A good breakfast was eaten upon that eventful morning, Dan having plenty
of materials for producing a capital meal, and, to judge from
appearances, the men were quite ready to settle down to their tasks
again, as they made no sign.
Brace had hard work to keep from casting uneasy glances at them, but he
did pretty well, joining in the chat over the meal, and listening to a
yarn from the captain about how he had traced out the deep channel years
before in just such a shallow river as this, and how he was going to
find one now.
"This'll be ten times as easy," he said, "for we only want water enough
for these boats. I wanted water enough then for a big schooner, heavily
laden.--What's the matter, sir?"
This was to Brace, who passed the question off.
"Nothing, nothing," he said aloud. "Go on."
"Oh, there's nothing more to tell. I found a winding channel by
sounding from the schooner's boat with an eighteen-foot bamboo," said
the captain loudly; and then, as Sir Humphrey was speaking to Briscoe,
he bent forward to pick up a biscuit, and whispered to Brace:
"What was it, my lad?"
"Half the guns and rifles have been taken away! and I think they're
hidden behind those bushes close to the boats."
"Very likely," said the captain, without moving a muscle. "All right,
sir, all right. My lads have got gold dust in their eyes, and can't see
right. We'll dust it out of 'em by-and-by."
The by-and-by was not long after, for the captain suddenly cried out:
"Now, my lads, lighten the cutter all you can. Jem, you and three more
will man her. Like to come with me, Mr Brace?"
"Yes, I'll come," said the young man firmly, and he gazed anxiously at
the men to see what was to happen next.
Nothing. No one stirred till the captain sprang to his feet.
"Did you hear me?" he roared.
For answer the crew clustered together on the shore, and there was a
quick whispering, several of the men urging Jem to speak.
This he did at last, desperately, his words following one another in a
hurried way.
"We've been thinking, captain, that now we've found plenty of gold we
don't want to go no farther up this here river."
"Oh! have you?" cried the captain sarcastically; "_we_ have? You mean
you have, my lad. Well, it was very kind of you, but you see these
gentlemen say that though we've found plenty of gold they would like to
go a bit farther, so tumble into the boat at once, and don't you ever
speak to me again like that, or maybe you'll be saying more and getting
yourself into trouble."
"That's all very well, captain," said the man, after a desperate glance
at his messmates; "but we think, all of us, that it won't do to leave
all this gold. There's a fortune apiece for us, you and all, so we're
going to--"
"Lighten that boat, I say!" roared the captain, making a rush at the
man, who was, however, too quick, for he darted aside and ran back
behind his fellow-mutineers.
"Bring that fellow here," shouted the captain, to the two mates, and
Dellow and Lynton stepped forward at once, as if to seize the sailor and
drag him to the captain's feet.
But the men stood firm, closing in round their chosen leader, backing
away the while, and suddenly making a dash for the bushes close to the
boats. The evolution was well performed and showed that it had been
carefully thought out, for the next minute six of the men disappeared,
and after stooping down came again to the front, each carrying a gun or
rifle, while the other six darted behind them to arm themselves with
boathooks and bamboos.
"Just you keep off, Mr Dellow, and you too, Mr Lynton, and you won't
be hurt," cried Jem fiercely. "If you do come on, mind, it's your own
fault if you get a charge of shot through you."
At this moment Brace made for his gun, but the captain shouted at him.
"No, no!" he roared; "we don't want anything of that kind, sir. I can
bring my lads to reason without guns. Here, you sirs, throw down those
tools, or it will be the worse for you. Do you hear?"
"Yes, and it'll be the worse for you, captain, it you don't keep back.
Stand fast, lads. It's to make us rich men for life."
"It's to make you convicts, you dogs," roared the captain. "Now, my
lads, let 'em have it."
"They're four to one, Brace," cried Sir Humphrey, through his clenched
teeth. "I can't stand this. Come on."
"You might ask me to chip in," said Briscoe fiercely; "I'm coming all
the same."
And the three lookers-on turned themselves into combatants and rushed to
the support of the captain and his two officers, who, regardless of the
weapons held by the crew, rushed at them with doubled fists.
There were shouts and yells of defiance, and directly after _thud, thud,
thud_, the dull heavy sounds of well-delivered blows, for the captain
was a very truthful man: he said he hit hard, and he did, while his two
officers showed that they were worthy pupils; and with such an example
before them in the wild excitement of the combat, the three passengers
followed their fists again and again, science helping them, so that
their adversaries went down or fell back struggling.
As previously intimated, the crew had six guns among them, but not a
shot was fired. In fact, they were presented merely as a menace and
under the vain belief that the sight of the weapons would be sufficient
to make the captain's party yield at once to any arrangements the men
proposed respecting the gold. Consequently, in the confusion of the
attack, first one piece and then another was thrown down and trampled
under foot, those who had held them taking to their natural weapons of
defence, and faring very badly.
At the end of a minute, instead of the enemy being two to one, and all
picked, big muscular fellows, the numbers were even, six not wounded but
half-stunned sailors lying or sitting upon the earth.
One was holding his jaw, literally, and not in the metaphorical fashion
of keeping silence; another was carefully rubbing his forehead as if to
get rid of a lump; another had made a compress of his left hand to hold
over his left eye; again another was upon all-fours like a dog, gazing
ruefully at the earth and shaking his head slowly, not because he was
sorry, but to rid himself of a strange dizzy sensation, while the
nearest man to him was sitting down contemplating something white which
lay glistening in his hand and looking wonderfully like a fine front
tooth.
Just at that moment the captain shouted a warning, for the second half
of the crew suddenly gave way and made a rush for the boats.
"Quick!" roared the captain; "cut them off!"
Wild with excitement now, Brace bounded forward, running faster than he
had ever run before, reaching one of the men, who proved to be Jem, and
planting a blow on his ear just as the fellow was stooping to raise the
grapnel from where a couple of its flukes were driven firmly into the
earth.
The result of this was that Jem went over side-wise just in front of
another fugitive, who tripped over him and took a flying plunge, hands
first, into the shallow water, sending it up in splashes which sparkled
in the sunshine.
By this time Lynton was up with the rest, hitting right and left, before
facing round with Brace to defend the boats, while Briscoe and Dellow
came to their help, and, thus cut off; the six sailors turned off along
the river bank and made for the nearest clump of trees, among which they
disappeared, leaving their wounded upon the field.
"Hah!" cried the captain breathlessly, "I've 'most lost my wind. Now,
gentlemen, I call that a neat job. Will you do the crowing, Mr Brace?"
"I don't think there's any need, captain," said Brace, who was examining
one hand.
"Not a bit, my lad. Hullo ... hurt?"
"Only knocked the skin off my knuckles. Your men have such hard heads."
"Yes, but we've softened some of 'em," said Lynton.
"Given 'em a thoroughly good licking," cried the captain; "eh, Sir
Humphrey? Better than shooting the idiots ever so much. Be a lesson to
'em," he continued, raising his voice. "You, Lynton, collect those
pieces that the thieving dogs took. They dropped 'em all, didn't they?"
"Yes, sir; they've left every one of 'em," said the second mate.
"That's right. Mr Brace, just you take one of the shot guns and keep
guard over these six chaps littering the deck--ground, I mean. They're
prisoners, and I'm going to make slaves of them to row us up the river.
I'll give 'em gold. If one of 'em tries to run after those other
cowardly swabs you fire at him, sir. Pepper him well in the legs, and
if that doesn't stop him, give him the other barrel upwards."
"All right," said Brace, laughing.
"I'll be ready too," said Briscoe, "in case you miss. But wouldn't it
be better to put 'em in the small boat for the present, and take out the
oars and sail?"
"Good idea, Mr Briscoe," said the captain. "See to it, Dellow, and
make her fast to the stern of the other boat with the grapnel-line."
The first mate nodded, strode to the man who was looking at his tooth,
ordered him into the lesser boat, and the man rose and went like a lamb,
the rest following slowly and in a more sheepish way, as the big mate
walked to them in turn and pointed meaningly ahead.
"What about the others, captain?" said Sir Humphrey.
"T'other six, sir?" replied the gentleman addressed. "Oh! they've cut
and run. Let 'em go gold-washing and making their fortunes. They're
off on a holiday, and as they'll have no dish-washing or other dooties
to do they'll have plenty of time, and I hope they'll enjoy themselves."
"You mean to leave them behind?"
"That's about it, sir. They've gone. It isn't my doing. I didn't
drive them away."
"What, skipper?" cried Briscoe, laughing. "It that wasn't driving, what
was it?"
The captain's face puckered up into a peculiar grin in which the corners
of his eyes participated with those of his mouth.
"Well, it wasn't a bad charge, was it?" he said. "But now then,
business. Let's have all those cooking traps and things aboard again.
Eh? Oh, there's your chap hard at work over them, Mr Briscoe. I
missed him, and thought he'd gone off with the gang."
"What, my Dan?" cried Briscoe. "I say, skipper, did you get a crack in
the fight?"
"Nary crack, sir, as you'd say," replied the captain. "Why?"
"Because your head doesn't seem clear this morning."
"I beg his pardon, then," said the captain, in a gruff voice. "Now
then, all on board as soon as we can, and let's be off before we catch
Mr Briscoe's complaint and want to stop and wash for gold."
The American laughed at the captain's dry remark, and joined in with the
rest, working away till all that had been landed was on board the larger
boat, when Brace turned to the captain.
"This is all very well," he said; "but we were aground last night, and
you were speaking about searching to-day for a channel along which we
could pick our way."
"That's right, sir," said the captain grimly; "but Nature's been on our
side."
"I don't know what you mean," said Brace, staring at him.
"River's a foot deeper than it was last night. There's been a storm
somewhere up there in the mountains."
"I see no sign of it," said Sir Humphrey. "Oh, yes, I do. Look, Brace:
the water is nothing like so clear."
"That's right, sir," said the captain. "These rivers alter a deal
sometimes in twenty-four hours. Have we got everything on board?"
"Ay, ay, sir," cried Lynton.
"Except the rest of the crew, captain," said Sir Humphrey.
"Oh, yes, of course, sir; but we shall ride lighter without them."
"You never mean to leave them to starve in this wilderness, captain?"
"Aren't this a matter of navigation, Sir Humphrey?" asked the captain
sternly, but with a twinkle in the eye.
"Certainly not," said Sir Humphrey. "It is a question of common
humanity."
"About six common men, sir," said the captain. "Well, we shall see.
Anyhow, I'm going on up the river to give them a lesson; and if we come
back and find them all reduced to skins and skeletons down upon their
marrow-bones asking to be took aboard, why, then, perhaps, we shall see,
and--what in the name of wonder's up now?"
For all at once, as the boats pushed off and the sail of the foremost
was being hoisted, the six men reappeared from where they had hidden in
the woods and came running towards them, shouting and making signs.
"They've caved in at once, skipper," said Briscoe laughingly. "Look
here, you'd better have a court-martial and sentence them to give each
other a round dozen with a rope's-end upon the bare back."
"Look, look!" shouted Brace, springing to his feet and shading his eyes,
before snatching up a rifle, an example immediately followed by the
rest, for there in the distance appeared the whole of the six deserters
running hard in a knot, and dodging in and out among the trees as they
made for the shore, while in full pursuit there was about double their
number of savages apparently armed with bows and arrows, of which they
made use by stopping from time to time to send a shaft in pursuit of the
fugitives.
"Shall we land and go to their help?" said Brace.
"I don't think we need," said Sir Humphrey. "They seem to be holding
their own in running, and I suppose now, captain, you'll have no
objection to them on board?"
"Not a doubt of it, sir," said the captain drily.
"Here, Lynton, haul that boat alongside. We shall want them now, Mr
Brace."
"Of course," replied the young adventurer.
"But you haven't looked down the river, sir."
"What at?" said Brace, staring; and then, panting with his excitement:
"I say, there are four large canoes coming up."
"That's right, sir," said the captain gravely. "Now look the other way.
See that?"