Now, not being a scholar, I had a deal of trouble over the note I got
ready for the next morning, for, you see, I wanted to say very much in a
very little room, and in a way that shouldn't betray me if it was to
fall into the wrong hands. It was meant for Mr Ward, but I knew Tomtit
would get it; but that didn't matter, as they were fellow-prisoners, and
what I wanted was to put the doctor on his guard, and also to let him
know that all I'd done was so as to be alongside of him and Miss Bell.
So I says in the note:
"Honoured Sir,--Keep a bright look-out ahead, and haul every sheet taut.
Them as you thought was sharks a showing their teeth warn't only shams.
Take all you gets, and clap 'em under hatches, and, whatever you do,
don't be deceived by false colours, nor hail ships as seems enemies."
"There," I says to myself, when I'd got that printed out careful, "if he
can't make that out, he can't understand nothing;" for, I put it to you,
what could I have said clearer, and yet made so as no one else could
understand? It seemed to me that I'd just hit the mark, and the next
thing was to get it to him.
Who'd ever have thought, I says, that that long doubling-up chap, as we
all made such fun of with his little birds, would have turned in so
useful; and then I got what you big people call moralising about
everybody having their use on earth, without it was mutineers, whose
only use seemed to me to be finding work for the hangman.
I got no chance to send my note that day, through people being about;
next day, too, nothing came of it; but early the next morning, soon
after daybreak, I got my little messenger out, tied the paper to his
wing with a bit of worsted out of my kit, and then going on deck, I let
him fly, but so as not to take the attention of the chap at the wheel, I
started him from up in the main-top, where I made-believe to have gone
to have a smoke.
There was a watch of three forward, but they were all half asleep; while
as for him taking his trick at the wheel, he kept on nodding over his
job, and letting the ship yaw about till she went anyhow.
Bless the pretty little thing! When I first opened my hand, it only sat
there looking at me with its bright beady eyes, and then it was so tame,
it hopped upon my shoulder, to stay a few seconds, before flitting from
rope to sheet and shroud, lower and lower, till it perched upon the
cabin skylight, and rattled out a few clear crisp notes, like a
challenge to its master, who, I felt sure, would be asleep. My only
hope was that the little thing would flit through the big hole I made,
and stay in the cabin till Tomtit was up.
But I was wrong, for the bird had no sooner sung its sweet note, putting
one in mind of old boyish days when we used to go bird-nesting, than I
saw a hand thrust up through the broken light, and after a little
fluttering, the bird let itself be caught, when, knowing that my job was
done, I came slowly down, and walking aft, stood and talked to the chap
at the wheel.
"Hollo!" I says, all at once, "there's one o' my birds got loose;" and
running forward, and making a good deal of fuss, I captured the little
linnet, for it never flew far at a time, having been tamed and petted by
Mr Butterwell till it was almost like a little Christian.
That day I watched my chance, and got hold of what powder I could,
making a little packet of it in my silk neckercher; and when it was
dark, I managed to drop that through the skylight as I went whistling
along the deck. Next thing to be done was to get some weepuns, for it
seemed strange to me if we six true men couldn't somehow make one chance
and turn the tables on the rascals who had taken the ship. Counting
them up, I found there was about seventeen--long odds enough, unless we
could trap half of 'em, and fight 'em a part at a time. Then I thought
the odds would be fair, for fighting with right on our side, I
considered that we were quite as strong as eight of the others.
But the job was to get hold of weepuns, for they never let neither me,
nor Sam, nor Bill Smith have neither cutlash nor pistol, only take our
turn at the wheel, or trim sails, otherwise we were treated right
enough. Some of the chaps grumbled, saying, that now Van had made
hisself captain, times were as hard as they were before; but that wasn't
the case, though now he'd got the ship, he didn't mean to lose her again
if he could help it, and seemed to me to be always on the watch for
everything. As to trusting either of we three to go down below to the
prisoners with rations, that was out of the question, either he or
Brassey attending to that, and more than once I heard high words, and
Mr Bell talking in a threatening way when Van was below.
Now, if it had been at any other time, we should not have sailed a
hundred miles without being boarded by some one; while, if a Queen's
ship would only have overhauled us now, it would have been salvation for
us: but no; day after day slipped by, and not a sail came near. All I
had managed to drop more into the cabin was only a couple of
table-knives; when one dark evening, as I lay under the bulwark, hid by
a bit of sail, I saw Van come out of his cabin, go and talk to the chap
at the wheel, see to the course of the ship, and then go forward. I
heard him talk to the watch for a minute, and then he went below
forward, when, running upon all-fours, I was at the cabin-hatch and down
below in a jiffy.
As I expected, there were plenty of pistols and cutlashes there, where
he had had them put for safety; and if I could have opened the big cabin
door, I might have pitched half a score in before any one could have
said "Jack Robinson;" but there was something to stop me, for I had
crossed the cabin and had my hand on a cutlash before I knew that
Brassey was in the cabin with his head down upon the table, and
seemingly fast asleep.
I should think I stood there with my hand stretched out for a full
minute, not daring to move, expecting every moment that Van would come
back, or else that Brassey would wake up.
That minute seemed to be stretched out into quite an hour; and then,
feeling that it was now or never, I shoved one after the other six
pistols inside my shirt, when taking another step to reach where some
cutlashes stood together in a corner, I knocked one down, when I threw
myself on my hands and knees, so that, if Brassey started up, he would
not see me at first. Then as I stooped there trembling with anxiety, I
heard him yawn, push the lamp a little farther on the table, and a
minute after, he was snoring loud.
I waited as long as I dared, and then rising lightly, I got hold of one
cutlash, and then of five more, out of a good twenty as stood there;
staffed as many cartridges out of the arm-chest into my pockets as they
would hold; and then, after doing all this by fits and starts, expecting
every moment that Brassey would hear me, I turned to go.
I'd crept across the cabin, and reached the door, when I heard a step on
the deck, and drew back; but the next moment it had gone, and after
waiting for a minute, with the cutlashes tightly held under my arm, I
made another start, when my heart seemed to sink, for I heard a sort of
husky cough I well knew, and Van had his foot upon the stairs.
There was only one way for safety, and that I snatched at, for in
another few seconds Van would have had me by the throat, and all would
have been over; but, darting back, I laid hold of the lamp, dashed it
down upon the sleeping man's head, and then leaped aside.
------------------------------------------------------------------------