by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XVII
THE INSIDE HISTORY OF THE VOYAGE
While the Guardian-Mother lay aground, the mothers in the cabin hadbecome very anxious about their boys, and both of them had spent wakefulnights in thinking of them. In a comparison of notes it was evident thatthe wind had blown harder on the coast of Egypt than farther to thenorth. But the ship had escaped from the dilemma in the morning at anearly hour, and had made a quick run to Cape Arnauti.
There was therefore great rejoicing in the cabin when it was ascertainedthat the Maud was safe, with all on board of her. Dr. Hawkes operatedupon Mazagan in the hospital, and readily removed the bullet from hisshoulder. Ball, one of the old man-of-war's-men of the crew, who hadseen some service as a nurse, was appointed to take care of him.
The fact that the surgeon had a patient soon became known in theboudoir, and curiosity ran to the highest pitch to ascertain who andwhat he was. All that was known was the fact that he had been brought onboard from the Maud, which Sparks had learned from the sailors whoassisted in removing him. The commander and the "Big Four" were stillcloseted on the upper deck, and there was no one to answer anyquestions.
Before Captain Scott had finished his report, Dr. Hawkes rejoined theparty; and he was immediately beset by the curious ones for information.The seal of secrecy had been removed by the commander, and he had notbeen instructed to be silent. He knew the patient as soon as he saw him;for Mazagan had been a prisoner on board of the ship for a considerabletime after his capture in Pournea Bay.
"What is your patient, Dr. Hawkes?" asked Mrs. Blossom before he hadfairly crossed the threshold of the door.
"A wounded man; bullet in the shoulder," replied the surgeon withprofessional discretion. "It is not a woman, and Ball has been called inas his nurse."
"A bullet in the shoulder!" exclaimed the excellent woman. "Will hedie?"
"Undoubtedly he will, though perhaps not for twenty or thirty years."
"Is the wound dangerous?"
"I don't think so."
"But who is the man?"
"Captain Mazagan."
"Captain Mazagan!" exclaimed the good lady; and the name was repeated byseveral others, for they had known him as the pirate who had attackedthe Maud for the purpose of robbery, as they supposed, and they had seenhim occasionally on the upper deck when the conferences were inprogress there.
"How happened he to be wounded in the shoulder, doctor?" persisted theworthy lady.
"Because the bullet hit him there," replied the stout surgeon with achuckle, which was promptly communicated to Uncle Moses.
"But who shot him?"
"The man who fired the gun at him."
"Who fired the gun?"
"I don't know."
"What was Captain Mazagan doing here?"
"I don't know."
"Has there been a fight here?"
"Not that I am aware of."
"Then how did he get wounded?"
"I don't know," replied Dr. Hawkes, who evidently enjoyed the defeat ofthe inquisitor; and Uncle Moses's huge frame was jarring like a pot ofjelly under the influence of his inward chuckles.
"Have you dressed the wound of your patient without finding out anythingat all about how the man was wounded?" demanded the good lady, disgustedat her failure.
"It was my affair to dress his wound, and not to pump him, as I shouldhave done if he had taken a dose of poison," laughed the doctor. "But Ithink you need have no anxiety about my patient, for I have no doubt hewill do very well."
"But there must have been a quarrel or a fight somewhere about here,and I should like to know something about it," continued Mrs. Blossom,as she dropped herself heavily on one of the divans.
"I can give you no information whatever; for I leave all the fights andquarrels to our worthy and discreet commander, and do not meddle withhis affairs," added the surgeon.
"Do you really know nothing at all about what has happened here, Dr.Hawkes?" asked Mrs. Belgrave; and it was plain that the curiosity of therest of the party was strongly excited, though they were more guarded inmanifesting it.
"Absolutely nothing, my dear madam, beyond the fact that the man isCaptain Mazagan," replied Dr. Hawkes. "I never inquire into the affairsof my patients beyond what it is necessary for me to know in treatingthe case. I have no doubt Captain Ringgold will give you all theparticulars of whatever has happened here; for it looks as thoughsomething of importance had occurred."
A little later the commander, followed by the four boys, appeared, andMrs. Blossom renewed the onslaught. The others were, perhaps, quite asanxious to learn what had taken place; but they were silent, and waitedfor the captain to answer her questions if he was disposed to do so.
"I am sorry to interrupt this pleasant party, ladies and gentlemen, butI have already given the order to weigh the anchor, and we shall go tosea immediately," said Captain Ringgold. "The young gentlemen of theMaud must take their leave, and return to the tender."
"Has anything happened here, Captain Ringgold?" asked Mrs. Belgrave,taking him by the arm.
"Something has happened here," replied the commander, loud enough to beheard by all in the boudoir. "But here are the four young men in whomyou are all more or less interested, and you can see that they are notinjured."
"Have you been hurt, Mr. Belgrave?" asked Miss Blanche, by whose sideLouis had taken his place when he entered the apartment, as he was verymuch in the habit of doing when the party assembled.
"Not a hair of my head has been damaged," he replied.
"As soon as we are under way, and get clear of the shore, I shall tellyou the whole story of certain events which have transpired in KhrysokoBay during our absence," continued the commander. "I am willing to addthat it will make quite a thrilling narrative. About two o'clockto-morrow afternoon I expect the Guardian-Mother and the Maud will be atPort Said, at the entrance to the Suez Canal."
The mothers hugged their boys again even for the separation of eighteenhours, and the hands of the others were duly shaken. Mrs. Blossom didnot attempt to hug the Milesian this time.
"What has happened here, Felix?" she asked in a low tone; for the goodlady would have been glad to get at the solution of the mystery, inorder that she might give a hint of it to the others.
"Captain Ringgold will tell you all about it; it would take me six hoursto do so, and I have not the time," replied Felix as he bolted throughthe door.
"Six hours!" exclaimed the amiable lady. "Then we shall have to sit upabout all night to hear the story. I wonder what the boys have beendoing in this lonely place."
She was no wiser than the rest of the party. The two sons torethemselves away from their mothers, and Louis was permitted to take thehand of Miss Blanche in bidding her adieu. The commander had sent fourof the old sailors on board of the little steamer to stand the watchesduring the trip; for the "Big Four" were believed to be thoroughlyexhausted after a night in the gale and the most exciting day of alltheir lives. This was certainly true of Captain Scott, for he had hardlyslept a wink in the last thirty-six hours, and the others were tiredenough.
The chief engineer had been notified of the immediate departure of theMaud, and the fasts were cast off as soon as the ship's company went onboard. Stevens, the carpenter of the ship, had repaired the damage donein the galley, and a supply of provisions had been put on board.
Captain Scott had submitted the question as to whether anything was tobe done in regard to the ship's company of the Fatime. The matter hadbeen decided at once. Captain Mazagan had declared war against theMaud, and had proceeded to enforce his preposterous demand. He had madea failure of it, and outside of the call of ordinary humanity, thecommander believed that it was not his duty to look out for the comfortof the marauders. A sufficient supply of provisions had been sent tothose on shore, and the pirate himself was under treatment on board ofthe ship. What was to be done with him was a question for the future.
Captain Scott remained in the pilot-house of the Maud till the steamerwas
well off the cape, and then gave out the course, south and a halfwest. It was Morris's watch, and he insisted on remaining on theforecastle, as he had obtained a portion of his sleep the night before.The ship soon followed her consort; and as soon as the commander hadgiven out the course he hastened to the boudoir, where the party wereawaiting his appearance.
"It is hardly necessary for me to give the nautical points involved in'The Battle of Khrysoko,'" said Captain Ringgold, as he laid the diagramof the captain of the Maud on the table.
"I beg your pardon, Captain--involved in what?" interrupted Mr.Woolridge, who seemed to be bothered by the proper name.
"'The Battle of Khrysoko,'" repeated the commander with a smile. "Thatis the name the boys gave to the affair, calling it after the bay inwhich it occurred, though it is rather a high-sounding designation forit."
"Are we to understand that a battle has been fought here, CaptainRinggold?" inquired the magnate of the Fifth Avenue, as Louis had calledhim.
"It did not rise to the dignity of a regular naval engagement, though ittook place on the waters of the bay," replied the captain. "Perhaps ifwe call it a contest for superiority, it would cover the idea better.But this party are not prepared to understand what has taken place inKhrysoko Bay; and I must admit that I have concealed from you for thelast three months certain features of our voyage, a knowledge of whichwould have rendered some of you very nervous and unhappy.
"I did not consult Dr. Hawkes in relation to the effect upon one of hispatients, but I am confident he would have advised me to do as I havedone. I am equally confident that another of your number would very soonhave become one of his patients if I had been imprudent enough to puther in possession of all the facts in the situation. If I had done so atAthens, Zante, or Alexandria, I am almost certain that theGuardian-Mother would have been speeding her way across the Atlantic toNew York; for some of the party would have insisted upon abandoning thevoyage as projected.
"My only confidants in the inside history of this voyage for the lastsix months, or since we visited Mogadore, were the four young men whohave just left you. Now I will relate this inside history, and give allthe facts without any reservation whatever. I must begin back atMogadore; and as I mention the incidents of our cruise so far, you willremember all of them. 'The Battle of Khrysoko' is the last chapter ofthe story, and for the present at least, and I hope forever, has removedall danger from our path."
By this time the entire party were all attention. The captain began hisreview of the incidents of the voyage at Mogadore. He used the timejudiciously, but it took him a full hour to bring the history down tothe final event. Whatever had been dark and mysterious in the past wasmade plain. The discovery of the plot made by Louis in the cafe atGallipoli made a tremendous impression, and Dr. Hawkes had to attend toMrs. Belgrave, she became so excited and nervous.
The stirring events in the bay were given very cautiously by thespeaker, though he told the whole truth. He stated enough of thenautical situation to enable the party to understand the affair; and hewarmly commended Captain Scott for the decisive act by which he hadfinished the encounter, after he had used every effort to escape aconflict.
"And did that wicked pirate actually fire cannon-balls into the Maudwhile Louis was on board of her?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, very muchexcited.
"He put one shot through her, though Louis was on the upper deck, firinghis rifle into the enemy, and he was in no danger," replied thecommander.
It was midnight when the narrative and the comments upon it werefinished. The doctor attended to his patient in the cabin, and then tothe other in the hospital. Mazagan felt better, and wanted to talk; butDr. Hawkes would not permit him to do so. The party retired with enoughto think about.
At the time stated by the commander, the Guardian-Mother and the Maudwere off the red light on the end of the breakwater at the entrance tothe Suez Canal.