Newton Forster; Or, The Merchant Service

by Frederick Marryat

  VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER TWELVE.

  She stood a moment as a Pythoness Stands on her tripod, agonised and full Of inspiration gather'd from distress, When all the heart-strings, like wild horses, pull The heart asunder; then, as more or less Their speed abated or their strength grew dull, She sunk down on her seat by slow degrees, And bow'd her throbbing head o'er trembling knees. BYRON.

  It was with deep regret that Newton gave directions for the ship's headto be again directed on her course to England; but the property underhis charge was of too great value to warrant risking it by cruisingafter the pirates, the superior sailing of whose vessel afforded nohopes of success. The melancholy situation of Madame de Fontanges threwa gloom over the party, which was communicated even to the seamen; whilethe anguish of Monsieur de Fontanges, expressed with all the theatricalviolence characteristic of his nation, was a source of continualreminiscence and regret. They had been four days on their voyage,making little progress with the light and baffling winds, when they wereshrouded in one of those thick fogs which prevail in the latitude of theCape de Verds, and which was rendered more disagreeable by a mizzlingrain.

  On the sixth day, about twelve o'clock, the horizon cleared to thenorthward, and the fog in that quarter was rolled away by a strongbreeze which rippled along the water. Newton, who was on deck, observedthe direction of the wind to be precisely the reverse of the littlebreeze to which their sails had been trimmed; and the yards of theWindsor Castle were braced round to meet it. The gust was strong, andthe ship, laden as she was, careened over to the sudden force of it, asthe top-gallant sheets and halyards were let fly by the directions ofthe officer of the watch. The fog, which had still continued thick toleeward, now began to clear away; and, as the bank dispersed, theMarquis de Fontanges, who was standing on the poop by the side ofNewton, cried out "_Voila un batiment_!" Newton looked in the directionpointed out, and discovered the hull of a vessel looming through thefog, about a quarter of a mile to leeward of the Windsor Castle. Oneminute's scrutiny convinced him that it was the pirate, who, not havingbeen expeditious in trimming his sails, _laid in irons_, as seamen termit, heeling over to the blast. The Windsor Castle was then runningfree, at the rate of four miles an hour.

  "Starboard the helm--all hands to board--steady so. Be smart, my lads--it's the pirate--port a little. Hurrah! my lads--be quick, and she'sall our own. Quartermaster, my sword--quick!"

  The crew, who were all on deck, snatched their cutlasses from thecapstern-head, in which they were inserted, and before three minuteselapsed, during which the pirate had not time to extricate himself fromhis difficulty, were all ready for the service. They were joined by theFlemish sailors belonging to the neutral vessel, who very deliberatelyput their hands in their breeches-pockets and pulled out their knives,about as long as a carpenter's two-foot rule, preferring this weapon toany thing else.

  Monsieur de Fontanges, bursting with impatience, stood with Newton atthe head of the men. When the collision of the two vessels took place,the Windsor Castle, conned so as not to run down the pirate, but tosheer alongside, stove in the bulwarks of the other, and carried awayher top masts, which, drawn to windward by the pressure on theback-stays, fell over towards the Windsor Castle, and, entangling withher rigging, prevented the separation of the two vessels.

  "No quarter, my friends!" cried Monsieur de Fontanges, who darted onboard of the pirate vessel at the head of some men near themain-rigging, while Newton and the remainder, equally active, poureddown upon his quarter.

  Such had been the rapidity of the junction, and such the impetuosity ofthe attack, that most of the pirates had not had time to arm themselves,which, considering the superiority of their numbers, rendered theconquest more equal. A desperate struggle was the result; the attackedparty neither expecting, demanding, nor receiving quarter. It was blowfor blow, wound for wound, death to one or both. Every inch of the deckwas disputed, and not an inch obtained until it reeked with blood. Thevoices of Newton and Monsieur de Fontanges, encouraging their men, wereanswered by another voice--that of the captain of the pirates, which hadits due effect upon the other party, which rallied at its sound.Newton, even in the hurry and excitement of battle, could not helpthinking to himself that he had heard that voice before. The Englishseamen gained but little ground, so obstinate was the resistance. Thepirates fell; but, as they lay on the deck, they either raised theirexhausted arms to strike one last blow of vengeance before their life'sblood had been poured out, or seized upon their antagonists with theirteeth in their expiring agonies. But a party, who, from the sedatenessof their carriage, had hitherto been almost neutral, now forced theirway into the conflict. These were the Flemish seamen, with their longsnick-a-snee knives, which they used with as much imperturbability as abutcher professionally employed. They had gained the main rigging ofthe vessel, and, ascending it, had passed over by the catharpins, anddescended with all the deliberation of hears on the other side, by whichtranquil manoeuvre the pirates were taken in the flank; and, huddled asthey were together, the knives of the Flemings proved much moreeffective than the weapons opposed to them. The assistance of theFlemings was hailed with a shout from the English seamen, who rallied,and increased their efforts. Newton's sword had just been passedthrough the body of a tall powerful man, who had remained uninjured inthe front of the opposing party since the commencement of the action,when his fall discovered to Newton's view the captain of the vessel,whose voice had been so often heard, but who had hitherto been concealedfrom his sight by the athletic form which had just fallen by his hand.What was his astonishment and his indignation when he found himselfconfronted by one whom he had long imagined to have been summoned toanswer for his crimes--his former inveterate enemy, Jackson!

  Jackson appeared to be no less astonished at the recognition of Newton,whom he had supposed to have perished on the sand-bank. Bothmechanically called each other by name, and both sprung forward. Theblow of Newton's sword was warded off by the miscreant; but at the samemoment that of Monsieur de Fontanges was passed through his body to thehilt. Newton had just time to witness the fall of Jackson, when atomahawk descended on his head; his senses failed him, and he laid amongthe dead upon the deck.

  There was a shriek, a piercing shriek heard when Newton fell. It passedthe lips of one who had watched, with an anxiety too intense to beportrayed, the issue of the conflict;--it was from Isabel, who hadquitted the cabin at the crash occasioned by the collision of the twovessels, and had remained upon the poop "spectatress of the fight."Where were no fire arms used; no time for preparation had been allowed.There had been no smoke to conceal--all had been fairly presented to heraching sight. Yes! there she had remained, her eye fixed upon NewtonForster, as, at the head of his men, he slowly gained the deck of thecontested vessel. Not one word did she utter; but, with her lips wideapart from intensity of feeling, she watched his progress through thestrife, her eye fixed--immoveably fixed upon the spot where his form wasto be seen; hope buoyant, as she saw his arm raised and his victimsfall--heart sinking, as the pirate sword aimed at a life so dear. Thereshe stood like a statue--as white as beautiful--as motionless as ifindeed she had been chiselled from the Parian marble; and, had it notbeen from her bosom heaving with the agony of tumultuous feeling, youmight have imagined that all was as cold within. Newton fell--all herhopes were wrecked--she uttered one wild shriek, and felt no more.

  After the fall of Jackson the pirates were disheartened, and theirresistance became more feeble. Monsieur de Fontanges carved his way tothe taffrail, and then turned round to kill again. In a few minutes themost feeble-hearted escaped below, leaving the few remaining brave to behacked to pieces, and the deck of the pirate vessel was in possession ofthe British crew. Not waiting to recover his breath, Monsieur deFontanges rushed below to secure his wife. The cabin-door was locked,but yielded to his efforts, and he found her in the arms of herattendants in a state of insensibility. A scream of horror at the sightof his bloody sword, and another
of joy at the recognition of theirmaster, was followed up with the assurance that Madame had only fainted,Monsieur de Fontanges took his wife in his arms, and carried her ondeck, where, with the assistance of the seamen, he removed her on boardof the Windsor Castle, and in a short time had the pleasure to witnessher recovery. Their first endearments over, there was an awkwardquestion to put to a wife. After responding to her caresses, Monsieurde Fontanges inquired, with an air of anxiety very remarkable in aFrenchman, how she had been treated. "Il n'y a pas de mal, mon ami,"replied Madame de Fontanges. This was a jesuitical sort of answer, andMonsieur de Fontanges required further particulars. "Elle avoittemporisee" with the ruffian, with the faint hope of that assistancewhich had so opportunely and unexpectedly arrived. Monsieur deFontanges was satisfied with his wife's explanation; and such being thecase, what passed between Jackson and Madame de Fontanges can be noconcern of the reader's. As for Mimi and Charlotte, they made no suchassertion; but, when questioned, the poor girls burst into tears, and,calling the captain and first-lieutenant of the pirate barbarians, andevery epithet they could think of, complained bitterly of the usagewhich they had received.

  We left Newton floored (as Captain Oughton would have said) on the deckof the pirate vessel, and Isabel in a swoon on the poop of the WindsorCastle. They were both taken up, and then taken down, and recoveredaccording to the usual custom in romances and real life. Isabel was thefirst to _come to_, because, I presume, a blow on the heart is not quiteso serious as a blow on the head. Fortunately for Newton, the tomahawkhad only glanced along the temple, not injuring the skull, although itstunned him, and detached a very decent portion of his scalp, which hadto be replaced. A lancet brought him to his senses, and the surgeonpronounced his wound not to be dangerous, provided that he remainedquiet.

  At first Newton acquiesced with the medical adviser, but an hour or twoafterwards a circumstance occurred, which had such a resuscitatingeffect, that, weak as he was with the loss of blood, he would not resignthe command of the ship, but gave his orders relative to the capturedvessel, and the securing of the prisoners, as if nothing had occurred.What had contributed so much to the recovery of Newton, was simply this,that _somehow or another_ Mrs Enderby left him for a few minutes _tetea tete_ with Isabel Revel; and, during those few minutes, _somehow oranother_, a very interesting scene occurred, which I have no time justnow to describe. It ended, however, _somehow or another_, in theparties plighting their troth. As I said before, love and murder arevery good friends; and a chop from a tomahawk was but a prelude for thedescent of Love, with "healing on his wings."

  The Windsor Castle lost five men killed and eleven wounded in this hardcontest. Three of the Flemings were also wounded. The pirate hadsuffered more severely. Out of a crew of seventy-five men, as noquarter had been given, there remained but twenty-six, who had escapedand secreted themselves below, in the hold of the vessel. These wereput in irons under the half-deck of the Windsor Castle, to be tried upontheir arrival in England. As I may as well dispose of them at once,they were all sentenced to death by Sir William Scott, who made a veryimpressive speech upon the occasion; and most of them were hanged on thebank of the Thames. The polite valet of the Marquis de Fontanges hireda wherry, and escorted Mademoiselles Mimi and Charlotte to witness the"_barbares_" dangling in their chains; and the sooty young ladiesreturned, much gratified with their interesting excursion.

  It will be necessary to account for the re-appearance of Jackson. Thereader may recollect that he made sail in the boat, leaving Newton onthe island which they had gained after the brig had been run on shoreand wrecked. When the boat came floating down with the tide, bottom up,Newton made sure that Jackson had been upset and drowned; instead ofwhich, he had been picked up by a Providence schooner; and the boathaving been allowed to go adrift with the main-sheet belayed to the pin,had been upset by a squall, and had floated down with the current to thesand-bank where Newton was standing in the water. Jackson did notreturn to England, but had entered on board of a Portugueseslave-vessel, and had continued some time employed in this notorioustraffic, which tends so much to demoralise and harden the heart. Afterseveral voyages, he headed a mutiny, murdered the captain and those whowere not a party to the scheme, and commenced a career of piracy, whichhad been very successful, from the superior sailing of the vessel, andthe courage of the hardened villains he had collected under his command.