“Farewell, noble captain!” he said. “Life is but short; let us live well on the road, says the gentle Shepherd of Salisbury Plain.”
During the short interval that the commander and his lieutenant thus conversed, the drummer had beaten his summons, which was to lead so many to a bloody end, with unabated assiduity. Short as the interval was—and it embraced but a few minutes—it sufficed to assemble on the deck the whole of the crew, and to cover every arrangement for entering into action. Each man’s bed, tied up taught in his hammock like a sack, was placed in the hammock-nettings, along the top of the ship’s bulwarks; the decks were cleared of all lumber; the guns were all manned; and the powder, with the portfires, sponges, and other implements for charging them, handed up the hatchways. Every man was armed; the flag of Old England was hoisted in the mizen; and nothing remained, for the furtherance and completion of the design they had in hand, but to come up with the enemy.
In this state of things, Hildebrand struck off the men who, according to his previous arrangement, were to accompany Halyard, and ordered them to the boats. There, by his directions, they were all supplied with boarding-pikes, in addition to their cutlasses and pistols; and, though it was not quite likely that it would be required, an extra allowance of ammunition. The other men were ordered to their respective quarters of the ship.
So promptly had all these arrangements been conceived, determined on, and executed, that, from the first alarm of the galleon being in sight, as given by the look-out man for’ard, up to the moment at which every preparation was completed, scarcely five brief minutes had elapsed. In the interim, the ship, with the wind still aft, advanced steadily towards the galleon, a little to leeward of her bows, and drew close upon her. Hildebrand, standing at the helm, whence he could command a view ahead, observed that she had prepared to receive him, and would probably meet him with a broadside. Expecting no less, he ordered the sails to be hauled up; and passed the word to the gunners, who were all posted at their several guns, to count ten before they answered the salute, which would cover the auxiliary attack of Halyard and the boarders. His orders had scarcely been delivered, when the ship, floating on the waves, came alongside of the enemy.
Scarcely a breath was exhaled on board the “Eliza” as she thus breasted the galleon. The terrible pause, however, was but momentary. As she came fairly alongside, looking like a little pleasure-boat in comparison with her huge adversary, the latter, conformably to Hildebrand’s expectations, poured into her her whole broadside. But the shot did little damage, and that, as it turned out, only to the ship’s hull—the crew having sheltered themselves behind the bulwarks. Hildebrand alone had maintained his exposed position, and now, free from injury, looked anxiously round. The ship was enveloped in smoke; but sternwards, whither his glance first turned, the prospect was clearer; and he perceived that the boats had departed. He could distinguish nothing for’ard; but, with the aid of a speaking-trumpet, he could reach the crew with his voice, and he delivered his orders without hesitation.
“For’ard there!” he cried. “Grapple on to the enemy’s stern; and prepare to board!”
As the order fell from his lips, the deck below him, conformably to his previous order, opened its fire, and poured a broadside into the enemy. The report was yet booming over the water, when a loud “hurrah” broke on the ear, and afforded a cheering assurance that the boats under Halyard had arrived at their destination.
Covered by the smoke of the galleon’s fire, Halyard had advanced towards her near quarter, according to his instructions, without being observed; and, protected by the fire of his own ship, gained it unscathed. The broadside of the “Eliza” had caused a momentary confusion among the enemy, and, at this auspicious juncture, he pulled alongside, and led the way up her bulwarks. The crew on the lower-decks, at the several port-holes, observed him instantly, but, taken by surprise, their opposition did not impede him; and the disorder on the upper deck, where he was not yet visible, prevented it from spreading further. Before the alarm became general, he and his men had gained the hammock-nettings; and there, with a loud hurrah, prepared to make their way on the deck.
It was a terrible moment. Amidst the volumes of smoke which still rolled about, the stout little band, glancing quickly round, discerned hosts of grim adversaries, all armed to the teeth, and crowding towards them with the most fixed determination. But after the one rapid glance mentioned, they hardly paused to draw a breath. Led on by Halyard, they sprang on the deck, and pressed forward in a mass. The charge was resistless; and the long boarding-pikes, propelled at double quick time, and with the whole force of each individual, swept over the quarter-deck like an avalanche. Nevertheless, the success, though so decided, lasted only a moment. As their small force became apparent, the Spaniards took courage; and joining together, under the guidance of one of their officers, pressed upon them bodily, front and rear. The English were forced together again in an instant. Falling into two ranks, they backed to each other, and thus, by a ready evolution, fronted the enemy either way. But the force opposed to them was overpowering. No sooner had each file, pressing resolutely forward, cleared the deck in their front, than the Spaniards rushed in between them, and renewed the struggle. The two files were now divided, and when, in obedience to a shout from Halyard, they sought to join again, the Spaniards pressed down behind them, and attacked them both in front and rear. It soon became evident that they could not hold out much longer. Their ranks began to be thinned, and there was hardly one of them, not excepting Halyard, but had received some hurt. They still bore up, but, compared with their first assault, their efforts were feeble, and were rather the result of desperation, or a wild and reckless animosity, than genuine courage. They fought singly, too—back to back; and seemed more desirous to die hard, and, in their fall, to destroy as many of the enemy as they could, than to look for conquest. While all their energies were thus required for their defence, the Spanish commander had mustered a strong force, composed of the flower of his crew, to rush upon them simultaneously, and so overwhelm them at a blow. The overpowering reinforcement was already in motion, and the fate of the heroic Englishmen, after all their efforts, and their noble and glorious resistance, appeared to be now decided, when a loud hurrah broke from the stern of the ship.
“Hurrah!” responded Master Halyard; and each of his comrades caught up the cheer.