I did not go to sleep, it may be supposed, but walked the deck,
considering what I should do. I had never spoken much with the third
mate, who was now commanding officer; and I felt less inclination than
ever to enter into conversation with him, so I only went near him when I
was obliged to do so, to report that all was right.
He was a surly ruffian, in no way superior to the rest of the people,
except that, from having been at sea all his life, he was a tolerable
seaman. It was with some difficulty that I gained permission from him
to carry some food and water to the prisoners, or I believe he would
have allowed them to starve. I dared not tell them that I was a friend,
lest some might incautiously betray me. Wherever I went, also, Mark
Anthony followed, and narrowly watched my proceedings. I observed him,
though I pretended not to do so, and was trying to devise some means of
lulling the suspicions he evidently still entertained of me.
The mate's name was John Pinto, a Portuguese by birth, though he said he
was an American, and he spoke English well. I knew that he was addicted
to liquor, when he could indulge in it without fear of the consequences.
I had found several bottles of fine old Jamaica rum in the cabin, so I
brought one up on deck, with a monkey full of cool water, and saying
that I was very thirsty after the day's work, and must have a glass,
asked him if he would have one also. He consented, and I poured him out
a stiff tumblerful, the strength of which was concealed by the coolness
of the water.
"Very good indeed," he growled out. "Peter, you understand these
things; give me another." I did so, and made it even stronger than the
first. He liked it accordingly even better, and took several others in
quick succession. I was not afraid of his growing furious, for, from
the nature of the man, I knew that he would only become stupid, and
finally would fall asleep. With much satisfaction I saw this effect
take place.
"Now I am commanding officer," I thought, "and I will see what is next
to be done." Just as I had thought this, and had stood up to look
around me, I felt the hot breeze coming off the land. An idea struck
me, if I could but liberate the prisoners, they might run the vessel far
away to sea before the morning, and out of the reach of the pirates.
How to accomplish this was the next thought. Go with them I could not,
on account of my oath, and I was also bound to the rest. There was a
sentry placed before Captain Dean's cabin. I determined to make him
tipsy also, I had recourse to the old rum, and with the same effect it
had on the mate. Two men walked the deck near the main hatchway, the
other four were forward. The prisoners were in the hold, and my great
difficulty was to get to them.
I went on deck to watch the two men. They were sitting down, and I had
hopes were asleep. Mark Anthony, whom I most feared, was forward. The
night had become very dark, so I went close to them without being
perceived, and I could distinguish by the tones of their voices that all
four were talking together. On this I crept back to the cabin. The
sentry was snoring in complete insensibility, so I dragged him on one
side, and tapped softly at the door of the state-cabin.
"It is Peter," I whispered. "Open the door, I have something to say."
Mary knew my voice, and opened it before I had done speaking, for I had
unlocked it from the outside.
"Captain Dean," I said, in a hurried tone, "the wind is off the shore;
two of your guards are unconscious from drink; and if I can but make the
rest so, or you can manage to overpower them, you may regain possession
of your vessel. I can neither assist you further, nor can I accompany
you, for at all risks I must return to the schooner."
"Oh no, no," exclaimed Mary, "you must go with us; we cannot leave you
behind with those dreadful men."
"I have taken an oath, Mary, and I must remain," I replied. "But have
no fears for me. I shall, I trust, finally escape from the toils which
surround me, and we may meet again." For some time I continued in the
same strain, and finally succeeded in winning her over to my view of the
case. I had less difficulty in persuading her father that there was no
other chance of escape; and I urged on him the duty he owed to his
owners as well as to his child, if not to himself.
With several bottles of old rum I returned on deck, and with one in my
hand I sat myself down near the two men guarding the hatchway.
"The mate finds this stuff very good," said I; "will you take a glass?"
They did not say no, but pronounced it excellent.
"The rest should not be kept out of their share," I remarked; "I'll take
them some." To this they would not agree; and wishing to keep it all to
themselves, drank it down much faster than they would otherwise have
done. I took the empty bottle away, and put a full one in its place,
much to their surprise, for they did not suspect my trick. Favouring my
design, the others heard them praising the rum, and asked them what they
were about. I instantly ran forward with two bottles.
"They have got some spirits which they think very good, and I have
brought you some bottles. There are several more stowed away somewhere
on deck, and if I can find them I will bring them to you."
"Bear a hand and bring them to us, but do not let Pinto see you, or he
will be laying an embargo on them," said one of the men in a low voice,
thinking the mate might hear him.
In a short time all the pirates, including even Mark Anthony, were lying
about the decks in a state of helpless intoxication.
With my knees trembling with agitation, I hurried aft, and told Captain
Dean what had occurred. Leaving Mary in the cabin, he accompanied me on
deck, and we instantly set to work to get the hatches off. We
succeeded, and, going below, found the mates and crew, most of them
overcome with fatigue, fast asleep. It was the work of a minute to
rouse them up, to explain what had happened, and to cut loose the
lanyards with which they were secured.
I told them that they must make a simultaneous rush on deck; that they
must bind me with the rest of the pirates; that they must put us into a
boat with a couple of small sculls, just to enable us to reach the
shore; and that they must then cut their cable, and get to sea as fast
as possible.
"I do not see what should prevent us from carrying all hands off
prisoners," said the first mate. The idea that they might do so had not
occurred to me. I wished most cordially that they would, but my oath
made it incumbent on me to return if I had the power.
"We must do as this young man requires," said Captain Dean. "We will
abide by his decision."
"Then I must beg that you will without delay put me and my companions
into a boat, and be off yourselves," I answered, with a sinking heart.
I crept first on deck, and lay down among the men forward. Presently
the crew rushed on deck, and in a few minutes the previous order of
things was completely reversed, and the pirates were bound and floating
helplessly in a boat by themselves. The black, who was near me, was the
only one who was aroused, and he saw me being bound like himself. He
would have cried out, but a gag thrust into his mouth effectually
prevented him.
With mingled feelings of pain and joy I saw, through the gloom, the
sails of the _Mary_ drop from their yards, and her cable being cut, she
glided away into the obscurity of the distance. I uttered a prayer for
the safety of those on board. I had no fears for myself; but I confess
I wished that, notwithstanding my protestations, Captain Dean had
forcibly detained me, though I, of course, was compelled to insist on
being treated like the rest of the pirates, and he, not knowing my real
wish, thought he was bound to do as I desired. Mary was all the time
below, or her keen perception would have saved me, as she would have
insisted on keeping me, in spite of myself. I repeated the oath I had
taken over and over again, and I did not find that it in any way
prevented me from liberating the prize. That any one would dream of
doing such a thing had, I suppose, never occurred to its framers.
It was broad daylight before any of the people came to their senses.
The black had been all the time, in a degree, awake, though his
intellects were not very bright; he, however, had been too tightly bound
hand and foot to move, while his mouth was too securely gagged to allow
him to cry out. I arose with pretended difficulty; I saw his keen eye
glaring on me. I looked over the gunwale: the _Mary_ was nowhere to be
seen. She had then escaped, and I returned thanks to Heaven for her
safety.
The boat had been driven by the wind some way out to sea, and it
occurred to me that there was a great probability of our being starved
before we could regain the shore, should we not be seen by the
schooner's crew. This idea gave way to the picture which presented
itself of the rage and disappointment of the pirates when they found
that their prize had escaped.
"They will wreak their vengeance on us all, perhaps--on my head
especially, if it is suspected that I had a hand in liberating the
prisoners. How can I avoid being suspected? The mate will recollect
that I brought the rum to him; so will the others. They will compare
notes, and I shall be accused of having plotted with the crew of the
_Mary_. It will be asserted that I intended to accompany them, and to
claim a reward--perhaps to bring a ship of war to the spot--and that
they had played me false in placing me in the boat. It will not be
supposed that I might have escaped, but would not break my oath. My
condition is indeed perilous."
I was right in that respect. Never, perhaps, had I been in such
imminent danger; but I forgot at the time that there is a higher Power
ever watchful over men, and that it will assuredly protect those who act
rightly.
Oh, let me urge my young friends, in their course through life, always
to do what they know is right, fearless of consequences: let no
consideration whatever induce them to act otherwise. They may not--
probably do not--see the way by which they are to be preserved, but God,
in His good time, will show it to them; or if they are exposed in
consequence to suffering, will not fail, beyond all measure, to reward
them.
I must explain that I do not feel quite certain that I was right in
taking the oath. Even now that years have passed since that time, I am
undecided as to that point; and therefore I trust that I may be pardoned
if I was wrong in doing so, when I had no time for reflection.
When the black saw me move, he made various strange noises, to call my
attention to his condition. I showed him that my hands were bound, but
I contrived to crawl towards him; and though his hands were behind his
back, he contrived so far to loosen the cords which bound mine (they
were, in truth, but slightly secured, and I could have released them
without aid), that I got them perfectly free. The first thing I did was
to take the gag from his mouth; and oh, what a torrent of abuse flowed
instantly out of it! He did not, however, suspect me, as I thought he
would. We next released the rest, but they were still too overcome with
the liquor to comprehend what had happened.
The wind was still off the shore, and the boat continued drifting out to
sea, her speed increased by a current which set to the southward. The
black recognised the mouth of the lagoon, which he knew well, but I
could not make it out. The two sculls were found, and, bestowing many
maledictions on his companions for not being able to drink with
impunity, he made me take one of them, and attempt to pull towards the
shore.
With the prospects I had in view, I had no particular wish to exert
myself, and I saw that, even if I did so to the utmost, we could make no
way against the breeze and the current setting in an opposite direction.
The sun rose, and struck down with burning fury on our heads; and I
knew, when the wind fell, it would be hotter still. At length I began
to feel the pangs of hunger, and, to my satisfaction, I found that some
considerate friend had put a few biscuits and a keg of water into the
boat. With this I refreshed myself, and so did the black; and I began
to hope that he was grateful to me for releasing him from the gag, and
that he would bear witness to having seen me bound like the rest.
When we found that we could make no way with the paddles, we gave it up,
and set to work to try and revive our companions. We unlashed their
arms and legs, and by degrees they came to themselves. They were very
much surprised at what had happened, and could not account for it.
"Well, no use talking here," observed Mark Anthony, whose wits being
brighter than theirs, was for active measures. "If we no get on shore,
we all die togeder."
I suggested that we might manufacture some more paddles out of the
bottom-boards; and that by bending our handkerchiefs and jackets
together we might form a sail, which, when the sea-breeze set in, might
enable us to reach some part of the coast. No one having any better
advice to offer, mine was adopted: two more pairs of paddles were
formed; but though they enabled us to make some little headway, it was
very slowly.
My companions now grew weary; and the looked-for breeze not arriving,
they began to lose their tempers, as people are apt to do, even without
so much reason, after a debauch.
"It was all your fault, youngster," suddenly exclaimed the mate, turning
to me; "you brought me the stuff which capsized me."
"And he brought it to us," said one of the men who had been guarding the
main-hatchway.
"And to us also," cried those who had been forward.
"Den," exclaimed the black, giving a most diabolical grin from ear to
ear, which made my blood run cold, "he done it on purpose: dere was
someting in it, no doubt."
Oh, now my heart sunk within me; for their suspicions once being set on
the right scent, I feared they would discover the truth. However, I put
a bold face on the matter, and answered, "I found the spirit--I tasted
it, and thought it very good, so I brought it to you. I am in as bad a
condition as any of you; so I gained nothing by treachery, if I was
guilty of it."
"Ah, but you hoped to do so!" exclaimed the mate. "It wasn't your wish
to remain with us, but you could not help yourself." Thus the
discussion went on, till they arrived very nearly at the truth. I said
nothing, but listened, expecting every moment to be my last. Some
proposed throwing me overboard at once; but the black suggested that the
captain would be angry at such a proceeding, and that it would be far
better to carry me in alive, and to torment me before they put me to
death.
I told them that they had no proof of my guilt, and that I denied the
accusation of having put anything into the liquor, and that I was
certain that Captain Hawk would acquit me.
They were still threatening me, when the black, who was standing up, on
looking towards the mouth of the harbour, espied two boats pulling out
towards us. Our comrades must have seen us with their glasses from the
shore, and were coming to our assistance. They could not possibly be
more than four miles off. Scarcely had the rest time to discover the
specks they seemed on the water, when I observed a sail just rounding
the west side of the island, and standing, with a fresh breeze, directly
for us. It was not long before she was discovered by the rest.
She was a large brig, and, from the squareness of her yards, she looked
like a man-of-war. Down she came rapidly on us, as yet unperceived by
the people in the boats, as a point of high land, covered with trees,
hid her completely from them. The black jumped up, and watched her,
with lips apart and staring eyeballs, for some time.
"De brig we fought de oder day!" he exclaimed. "If he see we, den we
all hang." And he sunk down at the bottom of the boat, intimating to
the rest to follow his example.
I scarcely knew whether to wish that the American brig-of-war--for such
I felt convinced she was--should discover us, or whether we might get
into the harbour unperceived.
In the latter case, the probabilities were that the pirates would put me
to death. In the former, I ran a great risk of being hung because I was
a pirate; or the boat might drift out to sea, and a lingering death
would be our portion. Neither alternative afforded a pleasant subject
of contemplation.
The boats from the shore were all this time approaching us. At last
they saw the topgallant-mast's heads of the brig over the point; but I
suppose they fancied they were those of the _Mary_, for they continued
their course. In a short time, however, they perceived their mistake;
but the brig had got clear of the land, and they were full in view of
any sharp eyes stationed on her tops. They directly pulled back, and we
lost sight of them almost immediately.
The brig came on, and at first, after rounding the point, stood on a
course which would have carried her inside of us, but, on discovering
the boat, she again stood towards us. The fright of all hands in the
boat was excessive, and the bold blustering pirates proved themselves
cowards indeed. The African was the bravest, for the death he expected
had few terrors for him. He even had presence of mind sufficient to
suggest that we should invent a plausible tale of having been cast
adrift by the rest of the crew of a ship who had run off with her: All
eagerly grasped at the idea; but before the tale was thoroughly
concocted, the brig was alongside of us, and we were very
unceremoniously hauled on board.
We were immediately taken before the captain and his officers in full
uniform, who stood round him on the quarter-deck.
"What brought you out here?" he demanded of the mate, who from his dress
seemed to be the officer. Pinto told the tale which had just been
invented.
"And what are those boats doing inshore of us?" was the next question.
"I know nothing of the boats," was Pinto's answer; but the appearance
and dogged manner of my companions had raised suspicions in the minds of
the American officers which were not easily allayed.
Meantime the brig had hauled her wind, and was standing inshore with the
lead going, in the direction the boats had taken. Officers with sharp
eyes were also stationed at each fore-yardarm to look out for coral
reefs. The _Foam's_ boats reached the entrance to the lagoon just as
the brig dropped her anchor, it being considered dangerous to approach
nearer the shore.
The brig, I found, was the _Neptune_, Captain Faith. She was a
remarkably fine vessel, carrying nineteen guns, and had been sent out
expressly to look for the _Foam_. Captain Faith and his officers were
burning to revenge the insult offered them shortly before by the
schooner. It appeared that they had, by some means, notice of her
whereabouts, and when they saw the retreating boats, they had little
doubt of the true state of the case.
We were all kept separate from each other, and were questioned one by
one. What the others said I do not exactly know, but I have reason to
believe that not one of them told the same story, I was the last
interrogated. "And what have you got to say for yourself?" asked the
lieutenant.
"That I was last night put into this boat with the rest, with my hands
bound behind my back," I replied.
"And you believe that the people who so treated you have run off with
the ship to turn pirates?"
"I do not believe it," I answered. "I knew the captain, who was a kind
friend of mine, and the ship was his own. If you ever meet Captain Dean
of the _Mary_, he will corroborate what I say."
"This is a new version of the story," replied the lieutenant.
"It is the true one; of that you may be assured," I replied. "I would
willingly tell you more, but I cannot, so there is no use questioning
me."
"We shall soon see that," he observed. "Those who will not speak when
they can, must be made to speak."
I was silent; for if I said more, I was afraid of running the risk of
breaking my oath, by betraying Hawk and his followers.
The attention of all on board was now taken up by the manning of the
boats, which were, I found, to be sent up forthwith, on an expedition in
search of the pirates. Oh, how I longed to warn the brave men I saw
with such joyful alacrity getting ready, of the great risk they were
about to run! The schooner, I knew, had ten guns on board, and the
pirates would be able so to place her as to offer a stout resistance, if
not to defeat the man-of-war's boats completely.
Four of the brig's boats were sent away, to which was added the one in
which I had been taken; so that there was a pretty strong flotilla
engaged in the expedition. Remembering, however, the extreme narrowness
of the passage, I felt that if the pirates landed, and simply fired down
upon their assailants, they might pick every one of them off, without
the slightest risk to themselves. I was very much afraid of being
compelled to accompany the boats--not that I feared the danger, but I
thought that Hawk would fancy that I did so willingly; and though he
might be defeated and killed, I did not like the idea of his dying with
the impression on his mind that I had betrayed him; or, on the contrary,
if the boats were destroyed, of course I could expect no mercy at his
hands. With aching eyes I saw them enter the mouth of the lagoon; and
perhaps no one on board felt a greater interest in their proceedings
than I did.