History of the United Netherlands, 1590a | Page 5

dock.
Meantime, as the adventurers were making their way slowly towards
the Watergate, they struck upon a hidden obstruction in the river and
the deeply laden vessel sprang a leak. In a few minutes those inside
were sitting up to their knees in water--a circumstance which scarcely
improved their already sufficiently dismal condition. The boatmen
vigorously plied the pumps to save the vessel from sinking outright; a
party of Italian soldiers soon arrived on the shore, and in the course of a
couple of hours they had laboriously dragged the concealed Hollanders
into the inner harbour and made their vessel fast, close to the

guard-house of the castle.
And now a crowd of all sorts came on board. The winter nights had
been long and fearfully cold, and there was almost a dearth of fuel both
in town and fortress. A gang of labourers set to work discharging the
turf from the vessel with such rapidity that the departing daylight began
to shine in upon the prisoners much sooner than they wished. Moreover,
the thorough wetting, to which after all their other inconveniences they
had just been exposed in their narrow escape from foundering, had set
the whole party sneezing and coughing. Never was a catarrh so sudden,
so universal, or so ill-timed. Lieutenant Held, unable to control the
violence of his cough, drew his dagger and eagerly implored his next
neighbour to stab him to the heart, lest his infirmity should lead to the
discovery of the whole party. But the calm and wary skipper who stood
on the deck instantly commanded his companion to work at the pump
with as much clatter as possible, assuring the persons present that the
hold was nearly full of water. By this means the noise of the coughing
was effectually drowned. Most thoroughly did the bold boatman
deserve the title of dare-devil, bestowed by his more fainthearted uncle.
Calmly looking death in the face, he stood there quite at his ease,
exchanging jokes with his old acquaintances, chaffering with the eager
purchasers of peat shouting most noisy and superfluous orders to the
one man who composed his crew, doing his utmost, in short, to get rid
of his customers and to keep enough of the turf on board to conceal the
conspirators.
At last, when the case seemed almost desperate, he loudly declared that
sufficient had been unladen for that evening and that it was too dark
and he too tired for further work. So, giving a handful of stivers among
the workmen, he bade them go ashore at once and have some beer and
come next morning for the rest of the cargo. Fortunately, they accepted
his hospitable proposition and took their departure. Only the servant of
the captain of the guard lingered behind, complaining that the turf was
not as good as usual and that his master would never be satisfied with
it.
"Ah!" returned the cool skipper, "the best part of the cargo is
underneath. This is expressly reserved for the captain. He is sure to get
enough of it to-morrow."
Thus admonished, the servant departed and the boatman was left to

himself. His companion had gone on shore with secret orders to make
the best of his way to Prince Maurice, to inform him of the arrival of
the ship within the fortress, and of the important fact which they had
just learned, that Governor Lanzavecchia, who had heard rumours of
some projected enterprise and who suspected that the object aimed at
was Gertruydenberg, had suddenly taken his departure for that city,
leaving as his lieutenant his nephew Paolo, a raw lad quite incompetent
to provide for the safety of Breda.
A little before midnight, Captain Heraugiere made a brief address to his
comrades in the vessel, telling them that the hour for carrying out their
undertaking had at length arrived. Retreat was impossible, defeat was
certain death, only in complete victory lay their own safety and a great
advantage for the commonwealth. It was an honor to them to be
selected for such an enterprise. To show cowardice now would be an
eternal shame for them, and he would be the man to strike dead with
his own hand any traitor or poltroon. But if, as he doubted not, every
one was prepared to do his duty, their success was assured, and he was
himself ready to take the lead in confronting every danger.
He then divided the little band into two companies, one under himself
to attack the main guard-house, the other under Fervet to seize the
arsenal of the fortress.
Noiselessly they stole out of the ship where they had so long been
confined, and stood at last on the ground within the precincts of the
castle. Heraugiere marched straight to the guard-house.
"Who goes there?" cried