A few more days passed, and, as was expected, the mutineers could hold
out no longer. In the first place, they had put in the spile of the
second cask of wine so loosely when they were tipsy that it dropped out,
and all the wine ran out, so that there had been none left for three or
four days; in the next, their fuel had long been expended, and they had
latterly eaten their meat raw; the loss of their tent, which had been
fired by their carelessness, had been followed by four days and nights
of continual rain. Everything they had had been soaked through and
through, and they were worn out, shivering with cold, and starving.
Hanging they thought better than dying by inches from starvation; and,
yielding to the imperious demands of hunger, they came down to the
beach, abreast of the ship, and dropped down on their knees.
"I tell you so, Massa Easy," said Mesty: "damn rascals, they forget they
come down fire musket at us every day: by all de powers, Mesty not
forget it."
"Ship ahoy!" cried one of the men on shore.
"What do you want?" replied Jack.
"Have pity on us, sir--mercy!" exclaimed the other men, "we will return
to our duty."
"Debbil doubt 'em!"
"What shall I say, Mesty?"
"Tell 'em no, first, Massa Easy--tell 'em to starve and be damned."
"I cannot take mutineers on board," replied Jack.
"Well, then, our blood be on your hands, Mr Easy," replied the first
man who had spoken. "If we are to die, it must not be by inches--if you
will not take us, the sharks shall--it is but a crunch, and all is over.
What do you say, my lads? let's all rush in together: good-bye, Mr
Easy, I hope you'll forgive us when we're dead it was all that rascal
Johnson, the coxswain, who persuaded us. Come, my lads, it's no use
thinking of it, the sooner done the better--let us shake hands, and then
make one run of it."
It appeared that the poor fellows had already made up their minds to do
this, if our hero, persuaded by Mesty, had refused to take them on
board. They shook hands all round, and then walking a few yards from
the beach, stood in a line while the man gave the signal--one--two.
"Stop," cried Jack, who had not forgotten the dreadful scene which had
already taken place,--"stop."
The men paused.
"What will you promise if I take you on board?"
"To do our duty cheerfully till we join the ship, and then be hung as an
example to all mutineers," replied the men.
"Dat very fair," replied Mesty; "take dem at their word, Massa Easy."
"Very well," replied Jack, "I accept your conditions; and we will come
for you."
Jack and Mesty hauled up the boat, stuck their pistols in their belts,
and pulled to the shore. The men, as they stepped in, touched their
hats respectfully to our hero, but said nothing. On their arrival on
board Jack read that part of the articles of war relative to mutiny, by
which the men were reminded of the very satisfactory fact, "that they
were to suffer death;" and then made a speech which, to men who were
starving, appeared to be interminable. However, there is an end to
everything in this world, and so there was to Jack's harangue; after
which Mesty gave them some biscuit, which they devoured in thankfulness,
until they could get something better. The next morning the wind was
fair, they weighed their kedge with some difficulty, and ran out of the
harbour: the men appeared very contrite, worked well, but in silence,
for they had no very pleasant anticipations; but hope always remains
with us; and each of the men, although he had no doubt but that the
others would be hung, hoped that he would escape with a sound flogging.
The wind, however, did not allow them to steer their course long; before
night it was contrary, and they fell off three points to the northward.
"However," as Jack observed, "at all events we shall make the Spanish
coast, and then we must run down it to Gibraltar: I don't care--I under
stand navigation much better than I did." The next morning they found
themselves, with a very light breeze, under a high cape, and, as the sun
rose, they observed a large vessel inshore, about two miles to the
westward of them, and another outside, about four miles off. Mesty took
the glass and examined the one outside, which, on a sudden, had let fall
all her canvas, and was now running for the shore, steering for the cape
under which Jack's vessel lay. Mesty put down the glass.
"Massa Easy--I tink dat de _Harpy_."
One of the seamen took the glass and examined her, while the others who
stood by showed great agitation.
"Yes, it is the _Harpy_," said the seaman. "Oh Mr Easy, will you
forgive us?" continued the man, and he and the others fell on their
knees. "Do not tell all, for God's sake, Mr Easy."
Jack's heart melted; he looked at Mesty.
"I tink," said Mesty apart to our hero, "dat with what them hab suffer
already, suppose they get _seven dozen apiece_, dat quite enough."
Jack thought that even half that punishment would suffice; so he told
the men, that although he must state what had occurred, he would not
tell all, and would contrive to get them off as well as he could. He
was about to make a long speech, but a gun from the _Harpy_, which had
now come up within range, made him defer it till a more convenient
opportunity. At the same time the vessel in shore hoisted Spanish
colours, and fired a gun.
"By de powers, but we got in the middle of it," cried Mesty; "_Harpy_
tink us Spaniard. Now, my lads, get all gun ready, bring up powder and
shot. Massa, now us fire at Spaniard--Harpy not fire at us--no ab
English colours on board--dat all we must do."
The men set to with a will; the guns were all loaded, and were soon cast
loose and primed, during which operations it fell calm, and the sails of
all three vessels flapped against their masts. The _Harpy_ was then
about two miles from Jack's vessel, and the Spaniard about a mile from
him, with all her boats ahead of her, towing towards him; Mesty examined
the Spanish vessel.
"Dat man-o'-war, Massa Easy--what de debbil we do for colour? must hoist
someting."
Mesty ran down below; he recollected that there was a very gay
petticoat, which had been left by the old lady who was in the vessel
when they captured her. It was of green silk, with yellow and blue
flowers, but very faded, having probably been in the Don's family for a
century. Mesty had found it under the mattress of one of the beds, and
had put it into his bag, intending probably to cut it up into
waistcoats. He soon appeared with this under his arm, made it fast to
the peak halyards and hoisted it up.
"Dere, massa, dat do very well--dat what you call _all nation colour_.
Everybody strike him flag to dat--men nebber pull it down," said Mesty,
"anyhow. Now den, ab hoist colour, we fire away--mind you only fire one
gun at a time, and point um well, den ab time to load again."
"She's hoisted her colours, sir," said Sawbridge, on board of the
_Harpy_; "but they do not show out clear, and it's impossible to
distinguish them; but there's a gun."
"It's not at us, sir," said Gascoigne, the midshipman; "its at the
Spanish vessel--I saw the shot fall ahead of her."
"It must be a privateer," said Captain Wilson, "at all events, it is
very fortunate, for the corvette would otherwise have towed into
Carthagena. Another gun, round and grape, and well pointed too; she
carries heavy metal, that craft; she must be a Maltese privateer."
"That's as much as to say that she's a pirate," replied Sawbridge; "I
can make nothing of her colours--they appear to me to be green--she must
be a Turk. Another gun--and devilish well aimed; it has hit the boats."
"Yes, they are all in confusion: we will have her now, if we can only
get a trifle of wind. That is a breeze coming up in the offing. Trim
the sails, Mr Sawbridge."
The yards were squared, and the _Harpy_ soon had steerage way. In the
meantime Jack and his few men had kept up a steady, well-directed,
although slow, fire with their larboard guns upon the Spanish corvette;
and two of her boats had been disabled. The _Harpy_ brought the breeze
up with her, and was soon within range; she steered to cut off the
corvette, firing only her bow-chasers.
"We ab her now," cried Mesty, "fire away--men take good aim. Breeze
come now; one man go to helm. By de power, what dat?"
The exclamation of Mesty was occasioned by a shot hulling the ship on
the starboard side. Jack and he ran over, and perceived that three
Spanish gun-boats had just made their appearance round the point, and
had attacked them. The fact was, that on the other side of the cape was
the port and town of Carthagena, and these gun-boats had been sent out
to the assistance of the corvette. The ship had now caught the breeze,
fortunately for Jack, or he would probably have been taken into
Carthagena; and the corvette, finding herself cut off by both the
_Harpy_ and Jack's vessel, as soon as the breeze came up to her, put her
head the other way, and tried to escape by running westward along the
coast close in shore. Another shot, and then another, pierced the hull
of the ship, and wounded two of Jack's men; but as the corvette had
turned, and the _Harpy_ followed her, of course Jack did the same, and
in ten minutes he was clear of the gun-boats, which did not venture to
make sail and stand after him. The wind now freshened fast, and blew
out the green petticoat, but the _Harpy_ was exchanging broadsides with
the corvette, and too busy to look after Jack's ensign. The Spaniard
defended himself well, and had the assistance of the batteries as he
passed, but there was no anchorage until he had run many miles farther.
About noon the wind died away, and at one o'clock it again fell nearly
calm; but the _Harpy_ had neared her distance, and was now within three
cables' length of her antagonist, engaging her and a battery of four
guns. Jack came up again, for he had the last of the breeze, and was
about half a mile from the corvette when it fell calm. By the advice of
Mesty, he did not fire any more, or otherwise the _Harpy_ would not
obtain so much credit, and it was evident that the fire of the Spaniard
slackened fast. At three o'clock the Spanish colours were hauled down,
and the _Harpy_, sending a boat on board and taking possession, directed
her whole fire upon the battery, which was soon silenced.
The calm continued, and the _Harpy_ was busy enough with the prize,
shifting the prisoners and refitting both vessels, which had very much
suffered in the sails and rigging. There was an occasional wonder on
board the _Harpy_ what that strange vessel might be which had turned the
corvette and enabled them to capture her, but when people are all very
busy, there is not much time for surmise.
Jack's crew, with himself, consisted but of eight, one of whom was a
Spaniard, and two were wounded. It therefore left him but four, and he
had also some thing to do, which was to assist his wounded men, and
secure his guns. Moreover, Mesty did not think it prudent to leave the
vessel a mile from the _Harpy_ with only two on board; besides, as Jack
said, he had had no dinner, and was not quite sure that he should find
anything to eat when he went into the midshipmen's berth; he would
therefore have some dinner cooked, and eat it before he went on board in
the meantime, they would try and close with her. Jack took things
always very easy, and he said he should report himself at sunset. There
were other reasons which made Jack in no very great hurry to go on
board; he wanted to have time to consider a little what he should say to
excuse himself, and also how he should plead for the men. His natural
correctness of feeling decided him, in the first place, to tell the
whole truth, and in the next, his kind feelings determined him to tell
only part of it. Jack need not have given himself this trouble, for, as
far as regarded himself, he had fourteen thousand good excuses in the
bags which lay in the state-room; and as for the men, after an action
with the enemy, if they behave well, even mutiny is forgiven. At last
Jack, who was tired with excitement and the hard work of the day,
thought and thought till he fell fast asleep, and instead of waking at
sunset did not wake till two hours afterwards; and Mesty did not call
him, because he was in no hurry himself to go on board and _boil de
kettle for de young gentlemen_.
When Jack woke up he was astonished to find that he had slept so long:
he went on deck; it was dark and still calm, but he could easily
perceive that the _Harpy_ and corvette were still hove-to, repairing
damages. He ordered the men to lower down the small boat, and leaving
Mesty in charge, with two oars he pulled to the _Harpy_. What with
wounded men, with prisoners, and boats going and coming between the
vessels, every one on board the _Harpy_ were well employed; and in the
dark Jack's little boat came alongside without notice. This should not
have been the case, but it was, and there was some excuse for it. Jack
ascended the side, and pushed his way through the prisoners, who were
being mustered to be victualled. He was wrapped up in one of the
gregos, and many of the prisoners wore the same.
Jack was amused at not being recognised: he slipped down the main
ladder, and had to stoop under the hammocks of the wounded men, and was
about to go aft to the captain's cabin to report himself, when he heard
young Gossett crying out, and the sound of the rope. "Hang me, if that
brute Vigors an't thrashing young Gossett," thought Jack. "I dare say
the poor fellow had had plenty of it since I have been away; I'll save
him this time at least." Jack, wrapped up in his grego, went to the
window of the berth, looked in, and found it was as he expected. He
cried out in an angry voice, "_Mr Vigors, I'll thank you to leave
Gossett alone_." At the sound of the voice Vigors turned round with his
colt in his hand, saw Jack's face at the window, and, impressed with the
idea that the reappearance was supernatural, uttered a yell and fell
down in a fit--little Gossett also trembling in every limb, stared with
his mouth open. Jack was satisfied, and immediately disappeared. He
then went aft to the cabin, pushed by the servant, who was giving some
orders from the captain to the officer on deck, and entering the cabin,
where the captain was seated with two Spanish officers, took off his hat
and said:
"Come on board, Captain Wilson."
Captain Wilson did not fall down in a fit, but he jumped up and upset
the glass before him.
"Merciful God! Mr Easy, where did you come from?"
"From that ship astern, sir," replied Jack.
"That ship astern! what is she?--where have you been so long?"
"It's a long story, sir," replied Jack.
Captain Wilson extended his hand and shook Jack's heartily.
"At all events, I'm delighted to see you, boy: now sit down and tell me
your story in a few words; we will have it in detail by-and-bye."
"If you please, sir," said Jack, "we captured that ship with the cutter
the night after we went away--I'm not a first-rate navigator, and I was
blown to the Zaffarine Islands, where I remained two months for want of
hands: as soon as I procured them I made sail again--I have lost three
men by sharks, and I have two wounded in to-day's fight--the ship mounts
twelve guns, is half laden with lead and cotton prints, has fourteen
thousand dollars in the cabin, and three shot-holes right through her--
and the sooner you send some people on board of her the better."
This was not very intelligible, but that there were fourteen thousand
dollars, and that she required hands sent on board, was very
satisfactorily explained. Captain Wilson rang the bell, sent for Mr
Asper, who started back at the sight of our hero--desired him to order
Mr Jolliffe to go on board with one of the cutters, send the wounded
men on board, and take charge of the vessel, and then told Jack to
accompany Mr Jolliffe, and to give him every information; telling him
that he would hear his story to-morrow, when they were not so very busy.