by the Conquistador GO, the 
 
Castillo Grande 319 
 
 Dragon 60 and the Castillo Grande. It is important 
 that we should, so far as we can, shut up the gar 
 rison in the fort and take them with the men of war 
 and their crews. It may be, however, that they may 
 determine to reinforce the fleet and fort, and fight 
 for the city at this point, and therefore you must see 
 that they do not get men and ammunition down here 
 without our knowing it, or send out a flotilla to sur 
 prise this or any other vessel of the fleet. 
 
 "You will therefore keep as near as may be to the 
 enemy as you can without risking a broadside, and 
 in case of the approach of boats will warn each 
 other, by the flash of a pistol, and, if the enemy is in 
 force, by the sending up of the rockets, with which 
 each boat should be provided. 
 
 "You will be provided with food, and extra spirit 
 rations will be given to the men thus exposed to 
 the night air and fog; and I have no doubt, gen 
 tlemen, that you will give us a good account of your 
 night service." 
 
 As the officers were about to embark, a midship 
 man summoned Sergeant Hay to the captain s cabin, 
 and entering with some little trepidation at so un 
 wonted a summons, Stephen found only the com 
 mander, who looked up quickly from a mass of plans 
 and papers, which from his capacity as engineer of 
 a fleet, engaged in siege operations, ever lay on 
 the table of his great cabin. 
 
 "I expect a service a little out of the common from 
 you to-night, sergeant," he said quickly. "I want to 
 send one boat inside of the Spanish line, and have 
 chosen vour w r haler and her crew." 
 
320 Cartagena 
 
 "You do us great honor," said Stephen, gladly. 
 "We have made paddles for her, and can go almost 
 as noiselessly as an Indian canoe, and as to draught, 
 a foot of water is all we want." 
 
 "That is excellent/ said the commander, rubbing 
 his hands, "and now to your duty. The council of 
 war seems to expect a deal of fighting here, but I 
 think it doubtful, and shall keep my boats ready to 
 act, should the Spaniards sink their men-of-war and 
 try to escape in boats. So I want you to pass 
 through or over the sunken vessels, or up the lagoon 
 of La Quinta here to the right, so as to observe any 
 movement in the inner bay, and, if you see the Span 
 iards leaving the fort for the town, send up the sig 
 nal rockets with which you are provided; but if a 
 strong force comes to reinforce the castle you may 
 return as quickly as may be without signaling. The 
 service is one of great peril, but I think you may 
 always escape by way of the lagoon to the west 
 ward." 
 
 "I thank you heartily," said Hay, as he rose to go, 
 "but is it asking too much, to request that the other 
 boats may Ipe detained half an hour after I move off, 
 with orders then to move until within sight of the 
 Spanish picket boats off the fort. I think we may 
 then pass without danger near the Manzanilla side." 
 
 Knowles smiled. "The idea is a good one, but not 
 audacious enough to give the best results. I will 
 send the boats at once to the Manzanilla side, and 
 let them fire a rocket or two if need be to attract the 
 notice of the guard boats. In the meantime you 
 w r ill pull to the inland side of the fort, and paddle, 
 close in under the land, into the inner harbor." 
 
Castillo Grande 321 
 
 "It shall be done," said Stephen, as he turned to 
 go. "It is easy to see that your plan is better than 
 mine, for they won t dream of our daring to pass un 
 der the muzzles of their cannon." 
 
 Ten minutes later the yawls and cutters with 
 muffled oars w r ere gliding up the lagoon to the right, 
 and at the expiration of fifteen or twenty minutes 
 the crew of the whaler, with noiseless strokes of 
 their greenheart paddles, impelled their light craft 
 toward the island of Tierra Bomba, from wiiose 
 southern extremity a long neck of land, bordered by 
 mangrove marshes, extended and formed the natu 
 ral break-water of the inner bay of Cartagena. 
 
 As they shot in under the shadows of the land, 
 they saw an instantaneous flash afar off to the right, 
 and a moment later a score of musket shots, farther 
 up the harbor, told that the advance had suddenly 
 encountered a Spanish guard boat. 
 
 "Drive her hard, boys," whispered Hay, as he 
 swerved off from a projecting clump of mangroves 
 and felt his steering paddle strike on a submerged 
 root. "We re w r ell up now and inside the Spanish 
 boats, I think. Xow not a word; there s the fort 
 ahead, and w r e must go by it, or w r e are prisoners to 
 the Spaniards an hour hence." 
 
 The men at his whisper sent the boat flying over 
 the shallows, until in the darkness the white walls of 
 the fort seemed almost within reach, and then, as 
 the word of command passed from one to another, 
 the paddles struck slower and more silently, until 
 they glided under the shadow of the pier which pro 
 jected into the water in front of the massive walls, 
 
322 Cartagena 
 
 in whose embrasures a light here and there gave to 
 view the forms of Spanish soldiers and marines, en 
 gaged, as it seemed, in preparing their arms and 
 equipments for immediate movement of some kind. 
 
 Suddenly Hay turned the prow in under a por 
 tion of an old wharf, evidently little used, and catch 
 ing at the rotting piles arrested the progress of the 
 boat, while, at the same moment the sound of pad 
 dles was heard and a long low canoe came swiftly 
 by the colonists and drew up beside the masonry 
 sea wall, not fifty feet away. The arrival was ex 
 pected, it seemed, for several men at her coming ap 
 peared at the landing, and aided those she con 
 tained to ascend the face of the wall. 
 
 As they disappeared in the darkness, Hay pushed 
 on under the old pier until the boat emerged on the 
 opposite side of the wharf, and paddling eastward 
 they soon rounded the point, and saw the lighted in 
 shore ports of the Spanish war vessels between 
 them and the outer bay. 
 
 "We re in at last/ whispered Hay to Coggeshall, 
 who pulled the after oar, "and now for a look up the 
 harbor. We must keep inshore, I think, and cross 
 over well up the bay." 
 
 "Yes ; but I wouldn t keep too fur in, although our 
 best holt is the woods; in case we re cut off by boats. 
 We can al ays get down to Boca Chica by land, ef 
 so be they don t send out a party from the fort." 
 
 "Hush ! there are boats coming," whispered Unte- 
 quit, and looking up the bay, a long string of clumsy 
 objects were seen approaching through the darkness, 
 and keeping w r ell in under the shadow of the shore. 
 
Castillo Grande 323 
 
 The boat s grapnel was let down and the crew, 
 crouching below the gunwale, loosened the pistols 
 in their belts and awaited with patience the coming 
 flotilla. The first boats w r ere large launches and 
 long-boats filled with men, and by the light of one 
 or two horn lanterns, Hay saw that they were armed 
 and ready for service. He accordingly abandoned 
 the idea of signalling the fleet and began to count 
 the passing boats, which soon became less crowded 
 but of larger size and evidently intended for carry 
 ing heavy burdens. The voices of negroes, whose 
 heavy oars splashed heavily at every stroke, also 
 told that no attack w T as intended, and almost before 
 they knew it a great Sinu hulk shot past inside 
 them, impelled over the shallows by long setting 
 poles and the ebbing tide. 
 
 "We re right in the middle of them," said Jones, 
 nervously, "an thar s a big one coming right down 
 upon us. Cut loose thar, Untequit, or she ll be over 
 
 He was about to rise, but Hay laid one hand upon 
 his shoulder and the other upon his mouth: "Si 
 lence!" he whispered; "leave all to Untequit. He 
 will carry us clear if " 
 
 In the darkness the blunt bows of a huge Sinu 
 hulk seemed close upon them, but the Indian, with 
 a stroke of his paddle, warded off the coming blow, 
 and then threw himself down into the bottom of the 
 boat as the tree canoe rubbed and grated past. 
 
 There were expressions of surprise and alarm 
 from those on board, and one man dropped his set 
 ting pole and ran aft to seize the waif, as he took 
 
324 Cartagena 
 
 the boat to be, but the speed of the hulk was too 
 great, and as she disappeared in the darkness, Hay 
 ordered Untequit to take in the grapnel, and send 
 ing his men to the paddles struck off across the har 
 bor to the westward. 
 
 With the greatest care the men paddled silently 
 off, Untequit peering sharply into the misty dark 
 ness and Stephen keeping his course by the aid of a 
 star in the occidental heavens. Suddenly a muffled 
 rap was heard on the bow, and Stephen, recognizing 
 an old hunting signal, swerved his boat to the right, 
 and laying aside his paddle seized his musket and 
 listened intently to the sound of oars drawing 
 nearer and nearer. 
 
 " Tis a guard boat. Give way, men," he whis 
 pered hoarsely, and taking to their oars the men 
 pulled for life, and Stephen, plying his paddle with 
 desperate energy, headed his light craft for the 
 harbor s mouth, where an occasional battle-lantern 
 showed the presence of the Spanish ships. 
 
 A startled and confused hail behind them told 
 that their presence had been discovered, and the 
 quick rattle of unmuffled oars close behind, grew in 
 distinct but tardily, though the men bent the long 
 ash oars like slender poles, as with long regular 
 powerful strokes they almost lifted the boat above 
 the waves, in her rush toward the dangerous pass 
 where fort and warship, picket boat and sunken 
 wreck, lay between them and safety. 
 
 "We re close aboard the fleet, now," muttered 
 Jones, as he turned his head; "they ain t more 
 then twenty rod away. Wliy don t you keep away 
 
Castillo (Ji-ande 325 
 
 to the westward by Manzanilla, whar some of our 
 men landed tother day an burnt the fort?" 
 
 "The boldest way s the safest," said Stephen, in 
 low clear tones which thrilled every man in the boat. 
 "Keep the oars going, and your weapons ready. I m 
 going right along side of this ship ahead." 
 
 At this moment the black hulk of one of the men- 
 of-war was just ahead, and by the light of a lantern 
 or two Stephen saw that no boats were alongside, 
 or at the booms, while her open ports showed the 
 yawning muzzles of her lower deck guns, almost 
 even with the water s edge. An impulse to pull 
 along side struck him, but bold as he was he shrank 
 from so reckless an act, and the next moment he 
 saw before him the line of dusky objects which he 
 took to be the cordon of picket boats of the Spanish 
 fleet. 
 
 There seemed to be a score of them, more or less, 
 but they lay in nearly equal numbers to right and 
 left, and Hay determined to take the middle channel 
 and trust to his boat s speed for safety. 
 
 Again the men bent to their oars until the boat 
 seemed fairly flying through the water, and Stephen, 
 as he neared the broken line, expected every instant 
 to hear the brief, hoarse challenge and the quickly 
 succeeding volley, which could hardly fail to wound 
 or kill at such narrow quarters. 
 
 The line was not a rod away when Untequit ut 
 tered a word which raised a load of uncertain ap 
 prehension from every heart. "Masts!" was whis 
 pered from one to another; and as they shot past, 
 Hay saw that they were indeed the masts of the 
 vessels sunken to close the main channel. 
 
326 Cartagena 
 
 At a word from their sergeant, the men now took 
 in their oars and paddled cautiously along the line 
 of wrecks toward the port side, until they again saw 
 the white walls of Castillo Grande and its lighted 
 embrasures; but this time half a dozen boats were 
 seen lying between them and the bay. 
 
 Silently, the men simply reversed their seats, 
 and paddled, stern first, back along the line of ob 
 structions, keeping close to the masts and rigging, 
 amid which the ebbing tide eddied and gurgled, 
 leaving amid them rafts of sea-tangle, and the va 
 ried flotsam and jetsam of the lagoon. 
 
 Once more they lay in the main channel; and this 
 time, as no boats were in sight, Hay determined to 
 trust to fortune, and make a straight course for the 
 ship. He accordingly ordered his men to lay aside 
 their upper clothing; gave them a dram from the ex 
 tra rations ordered by Capt. Knowles; saw that 
 every man had his weapons ready for instant use, 
 and then felt the light craft tremble and writhe be 
 neath him under the Herculean efforts of his crew. 
 
 But, to his surprise, no angry hail or sudden mus 
 ket shot greeted his ears; and after a mile of ex 
 hausting rowing, he deemed the picket boats eluded, 
 and saw not far away the lights of the Weymouth 
 and her consorts. 
 
 "Take it easy, boys," he said, and was about to re 
 place his coat, laid aside in preparation for the dan 
 gerous adventure he had achieved, when he heard 
 to the left the splash of oars, and saw a boat emerg 
 ing from the gloom behind. 
 
 A bright flash seemed to blind, a crashing roar 
 
Castillo (Jraude 327 
 
 deafened and stunned him; the next moment he was 
 in the water with the wreckage of the whaler 
 around him, and a blow on the head placed him be 
 yond the power of knowing aught farther of the mis 
 adventure. 
 
 When he came to himself, however, it was nearly 
 day, and he lay in his hammock on board the Wey- 
 mouth, which seemed to be under way and prepar 
 ing for action, for her crew were at quarters, and 
 the rattle of blocks and cordage came to his ears, 
 with the utterance of the quaint orders incident to 
 nautical manoeuvres. 
 
 At last the rattle of the chains were heard, and 
 the splash of the anchors as they fell into the sea; 
 and as at rest the ship lay motionless upon. the tide, 
 the roar of half a dozen heavy guns made her reel 
 and tremble, but the gunners, as they reloaded and 
 ran out the cumbrous engines of death, waited in 
 vain for an answer that never came, and soon laid 
 aside port-fire and rammer, while the boatswain s 
 whistle called away the boats of the first and second 
 divisions. 
 
 Stephen would fain have sprung from his ham 
 mock, but he was strangely dizzy and weak, and .was 
 glad to lie down at the command of Untequit, who, 
 from an open port, had been watching the results of 
 the ship s fire. 
 
 "It s no use, master; the whaler s gone, and the 
 other boats are full. Twas the enemy s boat that 
 sunk us with her swivel, but you were the only one 
 hurt, although several muskets are lost in the bay." 
 
 "And the fort?" 
 
328 Cartagena 
 
 "This morning the vessels are all sunken, and the 
 castle shows no sign of life or answer to our fire. 
 The boats are already on their way to take it, if any 
 enemy waits therein." 
 
 A moment later and hurrahs broke from the men 
 in the leading boats, and as the charging seamen and 
 marines poured up the covered way and into the 
 fort a hoarse cheer from the ship s crew answered 
 the exultation of their comrades, while Stephen, 
 feebly joining in the cry, groaned the next moment 
 as he thought of the misadventure; which had lost 
 him the happiness of reaping the full measure of 
 triumph. 
 
 Untequit quickly comprehended the cause of Ms 
 pain. "Do not care," he said. "The captain knows 
 what we did, and was glad when I told him of the 
 boats which passed us and the way we came out into 
 the bay. He asked many questions about the ships 
 and sent the men to quarters, for he said the Span 
 iards were running away." 
 
 "They ve given up the fort then," said Stephen, 
 "and now only the city remains. I hope this blow 
 isn t going to keep me here long." 
 
 "The doctor said you would be all right tomor 
 row, but must sleep all you can to-day; and I think 
 you had better obey orders at once." 
 
 So saying, he replaced the wet bandages over the 
 bruise, for it was little more, the cutlass having 
 turned in the seaman s hand; and when at dark Ste 
 phen awoke, rested and clear in mind, he learned of 
 the day s results. 
 
 Castillo Grande, it seemed, had been deserted the 
 
Castillo Grande 32!) 
 
 preceding night, the Spanish force having previous 
 ly spiked the fifty-seven guns there mounted, sunk 
 the Conquistador and Dragon, and thrown their 
 powder into the water-cisterns of the castle. 
 
 On the 1st of April, one hundred regulars and fifty 
 seamen were landed, several guns put in condition 
 for service, and, the fleet having moved up from the 
 lower harbor, the Conquistador s stern was hove 
 around with the aid of powerful purchases and the 
 tide, and the Burford, with the bomb-ketches and 
 two twenty-gun ships, warped through. 
 
 The next day, April 2d, the bomb-ketches and sev 
 eral guns of the fort opened fire on a French man- 
 of-war lying near the town, which was soon seen to 
 burst into flames, and was completely consumed. 
 
Chapter XXIII. 
 Texar De Gracias 
 
 Meanwhile Stephen had recovered from his in 
 juries, and with the crew of the lost whaleboat went 
 back to duty, and to the narrow quarters occupied 
 by the small remnant that was left of the hundred 
 men, who had sailed from Nantasket the fall before, 
 full of courage, loyalty and brilliant expectation. 
 
 Already the rainy season was fast approaching, 
 and an occasional rain storm, which made the scup 
 pers a running stream of water, accompanied by al 
 most incessant lightning and terrible crashes of 
 thunder, added much to the discomforts of the sol 
 diers, and gave promise of greater hardships to be 
 endured, when only the canvas of their rotten tents 
 should defend them from the incessant rains of the 
 latter part of April. 
 
 But, for a time, the progress of events was rapid 
 and, encouraging, and every day brought some new 
 and exciting phase of war, under the eyes of Stephen 
 and his companions. 
 
 On the 3d of April the Weymouth warped into the 
 inner bay, and although the guns of the town 
 opened fiercely, she received little damage, and that 
 same evening, with the three fire-ships and the Crui 
 ser sloop, warped over to the southwest shore undis 
 covered and unmolested. 
 
 On the 4th the sloop, towed by the boats of the 
 little squadron, made her way with the young flood, 
 
Texar DC (Jracias 331 
 
 up a narrow creek, bordered by profuse vegetation, 
 toward the plantation of Texar de Gracias, formerly 
 occupied by the factors of the famous or rather in 
 famous, South Sea Company. A canny Scot, named 
 McPherson, who had spent some time in the country, 
 acted as their guide, and warned the captain of the 
 sloop that it was more than likely that on attaining 
 a certain reach, where the creek widened, his boats 
 would be fired upon. 
 
 Accordingly all but two were recalled, and these, 
 working alternately, carried out kedges from either 
 bow, to which were attached long ropes by means 
 of which long lines of men, walking steadily aft, 
 warped the small vessel rapidly toward the head of 
 the estuary. 
 
 The sloop had just reached the bend of the creek, 
 and had the kedge in use nearly under her bows, 
 w r hen the yawl sent to lay the second kedge returned 
 hastily, the officer in charge reporting, as he came 
 alongside, that they had seen Spaniards in the 
 woods. The boats were at once ordered under the 
 cover of the vessel, the men sent to the starboard 
 battery, and a spring made fast to the stream cable 
 to bring the batteries to bear promptly in case of 
 need. 
 
 The kedge under the bows was got inboard, the 
 second warp manned by all who could.be spared 
 from the guns, and as the boatswain s whistle rang 
 out merrily across the still lagoon, the measured 
 tramp of the men as they walked aft, and the ripple 
 of the water under the bows, told of creditable prog 
 ress and sufficient steerage way. 
 
Cartagena 
 
 They ueared the kedge, and still no sign of life or 
 human occupancy appeared. The last fifty feet of 
 warp was fast coming inboard, and the captain 
 must soon expose his men anew, or anchor in a po 
 sition which might prove a perfect death-trap to 
 both vessel and crew. The captain, however, like 
 most of those commanding the light vessels of Ver- 
 non s fleet, was a man of decision and action, and 
 his voice rang out from the quarter-deck to the men 
 at the warp : 
 
 "Lay aft! Lay aft! handsomely, men! Bowse her 
 along! Out with the other kedge, Mr. Fordyce! 
 Keep a look-out there, forward, for the enemy. Let 
 her fall off, steersman, if " 
 
 His words were lost in the roar of cannon, and 
 the whistling of grape and round shot from an inno 
 cent-looking copse of cottonwoods and cedars, which 
 crowned a little elevation at the head of the creek; 
 while from the woods a scattering fire of musketry 
 opened on every hand. Luckily, the fire of the bat 
 tery, although it raked the vessel fore and aft, w r as 
 either too high or too low, and did little damage 
 to aught but the hull and rigging; but the fire of the 
 Spanish infantry was more fatal, and several men 
 dropped in the boats and on the deck of the vessel. 
 
 "Port your helm! Hard down! down, I say!" 
 roared the captain, angrily; and as the spokes flew 
 between the hands of the quartermaster, the bows 
 of the sloop fell off until, describing a quarter of a 
 circle, she lay with her larboard battery bearing on 
 the masked breastwork at the head of the reach. 
 
 "Let go the anchor! Out with that spring aft, 
 
Texar De Gracias 333 
 
 and watch the drift of the tide! Clap a stand of 
 grape into those starboard guns fore and aft, and 
 sweep the woods on either side. Are you ready, fore 
 and aft?" 
 
 A second discharge from the head of the lagoon 
 sent the splinters flying from the bulwarks and tops ; 
 and the men fairly growled their hoarse "Aye, aye, 
 sir!" as they hurriedly swung their carronades and 
 light sixes, and stood by their tackle at quarters. 
 
 "Then, fire!" 
 
 The light craft reeled under the recoil as the over 
 charged guns poured their double charges of round 
 and grape into the woods, whose slender palms, 
 striped and splintered by the iron storm, showed for 
 many years thereafter the effect of that heavy 
 broadside. The musketry ceased as if by magic; 
 and, sending his men to the larboard battery, the 
 captain of the Cruiser soon silenced the fire of the 
 enemy, and compelled them to retire the few light 
 pieces they had placed in position. 
 
 By the evening of the 5th, the transports had been 
 brought up, and the arrangements for the landing 
 were completed. Nearly every boat in the fleet was 
 made ready with picked crews, and detailed to at 
 tend the several transports, which at midnight 
 raised a colored signal lantern at the mast-head ; and 
 the boats, as fast as their quota of troops were re 
 ceived, rendezvoused under cover of the Weymouth 
 in the inner bay. Nearly fourteen hundred men, in 
 cluding about seven hundred Americans principally 
 from the northern colonies, were detailed for this 
 service, under the command of Brigadier Blakeney, 
 
334 Cartagena 
 
 who, having made his final arrangements for the 
 important step about to be taken, paced the quarter 
 deck of the Weymouth impatiently, now trying to 
 sweep the shore, still veiled by the waning shadows 
 of night and the heavy morning mists; now casting 
 a hopeful glance at the eastern sky, just tinged with 
 rosy light, the herald of the coming sunrise; and 
 again surveying the long lines of silent men stand 
 ing at their guns and the black squadron of crowded 
 boats lying under the lee of the man-of-war. 
 
 "Will they make a fight, Knowles?" he asked, as 
 for the twentieth time he turned with his companion 
 at the break of the quarter-deck to resume their lim 
 ited promenade. 
 
 "I really don t know," replied the sea captain, 
 quietly. "I open on yonder woods as soon as it is 
 daylight. Our brave tars will land you while the 
 smoke is heavy, and at the w r orst you can hold your 
 own on one flank w T hile I cover the other with 
 grape." 
 
 "I am sorry," said Blakeney, gravely, "that we 
 have so few men to take part in today s action. 
 Fourteen hundred men are not enough for three 
 thousand in the field, and Don Sebastian de Eslava 
 has more than that number within his works. We 
 ought to have five thousand men to start the dons, 
 and keep them going until we are in front of the 
 walls of the city itself." 
 
 "I think so too ;" said Knowles, under his breath, 
 "but the less we say on such matters the better for 
 both. We must do the best w r e can with the forces 
 at our disposal ; let the blame of defeat, if any, rest 
 
Texar De Gracias 335 
 
 on those who issue the orders by which you and I 
 must be guided. But the light is growing stronger, 
 and the trees of La Quinta are becoming more dis 
 tinct, to my thinking. Mr. Ashton, tell the men to 
 stand ready for the signal, and see that every gun is 
 laid properly after every discharge. No round 
 shot are to be used, and the guns must have greater 
 elevation to make the grape tell at this distance." 
 
 The east grew bright, the sun, like a red hot iron 
 globe, rose above the breakers beyond the walls of 
 the besieged city, and slowly the white fogs shroud 
 ing the mangrove marshes rose above the dreary 
 green of the water forest, and gave to view the nar 
 row strait of the Texar de Gracias, across which a 
 narrow wooden bridge connected the main land and 
 the fortified island of Manzanilla. The woods came 
 down on either side of a narrow roadway almost to 
 the very landing, and in and out of the shadows 
 of the slender palms, great cottonwoods and ever 
 green cedars, darker shadow r s, w T hich could only be 
 men and enemies, moved with caution from cover to 
 cover, and displayed here and there a glint of steel, 
 at which the waiting gunners eagerly pointed their 
 pieces, and even more impatiently longed for the 
 order to fire. 
 
 At last it came, and the stately Weymouth, Wake- 
 man s tiny Cruiser and the light guns of the bomb 
 ketches opened a furious fire with grape, searching 
 every rood of forest with a deadly shower of 
 mitraille, w T hich left no cover unsearched which 
 might shelter more than a handful of men. The 
 outer fortress of San Lazaro opened at a range too 
 
336 Cartagena 
 
 long to seriously damage vessels or men. But the 
 signal was given and the oars of the leading division 
 beat the lagoon into foam, and, as the first boats 
 entered the narrow channel, the grenadiers rushed 
 up the wooded slopes and formed rapidly on the level 
 bridge head, taking ground to the front and right as 
 fresh troops were landed. Here and there a man fell 
 pierced by a bullet from the forest, or an oar flew 
 into fragments, as a spent shot from San Lazaro 
 made its last short ricochet; but by six o clock the 
 troops were landed, and the grenadiers, some seven 
 hundred strong, under Col. Grant, w r ere ready to 
 lead the advance. No body of the enemy had as yet 
 been able to appear in the field, so constant and 
 searching was the fire of the ships; but now for a 
 mile the path to be followed was a mere wheeltrack, 
 where two carts could barely pass each other; and 
 those Americans detailed to scout on the right flank, 
 or inland side of the force, soon found themselves 
 struggling through a growth so close and interlaced 
 with thorns, lianas and hanging vines, that, despite 
 their greatest efforts, the heavy but regular march 
 of the grenadiers far outstripped their most agile 
 rangers. Several men fell in the front platoon, but 
 the veterans closed up promptly, and the ambushed 
 foemen, retiring unharmed, were soon seen running 
 across an opening beyond the defile, entering which, 
 the grenadiers halted to allow their scouts to close 
 up, and to make ready for the decisive moment, 
 which now seemed close at hand. 
 
 On the right, the plain sloped down to the lagoon, 
 here not more than two or three feet deep, and 
 
Texar De Gracias 337 
 
 thickly filled with mangrove trees, the haunt of 
 many wading birds, which rose alarmed at the un 
 wonted intrusion and the roar of artillery from the 
 distant ships; although it was noticed that they 
 heeded the latter far less than the presence of man. 
 
 Hay and his Indian comrade were on the left 
 flank of the line of scouts, and therefore, when the 
 colonists were once more sent into the woods, some 
 twenty paces to the right of the road, were close 
 to the grenadiers, who in serried platoons, four 
 ranks deep, with their bayonets fixed and muskets 
 at the charge, advanced with steady step against the 
 Spaniards, who, to the number of some hundreds, 
 just then took up their position on the highroad, 
 which at right angles crossed the way leading to 
 La Quinta. 
 
 Keeping a little in advance, Hay and his compan 
 ions several times discharged their muskets at out 
 lying Spaniards, mostly citizens or hunters from the 
 inland estancias, who, with their long-barreled, 
 small-bored Spanish guns, were preparing to fire on 
 the officers of the grenadiers. One of these, a red- 
 haired and bearded giant, fell at the report of Unte- 
 quit s musket, and as the ranger came up to his 
 victim, he very speedily slung his own clumsy 
 piece, and, appropriating the arms and accoutre 
 ments of the fallen man, proceeded to use them 
 against the Spaniards. 
 
 All at once, as the distance between the approach 
 ing foes narrowed, the Spanish skirmishers, with a 
 last ineffectual fire, ran in, and the front rank of the 
 enemy fired a volley which filled the road with dust 
 
338 Cartagena 
 
 and smoke, through which the red flashes of a sec 
 ond discharge broke fiercely in the very faces of the 
 grenadiers. 
 
 But, as the smoke cleared away, the veterans, 
 with accelerated step, closed up the ranks, swept up 
 to within half gunshot of the foe, raised their guns 
 to the level of the breast and fired. The crash was 
 almost like that of a single cannon, and the effects 
 fatal, although Hay and his comrades looked at each 
 other, with a curl of the lip that bespoke unspeak 
 able contempt for such machine-like firing, Avhere 
 no aim could be taken. 
 
 "They ve skercely teched one," said Gibbs, "an 7 I 
 declar to gracious they re runnin . Look at em 
 turnin about, an thar s them bloody Spaniards a 
 hollerin an hootin ." 
 
 The wild and contemptuous yells and curses of the 
 Spaniards, and their Indian allies were indeed dis 
 tinctly audible; and, as Hay sprang into the 
 bough of a ceiba to look, he saw the head of 
 the column break, and for a moment he feared the 
 worst. The" next instant, however, he saw that the 
 first platoon, after delivering its fire, had parted in 
 the centre, wheeling to right and left, while the sec 
 ond, marching straight forward, delivered another 
 crashing volley and w r heeled in turn, giving way to 
 the third platoon, and so on, until the bewildered 
 and stricken Spaniards, seeing each platoon by some 
 inexplicable manoeuvre deliver its fire nearer and 
 nearer every moment, incontinently turned and fled, 
 while the grenadiers, pushing steadily after them, 
 entered at last the high road to Cartagena. 
 
Texar De Gracias 339 
 
 Hay dropped lightly from his perch and rejoined 
 his old comrades, who wide-eyed and open mouthed, 
 had for the first time witnessed the passage of a 
 defile by disciplined troops. 
 
 "I swan," said Gibbs, "thet was pretty, thet was. 
 I don t believe any thin could stan ag iiist them 
 grenadiers." 
 
 "Ef they could shoot straight they could whip 
 anythin ," said Jones, contemptuously, "but I 
 reckon ef the Spaniards lied held thar fire they 
 would hev ben piled up like cord-wood in yonder 
 lane." 
 
 Untequit said nothing at first, but Stephen, anx 
 ious to know what the Indian thought of the novel 
 spectacle, said to him pleasantly, "What think you, 
 Untequit?" 
 
 By this time they had reached the spot where the 
 first of the English wounded lay in their scarlet 
 coats and clumsy trappings, few in number, and al 
 ready under the care of the surgeons in attendance. 
 The Indian ran his eye over the whole space, count 
 ing rapidly, "One, two, three, four, ten, thirteen 
 bah ! Untequit has forty charges at his side. Alone 
 he could have killed more men than the Spaniards 
 have slain all the way from the beach." 
 
 " Tis true the Spaniards shoot poorly, and the 
 English made more noise than they did execution, 
 but twas a pretty sight, and the defile was well car 
 ried; but now we can push on, for here are houses, 
 orchards, farms and open fields, and we can keep 
 ahead of the regulars instead of letting them lead 
 
340 Cartagena 
 
 For the first time in the expedition, the men felt 
 elated and sure of success as they pushed on, and 
 saw close at hand the fortress convent of La Popa, 
 the estancia of La Quinta and the fortified hilltop of 
 San Lazaro, and beyond these the crowded battle 
 ments of Cartagena and its island suburb Xexemani 
 or Gethsemane. 
 
 Better had it been if, like ravening wolves, frantic 
 from hunger and suffering, at the heels of their 
 hunted prey, the soldiers of the landing detachment 
 had pursued the flying Spaniards and captured 
 them under the guns of the city, or pushed on to 
 carry San Lazaro before the foe had recovered from 
 his defeat. 
 
 But the traditions of the army and the time-hon 
 ored rules of Vauban, and other famous engineers, 
 were too strongly instilled into the minds of the gen 
 erals and engineers who directed their operations, 
 and that night one-half the force landed, kept the 
 picket line scarce half a mile from San Lazaro, while 
 the remainder, except a small party thrown into La 
 Popa, lay on their arms under the sheds, brick kilns 
 and low cottages of La Quinta. 
 
Chapter XXIV. 
 On Ticket at La Quinta 
 
 Hay and his companions, having from the nature 
 of their service as skirmishers, been more widely 
 dispersed than the grenadiers and marines, were not 
 of those soldiers placed upon the main picket guard, 
 and forced after the excitement and exertion of the 
 skirmish and pursuit, to expose themselves to the 
 discomforts of anxious watching and broken repose 
 amid the dank cocoa orchards and jungle in front 
 of the advanced citadel of St. Felipe de Barras, 
 otherwise known as San Lazaro. 
 
 With the usual forethought of their race, the 
 colonial troops landed fully equipped with all the 
 essentials of their soldier s outfit, and, in spite of 
 some hesitation on the part of Colonel Grant, occu 
 pied at night the farm buildings of a small Hacienda, 
 or farm, attached to the large plantation known 
 to us only through the official records of the siege 
 as La Quinta, or "The Residence"; for the name of 
 the Spanish gentleman, whose country house has 
 thus been handed down to posterity, by some curi 
 ous oversight or ignorance, never appears in the 
 brief annals of the military operations carried on 
 before the city itself. 
 
 Woodside, although only captain by brevet and 
 second in command under Captain Goffe, of another 
 Boston company, had, through his English birth and 
 the friendship of Colonel Blakeney, sufficient in- 
 
342 Cartagena 
 
 terest to have his way in such a matter, and, having 
 agreed to keep up a strong picket guard in the in 
 terval between his bivouac and the fortified hill of 
 La Popa, secured thereby comfortable quarters for 
 his men, during a night of almost interminable dis 
 comfort to the majority of the force. 
 
 For as the sun went down, the air grew heavy 
 with vapor, and the sky black with drifting clouds, 
 that from time to time poured dow r n sheets of rain 
 which almost instantly flooded the ground, and com 
 pletely soaked all not defended by more substantial 
 covering than a soldier s watchcoat or such rotten 
 tents as had been landed. The men first detailed for 
 duty went on picket at six o clock, and the officer 
 who posted them came back drenched to the skin. 
 At nine, Hay, with Untequit, Jones, Coggeshall and 
 Gibbs, were to take, w r ith others, their turn until 
 midnight. Fires had been kindled here and there on 
 the floor of pounded and levelled clay, and from a 
 supply of dry twigs, were kept sparsely fed to supply 
 the want of candles and keep warm the kettles of hot 
 w r ater, with which the officers replenished their cans 
 of punch and toddy, and the commissary sergeants 
 mixed the modicum of raw spirit, ordered for the 
 behoof of the unfortunates whose term of duty had, 
 expired. 
 
 As the hour approached for relieving the guard, 
 Untequit placed on the fire a large camp-kettle in 
 which he had prepared for supper a kind of hotch 
 potch or stew, compounded of the heterogeneous 
 plunder of the day s reconnoisance. Dried beef and 
 fat salt pork, fowls, parrots, ducks and rabbits, plan- 
 
On .Picket at La Qninta 343 
 
 tains, cassava, yams and service biscuit, with a lib 
 eral sprinkling of red pepper and salt, and a few 
 leaves of the papaw, added to make the coarser 
 meats tender and digestible, combined in this Home 
 ric dish to form a repast so appetizing that at every 
 fire the dish was at once copied with greater or less 
 success. From this each of the ci-dcvant whaler s 
 crew took a liberal lunch, or rather supper, more 
 with the idea of gaining strength and extra warmth 
 than from hunger, and, after looking carefully to the 
 loading and priming of their pieces, went out into 
 the lowering night. 
 
 At first, the change was so great from the light 
 to the gloom of the forest that the men were utterly 
 blinded, but following the drenched subaltern, who 
 had posted the first watch, they stumbled through 
 the forest path leading to La Popa, and relieved the 
 shivering and weary soldiers whose watch for the 
 night was over, and who gladly followed the hapless 
 lieutenant of the guard back to quarters. 
 
 " Tis a hard service," said Hay to Untequit, "but 
 we are warm and well fed, and have dry clothes and 
 fire awaiting us at the close of our watch. To my 
 mind there is little fear of the Dons beating up our 
 quarters to-night, but if the men keep walking back 
 and forth, each in his allotted beat, none will become 
 chilled, and no enemy can hope to pass our line un- 
 perceived. I will pass along the whole line and 
 see that each man keeps in motion." 
 
 " Tis a terrible night," said Untequit under his 
 breath, as the lightning illumined for several sec 
 onds the line of pacing sentinels under the forest 
 
344 Tartu 
 
 arches, "and in the days of my fathers could only 
 have been the work of evil magicians, for the Great 
 Spirit does not thus afflict his children. Only the 
 Spirit of Evil can be abroad when such storms rage, 
 and truly I had rather fight a dozen men than face 
 the three hours before us." 
 
 As he spoke the trunk of a tree not a gunshot 
 away was shivered by a flash of lightning, whose fol 
 io wing thunder-crash almost swallowed up the noise 
 of its fall; and so full of electricity was the air that 
 flames of lambent blue seemed to fly around the bay 
 onet-tips, and even in some cases to form a kind of 
 halo around the heads of the soldiers, whose faces 
 by the unnatural light seemed livid and unearthly 
 all the more that most were more or less unmanned 
 by their unwonted surroundings and experiences. 
 
 "My brother," said Hay, quietly, "in storm as well 
 as in sunshine, in life as well as in death, the hand 
 of our Lord, the Creator, holds the eternal sceptre, 
 which is extended to some in mercy, and ordains to 
 others the end of life. Even in this war of storm and 
 tempest are the seeds of good, though to some of us 
 it may well prove fatal under our present condition. 
 Nevertheless, I know well that none of ours will 
 shrink from our bounden service, as brave soldiers 
 and loyal subjects of the king." 
 
 "Untequit is ready to answer when his name is 
 called, whether by your voice at dawn, my brother, 
 or by the Great Spirit when He sees fit to summon 
 the last chieftain of the race of lyanough. Yet I 
 would that the storm were over, and I like not this 
 light, which seems to make the faces of living men 
 like the set features of the dead." 
 
On Picket iit La Quintii 345 
 
 The gloom became impenetrable in the intervals 
 between the lightning, save here and there, amid 
 the tree-tops, where a bluish glare seemed to brood 
 over the crest of some gigantic ceiba or lofty ma 
 hogany, and the wind came in terrible gusts, now 
 sweeping across the whole expanse of the swaying 
 forest, and now seeming to cut through the wood in 
 capricious whirlwinds whose centre was a very 
 besom of destruction. 
 
 The rain fell almost incessantly, if that could be 
 called rain which fell in sheets of w r ater whose very 
 weight w r as nearly unbearable, and almost instantly 
 made the level ground a pool and the forest path 
 a brook, whose depth varied from the ankle to the 
 knee, through which the picket guard stumbled and 
 splashed, drenched to the skin, and almost careless 
 of life, so depressing was their situation and the 
 fears excited by the natural phenomena around 
 them. 
 
 Hay passed on from man to man, and found most 
 of them similarly affected, but responding readily 
 to cheerful words and appeals to their personal 
 courage and bravery, and at last reached the limits 
 of his ow r n line, and spoke to a gigantic grenadier 
 who held the outermost post of the party at La 
 Popa. 
 
 " Tis a fearf u night, your honor/ said this worth} 7 , 
 a recruit from some highland tribe, "an tis naeth- 
 ing ordinar that raises sic a storm, an gies to thae 
 quick the corpse-lichts that a men ken belang only 
 to those dead or doomed to die. Tis a stout carle, 
 an a brave, yon callant wha keeps his watch neist 
 
346 Cartagena 
 
 mine, but he? will never mair keep vigil in forest or 
 on wa , for he is fey, indeed." 
 
 "What mean you by fey indeed ?" asked Stephen, 
 as he sheltered himself beneath the trunk of a huge 
 tree beside the Highlander. The storm lulled for a 
 moment, and, as the branches ceased their incessant 
 swaying, the stillness seemed almost painful as the 
 clansman answered, strong in a belief whose origin 
 is lost in the night of time. 
 
 "He wha has nae mony days or hoors o life is 
 called fey amang the people o my ain land, an ilka 
 ane kens that when a man s shroud faulds him frae 
 head to heel, death is nae far awa . Look at the mon, 
 yersel , where he stan s ayont thae muckle cedar." 
 
 A strange thrill of something like awe and fear 
 filled Stephen s breast, as he turned and saw 
 Coggeshall, who held the post, leaning on his mus 
 ket and peering out into the gloom before him, every 
 line of his strongly cut features and the very curl of 
 his grizzled beard and moustache fully outlined 
 against the lambent flame. Had an enemy been 
 near, no better object could have courted deadly 
 aim, and the effect, terrifying enough in the cases 
 of those we have already spoken of, was doubly im 
 pressive from the completeness of the enveloping 
 phosphorescence, or electrical halo. 
 
 With an effort, Hay retraced his steps and ad 
 dressed his well tried comrade, the ex-privateers- 
 man, who turned at his voice and stepped back until 
 his massive figure rested by the shoulders against 
 a projecting excrescence of the cedar. 
 
 "Good night ag in, sergeant," he said gravely. 
 
On Ticket at La Quinta 347 
 
 "Your watch will soon be over, I take it, an you ll 
 not be sorry to get under cover ag in. Tis terrible 
 weather though fer our lads, an will fill many a 
 fresh grave before forty-eight hours from now." 
 
 "I hope not," said Hay, lightly. "Surely good food, 
 dry clothes and a glass of hot Jamaica will set us all 
 right again, w r hen once we are under cover." 
 
 "Nothin else can help the men so well, sergeant, 
 an I would thet all the officers cared for our poor 
 boys, es our officers hev done. Keep on, es you 
 hev begun, sergeant, an if merit will do anythin 
 fer a colonist, you will soon carry the King s com 
 mission, ef you choose to bear it. I would hev liked 
 to live to see it, but I fear me thet Jack Coggeshall 
 hes stood his last watch on ship or shore." 
 
 "Nonsense, man," said Hay cheerily, although 
 a,t heart, the dread of some approaching tragedy 
 seemed to chill the life current at its very source, 
 "what fear have you who have passed through 
 so many dangers, and seen so many storms, worse 
 even than this." 
 
 "Worse then this," echoed his companion with 
 proud disdain, "I should think so indeed, mate. He 
 who hes faced a norther in the Gulf of Mexico, a ty 
 phoon in the China Sea, an a white squall in the 
 Gulf stream, need not tremble like a woman at a bit 
 of foul weather, in the first of the rainy season." 
 
 "Surely you do not fear the fever, or the chances 
 of war, for I know you have passed through many 
 a scene of sickness and battle." 
 
 "True, sergeant, tis only too true. I was the only 
 one of the crew of the Black Snake letter o marque 
 
348 Cartagena 
 
 left alive six years agone in Kingston harbor, when 
 we refitted after a fight with a Spanish guarda costa, 
 thet sent him to the bottom, an kept us pumping 
 at the rate of a thousand strokes an hour, until we 
 got her careened at Port Royal. But the pitcher 
 goes to the well once too often with us all, an some 
 how I think thet my own cruise is nearly up. 
 
 " Tis strange, too, comrade," said the rover hur 
 riedly as if fearful of interruption, "but since this 
 weather breeder, es we call em at sea, settled down 
 among us here on watch, I got to thinkin of old 
 times, es I heven t thought for years. I hed no 
 mother, thet I can remember; father was at sea all 
 his life, except short visits home, an a sister of his 
 took care of the house, an saw to our food an cloth- 
 in . I hed a little sister, a perfect little angel, sir, an 
 so pretty thet every one admired an petted her; 
 an she was es loving es pretty, an the only one I 
 had to love. She died young, wasted away sir, like 
 a withered lily, an left me with her last kiss, an 
 her last words of love alone on earth. She said, 
 Come brother, an pointed to somethin or some 
 body an smiled. I shall never forget thet smile, 
 an ," lowering his voice, "I hev seen an heard her 
 again tonight. 
 
 "I m not frightened or out of my senses, sir," said 
 Coggeshall, in calm, deep tones, "an I don t mean to 
 say thet she s in your sight or even in mine, when I 
 sweep the woods, es is my duty. When I look, es 
 the lightning flashes, I see every liana, every sweep 
 of the trunks and branches, an ef a Spaniard 
 showed an inch of scrape or sombrero you could trust 
 
On Picket at La Quinta 349 
 
 me to put a bullet in it, es well es in our scoutin 
 days just past. But in the darkness I see her lovin 
 little face, es when I knelt cryin beside her little 
 bed, an hear her sayin Come, brother! Gome! 
 jest es well an es plainly es when death parted 
 us forever." 
 
 "Not forever, I hope; not forever," cried Stephen, 
 in spite of himself, impressed by the strange calm 
 ness and conviction of his follower. - "Surely life has 
 no such charms for you, that the hope of rejoining 
 her in a better life would not outweigh all other 
 worldly hopes and wishes." 
 
 "One would think so, sir, yet young blood is hot 
 an old blood often wicked, an God knows I am no 
 saint, fit to walk beside her in white where they 
 say all are pure. , Do you think they will let me come 
 when she calls me?" 
 
 " Whosoever will let him come, are the words of 
 the holy Bible, and I hold that none will be shut out 
 who truly repent of all their sins and believe in our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, who died for all repenting sin 
 ners. I have little belief in warnings, or such visions 
 as you speak of, and I advise you to do well your duty, 
 leaving to God the disposal of life and death ; but the 
 dear memory of your sister should lead you to Him, 
 through whom only we may hope for love and joy 
 everlasting." 
 
 Coggeshall groped in the darkness for his com 
 rade s hand, and wrung it as men do when words 
 fail to express the strong emotions of a powerful 
 organization, and then spoke as if relieved by the 
 confession of his thoughts. "Well, the storm is 
 
350 Cartagena 
 
 comin on ag in, I think, an perhaps as heavily es 
 before. How shall I know when our watch is over?" 
 
 "I shall come back with your relief, I suppose. Be 
 of good cheer and trust yourself in Christ s mercy, 
 and we may both yet talk together of this night s 
 vigil, and our hope of ending noble lives in the sure 
 expectation of the immortality of God and his 
 saints." 
 
 "Good night, sir; I shall remember." And as Ste 
 phen moved away he saw that the mysterious light 
 had left the person of his comrade, and seemed to be 
 broken and passing to the tree against w r hich he 
 leant. 
 
 A fresh shower was now passing over, and when, 
 after much labor and suffering, he had attained the 
 left of the line, he found the relief already near at 
 hand and ready to replace his wet and weary sen 
 tinels. 
 
 One by one they relieved the guards until only a 
 single man remained between the party and the 
 right of the cordon, and Stephen, in the frequent 
 lightning flashes, looked with some concern for his 
 former comrade. At last he saw him standing as he 
 had left him, leaning against the cedar, with his face 
 resting on his hands, crossed upon the muzzle of his 
 weapon, and then all was darkness. 
 
 The intervening picket had challenged; Hay gave 
 the countersign over the presented bayonet, and had 
 whispered to the relieving ranger to step forward 
 into his place; when a sheet of fire seemed to fill the 
 air, a deafening crash rolled all around the party, 
 and for some moments all was obscurity to Stephen 
 and his companions. 
 
On iMcket at La Qtiinta 351 
 
 When he recovered himself, Hay felt the rain fall 
 ing in torrents upon his face and staggered to his 
 feet, assisted by his men, most of whom had felt the 
 shock even more than himself, and calling for the 
 last of the relief, he went forward toward the post, 
 where Coggeshall, by the light of succeeding flashes, 
 was still to be seen retaining his observant attitude, 
 as if utterly unmindful of the war and wreck of 
 weather. 
 
 "He s a cool hand," said Jones admiringly. "Noth- 
 in moves him in storm or battle, I reckon." 
 
 "He might hev come to see ef we were all killed 
 jest now," grumbled Gibbs, whose temper was not 
 improved by his late exposure. 
 
 "He had no right to leave his post," said Hay 
 apologetically; "but he ought to challenge ere now," 
 and he cleared his throat significantly, as a hint to 
 the careless or absorbed sentinel. 
 
 A second flash showed them the figure of Cogges 
 hall still in the same position, but a terrible thought 
 entered the mind of Stephen, and he sprang forward 
 and laid his hand on the shoulder of the privateers- 
 man. As he did so a long undulating flash showed 
 him the face of his comrade lit up with a pleasant 
 smile, but it was the smile of a lifeless face, and the 
 slight impetus of his touch sent the massive form 
 with its heavy accoutrements and shattered weap 
 ons to the ground. He had been slain by the same 
 levin-bolt which had prostrated his comrades. 
 
 Awestruck and sad at heart, they bore the dead 
 on their crossed muskets up to the bivouac, and es 
 sayed all that their rude skill could do, to bring life 
 
352 Cartagena 
 
 back to the stalwart frame and familiar face of their 
 well-tried comrade, but though Hay was the last to 
 give up trying, at heart he had no hope for brave 
 Jack Coggeshall. 
 
 No hope say we? He had truly no hope for this 
 life, neither did his Puritan teaching encourage the 
 belief, that even the strange premonition of coming 
 death, or the fancied summons of one long dead, 
 however pure of heart, should avail to turn to true 
 repentance a man of such ungodly life and unre 
 strained passions as his whilom comrade. But de 
 spite all his stern belief as he saw, for the last time, 
 the calm, serene face of the dead soldier, ere the 
 shrouding blanket and flow r ery vines hid it forever 
 from mortal view, he turned away in hope despite 
 of himself, that in the great and vague hereafter he 
 should yet meet one so brave and true, so loving and 
 tender-hearted, so calm and fearless at the last of 
 life s long battle, as he who died so weirdly, yet so 
 peacefully, neath the lightning riven cedars that 
 fringe the base of the fortress height of Nuestra 
 Senora de la Popa. 
 
Chapter XXV. 
 The Hospital of Saint Lazarus 
 
 The succeeding day was as hot and sultry as the 
 night had been tempestuous, but the work of en 
 camping the army was hurried on as fast as possible 
 under the supervision of the general, and of his en 
 gineers, now sadly reduced in numbers and morale by 
 their losses from sickness and the casualties at Boca 
 Chica. 
 
 The ground chosen was covered with vegetation, 
 requiring the use of the mattock and axe to clear it, 
 and the officer placed in charge of this special duty, 
 a veteran major of marines, spared neither his own 
 men nor the detail of colonists, who from their skill 
 in the use of the axe were, as we have seen, doomed 
 with the Jamaica negroes to the drudgery of the 
 expedition. Even the men on picket the night before 
 were compelled to take part in this labor, exposed to 
 the full heat of the cloudless sun, and Hay and his 
 temperate companions, who, divested of the greater 
 part of their clothing, worked with the steady but 
 moderate industry which the hot summers of New 
 England had taught them was best adapted to se 
 cure the best results, suffered as they never had be 
 fore in the deadliest heats of a July noon tide. 
 
 Even the negroes, habituated to endure the full 
 rays of a tropical sun, and almost without clothing 
 save of the thinnest and scantiest kind, complained 
 of the heat, and evidently suffered from weakness 
 
354 Cartagena 
 
 produced by the diffuse and immoderate perspira 
 tion, which stood in heavy beads upon their jetty 
 bodies. The whips of their officers, for the most 
 part overseers of Jamaican plantations, and at the 
 best slavedrivers in uniform, were used freely, but 
 seemed to have lost their usual efficacy, and the cor 
 pulent major, as he lay in his hammock under the 
 grateful shade of a clump of tamarinds, smoking 
 and sipping cool drinks prepared by his negro body 
 servant, stormed and swore as he saw how slowly 
 the w r ork progressed, calling first to one brutal ty 
 rant and then to another to "hurry up the lazy 
 hounds." 
 
 But the unfortunate marines, although somewhat 
 favored by their commanding officer in choice of 
 shelter and employment in the lighter labors of the 
 work required, drooped like delicate flowers de 
 prived of the shade which alone enables them to 
 bear the heat of the sun. Clad in heavy and incon 
 venient uniforms ; with their breathing impeded by 
 their clumsy stocks which they dared not lay aside; 
 and being for the most part men of gross size and 
 habits of life, they soon began to faint and fall vic 
 tims to the fatal coup de soldi A sergeant, who had 
 used his cane unsparingly on his own men and some 
 of the hapless negroes, was one of the first victims, 
 and as if this first case was but the signal for a gen 
 eral yielding of overtaxed human nature, several 
 marines and at least one American dropped as if 
 cut down by a fatal f usilade from the forest. 
 
 With a torrent of oaths the huge major caught up 
 his cane, and, hurrying to the spot, ordered the re- 
 
The Hospital of Saint Lazarus 355 
 
 maining marines to convey the dead and dying to 
 the hospital, and excused them from farther duty 
 for the day; and, turning to the Jamaican officers, 
 ordered them to hasten forward the clearing of the 
 ground. 
 
 A glance of his eye toward the Americans indi 
 cated a similar order, and he was about to return to 
 his hammock and post of observation, when he saw 
 among the colonists a movement, which at once ar 
 rested his attention and footsteps. 
 
 Among those under the immediate oversight of 
 Sergeant Hay was a youth not yet grown to man s 
 estate, the runaway apprentice of a Boston rope- 
 maker, who had quitted the long, low sheds at the 
 foot of the Common, and the retrograde walk pe 
 culiar to his avocation, for the freer tread but more 
 trying uncertainties of a soldier s life. He had 
 worked for a time manfully, but just then showed 
 unmistakable signs of distress; and Stephen at last 
 noticed that he no longer was bathed in perspira 
 tion, and ordered him to retire under the shade of a 
 clump of cocoas not far distant. 
 
 But as he shouldered his mattock and turned to 
 go, the major interposed his authority, with the 
 brutal coarseness peculiar to his profession at that 
 day, and especially noticeable in such as, like him 
 self, had served in the "Low Countries." 
 
 " -! -! -!" No language 
 
 which we feel warranted in addressing to modern 
 ears will represent the mingled blasphemy and ob 
 scenity heaped upon the devoted head of the kind- 
 hearted sergeant, and the gigantic form of the vol- 
 
356 Cartagena 
 
 unteer became convulsed with rage, as he drew him 
 self up in conscious strength and rectitude, and fixed 
 his eyes sternly on the blazing orbs of the maddened 
 tyrant. 
 
 "What do you mean, you New England hound? 
 How dare you look at me, you psalm-singing Puri 
 tan? Drag back yonder sneaking, lazy cur of a 
 countryman of yours to his duty, or I ll bring both 
 you and him to the halberds, and score your backs 
 till the blood runs down to your heels." 
 
 With a mighty effort, and less from fear for him 
 self than from dread of the consequences to his com 
 rades, whose indignation showed itself but too plain 
 ly in their countenances, Stephen, with a success 
 which surprised himself, kept back the torrent of his 
 inward wrath, and answered civilly enough the out 
 rageous questioning of his superior officer. 
 
 "The man is in danger of sunstroke, sir, and I 
 told him to get under cover. I trust, sir, " 
 
 "Silence, sir! Send the man back to his duty. 
 How dare you bandy words with me. Damme, sir, 
 but I ll put you both under arrest, if you don t obey 
 at once." 
 
 "I am ready, sir," said Stephen firmly. "The man 
 is in imminent danger, for I know the symptoms, 
 and I will not be a party to his murder." 
 
 With a torrent of frightful imprecations, his huge 
 features suffused with an excess of blood, and his 
 stick raised for an assault upon the person of the 
 contumacious sergeant himself, the major of ma 
 rines rushed toward the immovable colonist. 
 
 Stephen had folded his arms and awaited his ad- 
 
The Hospital of Saint La/arus :>r>7 
 
 versary fearlessly, but with the expectation of seri 
 ous if not fatal injury; for he had already experi 
 enced from frequent observation, the boundless 
 cruelty and tyranny of many of the officers of the 
 land and sea service of those days. His comrades 
 were less prudent, and several were about to inter 
 fere, while Untequit laid his hand on the hilt of his 
 knife, and Gibbs even caught up his musket, glaring 
 sideways at the major, although his eyes seemed for 
 the most; part to be searching the woods toward 
 the outposts of San Lazaro. 
 
 But a better ally was at hand. A strong and 
 active form came leaping from the edge of the 
 woods, and, ere the major could strike, John Wood- 
 side, arrayed in his new captain s uniform, con 
 fronted the astonished major. 
 
 "Out of my way, youngster, or I ll tear your frip 
 pery from your back and break your toasting iron 
 across my knee. Out of my way, until I brain that 
 insolent hound who dares to dispute the orders of a 
 major of His Majesty s marines." 
 
 "It takes a man, Major Whyte, to do what you 
 threaten," answered Woodside haughtily, "and I 
 fear neither your sword nor your malice. I know 
 why you were commissioned, and what is more to 
 the point, that the service is no longer the secret 
 which you are paid to keep. Now, sir, if you please 
 to arrest my men, well and good; but they enlisted 
 as gentlemen volunteers, and no man shall strike 
 them but over my dead body." 
 
 The bully glanced upon his audacious inferior, 
 and for a moment it seemed as if, even in defiance 
 
358 Cartagena 
 
 of all considerations, lie would visit on Ms brother 
 officer the wrath which almost threatened to end his 
 own existence; so purple had become his inflamed 
 visage with the effect of the heat and his own un 
 bridled passions. But Stephen heard a groan be 
 hind him, and turned hastily; the boy, overcome 
 by fear and his previous exposure, was insensible. 
 
 Hay took the senseless form in his arms, and 
 started for the site of the field hospital, while 
 Woodside, at the first angry movement of the 
 major, drew his rapier from its sheath. 
 
 "If you wear a sword for any purpose but for 
 show, Major Whyte," said he, scornfully, "you will 
 waive your rank and give me a meeting. If not, as 
 soon as we ever return to a spot where courage, 
 honor and humanity are recognized as the attributes 
 of a gentleman, I will post you as a coward, a des 
 pot and a murderer." And as he spoke, he pointed 
 to the limp and lifeless burden in Hay s giant grasp. 
 
 With a half -choked oath and an inaudible threat, 
 lost in the utter ecstasy of rage, the major turned, 
 and staggered rather than walked to his hammock, 
 throwing himself into it as if seized with a kind of 
 dizziness, while Woodside, turning to his men, di 
 rected them to resume their labors; and later, the 
 commander-in-chief himself rode up, and entered 
 into conversation with the major, who seemed to 
 have somewhat recovered from the effects of his 
 passion, showed the visitors the progress made, and 
 even pointed out that part of the field cleared by the 
 Americans as most suitable for the tents of the en 
 gineers. 
 
The Hospital of Saint Lazarus 359 
 
 Hay, who had returned to his men, suddenly saw, 
 from the expression of Untequit s face, that a 
 stranger was approaching; and across an open sa 
 vannah a well-dressed Spaniard suddenly ap 
 proached the picket line, and, after a parley with 
 the guard, was blindfolded, and led by an officer and 
 a file of men into the presence of the Commander-in- 
 chief. 
 
 On removing his bandages a mask was seen to 
 cover his features, which, in fair English he begged 
 might not be removed. 
 
 " Tis preposterous," said General Wentworth, 
 sternly. "Who ever heard of a man entering the 
 lines of an hostile army, and having such a request 
 regarded?" 
 
 "The man s richt," said McPherson, the guide of 
 the expedition, and in this capacity a captain on the 
 general s staff. "Gie a look at his han s, an ye ll see 
 why he cares na to show his face ; for he well knows 
 that no human eye will care to look again upon the 
 wark o the plague o leprosy." 
 
 "You say well, McPherson," said the stranger in 
 a clear, bold voice, while those around him drew 
 back in instinctive horror, "and though you have 
 had many a brave carouse beneath my roof, you 
 would scarcely care to look again on the features 
 of Don Carlos D Olivera. But you may say to these 
 gentlemen that they have little cause of fear, and tell 
 them that I come as a peaceful envoy from the un 
 happy inmates of the hospital of San Lazaro." 
 
 "I m unco sorry to meet ye thus," said McPherson, 
 warmly, "an gin an arm o me wad mak ye whole I d 
 
360 Cartagena 
 
 gie it wf a my saul. But, indeed, your Excellency 
 may trust him," he continued, turning eagerly to 
 Wentworth. "There was never man or woman that 
 tint aught, by trusting to the lealty o Don Carlos." 
 
 "Thank you, my old friend," said the masked man, 
 pleasantly. "And to your Excellency I have only to 
 say, that beyond that great walled compound to the 
 left, and below the fortified rock of San Lazaro live 
 hundreds of unfortunates, who, even in stress of 
 war, cannot fly to the walled city, or be allowed to 
 avoid its terrors by seeking the inland villages, 
 where so many of the rich and fortunate have fled 
 before your arms. 
 
 "I have known something of war, and ere long 
 your artillery must reduce San Lazaro. My errand is 
 to ask you to spare the helpless, and be merciful to 
 those whom God has afflicted, for none will make 
 our plague-stricken community a lodgment for 
 troops, or depend on our walls for defence, at the 
 risk of being doomed to an endless captivity and a 
 horrible death." 
 
 "There, indeed, seems to be no necessity of open 
 ing fire on your hospital, if, in truth, all is as you 
 say. But how may we know that these things are 
 so? There has been plenty of time, since McPher- 
 son dwelt among you, to turn into a fortified camp 
 even such a pest house as he has described San Laz 
 aro to be." 
 
 "I have permission from Don Sebastian de Eslava 
 and the admiral, Don Bias, to take within, or rather 
 upon our walls, anyone who will undertake to visit 
 our abode of wretchedness. I may say that there is 
 
The Hospital of Saint La/arus 361 
 
 little or no fear of contagion from a single visit, 
 for it would seem that only those born or long resi 
 dent among us, fall under so terrible an affliction. 
 Still, I would ask no man to lightly run the hazard 
 of the terrible fate which awaits me and my com 
 panions." 
 
 There were brave men there who had faced danger 
 and death freely in many forms, but none dared to 
 essay the adventure, and a shade of sadness was in 
 the envoy s tone as he said, "I blame you not, gen 
 tlemen; but if none will undertake the duty from 
 chivalry and the love of God, have you none of 
 meaner rank, whom you can trust, w T ho will essay the 
 peril for gold? I will give an hundred guineas to 
 any man, w r ho will go as your Excellency s mes 
 senger." 
 
 "There s a tall New Englander yonder," said 
 Whyte quietly, pointing to Stephen at his work, 
 "who seems to be given to merciful work and hos 
 pital service, who would doubtless undertake the 
 task, if your Excellency pleases. He is under the 
 command of Lieutenant I beg pardon Captain 
 Woodside, who can best advise as to his trustiness 
 in so delicate a matter." 
 
 "Summon him," said Wentworth briefly to an aid, 
 who hastily brought before the general the tall New 
 Englander and his officer. 
 
 "This man in the mask," said Wentworth, gruffly, 
 "represents that he is the chief in authority among 
 a certain community of lepers, established just this 
 side of yonder fort of San Lazaro, and beseeches us 
 to spare them in the coming siege and bombard- 
 
3(52 Cartagena 
 
 nient. He has asked us to send a messenger, to test 
 the truth of his statement. Will you volunteer for 
 such service?" 
 
 In a moment Hay s quick glance had taken in both 
 the noble proportions of the speaker and the terrible 
 ravages of the dread disease, which even the cunning 
 arts employed could not wholly conceal from so 
 keen a surveillance. The bloodshot eyes burning 
 with fever, the bluish lips which showed at the 
 aperture of the painted mask, the fingers contracted 
 and swollen at their rotting joints under the costly 
 glove, and sundry smooth whitish swellings on wrist 
 and neck, told but too plainly of the terrible 
 progress made by the loathsome disease; and Hay, 
 though no coxcomb, was proud of his manly strength 
 and beauty, prizing them as the greatest earthly gift 
 bestowed upon him by his Creator. 
 
 For a moment he shrank from the risk, and his 
 color came and w r ent between fear and decision; but 
 at last he said, calmly: 
 
 "I will go, if it please your Excellency." 
 
 "You shall be well repaid, young man," said the 
 Spaniard, warmly ; but Wentworth went on address 
 ing himself to Woodside: 
 
 "I have heard enough of you, sir, to know that in 
 the fleet, you have been trusted in delicate missions 
 of some importance. Is this man loyal and intelli 
 gent?" 
 
 "He is, your Excellency, as worthy of trust as I 
 am, myself, at least." . 
 
 "No man can say more for another than that," 
 said Wentworth, with a grim smile. "You can go at 
 
The Hospital of Saint Lazarus 3G3 
 
 once," he said, turning to Stephen, "only remember 
 to be loyal to the king, and to keep faith with the 
 enemy who trusts you in the name of humanity." 
 
 At a signal from his guide, Stephen, keeping at a 
 distance of some ten paces, was escorted through the 
 lines of the grand guard and picket, and crossing a 
 belt of low shrubbery saw before them on one hand 
 the castellated hill, and on the other the long, mas 
 sive wall, which, forming two sides of a rectangle, 
 enclosed with the shores of Cartagena harbor, the 
 village called the Hospital of St. Lazarus. 
 
 "You have much to see that is appalling and dis 
 gusting for our sakes," said his guide, speaking with 
 some emotion, "and I would have you first partake 
 of such hospitality as I can still offer. Yonder," he 
 continued, pointing to a small bujio or cottage, sur 
 rounded by shrubbery, "lives my dear daughter, 
 who refuses to leave me to despair although years 
 have passed since she has seen my face, or even 
 spoken to me within the bounds of the fence sur 
 rounding her dwelling; but her heart, God bless her, 
 is ever open to her unfortunate but loving father." 
 
 As he spoke, a beautiful and queenly woman 
 glided out upon the veranda of the low, snow-white 
 cottage, and in tones strongly blending filial love 
 and queenly grace, gave affectionate greeting to 
 Hay s companion. A large but perfect form, regular 
 features, a brunette complexion, suffused with the 
 crimson blood of perfect h ealth, combined with a 
 rich and almost barbaric splendor of apparel, 
 formed such an incarnation of tropical beauty as 
 Stephen had never even dreamed of before. 
 
Cartagena 
 
 No trace of aversion or even of that open pity, 
 which is scarcely less trying, to those who retain 
 amid sore affliction their high sense of pride and 
 self-respect, was visible in the manner or speech of 
 the daughter of the leper. 
 
 "You are welcome, my father," she cried joyously 
 in Spanish, "and I see you are successful. Your 
 countrymen, the English sefiores, have not been less 
 noble than you hoped." 
 
 "Ah! You understand Spanish," said Olivarez 
 quickly, as he saw Stephen s cheek flush and his eye 
 brighten at the kind words of the daughter. "You 
 are, then, no common soldier of the marines, and, 
 indeed, now that I look, your facings are not those 
 of that branch of the service." 
 
 "I am of the Massachusetts Bay, and a gentleman 
 volunteer in the American brigade, which joined 
 the fleet at Jamaica. I know a little Spanish, hav 
 ing cruised against your people in an armed sloop 
 of the Khode Island colony, and been for a time a 
 prisoner among your countrymen, or rather I mean 
 the Spaniards." 
 
 "Do you not class me with the Spaniards," asked 
 Olivarez in a lower tone and with some surprise. 
 
 "I have no right to question your nationality," re 
 plied Stephen, coolly, "but if I am right in my con 
 jectures, you will recognize this ring." And draw 
 ing from his breast pocket a small packet, he pro 
 duced the jewel given to him by John Hew T son, and, 
 placing it on the point of his short sergeant s sword, 
 conveyed it to the hands of his guide. 
 
 With much emotion the unhappy man seized the 
 
The Hospital of Saint Lazarus 365 
 
 ring and eagerly inspected it, viewing it carefully, 
 and finally touched a spring, disclosing a minute 
 ivory portrait of a singularly handsome youth, in the 
 first flush of manhood. 
 
 " Tis my own picture," he said in a voice which, 
 for the first time, faltered with emotion. "Of whom 
 had you this token, and when ?" 
 
 "Of a man, resident among us, who calls himself 
 John Hewson, and who sent it by my hands, that, 
 if Providence gave yonder city into our power, his 
 brother there residing might have, through me, gold 
 and aid to come to him in the Massachusetts." 
 
 "Dear, brave Hugh!" said the leper, passionately 
 kissing the jewel. " Tis several years since I sent 
 him, by a sure hand, this same token and saved him 
 from treachery and a cruel death, and now, shut out 
 as I am from human companionship, I am not for 
 gotten or unloved." 
 
 "I have also certain monies at the camp," said Ste 
 phen, hurriedly," but did not expect to meet you thus 
 strangely, and therefore cannot now fulfill my er 
 rand. I doubt not, however, that I might leave the 
 package in a sure place where it might come to your 
 hands, if, indeed, in a few days we fail to take the 
 city." 
 
 "You must not think of it, sir," said Olivarez, 
 sternly. "If discovered, it might cost both our lives, 
 but certainly yours, and of the siege and its proba 
 bilities we are bound in honor not to parley more. 
 Keep the gold, until in God s good time we meet 
 again; and if you cannot bring it to me in peace, 
 you are heartily welcome to a sum which I do not 
 
366 Cartagena 
 
 need, and can never hope to use. But, dear sir, favor 
 me with the name of one to whom I am so hopelessly 
 indebted." 
 
 "Stephen Hay, sergeant of Woodside s company 
 of the Massachusetts contingent, whilom yeoman of 
 Sandwich town in the county of Barnstable," replied 
 the young man with soldierly directness. 
 
 "Then, Seiior Hay, when this officer who ap 
 proaches is satisfied, you must partake of my hos 
 pitality, but say not a word of what has just passed, 
 and be careful to speak little, for Luis de Ramon is 
 a dangerous man, suspicious, cruel, and merciless, 
 although handsome and courtly enough." 
 
 As he spoke, from the castle where many men 
 labored incessantly to increase and strengthen the 
 defenses, came a tall, slight man, in all the splendor 
 of apparel which in those days decked a colonel of 
 Spanish infantry, and although little was left of the 
 defensive armor of the seventeenth century, the 
 golden gorget which depended from his neck, and 
 the thick masses of bullion embroidery on his uni 
 form, seemed to promise immunity from sword cut 
 or bayonet thrust, if unavailing against musket shot 
 or-mittraille. 
 
 He was handsome notwithstanding his leanness; 
 his cheeks soft despite their pallor, and his eyes and 
 hair were black and singularly attractive. His man 
 ner was perfect and his voice soft and sweet, al 
 though Hay fancied that its tones were insincere, 
 and if the truth must be confessed, detested its 
 owner from the moment of meeting him. Yet he re 
 proached himself therefor promptly, when he re- 
 
The Hospital of Saint Lazarus 367 
 
 called the courteous manner and words with which 
 he, a poor sergeant, in his working dress, was 
 greeted by a Spaniard of noble birth and ancient 
 family. 
 
 "You have succeeded, Senor Olivarez, and I ac 
 knowledge myself mistaken as to the gallantry of 
 our persecutors. This gentleman," he continued, 
 raising his hat gracefully to the New Englander, "is, 
 I presume, the officer deputed to make the necessary 
 survey. What is his name and rank?" 
 
 "He is a sergeant of gentlemen volunteers from 
 the northern colonies, Don Ramon, and in his own 
 land the owner of an cstancia of some value. They 
 seem to think it no shame to serve in the ranks, al 
 though unlike the Mousquetaires Gris of France, or 
 the Scots brigade, they care little for show or even 
 revelry." 
 
 Don Ramon bowed low, with a courtly greeting in 
 Spanish. Hay, smiling pleasantly, removed his fa 
 tigue cap with a somewhat stiff but courteous bow, 
 and in Spanish and English by turns, Olivarez duly 
 introduced the Spanish colonel and our sergeant of 
 volunteers. 
 
 "If you will permit me, Don Ramon, I should be 
 pleased to offer our soldier guest a slight repast and 
 a glass of Amontillado. Will it please you to accom 
 pany him to my daughter s bujio, and take from her 
 hands the courtesy I canot offer?" 
 
 "Certainly, my poor friend," said Don Ramon 
 softly. "Alas ! that you too cannot accompany us, or 
 mingle once more in siege and battle as of old. But 
 how can you receive under your roof one of the 
 slayers of your only son, the Senor Carlos?" 
 
368 Cartagena 
 
 "If he is dead, which I cannot believe, for his com 
 rades say he had no fatal wound when his gunners 
 ran from the fire of the English ship, he died in fair 
 fight, with brave men. Life had little left for me 
 save the love of my children ; but were they all slain 
 by chance of war, I would treat every generous foe 
 as a friend, when truce or treaty made peace be 
 tween us." 
 
 "By the Holy Mother of God ! Spoken like the Cid 
 de Campeador, Seiior Olivarez; neither will I be less 
 generous, though I fear I shall never rest quietly, 
 until my rapier has once, at least, been red in heretic 
 blood; for poor Carlos was a brave srentleman, and 
 so dear to us all." 
 
 "Then your quarrel was made up before he went 
 to Tierra Bomba?" said Olivarez, sadly. 
 
 For a single instant a flash of latent fire shot from 
 Don Kamon s lustrous eyes, and a tinge of color 
 mounted to the snowy cheek, and then, with a sigh, 
 he responded: 
 
 "I would it were so; but, alas! we had not spoken 
 for days when he took boat for San Luis de Boca 
 Chica. Twas a slight cause of quarrel a pretty 
 face and coquettish heart, senor; and you know 
 young blood is hot and hasty. We even had our 
 rapiers drawn when de Eslaya himself stopped us, 
 for twas in the patio of the vice-royal palace itself; 
 but just then, I would have fought in the very courts 
 of heaven. But peace was made, and, since, I have 
 thought myself unfortunate in having thus incurred 
 a quarrel, which perhaps may never be healed until 
 we meet in heaven." 
 
The Hospital of Saint Lazarus 
 
 "Let us hope, seiior, for better things. Don Ra 
 mon, you will introduce Seiior Hay to the senora 
 Inez. Inez, you will proffer to these gentlemen the 
 courtesies I cannot show them." And, waving his 
 hand, the father turned from the contemplation of 
 the white walls, latticed windows and broad veran 
 das, nestling amid tropical flowers and superabund 
 ant foliage, and went toward the huge gate of the 
 blank wall, within which death and decay reigned 
 over inmates without hope of earthly happiness. 
 
 But Stephen, following respectfully, entered 
 through the palisadoed fence into a small garden, 
 where the cocoa bore its precious fruit under the 
 graceful palm known to us by its nut of the same 
 name, and the curious donzella, or sensitive plant, 
 folding its leaves at the slightest touch, grew amid 
 parterres of gorgeous flowers, and vines whose 
 smooth, glossy leaves set off in striking contrast cu 
 rious bells, blossoms and trumpet-shaped calyxes of 
 white, scarlet and yellow. 
 
 With a confused survey of clean, cool mattings, 
 gauzy curtains, white linen, bright silver and crystal 
 glass, Hay followed on to where Inez de Olivarez 
 stood beside a polished table, whereon stood a va 
 ried repast of fruits, pastry and more substantial 
 delicacies. Seating herself, the daughter of Oli 
 varez gracefully did the honors of the feast, to which 
 both did ample justice; though, from his fear of com 
 promising his host, Stephen gave no sign when an 
 occasional phrase struck familiarly upon his 
 memory. ^ 
 
 "You have been too cruel, Inez mia" said the 
 
370 Cartagena 
 
 colonel, after some moments of conversation on gen 
 eral subjects had satisfied him that the colonist 
 cared only to make up for past deprivations by pres 
 ent enjoyment of the repast before him, "and I am 
 in despair that you still reject my suit. Surely I have 
 not so bitterly offended in my hasty quarrel with 
 your unfortunate brother?" 
 
 "Let us not speak of these things now," said Inez, 
 hurriedly. "They are sad and perplexing, and we 
 have both a duty to this gentleman and the poor 
 creatures yonder. May the Holy Mother and Saint 
 Lazarus befriend them. Serve the wine, Tomaso," 
 she continued, addressing a negro lad in waiting. 
 "You will find it cool, gentlemen, although our stock 
 of snow from the Horqueta yonder, is running low." 
 
 The servant took from a pail filled with snow a 
 brace of long necked, slender bottles, extracted the 
 corks deftly, and set them before the trio. Don 
 Ramon poured out a glass for Inez and one for him 
 self, and Stephen more slowly filled his own glass. 
 
 "Let us drink, senor, to our fair hostess," said 
 Ramon, with the methodical care of one who knows 
 little of the language he essays. The gentlemen rose 
 and drank, while Inez sipped her wine and bowed in 
 dignified acknowledgment. 
 
 "Health and thanks to our generous foes," said 
 Inez, in turn, which being translated by the Span 
 iard, was duly honored, while Hay, knowing that he 
 too was bound in courtesy to propose a health, knew 
 scarcely how to conceal his knowledge of Spanish, 
 and yet acquit himself with credit. At last, how 
 ever, he determined to trust to his own tongue and 
 the translation of the Spanish colonel. 
 
The Hospital of Saint Lazarus 371 
 
 "I drink to a speedy and honorable peace," said 
 the tall soldier, rising and bowing grandly as he 
 spoke, while his eyes for the first time, met those of 
 his fair entertainer. "Thanks for your kindness, 
 lady, and to you, sir, for your courtesy, but fhe day 
 draws to a close, and I have much to do." 
 
 "What said he, senor?" asked Inez, as the Span 
 iard lingered a little over another glass of wine, 
 while Stephen waited at the verge of the veranda, 
 and heard the careless reply of the enamored colonel. 
 
 "I have never seen such a man. Even Carlos, your 
 former servant, was not so tall and strong. I would 
 wager my life, too, that he is as true and tender as 
 he is magnificent." 
 
 "By Saint Jago ! I wonder at thee, Inez de Oliva- 
 rez, for thus admiring an accursed heretic; a soldier 
 of fortune, seeking to plunder your native city. He 
 is huge of limb, I grant, but were he of my own 
 rank, he should underlie my challenge, when again 
 we meet in the field ; and as for Don Carlos, the Cata 
 lan, he would soon lay yonder huge carcass under 
 the forest leaves to moulder into mother earth." 
 
 "With the* dagger, perhaps," said Inez, with a 
 spark of sudden anger. "I hear he had to enlist to 
 save his neck from the garrote. He would never 
 dare to face such a man, foot to foot, and steel to 
 steel." 
 
 "For dios. But I shall believe you in love with 
 yonder Englishman. But let us cease this play and 
 be serious, for I confess I shall be jealous if you say 
 ought farther. As to Carlos, they say he died at the 
 taking of the lower forts, and if he was hasty in his 
 
372 Cartagena 
 
 wrath, tie has paid his last forfeit, and we could 
 have better spared just now a better man. Adios, 
 senora"; and with a bow and a look full of tender 
 meaning, the Spaniard departed. 
 
 A few paces brought them to the gate where 
 Olivarez awaited their coming, and, in obedience to 
 Kamon s orders, the great gate was then opened; 
 From its threshold, Stephen saw for the first and 
 last time in his life, that most terrible of all the 
 refuges of stricken humanity a village of lepers. 
 
 Before him were fair gardens and shady groves, 
 the houses of the rich and the hovels of the poor, and 
 around were vineyards, fields of maize, plantations 
 of cocoa, oranges, limes and plantains, and every 
 where the hands of man had secured an ample re 
 ward for their labor. 
 
 But in a kind of plaza, into which each street and 
 by-way opened, stood several hundred of both sexes 
 and all ages, on whom incurable disease, disgusting, 
 hopeless and fatal, had set its unmistakable seal. 
 
 Hands that had lost their fingers, limbs rotted to 
 elbow and knee, eyes that looked out from faces cor 
 roded out of all semblance to human expression, and 
 forms such as the ancient masters depicted to show 
 the terrors of eternal and never-ending pain, greeted 
 Stephen s calm, pitiful gaze, as, after a quick survey 
 of the walls, he turned resolutely to the sad assem 
 blage before him. A friar of Benedictines addressed 
 him from amid the throng in fair English, stretching 
 out, as he spoke, his swollen wrists. 
 
 "Out of our torments we thank thee. Carry back 
 to the living what thou hast seen in the house of the 
 
The Hospital of Saint Lazarus 373 
 
 dying. We who are about to die, salute thee in 
 amity and peace." 
 
 "May God bless and pity you," said Stephen, 
 hoarsely, as he turned away, leaving the multitude 
 on their knees, and hearing behind him, as he 
 stepped from under the shadow of that terrible wall, 
 the grating of the huge iron-barred gate which shut 
 in such unutterable and hopeless misery. 
 
 " Tis a sad sight, senor," said Ramon, carelessly, 
 "and I thank you for volunteering to satisfy your 
 commander that no fortress is hidden there. The 
 Sefior de Olivarez will conduct you beyond the lines. 
 It is hardly likely we shall meet again unless in 
 battle." 
 
 "Tell him," replied Stephen, earnestly, "that I 
 hope we shall spare each other even then. I should 
 not like to wound a man with whom I have broken 
 bread." 
 
 Olivarez exchanged a few words with the officer, 
 whose reply became a little contemptuous, as he 
 walked away with a cavalier inclination of the head. 
 
 "What said he?" asked Stephen, after a few mo 
 ments silence, for most of what had been said was 
 undistinguishable. 
 
 Olivarez shook his head, "It would do no good to 
 tell you, but be sure that in battle you beware of 
 Don Luis de Ramon. Were Carlos the Catalan still 
 in his pay, I would warn you against his stiletto, 
 even in your camp." 
 
 "But what cause of dislike can he have towards 
 me?" asked Stephen in amazement. 
 
 Olivarez was silent a moment, and then replied: 
 
374 Cartagena 
 
 "He is simply jealous of the little attention paid you 
 by my daughter; and the fact that you are an Eng 
 lishman, or rather a British soldier, at war with 
 Spain, intensifies what might otherwise be too little 
 to rouse even his dislike; but for some reason he is 
 in a savage and dangerous humor, and I warn you 
 not to trust to his generosity, if chance brings you 
 together." 
 
 Stephen was silent for a moment, and then said: 
 "You have spoken of Carlos the Catalan. He is alive 
 and in our camp, and nearly cured of his wounds. 
 He was taken prisoner at Boca Chica." 
 
 Olivarez started as if a shot had struck him, and 
 his voice w r as tremulous and faint for the first time, 
 as he answered Hay s unexpected disclosure. "Are 
 you sure, sir, that the man you mean is indeed Car 
 los, the Catalan? for he of w r hom yonder officer spoke 
 was reported as left mortally w r ounded at St. Joseph, 
 having volunteered to end a reckless life by blowing 
 up the magazine as the English entered." 
 
 "Such a man we found there, but so drunken that 
 he could not use his torch on the train he had pre 
 pared. As to his wound, it was not mortal, and he is 
 now in yonder camp, and held to be a willing guide 
 in our movements on the city." 
 
 "Have you heard aught of an officer of my name, 
 young, brave and beautiful, as slain, wounded or 
 prisoner among you? My only son w r ent forth as a 
 volunteer at the first alarm, and we have no word 
 except that he was wounded at Boca Chica, and 
 there captured by the English." 
 
 A memory of the wounded youth, found at the first 
 
The Hospital of Saint Lazarus 375 
 
 landing of the troops, pressed itself on Stephen s 
 mind, and he almost shuddered as he recalled his 
 late search in the midnight forest, and the finding 
 of the fair, young form, still warm, but lifeless, and 
 pierced by the assassin s dagger. Still he had no 
 means of knowing that this man was indeed the 
 lost youth, and he could not crush the hopes of the 
 man before him, already so horribly shut out from 
 human happiness. 
 
 "I know little of the prisoners," he answered at 
 last, "having been on boat or detached service near 
 ly all the time, and therefore cannot give you either 
 good or evil tidings. But I will watch well yonder 
 Catalan, and should I find out aught I will resolve 
 your doubts, so far as I may, without prejudice to 
 my honor as a soldier. And now what message shall 
 I take to your brother, if it so happen that we never 
 meet again?" 
 
 "Tell him," said the leper sadly, "how you have 
 found me, an outcast from humanity, bereft of all 
 hope of farther adventure, or even a soldier s death, 
 having nothing but my daughter s dear love, the 
 hope of heaven, and the blessings of such outcasts 
 even as I, whom I can still cheer, aid and strengthen 
 in their terrible journey to death. The house of 
 Oliver, of Lincoln, is near its end, and soon only my 
 poor boy, if he lives, will be left of a long line of 
 gallant gentlemen. 
 
 "When I am dead, I commit my children to his 
 care, and enough of our comrades of the coast or 
 their descendants, are left to secure them a safe pas 
 sage to Jamaica, and thence to New England. Garry 
 
37G Cartagena 
 
 to him my dearest love and last blessing, and tell 
 him not of the sad change that has doomed me 
 to corruption while still strong of body, and with 
 all my high hopes fresh and unsatisfied. 
 
 "But tell him all else freely and fully, that I am 
 rich, influential and trusted; that I remember the 
 youthful sorrows that we bore together, the wild 
 plans we laid and the dangers and adventures we 
 met in company, and the reverses which tore us 
 apart and have since kept us separate. I will send 
 him news by a sure hand when all is over, and you 
 are in possession of the city, or in retreat to Ja 
 maica ; but your words w T ill be more grateful than a 
 written missive." 
 
 "If, indeed, you have such means of communica 
 tion, I would that you should acknowledge my er 
 rand as done," said Stephen, earnestly. "It may be 
 that I may be a dead man tomorrow, for more than 
 one stout fellow, who was alive and well at sunrise, 
 is in his grave ere now." 
 
 As he spoke, they reached the edge of the wood 
 land, and stood on the border of an open plain which 
 lay between them and the outer line of the English 
 pickets. Although late in the day the heat was 
 still intense, the sun poured down his pitiless rays, 
 the air seemed visible as the rarefied vapors rose up 
 ward from the parched ground, and not a breath of 
 air stirred the slender tendrils of the climbing 
 lianas. 
 
 "Take this," said Olivarez, as he took from a 
 thicket a broad thick leaf, and at the same time re 
 placed with another a similar one which had inter- 
 
The Hospital of Saint Lazarus 377 
 
 posed between his jetty hair and costly sombrero. "It 
 may save you a sunstroke even now, for we have had 
 few days so trying as this in all the summer." 
 
 "There is a man who seems not to care for the 
 sun," said Stephen, pointing to a picket on the far 
 ther side of the plain, w r ho marched back and forth 
 across an open space, which marked the course of 
 the road into the cocoa orchards opposite. 
 
 " Tis as much as his life is worth to expose him 
 self thus, and, if such is the way in which your offi 
 cers waste their men, you will never sleep within the 
 walls of Cartagena, for even we, who have spent 
 many years here, care not to tempt death so readily 
 and, if you will pardon me, so foolishly. But we 
 have no warrant for such converse, so let us on to 
 the camp and give account of our errand." 
 
 They crossed the open and, being duly challenged, 
 passed the tall sentry, and escorted by the guard he 
 summoned, went on to headquarters, where the gen 
 eral received them frankly, and not unkindly. 
 
 "Ah! Our envoy from the hospital, and our stout 
 sergeant of the Americans. What have you seen, 
 sirrah? May we spare all our shot and shell to San 
 Lazaro?" 
 
 "It would be but too horrible, your Excellency, to 
 turn upon those so afflicted by the hand of God, the 
 w r rath of man and the horrors of a bombardment. I 
 do not believe that we could force a regiment into 
 the open gate of yonder lazar house, if only its un 
 happy people stood, as I saw them, within its ac 
 cursed portals." 
 
 "And the Spaniards?" 
 
378 Cartagena 
 
 "The Spaniards/ answered Olivarez in good Eng 
 lish, "are even more afraid of the leprosy than this 
 brave soldier, who for the first time has seen its 
 dreadful ravages. I will promise on my honor that 
 nothing from among us shall harm your array, 
 though you muster under the shadow of our walls to 
 storm San Lazaro." 
 
 "I doubt you not," said Wentworth coldly, "and 
 yet methinks I have but little warrant to put trust in 
 a strange Spaniard, and perhaps even a renegade 
 Englishman." 
 
 For a moment the stranger s eyes gleamed with 
 suppressed wrath, and he seemed about to challenge 
 to mortal arbitrament the stern veteran before 
 whom he stood, but with a visible struggle he over 
 came the impulse and answered calmly: 
 
 "I am an Englishman ; once a captive of war, and 
 doomed to servile punishment; since, by strange for 
 tunes, risen to wealth and honor, as your guide, 
 Captain McPherson, has ere this no doubt told you. 
 I have seen the time when I would have resented to 
 the death your useless taunt, but what has a leper 
 to do with honor, or an outcast to hope in the way 
 of generous and gallant forbearance. Furthermore, 
 were I hale and sound, I might well stomach such 
 affront for the sake of the hundreds yonder, who 
 seek only the pity of man and the happiness whose 
 portal is the grave." 
 
 "Pardon me, senor," said the gruff old war dog, 
 "I know not why I said so unmanly a thing, and I 
 will see that you suffer no added misfortune at my 
 hands. Have you aught to say farther to the ser 
 geant here?" 
 
The Hospital of Saint Lazarus 379 
 
 Olivarez took from his doubtlet a purse of gold, 
 but Stephen raised his hand: "I went only because 
 in conscience I could not refuse. Give to those who 
 need it yonder, whatever you would willingly bestow 
 upon me." 
 
 The leper turned with a courtly bow, strangely 
 sad in its suggestion of a gallant past, and said in 
 tones still full of manly feeling his last farewell: 
 "Our prayers, your Excellency, will ever seek for 
 you all blessings, except such as in honor and loy 
 alty we cannot wish you. To you, sir," he added, "we 
 can never repay the debt created by your charity and 
 unselfish kindness." 
 
 A half hour later Stephen rejoined his comrades, 
 and found that the exposure of the day had filled the 
 new hospital with dying men, prostrated by the 
 heat, fever and fatigue, and among the last victims 
 of coup de soldi were counted the major of marines, 
 and the tall sentinel who had paced the open road 
 that led to the hospital of San Lazaro. 
 
Chapter XXVI. 
 The Spanish Musket 
 
 "I wish I could use this gun and fight Indian way," 
 said Untequit to Stephen, one night shortly after, 
 as they sat in the moonlight near the door of their 
 tent. "I don t like this way. Too much fuss and 
 work and too little fight." 
 
 "That is true enough," said Stephen; "and the 
 worst of it is that we are dying off so fast, that now 
 w r e can hardly find men enough to do duty on guard 
 and picket. If we had the two or three thousand 
 men they keep on board the fleet doing nothing, we 
 might at least be spared from guard duty one night 
 more in the week." 
 
 "That s not the worst," said Untequit, grimly. 
 "Those hunters that waylay our laborers and scout 
 ing parties are few in number, yet they are firing 
 away all day long, and, if they could shoot better, 
 would kill us all before we got ready to fight. 
 What s the use of charging bayonets on a man hid 
 in the woods?" 
 
 Stephen laughed heartily, as he recalled the inci 
 dent which had excited his companion s disgust. A 
 party of negroes and Americans at work amid the 
 tangled forest growth; a fusilade from scattered 
 marksmen, too distant to do more than wound a 
 man here and there; a hurried call to arms, followed 
 by the useless farce of an advance of heavily ac 
 coutred marines into the silent forest. 
 
The Spanish Musket 381 
 
 "I think, myself, we could have given a better ac 
 count of them with half a dozen of our own lads; 
 but our guns are no match for such a piece as you 
 have there. Still we could keep the woods clear, I 
 dare say, if they ll let us scout instead of working 
 beside those blacks." 
 
 "I d like to try it, even if I had to go alone," said 
 Untequit, sullenly. "I m tired of such war as this 
 tired of seeing our soldiers rot like sheep when they 
 might die like brave men." 
 
 "You are right, Untequit," said a familiar voice, 
 and turning, they saw beside them Captain Wood- 
 side. "I will see Colonel Grant tonight and get his 
 permission to scout in the belt of timber, between 
 the camp and the southern shore of the C icgna de 
 Tcscas, as they call that lake to the eastward. How 
 do you propose to circumvent the Spaniards, 
 though? The colonel will want to understand it." 
 
 "When I go shooting," said Untequit meaningly, 
 "I go where the birds haunt, sit down, keep close, 
 and let them come within range. I think that is the 
 best way now to hunt up Spaniards." 
 
 "I see," said Woodside, gaily, "and I think Colonel 
 Grant will be satisfied. Wait a few moments and I 
 will return." 
 
 Half an hour later Woodside returned with au 
 thority to send out one or more men on scouting 
 service, but restricting their operations solely to the 
 wooded face of the encampment, from whence the 
 annoyance had proceeded. 
 
 "At what time will you start, and whom will 
 you have with you," asked the captain. "You can 
 
382 Cartagena 
 
 go when you pleas.e, and have whoever you want 
 except him," he added, as Untequit s eyes turned 
 promptly toward his loved and trusted comrade. 
 
 "Then I go alone, and start tonight when the 
 moon begins to wane. I must get two miles into the 
 wood before daylight," and Untequit turned silently 
 to his preparations for his solitary and dangerous 
 task. He laid aside all his trappings except his 
 waist-belt, and this supported only a small pouch of 
 bullets and a long knife. A small powder horn hung 
 from his left shoulder, and the long Spanish gun, 
 carefully cleaned and dried, was loaded with a com 
 paratively light charge of powder, and a ball care 
 fully selected and patched with oiled buckskin. 
 
 Two or three hard biscuit and a canteen of w r ater, 
 completed the Indian s preparations for the adven 
 ture, and he laid himself down on his mat and was 
 almost instantly in a profound slumber. 
 
 When the Indian arose it was still about two 
 hours before daybreak, but the sky was clear, over 
 head, and the moon was still high enough to give 
 sufficient light in the comparatively open country, 
 inside the line of pickets. 
 
 He went directly to the officer of the camp-guard, 
 who promptly sent an orderly to the major com 
 manding the picket reserve, who, growling in turn 
 at the untimely interruption of his nap, sent a cor 
 poral to see him safely past the picket line at the 
 point most annoyed by the guerrilla parties sent out 
 from the city, or seeking to enter the entrenchments 
 of their beleaguered friends. 
 
 "They killed an w r ounded three ov our min, yis- 
 
The Spanish Musket 383 
 
 terday, sur," said his guide, as he pointed to a dense 
 growth of chapparal an hundred yards away, "an 
 we can t get at thim, any how. They ll not be long 
 in killin yez, all alone in there, I m thinkin ; an 
 yed betther turn back while there s toime." 
 
 Untequit only smiled in reply, but at taking leave, 
 said to his companion, "At night I climb yonder 
 tree, and whistle three times. Let the men here 
 know that they may not shoot when I come in," and 
 crouching almost flat to the earth, he was lost in the 
 thicket so suddenly and noiselessly that the soldier, 
 as he hastily retreated within his own lines, almost 
 persuaded himself that he had seen the last of a be 
 ing more or less than mortal. 
 
 But Untequit, moving quietly southward, made his 
 way through the dense growth of vines, bushes, and 
 herbage, lifting out of his way each withered twig, 
 avoiding every slender reed or palm, whose motion 
 might betray his presence, and soon found himself 
 inside the dense barrier, which had served the hunt 
 ers of the interior for a shelter in their harrassing 
 warfare. 
 
 Even by the light of the moon the Indian soon 
 found several by-paths, leading from a narrow trail, 
 which, as he judged, ran towards the city from the 
 scattered cstancias to the south of the great lake. 
 At the end of each of the smaller trails, he found a 
 covert for one or more marksmen, most of them be 
 ing furnished by gigantic trees, whose lower limbs 
 bore the marks of much climbing, while at their 
 base the remnants of half-consumed cigaritos told of 
 the lengthened watching of the enemy s scouts. 
 
384 Cartagena 
 
 There were five such trees lying within easy reach 
 of each other, and all were easily com 
 manded from a sixth tree, a low, thick-set 
 oak, which stood at the brink of a narrow 
 ravine leading westward, and just avoided 
 by the main footpath. The Indian had still an hour 
 before day. He again took the trail, and, running 
 noiselessly, approached the Spanish lines, until he 
 saw before him the open level commanded by the 
 guns of the fortress convent of La Popa. It was evi 
 dent that no foe was to be expected from that quar 
 ter; and, returning as rapidly, he again found him 
 self near the brink of the ravine just as the day be 
 gan to dawn. 
 
 Already the hum of insect life began to break 
 the stillness. The birds were twittering to each 
 other in the thickets, and the tree-snakes, rustling 
 from bough to bough, now and then dropped with 
 undulating coils before him, hissing at the invasion 
 of their domain. More than once he was tempted 
 to slay the abhorred creatures with the long steel 
 ramrod of his weapon, but he dared not risk detec 
 tion, and he had made up his mind not to fail in the 
 task he had undertaken; so he waited until the way 
 was cleared, and passed on unassailed and unassail- 
 ing. 
 
 At last he stood on the edge of the chapparal, and 
 the path, narrow but deeply worn, as if by long use, 
 ran through the deep grass, across a broad savan 
 nah, and was lost among broken ground, 
 which seemed to indicate a hilly tract, dotted with 
 copses of various woods. The sun was hardly risen 
 
The Spanish Musket 385 
 
 when, from behind the nearest eminence, appeared 
 the irregulars whose bush-fighting he had come to 
 oppose in like manner. 
 
 There were a dozen at least strong, bronzed, 
 fierce looking men, who, clad in the close fitting garb 
 of the country, varied only by rough leggins of goat 
 and deer skin, and armed with long guns and 
 machetes, or Spanish knives, carried also gourd- 
 flasks, and hunting-bags of jaguar and ocelot skin; 
 and as only about half of them were thus provided, 
 Untequit was not without hope that the others were 
 come merely to scout over the ground, and satisfy 
 themselves that no hostile force had occupied the 
 scene of their operations. 
 
 They moved leisurely, talking and laughing as 
 they went, and from time to time renewed their 
 husk- wrapped cigar it os, or took a sip from the hunt 
 ing-flasks, which, as Untequit judged, contained 
 something stronger than water. On a nearer ap-- 
 proach, however, they became more cautious, and 
 looked to their locks and priming; and the Indian at 
 once retired, following the windings of the path, un 
 til at last he saw, a little to the right, the narrow ra 
 vine before spoken of. 
 
 Entering the chapparal, he soon reached the gully, 
 which he followed up to its head, and, finding a 
 ledge easy of access, ascended the bank, and, enter 
 ing the underbrush, crawled stealthily to a position 
 from which he could command a view of the trail. 
 
 Ere long they passed the scout, moving so silently 
 that they w r ere almost close upon him before he 
 caught a glimpse of their gay scarfs and broad som- 
 
386 Cartagena 
 
 breros; and, having searched the ground with some 
 care,, five of them ascended the great cottonwoods, 
 seating themselves astride huge limbs, and, divest 
 ing themselves of their flasks and haversacks, hung 
 them upon projecting twigs near them, and secured 
 their long guns with lanyards to the boughs where 
 on they sat. 
 
 The remainder kept o.n up the path, but soon re 
 turned, having left one of their number, as Untequit 
 judged, to keep guard against an attack from be 
 yond that part of the chapparal which the English 
 troops had found impenetrable, and with a few 
 words of encouragement left their comrades to 
 carry on their irregular warfare; which began as 
 soon as the sun had fairly risen, and the working and 
 scouting parties of the English went forth to their 
 perilous and fatiguing duties. 
 
 For some time the ambushed ranger watched the 
 Spaniards as they loaded and fired their long, small- 
 bored fowling pieces, weighing carefully every 
 movement, and noting every circumstance of posi 
 tion and cover, of advantage and disadvantage, 
 which might affect his chances of success or safety. 
 
 He saw that while all were more or less visible 
 from the trail, the central Spaniard was in the rear 
 of his two companions, who, in their turn, could not 
 see each other, but could see the two on the flanks 
 and nearest to the enemy. It was evident that, if in 
 the midst of a general or intermittent fusilade he 
 could bring down the central and rearmost man, 
 he might hope to pick off the others at his leisure. 
 The project was as promptly carried out as con- 
 
The Spanish Musket 387 
 
 ccivod, and was worthy of the most cool, wary and 
 daring frontiersman. 
 
 With his gun ready for the fatal shot, Untequit 
 worked his way to a tree not twenty yards in the 
 rear of the doomed Creole, who had just reloaded 
 and intently peered through the thick branches at 
 the open cocoa orchards beyond the belt of chappa- 
 ral; and again and again the marksman laid his 
 cheek upon the inlaid breech of his Toledan weapon, 
 and as often, with a disappointed air, refrained 
 from dispatching the uncertain bullet. Suddenly 
 on the left a number of dropping shots were heard, 
 which, as the Indian thought, were from another 
 position taken by the rest of the scouting party, and, 
 by the motions of those before him, he judged that 
 the party already fired upon was in motion toward 
 the lake, for the Spaniards, with significant gestures 
 and signals, made ready for an attack at the proper 
 moment. 
 
 Untequit s eyes gleamed like a tiger s when 
 crouching for the spring, and while the man near 
 est him again took deliberate aim at his victim, the 
 Indian raised his piece and fired, just as the volley 
 of bullets broke from the Spanish ambush. His aim 
 w r as fatal, and the Spaniard, shot through the brain, 
 came to the ground, while Untequit, leaping up, 
 crept swiftly to the rear of the ceiba, stepped over 
 the body of his victim and climbed lightly to the 
 perch he had just occupied. A charge of grape 
 came hurtling through the branches as he did so, 
 uselessly rattling against the huge trunks and 
 branches; and the remaining guerillas, reloading as 
 
388 Cartagena 
 
 quickly as possible, fired again and again on the ap 
 proaching enemy. 
 
 The Indian s second shot brought down the near 
 est man on his right just as he cast about to reload, 
 and the third was killed by a bullet from the gun of 
 his first victim. But so thick was the smoke and so 
 great their excitement, that the Spaniards nearest 
 such English as were vainly trying to penetrate 
 the tangled growth, only cared to reload and fire as 
 fast as possible, before retiring from their infuriated 
 assailants. 
 
 Descending quickly, Untequit was soon at the 
 foot of the tree occupied by the fourth Spaniard, who 
 caught sight of his enemy, and tried to take his 
 cumbrous weapon from the forked branch by which 
 he had steadied his fatal aim. A terrible expression 
 of helpless hate and hopeless terror convulsed his 
 features, but the fatal shot rang out, and with a leap 
 into midair the dying Spaniard crashed through the 
 boughs into the thick web of lianas below him, to 
 drop like a wounded bird, from one entangled fold 
 to another, to the ground. 
 
 Only the fifth remained, and as the ranger dashed 
 the charge of powder into the smoking tube and 
 took the ragged bullet from his mouth he saw that 
 he was discovered ; for the Creole glided behind his 
 tree to shield himself from this new enemy. Un 
 fortunately for himself, just at this instant a second 
 charge of mitraille from the gun, brought to bear on 
 the chapparal, hurtled into that very tree and 
 brought him to the ground. 
 
 All the Spaniards had perished, except the scout 
 
The Spanish Musket 389 
 
 who watched the forest path toward Mount de La 
 Popa, and as soon as Untequit had witnessed the un 
 expected fall of his antagonist, he moved off down 
 the trail in that direction, ^e task was not with 
 out its dangers, for the scouting party, indignant 
 at the loss of several of their men, and the futility 
 of trying to charge into the entangled tropical for 
 est, were pouring their volleys in as fast as possible, 
 wherever fancy or hope of a chance shot prompted 
 them. He had several narrow escapes, but the 
 Spaniard, fearful of being cut off, retreated to find 
 his companions, and suddenly stopped, transported 
 with terror, as he found himself within ten paces of 
 the levelled musket of the slayer of his comrades. 
 
 Far better had it been for many a brave man, and 
 the future operations of the siege, had Untequit fol 
 lowed his first merciless impulse and deliberately 
 shot the wretch, so stupefied with fear, that, for 
 getting his gun and knife and even the heavy pis 
 tols at his belt, he dropped his long-barrelled gun 
 and sank upon his knees before him. The Indian, 
 however, could not so easily forget his Christian 
 training, and still keeping him covered with his 
 piece, made him unloose and throw away his belt; 
 and driving him before him soon issued from the 
 forest, near the outer picket-line, between the main 
 encampment and La Popa. 
 
 It w r as scarcely noon, when amid the cheers of the 
 soldiers, the Indian delivered his captive to the 
 guard, and accompanied him to headquarters, 
 where, after giving an account of his adventure, he 
 was dismissed with many expressions of approval, 
 
390 Cartagena 
 
 and more than one bright piece of gold and silver, 
 which, as it was a custom of those days to thus re 
 ward the brave deeds of "the baser sort/ Untequit 
 placed in his wallet with as much pride, as the sol 
 dier to-day affixes to his breast the Victoria or the 
 Iron Cross. 
 
 That night, Carlos, the Catalan marine, having 
 served as interpreter in the temporary absence of 
 Captain McPherson; the prisoner being interrogated 
 as to himself and his object in approaching the 
 camp, fearlessly avowed his purpose, and was at 
 once given his choice between serving in the capac 
 ity of a guide, or death at daylight upon the gal 
 lows. For a moment or two the men thought that 
 the peasant (for such he seemed) would refuse to 
 serve even under compulsion, but at last he begged 
 for his life so piteously that the officers turned 
 from him in disgust, and the general deemed that 
 he had little to fear from treachery on the part of 
 so pusillanimous a wretch. 
 
 Stephen had spent the day with his men, in prepa 
 rations which seemed to indicate a decided move 
 ment or attack upon the outposts of the enemy ; for 
 on every hand fascines were being constructed, fag 
 gots of small twigs bound together, and long rough 
 ladders furnished with iron hooks, indicating a pos 
 sible attempt at an escalade. Rumors were plentiful 
 of an attempted ransom on the part of the viceroy; 
 of a boat attack on the batteries commanding Boca 
 Grande; of a great floating battery in process of com 
 pletion from the hull of the Gallicia, the Spanish ad 
 miral s flagship; and what seemed less certain, but 
 
The Spanish Musket 391 
 
 more likely, an attempt to storm the castle of San 
 Lazaro. 
 
 The weather continued to alternate sudden rain 
 squalls with fatal heated spells, and the mortality 
 among the working parties had greatly terrified the 
 leaders of army and navy alike ; and the negroes re 
 ceived little aid in the construction of the breaching 
 batteries, from which alone success could reason 
 ably be expected. 
 
 So death and sloth for the most part reigned su 
 preme, and, with a strange mixture of fear and 
 languid licssc, the doomed soldiers saw their dead 
 comrades hurried into the common grave-pits, and 
 as they lolled under the trees or the steaming canvas 
 of their drenched tents, felt an unwonted indisposi 
 tion to labor, and an ever-increasing and wonderful 
 excitation of the brain, which, varying with every 
 mood, developed in a thousand extravagances the 
 growing fever, whose relentless fury spared scarce 
 a tithe of those attacked. 
 
 The Americans, less intemperate and vicious, and 
 more inured to extremes of heat and cold, and to the 
 sudden changes of climate experienced in the New 
 World, suffered less, and did most of the little ac 
 complished in hastening the preparations for the 
 siege; but even in their ranks, almost a fourth of 
 those landed had already perished, and rumors of 
 the most horrible import told sad tales of the lot of 
 those still confined, from fear of treachery, to the 
 ships. 
 
 "Well done, Untequit!" cried Stephen, heartily, 
 as the Indian finished his story of the day s achieve- 
 
392 Cartagena 
 
 ments. "You ve shown them what a good musket 
 and a skilled ranger can do, and I hope you ll find 
 the regulars less foolish about fighting in platoons, 
 and charging bayonets into thickets where a man is 
 like an alewive in a dip-net. The captain will be 
 pleased, I m sure; for it wasn t an hour before you 
 came in with yonder Spaniard, that he asked me 
 where I thought you were, and if I thought you d 
 get off safe." 
 
 His comrade made no answer, but a redder flush 
 crimsoned his swarthy cheeks, and his eyes grew 
 deeper and brighter in their glance of mingled af 
 fection and pride. He said nothing, however, but 
 with his knife and file labored assiduously at some 
 tiny pegs of silver cut from the worn disk of a Span 
 ish pistareen. 
 
 "Ah, welcome, Untequit!" said a kindly voice, as 
 the last smooth stud was driven into the rosewood 
 stock. "How has your hunting sped? How many 
 Spaniards may we count the less for your scout?" 
 
 Untequit held the stock of the Spanish musket 
 toward his interlocutor, and pointed out to his cap 
 tain the little row of bright, smooth studs which 
 barely roughened the gripe of the stock. Amid a 
 labyrinth of devices in fine gold and silver wire, the 
 five silver projections at once attracted the atten 
 tion of the captain. 
 
 "Why do you spoil such fine workmanship with 
 these rough studs?" asked Woodside, curiously. 
 
 "There were six Spaniards alive this morning," 
 said Untequit, quietly, "and only one remains alive 
 tonight. For every stud in the stock, a man has 
 yielded up his life." 
 
Chapter XXVII. 
 The Assault on San Lazaro 
 
 On the 8th of April, the council of war held at the 
 headquarters of the land forces, almost without a 
 dissenting voice, agreed that in view of the lack of 
 water, which was already fearfully low in the great 
 stone cisterns of the estancias around La Quinta, 
 and also considering that less than 5,000 men were 
 left for service and those daily sickening and dying 
 at a fearful rate of depletion, it was not wise to at 
 tempt to take Cartagena by the slow but sure 
 process of investment and breaching batteries, be 
 fore which the outer defences of the city had fallen. 
 
 It was also decided to attack the fortress of San 
 Lazaro the next morning at daybreak, and when 
 Untequit returned successful from his second day of 
 scouting he found his comrades busily preparing 
 for the coming struggle. But there was little re 
 joicing at the summons, and even Hay s calm fea 
 tures were overspread with the general indignation, 
 which, when once their officers had" retired to their 
 quarters, broke out into open discontent. 
 
 " Tears to me," said Jones, in his querulous way, 
 "they think we re nothing more n hosses or oxen, 
 an fit only to fetch an carry for their darned gran- 
 nydeers. Who wants to kerry up them pesky grana- 
 does for another man, an stan fire without firm a 
 shot?" 
 
 "I ve got a twelve-foot ladder to carry," said a 
 
394 Cartagena 
 
 young Bostonian, "an I ll eat my ramrod if I can t 
 beat any one of Colonel Grant s whole regiment, 
 when it comes to shootin ." 
 
 "They ve detailed me to lug a great pack of wool," 
 said Gibbs bitterly, and evidently feeling that long 
 suffering had at last found its limits; "and as fer 
 me, I ll die before any cussed red-coated tyrant 
 shell" 
 
 "Hush;" said Hay soothingly. "Don t be fool 
 enough, Gibbs, to say what you cannot be allowed to 
 carry out. We are assigned to our duty and, though 
 we have been shamefully treated, this at least is 
 necessary, and needs brave, reliable and active men 
 to properly perform it, so as to enable the storming 
 party to meet the Spaniards on the walls. We shan t 
 need any guns until the ladders are against the 
 walls, and planted on the wool-sacks and fascines; 
 and there ll be plenty of muskets lying ownerless by 
 that time." 
 
 "You re right, sergeant," said Gibbs, after a mo 
 ment s silence, "but ef I ever do see Massachusetts 
 again, I ll never take service under any but our own 
 folks. These red-coated reg lars care no more fer 
 thar own men fhan ef they was dogs, but a colonist 
 is no account at all, no more than a Jamaiky nigger." 
 
 "What s the use, sergeant," said the youth who 
 had before spoken, "for us to bear everything pa 
 tiently an do our duty as we have, in spite of neg 
 lect, slightin words an hard usage? It only makes 
 em worse to see that we do our work well, an just 
 the same." 
 
 Stephen s voice had in it a strange ring of tender 
 
The Assault on San Lazaro 395 
 
 pity as he answered, and even Gibbs forgot his 
 stubborn anger as he glanced at his gigantic com 
 rade standing, fully uniformed and equipped, and 
 ready to report, at the adjutant s quarters, the num 
 ber of men available for the coming battle. "There 
 is no sure reward for well doing, dear boy, on this 
 side of the grave, except the favor of God as felt 
 in the heart and the approval of one s own con 
 science. I have longed, even to bloodthirstiness, to 
 blot out the insult and tyranny that I have seen, but 
 I have borne thus far unto the end. Perhaps to 
 morrow will set me free from all earthly bonds, and 
 leave you still in life to do and suffer longer. Then, 
 when you bury me under the cocoas, remember my 
 last counsel and go back to your homes, proud in 
 the remembrance that you bore even neglect and in 
 sult in the service of the king." 
 
 A single bugle broke the stillness, and as its 
 clarion call died away amid the hills to the south 
 ward, the tall sergeant joined at the head of the 
 street his brother orderlies, who, facing to the right, 
 marched to the adjutant s quarters to give in their 
 report of the men detailed for the morrow s duty. 
 
 When he returned to his men, Stephen s step was 
 lighter, but the abstracted gaze and evident diffi 
 culty with which he spoke cheerily to his men im 
 pressed all his comrades, and especially an old 
 Scotchman, who, in virtue of a slight lameness oc 
 casioned by an unhealed wound, was as yet off duty, 
 and privileged to wander about the camp. 
 
 "He s a gallant chiel an braw," said he, as at last 
 Hay withdrew to his own quarters; "but ye ll ne er 
 
396 Cartagena 
 
 see him again after to-morrow s onslaught, and well 
 he knows it, poor fellow!" 
 
 "Oh, nonsense!" said Jones, uneasily; "you Scotch 
 are always prophesyin evil, an , for men thet fight 
 well, are the saddest chaps ever I met with." 
 
 "Had ye seen as mony stout swordsmen grow sad 
 an strangely quiet before their last fray as I ha e," 
 said the Scot, solemnly, "ye wadna lauch when ye 
 see sae strang and blithe a man distraught in spite 
 o himse F. I wad wage the little I ha e, that yon 
 sergeant is not here to call the roll o his men to 
 morrow eve." 
 
 "That may be," said Untequit quietly, looking 
 up from his work of adding to the significant rows 
 of studs on the breech of his musket; "but, though 
 we all perish, he will still see his home and friends 
 again." 
 
 "An what gars ye believe that, mon," asked the 
 Scot half angrily. "Surely he w r as nae sae wicked as 
 to seek forbidden knowledge, nor sae foolish as to 
 trust to the words of some auld spae wife." 
 
 "The traditions of your fathers tell of death and 
 misfortune foretold by the shadow of events still 
 to come ; there are those among my people who can 
 see farther, and tell of both good and evil, and I set 
 against your belief of evil the sayings of one whose 
 words have never yet failed me." And so saying, 
 the Indian arose and followed his comrade to his 
 tent. 
 
 " Tis waef u to see how thae Indians are left to 
 blindness an idolatry," said the old Scot, raising 
 both hands in holy horror. " Tis ternptin Provi- 
 
The Assault on San Lazaro 397 
 
 dence, I doubt, to seek the awfu future, an- I 
 doubtna that your sergeant, bein , as one may say, 
 in the very shadow o death, is sair sorry that he 
 trusted to an Indian powwow or an auld witch- wife; 
 forgettin that the future is only knawn to One 
 abune a ." 
 
 "Why, I reckon/ said Gibbs, a little impatiently, 
 "thet you fust began this prophesyin an foretellin ; 
 altho , if all tales are true, I d ruther trust to old 
 Molly Pognet s sayin s then to you. But, es you re 
 not going to fight, yourself, to-morrow, suppose you 
 leave off these old world sayin s, thet only frighten 
 those who must drive the Spaniards out o yonder 
 fort to-morrow." 
 
 "Dinna think, mon," said the old man earnestly, 
 as he rose to depart, "that I d be other than gay and 
 gleg to see your sergeant come back hale and weel, 
 aye, an wi his chevrons changed to gowden 
 shouther knots ; but I ve seen mony a brave comrade 
 seem thus before his last battle. But ye re weel 
 richt anent such speech before young soldiers. So 
 go bravely * lads, to your wark, an leave the rest to 
 God, who can kill an keep alive." 
 
 As Untequit entered the tent, Hay was busy 
 writing some letters, which, having sealed, he placed 
 with the company papers in his orderly book, which 
 he packed away in his knapsack, and, while doing 
 so, came across the stiletto found on the person of 
 the assassinated officer on the night of the landing 
 at Boca Chica. The thought struck him that, were 
 the attack successful, he might have an opportunity 
 to see Don Olivarez once more; and, securing the 
 
398 Cartagena 
 
 money belt about his person, lie placed the tiny 
 weapon under the leathern flap of his cartridge box. 
 He next cleaned and loaded the pistols worn by the 
 same unfortunate gentleman, and, throwing himself 
 upon his bed of plaited husks, was soon fast asleep. 
 
 At half an hour after mignight the adjutant was 
 heard at the tent door, calling each sergeant to 
 awaken his men and have them in line at one o clock. 
 The company cooks had been up all night, and Hay 
 saw that every man had an ample meal, and that 
 haversack and canteen were as well furnished as 
 the cartridge boxes of his men. These, indeed, for 
 the most part were furnished only with ammunition, 
 that, after placing the ladders, etc., provided for the 
 forlorn hope, they might avail themselves of the 
 muskets of those killed and wounded in the ditch of 
 the castle. 
 
 At the appointed hour the regiments were in place, 
 but the word was not given to advance; and the 
 men, after standing an hour or more in line, were 
 allowed to throw themselves down and snatch what 
 repose they could until the ill-digested plan of attack 
 should be carried out. Untequit, whose services as 
 a kind of independent scout had excused him from 
 the present duty, made his appearance, with his long 
 Spanish gun, and a sharp axe slung at his back ; and 
 at Woodside s order, Gibbs and Jones laid aside their 
 burdens and similarly furnished themselves . 
 
 At last the moon w r ent down, the darkness and 
 white mists left everything sombre and in shadow, 
 and ghost-like in the open ground, into which Colonel 
 Grant led his forlorn hope of grenadiers, guided by 
 
The Assault on San Lazaro 390 
 
 Carlos, the Catalan, and followed by the Massachu 
 setts men detailed to carry their grenades and scal 
 ing ladders. 
 
 "We take the centre," said Woodside, under his 
 breath, "and when our ladders are placed we are at 
 liberty to fight as best we can. On the right there 
 is a wooden gate ; follow me, and we will try to cut 
 a way in with axes, while the rest of our men keep 
 up a fire through the gratings." 
 
 Hay passed the word along the leading files, and 
 as he did so the morose expression of those who 
 deemed themselves degraded by the servile duties 
 so persistently assigned to them, was replaced by 
 eager interest and assured confidence, and despite 
 their burdens they kept close at the heels of the 
 light-armed forlorn hope and reserves, who pressed 
 on readily enough through the wet herbage and dew- 
 laden cocoa orchards, until only the open ground ex 
 posed to the fire of San Lazaro lay before them. 
 
 The east was scarcely tinged with the faint rose 
 tint of coming day, but Stephen said hurriedly to 
 his captain, as the regulars brought their bayonets 
 to the charge : "We are on the left of the fort, and 
 the other column must be a long way behind us. 
 Those Spaniards are not to be trusted, and I fear " 
 
 As he spoke the order to charge rang out in the 
 advance, and with a ringing cheer the grenadiers 
 dashed for the fort still a hundred yards away. 
 Their line was beautifully correct, and, despite the 
 irregularities of the ground, the levelled bayonets 
 presented a regular and moving mass of steel, whose 
 impetus threatened inevitable destruction to any 
 merely human obstacle. 
 
400 Cartagena 
 
 " Tis gallantly but foolishly done," cried Wood- 
 side. "But on with the ladders, boys, and leave the 
 grenades with the grenadiers whenever they halt." 
 
 With a terrific crash, San Lazaro, a rectangular 
 work with three demi bastions and mounting 
 twenty-five guns, opened with grape on the assault 
 ing column, and three smaller works on either flank 
 and in front poured in a withering fire of musketry 
 and mitraille, which cut great gaps in the ranks of 
 the grenadiers and found occasional victims in the 
 reserves and pioneers behind them. 
 
 Following the tactics which had cleared the defile 
 of La Quinta, and which a generation later cost the 
 English their heavy losses at Bunker Hill, the lead 
 ing platoons delivered their fire, wheeling to right 
 and left to allow the rearward men to do the same, 
 and closing in behind, ever advancing under cover 
 of the smoke of their own crashing volleys. But 
 their bullets were wasted mainly on inanimate turf 
 and stone, and, under the fire of the works and the 
 round shot and shell from the flanking ramparts of 
 Cartagena and the island suburb of Xexemani, the 
 ranks were wasted as if by pestilence, and many a 
 tall grenadier and gallant officer marked with a 
 crimson heap the fatal quarter of a mile which lay 
 between San Lazaro and the cocoa orchards, now 
 blasted, shorn and riven by the artillery fire of un- 
 conquered Cartagena. 
 
 Nevertheless, the troops swept over the nearer 
 outworks, and Col. Grant, as he sprang over the low 
 parapet and captured cannon, found himself in the 
 death trap into which he had been led by the Cata- 
 
The Assault on San Lazaro 401 
 
 Ian, who, regardless of danger, rushed on with sword 
 and pistol in hand close beside. The traitor saw 
 the danger in his menacing eye and uplifted sword, 
 and, with a quick glance around him, shot the hap 
 less officer down and made a spring toward the cover 
 of the ditch, now dry and defended only by its rows 
 of pointed palisades; but a bullet from the castle 
 pierced him, and he fell almost across his victim. 
 The grenadiers, cheering and firing, came on despite 
 their losses and pressed into the outworks, but 
 leaderless and huddled together, recoiled from the 
 deep ditch with its barbed palisades, and fired 
 rapidly, but uselessly, on the Spaniards, who, with 
 little loss to themselves, rested their trabucos, esco- 
 pettes and muskets across the parapet and shot their 
 antagonists down like wolves in a pitfall. 
 
 The Americans surged up against their rear with 
 the ladders, w r ool-packs and fascines, but no leader 
 was left to direct; and though Woodside moved 
 round on the flank to the front, and attempted to 
 fill in the ditch and raise the ladders, the latter were 
 found to be too short, and Woodside led his men to 
 the postern door. These, driving that part of the 
 garrison in sight to cover with deliberate aim, kept 
 up under shelter of the wall a rapid file-firing, while 
 Hay, Gibbs and Jones rained on the ironwood tim-. 
 bers a shower of blows, which on oak or teak had 
 speedily made way for the besiegers. But the Span 
 ish engineer who had built the place knew well the 
 enduring qualities of the wood he had chosen, whose 
 hewing had dulled many keen axes, and sent their 
 steel flying into shreds as if but brittle glass. Jones, 
 
402 Cartagena 
 
 after a few blows, felt his arm jarred to the shoul 
 der, and threw his edgeless weapon away, with 
 an imprecation which, in the imminence of the peril, 
 showed how overpowering was the fierce lust of 
 battle, in one, whose bitterest objurgation in peace 
 would have sounded ridiculously innocent to an 
 English lady of fashion. 
 
 Gibbs had cut nearly through the main brace, hold 
 ing the bolts and bars, when his axe, hopelessly 
 dulled, fell from his hands useless; and soon the 
 colonists found themselves standing before the im 
 penetrable barrier, keeping off an overwhelming 
 crowd of the besieged, only by the deliberate and 
 deadly marksmanship w r hich pierced every head and 
 limb which showed itself at practicable range. 
 
 Untequit stood by the gate, firing as fast as Jones 
 could reload, but found time between his quick, keen 
 glances and snapshots to catch his comrade s eye, 
 and wave his hand toward a heavy timber which lay 
 beside the road, some distance from the w r alls. 
 
 "We can burst the gate open, I think," he cried, 
 and Woodside with a bound led the way w T ith twenty 
 men toward the extemporaneous battering-ram, 
 while the few left behind poured in a hotter fire to 
 cover the desperate undertaking. 
 
 The huge log was lifted as if it had been a slender 
 pole, and poised on the brawny shoulders of the 
 men, and with a frantic cheer, headed by Stephen 
 and Gibbs, who took the heavier end, the devoted 
 band charged the gate, towards which an hundred 
 maddened Spaniards rushed, screaming, swearing 
 and firing as they ran. 
 
The Assault on San Lazaro 403 
 
 Gibbs put his hand to his side and bit his lip sav 
 agely, while a deathly hue replaced the ruddy bronze 
 of his weather-beaten cheek, but he pushed on un 
 falteringly, and Stephen, bleeding from two or three 
 slight wounds, his hat shot away and his clothes 
 torn by bullets, hoped, though the seconds seemed 
 ages, that the human bolt might fulfil its task. Less 
 than six feet remained to be achieved. Gibbs al 
 ready had gathered his breath for a final effort, and 
 Untequit and his brother marksmen had poured 
 their last volley into the faces of the maddened Span 
 iards, when a shot from Xexemani struck the timber 
 obliquely and dashed it to the ground, with the 
 mangled bodies of half a score of those who bore it. 
 
 Woodside gazed for a moment on the mangled and 
 writhing heap of what had an instant before been 
 his gallant obedient followers, and with a cry of 
 utter misery and dismay motioned to his men to 
 retreat, for not two hundred yards away a sortie 
 from the city threatened to cut off their retreat. 
 Untequit would have remained, but Woodside 
 pointed silently to the yellow curls of the sergeant, 
 and he saw that only an unrecognizable mass of 
 blood and brains was left where the manly features 
 and great bright eyes had once beamed upon him in 
 life; and with hearts full of despair, grief and ven 
 geance they hastened to bring up the rear of the 
 defeated grenadiers, leaving nearly a thousand brave 
 men behind them on the fatal field of San Lazaro. 
 
Chapter XXVIII. 
 
 After the Battle 
 
 Whatever may be thought of the wisdom that dic 
 tated the fatal assault, no one can doubt that the 
 part played therein by Admiral Vernon was, to say 
 the least, an unworthy if not a cowardly and das 
 tardly one, for although his ships lay so near that 
 a mortar battery was being constructed by the crew 
 of the Weymouth only 2,000 yards from San Lazaro ; 
 although it would seem that his boats were in the 
 water, and manned for some movement during the 
 progress of the attack, there is no evidence that a 
 single seaman co-operated with the army in this 
 movement on the principal defence of the invested 
 city. 
 
 F: was only after repeated solicitations and covert 
 taunts on the part of Lord Vernon, that General 
 Wentworth had struck his blow with nearly his 
 whole available force, and the garrison of San Lo- 
 zaro, with the troops which during the fight issued 
 from the city, outnumbered the assaulting force, of 
 whose gallant bravery and useless heroism their 
 terrible losses are the best evidence. 
 
 It had also been determined in a general council 
 of war, that the losses by sickness, the imminence 
 of the rainy season, and the terrible mortality which 
 must follow upon a prolonged siege, forbade the em 
 ployment of such means as had secured the capture 
 of the heavier outer defences of Cartagena, and 
 
After the Battle 405 
 
 having determined on so desperate and dangerous 
 an expedient, one can hardly find words to charac 
 terize the terrible criminality or incapacity of the 
 admiral, who saw from his quarter deck the defeat 
 of Gen. Guise s column, and never tried to create a 
 diversion or reinforce his countrymen. 
 
 A strange story a few days later came from one 
 of the crew of the admiral s ship, and was carried 
 on the wings of rumor to Europe and America, cre 
 ating alternate emotions of triumph and suspicion, 
 joy and indignation in the coffee houses of London 
 and the homes of the New World. 
 
 Close on the heels of the news of the fatal repulse 
 and lost battle came the rumor ; a story that is hard 
 to prove, but is far from unlikely in the light of what 
 the meagre history and limited documentary re 
 mains of the expedition have recorded. 
 
 It was said that a day or two after the fight, a flag 
 of truce, sent out by the viceroy of the city, invited 
 Admiral Vernon and General Wentworth to dine 
 with him at a pavilion half way between the lines; 
 that at this entertainment every luxury procurable 
 under the circumstances was provided, and that the 
 best of feeling and the utmost courtesy was shown 
 by the English and Spanish officers toward each 
 other. 
 
 Several of the former, who expressed a wish to 
 enter Cartagena, were allowed to go under a guard, 
 and brought back pleasant reminiscences of its nar 
 row, but clean and well-paved streets, small, snow- 
 white, well-furnished houses, and above all of the 
 finished courtesies of its people, who, despite the 
 
406 Cartagena 
 
 griefs and sufferings of the siege, forgot not the 
 lofty courtesy and free hospitality of the Spaniard. 
 In later days, too, some told of the strength of the 
 walls and the lofty gate, over which stood the proud 
 blazon of the city, "The Defiance of the World." 
 
 And while these rambled through the city, it was 
 said that their superiors arranged for the ransom 
 of the town, and that at last, when the young officers 
 had come back, flushed and pleased with the courte 
 sies shown them, Don Sebastian de Eslava and Ad 
 miral Vernon parted, with many expressions of 
 lofty courtesy, and deep regret that duty demanded 
 that they should henceforth meet as enemies, etc., 
 etc. Then the viceroy went back to his forts, the 
 admiral to his ships and General Wentworth to his 
 camp, where death hovered over every tent and 
 gloom and the depression of defeat brooded in every 
 heart, while out beyond the cocoa trees lay still un- 
 buried many of the brave men who had fallen a few 
 hours before under the fire of Lan Lazaro. 
 
 And the story w r ent on to tell how, under cover 
 of night, strange boats came alongside the flagship 
 of the admiral and Lestock s war-ship, the Burf ord, 
 with certain treasure chests, heavy and banded with 
 iron, which were at once safely deposited in the great 
 cabins of the admiral and commodore. 
 
 Then went forth the rumor that Cartagena had 
 been ransomed for nine millions of pounds sterling, 
 which was published again and again in the news 
 papers of both hemispheres; but it died out in the 
 face of the news, which fell with crushing force on 
 the tax payers of England and the friends of the 
 ill-fated brigade of colonial volunteers. 
 
After the Battle 407 
 
 History has not touched upon this rumor, but the 
 following facts in connection with the well-known 
 corruption which everywhere pervaded the politics 
 of that era, go far to raise a well-grounded suspi 
 cion that Admiral Vernon and his colleagues had 
 good reasons for not taking Cartagena. 
 
 For with the exception of the construction of a 
 small earthwork mounted with a few light cannon, 
 and the emplacement of a mortar battery, at too 
 great a distance to do any material harm to the be 
 sieged, nothing farther was done of moment during 
 the rest of the siege, if we except the guerrilla war 
 fare carried on between the scouts and rangers of 
 the land forces and the Spanish irregular troops. 
 
 Untequit, in pursuance of his plan of Indian war 
 fare, and rendered even more desperate by the loss 
 of his comrade and friend, issued each day from the 
 camp, intent only on sacrificing to the shade of his 
 lost friend as many Spaniards as he could bring 
 under his terrible aim. 
 
 Lightly armed and more lightly clad, he scoured 
 the wooded plains, searched the tangled chapparal, 
 and, penetrating even into the island fastnesses of 
 the Ciegna des Tescas, left behind him everywhere 
 the dead and wounded who had received the bullets 
 of his Spanish weapon. 
 
 More than once he scrupled not to attack small 
 parties resting by their bivouac fire, or threaded 
 narrow paths overhung by precipitous cliffs, or bor 
 dered by shrubbery so intricate that only a bullet 
 could find way through the abbatis of tangled thorn 
 and knotted lianas. 
 
408 Cartagena 
 
 To fire with deadly aim, to load with wonderful 
 celerity, to keep up the deadly fusilade with delib 
 eration which bordered on recklessness, and then to 
 retreat so stealthily and noiselessly that only a 
 blood-hound could have followed him, seemed but 
 boys play to the lithe, active and vengeful partisan, 
 and when at eve the Indian returned to his quarters 
 he sat down silently to his task of recording the 
 number of the day s victims. He had emptied his 
 own cartridge-box, and fired several muskets that 
 had fallen undischarged from the hands of his com 
 rades at San Lazaro, but he steadfastly refused to 
 inlay more than six silver studs as the record of that 
 day s bloody work. "I am no boaster," he said to 
 his comrades, a and my tongue shall not lie. Six 
 times I drew bead on a man and saw him fall but 
 of the other shots I am not sure, for others fired 
 besides me." 
 
 Each day thereafter he added several to the score, 
 until twenty-five bright spots amid the intricate in 
 laying of the Spanish artist, told a tale more sig 
 nificant than the delicate arabesques and figures 
 of bird and beast among them, and among the out 
 lying Spaniards, strange tales were told of his prow 
 ess, and twenty miles away the armed men who 
 guarded the country paths, trembled at every rustle 
 of the leaves, or sough of the wind-vexed branches. 
 To-day El Demonio Americano, as he was called, had 
 slain his man close to the outposts of the Grand 
 Guard, and a picket on the narrow isthmus between 
 the great lagoon and the sea had been found life 
 less, struck dead with the half-finished cigarito be- 
 
After the Battle 409 
 
 tween his livid lips; to-morrow, a despatch party, 
 many leagues to the southeast, had lost three men 
 out of five, the others only escaping by flight, and 
 had the siege continued, and such rangers as could 
 have aided him been selected for the task, the woods 
 had soon been cleared of all the guerrilleros of the 
 province. 
 
 But on the 15th of April the engineers were seen 
 commencing to remove and embark their cannon, 
 and it was soon noised abroad through the camp 
 that the troops were at once to follow, but Untequit, 
 still eager for Spanish blood, essayed to go forth 
 as usual, despite the remonstrances of Woodside, 
 who pointed out to him the uselessness of farther 
 bloodshed and the increased number of Span 
 iards, who, on seeing the preparations for retreat, 
 would undoubtedly issue from the city walls in 
 heavier numbers, and probably attack the rear 
 guard. 
 
 "I must go," said the Indian, with intense feeling. 
 "They should pay a life for every hair of his head, 
 had I time to hunt those Spanish dogs to the death. 
 It is the last day, and I will return as before, for 
 when I go back to the old father and mother at 
 Ploughed Neck, they will ask for their son, and I 
 can only show them these studs which show how 
 many warriors I have sent after him on the long 
 pathway he has trodden before them." 
 
 He was allowed to go, and sternly, silently and 
 stealthily hastened to seek the cover of the woods 
 between La Popa and the Spanish lines. There was 
 no lack of enemies, but the cover was open, and the 
 
410 Cartagena 
 
 garrison of the convent fortress late in the day 
 having been withdrawn, the Indian soon found him 
 self almost flanked by two small parties of the 
 enemy, while a third of larger numbers was advanc 
 ing full upon the point where he was lying in am 
 bush. 
 
 The scout upon his left w r as led by the guerrilla 
 whom he had taken prisoner on his first scout ; who 
 had helped to lead astray one of the attacking 
 columns at the assault, and speedily weighing the 
 chances Untequit took deliberate aim at this man 
 and fired. 
 
 The treacherous guerrilla leaped into the air, and 
 shot through the brain, fell dead at the feet of Don 
 Ramon, who had charge of the reconnoisance, while 
 Untequit, bursting from his cover, fled toward the 
 cocoa orchard held by the picket guard, under a fire 
 so heavy that those who saw it deemed that he must 
 indeed bear a charmed life. 
 
 Even as he ran, he emptied a cartridge into his 
 musket, dropped a ball, chosen from several carried 
 in his mouth, down the long barrel, struck the butt 
 sharply upon the ground to shake the priming into 
 the shut pan, and turned, with his gun at the 
 "ready," to take a last shot at his hated pursuers. 
 
 "A thousand devils!" cried Don Ramon, as he saw 
 the Indian almost out of range; and, snatching a 
 musket from the nearest man, he levelled it and fired. 
 
 Untequit s weapon was poised in the air, held by 
 both hands at the trigger guard and the breech, 
 just in the position which in an instant more would 
 have settled into a deadly aim; but at the crack of 
 
After the Battle 411 
 
 the officer s musket, the well-tried trophy of so many 
 fatal recontres was discharged harmlessly in the 
 air, and fell at the feet of the Indian, who, with a 
 last glance of defiance at the foes he could no longer 
 harm, bounded away toward the shelter of the camp. 
 
 He presented himself half an hour later at the sur 
 geon s quarters, with both wrists cruelly cut across 
 by a ball which had creased the muscles of the right 
 and broken the small bone of the left arm close to 
 its junction. 
 
 His story had been bruited throughout the camp, 
 and not only were his wounds dressed and tended 
 with unusual care, but a purse was made up for his 
 benefit among the officers, and after the embarka 
 tion he was received as servant to the officers mess 
 of a man-of-war, which some months later landed 
 him safely on the "Long Wharf" at Boston. 
 
 But the siege was over, and only a singular epi 
 sode in naval warfare remains to be chronicled in 
 this connection, an experiment from which no good 
 results could have been expected and which, from the 
 dispatches of Lord Vernon, w r ho claims the paternity 
 of the ill-devised project, was evidently determined 
 upon with a view of "shutting the mouths of gain- 
 sayers"; who he evidently feared, and not without 
 reason, would severely criticise the strange inaction 
 of the fleet during the latter part of the siege. 
 
 Therefore, while the sick and wounded are being 
 transferred to the crowded hospital ships, where 
 inhumanity, official imbecility, and want of attend 
 ance, food and pure air make strong the grasp of 
 death and add discomfort and melancholy to the 
 
412 Cartagena 
 
 torture of pain, let us note the last act of the tragic 
 comedy which was to cheat English justice and out 
 rage public opinion of the punishment of the great 
 criminal, who, as admiral of one of England s great 
 est armadas, had wasted human life like water and 
 fallen short of success by criminal dereliction of 
 duty, or perhaps a blacker crime. 
 
Chapter XXIX. 
 The Sinking of the Gallicia 
 
 Admiral Vernon, in spite of his apparent belief 
 in the power of the small land force to finish the 
 siege, was nevertheless ill at ease when he contem 
 plated the possibility of a parliamentary inquiry into 
 the causes of the failure of an expedition so power 
 ful and well equipped, and from which so much had 
 been expected. It is evident from the correspon 
 dence which passed between him and the officers of 
 the land force, that great efforts were made to induce 
 the admiral to concentrate the fire of as many ships 
 as possible On the inner forts and walls of the 
 besieged city, and thereby drive the garrison to their 
 bombproof s and the inhabitants into a capitulation. 
 To prove that this action could not be profitably 
 undertaken he resorted to a device, which to his 
 mind justified his own prudence, and the extraor 
 dinary inaction of his ships during the latter part 
 of the siege. 
 
 The flagship of Don Bias de Lezo, the Spanish 
 admiral, saved from the general conflagration at 
 Boca Chica, was brought up the lagoon on the 5th 
 of April, and sixty carpenters were at once detailed 
 to convert her into a floating battery of a novel 
 kind, and one which did considerable credit to the 
 inventive genius of Vernon, compared with the con 
 servative spirit of the naval commanders of that era. 
 
 Her battery was reduced to sixteen thirty-twos, 
 
414 Cartagena 
 
 all on one side, and between each gun a merlon or 
 bulkhead of heavy planking and timbers, six feet 
 thick, was constructed and filled in w 7 ith sand and 
 earth, packed as closely as possible, forming a float 
 ing earthwork of considerable defensive strength. 
 Captain Hoare, an officer of considerable skill and 
 courage, and nearly tw r o hundred men, were detailed 
 to give battle to the whole of the remaining harbor 
 defences of Cartagena. 
 
 On the night of the 15th the vessel was towed into 
 position and moored by anchors carried out by the 
 boats of the squadron, and planted, as the admiral 
 averred, as far up on the shoals as possible. But, 
 as will be seen further on, the Gallicia, though so 
 heavily weighted down by her armor, was far from 
 being aground at the beginning of the action. 
 
 In the darkness of the early morning the moorings 
 were hove taut at bow and stern, and the brave crew 
 lying beside their guns awaited only the dawn of 
 day; and at about five o clock the first" heavy broad 
 side, aimed at the barbette guns of the city Vail, fell 
 amid the wondering Spaniards or flew over the 
 works, to carry destruction and death into the in 
 habited parts of the city. 
 
 The cannon of three bastions, a formidable half- 
 moon covering the long curtain of the city wall, and 
 a ravelin, all mounted with the splendid brass Span 
 ish guns, which are still deemed masterpieces of the 
 founders art, were concentrated on this single ves 
 sel, whose brave men kept up an unfaltering fire, 
 although the splinters flew up from the deck on 
 which they stood and down from that above them, 
 
The Sinking of the Gallicia 415 
 
 wounding them by scores; for no defences of the 
 lower deck or bomb proofing above them had been 
 deemed necessary by the projector of the enterprise. 
 
 For seven hours the unequal fight went on, and 
 the fire of some four score cannon, manned by re 
 newed levies of fresh men from the garrison, bored 
 the Gallicia through and through above and below 
 her water line, and at last broke through their weak 
 defences, scattering mangling splinters and blinding 
 sand among the hapless gunners. Still, like British 
 mastiffs, they fought on, bleeding and half suffocated 
 with the smoke of their own fire hurried back into 
 the ports by the strong land breeze, which kept the 
 ship the length of her cables farther from" the 
 city than the position intended by Lord Vernon. 
 
 At length, however, the sea breeze set in, and 
 sweeping the heavy smoke toward the city, showed 
 to the idle fleet the battery still flying the English 
 flag and only awaiting the clearing of the sulphur 
 ous canopy to recommence her suspended fire. The 
 signal to cut the cables was shown from the Princess 
 Caroline, and promptly obeyed; and driving on 
 broadside first toward the shallows and the tremen 
 dous works beyond them, the Gallicia and her crew 
 reopened fire and defied the terrible odds, undi 
 verted, so far as recorded, by any diversion or attack 
 by the rest of the land and sea forces. An hour or 
 two later, pierced by innumerable shot, twenty-two 
 of which were below water-mark, with six of her gal 
 lant crew dead and fifty-six wounded, the signal of 
 recall was given; and Captain Hoare and his men 
 taking to their boats abandoned an enterprise hope- 
 
416 Cartagena 
 
 less from the first, because unsustained by any at 
 tacking force to hold the little advantage which 
 might have been gained by bombardment with so 
 disproportionate a weight of metal, and unassisted 
 by the crushing fire w r hich should and could have 
 been poured in by the fleet. 
 
 On the same day the army re-embarked, to the 
 unexpected relief and unbounded surprise of the 
 harassed Spaniards, and devoted itself to the 
 long and tedious preparations for abandoning and 
 destroying the defences already reduced. Over two 
 weeks more of fever and inefficiency did their work 
 among the soldiers and sailors, before the captured 
 cannon were embarked or broken up, and pick and 
 powder had crumbled into dust the strong castles of 
 Castillo Grande and Boca Chica. 
 
 On the seventh of May, the fleet, having rendez 
 voused at Punta Canoa, set sail for Jamaica, having 
 inflicted, it is true, great damage upon the Spanish 
 city and fleet, but having miserably failed in the com 
 pletion of its work through internal dissensions, 
 which sapped the strength and brought to naught 
 the counsels of the greatest English armada ever 
 fitted out for the New World. 
 
 The losses of the expedition in materiel were singu 
 larly small, but from 6,000 to 8,000 men are sup 
 posed to have died in battle, and from the fatal 
 tropical fevers at sea and in the harbors of Port 
 Royal and Cartagena. 
 
 The Americans suffered least, but as nearly as 
 can be estimated nearly two thousand of the four 
 or five thousand raised perished, and the disgrace- 
 
The Sinking of the Gallicia 417 
 
 ful treatment they received and the servile duties 
 to which they were degraded broke the spirits of 
 the men, and undoubtedly unfitted them for the 
 prosecution of the farther enterprises attempted by 
 Lord Vernon. 
 
 The story of the misery of their life on shipboard 
 and ashore; the record of their degradation to the 
 same service as the offscourings of the slave pens 
 of Jamaica; the singular suspicions of their loyalty 
 to the Protestant faith and the British crown, which 
 confined more than half of the force during the en 
 tire siege to their floating hospitals, the so-called 
 transports; and the contemptuous feeling of the 
 British service shown toward everything Colonial, 
 may be gathered from the writings of Smollett, the 
 correspondence of Admiral Vernon, and the pam 
 phlets which, after the defeat of his forces, were 
 laid before the British people. 
 
 It is refreshing, however, here and there to see 
 that our ancestors were brave, useful and ingenious; 
 to learn from the admiral s own letters that he 
 would have found it hard to get all his ships to sea 
 "without the help of the Americans, who, unlike 
 the pipe-clayed and leather-stocked British soldiers, 
 showed themselves to be artificers and seamen of no 
 mean merit; and to discern from many sources, even 
 where the spirit of invidious blame is but too ap 
 parent, that the doomed colonists of the "Lost Bri 
 gade" did their duty like men and died bravely and 
 uncomplainingly, the victims of official incompe- 
 tency and English ill treatment, added to the inher 
 ent and fatal dangers of campaigning under the 
 tropics. 
 
418 Cartagena 
 
 Of their subsequent fate we shall speak briefly 
 hereafter, but must now turn to the deserted harbor 
 of Cartagena, where, amid ruined castles, useless 
 cannon and the debris of a destroyed navy, the Span 
 iards, issuing from the shattered walls of the "De 
 fiance of the World," rejoiced in their deliverance, 
 and sought eagerly the means of future defense and 
 signal vengeance on the baffled invader. 
 
 Small favor for many years thereafter was shown 
 to any Englishman falling into the hands of the 
 defenders of Cartagena, and the Spanish mariners 
 sent to replace the fleet destroyed by Lord Vernon 
 made it their boast that, except where rich booty 
 could be acquired, few finglish prisoners escaped 
 with life when the chance of war went against them 
 on the coast of the Spanish Main. It was many 
 years thereafter ere an Englishman felt himself safe 
 among friends within the walls of Cartagena. 
 
Chcapter XXX. 
 Death iii Life 
 
 The thunder of cannon, the crash of axes, the 
 rattle of musketry; the hoarse cheers, oaths, curses 
 and screams of men lost in the madness of battle 
 or the agony of mortal pain; the alternations of de 
 spair and hope; the fearful tension of courage, nerve 
 and strength tested to the uttermost of mortal en 
 durance, all these ceased for Stephen Hay when 
 the chance shot from the outworks of Xexemani 
 hurled the living bolt he had directed against the 
 battered and splintered gate into the castle ditch 
 of San Lazaro. 
 
 Through the long afternoon he lay there, uncon 
 scious, almost lifeless, cut by splinters of the beam 
 beneath him, lacerated by fearful missiles which 
 had at morn been the bones of living men, and so 
 covered with the gore of his comrades and his own 
 blood, that the Spanish soldiers and even the friars 
 of the Franciscan convent, busy in their merciful 
 task of comforting the dying and aiding the van 
 quished, passed him by as one dead, or at the best 
 forever past hope of succor or intelligent sense of 
 pain. 
 
 Only the quickened sense of love or hatred could 
 excite interest under such circumstances, and 
 Stephen would have perished, smothered in the cor 
 rupting mass of which he formed a part, and de 
 voured by the insect pests of the tropics, had not 
 
420 Cartagena 
 
 his long golden hair and stately proportions at 
 tracted the attention of Don Ramon, as, cigarette 
 in mouth, he superintended the removal of the dead 
 and the care of the wounded. 
 
 "Hola, Pepe! v he cried to a soldier who, with a 
 draw-bucket, was raisingwater from the deeper part 
 of the moat to wash away the more offensive evi 
 dences of the recent slaughter. "Come hither, and 
 dash a bucketful or two of clear water over yonder 
 pile of Americanos. Yonder tall fellow seems to have 
 been an acquaintance of mine, to whom I should be 
 glad to give two Spanish ells of the soil he has 
 coveted." 
 
 So said, so done. The soldier drew a bucket of 
 the bloody water, and, poising it above the terrible 
 cumulus of mangled humanity, dashed its contents 
 upon the head and shoulders of Hay, sweeping away 
 the blood and dust, and giving to view the pale but 
 noble features, and eyes and lips which already 
 gave proofs of returning animation. 
 
 "Tis he, by St. Jago!" said the Spaniard, coolly. 
 "Hark ye, Fepe: we have little need of more of 
 these heretics to nurse and nourish, and yonder 
 fellow is so near eternal flames that tis a pity he 
 should revive to sin longer and incur greater dam 
 nation. Pull him out of the water, Pepe, and when 
 he is dead bury him; and a gold onsa is thine when 
 I see that he is honorably interred." 
 
 The man laughed silently, a laugh horrible in its 
 stealthy brutishness; but only his manner told of 
 his fell purpose as he said: 
 "I understand, senor. I go yonder for one of the 
 
Death in Life 421 
 
 long hooks they are preparing, and will see that he 
 comes forth from the pit cleansed and ready for his 
 last sleep." 
 
 "Not so, fellow!" said a familiar voice behind 
 them. "Yonder man was a heretic, it is true; but he 
 shall not die if Carlos de Olivarez or the poor of San 
 Lazaro can preserve the life of a stranger who dared 
 to peril his life even for them." Not a muscle of 
 the Spaniard s face showed anger or disquietude, 
 as he turned and beheld D Olivarez and the prior 
 who presided over the leper village, and with quiet 
 grace, he bowed to each, and made fitting if some 
 what contemptuous answer. "I care not for his death 
 or life, senores. He is as good as dead already, and 
 will only gasp a little longer ere life is over. But if 
 you will, take him to your own comfortable quarters 
 yonder and care for him there." 
 
 "Thanks, Don Ramon," said Olivarez, calmly, 
 and raising a whistle to his lips, he called to his side 
 two stalwart blacks, who carried a new litter cov 
 ered by a light screen from the hot sun, and evi 
 dently never contaminated by contact with the leper 
 community. "Take that ladder, and bring up that 
 tall man lying yonder. Lift him gently, and carry 
 him down to the cottage." 
 
 "You can t mean it, Seiior Olivarez," said Don 
 Ramon, hurriedly. "What! put that heretic be 
 smeared with blood and dust into the snowy litter 
 of the Senorita Inez ? Mother of God ! twere a com 
 pliment worthy of our noble king himself, whom God 
 preserve." 
 
 "He came to us who were strangers, despised and 
 
422 Cartagena 
 
 avoided of men, feared almost as the plague of 
 Aleppo, and without fee or reward, entered the por 
 tals of that lazar house to shield us from the shot 
 of the English cannon. Since he left us with God s 
 blessing on his lips, not even a single musket shot 
 has been discharged against it saving the stray 
 shot of San Lazaro and Xexemani," added Olivarez, 
 parenthetically. 
 
 "Therefore," said the priest, "though a heretic he 
 shall be remembered in the prayers of Mary and San 
 Lazaro; though an enemy he shall have all that ten 
 der care can give or gold purchase; and the anathema 
 of the church, the curses of those whom God has 
 afflicted be upon all those who would wish or work 
 him ill." 
 
 "Truly, he is like to have due tendance," said Don 
 Luis gently. "Where w r ill you bestow him at pres 
 ent? In the wall of your retreat?" 
 
 "Not so, Don Luis," said Olivarez, hotly. "He 
 shall have my poor boy s own bed, and my servants 
 shall see that he lacks nothing. But forward, lads," 
 he added, turning to his servants, "carry him gently 
 down to the cottage and then bring back the litter; 
 there may be more who need help." 
 
 "Pardon me, Don Olivarez," said the Spaniard, 
 softly, as the old man turned to depart. "Remember 
 that I am in some sort interested in yonder soldier, 
 and that he is, if it so be that he recovers his health, 
 my poor prisoner and the king s." 
 
 "That, living or dying," said the old man, hotly, 
 "he shall not long be, for unless I have lost all the 
 influence that I ever possessed, he shall be a free 
 man before another dav has ended." 
 
Death in Life 423 
 
 "You take a strong interest in this young man, 
 Don Olivarez. It were better, perhaps, to show less 
 love toward one who is an enemy, though a brave 
 one, who would fain have given this castle to the 
 flames, its garrison to the sword and yonder city 
 to plunder. It were better, believe me, to have him 
 within the wall, where dagger and torch are easier 
 defied than in yonder slight cottage." 
 
 For a moment it seemed as if Olivarez could scarce 
 trust himself to speak; his eyes shone from within 
 his mask like coals of fire, but he restrained himself, 
 and when he spoke no trace of disturbance was in 
 his voice. 
 
 "Thanks, Don Luis de Ramon, but I have no fear 
 of such outrage, and the Senorita Inez has never 
 lacked strong arms and keen blades to protect her 
 or, if need be, to avenge her wrongs. Had my son, 
 her brother, fallen in private quarrel, save in such 
 fair conditions of honorable debate as one gentle 
 man holds with another, the assassins could by no 
 means escape from such vengeance as I can even yet 
 command; and he who brings fear or danger to the 
 bedside of my daughter will have short shrift, and 
 such a death as shall be whispered of by men yet 
 unborn." 
 
 "I well believe it, Senor," said Don Ramon softly. 
 "By the mother of God, I should fear myself were 
 I to underlie your defiance. But we speak idly. I 
 would gladly agree to bring half my company at 
 signal or sound of distress from your fair daughter s 
 cottage. Command me, Don Olivarez. My best 
 wishes to the Dona Inez. Your poor servitor, Fray 
 
424 Cartagena 
 
 Carreno. May heaven -soften to you the heavy bur 
 dens you bear." 
 
 As the old men followed the litter at a distance, 
 the priest kept an uneasy silence, while Olivarez, 
 more self -restrained, seemed nevertheless busy with 
 bitter and ominous thoughts. Finally, however, 
 Fray Carreno broke the oppressive silence, but not 
 until they were alone in an opening between two 
 straggling growths of glossy-leaved cocoas, and out 
 of hearing of any intruder. 
 
 "There are secrets of which the fathers of the 
 church must not speak," said the priest in a low tone. 
 
 "It is not unwisely thus directed," said his com 
 panion. 
 
 "Nevertheless, it is not right that the lambs of the 
 flock should suffer, when the shepherd can warn 
 of coming danger, or in any way avert it," continued 
 Fray Carreno. 
 
 "He would indeed be a false shepherd, who, know 
 ing the designs of the wolf, should let his sheep stray 
 heedlessly in the forest." 
 
 "There are men worse than wolves," said the 
 priest, pithily, "but he who is prudent guards well 
 his fold, even before he hears the howling of the 
 wolves." 
 
 "You say well, Fray Carreno," said Olivarez, ve 
 hemently, "and believe me my fold shall be well 
 guarded." 
 
 A few r moments later the old men reached the 
 gate of the garden, where Inez awaited them, not 
 as aforetime on the veranda of the cottage, but 
 standing just within the gateway, holding in one up- 
 
Drnth in Life 425 
 
 raised hand the Medusa-hilled poinard, whose fluted 
 blade had slain the young Spaniard by the deserted 
 batteries of La Cliamba at Boca Chica. 
 
 Whom have you sent to my care?" she asked 
 breathlessly, with strange vehemence. "This was 
 Carlos dagger, and Tomaso found it under the cover 
 of yonder cartridge box when the American was 
 taken from the litter. See, the blade is dimmed and 
 rusty. Poor, dear, lost Carlos! We shall never see 
 him more, my heart feels but too surely. But how 
 he died, we must know ; and, if by his hand," and she 
 pointed to the lattice of the room where Hay lay 
 still unconscious, "he shall be dearly and speedily 
 avenged." 
 
 Olivarez took the weapon and eyed it narrowly. 
 "I did not know that Carlos had one of these ac 
 cursed stilettos; nor should boy of mine have car 
 ried a weapon so unmanly and treacherous. Are 
 you sure that it was his?" 
 
 "Ay de mir said Inez piteously, wringing her 
 shapely hands in true southern abandonment of 
 grief. "Less than a month before this merciless 
 siege, we sat together, Carlos and I, in the veranda ; 
 and I, needing a bodkin for some embroider} , chided 
 my little maid because she had mislaid it. Carlos, 
 who could not bear the child s tears, sent her to his 
 room for this, and told me to use it until more fitting 
 one could be found. I have never carried it, nor 
 ever will, said he, for I will strike a foe only in 
 the daylight and face to face; but tis a beautiful 
 piece of workmanship, and cost many gold reals and 
 many days of skilful carving, I warrant. " 
 
426 Cartagena 
 
 "Did he say of whom he bought it?" asked Olivarez 
 quietly; but Fray Carreno, who had muffled his face 
 in his hood, seemed a stone statue, so silently and 
 breathlessly did he await the girl s answer. 
 
 " Twas a gift of Don Luis in the days of their first 
 friendship," said Inez, with a faint blush flitting 
 over her pale features. "He would have given him 
 his Toledo rapier, Carlos said, but he refused such 
 a sacrifice and took this, because of its rare and cu 
 rious workmanship ; I used it for a few days longer, 
 and then gave it back to poor Carlos, but I have 
 never seen it since until to-day." 
 
 "I will keep it," said Olivarez quietly, "but remem 
 ber, Inez, w r e have a debt to pay to this youth, and 
 time will tell whether of vengeance or gratitude. 
 Until that time have him treated as if he were Car 
 los self. Spare neither pains nor money to bring 
 him to health and strength, and then we will rew r ard 
 or punish as heaven may enable us to decide. Is 
 the doctor yet with him?" 
 
 "Here he comes even now," said Inez, and as he 
 spoke a tall, emaciated man in a suit of rusty black 
 came down the shaded path, bearing in his hand a 
 small case and followed by a negro lad, who carried 
 one of those brazen basins, which the blood-letting 
 practitioners of that day, in Spain, used almost in 
 variably in every case which came under their su 
 pervision. 
 
 As he came up to the group he bowed humbly, yet 
 with a quiet, keen glance in his sunken eyes, which 
 told of the consciousness of superior wisdom and 
 inherent self respect. 
 
Death in Life 427 
 
 "A sad case, Don Olivarez; a sad case. Yet there 
 is hope, with time and care, that the young man may 
 recover. He hath, presently, opened his eyes and 
 breathes easier, although reason hath not and may 
 never again return. However, with free evacuation 
 of blood and quiet, he may yet come to himself, and 
 acknowledge the generosity which a Spaniard shows 
 even to an enemy." 
 
 With a punctilious farewell, the man of drugs and 
 lancet departed, but close upon his heels Tomaso, 
 the black servitor, came bearing in his hands the 
 secret money belt, which he held at full length, as if 
 desirous of keeping as far as possible from some mys 
 terious danger. 
 
 "What have you there, Tomaso?" asked Olivarez 
 quietly. "A snake skin ! Truly I knew not that ser 
 pents of such marking were found here, though we 
 have kinds enough and to spare." 
 
 "Tomaso took it from the heretic s body," said the 
 slave, breathlessly, "and there may be magic in it, 
 for it is full of gold, and of the wanga and other 
 plants such as Obi used in Jamaica." 
 
 "Give me the belt," said Olivarez, sternly. "The 
 brave fellow carried it that even in death it might 
 perchance come into my hands ; for long ago, in fair 
 Martinique, where in every thicket the terrible fer 
 de lance lurks with ready venom, I slew the reptile 
 whose fangs would have taken my brother s life. 
 The gold he sent with this token, for he had the 
 skin cunningly tanned until it was soft as silk and 
 proof against water. As to the wanga, you, Tomaso, 
 should know something of its uses." 
 
428 Cartagena 
 
 "Toiuaso lias seen it given in fevers, and to give 
 quiet sleep to raving men, but Obi kills many with 
 it who never wake again. Only a little will give 
 sleep to him who lies muttering and tossing in the 
 room of the Senor Carlos." 
 
 Fray Carreno turned suddenly to the group, and 
 his voice, usually low and humble, was full of de 
 cision and conscious authority. "Dona Inez! go 
 to yonder room and bring me word as to how the 
 patient lies; if he be in high fever, or relapsed and 
 weak; also if he raves or talks to himself, with his 
 face flushed and eyes larger than is wont. Tomaso, 
 bring me a cup of hot water, very hot, do you hear, 
 and also a leaf of yonder plantain." 
 
 The maiden went and came quickly, all traces of 
 anger or revenge gone from her face, now soft and 
 pitiful. 
 
 "How is the stranger, my daughter?" asked the 
 friar gently. 
 
 "He lies flushed and fevered, complaining not, 
 though his chest heaves terribly at times. He talks 
 brokenly of his home and mother and, I think, of 
 others, for I hear the name of Margarita and other 
 names that are strange to me in his harsh, northern 
 tongue; but he seems strong, though feverish, and 
 I hope your skill, reverend father, will bring him to 
 calm reason again." 
 
 Even as she spoke, Fray Carreno took the leaf 
 of the plantain, and, deftly folding it, made a rude 
 funnel, into which, with the point of a thorn, he 
 placed a number of leaves from the recesses of the 
 secret belt and then placed the funnel in the cup 
 
Death in Life 429 
 
 of hot water. Almost at once the liquid became 
 nearly blood red, and as it began to grow turbid he 
 hastily withdrew the leaves and motioned to Tomaso 
 to take the cup, which had been scrupulously left 
 untouched during the operation. 
 
 "See that he drinks this, Tomaso. Should he sleep 
 beyond the first dawn, or grow chill and weak, you 
 know the remedy. I would he had a wiser nurse, 
 but he is in the care of heaven and I cannot enter 
 the dwellings of men. Come, Senor de Olivarez, it is 
 time for vespers; even now the great bell of the 
 Lazaretto calls our fellow sufferers to prayer." 
 
 Olivarez remained a moment behind. "Good 
 night, dear daughter. May heaven have you in holy 
 keeping. But you are of my blood, and none of 
 our house have been false or recreant in love or 
 hate. See, then, that Tomaso does his duty faith 
 fully and wisely, and fear not that the tongues of 
 men or the merciful eyes of the holy mother will 
 blame you here or hereafter. I would lay my life 
 on the innocence of this man, but the future will 
 end all doubt, in God s good time. Let loose the 
 great dogs in the lower rooms, and let Bravo roam 
 in the garden at night. He will not eat from .a 
 strange hand, yet see that he be fed until he will 
 take no more. Let Pedro have all the arms loaded 
 and arm the men servants therewith, and see that 
 the secret door opens easily, for there are those who 
 have no love to your charge. Fear not for your 
 self, for although I may never again kiss your dear 
 face, your father s love can and will shield you from 
 all peril." 
 
430 Cartagena 
 
 Within the closed gate of the Lazaretto the motley 
 throng of lepers were dispersing, having knelt be 
 fore the altar where the dead Christ, depicted by a 
 master s hand, had a generation before been placed 
 there by the munificence of a Spanish noble, long 
 since gone to his account, but none the less loved 
 and remembered by the unhappy successors of the 
 ill-fated beings who in his day had awakened his 
 princely pity and charity. 
 
 Since the great picture had hung there, hundreds 
 had knelt before it in helpless exile, cast out from 
 home and love, from a mother s caresses and a 
 father s tenderness, from the struggles and hopes 
 of all human ambition, the soldier s ardor, the sea 
 man s daring, the expectation of love, the universal 
 hope of posterity. Often still strong, beautiful, 
 nurtured in wealth and luxury, they had been 
 brought here by force, to see, horror-stricken and 
 despairing, scores of examples of the terrible doom 
 from which nothing but merciful death, by acute 
 disease or sudden accident, could save them. 
 
 Hence in this place, where life retained none of the 
 hopes which sweeten and glorify existence, length 
 of days was deemed a misfortune, and few lamented 
 when they knew that only a few hours remained of 
 their blighted existences; yet, strangely enough, 
 even in this horrible place, marriage vows were said, 
 though fortunately but few unhappy beings were 
 brought into the world foredoomed to a life of 
 hereditary leprosy and exclusion from the world. 
 On the other hand, singularly enough, there were 
 but few who anticipated their inevitable doom by 
 
Death in Life 431 
 
 self -murder, for such having been ever buried in un- 
 consecrated ground, were held to have parted for 
 ever with all hope of heaven; and men to whom all 
 earthly joys were closed could not bear the thought 
 of losing that immortal life in which alone they could 
 rejoin their loved ones, pure, glorious and without 
 stain or trace of mortality. 
 
 Here, therefore, all feuds ended between those 
 who had in better days been deadly enemies, es 
 tranged friends, or bitter partisans of opposing fac 
 tions. Here, the man of noble birth called the peas 
 ant brother; the doomed maiden of the sangre azul 
 wedded the man of low estate, whose greater 
 strength \vould enable him to smooth her own inevi 
 table progress to a leper s grave. Here men called 
 each other "brother" despite disparity in former 
 days, and women, notwithstanding the greater love 
 of the sex for nice distinctions of place and caste, 
 greeted each other as "sister," under the leveling 
 force of common misfortune and suffering. Yet 
 there were still men who were recognized as lead 
 ers; women who moved among their kind to support, 
 comfort and direct; the natural leaders who, under 
 all circumstances of human society, have and ever 
 will present themselves, to whom their weaker and 
 less powerful brethren will do willing obedience. 
 
 Therefore, after the evening service, a score or 
 more of the stronger and bolder spirits remained 
 behind with Olivarez ; and Fray Carreno, with a sin- 
 ble admonitory whisper, left him in secret council, 
 with a band of men* still formidable enough despite 
 the ravages of their incurable malady. 
 
432 Cartagena 
 
 "I have called you together," said he, breaking a 
 breathless silence, "to ask your aid in protecting the 
 cottage of my daughter, which, for good reasons, I 
 deem not safe from possible attack and plunder, if 
 not greater outrage. As you all know, it was for 
 merly occupied by my dear children, an only son 
 and daughter, for whose sake, though I might easily 
 have fled to other countries, where even such as we 
 are not altogether shut out from men, I came wil 
 lingly here to become one of the many afflicted poor 
 of Mary and the holy San Lazaro. My children I 
 bestowed in yonder cottage, and was happy in their 
 happiness and in the love they have ever shown to 
 their afflicted father, until my boy went out to meet 
 the English and came back no more; whether slain 
 in fair fight or by the hand of an assassin I have 
 yet to decide. But his sister yet lives, and under her 
 roof lies the brave young American, who came to 
 our gates to assure the English general, that he 
 might safely spare us from the horrors of a bom 
 bardment or the dangers of an escalade. And I 
 know that he has enemies, powerful enemies, who 
 may well lead a band of guerrillas or a mob from 
 Xexemani to murder, rob or burn. I therefore ask 
 how many of you are willing to keep watch and 
 ward, aye, and be ready to do battle, for the sanc 
 tity of my house and the honor of the Seilorita Inez ?" 
 
 The very thought of once more bearing arms, of 
 crossing steel in desperate combat, of feeling their 
 sluggish blood heated by the shock and rush of bat 
 tle, seemed to transform these men, but a few mo 
 ments before sullen, apathetic, sorrowful, or lost 
 
Death in Life 
 
 in contemplation of the life everlasting. Felix, a 
 huge Biscayan, once noted as the boatswain of a 
 giiarda costo, first broke the silence. 
 
 "All! Don Olivarez*and with thanks, too. I ve 
 a good cutlass and my pistols still by me, and no 
 longer ago than last week I stowed them away out 
 of sight ; for I minded me of many a brave fight, such 
 as I never dared to hope of seeing more. Aye, I 
 would watch for a year to be a man again against 
 men, and for the lady Inez. I would gladly end life 
 thus, rather than rot like a sheep within this terrible 
 place." 
 
 The other men seconded their comrade in low, 
 resolute tones some, alas! in husky and inarticu 
 late words, resulting from fearful corrosion of the 
 face; and then all was silence as Olivarez proceeded: 
 
 "Do you, then, hold yourselves in readiness to the 
 number of thirty, taking to your aid as many as 
 you can best trust, ten of whom will stand guard 
 every night, between darkness and sunrise, not as 
 sentries at the house, but as scouts in the orchards 
 which surround the clearing. The other twenty will 
 be armed and ready at the first alarm, to seek the 
 gate, where I or a friend will be always posted to 
 give you exit. Felix, you will lead the first ten; 
 Jos6 Aranda, you have too often hunted in these 
 woods to have forgotten their secrets now, and you 
 will take command of the second party; I will take 
 the third yet to be raised. And now, friends, I thank 
 you for your fidelity. Go, and prepare for our last 
 deeds in arms!" 
 
 One by one they filed out into the darkness, leav- 
 
434 . Cartagena 
 
 ing Olivarez alone in the sacristy, where, by a single 
 hanging lamp, he drew from his breast the antique 
 dagger, and viewed its wondrous workmanship over 
 and over. With dislike the olll buccaneer viewed the 
 fluted, edgeless blade, too short for open fight, so 
 sure in traitorous hands, so deadly in that its con 
 tused wounds were ever hard to heal, though its 
 blows were not surely given; and all the aversion a 
 brave man feels for such weapons showed itself in 
 every feature. The convoluted serpent folds which 
 formed the guard, the finely formed limbs and loath 
 some head of the serpent-haired Medusa attracted 
 him, however, with something of that spell which 
 the hunter feels when he comes upon a coiled ser 
 pent in the wilderness, and.stands for a second mo 
 tionless, eyeing the sleek, pliant painted folds, the 
 slender, threatening head, with its open mouth, 
 erected fangs and sibilant tongue, and the small, 
 cold, bright eyes, without any touch of softness, any 
 expression of aught but resolute malignity. 
 
 Such a feeling seized Olivarez for a moment, so 
 curiously and faithfully had the artist labored, so 
 strangely malign was the glance of the jeweled eyes 
 of the Medusa. In the deserted chapel, the deathly 
 stillness seemed to become intense and painful to 
 his excited feelings, and for a time the strong soul of 
 the bereaved and anxious father almost yielded to 
 the agony of its long-restrained emotion ; but at last 
 he replaced the weapon in his belt, and fose with 
 his old stately grace to his feet. 
 
 "I had almost fancied," he soliloquized, "that Car 
 los spirit was with me here and called for vengeance. 
 
Death in Life 435 
 
 Were it not that I ever derided such womanish fan 
 cies and idle superstitions, I could have sworn 
 that by this accursed weapon he met his untimely 
 death. But I doubt rather Don Ramon than yonder 
 giant American, who w r ould slay in battle like a 
 man, but not stab with such a serpent fang as this. 
 Young, wealthy, the petted favorite of the viceroy, 
 and given to all forms of dissolute life, I know that 
 Carlos was at first attracted by his beauty, accom 
 plishments and generosity, but was alienated by his 
 cruel indifference to the rights and happiness of oth 
 ers, and the scandal and sorrow caused by his un 
 bridled passions. He himself speaks of wishing to 
 slay my son, even in the vice-regal palace. Nothing 
 but a sense of the bitterest wrong could have induced 
 Carlos to forget the respect due his host the obedi 
 ence he owed to the representative of his king. It is 
 not like Don Ramon to forgive, they say. Carlos 
 would hardly keep the dagger after an almost deadly 
 quarrel, and Don Ramon is just the man to gratify an 
 unsatiated revenge by the hands of a hired bravo." 
 
 A footstep in the outer chapel was heard, and 
 there entered the sacristy the latest arrival at the 
 Lazaretto, a young merchant of the city, who, sud 
 denly attacked, had been exiled in spite of prayers, 
 threats and entreaties, and had since remained a 
 prey to almost utter despair, despite the consola 
 tions of Fray Carreno and the well meant sympathy 
 and encouragement of his fellow sufferers. 
 
 Martinez de Herrera, as the heir of a wealthy 
 merchant, and connected by blood with officials emi 
 nent in the history of the settlement and growth 
 
436 Cartagena 
 
 of the city, had seen at his command before him all 
 the conditions for a life of happiness which man could 
 desire. Wealthy, graceful in person, comely in face, 
 intelligent beyond the majority of men of his time 
 and years, he added to a kindly and generous nature 
 that acute sensibility which makes the success of 
 the poet, artist and musician, and makes glorious or 
 most miserable the life of its possessor; to whom 
 there can in no case pertain that calm and philoso 
 phic middle course, in which alone men safely and 
 happily bring to a quiet haven, the storm-tossed 
 bark after the voyage of life. 
 
 Suddenly hurled from the pinnacle of happiness 
 to the depths of despair ; driven from the bosom of 
 his family and that society which had so lately be 
 held him its petted favorite; doomed to a hopeless 
 exile, and inevitable and loathsome death, he had 
 given way to a despair in which there seemed to be 
 no ray of hope, no gleam of consolation; and, un 
 cleanly of person, slovenly of attire, careless of food 
 or drink, shelter or occupation, Don Martinez had 
 become a pitiable spectacle, even to the most mis 
 erable of the colony of lepers. 
 
 But now he appeared before Olivarez fresh from 
 the bath and toilet, dressed in the closely fitting 
 small-clothes of fine Biscayan linen which in that 
 warm climate was the favorite and fitting attire of 
 the Spanish gentleman; and his coat of amethystine 
 velvet, laced with gold, was crossed by a narrow 
 but costly belt, at which hung a splendid rapier and 
 a pair of pistols of exquisite workmanship. His 
 hair had been close cut, but was oiled and perfumed ; 
 
Death in Life 437 
 
 his collarless shirt above its voluminous ruffle was 
 banded with a collarette of golden buttons of fila 
 gree work, and his Spanish hat of laced velvet was 
 decked with a magnificent plume, which swept with 
 a graceful curve around half the crown and waved 
 daintily with every zephyr of the evening land 
 breeze, which came through the barred lattice. 
 
 "Good evening, Senor Olivarez," he said, with 
 much of his old vivacity; "I have come to offer myself 
 as a recruit for your new adventure. May I hope 
 that I shall not be refused? 1 
 
 "Refused, Senor Martinez? I shall be only too 
 glad of your assistance, though I must tell you that 
 it may compromise all who take service under me, 
 and perchance doom them to the gibbet or the fire 
 of His Majesty s troops." 
 
 "I care not," said the young man, eagerly. "I have 
 been told your object, and would readily die to se 
 cure so glorious and end. Listen, Senor Olivarez: 
 Carlos and Lwere friends." 
 
 "So I have always thought," said the old man 
 quietly. 
 
 "We were friends and together everywhere, in 
 truth, almost inseparable, and, until that serpent, 
 Don Ramon, came here from Spain, had never a 
 breath of misunderstanding; but when he first came 
 into society, all Cartagena, both man and woman, 
 seemed fascinated and conquered by his wit and 
 beauty. Alas! All were not able to withstand his 
 insinuating and treacherous arts, and one, dear to 
 me as the child of a faithful servitor, died in the 
 hospital of St. Juan de Dios in shame and despair. 
 
438 Cartagena 
 
 "I first feared for his victim, and denounced him 
 as a villain; but he made me appear prejudiced and 
 over suspicious, and even Don Carlos turned his 
 back upon me in contemptuous pity. For a while I, 
 myself, doubted the justice of my own attack; but 
 when poor Maria fled from home, leaving the fren 
 zied story of her wrongs, I showed the tear-blotted 
 papelcito to Don Carlos, and he, confessing his injus 
 tice, was first to call the villain to mortal arbitra 
 ment. 7 
 
 "Why was the quarrel made up?" asked Olivarez. 
 
 "It was w r hen the first news of the coming of the 
 fleet reached the governor that we encountered in 
 the patio of the viceroy, and it was only by threaten 
 ing to shoot the first man who made a thrust, that 
 the lieutenant of the guard prevented a duel to the 
 death. It was, however, understood by both that, 
 the siege once over, the duel was to take place, and 
 each by his honor swore that neither gain, love, fear 
 nor any other motive, should keep him from the de 
 ferred meeting." 
 
 "Then they parted not in amity?" said Olivarez 
 inquiringly. 
 
 "In amity?" repeated Don Martinez in savage 
 irony. "Of a truth, no! Don Ramon at that very 
 moment drew off a balas ruby, the gift of Don Car 
 los, and threw it at his feet; and he, not to be put- 
 done, sent him back several costly gifts by the hands 
 of a servitor of Don Ramon, who a few days after, at 
 pique with his master, became a marine under Don 
 Bias de Lezo, and, as I have heard, died during the 
 siege." 
 
Death in Life 439 
 
 "Thanks, Don Martinez, for your confidence. In 
 my service there is no hope of gain or ambition, yet 
 I need a leader for the last ten of my company of 
 thirty. Are you willing to take charge of it under 
 my leadership?" 
 
 For the first time, since the day when he had been 
 forcibly carried to the leper village, Herrera was 
 seen to smile. "Don Olivarez," said he, "I thank 
 God that, even in my misery I have found honors and 
 employment, in the which I had found pleasure even 
 in my happiest days. I may not tell you what su 
 preme joys I have coveted, what crowning bliss I 
 have dared to hope for, what dream of paradise in 
 a moment blotted forever from my vision, was re 
 placed by this terrible reality of our hopeless fate. 
 But if only your fears may prove true; if only I may 
 once more feel the thrill of courageous daring and 
 the madness of battle, with the consciousness of be 
 ing engaged in a cause for which even the noblest 
 and happiest might welcome death, I have only one 
 more boon to ask of heaA^en, save the remission of my 
 sins, in this mortal life." 
 
 "Whatever your wish," said Olivarez, eagerly, "if 
 wealth can purchase or influence attain it, I promise 
 you in advance it shall be yours." 
 
 "Ah," said the young man, solemnly, "only of God 
 may I obtain my desire, though to all in His good 
 time he allots the blessing. Few there are who like 
 me crave its speedy coming. Only to the frame 
 racked with torment, or the heart bowed into the 
 dust with sorrow or despair, comes the earnest wish 
 for the peaceful calm of death." 
 
440 Cartagena 
 
 "Truly," said Don Olivarez, with his voice for the 
 first time tremulous with pity and his mask wet with 
 unrestrained tears, "thou hast suffered overmuch, 
 and art worthy of all love and trust. Thou shalt be 
 a son to me who am sonless, the defence of a sister 
 left brotherless by a fate not yet revealed, and God 
 in his own time, be it sooner or later, shall reward 
 thee according to thy just deserts. But I hear the 
 feet of our men ; they return from arming themselves 
 for our final review." 
 
 As he spoke, they entered, to the number of nearly 
 two-score, often beggarly in dress, with motley and 
 insufficient arms, but nevertheless a body of men to 
 be feared. There were men with but one hand, 
 whose undiseased arm had acquired the strength of 
 two ; those whose features w r ere hidden by dominos, 
 whose onslaught few men could withstand, and even 
 now mighty hunters of the jaguar and ocelot; and 
 others, half deprived of sight, who with the other 
 eye, could rival the best skill of the guerillas of the 
 wilderness of Calamari. The hunter with his long 
 musket, the cayman slayer with his w T ell-balanced 
 harpoon, the turtle fisher with his long bow and 
 deadly arrows, the one-armed butcher with his tren 
 chant Spanish axe, and the peasant with his machete, 
 all were represented by men who no longer needed 
 the usual incentives of man to courage, fidelity and 
 self-sacrifice. 
 
 They were told off to the number of thirty; the 
 rest were to remain with Olivarez as a reserve at 
 the guard house by the gate, and, with the first 
 detachment, stout Felix went to his first night s 
 scout among the cocoa orchards. 
 
Death in Life 441 
 
 As he parted, his words drew a grim smile of ap 
 proval from his maimed and stricken followers: 
 
 "Faith! tis a strange following to lead to battle, 
 and yet I would not fear to meet four times our 
 number, an they but knew with whom they had to 
 deal. There are many who have willingly faced ball 
 and steel, who would not for millions take us by the 
 hand; still less feel on hilt or hand the deadly stain 
 of a leper s blood." 
 
 " Tis even so," said Olivarez, under his breath, as 
 the huge gate was locked behind the little company. 
 "There is no courage so great, no love of gain so 
 devouring, no devotion so unselfish and fearless that 
 could induce the meanest of the rabble of Xexemani 
 to join himself to our number, or take the risk of 
 becoming so sad a spectacle of death in life." 
 
Chapter XXXI. 
 A L outrance 
 
 But for many days watch and ward seemed need 
 less, although, as Stephen Hay slowly recovered 
 strength, Don Kamon sent many a messenger, and 
 more than once galloped down to the gate himself, to 
 inquire in his courtly way concerning the health of 
 the Senorita Inez and the state of the wounded cap 
 tive. It was but too evident to the lady in question, 
 that he felt no pleasure at learning of the probable 
 recovery of the American, and more than once, he 
 almost expressed a decided intention of removing 
 Hay to the common hospital of the city prison. 
 
 He was met by too decided a negative from 
 both father and daughter to pursue the subject fur 
 ther; but Olivarez obtained of Eslava, the mili 
 tary governor, the ransom of the prisoner, and when 
 Stephen for the first time reclined in an easy-chair 
 on the cool veranda, Don Kamon, coming up on his 
 light Spanish jennet, turned fairly yellow-white with 
 suspicious jealousy. Throwing the reins to his 
 servant, he joined the New Englander and his fair 
 hostess, who sat, as was her wont, beside her pa 
 tient, whom she had already begun to pity, and per 
 haps to love, despite her dark suspicions and fears 
 concerning the death of her only brother. 
 
 He greeted Inez politely, but went on to speak of 
 the topics of the time, and to make inquiries con 
 cerning the affairs of the household, without in any 
 
A L outnmce 443 
 
 way answering the pleasant greeting of the conva 
 lescent, or even the slight civility of a bow. 
 
 "You seem to have forgotten the Senor Stephen," 
 said Inez, pointedly. 
 
 "You mistake, senorita," he replied; "I have al 
 ready shown him more civility than is fitting. A 
 Spanish count has nothing in common with an Eng 
 lish farmer, and a mere sergeant, a common prisoner 
 of war, has no claim on the politeness of a colonel 
 in His Majesty s infantry. I have allowed him thus 
 far extraordinary privileges, to please you, who are 
 my friends; but we received yesterday orders to 
 transfer to the keeper of the city prison, the few 
 prisoners and stragglers who were left on our hands 
 by the sailing of the English fleet." 
 
 Inez drew from a small casket a paper bearing the 
 seal of the governor of Cartagena. "The Senor Hay 
 is no longer a prisoner," said she, pointedly. "Here 
 is Don Sebastian s order for his release." 
 
 Don Ramon s pale cheek for an instant flushed 
 with ill repressed wrath, and then he became again 
 as calmly icily courteous as was his wont, when he 
 had weighed the chances against him and the way to 
 success. "I feared as much," said he, quietly, "and 
 liad hoped to perform elsewhere, a duty too painful 
 to name in your presence. But I see that over-grati 
 tude for the slight service rendered by that man 
 has so enlisted the Dona Inez and her noble father 
 in his behalf, that I must even appear cruel, or let 
 justice triumph, and a foul wrong go unpunished." 
 
 "Whatever charge you have to make against the 
 Senor Hay should, it seems to me, be made in the 
 
444 Cartagena 
 
 presence of my father, whose guest he is. See, he 
 is coming with the unhappy Senor Martinez and the 
 good Fray Carreno. Pepe! Jose ! bring the litter 
 and bear the Senor Hay to the shade of the palm tree 
 beside the gate. Don Ramon, I will join you in a 
 moment." 
 
 Ten minutes later the parties were all gathered 
 near the gate, and Don Ramon, calling to his servant, 
 ordered him to bring from his holsters the pistols 
 therein. The page, a bright young Andalusian, 
 brought the weapons, and at his master s order laid 
 them on the litter before Stephen, who felt that at 
 last the gage of battle was thrown before him, and 
 that the struggle was to be one in which either he or 
 his powerful antagonist must die. Though still weak 
 he arose to an erect sitting posture, and with long, 
 wasted fingers, examined the pistols found beside 
 the dead Spaniard at Boca Chica. 
 
 "Ask the Senor Hay if he recognizes those weap 
 ons," said Don Ramon, after courteously greeting 
 Olivarez. 
 
 The question was repeated in English, and Hay at 
 once answered without hesitation or evasion: 
 
 "They were carried in my belt on the day that I 
 was wounded at San Lazaro." 
 
 "Take them to Senor Olivarez," said Don Ramon, 
 with a malign smile. "Perhaps he can also recog 
 nize them." 
 
 Olivarez, with a natural shudder, looked again 
 upon the familiar weapons, w r orn by himself in many 
 a desperate encounter. "They were mine," he said 
 with an effort, "and carried by my poor boy when he 
 parted from me forever." 
 
A L outrance 445 
 
 "Froni whence did you receive them, sir?" asked 
 Don Ramon sternly, turning to Stephen, who saw, 
 with ill-concealed sorrow, the tears of the Senorita 
 Inez and the sullen and averted looks of the slaves, 
 who had hitherto waited so kindly upon him. 
 
 "I took them from the body of a young Spaniard, 
 whom I helped to bury at Boca Chica." 
 
 "How came he to his death?" asked Don Kamon, 
 with flashing eyes. 
 
 For the first time since his fall into the moat at 
 San Lazaro, something of his old strength of mind 
 and body came back to the New Englander. He had 
 never since walked upright, except when supported 
 by two strong men, and in the main had been dull of 
 apprehension and slow of utterance. For a moment 
 even now, he hesitated, as if to collect his thoughts, 
 but ere Don Ramon could again repeat the question, 
 the answer came: 
 
 "He lay wounded in the arm just beyond the bat 
 teries of La Chamba," he cried, rising to his feet and 
 grasping one of the slender posts of the canopy for 
 support. "We came upon him while scouting toward 
 the castle, and drew him under the shade of a great 
 tree, and gave him drink. When we came back to 
 him in the darkness, under the fire of that night s 
 bombardment, with aid and litter, he was dead, 
 with a dagger thrust through his gallant heart. 
 
 "We buried him like a soldier " He would have 
 said more, but he fell in a swoon, breaking down the 
 slender canopy across the litter in which he had been 
 borne to the place of meeting, and the servants, at 
 the order of Olivarez, bore him back to his chamber. 
 
446 Cartagena 
 
 "Are you mad?" asked Don Ramon, in amazement. 
 "Will you still harbor a man who, is not only an 
 heretic and an enemy, but possibly the murderer of 
 your son. If not the, murderer, he must have num 
 bered among his comrades the perpetrator of the 
 dastardly deed, and profited by the crime, for lie 
 carries the pistols worn by your dead boy. and con 
 fesses that he died, not by chance of war, but the 
 stroke of the assassin s dagger. By the holy 
 Mother! It shall not be. If you, his father, have 
 lost the natural desire for vengeance on the slayer of 
 your son, I at least will avenge his death, and speed 
 ily." 
 
 "Don Kamon !" said Olivarez, "this sudden zeal to 
 avenge my lost Carlos becomes his friend, but my 
 house is not a theatre for violence, and yonder 
 American s guilt must be proven; for if he fell in 
 honorable warfare even by dagger thrust given at 
 that man s hands, he should go free cured of his 
 wounds, and if not with our love, at least with 
 honor." 
 
 "But how if he be guilty of cruel and cowardly 
 murder?" asked Don Luiz, savagely. 
 
 "Then he shall die by the hands that should 
 avenge him." 
 
 "Then, senor," said Don Kamon, "grant me the 
 boon of avenging on his murderer the death of Don 
 Carlos." 
 
 "Not so," cried Martinez de Herrera, "I claim a 
 better right, for you yourself were angry at Don 
 Carlos, and the presents you exchanged had been 
 returned when he went under Don Bias de Lezo to 
 the castle at Boca Chica." 
 
A. Lioutrance 447 
 
 "You say truly," said Don Ramon, sorrowfully, 
 "and much have I regretted the cause and the man 
 ner of our estrangement. The holy father, Fray 
 Carreno, could tell you that I have done penance for 
 my sins, and though Carlos treated me scornfully 
 in returning all my gifts, yet I would he were alive 
 again that we could once more be friends." 
 
 "If then, Don Ramon, all your gifts were returned 
 to you, whence comes it that this poniard given by 
 you to Don Carlos, and returned by him to you, was 
 found buried in the heart of my boy?" 
 
 As the fatal weapon was displayed by Olivarez, 
 Ramon s face grew even whiter than was wont, and 
 a sudden gleam, threatening and dire in import as 
 the flash of the lightning, lit up his large black eyes. 
 He scanned the face of Fray Carreno, but it was 
 impassive and unblenching, and he knew that the 
 dread secrets of the confessional had been faithfully 
 kept, though he felt the vantage ground he had 
 deemed so surely his own slipping from beneath his 
 feet. 
 
 But in the manner of Olivarez and the face of 
 Don Herrera, he saw the strong suspicion of his 
 guilt growing into a certainty, and hardening into 
 the bitter thirst of blood ; but he was strong even in 
 that supreme peril, and spoke calmly and courte 
 ously though less assuredly than before. 
 
 "I know not, Don Olivarez, what dark suspicion 
 you may have harbored against me ; but if, indeed, 
 poor Don Carlos was done to death with yonder 
 dagger, I only know that it was returned to me in 
 wrath and with uncourtly message, and I angrily 
 
448 Cartagena 
 
 threw it aside, nor have since cast eyes upon it. I 
 may well have lost it, for this is my third servant 
 since that day, and the two first were scant of hon 
 esty and of little conscience." 
 
 "Aye! and of bloody hand, Colonel de Ramon," 
 cried Martinez boldly ; "and especially he whom men 
 called Carlos the Catalan, who was spared from the 
 gibbet to fight manfully in the siege and die on the 
 field of battle, only because Don Sebastian might 
 not spare from the defense of the city even a hire 
 ling stabber and bloody assassin." 
 
 "Such, indeed, he was; yet it may be that even 
 he may have been guiltless of this crime, even as I 
 myself. Where was this dagger found, Don Oliva- 
 rez?" 
 
 "Beneath the cover of the sergeant s cartridge 
 box, placed there, as we think, because the sheath 
 was wanting. Go in peace for this time, Don Luis, 
 and bethink thee that were such scant justice meted 
 to thee, as thou wouldst have measured out to the 
 helpless stranger, thou wouldst have now lain mo 
 tionless, slain by my hand." 
 
 The young soldier was about to turn scornfully 
 away, but at the last words he again faced the as 
 sembled throng and, throwing open his loose cloak, 
 seemed to invite the threatened bullet. "I will not 
 go thus, Don Olivarez. Kather would I die by your 
 hand than thus yield up your friendship, than for 
 feit all claim to the hand of the Senorita Inez, whom 
 I have so long loved in secret until now. Will you 
 deem me guilty on the word of a foreign mercenary, 
 or the presence of a stolen dagger where I could by 
 no means have been myself?" 
 
A L outrance 449 
 
 Olivarez turned wearily toward the speaker, who, 
 for the first time, seemed to lay aside his usual 
 haughty coldness and to speak from a full heart. 
 "Alas, Don Kamon, you alone could profit by the 
 crime, for between you and Don Carlos there was a 
 feud which both had sworn to end by a duel to the 
 death. Yet can I hardly think that fear alone would 
 have urged thee to such wickedness, hadst thou not 
 known that the Senorita Inez would bring to her 
 spouse such a dower, as would more than pay the 
 creditors who await thy coming in Spain.. Trust 
 me, Don Luis, though no longer in the world, I have 
 well guarded my child and the wealth I leave her; 
 and from bodily harm I trust God and Our Lady to 
 preserve us. But enough of this, the dead shall 
 judge between us. When this American revives he 
 shall lead us, to the grave of my son, and his cloth 
 ing at least will be left to tell by what means he 
 died." 
 
 "And if yonder heretic s story be true" began 
 Kamon, scornfully. 
 
 "Then, Senor Luis de Ramon, guard thyself well, 
 for there is no land so distant, no defence so strong, 
 that distance or security shall avail to rob me of a 
 father s vengeance on the slayer of his son." 
 
 "Hast thou no homily to read Don Olivarez, Sir 
 Priest," said the Spaniard, turning haughtily to 
 Fray Carreno, who had listened impassively to the 
 conversation. "Truly he hath less charity to one 
 of his nation and faith, than for a heretic enemy." 
 
 "Nothing that would avail," said the priest sol 
 emnly, "and why should I hold out to either of you, 
 
4:50 Cartagena 
 
 false hopes or unavailing counsel. I know you well. 
 Stubborn of heart and strong of hand are ye both. 
 Let God decide between you, and His justice fall 
 on the assassin or assassins, if such there be." 
 
 "A most Christian wish, Fray Carreno," said Don 
 Luis, vaulting into his saddle, and bowing until his 
 long plume swept his holster cases. But, as he 
 turned aw T ay, a slight tremor of his compressed lips 
 told that even his strong self-repression had been 
 shaken by the ordeal through which he had passed. 
 
 Yet before his barb had curvetted and caracolled 
 a mile, the old debonair carriage was again re 
 sumed, and an evil smile played around the sensuous 
 mouth and passionate eyes. "Forewarned is fore 
 armed they say, and having avoided one duel a 
 Foutr<ance, I should take shame were I not to end at 
 once and for ever all fear of a second. I must give 
 up all hope of a friendly alliance it is true, but if 
 the Senorita is once in my power, and fatherless," 
 and he rode on, plotting how best to win by force, 
 what he had failed to secure through fairer means. 
 
 "When go you to Boca Chica?" asked Fray Car- 
 reno, as the gay mantle of the chevalier was lost 
 to view amid the verdure of the cocoas. 
 
 "In a few days at most; that is, as soon as the 
 Senor Hay is able to accompany us," replied Oliva- 
 rez. 
 
 "Go to-night," said the priest, meaningly, "or to 
 morrow night at farthest. I myself will get you a 
 pass, and furnish you with a letter to a friend who 
 has a bujio on the Isle of Varu. You can carry the 
 sick man in a litter, and if aught should occur here, 
 
A L outrance 451 
 
 I will see that the Senorita Inez is guarded against 
 all danger." 
 
 "You are right. I will give orders that the great 
 canoe be made ready, and we will start in the even 
 ing, with the first of the land breeze. It will not be 
 hard to disinter poor Carlos and be back by night, 
 as we shall have a fair wind until then. Fear not 
 that I shall not have full protection here. With 
 gold and steel, I might almost defy the wrath of the 
 viceroy himself." 
 
 "Ah, Don Olivarez, trust not too much in thine 
 own strength or the friendship of man ; and remem 
 ber that if the serpent is weak of body, his stroke is 
 sure and his bite fatal. Truly, I fear me that thou 
 wilt yet find this young Spaniard too strong and 
 dangerous an adversary to be despised." 
 
 "God grant it!" cried Herrera, gaily. "I hope 
 well that we may end all debate by sure bullet or 
 sharp steel; but if he is guilty, and Don Olivarez 
 fail, he shall not escape the vengeance of Martinez 
 de Herrera." 
 
Chapter XXXII. 
 
 Acliarne 
 
 But even Olivarez could not fathom the quick 
 revulsion from sordid love to bitter hate, from quiet 
 security to malignant fear, from well-conceived 
 policy to the fevered thirst of revenge which filled 
 the heart of Don Luis de Kamon, as he urged his 
 light barb up the wooded slopes toward his quarters 
 at San Lazaro. 
 
 An hour later, fully armed, and seated on a strong 
 charger, he issued from the fortress and rode into 
 the city, having announced to his comrades that he 
 should not return until the following day, or per 
 haps even later. 
 
 That evening, after Felix the Biscayan had led 
 out his volunteer guard for the night, Olivarez and 
 Herrera sat in the porter s lodge, listening to 
 the storm without; for it was now in the height of 
 the rainy season, and heavy torrents of rain rattled 
 upon the slated roof, and almost incessant sheets of 
 lightning followed by terrific rolling bursts of thun 
 der, made conversation nearly impossible. 
 
 Suddenly, in the interval between two severe 
 flashes, the gate-bell jangled fiercely, and the porter, 
 going into the covered archway, let in through the 
 wicket-gate an inmate of the hospital, drenched to 
 the skin, and panting with fear and exertion. 
 
 A woman without beauty, a maiden old before 
 her time, clad in a beggar s rags and carrying the 
 
Acharne 453 
 
 mendicant s alms-bag; possessed of life and energy, 
 yet more horrible to view than the dying or the dead 
 such was the person who now knelt at the feet of 
 Don Olivarez. 
 
 "What is it, Maria? and what hath brought thee 
 from the city at such an hour as this? Surely, 
 though shut out from the city, the empty ware 
 houses of Xexemani had sheltered thee, as oft be 
 fore. Yet say on; I will hear, and, if I may, help 
 thee." 
 
 "I want no help," said the newcomer, in an al 
 most indistinguishable, muffled tone; "but I know 
 that if something be not done to help her, the Dona 
 Inez will find herself in perilous straits." 
 
 "The Dona Inez? What meanest thou? For 
 heaven s sake, speak quickly," began Herrera; 
 but Olivarez, who better knew the character of the 
 messenger, placed his finger on his lips and said 
 quietly: "What hast heard or seen, Maria?" 
 
 "I did go to the warehouses," said she promptly, 
 "and went to sleep in a great barrel, such as they 
 bring the leaves of tobacco in from Cuba, but in 
 came a lot of sailors with lanterns, and by and by 
 the handsome colonel of the great fort of San Laza- 
 ro. He looked about a little, but did not see me, 
 and I lay still and looked through a knot hole in a 
 stave. Then they began to talk of killing heretics 
 and burning houses ; but the senorita was to be car 
 ried off to the mountains, for Ferdinand Balthazar, 
 who was outlawed until the siege, was there, too, 
 with several of his guerritieros" 
 
 "When wall they come?" asked Olivarez quietly. 
 
454 Cartagena 
 
 "When the rain is over, if it clears to-night, for the 
 colonel said They go to-morrow to Boca Chica, and 
 besides, they will not look for us in such weather as 
 this. " 
 
 "How did you get out to come here?" 
 
 "They were some of them wet, and made a fire in 
 the next warehouse to dry their clothes, and at last 
 all went in there and I was alone." 
 
 "The sky is clearing, Don Olivarez," said the old 
 porter, as he again entered and placed upon the 
 table the wine and bread he was instructed to pro 
 vide for the watch. "Will you not take a little of 
 this kid yourself, Senor? Tis a fine animal and 
 deliciously basted and browned." 
 
 "I care not for meat at such a time as this, yet, 
 Don Herrera, before we part to gather the rest of 
 the men, I will drink one toast with thee. I may 
 not wish thee a speedy death, even in battle; yet, 
 were it not that I still must watch over my Inez, I 
 would gladly believe that, in a few hours at least, 
 my hopeless life might be over." 
 
 "I, at least," said Herrera, "have no doubts. Fill 
 high, Don Olivarez, and drink to my toast. To the 
 despised, a death sw r ord in hand; to the hand red 
 with the leper s blood, a leper s fate." 
 
 Solemnly yet hurriedly the toast was pledged, 
 and, leaving the half insane woman at the table, 
 Olivarez and Herrera hastened to gather their men 
 and collected them in the gateway, sending out one 
 of the number to seek out the Biscayan and warn 
 him of the approaching danger. 
 
 Felix had, as usual, bestowed his men in certain 
 
Acharu 455 
 
 cattle sheds and other places of shelter, where, se 
 cure from the rain and rendered somnolent by the 
 din of the elements, they had all fallen asleep, inso 
 much that long before the messenger had finished 
 his story, and the ci dcvant privateer had got his men 
 all together and ready to take post around the cot 
 tage, they heard the deep baying of the hounds, fol 
 lowed by several pistol shots, the clash of steel and 
 sounds like those of a throttled dog and a man in 
 mortal agony. 
 
 The Biscayan did not hesitate, but crying out to 
 his associates rushed toward the cottage, and broke 
 into the road, just as a sharp volley rattled from the 
 windows of the besieged mansion. 
 
 Ferdinand Balthazar had been first to clear the 
 gateway, and Bravo, the largest of the bloodhounds, 
 seized him by the throat and bore him to the ground, 
 despite the efforts of his comrades, who rained cuts 
 upon his clenched jaws and discharged pistol after 
 pistol into his huge body. He, indeed, soon lay as 
 if dead, but so did Balthazar; and before the bloody 
 jaws could be unclasped from their deadly hold, the 
 other three hounds were loosed from the stables 
 and rushed upon the assailants, while the major- 
 domo and his fellow servants threw in the fire of 
 their muskets and pistols from the upper rooms, as 
 we have said. 
 
 The terrible and unyielding assault of the dogs, 
 whose headlong courage knew only to attack, did 
 more to delay and hinder the assailants than the ef 
 fect of the f usilade ; and when Felix appeared upon 
 the scene only a confused group of fighting men and 
 
456 Cartagena 
 
 dogs was visible, and thinking himself fully able to 
 cope with a party not exceeding his own he rushed 
 towards the gate, raising as a war cry the shout 
 of "San Lazaro." 
 
 But from a small copse nearly opposite the house, 
 a volley issued, almost blinding the few uninjured 
 by its missiles, so close were the muzzles of the pis 
 tols to the bodies of the victims; but, though the 
 Biscayan staggered and put his hand to his breast, 
 he turned like a wounded lion, and was soon cross 
 ing swords with the reserve of the attacking force, 
 a dozen men at least, all of whom were masked, but 
 evidently of the naval force, left without vessels by 
 the success of the English fleet. 
 
 Two desperate cuts disposed of his foremost an 
 tagonists, but a third opponent, who was singularly 
 silent of demeanor, made a single lunge with a long 
 basket-hilted rapier, and, without a word, the ex- 
 privateersman met the death for which he had 
 longed ever since the first fatal plague spot had shut 
 him out from human companionship. His slayer 
 uttered a single ejaculation of disgust as the hot 
 blood covered his hand and soiled the shell of his 
 rapier, but he issued with his men from their am 
 bush and hastened to join the attacking party at 
 the house. 
 
 There the dogs had at last been silenced, but not 
 before several men had been disabled by their fangs 
 and as many more had fallen by the fire from the 
 windows; but the survivors seemed maddened with 
 liquor and the lust of blood, and, at the direction 
 of their leader, tore from the palisade a heavy plank, 
 
AchariHS 457 
 
 to be used as a battering ram against the iron bars 
 of the windows and the barred and bolted doors of 
 the cottage. 
 
 "Forward, forward, comrades! Death to traitors 
 and heretics! Twenty reals for the fair Inez, and 
 ten for the head of the Englishman," cried the 
 masked leader, as he hurriedly directed his men to 
 remove their fallen comrades from the narrow path, 
 and prepare for a rush against the iron-studded por 
 tal. 
 
 With shouts of "Mueran los hercticos!" and cries 
 in which obscenity and hate were strangely blended, 
 the wounded were hastily dragged into the cover of 
 the garden shrubbery, and the improvised battering 
 rani made ready for the assault. The leader placed 
 himself a little to one side of the paved way, and as 
 he did so, a volley from the windows swept his som 
 brero from his head and cut down the leading file. 
 
 "Anda! Anda!" he cried, savagely; but at this mo 
 ment a dull, heavy clang broke upon the midnight 
 air, as the great bell of the hospital called for as 
 sistance from the garrison of the city. 
 
 "Perdition!" hissed the masked leader, fiercely. 
 "We shall fail after all. Hola, Andreas! Let the 
 dead lie; waste no more time over them. Up with 
 the beam and break in yonder door. Slay the men 
 save the women. There is silver and gold enough 
 for you all, and it is yours for the taking." 
 
 With a yell, the ruffians raised the heavy log and 
 rushed headlong toward the door, this time without 
 receiving a discharge from the windows, which 
 seemed deserted. The ram struck the door fairly in 
 
458 Cartagena 
 
 the centre and dashed out a small panel like a 
 wicket, revealing the fact that it was really an iron 
 grating filled in with precious woods. 
 
 As they recoiled for a second rush a pistol was 
 fired through the aperture, and another man went to 
 the rear with a broken arm; but again and again 
 the blows were repeated, until half of the filled in 
 wood had been torn away, and from the patio y or cen 
 tral vestibule, pistol and musket flashed angrily as 
 the maddened horde again and again surged up 
 against the ironwork. 
 
 Suddenly their leader, for the first time, gave his 
 own strength to the task, taking the place of a dis 
 abled sailor, and directing the blow of the ram up 
 on the hinges of the grating. At the first stroke 
 they yielded; a second left the lower valve broken 
 and awry, and at the third the door was forced in 
 ward, bringing up upon three stout pillars, but leav 
 ing a narrow aperture through which a single man 
 might pass. 
 
 Dropping their useless burden, the ruffians drew 
 their cutlasses and knives and attempted to force 
 their way in, but the first, as he passed into the 
 vestibule, now strangely silent, fell without a groan 
 under a tremendous blow, dealt by some person of 
 whom nothing could t>e seen in the darkness ; and 
 with half stifled curses his comrades drew back, re 
 fusing to expose themselves to certain destruction, 
 and a fierce cry of "Fuego! Fuego!" rose upon the 
 night. 
 
 Evidently this contingency had not been unfor- 
 seen, for at the word a general rush was made for 
 
A char ii(3 459 
 
 the road, and returning one by one, each man laid 
 against the door a prepared fagot, and the last, as he 
 turned to go, discharged a pistol into the mass. A 
 cloud of smoke and intensely hot flame followed, 
 and though the incendiary was wounded, and sev 
 eral buckets of water were dashed through the 
 broken door, the central part of the mass seemed 
 too combustible to yield, and the fumes evolved 
 made it impossible for the defenders to stay longer 
 in the patio. 
 
 By the light of the flames, several persons were 
 seen to disappear from their several posts of van 
 tage, the last being a tall and emaciated man, who 
 carried in his hands a woodman s axe; but though it 
 was evident that the cottage was doomed, and the 
 inner fittings were soon blazing fiercely, the tri 
 umph of the marauders was of short duration. 
 
 Suddenly from either flank of the cottage, two 
 parties advancing from behind it, poured in a with 
 ering fire, and with the utmost fury sprang upon 
 the marauding party, who, nevertheless, for a mo 
 ment, stood to their arms stoutly, as if in disdain of 
 even double their number of undisciplined antago 
 nists. But when the newcomers issued into the 
 full glare of the flames, led by Olivarez and 
 Herrera, the boldest recoiled at the terrible aspect 
 of men whose angry eyes shone from faces no longer 
 human, but rather like the frightful creations with 
 which the artists of that day filled their efforts to 
 illustrate the abode of lost souls. 
 
 "Los dcmonios! los dcmonios T they cried, long be 
 fore the breathless rescuers could come within 
 
460 Cartagena 
 
 sword reach, and only the leader stopped for a mo 
 ment and exchanged a few thrusts with Martinez de 
 Herrera, who led his friends by some distance. 
 
 "Die, fool !" was the only word uttered by the un 
 known, as with fatal skill he sent the rapier of the 
 unfortunate youth a dozen feet into the air, and 
 with the succeeding thrust felt the hilt of his sword 
 strike against the breast bone of his victim. With 
 a terrible cry Herrera grasped with a death clutch 
 the delicate basket hilt of inlaid steel, so that, de 
 spite his efforts, the victor was obliged to leave his 
 weapon in the body of the dying man ; and, five min 
 utes later, Olivarez and his following stood alone 
 with the dead around them, and the friends they 
 had rescued were on their way to the shelter of the 
 great Sinu hulk or piroga, where alone they could 
 find fitting refuge. 
 
 Over Herrera Olivarez bent in tears; the last 
 rites for the dying had been performed by Fray 
 Carreno, and the youth, though near his end, could 
 still articulate his last wishes. "I have but one 
 more wish," he whispered feebly; "let me see the 
 Dona Inez, and hear her voice once more ere the 
 sword is withdrawn." 
 
 At a word from Olivarez, his daughter turned 
 back from following the slaves and litter to the 
 canoe, and was told of the wish of the dying man. 
 She was trembling with emotion, but at her waist 
 were a brace of tiny pistols, her taper fingers still 
 showed the traces of the burnt priming, and she 
 hesitated not at that supreme moment, to speak fit 
 tingly to one who had willingly sought death for her 
 
A charm* 401 
 
 "Martinez de Herrera," said she, softly, "you have 
 ever been to me a true Mend, and had not God for 
 some reason come between us, I could have hoped 
 for the love of no truer cavalier in all the cities of 
 the Spanish Main. I can now give thee nothing but 
 weak thanks, the promise of my prayers in life and 
 death, and this sign of the kiss, with w r hich I hope 
 hereafter to greet thee in Paradise." 
 
 As she said this she kissed the tips of her fingers, 
 and would have laid it upon his forehead, but the 
 priest interposed his crucifix, and the dying man 
 himself repulsed her by a sign, though his eye 
 flashed with a brighter light, and a faint flush came 
 back to his paling cheek. 
 
 "It is enough," he said, more firmly than before. 
 "I thank you for your great favor to one who deems 
 himself fortunate . Alas! I can bear the pain no 
 longer. Don Kamon has my blood on his hands. 
 Draw out his rapier. In manos tuos Domine " but 
 ere the blade was withdrawn he was dead. 
 
 "There needs no further proof of Don Ramon s 
 villainy, and he shall answer it before the viceroy at 
 once," said Olivarez, hotly. 
 
 "Who will prefer the charge against him," said 
 Fray Carreno, quietly. 
 
 "I, of course," said Olivarez, in some surprise 
 at the question. 
 
 The priest took his friend aside. "It were better 
 not, believe me, Senor Olivarez, for Don Ramon is 
 nearly related to the viceroy, and thou art an out 
 cast, though rich and generous. Moreover, there 
 are those of the Holy Office, who would gladly see 
 
462 Cartagena 
 
 thy wealth in the coffers of the church; and there 
 are no want of those who whisper that thou art at 
 heart an heretic and an enemy." 
 
 In spite of his tried nerves Olivarez felt his blood 
 run chill, for he had seen only too much of this ter 
 rible pow r er which the simply clad Jesuits could still 
 exercise; though no one had actually expiated here 
 sy by a public auto da fe for many years. At last he 
 broke the silence. 
 
 "You are wiser than I, Fray Carreno. What shall 
 I do in this new strait?" 
 
 "Bid adieu to us here. Take thy gold and arms, 
 thy servants and the stranger thou hast sheltered. 
 The ocean is wide, the wilderness is trackless, and in 
 other lands thou mayst find the rest which even here 
 is denied thee." 
 
 "And Don Kamon?" said Olivarez, with hardly 
 restrained ferocity. 
 
 "Leave him to the justice of God. If, indeed, this 
 is his rapier, and a single drop of our poor comrade s 
 blood has mingled with his, then even you can wish 
 him no more horrible fate than too surely awaits 
 him. The shafts of the Caribs are less surely fatal, 
 than the poisoned blood of the children of San La- 
 zaro." 
 
 "Enough! I will do as you have said. Let us 
 gather up our dead and help the wounded. I have 
 already given you directions as to what is to be 
 done, for those who risked life and limb for me and 
 mine. Let all be done, as if I had fallen in the fight. 
 Farewell, gallant Martinez! farewell, brave Felix! I 
 may weep my own loss of true comrades in misfor- 
 
Acharne 463 
 
 tune, but not the death ye have died. Better to die 
 thus than to linger out in pain and decay, until the 
 brain yields and the body becomes a living tomb. 
 God grant such a death as yours to me." 
 
 "It would be no miracle if thy prayers were soon 
 answered, comrade," said the priest, grimly. "Tell 
 no one thy course; avoid the routes of trade; hasten 
 to bid us adieu if thou art wise." 
 
Chapter XXXIII. 
 In the Wilderness 
 
 In a few hours the needed preparations were 
 made, and, with a small crew of her own servants, 
 and a swift canoe, less roomy than the heavy Sinu 
 hulk which had at first been prepared ; the Senorita 
 Inez, with her maid, and Stephen, still weak from 
 the desperate defence of the grated door, pushed off 
 from the landing, and paddled through narrow chan 
 nels, over reedy shallows, and among island patches 
 of mangrove, toward the western shore of the great 
 Bay of Cartagena. 
 
 Don Olivarez followed, an hour later, alone, in a 
 small canoe of exceeding speed and lightness, com 
 ing up with the party just after they had passed 
 through the narrow strait at Texar de Gracias, and 
 with them turned up a deep lagoon, which, some 
 four leagues from Cartagena, is lost amid the foli 
 age of an almost impervious forest. 
 
 The heavy mists were rising with the first coming 
 of day, and it was difficult to discern plainly the na 
 ture of the scenery on either hand; but Olivarez, 
 with long, powerful strokes, led the way in his light 
 Balsa, and the others followed silently enough, for 
 Inez was almost stupefied with grief, sorrow and 
 weariness, and the slaves were worn out with the 
 night s perils and labors. 
 
 Suddenly Olivarez turned at right angles to 
 their former course, and, calling to the major- 
 
In the Wilderness 405 
 
 domo to follow, swept his canoe strongly against 
 what seemed a wall of foliage, and, depress 
 ing his head, pierced through the interlacing 
 branches, and, the larger canoe closely following, 
 entered a narrow channel, which, from a deep and 
 motionless pool, soon became a stream of considera 
 ble swiftness, whose ascent was quickly barred by 
 an abrupt fall, above which the stream was broken 
 by unnavigable rapids. Here dwelt a peasant, who, 
 at the command of Olivarez, saddled half a score of 
 mules, on which the few articles of baggage carried 
 by the party were packed; after which the canoes 
 were dragged into the recesses of a thorny chappa- 
 ral, and hidden under a mass of lianas and passion 
 flowers. 
 
 Then, taking a path leading nearly southeast, Oli 
 varez led the way by a path known only to the hun 
 ter and roving India Bravo, toward the great river 
 Magdalena, by way of which he hoped at the close of 
 the rainy season to penetrate to the great city of 
 Popoyan, and crossing the mountains to take ship 
 for Spain or France. 
 
 For the present he hoped to avoid the search 
 which he knew Don Ramon would at once initiate, 
 and pursue with all the untiring malignity of his 
 nature ; for, with the rainy season now nearly at its 
 height, travel was almost impossible and almost 
 certainly fatal to a person unacclimated and weak 
 ened by disease, or to a young girl unused to such 
 hardship and severe exposure. 
 
 When fairly among the hills a small stream was 
 reached, which, crossing the path, presented in sum- 
 
466 Cartagena 
 
 nier only a slender rivulet flowing over golden sands 
 or beds of small, round pebbles, at times scarcely 
 moist with the scanty flow. Now it was a turbid 
 and brawling brook, in w r hich the lower branches of 
 the fringing shrubbery were covered by the swollen 
 torrent; and no one would ever dream that this safe, 
 and in former days often traveled path, covered 
 knee deep by the heavy rains, led to a place of safety 
 in the ravines of the low range. 
 
 Turning the head of his mule up stream, Olivarez 
 led the way for a mile at least until the forest cov 
 ered gulch ended in a cul-de-sac, into which, over an 
 overhanging cliff full fifty feet in height, the upper 
 springs sent their flow in a shimmering veil into a 
 foaming pool below, cut by the action of the water 
 from a solid ledge of sienite, upon whose shelving 
 border the mules, one by one, emerged. Dismount 
 ing, Olivarez led the way toward the fall, and visi 
 ble through the falling waters was seen to partially 
 ascend the cliff and disappear. A few moments 
 after he returned, and motioning the party to follow 
 led them to their novel place of refuge. 
 
 It was merely a cavern in the rock, probably the 
 creation of some earthquake or other convulsion of 
 nature; for the fragments torn from the overhang 
 ing cliff had formed an ascent to its mouth, and both 
 cavern and incline had been greatly improved by 
 the hands of former visitors. 
 
 The cavity, equal in size to a room of sixteen 
 feet square, had had its irregular bottom built 
 up to a perfect level and floored with dry sand, and 
 the mouth, closed by a wall of hewed planking, had 
 
In the Wilderness 467 
 
 both door and windows; while within, certain 
 empty barrels, boxes and wornout tools hinted at 
 once to the initiated, that the headquarters of a gang 
 of smugglers had undoubtedly been held here at no 
 distant period. 
 
 Hastily the lading of the mules was brought 
 inside; for the sky, long threatening, was suddenly 
 overcast, and a tremendous thunder storm soon fol 
 lowed. The lightning was almost incessant, the 
 rain fell in such torrents that the fall of water be 
 fore the entrance became almost a solid greenish 
 wall, and the thunder, reverberating amid the 
 gorges, put to shame in its terrible fury the heaviest 
 bombardment of the siege. 
 
 Nevertheless, candles were produced and lighted, 
 and by their feeble illumination the debris left by 
 former occupants was cleared out, and heavy 
 screens, stretched from massive rings already set 
 in the rocks, divided off the rear end of the cavern 
 into an apartment for Inez and her little maid. 
 Hammocks were slung for the others, and the horse 
 litter in which Hay had been borne hither placed 
 in the cheeriest nook of a place at the best dungeon- 
 like and gloomy, but in all other respects comfort 
 able, and as Olivarez grimly remarked to his as 
 sistant, the old peasant accessible but by one path, 
 and that narrow, steep and easily held against at 
 tack. 
 
 "Many a gallant carouse we have had herein," 
 said the old man, with a strange heartiness and 
 boldness of manner, "and great gain have certain 
 merchants of Cartagena, some of them dead long 
 
4G8 Cartagena 
 
 ago, received from the trade in English cottons, 
 hardware, powder and spirits, stored here and sent 
 by night to the city when wanted." 
 
 "Few there be now living, honest Sanchez," re 
 plied the fugitive, "who know of the whereabouts 
 of this place of refuge, for most of our companions 
 have long since passed from the ranks of the Breth 
 ren of the Coast. Nevertheless, I hope thou hast 
 kept thine oath, and the secret of the cave." 
 
 Sanchez hesitated an instant, but quickly re 
 sponded: "There is but one who knows of this 
 place, and he by no fault of mine, though for the 
 sake of poor Juanita, my only daughter, I could not 
 bring myself to slay the discoverer of the secret; 
 and all the more that I dreamed not that it would 
 ever be used again." 
 
 "God forbid that the dread and cruel compact 
 should be of force sufficient to compass an useless 
 murder," cried Olivarez, "but who has found out 
 the existence of a place, for so many years known 
 only to our old band?" 
 
 "Ferdinand Balthazar, a nephew of mine, the 
 most fearless hunter of these mountains, followed 
 to this glen a wounded tiger whose shoulder he had 
 broken with a bullet. He told me of his discovery, 
 and promised to keep it secret as soon as I told him 
 that I had long known of the place." 
 
 "And this Balthazar? Where is he now?" asked 
 Olivarez, with evident uneasiness. 
 
 "He led to the defence of Cartagena a small com 
 pany of hunters, three of them being his own broth 
 ers. We have heard but little from him except that 
 
In the Wilderness 469 
 
 he lost a brother in scouting, and has sworn deadly 
 vengeance on all Englishmen. It is not likely that 
 he will seek these woods, however, until the little 
 summer of St. John." 
 
 "Well, Sanchez, it may not matter, but I wish he 
 had never known of the cave. Hasten home now 
 that the storm is over, and when the great canoe 
 comes to-night, keep her in the outer lagoon and let 
 no man follow you or your mules in bringing her 
 lading hither. Get us up the food, coal and braziers 
 first, and afterward the other articles. And hear 
 me! I must not stay here with the others. Does 
 the old guard hut still stand at the bend of the 
 stream?" 
 
 "No, Senor, it rotted down a year or more ago, 
 and you must trust to double canvas ; for my part I 
 had far rather, than live in that underground place, 
 though, to be sure, the cave is dryer and safer in 
 anything but an earthquake." 
 
 " Twill serve our turn, Sanchez," said Olivarez, 
 wearily, "for know that this Balthazar joined in the 
 attack of which I told thee, and though he was 
 severely wounded, w r ill doubtless recover before we 
 can start up the great river. Now choose like a 
 man your part, for or against your old comrade, and 
 go in peace to aid or betray us." 
 
 For a moment Sanchez seemed to hesitate; a 
 great sadness settled in his eyes, and it seemed as if 
 his throat was parched and choking, but with an 
 effort he became again the trusted servitor and tried 
 comrade. 
 
 "Balthazar! This will be woeful news to my 
 
470 Cartagena 
 
 sweet Juanita, but the poor lad erred from desire 
 of vengeance and not lust of gold I ll be sworn. 
 However, if you say the word, he shall never again 
 set eyes on daughter of mine. For the rest I have 
 not forgotten the mutiny at Isle Vache, and how 
 you saved my life when well-nigh sped. May " 
 but the deep voice of Olivarez cut short the intended 
 oath. 
 
 "Let be, old shipmate! Oaths are not needed be 
 tween comrades who have suffered, fought, aye, and 
 sinned grievously for each other. Keep well our 
 secret, warn us of danger, and thou shalt not lack 
 for gold enough to keep thee in comfort to the end." 
 
 The clouds ceased for a time to inundate the 
 earth, and Sanchez and his mules set out for home, 
 from which the next day he came with a small tent 
 and other necessaries. The tent was set near the 
 door of the cave, but hidden by a heavy growth of 
 palms, yuccas and other tropical foliage, nourished 
 by the spray of the waterfall, and overhanging the 
 further end of the broken platform under the cas 
 cade. 
 
 Here in the succeeding weeks which followed the 
 party lived in complete seclusion, in much comfort 
 and some luxury, for Sanchez almost daily sent up 
 fish, plantains, guavas, yams and other provisions; 
 and Jose , who was a Mestizo or half-blood Indian, 
 made himself a bow and arrows, and brought in 
 squirrels, parrots, iguanas and other tropical game, 
 while pulpy granadillos, papayas and other forest 
 fruits were to be had for the gathering. 
 
 To be sure there were unpleasant visitors at 
 
In the \Yilderness 471 
 
 times, such as bats, which more than once were 
 found to have entered at night and bled members 
 of the party while sleeping somewhat too soundly for 
 their good, and the hair riata stiff and rough with 
 bristly points, stretched in a semicircle before the 
 entrance, turned back more than one cascabdo and 
 several delicate but fatal coralcs from noiselessly 
 intruding during the hours of darkness. 
 
 Meanwhile, Stephen recovered his strength rapid 
 ly, and by the end of July, when the "little summer 
 of St. John brings back comparatively dry weather 
 and cool, refreshing breezes, he had regained his 
 old beauty, somewhat etherealized by his long con 
 finement, and he at length rivaled Jos6 in agility, 
 endurance and skill in hunting. His mind, indeed, 
 had never fallen back into the lethargy, from which 
 the dangers of Don Ramon s attack had roused him 
 on the night of the burning of the cottage. 
 
 From Balthazar little had been heard, except 
 that, sorely wounded, he had been taken to the hos 
 pital of San Juan de Dios, whence he sent to Juani- 
 ta many messages of love, much praise of the gra 
 cious bounty of his patron, Don Luis de Ramon, and 
 an expression of his unalterable determination to 
 hunt the traitor Don Olivarez and his heretical com- 
 panion to the death. 
 
 "Threatened folk live long, trusty Sanchez; yet 
 we were but foolish to await the wrath of so trucu 
 lent a youth. Also, I am told that our guides are 
 ready, and our boats lie even now beside the Mag- 
 dalena. Will you start with us, Sanchez? for we 
 purpose to send forward Josd and the Senor Hay, 
 
472 Cartagena 
 
 with Inez and her maid, while I follow -on with the 
 mulada." 
 
 "Gladly would I go with you to the end of the 
 world," said the old man, eagerly, "but I am old, 
 and cannot leave my children now. But beside the 
 great river I will see you safely embarked, and wave 
 you a last farewell as your canoes disappear for 
 ever." 
 
 "To-morrow, then, come up here with your mules 
 and packs, and take some one with you who can 
 help you return with the drove. The first party 
 can set out early in the day, and we later, for the 
 moon will give us light." 
 
 "Where will you end your journey?" asked San 
 chez, abruptly. 
 
 Olivarez voice sounded strangely sad as he an 
 swered: 
 
 "I go to the north, where my brother, whom once 
 you knew, awaits me. Yet, somehow, I feel as if I 
 should live and die here, where so many roving 
 adventures, strange fortunes and years of domestic 
 happiness have made life precious, until death and 
 disease left me an outcast among men. Perhaps 
 the strange drama nears its close, and the avenger 
 may even now be near, to end this strange, eventful 
 history 7 in blood." 
 
 "God and the Holy Mother forbid!" said Sanchez 
 piously. "But let us hasten; tomorrow, with the 
 first light, we will set off, and, if so be we can reach 
 the Devil s Gap, I promise you no man can overtake 
 us." 
 
 They parted; and, as the mule Sanchez rode dis- 
 
In the Wilderness 473 
 
 appeared down the now shallow rivulet, Hay and 
 Inez drew near Olivarez, who marked with pride the 
 dark beauty of the maiden and the gallant bearing 
 of her cavalier. 
 
 "We leave this cave tomorrow, Senor Hay," said 
 he pleasantly. "Have ready your weapons and be 
 ready to start by noon." 
 
 "I shall be ready, Senor," said Stephen in good 
 Spanish; "and you have no need of my assurances 
 of true comraderie and faithful service. In what 
 ever event of peril or suffering, I am yours to the 
 death." 
 
 "Xot so," said Olivarez, with a faint laugh. "You 
 must live for my daughter s sake, until in a happier 
 land she can claim an uncle s protection, and the 
 name and rank which is hers by right. Leave us, 
 Inez, I have much to say to the Senor Stephen, and 
 to-night we are at leisure. We may be too busy 
 hereafter." 
 
 "Our affairs tend toward a crisis," said Olivarez, 
 when they were alone, "and God alone knows what 
 dangers may follow our footsteps, or await us on our 
 way to the Magdalena, a good two days Journey 
 from here. It may be that I shall fall on the way. 
 Wilt thou be a true friend and protector to Inez un 
 til she is with my brother in your own land?" 
 
 "I w T ill swear it if need be," said Hay, firmly. "As 
 true as I would be to my own sister by the Bay of 
 Massachusetts." 
 
 "It is well. Now, Senor, know that the greater 
 part of my wealth is carried in diamonds on my per 
 son, in a belt, although to-night I shall take from a 
 
474 Cartagena 
 
 secret hoard, as much gold as we shall need for 
 many a year. Therefore, if I fall, or perish through 
 accident or disease, promise me to secure the belt 
 and hold it safely for the Senorita Inez. Further 
 promise me, that no friend of mine shall behold the 
 face which I have kept masked for so many years." 
 
 "I promise," said Stephen, simply. 
 
 "It is sufficient," replied Olivarez. "I shall have no 
 more fears, though vengeance tread close behind us, 
 and the dangers of the great river, savage men and 
 the whirlwinds of the paramos lie between us and 
 the cities by the western sea. Now let us sleep 
 well, for tomorrow we set out on a journey fatiguing 
 and full of perils." 
 
 But they were not to rest as they had purposed, 
 for as they turned away to retire to their several 
 shelters they heard in the bed of the stream the 
 splash of hoofs, and the hoarse, angry cries of San 
 chez as he urged forward his obstinate, but sleek 
 and powerful mules up the bed of the mountain tor 
 rent. 
 
 "Ah, Senor!" he cried, as his dripping animal 
 emergeQ on the rocky ledge, "you must fly at once. 
 Denwnios! to think that I have so barely escaped 
 from the hands of your pursuers! Madre dc Dios! 
 Twas a mere chance, but we shall escape them yet." 
 
 Taking breath, he told his story more calmly. He 
 had prudently left all but his own riding mule to 
 feed on the short, sweet grass of the foot-hills, and, 
 hobbling his own a little away from the cottage, had 
 by a devious path first sought the paddock where 
 the other animals were confined. While preparing 
 
Ill the Wilderness 475 
 
 packs and bridles for the morrow, he had heard 
 bursts of music at the house, and had seen Don 
 Ramon and Balthazar angrily silence the untimely 
 merriment. Creeping near them, he had heard 
 enough to learn that they only awaited his return, 
 to lead their companions to the attack on the cavern 
 and its inmates. 
 
 He had quietly taken his animals, by out-of-the- 
 way paths, to the place where he had left those used 
 during the day, and thought the enemy would not 
 take the alarm before midnight. 
 
 "We shall have a good three hours the start, and 
 as many leagues in distance; for they have no ani 
 mals, and I fear only the speed of the guerrillcros of 
 Balthazar. If we can reach the Gap before him, 
 we may defy even his malice ; but if he comes up be 
 fore we can cut the bridge away, may the saints 
 have his soul in their holy keeping; for were he ten 
 Balthazars, and the lover of as many daughters of 
 mine, this carabine" and he dashed the rattling 
 stock heavily on the ledge as he spoke "should end 
 his love and his treachery at once and forever." 
 
Chapter XXXIV. 
 Avenged 
 
 In haste the animals were packed and saddled, 
 and, by the time that the moon had risen, the little 
 party were ready to start, and, fording the rivulet 
 took the high road, or rather path, which led to the 
 Magdalena. Silently they passed under the shadow 
 of precipitous rocks, amid the graceful columns of 
 slender palms, whose dewy fronds seemed of silver 
 in the magical radiance; crossing narrow chasms on 
 a single roughly levelled log; hastening across sandy 
 levels, where the armored armadillo scuttled off to 
 his burrow among the ancient Indian graves; and 
 halting now and then to listen with beating hearts, 
 as some wild cry of night bird or marauding animal, 
 indistinctly heard amid the tramp of hoofs and the 
 rattle of arms and equipments, suggested the sig 
 nals of a spy or the angry shouts of a pursuing foe. 
 
 In the advance, lithe, silent, prepared, with his 
 eyes, burning with cautious apprehension and sav 
 age readiness to repulse attack, Jose , with gun in 
 hand, explored each narrow defile and dense cover 
 full fifty paces before the little knot of servants, 
 who, armed to the teeth, preceded Inez. She, too, 
 was armed, and rode an ambling mule, girdled with 
 a light rapier and carrying the tiny carbine with 
 which, in happier days, she had joined poor Carlos 
 in bringing down the gaudy parrots from the 
 branches of the guava or the hanging tendrils of the 
 
Avenged 477 
 
 granadilla. At her bridle rein rode Stephen Hay in 
 the dress of a Spanish gentleman; all his strong 
 nature stirred to its lowest depth by the haste and 
 danger of their flight, the wonderful beauty and 
 magical changes from sombre shadow to softened 
 radiance, the bravery of his comrades, the strong, 
 calm courage of his fair companion, and all else 
 which helped to deepen the passion and mystery of 
 the hour. 
 
 Sanchez, despite his years still agile and vigorous, 
 like a skilled muhtero moved silently along the line 
 of sure-footed mules, tightening a girth here, adjust 
 ing a load there, urging on the slow, quieting the 
 restive, yet all the time ready with his weapons the 
 trenchant machete upon his thigh, and short carbine 
 slung at his shoulder. 
 
 Last of all came Olivarez, clad in deep-hued gar 
 ments which showed black in the imperfect light, 
 his long rapier in hand, and the pistols of the dead 
 Carlos at his waist. The fixed features of his mask 
 seemed doubly ghastly in the moonlight, as, half a 
 gunshot behind the rest, he came into view from be 
 hind the projecting cliffs, or strode silently out of 
 the shadows of the sombre chapparal. 
 
 On the dying land breeze came to them at last a 
 sound which was not the sighing of sweeping forest 
 branches, but a hoarser murmur, mingled with a me 
 tallic tinkle like the fall of water drops ; and quick 
 ly after, far back where the trail wound among the 
 forest, followed the fierce call of a jaguar, which 
 seemed to fill the whole night, as the thunder rolls 
 across the heavens. 
 
478 Cartagena 
 
 At that dread sound, all other noises of the night 
 ceased. Even the howling monkeys, whose cries 
 afar off had come to the ear rather as a subdued 
 murmur than a hideous confusion of unearthly yell- 
 ings, were silent as death, and the melancholy wail 
 of the aye-aye, or sloth, was heard no longer. The 
 night birds ceased to call to each other; the hares 
 were no longer seen coursing across the glades; all 
 animal life had done for a time with thoughtless 
 pleasure and security, and was cowering in fear and 
 trembling, in the apprehension and presence of 
 sudden death. 
 
 "There is no fear, Senor," said Sanchez to his old 
 leader, as he lingered behind the cargo, for Olivarez 
 to come up. "He is far away, and will not attack so 
 many. He may be prowling about some Indian biv 
 ouac, or perhaps he has been disturbed by a roving 
 hunter whose path he has crossed." 
 
 "That is true, Sanchez, but the hunters are hunt 
 ers of men and the guerrilleros of Balthazar." 
 
 "By all the saints you are right, Don Olivarez, and 
 if so, half an hour will bring them upon us. Hap 
 pily the bridge of the Devil s Gap is but a short quar 
 ter league away, and if once the bridge is down we 
 are safe for a day at least." 
 
 So saying, Sanchez began to hurry up his mules, 
 and fifteen minutes later, the foremost was trem 
 blingly crossing the rude hanging bridge across the 
 gap. A stream now narrow, broken and swift, ran 
 two hundred feet below it in a dark abyss, cut into 
 the solid rock by the attrition of ages, and even now 
 at times filled from cliff to cliff by the rainfall of the 
 
Avenged 479 
 
 more stormy months. The bridge, some fifty feet in 
 length, was formed wholly of lianos or bcjucos of the 
 largest size, which, like thick, strong cables 
 stretched from cliff to cliff, supported a flooring of 
 logs lashed to the natural cables. Two other cables 
 stretched from strong posts a little higher than the 
 others, formed a rude head rail on either side, and 
 the bridge thus made vibrated and undulated fright 
 fully, as one by one the mules were led across the 
 horrid chasm. But the mules of Sanchez had crossed 
 too often to give much trouble to the old muleteer, 
 and, with their savage pursuers close at their heels, 
 even the frailest of the party cared little for the dan 
 gerous transit over the abyss. 
 
 The last mule once crossed, the men of the party 
 gathered at the bridge head, for there a stand must 
 be made until the cables were cut, and the pur 
 suers left helpless on the further side of the gap. 
 Stephen with a Spanish axe, and Sanchez with his 
 machete, cut and hacked at the sipo lashings of the 
 superstructure, and laid bare the dozen huge 
 strands, which, no longer soft and pliant, but hard 
 ened and rigid w r ith age and tension, offered an ob 
 stinate resistance to the steel and strength of both. 
 
 "There they come!" cried Inez, who had dis 
 mounted and come to the brink of the chasm, point 
 ing to a lithe, swift runner, who, issuing from the 
 forest, came dow r n the naked, sandy slope upon the 
 opposite side, unslinging as he ran the long gun at 
 his back, and followed by half a dozen men similarly 
 armed and equipped. 
 
 Stephen caught up the fair speaker as if she were 
 
480 Cartagena 
 
 a child, and placed her behind a projecting rock. 
 "Cover yourselves!" he cried to the others, "Shelter 
 yourself, Don Olivarez, for the bullets will be flying 
 soon, and one life is enough to risk in cutting the 
 bridge." 
 
 As he spoke, the foremost hunter levelled his gun 
 and fired; but the bullet, aimed in haste, flew harm 
 lessly over the heads of the party. Hay fired more 
 deliberately; and Balthazar for it was he fell at 
 the shot, but, a moment later, arose, and took shel 
 ter behind a low ridge of naked rock. From behind 
 this cover the guerrillas opened fire at long range 
 upon Hay, who, giving his piece to Jose to reload, 
 was plying his axe with renewed vigor. 
 
 The men w r ho thus sought his life were good 
 marksmen, but the light was uncertain, and so 
 quickly did the gigantic American change position, 
 as the axe rose and fell on the tough cables, that, 
 though several shots pierced his hat and clothing, 
 and one even cut a fragment from the tough handle 
 of his axe, he nevertheless saw the number of the 
 strands rapidly diminish, until the bridge hung 
 awry, and passable only for a man of the surest 
 footing and coolest head; and it was evident that 
 its own weight woul d carry it into the chasm 
 if only two or, at the most, three more lianas should 
 be severed. 
 
 At that moment, from the further woods another 
 party issued, this time of mounted men, led by Don 
 Luis de Eamon, whose vengeful shouts could plainly 
 be recognized as he spurred his steed down the slope 
 toward the concealed guerrillas. 
 
Avenged 481 
 
 "Quickly, Senor Hay! for heaven s sake, quickly!" 
 cried Sanchez, and Hay putting superhuman 
 strength into every blow struck so shrewdly that 
 but two or three were needed to sever the bejucos, 
 sorely strained with the weight of the ruined struc 
 ture. One strand slipped, severed from its fasten 
 ings; a second snapped at the third downright blow, 
 and as the third parted the remaining strands 
 wrenched from their moorings allowed the bridge 
 to crash down into the ravine. Stephen felt himself 
 hurriedly pulled under cover of a rock as Don Ra 
 mon s party, drawing up on the brink of the canyon, 
 opened fire. 
 
 By this fusilade, however, no damage was done, 
 W 7 hile Jos6 stepping forward, took deliberate aim at 
 Don Ramon, who caused his horse to rear just at the 
 moment the shot parted. The animal reared once 
 more on the very verge of the cliff, fell back on its 
 rider, and then in its death struggle rolled to the 
 brink of the chasm. There was a glimmer and clat 
 ter of steel, a flash of gold and silver, as housings 
 and saddle flap, holster and laced cloak shimmered 
 in the moonlight; then a rattle of loose shards of 
 rock, the rush of boughs swiftly parted, and a dull 
 thud which told that life had been instantly crushed 
 out by the rocky bed of the mountain stream. . A 
 night hawk screamed out of the darkness, a yell of 
 horror broke from Don Ramon s followers, and with 
 a sense of awe, which even satisfied revenge could 
 not wholly efface, Olivarez motioned to his friends 
 to mount their animals and resume their inter 
 rupted journey. But they had scarcely proceeded 
 
482 Cartagena 
 
 three hundred paces when Sanchez stamped his foot 
 impatiently, and cried "Carrai! How could we have 
 forgotten ! The side cables are not parted, and Bal 
 thazar will not be long in getting across with his 
 hunters. Let us back once more, and do our work 
 more thoroughly." 
 
 "Surely they would not dare," began Stephen in 
 amaze. 
 
 "Dare!" said Sanchez, wildly. "Why, if his foster 
 brother Antonio were there he would already be on 
 this side of the gap. Many a bridge and tarabita has 
 he made, and I have seen him myself work across 
 one of the latter, hanging by his hands, with his 
 gun slung to his shoulders and a brace of hares in 
 his pouch. Let us back for heaven s sake e er it be 
 too late." 
 
 They hastened back, and none too soon; for, as 
 Sanchez issued from the cleft of the rock, Antonio, 
 a lithe youth of twenty or thereabouts, was just 
 seating himself upon the ledge, as if wearied by the 
 perilous feat; while no less than three other hunt 
 ers, one of them Balthazar himself, were half-way 
 across, holding on by the swaying cables. Sanchez 
 raised his carbine to shoot Antonio, and the servants 
 were about to pour in a deadly volley, when Olivarez 
 stepped forward and shouted, "Hold!" 
 
 "Antonio," said he, quietly, "come hither and dis 
 arm. Hesitate, and you die! Balthazar," he con 
 tinued, to the leader of the guerrillas, who hung as 
 if paralyzed in mid-passage, "I seek not thy blood. 
 Seat thyself astride the bejucos, and listen well; 
 otherwise thou canst in no wise hope to carry thy 
 life away." 
 
Avenged 483 
 
 Antonio unslung his piece and laid it carefully 
 down upon the ledge, slipped the buckle of his broad 
 belt, where hung his hunter s knife, and, coming 
 forward, knelt at the feet of the masked leper, as if 
 to implore his brother s life; but Olivarez with a 
 wave of his hand restrained him. 
 
 "Balthazar," he continued, "why hast thou hunted 
 me in the woods, trailed me like a hound through the 
 desert, aye, and sought my daughter s life with 
 sword and fire? Have I not been your friend in 
 days past, when you were in need and friendless?" 
 
 Balthazar turned toward the speaker a face 
 cicatrized by the fangs of Bravo", and answered, 
 firmly : 
 
 "I attacked your house because you harbored a 
 foe one of the Americans whose bullets slew my 
 brother and your friend; and I sought not to slay 
 the Senorita Inez, but to restore her to her faithful 
 lover, Don Ramon. I was torn, as you see, by your 
 bloodhounds; yet I swore to follow you to the death, 
 and give your daughter to her true cavalier." 
 
 Olivarez laughed scornfully: 
 
 "Her true cavalier ! Don Ramon her lover ! Sure 
 ly, none but he could frame such dastardly fable. I 
 could almost wish he were alive, instead of lying 
 dead in the ravine below ; were it only to brand him 
 the lying murderer and would-be ravisher that he 
 is." 
 
 "He is not dead," said Balthazar sternly, "though 
 he lies yonder insensible, and with a broken thigh. 
 We thought him gone when the steed leaped into 
 the Gap, but by Our Lady s mercy he escaped with 
 
484 Cartagena 
 
 life. He hath suffered much of late in mind, for he 
 fears the leprosy, which indeed some say is already 
 fixed upon him ; and I fear he will never again be the 
 gallant cavalier he was a short six months ago." 
 
 "Sanchez!" said Olivarez, "bring quickly the 
 Dona Inez. Balthazar! Canst thou hold thy seat 
 for ten short moments more?" 
 
 "Aye, truly most noble sir," he answered with a 
 cynical sneer. "What grace wilt thou show us be 
 fore we make our last leap into the abyss?" 
 
 "What do these men want of Inez de Olivarez?" 
 asked the brave girl, so that all could hear, stepping 
 upon the ledge into the full moonlight. 
 
 "Balthazar," said Olivarez, "here is the maiden. 
 Ask her if she will stay behind me, for love of Don 
 Luis de Ramon." 
 
 "Balthazar, thou art deceived," she said. "I 
 never loved Don Ramon, and had I admired him I 
 could not now have any thought of aught but ven 
 geance on the wretch who assassinated my brother." 
 
 "It is enough," said Balthazar in a surprised tone; 
 "and with your leave I will no longer seek to serve 
 a liar, whom I would slay were he not already be 
 neath my vengeance. What say you, Don Olivarez? 
 Will you pardon us, or will you rather trust to steel 
 or bullets to secure your safety?" 
 
 "God forbid!" said Olivarez sadly. "Go in peace. 
 Return to thy men. Antonio shall follow thee, and 
 may the saints bless or curse thee as thou deservest 
 mercy." 
 
 With surprising agility, Balthazar and his men re 
 turned to their companions, who, at a word from 
 
Avenged 485 
 
 their leader, advanced to the brink unarmed. The 
 soldiers of Don Kanion followed their example, and 
 Olivarez continued: 
 
 "Antonio, take thy weapons, and return if thou 
 wilt. We must cut the cable, that no one else may 
 follow on our track." 
 
 "Not so, kind senor," cried the youth. "Let me 
 go with you and help Sanchez with the carga, for he 
 will need help on his return. I will be true and 
 faithful. Keep my arms if you will, but let me serve 
 you until the end." 
 
 "You shall go," said Olivarez kindly. "Baltha 
 zar," he continued, "is Don Ramon able to speak? 
 If so, I would have speech with him before we part." 
 
 Two soldiers, issuing from the ranks, hastened to 
 a boulder a little away, and bore the young Spaniard 
 to the border of the cliff. 
 
 "Don Ramon," said Olivarez sternly, "canst thou 
 hear and answer my last words to thee?" 
 
 Something of his old evil daring lit up the black 
 eyes of the wounded man. He motioned to his at 
 tendants to place his back against a projection of 
 the rock and retire to the ranks, and then his voice, 
 feeble indeed, but firm and unfaltering, was heard 
 across the abyss: 
 
 "Thou hast triumphed, and I have failed; thou car- 
 riest away the treasure I would have won, and leav- 
 est me to drag out an existence unblessed by love, 
 and doomed to hope no more for martial glory or 
 the Hesse of a gay cavalier. End now thy triumphs ! 
 The weapon of death is in thy hand, there is light 
 enow, and he who lies in yonder chasm, will need no 
 
486 Cartagena 
 
 emblazoned monument and can sleep as soundly as 
 in consecrated earth. Why dost thou hesitate? 
 Trust me, if I could use musket or pistol, thou 
 shouldst not long stand there in triumph." 
 
 The form of Olivarez seemed convulsed with pas 
 sion, and once his carbine was slightly lifted, as if 
 he would have fain avenged his son s death; but 
 with an effort he laid the weapon by, and, drawing 
 from his breast the fatal poinard, held it up until all 
 could see the play of the moonlight on the silvern 
 Medusa and the sullied blade. 
 
 "By this, the pledge of a fatal friendship, poor 
 Carlos perished, and with this weapon, were we both 
 hale and strong, thou shouldst die, though I were 
 forced to seek thee through every clime and land. 
 But I stand already in the shadow of a living death, 
 and thou are shut out by the hand of God from all 
 that thou hast prized and, as I well believe, hast 
 from the blood of poor Martinez de Herrera taken 
 the malady, which shall doom thee to the banish 
 ment from which thy rapier freed his gallant soul. 
 Take then thy gift. I trust to God and his saints to 
 punish. Look on this accursed steel, and repent 
 while there is yet time." 
 
 With the old skill of the days when every weapon 
 known to tropical lands had been his delight and 
 pride, Olivarez threw the dagger across the cliff and 
 drove its keen point into the turf, between the brink 
 and Don Luis, where it quivered in the light of the 
 waning moon. 
 
 With an effort which must have cost him terrible 
 pain, the wounded man dragged himself to the spot 
 
Avenged 487 
 
 and seizing the stiletto, by means of one of the posts 
 of the tarabita raised himself on one knee and brand 
 ished the weapon above his head. 
 
 "Repent?- said he, with terrible vehemence. "Fray 
 Carreno, who heard but a tithe of my adventures, 
 said that only a pilgrimage to Kome and the hand of 
 the Holy Father could shrive me of my sins. That 
 I could not now accomplish if I would, and I will not 
 go back to drag out a loathsome existence within 
 the gates of San Lazaro. I defy your vengeance and 
 laugh at your false pity. In yonder chasm, no 
 human eye shall ever behold the tomb of a leper of 
 the lineage of De Kamon." 
 
 As he ceased speaking he sheathed the fatal stil 
 etto in his own heart, and settling forward fell into 
 the chasm, which is called "The Cavalier s Leap" 
 unto this day. 
 
Chapter 
 
 Bereaved 
 
 The failure of the expedition, its terrible mor 
 tality, and above all the scarcity of reliable informa 
 tion as to who had fallen and who were left alive, 
 had filled Boston with a gloom all the deeper, for the 
 exultant outburst of triumph and loyal joy which 
 had greeted the premature announcement of the 
 capture of the Spanish stronghold and the complete 
 success^of the expedition. 
 
 Yet, though men feared the worst, the measure of 
 private grief was not yet full, because, owing to the 
 scant postal privileges of that day, the names of 
 those who had fallen in battle or died of tropical 
 plagues had, in many instances, been kept back from 
 the knowledge of friends, who awaited in terrible 
 suspense, for the joy or grief of sure knowledge of 
 the truth. 
 
 It was late in autumn that the household at 
 Ploughed Neck learned the worst, though for weeks 
 little Tempie had wondered why no letter came from 
 Stephen, and why her father prayed so earnestly for 
 the absent; while her mother s low sobbing made 
 her draw closer to her side, as they knelt at the 
 roughly finished settle, by the window which opened 
 toward the sailless sea. 
 
 It had been a day of perfect beauty. The trees were 
 loaded with apples, and the rosy fruit and many 
 hued leaves came down in showers as Lish, still hale, 
 
Bereaved 489 
 
 but less JOYOUS than of yore, lay out on the tough, 
 {sweeping boughs of the "winter greenings" and 
 other old-time apple trees, and shook down their am 
 ple harvest upon the lush rank grass below. 
 
 The bay beyond the distant sand x dunes was 
 smooth as glass, and over its broad surface myriads 
 of coots, and other sea fowl dove and swam; 
 "bedded for weeks to come, and scarcely disturbed 
 by the occasional shot, which told that some resi 
 dent hunter had tired of ordinary fare, and secured 
 half a dozen birds for a "sea pie" or "Cape stew." 
 Over the resting wild fowl, in long, straggling 
 flights, swept their numberless kindred, forming an 
 almost unbroken line of undulating pinions, from 
 the cliffs of Manomet to the last faint outline of the 
 cape curving eastward. 
 
 "The w T onien folks" were out in full force, in this 
 gathering of autumn bounty, for they loved the sweet 
 fragrance of the ripening fruits, and the light labor 
 in the mild balmy golden air, gave such days a 
 charm, but too uncommon, in the confined routine of 
 household duties of that day and generation. Be 
 sides were there not the great orange pears to be 
 gathered and divided, as were sundry trees of rare 
 apples, for though Fourier and his principles had 
 never been heard of in Ploughed Neck, there were 
 so many things held and enjoyed in commonalty, 
 that any less just and kindly people would have 
 been incessantly at law about them. 
 
 Did not every cheese in the dairy represent the 
 night and morning contributions of at least three 
 families, who in turn received their share of the 
 
400 Cartagena 
 
 lacteal fluid according to the yield of their kine? 
 Did not the cranberry bogs near the "Blackbird 
 Swamp" remain sacredly inviolate, until all in 
 terested had chosen a day to pick the rosy berries 
 and divide the crop, so that even poor lonely Aust 
 Joanna, now near the end of her life of single 
 blessedness, could have her provision of cranberry 
 pies, without any feeling but that of independent 
 ownership? Were not the boundaries of their allot 
 ments of the "Great Marsh," so neglected in the 
 lapse of time, that when the hay wagons and the 
 stout mowers appeared on their scene of labor, but 
 little could be or was done but to cut and make 
 together, and divide according to the force of men 
 and animals joined in common effort? 
 
 So Mrs. Hay moved about in the orchard, assort 
 ing the growing heaps of apples which Tempie and 
 her older sisters gathered up into gaudy Indian 
 baskets, and Margaret, glad to find an excuse to get 
 away from her labor on quince and wild grape in 
 Aunt Dorcas kitchen, was flitting from place to 
 place, too airily and nicely clad to settle down to 
 real work, yet chatting with "Aunt Tempie," rac 
 ing with Stephen s pet sister, gossiping with the 
 older girls, collecting now and then a basketful of 
 the finest fruit, and listening to Lish, who, when 
 she was by, seemed to forget tree and harvest, and if 
 one might judge by the unwonted softness and sad 
 ness of his deep tones, the memory of his brother s 
 trust and absence. 
 
 More than once the laughing girls complained of a 
 lack of fruit, and sent him half angry, half laughing, 
 
Bereaved 491 
 
 to "branches not yet denuded of their precious loads. 
 More than once Margaret turned to go, and then 
 turning to say a parting word, or make a show of 
 joining in the common labor, found herself again lis 
 tening to words, all the sweeter that they were not 
 without the feeling of concealment, the sense of un 
 worthy deceit. The forenoon drew to its close, and 
 when the sun stood overhead Mrs. Hay s gentle 
 brow was strangely stern and silent, and even lov 
 ing little Tempie somehow felt that Margaret was 
 too happy for one, wjio a few weeks before had wept 
 at the news of the great battle, and knew not yet 
 whether her darling brother was alive or. dead. 
 
 At last, however, the dinner horn was sounded 
 from the various houses, and Margaret tripped 
 lightly back to her lonely meal with aunt Dorcas, for 
 uncle Zenas was again away in the Viana sloop. Mrs. 
 Hay was last of those to leave the orchard, and Lish, 
 who had filled the largest basket with apples, pre 
 ceded her through the open bars. At them she 
 stopped, and pointed to the great pear tree heavily 
 laden with large, round, bronze russet pears, the 
 pride of the Neck and wonder of the neighborhood 
 roundabout. 
 
 "Can t you gather a basket of those pears while 
 the others are away, Lish?" she said below her 
 breath. "No one will know it, and our share will not 
 be a large one, there are so many to divide them." 
 
 Lish was fairly spellbound with astonishment. 
 What! his mother asking him to steal for her. Was 
 she going mad? or was the mother-angel he had 
 worshiped only of weak and sinful clay, as Parson 
 
492 Cartagena 
 
 Giddings had so often taught was the common lot 
 of poor humanity? 
 
 "Why, mother! You don t inean it," was all he 
 could say, for, looking up, he saw that her eyes were 
 full of a bitter sorrow. 
 
 "I know, Lish," she said, at length, "that you 
 would not steal even to please your mother, even, 
 alas ! if she were so weak as to yield to the wiles of 
 the tempter. But, Lish, you are tempted and are 
 weak, aye yielding to a temptation which can only 
 end in sin blacker than theft an unworthy of a man. 
 Don t think, dear Lish," she went on, brokenly, "that 
 I don t pity you and and her; for I know how 
 bright the heavens are, how fair and lovely the earth 
 is, when we are young an loving an loved. But he 
 is hers and she his until he comes to release her or is 
 dead; and you, of all men, should be just and stain 
 less yes, even if the will swerves and the heart is 
 broken." 
 
 Lish grew strangely pale. A terrible agony seemed 
 almost to stop his breath; and though his eyes were 
 dry and bright, his mother knew that the tears that 
 relieved her sorrow, could not flow to soothe his 
 pain. He bent quickly and kissed her tenderly, as 
 she leaned, half -fainting, on his shoulder, and at last 
 he found words to allay her fears : 
 
 "Don t be afraid, mother. I ve done wrong, I 
 know, and I won t deceive you. I love Margaret, 
 and can t bear to give her up. That was why I 
 wanted to go to the war ; that was why I came back 
 when the Cape Cod men were disbanded; that is 
 why I can t help listening to her voice, though I feel 
 
Bereaved 493 
 
 mean and guilty all the time. I must go away, 
 mother. They want more men for Jamaica, and next 
 week I ll go on in the sloop and enlist; for I shall 
 go mad if I stay here." 
 
 "Don t be hasty, my son," she said, softly. "I fear 
 that I never shall see Stephen again, and I can t bear 
 to lose you too. Endure unto the end, Lish; and 
 don t think I speak lightly, for there are few even of 
 us who seem old and passionless and without temp 
 tation, but still feel the scars of old trials that burn 
 and torture even to this day. Don t run from the 
 test. Don t throw life away because you are disap 
 pointed ; if you do right, all will be well." 
 
 "I will, mother," said Lish simply, and they went 
 on to the weather-beaten farmhouse and left their 
 burdens on the short grass, where the sun s rays lay 
 nearly all day long, before the southern window. 
 
 "There s a sail way off there," said Joshua, the 
 eldest brother, as they neared the door which faced 
 the well and its lofty sweep. "I reckon tis the Vi- 
 ana, but they ll not get in tonight unless there s 
 more wind than there is now." 
 
 All crowded to the windows and the door, for the 
 coming of the sloop was at all times an event; and 
 now more than ever their interest and hopes and 
 fears centered on their main means of communica 
 tion with the great outer world, typified to them by 
 the growing seaport of Boston. 
 
 Deacon Hay took down the long canvas-covered 
 ship s glass from above the door, and wiping the 
 glasses and his own failing eyes, looked long and 
 steadfastly at the distant sail, which lay like a white 
 speck far off on the horizon. 
 
494 Cartagena 
 
 " Tis the sloop," he said at last, "for the new half 
 of her mainsail is nearest the gaff, an the upper 
 part of yonder sail is whiter than the rest. But come 
 in to meat. Let us bless God for his mercies, an 
 await such tidings as he pleases to send us." 
 
 As they returned to the orchard those interested 
 in the division of the fruit joined them, until nearly 
 twenty young and old were present, and one by one 
 the apple trees were despoiled, their fruit assorted 
 into good and refuse, and last of all with chairs and 
 ladders the great pear tree was assailed. The yield 
 was greater than was wont, and much of the fruit 
 near to ripeness, had to be gathered carefully and 
 placed one by one in the baskets to prevent bruising, 
 so that supper was over and it was nearly nightfall 
 before the fruit was all gathered; and Deacon Hay 
 and the other men had finished their milking and 
 came to join in the final process of division. 
 
 The smaller portions had been liberally set aside, 
 and now it remained for those who owned in the 
 land to divide the rest equally. With a solemnity 
 unusual even in him, Deacon Hay carefully meas 
 ured the heap into four portions, and then turning to 
 the rest proposed that Margaret should be .blind 
 folded, and set out by lot the part of each claimant. 
 
 Margaret laughingly consented, but as her eyes 
 were about to be covered, said as she named those 
 present: "There are only three men here, and why 
 have you made four portions?" 
 
 "You forget," said Tempie, softly, "there were al 
 ways four parts, ever since poor grandpa left his 
 share to dear brother Stephie." 
 
Bereaved 495 
 
 Out of the growing shadow of the trees which 
 overhung the edge of the open plot, in the centre of 
 the orchard, came two men, one old, weatherbeaten 
 and grayhaired, convulsed with sobs; the other, 
 dark browed, straight limbed, with one arm tightly 
 looped to his breast, and strangely silent 
 
 "There need be but three lots this ya r" cried uncle 
 Zenas, hoarsely, "for the boy ll never ll come back to 
 claim his share of thet or any other earthly blessin ." 
 
 Black Bill, or as we have preferred to call him, 
 Untequit, stepped into the growing moonlight, and 
 with his old deference removed his hat and greeted 
 his old protector. 
 
 "Master," said he, "I have come back alone. The 
 Master of Life has taken the brave and the good 
 unto himself." 
 
 There w r ere no swoonings, no shrieks of unbound 
 ed grief, though Margaret burst into passionate 
 sobs and no eyes were destitute of fitting tears. It 
 was not the wont of the people of those stern and 
 trying days, to mourn weakly and uselessly when the 
 chastisement of the Father fell heavily upon them. 
 But, as Deacon Hay turned as if to seek the solitude 
 of his stricken house, his cousin Alvah, a man of 
 unusually stern and unmoved countenance, made a 
 characteristic proposition. 
 
 "Choose your two shar s," said he, "an we will 
 see them taken in, fer tis no time to draw lots, an 
 yet the fruit would spile, mayhap, ef we left it out 
 tonight. An ef ," and he hesitated, "there s anythin 
 else we could do 
 
 The deacon rung his hand with a pressure which 
 
496 Cartagena 
 
 told better than words, how he recognized the loy 
 alty and sympathy so roughly expressed. Let the 
 world say what it will of New England coldness, 
 there is no truer, firmer support the world over for 
 man or cause, than that of the men of the true old 
 New England blood and breeding, be it on land or 
 sea, in storm or battle, in political, religious, moral 
 or social troubles. 
 
 The blow had fallen, antl Untequit, following the 
 sorrowing assemblage into the kitchen, seated him 
 self, and saw the others silently weeping or busy 
 with bitter and regretful thoughts. At last, how 
 ever, Deacon Hay arose, lit a candle, and drew forth 
 his spectacles, and little Tempie, scarcely seeing 
 through her tears, brought him the Bible, as was 
 her wont, and tremblingly imprinted a kiss on his 
 roughened hands. He caught her to his breast a 
 moment and let fall a kiss on her pale, upturned 
 brow T , then turned to Untequit. 
 
 "How did he die? 1 he asked, briefly. 
 
 "Leading the men to the attack; slain by a cannon 
 shot just as he was about to burst in the gates." 
 
 "Are you sure he was dead?" continued the 
 deacon. 
 
 "Would I have been here if he had lived, even 
 though a prisoner?" said the Indian reproachfully. 
 
 "It is well," said Hay, after a moment s pause. "He 
 died like a man, and I trust like a Christian soldier. 
 Let us seek consolation in the word of God." 
 
 He read fittingly, from the grand and mournful 
 passages with w T hich the book of Job abounds, and 
 then kneeled to wrestle in prayer for grace to sup- 
 
Bereaved 497 
 
 port the blow so long feared, which had come at 
 last. For the speaker there could be no solace, no 
 hope in prayer for those passed beyond this mortal 
 life, but there was a strangely triumphant ring in 
 his concluding words: 
 
 "And now, O Lord, we thank thee, that even in 
 our sorrow w r e have faith in an assured salvation for 
 him who hath passed away, and that he having been 
 a true and obedient son, a just man, a loyal soldier, 
 and an humble believer in the saving merits of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, we may look forward to meet 
 with him in heavenly mansions, to go no more out, 
 but to dwell together in life everlasting. Amen !" 
 
 The next day Untequit returned to his old duties, 
 first stipulating that he should be permitted to carry 
 to old Molly Pognet the account of his meeting with 
 the bandit and exiled chieftain, Caneotus; but ere 
 he went, poor little Tempie met him as he stood 
 sorrowfully by the bars, and asked many questions 
 of her lost brother. He told her all that was fitting, 
 and she heard the sad, yet stirring story, quietly, 
 and after a pause uttered a strange saying, such as 
 ordinarily is never heard from childish lips, "He 
 is gone and the leaves are going, but he will come to 
 me again with the leaves." He revolved this 
 strange saying in his heart, but went through the 
 woods to the house w T here his aged ancestress 
 awaited his coming. 
 
 "I knew of your return," she said, "and, had I not 
 promised to await it, had been ere now in the 
 blessed fields to the great west, where the loved of 
 my youth waits for my coming. Tell me all now, 
 
498 Cartagena 
 
 for the talking paper never came, and I am weary 
 of waiting." 
 
 He told .her of the death of Caneotus, of the siege, 
 the fall of Stephen and his storming party, and, last 
 of all, the strange saying of little Tempie. She was 
 silent a moment, looking fixedly into the embers of 
 the hearth. 
 
 "She is right," she said, at last. "He will come 
 again in the time of leaves and flowers, for he is not 
 yet of those who can come at my bidding." 
 
 She set before him her best fare, commended his 
 fidelity and courage, and told him that all she had 
 was to be his, and where certain small savings were 
 concealed. Then late at night she sent him to his 
 rest, saying that she would sit by the fire a while 
 longer. 
 
 Untequit slept long but brokenly, but when he 
 awoke the sun shone in at the wide window; and, 
 noiselessly descending, he found old Molly Pognet; 
 still in her great chair before the fireless hearth 
 for the embers and her life had gone out together. 
 
Chapter XXXVI. 
 Popayan 
 
 Calamar, on the Magdalena, was the destination 
 of the party, left on the inland side of the Devil s 
 Bridge, safe from further pursuit for a time at 
 least. Still it was scarcely safe to strike into the 
 main road at any point nearer Cartagena than Ar- 
 jona, which place a small village boasted of a plaza, 
 a few houses, a small chapel and a posada or stop 
 ping place. 
 
 The building thus used was properly one of the 
 tiendas, or small shops of the country, a house of two 
 rooms, the outer with a counter drawn across it 
 just before the entrance, and with a second door 
 behind the counter, opening into the sala, a dining, 
 dancing and sleeping room all in one. 
 
 Here, after a careful reconnoisance by Sanchez, 
 who, driving forward two of the baggage mules, 
 emerged first into the main highway, the party 
 fed and rested their mules, and hanging their ham 
 mocks in the large, open shed allotted for that pur 
 pose, slept until midnight. Then, learning that an 
 armed convoy was expected from Cartagena, it was 
 determined that it would be only prudent to push 
 forward by moonlight to Mahates, where, certain 
 that the convoy would not follow them that night, 
 they again rested until the next morning. 
 
 From that point, through an undulating, heavily 
 wooded country, abounding in a variety of strange 
 
500 Cartagena 
 
 palms and rare woods, they pushed on in haste to 
 the great river Magdalena. There, for the last 
 time, Sanchez lifted the well secured tercios, or 
 "half ladings/ 7 from his tired mules, and surveyed 
 the low flat prairie or rather plain, through which 
 the great river pours its turbid water. 
 
 The champans, or river boats, hired for the voyage, 
 were ready for instant departure, although several 
 of the boatmen of each were, as the party came 
 down to the bank, engaged in one of the w r ild 
 dances peculiar to their class. Half clothed, bare 
 headed, with naked breasts and limbs, they 
 danced to the thumping of a kind of tambourine, of 
 rude drums formed by drawing a tight skin across 
 the opening of a calabash or earthen pot, and a 
 vocal accompaniment which even to Sanchez was 
 unintelligible. 
 
 Their partners were half-breed girls and women, 
 dressed for the most part only in long white 
 caiJiisas, reaching to the knee, w T ith their long purple- 
 black hair floating loosely over their shoulders, and 
 no ornaments save a bright scarlet trumpet flower, 
 worn above the temple, or at the junction of the 
 coarse laces at their throats. 
 
 Those who were not dancing bore torches, and 
 solemnly kept time to the music with their flam 
 beaux; and as the lading of the beasts was being 
 transferred to the boats, whose patrons were anx 
 ious to get back to their homes up at the head 
 waters of the Magdalena, Hay, noticing that they 
 paid no heed to the stowing of the cargo, turned to 
 Sanchez and inquired the reason of their neglect. 
 
Popayan 501 
 
 The old muleteer turned to Antonio, and in a 
 tongue which certainly was not Spanish, held a 
 short conversation with the hunter. When it was 
 finished Antonio turned to Hay, who stood by the 
 brink of the river beside a large fire, built so near 
 to the bank, that the stern of the champan on which 
 Inez and her servants had embarked was close be 
 hind him. Just inside of the long, narrow cabin her 
 splendid face shone in the glare of the flames, as she 
 watched the dancers on the bank above. 
 
 "They sing of love," said Antonio softly. "Of an 
 Indian chief who, many generations ago came down 
 the river, leaving his love behind him. He was the 
 guest of a great chief, whose daughter was tall and 
 beautiful exceedingly, so that all men were ravished 
 with her beauty, but she cared for none until he 
 came to help her father against his enemies. But so 
 great was her passion, that she seemed to care only 
 for him, and became as fond as the weakest of 
 womankind. But he, though he loved in turn, would 
 not tell his love or be false to the maiden at the 
 foot of the great mountains; so he sent her the wing 
 of the quezal bird he had won in battle, but its 
 feathers were touched with the flames, in token that 
 he fled because he had felt the fire of love. But 
 when he came to the cold springs, he found that his 
 love had wedded another chief ; and, turning, he met 
 on his way back the answer to his message, a stuffed 
 quezal bird, such as the greatest of those days could 
 wear. And the bearers assured him that Athalpa 
 held him to be all the dearer that he would not for 
 get his plighted faith." 
 
502 Cartagena 
 
 "He was right," said Stephen thoughtfully, "yet 
 it must have been in sore struggle of mind, that he 
 gained his victory of self-sacrifice." 
 
 The beautiful face drew back into the shadow, 
 as Stephen instinctively turned to survey the light 
 roof, beneath which, as he supposed, reposed the 
 vision of beauty which had for so many days made 
 the dusky cavern a palace, danger a forgotten 
 dream, and the broken and difficult forest roads 
 very paths of Eden. By the light of the lanterns her 
 face seemed paler than was wont, and little Josefa, 
 her maid, hastened toward her with an exclamation 
 of fear. 
 
 "Hush, child! said she, drawing herself up with 
 superb grace. "Let us listen to Antonio s story." 
 
 "Ocana received the gift, and in company with the 
 messengers hastened down the river, but was slain 
 by a jaguar, while sleeping, only a day s journey 
 from the arms of Athalpa, and the Indians sing his 
 story as they dance by the river." 
 
 "A sad story," said Stephen; "and doubtless even 
 these poor boatmen, praise his constancy and lament 
 his fate." 
 
 "Why, yes," said Antonio, hesitatingly. "But 
 they pity him more in that having the love of so 
 beautiful and noble a princess, he encountered dan 
 ger, grief and fatigue for a mistress so far away, and 
 a thing so weak as the word of a woman. But the 
 bogas have ended their song, and we shall soon start. 
 The Senor Olivarez takes the small champan, and I 
 go with him. Andreas, the major-domo, with Jos6 
 and yourself accompany the Donna Inez, and will 
 
ropayan 503 
 
 precede us several miles, for we are to watch at the 
 bends to see if we are pursued." 
 
 As he finished speaking, Sanchez and Olivarez 
 drew near; for the lading was completed, and noth 
 ing remained for the old men but the trying task 
 of a final separation. It was evident that Sanchez 
 was urgent in his importunities to accompany his 
 leader, while Olivarez was not less firm in refusing 
 to profit by an act of kindness, which the years and 
 circumstances of his old follower would have made 
 too great a sacrifice. 
 
 "Nay, Sanchez," he said, at length; "we are no 
 longer as w r e were fifty years since, when, in the 
 prime of our strength and the flush of victory, we 
 became prisoners at Cartagena. The years that are 
 gone have lost to us all that was dear beyond the 
 great seas, and other loves have supplanted the dear 
 ones we left behind in England, where doubtless our 
 very names are forgotten. I go, if I ma} , to a colder 
 land and a strange country, where in peace and 
 quiet I may meet the sure death which consumes 
 me ; and the Senorita Inez will find a home with my 
 brother Captain Oliver. You must stay behind 
 You know the secret of the cavern ajid its maga - 
 zines; henceforth they and their contents are yours, 
 well earned by years of faithful service. One thing 
 you can do: Remain here as if to rest your mules, 
 and, if any pursue, take the river trail with your 
 fastest horse. Spare not for loss or rest until you 
 reach the Cauca. If I pass into it before you, you 
 will find a broken paddle stuck in the sand, and on 
 its blade you will find any message I may wish to 
 
504 Cartagena 
 
 leave you. Thence you will send me tidings of dan 
 ger, or come yourself, to bring them ; but if in three 
 days time you hear of no pursuit, return to your 
 daughter; and may the blessing of God go and re 
 main with you!" 
 
 The boats were ready ; all were embarked ; and the 
 bogas, throwing off their scant clothing, rushed into 
 the water, and shouldered the long, narrow, flat- 
 bottomed champans into the channel, not without 
 considerable noise, and a slight panic produced by 
 arousing a small alligator from the depths of a 
 muddy depression or ditch. But soon all were afloat 
 and the bogas, taking their long setting-poles, 
 placed their forked ends on the muddy bottom, and, 
 with the others at their shoulders, walked along the 
 convex roof of the toldo or cabin on either side, forc 
 ing the boat against the sluggish current. 
 
 The moon was rising, and Sanchez and the peo 
 ple of the hamlet stood almost in line with the huge 
 orb ; and as they reached the first bend of the river, 
 the muleteer raised his carbine, and its echoing re 
 port carried to the ears of Olivarez the last farewell 
 of the English country lad who, half a century be 
 fore, had followed his adventurous fortunes to the 
 Spanish seas. 
 
 Stephen now had time to look about him, and 
 found the boat to be about forty feet long by seven 
 in breadth, open at both sides but covered in for 
 twenty feet with a roof of woven poles thatched 
 with the leaves of the palm. Several large beams 
 about four feet from the deck crossed the passage 
 way between the baggage piled up on either side, 
 
Popayan 505 
 
 and hammocks slung just above these formed the 
 sleeping accommodations. Andreas had curtained 
 off about one-third of the toldo for Inez and her 
 maid, and in a box filled with sand the fire was made 
 at which the water was heated for chocolate, and the 
 coarse food of the crew was prepared. 
 
 This for the most part consisted of tasajo, or beef 
 cut in strips, rubbed in salt and dried in the sun, a 
 large pile of which lay in the forward part of the 
 rude cabin, while half a score huge bunches of green 
 plantains hung above from the arched roof, and of 
 these two ingredients a kind of thick soup or stew 
 was compounded, which seemed to be the staple 
 food of the bogas. The turbid water of the river, 
 held in large jars called tinajas, was purified by 
 passing through a filter of porous stone shaped like 
 a bowl and holding two gallons or more. 
 
 The passengers were better provided for. An 
 dreas had purchased a coop of fowls, and quantities 
 of eggs, maize, rice, beans, bananas and other fruits, 
 while the extra mules had borne loads of flour, cho 
 colate, sugar, oil and wine, to take the place of the 
 coarse provisions and aromatic anisado, of which the 
 patrons or captains of champans usually made their 
 chief provision. From these supplies, with the help 
 of the other servants, Andreas set before the trav 
 elers meals almost as varied as those enjoyed at the 
 snow-white cottage, whose blackened ruins stood 
 amid the blasted shrubbery outside the walls of San 
 Lazaro. 
 
 The weather was for the most part mild and 
 equable, and the boats were new, clean, and the 
 
506 Cartagena 
 
 best of their class, while the patrons and their 
 crews, kept in the best of spirits by good food and 
 extra pay, pressed on up the river at a rate which 
 passed many boats which had long preceded them 
 from Calamar, much to the astonishment of the 
 boatmen, who could not understand such unwonted 
 haste. At the Cauca they stopped only to leave the 
 promised message for Sanchez, but the lettered pad 
 dle rotted where it stood, for Sanchez, finding that 
 no pursuit was made, went back to his quiet plan 
 tation and his daughter Juanita, who a year later 
 married Balthazar. 
 
 To them in due time came back Antonio, who, 
 having accompanied the party to the head of navi 
 gation on the Cauca, was sent back to his friends by 
 Olivarez, who, after a short stay at Popayan, pur 
 posed to cross the mountains to Quito, and thence 
 find his way to the West Indies by some French or 
 Spanish armed vessel or privateer. 
 
 But the Senor Olivarez was not fated to reach 
 Quito, for on the last day of their voyage up the 
 Cauca, now become a deep and rapid stream, a sud 
 den snow storm from the gorges of the Cuancas. 
 swept down the river, and nearly involved both 
 champans in one common ruin in the swollen torrent. 
 By great exertion a shelter was found for the boats, 
 and after the storm a day, unusually bright and fair 
 for the season, finished their long voyage on the 
 Cauca. 
 
 But Olivarez found himself attacked by a 
 mortal decline, which so reduced his strength that 
 taking a house in Popayan, he began to prepare 
 
Popayan 507 
 
 for the final change, whose approach was so evident 
 and rapid. It is almost needless to say that Hay did 
 not leave him, or that the affection he had already 
 begun to feel for the Senorita Inez increased with 
 every week of the long sickness of Olivarez. 
 
 Still it was not until the next spring, or rather 
 winter, that the ex-buccaneer breathed his last, hav 
 ing made his peace with God, and left as a sacred 
 trust to Hay, the safe conveyance of Inez and her 
 riches to John Hewson of Spring Hill. 
 
 The parting was sad indeed; all the more that the 
 dying man could neither impart nor receive the last 
 fond embraces, which tell so much better than 
 words, the peaceful resignation and fond farewells 
 of a departing friend. 
 
 "I have only one promise to ask of you, Senor 
 Hay," he said, the night before his death; "and that 
 is that, as heretofore, you w r ill take the same care 
 of my orphan daughter as if she were indeed your 
 own sister. Should the time ever come that you feel 
 disposed to seek her in marriage, say nothing of it 
 to her, until you place her in the care of her only 
 protector, my brother. Do you promise this?" 
 
 Stephen hesitated a moment, and turned red and 
 white by turns. "I promise," he said faintly. "But 
 I must tell you that I am already betrothed, and 
 dare not love the Senorita Inez. It is hard work to 
 refuse to adore her, she is so beautiful, pure and 
 noble; and I am like one who, being entrusted with a 
 jewel of price, can scarce listen to the demands of 
 virtue, but almost deems that any sin would prove a 
 cheap price, at which to attain to so great a prize. 
 
508 Cartagena 
 
 Therefore, I beg of you, let your major-domo take 
 this trust; he is older, and will, I think, be truer 
 than L" 
 
 "I have led and tried many men, and I take your 
 promise, albeit unwillingly given, as worth more 
 than the oaths of many who have less decision of 
 purpose. Take then the trust. You will give to him, 
 whom you have known as John Hewson, but better 
 known as John Oliver, the belt I spoke of, and re 
 ceive a fitting reward." 
 
 The next morning his attendant found that his 
 master had passed away; and for two years more 
 Inez and her servants remained at Popayan, be 
 cause of the ravages of Anson and other English 
 adventurers on the Pacific coast; which had made 
 the hope of getting safely away so fearfully small, 
 that even Hay felt that nothing better could be 
 done, than to patiently await the close of the war 
 and the renewal of commerce. * 
 
 So Inez and Stephen, known only as brother and 
 sister, became a part of the society of Popayan, un 
 til, in the latter part of 1743, there came news of a 
 French fleet about to set sail for the West Indies 
 and the port of Brest, in France. 
 
 Stephen Hay did not spend these three years in 
 idleness amid the delights and pleasures of Popa 
 yan, or in the company of Inez, for he felt but too 
 fully that long stay in the eternal spring, which 
 ever preserves the verdant forests beside the Moli 
 na, and constant companionship with the orphan 
 daughter of Olivarez would banish the remembrance 
 of the summer beauty of his northern home, and the 
 
Popayan 500 
 
 less resplendent charms and milder spirit of Mar 
 garet, to whom he still felt bound by all the ties of 
 honor and promised love. 
 
 The care of Father Carreno had afforded Inez the 
 countenance and protection of persons high in rank 
 and station ; and although by a kind of pious fraud 
 Hay was permitted to assume the name and rank 
 of the deceased Don Carlos; it was easily to be seen 
 by him, that only the unseen influence of the leper 
 priest, could have secured him from the hatred of 
 officials, who seemed to know as if by instinct that 
 he was of the same race as their English foes. 
 
 But despite the gaiety, beauty and wealth of the 
 mountain city; for Popayan, standing GOOO feet 
 above the level of the sea, with her tall spires, broad, 
 paved streets, stone sidewalks and whitewashed 
 houses, was at that time the centre of a mercantile 
 and mining trade unexcelled in New Granada ; Hay 
 greeted with joy an accident which opened to him 
 the prospect of advantageous and fitting employ 
 ment, and the hope of obtaining a passage from 
 some Pacific port to the world and home from which 
 he w y as separated. 
 
 For in 1735 a joint commission had been sent out 
 by the French and Spanish governments to measure 
 and mark out a meridian in the vicinity of Quito, the 
 then capital of New Gran ada, and when, in no very 
 friendly spirit, it was intimated to him that the 
 French and Spanish commissioners found it difficult 
 to obtain assistants who could bear the cold and 
 deadly tempests of the Paramos, he readily volun 
 teered to lend himself to a work, which, whatever 
 
510 . Cartagena 
 
 the national or religious tendencies of its projec 
 tors, could not fail to advance the knowledge and 
 interests of all humanity. 
 
 The party of scientific men spoken of consisted of 
 Don George Juan and Don Antonio de Ulloa, both 
 captains in the Spanish navy, and reckoned among 
 the first astronomers and mathematicians of their 
 age, who sailed in the warships Incendio and Con 
 quistador from Cadiz in the spring of 1735, and were 
 joined at Cartagena by the French commission, con 
 sisting of Messrs. Godin, Boguer and De la Con- 
 damine, and their staff of assistants, embracing Jus- 
 sieu, botanist; Seniergues, surgeon; Yerguin, Coup 
 let and Dessordonnais, associate mathematicians; 
 Morenville, draughtsman, and Hugo, horologist. 
 
 The scene of their chief labors was the plain of 
 Yaruqui, situated a little lower than the city of Qui 
 to, but in a more exposed and dangerous situation, 
 some tw r elve miles northeast of that place ; a previous 
 attempt at the plateau of Cayambe, some twenty- 
 five miles farther distant from the city, having re 
 sulted in the sudden death of M. Couplet, one of the 
 French assistants. 
 
 In 1741 the services of the Spanish captains were 
 suddenly required by the Yiceroy of New Granada; 
 inasmuch as the breaking out of the war between 
 Spain and England, and the expected appearance of 
 a fleet under Commodore Anson in the Pacific, had 
 spread alarm and dismay along the whole South 
 American coast, and the assistance of officers of 
 such acknowledged courage and ability could not be 
 dispensed with. Unfortunately for the Spaniards, 
 
Popayan 511 
 
 a rumor got abroad that the English had turned 
 back at the Straits of Magellan; but Anson actually 
 took Paita, the nearest large seaport of Quito, just 
 after these officers had reached that city, after a 
 fruitless and hazardous journey to Lima and Guay 
 aquil ; and until the January of 1744, the labor was 
 chiefly left to the French academicians, in whose 
 service Stephen Hay gladly found refuge from the 
 perils of exposure to the rage of an unfriendly peo 
 ple, and the dangers of a love which he felt he could 
 no longer control. 
 
 Therefore, he faced with pleasure the constant 
 dangers of life among the mountain peaks, the 
 freezing storms of the Paramos or desert plateaus; 
 the narrow trails, broken and treacherous, winding 
 along the sides of giant cliffs and above yawning 
 precipices; and the sand-storms of the lower deserts, 
 where more than once horse and rider have been 
 suffocated by the smothering sand pillars whirled 
 along by the terrible gales from the mountain 
 gorges above. 
 
 To rise early, and, after simple fare, to commence 
 the monotonous task of measuring vast lines across 
 the sterile plain, verifying each foot by the level and 
 correcting the effect of every trifling inequality of 
 the ground; to ride long distances over frightful 
 roads, or climb lofty peaks and dangerous cliffs to 
 rectify an alignment, set up a beacon or pursue a 
 similarly monotonous task, and to return at night to 
 the coarsest of camp fare and the most meagre of 
 bivouacs summed up the main features of Hay s 
 existence for over two years. 
 
512 Cartagena 
 
 At an early period in his novitiation, an import 
 ant service done to one of the French explorers se 
 cured him the friendship of both, to whom he im 
 parted in confidence the reasons of his concealment, 
 and his hopes of, through their means, returning 
 some day to his own land and taking with him the 
 child and servants of the deceased Olivarez. 
 
 Before returning to France in the spring of 1744, 
 Messrs. Boguer and Condamine, having favorably 
 impressed the Spanish captains with their account 
 of the young New Englander, his trials and hopes, he 
 was dismissed by them with instructions to return 
 to Popayan and bring from thence to Quito the lady 
 Inez and her attendants, it being probable that be 
 fore the end of the year, a fleet would sail from some 
 Pacific port for France or Spain, or at least the 
 West Indies. 
 
 It was in the rainy season that he set out, and the 
 trail, which led for the most part around the heads 
 of the water courses and through the paramos along 
 the mountain ranges, was disagreeable and perilous 
 in the extreme; but, thanks to his long training, 
 Hay bore his exposure easily, although more than 
 one of his fellow travelers perished, despite his ef 
 forts to save them. 
 
 It was, therefore, with great joy that, at the end of 
 the second week, he saw below him the white roofs 
 and tall spires of Popayan, from which more than 
 one pretty and useful gift and tiny note had reached 
 him from "his little sister Inez." He had become 
 hardened to exposure and peril; had, in the society 
 of men of culture and learning, acquired a good 
 
Popayan 513 
 
 knowledge of both French and Spanish, and become 
 a prized assistant in the highest work of the com 
 mission ; and, though clad in the half-savage costume 
 of the mountains, with long boots of leopard skin, a 
 heavy woolen cloak and a fur cap, such as the moun 
 tain shepherds manufacture, Inez, as she welcomed 
 him amid the foliage of the patio, thought that she 
 had never seen a man so easy and elegant in man 
 ner, so noble in bearing, or so worthy of the utmost 
 love of woman. 
 
 He did indeed present a striking contrast to the 
 languid, dwarfed, indolent and vicious descendants 
 of the Conquistadores, who for months past had 
 fluttered around her as moths around a candle, with 
 out awakening a spark of sympathy or encourage 
 ment from the object of their adoration. 
 
 But he greeted her with brotherly affection, 
 arid expressed his joy at seeing her again, and his 
 approval of her progress in the studies she had pur 
 sued under the care of the recluses of the convent 
 of Santa Teresa. It was necessary, however, that 
 the party should join their Spanish protectors at 
 Quito, as they proposed at once to start for Callao, 
 where several French men-of-war were about to sail 
 for Europe. 
 
 Stephen had brought from Quito a heavy mantle 
 and hood of soft and costly chinchilla furs, and 
 busied himself with devising warm mittens of the 
 same materials, an article of apparel so novel to her 
 companions, that her girlish comrades seemed to 
 think them a miracle of convenience and comfort. 
 
 Under his direction she took long excursions on a 
 
514 Cartagena 
 
 wiry little riding mule, whose paces were the perfec 
 tion of ease and whose docility, strange to say, was 
 equal to her other good qualities; and he had pro 
 vided for the whole party, male and female, long rid 
 ing boots of Cordovan leather, oiled to the last de 
 gree of softness and impenetrability. 
 
 Strong tents of double canvas, thick wrappings 
 and blankets, and ample supplies of provisions, med 
 icines, etc., were packed upon the finest mules pro 
 curable; and when, about the first of March, Inez 
 bade adieu to her affectionate companions and pro 
 tectors, all agreed that a more complete and well- 
 equipped party had never set out from Popayan to 
 cross the dreaded paramos. 
 
 Traveling at the rate of about twenty miles a day, 
 they ascended the gorges of the Cordillera de Omin- 
 dio, and were soon enveloped in the dense, cold 
 mists, which, with rare exceptions, ever envelop 
 the mountains in the rainy season, and add to the 
 usual inconveniences of mountain travel, exposure 
 to half concealed obstacles and perils. 
 
 More than once, as the startled Inez turned her 
 head from the beetling wall of rough granite or slate 
 beside her, she saw almost at her very feet, an abyss 
 into which a single misstep would precipitate beast 
 and rider to certain destruction. 
 
 In places too the track was full of camclones, or 
 deep muddy holes, in w 7 hich the mules deliberately 
 placed their feet, leaping in and out from one to the 
 other, with the agility of cats, although in many 
 places the toes of the rider touched the mud thrown 
 either side; and though habituated to equestrian ex- 
 
Popayan 515 
 
 ercise and exposure, Andreas, Jose and Tomaso, the 
 trained servants of Olivarez, complained loudly at 
 times of the fatigues of such a journey. 
 
 Inez, however, and her little attendant bore their 
 trials patiently and even cheerfully, and at every 
 stopping place found that the foresight of their pro 
 tector had, on his homeward journey, prepared a 
 provision of fuel and often a substantial shelter 
 more roomy and comfortable than the small tents 
 they carried. 
 
 In passing from station to station it was often 
 necessary to secure the services of Indians, who dug 
 with heavy hoes small trenches across the roads of 
 chalky clay, and by means of these only was it pos 
 sible for even the sure footed mules to ascend the 
 steep and slippery road, which perchance, scarcely 
 wide enough for a single mule, winds above an abyss 
 several hundred feet in depth. 
 
 In descending such places the mules slid rather 
 than w r alked down, bracing their fore feet well for 
 ward, and guiding themselves by their hind feet 
 placed as if about to lie down. Even those most ac 
 customed to mountain journeys displayed their fear 
 by snorting and trembling in every limb, and Ste 
 phen, despite his confidence in the beasts he had 
 chosen, turned pale with apprehension as he re 
 flected how a loose stone or projecting spur of rock, 
 might send the fair young form and brave, cheerful 
 spirit forever from earthly companionship. 
 
 But, although his companions rejoiced as they en 
 tered upon the level paramos, or elevated desert 
 plains, which lie between the spurs and ridges of 
 
516 Cartagena 
 
 the Cordilleras, Stephen knew that the real danger 
 of their untimely journey had but just begun, and 
 spared neither pains nor care to lessen the chances 
 of a fatal catastrophe. From the first, he had in 
 sisted that his companions should frequently dis 
 mount, and excite a free circulation by walking or 
 running beside their mules; and he looked carefully 
 to the caparisons, trappings and shoeing of the cat 
 tle, and the supply of wood or charcoal carried to 
 supply the small braziers used in the tents. 
 
 Notwithstanding all his precautions, how r ever, the 
 sufferings of the party were intense ; for the temper 
 ature averaged some fifteen degrees below the freez 
 ing point, and the terrible velocity of the wind 
 seemed at times to cut through the thickest clothing 
 like a knife ; and poor Andreas, quite worn out with 
 age, and sadly frost-bitten, was left at last, with a 
 liberal provision for his old age, at Pasto, near the 
 head water of the Mocoa, while the party pressed 
 steadily on to cross the intervening paramos which 
 still lay between them and Quito. 
 
 At last, only two days journeying remained to be 
 encountered, and they set out to cross the plain of 
 Cayambe, some twelve leagues north and east of 
 Quito. The sun had risen unobscured, and in the lee 
 of the cliff, where their tents had been pitched for 
 the night, his rays lay warm and cheeringly, as if to 
 promise a day of rare comfort for those cheerless 
 regions. 
 
 The carga now consisted of but eight persons and 
 as many mules, three of the latter being led bv as 
 many Indians, who had been hired as the best moun- 
 
Popayan 517 
 
 tain guides of that region, and natives of the village 
 of San Pablo, on the lake of that name under the 
 shadow of Mount Cayamburo, whose icy peak, some 
 twenty miles away, was lost in a cloud of singular 
 whiteness. 
 
 These guides, or assistants, were clothed in stout 
 knee breeches of llama skin with the hair outside, 
 and a black frock woven like a sack, with holes for 
 the head and arms, the skirt of which came down to 
 the knees, and gathered at the waist with a strong 
 leathern belt. A hat and a kind of serge cloak called 
 .capisayo completed the costume of these men, who, 
 even in the terrible cold of these elevated plains, 
 cared not for shoes or stockings. 
 
 Guapi, the eldest, a short, broad-shouldered man 
 of enormous strength, whose purple-black hair swept 
 down over his shoulders to his girdle, sat before the 
 door, eating his simple breakfast from the bag of 
 machca, or roasted and ground maize, which hung by 
 his side. With a few spoonfuls of water from the 
 melting kettle upon the brazier, and as many of the 
 coarse, sweet meal, he had mixed a kind of paste, of 
 which the last morsel w r as disappearing down his 
 capacious throat when Stephen called him to one 
 side. 
 
 "I do not like those clouds around the mountain," 
 said Hay in a low tone. "Will they descend, or shall 
 we have a good day for the crossing?" 
 
 " Tis not likely," said Guapi, gravely. "The wind 
 is cold and from the north, but we have no wood 
 for tomorrow, and the storm if it descends will last 
 more than two days." 
 
518 Cartagena 
 
 "There is wood halfway across at the old ruins," 
 said Stephen. "Think you we can reach there before 
 the storm bursts?" 
 
 The Indian was preparing the inevitable ball of 
 coca leaves and lime, but gave a searching glance 
 around as he spoke. "It may be, but we must set out 
 at once and travel fast, for we shall have snow and 
 hail as well as wind if I know the signs that threaten 
 us from Cayamburo." 
 
 "Remember, Guapi," said Stephen, as they sepa 
 rated. "Whatever happens, the women are first to 
 be looked to. If we all perish save these, take them 
 on to Quito and you shall have gold to your full 
 satisfaction." 
 
 "It matters not," said Guapi, simply. "An Indian 
 needs not gold, and Guapi would be at home, were it 
 not for" the food and medicine which saved the life 
 of his son last year. Be content if the Seiior cares 
 more for the life of a woman that his own, we will 
 save her, though she be of the accursed blood of our 
 oppressors." 
 
 In a few moments the tents were struck, the mules 
 ready, and the party issued from the sheltered re 
 cess into the wind-swept paramo of Cayambe. 
 
 As they entered the desert the keen, cutting air 
 seemed to pierce even the multitudinous wrappings 
 with which Inez and her attendant had been pro 
 vided, while Tomaso and Jose flinched like children 
 as they felt the first terrible blasts from the snow- 
 covered gorges of Ca3~amburo, and the latter, before 
 their mules had made a single mile s progress, was 
 carrying a flask of aquadiente to his lips, as if to renew 
 
1 opayan 519 
 
 the yital warmth lost in so short a space of time and 
 distance. 
 
 Guapi, who strode at the head of the carga, let go 
 the bridle of his mule and seized his arm. "If you 
 care to live," said he, impressively, "let not a single 
 drop pass you lips on the paramo. Give your flask 
 to the master, and let him say when you are to drink 
 of the firewater. When we are inside the walls of 
 yonder ruin," and he pointed to a black wall near the 
 foot of Cayamburo, "you will need your flask. Give 
 it to the master until then." 
 
 Stephen heard his saying, and at once left the side 
 of Inez and came up to the unwilling half-breed. "He 
 says truly, Jose. Give me your flask. Dismount 
 and lead your mule for a few rods, and then you may 
 remount, warmer and ready for another spell in 
 the saddle." 
 
 Jos was about to refuse, angrily, but Tomaso 
 slowly descended, Inez slid from her Spanish saddle 
 to the ground, followed by her maid, and Jos6, half 
 angry, half ashamed, gave up his flask and followed 
 their example. A few hundred yards further on 
 they remounted, and pushed on at a fast amble, pass 
 ing through a tract of a kind of stiff, dry rush, near 
 ly fifteen inches high, over a trail mainly visible by 
 the mere depression of the herbage, and the half- 
 concealed bones of man and beast, which but too 
 well confirmed the stories of suffering, loss, and 
 death encountered by passengers over this dreary 
 waste. 
 
 Five miles had been crossed at the end of three 
 short half hours, when, as they halted to dismount 
 
520 Cartagena 
 
 again, Guapi uttered an ejaculation of alarm, and 
 pointed to the summit of the mountain, around 
 which the vapors had gathered and grown black un- 
 till the top was no longer visible. "A snow storm is 
 coming," he cried. Tush on, master, or we are lost." 
 
 Stephen laid his heavy whip of rawhide over the 
 slow-paced mules, and drawing from his breast 
 a pocket compass took the bearings of their only 
 house of refuge, the ruined Aztec mounds, still 
 nearly two leagues away. "It bears due south," he 
 muttered to himself; " twill go hard if I, who have 
 faced a northwester in Boston bay, cannot keep my 
 course on solid land in this latitude." 
 
 But as he spoke the black, gloomy vapors de 
 scended the sides of the mountain, shutting out first 
 the low r er ice fields, then the ragged spurs at its base 
 and the plain before them, and at last, with a per 
 fect burst of fury, the sharp hail and blinding snow 
 struck them full in the face; the first gust bringing 
 with it clouds of dust, a flurry of coarse stalks and 
 seed vessels, and even whirling columns of mingled 
 snow and sand, which, in the track of a dozen whirl- 
 wands, swept by in dangerous proximity to the 
 party. 
 
 As its first force struck them, the mules 
 braced themselves against the blast, stretching their 
 noses to the earth and trembling in every limb, as 
 they had in the more dangerous descents of the Cor 
 dilleras; while the Indians, turning their backs to 
 the storm, held fast with both hands to the strong 
 riatas, and, digging their heels into the sand, leaned 
 backwards to add their weight to that of the animals 
 they led. 
 
Popayan 521 
 
 The others bowed their heads aiid held to the high 
 pommels of their saddles; but, although none were 
 unseated, it was several minutes before the first 
 terrible blast, which attacked them from half a 
 dozen separate points of the compass in quick suc 
 cession, lost its first savage force and settled down 
 into a furious gale, setting for the most part full in 
 the teeth of the little party, and accompanied by a 
 fall of soft, moist snow, which shut out from view 
 everything a hundred paces distant. 
 
 Guapi turned, threw his arm up with a significant 
 gesture, and started at a brisk pace, urging on his 
 unwilling mules w T ith merciless blows of his raw 
 hide quirt, and his Indian companions, throwing off 
 their usually stolid manner, stoutly struggled 
 against the storm, guided by the broken herbage not 
 yet concealed by the fast falling snow. Stephen, 
 riding between Inez and her maid, linked the bridles 
 of the three mules together and, bidding the poor 
 girls cover their faces, pressed on behind them, 
 while Jose and Tomaso brought up the rear. 
 
 For a w r hile nothing was heard but the hard 
 breathing of the mules, the sweeping rush of the fre 
 quent gusts, or an ejaculation of encouragement or 
 rage from the servants, for the three Indians 
 pressed on as if insensible to cold and fatigue, al 
 though the mules themselves showed more and more, 
 as the lagging moments crept on, the effects of the 
 constant strain of an advance foot by foot against 
 the force of the gale. 
 
 Suddenly Guapi halted, and Stephen, dismount 
 ing, hastened to the front, where he found that a 
 
522 Cartagena 
 
 new peril had presented itself and that they had en 
 tered upon a sterile tract of sand, everywhere cov 
 ered with a level carpet of recently fallen snow, 
 which concealed the slight traces left by preceding 
 travelers, and which, though thin, had turned to ice 
 as soon as fallen. The Indians had linked their 
 mules together, and two, taking hatchets in their 
 hands, were cutting out junks of sandy ice, which 
 they examined carefully by sight and smell, and at 
 last one uttered a cry which announced that the 
 trail lay more to the left, a fact which Stephen veri 
 fied by his pocket compass. 
 
 The air grew colder, the gloom thicker, the snow, 
 no longer moist, eddied in their faces in blinding 
 gusts, as Guapi spoke. "Will yonder point lead the 
 master to the ruins of La Casa?" 
 
 "Yes, Guapi, I can lead you, though the snow 
 were thicker than this." 
 
 "Then move on to the front, and when your mules 
 stumble among the huacas of the ruins Guapi will 
 find a shelter. Now we go to the rear, or Don Jose 
 and Don Tomaso will be lost in the tormenta. Hear 
 how it comes down the mountain. Press on, and 
 may our Lady of Succor help us now." 
 
 As he ceased, the first fury of the storm revived, 
 and as he bent himself against the blast Stephen 
 could only think, as he strove to start his unwilling 
 mules against its pitiless rage, of the first shudder 
 ing recoil of a stout ship, stripped to the bare yards, 
 and meeting the full force of a hurricane. One mule, 
 that of Tomaso, was actually carried off its legs, but 
 with the aid of the faithful Indians was soon righted; 
 
Po pay a n 523 
 
 and laying his compass on the high pommel of his 
 mountain saddle, and sweeping off the snow crys 
 tals with his mittened left hand, Hay led the way 
 across the shrouded plain, and more than once saw 
 his stumbling mules throw up from the occasional 
 drifts the thigh bone of a mule, or fragments of a 
 human skeleton. 
 
 The cold deepened, the fury of the storm seemed 
 if anything to increase, and poor Rosita moaned and 
 prayed even under her thick wrappings. The mules 
 were evidently tiring; from the rear the cries of To- 
 maso and Jose sounded less frequently and more 
 feebly than before; and even Hay felt that he needled 
 all his superb vitality to successfully overcome the 
 deadly cold. He halted until the straggling caval 
 cade came together; he dismounted and hastily 
 drew from his saddle the blankets strapped thereto, 
 and taking Rosita from her saddle wrapped her in 
 them, and fastened her firmly on top of the load of 
 the strong baggage mule led by Guapi. Inez re 
 fused to change her jennet for another, but dis 
 mounted to warm her limbs by exercise. Tomaso 
 and Jose were urged to follow her example but re 
 fused, the former in a dreamy tone like one falling 
 asleep. Hay looked at him closely and saw that his 
 ears and part of his face were badly frozen, and seiz 
 ing a handful of snow began to restore the circula 
 tion, at the same time unceremoniously taking him 
 out of the saddle, and urging him forward on foot. 
 Guapi at once came forward and linked the rear 
 most mules together, and Jos6 was also made to fol 
 low Tomaso s example. 
 
524 Cartagena 
 
 "You die, Senor, if you fall asleep," said Guapi 
 gravely, as Josd angrily cursed him for "an Indian 
 dog"; "and you must walk were you ten times a 
 Spaniard, instead of a vagabond half-breed." 
 
 Josefs eyes flashed fire, and, with a terrible oath, 
 he drew his knife and raised it as if to stab the In 
 dian; but Stephen, with a blow of his whip, struck 
 the weapon to the feet of Guapi, who coolly placed it 
 in his belt. 
 
 "And now, sirrah," said Stephen angrily, "go on 
 behind with Tomaso, and, if you falter, I will have 
 you whipped along the road by these honest men, to 
 w^pm, if you survive, you will owe your worthless 
 life. Guapi," said he, as he turned hastily, "you 
 must keep up behind me. Get these men on if you 
 can, though you whip them every step of the way; in 
 the last resort, give them a few drops from this flask 
 and lash them to the mules. God grant that La Casa 
 be not far distant." 
 
 Hurriedly he remounted and rode in between the 
 muffled Inez and the motionless Rosita, and lashing 
 the animals to their greatest speed, at the best little 
 more than a fast walk, he entered upon the last mile 
 of their journey. From beneath the heavy veils 
 which kept the icy sleet from the face of Inez he 
 heard from time to time a low ejaculation, as if she 
 sought in prayer a refuge from the fear of death; but 
 from Rosita no sound was heard, though some move 
 ment was still perceptible beneath the heavy wrap 
 pings which sheltered the child s body. 
 
 From the rear came the sound of blows and occa 
 sional curses or weak entreaties, which told that 
 
Popayan 525 
 
 Guapi was following closely with the rest of the ca.v- 
 alcade, and that JostS and Tomaso were still liv 
 ing. But Stephen felt himself growing weak and 
 fearful, and noted with a hopeless sense of despair, 
 that his own mule seemed to stumble, as if about to 
 fall under him. He was about- to dismount, when 
 his tired steed suddenly fell on its knees, throwing 
 him over its head, and all became a blank. 
 
 He roused himself and looked about him in a dark, 
 tomb-like place, lit only by a single candle, and 
 crowded with occupants, five of whom seemed bend 
 ing over himself and others whom at first he could 
 not recognize. His own attendants seemed to be 
 two young girls, and he felt his head pillowed in the 
 lap of one, while another held to his lips a strong 
 cordial, of which in after days he remembered only 
 the taste, and refused to believe that enough had 
 been taken by him to unsettle the brain of the 
 staunchest toper of Quito. 
 
 "He will live: he will live!" he heard a sweet voice 
 say, and then the grave face and voice of Guapi 
 seemed to blend w^ith the vision. 
 
 "The Holy Mother and all the saints be thanked 
 therefor, but I fear the others are gone. A curse on 
 yonder huaca that broke the leg of his mule. Were 
 he himself, something might be done for poor Jose 
 and Tomaso." 
 
 Stephen w r as again sinking into stupor, but the 
 sense of responsibility and a feeling that he must 
 break from the spell which endangered two lives, 
 seemed, as in certain dreams, to revive the strong 
 spirit from bonds which would have securely held 
 
526 Cartagena 
 
 less vigorous souls. With a supreme effort of the 
 will, which to him seemed almost to break the bonds 
 of approaching death, he moved his lips, and as in 
 a trance the low passionless tones of the clairvoyant 
 seem scarcely human, so Inez and Rosita almost 
 shrank from the unnatural whispers of their 
 protector. 
 
 "Wrap them in snow ! Chafe their limbs with your 
 hands ! Heat some water and give them mate instead 
 of brandy. Remember that human life is in your 
 hands! Human life! human life!" and then all 
 again faded from his failing wision. 
 
 When he awoke again the day was mild and warm, 
 and the sun shone in through the low door, through 
 which he had been carried into the Aztec chamber 
 of crumbling stone and broken adobe. As he moved 
 Inez uttered a cry of joy and fell at his side, and as 
 a flood of tears fell from her lovely eyes, she fer 
 vently kissed the brow of the reviving adventurer. 
 "You have been asleep so long, Stefano," she said, 
 "that we have thought you would never awaken 
 again, and then your little sister would have been 
 alone in the great world. Guapi has gone for mules 
 to Cayambe, and Rosita is looking for fuel outside. 
 She will feel so glad to find you better when she 
 comes back." 
 
 As she bent above him in the splendor of her per 
 fect beauty, he saw in her eyes all the promise of a 
 love whose depth and fervor he felt could alone sat 
 isfy the yearnings of a soul, to which the narrow 
 measure of affection vouchsafed him in the future 
 seemed inadequate and pitiable. He longed to throw 
 
Popayan 527 
 
 his aching head upon her loving breast; to take in 
 his fevered hands those firm, slender, responsive fin 
 gers; to be able to meet fittingly the glances of 
 those deep, dark eyes; and utter those few sweet 
 syllables of the Spanish tongue, which come among 
 the first to the lips of all who learn that language, 
 rich in the imagery of war and love, "yo te amo." 
 
 He had no doubt of her answer. There is none in 
 the hearts of men who, like him, dare to claim, in 
 stead of meekly suing; whose confidence springs 
 from the sense of desert, and not from the petty 
 strategy of meaningless gallantry. Life behind him 
 seemed to present a waste, without flowers or re 
 freshing streams; in her arms and companionship 
 an Eden presented itself, and without her the future 
 seemed as the fire scathed groves and sterile deserts 
 of the cities of the plain. 
 
 But there came back tojiis sinking heart all the 
 strength of purpose and sense of honor of the day 
 when, with the proud consciousness of a good deed 
 performed, he walked homeward beneath the apple 
 boughs toward the homestead at Ploughed Neck. 
 
 "Inez," said he kindly, "we are alone in the desert 
 with God. Hast thou full trust in me, who must 
 henceforth be thy only protector?" 
 
 "I would trust thee, Stefano, without question 
 or doubt. I have no hope or trust in any else, save 
 our Lady of Succour." 
 
 "Dost thou remember the first night of our voy 
 age up the river, how the bogas danced to the strange 
 song of the w r omen at Calamar." 
 
 "Yes, brother. I heard poor Jose tell thee the 
 
528 Cartagena 
 
 tale; a sad one at the best, but one worthy of re 
 membrance." 
 
 Her voice faltered as she spoke, but her clear, 
 pure glance met his steadily, though both noted an 
 expression of unutterable pity and regret in each 
 others eyes. 
 
 "Inez," said he brokenly, "you have heard the tale 
 and will understand me. Suppose that we, too, stood 
 beneath the palms of the Magdalena; you a princess 
 of the forest, I a warrior of the upper river. Sup 
 pose that I, bound by my pledge if not by love, pre 
 ferring honor and an empty heart to bliss purchased 
 by faithlessness, stood by your side to bid you fare 
 well, to tell you that I go back to the upper springs. 7 
 What answer would you, could you make me?" 
 
 For a moment Inez grew ashen white, her ripe lips 
 were compressed and without color, her eyes shut 
 tightly as if* to restrain her tears; but her answer 
 came no less clearly than kindly: 
 
 "Am I not your sister? If it so be that honor binds 
 you to another beside the upper springs, I will go 
 with you. If she whom you love be true, I will be 
 true friend and sister to you both, as you have been 
 honest and true to me. Now rest, Stefano, and for 
 me, I will go and pray." 
 
Chapter XXXVII. 
 Homeward Bound 
 
 A few days later the survivors of the party, under 
 the guidance of Guapi, reached Quito in safety, In 
 time to join the Spanish commissioners in their long 
 homeward journey. Josd and Tomaso slept their 
 last sleep beside the ruins of the Aztec city, slain by 
 the icy blasts of the Paramo of Cayambe. 
 
 From Quito by a less dangerous route, yet amid 
 many perils, the party reached Lima and thence 
 went to Callao, where two French frigates, the 
 Notre Dame de la Delivrance and the Lys, lay ready 
 to sail, and embarking in the former vessel they set 
 out from Callao, October 23, 1744, arriving at Con- 
 cepcion Bay November 21st of the same year. 
 
 Thence on the 6th of January, 1745, they sailed 
 with the Lys, a third frigate called the Louis Erasme 
 and a French ship, La Marquis D Antin, laden with 
 cocao for Europe. The voyage was long and stormy, 
 both the frigates being old and leaky, and Don Ar- 
 riago, whose goods formed the greater part of their 
 lading, on the 25th of March proposed to run into 
 Montevideo and refit, as also to take the protection 
 of the Spanish man-of-war Asia, then about to sail ; 
 all the more that news had reached Conception of 
 the declaration of war between France and England. 
 
 The captain, however, preferred to continue their 
 voyage, stopping for wood and water at the Portu 
 guese island of Fernando de Xoronha, which they 
 reached on the 21st of May. 
 
530 Cartagena 
 
 Partially repairing the Delivrance and Lys, on the 
 10 of June they again sailed for Europe, and found 
 themselves at dawn of the 21st of July about 96 
 degrees N. W., 5 degrees West from the Isle of 
 Flores one of the Azores and, at six 
 o clock, discovered two strange sail bear 
 ing down upon the convoy then steering 
 N. E., while the strange ships stood S. W. until 
 almost within cannon shot ; w r hen the largest fired a 
 shotted gun, both hoisted English colors, and it 
 became evident that a battle must ensue. 
 
 La Delivrance, which, though the smallest and 
 lightest armed of the frigates, led the line, carried 
 fourteen four-pounders and had on board but fifty- 
 one persons all told, including her passengers. Next 
 in line came the Louis Erasme, which had eight 
 eight-pounders on the quarter and twelve six-pound 
 ers on the lower deck, with between seventy and 
 eighty seamen, passengers and boys; while the Mar 
 quis D Antin, with a crew of from fifty to sixty per 
 sons, was armed with ten sixes and as many four- 
 pound cannon. All three of the ships were in poor 
 repair, ill supplied with small arms and ammunition, 
 and fearfully shorthanded for a contest against such 
 formidable adversaries as the strangers proved 
 to be. 
 
 The English vessels were the privateers Prince 
 Frederick, Captain James Talbot, carrying twenty- 
 four twelve-pounders and six six-pounders, with a 
 crew of from two hundred to two hundred and fifty 
 men; and the Duke, Captain Morecock, of twenty 
 twelve-pounders, with from one hundred and fifty to 
 
Homeward Bound 531 
 
 two hundred men; both being provided with swivels 
 and musketry in abundance. As will be seen, the 
 larger privateer outnumbered with her single crew 
 the entire force of the three vessels, and with a sin 
 gle broadside outweighed the whole available metal 
 of her puny antagonists. 
 
 But the French have never lacked the quality of 
 desperate courage, and the three small ships carried 
 millions of dollars in coin, plate and bullion, besides 
 the costliest productions of Spanish America; and, 
 though unprovided with boarding nettings to repel 
 boarders, and evidently pitted against overpower 
 ing odds, the French and Spanish officers made their 
 few preparations hastily and prepared for a stout 
 resistance. 
 
 On board La Delivrance, Inez and Rosita, with 
 one or two others incapable of bearing a part in the 
 fight, were sent below 7 ; but Stephen remained upon 
 deck, perplexed in mind as to what his duty was in 
 this juncture of affairs, for he could not bear the 
 thought of fighting against his own countrymen ; and 
 yet these were seeking to injure men who, though 
 alien in blood, had been generous to him in his long 
 exile. To add to his perplexities, the captain of the 
 frigate had supposed him throughout the voyage to 
 be a Spaniard, and now addressed him as an auxil 
 iary on whose services he could depend. 
 
 "And as for you, Senor Olivarez, I doubt not you 
 will do us good service in this sore peril, for these 
 accursed English privateers w r ill strip us to the skin 
 if we fall into their hands. I would ask if you can 
 command two of the quarter guns, for we are short 
 
532 Cartagena 
 
 handed and I must send our only quartermaster to 
 the helm." 
 
 In an instant his resolution was taken. He would 
 have no English blood upon his hand, or conscience, 
 but he would risk his life freely for his companions. 
 
 "I thank you, Monsieur le Capitaine," said he ; "but 
 let Gaspard go to his division, and I will keep La 
 Delivrance on her course. He is young, and you 
 know that no man on board can con the old hussy 
 more closely than I." 
 
 "But," said the master, gravely, "you know not 
 what you ask. We have but poor defences at the 
 best, and a hundred muskets will sweep yonder 
 quarter-deck like a tempest of death. Poor Gaspard 
 is even now at confession, and you surely would not 
 leave the lady Inez alone in the world." 
 
 Ulloa, the Spanish captain, stood beside them, 
 gazing with keenly searching eyes into the New 
 Englander s face. To him Stephen turned and ad 
 dressed himself: 
 
 "Don Antonio de Ulloa, you can judge between us. 
 I am unused to the language of his crew, and have 
 never practised at these guns; neither do I know the 
 orders usually given in action. I might, indeed, sight 
 a gun at short range, though I should prefer to use a 
 musket if I must withdraw my offer. But I am 
 not afraid of death, and the Senorita Inez will re 
 main in the protection of God, whether I fall at the 
 helm of La Delivrance or steer her safely clear of 
 her assailants; for I know you hope not to conquer 
 against such odds. 
 
 "You had better give the Senor Olivarez his own 
 
Homeward Bound 533 
 
 way," said de Ulloa, with a grim smile. "There is no 
 man here who will do that duty better, though he 
 looks so little like a weatherbeaten son of the sea. 
 Thou hast chosen well, my friend/ he continued, as 
 the captain moved out of hearing, "but these canaille 
 are not sailors of His English Majesty, but mere li 
 censed freebooters, who will rob you of your last 
 pistole, whether English, French or Spaniard." 
 
 "I have not yet made up my mind not to fight, but 
 I have held yonder post in as great a strait, and 
 hope at least to carry La Delivrance clear of her 
 enemies." 
 
 The crews were already at quarters, and Stephen, 
 walking aft, took his place at the tiller, with two 
 stout seamen at the ropes by which that clumsy 
 contrivance was guided. Gaspard, with a blush on 
 his fair, boyish face, thanked Hay gratefully, and 
 went to his brace of four-pounders with a zeal which, 
 had it been backed by heavier metal, would have 
 augured ill for the privateersmen. 
 
 At about seven o clock, the French ships still keep 
 ing their course on the wind, the Duke bore down 
 upon the line with the wind upon her quarter, 
 yawing and firing her bow chasers from time to time, 
 until at last the Hour dc Us was hoisted ; and, running 
 alongside at scarce pistol-shot distance, the Duke 
 engaged the La Delivrance and Louis Erasme, pour 
 ing in her heavy twelve-pound shot, and sweeping off 
 with volleys of bullets from pateraros and muskets 
 every one who showed himself above the bulwarks 
 or on the forecastle, where, in most of the French 
 vessels, several guns were mounted en barbette, and 
 were therefore useless during the fight. 
 
5o4 Cartagena 
 
 The Prince Frederick at the same time engaged 
 the Marquis D Antin, and, trusting to her thicker 
 bulwarks and heavier guns, chose not to lose men by 
 boarding, but, laying close alongside, threw in sucli 
 heavy broadsides that in less than three hours, hav 
 ing lost her captain, received many shot between 
 wind and water, and lost so many of her crew that 
 her scuppers ran blood, the French ship struck, 
 amid the hoarse cheers of the crew of the Prince 
 Frederick, and Stephen knew that for the French 
 all hope of beating off their foes was over. 
 
 Still he kept his post, although the rain of bullets 
 showered upon the quarter-deck of La Delivrance 
 was at times perfectly appalling; for the tops of the 
 Duke were crowded with sharpshooters, who could 
 find no better mark than the gigantic form and 
 noble h.ead, with its long yellow curls, which never 
 flinched, though the gay Spanish hat was pierced 
 through, and the laced coat he wore was cut in many 
 pieces. His assistants had been replaced twice, shot 
 down almost as soon as seen, and, as the fifth was 
 sent to take their place, the man s face paled to ashy 
 whiteness, and Gaspard drew his pistol to enforce 
 the order. 
 
 Stephen greeted the steersman with a quiet smile, 
 and beckoned to him to assist him in laying a little 
 nearer the Duke, which for the time was nearly in a 
 position to be raked, being chiefly engaged with the 
 Louis Erasme, which vessel the Prince Frederick 
 was also preparing to attack. 
 
 Even as he caught up the slack of the purchase, 
 red with the blood of preceding victims, a volley is- 
 
Homeward Bound 535 
 
 sued from the tops, and his arm hung at his side 
 scored from wrist to elbow with a ragged wound. 
 
 "Gracias a Dios" he muttered fervently as he leapt 
 under cover of the bulwarks and made his way be 
 low. " Tis a mercy that it was not through the heart 
 that that bullet came, as with poor Pepe and Ri- 
 cardo," and Stephen, even under such surroundings, 
 could not but laugh, as he saw how a misfortune, 
 bad enough in itself, had been deemed a light calam 
 ity in the near presence of death. 
 
 The fire of the English seemed to increase in fury, 
 the roar of guns and the sharper reports of swivel 
 and musket blended in an infernal symphony, whose 
 lighter accompaniments were the whistle of bullets, 
 the buzz of chain and crossbar shot, the crash of 
 spars, the rattle of grape, and the failing cheers of 
 the overpowered French mariners. Yet still La De- 
 livrance poured in her light broadsides, striving to 
 save her consort, guided by the calm courage and 
 skill of Stephen, whose fair face was becoming ter 
 rible with gouts of blood, and grimy with the thick 
 smoke of the burnt priming. 
 
 "Head her on the larboard tack," suddenly 
 shouted the French captain. "All hands make ready 
 to tack ship. Beady. About," and two minutes 
 later La Delivrance was clear of the smoke to wind 
 ward of the Erasme and her antagonists, to whom 
 her unfortunate consort was soon compelled to 
 strike, after her captain, who had also tried to es 
 cape by flight, had been mortally wounded, and a 
 large part of her crew placed hors de combat. 
 
 When once well to windward of the enemy, Ste- 
 
536 Cartagena 
 
 phen was relieved, and none too soon; for he was 
 found to be wounded in several places, and, although 
 none were dangerous, the loss of blood left him un 
 able to appear upon deck again for several days. 
 
 But the condition of La Delivrance was far from 
 encouraging. Nine of her people had fallen in the 
 conflict, and so many shot had passed through her 
 sides, that it was midnight ere she was cleared of 
 water and placed in seaworthy condition. More 
 over, although but a few days sail from her destina 
 tion, she dared not risk another conflict, being poor 
 ly prepared for fighting at the best, and now nearly 
 out of ammunition. It was accordingly determined 
 to change their course back across the Atlantic to 
 the fortress city of Louisbourg, whence, according to 
 one of the crew who had been there, two or more 
 French men-of-war, of heavy armament, would re 
 turn w r ith convoys to France. 
 
 The prizes just taken by the English had been 
 valued at nearly f 3,000,000, and the cargo of La De 
 livrance, though smaller, was worth little less than 
 a moiety of that huge sum. All agreed that delays 
 and danger were not to be considered, with such in 
 terests at stake; so that night the course was 
 changed to the north and west, and on the 12th of 
 August, at noon, they made the Isle Koyale, lying 
 like a dim cloud on the eastern horizon. 
 
 At six o clock the next morning they sighted a 
 brigantine bound for Louisbourg, and La Deliv 
 rance hoisted the French ensign; seeing this the 
 stranger fired several guns, and crowded sail for the 
 harbor, while certain fishermen lying on the coast 
 
Homeward Bound 537 
 
 followed her example. The city and forts, and the 
 harbor crowded with shipping, were now plainly vis 
 ible, and the French ensigns, floating from every 
 staff and masthead, promised to the w r eary voyagers 
 an end to their adventurous and perilous cruise, and 
 rest from fear and disquietude; w r hile two men-of- 
 war, issuing from the port, came out to meet the new 
 arrival, seeing which, the captain of La Delivrance 
 ordered the shot to be withdrawn from the guns, 
 that any salute given might be courteously re 
 turned. 
 
 The smallest, a ship of about fifty guns, came 
 close alongside, and as if by magic the whole scene 
 was changed. The English ensign replaced the 
 French Hair dc Us; the portholes flew open, revealing 
 a tremendous battery, manned by trained gunners 
 with lighted matches; and a single cannon from the 
 upper deck opened upon the helpless frigate, bring 
 ing her fore yard down upon the shrouds, while a 
 richly dressed officer cried from the quarter deck, 
 "Surrender to His Majesty s ship Chester! 
 
 In the presence of such a force and under such cir 
 cumstances, it was madness to resist; but the cap 
 tain and his distinguished passengers managed to 
 throw overboard their important dispatches, and 
 Inez and Stephen secured their personal valuables, 
 before the small boat lowered for the purpose 
 boarded the ill-fated frigate. 
 
 To do them justice, all were treated with great 
 courtesy and even lenity by their captors, and Ste 
 phen found many personal friends among the New 
 Englanders who, under Pepperell and Warren, had 
 
538 Cartagena 
 
 dared to attempt the reduction of the Gibraltar of 
 America. His story gained for himself and his fair 
 companions a favorable reception, and after a short 
 delay the party found passage by a returning trans 
 port to Boston, where they arrived safely about the 
 first of September, in the year 1745. 
 
 Here, after due inquiry at the Swan Tavern, he 
 found that John Hewson was still living, though he 
 had tired of the sandy cape and was domiciled at or 
 near Cohasset, where the cliffs, with velvet turf and 
 varied foliage, overhang the long reach of huge 
 ledges stretching far to seaward. An express sent 
 to him brought back a messenger, who said that the 
 old man being unable to come himself, had sent him 
 for the young lady and her companion ; but Stephen 
 made over to Inez the precious belt worn through so 
 many strange vicissitudes and, after satisfying him 
 self that he left his proteges in good hands, took pas 
 sage by a wood sloop for Plymouth. 
 
 They parted late at night, for the tide was run 
 ning in and the breeze light, and for nearly an hour 
 they sat side by side at the end of the long pier, talk 
 ing of the past and wishing, yet dreading to speak of 
 the future just before them. At last the skipper was 
 seen approaching, and Inez rose to return to the 
 inn. 
 
 "I go back to the upper springs," said Stephen 
 sadly. "What if I should find myself forgotten, like 
 Ocana, at the sources of the Magdalena?" 
 
 The brave, true daughter of Olivarez, took his fev 
 ered hand in hers, and her splendid eyes, bright and 
 strong despite the tears that gathered under their 
 
Homeward Bound 539 
 
 long lashes, met his in one long, loving glance, which 
 needed not the words she spoke to tell their mean 
 ing. "Thou hast been true to thy nation, thy faith 
 and thy friends; more than true to mine and me. Be 
 true to thyself even to the end, and living or dying, 
 together or apart, no one shall be dearer than thou 
 art to me. Farewell, my brother, we shall meet 
 in heaven s good time." 
 
 She was gone; the rough but kindly raillery of the 
 skipper recalled him to the needs of his homeward 
 journey; and the next day at noon he set out from 
 Plymouth with a stout horse, capable of making un 
 der saddle some two leagues an hour, with the easy 
 amble taught in those days to the steeds of the Nar- 
 ragansett plantations. 
 
 That night he rode into Sandwich town and put 
 up at the tavern, w r here he was welcomed as one 
 from the dead by the old hostler; for Timothy Rug- 
 gles and his wife w r ere absent, and, it was rumored, 
 about to give up the business of entertaining the 
 public. 
 
 Here for the first time Stephen learned of the con 
 dition of affairs at the homestead a story over 
 which the old serving-man sat late at night, detail 
 ing how Stephen having been reported dead, his 
 friends had mourned him for a season; how the 
 church had been crowded with weeping listeners to 
 the quaint memorial sermon; how his will had been 
 proved, his estate divided ; how his brother had mar 
 ried his betrothed within the year just past. 
 
 And w r hen Stephen had been shown to his room, 
 the old man wondered that his unexpected guest 
 
540 Cartagena 
 
 had shown little of disquietude and less of anger; 
 and more than once took from his pocket the Span 
 ish dollar he had given him at parting, to assure 
 himself that he had indeed given shelter to a man 
 of flesh and blood. 
 
 But although he arose early to his routine of daily 
 duty, his strange visitor was gone, and only the un 
 touched bed and the reckoning duly laid on the an 
 tique table told of the coming and departure of the 
 long-lost Stephen Hay. 
 
 It was still dark when Stephen, unable to sleep 
 and wearied with contending emotions, left his 
 chamber, and leaving his reckoning behind him, is 
 sued from the inn and took the old familiar road to 
 Ploughed Neck. The air was cool but not chill, the 
 weather clear and calm, the darkness not of in 
 creasing night, but of the dawning day, and though 
 the stars still glimmered overhead the eastern sea 
 board was of the soft, warm, pearly gray, which tells 
 of coming daylight. 
 
 He passed the square, unpainted church, where 
 his funeral sermon had been preached months ago, 
 and thought of similar scenes witnessed by himself 
 in years long past, when the pastor and people had 
 met to honor the memories of unburied friends and 
 neighbors lost at sea, or slain in the wilderness by 
 the Indian enemy; and a strange sense of loneliness 
 came upon him as he thought that he walked alone 
 in the darkness, as one of the dead, his mourning 
 over, his bethrothed joyful in a brother s love, his 
 estate divided; his possessions scattered, his memo 
 rial service said, his monument erected amid the 
 
Homeward Bound 541 
 
 graves of his fathers. No, not this last, he remem 
 bered with a thrill of anger, for the garrulous hostler 
 had told him how his brother had scorned to place a 
 simple slab of slate amid the family monuments, but 
 had ever spoken of a more stately offering to the 
 memory of a brother, who had left him an estate 
 deemed in those simple days a small fortune. " Tis 
 like enough he purposeth to have it out from home 
 by the fall ships," had said his half-w T ondering, half- 
 fearful attendant, "but, now your honor hath come 
 back, there will be no need therefor." 
 
 As he proceeded he issued from the village into 
 the narrow country road, of which only the central 
 track, worn hard by the wheels of the daily stage 
 coach and its four strong horses, was left bare of 
 herbage, excepting the narrow footpath of smooth, 
 hard trodden sand along which Stephen walked 
 slowly, busy with strange and varied imaginings. 
 
 Past rural burying places, which seemed to him 
 strangely peaceful and alluring, as if more fitting 
 his reception than the dwellings of the living, w r ho 
 had ceased to mourn him; past swamps where robin, 
 cat-bird and grakle were beginning to utter their 
 first, low love notes from their nests amid the thick 
 ets ; along the border of the inland forest, where al 
 ready the bell-like bark of a slo.whound on the track 
 of fox or deer, told that others beside himself were 
 astir in the dawning; across the rippling trout 
 streams, beside moss-gown walls of loose piled stone, 
 overhung with ripening apples; and through fields of 
 maize, threaded by a narrow, long trodden footpath, 
 Stephen Hay came before sunrise to the dew-laden 
 lawn before the home of his birth. 
 
542 Cartagena 
 
 No sign of change was visible in the uncertain 
 light, and it seemed to Stephen as if it might have 
 been only the night before, that he bade farewell to 
 his betrothed, under the apple trees beyond the 
 mossy well-curb. No one had yet arisen, and in fe 
 verish restlessness the wanderer walked from one 
 well-remembered spot to another, seeming to see in 
 each familiar object a fresh welcome to the dear 
 old homestead, and yet he could not but fancy that 
 even to his disembodied spirit such a greeting might 
 have been vouchsafed as fittingly. 
 
 The dawn was coming fast, and w T hite mists began 
 to obscure the surrounding landscape, when, with a 
 low growl, a large dog issued from his lair in the cen 
 tre of the huge woodpile, and surlily approached 
 him. 
 
 "Buff! Come Buff! Good fellow! good fellow! 
 Come, Buff! come!" cried Stephen, with a sad 
 yearning for sympathy; and the dog, old, lame and 
 nearly blind, uttered a low whine, and shambling to 
 his master s side essayed to leap upon him, as in the 
 years long past, and covered the trembling hand out 
 stretched to welcome him with kisses. 
 
 Stephen sank down on the flagged walk beneath 
 the window, and caught the great shaggy animal in 
 his arms, pressing the huge head against his breast; 
 for this was the first heart-greeting, the first tribute 
 of living affection which had as yet welcomed him 
 back among the living. 
 
 Then he arose, as if ashamed of the passing weak 
 ness: 
 
 "I will take a stroll around the place until the 
 
Homeward Bound 543 
 
 horn blows for breakfast. They will all be up then, 
 and I may feel calmer and stronger than now. No, 
 Buff, old fellow! You must go back to bed. No, sir! 
 Go back, sir !" and the chidden dog, with a mournful, 
 appealing whine, turned to go to his kennel. 
 
 "It s too bad," thought Stephen, as he went 
 toward the barn. "He does n t want to leave me, 
 and he shall go if he wants to. Come, Buff! come!" 
 he cried, raising his voice; and the old retriever, with 
 a lumbering rush, dashed across the yard, and ac 
 companied him on his errand of inspection. 
 
 As they passed the barnyard, Stephen saw the 
 staid 2 matronly cows, which were graceful and mis 
 chievous calves at their first pasturage five years 
 ago, and on the horns of one, tiny bits of blue ribbon 
 made his heart give a leap of joy; for he knew that 
 that must be "Tempie s cow," grown up from the 
 weakly yearling he had given her for her own. 
 
 "Temple, at least, and mother and father will be 
 glad that I am not dead, and Untequit--for yonder 
 garrulous old man said he still lived with the old 
 folks will give me a hearty welcome. Come, Buff! 
 I would I had a gun with me, for there should be fine 
 sport on the marshes now. Let us go down by the 
 Brush and the cartway to the beach, and see the sun 
 rise from the ocean." 
 
 With a brisk and lighter step Hay went swiftly 
 across the meadows to an orchard, scarcely divided 
 from a thick copse of oaks, hickories and smaller 
 growth, through which a footpath led to a narrow 
 creek, where, moored to either bank by long paint 
 ers, a whaleboat offered easy ferriage to the sand 
 hills beyond. 
 
544 Cartagena 
 
 Ten minutes later Stephen stood on the sloping 
 beach, and saw in the east the crimson glory reach 
 ing across the horizon, as the first glimpse of the 
 lurid sun rose above the low line of sand dunes 
 trending northeast. He seated himself on a sea- 
 whitened spar half buried in the drifting sands, the 
 old dog crouched whining at his feet, and the east 
 wind came sweet and clear to his hot eyes and fe 
 vered cheeks, as he gave himself once more to a re 
 view of the new trials to be met and conquered. 
 
 "Why should I care for my lost land?" he said to 
 himself, "or for the few valuables -my poor sisters 
 have taken to their homes, as my last bequest? My 
 earnings and researches in the mountains brought 
 me far more than thrice their value. As for Marga 
 ret, she has but done wisely and well in marrying my 
 brother. Had I been wise, I had long since taken 
 Inez to my arms, and found love, content and eternal 
 springtime amid the vineyards of Popayan. Come, 
 old doggy, the sun is up ; let us go back to the house 
 and greet all kindly and cheerily." 
 
 Meanwhile at the homestead, the family had 
 arisen, the kine had been milked and sent to their 
 pasturage, and the tools made ready for the day s 
 labor on the distant marshes. All were gathered 
 at the morning meal, the deacon, scarcely older or 
 graver than five years before; Joshua, already old 
 with overthought, labor and care; Lish, still light- 
 hearted, beside Margaret, pale yet beautiful, with 
 her babe close at hand in the old cradle; and Black 
 Bill, maimed in one wrist, but able, nevertheless, to 
 do "more than a man s work," as all the neighbor- 
 
Homeward Bound 545 
 
 hood allowed. Only two were wanted to complete 
 the family circle, Mrs. Hay and little Tempie. 
 
 The latter, alas, had long been an invalid, and 
 there were few who knew r her who did not sadly 
 shake their heads when they marked her clear, pal 
 lid complexion, over-bright eyes and sad, abstracted 
 manner ; for the scourge of old New England villages 
 had claimed too many victims in S - to leave any 
 ignorant of the symptoms of his fatal presence. 
 
 Many wondered, indeed, that she had so long 
 resisted the distressing cough and weakening night 
 sweats, which had reduced her slight body to a mere 
 skeleton; and her stern but affectionate father and 
 gentle mother awaited in trembling faith that new 
 trial in which they must only say "Thy will be done." 
 
 This morning, however, she had insisted on being 
 dressed and taking a seat at the table, for a strange 
 dream or experience had given her a semblance of 
 added strength, and she had pleaded so for permis 
 sion that the sick chair had been drawn up, and Tern- 
 pie, "Little Tempie" alas no longer, came leaning 
 on her mother s arm, and sat listening to the prayer 
 uttered, while others stood with bowed heads 
 around the table. But when all were seated, Deacon 
 Hay noticed a strange eager, nervous look of expec 
 tation in his daughter s face, and traces of tears in 
 his wife s eyes. 
 
 "What is the matter, Tempie?" he asked kindly. 
 "I heard no complaint from you last night. Did you 
 not sleep well ? 
 
 "Yes, father," she replied tremblingly, "I slept 
 very well until morning, but then Oh, mother, tell 
 him, for I can t, I can t." 
 
546 Cartagena 
 
 "Temple is somewhat frightened, Elisha, for this 
 morning early she thought, or dreamed, or fancied, 
 that she heard " 
 
 "I did not dream or fancy, mother," said the child 
 with a strange persistency. "I did hear Stephen s 
 voice. He called Buff to him, and his voice was 
 choked and sad." 
 
 Margaret started up with a faint cry ; Lish dropped 
 his fork and knife and stared in utter bewilderment 
 at the speaker, and Joshua, with a quiet, incredu 
 lous smile, calmly proceeded with his breakfast, hav 
 ing promptly settled in his mind the status of a tale 
 founded on the fancy of a sick girl ; Black Bill went 
 outside quietly, while Deacon Hay turned to the 
 girl and questioned her not unkindly as follows: 
 
 "I can, of course, have no doubt that you were mis 
 taken, Tempie, but tell me all about it. At what 
 time did you hear w r hat you describe?" 
 
 "It was just before daylight, and not half an hour 
 before you arose, that I awoke from a deep sleep, 
 and heard, as I thought, two persons talking in low 
 tones under my window. The words were sad but 
 indistinct, and I did not think just then, how unlike 
 ly it was that people would be out there at that time 
 of the morning. But about a quarter of an hour 
 later I heard Stephen call Buff call him just as 
 plainly as ever I heard him before he left us for 
 the war. Then I lay and listened, for I hoped 
 although I almost feared to hear my brother s voice 
 again; and at last I had to call mother and tell her." 
 
 As she finished speaking, Black Bill returned from 
 outside with a grave look in his eyes. 
 
Homeward Bound 547 
 
 "What said the voice, Miss Tempie?" 
 
 "Nothing but Come, Buff! come! just as I ve 
 heard him hundreds of times before he went away; 
 only his voice was very mournful, just as when he 
 talked with me in the orchard about going to fight 
 the Spaniards." 
 
 " Twas only fancy, my child. We can never hear 
 his voice again except in a better country, where 
 sin and death will no longer separate us from those 
 we love. Come, Bill and Lish, we must hurry through 
 with breakfast, for we must mow the island meadow 
 before the tide rises." 
 
 Black Bill whispered a word or two in his ear, and, 
 w r ith an expression which those who witnessed it 
 never forgot, Deacon Hay arose and went outside, 
 where the other members of the family could not 
 overhear their words. 
 
 "What mean you, William?" began Deacon Hay, 
 agitated beyond his wont. "Think you that it is pos 
 sible that the dead should come back to the living? 
 You, yourself, say you saw him dead in the castle 
 ditch at San Lazaro, covered with brains and blood. 
 How, then, can you encourage the fancies of a poor 
 sick child, who has always held in her heart to see 
 ing her brother once more?" 
 
 "I don t know, master, whether the dead come 
 back or not, though my people have ever believed 
 that, to some, all men, living or dead, were visible; 
 but this thing I do know that the dog is gone." 
 
 "Old Buff gone? Impossible! He s asleep or sick 
 inside the wood-pile yonder, but he never leaves 
 the place except with some of us." 
 
548 Cartagena 
 
 "I ve taken down a part of the wood-pile, and 
 know he s not there. Stay! don t move for a mo 
 ment;" and, stooping down where he stood, he bent 
 over a footmark in a little patch of sand disclosed 
 by the removal of a few square feet of the thin sod. 
 
 "That footprint was made this morning, and by a 
 Spanish boot, and here is Buff s foot right beside it. 
 There was some one here this morning; and were it 
 not that I know that he is dead, I could swear that 
 yonder footprint could have been made by no other 
 than your son." 
 
 "If here, why has he kept apart from us?" asked 
 the agitated and half-convinced father. "Why 
 should he pass by his father s house, and hide him 
 self from those who love him ? . There is no one that 
 I can see anywhere in the fields. Stay r I have it. 
 You can call the dog away from us all. Call him to 
 you now." 
 
 Untequit, with a grave smile, nodded his head, 
 and putting his hands to his lips gave three shrill 
 whistles, which were echoed from the walls of the 
 foliage of the great swamp half a mile away. The 
 dog issued almost instantly from the orchard, and 
 man and master hastening thither, saw a powerful, 
 sunbronzed and bearded man hastily crossing the 
 meadow below, towards the house, and a moment 
 later Stephen was clasped in their arms. 
 
 With his stern face wet with grateful tears, and 
 softened into unwonted kindness by this "crowning 
 mercy," Deacon Hay hastened a few minutes later 
 to the house, where the others, for the most part 
 too perturbed to eat, were sitting in uneasy silence. 
 
Homeward Bound 549 
 
 Temple alone seemed somewhat calmer, but as her 
 father entered she arose from her seat, and unaided 
 walked to meet him with outstretched arms, crying 
 "He is come! My dear brother is come! O, where 
 is he, father? Let me see him before I die." 
 
 There entered a tall, stately gentleman, rich of 
 garb and elegant in manner, with little left to tell 
 of the soi disant volunteer who had been mourned as 
 dead, yet none the less the same noble, simple 
 hearted and generous brother and son who had left 
 them five years before. AVith an ease but too pain 
 fully noticeable to all he caught Temple in his arms 
 and raised her to his breast, covering her face with 
 kisses, and the child bowing her frail head, by turns 
 bent to return his caresses, and then in sisterly pride 
 and wonder, drew T back to gaze at the rich garb and 
 splendid beauty of her recovered brother. 
 
 "I knew you w r ould come, brother," she sighed at 
 last. "I knew you would come, but I could not have 
 waited much longer. I thought you would come 
 w r hen the leaves budded, and now they will soon be 
 gone." 
 
 Mrs. Hay, thoughtful even in her joy, motioned to 
 Stephen to place his frail burden in her easy chair, 
 and through her tears greeted the wanderer with a 
 warmth, that speedily dispelled all Stephen s misgiv 
 ings as to his welcome home. Joshua, indeed, made 
 no striking demonstration, but his "Welcome home, 
 brother !" and warm, hearty grasp spoke volumes in 
 themselves. 
 
 But the young couple stood aloof for a few mo 
 ments as if afraid to join in the greeting, and poor 
 
550 Cartagena 
 
 Lish s face was unutterably sad and disquieted, 
 while Margaret glanced from her husband to her 
 babe in alternate apprehension and vexation. 
 
 Stephen saw, and strode across the room to 
 where, by their side, the little child slept uncon 
 scious of human passion in its rude cradle, and 
 stooping, kissed its rosy lips. "God bless you, little 
 one," he said, raising his chapeau as he spoke ; and, 
 rising, he extended his hand to Lish, who, grasping 
 it in both his own, burst into a passion of tears. 
 
 "All has been ordered well and wisely," said 
 Stephen kindly; "strangely, it may be, but not 
 through fault of yours. I blame you not, Margaret ; 
 indeed, I could not, for why should you have loved 
 the living less than the dead?" 
 
 "Let us thank God for this," said the elder Hay 
 solemnly. "Our son, who was dead, is alive again. 
 He was lost, and is found." And kneeling, the re 
 united household gave thanks to God in prayer. 
 
Chapter XXXVIII. 
 Under the Locusts 
 
 For several weeks the life led by Stephen Hay 
 seemed, despite his past adventures and the gen 
 erally confused state of his temporal affairs, one of 
 almost perfect joy and rest, with little to alloy the 
 tranquil repose and the quiet renewal of old friend 
 ships and associations. 
 
 Lish had spoken often of returning to him his 
 divided estate, but Stephen had kindly but firmly 
 refused to resume possession. "I have done with 
 life here, and henceforth our lives must lie apart, 
 so far as our avocations are concerned. Mother and 
 the girls are welcome to their portion as well, and I 
 have more than enough to console me for the little 
 my will distributed." 
 
 . A visit to the capital enabled him to learn the fate 
 of his comrades of the Colonial brigade, few of 
 whom had been more fortunate than himself, even 
 of those who survived to return to their kindred. 
 
 From the ending of the siege of Cartagena their 
 superior skill and general knowledge had marked 
 them for extra duty, and even on the return voyage 
 to Jamaica Lord Vernon had hardly saved some of 
 his ships, had he not pressed the formerly despised 
 Americans into use as sailors, carpenters and rig 
 gers. 
 
 Arrived at Jamaica the troops were again landed, 
 and again were exposed to the ravages of tropical 
 
552 Cartagena 
 
 disease, which carried off many of the northern 
 troops, yet nevertheless a large part of the brigade, 
 reinforced by English marines and another body of 
 Jamaican negroes, were sent to lay siege to San 
 tiago de Cuba, landing and encamping at Guantan- 
 amo harbor. 
 
 As it was late in the fall, for a time all went well ; 
 and roseate stories of the beauty, healthfulness and 
 resources of the country, helped the enlistments re 
 sorted to to fill up the depleted companies, and added 
 to the number of prospective conquerors and set 
 tlers of the island of Cuba, for it was seriously pro 
 posed both to conquer and occupy the country. 
 
 But delay, jealousy and the miserably conducted 
 commissariat and medical service of that era, re 
 peated in Cuba the sad experiences of the Cartagena 
 fiasco, and in the winter of 1743-44 a few individuals 
 returned at intervals to the colonies, to tell of the 
 almost utter destruction of the American brigade. 
 
 Not less than five thousand men had enlisted, and 
 had been forwarded to Jamaica, during the war by 
 the American colonies, and less than five hundred 
 ever returned to tell of their disappointed hopes and 
 terrible sufferings. 
 
 Of the failure of the several expeditions under 
 the direction of Lord Yernon, history has heretofore 
 been remarkably silent; and for some reason, with 
 the exception of the attempt on Cartagena, the op 
 erations of the English fleet and army in the West 
 Indies from 1740-44, inclusive, seem to have been 
 kept from the English public with astonishing suc 
 cess. 
 
Under the Locusts 553 
 
 Despite the disgraceful failures and loss of men 
 and material, experienced, as it seems to us, largely 
 through his own selfishness, obstinacy or avarice, 
 Lord Vernon escaped with little loss of influence or 
 prestige; and it was many years after, that his own 
 insolence and pride brought about his retirement 
 from the navy. 
 
 After much inquiry and no little search, Stephen 
 found the survivors of his boat s crew; for Wood- 
 side had died of fever at Guantanamo, and only 
 Jones and Gibbs had lived to return with the rem 
 nant of Stewart s company. 
 
 Jones had escaped disease and battle, and re 
 turned to Cape Ann and the more congenial avoca 
 tion of the shore fishery. Gibbs, less fortunate, was 
 an inmate of the poorhouse of his native town, 
 though helped by yearly grants of pension money 
 from the Massachusetts legislature. 
 
 Finding his old comrade no mean mechanic, Hay 
 assisted him to tools and stock enough to insure him 
 a fair start in business, and his after life, if humble, 
 was at least independent, honest and happy; for he 
 became a general favorite with young and old, to 
 whom in his later days he narrated interminable 
 stories of his adventures "down on the Spanish 
 Main." 
 
 After his case had been duly investigated and his 
 discharge made out in due form, Stephen returned 
 home and gave himself up to the society of Tempie, 
 whose health seemed to improve in the great joy of 
 the unexpected return of her lost favorite. The af 
 fection between them had always been noted as un- 
 
554 Cartagena 
 
 usually strong, but now in her weakness Temple 
 could scarcely have found greater or more constant 
 tenderness in the most devoted lover. 
 
 He carried her in his strong arms whenever her 
 strength seemed unequal to the task ; he bought her 
 delicacies almost unknown before to the simple 
 tastes of the Cape people ; his skill tempted her ap 
 petite with spotted brook trout, tender quail and 
 plump partridge, and the venison of the inland for 
 est was scarcely ever wanting in the family larder, 
 while, at his suggestion, remedies which had come to 
 his knowledge during his wanderings were adopted, 
 with the best results. 
 
 At last, about the middle of September, they sat 
 together in the orchard, she in her easy chair and 
 he reclining at her feet, while just outside the line 
 of shadow before them the ground was strewn with 
 the sweet fruit of the early summer pears, great 
 golden spice apples and high-bough sweetings. 
 Tempie had a pile of letters in her lap, daintily 
 folded and written in a minute Italian hand. Some 
 of these Stephen had evidently been reading to her, 
 others she was perusing for herself. 
 
 "She is a noble lady," she said at last, "and worthy 
 of you, my own dear brother ; but you can t tell how 
 I dread to have you ever leave me again. I ve never 
 cared so much for anyone as I have for you, for, 
 while the others are all kind, they seem in some way 
 so different, so cold, so anxious to be neither angry 
 or loving, ignorant or learned, elegant or awkward. 
 Sometimes life has seemed so dull, monotonous and 
 wearisome, that I really think it worried me into 
 
Under the Locusts 555 
 
 the fever which has left me so weak and nigh to 
 death; and now if you go away again, I shall have 
 no one to talk to, or encourage me, and I shall pine 
 away and die, I know, for they have never cheered 
 or encouraged me as you do." . 
 
 Stephen drew a packet from his breast and handed 
 it to her, as he fondly rested his head on the arm of 
 her chair: 
 
 "Here is my last letter, with her picture on ivory. 
 I met her in Boston while the artist was painting it, 
 and we had tw r o pleasant evenings together. Is she 
 not beautiful, my dear little sister?" 
 
 Tempie gazed at the noble features, rich garb and 
 tropical beauty of Inez, and turned with a half-sigh 
 to her brother : 
 
 "She is beautiful ; so lovely that I am afraid she 
 will take all your love, and leave none for your poor 
 little Tempie. I was never afraid of Margaret, but 
 do you know? this one is is different." 
 
 Stephen pressed her thin hand to his lips: 
 
 "Fear not, little one; though my Inez is fit to be 
 a queen, she will never wish for so selfish a love as 
 thou fearest. Read this last letter; it is almost as 
 much yours as mine." 
 
 Tempie resigned the locket to her brother and 
 turned to the dainty missive. Let us once more 
 take the liberty of reading a love-letter of the olden 
 
 AUGUST 25, 1745. 
 DEAREST STEFANO: 
 
 It seems unfitting that I should be compelled to 
 confer with you on such matters, but my uncle is 
 
550 Cartagena 
 
 sorely afflicted, and at times can scarcely feed him 
 self for pain ; yet I fear not for his life, and think he 
 has been much better of late. 
 
 But he is anxious to set out for England, there 
 to claim, under his true name of John Hewson Oli 
 ver, a large estate, by the death of my dear father 
 now left solely to him. Your request I need not say 
 for what he hath left to my discretion; but I fear 
 I should lead but an unhappy life with him did I 
 refuse it, as he swears with many strange oaths that 
 you shall be his heir in any event. 
 
 I, however, have too often proved your worth and 
 generosity to wish to thwart his wishes, and shall 
 expect you soon at our poor cottage, to consult with 
 my uncle about our voyage to England. 
 
 I would have you ask the "Temple" of whom you 
 have written so much, to go with us to England, 
 where a change of climate and surroundings may do 
 much to restore her to health; and I need not say 
 that she seems already to me as a near and dear sis 
 ter, although, were she even a cousin, such love as 
 hers would not fail to arouse something like jeal 
 ousy in the heart of your own and affianced, 
 
 INEZ OLIVER. 
 
 As she finished reading, Temple turned to her 
 brother; her large eyes were full of tears; happy 
 tears though, for smiles broke through their seem 
 ing sorrow. "I shall never be jealous of her again, 
 and am almost as anxious to see her, as you dear 
 brother. But shall I really visit England; shall I 
 cross the great ocean and see so many wonders, the 
 
Under the Locusts 557 
 
 great cities, and many people, and, perhaps, the 
 king in his palace?" 
 
 "Yes, dear, God willing. Father has promised, 
 and I go next week to arrange for our wedding, 
 and passage across the ocean. I shall bring back a 
 dress for you to wear at my marriage, and mother 
 has already arranged for your outfit." 
 
 "It is too sweet, too beautiful, to be true," said the 
 child, and the smile faded from her cheek as she 
 spoke. "O, Stephen ! it has been so hard for me be 
 fore you came, for from the first they have let me 
 see that I was doomed to die. The minister came to 
 talk and to pray with me, and though he is a good 
 man, it was cruel in him to crush out hope of life in 
 one so young as I. Months have gone by since then, 
 and it seems to rue that had I not been sad in mind, 
 and discouraged by everyone to hope for life, I 
 should have been better now. And now it almost 
 seems to me that I hear the minister saying, as he 
 said before, that I must look for healing only to the 
 tree that stands by the river of life." 
 
 "Tempie, dear," said Stephen, gravely, "all hu 
 man happiness hath an end, even as human life is 
 at best brief and uncertain, but I tell no one to 
 prepare for death, save those just departing this 
 mortal life. Better is it, it seems to me, to prepare 
 for life, a life noble, unselfish, and loving, which 
 shall spread happiness in its progress, and improve 
 the talents which God has given to its possessor; 
 and if death be near or far, such life must fittingly 
 merge in the eternal life beyond, since no good thing 
 of God is ever lost to him. I, myself, feel so 
 
558 Cartagena 
 
 strangely, completely happy, that I almost fear lest 
 the vision leave me, and I awake to find it a dream; 
 but let us bless God and take courage, using rever 
 ently and gladly his perfect bounty, and ready to 
 receive as readily the reverses, which in their turn 
 will come to us in His good time." 
 
 "I don t think, dear," said Tempie, "that I feared 
 death so much as that I dreaded to leave life so in 
 complete, so empty of good works and noble deeds. 
 I sometimes even long for rest, and peace and free 
 dom from pain; but I would rather do something 
 for those around me, before I rest with the holy ones 
 who went up from great tribulation." 
 
 "So have I ever felt," said Stephen, rising, "and 
 never more than now. Yet I can well see that God 
 may see our work well completed, when to us it ap 
 pears that we have scarce entered upon life s labors. 
 Poor little Frank, of whom I told you, was younger 
 than you, yet his mild courage and kindness left 
 scarcely, a dry eye in the ship when they sent him 
 ashore for burial beside Captain Stewart, and the 
 chaplain they say said to the captain at dinner : "I 
 would that my service here had softened as many 
 hearts as the death of the poor child we buried 
 to-day." 
 
 "But come," said he more cheerily, "let us go in to 
 supper, for mother has just rung the bell, and w r e 
 have much to do before we bid adieu for a time to 
 America and Ploughed Neck. Tis a dear old place, 
 Tempie," he continued, as he supported her steps 
 along the shaded, narrow path, "but a brighter, 
 nobler and happier life I trust awaits us both be 
 yond yonder glassy sea." 
 
tinder the Locusts 559 
 
 That night it became known for the first time 
 that Stephen was about to marry, and that Temple 
 would accompany the happy pair to Great Britain, 
 and four days after the Viana sailed for Boston, 
 manned only by Untequit and Stephen Hay, who 
 had previously by letter informed Inez of his in 
 tended coming to her uncle s hermit cottage at Co- 
 hasset. 
 
Chapter XXXIX. 
 In Gurgite Vasto 
 
 It was just daylight when the Viana got under 
 way, and, running down the narrow harbor with the 
 young ebb, threaded the crooked channel and the 
 labyrinthine sand bars, and, with the wind blowing 
 but scantily from the southwest, slowly left astern 
 the sentinel sand dunes on either side of the quiet 
 haven of Scorton. 
 
 The breeze was flawy and capricious, now corning 
 off from the shore in tiny squalls, and now leaving 
 the broad mainsail swaying idly with every heave 
 of the restless sea. The day was a lovely one, and 
 on every hand the display of animal life was abund 
 ant and alluring. Overhead the first flight of coots 
 on their southward way flecked the cloudless hea 
 vens with rapidly flying and countless flocks, while 
 beneath their tired and hungry companions dotted 
 the ocean, some asleep, rocked idly on the long regu 
 lar swells, and others diving in search of food, or 
 racing through the water in capricious play. 
 
 Out to seaw r ard several schooners lay at anchor, 
 fishing for cod and mackerel, and along the shore 
 crept here and there large seine boats, watching for 
 great schools of silvery bass, now, alas, a rare fish 
 in the waters where then they were taken by thou 
 sands; and on either hand, as the light sloop forged 
 slowly northward, the reunited comrades noted the 
 spouting whales at work amid the schools of small 
 
In Gurgite Vasto 561 
 
 fry, the blue ripple of thousands of herring and 
 mackerel, the dashing rush of porpoise and puinng- 
 pig, and the silently gliding dorsal fin of the stealthy 
 shark and voracious tunny, or horse mackerel. 
 
 Hundreds of tern hovered over the shallows or 
 dropped like flakes of snow upon the smooth water 
 outside the breakers, over which the osprey hovered, 
 to fall like a javelju upon the unconscious fish be 
 low; and flocks of plover and sandpipers with weird 
 ly flute-like calling to each other swept past close 
 to the surface of the sea, or covered with moving 
 dots of white the shelving shore line. 
 
 On the broad marshes, the white shirtsleeves of 
 the haymakers stood out in bold relief against the 
 green back ground of the short thick salt grass, 
 which they were cutting with keen scythes, or piling 
 into huge stacks upon the upland in the shelter of 
 thickly wooded swamps. Beyond these, the fields, 
 graceful with tasseled maize, golden with ripening 
 grain, or dark green with the heavy leaves of various 
 vegetable crops, dotted the already seared and with 
 ered pastures, or peered out from between untouched 
 belts of scrub oak and long-leaved pine. 
 
 Flocks of sheep in tumultuous flight broke here and 
 there into view on the edge of coppiced banks, stop 
 ping suddenly as if aghast at the miniature abyss 
 before them, to survey in breathless silence the sea 
 before them, and then, with simultaneous rush, tak 
 ing shelter in the impenetrable cover, and all along 
 the coast the homesteads of the Plymouth farmers, 
 each with its orchard, garden, barn and well sweep, 
 sent into the heavens its tiny pillar of white smoke, 
 
562 Cartagena 
 
 ascending heavenward through the dreamy air of 
 the warm autumnal harvest season. 
 
 Even the sea, vexed for a week before by heavy 
 easterly winds, lost by degrees its restlessness, and 
 by noontide the swells as they neared the strand 
 ceased to break into foam, and scarcely murmured 
 as their refluent strength exhausted itself on the 
 long levels of bare sand left by the retreating tide. 
 It was a day of perfect peace. One of those rare 
 seasons w r hen, for a time, all things seem at rest, and 
 life, calm, sensuous, delicious, seems without care 
 or pain, and beyond the fear of calamity or death. 
 
 For some hours neither of the men had aught 
 to say to the other, the Indian smoking a curious 
 red stone pipe and Stephen busy with his own 
 golden hopes and the scene before them. At noon, 
 however, they ate their simple meal of home-baked 
 food, and, as they ate, talked of their past adven 
 tures and future expectations. 
 
 "When you leave us to go across the sea, I, too, 
 shall bid farewell to Manomet," said Untequit, at 
 last. 
 
 "Will you not go with us to England, comrade?" 
 said Stephen kindly. "I will see that it costs you 
 nothing, and I shall never find a more faithful as 
 sistant or truer friend." 
 
 A flush of gratified pride lit up the dusky face 
 and keen black eyes, but it soon faded, and he re 
 joined, in a tone which grew in sadness as he pro 
 ceeded: 
 
 "Were you in danger or poverty, I would never 
 leave you, Stephen Hay ; but you go to love and be 
 
In Gurgite Vasto 563 
 
 loved, to find rank and honor and wealth, to move 
 among great men, fair women, and the wondrous 
 cities beyond the seas. I rejoice in your fortunes, 
 but they can offer no hopes of a bright life for me. 
 
 Even in S , while you have won the praise of the 
 
 whole county, the brand of race shuts me out from 
 even the empty reward of fleeting praise." 
 
 "Why, Untequit," said Stephen, pleasantly, "thou 
 hast had the good word of everyone, and, if fame be 
 thy ambition, hast been more fortunate than I; for 
 thy brave deeds as a ranger and slayer of Spaniards 
 have been set forth in every newspaper in the 
 colony." 
 
 "Yes!" said Untequit, scornfully, "but not as the 
 exploits of Untequit, the grandchild of Caneotus, the 
 friend of King Philip, but as the deed of a "Cape 
 Cod Indian," to whom slaughter and subtlety are 
 easy by instinct and training, as to a bloodhound 
 or a wolf. No, no, brother ! I go back to Jamaica 
 as soon as the white topsails of the ship which car 
 ries you are lost from my watching eyes. In no land 
 where the white race rule, can one with a skin less 
 pale rise to the full measure of his manhood. I go 
 where, as ally or outlaw, the planters of Jamaica 
 shall at least respect the leader of the maroons of 
 the mountains." 
 
 "I shall be sorry to part with you," said Stephen, 
 heartily; "and though your words are but too just 
 as to most of my race, believe me, that in my sight 
 your blood is no less pure, no less noble than my 
 own. Indeed, the time has been when I have won 
 dered how a people so brave, enduring and saga- 
 
564 Cartagena 
 
 cious as yours could ever have been reduced to their 
 present estate." 
 
 "It is the will of God," said Untequit, solemnly. 
 "He only could have ordered the fatal plagues 
 which ravaged these coasts, and left the great tribes 
 of the Massachusetts seaboard a scattered remnant, 
 who preferred peace and friendship to a doubtful 
 strife with your feeble ancestors. It was his book 
 that divided the tribes into heathens and Christians, 
 w r ho withstood each other in council, fought each 
 other in battle, and set at naught the subtlety and 
 silent warfare of the forest, which otherwise would 
 have laughed at the clumsy, steel-capped musketeers 
 of the first Englishmen. We must fade away before 
 you here, and I go nearer to the sun that I may 
 leave to my children a birthright which no white 
 man can hope to take away." 
 
 "You are right, Untequit," said Hay. "But how 
 if Inez and I some day sail for Jamaica, and seek you 
 amid the mountains. AVill the partisan or outlaw 
 care to see an old comrade?" 
 
 "You have no need to ask," replied the Indian, 
 reproachfully, "and were you going again to battle, 
 aye or even to certain death, neither hope nor fear, 
 love or gold, desire of life or fear of death should 
 keep me from your side." 
 
 "I know it," said Stephen, heartily, "and I trust 
 our final parting is not yet near at hand. But there 
 is wind in those clouds in the west, and we shall 
 soon be making better headway, I judge, than the 
 score of miles we have made this long day. Keep 
 an eye on the clouds, and steer while I take a nap 
 
In Gurgite Vasto 565 
 
 in the shade of the trunk. Wake me if you need 
 me, or I sleep over long." 
 
 About five o clock the threatened shower came, 
 and at its close the wind had hauled to the north 
 west and the Viana, by a succession of short tacks, 
 was beating against wind and tide toward Boston, 
 with Minot s Ledge some ten miles to windward. 
 The sky was soon cleared overhead, and again the 
 wind diminished to a scanty zephyr. 
 
 "If we keep our course we can make Boston light 
 in one long and a short tack," said Untequit, "that 
 is if this breeze does not die away altogether, and 
 leave us to the ebb tide." 
 
 "That is just what I fear," said Stephen, "and I 
 think we will work close in shore, both to avoid the 
 tide, and the wind which must soon veer to the 
 south, according to my way of thinking." 
 
 "Ah, Stephen Hay, yonder speck of white on the 
 Cohasset shore has I fear more attraction than it 
 should have on a Boston bound coaster, and thou 
 thinkest the wind even will veer, where thy heart 
 is burning to be." 
 
 Stephen blushed like a girl, but knew his com 
 panion too well to resort to the subterfuges with 
 which men ordinarily strive to blind others in mat 
 ters of the heart. 
 
 "She will light the candles soon," he said softly. 
 "She knows the canvas of the Viana, and I doubt 
 not has been watching us through her uncle s tele 
 scope. Tis a glass of wonderful power, for" he 
 boasts that he has noted the time on a church clock 
 at nearly two leagues distance ; but go below to your 
 
566 Cartagena 
 
 rest, and I will work in under the shore to meet the 
 change of wind. The night will be clear and still, 
 and the old hussy scarcely needs a helmsman, when 
 the breeze is steady and the tiller properly beck- 
 eted." . 
 
 The Indian went below, and Stephen sat at the 
 helm, watching the calm sea, and the distant cove 
 whence as the shadows deepened a bright light, as 
 of a signal lantern, sent a tremulous line of reflected 
 radiance across the intervening space. In answer he 
 lit the sloops signal light, and hoisted it to the 
 masthead, and returning to the helm, almost cursed 
 the partial calm which had again set in. 
 
 At nine o clock the tide had turned and was set 
 ting in toward the ledges; while the wind was so 
 light that Stephen no longer dared to stand on for 
 fear of being drifted upon the rocks, and with much 
 difficulty, and the assistance of a slight flaw, the 
 Viana was put about upon the starboard tack, and 
 for a few moments the ripple under her bows told 
 that she was making three or four knots an hour. 
 But shortly the wind lessened, and though from 
 time to time, aroused by an increased pull of the 
 tiller, or the flutter of the canvas, Stephen soon fell 
 into a deep reverie, which passed into somnolence 
 and deep sleep. 
 
 How long he slept he never knew, but in his 
 dreams he saw the fair face of Inez and the loving 
 eyes of Tempie watching him from the strand, while 
 a snip seemed bearing him away from them for 
 ever. In desperation he rushed aft and looked down 
 into the yeasty wake below, and then, springing 
 upon the rail, prepared for a leap into the waves, 
 
In Gurgite Vasto 567 
 
 A heavy blow that seemed to stun him; a flight 
 through space, whose termination, through dreaded, 
 seemed never to be reached, and strangely harmless 
 when attained ; a sudden chill and a sense of suffoca 
 tion awakened him to the consciousness tbat he was 
 overboard, and a hundred fathoms or more astern of 
 the Viana, which, with a fitful flaw filling her canvas, 
 although yawing widely, was still hopelessly out of 
 reach of the swiftest and strongest swimmer. In 
 stinctively, Stephen hailed three times his sleeping 
 companion, treading water vigorously, and exerting 
 the full power of his capacious lungs: 
 
 "Ahoy! Ahoy! Ahoy!" 
 
 But no man answered; and as he saw the little 
 craft grow indistinct in the darkness, even his ap 
 proved courage faltered, for he felt himself face to 
 face with death. 
 
 Yet he addressed himself calmly to his last hope 
 of safety a swim to the shore, nearly six miles 
 away. The tide, he knew, was setting in, and the sea 
 was smooth the only circumstances which gave him 
 hope of succeeding in a feat w T hich he had never 
 seen accomplished by any swimmer. Even as he 
 revolved these things in his brain, still somewhat 
 dazed, and aching with the blow of the shifting 
 boom, he had kicked off his shoes and thrown off the 
 light jacket which he had put on at nightfall. 
 
 With greater caution he succeeded in loosening 
 his knee buckles, so that the long, thick woolen hose, 
 growing heavy with water, could be removed; and 
 lastly, with his strong teeth he tore off the buttons 
 at either wrist, and wrenching the body to ribbons, 
 
568 Cartagena 
 
 gave his loose shirt to the waves. As he did so, he 
 felt the lanyard of his knife, and, opening it with 
 his teeth, cut his small-clothes -on either side, until, 
 free of every encumbrance, he lay naked on the sur 
 face of the sea, swimming with long, regular strokes 
 toward the dim light where love and life awaited 
 him should he escape the death that so unexpectedly 
 had menaced him. 
 
 Six miles away the light shone, as he rose on the 
 throbbing pulses of the sea; a two-knot tide swept 
 toward the ledge, but a mile beyond, and in an hour 
 and a half at farthest he might hope to reach at 
 least a rock on whose top he might rest for a time, 
 until again driven off by the rising tide. The water 
 was warm and the sky above strangely calm and 
 beautiful, and, as he gave himself to his task, the 
 athlete felt that even in such sore strait he might 
 still hope for life. A single muttered prayer for 
 help and strength; a wonderful retrospection of 
 life s pathway; a bitter, yearning cry for help, un 
 heard save of heaven, and- then Stephen Hay was 
 swimming for his life. Aye, more than that, for, as 
 he swam, he thought of his frail sister, whose feeble 
 hold on existence and hopes of strength and happi 
 ness regained beyond the seas would be withered by 
 his loss, like the fervent, tropical love of Inez, whose 
 affection had been stronger than all trial and even 
 jealousy, and, as he thought, despite himself he gave 
 way to exertions which, a moment later, with a 
 smile at his weakness, he forebore. 
 
 Ten, twenty, thirty moments passed, and, grow 
 ing weary, he turned upon his back, trusting to his 
 
In Gurgite Vasto 569 
 
 buoyancy to get breath, and just keeping his mouth 
 and nostrils above the surface until, somewhat re 
 freshed, he again turned toward the light, still miles 
 away from his wearied but not yet despairing eyes. 
 
 At the end of an hour he was again resting, this 
 time with the slight aid of a piece of drift wood, 
 which he placed beneath his neck and found nearly 
 capable of keeping his head above water without 
 exertion. With renewed hope he looked for the light 
 of the Viana; it seemed still afar off on the Atlan 
 tic seaboard, and he turned shoreward again toward 
 the friendly beacon. 
 
 He had taken his support to place it beneath his 
 breast, but, as he did so, it snapped in two and with 
 a strange sinking at his heart he swam slowly on 
 toward the beacon, which seemed to move mocking 
 ly away, as he struggled on with lagging feet and 
 arms which seemed weighed down by an ever in 
 creasing load. Yet even then he gave little thought 
 to death, striking out with a firmer, longer sweep, 
 and summoning, with all the force of his undaunted 
 will, the failing life forces, driven back from the ex 
 tremities to their citadel, the heart. 
 
 Only half a mile away the light glittered and 
 gleamed at last, but the strong swimmer was fail 
 ing fast, the brave spirit faint and weary, the daunt 
 less brain dizzy with the terrible blow of the spar, 
 and its herculean struggle for life. 
 
 Like a dream came back to him the passage of the 
 Parimo, the sea-fight of the Azores, the tropical for 
 ests of Boca Chica, and the strange, wild life of the 
 past five years, and then he seemed to be again in 
 
570 Cartagena 
 
 the close and stifling atmosphere of the old church 
 
 i n g 1 in the old family pew, and in his ears the 
 
 voice of Parson Giddings, deep and grave and sad, 
 uttered the mournful words of the Apocryphal text : 
 
 "And our name shall be forgotten among men, 
 and no man shall have our works in remembrance, 
 and our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud." 
 
 A ripple of rushing water passed over his head, 
 he clutched at some obstacle to his further progress 
 and clung desperately to its support. 
 
 Awaking he lay in an ample bed, and the ci-devant 
 buccaneer and Untequit with bowed heads stood 
 at his feet. Holding his listless hand between her 
 slender fingers, knelt Inez, whose face pallid with 
 suspense, grew brighter as she saw the light of life 
 and love come back into his weary eyes. 
 
 She smoothed back the matted curls from his 
 forehead and covered the captive hand with warm 
 kisses, waiting patiently until he found strength to 
 speak. He seemed to hear again the wild song and 
 barbarous music of the boat-men of Calamar, and 
 the legend of Athalpa and Ocana, the faithful and 
 hapless. 
 
 "Athalpa!" he murmured. "Athalpa! glorious and 
 noble. Ocana comes through deep waters " but 
 he could say no more. 
 
 "Yes, love," she answered in the soft Castilian 
 tongue. "You have come back to me again, I know. 
 May the merciful Mother of God be praised therefor. 
 Now sleep, love, and dream of a happy awakening, 
 for we part never more." 
 
In Gurgite Vasto 571 
 
 When Stephen found himself restored to full con 
 sciousness, John Hewson, or rather John Oliver, 
 would not listen to his proposed departure for Bos 
 ton in the Viana. 
 
 "The Indian just saved you by a boat s length," 
 said he, "and I m not willing to take any more 
 chances. Inez would have died if the Viana had 
 missed ye, and I m in command now. I ll send two 
 men with the Indian to bring up your folks and 
 baggage, and you can ride into Boston in a day or 
 two, and get ready for the wedding. Next week the 
 London packet sails, and we go in her together." 
 
 "But perhaps Inez " said Stephen uneasily, for he 
 noted the flushed cheeks and bowed head of his be 
 trothed, unused to such rough, although well-meant 
 dictation. His voice trembled, for he was still weak, 
 and at the sound Inez forgot all else in her love and 
 solicitude. 
 
 "We will obey him, Stefano," she whispered 
 softly. "He means all for the best, and I Oh, I 
 cannot let you leave* me again." 
 
 So John Oliver had his way, and a week later the 
 seaside cottage was crowded with the witnesses of 
 Stephen Hay s bridal, after which Oliver, Stephen 
 and Inez sailed for England, accompanied by Tern- 
 pie, Rosita and Untequit who, at the last moment, 
 yielded to Stephen s entreaties. 
 
 John Oliver came to his own, and in great con 
 tent lived for some years to enjoy his good fortune, 
 and at his death left his estates to Inez and her 
 heirs, and a large sum of money to Stephen, who 
 long before this had become a successful gen 
 tleman farmer. 
 
572 Cartagena 
 
 Temple regained her health, and married an Eng 
 lish officer, who before the American war had sold 
 out, and taken an estate close by the Oliver manor. 
 Both he and Stephen Hay were found among the 
 many who opposed the measures, which sundered 
 the ties between England and her American 
 colonies. 
 
 Untequit for a few years acted as Stephen s as 
 sistant on the Oliver estates; but he chafed under 
 the restraints of English social life, and his health 
 suffered to such an extent that the family physician 
 declared that he must seek a milder climate. He 
 took passage for Jamaica and joining the Maroons 
 became a chief among them, and was one of the last 
 who submitted to the English authorities, at or 
 near the close of the last century. 
 
Chapter XL. 
 Conclusion 
 
 In the year of our Lord 1854, a boy of ten was 
 rummaging the garret of the old Hay homestead at 
 
 S . At an age when boys are generally robust 
 
 and mischievous he appeared to be weak of body 
 and thoughtful beyond his years, though his atten 
 tion seemed to be about equally divided between a 
 lot of old colonial papers, proclamations, and anti 
 quated books, and some battered arms and equip 
 ments dating back to the wars of the colonies and of 
 the revolution. Two rapiers without scabbards and 
 covered with rust, at last attracted his attention, 
 and taking them below, he asked an amiable looking 
 old gentleman if he could be permitted to keep them. 
 
 "Keep them? Yes, yes! but take care to hurt no 
 one, and don t get the rust on your nice suit." 
 
 "I will clean them in the sand," said the boy. 
 "Whose were they, grandpa?" 
 
 "I can tell you but little, my boy," he said slowly, 
 removing his pipe, and evidently striving to remem 
 ber some story learned in youth, "but his name was 
 Stephen Hay, who went in the old wars as a soldier 
 or sailor, or both, to the Spanish Main, and the siege 
 of Louisbourg. Some say that he was drowned be 
 tween here and Boston from a sloop, and that for 
 some reason the man who was with him failed to 
 pick him up, though he swam well and valiantly for 
 his life." 
 
574 Cartagena 
 
 "And what else? what else, grandpa?" asked the 
 boy, eagerly, his large eyes dilating with interest 
 as he poised first one light rapier and then the other. 
 
 "There is nothing else, except his will and some 
 few small papers among the deeds up stairs. No 
 one knows w 7 here he was buried; and though they 
 say that he was strong and beautiful beyond most 
 men, he died long, very long ago, and is forgotten." 
 
 From the researches of later years, from the lists 
 of officers and soldiers, and fragmentary bits of the 
 scant newspaper intelligence and correspondence of 
 that day, something was added in after years, and of 
 its value those must judge who have followed the 
 story to its close. But its hero, despite his manly 
 beauty and stainless loyalty, his strange adventures, 
 and brave exploits, so far as the traditions of his own 
 people are concerned, lies in an unknown grave, over 
 which, if it could be found, might well be written 
 the words of the wisdom of Solomon: 
 
 "And our name shall be forgotten among men, 
 and no man shall have our works in remembrance, 
 and our life shall pass as the trace of a cloud, and 
 shall be dispersed as the mist that is driven away 
 with the beams of the sun, and overcome with the 
 heat thereof. 
 
 "For our time is a very shadow, that passeth away, 
 and after our end there is no returning; for it is 
 fast sealed, so that there is no returning." 
 

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 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY