Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen Three Days

It is quite conceivable that Conga, Cargante, and the rest of the pirates were terribly annoyed. When they were about to really leave the island, a difficulty suddenly came at last.Put them down!In another four or five days, maybe even less, the letter ship may appear just outside the mouth of Elgow Bay! If the hull damage was not so serious, Kanga would definitely find another place to berth without hesitation.For example, he may take refuge in the port at the Cape of the Holy Sword, which is located on the north shore of the island, deep into the land, just outside the Cape of the Holy Sword.But according to the current degree of damage to the hull, it would be crazy to drive the ship to the Holy Sword En Cape.The ship will sink to the bottom of the sea before it reaches the outside of the corner.Because of the distance, it had to run against the wind, so pitching from side to side, the cabin would soon be filled with water.At least, those goods will be destroyed and get out of hand.

Indeed, there was no other way but to return to the creek, and Kang Jia was forced by the situation, so he had no choice but to do so. That night, the people on board hardly slept much.Those people are all guarding the boat, paying attention all the time.Who can tell that there will be no new attacks?Who dares to say that no armed forces have landed anywhere on the island recently, and the number of them is much stronger than Kanga's gangsters?Moreover, the news that there were traces of pirates on Starn Island may finally reach Buenos Aires, and Argentina is planning to send people to wipe them out; who can say for sure?

Conga and Cargante sat in the stern, discussing these matters; or rather, it was Cargante who, because Conga was lost in thought, could at most answer briefly. Cargante first thought that a group of soldiers might have come to the island to hunt down Conga and his followers.But the way of this attack is not like the behavior of a regular army.They would attack openly, and if it was too late, they would send several ships to intercept the two-masted ship at the mouth of the bay, or force her on board, or prevent her from sailing on, and thus capture her.In short, they don't need to hide after a confrontation, like these unknown attackers did, which shows that their number is not large, so they are very cautious.

Thinking of this, Cargante gave up this assumption and returned to Fargas' original conjecture. "By the way; the sole purpose of those men firing the cannon was to prevent the two-masted ship from leaving the island; if they were more than one, it meant that some of the Century's crew were still alive; they must have met the lightkeeper, the lightkeeper The crew must have told them that the letter ship would be here shortly. They must have picked up the gun from the drift." "The Herald hasn't arrived yet!" said Conga, with anger in his voice. "Our two-masted ship will be gone long before it comes back."

Now it's just a matter of time, how many days will it take for the newly damaged part to be repaired? The night was uneventful; the next day the crew set to work on repairs. The first thing to do is to move the cargo away from the left side of the bilge.It took them half a day to move these goods to the deck.However, it is not necessary to bring the goods ashore.There was no need to drag the two-masted barge to the beach.Those bullet holes happened to be just above the waterline.Therefore, it can be blocked by hand by leaning the canoe against the side of the boat without much difficulty.The main question is whether the rib frame was broken by the shell.

Conga and the carpenter went down to examine it; and found that both shells had hit only the planks, and both had penetrated at the same height: they had found them as soon as the cargo had been removed.The keel was only grazed by the shell, but was not injured.The two bullet holes were three feet apart, and the openings were as smooth as if they had been sawed with a saw.The two holes can be firmly sealed with bolts, and then a few pieces of wood are plugged between the bones to support them, and a layer of copper skin is added on top. In a word, the damage is not serious.The hull is still intact and can be repaired soon.

"When is it?" Conga asked. "I am going to have the inner cross-bars ready now, and put them up this evening," replied Fargas. "What about tethering?" "Do it tomorrow morning and put it on in the evening." "Then we can get the cargo back next night and weigh anchor next morning, can't we?" "Exactly," said the carpenter confidently. That is to say, all the repairs should be done in sixty hours, so that the Cargante's delay would not be more than three days. Cargante then asked Conga if he would go up to Cape Sanjoen, morning or afternoon.

"See what's going on over there," he said. "What's the use?" Conga replied, "and we don't know what kind of people we're dealing with. We need a group of people, ten or twelve, and then only two or three are left to watch the ship. What if something happens while we're away, who knows?" "Indeed," Cargante agreed, "and what's the good of going? Let those who fired at us die! The only thing is to get off the island, and as soon as possible." "It's not until noon the day after tomorrow, and we'll be driving into the sea." Kanga said confidently.

If Conga and Cargante had gone up to Cape Sanjouan, they would never have found Fasquez and John Davies. The John Davies ruse had kept the two busy until evening the previous afternoon.They chose the corner of the cliff as the place to put the iron cannon.On this corner, the ground is covered with rocks, and it is very convenient to place the artillery cart.But it was very difficult to lift the cannon there.The two had to drag the cannon along the beach first, and then dragged it across a rough ground. It can be said that they couldn't drag it.They had to carry the cannon with iron rods, which took a lot of time and effort.

It was almost six o'clock before they loaded the iron cannon onto the carriage, adjusted the position, and faced the mouth of the bay. John Davies went on to load the shells, took a good handful of gunpowder, and stuffed them in with a piece of seaweed; then he put on the wire, and then only a match was needed. John Davies said to Fasquez: "I've thought about how we should fight. We don't want to sink the two-masted ship. Then the bastards will all run ashore, and we may be killed by them. Our main purpose is to drive the two-masted ship down. The ship returned to its original mooring; stayed there for a period of time for repairs."

"Of course," said Fasquez, "but the shell made a hole, which was repaired in one morning." "Not really," said John Davies, "because they'll have to move the goods. I reckon it'll take at least two days, and it's February 28th." "What if the letter ship has to wait another week?" Fasquez asked him. "So instead of aiming at the hull, it's better to aim at the mast, don't you think?" "Well, of course, Fasquez, if the fore-mast or the main-mast of the two-masted ship is broken--I see what they can do to fix it--it'll take a long time. But the topmast Much harder than hitting the hull, which our guns must." "Yes," replied Fasquez, "and if the demons don't leave until evening—which is likely—it's hard to see. Do what you think, Davy." S." Everything was ready, Fasquez and Davis had nothing else to do but wait, they stood by the cannon, and fired at the two-masted ship when it passed in front of them. The results of the bombardment, and the return of the Cargante to her original mooring, were given above.John Davies and Fasquez waited until they saw the two-masted ship coming back into the bay before leaving their original spot. Now, just to be prudent, they must find a place of shelter elsewhere on the island. Fasquez pointed out that Kanga and his bandits might come up to Cape Sanchouan the next day in an attempt to capture them. They immediately decided on a way to deal with it: that is, to leave the small cave where they lived, and find another hiding place a mile or two away, from which they could see the ships coming from the north.Captain Lafaya will send a small boat to pick them up at that time, and he will know what the situation on the island was at that time; as for what the situation was at that time.That would depend on whether the two-masted boat remained in the creek or sailed out. "If only it could be so!" John Davies and Fasquez repeated the words. The two set off in the middle of the night, carrying food, weapons and bullets with them.They walked about six miles along the coast, round the bay of Cape Excalibur.After some searching, they found a cave opposite the little harbour; and it was always possible to shelter until the letter-ship arrived or the two-masted ship departed. All that day Fasquez and John Davies were on the alert.As long as the tide kept rising they knew the two-masted ship couldn't go, and it didn't bother them much.But as soon as the low tide began, they were afraid that after the night the ship would be repaired.Conga would never delay an hour longer, as long as the boat was able to sail.John Davies and Fasquez were anxious for the San Fe to arrive; Conga, no doubt, feared her arrival. While anxious, the two men kept an eye on the coast, but neither Conga nor his gangsters appeared. As has been said above, Conga decided not to search; such a search would be fruitless and a waste of time.To have the ship repaired quickly without delay--that was the best policy, so he did it.As Fargas, the carpenter, had promised, the crossbars would be set in the keel in the afternoon; the bolts would be ready the next day. For this reason, Fasquez and John Davies were not disturbed at all on March 1st.But the day seemed endless to them. In the evening the two waited patiently for the two-masted ship to come out; concluding that she was still at her anchorage, they lay down in their hole to sleep; this was a real rest, for they were tired enough. The next day, the two got up at dawn. The first thing they do is look at the sea. There was no boat in sight.There was no sign of the San Fe, and not even a speck of white smoke could be seen in the sky. Will the two-masted ship go out in the early tide?By this time the tide was beginning to recede.If he left at the early tide, he would be round Cape Sanchouan in an hour. Do you want to make it the same way as the day before yesterday?John Davies thought it unnecessary.Conga was prepared this time.He'll steer the boat so far away that the guns won't hit. John Davies and Fasquez waited until the tide was out; during this time, the anxiety and uneasiness of the two can be imagined.Finally, at about seven o'clock, the tide began to rise again.As a result, Kanga will not be able to leave until the next night when the tide ebbs. The weather was fine, with a steady northeasterly wind.There was no sign of an imminent storm at sea.Pieces of white clouds float high in the sky, and the sun shines from among the clouds from time to time. It looked like another long day to Fasquez and John Davies!Like yesterday, they were not worried about anything.The pirates haven't driven out of the creek yet.It seemed that none of them would go very far, either in the morning or in the afternoon. "That means those bastards are working on repairing the ship," Fasquez said. "Well, they're rushing to fix it," replied John Davies, "and those holes will be plugged up soon. There's nothing to hold them back after that." "Maybe we'll be leaving this evening, although the tide may be very late today," Fasquez went on, "they are really familiar with the harbor and don't need lights to guide their way. That's how they came in last night. If they Going out tonight, the two-masted ship will take them away. Alas!" he added in disappointment, "It's a pity you didn't blow the mast off the ship!" "Come on, Fasquez," replied Davies, "we've done what we can. The rest will be left to fate!" "God will help us!" Fasquez muttered, suddenly seemed to have made a great decision. Still absorbed in his thoughts, John Davies walked up and down the sand, keeping his eyes on the north.Nothing could be seen on the horizon—nothing. Suddenly he stopped.He returned to Fasquez and said: "Fasquiz, let's go see what they're doing over there, what do you think?" "Are you pointing to the harbor?" "That's right; then we'll know if the two-masted is in repair, and if she's ready to go." "What use is it to us?" "It's always good to know, Fasquez," said John Davies angrily. "I'm so mad with anxiety, I can't take it any longer. It's too much!" To be honest, the first mate of the Century really couldn't hold back. "Fasquiz," he went on, "how far is it from here to the lighthouse?" "If you climbed over the hill and walked straight to the middle of the bay, it would be three miles at most." "Okay, I'll go, Fasquez. I'll start around four o'clock—get there before six, and get as close as I can. It's still early in the day, but no one will see me, as for myself —I'll be careful!" It would be useless to persuade John Davies not to go, so Fasquez did not stop him. "Stay here and keep an eye on the sea. I'll go alone and be back in the evening..." "I'll go with you, Davis. A walk over to the lighthouse is all right with me." The two agreed to go together. There were still a few hours before departure; during this time, Fasquito left his companion alone on the seashore, went back to the cave where he had been hiding, and did some sneaky things.Once Davis found him carefully sharpening a pocketknife on a rock wall, and another time he tore his shirt into strips to weave into a loose rope. When Davis asked any questions, Fasquez's answers were all evasive, and he promised to tell him in detail in the evening.John Davies stopped pushing him, too. At four o'clock, after some biscuits and a little corned beef, they set off with their pistols. The two came across a narrow headland, so they walked up the mountain easily, and reached the top of the mountain without much effort. Before them spread out a vast and barren plain, nothing growing but a few clumps of barberry.At a glance, there is not even a tree.Scattered seabirds formed small flocks and flew southward, whistling harshly as they flew. From here you can see how to get to the Elgow Bay. "There," Fasquez said, pointing his hand, following the direction of his finger, he saw the lighthouse rising two miles away. "Let's go!" John Davies replied. Both were walking fast.They only need to be careful when they are near the creek, so they can rest assured now. After walking for more than half an hour, the two stopped for a while, both out of breath, but they didn't feel tired. There is still half a mile left.You have to be careful in front of you, lest Kang Jia or one of the bandits will look out from the lamp; at such a distance, they can be seen from the lighthouse. The air was so clear that even the platform on the lighthouse could be seen.There was no one on the lighthouse at this time, but Cargante or someone else might be in the lookout room: there are four small windows on four sides according to the compass point, and from the windows you can see the vast island. There were boulders everywhere, and John Davies and Fasquez were crawling among the boulders.They scrambled along the rocks, and sometimes over a stretch of unprotected ground. It was already six o'clock when the two reached the last row of mountains surrounding the creek.From here, they looked down with anxious eyes. Unless a pirate happened to run up the hill, no one would ever see them.Even from the top of the lighthouse, it would not be visible because it was covered by stones. The two-masted ship was still there, swinging in the river, spars and yards all visible, and rigging all in order.The crew is busy moving cargo that has been brought ashore during repairs back into the hold.The canoe was dragged astern and not tied to the port, which meant that the repairs had been completed and the two holes pierced by the shells had been plugged. "They're going!" blurted John Davies, on the point of swearing as he intended, but suppressing his anger. "Perhaps they intend to sail before high tide, which is two or three hours away." "And there's nothing we can do—nothing!" John Davies went on. Fargas, the carpenter, did mean what he said.Things are done quickly and well.Now there is no trace of any damage to be seen.Two days is enough.Just move the cargo back to the bilge, close the hatch, and the Cargante is pretty much ready to go again. But the time passed quickly; the sun went down, disappeared, and night came, and there was still no movement on the two-masted ship, and it was impossible to see that it was going to sea.From their hiding place, Fasquez and John Davies listened to the sounds of the bay below: laughter, shouts, curses, and the scrape of heavy cargo being dragged across the deck.At ten o'clock they distinctly heard a hatch slam shut.Then all is still. John Davies and Fasquez waited in horror.There is no doubt that everything on board has been packed and is about to sail.But otherwise, the two-masted ship was still swinging gently in the creek, the anchor was still in the water, and the sail was still furled but not opened. Another hour passed.The first officer on the Century held Fasquez's hand tightly. "It's high tide," he said. "Look at the tide." "They can't go!" "I can't go today. But tomorrow?" "I can't leave tomorrow, and I can never leave!" Fasquez said firmly. "Come!" he added, and he came out of his hiding place. Davies was bewildered, and followed Fasquez out, and saw him walking cautiously towards the lighthouse.After a while, they had come to the bottom of the hill that was the base of the lighthouse.Fasquez searched here, then removed a stone, and turned it around without much effort. "Climb in," he said to Davis, pointing under the rocks, "here's a hiding place I stumbled upon while guarding the lighthouse. I was sure I'd need it someday. What a cave, it's just a cave, and neither of us can hold it. But even though someone has walked in front of us a thousand times, we would never think that there are people in it." Davis immediately followed his instructions and climbed into the small hole, followed by Fasquez.The two of them were so tightly squeezed together that they couldn't move; they just talked face to face in a low voice. "That's my plan," said Fasquez, "you'll have to wait for me here." "Waiting for you?" Davis followed up. "Yes; I'm going to the boat." "To the boat?" Davis added in surprise. "I've made up my mind, I'm determined not to let these bastards drive away!" Fasquez said resolutely. He took out two cloth bags and a knife from his pilot shirt. "I made this ammo-pouch out of our gunpowder and a piece of shirtcloth. And another slow-burning line out of a shirtcloth and the rest of the gunpowder, and that's it. I'm going to wrap these around my head and swim to the boat go; climb aboard by the after rudder, and cut a hole between the after rudder and the stern post with a penknife, stuff the ammunition pack in, light the line, and come back by yourself. That's my plan, I've been down If you make up your mind, you must do it, and you are not afraid of any danger!" "Amazing!" exclaimed John Davies joyfully, "but I will not allow you to take such great risks alone. I will go with you." "What's the use of you going?" Fasquez replied, "It's easier to do it alone, and it's enough to do it alone." Davis kept saying it again and again, but Fasquez still didn't listen, he had already made up his mind, so don't expect him to change the slightest bit.It was he who came up with this plan, so he resolved to carry it out alone.Davis had no choice but to give in. When it was completely dark, Fasquez took off all his clothes, climbed out of the cave, and walked down the hillside.When he reached the water's edge he threw himself into the water and swam vigorously towards the two-masted ship, which was about six hundred feet from the shore, rocking gently in the water. The nearer he swam, the darker and more terrifying the hull became.Generally speaking, there was no movement at all.But there is a man patrolling there.Soon, Fasquez clearly saw the figure of the man in the water.The man was sitting on the upper deck at the prow, with his legs dangling in the water, and was blowing a nautical song; the song was very clear on the still night water. Fasquez made a sharp turn and swam closer to the stern, disappearing as he swam into the dark shadow of the boat.The rudder bowed over his head.He grabbed the sticky tiller with both hands, exerted all his strength and finally climbed up, leaning his body on the iron edge of the rudder. He managed to straddle the rudder with his legs, holding it between his knees like a knight between his mounts.His two hands were now free, and he opened the bag wrapped around his head, biting his teeth, and took out the contents. The knife began to dig.The hole between the rudder cross and the sternpost gradually widened and deepened.An hour passed, and the blade pierced the hole.At this time, the hole was quite big, and Fasquez stuffed the prepared ammunition pack into it, installed the slow-burning medicine thread, and then touched the tinder box under the pocket. At this moment, his tired legs loosened, and he felt his body slipping down. This slipping meant that all efforts were lost.If the tinderbox gets wet, it won't be able to light a fire.He unconsciously moved a bit to maintain his body's balance, and the pocket shook. At this moment, the knife he had put back in the pocket slipped out and fell into the water with a bang. The man on patrol suddenly stopped singing.Fasquez heard him come down from the upper deck, walk along the deck, and enter the aft cabin.Fasquez saw the man's shadow reflected in the water. The man bent over the taffrail and looked down, evidently trying to understand where the sound that had caught his attention was coming from.He stood there for a long time. During this time, Fasquez's legs were stiff, and his fingers clasped tightly on the sticky tiller, feeling that his strength was getting weaker. Finally, seeing that there was no movement, the bandit was relieved, and went back to the bow again, whistling. Fasquez took out the tinder box from his pocket, and struck the flint carefully.At what time sparks flickered.The gunpowder cord caught fire and began to burn slowly. Fasquez slid quickly from the tiller, was back in the water, and swam with all his might to the shore with his arms outstretched, but made no sound. John Davies hid in the hole, and it seemed as if time was endless.Half an hour passed, three quarters of an hour passed, an hour passed.Davis couldn't bear it any longer, crawled out of the hole, and looked anxiously across the harbor. What happened to Fasquez?Did he fail? Suddenly the sound of mountains and valleys echoed, and a deep explosion broke the silence of the night.Immediately there was a cacophony of footsteps and shouts, deafening.A few minutes later, a man covered in mud ran up and pushed Davis back into the cave with him, then pulled the stone back up. Immediately after, a group of people chased after them, shouting.The sound of heavy shoes on the stones was very loud, but they still couldn't cover up their shouts. "Come up!" cried one, "we've found him!" "I saw him clearly," said the other, "and it was he." "He's only a hundred yards ahead." "This beast! We must catch him!" The voice became quieter and gradually disappeared. "Did you get it?" Davis asked quietly. "It worked," Fasquez said. "Do you think it will be accomplished?" "I hope so," Fasquez replied. At dawn, the tinkling of hammers dispelled all doubts.Since the people on board were so busy, it meant that the two-masted ship must have suffered serious damage, which proved that Fasquez's plan had succeeded.But to what extent the damage was, neither of the two could know. "I hope the damage is so bad that it keeps them in the bay for another month!" Davis said.He completely forgot that, in that case, he and his companions would starve to death in this little hole of hiding. "Hush!" whispered Fasquez, grabbing his hand. Someone approached, this time without speaking. The two could only hear the sound of footsteps on the ground. All that morning Fasquez and Davis heard such footsteps going back and forth and left and right.A small group of people walked over, all eager to catch the elusive assailant.But after a long time, the pursuit seems to have relaxed.By this time there had been no sound of footsteps breaking the silence for the better part of the day; about noon, three or four people stopped two or three paces from the little hole where Fasquez and Davis crawled. "It's true that he can't be found!" Quite a person inside said, and sat down on the stone that covered the entrance of the cave. "Let's not look any further," said the other, "the others are already on board." "Let's get in the boat too. Anyway, the villain didn't hit home, so let's get in the boat." Both Fasquez and Davis were surprised at the same time secretly, and listened more intently. "Yeah," said the fourth voice, "you know, he's trying to blow the helm off." "It's the lifeblood of the ship, what's the matter?" "That will make us look good!" "Fortunately his ammunition pack was blown out on the sides of the ship. The only damage was a hole in the hull and a nail knocked off. As for the rudder, it wasn't even charred." "Everything can be fixed to-day," said the first speaker, "before high tide this evening, boys, and we'll weigh anchor! From now on, let the poor man live and die, and starve to death, I reckon." !" "I say, Robbies, have you had enough rest?" a gruff voice cut in menacingly. "What nonsense? Let's go back!" "Go back!" The other three said together, got up and left. Fasquez and Davis looked at each other in the cave where they were lurking, unable to speak a word, completely stunned by what they had just heard.Fasquez had two tears in his eyes, rolling down from his eyelashes.The reckless sailor was extremely disappointed, and he didn't want to hide it anymore. Such was the result of his heroic attack.Twelve hours' delay of the two-masted ship--such was the blow to the pirates.This evening, when all damage is repaired, the two-masted ship will sail out to sea and disappear forever on the horizon. The sound of hammers from the sea proved that Conga was frantically restoring the Cargante to its original state.Most disappointing to Fasquez and Davis, shortly after five o'clock, the hammering stopped suddenly.They knew that final hammering signaled that repairs were complete. A few minutes later, the rattle of the anchor chain through the chain hole proved them right.Conga is weighing anchor.It's time to sail. The setting sun was meeting the mountains blocking the west.At this time of year, when the autumnal equinox is approaching, the sun has to wait an hour before it sets. To the east, the two-masted ship was still moored in the creek.The surface shows little of its recent damage.Everything is in order on board.The anchor chain, as Fasquez had imagined it, was still hanging straight, which meant that a final tug on the chain would allow the anchor to be hooked. Fasquez, forgetting all precautions, was already halfway out of the hole.Davis behind him also looks over his shoulder.Both of them were extremely excited, and they both held their breath and watched. Most of the pirates are already on board.But a few remained on shore.Inside, Fasquez clearly recognized that one was Conga, and Cargante was walking back and forth in the lighthouse yard. Five minutes later, the two parted, and Cargante made his way to the door of the lighthouse outbuilding. "Be careful," whispered Fasquez, "he's probably going up to the lighthouse." The two of them crawled into the cave again. Cargante was preparing to go up to the lighthouse one last time.The two-masted ship was about to leave.He wanted to take another look at the sea to see if there were any ships outside the island. The sea must be calm tonight, the wind has died down in the evening, and the weather is expected to clear up by daybreak. John Davies and Fasquez could see Cargante clearly as he stepped onto the platform.He walked around the platform and looked around with his binoculars in all directions. Suddenly, an exclamation came from his mouth.Conga and the rest looked up at him.Cargante's voice could be heard: "Messenger Ship! Messenger Ship!"