"Be not frightened, lads, but pull out as fast as you can for the ship; there are sharks coming after you!"

Their hearts leapt in their breasts at this startling news, and, looking hurriedly round, they perceived, to their horror, that several black triangular dorsal fins were cleaving the water in their wake, and closing rapidly in upon them.

Fortunately the water in the direction in which they were swimming was as yet clear, to all appearance.

"Cannot you send a boat, sir? We are nearly exhausted with the swim," hailed Roger, who was slightly in advance of Harry.

"Nay, that I cannot, lad, for all the boats are still on shore. You must swim, and for your lives' sake swim hard," answered Cavendish from the deck of the ship.

He was leaning anxiously over the bulwarks, and the rail was lined with the faces of the few seamen who were left on board, while two of them had gone down the accommodation ladder and were waiting at the foot, ready to haul the lads in as soon as they were near enough.

The men on board now quickly seized whatever missiles they could lay their hands on, and stood ready to bombard the sharks, in the hope of driving them off, if they did not seize the lads before they got within range.

As for Harry and Roger, they struck out with the energy of terror; but each felt that he was tiring with every stroke, while the knowledge that at any moment they might feel themselves in the jaws of one of those sea-tigers seemed to paralyse their limbs. Their flesh crept with the horror of the thought.

Harry, especially, was showing manifest symptoms of increasing distress; while Roger, resisting the impulse to swim on and reach safety, kept valiantly at his side, encouraging him.

"Go on, Roger," at length gasped Harry; "I am done, and cannot reach the ship. Swim you on and get on board; I will follow if I can."

"Nay, Harry, lad," answered Roger, "either we both get on board, or—or not; we did not make our compact to break it at the first sign of danger. Do your utmost, and we shall yet get on board all right."

Even in his extremity Harry could not avoid noticing that Roger hesitated when he came to "or—or not;" the brave lad could not bring himself to utter the alternative in words.

Before leaving the shore the boys had stripped down to their pantaloons and vests, which they had retained as a makeshift bathing-costume. Now, as luck would have it, Roger invariably wore a belt round his waist, to which was attached a very fine Venetian dagger, slender of blade, sharp as a razor, and very strong.

This had been given him by his father as a parting keepsake, and he looked upon it almost as a kind of talisman; he therefore never allowed it to leave his person.

Merely by force of habit he had buckled this belt and dagger about him before starting for the swim, and now, in the moment of his deadly danger, he suddenly recollected that he had it on him, and an idea came to him like an inspiration.

"Harry, swim you on and reach the ship," said he. "I am not at all tired, and I have my dagger with me; swim on, and I will swim after you. Argue not, lad, you will but waste your breath; do as I say, and make all haste to the ship."

Harry, knowing that when Roger spoke thus it was useless to argue, did as he was ordered, and struck out for the vessel with such energy as he could muster.

For his part, Roger drew his dagger, and held it firmly in his hand; and then, swimming after Harry, began to splash and shout with all his might.

The fins, which had by this time come very close to them, paused suddenly and scattered at the unexpected commotion; and a little time was thus gained for the fugitives, who made the utmost of it.

The sharks, however, were not so easily to be denied, and presently they began to close in again; by which time Harry was approaching the side of the Stag Royal, while Roger was still some distance behind, splashing and shouting vigorously.

The fins drew nearer and nearer with deadly determination.

Abandoning now the splashing, which was greatly exhausting him, Roger put out all his remaining strength and swam for his life, while, the splashing having ceased, the sharks were after him again at once.

It was now a race, not between two boys for a wager of a noble, but between a boy and a school of sharks, with the boy's life as the stake.

The sharks were fast gaining upon Roger, and he and they were as yet quite out of range of the missiles with which the men were ready to pelt the ravenous monsters. But Harry had meanwhile reached the ship and been hauled in and deposited on deck, where he immediately sank down fainting with exhaustion.

Then, seeing his friend safe, Roger redoubled his efforts, and the distance between the sharks and him lessened but slightly, while he decreased the distance between himself and the ship very perceptibly.

These herculean efforts could not last long, however, and the sharks once more began to draw in upon him.

The men on the deck of the ship now shouted, and flung their missiles as far as they could; but the swimmer and the sharks were still too far off for the latter to be frightened by the bombardment.

Inch by inch the ravenous fish closed in on the lad.

He glanced over his shoulder as he swam, and as he perceived how close the monsters were, the men on board the ship could see, even at that distance, that his face turned livid.

The foremost shark was nearly on him now, and there was yet a considerable distance to cover ere he could reach safety.

Suddenly the leading fin disappeared, and the watchers knew that the shark had dived, in order the better to seize its prey. Their warning was roared over the water to him, but apparently too late, for with their shout, Roger's body disappeared!

A cry of horror at once went up from the ship, and strong men turned away, unwilling to witness the death of their favourite.

Those who still watched, however, almost immediately saw a tremendous disturbance of the water just below the spot where Roger had disappeared; and presently a broad blotch of red stained the blue water of the inlet, while a deep groan went up from the assembled crowd on deck. But the groan quickly changed to a mighty cheer as they saw Roger's form appear again at some considerable distance nearer the ship, and evidently safe and sound, for he was still swimming strongly. And immediately after, in his rear, the body of the shark rose to the surface, floating on its back, dead! The remainder of the sharks instantly flung themselves upon the carcass, tearing it to pieces, and churning up a bloody froth as they struggled and tore and fought for their share of the spoil.

Roger had done the only thing possible to save his life. As the shark dived, so did he, and, swimming below the brute, he had ripped up its belly with several strong slashing blows from his keen dagger, thus effectually ridding himself of one adversary, and trusting that the remainder of the school would wait to devour it—as indeed they had done,—thus giving him a further chance to escape.

He was now quite near the ship; but the sharks had quickly disposed of the carcass of their companion, and were again after him. Roger, however, was now within range. So, as the sharks came on in pursuit, they were bombarded with every description of missile upon which the men could lay their hands, a proceeding which checked them slightly, and gave Roger a little more grace.

At length, utterly exhausted, the plucky lad reached the foot of the accommodation ladder, but just in time, for, as he was pulled clear of the water, a pair of huge jaws clashed behind him with a sound that made him nearly faint, so suggestive was it of what he had so narrowly escaped.

By the time that he reached the deck Harry had fully recovered, and he was the first to grasp Roger's hand and wring it convulsively as the latter stepped inboard. Harry could find no words wherewith to express his feelings adequately, but the pressure of his hand spoke for him, and Roger felt amply repaid for all he had done.

"And now, young gentlemen," said Cavendish sternly, when the young hero of the adventure had been recovered somewhat by the administration of a liberal dose of rum, "let this be a warning to you never again to go bathing in these seas. You have both had a most miraculous escape, and I for one had given the pair of you up as lost. But, thank Heaven, you are safe after all. Only never let it occur again. But I suppose you will take care of that," he added with a twinkle in his eye. "Your first experience with Johnny Shark has been enough for you, hasn't it?"

They reassured him on that point, and both then went below to dress. When they were again clothed, Harry said:

"And now, how shall we spend the remainder of the day, Roger? I don't feel like going ashore again to-day, even if we had a boat. The idea of crossing that sheet of water again does not very greatly appeal to me just now."

"I feel pretty much as you do," replied Roger. "I have had quite enough of the water for to-day. As an alternative, I suggest that we investigate that sheaf of documents that we took out of the Gloria del Mundo at the time of the battle. That fellow Alvarez seemed feverishly anxious to find a certain paper, and bitterly disappointed at his failure, so perhaps there may be something of value among them."

So saying, Roger went to his sea-chest, and, having unlocked it, drew out the bundle of papers to which he had referred, and laid it on the table.

They ran through most of them without finding anything of interest, those examined proving to be merely papers relating to the provisioning of the ship, and one or two old charts with courses marked off on them.

On another chart, however, they found something that claimed a moment's attention. It was one upon which the position of the Spanish intercepting fleet had been laid down, together with the supposed course that the English vessels would steer, thus proving that they had correctly anticipated the movements of the English. This they put aside, intending to hand it to Cavendish, as it would be of interest to him.

"This is probably the document that scoundrel Alvarez was looking for while the Gloria del Mundo was sinking," said Roger, who had related to Harry all that had happened while he was awaiting death in the cabin of the Spanish vessel.

"Hardly that," demurred Harry. "I should think it would be something of much more importance; because, you see, this would not be of much value to him after the action. Let us search further."

They did so, and presently came upon a sheet of rough parchment, which had escaped the search of Alvarez through its having worked its way into a folded chart.

They spread it open upon the table, and found that they could make nothing of it, as it appeared to be a mass of figures, and nothing else.

"I wonder what on earth this can be," said Roger. "It seems to be nothing but a lot of figures put down anyhow. I expect it is merely a sheet of scribbling-paper, upon which some rough calculations have been worked. At any rate it is of no importance, and clearly is not what Alvarez was looking for."

"Wait one moment, Roger," said Harry; "be not over-hasty, lad. I believe this is more important than it looks. May it not be a cipher of some kind? Let us have another look at it."

The document presented the following appearance:—

1581. 2227 1819 1919 2622 1820 1335 1138 1918 1717 2020 1618 2727 2722 2222 3811 1819 1816 1237 2225 1915 1515 2424 2525 1730 2014 1430 1718 2121 1420 1920 3014 1830 1519 2120 1915 2018 1030 1440 1614 3019 2017 1028 2226 1930 1226 1616 1324 1325 1236 1818 1235 1222 1218 3118 2725 3113 1334 3217 1324 1424 1335 3212 1817 2019 1321 2824 1420 2021 1434 2121 3212 1533 3316 2223 1614 1433 3415 3311 1916 2220 2525 1715 1423 2322 3314 2414 1517 1816 3019 1416 1822 1618 2122 1120 2826 2022 1321 1424 2221 1930 2413 2014 2413 3311 2624 2029 1423 2512 1915 1614 2611 2319 1713 2320 2925 1519 2418 1816 1433 2218 1922 1320 1126 1721 2920 1133 1232 1030 1520 1730 3212 2418 2317 2520 3017 2117 2023 1220 1321 3311 2015 2517 1222 1821 1721 2012 3014 2616 2426 1220 2413 1818 1430 2219 2013 1614 1922 2424 3113 1120 2624 1730 1721 2212 1320 1419 2311 2410 2124 1918 1331 1922 2113 2426 2320 1914 2014 3017 2523 2821 3113 2023 1915 1820 1829 3212 2122 2928 1919 2221 1620 1616 1416 2428 1816 2318 3311 2320 1717 2417 2826 2018 2419 2516 1618 2920 752626 202122 1519 1420 1924 1320 1820 2325 1625 1317 2419 2013 2017 2117 2424 2421 1218 1825 1721 3311 2615 1317 2523 2029 1133 2518 1816 14 2124 1812 1616 1915 2622 2220 3410 2624 2920 1720 5 2223 1218 1715 1717 2424 2626 1515 2120 2021 2020 1717 1818 1720 1930 1816 2122 3019 1618 1822 1816 2221 1917.

Beyond these figures, the paper, which seemed of considerable age, was perfectly blank.

The lads gazed earnestly at the mass of figures for some time, trying to fathom its meaning.

That a hidden meaning of some kind was attached to it was almost certain, as no sane man would put down a long string of figures to no purpose, or for mere pastime; and if the writer had not intended the meaning to be hidden, he would certainly have used words in preference to a number of mystifying figures.

"Roger," said Harry, "the more I look at this cipher—for cipher I am convinced it is—the more certain do I feel that it is the key to something important or of value. Now, friend, do you notice anything peculiar about these figures?"

"I cannot say that I do," answered Roger, "unless you mean that they are arranged in groups of four."

"Yes, that is certainly so," agreed Harry; "but there is somewhat else of significance, and that is, that, although they are grouped in fours for the most part, there are two groups of six figures, one of two, and one figure stands alone. These being different from the remainder of the cipher, we may at once set them down as denoting something different from the rest of the writing. I should say that possibly some direction, instruction, or it may even be a compass-bearing, is concealed in these two groups of six figures, while, to my mind, the figures 14 and 5, are to be read as they really are, that is as figures only; for I believe that the remainder of the figures stand for words or letters, as indeed they must, if any sense is to be made of the thing. Yes, the more I study this, the more certain am I that we have found something of value, and this, I am convinced, is the document you told me Alvarez was looking for while you were in the cabin of the sinking Gloria del Mundo."

"By Saint George," said Roger, "I am inclined to believe you are right, Harry; only I see not how it will benefit us if we cannot translate the cipher, and that seems to me impossible without the key thereto."

"Nothing is impossible, my friend," retorted Harry. "We have no key, it is true, but by repeated experiments we shall solve the thing eventually, I am sure."

"Let us start trying right now, then," suggested Roger.

"Well, starting from the beginning, let us take the first group of—"

"Mr Trevose, hie you on deck, if you please; I want you," came Cavendish's voice down the companion at this moment, putting an abrupt end to the operations on the cipher.

Leaving Harry to put away the document in safety, Roger ran up on deck, and touched his hat to his captain.

"Mr Trevose," said Cavendish, "one of the boats has just come off from the shore with a load of fresh fruit and vegetables which the men have collected. They have now had a short spell ashore, and it is time for us to be thinking of work again; so I wish you to take this boat and proceed to the shore in her with instructions to Mr Leigh to collect all the men forthwith. Let them bring off as much fruit and vegetables as they can find, but they must not be very long about it. You can take your friend Edgwyth with you, if you will, and while the men are getting fresh provisions together you and he have my leave, after you have delivered my message, to do as you please until all are ready to come off aboard.

"And have a care," added the skipper, "that you two lads do not get into any further scrapes. You had a particularly narrow escape this morning, both of you, and perchance may not get off quite so easily next time."

Roger saluted, and forthwith ran down to inform Harry of his errand; whereupon the two mounted again to the deck and dropped into the boat, which was waiting for them alongside, and were soon being pulled over the water to the shore again.

Arrived at the beach, Roger enquired of the few men who were there where Mr Leigh was to be found. None of them seemed to know, but one man said he believed that Mr Leigh had gone in "that" direction—pointing it out with a stubby and tarry forefinger—and had taken a musket, with the intention, he thought, of getting some fresh meat for the pot.

The lads at once set off in the direction indicated, pushing their way through tangled underwood, and treading down in their passage many splendid and brilliant flowers, while startled birds, of rainbow plumage, flew out from the branches over their heads.

Everywhere stillness reigned supreme, and no sound or sign of any of the men was to be met with. They pushed resolutely forward, however, trying to discover some indication of people having passed that way before. So dense was the undergrowth in many places that Harry and Roger were obliged to draw their swords to cut a passage through it.

Presently Roger caught sight of a beautiful orchid on the trunk of a tree just below the first branch, and put forth his hand to gather it. As he did so there was a bright green flash, and the lad started back only just in time. There was a swish of steel, and a snake fell to the ground severed in half, yet still writhing horribly.

"A thousand thanks!" said Roger. "I owe you my life again, Harry. He would surely have bitten me if you had not been so quick with your sword."

They examined the reptile, which was about six feet long, and of a brilliant green above and light yellow underneath, with the heart-shaped head that betokened an extremely venomous variety. Tossing the two writhing halves of the body into the bush with the point of his sword, and giving a shrug of repugnance, Roger passed on, followed by Harry, with no further desire to pluck orchids, and each taking care to look well about him.

Presently they came to a small clearing, and on the opposite side saw an opening in the bush which seemed to suggest that someone had recently passed that way.

They crossed the clearing and pushed through the opening on the other side, and, after going about half a mile, heard the report of a gun close to them, followed by a great fluttering of wings, as a host of startled birds flew away from the branches where they had been roosting.

A few moments later they came upon Leigh, accompanied by a seaman carrying a large bag, which seemed to be well filled, and gave promise of a few savoury meals in the immediate future.

Roger at once gave him Mr Cavendish's orders to reassemble the men, and then asked him how far he had succeeded in his hunting.

"Oh, very well, Roger!" replied Leigh. "I have nearly filled the bag, as you may see, and some of the birds are fine big fellows, and should be excellent eating. At any rate we will sample them at mess this evening. But I must be off and get the men together. As you two have liberty until we start for the ship, you may take this musket and ammunition, if you like, and try to shoot something on your own account. One's own shooting always tastes best, I am told," he added with a laugh, as he prepared to return. "But I should not wander too far away, if I were you," he advised. "We do not know the place as yet, and there may be dangers that we are not aware of; so be careful."

The lads thanked Mr Leigh for the loan of the musket, and the lieutenant disappeared to collect the men, telling the lads that he would sound the trumpet if they were not in sight when it was time to return to the ships.

"Now," said Roger, when Leigh had disappeared, "where are we to go, Harry?"

"Do you remember that ledge of rocks that we saw this morning?" asked Harry! "Well, we noticed quite a number of caves among them; what say you to going and having a look at them?"

"Agreed, my friend!" said Roger. "But can we get to them, I wonder, from here, without going back to the beach and walking all the way round?"

"Oh, yes! I think so," answered Harry. "I believe I remember how they lie, and in what direction; and if we bear away to the left here it will bring us to them, no doubt."

So the two turned off, and presently found another opening in the brush, through which they went.

"It appears to me," said Roger presently, "as though someone had been along this way before us. See, some of the small branches are broken, and the growth beneath our feet seems to have been recently trodden. I expect we shall find that some of our men have been here before us, perhaps to look at those same caves themselves. If so, we can warn them to return immediately; and if they are in front of us it will give us a little longer, as it will take them some considerable time to get back to the boats from here."

Thus reassured in their own minds—for there was always the danger of savages to consider,—they pressed on, but saw no further signs of the men whom they imagined to be in front of them.

"It is possible," said Harry, his thoughts still dwelling upon the matter, "that if they have gone this way they are still at the caves. Or they may have gone back along the beach; for that, I suppose, is the nearest way of return. And if so, we shall not meet any of them coming this way; but we may overtake them."

They had gone but a little distance farther when Roger looked up suddenly.

"Harry, I heard something whistle past my head a moment ago," said he.

"Nonsense!" responded Harry. "What you heard was one of those small creatures they call 'humming-birds' flying past your ear."

"I am certain it was not," retorted Roger. "If it had been, I should have seen as well as heard him, and—why, there it is again!"

"Yes, you are right, Roger; I heard it myself that time. I wonder what it can be?" exclaimed Harry.

"I don't know," said Roger, "but it sounds very queer. Let us push on, or we shall have no time to explore those caves."

They pushed forward for some little distance, and again heard, more than once, the same peculiar sibilant sound, as of something flying past them with great velocity; but they saw nothing, and could not account for the occurrence at all.

Suddenly Harry, who was behind, whispered to Roger: "Do not appear to take any notice, Roger, at present; but I distinctly saw the head of a savage peering at us from behind a tree when I turned my head just now, and I believe that what we heard was the sound of arrows flying past us. I should not be greatly surprised to find that there is quite a crowd of natives round us, and the only wonder to me is that we have not yet been hit. Now, we must press on and endeavour to reach the shelter of the caves, and there defend ourselves, if necessary, until assistance comes. It is useless to think of retreating by the way we have come; we should only be ambushed. Ah! I see two more faces looking at us over there in the bush. We had better make haste; but we only need walk a little faster. It will never do to run, or they will see that we have discovered them, and in that case they will attack us at once, and we shall have no chance here. By the way, is that musket loaded?"

"Yes," replied Roger. "It was loaded when Leigh handed it to me; for I remember that, after the discharge we heard which led us to him, he was loading as we came up, and he did not fire again."

"Very well," said Harry, "we had better for the present trust to our swords; we must reserve the musket until the last. And you had better drop a few more bullets in, so that it will do as much execution as possible when we fire. And I trust to Heaven that the report may bring some of our men up. But it will not do that if we fire now, as they will merely think we are shooting game. If we fire from the caves they will know there is no game there to shoot at, and it may attract their attention."

The two lads now moved as fast as they thought consistent with safety, and, to their great relief, at length perceived an opening in the trees, and got a glimpse of the sea beyond. A few minutes later they emerged on the beach, and found themselves quite close to the caves.

Then, having a clear ground, they took to their heels and ran as hard as they could for the nearest cave.

As they started to run, a chorus of savage yells broke on their ears, and what they had quite anticipated happened. The natives had at last left cover and were pursuing them at the top of their speed.

Roger and Harry, unaccustomed to running in sand, moved but slowly, and the savages gradually began to overhaul them. They were not far from the caves by this time, however, and presently they gained the entrance to one of them some fifty yards ahead of their pursuers.

As soon as they were safely inside, Roger turned, and, raising the musket to his shoulder, discharged the piece point-blank into the midst of the nearest group of running savages.

It was a lucky discharge, and the extra bullets that they had put in, scattering as they flew, had almost the effect of a round of grape-shot, dropping no fewer than four of the blacks. It did not check their rush, however, and there was no time to reload before the howling, yelling mob were upon them.

Roger and Harry had at once taken up positions, one on each side of the entrance to the cave, allowing themselves sufficient room to avoid striking each other with the blades of their long swords, which, with the now useless musket, were all the weapons they had.

The savages came at them with a rush, stabbing furiously with their spears, and forced on by those behind, who feared to use their bows and arrows at such close quarters lest they should hit their companions.

The long sword-blades, however, rose and fell untiringly, flashing in the sunlight, now parrying a spear-thrust, and anon making a sweeping cut, and with every blow at least one savage had cause to regret his temerity.

The natives, however, had numbers on their side, the sound replacing the fallen until quite a heap of dead and wounded began to grow at the entrance to the cave.

They were likewise growing chary of those long blades of steel that hewed through shield and spear-haft as though they had been paper.

At length one of the natives stooped down and picked up the dead body of a fallen comrade, held it before him as a shield, and rushed toward the defenders of the cave, and as Harry thrust at him he flung the body full upon the sword's point, where it remained impaled, dragging Harry's weapon from his grip. The man then lunged savagely with his spear, but Roger's wary eye was on him, and the fraction of a second before the spear left the fellow's grasp the sword flashed and fell, and the savage stood looking stupidly for a moment at the arm still grasping the spear, that had fallen at his feet, ere he himself sank, groaning, to the ground.

Harry shouted his thanks across to Roger, and drew his sword out of the impaled body with some difficulty, determined not to be so tricked again, and once more the battle went furiously on, the savages surging madly about the cave's mouth, and the two lads straining every nerve to keep their stronghold inviolate.

"I wonder," gasped Roger, "how long it will be before Leigh collects all the men, and, missing us, sends out a search-party?"

"They should all be mustered long before this," replied his companion. "You must remember that it took us some time to reach this place, and Leigh started to look for the men directly we left him. Hark! there goes the trumpet for our recall, unless I am mistaken. Did you not hear it?"

"I think I heard something," answered Roger. "If it was indeed the trumpet, it means that Leigh has collected all the men and only waits for us; and he will not wait long before sending in search of us, because of the captain's orders to return on board as quickly as possible. If we could but find time to reload the musket and discharge it again, Leigh might possibly hear the report, and it would show him where to look for us."

"That is true," agreed Harry. "Now, Roger, leave me to defend the cave-mouth alone, and try to load the piece; the discharge may bring down the men, and if you load, as we did last time, with plenty of bullets, we shall do the enemy some considerable damage at the same time."

It was no time for arguing. Roger therefore did as Harry had suggested, and, leaving the defence of the cave to his friend, grasped the musket and loaded it with frantic haste.

Seeing one of the defenders apparently retreating, the natives at once redoubled their onslaught, and spears came whizzing through the air, thick as falling autumn leaves.

The long blade, however, still flashed untiringly hither and thither, and the cave remained untaken.

"Hasten, Roger!" cried Harry. "I cannot much longer keep these fellows off unaided."

"Coming, lad," shouted Roger in return.

A huge native at this moment forced himself to the front and engaged Harry at close quarters, and, tired as he was, the boy knew his strength must soon fail. He responded gallantly, however, and drove the man back for an instant; but, with a cry like that of a furious beast, the fellow again leapt at him, and, beating down the sword-point, bore the lad to the ground, at once shortening his spear to pin him to the earth.

Poor Harry closed his eyes, and for a moment experienced all the bitterness of death. But it was for a moment only. The weight suddenly rolled from his chest, and, opening his eyes, he saw Roger pulling his reeking blade from the savage's body. Then, dropping his sword, Roger raised the musket to his shoulder and fired into the thick of the group of natives.

With the report came a hearty English cheer as Leigh and a couple of dozen well-armed sailors rushed round a bend in the beach.

"Lie down! lie down!" roared Leigh, and as the two lads flung themselves to the floor of the cave, a storm of bullets whizzed over them that at once accounted for ten of the savages.

Then out came the hangers, and the sailors charged the remaining assailants, who turned resolutely to meet them, while Harry and Roger, rising from the floor of the cave, dashed down on the rear, cutting and slashing and thrusting with right good will, their strength renewed somewhat by a sight of their own countrymen.

Thus taken in front and rear, the blacks, seized with sudden panic, broke and fled, followed by another storm of shot from the sailors.

"Now," shouted Leigh, "make for the boats ere they return in overwhelming numbers!"

In response to this order the English all went off along the beach at the double, and soon reached the boats, which were not very far away.

They embarked forthwith, and were soon once more on board their respective ships.

"Well, my boys," said Cavendish as the inseparables climbed the ship's side, "this morning's adventure was not enough for you, it would appear, so you must needs go and get yourselves into another mess. Now, mark my words, you will some day get into a scrape, and one or the other of you will fail to come out again alive!"



CHAPTER SEVEN.

THEY CAREEN THE SHIPS, ARE ATTACKED, AND DISCOVER THAT THEY ARE NOT THE FIRST TO VISIT THE INLET.

It was by this time fast approaching evening, and too late to start lightening the ships that day, since in the tropics the transition from broad daylight to total darkness is extremely sudden, the light dying away after sunset like the drawing of a curtain. The men, therefore, immediately upon their arrival on board, were piped down to supper, and ordered by their several officers to turn in early, as the next day would be a long and arduous one for them.

There was no moon, and the figures of the various men on watch could be but dimly discerned in the starlight, while the stars themselves, reflected in the dark water, made the placid surface of the bay look as though studded with gems, presenting a most beautiful spectacle.

Roger and Harry, although they would have to work as hard as any of the others next morning, did not feel inclined to sleep, their minds being still in a state of unrest after their two hairbreadth escapes of the day. They therefore remained on deck, walking so softly up and down as to disturb nobody. They had taken but a few turns when their attention was attracted by the sound of low voices, being those of the men constituting the anchor watch. Roger and his friend strolled up to them, and, sitting down on the breech of a gun, prepared to listen to what was evidently a yarn that the old quarter-master, Cary, was spinning.

"Yes," they heard him say, "this arn't by no means the furst taime I was in thaise seas.—Good-even to ye, Mr Trevose and Mr Edgwyth!—No; I tall 'ee I was 'ere in the zummer of 1582, just after the taime that that there bloody pirate, Jose Leirya, was sailing of these vury seas. 'E was a fiend in 'uman shape, if there ever was one; nobody was zafe in anny of the ships 'e tuk. All the men—passengers or zeamen—that 'e captured 'e did bind and put under 'atches in their own ship, aifter 'e 'ad taken all out 'e wanted. Then 'e zet 'em adrift; but afore 'e zet 'em adrift 'e used to fire the ship in zeveral places, and all they poor creatures did roast. The childer 'e took aboard his own ship, keepin' zum on 'em, and the others 'e zold to the plantations. 'E was a reg'ler devil, 'e was; and they do zay as 'ow 'e be about 'ere even now, although 'e baint been 'eard of for zum taime. And more; they zay that zumwheres near this vury plaace 'o 'as buried tons of goold and silver, precious stones, and all kinds of vallybles; but 'ow far that be true I doen't knaw. But I do knaw as 'ow I would laike to fall in with 'e with these 'ere ships; we'd taich 'un a vaine lesson, wouldn't us, laads?"

"Harry, come here a moment," said Roger, jumping down from the gun at this point in the old man's narrative, and walking aft. Harry joined him.

"What do you want, old fellow?" said he.

"Well, lad," remarked his friend, "it has just come to me, somehow, as old Cary mentioned about the treasure of that scoundrel, Jose Leirya, being buried somewhere about here, that possibly that cipher of ours which we brought from the Gloria del Mundo may refer to that very treasure. You see, Cary says that Leirya hasn't been heard of for some time. That seems to point either to his death or the disbandment of his crew.

"Now, Cary says he was here in 1582, in the summer, and mentions that that date was just after the time when Leirya was committing such atrocities on the high seas. There is what is presumably a date at the beginning of our document, and that date—if such it is—is 1581, the year before Cary came to these parts. People do not write in cipher save to conceal important information from the eyes of those not in the secret, do they? Very well.

"Now, what would any man wish to conceal by cipher save hidden treasure? There are other things, certainly, he might wish to write about in such a way that the ordinary run of people should not understand the writing, but, to my mind, treasure is the most likely, and the dates coincide very well. Our date is 1581, and Cary says that when he was here in 1582 it was just after the pirate's depredations; and he has not, apparently, been heard of since. This, I say, points to his death or to the disbandment of his crew; and what more likely than that, before either of these occurrences, he should bury his accumulated booty and locate its position by cipher? I believe most strongly, Harry, that we have in our possession the key to the hiding-place of all the treasure of Jose Leirya—and he must have accumulated millions of dollars' worth in his time—if we can but come upon the translation of it. What do you think of it, Harry?"

"Well, Roger, lad," said Harry, "as you put it, certainly it does seem as though you might be right, and that there may be something in it. We must make another attempt to find the key to the cipher, and when that is found I certainly think we shall obtain something valuable for our trouble, even though it should not be this great treasure of Jose Leirya. But we had better go below now and try to get some sleep, for we shall have a hard day before us to-morrow."

They were roused early next morning by the boatswain's whistle, and, having dressed, came up on deck to find that the boats were just being got over the side again to take away the kedge anchors, by which to haul the ships closer inshore for careening purposes.

It was decided by Cavendish that, as the beach was very spacious, and there were four ships to be careened, they should careen two at a time, instead of one only, as usual. The vessels that most needed overhauling and repairing were the commander's own ship and the captured Spanish vessel, El Capitan, which had been rechristened the Tiger. So it was determined to careen the Tiger and the Stag Royal first of all, leaving the other two vessels, the Good Adventure and the Elizabeth, afloat for purposes of defence, should an enemy appear in sight while the operations were being carried on.

The Tiger and the Stag Royal were therefore swung broadside-on to the beach. The anchors were then taken ashore in the boats and carried up the beach to above high-water mark, where they were buried in deep holes dug in the sand, with timbers laid lengthwise upon them to prevent them from being dragged out again when the strain was put on the cables.

The holes were then filled up and the sand heaped high above them, to get as much weight as possible upon the anchors, and to allow more purchase.

Then from the cables attached to the anchors themselves, at a distance of about twelve feet before they disappeared into the sand, a spring of stout manila rope was led, and fastened securely to a palm-tree at the edge of the brushwood in a direct line with the ship and the anchor, thus affording a doubly secure purchase when the time came to heave on the cable and haul the vessels up on the beach.

Roger and Harry had been sent ashore by Cavendish to take part in this work, as he wished them to get an insight into every part of the duties of a sailor, and thus make themselves two useful members of the crew, for the captain could not afford to carry any man who was not thoroughly proficient, the capacity of his ships being too small to afford accommodation to mere idlers.

The lads were, however, very quick to learn, and very anxious to master all the details of their profession, and therefore never complained, whatever the duty that was assigned to them. They thus increased their knowledge and efficiency very quickly, and Cavendish had no grounds for regret that he had taken them on board his ship.

The anchor belonging to the flag-ship had been taken ashore and securely buried, and the cable, with the rope attached, bent on to the anchor, and the Stag Royal was ready for careening. The seamen then tramped off along the beach to where the anchor for the Tiger had been brought ashore and laid on the sand, and proceeded with their preparations for careening that craft also.

They had begun to dig the hole in the sand in which to deposit the anchor, when Roger's attention was attracted by a sound of rustling in the wood behind them. He looked round, and perceived that for a considerable distance along the beach the foliage appeared to be moving to and fro, as though stirred by a slight breeze. Yet, so far as he could tell, down there on the beach, there was no wind at all stirring, nor had there been a breath of air all the morning; the atmosphere, in fact, was so still, and withal so heavy, that a thunder-storm was anticipated.

Another circumstance that he noted was that this peculiar movement in the bush extended only from just beyond where the seamen were now occupied to a point a trifle beyond where they had been at work a few minutes before, fixing the anchor of the flagship. Everywhere else the foliage was absolutely without movement of any kind, as it had been during the whole of the morning.

Much perplexed how to account for this singular phenomenon, he stood gazing at the moving foliage, and wondering what it could portend.

The movement seemed to be confined to the one place only, but as he gazed the motion suddenly ceased, and all was quiet as before.

He looked round to see if any of the other men had observed anything, but they were all much too intent on the work in hand to take notice of anything else; and his friend Harry was just as busy as the rest of the men. He therefore dismissed the matter from his mind, thinking that his eyes might perhaps have deceived him, and set to work again with the other men.

The hole was soon dug and the anchor deposited therein, planks and baulks of timber being laid upon it as before. The sand was filled in and a mound raised above the work, and it only remained to further secure the anchor by putting a spring on to the cable, and fastening to a palm-tree as before.

As this last part of the work was being done, and the spring being lashed round the palm-tree, one of the seamen, named Martin, grasped Roger by the arm.

"Do you see that, Master Trevose?" said he, pointing.

"What do you mean, Martin?" answered Roger.

"Why, over there, sir," said the man, pointing in the same direction as that in which Roger had seen the peculiar movement of the foliage some little time before. "I be sure I saw something shining among the trees just now. What d'ye think it can be? I only just caught a sight of it for a moment; but I be sure I beaint mistaken."

Roger looked in the direction indicated by the seaman, but could distinguish nothing.

"Are you sure, Martin?" asked he. "Because I fancied that I, too, saw a peculiar movement among the trees over in that direction a little time ago."

"Yes, I be sartin sure, master," replied Martin. "I only see'd it for a minute, 'tis true, but there warn't no mistake about it; and it seemed to me to be very like the glitter of steel."

Roger was much puzzled, and also somewhat perturbed; he therefore determined to inform the captain of what he and Martin had observed, immediately upon his return to the ship, but to say nothing to the men until the work on shore was finished, for fear of distracting their attention from the task in hand.

This was soon completed, and Roger, calling the men together, got them into the boats and they pulled back to the ships, leaving the party of men from the Tiger upon their own vessel, and taking his own crew on board the flag-ship.

He then sought out the captain, and found him seated in his cabin working out some observations. The lad duly reported that the work he had been sent to execute was completed satisfactorily.

"Very good, Roger; very good indeed!" replied the captain. "I will come on deck presently and see how the tide serves; and if it is suitable we will haul in at once. For I am anxious to get these repairs effected as soon as possible, and the sooner we start the sooner we shall be finished. By the way, Roger," he continued, "as you know, we are somewhere on the eastern coast of the Spanish island of Cuba; and while you were ashore with the men just now I have been busy working out our exact position on the chart."

Cavendish here pointed to a chart which he had open on a table before him, together with a pair of compasses and a ruler.

"Here we are, you see," resumed the captain, pointing to a spot on the chart. "Here is the island of Cuba, and here"—pointing to a little indentation in the coast-line—"are we in latitude 20 north, and longitude 75 west.

"Now you had better remember that bearing, my boy, in case you should ever wish to return here when you get command of a ship of your own. We sailors would call this bearing '20 north, 75 west', leaving out the word degrees. You, Roger, if you will take my advice, my lad, and your friend Harry as well for that matter, will start in as soon as you can and thoroughly perfect yourselves in the science of navigation, for you never can tell, lad, when you may want it; and if you intend—as I suppose you do—to follow the sea as a business you will not be able to do anything without it.

"I will tell you all that you want to know about it if you will come to me from time to time when I am not busy; and I have here a book which you may study at your leisure. You will find it very interesting."

Roger thanked the commander both for himself and on Harry's account, and promised to take up the study as soon as they were again at sea, as he and his friend would be much too busy for anything of that kind while the vessels were in harbour undergoing repairs and overhaul. He was then on the point of informing the captain of what Martin and he had seen, when Cavendish interrupted him.

"Roger," said he, "I have been much exercised in my mind lately as to what shall be done with these Spanish prisoners we have on board. There are nearly three hundred of them, and although many of them are in irons, and all are imprisoned below, I do not altogether like the idea of carrying them about with me too long, for they are a dangerous cargo; and not only that, they are also a great drain upon our stock of provisions. When we leave this island we shall probably be at sea for a very long time, as I intend to cruise in the Caribbean Sea, out of sight of land for the most part, on the lookout for the plate and bullion galleons from Mexico; and when we finally sail from here I wish to take on board as much fresh meat, fruit, and vegetables as I can, to help eke out the ships' stores. Now I do not want to carry about with me nearly three hundred men who will be of no use to me, and who will only help us to eat up our provisions faster than I wish. Moreover, these men are a constant menace to us while they are on board.

"Now I have been working out our position with a view to seeing exactly where we are, and discovering how far we are at present from the nearest Spanish settlement on the island. For it has been in my mind for some days past that we could not do better than land those fellows here, when we are ready to sail, giving them a few of their own weapons wherewith to procure food by the way, and defend themselves against any savages they may meet, and tell them where their nearest settlement lies, directing them to make their way to it. It is true that I do not much like the idea of letting loose nearly three hundred Spaniards who are the enemies of our beloved queen—God bless her—and who will perhaps compass the death of many an Englishman before they come to their own, but what else can I do, Roger? Have you any suggestion to offer?"

"No, sir," replied the boy; "I think, with you, that the only thing to do is to release them and let them make their way to some settlement of theirs on the island."

"Well then, that settles it," said Cavendish. "While you were ashore I conferred with others of my officers, and all offer the same advice; so, when we are ready for sea once more, ashore they shall go. And now it is quite time that I went on deck and saw about getting the vessels hauled ashore; that is if the tide yet serves, which it should do by this time. Let us go."

The captain rose, and was about to leave the cabin, when Roger said he had something to tell him.

"What is it then, lad? tell me quickly, as I want to get on deck," said the captain.

Roger then recounted what Martin and he had observed, adding that these occurrences seemed to him to signify the presence of a body of men hiding in the brushwood.

"It is possible, Roger," agreed Cavendish, "seeing that you and Harry were attacked but yesterday. But I thought that we gave the savages so sharp a lesson then that they would not wish to renew our acquaintance. Are you sure that it was not wind moving the trees, and that it was not the sun shining on the palm-leaves that made Martin think of the glitter of steel?"

"I am sure there was no wind, sir," replied Roger, "for I looked very closely; and it was no leaf that produced the glitter that Martin saw; he knows the glint of steel too well to be mistaken."

"Well, many thanks for the information at any rate!" said the skipper. "I will order a doubly sharp lookout to be kept. We must avoid a surprise at all hazards, for we might lose a great number of men thereby."

He then turned and went on deck, followed closely by Roger.

When they arrived on deck, Cavendish considered, upon inspection, that the tide would serve, as it was now rising rapidly; he therefore immediately gave orders that the winches and capstans should be manned, and the ships hove in towards the beach until their keels touched bottom.

This was done, and soon the two vessels had been hauled in until they grounded gently.

Then the boats were again got over the side, together with a number of rafts which had been constructed for the purpose, and the guns were lifted out by derricks and deposited in the boats and on the rafts, and so carried ashore.

This unloading occupied a considerable amount of time, and when at length Cavendish considered the two vessels sufficiently lightened, the tide was almost at high-water mark.

The boats and rafts were then taken back to the ships, the men climbed on board, the windlasses and capstans were again manned, and, the vessels being considerably lightened, and so once more well afloat, were again hauled in until their keels touched bottom.

The captain considered that they were now far enough up the beach, as the receding tide would leave them high and dry.

Tackles were next fastened to the masts above the topsail-yards, and fastened to convenient trees, and all was in readiness to heave the vessels down as the tide left them.

Roger and Harry had been busy with the rest of the crew, and, as they worked, Roger had found time to inform his friend of the peculiar occurrence which he and Martin had witnessed, and he asked Harry his opinion of it.

"Well," said Harry, "it would seem to me to denote the presence of savages near us. That there are hostile natives in this part of the island we know from past experience. Have you informed the skipper?"

"Yes," replied Roger, "I told him what I had seen; but it seemed to me rather as if he put the circumstance down to my imagination and Martin's. Nevertheless he thanked me for the information, and promised to be on the lookout."

"Well," said Harry, "it strikes me as rather a foolish thing to leave the ships' guns scattered about the beach as they are at present. If we should be attacked we could never use them, pointing as they are in all directions; we could not fire without danger of hitting one another. It would be a good thing, I think, if the captain, instead of leaving the weapons strewed about the beach as at present, were to arrange them in a circle round the place where we are working on the two vessels, and get them loaded in readiness, and we should then be prepared to repel an attack if it came."

"A very good idea, Harry," exclaimed Roger; "you always seem to be prepared with good schemes. Go and tell the captain, and see what he says."

Harry at once ran off and told Cavendish what Roger and he thought of the matter.

"You two lads," said Cavendish, "seem ever to be thinking of attacks by natives. Yet your scheme, young man, is a good one, and I will have it carried out at once; it is well to be on the safe side."

He accordingly gave the necessary orders, and the men turned to with a will, with the result that the guns were soon arranged as Harry had suggested, with the muzzles so pointing as to command not only the adjacent bush but also the whole range of the beach. The weapons were then loaded, and the party were reasonably secure from an attack in that direction.

By this time the tide was ebbing fast, and the men took a pull on the ropes secured to the ships' masts, with the result that the vessels soon began to heel over perceptibly on their sides. As the tide continued to drop, the ropes were hauled upon, and soon the vessels were down on their beam-ends. Then the men, like a swarm of ants, grew busy on their exposed sides, working with hammer and chisel, paint-pot and brush, and the scene became one of great activity.

The tide had by this time retreated so far that the hulls of the vessels were clear of the water, and the men could work right down to their keels, the ships being hard and fast aground, so that they could not possibly be moved until the next tide.

As they could not leave the captured Spaniards in the careened ships, and dared not let them loose to help with the work, they had been transferred to the two craft still afloat, the Elizabeth and the Good Adventure.

Roger and Harry were slung over the bow of the Tiger, both of them busy with scrapers taking off the old paint before the new was put on. It thus happened that they were higher above the level of the beach than any of the others, the part of the hull upon which they were working being just below the starboard cat-head.

Roger was scraping away merrily, when Harry plucked his sleeve.

"Is that the movement you were speaking of, Roger?" said he, pointing to the brush.

"Yes, there it is again," said Roger excitedly; "only it is somewhat nearer this time; and see, I am certain that was the flash of the sun upon some steel weapon."

"Yes, I see; there it is again. I see it clearly now," answered Harry.

Just then a hail came from below in the captain's voice.

"Roger, my man, the cable secured to the maintopmast seems to be working loose, and may carry away. Get up aloft, boy, and look at the seizing, and, if necessary, put a fresh one on."

Roger hastened away up into the main-top, leaving Harry still in his perch, and examined the seizing. It was, as the captain had said, loose, so the boy proceeded to secure it afresh.

Having finished his job to his satisfaction, he prepared to descend from aloft, but, before doing so, cast his eyes round the scene, and nearly fell out of the main-top in his alarm; for there, coming round a point half a mile away, and concealed as yet from those on the beach by a low point, was a large fleet of canoes filled with natives, who were doubtless hoping to come upon the beached vessels unawares. They would certainly have done so had it not been for the fortunate circumstance of Roger being sent aloft.

He threw another glance to seaward, to see if he could count the canoes, and found that there must be quite a hundred of them; then he took a survey of the brushwood inland, and found that his suspicions as to savages being present there were only too true. At his greater elevation he found himself looking down upon quite a horde of them armed with spears, bows and arrows, and clubs. They were advancing slowly through the bush, and their stealthy movement forward had occasioned the swaying to and fro of the foliage that Roger first, and Harry afterwards, had observed.

Roger could not tell whether or not the natives had seen him, and were aware that they were discovered, but hurried down from the main-top with such speed that, when he had reached the last ratline of the rigging, he lost his footing and fell on his back on the sand at the very feet of Cavendish.

Fortunately for him the sand was soft, and he was not much hurt, though a good deal shaken. Pulling himself together, he got on his feet and at once told Cavendish what he had seen.

There was no time to lose; a boat was promptly sent away with messengers to the two vessels afloat, the Good Adventure and the Elizabeth, to warn them to be in readiness; and the trumpet sounded for the men to cease work and muster. Arms were hurriedly served out; men were stationed at the guns, which the captain was now very glad he had loaded and arranged according to Harry's advice; and very soon they were as ready for the attack as was possible in the short time at their disposal.

Meanwhile the two vessels afloat had lifted their anchors, and were standing closer in, the better to defend their now helpless consorts.

It was evident that the natives in the bush were waiting for their friends in the canoes to approach closer before they attacked, and this hesitation saved the English the loss of a number of men; for had the savages attacked while the men were at work on the ships, the latter would have been taken at a serious disadvantage, and the loss would have been very heavy.

As the first canoe made its appearance round the point, a perfect pandemonium of savage and ear-splitting yells arose from the bush, and a loud noise of crashing and crackling announced that the enemy there were coming along at their utmost speed. The outcry was answered from seaward as the canoes came pouring into the inlet.

"Now, stand steady, lads!" shouted the captain. "As they come in upon us give them a round from the guns, and load again if you have time; then a volley from the muskets; and after that we must trust to our good swords. But keep cool, and do not throw away a shot."

As he finished speaking the enemy burst from the bush like a swarm of angry bees, and charged at full speed at the little band of white men opposed to them; whereupon a perfect storm of grape-shot, old nails, rusty bolts, pieces of scrap-iron, and even stones, with which the cannon had been hastily loaded, went hissing through their close ranks; and, from the piercing screams and yells of agony that at once arose from them, the execution must have been terrible. Yet they poured out, checked only for a moment.

"Fire again!" roared the captain; and the muskets crashed out in a rattling volley, the bullets mowing the natives down in swathes.

This second discharge checked them and caused them to waver; but a tall man, gaily bedecked with feathers, instantly sprang from the ranks, and, haranguing them, called to his comrades to follow him, he himself leading the charge.

They soon reached the guns, and, leaping over them before they could again be loaded, were at once among the English, who had now to fight for dear life.

Howling with fury, they stabbed and slashed and struck with spear and club; and from the other side of the little circle came a shower of well-placed arrows, and many a brave seaman fell writhing his life out on the sand, which by this time was assuming a sinister crimson hue.

Roger and Harry, each armed with an excellent sword borrowed from the ship's armoury, were here, there, and everywhere, but always together, doing much execution, and repeatedly saving each other's lives.

Cavendish, in the front of his men, swept his long blade from side to side, and as it fell, flashing meteor-like in the brilliant sunshine, the naked warriors sank before it in heaps.

Now from seaward came the crashing discharges of heavy guns, followed by renewed shrieks and cries, as the Elizabeth and the Good Adventure poured their broadsides into the closely-packed canoes.

"God grant," muttered Cavendish, "that those other vessels of ours may keep the canoes off; for if these fellows are reinforced, we can never hold out against them."

But nobody had time to see how the other action was progressing, for all were too busy with the work in hand, which was the task of defending their own lives.

Twice had the gallant little band of Englishmen driven the savages back over the barricade formed by the ships' guns, and twice had the enemy, led by the tall savage, forced their way in again.

At last, seeing clearly that all hinged upon this man's downfall, Cavendish made many strenuous efforts to reach him; but for some time he failed, owing to the press. At length, however, an opening occurred, and Cavendish, rushing forward, stood face to face with his arch-enemy.

The chief was a man of mighty stature, and evidently of enormous strength, standing nearly seven feet high; and at first sight the disparity between the two adversaries seemed enormous. But what the English captain lacked in height he made up in strength and agility.

Sword in hand he circled round and round his gigantic foe, watching like a cat for an opportunity to strike a deadly blow.

But the savage took the initiative, and, raising his spear, darted it at the Englishman with all his force. Cavendish, however, was not to be caught so easily, and, taking the shaft of the spear with the edge of his sword, he parried the thrust, and the weapon merely ripped his shirt instead of piercing his body.

Before the native could recover himself, and guard his body, the English captain thrust with all his strength, quite unprepared for the wily savage's next move.

Seemingly careless of the wound that he inflicted upon himself, the savage caught the keen blade of his adversary in his left hand, and, although the weapon lacerated his hand in a fearful manner, he succeeded in wresting it from the captain's grasp, while, at the same time flinging away his spear, he seized Cavendish round the lower part of the body, lifted him clear of the ground, and dashed him to the earth, himself falling with his antagonist.

The pair rolled upon the ground, each striving to obtain a grip of the other's right arm, to prevent any other weapon being used. Now the savage and now the white man was uppermost, but at length, with a huge effort, Cavendish twisted himself from under his foe, and lay full-length on top of him, feeling for his dagger. The chief, however, had likewise seized a knife which hung at his girdle, and, before the captain could draw his weapon, he plunged his knife into Cavendish's side.

The Englishman's grasp relaxed, he slipped from his position, and lay upon his side, writhing on the sand. The native now rose to his knees and raised his arm to deal a fatal blow; but, even as that blow fell, a sword flashed through the air, and arm and knife fell to the ground together.

Roger, for it was he who had thus appeared in the nick of time, at once turned his sword and drove it through the heart of the chief, who rolled over lifeless at his feet. The young hero then raised his captain in his arms, and, staggering out of the press of the battle, laid him down out of sight behind a gun-carriage.

Meanwhile the vessels afloat in the bay had been giving a very good account of the enemy in the canoes. The natives, it was clear, had been watching, and, having seen the preparations for careening the ships, had hoped to find all four hauled up; in which case they would have secured an easy victory from force of numbers alone, as the ships would then have been unable to use their guns against the force in the canoes. But as it was they had to deal with two fully-prepared ships, and, after several fruitless attempts to board, were now hauling off with the remnant of their fleet, most of the canoes having already been destroyed by the broadsides from the Elizabeth and the Good Adventure.

The land force, seeing their companions in the canoes withdrawing, and also having lost their chieftain, now began to waver. Observing this, the English hastily formed up into line, and, with a loud cheer, charged the enemy afresh, hewing right and left with hearty goodwill.

This fierce rally proved altogether too much for the savages, and they broke and fled precipitately.

The English now rushed to their guns, and, hastily completing the loading which had been checked at the first onslaught of the enemy, gave the flying savages another dose of grape and canister that strewed the beach with dead and dying, and further hastened the flight of the survivors, who quickly vanished in the recesses of the thick bush.

The enemy thus disposed off, finally as they hoped, Roger and Harry went off to attend to the captain.

They found him sitting up. He averred that his hurt was only a flesh wound; and after asking for, and obtaining, a draught of water, the gallant fellow got on his feet and went off to survey the scene of carnage.

Over a hundred of the natives lay dead on the sands; and a number of wounded were seen crawling towards the brush, endeavouring to escape. They were allowed to go, as the English could not be burdened with wounded savages, and were indisposed to slay them in cold blood. There were twenty-three of the Englishmen who would never again answer the roll-call; and over forty wounded, who were conveyed on board the Good Adventure and the Elizabeth, afloat in the bay. The dead, both black and white, were, for health's sake, immediately buried in the sand where they lay.

Cavendish, after having had his wound bound up, ordered a stockade to be at once built, and loopholed for guns and muskets, for their future defence, in the improbable event of the savages not having already received a severe enough lesson.

The seamen were now divided into two parties. One half of them were to continue the work of repairs and overhauling on the two vessels then careened, the Stag Royal and the Tiger, and the remaining half were to work upon the stockade.

Then, this matter arranged, Cavendish called Roger to him, and, first thanking him for his timely rescue and the saving of his life, he put the lad in command of the party who were to build the stockade.

Roger was also publicly thanked, in the presence of officers and men, for the warning he had given, which enabled the party to make their hasty preparations for the reception of the natives, without which the whole party on shore would most likely have been cut off to a man. And if the ships in the bay had not likewise been warned, it was quite within the bounds of possibility that they would have been boarded before the guns could have been loaded and brought to bear on the canoes; in which case there could be little doubt that the savages would have captured the vessels through sheer weight of numbers, for there were several hundred men in the canoes.

It ought to be mentioned that when Cavendish gave Roger the command of the company to be employed in building the stockade, he also endowed him with full power to use his own discretion as to how the work should be carried out, only occasionally giving the lad a few hints. Invested thus with such great responsibility, and with such important duties to execute, Roger naturally needed a lieutenant, and he selected Harry for the post, dividing his men into two parties, one of which he placed under the command of his friend.

This arranged, he sent Harry away into the woods with his men, armed with axes and bush knives, to cut timber for the stockade, while he himself, with his own party, remained on the beach, digging holes in which to deposit the uprights when they were cut, and also digging a ditch round where the palisade was to be, in order to drain off any water that might accumulate, and thus prevent the interior of their small fort from being flooded.

Harry and his gang soon returned with a load of stout stakes, plenty of suitable trees for the purpose being found close at hand. Depositing these on the beach, he then returned into the woods for more material, Roger and his men meanwhile proceeding to plant the main posts in a ring round the guns.

It was not long ere they had driven a row of posts deep and firm into the sand, starting from the margin of the beach nearest the water's edge.

This brought them, in the direction in which they were going, fairly close up to where the woods ceased at their junction with the beach.

Roger was watching the men drive in the next post with heavy wooden mallets, procured from the ship, when he observed that, although they were hammering hard at the stump, it did not seem to be going down as quickly as it should; indeed, upon closer inspection, it did not appear to be moving downwards at all. And, further, the mallets, instead of giving out a dull sound, as they had done whilst driving through sand, now gave out a sharper and quite different sound as the top of the post was struck.

One of the men engaged stepped up to Roger and touched his hat. "It seems to me, sir," said he, "as though something was stopping of this here post from going down any furder. I expects as how there is a stone or summat in the sand under the point. Do you think that ere stump is down fur enough as it is, or shall us pull un up and put un in somewheres else?"

Roger stepped up and shook the post, and, finding it quite loose, decided that it would have to be driven deeper in order to be secure. Nevertheless it was necessary to space the posts at equal intervals one from another, if his ideas were to be carried out; he therefore ordered the stump to be pulled up, the obstruction removed, and the post driven down again in the same position.

The seamen thereupon laid hold of the post, and, all hauling together, it soon came out; and with shovels and crowbars they began to break down the sand and enlarge the hole, so as to get at whatever was in the way and remove it.

It was not long ere the shovel of one of the men struck upon something hard, and the man, dropping upon his knees, went to work to scrape the sand away with his hands, presently laying bare to view what was apparently part of a spar of some kind, not old or worm-eaten, but seemingly almost new. Having located this, they started to clear the sand away from the whole length of the piece of timber, and, while doing so, found that there were two other poles or spars laid alongside it. After an hour's hard work the three spars were unearthed, and proved to be the three poles of a set of sheer-legs, which had evidently only quite recently been hidden.

Roger then instructed the men to start probing in the sand, to see whether there might be anything else buried, and he himself took a boat and pulled away over the bay to the Elizabeth to inform Cavendish of his discovery.

He found the captain lying in his bunk nursing his recent wound, and informed him of the circumstance, asking also what he should do in the matter.

"You have dug out of the sand what you think is a set of sheer-legs, eh, boy?" said the captain, raising himself in his berth on one elbow. "And have you found anything beside?"

"No, sir," said Roger in reply, "there was nothing else dug up when I left; but I told the men to probe the sand, whilst I came off to you, to see if there was anything else there."

"Well," responded the captain, "I must look into this. I will get up and come ashore with you; but just go and call the surgeon first; I wish him to bind this wound of mine up again before I leave the ship."

Roger did so; and, the surgeon having dressed and bound up Cavendish's hurt again, the two descended the ship's side and, getting into the boat, were rowed ashore.

When they reached the beach they saw that the men had already lifted out the three sheer-leg poles and laid them on the sand, and now a gang of men were hauling upon a rope attached to something still in the sand.

When Cavendish and Roger came up to the spot they saw that the top of an iron chest had been uncovered, and the men had fastened a rope to a ring in the lid, and were now hauling on the rope to drag the chest clear.

Cavendish watched the seamen a moment, and then went to examine the poles. After a few minutes' observation, he said to Roger: "It is pretty evident to me, boy, that this inlet has been used before for some such purpose as that for which we are using it, namely, for careening vessels for repairs and refit. These poles have been employed for lifting guns or other heavy material taken out of a ship or from off a raft. Now I wonder who it may be that has used these things? The Spaniards would not need to use this inlet for any such purpose, for they have their own ports on the island, where this kind of work could be done far better than here. Nor can they have been Englishmen, I should think, for if this place were known to any of our own people it would be marked on the chart, and we should have heard of it, most certainly. Also, the fact that these things have been buried points to the certainty that the people who have hidden them intend to return and use them again. If they had not meant to come back, they would have taken them with them when they left. No, it is evident to me that the people who left these articles will return periodically to this place to refit; and as this spot is almost unknown, as well as being lonely and secluded, it would seem to my poor understanding that the men who use this place are not Spaniards or English seamen proper, but pirates. It also occurs to me that there may be something in this box that they are just getting out which will tell us what we want to know."

As the captain finished speaking, the box came up suddenly, and the seamen, who were hauling manfully on the rope, fell upon their backs, only to scramble quickly to their feet again with much laughter at the mishap.

"Now, men," said Cavendish, who had a habit of taking his crew into his confidence, "before we go any further, let me tell you that I believe this inlet to be a pirate's resort, which they visit periodically for the purpose of effecting repairs. If so, we must capture them if we can. We must, therefore, be careful to leave no traces of our own visit here or they may become alarmed and desert the place. Therefore all this gear must be replaced exactly as we found it, before we sail, and this box must not be broken open, but the lock must be picked instead. And if we replace everything exactly as we found it, the pirates—if such they be—will not suspect that anyone else has been here; they will still continue to use the inlet, and some day they will walk right into the little trap that I intend to set for them. Now, lads, up with that chest, and be careful with it. Pass the word for the carpenter and armourer to come here and bring their tools."

These two men were soon on the spot, and between them they had the chest open in a few minutes. An eager examination of its contents showed that there was nothing of any intrinsic value contained therein; but there were documents and papers written in Spanish which abundantly verified the captain's conjecture. For from these Cavendish, who could read and understand Spanish perfectly, learned that the bay where they were now lying was indeed the resort of a pirate crew; while the name of the chief miscreant, as ascertained from the papers, was Jose Leirya. The documents gave, among other particulars, a detailed account of the scoundrel's doings ever since he had started his nefarious trade on the Spanish Main; and the mere recital of his atrocities proved enough to make every man of them there present swear a great oath to hunt the villain down wherever he might be, and hang him, with all his rascally crew, from the yard-arms of his own ship.

Nothing else of any importance having been found, the chest was carefully locked up again, after the papers had been put back, everything replaced in its former position and buried in the sand once more, the utmost care being taken to destroy all evidence of the things having been disturbed.

After this little episode the work on the ships went steadily forward. The Tiger and the Stag Royal were soon finished, and the Elizabeth and the Good Adventure took their places.

These last-named vessels received the same attention as their consorts, and were in a fortnight pronounced quite sound and once more ready for sea. They were hauled off the beach, and Cavendish had the great satisfaction of seeing his little squadron of four ships once more all ataunto and ready to sail.

The next morning Cavendish called a meeting of his officers in his cabin, and their long and earnest consultation resulted in the decision that they should cruise, as originally intended, up the Mexican coast and in the Caribbean, with an addendum to the effect that special efforts should be made to capture the pirate Jose Leirya, whose atrocious deeds, as recorded by his own hand, had made every man in the fleet his enemy, determined to hunt him ruthlessly to his death.

This having been arranged, preparations were forthwith made for leaving. The Spaniards were brought on deck in squads, and armed with weapons sufficient to enable them to obtain food, or successfully defend themselves against the attacks of savages. They were then sent ashore in boat-loads, the ships all having their broadsides trained on the beach where they landed, to prevent treachery on their part.

In the last boat-load went Alvarez and de Soto, both of whom Roger had seen on the Gloria del Mundo at the time of the engagement with the Spanish fleet.

De Soto gracefully thanked his captors for their courtesy and kindness as he went over the side, but Alvarez scowled heavily round him, and looked attentively at every face near him before he went, as though he meant to fix their features on his memory, that he might recognise them again in the event of a future meeting. Then, with a glare of hatred at the retreating form of de Soto, he turned his back without a word and went also.

This completed the landing of the prisoners, and very glad the Englishmen were to be rid of the responsibility and risk.

"That fellow Alvarez will know us again when next we meet," said Cavendish with a laugh, to Roger, who was standing by his side watching the Spaniards on the beach.

"Yes," replied Roger, "and he means mischief, I am sure. I should be very sorry for any one of us who might be unfortunate enough to get into his power."

"He seems to hate de Soto also pretty thoroughly," said Harry. "Did you see the look he gave him as he went over the side?"

"Ay," answered Roger, who went on to tell of Alvarez's little soliloquy relative to de Soto while searching for the papers in the cabin of the sinking Gloria del Mundo. "He will do de Soto a bad turn, of that I am sure, if he ever gets the opportunity," remarked Roger in conclusion.

All was now ready for their departure. The Spaniards had formed up on the beach and marched off in order into the bush, and were by this time nowhere to be seen.

Sail was hoisted and, the flag-ship leading, the little squadron passed out between the heads one after another on their way to the coast of Mexico; and by evening the island was merely a long grey line on the eastern horizon, while all eyes were strained toward the golden west, each man eager for the first sight of a sail that might prove to be a richly-laden galleon, or even the pirate Jose Leirya. Later in the evening the moon rose in all her tropic glory, and the sea in her wake gleamed like one huge speckless sheet of silver.

Behind them, in the bush on the island, by the evening camp-fire, Alvarez, with certain other choice spirits of his own stamp, was plotting grim and deadly evil by the light of the same moon which lit the English adventurers on their way.



CHAPTER EIGHT.

ROGER GOES ASHORE TO RESCUE A MAROONED MAN, AND IS HIMSELF LEFT IN THE LURCH.

The days now slipped by uneventfully, and morning after morning broke without either land or ship making its appearance to break the monotony of a perfectly clear horizon.

Slipping down the Windward Channel, and sailing on a South-South-West course, they had left Morant Point, at the eastern end of Jamaica, on their starboard beam; and after keeping to their South-South-West course for the five succeeding days, they had turned the vessels' heads to the East-South-East, intending to sail as far in that direction as La Guayra, where they hoped to find a plate galleon in the harbour, and make an attempt to cut her out. Thence they planned to change their course once more, standing westward along the coast of Venezuela, crossing the Gulf of Darien, the Mosquito Gulf, and the Bay of Honduras, and so up through the Yucatan Channel, leaving the western end of the island of Cuba on their starboard hand, and into the Gulf of Mexico, where they intended to cruise for some time, feeling tolerably certain of picking up a treasure-ship there at any rate, even if they were not fortunate enough to snap one up whilst cruising on their way.

They could, of course, have reached the Gulf of Mexico much more quickly by sailing down the Windward Channel and along the southern coast of Cuba, and by the Yucatan Channel into the gulf; but they had heard of the treasure-ships that made La Guayra their port of departure, and were anxious not to miss any of them. Also, they believed that, by taking the longer course, there would be more likelihood of their falling in with that most ferocious and bloody pirate, Jose Leirya, as he was called, or Jose de Leirya, as he loved to call himself—for he was said to claim descent from a grandee of Spain, although those who knew the man were well aware that his birth and parentage were obscure.

As has already been related, one of the seamen on board the flag-ship one night gave some account of the pirate's former doings, and the discovery that the buried gear found at the Careenage—as Cavendish had named the spot where the squadron refitted—was the property of the pirate was proof positive that the scoundrel was still prowling somewhere in those seas. Likewise, it will be remembered, every man in the fleet had sworn to do his utmost to bring the villain to justice. The anxiety, therefore, to catch him was such that officers, even, not infrequently spent hours at the mast-heads in the hope of seeing his topgallantsails showing above the horizon. Old Cary—the man who claimed to possess some knowledge of Leirya—said that when he last sailed in these seas the pirate was cruising in a schooner of unusual length, and lying very low in the water, her hull painted black, with a broad scarlet riband, in which her open gun-ports looked like a number of gaping mouths, having been built very large to enable the broadside guns to be trained almost fore and aft. The craft's masts were, furthermore, said to be of great height, and might be recognised by their remarkable and excessive rake aft; indeed—so asserted Cary—her spars were of such extraordinary length, and the vessel herself lay so very low in the water, that she had the appearance of being perilously overmasted and topheavy. This appearance, however, Cary explained, was altogether deceptive. The vessel sat low in the water indeed, but she was not the shallow craft that she looked; there was more of her below than above the surface, and she drew a great deal of water for a vessel of her tonnage. This great draught of water enabled her to carry a heavy load of ballast, tall masts, and a correspondingly heavy press of sail; thus she was an enormously fast vessel, and had up till now easily eluded capture, being able to run away from and out-weather many vessels more powerful than herself.

In justice to the pirate, however, it must be admitted that he had seldom been known to run away. His vessel was exceptionally heavily armed, and, if his antagonist happened to be not very much more powerful than himself, he invariably stayed and fought the action out, always succeeding in beating off his opponent, while in many cases he had captured her. The fate of the unfortunate crews that fell into his hands was—if his own records were to be credited—not to be dwelt upon; for he described himself as guilty of the most awful atrocities to men, women, and even children. The fights, of course, occurred only between himself and war-vessels; merchant-ships never attempted such an impossible task as to fight the pirate, and very often seemed too completely paralysed with terror even to attempt the equally impossible task of running away!

Such was the vessel that everyone in Cavendish's squadron was so eagerly looking for, their eagerness being further stimulated by the fact that the captain had offered as a prize, to the first seaman who sighted her, the best weapon that should be taken out of her after her capture— which, of course, all on board considered as absolutely certain, could they but once succeed in coming up with her; while to the first officer or gentleman who saw her he offered as reward the best suit of clothing to be found in her. Such, however, was the eagerness of all hands to come up with and destroy the vessel, and her rascally crew and leader, that the lookout would have been just as keenly kept if no reward whatever had been offered.

But there was a still further stimulus in the not unnatural hope that Jose Leirya would have on board some, at least, of that vast treasure of his, with the possession of which he was credited by every man who had ever heard of him; and visions of much prize-money to spend on their return to Plymouth were always before the eager eyes of the Englishmen.

Regulating the speed of the whole squadron by that of the slowest ship— which happened to be the Tiger, the rechristened El Capitan—the fleet went slowly to the East-South-East on its appointed course.

In those days, as, of course, it is hardly necessary to remind the reader, charts were few, and those few were not to be relied upon as more than approximately accurate.

On the course that the commodore had marked out for his little squadron they would, according to their chart, fall in with no land until they made Oruba Island, after which Cavendish intended to steer a course between the island of Oruba and what is now known as the Paraguena Peninsula, leaving the other two islands of Curazao and Buen Ayre on his port hand, and then heading straight for La Guayra.

Several sailors, and one or two officers, among whom were Roger and Harry, were as usual perched upon the cross-trees, the yards, or at the mast-heads, on the lookout for the first sight of the infamous Jose Leirya's schooner, and with no idea whatever of sighting land. So everybody on deck was much astonished when, on a certain morning, the cry came down from the masthead of the Stag Royal of "Land ho, bearing dead ahead!" At the same moment a string of flags fluttered up to the main truck of the Tiger, which was signalling that she also had caught sight of land of some description.

"What do you make of it, Roger?" shouted Cavendish, for it was Roger's sharp eyes that had caught the first glimpse of the unexpected land as he was aloft straining his eyes in a search for the raking masts of Jose Leirya's craft.

"Well, sir," responded the boy, "it is an island of some kind, a very small one, and lying low in the water. I can make out what I take to be a few trees, probably palms, and I think—nay, I am quite sure now—that I can see a thin column of smoke rising from about the centre of the island."

"In that case," said Cavendish, turning to Leigh, who was standing at his elbow trying to catch sight of the land from the level of the deck, "there is evidently a human being on that island who has seen the sails of our fleet, and wishes to attract our attention and be taken off. I suspect there has been a shipwreck there, and very likely there may be more than one man. Now, I should not at all object to find and take off a whole crew of shipwrecked seamen—provided that they were English,— for what with our fight with the Spaniards, that brush with the savages, and sickness, we have had our crews thinned down very considerably. God grant that they be not Spaniards; for if they are, and are in distress there, I must take them off in common humanity—though, were we in like case, I doubt if they would do the same for us,—and then I shall have my vessels again lumbered up with a lot of useless fellows until I can land them somewhere. Moreover, that same landing will be very difficult now, for we shall not be likely to find down here another place which will serve our purpose so well as did the Careenage, all these islands and land hereabouts being already occupied by Spaniards, and we should be running our own heads into danger in attempting to get rid of them. Mr Leigh, be good enough to work out our dead-reckoning up to this hour, and let us see exactly where we are on the chart, for there is no island or land of any description marked where we are at present sailing."

Leigh did as the captain had ordered him, and found that the ships were at that moment in longitude 73 degrees west and latitude 15 degrees North; so that, going by the chart, there ought not to be any land in sight for several days at least.

"This particular part of the Caribbean Sea, sir, is not very greatly frequented by English ships," said Leigh in explanation; "but the Spaniards, no doubt, know these waters well, and yonder island may perhaps be laid down on one of their charts."

"Very possibly," answered the skipper; "but we have no Spanish charts. The next Spaniard we capture, however, we will search for her charts, which will certainly be of the utmost use to us."

During the foregoing conversation Roger had come down from aloft to report still further to the captain, and he had overheard the last remark, which immediately reminded him that he had brought certain charts away from the cabin of the Gloria del Mundo; in fact, Harry and he had found their cipher concealed in the folds of one of them. He had intended to give them to his captain, but subsequent stirring events had driven the idea out of his mind.

Having now recollected them, however, he explained the matter to Cavendish, and asked if he should bring the charts up on deck.

"By all means," replied the skipper; "let us have them at once, Trevose, my man."

Roger dived below, and soon reappeared with the charts under his arm. They were immediately spread open on the deck and overhauled, and all were found to be of the utmost importance; some papers also being found among them giving the bearings and soundings of certain secret channels leading to ports on the South American coast. There were also found plans of towns and fortresses that would prove of inestimable value to them. These last were forthwith placed in safety for future reference, and a chart was presently discovered showing that particular portion of the ocean upon which they were now sailing; and, sure enough, there was a small island marked in the precise spot occupied by the one for which they were heading. There was, in ink, a description of the island— written, of course, in Spanish,—setting forth that it had been named "Isla de Corsarios", and that it was, according to English measurements, two and a half miles long by one mile broad; also that it was uninhabited. The description, written as a marginal note, further stated that there was a spring of fresh water on the island, and that there were palm-trees thereon; that the islet was of sandy soil, and supported no vegetation beyond the few palms mentioned.

"This, then, explains the matter," said Cavendish. "Evidently it has been missed by our vessels, but the Dons have located it. I can clearly see that these charts will be indeed very useful to us."

By this time the island could be made out from the level of the deck, as also the smoke, which was undoubtedly rising from a signal-fire that had been lighted on the beach. The ships were, however, not yet near enough to make out who the inhabitants were, nor how many of them there might be. Indeed, had it not been for the sight of the smoke, the captain would have imagined the island to be totally uninhabited, and would not have thought it worth while to stop thereat; and, but for the fact of the smoke being observed, this veracious yarn would most probably have had a very different ending.

All the officers of the ship, including Cavendish, Roger, and Harry, were now standing in the eyes of the vessel; some had mounted the bulwarks, and were supporting themselves thereon by holding on to the rigging, and one and all were shading their eyes with their hands against the powerful rays of an almost vertical sun, each anxious to catch the first sight of the man, or men, who had built that signal-fire on the beach.

In obedience to an order from Cavendish, old Martin, who was credited with having the sharpest eyes in the ship, went aloft to the foremast-head, on the lookout, with instructions to let those on deck know when he first caught sight of the inhabitants of the island.

In about a quarter of an hour they had very perceptibly neared the shore, which lay very low, and presented, at a closer view, more the appearance of a mud or sand-bank, with a few dwarfed trees and shrubs growing thereon, than an island in its accepted sense of the word; and shortly afterward Martin's voice came down from aloft in accents of excitement: "I see un, zir; there 'a be. 'Tes only one man, zir, so far as Ai can mek out, and 'a be a-waving of a red shirt, or zummat laike that, Ai think, zir."

"Can you only see one man, Martin; or are there any more with him, think you?" shouted Cavendish.

"Naw, zir," responded the old fellow; "as Ai zay, Ai can only zee one of 'em, and 'e do be a-carryin' on zumthing wonnerful, zir. 'E be a-jumpin' up an' down, and a-wavin' of his arms laike to one possessed. Ai expec's as how un belaives us 'aven't zeen un, an' wants to attrac' our attention."

"Very well, Martin," answered the captain; "stay where you are, man," as he perceived the old fellow making preparations to descend, "stay where you are. Keep a sharp lookout, and let me know if anything further takes place, or if any more men make their appearance.

"I expect, gentlemen," said the captain, turning to the assembled officers, "that there is only one man there; the others would have joined him by this time, had there been any more of them. In a way, I am sorry; for I could very well have done with a great many more men— always provided, of course, that they had been Englishmen,—for we are, as you all know, very short-handed. This man is possibly the sole survivor of a shipwrecked crew; but, as there seems, so far as we can see at present, to be no trace of others being there, I should be more inclined to think that he has been marooned. Marooning is, of course, a very common practice, particularly among pirates, and, in my opinion, it is one of the most cruel forms of punishment ever conceived by the brain of man. Now, it has occurred to me as quite within the limits of possibility that this man ashore there may be a marooned member of the crew of that scoundrel, Jose Leirya. It would not be so very extraordinary, after all, if he were. Leirya is practically the only pirate at present in these seas, and we are all aware that marooning is practised chiefly among pirates. Should it happen to be as I somewhat suspect, the man will, at all events, know something worth telling us about that arch villain; for I shall never be happy until I have hunted the scoundrel down, and hanged him for the dog he is!"

The captain's face blazed with righteous anger as he spoke, and his expression was reflected on the countenances of the officers gathered round him. It boded ill indeed for the pirate if ever the squadron should fall in with him.

"Send a man into the chains," continued Cavendish, speaking to Roger. "As the land lies so low in the water, it is not unlikely that the water round it is very shoal, and I have no wish to get any of the vessels ashore if I can help it. And order the signalman to signal the rest of the fleet to keep the lead going."

Roger obeyed, and a leadsman was soon perched in the chains to windward, busy with his sounding-line to ascertain the depth of water in which they were then sailing, and to give timely warning if the water should begin to shoal dangerously.

"Seven fathoms now, sir!" reported Hearst, the leadsman.

"Very well," answered Cavendish; "we are safe as yet," turning to Leigh. "Let her go through the water."

The other vessels were strung out behind the Stag Royal, and they fell into her wake for their greater safety; for she drew more water than any of the rest, being a much larger vessel, and where she could go the rest could follow. They were running along with a fresh breeze on their starboard beam, and making about six knots an hour. They were therefore rapidly nearing the island, and could by this time discern the solitary occupant from the deck. He still continued to wave the red shirt, or whatever it was, that they had at first seen, and it appeared as though even now he could scarcely convince himself that he had yet been seen, although the fleet was heading directly for the island, for he continued his wild gestures—leaping into the air, and waving his arms like one possessed.