The First of the English: A Novel
again (for he will not even trust the secret to Dalton, his first
officer, who he knows is true as steel), the following simple yet
ingenious plan comes to him: He will take the Dover Lass and with her
capture Spanish merchantmen until he finds one the captain of which has
never been in Antwerp, though consigned to merchants in that place.
Having taken possession of this vessel he will dispose of the captain
and crew so that they will never come to light again. He himself will
assume, under disguise, the name and post of the captain of the vessel.
He will take, carefully selected from his crew, such men as most
resemble Spanish and Flemish tars, and sail the vessel deliberately up
to Antwerp, using his papers and clearings from the Spanish port, and
deliver his cargo to the consignee of the vessel as if he were the very
captain whose place he has assumed. While discharging his cargo he can
probably (with the assistance of Antony Oliver, if he can but find him
in the place) obtain possession of the treasure of the Duke, load his
vessel with it, taking cargo in the meantime as regular trader for any
port to which he may be consigned or chartered by Antwerp merchants.
Then, when once more on the open sea, he will sail to England and land
his treasure with the same impunity that Drake and Hawkins and other
English freebooters carry in their captured ingots from the Spanish
main. In fact, he will assert Alva’s gold came from a captured galleon
and pay Elizabeth her ten per cent. upon the same, the usual impost on
such plunder.
One hour after making these resolutions the Dover Lass is under way for
the open ocean, and in the next few days his fleet little vessel
overhauls and captures two or three vessels consigned to Antwerp. But
none of these are exactly fitted for his purpose. Their captains he
finds by close questioning and overhauling their logs have been in
Antwerp before and are known there, or some of their crew have
relatives or friends about the place, or there is something in their
charters that make them unsuitable.
Therefore he sends these in and sells them for what they will bring,
cargoes and ships, in the town of Flushing, which is now safe in the
hands of the Prince of Orange, whose banner many more towns and cities
in the Netherlands are hoisting at this time, some to their undoing and
the butchery of their inhabitants—men, women and children.
The money received for these forced sales of stolen goods is hardly a
tenth of their value, for coin is very scarce in the Netherlands under
Alva’s tenth penny tax, though it gives Chester a sufficiency to do
what he wishes in Antwerp.
All this business takes time, and it is nearly a month after he has
possessed himself of Paciotto’s secret that Guy Chester overhauls and
captures the caravel Esperanza, commanded by one Andrea Blanco, whose
log shows she has never been in Antwerp, having been employed chiefly
in the West Indies. This Captain Blanco he finds by deft questionings,
fearful threats, and a guess at his patois, comes from Hispaniola—in
fact, the whole crew have never been in Flemish waters before.
The vessel is the one for his purpose, being a strong barque of
something over three hundred tons, and Guy notes rather a fast sailor,
though not to be compared with the Dover Lass, and is armed, having
seven demi-culverins on each broadside. In fact, she has made some
little show of resistance to the Dover Lass, which in these desperate
times would generally have insured the butchery of the crew, especially
as it is now to their captors’ interests to put them where they will
never tell any tales upon the Antwerp docks.
Against his judgment, Chester cannot bring himself to in cold blood
destroy them.
Therefore, summoning Dalton to him, he says curtly to his chief
officer: “It is necessary that I in person take our prize, the
Esperanza, act as her captain, and with thirty of my men sail her to
Antwerp.”
“Going to Antwerp!” growls his lieutenant bluntly. “Going to the devil!
And who’ll go with you into Alva’s very jaws?”
“You would, if I asked you, Dalton,” answers his commander. “Call up
the crew.”
And these coming aft to the mainmast, Chester looks over his hundred
and twenty-five “Dover Lasses,” devil-may-care’s, from cook and cabin
boy up, and says to them without palaver: “Now, my men, I’ve got the
best job on hand we ever had—more plunder in it. To do it I must take
thirty of you and sail our prize to Antwerp. If we don’t succeed you
know what Alva will do with us. It’ll be fire, not water. If I win,
it’ll be twenty doubloons to every man of the crew of the Dover Lass,
and two hundred to you, Dalton, and the other officers in proportion.
But every man of the Esperanza’s crew gets twenty doubloons extra for
his risk, and it is a desperate one—therefore I ask for volunteers. All
willing to go with me to the devil step onto the quarter-deck.”
Then every man jack of his crew with a rush is around him on the
quarter-deck, Dalton crying: “For God’s sake, take me with you,
captain. I won’t let you go alone.”
But Chester says: “It is necessary that you take charge of the Dover
Lass,” and selects those to go with him very carefully, picking out
such men as will appear most like sailors of a trading ship, and being
fortunate in finding twenty-seven of them who speak Spanish, having
picked up more or less of the language about the West Indies and
Mediterranean.
Therefore he only takes twenty-seven, headed by Martin Corker, who
growls that he has cut enough Spanish throats to have picked up the
lingo.
The preparations being finished, Chester takes his first lieutenant
into his cabin and speaks very seriously: “These are my orders. Iron
every man of the Spanish crew who are in the hold of the Dover Lass
with double manacles, leg and wrist. Take no chance of their escaping.
Make your trip with all despatch, and land them upon the west coast of
Ireland.”
“What! among those murdering barbarians? I’ll have to be careful that
we don’t get our own throats cut,” says Dalton. For at that time the
west coast of Ireland was an Ultima Thule regarded with horror by all
Jack tars, no wrecked sailor ever returning from it.
“Rendezvous,” he adds to Dalton, “at Flushing as soon as you have done
your errand. Wait for me there.”
“But if you don’t return?”
“Then you’ll be captain of the Dover Lass. I shall come back, though.
But don’t as you value my life, and the lives of those poor devils with
me, let any of this Spanish crew, the captain least of all, get out of
your hands, until you have consigned them to the O’Brien’s, O’Toole’s,
or some wild murdering Irish chief, who’ll enslave them, and from whose
savage clutches there will be as little hope of escape as blackamoors
stolen from Africa have in the Indies!”
“Trust me for that. No garlic-eating Don of them ever sees his mother
again. If there’s a chance of a Spanish man-of-war catching me—over
they go,” says Dalton, his gesture is very suggestive.
Then the Dover Lass shapes her course for the Hebrides, taking the
northern route to Ireland to avoid any chance of encountering Spanish
armed vessels.
While Sir Guy Chester, disguised as Captain Andrea Blanco, with his
twenty-seven volunteers, all made as unlike English sailors as
possible, upon the good ship Esperanza, and floating the flag of Spain,
with Martin Corker at the helm, sails for the Schelde estuary.
Arriving there in early morning, he gets past Flushing by the narrowest
squeak, being desperately pursued by some of his brother Beggars of the
Sea, and early in the afternoon makes the Fort of Lillo. Here he finds
three Spanish war galleys and great activity, and being boarded by a
Spanish patrol boat he shows his charter papers and consignment to the
firm of Jacobszoon & Olins, who do business on Wool street just off the
English quay, Antwerp.
These being satisfactory, taking advantage of the tide, late on a
bright May day, the setting sun gilding the beautiful tower of the
church of Our Dear Lady, Chester drops anchor off the city front, and
again passing satisfactorily the custom officials, takes his
consignment papers and charter to the house of Jacobszoon & Olins.
“Hoezee! You escaped those plundering Gueux, my worthy Captain Blanco,”
cries the senior partner Jacobszoon, a florid, paunchy individual.
Jan Olins, a man of clean cut face and precise manner, remarks: “You
must have handled your vessel very well. If the government doesn’t put
down these Dutch freebooters, good bye to the commerce of Antwerp.”
Then the two invite their successful captain to supper. “Come with us,”
says Jacobszoon, “it will be my night away from home. We’ll have a
friendly bottle at the Painted Inn.”
But Guy is not anxious to visit the Painted Inn, being exceedingly
eager to put eyes upon Antony Oliver, and excuses himself on the plea
that he must return to his vessel.
“Ah, you’ll sleep on board?” says the junior partner.
“Probably,” replies the captain, “until I have my vessel alongside the
quay.”
“Well, the Tower of the Angels is a very good inn not far from here,”
suggests Jacobszoon. “It will also be convenient to your ship.”
“Thank you, I’ll remember it,” and getting away from the two gentlemen
who seem to be greatly delighted at the arrival of their ship and are
inclined to be effusive in their hospitality, Chester in the course of
a few minutes’ stroll up Wool street, finds himself before the painted
pole of the barber surgeon.
The night is dark, there is no lamp in the hall, and he is not
recognized by the little blood-letter, who lets him in. So going up the
three flights of stairs, he finds with unexpected joy that Antony
Oliver opens the door in answer to his knock.
To his further delight Guy is himself unrecognized even by the
painter’s sharp eyes. Antony has been working at his altar piece. The
setting sun comes in upon and halos the glorious face and divine eyes
of Hermoine de Alva. With lover’s rapture the Englishman strides toward
the canvas. To Oliver’s quick and anxious remark: “What is your
business?” he answers nothing, being rapt in contemplation of his
sweetheart!
“Your business, señor?”
“Oh—ah! yes! Have you had any pigeon pie lately?” whispers Chester,
waking up.
“Morbleu!” ejaculates the Flemish artist. “Captain—no Major Guido
Amati!”
“Not this trip,” says the other shortly, closing the door, “but one
Andrea Blanco, captain of the Spanish galleon Esperanza, with hides,
tallow and Spanish wine, consigned to Jacobszoon & Olins, and
discharging her cargo at the English quay.”
“But still, my Guido,” whispers the painter, and the impulsive
Franco-Fleming throws his arms round Guy’s neck and imprints two tender
kisses, one on each cheek.
“Is your infernal boy here?” mutters the Englishman savagely, who does
not care for this kind of salute.
“Oh, I’ve dismissed Achille for the day. He is down stairs with his
family,” says Oliver. “But what brings you here? Mademoiselle
Hermoine?”
“She is here—in Antwerp?” cries Guy excitedly, his heart beating wildly
and a lover’s joy in his eye.
“No, fortunately she is in Brussels.”
“Fortunately?”
“Yes, because I can see you would take desperate chances to have an
interview with her, and with five thousand crowns on your head.”
“Five thousand?”
“Yes—you’ve gone up in the market lately. Alva has heard how you sent
the Gueux against him laden with powder and ball to fight for their
breakfasts. No provisions, no water, but plenty of powder, eh? That was
a glorious stroke. But Queen Elizabeth has disowned you once more, and
Alva has proclaimed that your caput is worth five thousand crowns.
Parbleu! how he hates you now. If he only knew”—and the painter bursts