Part 7 (1/2)
”Now, senors, every precaution that we could think of has been taken to insure the undisturbed discussion of the business which has brought me and my compatriots to San Juan de Ulua; with your permission, therefore, we will proceed.”
CHAPTER EIGHT.
HOW GEORGE PROCEEDED TO DEAL WITH THE AUTHORITIES OF SAN JUAN.
An uneasy stir among his audience followed this brief introduction, showing clearly the highly-wrought condition of the Spaniards' nerves as they leaned forward in their seats and fixed their eyes intently upon the speaker's face. To still further increase the tension betrayed in the faces and att.i.tudes of his audience, George paused impressively for a few seconds, and then resumed:
”A year ago,” said he, ”seven s.h.i.+ps, storm torn and shattered, put into this harbour in order to refit. They were manned by Englishmen, fellow- countrymen of my own and those with me. They had been engaged in lawful and peaceful trade with various ports along the Main, and entered this harbour with the utmost confidence, secure in the conviction that, having committed no offence, they might implicitly rely upon Spanish honour. When they arrived, they found twelve defenceless plate s.h.i.+ps, laden with gold and silver, in the harbour; and had they been so disposed my countrymen could have seized those s.h.i.+ps, or as many of them as they chose to take, and sailed away in them, leaving their own damaged craft behind them; and n.o.body could have said them nay. But my countrymen were traders, not pirates; and great though the temptation must have been, they left those galleons alone, asking only the hospitality of your harbour and permission to refit their s.h.i.+ps without molestation. Also when, upon the day after the arrival of the English s.h.i.+ps, the remainder of your plate fleet and its convoy appeared off this port, my countrymen could have kept them outside, had they so chosen, with the result that every s.h.i.+p would have been lost in the next gale that might arise. _You_ knew, as well as did my own countrymen, the tremendous risk and peril to which those enormously rich s.h.i.+ps would have been exposed, had they been prevented from entering the harbour; and you hastened to arrange a convention with the English whereby your own s.h.i.+ps were to be permitted to enter the port, while the English were to be allowed to refit their vessels without hindrance or molestation.
Is all this true, senors, or have I misstated any part of the story, so far?”
George paused for a reply; but for a full minute or more there was no response. Then at last the alcalde slowly rose to his feet and stretching forth his right hand deprecatingly toward the young captain, said:
”Most ill.u.s.trious senor, all that you have said is absolutely true. But before--”
”Pardon, senor,” interrupted George. ”I have not yet finished. When I have done so I shall be quite prepared to listen courteously and with patience to whatever you may be pleased to say.
”In accordance with the terms of that convention the English were permitted to work for three days at the dismantling of their s.h.i.+ps in preparation for the work of refitting--and then, senors, without a word or hint of warning, at the very instant when they were least able to defend themselves, you treacherously fell upon them; with the result that more than three hundred Englishmen were slain, four of their s.h.i.+ps were either captured or destroyed, many Englishmen were taken prisoners, and the residue were driven to sea in their least dismantled s.h.i.+ps, short of food and water, to sink or swim as the fates might decide. One of the s.h.i.+ps which effected her escape afterward sank, and with her went the entire proceeds of the voyage, while the other two, riddled and torn by Spanish shot, treacherously fired, only reached England after a voyage of incredible difficulty, toil, and suffering. Now, senors, the object of my visit to San Juan de Ulua is to avenge that treacherous attack upon my fellow-countrymen, to exact ample compensation therefor and for all the loss and suffering attendant upon it, and to demand the release of those who fell into your hands upon that occasion. If you have aught to urge by way of excuse for, or justification of, your treachery, I am willing to hear it and give it my most careful consideration.”
Again silence, tense and electric, prevailed in the cabin at the conclusion of the young English captain's indictment, the alcalde and his companions staring helplessly at one another as each groped for something, some sign or suggestion, upon which to frame a reply to the charges which they knew only too well to be true. At length one of the party, seemingly unable to any longer endure the tension, rose slowly to his feet and, addressing George, said:
”Senor Capitano, it is not possible for us to deny the truth of the charges which you have brought against us; to our shame and sorrow we are obliged to admit that all you have said is only too true. Yet, senor, in self-defence, I submit that, individually, none of us who are here a.s.sembled is to blame for the occurrence to which you have referred, and therefore I contend that you cannot, in justice, hold us, or any one of us, responsible for it. We, who now sit here in the cabin of your s.h.i.+p, were all present in San Juan de Ulua when the attack upon your countrymen took place, and I am confident that I am expressing the opinion of my fellow-citizens as well as of myself in saying that we one and all deplored and were ashamed of it, and would have prevented it, had it been possible. But, senor, the citizens of San Juan had no voice in the matter; we were not consulted; we were not even informed of what was about to happen; the whole affair was the conception of his Excellency the Viceroy, and the attack was organised and carried out at his instigation and order by the military and naval forces under his command; the citizens took no part in it, so far as I am aware; or, if any of them did so, it was only the comparatively few lawless ones who are to be found in every community. Therefore, senor, I contend that your quarrel, which I admit to be just, is not with the peaceful and law-abiding citizens of San Juan, but with his Excellency the Viceroy, who ordered the attack, and the military and naval officials who carried it out.”
A low murmur of approval and agreement ran round the a.s.sembly as the speaker resumed his seat, and then there ensued a pause while George waited to see whether anyone else had anything to say. Presently, in response to the glance of inquiry with which he regarded the various members of the a.s.semblage, first one and then another arose and briefly remarked that he fully concurred in what his compatriot had so well said, until nearly, if not quite, all had expressed approval.
”Very well, senors,” responded George, when at length he found that no one had anything to add, ”I am willing to accept your collective a.s.surance that the citizens of San Juan as a whole are guiltless of all partic.i.p.ation in, or approval of, the treacherous and unjustifiable attack upon my countrymen of which I complain; therefore it follows that the local representatives of the Spanish Government are the responsible parties, and it is with them that I must settle the account. As I have already informed you, I am here to demand the fullest and most ample reparation for the outrage of which I complain, and for all loss and damage attendant upon it; and I ask you, do you think it in the least degree probable that the Viceroy will peaceably concede my demands? If he will not, I shall exact them by force of arms; and in that case I warn you all that it will be very difficult, if not indeed impossible, for me to discriminate between public and private property; it will therefore be for you, senor”--bowing to the alcalde--”to use your best efforts to induce the Viceroy and those under him to arrange an amicable settlement with me; for otherwise it may be necessary for me to, among other measures, bombard your town!”
”Nay, nay, senor; not that, not that, I pray you!” exclaimed the alcalde, starting to his feet in great agitation. ”Think, most Ill.u.s.trious, think of the many innocent lives, of the women and children, who must inevitably perish if you resort to such a bar--such a--an--extreme measure as that which you threaten.”
”I do think of it, senor alcalde,” answered George; ”but I think also of my fellow-countrymen who died here as a consequence of Spanish treachery, and also of those others who are at this moment lying captive and pining in your dungeons; and the latter thoughts render me inflexible. I will not fire a single shot at your town if I can help it; and it must be your task, senor, to so conduct matters and represent them to the Viceroy, that it shall be unnecessary for me to resort to such an extreme measure.”
”I will gladly do my utmost, most n.o.ble senor, to carry out such instructions as you may be pleased to give me,” answered the alcalde.
”That is well,” said George. ”I want you to convey to the Viceroy--by the way, where is the Viceroy? Are you here as his representative?”
”Nay, not so, senor,” answered the alcalde. ”His Excellency is at present in the city of Mexico. The Commandant of the military lies in his house, sick of a fever and quite unable to transact business; and that is why I am here.”
”Um!” commented George. ”That makes it rather awkward--for you, I am afraid, senor.” He considered a little, and then asked: ”How long would it take a well-mounted messenger to proceed to the city of Mexico with a message, and return with an answer?”
”Six days at the very least, senor; the roads are very bad,” was the reply.
”Then that rules the Viceroy out of the question,” said George, ”for I cannot spare the time to send messages backward and forward a six days'
journey. Now, as to the military Commandant: you say that he is too ill to transact business. Is there not a sub-commandant, or some such official, with whom I can deal?”
”There is, of course, the Captain of Soldiers, senor,” answered the alcalde. ”But I come next in rank to the Commandant.”
”Then,” said George, ”it is clear that you, senor, are the official with whom I must deal; and if you are unwilling to bear the entire responsibility, you must e'en share it with the military captain. Now, these are my demands, which I will presently embody in a written doc.u.ment, in order that you may have something to show when the time comes for you to reckon with the Viceroy.
”First: I claim one million _pezos_ of gold to cover the loss of s.h.i.+ps and treasure resulting to my countrymen through the Viceroy's treacherous attack upon them. Stay a moment, senor, that is only the beginning of my demands,”--as the alcalde half rose to his feet, protestingly.