Читать книгу Winds of Fortune - John Jeffery Farnol - Страница 13
ОглавлениеTELLETH HOW BY MY FOLLY CAME STRIFE AND BLOODSHED
"Ramirez, open this door!"
"Bly, go you to the devil!"
"Ramirez, open this door!"
"On a condition!"
"This is mutiny, Ramirez!"
"Ay, so!" laughed Ramirez. "But then, we have your mistress here, and we be nineteen determined men and armed, Captain, armed. And our condition is—your woman for your ship. Take to the boats, you and such as will, and on my faith, your lady shall be delivered to you scatheless, Master Bly. Otherwise ..."
"Otherwise, Ramirez?"
"'Stead o' one lover, she shall have aplenty and we, par Dios, shall fight till the ship sinks under us."
Now at this he was silent so long that Ramirez questioned furiously at last.
"Damn you, will ye speak? What's your word?"
Answered the Captain, voice passionless as ever:
"Curse you, Ramirez, I'm thinking, man, thinking."
"Here's no time for thought!" cried Ramirez.
"Yet was I never so thoughtful as now, Ramirez."
The Captain's serene voice seemed to madden Ramirez, for he stamped passionately, muttering fiercely and, whipping pistol from belt, peered through one of the many loopholes cut in the stout timbering that ran athwart the ship.
"Ha!" cried he in voice suddenly shrill. "Why are the yards aback?"
"Were you right sailorman, Ramirez, 'stead o' mere rogue, you'd know!"
"Enough—enough!" cried Ramirez, well-nigh beside himself. "Are you come to terms? Do we take the ship or your woman—which? Speak, damn ye, speak! What d' ye say?"
"Ramirez, I'll kill you for this."
"Pah, I'll adventure it. Meanwhile, till you've made up your mind, I'll adventure some few pleasantries with your stately lady here."
"And you shall die little by little, my Ramirez; ay, so very slowly, you shall plead and supplicate for death—"
"Ah, bah! Is this your answer?"
"Ay, damned rogue, this is my final answer!" For a moment Don Luiz stood wide-eyed, like one at sudden loss, and I faint with horror and emotion sharper yet, that Captain Japhet should leave me to such abomination; then even as I stood, scarce believing he could doom me to such unspeakable horror, Don Luiz, uttering passionate cry, levelled his pistol through the loophole; but at that moment, scarce knowing what I did, I leaped and seized his arm to such purpose that as he gave fire the shot flew wide. Then, although half deafened by the report, I heard Don Luiz cry out on me, and seeing all the bestial, merciless savagery of him, I averted my eyes instinctively and thus, chancing to glance upward, beheld the window open and through it a levelled musket and behind this the grim face of Master Lovepeace Farrance: then was roaring flame, gushing smoke and down through the swirling mist tumbled men who shouted and smote, and all about me was roaring, furious tumult.
And after some while, this dreadful uproar subsided and the smoke clearing, I saw men who knelt with empty hands upraised, and others who lay very dreadfully still, while before and above them, in posture fierce and threatening, stood old Lovepeace, grimmer than ever, with Parson Penryn, his great wig over one fierce eye, and the Captain his white teeth bared in cruel smile and a reddened sword in his hand.
"So, my rogues," says he, panting somewhat, "are ye done? D' ye cry quarters, my bullies? Is this an end o' damned mutiny?"
"Ay ... ay, Captain ..." cried voices in wailing chorus. "Spare our lives, Cap'n. We was led into 't, Cap'n. We be true men an' ye'll spare us, sir. 'Twas Ramirez, Cap'n. Ay, ay, 'twas him as tricked us...."
"Where is he?" demanded the Captain, staring this way and that.
"Yonder he lieth, Japhet," answered Lovepeace, smoothing his snowy locks. "And sweet in death, lad. I shot him, glory be! And now what for these verminous dogs?"
"Death!" chanted Master Penryn in his sweet voice, straightening his great wig with hands dreadfully smeared. "Let 'em hang with a curse!"
"Ay, Cap'n, swing 'em up to the main yard. Hang 'em and be done.... Let's do't forthright.... Up, ye mutinous lubbers!" cried other fierce voices ... and to my horror, the conquerors fell to beating and kicking the vanquished to their feet; this so wrought on me that despite my bruises up sprang I, and coming betwixt the conquered wretches and their tormentors:
"Shame!" cried I, fronting them with arms outspread above these abased wretches. "You have beaten them till they cry for mercy; then as you may all hope for mercy one day, show it now. These men have promised amendment and one of them saved me from hurt.... Howbeit, you shall not touch them, whiles I have strength to stand.... Let them go, I say—let them go!"
Now at this, old Lovepeace stared on me, grim mouth agape, Master Penryn took off his great wig, looked at it earnestly and put it on again, while the Captain, head bowed, viewed me bright-eyed 'neath puckered brows. Then he laughed suddenly, a soft, odd laugh.
"So be it, ma'm," said he. "Since you saved my life from murderer's bullet, take these lives in exchange." Hereupon and to my no small dismay, these beaten wretches, the wounded and the sound, came thronging about me on their knees, crying out their gratitude and calling down blessings on me, so that I presently turned and fled from that reeking place into the sweet fresh wind. But here, a weakness coming upon me, I sank upon a coil of rope and closed my eyes, till hearing footsteps approaching, looked up to see this tall man Barnabas looking down upon me.
"Mistress Ursula," said he in gentle voice and mighty courteous, "in saving yon poor rogues, you have broke all 'stablished rules and precedents among the Coast Brethren and won you as many doglike friends shall bark to your bidding—yet such dogs bite."
"Sir, do you warn me?"
"Ay, I do," says he gently, "for yon poor rascals are the very offscourings of this motley crew. One wonders how you came in such ill company."
"Oh, sir," I answered, being very shamed and humble, "by my own headstrong, detestable folly."
"Madam," said he, his comely face the more so for sudden, youthful smile, "I perceive you are wise as you are courageous—almost."
"Nay," says I, the humbler for his praise, "I know myself very fool."
"And this is wisdom!" he nodded.
"Tell me, sir, they will not hang or whip these prisoners,—not one?"
"Nay, madam, their lives are promised and Japhet never breaks his word."
"I hear overmuch of your Captain Japhet."
"Why, he is our Captain."
"And would have left me to ... evil worse than death."
"No, no! Japhet is wily fellow, for see you while he held Ramirez in parley, we were stealing outboard to take 'em suddenly from above."
"You are great friend of his?"
"'Tis so mine honour, madam."
"And hast known him long?"
"These twelve odd years."
"Are you Captain also?"
"No!" he answered, smiling. "I stand second in command."
"And who next?"
"Penryn."
"But he is a parson, or was."
"He is yet, but also a right sailorman. Then comes John Shaddock, the master, stout old Lovepeace the gunner, with Richard Agnew his mate, Absalom Troy the bosun, and so you have us all. And yonder cometh Japhet now—"
"Ay, I see him," said I, rising: "pray lend me your arm as far as my cabin." So with his assistance I hurried away and despite my bruises until I reached that stair or gangway leading down to the cabin; and being much taken with his comely person and gentle courtsey, I would have had him sit with me and talk awhile, but:
"Thank you, Mistress Revell," said he, bowing like the very gentleman I now perceived him to be, "but I am something foul with the little business in the forecastle, and yourself still something discomposed, I think, so, later if you will honour me." When he was gone, I came to the mirror Deborah had set for me against the panelling and was aghast to see my face all smirched, my hair half down and dragged to elf-locks, and the delicate laces at my bosom all rent and torn. I was yet contemplating this sorry wretch that was me, when, with no civility of knocking, in strode Captain Japhet and stood looking on me with eyes so sternly contemptuous that for once speech failed me and I averted my gaze.
"Madam," said he at last, in voice scornful as his look, "the black rascal Tom hath confessed he carried your letter from the arch mutineer Ramirez."
"And what then, sir?" I demanded indignantly, though with glance still averted and bitterly conscious of my draggle-tail appearance.
"This," says he, softly fierce; "were you a man, you should be trussed up and well flogged and thereafter be clapped i' the bilboes—"
"But I am a woman, thank God."
"And like so many of your abhorred sex, a very plague. There be two men forrard dead by reason o' you! Ay, my lady, you are such woman that two men be dead and maybe others, and all by reason o' you and your cursed womanly guile—"
"No!" cried I, horrified. "No! Never dare say so! Their deaths lie on your own wicked head, for 'twas you forced me into your hateful ship; 'twas your own vile, odious, most detested self that every hour teaches me to the more abominate you."
"And this," said he, "gives me to wonder why you should trouble to save my so hated self."
"You are presumptuous to dare think I did save you, ay—or ever would."
"Peevish, silly child!" he answered and, turning on his heel, left me raging. But even as I came once more to survey myself in the mirror, tearfully and more rueful than ever, he was back again.
"I came but to warn you, madam," said he ungraciously, "that it may blow to-night, and bid you when the ship rolls and pitches not to think we are going to the bottom—"
"'Twould be happy release!"
"Mayhap,—and yet who knoweth; for should we sink, we sink together!" Then, with his odious, chuckling laugh, he was gone. And presently came Deborah to sigh over me and to bathe and tend my poor body, its bruises which of themselves waked in me fierce desire for vengeance on this vilest of men.
