"I've heard news of my brother Jack!" I exclaimed, as I met Jim
directly after I sprang on deck.
"What! Is he alive?" asked Jim.
"Miles Soper, who was his shipmate, thinks so," I answered. "At all
events, he wasn't killed when we thought he was."
"Then, Peter, we'll find him if we search the world round!" cried Jim,
giving me a warm grip of the hand. "I am glad; that I am!"
It takes a whole day to "try out"--that is, to boil down the blubber of
each whale. I found that the cooper and his mate had just finished
filling up the casks from the coolers, and I was wanted, with others, to
assist in rolling them aft.
Here they were chocked and lashed and left to cool for several days
before they were in a condition to be stowed away in the hold. In the
meantime we had to get up all the empty casks on deck so that we might
lay the ground-tier with the full casks. As the casks were piled up,
one upon another, the ship was in consequence almost topheavy, and I saw
the captain and Mr Griffiths frequently casting glances round the
horizon, to watch for an indication of any change in the weather, for
should a sudden squall strike the ship she might, while in this
condition, be sent over in an instant. Every possible exertion was
therefore made to get the task accomplished, and all hands were
employed. Anxious as I was to hear what had become of my brother, I
consequently had no opportunity for a long time of listening to a
continuance of Miles Soper's narrative. I should have said that though
the oil casks were stowed away empty and filled by means of the hose
from the deck, the greatest care was required in bedding them, as they
might have to remain three years or more in the hold. The blubber from
the three whales was at length tryed out and secured in the casks, and
the decks being washed down, the ship once more resumed her ordinary
appearance, we meantime continuing our course northward. The first
moment I was at liberty I went down to see Miles Soper. He said that he
felt much better, though still unable to do duty.
"And what about Jack?" I asked; "you and he were just pulling away
across the river at night to escape from the Dyack pirates."
"Yes; I have been thinking much about it since I told you. I would not
have to go through that time again for a good deal if I could help it.
We could hear the shrieks and cries of the old men, women, and children
as the cruel pirates caught them and cut off their heads, and we could
see the flames burst out from the houses all along the banks of the
river. We were afraid that the light would be thrown upon our boat, so
that we dare not venture down the river, but pulled up along the
southern bank close under the bushes. We thought that we were safe, at
all events, till daylight, when we caught sight of two boats coming out
from among the pirate fleet and steering up stream. I gave up all for
lost, as I knew that they would whip our heads off in a moment should
they come up with us.
"`Don't give in!' cried Jack; `perhaps it isn't us that they're after.'
"We ceased pulling lest the light should fall on our oar-blades, for we
should have had no chance if they had made chase.
"`Let's paddle in under these bushes,' whispered Jack; `they're very
thick, and we can lie hid here, while maybe they'll pass us.'
"We did as he proposed. As the boughs overhung the water and almost
touched it with their ends, we hoped that the pirates would not discover
us. We could just look out across the river, and saw the boats still
coming towards us. We both lay down in the bottom of our boat and
remained as quiet as mice, scarcely daring to look up above the gunwale
for fear of being seen. We could hear the voices of the pirates and the
splash of their oars as they drew nearer. If they had before seen us
they might have observed the spot where we had disappeared, and I
expected every moment to have my head whipped off my shoulders. Just
putting my eyes above the gunwale, I saw the two boats, broadside on,
pulling along. They hadn't found us out. On and on they went, right up
the stream. They must have thought that we were still ahead. We, of
course, didn't dare to move, hoping that they would give up the chase
and go back again.
"`We must not be too sure that they won't look for us when they do come
back,' said Jack. `Howsomdever, there's no use crying out till we're
caught. I'll tell you what; the best thing we can do is to get on shore
and make our way inland; then, though they may find the boat, they won't
catch us.' I agreed; so, shoving the boat farther in till we reached
the bank, we sprang on shore, and having secured her by the painter, set
off directly away from the river. As it was very dark, we had to grope
our way amongst the trees and bushes, though the glare in the sky from
the burning houses enabled us to steer a right course. We half expected
that a snake or a wild beast might pounce down upon us, and we had no
arms to defend ourselves. But anything was better than to be caught by
the pirates. At last, when our clothes were torn nearly off our backs,
we reached some open ground, and set off running till we got to a wood
on the opposite side. `Now,' says Jack, `we won't go farther, but hide
here till the morning; then maybe, if we can climb to the top of a tree,
we shall be able to catch sight of the river and find out what the
pirates are doing.' I thought his idea a good one, so we sat down on
the ground and waited. We could hear no sounds, so we concluded that
all the poor people had been killed. We hoped, however, that the
warriors might come back and beat the pirates off. Not that we wished
to fall into the power of our old masters again, for they would have
kept us prisoners if they didn't lake it into their heads to kill us.
"At last the light returned, and seeing a tall tree near: Jack and I
climbed up to the top. Jack went first. `Hurrah!' he shouted; `there
go the pirates down the river, pulling away with all their oars out!'
Sure enough I saw them also. `But I say, Jack, perhaps the warriors
have come back and put them to flight; if so, we must take care not to
be caught by them.' I said, `I can see where the village stood, but I
don't see any people moving about.' `It's a long way, to be sure, so we
must be careful,' answered Jack. We soon got down the tree and returned
to our boat. The pirates hadn't discovered her, so we got on board, and
cautiously shoved out to the edge of the bushes, stopping just inside
them. We then took a look-out, but could discover no one moving on the
opposite shore, so we pulled across to the village. It was a fearful
sight we saw there. Bodies of old men, women, and children were
scattered about, but the heads were gone.
"We were in a hurry, you may be sure, to get away, but, says Jack, `It
won't do to put to sea without food or water.' So we hunted about, and
found in the bushes several baskets which the poor people had been
trying to carry off with food of all sorts, and some calabashes, which
we quickly filled at the spring where we were accustomed to get water.
We hurried with them back to the boat, and once more shoved off. We
then paddled away down the river. The current was running out, so that
we made good way, and were soon out of sight of the burnt village. Our
craft was not very well suited for a voyage, but anything was better
than stopping to be killed on shore. We pulled on until nearly noon
before we came in sight of the mouth of the river. There was no bar,
and the sea was smooth, so we resolved to pull out at once, in the hope
of being picked up by some passing vessel. We were still not certain
even now that our masters would not make chase after us, so we didn't
stop a moment, except just to look round, but pulled right away to sea.
Just as we got outside we caught sight of the pirate fleet under sail,
standing to the nor'ard. We therefore pulled south, not that there was
much chance of their coming back, but we thought that if we went in
their wake we should not fall in with any merchant vessel, for at any
rate if they should have met one they would to a certainty have robbed
and scuttled her.
"We supposed that there were other islands away to the westward, but
then they might be inhabited by the same cut-throat sort of fellows as
those from whom we had escaped, and we didn't want to fall into their
hands. Our chief hope was to be picked up by some passing vessel or
other, perhaps by our own ship, but Jack said he thought she would not
have remained at the station, and would have long ago given up searching
for us. It was hot work paddling away all day, and we would have given
much for a sail, but the boat was not fitted for one, and she was not
fitted either for a heavy sea--not that there was much chance of that
getting up at such time of the year. We had plenty of food and water,
so we kept up our spirits. Where we were going to neither of us could
tell; all we knew was that we were our own masters. We were queer
characters to look at, with our clothes all torn to shreds, our hair
long, and our faces as brown as berries. No one would have taken us for
Englishmen, but we had English tongues and English hearts, and we made
up our minds to stick at it and not be downcast. We wanted to get away
as far as we could from the shore, for fear any of the natives might
come after us--not that there was much chance of that. We paddled and
paddled till our arms ached, and we were well-nigh roasted with the hot
sun. We were thankful when night came on, and we were able to rest and
take some food.
"We had agreed to keep watch and watch, but it was of no use trying to
keep awake, so we both lay down in the bottom of the boat and went fast
asleep. When we awoke it was broad daylight, and presently up came the
sun and beat down on our heads as hot as the day before. There we were
floating on the sea with the water calm as a mill-pond, and not a sail
in sight. There was no chance either of a vessel coming near us while
the calm continued. We took our breakfasts, however, and talked of what
we should do. Far away to the east we could see the blue outline of the
island we had left, but what part to steer for we could not make up our
minds. There was only one thing we determined--come what might, not to
go back and be made slaves of. It seemed useless to be paddling away
and yet not to know where we were going to; but we still hoped that we
might fall in with some merchant vessel, it mattered not of what
country, though we wished she might be English, and so we might find our
way home.
"`Come, let's be moving,' said Jack, at last. `I've heard say that
there are Dutch and Spanish settlements out in these parts, and maybe we
shall fall in with one of them, and both the mynheers and dons are good
sort of people, and will treat us kindly.'
"So we took to our paddles and made our way to the westward. All day we
paddled on, but no land appeared in sight, and now and then we stopped
to take some food and a drink of water, but it was tiring work. We were
thankful when night came at last. We didn't sleep so long, and were at
our paddles before daybreak, for we knew by the stars how to steer.
"Next day we did just the same, and the next after that.
"`I say, Miles,' said Jack, `we must soon manage to come to land or we
shall be starving. We have not got food nor water for more than one day
longer, and without them we shall not be able to hold out.'
"That was very true; still neither of us thought of giving in. A light
breeze from the eastward had sprung up, so that we made good way, but
there was no land to be seen ahead. We didn't talk much, for we had
said all we could say about our prospects, and they were bad enough.
But they became worse when we had drunk up all the water and eaten every
bit of food we had in the boat. I had heard of people going three or
four days without eating, but the want of water was the worst. We would
have given a heap of gold if we had had it for a cupful. The wind now
shifted to the southward, and blew much stronger than before, knocking
up a sea which threatened every moment to swamp our boat, which was not
fitted for rough water. We now began to think that it was all up with
us, and that all we could do was just to keep the boat's head to the
seas to prevent her from capsizing.
"At last Jack sang out, `A sail! A sail to the southward!'
"There she was, coming up before the wind. A strange-looking,
outlandish craft she seemed as she drew nearer.
"`I wonder whether she's one of those Dyack or Malay pirates,' I said.
`If so, we may as well let the boat turn over.'
"`No, no; let us trust God, and hope for the best,' said Jack. `Cheer
up, Miles! She's sent for our relief.'
"I was not so sure of that, for it was easy to see from her outlandish
rig that she was one of the craft of those seas. Presently, as she got
near us, she lowered her sails and came close up. Ropes were hove to
us, and hands were stretched out over the side to haul us on board, for
we had scarcely strength enough left to help ourselves. They tried to
secure the boat, but she drifted off and was swamped. We just saw that
the people were Chinamen, pig-eyed, with turned-up noses and yellow
skins. We both fainted away. They brought us some water, and in a
short time we got better. They then carried us into a small cabin aft
out of the hot sun. Presently they brought us some food--rice, and some
stuff minced with it. We were not particular, for we were desperately
hungry.
"We now found that the people who had picked us up were honest traders
bound northward with a cargo of sea-slugs, birds'-nests, and other
things from these seas. We tried to talk to them, but could not manage
it, as none of them understood English, and we couldn't speak their
lingo. But as soon as we got stronger we made ourselves useful, pulling
and hauling, and doing whatever came to hand. Where we were going to we
could not make out, but we hoped that it was to some place at which the
English ships touched, and that we might get home some day. As Jack
said, we had reason to be thankful that we had been picked up, for the
weather came on very bad, and our boat could not have lived through it.
The Chinamen kept a bright look-out, and seemed terribly afraid of the
pirates. We tried to make them understand that we had seen the fleet
sail to nor'ard a short time before, and we ourselves didn't like the
thoughts of falling in with them. We told them also that we would fight
to the death sooner than yield. They understood us, and seemed to think
that we were very fine fellows. We had been sailing on for three or
four days, and we began to hope that we were free of the pirates, when
just as we passed a headland we caught sight of a number of craft coming
out from under it. On seeing them the Chinamen looked very much
frightened, hoisted all sail, and brought their arms on deck. We
watched the strangers, who, it was very clear, were making chase after
us. We should have a hard fight for it, even if we should manage to get
off. Presently, however, we saw their sails flapping against their
masts as they came under the headland, whilst we still had a breeze and
went away dancing merrily over the water. I never felt so pleased in my
life, and the Chinamen seemed highly delighted, chattering and jabbering
away like so many monkeys. It was pleasant to see the pirates' sails
sink below the horizon, and pleasanter still to lose sight of them
altogether.
"We ran on day after day. The breeze held fair and we by degrees got
accustomed to our new friends, and could make ourselves understood in a
fashion. We sometimes were sailing between islands, and sometimes on
the open sea. Whereabouts we were we had no idea, though we supposed
that we were approaching the Chinamen's country.
"We had been a fortnight or more on board when dark clouds rose up from
the south-west, and it came on to blow very hard. The sails were
lowered and we ran before the gale. I saw by the looks of the crew that
they didn't like it, nor did we, for it seemed as if at any moment the
clumsy craft might be capsized. We, however, pumped and baled, and
tried to keep her clear of water. It all seemed, however, of no use,
for the seas washed into her and she was leaking terribly.
"We had been driven a long way out of our course. We did our best to
cheer up our shipmates, and set them the example by working harder than
any of them.
"At last the gale ceased, and we once more made sail, but, do all we
could, the water gained on us and the crew began to heave the cargo
overboard to keep the junk afloat. The boats had been washed away, and
we knew that if she went down we should all be drowned. Jack and I
talked of what we could do to save our lives, but we agreed that we
should have to share the fate of the rest. It seemed to us that the
craft would not swim another night, when we made out a sail to the
westward.
"The Chinamen by this time were so knocked up that they were scarcely
able to exert themselves. Jack and I sprang here and there, now
pumping, now baling, now trying to make our companions do the same. It
seemed to us that they would let the craft go down in sight of help.
The stranger we judged by the cut of her sails to be a whaler. The junk
was settling lower and lower in the water. Jack found a flag, an
odd-looking piece of stuff it was. He ran it up half-mast high as a
signal of distress. The stranger came on slowly, for the wind was
light. It seemed even now that she would not be in time to save us. At
last she got near enough to see our condition, and hove-to. Four boats
were lowered, which came pulling towards us.
"By this time the water was almost up to the lower deck. Jack and I
stood ready to spring on board the first boat which came up. The brave
crew came on, and were in time to haul the greater number of the
Chinamen on board before the junk sunk beneath their feet. Several went
down in her, too much knocked up to exert themselves. With us and those
saved, the boats returned on board. We found that we had been picked up
by the _Helen_, whaler. She had been cruising off the coast of Japan,
and was going to Macao for fresh provisions. As she was short of hands
Jack and I at once entered on board her. Having landed the unfortunate
Chinamen and taken in the stores we wanted, we stood away into the
Pacific. We found ourselves among a somewhat rough lot, but we were
better off than we had been as slaves, though Jack and I agreed that we
would much rather serve on board a man-o'-war. We had been cruising for
some time, and had caught and stowed away about a dozen whales or more,
when one night there was a cry of `Breakers ahead!'
"The captain, who was on deck in a moment, gave the order to put up the
helm and veer ship, but before she could be got round she struck
heavily. We sounded round her and found the water deep on the starboard
side. But all our efforts proving useless, the order was given to lower
the boats. We had five fit for service, and they were got safely into
the water. Jack went in one of them, I in another. We were ordered to
keep off at a safe distance from the ship till daylight. When morning
broke we found that the ship was a complete wreck, and that there was no
chance of saving her. The captain then ordered the boats to come
alongside one at a time and embark the rest of the crew, with such
provisions as could be collected. We now saw land away to the nor'ard,
and, having left the ship, pulled towards it. Our great want was water,
and to obtain it the captain divided us into two parties to look into
any bays we might discover and try and find a spring. I was in the
second mate's boat. We were just pulling into a bay, when a dozen
canoes full of black savages, with bows and spears, darted out and made
chase after us, so we pulled away out to sea. What had become of the
other boats we could not tell. Your brother Jack had gone in the
captain's, and that was the last I saw of him."
"Do you think they could have escaped from the savages?" I asked,
anxiously.
"I have no reason to suppose they didn't, just as we managed to escape,"
answered Miles, "but we didn't catch sight of them again. We had sails
in our boat, and plenty of provisions, and the mate told us he intended
to steer for the Sandwich Islands, the nearest civilised place he knew
of, but that it was a long way off, and we should be a long time about
it. He might have been right, but we were still many days' sail from it
when we ran short of provisions and drank up all our water. I believe
that we should have died if we hadn't fallen in with another whaler,
which picked us up. I entered on board her, as did some of the men, but
the mate and others preferred landing at Honolulu. I served on board
her for some time. We had gone southward, having got a full ship, when
we struck on a coral reef. Though we did all we could to keep her
afloat, she went down with all hands, except the black and me, and we
managed to get ashore on Robinson Crusoe's Island, from which you took
us off."
"But can't you give me any idea as to what has become of Jack?" I again
asked.
"Not more than I have told you," answered Miles; "but my idea is that
some if not all the boats got off, though in what direction they steered
I've no notion."
I was prevented from talking more on the subject just then by being
summoned on deck, and when I told Jim he repeated what he had before
said--
"We'll find him, Peter. We'll find him."