“But, Your Majesty,” replies Guy, who now knows he will win what he wants, “I have no money to pay my crew.”
“Here is an order on my treasury for twenty thousand crowns.” And Elizabeth, sitting down to write, says suddenly: “But your crew is only one hundred and twenty-five men. Fifteen thousand crowns will keep your surly dogs from growling,” and signs order to that effect, next almost tears it up, muttering: “I think ten thousand will be sufficient.”
“No, Your Majesty, it will not, and the expedition will be cheap at fifteen thousand crowns, for by it you will set a band of cut-throats on Alva, who, while they may curse your inhumanity, will fight far better than your belted knights, for they will be fighting, not for country now, not for religion now, but for that thing that dominates all men’s souls—EXISTENCE! Besides, they do it free of charge!”
“Egad, we have an orator here, Cecil,” laughs Her [[121]]Majesty. “A regular sea lawyer. Some day, perchance, he may be—under-secretary of state, eh, Lord Burleigh?”
“Perchance, Your Majesty. You have had many of them with less brains.”
“And less jabber,” replies Elizabeth, who cannot forget that she has fifteen thousand crowns less in her treasury. “He talked me out of the money, he took advantage of my weakness, Lord Burleigh. Take him away from here before I take the treasury order back. But go after those two poor Gueux nobles, have them to dinner with you. Show them you have a heart if your Queen has not.” Then the two go out from the presence of Elizabeth of England, Guy stepping quite rapidly. He fears Her Majesty may rescind the draft on her exchequer.
Burleigh accompanies him to the treasury, apparently nervous himself about this matter. But the money being paid over, he says to Guy: “Her Majesty said to see these Gueux well armed and well ammunitioned. Will your vessel carry enough?”
“For a campaign?—No!”
“Then,” says Burleigh, “here is my order, Sir Guy Chester. Take with you four ships, fill them up with powder, arms and munitions of war, for which I will give you royal warrant on the Queen’s arsenal at Sandwich, Harwich, or any other to which you may apply. This is not merely an engagement for which we send these men, but a war, long and continued, against Alva; for it is now his head or those of the starving Beggars of the Sea. Here is also warrant permitting you if satisfactory charter cannot be obtained, to take the vessels you need for our purpose. But of course all this is private and privileged between us. England is at peace with Spain. So, God speed you.”
So Guy, going upon his errand with all the expedition he can command, obtains possession of four large caravals in the port of Sandwich, and loads them to the gunwale with all the arms and munitions of war he can obtain, powder enough for many a battle and many a siege, and taking these with him sails on the morning of the next day through the Downs and lies off and [[122]]on between the Goodwin Sands and Coast of France. Here the Gueux, coming out of Dover, can’t very well miss him, and he is very shortly overhauled and apparently captured by these desperate gentry of the sea.