Thomas glanced down the length of the galley, taking in the clusters of soldiers, some armed with crossbows, and saw La Vaiette on the stem deck, standing tall and erect, with the stout shape of the sailing master at his side. No man spoke above a whisper and the only sound was the dull crash of the ocean swell against the rocks of the headland, and the rhythmic creak of the oars and the splash as the blades bit into the sea. Once the galley had cleared the head-land, the steersman turned the Swift Hind in towards the shore, in line with the nearest of the galleys. Thomas had become accustomed to the captain’s habit of keeping his plans to himself but could nonetheless guess at his intentions. La Vaiette intended to attack the nearest galley first. Even if the galleon managed to weigh anchor and clear the bay before the galleys were dealt with, she would be easy enough for the Order’s sleek warship to run down and capture.
To the east the light was now distinctly stronger and the outline of the opposite headland was stark against the sky. A stinking waft of the enemy’s galleys carried across the deck of the Swift Hind, adding to the foul smell of the Christian vessel.
The galley had closed to within half a mile of the enemy before the shrill blast of a horn carried across the water, sounding the alarm. Thomas felt an icy twinge of anxiety snatch at the back of his neck and he grasped his pike more tightly in his hands. From the rear of the galley La Valette’s voice carried clearly to his men.
‘Paceman, battle speed! Gunners, prepare your port fires!’
As the drum began to beat out a steady, insistent rhythm below the deck, a dull glow appeared at the bows as the first length of the port fires emerged from its small tub. For an instant it flared brightly as a gunner blew on it and then the other gun captain took his turn and both men stood poised by the breaches of their cannon waiting for the order to fire.
Thomas’s heart quickened with the increased pace of the time keeping drum and the deck lurched slightly beneath his boots with each sweep of the oars. Off the port beam he could see tiny figures scrambling to their feet around the glow of the fire on the beach. Some simply stared at the galley cutting across the surface of the bay towards them. Others began to run to the water’s edge and wade out towards the galleon, then splash forwards as they swam towards their vessel. Those who could not swim began to heave the ship’s tenders into the gentle surf and scramble aboard. Over on the nearest of the corsair galleys dark figures began to line the sides of the vessel. Many wore turbans and gesticulated wildly towards the oncoming danger as they snatched up their weapons. Their shouts carried clearly across the intervening sea.
Meanwhile not a man on the Christian galley spoke a word and the only sounds were the beating of the drum, the rush of the water along the sleek lines of the hull and the muffled grunts of the men straining at the oars. Thomas looked back along the deck to the stem and could just make out his captain’s expression in the thin pre-dawn loom. La Valette was standing quite still, his left hand resting on his sword hilt, his features, framed by a closely clipped beard, fixed and unyielding. It was his custom to lead his men into battle in silence, knowing that it would unsettle the enemy. Only at the last moment would they let out a deafening roar as they fell upon their foe.
A sharp crack sounded close by and Thomas flinched as several splinters exploded from the side rail. A puff of smoke from the nearest corsair galley showed where an arquebusier had fired at them a moment earlier. He had already lowered the butt of his long-barrelled weapon to the deck and was reloading. Thomas glanced to each side to see if anyone had noticed his flinching but the men around him were staring ahead and Stokely’s lips moved as he prayed under his breath. His gaze flickered towards Thomas and he stilled his tongue and averted his eyes when he saw Thomas looking at him.
There were more puffs of smoke and the lead balls zipped overhead before another shot struck the galley on the bow. Thomas forced himself to stand still as he watched several more shots fired from the nearest enemy vessel, each one a lurid red bloom in a swirl of smoke that died away in a moment.
‘Crossbows!’ La Valette called out. ‘Make ready!’
The soldiers of the Order still used the outdated weapon. It lacked the range and power of the Turks’ firearm but it was less cumbersome and could cause terrible injuries when it was aimed true. A small party of men moved forward and took up position along each bow rail. Using the small windlass on the butt they wound back the bowstring and carefully placed a bolt in the channel running along the top of the weapon.
‘Shoot at will!’ The order carried clearly from the stem of the galley. The loud cracks of the enemy’s arquebuses were answered by the dull whack of the released bowstrings and the bolts leaped across the water in a shallow arc before disappearing amid the men crowding the deck of the corsair vessel.
There were now no more than a hundred paces between the two galleys, Thomas estimated. Scores of turbaned men lined the side rail, shouting their challenges at the Christians as they brandished their scimitars and pikes. Below the side rail the first oars were being run out as the crew frantically struggled to get their vessel under way. Thomas braced himself for the imminent order to fire the galley’s cannon, and he saw one of the gun captains glance over his shoulder. ‘Come on, come on,’ the man growled.
La Valette waited a moment longer then cupped his hands to his mouth and bellowed, ‘Open fire!’
CHAPTER TWO
At once the gun captains touched the glowing ends of their slow matches to the paper cones filled with gunpowder that protruded from the vents. There was a crackling hiss as the powder flared and then an ear-splitting roar and thump as a jet of fire and flame leaped from the muzzle of each cannon. The violent recoil caused the deck to lurch beneath Thomas’s feet and he staggered forward a step before he recovered his balance. Each weapon had been carefully loaded with a mixture of large iron nails, linked chains and cast lead shot, captured from an enemy ship months earlier. There was a savage satisfaction in seeing the enemy’s ammunition used against them, Thomas mused. The deadly cone of metal fragments blasted into the side of the corsair vessel. Splinters spat in all directions as the side rail was chewed up in two places. Behind, the turbaned warriors were swept away like children’s dolls and left in tangled heaps on the deck.
‘For God and St John!’ La Valette bellowed and his men echoed his cry with a great roar that tore at their throats, their mouths agape and their eyes wide with crazed excitement. ‘For God and St John!’ they shouted again and again as the galley surged forward, directly towards the side of the enemy vessel.
‘Brace yourselves!’ La Valette shouted, his booming voice just audible above the cheering of his men. Thomas stilled his tongue and gritted his teeth as he lowered himself into a crouch, grabbed the side rail with one hand and spread his feet wide. The others around him, those with the wit to understand what was to come, followed his example and waited for the impact. The deck seemed to leap beneath him and the soldier standing behind Thomas slammed into his shoulder before pitching on to the deck, along with several others. The foremast groaned in protest and there was a loud crack as one of the shrouds parted. Below deck there was a muffled chorus of cries as the terrified rowers were hurled from their benches and brought up painfully by their chains. The bow of the Swift Hind had been heavily reinforced to withstand the impact of a ramming attack and now rode up with a terrible grinding and splintering as the corsair galley tilted under the impact. There were cries of terror as scores of the enemy tumbled down the sloping deck and fell against the side. Several continued over the rail and splashed into the sea.