The Argosy, Vol. 75, No. 4 — page 158: what you’re looking at

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

860_ gan listened, his fingers in his beard, and finally nodded assent, roaring with laughter. Hetherington hastened away, and, calling twenty men to follow him, he stormed up the broad white road to the yard of the convent that we had noticed on the low hills, but which we had supposed was of course aban- doned. A half-hour later he came back with perhaps a hundred prisoners, white- faced, scared women, and priests who looked the personification of terror, Like a herd of cattle they were driven forward, and Morgan pointed to the line of scaling ladders on which he had put some men to work, They were made of green timber and were long enough to reach the top of the walls, and wide enough to allow four or five men to scramble up abreast. It was a shameful thing, and as [ gazed I felt every drop of blood in my body run back to my heart at the thought of it. To fight behind these! ‘To use the living bodies of priests.and women to cover our advance under the fire of the enemy! I cursed and turned away, It was done. Right or wrong, it was . done. The long, black line of trem- bling priests and timid, white ~ faced women dragged from their peaceful, religious avocations to take their part in the bloody game of war were driven forward to the piles of ladders, each twenty feet in length and five feet wide, and, taking them up in their arms, they staggered pitifully across the open with their burdens. Behind them, from the cover of the rising ground, our sharpshooters com- manded the walls, and no sooner were the ladders placed than the long line of smoke-begrimed buccaneers stormed forward like a pack of hounds blooded to its kill. True to his creed, the Spanish gov- ernor, ignoring the pleas of the digni- taries of the church, heedless to any- thing save his duty to his king and Oa an SE ee ge ae THE ARGOSY. country, opened fire on every living thing. Priests, women, buccaneers, all paid heavy toll to the fire of the enemy. They had but short space for firing, for like a tornado we were upon them, swarming up the ladders, trampling under foot both dead and dying, claw- ing our way in through the deep em- brasures till we surged up about the group of Spanish soldiery like waves beating upon a rock. There was a deep roar behind us, and the ground trembled as the whole fort burst into a seething mass of flame and smoke from the exploding magazine, where some fool had gone to look for plunder. A heavy gun ran back on its chase, plowing its way through the group of crazy-eyed fighting men. A great Spaniard made at me with his pike poised for his thrust, and be- fore I had opportunity to guard I had the point through my shoulder. Then I heard. a muffled crash and saw him totter, and Oakes was grin- ning over him. far corner of the fort where the fight- ing still continued, and I saw our men fade away from the heap of blood- stained bodies. Then some one thrusé-a cup of rum into my hands, and I knew from the great shout that rose from our crews that Porto Bello was ours. CHA PT tA THE TAKING OF PORTO BELLO. THat night Porto Bello fell. Over what happened to the unfortunate city during'the next few days it would be well to draw the charitable veil of si- lence. History will speak of it in no uncertain terms. I took no part in it, but held it to be only decent to retire to the ship, since there was nothing that I could do to hold back the men. Fire after fire broke out in the houses, and the wails of the unfortu- GEomichoo <S A cheer rose from the . (EO) im