The captives were grouped together, some sitting, and some standing.
Not one of them looked dejected at his fate; though I could see by
their movements that they were impatient of the bonds that tied them.
My attention was most frequently directed to the old gentleman who had
been addressed as Mr Evelyn. Notwithstanding the grief expressed in his
countenance, it possessed an air of benevolence and kindness of heart
that even his settled melancholy did not conceal. I could not
understand why, but I felt a deeper interest for this person than for
any of the others--a sort of yearning towards him, mingled with a
desire to protect him from the malice of his enemies.
Almost as soon as they were gone, John Gough beckoned to Mr Evelyn to
sit down by his side. Possibly this was done to prevent his assisting
his companions to regain their liberty, as he, not being pinioned like
the rest, might easily have done, and they might have overpowered their
guard before his companions could come to his assistance. But Gough was
well armed, and the rest being without weapons of any kind, it was
scarcely probable that they would have risked their lives in so
desperate an attempt.
Mr Evelyn came and quietly sat himself down in the place indicated. I
observed him with increasing interest, and singular to relate, the more
I gazed on his venerable face, the more strongly I felt assured that I
had seen it before. This of course was impossible, nevertheless, the
fancy took possession of me, and I experienced a strange sensation of
pleasure as I watched the changes his features underwent.
"John Gough, I am sorry to see you mixed up in this miserable
business," said he, mildly addressing his companion. The other did not
answer, and as his back was turned towards me I could not observe the
effect the observation had upon him.
"The men who have left us I know to be bad men," continued the speaker;
"I expect nothing but wickedness from them. But you I am aware have
been better brought up. Your responsibility therefore becomes the
greater in assisting them in their villainy."
"You had better not let them hear you, Mr Evelyn," replied Gough, at
last, in something like a surly tone; "I would not answer for the
consequences."
"Those I do not fear," the other answered. "The results of this
transaction can make very little difference to a man on the verge of
the grave, who has outlived all his relatives, and has nothing left to
fall back upon but the memory of his misfortunes: but to one in the
prime of life like yourself, who can boast of friends and relatives who
feel an interest in your good name, these results must be serious
indeed. What must be the feelings of your respectable father when he
learns that you have joined a gang of pirates; how intense must be the
grief of your amiable mother when she hears that you have paid the
penalty that must sooner or later overtake you for embracing so lawless
a life."
"Come, Mr Evelyn," exclaimed Gough, though with a tremulousness in his
voice that betrayed the state of his feelings, "you have no right to
preach to me. I have done as much as I could for you all. The men would
have made short work with you, if I had not interposed, and pointed out
to them this uninhabited island."
"Where it seems you left a poor woman to be starved to death,"
continued Mr Evelyn.
"It was no fault of mine," replied the man; "I did all I could to
prevent it."
"It would have been more manly if you had remained with her on this
rock, and left your cowardly associates to take their selfish course.
But you are weak and irresolute, John Gough; too easily persuaded into
evil, too slow to follow the impulses of good. The murder of that poor
woman is as much your deed as if you had blown her brains out before
you abandoned her. Indeed I do not know but what the latter would have
been the less criminal."
John Gough made no answer. I do not think, however, his mind was quite
easy under this accusation, for he seemed restless, and kept playing
with his pistols, with his eyes cast down.
"Your complicity in this mutiny, too, John Gough, is equally
inexcusable," continued Mr Evelyn. "It was your duty to have stood by
Captain Manvers and his officers, by which you would have earned their
eternal gratitude, and a handsome provision from the owners of the
vessel."
"It's no use talking of these things now, Mr Evelyn," said Gough,
hurriedly. "I have taken my course. It is too late to turn back. Would
to God," he added, dashing his hand violently against his brow, "I had
had nothing to do with it."
"It is never too late, John Gough, to do good," here cried out Mrs
Reichardt, as she rose from her place of concealment, as much to my
surprise as that of all who could observe her. But nothing could equal
the astonishment of Gough when he first caught sight of her
features;--he sprang to his feet, leaving his pistols on the ground,
and clasping his hands together, exclaimed, "Thank God, she is safe!"
"Yes," she replied, approaching him and taking his hand kindly. "By an
interposition of Providence, you are saved from the guilt of one
murder. In the name of that God who has so signally preserved you
against yourself, I command you to abandon your present wicked designs."
The man hesitated, but it seemed as if he could not take his gaze from
her face, and it was evident that her presence exerted an extraordinary
influence over him. In the meantime I had made my appearance on the
scene, not less to the astonishment of the lookers-on; and my first act
was to take possession of the pair of pistols that Gough had left on
the ground; my next to hurry to the group of captives, who had been
regarding us, in a state as it were of perfect bewilderment, and with
my American knife to cut their bonds.
"I will do whatever you think proper," said John Gough. "Believe me I
have been reluctantly led into this, and joined the mutiny knowing that
I should have been murdered if I did not."
"You must endeavour to make what amends are in your power," continued
Mrs Reichardt, "by assisting your officers in recovering possession of
the ship."
"I will gladly assist in whatever they may think feasible," said the
man. "But we must first secure the desperate fellows who have just left
us, and as we are but poorly provided with weapons, that of itself will
be a service of no slight danger. To get possession of the ship I am
afraid will be still more hazardous; but you shall find me in the front
of every danger."
Here Captain Manvers and the others came up to where John Gough and Mrs
Reichardt were conversing; he heard Gough's last speech, and he was
going to say something, when I interposed by stating that there was no
time now for explanations, for in a few minutes the fellows who had
gone to the hut would return, and the only way to prepare for them was
for the whole party to go to our house, to which Mrs Reichardt would
lead them, where they would find plenty of arms and ammunition. In the
meantime I would keep watch, and observe their motions, and by firing
one of the pistols would signal to them if I was in any danger. Lastly,
I recommended that the oars should be removed from the boat, to prevent
the mutineers making their escape to the ship.
My appearance and discourse attracted general attention. I particularly
noticed that Mr Evelyn started as soon as he caught sight of me, and
appeared to observe me with singular carefulness; but that, no doubt,
arose from my unexpected address, and the strange way in which I had
presented myself before him.
The Captain approving of my proposal, the whole party, after taking
away the boat's oars, moved off rapidly in the direction of the house.
I again concealed myself in the grass, and waited the return of the
mutineers. They did not remain away long. I could hear them
approaching, for they laughed and shouted as they went along loud
enough to be heard at a considerable distance. When they began to
descend the rocks, they passed so close to me, that I could hear every
word that was spoken.
"Well, flesh is grass, as the parson says," said Jack; "they must have
died sooner or later, if we hadn't parted company with so little
ceremony. But, hallo! my eyes and limbs! Where's John Gough? Where's
the captain? Where's all on 'em?"
It is impossible to express the astonishment of the men on reaching the
spot where they had so lately left their prisoners, and discovering
that not a trace of them was to be seen. At first they imagined that
they had escaped in the boat, but as soon as they saw that the boat was
safe, they gave up that idea. Then they fancied John Gough had taken
the prisoners to stroll a little distance inland, and they began to
shout as loud as their lungs would permit them. Receiving no response,
they uttered many strange ejaculations, which I could not then
understand, but which I have since learned were profane oaths; and
seemed at a loss what to do, whether to wander about the island in
search of them, or return to their ship.
Only one chanced to be for the former, and the others overruled him,
not thinking it was worth their while to take so much trouble as to go
rambling about in a strange place. They seemed bent on taking to the
boat, when one of them suggested they might get into a scrape if they
returned without their companion. They finally resolved on sitting down
and waiting his return.
Presently, one complained he was very sleepy, as he had been too busy
mutineering to turn into his hammock the previous night, and the others
acknowledged they also felt an equal want of rest from the same cause.
Each began to yawn. They laid themselves at their full length along the
grass, and in a short time I could hear by their snoring, as Jackson
used to do, that they were asleep.
I now crept stealthily towards them on my hands and knees, and they
were in such a profound sleep, that I had no difficulty whatever in
removing the pistols from their belts. I had just succeeded in this,
when I beheld the captain, and John Gough, and Mr Evelyn, and all the
rest of them, well armed with guns and pistols, approaching the place
where we were.
In a few minutes afterwards the mutineers were made prisoners, without
their having an opportunity of making the slightest resistance. I was
much complimented by the captain for the dexterity with which I had
disarmed them; but while I was in conversation with him, it is
impossible to express the surprise I felt, on seeing Mr Evelyn suddenly
rush towards me from the side of Mrs Reichardt, with whom he had been
talking, and, embracing me with the most moving demonstrations of
affection, claim me as his grandson.
The mystery was soon explained. Mr Evelyn had met so many losses in
business as a merchant, that he took the opportunity of a son of his
old clerk--who had become a captain of a fine ship, employed in the
South American trade--being about to proceed on a trading voyage to
that part of the world, to sail in his vessel with a consignment of
goods for the South American market. He had also another object, which
was to inquire after the fate of his long-lost daughter and son-in-law,
of whom he had received no certain intelligence, since the latter took
ship with the diamonds he had purchased to return home. The vessel in
which they sailed had never been heard of since; and Mr Evelyn had long
given up all hopes of seeing either of them again, or the valuable
property with which they had been entrusted.
On their going to the house, he had asked Mrs Reichardt my name,
stating that I so strongly resembled a very dear friend of his, he
believed had perished many years ago, that he felt quite an interest in
me. The answer he received led to a series of the most earnest
inquiries, and Mrs Reichardt satisfied him on every point, showed him
all the property that had formerly been in the possession of Mrs
Henniker and her husband: related Jackson's story, and convinced him,
that though he had lost the daughter for whom he had mourned so long,
her representative existed in the Little Savage, who was saving him
from the fate for which he had been preserved by the mutineers.
I have only to add, that I had the happiness of restoring to my
grandfather the diamonds I had obtained from Jackson, which were no
doubt very welcome to him, for they not only restored him to affluence,
but made him one of the richest merchants upon Change.
I was also instrumental in obtaining for the captain the command of his
ship, and of restoring discipline amongst the crew. The ringleaders of
the mutiny were thrown into irons, and taken home for trial; this
resulted in one or two of them being hanged by way of example, and
these happened to be the men who so barbarously deserted Mrs Reichardt.
She accompanied me to England in Captain Manvers's vessel, for when he
heard of the obligations I owed her, my grandfather decided that she
should remain with us as long as she lived. We however did not leave
the island until we had shown my grandfather, the captain, and his
officers, what we had effected during our stay, and every one was
surprised that we could have produced a flourishing farm upon a barren
rock. I did not fail to show the places where I had had my fight with
the python, and where I had been pursued by the sharks, and my
narrative of both incidents seemed to astonish my hearers exceedingly.
I must not forget to add, that the day before our departure, John Gough
came to me privately, and requested my good offices with the captain,
that he might be left on the island. He had become a very different
character to what he had previously been; and as there could be no
question that the repentance he assumed was sincere, I said all I could
for him. My recommendation was successful, and I transferred to John
Gough all my farm, farming stock, and agricultural implements;
moreover, promised to send him whatever he might further require to
make his position comfortable. He expressed great gratitude, but
desired nothing; only that his family might know that he was well off,
and was not likely to return.
Perhaps John Gough did not like the risk he ran of being tried for
mutiny, or was averse to sailing with his former comrades; but whatever
was the cause of his resolution, it is certain that he remained behind
when the ship left the island, and may be there to this hour for all I
know to the contrary.
We made a quick voyage to England, and as my readers will no doubt be
glad to hear, the Little Savage landed safely at Plymouth, and was soon
cordially welcomed to his grandfather's house in London.
THE END.