The crew of the _Dolphin_, though numerous and well accustomed to the
use of arms, being thus taken unawares, were almost helpless. The
sharp-edged war-clubs of the natives came crashing down upon their
heads, as they ran here and there in search of weapons to defend
themselves. Lieutenant Pyke was struck dead the instant he appeared at
the companion-hatch. The second mate was treated in the same way, while
the boatswain, with a few men who gathered round him, made a desperate
attempt to defend himself; but he and his party were overpowered by
numbers, and cut down, after they had killed several of the natives.
Some of our men jumped down below, but were followed by the savages.
Whether they were killed, or whether any escaped, we could not tell. A
few ran up the rigging, where the natives appeared afraid to follow
them.
In a few minutes, besides Dick and me, not a white man whom we could
see, except those aloft, remained alive. The natives now began dancing
frantically about the deck, whirling their clubs over their heads, and
shouting at the top of their voices for joy of their victory. They
either did not observe Dick and me, or knowing that we must at length
come in, did not think us worth their notice. I felt almost overpowered
with horror. In spite of that, however, I thought of dear Miss Kitty,
dreading that she and Mr Falconer, with those in the boat, would, on
their return, have to share the terrible fate of our other companions;
while I fully expected Dick and I would soon be summoned off to be
killed.
What had become of Mrs Podgers, and those who had been below at the
moment of the attack, we could not tell.
"Oh, Dick, what are we to do?" I exclaimed, trembling with fear.
"We must trust to God, Charley," he answered. "He will take care of us,
though how that is to be, is more than I can say. I can only hope that
the savages, fierce as they are, will not have the heart to kill a
little boy like you; and it can matter little what becomes of an old
fellow, such as I am. Say your prayers, Charley, though you cannot
kneel down. That does not matter."
The savages all this time continued dancing on the deck, as if they
would beat it in, shouting at the top of their voices, and flourishing
their war-clubs, looking more like a gang of demons let loose than human
beings.
"It will be bad enough for us, Charley, even though the natives don't
kill and eat us, but my mind is most troubled about poor Miss Kitty.
What will become of her, if they get hold of the boat? and there's no
chance that I can see of her escaping."
"I was thinking of her, too," I said, "and Mr Falconer. The savages
will murder him and the boat's crew, as they have the rest. Oh, Dick!
I cannot stand it. I wish they would kill me at once!"
I felt, as I spoke, like the hapless bird fascinated by the glance of
the serpent, and could scarcely restrain myself from clambering on board
and rushing among the savages.
"Hold fast, Charley," said Dick. "I wish I had not said what I did--you
have got your best days before you. If the savages wanted to kill us,
they would have done so before now. See, they are growing calmer, and
are talking together; they, perhaps, will be satisfied with gaining
possession of the ship, and all the plunder in her, and won't kill those
who make no resistance."
Soon after Dick had said this, a tall chief with a high plume of
feathers on his head, and his almost white skin only slightly tattooed,
advanced to the heel of the bowsprit, and, looking towards Dick and me,
shouted out some words, and beckoned us to come in.
"What shall we do, Dick?" I asked. "Will he kill me, do you think?"
"There's no help for it, Charley," answered Dick. "But don't be afraid;
he shall kill me before he hurts you. Just get round and keep close
behind me, and I will ask him to take care of you; he does not look as
savage as the rest."
I followed Dick, though I confess my alarm was so great that I could
scarcely hold on. As we got to the inner end of the bowsprit, I
observed that the chief placed his bloodstained club against the
bulwarks; he then lifted up both his hands, to show that they held no
weapon. Dick, therefore, advanced more boldly, and getting on deck,
still keeping me behind him, confronted the chief.
"I make bold to ask you to let this little chap go free, Mr Savage,"
said Dick, pointing to me. "He has never done you no harm, and never
will. It cannot do you any good if you kill him, and he is so thin, he
would make but a poor meal, if you want to eat him."
Although the chief could not have understood a word that Dick said, he
seemed to comprehend his meaning, and, putting his hand on his head and
mine, he signified that we were his property, and that he would take
care of us. He even smiled when he looked at me, and seemed to inquire
whether I was Dick's son, so Dick fancied; for he replied, "He is all
the same as my child, and if you hurt him, it will be the worse for
you." Our friend then called up two other men, who appeared to belong
to him as a sort of bodyguard, and then charged them to take care of us,
while he went aft and spoke to the other chiefs.
Meantime the natives had begun to hoist up the goods from the hold, and
to load their canoes with them, our new friend being apparently engaged
in securing his share of the booty. Dick and I were thus left on the
forecastle, and could observe what was going on. We often turned our
eyes towards the mouth of the harbour, dreading to see the boat return.
And yet, what could become of her, with no friendly port near, should
she not come back?
A considerable time having passed, the young chief's canoe came round
under the bows, and he made signs to us to lower ourselves into her.
Just before I did so, I cast my eyes once more seaward, and there I
caught sight of a boat's sail. Mr Falconer and Kitty were returning,
unsuspicious of the dreadful circumstances which had occurred. How I
wished that I could go off and warn them.
We had scarcely thought about the captain and the rest of the men on
shore. If they had escaped, we need not have much apprehension about
ourselves; but if they had been put to death, we, I still dreaded, on
reaching the shore might meet with the same fate.
"What can we do, Dick, to let Miss Kitty and the mate know their
danger?" I asked. "If they come up the harbour, there will be no
chance for them."
"We can do nothing, Charley," he answered. "They are in God's hands, as
we are, and we must trust to Him to take care of us all."
The young chief now made another sign to Dick and me to get into the
canoe, so we lowered ourselves down, and went up to where the chief was
standing. His canoe, like many others around, was of considerable
length, fully forty feet, though not more than a foot and a half wide,
and of about the same depth. She was kept from upsetting by outriggers
projecting from the bow, middle, and stern, with a long piece of light
wood secured to the extremity of each. On the upper part of the stem,
which projected about two feet, was a carved head of some animal; while
the after part also projected six feet or more beyond the actual stern,
something like the shape of a Dutch skate. The paddles were neatly made
of a hard black wood, highly polished, with slender handles, and the
blades of an oval form. I afterwards examined the canoe, and found that
it was composed of many pieces of the bread-fruit tree, cut into planks
and sewed together with the fibres of the outside shell of the
cocoa-nut. The seams were covered inside and out with strips of bamboo
sewed to the edge of each plank, to keep in a stuffing of cocoa-nut
fibre. The keel consisted of one piece, which ran the whole length, and
was hollowed out in the form of a canoe, being, indeed, the foundation
of the vessel. Three pieces of thick plank, placed as partitions,
divided the interior into four parts, and served for timbers to keep her
from separating or closing together. She had also a mat sail, broad at
the top, and narrowing to a point at the foot.
The chief told as to sit down, and directed his crew to paddle towards
the shore. This they did, accompanied by several other canoes, which
were apparently under his command.
We frequently turned our eyes towards the boat, but the wind was scant
and light, and she made but little progress up the harbour. Probably
Miss Kitty and the mate were in no hurry to return on board. The men
who had escaped up the rigging were still there; but whether the
captain's wife and those who had fled below had survived the massacre we
could not tell. The ship was still crowded with savages, who were
busily employed carrying up what they could find below and had strength
to remove. The oil-casks must, however, have been beyond their power to
lift, though Dick observed that they would be sure to try and get hold
of the iron hoops, and be rather astonished when the oil burst out over
them.
Our captor directed his course towards a small inner bay, on the shores
of which were several huts, where we concluded that he lived. Though
some of his men cast savage glances at us, and looked as if they would
like to knock out our brains, we were not ill-treated, nor was anything
taken from us.
On landing, we were allowed to remain by ourselves while the crews of
the canoes were busy in unloading them as fast as they could.
There was close at hand, forming one side of the little bay, a high
rock, whence Dick thought that we could get a good sight of the whole
harbour. We set off, and, unnoticed by the busy natives, made our way
to the top of it. We were not disappointed in our expectations, and
from it could see both the ship and the boat. The latter had made but
little way, and, finding the wind against her, had lowered her sail and
taken to the oars. More canoes were collecting alongside, and we
concluded that the chief and his followers were going to return for a
further supply of booty. We were allowed to remain on the rocks, the
natives probably knowing that we could not make our escape.
The wind after a time freshened a little, and the boat was drawing
nearer. As we were looking towards her, a loud report reached our ears,
and, turning our eyes towards the ship, we saw the masts and deck rising
upwards, surrounded by a dense smoke, and a thick mass of the shattered
fragments of numberless articles, mingled with the boom-boats,
companion-hatch, caboose, and human beings mangled and torn. For a few
seconds they seemed to hang in the air, and then were scattered far and
wide around the ship. The masts falling into the water, crushed several
of the canoes alongside, and the shrieks and cries of the natives, who
had escaped with life, while they paddled away in dismay, came over the
waters towards us.
Dick and I held our breath, and I saw horror depicted in his
countenance.
"Though the savages deserve what they have got, it may be the worse for
us," he muttered. "They will now knock us on the head, to a certainty."