This was rather serious news, and none the less vexatious because it did
not take me altogether by surprise. The general opinion had been that
all hands were bent upon going ashore, and that the ship would be left
at our mercy; but this had certainly not been my own view, for I could
not believe that a man of Tonkin's intelligence--realising, as he must,
the enormity of his offence in not only himself breaking into open
rebellion against lawful authority but in inciting others to do the
same--would be so rashly imprudent as to leave us free, for a period of
several hours, to release my men and to take such other steps as might
occur to us for the suppression of the mutiny. I had felt quite certain
that somebody would be left on board to keep us under supervision and
restraint, but I had calculated upon the mutineers considering two men
sufficient--and also a little, perhaps, upon the difficulty that would
be experienced in inducing more than two, at the utmost, to forego the
anticipated enjoyment of a run ashore. But here were four recklessly
unscrupulous men, powerful, determined fellows, fully armed, left behind
to be dealt with by us; and the only weapons that we could muster among
us were my sword and pistols. True, we might be able to lay our hands
upon a few belaying-pins; but to attack with such weapons four men armed
with pistols meant that somebody would almost certainly get hurt, and
that I was most anxious to avoid, if possible. Besides, if it came to a
fight, there was always the possibility that the reports of the pistols
might be heard by some of the party who had gone ashore, and cause them
to hurry back before we were ready to receive them fittingly. Upon
enquiry I learned that the four men had arranged themselves, two in the
waist--one of them on each side of the ship--and two forward near the
fore-rigging, where they could command the entrance of the steerage
quarters.
The general, who was brimful of courage, was fuming with indignation at
what he termed "the confounded impudence" of the men in presuming to
mutiny, strongly advocated an immediate attack with such weapons as came
to hand, but I deprecated that step for the reasons already mentioned,
and suggested that quite possibly a little consideration and discussion
might enable us to hit upon some plan involving rather less risk.
Carter at once suggested that we should try the experiment of plying the
men with drink, in the hope of making them intoxicated; and as I
considered that this was a case wherein the end justified the means, the
plan was at once adopted, Briggs undertaking to carry out to the guard a
bottle of especially strong brandy for their delectation. But although
they looked at the liquor with very longing eyes, their suspicions at
once became aroused, and they roughly ordered him to take it away. And
when, instead of doing this, Briggs put down the bottle and left it
within their reach, one of them immediately took it up and flung it
overboard, where, it may be incidentally mentioned, it was instantly
dashed at and swallowed by a shark, to the no small astonishment of
those who witnessed the occurrence.
This scheme having failed, another was suggested, this time by the
ship's surgeon. Briggs, the chief steward, had thus far not had his
freedom in the least degree interfered with. It was understood that in
the discharge of his duty he must necessarily pass to and fro at
frequent intervals between the cabin and the cook's galley--the occupant
of which, it may be mentioned, though a surly sort of fellow, and as
discontented with everything as ships' cooks generally are, had declared
himself absolutely neutral,--and up to the present he had been allowed
to do so without let or hindrance. The doctor's plan, therefore, was
that he was to go forward to the steerage, as though on a professional
visit to the wounded men, and Briggs was at the same time to go forward
to the galley to discuss with the cook the arrangements for the cuddy
dinner that evening. Then, as soon as they were fairly forward, Carter
and I were to sally forth together and grapple with the two men in the
waist, at the same time whistling to apprise the doctor and Briggs, who,
upon hearing the signal, would rush upon and grapple with the two men on
the forecastle. The idea was, not to provoke a fight, but to overpower
and secure these four men without giving them an opportunity to create
an alarm by firing their pistols. We four, therefore, were
simultaneously to pinion and hold them until others, coming to our
assistance, could help us, if necessary, to secure and disarm them.
This plan, we at once decided, was quite promising enough to be worth a
trial; and accordingly we forthwith proceeded to put it into execution.
First of all, as arranged, the doctor sallied forth, with a number of
bandages and other materials in his hands, and demanded admission to the
steerage, which, after some slight demur, was accorded him. Then
Briggs, who had been watching the progress of events from the pantry
window, sauntered casually forward and stood by the door of the galley,
where he proceeded to discuss with the cook the advisability of killing
a pig. And finally Carter and I, having allowed a minute or two to
elapse, walked calmly out on the main-deck together, smoking a cigar
apiece, and laughing and talking as though we were acting in pure
absent-mindedness. Our perfect coolness, and apparent want of the
slightest appearance of concern, so completely staggered the two guards
in the waist that they allowed us to get within a couple of fathoms of
the one on the port side before it dawned upon them to interfere; and
then Cruickshank, the man on the starboard side, dashed across the deck
to the support of his companion, at the same time shouting to us in very
bellicose accents:
"Here, you two, get back, d'ye hear? What d'ye mean by settin' foot on
this part of the deck against Mr Tonkin's express orders? Now hook it,
sharp, or--"
The moment that the fellow was fairly clear of the hatchway, and on the
port side of the deck, I raised my hand to my lips, spat out my cigar,
and sent a single shrill, but not loud, whistle along the deck, and then
sprang straight at my immensely powerful antagonist, while Carter
manfully tackled his own man. And at the same instant the doctor and
Briggs sprang upon the pair who were keeping guard on the forecastle.
As arranged, none of us attempted to do more than just pinion each his
own particular antagonist and prevent him from drawing his weapons,
trusting to the others to help us to master and secure them. And
gallantly those others backed us up, for at the sound of my whistle,
young Acutt--a fine, athletic young giant--dashed out of the cabin and,
without paying any attention to the writhing and struggling quartette in
his way, dodged us and rushed forward to the galley to prevent cookie
from interfering, while Fielder, Boyne, Pearson, and Taylor--the other
four young griffins--rushed with equal celerity to the support of the
doctor, Briggs, Carter, and myself. My own particular man struggled
savagely in his endeavour to free himself from my grasp, and, being a
much heavier and more powerful man than I was, pinned me up against the
rail and threw his whole strength into a determined effort to break my
back, in which effort he would have very speedily succeeded had not
Boyne quickly felled him to the deck and stunned him by a well-directed
blow from an iron belaying-pin. To disarm and securely bind the fellow
was the work of but a minute or two, and then, breathless with our
exertions, and, so far as I was concerned, in considerable pain, Boyne
and I stood up and looked about us to see how the others were faring.
Looking, first of all, near home, we saw Hales pinned up against the
rail, with young Pearson taking his weapons away from him, while Carter
was busily engaged in seizing him up, the general meanwhile standing by
and pointing my drawn sword at his throat to discourage him from any
ill-advised attempt at resistance; while the doctor and Briggs, with the
assistance of Fielder and Taylor, were also busily engaged in securing
their respective men. The ship was ours! and now it only remained for
us to take promptly such steps as were necessary to retain possession of
her when the other mutineers should see fit to return.
The first thing to be done was to release my own men from confinement,
and this we instantly did, when I had the great satisfaction of
discovering that, thanks to the skill of Doctor Burgess, and the
assiduous nursing of Mrs Jenkins and her daughter Patsy, all our
wounded, except two, were so far convalescent as to be quite fit for
ordinary duty, while the other two were also doing so favourably that
they could be made useful in a variety of ways provided that they were
not called upon to undertake any very severe physical exertion. Thus I
very soon found myself at the head of a little band of nine armed and
resolute men, each of whom was prepared to do my bidding to the death if
called upon.
We now lost no time in hustling our four prisoners down into the fore-
peak, where they could do no harm, and where, after being securely
clapped into irons, they were bade to make themselves as comfortable as
they could on top of the ship's stock of coal, while one of my men who,
from the comparatively severe character of his wounds, was least likely
to be of service to us in other directions, was stationed in the
forecastle above, fully armed, to keep an eye upon them, and see they
got into no mischief. This little matter having been satisfactorily
arranged, we next got the hatches off the after hatchway, and roused the
passengers' baggage on deck, from which the respective owners at once
proceeded to withdraw such weapons and ammunition as they possessed;
after which we struck the various packages down into the hold again and
put on the hatches.
We now mustered seventeen armed men, all told, each of whom was provided
with a firearm of some kind, while my own nine men, myself, and the
general boasted sidearms as well. Carter had no weapons of his own,
neither had the doctor nor Briggs, but three of the youngsters possessed
a brace of pistols each, which they were quite willing to lend; and with
these Carter, the doctor, and Briggs were promptly armed. This brought
our number up to twenty against the twenty-three away in the longboat;
and since we possessed the advantage over the mutineers that we had the
ship's deck as a fighting platform, I thought that we might now regard
ourselves as masters of the situation. Nevertheless I did not feel
disposed to neglect any further advantages that we might happen to
possess--for not all of our party were fighting men, and I did not know
how the civilians might behave in a hand-to-hand fight. I therefore at
once began to look round with the object of ascertaining what further
means of defence the ship afforded. She was pierced for twelve guns--
six of a side; but the only artillery that she actually carried was a
pair of 6-pounder brass carronades, the carriages of which were secured
one on either side of the main-deck entrance to the saloon. I suspected
that these pieces had been put on board by the owners more for the
purpose of signalling than as a means of defence, but I now gave them a
very careful overhaul, and came to the conclusion that they were good,
reliable weapons, and capable of rendering efficient service. But when
I came to question Carter about ammunition he could tell me nothing, as
he had not been aboard the ship when her cargo was stowed. However, at
my suggestion he now took possession of the skipper's cabin, and
proceeded to give it a thorough overhaul, with the result that in a
short time he reappeared with a key in his hand, attached to which was a
parchment label inscribed "Magazine". This was strong presumptive
evidence in favour of the supposition that a magazine existed somewhere
aboard the ship, and a little further search resulted in its discovery
abaft the lazarette. With all due precautions we at once proceeded to
open this receptacle, and found, to our very great satisfaction, that it
not only contained a supply of signal rockets, but also a liberal supply
of powder cartridges for the signal guns, and a dozen stands of muskets,
together with a goodly number of kegs, some of which contained powder,
while the remainder were full of bullets. This was a most fortunate
discovery indeed, especially in so far as the muskets were concerned,
for the possession of them at once gave us a definite and very decided
advantage over the mutineers. The muskets were forthwith conveyed on
deck, together with a supply of powder and three kegs of bullets, and
also a dozen cartridges for the guns. The afternoon was by this time
well advanced, and we might look for the return of the mutineers at any
moment. We therefore loaded the carronades with five double handfuls of
musket balls apiece--about a hundred bullets to each gun--in place of
round shot, and, running them forward, mounted them on the topgallant
forecastle as being the most commanding position in the ship. Then we
loaded the muskets and placed them in the rack on the fore side of the
deck-house, which completed our preparations. And now all that remained
was to keep a sharp look-out, and, while doing so, determine upon the
policy to be pursued when the returning longboat should heave in sight.
Having personally seen that our preparations were all as complete and
perfect as it was possible to make them, and having also posted Simpson
and Martin, two of my own men, armed with muskets, as look-outs, on the
forecastle, I at length went aft to the poop, where all the passengers
were now gathered, and where I saw the general and Mr Morton engaged in
earnest conversation with Carter. As I made my way leisurely up the
poop-ladder the general beckoned to me to join the little group, and
then, as I approached, Carter turned to me and said:
"Mr Grenvile, the general, Mr Morton, and I have been discussing
together the rather curious state of affairs that has been brought about
aboard this ship by this unfortunate mutiny; and we are fully agreed
that, as matters stand, you are the most fit and proper person to take
charge until things have been straightened out. Of course I don't
forget that, in consequence of the death of Cap'n Williams, I'm now the
cap'n of this ship; but, as I've just been tellin' Sir Thomas and Mr
Morton, here, I've never had any experience of fightin' of any kind, and
as like as not if I was to attempt to take the lead, where fightin' is
concerned, I should make a bungle of it. Now, you seem to be quite at
home in this sort of thing, if you'll excuse me for sayin' so; you knew
exactly what was the right thing to be done, and have really been in
command the whole of this blessed day, although you've pretended that
you were only helpin', as you may say. Then you've got nine trained
fightin' men aboard here who'll do just exactly what you tell 'em, but
who wouldn't care to have me orderin' them--to say nothin' of you--
about. So we've come to the conclusion that, so far as the fightin' and
all that is concerned, you are the right man to be in command, and I, as
cap'n of this ship, hereby ask you to take charge and deal with the
trouble accordin' as you think best." I bowed, and then turned to the
other two, saying: "Sir Thomas and Mr Morton, it occurs to me that you
two, in virtue of the fact that you are in a sense doubly interested in
this matter--since it not only involves you in your own proper persons
but also in the persons of your wives and families--are entitled to
express an opinion upon this proposal of Captain Carter's, and that I,
as a naval officer, ought to give your opinion my most serious
consideration. Am I to understand that you are in full and perfect
agreement with Mr Carter in this proposal which he has just made to
me?"
"Most assuredly we are, Mr Grenvile," answered the general. "Captain
Carter is a merchant seaman, and no doubt a very excellent man in that
capacity; but he now finds himself face to face with a difficulty such
as merchant captains are, fortunately, very seldom called upon to face,
and naturally he feels somewhat at a loss. You, on the other hand, are,
by your whole training, well qualified to deal with the situation, and,
in view of the important interests involved, Captain Carter--and we
also--would like you to assume the command."
"Very well," said I, "I will do so, and will use my utmost endeavours to
extricate ourselves from this difficulty. I already have a plan for
dealing with the mutineers when they return, which I think ought to
prove successful, and that, too, without any need for fighting; but I
shall require the assistance of the gentlemen passengers to enable me to
make an imposing display of force."
"That is all right, my boy," answered the general cordially; "we will
willingly place ourselves under your orders without reserve; so tell us
what you would have us do, and we will do it."
"Well," said I, "we may now expect the mutineers to return at any
moment, and we must be ready for them when they appear. I will
therefore ask you all to have your weapons at hand; and when the
longboat heaves in sight the ladies must immediately go below, out of
harm's way, while you distribute yourselves along the bulwarks, with
your firearms levelled at the boat. You must arrange yourselves in such
a manner that the mutineers may be able to see that you are all armed,
and prepared to fight if necessary. By this means I hope to overawe
them and bring them to reason."
I then completed all my arrangements, being careful to take Carter into
my full confidence, and treat him in every respect as master of the
ship, assuming for myself rather the character of his first lieutenant
than anything else--and then all that remained for us to do was to sit
down and patiently await the return of the mutineers. But the time sped
on, the hour of sunset arrived, and darkness fell upon the scene without
any sign of the longboat, and I began to feel somewhat uneasy as to the
safety of the absentees, for we were in a lonely, and, so far as my
knowledge went, an unfrequented part of the coast; and I had heard some
rather gruesome stories as to the doings of the natives, and of the
treatment that they were wont to mete out to white men--shipwrecked
sailors and others--who happened to be so unfortunate as to fall into
their hands. And as the hours drifted past without bringing any news, I
at length grew so anxious that I began to consider very seriously the
advisability of sending away a boat in search of the missing men. After
fully discussing the matter with Carter, however, I came to the
conclusion that our first duty was to take care of the ship and her
passengers, and that the mutinous crew must be left to look after
themselves. Finally, having set a strong anchor-watch, I went below and
turned in.
Daylight arrived, noon came, and still there was no sign of the
absentees, and in a fever of anxiety I made my way up to the fore-royal-
yard, from which lofty elevation I made a careful survey of the inland
district. But there was very little to see beyond a two-mile stretch of
a broad, winding river dotted with tree-grown islets here and there.
The country itself was so densely overgrown with bush and trees that
nothing upon its surface was to be seen. As to the longboat, she was
nowhere visible; but I was not much astonished at that, because, from
the glimpse that I was able to catch of the river, I had very little
doubt that its characteristics were precisely those of all the other
rivers in that region, namely, a somewhat sluggish current of water
thick with foul and fetid mud, swampy margins overgrown with mangroves,
and numerous shallow, winding creeks, mangrove-bordered, discharging
into it on either side; and it was highly probable that, failing to find
a firm bank upon which to land along the margin of the river itself, the
mutineers had proceeded in search of such a spot up one of the creeks.
There were no canoes to be seen on that part of the river's surface
which was visible from my look-out, and the only suggestion of human
life anywhere in the neighbourhood was to be found in what I took to be
a thin, almost invisible, wreath of smoke rising above the tree tops at
a spot some two miles distant. That wreath of smoke might, of course,
indicate the position of the mutineers' bivouac; but, on the other hand,
it might--and I thought this far more likely--indicate the location of a
native village; and if the latter suspicion should prove to be correct I
could not but feel that the situation of the mutineers was one full of
peril.
Having taken a careful mental note of everything that I had seen, I
descended the ratlines, and, making my way aft, invited Carter, the
general, and Mr Morton to join me in the main saloon, which happened
just then to be vacant. When we arrived there, I told my companions
what I had seen, and what I feared, and then laid before them a proposal
that I should take the ship's galley--a very fine six-oared boat--and,
with my nine men, and one of the carronades mounted in the bows, go in
search of the missing men. But neither the general nor Morton would
hear of this for a moment. They were quite willing that a boat should
be dispatched to search for the longboat and her crew if the matter
could be arranged, but they very strongly protested against the idea
that I and all my nine fighting men should leave the ship, which, they
pointed out, would be at the mercy of the mutineers if we were to miss
them and if they were to get back before us; or, possibly, which would
be still worse, open to an attack from hundreds of savages should the
natives by any chance have discovered us and observed our helpless
predicament. I was pointing out to them that this stand which they were
taking rendered the idea of a search impossible, since I considered it
neither wise nor prudent to dispatch a weak search party, and that I
could not dream of ordering any of my own men away upon such an
expedition in the command of anyone but myself, when I heard a call on
deck, and the next moment Simpson presented himself at the entrance of
the saloon to say that the longboat was in sight, pulling hard for the
ship, but that, so far as could be made out, there were only five men in
her! Whereupon, with one accord we all dashed out on deck and made the
best of our way to the topgallant-forecastle, which afforded a good view
of the approaching boat. It was now a few minutes past three o'clock,
ship's time.
Arrived on the forecastle, I snatched the telescope from the hands of
the look-out as he flourished the instrument toward the boat, with the
remark:
"There she comes, sir, and the buckos in her seem to be in a tearin'
hurry, too. See how they're makin' the spray fly and the oars buckle!
They're workin' harder just now than they've done for many a long day,
I'll warrant."
Levelling the instrument upon the approaching boat, I saw that, as
Simpson had informed me, there were only five men in her, who, as the
look-out man had observed, were pulling as though for their lives. The
boat, although a heavy one, was positively foaming through the water,
and the long, stout ash oars, which the men were labouring at, bent and
sprang almost to breaking point at every stroke.
"There is something very seriously wrong somewhere," said I gravely,
"and those fellows are bringing the news of it. Let them come
alongside, Simpson; but muster the _Sharks_ at the gangway to disarm
those men as they come up the side, should they happen to have any
weapons about them."
Two minutes later the longboat dashed alongside, and as the men flung in
their oars, the man who had been pulling bow sprang to his feet and
yelled:
"Heave me a line, mates, and for God's sake let us come aboard. We want
to see Mr Carter, quick!"
"All right, my bully boy," answered Simpson. "Here's a line for ye;
look out! But don't you chaps be in too much of a hurry now; the orders
is that you're to come up the side one at a time. And if you've got any
such little matter as a knife or a pistol about you, just fork it over.
Thank'e! Next man," as the man climbed inboard and without demur drew
an empty pistol and his knife from his belt and handed them over.
"Now then, my lad," said I, as the fellow faced round and confronted me,
"where are the rest of the men who left this ship yesterday? Out with
your story, as quick as you please."
"Where are the rest!" he repeated, with white and quivering lips, while
his eyes rolled and his voice rose almost to a scream. "Why, some of
'em are dead--lucky beggars! and t'others are in the hands of the
savages, away there in the woods, and are bein' slowly tormented to
death, one at a time, while t'others is forced to look on and wait their
turn. At least that's how I reads what I've seen."
"And how come you five men to be here?" I demanded. "Have you managed
to escape from the savages, or were you not with the rest when they were
taken?"
"Why, sir," answered the fellow, "it's like this here--"
"Stop a moment," I interrupted him. "Tell us your whole story, as
briefly as possible, from the moment when you pushed off from the ship's
side yesterday. Then we shall get something like a clear and coherent
account of what has happened."
"Yes, yes, that's right, Grenvile," agreed the general as he stood
beside me, very upright and stern-looking, his lips white, but the eager
light of battle already kindling in his eyes. "It will be a saving of
time in the long run."
"I certainly think so," said I. "Now, my man, heave ahead with your
yarn."
"Well, sir," resumed the man, "we shoved off from the ship's side--
three-and-twenty of us, as you know--but, beg pardon, sir, I forgot--you
wasn't on deck--"
"Never mind about that, my lad," interrupted I; "go ahead as quickly as
possible. You shoved off from the ship and pulled away into the river.
What happened then?"
"Nothin' at all, sir," was the reply. "We just pulled into the river,
and as soon as we was fairly inside we started to look round for a spot
where we could get ashore; but, try where we would, we couldn't find
nothin' but soft mud that wouldn't have bore the weight of a cat, much
less of a man. But while we was huntin' for a place we came across a
narrer creek, just wide enough for us to pull into; and Tonkin up's
hellum and says as we'll try in there. So we pulled along for a matter
of nigh upon a mile, when all at once the creek comes to an end, and we
find the boat's nose jammed in among a lot of mangrove roots. Then pore
Jim Nesbitt ups and volunteers to try and scramble along the mangroves
and see if he can find a spot firm enough for us to land upon; and when
he'd been gone about a quarter of a hour he comes back again and says
he've found a place. So, actin' upon Tonkin's orders, each one of us
grabs a fowl, or a bottle, or what not, and away we goes in pore Jim's
wake; and presently out we comes at a place where the mangroves stopped
and the bush began, and where the mud was hard and firm enough to walk
upon, and a little later we comes upon a sort of path through the bush,
follerin' which we presently comes into a little open space where there
was nothin' but grass, with big trees growin' all round it, and there we
brought ourselves to an anchor, and cried `Spell ho!'
"Then we had some grub and a drop or two of grog, and a smoke, and then
some of us stretched out on the grass to have a snooze; but the ants and
creepin' things was that wishious and perseverin' that we couldn't lie
still for two minutes on end; so we all gets up and starts huntin' for
fruit. But the only fruit we could find was cokernuts, and they was to
be had, as many as we wanted, just for the trouble of shinnin' up the
trees. So we ate nuts and drank the milk--with just a dash of rum in it
now and again--until we didn't want any more; and then we laid ourselves
down again, and in spite of the ants and things some of us had a good
long sleep. I felt just as sleepy as the rest, but I couldn't get no
peace at all on the ground, so I looked round and presently made up my
mind to go aloft in a big tree that was standin' not far off. That tree
to look at was as easy to climb as them there ratlins, but somehow it
took me a long time to shin up it and find a comfortable place where I
could get a snooze without fallin' from aloft; but by and by I came
athwart a branch with a big fork in it, reachin' out well over the open
space where the other chaps were lyin' about, and, wedgin' myself into
the fork, I was very soon fast asleep.
"When I woke up it was pitch dark, exceptin' that somebody had lighted a
big fire in the middle of the open space, and there was our lads all
lyin' round fast asleep. I felt cold, for the night had turned foggy,
and I was tryin' to make up my mind to climb down and get a bit nearer
to the fire when a most awful yellin' arose, and the next second the
place was chock-full of leapin' and howlin' niggers flourishin' great
clubs and spears, and bowlin' over our chaps as fast as they got up on
to their feet. A few of our people managed to get up, hows'ever, and
they got to work with their pistols and cutlasses, and I let fly with my
pistol from where I sat up aloft among the branches, and bowled over an
ugly, bald-headed old chap rigged in a monkey-skin round his 'midships,
and carryin' a live snake in his hand.
"The loss of this old cock seemed to have a most astonishin' effect upon
the other niggers, for whereas the minute afore they'd been doin' all
they knew to kill our chaps, no sooner was this old party down than all
hands of 'em what had seen him fall stops dead and yells out `pilliloo'
to t'others, when, dash my wig if the whole lot of 'em didn't just make
one jump upon our people--them that was still alive I mean--and beat
their weapons out o' their hands, after which they lashes 'em all
together, with their hands behind 'em, and marches 'em off into the
bush, some twenty or thirty of 'em stoppin' behind to make sure that all
of our lads as was down was also dead. And d'ye know how they did that,
sir? Why, by just choppin' off their heads with great swords made of
what looked like hard wood!
"Seven of our pore chaps lost the number of their mess in this way, and
then the savages cleared out, carryin' the heads away with 'em, and
leavin' the bodies lyin' scattered about the place. I waited up in my
tree until the murderin' thieves had got clear away, and then I starts
to climb down, intendin' to foller 'em and find out what they meant to
do with the white men as they'd took away alive with 'em, when, as my
feet touched the solid ground once more, dash my wig if these here four
mates of mine didn't drop out of some other trees close at hand. They'd
been worried wi' the ants and what not, same as I was, and, seein' me
shinnin' up a tree, they'd gone and done likewise, and that's the way
that we five escaped bein' massicreed.
"Then the five of us goes to work and holds a council o' war, as you may
say; and we agreed that two of us should foller up the savages to find
out what game they was up to, while t'other three should go back to the
boat and take care of her. But, seein' that away from the scattered
embers of the fire it was so dark that you could hardly see your hand
before you, we agreed that 'twas no use attemptin' to do anything until
daylight; so we got up into our trees again, and held on where we were
in case any o' them savages should come back. And a precious lucky
thing it was that we thought of doin' so, for--it's the solemn truth I'm
tellin' you, gen'lemen--we hadn't very much more'n got settled back on
our perches when back comes about a dozen o' them savages, creepin' out
from among the trees as quiet as cats, and starts searchin' the whole
place up and down as though they'd lost somethin'. My mates and me
reckoned it up that them niggers had seen us and counted us some time
yesterday, and had found, after the massacree, that we wasn't all
accounted for, and so they'd come back to look for us. It was a
fort'nit thing for us that we was pretty well hid by the leaves, also
that the niggers didn't seem to think of lookin' for us up in the trees,
and by and by, just as the day was breakin', they took theirselves off
again.
"When they'd got fairly away out o' our neighbourhood I climbed down
again, and the others follered suit; and Mike, here, and I made sail
along the path that the niggers had gone, while the other three topped
their booms for the boat, the onderstandin' bein' that they was to get
her afloat and swung round all ready, and then wait till Mike and me
j'ined 'em.
"Well, Mr Carter, sir, and gen'lemen, Mike here and me follered along
the path that the savages had took, for a matter of a couple o' mile,
when we hears a tremenjous hullabaloo of niggers shoutin', and tom-toms
beatin', and dogs barkin', and what not, so we knowed that we was pretty
close aboard a native village, as they calls 'em, so we shortened sail
and got in among the bushes, creepin' for'ard until we could see what
was happenin'. And when at last we was able to get a pretty clear view,
the sight we saw was enough to freeze a man's blood. They'd got all our
chaps lashed to stakes set up in a clear, open space in front of the
village, and one of the pore unfort'nit fellers was stripped stark naked
and bein' tormented by a crowd o' niggers what was puttin' burnin'
splinters between his fingers, and stickin' 'em into his flesh, and
pourin' red-hot cinders into his mouth, what they'd prised open by
thrustin' a thick stick in between his jaws; and the shrieks as that
unhappy man was lettin' fly was just awful to listen to; but the savages
seemed to enjy 'em, for they just yelled with delight at every shriek.
Mike and me we turned as sick as dogs at what we seen; and presently
Mike grabs me by the hand and says: `Let's get back to the ship, mate,
and report. P'rhaps the skipper'll forgive us for what we've done, and
persuade the navy gent to fit out a hexpedition to rescue the others.'
So away we came as fast as we could, but when we got to the boat she was
aground, and we had to wait a long time until she floated. But here we
are, sir; and oh, gen'lemen, for the love o' God do somethin', if ye
can, to save them pore chaps what's bein' tormented to death over
there."