as skipper and Manners as mate, cook, steward, and crew, all rolled into
one--the adventurers receiving all sorts of cautions and good wishes as
they said good-bye at the cove. The course to be steered was east-
north-east, or nearly dead to windward as the wind stood at that season,
and the distance was about three hundred miles; so it was calculated
that the trip there and back would occupy about a week. But no sooner
were they fairly outside the harbour's mouth than Ned and Manners
exchanged the opinion that a smart little weatherly fore-and-aft rigged
craft like the _Petrel_ ought to do the distance in considerably less
than the time specified; and they forthwith took measures to practically
demonstrate the soundness of that opinion, "carrying-on" sail to such a
daring extent that even poor Captain Blyth would have remonstrated had
he been with them. The craft, however, was staunch, the spars and
rigging sound, the canvas new; and the youthful mariners, though daring,
were by no means reckless. The weather also was settled and the wind
steady, if somewhat fresh. All, therefore, went well with them, and so
thoroughly did the cutter answer the expectations of her crew that at
dawn on the Wednesday morning--the second day out--the high land of
Refuge Harbour was distinctly visible from the deck, showing just above
the horizon like a sharply-defined purplish-grey blot upon the primrose-
tinted sky to windward. At the same time the adventurers also made out
something else, to wit, a fleet of five sail of small craft dead to
windward--in fact, immediately between the cutter and the island. At
first they were considerably puzzled to determine the character of these
small craft, which were steering due west; but at length, as they closed
and became more distinctly visible, Ned was enabled to solve the riddle.
The fleet was none other than _the boats belonging to the Flying
Cloud_! And Ned conjectured that the hasty abandonment of Refuge
Harbour, indicated by the appearance of the boats at sea, arose either
from a fear that Ned might give such information of the existence of the
place as would lead to the speedy capture of its occupants, or a
determination on the part of the discomfited pirates to seek at sea a
substitute for the noble ship of which they had been so cleverly
deprived. Whichever--if either--of these surmises might have been the
correct one, a very lively interest in the movements of the _Petrel_ was
speedily manifested by the occupants of the boats, makeshift signals of
distress being promptly displayed on board each craft. Ned paid
attention to these to the extent of closing with the fleet sufficiently
to enable him to establish their identity beyond all question, after
which he calmly made arrangements to avoid them. When this was seen the
boats hauled up in pursuit, but they might as well have attempted to
pursue the sea-birds which hovered in their wake. Ned so manoeuvred as
to pass the nearest boat well out of rifle-shot, at the same time
steering such a course as would be unlikely to excite any suspicion that
he was bound to Refuge Harbour; and though the pursuit was maintained
for nearly an hour, its hopelessness had by that time become so apparent
that the boats again bore up and were soon afterwards lost to view in
the western board.
For the information of those interested in the ultimate fate of the
pirates it may be as well to mention here that they were from that time
never more seen or heard of.
It was just noon that day when the _Petrel_ entered the narrows; and,
all fear of discovery by the pirates being now at an end, Ned took her
directly alongside the cliff immediately underneath the entrance to the
treasure-cave and began the shipment of the treasure. This was an easy
and expeditious task, the jars of gold-dust and the gold bricks being
simply slung at the end of a line and lowered down the cliff-face to
Manners, who received them below. The casket with the remainder of the
gems was not forgotten; and one particular bale of embroidered stuffs
which Sibylla had declared to be of priceless value was also taken; as
were such of the shields and weapons as would bear handling--Gaunt and
Henderson having expressed a very particular wish to possess some of
these, as quite unique curiosities. But the ivory and the other bulky
articles were left for the benefit of whosoever might choose to go after
them. The shipment was completed in about three hours, after which Ned
entered the inner basin and worked up as far as the anchorage, which
spot was indicated by the buoy still watching over the slipped anchor.
But though nobody was to be seen, and the storehouses had all the
appearance of being completely abandoned, the voyagers were far too
prudent to land--for which, indeed, there was no inducement--and, having
satisfied their curiosity, they wore round and proceeded at once to sea,
passing out through the Narrows again just as the sun was setting.
Thirty-six hours later, or about six o'clock on the following Friday
morning, they once more entered Gaunt's harbour and let go their anchor,
to the accompaniment of a surprised and delighted shout of welcome from
Nicholls, who--the entire party having removed on board the _Flying
Cloud_--happened to be keeping the anchor watch at the time.
But little more remains to be told. Being so shorthanded, the party
found it impossible to take the _Petrel_ away from the island with them;
she was therefore moved to a snug berth well up the river--her cargo, of
course, being first transferred to the _Flying Cloud_--and there well
thatched over with palm-leaves to protect her from the weather, in the
hope that if ever any unfortunates should be cast away upon the island
she might prove of service in enabling them to effect their escape; and
there she may possibly be at the present moment.
This done, the party made sail in the _Flying Cloud_ for Batavia, the
nearest port, which, the weather still favouring them, was reached after
a short but toilsome passage. Here they were fortunate enough to pick
up a shipwrecked crew of Englishmen who were only too glad to ship for
the passage home, especially as Ned felt justified in offering them the
top scale of wages; and the owners of the _Cloud_ having been
telegraphed to and letters written by all hands, advising their friends
of their safety, sail was once more made, this time for Old England
direct. On the voyage home the _Flying Cloud_ fully justified the name
which had been bestowed upon her; for, carrying on night and day, Ned
succeeded in making the fastest passage on record from Anjer to the
Lizard. The latter, or rather the light, was sighted one fine April
night in the first watch, nearly two years after the ship had last
passed it; and on the following day she hauled in round Portland, stood
across into Weymouth Bay to show her number, and then bore away up
channel again, a fine westerly breeze prevailing at the time, which Ned
was anxious to make the most of. At daylight next morning a tug came
alongside in the Downs, and after the usual amount of chaffering, the
tow-rope was passed on board her and she went ahead, the ship's crew at
the same time going aloft to stow the canvas under the watchful eye of
Manners, who was acting chief-mate, and who was particularly earnest in
his exhortations to them to "be careful that you make a _harbour_ furl
of it, lads!"
Gaily the good ship stemmed the tide as she ploughed her stately way up
the river in the wake of the grimy little tug; and a right noble and
beautiful sight did she present, in all the glory of fresh paint and
newly-blacked rigging--laid on during a spell of fine weather
experienced just before entering the channel--with her white canvas
snugly stowed, yards laid accurately square, running-rigging hauled taut
and neatly coiled down, with the house-flag floating at the main-royal-
mast-head, the burgee at the mizen, and the red ensign at the gaff-end.
Many were the admiring glances bestowed upon her from the craft which
were passed either going up or down the river--for, being only in deep
ballast trim, she towed light, and passed ahead of nearly all the
inward-bound craft--and at length a great bluff-bowed, deeply-laden
barque was overtaken, the quarter-deck occupants of which appeared to
manifest not only admiration but quite a surprising amount of curiosity
as the two vessels closed. For a little group of men and women had
gathered aft on board this barque for the evidently express purpose of
getting the longest and best possible view of the _Flying Cloud_, many
of them being provided with opera-glasses, which seemed glued to their
eyes, albeit it was evident from their occasional gestures that they
were listening intently to the eager and excited utterances of one of
their number, a shortish, thick-set, grey-haired man clad in blue serge
garnished with gilt buttons, whom our friends naturally supposed to be
the skipper of the craft. At length, as the _Flying Cloud_ ranged up on
the larboard quarter of the barque, the excited blue-clad figure
appeared to suddenly go demented altogether, for, rushing to the
barque's gangway, he threw himself over rather than descended the
vessel's side into a boat which was towing alongside, and with imperious
gestures seemed to command the boatmen to convey him to the approaching
ship. They obeyed, and the distance of the two vessels being but short,
in less than a minute a voice--well known, notwithstanding its excited,
exultant ring--hailed:
"_Flying Cloud_ ahoy! heave us a rope's-end, will ye, and let your
captain come on aboard!"
With a delighted shout the _old_ hands rushed to the gang way, Ned
foremost; the rope's-end was thrown, the boat sheered alongside, and in
another moment Captain Blyth, alive, well, and as hearty as ever, stood
once more on his own quarter-deck, shaking hands convulsively with
everybody who came near him, with the unheeded tears chasing each other
down his cheeks as he huskily replied to the enthusiastic greetings of
those who had long ago given him up for lost.
His story was a long one, but it may be condensed into a few words. The
raft, contrary to all expectation, had held together and lived through
the terrific hurricane, before which it was driven furiously to the
southward, to be wrecked eventually upon a small islet, whence, after
many months of hardship and privation, the skipper had been rescued by a
sandal-wood trader and conveyed to Singapore. He there joined the
barque, homeward bound, the hospitable skipper gladly offering him a
passage home, and, by a singular coincidence, had arrived in the river
only an hour or two ahead of his own ship. He was full of pride and
delight at the way in which Ned had outwitted the pirates at last and
run away with the ship; and could find no words in which to express his
admiration of Sibylla's courage under her long-protracted and trying
ordeal, and his gratitude at her escape; and when at length the stories
of the various actors in this little drama had been fully told, and he
had congratulated them upon their marvellous deliverance, he wound up
all by saying:
"Well, I took the ship out, it is true, and I lost her; but, thanks be
to God, I can now face my owners with the words, `There is your ship, in
as good order and condition as when you placed her in my charge; and if
I didn't get her back from the pirates for you, I at least had the
training of the man who did, which is almost as good, I take it.'"
The arrival home of the vessel, so long overdue, and the publication of
the adventures of those who went out and came home again in her, created
a profound sensation almost throughout the length and breadth of
England, and proved quite a god-send to the daily papers for a few days;
but it was soon obliterated by the occurrence of events of greater
importance to the community at large, and the chief personages of the
story were allowed to sink back into a welcome obscurity, although the
public interest in the subject was fitfully revived from time to time by
accounts of proceedings in connection with the restoration, as far as
possible, to its rightful owners of the booty brought home in the
_Flying Cloud's_ hold; but even this complicated matter was settled
after a time, and now the good ship's name never appears in the public
prints except in the advertising columns as being "for Melbourne
direct," or among the shipping news as "spoken" or "arrived."
Like most seamen, Ned was generosity itself, and had he been allowed to
have his way, the treasure found at Refuge Harbour would have been
equally divided among all those who had participated with him in that
adventurous voyage; but to such a proposal, of course, not one of the
interested parties would listen. Nicholls and Price, however,
eventually consented to accept a moderate pension, and the doctor and
the engineer point proudly to their trophies of ancient arms as they
tell the story connected with them to their friends. Captain Blyth
still commands the _Flying Cloud_, ship and captain alike being the most
popular in the trade; and Bob Manners was, at latest accounts,
superintending, on full pay, the building and equipment of a magnificent
yacht, in which Mrs Damerell, _nee_ Stanhope, hopes to accompany her
husband on a luxurious trip round the world.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Missing Merchantman, by Harry Collingwood