Now the hall was clamorous with excited comment and anticipation, as the lucky spectators studied the prisoners and loudly gave their opinions to each other.
To one side an area had been railed off, and two green, jackets with drawn swords stood guard over it. Behind the railing a row of comfortable cushioned chairs had been arranged. Now there was further hubbub, and the crowd's attention turned from the accused men to the dignitaries who filed out through the doors of the audience chamber. Governor Kleinhans led them, with Katinka van de Velde on his arm, followed by Lord Cumbrae and Captain Limberger, chatting casually together, ignoring the stir that their entrance was causing among the common folk.
Katinka took the chair in the centre of the row. Hal stared at her, willing her to look in his direction, to give him a sign of recognition and reassurance. He tried to sustain in himself the faith that she would never abandon him, and that she had already used her influence and had interceded with her husband for mercy, but she was deep in conversation with Governor Kleinhans and never as much as glanced at the ranks of English seamen. She does not want others to see her preference and concern for us, Hal consoled himself, but when the time comes for her to give her evidence she will surely speak out for us.
Colonel Schreuder clumped down his booted feet heavily and came to his feet. He stared around the crowded hall with huge disdain, and the female spectators gave little sighs and squeals of admiration.
'This tribunal is convened by virtue of the power conferred upon the honourable Dutch East India Company in the terms of the charter issued to the aforesaid Company by the government of the Republic of Holland and the Lowlands. Pray silence and stand for the president of the tribunal, His Excellency Governor Petrus van de Velde.'
The spectators came to their feet with a subdued murmur and stared in anticipation at the door behind the platform. Some of the prisoners struggled up, rattling their chains, but when they saw Sir Francis Courtney and Hal sit unmoving they subsided back onto the benches.
Through the far door appeared the president of the court. He mounted ponderously to the platform and glared down upon the seated rows of prisoners. 'Get those rogues on their feed' he bellowed suddenly. and the crowds quailed before his murderous expression.
In the stunned silence that followed this outburst, Sir Francis spoke out clearly in Dutch. 'Neither I nor any of my men recognize the authority of this assembly, nor do we accept the right of the self-appointed president to examine and sentence free-born Englishmen, subjects only of His Majesty King Charles the Second. Van de Velde seemed to swell like a great toad. His face turned a dark and furious shade of crimson, and he roared, 'You are a pirate and a murderer. By the sovereignty of the Republic and the charter of the Company, by the right of moral and international law, the authority is vested in me to conduct this trial.' He broke off to gasp for breath, then went on even louder than before. 'I find you guilty of gross and flagrant contempt of this court, and I sentence you to ten strokes of the cane to be administered forthwith.' He looked to the commander of the guard. 'Master of arms, take the prisoner into the courtyard and carry out the sentence at once.'
Four soldiers hurried forward from the back of the hall, and hauled Sir Francis to his feet. Hal, shackled to his father, was dragged with him to the main doors. Behind them, men and women leaped onto the benches and craned for a view, then rushed in a body to the doorway and the windows as Sir Francis and Hal were urged down the staircase into the yard.
Sir Francis kept silent, his head high and his back straight, as he was pushed to the hitching rail for officer's horses at the entrance of the armoury. At the shouted orders of the sergeant, he and Hal were placed on either side of the high rail, facing each other, their manacled wrists hooked into the iron rings.
Hal was powerless to intervene. The sergeant placed his forefinger in the back of the collar of Sir Francis's shirt and yanked down, splitting the cotton to the waist. Then he stepped back and swished his light malacca cane.
'You have made an oath on your Knighthood. Do you stand by it on your honour?' Sir Francis whispered to his son.
'I do, Father.'
The cane fluted and snapped on his bare flesh, and Sir Francis winced. 'This beating is but a little thing, the play of children compared to what must follow. Do you understand that?'
'I understand full well.'
The sergeant struck again. He was laying the stripes one on top of the other, the pain multiplying with each blow.
'No matter what you do or say, nothing and no one can change the flight of the red comet. The stars have laid out my destiny and you cannot intervene.'
The cane hummed and cracked, and Sir Francis's body stiffened, then relaxed.
'If you are strong and constant, you will endure. That will be my reward.'
This time he gave a small, hoarse gasp as the cane bit into the tautly stretched muscles of his back.
'You are my body and my blood. Through you I also will endure.'
The cane hummed and clapped, again and again.
'Swear it to me one last time. Reinforce your oath, that you will never reveal anything to these people in a futile attempt to save me.'
'Father, I swear it to you,' Hal whispered back, his face white as bleached bone, as the cane sang, a succession of cruel blows.
'I put all my faith and my trust in you,' said Sir Francis, and the soldiers lifted him down from the railing. As they marched back up the staircase, he leaned lightly on Hal's arm. When he stumbled Hal braced him, so that his head was still high and his bloody back straight as they entered the hall and marched together to their seats on the front bench.
Governor van de Velde was now seated on the dais. A silver tray was set at his elbow, loaded with small china bowls of appetizers and spiced savouries. He was munching contentedly on one of these and drinking from a pewter mug of small beer as he chatted to Colonel Schreuder at the table below him. As soon as Sir Francis and Hal were shoved by their guards onto the bench again his amiable expression changed dramatically. He raised his voice and an immediate, dense silence fell over the assembly. 'I trust that I have made it clear that I will brook no further hindrance to these proceedings.' He glowered at Sir Francis and then raised his eyes to sweep the hall. 'That goes for all persons gathered here. Anyone else who in any way attempts to make a mockery of this tribunal will receive the same treatment as the prisoner.' He looked down at Schreuder. 'Who appears for the prosecution?'
Schreuder stood up. 'Colonel Cornelius Schreuder, at your service, your excellency.'
'Who appears for the defence?' Van de Velde glowered at Jacobus Hop, and the clerk sprang to his feet, sending half the documents in front of him showering to the tiles.
'I do, your excellency.'
'State your name, man!' van de Velde roared at him, and Hop wriggled like a puppy.
He stammered, 'Jacobus Hop, clerk and writer to the Honourable Dutch East India Company.' This declaration took a long time to enunciate.
'In future speak out and speak clear,' van de Velde warned him, then turned back to Schreuder. 'You may proceed to present your case, Colonel.'
'This is a matter of piracy on the high seas, together with murder and abduction. The accused are twenty-four in number. With your indulgence, I will now read a list of their names. Each prisoner will stand when his name is read so that the court may recognize him.' From the sleeve of his tunic he drew a roll of parchment and held it at arm's length. 'The foremost accused person is Francis Courtney, captain of the pirate bark the Lady Edwina. Your excellency, he is the leader and instigator of all the criminal acts perpetrated by this pack of sea wolves and corsairs.' Van de Velde nodded his understanding and Schreuder went on. 'Henry Courtney, officer and mate. Ned Tyler, boatswain. Daniel Fisher, boatswain...' He recited the name and rank of each man on the benches, and each stood briefly, some of them bobbing their heads and grinning ingratiatingly at van de Velde. The last four names on Schreuder's list were those of the black seamen. 'Matesi, a Negro slave.
'Jiri, a Negro slave. 'Kimatti, a Negro slave. 'Aboli, a Negro slave.
'The prosecution will prove that on the fourth day of September in the year of Our Lord sixteen sixty-seven, Francis Courtney, while commanding the caravel the Lady Edwina, of which the other prisoners were all crew members, did fall upon the galleon De Standvastigheid, Captain Limberger commanding...' Schreudet spoke without reference to notes or papers, and Hal felt a reluctant admiration for the thoroughness and lucidity of his accusations.
'And now, your excellency, if you please, I should like to call my first witness.' Van de Velde nodded, and Schreuder turned and looked across the floor. 'Call Captain Limberger.'
The captain of the galleon left his comfortable chair in the railed-off enclosure, crossed to the platform and stepped up onto it. The witness's chair stood beside the judge's table and Limberger seated himself.
'Do you understand the gravity of this matter and swear in the name of Almighty God to tell the truth before this court?' van de Velde asked him.
'I do, your excellency.'
'Very well, Colonel, you may question your witness.' Swiftly Schreuder led Limberger through a recital of
