THE SPANIARDS BELIEVING THE MAN-OF-WAR TO BE FAR AWAY, STEER TO THE
WESTWARD.--WE SIGHT HER, AND SHE CHASES US.--CRUEL DEVICE OF THE
SLAVER'S CREW TO ASSIST THEIR ESCAPE.--PAUL, AMONG OTHERS, BEING THROWN
OVERBOARD THAT THE MAN-OF-WAR MIGHT HAVE TO PICK THEM UP; I FEAR THAT HE
HAS BEEN LOST.--MY LIFE PRESERVED BY ONE OF THE OFFICERS, WHEN
THREATENED BY THE SLAVER'S CREW.--THE SCHOONER ESCAPES, BUT DISMASTED IN
A GALE, AND AGAIN OVERTAKEN.--PAUL AND MY COUSIN JACK COME ON BOARD, AND
I JOIN THE CORVETTE AS A MIDSHIPMAN.--RETURNING TO ENGLAND I RESTORE
CHEEBO TO HIS MOTHER.--MY ADVENTURES SHOW THAT "ALL WORKS TOGETHER FOR
GOOD TO THEM WHO LOVE GOD."--JACK BECOMES A COMMANDER, MARRIES MY SISTER
MARY, AND I FIND AMPLE MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE REST OF MY DEAR SISTERS.
The schooner ran on during the night, keeping the coast close aboard to
enjoy the advantage of the land breeze. I managed to get a word with
Paul to ask him whether he thought there was a probability of her making
her escape. "I pray God for the poor slaves," he answered, "and hope
English cruiser still catch her."
As may be supposed a very bright look-out was kept for the cruiser. As
the day advanced she was no where to be seen, and the captain, anxious
to make as quick a run as possible across the Atlantic, the vessel's
head was turned to the westward, the wind still blowing off shore.
Still, however, a haze hung over the ocean, sufficiently thick to
prevent objects being seen in the far distance. This seemed still
further to favour the escape of the slaver.
We had got some distance off the land when the haze lifted, and away to
the southward a sail was seen, which the Spaniards at once seemed to
know was the British man-of-war. She saw us at the same moment, and
crowded all sail in chase. The schooner was put before the wind, which
now came from the southward, and every stitch of canvas she could carry
was set, men also going aloft with buckets of water to wet the sails.
Again the same scene of impotent rage I had before witnessed was
enacted, and the fury of the Spaniards increased as they saw the
man-of-war gaining on us, she apparently having more wind than we had.
I, as I had previously done, kept as much as I could out of their way,
and tried to prevent any gleam of satisfaction appearing in my
countenance.
The man-of-war was a corvette--evidently a powerful and very fast craft,
against which the slaver would not have had the shadow of a chance, had
even her crew possessed the courage to fight, which I felt very sure, in
spite of their bravado, they would not.
The corvette had been bringing the breeze up with her, and now the
schooner felt it herself, and began to move more rapidly through the
water. She, too, was a fast vessel, and her crew might justly have
entertained hopes of escaping. I little thought of the cruel device
they were contemplating to aid them in so doing.
At length the man-of-war had got almost near enough to reach the slaver
with her bow-chasers. She tried the range of one of them, but the shot
fell short. On this the captain turned, with a savage determination in
his eye, and spoke to one of the officers. Directly afterwards I saw
him descend to the slave deck with two or three of the men, and they
quickly returned with one of the unfortunate captives. Instantly the
unhappy slave was secured to a plank, and, in spite of his cries and
entreaties, hove overboard. As the poor wretch floated astern I could
not help recollecting that the sea swarmed with sharks, and that he
would probably be seized before many minutes were over by one of the
ravenous monsters. I guessed the object of the Spaniards; it was
confiding in the humanity of my countrymen that they would heave-to in
order to pick up the poor black, should he escape the sharks, and thus
allow the schooner to gain ground.
The device answered the expectations of its cruel perpetrators. The
corvette hove-to, a boat was lowered, and the slave taken up. The
Spaniards seemed delighted with the result of their experiment, and
prepared to try it again. Another slave was brought up on deck, and,
like the former, hove overboard. Scarcely had he reached the water when
a fearful shriek was heard, and the poor wretch and the plank together
disappeared below the surface. This, however, did not prevent the
Spaniards from again attempting the plan to impede the progress of their
pursuer, and three more slaves were brought up.
Just then I heard several of the crew shouting out "El heretico!" and
what was my horror to see them dragging Paul aft. He spoke to them in
such Spanish as he could command, but uttered no cry, and when he
understood their object, walked calmly among them to the gangway.
I could not restrain myself, but ran up to him and implored my
English-speaking friend to plead on his behalf.
"Take care my lad, or you may be treated in the same way," was the
answer.
"Oh, but he has just heard of his mother, who longs to see him, and I
have promised to take him to her," I cried out. "Oh, ask them if any of
them have mothers from whom they have been long parted, would they not
desire to see them again? Will they not have compassion on my poor
friend?"
"Don't grieve for me, Massa Harry," said Paul, while the sailors were
lashing him to the plank. "God take care of me. Give my lub to my
moder, and tell her I meet her in heaven, and she know me den."
In vain I pleaded. My friend seizing me by the arm, dragged me away,
while the savages hove Paul overboard.
"Go into my cabin," he exclaimed, "its your only chance of safety."
I saw, as he dragged me aft, that the Spaniards were preparing to throw
several other slaves into the sea; and, as I turned my head, three in
rapid succession were thrust through the gangway, secured, as the others
had been, to floats.
My friend had not cautioned me without reason, for I heard the crew
clamouring for the "Englez." My friend went out to them, and on his
return told me that they wished to throw me into the sea, but that he
had advised them not to do so lest after all the schooner should be
captured, when the captain of the man-of-war would certainly deal more
hardly with them for having thus treated a countryman.
I thanked him for interfering as far as I was concerned, but, at the
same time, could not help observing that the English captain would
consider the crime of throwing any one overboard equally great, whatever
the colour of the sufferer.
"Ah, we think little about the life of a black," he answered carelessly.
"So it seems," I said, for I felt utterly horrified at what I had
witnessed. A feeling of desperate indifference to my own fate had crept
over me. "Poor Paul! that the wretches should have treated you thus," I
said to myself. Then I remembered how Paul would have acted, and I
prayed that he might be protected, though I confess I had little
expectation of his escaping the ravenous jaws of a shark.
So eager was I to ascertain what had happened, that had not my friend
locked the door on me, in spite of his warnings, I should have gone out
again to watch the progress of the chase. Some time elapsed; I longed
again to hear the sound of the corvette's guns, but in vain. The wind
had increased, as I could judge by the movement of the vessel; and I at
length began to fear that she would after all escape.
Some hours passed away, my friend at length came back. "You are hungry,
I dare say," he said, "and you may come into the cabin and have some
supper, but it is not safe for you to go on deck, the crew are angry at
your having interfered about the black seaman; although our plan has
answered, for your good natured-countrymen, by stopping to pick up the
negroes, have enabled us to escape them. A few of the wretches were, to
be sure, picked off by the sharks."
"Did my friend, the black sailor, escape?" I asked eagerly.
"As to that I cannot say," he answered, "undoubtedly some escaped, or
the corvette would not have hove-to so often. But come, the supper is
on the table."
I declared that I had no appetite; but he insisted upon my going into
the cabin, and said that he should be offended if I did not. "It would
be better for you also to put an indifferent face on the matter," he
added.
Those of the officers who came to supper were laughing and talking in
good spirits, and, as far as I could judge, seemed to be amusing
themselves at my expense. I, however, had the wisdom to follow my
friend's advice, and showed no signs of annoyance. I confess, too, that
the sight of the food quickly restored my appetite.
When supper was over my friend advised me to go back to my cabin. "We
shall be far away from the corvette by to-morrow morning, and then you
can come on deck if you like," he observed.
As I lay in my berth the dreadful scenes I had witnessed came constantly
before my sight, and I kept alternately hoping that Paul might have been
saved, and fearing that he was lost. For a long time too it seemed I
could not go to sleep. The vessel also was pitching heavily, the sea
dashed against her sides, and I could hear the roaring and whistling of
the wind in her rigging; it was evidently blowing very hard. At last I
dropped off to sleep. I was awakened by a loud crash, and the fearful
shrieks and cries which arose from the hold.
No longer heeding my friend's caution, slipping on my clothes, I rushed
on deck. The schooner's masts had gone by the board, and she lay
helpless on the foaming ocean. The crew were shouting and swearing as
they endeavoured to cut away the masts, which were battering against her
sides, while ever and anon a heavy sea striking her, swept over her
deck, and from the shrieks which came up out of the waters a short
distance away to leeward, I had little doubt that several of the people
had been washed overboard. Fearing that such might be my fate were I to
remain on deck, I hurried back again into the cabin. I knew that
nothing could be done till daylight, and that it would be impossible to
rig jury-masts until the sea was somewhat smoother. Perhaps before then
the slaver and her living freight might be carried down into the depths
of ocean. I would not venture to lie down, but sat in the cabin, ready
to rush out and make an attempt for my life should such a catastrophe
appear imminent.
The night seemed very long. At length I saw daylight through the
bull's-eye overhead, and the movement of the vessel was less violent
than before. I could no longer restrain my curiosity, and made my way
on deck. The crew, much diminished, were sheltering themselves under
the bulwarks, while the officers were collected in the after part of the
vessel. I saw that their eyes were directed to windward, I looked in
the same direction, and there to my infinite satisfaction I caught sight
of the corvette standing towards us. I was glad to see my English
friend among the officers, but the captain and first mate were gone.
They had been carried overboard. I felt that they deserved their fate,
terrible as it was.
The corvette soon came up, and hove-to to windward; a boat was lowered
and pulled towards us. I watched her eagerly. A lieutenant was
steering, and among her crew I observed a black man. I tried to make
out his features, but at that distance it was impossible. The hope rose
in my breast that he might be Paul.
As the schooner still rolled heavily it was no easy matter for the boat
to get alongside without the risk of being swamped. She at length came
up under our quarter. I looked anxiously over the bulwarks, and to my
joy saw that the black was indeed Paul. He caught sight of me.
"All right Massa Harry," he shouted, "we soon aboard, praise God that
you safe."
"Silence!" said the officer, for Paul had forgotten the discipline of a
man-of-war in speaking. At that moment I thought I recognised the
lieutenant's countenance; yes, I was nearly certain it was my cousin
Jack Haultaught, whose yarns, when he was a midshipman, first made me
wish to go to sea. He and his crew soon sprang on to the low deck of
the schooner, while the boat, with a couple of hands in her, was veered
astern.
I first greeted Paul warmly. His joy at seeing me was excessive, for he
had been afraid that the slavers would have thrown me overboard as they
had him, and as I had not been picked up thought my life had been
sacrificed. As my cousin Jack did not know me I had time to talk to
Paul.
"Oh Massa Harry we must praise God for all His mercy and goodness to us,
what we think going to be very bad for us He make turn out for the best.
The captain of the corvette, my old friend, he good Christian man, he
say he take me to England with him, and then I see my dear moder, and
learn more of the Bible, and then come back and preach the gospel to my
poor countrymen."
The hatches, which had hitherto been kept battened down, were now taken
off. The five hundred human beings crowded below were evidence of the
character of the vessel, and enabled the lieutenant at once to claim her
as a prize to Her Majesty's ship "Triton."
I do not wish to dwell on the fearful sight which met our eyes as we
looked down below on the mass of humanity jammed, pressed, and huddled
together. And oh, the horrible odour which arose from that foul hold!
It seemed impossible that human beings could have existed a minute in
it, much less the many hours during which those unhappy people had been
shut up during the gale. How fearful would have been their sufferings
had they been compelled thus to make the passage across the Atlantic.
How enormous a proportion of them would have died. As it was, many of
them had their limbs broken, and many were sadly crushed and bruised.
At length I went up to the lieutenant and put out my hand. "You don't
know me, cousin Jack," I said.
"What, Harry!" he exclaimed, looking at me hard. "I am delighted to see
you my boy. The negro sailor told me that there was a young Englishman
on board, but I did not expect to find you. You will be welcome on
board the `Triton,' and if you have a fancy for continuing at sea, I
think the captain will be able to enter you as a supernumerary, and get
you regularly appointed when we return to England."