Asiatic Breezes; Or, Students on The Wing

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XXXIII

  A DISAPPOINTMENT TO CAPTAIN SCOTT

  Captain Ringgold knew something about Aden before he decided to make astopping-place of it, and it was certainly a more agreeable locationthan Perim. The town--or towns, for there appear to be several ofthem--is described by a former resident as a sort of crater like that ofa volcano, formed by a circular chain of steep hills, the highest ofwhich is 1,775 feet above the sea level. The slope outside of themreaching to the waters of the Arabian Gulf, or the Gulf of Aden as it isnow called, has several strings of hills in that direction, with valleysbetween them, radiating from the group to the shore.

  Aden is a peninsula connected with Hadramaut, the southern section ofArabia, by a narrow isthmus, covered at the spring tides by thesurrounding waters. Over it is a causeway conveying an aqueduct which isalways above the sea level. The region looks as though it might havebeen subject to volcanic convulsions at some remote period. Within thecircle of hills are the town and a portion of the military works. In itsnatural location, as well as in the strength of its defences, it bearssome resemblance to Gibraltar.

  This was the substance of what the commander told his passengers beforethey landed, and proceeded to give points in the history of thepeninsula, which he had studied up, as he always did when approaching anew locality; and though he was a walking encyclopaedia, he had notobtained this reputation without much study and labor in addition to hisextensive voyages and travels "all over the world."

  "A learned biblical scholar of the last century, who studied Orientalhistory in connection with the sacred record, identifies Aden as theEden mentioned by Ezekiel in describing the wealth of Tyrus," continuedthe commander.

  "But who was Tyrus, Captain?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who was wide awakewhen any scriptural name was used.

  "He wasn't anybody, Mrs. Blossom; and when Ezekiel and some other of theprophets used the word Tyrus, they meant Tyre; and doubtless you haveread about Tyre and Sidon."

  "I never heard it called by that name before," added the worthy ladywith a blush.

  "Read Ezekiel xxvii. and you will find it. This place was known beforethe time of Christ, and was the centre of an extensive commerce withIndia, though it was also carried on by the Indus and the Oxus, thelatter formerly flowing into the Caspian Sea. In the fourth centuryafter Christ, the son of the Emperor Constantine established a Christianchurch here. In more modern history Aden has been a part of Yemen,along whose shores we sailed for more than a day on the Red Sea. Thelines from Milton's 'Paradise Lost,' partly quoted before,

  "'As when to them who sail Beyond the Cape of Hope, and now are past Mozambic, off at sea north-east winds blow Sabaean odors from the spicy shore Of Arabie the blest,'

  alludes to this country. The Sabaeans were the ancient people of Yemen,called Sheba in the Book of Genesis. They were a wealthy and powerfulpeople, and it was probably the queen of this region who made acelebrated visit to King Solomon. But we cannot follow them now.

  "Yemen changed hands several times, belonging to Abyssinia, Persia, andthe caliphs of Arabia, and has been fought for by Portuguese, Turks, andEgyptians; but now it is a Turkish province. England had reason todemand satisfaction from the Arab authorities for injuries done to herIndian subjects. The negotiations failed, and there was evidenttreachery. England does her work thoroughly in such cases; and Aden waspromptly bombarded, and then seized by a naval and military force in1839. This is said to be the first territory acquired during the reignof Queen Victoria; and the nation's record is not so bad as sometimesstated.

  "Aden was made a free port in 1850; and it has since had a large trade,increasing it from half a million dollars to sixteen millions. It isgoverned by English civil officers, and the military is in command of abrigadier-general. The troops are British and East Indian, and are ofall arms of the service, including a troop of native cavalry, to whichArabs mounted on camels are attached. Now we are ready to go on shore,"the commander concluded.

  "How are we to go on shore, sir?" asked Scott.

  "We have plenty of boats,--the barge, the first and second cutters, andthe dingy," replied Captain Ringgold with a pleasant smile; for heunderstood what the captain of the Maud was driving at.

  "Are you not going to put the little steamer into the water again, sir?"inquired the young captain. "She would be very convenient in going aboutthis place, which is nearly surrounded by water."

  "She would be indeed; but we shall probably leave Aden by to-morrowafternoon, and it would hardly pay to lower her into the water, for youknow that it requires a great deal of hard work to do so," said thecommander, who was really very sorry to disoblige the young man, and hekept more than his usual smile on his face all the time.

  "I think we could make the voyage very comfortably in her from here toBombay, or wherever you are going," suggested Captain Scott.

  "I do not consider a voyage of that length in such a small craft quiteprudent, even if there were no other question to be considered. But itwould take us at least half a day to put the Maud into the water, andas long to coal and water her, and otherwise fit her out. Then it isordinarily a seven days' voyage from Aden to Bombay, and the Maud wouldget out of coal in half that time."

  "But for the next five hundred miles the voyage is along the coast ofArabia."

  "There are no coal stations except at Aden and Perim, so far as I know,unless you run up to Muscat, and I am not sure that there is any there,"answered the captain of the ship. "I learned from Mr. Gaskill, theParsee agent here, after I told him who and what we were, that he hadheard of us before. Stories exaggerated beyond all decent limits havebeen told about us. Louis's million and a half have been stretched tohundreds of millions, and the Guardian-Mother has been regarded as afloating mine of wealth. I suspect that Mazagan spread such stories inEgypt, and they have travelled to this port."

  "What have these stories to do with a voyage to Bombay by the Maud?"asked Scott, with something like a laugh; for he could see noconnection.

  "Mr. Gaskill asked me about the little steamer that was sailing with theship; so that he had heard of her, for she came through the canal withus. I have thought of this matter before; and the little steamer wouldbe a great temptation to the half-civilized Arabs that inhabit theseshores, and they are sailors after their own fashion. I know you are notafraid of them, Captain Scott; but it would be easy enough for thesepirates to fall upon you, capture the little steamer, and make an end ofall on board of her."

  "Where should we be while they were doing all this?" asked Scott with asmile of incredulity.

  "You would be treated to some treachery at first probably; but even in asquare, stand-up fight your chances against fifty or a hundred of thesesavages would be very small. In fact, I came to the conclusion, afteryour battle at Khrysoko, that the armament of the ship was not heavyenough for possible contingencies, though the saluting-guns on thetop-gallant forecastle are well enough for ordinary occasions."

  "As your mind seems to be made up, Captain Ringgold, I will say no moreabout the matter," added Scott; and it was plain enough that he wassorely disappointed.

  "I am very confident that Mrs. Belgrave and Mrs. Woolridge, since thetrouble in the Cyprus bay, and after all that has been said since thatevent, would not permit their sons to go to sea again in the Maud; and Imust say that their prudence is perfectly justifiable."

  "Then we are not likely to use the Maud again?" asked Scott.

  "Certainly not in these localities, though we may put her in the waterat Bombay, Calcutta, and perhaps some other ports," replied thecommander. "If anything should happen to you, or to any of your ship'scompany, I should never forgive myself."

  "I don't see that she will be of any use to us hereafter," suggested thediscontented young navigator.

  "I advised her purchase mainly for use in the Mediterranean; and she hascertainly been very useful, adding very much to the pleasure of theparty."

  "If you cannot use her, I should think you would sell
her," added Scott."Of whatever service she may have been, she seems to be played out, andis of no use at all now."

  "You are nearer right, Captain Scott, than perhaps you suppose; and tobe candid with you, I regard the Maud as very like an elephant on ourhands."

  "Then I hope you will sell her," replied the young man, with somethinglike desperation in his manner. "For my part, I am entirely willing youshould do so, sir."

  "It is plainly impracticable to make any use of her in the next sixmonths, except in harbor service, and we hardly need her for that,"continued the commander. "I know that Louis and Morris do not wish to goto sea in her again; and I suppose Felix would prefer to be where hiscrony is."

  "Cruising in the Maud is then decidedly a thing of the past," saidScott, with a feeble attempt to laugh.

  "Then, if I should find an opportunity to sell the Maud at Aden, youwill not be disappointed?" asked the captain, point-blank, lookingearnestly into the face of the young sailor.

  "If we are not to use her as we did before"--

  "That is utterly impracticable in the waters of the Indian Ocean; forthe perils I have suggested, to say nothing of typhoons and hurricanes,"interposed the commander.

  "Then I shall be perfectly satisfied to have her go," answered Scott.

  "In the first typhoon or hurricane, and I expect to see such, we mightbe obliged to cut her loose, and launch her into the boiling waters tosave the ship; for I find that she is too great a load to carry on ourpromenade deck, and we have no other place for her. We have had no stormto test the matter; if we had, she might have gone before this time. Ihave already spoken to Uncle Moses and Mr. Woolridge about the matter,and they not only consent, but insist, that the Maud be sold."

  "I have nothing more to say, Captain Ringgold," said Scott ratherstiffly.

  Then he told the young man about the terrors of the mothers, the gravefears of Mr. Woolridge, who was a yachtsman, and was so confident thatthe little steamer would have to be cast into the sea, that Scott wassomewhat mollified. He had made his reputation as a sailor, a navigator,a brave fellow, on board of her, and to lose the Maud seemed likedestroying the ark which had brought him out of the floods of evil, andmade a man of him.

  The wise commander had evidently saved him from a life of iniquity, andthe little steamer had been an effective agency in his hands in doingthe work. He was absolutely clear that it was not prudent for the youngnavigators to sail the Maud over the Indian Ocean, and his consciencewould not permit it to be done. He was afraid his decision might have abad effect upon the young man, that it might even turn him from thepaths of rectitude in which he had trodden for many months; but hetrusted to himself and the co-operation of the other three members ofthe "Big Four" to save him from any such disaster.

  The barge and the first cutter were manned at the gangway, and the partywent on shore, prepared by what the commander had said to them tounderstand what they were to see. Captain Ringgold was obliged to visitthe Parsee merchants, while an army officer who had been presented tothem showed them about the town. They found everything they couldpossibly desire at the shops (not stores on British territory). Louisprocured the vehicles, and they all rode out to the fortifications,where they were greatly interested, especially in the water tanks, whichhave a capacity of nearly eight million gallons. The officer wasexceedingly polite, not alone because the reputation of the wealth ofthe young millionaire had gone out before him, but because this is therule with well-bred English people.

  He was re-enforced by others, and the ladies had all the beaux theycould manage; and Miss Blanche could have had all of them if she had notchosen to cling to Louis Belgrave. They were all invited to dinner inthe cabin of the Guardian-Mother, and Mr. Sage was informed of the factbefore he returned to the ship.

  Before noon the Maud had been sold for four times the sum she had cost,to the Parsees, who wanted her very badly to ply between steamers andthe shore in prosecuting their trade. Out of the price to be receivedwas deducted that of the four guns and a liberal supply of ammunition ofall descriptions.