As soon as all the savages who could leave the ship had gone, we roused
out as many lanterns as we could muster, lighted them, and hung them in
the fore and main rigging, or stood them here and there along the rail,
preparatory to going the rounds of the deck and beginning the gruesome
task of separating the dead from the wounded. And, while this was
doing, the general, who claimed to possess some knowledge of surgery,
retired to the main saloon, and having roused out Mrs Jenkins and her
daughter Patsy, and impressed them into his service as assistants,
proceeded to help Burgess to attend to the wounded of our own party, of
whom I was one, an arrow having transfixed me through the left shoulder
so effectually that the barbed point projected out at my back. I had
received the wound a moment before the discharge of the carronades, and
had been scarcely conscious of the hurt at the moment; but a man cannot
plunge into the thick of a melee with an arrow through his shoulder and
not know something about it, sooner or later; and the hurt had quickly
become very painful and inflamed. The doctor declared that mine was the
worst case of all, and insisted that I should for that reason be the
first treated; I therefore submitted, with a good grace--for there were
many matters calling for my immediate attention; and in a few minutes
the head of the arrow was carefully cut off, the shaft withdrawn from
the wound, and the wound itself carefully washed and dressed. Then,
with my arm in a sling, and my jacket loosely buttoned round my neck, I
went out on deck to see how matters were proceeding there.
Only seventeen living bodies were found among the prostrate heaps with
which the decks were cumbered. These seventeen, after Burgess had done
what he could for them, we placed in one of the many empty canoes that
still remained alongside the ship, and towed the craft into the river,
where we moored her in such a position that she would be likely to
attract the attention of the natives, and thus lead to an investigation
of her, and the rescue of her cargo of wounded, which was as much as we
could do without exposing ourselves to very grave--and, to my mind,
quite unnecessary risk. This, however, was not done until the return of
daylight enabled us to see what we were about.
The dead having been got rid of, and our own wounded attended to, all
hands turned in to secure a little very necessary rest, the deck being
left in charge of an anchor-watch consisting of Messrs. Acutt, Boyne,
Pearson, and Taylor, who very kindly volunteered to see to the safety of
the ship during the few remaining hours of darkness, pointing out that
it would be perfectly easy for them to rest during the day, while the
crew of the ship were engaged in doing what was necessary to enable us
to make an early start from the spot which had brought so much adventure
into the lives of all, and had been so disastrous to some of our little
community.
At daylight all hands were called, and the first work undertaken was the
removal, as far as possible, of all traces of the preceding night's
conflict. By dint of hard labour we at length succeeded in so far
effacing the stains that the ordinary eye would scarcely be likely to
identify them as what they really were, which was, at all events,
something gained. There were other marks, however, which it was
impossible to obliterate, such as the scoring of the deck planks and the
pitting of the mahogany and maple woodwork forming the fore bulkhead of
the poop by bullets which had formed part of the charges of the two
carronades when they were fired to rake the main-deck; and these we were
obliged to leave as they were.
Having succeeded in thus far straightening up matters that the lady
passengers could venture on deck without too violent a shock to their
susceptibilities, the hands knocked off to go to breakfast. The meal
over, the kedge was weighed and stowed, and then the boats were brought
alongside, one after another, and the process of striking cargo back
into the hold was vigorously proceeded with. This work was of course
done by the ship's crew under Carter's supervision, and I and my own
little party of men thus had an opportunity at last to treat ourselves
to a much-needed rest. Indeed, so far as I was concerned, Burgess
insisted that I should at once turn in, and remain in my bunk until he
should give me leave to rise, or, in such a climate as this, he would
not be answerable for my life! As a matter of fact I had already begun
to realise that, with the pain of my wounded shoulder, and exhaustion
arising from want of sleep, I could not hold out much longer; and I felt
more than thankful that, after the hot reception we had given the
natives, there was not much probability of any further fighting. I
therefore gladly retired to my cabin and, having swallowed a composing
draught which Burgess mixed for me, slept until the following morning,
when I felt so much better that the worthy medico rather reluctantly
consented to my rising in time to sit down with the rest to tiffin.
That same evening, by dint of hard work, the crew succeeded in
completing the stowage of the last of the cargo, securing the hatches,
and hoisting in the boats before knocking off; and somewhat later, that
is to say about three bells in the second dogwatch, Carter availed
himself of the springing up of the land breeze to lift his anchor and
stand out to sea under easy canvas.
On the following morning, when I went on deck, the _Indian Queen_ was
out of sight of land and standing to the southward under all plain sail,
with nothing in sight but the heads of the topsails of a brig which,
hull-down in the south-western quarter, was stretching in toward the
coast, close-hauled on the port tack. We took very little notice of
this craft at the time, for she was then too far distant to show much of
herself, even when viewed through the ship's telescope, while her yards
were so braced that only the edges of her sails presented themselves to
our view; but, remembering our recent experiences with a brig at a spot
not very far distant from where we then were, I strongly advised Carter
to keep a wary eye upon her movements. The land breeze was then fast
dying away, and I thought it quite possible that we might have an
opportunity to see a little more of the stranger when the sea breeze
should set in.
That same sea breeze set in while we in the cuddy were sitting down to
breakfast; and when, after the meal was over, we all adjourned to the
poop, I found Carter regarding the stranger with some little uneasiness
through the telescope. As I joined him he handed me the instrument,
saying:
"Just take a squint at her, Mr Grenvile, and tell me what you think of
her. To my mind she seems to be steering in such a way as to close with
us, and I should like to have your opinion upon her."
I accordingly took the instrument, and soon had the stranger sharply
focused in the lenses. She was then broad on our starboard bow, and was
still hull-down, but she had risen just to the foot of her fore course,
which was set, while the mainsail hung in its clewlines and buntlines,
and was running down with squared yards, but had no studding-sails set.
And, as Carter had remarked, she seemed to be steering in such a manner
as to intercept us. She was a brig of about the same tonnage as the
_Shark_, of which craft she somehow reminded me sufficiently to invite a
closer and more detailed scrutiny, and presently I was able to make out
that she flew a pennant; she was consequently a man-o'-war. It is true
that the _Shark_ was not the only brig on the West African station: the
British had two others, and we knew of three under the French pennant;
but the craft in sight was not French--I could swear to that--and the
longer I looked at her the more firmly convinced did I become that she
was none other than the dear old _Shark_ herself. I could not be
absolutely certain of her identity until her hull should heave up clear
of the horizon, but that jaunty steeve of bowsprit and the hoist and
spread of those topsails were all very strongly suggestive of the
_Shark_. As I lowered the glass from my eye I happened to glance
forward, and caught sight of Jones and Simpson seated forward on the
topgallant forecastle, smoking their pipes as they animatedly discussed
some topic of absorbing interest, and, catching their eyes, I beckoned
them to come aft to the poop.
"Take this telescope, Jones, and have a good look at that brig," said I,
as they climbed the poop-ladder, hat in hand; "then pass the instrument
to Simpson, and let him do the same. Then tell me what you both think
of her."
The two men took the instrument, one after the other, and ogled the
stranger through it with the greatest intentness; but I could see
clearly that, even before Simpson took over the instrument from the
boatswain's mate, the latter had already arrived at a pretty definite
conclusion with regard to her.
"Well," said I, when at length Simpson had ended his scrutiny and handed
back the instrument to me, "what do you think of her?"
"Why, sir," answered Simpson, "if she ain't the _Shark_ she's own sister
to her; that's all I can say."
"And you, Jones, what is your opinion?" I asked.
"Why, just the same as the carpenter's, sir," answered Jones. "She's
the _Shark_, right enough. I knows the steeve o' that bowsprit too well
to be mistook as to what that brig is. She's the _Shark_; and we shall
have the pleasure of slingin' our hammicks aboard of her to-night!"
"I verily believe you are right," said I. "At all events we shall know
for certain in the course of another half-hour; and meanwhile you can do
no harm by going forward and passing the word for the _Sharks_ to have
everything ready for shifting over, should our surmise prove to be
correct."
"So you really think that yonder brig is your own ship?" remarked
Carter, when the two men had gone forward again. "Well, if it should
prove to be so, I shall be very sorry to lose you, and so will all of
us."
"Lose! Lose whom? I hope we are not going to lose anybody. We have
already had losses enough, this voyage, goodness knows!" exclaimed the
general, emerging from the companion at that moment.
He had evidently caught a word or two of what Carter had been saying,
and wanted to know all about it.
"Why, Sir Thomas, Mr Grenvile believes that brig yonder to be his own
ship, the _Shark_," answered Carter. "And if it turns out that he's
right, of course he and his men will be rejoinin' directly. And I was
just sayin' that we shall all be very sorry to lose him."
"Sorry! by George I should say so!" cut in the general. "It would have
been a precious bad job for everybody in this ship if we had not been
lucky enough to pick up him and his men. Why, sir, we should, every man
jack of us, have been dead as mutton by this time. So you think that
craft yonder is your ship, do you?" he continued, turning to me. "Well,
if she is, you will have to join her--that goes without saying. But
Carter here speaks no more than the truth when he says that we shall all
be very sorry to lose you--I know that I shall be. And if it should be
that we must say good-bye to you now, that must not be the end of our
acquaintance, you know; that will never do. You and I have fought side
by side, my boy, and I shall expect you to write to me from time to time
to let me know how you are getting on; and I will write to you also, if
you can give me an address from which my letters can be forwarded on to
you. This will be my address for the next year or two, probably." And,
producing a card, he scribbled something upon it and handed it to me.
"And now," he continued, "about rejoining this ship of yours. Would it
be possible for me to accompany you on board? I should like to make the
acquaintance of your captain, and have a little talk with him."
I very clearly understood that the kind-hearted old fellow wished to do
me a good turn by making a much more favourable report of my conduct
than it would be possible for me personally to make; and I was not so
foolish as to regard lightly or neglect any help of which I could
legitimately avail myself in my professional career. I therefore said:
"Oh yes, Sir Thomas, I have no doubt that it can be very easily managed;
and I am quite sure that Captain Bentinck will be delighted to see you.
You can go aboard in the same boat with us, and your return to this ship
can be afterwards arranged for."
"Right! Then that is settled. Now I will leave you, for there is a
little matter that I wish to attend to before you and your people leave
the ship."
And with a very kindly smile and nod the old gentleman turned and left
me, and presently I noticed that he was deep in conversation with first
one and then another of the passengers who were now mustering on the
poop.
Meanwhile the breeze was freshening and the two craft were nearing each
other fast, the brig gradually edging a little farther away to the
southward at the same time, by which means she by this time presented so
nearly a perfect broadside view of herself to us that we could see the
end of her gaff, to which we presently saw the British ensign run up.
And now there was no longer any doubt as to her being the _Shark_, for
her figurehead--consisting of a gilt life-size effigy of the fish after
which she was named--could be distinctly made out, glittering under the
heel of her bowsprit. In reply to her challenge we of course lost no
time in running up our own ensign; but beyond doing that there was no
need for further signalling, for it was by this time clearly evident
that she intended to speak us. And presently my little party of nine
came marching aft, bag and baggage, to the lee gangway, where they stood
waiting in readiness to go down over the side, San Domingo depositing
his kit temporarily in the stern-sheets of the longboat while he hurried
down into my cabin to get my few belongings together.
The negro had just returned to the deck with these when the _Shark_,
ranging up within a biscuit-toss of us, hailed:
"Ship ahoy! what ship is that?"
"The _Indian Queen_, of and from London to Bombay, with passengers and
general cargo," replied Carter. "We have an officer and nine men
belonging to you on board, sir. Will you send a boat for them, or shall
we lower one of ours?"
"Is that Mr Grenvile that stands beside you, sir?" asked a voice which
I now recognised, despite the speaking-trumpet, as that of Captain
Bentinck himself.
"Yes, sir," replied I for myself; "and I have nine men with me, the
survivors of the prize crew of the _Dolores_."
I saw the skipper turn to Mr Seaton, who stood beside him, and say
something, to which the other replied. Then the former hailed again.
"Very glad to find that you are safe, Mr Grenvile," he shouted. "You
had better take room and heave-to, and we will do the same. You need
not trouble about a boat; we will send one of ours."
Carter flourished an arm by way of reply, and then gave the order: "Main
tack and sheet let go! Man the main clew-garnets and trice up! Lay
aft, here, to the main braces, some of you, and stand by to back the
mainyard! Down helm, my man, and let her come to the wind!"
At this moment Sir Thomas came up to me and said:
"Grenvile, my lad, come down on to the main-deck with me a moment, will
you? I have a word or two that I should like to say to your men before
they leave the ship."
"Certainly, Sir Thomas," said I; and down we both trundled to where the
little party of _Sharks_ stood lovingly eyeing the movements of their
ship, and, as is the manner of sailors, abusing her and all in her the
while.
"My lads," said the general, as they faced round at our approach, "you
are about to leave us and return to your own ship, where I doubt not you
will receive a warm and hearty welcome from your messmates. But before
you go I wish, on behalf of myself and the rest of the passengers of the
_Indian Queen_, to express to you all our very high appreciation of the
splendid manner in which you have conducted yourselves while on board
this ship, and, still more, of the magnificent services which, under the
leadership of your gallant young officer, Mr Grenvile, you have
rendered not only to the owners and crew of the ship, but also to us,
the passengers. There can be no manner of doubt that, under God, and by
His gracious mercy, you have been the means, first, of rescuing the bulk
of the crew from death of a nature too horrible to contemplate, and
secondly, ourselves, the passengers, from a fate equally horrible. By
so doing you have laid us all under an obligation which it is utterly
impossible for us adequately to requite, particularly at this present
moment; but it is my intention to go on board your ship to express
personally to your captain my very high opinion of the conduct of each
one of you. And meanwhile the passengers as a body have deputed me to
invite your acceptance of this bag and its contents, amounting to ninety
sovereigns--that is to say, ten pounds each man--as a very small and
inadequate expression of our gratitude to you. I wish you all long life
and prosperity."
"Thank'e, Sir Thomas, thank'e, sir; you're a gentleman of the right
sort, you are--ay, and a good fighter too, sir; we shan't forget how you
went with us into that village, away yonder, to help save them poor
`shell-backs'," and so on, and so on. Each man felt it incumbent upon
him to say something in reply to Sir Thomas's speech, and, still more,
by way of thanks for the handsome gift that had come to them through
him.
By the time that this pleasant little ceremony of the presentation was
over, the two vessels were hove-to, and Carter, who of course saw and
heard what was going on, must needs come down and have his say also.
"Mr Grenvile, and men of the _Shark_," he began, as soon as the
general's back was turned, "I've been very pleased to see what's just
been done, and I'm only sorry that I've no power to do as much on my own
account. But, whereas I'm now cap'n of this ship, I was only third mate
when we hauled out of dock at London, consequently I've no money of my
own for makin' presents, and such money as is in the ship belongs to the
owners, and I've no power to spend it otherwise than in certain ways, as
I dare say you all understand. But I agree with every word that the
general said about your splendid conduct, and savin' the lives of my
crew and passengers, and all that, and when we get back home I will of
course see the owners and report everything to them, and if they're the
men I take 'em to be they'll be sure to do the handsome thing by you.
As for me, I can only thank you all very heartily for all the help
you've given me."
The _Shark's_ boat came alongside just then, and the men passed down
their "dunnage" into her amid a brisk fire of good-humoured chaff from
their shipmates, and such enquiries as: "Hello, Jim, haven't you got so
much as a monkey or a parrot to cheer us up with?" and so on. Then they
followed their belongings down the side, and stowed themselves away in
the boat, while I was busy saying adieu to the occupants of the poop,
all of whom expressed their deep regret at parting with me. Then I
sprang down into the boat, the general followed, and we shoved off amid
much cheering from the forecastle, and much waving of hats and pocket
handkerchiefs from the poop.
The pull from the ship to the brig was a short one, and in a few minutes
I had the satisfaction of finding myself once more standing on the deck
of the _Shark_.
"Come on board, sir," I reported, touching my hat to the captain, who,
with the first lieutenant, was standing on the quarter-deck near the
gangway as I entered.
"You have taken us rather by surprise, Mr Grenvile," remarked the
skipper, gravely acknowledging my salute. "I quite expected that you
would be at Sierra Leone by this time. I see that you are wounded, and
you appear also to have lost some men. These circumstances, coupled
with the fact of your coming to us from yonder ship, lead me to fear
that matters have gone very seriously wrong with you and your prize."
"They have indeed, sir, I am sorry to say," answered I. "But before I
tell you my story, sir, will you permit me to introduce to you General
Sir Thomas Baker, one of the passengers aboard the _Indian Queen_, who
has expressed a desire to have some conversation with you."
"Very pleased to make your acquaintance, Sir Thomas," remarked the
skipper, exchanging salutes with the general, and then offering his
hand. "Perhaps you will do me the favour to step below to my cabin with
me, and we can then have a chat together. Meanwhile, Mr Grenvile, if
one may judge from your appearance, the sooner you report yourself to
the surgeon the better it will be for you." And, as I touched my hat
and retired, he led the way below, closely followed by the general.
"Well, Grenvile, here you are," exclaimed Morgan, as I entered his
cabin. "I have been expecting you, for I saw you come up the side.
What is the extent of the damage, and what have you done with the
_Dolores_? Which is the worse, your shoulder or your head? Shoulder,
eh? Well, let me help you off with your jacket and shirt. Easy does
it! There, now sit down in that chair and make yourself comfortable,
while I cooper you up. Have they a surgeon aboard that ship? This
shoulder of yours appears to have been attended to very passably. Now,
spin your yarn while I give you an overhaul."
I gave a brief account of myself and of what had befallen us since
leaving the _Shark_, while Morgan patched me up, and his work and my
yarn came to an end about the same time.
"Well," said he, as I rose to leave the cabin, "I don't think the
skipper will have much fault to find with you when he hears your story.
You couldn't help the loss of the schooner, and, upon the other hand,
there seems to be very little doubt that you saved the _Indian Queen_
from destruction, and her passengers and crew from a very terrible fate.
I expect that jolly old buffer, General what's-his-name, has come
aboard with the express purpose of making a confidential report to the
skipper upon your conduct, and if his story at all bears out your own it
ought to do you some good. Now, I'm going to put you on the sick list
for a day or two; you have been worked quite hard enough of late, and
wounded too. You must take care of yourself for a little while. You
need not stay below, you know, but you must not go on duty, for you are
not fit for it; that shoulder of yours needs looking after, or it will
give you a good deal of trouble. Come to me again at eight bells this
afternoon."
From the surgeon's cabin I made my way to the midshipmen's berth, where
I received as boisterously hearty a welcome as mid could desire; but I
had been there scarcely five minutes when San Domingo, who had already
installed himself in his former berth, popped his head in at the door
and said, with a broad grin:
"Mistah Grenvile, sah, de first leptenant wishes to see you on deck,
sah."
Leaving my shipmates itching with curiosity to hear the yarn which I had
just begun to spin, I made my way up to the quarter-deck, where I found
Mr Seaton in charge, both ships still remaining hove-to.
"Ah, here you are, Grenvile!" exclaimed the first luff as I stepped up
to him and touched my hat. "I am anxious to hear the story of your
adventures since you left us, but I understood that the captain had sent
you below to the surgeon. Have you seen him?"
"Yes, sir," said I; "I have been with him for quite half an hour, while
he dressed my wounds. He has put me on the sick list, sir."
"Which is about the best place for you, I should think, judging from
your looks," answered my companion. "And, of course," he continued,
"the wily old Welshman availed himself of the opportunity to extract
your story from you--trust Morgan for that! However, he has only
weathered on me to the extent of half an hour or so, and I'll get even
with him yet before all's done. Now, heave ahead, my lad, and give me
the whole yarn, from clew to earing."
Whereupon I had to go through my story a second time, and when I had
come to the end I began to reckon up mentally how many times more I
might reasonably be expected to tell it, for the fact was that I was
already becoming a little tired of it.
"Thank you, Grenvile," said Mr Seaton, as I brought my yarn to a
conclusion. "A most interesting yarn, and an exceedingly exciting
experience. Of course it is not for me to mete out praise or blame in
my official capacity, that is to say, it is for the captain to do that;
but, unofficially, and merely as a friend, I may perhaps venture to say
that so far as I can see you have nothing with which to reproach
yourself and have much to be proud of. It is unfortunate that you
should have lost five of your number, and I am particularly sorry that
Mr Gowland should have been among them, for Mr Gowland was a
particularly trustworthy and reliable navigator; but no one could
possibly have foreseen that you would have been attacked by that
piratical slaver. Ah, here come the captain and your friend the
general! What a fine-looking old fellow the general is!"
They came straight toward where the first luff and I were standing; and
as they approached, Captain Bentinck said:
"Well, general, since you are quite determined not to stay to lunch with
us, let me at least introduce my first lieutenant to you before you go."
Sir Thomas very courteously expressed the pleasure that it would afford
him to make Mr Seaton's acquaintance, and the introduction was duly
made. Then the captain said:
"Sir Thomas has been giving me a very full and detailed description of
everything that has happened since you joined the _Indian Queen_, Mr
Grenvile, and the recital has afforded me a great deal of pleasure. You
appear to have handled an extremely difficult situation with equal
courage and discretion, and I may as well say at once that, so far as
that part of your adventure is concerned, I am quite satisfied. Sir
Thomas has also had something to say about that part of your adventure
which relates to the loss of the _Dolores_"--and here I thought I
detected a twinkle of amusement in the skipper's eye, brought there
possibly by a repetition of the General's frank criticism of my
commanding officer's conduct in turning us all adrift in an unarmed
vessel--"from which I gather that you were in no way to blame for that
unfortunate occurrence."
"I think you will be confirmed in that opinion, sir, when you have heard
Grenvile's own version of the occurrence, as I have," said Mr Seaton.
"The whole affair appears to have been just one of those that no one
could possibly have anticipated."
"Well, I must bid you all adieu," said the general, "for I have kept
poor Carter waiting a most unconscionable time, and I see him marching
to and fro upon his poop yonder in a state of terrible impatience.
Good-bye, my dear boy, and God bless you, for you are a downright good
lad in every way! Don't forget to write to me, and keep me posted as to
how you are getting on. Good-bye, Captain Bentinck! I am delighted to
have had the very great pleasure of making your acquaintance, and I am
much obliged to you for listening to me so patiently. Good-bye, Mr
Seaton; good-bye, good-bye!" And the old gentleman bustled away,
beaming benignantly upon all and sundry, and made his way down into the
boat, which meanwhile had been hauled-up to the gangway. Five minutes
later the boat returned to the _Shark_, and was hoisted to the davits,
and the two craft filled away upon their respective courses, with mutual
dips of their ensigns, and much waving of white pocket handkerchiefs
from the poop of the _Indian Queen_.
That I should be called upon to relate my story yet once again--this
time to the captain--was, of course, inevitable; but he was considerate
enough to defer the recital until dinner-time that evening, when the
second lieutenant, the master, and myself were guests at his table. He
was very kind and sympathetic in the matter of the loss of the
_Dolores_, which he admitted was inevitable under the circumstances, and
warmly reiterated his expressions of satisfaction at everything that I
had done aboard the _Indian Queen_.