Chapter 10 The Black Swan by Rafael Sabatini
Careened
At last, on the Sunday, they threaded the channel that ran among the islands of the Albuquerque group, and dropped anchor in ten fathoms, in the wide basin of the lagoon on the eastern side of Maldita, the northernmost of the keys. It was this, which, at the instances of de Bernis, had been selected for the careening of the Black Swan.
The cove was as secret and sheltered a place as he had represented it, and in every particular Leach was compelled to admit that it could not be better suited to the purpose for which they came.
The lagoon was a pear-shaped basin, narrowing at the neck, between a reef that fringed the southern half of its sweep and a considerable scrub-crowned bluff that screened it from the north. Sea-birds nested on the heights of this bluff and it offered a fine emplacement for guns to defend the entrance. Leach, however, without experience of fortifications and of fighting on land, gave no thought to these possibilities, and de Bernis did not appear to be disposed to school him in them.
The half-moon of beach, running from bluff to reef, shelved so gradually that the anchorage was four or five cable's length from high-water mark. This beach was divided near the bluff by a freshwater stream of considerable proportions for so small an island. At the summit of this beach, which was wide and very silvery and along which turtles scuttled clumsily when the clatter of the anchor chains came to disturb them, rose a green wall of palm and pimento, and the air was heavily fragrant with the scent of spices, which the hot sun was drawing from the trees. The island, less than a mile in width and little more than two miles long, was densely wooded from end to end.
The two ships having come to anchor side by side, Leach lost no time. The boats were lowered from both of them, and men went ashore to fell timber for the building of stout rafts required for the work of lightening the Black Swan. This lightening occupied a full three days, in which time she was completely dismantled of all save her masts. Not only her forty ponderous guns, but everything else moveable, or that could be rendered moveable, went over the side, to be floated ashore on the rafts. Finally, eased of her ballast, she was ready to careen.
The work was merrily and briskly conducted by those lawless men. They brought to it a schoolboy zest. Seeing them wading to their armpits to receive and draw ashore the heavily laden rafts, maintaining the while a running fire of jest and laughter, like honest, care-free labourers, it was difficult to believe them men of blood and violence, predatory and ruthless, holding life as cheap as honour.
When at last the Black Swan was ready for beaching, the two hundred and fifty men who now composed her crew set about preparing themselves quarters ashore. There was more felling of trees to provide poles for the vast sailcloth pavilions which they erected along the summit of the beach in the neighbourhood of the fresh water. For their Captain and his officers they built with incredible rapidity a roomy log hut thatched with palmetto; and they fitted it with hammocks and furnished it with tables and chairs that had been taken from the ship. And whilst the main body, industrious as a colony of ants, were about these operations, others were at work at the boucan fires which they had lighted and over which they were curing the turtles which they had caught.
At last, as the short Caribbean tide began to flow on the morning of the third day, which was Wednesday, the Black Swan slipped her anchor cables, which were picked up by the waiting boats, and the business of warping her ashore was taken in hand.
Almost naked, and sweating in the blistering sun, they toiled at the capstan in gangs, chanting as they slowly circled it and wound about it the straining, creaking hawsers which had been lashed to trees at the head of the beach. The very easy gradient and the fine soft sand assisting them, they made good progress at first. Then, as the water grew shallower, followed a spell of slow Herculean toil until they could bring rollers into action, and so render it comparatively easy again.
Most of the day was spent before at last the great black ship was careened, high and dry, one side of her heavily barnacled and weeded lower hull exposed, as she lay over on the other.
After this the buccaneers rested and feasted, and a couple of days of comparative idleness followed whilst they waited for the hot sun to do its work of drying the fouled keel, so as to make it easy to burn away the foulness.
Monsieur de Bernis meanwhile took his ease aboard the Centaur, where she rode at anchor in the limpid blue-green waters of the lagoon; and with him remained the members of his supposed family undisturbed until Wogan and Halliwell inspired Leach to disturb them.
The hundred men of the Centaur's prize crew went daily ashore to bear their part in the work, and returned nightly to their hammocks and sleeping-mats aboard. And there in the cool of the lovely tropical nights, after the heat and labours of the day, de Bernis would be moving freely amongst them, like a gay troubadour, to charm them with tale and song, thus deepening at once the contempt of Major Sands and the mistrust of Halliwell and Wogan.
Major Sands, ever intent to justify to Priscilla that scorn of his for the Frenchman which he knew offended her, took him to task for it on the day after the careening was complete.
It was just after eight bells, and the three of them were at dinner in the great cabin with Pierre to wait upon them, and to regale them with the fresh turtle and yams which one of the hands had brought aboard last night as a present for de Bernis. Save for the half-dozen buccaneers composing a watch, such as Leach insisted should be kept, the men were all ashore at the time, and all was quiet on the ship. It was nearing high water, and through the open stern-ports they had a view of the palm-fringed beach, three hundred yards away, deserted now, for the men were at meat in the shade of their pavilions.
Monsieur de Bernis listened patiently to the stuttered sentences in which the Major expressed his wonder that the Frenchman could find satisfaction in intimate association with the vile ruffians whom Leach had put aboard the Centaur.
'Satisfaction?' was the word that de Bernis took up, echoing it interrogatively. The narrow, saturnine face looked more saturnine than ever. 'Which of us does only that in which he takes satisfaction? He is fortunate, indeed, who can find real satisfaction in anything that he does. It has not often happened to me, Major. If it has often happened to you, your lot is enviable.'
'You mean, sir?'
'Why, that most of the things we do in this life, we do from sheer necessity: to ease pain, remove discomfort, preserve our lives, or earn a livelihood. These are the chief activities that engage most men. Do you not agree?'
'Stab me! You may be right. That may be the general rule of life. I hadn't thought of it. But here, now, what necessity do you obey when you go amongst these fellows?'
'But isn't it plain? I am sure that Miss Priscilla understands me.'
Calmly she met the gaze of his dark eyes. 'I think I do. You obey the necessity of disposing them favourably towards you.'
'And not merely towards me, but towards us all. Must I tell you that this Leach is a treacherous, headstrong, violent beast? Although I have associated myself with him, and although I believe that I hold him fast in the bonds of cupidity, yet I cannot be sure that perversity, stupidity, or the sheer evil that is in the fellow may not drive him to burst his bonds. Do not, therefore, turn the eye of scorn upon me because I am concerned to forge myself a buckler against the day of need. That buckler lies in winning the regard, even the affection, of these men.'
The Major made a wry face of disgust. 'Affection!' he deprecated. 'Lord! There are some things that can be too dearly bought.'
'You may be right. For myself, I am slow to reach conclusions in these matters. But there is a detail to which you may not have given attention. If there should be an end of me, Major, there will certainly be an end of you and of Miss Priscilla. You will include no illusion on that score among the many illusions from which I have observed you to suffer.' He smiled upon the sudden utter blankness of the Major's countenance. 'Be sparing, therefore, in your contempt of the means by which I ensure your preservation with my own from any of the accidents to which such a nature as Captain Leach's might expose it.'
With that, and without awaiting any answer from Major Sands, he adroitly turned the conversation into other channels, addressing himself to Miss Priscilla whose eyes gleamed curiously as they now met his own. Almost, he could have supposed, she took satisfaction in the unanswerable rebuke which he had administered to the pompous soldier.
At about the same time and upon the very same topic, Wogan and Halliwell were entertaining Leach, who sat at dinner with them and with the fiery-faced Ellis and the quiet-mannered, pock-marked Bundry, in the log cabin that had been built for them.
Leach was not impressed at first. 'What's the odds?' he growled. 'Let him do as he likes until he brings us to the Spaniards. Then it'll be my turn, as he'll find out.'
To Ellis and Bundry there was news in this dark hint; for unlike Wogan and Halliwell they were not yet in the Captain's confidence as to how he intended to square matters with de Bernis for his intransigence over the articles. There was a queer kindling in the furnace of Ellis' countenance. But Bundry's eyelids drooped slowly like the membrane of a bird, and his face, with its clay-coloured pallor upon which the ardour of the sun could make no impression, grew more like a mask than ever.
The corpulent Halliwell leaned forward across the table. He spoke quietly. 'Can ye suppose, Cap'n that possibility don't occur to him?'
'What if it do? He's here, isn't he? We've got him, haven't we? How's he to get away from us?'
Halliwell's little eyes were screwed up and almost disappeared into his bulging cheeks. 'Came and put himself into your hands, very trusting like, didn't he?' quoth his sly voice.
'Couldn't help his self as things fell out.' Leach was still contemptuous.
'Just so,' said Halliwell. 'Just so. 'Twas in his mind, as he told ye, to ha' gone to Guadeloupe for a ship and men wi' which to join us. But things fell out so as he didn't need to. It don't follow that he welcomes it. If he'd ha' joined us wi' a ship o' his own arming, and men o' his own recruiting, he'ld not be as helpless as he is now, would he? And ye're not supposing that Mossoo de Bernis of all men alive isn't awake to that and to what may happen to him.'
'Suppose he is. What, then? How in hell can he mend it?'
Impatiently Wogan flung into the discussion, so as to shed more light on the Captain's dullness.
'Och, now, don't ye see that's just what he may be trying to do?'
Leach sat up as if he had been stung. Wogan elaborated.
'There he is aboard yon ship wi' a hundred stout lads, and us careened here, high and dry, and as helpless as if our hands was tied behind our backs. What for is he at such pains to be making friends with them? Putting a spell on them with tales of his brave doings as a rover, and howling Spanish ditties to them in the moonlight, like a love-sick tom-cat? Will ye trust him with them? Or them with him, if it comes to that? There's Ned and me might wake up to find we've had our throats cut in our sleep, and him sailing away with the ship and the lads to try their luck by theirselves against the Spaniards and keep the treasure to theirselves. And you, Tom, careened. Careened here, with devil a ship in which to follow him and devil a notion which way to follow if ye had a ship.'
'By God!' roared Leach, and came to his feet on the oath. It was as if a pit had suddenly yawned at his feet. What manner of trusting fool had he been not to have seen this danger for himself?
He was flinging out of the cabin in a passion of suddenly aroused suspicions when the corpse-like Bundry seemed to come to life.
'Whither away, Captain?'
The cold, harsh voice checked the other's haste. Bundry was probably the only man amongst them all with power to do that. There was something oddly compelling about this cold, emotionless, calculating shipmaster.
'I am going to put it beyond Charley's power to play any of his tricks on us.'
Bundry was on his feet now 'But ye'll remember that we depend upon him to bring us to the Spaniards?
'I's not like to forget aught that matters.'
Content, Bundry let him go, and almost at once they heard him bawling for hands to man one of the boats and take him out to the Centaur. Before stepping into her, however, he summoned Wogan from the hut, and gave him brisk orders, which made him suddenly busy ashore.
And so it fell out that, as dinner was coming to an end in the great cabin of the Centaur, the door opened and Captain Leach walked in upon them unannounced.
He appeared less formidable than on the only other occasion when Miss Priscilla had seen him. Then he had been bare-legged and bare-armed, his shirt had hung open and was splashed with blood, and his hawk-like face had looked inexpressibly evil in the bloodlust it reflected. Today, at least his dress was reasonably decent. He wore no doublet, but his shirt was clean, and he was neatly shod in grey leather, with stockings also of grey.
He stood a moment within the doorway of the cabin observing them. His dark glance lingered on the neat virginal figure of Priscilla, and passed on only to be constantly returning to her, until she grew conscious of it and uncomfortable under its bold scrutiny which held for her something which if indefinable was nevertheless horrible and chilling. This, however, did not happen all at once.
Monsieur de Bernis, with an inaudible intake of breath, rose from his chair. If he had the scent of danger breast-high, nevertheless--indeed, perhaps, because of it--his manner was of a perfect and urbane serenity.
'Ah, Captain! You honour us unexpectedly.' He drew out a vacant chair and proffered it, smiling.
Captain Leach came forward. 'No need to sit. What I's come to say's soon said.' He nodded to Major Sands, who accounting it prudent to copy de Bernis' example had also risen; and he bowed to Miss Priscilla. Repressing a shiver at the glance that accompanied the bow, she acknowledged it by a slight inclination of her head.
Monsieur de Bernis looked on with half-closed, languid eyes.
The Captain turned to him. 'I've given orders to have quarters got ready ashore for the crew o' th' Centaur. They're to stop ashore until the Black Swan is ready for sea.' His keen little eyes were intent for the slightest flicker on the face of de Bernis. 'Ye understand?' he snapped.
'The order, yes. But not the reason. The men were very comfortable here, and it was convenient.'
'Mebbe. But it's not as I wish it.' Slyly he added, 'I likes my own men under my own hand, Charley.'
'But of course,' said de Bernis.
This apparent indifference disappointed Leach. But it merely deepened his mistrust. He remembered having heard it said of Morgan's French lieutenant that he was never more alert than when he was looking languid, and he could swear there was a languor now in the Frenchman's air.
There was a pause. The buccaneer's eyes slid once more to Miss Priscilla. He bowed a little again, with affectations of gallantry as he addressed her.
'I trust, ma'am, my next order will not displease or inconvenience you. I've good reason for 't.' Slowly, as if reluctant to depart from the contemplation of her, his eyes returned to de Bernis. 'I've also ordered them to build a hut for you ashore.'
But now, at last, de Bernis really displayed a flash of vexation. 'Is so much necessary? We are very comfortable here.' Contemptuously, as if to show Leach that he perfectly read his motives, he added, 'We can hardly run away with the ship.'
Leach stroked his chin and smiled. 'There's three of ye aboard: you and him and your servant yonder. I've knowed three men to sail a boat as big as this afore now.'
De Bernis raised his brows. 'By God, Leach, you want to laugh, I think.'
'Mebbe,' said Leach. But I mind me as, after all, 'twas by chance I came on ye. And if thee was to take it into thee head to be off, I'm in no case to go after thee. So thee'll come ashore this evening, and ashore thee'll stay.' He turned again to Priscilla. 'Ye'll forgive me, ma'am, for this, I hope. I'll see ye're made comfortable. Ye may bring what furniture ye please so as to make sure o' that. Ashore I'll be seeing something of ye, I hope.'
When at last he had gone, the Major and Priscilla beheld for the first time a departure in de Bernis from an imperturbability which they had been supposing irrefragable.
He stood with his chin buried in the lace at his throat, his countenance pale and disordered by anger, his hands clenched so that the knuckles showed white. Thus in silence which they did not venture to break. Then with a softly rapped oath, he turned on his heel and strode the length of the cabin to the stern-ports. He stood there looking out over the water to the beach where all was now activity. Then again he turned and came slowly back. At last he threw up his head with a shrug and a laugh, like a man who has found what he was seeking.
'I don't understand at all,' said the Major at last. 'Stab my vitals, if I do.'
De Bernis flung him a glance like a blow in its undisguised contempt.
'What is there to puzzle you? The dog feared that I should corrupt the crew he had put aboard here. He perceived the possibility which you had not the wit to perceive, else you would have spared me your discourtesies awhile ago.'
For once in his profound amazement the Major forgot to be resentful of an offensive tone. 'As God's my life!' he ejaculated. 'D'ye mean it was in your mind?'
De Bernis answered him in a tone made hard by impatience.
'It's not my mind I am disclosing to you. But Tom Leach's. And it's not a nice mind. Not at all a nice mind.'