The crew of the _Seafowl_ had a busy day's work after a good refresher,
during which officers and men had been discussing in low tones the way
in which "the skipper," as they called him, had let himself be tricked
by the Yankee. The younger men wanted to know what he could have been
about, while the elder shook their heads sagely.
"Ah," more than one said, "it has always been the same since the
revolution; these Yankees have been too much for us. There's something
in the American air that sharpens their brains."
Then old Dempsey, the boatswain, who had heard pretty well all that the
captain had said, chewed it over, digested it, and gave it voice as if
it was something new, to first one knot of listeners and then another,
ending with the two midshipmen.
"You see, Mr Murray, and you too, Mr Roberts, it was like this. That
schooner had just started for the West Injies with a full load of
niggers, when she sighted the _Seafowl_ and knowed she was a king's ship
looking after a prize."
"How could the Yankee skipper know that?" said Murray. "He could only
get just a glimpse before we were hidden by the fog."
"Cut of the jib, sir--cut of the jib," said the old man. "What else
could he think? 'Sides, Yankee slaving skippers have got consciences,
same as other men."
"Rubbish, Mr Dempsey!" said Roberts contemptuously.
"Course they are, sir--worst of rubbish, as you say, but there's bad
consciences as well as good consciences, and a chap like him, carrying
on such work as his, must be always ready to see a king's ship in every
vessel he sights. But well, young gentlemen, as I was a-saying, he
sights us, and there was no chance for him with us close on his heels
but dodgery."
"Dodgery, Mr Dempsey?" said Roberts.
"Yes, sir; Yankee tricks. Of course he couldn't fight, knowing as he
did that it meant a few round shot 'twixt and 'tween wind and water, and
the loss of his craft. So he says to himself, `what's to be done?' and
he plays us that trick. Sends his schooner up the river while he puts
off in that there lugger and pretends to be a injyrubber grower. That
ought to have been enough to set the skipper and Mr Anderson thinking
something was wrong, but that's neither here nor there. He pretends
that he was a highly respectable sort of fellow, when all the time he
was a sorter human fox, and lures, as the captain calls it, our sloop
into this sort of a branch of the big river where the current runs wrong
way on because part of the waters of the great river discharges
theirselves. And then what follows?"
"Why, we were carried by the strange current into the muddy shallow and
nearly capsized, Mr Dempsey, while we had the satisfaction of seeing
the slaver sail away with her crew," interposed Murray impatiently.
The grizzly-headed, red-faced old boatswain turned upon the lad with an
offended air and said with dignity--
"If you'd only had a little patience, Mr Murray, I was going to tell
you all that."
He grunted audibly as he walked away, and as soon as he was out of
hearing Murray cried impatiently--
"What did he want to bore us with all that for? Tiresome old fogey!
But I say, Dick, you take my advice--don't you get anywhere near the
skipper if you can help it to-day. He took things very smoothly before
breakfast, but you'll see now that he will be as savage as a bear with a
sore head, as they say, and lead every one a terrible life."
"Oh, if you are going to deal out old saws, young man," replied Roberts,
"you go and teach your grandmother how to suck eggs. Just as if I was
likely to go near him until he has got the sloop well afloat!"
But what proved to have been every one's opinion turned out entirely
wrong, for the captain had never shown himself to better advantage.
As soon as breakfast was over, and had been partaken of in the most
deliberate way as far as he was concerned, he turned to the officers,
all smiles, and began giving orders in the coolest of fashions and all
guided by so much judgment that by carefully laying out anchors, the use
of the capstan, haulage, and taking advantage of the wind, the sloop
soon rose upon an even keel and rested at last in a safe position. The
tide that ran up as far as the black king's city did the rest, and the
next day the sloop lay at anchor just where the schooner had been the
previous morning, that is to say, in a position where she could easily
gain access to the sea.
Once the sloop was in safety and the officers had pretty well mastered
the intricacies of the river's course, and the tidal and other currents
which protected the slaver's lair, a couple of armed boats pulled ashore
to examine the place with caution, lest they should encounter some other
trap.
"There's no knowing, Mr Anderson," said the captain, "so at the
slightest sign of danger draw back. I don't want a man to be even
wounded at the expense of capturing a score of the black scum, even if
one of them proves to be the king."
The captain's orders were carefully carried out, while once more the two
midshipmen succeeded in accompanying the landing parties, to find that
the king's town of palm-thatched hovels was completely deserted. It had
evidently been a busy, thickly inhabited place, where prisoners were
herded together by the brutal savages who made incursions in different
directions, and held their unfortunate captives ready for the coming of
the slaver. But now the place was a dreary silent waste, and the trail
well marked showed plainly the direction taken by the native marauders
to some forest stronghold, near at hand or far distant, it was
impossible to say which.
"Pah!" ejaculated Murray, as he sprang back with disgust from the
strongly palisaded enclosure which was evidently the prisoners'
barracks. "Let's get away, Dick."
"I'm ready," was the reply, "but I say, did you go round the other side
yonder?"
The lad pointed as he spoke.
"No. What was there to see?"
"Tom May found it out," replied the midshipman, "and I was idiot enough
to go. Here, Tom," he cried, signing to the generally amiable-looking
sailor to approach; and he strode up, cutlass in hand, musket over his
shoulder, scowling and fierce of aspect. "Tell Mr Murray what you
showed me over yonder, Tom."
The man's face puckered up as he turned and met Murray's eyes.
"It's 'most too horrid, sir," he said, "and don't do no good but make a
man savage, sir. There's just fourteen of 'em among the trees there."
"What, prisoners?" said Murray excitedly.
"Yes, sir, and six on 'em got the chains on 'em still."
"Well, what about the armourer?" cried Murray excitedly, turning upon
Roberts. "Didn't Mr Anderson have them struck off?"
"No, lad," replied Roberts. "There was only one of them alive out of
the whole fourteen, and I don't think she'll be alive when Munday comes
back."
"Comes back! I didn't know he had put off again."
"Gone for the doctor," said Roberts. "Go on, Tom May. Tell him what
you made it out to be."
"Just this, sir--that they'd got more than the schooner could take away,
and they finished off the sick and wounded."
"How could you tell that?" said Murray, with a look of horror.
"Seemed pretty plain, sir. All the men had old wounds as well as what
must have been given them to finish 'em yes'day morning, sir, when the
black fellows forsook the place."
"But you said--finished the men who had old wounds?"
"Yes, sir; half healed. T'other wounds was fresh, and the women and
children--"
"Women and children!" cried Murray excitedly.
"Yes, sir; knocked on the head--clubbed. Didn't care to take 'em away
with them, sir, when we come."
"Oh, Dick," said Murray, whose face now looked ghastly, "I knew that
there were horrors enough over the slave-trade, but I never thought it
could be so bad as that. Here, Tom, where is this? Show me."
"Don't be a fool, old chap," whispered Roberts, grasping his companion's
arm. "You've heard what Tom said. I've seen it too, and I could tell
you, but I won't. It's too horrid to go and see again."
"Yes, it must be horrible," said the young man passionately; "but you
said one poor creature was still alive?"
"Yes, and the doctor's being fetched."
"But something might be done--water--carried into the shade."
"We did all that, sir," said the sailor gruffly.
"Who did?" asked Murray excitedly.
"Well, I helped, sir, and the poor black lass looked at me as if she
thought I was one of 'em going to take her aboard a slaver."
"But didn't you tell her--Oh, you are right, Dick; I am a fool! She
couldn't have understood unless it was by our acts."
"Oh, don't you worry about that, Mr Murray, sir," said the man eagerly.
"The poor thing took quite a turn like when I knelt down and held my
waterbottle to her lips."
Murray stood looking at the man, with his brow furrowed, and then he
nodded.
"Now then," he said, "where was this?"
"T'other side of this barrack place, sir," said the man; "just over
yonder."
"Show me," said Murray abruptly.
"I wouldn't go, Frank," whispered Roberts.
"I must," was the reply. "Lead the way, Tom."
"One of our lads is with her, sir," said the man, hesitating.
"So much the better," cried Murray firmly. "You heard what I said?"
Roberts, who was nearest to the sailor, heard him heave a deep sigh as
he gave his trousers a hitch, and led the way past the vile-smelling
palm and bamboo erection which had quite lately been the prison of a
large number of wretched beings, the captives made by the warlike tribe
who kept up the supply of slaves for bartering to the miscreants. Those
who from time to time sailed up the river to the king's town to carry on
the hateful trade content if they could load up with a terrible cargo
and succeed in getting one-half of the wretched captives alive to their
destination in one of the plantation islands, or on the mainland.
Tom May took as roundabout a route as he could contrive so as to spare
the young officers the gruesome sights that he and the other men had
encountered; but enough was left to make Murray wince again and again.
"Why, Tom," he exclaimed at last, "no punishment could be too bad for
the wretches who are answerable for all this."
"That's what me and my messmates have been saying, sir; and of course
it's going to be a nasty job, but we're all ready and waiting for our
officers to give the word--Course I mean, sir, as soon as we get the
chance."
"Only wait, my lad," said Murray, through his set teeth.
"That's what we keep on doing, sir," said the man bitterly. "You see,
it's pretty well all wait."
"The time will come, Tom."
"Yes, sir; course it will, and when it does--"
The man moistened the palm of his right hand, clapped it to the hilt of
his re-sheathed cutlass, and half drew it from the scabbard. "My!" he
ejaculated, and his eyes seemed to flash in the morning sunshine. "It's
going to be a warm time for some of 'em. I shouldn't like to be in that
Yankee gentleman's shoes, nor be wearing the boots of his men where they
had 'em."
"Oh, but these people could not be such inhuman wretches," said Murray
excitedly. "The murderous, atrocious treatment--the killing of those
poor prisoners must be the act of the black chief and his men."
"Hope so, sir," said the sailor bluntly. "It's too black to be done by
a white. But all the same, sir, if the white skipper didn't want his
cargoes, the nigger king and his men wouldn't supply 'em; and here's the
doctor come ashore, sir," added the man, in a whisper.
For the two parties met just at the edge of a clump of trees, within
whose shade the unfortunate creature who had interested the midshipman
in her fate was lying with one of the seamen standing by her head, his
musket grounded and his crossed arms resting upon the muzzle.
"Ah, gentlemen, you here!" said the doctor, nodding shortly. "Nice
place, this. Humph!" he ejaculated, as with brows contracting he went
down on one knee.--"There, don't be frightened, my lass," he continued
softly, for as he drew near, the poor creature, who had been lying in
the shade with her eyes half-closed, startled by the footsteps, suddenly
raised her lids in a wild stare of horror and shrank away. "Poor
wretch!" continued the doctor. "The sight of a man can only mean
horrors for her."
"Horrors indeed, doctor," cried Murray excitedly; "but pray do something
for her!"
"No," said the doctor gravely. "Nature is her doctor now."
"What do you mean?" said the young man, half annoyed by the doctor's
inaction.
"That she is in the hands of a kinder doctor than I could be--one who
knows what is best for her. Look!"
He shrugged his shoulders and turned away.
"Let your men cut a few of those big leaves, Mr Murray, and lay over
her."
"You are too late?" said Roberts excitedly.
"Yes, my dear boy," replied the doctor. "With such hurts as the poor
girl had received it was only a matter of time. Ah, I wish to goodness
we had caught that schooner! It's time all this was stamped out.
There, come away and bring your men. Oh, here comes Mr Anderson.
Well, what are you going to do?" For the first lieutenant came up,
followed by some of his men, glanced at the motionless figure and the
action being taken, and turned away.
"What am I going to do?" he replied, frowning angrily. "Nothing but
communicate with the captain for fresh instructions."
"But aren't we going to pursue the black chief and his people through
the forest, sir, and punish them?" asked Murray, who was strangely moved
by his first encounter with the horrors of a slave encampment.
"No, Mr Murray, we certainly are not," replied the lieutenant, "for the
chief and his men will take plenty of care that we do not overtake them.
Here, come away, my lads; this place is pestiferous enough to lay every
one down with fever."
"Yes; I was just going to give you a very broad hint. Fire, eh?" said
the doctor.
The lieutenant nodded.
"I must just have a word or two with the captain first," said the
lieutenant, and giving the order, the men began to march to where the
boats lay with their keepers, and a sentry or two had been thrown out to
guard against surprise.
Murray closed up to the doctor, who was looking sharply about him at the
trees which remained standing amongst the almost countless huts.
"Not many cocoanuts, Murray," he said.
"Oh," cried the young man, who felt more annoyed by the doctor's
indifference than ever, "I was not thinking about palm-trees!"
"But I was," said the doctor; "they'll burn tremendously."
"Ah," cried the midshipman, "that was what I wanted to speak about. Did
you mean to suggest that the place should be burned?"
"Certainly, sir," said the doctor shortly.
"The village--but with the slave barrack?"
"Of course," said the doctor shortly. "Don't you think it would be
best?"
"I--Oh! It seems so horrible," began Murray.
The doctor looked at him searchingly, and laid his hand upon the youth's
shoulder.
"I understand, Murray," he said quietly. "It does seem as you say
repugnant; but it is necessary, my lad, for several reasons, one of the
first of which it that it will be a lesson for the black king."
"But he could soon have another village built."
"Then we ought to come and burn that, and his people with him, if we
could get hold of the wretches. I'm sure you must have seen enough this
morning to make you feel how necessary it is for this slave traffic to
be stamped out."
"Yes, of course," said Murray, "but--"
"Then take my advice, my lad," said the doctor, gripping the lad's arm;
"leave these matters to your superior officers, and don't look at me as
if I were a heartless brute. My profession makes me firm, my lad, not
unfeeling."
"Oh, I don't think that, sir," said the lad quickly.
"But you thought something of the kind, Murray, my lad, and I like you,
so it hurt me a little. You ought to have known that black and white,
good and bad, are all one to a doctor. He sees only a patient, whatever
they may be. But in this case I saw that this poor black woman was at
almost her last gasp. Understand?"
"Yes, I see now, sir, and I beg your pardon," said the midshipman.
"We understand one another, Murray, and--Ah, here is the first luff
doing just what I wanted him to do."
For that officer had gathered his men together in the shade of a clump
of trees where the moving branches blew from off the river in a breeze
that was untainted by the miasma of the marshy ground and the horrors of
the village, for it brought with it the odour of the floating seaweed
and old ocean's health-giving salts.
By this time one of the boats was despatched, and the lieutenant joined
the pair.
"Ah, Mr Murray, you have lost your chance. I was going to send you to
the captain for instructions, but you were busy with the doctor, so I
sent Mr Roberts.--Giving him a lecture on the preservation of health,
doctor?"
"Just a few hints," said that gentleman, smiling. "We were taking
opposite views, but I think Murray agrees with me now."