<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI<br/> <span class="smaller">A WONDERFUL ACHIEVEMENT</span></h2></div>
<p>Rawlins knew he could rely on his fellow-countrymen,
but at first he hesitated to say anything to the
four Hollanders. At last, however, he found them
anxious to join in with the scheme, and his next effort
was equally successful, for he “undermined” the English
renegado-gunner and three more, his associates. Last of
all, the Dutch renegadoes of the “gunner-room” were won
over and persuaded by the four Hollanders.</p>
<p>The secret had been well kept, and Rawlins resolved
that during the captain’s morning watch he would make
the attempt. Now where the English slaves lay in the
gunroom there were always four or five crowbars of iron
hanging up. When the time was approaching when the
mutiny should take place, Rawlins was in the act of taking
down his iron crowbar when he had the misfortune to make
such a noise with it that it woke up the Turkish soldiers,
and they, in alarm, roused the other Moslems. Everything
was in pitch darkness and it was uncertain as to what would
happen. Presently the Turkish boatswain came below with
a candle and searched all the parts of the ship where the
slaves were lying, but he found nothing suspicious other
than the crowbar, which had apparently slipped down. He
then went and informed the captain, who merely remarked<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_127"></SPAN>[127]</span>
that there was nothing to cause uneasiness, as the crowbar
not infrequently slipped down.</p>
<p>But with this unlucky beginning Rawlins deemed it best
to postpone the undertaking for the present. He had intended,
with the aid of his friends, knife in hand, to press
upon the gunner’s breast and the other English renegadoes,
and either force them to help, or else to cut their throats.
“Die or consent”—this was to be the prevailing force, and
the watchword was to be, “For God and King James, and
St. George for England.” In the meantime the <i>Exchange</i>
continued on her northerly voyage, farther and farther
away from the coast of Barbary. Still cautious but keen,
Rawlins went about the ship’s company, and now had
persuaded the gunners and the other English renegades
to fall in with his project. This was one of the riskiest
moments of his enterprise, but it resulted that there were
“reciprocal oaths taken, and hands given” to preserve
loyalty to each other: yet once again was Rawlins to be
disappointed.</p>
<p>For after the renegado gunner had solemnly sworn
secrecy, he went up the hatchway on deck for a quarter of
an hour, after which he returned to Rawlins in the “gunner-room.”
Then, to Rawlins’ surprise, in came an infuriated
Turk with his knife drawn. This he presented in a menacing
manner to Rawlins’ body. The latter, cleverly feigning
innocence, inquired what was the matter, and whether
it was the Turk’s intention to kill him. To this the
Turk answered, “No, master. Be not afraid: I think he
doth but jest.” But it was clear to Rawlins that the other
man had broken his compact and rounded on him. So,
drawing back, Rawlins drew out his own knife and also
stepped towards the gunner’s side, so that he was able to
snatch the knife from the gunner’s sheath. The Turk,<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_128"></SPAN>[128]</span>
seeing that now the Englishman had two knives to his one,
threw down his weapon, protesting that all the time he had
been joking. The gunner also whispered in Rawlins’ ear
that he had never betrayed the plan nor would he do such
a thing. However, Rawlins thought otherwise and kept
the two knives with him all the night.</p>
<p>Very ingenious was the way in which this Rawlins was
weaving his net gradually but surely around the ship. He
succeeded in persuading the captain to head for Cape
Finisterre, pretending that thereabouts they would be likely
to come upon a ship to be pillaged. This was perfectly
true, though the Englishman’s intention was to get the
<i>Exchange</i> farther and farther from the Straits of Gibraltar,
so that it became less and less likely that the corsairs would
send out reinforcements. On the 6th of February, when
about thirty-six miles off the Cape, a sail was descried.
The <i>Exchange</i> gave chase and came up with her, “making
her strike all her sails: whereby we knew her to be a bark
belonging to Torbay, near Dartmouth.” She was laden with
a cargo of salt, and her crew consisted of nine men and a
boy. But it came on bad weather, so the <i>Exchange</i> did
not then launch her boat, but ordered the Torbay ship to
let down her boat. Her master, with five men and the boy,
now rowed off to the <i>Exchange</i>, leaving behind his mate and
two men in the bark. The Turkish captain now sent ten
Moslems to man her. Now among these ten were two
Dutch and one English renegadoes “who were of our
confederacy.”</p>
<p>Just as the latter were about to hoist out their boat
from the <i>Exchange</i>, Rawlins was able to have a hurried
conversation with them. He quickly warned them it was
his intention that night or the next to put his plan into
action, and he advised these men to inform the mate and<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_129"></SPAN>[129]</span>
two men of the Torbay bark of this plot and then make for
England, “bearing up the helm, whiles the Turks slept and
suspected no such matter.” Rawlins reminded them that
in his first watch, about midnight, he would show them a
light by which the men on the bark might know that the
plan was already in action. So the boat was let down from
the <i>Exchange</i> and rowed off to the Torbay bark. The
confederates then told the mate of their intention, and he
entirely approved of the plan, though at first amazed by its
ingenuity.</p>
<p>The fact was that the idea was really much simpler than
was at first apparent. Being sailors the English “had the
helm of the ship,” for the Turks, being only soldiers and
ignorant of sea affairs, could not say whether their vessel
were sailing in the direction of Algiers or in the opposite
direction. They knew nothing of navigation and practically
nothing of seamanship, so they were, in spite of all their
brutality, more at the mercy of the Christians than they had
realised. But, resolved the plotters, if by any chance these
Moslems should guess that the ship was sailing away from
Algiers then they would at once cut the Turks’ throats,
and then throw their bodies overboard. It will be
remembered that the master and some of the Torbay bark’s
crew were now in the <i>Exchange</i>, and Rawlins made it his
business to approach these men tactfully and ask them to
share in the plan. This they resolved to do.</p>
<p>So far so good. Now the number of Turks had been
gradually diminishing since the beginning of the cruise.
For, first of all, nine Turks and one English slave had been
sent back to Algiers with the polacca prize; and now some
more had been sent off to the Torbay bark. Had the
<i>Exchange’s</i> captain fully realised how seriously he was
diminishing the strength of his own force, he could scarcely<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_130"></SPAN>[130]</span>
have done such a foolish thing. But throughout the whole
plot he was, without ever suspecting it, being fooled by a
clever schemer. Rawlins had all the tact and foresight of
a diplomatist combined with the ability to know when to
strike and the power to strike hard. And all this time,
while the captain himself was diminishing the number of
Moslems and simultaneously adding to the number of
Englishmen by the arrival of the Torbay ship, Rawlins, in
the most impudent manner, was going about the ship winning
every one except the Turkish soldiers over to his side.
One knows not which to admire most: his wonderful courage
or his consummate skill. For had he made one single error
in reposing confidence in the wrong man, the death of
the Englishman would have been both certain and cruel.</p>
<p>And the following step in Rawlins’ diplomatic advance
was even more interesting still. When morning came
again—it was now the 7th of February—the Torbay prize
was quite out of sight. This annoyed the captain of the
<i>Exchange</i> intensely, and he began both to storm and to
swear. He commanded Rawlins to search the seas up and
down; but there was not a vestige of the bark. She was
beyond the horizon. In course of time the captain abated
his wrath and remarked that no doubt he would see her
again in Algiers and that all would be well. This remark
rather worried Rawlins, as he began to fear the captain
would order the <i>Exchange</i> to return to the Straits of Gibraltar.
But Rawlins did not allow himself to worry long,
and proceeded below down into the hold. Here he found
that there was a good deal of water in the bilges which
could not be sucked up by the pump. He came on deck
and informed the captain. The latter naturally asked
how this had come about that the pump would not
discharge this, and Rawlins explained that the ship was too<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_131"></SPAN>[131]</span>
much down by the head and needed to have more weight
aft to raise her bows more out of the water.</p>
<p>He therefore ordered Rawlins to get the ship trimmed
properly. The captain was swallowing the bait most
beautifully; presently he would be hooked. Rawlins
explained that “We must quit our cables and bring four
pieces of ordnance” further aft, and that would cause the
water to flow to the pump. The captain, being quite
ignorant of the ways of a ship, ordered these suggestions to
become orders, and so two of the guns which usually were
forward were now brought with their mouths right before
the binnacle. In the ship were three decks. Rawlins and
his mates of the “gunner-room” were warned to be ready
to break up the lower deck; and the English slaves, who
always lay in the middle deck, were likewise told to watch
the hatchways. Rawlins himself persuaded the gunner
to let him have as much powder as would prime the guns,
and quietly warned his confederates to begin the mutiny as
soon as ever the gun was fired, when they were to give a
wild shout and hand on the password.</p>
<p>The time appointed for the crisis was 2 p.m., and
about that time Rawlins advised the master-gunner to
speak to the captain that the soldiers might come on the
poop deck and so bring the ship’s bows more out of the
water and cause the pump to work better. To this
suggestion the captain readily agreed, so twenty Turkish
soldiers came aft to the poop, while five or six of the
confederates stole into the captain’s cabin and brought
away various weapons and shields. After that Rawlins
and his assistants began to pump the water. Later on,
having made every preparation and considered all details,
in order to avoid suspicion the members of the “gunner-room”
went below and the slaves in the middle deck went<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_132"></SPAN>[132]</span>
about their work in the usual way. Then the nine English
slaves and John Rawlins, the five men and one boy from
the Torbay bark, the four English renegades, the two
Dutch and the four Hollanders “lifting up our hearts and
thanks to God for the success of the business” set to work
on the final act of the cleverly conceived plot.</p>
<p>About noon Roe and Davis were ordered by Rawlins
to prepare their matches, while most of the Turks were on
the poop weighing down the stern to bring the water to
the pump. The two men came with the matches, and at
the appointed time Roe fired one of the guns, which caused
a terrific explosion. Immediately this was followed by
wild cheering on the part of the confederates. The explosion
broke down the binnacle and compasses, and the
soldiers were amazed by the cheering of the Christian slaves.
And then they realised what had happened—that there
had been a mutiny, that the ship had been surprised.
The Turks were mad with fury and indignation. Calling
the mutineers “Dogs,” they began to tear up planks of the
ship and to attack the confederates with hammers, hatchets,
knives, boat’s oars, boat-hook and whatever came into
their hands. Even the stones and bricks of the “cook-room,”
or galley, were picked up and hurled at Rawlins’
party.</p>
<p>But the carefully arranged plot was working out
perfectly. Below, the slaves had cleared the decks of all
the Turks and Moors, and Rawlins now sent a guard to
protect the powder, and the confederates charged their
muskets against the remaining Turks, killing some of them
on the spot. The Moslems, who had been such tyrannical
taskmasters, now actually called for Rawlins, so he, guarded
by some of his adherents, went to them. The latter fell
on their knees and begged for mercy, who had shown no<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_133"></SPAN>[133]</span>
mercy to others. Rawlins knew what he was about, and
after these tyrants had been taken one by one, he caused
them to be killed, while other Turks leapt overboard,
remarking that “it was the chance of war.” Others were
manacled and then hurled overboard. Some more had yet
to be killed outright, and then at length the victory and
annihilation were complete. By careful plotting and
good organisation and a firmness at the proper time, the
whole scheme had been an entire success.</p>
<p>It happened that when the explosion had taken place,
the captain was in his cabin writing, and at once rushed
out. But when he saw the confederates and how matters
stood and that the ship was already in other hands, he
at once surrendered and begged for his life. He reminded
Rawlins “how he had redeemed him from Villa Rise,” and
that he had since treated him with great consideration.
Rawlins had to admit that this was so, so he agreed to
spare the captain his life. As before mentioned the
captain was an English renegade whose real name was
Henry Chandler, he being the son of a chandler in Southwark.
So this man was brought back to England, as well
as John Goodale; Richard Clarke, gunner (<i>alias</i> Jafar in
Turkish); George Cook, gunner’s mate (<i>alias</i> Ramedam
in Turkish); John Browne (<i>alias</i> Mamme in Turkish); and
William Winter, ship’s carpenter (<i>alias</i> Mustapha in
Turkish); “besides all the slaves and Hollanders, with
other renegadoes, who were willing to be reconciled to
their true Saviour, as being formerly seduced with the
hopes of riches, honour, preferment, and suchlike devilish
baits to catch the souls of mortal men and entangle frailty
in the tarriers of horrible abuses and imposturing
deceit.”</p>
<p>The Englishmen now set to work and cleared the ship<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_134"></SPAN>[134]</span>
of the dead Moslem bodies, and then Rawlins assembled
his men and gave praise to God “using the accustomed
Service on shipboard; and, for want of books, lifted up
their voices to God, as He put into their hearts or renewed
their memories.” And after having sung a psalm, they
embraced each other “for playing the men in such a
deliverance.” The same night they washed the ship of the
carnage, put every thing in order, repaired the broken
quarter which had been damaged by the explosion, set up
the binnacle again and made for England. On the 13th
February the <i>Exchange</i> arrived at Plymouth, where they
“were welcomed like the recovery of the lost sheep, or as
you read of a loving mother that runneth with embraces to
entertain her son from a long voyage and escape of many
dangers.”</p>
<p>As for the Torbay bark, she too had got back to
England, having arrived at Penzance two days before.
Her story is brief but not less interesting. The mate had
been informed of Rawlins’ plan, and he and his friends had
agreed. But the carrying out of this had been a far simpler
and neater matter than that which had taken place on the
<i>Exchange</i>. For once again mere landsmen had been
fooled at the hands of seamen. It happened on this wise.
They made the Turks believe that the wind had now come
fair and that the prize was being sailed back to Algiers.
This they believed until they sighted the English shore,
when one of the Turks remarked that “that land is not like
Cape St. Vincent.” To this the man at the helm replied
very neatly, “Yes; and if you will be contented and go
down into the hold, and turn the salt over to windward,
whereby the ship may bear full sail, you shall know and
see more to-morrow.”</p>
<p>Suspecting nothing the five Turks then went quietly<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_135"></SPAN>[135]</span>
down. But as soon as they had gone below into the hold,
the renegadoes, with the help of two Englishmen, nailed
down the hatches and kept the rascals there till they reached
Penzance. But one of the other Turks was on deck, and at
this incident he broke out into great rage. This was but
short-lived, for an Englishman stepped up to him, dashed
out his brains and threw his body overboard.</p>
<p>All the other prisoners were brought safely to England
and lodged either in Plymouth gaol or Exeter, “either to be
arraigned according to the punishment of delinquents in
that kind, or disposed of as the king and council shall think
meet.” We need not stop to imagine the joy of welcoming
back men who had been lost in slavery. We need not try
to guess the delight of the west-countrymen that at last
some of these renegadoes had been brought back to be
punished in England. There is not the slightest doubt of
this story of the <i>Exchange</i> being true, but it shows that
even in that rather disappointing age which followed on
immediately after the defeat of the Armada, there were, at
a time when maritime matters were under a cloud, not
wanting English seamen of the right stamp, men of courage
and action, men who could fight and navigate a ship as in
the spacious days of Queen Elizabeth. Happily the type
of man which includes such sailor characters as Rawlins is
not yet dead; the Anglo-Saxon race still rears many of his
calibre, and it needs only the opportunity to display such
nerve, daring enterprise and tactful action.</p>
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<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_136"></SPAN>[136]</span></p>
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