Prince Rupert, the Buccaneer

by Charles John Cutcliffe Wright Hyne

But here came a check. Under their feet were the gratings of the great ship's beak; before them was the high plain wall of her lofty forecastle; and at its summit were the outraged Spaniards lusting for their destruction. For general use ladders led from the gratings of the beak to the high roof of the forecastle above, but these had been drawn up or cast overboard before the actual moment of the attack. The wall of wood before them was as naked as the wall of a house, and quite unscalable; and the Spaniards above, with shouts of triumph, rained down shot and grenades into the huddled crowd of the buccaneers, till it seemed that in another minute not one soul of them would remain alive.

But presently Watkin the hunter, being a man of resource, bethought himself of one of the two forecastle gun ports, which, though shut down and fastened from within, offered a slight gap. Into this he thrust his hanger, and prised it open another half-inch, till he could get a hold with his fingers; and then, being a fellow of vast and ponderous strength, wrenched the whole port lid from its fastenings, and fell backward with it amongst the corpses and the confusion.

The Prince's secretary was the first to hazard life through the gap, and got in, wounding two opponents; and then in came the rest of the buccaneers, the Prince with his accustomed courage being the last to seek the shelter.

Here, then, they had got possession of the interior of the carrack's forward castle, and had a moment to gain breathing time, and to tie up the more pressing of their hurts. Within all was dark, but without all was bright-lit with battle lanterns, and alive with the curses and movements of savage armed men. It was plain that the ship was far from taken yet, and the pearls, which they were chiefly concerned with, lay in the lazaret, under the after-cabin floor. So, as the Spaniards were raging before the doors of the forecastle and in the waist of the ship, though not daring to attack them in this gloomy stronghold, the buccaneers slewed round the two demi-culverins which armed its ports, loaded them with grape, and twice shot lanes through the thick of the enemy, before they gave way and fled in confusion, to spots where the missiles could not reach.

"Now!" cried the Prince, "at them again, brethren, before they can re-form!" and led the way out on to the main deck, sword in hand.

But here in an instant the boarders were penned in. The buccaneers might be brave, but the Spaniards were no cowards, and moreover they were exasperated by what had befallen already. Right desperately did the boarders fight, but their numbers were already small, and they grew fewer; and although dozens of the Spaniards were killed, there were always others behind to fill their places. The buccaneers began to yield ground. It seemed as though they would be driven overboard.

But again Prince Rupert called upon them.

"Brethren!" he shouted, "let us go and find their pearls. It is unprofitable waiting here in this debate. One fine charge, and we'll have their after-castle all to ourselves to dine in!" Whereupon he headed the rush in his own person with invincible valour, and with wild laughter those of the buccaneers who survived followed close upon his heels. A red lane was cut through the mob of Spaniards, and the doors were reached. So sudden and furious had been the charge, that none were inside the barricadoes to defend them, and once more the little company of the buccaneers found themselves in a stout fortress from which nothing but cannon could dislodge them.

The table in the great cabin was set for supper, and the scraps on the platters showed that it had been left half eaten. Down the centre of the table were vast jugs of wine and silver pannikins, and the throats of the buccaneers being parched with fighting, they did not omit to drink. But it was not a time for loitering, though Watkin and one or two of the others were for sitting down then and making a meal whilst they had the chance. For the moment the Spaniards outside were quiet, but it was easy to guess they were in some way plotting their destruction. So the Prince with his cheery voice urged all hands to search for the hatch to the lazaret.

"Let's win our way down there, brethren," cried he, "and get their pearls, and then we'll be off and away. Their silly ship's too hot and heavy to take with us, so we'll leave her afire to give them occupation whilst we make our clearance."