CHAPTER ELEVEN.
"SOUP" AND "TATERS."
"Hooray!" cried Bob Howlett, about a week later, as he burst into thecabin.
"What is it?" cried Mark, excitedly. "Why are they getting the anchorup?"
"Don't know. Nobody knows but the skipper, but we're off somewhere,thank goodness, and you're to come on deck to-day, and old Russell too."
"That is good news."
"Yes, I shall have you all right now, in no time, getting the breezeaway from this dismal shore. Here, I've told your lady's-maid--
"Hoozoar we're off to sea--he--he, Hoozoar we're off to sea."
Mark thrust his fingers into his ears till the last word was sung, andthen withdrew them.
"Here, what do you mean about the lady's-maid?"
"I've told Tom Fillot to come. He's to attend to you down here. I'vegot some one else for you on deck."
"Tell him to make haste, then."
"Come in," cried Bob; and Tom Fillot came in, pulled his forelock, andkicked out one leg behind, as he stood grinning, but looking ratherwhite and pulled down.
"Ah, Tom," cried Mark, "glad you have got well again. Coming to helpme?"
"Yes, sir! Mr Howlett said I was to come and wally de sham you, as hecalls washing yer down and dressing of yer up. Same to you, sir, onlyyou don't look quite as I should like to see yer."
Half an hour later Mark was on deck in a long cane chair, the awningabove his head, the monotonous-looking coast off astern, and forward andto right and left the blue dancing water, rippled by a light breezewhich made the _Nautilus_ careen over and glide through the littlewaves.
"And how beautiful it all looks!" sighed the lad. "I never thought theship so delightful, nor the sea so bright before."
Just then, Dance the coxswain came by, and saluted, Bob Howlett passingthem the same moment.
"Here you are, then, skipper," he said. "What do you think of JoeDance? Looks yellow about the gills, don't he? Here comes the captain.Can I do anything for you, Vandean?"
"Morning, Mr Vandean," said the captain. "Come, that's better. Nowthen, be smart and get well."
"I almost think I am well, sir," replied Mark, "and feel ashamed ofbeing so idle."
"Humph!" said Mr Staples, from behind him, "first midshipman I everknew with so fine a conscience. But come, he does look better, sir."
"Oh yes. Only wants time," said the captain. "You'll be ready to helptake the next slaver, Vandean--eh?"--this to the lieutenant; "well, saythe next but one. By the way, Mr Vandean, you can send your attendantto the cabin for any books you like to read. Look here, Staples."
They went aft together talking, and then descended to the cabin, whenBob Howlett hurried up.
"Why, you're holding quite a levee, old chap. I want to introduce twogentlemen to you, only I don't know about bringing them on thequarter-deck. All right, I will. It can be to move your chair."
Before Mark could say a word, the lad was off, and a minute later hereturned with a couple of black sailors in white duck shirt andtrousers--big built, fierce-looking fellows, whose black faces, hands,and feet showed strangely in contact with their snowy clothes.
They followed Bob Howlett on deck and to the chair occupied by Mark,stopping at a sign given by the midshipman who led them up.
"Here we are," he said. "You two don't understand a word I say, and Ican't make out a word of yours, so we're free and equal there. Now,look here, this is Captain Vandean, and I'm Captain Howlett. That is,we shall be some day. Now then, listen."
The two blacks gazed at him intently, as if trying hard to understandhim.
"This, I say, is Captain Vandean, and I'm Captain Howlett, and we camein the boat and saved your lives when you were pitched overboard out ofthe slaver."
"Are these the two men?" said Mark, eagerly.
"Right, my lord. These are they. I've had 'em holy-stoned and freshpainted. They seemed to want to stay, and the skipper said as he wasshort-handed he'd give 'em a trial. Of course, I took their parts; andI said to Maitland--"
"Yes, what did you say to Maitland, Mr Howlett?" said the captain, whohad returned unobserved.
Bob's jaw dropped. He was as a rule ready enough, but he was socompletely taken aback that he was now speechless.
"Ah," said the captain, "your memory is so short that you cannotrecollect. But try and bear this in mind, Mr Howlett. Don't vapourand don't brag. These things are not becoming to an officer and agentleman."
He passed on, and Bob's face was a study.
"There, it's all over," he said, dismally. "Don't laugh at a fellow.You might have said he was coming up."
"I can't help laughing, and I didn't know, Bob, really," said Mark,merrily, "Oh, I say, you did look a muff."
"So would you," said Bob, angrily. "There, I can't say what I was goingto say to you, only that their names are Soup and Taters. This is theone you brought aboard--Soup. And this is my one--Taters. Soup--Taters," he said again, and he touched the two men on the shoulders ashe spoke, both smiling faintly as they heard his words, and gazing fromone to the other as if striving hard to catch the meaning. "Now then,what do you think of them?"
"They both seem to be big, strong, healthy fellows."
"Yes, and I shall make first-class seamen of them."
"I suppose so," said Mark, smiling.
"There you go again--chaffing. Ah, you're ever so much better,"grumbled Bob. Then turning to the two blacks--"Now then, you may bothgo below, only recollect that we've got a sort of right in you, becauseMr Van here saved one of you, and I saved the other."
The two blacks gazed hard at the speaker, the man who had been draggedinto the first cutter through Mark, bending forward a little, with hissoft opal eyeballs gleaming and a wonderful intense look in his swartface. There was a twitching about the temples, and his lower liptrembled a little, while one hand was raised; but as Bob Howlettfinished, he uttered a low sigh, muttered a few words to his companion,and drew himself up, folding his arms across his broad chest.
"Well done, noble savage," said Bob. "We very nearly understand eachother. Here, Soup."
The black started at the word, and looked inquiringly at the speaker.
"Don't worry the poor fellows," said Mark.
"Who's going to worry them? Look here, Soup, you're going to serve theQueen, and the sooner you understand the Queen's English the better.I'm going to suit the action to the word. Now then, see here."
Bob glanced sharply round, to see that only the officer of the watch wason deck, and then, going through a kind of pantomime with greatrapidity, he made believe to be struggling with an assailant toward thebulwarks, and being pitched overboard, while the blacks looked on inastonishment.
"Here, they think you're going mad, Bob," cried Mark. "Drop it."
"Sha'n't! Look at 'em! They understand. Look here, Soup. Now then,Taters, I'm swimming for my life."
He struck out and swam drily, going through all the actions till hepretended to grow weak, threw up his hands, made believe to splash, andthen let his head droop as he reached Mark's chair.
"Now then," he said, "pretend to pull me into the boat."
Mark laughed and obeyed, helping to finish the pantomime, which wasquite comprehended by the two blacks, when Bob pointed to his messmate,and said:
"Here, Soup, this is the noble being who saved you."
The man uttered a few softly liquid words, smiled, and with his eyesfull of thankfulness he took a step forward, his companion imitating hisacts, and dropped down on his knees before Mark's chair.
"There," cried Bob, "what do you say to--Oh, I say, stow that, Taters;not to him. I saved you. Don't give him all the honour and glory."
But his explanation was in vain. Both the poor fellows had interpretedhis words to mean that Mark had saved them both, and they crouchedbefore him, making signs that he was their lord and they his humblestslaves.
"Well! I do call this sickening," cried Bob. "That's just my l
uck.Look here, Taters. I should just like to peel you and give you threedozen, you nasty black-looking, ungrateful swab. Hi! jump up! Herecomes old Staples. Now then, both of you, come along."
He seized one with each hand by the sleeves of their duck frocks, anddragged them forward; but in an instant, they had snatched themselvesfree, and returned to Mark, speaking softly in their own tongue, andwith a good deal of gesticulation, till Mark ended Bob's perplexity bypointing to the lower deck, when they walked obediently after themidshipman right away to the forecastle hatch, and went below.
Five minutes later Bob was back again by his messmate's side.
"That's just my luck," he said, sourly. "I beat the bush and somebodyelse catches the bird. Oh, here's Mr Russell coming; we shall have thewhole quarter-deck on the sick list directly."
But all the same Bob ran across to offer the second lieutenant his arm,as he walked feebly toward where Mark was seated, and eagerly stretchedout his hand to grasp that of the young brother officer who had sharedthe peril of what had so nearly been their last adventure.
Mark heaved a sigh, but it was one full of satisfaction as they two satquietly talking together, with first one and then another to come up andutter a few words of congratulation; and when sailors and marines passedand saluted with a friendly smile, there was no mistaking the popularityof the two convalescents.
Meanwhile the _Nautilus_ glided along due south, and there was a gooddeal of speculation as to her next destination, till Mr Staples cameup, and in the conversation which ensued, announced that they were tosearch for a river about sixty miles along the coast, one which was notmarked down in any chart, but was supposed to exist, and to be astronghold of those engaged in the slave trade.
It was getting toward evening, and the two invalids had pleaded for thedoctor's permission to stay longer on deck, for the soft air wasdelicious, and gave them fresh strength at every breath. They were verysilent as they sat watching with keen delight the varied business of theship, doubly interesting to them now that they could not take part init, when the wind began to drop, and the course of the vessel to growmore sluggish.
There was nothing for the men to do, and permission had been given to aparty of them, just towards sundown, to take the grains forward and tryto harpoon some of the swift fish playing about their bows in the goldenwater; but instead of going and perching himself somewhere to take partin the sport, Bob Howlett hung about the chair of his brother middy.
"Why don't you go and join in the fishing, Howlett?" said Mr Russell.
"Oh, I don't know," he said. "It'll be quite dark directly, and I waswishing, sir, for something to happen to make me an invalid."
"Because you have such an affection for Doctor Whitney's doses?" saidMark, laughing.
"No, so you needn't make nasty remarks," replied Bob. "I thought so,because middies who have been a little out of sorts get all kinds ofattentions, and those who are quite well get bullied by firstlieutenants, and are spoken to by captains as if they weren't worththeir salt, as Mr Staples calls it."
"I shall have to report Mr Robert Howlett's insubordinate language,"said Mark's fellow-invalid, when all at once there came a cry of rage,followed by a loud shouting somewhere forward. Then more cries, andconfusion, and directly after there was a desperate scuffle going on bythe forecastle hatch.
"What's that?" cried the first lieutenant; and in a few minutes, after adesperate fight, the two blacks were dragged forward, pushed by four ofthe men, and held by main force while the captain, who had hurried ondeck, called for an explanation.
This was given by a dozen voices at once, but in obedience to a commandthere was silence, in which the heavy panting breathing of the blackscould be plainly heard.
"Now then," said the captain, "one man speak. You, Dance, step forward.What does this mean?"
"Beg pardon, sir," said the coxswain of the first cutter; "some of thelads got skylarking and playing tricks with the two black hands."
"_Who_ did?" said the captain, sternly.
"Beg pardon, sir, didn't see, sir, but it made the two niggers wild, andone got a knife and the other a marlin-spike; and if they hadn't beenheld there'd ha' been murder done, and--"
"Man overboard!" was yelled from right forward where the fishing hadbeen going on, and following a loud splashing from just beneath theship's counter came that most thrilling of cries to send the bloodcoursing back even from the strongest man's cheek.
"Boat, boat--Help--help!"
In tropic waters just as the sun had sunk below the horizon, and therapid darkness was coming on.
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