We arrived safely alongside the ship just as the sun was dipping beneath
the western horizon, to the great relief and joy of those whom we had
left on board, and we learned with much satisfaction that nothing
whatever of an alarming character had transpired during our long
absence. The occupants of the cuddy were very naturally anxious to be
furnished with the fullest details of our afternoon's adventure; but I
left the telling of that to the general, and retired below to indulge in
the luxury of a good wash and a complete change of clothing before
sitting down to dinner.
That the tragic occurrences of the day had put an effectual end to the
mutiny was, of course, a foregone conclusion, and I was not at all
surprised to learn that, within a quarter of an hour of our return, the
men--having doubtless consulted together in the forecastle--had come aft
in a body to express to Carter their contrition for their insubordinate
behaviour, and to request that they might be allowed to turn-to again,
at the same time giving the most elaborate assurances of good behaviour
in the future. As a matter of fact it soon became perfectly clear that
there would never have been a mutiny at all but for Tonkin, who was its
sole instigator, as well as the murderer of the unfortunate Captain
Williams, who had provoked the turbulent boatswain to the highest pitch
of exasperation by his alternations of jovial good-fellowship with
truculent arrogance of demeanour. Poor Carter seemed to find it a
little difficult to make up his mind how to deal with the matter, as he
confessed to me somewhat later that same evening; but I pointed out to
him that, the chief offender having been removed, there was exceedingly
small likelihood of any recurrence of insubordination, especially as the
men had really nothing to complain of, either in their treatment or in
the matter of their food. Looked at after the event, the outbreak wore
very much the appearance of an impulsive act on the part of the men,
skilfully engineered by Tonkin for some evil purpose of his own, now
effectually frustrated. I therefore advised Carter to let them resume
duty, with the distinct understanding that upon their own behaviour
during the remainder of the voyage would it depend whether or not they
were called to account for their disastrous act of insubordination.
These arguments of mine, coupled with the hint that we should need the
services of all hands to protect the ship--should the natives take it
into their heads to attack her--and also to get her afloat again,
convinced him; and he at once had them aft and spoke to them in the
terms which I had suggested.
But although the ugly and awkward incident of the mutiny was ended we
were by no means "out of the wood", for the ship was still hard-and-fast
aground--having apparently run upon the sandbank on the top of a
springtide--and it looked more than likely that it would be necessary to
lighten her considerably before we could hope to get her afloat again.
Meanwhile there were the savages to be kept in mind. Had our lesson of
the afternoon brought home to them a good, wholesome realisation of the
danger of meddling with white men? or had it, on the other hand, only
inflamed them against us, and made them resolve to wreak a terrible
revenge? The question was one which we felt it impossible to answer,
and meanwhile all that we could do, while in our present helpless
condition, was to keep a bright look-out, night and day, and to hold
ourselves ready for any emergency.
Needless to say, Carter and I both took especial care to see that there
was no slackness or negligence on the part of the anchor-watch that
night, the whole of the duty being undertaken by my own men, while I was
up and about at frequent intervals all through the night. But the hours
of darkness passed uneventfully, and when dawn appeared there had been
neither sight nor sign of savages anywhere near the ship.
At six o'clock that morning the usual routine of duty was resumed on
board, the hands being turned up to wash-decks and generally perform the
ship's toilet before breakfast, and I noticed with satisfaction, as I
went forward to get my usual shower-bath under the head-pump, that
Carter had caused the four prisoners to be released from the fore-peak.
I believed that the rest of the hands might now be safely trusted to
keep that quartette in order.
Immediately after breakfast in the forecastle the hands were again
turned up, and a good stout hawser was bent on to the kedge anchor,
which was then lowered down into the longboat and run away out broad on
the ship's port quarter. The other end of the hawser was then led
forward along the poop and main-deck to the windlass, which we believed
would be better able than the capstan to withstand the strain that we
intended to put upon it. This done, the hawser was hove taut, and the
main hatch was then lifted and a quantity of cargo was hoisted out and
deposited in the longboat alongside, all the other boats also being
lowered into the water. By the time that the longboat was as deep as
she would swim it was close upon high-water, and the men were then sent
to the windlass with orders to endeavour to get another pawl or two.
This they succeeded in doing, the ship's quarter being by this time
slewed so far off the sandbank that she now lay, with regard to the
general run of it, at an angle of nearly forty-five degrees; and then
the windlass positively refused to turn any further, even to the extent
of a single pawl. The men therefore left it, as we felt that nothing
was to be gained by snapping the hawser, which was now strained to the
utmost limit of its endurance. The fully-loaded longboat was now
dropped astern, and the longboat of the _Dolores_, in which we had been
picked up, and which, it will be remembered, Carter had felt impelled to
hoist inboard--was brought alongside in her place, and she, too, was
loaded as deeply as it was safe to venture. It was noon by this time,
the tide had turned, the ship remained immovable, and the men's dinner-
hour had arrived; the second longboat was therefore dropped astern, and
the hands knocked off for their midday meal.
In addition to her longboat the _Indian Queen_ carried a jolly-boat, a
dinghy, and four very fine, roomy gigs, two of which hung in davits in
the wake of the mizzen rigging while the other two were supported on a
gallows that stood abaft the mainmast. It will be seen, therefore,
that, even apart from the longboat and gig of the _Dolores_, this ship
was very well supplied with boats, only two of which--the two
longboats--were thus far loaded. The gigs, although they were of course
of much smaller capacity than the longboats, and having fixed thwarts
were not so adaptable for the purpose of temporarily receiving cargo,
were nevertheless capable of being made very good use of, and in the
afternoon they were brought alongside and loaded one after another,
until all four of the ship's own gigs were as deep in the water as it
was prudent to put them, when they also were dropped astern, leaving
only the dinghy, and the gig of the _Dolores_, unutilised. The dinghy,
of course, was too small to be of any use as a temporary receptacle of
cargo, and I felt that it would be unwise to deprive ourselves of the
services of the remaining gig for other purposes. I therefore decided,
in conjunction with Carter, that if it should prove necessary to lighten
the ship still further, we would discharge the two longboats on to the
sandbank--a considerable area of which remained dry even at high-water--
and then strike another cargo down into the empty boats. But as it was
by this time within half an hour of sunset, and the men had been working
very hard all day, we arranged to let them knock off and, after clearing
up the decks and replacing the hatches, to take a good rest, in view of
the possibility that we might be obliged to call upon them during the
night, should the savages elect to become troublesome.
Night fell calm and gracious upon the scene, the air breathless, and the
sky without a cloud, but with a thin strip of new moon hanging in the
western sky in the wake of the vanished sun. The anchor-watch was set,
and by the time that I had taken a bath and changed my clothes the
dinner-hour had arrived, and we all gathered round the "hospitable
board" which Briggs and his satellites had prepared for us. Everybody
was in the best of spirits, for the men had not only worked well but had
also displayed a very manifest desire to eradicate, by their behaviour,
the bad impression that had been produced by their recent lamentable
lapse from the path of rectitude. Excellent progress had also been made
in the task of lightening the ship, and, finally, the savages had shown
no disposition to interfere with us. There was consequently a good deal
of lively chatter during the progress of the meal, and when it was over
the piano was opened and we had some very excellent music. The ladies
having retired, I rose to go out on deck and take a final look round ere
I turned in; but before I went I thought it desirable to say a word or
two of caution.
"Gentlemen," said I, "we have just come to the end of a very delightful
evening, and I hope that you will all enjoy an unbroken night's rest.
There is no reason, so far as I can see, why you should not; but we must
none of us forget that, so long as the ship remains where she now is,
she is exposed to the possibility of attack by the savages. Therefore,
while I do not ask you to keep a watch, or even to remain awake, I
strongly urge you to keep your weapons beside you, ready loaded, so that
if, by any unfortunate chance, it should be necessary for us to call
upon you to assist in defending the ship, you may be able to respond
without delay."
"Umph!" grunted the general. "Better tell us exactly what you mean,
Grenvile. We are all men here, so you can speak quite plainly. Have
you observed anything to-day indicative of a disposition on the part of
the natives to attack us?"
"No, general, I have not," said I, "and I know of no reason why we
should not have a perfectly quiet and undisturbed night's rest as we did
last night. I merely thought it advisable to give you a word of
warning, because I know the natives all along this coast to be
treacherous in the extreme, and very much given to doing precisely what
you least expect them to do. Beyond that I see no cause whatever for
uneasiness, believe me. Good-night, gentlemen, sound sleep and pleasant
dreams to you."
When I stepped out on deck I found that the character of the weather had
changed during the three hours or so that I had spent in the cuddy. The
young moon had, of course, set some time before; the sky had grown
overcast and seemed to be threatening rain; the clouds were sweeping up
from about south-south-west, and a light breeze, that seemed likely to
freshen, was blowing from that direction, driving great masses of chill,
wet fog along before it of so dense a character that it was scarcely
possible to make out the foremast from the head of the poop-ladder.
Altogether it threatened to be a distinctly unpleasant night for the
unfortunate men whose duty it would be to keep a look-out through the
hours of darkness. Carter, in a thick pilot-cloth jacket, was walking
to and fro on the poop, with a short pipe stuck in the corner of his
mouth, when I joined him.
"Hullo, Carter," I said, "this is a change of weather with a vengeance!
When did it happen?"
"Why," answered Carter, "the fog closed in upon us just after sunset,
the same as it has done every night since we've been here; but the
breeze has only sprung up within the last half-hour. Looks as though
'twas going to freshen too."
"So I think," said I. "How is it coming? Broad off the starboard bow,
isn't it?"
"Yes; about that," agreed Carter.
"And the tide is rising, is it not?" I continued, the freshening breeze
having suggested an idea to me which I in turn wished to suggest to my
companion.
"Ay, risin' fast," answered he. "It'll be high-water about midnight, I
reckon."
"Just so," I agreed. The idea which I wished to suggest to him had
clearly not yet dawned upon him--although it ought to have done so
without any need of a hint from me,--so, without further beating about
the bush, I said:
"Now, don't you think, Carter, that, with this nice little breeze
blowing from precisely the right direction, it would be quite worth
while to loose and set the square canvas and--"
"Throw it all aback," he cut in as at last he caught my idea. "Why, of
course I do, Mr Grenvile, and thank'e for the hint. It'd be a precious
sight more helpful than the kedge, and I'll have it done at once." And
he started to go forward to call the men.
"What about your cables?" said I. "Have you got them bent and an anchor
ready to let go if she should happen to back off the bank?"
"No," said he, coming to a halt again. "We've been so busy with one
thing and another, you know. But I'll have it done as soon as we've got
the canvas on her."
"Better do that first, hadn't you?" I suggested. "I wouldn't trust the
kedge to hold her in a breeze with all her square canvas set."
"N-o, perhaps not," he agreed dubiously. "Well, then, I'll get the port
cable bent and the anchor a-cockbill ready for lettin' go before
touchin' the canvas. How would that be?"
"Much the safest, I think," said I. "But let us both go for'ard and see
what is the exact state of affairs there. And what is the state of the
hawser? Ah, still quite taut!" as I tested its tension with my foot.
Arrived upon the forecastle we found both anchors stowed inboard and the
cables below; but, all hands being called, including the _Shark's_, we
made short work of the business, for while one gang went below and
cleared away the cable, another roused it up on deck and rove it through
the hawse-pipe, ready for bending, and a third got the anchor outboard.
Then, while Jones, the _Shark's_ boatswain's mate, and his party bent
the cable and got everything ready for letting go, in case of need,
Carter's men climbed into the rigging, and, beginning at the topgallant-
sails, loosed all the square canvas, overhauled the gear, and saw
everything clear for sheeting home and hoisting away. To set the canvas
and trim the yards aback was now the work of but a few minutes, and it
was soon done, with the immediate result that the ship, from having a
slight list to starboard, came upright, with just the slightest possible
tendency to heel to port.
"Now, Mr Carter," said I, "the ship's bilge is no longer bearing upon
the sand. I think, therefore, that if I were you I would send all hands
to the windlass, and let them endeavour to get another pawl or two.
That canvas is doing good work up there, and it may be that if we helped
it a bit with a pull on the hawser she would come off."
"Ay," agreed Carter; "so she might, and we'll try it. Man the windlass,
lads, and see if you can move her at all. Half an hour's work now may
get the ship afloat, and so save ye a good many hours breakin' out cargo
to-morrow."
"Ay, ay, sir!" answered the men, cheerfully enough, considering that
they had been awakened out of a sound sleep and dragged out of their
warm bunks to come up and work in the chill, pestilential fog after
having worked hard all day. "Tail on to the handles, my bullies, tail
on and heave. Heave, and raise the dead!" shouted the man Mike, who had
been one of the lucky five to escape capture by the savages.
They got their first pawl easily enough, then another, and another, by
which time the hawser was once more as taut as a bar. But, as I lightly
rested my foot upon it, to test its tautness, I felt it very gradually
slackening, which meant one of two things, either that the kedge was
coming home--which I thought improbable--or that the ship was very
slowly sliding off the bank. So I cried to the men, who had desisted
from their efforts for fear of parting the hawser:
"There she gives! Heave away again, lads, and keep a steady strain on
the hawser. It wants half an hour yet to high-water."
The men again threw their weight alternately upon the levers, and once
more the great pawl clanked once, twice, thrice; then a long pause and
another clank, then a further pause. But my foot was still on the
hawser, and I felt that it was steadily, although very slowly, yielding,
and there was a moment when I could almost have sworn that I felt the
ship jerk ever so slightly sternward. So I ventured to stimulate the
men a little further.
"Hurrah, lads," I cried, "there she moves! Hang to her! One complete
turn of the windlass and she's all your own! Heave again."
"Heave!" responded the men hoarsely, flinging their whole weight upon
the elevated lever, while those opposite grasped the corresponding
depressed handle, and, gripping the deck with their naked toes, bent
their backs and bore upward until every muscle in their straining bodies
cracked again; and "clank-clank" spoke the pawl again, and yet again
"clank". Then, after another long, heaving and straining pause, "clank"
again, a shorter pause and again "clank--clank--clank"; and then, as the
men struggled and fought desperately with the stubborn windlass, the
ship jerked perceptibly twice, the pawls spoke in quicker succession,
the ship surged again, and with a wild hurrah from the men, as the
levers suddenly yielded to them and began to leap rapidly up and down,
the _Indian Queen_ gathered way and slid off into deep-water.
"Well there with the windlass!" cried Carter delightedly. "Let go your
to'gallant and topsail halyards and sheets; man your clewlines; fore and
main clew-garnets. Stand by to let go the anchor!"
"Ay, ay, sir!" was the response from the topgallant forecastle. "All
ready with the anchor. Stand clear of the cable!"
Meanwhile the merchant crew were clewing up and hauling down to the
accompaniment of the usual cries. What, therefore, with Carter's
commands, the seaman's calls, and the violent flinging down of ropes
upon the deck, there was a very considerable uproar going on upon deck,
and I was not at all surprised when the general, clad in a dressing-
gown, emerged from below with his sword in one hand and his pistol in
the other, to enquire what all the racket was about.
I explained the situation to him, and he was expressing his great
gratification at the fact that the ship had been got afloat again, when
Carter gave the order to let go the anchor.
"All gone, sir," answered Jones as a heavy splash sounded under the
ship's bows, instantly followed by a yell of:
"A large canoe--two of 'em--three--four--there's a whole fleet of canoes
closing in round us, sir."
"Where away?" demanded I, unceremoniously breaking away from the general
and dashing forward to the topgallant forecastle, up the ladder of which
I scrambled with considerable loss of shin-leather.
"There, sir, d'ye see 'em?" responded Jones, sweeping his arm in a wide
circle as he pointed into the fog wreaths that were whirling round us.
The fog and the darkness together rendered it extremely difficult to see
anything, but by dint of peering I at length distinguished several
shapeless dark blotches at a distance of about fifty fathoms from the
ship, arranged apparently in the form of a wide semicircle on the side
of her opposite to that on which lay the sandbank. Jones, however, was
not quite right in his statement that they were closing in upon us, for
they appeared to be lying quite stationary, or at least were only
paddling just sufficiently to avoid being swept away by the sluggish
tide that was running. But there was very little doubt in my mind that
we had very narrowly escaped an ugly surprise, and I was by no means
certain that we might not yet look to be attacked. My view of the
situation was that the natives had gathered about us in the hope that,
in the fog and darkness, they might be able to steal alongside and climb
aboard in such overwhelming numbers as to secure possession of the deck
and overpower us by taking us by surprise, and that they had been
restrained from making the attempt only by the sounds of bustle and
activity that had accompanied our endeavours to get the ship afloat.
"Lay down from aloft all hands at once!" shouted I, sending my voice
pealing up through the fog to the figures that were to be dimly-seen
sprawling on the yards and dragging at the heavy festoons of canvas.
"And you, Jones, find me a musket as smartly as you can."
"Musket, sir? Ay, ay, sir! here's one," answered the man, fishing one
out from some hiding place and thrusting it into my hand. Lifting the
piece to my shoulder I levelled it in the direction where the canoes
seemed to be congregated most thickly, and, aiming so as to send the
bullet flying pretty close over the heads of the savages, pulled the
trigger. I distinctly heard the "plop" of the bullet as it struck the
water, but beyond that all was as still as death. Meanwhile, at my
call, the men aloft had come sliding down the backstays and were now
mustering on the fore-deck awaiting further instructions. And at the
same moment the general came forward to announce that he had quietly
called the men passengers, who would be on deck in a moment, bringing
their firearms with them.
"I will place myself at their head, Grenvile," he said, "and if you will
tell me how we can most helpfully assist you I will see to the details
of any task that you may assign to us."
"A thousand thanks, general," answered I. "You, perhaps, cannot do
better than muster your men on the poop, and if you detect any
disposition on the part of the canoes to close in upon the ship, fire
into them without hesitation. This is no time for half-measures; we
must deal decisively and firmly with those fellows, or we shall find
ourselves in a very awkward predicament."
"Right; I agree with you there, and you will not find us wanting, I
hope," responded Sir Thomas, as he turned to walk away aft.
"Simpson, San Domingo, and Beardmore, come up here on the topgallant
forecastle," called I; and at the call up came the men, with the
inevitable answer of "Ay, ay, sir!"
"Simpson," said I, "I want you and San Domingo to take charge of this
port carronade, while you, Jones and Beardmore, attend to the starboard
one. The ship has now swung to her anchor, and is lying fairly steady;
so when once you have trained the pieces they will not need much
alteration. Run them both close up to the rail, and depress the muzzles
so that the discharge will strike the water at a distance of about fifty
yards, which will afford room for the charge to spread nicely. If a
canoe approaches within that distance, fire upon her. I will arrange
for more ammunition to be sent to you at once."
I then descended to the main-deck, and, finding Carter, arranged with
him that he should descend to the magazine with one of my men, who could
be trusted to be careful, and send up an ample supply of ammunition.
This done, my next act was to range the crew of the ship along the main-
deck, port and starboard sides, with muskets in their hands, giving them
strict injunctions to fire upon any canoe that they might see attempting
to approach the ship.
All these arrangements, which have taken a considerable time to
describe, really occupied but two or three minutes, during which not a
sound of any description had come from the canoes, which, however, could
occasionally be caught sight of, dimly showing when the mist wreaths
thinned for a moment. Meanwhile, our own dispositions being complete, a
tense silence reigned throughout the ship, broken only by an occasional
low muttered word from one man to another.
Suddenly a shrill whistle pealed out from somewhere in the fog away on
our port hand, followed, the next instant, by a thin, whirring sound in
the air all about the ship, accompanied by sharp, crisp thuds here and
there along the bulwarks, and a thin, reedy pattering on the decks. An
object of some sort fell close to my feet, and, upon groping for it, I
found that it was an arrow. At the same moment a loud, fierce,
discordant yell burst out all round the ship, and the rattling splash of
innumerable paddles dashed into the water, reached our ears.
"Here they come; here they come!" cried the men, and a musket flashed
out of the darkness down in the waist of the ship.
"Steady, lads; steady!" cried I. "Don't fire until you can see what you
are firing at, and take good aim before you pull the trigger!"
But at that moment a whole host of canoes came dashing at us out of the
fog and darkness, and a sharp, irregular volley of musketry rattled out
fore and aft, in the midst of which bang! bang! rang out the carronades,
almost simultaneously. The discharge was immediately followed by a most
fearful outcry of shrieks and groans, and two large canoes, which had
received the contents of the carronades, paused in their rush, and went
drifting slowly past us on the tide, heaped with the motionless bodies
of their crews, and in a sinking condition. But this in nowise checked
the rush of the other canoes, which came foaming toward us, with half
their crews plying their paddles, while the other half maintained a
fierce fire with their bows and arrows.
"Reload those carronades on the forecastle," cried I, "and then train
them to rake the main-deck, fore and aft. Half of you in the waist
retreat to the topgallant forecastle, the other half to the poop, and
defend those two positions to the last gasp. Let me know when those
carronades are ready, and be careful so to depress their muzzles that
none of the charge will reach the poop."
So saying I made a dash for the main-deck entrance of the saloon, which
I locked, slipping the key into my pocket. Then I followed the rest of
the party up on to the poop, and bade them pull the two poop-ladders up
after them. The poop and topgallant forecastle thus formed two
citadels, of a sort, capable of being pretty fairly defended, except in
the face of an overwhelming force.
"Now, lads," cried I, "load your muskets again, and pepper the savages
as they swarm in over the bulwarks; and if we cannot turn back the rush
by that means, I look to you, Simpson and Jones, to sweep the main-deck
clear with the carronades. But do not fire them until you see that it
is absolutely necessary in order to save the ship. Here they come; now,
lads, stand by!"
As the last words left my lips the leading canoes dashed alongside, and
the next instant some thirty or forty savages could be seen scrambling
over the bulwarks and leaping down on the main-deck. They seemed
somewhat disconcerted at finding no one to oppose them, and paused
irresolutely as though not quite knowing what to do, and perhaps fearing
a trap of some sort. Meanwhile others came close upon their heels;
while the general and his volunteers suddenly found their hands full in
repelling an attack upon the poop by way of the mizzen chains. As for
that part of the crew that had retired to the poop at my order, I formed
them up along the fore end of the structure; and now, as, one after
another, they reloaded their muskets, they and their comrades on the
topgallant-forecastle opened a brisk, if somewhat irregular, fire upon
the multitude of savages who came pouring in over the bulwarks into the
waist of the ship. By the light of the musketry flashes I saw several
of the savages throw up their arms and fall to the deck--so many of
them, indeed, in proportion to the number of shots fired, that I felt
convinced many of the bullets must be doing double or triple duty. But
for every savage who fell at least half a dozen fresh ones came in over
the bulwarks to take his place, and I soon recognised that such musketry
fire as ours must be absolutely ineffectual to deal with the
overwhelming odds brought against us. And how warmly I congratulated
myself that I had not been foolish enough to attempt anything like a
systematic defence of the waist of the ship. Had I done that we should
have all been exterminated within the first minute of the attack. As it
was we were doing very well--at our end of the ship, at all events; for
although the savages quickly recovered themselves after the first moment
of astonishment at finding nobody on the main-deck to oppose them, and
began to pour in a hot fire of arrows, not one of our party--who were
somewhat scattered, and were all lying down, most of them behind some
sort of shelter--was hit.
By the time that the attack had been raging some five minutes, however,
there must have been quite three hundred savages crowded on the main-
deck, between the poop and the topgallant forecastle, and the affair
began to wear a very serious aspect for us defenders; for by this time
the blacks were making desperate efforts to climb up on to the poop and
carry it by escalade, and a few of us had sustained more or less serious
hurts in resisting them. The critical moment, when we must either
conquer or go under, was close upon us, and I was about to call to
Simpson to ask whether they were ready on the forecastle with the
carronades, when his voice rose above the din, hailing:
"Poop ahoy! Look out there, aft, for we're goin' to fire. We can't
hold out here another half a minute."
"Very well," I answered, "fire as soon as you like; the sooner the
better!" And I then added:
"Jump to your feet, everybody on the poop, and run as far aft as you
can, or shelter yourselves behind the companion or skylight--anywhere,
until they have fired the carronades!"
We had just time to make good our rush for shelter--leaving the natives
who were endeavouring to storm the poop evidently much astonished at our
sudden and inexplicable retreat--when the two carronades barked out
simultaneously; and the terrific hubbub of shouts and yells down in the
waist ceased as though by magic, to be succeeded the next instant by
surely the most dreadful outburst of screams and groans that human ears
had ever listened to. The carnage, I knew, must have been terrific, but
it would not do to trust to the effect of that alone, we must instantly
follow it up by action of some sort that would complete the panic
already begun; so I shouted:
"Hurrah, lads; now down on the main-deck, all of us, and drive the
remainder of the savages over the side before they have had time to
recover from their dismay!" And, seizing hold of the first rope that
came to hand, I swung myself off the poop down on the main-deck, and
began to lay about me right and left with my sword, the remainder of our
party, fore and aft, instantly following my example. For a few seconds
the savages who still stood on their feet--and how very few there seemed
to be of them!--appeared to be too completely dazed by what had happened
to take any steps to secure their safety; they even allowed themselves
to be shot and struck down without raising a hand to defend themselves!
Then, all in a moment, their senses seemed to return to them, and the
panic upon which I had reckoned took place; they glanced about them and
saw, that, whereas a minute before the deck upon which they stood had
been crowded with a surging throng of excited fellow savages all
striving to get within reach of those hated white men, it was now heaped
and cumbered with dead and dying, with only a stray uninjured man left
here and there; and incontinently, with shrill yells of terror, they
made for the bulwarks and tumbled over them, careless, apparently,
whether they dropped into a canoe or into the water, so long as they
could effect their escape from that awful shambles. Many of them, of
course, dropped into the canoes, and made good their escape; but the
splashing and commotion alongside, and the frequent shrieks of agony,
told only too plainly that many of them, in their haste, had missed the
canoes and fallen into the water, where the sharks were making short
work of them. As for us, as soon as the panic set in, and the retreat
was fairly under way, we held our hands, allowing the poor wretches to
get away without further molestation; and in two minutes from the moment
of that terrible discharge of the carronades not a native remained on
the deck of the _Indian Queen_ save those who were either dead, or too
severely injured to be able to escape.