"Don't you wish you may get it, old chap?" said Jem. "Wants you to give
him powder and gun."
The savage nodded approval.
"Yes," he said; "powder-gun--you give."
A call from one of his companions summoned the savage away, and he
joined them to partake of some rum and water, which the captain had had
prepared on their behalf.
"Won't you come up and have some rum?" said the lieutenant to the
tattooed Englishman in the boat.
"No, thank you; but you may send me down the bottle if you like, sir.
Look here! Shall I show you where you can anchor?"
The lieutenant glanced at his superior officer, and in answer to his nod
turned to the man again.
"Can you show us a safe anchorage?"
"I can show you half-a-dozen, all safe," said the man. "When you like,
I'll lead the way."
"A boat shall follow you, and take soundings."
The first cutter was manned with a well-armed crew, and the lieutenant
stepped in--Don and Jem being two of the number.
The tattooed Englishman shouted something to the men busy on the ship,
and they unwillingly left the deck, slipped down into their canoe, and
this led off, followed by the first cutter.
"Give way, my lads!" said the lieutenant; "and mind this: there must be
no straying off in any shape whatever--that is, if we land. These
fellows seem friendly, but we are only a few among hundreds, and I
suppose you know what your fate would be if they got the upper hand."
"Make tattooed chiefs of us seemingly, sir," said Jem.
"Or hot joints," said the officer laconically. "Ready there with that
lead."
The men rowed steadily on after the first canoe, and the man with the
lead kept on making casts, but getting no bottom except at an excessive
depth, as they went on, the scene growing more beautiful as each point
was passed. The other canoes followed, and a curious thrill ran through
Don, as he felt how helpless they would be if the savages proved
treacherous, for the boat and her crew could have been overpowered at
once; and the lieutenant was evidently uneasy, as he saw that they were
taken right round to the back of a small island, gradually losing sight
of the ship.
But he had his duty to do, and keeping a strict watch, after passing the
word to his men to have their arms ready, he made them row on, with the
lead going all the time.
It was a curious experience, and Don's heart beat as he thought of the
possibility of escaping from the boat, and taking to the shore,
wondering the while what would be the consequences. The man in the
leading canoe was evidently well treated, and quite one in authority;
and if they landed and joined these people, why should not he and Jem
become so too?
These were a few of the passing thoughts suggested by the novelty and
beauty of the place, which seemed ten times more attractive to those who
had been for months cooped up on shipboard; but the toil in which he was
engaged kept Don from taking more than a casual glance ashore.
Bosun Jones sat at the tiller side by side with the lieutenant, and
scraps of their conversation reached Don's ears.
"Well, sir," said the former, "as you say, we're out of the reach of the
sloop's guns; but if anything happens to us, we may be sure that the
captain will take pretty good revenge."
"And a deal of good that will do us, Jones," said the lieutenant. "I
believe that scoundrel is leading us into a trap."
"If he is, sir, I hope for one chance at him," said the boatswain; "I
don't think I should miss my man."
The leading canoe went on for quite a quarter of a mile after they had
passed out of sight of the ship, the cutter following and taking
soundings all the way, till they seemed to be quite shut in by high
land, and the water was as smooth as a lake.
There, about five hundred yards from the shore, the canoe stopped, and
almost at the same moment the water shallowed, so that the man in the
bows got soundings in ten fathoms; directly after, nine; then eight; and
eight again, at which depth the water seemed to remain.
"Come, that's honest leading!" said the lieutenant, brightening; "as
snug a berth as a ship could be in. Why, Jones, what a position for a
port!"
"This do, sir?" shouted the tattooed Englishman. "You'll be quite in
shelter here, and the water keeps the same right up to the shore."
A few more soundings were taken, and then the boat returned to the ship,
which made her way in and anchored before night, with the canoes hanging
about, and some of the chiefs eagerly besieging the gangway to be
allowed on deck. But special precautions were taken; sentries were
doubled; and, as if feeling that the fate of all on board depended upon
his stringent regulations, the captain only allowed about half-a-dozen
of the savage-looking people to come on board at a time.
By a little management Don had contrived that Jem should have the
hammock next to his; and that night, with the soft air playing in
through the open port-hole, they listened to the faint sounds on shore,
where the savages were evidently feasting, and discussed in a whisper
the possibility of getting away.