“Well,” he said, as he rejoined me, “have you not yet been able to satisfy yourself as to the character of that brig?”
“No,” said I; “but, whatever she is, they all seem to be asleep on board her. If she is a slaver, her skipper has more care and consideration for his property than you have, for he at least allows his slaves to rest at night.”
“That is quite patent to us all,” answered Mendouca drily. “But then, you know, he may not be running short of food and water, as we are. Or—he may not be a slaver.”
“Of course,” I assented, with the best accent of indifference that I could assume. “But, slaver or no slaver, I have not been able to detect a sign of life on board that brig for the last half-hour, or indeed from the moment when I first began to watch her. I can make out the faint light of her binnacle lamps, and that is all. But the fact of their being allowed to continue shining would seem to argue, to my mind at least, that, be they what they may, they have no reason for attempting to conceal their presence from us. If you feel differently toward them I think you would do well to extinguish your binnacle lights for awhile; the helmsman can steer equally well by a star, of which there are plenty to choose from.”
“Yes, of course; you are right,” he assented hastily; “there can be no harm in doing that.”
And going to the binnacle, he glanced into it, saw that the ship was heading on the course he had last set for her, directed the helmsman to choose a star to steer by, and then himself carefully withdrew the lamps and extinguished them.
* * *
Chapter Fifteen.
The Affair of the ‘Francesca’ and the ‘Barracouta’s’ Boats.
I continued to industriously scrutinise the brig through the night-glass, and, by so doing, contrived to keep Mendouca’s attention also pretty closely centred upon her; but I could see that he was fully on the alert. He appeared to instinctively scent danger in the air, for he frequently assumed an anxious, listening attitude, with a growing irritability that manifested itself in repeated execration of the slaves for the quite unavoidable splashing sounds that they made in working the sweeps. He was also intently watching the thin crescent of the setting moon that was by this time hanging on the very verge of the western horizon; and I suspected that he was awaiting her disappearance to put in practice some stratagem—such as, perhaps, a further alteration of the ship’s course—as an additional safeguard. But, whatever may have been his intentions, they were all altered by an unlucky discovery made by one of the men on the forecastle, who, at the very moment when the moon was in the act of sinking behind the horizon, caught sight for a moment of a large boat full of men strongly outlined against the golden crescent, and immediately reported the fact, coming aft that he might do so without raising his voice.
“A boat!” exclaimed Mendouca anxiously, when the man had told what he had seen. “Are you quite sure?”
“As sure as I am that I am now standing here speaking to you, señor,” answered the man, in a tone of conviction. “José saw it also. We were both watching the disappearing moon, and when she was about half-way below the horizon we suddenly saw a large boat, pulling, I should say, at least twelve oars, glide swiftly across her face, as though steering to the southward on a line that would cross our course.”
“Phew!” ejaculated Mendouca; “that looks serious. For it undoubtedly means that the brig’s people are by no means as fast asleep as you have imagined them to be, Dugdale. How far off did you judge the boat to be when you saw her?” he demanded, turning again to the seaman.
“A matter of a mile and a half, or perhaps a trifle more,” was the answer.
“Very well, then, that will do,” answered Mendouca. “‘Forewarned is forearmed,’ as the English say. As you go forward pass the word along for the sweeps to be laid in and stowed away, and for the negroes to be sent below, and the hatch gratings put on and secured. And, do you hear, everything must be done as noiselessly as possible.”
“Bueno, señor,” answered the man, as he turned away to do Mendouca’s bidding; and in a few minutes the sweeps were laid in and stowed away, and the brigantine’s head gently turned more to the southward, in order that she might drift in that direction as long as she retained her way. Then, the slaves having been driven below and secured, the decks were rapidly but noiselessly cleared for action, the guns were cast loose and loaded, a liberal supply of grape and canister was passed on deck, arms were served out to the men, and the boarding nettings were triced up all round the ship. The whole of the work was executed so rapidly and silently as to clearly demonstrate that the crew was a thoroughly seasoned one, inured to fighting, and by no means averse to it when the chances were in their favour, as they certainly were in the present instance; and I was filled with chagrin and disgust at the thought of how simple an accident had sufficed to mar and defeat what might otherwise have proved a perfect surprise to Mendouca and his crew. Still, although I could not conceal from myself the fact that this apparently trivial accident had placed the attacking party at a woeful disadvantage, by warning their antagonists of the intended attack, and thus putting them on the alert, I had seen enough of British pluck to hope that even yet, despite all, it might still prove successful; and I awaited the event with no small anxiety, quite determined that if the slightest chance offered of affording any aid to the assailants, I would avail myself of it, let the consequences to myself be what they would. But Mendouca soon proved that he was not the man to overlook any such peril as this; for presently, when by personal inspection he had satisfied himself that everything was in readiness, he came up to me and said, with just the suspicion of a sneer in the tones of his voice—
“Now, Dugdale, I will not pay you so poor a compliment as to suppose you capable of treacherously making use of your present position on board my ship, to raise your hand against the man who gave you your life, at the moment when his whole attention will be needed to protect himself against outside enemies. Still, your conscience appears to be a very curious and inscrutable thing, and there is no knowing what it may prompt you to do under the influence of excitement and misguided enthusiasm. In order therefore that you may be placed beyond the danger of temptation to do something that you would probably afterwards have cause to bitterly regret, I will ask you to go below to your cabin, where, for your own safety’s sake, I will take the liberty of locking you in, with a companion whose duty it will be to see that you remain there and do not commit yourself by any rash act.”
“Oh, certainly!” I answered, rather bitterly. “Needs must when the devil drives; so lead on, most courteous señor.”
“Look here, Dugdale,” said he, apparently rather hurt by my tone, “you must not feel yourself aggrieved at my action in this matter. What I propose to do is for your own good and safety, quite as much as by way of a safeguard of my own. My men are fairly amenable to discipline in their calmer moments, as you have doubtless discovered by this time; but I should be sorry to answer for them in the excitement of a fiercely-contested fight, such as this is likely to be; and since you have persistently refused to join us out and out, I honestly think it will be safer for you to be below out of sight until we have driven those meddlesome boats off.”
“Very well,” said I; “it must of course be as you please. Only, for mercy’s sake, spare me the humiliation of mounting a guard over me!”
He looked me intently in the eyes for a moment, and then said—
“All right, I will; you shall be locked up by yourself. Only, for your own sake, be careful to behave exactly as you would in the presence of a guard; for I promise you that, if I have the slightest reason to suspect any treachery on your part, you will be sorry that I ever spared your life. Now, come along, for there is no time to spare.”
I accordingly followed him below and entered my cabin, closing the door behind me, and I immediately heard him turn the key and withdraw it from the lock, after which he went on deck again; and for a time the most perfect stillness and silence reigned throu
ghout the ship.
The silence was not of long duration, however; for I had scarcely been in my cabin ten minutes when I heard a low murmur of voices overhead, and the next instant Mendouca’s voice pealed outs loud and clear, in English—
“Ho, the boats ahoy! Who are you, and what do you want?”
There was some reply that I could not catch, the voice evidently coming from a point at some distance from the ship, on the opposite side to that occupied by my cabin. It was probably an inquiry as to name and destination of the brigantine, for Mendouca shouted—
“The Nubian Queen, of and for Liverpool, from the Brass river, with oil and ivory. Keep off, or I will fire into you! I warn you that we are armed, and are quite prepared to defend ourselves.”
A long hail from the boats now followed, to which Mendouca replied—
“If you do it will be at your peril; I have been cleared out once before just about this same spot, and I do not intend to be robbed a second time. Keep off, I tell you! If you advance another stroke I will fire!”
And instantly afterwards I heard him say to his own men in Spanish—
“Now, lads, you have them all in a cluster, let them have it. Fire!”
The sharp, ringing report of the brigantine’s nine-pounders immediately pealed out, and even through the shock and concussion of the discharge I thought that, as I stood with my ear at the open port, I caught the sound of a crash. Whether this was so or not, there could be no mistake about the screams and groans of agony that came floating over the water in response to our broadside, mingled with cries of command, the roll and dash of oars in the water, a rattling volley of musketry, and the deeper notes of two boat-guns fired almost together, the shot of one at least of which I heard and felt strike the hull of the brigantine.
All was now in an instant noise and confusion on deck; the silence that had held the tongues of the crew was now no longer necessary, and the jabber, the oaths, the shouting, the loud, defiant laughs, the rumbling of the gun-carriages, the creaking of tackle-blocks, the thud of rammers and sponges, the calls for cartridges, all combined to create a hubbub that would not have shamed the builders of Babel; and through all and above all rose Mendouca’s voice in short, sharp sentences of appeal, encouragement, and direction to his men. I could hear, by the furious grinding of handspikes, the breathless ejaculations of the men, and the crash of the gun-carriages as the guns were run out, that the Francesca’s crew were working like demons; and almost before I could have believed it possible, they had again loaded their guns and a second broadside rang out over the still water, to be again followed by a still more gruesome chorus of cries and groans, and the sudden cessation of the sound of the oars, loud above which rose the exultant cheers of the ruffians on deck.
“Hurrah, lads!” I heard Mendouca exclaim joyously; “load again smartly, but with grape and canister only this time. We have checked them for a moment, but they have not yet had enough, I fear; they will come at us again as soon as they have picked up their shipmates, so now is your time; load and let them have it while they are stationary!”
And while he was speaking I could also hear a voice—that, unless I was greatly mistaken, belonged to Young, the first luff of the Barracouta—exclaiming at no great distance—
“Pull starboard, back port; now back, hard, all, and let us pick up those poor fellows before the sharks get the scent of them! Easy all; steady, lads, steady; hold water! Now then, my hearties, lay hold of the oars and let us get you inboard sharp; we can’t afford to lie here to be peppered. Help the wounded, those of you who are unhurt. That’s your sort, Styles, bring him along here; is he still alive, do you think? All right, I have him! Now then, coxswain, heave with a will, but don’t hurt the poor fellow more than you can help. Gently, man, gently; now lift handsomely, so—”
Crash! the relentless broadside of the Francesca again pealed forth, and again uprose that dismal wail of shrieks in testimony of its too terribly truthful aim. Frantic cheers and shouts of exultation burst from the lips of the slaver’s crew, in the midst of which Mendouca’s voice rang out—
“Now, stand by, men! here they come; but there is only one boat-load of them, and half their number must be killed or wounded. Stand by with your pikes, pistols, and cutlasses, and let not one of them show his head above the rail. Give them a volley from your pistols as they range alongside, and then trust to cold steel for the rest. Now is your time! Fire!”
And at the word there followed a tremendous popping of pistols, mingled with the yells of the men on deck, a British cheer that sent the blood tingling through my veins and made me anathematise my helpless condition, the sharp, ringing clash of steel upon steel, and a furious trampling of bare feet upon the planks overhead.
The scuffle continued for fully three minutes, and must have been very hot while it lasted, for all through the hubbub the cries and groans of the freshly-wounded were continuous. I could hear the dull crunching sound of the sharp cutlasses shearing through bone and muscle, the shrill scream of agony, the heavy thud of bodies falling to the deck, oaths and execrations both in Spanish and in English, shouts of mutual encouragement, yells of deadly hatred, the ceaseless trampling of feet, and all the indescribable medley of sounds that accompany a sharp and stubbornly-contested hand-to-hand conflict; and in my feverish anxiety to share in the struggle I forgot all about Mendouca’s warning, and dashed myself frantically against the stout cabin-door in an effort to burst my way out. Before, however, I could succeed the hurly-burly suddenly ceased, to be almost instantly followed by a yell of exultation from the crowd overhead as the hasty rattle and splash of oars proclaimed that the attacking party had been driven off.
“Now, men, to your guns again, quick! Load smartly and give them another broadside before they get out of range!” shouted Mendouca. “Sweep them off the face of the water, if you can; let not one of them escape to tell the tale!”
A loud shout of exulting assent to this brutal exhortation pealed forth; and I heard the rumbling of the wheels on the deck as the guns were run in. This was more than I could endure; and again hurling myself furiously against the cabin-door, I at length succeeded in bursting it off its hinges. To emerge from the cabin and rush on deck was the work of a moment, and I reached the scene of action just as the loaded guns were being run out.
“Stop!” I shouted. “What are you about to do, men? You have utterly mistaken your captain’s orders if you suppose he meant you to fire upon that boat! Order them to secure the guns,” I continued, turning to Mendouca; “it surely cannot be that you are going to allow the excitement of battle to betray you into the committal of a cold-blooded murder? You have beaten off your enemies, and they are in full retreat; let that satisfy you. Hitherto you have been fighting, and, as you are aware, the present state of the law is such that you are held justifiable in your act of self-defence; but should you fire upon that boat now it will be murder, and I swear to you that if you do I will testify against you for the deed, if I live so long. Man, have you no regard for yourself? Do you suppose that the captain of yonder brig will be content to take the beating off of his boats as a final settlement of this night’s doings? I tell you he will follow you and hunt you to the world’s end, ay, and take you, sooner or later! And what do you suppose will be your fate if you murder that retreating boat’s crew? Why, you will swing for the deed, as certainly as that you now stand there glaring at me!”
“Have you finished?” he demanded, in a voice almost inarticulate with fury, his hand resting meanwhile upon the butt of a pistol that was stuck in his sash.
“Yes,” said I, “I have. That is to say, I have finished if I have succeeded in preventing the perpetration of an act of miserable cowardice that in your cooler moments would cause you to hate and despise yourself for the remainder of your life; not otherwise.”
Slowly he removed his hand from the butt of his pistol and, with a bitter laugh, drew a cigar from his pocket and lighted it.
“Secure the guns!” he sh
outed to his men. Then walking up to me and clutching me by the shoulder, he said—
“You have triumphed again. But I warn you that some day you will go too far, and pay for your temerity with your life. Do you know that while you were speaking you were actually tottering upon the very brink of the grave? Why I did not blow your brains out, I do not know. Boy, if you have any wish to live out your days, never taunt me with cowardice again! There, go below, and do not let me see you again until I have recovered my self-command, or even yet I shall do you a mischief.”
“No,” I said, “I will not go below; it is my watch on deck, and I mean to keep it. I have no fear of your temper getting the better of you now, so I shall remain where I am—that is, if you will trust me with the charge of the deck. I am fresh, while you are fagged with exertion and excitement, so it is for you to go below and get some rest, not I.”
The Pirate Slaver Page 21