THE MALAY PIRATE
Two days had passed since Brandon’s rescue. The light wind which had
brought up the _Falcon_ soon died out, and before the island had been
left far behind a calm succeeded, and there was nothing left but to
drift.
A calm in other seas is stillness; here on the Indian Ocean it is
stagnation. The calmness is like Egyptian darkness. It may be felt. The
stagnation of the waters seems deep enough to destroy all life there.
The air is thick, oppressive, feverish; there is not a breath or a
murmur of wind; even the swell of ocean, which is never-ending, here
approaches as near as possible to an end. The ocean rolled but slightly,
but the light undulations gave a lazy, listless motion to the ship, the
span creaked monotonously, and the great sails napped idly in the air.
At such a time the calm itself is sufficiently dreary, but now there
was something which made all things still more drear. For the calm was
attended by a thick fog; not a moist, drizzling fog like those of the
North Atlantic, but a sultry, dense, dry fog; a fog which gave greater
emphasis to the heat, and, instead of alleviating it, made it more
oppressive.
It was so thick that it was not possible while standing at the wheel to
see the forecastle. Aloft, all the heavens were hidden in a canopy of
sickly gray; beneath, the sea showed the same color. Its glassy surface
exhibited not a ripple. A small space only surrounded the vessel, and
beyond all things were lost to view.
The sailors were scattered about the ship in groups. Some had ascended
to the tops with a faint hope of finding more air; some were lying flat
on their faces on the forecastle; others had sought those places which
were under the sails where the occasional flap of the broad canvas sent
down a slight current of air.
The Captain was standing on the quarter-deck, while Brandon was seated
on a stool near the wheel. He had been treated by the Captain with
unbounded hospitality, and supplied with every thing that he could wish.
“The fact is,” said the Captain, who had been conversing with Brandon,
“I don’t like calms any where, still less calms with fogs, and least of
all, calms off these infernal islands.”
“Why?”
“Because to the north’ard is the Strait of Sunda, and the Malay pirates
are always cruising about, often as far as this. Did you ever happen to
hear of Zangorri?”
“Yes.”
“Well, all I can say is, if you hadn’t been wrecked, you’d have probably
had your throat cut by that devil.”
“Can’t any body catch him?”
“They don’t catch him at any rate. Whether they can or not is another
question.”
“Have you arms?”
“Yes. I’ve got enough to give Zangorri a pleasanter reception than he
usually gets from a merchant-ship; and my lads are the boys that can use
them.”
“I wonder what has become of that other ship that passed me on the
island,” said Brandon, after a pause.
“She can’t be very far away from us,” replied the Captain, “and we may
come up with her before we get to the Cape.”
A silence followed. Suddenly the Captain’s attention was arrested by
something. He raised his hand to his ear and listened very attentively.
“Do you hear that?” he asked, quickly.
Brandon arose and walked to where the Captain was. Then both listened.
And over the sea there came unmistakable sounds. The regular movement of
oars! Oars out on the Indian Ocean! Yet the sound was unmistakable.
“It must be some poor devils that have escaped from shipwreck,” said the
Captain, half to himself.
“Well, fire a gun.”
“No,” said the Captain, cautiously, after a pause. “It may be somebody
else. Wait a bit.”
So they waited a little while. Suddenly there came a cry of human
voices--a volley of guns! Shrieks, yells of defiance, shouts of triumph,
howls of rage or of pain, all softened by the distance, and all in their
unison sounding appallingly as they were borne through the gloom of the
fog.
Instantly every man in the ship bounded to his feet. They had not heard
the first sounds, but these they heard, and in that superstition which
is natural to the sailor, each man’s first thought was that the noises
came from the sky, and so each looked with a stupefied countenance at
his neighbor.
But the Captain did not share the common feeling. “I knew it!” he cried.
“I expected it, and blow my old eyes out if I don’t catch ‘em this
time!”
“What?” cried Brandon.
But the Captain did not hear. Instantly his whole demeanor was changed.
He sprang to the companion-way. He spoke but one word, not in a loud
voice, but in tones so stern, so startling, that every man in the ship
heard the word:
“Zangorri!”
All knew what it meant. It meant that the most blood-thirsty pirate of
these Eastern seas was attacking some ship behind that veil of fog.
And what ship? This was the thought that came to Brandon. Could it
by any possibility be the one which passed by him when he strove so
earnestly to gain her attention!
“Out with the long-boat! Load the carronade! Man the boat! Hurry up,
lads, for God’s sake!” And the Captain dashed down into the cabin. In an
instant he was back again, buckling on a belt with a couple of pistols
in it, and calling to his men, “Don’t shout, don’t cheer, but hurry, for
God’s sake!”
And the men rushed about, some collecting arms, others laboring at the
boat. The _Falcon_ was well supplied with arms, as the Captain had said.
Three guns, any quantity of smaller arms, and a long Tom, formed her
armament, while the long-boat had a carronade in her bows. Thanks to the
snug and orderly arrangement of the ship, every thing was soon ready.
The long-boat was out and afloat. All the seamen except four were on
board, and the Captain went down last.
“Now, pull away, lads!” he cried; “no talking,” and he took the tiller
ropes. As he seated himself he looked toward the bows, and his eyes
encountered the calm face of Brandon.
“What! you here?” he cried, with unmistakable delight.
Brandon’s reply consisted simply in drawing a revolver from his pocket.
“You’re a brick!” said the Captain.
Not another word was spoken. The Captain steered the boat toward
the direction from which the sounds came. These grew louder every
moment--more menacing, and more terrible.
The sailors put all their strength to the oars, and drove the great boat
through the water. To their impatience it seemed as though they would
never get there. Yet the place which they desired to reach was not
far away;--the sounds were now very near; and at length, as they drove
onward, the tall sides of a ship burst on their sight through the gloom.
By its side was a boat of the kind that is used by the Malays. On board
the ship a large number of savage figures were rushing about in mad
ferocity.
In a moment the boat was seen. A shout rose from the Malays. A score of
them clambered swiftly down the ship’s side to their boat, and a panic
seemed to seize all the rest, who stood looking around irresolutely for
some way of escape.
The boatswain was in the bows of the long-boat and as the Malays crowded
into their craft he took aim with the carronade and fired. The explosion
thundered through the air. A terrific shriek followed. The next instant
the Malay boat, filled with writhing dusky figures, went down beneath
the waters.
The long-boat immediately after touched the side of the ship. Brandon
grasped a rope with his left hand, and, holding his revolver in his
right, leaped upward. A Malay with uplifted knife struck at him. Bang!
went the revolver and the Malay fell dead. The next instant Brandon was
on board, followed by all the sailors who sprang upward and clambered
into the vessel before the Malays could rally from the first shock of
surprise.
But the panic was arrested by a man who bounded upon deck through the
hatchway. Roused by the noise of the gun, he had hurried up and reached
the deck just as the sailors arrived. In fierce, stern words he shouted
to his men, and the Malays gathered new courage from his words. There
were about fifty of these, and not more than thirty English sailors; but
the former had carelessly dropped their arms about, and most of their
pieces were unloaded; the latter, therefore, had it all their own way.
The first thing that they did was to pour a volley into the crowd of
Malays, as they stood trying to face their new enemy. The next moment
the sailors rushed upon them, some with cutlasses, some with pistols,
and some with clubbed muskets.
The Malays resisted desperately. Some fought with their creeses, others
snatched up muskets and used them vigorously, others, unarmed, flung
themselves upon their assailants, biting and tearing like wild beasts.
In the midst of the scene stood the chief, wielding a clubbed musket. He
was a man of short stature, broad chest, and great muscular power. Three
or four of the sailors had already been knocked down beneath his blows.
“Down with him,” yelled the Captain. “It’s Zangorri!”
A venomous smile passed over the dark face of the Malay. Then he shouted
to his men and in an instant they rushed to the quarter-deck and took
up a position there. A few of them obtained some more muskets that lay
about.
The Captain shouted to his men, who were pursuing the Malays, to load
once more. They did so, poured in a volley, and then rushed to the
quarter-deck. Now a fiercer fight took place. The Captain with his
pistol shot one man dead the next instant he was knocked down. The
boatswain was grappled by two powerful men. The rest of the sailors were
driving all before them.
Meanwhile Brandon had been in the very centre of the fight. With his
revolver in his left hand he held a cutlass in his right, and every blow
that he gave told. He had sought all through the struggle to reach the
spot where Zangorri stood, but had hitherto been unsuccessful. At the
retreat which the Malays made he hastily loaded three of the chambers of
his revolver which he had emptied into the hearts of three Malays, and
sprang upon the quarter-deck first. The man who struck down the Captain
fell dead from Brandon’s pistol, just as he stooped to plunge his knife
into the heart of the prostrate man. Another shot sent over one of the
boatswain’s assailants, and the other assailant was kicked up into the
air and overboard by the boatswain himself.
After this Brandon had no more trouble to get at Zangorri, for the Malay
chief with a howl of fury called on his men, and sprang at him. Two
quick flashes, two sharp reports, and down went two of them. Zangorri
grasped Brandon’s hand, and raised his knife; the next instant Brandon
had shifted his pistol to his other hand; he fired. Zangorri’s arm fell
by his side, broken, and the knife rang on the ship’s deck.
Brandon bounded at his throat. He wound his arms around him, and with a
tremendous jerk hurled Zangorri to the deck, and held him there.
A cry of terror and dismay arose from the Malays as they saw their chief
fall. The sailors shouted; there was no further fighting: some of the
pirates were killed, others leaped overboard and tried to swim away. The
sailors, in their fury, shot at these wretches as they swam. The cruelty
of Zangorri had stimulated such a thirst for vengeance that none thought
of giving quarter. Out of all the Malays the only one alive was Zangorri
himself, who now lay gasping with a mighty hand on his throat.
At last, as his struggles grew feebler, Brandon relaxed his grasp. Some
of the sailors came with uplifted knives to put an end to Zangorri.
“Back,” cried Brandon, fiercely. “Don’t touch him. He’s mine!”
“He must die.”
“That’s for me to say,” cried Brandon in a stern voice that forbade
reply. In fact, the sailors seemed to feel that he had the best claim
here, since he had not only captured Zangorri with his own hands, but
had borne the chief share in the fight.
“Englishman,” said a voice. “I thank you.”
Brandon started.
It was Zangorri who had spoken; and in very fair English too.
“Do you speak English?” was all that he could say in his surprise.
“I ought to. I’ve seen enough of them,” growled the other.
“You scoundrel!” cried Brandon, “you have nothing to thank me for. You
must die a worse death.”
“Ah,” sneered Zangorri. “Well. It’s about time. But my death will not
pay for the hundreds of English lives that I have taken. I thank you
though, for you will give me time yet to tell the Englishmen how I hate
them.”
And the expression of hate that gleamed from the eyes of the Malay was
appalling.
“Why do you hate them?” asked Brandon, whose curiosity was excited.
“My brother’s blood was shed by them, and a Malay never forgives. Yet I
have never found the man I sought. If I had found him I would not have
killed any more.”
“The man--what man?”
“The one whom I have sought for fifteen years through all these seas,”
said the other, hoarsely.
“What is his name?”
“I will not speak it. I had it carved on my creese which hangs around my
neck.”
Brandon thrust his hand into the bosom of the Malay where he saw a cord
which passed around his neck. He drew forth a creese, and holding it up
saw this name cut upon the handle: “JOHN POTTS.”
The change that came over the severe, impassive face of Brandon was so
extraordinary that even Zangorri in his pain and fury saw it. He uttered
an exclamation. The brow of Brandon grew as black as night, his nostrils
quivered, his eyes seemed to blaze with a terrific lustre, and a slight
foam spread itself over his quivering lips. But he commanded himself by
a violent effort.
He looked all around. The sailors were busy with the Captain, who still
lay senseless. No one observed him. He turned to Zangorri.
“This shall be mine,” said he, and he threw the cord around his own
neck, and put the creese under his waistcoat. But the sharp eye of the
Malay had been watching him, and as he raised his arm carelessly to
put the weapon where he desired, he thoughtlessly loosed his hold.
That instant Zangorri took advantage of it. By a tremendous effort he
disengaged himself and bounded to his feet. The next instant he was at
the taffrail. One hasty glance all around showed him all that he wished
to see. Another moment and he was beneath the water.
Brandon had been taken unawares, and the Malay was in the water before
he could think. But he drew his revolver, in which there yet remained
two shots, and, stepping to the taffrail, watched for Zangorri to
reappear.
During the fight a change had come over the scene. The fog had begun to
be dissipated and a wider horizon appeared. As Brandon looked he saw two
vessels upon the smooth surface of the sea. One was the _Falcon_. The
other was a large Malay proa. On the decks of this last was a crowd of
men, perhaps about fifty in number, who stood looking toward the ship
where the fight had been. The sweeps were out, and they were preparing
to move away. But the escape of Zangorri had aroused them, and they were
evidently waiting to see the result. That result lay altogether at the
disposal of the man with the revolver, who stood at the stern from which
Zangorri had leaped.
And now Zangorri’s head appeared above the waves, while he took a long
breath ere he plunged again. The revolver covered him. In a moment a
bullet could have plunged into his brain.
But Brandon did not fire. He could not. It was too cold-blooded. True,
Zangorri was stained with countless crimes; but all his crimes at that
moment were forgotten: he did not appear as Zangorri the merciless
pirate, but simply as a wounded wretch, trying to escape from death.
That death Brandon could not deal him.
The sailors were still intent upon the Captain, whose state was
critical, and Brandon alone watched the Malay. Soon he saw those on
board the proa send down a boat and row quickly toward him. They reached
him, dragged him on board, and then rowed back.
Brandon turned away. As yet no one had been in the cabin. He hurried
thither to see if perchance any one was there who might be saved.
He entered the cabin. The first look which he gave disclosed a sight
which was enough to chill the blood of the stoutest heart that ever
beat.
All around the cabin lay human bodies distorted by the agonies of
death, twisted and twined in different attitudes, and still lying in the
position in which death had found them.
One, whose appearance showed him to be the captain, lay grasping the
hair of a Malay, with his sword through his enemy’s heart, while a knife
still remained buried in his own. Another lay with his head cut open;
another with his face torn by the explosion of a gun. There were four
whites here and about ten Malays, all dead. But the fourth white was a
woman, who lay dead in front of a door that led to an inner cabin, and
which was now closed. The woman appeared to be about fifty years of age,
her venerable gray hair was stained with blood, and her hand clutched
the arm of a Malay who lay dead by her side.
While Brandon stood looking at this sight he became aware of a movement
in a corner of the cabin where there were five or six bodies heaped
together. He hurried over to the place, and, pulling away the bodies of
several Malays, found at length a Hindu of large stature, in whom life
was by no means extinct, for he was pushing with hands and feet and
making faint efforts to rise. He had been wounded in many places, and
was now quite unconscious.
Brandon dragged away all the bodies, laid him in as easy a posture as
possible, and then rushed up to the deck for some water. Returning he
dashed it over the Hindu, and bound up one or two wounds which seemed
most dangerous.
His care soon brought the Hindu to consciousness.
The man opened his eyes, looked upon Brandon first with astonishment,
then with speechless gratitude, and clasping his hand moaned faintly, in
broken English.
“Bless de Lor! Sahib!”
Brandon hurried up on deck and calling some of the sailors had the
Hindu conveyed there. All crowded around him to ask him questions, and
gradually found out about the attack of the pirates. The ship had been
becalmed the day before, and the Malay proa was in sight, evidently with
evil intentions. They had kept a good watch, and when the fog came had
some hope of escape. But the Malay boats had sought them through the
fog, and had found them. They had resisted well, but were overpowered
by numbers. The Hindu had been cook of the ship, and had fought till the
last by the side of his captain.
Without waiting to hear the Hindu’s story Brandon went back to the
cabin. The door that opened into the inner cabin was shut. He tried
it. It was locked. He looked into the keyhole. It was locked from the
inside.
[Illustration: “SHE FLUNG HERSELF ON HER KNEES IN A TRANSPORT OF
GRATITUDE.”] “Is any one there?” he asked.
A cry of surprise was the sole answer.
“You are safe. We are friends. Open!” cried Brandon.
Then came the sound of light footsteps, the key was turned, the door
slided back, and there appeared before the astonished eyes of Brandon a
young girl, who, the moment that she saw him, flung herself on her knees
in a transport of gratitude and raised her face to Heaven, while her
lips uttered inaudible words of thanksgiving.
She was quite a young girl, with a delicate, slender frame, and features
of extreme loveliness. Her complexion was singularly colorless. Her eyes
were large, dark, and luminous. Her hair fell in rich masses over her
shoulders. In one hand she held a knife, to which she clung with a
death-like tenacity.
“Poor child!” murmured Brandon, in accents of tenderest commiseration.
“It is but little that you could do with that knife.”
She looked up at him as she knelt, then looked at the keen glittering
steel, and, with a solemnity of accent which showed how deeply she was
in earnest, murmured, half to herself,
“It could at least have saved me!”
Brandon smiled upon her with such a smile as a father might give at
seeing the spirit or prowess of some idolized son.
“There is no need,” he said, with a voice of deep feeling, “there is
no need of that now. You are saved. You are avenged. Come with me.” The
girl rose. “But wait,” said Brandon, and he looked at her earnestly and
most pityingly. “There are things here which you should not see. Will
you shut your eyes and let me lead you?”
“I can bear it,” said the girl. “I will not shut my eyes.”
“You must,” said Brandon, firmly, but still pityingly, for he thought of
that venerable woman who lay in blood outside the door. The girl
looked at him and seemed at first as though about to refuse. There was
something in his face so full of compassion, and entreaty, and calm
control, that she consented. She closed her eyes and held out her hand.
Brandon took it and led her through the place of horror and up to the
deck.
Her appearance was greeted with a cry of joy from all the sailors. The
girl looked around. She saw the Malays lying dead upon the deck. She saw
the ship that had rescued, and the proa that had terrified her. But she
saw no familiar face.
She turned to Brandon with a face of horror, and with white lips asked:
“Where are they all?”
“Gone,” said Brandon.
“What! All?” gasped the girl.
“All--except yourself and the cook.”
She shuddered from head to foot; at last, coming closer to Brandon, she
whispered: “And my nurse--?”
Brandon said nothing, but, with a face full of meaning, pointed upward.
The girl understood him. She reeled, and would have fallen had not
Brandon supported her. Then she covered her face with her hands, and,
staggering away to a seat, sank down and wept bitterly.
All were silent. Even the rough sailors respected that grief. Rough! Who
does not know that sailors are often the most tender-hearted of men, and
always the most impulsive, and most quick to sympathy?
So now they said nothing, but stood in groups sorrowing in her sorrow.
The Captain, meanwhile, had revived, and was already on his feet looking
around upon the scene. The Hindu also had gained strength with every
throb of his heart and every breath of the air.
But suddenly a cry arose from one of the men who stood nearest the
hatchway.
“The ship is sinking!”
Every one started. Yes, the ship was sinking. No one had noticed it; but
the water was already within a few feet of the top. No doubt Zangorri
had been scuttling her when he rushed out of the hold at the noise of
the attack.
There was nothing left but to hasten away. There was time to save
nothing. The bodies of the dead had to be left with the ship for their
tomb. In a short time they had all hurried into the boat and were
pulling away. But not too soon. For scarcely had they pulled away half
a dozen boat-lengths from the ship than the water, which had been rising
higher and higher, more rapidly every moment, rushed madly with a final
onset to secure its prey; and with a groan like that of some living
thing the ship went down.
A yell came from over the water. It rose from the Malay proa, which was
moving away as fast as the long sweeps could carry her. But the dead
were not revenged only. They were remembered. Not long after reaching
the _Falcon_ the sailors were summoned to the side which looked toward
the spot where the ship had sunk, and the solemn voice of Brandon read
the burial-service of the Church.
And as he read that service he understood the fate which he had escaped
when the ship passed Coffin Island without noticing his signal.