Mr Ward sprang like a tiger towards the cabin skylight, where, through
a slit in the sailcloth and tarpaulin, you could see a hand holding a
pistol twisting about to get back again; but, though it had most likely
come through easy enough, the edges of the stiff tarpaulin now closed
round the wrist, and though the owner seemed to struggle hard, and
having a peephole somewhere, shrieked out as Mr Ward came on, there was
no saving the hand, upon which the young doctor's cutlash came down like
a streak of lightning, cutting it to the bone, when it was at last
dragged through, leaving the pistol upon the deck.
Now, this came from the side of the skylight over the mutineers' cabin,
for so far they did not seem to have got into the one where Mr Ward and
his friends had been; and seeing this, Mr Ward again volunteered to go
down, after we had moved Mr Bell and his sister for safety under the
port bulwarks, thrown another sail or two over the skylight, and then
bowsed up a bit of an awning, for the sun came out, and beat heavily
upon the poor sick man.
But having been made a big man of now, and being consulted on all
points, I give in against anybody going down, for, says I: "You're too
vallable a man to be spared, Mr Ward, sir, and one can only go down
after that there prog when we're reg'lar dead beat. Let's hoist a
signal of distress, in case we're seen by any other ship, keeping on
ourselves steady like, watching well, and taking things coolly as we
can."
My advice was taken, though if it hadn't been, I don't know as I should
have gone and hanged myself; and there we sat, listening to the
movements of the mutineers below, and wondering what devilry they were
planning, till all was still as still, the wind falling calm, and the
sea turning like glass; while the only sound we could hear was the
twitter, twitter of Mr Tomtit's birds down below, which, by good luck,
had got plenty of water and seeds, for, knowing as the little things had
sense enough only to eat just as much as is good for them, I had well
filled their boxes the day before.
"D'ye hear the birds, Roberts?" says Mr Tomtit to me, just as if there
was nothing else in the world but birds, and I do believe as he thought
they was the most important things living, save only for a bit when he
was thinking of Miss Bell, and perhaps, after all, he thought her only a
kind of sweet song-bird as he would like to have along with the others.
However, "D'ye hear the birds, Roberts?" he says.
"Yes, sir, I do," I says. "I was just a-thinking about 'em when you
spoke."
"Were you?" he says, brightening up, and laying down his pistol.
"Yes, I was," I says, "but don't you lay down that there bullet-iron,
for you never know how soon you may want it, sir. While we're like
this, sir, you'll have to sleep with both eyes open, and you a-nussin' a
pistol; while as to what you gets to eat, you must pick that up on the
point of your cutlash."
"But about the birds," he says eagerly. "How many are there left?"
"Well, sir," I says, "I can't rightly say; but I was a-thinking that if
we could get 'em up on deck by shoving a hole through the wires with a
boat-oar, there'd be enough of 'em, with 'conomy, to last us all for
eight days."
"What?" he says, staring.
"Why," I says, "'lowancing ourselves to one big bird apiece, or two
little uns, we could keep ourselves alive for a bit."
He didn't say a word, but looked just for all the world as if he thought
it would ha' been a deal more like the right thing to do to cut one of
us up small to feed his little cock-sparrows and things, if they ran
short of food. So, just out of a bit of spite like, I says to him
dryly: "You might try Miss Bell with them two doves now, sir," I says.
"Hold your tongue!" he says quite fierce, and looking to see if Mr Ward
had heard.
"Wouldn't make a bad roast, sir, and this here sun's hot enough to cook
bullock."
"Will you be quiet?" he says.
"And she'd pick them bones, and thoroughly enjoy--"
"Roberts," says Mr Ward, just then in a whisper, "what's that?"
I'd heard the sound at the same moment as he did, and for a moment it
didn't strike me as to what it might be; but the next instant I was at
the side with a cocked pistol in my hand, an example followed by all the
others, for, through our bad watching, two men out of the fore-cabin had
dropped softly overboard, and were making for the poop, when I hailed
them to stop, covering one with a pistol the while.
He saw that it was of no use, so he asked for a rope directly, and
heaving him one, we had him aboard lashed and lying down upon the deck
beside his mates in less than no time; but the other one swam on and on,
diving down every moment so that I shouldn't hit him. But I could have
done it, if I'd liked, though I did not want to shed more blood, so we
let him swim on till he began to paddle behind and shout to Van for a
rope, when we could hear the cabin windows opening.
"Here, this won't do, sir," I says; and "Hi! here, you, Sam," I shouts,
"don't you leave that fore-hatch," for he was coming away and leaving it
unprotected. So he went back; and getting hold of a line, I makes a
running noose, and going right aft, I tries to drop it over the fellow's
head; but he kept dodging and ducking under, till at last I made a
feint, and the water being clear as glass, just as he was coming up
again I dropped the noose over his head and one arm, drawing it tight in
a moment, and there he was struggling like a harpooned porpoise.
I thought I'd lost him once, for a stroke was made at the line with a
cutlash out of one of the cabin lights, but I soon towed him out of
reach, when Bill Smith threw him the end of a rope, and we had him
aboard too.
Now, what with two wounded men and four prisoners, we had our hands more
than full, so after a short bit of consideration, it was decided to risk
the opening of the fore-cabin-hatch, and make the four men go down one
at a time; we, for humanity's sake, keeping the prisoners who were
wounded.
So we took the four with their hands lashed, and then, with Mr Tomtit
only on guard, we four stood ready; and Mr Ward giving the signal, Sam
raised the hatch, when one fellow leaped up savage, but I had a
capstan-bar ready, and down he went again quicker than he came up. Then
another tried, but I served him the same, when they stopped that game,
and began to fire up the hatch, till I sang out that we were going to
send down their mates.
But sending down was one thing, and making them go was another; for the
first fellow turned rusty and wouldn't stir; till, seeing that half
measures were no good, I nodded to Mr Ward, and he put a pistol to the
fellow's ear, and at the same time I gave him just a tap on the head
with a marlinespike, when he went down sharp, and the others followed.
Sam clapped the hatch down so quickly that the last chap's head must
have felt it; but that put a stop to their firing up at us; and this
being done, we felt safer, though none the less compelled to keep a
strict watch.
And so the day wore away--not a long day at all--for rather dreading the
night as I did, it seemed to come on quickly, and this was the time I
felt sure the mutineers would make their attack, perhaps to get the
better of us.
At one time I was for taking to the biggest of the two boats left, and
leaving them to it; but without provisions, it was like running to meet
death, and I was obliged to give up that idea, for, after all, it would
only have been to get away till such time as they could overtake us and
run us down.
The night turned out bright and starlight; and after making the best
arrangements we could for the watch, we patiently waited for any new
dangers that might befall us. Even Mr Bell, sick as he was, insisted
upon taking his turn at watching, and having now plenty of arms, he sat
with his sister by him to guard the fore-hatch, Miss Bell going from
time to time to the side, and keeping an eye to the cabin window. Two
or three times, too, she came to me, and talked about our position, in
whispers; and somehow or another she seemed to grow upon one, until I
swore to myself that I'd die sooner than the poor lass should be left to
the tender mercies of the scoundrels who had seized the ship.
We had two or three false alarms during the night, but that was all; and
the next day broke, finding us all half-famished; and now it seemed that
either we must attack Van's party in the after-cabin, or one of us must
go down and try for some provisions.
Mr Ward said he would go, and he turned towards Miss Bell, as if
expecting her to say something, but she never looked his way at all; so
after making our arrangements, we lifted the tarpaulin, Mr Ward dropped
through, and in a short time handed up to me several tins of preserved
meat, some biscuit, and a couple of bottles of wine.
He made four journeys before I heard even a movement in the next cabin,
and then there came a muttering as of some one waking from a drunken
sleep, and we all made up our minds that, having plenty of rum below,
the cabin party had had a drinking night of it.
I never expected to see him up on deck without a few shots being
exchanged; but there he was safe; and after dropping the tarpaulin, the
provisions in moderation were served out, and no meal was ever more
welcome. As for the fellows in the fore-cabin, they were evidently well
provided, for we heard nothing of them all that day.
Though we swept the horizon again and again, not a sail appeared in
sight, so that I was not much surprised to see Miss Bell having a good
cry all to herself, when she thought no one could see her; but I did,
though I would not let her know that I was looking.
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