The American turned quickly at the officer's words, and looked at him
curiously.
"Met?" he said, without the slightest sign of recognition. "Very like,
sirr," he added, in a peculiar drawl; "where was it?"
"You do not seem to remember," said the lieutenant. "Let me refresh
your memory: a few weeks back, off the coast of Africa."
The man half-closed his eyes and stared hard at the first lieutenant and
then at the two middies in turn.
"Last year, yew mean, squire?" he said. "No: don't seem to know you
again."
"Then I shall have to refresh your memory a little more. Mr Murray,"
continued the officer, "who do you say this man is?"
"The indiarubber planter, sir, who played us that trick."
The man turned sharply upon the lad.
"And who do you say he is, Mr Roberts?"
"The skipper of the lugger, sir, who guided us up the African river."
"There," said the lieutenant; "will that do for you?"
"I guess I don't know what you are talking about, mister," said the man
sharply. "You said something about a trick. Is this some trick of
yours?"
"Why, confound your impudence, sir!" cried the lieutenant hotly. "How
dare you speak like this to a King's officer!"
"Don't get in a fuss, mister," said the Yankee coolly. "We don't deal
in King's officers here, and don't want to. Here, Mr Allen, you're an
Englishman; these people are more in your way. What do they want?"
"It is the lieutenant of a ship that has cast anchor here, Huggins,"
said the gentleman addressed agitatedly. "It is about the slaves."
"Eh? About the slaves? Our slaves--your slaves? Well, what about
'em?"
"Yes; about the slaves we have here. You understand?"
"Not me! Not a bit. He's been talking to you, has he?"
"Yes--yes."
"Well, then, you'd better finish the business. Tell him I don't want to
trade any away. We've got no more than will get in the crops."
"Speak to him," said the other, who seemed to grow more nervous and
agitated.
"Oh, very well. Look here, mister; you've come to the wrong shop. I
don't understand what you mean by making believe to know me, but I don't
know you, and I'm not going to trade in blacks with any British ship.
Understand?"
"Understand, sir?" cried the lieutenant, who was growing scarlet with
heat and wrath. "It seems to me that you do not understand. Pray, who
are you?"
"Business man and overseer of this plantation for my friend here, Mr
James Allen, who trusts me to carry on his affairs for him, being a sick
man just getting over a fever. There, I don't want to be surly to an
English officer, though I never found one civil to me. You've dropped
anchor off here, and I suppose you want water. Well, if you do I'll put
a gang of my slaves on to help your men fill their casks."
"I am exceedingly obliged to you, sir," said the lieutenant
sarcastically.
"Wal, that's spoke better," said the American. "And if you want some
fresh meat and vegetables you can have a boat-load or two if you like to
pay for 'em with a chest or so of tea. You'd like a few bottles o' port
wine, too, for your complaint, wouldn't you, Allen?" he continued,
turning to the pale, nervous man at his side.
"Yes--yes," faltered the poor fellow.
"Really, you are too condescending," cried the lieutenant. "Mr
Roberts--Mr Murray--did you ever hear the like of this? Here, May--
Titely--what do you say to this American gentleman?"
Tom May took off his straw hat and gave his curly hair a rake with his
fingers, while Titely stared with all his might.
"It caps me, sir," said the latter, while Tom May looked at the
American, then at the two middies in turn, and shook his head.
"Well, sir, why don't you speak?" cried his officer angrily.
"'Cause it's such a rum un, sir."
"Bah! Speak out, man, and don't hesitate. You remember seeing this man
before?"
"Well, sir, I seem to ha' seen him afore, and then I don't seem, and get
kind o' mixed up. Sometimes it looks like him and sometimes it don't
look like him, sir. Beg your pardon, sir, but would you mind asking my
messmate here--Titely?"
"Bah, man! The sun has made you giddy."
"Well, skipper, when you like I'm ready for an answer. Want the water
and fresh vittles?"
"My dear Huggins," said the trembling owner of the place, "it would be
far better if you explained to the King's officer--"
"You leave me and the King's officer alone, James Allen," said the
American sturdily.
"But I'm sure--" whispered the planter.
"So'm I. You keep your tongue between your teeth, and I dessay we can
settle matters. Look here, Mr Officer, I'm boss of all the business
here, and you needn't take no notice of this gentleman. I telled you
that Mr Allen has been in bed with fever, and it's left him, as you
see, very shaky upon his legs. Your coming has upset him and made him a
bit nervous. Here, I'll put in a word for him, poor chap. Jes' you ask
your skipper to give him a small bottle o' quinine. You won't want
paying for that, being charity."
The lieutenant turned his back upon the speaker angrily, and spoke to
the feeble-looking planter.
"Look here, sir," he cried, "you are nominally owner of this plantation
and the slaves upon it."
"Now, look here, mister," said the American angrily; "I spoke civil to
you, and I offered to help you and your ship with what you wanted in the
way of fresh meat and vegetables. What's the good of returning stones
for stuff?"
"My good fellow, will you be silent," cried the lieutenant, "and let me
deal with your master?"
"My master!" snarled the American. "I am my own master, sirr. I tell
you I'm boss of all this here show, and if I like to turn nasty--"
"My dear Huggins--" interposed the planter.
"Shut your mouth, you old fool," growled the American, "and don't
interfere."
"Why, you insulting scoundrel!" roared the lieutenant. "Here, Mr
Allen--that is your name, I believe?--you had better leave this matter
in my hands, and I will settle it."
The American stood listening with his eyes half closed and a peculiarly
ugly look upon his countenance, while the planter made a deprecating
sign with his hands.
"I see very plainly, sir," continued the lieutenant, "that this insolent
Yankee is presuming upon your weak state of health and assuming a power
that he cannot maintain. You have been placing yourself in a position
in which it would be better to--"
"Now see here, stranger," burst in the American, "I'm a man who can
stand a deal, but you can go too far. You come swaggering here with a
boat-load of your men and think that you're going to frighten me, sirr--
but you're just about wrong, for if I like to call up my men they'd
bundle you and your lot back into your boat--for I suppose you have got
one."
"Look here, sir," said the lieutenant, as he caught the flashing eyes of
the two middies and the fidgety movements of his men, "I am loth to
treat an American with harshness, but take this as a warning; if you
insult your master and me again I'll have you put in irons."
"What!" cried the man, with a contemptuous laugh. "You'd better!"
The lieutenant started slightly, and that movement seemed to tighten up
the nerves of his men.
"Can't you understand, sirr, that if I like to hold back you'll get no
provisions or water here?"
"Confound your supplies, sir! And look here, if I must deal with you
let me tell you that I have good reason to believe that under the
pretence of acting as a planter here, you are carrying on a regular
trade in slaves with the vile chiefs of the West Coast of Africa."
"I don't care what you believe, mister," said the American defiantly.
"I am working this plantation and producing sugar, coffee and cotton--
honest goods, mister, and straightforward merchandise. Who are you, I
should like to know, as comes bullying and insulting me about the tools
I use for my projuce!"
"You soon shall know, sir," said the lieutenant, and he just glanced at
the pale, trembling man, who had sunk into a cane chair, in which he lay
back to begin wiping his streaming brow--"I am an officer of his
Britannic Majesty's sloop of war _Seafowl_, sent to clear the seas of
the miscreants who, worse than murderers, are trading in the wretched
prisoners of war who are sold to them by the African chiefs."
"Don't get up too much of it, Mr Officer," said the American,
deliberately taking out a very large black cigar from his breast pocket
and thrusting it between his lips, before dropping into another cane
chair and clapping his hands; "this here ain't a theayter, and you ain't
acting. That there's very pretty about his Britannic Majesty's sloop of
war. Look here, sirr; bother his Britannic Majesty!"
At these last words a thrill of rage seemed to run through the line of
sailors, and they stood waiting for an order which did not come, for the
lieutenant only smiled at the American's insolent bravado and waited
before interfering with him to hear what more he had to say.
"It sounds very lively and high faluting about your sweeping the high
seas of miscreants, as you call 'em, and all that other stuff as you
keep on hunting up with African chiefs and such like; but what's that
got to do with an invalid English gentleman as invests his money in
sugar, coffee and cotton, and what has it to do with his trusted
Aymurrican experienced planter as looks after his black farm hands, eh?"
"Only this, sir," said the lieutenant, "that if he or they are proved to
be mixed up with this horrible nefarious trade they will be answerable
to one of the British courts of law, their mart will be destroyed, and
their vessels engaged in the trade will become prizes to his Majesty's
cruiser."
"Say, mister," said the American coolly--and then to a shivering black
who had come out of the house bearing a coarse yellow wax candle which
he tried to shelter between his hands, evidently in dread lest it should
become extinct,--"Take care, you black cuss, or you'll have it out!"
Murray heard the poor fellow utter a sigh of relief, but he did not even
wince, only stood motionless as his tyrant took the wax taper, held it
to his cigar till it burned well, and then extinguished it by placing
the little wick against the black man's bare arm, before pitching the
wax to the man, who caught it and hurried away.
"Say, mister," said the overseer again, "don't you think you fire off a
little too much of your Britannic Majesty and your King George
fireworks?"
"Go on, sir," said the lieutenant, biting his lip. "Yes, that's what
I'm going to do," continued the man coolly. "What's all this here got
to do with a free-born Aymurrican citizen?"
"Only this, sir, that your so-called American citizen will have no
protection from a great country for such a nefarious transaction."
"There you go again, mister! That's I don't know how many times you've
let off that there prize word of yours, neefarious. There, don't bluff,
sir; to use your old country word, them as plays at bowls must expeck
rubbers. No, no, no, don't you begin ordering your fellows to meddle
with me, because I'm rather nasty when I'm interfered with, 'sides which
I've got some one inside the house to take care of me if it was wanted,
as you can see for yourself--twenty of 'em, boys who can use a rifle;
and that's what your chaps can't do."
In spite of himself the lieutenant started and raised his eyes, to
become aware of the fact that some dozen or fourteen rifle barrels were
protruding from the windows of the long low house, while others were
being thrust from another building away to the right--a shed-like place
that had been unnoticed before, through its covering of densely growing
creepers.
"Don't do that, youngsters," said the American, with a sneering laugh;
"they wouldn't hurt anybody if you pulled 'em out, and some of my
fellows indoors might take it as what you call a signal to draw their
knives."
"Trapped!" muttered the lieutenant to himself; but he did not wince,
only stood thinking out to himself what would be his best course to
pursue, and his musings were interrupted by the American, who lay back
sending forth great puffs of smoke without a quiver visible in his face.
"Looks nasty, don't it, Mr Officer?" said the man, in his long, slow
drawl. "But don't you be skeart; they won't fire without I give the
order or they see me hurt. Then I won't answer for them. 'Tain't
because they're so fond of me, youngsters," he continued, with an ugly
cat-like grin, "because they ain't; but they're afraid, and that's a
good deal better for me. And look here, they're lying back there in the
dark because I told 'em to, and you can't see them; but they're not
niggers--oh no! You can't trust niggers to fight. Your Jack Tars there
would send a hundred of 'em running. Niggers are good field hands, and
my chaps are bad at that, but they can fight, and so I tell you. Now,
skipper," he continued, turning quietly to the lieutenant, who was
pressing his lower lip hard between his teeth, "I think we understand
one another now, and that you see I didn't put up any bunkum when I
telled you that I was boss of this show. So you let me alone, and I'll
let you."
"Sir," said the lieutenant firmly, "I give you fair warning that if harm
happens to a man of my party my captain will land a force that will burn
this place to the ground."
"Very kind of him, too," said the man grimly, "but he won't, because he
mustn't. You don't seem to savvy, skipper, that you ain't at home here.
Do you know, sir, where you are?"
"Yes, sir; on the shores of one of his Majesty's West Indian Islands."
"I thought so, squire; well, then, you're jest about wrong, and you've
no more business here than if this here was Spain. I dessay you think
you can hyste the British flag here, but I tell you that you can't, for
this here island is called South Baltimore, and whenever a flag is
hysted here it's the stars and stripes and the Aymurrican eagle, what
some fellows call the goose and gridiron; and that's so."
"South Baltimore!" cried the lieutenant, who looked puzzled by the
announcement. "And pray, sir, who gave the island that name?"
"I did," said the Yankee drily. "Now then, will that do for you?"
"No, it will not do," cried the lieutenant hotly. "My officer will need
some far better explanation--one based upon greater authority than
this--before he gives up the duty he has to fulfil."
"Vurry well, sir, let him go and find a better explanation, then. It
don't trouble me. Only you had better march your men back aboard your
schooner, or brig, or whatever you call it, before they get falling out
with my fellows. You see yon men's sailors like yours are, and my
fellows may get upset by your chaps, for I always find that British
sailors get a bit sarcy and quarrelsome when they come ashore, and no
matter how quiet and patient the Aymurricans, they lay themselves out
for a fight."
"As in the present case, sir," said the lieutenant sarcastically.
"Jes' so, squire. So now you take my advice and march your chaps back
again. You see how the land lies, and as I've said afore, I don't want
to ride rusty over your skipper. You've on'y got to send word ashore as
you wants fresh provisions and water, and say as you're ready to make a
fair swap with a few things as we want, and there you are."
The lieutenant stood frowning in silence, turning his eyes from the
American to the feeble-looking planter, and from him to the two middies
and his men, in each case finding that he was being watched eagerly,
every eye seeming to ask the same question--what are you going to do?--
while on his part he felt the impossibility of responding.
For the responsibility he felt was almost maddening. It was plain
enough that his men called upon him to resent the American planter's
insolence, and that if he did not do so at once, not only would the two
lads and his men look upon his behaviour as cowardly and degrading to
the British _prestige_, but the Yankee and his faintly seen scum of
followers would treat the whole party with contempt.
It was a painful position, for the Yankee had plainly shown him the
risks he ran. He would not have hesitated for a moment, in spite of the
display of armed men ready to attack, for if he had felt free to act he
would have chanced everything, depending as he felt he could upon his
little party of thoroughly well-drilled able-bodied seamen, and boldly
attacked at once; but he had to think of his captain and the great risk
he ran of bringing him into difficulties and forcing him to answer for
some international difficulty over the rights of the United States,
which, if the American overseer was right, were sure to be jealously
maintained.
It was hard to do, and Murray noticed a peculiar twitching about his
officer's lips as he turned at last to the smiling, sneering man, his
first words showing his hearers how bitterly he felt his position and
the necessity for obeying the teachings of the proverb that discretion
is the better part of valour.
"Well, sir," he said, in a cold, hard fashion, "I have heard all that
you have to say. As to the correctness of your statement that we are
not upon British soil, I must leave that to my superior's judgment and
decision, for certainly I cannot feel that it is my duty to proceed
farther without drawing off my men and going back to lay the matter
before Captain Kingsberry."
"That's right, Mr Lieutenant," said the overseer. "Nothing like it.
You always do that; when you find yourself in a tight corner, you get
out of it as soon as you can."
"Ha, ha, ha!" rang out in a harsh, discordant tone from somewhere inside
the house, and this acted as the signal for a burst of jeering laughter
which made the lieutenant wince and his face turn pale even to his lips,
which he bit until they were white, while a low, dull murmur that
sounded like the threatening premonitory growl of the British bulldog
being pricked by an insult, ran through the group of sailors.
"Silence, there!" cried the lieutenant, in a choking voice; and the
murmur died away.
"That's right, Mr Officer," said the American. "Yew always drop on to
your fellows sharply when they show signs of mutiny. I allus do. And
you within there, none of that row. Quiet, do you hear?"
There was another low mocking laugh, but the American paid no heed, only
went on talking at Mr Anderson.
"That was very good of you, squire, but while you're about it if I were
you I'd just say a word or two to them two bantam-cock-like boys of
officers of yours, who keep on sneering like at my men and setting their
backs up. You don't mean it, of course, being ready to do what's right.
So you give 'em a good talking to when you get 'em back safe aboard.
You'd best do it, for if them puppies keep on that how they may make my
chaps wild. Now just look at that!"
For the two midshipmen had been growing warmer for some minutes past as
they listened to the American's insulting language, and at last, hot
with annoyance, Murray, unable to contain himself and forgetting
discipline, clapped his hand upon his side-arms and took a step forward,
his eyes flashing with boyish anger, and exclaimed--
"Do you mean that insulting language for me, sir?"
Perhaps there was something in the lad's manner, as in that of Roberts',
who immediately followed his example, or maybe the overseer's men were
only waiting for an opportunity to be aggressive. At any rate, they
seized upon the opportunity to burst out into a derisive laugh.
"Quiet! Steady, my lads!" cried the lieutenant fiercely.
"But, sir--" began Murray hotly.
"Silence, sir!" roared his officer; and then what happened was too much
for him, for a dark shadow came from somewhere amongst the trees, a
shadow-like something which described a curve and struck the speaker
full in the chest, and fell to the ground in the shape of a great
unhusked cocoanut.
In an instant the lieutenant's hand flew to his sword, but he checked
himself. His act, though, had its effect, for there was a yell of
laughter, and the one great nut was followed by a shower, two of which
half drove the two young officers mad as they struck heavily, the rest
having effect amongst the sailors, who with one impulse fell into line
and presented arms.
There was another yell of laughter, and the overseer sprang up from his
cane chair.
"That'll do!" he shouted; but he made no effort further to check his
men, but dashed in through one of the open windows of the house, just as
from another came the sharp flash and puff of smoke from a rifle,
followed by a ragged volley from the creeper-covered building that lay
farther back.
This was answered by a fierce British cheer and a rush on the part of
the sailors, who either carried their officers with them or were led--no
one afterwards seemed to know--but in almost less time than it takes to
describe, the little party of sailors swept through the plantation house
from front to back, driving its defenders before them, and without
firing a shot till a few desultory rifle-shots began to spatter from the
thick patch of tropic forest which sheltered the back of the attractive
dwelling. Then, and then only, three or four volleys silenced the
enemy's fire, and it was evident that the overseer and his men had now
fled, taking with them the planter, if he had not retreated by his own
efforts, for he was nowhere visible. Then all was silence as soon as
the rustling and crackling of cane and the heavy shaddock-like foliage
had ceased.