The Pirate Slaver

by Harry Collingwood

  Our most serious difficulty was the want of water, Mendouca having literally cleared the ship of every drop she possessed, save some eight or ten gallons in the scuttle-butt, which they had either overlooked, or perhaps had considered not worth taking. But here again it appeared as though God in His infinite mercy had taken compassion on us; for about noon the wind died away, and I had only just time to take my meridian observation for the latitude when the heavens clouded over, and toward the close of the afternoon we were visited by a terrific thunderstorm accompanied by a perfect deluge of rain, during which, by loosely spreading all the awnings fore and aft, we were enabled to catch a sufficient quantity of water to carry us without stint as far at least as Sierra Leone.

  It remained calm until about midnight, when a little breeze sprang up from the eastward which enabled us to lay our course nicely while it fanned us along at a speed of about five knots. The next morning broke bright and clear; and with the first of the light the look-out reported a sail broad on our weather bow. Maxwell, fearing that it might be our old enemy, the Francesca showing up again, came down at once and called me, stating his fears, and causing me to rush up on the poop just as I had sprung from my cot, quite regardless of appearances, although I could scarcely believe that Mendouca, if indeed we should be so unfortunate as to fall in with him again, would make his appearance in the eastern board. I must confess, however, that when I first reached the deck and beheld the stranger, I experienced a slight qualm of apprehension, for the craft was undoubtedly square-rigged, forward at least, and she was steering as straight as a hair for us, with studding-sails set on both sides, and coming down very fast. A few minutes’ work with the telescope, however, sufficed to remove our apprehensions, so far at least as the Francesca was concerned, for as the light grew brighter we were enabled to discern that the stranger was a brig, and as I continued working away with the glass the vessel seemed to assume a familiar aspect, as though I had seen her before. At first I thought that it might possibly prove to be the Spanish brig that had been anchored just ahead of us off Banana Peninsula; but as she drew nearer I recognised with intense delight that it was none other than the dear old Barracouta herself. “And with her appearance,” thought I, “all my troubles are ended; for doubtless Captain Stopford will not only lend me men enough to carry the ship to Sierra Leone, but will also escort me thither.”

  * * *

  Chapter Nineteen.

  To the Congo again upon a Special Mission.

  There was very great delight manifested fore and aft when I was able to announce that it was a British man-o’-war that was bearing down upon us; for all hands felt, like myself, that we had only to state our recent experiences to secure her protection at least until our arrival in safer waters. There was one exception to this, however, in the person of Simpson, who no sooner learned the true character of the strange sail, than he came aft and told me his story; which, in brief, was to the effect that he had originally belonged to our navy, but had deserted, out of affection for Mendouca—who had shown him great kindness—when that individual chose to shake off his allegiance and abjure his country. And now, of course, he dreaded nothing so much as recognition and seizure, for not only was he a deserter, but he had also been guilty of taking an active part in more than one deed of piracy perpetrated by his chief; he therefore implored me to let him keep below out of sight during the presence of the man-o’-war—which clearly meant to speak us—and also to omit all mention of or reference to him in the narrative of my own personal adventures. This I readily promised to do; for although I was fully conscious that, in making such a promise, I was screening an individual who had most seriously transgressed the laws of his country, I could not help feeling that he had also contributed in a very important degree toward the saving of the Bangalore, and all on board her; and I considered that this to a very great extent made amends for his past misdeeds, although it was quite probable that if he were arraigned for it, his judges might not take quite as lenient a view of the case. There it was, however; but for him I might never have succeeded in effecting my escape from the Francesca, and in that case the Bangalore and all on board her would have gone to the bottom. I therefore felt fully justified in promising to afford him all the protection that lay in my power.

  When the brig was within a mile of us she hoisted British colours, and fired a gun for us to heave-to, which we of course at once did, displaying our ensign at the mizen-peak at the same time. The ladies and gentlemen in the cuddy, learning from the stewards what was happening, at once turned out to do honour to the occasion, so that when, a few minutes later, the Barracouta, with all her studding-sails collapsing and coming in together, rounded-to within biscuit-toss of our weather quarter, our poop must have presented quite an animated appearance.

  As the beautiful craft swept gracefully yet with a rush up into the wind, a figure that I recognised with delight as that of Young, our beloved first luff, sprang on to the hammock-rail with a speaking-trumpet in his hand. The next moment he had raised it to his lips, and was hailing—

  “Ho, the ship ahoy! What ship is that?”

  “The Bangalore, eighty-two days out from Calcutta, bound to London; and plundered two days ago by a pirate. I hope you are none the worse for your boat adventure, Mr Young, in the attack upon that same pirate last week? I have news and to spare for you, so shall I lower a boat, or will you? If you can conveniently do so it will perhaps be better, for I am rather short-handed,” I replied.

  I saw Young staring at me with all his eyes; evidently he had not as yet recognised me in the longshore rig with which I had been fitted by the kindness of one of the cuddy passengers.

  He raised the trumpet to his lips, and began—

  “Who in the name of —?” when I saw little Freddy Pierrepoint scramble up alongside him excitedly and utterly regardless of etiquette, and say something eagerly. Young lowered the trumpet, stared hard at me, raised it again, and roared through it—

  “Can it be possible that you are Dugdale—the Harry Dugdale that we have all been mourning as lost?”

  “Ay, ay, Mr Young, it is myself, sure enough, alive and well, I am thankful to say; and more glad than I can express to see the dear old Barracouta again!”

  As I uttered these words the watch on deck gave a ringing cheer, which thrilled me to the heart, for it told me better than words how sincerely attached to me the honest fellows were, and how delighted to see me again; and although the outburst was by no means in accordance with strict discipline, Young—thoroughly good fellow that he was—never checked them, but, as their voices died away, simply waved his trumpet, and shouted, “I will come on board you!” and disappeared behind the brig’s high bulwarks.

  A short pause now ensued, during which I suspected that the first luff was conferring with Captain Stopford, the Barracouta’s people gazing curiously at us meanwhile through the brig’s open ports; and then the sound of the boatswain’s pipe came floating to us from the brig across the tumbling waters, and we heard his gruff voice bellowing—“Gigs away!”

  The call was followed by a slight, muffled scurrying of feet, and the gig’s crew were seen leaping, light as figures of india-rubber, into the elegantly-moulded craft that hung at the brig’s davits, the falls were eased away, and in a moment the boat, light as a bubble, was dancing upon the sparkling blue tumble at the brig’s lee gangway. Then the first lieutenant and Freddy Pierrepoint appeared at the head of the side-ladder, the latter descending first and the lieutenant instantly following, the boat’s bow was borne off from the ship’s side, the oars dropped with a clean cut into the water, the men bent their backs as they gave way, and the dancing craft came bounding over the long surges towards us.

  Meanwhile, on board the Bangalore I had caused the side-ladder to be shipped and the ropes rove in readiness for the lieutenant’s arrival; and in a few minutes he and Freddy were standing on the Indiaman’s broad deck and greeting me with a hand grip the heartiness of which there was no mistaking.
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  I told my story as briefly as possible, and at its conclusion Young said—

  “Well, we must of course let you have a few men; but it will be a few only that we shall be able to spare, for I am sorry to say that our loss was terribly heavy in our boat attack upon your friend Mendouca, no less than eight killed and twenty-three wounded, only four of the latter having as yet been able to return to duty. You must, however, lay your case before Captain Stopford—who, by the way, hopes you will take breakfast with him—and I dare say that when he learns how very short-handed you are, he will strain a point to spare you a dozen men to take the ship to Sierra Leone. And now, suppose you introduce us to your passengers, who, judging from what I have been able to see of them from here, appear to be a very pleasant lot of people.”

  Upon this hint I led the way to the poop, where by this time nearly the entire cuddy party had assembled, and introduced my companions in due form, and in a few minutes Young and Freddy were each surrounded by a large patty, Master Freddy’s, I noticed, being mainly composed of the younger members of the gentler sex, who petted and made much of the juvenile warrior, to that young gentleman’s entire content.

  In due time I proceeded on board my old ship; and on reaching the deck was fully repaid for all that I had gone through by the heartiness of the greeting that I received from my shipmates, one and all of whom seemed sincerely delighted at finding that I was still in the land of the living. For, as fate would have it, the Barracouta had fallen in with the Felicidad with the French schooner Mouette in company as a prize—the latter vessel having pursued the Felicidad out of the creek, only to find that she had caught a Tartar, which captured her after a short but determined struggle—and from her the Barracouta’s people had learned all particulars of our somewhat disastrous enterprise, including the news that I was missing, and was believed to have been killed in the unsuccessful attack upon the schooner in the creek.

  Captain Stopford was kindness itself in his reception of me, commiserating with me upon all the hardships of my late adventure, and heartily congratulating me upon my escape from the Francesca, and the saving of the Indiaman, the latter of which, he assured me, he would take care to report in the proper quarter in such a way as should further my advancement in the service. With regard to supplying me with men, he promised to do the best that he could; and at Young’s suggestion—he being one of the rather large party that the captain had invited to meet me at breakfast—it was arranged that I should have a dozen; and as he fully agreed with me that there was just a chance that the Francesca, might be at no great distance to the northward, still actively pursuing her search for us, it was further arranged that I should crowd sail for Sierra Leone, in the hope of turning the tables upon Mendouca by overtaking him, in which case we were to do our best to detain him until the arrival of the Barracouta upon the scene, it being the captain’s plan to follow us at a distance of some fifteen or twenty miles. As an incentive to expedition—and no doubt, incidentally, to the promotion of the capture of the Francesca—the captain informed me that if we managed to accomplish a quick run to Sierra Leone, I should probably be in time to rejoin the Felicidad, which schooner was then at that port, refitting after her engagement with the Mouette. I was very grieved to learn that poor Ryan, although not nearly so severely wounded as I had believed, was lying in the hospital at Sierra Leone, prostrate with a bad attack of fever, from which, when the Barracouta left, it was greatly feared that he would not recover.

  As soon as breakfast was over the crew were mustered, and Young picked out for me twelve good, stout men, who were ordered to pass their bags down into the boat and go on board the Bangalore with me; and, this most welcome addition to our crew having been received, I made sail, packing upon the good ship every rag that would draw, the Barracouta remaining hove-to until we had placed a sufficient distance between her and ourselves. But although we carried on day and night—the Indiaman proving such a flyer that the Barracouta’s people had their hands full to keep us in sight—nothing more was seen of the Francesca, and we were at length driven to the conclusion that, failing to find us, Mendouca had resumed his voyage at a much earlier period than we had anticipated. We reached Sierra Leone on the afternoon of the third day after falling in with the Barracouta; and there I left the Indiaman, which, after a detention of four days, sailed for England with a full complement, made up of the officers and men of a large barque that had been wrecked upon the coast only a week or two before, supplemented by a few out of the many white seamen who had been left behind in hospital when their ships were ready to sail for home, and who, contrary to the general rule, had recovered from, instead of succumbing to, the deadly malaria of the coast.

  As for me, I found that I had arrived most opportunely, so far as the Felicidad was concerned, for the repairs to that small hooker were completed, as it happened, on the very day of our arrival; and Captain Stopford very generously offered me the command of her, asserting that my conduct with regard to the Indiaman had conclusively demonstrated my entire fitness for the post, and that if I chose to accept it he should have no anxiety whatever, either on the score of my courage or my discretion. Ryan, poor fellow, was, contrary to expectation, still alive, and hopes were now entertained that he might ultimately recover; but he was still so weak that when I went to the hospital to see him, he was so overcome with emotion at the sight of me—although he had been carefully prepared for the meeting—that he burst into tears and was seized with a fit of hysterical sobbing so violent that I had to retire again at once without exchanging a word with him; and, to my very deep regret, I had not another opportunity to see him. I grieve to say that although, when I paid him that unfortunate visit, he appeared to be making slow but sure progress toward recovery, he suffered a relapse a few days afterwards, from which he never rallied; and his ashes now repose, with those of many another gallant spirit, in the spot that is known throughout the world as “The White Man’s Grave.”

  The repairs to the Felicidad being completed, her final preparations for sea were vigorously pushed forward, and on the third day after our arrival, having first visited the Bangalore and bade farewell to her passengers—each and every one of whom insisted that he (or she) owed his (or her) life to me, and that henceforward I must regard myself as a dearly cherished friend—I joined the little hooker as her commander, and sailed the same afternoon for the Congo; my especial mission being to test the truth, or otherwise, of Mendouca’s statement respecting the fate of the Sapphire’s boats’ crews, and—in the event of its being true—to attempt the rescue of any of the unfortunate people who might perchance be still alive.

  We made the high land to the northward of the river mouth about midnight, after a rather long and uneventful passage; and, the wind being light, and the river current strong, even at a considerable distance from the entrance, we then reached in toward the land, and anchored in fourteen fathoms, at about as many miles from the shore, where we remained, rolling and tumbling about on the heavy swell, until the sea-breeze set in, about eight o’clock the next morning. We then hove up our mud-hook, and ran in, anchoring in Banana Creek, opposite Lobo’s factory, about six bells in the forenoon. There was only one other vessel in the creek at the time, a Portuguese brig; and her build and general appearance so unmistakably proclaimed her honest, that I never gave her a second thought. Besides, I had a special mission to accomplish—namely, the discovery and deliverance, if possible, of between thirty and forty of my own countrymen, languishing in a bitter captivity, and in daily, if not hourly, peril of death by torture as cruel and protracted as the fiendish malignity of merciless savages can possibly devise.

  Now, I was as well equipped for such an expedition as I could possibly wish, save in one particular. I had a smart, light-draught vessel, capable of “going anywhere where a duck can swim,” as we say at sea; we were well armed, had plenty of ammunition, mustered a crew of twenty-six prime seamen, the pick of the Barracouta’s crew—men who would go anywhere, and face anything
—we carried an ample supply of blankets, beads, brass wire, old muskets, and tawdry finery of various descriptions, priceless in the eyes of savages, for the purpose of peaceable ransom, if such could be accomplished; but we lacked an interpreter, a man acquainted with the barbaric language of the up-river natives, through whom we should be able to communicate with them and carry on the necessary negotiations. And such a man it was now my first duty and anxiety to secure. I had given this matter a great deal of careful consideration during our passage, and had at length determined upon the course of action that seemed to promise the most successful results; and it was in accordance with this determination that I anchored in Banana Creek instead of proceeding forthwith up the river to the spot named by Mendouca as the scene of the captivity of the Sapphire’s boats’ crews.

  I entered the river without any disguise of any sort, showing British colours and the man-o’-war’s pennant; and, as I had expected, our old friend Lobo soon came alongside in his gig, with his usual stereotyped smiles and bows, and offers to supply us with anything and everything that we might happen to want. I took care to be below when he boarded us; and, in accordance with previous arrangements, Gowland, who met the fellow upon his arrival, proposed that he should go down into the cabin and see me personally upon the business of his visit. He at once assented, willingly, Gowland following him down, and when the two had entered, the sentry at the cabin-door closed it after them.