It is no pleasant task to describe the events that now took place on the
French barque. This is no tale of daring buccaneers, of exciting
hand-to-hand combats of desperate men; but a narrative of cold-blooded
and dastardly crime.
Now that the time for carrying out his devilish scheme had come,
Baptiste had taken the lead of the conspirators. Being a pacific person
who hated fighting and feared danger, he determined to omit no possible
precaution to obviate the risk of failure. His brain, fertile of
ingenious villainy, was not long in devising how to do this.
In the first place, he instructed Carew on no account to leave his cabin
between eight and ten that evening. Then he called aside the two
Spaniards and explained his plan to them. He gave El Chico the first
bottle which he had taken from Carew's medicine chest, and directed him
to mix a certain quantity of the contents with the soup he was about to
make for the men's dinner--a quantity which he calculated would be
insufficient to produce a pronounced taste in the soup, but sufficient
to cause unpleasant sensations in those who partook of it.
At eight bells that evening the port watch relieved the starboard. There
was absolutely nothing for the men to do, as it was still a flat calm,
and all the sails had been furled. Duval had taken this precaution on
the previous day, fearing that the fever might spread still further, and
that he would not have enough hands left to shorten sail were a strong
breeze to spring up suddenly.
Duval, however, insisted upon the watches being set and the discipline
of the vessel being carried on as usual, more with the object of
employing the men's time and distracting their attention from the
horrors of the situation than for any other reason.
When Baptiste came aft to relieve Duval, as officer of the watch, the
latter said, "Do you know if Mr. Allen is in his cabin, Fortier? I wish
to see him."
"I think it would be better not to disturb him. He is quite worn out
from want of sleep. He has sat up with poor Mourez two nights in
succession; and now that the captain is dead, and the other two sick men
are getting better, he is having a long sleep."
"Are the other men getting better?"
"So Mr. Allen thinks," replied Baptiste. "With our brave captain's death
the fever seems to have expended itself. We have no fresh cases
to-day."
"I am not sure of that," said Duval gloomily. "I wished to see Mr. Allen
in order to tell him that I, and no less than three of the other men,
have been feeling very unwell for the last half-hour."
The drugged soup had done its work.
"Indeed!" said Baptiste. "And, now that I look at you, your cheeks are
somewhat pale, sir. But we will not wake Mr. Allen; it is unnecessary.
He left a bottle of medicine with me this afternoon. It is a powerful
febrifuge, and he instructed me to give a dose to the sick men below,
and to any others who should feel in any way indisposed. I think it
would be a prudent course to serve some round to all hands. It can do no
harm."
Duval approving of this measure, Baptiste went into his cabin and
brought out the bottle of opiate which Carew had given him, and served
out a very strong dose to Duval, and to each of the four men on his
watch. Duval then retired to his cabin, and the men lay under the awning
forward, all to sink, under the influence of the drug, into a heavy
slumber, from which it would not be easy to wake them; while Baptiste
was left in charge of the deck, with the two Spaniards and the remaining
Frenchman.
"You feel all right, Leon, I hope?" said Baptiste to this man, a sturdy
Breton, who had not been affected by the drugged soup.
"Yes, thank you, sir," he replied; "there's nothing the matter with me."
"Won't you take a dose of the medicine as a precaution? Prevention is
better than cure."
"Not for me the filth. Time enough for medicine when one is ill, and not
much good it does then if we may judge from the results on this unhappy
vessel."
It was necessary for Baptiste's purpose to get this man out of the way
before anything could be done. First he thought of asking the Spaniards
to despatch him with their knives; but this might create a disturbance
and awake the sleepers; so the cautious Provencal waited until a safer
plan should suggest itself.
An hour of the watch had passed, and it was now nine o'clock. The sky
became overcast, and a drizzling rain began to fall.
"We shall have wind soon," said Leon. "Would it not be well to wake Mr.
Duval?"
"Not for a few minutes," replied Baptiste. "Come, now; this damp is the
very thing to bring on fever. We ought to take something to keep the
enemy out. If you don't like medicine, what say you to a drop of genuine
old cognac? I have some in my cabin."
"That is more in my line," said the Breton, smacking his lips; "a fig
for your doctor's stuff, I say."
"Then follow me, but step quietly. Mr. Duval's cabin is next to mine.
If he finds you drinking brandy aft, though it is only for medicinal
purposes, you can guess what a row there will be."
Baptiste led the way to his cabin, and produced a bottle of brandy. He
helped the man freely, but he did not attempt to drug the drink with the
opiate, for its taste was too unmistakable.
The brandy was strong, and even the Breton's hard head soon succumbed to
it. He began to exhibit signs of intoxication, and was chattering in a
disconnected fashion, when Baptiste suddenly rose from his seat and
placed his hand on the man's shoulder. "Hush!" he whispered; "hush, you
idiot! I hear Mr. Duval moving in his cabin; your noise has roused him.
He will catch you if you don't hold your tongue. Remain here while I get
him out of the way, under some pretext or other. Then I will return for
you."
Baptiste darted through the cabin door, and locked it on the man within,
who, after awaiting him for some time, helped himself to some more
brandy, and at last fell into a drunken sleep on the bed.
Baptiste then entered Carew's cabin, and found him sitting up, reading
the French novel which Captain Mourez had lent him.
"Come along, sir; the time has arrived," said the Provencal. "Bring the
revolvers with you, and first see that they are loaded. I don't suppose
we shall have to use them, but _Quien sabe?_ as the Spaniards say."
Carew made no reply, but taking the pistols from the locker in which he
kept them, he followed his accomplice on to the deck. As they walked
towards the fore part of the vessel Baptiste described his preparations
for the _coup_. "The crew are at our mercy," he said; "Duval in his
cabin, and the four men of his watch under the awning forward, are
sleeping the heavy sleep of opium. Leon is a prisoner in my cabin, drunk
or nearly so, in the company of an open bottle of brandy, and you say
that the two sick men in the forecastle are too weak to move. Now, first
of all, we must deal with the four men under the awning, for they are
the most dangerous."
Still Carew said not a word.
The two Spaniards now joined them. Baptiste looked round the horizon.
"We shall have the wind down on us soon," he said; "we must do our work
quickly."
The rain was falling more heavily than before. The night was very dark,
and there was not a star visible in the heavens. Though as yet there was
not a breath of wind, the ocean, as if in anticipation of its coming,
was heaving in a long, high swell, and the vessel rolled uneasily, her
spars groaning dismally aloft.
Baptiste took two of the revolvers from Carew's hands and handed one to
each of the Spaniards.
"Don't use them, lads, unless it is absolutely necessary; we don't want
noise. You have your knives," he whispered.
"I have brought the bits of line you asked for," said El Chico,
producing several lengths of small-sized but very strong rope.
"What do you intend to do, Baptiste?" inquired Carew, in a hoarse voice,
speaking for the first time.
"Pinion those sleepers securely with these cords, fasten a weight to
each man's leg, and heave them overboard," replied Baptiste.
"It would be easier to knife them as they lie there," muttered El Toro,
whose bloodthirsty instinct was up.
"Yes," sneered Baptiste; "you love the sight of blood, you mad bull. You
would like to have a brutal fight now. But that plan will not suit me. I
am a man of peace; I hate unnecessary disturbance. Now to work."
Then Carew spoke firmly, once more asserting his right to command.
"Secure those men with the cords, but do not kill them. Let them live
till to-morrow. Then I will decide what shall be done with them."
"What absurd folly is this?" hissed the Provencal savagely. "Do you wish
to endanger all our lives? They may free themselves in the night and
retake the ship. No, they must die."
"Silence! You shall know that I am still your master. These men shall
not die to-night," said Carew resolutely.
"This is too much," cried Baptiste, with impatient fury. "I have
arranged everything so well, and now you interfere to spoil all. Curse
that intermittent conscience of yours. It is like a geyser spouting out
tepid water at intervals, and always at the most inopportune moment."
"I will not discuss this with you," replied Carew doggedly; "but you
know me, you coward. If you kill one of these men without my orders,
except in self-defence, you will have to deal with me--you understand?"
The Provencal did understand. He swore some horrible oaths to himself,
and said--
"There is no time to argue now. We will humour your fancy. Come on, El
Toro and El Chico. Let us tie those fellows up as quickly and as quietly
as we can."
The three men crept noiselessly to the awning beneath which the French
sailors lay breathing stertorously under the stupefying influence of the
strong narcotic.
Carew, meanwhile, stood outside under the rainy sky, motionless, taking
no part in the proceedings, and at that moment wishing that the fever
had seized him also and that he were dead and quit of it all.
Baptiste and the Spaniards stooped over the sleeping men, and with the
skill of sailors bound their limbs in such a manner that it was
impossible for them to stir, far less to free themselves. In so complete
a state of coma were they that the tension of the tightly drawn cords
did not rouse them, though they murmured in their sleep. Carew almost
hoped that they would awake. If they defended themselves and were killed
in the heat of a mortal struggle, it would not have seemed so horrible
to him as this silent, passionless piece of villainy.
When the men were all secured, Baptiste said, "If you will stand by here
and guard the prisoners, captain, we will go aft and see to the others."
So leaving Carew behind, Baptiste and the two Spaniards went to the
other end of the vessel and entered the saloon. First they softly opened
the door of Baptiste's cabin, and there they found the Breton sailor
sleeping soundly, the half-empty brandy bottle by his side.
The two Spaniards held him while Baptiste bound him firmly. It was not
till the operation was concluded that he awoke. He opened his eyes and
looked about him in a bewildered way for a few moments; then he tried to
raise himself and could not; and, perceiving the cords that restrained
him, he suddenly realised the situation, and called out at the top of
his voice, "To the rescue! A mutiny! A mutiny!"
"Quick! away! leave him!" cried Baptiste rapidly. "To Duval's cabin, and
secure him before this fellow's row wakes him. Quick! Quick!"
They ran across the saloon and burst into the mate's cabin, the two
Spaniards leading the way; for Baptiste, like a prudent general, gave
his orders from the rear.
There was a lamp burning in the cabin. Duval, roused by the din, was
sitting up in his bed, half awake, still confused by the heavy dose of
opium that had been administered to him. Just as the men violently swung
the door open, Leon again raised the shout of "A mutiny! A mutiny! Mr.
Duval, defend yourself!"
The Norman heard that terrible cry, and all his senses returned to him
in a moment.
"Grapple with him at once," cried Baptiste.
The two Spaniards precipitated themselves upon him; but though not a big
man, he was a strong and wiry one. Leaping from his bunk he thrust the
men aside, and seizing the only weapon within his reach, an iron
water-can, he swung it round and brought it down on Baptiste's skull.
"Oh, you treacherous wretch, take that!" he cried.
The Provencal's evil career would have been terminated there and then
had it not been for El Toro, who seized Duval's arm and broke the force
of the blow. As it was, the sharp edge of the can inflicted an ugly
wound, and Baptiste staggered back, the blood pouring all over his face.
"Kill him!" he hissed, sick and faint with pain and fear, but mad with
rage.
El Toro needed no second bidding. He thrust his long knife quickly
between the unfortunate man's ribs. Duval uttered one groan, and fell to
the ground dead.
"That was deftly done," said the Basque, wiping the blade. "Ho! my
little Baptiste. How dost thou feel with that cracked pate of thine?"
The Provencal was sitting on a chest, his head in his hands, trembling
with fear. "Look at my head, good El Toro, I beseech you," he cried.
"See if it is a dangerous wound."
"A mere scratch," replied the Basque, after a cursory examination. "What
a timorous woman thou art!"
His comrades washed the wound and bandaged his head; then Baptiste
recovered his presence of mind, and gave his orders. "Put the body over
the side at once, but first fasten a weight on to it. It must not float
about to tell tales to some passing vessel."
When this had been done, he said, "Now carry that noisy Leon out of my
cabin. Take him forward to where the other prisoners are."
The Spaniards raised the helpless Breton, who, understanding that there
was no one to whom he could give the alarm by crying out, now resigned
himself to his fate, and uttered not a word as they laid him by the side
of his four comrades.
"The vessel is ours!" Baptiste called out in a loud voice when he
approached Carew. There was no further reason for the avoidance of
noise. "I salute you, captain of _La Bonne Esperance_!"
"But where is Duval?" asked Carew.
"Killed, captain; but in self-defence. Look at my unfortunate head: that
was his doing. Had it not been for our brave El Toro you would have lost
your trusty mate."
Carew looked down at the five men lying on the deck. They were all awake
now, the pain caused by the tightness of their ligatures having at last
dispelled the lethargy of the drug. They realised all that had happened;
they knew that they were doomed to die at the hands of this treacherous
band. A lantern swung from the awning-pole above them, and by its dim
light Carew saw that their faces wore an expression of dogged
resolution, which changed suddenly to one of loathing and contempt when
their eyes met his. Thus they stared at him in silence. He hastily
turned his face away.
"What next, captain? It must be done sooner or later. Why not at once?"
said Baptiste.
"Take them into the forecastle for to-night. Secure the two sick men as
well," was the reply.
"Just Heaven, what a cruel thing a British conscience is!" exclaimed
Baptiste, with a loud, scornful laugh. He was intoxicated with the
successful issue of his scheme. "I, the man without scruples, would have
mercifully killed these men outright. You, the man of conscience, shrink
from doing so, but are willing to shut them up in the pestilential hole
yonder, so that an agonising fever may kill them for you. Do you really
flatter yourself, oh, self-deceiver, that you in this way absolve your
soul from the guilt?"
"Silence!" cried Carew angrily. The man's words had hit the mark. Some
such vain idea had indeed crossed the warped mind. Arguments of a like
sophistical nature were always now vaguely occurring to him, and he took
care not to reason them out, being conscious of the fallacy of them, yet
cherishing them. A form of moral insanity this, and not an uncommon one.
El Chico, who was standing by, heard Carew's last words. "Do you want
us to die of the fever too, captain?" he grumbled. "Who's going to stand
sentry over the prisoners in that poisonous forecastle?"
Carew saw the force of this objection.
"Then put them in a row along the bulwark and lash each one to a
ring-bolt," he said.
"That is a better plan," remarked Baptiste; "we can thus keep our eyes
on them without leaving the deck. El Chico, you keep watch for two
hours, while the rest of us sleep. We require rest after our exciting
day's work; and as for me, that cut over the head makes me feel rather
queer."
"See, here comes the wind," cried Carew.
The clouds towards the east had opened out, revealing a patch of starry
sky, and a light breeze had sprung up.
"There won't be much of it," said Baptiste, after he had scanned the
heavens. "Let us shake out the spanker and lie-to under that for the
night. And to-morrow morning, captain, you must decide how you are going
to rid us of these men. We are too few to work the vessel, and cannot be
bothered with guarding prisoners to please you."