The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Pirate Slaver, by Harry Collingwood
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Title: The Pirate Slaver
A Story of the West African Coast
Author: Harry Collingwood
Illustrator: W.H. Overend
Release Date: November 15, 2007 [EBook #23498]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PIRATE SLAVER ***
Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
The Pirate Slaver, a Story of the West African Coast, by Harry
Collingwood.
________________________________________________________________________
This is a very well-written book, especially from the nautical point of
view. It is written as by a midshipman in a British warship patrolling
the west coast of Africa, especially the Congo area, to try to prevent
the slave traders, especially the Portuguese, from succeeding in their
efforts to get the poor captured Africans over the Atlantic to Cuba in
the most miserable conditions.
But it doesn't work out as simply as that! For the hero, Harry Dugdale,
is captured in an action, and would have been killed but for the
interest taken in him by the slaver-captain's son. From this there
sprang a deal with the slaver that Harry would assist with navigation
and watch-keeping, but must go below decks when there is an action in
progress.
We won't tell you much more than that but cannot refrain from commenting
that the book is at least as good as the best by Kingston, though in
this book the action is almost entirely at sea, or at least on board a
sea-going vessel.
________________________________________________________________________
THE PIRATE SLAVER, A STORY OF THE WEST AFRICAN COAST, BY HARRY
COLLINGWOOD.
CHAPTER ONE.
THE CONGO RIVER.
"Land ho! broad on the port bow!"
The cry arose from the look-out on the forecastle of her Britannic
Majesty's 18-gun brig _Barracouta_, on a certain morning near the middle
of the month of November, 1840; the vessel then being situated in about
latitude 6 degrees 5 minutes south and about 120 east longitude. She
was heading to the eastward, close-hauled on the port tack, under every
rag that her crew could spread to the light and almost imperceptible
draught of warm, damp air that came creeping out from the northward. So
light was the breeze that it scarcely wrinkled the glassy smoothness of
the long undulations upon which the brig rocked and swayed heavily while
her lofty trucks described wide arcs across the paling sky overhead,
from which the stars were vanishing one after another before the advance
of the pallid dawn. And at every lee roll her canvas flapped with a
rattle as of a volley of musketry to the masts, sending down a smart
shower from the dew-saturated cloths upon the deck, to fill again with
the report of a nine-pounder and a great slatting of sheets and blocks
as the ship recovered herself and rolled to windward.
The brig was just two months out from England, from whence she had been
dispatched to the West African coast to form a portion of the
slave-squadron and to relieve the old _Garnet_, which, from her
phenomenal lack of speed, had proved utterly unsuitable for the service
of chasing and capturing the nimble slavers who, despite all our
precautions, were still pursuing their cruel and nefarious vocation with
unparalleled audacity and success. We had relieved the _Garnet_, and
had looked in at Sierra Leone for the latest news; the result of this
visit being that we were now heading in for the mouth of the Congo,
which river had been strongly commended to our especial attention by the
Governor of the little British colony. Our captain, Commander Henry
Stopford, was by no means a communicative man, it being a theory of his
that it is a mistake on the part of a chief to confide more to his
officers than is absolutely necessary for the efficient and intelligent
performance of their duty; hence he had not seen fit to make public the
exact particulars of the information thus received. But he had of
course made an exception in favour of Mr Young, our popular first luff;
and as I--Henry Dugdale, senior mid of the _Barracouta_--happened to be
something of a favourite with the latter, I learned from him, in the
course of conversation, some of the circumstances that were actuating
our movements. The intelligence, however, was of a very meagre
character, and simply amounted to this: That large numbers of African
slaves were being continually landed on the Spanish West Indian islands;
that two boats with their crews had mysteriously disappeared in the
Congo while engaged upon a search of that river for slavers; and that a
small felucca named the _Wasp_--a tender to the British ship-sloop
_Lapwing_--had also disappeared with all hands, some three months
previously, after having been seen in pursuit of a large brig that had
come out of the river; these circumstances leading to the inference that
the Congo was the haunt of a strong gang of daring slavers whose capture
must be effected at any cost.
It was for this service that the _Barracouta_ had been selected, she
being a brand-new ship especially built for work on the West African
coast, and modelled to sail at a high speed upon a light draught of
water. She was immensely beamy for her length, and very shallow,
drawing only ten feet of water with all her stores and ammunition on
board, very heavily sparred--_too_ heavily, some of us thought--and, as
for canvas, her topsails had the hoist of those of a frigate of twice
her tonnage. She was certainly a beautiful model of a ship--far and
away the prettiest that I had ever seen when I first stepped on board
her--while her speed, especially in light winds and tolerably smooth
water, was such as to fill us all, fore and aft, with the most
extravagant hopes of success against the light-heeled slave clippers
whose business it was ours to suppress. She was a flush-decked vessel,
with high, substantial bulwarks pierced for nine guns of a side, and she
mounted fourteen 18-pounder carronades and four long nine-pounders, two
forward and two aft, which could be used as bow and stern-chasers
respectively, if need were, although we certainly did not anticipate the
necessity to employ any of our guns in the latter capacity. Our crew,
all told, numbered one hundred and sixty-five.
I was in the first lieutenant's watch, and happened to be on deck when
the look-out reported land upon the morning upon which this story opens.
I remember the circumstance as well as though it had occurred but
yesterday, and I have only to close my eyes to bring the whole scene up
before my mental vision as distinctly as a picture. The brig was, as I
have already said, heading to the eastward, close-hauled, on the port
tack, under everything that we could set, to her royals; but the wind
was so scant that even the light upper sails flapped and rustled
monotonously to the sleepy heave and roll of the ship, and it was only
by glancing through a port at the small, iridescent air-bubbles that
drifted astern at the rate of about a knot and a half in the hour that
we were able to detect the fact of our own forward movement at all. We
had been on deck just an hour--for two bells had barely been struck--
when the first faint suggestion of dawn appeared ahead in the shape of a
scarcely-perceptible lightening of the sky along a narrow strip of the
eastern horizon, in the midst of which the morning star beamed
resplendently, while the air, although still warm, assumed a freshness
that, compared with the close, muggy heat of the past night, seemed
almost cold, so that involuntarily I drew the lapels of my thin jacket
together and buttoned the garment from throat to waist. Quickly, yet by
imperceptible gradations, the lightening of the eastern sky spread and
strengthened, the soft, velvety, star-lit, blue-black hue paling to an
arch of cold, colourless pallor as the dawn asserted itself more
emphatically, while the stars dwindled and vanished one by one in the
rapidly-growing light. As the pallor of the sky extended itself
insidiously north and south along the horizon, a low-lying bank of what
at first presented the appearance of dense vapour became visible on the
_Barracouta's_ larboard bow; but presently, when the cold whiteness of
the coming day became flushed with a delicate tint of purest, palest
primrose, the supposed fog-bank assumed a depth of rich purple hue and a
clear-cut sharpness of outline that proclaimed it what it was--_land_,
most unmistakably. The look-out was a smart young fellow, who had
already established a reputation for trustworthiness, and he more than
half suspected the character of the cloud-like appearance when it first
caught his attention; he therefore kept his eye upon it, and was no
sooner assured of its nature than he raised the cry of--
"Land ho! broad on the port bow!"
The first luff, who had been for some time meditatively pacing the
weather side of the deck from the binnacle to the gangway, with his
hands clasped behind his back and his glance directed alternately to the
deck at his feet and to the swaying main-royal-mast-head, quickly awoke
from his abstraction at the cry from the forecastle, and, springing
lightly upon a carronade slide, with one hand grasping the inner edge of
the hammock-rail, looked long and steadily in the direction indicated.
"Ay, ay, I see it," he answered, when after a long, steady look he had
satisfied himself of the character of what he gazed upon. "Wheel,
there, how's her head?"
"East-south-east, sir!" answered the helmsman promptly.
The lieutenant shut one eye and, raising his right arm, with the hand
held flat and vertically, pointed toward the southern extremity of the
distant land, held it there for a moment, and murmured--
"A point and a half--east-half-south, distant--what shall we say--twenty
miles? Ay, about that, as nearly as may be. Mr Dugdale, just slip
below and let the master know that the land is in sight on the port bow,
bearing east-half-south, distant twenty miles."
I touched my cap and trundled down to the master's cabin, the door of
which was hooked back wide open, permitting the cool, refreshing morning
air that came in through the open scuttle free play throughout the full
length of the rather circumscribed apartment in which Mr Robert Bates
lay snoring anything but melodiously. Entering the cabin, I grasped the
worthy man by the shoulder and shook him gently, calling him by name at
the same time in subdued tones in order that I might not awake the
occupants of the contiguous berths.
"Ay, ay," was the answer, as the snoring abruptly terminated in a
convulsive snort: "Ay, ay. What's the matter now, youngster? Has the
ship tumbled overboard during the night, or has the skipper's cow gone
aloft to roost in the main-top, that you come here disturbing me with
your `Mr Bates--Mr Bates'?"
"Neither, sir," answered I, with a low laugh at this specimen of our
worthy master's quaint nautical humour; "but the first lieutenant
directed me to let you know that the land is in sight on the port bow,
bearing east-half-south, distant twenty miles."
"What, already?" exclaimed my companion, scrambling out of his cot,
still more than half asleep, and landing against me with a force that
sent me spinning out through the open doorway to bring up prostrate with
a crash in the cabin of the doctor opposite, half stunned by the
concussion of my skull against the bulkhead and by the avalanche of
ponderous tomes that came crashing down upon me as the worthy medico's
tier of hanging bookshelves yielded and came down by the run at my wild
clutch as I stumbled over the ledge of the cabin-door.
"Murther! foire! thieves! it's sunk, burnt, desthroyed, and kilt
intoirely that I am!" roared poor Blake, rudely awakened out of a sound
sleep by the crashing fall of his pet volumes upon the deck and by a
terrific thwack across the face that I had inadvertently dealt him as I
fell. "Fwhat is it that's happenin' at all, thin? is it a collision? or
is it a case of sthrandin'? or"--he looked over the edge of his cot and
saw me sitting upon the deck, ruefully rubbing the back of my head while
I vainly struggled to suppress my laughter at the ridiculous
_contretemps_--"oh! so it's _you_, thin, is it, Misther Dugdale? Bedad,
but you ought to be ashamed of yoursilf to be playin' these pranks--a
lad of your age, that's hitherto been the patthern of good behaviour!
But wait a little, my man--sthop till I tell the first liftinint of your
outhrageous conduct--"
By this time I thought that the matter had gone far enough; more over, I
had in a measure recovered my scattered senses, so I scrambled to my
feet and, as I re-hung the book shelf and replaced the books, hurriedly
explained to the good man the nature of the mishap, winding up with a
humble apology for having so rudely broken in upon what he was pleased
to call his "beauty shlape." Understanding at once that my involuntary
incursion into the privacy of his cabin had been the result of pure
accident, "Paddy," as we irreverently called him--his baptismal name was
William--very good-naturedly accepted my explanation and apology, and
composed himself to sleep again, whereupon I retreated in good order and
re-entered the master's cabin. The old boy had by this time slipped on
his breeches and coat, and was bending over the table with the chart of
"Africa--West Coast" spread out thereon, and a pencil and parallel ruler
in his hands. He indulged in one or two of the grimly humorous remarks
that were characteristic of him in reference to my disturbance of the
doctor's slumbers; and then, pointing to a dot that he had just made
upon the chart, observed--
"If the first lieutenant's bearing and distance are right, that's where
we are, about twelve miles off Shark Point, and therefore in soundings.
Did _you_ see the land, Mr Dugdale? What was it like?"
"It made as a long stretch of undulating hills sloping gently down to
the horizon at its southernmost extremity, and extending beyond the
horizon to the northward," I replied.
"Ay, ay, that's right; that's quite right," agreed the master. "It is
that range of hills stretching along parallel with the coast on the
north side of the river, and reaching as far as Kabenda Point,"
indicating the markings on the chart as he spoke. "Well, let us go on
deck and get a cast of the lead; it is time that we ascertained the
exact position of the ship, for the deep-water channel is none too wide,
and although there seems to be plenty of water for us over the banks on
either side, I have no fancy for trusting to the soundings laid down
here on the chart. These African rivers are never to be depended upon,
the shoals are constantly shifting, and where you may find water enough
to float a line-of-battle ship to-day, you may ground in that same
ship's launch a month hence."
He rolled up the chart, tucked it under his arm, gathered up his
parallel ruler, pencil, and dividers, and together we left the cabin and
made our way up the hatchway to the deck, where we found the first luff
still perched upon the carronade slide, anxiously scanning the horizon
on either bow under the sharp of his hand.
As we reached the deck a spark of golden fire flashed out upon the
horizon on our lee bow, and the sun's disc soared slowly into view,
warming the tints of a long, low-lying broken bank of grey cloud that
stretched athwart his course into crimson, and fringing its skirts with
gold as his first beams shot athwart the heaving water to the ship in a
tremulous path of shimmering, dazzling radiance.
The lieutenant caught a glimpse of us out of the corner of his eye as we
emerged from the hatchway, and at once stepped down off the slide on to
the deck.
"Good-morning, Bates," said he. "Well, here we are, with the land
plainly in view, you see; and I am glad that you have come on deck to
tell us just _where_ we are, for all this part of the world is quite new
ground to me. We are closer in than I thought we were, for just before
the sun rose the horizon ahead cleared, and I caught sight of what
looked like the tops of trees, both on the port and on the starboard
bow--you can't see them now for the dazzle, but you will presently, when
the sun is a bit higher--and there seemed to be an opening or
indentation of some sort between them, which I take to be the mouth of
the river."
"Ay, ay," answered Bates, "that will be it, no doubt." He sprang on to
the slide that Young had just vacated, took a long look at the land, and
then, turning to the helmsman, demanded, "How's her head?"
"East-south-east, sir," answered the man for the second time.
With this information the master in his turn took an approximate bearing
of the southernmost extremity of the range of hills, after which he
stepped down on to the deck again and, going to the capstan, spread out
his chart upon the head of it, calling me to help him keep the roll
open. The lieutenant followed him, and stood watching as the master
again manipulated his parallel ruler and dividers.
"Yes," remarked Bates, after a few moments' diligent study, "that's just
about where we are," pointing to the mark that he had made upon the
chart while in his own cabin. "And see," he continued, glancing out
through the nearest lee port, "we have reached the river water; look how
brown and thick it is, more like a cup of the captain's chocolate than
good, wholesome salt water. We will try a cast of the lead, Mr Young,
if you please, just to make sure; though if we are fair in the channel,
as I think we are, we shall get no bottom as yet. Nor shall we make any
headway until the wind freshens or the sea-breeze springs up, for we are
already within the influence of the outflowing current, and at this
season of the year--which is the rainy season--it runs very strongly a
little further in."
The lead was hove, but, as Bates had anticipated, no bottom was found;
whereupon the master rolled up his chart again, gave orders that the
ship was to be kept going as she was, and returned to his cabin, while
the watch mustered their buckets and scrubbing-brushes and proceeded to
wash decks and generally make the brig's toilet for the day.
Our worthy master was right; we did not make a particle of headway until
about nine o'clock, when the wind gradually hauled round aft and
freshened to a piping breeze before which we boomed along in fine style
until we came abreast of a low, narrow point on our port hand, protected
from the destructive action of the Atlantic breakers by a shoal
extending some three-quarters of a mile to seaward. Abreast of this
point we hauled up to the northward and entered a sort of bay about
half-a-mile wide, with the low point before-mentioned on our port hand,
and a wide mud-bank to starboard, beyond which was an island of
considerable extent, fringed with mangroves and covered with thick bush
and lofty trees. On the low point on our port hand were two
"factories," or trading establishments, abreast of which were lying two
brigs and a barque, one of the brigs flying British and the other
Spanish colours, while the barque sported the Dutch ensign at her
mizen-peak. We rounded-to just far enough outside these craft to give
them a clear berth, and let go our anchor in four fathoms of water.
It was a queer spot that we now found ourselves in; queer to me at
least, who was now entering upon my first experience of West African
service. We were riding with our head to the north-west under the
combined influence of wind and tide together, with the low point--named
Banana Peninsula, so the master informed me, though _why_ it should be
so named I never could understand, for there was not a single
banana-tree upon the whole peninsula, as I subsequently ascertained.
Let me see, where was I? I have gone adrift among those non-existent
banana-trees. Oh yes, I was going to attempt to make a word-sketch of
the scene which surrounded us after we had let go our anchor and furled
our canvas. The sea-breeze was piping strong from the westward, while
the tide was ebbing down the creek from the northward, and under these
combined influences the _Barracouta_ was riding with her head about
north-west. Banana Peninsula lay ahead of us, trending away along our
larboard beam and slightly away from us to the southward for about
half-a-mile, where it terminated in a sandy beach bordered by a broad
patch of smooth water, athwart which marched an endless line of mimic
breakers from the wall of flashing white surf that thundered upon the
outer edge of the protecting shoal three-quarters of a mile to seaward.
The point was pretty thickly covered with bush and trees, chiefly
cocoa-nut and other palms--except in the immediate vicinity and in front
of the two factories, where the soil had been cleared and a sort of
rough wharf constructed by driving piles formed of the trunks of trees
into the ground and wedging a few slabs of sawn timber in behind them.
The point, for a distance of perhaps a mile from its southern extremity,
was very narrow--not more than from one hundred and fifty to two hundred
yards wide--but beyond that it widened out considerably until it merged
in the mainland. On the opposite side of the creek, on our starboard
quarter and astern of us, was what I at first took to be a single
island, but which I subsequently found to be a group of about a dozen
islands, of which the smallest may have been half-a-mile long by about a
third of a mile broad, while the largest was some nine or ten miles long
by about three miles broad. These islands really constituted the
northern bank of the river for a distance some twenty-four miles up the
stream, being cut off from the mainland and from each other by narrow
canal-like creeks running generally in a direction more or less east and
west. The land all about here was low, and to a great extent swampy,
the margin of the creeks being lined with mangroves that presented a
very curious appearance as they stood up out of the dark, slimy-looking
water, their trunks supported upon a network of naked, twisted roots
that strongly suggested to me the idea of spiders' legs swollen and
knotted with some hideous, deforming disease. The trees themselves,
however, apart from their twisted, gnarled, and knotted roots, presented
a very pleasing appearance, for they had just come into full leaf, and
their fresh green foliage was deeply grateful to the eye satiated with a
long and wearisome repetition of the panorama of unbroken sea and sky.
Beyond the belt of mangroves the islands were overgrown with dense bush,
interspersed with tall trees, some of which were rich with violet
blossoms growing in great drooping clusters, like the flowers of the
laburnum; while others were heavily draped with long, trailing sprays of
magnificent jasmine, of which there were two kinds, one bearing a pinky
flower, and the other a much larger star-like bloom of pure white. The
euphorbia, acacia, and baobab or calabash-tree were all in bloom; and
here and there, through openings between the trunks of the mangroves,
glimpses were caught of rich splashes of deep orange-colour, standing
out like flame against the dark background of shadowed foliage, that
subsequent investigation proved to be clumps of elegant orchids. It
appeared that we had entered the river at precisely the right time of
the year to behold it at its brightest and best, for the spring rains
had only recently set in, and all Nature was rioting in the refreshment
of the welcome moisture and bursting forth into a joyous prodigality of
leaf and blossom, of colour and perfume, of life and glad activity. The
forest rang with the calls and cries of pairing birds; flocks of
parrots, parrakeets, and love-birds were constantly wheeling and darting
hither and thither; kingfishers flitted low across the placid water, or
watched motionless from some overhanging branch for the passage of their
unsuspecting prey; the wydah bird flaunted his gay plumage in the
brilliant sunshine, where it could be seen to the fullest advantage; and
butterflies, like living gems, flitted happily from flower to flower.
Astern of us, some three miles away, lay Boolambemba Point, the
southernmost extremity of the group of islands to which I have already
alluded, where the embouchure of the river may be said to begin, the
stream here being about three and a half miles across, while immediately
below it abruptly widens to a breadth of about five and a half miles at
the indentation leading to Banana Creek, in the narrow approach to which
we were lying at anchor. Of course it was not possible for us to
distinguish, from where we were lying, much of the character of the
country on the southern or left bank of the river, but it appeared to be
pretty much the same as what we saw around us; that is to say, low land
densely covered with bush and trees along the river margin, with higher
land beyond. About half-a-mile beyond us, broad on our starboard bow as
we were then lying, the anchorage narrowed down to a width of less than
half-a-mile, the western extremity of the group of islands already
referred to there converging toward Banana Peninsula in a low,
mangrove-wooded point. Beyond this, however, could be seen a stretch of
water about a mile and a half wide, which I subsequently learned ran for
several miles up at the back of the islands, between them and the
mainland, in the form of a narrow, shallow, canal-like creek that Bates,
the master, seemed to think might well repay the trouble of careful
inspection, since the narrow maze of channels to which it gave access
offered exceptional facilities for the embarkation of slaves, and a
choice of routes for the light-draught slavers from their places of
concealment into the main channel of the river.
CHAPTER TWO.
WE RECEIVE SOME IMPORTANT INTELLIGENCE.
We had barely got our canvas furled and the decks cleared when we saw a
fine, handsome whale-boat, painted white, with a canvas awning spread
over her stern-sheets, and the Portuguese flag fluttering from a little
staff at her stern, shove off from the wharf and pull toward us. She
was manned by four Krumen, and in the stern-sheets sat a tall, swarthy
man, whose white drill suit and white, broad-brimmed Panama hat, swathed
with a white puggaree, caused his suntanned face and hands to appear
almost as black as the skins of his negro crew. The boat swept up to
our gangway in very dashing style, and her owner, ascending the
accommodation ladder, stepped in on deck with a genial smile that
disclosed a splendid set of brilliantly white teeth beneath his heavy,
glossy black moustache.
"Good-morning, sar," said he to the first lieutenant, who met him at the
gangway. "Velcome to Banana," with a flourish of his hat. "Vat chip
dis is, eh?"
"Her Britannic Majesty's brig _Barracouta_," answered Young. "You are
the Portuguese consul here, I suppose?"
"No--no; I not de consul," was the answer. "Dere is no consul at
Banana. I am Senor Joaquin Miguel Lobo, Portuguese trader, at your
savice, sar; and I have come off to say dat I shall be happie to supply
your chip wid anyting dat you may require--vattare, fresh meat,
vegetabl', feesh, no fruit--de fruit not ripe yet; plenty fruit by an'
by, but not ripe yet--parrots, monkeys--all kind of bird and animal,
yes; and curiositie--plenty curiositie, sar."
Here the skipper, who had been below for a few minutes, re-appeared on
deck, and, seeing the stranger, advanced toward him, whereupon the first
lieutenant introduced Senor Joaquin Miguel Lobo in proper form.
"Glad to see you, senor," remarked the skipper genially. "Will you step
below and take a glass of wine with Lieutenant Young and myself?"
"Ver' happie, captain, I am sure," answered the senor with another
sweeping bow and flourish of his Panama; and forthwith the trio
disappeared down the hatchway, to my unbounded astonishment, for it was
not quite like our extremely dignified skipper to be so wonderfully
cordial as this to a mere trader.
"Ah, I'm afraid that won't wash," remarked Bates, catching the look of
astonishment and perplexity on my face as I turned my regards away from
the hatchway. "The captain means to pump the Portuguese, if he can, but
from the cut of the senor's jib I fancy there is not much to be got out
of him; he looks to be far too wide-awake to let us become as wise as
himself. I'll be bound that he could put us up to many a good wrinkle
if he would; but, bless you, youngster, he's not going to spoil his own
trade. He professes to be an honest trader, of course--deals in
palm-oil and ivory and what not, of course, and I've no doubt he does;
but I wouldn't mind betting a farthing cake that he ships a precious
sight more _black_ ivory than white out of this same river. Look at
that brig, for instance--the one flying Spanish colours, I mean. Just
look at her! Did you ever set your eyes upon a more beautiful hull than
that? Look at the sweep of her run; see how it comes curving round to
her stern-post in a delivery so clean that it won't leave a single eddy
behind it. No drag _there_, my boy! And look at her sides: round as an
apple--not an inch of straight in them! And do you suppose that a brig
with lines like that was built for the purpose of carrying palm-oil?
Not she. I should like to have a look at her bows; I'll be bound they
are as keen as a knife--we shall see them by and by, when she swings at
the turn of the tide. Yet if that brig were overhauled--as she probably
will be--nothing whatever of a suspicious character would be found
aboard her, except maybe a whole lot of casks, which they would say was
for stowing the palm-oil in. Well, here we are; but we shall have to
keep our eyes open night and day to weather upon the rascally slavers;
they are as sly as foxes, and always up to some new circumventing
trick."
With which reflection, followed by a deep sigh at the wily genius of the
slaving fraternity in general, the worthy master turned upon his heel
and retired below.
The Portuguese remained in the cabin for over an hour; and when he came
on deck again, accompanied by the captain and the first lieutenant, I
thought that the two latter looked decidedly elated, as though, despite
the master's foreboding, they had succeeded in obtaining some important
information. The captain was particularly gracious to his visitor,
going even to the length of shaking hands with him ere he passed out
through the gangway, the first luff of course following suit, as in duty
bound.
"Then we may rely upon you to send us off the fresh meat and vegetables
early this afternoon?" remarked Young, as he stood at the gangway.
"Yais, yais; dey shall be alongside by t'ree o'clock at de lates'!"
answered the Portuguese. "And as soon as you have receive dem you had
better veigh and leave de creek. Give dat point"--indicating
Boolambemba Point--"a bert' of a mile and you veel be all right."
"Yes, thanks, I will remember," returned the first lieutenant. "And
where are we to pick you up?"
"Hus-s-sh! my dear sair; not so loud, if you please," answered Lobo,
hastily leaving his boat and coming half-way up the gangway ladder
again. "Dere is a leetl' creek about two mile pas' de point, on de
nort' bank of de river. I vill be on de look-out for you dere in a
small canoe vid two men dat I can trus'. And you mus' pick me up
_queevk_, because if eet vas known dat I had consent to pilot you my
t'roat would be cut before I vas a mont' oldaire."
"Never fear," answered Young. "We will keep a sharp look-out for you
and get you on board without anybody being a penny the wiser.
Good-bye."
The Portuguese bowed with another flourish of his hat, seated himself in
the stern-sheets of his boat, gave the word to his Krumen, and a few
minutes later was on the wharf, walking toward his factory, into the
open door of which he disappeared.
"Come," thought I, "there is something afoot already. The captain and
the first luff have, between them, evidently contrived to worm some
intelligence out of the Portuguese. I must go and tell Bates the news."
Before I could do so, however, the captain, who had been standing near
the gangway, listening to what was passing between Young and Lobo,
caught sight of me and said--
"Mr Dugdale, be good enough to find Mr Bates, and tell him that I
shall feel obliged if he will come to me for a few minutes in my cabin."
I touched my hat, dived down the hatchway, and gave the message,
whereupon the master stepped out of his cabin and made his way aft. He
was with the captain nearly half-an-hour; and when he re-appeared he
looked as pleased as Punch.
"I'll never attempt to judge a man's character by his face again," he
exclaimed, as he caught me by the arm, and walked me along the deck
beside him. "Who would have thought that a piratical-looking rascal
like that Portuguese would have been friendly disposed towards the
representatives of law and order? Yet he has not only given the captain
valuable information, but has actually consented to pilot the ship to
the spot which is to serve as our base of operations, although, as he
says, should the slavers get to know of his having done such a thing,
they would cut his throat without hesitation."
"Yes," said I, "I heard him make that remark to Mr Young just before
shoving off. And pray, Mr Bates--if the question be not indiscreet--
what is the nature of the expedition upon which we are to engage this
afternoon?"
"Well, I don't know why I shouldn't tell you," answered Bates, a little
doubtfully. "Our movements are of course to be conducted with all
possible secrecy, but if I tell you I don't suppose you'll go ashore and
hire the town-crier to make public our intentions; and all hands will
have to know--more or less--what we're after, very soon, so I suppose I
shall not be infringing any of the Articles of War if I tell you now;
but you needn't go and publish the news throughout the ship, d'ye see?
Let the skipper do that when he thinks fit."
"Certainly," I assented. "You may rely implicitly upon my discretion."
"Oh yes, of course," retorted the master ironically. "A midshipman is a
perfect marvel in the way of prudence and discretion; everybody knows
_that_! However," he continued, in a much more genial tone, "I will do
you the justice to say that you seem to have your ballast pretty well
stowed, and that you stand up to your canvas as steadily as any
youngster that I've ever fallen in with; so I don't suppose there'll be
very much harm in trusting you. You must know, then, that there's a bit
of a creek, called Chango Creek, some fourteen or fifteen miles up the
river from here; and in that creek there is at this moment lying snugly
at anchor, quite unconscious of our proximity, and leisurely filling up
her complement of blacks, a large Spanish brig called the _Mercedes_
hailing from Havana. She is a notorious slaver, and is strongly
suspected of having played the part of pirate more than once, when
circumstances were favourable. Moreover, from what our Portuguese
friend Lobo says, she was in the river when the _Sapphire's_ two boats
with their crews disappeared; and according to the dates he gives, she
must also have been the craft that the plucky little _Wasp_ was in chase
of when last seen. There is very little doubt, therefore, that the
_Mercedes_ is the craft--or, at all events, one of them--which it is our
especial mission to capture at any cost; and we are therefore going to
weigh this afternoon for the purpose of beating up her quarters. Lobo
has undertaken to pilot us as far as the mouth of the creek; and as he
tells us that the brig is fully a hundred tons bigger than ourselves, is
armed to the teeth, and is manned by a big crowd of desperadoes, every
man of whom has bound himself by a fearful oath never to lay down his
arms while the breath remains in his body, I shouldn't wonder if we find
out before all is done that we have undertaken a pretty tough job."
"It would seem like it, if Senor Lobo's information is to be relied
upon," said I, an involuntary shudder and qualm thrilling me as my vivid
imagination instantly conjured up a vision of the impending conflict.
"But I suppose every precaution will be taken to catch the rascals
unawares?"
"You may be sure of that," answered the master, peering curiously into
my face as he spoke. "Captain Stopford is not the man to court a
reverse, or a heavy loss of life, by unduly advertising his intentions.
But you look pale, boy! You are surely not beginning to funk, are you?"
"No," said I, a little dubiously, "I think not. But this will be my
first experience of fighting, you know--I have never been face to face
with an enemy thus far--and I must confess that the idea of a
hand-to-hand fight--for I suppose it will come to that--a life-and-death
struggle, wherein one has not only to incur the awful responsibility of
hurling one's fellow-creatures into eternity, but also to take the
fearful risk of being hurled thither one's self, perhaps without a
moment of time in which to breathe a prayer for mercy, is something that
I, for one, can hardly contemplate with absolute equanimity."
"Certainly not," assented Bates kindly, linking his arm in mine as he
spoke; "certainly not; you would be something more or less--_less_, I
should be inclined to say--than human if you could. But, as to the
responsibility of hurling those villains into eternity, do not let that
trouble you for a single moment, my lad; in endeavouring to put down
this inhuman slave-trade we are engaged upon a righteous and lawful
task--lawful and righteous in the eyes of God as well as of man, I
humbly believe--and if the traffickers in human flesh and human freedom
and human happiness choose to risk and lose their lives in the pursuit
of their hellish trade, the responsibility must rest with themselves,
and in my humble opinion the earth is well rid of such inhuman monsters.
And as to the other matter--that of being yourself hurried into
eternity unprepared--it need not occur, my boy; _no one_ need die
unprepared. What I mean is, of course, that _all_ should take especial
care to be prepared for death whenever it may meet us, for we know not
what a day, or an hour, or even a moment may bring forth; the man who
walks the streets of his native town in fancied security is actually
just as liable to be cut off unawares as are we who follow the terrible
but necessary profession of arms; the menaces to life ashore are as
numerous as they are afloat, or more so; the forms of accident are
innumerable. And therefore I say that _all_ should be careful to so
conduct themselves that they may be prepared to face death at any
moment. And if they are not, they may easily become so; for God's ear
is always open to the cry of His children, and I will take it upon
myself to say that no earnest, heartfelt prayer is ever allowed to go
unanswered. So, if you have any misgivings about to-night's work, go to
God and ask for His mercy and protection and help; and then, _whatever_
happens, you will be all right."
So saying, the good old fellow halted just abreast the hatchway, which
we had reached at this point in our perambulation fore and aft the deck,
and, gently urging me toward it suggestively, released my arm and turned
away. I took the hint thus given me and, without a word--for indeed at
that moment I was too deeply moved for speech--made my way below to the
midshipmen's berth, which I found opportunely empty, and there cast
myself upon my knees and prayed earnestly for some minutes. When I
arose from this act of devotion I was once more calm and unperturbed;
and from that moment I date a habit of prayer that has been an
inexpressible comfort and support to me ever since.
Upon returning to the deck the first object that caught my eyes was our
gig, with the first luff and little Pierrepoint--our junior mid but
one--in the stern-sheets, pulling toward the very handsome Spanish
brig--already spoken of as lying at anchor a short distance inside of
us--upon a visit of inspection. That the inspection to which she was
subjected was pretty thorough was sufficiently attested by the fact that
the gig remained alongside her a full hour, the British brig and the
Dutch barque being in their turn afterwards subjected to a similarly
severe examination; but, as Bates had predicted, nothing came of it, all
their papers being perfectly in order, while a rigorous search failed to
discover anything of an incriminating character on board either of them.
"Of course not," commented the master, when he learned the substance of
the first luff's report to the skipper; "of course not. Bless ye, the
people that trade to this river aren't born fools, not they! Just
consider the matter for a moment. Let's suppose, for argument's sake,
that the Spaniard yonder is a slaver. Would she ship her cargo here in
the very spot that would be first visited by every man-o'-war that
enters the river? Of course she wouldn't; she'd go away up the river
into one of the many creeks that branch into it on either side for the
first twenty miles or so, and ship her blacks there, watching for the
chance of a dark night to slip out and get well off the land before
daylight. If she came in here at all, it would be to fill up her water
and lay in a stock of meal upon which to feed her niggers when she'd got
'em; and you may depend on it that when a slaver comes in here upon any
such errand as that, a very bright look-out is kept for cruisers, and
that, upon the first sight of a suspicious-looking sail in the offing,
her irons, her meal, and everything else that would incriminate her are
bundled ashore and hidden away safely among the bushes, while her water
would be started and pumped out of her long enough before a man-o'-war
could get alongside of her. What is that Spanish brig taking in?" he
continued, turning to little Pierrepoint, who, with the first
lieutenant, had visited her.
"Nothing," answered the lad. "She only arrived yesterday; and her hold
is half full of casks in which she is going to stow her palm-oil."
"Of course," remarked the master sarcastically, turning to me. "What
did I say to you this morning? Whenever a ship is found in an African
river with a lot of casks aboard, that ship is after palm-oil--at least,
so her skipper will tell ye. And that's where they get to wind'ard of
us; for unless they've something more incriminating--something pointing
more directly to an intention to traffic in slaves--than mere casks, we
daren't touch 'em. But, you mark me, that brig's here to take off a
cargo of blacks; and unless I'm greatly mistaken she'll have vanished
when we turn up here again to-morrow."
It was just six bells in the afternoon watch when two boats--one
containing fresh water in casks, and the other loaded to her gunwale
with fresh meat--mostly goat-mutton strongly impregnated with the
powerful musky odour of the animal--appeared paddling leisurely off to
the _Barracouta_ under the guidance of four powerful but phenomenally
lazy Krumen, who would probably have consumed the best part of
half-an-hour in the short passage from the wharf to the brig had not our
impatient first luff dispatched a boat to tow them alongside. The water
was pumped into the tanks, the provisions were passed up the side and
stowed away below in the coolest part of the ship; and no sooner were
the boats clear of the ship's side than the boatswain's whistle shrilled
along the deck, followed by the gruff bellow of "All hands unmoor ship!"
the messenger was passed, the anchor roused up to the bows, and in a few
minutes the _Barracouta_, under her two topsails, and wafted by a light
westerly zephyr, was moving slowly down the narrow channel toward the
estuary of the river.
So light was the draught of air that now impelled us, that, although
every cloth was quickly spread to woo it, the ship was a full hour and a
half reaching as far as Boolambemba Point, where we met the full
strength of the river current; and when we bore away on our course up
the river, our patience was severely taxed by the discovery that, even
with studding-sails set on both sides from the royals down, we could
scarcely do more than hold our own against the strong rush of the tide
and current together. Slowly, however, and by imperceptible degrees, by
hugging the northern shore as closely as we dared, with the lead
constantly going, we managed to creep insidiously past the mangrove and
densely bush-clad river bank until, just as the sun was dipping into the
horizon astern in a brief but indescribably magnificent blaze of purple
and scarlet and gold, we reached the place of our rendezvous with Senor
Lobo. And soon afterwards we had the satisfaction of discovering that
gentleman making his way toward us out of the narrow creek, his
conveyance being a small native canoe about fifteen feet long, roughly
hewn and hollowed out of a single log, and propelled by two natives, who
apparently regarded clothes as an entirely unnecessary superfluity, for
they were absolutely naked. They were fine, powerful specimens of negro
manhood, however, and smart fellows withal, for they propelled their
ungainly little craft along at a truly wonderful pace with scarcely any
apparent effort, sheering her alongside the brig in quite respectable
style without obliging us to start tack or sheet in order to pick them
up, and shinning up the side with the agility of a couple of monkeys as
soon as they had securely made fast the rope's-end that was hove to
them.
Our impatience at the slow progress that we had thus far made was
somewhat relieved by Lobo's assurance that we might confidently rely
upon a brisk breeze speedily springing up that would carry us to our
destination as soon as was at all desirable; his opinion being that our
best chance of success lay in the postponement of our attack until about
two o'clock in the morning, by which time the moon would have set, and
the slaver's crew would probably be wrapped in their deepest slumber.
So far as his prognostication relative to the wind was concerned, it was
soon confirmed, a strong breeze from the southward springing up, under
the impulsion of which, and with considerably reduced canvas, we reached
our destination, so far as the brig was concerned, about five bells in
the first watch.
This spot was situated on the northern bank of the river, at a distance,
up-stream, of about thirteen miles from Boolambemba Point. It was at
the mouth of a creek, named Chango Creek, and in a small bay or
roadstead about a mile long by perhaps half that width formed by six
islands, the largest of which was nearly two miles long by half-a-mile
wide, while the smallest and most easterly of all was a very diminutive
affair, of perhaps not more than an acre in area, densely overgrown,
like the rest of them, with thick, impenetrable bush. In the very
centre of this small roadstead, to which we had been piloted by the
Portuguese trader, we anchored the brig in two and a half fathoms of
water; when, the canvas having been furled, and all our preparations for
the attack having been fully made before dark, a strong anchor-watch was
set, and everybody else turned in to get an hour or two's sleep, strict
injunctions being laid upon the master, who had charge of the watch, to
keep a bright look-out, and to have all hands called at two bells
precisely in the middle watch. As for Lobo, he took leave of us
directly that our anchor was down, and, rousing out his sable crew, who
were fast asleep and snoring melodiously underneath the long-boat, took
to his canoe, once more and almost immediately vanished among the deep
black shadows of the islets that hemmed us in.
I know not what were the feelings of others on board the brig on that
eventful night, or how those two short hours of inaction were spent in
other parts of the ship, but I am convinced that when we all went below
to turn in, a very general conviction had spread among us that the
enterprise upon which we were shortly to engage was one that would prove
to be more than ordinarily difficult and dangerous, and while not one of
us probably had a moment's doubt as to its ultimate result, I believe
the feeling was pretty general that the struggle would be fierce and
obstinate, and that our loss would probably be unusually heavy. I
gathered this from the demeanour of the ship's crew generally, officers
as well as men; the former revealing the feeling by the extreme care
with which they scrutinised and personally superintended the several
preparations for the expedition, and the latter by the grim and silent
earnestness with which they performed their share of the work. True,
there was some faint attempt at jocularity among a few of the occupants
of the midshipmen's berth as we sought our hammocks, but it was
manifestly braggadocio, utterly lacking the true ring of heartiness that
usually characterised such attempts, and it was speedily nipped in the
bud by Gowland, the master's mate, who gruffly recommended the offenders
to "say their prayers and then go to sleep, instead of talking
nonsense." Though I was not one of the offenders I took his advice,
earnestly commending myself to the mercy and protection of the Almighty,
both in the coming conflict and throughout the rest of my life, should
it please Him to spare it, after which I sank quickly into a deep,
untroubled sleep.
CHAPTER THREE.
THE NIGHT ATTACK.
From this sleep I was aroused--in a few minutes, it seemed to me,
although really it was nearly two hours later--by a boisterous banging
upon the mess-table, followed by the voice of the marine who executed
the functions of steward to the mess, exclaiming--
"`All hands,' gentlemen, please! The captain and the first liftenant is
already on deck."
This was followed by the rasping scrape of a lucifer match, by the
feeble light of which the man's face was seen bending over the lantern
which he was endeavouring to light.
"Ay, ay, Jerry, look alive with the lantern, man!" responded the
master's mate. "What is the night like?" he continued, as he swung
himself out of his hammock and hastily proceeded to thrust his long legs
into his breeches.
"Dark as pitch, sir; blowing more than half a gale of wind, and
threatening rain," was the cheering answer.
"A pleasant prospect, truly," muttered Good, my especial chum, as we
jostled each other in the confined space wherein we were struggling into
our clothing.
"It might be worse, however," responded Gowland, as he knotted a black
silk handkerchief tightly about his loins. "The darkness and the roar
of the wind among the trees will help capitally to mask our approach,
while I dare say that the craft which we are going to attack will be in
such a snug berth that nobody will think it worth while to keep a
look-out, blow high or blow low. I say, Pierrepoint, are you told off
for the boats?"
Pierrepoint intimated that he was.
"Then put that rubbishy toasting-fork away and get a cutlass, boy, as
Dugdale has. Of what use do you suppose a dirk would be in a
hand-to-hand fight with a great burly Spaniard? Why, none at all. I
can't understand, for my part, why such useless tools are supplied for
active service! Get a good honest cutlass, boy; something that you can
trust your life to. And look sharp about it! Hurry up there, you
loafers! Come, Burdett, my boy, stir your stumps if you don't want a
wigging from the first luff! Hillo, Jerry! what's that, hot coffee?
Well done, my man, I'll owe you a glass of grog for that! Pour it out
quickly, and rouse out the bread barge."
Jerry was a smart fellow and looked after us well, I will say that for
him. In less than a minute a cup or pannikin of steaming coffee stood
ready for each of us, with the bread barge, well supplied, in the centre
of the table.
"There's no time for eating now, but take my advice and slip a biscuit
into your pocket, each of you, to eat as soon as the boats shove off,"
advised Gowland. "There is nothing worse for a man, in this climate--or
_any_ climate, for the matter of that--than to turn out and go into the
open air in the middle of the night upon an empty stomach." And,
suiting the action to the word, he thrust a biscuit into each of his
side-pockets, placed a morsel in his mouth, and, with the exclamation,
"Well, I'm off!" darted up the ladder and disappeared.
I followed, and, upon reaching the deck, found that all hands were
mustered and waiting for inspection previous to being told off to the
boats. The skipper was in his cabin, but a few minutes later--by which
time all the laggards had put in an appearance--he emerged from the
companion-way and the inspection at once began, great attention being
given, I noticed, to those who were to go in the boats, to insure that
their weapons were in serviceable order, their pistols loaded, and that
each man had his due supply of cartridges. The inspection was conducted
by the first lieutenant, accompanied by the captain and a sergeant of
marines, the latter carrying a lantern, by the rather dim and uncertain
light of which the inspection was made. The moment that this was over
the men who were to participate in the expedition were told off, each to
his proper boat, the boats were lowered and brought to the gangway, and
in less than a quarter of an hour from the moment of our being called we
were off.
The expedition consisted of four boats; namely, the gig, the pinnace,
and the first and second cutters. The gig was a very fine, handsome
boat, beautifully modelled, and exceedingly fast; she was commanded by
the captain himself, who led the expedition--a sure indication of the
important character, in his opinion, of the impending encounter. She
pulled six oars, and in addition to the skipper, my chum, Good, and her
crew of seamen, carried half-a-dozen marines, four in the stern-sheets,
and two forward. The pinnace was a big, roomy, and rather heavy boat,
pulling ten oars, double banked, and mounting a nine-pounder gun in her
bows. She was commanded by Mr Michael Ryan, the second lieutenant, a
rollicking, high-spirited Irishman, whose only fault was that he lacked
discretion and was utterly reckless; albeit this fault was to a great
extent condoned by the effect of his influence upon the men, who would
follow him anywhere. His crew, in addition to the ten oarsmen and a
coxswain, consisted of little Pierrepoint and ten marines, six aft and
four forward. The first and second cutters were sister boats, precisely
alike in every respect, each pulling eight oars, double banked. They
were rather smarter boats than the pinnace, being nearly as long but
with less beam and freeboard, and finer lines. The first cutter was
commanded by Gowland, the master's mate, and carried, in addition to her
crew of ten men and a coxswain, eight marines. The second cutter was
entrusted to me, and carried the same complement as her consort, the
first cutter. It will thus be seen that the expedition numbered
seventy-seven souls in all--nearly the half of our ship's company, in
fact--the brig being left in charge of the first luff, with the master,
the purser, the surgeon, young Burdett of the midshipmen's mess, the
cook and his mate, captain's, gun-room, and wardroom stewards, and
seventy-eight seamen.
The weather, although favourable enough for such an expedition as that
upon which we were engaged--and which, if our anticipations should prove
correct, would depend largely for its success upon our ability to take
the enemy completely by surprise--was decidedly disagreeable; for, as
Jerry had reported, it was dark as pitch, the wind was sweeping athwart
the river in savage gusts that roared among the trees with a volume of
sound that rendered it necessary to raise the voice to a loud shout in
order to make an order heard from one end of the boat to the other, and
we had scarcely left the ship when it came on to rain with a fury that
rendered the preservation of our ammunition from damage a serious
difficulty and a source of keen anxiety. Fortunately for us, we reached
the mouth of the creek a few minutes before the rain began to fall, but
for which circumstance we should have met with the utmost difficulty in
discovering the entrance, and might possibly have lost a considerable
amount of valuable time in the search for it. Even as it was, so
intense was the darkness that, although the creek was only some two
hundred yards wide, we found it impossible to keep the boats in the
centre of the channel, and for a little while were constantly running
foul of each other or the banks. Luckily for us, we were no sooner in
the creek than its eastern bank afforded us a shelter from the direct
violence of the wind, the bush and trees growing so thickly right down
to the water's edge that close inshore we were completely becalmed; and,
thus sheltered, our sense of hearing helped us somewhat despite the deep
roar of the gale overhead, while we quickly caught the knack of steering
along the outer edge of the narrow belt of calm, in this way avoiding to
a great extent the difficulties and petty mishaps that had at first so
seriously hampered our movements.
In this way, and exposed all the while to the pelting of the heavy
tropical downpour, which quickly drenched us to the skin in spite of the
protection of our oil-skins, we slowly groped our way along the creek
with muffled oars for rather more than an hour, when we unexpectedly
found ourselves at the entrance of a fairly spacious lagoon, in the
centre of which we speedily made out not one, but _four_ craft moored
right athwart the channel, completely barring our further passage. From
their disposition it looked very much as though they had been moored
with springs upon their cables--for their broadsides were presented fair
at us--and, if so, it argued at least a suspicion on their part of a
possible visit from an enemy, with doubtless a corresponding amount of
precaution against the chance of being surprised.
Scarcely had we made this discovery when the gig, which was leading,
found her further progress unexpectedly interrupted by a boom composed
of tree-trunks, secured together with chains, stretching right across
the water-way. As she struck it a loud cry was heard proceeding from
the river bank on our starboard hand, immediately followed by a
musket-shot. The next moment a spark of light appeared in the same
quarter, quickly increasing in size and intensity until in less than a
minute a large fire, evidently caused by the ignition of a very
considerable quantity of highly combustible material, was blazing
fiercely in the shelter of a thick clump of overhanging bush, that
seemed to almost completely shield it from the rain, which, however, had
considerably moderated by this time. The dense mass of bush behind and
on either side of the blazing mass acted in some sort as a reflector,
concentrating the light of the fire upon the boom and our four boats
clustered closely together about it, and defining them with very
unpleasant distinctness against the background of impenetrable darkness.
That this was so, and that our projected surprise had proved a
lamentable failure, was made clear by the sounds of commotion and the
sharp cries of command that at once arose on board the slavers, almost
instantly followed by a smart and well-directed musketry fire, the
bullets from which came dropping about us in very unpleasant proximity,
although, fortunately, nobody was actually hit.
"Separate at once!" cried the skipper, rising in the stern-sheets of the
gig as he realised that the time for silence and secrecy was past;
"separate at once; spread yourselves along the boom, and let each boat's
crew do its best to make a passage through it. Try the effect of a shot
from your gun upon it, Mr Ryan. Marines, return the fire of those
craft, aiming at the flashes from their pieces. The first boat to force
the boom will report the fact to me before passing through."
We spread well along the boom, maintaining open order, so that we might
afford as small a target as possible, and devoted our energies to
breaking through the obstruction at points where the trunks were united
by chains; but we found this by no means an easy matter, staples being
driven home through the links into the tenacious wood so closely
together that it was impossible to find a space wide enough to take the
loom of an oar--the only lever at hand, as we had not anticipated or
provided for such a contingency. Meanwhile, our adversaries proved
themselves fully alive to the advantage which our situation afforded
them, and fully prepared to make the most of it, for they kept up a
brisk though irregular fire of musketry upon us from which we soon began
to suffer rather severely, two of my men being hit within the space of
as many minutes, while sharp cries of pain to our right and left told us
that the occupants of the other boats were receiving their full share of
the slavers' attentions. This was only the beginning of the conflict,
however, for before our marines had had time to fire more than thrice in
reply to the slavers' musketry fire, five fierce flashes of flame burst
simultaneously from the side of the largest of the four craft,
accompanied by the sharp, ringing roar of brass nine-pounder guns, and
instantly a perfect storm of grape tore and whistled about our ears,
splintering the planking of the boats and bowling over our people right
and left. Three more of my men went down before that discharge, and the
cries of anguish from the other boats told that they too had suffered
nearly or quite as severely. The gig fared worst of all, however, for
an entire charge, apparently, plumped right into her bows, where the men
were clustered pretty thickly, helping two of their comrades who were
kneeling upon the boom endeavouring to tear asunder its fastenings, and
no less than six of her crew fell before that withering discharge,
including the two men upon the boom, who both fell into the water, and
were never seen again.
"By Jove! this will never do," cried the captain. "Out oars, men, and
pull alongside the pinnace!"
This was done; and as the two boats touched, our gallant leader sprang
on board the larger of the two, crying to the second lieutenant--
"Here, Mr Ryan, I will change places with you. Take the gig, if you
please, and see if you can cast the boom adrift at its shore end; I will
look after matters here meanwhile. Mr Gowland, go you to the other end
of the boom, and see what you can do there. Now then, lads, what is the
best news there with that gun?"
"Just ready, sir," came the answer. "Poor Jim Baker was struck, and
fell athwart the breech, wettin' the primin' with his blood just as we
was about to fire, so we've had to renew it; but we're ready now, sir."
"Very well," cried the skipper. "Bear the boat off from the boom, and
fire at the chain-coupling; that ought to do the business for us."
The order was promptly obeyed, and a few seconds later the gun spoke
out, the shot hitting fair and square, and dividing the two parts of the
chain that formed the coupling between two contiguous tree-trunks. A
loud hurrah proclaimed this result, yet when the pinnace pulled up to
the boom again, and tried to force her way through, it was found that
the logs could not be forced apart; evidently they were still united
under water.
"Load the gun again, lads, as smartly as you can," exclaimed the
skipper; "and then we must try to roll the logs over, and get the chains
above water. Well, what news, Mr Gowland?" as the first cutter was
seen approaching us.
"It's no good, sir," answered Gowland. "We can't get within twenty
yards of dry ground for the mud, which is too stiff to permit of our
forcing the boat through it, but not stiff enough to support a man. I
made the attempt, and went in up to my arm-pits before they could get
hold of me to pull me out."
Meanwhile, a hot fire of grape and musketry--the latter from all four of
the craft--was being maintained upon us; our men were falling fast; and
the matter to my mind began to look very serious. Still, those who were
not hurt, or whose hurts were not very severe, worked away manfully in
an endeavour to break the boom; but it was clear--to me at least--that
our only hope lay in the pinnace's gun. If that failed, it seemed
probable that every man of us would be placed _hors de combat_ before we
could force a passage through.
Our nine-pounder was soon ready again; and then--Gowland and I having
meanwhile stationed our respective boats one on each side of the
pinnace, and by the united efforts of our crews succeeded in rolling the
logs so far over as to bring the remaining pair of coupling chains out
of the water--a second effort was made to divide the boom. The shot was
a successful one, both chains being completely cut through. Another
ringing cheer proclaimed the good news just as the gig rejoined us with
a similar piece of intelligence to that already brought by Gowland, as
to the impossibility of landing and getting at the shore-fasts of the
boom. That obstacle was now, however, happily severed, and drawing his
sword, the skipper waved it over his head as he shouted--
"Out oars, men, and give way for your lives! Follow me, the rest of the
boats. We will tackle the big fellow first, and bring the other three
to their senses afterwards with the aid of her guns."
The words were scarcely out of his mouth when another broadside of grape
hurtled in among us, now once more huddled closely together about the
breach in that deadly boom, and from the dreadful outcry that
immediately arose, the tossing of arms aloft, and the dropping of oars,
it was evident that fearful havoc had been wrought by it among our
already seriously diminished company. And, to make matters worse, it
was instantly followed by a louder, deeper report, and a crash on board
the pinnace as an eighteen-pound shot struck her gun fair upon its
starboard trunnion, dismounting the piece and sending it overboard,
while a shower of splinters of wood and metal flew from the slide,
wounding and maiming at least four more men. And then, as though that
were not enough, the shot glanced and swept the boat fore and aft,
crushing in the side of one poor fellow's head like an egg-shell,
smashing in the ribs of another, and whipping the captain's sword out of
his hand, with all four of his fingers, as it flew over his head into
the darkness beyond.
In the teeth of this new disaster the pinnace forced her way through the
now divided boom, closely followed by Ryan in the gig, then myself, with
Gowland bringing up the rear. "Give way for your lives!" was now the
word; and at racing pace--or as near it as we could get with our sadly
diminished crews--we headed for the biggest craft of the four, which we
now made out to be a large brig, very heavily rigged and with immensely
square yards. We opened out a little to port and starboard as we went,
in order that we might show as small a mark as possible for our
antagonists to fire at, and, having already passed the heavy pinnace, I
was fast creeping up into the leading position, when Ryan, who saw what
I was after, sheered alongside and in sharp, terse language ordered me
to change places with him. Of course I could but obey, and the fiery
Irishman, finding himself in the best-manned boat of the lot, speedily
passed ahead, despite the utmost efforts of the rest of us to keep pace
with him. One more broadside of grape greeted us as we pushed somewhat
heavily across the lagoon, and that put the poor unfortunate gig
practically out of the combat, for it reduced her oarsmen to two, while
she had already been so badly knocked about that it needed the utmost
efforts of the least severely wounded of her crew to keep her afloat by
baling. We kept on, however, in the wake of the other boats, and had at
least a good view of the short, sharp fight that followed. The brig was
lying with her starboard broadside presented to us, and as the boats
advanced toward her they gradually passed out of the broad line of light
cast by the still fiercely blazing fire that had been kindled on the
shore. No sooner did this happen, however, than half-a-dozen men
provided with port-fires sprang, three into her main and three into her
fore port rigging, illumining the brig herself brilliantly, it is true,
but at the same time revealing the whereabouts of our boats distinctly
enough to enable her people to keep up a most galling pistol and
musketry fire upon us, besides giving them the advantage that the light
was at their backs, while it shone in the faces of our marines with such
dazzling effect that they were able to reply but ineffectively to the
fire with their own muskets.
The second lieutenant was first alongside, closely followed by Gowland,
the pinnace making a bad third and ranging up under the bows of the
brig, while the other boats attempted to board her in the waist. But
the brig--and the three schooners as well for that matter--was well
protected by boarding nettings triced up fore and aft, and as our men
made a dash at her they were met by pikes thrust at them out through the
ports, by the snapping of pistols in their faces, and the fierce lunge
of cutlasses through the meshes of the netting. Nevertheless they
persevered gallantly, hacking away at the netting with their cutlasses,
and occasionally delivering a thrust through it at any one who happened
to come within arm's-length of them. But it was clearly a losing game;
our losses had been so heavy during our attack upon the boom that we
were already far out-numbered by the crew of the brig alone, and they
possessed a further important advantage over us in that they fought upon
a spacious level deck, while our lads were obliged to cling to the
bulwarks as best they could with one hand while they wielded their
weapons with the other; moreover, the slavers were able to make a
tolerably effective use of their pikes and still keep beyond the reach
of our cutlasses.
"If it were not for that diabolical netting," thought I, "there would be
some chance for us still." And as we ranged laboriously up alongside,
my eye travelled up the face of the obstruction to its upper edge, and I
saw that it was suspended at four points only, two on the port and two
on the starboard side, in the wake of the main and foremasts.
"A sharp knife," thought I, "ought to divide each of those tricing-lines
at a single stroke, when down would go the net upon the defenders' heads
and hamper their movements long enough to give our people a chance."
And then I remembered that only a day or two before I had sharpened my
own stout clasp-knife--at that moment hung about my neck on a lanyard--
to almost a razor edge, and that consequently I had in my possession
just the weapon for the purpose.
As my meditations reached this point the gig touched the brig's side,
and whipping out my knife and opening it, I made one spring from the
boat's gunwale into the netting, up which I at once swarmed with all the
agility I could muster--and I was fairly active in those days, let me
tell you--a musket-shot knocking my cap off as my head rose above the
level of the bulwarks, while a moment later a fellow made a lunge at me
with his pike as I skipped up the meshes, and drove its head half
through the calf of my left leg. I felt the wound, of course, but was
at the moment much too excited and intent upon the task which I had set
myself to give it a second thought, and in another instant, so it seemed
to me, I had reached the tricing line, which I grasped tightly with one
hand while I hacked away vigorously with the other. The rope parted at
the third stroke of the knife, and down dropped the net, sagging so much
in the wake of the main-rigging that our lads were easily able to
surmount the obstacle, and I saw Ryan, with a wild, exultant "Hurroo!"
half fall, half leap down to the brig's deck, where he laid about him so
ferociously with fist and cutlass that he at once cleared a space around
himself for his followers.
As for me, I was left dangling by one hand at the bare end of the
severed tricing line, but within easy reach of the starboard
main-topsail sheet, which I promptly grasped and began to lower myself
hand over hand down to the deck. Even as I glided down the sheet, I saw
that one of our lads had followed my example, and, cutting the fore
tricing line, had let the whole of the starboard netting down on deck,
while his comrades were pouring in over the bulwarks like an avalanche.
The brig's crew still offered a gallant resistance, but the British
blood was by this time fairly at boiling point, and, grimly silent, the
blue-jackets laid about them in such terrible earnest with fist and
cutlass, belaying-pin, clubbed musket, sponge, rammer, or any other
effective weapon that they could lay hands upon, that their rush became
irresistible, and their antagonists gave way before them in terror.
At this juncture, and while I was still some twelve or fourteen feet
above the deck, I noticed a man, whose dress and appearance suggested to
me the idea that he might possibly be the leader of this band of
outlaws, quietly separate himself from the combatants, and with a
certain sly, secretive manner, as though he were desirous of avoiding
observation, slink along the deck to the companion, down which he
suddenly vanished. There was an indescribable something about the air
and movements of this fellow that powerfully aroused my curiosity and
excited an irresistible impulse within me to follow him; and
accordingly, swinging myself to the deck abaft the main-mast, which was
deserted, the fight still being confined to the waist and forecastle of
the brig, I made a dart for the companion, kicked off my shoes before
entering, animated by some instinct or idea which I did not stop to
analyse at the moment, and drawing my cutlass from its sheath, crept
cautiously and noiselessly down the companion-ladder. The moment that I
entered the companion-way I was saluted by a whiff of moist, hot air
loaded with a powerful, foetid, musky odour, of which I had already
become vaguely conscious, accompanied by a deep, murmuring sound that
seemed to proceed from the vessel's hold; and although this was my first
experience with slavers, I knew in an instant that the brig had her
human cargo on board, and that the sound and the odour proceeded from
it.
The companion-way was in complete darkness, but at the foot of the
ladder, and to starboard of it, there was a thin, horizontal line of dim
light marking the presence of a door that I had heard slam-to as I
kicked off my shoes previous to descending. Making for this, I groped
for the door-handle, found it, and, grasping it firmly, suddenly turned
it and flung the door open. As I did so I found myself standing at the
entrance to a fine, roomy cabin, which seemed to be handsomely, nay,
luxuriously furnished. It was but dimly illuminated, however, the only
light proceeding from an ordinary horn lantern, which, kneeling upon the
deck, the man I had followed was holding open with one hand, while with
the other he was applying the end of a slender black cord to the flame
of the enclosed candle. The other end of the cord referred to led down
an open hatchway close to the fore-bulkhead of the cabin; and as I took
in the whole scene in a single comprehensive glance--the open hatchway,
the black cord, and the dimly-burning lantern--I realised with lightning
intuitiveness that every soul on board the brig was tottering upon the
very brink of eternity; the reckless villain before me was in the very
act of exploding the powder magazine, and blowing the ship and all she
contained into the air.
This surmise was confirmed as, turning his head at the sound of the
opening door, the fellow withdrew from the lantern the end of the black
cord--which was of course a length of fuse composed of spun-yarn well
coated with damp powder, now fizzing and spluttering and smoking as the
fire swiftly travelled along it. So rapidly did the fire travel indeed,
that during the second or so that the desperado paused in surprise at my
unexpected appearance, it reached his fingers, causing him to drop it to
the deck with a muttered curse. I knew that in twenty or thirty seconds
at most that hissing train of fire would run along the guiding line of
the fuse down the hatchway to the powder in which the other end of it
was certain to be buried; and bounding forward I placed one foot upon
the blazing fuse as I dealt a heavy downward stroke with the hilt of my
cutlass upon the upturned temple of the man who, crouching before me,
was clearly on the point of springing to his feet. Then, dashing down
my cutlass as the fellow sank back with a groan upon the deck, I
wrenched my still open knife from my neck, and, while the struggling
flame scorched and seared the sole of my naked foot, slashed the blade
quickly through the fuse, and with the same movement whirled the severed
and unlighted part as far away from me as possible. This done, I knew
that the danger was past; and, drawing the short burning fragment of
fuse from beneath my foot, I carefully deposited it in the lantern,
where it instantly flamed itself harmlessly away. My next act was to
secure the remainder of the fuse and cautiously withdraw it from the
dark hatchway down which it led; and, this safely accomplished, I closed
the aperture by drawing over the hatch, and then sat down to nurse my
seared and blistered foot and to await the progress of events; my
companion or adversary, or whatever he should be rightly called, still
lying motionless where he had fallen, with a large blue lump on his
white temple from which a thin stream of blood slowly oozed.
During the few brief seconds that had elapsed between my entrance into
the cabin and the flinging of myself upon one of its sofas, I had lost
all cognisance of what was happening elsewhere; but as I took my
scorched foot upon my knee and ruefully contemplated its injuries, I
once more became aware of the sounds of conflict on deck; the fierce,
confused stamping of many feet; the cries and ejaculations of
encouragement or dismay; the quick jar and clash of blade upon blade;
the occasional explosion of a pistol; the dull, crushing sound of
unwarded blows; the sharp scream of agony as some poor wretch felt the
stroke of the merciless steel; the cries and groans of those who had
been smitten down, and, still conscious, were being trampled underfoot
by the combatants; the deep muttered curse; the sharp word of command;
and the occasional cheer that broke from the lips of our own gallant
lads. Suddenly there was a louder hurrah, a quick scurrying rush, a
loud shout of command in Spanish for every man to save himself, an
outcry of terrified ejaculations in the same tongue, a quick succession
of splashes in the water alongside, and a sudden silence, broken the
next instant by a gasping but triumphant shout from Ryan of--
"Hurroo, bhoys! By the blessed--Saint--Pathrick--but--that's nately
done! Ugh!--pouff!--we've--drove them--clane overboard! Murther! but
it's meltin' I am--and as dhry--as a limekiln!"
CHAPTER FOUR.
CHANGO CREEK.
Then I heard the skipper hailing, apparently from the forecastle--
"Is that Mr Ryan's voice that I hear, aft there?"
"Ay, ay, sorr," answered the second luff; "it's myself, bedad, all
that's left ov me!"
A sound of footsteps followed, suggesting that he had walked away
forward to join his superior; but as the man at my feet just then
stirred uneasily, as though his senses were returning to him, I made a
quick grab at my cutlass, and drawing from my belt a loaded pistol, the
existence of which I had until then forgotten, I pulled myself together
and made ready for the next emergency.
Presently, my prisoner, for such he now was, stirred again, sighed
deeply, and opened his eyes, his glance immediately falling upon me.
For a few seconds he seemed not to know where he was, or what had
happened; then, as we gazed into each other's eyes, I saw that his
memory had returned to him, and as he made a motion to rise to his feet,
I sprang to mine, and pointing my pistol straight at his head, said in
the best Spanish that I could muster--
"Stay where you are! If you make the slightest attempt to move I will
blow your brains out, you villain!"
He continued to gaze steadfastly at me for some moments; and then
seeing, I suppose, that I fully meant what I said, he smiled bitterly
and muttered--
"So it has come to this, has it, that I must lie here in my own cabin,
helpless, at the mercy of a mere boy? _Car-r-am-ba_!"
He still kept his regards steadfastly fixed upon me; and as I seemed to
read in the expression of his eyes a dawning determination to make at
least one more effort for freedom, I was not sorry to hear footsteps
coming along the deck, and the voices of the skipper and Ryan in earnest
conversation.
"We must get a light from somewhere at once, and look to the wounded
without a moment's delay," said the former. "I fear that our loss has
been very serious in this affair. Ah! there is a faint glimmer of light
from the skylight yonder; I will go below and see what it is.
Meanwhile, Mr Ryan, muster your men, and load the guns, if you can lay
your hand upon any ammunition. Those schooners will try to slip away if
they can, now that we have got the brig; but I shall not be satisfied
unless I can secure the whole of them; we _must_ have something more
than we have got already to account satisfactorily for our loss!"
"Niver fear, sorr," answered the second luff; "they'll not get away
from--By all the powers though, there goes one of thim now!"
And away he dashed forward again, shouting out certain orders to the
men, while the skipper, after hesitating for a few seconds, entered the
companion and began to descend.
My attention had been somewhat distracted from my prisoner by this brief
conversation, a fact which had evidently not passed unnoticed by him,
for before I fully realised what was happening, he had in some
inexplicable manner sprung to his feet with a single, lightning-like
movement, and his hand was already upon my left wrist, when with a quick
twist of the arm I managed to get my pistol-barrel pointed at him as I
pressed the trigger. There was a bright flash, lighting up the whole
cabin as though by a gleam of lightning, and glancing vividly from the
rolling eyeballs of my antagonist, a sharp explosion, and the Spaniard
went reeling backward with a crash upon one of the sofas as the captain
entered the cabin at a bound.
"Hillo!" he exclaimed, as he peered at me in the faint light of the
lantern, "who are you, and what is the matter here? Why--bless me!--it
is Mr Dugdale, isn't it? And pray who is that man on the sofa?"
In a few brief words I narrated my adventure, to which he listened
quietly, holding his wounded hand, bound up in a handkerchief, in the
other meanwhile; and when I had finished, he glanced at the prostrate
figure on the sofa and said, noticing the ghastly paleness of the
upturned face, and the lifelessness of the outstretched limbs--
"Well, he looks as though there was not much mischief left in him now,
at all events. But it will not do to take any risks; he is evidently a
desperate character, or was before you pinked him, so slip up on deck
and get a length of line--a bit off one of the topgallant-braces will do
if you can't find anything better--to make him fast with. And call a
couple of hands to come below and carry him on deck; it is scarcely safe
to leave such a fellow alone in the cabin, even when securely bound."
I hobbled on deck as well as my burnt foot--which by this time was
excruciatingly painful--would permit, and finding a suitable bit of
line, and securing the assistance of two of our lads, the slave-captain,
as he eventually proved to be, was speedily bound hand and foot,
conveyed on deck, and propped up in a reclining position against the
bulwarks, well aft out of the way, in such a position as seemed least
likely to encourage the bleeding of his wound.
Meanwhile, Ryan, upon leaving the skipper, had rushed forward and hailed
the fugitive schooner, in his richest Dublin accent, to heave-to, or he
would sink her. To this command, however, whether understood or not, no
attention was paid; and before our people, groping about in the thick
darkness among the dead and wounded, could lay their hands upon a single
cartridge, they had the mortification of seeing her vanish round a bend
of the creek on her way seaward, the lieutenant consoling himself with
the assurance that she would infallibly be snapped up by the
_Barracouta_, whose slender crew would be certain to be on the alert all
through the night. When the skipper and I arrived on deck, after
securing our prisoner, Ryan and a few of our lads were busily employed
ramming home a charge in the long eighteen mounted upon the brig's
forecastle, a cartridge and shot for which they had stumbled across in
their search. The second luff at once began to relate, with many
comical expressions of righteous indignation, the particulars of the
schooner's escape; but he had scarcely got well into his narrative when
the faint _screep_ of a block-sheave from to windward warned us that
another of our slippery neighbours was about to hazard a like
experiment. Without waiting for orders, or thinking of what I was
doing, forgetting even my injured foot in the excitement of the moment,
I sprang upon the rail and hailed in Spanish--
"Hola there, keep all fast on board those schooners, or we will riddle
you with grape! And light a lantern each of you and hoist it to your
main-mast-head. I warn you that we will stand no nonsense, so if you
value your lives you will attempt to play no tricks!"
To this no reply whatever was vouchsafed; and I was about to hail again,
when the captain remarked, very quietly--
"May I inquire, Mr Dugdale, what is the nature of the communication--
the _unauthorised_ communication--that you have just made to those
schooners?"
"I beg your pardon, sir," answered I, considerably abashed; "I thought I
heard a sound just now as though another of the schooners were on the
point of attempting to slip away; so I hailed them that if they
attempted any such trick we would treat them to a dose of grape. I also
ordered them to each hoist a lantern to the mast-head, so that we may
see where they are."
"Very good," remarked the skipper suavely; "it was quite the proper
thing to do. But I do not altogether approve of my young gentlemen
taking the initiative in any matter unless they happen to be for the
time being in supreme command. When that is not the case I expect them
to wait for instructions. And now, be so good as to hail them again,
and say that unless those lanterns are displayed within three minutes I
will fire into them."
My second hail proved effective, the two lanterns being in position well
within the time specified. Our skipper was, however, very uneasy; and
after retiring aft and consulting with Ryan for a few minutes, the
second luff and Gowland went away in the first and second cutters with
two good strong crews, and boarded the schooners, the slavers--who were
evidently on the look-out--shoving off in their own boats and escaping
to the shore the moment that they detected what we were after. Both
schooners had a cargo of slaves on board, and were of course at once
taken possession of, an instant search--prompted by our experience on
board the brig--revealing the fact that one of them had been set fire to
so effectually that it took the prize-crew fully an hour to extinguish
it.
Meanwhile, lamps and lanterns were found on board the brig and lighted,
when those of us whose hurts were the least serious set to work to
attend to our more unfortunate comrades. Closer investigation now
revealed the welcome fact that we had suffered less severely than had
been at first anticipated, our killed amounting to five only--although
two more died before they could receive proper surgical attention--
while, of the wounded, seven had received injuries serious enough to
completely disable them, the rest, amounting to no less than
twenty-three, suffering from hurts ranging from such an insignificant
prod as I had received in the leg, up to a cutlass-stroke that had all
but scalped one poor fellow.
At length, just as we had completed the task of getting our worst cases
below out of the persistent rain, and making them in a measure
comfortable, the wind shifted and subsided to a gentle breeze from the
north-eastward, the weather cleared, the rain ceased, and about
half-an-hour later the day broke gloriously, and we were able to get a
view of our surroundings.
We found ourselves in a nearly circular lagoon or basin, about
half-a-mile in diameter, across the centre of which lay moored the brig
and the two schooners, with a gap in the line to mark the berth that had
been occupied by the third schooner--the craft that had succeeded in
effecting her escape. We were completely land-locked, the shores of the
creek being low, and for the most part closely fringed with mangroves,
behind which rose dense and apparently impenetrable masses of bush, now
in full leaf, and thickly overgrown with flowering parasites, the bush
being interspersed with trees of several kinds, some of which were very
lofty and handsome. At a short distance above where we were lying,
there appeared to be another creek--a small affair, not more than a
hundred feet wide--branching off from the main channel; and, upon its
being pointed out to him, the captain at once hailed the schooner of
which the second lieutenant was in possession, directing that the latter
should take his boat, with the crew well armed, and make an exploration
of the subsidiary and main creeks for a short distance, for the purpose
of ascertaining whether, as was exceedingly probable, there was a slave
depot in the neighbourhood. I should greatly have liked to have made
one of the party, and indeed asked permission to join it, but my burnt
foot was by this time so inflamed and painful that I could not put it to
the deck, and Captain Stopford, while expressing his gratification at
the zeal manifested by the request, refused, pointing out that, lame as
I was, I should not only be useless but an actual encumbrance and
embarrassment to the party in the event of resistance being offered to
any attempt on their part to land.
In a few minutes Ryan was ready, and the boat shoved off from the
schooner, leaving just enough hands to take care of her during the
absence of the others. She made straight for the small subsidiary
creek, in the first instance, but re-appeared in about a quarter of an
hour, when the second luff hailed to say that it was a mere _cul de
sac_, only some half-a-mile long, and with very little water in it, the
banks being of soft, black, foetid mud, of a consistency which rendered
landing an impossibility. Having communicated this intelligence, the
cutter next proceeded up stream and quickly vanished round a bend. She
had been out of sight fully half-an-hour, and the captain was just
beginning to manifest some anxiety, neither sight nor sound having
reached us to indicate her whereabouts, when thin wreaths of light brown
smoke appeared rising above the bush and trees about a mile away, the
smoke rapidly increasing in density and volume, and darkening in colour,
until it became quite apparent that a serious conflagration was raging
at no great distance. When the smoke at first appeared, there was some
question in the mind of the captain whether it might not be the work of
the people who had effected their escape from the craft during the
darkness, they having perhaps set fire to the bush in the hope of
involving the prizes and ourselves in the ensuing destruction; but a
little reflection revealed the unlikelihood of this, the vegetation not
only being saturated with the rain that had fallen during the night, but
also being so green and full of sap that it would probably prove
impossible to fire it. We had just reached this conclusion when Ryan
and his party appeared returning, and in a few minutes the cutter ranged
up alongside us to enable the second luff to make his report. He stated
that he had proceeded about a mile and a half up the creek, the course
of which he had found to be very sinuous, when he reached a spot at
which the bank on his port hand was clear of bush and trees, with the
soil firm enough to admit of a landing being conveniently effected, and
as there were signs indicating that the place had been very freely used
quite recently, he shoved alongside the bank and stepped ashore. A
single glance about him now sufficed to convince him that he had made an
important discovery; the grass was much worn, as with the trampling of
many feet, and from this well-trodden spot a broad path led into the
bush. Leaving two men in the boat; to take care of her, with orders how
to proceed in the event of an enemy heaving in sight, Ryan at once led
his party along this path, and after traversing it for less than a
hundred yards, came upon a large barracoon, very solidly and
substantially built, and of dimensions sufficient to accommodate fully a
thousand slaves; there were also kitchens for the preparation of the
slaves' food, tanks for the collection of fresh water, several large
thatched huts that looked as if they were for the accommodation of the
traders, a large store building, and, in short, everything necessary to
complete an important slave-trading establishment. It was evident that
it had been very hurriedly abandoned only a few hours previously; but a
strict and prolonged search failed to reveal the whereabouts of any of
its late occupants; Ryan had therefore first emptied the water-tanks,
and had then set fire to the whole establishment, remaining until the
flames had taken a strong hold upon the several buildings, when he had
retired without molestation.
Meanwhile, by the captain's orders, the hatches had been removed on
board the three prizes, and the condition of the unfortunate prisoners
looked to. I shall never forget the moment when the first hatch was
taken off on board the brig; a thick cloud of steam slowly rose up
through the opening, and the foetid, musky odour, of which I have
already spoken, at once became so pungent and overpowering that the men
who were engaged upon the operation of opening the hatchways were fairly
driven away from their work for the moment, and until the strength of
the stench had been to some extent ameliorated by the fresh air that
immediately poured down into the densely-packed hold. What the relief
of that whiff of fresh air must have been to the unhappy blacks can only
be faintly imagined; but that it was ineffably grateful to them was
evidenced by the deep murmur of delight, and the loud, long-drawn
inspiration of the breath that swept from end to end of the hold the
moment that the hatch was withdrawn, as well as by the upward glance of
gratitude that instantly greeted us from the upturned eyes of those who
were placed nearest the hatchway! But what a sight that hold presented
when in the course of a few minutes the hatches were all removed, and
the blessed light of heaven and the sweet, pure air of the early morning
had gained free access to its sweltering occupants, dispersing the
poisonous fumes which they had been condemned to breathe from the moment
when the approach of our boats had been first notified! I had more than
once had the hold of a slaver and the mode of stowing her human cargo
described to me, but it was necessary to actually _see_ it before the
full horror and misery of the thing could be completely realised. The
space between the planking of the slave-deck and the underside of the
beams was just three feet, or barely sufficient to allow the unfortunate
wretches to sit upright; and in this confined space they were stowed as
tightly as herrings in a barrel, seated on their hams, with the feet
drawn close up to the body, and the knees clasped by the arms close to
the chest. Let anyone try the fatiguing effect of sitting in this
constrained attitude for only a single half-hour, and some idea may then
be formed of the horrible suffering and misery that the unhappy slaves
had to endure cooped up in this fashion for _weeks at a stretch_, not on
a steady, motionless platform, but on the heaving, plunging deck of a
ship driven at her utmost speed over a sea that was seldom smooth enough
to render the motion imperceptible, and often rough enough to sweep her
from stem to stern, and to render the closing of the hatches
imperatively necessary to save her from foundering. Add to this the
fact that the slaves were packed so tightly together that it was
impossible to move, and thus obtain the relief of even a slight change
of position; bear in mind that it was equally impossible to cleanse the
slave-deck during the entire period of the passage of the ship from port
to port; think of the indescribable foulness of the place, the dreadful
atmosphere generated by the ever-accumulating filth, and the exhalations
from the bodies of four or five hundred human beings wedged together in
this confined space; and add to all this the horrors of sea-sickness,
and it at once becomes a perfect marvel that a sufficient number
remained alive at the end of the passage to render the slave-traffic a
remunerative business. It is true that, solely in their own interests,
and not in the least from motives of humanity, the slavers exercised a
certain amount of care and watchfulness over the health of their
captives; that is to say, they allowed one-half to go on deck during
meal-times (twice a day), for the double purpose of affording an
opportunity for the inspiration of a little fresh air, and at the same
time of providing space for the poor wretches below to feed themselves.
This, however, was only when the weather and other circumstances were
favourable; if the weather was bad, the hatches were put on and kept on
until a favourable change occurred; and in the case of a gale, of wind
the unhappy slaves have been known to have been kept without food or
water for forty-eight hours, or even longer, simply because it was
impossible to give them either. Of course in such a case the mortality
was simply frightful, it being no uncommon occurrence for a slaver to
lose more than half her cargo in a single gale; this loss, be it
understood, arising not so much from the want of food as from simple
suffocation through long confinement in the dreadful atmosphere of the
unventilated hold. And when a slaver happened to be pursued by a
man-o'-war, the sufferings of the slaves were almost as bad, for in such
a case the crew seldom troubled themselves to attend to the wants of
their helpless prisoners, devoting all their thoughts and energies to
the task of effecting their own escape. But as I shall have more to say
upon this subject further on, I will not enlarge upon it here.
Ryan having rejoined his prize, and there being a nice little easterly
breeze blowing, the order was given for all three craft to weigh and
proceed down the creek; the captain being rather anxious lest the
slavers should return and take us at a disadvantage now that our force
was divided. Nothing untoward occurred, however, and in a short time we
were all proceeding down the creek, with the second lieutenant in his
schooner as pilot.
And here it may be as well to enumerate the few particulars relative to
our prizes that the exigencies of the narrative have hitherto not
enabled me to give. To begin with the brig: she was, as Lobo had
stated, the _Mercedes_ of Havana; a truly beautiful craft, measuring
fully five hundred tons, very flat in the floor, and so exceedingly
shallow that even in her sea-going trim, with everything on board as
when we took her, she only drew a trifle over eight feet of water aft.
But what she lacked in depth she more than made up for in beam, her deck
being half as spacious again as that of the _Barracouta_. She was a
perfectly lovely model, and sailed like a witch, as we soon discovered.
This was not to be wondered at, however, for in addition to the
beautiful, easy grace of her flowing lines, her scantling was
extraordinarily light--less than half that of the _Barracouta_--and all
her chief fastenings were _screws_! With so light a scantling she of
course worked like a wicker basket in anything of a breeze and seaway,
and leaked like a sieve, the latter being of little or no consequence
with plenty of negroes to send to the pumps in relays, while the working
of her gave her life, and contributed in no small degree toward the
extraordinary speed for which she was distinguished. She was armed with
eight nine-pounder broadside guns, and a long eighteen mounted upon a
pivot on her forecastle; and in the course of our investigations we
discovered that her crew had numbered no less than seventy men, of whom
fourteen were killed in her defence, and twenty-six too severely wounded
to effect their escape. At the moment of her capture five hundred and
sixty-four slaves, all males, were confined in her hold. She was thus,
in herself, a very valuable prize, and quite worth all the trouble that
we had taken to secure her. But in addition to her there were the two
schooners, the larger of which, named the _Dona Hermosa_, was a vessel
of close upon one hundred and twenty tons measurement, with nothing very
remarkable about her appearance to distinguish her from a perfectly
honest trader. Her cargo consisted of exactly three hundred slaves,
rather more than half of whom were women and children. She was unarmed
save for the few muskets that were found scattered about her decks when
our lads boarded and took possession of her. The second schooner, of
which Gowland, the master's mate, had temporary command, was a little
beauty. She was named the _Felicidad_, and hailed from Santiago de
Cuba. She was of one hundred and eighteen tons measurement, and in
model generally very much resembled the _Mercedes_ though neither quite
so shallow nor so beamy in proportion, while her proportionate length
was considerably greater; her lines were therefore even more easy and
beautiful than those of the larger vessel. She sat very low in the
water, and might have been sworn to as a slaver as far away as she could
be seen, her raking masts being short and stout, and her yards of
enormous proportionate length--her foreyard measuring no less than
seventy-eight feet--with a truly astonishing spread of beautifully cut
canvas. In light winds and smooth water she developed a speed that was
absolutely phenomenal, easily running away from her two consorts on the
passage down the creek under her flying jib and main sail only. She was
pierced for three guns of a side, and was further fitted with a very
ingenious arrangement for mounting a gun on a pivot amidships, and at
the same time shifting it a few feet to port or starboard so as to
permit of its being fired directly ahead or astern clear of the masts.
None of her guns, however, were mounted at the time of her capture, they
afterwards being found stowed below at the very bottom of her hold in a
space left for them among her water-leaguers, from which they could
easily be raised on deck when required. Like her consorts, she had on
board a full cargo of slaves--numbering two hundred and forty, of whom
about one-fourth were women and children--when captured.
Our passage up the creek having been effected in the intense darkness of
an overcast and rainy night, it had of course been quite impossible for
us to form any conception of the appearance of our surroundings; but
now, in the broad daylight and clear atmosphere of a fresh and brilliant
morning, every detail of the scene in the midst of which we found
ourselves stood out with the most vivid distinctness, and I was not only
astonished but delighted with the singularity and beauty of Nature's
handiwork that everywhere met my eye in this region of tropical
luxuriance. The three craft were the only evidences of man's intrusion
upon the scene with which we were confronted; everything else was the
work of Nature herself, untrammelled and uninterfered with; and it
appeared as though in the riotous delight of her creative powers she had
put forth all her energies in the production of strange and curious
shapes and bewildering combinations of the richest and most dazzling
colours. True, the water of the creek, which in consequence of the
sheltering height of the bordering vegetation was glassy smooth, was so
fully charged with mud and soil held in suspension that it resembled
chocolate rather than water; but its rich brown colour added to rather
than detracted from the beauty of the picture, harmonising subtly with
the brilliant greens, deep olives, and splendid purples of the foliage,
and the dazzling white, yellow, scarlet, crimson, and blue of the
trailing blossoms that were reflected from its polished surface, as well
as the delicate blue of the sky into which it merged at a short distance
from the vessels. Mangroves with their multitudinous and curiously
twisted and gnarled roots and delicate grey-green foliage lined the
margin of the creek on either hand, and behind them rose tall, feathery
clumps of bamboo alternating with impenetrable thickets of bush, the
foliage of which was of the most variegated colours and curious forms,
beyond which again rose the umbrageous masses of lofty trees, several of
which were clothed with blossoms of pure scarlet instead of leaves,
while over all trailed the serpentine convolutions of gorgeous flowering
creepers. Euphorbias, acacias, baobabs, all were in blossom, and the
fresh morning air was laden with delicious and almost overpoweringly
fragrant perfume. Wherever a slight break in the continuity of the
mangrove belt permitted the river bank itself to be seen, the margin of
the water was ablaze with tall orchids, whose eccentricities of form
were matched only by their unsurpassable beauty of colouring; and even
the tall, luxuriant grasses contributed their quota to the all-pervading
loveliness of the scene by the delicate purple tints of their stamens;
while the curious, pendent nests of the weaver-bird, hanging here and
there from the longer and coarser grass-stalks curving over the water,
added a further element of strangeness and singularity to the picture.
Brilliant-plumaged birds flashed hither and thither; kingfishers of all
sizes perched solemnly upon the roots and overhanging branches of the
mangroves, intently watching the surface of the muddy water for the tiny
ripple that should betray the presence of their prey, or flitted low
athwart the placid, shining surface of the creek; bright-coloured
parrots were seen clawing their way about the trunks of the more lofty
trees, or winging their flight fussily with loud screams from branch to
branch; the cooing of pigeons was heard in every direction; and high
overhead, a small black spot against the deep, brilliant blue of the
sky, marked the presence of a fishing eagle on the look-out for his
breakfast.
In less than half-an-hour we had traversed the distance to the mouth of
the creek, just before reaching which we were astonished to discover the
_Barracouta_ hard and fast upon a sand-bank that lay just off the
entrance, with her topgallant-masts struck, and her remaining boats in
the water, apparently engaged in the task of lightening her. The
captain looked terribly annoyed, but said nothing until we had rounded
the last point and come to an anchor near the spot at which we had left
the _Barracouta_ on the previous night, when he ordered the gig to be
hauled alongside, and, directing me to accompany him, gave the word for
us to pull to the stranded craft.
CHAPTER FIVE.
THE `FELICIDAD'.
The first lieutenant, looking exceedingly worried and distressed, was at
the gangway to meet us.
"Well, Mr Young," exclaimed the captain as he stepped in on deck, "what
is the meaning of this?"
"I wish I could tell you, sir," answered Young. "There has been foul
play of some sort; but who is the guilty party I know no more than you
do. As you will remember, it blew very hard last night when you left
us; and for some time after you had gone I remained on the forecastle,
watching the ship as she rode to her anchor. She strained a little at
her cable when the heavier puffs struck her, but by no means to such an
extent as to arouse the slightest anxiety; and after I had been watching
for fully an hour, finding that the holding ground was good, and that
even during the heaviest of the puffs the strain upon the cable was only
very moderate, I felt perfectly satisfied as to the safety of the ship,
and retired to the quarter-deck, leaving two men on the look-out on the
forecastle, two in the waist, and one on either quarter; for although I
anticipated no danger, I was fully alive to the responsibility that you
had laid upon me in entrusting me with the care of the ship, as well as
to the fact that in the event of a chance encounter just hereabout, we
were far more likely to meet with an enemy than a friend. The same
feeling animated the men too, I am sure, for the look-outs never
responded to my hail with more alacrity, or showed themselves more
keenly watchful than they did last night; yet I had barely been off the
forecastle half-an-hour when we discovered that we were adrift; and
before I could let go the second anchor we were hard and fast upon this
bank, fore and aft, and that, too, just upon the top of high-water. I
of course at once hoisted out our remaining boats, and ran away the
stream-anchor to windward; but, working as we were in the dark, it took
us a long time to do it; and I then sent down the royal and topgallant--
yards and masts. When daylight came I examined the cable, thinking that
possibly it might have chafed through on a rock; but to my surprise I
found that it had been clean cut at the water's edge. How it was done,
or who did it, is impossible to guess, for although I have very strictly
questioned both the forecastle look-outs, they persist in the statement
that they saw nothing, and were aware of nothing until the ship was
found to be adrift."
"Well, it is a most extraordinary circumstance," commented the captain.
"Are you quite satisfied that the men remained fully on the alert all
the time?"
"Perfectly, sir," answered the lieutenant. "I hailed them every ten
minutes or so, not knowing at what moment some disagreeable surprise
might be sprung upon us. Besides, we did not know how you might be
faring, and thought it quite possible that the craft you were after
might attempt to give you the slip in the darkness. The men on the
forecastle were two of the best we have in the ship--William Robinson
and Henry Perkins."
"Yes," assented the captain; "they have always hitherto seemed
thoroughly trustworthy and reliable men. Where are they? I should like
to ask them a question or two."
The two men were summoned, and at once subjected to a very sharp
cross-examination, which led to nothing, however, as they both
persistently declared that they had neither seen nor heard anything to
arouse the slightest suspicion until the discovery was made that the
ship was adrift. The captain then went forward and inspected the
severed cable; but that revealed nothing beyond the fact that the
strands had been cut almost completely through with some very sharp
instrument before the stubborn hemp had given way. In short, the whole
affair was enshrouded in the deepest mystery. When, however, the
captain had heard the whole story, and thoroughly investigated the
matter, he freely absolved the first luff from all blame, frankly
acknowledging that he did not see what more could have been done to
provide for the safety of the ship, and that the thing would undoubtedly
have happened just the same had he himself remained on board instead of
going away with the boats.
Meanwhile, the dead and wounded had been conveyed from the prizes to the
_Barracouta_, where the doctor immediately took the sufferers in hand,
while the slain were stitched up in their hammocks ready for burial. At
length it came to my turn to be attended to, and when the doctor saw my
foot--now so dreadfully swollen and inflamed that my whole leg was
affected, right up to the knee--I was promptly consigned to the
sick-bay, with the intimation that I might think myself exceedingly
fortunate if in that hot climate mortification did not set in and
necessitate the amputation of my leg. I am thankful to say, however,
that it did not; and in three weeks I was discharged from the doctor's
care, and once more able to hobble about with the aid of a soft felt
slipper. The dead were buried that same forenoon on the point
projecting into the river at the junction of the creek with the main
stream, the graves being dug in a small space of smooth, grassy lawn
beneath the shadow of a magnificent group of fine tall palms.
A hasty breakfast was snatched, as soon as it could be got ready; and
then every man available was set to work upon the task of lightening the
stranded brig, her guns and such other heavy weights as were most easily
accessible being transferred to the prizes, after which the second bower
was weighed and run away to windward in the long-boat by means of a
kedge; and such was the activity displayed, that at high-water that same
afternoon--the tides were fortunately making at the time--the
_Barracouta_ floated and was hove off to her anchor. Meanwhile, the
missing anchor had been swept for and found, and the severed end of the
cable buoyed; before nightfall, therefore, the cable was spliced, and
the bonny brig once more riding to her best bower. The men were kept at
work until it was too dark to see further; and by six bells in the
forenoon watch next day she was again all ataunto, her guns and
everything else once more on board her, and the ship herself all ready
for sea, it having been ascertained that she had sustained no damage
whatever. It may be mentioned that the schooner which had effected her
escape from us in the lagoon managed to slip out of the creek and get
clear away without being observed by anybody on board the _Barracouta_;
but that of course is easily accounted for by the pitchy darkness of the
night, and the fact that she must have passed out of the creek a very
short while after the brig had grounded upon the sand-bank, and when of
course our lads would be fully occupied in looking after their own
craft.
Proper prize-crews were now told off to the three prizes--Ryan being
placed in charge of the _Mercedes_; Gowland, the master's mate, in
charge of the _Dona Hermosa_; and Good, one of the midshipmen, in charge
of the _Felicidad_--and the order to weigh and proceed in company was
given. There was a slashing breeze from the eastward blowing; and this,
combined with a strong downward current, carried us along over the
ground so smartly that in less than two hours we were abreast of Shark
Point, although the _Dona Hermosa_ proved to be such an indifferent
sailer that the rest of us had to materially reduce our spread of canvas
to avoid running away from her altogether. The _Felicidad_, on the
other hand, sailed like a witch, and kept her station without
difficulty, under a single-reefed mainsail, foresail, and inner jib,
with all her square canvas stowed. The master informed me that as we
passed Banana Point he had remembered to subject the anchorage to a very
careful scrutiny through his telescope, and, as he had foretold, the
handsome Spanish brig had disappeared, the Englishman and the Dutchman
being the only craft still lying off the wharf. Having made an offing
of about twenty miles, we hauled up some three points to the northward
for Cape Palmas, our destination being of course Sierra Leone.
On the third day out, the captain of the _Mercedes_--whom I had shot in
self-defence in his own cabin, it will be remembered--died of his wound,
solemnly declaring with his last breath that he was absolutely innocent
of any complicity in the destruction of the _Sapphire's_ two boats with
their crews, or in the disappearance of the _Wasp_. He admitted that he
had heard of both occurrences, and had been told the name of the
individual who was said to be responsible for them, but he stubbornly
persisted in his refusal to give any information whatever, and carried
the secret to his ocean grave with him.
In due time we reached Sierra Leone without mishap and without
adventure, after a moderately quick passage; and, our prizes having been
taken _in flagrante delicto_, they were forthwith condemned. At Captain
Stopford's suggestion, however, the _Felicidad_ was purchased into the
service, and with all speed fitted to serve as a tender to the
_Barracouta_, her extraordinary speed peculiarly fitting her for such
employment, while her exceedingly light draught promised to render her
especially useful in the exploration of the various rivers along the
coast, many of which are very shallow. We remained in harbour a trifle
over three weeks while the necessary alterations were being effected--
during which time, owing to the unremitting vigilance and skill of
"Paddy" Blake, our doctor, we lost only one man through fever--and then,
all being ready, the _Felicidad_ was commissioned, Ryan, our second
lieutenant, being given the command of her, with--to my great delight--
myself as his chief officer, Pierrepoint and Gowland being our
shipmates. We also shipped as surgeon a young fellow named Armstrong, a
Scotchman, whom the captain of the _Ariadne_ kindly spared to us with a
first-rate recommendation; and in addition we had Warren, the gunner's
mate of the _Barracouta_, as gunner; Coombs, the carpenter's mate, as
carpenter; and Bartlett, the boatswain's mate, as boatswain. And by way
of a crew, the captain gave us forty of his best men, as he very well
could without weakening his own ship's company, a ship with
supernumeraries having most opportunely arrived from home only a few
days previously. It will thus be seen that, so far as strength was
concerned, we were fairly well able to take care of ourselves. We were
expected to do far more than that, however; the captain, when giving us
our instructions, hinting that he looked to us to fully justify him by
our services for all the trouble that he had taken in causing the
schooner to be fitted out. I think, however, that having put such a
dashing fellow as Ryan in command, he had very few misgivings upon this
point.
The _Barracouta_ and the _Felicidad_ sailed together on the evening of
the eighteenth of December, and, the captain having given Ryan a pretty
free hand, parted company off the shoals of Saint Ann; the schooner
keeping her luff and heading about south-south-west, while the brig bore
away on a south-east-by-south course for Cape Palmas; the idea being
that we should do better apart than together. We were to cruise for six
weeks, and at the end of that time, if unsuccessful, to rendezvous on
the parallel of six degrees south latitude and the meridian of twelve
degrees east longitude; or, in other words, some eighteen miles off the
mouth of the Congo. We were to remain on this spot twenty-four hours;
and if at the end of that time the brig had not appeared, we were to
proceed on a further cruise of six weeks, and then return to Sierra
Leone to replenish our stores and await further orders.
It was a glorious evening when we sailed; a moderate breeze was blowing
from the westward, pure, refreshing, and cool compared with the
furnace-like atmosphere in which we had been stewing for the previous
three weeks. The sky was without a cloud; the sea a delicate blue,
necked here and there with miniature foam-caps of purest white; while,
broad on our lee quarter, the high land about the settlement of Sierra
Leone, just dipping beneath the horizon, glowed rosy red in the light of
the sinking sun. It was an evening to make one's heart rejoice; such an
evening as can only be met with in the tropics; and, just starting as we
were upon what all hands regarded as a holiday cruise, it is but small
wonder that we experienced and enjoyed its exhilarating influence to an
almost intoxicating extent. Jocularity and laughter pervaded the little
craft from end to end; and throughout the second dog-watch dancing,
singing, and skylarking--all, of course, within the limits of proper
discipline--were the order of the evening. As the sun disappeared in
the west, the full, round orb of the moon floated majestically up over
the purple rim of the horizon to leeward; and the swift yet
imperceptible change from the golden glory of sunset to the silvery
radiance of a clear, moonlit night was a sight of beauty that must be
left to the imagination, for no mortal pen could possibly do justice to
it.
"Now, Harry, me bhoy," exclaimed Ryan, speaking in the broad brogue that
always sprang to his lips when he was excited or exhilarated, and
slapping me upon the back as we emerged from the companion after dinner
that evening, and stood for a moment contemplating the glory of the
night, "from this moment we're slavers, we're pirates, we're cut-throats
of the first wather, to be hail-fellow-well-met with every dirty
blagguard that sails the says--until we can get them within rache of
these pretty little barkers," affectionately tapping the breech of one
of our long nines as he spoke; "and thin see if we won't give thim such
a surprise as they haven't met with for manny a day!"
And he quite looked the character, too--for he was of very powerful,
athletic build, though not very tall, swarthy in complexion, and burnt
as dark as a mulatto by the sun; with a thick, bushy black beard, and a
most ferocious-looking moustache that he had been assiduously
cultivating ever since he had known that he was to have the command of
the schooner--as he stepped out on deck at eight bells on the following
morning, attired in white drill jacket and long flowing trousers of the
same, girt about the waist with a gaudy silken sash glowing in all the
colours of the rainbow, the costume being topped off with a
broad-brimmed Panama hat swathed round with a white puggaree. He was
indeed the beau-ideal of a dandy pirate skipper, and I was not a very
bad imitation of him--barring the whiskers. The only things perhaps
that a too captious critic might have objected to were the spotless
purity of our clothing, and an utter absence of that ruffianly manner
which distinguishes the genuine pirate; but, as Ryan observed, the first
of these objections would grow less noticeable with every day that we
wore the clothes, while the other was not necessary, or, if it should
become so, must be assumed as successfully as our talents in that
direction would permit. As for the crew, they had by Ryan's orders
discarded their usual clothing for jumpers and trousers of blue
dungaree, with soft felt hats, cloth caps, or knitted worsted nightcaps
by way of head-covering, so that, viewed through a telescope, we might
present as slovenly and un-man-o'-war-like an appearance as possible.
This effect was further heightened by Ryan having very wisely insisted
that not a spar or rope of the schooner should be altered or interfered
with in any way, saving of course where it needed refitting; those
therefore who happened to know the _Felicidad_ would recognise her at
once; and it was our business so to conduct ourselves that they should
not suspect her change of ownership until too late to effect an escape.
Her capture was of course by this time known to many of the craft
frequenting the Congo; but that we could not help; our plans were based
mostly upon the hope that there were still many who did not know it, and
also, to some extent, upon a belief that, even to those who were aware
of it, we might by judicious behaviour convey an impression that her
people had cleverly effected their own and her escape, and were once
more boldly pursuing their lawless trade.
We did not much expect to fall in with anything worthy of our attention
until we were pretty close up with the Line; we therefore carried on all
through the first night and the whole of the next day, arriving by
sunset upon the northern boundary of what we considered our cruising
ground proper. And then, as ill-luck would have it, the wind died away,
and left us rolling helplessly upon a long, glassy swell, without
steerage-way, the schooner's head boxing the compass. This period of
calm lasted all through the night and the whole of the next day, varied
only by an occasional cat's-paw of scarcely sufficient strength or
duration to enable us to get the schooner's jib-boom pointed in the
right direction. But this did not trouble Ryan in the least, for, as he
reminded me for my consolation, we were now just where we wanted to be,
and the first breeze that sprang up might bring with it one of the
gentry that we were so anxiously on the look-out for. Meanwhile, he
availed himself of the opportunity to prepare a certain piece of
apparatus that he had employed his leisure in devising, and which he
thought might possibly prove useful on occasion. "I've been thinking,"
said he to me on the morning after the calm had set in, "that it mayn't
always be convanient for the schooner to go through the wather at her
best speed, so I've devised a thriflin' arrangement that'll modherate
her paces widhout annyone out of the craft bein' anny the wiser." And
therewith he ordered a good stout hawser to be roused up on deck; and
from this he had a length of some fifteen fathoms cut off, all along the
middle part of which he caused a dozen pigs of ballast to be securely
lashed. This done, he ordered the bight, with the pigs attached, to be
passed under the ship's bottom, and the two ends of the hawser to be
passed inboard through the port and starboard midship ports and well
secured, when we had a drag underneath the schooner that would certainly
exercise a very marked effect upon her sailing, without making a
sufficient disturbance in the water to reveal the fact that trickery was
being resorted to.
Towards the close of the afternoon the aspect of the sky seemed to
promise that ere long we might hope for a welcome change of weather; the
deep, brilliant blue of the unclouded dome became blurred as though it
were gradually being overspread by a thin and semi-transparent curtain
of mist, which gradually resolved itself into that streaky, feathery
appearance called by seamen "mare's-tails"; and a bank of horizontal
grey cloud gathered in the western quarter, into which the sun at length
plunged in a glare of fiery crimson and smoky purple that had all the
appearance of a great atmospheric conflagration. A short, steep swell,
too, gathered from the westward, causing the inert schooner to roll and
wallow until she was shipping water over both gunwales, and her masts
were working and grinding so furiously in the partners that we had to
lift the coats and drive the wedges home afresh, as well as to get up
preventer-backstays and rolling tackles.
"There is a breeze, and a strong one too, behind all this," remarked
Ryan to me, "and it will give us an opportunity to test the little
hooker's mettle. I wish it would come and be done with it, for by the
powers I'm gettin' mighty toired of this stoyle of thing," as the
schooner's counter squattered down with a thud and a splash into a deep
hollow, and then rolled so heavily and so suddenly to starboard that we
both gathered way and went with a run into the scuppers just in time to
be drenched to the waist by the heavy fall of water that she dished in
over her rail. This sort of thing soon gave us a taste of the
_Felicidad's_ quality, for so lightly was she framed that the heavy
rolling strained her tremendously, and she began to make so much water
that we were obliged to set the pumps going every two hours, while the
creaking and complaining of her timbers and bulkheads raised a din that
might have been heard half-a-mile away.
"As soon as the breeze comes," said Ryan, as we descended the
companion-ladder to shift into dry clothes, "we will bear up and jog
quietly in for Cape Lopez, which will give us a chance of being
overhauled by something running in for either the Gaboon or the Ogowe,
or of blundherin' up against something coming out from one or the other
of those same rivers. If we don't fall in with annything by the time
that we make the land, we will just stand on and take a look in here and
there, beginning with the Ogowe and working our way northward gradually
until we've thoroughly overhauled the whole of the Bight."
By the time that we were summoned below to dinner, the sky had become
entirely overcast with heavy, black, thunderous-looking clouds that
entirely-obscured the stars, and only allowed the light of the moon to
sift feebly through; yet there was light enough to enable us to see our
way about the deck, or to reveal to a sharp eye a sail as far away as
seven or eight miles, had anything been within that distance. As we
left the deck a quivering gleam of sheet-lightning flashed up along the
western horizon, and Ryan gave Pierrepoint--who was taking the deck for
me while I got my dinner--instructions to keep a sharp eye upon the
weather, as there was no knowing how it might turn out. While we sat at
table the lightning became more vivid and frequent; and after a while
the dull, deep rumble of distant thunder was heard. Presently we heard
Pierrepoint singing out to one of the boys to jump below and fetch up
his oil-skins for him; and a minute or two later the sound of a heavy
shower advancing over the water became audible, rapidly increasing in
volume until it reached us, when in a moment we were almost deafened by
the loud pelting of the rain upon the deck overhead as the overladen
clouds discharged their burden with all the fierce vehemence of a truly
tropical downpour.
At the first crash of the rain upon the deck Ryan and I both with one
accord glanced hastily at the barometer that was hanging suspended in
gimbals in the skylight; the mercury had dropped slightly, but not
sufficient to arouse any uneasiness, and we therefore went quietly on
with our dinner, although Ryan shouted across the table to me--
"When the rain comes before the wind,
Halliards, sheets, and braces mind."
There was little danger, however, of our being caught unawares, for we
had long ago clewed up and hauled down everything, except the
boom-foresail and jib, to save the sails from thrashing themselves
threadbare with the rolling of the ship; we consequently awaited the
development of events with perfect equanimity. The downpour lasted
perhaps three minutes, and then ceased with startling abruptness,
leaving us in absolute silence save for the rush and splash of the water
athwart the flooded decks with the now greatly diminished rolling of the
schooner, the gurgle of the spouting scuppers, the kicking of the rudder
upon its gudgeons, the groaning and complaining of the timbers, or the
voices of the people on deck, and the soft patter of their bare feet
upon the wet planks as they moved here and there. The shower had
knocked the swell down very considerably, rendering the movements of the
schooner much more easy than they had been, and we were able to finish
our meal in peace and comfort without the continued necessity to steady
the plate with one hand and the tumbler with the other, keeping a wary
eye upon the viands meanwhile, in readiness to dodge any of them that
might happen to fetch away in our direction, and snatching a mouthful or
a sip in the brief intervals when the ship became comparatively steady.
When we again went on deck the sky presented a really magnificent
spectacle, the vast masses of heavy, electrically-charged cloud being
piled one above the other in a fashion that resembled, to me, nothing so
much as a chaos of titanic rocks of every conceivable shape and colour,
the forms and hues of the clouds being rendered distinctly visible by
the incessant play of the sheet-lightning among their masses. Not only
the whole sky, but the entire atmosphere seemed to be a-quiver with the
silent electric discharges, and the effect was indescribably beautiful
as the quick, tremulous flashes blazed out, now here, now there,
strongly illumining one portion of the piled-up masses and the
reflection in the glassy water with its transient radiance, while the
rest of the scene was by contrast thrown into the deepest, blackest,
most opaque shadow. Meanwhile the mutterings of the distant thunder had
gradually grown louder and drawn nearer, while sudden, vivid flashes of
forked or chain-lightning, golden, violet, or delicate rose-tinted,
darted at ever-lessening intervals from the lowering masses of intensely
black cloud heaped up along the western horizon.
We had been on deck perhaps half-an-hour, when a delicious coolness and
freshness began by almost insensible degrees to pervade the hitherto
intolerable closeness of the hot and enervating atmosphere, and, looking
away to the westward, we saw, by the quick, flickering illumination of
the lightning, a few transient cat's-paws playing here and there upon
the surface of the water. Gradually and erratically these evanescent
movements in the inert air stole down to the schooner, lightly rippling
the water round her for an instant, just stirring the canvas with a
faint rustle for a moment, and then dying away again. They were
succeeded by others, however, with rapidly increasing frequency, and
presently a faint blurr upon the glassy surface of the water to the
westward marked the approach of the true breeze.
"Sheet home your topsail, and hoist away!" shouted Ryan. "Up with your
helm, my man"--to the man at the tiller--"and let her go off
east-south-east. Sheet home your topgallant-sail, and man the
halliards. Lay aft here, some of you, to the braces, and lay the yards
square. Well there, belay! Main throat and peak-halliards hoist away.
Ease off the mainsheet. Rouse up the squaresail, Mr Dugdale, and set
it, if you please. Well there with the throat-halliards; well with the
peak; belay! Away aloft, one hand, and loose the gaff-topsail! Give
her everything but the studding-sails while you are about it, Mr
Dugdale; it will save the canvas from mildew if it does little else."
The breeze--a light air from about west--had by this time crept up to
us, and under its vivifying influence the schooner had gathered way, and
was soon creeping along at a speed of barely two and a half knots,
which, however, rose to three and finally to five as the wind freshened,
the sky meanwhile clearing as the heavy thunder-clouds drove away to
leeward before the welcome breeze, until the sky was once more cloudless
save for the mare's-tails that thickly overspread the blue, through
which the stars blinked dimly, and the moon, with a big halo round her,
poured her chastened radiance.
"By the powers," exclaimed Ryan, as we paced the deck together after the
operation of making sail had been completed--"By the powers, but that
dhrag of mine is a wondherful invention entirely! Do ye notice, Harry,
me bhoy, how it's modherated the little huzzy's paces? Bedad, she's
goin' along as sober as a Quaker girl to meetin' instead of waltzin'
away like a ballet-dancer! But wait until one of those light-heeled
picaroons comes along, and then won't we surprise thim above a bit! If
it's not blowing too hard when ye come on deck in the middle watch ye
may give her the stunsails; it'll look more ship-shape, and as if we
were in a hurry to make the coast and get our cargo aboard, if we happen
to be overhauled by anybody in the same line of business, and the deuce
of a fear have I now of outsailing any of them that may happen to be in
the neighbourhood. Keep a sharp look-out, Mr Pierrepoint, and if
anything heaves in sight, either ahead or astern, during your watch,
give me a call. I'm going below to turn in now."
I followed suit a minute or two later and, with my cabin-door wide open
to freely admit the cool, welcome breeze that poured down through the
open skylight, soon fell into a deep, refreshing sleep.
CHAPTER SIX.
A CAPTURE AND A CHASE.
When I went on deck at midnight I found that there was no occasion to
set the studding-sails, for the breeze had freshened to more than half a
gale, and the little hooker was staggering along before it and a
fast-rising sea at a tremendous pace--considering the drag--with her
royal clewed up and furled, and the gaff-topsail hauled down. Even thus
she was being greatly over-driven; so, as there was no need for _too
much_ hurry, and as the sky astern had a hard, windy look, I took in the
topgallant-sail, and hauled down and stowed the mainsail, letting her go
along easily and comfortably for the remainder of the night. I had half
a mind to further relieve her by getting the drag inboard, but did not
like to do so without first consulting Ryan--since the thing was of his
contrivance--so, as the matter was by no means sufficiently urgent to
justify me in disturbing him, I let it remain, and very glad was I
afterwards that I had done so; for when I went on deck again at seven
bells, there, away about a point on our weather quarter, gleamed in the
bright morning sunshine the white upper sails of a large craft that had
been sighted at daybreak and that was now coming up to us fast. Ryan
was already on deck, having been called immediately that the stranger
was made out, and was in a state of high glee at the success of his
stratagem, for he informed me that he had been up on the topsail-yard,
and had pretty well satisfied himself, both by the look of the craft and
the course she was steering, that she was a slaver running in upon the
coast to pick up a cargo.
It now became a nice question with us whether we should reveal our true
character as soon as the stranger should have approached within reach of
our guns, or whether we should try to follow her in, and, lying in wait
for her, seize her as she came out with her cargo on board. We were
still at a considerable distance from the coast--some twelve hundred
miles--and that fact inclined us strongly to make short work of her by
showing our colours and bringing her to as soon as she should come
abreast of us; while, on the other hand, there was the chance that by
following her in we might fall in with something more valuable than
herself.
We were still weighing the pros and the cons of this important question,
when the look-out aloft--for Ryan had only half-an-hour previously
determined to have a look-out maintained from the topgallant-yard
between the hours of sunrise and sunset--the look-out, I say, reported a
sail broad on our starboard bow, standing to the northward on a taut
bowline, and under a heavy press of sail. She was as yet invisible from
the deck; my superior officer and I therefore with one accord made a
dash for our telescopes, and, having secured them, hastened forward and
made our way up the fore-rigging to the topsail-yard, on to which we
swung ourselves at the same moment. From this elevated view-point the
upper half of the stranger's topmasts and all above were just visible
clear of the horizon; and, bringing our glasses to bear upon her, we
made her out to be a barque-rigged vessel under single-reefed topsails,
courses, jib, fore and main-topmast-staysails, and spanker; her yards,
which were pretty nearly square on to us, showed a quite unusual amount
of spread for a merchant vessel, and the rapidity with which she altered
her bearings and forged athwart our forefoot was conclusive evidence
that she was a remarkably speedy craft. For a moment it occurred to us
that she might possibly be a cruiser belonging to one or another of the
nations who had undertaken to share with Great Britain the noble task of
suppressing the inhuman slave-traffic; but a very little reflection
sufficed to disabuse our minds of this idea, for no cruiser would have
been carrying so heavy a press of canvas as she was showing, in the
teeth of what had by this time become almost a gale, unless she were in
chase of something, and, had she been, we must have seen it. Besides,
although everything looked trim and ship-shape enough so far as her
spars, sails, and rigging were concerned, there were evidences even
there of a certain lack of discipline and order that would hardly have
been tolerated on board a man-o'-war of _any_ nation, although most of
the foreigners were a great deal more free and easy in that respect than
ourselves. The conclusion at which we ultimately arrived, therefore,
was that she was a slaver with her cargo on board, and "carrying-on" to
make a quick passage.
But, fast as she was travelling, we were going through the water still
faster, despite our drag, for we were carrying the wind almost square
over our taffrail, and Ryan, in order the more thoroughly to hoodwink
the craft astern, had double-reefed and set our big mainsail, as though
we had been somewhat suspicious of her character, and anxious to keep
her at as great a distance as possible; we were therefore foaming along
at a speed of fully eight knots, and rising the stranger ahead so
rapidly, that when she crossed our hawse she was not more than eight
miles distant, and we had a clear view of her from our topsail-yard.
She now hoisted Spanish colours; and we, not to be outdone in
politeness, did the same, as also did the craft astern of us, each of
us, I suppose, accepting the exhibition of bunting on board the others
for just what it was worth.
Ryan and I had by this time pretty well made up our minds as to the
character of both our neighbours; and as the stranger astern--a large
brig--was now barely half-a-mile distant from us, and drawing rapidly up
on our starboard quarter, it was necessary to make up our minds without
delay as to the course to be pursued; the question being whether we
should meddle at all with the brig, and thus run the risk of exciting
the barque's suspicions, or whether we should devote our whole energies
to the pursuit of the latter. I was all for letting the brig go, for we
knew, by the course she was steering, that she had no slaves on board,
and the chances were even that we should find nothing else on board her
sufficiently compromising to secure her condemnation by the Mixed
Commission. Ryan, on the other hand, could not make up his mind to let
the chance go by of making two prizes instead of one.
"`A bird in hand is worth two in the bush, Harry, me bhoy,'" he remarked
to me as we stood together near the binnacle, watching the approach of
the brig, which was now foaming along not a quarter of a mile away from
us; "and I look upon that brig as being quite as much in our hand as
though you and I stood upon her quarter-deck, with all her crew safe
under hatches. Steady there!" he continued, to the man at the tiller;
"mind your weather-helm, my man, or you'll be having that mainsail
jibing over, and I need not tell you what _that_ means in a breeze like
this. Don't meet her quite so sharply; if she seems inclined to take a
sheer to starboard, let her go; I will take care that the brig does not
run over us. Just look at her," he went on, turning again to me, "isn't
she a beauty? Why, she's almost as handsome, and as big too, as the
_Mercedes_! D'ye mean to tell me that such a hull as that would ever be
employed in the humdrum trade of carrying palm-oil? Why, it would be
nothing short of a waste of skilful modelling! No, _sorr_, she was
built for a slaver, and a slaver she is, or I'll eat this hat of mine,
puggaree and all, for breakfast!"
"I grant all that you say," admitted I, "but if she has nothing
incriminating on board her, what then? We shall only be wasting our
time by boarding her, while we shall certainly give the alarm to the
barque yonder, and, as likely as not, lose her for our pains."
Ryan took a good long look at the barque, that was now about two points
before our larboard beam, and some six miles distant, thrashing along in
a style that did one's heart good to see, and plunging into the heavy
head-sea, against which she was beating until her foresail was dark with
wet half-way up the weather-leech, and the spray was flying clean over
her, and drifting away like smoke to leeward. Then he turned and looked
at the brig on our opposite quarter.
"It's risky," he remarked to me through his set teeth, "but, by the
powers, I'll chance it! If we happen to be mistaken, why, I'll make the
skipper a handsome apology; if he's a true man, that ought to satisfy
him. Mr Bartlett"--to the boatswain--"cast off that drag and get it
inboard over the port-rail with as little fuss as may be, so that if
those fellows in the brig are watching us they may not know what we're
about; I want to keep that conthrivance a saycret as long as I can. Be
as smart as you like about it. Mr Dugdale, I want twenty men to arm
themselves forthwith, and then creep into the waist under the lee of the
starboard bulwarks, taking care that they are not seen; pick me out the
best men in the ship, if you please. Ah, here is Gowland, the very man
I wanted to see! Mr Gowland, you see that brig--" and as I turned away
to muster the men, and see that they were properly armed, he drew
Gowland away to the other side of the deck, and began to communicate
something to him in a very rapid, earnest manner.
By the time that the drag had been got inboard and stowed away, I had
picked out the required men, and had contrived to get them by twos and
threes under the starboard bulwarks without--so far as I knew--being
seen by those on board the brig, watching the roll of the schooner and
giving the word for the men to pass up through the scuttle and make a
crouching run for it as the schooner rolled to port and hid her deck
from the brig. That craft had by this time overhauled us, and was far
enough ahead to permit of our reading her name--the _Conquistador_, of
Havana--upon her stern; while our helmsman, taking Ryan's hint, had
steered so wildly, that he had sheered the schooner almost to within
biscuit-toss of her neighbour. Meanwhile, now that the drag was no
longer impeding us, we were gradually lessening the small space of water
that separated us from the brig, and we could see that the schooner and
her movements were exciting much curiosity and speculation, if not
actual suspicion, in the minds of three men who stood right aft on her
monkey-poop, intently watching us.
"Go for'ard and hail them," said Ryan to me; "I want to get a little
closer if I can without unduly exciting their suspicions. You can
affect to be deaf if you like; perhaps that will give us a chance."
I took the speaking-trumpet in my hand and, clambering leisurely into
the fore-rigging, hailed in Spanish--
"Ho, the brig ahoy! what brig is that?"
"The _Conquistador_, of Havana," was the reply. "What schooner is
that?"
I turned to one of the men who was standing near me and asked, in the
most natural manner in the world, "What did he say?"
"The _Conkistee_--something, of Hawaner, it sounded like to me, sir,"
answered the man.
"What did you say?" I yelled at the brig, raising the trumpet again to
my mouth.
"The _Con-quist-a-dor_, of Havana. What schooner is that?"
I assumed the most utter look of bewilderment I could upon the spur of
the moment, and then, waving my arm impatiently at our helmsman to sheer
still closer alongside the brig, whose quarter was now fair abreast of
our fore-rigging, repeated my question--
"_What_ did you say?"
My interlocutor, who was evidently the skipper of the brig, stamped on
the deck with vexation as he raised his hands to his mouth, and yelled
at the top of his voice--
"The _Con-quist-a-dor_, of Havana! Do not sheer so close to me, if you
please, senor. You will be foul of me if you do not look out!"
"That will do, Mr Dugdale," shouted Ryan in English, to the evident
astonishment and consternation of the brig's people, "we can manage now.
Stand by to jump aboard with me. I shall want you to act as
interpreter, for the deuce a word do I understand of their confounded
lingo."
And as he spoke he waved his hand to the helmsman, while at the same
moment Gowland, who stood close by, hauled down the Spanish and ran up
the British ensign to our peak. There was a shout of dismay from those
on board the brig, and a quick trampling of feet as her crew rushed to
their stations and hurriedly threw the coiled-up braces, halliards, and
sheets off the pins with some confused notion of doing something to
evade us even at the last moment. But they were altogether too late;
Somers, the quarter-master, who had seen what was afoot, and had
gradually worked his way aft, sprang to the tiller, and jamming it over
to port, sheered us very cleverly alongside the brig in the wake of her
main-rigging, into which Ryan and I instantly leaped, followed by our
twenty armed men. The surprise was so sudden and so complete that there
was no time for resistance, even had the Spaniards been disposed to
offer any, and in another moment we had reached the brig's deck and she
was in our possession, the schooner instantly sheering off again to a
short distance in order that the two craft might not do any damage to
each other.
Having taken so very decisive a step as to board and carry the brig,
there was now of course nothing for us but to go through with the affair
in the same high-handed fashion. I therefore demanded at once to see
the ship's papers; and after many indignant protests they were produced
and flung down upon the cabin table for our inspection. These fully
established the identity of the brig; and as an examination of her hold
revealed that she was fitted with a slave-deck, large coppers for the
preparation of food for the unfortunate blacks her captain hoped to
secure, a stock of water, and farina ample enough to meet the wants of a
large "cargo," and an abundance of slave-irons, we were fully justified
in taking possession of her, which we did forthwith. Half-an-hour
sufficed for us to secure our capture and put a prize-crew on board
under Gowland's command, and we then parted company; the brig to stand
on for an hour as she was going--so as not to needlessly alarm the
barque--and then to haul up and shape a course for Sierra Leone, while
we at once hauled our wind in pursuit of our new quarry, which bore by
this time well upon our port-quarter--as we had hitherto been going--
with her topsails just showing above the horizon.
We had no sooner trimmed sail in chase of the barque than we found, to
our unspeakable gratification, that we were still far enough to windward
to lay well up for her, she being at the commencement of the chase not
more than a point and a half upon our weather bow, while, from the
superiority of our rig, we were able to look quite that much higher than
she did. The question now was whether, in the strong wind and heavy sea
that we had to contend against, we could hold our own with a craft so
much more powerful than ourselves.
We had of course taken the precaution to get down a couple of reefs in
our topsail, and the same in the foresail, as well as to haul down the
squaresail and get the bonnet off the jib before leaving the
_Conquistador_, but it was not until we had hauled our wind and put the
schooner on a taut bowline, that we were able to realise how hard it was
actually blowing. Up to then the wind had seemed no more to us than a
brisk, pleasant breeze, while the schooner rode the long, creaming
surges lightly as a gull. _Now_, however, we had to doff our straw hats
in a hurry to save them from being blown away, and to don close-fitting
cloth caps instead, as well as our oil-skins, while it was positively
hard work to cross the deck against the wind. As for the schooner, she
behaved like a mad thing, careening to her gunwale as she soared to the
crest of a wave and cleft its foaming summit in a blinding deluge of
spray that swept her decks from the weather cat-head right aft to the
companion, and plunging next moment into the trough with a strong roll
to windward, and a very bedlam of yells and shrieks aloft as the gale
swept between her straining masts and rigging. She shuddered as if
terrified at every headlong plunge that she took, while the milk-white
spume brimmed to the level of her figure-head, and roared away from her
bows in a whole acre of boiling, glistening foam. The creaking and
groaning of her timbers and bulkheads raised such a din that a novice
would have been quite justified in fearing that the little hooker was
rapidly straining herself to pieces, while more than one crash of
crockery below, faintly heard through the other multitudinous sounds,
told us that the wild antics of the barkie were making a very pretty
general average among our domestic utensils. But, with all her creaking
and groaning, the schooner now proved herself to be a truly superb
sea-boat, scarcely shipping so much as a bucketful of green water,
despite the merciless manner in which we were driving her; and the way
in which she surmounted sea after sea, turning up her streaming
weather-bow to receive its buffet, and gaily "shaking her feathers"
after every plunge, was enough to make a sailor's heart leap with pride
and exultation that was not to be lessened even by the awe-inspiring
spectacle of the mountains of water that in continuous procession soared
up from beneath her keel and went roaring away to leeward with foaming
crests that towered to the height of the cross-trees.
Our first anxiety, of course, was to ascertain whether we were gaining
upon the chase, or whether she was maintaining her distance from us; as
soon, therefore, as we had secured our morning altitude of the sun for
the determination of the longitude, we measured as accurately as we
could the angle subtended by that portion of the barque's main-mast
which showed above the horizon. The task was one of very considerable
difficulty owing to the violent motion of the two craft, and when we had
done our best we were by no means satisfied with the result, but we
thought it might possibly be some help to us; so when we had at length
agreed upon the actual value of the angle, we clamped our instruments,
and, taking them below, stowed them carefully away in our bunks, where
there was not much danger of their coming to harm through the frantic
plunging of the schooner, our purpose of course being to compare the
angle then obtained with another to be measured an hour or two later.
If the second angle should prove to be greater than the first, it would
show that we had gained on the chase; if, on the contrary, it should
prove to be less, it would show that the chase had increased her
distance from us. It was shortly before noon when we again brought our
sextants on deck, opinion being meanwhile strongly divided as to whether
or not we were gaining; some asserting positively that we were, while
others as stoutly maintained that we were not. But even our sextants
failed to settle the question, for if there was any difference at all in
the angle, it was too minute for detection, and we were left in almost
the same state of suspense as before. The only relief afforded us was
the assurance that we were practically holding our own with the barque,
and that unless the weather grew still worse than it was, we stood a
fairly good chance of catching her eventually. One thing was certain;
light as our draught of water was, and small as was the schooner's area
of lateral resistance compared with that of the barque, we were slowly
but certainly eating our way out upon her weather quarter, her main and
foremasts having been visible to leeward of her mizenmast when the chase
commenced, while now they just showed clear of each other to windward,
thus conclusively demonstrating that we were gaining the weather-gauge
of her, despite the heavy sea. This was certainly a most comforting
reflection, and greatly helped to console us for the otherwise slow
progress that we were making in the chase. Ryan seemed to be the most
disappointed man among us all; he was very impetuous and hot-headed; he
liked to do everything on the instant and with a rush; and upon the
discovery that we were not gaining perceptibly, he muttered something
about giving the schooner more canvas. Luckily, before giving the order
he paused long enough to allow the fact to be borne in upon him that the
masts were already whipping and bending like fishing-rods, and the gear
taxed to its utmost capacity of resistance; and being, despite the
characteristics above-mentioned, a reasonably prudent and careful
officer, the sight restrained him, and he forbore to attempt anything so
risky as the further over-driving of the already greatly over-driven
craft.
Not so with the skipper of the barque. It was, of course, impossible
for us to know whether he had observed the capture of the
_Conquistador_--we hoped and believed not; but, however that may have
been, it was certain that he had been keeping his eyes sufficiently open
to promptly become aware of the fact that the schooner had altered her
course and was standing after him under a very heavy press of sail, and
if our surmises as to his character were anywhere near the truth, that
circumstance alone would be quite sufficient to fully arouse his
easily-awakened apprehensions and to urge him to keep us at arm's-length
at all risks. Be that as it may, we had just made it noon when the
quarter-master called our attention to the fact that the barque's people
had loosed their main-topgallant-sail and were sheeting it home over the
double-reefed topsail. It was an imprudent thing to do, however, for
the sail had scarcely been set ten minutes when the topgallant-mast went
over the side, snapped short off by the cap. Her skipper instantly
availed himself of the pretext afforded by this accident to bear away
three or four points while clearing the wreck, his object doubtless
being to determine beyond all question whether we really were after him
or not; and if this was his purpose, we did not leave him long in doubt
upon the point, our own helm being put up the instant that we saw what
he was about. Realising, by this move on our part, the true state of
affairs, he now squared dead away before the wind, shook out all his
reefs, and set his fore-topgallant-sail, as well as topmast and lower
studding-sails. This was piling on the canvas with a vengeance, but
Ryan was not the man to be bluffed by any such move as that; every glass
we had was now levelled at the barque, and no sooner were her people
seen in the rigging than away went our own, and so much smarter were our
people than those belonging to the barque, that our own studding-sails
were set and dragging like cart-horses while theirs were still being
sent aloft. This experiment was tried for about half-an-hour, by which
time it became evident that the schooner was fully as good off the wind
as was the barque, if not a trifle better; she seemed to fairly _fly_,
while at times, when the breeze happened to freshen a trifle, it really
seemed as though she would be lifted out of the water altogether; and I
am quite persuaded that but for the preventers we had rigged for the
purpose of relieving the masts when she was rolling so heavily during
the preceding calm--and which still remained aloft and were doing
splendid service--we must have lost both our sticks and been reduced to
a sheer hulk long before the half-hour had expired.
I have said that we were doing quite as well as, if not a trifle better
than, the barque; for while we held our own with her, so that she was
unable to appreciably alter her bearing from us, we were steadily edging
up toward her, our gain in this respect being so great that ere the next
manoeuvre was attempted we had risen her high enough to get a momentary
glimpse of the whole length of her rail when she floated up on the crest
of a sea. It was clear, therefore, that the barque had gained nothing
by running off the wind; on the contrary, we had neared her fully a
mile; her skipper, therefore, having given the unsuccessful experiment a
fair trial, suddenly took in all his studding-sails again, reduced his
canvas once more to a couple of reefs, and braced sharp up to the wind,
as before. But here again we had the advantage of him through the
superior smartness of our own crew, for he no sooner began to shorten
sail than we did the same, handling our canvas so quickly that we were
ready nearly five minutes before him, the result being that we had
gained another half-mile upon him and had placed ourselves a good
quarter of a mile upon his weather quarter by the time that he had
sweated up his top sail-halliards. We now felt that, barring accidents,
the barque was ours; she could escape us neither to leeward nor to
windward. Instead, therefore, of continuing to jam the schooner as
close into the wind's eye as she would sail, with the object of
weathering out on the barque, we pointed the little vixen's jib-boom
fair and square at the chase, checked the sheets and braces a few inches
fore and aft, and put her along for all that she was worth.
It is astonishing to note the advantageous effect that is produced upon
the sailing of a ship when it becomes possible to check the sheets and
braces even a few paltry inches; it was distinctly noticeable in the
case of the schooner; her movements were perceptibly freer and easier,
she no longer drove her keen cut-water into the heart of the seas,
receiving their blows upon the rounding of her weather bow with a force
sufficient to shake her from stem to stern and almost to stop her way
for an appreciable instant of time; she now slid smoothly up the breast
of the wave, taking its stroke fairly in the wake of the fore-rigging,
where it had little or no retarding effect upon her, surmounted its
crest with a long, easy roll, and then sank with equal smoothness down
into the trough, along which she sped lightly and swiftly as a petrel.
It added a good half-a-knot to her speed.
It was soon apparent that even this comparatively trifling advantage on
our part had not escaped the notice of our wary friend the skipper of
the barque; it suggested to him yet one more experiment, and he was not
slow to make it, keeping his ship away about a point and a half and
checking his braces accordingly. This proved very much more
satisfactory so far as he was concerned; for by four bells in the
afternoon watch we had lost sight of the barque's hull again, and it was
unmistakably evident that she was increasing her distance from us. We
held on, however, straight after her, as before; for although it was
undeniable that she was now drawing away from us, it was but slowly; it
would take her a good many hours to run us out of sight at that rate,
and we felt pretty confident that when the weather moderated--which we
hoped would be before long, as the glass indicated a slight rising
tendency--we should have her at our mercy. Meanwhile, however, we felt
that we must not count our chickens before they were hatched; for there
would be nearly an hour and a half of darkness between sunset and
moonrise, and in that time our crafty friend would be pretty certain to
attempt some new trickery if there seemed a ghost of a chance of its
proving successful.
CHAPTER SEVEN.
THE SLAVER'S RUSE.
The sun set that night in a broad bank of horizontal, mottled grey
cloud, through which his beams darted in golden splendour at brief
intervals for nearly half-an-hour after we had lost sight of the great
luminary himself; and just about the time that the spars and canvas of
the distant barque began to grow indistinct in the fast-gathering dusk
of evening, there occurred a noticeable decrease in the strength of the
wind, with every prospect of a tolerably fine night. Of course our
glasses were never off the chase for more than five minutes at a time,
but up to the moment when it became impossible to any longer distinguish
the movements of those on board, no attempt to increase her spread of
canvas had been observed. Whether by this apparent apathy her people
hoped to lull us into a condition of equal carelessness, it is of course
impossible for me to say; but, if so, they signally failed, for
immediately that the barque's outline faded into an indistinct blur in
the growing darkness, we went to work and shook out a reef all round,
never doubting but that they were at that moment doing precisely the
same thing. And our supposition was most probably correct--Ryan,
indeed, who had sent for his night-glass and brought it to bear upon
her, declared that he could detect an increase in the area of her
shadowy canvas--for even after we had made sail we could not perceive
that we were in any wise decreasing the distance between the two
vessels.
As the swift, tropical night shut down upon us every eye in the ship
became strained to its utmost power in the effort to keep sight of the
chase, for now that there could no longer be any doubt in the minds of
her people that we were after them, we felt convinced that should an
opportunity present itself for them to elude us in the darkness they
would assuredly embrace it; and, being new to the coast and to the
service, as most of us were, we had yet to learn by vexatious experience
the fertility of resource which had been developed in the
slave-trafficking fraternity by the unflagging pursuit to which they
were subjected by the slave-squadron, and of which they never missed a
chance to avail themselves. We had heard many an amusing story of the
extraordinarily clever devices that these gentry had resorted to--very
often successfully--in their endeavours to elude pursuit, and while we
had laughed heartily at the recital of them, or commented admiringly
upon their ingenuity, as the case might be, we had no fancy for further
illustrating in our own persons their superiority in the art of
mystification. And we were rendered all the more anxious by the fact
that with nightfall the sky became overspread with a thin canopy of
cloud that, while not sufficiently dense to wholly obscure the stars, so
dimmed their lustre that it became difficult to distinguish, even
through our night-glasses, the forms of the waves at a greater distance
than half-a-mile; while as for the chase, we were at length reluctantly
compelled to admit to each other that we had lost sight of her
altogether, or at least that we could not be absolutely certain whether
we could still see her or not; sometimes we were confident that we
could, at other times we utterly failed to make her out.
It was while we were in this painful condition of uncertainty that
Ryan--who like myself had remained on deck, diligently working away with
his glass, and utterly deaf to the more than once repeated statement of
the steward that the dinner was on the cabin table--turned quickly to me
and said--
"Do you see that greenish-looking star just glimmering through the
clouds right over our jib-boom end? Here, stand exactly where I am, and
when she pitches you will see it showing about ten degrees above the
horizon. There! do you see the star I mean?"
"Yes," said I, catching sight of the pale green glimmer as he placed me
in position. "Yes, I see it. What of it?"
"Just carry your eye from it down to the horizon at an angle of about
forty-five degrees in an easterly direction, and tell me if you see
anything particular."
I did so, and after two or three attempts thought I caught a faint gleam
like the light of a lamp shining through a red curtain.
"Yes," I answered, "I fancy I can just make out a dim something." And I
described what I saw.
"Precisely!" exclaimed Ryan delightedly. "There! now I have it in my
glass--no, it is gone again--this jump of a sea renders it almost
impossible to use one's telescope on the deck of such a lively little
hooker as this--not that I've a word to say against her, God bless her,
she's a beauty, every inch of her, but I wish she'd remain steady for a
second or two. There, I have it again! Yes, it's a light in the
barque's after-cabin. They've drawn the curtains, never suspecting that
the light would show through. Yes, there's no mistake about it, I can
see it quite plainly now; upon my word I believe we are overhauling her
now that the breeze has dropped a bit. Mr Pierrepoint, d'ye see that
light?"
"Where away, sir?"
It was pointed out to the lad, and after some searching and prying--for
it was so very dim that it was almost impossible to distinguish it with
the naked eye--he caught sight of it.
"Very well, then," remarked Ryan, with a return to his old, humorous
manner that showed how great a relief to him was the appearance of the
faint ruddy gleam, "keep your eye upon it, my bhoy, until I give ye a
shpell. Mr Dugdale and Oi are now goin' below to dinner, and if ye
lose soight of that loight, bedad I'll--I'll keelhaul ye, ye shpalpeen.
He's edgin' away off the wind, d'ye see, the blagguard! I wouldn't be
surprised if he was to up helm and shquare away before it in a minute or
two, hopin' to run us out of soight before the moon rises, so don't let
your oye go off that light for a single inshtant if ye value your shkin.
Keep her away a bit"--to the man at the helm--"let her go off a point!
So! steady as you go! There, Masther Freddy, the light is right
forninst your jib-boom end now. Mind that ye kape it there. We're
certainly gaining on her." And, patting the lad affectionately on the
shoulder, the warm-hearted Irishman turned and beckoned me to follow him
down into the cabin.
We had been below about half-an-hour, and were getting well forward with
our dinner, when we heard the voices of Pierrepoint and the
quarter-master in earnest conversation over the open skylight, and an
occasional word or two that reached us seemed to indicate that they were
in doubt about something. We both pricked up our ears a little; and
presently we heard Pierrepoint ejaculate in a tone of impatience and
with a stamp of his foot on the deck--
"I'll be shot if I can understand it at all, Somers; I shall call the
captain."
"I really think I would, sir, if I was you. I don't believe that's the
barque at all; it's some circumwenting trick that they've been playing
us, that's my opinion!"
At this Ryan started to his feet and, hailing through the skylight,
asked--
"What is the matter, Mr Pierrepoint; have you lost sight of the light?"
"No, sir," answered poor Freddy, in a tone of distress; "the light is
still straight ahead of us, and we seem to be nearing it fast, but I
can't make out anything like the loom of the sails or hull of the
barque, and if she is there I think we ought to see her by this time.
The red light shows quite plainly in the glass."
"I will join you on deck and have a look at it," exclaimed Ryan; and,
rising from the table, he sprang up the companion-ladder three steps at
a time, I following close at his heels.
Yes; there was the light, sure enough, right ahead of us; and a glance
aloft as well as the feel of the breeze on our faces told us in an
instant that the schooner had been further kept away, and was now
running well off the wind, although the change had been so gradual that
we had not noticed it while sitting in the cabin. Ryan took the glass
from Pierrepoint and brought it to bear on the light.
"Yes," he remarked, with the telescope still at his eye, "that is the
light, beyond a doubt; but, as you say, Mr Pierrepoint, I can see no
sign of the barque herself. Yet she _must_ be there, for that light is
obviously moving, and I observe that you have, very properly, kept away
to follow it. Surely," he continued, with an accent of impatience and
perplexity, "we have not been following some other craft that has hove
above the horizon since the darkness set in? And, even so, I can see
nothing of the craft herself. Obviously, however, we are nearing the
light--whatever it is--fast, for I can see it quite distinctly in the
glass, I even fancy that I can see it rising and falling. Take the
glass, Dugdale, and tell me what you can make of it."
I took the glass, and, after a long and patient scrutiny of the
mysterious light, pronounced my opinion.
"To me, sir," said I, "it has the appearance of an ordinary ship's
lantern wrapped in a strip of red bunting and hung from a pole, or
something of that sort. For, if you will look at it closely, you will
notice that it _sways_ with the wash of the sea, and now and then seems
to swing for an instant behind a slender object like a light spar. But
I could almost take my oath that there is no barque or any other kind of
craft there."
Once again Ryan took the telescope, and after a further prolonged
scrutiny, he exclaimed--
"By the powers, but I believe you are right, and if so we have been
done! It certainly _has_ very much the appearance that you describe.
But what in the world can it be? It is a moving object, beyond all
doubt, for see how we have been obliged to run off the wind in chase of
it! However, we are close to it now, for I can make out the swinging of
the lantern--and a lantern it _is_--with the naked eye. It is some
confounded contrivance for leading us astray, that is what it is! But
since we are so close to it, we may as well ascertain its character, if
only to be awake to the trick if it ever happens to be played upon us a
second time. Hands by the braces here, and stand by to back the
topsail. And get two or three lanterns ready to swing over the side, so
that we may see just exactly what the thing is."
We had by this time approached the mysterious object so nearly that
another three or four minutes sufficed to bring it within a couple of
hundred feet of the schooner's weather bow, when the topsail was laid to
the mast, and our way checked sufficiently to permit of a careful
examination of the thing, whatever it was. By the time that we had
forged ahead far enough to bring it on our weather beam it was close
aboard of us, and then the light of our lanterns disclosed the nature of
the contrivance by which we had been so cleverly tricked. It was in
fact nothing more than a raft composed of five nine-inch planks laid
parallel to each other with a space of about a foot between each, and
firmly secured together by a couple of stout cross-pieces nailed athwart
the whole concern. The fore-ends of the planks had been sawn away to
the shape of a sharp wedge to facilitate the movement of the raft
through the water, and on the foremost cross-piece had been rigged an
oar for a mast, upon which was set a hastily-contrived squaresail, made
out of a piece of old tarpaulin. To the head of the mast was securely
lashed an old lantern with a short length of candle, still burning, in
it; the lantern being cunningly draped in red bunting to represent the
appearance of a lamp shining through a curtain. And the whole
contrivance was rendered self-steering by the attachment of a few
fathoms of line to the after-end of the middle plank, at the other
extremity of which a drogue, consisting of a short length of plank, was
attached. This drogue had the effect of keeping the raft running dead
before the wind, and it travelled at a very respectable pace, too--quite
five knots an hour, we estimated its speed at--for the sail was quite a
big one for so small an affair; and since we had been steering for it
for just about an hour, it meant that we had been decoyed some five
miles to leeward of our proper course.
The question now was: Where was the barque? It did not take us very
long to make up our minds upon this point. It was pretty evident that
since her skipper had been at so much pains to entice us away down to
leeward, he would have held his wind all this time; and to windward
therefore must we look for him. Whether, however, he had tacked and
stood away to the westward immediately after launching his raft, or
whether he had held on upon the port tack to the northward, we could not
possibly tell, for a diligent and prolonged use of our night-glasses
failed to reveal the slightest indication of his whereabouts. Ryan,
however, was not long in arriving upon a conclusion in the matter. He
argued that if he had tacked we ought also to tack forthwith, because,
if we stood on as we were going until the moon rose, we might run out of
sight of him; whereas, if he had _not_ tacked, he would be at that
moment somewhere about broad on our weather bow. If therefore he _had_
tacked, we should be doing the right thing to tack also, since we should
then be standing directly after him; while if he had not tacked, we
should still be doing right to heave about, since even in that case we
should probably see something of him from our mast-head when the moon
rose, as she would in less than half-an-hour. We therefore at once put
the helm down and hove round on the starboard tack, keeping the schooner
as close to the wind as she would lie, while still allowing her to go
along through the water.
A faint brightening in the sky by and by announced the welcome approach
of the moon upon the scene; and shortly afterwards the beautiful planet
herself, considerably shrunken from her full-orbed splendour, rose
slowly into view above the horizon, her curtailed disc showing of a
deep, ruddy orange-colour through the dense, humid vapours of the lower
atmosphere. Two hands were at once sent up to the topgallant-yard to
take a look round; but even after they had been there an hour--by which
time the moon had risen high enough to give us plenty of light--they
failed to discover any sign of the barque or anything else; and we were
at length reluctantly compelled to admit that we had been very cleverly
tricked, and that our cunning neighbour had fairly given us the slip.
"But I'll not give him up, even now!" exclaimed Ryan, when this
conviction had fairly forced itself upon us. "Come down below, Dugdale,
and let us reason this thing out."
We accordingly descended to our snug little cabin and seated ourselves
at the table, Ryan producing a sheet of paper, a scale, and a pencil
wherewith to graphically illustrate our line of reasoning.
"Now, here," said he, drawing an arrow near one margin of the paper, "is
the wind, coming out at west as nearly as may be; and here," laying the
scale upon the paper, measuring off a distance, and making two pencil
dots, "are the positions of the barque and the schooner when the former
was last seen. Now, I estimate that the barque was going about eight
and a half knots, and we were reeling off nine by the log at that time;
and this state of affairs continued at least until the light was seen,
which was about half-an-hour after we lost sight of our friend.
Consequently, when the light was first seen, the schooner was here"--
making another dot--"and the barque there," making a fourth.
"Now, what would the blagguard be most likely to do when he had safely
launched his raft? He knew that it would go skimming away to leeward,
taking us with it; and I therefore think it most probable that he would
tack at once, going off in this direction," laying down a line upon the
paper. "Meanwhile, the raft went scudding away to leeward until we met
it there," making another dot. "Then we tacked, and, laying a point
higher than he can, stood along this line," ruling one carefully in as
he spoke. "Now, we have been travelling along this line, say an hour
and a quarter, which brings us here. But where is the barque? If she
had tacked, and _continued to stand on_ until now, she would be _there_,
eleven or twelve miles away, and we should see her. Supposing, however,
that she continued to stand on as she was going when we last saw her,
she would now be _there_, twenty-eight miles away! Phew! I was a long
way out of my reckoning when I thought that we should still have her in
sight, even if we tacked. We've lost her, Harry, my bhoy, and that's a
fact. However, we know where she's bound to, and that's the island of
Cuba, or I'm a Dutchman. Very well. Having given us the slip she will
make the best of her way there without further delay; and it is my
opinion that _if_ she is still standing to the northward she will not
continue to do so for very much longer, because, d'ye see, my bhoy,
she'll be afraid of falling in with some of our cruisers if she stands
in too close to the coast. Therefore, as we can hug the wind closer
than she can, we'll just stand on as we are going for a day or two
longer, or until the wind changes--in fact, we will shape a course for
Cuba--and if we don't fall in with her again within the next seventy-two
hours I shall give her up. Meanwhile the wind is dropping fast, so we
will get some more muslin upon the little hooker."
As Ryan had said, the wind was dropping fast, so rapidly, indeed, that
when eight bells was struck at midnight the schooner was under all the
canvas that we could set, and even then was only creeping along at a
speed of some two and a half knots per hour. Oh, how fervently we
wished then that we could see even as much as the mere mastheads of the
barque! for we felt certain that in such a light air the schooner would
make short work of overtaking her. But nothing hove in sight; and when
the next morning dawned we were still alone upon the face of the vast
ocean.
With the rising of the sun the small draught of air that still remained
to us fell dead; and we had it calm the whole day and well on into the
succeeding night. Then the weather became unsettled and thundery, with
light baffling airs interspersed with fierce squalls from all quarters
of the compass, during which we made scarcely sixty miles in the
twenty-four hours.
It was about midnight of the third day after we had lost sight of the
barque, and the seventy-two hours that Ryan had allowed himself in which
to find her again were fully spent, without affording us another glimpse
of her. All hands, from Ryan himself down to the smallest boy in the
ship, were dreadfully disgusted and crestfallen at our want of success;
and we were only waiting for a breeze to spring up from somewhere to
enable us to shape a course back to our cruising ground. The weather,
however, was still very overcast and lowering, with signs not wanting
that another heavy thunderstorm was brewing, which would probably bring
us the desired breeze. There was not much swell running, but
sufficient, nevertheless, to tumble the schooner about a good deal; and
I had accordingly taken it upon myself to clew up, haul down, and furl
every stitch of canvas, in order to save the sails from battering
themselves to rags. The thunder had been gradually working up ever
since sunset, and in fact even before that, and when eight bells struck
at midnight, and my watch below came round, the weather had such a
curious and portentous look, and the atmosphere was moreover so close
and heavy, that I determined to stretch myself out "all standing" on the
stern grating instead of going below, so that I might be all ready in
case my presence should be required.
It was shortly after two bells when Pierrepoint came and roused me out
with the remark--
"I am sorry to disturb you, Dugdale, but I think it is going to rain
very shortly, and if you remain there you stand a very good chance of
getting soaked to the skin. And what do you think of the weather? Is
it merely a thunder-squall that has been brewing all this time, or what
is it? Just look at those clouds overhead, their edges look quite red,
as though there was a fire somewhere behind them. Do you think I should
call the captain?"
It was as he had said. The sky was banked up from horizon to zenith,
all round, with enormous cloud-piles, black as ink in the body of them,
but their fringes or edges, which had a curiously tattered appearance,
were of a distinct fiery red hue. All this time there was not a breath
of wind save what was created by the schooner as she rolled heavily on
the gathering swell; not a sound save those which arose within her as
the bulkheads and timbers creaked and groaned dismally, the cabin-doors
rattled, the rudder kicked as the water swirled and gurgled about it and
under her counter with the heave of her, and the jerk of the spars
aloft, or the slatting of the braces as she swayed, pendulum-like, from
side to side.
"What does the glass say?" inquired I, in response to Pierrepoint's last
question. I walked to the open skylight and peered down through it at
the barometer, the tube of which was just sufficiently illuminated by
the turned-down cabin lamp to permit of its condition being noted. It
had fallen an inch since I last looked at it, during my watch on deck!
"Phew!" ejaculated I, "there must surely be something the matter with
the thing; it can never have fallen that much in scarcely two hours!"
I hurried below and, turning up the lamp, subjected the instrument to a
careful examination; but, as far as I could make out, there seemed to be
nothing wrong with it; the fall had all the appearance of being
perfectly genuine. But, whether or not, it was certain that the captain
ought at once to be made acquainted with the state of affairs; I
therefore went forthwith to his cabin and aroused him.
"Ay, ay," he answered sleepily, to my call. "What is it, Mr Dugdale?
Has the barque hove in sight?"
"No such luck, sir, I am sorry to say," replied I. "But I think you
ought to know that the weather has a very peculiar and threatening
appearance; and the glass has dropped a full inch within the last two
hours."
"An inch?" ejaculated Ryan, starting up in his bunk. "An inch? Surely,
Dugdale, you must be mistaken!"
"Indeed, sir, I am not," said I. "I examined the barometer very
carefully, and satisfied myself that I had made no mistake before
calling you."
"By Jove, then, it is high time that I was on deck!" exclaimed he,
leaping out of his bunk. "Just put a match to my lamp, Harry, my lad,
will ye; you will find a box there on the shelf. Is there any wind?"
"Not a breath, sir; but I shall not be surprised if we have a great deal
more than we want before long," I answered.
"Um!" said he. "Well, almost anything short of a hurricane would be
better than these exasperating calms. The swell seems to have risen a
bit since I turned in, hasn't it?"
"Quite perceptibly," said I, "and it seems to be coming more out from
the northward than at first."
"Well," said he, thrusting his bare feet into his slippers, "let us go
on deck and take a look round."
And, he leading the way, we forthwith trundled up the companion-ladder
and stepped out on deck.
It seemed to have grown blacker and more threatening than ever during
the short time that I had been below, although that may have been due to
the contrast between the light of the cabin and the darkness on deck;
the ruddy tinge on the cloud edges, however, was even more pronounced
than before, the colour having slightly changed and grown more like the
hue of red-hot copper. Ryan was evidently much astonished--and, I
thought, somewhat dismayed--by what he saw.
"By the powers!" he ejaculated, "you did right to call me, Dugdale. If
we were in the Indian Ocean, now, I would say that a cyclone was
brewing; and, now I come to think of it, there is no Act of Parliament
against one brewing here. How is the glass _now_? has it dropped
anything since you last looked at it?"
I went to the skylight and once more peered at the mercury.
"Yes, indeed, sir, it has," answered I, "it has gone down nearly
one-tenth!"
"Then, by the piper, we're in for something out of the common, and the
sooner we set about preparing for it, the better!" exclaimed Ryan. "Ah!
I see you have already furled everything; well, that leaves us so much
the less to be still done. Call all hands, however, for we may have it
upon us at any moment, by the look of things up there," pointing to the
frowning, ruddy sky. "Rig in the jib-boom, and send down all but the
lower-yard on deck, and both topmasts as well. Set some of the men to
secure the canvas with double gaskets; and close-reef the boom-foresail
and set it. Let the carpenter look to the hatches and see that they are
securely battened down, and he had better examine the pumps also; our
lives may depend upon them before all is over. Where is the boatswain?
Oh, is that you, Bartlett? Give an eye to the boats' gripes, will you,
and see that they are all right. I have known a boat to be blown clean
from the davits before now. Hurrah, men! look alive with those yards,
and let us have them down here on deck as quickly as possible."
The schooner was by this time as busy as a beehive in swarming-time, the
men working with a will, since they knew, from the sharp, incisive tones
in which Ryan issued his orders, as well as by the menacing aspect of
the sky, that the occasion was pressing. Fortunately, in so small and
lightly-rigged a craft as the _Felicidad_, the task of preparing her for
the forthcoming battle with the elements was not a heavy one, and, being
well manned for our size, we were soon ready.
None too soon, however. For hardly had the finishing touches been given
to our preparations, and the guns and boats made thoroughly secure, than
we were momentarily dazzled and blinded by a terrific flash of blue
lightning that seemed to dart from the clouds immediately overhead, and
to strike the water close to us, filling the dead and heavy air with a
strong odour of brimstone, while simultaneously we were deafened and
stunned by a most awful, ear-splitting _crack_ of thunder that made the
schooner quiver from stem to stern as though she had been struck by a
heavy shot.
Ryan, Pierrepoint, and I were all standing close together near the
companion at the moment when the lightning flashed out, illumining the
whole scene for an instant with a light as brilliant as that of the
noonday sun, and while I was still in process of recovering from the
shock produced by the terrifying crash of the thunder, I heard my
fellow-mid exclaim to the captain--
"There! did you see that, sir? There is a craft of some sort away out
there," pointing in a north-easterly direction. "I saw her as
distinctly as possible. She is about six miles away, and is stripped to
her close-reefed topsails--"
"Did you see that ship out there on our port-quarter, sir?" hailed one
of the men from the forecastle, interrupting Master Freddy in his tale.
"No," answered Ryan sharply. "I wasn't looking that way. What did she
look like?"
"She is a square-rigged craft of about three or four hundred tons, under
close-reefed topsails, lying end-on to us, sir," answered the man.
"Surely it can't be our old friend the barque that has drifted within
view of us again during the darkness?" exclaimed Ryan excitedly. "Keep
a good look-out for her, lads, when the next flash comes," he added in
an eager tone of voice, that showed conclusively how secondary a matter
the impending outburst of the elements had already become to him in view
of this new discovery.
No second flash came, however, but instead of it, and almost as the last
words left Ryan's lips, the clouds above us burst, and there descended
from them the heaviest downpour of rain that I had ever up to that time
witnessed. Those who have never beheld a tropical thunder-shower can
form no conception of what it is like. Imagine yourself to be standing
immediately under a large tank of warm water, and then further imagine
that the contents of this tank are suddenly capsized right on top of
you; multiply the quantity of falling water a million times, and suppose
the descent of the water to be continued for from three to six or seven
minutes, and you will then have an imperfect conception of the sort of
drenching that we received on the occasion of which I am now speaking.
The decks were flooded in an instant, and before I could wriggle into my
oil-skins I was soaked to the skin, and the warm water was washing above
my ankles with the roll of the schooner. The scuppers were wholly
inadequate to the occasion, and we were obliged to open the ports to get
rid of the water and prevent it from getting below. The downpour lasted
some four minutes or so, ceasing as abruptly and with as little warning
as it had commenced; but in that time it had beaten down the swell so
effectually that our motion was scarcely more perceptible than it would
have been in a well-sheltered roadstead; and the effect of the sudden
cessation of the noises that had been so recently sounding in our ears,
and of the crash of the downpour, was very weird and curious, the dead
silence now being broken only by an occasional faint creak or jar of
bulkhead or boom, and the loud gush and gurgle of the water pouring from
the scuppers.
The silence was of no long duration, however, for we had scarcely found
time to become sensible of it when a faint moaning sound arose in the
air, coming from no one knew where; and, presently, with a still louder
moan, a sudden, furious, scuffle of wind swept past us, causing our
reefed foresail to flap loudly, and was gone. The moanings grew louder
and more weird, sounding now on the port-quarter, now on the starboard
bow, then broad abeam, and anon high over our mastheads; it was clear
that small, partial currents of air were in violent motion all round us,
and that the crisis was at hand.
The Pirate Slaver--by Harry Collingwood
CHAPTER EIGHT.
CAUGHT IN A CYCLONE.
The watch below had been dismissed upon the completion of our work of
preparation, but not a man had left the deck, their anxiety to see and
know the worst of what was to befall having completely overcome their
usual propensity to make the utmost of every moment allotted to them for
necessary rest, and they were now all huddled and clustered together
upon the forecastle, discussing the situation in low, murmured tones,
and holding themselves in readiness, like hounds in the leash, to spring
into activity at the first word of command.
The moaning and wailing sounds were now floating all round us, and
presently, making itself rapidly audible above them, we became conscious
of a deep, fierce, bellowing roar that seemed to be approaching us on
our starboard beam, the schooner's head being then about north-west.
"Here it comes!" exclaimed Ryan, in a hoarse tone of suppressed
excitement. "Get hold of a belaying-pin each, you two, or you will
stand a very good chance of being blown overboard. Starboard your helm;
hard over with it, my man. Get under the lee of the starboard bulwarks,
men. Carpenter, are your axes ready in case we should be obliged to cut
anything away?"
"All ready, sir," came the reply, scarcely audible above the roar of the
tempest that was now close upon us; and as the man spoke a fierce gust
of wind laden with salt mist swooped down upon us and careened the
schooner almost to her covering-board as it filled the foresail with a
jar and a report like that of a nine-pounder. This blast was only
momentary, however, it was upon us and gone again in an instant, but it
was quickly succeeded by others; and then, away in the gloom, right
abeam of us, appeared a white, spectral glimmer swooping down upon the
schooner with the speed of a race-horse, and spreading momentarily wider
athwart the blackness as it came. It was a line of white foam churned
up on the surface of the sea by the advancing hurricane, and all behind
it the ocean was white as milk. The air was now in violent motion all
about us, fierce eddies swooping hither and thither, but generally in
the same direction as that from which the gale was approaching. Another
heavy salt-laden gust struck us, lasting just long enough to give the
schooner way and render her obedient to her helm, and then the deep bass
roar rose into a deafening, yelling medley of indescribable sounds as
the gale struck us, and the poor little schooner bowed beneath the blow
until the water poured in over her lee gunwale and I thought that she
was going to "turn the turtle" with us. The foresail stood the strain
for just an instant, and then it split to ribbons, and was torn from the
bolt-ropes as cleanly as though the work had been done with a knife.
But the good sail had already done its work before the hurricane proper
had struck us, in that it had imparted some life, even though ever so
little, to the schooner; she was already paying slowly off when the
first stroke of the hurricane beat her down, and she continued to do so
until, as she got dead before it, she rose suddenly to an even keel and
went scudding away to leeward like a frightened sea-bird. The awful
volume of sound given out by the fierce, headlong swoop of the wind as
it bore down upon us quite prepared me to see both masts blown clean out
of the schooner; but all her gear fortunately happened to be sound and
good, and the loss of the foresail was the full extent of the damage
sustained by us.
Having satisfied myself upon that point, I ventured to raise my head a
little above the bulwarks to see how the strange sail was faring.
Pierrepoint had reported her as being visible in the north-eastern
quarter, and if this were so she ought now to be somewhere astern of us,
since we were running off about south-west; and, sure enough, there she
was, about a point and a half on our starboard quarter, just visible in
the midst of the ghostly glare of the phosphorescent foam. She was,
like ourselves, running dead before the gale, and I thought I could make
out that her topsails had withstood the tremendous strain of the
outburst and were still doing their duty. If this were so, since we
were scudding under bare poles, she would soon overtake and pass us
quite as closely as would be at all consistent with the safety of the
two craft, and we should be afforded an opportunity to learn something
of her character, and to judge whether she was the barque that we had
been so industriously seeking. I made my way over to Ryan, who was
standing--as well as he could against the violence of the wind that
threatened to sweep him off his feet--close to the helmsman, pointed
toward the stranger, and, clinging to the companion, we stood and
watched her for a minute or two, half suffocated with the difficulty of
breathing in so furious a tempest. She was now about four miles from
us, and it soon became apparent that she was overhauling us fast,
although by no means so fast as I expected; and she was so nearly end-on
to us that I suggested to Ryan the advisability of our showing a light,
as it looked very much as though she had not yet seen us and might
approach us so closely as to put both craft in imminent peril.
"All in good time," shouted the captain in my ear, in response to this
suggestion. "I do not believe that she _has_ seen us yet; but that is
not of much consequence, since both of us are steering as steadily as
pleasure-boats on a river, and I will take care to make her acquainted
with our whereabouts if there appears to be the slightest danger of her
running over us. But I want her to pass as near us as possible, so that
we may have a good view of her. For there seems to me to be a something
familiar-looking about her, as though I had seen her before; and,
between you and me, Harry, I believe her to be our old friend the barque
again. And, if so, we must keep up with her at all costs until the
weather moderates sufficiently to bring her to; so just step for'ard,
will you, my lad, and get the fore-trysail on deck and bent ready for
setting in case we need it. And let one hand bring aft a lantern, _not_
lighted, mind ye; he can take it below, light it _there_, and leave it
at the foot of the companion-ladder all ready to show a light if yonder
stranger seems likely to sheer too close to us in passing."
I went forward, as requested, and found that the watch below had already
returned to their hammocks, the crisis having passed, and the schooner
scudding as comfortably as could be before the gale. The trysail was
got up from below, bent, halliards and sheets hooked on, and, in short,
made all ready for setting, and I returned aft to Ryan's side, having to
claw my way to him along the rail in preference to creeping along the
deck upon all fours, which seemed to be the only alternative method of
making headway against the wind. The sea was by this time getting up,
and the air was full of spume and scud-water, caught up from the surface
of the sea and the crests of the waves and swept along in a blinding,
drenching shower by the gale. My superior officer was still clinging to
the companion, with his eyes intently fixed upon the strange sail
astern, which, now that the dense masses of cloud overhead were torn
into shreds of flying scud by the fury of the wind, was pretty
distinctly visible, at a distance of about a mile and a half, by the
dim, misty moonlight that filtered through.
"I've been trying to get a peep at her through my night-glass,"
exclaimed Ryan, with a wave of his hand toward the dark blotch in the
midst of the white foam, "but there is no holding it in such a breeze as
this; you have to keep a tight grip on the thing or the wind will take
it away from you altogether. But I'm pretty certain that it is the
barque; and if so I'll stick to her as long as this schooner will hang
together."
"Do you think that she has seen us yet?" I asked.
"Yes, I fancy so," answered Ryan. "She appears to me to be edging away
a trifle, so as to pass us to starboard, giving us as wide a berth as
possible. But even although she may have seen us, I do not believe that
we are recognised, as yet; indeed, how should we be? At this distance,
and end-on as we are, with no canvas set and our topmasts struck, we
must look like little more than a dot on the water."
This was quite true, and I fully believed, with Ryan, that we had _not_
been recognised, for although our companion had indeed manifested signs
of an inclination to edge away from us, the tendency was only to a
sufficient extent to insure her passing us in safety. Had she suspected
us of being an enemy, it would not have been positively dangerous for
her to have altered her course fully a point, although, blowing as it
then did, it would have been exceedingly imprudent to have attempted
more than that.
In about half-an-hour after I had joined Ryan the strange craft overtook
us; but while she was yet some half-a-mile astern of us we had made her
out to be a barque of just about the same size as the one that we had
been hunting for; and when she came up abreast of us at a distance of
not more than a quarter of a mile, we saw that her main-topmast had gone
just at the cap, and her people were still busy with the wreck of it; a
pretty tough job they seemed to be having with it, too. That she was
much more strongly-manned than is usually the case with a merchantman of
her size was also evident, for we could see that while one gang was at
work clearing away the wreck, another was busy securing the fore-topmast
by getting up preventer-backstays, and so on. How they managed to work
aloft at all in such terrific weather passed my comprehension; but there
they were, at least _trying_ to do something. And, as Ryan remarked, it
showed conclusively what a resolute set of fellows they were on board
her, and afforded us a clue as to the sort of resistance we were likely
to meet with should it ever come to a game of fisticuffs between them
and ourselves.
Having once overtaken us she seemed to very quickly pass ahead, and when
she was once more about two miles distant, Ryan gave the order to set
the storm fore-trysail, a step that we might then very well take without
exciting any very strong suspicion on board the barque as to our
ulterior intentions, since the sea was by this time getting up to an
extent which made the exhibition of a small amount of canvas on board
the schooner not only justifiable but absolutely necessary. The sail
was accordingly set, and all risk of being pooped was, for the time at
least, done away with, and what was almost of equal importance in our
eyes, we now appeared to be holding our own with the sail ahead.
The watch had just been called when we noticed that the wind was backing
further round from the northward--a pretty conclusive indication that it
was a cyclone, or revolving storm, that we had encountered--and Ryan
began to be exceedingly anxious upon the subject of heaving-to, since,
as he explained to me, every mile that we now travelled carried us
nearer to the terrible vortex or "eye" of the storm. Still he could not
bring himself to do so while the barque held on, thus allowing her to
effect her escape from us a second time--assuming, of course, that she
really was, as we very strongly suspected, our former acquaintance; it
was therefore with a feeling of considerable satisfaction that we
shortly afterwards saw her start her fore-topsail sheets with the
evident intention of clewing up the sail, if possible, preparatory to
heaving-to.
"Ah!" exclaimed Ryan, admiringly, "that fellow is no fool; he scents
danger ahead; he has been in a cyclone before to-day, I'll warrant, and
seems to know exactly what he is about. There goes his topsail, clean
out of the bolt-ropes, as I expected it would; but I do not suppose he
ever seriously hoped to save the sail. And now over goes his helm, and
there he rounds-to--ah-h! look at _that_! on her beam-ends, by all
that's--no--no--she is righting again--good! very prettily done,
_v-e-r-y_ prettily done indeed! _Now_ she luffs!--excellent! capital!
You are all safe now, my man. We will run down to him, Harry, my bhoy,
and heave-to about a mile to leeward of him; then perhaps he will not
suspect us; he will gradually settle down towards us, as we shall lie
closer than he will; and when the wind drops we shall have him to do as
we like with."
It was a very anxious moment with us when, having run down to the spot
selected by Ryan, we eased the helm over to bring the schooner to _on
the starboard tack_--that being the correct tack upon which to heave-to
in a cyclone in the northern hemisphere--and I shall never forget the
feeling of absolute helplessness that seized me when, as our little
craft gradually presented her broadside to the gale, I felt her going
over--over--over--until the water poured in a raging cataract over her
lee rail, and she laid down beneath the strength of the howling blast--
that now seemed to have suddenly increased to twice its former fury--
until the lee side of her deck was buried almost to the combings of the
hatchways. But as her bows came round and presented themselves more
obliquely to the gale she righted somewhat, and although she still
careened until her lee rail was all but awash, she rode the furious seas
as gallantly and buoyantly as a gull.
Ryan had displayed a very considerable amount of judgment in conducting
the schooner down to the berth he had chosen for her, and had placed her
there in so natural a manner that we scarcely believed it possible that
our presence so near the barque would be likely to arouse any suspicions
of our intentions in the minds of her crew; and as we had never been
very near her during the time of our former pursuit of her, we were in
hopes that we should not now be recognised. We had taken up a position
exactly to leeward of our neighbour; and, as Ryan had anticipated, we
soon found that the schooner was looking up a full point higher than the
bigger craft; but this was very evenly balanced by the greater amount of
lee drift that we made, in consequence of our much lighter draught; we
therefore, contrived to maintain our position with almost perfect
exactitude, except that the schooner manifested the greater tendency to
forge ahead, thus placing herself gradually further upon the barque's
lee bow.
The wind continued to blow with unabated fury, and when day broke and we
were able to look about us, the scene was grand and awful beyond all
power of description. The sky was of an uniform deep, slaty,
purple-grey hue, across the face of which careered a constant succession
of lighter grey, smoky-looking clouds, all shredded and torn to tatters
by the headlong sweep of the gale. The colour of the sea was a dirty
green, deepening in tint to purple-black in the hollows, and capped by
long ridges of dirty yellowish foam, that was continuously snatched up
by the wind and hurled through the air in drenching sheets that cut and
stung the skin like the lash of a whip. The sea, although not so high
as might have been expected from the force of the wind, was still
formidable enough to be almost terrifying in its aspect as it swept down
upon the schooner in long, steep, mountain-like ridges, that soared to
nearly half the height of our main cross-trees, with a hollow of fully
one hundred and eighty feet in width between them, each wave crowned
with a roaring, foaming crest that reared itself above our low hull as
though eager to hurl itself upon and destroy us.
As the day wore on we received a temporary addition to our company, in
the shape of a brig. She hove in sight in the eastern quarter, about
six bells in the forenoon watch; and the first sight that we got of her
revealed that her jib-boom and both her topmasts were gone. She was
showing a storm-staysail; and at first sight we supposed her to be
hove-to; but she drove down towards us so fast that we soon came to the
conclusion that there must be something wrong with her steering-gear,
and as she drew nearer it became evident that she was unmanageable,
falling off occasionally until she was almost dead before the wind; and
we could see that whenever this happened the sea made a clean breach
over her. When within about a mile of us she showed the Russian ensign,
upside down, in her main-rigging, to which we responded by hoisting
Spanish colours--to lull any doubts that might possibly be lurking in
the minds of our friends on board the barque, who did not condescend to
favour us with a sight of their bunting. As for the brig, she drove
straight down towards us, occasioning us a considerable amount of
anxiety, for so erratic were her movements that when she had arrived
within a couple of cables' lengths of us it became impossible to say
whether she would pass ahead or astern of us. The only thing that we
could do to avoid her was to fill upon the schooner and forge ahead out
of her way, and this we would have done but for the possibility that
after our having done so the brig might take a sheer in the wrong
direction and fall foul of us, when the destruction of the schooner, if
not of both vessels, must inevitably have happened. At length it became
evident that something must be done, for she was settling bodily down
upon us, and another two minutes would bring the two craft into
collision.
Ryan therefore ordered the helm to be shifted, and we were just forging
clear, as we thought, and leaving her room to pass under our stern, when
a terrific sea swept down upon her, throwing her quarter round, sweeping
her from stem to stern, and driving her crew into the rigging, and in an
instant there she was, driving along stem-on right for us--or, rather,
for the spot that we should occupy when she reached it. There was now
only one way of avoiding a disastrous collision, and that was by putting
our helm hard up, and, at all risks, jibing round upon the other tack;
and this we accordingly did, missing the brig by a hair's-breadth, but
springing our foremast-head so badly as the trysail jibed over, that we
had to get in the sail at once, and set a close-reefed main-staysail
instead. As for the brig, she was little better than a wreck, for as
she drove past us we saw that her rudder was gone, her bulwarks carried
away on both sides, from cat-head to taffrail, and her decks swept of
everything that was movable. It was of course utterly impossible for us
to help them in any way in the wind and sea that then raged; nor could
we follow them in their helpless progress to leeward, and stand by them,
the damage to our foremast being so serious as to utterly preclude the
possibility of getting any headsail upon the schooner until it had been
at least temporarily repaired, while the little hooker, having again
been brought-to on the starboard tack, absolutely refused to pay off
under her staysail only, which was perhaps just as well, so far as we
were concerned, since any attempt on our part to run to leeward would
almost certainly have resulted in the swamping of the schooner. What
became of the brig, and whether she outlived the gale or not, we never
knew, for she continued her erratic course to leeward, and we lost sight
of her in about an hour and a half from the time when she so nearly fell
on board us, and we saw her no more. But she was driving in a direction
that would carry her right into the track of the vortex of the storm, to
encounter which, in her wrecked and helpless condition, would infallibly
mean her destruction.
As the day wore on, the wind gradually shifted round further from the
eastward, and by nightfall it was blowing from about east-south-east,
and showing some signs of moderating, although it still blew very
heavily; much too heavily indeed to justify us in sending any hands
aloft to fish our sprung mast-head. Nevertheless, every preparation was
made for the commencement of the operation at the earliest possible
moment, as we had detected signs on board the barque indicative of an
intention to send a new main-topmast up without delay; which might or
might not mean that a suspicion as to our true character had begun to
dawn upon them. By midnight the gale had moderated to a strong breeze,
and the sky had cleared sufficiently to permit of a little moonlight
percolating through between the denser clouds, and we were then able to
make out--to our inexpressible chagrin--that the barque's people had
already got their new topmast aloft and ridded, and were getting their
main-topsail-yard across, having been hard at work, doubtless, ever
since darkness set in, though how they had managed to perform their task
was a puzzle to us. It was, however, another evidence of the resolute
character of their skipper; another hint to us that we should have all
our work cut out to bag him; and the carpenter was therefore at once
sent for, and set forthwith to the task of fishing our mast-head with
all possible expedition. The task was not half executed, however, when
we had the mortification to see our neighbour sheet home his
double-reefed topsails and make sail to the westward. This sight put
our men upon their mettle; they could vividly picture to themselves the
laugh that the slavers would be enjoying at our expense, should they
have suspected our intentions toward them, and before the barque was
absolutely out of sight from aloft, Chips had managed to make such a job
of his work as enabled us to make sail also.
Daylight brought with it a clear sky, dappled with high, fleecy, white,
fine-weather clouds, and a moderate breeze from the south-east, with a
very heavy, confused sea still running, however; and as the barque's
royals were still in sight above the horizon, we cracked on after her,
although the carpenter had warned Ryan that the work done during the
night was scarcely as satisfactory as might be, and that the mast-head
was hardly to be trusted. But the fellow was a thoroughly good man, and
eager to avoid all possibility of it being said that we had lost the
chance of a prize through him. As soon therefore as it was light enough
to see, he was aloft again; and by eight bells he had finished his work,
and reported that we might now pack sail upon the schooner to our
hearts' content, which we forthwith did, giving her everything that
would draw, from the royal down, the wind being very nearly aft, that is
to say, about two points on the larboard quarter. By noon it became
apparent that we were gaining, although but slowly, on the barque, her
royals and half her topgallant-sails being by this time above the
horizon; and now all was anxiety on board the schooner as to the
character of the coming night; for we had no doubt that, seeing, as they
now must, that we were following them, the ever-vigilant suspicions of
the barque's people would prompt them to avoid us should the night prove
dark enough to permit of such a manoeuvre. The indications were all for
fine weather, however; the glass was rising steadily, the sky was
becoming of a deeper clearer blue; the white clouds were melting away,
promising a clear, star-lit night between the hours of sunset and
moonrise, and, what was equally as much in our favour, both wind and sea
were going down steadily.
Toward eight bells in the afternoon watch we sighted another sail--a
schooner this time; she was beating up to the eastward, and crossed the
hawse of the barque at no great distance, exchanging signals with her,
although what was their nature we could not see, and even had we been
near enough to have made out the flags, it is exceedingly improbable
that we should have understood them. We had a suspicion, however, that
they in some way referred to us; for shortly afterwards the schooner
tacked and stood towards us, crossing our bows at a distance of about a
mile, and exhibiting the French ensign. We replied by showing Spanish
colours, as before; upon which the stranger threw out some signal that
we could not understand, and after displaying it for some few minutes
hauled it down and hoisted another. We thought it would never do to
display a total ignorance of the signals; Ryan therefore ordered the
signal-bag to be produced, and we strung some flags together haphazard,
and hoisted them. This signal the schooner acknowledged, tacking at the
same time and standing toward us once more; but we were far too busy to
wait for her, for although she had all the looks of a slaver, we knew,
from the course she was steering, that she could have no slaves on
board, and was therefore altogether unworthy of our attention with so
promising a craft as the barque in plain view. She made no attempt to
follow us, and in an hour was out of sight to the northward.
By sunset that night the weather was everything that we could wish, and
we had risen the chase to her topsails; everybody on board the
_Felicidad_ was therefore in the highest spirits, and hope ran high that
by daybreak on the morrow we should have our neighbour under our guns,
and be able to give her an overhaul. The stars came out brilliantly,
and although the moon would not rise until after midnight--and would not
give us much light even then, since she had entered her fourth quarter--
we soon found that we should have light enough to prevent the barque
from giving us the slip, provided that we kept both eyes open.
Nevertheless, darkness had no sooner set in, than she made an effort to
do so by edging off to the northward, a couple of points, which move,
however, we soon detected and frustrated by steering directly after her.
During the night the wind breezed up again somewhat, and this gave the
chase so great an advantage that at daybreak she was still about eight
miles ahead. Shortly after sunrise, however, it dwindled away again,
and gradually dropped to a gentle air that barely fanned us along at a
speed of five knots.
By noon we had brought the chase to within five miles of us, and Ryan
deemed that the time had now arrived for us to declare ourselves; we
accordingly hoisted British colours, and fired a gun as a signal to the
barque to heave-to; the only notice taken of which was the exhibition of
Spanish colours by the chase, and the firing of a shotted gun of
defiance; so now at last we knew each other.
Meanwhile the wind was very gradually dropping, and the schooner as
gradually gaining upon the craft ahead, until at length, late in the
afternoon, we had reached within a mile and a half of her. And then
began one of those barbarous practices that I had heard of, but had
hitherto been scarcely able to credit as sober truth, namely, the
throwing of slaves overboard in order to retard pursuit by causing the
pursuer to stop and pick up the poor wretches, as British men-o'-war
invariably did whenever it was at all practicable.
The mode of procedure was generally to launch the unhappy black
overboard, securely lashed to a plank or piece of timber large enough to
float him, and as he was dropped exactly in the track of the pursuing
man-o'-war, he was certain to be seen by some one on board, and an
effort made to pick him up. In waters infested by sharks, however, this
had been found to be of very doubtful utility, since it happened as
often as not that long before the unfortunate wretch had served the
purpose for which he was sacrificed, the sharks had found him and torn
him to pieces. In order, therefore, that certain hundreds of good
dollars--or their value--might not be wasted, and not from any motives
of humanity to the slave, or any desire to give him a better chance for
his life, but merely that he might last long enough to delay the
man-o'-war to the extent of picking him up, an improved plan had been
devised for use on occasions where the presence of sharks might be
expected; this plan consisting simply in _heading the black up in a
cask_! This was the plan now adopted by the people on board the barque.
CHAPTER NINE.
THE GOVERNOR'S COMMUNICATION.
At the distance which now separated us from the barque all the movements
of her crew were distinctly visible to us with the aid of our glasses--
which of course were scarcely off her for a moment--and we accordingly
witnessed the launching of the first slave overboard. The unhappy
creature was placed in a cask, and, as I have said before, headed up
therein, an aperture being cut in the two halves of the head just
sufficient to admit his neck; and the cask was then slung by a whip from
the main-yard-arm, and secured by a toggle, the withdrawal of which at
the right moment, by means of a lanyard, enabled the cask to be dropped
gently, right end up, in the water, where it floated, with its inmate a
helpless prisoner, to be picked up or not as the case might be. To
render this ruse of real service, a smart breeze should be blowing,
because under these conditions the pursuer has not only to lower a boat
to pick up the floating black, but she has also to heave-to and wait for
her boat; and however smartly the operations of lowering, picking up,
and hooking on again may be performed, they still absorb quite an
appreciable amount of time, during which the fugitive craft increases
her lead more or less according to her speed. In the present case,
however, the conditions were by no means favourable to the pursued
craft; for, since we were only moving through the water at a speed of
about three knots, it was an easy matter for us to drop a boat into the
water and send her on ahead to pick up the man, and pull alongside again
without detaining the schooner for an instant. The slaver tried the
trick four times in succession, and then, finding that it did not
answer, gave it up.
The sun was just dipping beneath the horizon in a magnificent array of
light cirrus clouds, painted by his last rays in tinctures of the most
brilliant purple and rose and gold, and the wind had died away to the
merest zephyr when we arrived within gun-shot of the chase; and Ryan at
once ordered the long eighteen between the masts to be cleared away and
a shot fired as close to the barque as possible without hitting her,
just by way of a gentle hint that we were disposed to stand no more
nonsense, and that the time had now arrived for her to surrender without
giving us any further trouble. But evidently the last thought in the
mind of her skipper was to yield, for instead of hauling down his
colours like a good sensible man, he blazed away at us in return with a
couple of twelve-pounders that he had run out through his stern-ports.
The shots were well aimed, but did not quite reach us, striking the
water twice fair in line with us, and then making their final scurry,
and sinking within about thirty yards of our bows.
"By the piper, I believe the fellow intends to fight us!" exclaimed
Ryan. "As a rule these gentlemen are particularly careful of their
skins, and have no fancy for hard knocks, giving in when they find that
their only choice lies between a fight and surrendering, but there are
occasional exceptions to this rule, and I fancy that this fellow will
prove to be one of them. Now, Harry, me bhoy, we must be careful what
we are after when it comes to boarding and carrying yonder gintleman;
for if he happen to be one of the reckless desperado kind he may play us
a scurvy trick. I have heard of men who blew their ship and everybody
in her into the air rather than allow her to be captured; and, for aught
that we can tell to the contrary, the fellow who commands the barque may
be one of that stamp. Now, if he is, we may rest assured that he will
do nothing desperate until the capture of the ship is certain; until
then he will be the foremost man in the fray; so we must both keep a
sharp look-out for him and put him _hors de combat_ before he has the
chance to do any harm. I hope this breeze will hold long enough to
enable us to get alongside; should we be becalmed and have to attack him
with the boats, it will give him an important advantage, and perhaps
result in the loss of some of our men."
This hope of Ryan's was destined to disappointment; for the wind
continued to dwindle after sunset until it finally died away altogether,
and left both craft without steerage-way. By this time, however, we had
drifted within range of the barque's guns, and she had opened a rather
desultory but well-directed fire upon us whenever any of her guns could
be brought to bear, the result of which was that one of our men had
already been hurt by a splinter, while the schooner's rigging was
beginning to be a good deal cut up. Meanwhile we were precluded from
returning the barque's fire lest we should injure or kill any of the
unhappy wretches pent up in her hold. At length a round-shot entered
the schooner's bows, traversed the decks, and passed out over the
taffrail, glancing hither and thither as it went, and, although it did
no material damage, affording several of the men a very narrow escape.
"Why, this will never do!" exclaimed Ryan, as the shot made its exit
after passing between the legs of the man who was standing at the now
idle tiller. "A few of those fellows, as well aimed as that one was,
would make a very pretty general average among us. We shall have to get
out the boats--or, stop!--yes, I think that will be better; we will arm
the men and make all ready for boarding; load the guns with a double
charge of grape; and then man the sweeps, and sweep the schooner
alongside, firing our guns as we heave the grappling-irons, and boarding
in the smoke. We shall thus have all hands available when we get
alongside, and our bulwarks will meanwhile afford the men a certain
amount of protection."
The necessary orders were accordingly given, and a few minutes later the
men, stripped to the waist, had rigged out the heavy sweeps and were
toiling away at them. And now the advantages of the schooner's light
scantling, light draught, and fine lines made themselves fully apparent,
for, having once overcome the inertia of the hull and put it in motion,
the men found the little craft very easy on her sweeps, and capable of
being moved at quite a respectable pace through the water.
The barque was of course much too large and unwieldy a craft to be moved
by the same means, and nothing of the kind was even attempted; her crew,
however, maintained a smart fire upon us as we approached; but as we
were careful to keep her end-on so that only her two stern-chasers could
be brought to bear upon us, and as we kept up a hot musketry fire upon
that particular part of her, we did not suffer very severely; and
without any further casualties we at length arrived near enough, with
good way on, to permit of the sweeps being laid in, preparatory to our
ranging up alongside. Ryan now divided the boarders into two parties,
one to be led by himself from aft, while I was instructed to head the
other party from our forecastle, the idea being to pin the slaver's crew
between the two parties, thus attacking them simultaneously in front and
rear as it might be.
Ryan himself conned the schooner alongside; and when we were within some
ten yards of the barque, our guns having previously been trained well
forward, the whole of our small broadside was poured in upon her deck,
with terribly destructive effect it would seem from the outburst of
shrieks and groans and curses that immediately arose on board her. Our
fire was instantly returned, but in such a partial irregular way as only
tended to confirm the impression that the slaver's crew had suffered
severely, yet it gave us a tolerably clear idea of what would have been
the result to us had we withheld our fire for just a second or two
longer. Then, while both craft were still enveloped in the motionless
smoke-wreaths, we felt the schooner's sides rasping against those of the
barque; and, with a shout to my little party to follow, I sprang upon
our own bulwarks, from thence to those of the barque, and so down on the
slaver's deck--for a slaver she was, as our olfactory nerves now assured
us beyond dispute.
It was by this time quite dark, or at least as dark as it was likely to
be at all that night; but the sky was cloudless, the atmosphere was
clear, and the stars were shining with a lustre quite unknown in our
more temperate clime; we therefore had but little difficulty in seeing
what we were about, or in distinguishing friend from foe; still, I must
confess that I felt a little awkward, and, having commenced by
discharging both my pistols into the thickest of the crowd that I found
opposed to me, confined myself pretty much to a random system of
slashing right and left with my cutlass, my principle--if I had one--
being to strike the blows, leaving to others the task of warding them if
they could. The fight that now ensued was brief, but sharp; the slavers
disputing every inch of their deck with us; but our fellows were not to
be resisted; there was a brief space of time during which the air seemed
full of the sound of clashing steel, popping pistols, shouts, shrieks,
groans, and execrations, and the barque was ours, her crew throwing away
their weapons and crying loudly for quarter, which of course was granted
to them.
The fight being over I at once made my way aft, and was greatly shocked
to find that during the brief struggle poor Ryan had been badly wounded
in a hand-to-hand fight with the skipper of the barque, whom he had at
once singled out and engaged. It afterwards appeared that as soon as
matters seemed to be going badly for the barque's people her skipper had
attempted to slip out of the fight and slink below; but Ryan, suspecting
some sinister object in this projected movement, had stuck to the man so
closely, getting between him and the companion, that his object, if he
had one, was frustrated; and in his desperation he had struck a blow at
Ryan that clove the unfortunate Irishman's skull open, only to be
impaled himself upon our dashing captain's sword at the same moment.
Ryan had thus fulfilled his purpose of putting the slaver's skipper
_hors de combat_, but at serious cost to himself; the poor fellow was so
desperately hurt that he could do nothing but murmur his gratification
at finding that I had emerged from the fray unhurt, and an injunction to
me to take the command, when he fainted, and I at once had him carefully
conveyed to his own cabin on board the schooner, where Armstrong the
surgeon immediately took him in hand.
Our capture was named the _San Sebastian_, and hailed from Havana; she
had four hundred and twenty-one slaves on board, out of a total of four
hundred and seventy-six that she had brought out of the Gaboon river
only ten days before; she was a very fine handsome vessel of three
hundred and forty-five tons measurement; and our recent experiences with
her had proved that she sailed like a witch. We secured our prisoners;
conveyed our own wounded--amounting to nine in all--on board the
schooner; and then, having put Pierrepoint and a prize-crew on board the
barque, both vessels made sail in company for Sierra Leone, where we
arrived safely, after a passage of exactly a week, and where we were
rejoined by Gowland and the prize-crew of the _Conquistador_, which
vessel had arrived six days before us.
Here, as the repairing of our damages and the provision of a new
foremast for the schooner threatened us with a considerable amount of
delay, Ryan went ashore to the hospital, where he made pretty fair
progress toward recovery, although the improvement was not so marked or
rapid as it had been on board the schooner at sea; the intense heat, he
complained, was against him, and his first inquiry every morning when I
went to see him was, "When did I think the schooner would be ready for
sea again?" It was therefore with a feeling of intense satisfaction
that I was at length able to inform him that another day would see us
out of the hands of the shipwrights and riggers, and that we might sail
on the day following if he so pleased. This news acted like a cordial
upon his spirits; he brightened up wonderfully, and improved more
rapidly within the ensuing twenty-four hours than he had done during the
whole time of his sojourn in hospital, and but for the firmness of the
doctor, would at once have taken his discharge, and actually busied
himself about the final preparations for our departure. He, however,
insisted upon joining me in the acceptance of an invitation to dine with
the Governor that evening; and at the appointed hour I called for him,
and we sauntered slowly to Government House together. The party was not
a very large one, nor did we sit very late; but as the other guests were
taking their leave, his Excellency intimated that he desired to have a
word or two with us in private, and we accordingly deferred our
departure.
When at length we were alone, our host invited us to light up another
cigar, and, himself setting us the example, proceeded to a cabinet that
stood in the corner of the room, opening which he produced a folded
document from a drawer, and unfolding it, laid it before us.
"This, gentlemen," said he, "is a rough sketch-chart of the embouchure
of the Congo. It does not profess to be drawn to scale; but I am told
that it shows with approximate accuracy the relative positions of the
various creeks and indentations that discharge into the main river, up
to the Narrows. Now, the individual from whom I obtained this chart
informs me that at a distance of about two and a half miles up a certain
creek on the south bank--this one, the mouth of which is indicated by a
star--there is a rather considerable native settlement, ruled by a
savage, known to the few Europeans who possess the doubtful honour of
his acquaintance as King Plenty. And, if my informant is to be depended
upon, this potentate, whose chief characteristics are avarice and brutal
ferocity, has discovered a very simple method of combining business with
pleasure by making ruthless war upon his neighbours, and, after his lust
for slaughter is satisfied, disposing of his prisoners to certain
slave-dealers, who have established themselves on the southern bank of
the creek, where they have erected barracoons, factories, and every
convenience for carrying on their nefarious trade. I am told that
within the last six months this spot, known only to a select few, has
been frequently visited, and large numbers of slaves have been carried
away from it; its natural characteristics rendering it especially
suitable for the traffic. For instance, it would appear that this
creek, like most of the others that discharge into the Congo, and like
the African rivers generally, has its own little bar at its mouth, upon
which there is only one and three-quarter fathoms of water, and is
therefore unapproachable by any of the men-o'-war on the station--
excepting perhaps the _Barracouta_, and she is away cruising just now--
while the character of the banks is such as to afford every facility for
a galling and continuous fire upon a flotilla of boats advancing up the
creek. I have therefore thought that the breaking up and destruction of
this slave-trading station would be a piece of work admirably suited to
the _Felicidad_ and her gallant crew"--Ryan and I simultaneously bowed
our appreciation of the compliment--"because it is especially a case
wherein valour and discretion must go hand-in-hand, the service being of
an especially hazardous nature; and I feel that in no one are the two
qualities that I have mentioned more admirably combined than in the
person of Captain Ryan."
Ryan bowed again, and remarked--
"I am obliged for your Excellency's good opinion of me; and still more
so for the information that you have been good enough to give us
to-night. I have been very fortunate, so far, in the schooner, and I
suppose I may reckon upon my promotion as certain; but I am eager to
have further opportunities of distinguishing myself, and if we can only
be lucky enough to find two or three slavers up that creek, and to
capture them, it would afford me just the opportunity that I require. I
shall sail to-morrow, and shall hope to be back here again in a month or
six weeks, with two or three prizes in company, and the assurance that
the establishment in question is completely destroyed."
We sat a few minutes longer, drank a final glass of wine, and then took
our leave and walked down to the schooner together, Ryan having
determined to sleep on board her that night.
We sailed from Sierra Leone on the following day, as Ryan had resolved
we should; but, as usually happens when matters are hurried, we met with
an endless succession of petty delays at the last moment that detained
us at anchor until nearly nightfall, and occasioned us a vast amount of
trotting about in the broiling sun to put some life into the dilatory
people who were keeping us waiting; the consequence of which was that
when at last we lifted the anchor and stood out of the bay with the very
last of the sea-breeze, to run into a calm when we had attained an
offing of some two miles, I felt altogether too tired and knocked up to
eat or drink; while, as for Ryan, he was in a state of high fever once
more.
We got the land breeze about eight o'clock that night, and stood away to
the southward and westward until midnight, in order that we might obtain
a good offing, when we hauled up on a south-east course for the Congo.
I remained on deck until midnight--at which hour I was relieved by
Pierrepoint--and then was obliged to send for the doctor, who, after
feeling my pulse, ordered me to my bunk at once, and when I was there
administered to me a tremendous dose of some frightfully bitter
concoction, telling me at the same time, for my comfort, that he would
not be in the least surprised if, when he next visited me, he should
find me suffering from a severe attack of coast fever. Happily, his
anticipations, so far as I was concerned, were unfounded; but by
daybreak poor Ryan was in a state of raving delirium, with three men in
his cabin told off to keep him in his bunk and prevent him from
inflicting upon himself some injury. As for me, the medicine that I had
taken threw me first into a profuse perspiration, and afterwards into a
deep sleep, from which I awoke next morning cool, free from pain, and
with a quiet, steady pulse, but very weak; and I did not fully recover
my strength until a day or two before we made the land about the Congo
mouth, which we did after a long passage that was uneventful in
everything save the persistency with which we were beset by calms and
light, baffling airs. By this time Ryan, too, had recovered to a
certain extent; that is to say, he was able to leave his bunk and to
stagger up on deck for an hour or so at a time, but he was still
frightfully weak; and it often appeared to me, from the rather wild talk
in which he sometimes indulged, that he had not thus far fully recovered
his mental balance.
We made the land about six bells in the forenoon watch, and stood
straight in for Shark Point, which we hugged pretty closely, in order to
cheat the current, which, as usual at that time of the year, was running
out pretty strongly. The sea-breeze was blowing half a gale, however,
and despite the current the little _Felicidad_ slid over the ground
bravely, arriving abreast the mouth of the creek to which we were bound
about four bells in the afternoon watch. We here cleared the schooner
for action, sent the men to their quarters, and, with a leadsman in the
fore-chains, both on the port and on the starboard sides, and with Ryan,
sketch-chart in hand, conning the vessel, steered boldly into the creek.
The soundings which we obtained at the entrance proved the chart to be
so far correct, and with our confidence thus strengthened we glided
gently forward over the glassy waters of the creek, every eye being
directed anxiously ahead, for we knew not at what moment we might
encounter our enemy, nor in what force he might be. To me it appeared
that we were acting in rather a foolhardy manner in thus rushing
blindfold as it were upon the unknown, and earlier in the day--in fact,
just after we had entered the river--I had suggested to Ryan the
advisability of taking the schooner somewhat higher up the stream and
anchoring her in a snug and well-sheltered spot that we had noticed when
last in the river in the _Barracouta_, and sending the boats away at
night to reconnoitre. But this happened to be one of the captain's bad
days--by which I mean that it was one of the days when the fever from
which he had been suffering seemed to partially regain its hold upon
him, making him impatient, irritable, and unwilling to receive anything
in the shape of a suggestion from anybody; and my proposal was therefore
scouted as savouring of something approaching to timidity. I had long
ago got over any such feeling, however; and even now, when we
momentarily expected to come face to face with the enemy, I found myself
sufficiently calm and collected to note and admire the many beauties of
the scene as the creek opened up before us.
For the scene _was_ beautiful exceedingly with a wild, tropical
lavishness of strange and, in some cases, grotesque forms and rich
magnificence of colour that no words can adequately describe, and even
the artist's palette would be taxed to its utmost capacity to merely
suggest. The creek was, as usual in the Congo, lined with an almost
unbroken, impassable belt of mangroves, their multitudinous roots,
gnarled and twisted, springing from the thick, mud-stained water, and
presenting a confused, inextricable tangle to the eye, from the deep
shadows of which flitted kingfishers of many species and brilliant
plumage; while above swayed and rustled in the gentle breeze the
delicate grey-green foliage of the trees themselves, now in full and
luxuriant leaf, affording a delicious contrast of cool green shadow,
with the glints of dazzling sunshine that streamed here and there
through the verdant masses. Great clusters of magnificent orange-tinted
orchids gleamed like galaxies of golden stars between the mangrove
trunks at frequent intervals; clumps of feathery bamboo swayed gently in
the soft warm breeze; the dense background of bush displayed every
conceivable tint of foliage, from brilliant gold to deepest purple
bronze; and magnificent forest trees towered in stately majesty over
all, rearing their superb heads a hundred and fifty feet into the
intense blue of the cloudless sky; while everywhere, over bush and tree
and withered stump, blazed in thousands the trailing blossoms of
brilliant-hued climbing plants that loaded the air to intoxication with
the sweetness of their mingled perfumes. Parrots and other
gaily-plumaged birds flitted busily hither and thither with loud and--it
must be admitted--more or less discordant cries; inquisitive monkeys
swung from branch to branch, and either peered curiously at us as we
passed, or dashed precipitately, with loud cries of alarm, into the
concealment of the deepest shadows at our approach; and at one point,
where the belt of mangroves was interrupted, and a small, open, grassy
space reached down to the water's edge, a stately antelope stepped
daintily down into the water, as though to slake his thirst, but
catching sight of the approaching schooner, bounded off again into the
contiguous bush, where he was instantly lost sight of in the sombre
green gloom.
At a distance of about two miles from the mouth of the creek we reached
a spot where it forked, one arm--the wider of the two--running in a due
east-by-south direction, while the other trended away to the
west-south-west, communicating--as we afterwards discovered--with
another creek which, although too shoal for navigation by sea-going
craft, would have afforded us excellent facilities for a reconnaissance
with the boats. At this point the southern shore of the creek exhibited
signs of cultivation, small patches of bush having been cleared here and
there and planted with maize, or sugarcane, or yams, a small reed-hut
thatched with palm-leaves usually standing in one corner of the plot,
with a tethered goat close by, a few fowls, or other traces of its being
inhabited. Of the human inhabitants themselves, however, strangely
enough, nothing was to be seen. But it was clear that we were nearing
our goal; and word was passed along the deck for the men to hold
themselves prepared for instant action.
There were several memoranda jotted down upon the chart for our
guidance, and among these was an intimation to look out for a clump of
exceptionally tall trees on the southern bank of the creek, under the
broad shadow of which the slave barracoons were stated to be built. A
few minutes after passing the branch creek already referred to we
arrived at a bend, and as the schooner glided round it, and entered a
new reach, these trees swept into view; there could be no mistaking
them, for they lifted their majestic heads--there were five of them--
fully fifty feet clear above those of their brethren. Moreover, they
stood quite close to the margin of the creek, thus confirming the
statement made upon the sketch-chart. But had there been any lurking
doubt in our minds about the matter they would have been quickly
dispelled, for as we glided forward, a small sandy beach--also referred
to in the chart--was made out projecting from the southern bank, at
which some twenty or thirty large canoes lay with their bows hauled
sufficiently out of the water to prevent their going adrift. That a
vigilant watch was being kept upon the waters of the creek became
quickly apparent, for we had scarcely made out the canoes when we saw
several negroes rush down to one of them, launch it, and paddle swiftly
away up the creek and round another bend, while, as we advanced, a crowd
of naked blacks, armed with spears, shields, and muskets, gathered upon
the beach, and, from their actions, seemed fully prepared to forcibly
resist any attempt on our part to effect a landing.
Still advancing up the creek, we gradually opened the vista of the reach
beyond--that in which the canoe had a few minutes previously vanished--
and at length, when only a short half-mile intervened between us and the
beach--which projected boldly nearly half-way across the channel--the
main-mast of a schooner crept into view beyond the concealment of the
hitherto intervening bush and trees; and bringing our glasses to bear
upon her, we detected signs of great bustle and confusion on board her,
and made out that her crew were busily engaged in tricing up boarding
nettings, and otherwise making preparations for her defence.
Ryan now ordered our ensign and pennant to be hoisted, thus boldly
announcing at once our nationality and the fact of our being an enemy--
an announcement which I should have deemed it perfectly justifiable to
defer until the last possible moment--and the schooner at once replied
by hoisting French colours and firing a gun of defiance. This greatly
amused our people, to whom the act seemed a piece of ridiculous
braggadocio--for the stranger was no bigger than ourselves--but the
laugh left their faces and was succeeded by a look of grim resolution
when presently we opened out another and a larger schooner and a heavy,
handsome brigantine, the first flying Spanish colours and the brigantine
_a black flag_! But this was not all, for before we arrived abreast the
beach we had opened out still another schooner with the Spanish flag
floating from her mast-head; and by what we saw going on board the four
craft it became evident that we had by no means caught these bold rovers
napping, and that we might confidently reckon upon meeting with a very
warm reception. Moreover, it was clear that, snug as was their place of
concealment, and unlikely as it was to be discovered save, as in our
case, by betrayal, they had left nothing to chance, but had taken every
possible precaution to insure their safety, the four craft being moored
in pairs, with springs on their cables, stern to stern right across the
stream, so that, the fair-way being very narrow, they would have to be
fought and taken in succession, a necessity which I at once recognised,
and which, to my limited experience, seemed to militate very strongly
against our chances of success. It was, however, altogether too late
now to hesitate or alter our plans; we had plunged headlong and, as it
were, blindfold into a hornet's nest from which nothing but the coolest
courage and determination could extricate us, and, while I had long ago
completely conquered the feeling of trepidation and anxiety that almost
everybody experiences more or less when going into action for the first
time, I could not altogether suppress a doubt as to whether Ryan, in his
then very indifferent state of health, possessed quite all the coolness
and clear-headedness as well as the nerve that I anticipated would be
necessary to see us safely out of our present entanglement.
CHAPTER TEN.
A DISASTROUS EXPEDITION.
Upon arriving abreast the beach, which we were obliged to hug pretty
closely in consequence of the contracted width of the channel and the
fact that the deepest water lay close to it, we found it occupied by
fully five hundred naked blacks, all of whom appeared to be profoundly
excited, for they yelled continuously at the top of their voices and
fiercely brandished their weapons. They appeared to be acting under the
leadership of a very tall and immensely powerful man who wore a
leopard-skin cloak upon his shoulders, and a head-dress of
brilliantly-coloured feathers. He was armed with _two_ muskets, and had
a ship's cutlass girt about his waist. A white man--or a half-caste, it
was difficult to tell which at that distance, so deeply bronzed was he--
accompanied him; a man attired in a suit of white drill topped off with
a broad-brimmed Panama hat wrapped round with a white puggaree; and it
appeared that all the excitement and animosity manifested by the blacks
at our approach was instigated by him, for we saw him speaking earnestly
to the apparent leader of the blacks, gesticulating violently in our
direction as he did so, while the savage now and then turned to his
followers and addressed a few sentences to them which seemed to arouse
them to a higher pitch of frenzy than ever.
Beyond the sand beach a wide open space extended that had evidently at
one time been carpeted with grass, for small tufts and patches of it
still remained here and there, but for the most part the rich, deep
chocolate-coloured earth was worn bare by the trampling of many feet.
This open space was occupied by a native village of considerable
dimensions, the houses--or huts, rather--being for the most part square
or quadrangular structures, although there were a few circular ones
among them, built of upright logs with panels of mud and leaves between
them, roofed in with palm-leaf thatch, the eaves projecting sufficiently
at each end to form a verandah some six or eight feet deep. At a little
distance from the village, a hundred yards or so, towered the clump of
lofty trees under which the slave barracoons were said to be erected;
but whether this was so or not we could not tell, as a belt of bush
interposed between us and the trees, affording an effectual screen to
any buildings that might stand beneath their shadow.
As the schooner glided up abreast of the beach, with the hands at the
sheets, halliards, and downhauls, clewing up and hauling down
preparatory to running alongside the schooner nearest us, a great shout
was raised by the negroes, immediately followed by a confused discharge
of their muskets and the hurling of a few spears, but where the bullets
went we never knew, for certainly none of them came near us, and as for
the spears, they fell short and dropped harmlessly into the water. To
this salute we of course made no reply, as our business was not to make
war upon the natives unless absolutely compelled to do so, and three
minutes later, having taken as much room as the width of the creek would
permit, our helm was eased over and the _Felicidad_ swept round toward
the object of her first attack, which was the schooner flying French
colours. A death-like and ominous silence now prevailed on board the
four craft that we were so audaciously attacking, and not a man was to
be seen on board either of them. This state of things continued until
we were within forty fathoms of the nearest craft, when a shouted
command arose from on board the _brigantine_--which was the third craft
away from us--and instantly the ports of the two nearest schooners were
thrown open, and a rattling broadside of nine guns loaded with round and
grape was poured into us with terrible effect, for we were almost
bows-on at the moment, and the shot swept our deck fore and aft. No
less than eleven of our people went down before that murderous
discharge, and as five of them lay motionless, I greatly feared that the
poor fellows would never rise again. We reserved our fire until the
sides of our own schooner and the Frenchman were almost touching, and
then gave him our broadside and the contents of Long Tom as well; then,
as the _Felicidad_ struck her opponent pretty violently, Ryan waved his
sword above his head, snatched a pistol from his belt with his left
hand, and shouted--
"Heave the grapnels! Come along, lads, follow me, and hurroo for ould
Oireland!"
The two schooners being fast together, every man Jack of us sprang after
our leader, only to be confronted by the boarding nettings triced up on
board our antagonist, however; and as we sprang on the bulwarks and
commenced hacking away at the obstruction they opened a hot and most
destructive fire upon us with their muskets and pistols. I saw our men
dropping to right and left of me, and then one of the tricing-lines of
the netting gave way--one of our lads had shinned aloft and cut it--and
we half tumbled, half scrambled down upon her deck all in a heap, and
were instantly engaged in a desperate hand-to-hand struggle with her
crew, who greatly out-numbered ourselves, weakened as we were by the
casualties that had already seriously reduced our force. Moreover, we
soon discovered that our antagonists were by no means the despicable
poltroons that we are perhaps too prone at all times to believe them to
be; on the contrary, they fought manfully, and held their own with a
sturdy determination worthy of a better cause. The casualties were
rapidly multiplying on both sides, yet we were slowly driving the
Frenchmen forward, when they were unexpectedly reinforced by a crowd of
at least sixty people who had come alongside in boats from the other
craft, boarding on the larboard side of the schooner, on which side, as
it had been impossible for us to reach it with the _Felicidad_, the
nettings had not been triced up, and in an instant we found ourselves
confronted by overwhelming odds. Above the tumult of shouts and oaths
and groans, of pistol-shots and clashing steel, I heard Ryan give a
ringing cheer and an encouraging shout of "Hurroo, bhoys, the more the
merrier! Lay on with a will, now, and make short work of it;" and I saw
him at the head of a small division of our men laying about him manfully
and driving himself and his little band wedge-like through the thickest
of the crowd, and I turned and struck out right and left to get to his
assistance, for it seemed to me that he must be speedily overpowered.
Before I could reach him, however, he suddenly threw up his hands, and
striking one of them to his temples sank in an inert heap to the deck,
and at the same instant a sickening blow fell upon my head, the whole
scene whirled confusedly before my eyes for the fraction of an instant,
and for a time I knew no more.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
When at length I recovered my senses I found that I was undressed and
comfortably stowed away in a bunk in a small but light and airy
state-room that certainly was not my own, nor had I ever seen it before.
The snuggery was very tastefully fitted up, the bunk itself being of
polished mahogany, enclosed with handsome lace curtains, that I presumed
were intended as a protection against the mosquitoes, the sharp, ringing
buzz of multitudes of which pertinacious tormentors I heard distinctly
as I lay, weak, sick, and with a most distracting headache, safe within
the shelter of the curtains. These curtains were suspended from a
polished brass rod that traversed the underside of the deck above close
to the ship's side, so that they sloped over the bunk tent-fashion, an
ingenious arrangement of frilling along the upper edge imparting a
sufficient stiffness to the flimsy material to cause it to stand up
close to the planking, thus leaving no opening by which the persevering
little insects could obtain access to the interior. The bulkhead was
panelled with pilasters of satin-wood supporting a handsomely-carved
cornice, and the panels, like the underside of the deck, were painted a
delicate cream colour, the former being decorated with a thin gilt
moulding which formed the framework of a series of beautifully-painted
pictures of tropical flowers, butterflies, and birds. There was a
polished mahogany wash-stand in one corner of the room, and a small
mahogany swing-table against the bulkhead between the bunk and the
closed door of the berth; a horsehair sofa ran along the ship's side,
opposite the doorway; a small lamp, apparently of silver, hung in
gimbals from the ship's side, near the head of the bunk, and the
apartment was amply lighted by a large round open port or scuttle,
through which the gentle sigh of the evening breeze came pleasantly, and
the rich, orange beams of the setting sun poured with so brilliant an
effulgence that I could scarcely endure the dazzling light, and was
obliged to close my eyes again.
Where was I? Certainly not on board the _Felicidad_; for she had no
such luxurious sleeping-accommodation as this on board her. Then, if
not on board her, I must most probably be on board the French schooner;
a surmise that was to some extent confirmed by the powerful effluvium
that pervaded the ship, and proclaimed her character beyond all
question. Then there were sounds on deck--the voices of men laughing
and jesting together, and addressing occasional brutal remarks to,
presumably, the wearers of certain chains, the clanking of which,
together with the sounds of boats or canoes coming alongside, and an
occasional order issued by some one nearly overhead, powerfully
suggested the idea that the craft, whatever she was, was now taking in
her human cargo. I soon recognised, however, that the orders and
conversation generally were in Spanish, not French; still, this proved
nothing, for slavers were as a rule by no means particular as to the
colour of the flag that they fought or sailed under, often hoisting the
first ensign that happened to come to hand.
But Spanish or French, the vessel on board which I now found myself
could scarcely be other than one of those that we had engaged earlier in
the afternoon; and if so, I was in the hands of the enemy--an enemy, be
it said, that, if report spoke truly, showed but scant mercy to such of
its legalised opponents as happened to fall into his hands. Yet this
scarcely tallied with the evident care that had been taken of me, and
the exceedingly comfortable--not to say luxurious--quarters wherein I
now found myself.
I was parched with thirst, and looked round the state-room for some
liquid wherewith I might quench it. There was none; but I now observed
a small mahogany shelf, close to the head of the bunk, which had
hitherto escaped my notice, and upon it stood a small silver hand-bell,
quaint of shape, and elegantly adorned with _repousse_ work. With
considerable pain and giddiness I contrived to turn my body far enough
round to seize the bell and ring it; in instant response to which the
state-room door opened--revealing a glimpse of a small but
elegantly-furnished cabin--and a young mustee lad, clad only in a white
shirt thrown open at the neck, and white drill trousers girt to his
slender figure by a crimson sash, entered, and demanded in Spanish--
"Can I do anything for you, senor?"
"What is your name, my lad?" said I, answering his question with
another.
"I am called Pedro, senor."
"Well then, Pedro," said I, "you can do two things for me, if you will.
In the first place you can get me something to drink, if you will be so
kind; and, in the next, you can tell me the name of this ship and her
captain."
"I will willingly do both, senor, with pleasure. The drink first,"
answered the lad, with a bright smile that disclosed an array of small
and beautifully regular, ivory-white teeth. And, turning on his bare
heel, he retired as noiselessly as he had entered, only to reappear, a
moment later, with a tumbler in one hand, and a large glass jug full to
within an inch of the brim with lemonade, upon the surface of which
floated two or three slices of the fruit and a curl of the rich golden
green rind. He filled and handed me a bumper, which I instantly drained
and begged for another. The lad laughed, and handed me a second
tumblerful, which I also drained. The liquid was deliciously cool, and
of that peculiar acid and slightly bitter flavour that seems so
ineffably refreshing when one is parched with fever.
"Another yet, senor?" asked Pedro, with a laugh, as I handed the glass
back to him.
"Well--n-o--not just now, I think, thank you," answered I. "And now,
Pedro, my boy, tell me about this ship and her captain, and how I came
to be here."
"That is easily done, senor," answered the lad. "In the first place,
the brigantine is named the _Francesca_ after my mother; she hails from
Havana; and is commanded by my father, Don Fernando de Mendouca; and you
were brought here by him, when he found you lying apparently dead upon
the deck of the _Requin_ after your people had been driven off and
compelled to beat a retreat."
"_What_?" I exclaimed. "Driven off? Compelled to retreat?"
"Certainly, senor," the lad answered proudly. "You surely did not
seriously expect to capture all four of us with that paltry schooner of
yours, and so small a force as you brought against us, did you?"
"Well," I admitted, "I must confess that when I saw what we had to
contend with, I had my doubts as to the issue. But then, you see, I was
not the captain."
"Your captain must have been _mad_ to have attacked us in broad
daylight, as he did. And, indeed, he _seemed_ to be mad by the
desperation with which he fought. I never saw anything like it in my
life."
"_You_?" I exclaimed again. "Do you mean to say that you took part in
the fight?"
"Certainly, senor; why not?" demanded Pedro haughtily. "True, I am very
young; but I am strong. And I am bigger than the little officer who was
fighting near you when the French sailor struck you down with the
handspike."
"Yes; that is very true," I agreed, knowing, from the lad's description,
that he was referring to Freddy Pierrepoint. "So you were in the fight,
and saw our captain, eh, Pedro? Can you tell me what became of him?"
"He was shot--by one of our men, I believe; and I think he was killed,
but am not quite sure. He was carried back into his own schooner by two
of his men; and after the fight had lasted about two minutes longer a
very handsome, light-haired officer appeared to take the command, and
seemed to order a retreat; for your men steadily retired to their own
vessel, and, fighting to the very last, cast her adrift, set the sails,
and retired, hotly pursued by the _Requin_."
"Phew!" exclaimed I; "we seem to have made rather a mess of it this
time. Poor Ryan! I am sorry for him; very sorry indeed. You are
right, Pedro, our captain _was_ mad; the poor fellow was badly wounded
in the head not long ago, and he had by no means recovered from his
injuries. And now he is wounded again, if not killed outright. I am
_very_ sorry for him. And now, Pedro, can you tell me how your father
proposes to dispose of _me_?"
"No, senor, I cannot. Nor can he at present, I think," answered the
lad. "It was at my entreaty that he brought you on board here;
otherwise you would have been thrown overboard to the crocodiles that
swarm in the creek just here. He said that prisoners were only a
useless encumbrance and an embarrassment; but somehow I liked your looks
as you lay, white and still, upon the French schooner's deck, and I
begged him so hard to save you that he could not deny me. And I am sure
that we shall be friends--you and I--shall we not? There is no one on
board here that I can be intimate with--except my father, of course--and
he is so much older than I, that I can scarcely look upon him as a
companion. Besides--"
The lad stopped, embarrassed.
"Besides what?" demanded I.
"Well--I--perhaps I ought not to say. You see we are strangers yet, and
father has often said that it is a great mistake to be confidential with
strangers. Some other day perhaps I may feel that I can speak more
freely. And that reminds me that I have let you talk far too much
already; you need rest and perfect quiet at present, if you are to
escape a bad attack of fever, so I shall leave you for a little while to
sleep if you can. But first let me bathe your wound for you, and
bandage it afresh."
"You are very kind, Pedro," remarked I, as the lad with singular
deftness proceeded to remove the stiff and blood-stained bandage from my
head. "And I must not allow you to leave me until I have thanked you--
as I now do, very heartily--for having saved my life. Perhaps I may
have an opportunity some day to show my gratitude in some more
convincing form than that of mere words, and if so, you may depend upon
me to do so. Meanwhile, I see no reason whatever why we should not be
friends, and good friends too, if your father is willing that it should
be so. At the same time--but there, we can talk about that too, when we
know a little more of each other, and understand each other better.
Thanks, Pedro; that is very soothing and comfortable indeed. Now,
another drink of lemonade, if you please--by the way, you may as well
leave the jug and glass within my reach--and then, if you insist upon
running away, why, good-bye for the present."
The lad left me, and I fell into a rather gloomy reverie upon the fate
of poor Ryan and that of the gallant fellows who had fallen in our
ill-planned attack upon the occupants of this unlucky creek, as well as
upon my own future, the uncertainty of which stood out the more clearly
the longer I looked at it. I think I must have become slightly
light-headed eventually, for twice or thrice I caught myself muttering
aloud in a rather excited fashion, now imagining myself to be in the
thick of the fight once more, and anon fancying myself to be one of the
slaves that were imprisoned in the brigantine's noisome hold; until
finally my ideas became so hopelessly jumbled together that I could make
nothing of them, and then followed a period of oblivion from which I
awoke to find the state-room faintly illumined by the turned-down lamp
screwed to the ship's side near the head of my bunk, and by the more
brilliant rays of a lamp in the main cabin, the light of which streamed
through the lattices in the upper panel of the state-room door. The
ship was heeling slightly, and I knew by the gurgle and wash of water
along her side that she was under weigh, but still in perfectly smooth
water, for I was unable to detect the slightest heave, or rising and
falling motion in her. There was an intermittent faint murmur of voices
overhead, an occasional footfall on the deck, and now and then the creak
and clank of the wheel-chains following a call from the forecastle, all
of which led me to the conclusion that the brigantine was effecting the
passage of the creek on her way seaward. This state of things continued
for perhaps a quarter of an hour, when I felt the vessel lift as if to a
small swell, the wash and splash of the water along her side became more
pronounced, then came a light plunge, with a corresponding roar of the
bow wave; her heel perceptibly increased, and the pipe of the wind took
a more sonorous sound; an expression or two in tones that seemed to
indicate a feeling of relief and satisfaction passed between the persons
overhead, and then a string of orders pealed forth from one of them,
followed by the clatter of ropes thrown down on the deck, and the cries
of the crew as they made sail upon the vessel. The movements of the
craft now rapidly grew more lively; she heeled still more steeply under
the pressure of the wind; the splash and rush of water alongside grew
momentarily more confused; bulkheads began to creak, and cabin-doors to
jar and rattle upon their hooks; the two people overhead began to pace
the deck to and fro; the wind whistled and blustered with increasing
loudness through the rigging; and as the craft plunged more sharply I
caught the sound of an occasional clatter of spray upon the deck
forward. This went on for some considerable time, and then I became
aware of the sound of surf booming distantly, but rapidly increasing in
strength and volume, until after a period of perhaps ten minutes its
thunder seemed to suddenly fill the air, as the brigantine brought it
square abeam; then it rapidly died away again until it was lost
altogether in the tumult of wind and sea that now stormed about the
vessel, and I knew that we had passed close to either Shark or French
Point, and were fairly at sea. This conviction was confirmed a few
minutes later by the descent of some one--presumably the captain--into
the cabin, where, as I could tell by the clink of bottle and glass and
the gurgle of fluids, he mixed and tossed off a glass of grog, after
which he retired to a state-room on the opposite side of the cabin and
closed the door. Then, lulled by the motion of the ship and the sound
of the wind and sea, I gradually sank into a feverish sleep, from which
I did not fairly awake until the sun was streaming strongly in through
the glazed scuttle of my state-room next morning.
Shortly afterwards Pedro entered and bade me good-morning with a cheery
smile.
"You are looking better, senor," he remarked; "your eyes are brighter,
and there is more colour in your face. I hope you were not greatly
disturbed last night by the noise of getting the ship under weigh?"
"Not at all," I answered; "on the contrary, I did not awake until you
were clear of your moorings and passing down the creek. I remained
awake until the ship seemed to be fairly at sea, and then I went to
sleep again. I suppose we are out of sight of land by this time?"
"Yes, thanks be to the blessed Virgin! And I hope we shall see no more
until we make Anegada," was the reply.
"Anegada?" I queried. "Where is that?"
"What!" exclaimed Pedro, "do you not know Anegada? Then you have never
been to the West Indies?"
"That is very true," I admitted. "I have never been to the other side
of the Atlantic."
"I was certain of it, or you would know Anegada," answered Pedro.
"Anegada is the most easterly of the Virgin Islands; and my father
always endeavours to pick it up on his westerly runs. It makes a good
landfall, and enables us to continue the rest of our run with
confidence, and to dodge those pestilent cruisers of yours. Anegada
once sighted, my father knows every inch of the rest of the way, and
could take his ship from thence to Havana blindfold, I believe. But
while we are talking this water is cooling, and I want to bathe your
wound and bind it up afresh. So; am I hurting you?"
"Not at all," I answered. "Your touch is as light as a woman's. By the
way, where are my clothes, Pedro? I shall turn out as soon as you have
done with me, if you will kindly send somebody with some water. That
ewer seems to be empty."
"It can soon be filled, however," remarked the lad. "As to your
clothes, they are forward, drying. They were so stained and stiff with
blood that you could not possibly have put them on again, so I had them
washed. You see my clothes would not be big enough for you, while my
father's would be too big; so you will be obliged to make shift with
what you have until we reach Havana. I am glad that you feel well
enough to dress, for I am anxious that you should meet my father as soon
as possible. I fervently hope that you will succeed in impressing him
favourably."
"Why?" I demanded, laughingly. "Is he so very formidable a personage,
then?"
"Formidable enough, for one in your situation, if he should happen to
take a dislike to you," the lad answered gravely. "Not that I have very
much fear of that, however," he continued; "and in any case, my father
is all right except when anything has occurred to vex him."
"Well, I suppose that holds good of most people," I remarked. "However,
we must hope for the best. And now, since you have coopered me up so
nicely, if you will let me have some water and my clothes, I will make
my toilet as far as I can."
Upon leaving my bunk I found that I was still very shaky, with a
tendency to giddiness, added to which my head was aching most
distressingly; but I thought it possible that these disagreeable
symptoms would perhaps pass off as soon as I found myself in the open
air; I therefore dressed as quickly as possible, and made my way on
deck.
The morning was brilliantly fine, with a slashing breeze from about
east, a trifle northerly, and the brigantine was bowling along before
it, with all studding-sails set on the starboard side, in a manner that
fairly made me stare with astonishment, although I had been accustomed
to fast vessels. The _Francesca_ was an exceedingly fine and handsome
vessel, of enormous beam, and sitting very low upon the water, but the
pace at which she was travelling conclusively demonstrated that, beamy
as she was, her lines must be the very perfection of draughting; indeed
this was proved by the ease with which she appeared to glide along the
surface of, rather than _through_, the water, her progress being marked
by singularly little disturbance of the element, considering her very
high rate of speed. Her sails were magnificently cut, setting to a
nicety, and drawing to perfection, and they were white enough to have
graced the spars of a yacht. I noticed, too, that the inside of the
bulwarks, her deck-fittings, brass-work, and guns, were all scrupulously
clean and bright, while every rope was carefully coiled upon its proper
pin, the principal halliards and sheets being Flemish-coiled on the
deck. In fact, the whole appearance of the vessel was far more
suggestive of the British man-o'-war than of the slaver. The watch on
deck consisted of about a dozen men--one or two of whom looked
remarkably like Englishmen--and it did not escape me that, one and all,
they had the look of resolute, reckless fellows, who would be quite
ready to fight to the last gasp, if need be. And I was impressed, at
the very first glance, with the fact that they were all quietly and
steadily going about their work, talking quietly together, and behaving
without a single trace of that lawlessness that I had expected to
prevail among a slaver's crew.
CHAPTER ELEVEN.
DON FERNANDO DE MENDOUCA.
The most striking figure in the ship, however, was, beyond all question,
a tall, well-built man, with a firmly-knit, powerful frame, every
movement of which was eloquent of health and strength and inexhaustible
endurance, while it was characterised by that light and easy _floating_
grace that is only to be acquired by the habitual treading of such an
unstable platform as a ship's deck. He was very dark, his hair,
moustache, and beard being coal-black and wavy, while his skin--or at
least the exposed parts that met my eye--was tanned to so deep a bronze
as to give him quite the complexion of a mulatto. But there was not a
drop of black blood in him; his nose alone--thin, shapely, and slightly
aquiline--was evidence enough of that. He was clad in the inevitable
suit of white drill, girt about the waist with a crimson cummerbund; his
head-covering was the equally inevitable Panama broad-brimmed hat, and
his otherwise naked feet were thrust into a pair of Turkish slippers of
red morocco, embroidered with gold thread. And, early as was the hour,
he held a half-smoked cigar between his large, even, white teeth. As I
emerged from the companion he was standing to windward, near the
helmsman, critically eyeing the set of the brigantine's beautifully cut
canvas; and upon seeing me he--without moving from his position or
offering me his hand--bowed with all the stately grace of a Spanish
hidalgo, and exclaimed in Spanish, in a firm, strong, and decidedly
musical voice--
"Good-morning, senor! I congratulate you upon being sufficiently
recovered to leave your cabin. I suppose I ought, by every rule of good
manners, to bid you welcome to my ship; but I have discarded
conventional forms of speech--among other things--and now make a
practice of speaking only the strict truth; and--as Pedro has probably
told you--I had little to do with your being here beyond the mere issue
of the order for your transfer from the deck of the French schooner.
But, if I cannot at this moment truthfully bid you welcome, I can at
least say that I sincerely hope we shall be good friends; and should
that come about, you shall be welcome not only to my ship, but, as we
Spaniards say, to my house and all that is in it."
"Thank you, Don Fernando," I answered. "I can easily understand that
you find it exceedingly difficult to regard me as a welcome guest, and
believe me, I am not going to be so foolish as to feel hurt at your
frankly telling me so. And I heartily unite with you in the hope that
as long as we may be compelled into intimate association with each
other, we shall be able to forget that our professions are antagonistic,
and that personally it may be quite possible for us to be good friends.
And now, senor, permit me to seize this, the first opportunity that has
presented itself, to express to you my most grateful thanks for having
saved my life yesterday--"
"Stop, senor, if you please," he interrupted, holding up his hand. "I
have already explained to you that I had absolutely nothing to do with
that beyond the mere issuing of an order. To be perfectly frank with
you, I was in no mood to show mercy to any one just then, for you and
your pestilent, meddlesome crew fought like fiends, and cost me several
good men that I could ill spare. Your gratitude, therefore," and I
thought I detected an echo of something very like scorn in his voice,
"is due solely to my boy Pedro, whose whim of saving you I did not even
then care to thwart. But enough of this; you are my guest, and may, if
you will, become my friend. I hope your accommodation is to your
liking?"
"Excellent, indeed," answered I, glad enough to get away from a topic
that seemed to be somewhat distasteful to my host. "Excellent, indeed,
and far more luxurious than anything to which I have been accustomed on
board my own ship."
"Yes," he smiled; "the English are clearly anxious that their officers
shall not become enervated through overmuch luxury. I have been on
board several of your ships, and saw but little to admire in the
accommodation provided for and the arrangements made for the comfort of
their officers. How long have you been on the West African station,
senor?"
I told him, and the conversation gradually took a more agreeable turn,
my host proving himself, not only a thorough man of the world, but also
surprisingly well educated and well read for a Spaniard. He was well
acquainted with several of our best English writers, and professed an
admiration for our literature as great and thorough as was his evident
hatred of ourselves and our institutions as a nation. He had very
considerably thawed out of his original coldness of manner, and was
discussing with much animation and in well-chosen language the British
drama, and especially Shakspeare, when we were summoned to breakfast and
found Pedro waiting for us in the cabin. The lad was very demonstrative
in his delight at finding me so much better, and I could see that he was
also greatly pleased--and I thought relieved--at the prospect of
amicable if not cordial relations becoming established between his
father and myself.
I have said that the morning was brilliantly fine, and so it was; but I
had noticed even when I first went on deck, that there was a certain
pallor and haziness in the blue of the sky, the appearance of which I
did not altogether like; and when after breakfast we went on deck--
Mendouca with his sextant in his hand, for the purpose of finding the
ship's longitude--our first glance aloft showed us that a large halo had
gathered round the sun, and certain clouds that had risen above the
horizon were carrying windgalls in their skirts. I drew Mendouca's
attention to these portents, and he agreed with me that we were probably
about to have bad weather. And sure enough we had, for that afternoon
it came on to blow heavily from the eastward, and after running before
it as long as we dared--indeed a good deal longer than in my opinion was
at all prudent--we were compelled to heave-to; and we thus remained for
sixty-two consecutive hours, during which Mendouca fumed and raved like
a madman; for the sea was making clean breaches over the brigantine
during the whole of that time, so that a considerable portion of our
bulwarks and everything that was not securely lashed was washed away,
and, worst of all, it was imperatively necessary to keep the hatches
battened down during the entire continuance of the gale, thus depriving
the unhappy slaves pent up below of all air save such as could penetrate
through a small opening in the fore-bulkhead, communicating with the
forecastle, and used for the purpose of gaining access to the hold in
bad weather, in order to supply the slaves with food and water. As,
however, the sea was breaking more heavily over the fore-deck than
anywhere else, the utmost care had to be exercised in opening the
fore-scuttle, a favourable opportunity having to be watched for, and the
hatch whipped off and on again in a moment. Very little air, therefore,
was obtainable from that source, and none whatever from elsewhere; the
blacks, therefore, were dying below like rotten sheep, of suffocation,
as was reported by those who came up from time to time after attending
to the most pressing wants of the miserable creatures. And to make what
was already bad enough still worse, it was impossible to remove the dead
from among the living so long as the bad weather continued.
When at length the gale moderated and the sea went down sufficiently to
permit of sail being once more made, the hatches were lifted; and never
to my dying day shall I forget the awful, poisonous stench that arose
from the brigantine's hold. The fumes could be actually _seen_ rising
through the hatchway in the form of a dense steam that continued to pour
up for several minutes, and when the men were ordered below to pass up
the dead bodies, even the toughest and most hardened of them recoiled
from the task, and staggered away forward literally as sick as dogs. At
length, however, after the lapse of about a quarter of an hour, a gang
ventured down into the now comparatively pure atmosphere, and the work
of passing up the dead bodies began. I stood to windward, as near the
hatchway as I could get without being sickened by the still pestilential
effluvium that even now arose from the hold, and watched the operation,
not from any feeling of morbid curiosity, but in order that I might
become aware, by the evidence of my own eyesight, of some of the blacker
horrors of this most foul and accursed trade, and the sights that I then
witnessed literally beggar description. The unhappy wretches had been
packed so tightly together that they had been unable to move more than
an inch or so, while the slave-deck was so low that a sitting posture
with the head bowed to the knees and the hands clasped in front of them
had been absolutely necessary; and the miserable creatures had died and
stiffened in this cramped and painful posture; it was gruesome enough,
therefore, to see the bodies passed up and thrown overboard in so woeful
an attitude; but the worst sight of all was in those cases where, in the
dying agony, some unfortunate wretch had writhed his head back until it
looked as though the neck had become dislocated, thus revealing the
distorted features, with the eye balls rolled back until only the whites
were visible, and the mouth wide open as though gasping for air. The
brigantine had left the Congo with four hundred and fifty-five slaves on
board, about three-fifths of whom were men, the remainder being young
women and children; and of these every woman and child, and one hundred
and twenty-seven men had succumbed, leaving, out of the grand total, the
miserable moiety of only one hundred and forty-six survivors! It was
horrible beyond the power of words to express, and to crown all, as the
work went on, the water in the ship's wake became alive with sharks, who
fought and struggled with each other for their prey, literally tearing
the bodies limb from limb in their frantic struggles to secure a morsel.
It was a sight that, one might have thought, would have excited pity in
the breast of the arch-fiend himself, but with Mendouca it only had the
effect of goading him into a state of mad, ungovernable fury. "See," he
exclaimed at last, stalking up to me and grasping me savagely by the
arm--"see the result of the thrice accursed meddlesome policy of your
wretched, contemptible little England and the countries who have united
with her in the hopeless task of suppressing the slave-trade! But for
that, these negroes might have been comfortably stowed in three or four
ships, instead of being packed like herrings in a barrel in the hold of
one only, and then all this loss of life and money might have been
avoided. By this infernal mishap I am a loser to the extent of over
thirty thousand dollars, and all for what? Why, simply because you
British, with your sickly sentimentality, choose to regard the blacks as
human beings like yourselves. You are all virtuous indignation because
forsooth we slave-traders have bethought ourselves of the plan of
removing them from their own country, where their lives would have been
passed in a condition of the lowest and most degrading barbarism, and
transporting them to another where they can be rendered useful and
valuable; where, in return for their labour, they are fed, clothed,
tended in sickness, and provided with comfortable homes; where their
lives may be passed in peace and comfort and perfect freedom from all
care; and where, if indeed they _are_ human, like ourselves, which I
very much doubt, they may be converted to Christianity. You violently
object to this amelioration of the lot of the negro savage; but you shut
your eyes to the fact that thousands of your own countrymen and women
are actually slaves of the most abject type, made so by your own
insatiable and contemptible craving for _cheap_ clothing, _cheap_ food,
cheap every thing, to satisfy which, and to, at the same time, gratify
his own perfectly legitimate desire to make a living, the employer of
labour has to grind his employes down in the matter of wage until their
lives are a living lingering death to them, in comparison with which the
future of those blacks down below will be a paradise. Bah! such
hypocrisy sickens me. And yet, in support of this disgusting
Pharisaism, you, and hundreds more like you, claiming to be intelligent
beings, willingly endure hardships and face the perils of sickness,
shipwreck, shot and steel with a persistent heroism that almost compels
one's admiration, despite the mistaken enthusiasm which is its animating
cause. Nay, do not speak, senor; I know exactly what you would say; I
have heard, until I have become sick of it, the canting jargon of those
meddlesome busy-bodies who, knowing nothing of the actual facts of
slavery, or for their own purposes, hunt out exceptional cases of
tyranny which they hold up to public execration as typical of the
system--I have heard it all so often that I have long passed the point
where it was possible to listen to it with even the faintest semblance
of patience; so do not attempt the utterly useless and impossible task
of trying to convert me, I pray you, lest in my anger I should say words
that would offend you."
Good heavens! did the man suppose that he had not offended me already?
I saw, however, that I might as well attempt to quell the hurricane as
argue with him in his present mood; moreover I am but a poor hand at
argument; I therefore bowed in silence, turned away and went below,
fully determined to have the matter out with the fiery Spaniard the
first time that I caught him in a more amenable temper. Pedro would
have followed me, and indeed attempted to do so, but as I entered the
companion, I heard his father call him back and bid him remain on deck.
With the moderating of the gale the wind had come out dead ahead, and
the brigantine was consequently on a taut bowline on the starboard tack
when the hatches were opened and the bodies of the suffocated negroes
were passed up on deck and thrown overboard. She remained so for the
rest of that day; but when I awoke next morning, I at once became aware,
from the steady, long, pendulum-like roll of the ship, that she was once
more before the wind, and I naturally concluded that the wind had again
become fair. To my great surprise, however, when I emerged from my
state-room and caught a glimpse of the tell-tale compass hanging in
gimbals in the skylight opening of the main cabin, I saw that the ship
was heading to the _eastward_! Wondering what might be the meaning of
this, I went on deck, but neither Mendouca nor Pedro was visible, and I
did not choose to question the mate--a surly, hang-dog,
cut-throat-looking scoundrel, who had chosen to manifest an implacable
hostility to myself from the moment that our eyes had first met.
However, I had not been on deck long when Mendouca made his appearance,
and in response to his salutation I said--
"Good-morning, captain; I see you have shifted your helm during the
night."
I saw, when it was too late, that my remark was an unfortunate one, for
Mendouca scowled as he replied--
"Yes; it was not worth while to make the trip across the Atlantic and
back for the mere purpose of landing one hundred and forty odd negroes--
even could we have got them over without further loss, which I greatly
doubt--so I am going back to the coast for more--unless I can pick them
up without going so far," he added, after a momentary pause, and with a
peculiar look which I could not at the moment fathom. "And all this
loss of life, and money, and time, and all this extra risk are forced
upon me by the meddlesome policy of Great Britain. _Great_! Faugh!
Could she but see herself as others see her she would, for very shame,
strike out that vaunting prefix, and take that obscure place among the
nations which properly befits her. Senor Dugdale, do you value your
life?"
"Well, yes, to a certain extent I do," I replied. "It is the only one I
have, you see; and were I to lose it the loss would occasion a
considerable amount of distress to my friends. For that reason,
therefore, if for no other, I attach a certain amount of value to it,
and feel bound to take care of it so far as I may, with honour."
"Very well, then," remarked Mendouca, with a sneer, "so far as you can
_with honour_, refrain, I pray you, from thrusting your nationality into
my face; for I may as well tell you that I have the utmost hatred and
contempt for the English; I would sweep every one of them off the face
of the earth if I could; and some day, when this feeling is particularly
strong upon me, I may blow your brains out if I happen to remember that
you are an Englishman."
"I hope it will not come to that, Don Fernando, for many reasons," I
remarked, with a rather forced laugh, "and among them I may just mention
the base cowardice of murdering an unarmed man. I rather regret that
you should be so completely as you appear to be under the dominion of
this feeling of hatred for my nation; it must be as unpleasant for you
as it is for me that we are thus forcibly thrown together; but it need
not last long; you can put me out of the ship at the first land that we
touch, and I must take my chance of making my way to a place of safety.
It will be unpleasant for me, of course, but it will remove from you a
constant source of temptation to commit murder."
Mendouca laughed--it was rather a harsh and jarring laugh, certainly--
and said--
"Upon my honour as a Spanish gentleman, you appear to be mightily
concerned to preserve me from the crime of bloodshed, young gentleman.
But do you suppose it would not be murder to put you ashore, as you
suggest, at the first land that we reach? Why, boy, were I to do so,
within six hours you would be in the hands of the natives, and lashed to
the torture-stake! And would not your death then be just as much my act
as though I were to shoot you through the head this moment?"
And to my astonishment--and somewhat to my consternation, I must admit--
he whipped a pistol out of his belt and levelled it full at my head,
cocking it with his thumb as he did so.
"I presume it would," I answered steadily; "and on the whole I believe
that to shoot me would be the more merciful act of the two. So fire by
all means, senor, if you _must_ take my life."
"By the living God, but you carry the thing off bravely, young
cockerel!" he exclaimed. "Do you _dare_ me to fire?"
"Yes," I exclaimed stoutly. "I dare you to fire, if you can bring
yourself to perpetrate so rank an act of cowardice!"
"Well," he returned, laughing, as he lowered the pistol, uncocked it,
and replaced it in his belt; "you are right. I cannot; at least not in
cold blood. I dare say I am pretty bad, according to your opinion, but
my worst enemy cannot accuse me of cowardice. And, as to putting you
ashore, I shall do nothing of the kind; on the contrary, widely as our
opinions at present diverge upon the subject of my calling, I hope yet
to induce you to join me. You can be useful to me," he added, in pure
English, to my intense astonishment; "I want just such a cool, daring
young fellow as yourself for my right hand, to be a pair of extra eyes
and ears and hands to me, and to take command in my absence. I can make
it well worth your while, so think it over; I do not want an answer
now."
"But I _must_ answer now," I returned, also in English; "I cannot allow
a single minute to elapse without assuring you, Don Fernando, that you
altogether mistake my character if you suppose me capable of any
participation whatever in a traffic that I abhor and detest beyond all
power of expression; a traffic that inflicts untold anguish upon
thousands, and, not infrequently, I should imagine, entails such a
fearful waste of human life as I witnessed yesterday. Moreover, it has
just occurred to me that when we attacked you and your friends in the
creek this brigantine was flying a _black_ flag. If that means anything
it means, I presume, that you are a pirate as well as a slaver?"
"Precisely," he assented. "I am both. Some day, when we know each
other better, I will tell you my story, and, unlikely as you may now
think it, I undertake to say that when you have heard it you will
acknowledge that I have ample justification for being both."
"Do not believe it, Don Fernando," I answered. "Your story is doubtless
that of some real or fancied wrong that you have suffered at the hands
of society; but _no_ wrong can justify a man to become an enemy to his
race. I will hear your story, of course, if it will afford you any
satisfaction to tell it me; but I warn you that neither it nor anything
that you can possibly say will have the effect of converting me to your
views."
"You think so now, of course," he answered, with a laugh; "but we shall
see, we shall see. Meanwhile, there is my steward poking his ugly
visage up through the companion to tell us that breakfast is ready, so
come below, my friend, and take the keen edge off your appetite."
It was on the day but one after this, that, about four bells in the
forenoon watch, one of the hands, having occasion to go aloft to perform
some small job of work on the rigging, reported a strange sail ahead.
The brigantine was still running before a fair wind, but the breeze had
fallen light, and it looked rather as though we were in for a calm
spell, with thunder, perhaps, later on. We were going about four or
maybe four and a half knots at the time, and the report of the strange
sail created as much excitement on board us as though we had been a
man-o'-war. For some time there seemed to be a considerable amount of
doubt as to the course that the stranger was steering; for, as seen from
aloft, she appeared to be heading all round the compass; but it was
eventually concluded that, in general direction, her course was the same
as our own.
As the morning wore on the wind continued to drop, while a heavy bank of
thunder-cloud gathered about the horizon ahead, piling itself steadily
but imperceptibly higher, until by noon it was as much as Mendouca could
do to get the sun for his latitude. By this time we had risen the
stranger until we had brought her hull-up on the extreme verge of the
horizon; and the nearer that we drew to her the more eccentric did her
manoeuvres appear to be; she was heading all round the compass, and but
for the fact that we could see from time to time that her yards were
being swung, and some of her canvas hauled down and hoisted again in the
most extraordinary manner, we should have set her down as a derelict. I
ought, by the way, to have said that she was a small brig of,
apparently, about one hundred and forty tons. Mendouca was thoroughly
perplexed at her extraordinary antics; his glass was scarcely ever off
her, and when he removed it from his eye it was only to hand it to me
and impatiently demand whether I could not make out something to
elucidate the mystery. At length, after witnessing through the
telescope some more than usually extraordinary performance with the
canvas, I remarked--
"I think there is one thing pretty clear about that brig, and that is
that she is in the possession of people who have not the remotest notion
how to handle her."
"Eh? what is that you say?" demanded Mendouca. "Don't know how to
handle her? Well, it certainly appears that they do not," as the
fore-topsail-halliard was started and the yard slid slowly down the
mast, leaving the topgallant-sail and royal fully set above it. "By
Jove, I have it!" he suddenly continued, slapping his thigh
energetically. "Yonder brig is in possession of a cargo of slaves who
have somehow been allowed to rise and overpower her crew! Yes, by
heaven, that must be the explanation of it! At all events we will run
down and see. Blow, good breeze, blow!" and he whistled energetically
after the manner of seamen in want of a wind.
The breeze, however, utterly refused to blow; on the contrary, it was
growing more languid every minute, while our speed had dwindled down to
a bare two knots; and the thunder-clouds were piling up overhead blacker
and more menacing every minute. At length, when we were a bare three
miles from the brig, the helmsman reported that we no longer had
steerage-way, and as the _Francesca_ slowly swung round upon her heel,
bringing the brig broad on her starboard quarter, Mendouca stamped
irritably on the deck, and cursed the weather, the brig, the brigantine;
in fact he cursed "everything above an inch high," as we say in the navy
when we wish to describe a thorough, comprehensive outburst of
profanity. At length, having given free vent to his impatience, he
stood for a moment intently studying the lowering heavens, strode across
the deck and glanced through the open skylight at the barometer, then
turned to me and said, in English--
"What think you, Dugdale; would it be safe, in your opinion, to send
away a couple of boats to take possession of that brig? The glass has
dropped nothing to speak of since it was set this morning, and that
stuff up there promises nothing worse than a sharp thunderstorm and a
pelting downpour of rain. The boats could reach her in forty minutes,
when their crews would take possession, shorten sail, and wait for us to
join. I'll be bound there is sufficient `black ivory' aboard there to
spare me the necessity to return to the coast and to make good all my
losses."
In my turn I too looked at the sky intently.
"I hardly know what to make of it," I answered at length. "It may be,
as you say, that there is nothing worse than thunder brewing up there;
yet there is something in the look of those clouds that I do not
altogether like; their colour, for instance, is too livid a purple for
thunder alone, according to my idea, and I do not like the way in which
they are working; why, they are as busy as a barrel of yeast; depend on
it, senor, there is wind, and plenty of it, up there. As to how long it
may be before the outburst comes, you have had more experience than I of
this part of the world, and ought to know the weather better than I do."
"Well, I dare say I do," he assented, with apparent relief, and again
raised his eyes and anxiously scrutinised the clouds. "I'll risk it,"
he at length exclaimed, decisively, and forthwith turned and issued the
necessary orders to his chief mate, who trundled away forward, bawling
to the men as he went; and in a few minutes all was bustle and activity
about our decks, the arm-chests being brought on deck, and the selected
boats' crews coming aft and receiving their weapons from Mendouca
himself, while the gunner served out the ammunition. The rascals were a
smart, active lot--I will give them credit for so much--and in less than
ten minutes from the announcement of Mendouca's decision, the boats, two
of them, with ten men in each, were in the glassy water, and their crews
stretching out lustily for the brig.
It was perfectly evident to me that Mendouca was possessed by a feeling
that his eagerness to acquire the brig's cargo of negroes had warped his
judgment and egged him on to an unduly risky course of action in sending
his boats and so many of his people away in the face of that threatening
sky; the boats had no sooner shoved off than he became consumed by
anxiety, and, oblivious of the suffocating heat and closeness of the
atmosphere, proceeded to pace the deck to and fro with hasty, impatient
strides, halting abruptly at frequent intervals to scrutinise the aspect
of the sky, and, anon, to watch the progress of the boats. The crews of
the latter were evidently quite aware that the expedition upon which
they were engaged was by no means free from peril, for until they had
reached a distance too great to enable us to distinguish their actions,
I could see first one and then another glancing aloft and over his
shoulder at the sky, the action being invariably followed by the
exhibition of increased energy at the oar. They were clearly doing
their utmost, one and all; in fact the boats were making a downright
race of it for the brig; the men bending their backs and throwing their
whole strength into every stroke, churning the oily-looking surface of
the water into foam with their oar-blades, and leaving a long,
wedge-like wake behind them, while the two mates in charge, and who had
hold of the yoke-lines, were bowing forward at every stroke in true
racing style. Yet, rapid as their progress was, it did not satisfy
Mendouca, who, every time that he paused to watch their progress,
stamped upon the deck with impatience, and cursed the oarsmen for a set
of lazy, good-for-nothing lubbers.
And there was ample, justification for his anxiety; for scarcely had the
boats reached a quarter of a mile from the _Francesca_ than there was a
sudden and very perceptible darkening of the heavens, followed by a
vivid flash of lightning low down toward the eastern horizon, the low,
muffled boom of the thunder coming reverberating across the glassy water
with the sound of a cannon-shot rolled slowly along a timber floor.
CHAPTER TWELVE.
AN AWFUL CATASTROPHE.
Presently, after one of his frequent halts, Mendouca turned and gave
orders to shorten sail. "Clew up and haul down fore and aft; stow
everything except the main-staysail; and see that you make a snug furl
of it, men!" he cried; adding, as he turned to me--
"We might as well be snugging down as doing nothing; and perhaps the
sight will put some life into the movements of those lazy rascals
yonder," pointing with his cigar as he spoke towards the boats.
"Possibly," I agreed. "And in any case it appears to me that the time
has fully arrived for the commencement of such preparations as you may
think fit to make for the coming blow, which, in my humble opinion, is
going to be rather sharp while it lasts."
"Yes; no doubt," Mendouca assented. "Curse those lazy hounds! Have
they no eyes in their heads to see what is brewing? If they don't wake
up, they will have the squall upon them before they reach the brig."
"In which case," said I, "you may say good-bye to the brig and to the
slaves in her; and may think yourself lucky if you are able to recover
your boats."
I do not know whether he heard me or not. I think it probable that he
did; but he made no reply, turning his back upon me, and keeping his
glances alternately roving between the boats and the sky, which latter
had by this time assumed a most sinister and threatening aspect, so much
so, indeed, that had I been in Mendouca's place I should have recalled
the boats without another moment's delay. But I could see that he had
set his heart upon securing possession of the brig, and was willing to
run a considerable amount of risk in the effort to do so.
At length, when the boats were, according to my estimation, a little
better than half-way to the brig, another flash of lightning, vivid and
blinding, blazed forth, this time from almost overhead, only the very
smallest perceptible interval of time elapsing between it and the
accompanying thunder-crash, which was so appallingly loud and startling
that for a moment I felt fairly deaf and stunned with it, and before I
had fairly recovered my dazed senses the rain came pelting down in drops
as large as crown-pieces. The rain lasted for only three or four
seconds, however, and then ceased again abruptly, while almost at the
same instant a brief scurry of wind swept past us, just lifting the
staysail--which was by this time the only sail remaining set on board
us--and causing it to flap feebly for a moment, when it was once more
calm again; but we could trace the puff a long distance to the westward
by its track along the oily surface of the water.
Mendouca turned to me with an oath. "When it comes, it will come to us
dead on end from the brig!" he exclaimed. "It is just like my cursed
luck! Do you think it is too late to recall the boats?"
"Yes," I answered decidedly. "They are now nearer the brig than they
are to us, and their best chance certainly is to keep on as they are
going."
Mendouca turned and bestowed upon the boats yet another long
scrutinising glance; and then said, with his eyes still fixed upon
them--
"I do not agree with you. I think they are quite as near to us as they
are to the brig; and if they keep on and the squall bursts before they
reach the brig, they will have to pull against it, and may perhaps not
fetch her after all, whereas if I recall them, and they are overtaken
before they reach us, they will have the wind all in their favour
instead of dead against them."
"That is very true," I assented. "It appears to me, however, that the
whole question hinges upon the point whether they are nearer to us or to
the brig; and in my opinion they are much nearer to the latter."
For fully another minute Mendouca continued to watch the boats; then he
suddenly exclaimed--
"I shall recall them. Clear away the bow gun there, and fire it with a
blank cartridge; and, Pedro, get out the recall signal, and stand by to
run it up to the main-truck at the flash of the gun."
The signal was made, the boom of the gun seeming to echo with a hollow,
long-drawn-out reverberation between sea and sky; and within a minute
the boats, with seeming reluctance, had turned and were pulling back to
the brigantine.
Meanwhile the heavens had continued to darken, until, by the time that
the boats had turned, the whole scene had become involved in a murky
twilight, through the gloom of which the brig, still with every stitch
of canvas set, could with difficulty be made out. Still, although it
seemed to me that the brooding squall might burst upon us at any moment,
the atmosphere maintained its ominous condition of stagnation until the
boats had reached within some four cables' lengths--or somewhat less
than half-a-mile--of us; when, as I was intently watching their
progress, I saw the sky suddenly break along the horizon just above
them, the clouds appearing as though rent violently apart for a length
of some ten or twelve degrees of arc, while the rent was filled with a
strong yet misty glare of coppery-yellow light, in the very centre of
which the brig stood out sharply-defined, and as black as a shape cut
out of silhouette paper.
"Here it comes, at last!" I exclaimed; and as the words passed my lips
I felt a spot of rain upon my face, and in another instant down it came,
a regular deluge, but only for about half a minute, when it ceased
abruptly, and, looking toward the brig, I saw a long line of white foam
sweeping down towards her.
"God help those poor, unhappy blacks!" I cried. "If that craft's spars
and rigging happen to be good she will turn the turtle with them, and
probably not one of them will escape!"
"It is a just punishment upon them for rising against the crew,"
exclaimed Mendouca savagely; "but if I had only succeeded in laying
hands upon them I would have inflicted a worse punishment upon them than
drowning. I would have--ah! look at that! Now the squall strikes her,
and over she goes. Taken flat aback, by heaven!"
It was as Mendouca had said; the brig when struck by the squall happened
to be lying head on to it, and her topmasts bent like reeds ere they
yielded to the pressure, and snapped short off by the caps. Then,
gathering stern-way, she paid off until she was nearly broadside on to
us, and we could see that her stern was becoming more and more depressed
as it was forced against the comparatively stubborn and unyielding
water, while her bow was raised proportionally high in the air. Foot by
foot, and second by second, her stern sank deeper and deeper into the
water until the latter was flush with her taffrail, and then, with the
aid of a telescope, I saw it go foaming and boiling in upon her deck,
driving the dense crowd of negroes forward foot by foot. By this time
her forefoot was raised clear out of the water, and, enveloped in mist
and spray though she was, I could see the bright, glassy glare of the
sky beyond and below it. For a second she remained thus; then her bow
rose still higher in the air, and, with a long sliding plunge, she
disappeared stern foremost.
"Gone to the bottom, every mother's _son of them_--as they richly
deserved!" exclaimed Mendouca, with a savage curse. "And if those
loafing vagabonds of mine don't bestir themselves they will follow in
double-quick time! What do you think, Dugdale? Shall we be able to
save them?"
I shook my head. "I would not give very much for their chance," I
replied. "It is a pity that you recalled them, I think. They would
have had time to reach the brig, and could at least have got her before
the wind, even had they no time to do more."
"Yes," he assented; "as it happened, they could. But how was a man to
know that the squall was going to hold off so long, and then burst at
the most unfortunate moment possible?"
All this, it must be understood, had happened in a very much shorter
time than it has taken to tell of it, and the squall had not reached as
far as the boats when the brig disappeared; while, as for us, we were
lying motionless in a still stagnant atmosphere, with our starboard
broadside presented fair to the approaching squall. But as the last
words left Mendouca's lips the squall swooped down upon the boats, and
in an instant they were lost sight of in a smother of mist and spray,
while the roar of the approaching squall, that had come to us at first
as a faint low murmur, grew deeper and hoarser, and more deadly menacing
in its overpowering volume of tone. Then the air suddenly grew damp,
with a distinct taste of salt in it; the roar increased to a deafening
bellow, and with a fierce, yelling shriek the squall burst upon us, and
the brigantine bowed beneath the stroke until her lee rail was buried,
and the water foamed in on deck from the cat-head to the main-rigging.
I thought for a moment that she, too, was going to turn turtle with us,
and I believe she would, had the staysail stood; but luckily at the very
moment when it seemed all up with us, the sheet parted with a report
that sounded even above the yell of the gale; there was a concussion as
though the ship had struck something solid, and with a single flap the
sail split in ribbons and blew clean out of the bolt-ropes. Meanwhile
Mendouca had sprung to the wheel and lent his strength to the efforts of
the helmsman to put it hard up, and, after hanging irresolute for a
moment, as _though undecided whether to capsize_ or not, the _Francesca_
gathered way, and in obedience to the helm gradually paid off until she
was dead before it, when she suddenly righted and began to scud like a
terrified thing. The boats were of course left far behind; and I made
up my mind that we should never see them again.
The squall was as sharp a thing of its kind as I had ever beheld, and it
was _fully_ three-quarters of an hour before it became possible to bring
the ship to the wind again, which Mendouca did the moment that he could
with safety. The wind continued quite fresh for another half-hour after
the squall had blown itself out, and then it dwindled away to a very
paltry breeze again, the clouds cleared away, the sun re-appeared and
shone with a heat that was almost overpowering, and the weather became
brilliantly fine again; much too fine, indeed, for Mendouca's purpose,
he being anxious to get back again as quickly as possible to the spot
where he had been obliged to abandon his boats, a lingering hope
possessing him that perchance they might have outlived the squall, and
that he might recover his men. I may perhaps be doing the man an
injustice in saying so much, but I firmly believe that this desire on
his part was prompted, not by any feeling of humanity or regard for the
men, but simply because the loss of so many out of his ship's company
would leave him very short-handed, and seriously embarrass him until he
could obtain others to fill their places; and I formed this opinion from
the fact that his many expressions of regret at being blown away from
his boats were every one of them coupled with a petulant repetition of
the remark that his hands would be completely tied should he fail to
recover their crews. So persistently did he hang upon this phase of the
mishap, that at length I ventured to ask him whether there were none of
them that he would be sorry to lose for their own sakes, apart from any
question of inconvenience; in reply to which he stated, with a brutal
laugh, that they were, one and all, a lazy set of worthless rascals, of
whom he should have rid himself in any case on his arrival in Havana.
However, be his motive what it might, he cracked on every stitch of
canvas that the brigantine would bear, as soon as the strength of the
squall had sufficiently abated to permit of his bringing her to the
wind, making sail from time to time as the wind further dwindled, until
he had her under everything that would draw, from the trucks down. To
add to his anxiety, it was about two bells in the first dog-watch before
he could bring the ship to the wind, and he feared, not without reason,
that it would be dark before he could work back near enough to the spot
at which we had left the boats, to see them again--always supposing, of
course, that they still floated. However, he did everything that a
seaman could do, sending a hand aloft to the royal-yard to keep a
look-out as soon as the ship had been got upon a wind, and making short
boards to windward--the first one of a quarter of an hour's duration,
and the others of half-an-hour each, so as to thoroughly cover the
ground previously passed over--as long as the daylight lasted. But
when, all too soon, the sun went down in a blaze of golden and crimson
and purple splendour, no sign of the boats had been seen; Mendouca,
therefore, worked out a calculation of the distance run by the
brigantine from the spot where the squall first struck her, subtracted
from it the distance that the boats would probably traverse in the same
time, and having worked up to this spot as nearly as he could calculate,
he hove-to for the night, with a bright lantern at his main-truck,
firing signal rockets at intervals of a quarter of an hour, and wearing
the ship round on the other tack every two hours. The night was
brilliantly star-lit, but without a moon, still there was light enough
upon the water to have revealed the boats at a distance of half-a-mile,
while the weather was so fine that a shout raised at twice that distance
to windward of the ship might have been heard on board her above the
soft sigh of the night wind, and the gentle lap of the water along the
bends; moreover, apart from the rockets fired, she might have been
plainly seen against the sky at a distance of fully three miles from the
boats, while her progress through the water was so slow that they could
have pulled alongside her without difficulty; when, therefore, midnight
arrived without any news of them, I gave them up for lost, and turned
in. Not so Mendouca, he would not give them up; moreover, he refused to
leave the deck--declaring that now he had lost his two mates he had
nobody on board that he could trust in charge--preferring to have a
mattress laid for him upon the skylight bench, where he snatched catnaps
between the intervals of wearing the ship round.
However, the matter was cleared up shortly after sunrise next morning,
when Mendouca again sent a hand aloft to look round, for the fellow had
only got as far as the foretop when he reported two objects that looked
like the boats, about five miles to leeward; adding, that if they _were_
the boats, they were capsized. The topsail was accordingly filled, and
the ship kept away, when, after about an hour's run, first one boat and
then the other was found, the first being capsized, while the second was
full of water and floating with the gunwale awash. One drowned seaman
was found under the capsized boat, but the rest were nowhere to be seen.
Both boats were easily secured, and found to be undamaged; and several
of the oars and loose bottom-boards were also recovered, being found
floating at no great distance from the boats. The drowned seaman, I may
as well mention, was not brought on board, but instead of this a boat
was sent away with a canvas bag containing three nine-pound shot, which
they secured to the poor wretch's ankles, and so sunk him.
Mendouca now, in no very amiable mood, resumed his course toward the
coast; and that same afternoon--having meanwhile been engaged apparently
in a tolerably successful effort to recover his temper--approached me
with a proposal that he should tell me the story of his life, to which I
of course cheerfully assented.
I will not inflict upon the reader the tale that he told me, because it
has no direct bearing upon this present history; suffice it to say, that
I now learned with some astonishment that he was a born Englishman, and
that, moreover, he had begun his career in the British navy, from
which--if his story were strictly true, as I afterwards had the
opportunity of learning was the case--he had been ousted by a quite
unusual piece of tyranny, and a most singular and deplorable miscarriage
of justice. It was the latter, I gathered, even more than the former,
that had soured him, and warped everything that was good out of his
character; for it appeared that he had a keen sense of justice, and a
very exalted idea of it; he had undoubtedly been most cruelly ill-used--
he had in fact been adjudged guilty of a crime that he had never
committed--and this appeared to have utterly ruined the character of a
man who might otherwise have been an ornament to the service, distorted
all his views of right and wrong, and filled him to the brim with a
wild, unreasoning, insatiable desire for vengeance.
This much for the man's story, which, however, I soon found had been
told me with a purpose; that purpose being nothing less than the
inducing of me to join him and take the place of his lost chief mate,
whereby--according to his showing--I might speedily become a rich man.
Had the proposal come before I had heard his story I should have
resented it as an insult, but the recital to which he had treated me,
and the sentiments expressed during its narration, convinced me that his
sense of honour had been so completely warped that he could see no
disgrace in the abandonment of a service and a country capable of
treating any other man--myself, for instance, as he carefully pointed
out--as he had been treated; I therefore contented myself with a simple
refusal, coupled with an assurance that such a step would be wholly
discordant with my sense of right and wrong, utterly irreconcilable, to
my conscience, and not at all in accord with my views. I had expected
him to be furiously angry at my refusal, but to my great surprise he was
not; on the contrary, he frankly admitted that he had been fully
prepared for a refusal--at first--but that he still believed my views
might alter upon more mature reflection.
"Meanwhile," said he, "you see how I am situated; I have lost both my
officers, and have no one on board but yourself in the least capable of
taking their places. I saved your life--or spared it, which comes to
the same thing--and I now ask you to make me the only return in your
power by assisting me in my difficulty."
"Before I give you any answer to that," said I, "I must ask you to
explicitly define and accurately set forth the nature of the assistance
that you desire me to render."
"Certainly," said Mendouca. "All that I ask of you at present is to
relieve me by taking charge of a watch, and assisting me to navigate the
ship. With regard to the latter, I consider myself capable of taking
the ship anywhere, and have as much confidence in myself as a man ought
to have; but `to err is human,' and it increases one's confidence, and
confers a feeling of security, to have some one to check one's
calculations. And as to the watch, unless you will consent to keep one
for me, I shall be compelled to keep the deck night and day. Now, it is
no great thing that I am asking of you _in return for your life_; will
you do it?"
"Give me half-an-hour to consider the matter, and you shall then have my
reply," said I.
"So be it," he answered. And then the matter ended, for the moment.
It was a question that I found it by no means easy to decide. Here was
I, an officer in the service of a country pledged to do its utmost to
suppress the abominable slave-traffic, actually invited to assist in the
navigation of a ship avowedly engaged not only in that traffic but--
according to the acknowledgment of her captain--also in, at least,
occasional acts of piracy! What was I to do? On the one hand, I was
fully determined to do nothing that could be construed into even the
semblance of tacit acquiescence in Mendouca's lawless vocation; while,
on the other, I undoubtedly owed my life to the man, and therefore
shrank from the idea of behaving in a manner that might appear churlish.
Moreover, it appeared to me that by rendering the trifling service
demanded of me, I should find myself in a position to very greatly
ameliorate in many ways the condition of the unhappy blacks down in the
dark, noisome hold. The end of it all was, therefore, that at the
expiration of the half-hour I had determined--perhaps weakly and
foolishly--to accede to Mendouca's request. I accordingly went to him
and said--
"Senor Mendouca, I have considered your request, and have decided to
accede to it upon certain conditions."
"Name them," answered Mendouca.
"They are these," said I. "First, that my services shall be strictly
confined to the keeping of a watch and the checking of your astronomical
observations. Secondly, that you undertake to perpetrate no act of
piracy while I am on board. And, thirdly, that you will allow me to
leave your ship upon the first occasion that we happen to encounter a
sail of a nationality friendly to Great Britain."
"Is that _all_?" demanded Mendouca. "By my faith, but you appear to
attach a somewhat high value to your services, senor midshipman! I
spared your life; yet that does not appear to be a sufficient reason why
you should afford me the small amount of help I require without hedging
your consent about with ridiculous and impossible restrictions! I am
surprised that, while you were about it, you did not also stipulate that
I should abandon the slave-trade while the ship is honoured by your
presence! I am obliged to you, Senor Dugdale, for your condescension in
giving your distinguished consideration at all to my request, but your
terms are too high; I can do better without your help than with it, if
it is to be bought at the price of such restraint as you demand."
And he turned his back upon me and walked over to the other side of the
deck.
Presently he turned and re-crossed the deck to my side, and remarked, in
English--
"Look here, Dugdale, don't be a fool! In coupling your consent to help
me with those restrictions, you doubtless suspected me of an intention
to involve you in some of those acts that you deem unlawful, and then to
renew my proposal that you should join me. Well, if you did you were
not so very far from the truth; I confess that I _do_ wish you to join
me. I have somehow taken a fancy to you, despite those old-fashioned
and absurd notions of yours about conscience, and duty, and the like.
Why, if you would only put them away from you it would be the making of
you, and you would be just the sort of fellow that I want; you are pluck
all through, and, once free from the trammels of the thing that you call
conscience, you would stick at nothing, and with you as my right hand I
should feel myself free to undertake deeds that I have only dared to
_dream_ of thus far, while, with our views brought into accord, we
should be as brothers to each other. I am ambitious, Dugdale, and I
tell you that if you will join me we _can_ and _will_ revive the glories
of the old buccaneering days and make ourselves feared and reverenced
all over the globe; we will be sea-kings, you and I. What need is there
for hesitation in the matter? Nay"--and he held up his hand as he saw
that I was about to speak--"do not inflict upon me those musty
platitudes about _conscience_ and _duty_ that I have heard so often in
the old days, and that have been made the excuse for so many acts of
gross tyranny and injustice that my gorge rises in loathing whenever I
hear them mentioned. What _is_ conscience? The inward monitor that
points out your duty to God and restrains--or tries to restrain--you
from doing wrong, you will perhaps say. Well, let us accept that as an
answer. I will then ask you another question. Do you really believe in
the existence of the Being you call God? No, I am sure you do not; you
cannot, my dear fellow, and remain consistent. For what is our
conception of God? or, rather, what is the picture of Him that our
ghostly advisers and teachers have drawn of Him? Are we not assured
that He is the personification and quintessence of Justice, and Love,
and Mercy? Very well. Then, if such a Being really exists, would the
tyranny, the injustice, the cruelty, and the suffering that have
afflicted poor humanity, from Adam down to ourselves, have been
permitted? Certainly not! Therefore I unhesitatingly say that He
cannot exist, and that the belief in Him is a mere idle, foolish
superstition, unworthy of entertainment by intelligent, reasonable, and
reasoning beings. And if there is no God, whence do we derive our
conception of duty? I tell you, Dugdale, there is no such thing as duty
save to one's self; the duty of protecting, and providing for, and
avenging one's self, as I am doing, and as you may do if you choose to
join me."
"Have you finished?" I asked, as he paused and looked eagerly into my
face. "Very well, then; I will answer in a few words, if facts were as
you so confidently state them to be, I might possibly be induced to cast
in my lot with yours; but, fortunately for humanity, they are not so,
and I must therefore most emphatically decline."
"Then I presume," said he, with a sneer, "you still believe in the
existence of God, and His power to work His will here on earth?"
"Certainly," I answered, without hesitation.
"Do you believe that He is more potent than I am!"
"I really must decline to answer so absurd a question," said I, and
turned away to leave him.
"Stop!" he thundered, his eyes suddenly blazing with demoniac fury.
"Answer me, yes or no, _if you are not afraid_! If your faith in Him is
as perfect as you would have me believe, answer me!"
I hesitated for a moment--I confess it with shame--for I felt convinced
that in the man's present mood a reply in the affirmative would
assuredly provoke him to some dreadful act in proof of the contrary; the
hesitation was but momentary, however, and, that moment past, I
replied--
"Yes; I believe Him to be omnipotent, both on earth and in heaven."
It was as I had expected--my reply had provoked him to murder; for as
the words left my lips he, for the second time, drew his pistol from his
belt, cocked it, and deliberately pressed the muzzle of the barrel to my
temple, exclaiming, as he did so--
"Very well. Then let us see whether He has the power to save you from
my bullet!"
And, glaring like a madman straight into my eyes, he held it there while
one might perhaps have slowly counted ten, and then pulled the trigger.
There was a sharp click and a little shower of sparks as the flint-lock
fell, and--that was all.
"Missed fire, by all the furies!" he exclaimed, dashing the weapon
violently to the deck, _where it instantly exploded_. "Well, you have
proved your faith, at all events, and have escaped with your life by the
mere accident of my pistol having missed fire, and there is an end of it
for the present. Here, take my hand; you are a plucky young dog and no
mistake, but you did wrong to provoke me; take my advice and don't do it
again, lest worse befall you."
"No," said I, "I will _not_ take your hand. You saved--or rather,
spared--my life once, it is true, but you have threatened it twice, and
it is no thanks to you that I am alive at this moment. We are now
quits, for this last act of yours has wiped out whatever obligation I
may have owed you for your former clemency. I will not take your hand;
and I warn you that I will leave your ship on the first opportunity that
presents itself."
And I turned away and left him.
Shortly afterwards Mendouca went below; and a few minutes after his
disappearance the steward came up to me and informed me that "supper"--
as the evening meal is called at sea--was ready.
"I shall not go below, steward," I said. "If Captain Mendouca will
allow you to do so, I should like you to bring me a cup of coffee and a
biscuit up here."
"Very well, senor," the man answered. "I will bring them."
He disappeared, but returned, after an interval of a minute or two, and
handed me a note scrawled on a small slip of paper. It was written in
English, and read as follows--
"You are the last fellow I should ever have suspected of so
contemptible a weakness as sulking. Come below, like a sensible lad;
I have that to say to you which I do not choose to say on deck in the
presence of the men.
"Mendouca."
"Oh!" thought I, "so he has returned to his right mind, has he? Very
well, I will go below and hear what he has to say; for it would
certainly be unpleasant to be in a ship for any length of time with the
captain of which one is not on speaking terms."
Accordingly I descended the companion, and as I entered the cabin
Mendouca rose from a sofa-locker upon which he had flung himself, and
again stretched forth his hand.
"I want you to forgive me, Dugdale," said he, with great earnestness.
"Nay, but you must; I will take no denial. I am not prone to feel
ashamed of anything that I do, but I frankly confess that I _am_ ashamed
of my behaviour to you this afternoon, and I ask your pardon for it. To
tell you the whole truth, I believe that there is a taint of madness in
my blood, for there have been occasions when I have felt myself
irresistibly impelled to actions for which I have afterwards been sorry,
and that of this afternoon was one of them."
I believed him; I really believed that, as he had said, there was a
touch of madness in his composition, and that he was not always fully
accountable for his actions. I therefore somewhat reluctantly accepted
his proffered hand and the reconciliation that went with it, and with a
suggestion that perhaps it would be as well henceforth to avoid
theological arguments, took my accustomed seat at the cabin table.
Later in the evening, while Mendouca was reading in his cabin, my friend
Pedro joined me on deck, and, with many expressions of poignant distress
at his father's behaviour to me, endeavoured to excuse it upon the plea
of irresponsibility already urged by Mendouca himself; the poor lad
assuring me that even he was not always safe from the consequences of
his father's violence. And during the half-hour's chat that ensued I
learnt enough to convince me that Mendouca was in very truth afflicted
with paroxysmal attacks of genuine, undoubted madness; and that, in my
future dealings with him, I should have to bear that exceedingly
alarming and disconcerting fact in mind.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
HOW MENDOUCA REPLENISHED HIS "CARGO."
I could see that Mendouca was pretty thoroughly ashamed of himself, for
despite his utmost efforts, there was a perceptible shrinking and
embarrassment of manner apparent in him during the progress of the meal.
Nevertheless, he exerted himself manfully to obliterate the exceedingly
disagreeable impression that he knew had been made upon me by his late
conduct; and it was evident that he was sincerely desirous of
re-establishing friendly relations between us, whether from any selfish
motive or not I cannot of course say, but I think not--I believe his
pride was hurt at his late lamentable exhibition of weakness, and he was
chiefly anxious to recover his own self-respect. Whatever his motive
may have been, his demeanour was a perfect blending of politeness and
cordiality that won upon me in spite of myself; and before the meal was
over I had determined to render him the small amount of assistance that
he had asked of me, reserving to myself the right to withdraw it at any
moment that I might deem fit. He seemed sincerely grateful for my
offer, and accepted it frankly and cordially with the reservation that I
had attached to it; and having accompanied me on deck and turned the
hands up, he informed them that I had offered to temporarily perform the
duties of chief mate, and that they were to obey my orders as implicitly
as they would those from his own lips; after which, as I had offered to
take charge until midnight, he said that he was tired and would try to
get a little sleep, and so retired below to his own cabin.
The breeze continued easterly, and very moderate, frequently dropping
almost calm, on which occasion we were almost invariably treated to
deluges of rain, with occasional thunder and lightning. Our progress to
the eastward was therefore slow, and for three whole days and nights
nothing occurred to break the monotony of the voyage. On the morning of
the fourth day, however, when I went on deck just before eight bells--it
having been my eight hours in, that night--I found the brigantine once
more before the wind, with a slashing breeze blowing after her, and she
with every rag of canvas packed upon her that could be induced to draw.
But, to my exceeding surprise, we were heading to the _westward_, and,
hull-down about ten miles distant, was another craft dead ahead of us,
also carrying a press of canvas.
I turned to Mendouca for an explanation; and in answer to my look of
inquiry he said--
"Yes, I want to overtake that brig, if I can. I am ashamed to say that
among us we let her slip past in the darkness of the early part of the
last watch, and so I missed the opportunity of speaking her. But I
believe I know her; and if my surmise as to her identity proves correct,
I think I shall have no difficulty in persuading her skipper to transfer
his cargo to me, and so save me the trouble and risk of returning to the
coast for one--a risk which was every day growing greater as we drew
nearer to the ground haunted by your lynx-eyed cruisers, to fall in with
one of which just now, with those niggers down in the hold, would mean
our inevitable condemnation, as I need scarcely tell you."
"Quite so," I assented. "But should you fail to overtake yonder craft,
you will lose a good deal of ground, will you not?"
"Oh, we shall overhaul her, if she be the brig I believe her to be, and
I have very little doubt upon that point," answered Mendouca. "She is a
smart craft, I admit, but the _Francesca_ can beat her upon any point of
sailing, and in any breeze that blows; and, that being the case, the
distance that we may have to run to leeward before getting alongside her
is a matter of indifference to me, since it will be so much of our
voyage accomplished."
"Have you gained anything on her since you bore up in chase?" I asked.
"About a couple of miles, I should think. But then the wind has been
light with us until within the last hour. If this breeze holds I expect
to be alongside her about four bells in the afternoon watch."
"By which time we shall have run close upon seventy miles to leeward," I
remarked.
"Nearer eighty," observed Mendouca. "We are going close upon thirteen
now. But, as I said before, that does not trouble me in the least,
since we shall be that much nearer Cuba."
This was serious news to me, for Cuba was about the last place that I
desired to visit, at least on board the _Francesca_, for I foresaw that
if once we got over there the difficulty of effecting my escape from the
accursed craft would be very greatly increased; indeed, I had quite
reckoned upon her being fallen in with and captured by one of our
cruisers, either while standing in for a fresh cargo of slaves, or when
coming out again with them on board, to which chance alone could I look
with any reason for the prospect of deliverance from my present
embarrassing and disagreeable situation. True, there was just a
possibility of our being picked up by one of the West Indian squadron;
but I had not much hope of that, our vessels on that station being
mostly slow, deep-draught craft, altogether unsuited for the pursuit and
capture of the swift, light-draught slavers, who, unless caught at
advantage in open water, could laugh us to scorn by the simple expedient
of taking short cuts across shoals, or seeking refuge among the shallow
lagoons that abound among the islands, and are especially plentiful and
spacious along the northern coast of Cuba. However, there was no use in
worrying over a state of things that I had no power to mend; I therefore
assumed charge of the deck, and allowed matters to take their course--
since I needs must.
The breeze continued to freshen as the sun increased his distance above
the horizon, and we went bowling along at a most exhilarating pace,
overhauling the brig ahead, slowly but surely; and when at one o'clock
the steward summoned me to the cabin to dinner, a space of barely two
miles separated the two craft. She had just hoisted Portuguese colours,
of which, however, Mendouca took no notice, somewhat to my surprise,
since he reiterated the statement that she was the craft he had believed
her to be, and that the captain of her and he were old friends. It was
my afternoon watch below; so when I rose from the dinner-table I said--
"Captain Mendouca, I have no wish to identify myself in any way with the
transaction you are about to negotiate; you must excuse me therefore if,
it being my watch below, I retire to my cabin."
"Very well, Dugdale," he answered, quite good-humouredly, "I can manage
the business perfectly well without you; if therefore _your
conscience_"--with just the faintest suggestion of a sneer--"will not
permit you to take an active part in it, you are quite welcome to stay
below until the affair is at an end, when I will call you."
I even thought that he spoke with an air of relief, as though my
withdrawal had smoothed away a difficulty. About an hour later I was
awakened from a nap by the sound of hailing in a language which I did
not understand, but which, from its decided resemblance to Spanish, I
concluded to be Portuguese. I could not hear what passed, nor did I
attempt to do so, being of opinion that the less prominently I was mixed
up with the affair, and the less I knew about it, the better. The
hailing soon ceased, and then the brigantine was hove-to, as I could
tell by the difference in her movements. I had the curiosity to rise
from my bunk and take a peep through the scuttle at the sea, but it was
bare as far as my eye could reach; so, as my state-room was to windward
as the _Francesca_ then lay, I came to the conclusion that the brig was
hove-to to leeward of us. The moment that our topsail was backed I
heard the creaking of davit blocks, and the other sounds of a boat being
lowered; and a few minutes later I heard the roll of the oars in the
rowlocks as she was pulled away from the ship. Then the hatches were
taken off fore and aft, and in about half-an-hour from the time of our
having hove-to I became aware that the first boat-load of slaves had
arrived alongside and were being driven down into the hold. The boats
now began to arrive in rapid succession, and there was a good deal of
bustle and confusion on deck, which lasted until close upon sunset, and
in the midst of it I laid down and went to sleep again, for want of
something better to do. When I awoke the dusk was thick upon the glass
of my scuttle, the steward was lighting the lamp in the main cabin, and
I could feel that we were once more under way again; concluding,
therefore, that the exchange had been completed, I rolled out of my bunk
and, slipping my feet into my shoes, left my state-room and went on
deck, where I found Mendouca in jubilant spirits, but rather
disconcerted, I thought, at my appearance.
"Hillo!" he exclaimed in English, "where the deuce did you come from,
and how long have you been on deck?"
"I came from my state-room, and have but this moment emerged from the
companion. Why do you ask?" said I.
"Because," he answered, "to tell you the truth you startled me, making
your appearance in that quiet manner. I thought you were going to stay
below until I called you?"
"It was _you_ who said that, not I," answered I. "And, to tell you the
truth, I felt tired of being below, and so--finding that you were under
way again--came on deck."
The brig was about five miles astern, and, as far as I could see in the
fast-gathering darkness, still hove-to, which struck me as being so
peculiar that I made some remark to that effect.
"Oh no; nothing strange about it at all," answered Mendouca carelessly.
"Her people are getting their supper, probably, and are too lazy to
start tack or sheet until they have finished their meal. Bless you, you
have no idea what lazy rascals the Portuguese are; their laziness is
absolutely phenomenal; they are positively too lazy to live long, and so
most of them die early. More over, I expect her skipper is still below
poring over his charts and trying to make up what he is pleased to call
his mind what spot to steer for in order to get another cargo."
"Very possibly," I assented, with a laugh. "By the way, it is curious,
but I could almost fancy her deeper in the water than she was; does it
not strike you so?"
"Deeper in the water?" he exclaimed sharply. "No, I cannot say that it
does; and even were such a thing possible, it would need an uncommonly
sharp eye to discern it in such a light as this. She may be, however,
for that rascal Jose wrung enough good Spanish dollars out of me, for
his rubbish, to sink her to her waterways. But come, here is the
steward, so I suppose supper is ready, and if so we may as well go below
and get it, for I must plead guilty to being most ravenously hungry."
Notwithstanding which statement I could not avoid noticing that he toyed
a great deal with his food and ate very little; which was not to be
wondered at under the circumstances, for I afterwards learned that while
I was below in my berth, suspecting nothing worse than the purchase and
transfer of a cargo of slaves from one ship to another, a most atrocious
and cold-blooded act of piracy had been committed, and that, too, under
the shadow and disguise of the British flag; Mendouca having coolly
hoisted British colours the moment that I left the deck, and, in the
guise of a British cruiser, compelled the Portuguese brig to heave-to
and disgorge her cargo; after which he had confined the crew below,
bound hand and foot, and had scuttled their ship, leaving them to perish
in her when she went down! But of this I had not the faintest suspicion
until the tale was told me some time afterwards by one of the
_Francesca's_ own crew.
With the setting of the sun the wind evinced a very decided tendency to
drop, growing steadily lighter all through the first watch, until when
Mendouca relieved me at midnight the ship was moving at a rate of barely
five knots, although she was carrying studding-sails on both sides; and
when I went on deck again at four o'clock next morning it was a flat
calm, and the ship was lying motionless upon the water, with her head
swung round to the south-east; the swell, too, had gone down, and there
was every appearance of the calm lasting for several hours at least.
The appearance of the sun, as he rose, also confirmed this impression,
the sky being--for a wonder in that latitude--perfectly cloudless, and
of a clear, pure, soft, crystalline blue, into which the great luminary
leapt in dazzling splendour, palpitating with breathless heat that
promised to soon become almost unendurable. It was my custom to indulge
in a saltwater bath every morning in the ship's head, one of the men
playing the hose upon me for a quarter of an hour or so, and never did
that bath seem a greater luxury to me than on this particular morning,
for the heat came with the sun, and I envied the fish their ability to
escape it by sinking deep into the cool, blue, crystalline depths;
indeed I should most probably have been tempted to imitate them as far
as possible by plunging overboard and swimming twice or thrice round the
ship, had I not happened to have noticed a large shark under her
counter, when, to test the clearness of the water, I happened to lean
over the taffrail to look at the rudder and stern-post. Even the men
dawdled over the job of washing decks that morning, using a much greater
quantity of water than usual, and placing themselves where there was a
chance to get the hose played upon their bare feet and legs. And if it
was hot on deck, what must it have been down in the crowded hold? It
was Mendouca's habit to have the gratings put on the hatchways and
secured every night--when the weather would permit of the use of them
instead of the solid hatches--in order to prevent anything in the shape
of a rising on the part of the negroes; and all night long a thin,
pungent vapour had been rising through them, telling an eloquent tale of
the frightful closeness and heat of the atmosphere down there, while at
frequent intervals could be heard the sound of a restless stirring on
the part of the living cargo, accompanied by a long-drawn, gasping sigh,
as if for breath. There was usually a good deal of carelessness and
remissness manifested by the men in the removal of the gratings in the
morning. I have frequently gone on deck at seven bells--when it was my
eight hours in--and found them still on, although it was well understood
that they were to be taken off at four bells. I was always very
particular, when it was my morning watch on deck, to have the gratings
removed prompt to time; on this particular morning, however, I did not
wait until four bells, but took it upon myself to have the hatches
thrown open as soon as there was daylight enough to enable us to see,
clearly, and I am sure that the poor wretches below were grateful for
even so small a measure of relief.
As the day advanced the heat grew intolerable, and the consequent
suffering of the blacks more intense. It is the custom on board
slavers, I believe--at least it was so on board the _Francesca_--to feed
the slaves twice a day, the food consisting of a fairly liberal quantity
of boiled rice, farina, or calavance beans--these latter being used on
account of their great fattening powers, whereby the slaves are
maintained in a tolerably good condition of body--with a pint of water
at each meal. Mendouca made it a rule to vary the diet of the slaves as
much as possible on these three articles, one or the other of which was
given every third day, he having found that the poor wretches thus
thrived better, and took their food with more enjoyment than when fed
during the entire voyage upon one kind of food only; and whenever the
weather was sufficiently moderate to permit of it, he always had
one-half of the slaves on deck for an airing during the time that the
other half were being fed below, thus allowing room for the men who
dispensed the food and water to move about, and also for the slaves to
use their hands in the process of feeding; and on the particular morning
of which I am now writing it was unspeakably moving and pathetic to
note, as I did, the feverish eagerness and longing with which the
unhappy creatures waited and watched for the arrival of the moment when
they might come on deck and breathe for a few brief minutes the pure
and--to them--cool and refreshing outer atmosphere. My heart ached with
pity for them, and I determined that I would utilise my presence on
board this accursed ship by doing everything in my power to ameliorate
as far as possible the condition of the unfortunates that were
imprisoned within her. And I made up my mind to begin on that very
morning, if, when Mendouca made his appearance, he seemed to be in a
temper amenable to persuasion.
When he came on deck, however, the conditions appeared anything but
promising, for he was in a frightfully bad humour at the calm, cursing
the weather, his own ill-luck, and everything else that he could think
of to execrate. I allowed him to give unrestrained vent to his
ill-humour for some minutes, and when at length he had calmed down
somewhat I said--
"And yet it appears to me that this calm, about which you are
complaining so bitterly, may be made excellent use of, if you will, to
benefit and increase the value of your property."
"Indeed? in what way, pray?" he demanded.
"Well," said I, "there is no sail trimming to be done in this weather,
and it would be downright cruelty to send the men aloft to work about
the rigging in this blazing heat; why not therefore spread an awning
aft, here, and set the entire watch to work, beneath its shade, to patch
up such of your canvas as needs repairing? And while they are engaged
upon that job I will see--if you approve of the plan--whether I cannot
get the negroes to take a bath in batches in a studding-sail rigged on
the fore-deck, and thus rid themselves of some of the filth that is fast
accumulating on their bodies; it will do them more good and tend more to
keep them in health than a double allowance of food for the remainder of
the voyage. And when they have done that they can be divided into two
gangs, one on deck to draw and pass water, and the other below, with all
the scrubbing-brushes and swabs that can be mustered, to give the
slave-deck a thorough cleansing. That is what I should do, were they my
property."
"Well," he said musingly, "I dare say it would do the rascals a lot of
good, and would certainly make the ship sweeter--I'll be bound that she
could be scented a mile away in her present condition. But who is to
undertake the supervision of such work? Not _I_, I tell you, frankly;
and I believe the hands would refuse, to a man, were I to attempt to set
them to such work."
"If they will rig me a studding-sail, or an old fore-course for'ard, I
will do the rest--or _try_ to do it," said I.
"Will you?" exclaimed Mendouca, in surprise. "Then I am sure you may,
and I heartily wish you joy of the job."
"Very well, then, I will set about it the first thing after breakfast,"
said I.
And I did. I got the poor wretches forward in batches of thirty,
induced them to stand in the basin-like hollow of the sail, and then set
half-a-dozen of their number pumping and drawing water, and playing upon
their fellows with the hose, or sluicing buckets of water over them, and
the exquisite enjoyment, the unspeakable luxury of that bath, as the
cool, sparkling liquid dashed upon the filth and sweat-begrimed bodies,
was a sight to see! Enjoyed it? Why they revelled in it, so that it
was with difficulty that I could get them out; the stony look of
hopeless, utter despair faded temporarily out of their eyes, and some of
them actually _laughed_! It was by no means a pleasant or a savoury job
that I had undertaken, but witnessing the keen enjoyment that I had thus
bestowed made it the most delightful that I had ever been engaged in.
It occupied me the whole morning to pass the entire cargo through the
bath and secure the thorough cleansing of their persons, and the whole
of the afternoon to get the slave-deck properly cleansed and purified;
but when the sun set that evening the ship was once more sweet and
wholesome, while the slaves had--taking one with another--been on deck
and actively exercised for about half a day instead of about twenty
minutes morning and evening. As I had said, it did them more good than
double rations for the entire voyage. Even Mendouca was fain to
acknowledge that the day, instead of being wasted, had been well spent.
We had been hoping all day that with sunset a breeze would spring up
from _somewhere_--I think nobody was very particular as to the quarter
from which it should come, so long as it came at all--but our hopes were
doomed to disappointment; the sun went down in a perfectly clear sky,
and there was no sign whatever of wind from any quarter. The same
weather conditions prevailed all through the night; and when the sun
rose next morning there was still not the slightest sign of wind, while
the glass exhibited a slight tendency to rise. Under these
circumstances I thought I would endeavour to secure a repetition of the
proceedings of the previous day, and so well pleased was Mendouca with
the improved appearance of the blacks when, as usual, half of them came
on deck at breakfast-time, that he readily gave his consent; and
accordingly the poor creatures were again treated to the luxury of the
bath, while the slave-deck received another thorough scrubbing to
cleanse it from the filth accumulated during the night. And thus the
negroes were enabled to pass a second day in pure air, to the great
improvement of their health and spirits; indeed, the ecstatic delight
with which they lingered over their bath, and the cheerfulness with
which they afterwards worked at their task of drawing water and
scrubbing, chattering almost gaily together all the time, were, to me,
most eloquent testimony as to the miseries that they had previously
endured, cooped up, tightly wedged together, _day and night_, in the
close and noisome hold.
I must not omit to mention a very curious phenomenon of which I had
often heard, but had never before beheld until this day. It is known
among sailors as the phenomenon of "the ripples." I was on the
forecastle superintending the bathing operations when it first made its
appearance, the sky being at the time clear and cloudless, with the sun
blazing in its midst like a huge ball of living flame, while the water
was so oil-smooth and glassy that it was quite impossible to distinguish
the horizon, or to determine where the sea ended and the sky began. It
was hotter than I had ever felt it before; dressed only in a thin shirt
and the thinnest of white trousers, the perspiration was gushing so
freely from every pore of my body that my light and airy garments were
saturated with it, while the atmosphere was so stagnant that it seemed
impossible to inhale a sufficiency of air for breathing purposes. Under
these trying conditions we were, of course, all anxiously watching for a
breeze; and it was with a feeling of exquisite delight that, happening
to look abroad toward the north, I saw the horizon strongly marked with
a line of delicate blue, indicating, as I believed, the approach of a
thrice-welcome breeze. In the exuberance of my delight I shouted to
Mendouca, who was reclining in a hammock aft slung from the main-boom,
and, of course, under the shelter of the awning--
"Hurrah! here comes a breeze at last, although I do not know where it
has sprung from, for there is not a cloud to be seen."
Mendouca sprang up in his hammock at this news, and looked in the
direction to which I was pointing; then sank back again, disgustedly.
"Pshaw, that is no breeze--worse luck!" he cried. "That is only `the
ripples.'"
"The ripples?" I ejaculated. "Surely not. It has every appearance of
a genuine breeze!"
Mendouca, however, was too intensely disgusted to reply. Meanwhile, the
streak of blue, stretching right athwart the horizon, was advancing
rapidly, bearing straight down upon the brigantine, and soon it became
possible to see the tiny wavelets sparkling in the dazzling sunlight,
and to detect a soft, musical, liquid-tinkling sound, such as one may
hear when the tide is rising on a flat, sandy beach on a calm summer's
day. But by this time I had made the disappointing discovery that the
blue line was merely a belt of rippling water about a quarter of a mile
wide, with a perfectly calm, glassy surface beyond it, and, as there was
no advance-guard of cat's-paws, such as may usually be seen playing on
the surface of the water as forerunners of an approaching breeze, I was
reluctantly compelled to acknowledge to myself that Mendouca was right.
And so it proved; for although the line--or rather belt--of rippling
water not only advanced right up to the ship, giving forth a most
pleasant and refreshing liquid sound as it came, and lapping musically
against the brigantine's sides for a few minutes when it reached her,
but also passed on and traversed the entire visible surface of the
ocean, finally disappearing beyond the southern horizon, the whole
phenomenon was absolutely unaccompanied by the slightest perceptible
movement of the air. This curious disturbance of the ocean's surface
was twice repeated on that same day.
The long, hot, breathless, and wearisome day at length drew to an end,
and still there was no sign of wind; the night passed; another day
dawned; and still we lay, like the craft in Coleridge's _Ancient
Mariner_, "as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean." That day
too waxed and waned without the sign of so much as a cat's-paw to revive
our drooping hopes; and although during the succeeding night we were
visited by a terrific thunderstorm, accompanied by a perfect deluge of
rain, during which a few evanescent puffs intermittently filled our
sails, and moved us perhaps a mile nearer Cuba, when day again dawned
there was a further recurrence of the same staring, cloudless sky of
dazzling blue, the same blazing sun, the same breathless atmosphere, and
the same oil-smooth sea. And as these days of calm and stagnation
succeeded each other with relentless persistency, I kept up the custom
of bathing the negroes and thoroughly cleansing the slave-deck, until at
length the poor creatures actually grew fat and merry, so that Mendouca,
despite his fast-growing impatience and irritability at the continued
calm, was obliged to admit that he had never seen a cargo of "black
ivory" in such promising condition before. This, however, was not all;
for while superintending these bathing and scrubbing operations I talked
cheerfully and pleasantly to the fellows, giving them such names as Tom,
Bob, Joe, Snowball, and so on, to which they readily answered, instead
of abusing them and ordering them about with brutal oaths and obscenity,
as was the habit of the crew; and although the poor wretches understood
not a word of what was spoken to them either by the crew or by myself,
yet they readily enough distinguished the difference of manner, and not
only so, but they seemed to possess the faculty of interpreting one's
meaning from the tones of one's voice, so that they quickly grew to
understand what I wanted them to do, and did it cheerfully and with
alacrity. In this manner, with persistent calm recurring day after day,
we passed no less than the almost incredible time of over three weeks
without moving as many miles from the spot where the wind had deserted
us, Mendouca's temper growing steadily worse every day, until at length
he became absolutely unbearable, and I spoke to him as little as
possible. And the climax was reached when one day the steward, who had
been sent down into the hold to overhaul the stores, came on deck with a
face as long as the main-bowline, and reported that there was only food
and water enough in the ship to last ten days longer.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
MENDOUCA BECOMES COMMUNICATIVE.
"Only ten days longer?" roared Mendouca, his face livid with fury and
consternation. "Nonsense, Juan! you must have made some stupid mistake;
there surely is--there _must_ be--more than that!"
"I have not made any mistake at all, senor," answered the man sulkily;
"it is just as I have said; there are only provisions and water enough
to last us, on a full allowance, ten days longer."
"Then, if that is the case, all hands must be put on short allowance--
half rations--at once!" exclaimed Mendouca, with an oath. "But, stop a
little; there _must_ be some mistake. Light your lantern again, and I
will go down below with you, and satisfy myself on the point."
Accordingly Mendouca and the steward went down into the hold together,
and gave the stores an exhaustive overhaul, with the result that the
original report of the latter was fully confirmed!
Mendouca came up from the hold, raging like a maniac, cursing the
weather, the provisions, and everything else that he could think of,
including myself, whom he denounced as a Jonah, his ill-luck having
commenced, according to his assertion, with the sparing of my life and
my reception on board the _Francesca_. As for the calm, he declared
that it should detain him no longer; and, having searched the sky and
examined the barometer in vain for any signs of a change, he gave orders
for all canvas to be furled, and for the negroes to be set to work
forthwith upon the sweeps, his intention being, as he stated, to keep
them at it in relays or gangs until the region of apparently eternal
calm had been left, and a breeze of some sort found. There were ten of
these sweeps, or long, heavy oars, working through the ports, in beckets
firmly lashed to ringbolts in the stanchions, that were evidently placed
there expressly for that particular purpose. The loom of the sweep was
long enough to admit of four men working at it, and accordingly the
boatswain, having received his orders from Mendouca, selected forty of
the strongest-looking of the negroes, and set them to this exhausting
labour, the rest of the unfortunate creatures being driven below out of
the way. The vessel, lying there inert as a log on the water, proved
very heavy to start, especially as the blacks knew not how to handle the
sweeps, having evidently never touched one before; but, once fairly
started, the craft was kept moving with comparative ease at a speed of
about three and a half knots per hour. But it was cruel work for the
unhappy blacks, who, naked as when they were born, were remorselessly
kept at it by the boatswain and his mate, both of whom paced the deck,
fore and aft, armed with a heavy "colt," which they plied unmercifully
upon the shoulders of any man whom they chose to believe was not fully
exerting himself, although the perspiration poured from the dark naked
hides like rain. "Short spells and hard work" was, however, the order
of the day, and after half-an-hour of almost superhuman exertion a
relief was called, a fresh gang was set to work, and the exhausted
toilers were hustled below to rest and recover themselves as best they
could. I remonstrated hotly with Mendouca upon the needless cruelty
practised by the boatswain and his mate, but I was roughly told that I
did not know what I was talking about; that negroes would never work
unless kept continually in wholesome dread of the lash; and that it was
absolutely necessary to get every ounce of work out of them if we were
not one and all to perish miserably of hunger and thirst. So, as I
could do no better, I got a piece of the oldest and softest canvas I
could find, and a bucket of water, with which I descended to the
slave-deck and carefully bathed the poor lacerated shoulders of those
unfortunates who had suffered most severely at the hands of the
boatswain and his mate, a little piece of attention that I saw was most
gratefully received.
We made fully twenty miles of westing that day, from the time when the
negroes were first set to work up to sunset, to Mendouca's great
gratification. Indeed, so delighted was he with his own brilliant idea,
that he did that night what I had never known him to do before, he
indulged rather too freely in the contents of the rum-bottle. And, as a
consequence, he grew garrulous and good-humouredly sarcastic over the
efforts made for the suppression of the slave-trade, which he
emphatically asserted would never be put down.
"One very serious disadvantage which you labour under," he remarked,
referring particularly to the operations of the British slave-squadron,
"is that you are altogether too confiding and credulous; you accept
every man as honest and straightforward until you have learned, to your
cost, that he is the reverse. Take the case, for example, of your
attack upon Chango Creek. You were led to undertake it upon the
representations made and the information given by Lobo, the Portuguese
trader of Banana Point, weren't you? Oh, I know all about it, I have
heard the whole story," he interrupted himself to say, in reply to my
ejaculation of surprise. "You were all very much obliged to Lobo, of
course; and your captain paid him handsomely for his information and
assistance. I suppose there was not one of you, from the captain
downward, who ever had the ghost of a suspicion that the fellow was
playing you false, and that the affair was a bold yet carefully arranged
plot to exterminate the whole of you, and destroy your ship, eh? No; of
course you hadn't; yet I give you my word that it _was_. Ay; and the
only wonder to me was that it did not succeed. I suppose it was that
you had a good deal more fight in you than any of them gave you credit
for; and that is where so many excellently arranged traps have failed;
the plotters have never made sufficient allowance for the fighting
powers of the British, as I have told them over and over again. It was
just that important oversight that caused what ought to have been a
splendid success to result in a serious disaster; the intention was
good, but, as is much too often the case, they had reckoned without
their host."
"But I do not understand," I cut in, as Mendouca paused. "What was the
plot? and how was Lobo concerned in it? It appears to me that the man
acted in perfect good faith; he gave us certain information which proved
to be substantially correct--except that he was mistaken as to the force
that we should have to encounter--and he safely piloted us to the spot
from which our boat attack was to be made; I can see nothing like a plot
or treachery in that."
"No; of course you cannot, you sweet innocent," retorted Mendouca, with
fine sarcasm, "for the simple reason, as I say, that the British are
altogether too trustful and confiding to see treachery or double-dealing
until it is thrust openly in their faces. You are altogether too simple
and unsuspicious, you navy men, to deal with the tricks and ruses of the
slave-dealing fraternity; and before your eyes are opened you either die
of fever, or are killed in some brush with us, or are invalided home."
"It may be so," I agreed; "but so general a statement as that does not
in the least help me to see what was the character of Lobo's plot, or
even that there was a plot at all."
"Well, I will tell you," said Mendouca thickly, helping himself to
another caulker of rum--he had already swallowed two tumblers of stiff
grog since the subject had been broached, in addition to what he had
previously taken--"I will tell you, because, having made up my mind that
you shall never rejoin your own people, the information is not likely to
do Lobo any harm. When you arrived at Banana Point on that particular
morning, your presence seriously threatened to entirely upset a very
important transaction which Senor Lobo had in hand, namely, the disposal
and shipment of a prime lot of nearly a thousand able-bodied,
full-grown, male blacks that he had got snugly stowed away in two big
barracoons a short distance up the creek from his factory. Had your
captain taken it into his head to land a party and make a search of the
peninsula, the barracoons would have been discovered, and friend Lobo
would have been a ruined man. So, as soon as your brig was identified
as a man-o'-war--and that was as soon as she could be distinctly made
out--another mistake that you man-o'-war's men make, friend Dugdale; you
can scarcely ever bring yourselves to disguise your ships; they declare
their character as far as it is possible to see them.--Let me see, what
was I saying? I have run clean off my course, and don't know where I
am."
"You were going to tell me what happened when the _Barracouta_ was
identified from Banana Point as a man-o'-war," said I.
"Ah, yes, exactly," answered Mendouca. "Well, as soon as it was
discovered that your brig was a British man-o'-war, every available hand
was set to work to clear everything of an incriminating character out of
the two brigs that were going to ship the slaves; so that, should you
overhaul them--as I was told you did--nothing might be found on board to
justify their seizure. This job was successfully completed only a few
minutes before you entered the creek. But that would have availed Lobo
nothing had your captain happened to have thought of landing upon the
peninsula; the next thing, therefore, was to furnish him with a totally
different subject to think about; and this Lobo found in the opportune
presence of the four craft in Chango Creek. The captains of three out
of the four vessels happened to be down at Banana when you arrived; and
Lobo--who is gifted with quite an unusual measure of persuasiveness--had
very little difficulty in convincing them that you would be absolutely
certain to discover their hiding-place sooner or later, and that
consequently it would be a good plan to inveigle you into making an
immediate attack upon them; when, by concerting proper measures of
defence, they might succeed in practically annihilating you, and so
sweeping a formidable enemy out of their path. The three skippers fell
in readily with his plan, when he had propounded it, and also undertook
to secure the cooperation of the fourth; and as the creek offered
exceptional facilities for a successful defence, it was accepted that
you were all as good as done for, especially as Lobo had undertaken to
cut the brig adrift at the right moment, so that she might be driven
ashore and rendered useless for the time being, if not altogether. This
matter arranged, the slave-captains left Banana forthwith to carry out
their plans for the defence of the creek, taking a short cut by way of
the back of the creek, and taking with them also every available man
that Lobo could spare; the idea being to allow you to advance unmolested
as far as the boom--which, they never dreamed that you would succeed in
forcing--and then destroy you by a musketry fire from the banks, when,
weakened by your unavailing attack upon the boom, you should at length
be compelled to retire. Your astounding pluck and perseverance in
forcing the boom completely upset all their plans, and converted what
would have been for them an easy and bloodless victory into a disastrous
defeat, while it saved the lives of the survivors of the attacking
party. But though it turned out disastrously for Aravares, of the
_Mercedes_, and his friends, the plot served Lobo's purpose perfectly;
the shipping of the slaves on board the two brigs which were waiting for
them proceeding immediately that you were clear of the creek, and both
vessels getting away to sea that same night. So that, you see, it is by
no means as difficult a matter to deceive and hoodwink you man-o'-war
people as you choose to suppose."
"No," answered I; "so it would seem. Yet, by your own showing, we were
not the only deceived parties; and, after all, the attack was
successful, so far as we were concerned."
"That is very true, and only confirms what I have always insisted upon;
namely, that, in making their plans, foreigners do not allow
sufficiently for British pluck and obstinacy. Now _I_ do; I never leave
anything to chance, but always lay my plans so carefully that the
destruction or capture of my enemies is an absolute certainty. But for
such careful forethought on my part, the _Sapphire's_ two boats would
never have fallen into my power."
"The _Sapphire's_ boats?" I exclaimed. "Surely you do not mean to tell
me that _you_ are responsible for the massacre of those two boats'
crews?"
"No, not the massacre of them, certainly, but their capture," answered
Mendouca, with a smile of gratified pride.
"And are the people still alive, then?" I asked.
"They were when I last heard of them," answered Mendouca. "But it is
quite possible that by this time they--or at least a part of them--have
been tortured to death by Matadi--the chief to whom I sold them--as a
sacrifice to his fetish."
"Gracious powers, how horrible!" I exclaimed. "And to think that you,
an Englishman, could consign your fellow-countrymen to such a fate as
that!"
"Why not?" demanded Mendouca fiercely; "why should I be more gentle to
my countrymen than they have been to me? Do you think that, because I
carry my fate lightly and gaily, I do not feel keenly the depth to which
I have fallen? I might have been a post-captain by this time, honoured
and distinguished for great services worthily rendered; but I am instead
a slaver and a pirate masquerading under the disguise of a Spanish name.
Do you think I am insensible of the immeasurable gulf that separates me
from what I might have been? And it is my own countrymen who have
opened that gulf--who have robbed me of the opportunity of reaching that
proud eminence that was at one time all but within my reach, and have
hurled me into the abyss of crime and infamy in which you find me. And
you are surprised, forsooth, that I should avenge myself whenever the
opportunity comes!"
I knew now from experience that it was quite useless to argue with
Mendouca when he got upon the subject of his grievances; I therefore
gave the conversation a turn by asking--
"Where, then, are these wretched people now, if indeed they are still
alive?"
"I presume," answered he, "that, if still alive, as you say, they are
where I last heard of them; namely, at Matadi's village; a place on the
south bank of the Congo, about one hundred miles, or rather more, from
its mouth. But why do you take such a profound interest in them?" he
asked. "Possibly you are contemplating the formation of an expedition
for their rescue, as soon as you have effected your escape from me?" and
he laughed satirically.
My reply and his laugh were alike cut short by the sound of heavy
footsteps on the companion-ladder outside the cabin, and the next moment
the boatswain made his appearance in the doorway with the intimation
that a craft of some sort had just been made out, at a distance of about
three miles broad on the starboard bow; and he wished to know whether
the course of the brigantine was to be altered or not.
Mendouca sprang to his feet and hurried on deck, I following him.
On our first emergence from the brilliantly-lighted cabin the night
appeared to be dark; but as our eyes accommodated themselves to the
change of conditions, it became apparent that the cloudless sky was
thickly gemmed and powdered with stars of all magnitudes, from those of
the first order down to the star-dust constituting the broad belt of the
Milky Way, all gleaming with that soft, resplendent lustre that is only
to be witnessed within the zone of the tropics. Moreover, there was a
young moon, a delicate, crescent-shaped paring, about two days old,
hanging low in the western sky, yet capable, in that pure, translucent
atmosphere, of yielding quite an appreciable amount of light. The water
was still smooth as polished glass, even the swell having gone down so
completely that its undulations were not to be detected by even the
delicate test of watching the star reflections in the polished depths,
while the brigantine was as steady as though still on the stocks where
she took form and substance. The negroes were still toiling at the
sweeps, and the watch, armed to the teeth, were clustered fore and aft,
on the alert to guard against any attempt at an outbreak among them.
The canvas was all closely furled, so that we had an uninterrupted view
of the sky from horizon to zenith, all around, toward the latter of
which the delicate, tapering, naked spars pointed as steadily as the
spires of a church. The boatswain, however, was eagerly directing
Mendouca's attention toward small, dark object, broad on our starboard
bow; and turning my gaze toward it, I made out a brig under her two
topsails, jib, and trysail, with her courses in the brails. Mendouca
had already seized the night-glass, and with its aid was subjecting her
to a prolonged and searching scrutiny, upon the completion of which he
handed the instrument to me, with the remark, in English--
"Take a good look at her, Dugdale, and tell me what you think of her?"
I took the glass, and, having brought the stranger into its field, soon
managed, by an adjustment of the focus, to get a clear, sharply-defined
image of her, as she floated motionless, a black silhouette, against the
deep, velvety, purple-black, star-spangled sky. And as I did so a
certain sense of familiarity with the delicate, diminutive, black
picture upon which I was gazing thrilled through me. Surely I knew that
low, long, shapely hull; those lofty, slightly-raking masts; those
spacious topsails? Even the very steeve of the bowsprit seemed familiar
to me, and I felt certain that the superbly cut jib and handsome trysail
could belong only to the _Barracouta_! And, if so, how was I to act?
It was plainly my duty to do anything and everything that might be in my
power to promote the capture of the daring slaver and unscrupulous
pirate, whose guest--or prisoner--I was; but had I the power to do
_anything_? With that now thoroughly alert and even suspicious
individual at my side, and the watch on deck all about me, it was
clearly evident that nothing in the shape of signalling could even be
attempted with the slightest hope or chance of success; and the only
other mode of action that remained to me appeared to be to carefully
conceal my knowledge--or, rather, very strong suspicion--as to the
identity of the brig. I had barely arrived at this conclusion when
Mendouca, with an accent of impatience, interrupted my reverie with the
exclamation--
"Well, surely you have seen all that it is possible to see by this time?
Or cannot you quite make up your mind as to her character?"
"I have an impression that I have seen her before, and it seems to me
that she bears a very striking resemblance to the Spanish brig that was
lying off Lobo's factory on the day of our first arrival in the Congo,"
said I; the happy idea suggesting itself to me, as I began to speak,
that I might safely make this statement without any breach of the truth,
all of us on board the _Barracouta_ having observed and remarked upon
the striking resemblance between the two craft.
"Um! it _may_ be so," muttered Mendouca, with a strong accent of doubt
in his voice, however. "Let me have another look at her."
I handed over the glass with alacrity, for it was about my last wish
just then to be questioned too closely as to the character of the
stranger; and Mendouca subjected her to a further long and exhaustive
scrutiny. At its termination he turned to me, and, with an accent of
unmistakable suspicion, inquired--
"It hasn't suggested itself to you, I suppose, that yonder craft may be
a British man-o'-war? You have seen nothing so like her in your own
squadron as to lead to the suspicion that she may be a dangerous enemy
whom I ought to be promptly warned to avoid?"
Now, had I not known that he had never seen the _Barracouta_, I should
have scarcely known what reply to give to this home question; as it was,
however, I answered at hazard--
"Well, at this distance yonder vessel offers to my eye very little
resemblance to the usual type of British gun-brig; she is longer, and
much lower in the water, and her masts are certainly further apart than
is the case with our brigs generally, you must see that for yourself;
and it would be unreasonable to expect me to give a more decided opinion
at this distance and in so vague a light."
"Will you swear to me that you are honestly of opinion that yon brig is
_not_ a man-o'-war?"
"Certainly not," answered I, with pretended annoyance at his
pertinacity. "She may be, or she may not be; it is quite impossible to
express a more decided opinion, under the circumstances, and I therefore
must decline to do so."
And I turned and walked away from him with an air of petulance.
Mendouca laid down the telescope, walked to the binnacle, and peered
intently for a moment at the compass.
"Keep her way two points more to the southward," he ordered the
helmsman.
This alteration in our course brought the brig about one point before
our beam, distant about two and a half miles, and if persisted in, would
soon have the effect of increasing the distance between the two craft;
and, unless we were already seen, rendered it quite possible that we
might slip past unobserved, our spars standing naked to the dark sky,
and our hull lying low upon the equally dark water. There was, however,
the hope that, even at the distance separating the two vessels, the roll
and grinding of the heavy sweeps would be heard in the perfect stillness
of air and water; and I felt confident that, if yonder brig were indeed
the _Barracouta_, and the sounds referred to extended so far as to reach
the sharp ears on board her, they would be identified, and their
significance at once understood. But even as the thought passed through
my mind it seemed to have also occurred to Mendouca; for he strode
toward the waist and exclaimed in a low, clear voice that was distinctly
audible fore and aft, but which would probably not have been audible
half a cable's length away--
"Let those niggers knock off sweeping for the present, and send them
below. And as soon as they are there and you have clapped the hatches
on--noiselessly, mind--let all hands set to work to muffle the sweeps
with mats, old canvas, pads of oakum, or anything else that you can lay
your hands upon. It is unfortunate that this was not thought of before;
but it may not yet be too late."
The negroes, grateful for this unexpected respite from their exhausting
toil, and of course quite ignorant as to its cause, gladly tumbled
below, and the gratings were carefully secured over them. Meanwhile the
boatswain, with one hand, dived below, and in a short time the two men
re-appeared with a load of miscellaneous stuff and some balls of
spun-yarn; and all hands went diligently to work under Mendouca's
personal supervision, to muffle the sweeps, which was so effectually
done that when, half-an-hour later, they were again manned, they worked
with scarcely a sound beyond the rather heavy splash of their blades in
the water. Meanwhile, during the progress of the muffling process--in
which I had not offered to participate--I kept a keen watch upon the
distant brig, taking an occasional squint at her through the night-glass
when I thought it possible to do so without attracting Mendouca's
attention. I do not quite know what I expected to see, for of course I
knew perfectly well that every eye in the brig might be steadfastly
watching us, without our being able to detect any sign of such scrutiny;
and I was moreover fully aware that should we have been discovered, and
our character suspected, no visible indication of such discovery or
suspicion would be permitted to reveal itself to our eyes; and the same
studied concealment would equally apply to the preparations for any
investigation that they might be moved to undertake. Still, I thought
it just barely possible that by maintaining a strict watch I might
chance to detect some sign of alertness on board the brig, if she were
indeed the _Barracouta_, as I strongly suspected. Nor was I
disappointed, for I did at length detect such an indication, not on
board the brig herself, but at some considerable distance from her, and
immediately under the slender crescent of the setting moon, where, while
sweeping the surface of the water, moved by some vague instinct, I
caught two faint momentary flashes of dim orange radiance that to me had
very much the appearance of reflected moonlight glancing off the wet
blades of oars. And if this were so it meant that we had been seen, our
character very shrewdly suspected--most probably from the steady plying
of the sweeps for no more apparently urgent reason than that we were
becalmed--and that a surprise attack was about to be attempted from the
very quarter where, under the circumstances, it was least likely to be
looked for, namely, straight ahead. Of course what I had seen might
merely have been a ray of moonlight glancing off the wet body of a
porpoise, a whale, or some other sea creature risen to the surface to
breathe; but it had so much the appearance of the momentary flash of
oars that I was loath to believe it anything else. Assuming it to be
what I hoped, my cue was now of course to distract attention as much as
possible from that part of the ocean that lay immediately ahead of us;
and this could not be better done than by concentrating it upon the
brig, which now lay practically abeam of us, a short three miles away.
I therefore--no longer surreptitiously but ostentatiously--again brought
the night-glass to bear upon her, and allowed myself to be found thus
when Mendouca came aft, after having personally superintended the
muffling of the sweeps and the putting of them in motion again.
"Well," he said, as he rejoined me, "have you not yet been able to
satisfy yourself as to the character of that brig?"
"No," said I; "but, whatever she is, they all seem to be asleep on board
her. If she is a slaver, her skipper has more care and consideration
for his property than you have, for he at least allows his slaves to
rest at night."
"That is quite patent to us all," answered Mendouca drily. "But then,
you know, he may not be running short of food and water, as we are.
Or--he may not be a slaver."
"Of course," I assented, with the best accent of indifference that I
could assume. "But, slaver or no slaver, I have not been able to detect
a sign of life on board that brig for the last half-hour, or indeed from
the moment when I first began to watch her. I can make out the faint
light of her binnacle lamps, and that is all. But the fact of their
being allowed to continue shining would seem to argue, to my mind at
least, that, be they what they may, they have no reason for attempting
to conceal their presence from us. If you feel differently toward them
I think you would do well to extinguish your binnacle lights for awhile;
the helmsman can steer equally well by a star, of which there are plenty
to choose from."
"Yes, of course; you are right," he assented hastily; "there can be no
harm in doing that."
And going to the binnacle, he glanced into it, saw that the ship was
heading on the course he had last set for her, directed the helmsman to
choose a star to steer by, and then himself carefully withdrew the lamps
and extinguished them.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
THE AFFAIR OF THE `FRANCESCA' AND THE `BARRACOUTA'S' BOATS.
I continued to industriously scrutinise the brig through the
night-glass, and, by so doing, contrived to keep Mendouca's attention
also pretty closely centred upon her; but I could see that he was fully
on the alert. He appeared to instinctively scent danger in the air, for
he frequently assumed an anxious, listening attitude, with a growing
irritability that manifested itself in repeated execration of the slaves
for the quite unavoidable splashing sounds that they made in working the
sweeps. He was also intently watching the thin crescent of the setting
moon that was by this time hanging on the very verge of the western
horizon; and I suspected that he was awaiting her disappearance to put
in practice some stratagem--such as, perhaps, a further alteration of
the ship's course--as an additional safeguard. But, whatever may have
been his intentions, they were all altered by an unlucky discovery made
by one of the men on the forecastle, who, at the very moment when the
moon was in the act of sinking behind the horizon, caught sight for a
moment of a large boat full of men strongly outlined against the golden
crescent, and immediately reported the fact, coming aft that he might do
so without raising his voice.
"A boat!" exclaimed Mendouca anxiously, when the man had told what he
had seen. "Are you _quite_ sure?"
"As sure as I am that I am now standing here speaking to you, senor,"
answered the man, in a tone of conviction. "Jose saw it also. We were
both watching the disappearing moon, and when she was about half-way
below the horizon we suddenly saw a large boat, pulling, I should say,
at least twelve oars, glide swiftly across her face, as though steering
to the southward on a line that would cross our course."
"Phew!" ejaculated Mendouca; "that looks serious. For it undoubtedly
means that the brig's people are by no means as fast asleep as you have
imagined them to be, Dugdale. How far off did you judge the boat to be
when you saw her?" he demanded, turning again to the seaman.
"A matter of a mile and a half, or perhaps a trifle more," was the
answer.
"Very well, then, that will do," answered Mendouca. "`Forewarned is
forearmed,' as the English say. As you go forward pass the word along
for the sweeps to be laid in and stowed away, and for the negroes to be
sent below, and the hatch gratings put on and secured. And, do you
hear, everything must be done as noiselessly as possible."
"Bueno, senor," answered the man, as he turned away to do Mendouca's
bidding; and in a few minutes the sweeps were laid in and stowed away,
and the brigantine's head gently turned more to the southward, in order
that she might drift in that direction as long as she retained her way.
Then, the slaves having been driven below and secured, the decks were
rapidly but noiselessly cleared for action, the guns were cast loose and
loaded, a liberal supply of grape and canister was passed on deck, arms
were served out to the men, and the boarding nettings were triced up all
round the ship. The whole of the work was executed so rapidly and
silently as to clearly demonstrate that the crew was a thoroughly
seasoned one, inured to fighting, and by no means averse to it when the
chances were in their favour, as they certainly were in the present
instance; and I was filled with chagrin and disgust at the thought of
how simple an accident had sufficed to mar and defeat what might
otherwise have proved a perfect surprise to Mendouca and his crew.
Still, although I could not conceal from myself the fact that this
apparently trivial accident had placed the attacking party at a woeful
disadvantage, by warning their antagonists of the intended attack, and
thus putting them on the alert, I had seen enough of British pluck to
hope that even yet, despite all, it might still prove successful; and I
awaited the event with no small anxiety, quite determined that if the
slightest chance offered of affording any aid to the assailants, I would
avail myself of it, let the consequences to myself be what they would.
But Mendouca soon proved that he was not the man to overlook any such
peril as this; for presently, when by personal inspection he had
satisfied himself that everything was in readiness, he came up to me and
said, with just the suspicion of a sneer in the tones of his voice--
"Now, Dugdale, I will not pay you so poor a compliment as to suppose you
capable of treacherously making use of your present position on board my
ship, to raise your hand against the man who gave you your life, at the
moment when his whole attention will be needed to protect himself
against outside enemies. Still, your conscience appears to be a very
curious and inscrutable thing, and there is no knowing what it may
prompt you to do under the influence of excitement and misguided
enthusiasm. In order therefore that you may be placed beyond the danger
of temptation to do something that you would probably afterwards have
cause to bitterly regret, I will ask you to go below to your cabin,
where, for your own safety's sake, I will take the liberty of locking
you in, with a companion whose duty it will be to see that you remain
there and do not commit yourself by any rash act."
"Oh, certainly!" I answered, rather bitterly. "Needs must when the
devil drives; so lead on, most courteous senor."
"Look here, Dugdale," said he, apparently rather hurt by my tone, "you
must not feel yourself aggrieved at my action in this matter. What I
propose to do is for your own good and safety, quite as much as by way
of a safeguard of my own. My men are fairly amenable to discipline in
their calmer moments, as you have doubtless discovered by this time; but
I should be sorry to answer for them in the excitement of a
fiercely-contested fight, such as this is likely to be; and since you
have persistently refused to join us out and out, I honestly think it
will be safer for you to be below out of sight until we have driven
those meddlesome boats off."
"Very well," said I; "it must of course be as you please. Only, for
mercy's sake, spare me the humiliation of mounting a guard over me!"
He looked me intently in the eyes for a moment, and then said--
"All right, I will; you shall be locked up by yourself. Only, for your
own sake, be careful to behave exactly as you would in the presence of a
guard; for I promise you that, if I have the slightest reason to suspect
any treachery on your part, you will be sorry that I ever spared your
life. Now, come along, for there is no time to spare."
I accordingly followed him below and entered my cabin, closing the door
behind me, and I immediately heard him turn the key and withdraw it from
the lock, after which he went on deck again; and for a time the most
perfect stillness and silence reigned throughout the ship.
The silence was not of long duration, however; for I had scarcely been
in my cabin ten minutes when I heard a low murmur of voices overhead,
and the next instant Mendouca's voice pealed outs loud and clear, in
English--
"Ho, the boats ahoy! Who are you, and what do you want?"
There was some reply that I could not catch, the voice evidently coming
from a point at some distance from the ship, on the opposite side to
that occupied by my cabin. It was probably an inquiry as to name and
destination of the brigantine, for Mendouca shouted--
"The _Nubian Queen_, of and for Liverpool, from the Brass river, with
oil and ivory. Keep off, or I will fire into you! I warn you that we
are armed, and are quite prepared to defend ourselves."
A long hail from the boats now followed, to which Mendouca replied--
"If you do it will be at your peril; I have been cleared out once before
just about this same spot, and I do not intend to be robbed a second
time. Keep off, I tell you! If you advance another stroke I will
fire!"
And instantly afterwards I heard him say to his own men in Spanish--
"Now, lads, you have them all in a cluster, let them have it. Fire!"
The sharp, ringing report of the brigantine's nine-pounders immediately
pealed out, and even through the shock and concussion of the discharge I
thought that, as I stood with my ear at the open port, I caught the
sound of a crash. Whether this was so or not, there could be no mistake
about the screams and groans of agony that came floating over the water
in response to our broadside, mingled with cries of command, the roll
and dash of oars in the water, a rattling volley of musketry, and the
deeper notes of two boat-guns fired almost together, the shot of one at
least of which I heard and felt strike the hull of the brigantine.
All was now in an instant noise and confusion on deck; the silence that
had held the tongues of the crew was now no longer necessary, and the
jabber, the oaths, the shouting, the loud, defiant laughs, the rumbling
of the gun-carriages, the creaking of tackle-blocks, the thud of rammers
and sponges, the calls for cartridges, all combined to create a hubbub
that would not have shamed the builders of Babel; and through all and
above all rose Mendouca's voice in short, sharp sentences of appeal,
encouragement, and direction to his men. I could hear, by the furious
grinding of handspikes, the breathless ejaculations of the men, and the
crash of the gun-carriages as the guns were run out, that the
_Francesca's_ crew were working like demons; and almost before I could
have believed it possible, they had again loaded their guns and a second
broadside rang out over the still water, to be again followed by a still
more gruesome chorus of cries and groans, and the sudden cessation of
the sound of the oars, loud above which rose the exultant cheers of the
ruffians on deck.
"Hurrah, lads!" I heard Mendouca exclaim joyously; "load again smartly,
but with grape and canister only this time. We have checked them for a
moment, but they have not yet had enough, I fear; they will come at us
again as soon as they have picked up their shipmates, so now is your
time; load and let them have it while they are stationary!"
And while he was speaking I could also hear a voice--that, unless I was
greatly mistaken, belonged to Young, the first luff of the
_Barracouta_--exclaiming at no great distance--
"Pull starboard, back port; now back, hard, all, and let us pick up
those poor fellows before the sharks get the scent of them! Easy all;
steady, lads, steady; hold water! Now then, my hearties, lay hold of
the oars and let us get you inboard sharp; we can't afford to lie here
to be peppered. Help the wounded, those of you who are unhurt. That's
your sort, Styles, bring him along here; is he still alive, do you
think? All right, I have him! Now then, coxswain, heave with a will,
but don't hurt the poor fellow more than you can help. Gently, man,
gently; now lift handsomely, so--"
_Crash_! the relentless broadside of the _Francesca_ again pealed forth,
and again uprose that dismal wail of shrieks in testimony of its too
terribly truthful aim. Frantic cheers and shouts of exultation burst
from the lips of the slaver's crew, in the midst of which Mendouca's
voice rang out--
"Now, stand by, men! here they come; but there is only one boat-load of
them, and half their number must be killed or wounded. Stand by with
your pikes, pistols, and cutlasses, and let not one of them show his
head above the rail. Give them a volley from your pistols as they range
alongside, and then trust to cold steel for the rest. _Now_ is your
time! Fire!"
And at the word there followed a tremendous popping of pistols, mingled
with the yells of the men on deck, a British cheer that sent the blood
tingling through my veins and made me anathematise my helpless
condition, the sharp, ringing clash of steel upon steel, and a furious
trampling of bare feet upon the planks overhead.
The scuffle continued for fully three minutes, and must have been very
hot while it lasted, for all through the hubbub the cries and groans of
the freshly-wounded were continuous. I could hear the dull crunching
sound of the sharp cutlasses shearing through bone and muscle, the
shrill scream of agony, the heavy thud of bodies falling to the deck,
oaths and execrations both in Spanish and in English, shouts of mutual
encouragement, yells of deadly hatred, the ceaseless trampling of feet,
and all the indescribable medley of sounds that accompany a sharp and
stubbornly-contested hand-to-hand conflict; and in my feverish anxiety
to share in the struggle I forgot all about Mendouca's warning, and
dashed myself frantically against the stout cabin-door in an effort to
burst my way out. Before, however, I could succeed the hurly-burly
suddenly ceased, to be almost instantly followed by a yell of exultation
from the crowd overhead as the hasty rattle and splash of oars
proclaimed that the attacking party had been driven off.
"Now, men, to your guns again, quick! Load smartly and give them
another broadside before they get out of range!" shouted Mendouca.
"Sweep them off the face of the water, if you can; let not one of them
escape to tell the tale!"
A loud shout of exulting assent to this brutal exhortation pealed forth;
and I heard the rumbling of the wheels on the deck as the guns were run
in. This was more than I could endure; and again hurling myself
furiously against the cabin-door, I at length succeeded in bursting it
off its hinges. To emerge from the cabin and rush on deck was the work
of a moment, and I reached the scene of action just as the loaded guns
were being run out.
"Stop!" I shouted. "What are you about to do, men? You have utterly
mistaken your captain's orders if you suppose he meant you to fire upon
that boat! Order them to secure the guns," I continued, turning to
Mendouca; "it surely _cannot_ be that you are going to allow the
excitement of battle to betray you into the committal of a cold-blooded
murder? You have beaten off your enemies, and they are in full retreat;
let that satisfy you. Hitherto you have been _fighting_, and, as you
are aware, the present state of the law is such that you are held
justifiable in your act of self-defence; but should you fire upon that
boat now it will be _murder_, and I swear to you that if you do I will
testify against you for the deed, if I live so long. Man, have you no
regard for _yourself_? Do you suppose that the captain of yonder brig
will be content to take the beating off of his boats as a final
settlement of this night's doings? I tell you he will follow you and
hunt you to the world's end, ay, and _take_ you, sooner or later! And
what do you suppose will be your fate if you murder that retreating
boat's crew? Why, you will swing for the deed, as certainly as that you
now stand there glaring at me!"
"Have you finished?" he demanded, in a voice almost inarticulate with
fury, his hand resting meanwhile upon the butt of a pistol that was
stuck in his sash.
"Yes," said I, "I have. That is to say, I have finished if I have
succeeded in preventing the perpetration of an act of miserable
cowardice that in your cooler moments would cause you to hate and
despise yourself for the remainder of your life; not otherwise."
Slowly he removed his hand from the butt of his pistol and, with a
bitter laugh, drew a cigar from his pocket and lighted it.
"Secure the guns!" he shouted to his men. Then walking up to me and
clutching me by the shoulder, he said--
"You have triumphed again. But I warn you that some day you will go too
far, and pay for your temerity with your life. Do you know that while
you were speaking you were actually tottering upon the very brink of the
grave? Why I did not blow your brains out, I do not know. Boy, if you
have any wish to live out your days, never taunt me with cowardice
again! There, go below, and do not let me see you again until I have
recovered my self-command, or even yet I shall do you a mischief."
"No," I said, "I will _not_ go below; it is my watch on deck, and I mean
to keep it. I have no fear of your temper getting the better of you
now, so I shall remain where I am--that is, if you will trust me with
the charge of the deck. I am fresh, while you are fagged with exertion
and excitement, so it is for _you_ to go below and get some rest, not
I."
Mendouca laughed again, this time quite genially, and said--
"Very well, let it be as you say; I _will go_ below and rest. And if it
is any comfort to you to know it, I do not mind acknowledging _now_ that
I am glad you intervened to prevent me from firing on that boat. Keep
her as she is going and let the niggers man the sweeps again; you are
right about that brig, she will follow us to the world's end--if she
can, so we must put all the distance possible between ourselves and her
while this calm lasts."
And, repeating to the boatswain his orders respecting the manning of the
sweeps, this singular man nodded shortly to me and dived out of sight
down the companion-way.
In a few minutes a gang of slaves was again brought on deck and put to
the sweeps; and steering a course of about south-south-west, we were
soon once more moving through the water at a speed of about three knots.
This course was followed all through the night and up to eight o'clock
the next morning, at which hour--one of the men having been sent aloft
as far as the royal-yard to see whether any sign of the brig could be
discovered, and having returned to the deck again with an intimation
that the horizon was clear all round--the brigantine's position was
pricked off upon the chart and her head once more pointed straight for
Cuba.
We had by this time traversed a distance of fully sixty miles under the
impulsion of the sweeps alone, and everybody was anxiously watching for
some sign of a coming breeze; yet, despite the already long continuance
of the calm, the heavens were still as brass to us, clear, cloudless,
blue as the fathomless depths beneath our feet, not the merest vestige
of cloud to be seen, the mercury still persistently steady at an
abnormal height, the sea as smooth and motionless as a sheet of glass,
and not the smallest sign to justify us in hoping for any change. The
heat was something absolutely phenomenal; the deck planking was so hot
that we all had to wear shoes to protect our feet from being scorched; a
gang of negroes was kept constantly at work drawing water with which to
flood the deck; yet, despite this precaution, and despite, too, the
awnings which were now spread fore and aft, the pitch in the seams of
the planking became so soft that if I stood still for only a few seconds
I found myself stuck fast. I pitied the unfortunate blacks from the
bottom of my heart, for they were relentlessly kept toiling at those
horrible sweeps without intermission all through the day, and that, too,
upon a short allowance of water; but it was useless to interfere, for
even I had begun to understand by this time that, unless the brigantine
could be taken out of that awful region of apparently eternal calm,
every one of us, black and white together, must inevitably perish
miserably of thirst.
This terrible weather lasted all through that and the following day,
during which, with torment indescribable from thirst and the lash of the
boatswains' colts, the miserable slaves propelled the ship no less a
distance than one hundred and fifty miles. Oh, how fervently I begged
and entreated Mendouca to have mercy upon the unhappy creatures, and to
at least give orders that they must be no more flogged, even if
inexorable necessity demanded that they must be kept toiling at the
sweeps. But the wretch was as adamant, he laughed and jeered at my
sympathy with the poor creatures, and--as much, I believe, to annoy me
as for any other reason--persistently refused to give the order,
declaring that, since they would receive many a sound flogging when they
got ashore--if indeed they ever lived to reach it--it was just as well
that they should learn to endure the lash at once. At which brutal
statement I went temporarily mad, I think--at all events I did what
looked like a thoroughly mad thing; I went on deck and, walking up to
the boatswain, informed him that if he or his mate dared to strike a
negro again I would knock them both down. Mendouca, highly amused at my
heat and excitement on behalf of the negroes, had followed me on deck,
probably to see what I would next do; and upon hearing this threat he
called out, jeeringly--
"Look out, Jose, my man! Senor Dugdale has warned you, and you may be
sure that if you strike one of those niggers again he will carry out his
threat!"
The boatswain saw at once how the land lay, and that Mendouca was only
amusing himself at my expense; feeling confident therefore of his
captain's countenance and protection, I suppose, he, for answer, raised
his colt and smote the nearest negro a savage blow over the shoulders
with it.
Of course, after my possibly foolhardy threat there was but one thing to
do, and I did it forthwith, hitting out with my whole strength, catching
the boatswain fair between the eyes, and rolling him over like a
ninepin.
"Ha, ha! well hit!" exclaimed Mendouca, laughing heartily at the sight
of the boatswain as he reeled and fell under the feet of the negroes.
"I warned you, Jose, my lad; and now you see the evil results of
neglecting my warning! No, no," he hastily continued, starting to his
feet; "put up your knife, man; that will never do! I cannot afford to
spare Senor Dugdale--at least not just yet--ah! would you? Look out,
Dugdale! bravo! well hit again! Serves you right, Jose; you should
never draw your knife upon an unarmed man."
For the fellow had hastily scrambled to his feet, and, with his drawn
knife in his hand, made a rush at me, his eyes blazing with fury. And,
as the only way of defending myself at the moment, I had seized his
uplifted right hand with my left, giving it a wrench that sent the knife
spinning over the bulwarks into the sea, while with my right I again
knocked him down.
"Now, Jose," exclaimed Mendouca, "that ends the matter; do you hear? I
cannot spare Senor Dugdale, so if he is found with a knife between his
ribs I shall hold you responsible for it, and I give you my solemn
promise that I will run you up to the yard-arm and leave you there until
it will not matter to you what becomes of your miserable carcase. And I
hope that the thrashing you have received will make you use a little
more discrimination in the use of your colt. If a nigger _won't_ work,
_make_ him, by all means; but so long as they are willing to work
without thrashing, leave them alone, I say. As for you, Dugdale," he
continued, in English, "had I suspected that you really meant to carry
out your threat, I would have taken steps to prevent it. I will not
have my men interfered with in the execution of their duty. If they do
not perform their duty to my satisfaction, _I_ will take such steps as
may seem necessary for their correction, so you need not trouble
yourself further in that direction. Why, man, if I were to give you a
free hand, we should have a mutiny in less than a week. Moreover, you
have made one deadly enemy by knocking Jose down, and you may consider
yourself exceedingly fortunate if my authority proves sufficient to
protect you from his knife. Take care you make no other enemies among
the men, or I will not be answerable for your safety."
This occurred shortly before sunset, and all through the hot and
breathless night the unhappy negroes were kept toiling at the sweeps in
gangs or relays, the result being that when morning dawned the poor
wretches seemed, one and all, to be utterly worn-out. Yet still there
was no respite for them; and when I again attempted to remonstrate with
Mendouca, that individual simply pointed to the serene, cloudless sky,
with the blazing, merciless sun in the midst, and savagely asked whether
I wanted all hands to perish of hunger and thirst. This occurred while
we were at breakfast; and when we went on deck at the conclusion of the
meal, my enemy the boatswain drew Mendouca's attention to the upper
spars and sails of a ship just rising slowly above the horizon on our
starboard bow. I never saw so sudden a change in a man's demeanour as
took place in that of Mendouca when his eye rested upon that distant
object; hitherto he had been growing every day more savage and morose,
but now his good-humour suddenly returned to him, and, ordering the
brigantine's head to be pointed straight for the stranger, he shouted,
in the gladness of his heart--
"Hurrah, lads, there is relief for us at last! We shall find what we
want--food and water--on board yon stranger, and also a way of
persuading them to let us have it, or I am greatly mistaken!"
The significance of the last part of this remark was, to my mind,
unmistakable. If he could not get by fair means what he wanted,
Mendouca had already made up his mind to take it by force; in other
words, to commit an act of piracy.
I was sorry for the crew of the unlucky craft, for I felt convinced that
Mendouca would have but scant consideration for their future wants while
satisfying his own; yet the sight of the stranger filled me with almost
delirious delight, for here was a chance--if I could but contrive to
avail myself of it--to make my escape from my present surroundings.
True, if I were permitted, or could contrive, to throw in my lot with
those people yonder, I should probably have to face terrible suffering
in the shape of hunger and thirst, but, after all, that would be less
unendurable than my present situation; and I determined that, whatever
might happen, I would certainly make an attempt to join them, always
provided, of course, that the craft was honest, and not of a similar
character to the _Francesca_.
As we neared the stranger she proved to be a handsome, full-rigged ship
of about a thousand tons measurement, or thereabouts, and I thought that
she had somewhat of the look of one of the new British clipper Indiamen
that were just at this time beginning to supersede the old-fashioned,
slow, lumbering tubs that had been considered the correct kind of thing
by John Company; if she were, she would probably have a crew strong
enough not only to successfully resist the demands of Mendouca, but also
to protect me, should I be able by any pretext to get on board her. The
difficulty, of course, would be to do this; but if, as I rather
expected, Mendouca should elect to lay the _Francesca_, alongside the
ship and endeavour to carry the latter by a _coup de main_, I would
board with the rest, taking my chance of being run through or shot down
in the attempt, and immediately place myself under the protection of the
stranger's crew. It was of course easy enough to arrange this scheme in
my own mind, but even a very slight deviation on Mendouca's part from
the programme which I expected him to adopt might suffice to nullify it;
nevertheless, it appeared probable that my surmise as to Mendouca's
intentions would prove correct, for if he did not mean to lay the
stranger aboard and carry her with a rush, I could scarcely understand
the boldness with which he was approaching her in broad daylight, with
his strongly-manned sweeps proclaiming to the most unsuspicious eye the
dubious character of the brigantine.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
THE CAPTURE AND PLUNDERING OF THE `BANGALORE,' INDIAMAN.
It was just six bells in the afternoon watch when we at length arrived
within a distance of about half-a-mile of the stranger, which had by
this time been unmistakably made out to be a British passenger ship of
one of the crack lines; first by her having hoisted British colours some
time before, and secondly by the crowd of well-dressed ladies and
gentlemen that, with the aid of the telescope, we could see congregated
on her poop. Mendouca also had hoisted the British ensign, and, to my
supreme indignation, a man-o'-war's pennant, his object in doing so
being, of course, to disarm suspicion as long as possible, and thus
leave the ship only a very brief length of time to prepare for defence
when our intention to attack her became no longer possible of
concealment. I remonstrated with him upon this desecration of the
colours that he had once fought and hoped to win fame under; but of
course my remonstrance was quite useless, the rascal only laughed at me.
Having arrived within the above-named distance of the ship, Mendouca
ordered the sweeps to be laid in, and the slaves to be driven below and
secured. This done, to my disgust his next order was to hoist out the
boats--of which the _Francesca_, unlike most slavers, carried three; and
as soon as they were in the water, the entire crew were armed, and the
whole of them, except my especial enemy, Jose, and an Englishman--a very
quiet, inoffensive fellow, whom I was surprised to find among a crew of
such ruffians--were ordered down over the side. This completely upset
my plans, for, of course, the only way now of reaching the stranger was
by means of the boats, or by swimming; and while I would gladly have
gone in one of the boats, and taken my chance of reaching the stranger's
deck alive, I was not quite prepared to throw away my life in an
unsuccessful effort to swim to the ship--for that is what it would have
meant, the water being alive with sharks that had followed us, day after
day, with alarming persistency, ever since we had taken to the use of
the sweeps. Besides which, I should of course not have been permitted
to make the attempt. Of course, had I chosen to tell a deliberate
falsehood, and declared my readiness to throw in my lot with Mendouca
and his crew, it is possible that I might have been given the command of
one of the boats; but not even for the purpose of effecting my escape
did I consider that such a course would be justifiable. So I had
perforce to remain where I was, under the jealously watchful eye of
Jose, if not of the Englishman also; Mendouca asking me ironically, as
he went down the side last of all, whether I had no letters for home or
elsewhere that I would like to forward by means of the stranger.
Now that the sweeps were laid in, and their everlasting grind and roll
and splash were no longer heard, the silence of nature seemed so
profound as to be almost awe-inspiring; there was literally not a sound
to be heard save such as were caused by human agency, such as the
movements and voices of the men in the boats, or the gasping sighs of
the unhappy negroes cooped up below in the stifling hold. Occasionally
a slight murmur of sound reached us from the distant ship; the call of
an officer uttering a command, the "Yo-heave-oh" of the crew, or a gang
of them, engaged upon some heavy job, and an occasional rumbling that to
my ear sounded very much like that of carronade slides in process of
being trained to bear upon some object. But if the ship was armed there
was no sign of it, her sides being decorated with _painted_ ports only,
so far as I could see. When, however, the boats had traversed about
half the distance between the brigantine and the ship, a man appeared in
the mizen rigging of the latter, and, hailing them in English in a voice
which rendered his words perfectly audible to us on board the
_Francesca_, demanded to know what they wanted. I saw Mendouca rise in
the stern-sheets of his boat, and heard him make some reply, but I could
not distinguish what it was, perhaps because he had intentionally made
it unintelligible. Whatever the words may have been, they were clearly
unsatisfactory; for the figure in the rigging waved its hand warningly,
and shouted--
"Keep off, whoever you are; you are far too strong a party to be allowed
to come alongside us; and I warn you that if you attempt to do so we
shall fire upon you! If you have any legitimate business with us let
_one_ boat, with a crew of not more than five, come alongside, and
welcome; but we will not have the whole of you if we can help it, and I
think we can!"
The boats had, up to this time, been paddling quietly and composedly
along, the men evidently husbanding their strength for a final effort;
but now, in response to a shout from Mendouca, they bent to their work,
and sent the boats foaming along in a style for which I certainly should
never have given them credit; they could scarcely have done better had
they been the British man-o'-war's men that they had pretended to be;
the oars bent, the water was churned into foam, and a miniature surge
gathered under each boat's bow as the little craft was suddenly urged to
racing speed. Then the figure in the ship's mizen rigging waved an arm,
and stepped quietly down on to the poop, which by this time was occupied
only by a band of men--evidently passengers--who, under the leadership
of a military-looking man, were handling their muskets and making ready
to open fire. At the signal given by the individual who had just
stepped out of the ship's rigging--and who was no doubt her captain--
eight hitherto closed ports in the stranger's bulwarks were suddenly
thrown open, as many dark, threatening, iron muzzles appeared, and, at a
second command, the whole eight blazed forth, and their contents,
consisting of round-shot with a charge of grape on top of each, went
hurtling through the air in the direction of the boats. The aim was
excellent, the shot flashing up the water all round the boats; but, so
far as I could see, not a man among either of their crews was touched.
I heard Mendouca cheer his men on, urging them to stretch out, and get
so close to the ship, that by the time that the guns were again loaded,
it would be impossible to depress the muzzles sufficiently to hit the
boats; and the men responded with the nearest approach to a cheer that,
I suppose, a Spaniard can give, pulling manfully the while. The ship's
crew were, however, too quick for them, and managed to give them another
broadside just before the boats got within the critical limit where it
would have been impossible to touch them; and this time the discharge
was very much more effective, a round-shot striking Mendouca's own boat
square on the stem just at the water-line, destroying her bows and
tearing several feet of her keel away, while the accompanying charge of
grape bowled over three of her men and shattered Mendouca's left arm at
the elbow. The crews of the other two boats suffered nearly as badly,
one of them losing three men, while the other lost one man killed and
five more or less severely wounded, besides having to stop and pick up
Mendouca and his crew, his boat sinking almost immediately.
I thought that this severe punishment would have sufficed the Spaniards,
and that they would have abandoned the attack, and so, I imagine,
thought the skipper of the ship, for while they were in this perilous
predicament, he magnanimously withheld his fire, giving them an
opportunity to retire without further loss. And so they would, in all
probability, had Mendouca been a born Spaniard. But, renegade as he
was, the British blood in his veins still told, and, despite the anguish
of his terrible wound, he no sooner found himself in the boat that
picked him up than his voice again rang out almost as loudly and clearly
as before, still urging his men to press forward, and reminding them
that they were fighting for their lives, or--what was the same thing--
food and water. It was probably this reminder that turned the scale
among the waverers, for at the mention of the word "water" they again
seized their oars, and with a yell gave way for the ship. Evidently
exasperated at this quite unexpected exhibition of determination on the
part of the pirates, the little band on the poop now opened a smart and
very galling fire with their muskets upon the boats, and I saw three or
four pairs of arms tossed skyward as the discharge rattled forth. But
before the weapons of this little party of volunteers could be reloaded
the boats were alongside the ship, the pirates dropped their oars, and
made a simultaneous dash for the fore and main channels, and there
instantly ensued a desperate _melee_ in which the popping of pistols was
for the first half-minute or so a very prominent feature. I fully
expected to see Mendouca and his crew driven back into their boats with
a very heavy loss; but, to my astonishment and sorrow, I soon saw that
they were more than holding their own, and in less than three minutes
they had actually forced their way inboard, and the right was
transferred to the ship's decks. It was evident that the British crew
were now making a most determined and desperate resistance, for the
fight was protracted to fully a quarter of an hour, the clink and clash
of steel, the shouts of the combatants, and the cries of the wounded
being distinctly audible to us on the deck of the _Francesca_. Then the
hubbub suddenly lulled, and I heard cries for quarter, cries which, to
my bitter grief, I knew to be the sure indication of defeat on the part
of the British crew. Then utter silence fell upon the unfortunate ship
for a few minutes, to be broken by the muffled sound of women's shrieks,
men's voices uplifted in fierce, impotent anger and denunciation, two or
three pistol-shots that sounded as though they had been fired in the
ship's cabin, and then silence again; an ominous, dreadful silence that
to my foreboding mind might mean the perpetration of horrors to which
those already enacted on the blood-stained decks were as nothing.
This silence prevailed for fully an hour, during which no sign of life
was visible on board the ship; then arose the sound of hilarious shouts
and drunken laughter; there was a sudden stir and commotion about the
decks; a crowd of men gathered on the poop, many of them with their
hands bound behind them--as I could see with the aid of a telescope--
while others had their heads swathed in blood-stained bandages; a long
plank was rigged out over the taffrail; and then Mendouca appeared to be
making some sort of a speech. If such was the case the speech was a
very brief one; and when it terminated a short pause ensued, and I saw
that a few of the prisoners--perhaps three or four, as nearly as I could
make out--were being released from their bonds. Then occurred another
short pause, at the expiration of which a man was led forward,
blindfolded, and guided to the inner extremity of the plank, along which
I could see that they were urging him to walk. He advanced a few paces,
paused, as though he had been addressed, and I distinctly saw him shake
his head. As though this movement of the head were a prearranged
signal, the inner end of the plank suddenly tilted up, and the
unfortunate man, with a staggering movement as though to save himself
fell with a resounding splash into the sea, where for a few seconds he
seemed to struggle desperately. Not for long, however; the sharks that
had been haunting us for so many days heard the splash, and after a few
restless movements, as though unwilling to leave us, darted off toward
the ship. I saw the horrid triangular fins cleaving the surface of the
glassy water, each leaving its own delicate wedge-shaped wake spreading
astern as it went, until the small ripples of the different wakes met
and crossed each other; then, as the distance between them and their
prey lessened, there was a sudden increase of speed which soon became a
rush, the black fins merged toward each other, the water swirled round
the drowning man, there was a single ear-piercing shriek of agony, and
the poor wretch had disappeared.
This dreadful spectacle appeared to have had its desired effect, for I
saw that several more of the prisoners were now being released from
their bonds, the released men, one and all, slinking down off the poop
and away forward toward the forecastle. There were others, however--
fifteen in all, for I counted them--whose courage was not to be shaken
even by this awful ordeal, and one after the other they boldly trod the
fatal plank, and went to meet their dreadful doom! All honour to them,
say I, for the lofty courage that enabled them to choose death rather
than an ignoble and crime-stained life.
Then there was another long pause, during which, as I afterwards
learned, the _Francesca's_ crew were rummaging the ship--a
homeward-bound Indiaman, named the _Bangalore_--and loading her decks
with booty of every imaginable description, preparatory to its transfer
to the brigantine. Mendouca, I must mention, had already compelled the
_Bangalore's_ surgeon to dress his wound for him; and now, having given
his orders to one of the men whom he considered the most reliable and
trustworthy of his crew, he returned to the _Francesca_, and, with the
aid of his son Pedro, was got into his bunk, where I could hear him from
time to time grinding his teeth in agony, although, such was the spirit
of the man, not a groan would he permit to escape him.
The sun had set, and the velvet dusk of the tropics was closing down
upon the scene, when at length the _Bangalore's_ boats were hoisted out,
and the work of transhipping the booty began. Mendouca must have felt
himself a second Kidd, for the ship was almost as rich a prize as one of
the old Acapulco galleons; there were bales of rich silks and shawls,
spices, caskets of gems, ingots of gold, exquisite embroidered muslins,
and I know not what beside--goods of a value sufficient, it seemed to
me, to make every rascal on the books of the _Francesca_ rich for the
remainder of his life, although they were of course unable to take more
than a comparatively small quantity of the _Bangalore's_ entire cargo.
Nevertheless, they contrived to find room for a goodly proportion of the
most costly and valuable contents of the vessel's hold, the transfer of
which, and of as much food and water as they deemed necessary to their
requirements, occupied the crew until midnight; for in Mendouca's
absence, as may be supposed, they did not trouble to exert themselves
overmuch. Moreover, a large proportion of them were in such a state of
intoxication they scarcely knew what they were doing--my especial
_bete-noir_ the boatswain among the number, he having seized an early
opportunity to board the ship after Mendouca had been safely bestowed in
his own cabin. I did not know this until told so by Simpson, the
English man whom I have already mentioned as having been left on board
the _Francesca_ that afternoon with the boatswain and myself, who added
to his information--
"Better keep your weather-eye liftin', Mr Dugdale, sir; that Jose's
full of spite as an egg's full of meat; he have never forgiven you for
knockin' him down, and have swore over and over again to put his knife
into you. And now that he's full of drink, and the skipper's on his
beam-ends, he's just as likely as not to try it."
"Yes, I suppose he is. Thank you for the warning, Simpson," said I.
The man put his finger to his forehead in acknowledgment of my thanks,
but continued to linger near me; and presently it dawned upon me that he
had something further to say. So I turned to him and inquired--
"Is there anything particular that you wish to say to me, Simpson?"
"Well, yes, sir, there is, if I only knowed how to say it," answered the
man, in a low, cautious tone of voice and with a somewhat hesitating
manner. He paused for a second or two, as though in consideration, and
then, looking me full in the face, said--
"I hopes you'll excuse me askin' of you the question, Mr Dugdale, but
might you be a-thinkin' of gettin' away out o' this here brigantine,
supposin' that you sees a good chance for to do so? I ain't askin' out
of any impertinence or curiosity, sir, I beg you to believe; but my
meanin' is this here, if so be as it happens that you _was_ thinkin' of
any such thing, I was wonderin' whether we mightn't be able to go
together, and be of sarvice to one another in a manner of speakin'."
"Oh," said I, "that is your idea, is it? Are you not satisfied with
your present berth then, Simpson?"
"No, sir, I'm not, to tell the truth of it," answered the man. "I know
that it's rather a risky thing to say aboard of this here wessel; but
the truth is that I _ain't_ satisfied at all, and haven't been for a
long while; not since Mr Arrowsmith--or Senor Mendouca, as he now calls
hisself--took up to the piratin' business. So long as it was just a
matter of runnin' a cargo of slaves across the Atlantic, I didn't mind
so much, for there was plenty of dollars goin', and I didn't see that
there was much harm in it, for I don't suppose the poor beggars is any
worse off on the sugar and 'baccy plantations than they are in their own
country. But when it comes to work like what's been done to-day, I
wants to be out of it; and I don't mind sayin' so to you straight out,
Mr Dugdale, because you're a naval hofficer, you are, sir, and of
course as such you're bound to be dead against such things as has
happened since you've been aboard here. Besides, I've been a-watchin'
of you, sir--askin' your pardon for the same, Mr Dugdale--and I've seen
that this ship and her doin's ain't no more to your taste than they are
to mine."
"You are right, Simpson, they are not," said I; "and since you have been
so frank with me, I will be equally so with you. You have rightly
guessed that I would gladly make my escape from this accursed
brigantine, if I could; and I had quite made up my mind that if, as I
fully expected, Captain Mendouca had run alongside that ship this
afternoon, I would board with the rest, and then join the British crew
in their defence of their own ship."
"It's perhaps just as well then for you, sir, and for me too, that
matters was arranged different," answered Simpson; "because, if the
thing had come off as you planned it, I don't suppose that your joinin'
of the other side would have made that much difference that they'd have
beat off the skipper and his lot; and if they hadn't, and you'd fallen
alive into the hands of the skipper, he'd have--well, I don't know what
he wouldn't have done to you; but I'm mortal sure that you wouldn't have
been alive now. But perhaps, sir, you've been thinkin', as I have, that
even now it mayn't be too late to do somethin'."
"Yes," said I, "I have. While you have been talking to me a multitude
of ideas have thronged through my mind, disconnected and vague,
certainly, but still capable perhaps of being worked into shape. And I
do not mind admitting to you, Simpson, that your proposal to join me in
any attempt that I may be disposed to make simplifies matters a great
deal. The most important factor in the problem before us is: How will
yonder ship be dealt with when the _Francesca's_ people have done with
her? Will she be destroyed, or will she be left, with those unfortunate
passengers--most probably with no knowledge whatever of nautical
matters--to drift about at the mercy of wind and sea, to take her chance
of being fallen in with, or to founder in the first gale of wind that
happens to come her way?"
"No, sir, no," answered Simpson. "You may take your oath that Captain
Mendouca won't run the risk of leavin' her afloat to be picked up and
took into port, where her passengers could tell what tales they liked
about him and his doin's. She'll be scuttled, sir, and left to go down
with all them passengers in her, the same as that unfortunit' Portugee
brig was that we took the slaves out of. But I've been thinkin', sir,
that, even so, two sailor-men, like you and me, might do a good deal,
with the help of the gentlemen passengers, to put together some sort of
a raft that would hold all hands of us and keep us above water until
somethin' comes along and picks us up. Of course I knows quite well
that it'll be a mighty poor look-out for the strongest of us, and a
dreadful bad time for the poor women-folk, to be obliged to take to a
raft; but I expect they'd rather do that and take their chance of bein'
picked up than go down with the ship; and if you're willin' to face the
job, _I_ am too, sir, and there's my hand on it."
I took the fellow's proffered hand and grasped it warmly.
"You are a good fellow, Simpson, and a true British seaman, whatever
your past may have been," said I, "and I accept your proposal, which I
can see is made in perfect good faith. Now, it seems to me that all
that we have to do, in the first place, is to get on board yonder ship.
The question is: How is it to be done without the knowledge of any of
the _Francesca's_ people?"
"Well, sir," said Simpson, "I don't think as there'll be any great
difficulty about that, so far as I'm concerned; and I don't think there
need be much with you neither, if you wouldn't mind changing your rig
and shiftin' into some togs of mine, so as these chaps of the
_Francesca_, won't recognise you. Then, when the next boat comes from
the ship, we'll tumble down into her and offer to give two of the others
a spell; they'll be only too glad of the chance to get a little relief
from the job of pullin' backwards and for'ards and the handlin' of a lot
of stuff, and, once aboard the ship, we can stow ourselves out of sight
until they leave her for good and all."
"Very well," said I, "that seems as good a plan as any, and we will try
it. Let me have some of your old clothes, Simpson--a flannel shirt and
a pair of canvas trousers will do--and I will shift into them at once.
And there is another thing that occurs to me. If we could manage to
secure a little further help it would be so much the better. Now, if I
am not mistaken, a good many of the crew of yonder ship joined the
_Francesca_ this afternoon as the only means of saving their lives. We
must get hold of a few of them, if we can, and, by means of a few
judicious questions, find out whether they would be willing to throw in
their lot with us and take their chance of ultimate escape, rather than
become slavers and pirates. With only half-a-dozen stout, willing
seamen a great deal might be done to better the state of affairs
generally."
"You are right, sir, it would make a lot of difference, and I'll see
what can be done," answered Simpson. "And now, sir, shall I go and get
you the togs? I s'pose that whatever we do might as well be done at
once?"
"Certainly," said I, "the sooner the better. I can see no object in
delaying our movements, now that we have determined upon a definite
plan."
"All right, sir, then here goes," answered Simpson. "I'll be back with
the duds in a jiffey."
Simpson's "jiffey" proved to be a pretty long one, for it was fully
twenty minutes before he returned with the clothes--a thin flannel shirt
that had seen its best days, and was so faded from its original colour
and so thoroughly stained with tar and grease that it was difficult to
say what that original colour had been, but was therefore so much the
better suited to the purpose of a disguise--a pair of equally faded
dungaree trousers, and a knitted worsted cap. But his delay had not
been profitless, for happening to find in the forecastle two of the crew
of the _Bangalore_, who had been compelled to join the _Francesca_, and
who, from their dejected appearance, he conjectured were not altogether
pleased or satisfied with the arrangement, he entered into conversation
with them, and soon contrived to elicit from them that his conjecture
was well founded. Thereupon, as there was no time to lose, he took the
bold course of asking them outright whether, in the event of there being
a scheme afoot on the part of others to escape from the brigantine to
the ship, they would be disposed to join in it, to which they replied
that they would gladly, and that indeed they had been discussing the
possibilities of such an attempt when he interrupted them by his descent
into the forecastle. This was enough for Simpson, who at once brought
them aft to me, and I, finding them fully in earnest in their expressed
desire to have nothing to do with the pirates, forthwith unfolded my
plans to them, carefully directing their attention to the somewhat
desperate aspect of the adventure, but at the same time pointing out to
them that every additional seaman whose help we could secure added very
materially to the chances of a successful issue. What I said seemed
only to render them the more determined to sever their brief connection
with the pirates at any cost, and they unhesitatingly declared their
readiness to join me, and to implicitly obey my orders. More than this,
they informed me that there were others of the _Bangalore_ crew who,
they were sure, would be equally ready with themselves, if permitted, to
take part in the adventure, and they consented to hunt up as many of
these men as possible at once, and to have them ready to meet me on the
forecastle to discuss the matter in a quarter of an hour.
My scheme, which, prior to my conversation with Simpson, had been of the
most vague and nebulous character, had now taken shape and wore so
promising an appearance that I felt sanguine of its ultimate success; so
without further ado I retired right aft to the wheel grating--that part
of the brigantine being now quite deserted, and wrapped in total
darkness save for the dim and diffused light that issued from the cabin
skylight--and there, unseen, shifted into the clothes that Simpson had
brought me. They were not particularly comfortable nor quite so
well-savoured as I could have wished; but it was no time for
ultra-squeamishness, and I was soon transformed into a very colourable
imitation of a fo'c's'le hand. This done, I went forward, past the open
hatchway down which the plunder from the _Bangalore_ was being struck,
noticing with bitter distress and anger the forlorn, dejected, worn-out,
and despairing attitudes of the unfortunate blacks closely huddled
together on the slave-deck, their forms faintly indicated in the yellow,
smoky light of the lanterns which the men were working by, and noticing
too, with keen satisfaction, that most of the crew had reached that
stage of intoxication wherein the victim's whole attention is required
for the conduct of his own affairs, with none to spare for those of
others. Many had gone considerably beyond this stage, and were
staggering about, pulling and hauling aimlessly at the first object that
they could lay their hands upon, and proving far more of a hindrance
than a help to their less intoxicated comrades; while there were some
who had reached the final stage of bestiality, and were lying about the
decks in a helpless condition of drunken stupor. Nothing more
favourable for our scheme than this condition of general intoxication
could possibly have happened, unless it were that Pedro was below, fully
occupied in attending to his father, and was therefore the less likely
to discover my absence from the brigantine until it should be too late
to take any steps toward the investigation of the phenomenon; I
therefore hurried to the rendezvous with a sudden feeling of elation and
joyousness and confidence in the conviction that the time of release
from my exceedingly uncongenial and disagreeable, if not absolutely
hopeless, situation had at length arrived.
Upon reaching the forecastle-head--the appointed spot of our
rendezvous--I found it tenantless; but presently a man came lounging up
to me from the group of workers about the hatchway, and, after peering
into my face, inquired--
"Got any 'baccy about you, mate? Mine's down below in my chest, and I
haven't unlashed it yet. If you've got any, just give me a chaw, will
ye, and maybe I'll do as much for you another time."
"I am sorry to say that I have not any," I answered. "I do not use it
except in the form of a cigar now and then. But I expect my mate
Simpson on deck every moment, and I have no doubt that he will be able
to accommodate you. You are one of the new hands, shipped from the
_Bangalore_, are you not? I don't seem to remember having seen your
face before."
"No, perhaps not, and it's precious little you can see now, I should
think, unless you've got cat's eyes, and can see in the dark," was the
somewhat surly response. "Yes," he continued, "I'm Joe Maxwell, late
carpenter of the _Bangalore_, and--well, yes, `shipped' is the word, I
suppose. And pray who may _you_ be, my buck, with your dandified talk--
which, to my mind, is about as like any fo'c's'le lingo that I ever
heard as chalk is like cheese? Are all hands aboard this dashin' rover
of the same kidney as yourself?"
"Scarcely that, I think, as you seem to have already had an opportunity
of judging," I answered, laughingly, as I glanced in the direction of
the hatchway. "No," I continued, determined to sound him forthwith, as
his speech and manner seemed to indicate that he was by no means
satisfied with his changed lot, "I am a naval officer, and a prisoner, I
suppose I must call myself, although, as you see, I have the liberty of
the ship. And now, having told you thus much, I should like you to tell
me candidly, Maxwell, did you join this afternoon of your own free will,
or under compulsion?"
The man looked at me searchingly for a moment, and then said--
"Well, I suppose when a man is asked a straightforward question the best
plan is to give a straightfor'ard answer. So, mister, I don't mind
tellin' you that I j'ined because I was obliged to; 'twas either that or
a walk along a short plank."
"In fact, you joined merely to save your life," I suggested.
"Ay; pretty much as you, yourself, may have done," was the answer.
"I?" I exclaimed. "Surely, my good fellow, you do not mean to say that
you imagine me--a naval officer--to have joined this crew of thieves and
murderers?"
"Blest if I know, or care," the fellow answered roughly. "Only, if
you're a naval officer, as you say, and haven't joined the `thieves and
murderers,' as you call 'em, I should like to know how you come to be
rigged like a fo'c's'le Jack?"
I saw that the man was suspicious of me--perhaps thought I was
endeavouring, for purposes of espionage, to fathom his real feelings
with regard to the service into which he had been pressed; I saw,
moreover, that my conjecture was correct, and that, despite his cautious
replies, he was by no means satisfied with the arrangement, and so
determined to be frank with him at once, tell him what I contemplated,
and invite him to join me. As carpenter of the _Bangalore_ he would be
an especially valuable acquisition to our party. I accordingly did so;
and before I had finished I had the satisfaction of seeing that his
suspicions had completely disappeared, and that he was listening to me
intently and respectfully. When I had brought my disclosure and
proposition to an end, he at once said--
"I'm with you, sir, heart and soul! _Anything_--even a raft--will be
better than this thievin' and murderin' hooker and her cut-throat crew!
Yes, sir, I'm with you, for life or death. But, please God, it shall be
life and not death for all hands of us. Let us get away aboard at once,
sir; I'm just longin' to tread the beauty's planks again; and as to
scuttlin' her--why, I'll make it my first business, when I get aboard,
to shape out a few plugs and take 'em down into the run with me--that's
the only place where they'll be able to get at her under-water
plankin'--and as soon as they've gone I'll plug up them holes so that
she'll be as tight as a bottle, and never a penny the worse for what
little they're likely to do to her. But it would please me a precious
sight better to knock out the brains of whoever dares to go down below
to do the scuttlin' business."
"No, no," said I, "that would never do; the man would be missed, a
search would be instituted, and heaven only knows what the consequences
would be. No, the scuttling must be allowed to proceed, and the pirates
must finally leave the ship with the conviction that she is slowly but
surely sinking. If all goes well this craft will be out of sight before
morning, and then, once clear of them, we shall have leisure to make our
plans and carry them out."
"Right you are, sir, and right it is," answered Maxwell. "You'll have
to be our skipper now, sir, for poor Capt'n Mason and all three of the
mates is gone--one on 'em--Mr King--killed in the scrimmage, and
t'others made to walk the plank--so you'll be the only navigator that we
can muster among the lot of us, as well as the 'riginator of this here
scheme for gettin' the better of these here Spaniards, so' you're the
fittest and properest person to take charge. All that you've got to do,
sir, is to give your orders, and I'll answer for it as they'll be
obeyed."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
I ESCAPE FROM THE BRIGANTINE.
At this moment Simpson rejoined me, bringing with him three more of the
_Bangalore's_ crew; and while I was talking to them the other two men--
those whom Simpson had previously discovered--came forward from the
hatchway, where they had been lending a hand to strike the booty down
into the hold, and informed me that they had found and spoken to eight
of their shipmates, at work at the gangway and hatchway, all of whom
were quite ready and more than willing to join me at any moment when the
signal should be given. A little further inquiry elicited the
information that our party now comprised all the survivors of the
_Bangalore's_ crew who had, so to speak, made a virtue of necessity and
shipped under Mendouca in order to save their lives; there being four
others who had shipped _willingly_, and whom it had, therefore, been
deemed inexpedient to approach with a proposal to join us, lest, in
their zeal for their new chief, they should refuse and betray us all.
Our party, therefore, was now complete, and all that remained to be done
was to carry out our plans with as little delay as possible, and with
twelve men at my back I felt tolerably confident of success; indeed,
when I first learned our full strength, the wild idea flashed through my
mind of attempting not only to save the _Bangalore_, but also to capture
the _Francesca_. A moment's reflection, however, convinced me of the
impracticability of this scheme, for although, with the assistance of
the ten male passengers who, I learned, were at that moment prisoners in
their own cabins on board the Indiaman, it might be possible to capture
the _Francesca_, in the then disorganised condition of her crew, it
would certainly involve some loss of life on our side, which we could
not spare, and we should be able to do nothing with her when we had her,
our whole available strength being hardly sufficient to handle and take
care of the ship, should it come on to blow, much less to look after a
prize as well. I therefore abandoned the idea, the more readily that I
knew my story need only be told to the proper authorities to cause the
brigantine to be hunted off the ocean, and her atrocities put an end to
at once and for all.
Our arrangements, therefore, were soon made; and this done, we sauntered
away to the hatchway, singly and by twos at a time, and began to lend a
hand in getting the plunder out of the boats and sending it below.
Presently the _Bangalore's_ long-boat came alongside, loaded down to the
gunwale with booty, and manned by half-a-dozen Spaniards who were so
drunk that they could scarcely stand. One of them, indeed, would have
lost his life but for Simpson and Maxwell; for the boat was steered
alongside stem-on, and the shock of her collision with the brigantine
completely upset the balance of the man who was standing in the bows to
fend her off, so that he fell overboard between the boat and the
brigantine's side. The fellow was partially sobered by his sudden
immersion, and finding himself overboard, began at once to sing out
lustily for help, fully aware that there were probably several sharks
still hanging about the two vessels, and momentarily expecting to feel
their teeth; whereupon Simpson and Maxwell, both of whom happened to be
at the gangway at the moment of the accident, sprang down into the boat
and succeeded in dragging the fellow safely out of the water, though not
a moment too soon, the water being all a-swirl with the rush of the
sea-monsters as the man was dragged inboard. The fright that he had
received completely sobered him, but at the same time so thoroughly
shook his nerves that he at once scrambled on board the brigantine,
declaring with many oaths that he had had enough of boating for one
night. His mates were but little better, and were glad enough to leave
the boat at my suggestion and allow me and my party to take their
places.
We quickly roused the boat's cargo out of her, and then shoved off for
the ship again, making a great fuss and splash with the oars as we did
so. When a few fathoms away from the brigantine, however, where in the
darkness our movements were not likely to attract a too curious
attention, first one oar and then another was laid in until all had been
laid in but one; and this one we shifted aft, sculling the boat with it
not to the _Bangalore's_ larboard gangway, at which the other boats were
working, but under the ship's stern and to her starboard mizen channels,
where we made her fast, and cautiously scrambled up on to the poop, one
by one.
Here we separated, the carpenter boldly making his way forward past the
noisy, jabbering, drunken crowd who were grouped about the
main-hatchway, engaged in hoisting on deck the goods that the boatswain,
down in the hold, was selecting from the ship's heterogeneous cargo,
while the rest--excepting Simpson and myself--quietly stole up the mizen
rigging, three of them concealing themselves in the top, while the rest,
continuing on up the topmast rigging, made for the main and foretops by
way of the stays; the lanterns which were being used to light the
pirates at their work about the main-hatchway so effectually dazzling
the drunken ruffians' eyes, that there was not the slightest fear of any
of the silent, sober figures stealthily moving about aloft being seen by
them; indeed so deep was the gloom created between the masts by the
towering expanses of the Indiaman's canvas that even I, far away as I
was from the dazzling light of the lanterns, was unable to follow with
my eye the dusky, indistinctly-seen figures any further than the rim of
the mizen-top. As for Simpson, it was quite possible for him to move
freely about the ship and go wherever he pleased without exciting any
suspicion, he being one of the _Francesca's_ regular crew; I therefore
instructed him to go down into the saloon and ascertain whether any of
his quondam shipmates were there, and to return to me with his
information as speedily as possible.
While he was gone I had time to look about me a little, and note such of
the most prominent characteristics of the ship as were to be seen by the
dim light of the stars. She was a noble craft, as big as the generality
of our first-class frigates, though not quite so beamy, perhaps, in
proportion to her length, not quite so high out of the water, and of
course not so heavily rigged. She carried a magnificent full poop that
reached as far forward as to within about twenty-five feet of the
main-mast, with companion, skylight, deck-fittings generally, and poop
ladders of polished teak, handsomely and elaborately carved. The
fore-part of the poop extended some six feet beyond the cabin front, and
underneath it her steering-wheel was placed, with a door on each side of
it giving access to the grand saloon. A long row of hencoops ran along
each side of the poop; and the deck was further littered with a large
number of deck-chairs that had been hurriedly bundled out of the way
behind the companion, probably when it was seen that the brigantine
undoubtedly meant to attack. The main-deck exhibited all the confusion
incidental to a sea-fight, the guns--sixteen twelve-pound carronades--
still unsecured, with their rammers and sponges flung down on the deck
beside them, shot lying in the scuppers, overturned wadding-tubs,
cutlasses, pistols, boarding-pikes, strewed all over the deck, and--
horrible sight--several dark, silent figures lying stark and still in
pools of blood, just as they had fallen in the fight. The ship's davits
were empty, both her gigs having been lowered to facilitate the transfer
of the plunder to the brigantine; her long-boat also was in the water,
as already stated, but there were two fine cutters lying bottom up over
the quarter-deck, their sterns resting on the break of the poop and
their bows-on the gallows. It was a strange sight to look abroad into
the dusky star-lit night and observe the boundless Atlantic stretching
silent and still on every hand, and then to turn one's eyes inboard and
note the noisy, drunken, ruffianly rabble grouped about the hatchway,
naked to the waist, and toiling in the dim lantern light at the tackles
by which they were hoisting the bales of costly merchandise out of the
hold.
But I had not much time to devote to moralising upon the incongruous
sight, for after an absence of some three minutes Simpson re-appeared
from the saloon with the information that the place was clear, and that,
judging from the sounds he had heard, the passengers had all locked
themselves, or been locked, into their cabins.
This being the case, I determined to go below and make a brief
investigation of the condition of the unfortunate passengers, as well as
to afford them such comfort as was to be derived from a communication to
them of my intentions. I accordingly descended the companion-way
leading down from the poop, and found myself in a small vestibule, the
arrangement of which I could not very well see, as it was unlighted,
save for the lamplight that issued from the open door of the saloon; I
caught a glimpse, however, of polished panels of rare, ornamental woods,
with gleams of gilded mouldings and polished metal handrails, and found
my feet sinking into the pile of a soft, thick carpet, which gave me a
hint as to the luxurious appointments of the ship. From this vestibule
I passed into the saloon itself by a partially open door on the port
side, and at once found myself in an exceedingly handsome and
luxuriously furnished apartment. It was long and rather narrow in its
proportions, having state-rooms on each side, as I could tell at a
glance by the doors with Venetian slatted upper panels that occurred at
regular intervals in the longitudinal bulkheads on each side of the
cabin. These bulkheads were divided into panels by fluted pilasters
with richly-carved and gilded capitals, supporting a heavily-carved
cornice picked out with gold.
The panels and pilasters were enamelled in a delicate tint of cream,
with mouldings picked out in French grey, the former being decorated
with very handsome paintings illustrative of Oriental views and scenery.
Richly-upholstered divans occupied the spaces along the bulkheads
between the several state-room doors; a long table of polished mahogany,
having sofa seats with reversible backs on each side of it, stretched
down the centre of the saloon, with another and shorter table flanking
it athwartships at the after-end; a buffet loaded with richly-cut
decanters and glass, backed up by a large gilt-framed mirror, occupied
the whole space against the fore-bulkhead between the two entrance
doors; and a very handsome piano, open, and with some music on it,
occupied a similar position at the after-end of the saloon, two doors in
the after-bulkhead proclaiming the existence of at least two more
state-rooms. The apartment was lighted during the day by a large
skylight filled in with painted glass--in which were fixed opposite each
other a barometer and a tell-tale compass--and at night by two very fine
silver-plated chandeliers each carrying six lamps, only four of which,
however, were now lighted; and the deck was covered with a rich, thick
carpet, apparently of Oriental manufacture, into which one's feet sank
with noiseless tread. The state-rooms were all in total darkness
apparently, for I could catch no gleam of light issuing from the pierced
upper panels of any of them; but the sound of an occasional sob or moan
told me that some at least of them were occupied.
I located one of the cabins from which these sounds came, and tapped
gently at the door; there was no response, but the sounds instantly
ceased. I tapped again, and said--
"Will you open the door, please? I am a friend, and have some
intelligence to communicate that may be interesting to you."
Still no response; but from the next cabin there now issued a man's
voice, inquiring--
"Do I hear some one out there proclaiming himself _a friend_?"
"Yes," answered I. "I _am_ a friend; and my present object is to
communicate to you some intelligence that I hope may prove agreeable and
comforting. I am quite alone and unarmed, and you may therefore open
your cabin-door without fear."
"Sir," replied the voice, "I know not who you are, or how you come to be
on board this most ill-starred ship. Your voice, however, has a
reassuring tone in it, and I would risk opening my door to you if I
could; but I cannot, for--like all the rest of the passengers, I
believe--I am bound and absolutely helpless, and I think that, if you
will take the trouble to try, you will find that we are all locked in.
Pray, who are you, sir? and how did you find your way on board the
_Bangalore_? Are the pirates gone yet?"
"No," said I, as I tried the door and found that it was indeed locked.
"I regret to say that they are not, and therefore I am for the present
obliged to leave you in your uncomfortable situation. But take comfort,
and believe me that it shall not be for one moment longer than I can
help; the pirates are unlikely to very much prolong their stay now, and
as soon as they are at a safe distance I will come again and release you
all--provided, of course, that my plans do not go amiss. My name is
Dugdale, and I am a naval officer--a midshipman--who has been
unfortunate enough to fall into the hands of the pirates in an
unsuccessful attack upon them more than a month ago, and this is the
first opportunity that I have had to attempt my escape. I must go again
now, as my discovery on board here by the pirates would mean utter ruin
to us all; but I will return as soon as I can with prudence.
Meanwhile," slightly raising my voice so that all might hear, "take
comfort, and hope for the best."
"Good-bye! Heaven bless and prosper you!" fervently ejaculated the
unknown, as I moved away from the door; and I thought I heard faint
murmurs of a similar import from some of the other cabins, but could not
be certain, as one of the outer doors giving direct access to the
main-deck suddenly opened, and I had to make a dash of it for the dark
vestibule in order to reach the concealment of the still darker
companion-way to avoid detection. My alarm was groundless, however; for
the newcomer proved to be Joe Maxwell, the carpenter, whom I saw enter
the saloon, after a careful reconnaissance of its interior, with several
plugs under one arm, and a maul in his hand. Seeing who it was, I
followed him, and unexpectedly ran against him as he was again coming
out.
"Who the--oh, it's you, sir! beg your pardon, I'm sure, but I thought it
was one of them sneakin' pirate chaps a-prowlin' round," he exclaimed.
"I thought I heard a sound o' some sort as I comed in from the deck, and
thinks I, `That's one o' them cowardly villains that has sneaked aft for
some purpose of his own that ain't no good, I dare swear. I'll just see
what the scoundrel's up to, and if he's after anything _very_ houtragis,
I'll maybe take the liberty of smashin' his skull with this here maul,
and droppin' him over the starn to the sharks, where many a better man
than he went this a'ternoon.' Lucky for him that it's you, sir, as the
Irishman says. I'm just a-goin' to make my way down into the run, so as
to be all handy for pluggin' up the holes again that these here
murderin' thieves intends to bore through the dear old gal's skin. I
_think_ they'll be pretty sure to come aft to do it; it'll either be
there or down in the fore-peak, where they'd have to shovel away a lot
of coal to get at her below the water-line, so I expect they'll make for
the run. Now, sir, it's a very good job as I met you just here, because
I can show you the lazarette hatch--here it is, under our feet." And he
turned back a large mat upon which we were standing, disclosing a small,
square hatch flush with the deck.
"Now, sir," he continued, "I'll be off below at once; because, from what
I saw as I comed aft, I fancy them Spanish thieves is thinkin' about
toppin' their booms, and if so, we've no time to spare. There," as he
raised the hatch and dropped through the opening, "I'm all right now,
sir; I can make my way well enough without a light, though I've got a
candle and matches in my pocket that'll give light enough to work by as
soon as them villains have cleared out. Now, sir, please put on the
hatch again, will ye, and don't forget to spread the mat over it. And
when them blackguards have gone you can send somebody to let me out."
"All right, Maxwell, never fear; I'll see to that," I answered, as the
man disappeared in the gloom. "Good luck to you. And whatever those
fellows may do, be sure that you keep silent and do not attempt to
interfere with them; let them do their work and go away, and as soon as
you hear the hatch close after them, go ahead and plug the holes as
quickly as you like, and be sure that you make a thorough job of it."
"Ay, ay, sir," came his reply, already muffled by distance and the
intervening casks and cases among which he was making his way, "you may
trust me for that."
I carefully replaced the hatch, adjusted the mat over it, and made my
way cautiously up on the poop. It was evident, from what I now saw,
that Maxwell was only just in time; for the pirates had knocked off work
and were coming up out of the hold, refreshing themselves as they
emerged by copious draughts from a tub of strong grog that stood on the
deck conveniently near the hatchway. They were all pretty far gone in a
state of intoxication, and were singing a jumble of at least a dozen
forecastle ditties in tones of maudlin sentiment, or laughing and
jeering at nothing in particular as they reeled and staggered about the
deck. Disgusting as was the sight, I was glad to see it, for I felt
that men in their condition would never notice the absence of Simpson or
myself from the brigantine, still less that of the unaccustomed faces of
those of the _Bangalore's_ crew who had joined me and were now snugly
concealed aloft. Nor were they capable of doing very much more
mischief, unless perchance they should accidentally set the ship on
fire, which was what I most greatly dreaded; if, happily, we escaped
this danger all might yet be well, for I felt convinced that, once on
board the brigantine again, and the unhappy negroes once more set to the
sweeps, nearly every man in the accursed craft's forecastle would betake
himself to his hammock and stay there until morning. There was of
course the risk that Mendouca might send for me and ask me to look after
his vessel for him through the night, knowing or guessing as he would
the condition of his crew; but I did not believe that he would, at least
not so soon after the perpetration of such fearful atrocities as he had
openly committed that afternoon.
The men having helped themselves freely from the grog-tub, until it
seemed that they could take no more, tumbled rather than scrambled down
into the boat alongside, and I was just beginning to cherish the hope
that after all they would go away forgetting to scuttle the ship, when I
saw Jose, the boatswain--who appeared to have assumed the command of the
party--seize and detain the only man except himself who still remained
on the ship's deck. He said something to this man, and then they both
staggered away forward and I lost sight of them in the deep shadows that
enshrouded the fore-part of the ship. They were gone about ten minutes;
and then they re-appeared, the boatswain armed with a large auger. As
they passed the main-hatchway, on their way aft, Jose seized one of the
still lighted lanterns that were standing on the deck, and seemed to
direct his companion to take another. This the man did, and continuing
their way aft, the pair entered the saloon from the main-deck; and
presently, peering cautiously down through the open skylight, I saw that
the two ruffians were groping about under the cabin table, no doubt
searching for the lazarette hatch. Their search was of course in vain;
and at length I overheard the boatswain assert with an oath that it was
useless to search for it any longer, they must get the steward out of
his pantry, and make him show them where it was. They then left the
saloon, and there was silence for a few minutes; then, going to the head
of the companion-ladder, I heard Jose demanding in broken English, with
a profusion of expletives, where was the opening of the lazarette. A
strange voice replied in trembling tones; and then I heard the mat flung
back and the hatch wrenched off with a clatter. A few more oaths
followed, there was a scrambling sound, and I concluded that the two
miscreants had descended to the performance of their dastardly task.
Then ensued what seemed like a very long--although it was actually a
comparatively short--period of anxious suspense, for completely
successful as we had been thus far, our absence from the brigantine
might easily be discovered at any moment; and in that case there was no
alternative for us between fighting to the death and ignominious
surrender. I was more anxious on my own behalf than on that of the
others, for their absence was scarcely likely to be noted by their
drunken comrades until the next morning, while, as for me, should
Mendouca take it into his head to require my presence, it would no
sooner be reported to him that I was not to be found than he would have
a very shrewd suspicion of what had happened; and I felt convinced that,
with my knowledge of the enormities that he had perpetrated on that
dreadful day, he would never willingly suffer me to escape from him
alive. Then there was Pedro, too. The lad had, for some inscrutable
reason, taken a violent fancy for me, and, although I have not very
frequently referred to him in the telling of this story, had attached
himself to me with almost the fidelity of a dog, sharing in my watch,
and seizing every opportunity to be in my company. Should he find
himself at liberty to seek me I should be lost, for he would not be
content until he had found me. There were just two chances in my favour
against many adverse possibilities: the first being that Mendouca's
condition would confine the lad to his side all through the night; the
second lying in the fact that I had taken the precaution to lock my
cabin-door and remove the key before leaving the brigantine, so that
should it chance that I was sought for, it might be thought that I had
locked myself into my cabin in anger at the piratical deed that had been
perpetrated. But I grew increasingly uneasy as the minutes dragged
their slow length along, expecting every moment to hear a hail from the
brigantine inquiring as to my whereabouts. It was therefore with a
feeling of keen delight that, at the expiration of about twenty-five
minutes, when my state of suspense had become almost unendurable, as I
stood listening at the head of the companion-way I heard Jose's voice
again, and the sounds of his own and his companion's emergence from the
lazarette.
"There," I heard him exclaim in Spanish, in a drunken voice and with a
jeering laugh, "that job is done, and pretty effectually, too; I don't
suppose she will float longer than three hours more, or four at the
most, and then who is to know what has become of her? It will be
supposed that she foundered in a gale; and that will be the end of the
matter. It is a pity, Miguel, that we should be obliged to destroy so
fine a ship, but she could never be of any use to us, and necessity has
no law, you know. Now--let me consider--there is one thing more to be
done before we leave; what is it? It was in my mind a moment ago! Ah,
yes, of course, that is it; we have to put this miserable poltroon of a
steward back into his pantry, lock the door upon him, and--yes, that is
all, I think. Come along, _amigo_!"
I heard the steward begging piteously not to be locked up again; for
although the fellow had probably not understood a single word of what
Jose had said, he had sense enough to know that the two ruffians before
him had scuttled the ship, and that if locked up in his pantry again he
would probably drown there, like a rat in a trap. His entreaties, however,
were of course unavailing with two men who knew not the meaning of
mercy; there was a Spanish oath or two, the sound of a scuffle, mingled
with further cries of distress from the steward, the slamming of a door,
the sharp click of a lock; and a moment later Jose and his companion
emerged upon the deck, staggered to the gangway, scrambled down the
side, and the boat was shoved off.
I waited until the boat was fairly away from the ship's side, and then,
slipping down the dark companion-way, groped about until I had found the
pantry, which I unlocked, to find the unhappy steward, bound hand and
foot, prostrate on the deck, weeping bitterly. In reply to my question
he told me where I could lay my hand upon a knife, finding which I cut
him adrift, and directed him to go forward to the forecastle to
ascertain whether any of the crew were imprisoned down there. Then,
making my way to the still open lazarette, I swung myself down into it,
and called Maxwell's name as loudly as I dared. He heard and answered
me at once.
"The rascals have left the ship," I cried, "so you may ram those plugs
home as tightly as you can, and perhaps even venture to give them a
gentle tap or two, but we must leave the final driving until the
brigantine has moved off; everything has gone right thus far, and it
will never do to spoil it all now by being impatient. Has she taken in
much water?"
"Not more than we can pump out of her in ten minutes," was the reply, as
I sighted him creeping toward me along the narrow space underneath the
beams. "They only bored five holes through her, and I've already
plugged 'em tight enough to stop the water from comin' in--though of
course they'll want a few good taps on the head to make 'em all secure.
But that job can wait until the brigantine is a mile or two further
away."
"Had you any difficulty in plugging the holes?" I asked, as honest Joe
emerged into the more open spaces about the hatchway.
"Not a bit, sir," he answered. "You see the way of it was this: As soon
as I got to understand that they was likely to scuttle the ship, the
first thing I says to myself was: `I wonder,' I says, `what size auger
them murderin' scoundrels is likely to use? Because if I only knowed
that, I could make my plugs to fit the holes.' Then the next thing I
thought was that prob'ly they wouldn't remember to bring a tool aboard
with 'em, and that they'd hunt for some'at of the sort aboard here. So
I goes to my cabin, gets out a inch and a half auger, a chisel, a hammer
and some nails, and places 'em on the tarpaulin of the fore-hatch, where
anybody going for'ard couldn't help seein' of 'em; and `There,' I says
to myself, `if those fellers haven't brought no auger aboard with 'em,
that's the tool they'll use.' So I chanced it, and made my plugs to fit
a inch and a half hole; and, as it turned out, I was right; they used my
auger what I had left for 'em, and as soon as their backs was turned I
slipped down and screwed the plugs into the holes."
"Excellent!" said I. "And now, Maxwell, the next job is to break open
the state-rooms and release the poor ladies and gentlemen who are
confined there. Do you think you can do it without making much noise?"
"Lord bless you, yes, sir," was the cheerful reply. "I'll just go
for'ard and get a bit of wire, and I'll pick the locks of them
cabin-doors in next to no time, and make no noise about it either."
"Then come along and let us get it done at once. That must be our first
job," said I.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
RE-APPEARANCE OF THE `FRANCESCA'.
While Maxwell stole forward to get his wire, I crept up on the poop
again, and carefully avoiding the skylight, so that my figure might not
be revealed by the coloured rays that streamed from it, found that the
boat with Jose and his companions, and the last of the plunder, was just
going alongside the brigantine. The first to scramble out of her was
Jose; and there was light enough about the brigantine's decks to enable
me to see that he went straight aft to the companion, which he
descended. He was absent from the deck but a very few minutes, however;
and when he re-appeared I supposed that he had been below to make his
report to Mendouca and to receive that individual's orders, for as he
passed along the deck I heard him shout to the crew--
"Now, then, look alive there with those bales, and get the deck clear as
quickly as possible, so that we can get the niggers on deck and the
sweeps at work once more. We've got all that we can take from the
Englishman, and now the sooner we are off the better, for she won't
float above two or three hours longer; and if a breeze was to spring up,
and bring a cruiser along with it, it would be bad for us if we were
found in this neighbourhood. So bundle those bales down the hatchway
anyhow, men, and clear the decks at once. We must stow the goods
properly afterwards."
This was excellent--very much better than I had expected; for a dreadful
idea had suggested itself to me, that Mendouca might take it into his
head to remain by the ship until she should show unmistakable signs of
sinking, in which case there would be nothing for us but another fight,
which, short-handed as we were, would not suit our book at all.
The men on board the _Francesca_, woke up a little at Jose's order, and
soon had the last boat unloaded and the decks clear; the slaves were
then ordered on deck, the _Bangalore's_ boats cast adrift, the sweeps
rigged out, and, with I think the most fervent emotion of gratitude and
delight that I had ever experienced, I at length had the satisfaction of
seeing the brigantine stir sluggishly against the background of the
star-spangled heavens, turn her bows slightly away from us, and finally
glide off, with a quiet, gentle, scarcely-perceptible motion, in a
westerly direction.
While I was still watching her I caught sight of Maxwell creeping along
the deck from forward, under the shelter of the bulwarks, so that the
light from the still burning lanterns that the pirates had left behind
them might not disclose his moving figure to any of the eyes on board
the _Francesca_ that might be turned upon the ship; and making my way
down the companion, I joined him in the vestibule, and we entered the
cabin together.
I led him straight to the door of the state-room with the occupant of
which I had previously held a short conversation, and directed Maxwell
to open it, at the same time knocking upon the panel and saying--
"Sir, I am happy to inform you that the pirates have at length left us,
and we are about to make an attempt to release you."
"Thank God for that!" fervently ejaculated a voice that I had not heard
before. "Be as quick as you can, pray, for I fear that my poor husband
here is dead or dying; and he should be attended to without a moment's
delay."
"That's Mrs Maynard's voice!" exclaimed the carpenter, as he worked
away with his wire; "I know it well. Somebody told me that the colonel
was hurt--stabbed, I think they said, in protectin' his daughters from
the ill-usage of some of them Spanish ruffians."
"Say you so, man?" I exclaimed. "Then never mind fiddling with that
wire any longer. Let us put our shoulders to the door and burst it
open!"
"Half a second, sir; I've got the thing now, and--there, that's all
right! Now try the door, sir!"
As the man spoke I heard the click of the lock as it went back, and,
turning the handle, the door opened, and I entered.
The cabin was a fine, roomy one, and of good height, as cabins went in
those days; it contained two standing bunks, one above the other, fitted
with brass rods and damask curtains, a sofa against the side of the
ship, a wash-stand in a recess between the bunks and the bulkhead
adjoining the saloon, a framed mirror above it, a folding mahogany table
against the transverse bulkhead, brass pins upon which to hang clothing,
a curtain to draw across the doorway, a handsome lamp with a
ground-glass globe hung in gimbals in the centre of the transverse
bulkhead, two large travelling trunks and three or four smaller cases,
broken open and the contents strewn upon the carpeted deck, and prone
among them, bound hand and foot and lashed together, were the figures of
a man and woman, both evidently elderly, although their precise ages
could hardly be guessed by the imperfect light that streamed in from the
saloon through the open door.
As I entered the apartment, noting these details in a single
comprehensive glance, the woman moaned--
"Oh, sir, for the love of God pray release us from these cruel bonds as
quickly as possible; they are bound so tightly that the circulation of
the blood is stopped, and we have been suffering the most excruciating
agony for hours."
"I will cut you adrift at once, madam," said I, unsheathing the long
knife which was attached to the belt that Simpson had lent me with the
clothes. "Had I known that you were in this cruel plight, I would have
risked everything in the endeavour to release you when I first entered
the cabin."
I cut the unfortunate couple adrift, and, having first taken the
precaution to draw the curtain of the side-light, lighted the lamp, and,
with Maxwell's assistance, raised the lady into a sitting position;
after which we lifted her husband and placed him on the bed in the lower
berth. He was a very fine, handsome man of about fifty years of age,
with that indescribable and unmistakable look of the soldier about him
that seems to set its mark upon every military man. His wife was
perhaps seven or eight years his junior, still exceedingly good-looking,
and must, at her best, have been a singularly lovely woman.
The colonel, it appeared, had, in common with the other passengers who
had any womankind on board, locked his wife and daughters into their
cabins when it was foreseen that an attack upon the ship was inevitable;
and it was after the fight was over that he was severely stabbed in
resisting an attempt on the part of one of the _Francesca's_ crew to
force open his daughters' cabin. Probably the poor man would have been
murdered outright but for the opportune appearance of Mendouca, who
sternly ordered every one of his men out of the cabin, except two, whom
he personally supervised as they executed his order to bind all the
survivors hand and foot and confine them in the cabins. Luckily for the
unfortunate passengers, the first thought of the men had been drink, and
the second, plunder; and by the time that these two appetites had been
satisfied, all thought of further violence had passed out of their
heads.
The first thing now to be done was to find the ship's surgeon--if he
were still alive; so, leaving Maxwell in the cuddy to continue his
lock-picking operations, I sallied out on deck and, first softly calling
to the men aloft that they might now venture to come down, hunted up the
steward, and inquired of him whether he knew where the surgeon was to be
found. He answered that the surgeon, purser, and three mates were all
berthed in the after-house, between the main-mast and the main-hatch,
and that probably the man I wanted would be found there, adding that, as
he believed the pirates had flung all the keys overboard, he would take
the liberty of going into poor Captain Mason's cabin, and bringing me a
bunch of spare keys that he knew were always kept there. This he did,
and, finding the key of the after-house, we entered it together, to find
the unhappy surgeon and purser bound hand and foot, and lashed together
in such a manner that neither of them could move, upon the floor of the
cabin. To release the pair was but the work of a moment; after which,
having directed the doctor to hasten to the cuddy and attend to the
colonel's injuries, I made a survey of the decks with the result that
fourteen more of the _Bangalore's_ crew were found, of whom six were
dead, and eight more or less seriously wounded; the latter were removed
to their bunks in the forecastle forthwith and attended to by Mr Grant,
the surgeon, as soon as he had dressed the wounds of Colonel Maynard and
two other passengers. I may as well say here, to save time, that,
thanks to Grant's skill and unremitting attention, all the wounded were
reported to be doing well and, with the exception of Colonel Maynard,
out of danger.
The keys of all the cabins having been found, and the doors unlocked by
the steward, Maxwell's services were no longer required in the cuddy; as
therefore the brigantine had by this time reached the tolerably safe
distance of a mile from us, I sent him down into the run again to drive
the plugs well home and make them perfectly secure, and set to work with
the steward to release the remaining passengers from their exceedingly
uncomfortable condition. This was not a long task, and when it was
completed I found that we mustered nine gentlemen, of whom three were
wounded, eleven ladies, three children--two boys and a girl--seven
maids, and an Indian ayah or nurse. One family, consisting of a lady
and her daughter, were in a dreadful state of distress, the husband and
father--a Mr Richard Temple, resident magistrate of one of the
up-country districts--having been shot dead while gallantly fighting in
defence of the ship. The rest were in fairly good spirits, now that
they found that there was a hope of ultimate escape from the perils that
had so unexpectedly beset them; for I learned that although their
personal baggage had been rifled and all money and jewellery taken, they
had been spared any further outrage than that of being bound with
unnecessary and cruel rigour and confined to their cabins.
The poor souls had been without food or drink since tiffin. I thought
therefore that it would not be amiss to set them down to a good meal,
and with that object directed the steward to find his mates and also the
cook, if possible, it appearing that none of the individuals named had
been seen either during or since the attack, which gave rise to the
suspicion that they had contrived to conceal themselves somewhere about
the ship. This proved to be the case, the cook, with his mates, and the
three under-stewards being eventually discovered in a disused pig-sty
under the topgallant-forecastle, carefully concealed beneath a lot of
lumber that they had dragged over themselves. From this secluded
retreat they were speedily routed out, and, being solemnly assured that
all danger was now past, were at length prevailed upon to resume their
duty and to prepare a long-delayed dinner--or supper, as it might be
more appropriately called--for the cuddy occupants.
When at length the meal was served, I took the liberty of occupying the
poor murdered captain's seat at the table; and while we were eating and
drinking, I managed to gain a pretty clear idea of the incidents of the
attack upon the _Bangalore_ each one having passed through some more or
less trying experience which he or she was anxious to relate to the
rest; and when the meal was over Mr Molyneux, a Calcutta merchant, rose
to his feet and, while formally thanking me on behalf of himself and his
fellow-passengers for what I had already done, expressed their perfect
concurrence in the wish of the surviving crew that I should take command
of the ship, merely suggesting the great desirability of navigating her
forthwith to the nearest civilised port. This, of course, was my own
fixed intention, and I suggested Sierra Leone as the most suitable spot
for which to make, it being as near as any other, with the advantage
that the necessary officers to navigate the ship home, and a sufficient
number of men to make up the full complement of the crew, might almost
certainly be reckoned upon being found there.
The brigantine had left us, and with her departure everybody appeared to
consider the danger as past. This, however, was an opinion which I by
no means shared; for, knowing Mendouca so well as I did, I felt that it
was by no means unlikely that, having reached an offing of some ten or
twelve miles, he might order the sweeps to be laid in until daylight, in
order that he might remain in our neighbourhood and assure himself by
the actual demonstration of his own--or Pedro's--eyesight that the
_Bangalore_ had foundered, taking with her to the bottom all evidence of
the atrocious crime of which he and his crew had been guilty. And, even
should no uncomfortable doubts on this point assail him, he _must_
learn, ere the lapse of many hours, that I and others were missing; and
then, guessing, as he would at once, at the explanation of our absence,
nothing would prevent him from returning and taking, or attempting to
take, such measures as would insure our eternal silence.
I therefore considered it a singular if not an actually providential
occurrence that when I went out on deck after dinner--or supper--the sky
should have become overcast, with scarcely a star to be seen, with every
appearance of both wind and rain ere long. It had become exceedingly
dark, so much so that no sign of the brigantine was to be discovered,
but by listening intently the roll and clatter of her sweeps were still
to be caught; and it was with very deep and fervent thankfulness that,
after listening intently for several minutes, I felt convinced that she
was still receding from us. I had given strict orders that the lanterns
should be allowed to remain burning on deck, just as the pirates had
left them, that no other lights should be kindled anywhere about the
ship except where it was possible to effectually mask their light, and
that no one should show anything of himself above the level of the
topgallant-rail upon any consideration; but now, the brigantine having
been gone from us rather more than two hours, I gave instructions that
all the lanterns on deck and all lights of every kind visible from
outside the ship might be simultaneously extinguished, so that, should
anybody happen to be watching our lights, they might come to the
conclusion that the ship had filled and we were gone to the bottom.
This done, I mustered my entire crew and, first hoisting in the
long-boat, sent them aloft to stow all the lighter sails, so that we
might not be wholly unprepared should the change of weather that now
seemed impending be ushered in with a squall. This occupied the men a
full hour and a half, at the end of which, having brought the ship into
tolerably manageable condition, I gave them permission to lie down and
snatch a nap if they could, but to hold themselves ready for any
emergency that might arise.
It was by this time long past midnight, and so pitchy dark that, all
lights having been extinguished, it was impossible to see one end of the
poop from the other. The stars had all vanished, and the silence was so
profound as to be quite oppressive, not even the sound of the pirate's
sweeps now being audible; though whether they had been laid in, or
whether the vessel had increased her distance so greatly as to have
passed beyond the range of sound, I knew not, but I strongly suspected
the former contingency. This profound silence was maintained for nearly
an hour, and then my hearing--rendered unusually acute no doubt by the
intense darkness that enveloped me--once more became conscious of a
regular, measured, rhythmical sound, the sound of sweeps again being
plied, and, without doubt, on board the _Francesca_. What did it mean?
Had Mendouca, in his feverish and painful condition, grown impatient of
delay and ordered the sweeps to be again manned, after having given
instructions for them to be laid in? Or, as my forebodings whispered to
me, had the absence of myself and others been already discovered, and
was the brigantine returning in search of us? For the first quarter of
an hour or so after the sounds had once again broken in upon the silence
this was a question very difficult to decide; but when half-an-hour had
passed the fact was indisputable that the pirates _were returning_, for
the sounds had become distinctly clearer and stronger than they had at
first been.
What was now to be done? There was but one course for us; namely, to
take every possible measure for the defence of the ship to our last
gasp, for I felt assured that, should Mendouca recover possession of
her, his fury at the trick that we had played him would be sated by
nothing short of our absolute destruction. Having quickly made up my
mind upon this point, I was in the act of groping my way along the poop,
with the object of calling the men, when I thought I felt a faint
stirring of the air, and, pausing for a moment, I moistened the back of
my hand and held it up, turning it this way and that until I felt a
distinct sensation of coolness. Yes, there was no doubt about it, I had
felt a cat's-paw, and it seemed to be coming over our starboard quarter;
while the sound of the sweeps was away broad on our port bow. I could
scarcely restrain a cheer as the hope of a breeze thus came to encourage
me at the very moment when a new and terrible danger was threatening us.
I paused for an instant and reflected; and my thoughts took somewhat
this shape: "If Mendouca is returning--and he undoubtedly is--it is
because through some unfortunate combination of circumstances my absence
has already been discovered, and he has at once jumped to the correct
conclusion that I have somehow contrived to escape from the brigantine
to the ship. And he knows me well enough to feel assured that, once
here, I shall not tamely allow the Indiaman to go down under my feet;
or, if that should prove unpreventible, that I shall at least release
the prisoners and concoct with them some plan of escape, such as taking
to the boats, or constructing a raft. And he also knows that, in either
case, should we succeed in preserving our lives until we are fallen in
with, or picked up, his atrocious act of piracy and murder will be
proclaimed, and every craft in the squadron will be specially ordered to
keep a look-out for him and effect his capture at all hazards.
Therefore he will spare no effort to find the ship and destroy her.
Now--ah, there is another little breath of wind, I felt it distinctly
that time!--should he fail to find us, what course will he pursue? Why,
he will certainly expect us to make our way northward--for Sierra Leone,
most probably, the port that we have already determined to steer for--
and he will do his best to overtake and recapture us. Therefore our
best course will obviously be to head to the _southward_, and thus
increase the distance between the two craft as rapidly as possible, so
that they may be out of sight of each other at daybreak; and then to
proceed upon our proper course under easy sail."
This seemed to me to be a very fair and sound line of reasoning, and I
determined to act upon it forthwith. I accordingly made my way forward,
routed out the men, told them there was a breeze coming, and ordered
them to brace up the yards and trim the sheets aft for a close-hauled
stretch on the port tack, at the same time cautioning them to work
silently, as I had only too much reason to fear that the pirates were
returning to search for the ship. This news, confirmed as it was by the
now perfectly audible sound of the sweeps, was enough for them, and they
went about the decks so silently, speaking in whispers, and carefully
taking each rope off its belaying-pin, and _laying_ it down on deck,
instead of flinging it down with clatter enough to wake the Seven
Sleepers, that I am certain no one in the cabins, even had they been
awake, could possibly have been aware of what was happening.
By the time that we had got our canvas trimmed the breeze had become
quite perceptible, and the ship had gathered steerage-way; we therefore
wore her round, and presently had the ineffable satisfaction of hearing
a slight but distinct tinkling and gurgle of water under the bows.
With the springing up of this most welcome little breeze the sound of
the sweeps first became by imperceptible degrees less audible and then
was lost altogether, but whether this arose from the fact that the wind
carried the sound away from us, or whether it was that they had laid in
the sweeps, and were making sail upon the brigantine, it was impossible
to tell, nor did I greatly care, provided that the breeze freshened
sufficiently to carry us out of sight before daybreak, this now being my
great anxiety. Maxwell assured me that the _Bangalore_ was a real
clipper, easily beating everything that they had fallen in with, both on
the passage out and on their homeward voyage. But no ship can sail fast
without a fair amount of wind, and so far this breeze that had come to
us was a mere breathing, just enough perhaps to waft us along at a speed
of about two knots, or two and a half, maybe, whereas what I wanted was
at least a seven-knot breeze, that would take us clean out of sight of
our starting-point before dawn. For I knew that, if the _Bangalore_ was
a clipper, so too was the _Francesca_; and if her people once caught
sight of so much as the heads of our royals from their own royal-yard,
they would chase us as long as there was the slightest hope of
overhauling us. And the knowledge of this fact made me wonder whether I
had not acted rather imprudently in stowing all the lighter sails,
instead of leaving them abroad to give us all the help of which they
were capable. I was just inwardly debating this point, and had arrived
at the conclusion that we ought to set them again, when the atmosphere
seemed suddenly to grow more dense, and in a moment down came the rain
in a regular tropical deluge, like the bursting of a waterspout, the
sails flapped to the masts, and we were becalmed again. This was
horribly vexatious, not to say disheartening; but, happily for our peace
of mind, it was a state of things that did not last long; it merely
meant a shift of wind, for presently, when the shower had ceased as
abruptly as it had begun, the breeze sprang up again, this time coming
out from the northward, and with gay and thankful hearts we squared away
before it, or rather, headed just far enough to the eastward of south to
permit everything set to draw properly. Moreover, the breeze gradually
but steadily freshened, until in about an hour from the time when the
ship first began to move we were going seven knots at the very least.
This was so far satisfactory, especially as the sky remained overcast
and the night intensely dark, rendering it utterly impossible to see
anything beyond a distance of three or four of the ship's lengths on
either hand, and I now had good hopes of running the brigantine out of
sight before daylight. That she was still engaged in the search for us,
however, soon became evident; for about three-quarters of an hour after
the springing up of the true breeze our attention was suddenly attracted
by the outburst of a brilliant glare of bluish-white light on our
port-quarter, which was nothing less than the brigantine burning
port-fires, probably in an attempt to discover our whereabouts by the
reflection of the light on our sails, or possibly in the expectation of
catching sight, by means of the light, either of our boats, or a raft,
or perhaps a hen-coop and grating or two floating about as evidence of
our having gone down. However, she was about five miles distant from us
at that time, and although the light of the port-fires rendered her
perfectly visible to us, I had little or no fear that it would betray
our whereabouts to her people. She remained dodging about and
occasionally burning port-fires for fully another hour--by which time we
had sunk her to her foreyard below the horizon, as viewed from our
deck--and then, as she discontinued her pyrotechnic display, we lost
sight of her. At daybreak I sent a man right up to the main-royal-yard,
where he remained until the light was thoroughly strong, and then came
down with the report that the horizon was clear.
This was highly satisfactory, inasmuch as it confirmed my hope that if
Mendouca was still prosecuting a search for us--as I felt sure he was,
he having of course failed to discover any evidence of the ship having
foundered--he was looking for us in a northerly direction, very probably
cracking on in the belief that we had gone that way and that there was
still a chance of overtaking us.
At eight bells in the morning watch we brought the ship to the wind on
the larboard tack, with her head about east-north-east, and I then
divided my scanty crew into two watches, with Joe Maxwell, the
carpenter, as my chief mate, and a very smart A.B., named Tom Sutcliffe,
as second. This done, the watch was set, and put to the job of
straightening-up generally and pumping out the ship, this latter job
being accomplished and the pumps sucking in just under the ten minutes
that Maxwell had allowed for it. It was clear, therefore, that our hull
was sound, and that in that respect, at all events, with the best--or
rather the worst--intentions in the world, the pirates had done us
little or no harm.
Our most serious difficulty was the want of water, Mendouca having
literally cleared the ship of every drop she possessed, save some eight
or ten gallons in the scuttle-butt, which they had either overlooked, or
perhaps had considered not worth taking. But here again it appeared as
though God in His infinite mercy had taken compassion on us; for about
noon the wind died away, and I had only just time to take my meridian
observation for the latitude when the heavens clouded over, and toward
the close of the afternoon we were visited by a terrific thunderstorm
accompanied by a perfect deluge of rain, during which, by loosely
spreading all the awnings fore and aft, we were enabled to catch a
sufficient quantity of water to carry us without stint as far at least
as Sierra Leone.
It remained calm until about midnight, when a little breeze sprang up
from the eastward which enabled us to lay our course nicely while it
fanned us along at a speed of about five knots. The next morning broke
bright and clear; and with the first of the light the look-out reported
a sail broad on our weather bow. Maxwell, fearing that it might be our
old enemy, the _Francesca_ showing up again, came down at once and
called me, stating his fears, and causing me to rush up on the poop just
as I had sprung from my cot, quite regardless of appearances, although I
could scarcely believe that Mendouca, if indeed we should be so
unfortunate as to fall in with him again, would make his appearance in
the eastern board. I must confess, however, that when I first reached
the deck and beheld the stranger, I experienced a slight qualm of
apprehension, for the craft was undoubtedly square-rigged, forward at
least, and she was steering as straight as a hair for us, with
studding-sails set on both sides, and coming down very fast. A few
minutes' work with the telescope, however, sufficed to remove our
apprehensions, so far at least as the _Francesca_ was concerned, for as
the light grew brighter we were enabled to discern that the stranger was
a brig, and as I continued working away with the glass the vessel seemed
to assume a familiar aspect, as though I had seen her before. At first
I thought that it might possibly prove to be the Spanish brig that had
been anchored just ahead of us off Banana Peninsula; but as she drew
nearer I recognised with intense delight that it was none other than the
dear old _Barracouta_ herself. "And with her appearance," thought I,
"all my troubles are ended; for doubtless Captain Stopford will not only
lend me men enough to carry the ship to Sierra Leone, but will also
escort me thither."
CHAPTER NINETEEN.
TO THE CONGO AGAIN UPON A SPECIAL MISSION.
There was very great delight manifested fore and aft when I was able to
announce that it was a British man-o'-war that was bearing down upon us;
for all hands felt, like myself, that we had only to state our recent
experiences to secure her protection at least until our arrival in safer
waters. There was one exception to this, however, in the person of
Simpson, who no sooner learned the true character of the strange sail,
than he came aft and told me his story; which, in brief, was to the
effect that he had originally belonged to our navy, but had deserted,
out of affection for Mendouca--who had shown him great kindness--when
that individual chose to shake off his allegiance and abjure his
country. And now, of course, he dreaded nothing so much as recognition
and seizure, for not only was he a deserter, but he had also been guilty
of taking an active part in more than one deed of piracy perpetrated by
his chief; he therefore implored me to let him keep below out of sight
during the presence of the man-o'-war--which clearly meant to speak us--
and also to omit all mention of or reference to him in the narrative of
my own personal adventures. This I readily promised to do; for although
I was fully conscious that, in making such a promise, I was screening an
individual who had most seriously transgressed the laws of his country,
I could not help feeling that he had also contributed in a very
important degree toward the saving of the _Bangalore_, and all on board
her; and I considered that this to a very great extent made amends for
his past misdeeds, although it was quite probable that if he were
arraigned for it, his judges might not take quite as lenient a view of
the case. There it was, however; but for him I might never have
succeeded in effecting my escape from the _Francesca_, and in that case
the _Bangalore_ and all on board her would have gone to the bottom. I
therefore felt fully justified in promising to afford him all the
protection that lay in my power.
When the brig was within a mile of us she hoisted British colours, and
fired a gun for us to heave-to, which we of course at once did,
displaying our ensign at the mizen-peak at the same time. The ladies
and gentlemen in the cuddy, learning from the stewards what was
happening, at once turned out to do honour to the occasion, so that
when, a few minutes later, the _Barracouta_, with all her studding-sails
collapsing and coming in together, rounded-to within biscuit-toss of our
weather quarter, our poop must have presented quite an animated
appearance.
As the beautiful craft swept gracefully yet with a rush up into the
wind, a figure that I recognised with delight as that of Young, our
beloved first luff, sprang on to the hammock-rail with a
speaking-trumpet in his hand. The next moment he had raised it to his
lips, and was hailing--
"Ho, the ship ahoy! What ship is that?"
"The _Bangalore_, eighty-two days out from Calcutta, bound to London;
and plundered two days ago by a pirate. I hope you are none the worse
for your boat adventure, Mr Young, in the attack upon that same pirate
last week? I have news and to spare for you, so shall I lower a boat,
or will you? If you can conveniently do so it will perhaps be better,
for I am rather short-handed," I replied.
I saw Young staring at me with all his eyes; evidently he had not as yet
recognised me in the longshore rig with which I had been fitted by the
kindness of one of the cuddy passengers.
He raised the trumpet to his lips, and began--
"Who in the name of ---?" when I saw little Freddy Pierrepoint scramble
up alongside him excitedly and utterly regardless of etiquette, and say
something eagerly. Young lowered the trumpet, stared hard at me, raised
it again, and roared through it--
"Can it be possible that you are Dugdale--the Harry Dugdale that we have
all been mourning as lost?"
"Ay, ay, Mr Young, it is myself, sure enough, alive and well, I am
thankful to say; and more glad than I can express to see the dear old
_Barracouta_ again!"
As I uttered these words the watch on deck gave a ringing cheer, which
thrilled me to the heart, for it told me better than words how sincerely
attached to me the honest fellows were, and how delighted to see me
again; and although the outburst was by no means in accordance with
strict discipline, Young--thoroughly good fellow that he was--never
checked them, but, as their voices died away, simply waved his trumpet,
and shouted, "I will come on board you!" and disappeared behind the
brig's high bulwarks.
A short pause now ensued, during which I suspected that the first luff
was conferring with Captain Stopford, the _Barracouta's_ people gazing
curiously at us meanwhile through the brig's open ports; and then the
sound of the boatswain's pipe came floating to us from the brig across
the tumbling waters, and we heard his gruff voice bellowing--"Gigs
away!"
The call was followed by a slight, muffled scurrying of feet, and the
gig's crew were seen leaping, light as figures of india-rubber, into the
elegantly-moulded craft that hung at the brig's davits, the falls were
eased away, and in a moment the boat, light as a bubble, was dancing
upon the sparkling blue tumble at the brig's lee gangway. Then the
first lieutenant and Freddy Pierrepoint appeared at the head of the
side-ladder, the latter descending first and the lieutenant instantly
following, the boat's bow was borne off from the ship's side, the oars
dropped with a clean cut into the water, the men bent their backs as
they gave way, and the dancing craft came bounding over the long surges
towards us.
Meanwhile, on board the _Bangalore_ I had caused the side-ladder to be
shipped and the ropes rove in readiness for the lieutenant's arrival;
and in a few minutes he and Freddy were standing on the Indiaman's broad
deck and greeting me with a hand grip the heartiness of which there was
no mistaking.
I told my story as briefly as possible, and at its conclusion Young
said--
"Well, we must of course let you have a few men; but it will be a few
only that we shall be able to spare, for I am sorry to say that our loss
was terribly heavy in our boat attack upon your friend Mendouca, no less
than eight killed and twenty-three wounded, only four of the latter
having as yet been able to return to duty. You must, however, lay your
case before Captain Stopford--who, by the way, hopes you will take
breakfast with him--and I dare say that when he learns how very
short-handed you are, he will strain a point to spare you a dozen men to
take the ship to Sierra Leone. And now, suppose you introduce us to
your passengers, who, judging from what I have been able to see of them
from here, appear to be a very pleasant lot of people."
Upon this hint I led the way to the poop, where by this time nearly the
entire cuddy party had assembled, and introduced my companions in due
form, and in a few minutes Young and Freddy were each surrounded by a
large party, Master Freddy's, I noticed, being mainly composed of the
younger members of the gentler sex, who petted and made much of the
juvenile warrior, to that young gentleman's entire content.
In due time I proceeded on board my old ship; and on reaching the deck
was fully repaid for all that I had gone through by the heartiness of
the greeting that I received from my shipmates, one and all of whom
seemed sincerely delighted at finding that I was still in the land of
the living. For, as fate would have it, the _Barracouta_ had fallen in
with the _Felicidad_ with the French schooner _Mouette_ in company as a
prize--the latter vessel having pursued the _Felicidad_ out of the
creek, only to find that she had caught a Tartar, which captured her
after a short but determined struggle--and from her the _Barracouta's_
people had learned all particulars of our somewhat disastrous
enterprise, including the news that I was missing, and was believed to
have been killed in the unsuccessful attack upon the schooner in the
creek.
Captain Stopford was kindness itself in his reception of me,
commiserating with me upon all the hardships of my late adventure, and
heartily congratulating me upon my escape from the _Francesca_, and the
saving of the Indiaman, the latter of which, he assured me, he would
take care to report in the proper quarter in such a way as should
further my advancement in the service. With regard to supplying me with
men, he promised to do the best that he could; and at Young's
suggestion--he being one of the rather large party that the captain had
invited to meet me at breakfast--it was arranged that I should have a
dozen; and as he fully agreed with me that there was just a chance that
the _Francesca_, might be at no great distance to the northward, still
actively pursuing her search for us, it was further arranged that I
should crowd sail for Sierra Leone, in the hope of turning the tables
upon Mendouca by overtaking him, in which case we were to do our best to
detain him until the arrival of the _Barracouta_ upon the scene, it
being the captain's plan to follow us at a distance of some fifteen or
twenty miles. As an incentive to expedition--and no doubt,
incidentally, to the promotion of the capture of the _Francesca_--the
captain informed me that if we managed to accomplish a quick run to
Sierra Leone, I should probably be in time to rejoin the _Felicidad_,
which schooner was then at that port, refitting after her engagement
with the _Mouette_. I was very grieved to learn that poor Ryan,
although not nearly so severely wounded as I had believed, was lying in
the hospital at Sierra Leone, prostrate with a bad attack of fever, from
which, when the _Barracouta_ left, it was greatly feared that he would
not recover.
As soon as breakfast was over the crew were mustered, and Young picked
out for me twelve good, stout men, who were ordered to pass their bags
down into the boat and go on board the _Bangalore_ with me; and, this
most welcome addition to our crew having been received, I made sail,
packing upon the good ship every rag that would draw, the _Barracouta_
remaining hove-to until we had placed a sufficient distance between her
and ourselves. But although we carried on day and night--the Indiaman
proving such a flyer that the _Barracouta's_ people had their hands full
to keep us in sight--nothing more was seen of the _Francesca_, and we
were at length driven to the conclusion that, failing to find us,
Mendouca had resumed his voyage at a much earlier period than we had
anticipated. We reached Sierra Leone on the afternoon of the third day
after falling in with the _Barracouta_; and there I left the Indiaman,
which, after a detention of four days, sailed for England with a full
complement, made up of the officers and men of a large barque that had
been wrecked upon the coast only a week or two before, supplemented by a
few out of the many white seamen who had been left behind in hospital
when their ships were ready to sail for home, and who, contrary to the
general rule, had recovered from, instead of succumbing to, the deadly
malaria of the coast.
As for me, I found that I had arrived most opportunely, so far as the
_Felicidad_ was concerned, for the repairs to that small hooker were
completed, as it happened, on the very day of our arrival; and Captain
Stopford very generously offered me the command of her, asserting that
my conduct with regard to the Indiaman had conclusively demonstrated my
entire fitness for the post, and that if I chose to accept it he should
have no anxiety whatever, either on the score of my courage or my
discretion. Ryan, poor fellow, was, contrary to expectation, still
alive, and hopes were now entertained that he might ultimately recover;
but he was still so weak that when I went to the hospital to see him, he
was so overcome with emotion at the sight of me--although he had been
carefully prepared for the meeting--that he burst into tears and was
seized with a fit of hysterical sobbing so violent that I had to retire
again at once without exchanging a word with him; and, to my very deep
regret, I had not another opportunity to see him. I grieve to say that
although, when I paid him that unfortunate visit, he appeared to be
making slow but sure progress toward recovery, he suffered a relapse a
few days afterwards, from which he never rallied; and his ashes now
repose, with those of many another gallant spirit, in the spot that is
known throughout the world as "The White Man's Grave."
The repairs to the _Felicidad_ being completed, her final preparations
for sea were vigorously pushed forward, and on the third day after our
arrival, having first visited the _Bangalore_ and bade farewell to her
passengers--each and every one of whom insisted that he (or she) owed
his (or her) life to me, and that henceforward I must regard myself as a
dearly cherished friend--I joined the little hooker as her commander,
and sailed the same afternoon for the Congo; my especial mission being
to test the truth, or otherwise, of Mendouca's statement respecting the
fate of the _Sapphire's_ boats' crews, and--in the event of its being
true--to attempt the rescue of any of the unfortunate people who might
perchance be still alive.
We made the high land to the northward of the river mouth about
midnight, after a rather long and uneventful passage; and, the wind
being light, and the river current strong, even at a considerable
distance from the entrance, we then reached in toward the land, and
anchored in fourteen fathoms, at about as many miles from the shore,
where we remained, rolling and tumbling about on the heavy swell, until
the sea-breeze set in, about eight o'clock the next morning. We then
hove up our mud-hook, and ran in, anchoring in Banana Creek, opposite
Lobo's factory, about six bells in the forenoon. There was only one
other vessel in the creek at the time, a Portuguese brig; and her build
and general appearance so unmistakably proclaimed her honest, that I
never gave her a second thought. Besides, I had a special mission to
accomplish--namely, the discovery and deliverance, if possible, of
between thirty and forty of my own countrymen, languishing in a bitter
captivity, and in daily, if not hourly, peril of death by torture as
cruel and protracted as the fiendish malignity of merciless savages can
possibly devise.
Now, I was as well equipped for such an expedition as I could possibly
wish, save in one particular. I had a smart, light-draught vessel,
capable of "going anywhere where a duck can swim," as we say at sea; we
were well armed, had plenty of ammunition, mustered a crew of twenty-six
prime seamen, the pick of the _Barracouta's_ crew--men who would go
anywhere, and face anything--we carried an ample supply of blankets,
beads, brass wire, old muskets, and tawdry finery of various
descriptions, priceless in the eyes of savages, for the purpose of
peaceable ransom, if such could be accomplished; but we lacked an
interpreter, a man acquainted with the barbaric language of the up-river
natives, through whom we should be able to communicate with them and
carry on the necessary negotiations. And such a man it was now my first
duty and anxiety to secure. I had given this matter a great deal of
careful consideration during our passage, and had at length determined
upon the course of action that seemed to promise the most successful
results; and it was in accordance with this determination that I
anchored in Banana Creek instead of proceeding forthwith up the river to
the spot named by Mendouca as the scene of the captivity of the
_Sapphire's_ boats' crews.
I entered the river without any disguise of any sort, showing British
colours and the man-o'-war's pennant; and, as I had expected, our old
friend Lobo soon came alongside in his gig, with his usual stereotyped
smiles and bows, and offers to supply us with anything and everything
that we might happen to want. I took care to be below when he boarded
us; and, in accordance with previous arrangements, Gowland, who met the
fellow upon his arrival, proposed that he should go down into the cabin
and see me personally upon the business of his visit. He at once
assented, willingly, Gowland following him down, and when the two had
entered, the sentry at the cabin-door closed it after them.
"Ah, good-morning, sar," exclaimed Lobo to me, as he entered. "Glad to
see you back in the river, sar! I hope dat de capitan and officers of
de beautiful _Barracouta_ are all well? Ah, gentlemen, dat was a ver'
fine bit of vork, dat attack of yours upon Chango Creek; ver' fine and
ver' successful. I 'ave alvays been proud of _my_ share in dat exploit.
But, gentlemen, you mus' please never so much as vhisper dat I, Joaquin
Miguel Lobo, had anything to do vid it. My vord, if you did, de rascal
slavers vould cut my t'roat for me, and de man-o'-war gentlemen vould
lose a fait'ful ally."
"No doubt, Senor Lobo," agreed I genially. "But, never fear, you are
perfectly safe from betrayal to the slavers, so far as we are concerned;
you shall find us as faithful to you as you have been to us. But sit
down, man, and let me offer you a glass of wine."
With many bows and wreathed smiles, and deprecating elevations of the
shoulders, Lobo took the seat to which I pointed him, and I touched a
bell.
"Steward, put the wine and some glasses on the table, will you; and also
a box of cigars that you will find on the shelf in my cabin."
The wine and cigars were brought; we helped ourselves; and I began--
"I am very much obliged to you for coming aboard, Senor Lobo, for you
are the very man that I most desired to see. I require some assistance
of a rather peculiar kind, and I believe that you, above all others, are
the one who can best help me to it."
Lobo bowed and smiled, sipped his wine, and assured us that he was in
all things our very obedient, humble servant, and that nothing pleased
him so much as to be of assistance to the man-o'-war gentlemen, who
honoured the river by paying it an occasional visit. At the same time--
he pointed out--his friendly relations with those same man-o'-war
gentlemen, and the services that he had been so glad to render them from
time to time were, if not well known, at least very strongly suspected
by the slavers and slave-dealing fraternity generally who used the Congo
for their nefarious purposes; and in incurring this suspicion he also
incurred a very serious risk, both to property and life, for which he
considered that he was justly entitled to be remunerated on a generous
scale.
"Most assuredly," I agreed. "And I may tell you at once, Senor Lobo,
that I am prepared to reward you very munificently for the efficient and
faithful performance of the service that I require of you; I am
prepared, in fact, to offer you no less a reward than _your life_. Ah,
you turn pale, I see; and well you may when I inform you that your true
character is by this time known to probably every British commander on
the coast; you are known as a bare-faced traitor to the cause that you
have pretended so zealously to serve, and I don't mind mentioning to
you, in confidence, that, if this ship had happened to be the
_Barracouta_ instead of the _Felicidad_ you would now in all probability
have been dangling from one of that ship's yard-arms, as a wholesome
warning and example to all betrayers--Nay, keep your seat, man; there is
a sentry outside the door, and you are a prisoner beyond all possibility
of escape. But you have no cause for fear on that account, provided
that you can prevail upon yourself to act honestly for once. I require
a certain service from you, and I promise you that if you render that
service faithfully I will set you free at the termination of the
adventure, with full liberty to seek safety by flight elsewhere. But
until the adventure of which I speak is brought to a favourable
conclusion, you are my prisoner; and I give you my word of honour that
upon the first attempt to escape which you may be ill-advised enough to
make, I will put you in irons and chain you to the deck. If, therefore,
you are wise, you will submit to your present predicament with a good
grace, rather than tempt a worse one. And now, tell me everything you
know with regard to the fate of the crews of the _Sapphire's_ boats."
"The _Sapphire's_ boats?" ejaculated the now thoroughly terrified
wretch. "I swear to Gad, sar, dat I had not'ing to do vid dat! I know
not'ing about dem; not'ing whatever! But I can tell you de name of de
man who had; ay, and I can put him into your power, if you like; he is a
villain, and it would be only doing a good action to betray him to
justice. I vill do it, too, if you vill release me at vonce; I vill
tell you all about him, vhere he is to be found vhen he visits de river,
de name of his cheep, and--and--all dat is necessairey for you to know."
"Yes; no doubt," I answered. "But you will have to purchase your
release in some other way, senor; unfortunately for you we know all
about Don Fernando de Mendouca, captain of the brigantine _Francesca_
and have every confidence in our ability to get hold of him without your
assistance. And I may tell you that, _up to the present_, no charge has
been made against you in connection with the disappearance of the
_Sapphire's_ boats; you have therefore nothing to fear from us just now
on that score. _Now_, will you tell us what you know about those
unfortunate missing men?"
"Yes; yes, I vill, gentlemen; I vill tell you all dat I know; but it is
not much," answered Lobo, with evident relief. "I only know dat de
scoundrel Mendouca managed to trap de two boats in some vay--how, I know
not--and dat he gave dem de choice of being massacred, dere and den, or
of surrendering and having dheir lives spared. And vhen dhey had
surrendered he exchanged dhem to Matadi for slaves--t'ree slaves for
every white man--so dat Matadi might have plenty of victims--white
victims dhey consider _very_ good--for de annual--de annual--what you
call it, eh? festa."
"Festival, I suppose you mean," said I, with an involuntary shudder.
"And, pray, Senor Lobo, do you happen to know the date of this
festival?"
"No, I cannot say dat I do; but I t'ink about one week from now," was
the answer.
"Then, thank God, we are still in time!" I ejaculated. "Now, Senor
Lobo, I presume you are acquainted with this chief, Matadi, are you not?
You have probably had dealings with him, eh? Do not be afraid to give
a truthful answer, because by so doing you cannot betray anything about
yourself that we do not know already. We are fully aware, for instance,
that you are a slave-dealer--among other things--and I have very little
doubt that, if I chose to land a party, we should find a choice lot of
negroes in that barracoon of yours in the bush, yonder--you look
surprised, but, you see, I know all about you; so your best plan will be
to answer my questions truthfully and unreservedly. Now, as to this
Matadi, who is he, and what is he?"
"Sair," said Lobo, in great perturbation, "I see dat you know all about
me, so I will be perfectly open and frank wid you. I _do_ know Matadi.
He is a very powerful chief, de head of a tribe numbering quite t'ree
t'ousand warriors; and his chief town is far up de river--four, five
days' journey in a canoe. It lies on de sout' bank of de river 'bout
eight miles below de first--what you call?--where de water runs very
furious over de rocks, boiling like--like de water in a pot."
"Ah, rapids, you mean, I suppose?" suggested I.
"Yes, yes; rapids; dat is de word," agreed Lobo. "His town is near de
first rapids; and he is very powerful, very dangerous, very fierce.
What do you want wid him, senor?"
"I want those white men that he holds in captivity; and I mean to have
them, by fair means or foul!" said I. "I will buy them of him, if he is
willing to part with them in that way; and if not, I intend to take them
from him by force, for have them I _must_ and _will_ And I require your
assistance in this matter, senor, as an interpreter, through whom I can
treat with the fellow and carry on the necessary negotiations; and if
those negotiations are successful, you will be released on our return
here, and allowed thirty days to complete your arrangements for removal
elsewhere. But if we fail you will be retained as a prisoner, and taken
to Sierra Leone, to be dealt with as your past treacheries deserve.
Now, do you quite understand the position?"
"Yes, senor, I understand," answered Lobo, in great distress. "But, oh,
gentlemen, I beg, I pray you, do not take me away from my business; it
will all go wrong widout me, and I shall lose hundreds, t'ousands of
dollars, _all_ my property will be gone before I can get back! I shall
be ruin'!"
"I am sorry to hear that," I remarked; "but even supposing that matters
go as badly with you as you seem to fear, that will be better than
_hanging_, will it not? And, you see, I _must_ have somebody with me,
as interpreter, whose interest it will be that I shall be successful in
my mission; and I know of no one whose interests can be made more
completely identical with my own than yourself, senor. Therefore I
shall take you with me, regardless of consequences. But if you have any
assistants ashore to whom you would like to send a very brief message to
the effect that you are taking a little business-trip up the river with
me for a few days, and that they must do the best they can for you
during your absence, I have no objection to your sending it. Otherwise,
I will dismiss your boat; for we must not miss this fine sea-breeze,
which ought to take us a good many miles up-stream before it dies away."
"Well, gentlemen, if you are quite determined, I must submit," answered
Lobo, with a very disconsolate air. "But I protest against being thus
carried off against my will; I protest against it as a--an--a--what do
you call him?--yes, an outrage--an outrage, gentlemen; and the
Portuguese Government will inquire into the matter."
"All right," said I cheerfully; "there can be no objection to that, so
far as _we_ are concerned. And now that we have arranged this little
matter, shall I dismiss your boat?"
"No, no; not yet, not yet," hastily answered Lobo. "Give me one littl'
piece of paper, if you please, and I will write a few words to Diego, my
manager, telling him what to do in my absence."
"No," said I determinedly, "I can permit no written messages; a _verbal_
one, if you like, but nothing more."
"Ver' well," answered Lobo resignedly. "Then I will go up and speak to
my boatmen."
"No need for that," said I. "Tell us which of your men you wish to see,
and I will send for him to come here."
Poor Lobo made a gesture of impatience, but saw that I had quite
determined to afford him no shadow of an opportunity to make any secret
communication whatever; so he submitted to the inevitable, and sent for
one of his men, to whom he delivered such a message as I suggested,
adding a request that a small supply of clothing might be sent off to
him at once. This ended the matter, so far as the obtaining of an
efficient interpreter was concerned; the clothes were brought off; and
shortly after noon we weighed and, with a brisk breeze, stood out of the
creek on our way up the river.
For the first twelve miles or so our course was the same as that which
we had followed in our memorable expedition to attack Chango Creek; the
river being, up to that point, about three miles wide, with a fine deep
channel averaging perhaps a quarter of that width up as far as abreast
the southern extremity of Monpanga island, where this deep channel
terminates, and the average depth of the entire stream dwindles to about
six fathoms for the next fourteen miles, the channel at the same time
narrowing down to a width varying from about two miles to less than
half-a-mile in some parts, notably at the spot where it begins to thread
its devious way among the islands that cumber the stream for a length of
fully thirty miles, at a distance of about twenty-eight miles from Shark
Point.
By carrying a press of sail, and hugging the northern bank, keeping as
close to the shore as our little draught of water would permit, thus to
a great extent cheating the current, we contrived to get as far as the
spot where the above-mentioned chain of islands commences; and there,
the wind failing us toward sunset, we came to an anchor close to the
southern shore, on a sand-bank, in three fathoms, under the lee of a
large island that sheltered us from the rush of the main current; and
there we remained all night, a strict anchor-watch of course being kept
not only to see that the schooner did not drive from her berth, but also
to guard against possible attack on the part of the natives. In this
spot, to my inexpressible chagrin, we were compelled to spend the
following two days, the wind blowing down the river, when it blew at
all, a little variety being infused into the weather by the outburst of
a most terrific thunderstorm which brought with it a perfect hurricane
of wind and a deluge of rain; after which we again got a fair wind and
were able to pursue our way for a time, getting ashore occasionally upon
unsuspected sand-banks, but always contriving to heave off again,
undamaged, thanks to the fact that we were proceeding up-stream against
the current instead of down-stream with it. And--not to dwell unduly
upon incidents that were exciting enough to us, although the recital of
them would prove of but little interest to the reader--in this way we
contrived to creep up the river the hundred and twelve miles or so that
were necessary to bring us to Matadi's town--having passed, and with
some difficulty avoided, two whirlpools on the way, reaching our
destination about two bells in the afternoon watch on the fifth day
after leaving Banana Creek.
CHAPTER TWENTY.
SUCCESS. THE FATE OF THE PIRATE SLAVER.
Matadi's "town" was situate, as Lobo had informed us, on the south bank
of the stream, on the sloping side of a hill that rose rather steeply
from the water's edge; the scenery of this part of the river being
totally different from that of the mouth; the change occurring
gradually, but becoming quite decided about the point where the chain of
islands is left behind on the traveller's upward way. For whereas on
the lower reaches of the Congo--that is to say, for the first forty
miles or so from its mouth--the banks of the river are low and flat, and
to a great extent mangrove-lined, beyond this point their tendency is to
become higher and steeper, in some places, indeed, quite precipitous,
until where we now were the ground sloped up from the river margin to a
height of fully four hundred feet, for the most part densely covered
with bush interspersed here and there with masses of noble forest trees.
Matadi's town was situate, as I have said, upon the sloping hillside
that constituted the south bank of the river, and consisted of some four
or five hundred buildings arranged with tolerable regularity on either
side of two broad streets or roads that crossed each other at right
angles, their point of intersection being a spacious square, in the
centre of which stood a circular structure with a high-peaked, pointed
roof of thatch, that Lobo informed me was the fetish-house. I was
greatly surprised at the neatness and skill displayed in the
construction of the buildings in this important town; for while they
were insignificant in size, as compared with the dwellings of a
civilised race, being about the size of a small two-roomed cottage, such
as may be found in almost any rural district in England, they were very
considerably larger and more carefully and substantially-built than the
huts that we had noticed in King Plenty's town, when we made our
disastrous attack upon Mendouca and his consorts. There was even a
certain attempt at ornamentation discernible in the larger structures,
many of which had what I believe is called in England a barge-board,
elaborately carved, under the projecting eaves of the roof that formed
the verandah, the wooden posts that supported those same projecting
eaves being also boldly sculptured. These particulars I noted through
my telescope on rounding the bend of the river just beyond the town; and
I could not help feeling that a community of savages intellectual enough
to find pleasure in the adornment of their houses would be likely to
prove very difficult to deal with unless I could contrive to make their
inclination coincide with my own wishes.
Our appearance--the _Felicidad_ being probably the first ship that had
ever penetrated so far up the river--created a profound sensation in the
town, the inhabitants rushing in and out of their dwellings and about
the streets for all the world like an alarmed colony of ants, and
finally congregating along the margin of the river to the extent of
fully one thousand, most of them being men, every one of whom, so far as
I could make out, was armed; the weapons being spears, bows and arrows,
and clubs with heavy knobs on the end. They seemed to be a fine,
powerful race, evidently accustomed to warfare, if one might judge by
the readiness with which, at the command of an immensely stout and
powerful man--whom Lobo declared to be none other than Matadi himself--
they formed themselves up into compact and orderly squadrons, and I
thought, ruefully, that if it became necessary to resort to forcible
measures for the release of our countrymen, we were likely to have a
pretty bad time.
To attempt to open communications with a thousand armed savages, whose
evident purpose in mustering on the river bank immediately in front of
their town was to resolutely oppose any attempt at landing on our part,
was a rather delicate operation; still, it had to be done, and it was
worse than useless to exhibit any sign of trepidation or hesitation. I
therefore ordered the gig to be lowered, and with four men, fully armed,
at the oars, and Lobo and myself in the stern-sheets, pushed off for the
shore. This bold action on our part created a profound sensation upon
the savages massed upon the shore, the boat being no sooner under way
than they raised their spears above their heads, shook them furiously
until the blades clashed upon each other with the sound of a falling
torrent of water, and emitted a blood-curdling yell that almost drove
poor Lobo out of his senses. We had, however--at Lobo's suggestion--
provided ourselves with palm branches, cut on the night before at our
previous anchorage, and now, seizing one of these, the Portuguese
scrambled forward into the eyes of the boat and stood there, waving the
branch violently and pointing it toward the savages. This demonstration
had the effect of quelling the tumult, the blacks subsiding into
quietude almost instantly, at the command of Matadi; but it was evident
that they had no intention of permitting us to land, for at a second
command from the chief they advanced, as steadily as a band of civilised
troops, across the short intervening space of greensward between
themselves and the water's edge, at which they halted, forming up three
deep in a long, compact line along the river margin.
We continued to pull shoreward until we were within easy speaking
distance; when the boat's bows were turned up-stream, and while the men
continued to paddle gently ahead, using just sufficient strength to
enable the boat to stem the current and maintain her position abreast
the centre of the line of savages, Lobo opened the palaver by informing
Matadi that we were there by command of the Great White Queen to procure
the release of the white men held by him as prisoners, and that we were
fully prepared to pay a handsome ransom for them; it was only for Matadi
to name his price, and it should be cheerfully paid.
To this the chief replied by inquiring what white men we referred to; he
knew nothing about white men, and indeed had never seen any except
ourselves. And he strongly advised us to lose no time in making our way
back down the river again, as his soldiers were very angry at our
presumption in invading his territory, and he could not answer for it
that he would be able to restrain them should they take into their heads
to actively resent our intrusion by attacking the ship.
I knew from this reply, which Lobo duly translated to me, that our
friend Matadi was an adept in the art--so peculiarly characteristic of
the African savage--of lying, and must be dealt with accordingly. So I
said to Lobo--
"Tell him that he is mistaken. Say that the circumstance was doubtless
of so trivial a character as to escape the recollection of a great chief
like Matadi; but that, nevertheless, we _know_ it to be a fact that
about six moons ago some thirty or forty white men were sold to him by
one Mendouca, a slave-buyer; and that it is those men we are seeking,
our instructions being that we are not to return without them, even
should we be obliged to destroy Matadi's town with our thunder and
lightning in the process of securing them."
My scarcely-veiled threat to destroy his town was received by Matadi
with scornful laughter, the savage declaring in set terms that he did
not believe in the power of the white men to produce either lightning or
thunder; and as to our accomplishing the threatened destruction without
those means--why, there were a few of his warriors present who would
have a word to say upon that matter. Touching the question of the white
men said to have been sold to him, Matadi admitted that he now thought
he remembered some transaction of the kind, but had not the remotest
idea of what had become of them; he would make inquiries, however, and
if we would go away, and return again about the same time next moon he
would perhaps be able to give us some news of them. But before
troubling himself to make any such inquiries he must be propitiated with
a present; and he would also like to know what price we were prepared to
pay for each white man, should any be found.
"Tell him," said I, "that this is a case of `no white man, no present';
but that if the white men are found, I will not only buy them of him at
so much per head, but also make him a handsome present into the bargain.
Say that the goods to be paid as ransom are aboard the schooner, and
that they consist of guns, beads, brass wire, beautiful printed
calicoes, suitable for the adornment of any African king's wives;
handsome red coats with resplendent brass buttons and gorgeous worsted
epaulettes, admirably calculated to set off Matadi's own kingly figure;
and superb blankets, red, blue, green--in fact, all the colours of the
rainbow. If he and two or three of his chiefs would like to come aboard
and see these magnificent articles, I shall be very pleased to exhibit
them."
This speech being translated by Lobo, there ensued a long palaver, the
result of which was that Matadi declined to go on board the schooner,
but had no objection to come off alongside and inspect them from a
distance, provided that we would first return and hoist up our own boat.
The fact evidently was that the fellow, treacherous himself, suspected
everybody else of being the same, and was clearly indisposed to put
himself in our power, while he was at the same time devoured with
curiosity to see the articles of which I had given such a glowing
description. Of course, as I wished above all things to excite his
cupidity to the point of determining to possess the goods, even at the
cost of having to give up the white men, I readily agreed to his
proposal; and at once returned to the schooner and ordered the boat to
be hoisted to the davits.
It was evident that my endeavour to excite Matadi's curiosity had been
completely successful; for no sooner was the gig out of the water than a
large canoe was launched, into which Matadi and three or four other
negroes--presumably subordinate chiefs--scrambled, when she was at once
shoved off and, paddled by twenty natives, brought to within about
twenty yards of the schooner, that being considered, I suppose, about
the shortest distance within which it would be safe to approach us. I
tried to persuade them to come a little nearer, if not actually on
board, but Matadi resolutely refused; and as he seemed half inclined to
go back again without even waiting to see what I had to show him, I
ordered the steward to open the boxes at once, and forthwith proceeded
to exhibit my coils of wire, strings of beads, bandana handkerchiefs,
rolls of gaudily-coloured prints, old military uniforms, and muskets,
and other odds and ends, the exhibition proving so attractive that
before its conclusion the canoe had been gradually sheered nearer and
nearer to the schooner until she was brought fairly alongside, and they
had even consented to accept a rope's-end to hang on by. Matadi badly
wanted us to pass some of the articles down over the side that he might
examine them still more minutely, but I would not permit this, thinking
it best to still leave some of his curiosity unsatisfied, and at length,
after they had been alongside nearly an hour and a half, and had asked
for a second and even a third sight of most of the goods, they
reluctantly retired, their eyes glistening with cupidity, Matadi
promising to institute an immediate inquiry as to the whereabouts of the
white men, and to let me know the result as soon as possible.
I was very well satisfied with this interview, for I felt convinced that
I had so powerfully excited the covetousness of the savages that they
would determine to possess the goods that I had shown them at any cost.
And so, as it turned out, I had, although, consequent upon my omission
to take into consideration the natural treachery of the savage
character, I was wholly mistaken as to the form in which that
determination would manifest itself.
It was clear that Matadi still entertained a wholesome, whole-souled
distrust of us; for when he landed the troops of warriors were still
left drawn up along the river bank, with the evident intention of
preventing any attempt on our part to go ashore and satisfy our
curiosity by an inspection of his town; we therefore accepted the
palpable hint thus conveyed, and stuck to the ship, which, I need
scarcely say, had been cleared for action and held ready for any
emergency from the moment of our arrival abreast the town.
It was by this time growing late in the afternoon, and as I was anxious
to obtain possession of my unfortunate countrymen and leave Matadi's
rather dangerous neighbourhood before nightfall, we watched the
proceedings in the town narrowly and with a great deal of interest. But
although we were enabled with the aid of our telescopes to follow Matadi
and his little coterie of chiefs to a large building abutting on the
square at the intersection of the cross streets, and which we took to be
the "palace," we were unable to detect anything of an unusual character
in the appearance or movements of the people until close upon sunset,
when we observed a small canoe coming off to the schooner--a craft
propelled by four paddlers, with a single individual sitting in the
stern. This person we presently recognised as one of the chiefs who had
accompanied Matadi alongside earlier in the day; and he brought a
message to the effect that the king had ascertained that the white men
about whom we had inquired were all safe in a village a day's march
distant, and that Matadi would send for them on the morrow, unless we
were prepared to make him a present of a musket, five strings of beads,
a bandana handkerchief, and a roll of printed calico, in which case he
would so far discommode himself as to send off a messenger at once.
This was of course very annoying, and I did not at all like the idea of
giving these savages anything without a tangible return for it; still,
after considering the matter a little, I arrived at the conclusion that
to expedite affairs by twelve hours was quite worth the price asked, and
the articles were accordingly handed over, not without grave misgivings
as to the wisdom of the proceeding. Soon after this it fell dark, the
stars sparkled out one after another, lighting up the scene with their
soft effulgence, the noises in the town became hushed, save for the
occasional barking of a dog here and there, and a deep, solemn hush fell
upon us, in which the deep, hoarse, tumbling roar of a whirl-pool at no
great distance, and the gurgle and rush of the turbid river past the
schooner's hull became almost startlingly audible. But as long as we
were able to see them the lines of native warriors still stood, silent
and motionless, guarding the whole river front of the town. As a matter
of precaution, I now ordered the boarding nettings to be triced up all
round the ship, the guns to be loaded with grape and canister, the small
arms to be prepared for immediate service, a double anchor-watch to be
kept, and the men to hold themselves ready for any emergency, after the
bustle of which preparations the schooner subsided again into silence
and darkness, the men for the most part "pricking for a soft plank" on
deck, and coiling themselves away thereon in preference to seeking
repose in the stifling forecastle. As for Gowland and myself, we paced
the deck contemplatively together until about ten o'clock, discussing
the chances of getting away on the morrow, and then, everything seeming
perfectly quiet and peaceful, we had our mattresses brought on deck, and
stretched ourselves out thereon in the small clear space between the
companion and the wheel.
I had been asleep about two hours, when I was awakened by a light touch,
and, starting up, found that it was one of the anchor-watch, who was
saying--
"Better go below, sir, I think, because it looks as though it was goin'
to rain. And Bill and me, sir, we thinks as you ought to know that we
fancies we've heard the dip o' paddles occasionally round about the ship
within the last ten minutes."
"The dip of paddles, eh?" exclaimed I, in a whisper. "Where away,
Roberts?"
"Well, first here and then there, sir," answered the man, in an equally
low and cautious tone of voice; "both ahead and astarn of us; sometimes
on one side, and then on t'other. But we ain't by no means certain
about it; that there whirl-pool away off on our port-quarter a little
ways down-stream is makin' such a row that perhaps we're mistaken, and
have took the splash of the water in it for the sound of paddles. And
it's so dark that there ain't a thing to be seen."
It was as the man had said. It was evident that a heavy thunderstorm
was about to break over us, for the heavens had become black with
clouds, and the darkness was so profound that it was impossible to see
from one side of the deck to the other. I scrambled to my naked feet
and went first to the taffrail, then along the port side of the deck
forward, returning aft along the starboard side of the deck, listening
intently, and I certainly fancied that once or twice I detected a faint
sound like that of a paddle stroke, but I could not be certain; and as
to seeing anything, that was utterly out of the question.
"Find Warren, and tell him to bring a port-fire on deck, and light it,"
said I. "It can do no harm to take a look round, just to satisfy
ourselves; and it is never safe to trust these savages too much. Look
alive, Roberts; moments may be precious if it be as you suspect."
"Ay, ay, sir," answered the man, as he trundled away forward to find the
gunner. And meanwhile, as it was evident that a heavy downpour was
imminent, I roused up Gowland, and we carried our mattresses below, I
repeating to him, as we went, what Roberts had told me.
By the time that we got back on deck again the gunner was aft, waiting
for us, with the port-fire all ready in his hand, and I instructed him
to go aloft as far as the fore-cross-trees and light it there. A few
seconds elapsed, and then, with startling distinctness, came down to us
the cry--
"All ready, sir, with the port-fire!"
"Then light it at once," answered I, "and we will see what there is to
be seen."
The livid, blue-white glare of the port-fire almost instantly burst
forth, shedding its unearthly radiance far across the glassy, swirling
surface of the rushing stream, and by its light we saw a startling sight
indeed, the schooner being surrounded by a flotilla of at least twenty
large canoes, each manned by from thirty to forty dusky warriors, fully
armed with spears, bows, and war-clubs. They were about a cable's
length from us, and had evidently taken up their positions with the
utmost care, so that they might close in upon and reach us
simultaneously, as they were now doing. As the brilliant light of the
port-fire blazed forth, a shout of astonishment, not very far removed
from dismay, burst from the occupants of the canoes, and a momentary
tendency to sheer off precipitately became apparent; but this was
instantly checked by a loud and authoritative call from the largest
canoe--the voice sounding very much like that of Matadi himself--and
with an answering yell the savages at once turned the bows of their
canoes toward the schooner and began to paddle for dear life.
"Call all hands," shouted I, "and pipe to quarters. Pass the word that
the men are not to wait to dress. Another minute and the savages will
be upon us!"
The men needed no second order; they had all been sleeping on deck, and
had awakened at the gunner's call from aloft, and the glare of the
port-fire striking through their closed eyelids, and before the words
were well out of my lips they were standing to their guns and awaiting
my next order.
"Depress the muzzles of your guns as much as you can, and give the
treacherous rascals their contents as you bring them to bear," cried I.
"We shall only have time for one round, and if that does not stop them
we shall be obliged to fight them hand to hand!"
The whole of the schooner's guns were fired, one after the other, but
the port-fire unfortunately burnt out just about that time, so that we
were unable to ascertain what effect had been produced, and before
another could be found and lighted we heard and felt the light shocks of
collision as the canoes dashed alongside, and in a moment found
ourselves engaged in attempting to check the onset of a perfect _wall_
of savages that hemmed us in on every side, and surged, and struggled,
and writhed, and panted as they endeavoured to force a way through the
stubborn boarding nettings. It was just the tricing up of those
nettings that saved us; but for them the schooner's decks would have
been overrun, and we should have been massacred in a moment. As it was,
this unexpected obstacle, which of course none of them had observed in
the afternoon--the nettings not being then triced up--daunted them, for
they could neither displace it nor force a way through it, and while
they clung there, like a lot of bees, vainly striving to find or make a
passage through it, our men were blazing away with musket and pistol at
the black wall of writhing, yelling humanity, and bowling them over by
dozens at a time. When at length another port-fire was found and
lighted, it disclosed to us an appalling picture of dusky, panting
bodies, blazing eyeballs, waving skins and plumes, gleaming
spear-points, and upraised war-clubs hemming us in on both sides, from
stem to stern, every separate individual glaring at us with demoniac
hate and fury as he strove ineffectually to get at us.
The savages fell in scores at a time beneath our close and withering
fire, and at length, finding the netting impassable, and themselves
being shot down to no purpose, they suddenly abandoned the attack and
flung themselves back into their canoes, in which they made off with all
speed for the shore, subjected meanwhile to a galling fire of grape and
canister from our guns, which I very regretfully allowed to be
maintained, believing that our only chance of safety lay in inflicting
upon them a severe enough lesson to utterly discourage them from any
renewal of the attack. We continued firing until the last canoe had
reached the shore, by which time eleven of them had been utterly
destroyed and several others badly damaged, resulting in a loss to
Matadi of, according to my estimate, not far short of three hundred men.
We had just ceased firing, and the men were busy securing the guns
again, when the threatened storm burst forth, and our fight terminated
with one of the most terrific tempests of thunder, lightning, and rain
that I had ever been exposed to. It; lasted until about three o'clock
the next morning, and then passed off, leaving the heavens calm, clear,
and serene once more, and the stars even more brilliant than they had
been before the gathering of the storm. Of course, after the attempted
surprise of the schooner by the savages, there was no more sleep for me
that night, and before dawn I had resolved to send a boat ashore,
demanding the surrender of Matadi and his chiefs, as hostages for the
good behaviour of their people until the delivery of the English
prisoners, the alternative, in case of refusal, being the destruction of
the town.
Accordingly, as the rising sun was gilding the hill-tops, I ordered the
boat to be lowered, and sent her away in Gowland's charge, with Lobo to
act as interpreter, with a message to that effect. The guard of
warriors still held the landing-place, and to the chief in command of
them the message was given; its receipt, as Gowland subsequently
informed me, producing a very considerable amount of consternation. The
reply was that Matadi had been very severely wounded in the _accidental_
engagement of the previous night, and was believed to be dying; but that
the chief to whom the message had been given would communicate with his
brother chiefs, and that we should receive their reply on the following
morning. And to this Gowland had replied that if the white prisoners
were not surrendered, safe and sound, or the whole of the chiefs, Matadi
included, on board the schooner when the sun stood over a certain
hill-top--which would be in about an hour from that moment--the
schooner's guns would open fire upon the town and continue its
bombardment until every house in it was razed to the ground. And
therewith the gig returned to the ship, and was again hoisted to the
davits.
This peremptory message, coupled no doubt with the experiences of the
preceding night, had its desired effect; for while the sun was still a
quarter of an hour distant from that part of the heavens that Gowland
had indicated, we saw a procession issue from the fetish-house in the
centre of the town, which our telescopes enabled us to make out as
consisting of a group of white men, closely guarded by a body of some
two hundred armed warriors, detailed, it would appear, for the purpose
of guarding the whites from the fury of the witch-doctors, or priests,
who were thus most unwillingly deprived of their prey, and who
accompanied the party right down to the shore, doing their best to
instigate the people to attack the escort and recapture the released
prisoners. There was a terrific hubbub over the affair, repeated rushes
being made at the party; but the guards appeared to use their clubs with
great freedom, and eventually the cortege reached the river, and the
whites were safely embarked in three large canoes which, manned by
natives, and apparently in charge of some authoritative person, at once
shoved off for the schooner.
Upon the arrival of this little flotilla alongside it was found that the
white prisoners brought off for surrender numbered twenty-eight, all of
whom were in a most wretched plight from sickness and the barbarous
neglect with which they had been treated during their long and wearisome
captivity. They consisted of the _Sapphire's_ late second and third
lieutenants, one midshipman, nine marines, and sixteen seamen; one
midshipman, three marines, and two seamen having died of fever during
the time that they had been in Matadi's hands. So frightfully were they
reduced by suffering and despair, that when the poor little surviving
mid--a mere lad of sixteen--was helped up the side to the schooner's low
deck his nerve entirely gave way, and he fell upon the planks in a
paroxysm of hysterical tears, and wild, incoherent ejaculations of
gratitude to God for having delivered him from a living death; while as
for the others, they were too deeply moved and shaken to utter more than
a husky word or two for the moment, but the convulsive grip of their
emaciated hands, their quivering lips, and the look of almost
incredulous delight with which they gazed about them and into our faces,
spoke far more eloquently than words. Needless to say, we gave them a
most hearty and fraternal welcome, at once and before every thing else
providing as far as we could for their physical comfort, while
Armstrong, our warm-hearted Scotch surgeon, immediately took them in
hand with a good-will that promised wonders in the way of speedy
restoration to health and strength.
During all this while the three canoes had remained alongside; and by
and by, when I had once more time to think of other matters than those
more immediately concerning my guests, Lobo came to me and informed me
that the chiefs who had brought off the released white men were waiting
for the payment of the promised ransom. I thought this tolerably cool,
after the treacherous manner in which they had attacked us during the
preceding night; but I was too greatly rejoiced at the success of my
mission to be very severe or retributive in my behaviour just then. I
therefore paid the full amount agreed upon, but directed Lobo to say
that although I paid it I did not consider that Matadi was entitled to
claim a single article in view of his unprovoked attack upon the
schooner, and the miserable condition in which he had delivered up his
captives. But I paid it in order that he might practically learn that
an Englishman never breaks a promise that he has once made. And having
duly impressed this upon them, I gave them further to understand that,
should it ever happen that other white men fell into their hands, they
would be expected to treat them with the utmost kindness and
consideration, upon pain of condign punishment should they fail to do
so, and that upon delivering any such whites, safe and sound, to the
first warship that might happen to enter the river, they would be
handsomely rewarded.
This matter settled, our business with Matadi was at an end, and
although there happened to be not a breath of wind stirring, I
determined to make a start down the river at once, and get to sea as
soon as possible, in order that the rescued men might not be deprived,
for one moment longer than was absolutely necessary, of the restorative
effects of the pure salt breeze. We accordingly manned the capstan
forthwith, hove short, and then proceeded down-stream by the process of
navigation known as "dredging"; that is to say, we kept the schooner in
the proper channel by means of the anchor and the rudder combined,
allowing the anchor to just touch and drag along the ground when it
became necessary to sheer the ship away from a danger, and at other
times heaving it off the ground a few feet and allowing the craft to
drift with the current. And so strong was the rush of the river just
then, that by its means alone we accomplished a descent of no less than
thirty miles that day before sunset, anchoring for the night in a very
snug cove on the northern bank of the river, under the shadow of some
high hills. Then, during the night, a light southerly air sprang up,
freshening towards morning into a spanking breeze that soon became half
a gale of wind, and under its welcome impulse--although we found it
rather shy with us in some of the narrowest and most intricate parts of
the navigation--we contrived to complete the descent of the remaining
portion of the river on our second day out from Matadi's town, arriving
off the mouth of Banana Creek about an hour before sunset. Here, in
fulfilment of my promise, I released Lobo, who, to do him justice, had
served us well when he found that it was to his interest to do so. And
I may now dismiss him finally from my story by saying that when one of
the ships of our squadron put into the river about three weeks later, it
was found that Senor Lobo had profited by my advice to the extent that
he had disposed of his factory and other property, just as it stood, to
his former manager--the purchase-money being paid three-fourths down,
the remainder to be paid by instalments at three and six months' date.
And a very excellent bargain he contrived to make, too, so I understood,
the unfortunate buyer suffering a heavy loss when the captain of the
cruiser made it his first business to destroy the barracoon, which
formed a portion of the property, although the aforesaid buyer of course
made a point of vowing most emphatically that he had no intention
whatever of using the structure for slave-dealing purposes, to which
also, as a matter of course, he declared that he had a most righteous
aversion.
Having landed Lobo, we proceeded to sea that same night, carrying the
southerly breeze with us all through the night, and then falling in with
a regular twister from the eastward that carried us right across the
Line to about latitude 0 degrees 47 minutes North. From thence we had
light and variable breezes to Sierra Leone, despite which we made an
excellent passage, arriving in the anchorage in just three days short of
a month from the date of our leaving it upon our rescuing expedition;
and I am happy to say that when we landed the rescued party they had all
so far rallied as to render their perfect recovery merely a matter of
time, provided, of course, that the deadly fever of the coast did not
carry them off in the meanwhile.
On our arrival in Sierra Leone I was greatly surprised to find the
_Barracouta_ still in harbour; and I of course lost no time in going on
board to report myself and, incidentally, to find out the reason of her
prolonged stay in port. But on presenting myself on board I discovered
that I had been mistaken in supposing her to have lain there idle during
the whole period of my cruise--on the contrary, she had only arrived
three days before the _Felicidad_; and after I had told my story and
received the compliments of the captain and the rest of the officers
upon what they were pleased to term the boldness and judgment with which
I had executed my mission, I had to listen in return to a story as
gruesome as can well be imagined, although it was told in very few
words. It appeared, then, that a day or two after my departure, the
_Barracouta_ again put to sea with the fixed but unexpressed
determination to prosecute a further search for the _Francesca_, the
wind and weather having meanwhile been such as to encourage Captain
Stopford in the hope that by adopting certain measures he might yet
contrive to fall in with her. And he had done so, though by no means in
the manner that he had expected, the cruise being without result in the
direction in which he had hoped to meet with success. Some days later,
however, after the search had been reluctantly abandoned, and while the
brig was edging in towards the coast again, hoping to pick up a prize to
recompense them in a measure for their disappointment, they had
unexpectedly fallen in with the _Francesca_, again, and were not long in
coming to the conclusion that something was seriously wrong on board
her, both her topmasts being carried away close to the caps and hanging
suspended by the rigging, with no apparent effort being made to clear
away the wreck, although the weather was then quite fine. Sail was of
course at once made to close with the dismantled craft, and then another
surprise met them, for although the intention of the brig must have been
from the first moment unmistakable, no attempt was made to avoid the
encounter, which, however, was accounted for a little later by the fact
that the _Francesca_ appeared to be in an unmanageable condition. Then,
as the brig neared her still more closely, it was seen that the sweeps
were rigged out but not manned, although the deck was crowded with
people, unmistakably blacks. And then it was that for the first time
the dreadful surmise dawned upon Captain Stopford's mind--a surmise that
soon proved to be true--that the negroes, doubtless goaded to frenzy by
their continued ill-treatment, had risen upon and massacred the entire
crew and taken possession of the brigantine, which of course they had
not the remotest idea how to handle.
The _Barracouta_ soon arrived upon the _Francesca's_ weather quarter,
and the evidences of the fearful deed then became unmistakable, the
scuppers still bearing the stains of the ensanguined stream that had
poured from them, while among the whole of that crowd of yelling,
fiercely gesticulating blacks, not a single white face was to be seen.
Boats were at once lowered and a strong crew sent away to take
possession of the disabled vessel, but the emancipated slaves, maddened
at the thought of again falling into the hands of the hated whites, and,
of course, unaware of the fact that the brig's crew were anxious only to
render them a service, offered so desperate a resistance to the boarders
that Young, who led the latter, recognising the impossibility of taking
the brigantine without serious loss of life, withdrew to consult with
Captain Stopford as to the best course to pursue. Meanwhile, the wind
fell away to a calm, of which circumstance the slaves took advantage by
manning the sweeps and gradually withdrawing from the vicinity of the
_Barracouta_, This was about sunset; and three hours later a bright
blaze upon the horizon proclaimed that the notorious _Francesca_ had
either caught or been set on fire in some inexplicable way. The brig's
boats were at once manned and dispatched to the rescue of the unhappy
blacks, or as many of them as it might be possible to save; but the
brigantine was by this time some nine miles away, the flames burnt with
ever-increasing fury, and while the boats were still some three miles
distant the doomed ship blew up, and the occupants of the boats saw the
bodies of the miserable blacks hurled high in the air in the midst of a
dazzling sheet of flame and a cloud of smoke. When the boats arrived
upon the scene of the disaster, all that remained of the once gallant
but guilty _Francesca_ consisted of a few charred timbers and fragments
of half-burnt planking, in the midst of which floated some forty or
fifty dead bodies of negroes; the rest had vanished--whither?
Such, reader, is the story, and such was the end of the Pirate Slaver,
the terrible doom of which, when it became known, caused such a thrill
of horror in the breasts of those who had emulated her crew in their
career of crime, that from that time forward there was a noticeable
falling-off in the number of vessels frequenting the West African rivers
in search of slaves; and finally, a year or two later, the appearance of
fast steamers in the slave-squadron rendered the chances of success so
remote that but a few of the most enterprising had heart to continue the
pursuit of so risky and unprofitable a business. And when these were
one by one captured and their vessels condemned, the infamous trade
dwindled more and more, until it finally died out altogether, never, let
us hope, to be revived again.
THE END.
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