Adventure Magazine Cover — page 162: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

st We Tee AY 156 Adventure scatter death and terror, and before the Spaniards could recover from the confusion caused by these the dread enemy was upon them, yelling as they burst through the cloud of smoke and dust about. the breach. Nevertheless, the Spanish commander, a courageous if unimaginative officer named Don Domingo Fuentes, rallied his men so effectively that for a quarter of an hour the battle swayed furiously backward and for- ward in the breach. But in a battle of cold steel there were no troops in the world that, in anything approaching equality of num- bers, could have stood long against these hardy, powerful, utterly reckless fellows. Gradually but relentlessly and inevitably the cursing, screaming Spaniards were borne back by Wolverstone, supported now by the main host with Blood himself in command. Back and back they were thrust, fighting with the wild fury of despair, until the beaten out line of their resistance suddenly snapped. They broke and scattered, to reform again, and by a rearguard action gain the shelter of the fort, leaving the buccaneers in possession of the town. WITHIN the fort with the two oO hundred demoralized survivors of his garrison of three hundred men Don Domingo Fuentes took counsel and presently sent a flag of truce to Captain Blood, offering to surrender with the honors of war. But. this was more than Blood could prudently concede. He knew that his men would probably be drunk before night and he could not take the risk of hav- ing two hundred armed Spaniards in the neighborhood at such a time. Being however adverse to unnecessary bloodshed and eager to make an end with- out further fighting, he returned a message to Don Domingo, pledging his word that if he would surrender at discretion no violence shoyld be done to the life or ultimate liberty of the garrison or the inhabitants of Santa Maria. The Spaniards piled arms in the great square within the fort and the buccaneers marched in-with banners flying and trum- pets blaring. The commander stood for- ward to make formal] surrender of his sword. Behind him were ranged his two hundred disarmed men, and behind these again the scanty inhabitants af the town, who had sought refuge there. They numbered not more than sixty, among whom were perhaps _ the gold fields. ‘Maria?’ a dozen women, a few negroes and three friars in the black and white habit of Saint Dominic. The black slave population, it was presently ascertained, were at the mines in the mountains, whither they had just re- turned. Don Domingo, a tall personable man of thirty, in corselet and headpiece of black steel, with a little peaked beard that added length to his long narrow face, addressed Captain Blood.almost contemptuously. “T have accepted your word,” he said, “because although you are a pirate scoun- drel and a heretic, in every other way dis- honorable, you have at least the reputation of honorably observing your pledges.”’ Captain Blood bowed. He was not look- ing his best. Half the coat had been torn from his back, and he had taken a scalp wound in the battle. But, however be- grimed with blood and sweat, dust and gun- powder, his grace of deportment remained unimpaired. “You disarm me by your courtesy,” said he. ‘“T have no courtesies for pirate rogues,” answered the uncompromising Castilian, whereupon Yberville, that fierce hater of all Spaniards, thrust himself forward, breath- ing hard, but was restrained by Captain Blood. “Tam waiting,” Don Domingo intrepidly continued, “to learn your detestable pur- pose here, to learn why you, the subject of a nation at peace with Spain, dare to levy war upon Spaniards.” Blood laughed. “Faith now, it’s just the lure of gold, which is as potent with pirates as with more respectable scoundrels all the world over— the very lure that has brought you Span- iards to plant this town conveniently near To be plain, Captain, we’ve come to relieve you of the season’s yield, and as soon as ye’ve handed it over, we’ll relieve you also of our detestable presence.” The Spaniard laughed. “To be sure you conceive me a fool,” he said. “Far from it. I’m hoping for your own sake that ye’re not.” “Do you think that, forewarned as I was of your coming, I kept the gold at Santa He was derisive. «-‘““You are too late, Captain Blood. It is already on its way to Panama. ‘We embarked it in canoes during the night and sent a hundred men to: ~ COPMICGLOOKS (E@)