Tales of terror
manned our oars, and pulled away with life, trusting to the chance of
meeting with some vessel, of which there was a strong probability, as
this was the common course of our leeward traders. And our hopes were
not disappointed, for next day we fortunately fell in with a brig from
the Azores, bound for Porto Rico, on board of which we were received
with much kindness, and in five days we found ourselves safely moored
in Porto-Real harbour.
My first step on landing was to inquire for a boarding-house for
Isabella, and I had the good luck to be directed to one kept by a
respectable English family in Orange Terrace, and to this I conducted
her. My next transaction was to charter a small cutter, and to
communicate to Wright the secret of the hidden treasure, at the same
time asking him to adventure himself and his men on its recovery. I
also gave him to understand the probability of a rencontre with the
pirates, in the event of their having escaped the sloop, for I was
aware that Mahone had overheard the whole confession from my finding
him listening at the cabin door. Without hesitation the lieutenant at
once agreed to accompany me, and engaging some hands out of a vessel
newly arrived, we soon mustered a party of fourteen men, and we hired a
cutter. As it wanted only six days to the Festival of St. Jago, and the
distance across the Caribbean Sea was great enough to require all our
exertions to be there in time, we embarked and sailed that very night.
Our cutter proved a very fast vessel, and though the winds were light
and variable we made the Roccas on the evening of the sixth day. As
the Spaniard had foretold, the moon was climbing the western sky,
and pouring the fulness of her splendour with a mild and beautiful
effulgence on the untroubled deep as we slowly drifted with the current
between the Wolf Rock and the adjacent isle. All was silent and calm
over the whole desert archipelago and the vast surrounding waters,
save now and then the flight of a sea fowl awakening from its slumbers
as we passed, or the occasional roar of the jaguar faintly wafted
from the mainland. We ran the cutter into a deep and narrow creek,
moored her safe, and proceeded, well-armed, to the eastern extremity.
There we found the projecting point of land, and the old vanilla tree
exactly in the situation described--its huge, twisted trunk was still
entire, and from the end of its solitary branch, which was graced by
a few scattered leaves, the body of a man in the garb of a sailor
hung suspended in irons. The clothes had preserved the body from the
birds of prey, but the head was picked clean and bare, leaving the
eyeless and bleached skull to glitter white in the moonlight. In
perfect silence, and with something of awe on our spirits, impressed
by the solitude and dreariness of the scene, we seated ourselves
on the rocks, and, with my watch in my hand, I began to mark the
progress of the shadow. For nearly three hours we watched in this
manner, listening attentively for the slightest sound from seaward;
but everything continued hushed and still, except the creaking of the
chain as the dead man swung to and fro in the breeze. Midnight was now
drawing near, the moon, radiant and full, was careering high through
the deep blue of heaven, and the shadows of the branch and stem were
approaching each other, and towards the desired point. At length the
hand of my watch pointed to within one minute of the time. It passed
over. The branch and stem now merged into one, and threw their shadow
due east, and the first spadeful of earth had been thrown out when the
man who had been stationed to keep a look-out came running to inform
us that a boat was rapidly approaching from the east. We immediately
concluded that they must be some of the ‘Ariadne’s’ crew; and their
long and vigorous strokes, as they stretched out to the full extent
of their oars, showed that they knew the importance of every minute
that elapsed. Our implements for digging were hastily laid aside, and
we concealed ourselves among the rocks till the pirates came within
reach. In a short time the boat was run ashore, and eight armed men
came forward, partly Spaniards and partly the ship’s crew, among whom I
recognised the boatswain, and, to my surprise, Mahone, whom I had shot
and left for dead in the cabin. Without giving them time to prepare
for the assault we quitted our shelter, and sprung among them at once,
laying about with the short swords we had provided ourselves with. For
a little space the skirmish was toughly and hotly contested, for the
pirates were resolute and reckless, and fought with the desperation
of men who knew that the only chance for their lives lay in their own
exertions. In the confusion of the fray I had lost sight of Wright, and
was closely engaged with one of the Spaniards, when the voice of the
boatswain, shouting forth a horrible imprecation, sounded immediately
behind me. I turned round, and sprang aside from the sweep of his
cutlass, and, as my pistols were both empty, retreated, acting upon
the defensive, when he pulled out his, fired, and hurled the weapon at
my head. The shot passed without injuring me, but the pistol, aimed
with better effect, struck me full on the forehead. A thousand sparks
of light flashed from my eyes, I felt myself reeling, and on the point
of falling, when a cut across the shoulder stretched me at once on
the ground. When I recovered from my stupor and opened my eyes, the
morning was far advanced, the sun was shining bright overhead, and I
found myself at sea, lying on the deck of the cutter, and Wright busily
engaged in examining my wounds. From him I learned that the pirates had
been mastered after a severe conflict, in which four had been slain and
left on the island, two had escaped unobserved during the fight, and
made off with their boat, and two had been wounded, and were prisoners
on board, one of whom was Mahone. On our arrival at Porto Rico we
delivered them over to the civil power, and soon afterwards Mahone
was tried for the murder of the priest, when he was convicted on our
evidence, condemned, and executed.
Under good nursing and care I gradually recovered, and by the fall of
the season, without any further adventures, I once more landed safe in
Scotland.
Isabella is not now that destitute and unprotected orphan whom I
first saw on the middle of the western ocean, but the happy mistress
of a happy home, diffusing life and gladness on all around her. My
friend Wright has lately been placed on the list of post-captains,
and is anxiously waiting for more bustling times, when there will be
more knocking about and more hard blows and quicker promotion than
can be hoped for in piping times of peace. John Wyllie, too, has had
advancement in his line, being now master of one of the finest ships
sailing out of the Clyde, and I have the additional satisfaction of
knowing that none of the crew of the cutter have had reason to regret
their having jeopardised their lives in fighting for the ‘Pirate’s
Treasure,’ which proved to be of far greater value than the confession
of the dying Spaniard had led me to believe. Altogether that voyage was
an extraordinary one, and at this period I can look back and feel the
truths of the saying that ‘Some men are born to strange destinies.’
In this present day we have become more prosaic, and true romances of
the sea such as I have described will soon be things of the past.
VI
THE LEGEND OF WOLFSPRING
A STORY OF THE BLACK FOREST
Wolfspring Castle stood in the very heart of the Black Forest, and for
centuries had been in possession of the Barons of Wolfspring, one of
the most powerful German families of the Middle Ages, and who, even at
the present day, although living on the wreck of their former greatness
only, still keep up a semblance of dignity.
The seat of these territorial lords was a castellated Gothic mansion
built for strength and defence. It was a massive and imposing pile,
gloomy and forbidding as to its external aspects, but designed
internally with an eye to the comfort and luxury of its occupants.
Nevertheless, there were many dark, tortuous corridors and vaulted
tapestry rooms, in which there were ghostly echoes. There were also
secret stairways, concealed spring doors, and deep down in the basement
a number of gloomy dungeons, in which many a ghastly tragedy had been
enacted.
A dark grove of pine and mountain ash encompassed the castle on every
side, and threw an aspect of weirdness around the scene, and even
shut out the sunshine, which failed to penetrate to that part of the
forest’s dark depths.
The extraordinary and astounding events that are now about to be
related occurred long ago, but incredible as they may seem to the
modern sceptic, are still vouched for by those who have their homes in
the Black Forest at the present time.
At the period referred to the then Baron of Wolfspring had an only
daughter, whose ravishing beauty had caused her to become the talk of
Germany, and suitors from all parts had sought her hand. As she was
the apple of her father’s eye, however, he had carefully guarded her,
in the hope that she would remain with him, as he could not bear the
idea of her parting from him. Nevertheless, he surrounded her with
nearly everything she desired, and was constantly devising new plans
for her amusement. On reaching her twenty-first year her father made
it the occasion for a fête, such as was rarely seen even in Germany,
and preparations were made for it months before the time. Invitations
were sent out lavishly, and it was calculated that the Black Forest
would witness a gathering of beauty and bravery which would pass
down to posterity as an historical event. The lady’s birthday fell
in the winter time, but that did not prevent the invited guests from
assembling in great numbers.
The castle bells rang out a merry peal at the approach of a winter
twilight, and the warder was stationed with his retinue on the
battlements, to announce the arrival of the company who were invited
to share the amusements that reigned within the walls. The Lady
Marguerite, the baron’s only daughter, never looked more ravishing than
on this occasion. The large vaulted apartments were thrown open for
the reception of the numerous guests, and by midnight the castle was a
scene of gaiety and brilliancy, and the greatest good humour prevailed.
Suddenly it was noted that amongst the guests in the ballroom was a
very remarkable-looking man, who had not been noticed before, and who
was an utter stranger to everyone present. He attracted attention by
his dignified bearing, his handsome features, and the magnificence
of his dress. The baron was appealed to, but had to confess that he
did not know the stranger, who, on being asked for his name and rank,
politely asked that he might be allowed to remain incognito, but he
hinted that his lineage was perhaps superior to any else present,
and his wishing to remain unknown for a time was a mere whim; but,
for convenience sake, he requested that he might be addressed as
the count. As may be supposed this mysterious stranger aroused no
little curiosity, and his boast of superiority engendered some amount
of ill-feeling. It would have been contrary to all traditions of
Wolfspring hospitality for the baron to request his strange guest
to retire, especially on such an occasion, and although he had come
without retinue or following of any kind, and not one of the retainers
could give any information as to when or how he arrived, he was treated
by the host with every consideration and respect.
It soon became only too obvious, however, that the stranger’s
presence was likely to be productive of much heart-burning, if not of
actual mischief, for he bestowed all his attentions on the beautiful