THE REPORT OF THE BATTLE OF KHRYSOKO
Captain Ringgold looked from one to another of the "Big Four," and a
smile passed over his dignified face. It was evident to him from the
expression of all of them that something of importance had occurred in
Khrysoko Bay, and that Captain Scott, who was, by his position, the
spokesman of the party, proposed to tell his story in his own way, to
which he did not object.
He believed the young men were honest, truthful, and straightforward,
and he had no suspicions of any kind. As the bearer of heavy and
disagreeable intelligence is inclined to approach his topic by degrees,
the young captain did not like to tell the worst of his report in the
beginning.
The commander was not disposed to have the news "broken" to him, and
considered himself able to bear the whole of it in a mass without being
overwhelmed. But he had no idea of the seriousness of the event which
had occurred, and he thought it probable that the boys were making a
great deal more of it than the occasion required. They had all been to
the table at dinner, and were as lively and as full of fun as usual. As
none of them had been killed or injured, nothing very terrible could
have happened.
"When did you reach this bay, Captain Scott?" he asked, after he had
measured the visages of his audience.
"About eight o'clock this morning, sir," replied Scott.
"You had a smart gale about all last night," the commander proceeded.
"Yes, sir; but we made very good weather of it, and it lasted about
twelve hours."
"You had no accident?"
"None of any kind, sir; everything went on as usual."
"I suppose you expected the ship sooner than she came?"
"I looked for her this morning."
"In carrying out the plan which you suggested, Captain Scott, I found
that the Fatimé was not disposed to follow you as long as the
Guardian-Mother was in sight," continued the commander, while the "Big
Four" looked at each other, wondering that Captain Ringgold had turned
aside from the subject which was a burning one to them. "In order to
help Captain Mazagan in his movements, I picked up a pilot off Ras
Bourlos, and stood in behind a neck of land. We took the ground there,
and stuck hard in the soft mud, though the chart gave water enough to
float the ship."
"That was unfortunate," added Scott.
"A government tug hauled us off on the next tide, and I followed you at
the best speed of the ship. I went in at Limasol, though I did not
believe you would make that port in a southerly gale, and the lookout
reported the Maud in this bay. That is the reason of my delay in joining
you as arranged," said the commander, finishing his narrative. "But I
expected to find the Fatimé here also; for she was pressing on after you
the last we saw of her."
"We lost sight of her early last night," added Scott. "Her lights
disappeared, and we could form no idea as to what had become of her. I
think now that we outsailed her; for we carried a reefed foresail before
the gale, and it must have helped a good deal."
"She came into this bay this morning," added Louis, who thought the
conference was moving on very slowly.
"I see that you wish me to drag out of you the particulars of your stay
here, Captain Scott," said the commander with a smile. "As I have not
the least idea what you have been about here, I find some difficulty in
framing my questions. You know that a lawyer, when he examines a witness
in court, is in possession of all the facts, as I am not on the present
occasion. I have learned that the Fatimé came to this bay, and that she
is at the bottom now. Perhaps you will be willing to inform me, Captain,
by this time, how the Pacha's steamer happens to be at the bottom."
"We had a fight here, and I ran the Maud into her, stove a big hole in
her side, and she went to the bottom!" almost shouted Scott, who had
been not a little perplexed at the manner of proceeding of the
commander. "I believe that is telling the whole story in a heap, sir."
Captain Ringgold sprang out of his chair, evidently startled by the
intelligence; and he had never been known to make so much of a
demonstration before since he had been in command of the ship. He stood
looking into the face of Captain Scott as though he were incredulous in
regard to the announcement just made to him; and that a little
steam-yacht only forty feet in length had run into and sunk a vessel of
four hundred tons was calculated to stagger a man of his experience in
nautical affairs.
"Do you mean literally, Captain Scott, that you ran into and sank the
Fatimé?" demanded the commander.
"Literally and exactly, sir, that was what was done," replied the young
captain very decidedly.
"It looks incredible," added the commander, as he resumed his seat.
"It is the exact truth, Captain Ringgold," said Louis.
"I vouch for the truth of the statement, Captain, if my word is good for
anything," Felix followed.
"I give my testimony in the same direction," Morris put in.
"Of course I do not doubt the truth of your statement," replied the
commander. "But it looks like an amazing fact that the little Maud was
able to do so much mischief to a steamer of the size of the Fatimé.
However, she is about as big as some of the little tug-boats in New York
Harbor that drag ships of five hundred tons after them. In spite of all
that has been said in the last six months about the extraordinary
strength of the Maud, I should have supposed the blow, if you went at
the steamer at full speed, would have crushed in her bow."
"It did not start a bolt or bend a plate," replied Scott. "But,
according to the evidence of Don, who knew something about the Pacha's
yacht, she was old and nearly worn out when His Highness bought her."
"That may explain it."
"Before we proceed any farther, I ought to report that Captain Mazagan
is now in the cabin of the Maud, wounded by a rifle ball in the
shoulder, and in need of the services of the doctor," said Captain
Scott.
"Wounded with a rifle ball," repeated the commander. "Then there is a
good deal more of this affair which has not yet come out. But if the
villain is suffering, it is proper that he should be attended to at
once."
"Pitts has had charge of him."
Pinch, the mess steward, was sent for, and ordered to make the hospital
ready for a patient. Mr. Boulong was called in, and directed to
superintend the removal of the wounded Moor to this apartment, under
the direction of the surgeon. Dr. Hawkes was called from the boudoir,
where the company had assembled by this time, and conducted to the
patient.
"With this affair all concealment comes to an end for two reasons," said
the commander, as soon as he had given the orders for the disposal of
the wounded man. "First, there is no longer any necessity for us to keep
our own counsel, for Mazagan is now deprived of the means of following
us on our voyage; and second, it would be impossible to cover up our
movements under the present circumstances. The nervous mothers have no
longer any cause for alarm."
"It did not occur to me that we had made an end of this scare business,"
said Captain Scott. "I had not thought of the matter in that connection,
and all I did was to defend my steamer from the attack of the pirate,
who proposed to come on board and take Louis Belgrave out of her."
"Then you did your duty!" exclaimed Captain Ringgold, rising from his
arm-chair, and extending his hand to the young man. "I congratulate you
on your success, and I am only sorry that the unfortunate grounding of
the Guardian-Mother compelled you to fight the battle alone. I had no
intention of allowing the Maud to be out of my sight more than a few
hours."
Louis, Felix, and Morris clapped their hands with all their might at the
indorsement the commander had given Captain Scott.
"I cannot express to you, Louis, how happy I am to have you still with
us," continued the captain of the ship, as he took the hand of the young
millionaire; "for it appears from the report of Captain Scott that you
have been in imminent danger of being captured and carried off by that
miscreant, and that you have been saved only by the bravery and
determination of the commander of the Maud. He has done no more than I
would have done in his place, and if the pirate had taken you I would
have sunk his steamer at sight to rescue you."
"I am glad you approve the action of Captain Scott, though I had no
doubt you would do so when you learned the facts," replied Louis, as he
pressed the hand of the commander.
"But I have got only a skeleton of the facts yet, and now I should like
to hear the whole story in detail," said Captain Ringgold.
Scott took a paper from his pocket, the one he had drawn off of the
situation of the two steamers in Khrysoko Bay, with the position of the
ledge, the trend of the shore, and some of the soundings as he had taken
them from the chart. He had marked the course of the Maud in all the
movements she had made, and also of the Fatimé, giving the position of
each vessel at the moment of the collision.
He began his recital with the pointing out of the places of each steamer
as soon as the pirate came into the bay. The visit of her boat to the
little steamer followed, and the marshalling of the five members of the
ship's company armed with the repeating-rifles. The interview with
Mazagan was as minutely stated as though a skilled reporter of a
newspaper had taken it down.
"That was the most amazing, presumptuous, groundless, and insane demand
that one person could make upon another," interposed the commander. "It
was sheer piracy!"
Scott had so viewed it, and he proceeded with his narrative. Captain
Ringgold had vacated his chair at the desk, on which the captain of the
Maud had placed his diagram, and pointed out everything as he spoke. The
attempted escape by the supposed channel near the shore was dwelt upon
at some length, in order to enable the young captain to prove that he
had done his best to avoid a collision with the enemy.
The first shots the Fatimé had fired at the Maud, though they had fallen
far short of the mark, were mentioned so as to give them their full
effect; and Captain Ringgold declared that they were a sufficient
declaration of war.
"Only one avenue of escape was open to me," continued Captain Scott,
"and that was directly across the bow of the enemy. If I remained where
I was the Fatimé could come in with the rising of the tide, and sink the
Maud at her leisure. Then the pirate fired the shot from her starboard
gun which passed through the galley, and began to swing to, so as to
bring her port gun to bear on the Maud.
"I won't deny that the shot which went through our upper works made me
mad; but I feared that the next one might go through our boiler or
engine, and then it would have been all over with us. I determined to
prevent such a disaster if I could. I had ordered the hands to use the
rifles; but most of the crew concealed themselves under the top-gallant
forecastle. I shifted the helm, and drove the little steamer's bow
square into the broadside of the Fatimé, just abaft her fore chains.
"It seemed to me from the feeling that she was going to bore her way
through the pirate craft, and I rang to stop and back her. I gave the
speed bell as soon as she began to go astern, and the Maud went clear,
as I was afraid she would not."
The picking up of Mazagan after the Fatimé had gone down, and the visit
of the boat from the shore, were given in detail, and the narrative was
completed.
As soon as the story was finished, the commander took the hand of
Captain Scott again, and pressed it in silence for a moment. He had
listened attentively to the report, interrupting it but once, and had
carefully followed the speaker as he pointed out his movements on the
diagram.
"I approved your conduct, Captain Scott, when I had only a partial
knowledge of what you had done," said he. "I can now approve it with a
full knowledge of the whole affair even more heartily and decidedly than
before. You have been resolute and unflinching from the beginning, and
you have not only fought your ship as bravely and skilfully as any
naval officer could have done it, but you have done your best to avoid a
conflict. I commend you with all my heart and mind."
"I thank you, Captain Ringgold, for all the kind words you have spoken,
and I am rejoiced to be informed on such authority as you are that I
have done my duty faithfully," replied the young commander.
"I suppose the mothers in the boudoir are wondering what has become of
their boys," added the commander. "I give you an hour to pass with them,
and then we must sail for Port Said."
The conference was ended, and the boys all went to the boudoir.