by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER XV
A WHITE SQUALL
All hands were called at five o'clock, when daylight was beginning tobreak in the east; the anchor was got up, sail set, and the deckswashed down, the usual scrubbing being for once omitted in order toavoid disturbing their passengers.
"What are we going to do about feeding them, Miller?" Horace asked."It was all very well for the people we had on board before to gettheir meals anyhow they could, but these have been accustomed towealth and luxury, and, as the leading merchants of Chios, were peopleof importance."
"Your father and the two Greeks were talking it over yesterdayevening before you landed, Horace. Of course it is out of the questionthat they could all take their meals in the cabin, which your fatherat first proposed to give up to them. Marco suggested that a tableshould be rigged on the quarterdeck. We reckoned that there would beabout fifty grown up or nearly so, that was allowing five for eachfamily. Of course the children would have their meals with theirnurses below."
"That would certainly be the pleasantest way, Miller. There is plentyof room for two tables, and as far as length goes twelve or fourteencould sit on each side easily enough without the tables extendingforward of the mainmast. I see Tarleton is getting the awning riggedup already. But the tables will want to be cleared away after eachmeal, or there will be no room for anything."
"Oh, yes, five minutes will be enough for that. The men will bring upall their mess tables, they can be rigged and unshipped in no time.The order is that the men are all to get into their white ducks ateight bells, as your father means to show these Greeks what an Englishyacht is. Your men have rigged up another stove in their cookingplace, and have borrowed a couple of the sailors, I suppose to washand cut up vegetables, and to act as kitchen-maids."
At seven o'clock the Chiots began to come up. Mr. Beveridge wasalready on deck, and requested Horace to assist him to set them attheir ease. The men were all of the best Greek type, courtly andgentle in manner, with refined faces. The older women were all more orless inclined to corpulence, while some of the young ones fullydeserved the terms of praise in which Mr. Beveridge had spoken of themthe evening before. At first they looked timid at finding themselvesin scenes so strange to them, but they were soon chattering andlaughing with each other. They were immensely astonished at theexquisite neatness and cleanliness of the vessel and her fittings.
"Are all English ships as white and clean as this?" one of themasked.
"All ships of war and yachts. A yacht is a vessel kept by a gentlemansimply for his own amusement and not for trade. This is a yacht,though we have mounted guns, and have come out prepared to fight."
"It would be a great pity to fight and spoil everything," the girlsaid.
"Oh, we can fight without spoiling everything; though of coursesometimes a shot may knock things about a bit, the damage would soonbe repaired."
"But you can't have been fighting yet," one of the younger men said,looking round.
"We have only had one fight, and that was when most of us were ashore.That officer, whom you see there, was on board, and he only had tenmen with him; but for all that he engaged two Turkish frigates, anddestroyed one of them."
There was an exclamation of astonishment, mingled with a littleincredulity, from the group round Horace, some of whom thought he wastrying to make fun of them.
"I can assure you that it is a fact," Horace said. "He first crippledher, and then set her on fire by firing red-hot balls into her."
"Was that near Cyprus?" one of the young men asked.
"Yes; the rest of us were on shore there, and we brought off fivehundred Christians from a village that was besieged by the Turks."
"Yes, that is true," the young fellow said. "I was told about it byone of the officers who lodged in our house. He said it was wonderful,and so it was; and the men you have here all look so quiet too."
"They are on their best behaviour now," Horace laughed; "but they areall picked men, and have all served in British men-of-war."
As eight bells rang out a party of sailors came along to thequarter-deck, bringing with them half a dozen mess tables, which theyarranged together, according to the direction of Zaimes.
"But these are nothing like enough, Zaimes," Horace said, going overto him.
"We are not going to sit down, Mr. Horace. We shall have twomeals--one at eleven and one at six. We shall put things on the tablenow, and let them eat standing."
The cloth was soon spread, and upon it were placed fruit, bread andbutter, and eggs, a great tureen filled with coffee, and another withhot milk; the whole of the cabin tea and coffee cups, and a score ofthe men's mugs.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Beveridge said, "you must helpyourselves. I am sorry to say that our breakfast service is quiteinsufficient for our needs, and that the gentlemen will have to put upwith the sailors' mugs."
Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal; the women sat about on the deck inlittle groups, and the men waited upon them, the three officers makingthemselves very busy in this work.
"It is disgusting, Horace," Miller said, "to hear you jabbering awaywith these girls, while we poor beggars can't say a word to them."
"But you speak a little Italian, don't you, Miller?"
"Yes, I picked up a little when I was on the Mediterranean station."
"Oh well, a little will go a long way sometimes, Miller, and some ofthem are sure to know something of Italian. I will soon find out whichthey are, and introduce them specially to you."
Five or six of the girls knew a little Italian, and most of the youngmen could speak it, Italian being the general language of commerce inthe Mediterranean, and Miller was soon engaged in conversation withsome of them. Martyn had broken the ice for himself with a mixture ofFrench and Italian; but Tarleton, who knew no language but his own,kept away from the quarter-deck.
"What's the odds," he said, when Horace tried to induce him to go aft."If they were going to be on board for a year, I would try to get holdof a few Greek words, and do what I could; but as it is, it is notworth while bothering one's self. It is no use my trying to makemyself agreeable to girls when I haven't a word to say to them. On thewhole I am rather glad I can't talk, to them. I never had any practiceat that sort of thing; and if I ever do fall in love, I hope it willbe with an Englishwoman. Look at Miller there," he laughed, "jawingaway with five or six girls at once, and I don't believe one of themhas the least idea of what he is saying, though they all try to lookinterested."
"They understand he is trying to make himself agreeable, Tarleton, andI have no doubt they are grateful and pleased. I daresay some of themdon't understand any more Italian than he does. Still they are just asmuch amused, if not more, as if they understood him perfectly."
After the meal was over some chairs and benches were brought up, butthe ladies all preferred sitting on the deck, and were much pleasedwhen a number of the men's hammocks were brought up, unrolled, andlaid down for them to sit upon. Mr. Beveridge chatted with themerchants, the younger men smoked and lounged about, Martyn and Millerand Horace devoting themselves to the ladies, until eleven o'clock,when two long tables were set. Zaimes arranged them tastefully withflowers and silver, and a very excellent meal was served. After themeal was finished, and the decks cleared, the men were exercised atcutlass drill and in getting down and setting the sails, and theChiots were astonished at their discipline and activity.
"I have seen vessels get up sail at Chios hundreds of times," one ofthe young men said to Horace, "and everyone shouts and bustles about;but with all the noise they take five or six times as long to get themup as your men do, and, except when the officer gives orders, there isno more sound than there would be if they were all dumb."
"Captain Martyn says that he will have gun drill to-morrow," Horacesaid, "and you will see that they are just as quiet at their work thenas now. You see the three officers have all served in our navy aswell as the men, and we have just the same discipline as there wouldbe in a king's ship."
&nb
sp; "One would scarcely think," Horace remarked to his father that eveningas they were standing together looking at the groups scattered aboutthe deck, "that these people were fugitives who have just left theirnative land, probably for life."
"I don't think they quite realize that at present, Horace. One or twoof the men have been telling me what anxiety they have suffered atChios since the revolution broke out. When the news came of some ofthe massacres of the Greeks, they were in constant fear of aretaliation upon them by the Mussulmans, and they made sure thatsooner or later, if the war went on, Chios would become involved init. Of course they did not suppose that such a mad-brained expeditionas that of Lykourgos would be undertaken, but supposed that asufficient force would be sent to ensure the capture of the island,accompanied by a fleet that would protect it from that of the Turks;but even that was greatly dreaded by them.
"They knew that the Turkish provinces governed by Greek officials weremuch more heavily taxed and oppressed than those in which the Turkscollected the taxation, and knew that the change would be, for them,very much for the worse. Except that they have the same religion, theyhave little in common with the Greeks in the mainland, and dreaded thethought of the Albanians, who would be sure to send over armed bands,who would harass and oppress them. Of course they have been forcenturies under Turkish rule, and the island has certainly flourishedexceedingly under it. Their trade has been almost entirely withConstantinople, and all their connections are Turkish. I can quiteunderstand, therefore, their repugnance to a change which would ruintheir trade and vastly increase their burdens; while, as to masters, Ishould imagine that no one in their senses could prefer Albanians toTurks.
"Seeing the storm coming, most of the wealthy Chiots have prepared insome way for it by sending much of their available capital, forsafety, to correspondents abroad, or by investing in foreignsecurities. I believe that all these merchants have done so; and asthe greater part of their money and valuables that remained are atpresent down in the hold, they will be able to live, if not in asgreat luxury as before, at any rate in comfort at Corfu, or whereverthey may settle themselves; while several of them have told me thatthey intend again to embark in trade, and, if possible, under ourflag. They have been asking me a good many questions about ourselves,and don't seem at all able to comprehend the interest that the Greekrevolution has created in Europe; still less that an Englishman likemyself, who could live comfortably at home, should come out here totake part in a struggle that in no way concerns him."
"What did you answer, father?" Horace asked with a slight smile.
"I told them that I was but half an Englishman, and that my mother wasGreek, and that I was devoted to the study of the language and customsof the ancients."
"I suppose they knew nothing about the ancients, father?"
"No," Mr. Beveridge admitted reluctantly. "They had heard of the nameof Homer, and had a vague sort of knowledge of the early history ofGreece--about as vague as the ordinary Englishman has of King Arthurand the Knights of the Round Table. An English school-boy of twelveknows more about ancient Greece than do nineteen Greeks out of twenty;though, seeing the interest felt by civilized Europe in the matter, itis the fashion among them now to pretend to feel great enthusiasm onthe subject. No; I am not surprised at these poor people beingcheerful, Horace. They have escaped the risk of a terrible fate; andas to patriotism, it is a feeling of which people who have been underforeign masters hundreds of years know absolutely nothing. They mayregret their easy, quiet life in Chios; but beyond that, I think theyhave little feeling in the matter."
The next morning, after breakfast, the sailors were exercised at theguns, three rounds being fired from each piece. Scarcely were the mendismissed from their quarters, and the guns secured, before theboatswain went up to Martyn.
"I beg your pardon, captain, but look over there. Do you see thatwhite cloud?--how quick it rises. I know these seas, sir; and that isa white squall, or I am a Dutchman. We sha'n't have more than three orfour minutes before it is on us."
"By Jove, you are right, Tom! All hands get off sail. Look smart, mylads; there is a bit of a squall coming down on us. Down topsails; injibs. Miller, take six hands and get this awning off. Horace, get theladies below at once."
As Martyn began to give his orders, Tarleton had run forward to seethem carried out; but Miller and Horace had continued theirconversation without paying much attention to them, believing that hewas only giving the orders as an exercise to the crew, and to show thepassengers how quickly they could get off sail. His sharp, decidedtone, however, soon showed them that he was in earnest. Horace lookedround almost bewildered, for there was scarcely a breath of wind; thesky was a deep blue overhead. Miller's experience in theMediterranean, however, told him which way to look.
"White squall, by Jove!" he muttered, as his eye fell on the cloudthat had attracted the boatswain's attention. Springing forward hecalled six of the men, and ran aft with them again. Horace, still inignorance of the reason for the order given him, at once proceeded tocarry it out.
Calling out in Greek, "Please go below at once, ladies;" and then tothe men, "Escort the ladies below as quickly as you can, please."Then, running forward, he shouted to the Greek servants, "All below,all below! Take the children with you; you are in the way here. Hurrydown."
His orders on the quarter-deck were more quickly obeyed than he hadexpected, for the Chiots, accustomed to these sudden and tremendoussqualls of the AEgean, glancing round when they heard the order,perceived the reason for it at once, and hurried the ladies below withall speed.
With so strong a crew it took but a minute to lower the gaff topsailfrom the mainmast and to get the foretop gallant sail and topsail downon the caps, and almost before the halliards had been let go a dozenmen were aloft furling the sails. The foresail came down with a run,and the jibs flew in from the bowsprit. Martyn himself saw to thelowering of the mainsail.
"Belay there!" he called when it was half-way down. "Reef it downfully, Mr. Tarleton," as the young officer, with twenty men, sprang tothe reef-points. "Now haul on the reef-earing. That is it. Welltogether, lads. Harden it down; that will do. Now a pull on the mainhalliards; that is enough. Belay. Lower the peak a bit more; that willdo. Now we are ready for it. Boatswain!"
"Ay, ay, sir," came from forward.
"Lower that fore-staysail down, and reef it fully."
He looked to windward. A white bank of clouds extended half-way up thesky, in front of which were white streamers blown out ahead of it. Theschooner had already been brought round with her head in the directionof the wind, and an extra hand had been placed at the wheel.
"Starboard a little," Martyn cried to the men at the wheel. "Slack offthe mainsheet a bit, Mr. Miller. I don't want to be taken aback."
A minute later a white line was seen approaching them on the waterwith the speed of a race-horse, and then with a shriek the squall wasupon them. Stripped as the vessel was of all her canvas, save thediminished fore-staysail, the mainsail being too far over to draw, shelay down until the water poured in over the lee gunwale from thepressure of wind on her masts and rigging. Her head payed off.
"Now haul on the mainsheet," Martyn shouted to a dozen sailors who hadhold of it, and dragged it in hand over hand. As the sail fluttered inher head again came up into the wind. "That will do. Belay there!keep her at that, lads," Martyn said, taking his place by the side ofthe men at the helm. "Keep the staysail full, but nothing more."
The schooner had now begun to move fast through the water asclose-hauled to the wind as her sails would stand. Though stillheeling over, her deck was now free of water, as that which she hadtaken on board had rushed out through the port-holes.
"She will do nicely now," Martyn said to his first lieutenant. "Youcan get the peak up again, Mr. Miller; she will stand it now."
The schooner was now retracing the course she had before been sailingon.
"It is lucky it came when it did, Miller. Another couple of hours andwe should have been in the t
hick of the islands. As it is now, we haveclear water, and at any rate, if we are obliged to change our course,we can run down south comparatively clear of everything. It is luckywe saw it coming in time. It was the boatswain warned me. If we hadnot got the sail off her we should have lost our spars, and perhapsbeen dismasted, and with all these islands down to leeward we shouldhave been in an awkward fix."
"Yes, indeed;" Miller agreed. "We are all right now. Of course weshall get some sea soon, but these squalls don't last many hours. Itis only the first blow that is to be feared."
"Do you think, Miller, you could get that pivot-gun sent down below?It is a big weight on deck, and when the sea gets up she will feelit."
"I think so, sir. There is no sea on yet to speak of."
The gun was amidships, half-way between the fore and mainmasts, andthere was a hatchway just beyond the framework on which it travelled.Calling the crew together, Miller got tackles on the mainmast, andthese with the blocks of the throat halliards of the foresail werehooked on to strops round the gun. Ropes were attached to it andmanned to prevent it from swinging away to leeward when hoisted fromthe carriage.
"Now all ready," Miller said. "Hoist on the falls handsomely, inch byinch. Stand fast to those stay-ropes; that is right. Now haul her aft.Lower away a little forward and let her swing gradually aft; that doesit. Now she is over the hatchway. Lower away a little aft. Let her godown, breech foremost; that will do. Now a dozen of you go down to themain deck. You go down with them, Mr. Tarleton, and steer her clearthrough the lower hatchway."
Gradually the muzzle of the heavy gun sank below the deck, and in fiveminutes it was safely stowed in the bottom of the hold. Then thehatches were put on again and battened down securely, and Miller wentaft.
"That is a good job, Miller," Martyn said. "The sea is getting upfast, and in another five minutes it would not have been safe to doit. It will make all the difference to us in such a short choppy seaas we shall be having."
For six hours the wind blew with unabated force. A heavy sea got up,and, buoyant as she was, the schooner shipped water heavily over thebow, the seas being too short to give her time to rise and fallregularly over them. At the end of that time the wind fell almost assuddenly as it had risen, and half an hour later the schooner was onher course again, with all her lower sails set. It was not untilevening that the sea had gone down sufficiently for the passengers tobegin to make their appearance again on deck, looking worn out andexhausted by sea-sickness.
By this time the schooner was among the islands, and was passingthrough the Mykonos Channel, between the island of that name andTenos. Syra rose above the water almost ahead, while Rhenea and Deloslay on her beam to the south. Her topsails were set now, and she wasrunning fast through the water, her course being laid to pass betweenSeriphos and Siphnos, beyond which it was a straight course to CapeMalea, at the southern point of the Morea. A sharp look-out was keptat night for Anti-Melos on the one hand, and Falconera on the other.The former was made out, the land being high; but Falconera, a mererock, was passed unobserved. In the morning the schooner was runningthrough the Cervi Channel, between Cythera and Cervi, which islandalmost touches the mainland. A quiet night's rest had completelyrestored the passengers, who came on deck early, and watched withinterest the rocky shore of the Morea as they coasted along it.
Three days later the _Misericordia_ dropped her anchor in the harbourof Corfu.
Mr. Beveridge was again overwhelmed with thanks by the gratefulChiots. Upon the way they had inquired of him if he had a wife ordaughters, and were quite disappointed at hearing that he had no nearfemale relatives, as they had intended to send a consignment of choicestuffs and embroideries to them in token of their gratitude. Beforelanding they handed to Martyn a hundred pounds to be divided among thecrew, and on the day after landing sent off a very handsome case ofpistols to each of the officers. As their goods were being got up fromthe hold they pointed out four barrels which were to remain behind.
"We brought them off specially for you, Mr. Beveridge," they said."They are the very choicest vintage of Chios, and we do hope thatthough you have refused to accept any substantial proof of ourgratitude, you will not refuse to take these."
The decks of the _Misericordia_ seemed curiously still and desertedafter the departure of their guests. It had been a very pleasant weekwhile the Chiots had been on board, and Martyn and Miller both lookedout of spirits, having temporarily lost their hearts to two of theGreek girls.
"We have the best of it now," Tarleton laughed to the doctor. "What isthe use of a week's flirtation? Look at the parting at the end of it.The girls were pretty enough, no doubt; but what good would it be totake home a wife who did not speak your language, who was ignorant ofEnglish ways, and would be miserable in our climate, besides being ofa different religion. I think it is just as well that the voyage wasnot longer; as it is, they will soon get over it."
The captain and first officer had indeed but little time to think overit, for on the evening of the day after their arrival sail was againset on the schooner, and she started on her return to Chios, where, asMr. Beveridge said, they were likely to find plenty more opportunitiesfor doing good. The wind held steady, and they made a quick passage.Scarcely had they dropped anchor when a boat came off to them bearingan angry message from Lykourgos.
"You have assisted deserters to escape from the island," he said, "andif any of you set foot on shore you will at once be arrested."
They learned shortly afterwards from a boat that came alongside tosell fish that many of the richer inhabitants had been arrested andvery heavily fined upon the accusation that they also intended todesert, and that all who had property had been compelled to payconsiderable sums for protection against the excesses of the troopswho had come, as they pretended, to deliver them. The officers werefurious at the message from Lykourgos, and proposed going ashore witha strong party of armed sailors. Mr. Beveridge, however, decided thatno steps should be taken for a day or two.
"We don't want to become actually embroiled with these people unlessit is necessary," he said. "The Turkish fleet is expected here everyday now, and Lykourgos and his crew will, we may be sure, take flightas soon as they appear, and we shall then have plenty of scope for ourwork. At any rate we will wait two or three days and see how mattersturn up. If necessary we can then do as you propose, seize half adozen of the ships, and tell the rest we will sink them if they don'tput to sea; that will bring the fellow to his senses at once. I don'twant to do it if I can help it, because we should afterwards be liableto attack at any of the islands we might happen to put into."
A few hours later a fast Greek felucca came up and anchored betweenthe schooner and the other vessels. A boat was lowered and rowed atonce towards the transports.
"I fancy that fellow must have brought some news," Martyn said."Horace, will you go on board of him and find out where he comes from,and whether he has heard anything of the Turkish fleet?"
In ten minutes Horace reported:
"The Turks are only a few miles from the north of the island. Thefelucca has been watching them for the last week. They have beentaking troops on board at all the ports on the mainland as they camedown."
Already the fleet had diminished by at least two-thirds sinceLykourgos landed; but a small proportion of the plunder had fallen tothe sailors, and as it was for this alone that the craft had takenpart in the expedition, the greater portion soon became discontentedand sailed away. As the Turkish fleet approached the island, a Turkishsloop, which had gone on ahead to ascertain the position of theGreeks, ran ashore and fell into the hands of the Greeks, who at onceput to death every soul on board--the fate that had befallen everyprisoner they had taken. Having thus done their utmost to exasperatethe Turks, and to imperil the safety of the Christian inhabitants ofthe island, the Greeks made no effort to oppose the landing of theMussulmans, but retired precipitately on their approach, and the Turksentered Chios, plundering the town of everything that had escaped thebands of Lykourgos, the
irregulars who formed part of the armymurdering every Christian they met.
Lykourgos had retreated to the village of St. George, whence, after afeeble attempt at defence, he escaped with his followers on board somePsarian ships that had, fortunately for him, arrived. These islandershad strongly opposed the expedition to Chios, and had taken no part init, fearing to bring down the Turkish fleet upon themselves, as Psaralay but a short distance north of Chios. They maintained their fleetin port to aid in its defence should the Turks attack them. As soon,however, as they saw the Turkish fleet sail past Psara on its way toChios they at once put to sea with the intention of harassing theTurks and rendering some assistance to the Christians.
The vengeance of the Turks now fell upon the unfortunate Chiots, whohad been perfectly innocent of all share in the proceedings ofLykourgos, and who had already suffered so heavily at the hands of himand his robber bands. In the city the wealthier class generallysucceeded in purchasing the protection of Turks in authority by payinglarge sums of money, but the rest were either slaughtered or seized tobe sold into slavery. Three thousand Chiots, mostly the peasantry thathad come down from the hills, retired to the monastery of AghiosMinas, five miles south of the city. The Turks surrounded them andsummoned them to surrender. They refused to surrender, and thebuilding was carried by storm, and all within it put to death. Twothousand persons were similarly slain at the capture of the monasteryof Nea Mone; most of them were put to death by the sword, and the restperished in the conflagration of the monastery.
Kara Ali, the capitan-pasha, did all in his power to save the islandfrom being laid waste, knowing that the loss of the revenue derivedfrom the island would greatly vex the sultan and his seraglio, to whomthis revenue was specially appropriated. The regular troops were keptfairly in order, but the Bashi-Bazouks, that is the volunteers who hadflocked to his standard, scattered over the island, plundering andslaying, but more especially carrying off women and children for salein the slave-markets. The sultan, determined to strike terror into thehearts of the Greeks of the island, executed at Constantinople someChiot hostages that had been sent there, and ordered the archbishopand seventy-five other Chiots to be executed by the capitan-pasha.During the whole time Lykourgos had been there the vessels from Psarathey had been carrying off the Chiots from small ports and quiet baysround the island, and it was estimated that some fifteen thousand hadbeen taken off in this way either before the arrival of the Turks orduring the continuance of the massacres by them. The work was carriedon with great vigour by the Psarians who reaped a rich harvest fromtheir operations, demanding and receiving all the valuables of theunfortunate fugitives as the price for their passage to anotherisland. Thus large numbers of wealthy Chiots were reduced to the mostabject poverty by the avarice and extortion of those who professed tosave them.
The _Misericordia_ was very busy during the three weeks that followedthe Turkish re-occupation of the island. Cruising round and round shecarried off large numbers of fugitives, conveying them across to thenearest Greek islands. After making three such trips, and carryingover some twelve hundred fugitives, she left the work of rescue to thePsarians, and took up her station between the island and the mainlandto cut off the craft that were, as they learned, conveying the womenand children to the slave-markets of Smyrna. As speed was here of thegreatest utility, vessel after vessel was overhauled and compelled tobring to by her guns. Then the boats went alongside, forced theTurkish sailors and Bashi-Bazouks to take to their boats, and thenafter transporting the rescued women and children to the schooner, setfire to the ships.
No less than eighteen were overhauled and destroyed in the course of aweek--fourteen hundred women and children being rescued, the first twobatches being landed at Psara as the nearest Greek island, while thelast batch was taken to Athens. On returning from that trip they foundthat the destruction they caused had so alarmed the ship-owners ofSmyrna that the traffic by sea had almost entirely ceased, and thatthe slaves were now carried across in boats or small vessels to themainland opposite the island, which was but six or seven miles away.Here it was difficult to interrupt it, for the Turkish fleet lay offthe town of Chios, and the smaller ships cruised about in thechannel.
Trusting to her superior sailing power, the _Misericordia_ entered bythe southern, which was the broader end of the straits, and kepthovering about between the island and the mainland. She was frequentlychased by the Turks, and several times engaged their cruisers at adistance, the superior rapidity of her fire, and the ease with whichshe manoeuvred, giving her a great advantage over her clumsyopponents. Two of the Turkish corvettes were so severely handled thatthey had to retire under the shelter of the guns of the fleet. Over ascore of small craft were intercepted and destroyed, and two hundredand fifty more slaves rescued. At night she generally ran across andanchored in some indentation on the Turkish side, going in afternightfall, knowing that the Turkish cruisers always retired beforedark to their anchorage off Chios.
One night they were at anchor in a deep bay near the narrow andnorthern mouth of the straits. At about three in the morning Horacewas on the watch with Miller, and was walking up and down thequarter-deck with him, when one of the quarter-masters came aft.
"It seems to me, sir," he said to the first lieutenant, "that I canhear some sort of noise out seaward."
Miller stopped in his walk and listened intently. "There is some sortof noise, sure enough, quarter-master."
It was a quiet night, not a breath of wind was stirring, but aconfused sound was audible like that of small waves breaking on astony beach. "What do you make it out to be?" he asked thequarter-master. "It is too irregular and confused for oars."
"I don't know, sir; it ain't the sound of the oars of one boat or oftwo, but I should say that it might be the sound of a dozen."
"I think you are right," Miller said after listening for a while. "Idon't see what else it can be. Go down and call Captain Martyn."
In two or three minutes Martyn was on deck. "You make out oars, Ihear, Miller?"
"I am not sure that it is the sound of oars, but it may be."
Martyn listened attentively.
"I have very little doubt it is that," he said. "It is possible someboat may have gone over from this side with the news that we are here,or they may have arranged some fire signal and given notice in thatway, and they have sent the boats of the fleet across to cut us out.Well, if so, we have got to fight; there is not a breath of wind. Callthe other watch on deck, quarter-master."
The men soon tumbled up.
"Will you see to getting the boarding nettings up, Mr. Miller. Mr.Tarleton, get a boat put in the water, ship a light anchor, and dropit a cable length of her quarter. Get springs into both cables, sothat we can work her round and keep her broadside on to an attack.Horace, will you call up your father in the first place, and go downwith the two Greeks to the lower deck and get all that mob of womenand children down into the hold. Call the men to quarters, boatswain;open the magazine, get up canister and grape; let the men muster withmuskets and boarding-pikes."
The guns were run in and loaded, and when everything was in readinessa dead silence reigned fore and aft. The noise was now much louder,and there could be no doubt any longer that it was caused by theapproach of a large number of boats; then Martyn spoke in a clearvoice that could be heard from end to end of the schooner.
"As you can hear for yourselves, men, it is evident that we are aboutto be attacked by a flotilla of boats. Well, we have got to beat themoff. You know, without my telling you, that there is no mercy to beexpected at the hands of the Turks if they become the masters of thisship, so we have got to beat them off; and as it is a choice betweendoing so and of being murdered afterwards, I am sure I need not tellyou that we must fight to the last, and I for one have very littlefear of what the result will be. We have done good work as Britishsailors in saving life up to this point, and now we have got to showthem what British sailors can do when they are fighting for their ownlives. Don't cheer, lads, they mig
ht hear it across the water, andthey may as well think they are going to take us by surprise; we willcheer when we have beaten them off."
A hum of approval ran round the ship, and then the men stood to theirguns with their pistols in their belts, and their muskets andboarding-pikes ready at hand. Mr. Beveridge with the two Greeks hadtaken their positions, armed with rifles, near the wheel.
"They must be coming very slowly, Tarleton," Miller mutteredimpatiently. "They must be a mile away still."
"I expect the boats are crowded with troops, Miller, and I daresaythey are rowing easily so as to keep well in a body."
"I suppose that is it; but I wish the beggars would make haste. I hatethis waiting."
"So do I," Tarleton agreed. "Well, we shall give them a hot receptionwhen they do come. If it were anyone but Turks, I should say we weregoing to have very hot work of it. The Turks are good fellows to fighton shore, but they are no good on the water, and I expect they willattack us pell-mell without the least plan or order. Well, we shallsoon know; another ten minutes, and they will be near enough tobegin."