Two sailors were posted on the path, at fifty yards above and below them, in case anyone should come along, although the risk of this was exceedingly small. There was no difficulty in scrambling6 down into the ditch. As soon as they did so the sailor who carried the grapnel advanced to the foot of the wall, and at the second attempt succeeded in getting it to hold on the parapet. Another, with one of the rope-ladders, went forward, fastened the rope to it, and the two of them hauled the ladder up to the block, and kept the rope taut7 while Martyn mounted. He found, as he had expected, that there was a platform behind the wall for men to stand on while firing. Taking his place on it he took hold of the ladder rope and told the men below to loosen their end. Holding it partly up he fastened it at the block. Then two men joined him, hauled the wooden gangway up, and planted it against the top of the inner wall. The rest of the men followed, and Martyn led the way across. The others soon stood beside him, all stooping down on the platform as soon as they had crossed, so that their heads should not show above the skyline, should anyone happen to be looking out from the windows of the house.
Two sailors helped the cobbler across the gangway. Horace was the last to mount, with the exception of the two sentries8, whom he summoned with a low whistle as soon as the others were up. When they reached the top they hauled the rope-ladder after them, and laid it ready for lowering again. By the time Horace crossed to the inner wall Martyn and most of the men had already descended9 to the garden by the second rope-ladder.
“That has all been managed well,” Martyn said when Horace joined him below. “Now, you and I will go forward and reconnoitre a bit.”
The house was seventy or eighty yards away. There were lights in several windows on the ground-floor, and at almost all the windows on the flat above it.
“We had better take off our shoes, Horace. It is no use running any risks. Shove them in your sash beside your pistols.”
They stole noiselessly up to the house and looked in at the windows. In one room were a group of servants sitting round a brazier, smoking; another room was empty; but in the third, which was much the largest, four Turkish officials were seated on a divan10, and a Nubian slave was handing them coffee.
“That old chap is the pasha, no doubt,” Martyn whispered. “He is evidently master of the house. You see he is giving some order or other to the slave. Here is the garden door into a hall; let us see if it is open. Yes; that is all right. Well, I think now we will bring up the men. Now, as soon as we are in, Horace, you take four men; go in first and post them at the doors leading out of the house. I will take six men and seize the pasha and his friends. Other four will pounce11 upon the servants. Your cobbler fellow had better go with them to tell the servants that if they make the least row they will have their throats cut. The other men will scatter12 about in the passages and down stairs, and pounce upon anybody who may come along. As soon as you have posted your men, go to the room where the servants are, and bring the interpreter in to me. Tell the sailors to bind13 the fellows and lay them down, and put a couple of guards over them.”
They returned to the men and told them off to their several duties. All were ordered to take their shoes off, and put them in their belts.
“Now, you can draw your cutlasses, lads,” Martyn said. “Have you all loaded your pistols?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, mind they are not to be used; a pistol-shot might destroy all our plans. I hope to manage it so that there shall not be any noise whatever.”
They made their way quietly up to the house. Horace opened the door and led the way in, followed by his four men. They passed through the hall and a long passage, from which several rooms opened; and he was sure, by the direction in which he was going, that this must lead to the offices. At the end was a strong door; only one bolt was shot, as doubtless the officers would be leaving by this way. He put up a heavy bar that was standing14 beside it, stationed two of the sailors there, and then retraced15 his steps with the others. Just as he reached the hall again a sailor came up to him.
“This is the way to the big door, your honour;” and turning down another passage they arrived at a double door, which Horace had no doubt was the one that he had seen in the court-yard. Posting the men there he hurried back, and soon found the room where the servants had been sitting. The work had already been done. The sailors had all been provided with short lengths of rope, and the Turks were lying bound upon the floor. Telling the cobbler to accompany him, he went into the next room. Two sailors, with drawn cutlasses, were standing by the side of the pasha. The three officers had been bound, and were lying on the divan, with a sailor standing over each, while the other sailor stood over the attendant, who cowered16 on the ground in an attitude of abject17 terror. Martyn was standing facing the pasha.
“Now, Horace,” he said, “tell your man what to say to the pasha.”
This had been arranged between them, and Horace at once addressed the pasha.
“Do you speak Greek?”
The pasha shook his head.
“Tell him,” Horace said in that language to the interpreter, “that we belong to the ship to which the officers and sailors he has in his prison also belong, and that we have come here to fetch them away. We are fighting under the flag of Greece; but we are Englishmen by blood, and we shall do no harm to him or his family. The prisoners, however, we will have; and unless he sends at once, with an order for their delivery from the prison, and hands them over to us, we shall be obliged to carry him, the three officers here, and the ladies of his family and his children, off on board our ship as hostages; and if a hair of the prisoners’ heads is touched, we shall be forced to hang him and the whole of his family to the yard-arms of the ship.”
THE CAPTURE OF THE PASHA
The interpreter translated his words sentence by sentence. The Turk had at first looked perfectly18 impassive; but at the threat to carry off his women and children his expression changed, the veins19 stood out of his forehead, and his face flushed with fury.
“Tell him,” Horace went on, “that we should deeply regret to have to take such a step, and that we sincerely trust that he will see the necessity for his yielding to our demands. There is no possibility of assistance reaching him, we are a well-armed body of determined20 men, his servants have been secured, and all the doors are guarded, as also the windows outside—he is completely in our power. As we came in noiselessly and unobserved, so we shall depart. If he refuses to comply with our demands we shall, of course, be compelled to bind and gag all our captives, and to carry the ladies and children.”
When the last sentence had been translated, Horace said to Martyn, “I think, Captain Martyn, you had better get those officers carried into the next room, so that we can touch upon the money side of the question.”
Martyn gave the order, and the officers and the attendant were removed.
“Now, pasha,” Horace went on, “let us look at this thing reasonably. On the one side is the certainty that you and the ladies of the household and your children will be carried away; and that unless the prisoners are given up to us in exchange for you, you will be all put to death. On the other hand, you have but to surrender prisoners whom you did not even capture in war, but who were wrecked21 on your shore. We know that you have sent to Smyrna for directions concerning them. Were it not for that you would have handed them over to us without difficulty; but as the pasha there, who is your superior, now knows of it, you think that he will be angry when he hears of their escape, and that you might fall into disgrace. But I don’t think that the pasha of Anatolia, if he were placed in the same position as you are, would hesitate a moment in giving up a score of captives of no great importance
one way or the other; and that if the matter were placed by you in the proper light before him, accompanied, perhaps, by a present, nothing more would be heard about it. In any case we are ready to pay you the sum of one thousand pounds as a ransom22 for them. We have sent your officers out of the room that they should not hear this offer, which will be entirely23 between ourselves. It is not meant as a bribe24 to you, but as a ransom, which, if you choose to send it to Smyrna, will doubtless assist the pasha there to perceive that being, with your whole family, at our mercy, you had no resource but to comply with our commands. We will give you five minutes to make up your mind.”
When this was translated, the pasha asked:
“How am I to know that, if the captives are restored to you, you will not still carry me and my family away?”
“You have simply the word of English gentlemen,” Horace said when the question was translated to him. “You see we are acting25 as considerately as we can. Your ladies upstairs are still unaware26 that anything unusual is going on. Our men have touched nothing belonging to you. We are neither robbers nor kidnappers27, but simply men who have come to save their comrades from a cruel death.”
“I will write the order,” the pasha said firmly. “Had I been in the house by myself I would have died rather than do so. Being as it is, I cannot resist.”
“Who will you send with the order?” Horace asked.
“One of the officers you have taken away is the colonel of the regiment28. He will take it and bring the prisoners here. He is the oldest of the three.”
Horace went into the next room and ordered the officer to be unbound and brought in by two of the sailors.
“You have heard, Colonel Osman, the terms that these strangers have laid down, and that unless the prisoners are surrendered, you, the two bimbaches, myself, and the members of my family, will be carried off as hostages and hung if the prisoners are not delivered up.”
“I heard that, pasha.”
“What is your opinion, colonel?”
“My opinion is that you have no course but to give up the prisoners. No one would expect you to sacrifice the lives of the ladies of your family and your children, to say nothing of your own and ours, merely for the sake of twenty shipwrecked sailors. It seems to me that it were madness to hesitate, pasha.”
“That is also my opinion,” the pasha said. “Therefore, colonel, I will now write you an order to fetch them from prison and bring them under an escort here. You will understand that it will be better that absolute silence should be observed about this affair. The less it is talked of the better. If the officer in special charge of them asks any questions you can intimate that, without knowing it, you believe that the messenger may have arrived from Smyrna with instructions as to their disposal. Dismiss the escort at the outer gate and bring the prisoners yourself here.”
The pasha wrote the order, which he handed to the colonel, who at once hurried off with it.
“You are sure that he will faithfully obey the order, pasha?” Horace asked through the interpreter.
The pasha nodded.
“One of the bimbaches here is his own brother, and he would be sure that his life would be sacrificed were there any treachery.”
“I am afraid,” Horace said, “that one of the ladies’ attendants has come downstairs and has been seized. Perhaps you will like to go upstairs and assure them that there is no cause for alarm. In the meantime I will hand you this bag, which contains the amount of the ransom in gold.”
“You Englishmen act nobly,” the pasha said as he took the bag. “You had us in your power, and need have paid nothing, and you treat me as a friend rather than as an enemy. It is a pity that you fight for the Greeks. When I was a young man I fought in Egypt by the side of your troops.”
Horace escorted him through the sailors in the passages to the foot of the stairs and there left him.
“Your scheme is turning out trumps31 and no mistake,” Martyn said as he returned to the room. “There is no fear, I hope, of that Turkish colonel bringing all his men down on us.”
“I don’t think so.” And Horace then repeated what the pasha had said as to one of the officers in his hands being the colonel’s brother.
“That is good, Horace. I don’t think he would venture on it anyhow. Evidently the pasha has no fear. If he had he would not have sent him, because he must have known that his treachery jeopardized32 his own safety and that of his family.”
“How long do you think they will be before they are back?”
“Not much above half an hour, I should think. I don’t think the Turkish soldiers do much in the way of undressing, and certainly our fellows won’t. Now we will leave five men to look after the prisoners here, and we will put all the others in the offices you say look into the court-yard, so that if by any chance this fellow does bring troops down with him we can give them a hot reception.”
“If he does, Horace, do you take the five men in the house, rush upstairs, let one man put a pistol to the pasha’s head, and let the others snatch up any children they can find there and take them away over the wall—pasha and all—and march them straight down to the boat and get them on board ship. Let me know when you are off with them. We will defend the place as long as we can, and then make a bolt through the garden to the ladder and follow you.”
The men loaded their muskets33 and took their places at the windows of the offices. Horace and Martyn stood at the door leading from the house into the court-yard. The interpreter stood with them. Presently they heard the tramp of feet approaching. Then they heard a word of command, followed by silence, and the interpreter said:
“He has ordered the soldiers to halt. The prisoners alone are to enter the court-yard. When the gates close behind them the soldiers are to march back to barracks.”
The gates that had been left ajar by the officer as he went out opened, and in the moonlight they saw him enter, followed by Miller34, Tarleton, and the sailors. The officer himself closed and barred the gate as the last entered. Then Martyn and Horace rushed forward and grasped the hands of their friends. These were for a time speechless with astonishment35, but the men burst into exclamations36 and then began to cheer. Martyn checked them at once.
“Hush, lads! Come in silently and quietly. We will talk and cheer when we get away. Pass the word inside, Horace. Tell the men to file out at once. Form up in the garden. I will wait here till you have cleared the house.”
“March to the ladder, lads,” Martyn said, “but don’t begin to climb it till we join you. Now, Horace, we will say good-bye to the old pasha. Bring the interpreter in with you.”
The pasha had returned to his room again where he had been joined by the three officers, the colonel having already liberated38 the other two.
“Tell the pasha that Captain Martyn wishes to thank him for the promptness with which the arrangement has been carried out, and also to express to him his very great pleasure that this incident should have terminated without unpleasantness. Captain Martyn wishes also to say, that although, in order to rescue his officers and men, he was obliged to use threats, yet that, as far as the ladies of the pasha’s family were concerned, they were threats only; for that, even had he refused, he should have respected the privacy of his apartments; and although he would have been obliged to carry off the pasha himself, his children, and these officers as hostages, he would have retaliated39 for the murder of the prisoners only upon the adults. No English officer would use disrespect to ladies, and no English officer would avenge40 the murder even of his dearest friends upon children.”
When this was translated to the pasha, he replied: “The courtesy that the captain and his sailors have exhibited since they entered the house is in itself sufficient to show me that his words are true, and that the ladies of my household would have been respected. I feel myself humiliated41 by thus having my prisoners carried off from the midst of the town, but I have no reason to complain. It is the will of Allah, and I shall always remember these English officers as gallant42 gentlemen. There are not many who would risk their lives to save a few of their countrymen.”
A few more words were exchanged, and then Martyn and his companions joined the sailors at the wall. Miller and Tarleton had by this time gathered from the men a short account of how their rescue had come about.
“Now,” Martyn said briskly when he reached them, “the sooner we are off the better. Horace, do you lead the way with ten of the men who came with us; let the last two of that party help your interpreter over. Mr. Miller, you with your party will follow. I will bring up the rear with the other ten men.”
In five minutes all were over the walls. The last party had pulled up the ladder from the garden after them, then removed and lowered down the gangway; and after Martyn, who came last, reached the ditch, the grapnel was shaken from its hold on the wall.
“It wouldn’t do to leave these things here,” he said to Horace. “There is no saying what yarn43 the pasha may set afloat. It is quite on the cards that if he gets an order from Smyrna to execute the prisoners, he will have it given out that they were marched to the court-yard of his house and there executed. At any rate our taking away the ladders will leave it open to him to give his own account of the matter. Now, my lads, you will all follow me. It is of no use forming up in order, as we are going through orchards44; but keep close together, don’t straggle and don’t talk. You will have plenty of time to compare notes when you are once on board.
“Now, Miller,” he said as he started, “we are fairly out of it. I am delighted, indeed, to see you and Tarleton again. I thought at one time it was all up with you.”
“So did we,” Miller said, “and I can hardly believe we are free even now.”
“It is due to Horace and Zaimes, Miller, though it is to Horace entirely that the credit of hitting upon the plan by which we have got you out belongs. However we will talk all about that when we get on board. You will have to tell your yarn to the chief; besides, as I have told the men not to talk, I don’t want to set a bad example.”
Horace had greeted Marco warmly in the court-yard, and as soon as they started he fell behind with him, chatting with him in low tones.
“Zaimes couldn’t come with us, Marco, for he and the doctor had to stay on board with my father to look after some prisoners there, but he was here with me this morning and made all the arrangements for the escape. We landed at the mouth of the bay and walked here last night, both disguised in peasants’ dresses we got hold of. I know it was a great privation to him not to be able to come himself and aid in your rescue.”
Here Martyn, catching45 the murmur46 of voices, passed the word for silence, and nothing more was said until they reached the boats which they had drawn up on the shore. A few minutes later they were alongside the brigantine. Mr. Beveridge hailed them as they approached.
“Is that you, Martyn?”
“Yes, sir. Horace’s plan has worked perfectly, and we have got them all out. The boats can only carry half. He is waiting with the rest on the beach.”
“Thank God for that, Martyn! No one hurt at all?”
“No one, not even a Turk has been knocked down. The only scrimmage has been with one of the pasha’s wives’ maids, who fought like a wild-cat before two of our men could make her a prisoner.”
Directly the rest of the party came off the anchor was weighed and sail made on the brigantine, and she was headed from the land. In half an hour a look-out in the bow called out: “I think I can make out the schooner47 away on our beam, sir.”
“I think it is her,” Martyn said after going forward to have a look. “Light that red flare-up we brought with us, Horace.”
As soon as the red flame broke out, a similar signal was shown by the craft in the distance. The brigantine was headed for her, and the two vessels48 rapidly approached each other. Presently a hail from Tom Burdett came across the water.
“Captain Martyn ahoy!”
“Ay, ay, Tom! We have got them all. Everyone is safe and well.”
A cheer broke out from the schooner, which was answered by a louder one from the brigantine.
“Throw her up in the wind, Tom,” Martyn shouted, “and we will bring this craft alongside.”
In two or three minutes the vessels lay side by side. Before leaving the brigantine its crew were released. Mr. Beveridge, in his delight at the success of the plan, made them each a handsome present for the inconvenience they had suffered. The cobbler of Adalia had not come aboard with the boats, Horace having given him his reward of twenty-five pounds before embarking50. As soon as the crew of the schooner were all on board the head-sails were filled, and she rapidly drew away from the brig. The boatswain was ordered to serve out a ration51 of grog all round, and the officers then assembled in the cabin, where the Greeks placed some cold meat and wine on the table, to which all, especially Miller and Tarleton, fell to with a good appetite. When they had done, Martyn told the story of the steps that had been taken for their rescue.
“You see, Miller, it was entirely Horace’s plan; he made the whole arrangements, and we had only to carry them out, which was the simplest thing in the world. Now let us have your account.”
“We were not very lucky,” Miller said. “We overhauled52 five or six craft, but for the most part they contained little of value. One or two of them had some silk and other goods on board, and these were transferred to the polacca. The weather kept fine, and thinking that our rig would not alarm the Turks we sailed in within three miles of Adalia. I was intending to go right into the roads and anchor there, when we saw the clouds banking53 up to the south. I had no barometer54 on board, but it looked so bad that we headed out again for the mouth of the gulf55.
“We had not gone far when the gale56 struck us, blowing like fury right into the bay. We did everything we could, but the old tub drifted to leeward57 two feet for every one we worked out. The wind got higher and higher till it was blowing a hurricane. As soon as the water shallowed sufficiently58 to anchor, I let both anchors go; but the gear was all rotten, and the cables snapped like packthread. Finally we drove ashore59 about half a mile to the east of the town.
“There was a mob there waiting us, and the pasha with a lot of troops. We tied a line to a keg and it floated on shore. They hauled on it, and then we sent a hawser60 and swarmed61 along it. The Turks behaved very pluckily62, joining hands and rushing into the breakers to get us ashore. As soon as they saw by our uniform who we were there was a regular hubbub63, and I thought we should all have been killed then and there. However the pasha made the troops form up round us, and marched us into the town, and there we were stowed away in a room in that old castle. The prospect64 didn’t look good, for as we went in we saw that the troops were in huts all round us, and that there was besides a high wall outside them. The window of the place we were shut up in was about eight feet from the ground and very strongly barred, and in addition they kept four soldiers always on guard in the room.
“Two or three fellows came to us and spoke65 in different lingoes, of which we could neither make head nor tail. Then a chap came who spoke Italian. I don’t know much of it, but enough to make out what he meant when he spoke very slowly. The upshot of it was that they had sent to Smyrna for orders as to what was to be done, and that it would take five or six days for the messenger to go there and back. It did not seem to make much odds66 to us what the answer was. Knowing how they go on on both sides it was a moral certainty that we should be hung either here or at Smyrna, and it did not seem to us that there was much choice between the two places.
“Of course we often talked about you. We knew you would do everything you could, and that when you found we did not turn up at the rendezvous67 you would sail along the coast till you got news of us; but it did not seem likely that you could do anything to help us. We knew that you could not land more than twenty men, and with twenty men you could do nothing at all against about a thousand Turks with that strong wall in front of them. Besides, the old castle itself was capable of defence, and there were lots of them stationed in it. Things looked about as black as they could be. We were not starved; the Turks gave us plenty of bread and a sort of thin broth29.
“This evening we stretched ourselves out as usual about nine o’clock. We were all asleep when the outer gates of the castle were opened, then there was a loud trampling68 of feet, then our door was unlocked. When an officer came in, followed by a lot of soldiers, we thought that it was all up with us. The officer made signs that we were to go with him, and I made so certain that we were being taken out either to be shot or hung that I said a few words to the men, telling them that the end had evidently come, and that we must die as Christians70 and British sailors. We were led out, and about a hundred Turkish soldiers closed round us. We were surprised when they marched us out of the place, but as we went on through the streets of the town we supposed they were taking us to some quiet spot outside the walls. Then we turned in through that gateway71, and then you know the rest, Martyn. I don’t think that I am a coward, or that I felt afraid to die; but when you and Horace rushed out to speak to us, you could have knocked me over with a feather. It was not until I got out into the garden and found your party formed up there that I was quite sure it was not all a dream.”
When they had talked over the rescue Mr. Beveridge said: “Well, we have had enough of cruising for the present; we will make for Athens at once, Captain Martyn; by this time probably something will be going on there.”
It was late in February when anchor was dropped in the harbour of the Pir?us. Mr. Beveridge at once went on shore with Martyn, and returned the next morning.
“Any news of importance, father?” Horace asked as they came on board.
“Yes, Hypsilantes is likely to be succeeded by his rival Mavrocordatos. A Samian adventurer named Lykourgos has got together a fleet and has proposed a landing at Chios; there can be no doubt that his intention is simply plunder72, for even if he could drive the Turks out of Chios he could not possibly hold the island, as a large Turkish fleet will very shortly be ready to sail out of the Dardanelles. The worst of it is that the Chiots are utterly73 opposed to any movement of the kind. They are an agricultural people, and the island has always been mildly governed and lightly taxed; their municipal administration is already in their own hands, and their taxes collected by themselves. When Admiral Tombazes appeared off Chios with the Greek fleet during its first cruise, the inhabitants turned a deaf ear to his invitation to them to rise. In fact there is no doubt that the people of Chios have everything to lose and nothing to gain by becoming a part of Greece.
“They have sent urgent remonstrances74 against the landing of any Greek troops on the island, pointing out that there is a strong body of Turkish troops there; that the citadel75 could not be captured, and that the attempt would only inflame76 the passions of the Mohammedan population and end in ruin and disaster to the Christian69 inhabitants. Hypsilantes has written a mild letter to Lykourgos suggesting that it would at any rate be prudent77 to defer78 the enterprise. It is feared, however, that, like Greek commanders in general, the fellow will pay no attention to this, but will proceed on his own account. Martyn agrees with me that it would be as well for us to cruise about the island and see how matters go on, and endeavour to rescue some of the Turks from the fury of the Greeks, or some of the Greeks from the fury of the Turks.”
“I should say the best thing to do, father,” Horace said indignantly, “would be to attack the ship of this fellow Lykourgos and to hang him at his own yard-arm.”
“It would be a good action, no doubt, Horace; but as he has with him a fleet of seventy or eighty vessels it is probable that if we made the attempt we should decorate the yard-arms and not Lykourgos. At any rate we will stop here for two or three days, and give the men a run on shore. Just at present, owing to the fact of our having destroyed that Turkish frigate79, they will be very popular characters, and are not likely to get into any serious row. They have still got the money I paid them for their conduct at Cyprus, and when sailors have got money in their pockets they are never happy until they have got a chance of spending it.”
Accordingly, the crew had twelve hours on shore, a third of their number going each day. On the fourth day the vessel49 sailed for Chios. They cruised round the island for a fortnight and frequently overhauled fishing-boats and had conversations with the crews. They learned that fresh troops had lately arrived at Chios, and that as these bands were principally composed of volunteers, Vehid Pasha, the governor, had great difficulty in maintaining order among them. He had persuaded the Christians to raise a monthly contribution of thirty-four thousand piastres to give regular pay and rations80 to the troops and so keep them in a good temper.
On the 22d of March the schooner made out a large fleet of vessels approaching the island. They kept away until they saw them anchor, and then themselves cast anchor at a short distance from them. A boat at once put off from the ship flying the flag of Lykourgos, to demand who they were and with what intentions they were there.
“We fly, as you see, the flag of Greece,” Mr. Beveridge replied to the officer, “and we have the authority of the Greek government to fight against its enemies. I do not, however, recognize any authority on the part of your commander, unless he is acting at the present time under the explicit81 orders of Prince Mavrocordatos, who is now President of Greece, and shall therefore consult only my own feelings as to whether or not I take any part in the proceedings82 on shore.”
“Our admiral will know how to make you obey orders,” the officer said angrily.
“Is he an admiral?” Mr. Beveridge asked, as if for information. “I was not aware that he had received any commission that would authorize83 him to use that title either from the last president or from the present one. When I am well assured that this is the case it will naturally modify my views; as to compelling me, you can look round at the armament of this craft. Three months ago we destroyed a Turkish frigate, and I fancy that if we were interfered84 with we could give a good account of many of those vessels anchored there. If, therefore, Lykourgos is really bent85 upon the capture of Chios, I should advise him to set about it without wasting his time in meddling86 with us. You may mention to him that I am an English gentleman who has fitted up this vessel for the purpose of aiding Greece to achieve her independence, and that in all honourable87 warfare88 I am ready to take my part. If I see that the object of your expedition is honourable warfare I shall lend all assistance in my power. If I find that it is merely plunder and destruction, I shall also do all in my power to prevent the Greek flag from being disgraced by acts only worthy89 of pirates; and, moreover, I will take care that my countrymen and the various nations of Europe shall obtain a fair account of what has been done here.”
The Greek was completely cowed by the calmness and confidence of the owner of the schooner, and returned to his boat without any of the swagger with which he had quitted it. Horace translated his father’s speech to Martyn and the other two officers as soon as Mr. Beveridge had returned to his cabin.
“The chief is a perfect brick,” Martyn said enthusiastically. “Fancy sending off such a message as that from this schooner to a fellow commanding sixty or seventy sail. Sir Richard Grenville could hardly have sent from the deck of the Revenge a more defiant90 message to the Spanish fleet.”
Miller rubbed his hands. “Shall I get the men in readiness for making sail and casting off the guns, Captain Martyn?”
“There will be time enough,” Martyn said, “when we make out a movement among them. We can get up sail in half the time they can. I should not be surprised if this fellow Lykourgos knuckles91 down. Did you see how his officer came down from his stilts92? If this fellow had any pluck he would be sailing to meet the Turkish fleet instead of landing to pillage93 here, for, from what Mr. Beveridge said, that can be his only motive94. Still, we will keep a sharp look-out on them. If we see the flag-ship signalling to the others, or her boats putting off to them, we shall know what to expect. You may as well get a buoy95 on the anchor-chain and have everything ready to slip. We are too near them to be pleasant if they open fire. Once under way and out of close range we can talk to them as we like.”
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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6
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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7
taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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8
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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9
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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10
divan
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| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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11
pounce
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| n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意 | |
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12
scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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13
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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14
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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15
retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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16
cowered
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 ) | |
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17
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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18
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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19
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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20
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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21
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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22
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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23
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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24
bribe
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| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
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25
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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26
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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27
kidnappers
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| n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 ) | |
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28
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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29
broth
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| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
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30
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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31
trumps
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| abbr.trumpets 喇叭；小号；喇叭形状的东西；喇叭筒v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去式 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造 | |
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32
jeopardized
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| 危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
muskets
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| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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34
miller
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| n.磨坊主 | |
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35
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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36
exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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37
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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38
liberated
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| a.无拘束的，放纵的 | |
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39
retaliated
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| v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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41
humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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42
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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43
yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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44
orchards
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| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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45
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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46
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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47
schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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48
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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49
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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50
embarking
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| 乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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51
ration
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| n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应 | |
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52
overhauled
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| v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越 | |
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53
banking
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| n.银行业，银行学，金融业 | |
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54
barometer
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| n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标 | |
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55
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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56
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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57
leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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58
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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59
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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60
hawser
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| n.大缆；大索 | |
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61
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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62
pluckily
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| adv.有勇气地，大胆地 | |
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63
hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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64
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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65
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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66
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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67
rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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68
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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69
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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70
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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71
gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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72
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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73
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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74
remonstrances
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| n.抱怨，抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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75
citadel
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| n.城堡；堡垒；避难所 | |
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76
inflame
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| v.使燃烧；使极度激动；使发炎 | |
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77
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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78
defer
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| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
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79
frigate
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| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
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80
rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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81
explicit
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| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
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82
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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83
authorize
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| v.授权，委任；批准，认可 | |
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84
interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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85
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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86
meddling
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| v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 ) | |
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87
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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88
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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89
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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90
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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91
knuckles
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| n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝 | |
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92
stilts
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| n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷 | |
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93
pillage
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| v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物 | |
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94
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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95
buoy
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| n.浮标；救生圈；v.支持，鼓励 | |
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