Who would have ventured to believe that the fate of the brave,
true-hearted Jack Rogers, and the gallant, high-minded Alick Murray, was
to be cruelly murdered by a set of ill-conditioned, barbarous Chinese
pirates? Yet such has been unhappily the lot of many of the finest
fellows in the British navy and army. When Jack, supporting Murray with
one arm, looked up and saw half a dozen hideous Chinese faces, with flat
noses, grinning mouths, and queer twisted eyes lighted up by the flames
of the burning fire-ships, gazing maliciously down on him, he gave up
all for lost. Had Murray not been still insensible, he would have swum
away, defying the sharks till he could have got hold of something to
support him, or he would have attempted to climb into the boat and had a
desperate battle for his life. As it was, without sacrificing Murray,
he could do neither. A savage was standing up, lifting a large
battle-axe, the bright steel of which glittered in the glare of the
burning ships, and was on the point of letting it fall with a crushing
blow on his head, and already Jack felt the horrible sensation of having
his skull crushed in and cleft asunder, when another man sprang forward
and seized the wretch's uplifted arm. He could only turn the blow
aside, for the axe came down, and the blade dug deeply into the side of
the boat. Jack seized it, for it formed a convenient handle on which to
rest, and afforded him a support he much required. He fully expected to
have another hack made at him, and was considering how best he might
avoid it, when the pirates seized him and Murray, and dragged them into
the boat. Still he did not feel much more secure than he had been in
the water, as he expected that, as they might treat a useless fish, they
would throw him overboard again when they had glutted their revenge by
knocking the life out of him.
"If poor Murray does not revive, he will be spared much of the
unpleasantness," he thought to himself. It is extraordinary how coolly
he took matters. He was rather surprised himself at his own
indifference to his approaching fate. The Chinese were all chattering
and vociferating together over him and Murray, as their bodies lay along
the thwarts, for he was so exhausted that he could scarcely move, when
he heard a voice say, "Don't fear, English officer. I take care you no
hurt."
"Very much obliged to you, whoever you are," answered Jack. "But I say,
friend, I wish that you could get me put into a more comfortable
position, and lend a helping hand to my poor companion here, who will be
suffocated, I fear, if something is not done to him."
"All right, by and by," answered the voice. "Let dese men hab dere
palaver out; dey no talk of kill 'ou now."
"That information is satisfactory, at all events," thought Jack. "Well,
I must have patience; that never hurt any one, and has saved many a
life. Only I do wish these fellows would bring their palaver to an end,
and let me find out who my friend is."
The pirates at last brought their conference to an end. They probably
came to the conclusion that, as a live donkey is of more value than a
dead one, and as profit more than revenge was their object, it would
probably better answer their purpose to keep the young officer? alive,
and endeavour to obtain a ransom for them, than to kill them, and in
consequence be hunted down with even more pertinacity than before. As
to being influenced by any feelings of humanity, such an idea never for
a moment crossed their brains.
Jack and Murray were now carried to a platform in the afterpart of the
boat, when the former was allowed to sit up with his friend's head in
his lap, and to apply such means of restoring him to animation as he
could devise. He turned him round on one side, so that the water might
run out of his mouth, and was rubbing away as briskly as he could, when
he heard the same person who had before addressed him say, "All right, I
told you; I come and help you now." On looking up, who should he see,
but one of the crew of the frigate, the Malay who spoke English, who
went by the name of Jos Grummet, and his friend Hoddidoddi, who, it now
appeared, had deserted with him on the island. It was Jos who had saved
his life from the man with the battle-axe, and Hoddidoddi who had
advised the pirates not to kill them at all, but to keep them for the
more satisfactory object of obtaining a ransom.
After a little time, by their united exertions, Murray recovered, and
was able to sit up and understand what had occurred. Jack was now much
happier as to the future. "Well, thank you heartily, Jos, for what you
have done for us," said he. "And I can assure you, that if you go back
to the frigate, you will not be flogged, or even have your grog
stopped."
"Tankee, sare," answered Jos. "But spose me no go back, no hab fear of
floggie at all."
"Please yourself," said Jack. "Remain a wandering Malay, or become a
civilised British seaman, with Greenwich in prospect. However, you have
done me a great service, and I wish to recompense you to the best of my
power."
"Really, Alick, I think that there ought to be a fund for pensioning
those who assist in preserving midshipmen's lives; we do run so many
risks of losing them," he observed to Murray, who fully agreed with him.
"I say, Jos," he exclaimed, after a little silence, "do just hint to
these polite gentlemen, that we shall make the amount of our ransom
depend on the condition in which we are returned to our friends, and
that if we are starved, they will not give much for us. I am getting
very peckish; are you, Alick? I thought it was just as well to make
those remarks in time; besides, it is always wise for people in our
circumstances to put a good face on matters; it shows the villains that
we are not cast down or afraid of them."
Jos told Hoddidoddi, who interpreted their request in his own fashion,
and the reply was, that they should have some food when they got on
board the junk. At that moment the sound of oars was heard, and an
English boat hove in sight. Some of the pirates were for fighting, but
Jos represented that the British sailors were such desperate fellows,
that they would not hesitate to attack a big junk, and would take her
and make mincemeat of every one on board; and that such a boat as theirs
would be treated with still more scant ceremony. So, much to the
midshipmen's disappointment, they wisely pulled away as hard as they
could go, till they go under shelter of the fleet of junks.
The boat belonged, it appeared, to one of the smaller junks, on board
which Jack and Alick were at once carried.
The piratical squadron now instantly made sail, and a favourable breeze
having sprung up, they steered for the northward. Their notable scheme
for destroying the English frigate having failed, the fleet separated,
some taking shelter among the neighbouring islands, others standing out
to sea in quest of prey; but the greater number returning to their
accustomed haunts in the neighbourhood of Canton, localities most
frequented by traders in the China seas.
The vessel on board which Jack and Alick found themselves formed one of
the latter fleet. Their captors were, Jos explained to them, great
diplomatists. They argued that if they gave them up at once, a small
sum only would be offered for them; but if they kept them for some time,
and made their friends suppose they were lost, they would be ready to
pay any amount demanded for their ransom. They were not treated with
much ceremony or civility, but Jack's hint about their condition when
reckoning for ransom had one good effect; and somewhat for a similar
reason that an ogre or a slave-dealer would sufficiently feed his
captives, they were amply supplied with rice and other provisions.
Sometimes the dishes had a very suspicious look.
"They don't eat babies, do they?" said Jack, dipping his chop-stick into
the tureen placed before them, and producing a limb of some creature
which certainly had a very odd appearance.
"No, I fancy not," answered Murray, "but we had better not ask
questions."
They agreed that it was in all probability only a monkey which had been
seen on board, but was no longer visible; and as the captain and his
officers partook of the same dish, they had no cause to complain. They
soon learned to relish lizards and snakes well stewed with curry powder
and rice; and they came to the conclusion that a dish of snails was not
in any way to be despised. As they could take no exercise except a walk
up and down the curious little narrow cabin in which they were confined,
they both declared they were growing so fat that perhaps the pirates
would, after all, demand a higher ransom than Captain Grant would be
able or willing to pay.
"I am really afraid that we are caught in our own trap," said Jack. "I
thought that pig-tailed, pig-eyed skipper of ours, when he looked in on
us just now, smiled very complacently at our sleek skins. We must get
Jos to tell him that if we grow too fat we shall be worth very little.
There is nothing like moderation in all things."
"There is nothing like honesty and telling the truth," said Murray.
"We should have starved if we had strictly stuck to it in this case,"
answered Jack.
"No matter, we should probably have been much sooner liberated,"
answered Alick. "Depend on it, whenever a person tells an untruth he
sets a trap to catch his own feet."
"You are always right, Alick," said Jack, with honest warmth. "And
suppose all this time they have been giving us stewed babies and young
alligators to eat, how doubly punished we should be."
The junk on board which the midshipmen were prisoners was a curious
piece of marine architecture. She was flat-bottomed, flat-sided,
flat-bowed, and flat-sterned. She was of course narrower at the bow
than at the stern, where indeed she was very broad. The rudder was wide
and fixed in a hollow in the stern, to which it was hung by ropes or
hawsers, so that it could with perfect ease be lifted out of its place
and slung alongside. There was no stem, but a huge green griffin or
dragon, or monster of some sort, projected over the bows, on each side
of which were two large eyes--Chinaman's eyes in shape: and as Jos
remarked about them, "Ship no eyes, how see way?"
The sides, though flat, extended gradually outward as they rose, so that
on deck there was considerable beam. The deck was composed of loose
planks easily removed. At the poop and forecastle were a succession of
little sloping decks, gradually narrowing as they rose in height, and
enclosed to form cabins. The bulwarks were high and surrounded with
large round shields of wood, and leather, and brass knobs, and curious
devices painted on them. The anchors were curious contrivances, made of
some hard wood, very large and cumbrous, the flukes only being tipped
with iron. Outside at the bows was a wonderfully awkward-looking winch
for getting up the anchor; and as Jack observed, when he came to be made
Lord High Admiral of the Chinese fleet, there were a good many things he
saw that he should have to alter. The sails were made of matting, with
laths placed across them. When it was necessary to reef or lower the
sails the seamen climbed up these laths, and standing on the upper yards
pressed them down, no down hauls being necessary. Bowlines, however,
were used to stretch them out. Had Jack and Murray not been prisoners,
with the possibility of the pirates changing their minds and cutting
their throats, they would have been excessively amused at watching the
proceedings of the crew, and rather enjoyed their cruise on board the
pirate. On deck there was an erection like a diminutive caboose, but
which was a temple or joss-house. The sailors were constantly making
offerings before it, apparently as the caprice seized them, by burning
gilt paper, or thin sticks, or incense.
One day the junk was caught in a calm, and as a sail appeared in sight
in the distance which the Chinamen thought might be an enemy, they were
very anxious for a breeze to make their escape. The midshipmen saw that
they were very busy about something, and soon every man appeared with a
model junk, which he had constructed of gilt paper. A boat was lowered
and these frail barques were carefully placed on the surface of the
deep, the men endeavouring to blow them away, so that they might be
clear of the ship.
Jack was much amused, and asked Jos the meaning of the ceremony. Jos
answered--
"For why you don't know? Dere is one great lady, queen, they call her,
lives up in de sky, and she like to see dese paper junks; and so when
she see dem, den she send breeze to blow junk along."
Jack was highly amused at this account.
"Well, I never thought much of a Chinaman's wit," he observed; "but I
did not think he was such a goose as to fancy that a breeze would be
sent merely because he put some twisted-up bits of paper on the water."