"Hullo!" exclaimed a voice that seemed very familiar to me, on my
getting down to the mess-deck below with my bag, when I had got my
number, and been told off to my watch and division. "Who'd ha' thought
o' meeting yer here?"
The speaker was a broad-shouldered chap, with a lot of hair all over his
face, and I did not recognise him for the moment.
"You've got the advantage of me, mate," said I civilly, not wishing to
hurt his feelings if he had made a mistake in addressing me, as I
believed he had. "I can't place you."
"Lor', carn't yer?" replied the chap, with a broad grin stealing over
his face. "I fancies, Tom Bowlin', I hed th' adwantage on yer onst, an'
placed yer too, that time I cut yer down in yer hammick aboard the
_Saint Vincent_, hey, old ship?"
It was Larrikins.
Needless to say how glad I was to meet him again, or what yarns we had
to tell each other of what had happened to us respectively since last we
met.
He was the same frolicsome, good-tempered chap that he had been on board
the training-ship, I found, after a very few minutes' talk; but his love
of practical-joking had been sobered down a bit within due bounds, and,
on the whole, he was very much improved in every way.
"I s'pose ye've never bin aboard a hooker like this afore," he said to
me presently, after we had made an end of exchanging reminiscences,
noticing that I was all at loggerheads in finding my way below. "It's
them bloomin' watertight compartments as does it; but come along o' me,
Tom, and I'll show yez the ropes."
So saying, he took me over the ship, pointing out how the _Mermaid_ had
a steel-protected deck running fore and aft, that sheltered her engines
and boilers beneath; the space in beneath this and the bottom of the
vessel being subdivided by a series of vertical iron bulkheads,
completely shutting off the various `flats,' or lower decks, from each
other.
An arrangement so complex naturally necessitated a fellow having to
climb up one hatchway and go down another before he could speak to his
chum in the next flat, thus causing one to go through `sich a getting
upstairs' like that mentioned in the celebrated negro ballad. The
difference of the deck plan of a modern cruiser, as compared with that
of my old ship the _Active_, was not the only thing I had to learn on
being drafted to the _Mermaid_; for the drills were quite as strange to
me at first as her complicated build inboard.
The stokers, of course, had to see to driving her through the water,
that being their special duty, under the superintendence of the
engineers; so, as this job was taken out of the hands of us bluejackets,
and there was nothing for us to do in the way of setting and taking in
sail, the executive officers managed to find other work for us to keep
our minds from mischief when we were aboard.
One of these tasks was `collision mat' drill; when we would be tumbled
up on deck to rig out a roll of oakum that was plaited into the
semblance of a gigantic doormat, right over the side, dragging it by
means of guys and springs under our forefoot, to fill up some imaginary
hole that had been knocked into us by too friendly a craft passing by
and running athwart our hawse!
Another favourite drill in vogue with the johnnies of our new regime was
that of `closing watertight doors.'
The signal for this being about to be carried out was the blowing of a
particularly excruciating sort of foghorn at some unexpected hour of the
day or night--it used to be in every watch on the _Mermaid_; and at the
sound of this melodious instrument, which was most likely selected by
the authorities in recollection of the story of Joshua and his trumpet,
the `walls,' or, rather, bulkheads, of the ship did not `come down,' but
were run up!
By this means every compartment throughout the ship was isolated and all
communication cut off between the various flats.
The officers were shut into their wardroom; the engineers and stokers in
their own special domain; and the men forward, perhaps, on their mess-
deck; until the officer of the watch had made the rounds and those in
charge of the respective watertight doors had affirmed the fact, from
personal supervision, that all these were closed, when, this gratifying
intelligence was communicated to the captain, and he gave the order to
open them again.
In addition to these exercises, there was the old `fire quarters' drill,
to which I was accustomed; and `man and arm ship,' when all of us
hurried to our stations on the main-deck batteries--those who formed
part, that is, of the crews of the several guns of different types we
had aboard; while the rest of us lined the sides of the upper deck,
prepared to pepper away with our rifles at any approaching foe, and
repel, with our sword-bayonets at the `charge,' all possible boarders.
We had about a week's cruising in the Channel, to knock us into shape as
well as test our machinery, the _Mermaid_ being a new vessel and not
long delivered over from the contractors; but, Captain Hankey being a
smart officer, besides being ably seconded by his subordinates, this was
so satisfactorily achieved, as regards both ship and men, that ere we
reached old Gib, whose couching lion-head facing out to sea reminded me
strongly of the more familiar Bill of Portland, any one inspecting us
would really have thought the _Mermaid_ an old stager and that our raw
company had been working together for months, instead of only a week or
two!
`Old Hankey Pankey,' though, as he was called on the lower deck--sailors
having always a nickname for their officers, whether they like them or
dislike them--possessed the rare art of managing those under his command
to such a degree that he would have turned out a likely enough crew from
much worse material; while he `got to win'ard' of the engineers so
cleverly that they never grumbled at any orders he gave--unlike those
gentry in general--thus enabling us to pile on steam and make the
passage out from England in far less time than we expected, there being
no complaints from the stokehold of `leaking tubes' and `priming'
boilers necessitating our having to `slow down.'
After passing through the Gut of Gibraltar, we made for Malta; which
place seems to have such a magnetic attraction for our men-of-war, both
homeward and outward bound, that none by any chance ever gives it the
go-by, there being always some little defect to `make good,' or
despatches to wait for, or letters to post, or something that obliges
them to cast anchor in Valetta harbour, if they are only allowed to
remain an hour or two!
We fortunately stopped here for three days; and, though the men
generally were not given leave ashore, Larrikins and I, being both in
the first cutter, we had the chance of landing more than once.
We had a bit of fun, too, on one of these occasions when going up the
Nix Mangiare stairs, leading up from the place where the men-of-war
boats put in to the town above.
These stairs are so named, it may be explained for the benefit of those
who have not been there, from being the haunt of a number of beggars who
frequent the steep ascent, demanding alms of all bluejackets and others
that may chance to pass up or down, their whining plea being that they
have nothing to eat-- "Nix mangiare, buono Johnny, nix mangiare!"
We had already been accosted by three or four of these chaps, to each of
whom we had given a trifle, moved by their poverty-stricken appearance
and Maltese whine; when, on reaching the top of the steps, an old
fellow, who from his venerable look seemed above that sort of thing,
repeated a like request to his compeers lower down the stairs, holding
out the palm of a lean clawlike hand resembling one of Jocko's paws.
"No, no, that won't wash," said Larrikins, in a chaffy way, catching
hold of a fine-looking malacca cane the old fellow was leaning on, and
which seemed more fit for a grand seignior than a beggar. "None of your
bono johnnies with me, you old reprobate. Yer oughter be ashamed on
yerself, yer ought, axing fur charity from poor sailors like we--you
with this fine walkin'-stick here, good enough for `old Hankey Pankey'
hisself!"
With that, Larrikins, wrenching the malacca from the unwilling hands of
the old fellow, gave it a shake in the air as if he were going to apply
it to the shoulders of its owner.
"By jingo," I cried out, "there's something chinking in it that sounds
like money, Larry!"
"Lor', it is money, Tom," exclaimed Larrikins, at once giving the stick
a good bash against the side of the wall. "The thunderin' old cheat of
a Maltese scoundrel is a regular take-in, askin' on us fur to help him
and he a-rollin' in gold all the time, the blessed old miser!"
This statement was true enough; for, as the malacca cane came against
the stonework, the head of it flew off, and from the hollow cavity
within that was then disclosed there rolled out, if you please, a string
of gold pieces some twenty at least in number--the result, probably, of
this respectable mendicant's very industrious beggary since he had taken
to the trade, the old rascal carrying his horde about with him for
safety's sake.
He now burst into tears at his secret wealth being thus brought to
light; judging, no doubt, from what he knew of the morals of his own
countrymen, that Larrikins and I were going to appropriate it to our own
use.
But, Larrikins and I were English sailors--not any of your Maltese
riffraff; and so, picking up the scattered gold, we gave it back to the
old impostor, the suspicious scoundrel counting each piece as we dropped
it into his hands to make sure that we did not purloin any.
"Take that, yer old joker," said Larrikins, as we left the scene of the
incident, tendering the old gentleman a parting kick. "That's some
interest, old Bono Johnny, to stick inter yer ditty box along o' yer
shiners!"
We had no further adventure at Malta, beyond finding out that most of
the shopkeepers and other chaps with whom we dealt during our short stay
were as great cheats as our beggar friend of the Nix Mangiare stairs.
Before leaving the port, however, to proceed up the Levant, we heard a
piece of news that gave some of us much satisfaction.
This was, that, instead of the _Mermaid_ having to act for some months
as jackal to the eastern division of the fleet, as had been intended
when we were commissioned, we were now ordered to pass up the
Mediterranean and proceed on through to the Red Sea, the cruiser which
we had been hurriedly despatched to relieve on account of her condenser
being cracked, having had her damages made good in the dockyard, the
_Merlin_ indeed lying out in French Creek all ready to return to her
station within forty-eight hours of our arrival at Valetta.
So, on the third morning, a lot of signalling went on between our ship
and the flagstaff ashore at the naval station, the upshot being that we
were ordered to sail early in the afternoon; when, steam being got up
and the anchor weighed, we bade adieu to the island, leaving Saint Elmo
Point on our port hand and shaping a course eastward.
When we were nearing Alexandria, we had a bit of a `Levanter,' which
delayed our progress for half a day, during which time we had to slow
down our engines and keep under easy steam, head to sea; but, after
that, the weather was as fine as we could wish, and we got through the
Canal without a hitch, not a single vessel blocking us, even after
passing the Bitter Lakes, a very unusual thing at this period of the
year, when the China clippers crowd the narrow waterway and cause
repeated stoppages as a rule to ships outward bound.
On emerging from the Canal, at Suez, we made the best of our way down
the Red Sea to Suakin, where we found despatches from the senior officer
of the East African station, to which we were attached, directing us to
join him off the island of Socotra; and that if we did not come across
him there we were to cruise along the coast between Ras Hafim and Obbia,
where it was reported the Somali Arabs were getting busy with the advent
of the south-west monsoon, and carting cargoes of slaves over to Oman
and the Persian Gulf--that is, when they saw a chance and none of our
men-of-war were on the spot to stop them!
In obedience to these instructions, therefore, we steamed steadily
onwards through the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, and, making a wide stretch
across the Gulf of Aden to take advantage of the current, steered
straight for our appointed rendezvous.
Here, finding no one to meet us, nor hearing any news of import to alter
our programme, Captain Hankey hauled up for Cape Guardafui, intending
then to beat down the Somali coast as he had been directed.
Seeing the funnels of a steamer awash off Binna, we put in nearer to the
shore, the steam cutter being piped away to examine the wreck, which was
too close in to the rocks for the _Mermaid_ to approach her with safety.
There was no trace of any one living on board, though she had evidently
been only recently abandoned, various articles lying about on the deck
aft, which was clear of the water, that would not have remained long
aboard had she been stranded for any length of time.
She was clean gutted, however, almost every single movable thing of any
value having been stripped from her.
"Ha!" I heard Captain Hankey say to our first lieutenant, both of them
coming in the cutter to inspect the steamer. "Those Somali Arabs have
been here, Gresham."
"Not a doubt of it, sir," replied Mr Gresham. "Those beggars are the
biggest thieves, I believe, in the world; and murderous rascals, too. I
recollect, sir, when I was out here in the old _Vampire_, we had many a
tussle with them, for they fight like wild cats!"
"Aye, they do that," said the captain. "I shouldn't be surprised if
some of their dhows are knocking about here now!"
"Nor I, sir," agreed the other. "Oliver, of the _Magpie_, whom I saw at
Suakin, told me there was a rumour of the Somalis running cargoes of
arms, which they pick up somewhere in the German protectorate, to supply
Osman Digna's forces for a fresh campaign that has been planned by the
Arabs against us along the whole coast."
"That may be," said Captain Hankey; "but the beggars who have been at
work here wore only on the lookout for loot, I think--though, perhaps,
they may have murdered the crew and passengers of this vessel, too, for
all we know. However, to make matters sure, we'll look out for them!"
"Aye, aye, sir, that will prevent any mistakes," said Mr Gresham, with
a laugh. "I don't think any Arab dhow, whether belonging to the Somalis
or otherwise, can escape the _Mermaid_, should one heave in sight!"
There being nothing that we could do for the steamer, which would have
to be `written off as a loss' by the underwriters at Lloyd's, the
captain gave the signal for the cutter to return to our ship; and then,
making a good offing, so as to put the Arabs off their guard, we banked
our fires, except under one boiler, keeping the screw just revolving so
as to maintain our position abreast of Binna, well out of sight of the
land.
A strict watch was maintained, though, all the same, lookouts being
stationed in our military tops as well as on the forecastle; and, in the
early morning, long before sunrise, the steam pinnace and first and
second cutters were lowered alongside, and provisioned ready for action.
Captain Hankey had kept his eyes open to some purpose when he inspected
the steamer, for he had seen a lot of things that had been stripped off
the vessel put together in a heap under the bridge, as if her plunderers
intended returning for them, not having been able to carry them away at
their last trip; and, albeit he did not draw the attention of our first
lieutenant to this, to my knowledge, when talking to him, no doubt, from
the preparations he made, `old Hankey Pankey' drew his own conclusions.
His judgment was not at fault.
Hardly had the first flush of dawn tinted the yellow eastern sky with
its rosy light, heralding the glowing heat of day, ere one of the men
stationed in the tops hailed the deck.
"There's something moving away off on our weather bow," sang out the
man, shoving his head over the side of the top. "I can't make it out
exactly, sir; there's a haze on the water ahead."
The second lieutenant, who was acting as officer of the watch, being an
easy-going sort of chap and rather sleepy from being up pacing to and
fro on the bridge since midnight, did not pay much attention to this
intelligence.
"All right, lookout-man," he hailed back, after a portentous yawn.
"It's probably the morning breeze blowing the fog off the land that you
see. Tell me, a-a-ah! When you are able to make it out more clearly,
a-a-ah!"
And, he almost yawned himself out of his boots as he gave utterance to
the last word.