"Senor, pardon me if I say that I scarcely understand you. You surely cannot mean that you will hold this town responsible for your inability to obtain possession of the men you seek?"

"You are mistaken, senor, if you imagine any such thing," retorted George. "I hold every Spaniard on the continent responsible for the safety and well-being of those men. It was by Spanish treachery that they are at this moment living in hell upon earth—for I know something of what life as a galley-slave means—and I am going to employ every possible means at my disposal to bring pressure upon you and your fellow-countrymen to right the wrong that has been done. Therefore, I beg that, in communicating with the Governor of Panama, you will make it clear to him that, to save Nombre from sack and destruction, he must exhaust his utmost powers to secure the speedy release of those men."

"But, senor—" began Don Sebastian, remonstratingly.

"Not another word, senor," interrupted George, determinedly. "What I have said, I have said. Tell Don Silvio that I hold the shore battery, and that, therefore, Nombre de Dios is absolutely at my mercy. Tell him also that I am holding you, among others, as a hostage to secure ourselves from interference or attack by soldiery or civilians, and, in short, make it clear to him that if those men are not speedily surrendered to me, the Spaniards will have to pay dearly for them in blood and treasure. Now, please proceed with the preparation of your communication to Don Silvio, for time is flying."

Whereupon, Don Sebastian, clutching his locks with his left hand, took pen in his right, and proceeded, with a great deal of difficulty, to draft a letter setting forth in cold black and white the critical state of affairs then existing in Nombre, and urgently entreating the Governor of Panama to leave no stone unturned to find and surrender the seventeen Englishmen, on account of whom all this fuss and pother was being made, lest worse come of it. The Don was not a particularly fluent correspondent, but he grew almost eloquent when he strove to impress upon his fellow-governor the inexorable determination displayed by the young English captain, and he wound up by quoting two or three Spanish proverbs to the effect that of two evils it was always best to choose the lesser, and that it was folly to cut off one's nose to spite one's face, these being intended to support Don Sebastian's contention that it would be better to surrender the Englishmen and forego one's righteous desire to revenge oneself upon them, rather than that a Spanish town like Nombre de Dios should be subjected to the horrors of sack and pillage. The fair copy of the letter, after the draft had been submitted for George's approval, was still in process of being written when Senor Montalvo, booted and spurred, and otherwise dressed for the road, made his appearance. The letter, however, was finished at last, signed, sealed with the official seal, and handed to the secretary, who, a minute later, mounted upon Josefa, the black mule, went clattering out of the Grand Plaza, en route for Panama.

"Now," said Saint Leger, when the important business of the letter to the Governor of Panama had been satisfactorily disposed of, "with your Excellency's approval we will all retire to the shore battery, where I propose to concentrate my forces until a reply arrives from his Excellency of Panama. I noted, when leaving, that the guns of the battery effectually command the town, therefore, by holding the battery I shall hold the town also; moreover, by withdrawing my men to it, there will be the less likelihood of collisions between my people and your countrymen. I must trouble your Excellency to accompany me, and to put up, for a few days, with somewhat rougher quarters than you are accustomed to; but we will make things as comfortable as we can for you, and you may take with you any three of your servants whom you would wish to accompany you. If you will kindly issue any orders that you may wish to give, we will go at once."

It was in vain that Don Sebastian begged to be excused from accompanying his captors to the battery, in vain that he alternately protested, represented, promised, and almost threatened; George turned a deaf ear to everything that the poor man found to say and half an hour later saw the whole party which had held the Grand Plaza marching in good order through the streets toward the battery, with the Governor and his three servants, the latter bearing heavy loads of his Excellency's baggage, in the centre of the solid phalanx. By that time the townspeople had recovered from their first panic, and had almost settled down again into their normal condition, the shops were nearly all open, excitement was rapidly subsiding, and the citizens were mostly going about their business pretty much as usual; the English, therefore, experienced no inconvenience or interruption during their march, and in due time reached the battery, the gates of which were thrown open to receive them, and closed and bolted again after they had all entered.

The first thing was for the newcomers to get breakfast, for which they were all—with, perhaps, the exception of the Governor—by this time quite ready. Then, at the conclusion of the meal, George accompanied Basset round the battery upon a tour of inspection, during which the latter pointed out what he had done, and was still doing, to strengthen the defences of the place; and the young captain was greatly gratified to see that a few hours' more work would render the place practically impregnable to assault, and that all that they then need fear was a protracted siege, which, however, did not enter into the Englishmen's calculations.

The entire party from the Nonsuch were now housed in the battery, for Basset had no sooner secured possession of the place than, very wisely, he hailed the men who had been left in the boats to take care of them, directing them to beach their craft under the battery walls, moor them securely, remove all gear, and convey it and themselves into the battery forthwith, which they did, this arrangement rendering both them and their boats absolutely secure from interference.

By mid-afternoon Basset's plans had all been carried out, and the battery placed in a thorough state for effective defence; and now all that remained was to await with patience the return of Senor Montalvo from Panama with the results of his mission. George had estimated that with due diligence on the part of the secretary, it should be possible for him to execute his mission in time to be back in Nombre by the afternoon of the following day; but Don Sebastian was not so sanguine; he knew the Spanish propensity to procrastinate, and he also knew that Don Silvio Calderon, the Governor of Panama, was not the man to permit himself to be hurried, particularly in the interests of other people; also he knew, a great deal better than George, how many difficulties stood in the way of securing the speedy release of prisoners from the galleys, even under the most favourable circumstances. He therefore did all that he could, by representation, to prepare his captors for a certain amount of delay; consequently when the next day passed without bringing any sign of the secretary's return, nobody was very greatly surprised or disappointed.

But it was not until four full days had passed, and the afternoon of the fifth was well advanced, that Senor Montalvo, hot, dusty, travel- stained, and weary, re-appeared; and when Don Sebastian had twice perused the letter of which the secretary was the bearer, it was perfectly evident, from the expression of dismay upon his Excellency's countenance, and his muttered ejaculations of "Fool! thrice-sodden fool!—pig!—obstinate mule!" and other uncomplimentary expressions, that the secretary's mission had not been brilliantly successful. On the contrary, it soon developed that the errand had proved an utter failure, for after an hour's earnest and anxious converse and discussion with Senor Montalvo, Don Sebastian approached George, and, with every evidence of the utmost distress, handed him the reply of the Governor of Panama to read.

The letter was brief and to the point. It opened with a pithy but pungent expression of Don Silvio's opinion of the capacity of a Governor who could permit his city to be captured and held by a handful of English pirates; then proceeded succinctly to refuse to accede to any of those pirates' demands; and wound up by saying that if the garrison and citizens of Nombre were such fools as to allow themselves to be surprised, they must take the consequences, whatever they might be. But, Don Silvio concluded by saying, if the city of Nombre were sacked by the English, the citizens might console themselves with the assurance that they would be amply avenged, for he (Don Silvio) was dispatching every soldier in Panama to the assistance of Nombre, and if, upon their arrival, any English were found in the city, they would be exterminated with the utmost promptitude!

Like Don Sebastian, George read this precious effusion of a pompous, consequential, pig-headed official twice before commenting upon it. Then he turned to the secretary and said:

"Senor, are you cognisant of the contents of this letter?"

"I believe so, in a general way, Illustrissimo," answered Senor Montalvo. "Of course," he continued, "I have not read the communication itself, but I was able to pretty well gather from Don Silvio's remarks when I explained my mission to him what was the nature of the reply he intended to make to Don Sebastian's request."

"Describe Don Silvio to me," demanded George.

"He is a man somewhat above medium height," replied the secretary, "of rather striking appearance, dark complexioned, sallow, hasty and irascible of temper, has a very exalted opinion of his position and dignity, is very impatient of anything in the most remote degree approaching to dictation, and has a profound belief in his own judgment, and in his qualifications generally for the post which he occupies. He is of opinion, for example, that had he been Governor of Nombre, you and your followers would never have succeeded in establishing yourselves in the city."

"I see," said George. "Yes, I think from your description I can form a tolerably accurate picture of the man. Is he a man of his word?"

"As how, precisely, Senor Captain?" demanded the secretary.

"Well," explained George, "in this letter he announces his intention to dispatch every soldier at his disposal in Panama to the relief of this city. Do you think he will really do so?"

"Undoubtedly, senor," was the answer. "I was present when Don Silvio issued the order, and when I left Panama the soldiers were already mustering for the march."

"And how many soldiers do you suppose are available for this service?" demanded George.

"Five hundred cavalry, and twelve hundred foot soldiers, with six batteries of horse artillery," was the startling reply.

It was a reply for which young Saint Leger was wholly unprepared; it startled him, while at the same time it inspired him with a most audacious idea. He carefully controlled his features, however, quite conscious of the fact that both Don Sebastian and his secretary were intently watching him, and proceeded with his questioning in the same level, quiet tones as before.

"And when do you think we may look for the arrival of those soldiers?" he asked.

"The cavalry may arrive at any moment," answered Senor Montalvo, "while as for the artillery and the foot soldiers, they should be here by to- morrow's noon."

"Ah! I thank you, senor, for the frankness with which you have replied to my questions," said George. "This news is important and unexpected; I must ask you to excuse me, gentlemen, while I retire to confer with my officers. What you, Senor Montalvo, have told me may possibly necessitate an alteration of my plans." And, so saying, the young Englishman bowed to the two Spaniards and left them, going out to find Basset and Dyer, that he might communicate to them the momentous news as to the dispatch of the soldiers from Panama, and also to broach to them the audacious project that had just suggested itself to him.

The three Englishmen conversed together earnestly and eagerly for the best part of an hour, while they paced to and fro upon the parapet of the battery, well out of earshot of anybody else; and at length they came to a certain decision which they at once proceeded to put into effect, George going off to rejoin the Governor and his secretary, while Basset and Dyer hastened to muster their respective forces, and put into effect the preliminaries of the plan which they had agreed upon.

When at length Saint Leger rejoined Don Sebastian and Senor Montalvo, he found his guests—or prisoners, they scarcely knew which to consider themselves—awaiting his return in a state of anxiety and perturbation, which they took no pains to conceal. Prominent in their minds was George's threat to sack and burn the city in such an eventuality as had just arisen, and they had already seen enough of the young man to convince them that he was quite capable of carrying out his threat. There was but one hope for them, they felt, and that lay in the suggestion artfully put forth by Senor Montalvo, that the cavalry might be expected to arrive at any moment. This statement was the result of a sudden and brilliant inspiration which had come to the secretary while George was questioning him. As a matter of fact, Senor Montalvo felt tolerably certain that the cavalry could not possibly arrive until the morrow, but it had suddenly occurred to him that if he stated this, it would show the English that there was still time for them to sack the town, while by stating that a considerable body of troops might be momentarily expected to arrive he hoped to frighten the insolent strangers into immediate abandonment of the town, without waiting to sack it.

And he had every reason to congratulate himself that his ruse had been successful, for George's first words when he returned to the room occupied by the two Spaniards were:

"Your Excellency, the news which Senor Montalvo has brought from Panama has caused me to very materially modify my plans. When you were preparing your dispatch to his Excellency the Governor of Panama, I gave you to understand that in the event of Don Silvio's refusal to entertain my proposals, I would sack and destroy the city of Nombre de Dios. But since then I have had time for reflection; I have come to recognise that it would be unfair of me to visit Don Silvio's obstinacy too severely upon you and your town; moreover, I am in hopes that by further correspondence with him he may be brought to see the desirability of saving you and Nombre by a merely nominal sacrifice on his part; therefore, after consultation with my officers, I have decided to spare Nombre for the present, and to withdraw from it in order to afford you time for further negotiations with Don Silvio. But before withdrawing I intend to take the precaution of destroying this battery, so that upon my return I shall, at least, not have it to contend with. And, understand me, your Excellency, I shall return again, but not until the soldiers now expected have been withdrawn from the town. That must certainly happen soon, and when it does you may expect to see me back, for I shall find means to learn everything of importance that happens in Nombre. And when I next come, my visit will be a final one; for unless you are then prepared to hand me over the seventeen prisoners I have asked for, I will not leave one stone of Nombre upon another. You will kindly remain here until I am ready to evacuate the battery, when you will be free to return to Government House."



CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

HOW THE ENGLISHMEN MARCHED ACROSS THE ISTHMUS TO PANAMA.

As Saint Leger quitted the room Senor Montalvo gave vent to a chuckle of delighted self-gratulation, much to the surprise, and somewhat to the annoyance, of his Excellency, Don Sebastian Salvador Alfonso de Albareda, Governor of the city of Nombre de Dios.

"Senor Montalvo," he said austerely, "you are surely forgetting yourself. I see nothing at all in that truculent young Englishman's threat that is in the least degree calculated to excite the risibility of anyone whose misfortune it is to be a dweller in this god-forsaken city of Nombre de Dios. Not even its name seems to protect it in the slightest degree from the sacrilegious violence of these Lutheran dogs. Pray explain yourself, senor."

"Ten thousand pardons, your Excellency," exclaimed Montalvo, still grinning delightedly. "It was not so much the Englishman's threats at which I was amused—although I think we may perhaps permit ourselves to smile at them, too; what I was chiefly amused at was the stroke of genius by which I have fortunately been able to save our city from sack by those pestilent English to-day."

"You—you have saved Nombre from being sacked to-day?" exclaimed Don Sebastian. "Still I fail to understand you, senor."

"Did you not observe, your Excellency, that, in reply to a question by the young English pirate, I mentioned that the cavalry from Panama might be expected to appear here at any moment? That was a little slip of the tongue on my part, the result of a happy inspiration. Had I replied truthfully I should have said that the cavalry could hardly by any possibility arrive until some time to-morrow; and the result of that reply would in all probability have been an instant order by that young English dog to sack the city, which work might easily be accomplished before the appearance of the cavalry upon the scene. But did you mark the expression of Senor Englishman's face when I said that the cavalry might be expected at any moment? It was terror, your Excellency—terror and consternation! And the result is an order for the instant evacuation of this battery and the retreat of the English from the town. That youngster at once recognised that if the cavalry were close at hand there would be no time to sack the town: he and his people would be caught and exterminated to a man. Hence his magnanimous resolve to spare us for the time being. Now does your Excellency understand?"

"Ah! yes; of course I do, and I beg your pardon for my hasty rebuke, Montalvo," exclaimed Don Sebastian, seizing his companion's hand and shaking it heartily. "Caramba! that was a brilliant idea of yours about the cavalry, and it has had the effect that you foresaw; the rascally Englishmen are much too anxious regarding the safety of their own skins to think of plundering the town now; and, please the Virgin, in a few hours we shall be well rid of them, and I shall have escaped getting into very serious trouble—thanks to you, Montalvo. You have placed me under a very heavy obligation, my friend, and I shall not forget it.

"But there is still the future to be thought of. It is true that we have escaped by the skin of our teeth for the moment, Montalvo; for the moment only. But if I am any judge of character, that English muchacho will return, as he threatened he would; and then what are we going to do?"

"Sufficient unto the day is the evil, your Excellency," answered Montalvo, "and we shall have time enough to think of that when these dogs have gone. Did you notice what the boy captain said? He will return again, but not until the soldiers now expected have been withdrawn from the town. Well, it must be your care, Excellency, that the soldiers shall not be withdrawn from Nombre until the patience of these English pirates has become thoroughly exhausted, and they have taken themselves off elsewhere—precisely where they go is a matter that need not concern us so long as it is sufficiently far from Nombre. And while we are enjoying the protection of the soldiers it must be our business to so strengthen the defences of the town that—Madre de Dios! what is happening now?"

The worthy secretary might well exclaim, for his illuminating discourse was at this moment broken in upon and interrupted by a series of deafening explosions of so violent a character that they set the very walls of the building trembling. They were caused by the bursting of the cannon mounted in the battery, and the blowing-up of the defences which Basset had devised and caused to be constructed with so much labour, and the destruction of which Saint Leger had ordered as a preliminary to his abandonment of the place. The Governor and his secretary had scarcely recovered from the consternation engendered by those alarming explosions when George appeared with the information that they were now free to leave the battery and return to Government House whenever they pleased; and the two Spaniards were still painfully scrambling through and over the debris of the destroyed defences, on their way back to the town, when they saw the Englishmen jump into their boats and push off from the beach.

It was long after sundown on that same day when the anxious watchers on board the Nonsuch, anchored in that tiny unsuspected harbour, heard the roll and splash of oars sounding from the seaward of them, and were soon afterward greeted with a hail which told them that their comrades, as to whose safety they were beginning to feel somewhat anxious, were returning; and a few minutes later the boats were alongside and a general reunion had taken place.

It was too late to do anything further that night, apart from the fact that the returned ones were pretty thoroughly tired out by the time that they had shaken down and had their supper; but on the following morning George, Dyer and a guard of two men were landed upon the beach and forthwith proceeded to make the best of their way to the Cimarrone village ruled over by the chief named Lukabela.

As it chanced, the chief was "at home" when they reached the village, and he accorded his visitors a very cordial welcome. He was highly amused and delighted when he learned that the English had held the city of Nombre at their mercy for five days, but looked both puzzled and disgusted when he learned that they had left the place as they found it, without sacking the city, exacting a ransom, or making the Spaniards suffer in any way; for the Cimarrones hated the Spaniards with a hatred that was perfectly fiendish, and woe betide any Spaniard or body of Spaniards whose evil fortune it was to fall into their hands. Death was the least of the evils that any man, woman or child of Spanish blood had to fear at the hands of the ferocious Cimarrones. But he brightened up again when he learned that the young English captain had hatched a particularly audacious scheme, in the execution of which he besought Lukabela's assistance.

"In anything partaking of the nature of an attack upon the Spaniards, Senor Englishman, you have only to command me, and you may rest assured of the whole-hearted assistance of myself and every man of my tribe," he assured George.

The latter bowed. "Well," he explained, "the matter stands thus: A year ago, as you may have heard, certain of my countrymen, among whom was your friend El Draque, were treacherously attacked in the harbour of San Juan de Ulua, and several of them were killed or wounded, while a number of others—among whom was my elder brother—were taken prisoners. Of these last, all have been accounted for in one way or another save seventeen who, I learn, were sent from San Juan to Nombre, and from Nombre to Panama, where I am given to understand they were put aboard the galleys, to end their lives toiling at the oars.

"Now, I and my companions have crossed the Great Water for the express purpose of finding and rescuing my brother—and incidentally his English fellow prisoners—from the Spaniards; and, accordingly, we first went to San Juan, where I learned that the seventeen survivors of the attack had been sent to Nombre. Therefore from San Juan we came to Nombre, where I learn that the seventeen were sent to Panama. At my request the Governor of Nombre sent a message to the Governor of Panama, informing the latter that Nombre was in my possession, and that I required the surrender of the seventeen English prisoners as ransom for the town. But the Governor of Panama, instead of finding and returning the Englishmen, has dispatched every soldier from Panama to Nombre, to drive us out of the city. Learning this, and knowing that it would be impossible for us to hold Nombre in the face of the overwhelming force that was being sent against us, I decided to quit the city; but I accompanied the announcement of this determination to the Governor of Nombre with certain threats of return which I believe will cause him to retain those soldiers—the whole garrison of Panama, you understand—in Nombre for a full month, or perhaps longer.

"Panama, you will perceive, is thus left defenceless; and it is my idea to at once make a dash across the isthmus, seize the biggest, or at least the most formidable, ship in the harbour, exact from the Governor, by threats or even force, if possible, full information respecting the galleys aboard which the Englishmen have been shipped, and then go in search of them until I have found them and liberated my countrymen.

"You can help me in this project, if you will, in the following manner. My ship lies at anchor in the little cove of which you know, not far from here. I shall be obliged to leave her there, since I intend to take my entire company with me; and I propose to leave her in your charge. I shall dismantle her, stowing her spars, sails, gear and ordnance below, and roofing her over with a thatch of palm leaves to protect her hull from the sun and weather, and if you will lend me a few of your people, they will be helpful in that part of my work. Then, when that is done, you can further help me by furnishing me with a guide who will lead me to Panama, and by lending me either mules or men who will help me and my people to transport across the isthmus such stores and ammunition as it will be necessary for us to take with us. Will you do this?"

"Senor," exclaimed Lukabela, "we Cimarrones live but to wreak our righteous vengeance upon the Spaniard. We are his enemies; and you, too, are his enemies; therefore in any attempt of yours which has for its object the spoiling of the Spaniard we are your natural allies, and you may command our help to any extent which you may deem needful. I can place fifty men at your service; and if these be not enough I can increase the number to five hundred in the course of a week if you care to wait so long."

"A thousand thanks!" said George. "Your fifty men will no doubt prove ample, for I do not anticipate that there will be any fighting to do, except at sea, and for that my own men will be sufficient. When can I have your men to assist me aboard the ship?"

"I will bring them to you within the hour, senor, if that will suffice," answered Lukabela.

"Thanks," answered George, "that will do most admirably. And now, that matter being settled, I will return at once and make all the necessary preparations. The boats shall be waiting to convey you aboard the ship in one hour's time."

And therewith he and his party rose and, bidding Lukabela a temporary farewell, hurried back to the Nonsuch, where preparations were at once made for the dismantling of the ship prior to the adventurous expedition across the isthmus.

That day and the one that followed it were days of strenuous labour indeed, not only for the crew of the Nonsuch, but also for their black allies, who turned up on the beach in full strength, and with most commendable punctuality, under Lukabela, and were promptly taken aboard. For there was a very considerable amount of heavy work to be done: sails were to be loosed and dried, unbent, rolled up and stowed away below; yards and topmasts to be sent down, scraped and thoroughly greased before they, too, were stowed below; gear unrove, overhauled, made up in coils and labelled; the ordnance dismounted, and, in short, the ship dismantled to her three lower masts, and every movable thing stowed away out of reach of covetous hands—for George felt that it would be unwise to trust his black allies too far or too implicitly. Then every anchor and cable belonging to the ship was used to moor her securely, for it was impossible to estimate how long she would have to lie there at the mercy of the elements. And all this had to be done in a small land-locked cove, hemmed-in on every side by high, densely- wooded land, where the trade-wind could not penetrate, and where the land and sea-breezes were represented by merely fitful breathings of suffocatingly hot air drifting by at infrequent intervals. And this, too, with a blazing sun almost immediately overhead; for it was now mid- August, and the cove lay almost immediately under the ninth parallel of north latitude.

Then, when all this was done, there was the fixing up of the framework for a roof or awning of palm-leaf thatch for the protection of the deck and hull of the ship from the sun's rays; but Lukabela assured George that there was no need to delay the departure of the expedition until the roof had been thatched, for he undertook that the women of his village, who were, according to him, experts in the art of thatching, should attend to that part of the business.

The evening of the second day witnessed the completion of the preparations for the Englishmen's daring descent upon Panama; and within an hour after sunrise on the following day the entire party, with fifty Cimarrones under Lukabela, and a train of twenty mules, also furnished by the Cimarrone chief, mustered on the beach of the little secret cove and made their final preparations for the march. These merely consisted in loading the indispensable baggage of the party upon the mules; and as this work was performed by the deft hands of the Cimarrones, twenty minutes sufficed for the accomplishment of the task, when the expedition at once started, taking the way, in the first instance, toward Lukabela's village.

Until the adventurers reached the village the march was accomplished in a very loose and happy-go-lucky fashion, half the Cimarrones leading the way, with the Englishmen following in small chattering parties of twos and threes as the path through the bush would permit, while the mule train, in charge of the other half of the Cimarrones, brought up the rear. But with their departure from the village silence and strict military discipline became the order of the day, because although Lukabela was going to lead them, not by the Gold road, upon which they would be liable to encounter travellers at any moment, but by a devious and secret path, known only to the Cimarrones, they would still be passing through the enemy's country, and would be liable to detection unless the utmost caution was observed. Therefore the order of march was thus arranged: In the lead went, as guide and scout, fully armed with bow and spear, the Cimarrone who of the whole tribe was most intimately acquainted with the route which was to be followed. Then, in single file, distant from each other about fifty yards, went five other Cimarrones in the track of the leader, their duty being to watch for and transmit to the main body any signals which the leader might make. Then, some fifty yards in the rear of the rearmost of these five, marched twenty Cimarrones whose duty it would be to make a stand should the enemy by any chance appear in force, while the main body retired upon the nearest defensive position. Fifty yards to the rear again followed the aforesaid main body, consisting of half the Englishmen, the mule train, and the other half of the Englishmen, while the remainder of the Cimarrones constituted the rear guard.

The route lay almost entirely through dense, lofty forest, and wound hither and thither in the most bewildering fashion; for in addition to the giant trees which constituted the forest proper, there was a vast quantity of thick, tangled undergrowth, through which a man might indeed have forced his way with difficulty, but which was absolutely impassable for laden mules; therefore it was necessary to follow the sinuosities of the thinner parts of the jungle where a few occasional strokes of a machete were all that were required to enable the laden animals to pass. Under such circumstances progress was necessarily slow, and also fatiguing; but the Englishmen forgot not only the snail-like nature of their progress, but also the oppressive heat and fatigue of the march, for they were now in a new and wonderful world, more strange and beautiful than anything that the most fanciful imagination among them had ever pictured. To men like themselves, seamen, accustomed day after day, for months at a time, to the sight of the open sky, the boundless sea, the invigorating breath of the salt wind, and the feeling of a heaving deck beneath their feet, it was a novelty to be trudging upon firm ground along a forest path, enveloped in the mystery of soft green twilight, with dense masses of foliage overhead shutting out all sight of the sky except at infrequent intervals, their horizon bounded by the leafy brake within arm's reach of them on either hand, and to breathe the hot, close atmosphere of the woods, pungent with many strange odours; to listen to the silence of the forest, accentuated rather than broken by the sounds of their passage, and the low singing hum of innumerable myriads of invisible insects; to start as a sudden whirr of wings directed their attention to some brilliant plumaged bird seen for an instant flashing athwart their ken like a living gem and then vanishing they scarcely knew whither; to behold the countless strange forms and curious colours of the flowers that sprang beneath their feet or hung in festoons from the lofty branches overhead; to hear the mysterious sounds that occasionally came to them from the forest on either hand; and to slake their thirst by devouring the strange but luscious fruits indicated by their friends the Cimarrones and partaken of at first doubtfully and with extremest caution. And it was only when they suddenly emerged from the forest gloom into some brake open to the sky, and halted for a moment until their eyes grew accustomed to the dazzling daylight, that they were able to realise how intense that gloom had been. But the novelty of the journey was not all pleasurable, for apart from the breathless, oppressive heat, and the annoyance caused by the pertinacious attacks of mosquitos, gnats, and other fiercely stinging insects, there was a certain element of danger, as was manifested by the frequent low warning cry raised by a Cimarrone, of "Culebra, culebra; guardarse!" (snake, snake; beware!)

It was close upon noon when, after a gentle ascent of about four hours' duration, followed by a somewhat steeper descent of rather less than half that time the expedition emerged from the forest and found itself in a small, open, grassy space, bordered on the one hand by the high woods and on the other by a small stream of crystal clear water flowing over a gravelly bed; and here Lukabela gave the welcome announcement that he proposed to call a halt for two hours in order that men and animals might rest and refresh themselves during the hottest part of the day. Accordingly arms were piled, armour put off, and most of the Englishmen indulged in the unwonted luxury of a fresh water bath, while the faithful Cimarrones—or Maroons, as some of the mariners began to call them—unloaded the mules, watered them, and then hobbled them to feed upon the rich, short grass, lighted a fire, cut down sweet, balsam- like boughs and built little arbours with them in the shadow of which their white friends might sleep. And when, after a refreshing bath and a still more refreshing sleep, the Englishmen were awakened about two o'clock, behold! those faithful and indefatigable allies the Cimarrones had provided a delicious hot meal for their delectation, consisting of the choicest portions of two freshly-killed deer, which, having been first wrapped in clay, were afterwards baked in the embers of the fire, thus completely retaining all the natural juices of the meat and rendering it incomparably delicate, tender and tasty. Then, the meal finished, the Cimarrones—always the Cimarrones—produced certain dried golden-brown leaves, which they deftly fashioned into cigarros for the delectation of themselves and such of the Englishmen as were adventurous enough to test the seductive effects of tobacco; and when the cigarros had duly been done justice to the mules were rounded up, loaded, the order of march arranged, and the journey resumed.

The afternoon march was, in all essential respects, similar to that of the morning, and continued until about five o'clock in the evening, when another open, grassy glade, very similar to that of the noontide halt, was reached, and here Lukabela announced his intention of halting for the night. Then occurred a repetition of the principal events of the previous halt, except that after the Englishmen had bathed to their satisfaction they found a hot meal awaiting them without the preliminary of the two hours' sleep. As before, the meal was followed by cigarros, accompanied by a little desultory conversation; but this did not continue long, for the Englishmen, at least, were dead weary with their unwonted labours, and one after another they stretched themselves out where they sat and, careless of the saturating dew, at once sank into dreamless slumber, surrounded by their faithful allies, four of whom kept watch over the sleeping camp until another day dawned. And so the march continued day after day with little variation, sometimes climbing upward and at other times descending, but on the whole the tendency was distinctly to rise.

Toward the close of the third day, and in a still more marked degree during the fourth day of their march, the breaks in the forest became more frequent, and of greater extent, occasionally permitting them to get a glimpse of their more immediate surroundings, when it became apparent, as might indeed be judged by the up-and-down character of the way which they had already traversed, that they were in the midst of hilly country, a dip in the forest occasionally revealing a blue peak breaking the sky-line in the far distance. And when they halted at mid- day on the fourth day it was in a glade that formed part of the very crest of a mountain spur, so that, even as they partook of their mid-day meal they were able to look out over a vast extent of country both ahead of and behind them. In the latter direction they saw mile after mile of undulating woods stretching away into the distance, the outline gradually softening and the infinite variety of green tints gradually merging into filmy grey; and beyond it the Caribbean shimmering beneath the tropic sun; while ahead of them, to the south-east, and almost within a stone's throw, as it seemed, rose a lofty ridge, which Lukabela informed George was the backbone of the range, from the summit of which could be seen Panama and that—to Englishmen—almost fabulous ocean, the Southern Sea, the very existence of which the Spaniards were guarding as a priceless secret.

But, near as that ridge looked from their mid-day camping-place, it was not reached until the evening of the fifth day of their march; and then, after toiling up a steep slope for half an hour, the party topped it, and a sudden shout of exultation burst from their throats as, standing in a little glade, they looked out over the tree-tops of the intervening forest and saw first another but much lower ridge, with a mountain valley between it and them, and beyond that ridge, and only some ten miles distant, the white towers and buildings of Panama nestling beside a river which discharged into its harbour, the harbour itself dotted with a few ships, and beyond it again the great, boundless, mystic Southern Sea, at the sight of which George and his crew, like the pious Christian mariners that they were, incontinently fell upon their knees and gave God thanks, vowing at the same time that by His grace they would sail those waters until they had recovered the lost ones of whom they were in search—or had fearfully avenged their death.

And now it became necessary to exercise the most extreme caution, for, so far as was known, there were no Indians within twenty miles of Panama, save a few "tame" ones who had been permitted to establish themselves within some four miles of the city, and who made a living by growing vegetables and fruit and rearing poultry for the Panama market; the country all round about within a radius of a dozen miles or so had therefore come to be regarded as practically as safe as the streets of the city itself, and hawking parties were of frequent occurrence among the magnates of Panama. And to encounter one of these parties would be to inevitably give the alarm to the citizens, which, strong as the English felt themselves to be, was a consummation to be carefully avoided; wherefore, having gazed their fill upon the glorious prospect before them, the party retired along the way by which they had come, until they reached a spot where they had already decided to camp; and there they spent the night. The journey down into the plain was accomplished on the following day with the utmost circumspection, not only because every step which they now took led to the danger of detection by some party of sportsmen, or solitary fowler, but also because the "tame" Indians had to be reckoned with; and it was known that these were in the habit of wandering far up the slopes of the Cordilleras in search of game and of the fruit that grew wild in rich abundance in certain of the woods. Moreover, the time had now arrived when a definite plan of action of some sort must be determined upon, since this would largely influence the manner of their approach to the city and their subsequent actions. Therefore as soon as the party had once more topped the ridge upon which they had stood entranced for half an hour during the previous evening young Saint Leger called a halt and, flinging himself down upon the grass, produced his perspective glass—or telescope, as we now call the much improved instrument—and with its assistance subjected the town and roadstead to a prolonged and careful examination. The result of this examination, and of a conference with his officers which was simultaneously conducted, was that the resolution was made to capture a certain caravel which was seen to be riding at anchor in the roadstead and which appeared to be the best suited to their requirements of any of the ships then in sight; and, having secured possession of her, to threaten the town with destruction by her guns until all the information required from the Governor had been abstracted from him; after which the only thing remaining to be done would be to sail in search of the galleys containing the English prisoners, and capture them when found. It was an audacious scheme, for Panama was the biggest and most important city on the continent at that time, and, apart from the question of soldiers, the citizens alone if they chose to arm themselves and fight were sufficiently numerous to overwhelm the English; but George had by that time learned to gauge the courage of the American Spaniard pretty accurately, and he felt that the undertaking which he had planned, although difficult, was by no means beyond his power to accomplish.



CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

HOW THEY TOOK THE GREAT GALLEON.

In order to obtain possession of the caravel which George had marked down as his prey, boats were necessary, since the vessel lay at anchor in the roadstead, instead of alongside the wharf; and to obtain boats it would be necessary to enter the city. But Panama, like Nombre and San Juan, and indeed all the Spanish settlements in America, was fortified on the landward side as a protection against the incursions of the savages who, gentle enough when the white man first came among them, soon had their most ferocious and bloodthirsty instincts fully aroused by the heartless cruelty and treachery with which the Spaniards quickly began to treat them; to enter the city from its landward side was therefore impossible for the English without at once betraying themselves and something of their purpose. The only alternative, therefore, was to gain an entrance from the water; and the problem was how to do this without betraying themselves and putting the inhabitants on their guard.

At first the difficulty seemed to be insurmountable, but George Saint Leger was one of those who refuse to acknowledge anything as impossible; and at length, when the party had halted at mid-day behind the very last screen of timber between them and the city, he believed he had discovered the answer to his problem.

It has been said that Panama stood not only on the shore of the ocean but also on the left bank of a small stream which, taking its rise somewhere among the adjacent mountains, discharged itself into the waters of the harbour, and when once it had come to be recognised that the approach of the party must be made by water, it was upon this stream that George concentrated his attention. It was but an insignificant affair as to width, and to all appearance shallow, but just before it reached the city it widened out to about sixty yards across; and while the young captain was studying it through his perspective glass, during the mid-day halt, he perceived a few boats and canoes plying hither and thither upon that portion of it which flowed past the town. Also, while he was watching, his attention was attracted to two figures in the plain below; and by bringing his glass to bear upon them he was able to distinguish that the leading figure was a Spaniard carrying what appeared to be a hawk upon his wrist, while the individual who followed him was either an Indian or a negro, he could not distinguish which, but he saw that this person was carrying something suspended from a pole over his shoulder, which looked like and doubtless was a bunch of dead birds. The pair walked straight to the margin of the stream, about three-quarters of a mile above the city, the stream being at that point about twenty yards wide, and when the Spaniard reached the margin he halted, turned and said something to his follower, at the same time pointing to the ground, whereupon the black carefully deposited the pole and its burden upon the ground, then stooped low, and allowed the Spaniard to seat himself astride upon his shoulders. Then, rising to his feet with his burden, the black stepped into the stream, waded across, deposited the Spaniard upon the bank, and, as the latter strode off towards the town, returned, picked up his load, waded across again, and followed the footsteps of his master. Now, there was nothing very remarkable about this, but there were two points connected with it which attracted George's notice, one of them being that when the black stepped into the stream with his master upon his shoulders, a single stride sufficed to carry him into water deep enough to submerge him to his waist, and that depth was maintained all the way across until within about two yards of the bank. The other point which George considered worthy of note was that about a hundred yards below the point where those two persons had crossed the stream, there grew a clump of bamboos sufficiently large to screen the entire party from observation, if they could reach it undetected by people in the town. He called Lukabela to him, told him what he had seen, explained the scheme that had developed in his mind while watching the passage of the two men across the stream, and finally indicated the clump of bamboo, asking whether there was any possibility of reaching it after dark without being detected. The Cimarrone thereupon studied the features of the country below and around him long and intently, and at length answered in the affirmative, pointing out the route which it would be necessary to follow, and then, after a little further pregnant conversation, the two rose and returned to where the rest of the party lay perdu.

In conversation with Lukabela, George had already learned from the Cimarrone that, from information derived by the latter from certain runaway slaves, the citizens of Panama were somewhat addicted to the keeping of late hours, as late hours were counted in those days, that is to say, the more gay and pleasure-loving of the Panamans rarely thought of seeking their couches before midnight; Saint Leger, therefore, determined to remain where he was until that hour in order that his arrival in the city might be deferred until its roysterers were all safely in bed and asleep; also, there was in all probability a somewhat strenuous time before the Englishmen, and some unlikelihood as to when they might reckon upon another night's undisturbed rest; upon his return to camp, therefore, George issued an order that every man was to compose himself to rest and get as much sleep as possible, the only breaks in these periods of rest being at the appointed meal times. But the young captain had by this time become wise in the art of warfare, consequently he took the precaution to protect his camp from surprise by throwing out strong pickets of Cimarrones in every direction from which surprise could possibly come; and, this done, the expedition composed itself to rest.

It was about five o'clock in the evening that George was awakened by a light touch upon his shoulder, and, springing up, he found Lukabela bending over him with his finger to his lips.

"What is it, chief?" demanded George in a whisper.

"Come and see," replied the Cimarrone in an equally guarded tone of voice; whereupon George arose and, led by the black, noiselessly quitted the sleeping camp and made his way to a small knoll in the open, commanding a fairly comprehensive view of the city and roadstead.

As the pair crept cautiously to the summit of the knoll and peered over it, Lukabela pointed with his finger and murmured "Behold!" And, looking in the direction toward which the chief was pointing, George beheld a noble and stately galleon standing in toward the anchorage with ensigns and pennons flying from her mastheads, and with a large galley acting as escort to her. The galleon was an exceptionally large vessel, being, as Saint Leger estimated, of fully five hundred tons measurement. She showed a double tier of ordnance, besides sakers, falcons, falconettes and serpentines on her poop and fore and after castles. She was painted a deep golden yellow, with broad white bands along her two tiers of gun ports, and there was, in accordance with the Spanish fashion of the times, a tremendous amount of decorative gilding about her bows and quarters; her sails also were decorated with paintings, though what subjects were represented it was impossible to distinguish at that distance.

"A plate ship, loaded with silver from Lima, without a doubt," whispered Lukabela. "I saw her appear round yonder headland about half an hour ago, and I thought you would be interested."

"I am," replied George emphatically, bringing his glass to bear upon the craft, and he watched her as she gradually drifted in toward the anchorage, while Lukabela kept a look-out to guard against their being surprised by passers by.

Slow and stately the great galleon crept toward the roadstead, impelled by the dying sea-breeze, and at length, as the wind dropped altogether and the waters of the bay became a flawless mirror reflecting the gorgeous tints of a flaming sunset, she dropped her ponderous anchor about half a mile from the shore; her gaily painted sails were slowly clewed up and furled; the galley went alongside and received several richly dressed persons from the galleon, including some three or four in full suits of armour, and then pushed off and pulled toward the quay, churning the placid waters of the bay into foam with the long, regular strokes of her sixty oars, finally ranging up alongside and mooring to the wharf, when the passengers from the galleon and some twenty other persons, who were probably the officers of the galley, landed and disappeared among the streets of the city.

Then George Saint Leger arose from his place of concealment among the long grass at the summit of the knoll, thinking deeply, and made his way back to the camp, accompanied by the Cimarrone chief. As they entered the camp George turned to his black companion and said:

"My thanks to you, Lukabela, for arousing me. The sight you showed me was well worth looking at. Please God, before twelve hours are past that ship and her cargo shall be mine; ay, and the galley too. For who knows but that somebody aboard her may be able to give me news of my brother."

The great bell of Panama cathedral was booming out the hour of midnight, and its sonorous strokes came floating slowly and subdued by distance to the camp of the English adventurers as the sturdy band, having partaken of a hearty supper, formed up into marching order prior to leaving their place of concealment. A strong scouting party of Cimarrones had been thrown forward in advance to guard against surprise, and as George completed his inspection of weapons and equipment the cry of a nightjar coming from the extreme distance and repeated ever nearer by the line of scouts told that the way was clear and that the column might begin its advance.

There is no need to describe, step by step, the sinuous passage through the long grass of that band of intrepid adventurers toward the clump of bamboos which was to be their rallying point; they knew that danger encompassed them on every hand, and that the most trivial accident might result in their premature discovery and, possibly the ruin of all their plans, yet they pressed forward steadily and unflinchingly, trusting implicitly in the wisdom of their leaders and the sagacity of their black allies, and in about three-quarters of an hour arrived safely at the point for which they were aiming, without the occurrence of the slightest disconcerting incident of any description.

Here, completely screened from observation by the sheltering clump of bamboos, the blacks at once proceeded to unload the pack mules and stack their loads in close proximity to the river bank. And while this was being done, George, Dyer, and twelve of the most reliable of the Englishmen calmly laid aside their weapons, armour, and all clothing, and at a signal from their captain, crept crouchingly round the shoulder of the bamboo clump to the river margin where, after heads had been counted to see that none was missing, the whole party noiselessly entered the water, waded out to mid stream, and then, following their leader, proceeded to swim silently and with deliberation toward the city. There was a moon, in her first quarter, shining brightly almost directly overhead, which afforded ample light for the party to see where they were going, while a soft mist hung over the river and the low ground about the city, which to a certain extent concealed their movements.

George was careful not to hurry himself or his followers, for, in the first place, they were a full quarter of an hour earlier than they expected, and he did not wish to reach the city until he could be reasonably sure that its inhabitants were all abed and asleep, and in the next place he was anxious to conserve his own and his followers' strength as far as possible, knowing that many heavy demands would be made upon it before long; he therefore paddled very quietly along, hardly exerting himself at all and allowing the current to carry him cityward. Thus the hour of one boomed out from the cathedral while they were still a quarter of a mile from the inner extremity of the quay for which they were aiming.

At length, however, drifting for the most part, and only swimming a stroke or two occasionally to guide themselves, they reached the extremity of the wharf, where they found a flight of steps at which they landed. Here, in obedience to an order from George, the remainder of the party crouched well below the level of the quay, while their leader cautiously climbed the steps to reconnoitre. A single glance sufficed to show that the whole length of the quay in sight—nearly half a mile— was deserted, while not a light was to be seen in any direction. This latter circumstance, however, was presently accounted for by the fact that all the buildings facing the wharf were evidently warehouses, for the most part one-storey buildings with broad verandahs reaching out before them, undoubtedly for the purpose of protecting the workers from the terrific heat of the mid-day sun. Now, however, under the moon's rays, those verandahs, many of them cumbered with bales and cases of merchandise, cast a deep, almost opaque shadow, of which George instantly determined to avail himself; therefore, beckoning to his followers, he made a dash across the staring moon-lighted quay to the nearest verandah, and in less than three minutes all hands were huddled in the deep shadow of a pile of bales.

Thus far all had gone well, they were actually in the city of Panama, with never a soul a penny the wiser; and George felt that, having accomplished so much, it would be strange indeed if he could not carry the whole of his plans to fruition. But, great as their peril had been already, that peril had, after all, been merely that of discovery; now it was infinitely greater, for there they were, fourteen naked Englishmen, unarmed save for a knife which each carried in a sheath strapped to his waist, in a hostile city where, if they should be caught, they might be certain of either the galleys—or worse still—the Inquisition. Meanwhile, however, there seemed little immediate fear of either as George peered out from his hiding-place and intently scanned the length of the quay. As has been said, not a single living thing was visible, but there were several craft moored alongside, small vessels mostly, such as coasters, fishing craft, and lighters; but probably a portion at least of the crews of these craft lived and slept aboard them, and a restless man coming up on deck for a breath of fresh air at an inopportune moment might suffice to ruin everything.

Cautiously George emerged from his place of concealment, flitted across the width of the quay, and peered over its edge. He looked down upon three clumsy, half-decked fishing craft, apparently deserted, but quite unfit for his purpose. Beyond them was a tier of heavy lighters moored three abreast, with nobody aboard them, and beyond them a small coasting craft with hatches on, and her cabin and forecastle doors, as well as her skylights, closed. Nobody aboard her, certainly. Glancing around him, and signalling his unseen companions to follow him up, he ran along the edge of the quay until he had passed the coaster, when he found himself close to several tiers of lighters, all moored three abreast, beyond which were two small coasters, moored one outside the other, then more lighters, and a whole crowd of fishing craft. Swiftly George sped along past these, glancing continually about him to assure himself that he was unobserved and that his people were following him, and at length he came to where a large caravel was lying moored to the quay, with all her boats in the water alongside her. Here was what he wanted at last, and pausing but an instant to beckon his companions, he sprang from the quay into the vessel's main rigging, and from thence noiselessly made his way to her deck. Less than half a minute later his thirteen companions stood beside him.

Collecting his followers round him with a wave of his hand, Saint Leger rapidly issued his instructions. He had already satisfied himself that the boats alongside contained everything that he required in the way of equipment, therefore, all that was necessary was to take possession of them and get away from the parent craft without alarming any of the crew who, he judged from certain evidence, were asleep below—therefore at the conclusion of his few brief orders his followers slid one after the other down the side of the caravel into the boats, taking the utmost care to make no sound, and when they were all down, George cast off the painters, one after the other, and dropped their ends into the hands outstretched to receive them, finally climbing down into the largest boat and signing to his followers to shove off. This was done with the bare hands, hence there was no rattle of oars, nor even the faintest plash of water, for once adrift, the boats were carried slowly down the harbour by the current.

There were four boats in all, the largest being the caravel's pinnace, a craft pulling twelve oars, and the other three boats were made fast in a string behind her. But these four boats were insufficient for George's purpose, since they would accommodate scarcely three-quarters of his entire party, with their baggage, weapons, and ammunition, therefore other craft were needed, and these they at once proceeded to look out for as the boats drifted slowly to seaward. The drift was exceedingly slow, much too slow indeed for George's impatience, and he commented upon it in a whisper to Dyer who was sitting in the stern sheets beside him. The pilot looked about him for a moment and then, whispering back, hazarded the opinion that the tide was about to turn, if indeed it had not already done so, and that the young flood would be setting up the harbour within the next half-hour, indicating his reasons for arriving at such a conclusion. This, and the fact that a light south-easterly breeze was beginning to make itself felt, suggested an idea to the young captain which he communicated to Dyer, and the latter approving, they decided to adopt it at the earliest opportunity. And that opportunity was not long in coming, for they had scarcely drifted a quarter of a mile down the harbour when they came abreast of a large building opposite which some forty or fifty boats of all sizes were moored, some of them being rowing boats while others were rigged for sailing. Using a pair of oars paddle-wise, the little flotilla of boats was skilfully guided toward these, and a few minutes later they were alongside and made fast. Three good roomy boats were quickly chosen from among these and secured, and then the whole seven were secured together in a string. Then one of the larger sailing-boats was cast adrift, the string of rowing boats, each with a man in her, was made fast astern, and the sailing-boat was pushed off. And now came what was perhaps the most critical moment of the enterprise; for although they had thus far seen no one there was no doubt that many men were sleeping aboard the various craft in the harbour, and the slightest suspicious sound might awaken somebody and at once cause an alarm to be raised. Still, a certain amount of risk had to be run, and George decided to take it at once. The sailing-boat was therefore skilfully manoeuvred to the middle of the harbour, her bows turned up stream by a few quick strokes of an oar, and then, with the observance of the utmost precaution, her single sail was set with only a very slight momentary rustling of the loosened canvas. A few seconds later the halyard was made fast, the sheet was trimmed aft, and the boat, with the string of seven in tow astern, began to move slowly and silently up the stream.

To George it seemed as though that short voyage would never end, for by the time that they had secured the full number of boats required, the adventurers had drifted nearly a mile down the harbour, and the whole of that distance, and something more, had to be retraced before they could consider themselves safe from discovery, while it was practically certain that if so much as a single person should get sight of them the alarm would at once be raised; for the spectacle of a sailing-boat with seven rowing boats in tow proceeding up the river at that hour would be sufficiently remarkable to instantly arouse suspicion. But after some twenty-five minutes of tense anxiety the little flotilla rounded a bend in the stream and the worst of the danger was past, while another twenty minutes brought them up abreast the bamboo clump where their comrades and the Cimarrones were anxiously awaiting them.

And now all was bustle and activity; the boats were brought alongside the bank of the stream, and while their captors scrambled ashore and hastily resumed their clothing, armour, and weapons, the other contingent, assisted by the Cimarrones, carefully stowed their belongings in varying proportions in the several row-boats. By the time that this was done, their companions were once more clothed, and all was ready for a start. Then fervent farewells were exchanged between the English and the Cimarrones, Lukabela faithfully promising to keep an eye upon the Nonsuch and see that nothing untoward happened to her during the absence of her crew, while George on his part as faithfully promised that, upon his return, his faithful allies should be munificently rewarded for the very valuable assistance which they had rendered. After the Cimarrones had unwillingly departed, George mustered and inspected his followers, satisfied himself that all were present and that their weapons were in good order and ready for instant service, made them a good rousing speech—in response to which they were with difficulty restrained from cheering, and finally told them off, one by one, to the particular boat in which each man was to go. The boats were now all arranged in a string, as before, in tow of the sailing-boat, and, with the crews lying perdu in the bottom of their respective craft, the entire expedition got under way and proceeded down the river.

Meanwhile, the weather had undergone a certain change. The wind which an hour earlier had scarcely sufficed the sailing-boat, with the row- boats in tow, to stem the current of the stream, was now piping up a merry breeze, fresh enough to drive the flotilla along at a speed of fully three knots, while heavy masses of cloud were sweeping up from the south-east, obscuring the moon for frequent and lengthening intervals, both of which circumstances were in the adventurers' favour. Despite the fact that the tide was now distinctly against them, the flotilla made such excellent progress that within half an hour of starting they were again abreast of the town, hugging the face of the quay as closely as possible in order to reduce their chances of detection. Half-way down the harbour they passed a galley—undoubtedly the galley which had served as escort to the galleon in the roadstead—moored alongside the quay, and George felt sorely tempted to dash alongside and take possession of her. But there was scarcely one chance in a thousand that this could have been done without raising an alarm of some sort; it was too much to hope that a surprise should be so complete that no shout should be raised by any one of her startled crew, no shot fired, no clash of weapons disturb the silence of the night; and an alarm at this stage of the proceedings would ruin the whole of his carefully laid plans therefore, although the young captain gazed long and wistfully at the formidable-looking craft as he swept past, he bit his lips and kept silence, holding the bows of the sailing-boat now pointed steadily toward the distant galleon.

At this moment a great black cloud drifted up athwart the half-moon, shutting off her light and causing a darkness to fall upon the scene that, for a few seconds and until the eye grew accustomed to it, seemed almost Egyptian in its intensity, while the breeze freshened to such an extent as to careen the sailing-boat gunwale-to and nearly double her speed through the water. Her slight timbers creaked and groaned with the increased pressure put upon them by the heavy drag of the boats in tow, and Dyer laid his hand apprehensively upon the painter of the leading boat, strained as taut as a bar; but it was no time for vacillation, the obscurity and the increased strength of the wind were almost worth men's lives at such a moment, and George, who was tending the boat's mainsheet, hung on to every inch of it, like grim death. Once, as they went foaming close past a cluster of small traders, moored three abreast alongside the quay, just as his eyes were becoming accustomed to the sudden darkness, George thought he saw a man's head suddenly appear above the rail of one of them, and was almost certain that a moment later he heard a faint hail, but he took no notice of it beyond inquiring of Dyer whether he had heard anything—to which the pilot replied in the negative; and five minutes later they were clear of the harbour and all danger of detection was for the moment at an end.

The galleon, tall and stately, was now distinctly visible, riding head to wind, with a single anchor down, her three poop lanterns lighted, and a lantern glimmering under the heel of her spritsail mast and straight toward her sped the flotilla of boats, threshing through the short, choppy sea raised by the freshening breeze and throwing the spray in heavy showers over their crews. George, no longer afraid of his voice being heard, hailed the crew of the leading boat, ordering them to protect the priming of their weapons from the spray, and to pass the caution along the line, and then directed his attention to the galleon.

Another quarter of a mile, and the time for action had come. With a warning shout to the boats astern, he gave orders for the sail to be lowered, and a minute later he and his crew had transferred themselves to the largest row-boat, the sailing-boat that had served them so well was cast adrift, the painters were cast off, and the boats, each now a separate entity, formed in line abreast and, with muffled oars, gave way for the galleon, their crews not hurrying themselves but pulling a long, steady stroke that enabled them to husband their strength for the struggle that probably lay before them.

Shaping a course that would carry them about a hundred yards ahead of the galleon, the flotilla, as soon as they reached this point, separated into two divisions, larboard and starboard, and turning head to wind, laid in their oars, all but a single pair to each boat, and while the men manipulating these two oars guided their respective craft in such a manner as to cause them to drive gently down before the wind and sea alongside the galleon, the remainder of the boats' crews looked to their weapons and made ready to climb the vessel's lofty sides, intently watching meanwhile for any indication that their approach had been detected by the Spaniard's crew. But nothing was seen, no warning shout was heard, no head showed peering curiously over the head rails, in fact everything seemed to point to the fact that the watch was asleep, if indeed a watch was being kept at all, which the Spaniards would be likely to regard as quite unnecessary in waters where hitherto no enemy had ever appeared.

A few minutes more of patient, carefully managed drifting, and the boats were skilfully manoeuvred alongside, one after the other, and then, at a low whistle from the young captain, the adventurers went swarming up the towering sides of the galleon, as noiselessly as a drifting mist wreath, and in over the lofty bulwarks, in the shadow of which they formed up, bare-footed, as they came. Within a minute all hands, with their scanty baggage, were out of the boats, and the latter were cast adrift, while thus far not a Spaniard had been seen. Then, choosing half a dozen men to follow him, and directing Dyer and Basset to form the remainder into a strong guard over the hatchways, George led the way aft into the poop cabins.

The first apartment visited was the grand saloon, a fine, spacious, lofty apartment of the full width of the ship, most sumptuously furnished and decorated, lighted during the day by three large ports on either side, and a skylight overhead—all now open to admit the comparatively cool night wind—and during the night by a large and very handsome silver lamp suspended from the beams. That lamp was now burning, but turned low; and George's first act was to turn it up so that he might have the advantage of its full illumination to look about him. The walls and bulkheads were decorated with a number of pictures that to the eye of the unsophisticated young Englishman looked no more than merely pleasing representations of landscapes and shipping, but several of them bore as signatures names that are now world famous, while some of the paintings which Saint Leger regarded as hardly worthy of a second glance to-day adorn picture galleries, the contents of which are reckoned of incalculable value. The furniture was elegantly carved and richly gilt, the upholstery was of velvet and silk; a guitar gaily decorated with ribbons lay where it had been carelessly placed upon one of the divans, with a pair of beautifully embroidered gloves near it; and the after-bulkhead supported a splendid trophy of weapons, conspicuous among which was a magnificent sword with a gold hilt and a Toledo blade elegantly damascened in gold.

A door in this bulkhead showed that there was another apartment on the other side of it, and to this door George strode and, sword in hand, flung it open, holding himself ready for a sudden attack by the occupant. But the room—which was a large state-room, as handsomely furnished as the grand saloon—was untenanted; and then George suddenly remembered that upon the arrival of the galleon he had seen several people leave her in the galley, and it now began to dawn upon him that those people must undoubtedly have been the captain and principal officers of the ship, who, in accordance with the Spanish fashion of the times, had no doubt regarded their duty as at an end with the letting go of the anchor, and had accordingly gone ashore to celebrate the successful completion of the voyage. And so upon further inspection it proved, not a single officer of any description being found in the after part of the ship, which, by the way, proved to be named the Cristobal Colon. As regards the remainder of the crew, a cautious reconnoitre revealed the fact that they were all sleeping more or less soundly in their stifling quarters on the lower deck, and this ascertained, it was not difficult to arouse them by a sudden call of "All hands on deck!" They came, stumbling, grumbling, execrating, and still more than half asleep, up through the hatchways, and as they came, unarmed, they were carefully herded upon the fore part of the deck where, when all hands of them had appeared, they were placed under the guard of a strong body of Englishmen armed with loaded muskets, and told with pithy succinctness that the first man who attempted to move without orders would be shot down. Then, led by Dyer and Basset, a small party of Englishmen went below and made a thorough search of the ship, securing everything in the shape of a weapon that they could find, after which a large store-room below was hastily cleared out, and the Spanish crew temporarily but securely confined therein.

And thus, without the shedding of a single drop of blood, George Saint Leger and his sturdy Devonians came into possession of the biggest galleon then afloat on the Pacific at the moment when she bore the richest cargo that had ever left Lima in a single bottom.



CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

HOW THEY FOUGHT THE GALLEY.

By the time that all had been made secure aboard the galleon it was within an hour and a half of sunrise, and Saint Leger knew from his own feelings that his followers must be beginning to experience the fatiguing efforts of their strenuous and exciting night's work; he therefore told off four of the most trustworthy of the men to observe an anchor watch, under Dyer, and ordered the remainder of the crew to go below and snatch a couple of hours' rest, that they might be the better fitted to cope with the events of the coming day, which might well be of such a character as to tax their energies to the utmost. Then, accompanied by William Barker the gunner, and two men bearing lighted lanterns, he went below to inspect the ship's magazine—the keys of which he had found in the captain's state-room—and to take stock of the nature and quantity of the ammunition therein. This was found to be abundant, the magazine being indeed packed full of powder and matches, while a generous supply of shot of all descriptions, including bar and chain, was discovered in the adjacent shot lockers, much to the young captain's relief, for his chief anxiety had been lest, after having taken the galleon, he should find himself hampered by a lack of the means to keep her. As for small arms, such as arquebuses, pistols, pikes, axes, swords, bows—long and cross—arrows, and bolts, a full supply for a much stronger crew than his own had already been found, irrespective of the well-tried weapons which they had brought with them across the isthmus. George's mind was therefore now at rest, so far as matters of the greatest importance were concerned; he therefore concluded his inspection and returned to the deck, easy in mind and greatly elated at the wonderful success which had thus far attended his bold dash upon Panama.

The new day was heralded by the sudden appearance of a fleet of some seventy or eighty fishing-boats and canoes coming out of the harbour and hastening toward the fishing grounds in the offing. Several of these small craft passed quite close to the galleon, and the sight of them inspired George with an idea. Making his way from the poop down into the grand saloon, he rummaged about until he found writing materials, when he sat down at the table and after some consideration penned the following letter:

"On board the galleon Cristobal Colon.

"August 19th, in the year of Our Lord 1569.

"To his Excellency Don Silvio Hermoso Maria Picador

"Calderon,

"Governor of the City of Panama, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

"Illustrious Senor.

"On the fourth day of this present month I arrived at the city of Nombre de Dios upon a mission the purpose of which was to secure the release of seventeen Englishmen who were last year made prisoners in the course of a treacherous and unjustifiable attack upon the fleet of Admiral Hawkins while, in pursuance of an agreement between himself and His Excellency Don Martin Enriquez, the Viceroy of Mexico, he was refitting his ships.

"I have traced those seventeen prisoners in the first instance from San Juan de Ulua to Nombre de Dios; and upon my arrival at Nombre I was informed by His Excellency Don Sebastian de Albareda, the Governor of the city, that they had been dispatched to Panama. Whereupon, at my request, Don Sebastian was so obliging as to address a letter to Your Excellency, informing you of the purpose of my visit, and requesting you to take whatever steps might be necessary to secure the immediate release of those seventeen Englishmen and their surrender to me.

"In due course Don Sebastian received your reply to his letter, and that reply he permitted me to read. From it I regretfully learned that Your Excellency categorically refused to accede to Don Sebastian's most reasonable request, notwithstanding the fact that the city of Nombre was then in my hands and at my mercy, and that, for all you knew to the contrary, your refusal would involve it in all the horrors of sack and destruction.

"Your Excellency, I am not so inhumane as to punish the innocent for the faults of the guilty, therefore since Don Sebastian had obviously done everything in his power to further the success of my mission, and had failed, not through his own fault but because of your obstinacy, I spared Nombre, and determined to try what personal persuasion might effect with yourself. Accompanied by my followers, I set out for Panama, where we arrived last night. And in the early hours of this morning I took the first step toward reaching satisfactory terms with Your Excellency by capturing the Cristobal Colon, now riding at anchor in Panama roadstead.

"No doubt Your Excellency is well acquainted with the galleon and the possibilities which she affords to a determined captain backed by a strong and courageous crew. If, however, Your Excellency chances to be ignorant as to those possibilities—which I can scarcely believe—her captain, who, as I understand, is at present in your city, will doubtless inform you that her armament is sufficiently powerful and complete to destroy Panama in the course of a few hours. To prevent any such unpleasant contingency as that, I therefore have to request that Your Excellency will do me the honour to visit me on board the ship before the hour of noon this day, to treat with me respecting the immediate surrender of the seventeen Englishmen already referred to.

"Failure to comply with this request will be followed by an immediate bombardment of the city, greatly as I shall regret the unnecessary sacrifice of life and property.

"I kiss Your Excellency's hands and feet,—

"And have the honour to be

"Your Excellency's most humble and obedient servant,—

"George Saint Leger."

Having read over this letter and come to the conclusion that it pretty clearly expressed all that he at that moment desired to say to the Governor of Panama, George made a further rummage of the cabin and, having at length found a sheet of paper large enough for his purpose, he took a pen and, dipping the feather of it in ink, proceeded laboriously to print upon it, in Spanish, a proclamation to the citizens of Panama, informing them that he, George Saint Leger, having certain differences to settle with His Excellency the Governor of the city, had, as a preliminary, captured the Cristobal Colon, to which ship he had summoned the Governor, before the hour of noon, for the purpose of a conference; and that, failing obedience on the Governor's part, the city would be bombarded. He therefore exhorted all citizens who were anxious to escape the horrors of a bombardment to use their influence with the Governor in order to persuade him to attend on board the galleon before the hour named.

This done, the young captain extinguished the lamp, the rays of which were already being dimmed by the daylight pouring down through the skylight and in through the side ports, and ascended to the poop to take a look round. As he stepped out on deck through the companion he perceived that the weather had again changed; the dark clouds which had been sweeping athwart the sky while he and his followers were making the passage from the shore to the ship had vanished, leaving a sky of deep, rich, stainless blue, brightening into clear primrose to the eastward over the summits of the sierras which stood out purple, sharp, and clean-cut against the delicate yellow that was changing, even as he looked, to a clear, warm orange before the approach of the risen but as yet invisible sun. The fresh breeze of a few hours before had dwindled away to a mere breathing, while inshore it had fallen a flat calm, leaving five small craft—probably bound for the Pearl Islands, some forty miles to the southward and eastward—idly swinging upon the low ground swell in the midst of the reflected image of the town and the hilly country behind it. A few pale blue wreaths of wood smoke were rising straight up into the clear morning air here and there over the roofs of the houses, showing that the early cup of chocolate was already in course of preparation for the luxury-loving Panamans, or possibly it might indicate that the working portion of the population were preparing their breakfast; and, peering through his perspective glass, George could see that the quay was already the scene of a considerable amount of animation. The young man laughed quietly to himself as the thought occurred to him that possibly some at least of the animation might be due to the fact that certain persons were busily engaged in an attempt to discover what had become of their missing boats. Then the upper limb of the sun throbbed suddenly into view over the ridge of the sierras, flashing like white-hot gold, a beam of golden light shot down the wooded slopes, a multitude of hitherto invisible objects sprang suddenly into view, and a new day had come to Panama. Meanwhile the calm had imperceptibly spread outward from the shore until it extended a good mile beyond the galleon, where it ended abruptly against a dark blue line showing where the sea-breeze was struggling to conquer the calm and force its way shoreward.

George now turned his attention to matters nearer at hand, and allowed his gaze to wander over the galleon's spacious decks. They were disgracefully dirty, speaking of the lax discipline that had been permitted to prevail by the easy-going officers of the ship, and he gave a sharp order which presently brought all hands on deck, considerably refreshed, as he could see, by even the short spell of rest which they had enjoyed. Scrubbing brushes, mops, and buckets were searched for and found; and a few minutes later the decks were undergoing such a vigorous process of cleansing as they had not known for many a day. Then, as the planking rapidly dried in the hot rays of the sun, the baggage which the adventurers had brought with them across the isthmus was unpacked and, as the hour of eight boomed out from the Cathedral, Saint George's Cross was run up on the ensign staff of the galleon! A few fishing-boats were by this time returning to the harbour, and one of these George hailed and ordered alongside. The crew were negroes, and they gaped in open- mouthed astonishment as they passed through the entry port and beheld the decks alive with lithe, active seamen, florid-faced beneath the bronze of their skins, and most unquestionably foreigners. They hazarded no remarks, however, nor—to do them justice—did they exhibit any very great amount of alarm; they were doubtless slaves, animated by a whole-hearted hatred of their Spanish masters, and if the truth could been have arrived at they were probably by no means sorry to find that so fine a ship had fallen into the hands of men who were obviously enemies of the hated Spaniard. They took, with extravagant thanks, the gold which George offered them, and vowed to faithfully perform the service which the young captain demanded of them in return, which was, first to affix, in the most prominent position they could find in the market place, the Proclamation which he had prepared; and, secondly, to deliver at the Governor's house the letter addressed to that functionary, with which he entrusted them. Then, as soon as the fishermen had departed, all hands except the anchor watch went to breakfast.