The Privateersman

The Privateersman Page 16

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

  THE DIAMOND-MINES, AND WHAT OCCURRED THERE--I LOSE MY FRIEND INGRAM, ANDANOTHER ACQUAINTANCE, BUT THEY BOTH LEAVE ME VALUABLE LEGACIES.

  After remaining in the court about two hours, it being then near tonightfall, the gaolers came out into the yard, and we were all driveninto a large apartment, the walls of which were of such solid materials,and the floor of large flag-stones, as to prevent any possibility ofescape. I was never in such a scene of filth and wretchedness. Therewas not a spot where one could be driven without being defiled in someway or another; and so many human beings--one half of whom werenegroes--being crowded into so small a space, with only one barredwindow, so high up as only to serve as a ventilator, created anatmosphere worse than any slave-vessel's hold. I leaned with my backagainst the wall, and, I must say, never was so miserable in my life. Ithought of Amy, and my sanguine hopes and anticipations of happiness,now all wrecked. I thought of Captain Levee and my brother Philipcareering over the seas, free as the wind. I thought of poor Whyna, andthe distress she must feel at finding I did not rejoin her. I planned ahundred schemes to make known my situation, but every scheme, as soon asI weighed it, I found was hopeless. Still weak from previous disease, Ifelt as if I should be suffocated if I remained long in this pestiferousabode, and I wept like a child. Daylight came at last, and soonafterwards the door was opened; we were admitted into the yard, and allhastened to the large tub of water, which was soon emptied. Thefighting and scrambling to obtain first possession was really revolting.An hour afterwards some coarse provisions were served out, and then welearnt, to our great delight, that we were immediately to set out forthe mines. It would be thought that this could be no great cause forexultation; we were about to go to pass the rest of our lives inbondage; but all misery is comparative, and sooner than have remainedanother night in that dreadful hole, I would have welcomed any change.About an hour afterwards a guard of dirty-looking soldiers came in; wewere all handcuffed to a long chain, at about two feet apart, one oneach side, so that we walked in pairs, and as soon as the first chainwas full--and I was handcuffed to it--we were ordered out into thesquare to wait for the others. My superior dress and appearance as anEnglishman excited much curiosity; people pointed to me and maderemarks, but I had no opportunity of communicating with any of theauthorities, nor would it have been of any use if I had had. Weremained there more than an hour, as the other chains of prisoners cameout one by one; we were five chains in all, about forty on a chain. Wewere then ordered to move on, walking between a guard of about twenty orthirty soldiers, who marched, on each side of us, with their muskets andbayonets fixed, about three yards from each other. In another hour wewere clear of the town, and threading our way through a lane bounded oneach side by prickly pears and other shrubs. There was no want ofmerriment among the party; they talked and laughed with one another andthe soldiers who guarded them, and appeared to care little for theirfate. As for me, I was broken-hearted with the disgrace and thevillainous manner in which I had been thus sacrificed. My heart wasfull of bitterness, and I could gladly have lain down and died, had Inot been still buoyed up with some faint hope that I should have anopportunity of making my position known, and obtain my release. I willpass over the journey, as one day was but the forerunner of the other.We halted at noon, and were supplied with fruit and maize, but we werenever unchained, day or night. In a short time I was like all therest--covered with vermin, and disgusting to myself. It was, I think,between four and five weeks before we arrived at our destination, whichwas in the district of Tejuco, and the locality of the diamond-mines wascalled the Sierra de Espinhaco. This sierra, or mountain, was a ridgeof inaccessible precipices on each side of a narrow valley, traversed bya small river called the Tequetinhonha, and in this valley, and in thebed of the river, were the diamonds found, for which we were condemnedto toil for the remainder of our days. As we entered the ravine, Iperceived how impossible it would be to escape, even if a person couldfind his way back, after having succeeded in his escape. For many milesthe road was a narrow path cut on the side of the mountain, a yawningprecipice below and inaccessible rocks above, and this narrow way was atevery two miles blocked up by a guard-house built upon it, and throughthe portcullis of which it would be necessary to force a way. And herewe were, thousands of miles away from civilised life, in the heart of acountry uninhabited except by occasional bands of Indians. At last wefiled through the last of the guard-houses, and found ourselves in awider part of the ravine, which was crowded with buildings of variousdescriptions. We were led up to the director's house, and our names,persons, and descriptions were taken down by a clerk. When my turncame, and I was asked in Portuguese who I was, I shook my head, andreplied "Ingles." An interpreter was called, and I then stated my nameand begged the director would hear what I had to say. He shook hishead, and, after they had taken my description, desired me to go away.

  "Why did you not explain for me?" said I to the interpreter.

  "Because he won't hear what you have to say; if he would, every man onthe chain would attempt to prove that he was sent here by mistake. Youmay by-and-by find an opportunity to speak to him, that is, after youhave learnt Portuguese, and have been here a year or two; but it will dono good."

  During the whole of the journey I had been separated from Ingram, andnow, for the first time since we left prison, I had an opportunity ofshaking him by the hand. I need not say how glad I was to meet again mycompanion in misfortune, and our only fear was now, that we should beagain separated; but such was not the case. There were regular lodgingsor barracks for the slaves, which were certainly not bad but as allescape was considered impossible, any one who chose to raise a littlehut for himself out of the bushes which grew on the rocks was permittedso to do. The hours of work were regular; we were allotted out ingangs, which took up a certain square of the river, or river's side; weworked from daylight till near dusk, with only an hour allowed forrepose in the heat of the day. There was a superintendent over eachgang of twenty, who watched them and made them work. Thesesuperintendents were controlled by inspectors, who had the charge offour or five gangs, and who brought unto the director the produce of theday's toil. The work was simple. The sand and alluvial soil werethrown into troughs with small sieve bottoms, out of which escaped allthe smaller matter, when it was washed with the water from the river.The stones and larger particles were then carefully examined, and anydiamonds found were taken out and delivered to the superintendents, whothen made them over to the inspectors, when they came round. Theinspectors carried them to their houses, (for they had houses fromgovernment,) and in the evening delivered every diamond found to thedirector. After a short time, I found that the office ofsuperintendent, and also of inspector, was open to any of the slaves whoconducted themselves well; and that the whole of those now employed inthe offices were slaves for life, as well as ourselves. What puzzled mewas, how so many people, for in all we amounted to seven hundred ormore, were to be found in food; but I afterwards discovered that thegovernment had farms and herds of cattle at a few miles' distance,cultivated by slaves and Indians expressly for the purpose. Our rationswere scanty, but we were permitted to cultivate, as well as we could,any spot we could find on the arid side of the mountain as a garden; andsome of them, who had been there for many years, had, in course of time,produced a good soil, and reared plenty of vegetables. To my surprise,I found at least twenty Englishmen among the whole mass of slaves; andone or two of them were inspectors, and several of themsuperintendents--saying much in favour of my countrymen. Theirconversation and their advice tended much to soothe the hardships of mycaptivity, but I found from them that any hopes of ever leaving themines were useless, and that our bones must all be laid by the side ofthe mountain. Of course, Ingram and I were inseparable; we worked inthe same gang, and we very soon built a hut for ourselves; and Ingram,who was a light-hearted young man, set to work to make a garden. Hemoved heavy stones on the sides of the mountain, and scraped
up all themould he could find; sometimes he would get his handkerchief full, butnot often; but, as he said, every little helped. He killed lizards formanure, and with them and leaves he made a little dung-heap, which hewatered, to assist putrefaction. Everything that would assist, hecarefully collected; and by degrees he had sufficient for a patch offour or five yards square. This he planted; and with the refuse mademore manure; and in the course of a few months, by incessant activityand assisted by me, he had a very tolerable patch of ground covered withthis manure and the alluvial soil washed out by the diamond-seeking,mixed up together. We then obtained seeds, and grew vegetables like therest, and this proved a great increase to our comforts--that is, ourbodily wants; but my mind was far away. Amy Trevannion was never out ofmy thoughts, and I fell into a deep melancholy. I worked hard at myvocation, and was fortunate enough to find some good diamonds, longbefore I had been a year at the mines. Having acquired the Portugueselanguage, I was soon after raised to the office of superintendent. Inow no longer worked, but overlooked others, with a cane in my hand toadminister punishment to those who neglected their business. I cannotsay that I liked the change; I was not so miserable when I was employed,but I did my duty with diligence. Ingram was in my gang, and anotherEnglishman, an old man,--I should think not less than seventy years old.He told me that he belonged to a merchant vessel, and in a drunkenbrawl a Portuguese had been killed; he and two others had been condemnedto the mines, but the others were dead long ago. About a month after myelevation, this old man, who was very feeble, and whom I treated withgreat kindness on account of his age--exacting no more than I thought hecould well perform--fell sick. I reported him as being really ill, andIngram, who was by no means a bad doctor, told me that he would die. Afew hours before his death he sent for me to his hut, and, afterthanking me for my kindness to him, he said that he knew he was dying,and that he wished to leave me all his property, (which the slaves arepermitted to do,) that is, he left me his garden, which was the best onthe Sierra, his hut, which also was a very good one, and then, puttinghis hand under the leaves which formed his bed, he pulled out atattered, thumbed book, which he told me was a Bible.

  "At first I read," said he, "to pass away time in this melancholy place,but of late I have read it I hope to a better purpose."

  I thanked the poor man for his present, and wished him good-bye. A fewhours afterwards he was dead, and Ingram and I buried him by the side ofthe mountain. Shortly afterwards our inspector died, and, to myastonishment, I was put into his place. I could not imagine why I wasthus so fortunate in being promoted, but I afterwards found out that,although I had never but casually seen her, I was indebted for my goodfortune to a fancy which the director's eldest daughter (for he had hisfamily with him) had taken for me.

  This was singular, for I had never spoken to her, and, what is morestrange, I never did speak to her, nor did she ever attempt to speak tome, so that it was wholly disinterested on her part. I had now stillless to do, and was in constant communication with the director, and oneday stated to him how it was that I had been brought there. He told methat he believed me, but could not help me, and after that the subjectwas never again mentioned between us. Having little to do, I now tookup the Bible given me by the old Englishman, as I had time to read it,which I had not before, when I was employed the whole day; but now I hada convenient cottage, as I may call it, of my own I and plenty ofleisure and retirement.

  I studied the Bible carefully and found much comfort in it. Not that Iwas content with my lot--that I never could be while I was separatedfrom Amy--but still I found much consolation, and I became, to a certaindegree, resigned. I thought of my former life with disgust, and thissecond reading of the Bible, for the reader may recollect that the firsttook place when I was first confined in the Tower, was certainly ofgreat advantage to me. I had more time to dwell upon it--more time forreflection and self-examination--and every day I reaped more advantageand became more worthy of the name of Christian. I now prayedfervently, and I think my prayers were heard, as you, my dear Madam,will also think as I continue my narrative. About three months after Ihad been appointed an inspector, Ingram was taken ill. At first hecomplained of disordered bowels, but in a few days inflammation came on,which ended in mortification. He was in great agony until themortification took place, when he obtained comparative relief.

  "My dear Mr Musgrave," he said, as I was at his bedside, "in a fewhours I shall have escaped from the mines, and be no more in bondage. Ishall follow the poor old Englishman, who left you his executor. I amabout to do the same. I shall now make my will verbally, as we have nowriting materials here, and leave you all I possess."

  "Why are you not more serious, Ingram," I said; "at such a moment asthis?"

  "I am most serious," he replied. "I know that in a few hours I shall beno more, and I trust in the mercy of Him who died for kings and forslaves; but, Musgrave, I have a secret to tell you. Do you recollectthe story in the fairy tales of the little white cat whose head wasobliged to be cut off, and who then turned into the most beautifulprincess in the world? Well, my secret is something like hers."

  I thought, by his continuing in this strain, that his head waswandering. I was about to speak to him, when he continued:

  "Do you know what has occasioned my death? I will tell you the secret.I was washing for diamonds, when I found one of a size which astonishedme. I knew it was of great value, and I did not choose that the King ofPortugal should receive such a benefit from my hands. I put it into mymouth to secrete it, hardly knowing what I should do afterwards, but Iwas thinking how I should act, when one of the superintendents passing(that crabbed old Portuguese belonging to the next gang), and seeing meidle and in deep thought, he struck me with his cane such a smart rap onthe shoulders, that he not only made me jump out of my reverie, but thediamond went down my throat. I'm sure if I had tried to swallow it Icould not have done so, but the shock forced it down. Well, this hasoccasioned my death, for it has remained in my stomach and occasionedthe stoppage, which has ended in inflammation and mortification. I feelit here even now; give me your finger, don't you feel it? Well, now youunderstand why I talked of the little white cat. Don't cut off my head,but when I am dead, just put your knife down there and take out thediamond and bury it, for I tell you--and they say dying men see clearerthan others--but that I am certain you will be released from thesemines, and then the diamond will be a fortune to you, and you will findthat being my executor was of some value to you. Now, pray--noscruple--I entreat it as a last favour, promise me that you will do as Iwish--pray promise me, or I shall die unhappy."

  I could not help promising him to execute his wishes, he appeared soearnest and asked it as a last favour, but I felt very repugnant at theidea. In another hour poor Ingram breathed his last, and I was mostmelancholy at the loss of so worthy a friend, who had by serving me beensubjected to the same slavery as myself. I left the hut and went to myown house, thinking over the strange communication that had been made tome. And why, thought I, should I obtain this diamond? I have no chanceof leaving this; yet, who knows, Ingram prophesied in his dying momentsthat I should--well, at all events, I will keep my promise to the poorfellow. I reported his death to the director, and, about an hourafterwards, went to the hut where he lay. His countenance was placid,and I looked at him for a long while, and queried whether he was nothappier than I was or ever could be. But, to comply with his request--Icould not bear the idea. I did not want the diamond, and I, who in myearly career had thought nothing of cutting and maiming the living man,now shuddered at the idea of making an incision in a dead body. Butthere was no time to be lost, the burials always took place at sunset,and it was near the hour. I bent a piece of bamboo cane double, like apair of sugar-tongs, and then putting my finger to the part of hisstomach which he had pointed out, I felt that there was a hardsubstance, and I made an incision with my knife--probing with the blade.I touched the diamond and then, using the piece of cane as a pair ofpin
cers, I contrived, after one or two attempts, to extract it. I threwthe diamond without examination into a pan of water which stood by thebed, and, covering up the body, I made a hole in the floor of the hutand buried the knife, which I felt I never could use again.

  I looked out of the hut and perceived two of the slaves, who performedthat office, coming towards me to take away the body. I desired them tocarry it leaving the clothes on, followed them, and saw it deposited inthe earth; after which I read prayers over the grave, and could notrefrain from shedding many tears to the memory of my faithful associate.I then returned to the hut, and taking the pan of water in my hand wentto my abode. I could not bear to touch the diamond, but I dared notleave it where it was; so I poured all the water out of the pan, andthen rolled the diamond out on the floor, which was of hardened clay. Isaw at once that it was one of great value, weighing, I should think,thirteen or fourteen _grammes_, and of a very pure water. It was in theform of an obtuse octahedron, and on one side was quite smooth andtransparent. Having made this examination, I picked up some of the claywith a piece of iron, and, rolling the diamond into the hole, I jammedthe clay down over it. "There," said I, "you may remain till doomsday,or till some one finds you; you will be of no use to me;" and I thoughtof the cock in the fable. My tattered Bible caught my eye, and I saidto it, "You are of more value than all the diamonds in the world;" and Ionly uttered what I felt.

  For a long time I mourned for Ingram, and thought nothing of thediamond. Three months more passed away, and I had been eighteen monthsin the mines, when some visitors made their appearance--no less than oneof the principals of the Jesuit order, who had been sent by the king ofPortugal out to the Brazils, on a tour of inspection, as it was called,but in fact to examine into the state of affairs, and the way in whichthe government revenue was collected. There had lately been so muchpeculation on the part of the various officers, that it was considerednecessary to make minute inquiry. A Portuguese nobleman had been sentout the year before, but had died shortly after his arrival, and therewas every reason to suppose that he had been poisoned, that the inquirymight be got rid of. Now this Jesuit priest had been sent out, probablybecause a Portuguese, who thought little of poisoning and stabbing alayman, would not dare to attempt the life of so sacred a character.Having full and extraordinary powers, he had made a short inquiry intothe different departments of government, and now come to the mines toascertain how far the delivery of the diamonds at the treasury agreedwith the collection at the mines; for these mines had usually producedfrom a million to a million and a half of revenue. The director was ina great fuss when he heard of this arrival at the further barrier;although immediately announced to him, he had scarcely an hour toprepare before the superior of the Jesuits arrived with his suite,consisting of about twenty people, and fifty or sixty sumpter mules andriding-horses. We were all called out to receive him, that is, all theinspectors. I went to attend the parade, and awaited with muchindifference; but my feelings were soon changed, when in this superiorof the Jesuits I beheld the Catholic priest who had visited me in theTower and obtained my release. The superior bowed to the director andto all around him, and as he then looked at us all, he recognised meimmediately.

  "You here, my son?" said he.

  "Yes, holy father," replied I, "and I thank Heaven that your arrivalwill enable me to prove my innocence."

  "Pray how is this?" said he.

  In a few words I narrated my story.

  "And you were thrown into prison without being permitted to defendyourself?"

  "Even so, good father, and sent to the mines to slave for life."

  "Did you not make known your case to the director of the mines?"

  "I did, Sir, but he stated that he pitied me, but could not help me."

  "Is this the case, Mr Director?" said the Jesuit, severely.

  "It is, Sir," replied the director; "I have more than once reportedcases of what appeared to me great hardship, if what those condemnedhave said was true, and have been told that I was too officious, andthat there could be no reversal of sentence. I can prove to you, Sir,by my journals and letter-books, how many cases I did formerly attemptto bring before the government; but I at last received such replies,which I can show you, as will prove that there has been no fault ofmine."

  "Allow me to add, holy father," said I, "that the kindness andconsideration of the director have been very great to all those underhis charge, and I think it very fortunate that such a person has beenappointed to this situation, as he has done everything that has been inhis power to alleviate the miseries of bondage."

  "I am glad to hear you say so, Mr Elrington. Mr Director, thisgentleman is a dear friend of mine; let him instantly be released. Myorders are not to be disputed by the viceroy himself."

  The superior then embraced me cordially, and told me that I was free,and should return with him to Rio. Imagine, my dear Madam, my joy andgratitude. I fell on my knees before him, and kissed his hands. Hegave me his blessing, and raised me up.

  "Where is your companion in misfortune?" said he.

  "Alas! Sir, he is dead," replied I.

  The superior shook his head and turned away, saying, "I will search intothis affair to the bottom, depend upon it, when I get back to Rio."

  He then desired the director to bring out his books, and his ownsecretary to follow him, leaving his servants in the court-yard with meand the other inspectors. I received the congratulations of all partiespresent, and as soon as possible I escaped from them, and returned to myown room, where I knelt and fervently thanked God for my unexpecteddeliverance; and, having paid my duty to the Most High, I sat down, andfell into a most delightful reverie of anticipations. In the evening,after the superior had dismissed him, the director sent for me, andsaid:

  "Allow me to return you many thanks for your kindness in speaking sofavourably of me as you have done. You have, indeed, been of service tome, and I am most grateful."

  "I only did you justice, director," replied I.

  "Yes, but how few have justice done them in this world!" replied he."The superior desired me to tell you, that you are to live with thegentlemen of his suite. Of course, you know, it is not etiquette forhim to admit anybody to his table. At all events you must allow me onepleasure, which is to supply you with clothes proper to your appearance,which I can easily do without inconvenience to myself."

  The director then led me into his room, and opened a wardrobe full ofrich suits, selected two of the handsomest, with linen and every otherarticle requisite, a handsome sword and hat, all of which he begged meto accept. Calling one of his servants, he ordered him to put them intoa valise, and take them to my apartment.

  "Is there anything else that I can do?--speak freely."

  "No, director," replied I, "I will accept these things from you, as Icannot procure them here, but when at Rio, I have means to obtaineverything that I require. I return you many thanks."

  "I will send my servant to arrange your hair," said he; "and I pray youto consider him at your disposal during the few days which the superiormay remain here."

  "Do you think it will take him so long?"

  "Yes," replied the director, "I will tell you in confidence, that he hasbrought with him the produce of the mines accounted for to thegovernment at home, and on his first inspection has found suchdefalcation from that which has been transmitted by me to Rio, that Iexpect there will be serious business. They never imagined at Rio thathe would have undertaken such a tedious journey as he has done, and theyare in much alarm about it; but I will leave you now, that you may gohome and make your toilet. Allow me to congratulate you, with all myheart, at the fortunate termination to your unjust bondage."

  Having again thanked him for his kindness, I went to my lodging, where Ifound his servant waiting for me; and having had my hair arranged in avery tolerable manner, and a little powder thrown in, I put on one ofthe suits, which fitted me pretty well, requiring but a slightalteration, from being rather full, which t
he servant soon managed.Thus did I once more appear as a gentleman--contrary to all myexpectations--and I then went and joined the suite of the superior, who,when they perceived the difference which dress made in my appearance,congratulated me, and warmly welcomed me to join the meal which had justbeen prepared for them. On the following day, the superior sent for me,and ordering me to sit down requested that I would enter into fulldetail of what had happened to me since we last parted. I did so, andmy narrative occupied the whole afternoon.

  "Your life has been full of vicissitude," replied he; "I trust, however,that your adventures are now over, and that you will be restored to yourfriends: the service you performed for our cause will never beforgotten."

  I ventured to ask him how it was that he was now in the employ of theKing of Portugal. He replied:

  "I am an Irishman by birth, and educated at Saint Omers. I was firstsent to Spain by the order when I was young, and have since beenemployed all over the world in the advancement of our holy church.Country with our order is of no consequence. We all serve the holychurch, and go wherever our services are required. I would you were aCatholic, I could advance you beyond all your hopes; but you are engagedto be married, and that puts an end to the question."

  As I thought the holy father must be tired with our long conference, Irose and took my leave.

  Three days afterwards I was informed by him that he intended to set offon his return to Rio, and now I thought of the diamond, which I resolvedto carry with me. I had no fear of being searched while under thisexcellent superior's protection, and therefore I went to my lodging, dugup the diamond, and, having washed it, for the first time gave it theexamination which it deserved. It certainly was a stone of great value,but of what value I could not exactly say. From what I had learnt fromthe director, who usually put his idea of the value upon any diamond ofsize which was brought to him, I considered that 20,000 pounds was theleast which could be put upon the stone. I took the precaution not tocarry it loose in my pocket, but to sew it within the lining of myclothes. Glad I was, indeed, when the orders to start the next morningwere given out. I found that a horse was appointed for me, and, havingmade up my valise, not forgetting my tattered Bible, I went to my bedthanking God that this was to be the last night that I was to pass inthe accursed Sierra de Espinhaco.

  At daylight the superior took his leave, mounted his mule, and we setforth, passing the guard-house in the narrow road, which I neverexpected to pass again. Before noon we were clear of the Sierra, andonce more in the open country. The attendants, with a portion of thesumpter mules, went in advance, to prepare for the superior's arrival atthe spot where we were to halt.

  The weather was excessively sultry, and the glare of the sun was verydistressing. At noon we stopped to take our dinner, and the usualsiesta after it. The attendants in advance had raised a sort ofpalanquin for the superior, and everything was ready. The superioralighted, and sat down under the palanquin, which protected him from therays of the sun; we all sat round at a respectful distance. The heatwas so intense, that, to relieve himself, the superior had, when he satdown, thrown off his long black robe, such as is worn by the priests ofhis order. Dinner was served up, and we had a merry party,notwithstanding the great heat. After our meal, we all shaded ourselvesas well as we could, and took our siesta for about two hours, when thesuperior rose up, and gave the signal for resuming our journey. Thehorses were soon ready, and the superior's mule being brought up to thepalanquin, he rose up, and one of his attendants was lifting up his robefor the superior to resume it, when my eye detected the head of a snakejust showing itself out of the side-pocket of the robe in which hecarried his breviary and his handkerchief. I knew the snake well, forwe often found them in the Sierra de Espinhaco, and some two or three ofthe slaves had lost their lives by their bite, which was so fatal, thatthey died in less than five minutes afterwards. The superior had hishandkerchief in his hand, and would have undoubtedly put it in hispocket before he mounted his mule, and if so would certainly have beenbitten, and lost his life. As the superior was fastening his robe atthe throat, I darted forward, seized it, threw it on the ground, andcommenced stamping upon it with all my force, much to the surprise ofthe whole party. Some of them thought me mad, and others, who werehorrified at such treatment of the holy garment, called out, "Hereticomaldetto!" which, Madam, you must know, means, accursed heretic. Havingfelt the snake (which is very short, but very thick in the body, with ahead like a toad) several times moving under my feet, and then moving nomore, I then stepped off the garment, and turning it over I lifted it upby the skirt, so that the dead snake rolled out of the pocket.

  "I thank the God whom we all worship, and the Son of God, who died forus all, whether Catholic or Heretic," cried I, "that I have been themeans of preserving the holy father."

  I had knelt down as I thus prayed, and the superior, perceiving thedanger that he had been in, did the same, and silently returned histhanks; at his example all the rest went down on their knees.

  "Yes," said the superior; "would to God that instead of reviling eachother all denominations of Christians would join in thus bruising thehead of the serpent which seeks our spiritual death."

  He then rose and said:

  "My son, I thank thee for the kind service thou hast performed."

  I then explained to the superior the deadly nature of the animal, and myfear that he would have put his handkerchief in the pocket of his robebefore I had time to prevent him, and begged him to excuse my seemingabruptness.

  "There needs no apology for saving a man's life," replied he,smiling.--"Come, let us go forward."

  I hardly need say that we were not quite so long in returning to Rio aswe were in going to the mines. We accomplished our journey, withoutusing extreme haste, in about half of the time. On our arrival, we tookup our quarters at a magnificent palace, which had been appropriated tothe superior during his residence at Rio, and I found myself sumptuouslylodged. For some days, during which the superior had frequentinterviews with the viceroy, I did not see him, but one day I wassummoned to his presence.

  "My son," said he, "I have lost no time in investigating your affair,and I find that all you have said is quite correct. To the disgrace ofthe government here, and the manner in which justice is administered, itappears that this man, Olivarez, on his arrival, went to the secretaryof the judge of that court in which such offences are tried, and statedthat he had two English mutineers on board, who had attempted to takethe vessel, and wounded several of his men dangerously; that he wished,of course, to deliver them up to justice, but that the immediatedeparture of his vessel would be prevented by so doing, as his crewwould be required as evidence; that the delay would be verydisadvantageous; and he inquired whether it could not be managed thatthese men might be punished without the appearance of himself and hismen, as he would pay a good sum rather than be detained. The secretaryperfectly understood the trick, and, upon the receipt of five hundredcruzados, he accepted the deposition of Olivarez, sworn to by him, assufficient evidence, and you were consigned to the mines upon thisdeposition by a warrant from the judge. We have had some trouble toobtain all the facts, but the question has been severely applied, andhas elicited them. Now, first, as to the judge and his secretary, theyhave gone to the gaol, and will take your place in the mines for life.Next as to Olivarez. It appears that, on his arrival, he sold his cargoof slaves very advantageously; that having received the money he gave asmall portion to each of his men, and that they went on shore, and, likeall English seamen, were soon in a state of intoxication; that Olivareztook such steps with the police, as to have them all thrown into prisonwhen in that state; and, on the following morning, he went to them,persuaded them that they had committed themselves during theirintoxication, and that it required a large sum to free them. This hepretended to have paid for them, and, having purchased a cargo for hisvoyage, he got them all on board, and again ran for the coast of Africa.In three months he returned with another cargo, whic
h he sold. He hadfound out his mother, and now he expended the money he had made, inpurchasing a good property about seven miles from Rio, where he placedhis mother and some slaves to take care of it, and cultivate it. Hecontrived to defraud his crew as much as he could, and before he went tothe coast again he married an amiable young person, the daughter of aneighbour. He made a third and a fourth voyage with equal success, buton the third voyage he contrived to get rid of a portion of his Englishcrew, who were now becoming troublesome, by taking some Portuguesesailors out with him, and leaving the English on the coast, as if bymistake. Previous to the fourth voyage, it appears that he satisfiedthe remainder of the English crew by producing accounts, and sharing outto them several hundred dollars previous to their departure for thecoast. He made a slight addition to his Portuguese sailors, not puttingtoo many on board, to avoid suspicion, and when on the coast of Africa,a portion of the English crew died, whether by poison or not is notknown, and the others he put on shore, seizing all their property, andthe dollars with which he had satisfied them. On his return from hisfourth voyage, having now nothing to fear from the partners in hisatrocious deed, having realised a large sum, he determined to remain onshore altogether, and live on his property with his mother and wife. Hedid so, and sent out the schooner under a Portuguese captain and crew,to be employed for him as owner in the slave traffic, and she has madetwo voyages since, and is expected back again every day. Now, my son,retribution has fallen heavily upon this bad man. Had he beendiscovered and punished when he first did the deed, it would have beenas nothing compared to what it has been now; he then had no property--noties--in fact, nothing or little to regret; but now, with a wife andchild, with a valuable property, living in independence, and increasingthat wealth daily--now, when he is at the very summit of his ambition,restored to his own country, respected and considered as being a man ofwealth, he has been seized, thrown into a dungeon, put to the question,and now lies in a state of misery, awaiting the sentence of death whichhas been pronounced against him. Neither has he the consolation ofknowing that he leaves those whom he loves in a state of affluence, forall his property, having been gained by making use of your property,necessarily is your property, and not his, and it has been confiscatedaccordingly for your use and benefit. As soon as everything iscollected, it will be paid into your hands. Thus, my son, I have atlast attained justice for you."

  I was, as you may imagine, my dear Madam, profuse in my acknowledgments,but he stopped me, saying:

  "I was sent here to see that justice was done to everybody, if Ipossibly could--no easy task, when all are amassing money, not caringhow they obtain it; but, surely, if any one has peculiar claims upon me,it is you."

  The superior then asked me many questions relative to my parentage, andI did not conceal anything from him. I told who I was, and why, at anearly age, I had left my father's house. He asked me many questions,and, after about two hours' conversation, he dismissed me, saying:

  "You may always depend upon my protection and gratitude."

  Before he dismissed me, he told me that he was about to send adespatch-boat to Lisbon, and as I might wish to inform my friends of mysafety, if I would write letters, he would insure their being safelydelivered to my friends in England. I gladly availed myself of thisoffer, and indeed would have begged a passage for myself, if it had notbeen that I considered Olivarez's money to be the property of MrTrevannion, and was determined to remit it to him before I left Rio.This detained me about six weeks longer, during which interval Olivarezhad suffered the penalty due to his crimes, having been strangled in themarket place.

  The money received was 28,000 cruzados, and not knowing how to disposeof it, I applied to the superior, who gave me orders for it induplicates upon the treasury at Lisbon, one of which I had very soon anopportunity of sending home to Mr Trevannion, with a duplicate of myfirst letter, and a second to him and Amy, stating my intention ofreturning as soon as possible. But this was by a Portuguese frigate,which made a very circuitous route home, and I did not choose to go bythat conveyance, as her detention at the different ports was souncertain. At last I became very impatient for my departure, andanxiously awaited the sailing of some vessel to any port of Europe.

  I had reserved 1000 cruzados for my own expenses, which I considered asquite sufficient, but they were gradually wasting away, for I waseverywhere received, and in the best company of Rio. At last one daythe superior sent for me, and told me that he was about to send anadvice-boat to Lisbon, and I might take a passage if I wished; that itwas a very small one, but a very fast sailer. I thanked him heartily,accepted the proposal, and went to my room to pack up my clothes. Inthe afternoon the captain of the xebeque called upon me, and told methat he would start on the following morning if I would be ready. Ireplied that I should be, put some dollars into his hands, requestingthat he would procure for me anything that he considered would benecessary and agreeable, and if the sum I had given him was not enough,I would repay him the remainder as soon as we were out of harbour. Itook my leave of the superior, who parted with me with manyprotestations of regard on his side, and tears of gratitude on mine, andearly the next morning I was on board of the xebeque. In light windsshe was extremely fast, but she certainly was too small to cross theAtlantic Ocean; nevertheless, as the captain said, she had crossed itseveral times, and he hoped that she often would again.

  The passage, however, that he usually made, was to run up to thenorthward of the Antilles, and then cross over, making the Bahama Isles,and from thence taking a fresh departure for Lisbon. Our crew consistedof only eight men, besides the captain; but, as the vessel was not morethan thirty tons, they were sufficient. We made a good run, until wewere in about twenty-four degrees of north latitude, when, as westretched to the eastward to cross the Atlantic, we met with a mostviolent gale, which lasted several days, and I fully expected every hourthat the vessel would go down, buried as she was by the heavy sea. Atlast we had no chance but to scud before the wind, which we did for twodays before a raging and following sea, that appeared determined uponour destruction. On the second night, as I was on deck, watching thebreaking and tossing of the billows, and the swift career of the littlebark, which enabled her to avoid them, the water suddenly appeared ofone white foam, and, as we rose upon the next sea, we were hurled alongon its crest, reeling on the foam until it had passed us, and then westruck heavily upon a rock. Fortunately, it was a soft coral rock, orwe had all perished. The next wave lifted us up again, and threw usfurther on, and, on its receding, the little xebeque laid high and dry,and careened over on her bilge.

  The waters rose and fell, and roared and foamed about us, but theylifted us no more, neither did they wash us off the decks as we clung tothe rigging; for the stout short mast, upon which the lateen sail washoisted, had not been carried away. We remained where we were tillmorning, every one holding on, and not communicating with each other.As the night wore away, so did the gale decrease and the sea subside.The waters now gradually left us; at intervals, when the waves receded,we could walk on shore; but we remained on the vessel till noon, bywhich time we found our vessel high and dry, having been carried over acoral reef, which appeared to extend one or two miles into the offing.

  The men, who had been much buffeted by the waves, and who were exhaustedby clinging so long to the rigging, now that they found themselves safe,and were warmed by the heat of the sun, rallied, and began to moveabout. We had a long consultation as to how we should act. There wasno chance of getting the vessel off again, and we did not exactly knowwhere we were; but the captain and I agreed that it must be upon one ofthe small islands of the Bahama group that we had been cast away, andour conjecture was right. After some consultation, the captain and Icalled the men together, and told them that it was very probable that wemight be some time before we could find the means of getting off theisland, and that, therefore, we must all do our best; that we would landand erect a tent with the sails, and obtain provisions; after that wewould consi
der the vessel and her stores as public property, but thatevery man's private property should be secured to him as if we werestill on board of the xebeque; that the captain should retain thecommand as before, and his orders should be obeyed by everybody, as longas they were reasonable and just.

  The men, who were well-behaved, quiet fellows,--and not, like Englishseamen, given to liquor,--readily agreed, and it was arranged that thefollowing morning we should commence our labours. This was a sad blowto me, who was anticipating a speedy meeting with Amy. I knew howdoubtful was the chance of our being seen by any vessel, and that I mustremain here for months, if not longer; but I had been schooled, andcould now say with fervency, "Thy will, O Lord, and not mine, be done."

  We remained on board of the vessel that night, and the next morning thegale had ceased, and the waters, to our astonishment, had receded, so asto leave us at least sixty yards from the sea, which was now almostcalm. We first took a survey of the island, to ascertain if there wasany water, and, as the island was not more than two miles incircumference, this did not take us long. Fortunately, in the centre wefound a deep hole sunk in the soft coral rock by some other people whohad been wrecked here, and in the hole the water was, although a littlebrackish, somewhat palatable. It evidently was the sea-water filteredthrough the soft rock.

  The whole of the island was surrounded with coral reefs, with lanes ofdeep water running between them, and the fish were sporting in thousandsafter the storm, but there was not a tree or vestige of vegetation uponthe whole island. We soon, however, discovered that it was frequentedby turtle, for we found some eggs, fresh-buried, in the sand. Havingmade this survey, we then went back to the vessel, and with spars andsails rigged a tent upon the highest point of the island, which might beten or fifteen feet above the level of the sea. The tent was largeenough to hold fifty men, if required, so we brought our bedding andchests and all our cooking apparatus on shore, made a fire-place outsidethe tent with the little caboose we had on board of the vessel, sent aman to obtain water from the hole, and put on some meat to boil for ourdinners. In the evening we all went out to turn turtle, and succeededin turning three, when we decided that we would not capture any moreuntil we had made a turtle-pond to put them in, for we had not more thantwo months' provisions on board of the vessel, and did not know how longwe might be detained. The men behaved very well, and indeed seemeddetermined to make themselves as comfortable as they could underexisting circumstances. The next day we put out some lines in deepwater, and caught several large fish, and then we went to find a properspot for a turtle-pond. We selected a hole in the reef which we thoughtwould answer, as we had only one end of it to fill up, and we commencedbreaking away the rock with crowbars, and worked hard the whole of theday, some breaking and others carrying the masses broken off. Bydegrees they rose to the surface of the water, and in two days more wecalculated that the pond would be ready to receive the turtle. We hadkilled one turtle in the morning, and we now lived upon it altogether,as we wished to save our salt provisions. The captain and I had manyconsultations as to what we should do, and what attempts we should maketo get off from this spot. Build a boat we could not, as we had not acarpenter among us, or the means of making the iron-work necessary. Wehad some tools, such as are usually used on board of vessels, andseveral pounds of large nails, but none fit for boat-building. Iproposed that we should examine the bottom of the xebeque, and see whatdamage was done to it. We did so, and found that the garboard strakewas broken and two of her timbers, but they were easy to repair; inevery other respect she was sound. I then proposed that we should cutdown the xebeque to a large boat, which we could easily do by rippingoff her planks and decks, and sawing down her timbers to the height werequired. It would be a heavy boat, it was true, but we should be ableto launch her with rollers, and the draught of water would be so smallthat we could get her over the reefs, which we could not possibly do thexebeque. The captain approved of the idea, and we agreed that as soonas the turtle-pond was finished we would make the attempt. In two daysmore we had finished the pond, and had turned thirty turtle, which weput into it. The men, now that they found that they had plenty to eat,began to show signs of laziness, and did not very readily commence thework upon the xebeque. They ate and slept, ate and slept again, on themattresses spread in the tent. At times they would fish, but it waswith difficulty that the captain and I could persuade them to work, andif they did work half an hour, they then threw down their axes andcrowbars, and went back to the tent. They had plenty of tobacco, andthey smoked half the day, ate turtle, and then slept again.Nevertheless, as the captain and I worked hard, the work progressed; inabout ten days after we began the work, we had ripped off her decks andher side-planks as as low as we thought right, and we were now sawingthrough the timbers, when the quiet of our party was disturbed by whatmay be considered a very strange quarrel. One of the men asserted inconversation that Saint Antony was born in Padua; one or two of theother seamen denied it, and this difference of opinion, which at firstwas a mere nothing, from sullenness, I presume, and something beingrequired to excite them, in the course of a day or two ended in aserious feud; the Paduans terming the anti-Paduans heretics and Jews.The epithet of Jew was what irritated so much, and the parties beingexactly even, four on each side, on the third day, after an angryaltercation, they all rushed out of the tent to decide the affair withtheir knives. The conflict was very fierce, and took place when thecaptain and I were at the xebeque, and before we could separate themfour of them had fallen; two were killed, and the other two badlywounded. It may appear ridiculous that people should take each other'slives for such a trifle; but, after all, nations declare war againsteach other, and thousands are killed on both sides, for causes almost asslight. With great difficulty we separated the remaining combatants,and such was their rage and excitement, that every now and then theywould attempt to break from us and attack each other again; but at lastwe disarmed them.

  This was a sad business; and it was melancholy to think that companionsin misfortune should take each other's lives, instead of feelinggrateful to the Almighty for their preservation.

  We buried the two men who had fallen, and dressed the wounds of thehurt; but after this quarrel the four others came to their work, andcontinued steady at it. We had now removed the upper portion of thexebeque, and commenced fixing beams and carlines on the lower part, soas to make a decked boat of it, and in another week we had decked herover. But we had a great deal more to do: we had to reduce the mast andyard to a proper size, to alter the sail and rigging, to make a smallrudder, and rollers to launch her upon. All this, with our reducedforce, occupied us another month; for the two wounded men, althoughrecovering, could but just crawl about. We turned many more turtle atnight, that we might have a sufficient supply. We now looked out for achannel of deep water through the reef, to get our boat out, and madeone out to a certain extent, but could not survey further withoutgetting off the reef, and the sharks were so numerous that we dared notventure. However, we took it for granted, as we had found deep water inshore, that we should be sure to do so in the offing; and we now got ourboat upon the rollers which we had made, by digging away the sand frombeneath her, and a trench to the water's edge. We had been two monthson the island when all was ready for launching.

  Anxious as I was to return to England, I cannot say that I was unhappywhen on this island: there was always a fine sea-breeze, which cooledthe air, and enabled us to work without exhaustion. With the exceptionof the unfortunate quarrel I have referred to, everything went onquietly. After work was over, I resorted as usual to my Bible, and readfor hours; and this calmed and allayed any impatient feelings whichmight at times arise. I felt that I had great cause to be grateful tothe Almighty for preserving me as he had done, and that it would befolly and wickedness on my part to repine because I could not obtain allthat I wished. I waited, therefore, for His own good time, withoutmurmuring, and in full confidence that all was for the best.

  At la
st we contrived to get our boat into the water, and she floatedmuch lighter than we thought she would have done, considering the weightof wood that was in her. As soon as she was anchored about ten feetfrom the beach, we made a gangway to her with planks, and commencedgetting all our salt provisions, water, and stores, which we hadselected as most necessary, on board of her. The stowage of theseoccupied us two days; we then got the yard up, and bent the sail, and,having fitted oars, we determined that the next day we would embark. Asshe still swam light, we got on board of her as many turtle as we couldconveniently carry, and then, for the last time, went on shore to sleep.

  As there was no room for our chests, it was agreed that we each shouldhave a bundle on board, selecting those things which we most requiredand most valued. This proposal, which was made by the captain, put mein mind of the diamond, which had scarcely once entered my thoughtssince I had been on the island. When I took it out of my chest, Ithought that I might as well make it more convenient to carry, as therewas no saying what might be the result of our new expedition; so, whenthe other men were all busy about their own effects, or asleep, I firsttook the precaution to roll it up in a covering of pitch, so that, iftaken from me or lost, it might not be known to be a diamond, and then Isewed it up in a piece of leather, which I cut from an old glove,putting a strong leather lanyard to it, so that I might wear it round myneck. Having done this without any one taking notice, and havingnothing else to do, I took some fine twine and worked it over, like themousing of a stay, in a way peculiar to sailors, so that, when finished,it was very much in the shape of a miniature buoy to an anchor, andreminded me of a _fend-off_ or fender, such as they use to prevent anyinjury to the sides of a vessel when coming in contact with another.Having finished my work, I put the leather lanyard round my neck, insideof my shirt, so that my diamond was concealed from sight; I then put upmy remaining pieces-of-eight--which were nearly 500, the best of myclothes, (for during my stay at Rio I had very much increased my stock,)and I hardly need say that the old Bible was not left behind.

  It was a beautiful calm morning when we embarked, and, lifting theanchor, took to our oars, and pulled out through the deep channel, thecaptain standing at the bow and conning us through, while I took thehelm. The boat pulled well and steered well; we had yet to see what shecould do under canvass. After a pull of two hours we were clear of thereef, and out in the open sea. We then laid in the oars, and commencedour preparations for hoisting the sail to a breeze, which then blew fromthe southward. When all was ready, the men hoisted the sail, but in sodoing, a rope being foul, as I was attempting to clear it, I was trippedup, and fell with my right knee on a spike, which entered deep, puttingme to excruciating pain, and laming me completely. I was obliged to sitdown abaft, for I nearly fainted away. In the mean time the sail wasset, and the boat stood well up to it. She proved to be very stiffunder canvass, which was a source of great congratulation. My kneebecame so painful and stiff that I could not move it; I took one of myshirts out of my bundle, tore it up into bandages, and put them on. Wehad resolved to attempt to make New Providence, the largest of theBahama group, where we knew that there was a town called Nassau, andfrom whence we hoped to obtain some conveyance to Europe; but we knewnothing of the port, or the inhabitants, or what trade was carried onwith them.

  For several hours our little bark went gaily over the water, but towardsnightfall the wind shifted, and the weather looked threatening. Wehardly knew how to steer, as we did not know the position of the islandwhich we had left, and now the wind heading us, we hauled up on thelarboard tack, with our head to the northward and eastward. As the sunwent down, the wind increased, and the sea ran fast. Our boat behavedwell, till it began to blow very hard, and then it took in so muchwater, that we were forced to bale.

  We had reefed our sail, and made everything as snug as we could, but thesea rising fast, and the boat taking in more water, we considered itprudent to lighten her, which we did by throwing overboard all theturtle. This we did without regret, as we were tired of eating them forso long a while. The day broke, and there appeared every sign of badweather, and the waves now tossed and foamed too much for such a smallcraft as we were in. About noon we saw a vessel on a wind to leeward ofus, which was a source of great delight to us all, and we bore down toher. We soon made her out to be an hermaphrodite brig, under herclose-reefed topsails and trysails. We ran under her counter andhailed. We perceived several men standing abaft, and apparently theysuspected us for a rover, for they had muskets and other weapons intheir hands. We told them that we had been shipwrecked, and the boatwas sinking in the gale, and then we rounded-to under her lee.

  There we remained for four or five hours, during which the wind and thesea went down very fast, and the boat no longer took in water; but wehad been all too much alarmed with the danger in which we had been, tolike to continue our voyage in her, and as we thought that we could nowgo alongside with safety, we hailed again, and asked permission. Aftersome parleying they threw us a rope, which we made fast to the boat, andlowered our sail, keeping off on a broad sheer, as there still was agreat deal of sea. They then entered into conversation with us. I toldthem all that had happened, and inquired where the brig was bound to.

  They replied, to James Town, Virginia. I asked them if they could giveus a passage there, as we were afraid to proceed in our boat; or if not,would they see us safe into New Providence.

  The captain then came forward. He was a very dark man, dark as amulatto, with keen small eyes, and a hooked nose. I never beheld a moredeformed and repulsive countenance.

  He said that he could not go to New Providence, as it was out of hisway, and that we might easily get there ourselves if we thought proper.

  I replied, that the boat was not sufficiently large and seaworthy, andthat we had already nearly gone down, and if another gale should comeon, we certainly should founder, and again requested that he would takeus on board.

  "Have you any money to pay for your passage?" inquired he.

  "Why," said I, "common charity and the feelings of a seaman towardssailors in distress should be sufficient to induce you to take us onboard, and not leave us to perish; but if you require money," I replied,"we have more than sufficient to satisfy you."

  "How much?" screamed out a lad of about fourteen, who was the very imageof the captain in miniature.

  I did not reply to this question, and the captain then said, "What doyou propose to do with the boat?"

  "Let her go adrift, to be sure," replied I.

  "What have you got on board of her?" said he.

  I enumerated, as well as I could recollect, the provisions and storesthat we had.

  "Well," replied he, "I will wait till it is a little smoother, and thenwe will clear the boat and take you on board."

  He then left the gangway, where he had been standing, and we continuedto be towed by the brig.

  "I do not like that fellow," said I to the Portuguese captain; "heappears, or pretends, to take us for pirates, but he is more like apirate himself."

  "He looks like the devil himself," replied the captain, "and to askpeople in our condition to pay for their passage! He is a monster!However, we all have a few doubloons, thank Heaven."

  About an hour afterwards, it being much more moderate, the captain ofthe brig told us to sheer alongside, and that four of us might come outand the others remain in the boat till she was cleared.

  "I think you had better go," said I to the captain, "for with so muchmotion I never shall be able to get up the side with my bad knee."

  We then sheered the boat alongside, and the captain and three of our mengot on board, but not without difficulty. I saw them go aft and downbelow with the captain of the brig, but I never saw them on deck again,much to my surprise, although we were more than half an hour before theyagain hailed us, and told us to come alongside again. During thishalf-hour my mind misgave me sadly that all was not right, from notseeing the Portuguese captain, or either of the three men, and
I took itinto my head that the vessel was a pirate; and I knew if such was thecase, we should instantly be rifled, if not murdered. I took theprecaution of taking off the bandage from my knee, and, having removedthe diamond from my neck, I put it under my ham in the cavity, whichheld it with ease, and then put the bandage on again over it, as Ithought they would hardly take a bandage off a bad knee to see if therewas anything concealed beneath it. It was with difficulty that Icontrived to get on board the brig, and as soon as I had gained thedeck, I was ordered to go down into the cabin: as I went aft, I lookedround for the Portuguese captain and the men, but could not see them. Icontrived, with difficulty, to get down into the cabin, and as soon as Iwas there I was seized by the arms and held fast by two of the men,while others bound me with seizings.

  As the captain was looking on, I inquired into the cause of thisoutrage. He replied, that we were a parcel of rascally pirates, whowould have taken his vessel if he had not been too deep for us; I toldhim it was false, and that I could easily prove it, as we still had thedespatches on board with which we had been charged, and that I couldshow good proof that I was the same person that I stated myself to be;that I very much feared that we had fallen into the hands of piratesourselves, but that I would have justice done as soon as we arrived atJames Town, without he intended to murder us all before we arrived. Hisanswer was, that he was too old a bird to be caught with such chaff, andthat he would secure us and deliver us up to the authorities as soon ashe arrived. I replied, in great anger, that he would then be convincedof his error, if it was an error, on his part; that his conduct wasinfamous, and he looked like a scoundrel, and I believed him to be one.

  "You call me a scoundrel, do you," said he, levelling a pistol at myhead.

  "You call us scoundrels, do you," cried the boy I have made mention of,and who was evidently the son of the captain, taking up another pistolin his hand. "Shall I shoot him, father?"

  "No, Peleg, not yet; we will pay them all when we get in. Take himaway, and put him in irons with the rest," said the captain; and I wasimmediately dragged forward between decks through a door in thebulkheads, where I found the Portuguese captain and three seamen alreadyin irons.

  "This is pretty treatment," said he to me.

  "Yes, it is, indeed," replied I; "but I will make him smart for it whenwe arrive."

  "Shall we ever arrive?" said the Portuguese captain, looking at me andcompressing his lips.

  "I say, my man," said I to the seaman who stood over us with a pistoland a cutlass, "who are you, and what are you? Tell us the truth: areyou pirates?"

  "I never was yet," replied he, "nor do I mean to be; but our skippersays that you are, and that he knew you as soon as you came alongside.That's all I can say about it."

  "Why, if we are pirates, as he says, and he recognises us, he must havebeen in pirates' company,--that is clear."

  "Well, he may have been, for all I know," replied the man. "I don'tconsider him any very great things; but he is our captain, and we mustobey orders."

  The man now brought forward the other three men who had been left in theboat. They told us that the boat had been cleared; all the provisions,stores, sails, etcetera, had been taken out of her;--a proof that shehad been gutted and then cut adrift;--that all our bundles were down inthe captain's cabin, and that the ill-looking urchin, his son, hadoverhauled them, one after another, and handed to his father all themoney that he had found; that they had been searched very carefully; andthat they had heard the captain say that we were all to be sent up, oneby one, and searched in the same manner;--and so it proved. I was firsttaken aft to have my pockets rummaged by the little villain, and as soonas I had been led forward and again put into irons, the Portuguesecaptain and three other seamen were sent for and treated in the sameway. We inquired of the men what money they had in their bundles andabout their persons. They had each man four doubloons at Rio for wages,and the captain had about forty doubloons. I had five hundredpieces-of-eight: so that, altogether, we had been robbed to the tune ofabout four hundred pounds sterling, independent of our clothes, whichwere of some value to us; that is, mine were at all events.

  The seamen who guarded us, and who relieved each other every watch, werenot at all surly or ill-natured. I asked one of them during thenight-watch whether he thought the captain would take our lives.

  "No," said he; "we will not allow that. You may be pirates, as he says,although we do not think you are; but if pirates, you shall have fairplay; that we have all made up our minds to. No hanging first, andtrying afterwards."

  I had a long conversation with this man, who appeared very much inclinedto be sociable. He told me that the vessel was named the_Transcendant_; that she sailed from Virginia to the West Indies, andthat some times she went to England; that the captain of her was alsothe owner, but where he came from, or what he was, they did not know,except that he was a Virginian,--they believed so, for that he had atobacco estate there, which was carried on by his eldest son. He calledthe captain a stingy, miserly fellow, who would sacrifice any man's lifeto save a shilling, and that there were odd stories about him at JamesTown.

  I was well satisfied with my conversation with this man, as it assuredme that our lives would not be taken, and I had no fear of the resultupon my arrival at James Town, for, as I have mentioned before, MrTrevannion had vessels which sailed to that port, and I well recollectedthe names of the parties to whom the vessel and cargo were consigned.

  On the following day the captain of the brig, followed by hisill-favoured son, came forward and looked at us as we sat in irons, uponwhich I addressed him:

  "You have put me in irons, Sir, when I threw myself upon yourprotection. You have robbed us of our money to the amount of nearly 400pounds, and you detain our other property. I now again desire that Imay be released. I offered to convince you that I was a person ofproperty, but you refused to listen to me. Now, Sir, I will tell youthat I am a partner in the house of Trevannion, at Liverpool, and thatwe have vessels that trade between James Town and that port. Ourvessels are consigned to Messrs. Fairbrother and Wilcocks, of JamesTown, and on my arrival I will soon prove that to you; and also not onlymake you surrender the property you have robbed us of, but I will makeyou smart pretty handsomely for your treatment of us; that you maydepend upon."

  "Fairbrother and Wilcocks," muttered he; "confound the fellow. Oh,"said he, turning to me, "you got the name of that firm from some shipyou have plundered and sunk, I suppose. No, no, that won't do,--oldbirds are not to be caught with chaff."

  "I believe you to have been a pirate yourself, if you are not one now,"replied I; "at all events you are a thief and a paltry villain--but ourtime will come."

  "Yes, it will," said the captain of the xebeque; "and remember, youscoundrel, if you can escape and buy off justice, you shall not escapeseven Portuguese knives,--mind you that."

  "No, no," cried the Portuguese sailors; "stop till we are on shore, andthen come on shore if you dare."

  "I say, father," said young Hopeful, "this looks like mischief; betterhang them, I reckon, than to be stuck like pigs. They look as if they'ddo it, don't they?"

  I shall never forget the diabolical expression of the captain of thebrig after the Portuguese sailors had done speaking. He had a pistol athis belt, which he drew out.

  "That's right, shoot 'em, father; dead men tell no tales, as you havealways said."

  "No, no," said the seaman who was on guard, motioning them back with hiscutlass, "there will be no shooting nor hanging either; we are all swornto that. If so be they be pirates, there's the law of the country tocondemn them; and if they be not pirates, why then that's anotherstory."

  The captain looked at the seaman as if he could have shot him if hedared. Then turned round hastily and went back to the cabin, followedby his worthy offspring.

  For seven days we remained in irons, when we heard land announced by thesailors on deck, and the brig's head was put towards it. At night shewas hove-to, and the next morn
ing again stood in, and we perceived thatwe were in smooth water. Towards night the anchor was let go, and weasked the guard if we had arrived at James Town.

  He replied, "No, but we were in a river on the coast, but he did notknow what river it was nor did any of the crew, nor could they tell whythe captain had anchored there. But they had seen several canoes withIndians cross the river, but that there appeared to be no whitesettlement that they could discover." The mystery was, however, clearedup on the following morning. A small boat, which could barely holdeight people, was lowered from the stern, and hauled up alongside. Wewere taken up, one by one, the scoundrel of a captain having firststripped each of us to our trousers, not even allowing us a shirt. Wewere ordered to get into the boat. As soon as we were all in, and ourweight brought the boat down to her gunnel, two oars were handed to us,and then the captain of the brig said:

  "Now, you rascally pirates, I might have hanged you all, and I wouldhave done so, for I know you well. I recollect your faces when youplundered the `Eliza,' when I was off Porto Rico; but if I put you inprison at James Town, I shall have to wait two or three months until thecourt sits, and I cannot be detained for such scoundrels as you; so nowyou may pull on shore, and get on how you can. Shove off, directly, orI'll put a bullet through your brains."

  "Hold fast," cried I, "and let him fire if he dares. You men belongingto the _Transcendant_, I call you to witness this treatment. Yourcaptain has robbed us of a large sum of money, and now turns us adrift,so as to compel us to land among savages, who may kill us immediately.I appeal to you, will you permit this cruelty and injustice? If you areEnglish, I conceive you will not."

  There was some talk and expostulation with the captain of the brig, inconsequence of what I said; but while it was going on, the captain's sonleaned over the side, and with his knife cut the painter, or rope whichheld the boat, and as the tide was running on very strong, in less thanhalf a minute we were a long way astern of the brig, and drifting fastup the river.

  We got our oars, and attempted to pull for the brig, for we knew thatthe seamen were taking our parts; but it was in vain; the tide ranseveral miles an hour, and in another minute or two, with all ourexertions, we were nearly a quarter of a mile astern of her, and theboat was so loaded that we hardly dared move lest we should upset it.We had, therefore, no option but to go on shore and take our chance; butwhen the men were pulling round for the shore, on reflection I thoughtthat we had better not land so soon, as the sailors had told us thatthey had seen the Indians in their canoes. I therefore recommended thatwe should allow the boat to drift up the river with the tide, and thendrift down again when the tide turned, remaining in the middle of thestream till it was dark, when we would land and make our way into thewoods. My advice was followed; we sat still in the boat, just keepingher head to the stream with the oars, and, being without our shirts, thesun scorching and blistering our backs, till past noon, during whichtime we must have drifted nearly twenty miles up the river, which was asbroad as the arm of a sea at the entrance; then the tide turned, and wedrifted back again till it was dusk, when it was again slack water. Allthis while we kept a sharp look-out to see if we could perceive anyIndians, but not one was to be seen. I now proposed that we should takeour oars and pull out of the river, as if we had only gone up on asurvey, for the brig had got under weigh, and had anchored, for want ofwind, about four miles off, and the Indians, if there were any, wouldsuppose that we were returning to the ship. We did so, and pulled tillit was dark, and were within two miles of the brig, where the flood-tideagain made strong, when we turned the boat's head up the river, andpulled with the oars to get up as far as we could before we landed.This we did, suffering much from hunger and thirst, as well as beingconfined so long in one position. As my knee was quite well, I now tookoff the bandage, and hung my diamond round my neck as before. I couldnot help feeling a satisfaction, when I thought that the thief of acaptain little imagined what a mine of wealth he was losing when heturned me adrift. It was about midnight when the tide ceased to flow,and we then agreed to land, and the question then was, whether we shouldseparate or keep together. After some discussion, we agreed to separatein twos, and the Portuguese captain and I agreed to keep each othercompany. We first pushed the boat into the stream, that she might driftaway, and then, shaking each other by the hand and bidding adieu, we allstarted in different directions. For some time the captain and Ithreaded the woods in silence, when we were stopped by a stream of deepwater, with such high banks, that in the dark we did not know how tocross it. We walked by the side of it for some time to discover apassage, and in so doing we at last found ourselves again on the banksof the river, and our boat lying close to us, having grounded not farfrom where we had shoved her off. We tasted the water in the creek, andfound it quite fresh: we had several times tried it on the river, andfound it quite salt from the tide running in. We drank plentifully, andsat down to recover ourselves, for although we had not walked more thanhalf an hour, the pushing through the brush-wood was very fatiguing.

  "I think," said I, "that this boat will certainly betray us, and wouldit not be better to take possession of it again? It will hold twocomfortably, and I think we shall get on as well, if not better, in aboat than in the woods without compass and without guide."

  "I agree with you," said the captain; "but what shall we do?"

  "Let us retrace our steps; let us pull again, with the ebb-tide, for themouth of the river, and then coast it along shore; we may arrive at somesettlement, if we do not starve by the way."

  "I agree with you," he said, "it will be the best plan; we must concealourselves in the day, and coast along at night."

  We waded into the river, got into the boat, and again pulled out. Theboat being light now pulled well, and we made good speed; and atdaylight we were clear of the river, and close to a small island nearthe mouth of it. Upon this we agreed to land, to try if we couldprocure food, for we were much exhausted, and also to conceal ourselvesfrom the natives. We ran our little boat on shore, and concealed heramong some bushes which grew down at the water's edge. We looked wellround, but could see nothing, and we then walked out in search of food;we found some wild plums, which we eagerly devoured; and going downagain to the beach, where there were some rocks, we found shell-fish, ofwhich we broke the shells between two stones, and made a meal of. Afterour hunger was satisfied, we lay down under the shelter of the boat, andfell fast asleep. We were so tired that we did not wake up till it wasnearly dark, when we agreed to start again, and pull along the coast tothe northward. We were just launching our boat, when we perceived acanoe about three miles off, steering for the mouth of the river to theisland. This stopped us, and we remained in our hiding-place. Thecanoe approached, steering directly for the spot where we lay concealed,and we imagined that they had discovered us. Such, however, proved notto be the case, for they ran on shore about fifty yards from us, and,hauling up the canoe, they got out and walked away on land. There werefour men, but it was now too dark to distinguish any more. We remainedquiet for a quarter of an hour, when I proposed that we should embark.

  "Have you ever managed a canoe?" said the Portuguese captain to me.

  "I have been in one in Africa very often," I said, "but they aredug-outs, as we call them."

  "So have I, and I do not think there is so difference between them andthese canoes. Can you paddle?"

  "Yes," I replied.

  "So can I," he said. "Now observe, the best thing we can do is to takepossession of that canoe; and then we shall get on better, for our boatwill always attract notice, whereas a canoe will not; besides, it willprevent these Indians, if they are come to look for us, which I suspectthey have, from following us."

  "I think you are right," I said; "but how shall we manage?"

  "In this way. You shall shove off our boat and walk by its side,dragging it up to where the canoe lies; I will go to the canoe, launchit, and then we will make off with both till we are too far out to betaken;
then, when we have got into the canoe, we will turn our boatadrift."

  I agreed to the proposals. We launched our boat very quietly, and Iwalked in the water up to my knees, drawing it after me till I arrivedopposite to the canoe. The Portuguese crept on his hands and knees tillhe had gained the canoe, pushed her off, and joined me. We made herfast to the tow-rope of our own boat, then got into the boat, and pulledaway from the island.

  We had not gained more than a hundred yards when the whiz of an arrowmet our ears. The Indians had discovered us, it was evident. Two orthree more arrows came flying by us, but we had now got well out, andthey fell harmless. We continued to pull till we were half a mile fromthe island, and then we laid on our oars. The stars shone bright; therewas a young moon, so as to enable us to see pretty well. We found thepaddles of the canoe lying on the cross-pieces. We had nothing to takefrom the boat but our tow-rope and the two small oars; these we put intothe canoe, and then, getting in ourselves, we let the boat go adrift.We put her head to the northward, between the island and the main, andpaddled away as fast as we could.

  The captain was a much better hand than I was, and he therefore took theoffice of steersman. The water was as smooth as glass, and we maderapid progress, and did not discontinue our exertions, except now andthen resting for a few moments, till the morning dawned, when we couldhardly distinguish the island we had left, and found ourselves aboutfive miles from the mainland. We had now time to examine the contentsof the canoe, and had much reason to be gratified with our acquisition.It had three bear-skins at the bottom, several pounds of yams, cookedand uncooked, two calabashes full of water, bows and arrows, threespears, a tomahawk, three fishing-lines and hooks, and some littlegourds full of black, white, and red paint; and, what we prized morethan all, some flints and a large rusty nail, with rotten wood to serveas tinder.

  "We are fortunate," said the captain; "now, before we pull in for theshore we must paint ourselves like Indians; at all events, you mustblack yourself, as you have no shirt, and I must do the same, although Ido not require it so much as you do."

  "Let us have something to eat and drink first," replied I, "and we willproceed to our toilet afterwards."

 

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