OLIVER BENSON'S SCHEME.
Phil Robbins and I stood gazing into each other's eyes as if incapable
of speech, during at least sixty seconds after the fellow who had
trapped us announced the purpose of his scheme. That we two lads, who
were of no consequence whatsoever in the sight of the officers of the
_Essex_, should have been made the victims of a plot seemed too
ridiculous to be true; but yet the locked door was sufficient evidence
for the most incredulous.
It was Phil who first found his tongue, and he asked sharply, as if
positive I could give him a satisfactory answer:--
"What does the villain mean by locking us in here? He must think we are
rare prizes!"
"I'm not making any mistake as to what you're worth," Benson cried from
the hallway. "Yankees don't bring any extravagant price in this part of
the world; but the demand is so great that I won't be forced to keep
you many hours after your tub of a ship leaves port."
My head was so thick that even then I failed to understand his purpose,
but had an idea the fellow looked upon us as his personal enemies
because England was at war with the United States, and said to Phil,
giving no heed to the fact that I spoke sufficiently loud for Benson to
hear:--
"The fellow is such a fool as to believe he serves his country by
imprisoning us."
"That's where you are making a big mistake, my Yankee cub. Whalers in
this portion of the world are not overly particular as to how they ship
a crew, and pay a decently good price to whoever delivers them
able-bodied hands."
Now I understood what this enterprising Britisher had in mind. I
remembered reading, before I left home, a long account of how sailors
were trapped in foreign ports by the captains of whaling vessels who had
lost members of their crews by death or desertion.
If we could be held prisoners until there was no longer any American
vessels in port, Benson might literally sell us to a British whaler; and
once on board such a craft, our chances for escape or relief before the
voyage had come to an end would be very small.
I was overwhelmed with grief and anger. The knowledge of our
helplessness increased my wrath until for a certain length of time I was
little better than an insane lad.
I stormed and raved from one end of the small apartment to the other,
now and again throwing myself against the stoutly barred door as if by
such means I might break it down; and during the paroxysm Phil lay at
full length on the floor, giving noisy vent to his sorrow and despair.
There was no care in my mind that Benson was most likely listening to
all we said or did, and would set us down as chicken-hearted; I only
gave heed to our situation, knowing full well how entirely we were in
his power.
It was not to be supposed that the _Essex_ would remain many days longer
in port; in eight-and-forty hours she would most likely get under way,
and we two lads who had dreamed of winning honor and promotion would be
set down as deserters. Even Master Hackett must believe we had run away,
since, by trying to make him think we were not eager to remain in his
company, lest he should waste all his time of liberty upon us, we had
made it appear as if our greatest desire was to be alone.
Like a flash all the possibilities of the situation came into my mind. I
heard the comments of our shipmates, saw the word "deserter" written
opposite our names on the ship's register, and imagined the grief of my
parents when the _Essex_ returned to port with such a disgraceful story
concerning us. Meanwhile I could see Phil and myself forced to this or
that disagreeable task, and the end of it all, a tardy release in some
foreign port from which we would be forced to work our way home as best
we might.
It was a most mournful picture, view it in whatever light I might, and
the stoutest-hearted could well be excused for growing faint and sick
with apprehension.
Whether we spent one hour or three in such useless wailings I am unable
to say; it seemed to me much as if we had been a full day in that place
before I so far recovered composure of mind as to be able to look at the
situation with some degree of common sense, and then my first act was to
soothe Phil, who still remained stretched at full length upon the floor,
weeping and wailing.
It was not a difficult task to persuade him into something approaching
calmness; he had literally exhausted himself by giving way so violently
to sorrow, and was, like myself, ready to play a more manly part.
Our first act, after thus coming to our senses, so to speak, was to
make a thorough examination of this apartment which served as prison;
for of course the thought of escape had been uppermost in our minds,
even when our grief was most violent.
The room was not different from what one might have fancied after seeing
the exterior of the building. It was, however, twelve feet square, with
a ceiling so low that I could touch it by standing on tiptoe. There were
two windows, both closely barred with iron, as I had already noticed was
usual in Valparaiso, and the view from them was confined to a small plat
of ground enclosed by a high wall of stone, the top of which was nearly
on a level with one of the windows.
"If we could get out of here, it would not be a difficult task to reach
the ground," Phil said, in a certain tone of hopefulness.
"I'd guarantee to bring up on the ground all right, wall or no wall, if
it wasn't for the bars."
Then, with one accord, we laid hold of the iron rods, wrenching at them
with all our strength, but not moving them by so much as a single hair's
breadth, so far as I could see.
That Benson yet remained in the hall outside, and could hear all that
was said or done, we knew when he cried mockingly:--
"Keep on pulling at the bars so long as such work pleases you; they
have held stronger men than you ever will be, and I'm not afraid of your
giving me the slip in that way!"
Thus we knew that the wretch had made a business of trapping strangers
to sell them to whalers, and this but served to make our case appear
more hopeless; for if he had had experience in such scoundrelly work, it
was probable he would be on his guard against anything we might try to
do.
By this time I was weary, mentally and bodily, and, not minded to give
the villain any more pleasure,--for I doubted not but that he enjoyed
hearing his prisoners beat vainly against the bars of their cage,--I
whispered to Phil:--
"Don't speak nor move. We'll remain silent until he grows tired of
listening and goes away."
My comrade nodded to show that he agreed, and, seating ourselves on the
floor where we could look out of the window, even though there was
nothing save the small patch of grass to be seen, we held our peace
until the shadows of evening began to lengthen.
Now was come the time when our shipmates would be returning to the
_Essex_ after a day's pleasuring, and as I fancied them standing on the
shore, discussing the cause of our absence, it was impossible to
restrain my tears.
Not until the night had fully come did we hear anything from the
hallway, and then the faint sound of stealthy footsteps told that the
villanous Benson, wearied with his fruitless vigil, was descending the
stairs.
We listened in vain for some noise betokening that the building had
other occupants than our enemy and ourselves; not a sound broke the
silence, and it seemed only reasonable that the scoundrel put the
dwelling to no other purpose than that of a prison.
It would be useless for me to make any attempt at setting down here all
Phil and I said during the hours of the night, for much of our
conversation was wild in the extreme, and we repeated the same words
again and again, as would any lads in such a situation as we had so
suddenly been plunged.
About midnight we fell asleep, still sitting on the floor, for there was
no furniture whatsoever in the room; and the day was just breaking when
a noise in the yard outside awakened us.
Looking out from between the bars we saw Benson, who was placing a
ladder against the building, directly under our window.
"If he'd only come near enough for me to hit one blow!" Phil muttered
between his teeth, and I wished we might have so much satisfaction as
that, even while knowing he would never give us such an opportunity.
"I'm not counting on starving you Yankees," the villain said with a
laugh, "and yet I'm no such fool as to open the door long enough to
shove in food. You see I'm running this business alone, for the profits
are not large enough to permit of my hiring a clerk, therefore some of
my arrangements are not really convenient. I'm going to pass you the end
of a rope. Then I can stand on the ground and serve you with food and
water to be hauled up."
"I wonder if he thinks we'll indulge him in his monkey shines?" Phil
whispered angrily; and I, suddenly realizing that we could only succeed
in biting our own noses if we went contrary to Benson's commands, said
hurriedly in a low tone:--
"Hold your tongue! We're bound to eat and drink if we count on making
any effort at getting away. Take what he gives us, and we may thereby
keep up our strength to be used in case an opportunity for escape
presents itself."
By this time Benson was nearly at the top of the ladder; but he took
good care not to come within reach of our fists.
He passed in to us a half-inch Manila rope, and I seized the end,
whereupon the villain descended and bent on a small tin vessel filled
with what appeared to be a stew of beans and other vegetables.
"When you've hauled in, let down the rope again and I'll send you up
some water," Benson cried; and I obeyed his commands in silence.
When we had thus been served, he said in the tone of one who imparts
pleasing information:--
"You'll have to get along without me to-day, for I'm counting on
catching two or three more Yankees before sunset."
Phil shook his fist at the scoundrel; but I, without knowing exactly
why, felt a certain amount of satisfaction because he reckoned on making
more prisoners.
Then the fellow disappeared from view, and Phil said angrily:--
"I hope our messmates will have more sense than we displayed when we
agreed to let him show us the town."
"And I'm hoping he'll make a big haul."
Phil gazed at me in anger and astonishment, whereupon I hastened to
explain myself.
"There is no doubt but that he can easily do with us as he has proposed,
and our officers will make no great effort to find two boys who are
believed to have deserted. If that scoundrelly Britisher can capture
half a dozen of our crew there'll be a big stir aboard ship, and, in
addition, he won't be able to work his will with so many. One or more
may succeed in escaping, and then the truth will be known."
Phil's face brightened wonderfully, for he had not looked at the matter
in that light before, and without further conversation we set about
making a hearty breakfast.
Once our stomachs were filled, hope revived. We were eager that a large
number of our men might be entrapped by Benson, and discussed the
possibility of his success with as much zest as he might have done.
Then, after two hours or more had elapsed, we began to reflect that it
would not be possible for a lad like him to scrape acquaintance with men
as easily as he had with us boys, and we grew despondent once more.
Finally I gave up all belief that he could entice any of the crew into
his prison, and said with more of hope in my tones than was actually in
my heart:--
"Two great hulking lads like ourselves should be able to get out of an
ordinary house! If this place had been built for a jail, the situation
would be changed; but it is no more than an ordinary dwelling, and I
dare say these bars are not set in the wall so solidly but that we can
succeed in moving them."
"Tell me how to go about it, and I'll do my best; but I fail to
understand how we can accomplish anything."
Phil's despair served to give me what was very like courage; and even
though there was but little hope in my heart that we could effect
anything, I spoke as if certain of success.
"We have our knives, and with such tools many a man has worked his way
toward freedom. The mortar which holds the wall in place can be picked
out in time, and Benson won't have a chance to sell us for several days
after the _Essex_ leaves port."
"It would require a month of hard work to loosen even one of these
stones," Phil replied gloomily.
"We shall be better off by making some effort at escape, even though we
never succeed. It is almost cowardly to sit here idle, waiting until
that villain can entrap our comrades."
Having said this I set myself at work pricking out particles of mortar
with the point of my knife; and although the work progressed but slowly,
I could soon see some slight results.
Phil watched me listlessly until I had taken out as much as would fill
a large spoon, and then he began to see that the task was possible if we
had sufficient time.
"It's better than doing nothing," he said, as if the idea was his own,
and at once began upon the seam of mortar next that on which I was
working.
Occupation of some kind was what we most needed; and as the moments wore
on we increased our efforts until, when the sun marked the hour of noon,
we had made quite a showing, although at the expense of grinding away
our knife-points.
We had worked upon that stone which held the side bar in place, and if
it might be removed we would have an aperture not less than eight inches
in width. As a matter of course, neither of us could pass through such a
narrow space; but if two of the bars were pulled out, then was the way
open.
We were both resting from our labors when I was seized by a sudden
thought, and cried exultantly:--
"We can escape if no time is wasted!"
"I can't see but that the situation is much the same as when we were
first thrust into this place," Phil said gloomily.
"So it is; but since the villanous Benson passed us the rope, I'm of the
idea that we can do considerable work."
"How?"
"We have surely done something toward loosening the stones. Now, if we
make the rope fast to the lower end of the bar, and also to the handle
of the door, one or the other must give way when we get purchase
enough."
"Yes, I reckon all that is true; but we're no more likely to get a
purchase on it than we are to walk out of here this minute."
"I believe it can be done."
"Then the handle of the door will give way first."
This was rather in the nature of a wet blanket on my hopes; but I would
not admit that the plan had any defects which might not be rectified,
and set about solving the problem.
Finally I hit upon a plan,--not anything very brilliant, but a makeshift
which might possibly serve our purpose.
Doubling the rope, I made one end fast to the bar set into the stone we
had been working upon, and the other end I bent on to the corresponding
bar in the next window, hauling it taut as possible.
"With our feet against the lower edge of the window we should be able to
fetch something away," I said in a hopeful tone; "and even though we
fail at first, the plan is sure to succeed after we've picked out a
little more of the mortar."
Well, we tugged and strained to the utmost of our strength for ten
minutes or more, and then, just as I had said to myself that we never
could succeed, one end of the bar started ever so slightly.
"It can be done!" Phil cried exultantly, and would have bent himself
once more for a supreme effort but that I stopped him.
"There's little chance we could pull two bars out before sunset, and if
the job is but half done when Benson comes back, he'll understand what
we're trying to do. A fellow who makes a business of trapping men won't
stop at anything, however desperate, in order to prevent his villany
from being known to the authorities."
"Well, are we to sit here idle?" Phil asked angrily.
"Not a bit of it! We'll amuse ourselves picking mortar from the next
seam, and thus have both stones loosened by nightfall. After dark we can
yank two bars out, or I'm mistaken."
Now it seemed as if liberty was near at hand; and after I had cast off
the rope that we might be able to lower it from the window in case
Benson proposed to give us any more food, we set to work on the
difficult task of scraping away the hard mortar.
It must not be supposed that we removed any very great amount during
this long day; but we had laid bare a deep seam, and thus accomplished
more than I had at first believed would be possible.
When evening had come there was no doubt in my mind but that we could,
by aid of the rope, wrench away the bars, and I felt brave as a lion
when footsteps on the stairs outside told that the scoundrelly Benson
was returning.
"He didn't succeed in trapping any one else!" Phil said jubilantly. "We
were the only fools on board the _Essex_."
"Hello in there!" Benson cried out; and I said gruffly:--
"Well, what do you want?"
"It's well to let you know that I'm around. Your ship is ready to leave
port in the morning, and forty-eight hours later you two duffers will be
getting an idea of whale fishing."
"Which will be better than staying here forced to listen to the voice of
a cur like you!" Phil replied.
"That little show of temper will cost you your supper," Benson cried in
a rage. "I'll starve you into submission, if you turn rusty, so have a
care."
"I reckon you've lost your temper because of not finding any more fools
among the crew of the _Essex_!"
"I don't keep all my birds in one cage."
"But you've got all from the _Essex_ in this one, and we two make up the
list," Phil cried with a laugh, for he was finding considerable sport in
thus baiting the villain.
"Better keep a quiet tongue in your head," I whispered, "otherwise he
might come inside and see what we've been doing."
"I only wish he would!" and Phil flourished his knife in a manner which
told what he would do if our enemy should be so indiscreet as to come
within striking distance.
Benson stalked to and fro in the hallway when we ceased to reply to his
jibes, and after half an hour or more we heard him descending the stairs
again.
Then, by gazing through the bars, we could see that he had gone into the
enclosure,--most likely to make certain everything was as he had left
it; and we listened to the noise of his movements until all was silent
once more.
"He's gone out in the hope of catching such of our men as have
overstayed their shore leave," Phil whispered. "Now is our time to
begin work with the rope."
I insisted that we wait ten minutes longer, to make it more certain the
scoundrel had left the building, and then we began the task which I
confidently expected would result in our release.
The rope was made fast as before, and we two laid hold of it with a
will; but haul and pull as we would, the bars remained firmly in place.
That one which we had started during the afternoon was immovable, and
the perspiration was running down our faces in tiny streams before we
were ready to admit that the plan was a failure.
"He'll work his will with us," Phil said with a sob as we ceased our
efforts and stood facing each other in the darkness. "We can't get out!"
"Don't lose your courage so soon. We can work at the mortar all day
to-morrow, and then I'm certain the bars will yield."
"By that time the _Essex_ will have left port."
"Other American vessels put in here, and surely we can work our way home
without being forced to serve on board a whaler. Besides, the _Essex_ is
likely to visit this port more than once before her work in the Pacific
is concluded."
Phil would not be soothed, and he turned from me impatiently just as I
fancied a low whistle sounded outside, near the garden wall.
In an instant I was at the window, pressing my face against the bars
until the iron made great ridges on my cheeks; but the silence was
profound, and I believed that which I heard was nothing more than the
wind.
Turning from the window in disappointment, I was about to speak to Phil,
when the whistle sounded again, low and soft, but so distinctly that
there could be no mistake.
Phil heard it as I did, and we two sprang to the gratings once more,
expecting, hoping, to hear the voices of our messmates.
Everything was silent, and I stood there like a simple fully thirty
seconds before gathering sufficient sense to speak. Then I cried
softly:--
"_Essex_ ahoy!"
"Ahoy in the shanty!" a voice replied, and I sank to my knees in fervent
thanksgiving, for I recognized the tones of Master Hackett. Now, even
though we might not be released, it would be known aboard ship that we
had not deserted.
"Where are you?" the old seaman asked in a loud whisper, after remaining
silent a few seconds.
"At a window just above the height of the wall," Phil replied, and then
a happy thought came to me.
"We've got a half-inch rope here, Master Hackett, and can let it down if
perchance you might be able to use it."
"If an old shellback like me can't use a rope, I'd like to see the man
who can. Let it down, lads, an' move lively, for I've had hard work to
keep out of the course of a British cub who's been actin' in a way that
don't seem honest."
While he spoke I was lowering the rope over the wall, and when Master
Hackett sung out that he had it, we belayed the remaining portion to a
couple of the bars, knowing full well that the old man would soon appear
at the top of the wall unless some one on the street interfered with
him.
Nor were we mistaken. Before I could have counted ten he was clutching
the bars of our prison, asking how we chanced to be in such a scrape.
In the fewest possible words I explained how we had been trapped and
what Benson proposed to do with us; whereupon the old man said half to
himself:--
"Now I can see what he was after when he came rubbin' alongside some of
us, offerin' to show fine sights if we'd go with him. But instead of
standin' here yarnin', I reckon we'd better get you out of the trap."
"Wouldn't it be well to report on board that we've been made prisoners,
and ask that a squad of men be sent on shore?" Phil asked timidly. "If
Benson should get an inkling of your being here, he'd make more trouble
for us in some way; and it won't pay to take any chances."
"I don't count on takin' any more'n is wholesome, an' at the same time
ain't willin' to flash up on board with the yarn that I couldn't get the
best of one Britisher, an' him in a foreign country."
Then Master Hackett made an examination of the bars, after which he
suddenly disappeared from view, and, to my great surprise, I saw that,
pulling the rope inside the wall, he had slipped into the enclosure.
Now he was almost as much of a prisoner as were we; and if the Britisher
should come back, the old man might find himself in tight quarters, for
it was reasonable to suppose that a man engaged in such a villanous
business as was Benson always went well armed.
However, it was destined that Master Hackett should not be disturbed;
and we could see him faintly in the darkness, moving here and there as
if in search of something.
Then he placed the ladder against the wall, and when he had ascended to
the level of our window we saw that he had with him a short piece of
joist.
Using this as a lever, after we had told him which bars we had been
working on, he forced the iron rods from their sockets in short order,
thus making for us an open door through which we could pass to the top
of the wall.
[Illustration: HE FORCED THE IRON RODS FROM THEIR SOCKETS IN SHORT
ORDER.]
"You can come out now," the old man said with a chuckle, "an' the next
time you're in a strange port I reckon you'll be more careful about
followin' them as agree to give a free blow-out."
It can readily be imagined that we lost no time in acting upon the
suggestion, and by the aid of the rope we slid down to the ground,
exulting in the sense of freedom.
Master Hackett led us into one of the main streets, and while doing so
explained that when we failed to return to the ship on time he suspected
we had fallen into trouble, although more than one of the men suggested
that we had deserted.
"I didn't reckon you were the kind of lads who'd turn around in that
fashion, an' so got permission to come ashore for a spell, agreein' to
report to-morrow mornin' if I hadn't come across anything that would
show why you'd failed to turn up. Then it was I run across that
Britisher, an' found he was mighty anxious to give me a free spree. It
was that which made me believe he could tell somethin' about you, an' I
set about findin' where he lived. It wasn't any easy matter for an old
shellback to follow that sneak, who had good reason for thinkin' some of
us might want to know where he anchored hisself nights; but I managed
the traverse in fair shape, an' here we are."
"Can we go on board the _Essex_ to-night?" Phil asked.
"I reckon we might by hirin' a boatman; but there's no reason why we
need be in a hurry."
"I'd rather be on the gun-deck than in this town," Phil replied with a
shudder, and at that instant, just as we were turning a corner, we came
face to face with Oliver Benson, the young Britisher who made a business
of selling Yankee seamen to English whalers.
My first impulse was to run away, but before I could so much as move
Master Hackett had leaped upon the villain, and then I would not have
beat a retreat no matter what might have been the cost of remaining.
I joined the fray, for the Britisher immediately began to fight
desperately; and during several moments the three of us had quite as
much of a task as we could perform, for Benson was armed with a wicked
looking knife, and knew right well how to use it.
But for Phil, the villain would have succeeded in stabbing Master
Hackett in the back while the two were locked in each other's embrace;
but once his weapon was taken from him, the scoundrel showed signs of
submission.
"Don't give him a chance to play us any tricks," the old man said as he
unknotted his neckerchief preparatory to binding Benson's hands behind
his back; and I wondered greatly why we should burden ourselves with a
prisoner in a town where, for aught we knew, he might have many friends
or accomplices.