Ching's words sent a thrill of delight through me, rousing me, and
bringing me out of my half-delirious state.
Without a word, I crept cautiously up to my look-out place, listening to
the loud shouting and gabbling of the Chinamen as I got nearer to the
tuft of greeny growth, which I parted without so much hesitation now,
and, looking out, I could see that by the warm glow of the late
afternoon sun which made me shrink back with my heart sinking, and creep
down again to Ching.
"Yes?" he whispered. "Allee going 'way?"
"No," I replied, with my lips to his ear; "they are carrying up boards
and pieces of the wreck and sails, and making themselves a shelter.
They are going to stay."
Ching drew his breath with a low hiss, and was silent for a few minutes.
Then, quite cheerfully, he whispered--
"Velly bad job. Don'tee want bad wicked pilate here. Nevy mind: come,
eat blisket, dlink watee. Muchee best place. Muchee better than
pilate. Then go have good long s'eep."
We stole back to where the biscuit and water vessel had been placed for
safety; but when Ching handed me some biscuits I felt as if I could not
eat, though a little water refreshed me.
"No dlinkee much; no get more till pilate gone."
I shuddered as I thought of the consequences of being without water in
that stifling place, but the simple refreshments did me a wonderful
amount of good, and, after dipping my handkerchief in the vessel and
squeezing a few drops from time to time between Tom Jecks' lips as he
began to mutter, he dropped off to sleep again.
I sat listening then to the smothered sounds from without, where the
enemy were evidently very busy, and I was just dropping off again into
an uneasy slumber, when I started into wakefulness, for there was a loud
shout from the opening we had blocked up, and I felt that all was over.
They had found the way in, and in a few moments we should be dragged
out.
Directly after there was the babble of several other voices, and a
discussion went on in Chinese, not a word of which could I understand.
Then, to my utter wonder, the voices which had come over the top as if
speaking close by me, suddenly ceased, and I could hear the _pad pad_ of
bare feet on the sands.
"Velly neally catchee catchee, and choppee off head," said Ching softly.
"Begin to be velly solly for poor Mis' Hellick. Pilate say, `Heah good
place, make hole s'eep in.' 'Nothee pilate say, `Big fool; allee wet
damp; wildee beast live in hole, and allee 'tink. Come back, makee
better place.'"
It was a narrow escape, and it was long enough before my heart calmed
down, left off throbbing, and I fell asleep.
Utter exhaustion had done its work, and my sleep was deep and dreamless.
Once my eyes had closed, they did not open again till long after
sunrise the next morning, when I lay there puzzled, and wondering where
I was and what was the meaning of the murmur of voices apparently from
somewhere overhead.
Ching's voice chased away the remaining mists.
"You had velly good s'eep?" he whispered. "Feel muchee better?"
I did not answer, only squeezed his hand, and turned to see how Tom
Jecks was, but he did not seem to have stirred, and we then ate
sparingly of our biscuits, and drank more sparingly of the water.
"Must be velly careful," Ching said again; "no get more till pilate gone
'way."
That day went by like a portion of some feverish dream. My head burned
and throbbed; my thirst grew terrible in the hot, close place, and Ching
owned to suffering terribly in the same way; but the faithful fellow
never touched a drop of the water, save when the evening came, and we
partook together of our rapidly-diminishing store of biscuits, the very
touch of which on my lips increased the agony of my thirst.
And all the while we were awake to the fact that the Chinamen had an
ample supply of food and water, for they kept dragging up to the camp
they had formed casks and chests which had been washed up from the wreck
of their junk; and when I climbed up and looked out, I could see them
apparently settled down and resigned to their fate, until some friendly
junk came along or they could surprise another, feasting away, or
playing some kind of game with stones.
"Waitee lit' bit," Ching whispered. "Allee s'eep, and Ching get eat
dlink."
But I felt certain that he would be caught, and begged him not to go
till we were absolutely driven by hunger and thirst; and so that day
passed, with the rock growing hotter, and the air too stifling almost to
breathe, while, to my horror, I found that Tom Jecks was growing more
and more feverish. At times he began to mutter so loudly that we were
obliged to throw my jacket over his face to prevent the sounds from
drawing the attention of the enemy.
I believe I was half-delirious all that day, and when the night came our
little supply of water was running so low that Ching asked if he had not
better climb over the wall and go and fetch some more.
"No," I said; "it means discovery. We must wait."
I dropped soon after into a heavy stupor-like sleep, and this time I was
the first to wake and see the sun's rays stealing in through the growth
in the rift. Ching was sleeping calmly enough, but Tom Jecks had been
tossing about, and lay in a very peculiar position, which startled me--
it looked so strange. But Ching woke just then, and, nodding and
smiling, he helped me to turn our poor companion back, when we found him
flushed and excited, muttering angrily, quite off his head.
"Nevy mind; pilate get tired; go to-day," whispered Ching. "Get bettee
soon. Now have bleakfast. Waitee bit: Ching makee butiful bleakfast,
chicken, toast, egg, nice flesh tea. There. On'y 'nuff blisket for
to-day. Ching go out to-night get plenty blisket, plenty watee,
plenty--plentee--oh, deah--oh, deah!"
"What is it?" I whispered.
"Oh deah! Not drop watee left. You get up dlink allee watee?"
"No; did you?"
"No. Ching see. Pooh Tom Jeck knock over with arm."
It was only too evident, for the water vessel had been laid upon its
side, and the sand beneath was soaked.
"Ching velly solly," said the Chinaman softly. "No gettee more watee
till quite dalk."
My head sank against the rock, and I hardly stirred the whole of that
day. Ching pressed me to eat some of the remaining biscuits, but I
could not touch them, only rest my burning head there, and try to think
of what was to come. Ching would certainly be caught if he ventured
out, for the enemy never all lay down to sleep together; and, what was
worse, I felt convinced, though in a confused way, that sooner or later
the delirious mutterings and talkings of Tom Jecks must be heard.
I can only remember patches of that day. The rest is all burning heat
and wandering away amongst grass and flowers and purling streams, whose
trickling I seemed to hear.
It was getting well on in the afternoon, I suppose, that Tom Jecks'
fever came to a height. He muttered, and then began to talk angrily,
but in an incoherent way, and his voice grew so loud that at last I
roused myself and went up to the look-out, to watch whether it was heard
without.
But the Chinamen heard nothing, only sat or lay about, talking or
sleeping. It was getting close upon evening, for the sunshine was warm
and golden, and cast long shadows from the rocks and the cliff above us
over the level sand.
How beautiful it all looked! that golden sea, with a distant sail here
and there. And now suddenly I found that there was a great deal of
excitement amongst the Chinamen, who were talking loudly.
My head was hot and confused, but I soon saw the reason why, and hope
began to revive, for about a couple of miles out I could see two junks
standing in, and my heart throbbed again with excitement as I noted
their rig, and could feel certain they were the pair we had watched
through that strange night.
"I must go and tell Ching," I said to myself. "Those junks will take
the wretches off. Only a few more hours, and we shall be safe."
"Stand by, my lads! Look out! Storm's coming down upon us. Now then;
every man for himself."
I turned cold with horror. Just then, too, when we were so near to
safety. For the words were Tom Jecks', roared in a hoarse voice in the
height of his delirium, and I saw that they were heard outside.
For the Chinamen who were sitting sprang up, sword or knife in hand;
those who were looking out to sea or making signals faced round, stood
staring at the cliff for a few moments as if startled, and then, as Tom
Jecks' voice rose again, but in muffled tones, for Ching had thrown
himself upon the poor fellow to stifle his utterances, the pirates
uttered a yell, rushed to the opening, tore down the sand and stones,
and Ching and Tom Jecks were dragged out on to the sand.
They had not seen me for the moment, but there was a shout directly, a
man jumped up, caught me by the leg, and I was dragged along and out
into the soft evening sunshine, to be forced down upon my knees close to
where Tom Jecks lay, and Ching was being held, for he was struggling
wildly with his captors, and talked excitedly to the fierce wretches who
crowded round us.
Ching was evidently pleading for mercy, not for himself but for me. I
knew it, for he kept pointing to me; and finally he made a bound, got
free, and leaped to me, throwing his arms about my waist.
"No killee; shan't killee," he cried wildly; and then, turning round, he
yelled at our captors in his own tongue, abusing them in his rage, and
threatening them with his clenched fist.
But it was all in vain: a dozen hands were at him; others seized and
held me. Ching was dragged away vociferating wildly, thrown down, and
three men sat upon him, while another knelt down, twisted his hand in
the poor fellow's tail, and held his head fast.
I don't think they meant to kill him, their rage being evidently
directed at us; and I saw, with a peculiar kind of fascination, one man
with a big sword come close to me; another, armed with a similar blade,
go to where Tom Jecks lay, held down by three others.
I can hardly describe my sensations. Five minutes before, I was
horribly frightened; the cold perspiration stood upon my forehead; my
hands were wet, and my legs sank under me. But now, all the fear had
gone. I knew I was to die, and I remembered the execution I had seen in
that great enclosure, when with one _whisk_ of the sword the executioner
had lopped off head after head. It would not take long, I thought, and
a curious exaltation came over me as I began to think of home, and at
the same time my lips uttered the word "Good-bye," which was followed by
a prayer.
I did not cease muttering those words as I felt myself forced into a
kneeling position, and saw that Tom Jecks was being treated in the same
way. And somehow, as I prayed, the thought would come to me that the
poor fellow would not feel or know anything about what was going to
happen.
Just then, as the man with the big sword approached Tom Jecks, and I was
watching, I did not see but I knew that the other was close behind me
and a little on my left. But it did not trouble me any more than it did
to know that the fierce wretches were all gazing excitedly at us, and in
a high state of delight at being able to slay two of their foes.
It takes long to describe all this, but it happened very quickly.
The man had raised his sword to strike at Tom Jecks, and I shuddered and
looked aside, to see the great shadow of a man on the sand at my feet,
and there was a sword raised close by me.
At the same time Ching uttered a wild shriek, and the man who held his
tail forced the poor fellow's head down in the sand, but in vain; he
wrenched his head sidewise, raised it, and looked towards the cliff,
while I flinched slightly, for the shadow moved, as he who made it drew
back to strike.
_Crash_!
No: it was not the falling of the sword on my poor outstretched neck,
but a volley from the top of the cliff, fired by twenty of our brave
blue-jackets, and half-a-dozen of the pirates fell shrieking on the
sands.
I turned faint, but I recovered my senses as I saw Ching spring up, rush
at a man on the sand, snatch up his sword and run to me.
"Quick!" he cried; "jump up; fight!"
Almost mechanically I obeyed him, and snatched a knife from the hands of
one of the fallen men to defend my life, just as a second volley rolled
forth from the cliff, directed at the pirates as they ran toward the
ridge.
For there was no need for us to fight--our enemies were in full retreat;
and, as I looked up at the cliff, I could see our men drawn-up, and they
were signalling evidently to some one out of sight.
The next minute we were hailed.
"Which is the way down?"
"This way," cried Ching excitedly; and he ran south, pointing to the
rift by which he had climbed the cliff, while I stood there--giddy,
helpless, and at last sank down on my knees beside poor Tom Jecks, who
was still muttering something about the storm.
I recovered, however, enough to watch our men descending the rift--a
perilous, break-neck place; but they did not hesitate, and in a few
minutes all were down, formed up, and came toward us at the double.
And now for the first time, at the head of those familiar faces, I saw
Mr Reardon, who thrust his sword into his sheath as he drew near and
literally rushed at me.
"My dear boy!" he cried, giving me quite a fatherly hug; "thank God, we
were just in time."