Adventure stories; Spain -- History -- Ferdinand and Isabella, 1479-1516 -- Fiction
About ten o’clock they rounded the Nore bank safely, and here spoke a
fishing-boat, who told them that more than six hours before they had
seen the San Antonio sail past them down Channel, and noted two women
standing on her deck, holding each other’s hands and gazing shorewards.
Then, knowing that there was no mistake, there being nothing more that
they could do, worn out with grief and journeying, they ate some food
and went to their cabin to sleep.
As he laid him down Peter remembered that at this very hour he should
have been in church taking Margaret as his bride—Margaret, who was now
in the power of the Spaniard—and swore a great and bitter oath that
d’Aguilar should pay him back for all this shame and agony. Indeed,
could his enemy have seen the look on Peter’s face he might well have
been afraid, for this Peter was an ill man to cross, and had no
forgiving heart; also, his wrong was deep.
For four days the wind held, and they ran down Channel before it,
hoping to catch sight of the Spaniard; but the San Antonio was a swift
caravel of 250 tons with much canvas, for she carried four masts, and
although the Margaret was also a good sailer, she had but two masts,
and could not come up with her. Or, for anything they knew, they might
have missed her on the seas. On the afternoon of the fourth day, when
they were off the Lizard, and creeping along very slowly under a light
breeze, the look-out man reported a ship lying becalmed ahead. Peter,
who had the eyes of a hawk, climbed up the mast to look at her, and
presently called down that he believed from her shape and rig she must
be the caravel, though of this he could not be sure as he had never
seen her. Then the captain, Smith, went up also, and a few minutes
later returned saying that without doubt it was the San Antonio.
Now there was a great and joyful stir on board the Margaret, every man
seeing to his sword and their long or cross bows, of which there were
plenty, although they had no bombards or cannon, that as yet were rare
on merchant ships. Their plan was to run alongside the San Antonio and
board her, for thus they hoped to recover Margaret. As for the anger of
the king, which might well fall on them for this deed, since he would
think little of the stealing of a pair of Englishwomen, of that they
must take their chance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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