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suited,
and with which the Earl of Essex was unable to cope. Finally, a truce was
declared and Essex returned to England to find the Queen in a fit over the
truce. He was replaced by Lord Mountjoy, and beheaded not long after ... or
so
we had heard while in Wales.
What might have happened since then, we had no idea. Months had passed, and
we
had no recent news. Our best opportunity was to work in toward the coast of
Ireland and try to bespeak a fishing vessel or a trader for information.
Glandore was no fit harbor for our commerce. Cork was too big, and the danger
of
being trapped in that harbor was greater, due to its conformation. Studying
the
chart and talking with Tilly and Ring, who both knew the coast, we decided
upon
Kinsale.
We set our course for the distant islands, and the seas were gentle, the
winds
not strong, but steady. Twice we sighted other sails, and once a ship headed
to
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us, but the fluyt was a good sailor and we hoisted all her canvas and pulled
swiftly away.
Gulls accompanied us, and porpoises dove and played around our bow, seeming
to
enjoy the company of the fluyt. Nearing the Azores we sighted too many
vessels
for comfort, and pulled away from them and set our course northerly.
"Do you know Kinsale, Jublain?" I asked.
"I know it. A good little place on the river Bandon with a fine, safe
harbor."
He looked at me. "It is worse than Cork, if you're thinking of a trap."
"Aye, but quieter than Cork, I think, and an easier place."
He agreed, but with misgivings. Only Pim took the voyage lightly, for all
were
afraid for me. This I sensed, knowing the Queen wanted none of them but Black
Tom Watkins, to whom the voyage was a very real danger.
Wa-ga-su had developed into an efficient seaman, intrigued by all the
activities
aboard ship, and aware of our apprehension as we neared Ireland.
It was my hope to come up out of the sea and sight the Old Head of Kinsale
first. As it was a bold headland, with sharp cliffs, I'd no idea I could miss
it. And I did not, for we sighted it at dawn and moved in at once toward the
entrance. I could see the dark outlines of De Courcy Castle, and I had a man
aloft and two in the bow to watch for rocks. There was one that lay two
cable-lengths southwest-by-south from Hangman's Point, covered with three
feet
of water at low tide, and we slid past it easily on the west side.
Suddenly, Jublain hailed me. "Barnabas! Look!"
Look I did, and beheld a half-dozen ships lying at anchor before us ... and
every one of them flying the flag of Spain!
More than that, the flag flying above the town of Kinsale was Spanish, too.
In the distance we heard the boom of cannon.
Jublain came quickly to the deck.
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"Barnabas, I like not the look of this! It were better by far that we leave
now.
At once!"
"How?" I protested. "Those are warships. If we attempt to leave, they will
follow."
"What do you propose?" Tilly asked.
"That we brazen it out. That we approach boldly, as if all was planned. This
would seem a bad time to be here, however, and a poor time for marketing
timbers."
"May another man speak?" Jeremy said. "Look yon ... a fire has broken out in
the
town. I think Kinsale is under attack. But under attack by whom? The Irish,
who
are Catholic? I think not. Essex was here. He failed. Then Mountjoy was sent.
It
may be that the Spanish have sent a fleet to help the Irish, and they have
landed here."
"A foolish place to choose," I said. "The fighting is to the north, I think."
"Who expects all men to move wisely?" It was Jeremy again. "And I doubt that
these knew aught of Ireland. Spanish ships are here. The town is in their
hands,
and the town is under attack. Obviously it is under attack by Mountjoy and
the
English."
He paused. "Do you speak the Dutch tongue, Barnabas?"
"A few words. I fished once with a Dutch sailor who lived briefly among us."
"I speak it," Jublain said. "Tongues are as easy to me as blades, and when a
man
fights on the continent he speaks many tongues."
"Then we must convince the Spanish we are Dutch, until such a time as we can
escape."
There was a shout from the bow: "A boat is coming!"
We were abreast of the Upper Cove, and the marking on my chart was for four
fathoms. "Let's go forward," I said to Tilly, "and drop a rope ladder for the
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boat."
The officer who came aboard was elegantly dressed, but one glance at his
cleancut jaw and his quick steps assured me that this was no perfumed
popinjay.
"Captain Alonzo de Valdez," he said "What is your ship? And what do you do
here?"
Jublain introduced himself, then said, "Our captain and owner is Barnabas de
Sacketi. We were bound for La Rochelle and heard the Spanish fleet were
needing
supplies and spars. We directed our course to this place."
He looked from one to the other of us, his eye sharp and curious.
"The name of your vessel is what?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]