"Who in the name of ---?" when I saw little Freddy Pierrepoint scramble
up alongside him excitedly and utterly regardless of etiquette, and say
something eagerly. Young lowered the trumpet, stared hard at me, raised
it again, and roared through it--
"Can it be possible that you are Dugdale--the Harry Dugdale that we have
all been mourning as lost?"
"Ay, ay, Mr Young, it is myself, sure enough, alive and well, I am
thankful to say; and more glad than I can express to see the dear old
_Barracouta_ again!"
As I uttered these words the watch on deck gave a ringing cheer, which
thrilled me to the heart, for it told me better than words how sincerely
attached to me the honest fellows were, and how delighted to see me
again; and although the outburst was by no means in accordance with
strict discipline, Young--thoroughly good fellow that he was--never
checked them, but, as their voices died away, simply waved his trumpet,
and shouted, "I will come on board you!" and disappeared behind the
brig's high bulwarks.
A short pause now ensued, during which I suspected that the first luff
was conferring with Captain Stopford, the _Barracouta's_ people gazing
curiously at us meanwhile through the brig's open ports; and then the
sound of the boatswain's pipe came floating to us from the brig across
the tumbling waters, and we heard his gruff voice bellowing--"Gigs
away!"
The call was followed by a slight, muffled scurrying of feet, and the
gig's crew were seen leaping, light as figures of india-rubber, into the
elegantly-moulded craft that hung at the brig's davits, the falls were
eased away, and in a moment the boat, light as a bubble, was dancing
upon the sparkling blue tumble at the brig's lee gangway. Then the
first lieutenant and Freddy Pierrepoint appeared at the head of the
side-ladder, the latter descending first and the lieutenant instantly
following, the boat's bow was borne off from the ship's side, the oars
dropped with a clean cut into the water, the men bent their backs as
they gave way, and the dancing craft came bounding over the long surges
towards us.
Meanwhile, on board the _Bangalore_ I had caused the side-ladder to be
shipped and the ropes rove in readiness for the lieutenant's arrival;
and in a few minutes he and Freddy were standing on the Indiaman's broad
deck and greeting me with a hand grip the heartiness of which there was
no mistaking.
I told my story as briefly as possible, and at its conclusion Young
said--
"Well, we must of course let you have a few men; but it will be a few
only that we shall be able to spare, for I am sorry to say that our loss
was terribly heavy in our boat attack upon your friend Mendouca, no less
than eight killed and twenty-three wounded, only four of the latter
having as yet been able to return to duty. You must, however, lay your
case before Captain Stopford--who, by the way, hopes you will take
breakfast with him--and I dare say that when he learns how very
short-handed you are, he will strain a point to spare you a dozen men to
take the ship to Sierra Leone. And now, suppose you introduce us to
your passengers, who, judging from what I have been able to see of them
from here, appear to be a very pleasant lot of people."
Upon this hint I led the way to the poop, where by this time nearly the
entire cuddy party had assembled, and introduced my companions in due
form, and in a few minutes Young and Freddy were each surrounded by a
large party, Master Freddy's, I noticed, being mainly composed of the
younger members of the gentler sex, who petted and made much of the
juvenile warrior, to that young gentleman's entire content.
In due time I proceeded on board my old ship; and on reaching the deck
was fully repaid for all that I had gone through by the heartiness of
the greeting that I received from my shipmates, one and all of whom
seemed sincerely delighted at finding that I was still in the land of
the living. For, as fate would have it, the _Barracouta_ had fallen in
with the _Felicidad_ with the French schooner _Mouette_ in company as a
prize--the latter vessel having pursued the _Felicidad_ out of the
creek, only to find that she had caught a Tartar, which captured her
after a short but determined struggle--and from her the _Barracouta's_
people had learned all particulars of our somewhat disastrous
enterprise, including the news that I was missing, and was believed to
have been killed in the unsuccessful attack upon the schooner in the
creek.
Captain Stopford was kindness itself in his reception of me,
commiserating with me upon all the hardships of my late adventure, and
heartily congratulating me upon my escape from the _Francesca_, and the
saving of the Indiaman, the latter of which, he assured me, he would
take care to report in the proper quarter in such a way as should
further my advancement in the service. With regard to supplying me with
men, he promised to do the best that he could; and at Young's
suggestion--he being one of the rather large party that the captain had
invited to meet me at breakfast--it was arranged that I should have a
dozen; and as he fully agreed with me that there was just a chance that
the _Francesca_, might be at no great distance to the northward, still
actively pursuing her search for us, it was further arranged that I
should crowd sail for Sierra Leone, in the hope of turning the tables
upon Mendouca by overtaking him, in which case we were to do our best to
detain him until the arrival of the _Barracouta_ upon the scene, it
being the captain's plan to follow us at a distance of some fifteen or
twenty miles. As an incentive to expedition--and no doubt,
incidentally, to the promotion of the capture of the _Francesca_--the
captain informed me that if we managed to accomplish a quick run to
Sierra Leone, I should probably be in time to rejoin the _Felicidad_,
which schooner was then at that port, refitting after her engagement
with the _Mouette_. I was very grieved to learn that poor Ryan,
although not nearly so severely wounded as I had believed, was lying in
the hospital at Sierra Leone, prostrate with a bad attack of fever, from
which, when the _Barracouta_ left, it was greatly feared that he would
not recover.
As soon as breakfast was over the crew were mustered, and Young picked
out for me twelve good, stout men, who were ordered to pass their bags
down into the boat and go on board the _Bangalore_ with me; and, this
most welcome addition to our crew having been received, I made sail,
packing upon the good ship every rag that would draw, the _Barracouta_
remaining hove-to until we had placed a sufficient distance between her
and ourselves. But although we carried on day and night--the Indiaman
proving such a flyer that the _Barracouta's_ people had their hands full
to keep us in sight--nothing more was seen of the _Francesca_, and we
were at length driven to the conclusion that, failing to find us,
Mendouca had resumed his voyage at a much earlier period than we had
anticipated. We reached Sierra Leone on the afternoon of the third day
after falling in with the _Barracouta_; and there I left the Indiaman,
which, after a detention of four days, sailed for England with a full
complement, made up of the officers and men of a large barque that had
been wrecked upon the coast only a week or two before, supplemented by a
few out of the many white seamen who had been left behind in hospital
when their ships were ready to sail for home, and who, contrary to the
general rule, had recovered from, instead of succumbing to, the deadly
malaria of the coast.
As for me, I found that I had arrived most opportunely, so far as the
_Felicidad_ was concerned, for the repairs to that small hooker were
completed, as it happened, on the very day of our arrival; and Captain
Stopford very generously offered me the command of her, asserting that
my conduct with regard to the Indiaman had conclusively demonstrated my
entire fitness for the post, and that if I chose to accept it he should
have no anxiety whatever, either on the score of my courage or my
discretion. Ryan, poor fellow, was, contrary to expectation, still
alive, and hopes were now entertained that he might ultimately recover;
but he was still so weak that when I went to the hospital to see him, he
was so overcome with emotion at the sight of me--although he had been
carefully prepared for the meeting--that he burst into tears and was
seized with a fit of hysterical sobbing so violent that I had to retire
again at once without exchanging a word with him; and, to my very deep
regret, I had not another opportunity to see him. I grieve to say that
although, when I paid him that unfortunate visit, he appeared to be
making slow but sure progress toward recovery, he suffered a relapse a
few days afterwards, from which he never rallied; and his ashes now
repose, with those of many another gallant spirit, in the spot that is
known throughout the world as "The White Man's Grave."
The repairs to the _Felicidad_ being completed, her final preparations
for sea were vigorously pushed forward, and on the third day after our
arrival, having first visited the _Bangalore_ and bade farewell to her
passengers--each and every one of whom insisted that he (or she) owed
his (or her) life to me, and that henceforward I must regard myself as a
dearly cherished friend--I joined the little hooker as her commander,
and sailed the same afternoon for the Congo; my especial mission being
to test the truth, or otherwise, of Mendouca's statement respecting the
fate of the _Sapphire's_ boats' crews, and--in the event of its being
true--to attempt the rescue of any of the unfortunate people who might
perchance be still alive.
We made the high land to the northward of the river mouth about
midnight, after a rather long and uneventful passage; and, the wind
being light, and the river current strong, even at a considerable
distance from the entrance, we then reached in toward the land, and
anchored in fourteen fathoms, at about as many miles from the shore,
where we remained, rolling and tumbling about on the heavy swell, until
the sea-breeze set in, about eight o'clock the next morning. We then
hove up our mud-hook, and ran in, anchoring in Banana Creek, opposite
Lobo's factory, about six bells in the forenoon. There was only one
other vessel in the creek at the time, a Portuguese brig; and her build
and general appearance so unmistakably proclaimed her honest, that I
never gave her a second thought. Besides, I had a special mission to
accomplish--namely, the discovery and deliverance, if possible, of
between thirty and forty of my own countrymen, languishing in a bitter
captivity, and in daily, if not hourly, peril of death by torture as
cruel and protracted as the fiendish malignity of merciless savages can
possibly devise.
Now, I was as well equipped for such an expedition as I could possibly
wish, save in one particular. I had a smart, light-draught vessel,
capable of "going anywhere where a duck can swim," as we say at sea; we
were well armed, had plenty of ammunition, mustered a crew of twenty-six
prime seamen, the pick of the _Barracouta's_ crew--men who would go
anywhere, and face anything--we carried an ample supply of blankets,
beads, brass wire, old muskets, and tawdry finery of various
descriptions, priceless in the eyes of savages, for the purpose of
peaceable ransom, if such could be accomplished; but we lacked an
interpreter, a man acquainted with the barbaric language of the up-river
natives, through whom we should be able to communicate with them and
carry on the necessary negotiations. And such a man it was now my first
duty and anxiety to secure. I had given this matter a great deal of
careful consideration during our passage, and had at length determined
upon the course of action that seemed to promise the most successful
results; and it was in accordance with this determination that I
anchored in Banana Creek instead of proceeding forthwith up the river to
the spot named by Mendouca as the scene of the captivity of the
_Sapphire's_ boats' crews.
I entered the river without any disguise of any sort, showing British
colours and the man-o'-war's pennant; and, as I had expected, our old
friend Lobo soon came alongside in his gig, with his usual stereotyped
smiles and bows, and offers to supply us with anything and everything
that we might happen to want. I took care to be below when he boarded
us; and, in accordance with previous arrangements, Gowland, who met the
fellow upon his arrival, proposed that he should go down into the cabin
and see me personally upon the business of his visit. He at once
assented, willingly, Gowland following him down, and when the two had
entered, the sentry at the cabin-door closed it after them.
"Ah, good-morning, sar," exclaimed Lobo to me, as he entered. "Glad to
see you back in the river, sar! I hope dat de capitan and officers of
de beautiful _Barracouta_ are all well? Ah, gentlemen, dat was a ver'
fine bit of vork, dat attack of yours upon Chango Creek; ver' fine and
ver' successful. I 'ave alvays been proud of _my_ share in dat exploit.
But, gentlemen, you mus' please never so much as vhisper dat I, Joaquin
Miguel Lobo, had anything to do vid it. My vord, if you did, de rascal
slavers vould cut my t'roat for me, and de man-o'-war gentlemen vould
lose a fait'ful ally."
"No doubt, Senor Lobo," agreed I genially. "But, never fear, you are
perfectly safe from betrayal to the slavers, so far as we are concerned;
you shall find us as faithful to you as you have been to us. But sit
down, man, and let me offer you a glass of wine."
With many bows and wreathed smiles, and deprecating elevations of the
shoulders, Lobo took the seat to which I pointed him, and I touched a
bell.
"Steward, put the wine and some glasses on the table, will you; and also
a box of cigars that you will find on the shelf in my cabin."