by G. A. Henty
Chapter 8: The Torpedo.
It was about two o'clock in the morning when the watch awoke thecrew, with the news that they could hear the distant sound of oarscoming along the shore. All took their places, in silence. After atime the rowing ceased, and all was quiet again. Half an hourpassed, and then there was a slight sound close alongside and, inthe channel, they could dimly make out a small boat--which wasrapidly rowed away into the darkness again, several musket shotsbeing fired after it.
"They have sent on ahead, to find if we were lying in the sameberth," the captain said. "I expect they will be puzzled when theyhear that we are outside, and that the entrance is guarded. Ishould not be surprised if they did not attack before morning. Theyhad such a lesson, yesterday, that I don't think they will try toforce the channel in our teeth again; but will play the waitinggame, sure that they will secure us, sooner or later."
So it turned out. The hours passed slowly on, but no sound washeard. Then, in the dim morning light, a pirate fleet of eightprahus was seen, lying at a distance of half a mile within thereef.
As the day broke, the breeze sprang up, the sails were hoisted, andthe captain prepared to slip his cables. A similar preparationcould, through the glasses, be observed on board the Malay fleet.
"That will do very well," the captain said. "Those fellows will bealong in about eight or ten minutes after we have started; and thefuse, according to the experiments we made as to its rate ofburning, will last about seven.
"Now, quick, lads, into the boat.
"Tom, you take charge of the sinking."
In another minute the boat was rowed to the channel, and the casklowered over the side. It was held there, for a minute, while themate struck a light and applied it to the touch paper. Then hepressed the bung firmly into the top of the tube, the lashings ofthe cask were cut, and the boat rowed back to the ship. The anchorswere already on board, and the brig was getting way on her as theboat rowed alongside. The men jumped on board, and the boat wassuffered to tow behind, while all hands set the whole of the sails.The vessel was soon running briskly before the land breeze.
The pirate fleet was instantly in motion. Every eye in the ship wasdirected towards them.
"They will be there in less than ten minutes from the moment Ilowered the cask," the mate said, looking at his watch.
"Not much," the captain said, "they are rowing fast, now; but thetrees keep off the wind, and their sails do not help them. Theywere a minute or two behind us in starting."
It was just eight minutes, from the time when the cask had beenlowered, that the first of the Malay boats rowed out through thechannel.
"I hope nothing has gone wrong," the mate growled.
"I am not afraid of that; though we may be wrong, a minute or two,as to the length of the fuse."
Another boat followed the first. The third was in mid channel when,suddenly, she seemed to rise bodily in the air, and then to fallinto pieces. A mighty column of water, a hundred feet high, roseinto the air; mingled with fragments of wood, and human bodies. Adeep, low report was heard; and the brig shook, as if she had comeinto collision with some floating body.
Although they were nearly a mile away, the yell of astonishment,and fright, of the Malays reached the ship. The prahus still insidethe reef were seen to turn round, and row away along the coast atthe top of their speed; while those which had passed the channel,after rowing wildly for some distance, lay on their oars--the crewsapparently stupefied at what had taken place. The craft which hadbeen injured the day before still lay seaward, on watch; but nowturned her head, and rowed towards the shore to join her consorts.
The Sea Belle left the coast. The Malays attempted no pursuit but,so long as they could be seen, remained inactive near the scene ofthe sudden and--to them--inexplicable catastrophe which hadbefallen their consort.
Once fairly freed from all fear of pursuit, the captain invited thetwo lads into his cabin; and there heard from them an account ofall the adventures through which they had passed. When they hadfinished, he questioned them as to their plans.
Hans said that he intended to take the first ship bound forHolland.
"And you?" he asked Will.
"I have no particular plan," Will said. "I am in no hurry to returnto England, having no relatives there. After being so longabsent--for it is now a year since I sailed from Yarmouth--I shouldnot care to return and take up my apprenticeship as a fisherman."
"Will you ship regularly on board the Sea Belle?" the captainasked.
"Thank you, sir, I think I would rather not decide upon anythinguntil we get to Calcutta. I have thirty pounds in money--fifteenpounds of which were given me on board the Dutch ship, and the restI received as wages for the voyage from England to Java. I carriedthe money in a belt round my waist, and have kept it ever since. SoI need not be in any great hurry to settle upon what I shall do;but certainly, after a regular sea life, I should not like to goback to being a fisherman. I am now past sixteen and, in anotherthree years, shall be able to earn more wages.
"I should have taken you for at least two years older," the captainsaid; "you are as big and strong as many lads of eighteen."
"I have done a good lot of hard work, in the last two years," Willsaid; "for on board the Dutch ship--although, of course, I was onlyrated as a boy--I used to do man's work, aloft."
Other people would have been deceived, as well as the captain. Hardwork and exposure to the air had done much to age the boy. He hadbeen tall and slight for his age when he left the workhouse and,while he had not ceased growing in height, he had widened outconsiderably and, had he asserted himself to be eighteen years ofage, few would have questioned the statement.
The Sea Belle for some time kept south, touching at some of theislands where a trade was done with the Papuans; then her head wasturned north and, after an eventful voyage, she reached Calcutta,where the captain had been ordered to fill up with cotton, orgrain, for England. The captain at once landed, and proceeded tothe office of the agent of the firm who owned the Sea Belle. He wasshown into that gentleman's private room where, at the time, twogentlemen were seated, chatting. The agent was personallyacquainted with the captain, and asked him to sit down and smoke acigar.
"This is Captain Mayhew, of the Sea Belle," he said to his friends."He has been trading, for the last three months, down among theislands.
"These gentlemen, Captain Mayhew, are Major Harrison and CaptainEdwards, who have just arrived from China, with their regiment, inthe Euphrates.
"Has your voyage been a pleasant one, captain?"
"Pleasant enough, sir, on the whole; but we were attacked by theMalay pirates, and I should certainly not be here to tell the tale,at present, had it not been for the quickness and shrewdness of alad, who had been shipwrecked on the coast."
"How is that, Mayhew? Tell us all about it."
Captain Mayhew related the whole story of the fight with thepirates; saying that, unquestionably, had it not been for Will'spointing out the passage through the reef, in the first place, andhis idea of burying a submarine mine, in the second, the Sea Bellewould have fallen into the hands of the pirates.
"But where did the boy spring from? How on earth came he to bethere?"
Captain Mayhew then related the story of William Gale's adventures,as he had them from his own lips.
"He must be a cool and plucky young fellow, indeed," Major Harrisonexclaimed. "I should like to see him.
"What style and type is he, captain? A rough sort of chap?"
"By no means," the captain answered. "He is surprisingly wellmannered. Had I met him elsewhere, and in gentleman's clothes, I donot think that I should have suspected that he was not what heappeared. His features, too, somehow or other, strike one as beingthose of a gentleman; which is all the more singular when, as afact, he told me he had been brought up in a workhouse.
"In a workhouse!" Major Harrison repeated. "Then I suppose hisparents were farm laborers."
"No," the captain answered; "he was left at
the door, on a stormynight, by a tramp who was found drowned, next morning, in a ditchnear. He had, when found, a gold trinket of some kind round hisneck; and he tells me that, from that and other circumstances, itwas generally supposed by the workhouse authorities that he did notbelong to the tramp, but that he had been stolen by her; and thathe belonged, at least, to a respectable family."
"All this is very interesting," Captain Edwards said. "I shouldlike much to see the boy. Will you come and dine with us thisevening on board the Euphrates--Mr. Reynolds, here, is coming--andhave the boy sent on board--say, at nine o'clock--when we can havehim in, and have a chat with him?"
Captain Mayhew readily agreed. William was even then waitingoutside for him, having landed with him; and the captain, when heentered the office, had told him to walk about for an hour andamuse himself with the sights of Calcutta, and then return and waitfor him. He said nothing about his being close at hand, as he didnot wish the officers to see him in the rough outfit which had beenfurnished him on board ship; intending to surprise them by hisappearance in decent clothes. Accordingly, on leaving Mr. Reynolds'office he took him to one of the numerous shops, in the town, whereclothes of any kind can be procured.
"Now, Will," he said, "I want you to get a suit of shore-goingclothes. You can get your sea outfit tomorrow, at your leisure; butI want you to show up well at the mess, this evening, and a suit ofgood clothes will always be useful to you."
Captain Mayhew had intended to pay for the outfit, himself, butthis Will would not hear of; and Captain Mayhew was the lessreluctant to let the lad have his own way as he had, in the courseof the interview with the agent, agreed that the lad's servicesdeserved a handsome recognition from the firm; and that the sum ofone hundred guineas should be given to him, at once. The agentfelt, no doubt, that the firm would thoroughly approve of thepayment. Twenty pounds were to be given to Hans, for his share ofthe services; but the two suggestions which had saved the Sea Bellehad both originated with Will.
By Captain Mayhew's advice, Will purchased a suit of dark-coloredtweed, a black tie, and some white shirts and collars. At othershops, he bought some boots and a Panama straw hat. Havingcompleted their purchases, they walked for some hours aboutCalcutta; Will being delighted with the variety of the nativecostumes, and the newness and singularity of everything which methis eye.
On their return to the ghaut--as the landing stage is called--theyfound their various purchases already stowed in the Sea Belle'sboat; which had, about an hour before, come to shore to fetch themoff. At seven o'clock Captain Mayhew went off to the Euphrates,leaving orders that the boat was to bring Will over, at nine. Atthat hour the lad was dressed in his new clothes which,fortunately, fitted him well.
"By jingo, Will," the first mate said, as he entered the cabin,"you look a tip-topper, and no mistake."
The mate was right. The lad, with his sunburnt face, quiet manner,and easy carriage, looked thoroughly at home in his attire.
"I don't know who your parents were, but I would bet a month's paythat the old tramp you were telling us of had nothing to do withit; for you look every inch a gentleman, from head to foot."
Will found, on gaining the deck of the Euphrates, that orders hadbeen left by the officer in command that he was to be shown intothe saloon cabin upon his giving his name to the sergeant, who cameup at the sentry's call. He was at once conducted below. For amoment he felt almost bewildered as he entered; the size of thecabin, the handsomeness of its fittings, the well-laid table deckedwith fragrant flowers, so far surpassed anything he had ever seen,or thought of.
He was conducted to the head of the table, where Major Harrison,with Mr. Reynolds on one hand and Captain Mayhew on the other, satnear the colonel commanding the regiment. Captain Mayhew, who hadalready told the outline of the story, smiled quietly to himself atthe expression of surprise which crossed the faces of the major andMr. Reynolds, as well as of the other officers sitting near, at theappearance of the lad he introduced to them. The colonel ordered achair to be placed next to himself, and told the servant to fill aglass of wine for Will, and entered into conversation with him.
"I think, gentlemen," he said, after a minute or two, seeing thatthe lad did not touch the wine that was poured out for him, "itwill be pleasanter on deck; for it is terribly hot here, and I seethat most of you have finished your wine."
An adjournment was at once made, to the deck. Here cigars werelighted and, the colonel and senior officers taking their places insome of the easy chairs--which were still all out--the restgathered round to hear the story, which Major Harrison had promisedthem would be an interesting one.
Captain Mayhew first gave his account of the fight between the SeaBelle and the pirates, beginning at the point when, as he was hotlychased and despairing of making a successful defense, the canoewith the two lads in it came out to him. Then Will was called uponto explain how he came to be there, at that moment. He told brieflyhow the fishing smack was sunk, how he had saved himself byclinging to the bob stay of the Dutch Indianan, and how he hadsailed in this vessel to Java; and was on his way in her to China,when wrecked in the cyclone.
Here his audience insisted upon his giving them full details; andhe accordingly told them the manner in which he and a few of thecrew had escaped; how, when they were building a boat, they hadbeen attacked by Malays, and all--except another lad and himself,who were hiding in a tree--were massacred by the pirates; how theyhad gone inland to a village where, having aided the natives whenattacked by a hostile tribe, they had been most kindly received;how they had finally obtained a canoe, and spent their time infishing, in hopes of seeing a passing sail; until the Sea Belle,chased by the Malay pirates, had appeared off the shore.
There was a genuine murmur of approval, from those thicklyclustered round, as the lad finished his story; and the colonelwarmly expressed his approval of his conduct, under such excitingcircumstances.
"What are you going to do, now?" he asked.
"I have not made up my mind, sir," the lad said. "I expect that Ishall ship in some vessel sailing for England, shortly."
"Major Harrison," the colonel said, "will you and Captain Mayhewcome with me to my cabin?
"I should like to have a few minutes' private chat with you," hewent on, putting his hand on Will's shoulder.
A minute or two later, the three gentlemen and Will were seated inthe private cabin.
"Look here, my boy," the colonel said; "I have heard, from MajorHarrison, what you had told Captain Mayhew concerning your birthand, certainly, your appearance and manner go far to sustain thebelief that the tramp who left you was not your mother, and thatyour parents were of gentle birth. I do not say that a man's birthmakes much difference to him; still, it does go for something and,in nine cases out of ten, the difference both in face and figure isunmistakable. Unless I am very wrong, your father was a gentleman.
"However, that is not to the point: it is your quickness andactivity, your coolness in danger, and the adventures which youhave gone through which interest us in you. Now I think it is apity that a lad, who has shown that there is so much in him, shouldremain a sailor before the mast. You have not been so long at seaas to become wedded to it, and to be unable to turn your hands toanything else.
"Now, what do you say to enlisting? In the ranks are men of allsorts--gentlemen, honest men, and blackguards. The steady,respectable man is sure to rise. You can, the captain tells me,read and write well. There is a chance of active service, atpresent; and when there is active service, a man who distinguisheshimself gets rapid promotion. The regiment land, tomorrow; and gostraight through, by train, to the North. There is trouble inAfghanistan; and an ultimatum has just been sent, to the Ameer,that if he does not comply with our terms it will be war; and wehope to be there in time for the beginning of it. I can only saythat, if you like to join, Major Harrison and myself will keep oureyes upon you and, if you deserve it, you may be sure of rapidpromotion. You have greatly interested me in your story, and Ishould be very glad to give a h
elping hand to so deserving a youngfellow.
"It is not usual, certainly, for a regiment to take recruits inIndia; but I don't suppose that there can be any objection to it."
"Thank you very much," Will said, when the colonel ceased. "I amgreatly obliged to you for your kindness. I have never thoughtabout the army, but I am sure that I cannot possibly do better thanaccept your kind offer.
"The only thing, sir, is about my age.
"Tut, tut!" the colonel interrupted, "I don't want to know anythingabout your age. When you go up for attestment, you will say thatyou are under nineteen, which will be strictly true. I will give ahint, and no further questions will be asked. Neither I nor anyoneelse know that you are not past eighteen and, in time of war, noone is particular as to the age of recruits, as long as they arefit to do their duty.
"You must work hard, to pick up enough knowledge of drill to enableyou to take your place in the ranks. There is neither parade work,nor difficult maneuvering, in the face of an enemy; and you canfinish up, afterwards.
"Are you quite agreed?"
"Quite, sir," Will said, joyously, "and am, indeed, obliged toyou."
"Come on board, then, tomorrow at eight o'clock, and ask forSergeant Ringwood."
William Gale left the cabin with a new prospect of life before him.He had, of late, rather shrunk from the thought of again taking hisplace as a ship boy; and the prospect of adventures--to say nothingof the advancement which might befall him, through the interesttaken in him by the colonel--was delightful to him.
The last words the colonel had said when he left the cabin were:
"Say nothing about the workhouse, and as little as possible ofanything which happened before you were wrecked on the island, inthe barrack room."
When William and Captain Mayhew had left the cabin, ColonelShepherd sent for Sergeant Ringwood.
"Sergeant," he said, "a young fellow will come on board, tomorrowat eight o'clock, to join the regiment as a recruit. Take him atonce to the surgeon, and get him passed. I know we shall be able togive him but little drill, before we get to the frontier; but doall you can for him, and I will make it up to you. He is a smartyoung fellow, and I have a good deal of interest in him.
"He was on his way to China, and was wrecked among the Malays, andhas gone through a good deal. Finding himself here with nothing todo, and with a prospect of active service on the frontier, he hasdecided to enlist and, as he is a gallant young fellow, I do notwish to balk his fancy."
The sergeant saluted and took his leave, impressed with theidea--although the colonel had not said so--that the new recruitwas a young gentleman, who had joined the service simply for thesake of taking part in the war.
The next morning Will took leave of his friend Hans; who had, theprevious day, shipped on board a Dutch ship, homeward bound; andwho was, a few hours later, to shift his berth to her, after he hadbeen on shore to fit himself out in clothes. Hans was much affectedat saying goodbye to his companion, and the two promised tocorrespond with each other.
On bidding farewell to his friend the captain of the Sea Belle, thelatter informed Will that Mr. Reynolds had, on behalf of the ownersof the Sea Belle, paid 100 pounds to his account into the Bank ofHindustan; and that this, or any portion of it, would be paid tohis order; as the captain had furnished the agent with a slip ofpaper upon which Will had, at his request, signed his name. Thishad, with the money, been deposited at the bank; so that hissignature might be recognized, and honored.
On reaching the Euphrates, Will was at once taken charge of bySergeant Ringwood; who took him before the doctor, to whom thecolonel had already spoken. The medical examination wassatisfactory, the doctor remarking:
"You are rather slight yet, but you will fill out, in time."
The age was asked, and given as under nineteen; and eighteen wasinscribed against him, in the books. Then he was taken before thecolonel, and attested; and was, from that moment, a member of theregiment. A uniform was served out to him, and the usual articlesof kit. The sergeant saw that his belts were put on properly, andhis knapsack packed; and half an hour afterwards he fell in, withhis musket on his shoulder, among the troops paraded on the deck ofthe Euphrates, prior to embarkation.
So quickly had it all been managed that Will could hardly believethat he was awake as, feeling strangely hampered by his belts andaccouterments, he descended the accommodation ladder, and took hisplace with his new comrades on board one of the great native boats,and rowed to the shore. The regiment was marched direct to therailway station, where the heavy baggage had been sent, on theprevious day. The men took their places in the long train whichstood in readiness and, half an hour later, steamed north fromCalcutta.
Hitherto, none of his comrades had spoken to Will. In the bustle oflanding, all had enough to do to look to themselves; and it was notuntil he found himself, with eight comrades and a corporal, in therailway carriage that he was addressed.
"Well, young 'un," one said, "what's yer name, and where do youcome from? Calcutta isn't much of a place for recruiting."
"I was on my way to China," Will replied, "and got wrecked amongthe Malays; then I got picked up by a vessel, and we had some hotfighting. Then I was landed at Calcutta and, seeing nothing much todo, and hearing that there was a chance of a fight with theAfghans, I thought the best thing to do was to enlist.
"My name is William Gale."
"I wasn't quite sure that you were an Englishman. You are prettynigh as dark as them copper-colored niggers here."
"So would you be," Will laughed, "if you had been living, as Ihave, for ten months among savages, without even a shirt to yourback."
"Tell us all about it," the soldier said.
"This is a bit of luck, mates, our having someone who can tell us atale, when we have got such a long journey before us."
Will made his story as full as he could, and it lasted a long time.When it was finished, the men expressed their opinion that he was agood sort and, Will having handed over to the corporal asovereign--to be expended on drinks by the way, as his footing inthe regiment--he became quite a popular character, and soon felt athome in his new position.