Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve

On the morning of February 25th the sky remained shrouded in fog; as is often the case after great storms.But the wind had died down when it returned, and by all accounts the weather had cleared. The Pirates had decided to sail that day, and Conga had made all preparations to weigh anchor in the afternoon.By then the sun had probably driven away the morning fog that had gathered as it rose.The tide was about to go out at six o'clock in the evening, just as it came out of Elgow Bay.The two-masted ship passed Cape Sanjoen about seven o'clock, and as the evening was long in that part of the country, it was long enough to go around before dark.

If it weren't for the fog, it would probably have left on the morning tide.As a matter of fact, the ship was cleared of all debris, fully loaded with provisions, brought in from the Century and from the lighthouse store.In the house below the lighthouse, only some furniture and utensils remained: as the cabin was already full, Kanga did not intend to take these things aboard.Although part of the weight had been taken out, the two-masted ship was still several inches deeper than usual at the waterline, so adding weight was inappropriate. Shortly after noon, Conga and Cargante were walking together in the yard, and Cargante said to Conga:

"The fog is about to disperse, and the sea will be clear soon. When encountering such fog, the wind will always die down, and the tide will recede faster." "I think we should really go this time." Conga replied, "And there were no obstacles along the way, all the way into the strait." "Not even across the Channel, I suppose," said Cargante, "but the night is dark, Conga. It's only a first quarter moon now, and almost as soon as the sun goes down the moon goes down." "It doesn't matter much, Cargante; I don't need the moon or the stars to guide me around this island. I know the whole north shore well, and I think I can always go around New Year's Island and Cape Cornette." Stay far away from the shore and avoid hitting those rocks."

"With such a north-easterly wind, and blowing from the back, we'll be far out tomorrow, Conga." "Tomorrow we won't even be able to see Cape San Basiloma, and I hope by evening there will be twenty miles between us and Staten Island." "And that's not fast, Conga, think we've been on the island for too long" "Are you unhappy, Cargante?" "Now that it's over, it doesn't matter, and besides, we've made a fortune here, and got a ship to take us and our fortune. But, damn it, that time the Moore— —No, I mean the Cargante—there's a crack coming into the bay, and I really thought everything was over. If we didn't have a way to fix the crack, it might end up on this island How long can we stay on board, who knows? When the letter ship comes back, we will have to go back to Cape San Basuloma; let me tell you, I have had enough of Cape San Basuloma! "

"Yes," said Conga, his ferocious face becoming bewildered, "and that would make the situation even more unfavorable. When the captain of the San Fe found that there was no keeper in the lighthouse, he He'll search seriously. He'll search the entire island, and maybe he'll find our lair, who knows? And, then, maybe he'll run into that escaped lighthouse man." "Don't worry about that, Conga. We've never seen a trace of this man, and he's had no food or clothing. How did he last nearly two months? Ever since the Cargante—ha, I remember this time Its new name—it's been nearly two months since the Cargante's anchorage in Elgo Bay, unless the escaped lighthouseman has been able to live on raw fish and roots..."

"Anyway, we will leave before the intelligence ship comes back," Conga said, "this is the safest way!" "If the lighthouse log is to be believed," said Cargant, "it won't be here for at least another week." "Within a week," continued Conga, "we were well out of Cape Horn and safely on our way to the Solomon Islands or the New Hebrides." "Yes, Conga. Well, I'm going to go up to the lighthouse and have a look at the sea one last time. If I see any boats..." "It's none of our business, if there's any ship," said Conga, shrugging his shoulders. "The Atlantic and the Pacific are free to come and go. The Cargante's papers are all ready. All necessary measures in this regard are in place." Done, you just need to rest assured. If the San Fe encounters it at the mouth of the Lamer Strait, it will return the gift, which is called reciprocity!"

Conga can be said to be very proud of his plans.And it looks like everything is going well. At this time, the weather had completely cleared up, and although the horizon was eleven or twelve nautical miles away, it could already be clearly seen.The sea was still rough, but the white flowers could no longer be seen. Although the waves were big, they definitely could not stop the two-masted ship.Also, as soon as the two-masted ship enters the strait, the wind and waves will calm down. At that time, it is covered by land on one side and has a favorable wind, just like sailing on a river. There was only one three-masted ship at sea, which appeared to the east at two o'clock, so far away that Cargante would not have been able to make out even her rigging without a glass.The boat is heading north.Its destination was never this side of the Pacific, and it was soon out of sight.

An hour later, however, Cargante saw something that disturbed him, and he wondered if he should ask Conga what to do. He could see a plume of black smoke to the northeast, but it was still far away.That is to say, a steamer was heading for Starn Island or Tierra del Fuego. The black smoke alone made Cargante very uneasy. "Could it be the letter ship?" He pondered. It's only February 25th, but the San Fe isn't coming until early March.Will it come sooner?If it was, it would pass Cape Sanjoen in two hours, and it would be the end of everything.When they are about to regain their freedom, are they forced to give up their freedom and return to Cape San Basuloma to live that miserable life?

The two-masted ship was just below the lighthouse, and Cargante seemed to be joking with him when he saw it rocking leisurely.The ship was cleared of everything, and there was nothing to be done but anchor and drive away.But being against the wind, she could not get out of the rising tide, and the tide never went down until half-past two. So there's no way of sailing out to sea until this steamer arrives: if it's a letter ship... Cargante cursed.But Kanga was busy making final preparations before sailing; he didn't want to disturb him until the matter was clarified, so he still stayed alone on the lighthouse and watched.

The boat approached quickly, for there was both a favorable wind and a favorable current.The captain must have been a heavy smoker, and smoke was belching from his chimneys, which Cargante could not at once see behind the full sails.The ship was also listing heavily to starboard.At this rate it would pass Cape Sanjouan in no time. Cargante, keeping his eyes on the telescope, grew more anxious as the steamer approached.Soon it would be only a few nautical miles away, and part of the hull already visible. When Cargante's fear was about to reach its peak, it suddenly disappeared completely.

The steamer had moved a little to show that it was going into the La Mer Channel.At the same time all the masts of the ship appeared before Cargante's eyes. It was a steamer of twelve to fifteen hundred tons, so it could not have been the San Fe. Like Conga and the rest, Cargante was familiar with the message ship, having seen it often during the period when it was anchored in Elgow Bay.Cargante knew that the message ship had a two-masted schooner, but the approaching steamer had three masts. This made Cargante greatly relieved, and he was glad that he did not cause any disturbance from his friends.He remained on the platform for another hour, watching the ship go north past Starn Island, but three or four nautical miles from the island, that is to say, too far for her to fire her guns— Anyway, even if this signal is sent out, no one will heed it. Three quarters of an hour later the steamer disappeared off Cape Cornette, showing that her speed was always above twelve knots. Cargante went down from the lighthouse, seeing that there were no other ships in the sea. By this time the tide was about to ebb.That's when they decided the two-masted ship would sail.Everything is ready and ready to sail.The wind direction has now turned to a steady east-southeast.The wind blows from the side; just put the sails up on the ship, you can get the wind, and the Cargante can sail into the sea with full sail. At six o'clock Conga and most of the bandits were on board.The rest of the people waited under the courtyard wall, and they were also loaded into the boat by small boats, which were then hoisted up on the davits and hung up. The tide began to recede slowly.The spot where the two-masted ship landed during repairs has surfaced.On the other side of the river, the top of the reef has been exposed.The wind blows out from the gap in the cliff, causing a wave along the coast, which gradually disappears. When it was time to start, Conga gave the order to prepare anchor.The anchor chain was gradually tightened, rustling through the chain hole, and when the anchor chain was pulled vertically, the iron anchor was hooked up and ready to go. Then there is the trimming of the sails. With the help of the foresail, mastsail, gaffsail, topsail and jibsail, the two-masted ship gradually moves towards the sea. The wind was blowing east-southeast at this time, so the Cargante would easily round Cape Sanjouan.Moreover, since this part of the cliff is very steep, there is no danger in going around. Conga knows this well.The bay was familiar to him here: so he stood by the rudder and boldly turned the two-masted ship one more bearing point in order to maximize the speed of the hull. The Cargante's ride was not steady at all; she slowed down when the wind was weak, and went forward when the wind was strong.She crossed the tide, leaving a trail of calm water astern; which spoke of her good fortune, and foretells good luck all the way. At half past six, Conga was less than a mile from the end of the corner.In front of him spread out the sea of ​​Yuanbian.The red sun is setting, and soon the stars overhead will shine. At this time Cargante walked up to Conga. "Look, we're finally out of the bay!" he said triumphantly. "In twenty minutes more I'll let the rigging go," replied Conga, "and turn the rudder to port to round Cape Sanchouan." "Should I turn the tent after entering the strait?" "I don't think so," Conga replied. "As soon as Cape Sanchouan is rounded, we'll turn the canopy. I hope we'll keep the wind on the port side until we get to Cape Horn. The weather has turned better, I think. The east wind will continue for some time, so don’t worry. Anyway, when we are in the strait, we will turn the awning when we need to turn it. It seems that the wind will never be weak enough to force us to drive against the wind.” At this moment, a crew member on duty in front of the ship called out: "Watch out ahead!" "What is it?" Conga asked. Cargante ran up to the man and stooped to look down through the net. "Get out of the way! Get out of the way slowly!" The two-masted ship was passing the cave that had been occupied by pirates for a long time. Here, part of the Century's keel is being swept out to sea by the ebb tide.If the two-masted ship collided, there might be serious consequences. Time was running out, and there was only time to avoid the floating thing. Conga turned the rudder slightly to the left.The two-masted ship shifted a bearing point, and sailed in the direction of the broken keel, which only scraped against the bottom of the ship. This brought the two-masted ship a little closer to the north shore, and then straightened the ship again.Fifty yards further on he was past the corner of the cliff and Conga was to let down the rigging and head north. At this moment, a whine broke through the air, and the two-masted ship shook violently.Then there was an explosion, very loud. At the same time, a puff of white smoke rose from the shore and was blown into the bay with the wind. "What is it?" Conga called. "We're being fired at!" Cargante replied. "You take the helm!" Kanga snapped. He went to port and looked down the net and saw a hole punched in the hull, about six inches out of the water. The whole crew is here. Attack from shore!The Cargante was punctured by a shell as it sailed out.Had it been hit lower, it would have sunk it!It was such a sudden disaster, and it is shocking to think about it. What about Conga and his bandits?Put the boat down, everyone jump on the boat, rush to the place where the white smoke rises, catch those who fired the cannons and kill them, or at least drive them away; is this good?But what if there are more attackers than yourself?Who else is right?Therefore, the best way is to drive the ship out so that the shells cannot be fired, and first find out how damaged the ship is. At this moment the cannon was fired again, and the urgency to get the boat out seemed even greater.White smoke rose from the same spot; the ship shook again, and was struck in the center by the second shell, only a few feet away from where the first had struck. "Turn to leeward! Steer to starboard!" roared Conga, hurrying aft to Cargante; Cargante hastened to carry out the order. As soon as the two-masted ship turned the rudder, it immediately sailed to starboard facing the direction of the wind.In less than five minutes, the hull had already started to leave the coast, and within a short while it was out of the pre-calculated range of the gun, and could no longer hit it. After that, no shells came.It was deserted all along the beach to the end of the corner.Probably there will be no more attacks. The most urgent thing at present is to check the damage of the hull.Inspection from the inside was impossible, because then the goods would have to be removed first.But there was no doubt that both shells had pierced the hull plating and entered the hold. They lowered the canoe, while the Cargante shed her sails and floated only with the tide. Conga and the carpenter got into the row and inspected the hull to see if the damage could be repaired in its place. They found that two shells had hit the two-masted ship and had penetrated the planks of the hull.But nothing has been hit yet.The two holes are just above the copper sheath, neither high nor low, just at the waterline.Just half an inch lower and water would leak in before the people in the boat had time to block it.In that case the bilge would fill with water and the Cargante would sink at the mouth of the bay. Of course, Conga and the rest could climb into the boat and escape ashore, but the boat would be a complete wreck. In short, the present damage may not matter much, but it can be said with certainty that the Cargante will not be able to sail further into the sea.As long as the hull is slightly tilted to the left, the sea water will pour in.Therefore, if we want to sail the ship out, we must quickly block the holes pierced by these two shells. "But who is that villain who is against us?" Cargante repeated. "Maybe it was the lighthouse man who escaped," Fargas replied, "or it could be the escaped crew of the Century, who was rescued by the lighthouse man. How can a man fire a cannonball without a gun? Cannons are not in the sky." It fell." "Of course," Cargante agreed with him, "the gun obviously belonged to that three-masted ship. It's a shame we didn't find it among the junk?" "What's the use of being angry about these things now?" Conga interrupted them curtly. "We've got to fix the boat fast." Indeed, the most urgent thing before them was to make the necessary repairs.If absolutely necessary, you can also drive to Cape Dieguo on the right side of the channel.That one hour is enough.But at Cape Ego, the two-masted ship would be entirely under the attack of the sea-wind, and there would be no shelter from the wind all the way to Cape Several.As long as the weather changes, the ship will be smashed to pieces on the rocks.Conga therefore resolved to go back to Elgow Bay in the evening, where repairs could be done with confidence and as quickly as possible. But at this time the tide had receded, and the two-masted ship could not sail against the tide.Now we have to wait for the tide to come back, so we have to wait until three o'clock at night before we can open. But the Cargante was tossing violently in the waves at this moment, and following the waves, it was likely to wash her all the way to Cape Several, and there was a great danger of her hull being flooded.Just at this moment, the hull shakes once, and the sound of sea water pouring into the cabin from the two holes can be heard.Conga had no choice but to drop anchor several hundred yards from Cape Ego. This situation is very worrying.Night has come, and soon it will be dark.Fortunately, Kanga was very familiar with the water in this area, so that the two-masted ship did not crash into the reefs blocking the coast. At last, about ten o'clock, the tide came in.They got anchor on board, and before midnight the Cargante, after many serious perils, was at her former mooring in the creek of Elgow Bay.