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diff --git a/38764.txt b/38764.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..db3b522 --- /dev/null +++ b/38764.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14264 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Roving Commission, by G. A. Henty + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Roving Commission + Or, Through the Black Insurrection at Hayti + +Author: G. A. Henty + +Illustrator: William Rainey + +Release Date: February 4, 2012 [EBook #38764] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A ROVING COMMISSION *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + A ROVING COMMISSION + + + + [Illustration: "I HAVE HEARD A GREAT DEAL OF YOU, MR. GLOVER," THE + ADMIRAL SAID.] + + + + A ROVING COMMISSION + + OR + + _THROUGH THE BLACK INSURRECTION AT HAYTI_ + + + BY + + G. A. HENTY + + Author of "With Frederick the Great," "The Dash for Khartoum" + "Both Sides the Border," etc. + + _WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS BY WILLIAM RAINEY, R.I._ + + + NEW YORK + CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS + 1904 + + + + _Copyright_, 1899, + BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS. + + + + +PREFACE + + +Horrible as were the atrocities of which the monsters of the French +Revolution were guilty, they paled before the fiendish outrages +committed by their black imitators in Hayti. Indeed, for some six +years the island presented a saturnalia of massacre, attended with +indescribable tortures. It may be admitted that the retaliation +inflicted by the maddened whites after the first massacre was as full of +horrors as were the outrages perpetrated by the blacks, and both were +rivalled by the mulattoes when they joined in the general madness for +blood. The result was ruin to all concerned. France lost one of her +fairest possessions, and a wealthy race of cultivators, many belonging +to the best blood of France, were annihilated or driven into poverty +among strangers. The mulattoes, many of whom were also wealthy, soon +found that the passions they had done so much to foment were too +powerful for them; their position under the blacks was far worse and +more precarious, than it had been under the whites. The negroes gained a +nominal liberty. Nowhere were the slaves so well treated as by the +French colonists, and they soon discovered that, so far from profiting +by the massacre of their masters and families, they were infinitely +worse off than before. They were still obliged to work to some extent to +save themselves from starvation; they had none to look to for aid in the +time of sickness and old age; hardships and fevers had swept them away +wholesale; the trade of the island dwindled almost to nothing; and at +last the condition of the negroes in Hayti has fallen to the level of +that of the savage African tribes. Unless some strong white power should +occupy the island and enforce law and order, sternly repress crime, and +demand a certain amount of labour from all able-bodied men, there seems +no hope that any amelioration can take place in the present situation. + + G. A. HENTY. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. A FIGHT WITH A BLOODHOUND 1 + + II. REJOINED 21 + + III. A SLAVE DEPOT 38 + + IV. A SHARP FIGHT 58 + + V. A PIRATE HOLD 76 + + VI. THE NEGRO RISING 93 + + VII. IN HIDING 112 + + VIII. A TIME OF WAITING 132 + + IX. AN ATTACK ON THE CAVE 152 + + X. AFLOAT AGAIN 172 + + XI. A FIRST COMMAND 191 + + XII. A RESCUE 211 + + XIII. TWO CAPTURES 232 + + XIV. THE ATTACK ON PORT-AU-PRINCE 253 + + XV. THE ATTACK ON PORT-AU-PRINCE 273 + + XVI. TOUSSAIT L'OUVERTURE 293 + + XVII. A FRENCH FRIGATE 311 + + XVIII. ANOTHER ENGAGEMENT 331 + + XIX. HOME 352 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + PAGE + + "I HAVE HEARD A GREAT DEAL OF YOU, MR. GLOVER," THE ADMIRAL + SAID _Frontispiece_ + + "HEADED BY NAT, THE CREW OF THE GIG LEAPT DOWN ON TO THE DECK" 40 + + THE GUNS ON THE RAMPART SEND A SHOWER OF GRAPE INTO THE PIRATE 64 + + "IT WAS NOT LONG BEFORE HE CAME ACROSS THE FIGURE OF A + PROSTRATE MAN" 122 + + "HE FELL LIKE A LOG OVER THE PRECIPICE" 164 + + THE JOURNEY TO THE COAST 178 + + THE RESCUE OF LOUISE PICKARD 212 + + "FOUR SHOTS WERE FIRED AND AS MANY NEGROES FELL" 226 + + "THE CAPTAIN OF THE PIRATES SHOOK HIS FIST IN DEFIANCE" 246 + + A MESSAGE FROM TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE 294 + + "DROP IT!" NAT REPEATED 308 + + "NAT SPRANG ON TO THE RAIL" 318 + + + + +A ROVING COMMISSION + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A FIGHT WITH A BLOODHOUND + + +"Now, look here, Nathaniel--" + +"Drop that, Curtis, you know very well that I won't have it. I can't +help having such a beast of a name, and why it was given me I have never +been able to make out, and if I had been consulted in the matter all the +godfathers and godmothers in the world wouldn't have persuaded me to +take such a name. Nat I don't mind. I don't say that it is a name that I +should choose; still, I can put up with that, but the other I won't +have. You have only just joined the ship, but if you ask the others they +will tell you that I have had at least half a dozen fights over the +name, and it is an understood thing here that if anyone wants a row with +me he has only got to call me Nathaniel, and there is no occasion for +any more words after that." + +The speaker was a pleasant-faced lad, between fifteen and sixteen, and +his words were half in jest half in earnest. He was a general favourite +among his mess-mates on board H. M. frigate _Orpheus_. He was full of +life and fun, exceptionally good-tempered, and able to stand any amount +of chaff and joking, and it was understood by his comrades that there +was but one point that it was unsafe to touch on, and that sore point +was his name. It had been the choice of his godmother, a maiden aunt, +who had in her earlier days had a disappointment. Nat had once closely +questioned his father as to how he came by his name, and the latter had +replied testily: + +"Well, my boy, your Aunt Eliza, who is, you know, a very good woman--no +one can doubt that--had a weakness. I never myself got at the rights of +the matter. Anyhow, his name was Nathaniel. I don't think there was ever +any formal engagement between them. Her own idea is that he loved her, +but that his parents forbade him to think of her; for that was at a time +before her Aunt Lydia left all her money to her. Anyhow, he went abroad, +and I don't think she ever heard of him again. I am inclined to think it +was an entire mistake on her part, and that the young fellow had never +had the slightest fancy for her. However, that was the one romance of +her life, and she has clung to it like a limpet to a rock. At any rate +when we asked her to be your godmother she said she would be so if we +would give you the name of Nathaniel. I own it is not a name that I like +myself; but when we raised an objection, she said that the name was very +dear to her, and that if you took it she would certainly make you her +heir, and more than hinted that if you had any other name she would +leave her money to charitable purposes. Well, you see, as she is worth +thirty thousand pounds if she is worth a penny, your mother and I both +thought it would be folly to allow the money to go out of the family for +the sake of a name, which after all is not such a bad name." + +"I think it beastly, father, in the first place because it is long." + +"Well, my boy, if you like we can shorten it to Nathan." + +"Oh, that would be a hundred times worse! Nathan indeed! Nat is not so +bad. If I had been christened Nat I should not have particularly minded +it. Why did you not propose that to aunt?" + +His father shook his head. "That would never have done. To her he was +always Nathaniel. Possibly if they had been married it might some day +have become Nat, but, you see, it never got to that." + +"Well, of course, father," the boy said with a sigh, "as the thing is +done it cannot be helped. And I don't say that aunt isn't a good +sort--first-rate in some things, for she has always tipped me well +whenever she came here, and she says she is going to allow me fifty +pounds a year directly I get my appointment as midshipman; but it is +certainly hard on me that she could not have fallen in love with some +man with a decent name. Nathaniel is always getting me into rows. Why, +the first two or three years I went to school I should say that I had a +fight over it once a month. Of course I have not had one lately, for +since I licked Smith major fellows are more careful. I expect it will be +just as bad in the navy." + +So when he first joined Nat had found it, but now that he was nearly +sixteen, and very strong and active, and with the experience of many +past combats, the name Nathaniel had been dropped. It was six months +since the obnoxious Christian name had been used, as it was now by a +young fellow of seventeen who had been transferred to the _Orpheus_ when +the frigate to which he belonged was ordered home. He was tall and +lanky, very particular about his dress, spoke in a drawling supercilious +way, and had the knack of saying unpleasant things with an air of +innocence. Supposing that Glover's name must be Nathaniel, he had +thought it smart so to address him, but although he guessed that it +might irritate him, he was unprepared for an explosion on the part of a +lad who was proverbially good-tempered. + +"Dear me," he said, in assumed surprise, "I had no idea that you +objected so much to be called by your proper name! However, I will, of +course, in future use the abbreviation." + +"You had better call me Glover," Nat replied sharply. "My friends can +call me Nat, but to other people I am Glover, and if you call me out of +that name there will be squalls; so I warn you." + +Curtis thought it was well not to pursue the subject further. He was no +coward, but he had the sense to see that as Nat was a favourite with the +others, while he was a new-comer, a fight, even if he were the victor, +would not conduce to his popularity among his mess-mates. The president +of the mess, a master's mate, a good-tempered fellow, who hated +quarrels, broke what would have been an awkward silence by saying: + +"We seem to be out of luck altogether this trip; we have been out three +weeks and not fired a shot. It is especially hard, for we caught sight +of that brigantine we have been in search of, and should have had her if +she hadn't run into that channel where there was not water enough for us +to follow her." + +"Yes, that was rough upon us, and one hates to go back to Port Royal +without a prize, after having taken so many that we have come to be +considered the luckiest ship on the station," another said. "Still, the +cruise is not over yet. I suppose by the way we are laying our course, +Marston, we are going into Cape Francois?" + +The mate nodded. "Yes; we want fresh meat, fruit, and water, and it is +about the pleasantest place among these islands. I have no doubt, too, +that the captain hopes to get some news that may help him to find out +where those piratical craft that are doing so much mischief have their +rendezvous. They are all so fast that unless in a strong breeze a +frigate has no chance whatever of overhauling them; there is no doubt +that they are all of Spanish build, and in a light breeze they sail +like witches. I believe our only chance of catching them is in finding +them at their head-quarters, wherever that may be, or by coming upon +them in a calm in a bay. In that case it would be a boat affair; and a +pretty sharp one I should think, for they all carry very strong crews +and are heavily armed, and as the scoundrels know that they fight with +ropes round their necks they would be awkward customers to tackle." + +"Yes, if we happened to find them all together, I don't think the +captain would risk sending in the boats. One at a time we could manage, +but with three of them mounting about fifty guns between them, and +carrying, I should say, from two hundred to two hundred and fifty men, +the odds would be very great, and the loss, even if we captured them, so +heavy that I hardly think the captain would be justified in attempting +it. I should say that he would be more likely to get out all the boats +and tow the frigate into easy range. She would give a good account of +the whole of them." + +"Yes, there is no doubt about that; but even then we should only succeed +if the bay was a very narrow one, for otherwise their boats would +certainly tow them faster than we could take the frigate along." + +It was Glover who spoke last. + +"I don't think myself that we shall ever catch them in the frigate. It +seems to me that the only chance will be to get hold of an old +merchantman, put a strong crew on board and a dozen of our guns, and +cruise about until one of them gets a sight of us and comes skimming +along to capture us." + +"Yes, that would be a good plan; but it has been tried several times +with success, and I fancy the pirates would not fall into the trap. +Besides, there is very little doubt that they have friends at all these +ports, and get early information of any movements of our ships, and +would hear of what we were doing long before the disguised ship came +near them. It can hardly be chance, that it matters not which way we +cruise these fellows begin their work in another direction altogether. +Now that we are here in this great bay, they are probably cruising off +the west of Cuba or down by Porto Rico or the Windward Islands. That is +the advantage that three or four craft working together have: they are +able to keep spies in every port that our ships of war are likely to go +into, while a single vessel cannot afford such expenses." + +"I don't think that the expenses, Low, would be heavy; the negroes would +do it for next to nothing, and so would the mulattoes, simply because +they hate the whites. I don't mean the best of the mulattoes, because +many of them are gentlemen and good fellows; but the lower class are +worse than the negroes, they are up to any devilment, and will do +anything they can to injure a white man." + +"Poor beggars, one can hardly blame them; they are neither one thing nor +the other! These old French planters are as aristocratic as their +noblesse at home, and indeed many of them belong to noble families. Even +the meanest white--and they are pretty mean some of them--looks down +upon a mulatto, although the latter may have been educated in France and +own great plantations. The negroes don't like them because of their +strain of white blood. They are treated as if they were pariahs. Their +children may not go to school with the whites, they themselves may not +sit down in a theatre or kneel at church next to them, they may not use +the same restaurants or hotels. No wonder they are discontented." + +"It is hard on them," Glover said, "but one can't be surprised that the +whites do fight shy of them. Great numbers of them are brutes and no +mistake, ready for any crime and up to any wickedness. There is lots of +good in the niggers; they are merry fellows; and I must say for these +old French planters they use their slaves a great deal better than they +are as a rule treated by our planters in Jamaica. Of course there are +bad masters everywhere, but if I were a slave I would certainly rather +be under a French master than an English one, or, from what I have +heard, than an American." + +"Very well, Glover, I will make a note of that, and if you ever +misbehave yourself and we have to sell you, I will drop a line to the +first luff how your preference lies." + +Early the next morning the frigate dropped anchor at Cape Francois, the +largest and most important town in the island, with the exception of the +capital of the Spanish portion of San Domingo. The _Orpheus_ carried six +midshipmen. Four of these had been ashore when on the previous occasion +the _Orpheus_ had entered the port. Nat Glover and Curtis were the +exceptions, Curtis having at that time belonged to the frigate for but a +very few weeks, and Nat having been in the first lieutenant's bad books, +owing to a scrape into which he had got at the last port they had +touched at. After breakfast they went up together to the first +lieutenant, whose name was Hill. + +"Please, sir, if we are not wanted, can we have leave for the day?" + +The lieutenant hesitated, and then said: + +"Yes, I think the other four will be enough for the boats. You did not +go ashore last time you were here, I think, Mr. Glover," he added with a +slight smile. + +"No, sir." + +"Very well, then, you can go, but don't get into any scrape." + +"I will try not to, sir," Nat said demurely. + +"Well, I hope your trial will be successful, Mr. Glover, for if not, I +can tell you that it will be a long time before you have leave again. +These people don't understand that sort of thing." + +"He is a nice lad," Mr. Hill said to the second lieutenant as the two +midshipmen walked away, "and when he has worked off those animal spirits +of his he will make a capital officer, but at present he is one of the +most mischievous young monkeys I ever came across." + +"He does not let them interfere with his duty," the other said. "He is +the smartest of our mids; he is well up in navigation, and has any +amount of pluck. You remember how he jumped overboard in Port Royal when +a marine fell into the water, although the harbour was swarming with +sharks. It was a near touch. Luckily we threw a bowline to him, and the +two were hauled up together. A few seconds more and it would have been +too late, for there was a shark within twenty feet of them." + +"Yes, there is no doubt about his pluck, Playford, and indeed I partly +owe my life to him. When we captured that piratical brigantine near +Santa Lucia I boarded by the stern, and she had such a strong crew that +we were being beaten back, and things looked very bad until he with the +gig's crew swarmed in over the bow. Even then it was a very tough +struggle till they cut their way through the pirates and joined us, and +we went at them together, and that youngster fought like a young fiend. +He was in the thick of it everywhere, and yet he was as cool as a +cucumber. Oh yes, he has the making of a very fine officer. Although I +am obliged to be sharp with him, there is not a shadow of harm in the +lad, but he certainly has a genius for getting into scrapes." + +The two midshipmen went ashore together. "I don't know what you are +going to do, Curtis, but after I have walked through the place and had a +look at it, I shall hire a horse and ride out into the country." + +"It is too hot for riding," the other said. "Of course I shall see what +there is to be seen, and then I shall look for a seat in some place in +the shade and eat fruit." + +"Well, we may as well walk through the town together," Nat said +cheerfully. "From the look of the place I should fancy there was not +much in it, and I know the fellows who went on shore before said that +the town contained nothing but native huts, a few churches, and two or +three dozen old French houses." + +Half an hour indeed sufficed to explore the place. When they separated +Nat had no difficulty in hiring a horse. He had been accustomed, when in +England, to ride a pony, and was therefore at home in the saddle; he +proceeded at a leisurely pace along the road across the flat plain that +surrounded Cape Francois. On either side were plantations,--sugar-cane +and tobacco,--and he occasionally passed the abode of some wealthy +planter, surrounded by shady trees and gardens gorgeous with tropical +plants and flowers. He was going by one of these, half a mile from the +town, when he heard a loud scream, raised evidently by a woman in +extreme pain or terror. He was just opposite the entrance, and, +springing from his horse, he ran in. + +On the ground, twenty yards from the gate, lay a girl. A huge hound had +hold of her shoulder, and was shaking her violently. Nat drew his dirk +and gave a loud shout as he rushed forward. The hound loosed his hold of +the girl and turned to meet him, and, springing upon him with a savage +growl, threw him to the ground. Nat drove his dirk into the animal as he +fell, and threw his left arm across his throat to prevent the dog +seizing him there. A moment later the hound had seized it with a grip +that extracted a shout of pain from the midshipman. As he again buried +his dirk in the hound's side, the dog shifted his hold from Nat's +forearm to his shoulder and shook him as if he had been a child. + +Nat made no effort to free himself, for he knew that were he to uncover +his throat for a moment the dog would seize him there. Though the pain +was terrible he continued to deal stroke after stroke to the dog. One of +these blows must have reached the heart, for suddenly its hold relaxed +and it rolled over, just as half a dozen negroes armed with sticks came +rushing out of the house. Nat tried to raise himself on his right arm, +but the pain of the left was so great that he leant back again +half-fainting. Presently he felt himself being lifted up and carried +along; he heard a lady's voice giving directions, and then for a time he +knew no more. When he came to himself he saw the ship's doctor leaning +over him. + +"What is the matter, doctor?" he asked. + +"You are badly hurt, lad, and must lie perfectly quiet. Luckily the +messenger who was sent to fetch a doctor, seeing Mr. Curtis and me +walking up the street, ran up to us and said that a young officer of our +ship was hurt, and that he was sent in to fetch a doctor. He had, in +fact, already seen one, and was in the act of returning with him when he +met us. Of course I introduced myself to the French doctor as we came +along together, for we fortunately got hold of a trap directly, so that +no time was lost. The black boy who brought the message told me that you +and a young lady had been bitten by a great hound belonging to his +master, and that you had killed it. Now, my lad, I am going to cut off +your coat and look at your wounds. The Frenchman is attending to the +young lady." + +"Mind how you touch my arm, doctor! it is broken somewhere between the +elbow and the wrist; I heard it snap when the brute seized me. It threw +me down, and I put my arm across over my throat, so as to prevent it +from getting at that. It would have been all up with me if it had +gripped me there." + +"That it would, Glover. I saw the dog lying on the grass as I came in. +It is a big bloodhound; and your presence of mind undoubtedly saved your +life." + +By this time he had cut the jacket and shirt up to the neck. Nat saw his +lips tighten as he caught sight of the wound on the shoulder. + +"It is a bad bite, eh, doctor?" + +"Yes, it has mangled the flesh badly. The dog seems to have shifted his +hold several times." + +"Yes, doctor, each time I stabbed him he gave a sort of start, and then +caught hold again and shook me furiously. After the first bite I did not +seem to feel any pain. I suppose the limb was numbed." + +"Very likely, lad. Now I must first of all see what damage was done to +the forearm. I am afraid I shall hurt you, but I will be as gentle as I +can." + +Nat clenched his teeth and pressed his lips tightly together. Not a +sound was heard as the examination was being made, although the sweat +that started out on his forehead showed how intense was the pain. + +"Both bones are broken," the surgeon said to his French colleague, who +had just entered the room and came up to the bedside. "The first thing +to do is to extemporize some splints, and of course we shall want some +stuff for bandages." + +"I will get them made at once," the doctor replied. "Madame Demaine said +that she put the whole house at my disposal." + +He went out, and in a few minutes returned with some thin slips of wood +eighteen inches long and a number of strips of sheeting sewn together. + +"It is very fortunate," the surgeon said, "that the ends of the bone +have kept pretty fairly in their places instead of working through the +flesh, which they might very well have done." + +Very carefully the two surgeons bandaged the arm from the elbow to the +finger-tips. + +"Now for the shoulder," the doctor said. + +They first sponged the wounds and then began feeling the bones again, +giving exquisite pain to Nat. Then they drew apart and consulted for two +or three minutes. + +"This is a much worse business than the other," Dr. Bemish said when he +returned to the bedside; "the arm is broken near the shoulder, the +collar-bone is broken too, and the flesh is almost in a pulp." + +"Don't say I must lose the arm, doctor," Nat said. + +"Well, I hope not, Glover, but I can't say for certain. You see I am +speaking frankly to you, for I know that you have pluck. The injury to +the collar-bone is not in itself serious, but the other is a comminuted +fracture." + +"What is comminuted, doctor?" + +"It means that the bone is splintered, lad. Still, there is no reason +why it should not heal again; you have a strong constitution, and Nature +works wonders." + +For the next half-hour the two surgeons were at work picking out the +fragments of bone, getting the ends together, and bandaging the arm and +shoulder. Nat fainted under the pain within the first few minutes, and +did not recover until the surgeons had completed their work. Then his +lips were wetted with brandy and a few drops of brandy and water were +poured down his throat. In a minute or two he opened his eyes. + +"It is all over now, lad." He lay for sometime without speaking, and +then whispered, "How is the girl?" + +"Her shoulder is broken," Dr. Bemish replied. "I have not seen her; but +the doctor says that it is a comparatively simple case." + +"How was it the dog came to bite her?" + +"She was a stranger to it. She is not the daughter of your hostess. It +seems her father's plantation is some twelve miles away; he drove her in +and left her here with Madame Demaine, who is his sister, while he went +into town on business. Madame's own daughter was away, and the girl +sauntered down into the garden, when the hound, not knowing her, sprang +upon her, and I have not the least doubt would have killed her had you +not arrived." + +"Are you going to take me on board, doctor?" + +"Not at present, Glover; you need absolute quiet, and if the frigate got +into a heavy sea it might undo all our work, and in that case there +would be little hope of saving your arm. Madame Demaine told the French +doctor that she would nurse you as if you were her own child, and that +everything was to be done to make you comfortable. The house is cool, +and your wound will have a much better chance of getting well here than +in our sick-bay. She wanted to come in to thank you, but I said that, +now we had dressed your arm, it was better that you should have nothing +to disturb or excite you. When the girl's father returns--and I have no +doubt he will do so soon, for as yet, though half-a-dozen boys have been +sent down to the town, they have not been able to find him--he must on +no account come in to see you at present. Here is a tumbler of fresh +lime-juice and water. Doctor Lepel will remain here all night and see +that you have everything that you require." + +The tumbler was held to Nat's lips, and he drained it to the bottom. The +drink was iced, and seemed to him the most delicious that he had ever +tasted. + +"I shall come ashore again to see you in the morning. Dr. Lepel will go +back with me now, and make up a soothing draught for you both. Remember +that above all things it is essential for you to lie quiet. He will put +bandages round your body, and fasten the ends to the bedstead so as to +prevent you from turning in your sleep." + +"All right, sir; I can assure you that I have no intention of moving. My +arm does not hurt me much now, and I would not set it off aching again +for any money." + +"It is a rum thing," Nat thought to himself, "that I should always be +getting into some scrape or other when I go ashore. This is the worst of +all by a long way." + +A negro girl presently came in noiselessly and placed a small table on +the right-hand side of the bed. She then brought in a large jug of the +same drink that Nat had before taken, and some oranges and limes both +peeled and cut up into small pieces. + +"It is lucky it was not the right arm," Nat said to himself. "I suppose +one can do without the left pretty well when one gets accustomed to it, +though it would be rather awkward going aloft." + +In an hour Dr. Lepel returned, and gave him the draught. + +"Now try and go to sleep," he said in broken English. "I shall lie down +on that sofa, and if you wake up be sure and call me. I am a light +sleeper." + +"Had you not better stay with the young lady?" + +"She will have her mother and her aunt with her, so she will do very +well. I hope that you will soon go to sleep." + +It was but a few minutes before Nat dozed off. Beyond a numbed feeling +his arm was not hurting him very much. Once or twice during the night he +woke and took a drink. A slight stir in the room aroused him, and to his +surprise he found that the sun was already up. The doctor was feeling +his pulse, a negro girl was fanning him, and a lady stood at the foot of +the bed looking at him pitifully. + +"Do you speak French, monsieur?" she asked. + +"A little," he replied, for he had learned French while at school, and +since the frigate had been among the West Indian islands he had studied +it for a couple of hours a day, as it was the language that was spoken +in all the French islands and might be useful to him if put in charge of +a prize. + +"Have you slept well?" she asked. + +"Very well." + +"Does your arm hurt you very much now?" + +"It hurts a bit, ma'am, but nothing to make any fuss about." + +"You must ask for anything that you want," she said. "I have told off +two of my negro girls to wait upon you. Of course they both speak +French." + +Half an hour later Dr. Bemish arrived. + +"You are going on very well, Glover," he said after feeling the lad's +pulse and putting his hand on his forehead. "At present you have no +fever. You cannot expect to get through without some, but I hardly +expected to find you so comfortable this morning. The captain told me to +say that he would come and see you to-day, and I can assure you that +there is not one among your mess-mates who is not deeply sorry at what +has happened, although they all feel proud of your pluck in fighting +that great hound with nothing but a dirk." + +"They are useless sort of things, doctor, and I cannot think why they +give them to us; but it was a far better weapon yesterday than a sword +would have been." + +"Yes, it was. The room is nice and cool, isn't it?" + +"Wonderfully cool, sir. I was wondering about it before you came in, for +it is a great deal cooler than it is on board." + +"There are four great pans full of ice in the room, and they have got up +matting before each of the windows, and are keeping it soaked with +water." + +"That is very good of them, doctor. Please thank Madame Demaine for me. +She was in here this morning--at least I suppose it was she--and she +did not bother me with thanks, which was a great comfort. You are not +going to take these bandages off and put them on again, I hope?" + +"Oh, no. We may loosen them a little when inflammation sets in, which it +is sure to do sooner or later." + +Captain Crosbie came to see Nat that afternoon. + +"Well, my lad," he said cheerfully, "I see that you have fallen into +good hands, and I am sure that everything that is possible will be done +for you. I was talking to the girl's mother and aunt before I came in. +Their gratitude to you is quite touching, and they are lamenting that +Dr. Bemish has given the strictest orders that they are not to say +anything more about it. And now I must not stay and talk; the doctor +gave me only two minutes to be in the room with you. I don't know +whether the frigate is likely to put in here again soon, but I will take +care to let you know from time to time what we are doing and where we +are likely to be, so that you can rejoin when the doctor here gives you +leave; but mind, you are not to dream of attempting it until he does so, +and you must be a discontented spirit indeed if you are not willing to +stay for a time in such surroundings. Good-bye, lad! I sincerely trust +that it will not be very long before you rejoin us, and I can assure you +of a hearty welcome from officers and men." + +Three days later, fever set in, but, thanks to the coolness of the room +and to the bandages being constantly moistened with iced water, it +passed away in the course of a week. For two or three days Nat was +light-headed, but he woke one morning feeling strangely weak. It was +some minutes before he could remember where he was or how he had got +there, but a sharp twinge in his arm brought the facts home to him. + +"Thank God that you are better, my brave boy," a voice said in French, +as a cool hand was placed on his forehead; and turning his head Nat saw +a lady standing by his bedside. She was not the one whom he had seen +before; tears were streaming down her cheeks, and, evidently unable to +speak, she hurried from the room, and a minute later Doctor Lepel +entered. + +"Madame Duchesne has given me the good news that you are better," he +said. "I had just driven up to the door when she ran down." + +"Have I been very bad, doctor?" + +"Well, you have been pretty bad, my lad, and have been light-headed for +the past three or four days, and I did not for a moment expect that you +would come round so soon. You must have a magnificent constitution, for +most men, even if they recovered at all from such terrible wounds as you +have had, would probably have been three or four times as long before +the fever had run its course." + +"And how is the young lady?" + +"She is going on well, and I intended to give permission for her to be +carried home in a hammock to-day, but when I spoke of it yesterday to +her mother, she said that nothing would induce her to go until you were +out of danger. She or Madame Demaine have not left your bedside for the +past week, and next to your own good constitution you owe your rapid +recovery to their care. I have no doubt that she will go home now, and +you are to be moved to Monsieur Duchesne's house as soon as you are +strong enough. It lies up among the hills, and the change and cooler air +will do you good." + +"I have not felt it hot here, doctor, thanks to the care that they have +taken in keeping the room cool. I hope now that there is no fear of my +losing my arm?" + +"No; I think that I can promise you that. In a day or two I shall +re-bandage it, and I shall then be able to see how the wounds are +getting on; but there can be no doubt that they are doing well, or you +would never have shaken off the fever so soon as you have done." + +"Of course the _Orpheus_ has sailed, doctor?" + +"Yes. She put to sea a week ago. I have a letter here that the captain +gave me to hand to you when you were fit to read it. I should not open +it now if I were you. You are very weak, and sleep is the best medicine +for you. Now, drink a little of this fresh lime-juice. I have no doubt +that you will doze off again." + +Almost before the door closed on the doctor Nat was asleep. A fortnight +later he was able to get up and sit in an easy-chair. + +"How long shall I have to keep these bandages on, doctor?" + +"I should say in another fortnight or so you might take them off the +forearm, for the bones seem to have knit there, but it would be better +that you should wear them for another month or six weeks. There would +indeed be no use in taking them off earlier, for the bandages on the +shoulder and the fracture below it cannot be removed for some time, and +you will have to carry your arm in a sling for another three months. I +do not mean that you may not move your arm before that, indeed it is +desirable that you should do so, but the action must be quiet and +simple, and done methodically, and the sling will be necessary at other +times to prevent sudden jerks." + +"But I shall be able to go away and join my ship before that, surely?" + +"Yes, if the arm goes on as well as at present you may be able to do so +in a month's time; only you will have to be very careful. You must +remember that a fall, or even a lurch against the rail, or a slip in +going down below, or anything of that kind, might very well undo our +work, for it must be some time before the newly-formed bone is as strong +as the old. As I told you the other day, your arm will be some two +inches shorter than it was." + +"That won't matter a rap," Nat said. + +That afternoon Nat had to submit to what he had dreaded. The doctor had +pronounced that he was now quite convalescent, and that there was no +fear whatever of a relapse, and Monsieur and Madame Duchesne therefore +came over to see him. He had seen the latter but once, and then only for +a minute, for she found herself unable to observe the condition on which +alone the doctor had allowed her to enter, namely, to repress all +emotion. Madame Demaine came in with them. Since her niece had been +taken away, she had spent much of her time in Nat's room, talking +quietly to him about his English home or his ship, and sometimes reading +aloud to him, but studiously avoiding any allusion to the accident. +Monsieur Duchesne was a man of some thirty-five years of age, his wife +was about five years younger, and they were an exceptionally handsome +couple of the best French type. Madame Duchesne pressed forward before +the others, and to Nat's embarrassment bent over him and kissed him. + +"You cannot tell how we have longed for this time to come," she said. +"It seemed so cold and ungrateful that for a whole month we should have +said no word of thanks to you for saving our darling's life, but the +doctor would not allow it. He said that the smallest excitement might +bring on the fever again, so we have been obliged to abstain. Now he has +given us leave to come, and now we have come, what can we say to you? +Ah, monsieur, it was our only child that you saved, the joy of our +lives! Think of the grief into which we should have been plunged by her +loss, and you can then imagine the depth of our gratitude to you." + +While she was speaking her husband had taken Nat's right hand and +pressed it silently. There were tears in his eyes, and his lips quivered +with emotion. + +"Pray do not say anything more about it, madam," Nat said. "Of course I +am very glad to have saved your daughter's life, but anyone else would +have done the same. You don't suppose that anyone could stand by and see +a girl mauled by a dog without rushing forward to save her, even if he +had had no arm of any kind, while I had my dirk, which was about as good +a weapon for that sort of thing as one could want. Why, Harpur, our +youngest middy, who is only fourteen, would have done it. Of course I +have had a good deal of pain, but I would have borne twice as much for +the sake of the pleasure I feel in having saved your daughter's life, +and I am sure that I have had a very nice time of it since I have begun +to get better. Madame Demaine has been awfully good to me. If she had +been my own mother she could not have been kinder. I felt quite ashamed +of being so much trouble to her, and of being fanned and petted as if I +had been a sick girl. And how is your daughter getting on? The doctor +gave me a very good account of her, but you know one can't always quite +believe doctors; they like to say pleasant things to you so as not to +upset you." + +"She is getting on very well indeed. Of course she has her arm in a +sling still, but she is going about the house, and is quite merry and +bright again. She wanted to come over with us to-day, but Dr. Lepel +would not have it. He said that a sudden jolt over a stone might do a +good deal of mischief. However, it will not be long before she sees you, +for we have got leave to have you carried over early next week." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +REJOINED + + +Four days later Monsieur Duchesne came down with six negroes and a cane +lounging chair, on each side of which a long pole had been securely +lashed. Nat's room was on the ground floor, and with wide windows +opening to the ground. The chair was brought in. Nat was still shaky on +his legs, but he was able to get from the bed into the chair without +assistance. + +"I shall come over to see you to-morrow," Madame Demaine said, as he +thanked her and her husband for their great kindness to him, "and I hope +I shall find that the journey has done you no harm." + +Four of the negroes took the ends of the poles and raised them onto +their shoulders, the other two walked behind to serve as a relay. +Monsieur Duchesne mounted his horse and took his place by Nat's side, +and the little procession started. The motion was very easy and gentle. +It was late in the afternoon when they started, the sun was near the +horizon, and a gentle breeze from the sea had sprung up. In half an hour +it was dusk, and the two spare negroes lighted torches they had brought +with them, and now walked ahead of the bearers. It was full moon, and +after having been so long confined in a semi-darkened room, Nat enjoyed +intensely the soft air, the dark sky spangled with stars, and the rich +tropical foliage showing its outlines clearly in the moonlight. + +Presently Monsieur Duchesne said: + +"I have a flask of brandy and water with me, Mr. Glover, in case you +should feel faint or exhausted." + +Nat laughed. + +"Thank you for thinking of it, monsieur, but there is no fatigue +whatever in sitting here, and I have enjoyed my ride intensely. It is +almost worth getting hurt in order to have such pleasure: we don't get +such nights as this in England." + +"But you have fine weather sometimes, surely?" Monsieur Duchesne said. + +"Oh yes, we often have fine weather, but there are not many nights in +the year when one can sit out-of-doors after dark! When it is a warm +night there are sure to be heavy dews; besides, the stars are not so +bright with us as they are here, nor is the air so soft. I don't mean to +say that I don't like our climate better; we never have it so +desperately hot as you do, and besides, we like the cold, because it +braces one up, and even the rain is welcome as a change, occasionally. +Still, I allow that as far as nights go you beat us hollow." + +The road presently began to rise, and before they reached the end of the +journey they were high above the plain. As they approached the house the +negroes broke into a song, and on their stopping before the wide +verandah that surrounded the house, Madame Duchesne and her daughter +were standing there to greet them as the bearers gently lowered the +chair to the ground. The girl was first beside it. + +"Ah, monsieur," she exclaimed as she took his hand, "how grateful I am +to you! how I have longed to see you! for I have never seen you yet; and +it has seemed hard to me that while aunt and the doctor should have seen +you so often, and even mamma should have seen you once, I should never +have seen you at all." + +"There is not much to see in me at the best of times, mademoiselle," Nat +said as he rose to his feet, "and I am almost a scarecrow now. I wanted +to see you, too, just to see what you were like, you know." + +He took the arm that Monsieur Duchesne offered him, for although he +could have walked that short distance unaided, he did not know the +ground, and might have stumbled over something. They went straight from +the verandah into a pretty room lighted by a dozen wax candles. He sat +down in a chair that was there in readiness for him. The girl placed +herself in front of him and looked earnestly at him. + +"Well," he said with a laugh, "am I at all like what you pictured me?" + +"You are not a scarecrow at all!" she said indignantly. "Why do you say +such things of yourself? Of course you are thin, very thin, but even now +you look nice. I think you are just what I thought you would be. Now, am +I like what you thought I should be?" + +"I don't know that I ever attempted to think exactly what you would be," +Nat said. "I did not notice your face; I don't even know whether it was +turned my way. I did take in that you were a girl somewhere about +thirteen years old, but as soon as the dog turned, my attention was +pretty fully occupied. Madame Demaine said your name was Myra. I thought +that with such a pretty name you ought to be pretty too. I suppose it is +rude to say so, but you certainly are, mademoiselle." + +The girl laughed. + +"It is not rude at all; and please you are to call me Myra and not +mademoiselle. Now, you must get strong as soon as you can. Mamma said I +might act as your guide, and show you about the plantation, and the +slave houses, and everywhere. I have never had a boy friend, and I +should think it was very nice." + +"My dear," her mother said with a smile, "it is not altogether discreet +for a young lady to talk in that way." + +"Ah! but I am not a young lady yet, mamma, and I think it is much nicer +to be a girl and to be able to say what one likes. And you are an +officer, Monsieur Glover!" + +"Well, if I am to call you Myra, you must call me Nat. Monsieur Glover +is ridiculous." + +"You are very young to be an officer," the girl said. + +"Oh, I have been an officer for more than two years," he said. "I was +only fourteen when I joined, and I am nearly sixteen now." + +"And have you been in battles?" + +"Not in a regular battle. You see England is not at war now with anyone, +but I have been in two or three fights with pirates and that sort of +thing." + +"And now, Myra, you must not talk any more," her father said. "You know +the doctor gave strict orders that he was to go to bed as soon as he +arrived here." + +At this moment the door opened and a slave girl brought in a basin of +strong broth. + +"Well, you may stop to take that." + +Nat spent a delightful month at Monsieur Duchesne's plantation. For the +first few days he lay in a hammock beneath a shady tree, then he began +to walk, at first only for a few minutes, but every day his strength +increased. At the end of a fortnight he could walk half a mile, and by +the time the month was up he was able to wander about with Myra all over +the plantation. Monsieur Duchesne, on his return one day from town, +brought a letter for him. It was from the captain himself: + + _Dear Mr. Glover,--I hope you are getting on well, and are by this + time on your legs again. As far as I can see, we are not likely to + be at Cape Francois again for some time, therefore, when you feel + quite strong enough, you had better take passage in a craft bound + for Jamaica, which is likely to be our head-quarters for some + time. Of course if we are away, you will wait till our return. I + have spoken to a friend of mine, Mr. Cummings--his plantation lies + high up among the hills--and he has kindly invited you to make his + place your home till we return, and it will be very much better for + you to be in the pure air up there than in this pestilential + place._ + +Nat would have started the next day, but his host insisted upon his +staying for another week. + +"You are getting on so well," M. Duchesne said, "that it would be folly +indeed to risk throwing yourself back. Every day is making an +improvement in you, and a week will make a great difference." + +At the end of that week the planter, seeing that Nat was really anxious +to rejoin his ship, brought back the news that a vessel in port would +sail for Port Royal in two days. + +"I have engaged a cabin for you," he said, "for although we shall be +sorry indeed to lose you, I know that you want to be off." + +"It is not that I want to be off, sir, for I was never happier in all my +life, but I feel that I ought to go. It is likely enough that the ship +may be short of middies, one or two may be away in prizes, and it will +be strange if no one falls sick while they are lying in Port Royal. It +would be ungrateful indeed if I wanted to leave you when you are all so +wonderfully kind to me." + +M. Duchesne drove Nat down to the port the next morning. The midshipman +as he left the house felt quite unmanned, for Myra had cried +undisguisedly, and Madame Duchesne was also much moved. They passed M. +Demaine's house without stopping, as he and his wife had spent the +previous evening at the Duchesnes', and had there said good-bye to him. + +"It is quite time that I was out of this," Nat said to himself as he +leaned on the rail and looked back at the port. "That sort of life is +awfully nice for a time, but it would soon make a fellow so lazy and +soft that he would be of no use on board ship. Of course it was all +right for a bit, but since I began to use my arm a little, I have wanted +to do something. Still, it would have been no good leaving before, for +my arm is of no real use yet, and the doctor said that I ought to carry +it in a sling for at least another month. But I am sure I ought to feel +very grateful to our doctor and Lepel, for I expect I should have lost +it altogether if they hadn't taken such pains with it at first. Well, it +will be very jolly getting back again. I only hope that the captain +won't be wanting to treat me as an invalid." + +To Nat's delight he saw, as he entered Port Royal, the _Orpheus_ lying +there, and without landing he hailed a boat and went on board. As soon +as he was made out there was quite a commotion on board the frigate +among the sailors on deck and at the side, while those below looked out +of the port-holes, and a burst of cheering rose from all as the boat +came alongside. As he came up on to the deck the midshipmen crowded +round, shaking him by the hand; and when he went to the quarter-deck to +report his return, the lieutenants greeted him as heartily. The captain +was on shore. Nat was confused and abashed at the warmth of their +greeting. + +"It is perfectly ridiculous!" he said almost angrily, as he rejoined the +midshipmen; "as if there was anything extraordinary in a fellow fighting +a dog!" + +"It depends upon the size of the dog and the size of the fellow," +Needham, the senior midshipman, said, "and also how he got into the +fight." + +"The fact is, Needham, if I had killed the dog with the first stroke of +my dirk nobody would have thought anything about the matter, and it is +just because I could not do so, and therefore got badly mauled before I +managed it, that all this fuss is made! It would have been much more to +the point if you had all grumbled, when I came on board, at my being +nursed and coddled, while you had to do my duty between you, just +because I was such a duffer that I was a couple of minutes in killing +the dog instead of managing it at once." + +"Well, we might have done so if we had thought of it, but, you see, we +did not look at it in that light, Nat," Needham laughed; "there is +certainly a good deal in what you say. However, I shall in future look +upon my dirk as being of more use than I have hitherto thought; I have +always considered it the most absurd weapon that was ever put into +anyone's hand to use in action. Not, of course, that one does use it, +for one always gets hold of a cutlass when there is fighting to be done. +How anyone can ever have had the idea of making a midshipman carry about +a thing little better than a pocket-knife, and how they have kept on +doing so for years and years, is most astonishing! For the lords of the +admiralty must all have been midshipmen themselves at one time, and must +have hated the beastly things just as much as we do. If they think a +full-sized sword too heavy for us--which it certainly isn't for the +seniors--they might give us rapiers, which are no weight to speak of, +and would be really useful weapons if we were taught to use them +properly. + +"Well, we won't say anything more about your affair, Nat, if you don't +like it; but we sha'n't think any the less, because we are all proud of +you, and whatever you may say, it was a very plucky action. I know that +I would rather stand up against the biggest Frenchman than face one of +those savage hounds. And how is the arm going on? I see you still have +the arm of your jacket snipped open and tied up with ribbons, and you +keep it in a sling." + +"Yes; the doctor made such a point of it that I was obliged to promise +to wear it until Bemish gives me permission to lay it aside." He took it +out of the sling and moved it about. "You see I have got the use of it, +though I own I have very little strength as yet; still, I manage to use +it at meals, which is a comfort. It was hateful being obliged to have my +grub cut up for me. How long have you been in harbour here?" + +"Three days; and you are in luck to find us here, for I hear that we are +off again to-morrow morning. You have missed nothing while you have been +away, for we haven't picked up a single prize beyond a little slaver +with a hundred niggers on board." + +When the captain came off two hours later with Dr. Bemish he sent for +Nat. + +"I am heartily glad to see you back again, Mr. Glover, and to see you +looking so vastly better than when I saw you last; in fact, you look +nearly as well as you did before that encounter." + +"I have had nothing to do but to eat, sir." + +"Well, the question is, how is your arm?" + +"It is not very strong yet, sir, but I could really do very well without +this sling." + +"Well, you see I have to decide whether you had better go up to the +hills until we return from our next cruise or take you with us." + +"Please, sir, I would much rather go with you." + +"Yes; it is not a question of what you like best, but what the doctor +thinks best for you. You had better go to him at once, he will examine +your arm and report to me, and of course we must act on his decision." + +Nat went straight to the doctor. + +"Well, you are looking better than I expected," the latter said, holding +the lad at arm's-length and looking him up and down; "flesh a good deal +more flabby than it used to be--want of exercise, of course, and the +result of being looked after by women. Now, lad, take off your shirt and +let me have a regular examination." + +He moved the arm in different directions, felt very carefully along each +bone, pressing rather hard at the points where these had been broken, +and asking Nat if it hurt him. He replied "No" without hesitation, as +long as the doctor was feeling the forearm, but when he came to the +upper-arm and shoulder he was obliged to acknowledge that the pressure +gave him a bit of a twinge. + +"Yes, it could hardly be otherwise," the doctor said; "however, there is +no doubt we made a pretty good job of it. Stretch both arms out in front +of you and bring the fingers together. Yes, that is just what I +expected, it is some two and a half inches shorter than the other; but +no one will be likely to notice it." + +"Don't you think, doctor, that I can go to sea now? The captain said +that you would have to decide." + +"I think a month up in the hills would be a very desirable thing, +Glover. The bones have knit very well, but it would not take much to +break them again." + +"I have had quite enough of plantations for the present, doctor, and I +do think that sea air would do me more good than anything. I am sure I +feel better already for the run from Cape Francois here." + +The doctor smiled. "Well, you see, if you did remain on board you would +be out of everything. You certainly would not be fit for boat service, +you must see that yourself." + +"I can't say that I do, sir; one fights with one's right arm and not +with one's left." + +"That is so, lad, but you might get hit on the left arm as well as the +right. Besides, even on board, you might get hurt while skylarking." + +"I would indeed be most careful, doctor." + +"Well, we will see about it, and talk it over with the captain." + +All that evening Nat was in a state of alarm whenever anyone came with a +message to any of his mess-mates; but when it was almost the hour for +lights out he turned into his hammock with great satisfaction, feeling +sure that if it had been decided that he must go ashore next morning a +message to that effect would have been sent to him. The sound of the +boatswain's whistle, followed by the call "All hands to make sail!" +settled the question. He had already dressed himself with Needham's +assistance, but had remained below lest, if the captain's eye fell on +him, he might be sent ashore. As soon, however, as he heard the order he +felt sure that all was right, and went up on deck. Here he took up his +usual station, passing orders forward and watching the men at work, +until the vessel was under sail. The want of success on the last cruise +made all hands even keener than usual to pick up something worth +capturing. + +"I suppose there is no clue as to the whereabouts of those three +pirates," he said to Needham as the latter, after the vessel was fairly +under weigh, joined him. + +"No; twice we had information from the captains of small craft that they +had seen suspicious sail in the distance, but there is no doubt that the +niggers had been either bribed or frightened into telling us the story, +for in each case, though we remained a fortnight cruising about, we have +never caught sight of a suspicious sail. When we returned here we found +to our disgust that they must have been at work hundreds of miles away, +as several ships were missing, and one that came in had been hotly +chased by them, but being a fast sailer escaped by the skin of her +teeth. That is the worst of these negroes, one can never believe them, +and I think the best way would be when anyone came and told a yarn, to +go and cruise exactly in the opposite direction to that in which he +tells us he has seen the pirates." + +"It is a pity we cannot punish some of these fellows who give false +news," Nat said. + +"Yes; but the difficulty is proving that it is false. In the first +place, one of these native craft is so much like another that one would +not recognize it again; besides, you may be sure that the rascals would +give Port Royal a wide berth for a time. On our last cruise we did take +with us the negro who brought the news, but that made the case no +better. He pretended, of course, to be as anxious as anyone that the +pirates should be caught, and as he stuck to his story that he had seen +a rakish schooner where he said he did, there was no proof that he was +lying, and he pretended to be terribly cut up at not getting the reward +promised him if he came across them. + +"I have no doubt that he was lying, but there was no way of proving it. +You see, the idea of getting hold of a trader and fitting her up with a +few guns and some men is all well enough when you have only got to deal +with a single schooner or brigantine, but it would be catching a tartar +if these three scoundrels were to come upon her at once. Of course they +are all heavily armed and carry any number of men, nothing short of the +frigate herself would be a match for them. And one thing is certain, we +can't disguise her to look like a merchantman. Do what we would, the +veriest landlubber would make her out to be what she is, and you may be +sure the pirates would know her to be a ship of war as soon as they got +a sight of her topsails." + +"You have not heard, I suppose, where our cruising ground is going to be +this time?" Nat asked. + +"No, and I don't suppose we shall know for a few hours. You may be sure +that whatever course we take now will not be our real course, for I bet +odds that after dark some fast little craft will sneak out of harbour to +take the pirates news as to the course we are following, and to tell +them that we have not taken a negro this time who would lead us a dance +in the wrong direction. I should not be surprised if we are going to +search the islands round Cuba for a change. We were among the bays and +islets up north on our last cruise, and the captain may be determined to +try fresh ground." + +Needham's guess turned out to be correct, for after darkness fell the +ship's course was changed, and her head laid towards Cuba. After +cruising for nearly three weeks without success, they were passing along +the coast of the mainland, when Nat, who had now given up his sling, +went aloft with his telescope. Every eye on deck was turned towards the +island, but their continued failures had lessened the eagerness with +which they scanned the shore, and, as there was no sign of any break in +its outline, it was more from habit than from any hope of seeing +anything that they looked at the rugged cliffs that rose forty or fifty +feet perpendicularly above the water's edge, and at the forest +stretching up the hillsides behind them. + +"You have seen nothing, I suppose, Tom?" he asked the sailor stationed +in the main-top. + +"Not a thing, Mr. Glover." + +Nat continued his way up, and took his seat on the yard of the topsail. +Leaning back against the mast, he brought his telescope to bear upon the +land, and for half an hour scanned every rock and tree. At last +something caught his eye. + +"Come up here, Tom," he called to the sailor below. "Look there, you see +that black streak on the face of the cliff?" + +"I see it, yer honour." + +"Well, look above the first line of trees exactly over it: isn't that a +pole with a truck on the top of it?" + +"You are right, sir! you are right!" the sailor said, as he got the +glass to bear upon the object Nat had indicated, "that is the upper spar +of a vessel of some sort, sure enough." + +"On deck there!" Nat shouted. + +"What is it, Mr. Glover?" the first lieutenant answered. + +"I can make out the upper spar of a craft in among the trees over there, +sir." + +"You are sure that you are not mistaken?" + +"Quite sure, sir. With the glass I can make out the truck quite +distinctly. It is certainly either the upper spar of a craft of some +kind or a flag-staff, of course I cannot say which." + +The first lieutenant himself ran up the ratlines and joined Nat. The +breeze was very light, and the _Orpheus_ was scarcely moving through the +water. Nat handed his telescope to Mr. Hill. + +"There, sir, it is about a yard to the west of that black streak on the +rock." + +"I see it," the lieutenant exclaimed after a long gaze at the shore. +"You are right, it must be, as you say, either the spar of a ship or a +flag-staff; though how a ship could get in there is more than I can say. +There, it has gone now!" + +"The trees were rather lower at the point where we saw it, and the +higher trees have shut it in." + +He descended to the deck followed by Nat. + +"Well, what do you make of it, Mr. Hill?" enquired the captain, who had +come out of his cabin on hearing Nat's hail. + +"There is no doubt that Mr. Glover is right, sir, and that it is the +upper spar of a craft of some kind, unless it is a flag-staff on shore, +and it is hardly the sort of place in which you would expect to find a +flag-staff. It is a marvel Mr. Glover made it out, for even with his +glass I had a great difficulty in finding it, though he gave me the +exact bearing." + +"Thank you, Mr. Glover," the captain said. "At last there seems a chance +of our picking up a prize this cruise. The question is, how did she get +there?" + +"I am pretty sure that we have passed no opening, sir. I have been aloft +for the past half-hour, and have made out no break in the rocks." + +"That is quite possible," the captain said, "and yet it may be there. We +are a good three-quarters of a mile off the shore, and some of these +inlets are so narrow, and the rocks so much the same colour, that unless +one knows the entrance is there, one would never suspect it. At any rate +we will hold on as we are for a bit." + +The hail had set everyone on deck on the _qui vive_, and a dozen +telescopes were turned upon the shore. + +"Unlikely as it seems, Mr. Hill," the captain said, after they had gone +on half a mile without discovering any break in the line of rock, "I am +afraid that it must have been a flag-staff that you saw. There may be +some plantation there, and the owner may have had one put up in the +front of his house. However, it will be worth while to lower a boat and +row back along the foot of the cliff for a mile or so, and then a mile +ahead of us; if there is an opening we shall be sure to find it. Tell +Mr. Playford to take the gig; Mr. Glover can go with him as he is the +discoverer." + +The boat was lowered at once, and as soon as the officers had taken +their place the six men who composed the crew bent their backs to the +oars, the coxswain making for a point on the shore about a mile astern +of the frigate, which was lying almost becalmed. The men had taken +muskets and cutlasses with them, for it was probable enough that a watch +might have been set on the cliff, and that, should there be an inlet, a +boat might be lying there ready to pounce out upon them as soon as they +reached it. + +Every eye was fixed upon the boat as she turned and rowed along within +fifty yards of the foot of the rocks. + +"I thought I could not have been so blind as to pass the entrance +without seeing it," one of the sailors who had been on watch aloft said, +in a tone of satisfaction. "Now, I don't mind how soon the boat finds a +gap." + +But when the boat had paddled on for another mile without a pause, a +look of doubt and dissatisfaction showed itself on every face. + +"You are quite sure, Mr. Hill," the captain asked, "that it was a staff +of some kind that you saw, and not, perhaps, the top of a dead tree +whose bark had peeled off?" + +"I am quite certain, sir. It was too straight and even for rough wood; +and I made out a truck distinctly: but it is certainly strange that no +entrance should be discovered. I am afraid that 'tis but a flag-staff +after all." + +"I can hardly imagine that," the captain said. "I have often seen +flag-staffs in front of plantation houses, but never one so high as this +must be to show over the trees. If it had been nearer to the edge of the +cliff it might have been a signal-post, but they would hardly put it a +mile back from the edge of the cliff and bury it among trees. At any +rate, if we find no entrance I will send a landing-party ashore to see +what it really is, that is to say if we can find any place where the +cliff can be scaled." + +"What is it, Mr. Needham?" as the midshipman came up and touched his +hat. + +"The boat is rowing in to shore, sir." + +The two officers went to the side. + +"They have either found an entrance or some point at which the rock can +be scaled--Ah, there they go!" he went on, as the boat disappeared from +sight, "though from here there is no appearance whatever of an +opening." + +It was some minutes before the boat again appeared. It was at once +headed for the frigate. + +"Mr. Playford has news for us of some sort," the captain said, "the men +are rowing hard." In a few minutes the boat came alongside. The second +officer ran up the accommodation ladder. + +"Well, Mr. Playford, what is your news?" + +"There is an inlet, sir, though if we had not been close in to those +rocks I should never have noticed it. It runs almost parallel with the +coast for a quarter of a mile. I thought at first that it ended there, +but it makes a sharp angle to the south-east, and continues for a mile +or so, and at the other end there is a large schooner, I have no doubt a +slaver. I fancy they are landing the slaves now. There is a barracoon on +the shore and some storehouses." + +"Did they see you?" + +"No, sir; at least I don't think so. Directly I saw that the passage was +going to make a turn, I went close in to the rocks on the other side, +and brought up at the corner where I could get a view without there +being much fear of our being seen, and indeed I don't think that it +would have been possible to make us out unless someone had been watching +with a glass." + +"We shall soon know whether they saw you, Mr. Playford. If they did they +will probably set all hands to work to tow the schooner out, for though +there is not wind enough to give us steerage-way, these slavers will +slip along under the slightest breath. They can hardly have made the +frigate out. They probably thought the hiding-place so secure that they +did not even put a watch on the cliffs. Of course if there was anyone up +there they could have seen the boat leave our side, and would have +watched her all along. + +"Did you see any place at which the cliff could be climbed?" + +"No, sir, and up to the turn the rocks are just as steep inside as they +are here, but beyond that the inlet widens out a good deal and the banks +slope gradually, and a landing could be effected anywhere there, I +should say." + +"We will send the boats in as soon as it gets dark, Mr. Hill. If they +saw us coming they would drive off the slaves into the woods before we +could get there, so the best plan will be to land a strong party at the +bend, so that they can get down to the barracoon at the same time that +the others board the schooner. No doubt this is a regular nest of +slave-traders. It has long been suspected that there was some depot on +this side of the island. It has often been observed that slavers when +first made out were heading in this direction, and more than once craft +that were chased, and, as it seemed, certain to be caught in the +morning, have mysteriously disappeared. This hiding-place accounts for +it. + +"You did not ascertain what depth of water there was at the mouth of the +creek, Mr. Playford?" + +"Yes, sir, I sounded right across with the boat's grapnel; there is +nowhere more than two and a half fathoms, but it is just about that +depth right across." + +"Then it is evident that we cannot take the frigate in. What is the +width at the mouth?" + +"About thirty yards." + +An hour later the _Orpheus_ anchored opposite the mouth of the inlet, +which, however, was still invisible. + +"I think that, as this may be an important capture, Mr. Hill, it would +be as well for you to go in charge of the boats. Mr. Playford will take +the command of the landing-party. I should say that twenty marines, +under Lieutenant Boldero, and as many blue-jackets, would be ample for +that. He had better take the long-boat and one of the gigs, while you +take the launch, the pinnace, and the other gig. If they have made us +out, we may expect a very tough resistance, and it may be that, although +Mr. Playford saw nothing of them, they may have a couple of batteries +higher up." + +"Likely enough, sir." + +"You had better let the landing-party have a start of you, so that if +they should unmask a battery on the side on which they are, they can +rush down at once and silence it." + +"Very good, sir." + +The sun was now approaching the horizon; as soon as it dipped behind it +the boats were lowered, and the sailors, who had already made all +preparations, at once took their places in them. Needham was in command +of the gig that carried a portion of the landing-party, Nat was in +charge of the other gig, and Low was in charge of the pinnace, Mr. Hill +going in the launch. Nat had first been told off to the gig now +commanded by Needham, but the captain said to the first lieutenant, "You +had better take Glover with you, Mr. Hill, and let Needham go with Mr. +Playford. Scrambling along on the shore in the dark, one might very well +get a heavy fall, and it is as well that Glover should not risk breaking +his arm again." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A SLAVE DEPOT + + +Night fell rapidly as soon as the sun had set, and by the time the boats +reached the mouth of the inlet it was already dark. The two boats under +the second officer entered first, rowed up the inlet to the bend, and +landed the marines and sailors on the opposite side; the boarding-party +lay on their oars for five minutes and then followed. The oars were +muffled, and the men ordered to row as noiselessly as they could, +following each other closely, and keeping under the left bank. They were +about half-way up when the word "Fire!" was shouted in Spanish, and six +guns were simultaneously discharged. Had the Spaniards waited a few +seconds longer, the three boats would all have been in line with the +guns. As it was, a storm of grape sent the water splashing up ahead of +the pinnace, which, however, received the contents of the gun nearest to +them. It was aimed a little low, and fortunately for the crew the shot +had not yet begun to scatter, and the whole charge struck the boat just +at the water-level, knocking a great hole in her. + +"We are sinking, Mr. Hill," Low said. "Will you come alongside and pick +us up?" + +Although the launch was but a length behind, the gunwale of the pinnace +was nearly level with the water as she came alongside. Its occupants +were helped on board the launch, which at once held on her way. Half a +minute later six guns were fired from the opposite bank. The boats were +so close under the shore that their position could not be made out with +any certainty. Three men were hit by the grapeshot, but beyond this +there were no casualties. + +"Keep in as much as you dare," Mr. Hill said to the coxswain; "the +battery opposite will be loaded again in a couple of minutes, but as +long as we keep in the shadow of the shore their shooting will be wild." + +The battery, indeed, soon began to fire again, irregularly, as the guns +were loaded. The shot tore up the water ahead and astern of the boats, +but it was evident that those at the guns could not make out their +precise position. Another five minutes and the boats were headed for the +schooner. + +"You board at the bow, Mr. Glover, I will make for her quarter. Now, lay +out, lads, as hard as you can, the sooner you are there the less chance +you have of being hit." + +A moment later a great clamour arose behind them. First came a British +cheer; then rapid discharges of pistols and muskets, mingled with the +clash of cutlasses and swords; a minute or two later this ceased, and +the loud cheer of the marines and seamen told those in the boats that +they had carried the battery. The diversion was useful to the boats. +Until now the slavers had been ignorant that a party of foes had landed, +and the fact that a barracoon full of slaves, and the storehouses, were +already threatened, caused something like consternation among them. The +consequence was that they fired hastily and without taking time to aim. +Before they could load again the boats were alongside, unchecked for an +instant by the musketry fire which broke out from the deck of the +schooner as soon as cannon had been discharged. + +Boarding-nettings had been run up, but holes were soon chopped in these +by the sailors. Headed by Nat, the crew of the gig leapt down on to the +deck, for the greater part of the slaver's crew ran aft to oppose what +they considered the more dangerous attack made by the occupants of the +crowded launch. The defence was successfully maintained until the crew +of the gig, keeping close together and brushing aside the resistance of +the few men forward, flung themselves upon the main body of the slavers, +and with pistol and cutlass hewed their way through them till abreast of +the launch. The slavers attacked them furiously, and would speedily have +annihilated them, but the crew of the launch, led by Mr. Hill, came +swarming over the bulwarks, and, taking the offensive, drove the slavers +forward, where, seeing that all was lost, they sprang overboard, +striking out for the shore to the right. + +Severe fighting was now going on opposite the schooner, where the +landing-party were evidently attacking the barracoon and storehouses. + +[Illustration: "HEADED BY NAT, THE CREW OF THE GIG LEAPT DOWN ON TO THE +DECK."] + +"To the boats, men!" Mr. Hill shouted, "our fellows are being hard +pressed on shore; Mr. Glover, you with the gig's crew will remain in +charge here." + +Indeed, it was evident that the resistance on shore was much more +obstinate than had been expected. Nat stood watching the boat. Just as +it reached the shore one of the sailors shouted, "Look out, sir!" and he +saw a big mulatto rushing at him with uplifted sword. His cutlass was +still in his hand, and throwing himself on guard he caught the blow as +it fell upon it, and in return brought his cutlass down on his +opponent's cheek. With a howl of pain the man sprang at him, but Nat +leaped aside, and his cutlass fell on the right wrist of the mulatto, +whose sword dropped from his hand, and, rushing to the side, he threw +himself overboard. In the meantime a fierce struggle was going on +between the sailors and seven or eight of the slavers who, being unable +to swim, had thrown themselves down by the guns and shammed death, as +had Nat's antagonist, who was first mate of the schooner. The fight was +short but desperate, and one by one the slavers were run through or cut +down, but not before three or four of the sailors had received severe +wounds. + +"Get a lantern, mate," one of these growled, "and see that there are no +more of these skulking hounds alive." + +The sailors, furious at what they considered treachery, fetched a light +that was burning in the captain's cabin, and without mercy ran through +two or three unwounded men whom they found hiding among the fallen. It +was soon clear that the reinforcement that had landed had completely +turned the tables. Gradually the din rolled away from the neighbourhood +of the storehouses, there was some sharp firing as the enemy fled +towards the wood behind, and then all was quiet. Presently there was a +shout in Mr. Hill's voice from the shore: + +"Schooner ahoy!" + +"Ay, ay, sir." + +"Load with grape, Mr. Glover, and send a round or two occasionally into +that wood behind the houses; I am going to leave thirty men here under +Mr. Playford, and to take the rest over to the opposite side and carry +the battery there." + +"Ay, ay, sir." + +And as the guns pointing on that side had not been discharged, he at +once opened fire on the wood. A minute later the launch and gig rowed +past the schooner and soon reached the opposite side. Ten minutes passed +without any sound of conflict being heard, and Nat had no doubt that the +battery had been found deserted. It was not long before the boats were +seen returning. They rowed this time to the schooner. + +"Mr. Glover," the first lieutenant said as he reached the deck, "do you +lower the schooner's cutter, put all the wounded on board, take four of +your men and row out to the frigate and report to the captain what has +taken place. Tell him that Mr. Playford carried the battery on the right +in spite of the guns, and that I have spiked those in the battery on the +left, which I found deserted. Say that we have had a sharp fight on +shore with a large number of negroes led by two or three white men and +some mulattoes, and that I believe there must be some large plantations +close at hand whose owners are in league with the slavers. You can say +that we found a hundred and twenty slaves in the barracoon, evidently +newly landed from the schooner, and that I intend to find the +plantations and give them a lesson in the morning. How many wounded have +you here?" + +"There are fourteen altogether, sir; ten of them were wounded in the +first attack, and four have been wounded since by some of the slavers +who shammed death." + +"There are eight more in the launch, happily we have only two men +killed. You had better give all the wounded a drink of water; I have a +flask, and I dare say you have one: empty them both into the bucket." + +There was a barrel half full of water on deck; a bucketful of this was +drawn, and the two flasks of spirits emptied into it, and a mug of the +mixture given to each of the wounded men. They were then assisted down +into the schooner's boat; four of the gig's crew took their places in +it, and Nat, taking the tiller, told them to row on. + +Half an hour later they came alongside the frigate. A sailor ran down +the ladder with a lantern. Nat stepped out and mounted to the deck. The +captain was standing at the gangway. + +"We have been uneasy about you, Mr. Glover. We heard a number of reports +of heavier guns than they were likely to carry on board a slaver, and +feared that they came from shore batteries." + +"Yes, sir, there were two of them mounting six guns each. Mr. Playford, +with the landing-party, captured the one on the eastern side; Mr. Hill, +after the schooner was taken and the enemy on shore driven off, rowed +across and took the other, which he found unoccupied." + +"What is the loss?" + +"Only two killed, sir, but there are twenty-two wounded, two or three of +them by musket-shots, and the rest cutlass wounds. They are all in the +boat below, sir." + +A party was at once sent down to carry up such of the wounded as were +unable to walk. As soon as all were taken below, and the surgeon had +begun his work, the captain asked Nat to give him a full account of the +proceedings. + +"I cannot tell you much of what took place ashore, sir," he said, "as +Mr. Hill left me in charge of the schooner. After we had carried her, he +went ashore with the crews of the launch and pinnace to help Mr. +Playford." + +"Tell me all you know first." + +Nat related the opening of the two batteries, and how one had been +almost immediately captured by Mr. Playford. + +"So the pinnace was sunk?" + +"Yes, sir, the enemy's charge struck her between wind and water, and she +went down at once; her crew were picked up by the launch. I hear that +none of them were injured." Then he told how they had kept under the +shelter of the shore, and thus escaped injury from the other battery, +and how the schooner had been captured. + +"It was lucky that your men got a footing forward, Mr. Glover. You did +well to lead them aft at once, and thus assist Mr. Hill's party to +board." + +Nat then related the sudden attack by the slavers who had been feigning +death. + +"It was lucky that it was no worse," the captain said. "No doubt they +were fellows who couldn't swim, and if there had been a few more it +would have gone hard with you. And now about this fight on shore; it can +hardly have been the crew of the schooner, for, by the stout resistance +they offered, they must have been all on board." + +"Yes, sir." + +Nat then gave the message that Mr. Hill had sent. + +"No doubt, Mr. Glover; I dare say this place has been used by slavers +for years. Probably there are some large barracoons where the slaves are +generally housed, and planters who want them either come or send from +all parts of the island. I will go ashore myself early to-morrow +morning. There is no question that this is an important capture, and it +will be a great thing to break up this centre of the slave-trade +altogether. Now that their hiding-place has once been discovered, they +will know that our cruisers will keep a sharp look-out here, and a +vessel once bottled up in this inlet has no chance whatever of escape. +You can go with me, it is thanks to the sharpness of your eyes that we +made the discovery." + +The sun had not yet shown above the eastern horizon when the captain's +gig passed in through the mouth of the inlet, and ten minutes later +rowed alongside the wharf in front of the barracoon. + +"There is another wharf farther along," the captain said; "we may take +that as proof that there are often two of these slavers in here at the +same time. Ah, there is Mr. Hill! I congratulate you on your success," +he went on, as the first lieutenant joined him; "there is no doubt that +this has been a regular rendezvous for the scoundrels. It is well that +you attacked after dark, for the cross fire of those batteries, aided by +that of the schooner, would have knocked the boats into matchwood." + +"That they would have done, sir. I was very glad when I saw the boat +coming, as I thought it was probable that you were on board her, and we +are rather in a difficulty." + +"What is that, Mr. Hill?" + +"Well, sir, as soon as we had settled matters here we followed the +enemy, and found a road running up the valley; and as it was along this +that most of the fellows who opposed us had no doubt retreated, I +thought it as well to follow them up at once. We had evidently been +watched, for a musketry fire was opened upon us from the trees on both +sides. I sent Mr. Boldero with the marines to clear them out on the +left, and Mr. Playford with twenty seamen to do the same on the right, +and then I pressed forward with the rest. Presently a crowd of negroes +came rushing down from the front, shouting, and firing muskets. We gave +them a volley, and they bolted at once. We ran straight on, and a +hundred yards farther up came upon a large clearing. + +"In the middle stood a house, evidently that of a planter. A short +distance off were some houses, probably inhabited by the mulatto +overseers, and a few huts for his white overseers, and some distance +behind these were four large barracoons. We made straight for these, for +we could hear a shouting there, and had no doubt that the mulattoes were +trying to get the slaves out and to drive them away into the wood. +However, as soon as we came up the fellows bolted. There were about a +hundred slaves in each barracoon. No doubt the fellows who attacked us +were the regular plantation hands. I suppose the owner of the place made +sure that we should be contented with what we had done, and should not +go beyond the head of the inlet; and when the firing began again he sent +the plantation men down to stop us until he had removed the slaves. I +left Mr. Playford in command there, and brought twenty men back here; +and I was just going to send off a message to you saying what had taken +place, and asking for instructions. You see, with the slaves we found +here, we have over five hundred blacks in our hands. That is extremely +awkward." + +"Extremely," the captain said thoughtfully. "Well, I will go back with +you and see the place. As to the houses--the plantation house and the +barracoons--I shall have no hesitation in destroying them. This is +evidently a huge slaving establishment, and, as the blacks and their +overseers attacked us, we are perfectly justified in destroying this den +altogether. If I could catch their owner I should assuredly hang him. +The difficulty is what to do with all these unfortunate creatures; the +schooner would not hold more than two hundred if packed as close as +herrings. However, the other thing is first to be thought of." + +Nat followed his commander and the lieutenant to the plantation, or, it +should rather be said, to the depot; for the clearing in the valley was +but a quarter of a mile long and a few hundred yards wide. It was +evident that if the owner had a plantation it was at some distance +away, and that the men with whom they had fought were principally +mulattoes and negroes employed about the place, and in minding the +slaves as they were brought in. + +They passed straight on to the barracoons. The sailors had already +brought the slaves out and knocked off their irons. The poor creatures +sat on the ground, evidently bewildered at what had taken place, and +uncertain whether they were in the hands of friends or enemies. + +"Some of the men have found the cauldrons in which food is cooked," Mr. +Hill said, "and are now preparing a meal for them; and as we found some +hogsheads of molasses and stores of flour and rice they will get a +better meal than they are accustomed to. I have set some of the +strongest slaves to pump water into those big troughs there; the poor +beggars will feel all the better after a wash." + +"They will indeed. I don't suppose they have had one since they were +first captured in Africa." + +In half an hour a meal was served. As an effort of cooking it could +hardly be termed a success, but was a sort of porridge, composed of +flour and rice sweetened with molasses. There was some difficulty in +serving it out, for only a few mugs and plates were found at the +barracoons. These were supplemented by all the plates, dishes, and other +utensils in the houses of the owner and overseers. By this time the +negroes had been taken in parties of twenties to the troughs, where they +had a thorough wash. + +"This is all very well, Mr. Hill," the captain said, "but what are we to +do with all these people? Of course we must move them down to the water, +and burn these buildings, in the first place because the scoundrels who +are at the bottom of all this villainy should be punished, and in the +second place because in all probability they will collect a large number +of negroes and mulattoes and make an attack. We cannot leave a force +here that could defend itself; therefore, whatever we decide upon +afterwards, it is clear that all the slaves must be taken down to the +houses on the inlet. I should set the men to open all the stores, and +load the negroes with everything that can be useful. I expect you will +find a good deal of cotton cloth and so on, for no doubt the man here +dealt in other articles besides slaves, and he would, moreover, keep +cottons and that sort of thing for sending them up the country into +market. However, take everything that is worth taking in the way of food +or otherwise, and carry it down to the storehouses by the water, then +set all the houses and sheds here on fire. When you see them well alight +you can bring the men down to the shore; then we must settle as to our +course. It is a most awkward thing our coming upon all these slaves. If +there were only those who had been landed from the schooner there would +be no difficulty about it, as we should only have to put them on board +again, but with four hundred others on our hands I really don't know how +to manage. We might stow a hundred in the frigate, though I own I should +not like it." + +"No, indeed," Mr. Hill murmured; "and four hundred would be out of the +question." + +The captain returned to the inlet and made an examination of the +storehouses there. They were for the most part empty. They were six in +number, roughly constructed of timber, and some forty feet long by +twenty wide, and consisted only of the one floor. They stood ten feet +apart. The barracoon was some twenty yards away. In a short time the +slaves began to pour in, all--men, women, and children--carrying burdens +proportionate to their strength. They had now come to the conclusion +that their new captors were really friends, and with the +light-heartedness of their race laughed and chattered as if their past +sufferings were already forgotten. Mr. Playford saw to the storing of +their burdens. These filled one of the storehouses to the roof. There +was, as the captain had anticipated, a large quantity of cotton cloth +among the spoil. Some of these bales were placed outside the store, +twenty of the negroes were told off to cut the stuff up into lengths for +clothing, and by mid-day the whole of the slaves were, to their delight, +attired in their new wraps. Among the goods that had been brought down +were a number of implements and tools--axes, hoes, shovels, and long +knives. Captain Crosbie had, by this time, quite made up his mind as to +the plan to be pursued. + +"We must hold this place for a time, Mr. Hill," he said as the latter +came down with the last body of sailors, after having seen that all the +buildings in the valley were wrapped in flames. "I have been thinking +over the question of the slaves, and the only plan that I can see is to +go for a two or three day's cruise in the frigate, in hopes of falling +in with some native craft with which I can make an arrangement for them +to return here with me, and aid in carrying off all these poor +creatures. These five storehouses and the barracoon will hold them all +pretty comfortably. Two of the storehouses had better be given up to the +women and children. We will make a stockade round the buildings, with +the ends resting in the water, and get the guns from those batteries and +put them in position here. With the help of those on board the schooner, +a stout defence can be made to an attack, however formidable. I shall +leave Mr. Playford in command with forty men on shore; Mr. Glover will +be in charge of the schooner with five-and-twenty more. The frigate will +remain for a couple of days at her present anchorage, and I will send as +many men as we can spare ashore to help in finishing the work before she +sails. + +"In the first place there must be a barrack run up for the men on shore +between the barracoon and the storehouses. It must be made of stout +beams. I don't mean squared, but young trees placed side by side so as +to be perfectly musket-proof. The palisades should be made of strong +saplings, wattled together, say, ten feet high. A hundred and fifty +sailors, aided by three hundred and fifty able-bodied negroes, should +make quick work of it. The schooner's crew can see to the removal of the +guns from the batteries and their establishment upon platforms behind +the palisade. I should divide the twelve guns into four batteries, three +in each. The armourer shall come off in the morning to get out the +spikes, and the carpenters shall come with their tools." + +"There are a dozen cross-cut saws among the things that we have brought +down, sir." + +"That is good. How many axes are there?" + +"Four dozen, sir." + +"Good! I will send all the hatchets we have on board. I think, Mr. Hill, +that you had better take up your position on board the schooner until we +sail. How about water? That is a most important point." + +"The slaves have brought down a large number of staves, sir. They are +evidently intended for sugar hogsheads; they are done up in separate +packets. I should say there were a hundred of them." + +"That is satisfactory indeed. I will send the cooper ashore, and with a +gang of the black fellows he will soon get them all into shape. I see +that they have relied upon the stream that comes down from the hills for +their supply. One of the first moves of anyone attacking the place would +be to divert its course somewhere up in the hills. However, with such a +supply as these hogsheads would hold, we could do without the stream for +weeks. The twenty marines who came ashore with Lieutenant Boldero will +remain as part of the garrison." + +The work was at once begun. The sailors looked upon it as a pleasant +change from the ordinary routine of life on board ship, and threw +themselves into it vigorously, while the blacks, as soon as they +understood what was wanted, proved themselves most useful assistants. +Accustomed in their African homes to palisade their villages, they knew +exactly what was required. Some, with their hoes, dug a trench four feet +deep; others dragged down the poles as the sailors cut them, erected +them in their places, and trod the earth firmly round them. Others cut +creepers, or split up suitable wood, and wove them in and out between +the poles; and, by the time darkness fell, a surprising amount of work +had been accomplished. + +One of the storehouses was turned over to those who could not be berthed +on board the schooner, most of the slaves preferring to sleep in the +open air, which to them was a delightful change after being cooped up +for weeks in the crowded hold of a ship, or in the no less crowded +barracoons. Sentries were posted as soon as it became dark, but the +night passed off without an alarm, and at daybreak all were at work +again. The launch returned to the frigate when work was knocked off, and +came back with a fresh body of men in the morning, and with the +carpenters, coopers, and all the available tools on board. By the +evening of the third day the work was completed. Four banks of earth had +been thrown up by the negroes against the palisade, and on each of these +three guns were mounted. The hut for the garrison had been completed. +The hogsheads were put together and filled with water, and a couple of +hundred boarding-pikes were put ashore for the use of the negroes. + +Nat had been fully employed, with the schooner's crew, in removing the +guns from the batteries, and placing them on the platforms constructed +by the carpenters on the top of the earthworks. + +"It is quite possible," the captain said to Mr. Playford, "that this +creek is used by pirates as well as slavers. They may come in here to +sell goods they have captured suitable for use in the islands, such as +cotton cloths and tools, and which it would not pay them to carry to +their regular rendezvous. It will be great luck if one or two of them +should put in here while I am away. It would greatly diminish the +difficulty we have of getting the slaves away." + +"That would be fortunate indeed, sir. Even if two came in together we +could give a good account of them, for as the palisade is mostly on +higher ground than the huts, we should only have to slue the guns round +and give them such a warm welcome that they would probably haul down +their flags at once." + +"Yes. You had better tell Mr. Glover to run up the Spanish flag if any +doubtful-looking craft is seen to be making for the entrance, and I +should always keep a couple of signallers up on the cliff, so as to let +you know beforehand what you might have to expect, and to see that there +is nothing showing that could excite their suspicions, until it is too +late for them to turn back." + +Doubtless what was going on in the inlet had been closely watched from +the woods, for in the evening of the day on which the frigate sailed +away scattered shots were fired from the forest, and the sound of the +beating of tom-toms and the blowing of horns could be heard in the +direction of the plantation whose buildings they had destroyed. + +The lieutenant had gone off to dine with Nat, and they were sitting on +deck smoking their cigars when the firing began. + +"I almost expected it," he said. "No doubt they have been waiting for +the frigate to leave before they did anything, as they would know that +at least half of those who have been ashore would re-embark when she +left. I have no doubt the scoundrels whose place we burnt have sent to +all the planters in this part of the islands to assemble in force to +attack us. If they have seen us making the palisade and mounting the +guns, as no doubt they have done, they certainly will not venture to +assault the place unless they are in very strong force, but they can +make it very unpleasant for us. It is not more than eighty yards to the +other side of the creek, and from that hill they would completely +command us. You will scarcely be able to keep a man on deck, and we +shall have to stay in the shelter of the huts. Of course on this side +they would scarcely be able to annoy us, for they would have to come +down to the edge of the trees to fire, and as we could fire through the +palisade upon them they would get the worst of it." + +"We might row across in the boats, sir, and clear the wood of them if +they became too troublesome." + +"We should run the risk of losing a good many men in doing so, and a +good many more as we made our way up through the trees and drove them +out, and should gain nothing by it, for as soon as we retired they would +reoccupy the position. No; if they get very troublesome I will slue a +couple of guns round and occasionally send a round or two of grape among +the trees. That will be better than your doing so, because your men at +the guns would make an easy mark for them, while we are farther off, and +indeed almost out of range of their muskets." + +The firing soon died away, but in the morning it was reopened, and it +was evident that the number in the wood had largely increased. Bullet +after bullet struck the deck of the schooner, and Nat was obliged to +order the greater part of the crew to remain below, and to see that +those who remained on deck kept under the shelter of the bulwark. +Presently a sharp fire broke out from the trees facing the palisade, and +this was almost immediately replied to by the blue-jackets and marines. +The fire of the assailants soon slackened, and Nat thought that it had +only been begun with the object of finding out how strong a force had +been left behind. Presently two of the guns on shore spoke out, and sent +a volley of grape into the wood in which his own assailants were +lurking. It had the effect of temporarily silencing the fire from that +quarter. This, however, was but for a short time. When it began again it +was taken up on the other side also, the party which had made the +demonstration against the palisade evidently considering that the +schooner, which lay midway between the two shores, was a safer object of +attack than the stockade. As the bulwark now offered no shelter, all +went below. Two of the men were about to pull up the boat which was +lying at the stern, and Nat went to the ladder to take his place in it, +when he was hailed from shore. + +"You had better stay where you are, Mr. Glover, until it gets dusk. You +would only be a mark for every man with a musket, up in the trees above +us, and, so far as I can see, there is nothing we can do until they +begin work in earnest." + +"Very well, sir," Nat shouted back, "I will come off after it gets +dusk." + +Firing continued all day, but died away at sunset, and soon afterwards +Nat went ashore. + +"This is very awkward," the lieutenant said. "It is most unpleasant +being potted at all day by fellows who won't show themselves, but I +can't see that we can help it. By the noise and jabbering that breaks +out at times, I should think that there must be some hundreds of them on +this side alone, and we shall have to wait till they begin in earnest. +Their leaders must know that they can be doing us no harm by their +distant fire, and they must sooner or later make an attack on us. You +see they have a strong temptation. They must have seen that none of the +slaves have been taken away, and as there are five hundred of them, and +I suppose they are worth from twenty to forty pounds a head, it is a big +thing, to say nothing of the stores. Then I have no doubt they are +thirsting for revenge, and although they must see that they will have to +fight very hard to take the place, they must try without delay, for they +will know that the frigate will be back again before very long, and will +probably bring some craft with her to carry away the slaves. So I think +we must put up with their fire till they harden their hearts and attack +us in earnest. They will make the attack, I expect, about the centre of +the palisade, for your guns would cover both our flanks. If we are hard +pressed I will light a port fire, and you had better land with twenty of +your men, leaving five to take care of the ship and work a gun or two +should they try to take us in flank." + +"I should not be surprised if they tried to-night. Shall I bring ten of +the men on shore at once, sir?" + +"Well, perhaps it would be as well. Forty men are not a very large force +for this length of palisade and to work some of the guns at the point +where they may attack us, and I expect their first rush will be a +serious one, and we shall have all our work cut out for us. There is one +thing; we can rely, in case of their making a way in, on the slaves. By +this time they quite understand that we are friends and that the people +who had been firing on us are their enemies, and I believe they would +fight like demons rather than fall into their hands again. I have torn +up a bale of white calico and have given a strip of it to each man to +tie round his head, so that we can tell friend from foe and they can +recognize each other in the dark. The enemy won't reckon on that, and +will think that they have only a small body of whites to deal with. Do +you notice how silent the woods are now? I think we may take that as a +sign that they are preparing for mischief." + +"The sooner it comes the better. Have you plenty of port fires, Mr. +Playford?" + +"Yes, a large boxful came on shore with the last boat yesterday." + +Nat went off again, and picked out ten men to land with him. + +"Get the other boat down," he said to the petty officer. "You will +understand that if any attack is made on the flanks of the work you are +to open fire at once upon them with grape. If a blue light is burned at +the edge of the water ten men are to land instantly. You will remain in +charge of the other five. So far as we know they have no boats, but they +may have made a raft, and may intend to try and take the schooner, +thinking that the crew will probably be on shore. So you must keep a +sharp look-out on the other side as well as this. Light a blue light if +you see a strong party coming off, and we will rejoin you at once." + +He again landed with the ten men he had chosen. + +"I have six men on watch," the lieutenant said, "and have put one of the +blacks with each. I fancy their ears are sharper than ours are, and they +will hear them coming before our men do." + +Having nothing to do, Nat went into the barracoon and the other houses +in which the slaves were placed. The contrast between their condition +now and when he had seen them four days before, when they had first been +found, was striking indeed. Now they were clean, and looked picturesque +in their bright calico clothes. The look of dull and hopeless misery had +passed away, and it seemed to him that with the good and plentiful food +they had received they were already perceptibly plumper. They would have +risen as he entered, but he signed to them to keep their places. They +now had room to lie down in comfort, and while some sat chatting in +groups others moved about. They were evidently proud of their arms, and +some of them, seizing their pikes or hatchets, made signs how they would +fight their enemies. A ship's lantern was burning in each hut. + +In the women's huts the scene was still more interesting. The little +children ran up to Nat with a new-born confidence in white men. Some of +the women brought up babies to show him, and endeavoured to make him +understand that these would soon have died had it not been for the +sailors. The windows and doors stood open, and the evening breeze +cleared the huts of the effluvium always present where a number of +negroes congregate together. The sight of the poor creatures enraged Nat +still more against the slavers, and made him long for them to begin +their attack. + +"It is quite pleasant to see them," he said as he joined Mr. Playford. +"They are wonderfully changed in this short time. One would hardly have +thought it possible. What will become of them?" + +"I expect we shall take them to Jamaica, and that there they will be let +out as free labourers to the planters. You see there is no law against +the slave-trade, though public opinion is so strong on the subject at +home that I have no doubt such a law will be passed before long. So, of +course, we have not captured the slaves because of their being slaves, +but simply as we should capture or destroy other property belonging to +an enemy. Then, too, many of the slavers act as pirates if they get the +chance, and there can be little doubt that a considerable quantity of +the goods we found are the proceeds of piracy. Besides, you must +remember that they fired at us before we fired at them. So we have +plenty of good reasons for releasing these poor beggars. You see these +seas swarm with scoundrels of all kinds, and it is quite safe to assume +that all ships that cannot show that they are peaceful traders are +engaged in nefarious business of some kind or other." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +A SHARP FIGHT + + +Mr. Playford and Nat were still talking when a sailor came up to him +with one of the negroes. + +"What is it, Tomkins?" the lieutenant asked. + +"Well, sir, this 'ere black seems to hear something; he keeps pointing +up into the wood and whispering something in his own lingo and looking +very excited, so I thought I had better bring him here to you." + +"Quite right, Tomkins; no doubt he does hear something, their ears are a +good deal better than ours are. I will go up with you." + +Accompanied by Nat, Mr. Playford went up on to the bank of earth that +had been thrown up against the palisade, and found that the negroes +there were all in a state of excitement, pointing in various directions +and shaking their pikes angrily. + +"They are coming, there is no doubt of that," he said. "I should say, by +the motions of the blacks, that they are scattered through the wood. +Well, we are ready for them. You had better get your slow matches +alight, my lads; don't take the covers off the vents until the last +moment, the dew is heavy." + +They were joined now by Lieutenant Boldero. "I think I can hear them," +he said. + +"Yes. I should not have noticed if it had not been for the blacks, but +there is certainly a confused noise in the air." + +Listening attentively, they could hear a low rustling sound, with +sometimes a faint crack as of a breaking stick. + +"As soon as we think that they have got to the edge of the trees we +will throw a fireball out in that direction, and then let them have it. +We must keep them from getting closer if we can; when they once get near +the foot of the palisade we shall not be able to depress our guns enough +to fire upon them." + +In a short time there was no question that a large number of men were +making their way down through the wood. The blacks were now brought out +from the houses and ranged along at the foot of the bank, where they +were ordered to stay for the present, as were they to man the line they +would be exposed to the assailants' bullets, while powerless to do any +service until the latter began to attempt to scale the stockade. + +"They must be gathering at the edge of the trees now," the lieutenant +said at last. "Now, Tomkins, light that fireball and heave it over." + +The ball, which was formed of old junk, was about the size of a man's +head. The material had been smeared with tar mixed with sulphur, and +Tomkins held in his hand the lanyard attached to it. He applied a slow +match to it, and it broke into a blaze at once. Swinging it round his +head, he hurled it far in front of him. By its light as it fell a crowd +of figures could be seen gathered along the edge of the forest. A fierce +yell broke from them, and loud shouts were raised by the leaders +ordering them to charge, but before they could get into motion four guns +poured a storm of grape among them, followed directly afterwards by the +contents of four others. An appalling din of yells and shrieks was +heard, but without an instant's hesitation a score of figures in +European dress darted forward, followed by a mass of blacks, behind whom +came another thirty or forty Europeans or mulattoes driving the negroes +before them. + +"Pick off the whites!" Lieutenant Boldero shouted to the marines, and a +dropping fire of musketry was at once opened. + +The distance, however, from the edge of the trees to the palisades was +but some fifty yards; the light was dim and uncertain, and in a minute +from the first shot being fired the assailants were swarming along the +foot of the palisade. There was no hesitation, and it was evident that +the men who led the attack had made every preparation. A number of the +assailants carried ladders; these were placed against the wall, and the +whites and mulattoes swarmed up, closely followed by the negroes. So +sudden and unexpected was this assault that in several places they +obtained a footing inside the palisades, but with a wild yell the slaves +at once rushed up the bank and fell upon them. At the same moment the +boom of the schooner's guns told that they had made out parties of the +enemy advancing against the flanks of the works. + +The arrival of the slaves soon changed the position. The assailants were +cut down, run through, or forced to leap down over the stockade that +they had just crossed. In spite of the shouts of the lieutenant, the +slaves, thirsting for vengeance, leapt down after them, and fell with +such fury upon the assailants that these, seized with a panic, fled. At +the edge of the trees, however, the efforts of the whites checked the +flight. Guns and pistols were discharged for the first time, and a +fierce fight presently raged. + +"We must go down and lend them a hand," the lieutenant said. "Keep your +men here, Mr. Glover, to get the guns loaded again; I will take my +blue-jackets and the marines. Light a port fire or two, else, in spite +of their white head-gear, we shall be hurting our friends." + +The sailors and marines soon scrambled down the ladders, and, led by +their officers, rushed forward with loud cheers. Their arrival at once +decided the fortune of the fray. Rushing through their black allies, +they fell with sword and cutlass, musket and bayonet, upon the +Europeans, whose pistols had given them a decided advantage over the +slaves, but who could not stand the charge of the marines and seamen. +These pursued them for some little distance, but when beyond the range +of the lights of the stockade Lieutenant Playford halted them. The +slaves, however, continued the pursuit for some time, and then they, +too, returned, having overtaken and killed many of their flying enemies. + +"There is nothing more to be done till daylight," Mr. Playford said. +"Indeed, I do not think that we shall hear any more of these fellows, +who, to do them justice, fought well. Our guns must have done a good +deal of execution, though they would have done much more had they not +been so close; the bullets had hardly begun to scatter. However, we +shall see in the morning. It is lucky that we armed the slaves, or it +would have gone very hard with us. You see, we had half our men at the +guns, and the others were too thinly scattered along the line to be able +to defend it against so determined an attack. I expect they never +calculated on the slaves being armed, and thought that they had only +forty or fifty men to deal with. After the lesson that they have had I +don't think they will molest us again, unless there are any troops in +the neighbourhood that they can bring up." + +The palisades were recrossed and sentries set; grog was served out to +the seamen and marines; the slaves were mad with delight, and danced and +sang songs of triumph for some time. As soon, however, as the lieutenant +motioned them to return to their huts they did so at once. Many of them +were wounded more or less severely, but they seemed to think nothing of +this, being too much pleased with the vengeance they had taken to care +aught for the pain. Nat prepared to return to the schooner with his men, +none of whom were, however, seriously hurt, as they had been held in +reserve. Altogether, three sailors and a marine had been killed and six +severely wounded. + +"Are you going on board, Mr. Playford?" + +"No; I shall stay ashore till morning. I do not think that there is the +remotest chance of the attack being renewed; however, it is clearly my +duty to stay here." + +As soon as it was daylight Nat went on shore again, and with ten of his +own men, ten marines, and a hundred of the slaves, went over the ground +to collect the wounded, and learn the loss of the assailants. All the +wounded sailors had been carried into the fort when the fight ceased. +Six Spaniards and nine mulattoes lay dead either on the earthen rampart +or at the foot of the palisade. All of them were pierced in several +places by pikes, or mutilated with blows of axes. Round them lay some +twenty plantation negroes, and thirty others had fallen at the edge of +the wood, shattered by the discharges of the cannon or killed in the +hand-to-hand conflict; among them were twelve of the released slaves. +Not a single white or mulatto was found alive. + +The party pursued their way for a quarter of a mile into the wood. Here +and there were scattered the bodies of the assailants who had been +overtaken by their pursuers. The latter had done their work thoroughly, +for not a single man was found to be breathing. When they came to a +point beyond which the slaves by signs apprised them that they had not +gone, they returned, collecting and carrying down the bodies of the dead +as they went. They found on their return that two trenches, four feet +deep and thirty feet long, had already been dug, at the edge of the +forest and as far from the camp as possible. In one of these the bodies +of the Spaniards and mulattoes were laid, and in the other that of the +negroes. The earth was then filled in. + +"It has been an unpleasant job, but a necessary one," Lieutenant +Playford said, when he knew that the work was done, and the whole party +re-entered the fort. "In a climate like this the place would have been +uninhabitable in a couple of days if we had not buried them all." + +In the afternoon two fresh graves were made, and the fallen sailors were +reverently laid to rest in one, the dead slaves in the other. Water was +brought up in buckets by the negroes from the edge of the creek, and all +signs of the conflict on the rampart and at the foot of the palisade +either washed away or covered with earth. Then matters resumed their +former aspect. + +Early the next morning the look-out on the cliff ran down and reported +that a large brigantine was just entering the inlet. Mr. Playford +shouted the news to Nat. + +"I will send off the marines to you," he said. "I will remain here with +the blue-jackets." + +The Spanish flag was at once run up to the peak. In two or three minutes +the boat with the marines came alongside. They and the greater part of +the sailors at once lay down on the deck, while the few who remained on +foot took off their straw hats and white jumpers, tied handkerchiefs +round their heads, and gave themselves as unseamanlike an appearance as +possible. Ten minutes later the brigantine appeared round the point; +there was scarce a breath of wind, and she had two boats towing her. A +flag hung from her mast-head, and as Nat turned his glass upon it he +exclaimed to Boldero, who, having removed his coat and cap, was standing +by his side: + +"It is the black flag; the fellow must be pretty sure of his welcome or +he would never venture to haul it up." + +In the meantime the guns ashore had been slued round, and were now +pointed on a spot somewhat ahead of the schooner. She came slowly along +until within some four or five lengths of the latter, then there was a +sudden shout on board, followed by a tremendous hubbub. It was clear +that the line of palisades surrounding the huts had been noticed and +the guns seen. + +The brigantine was crowded with men. She carried twelve guns in her +ports, and a long swivel eighteen-pounder in her bow. There was now no +longer any motive for concealment, the marines and seamen leapt to their +feet with a cheer, and a moment later the schooner's two foremost guns, +which would alone bear on the boats, spoke out, while almost at the same +moment two of those on the rampart sent a shower of grape into them. +Both boats sank immediately, those of the crews who were uninjured +swimming to the brigantine. Contradictory orders were shouted on board +the pirate. One by one her guns on the port side answered those on the +ramparts. + +"Get ready, my lads!" Nat shouted, "she will be alongside directly." + +The impetus of the schooner's way was indeed sufficient to take her +slowly but surely forward, and the pirate slightly changed his course so +as to bring her outside the schooner. Playford saw what his object was, +and the remaining guns poured their charges of grape across the deck of +the brigantine, committing terrible havoc. Before they could be loaded +again she was alongside the schooner, and so covered by her from the +fire of the guns on shore. As the vessels came abreast of each other at +a distance of two or three feet only, Nat and the young marine officer +leapt on to the pirate's deck followed by their men. The resistance of +the pirates was desperate. Although they had suffered much loss from the +fire of the guns, they were still numerically stronger than their +assailants, and, fighting as they did with the desperation of despair, +they not only held their ground, but pushed their assailants back +towards the bulwark. + +[Illustration: THE GUNS ON THE RAMPART SEND A SHOWER OF GRAPE INTO THE +PIRATE.] + +For three or four minutes the fight continued without any marked +advantage to either party; the pistols of the seamen and pirates and the +muskets of the marines were empty, and they were fighting hand to hand. +Then slowly the advantage turned against the pirates, but the issue was +still undecided when there was a loud cheer, and Mr. Playford with +fifteen sailors leapt on the deck of the pirate from the other side, the +approach of the boat having been unnoticed in the heat of the fray. The +pirates now broke; their captain had fallen, and, outnumbered and +hopeless, some threw down their arms, while others jumped overboard. +Those who surrendered were at once bound and battened down in the hold +of the schooner, some eight or ten only gained the opposite shore and +took to the woods. The victory had not been a bloodless one. Five of the +frigate's crew had been killed, and there were few among Nat's command +who were not more or less severely wounded. + +"It was a sharp fight, Mr. Glover," Mr. Playford said. + +"It was indeed, sir. At one time they fairly drove us back, but I think +that we should have beaten them even if you had not brought help to us." + +"I am sure you would," the lieutenant said warmly. "I could see as I +boarded that although the men in front were fighting hard, those in the +rear were hanging back as if they had had enough of it. Still, you might +have lost more men than you did before you finished with them if we had +not turned up. You see, fighting with pirates is quite a different thing +from fighting with any other opponents. These fellows know well enough +that there is no mercy for them, and that they have nothing before them +but to fight until they die, or to be tried and hanged. The veriest +coward would fight till the last with such an alternative as that before +him. I would rather fight a hundred and fifty French or Spanish seamen +than a hundred pirates. She is a fine roomy craft that we have taken, +and I think we shall now be able to carry off all these blacks. No +doubt it will be a close pack for them, but for a short voyage that will +not matter. Now let us see to our wounded. After that is done we can get +off the hatches and have a look round below. Of course she may have come +in here for water, but it is likely that she has at least some booty in +her hold." + +This proved to be the case. She was half full of goods of a more or less +valuable kind, and these, by the marks on the bales and boxes, had +evidently formed part of the cargoes of three ships. Two days later the +_Orpheus_ was seen returning along the coast, and Nat was at once sent +off by the lieutenant with his written report of what had taken place +since she had sailed. The gig reached the side of the frigate just as +the anchor was let go. + +"I see your right arm is in a sling, Mr. Glover," the captain said as he +handed him the report, "so I suppose that you have had some fighting." + +"Yes, sir, we have had some pretty sharp fighting." + +"What is your wound?" + +"Only a chop with a cutlass, sir." + +"Oh, you came to hand-to-hand work, did you?" + +Nat gave no answer, for the captain had opened the report and was now +running his eye down it. + +"Very satisfactory," he said, as he handed it to the first lieutenant. +"An attacking force handsomely repulsed and a pirate captured. Very good +work indeed, very good. I see Mr. Boldero was wounded, Mr. Glover." + +"Yes, sir, he was hit on the head with a pistol-shot. Fortunately the +ball glanced off the skull. He was stunned for a time, but is now nearly +himself again." + +"Here is some work for you, Dr. Bemish," the captain said. "Mr. Playford +reports that ten of the cases are serious. I am going ashore in my gig +at once, and will take you with me. You had better send the cutter at +once, Mr. Hill, to bring off the wounded. You may as well return in your +own boat, Mr. Glover, Mr. Curtis can go in charge of the cutter. Mr. +Needham can go with me." + +Nat at once returned to his boat. He was overtaken by the captain's gig +when half-way up the inlet. He rowed to the schooner, while the gig made +straight for the landing-place where the lieutenant was standing. + +"I congratulate you, Mr. Playford," the captain said as he stepped +ashore. "You seem to have had a pretty busy time of it since we have +been away. I certainly did not think they would attempt to attack you +when you had those guns in position, and I did not reckon on the pirate. +She is a fine brigantine; the schooner looks quite small beside her." + +"Yes, sir, she is over three hundred tons. Her broadside guns are all +twelve-pounders, and she carries an eighteen-pounder as a swivel. She +had a crew of seventy men, of whom only eight or ten got ashore, the +rest were all accounted for except twelve, who are in irons below. The +credit of capturing her, sir, really belongs to Mr. Glover, for although +I went off to his assistance he would have taken her without my aid, +though the pirates were still fighting strongly." + +"Well, it has been a very successful business altogether, Mr. Playford. +The capture of the brigantine is specially fortunate, as I have failed +to come across any native craft as I had hoped to do, but with this +extra accommodation we shall be able to manage to carry off all the +slaves. I see by your account that Mr. Glover had the marines as well as +his own twenty men." + +"Yes, sir, I sent Lieutenant Boldero and fourteen marines on board; he +had lost six either killed or seriously wounded in the attack here. I +own that I had hardly calculated upon the brigantine getting alongside +the schooner. I thought that when we had smashed up her boats, which I +made certain we should do, she would be so completely at our mercy that, +being becalmed, she would haul down her flag; but she had sufficient way +on her to take her alongside the schooner, and her captain put her there +so cleverly that I could not fire at her except through the schooner. I +saw at once that the whole position was changed, for if he had captured +the schooner he might have put all his men into the boats and made a +dash for shore; and as I had so few men fit for work it would have been +awkward, though with the aid of the blacks I have no doubt I should have +driven them off." + +"Then I suppose your discharge of grape did not do him very much harm?" + +"Not so much as it ought to have done, sir. You see the first two guns +we fired destroyed his boats. The other guns were all too weakly handled +to be trained on the pirate as he forged ahead, and as far as I could +see not one of them did any serious execution among his crew. Yesterday +I told off four negroes to each gun, and kept them at work all day +learning how to train them under the direction of the sailors. If I had +thought of that before we should have swept his decks with such effect +that when she got alongside the schooner Mr. Glover's party would have +had easy work of it." + +"You could hardly think of everything, Mr. Playford, and you certainly +did right in sending the marines off to the schooner directly you had +news that this brigantine was entering the inlet. No doubt if you had +wished to sink her it would have been better to have kept them on shore +to help work the guns, but as she is a valuable prize, and we wanted her +badly to help carry away the slaves, you were quite right not to try to +damage her. You say she is half full of plunder?" + +"Yes, sir, and there were nearly eight hundred pounds in money and +thirty-four watches and some jewellery found in the captain's cabin." + +"She is a valuable capture, and I should think the admiral would buy her +into the service. She is just the sort of craft that we want. The +schooner would be too small to tackle one of these heavily-armed pirates +with their crowds of men. So your slaves fought well?" + +"That they did, sir. If it had been daylight I doubt whether any of the +whites who led the attack would have escaped. Of course they had no +particular animosity against the negroes, but I believe that they would +have followed the whites and mulattoes half across the island." + +"Well, do you think that the two craft will carry all the slaves?" + +"Hardly, sir; the schooner can stow a hundred and fifty. Of course it +will be close work, but there will be room for that number to lie down, +and with the hatches both open they will be all right. By rearranging +the cargo a bit, two hundred could sleep in the hold of the brigantine. +That would still leave rather over one hundred and fifty." + +"Well, we must give up part of the hold of the frigate to them," the +captain said, "there is no help for it. There are about that number of +women and children, are there not?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"They had better go off in the frigate, then. Of course, the prisoners +will be sent off too--I will pay a visit to the brigantine, and then go +off myself, and will send the boats in as soon as I get there. You may +as well be getting the men on board at once. As soon as they are all +off, you will, of course, set fire to all the sheds here, but you may as +well send off a boat-load of stores suitable for them to the frigate, +and will, of course, victual these two craft. I shall send you another +forty men to fill up the vacancies that have been caused, and to +furnish a crew for the brigantine, of which, of course, you will take +the command. You and the schooner will keep in close company. The +marines will return to the ship. Mr. Needham will be your second on the +brigantine." + +"How about the guns, sir? They are all old pieces, and scarcely worth +carrying away." + +"Yes, but I won't leave them here to be used for defending this place +again. You had better take them off their carriages, spike them, get +them into the boats, and heave them overboard, well out in deep water. +Do you think that you will be able to get everything done before dark, +Mr. Playford?" + +"Yes, sir, it is only nine o'clock now, and if you will send a strong +working party, in addition to those who will be taking the slaves on +board, to help with the stores and guns, I have no doubt that I shall be +able to get the work done well before sunset." + +"Very well. Mr. Hill will come on shore as soon as I return to the +frigate." + +The work went on without ceasing all day, and the pinnace, which had +been recovered and repaired before the frigate sailed, and the launch, +went backwards and forwards to the frigate with the women, children, and +stores, while the boats of the brigantine and schooner carried the men +to those craft, as soon as the stores for the voyage, and the bales of +cotton and other goods that would be useful, had been taken off. When +the two large boats had finished their work they were employed in +carrying out the guns, which had, before the slaves embarked, been +brought down by them to the edge of the water. By three o'clock all was +finished, and the last boat-load of the sailors rowed out to the prizes, +after having set fire to all the huts. These were soon in a blaze, to +the delight of the negroes, who danced and shouted for joy. Half of +these were sent below at once, as they crowded the decks to such an +extent as to render it impossible for the sailors to work. + +Those who remained were ranged in rows by the bulwarks from end to end +of the craft; then the anchors were got up, and the sails dropped and +sheeted home. The wind was very light, but was sufficient to give +steerage-way, and with the British ensign flying at the peak the two +vessels sailed out of the inlet and joined the frigate, which began to +make sail as soon as they were seen issuing from the narrow mouth. Glad +indeed were all on board the three vessels when, after a voyage unmarked +by any adventure, they entered Port Royal, for although the negroes, +feeling confident that they were in good hands, had been docile and +obedient, they were still terribly in the way. + +Though all had been made to take a bath every morning, the odour in the +crowded prizes was almost overpoweringly strong. On arrival, the negroes +were landed and lodged in some large government storehouses near the +fort. Each was presented with ten yards of cloth on leaving for the +shore, and they were, before being housed, permitted to sort themselves, +so that families and friends might be together. Interpreters explained +to them that it would be impossible to send them back to their friends +in Africa, but that they would be apportioned out among the plantations +of the island. The wages they were to receive were explained to them, +and they were told that a government official would visit each +plantation in turn, and would listen to any complaints that might be +made as to their food and treatment, and at the end of three years all +who wished it could either change masters or take up a piece of land, +build a hut, and cultivate it on their own account. + +The poor creatures were well satisfied with this. They were overjoyed at +being united to their relations and friends, and to know that they +would still be together; and were assured that they would be well cared +for, and in time be as much their own masters as if at their villages in +Africa. The schooner was sold; the brigantine was, as the captain had +expected, bought into the service; Mr. Playford was offered and accepted +the command of her. Mr. Normandy took his place as second lieutenant of +the _Orpheus_, and Mr. Marston received his promotion and the post of +third officer. As the _Cerf_--which was the name of the brigantine--was +to be considered as a tender of the frigate, those on board her were +still borne on her books. Curtis and Glover were appointed to her, with +a petty officer and forty men. + +The pirates were tried and executed, with the exception of one, who was +a mere lad. He had, he asserted, been forced to join the pirates--being +spared by them when the rest of his comrades had been murdered, as they +had lost their cook's mate, and required someone to fill his place. +This, however, would not have saved his life had he not promised to lead +his new captors to the chief rendezvous of the pirates, which had so +long eluded the search that had been made for it. He acknowledged, +however, that he was not acquainted with its exact position. He had +sailed in and out four or five times, and had only a general idea of its +position, but asserted that he should certainly know the island if he +saw it. A fortnight after reaching Port Royal, the frigate and +brigantine sailed in company. + +The indications given by the boy pointed to an island lying a short +distance off the northern coast of Venezuela. + +There were originally, he said, four vessels working together, three +brigantines and a large schooner, one of which had arrived from France +only a short time before the _Cerf_ sailed on her last voyage. The +entrance to the pirates' stronghold was on the south side of the island, +and was, he said, so well concealed that vessels might sail past the +place a thousand times without noticing it. There were two batteries at +the water's edge, inside the entrance, each mounting twelve +eighteen-pounder guns that had been taken from prizes. The channel here +was not more than fifty yards across. A very heavy boom was at all times +swung across it just above the batteries, and this was opened only when +one of the craft entered or left. + +There was, however, he said, a spot on the outer side of the island +where a landing could be effected, at a little ravine that ran down to +the shore. This was thickly wooded, and some large trees growing at its +mouth almost hid it from passing vessels. At other points the shore was +steep, but there was so much vegetation on every ledge where trees or +bushes could obtain a foothold, that from the sea it would seem that the +cliffs were not too steep to scale. + +The prisoner had been placed on board the _Cerf_, which, as soon as she +was fairly at sea, was altered as far as possible in appearance by a +white band with ports painted along her sides; a false stem of an +entirely different shape from her own was fastened to her, her light +upper spars sent down and replaced by stumpy ones, and other changes +made that would help to alter her appearance. + +Were she recognized by the pirates as she sailed past their island it +would at once be suspected that one of the men recently captured had +revealed the rendezvous, and that she was cruising near it to obtain an +exact idea of the best mode of attack before other craft came up to +assist her. They had no doubt that the pirates had already received news +of the surprise and capture of the brigantine. Some of the men who +escaped would doubtless have made for the nearest port, and hired a +negro craft to take them to their own island, which they would have +reached before the _Orpheus_ arrived at Port Royal with her prizes. The +pirates would therefore be on their guard, and would either have +deserted their head-quarters altogether or have added to their defences. +The sight of their late consort would confirm their fears that their +whereabouts had become known, and it was therefore of importance that +her identity should not be suspected. + +Changed as she now was, she might be taken for a man-of-war brigantine. +Her height out of water had been increased by four feet by painted +canvas fastened to battens. She had ten ports painted on each side, and +looked a very different craft from the smart brigantine that had sailed +away from the island. It had at first been suggested by Mr. Playford +that she should be disguised so as to look like a trader, but Captain +Crosbie had decided against this. + +"There are," he said, "three of these pirates, and even two of them +might together be more than a match for you. By all accounts they are +each of them as strong as you are in point of armament, and would carry +at least twice as many men as you have. Even if you beat them off it +could only be at a very great cost of life, and I certainly should not +like you to undertake such an enterprise unless you had at least double +the strength of men, which I could not spare you. By going in the guise +of a vessel of war they would not care to meddle with you. They would +know that there would be no chance of booty and a certainty of hard +fighting, and of getting their own craft badly knocked about, so that it +will be in all respects best to avoid a fight. They may in that case not +connect you with us at all, but take you to be some freshly-arrived +craft. You had best hoist the Stars and Stripes as you pass along the +coast." + +When the changes were all effected the ships parted company. The +brigantine was to sail east until within a short distance of Grenada, +then to cruise westward along the coast of the mainland; thus going, +there would be less suspicion on the part of those who saw her that she +was coming from Jamaica. A rendezvous was appointed at the island of +Oruba, lying off the mouth of the Gulf of Venezuela. + +Their prisoner was French, and he was very closely questioned by +Lieutenant Playford, who spoke that language well. He said that they +always sailed north to begin with, then sometimes they kept east, and +certainly he heard the names of Guadeloupe and St. Lucia. At other +times, after sailing north they steered north-west, and came to a great +island, which he had no doubt was San Domingo. It was not in this craft +that he sailed, he was only transferred to her with some of the others +for that cruise only. After they had once made either the western +islands or San Domingo, they cruised about in all directions. + +"The great point is," Mr. Playford said to the midshipmen after a long +talk with the prisoner, "that at starting they generally hung about +these islands, Guadeloupe, St. Lucia, and so on, for some time, and it +was considered their best cruising ground, though also the most +dangerous one, as we have always some cruisers in those waters. That +would certainly place the island somewhere off the north coast of +Caracas. He declared that the first day out they generally passed the +western point of an island of considerable size with some high hills. +The only island that answers to that account is, as you see in the +chart, Margarita. Therefore I feel convinced that the pirate hold is in +one of these groups, off Caracas, either Chimana, Borrshcha, or these +two islets called Piritu Islands. Altogether, you see, there are over a +dozen of these islands scattered along near the mainland. + +"It is quite out of the general course of trade, as nothing would go +into that bay except a craft bound for San Diego, or this place marked +Barcelona, lying a short distance up the river. They would take care +not to molest any of the little traders frequenting these ports, and +might lie in an inlet in one of these islands for years without their +being ever suspected, unless perhaps by some of the native fishermen, +who probably supply them with fish and fruit from the mainland. Anyhow, +I don't suppose a British cruiser is seen along that coast once a year." + + + + +CHAPTER V + +A PIRATE HOLD + + +A fortnight later the _Cerf_ passed along under easy sail between the +island of Margarita and the mainland. She was now getting very close to +the spot where, if the prisoner was right, the pirates' hold lay. The +Stars and Stripes was hanging from the peak, and with her high bulwarks +and ten ports on each side no one would have suspected that she was not, +as she seemed, an American man-of-war, heavily armed. Passing close to +another island, they headed more south into the bay as they neared +Caracas. Every foot of the islands was closely scanned. Five miles +farther, they came abreast of the Chimana isles, and pointing to one of +these that lay nearer the shore than the others, the prisoner exclaimed +that he was certain that that was the island. + +"I am sure of it," he exclaimed, "both from the look of the island +itself, and from that high range of mountains on the mainland to the +south-east." + +"You are quite sure?" + +"Certain, captain; there are the large trees I spoke of growing down +close to the water. It is behind them that there is a little ravine by +which one can climb up." + +No alteration was made in the ship's course, but she continued her way +until sunset, when she dropped anchor off the mouth of the river La +Pasqua, some twenty miles west of the islands. + +As soon as it was dark Curtis was sent off in a gig manned by six +rowers. The oars were muffled; the orders were to row round the island +within an oar's length of the shore, and to find the entrance to the +channel, which, if the prisoner was right as to the place, should be on +the side facing the mainland. Pierre, the French lad, was taken with +them. It was a long row to the island, but the gig was a fast one, and, +at three o'clock in the morning, she returned with the news that +Pierre's information had been correct. They had found the opening but +had not entered it, as Mr. Playford had given strict orders on this +point, thinking it probable that there would be a sharp look-out kept in +the batteries, especially as the supposed cruiser would certainly have +been closely watched as she passed. + +An hour later the anchor was got up and the _Cerf_ sailed for Oruba, off +which she arrived three days later. There were no signs of the frigate, +and indeed the _Cerf_ had arrived at the rendezvous before the time +fixed. At daybreak on the third morning the topsails of the _Orpheus_ +were made out from the mast-head, and four hours later she and the +_Cerf_ met, and Mr. Playford went on board the frigate to report. + +"This is good news indeed," the captain said when he heard that the +haunt of the pirates had been discovered. "Of course you have taken the +exact position of the island, for we must, if possible, take them by +surprise?" + +"Yes, sir; it lies as nearly as possible in 64 deg. 30' west longitude and +10 deg. 22' north latitude." + +"We will lay our course east, Mr. Playford, for, of course, you will +keep company with us. The water is deep all along the coast, and there +seems to be from thirty to thirty-eight fathoms to within a mile or two +of the coast. I shall lay my course outside the Windward Islands as far +as Blanquilla, thence an almost due south course will take us clear of +the western point of Margarita and down to this island. We will discuss +our plan of attack later on." + +On the morning of the third day after leaving Oruba the island of +Blanquilla was sighted. The frigate made the signal for Mr. Playford to +go on board, and on entering the captain's cabin he found him and Mr. +Hill examining the chart. + +"You see, Mr. Playford, we are now as nearly as possible a hundred miles +north of the island; with this wind we should pass the point of +Margarita at about four o'clock in the afternoon; if it freshens we will +take in sail, I want to be off the island say three or four hours before +daybreak. You will send that French lad on board when you go back; as +soon as we anchor he will go in the gig with Mr. Hill to reconnoitre and +make sure that there is no mistake about the place. When he finds that +it is all right he will come back. The boats will be in the water, and +the men on board in readiness, and will at once start, so that the +landing may, if possible, be effected just at daybreak at this ravine on +the north of the island. At the same hour you will sail in and take up +your place opposite the mouth of the harbour, and fight anything that +tries to come out. + +"It is quite possible that as soon as our party attack the place on the +land side any craft there may be there will cut their cables and try to +make off. On no account try to enter; the batteries would blow you out +of the water. You will start as soon as the boats leave the ship, and +will therefore have light enough for you to go in and to avoid making +any mistake, for you see there are half a dozen islands lying close +together. There is no objection to their seeing you, and indeed I +should be rather glad if they do, for in that case they are the less +likely to discover the landing-party, and though they must see the +frigate they will think that she is only lying there to cut them off if +they try to escape. They will be manning their batteries and getting +everything ready to give you a warm reception, and I hope that we shall +drop upon them as if out of the clouds. + +"Mr. Hill will command the landing-party, which will consist of a +hundred and fifty seamen and the thirty marines, which, with the +advantage of surprise, ought to be sufficient. As you report that the +island is less than a mile long and not much more than half a mile +across, the landing-party will soon be at work. After they have landed, +Mr. Hill will divide them into two parties, and will endeavour to make +his way round the inlet, keeping up among the trees, and then rush down +upon the batteries. When he has captured these he will fire three guns +as a signal to you. You will have your boats in readiness, and will at +once tow the schooner in, and, on reaching the boom, bring her broadside +to bear upon any craft there, and generally aid the landing-party with +your guns. If, by good luck, the three craft we have been so long +looking for are all there you will have a strong force to tackle; you +may certainly take it that their crews will together mount up to three +hundred men, and it is likely that there may be a hundred others who +form what we may call the garrison of the place when they are away." + +"Very well, sir." + +The two vessels headed south under easy canvas, passed the point of +Margarita at the hour that had been arranged, and then taking in still +more sail proceeded slowly on until, about one o'clock in the morning, +the island could be made out with the night-glasses. Then both were laid +to, Captain Crosbie having forbidden anchoring, in the first place owing +to the great depth of water, and in the next because, although the +island was three miles away, the chain-cable running out might be heard +at night if the pirates had anyone on watch on the hill. Nat, whose +watch it was, saw the gig shoot away from the side of the frigate. An +hour later and there was a bustle and stir on board the _Orpheus_, and +all her boats were lowered. At five bells the crew began to take their +places in them, and soon afterwards the gig returned. The watch below +were called up and sail was made, and at half-past three the boats +started, and the _Cerf_ was headed towards the land. Dawn was just +breaking when they reached the island. All was still. It had been +arranged that, unless discovered, the attack on the batteries was not to +be made until five o'clock, and just at that hour the _Cerf_ arrived off +the narrow entrance to the port. Half an hour before, a musket had been +discharged on the hill above them, and it was clear that their coming +had been observed; but as no sound of conflict could be heard inland +there was every reason to suppose that the pirates had no suspicion of a +landing having been effected on the other side. + +"That is what I call being punctual," Nat said to Curtis as two bells +rang out just as they opened the passage. + +A light kedge anchor was dropped, and as this was done a patter of +musketry broke out from the hill above them. Their action showed that +the arrival of the brigantine was no matter of chance, but that she was +there expressly with the intention of attacking the pirates' stronghold, +and those who had been watching her, therefore, saw that any further +attempt at concealment was useless. In the night the canvas band had +been taken down, as there was no longer any reason for concealing the +identity of the brigantine. The musketry fire only lasted for a minute, +for suddenly a roar of battle broke out within a hundred yards of the +mouth of the entrance. The sailors burst into a loud cheer. It was +evident that the landing-party had met with complete success so far, and +had approached the batteries unobserved, and that a hand-to-hand fight +was going on. + +Above the cracking of pistols the cheers of the seamen could be plainly +heard, but in two or three minutes the uproar died away, and then three +guns were fired at short intervals. The boats were already in the water, +the kedge lifted, and the crews bending forward in readiness for the +signal. + +"Take her in, lads!" the lieutenant shouted, and the schooner's head at +once began to turn towards the inlet. + +A moment later two broadsides were fired. + +"There are two of their craft in there!" Curtis exclaimed. "Now our +fellows have carried the batteries they have opened fire on them." + +As he spoke there was another broadside, which was answered by a hurrah +from all on deck. It was clear that they had had the good luck to catch +all the pirates at once. Three minutes' rowing and the boom was in +sight. Mr. Playford called to one of the boats to take a rope from the +stern to the battery on the right-hand side, and ordered the others to +cease rowing. + +"We have way enough on her!" he shouted. "As soon as you get near the +boom take her head round to port, and carry the rope to shore. You can +fasten it to the chain at the end of the boom." + +As he gave the order a gun spoke out from the battery on the right, +followed almost immediately by one on the left. + +"They are slueing the guns round!" Nat exclaimed. "We shall be having +our share of the fun in another minute or two." + +They could now obtain a view into the piece of water inside the passage. +It was nearly circular, and some three hundred yards across. Two +brigantines and a schooner were lying in line, within fifty yards of the +opposite shore. A large range of storehouses stood by the water's edge, +while the hillsides were dotted with huts, and dwelling-places of larger +size. By the time that the brigantine was got into position by the side +of the boom the pirates had loaded again, and several shots struck her. + +Her guns were already loaded, and those on board poured a broadside into +the brigantine at the end of the line. The sailors in the battery were +working with might and main to slue all the guns round to bear upon the +pirates. On the hillsides above them a scattered fire of musketry was +being kept up, and Mr. Hill hailed the schooner. + +"Mr. Playford, will you land a party of fifteen men on each side to +clear the hills of those rascals? I don't think there are many of them, +but they are doing us a good deal of damage, for they can hardly miss us +closely packed as we are here." + +"Ay, ay, sir. You hear the orders, gentlemen. Mr. Curtis, you land with +fifteen men on the starboard side, and do you, Mr. Glover, take the +party that lands to port. Clear the scoundrels out--give no quarter!" + +The boats had just returned. The two midshipmen leapt into them, and a +few strokes took them ashore. + +"Up the hill, lads!" Nat shouted. "Don't fire until you are at close +quarters. Give them one volley if they are together, then sling your +guns, and go at them with the cutlass!" + +There was but little fighting, however, for there were only ten or +twelve pirates on either side, as their main force was distributed +between the batteries and the ships. They were therefore very easily +driven off, five or six of them being killed and the rest flying with +all speed towards their village, where those who had escaped from the +batteries were already going off in boats to the ships. The two +midshipmen therefore returned to the schooner. + +"Don't come on board!" Mr. Playford shouted. "See if you can free one +end of the boom. If so we will go in and engage one of those craft." + +It was found that the boom was fastened at Nat's side, and the chain was +soon unwound from the stump of a large tree. Then the two boats together +got hold of the end of the boom and swung it round so that the schooner +could pass. The enemy kept up a heavy fire upon them while they were +doing this, and just as the job was completed, Curtis's boat was smashed +to pieces by a round shot. The breeze was very light, but it was in the +right direction. + +"Shall we tow, sir?" Nat called to his commander. + +"Certainly not. Get your men on board at once." + +The sails, which had been loosely furled, were dropped again, and the +brigantine stole past the batteries, which saluted her with a rousing +cheer, while the guns were worked with redoubled energy to keep down the +fire of the pirates. The _Cerf_ was swept with round shot and grape by +the guns of the three piratical craft, but the distance to be traversed +was so small, and the fire from the battery to which the pirates working +their guns were exposed was so heavy, that the men fired wildly, and the +_Cerf_ suffered less than might have been expected while crossing the +intervening two hundred yards of water. She was steered straight for the +schooner, and as her bowsprit ran in between the pirate's masts the +crew, who had been crouching forward, leapt down on to her deck, headed +by their commander and the two midshipmen. + +The pirates, although they had suffered heavily, were still in +sufficient force to offer an efficient resistance, but their courage had +been shaken by the suddenness of the attack. They had lain down to sleep +with the assurance that the port was unknown and unsuspected, that the +batteries that guarded it could sink any hostile ship that attempted to +enter, and their dismay when these batteries were attacked and carried +by an enemy who seemed to spring out of the earth, and their only +retreat cut off, was overwhelming. + +Already the heavy guns of the battery had done terrible execution. Two +of the guns on that side had been dismounted, and a third of the crew +killed; consequently, although a small portion of the number led by +their captain fought desperately, and were killed to the last man, the +majority leapt overboard at once and swam ashore. Leaving ten men in +charge of the prize, the lieutenant called all the rest back on board +the _Cerf_, which remained in the position in which she had run head on +to the schooner, and she was now able to bring her broadsides into play +upon the brigantines, the pieces forward raking them from stem to stern, +while the batteries continued their terrible fire. In a few minutes the +pirates began to take to the boats, which were lying by their sides just +as they had come off from the shore. Once begun, the movement spread +rapidly. The boats were soon crowded, and those who could not find +places in them leapt overboard. + +"Take the boat and a dozen men, Mr. Curtis, and haul down the black flag +of the craft to starboard; and you, Mr. Glover, take one of the prize's +boats and do the same to the other brigantine." + +They turned to execute the order when all on board the _Cerf_ were +hurled to the deck--one of the brigantines had blown up with a +tremendous explosion, that brought most of the huts on the hillside to +the ground, carried away both masts of the _Cerf_, and drove fragments +of wreckage high into the air, whence they fell partly in the pool, +partly on shore. Fortunately for the _Cerf_ only a few fragments of any +size struck her deck, the pieces for the most part falling in a wider +circle. Numbers of the pirates who had just landed from their boats were +killed, and many more were injured by being hurled down on to the +rocks, dazed and half-stunned. Those on board the _Cerf_ who had escaped +severe injury rose to their feet. + +Not more than twenty-five did so. Lieutenant Playford lay dead, crushed +under a mast; Curtis had been hurled against one of the guns and his +brains dashed out; ten of the sailors had been killed either by the +falling masts or by being dashed against the bulwarks; twelve had fallen +under the enemy's fire as the _Cerf_ crossed the pool; twelve others +were hurt more or less either by the enemy's missiles or by the shock. +It was three or four minutes before the silence that followed was +broken. Then Mr. Hill hailed across the water: + +"_Cerf_ ahoy! have you suffered much?" + +"Terribly," Nat shouted back; "Lieutenant Playford and Mr. Curtis are +both killed. We have only twenty-five men in any way fit for service +left." + +"If you have got a boat that will swim send it ashore." + +Nat looked over the side, the boat had been stove by a falling fragment; +then he crossed to the prize, and found that one of the boats was +uninjured. Four men were just getting into it, when Mr. Hill hailed +again: + +"Let them bring a rope with them, Mr. Glover; we will tow you over +here." + +The end of a hawser was put into the boat, and the men rowed with it to +the battery. + +"Mr. Glover!" the lieutenant again hailed. + +"Yes, sir." + +"I am sending the boat back again. I think that had they put a slow +match in the magazine of the other brigantine it would have exploded +before this. However, you had better remain where you are for a quarter +of an hour, to be sure; then, before you move, board the brigantine and +flood the magazine. Otherwise, as soon as you have left, some of these +desperadoes might swim off to her and put a match there." + +"Very well, sir, I will go at once if you like." + +"No, there is no use running any unnecessary risk. You had better flood +the schooner's magazine first." + +"Ay, ay, sir." + +Taking half a dozen hands with buckets, Nat went on board the prize and +soon flooded the magazine; then he and those who were able to help did +all they could for the wounded, several of whom, who had only been +stunned, were presently on their legs again. When the quarter of an hour +had passed he asked for volunteers. All the survivors stepped forward. + +"Four men will be enough," he said. "Bring buckets with you." + +It was not without a feeling of awe that Nat and the four sailors +stepped on to the deck of the brigantine, for although he was convinced +that had a match been lighted the explosion would have taken place long +before, as it was now five-and-twenty minutes since the crew had +deserted her, neither he nor the men had entirely recovered from the +severe shock of the explosion. He led the way below; all was quiet; the +door of the magazine was open, but there was no smell of burning powder, +and they entered fearlessly. + +"All right, lads; now as quick as you like with your buckets." + +An abundance of water was thrown in; then, to make quite certain, Nat +locked the door of the magazine, and put the key in his pocket. A cheer +broke from the men in the battery as he and his companions again took +their places in the boat and rowed to the _Cerf_. He was hailed again by +Mr. Hill. + +"I have changed my mind, Mr. Glover; now that I know there is no risk of +another explosion, I think perhaps you had best remain where you are. We +will give you a pull to get you free of the schooner, then you had +better range the _Cerf_ alongside of her; keep your guns and those of +the brigantine both loaded with grape; send your boat ashore to fetch +off the wounded." + +"I have two boats now, sir; one of the brigantine's was left behind, and +is uninjured." + +"Then send them both ashore, the sooner we get the wounded off the +better. I am going to move forward with all my men; we have spiked the +guns here, and if they should come down into the batteries again you can +clear them out. You will, of course, help us, if we meet with strong +resistance, with your guns on the shore-side." + +"Ay, ay, sir." + +The two boats were sent ashore, and the wounded came off with Dr. +Bemish. As soon as they all came on board Nat said: + +"I will leave you with the wounded here, doctor, with four of my men to +help you. We are so littered up that we could hardly work the guns, and +as you see, three of them were dismounted by the explosion; besides, the +prize alongside would hamper us, therefore I will take the rest of the +men on board the brigantine." + +"I think that will be a very good plan, my lad," the doctor replied. "I +quite agree with you, that with the spars and wreckage on one side and +the prize on the other, you are practically helpless." + +The men were at once set to work bringing up powder cartridges from the +magazine; grape and round-shot they would find on board the brigantine. + +In ten minutes the guns of that craft were reloaded. The two bodies of +men from the batteries had by this time reached the storehouses. Not a +shot had been fired, but a minute later there was a loud word of +command, followed by a fierce yell, and in a moment both parties were +engaged, a heavy fire being opened upon them from every spot of vantage +on the hillside in front of them. + +"Now, my lads, give them a dose of grape!" Nat shouted. "I expect they +are two to one to our fellows still. Train them carefully." + +Gun after gun sent showers of grape among the hidden foe, who were for +the most part lying behind the cactus hedges of the gardens that +surrounded the huts. The three forward guns assisted Mr. Hill's party, +while the others aided that commanded by Needham. Although but four men +to a gun, the sailors worked so hard that the pieces were discharged as +rapidly as if they had been manned by a full complement, and their +effect was visible in the diminution of the enemy's fire, and by the +line of smoke gradually mounting the hill, showing that the pirates were +falling back, while the cheers of the sailors and marines as they +pressed steadily upwards, rapidly plying their muskets, rose louder and +louder. Near the upper edge of the cleared ground the pirates made a +stand, but the fire of the guns proved too much for them, and they took +to the forest. Presently a sailor ran down to the shore. + +"The first lieutenant says, sir, will you please continue your fire into +the forest. He is going to cut down all the hedges and fire the huts, so +that they will have to pass over open ground if they attack again." + +"Tell Mr. Hill I will do so," Nat shouted back. + +It was not long after the fire had been turned in that direction before +the puffs of smoke that darted out from the edge of the forest ceased +altogether. The sailors could now be seen slashing away with their +cutlasses at the lines of cactus hedge, while the huts that still stood +were speedily in flames. Numbers of women and children now came down to +the shore, where they were placed in charge of six of the marines and a +non-commissioned officer. A quarter of an hour later, while Nat was +watching what was going on on shore, one of the men touched him. + +"Look, sir, they are going down to the batteries!" + +The men were at once ordered across to the guns on the other side, and +these opened with grape upon two bodies of pirates, each some seventy or +eighty strong, who were rushing down to the batteries. The discharge of +the six guns did terrible execution, but the survivors without pausing +dashed down to the works. Cries of disappointment and rage broke out +from them on finding the guns spiked, and before they could be reloaded +they ran up the hill again, and were in shelter in the forest. + +"I fancy that is about the end of it," Nat said to the petty officer +standing by his side. "I don't think that above fifty of either party +got safely away." + +"Not more than that, sir. I expect it has taken the fight out of them." + +"It was a hopeless attempt, for although, if the guns had been loaded, +they might have sunk us, our fellows on shore would soon have been upon +them again, and it would have come to the same thing." + +"Yes, sir, the same thing to the pirates, but not the same thing to us." + +"No, you are right there; those twenty-four guns loaded with ball would +have sent us to the bottom in no time. You see, our men only used grape +before, and aimed at the decks." + +Mr. Hill now hailed from the shore again: + +"Mr. Glover!" + +"Ay, ay, sir!" + +"Have the goodness to send your boat ashore, I want to send a note off +to the captain. On their way the men must stop at the boats on the other +side of the island, and tell the boat keepers to bring them round here +at once." + +Four men were sent ashore in the boat, and one of the petty officers +took his place in the stern, with a hasty note which the first +lieutenant had written in pencil stating that the loss had been very +heavy, that the work of rooting out the pirates had not yet been +completed, and that he should be glad of some more men to occupy the +village while he searched the woods. The boat started at once, and +twenty minutes later the captain's gig shot into the cove. As soon as +the report of the first gun was heard on board the frigate, and there +was no longer any motive for remaining at a distance, her head had been +turned to the island, and the boat had met her but half a mile away from +the entrance. + +After reading the note, Captain Crosbie sent one of the gigs to order +the boats round to the inlet, and proceeded in his own boat to +investigate the state of affairs, ordering the _Cerf's_ boat to row +ahead of the frigate, which was to work in under very reduced sail, +sounding as she went, and was, if the water was deep enough, to anchor +off the mouth of the cove. + +"Then you found all the pirates here, Mr. Hill?" the captain said as he +landed. + +"Yes, sir, but they blew up one of their craft when they left her." + +"Yes, of course we heard the report; it shook the frigate as if she had +struck on a rock. It must have been tremendous here." + +"Yes, sir, she must have had an immense deal of powder in her magazine; +the shock was something terrible. Although we were over there in that +battery, every one of us was thrown to the ground and several were +killed. Two of the guns were dismounted." + +"It was a veritable battle for a time, Mr. Hill. It sounded like a naval +engagement on a large scale." + +"Yes, we had twenty-four guns in the batteries all at work, and the guns +of the _Cerf_, while the three pirates had the same number in their +broadsides, besides two heavy swivel-guns." + +"You say the loss is heavy. What does it amount to?" + +"I cannot tell you exactly, sir. There were twenty-five killed on board +the _Cerf_, in addition to Mr. Playford and Mr. Curtis. The two officers +and about half the men were, Mr. Glover reported, killed by the +explosion, which, as you see, dismasted her." + +"Dear me! That is heavy indeed, and I most deeply regret the death of +the two officers." + +"So do I indeed, sir. Mr. Playford was an excellent officer, and as good +a fellow as ever walked. Mr. Curtis would have made, I am sure, a good +officer in time. I hardly thought he would when he first joined, but he +was improving greatly, and he showed great courage in working to remove +the boom under a very heavy fire from the pirates, which sunk his boat +under him." + +"Your division, Mr. Hill--what are your casualties?" + +"We took the batteries almost without loss, sir, but in the duel with +the pirates we lost in the two batteries fourteen killed; nine more were +killed by the explosion; we sent eighteen off to the _Cerf_ all +seriously wounded; as to contusions and minor hurts, I should say that +there is not a man who escaped them." + +"Well, well, that is a heavy bill indeed; forty-eight men killed and two +officers--why, we should probably have lost less in an action against a +frigate of our own size! However, we have destroyed this nest of +pirates, and have captured three of their four ships, the other is blown +up. Now, what is the state of things here?" + +"There are, I believe, some hundred and fifty or two hundred of the +pirates still on the island. They are divided into two parties, and the +last firing you heard was when they rushed down into the batteries, +thinking, no doubt, to take revenge by sinking the brigantine and the +two prizes. Mr. Glover opened fire upon them with grape with great +effect. When they got into the battery they found that I had spiked the +guns, which I did when I left them, thinking they might make just such a +move. I sent off to you, sir, in order that the storehouses and +buildings might be held while we cleared the wood on one side down to +the mouth of the cove. When we have done that we can do the same on the +other side." + +"Did you have any casualties in taking the village?" + +"Several wounded, sir, none killed. Mr. Glover drove them out with +grape, and so rendered our work comparatively easy. I am sorry to say +that almost the last shot fired by them hit Mr. Needham high up in the +left arm. The doctor came ashore a few minutes ago, after attending to +the wounded sent on board the _Cerf_. He examined the arm, and tells me +that the bone is completely smashed, and that he must amputate it +half-way between the elbow and shoulder." + +"That is bad indeed. However, it is better than if it had been his right +arm. Mr. Harpur," said the captain to the midshipman who had come ashore +with him, "take the gig off and meet the boats. Tell the launch and +pinnace to go alongside the frigate, and request Mr. Normandy to send +Mr. Marston ashore with fifty more men. What on earth are we to do with +these poor creatures?" he went on to the first lieutenant as the gig +rowed away. "Of course we must take them to Jamaica. Theirs is a +terrible position. No doubt they have all been captured in the prizes +the villains have taken, and most of them must have seen their husbands +or fathers murdered before their eyes. Some of them may have been here +long enough to become accustomed to their lot, many of them may have +been captured lately. What is to become of them I don't know. + +"You have not opened any of the storehouses yet?" + +"No, sir, we have been pretty busy, you see. We cut down all the cactus +hedges round the huts high up on the hill, so as to keep the pirates +from working down and making a fresh attack upon us. As to the other +houses, I have given strict orders that no one is to enter them. The men +have piled arms and are lying down by them; many of them have not +completely recovered from the shock of the explosion, and all are +bruised more or less by being hurled on to the rocks or against the +guns. I fancy the doctor will have his hands full for many a day." + +"Well, you must pick out twenty or so from those most fit for duty. They +can join the men I sent for and finish the business. The rest can be on +guard here, in case the party on the other side take it into their heads +to make an attack." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE NEGRO RISING + + +While waiting for the arrival of the reinforcements, Captain Crosbie +went on board the _Cerf_. The wounded had all been carried below, where +cots had been slung for them. After their wounds were dressed, he went +round saying a few words to each, enquiring into the nature of their +injuries. No attempt had been made to remedy the confusion on deck, +except that the bodies of those that could be moved had been laid side +by side. That of Mr. Playford and the others who had been crushed by the +falling masts still lay beneath them, as the four men left on board were +unable to do anything to extricate them until help arrived. The captain +then went on board the prize. + +"Mr. Hill has spoken in the highest terms of the service that you have +rendered, Mr. Glover, though I have not yet heard the full details. As +the only surviving officer of the _Cerf_, you had better, when you have +time, draw out a full report for me of the work done by her. It will be +another half-hour before we again commence operations against the +pirates, and I shall be obliged if you will go on board the _Cerf_ with +your men and endeavour to get the body of Mr. Playford and the others +from underneath the masts. Nothing more can be done at present, but it +is painful that they should be lying there. I fancy that with +hand-spikes you will have no very great difficulty in raising the butt +of the mast high enough to draw the bodies from under it. As soon as you +have done that, bring the men back here. When the advance begins you +will shell the wood ahead of it." + +"We will put you ashore first, sir; this is the only boat we have that +will float." + +Captain Crosbie on landing went among the women, who were between +seventy and eighty in number. Some burst into tears when he spoke to +them, others seemed dazed and quite unconscious that they were being +addressed. Feeling almost unmanned by the moving spectacle, Captain +Crosbie was relieved when the two boats filled with men entered the +mouth of the cove. As soon as they came alongside, the men leapt out in +high spirits at the prospect of having a share in the fray. Mr. Hill had +already picked out twenty of his own party. + +"I will myself take the command here, Mr. Hill. I don't wish to +interfere with the credit that you will gain by this affair, therefore I +leave the arrangement of your party in your hands." + +Mr. Hill marched the seventy men straight up the hill. + +"You will march straight on, Mr. Marston, until you reach the edge of +the cliff, then you will return. See that the men are placed at regular +intervals. You will then face to the right and the line will advance. No +quarter will be given, except to men who throw down their arms and beg +for it. I do not suppose that many will do so, as they know what their +fate will be if they are taken to Port Royal. We have reason to believe +that there cannot be more than eighty or so on this side, but if they +keep in a body and make a rush at the line they will no doubt be able to +break through. However, that we must risk, and I hardly think that they +will attempt it, for they know that they must sooner or later fall into +our hands. They will only starve if they conceal themselves. Some may +prefer death in that way, or may think that after we have left they may +manage to get taken across to the mainland in native fishing-boats. +However, search the ground closely. These men are steeped in blood; they +have been the scourge of these seas for the past five or six years, and +have never yet shown mercy." + +Mr. Hill then placed himself in the centre of the line, while Mr. +Marston again took his place on the right. It was not until they had +worked round nearly to the entrance that opposition was met with; then +they came upon a spot where a mass of rock cropped up among the trees, +and as they approached this a sharp fire of musketry broke out. Mr. Hill +ordered the two ends of the line to advance so as to form a semicircle +round the rock. When they were in position he gave the word to charge, +and with a cheer the sailors dashed forward. Led by their officers, they +scrambled up the rocks like cats, discharged their muskets into the +pirates grouped on its summit, and then threw themselves upon them +cutlass in hand. In three minutes all was over; not a man asked for +mercy, but all died fighting desperately to the end. Four of the sailors +were killed, several severely wounded. These were carried or helped down +to the shore, and the rest of the party then scattered through the +woods; but the closest search failed to discover a single man in hiding, +although only some fifty of them had been accounted for. Returning to +the point from which they had started, the party then proceeded to +search the forest at the other side of the cove. + +Here, however, they met with no resistance. A few dead were found, but +the forest was deserted. After searching in vain for some time it was +concluded that the survivors had probably gone down the face of the +cliff and hidden there in caves or in thickets in places that could only +be reached by men well acquainted with the ground. + +After two hours' vain search, Mr. Hill led the party down to the shore +again. While he had been away the captain had had the storehouses +opened. These were filled with booty of all kinds, the plunder of at +least fifty ships, as they judged by the chronometers, the marks on +bales, and other articles. Here were thousands of cases of wine, ranges +of barrels of rum, hogsheads of sugar, coffee, and other colonial +produce, quantities of bales of cotton cloths used for the slaves, +furniture of all kinds, enormous numbers of trunks and boxes containing +wearing apparel, bales of silks and satins, and an immense amount of +table-linen. + +In the centre of one of the storehouses was a chamber constructed of +stone four feet thick with an arched roof. The entrance was closed by +two iron doors, one within the other, and these were so strong that it +was necessary to drag up a six-pounder cannon to batter them in. When at +last an entrance was forced, the strong-room was found to contain +upwards of seventy thousand pounds in coin, hundreds of watches, and a +large amount of jewellery, much of which was of Spanish manufacture, and +a great many church vessels and ornaments of silver. It was evident +that, although no doubt a certain proportion of the spoil had been +divided at the time of capture, the main bulk had been stored there for +division some day when the haunt should be finally abandoned. The +sailors now set about examining the bodies of the pirates who had been +killed on the shore by the explosion. It was found that in almost every +case they wore belts under their clothes, and that these contained from +ten to a hundred pieces of gold. A systematic search was then made, and, +in all, the money found upon the dead pirates amounted to six thousand +pounds, which was added to the store taken from the treasury. + +The work of emptying the storehouses, getting up jury-masts on board the +_Cerf_, and doing the absolutely necessary repairs to her and the prizes +occupied three days. The women had been placed in the brigantine after +the craft had been thoroughly washed down and scoured, and she had been +taken out and anchored near the frigate, to which the wounded had all +been conveyed as soon as the fight was over. On the evening of the third +day the storehouses and other buildings still standing were all burned, +the cannon were taken on board the frigate, and the next morning the +four vessels got up sail and started in company for Jamaica. Nat was +left in command of the _Cerf_ with fifteen men. Low was in command of +the schooner with twelve men. Mr. Marston had charge of the captured +brigantine with fifteen men, all that could be spared from the +diminished crew of the frigate. Nat had had time, when the long day's +work was over, to row off every evening to see Needham, whose arm had +been amputated an hour after the fight was ended. He was, the doctor +said, going on well, and was in very good spirits. + +"This is sure to give me my step," he said to Glover. "I shall have +served my time in six months, and Marston's rank will of course be +confirmed, now that poor Playford's death has made the vacancy +permanent. You have another year to serve, have you not, Glover?" + +"Yes, rather more. However, of course this affair will help me too, as +soon as I have passed." + +"It ought to, old fellow, considering you were the only officer left on +board the _Cerf_, and that you unfastened the boom under that tremendous +fire, to say nothing of carrying the schooner and running the risk of +being blown up when you went on board the brigantine. You will get your +swab as soon as you have passed. You see it has been a big thing; +fifty-eight men killed and a hundred and four put down as wounded; and +the breaking up of this pirate's nest makes it the most important affair +there has been out here for years. The other ships on the station will +all feel quite jealous of us. There will be a goodish bit of +prize-money, too, which is not to be despised. Over eighty thousand +pounds in gold and, I should say, over twenty thousand pounds in goods, +makes even a midshipman's share something considerable. How is your arm, +Glover?" + +"Well, it has been hurting me a bit. I am not conscious of having used +it particularly, but I suppose when I was thrown down by that explosion +it must have got wrenched somehow." + +"Well, if I were you I would ask Dr. Bemish to have a look at it." + +Glover did so. It was black and blue from the shoulder down to the +elbow, and very tender to the touch. + +"I don't think anything is broken," the doctor said, "but it has been a +very close shave. At any rate, it is just as well that I should put on +splints and bandage it, and you must take to your sling again and keep +to it for some time. It is not tender above the shoulder, is it?" + +"No, doctor; I think it is all right there." + +"That is lucky. You ought to go on the sick-list." + +"I cannot do that, sir. It would be giving up the command of the +brigantine, and I would put up with anything rather than that." + +They had fine weather and a leading wind to Jamaica, and their arrival +there with the two captured prizes and the news that the piratical haunt +had been completely destroyed, created quite a sensation, which was +heightened by the rescue of so many females from the hands of the +pirates. Some fifteen of these found friends in the island, and the +scene when they were handed over to them was painful in the extreme. A +third of the number were French, and there were also some eighteen +Spaniards. All were temporarily taken in and cared for by families at +Port Royal, and were sent off as soon as opportunity offered either to +the islands for which they had been bound when captured, or to their +friends in Europe. + +Mr. Hill, in his report, had done full justice to the work done by the +_Cerf_, and had mentioned Nat's going on board the brigantine to drown +her magazine, and the great service that he had rendered in covering the +advance of the sailors by the guns of that craft, and in inflicting such +heavy punishment upon the two parties that had attempted to possess +themselves of the batteries, and the admiral sent for him and personally +congratulated him on his work. + +"I will see that as soon as you have passed, Mr. Glover, you shall have +your commission as acting lieutenant. I have not forgotten what Captain +Crosbie told me of your gallant action at Cape Francois." + +Mr. Hill was at once appointed to the command of a frigate whose captain +had died of yellow fever, and received the rank of commander pending its +confirmation from home; and Mr. Philpot, second lieutenant of that +frigate, was appointed first lieutenant of the _Orpheus_ in his place. +The schooner and the _Cerf_ were sold, for the latter had suffered so +much damage forward by the fire concentrated upon her by the pirates' +ships that she was considered unfit for further service. The other +brigantine was bought into the service. The plunder taken was sold by +auction, and the proceeds, together with the sum fetched by the three +prizes, brought the total up to one hundred and five thousand pounds, a +larger sum than had ever been captured by any vessel on the station. + +The new brigantine was re-christened the _Falcon_, and Mr. Low was +placed in command, with two midshipmen from other ships on the station +under him. She was not, like the _Cerf_, a tender to the _Orpheus_, as +the frigate could no longer spare a crew for her, having, in addition to +the loss in action, been obliged to send thirty men to hospital on +shore. The brigantine was therefore manned by drafts from other ships of +war on the station. Needham was also left on shore, being promoted at +once to the rank of lieutenant, which left Nat for the time senior +midshipman of the _Orpheus_, which was now directed to cruise in the +neighbourhood of Hayti, where complaints had been received of vessels +being missing. + +Two months after leaving Jamaica the _Orpheus_ again put in to Cape +Francois. Nat was still wearing his arm in a sling. There had been a +good deal of swelling and inflammation, but this had now abated, and in +his opinion his arm was perfectly well again, but the doctor insisted +that he should as a precautionary measure still use the sling. The +frigate needed some repairs, having carried away some spars in a +hurricane a week previously, and on the day of their arrival the captain +sent for Nat, and said kindly: + +"We shall be here for a week, Mr. Glover, and the doctor thinks that +another run among the hills will do you good, therefore you can go and +stay with your friends there until we sail again. If you return this day +week that will do. You have stuck to your work well, for Doctor Bemish +said that for the first month at least you ought to have been on the +sick-list, and at any rate you deserve a holiday for your share in that +fight." + +On landing Nat went first to Monsieur Duchesne's office. The planter had +but just driven in, and his horse and trap were still standing at the +door. The negro driver gave a friendly grin as he saw him. + +"Glad to see you, sah, bery glad; eberyone will be glad. Hope you all +well, sah?" + +"Thank you, Caesar. All well at the plantation, I hope?" and he went into +the office, where he was most warmly received by Monsieur Duchesne. + +"I had been told that your ship came into port at daybreak, my dear +Monsieur Glover, and I should have come off to ask after you as soon as +I had answered my letters, and to carry you off if the captain would +give you leave. But I see your arm is still in a sling. You have not +hurt it, I hope?" + +"I hurt it in that fight we had with the pirates. I dare say you heard +of it." + +"Everyone has heard of it," the planter said. "It was splendid, and +there is not one here who does not feel grateful indeed to your ship for +having rid us of all those scoundrels, who have been doing us so much +harm for years. You have not hurt it much, I hope?" + +"It was bad for a bit, but it is all right again now. The doctor orders +me to keep to the sling for some time longer, though I am sure there is +not the least necessity for it." + +"And now about your leave, shall I go off to the ship, think you?" + +"The captain himself gave me leave this morning for a week without my +even asking for it." + +"That is good news indeed. My carriage is at the door; I fortunately +told Caesar to wait, as there are some things to take back. My wife and +Myra will be delighted to see you, they talk of you always, and will be +glad indeed to have you with them again. My boy has gone out to buy the +matters required by madame, he will be back in a few minutes." + +A quarter of an hour later Nat was on his way out to the plantation, +where he was received with a welcome of the warmest kind by Madame +Duchesne and her daughter. Both were greatly concerned at finding that +his arm had again been injured. + +"It is hard indeed," Myra said, "that I should be so well and strong +again, and that you should still be suffering for what you did for me." + +"I do not think," he said, "that that business has really anything to do +with the last one. A pirate ship blew up close to us; the shock was +tremendous. The masts of the brigantine I was in snapped off as if they +had been carrots, everyone on deck was thrown down, twelve were killed +outright, and the rest of us were all a great deal bruised and hurt. The +doctor said that he thought my arm might very well have been broken even +had it not been for that accident, and as I came off better than most of +the others, I certainly have no reason to complain. It is really quite +well again now, and I can use it for almost all purposes. I consider it +absurd that I should wear this sling, and would take it off at once, +only the doctor made me promise that I would generally wear it; indeed, +on board I always took my arm out when I wanted to use it, and he said +himself that a certain amount of exercise was good for me." + +Monsieur Duchesne came home as usual just at sunset. Nat noticed that at +dinner he was evidently preoccupied, though he endeavoured to join in +the conversation as cheerily as usual. After the ladies had left the +table he said: + +"You may have noticed that I am _distrait_, Monsieur Glover, but it is +an anxious time for all of us on the island, and has been so, indeed, +for some time. You see we are divided into three classes: there are the +pure whites, the mulattoes, and the negroes, and even these are +subdivided. There are the old settlers, men who, like myself, belong to +noble French families, and who, I hope, keep up the best traditions of +our country; there are the poor whites, landless men who are +discontented with their position, and hate those who are better off, +while they stand aloof from the mulattoes. These, again, are equally +divided. Many of them are rich men with plantations. They send their +sons and daughters over to France to be educated, and take it much amiss +that we, who are of pure blood, do not associate with them. Then, again, +there are the negroes, who number no fewer than five hundred thousand, +while we whites are but forty thousand. We went on well enough together +until the States General met in France. It was a bad affair that, for us +as well as for France. From that time there has been a ferment. We sent +over deputies, eighteen of them, but the Assembly only allowed six to +take their seats, and while they snubbed us, the young mulattoes were +treated with the greatest favour. + +"Then came the news that the Assembly had passed a declaration asserting +all men to be free and equal. You may imagine what a shock this was to +us. Some of the mulattoes, in their excitement, took up arms to show +that they were free, but they were easily put down. However, when the +National Assembly heard of the excitement and dissatisfaction caused +among the French in all their colonies, they made another decree +authorizing each colony to elect its own legislative assembly. Our +assembly here lost their heads on finding power in their hands, and +passed a constitution which practically renounced all allegiance to +France. Some riots broke out, and things would have been very serious +had not, on the eleventh of October last year (1790), a decree been +passed by the National Assembly modifying the former one. However, on +the fifteenth of May they passed another, declaring all people of colour +in the French colonies, born of free parents, entitled to vote for +members of the colonial assembly, and to be elected to seats themselves. + +"When the news came here six weeks ago, you can imagine the excitement. +Meetings were held, and it was even proposed to throw off allegiance to +France and to hoist the British flag instead of ours. Happily calmer +thoughts came, and matters cooled down, but there can be no doubt that +the state of affairs is critical. The mulattoes, who outnumber the +whites, do not know how to contain themselves with joy, and disputes +between them and the whites take place daily. Then there are the +negroes. You see, the decree does nothing for them. It is hard to know +what the negroes think, even whether they care that they are not to have +a vote is not known to us. It is clear that it would be of little +advantage to them, and, you see, no one who was not out of his mind +could think of giving a vote to them, for their vote would be five times +as large as that of the whites and mulattoes together. We should have an +assembly composed entirely of slaves, and these slaves would at once +vote that all the land and property in the island should be divided +among themselves. What think you of that, Monsieur Glover?" + +"It would be madness indeed," Nat agreed. + +"Then, you see, even if they did not do that they would declare +themselves free, and we should all be ruined. _Sapristi!_ it makes one's +blood cold to think of such a thing. But, nevertheless, the negroes are +like children, they can be led by a little talk, and among them there +are men of some intelligence who could work the rest up to a state of +madness. I do not say that this will come--Heaven defend us from such a +calamity!--still, monsieur, you will comprehend that we all feel as if +we were sitting on the edge of a volcano. Such strange things happen. +What may not occur next? You will understand that I do not talk of these +things before my wife and child. They, of course, know about the past, +but as for the future they do not trouble themselves at all. I have +spoken to some of my friends, and they laugh at the idea of the slaves +rising. They say, truly enough, that they are far better treated here +than in your British colonies. But then there has been no revolution in +England. People have not been stirred up to a state of excitement. The +nation has not lost its head, as in France. I say that it is possible +there may be trouble with the slaves." + +"Not here, surely, monsieur? Your negroes seem to me to be contented and +happy, and I am sure they are well treated." + +"That is undoubtedly so; but, as I told you, the negroes are like +children, they will laugh one minute and scream with rage the next. +There is never any saying what they may do. I can hardly bring myself to +think that such a thing could happen, but I have taken to carrying +pistols in my pockets, and I have stored some arms in that closet in the +hall; at least I should have them handy, and I doubt not that the house +servants will remain true, and I hope many of my slaves. It is for this +that I have gathered the arms together." + +"But surely you would have warning?" + +"At the first whisper I should, of course, drive my wife and child down +to the town, where we should be safe, for there the whites are strong, +and we have no fear of an attack. However, we must trust that such a +thing may never happen, or that if it does, it may be in the far +distance. But come when it will, everyone should receive warning in +plenty of time to make all preparations. It seems to me impossible that +a plot of any magnitude could be passed from end to end of this island, +and be known to so vast a number of negroes, without some of them +warning their masters of the danger, for there are tens of thousands who +are almost like members of their masters' families." + +"I should say it is quite impossible that any extensive plot could be +hatched without its being known in a very short time to everyone," Nat +agreed; "and in any case, although those who live far in the interior of +the island might have reason to fear, should the negroes break out, I +can hardly think that, within little more than an hour's drive from the +city, you need feel any uneasiness whatever." + +"No, I feel that there ought to be no trouble here, at any rate unless +there is a successful insurrection in other parts of the island; no +doubt that would be infectious elsewhere. But the negroes near the town +would be the last to join in such a movement, for they might be sure +that the whites there would take speedy vengeance on all within their +reach. However, let us think no more of it at present; my wife and Myra +will be wondering what we can find to talk about so long." + +Nat lay awake for some time that night thinking of what Monsieur +Duchesne had said. He had heard vaguely, while he was there before, of +the manner in which the revolution in France had affected the island, +but it was a subject that was little discussed at the planter's. Having +all the feelings and prejudices of the old _noblesse_ of France, he had +from the first been opposed to the popular movement in Paris, and had +held himself altogether aloof from the demonstration on the island. The +subject was painful to him, and he had seldom alluded to it in his +family circle. It seemed to Nat inconceivable that any general movement +could be planned among the blacks without warning being received by the +planters. When he went out next day he looked with more attention than +before at the slaves working on the plantations. It seemed to him that +their demeanour was quieter than usual; the mulatto overseers seemed to +pay less attention to them, and he was surprised to come upon three of +them talking earnestly together, whereas, hitherto, he had always seen +them on different parts of the estate. + +On the following morning, the 23rd of August, Monsieur Duchesne started +as usual soon after seven o'clock, for the heat was now intense, and it +was dangerous to be out after the sun had obtained its full power. An +hour later Nat was sitting in the verandah behind the house with Madame +Duchesne and Myra, when an old negress ran out; her eyes were wide open +with terror and excitement, and her face was almost pale. + +"Madame and mam'selle must fly and hide themselves!" she exclaimed. +"Nigger come in half an hour ago wid news dat slabes rise last night in +many places all ober de country and kill all de whites. Dinah hear dat +all people expect dat, only not for anober two days. Oberseers de +leaders now. Dey come here quick wid all de field hands. Not a moment to +be lost. Fly for your libes!" + +"Impossible!" Madame Duchesne exclaimed, as she and Myra sprang to their +feet alarmed, but incredulous. + +"It may be true, madame," Nat exclaimed. "For God's sake run with Myra +in among the shrubbery there; I will join you in a moment. If it is a +false alarm all the better; but it may be true, and there is not a +moment to lose. Do you hear those shouts?" + +A burst of yells and shouts rose in the air a short distance away. + +"Run! run!" Nat exclaimed as he dashed into the house, rushed to the +closet in the hall, seized two brace of pistols, a sword, and half a +dozen packets of cartridges for the pistols, and then ran out into the +verandah just in time to see the white dresses of the ladies disappear +into the shrubbery close to the entrance of the verandah. Some wraps +which they sometimes put on to keep off the evening dew when they were +sitting out of doors were hung up close by him. Hastily snatching these +off their hooks, he dashed off at full speed, for the tumult was now +approaching the front of the house. The ladies had stopped just within +the cover of the bushes. "Run!" he cried; "there is not a moment to +lose. They will be searching for us as soon as they find that we are not +in the house." + +The belt of foliage extended all round the garden, and, keeping inside, +they ran to the other end. Fortunately, adjoining the garden was a +plantation of sugar-cane which had not yet been cut, for although the +greater portion of the cane is cut in April, freshly made plantations +planted at that time are not fit to cut until the autumn of the +following year. The canes were ten feet high, and as the rows were three +feet apart, there was plenty of room to run between them. Scarcely a +word was spoken as they hurried along. The plantation was some four +hundred yards across; beyond it stretched another of equal size, +extending to the edge of the forest. The canes here, which had been cut +four months before, were three feet high; at other times many negroes +would have been at work hoeing the ground round the roots, but when Nat +looked out cautiously from the edge of the higher canes not a soul was +to be seen. + +"I think it is perfectly safe," he said; "but you had better put on the +dark wraps, your light dresses would be seen a long distance away. We +had better move a short distance farther to the right before we attempt +to go straight on. If you will walk one after the other, treading in +each other's steps, I will take off my shoes and follow you; that will +destroy your traces, and the marks of my bare feet might be taken for +those of a negro. Please do not lose a moment," he said, as he saw that +Madame Duchesne was about to speak; "there will be time to talk when we +get into the forest and settle what we had best do." + +They had gone but a few yards when Nat's eye caught sight of a hoe lying +on the ground a short distance along one of the rows of the young canes. +He ran and fetched it, the others stopping while he did so. Then as he +went along he carefully obliterated his footsteps, and continued to do +so until when, after walking thirty or forty yards farther, he turned +into the young plantation. The surface of the ground was almost +dust-dry, and between the rows of the growing canes a track had been +worn by the feet of the slaves, who every two or three days hoed round +the roots; here, therefore, there was no occasion to use the hoe, as the +ground was so hard that his feet left no marks upon it. In a few minutes +they entered the wood and went in some little distance; then they +stopped. They could still hear the yells of the negroes, who, Nat +doubted not, were engaged in plundering the house, after which he felt +sure that there would be an eager search for the fugitives. + +The ground had been rising all the way. + +"I see you need a few minutes' rest," he said to Madame Duchesne, who +was so much shaken that it was evident she could walk but little +farther. "I will go back to the edge of the wood and see if there are +any signs of their following us." + +Just as he reached the open ground there was a louder outburst than +usual of exulting cries; he saw a column of smoke rising from the trees, +and knew that the negroes had set the house on fire. He returned at once +to the ladies. Madame Duchesne had sunk on the ground. Myra was kneeling +beside her. + +"We must go on, madame," he said; "the scoundrels have fired the +house." + +She rose to her feet. + +"I am better now," she said with a calmness that greatly pleased Nat. +"It seemed a dream at first. What does it all mean, Nat?" for she as +well as her daughter had come to address him by that name. + +"I fear it is a general rising of the blacks throughout the island," he +replied. "Monsieur Duchesne told me last night that he thought such an +event might possibly take place, but he made sure that if it occurred we +should have ample warning. By what your old nurse said it must have been +an arranged thing, to take place on the twenty-fifth, but something must +have hurried it. I think, to begin with, we had better go half a mile +farther into the forest. We can talk as we go." + +"Had we not better make straight for the town?" + +"I think not, though of course I will do whatever you believe to be +best; but there are a score of plantations between us and the town, and +I have no doubt that the slaves will have risen everywhere. Besides, if +your own negroes fail to follow our track, they will make sure that we +have gone in that direction, and will be on the look-out for us; +therefore I think that for the present we had better remain in the +forest." + +"But how can we live here?" she asked. + +"There will be no difficulty about that," he replied; "there are plenty +of plantations of yams, and I can go down and dig them up at night. The +young canes will quench your thirst if we fail to hit upon a spring, but +we know that there are several of these among the hills, for we pass +over five or six little streamlets on our way to the town." + +"I am sure Nat will look well after us," Myra said confidently; +"besides, mamma, I am certain that you could not walk down there. You +know you never do walk, and I cannot recollect your walking so far as +you have done to-day." + +This indeed had been the chief reason why Nat had decided that they had +better stay in the forest at present, although he had not mentioned it. +Like all Creoles--as whites born in the islands were called in the +French West Indies--Madame Duchesne was altogether unaccustomed to +exercise, and beyond a stroll in the garden when the heat of the day was +over, had not walked since her childhood. The heat, indeed, rendered a +journey of any kind next to impossible during the greater part of the +day. They had slaves to do their bidding, to wait on them, fetch and +carry, and consequently even in the house they had no occasion for the +slightest personal exertion. Madame Duchesne, being of a naturally more +energetic temperament than are Creoles in general, was less indolent +than the majority of the ladies of the island, but was wholly incapable +of taking a walk of which English ladies would have thought nothing. She +was already greatly exhausted by the excitement and the fatigue of their +hasty flight, and to Nat it seemed at once that it was hopeless for her +to think of attempting the journey of fifteen miles across a rough +country. + +The forest grew thicker as they advanced, and after walking for half an +hour Madame Duchesne declared that it was impossible for her to go +farther. Nat was indeed surprised that she had held on for so long. She +had been leaning on his arm, and he felt the weight becoming heavier and +heavier every step. She was bathed in perspiration, her breath came in +gasps, and he himself proposed a halt, feeling that she was at the end +of her strength. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +IN HIDING + + +"The first thing to do," Nat said, after he had seen that Madame +Duchesne was as comfortably seated as possible, "is to find some sort of +hiding-place. We may be sure that the negroes will search everywhere for +you, and that, released from work and having nothing to do, they will +wander about the woods, and one of them might come upon us at any +moment. Therefore, unless we can find some sort of shelter, I dare not +leave you for a minute." + +"But why should you leave us?" Myra asked. + +"We must eat and drink," he said. "I must endeavour to discover what is +going on elsewhere; I must, if possible, obtain a disguise, and +endeavour to find out what are the intentions of the blacks, and +ascertain whether it will be possible to obtain help from the town; and +I can begin to do nothing until I feel that you are at least +comparatively safe. There is no doubt, Madame Duchesne, that our +position is a very painful one, but we have a great deal to be thankful +for. If the rising had taken place in the night, as no doubt it did at +the plantations where the negroes began their work, we should all have +been murdered without the chance of resistance. Now, we have escaped +with our lives, and have the satisfaction of knowing that Monsieur +Duchesne is safe in the town, and will assuredly do his best to rescue +us; but that can hardly be yet. Cape Francois is no doubt in a state of +wild panic, and will in the first place be thinking of how it can best +defend itself." + +"There are, of course, many other planters there in the same position as +your husband. Each will be thinking of his own people; nothing like a +general effort will be possible. At any rate, it seems to me that it +must be some time before any operations can take place to put down the +insurrection. If one could but get hold of some messenger one could +trust, and could let Monsieur Duchesne know that you are for the present +safe, it would be an immense relief to him; but so far as we know at +present that old nurse is the only one of your slaves who is faithful, +and even if I could find her and get her to carry a note or a message, +it is unlikely in the extreme that she would be permitted to pass on +into the town. However, as I say, the first thing is to discover a +hiding-place where you would be comparatively safe, and before I go to +find a messenger I will look round for some clump of undergrowth where +nothing but close search could find you. I think that those bushes we +see across there would do for the moment. You cannot remain here, for +you would be seen at once by anyone who came along within fifty yards of +you. I will go and see at once whether it would do." + +Without waiting for an answer he hurried away. On examination he found +that the place was more suitable than he had expected. A great tree had +once stood there, and had been sawn off close to the ground. Round this +a clump of bushes had sprung up, growing so thickly that it was +impossible to see into the centre save by pushing aside the bushes and +entering the little circle. He hastened back. + +"It will do excellently for our hiding-place for the present," he said, +"and the sooner we are inside the better." + +He assisted Madame Duchesne to her feet, led her to the bushes, and then +bent some of them very carefully aside. The ladies made their way in, +and he followed them, seeing that each of the saplings fell back in its +natural position. + +"There, madame," he said, "unless anyone took it into his head to push +in as we have done we are absolutely safe. But it will be better that +you should keep your dark cloaks on. I do not think that anyone could +see through this thick screen of leaves, but it is as well to be on the +safe side." + +"You won't leave us at present?" + +"Certainly not," he said. "After it gets dark I shall make my way down +to the house. I must get a disguise of some sort; it does not matter +much what it is, for I expect the slaves will be dressing up in the +clothes they have stolen, no matter what they are. With some charred +wood I can blacken my face and hands. No doubt anyone would see at once +on looking at me closely that I was not a negro, but at a distance I +should pass." + +"You would make a better mulatto than you would a negro," Myra said. + +"So I should; as they are all shades of colour, I should not have to be +very particular." + +"If we had Dinah here with us," Myra said, "she could make you some dye. +She knows all about berries and roots, and generally doctors any of the +women who may be ill; she would know for sure of some berries that would +stain your skin." + +"Well, I must see if I can find her, Myra. If not, I must use the +charcoal, but certainly the other would be much the safer; and, you see, +thanks to my long stay with you before, I have got to speak French very +fairly now." + +The day passed slowly. Occasionally they heard shouts lower down in the +forest, but these did not come near them, and after a time died away. + +"I thought they would hardly come up as far as this," Nat said; "negroes +are not given to work unless they are obliged to, and they will find it +so pleasant doing nothing that they are hardly likely to give themselves +the trouble to search very far for us. Besides, doubtless they have +other things to think about. They will know that their work has only +begun when they have burnt their masters' houses, and killed all the +white people they can lay their hands upon, and that until they have +taken possession of the towns they are not masters of the island. No +doubt, too, they carried out the wine before they burnt the house." + +"Besides," Myra said, "there is the rum store; there are at least a +hundred barrels there." + +"Yes, I did not think of that. Well, I expect that before this the +greater part of them are drunk, and I don't suppose there will be a +sober man left to-night. That will make it an easy business for me to +find out what they are doing, and to get hold of the things that will be +useful to you. I am more afraid of the mulattoes than of the negroes." + +"Do you think that they would join the blacks?" + +"I have no doubt at all about it--I feel sure they have done so. I saw +three of them talking together yesterday; they were paying no attention +to the slaves, and I thought then that it was rather peculiar. Besides, +we know that these lower class of mulattoes are as hostile to the whites +as the negroes are, if not more so, and I have no doubt they have had a +good deal to do with exciting the slaves to revolt. And now, Madame +Duchesne, I will go down through the woods and get you some sugar-cane, +and look for a stream." + +Madame Duchesne protested, but she was accustomed to have every want +supplied as soon as expressed, and she was suffering much from thirst +after the excitement and effort. + +"You really require something," Nat went on. "You see, if I go down +after dark I may be away for two or three hours, and were you to wait +till then you would be in a fever with thirst. It is evident that the +negroes have all left the wood, therefore there can be no risk in my +going down and cutting a dozen of the young canes." + +"If you go," she said firmly, sitting up as she spoke, "you must leave +me two of your pistols--they are double-barrelled, are they not?" + +"Yes, madame." + +"Well, leave two. If the negroes come and begin to search this place I +shall shoot Myra first and then myself, for death would be a thousand +times preferable to falling into the hands of these wretches." + +"I think you are right there," Nat said gravely, "and if I thought that +there would be the slightest fear of their coming I would not leave you. +I shall not be away a quarter of an hour. I will leave my jacket and cap +here, and tie a handkerchief round my head, so that should I by any +chance come across a searcher, he will not recognize me until I am close +enough to silence him. I shall take the sword as well as the other brace +of pistols; it will be useful for cutting down the canes." + +Taking off his jacket and waistcoat, and tying his handkerchief round +his head, he made his way through the bushes, and then started at a fast +run down the hill, keeping, however, a sharp look-out as he went. As he +expected, there were no signs of the blacks. As he reached the edge of +the wood, and cut the canes, he could hear the sound of distant yells in +the direction of the house. + +"The brutes have got at the rum," he said. "If I had but half a dozen +blue-jackets, I believe I could clear the lot out. I do hope," he went +on, as he started on his way back, "I shall be able to lay my hand on +something to eat, and get hold of a bottle or two of wine. Madame will +never be able to get on on yams and sugar-canes, accustomed as she has +been to every luxury. Myra will be all right, she is a regular young +brick." As he neared the clump of bushes he cried out cheerily: "All +right, madame, I have got the canes, and have not caught sight of a +negro." An exclamation of relief followed. Madame Duchesne and Myra were +both standing as he entered, each with a pistol in her hand. + +"I was not alarmed by your footstep," she said, "for anyone who was +searching for us would come along slowly and stealthily; but I thought +you might be pursued." + +"If I had been," Nat laughed, "you may be very sure I should not have +brought them this way, but would have given them a dance all over the +place, and then slipped away and come back here." + +"I know that," she said earnestly, "but I am nervous and shaken." + +"Very naturally, too," Nat said: "you felt very much as I did when, +after that explosion, I went on board the other pirate to drown the +magazine. I believe that if anyone had given a shout close to me I +should have tumbled headlong down on the deck. I think, now, we are +perfectly safe till to-morrow. By the noises I heard down by the house I +should say that most of the slaves are drunk already, and you may be +sure that they will not think of starting to look for us till to-morrow. +Now, if you will take my advice, you will try to sleep a bit." + +Accustomed to sleep for two or three hours during the heat of the day, +Madame Duchesne was indeed feeling so drowsy that she could with +difficulty keep her eyes open, and she now in the course of a few +minutes was breathing quietly and regularly. + +"Now, Myra, do you watch by your mother while I go and look for water. +That tiny stream that crosses the road a quarter of a mile above your +house must come down not far from here, and it is essential that we +should be near it." + +"But it is near water that they are most likely to look for us." + +"I did not think of that, Myra; of course it is. Well, then, we must +move over this hill and hide up in the next little valley we come to. +There is a road that turns off half a mile above your house. I never +went far along it, but it seems to go right up into the heart of the +hills." + +"I never went up it either, Nat, but I have heard my father say there +were a good many small clearings up among the hills, some with twenty +slaves, some with only two or three." + +"Then, when I come back from seeing how things are going on at the +house, we had better make for that road, keeping along down at the end +of the plantation until we come to it. It will be much better to keep +straight along there till we pass some little valley where there is a +stream, than to wander about in the wood; and we shall be farther away +from those who may be looking after us. If your mother sleeps for two or +three hours she will be able to go some little distance to-night." + +Myra shook her head doubtingly. + +"We must get her on," he added, "even if we have to carry her. It is all +very well for us, because I am as hard as nails, and you do a lot of +walking for a white girl here, but your mother is not strong. You saw +how terribly exhausted she was when she got here, and it is quite likely +that she may knock up altogether; therefore it is essential to get her +into shelter. We are safe for to-day, but to-morrow we may have the +negroes all over the hills, and it will have to be a wonderfully good +hiding-place to escape their search." + +"But do you feel sure that they have risen on all the other +plantations?" + +"I have not the least doubt that they have risen on every plantation in +this neighbourhood. Your slaves were wonderfully well treated, and would +not have joined unless they had known that it was a general rising. You +know the old nurse said that it was to have been on the twenty-fifth, +which means, of course, that it was a great plot all over the island. +Of course in some places they may not have got the news yet, and may not +rise for a day or two, but you may be sure that all around here it has +been general." + +"But why should they want to kill us?" + +"Because they are really nothing but savages. Though they have in many +cases been slaves for generations, still there are always fresh slaves +arriving; and the others know that their fathers, like these, were +captured and sold to the whites, that they had terrible times in the +slave-ships, and are on some plantations treated like dogs, and are +bought and sold just like cattle. I don't wonder at it that, now they +have got a chance, as they think, they should take vengeance for all the +ills they have suffered. When they are at war with each other in Africa +they kill or enslave all who fall into their hands--men, women, or +children--and you may be sure that they will show no mercy here. When I +was down at the edge of the wood to cut those canes I could see smoke +rising from a dozen points lower down. It is possible that some besides +ourselves got warning in time, but I am afraid very few can have +escaped; for you see, once beyond the line of wood, which does not go +more than a mile or two further, there will be no hiding-places for +them. There is only one comfort, and that is, the news must have got +down to the town in a very short time, and there is no fear of your +father driving out and being taken by surprise. My greatest hope lies in +that old nurse of yours. She could do more in the way of helping us than +we could do ourselves. She could go and get things, and hear what is +going on. She is old, but she is a strong woman still, and could help to +carry your mother, and attend to her if she is ill." + +"Do you think she is going to be ill?" Myra asked anxiously, looking at +her mother. + +"I sincerely trust not, Myra, but I own that I am afraid of it. She is +breathing faster than she did, and she has moved restlessly several +times while we have been talking, and has a patch of colour on each +cheek, which looks like fever. However, we must hope for the best. +Anyhow, I shall bring Dinah up here if possible." + +So they talked till the sun went down. Madame Duchesne still slept, but +her breathing was perceptibly faster. She occasionally muttered to +herself, and scarcely lay still for a moment. + +"I will be going now," Nat said at last; "it will be pitch dark by the +time I get down to the house; it is dark already here. You have the +pistols, Myra, but you may be quite sure that no one will be searching +now. I may have some difficulty in finding these bushes when I come +back, but I will whistle, and when I do, do you give a call. I hope I +shall bring Dinah back with me." + +"Oh, I do hope you will. She would be a comfort to us." + +Nat heard a quaver in her voice, which showed that she was on the point +of breaking down. + +"You must not give way, Myra," he said. "You have been very plucky up to +now, and for your mother's sake you must keep up a brave heart and hope +always for the best. I rely upon you greatly. We may have many dangers +to go through, but with God's help we may hope to rejoin your father. +But we must be calm and patient. We have been marvellously fortunate so +far, and shall, I hope, be so until the end. When I find out what the +negroes intend to do we shall be able to decide upon our course. It may +be that they will pour down from all the plantations within thirty or +forty miles round and attack the town, or it may be that they will march +away into the mountains in the interior of the island, in which case the +road to the town will be open to us. Now, good-bye; I will be back as +soon as I can." + +"Do not hurry," she said. "I will try to be brave, and I don't mind +waiting, because I shall know that you are trying to get nurse, and of +course it may be difficult for you to find her alone." + +"Good-bye, then," he said cheerfully, and passing through the bushes he +went rapidly down the hill. + +On reaching the cane-field he again took off his shoes. He did not hurry +now. It was a tremendous responsibility that he had upon his shoulders. +He thought nothing of the danger to himself, but of how Madame Duchesne +and her daughter were to be sheltered and cared for if, as he feared, +the former was on the edge of an attack of fever, which might last for +days, and so prostrate her that weeks might elapse before she would be +fit to travel. + +"I must get Dinah at all costs," he said to himself. "She knows what +will be wanted, and will be a companion to Myra when I have to be away." + +As he neared the place where the house had stood he heard sounds of +shouting and singing coming from a spot near the storehouses, where a +broad glow of light showed that a great bonfire was burning. He kept in +the shrubbery until near the house, and then stepped out on to the +grass. The house was gone, and a pile of still glowing embers alone +marked where it had stood. Nat approached this, found a piece of charred +timber that had fallen a short distance from it, and proceeded to +blacken his face and hands. Then he turned towards the fire. As he had +expected, it was not long before he came across the figure of a +prostrate man, who was snoring in a drunken sleep. The stars gave +sufficient light for him to see as he bent over him that he was a negro. +He had attired himself in what when he put them on were a clean nankeen +jacket and trousers, a part of the spoil he had taken in the sack of the +house. Without ceremony Nat turned him over, and with some trouble +removed the garments and put them on over his own. Then he took the red +handkerchief that the negro had bound round his head and tied it on, +putting his own bandana in his pocket. + +"Now," he said to himself, "I shall do, provided I keep away from the +light of that fire. The first point is to find where Dinah has gone. I +know she has a daughter and some grandchildren down at the slaves' huts. +I should think I have most chance of finding her there." + +Turning off, he went to the huts, which lay two or three hundred yards +away from the house. As he did so he passed near the houses in which the +mulatto overseers lived. There were lights here, and he could hear the +sound of voices through the open windows. + +"I will come back to them later on," he said, "I may hear something of +their plans; but Dinah is the most important at present." + +He was soon among the slave huts. No one was about, the women being +mostly up at the fire with the men. He looked in at the door of each hut +he passed. As he was still without shoes his movements were noiseless. +In a few of them women were cooking, or putting their children to bed. +At the last hut of the first row which he visited an old negro woman was +rocking herself in great grief, and two or three children were playing +on the floor. Nat knew that he had come to the end of his search, by the +blue cotton dress with large white spots that the woman wore. He went in +and touched her. + +"Dinah," he whispered, "come outside!" + +She gave a little start of surprise, and then said to the children: + +"Now, you stop here, like good childer, Aunt Dinah is agoing out. If you +keep quiet she tell you story when she comes in." + +[Illustration: "IT WAS NOT LONG BEFORE HE CAME ACROSS THE FIGURE OF A +PROSTRATE MAN."] + +Then she went out with Nat without any appearance of haste. By long +connection with the family she spoke French fairly well, whereas the +negro patois, although mostly composed of French words, was almost +unintelligible to him. + +"Tank de Lord dat you hab come back, Marse Glober. Dinah fret terrible +all day. Am de ladies well? Whar you hide dem?" + +"They are up in the wood, Dinah. I am greatly afraid that Madame +Duchesne is going to have fever, and you are sorely wanted there. Myra +said she was sure that you would come when you knew where they were." + +"For suah me come, massa," she said. "What madame and Mam'selle Myra do +widout Dinah? So you black your face?" + +"Yes, but I want some juice to make my face yellow like a mulatto. +Anyone could see that I was not a negro in the daylight." + +"Dat so. Me bring 'tuff wid me. What you want beside?" + +"We shall want a bottle or two of wine if you can get them, and a jug of +fresh water, and anything you can get in the way of eatables, and I +should say a cooking pot. Those are the principal things." + +"Dere am plenty ob boxes of wine up near house. Dis black trash like rum +better, leave wine for de mulattoes; dey bery bad man dose. Where you go +now, Marse Glober? Me take some time to get de tings." + +"It would be a good thing, too, if you could get hold of enough cotton +cloth to make dresses for them." + +The old woman nodded. + +"Plenty ob dat, sah. Storehouses all broke open, eberyone take what him +like. Dis dreadful day, almost break Dinah's heart." + +"It has been a terrible day, Dinah, and I am afraid that the same bad +work is going on everywhere." + +"So dey say, marse, so dey say. Where you go now, sah?" + +"I am going to the overseers' huts to hear what their plans are. Where +shall I meet you, Dinah?" + +"Me take tings to bush just where you and de ladies ran in. Me make two +or tree journeys, but me be as quick as can." + +"Do; it is anxious work for Myra there, and I want to get back as soon +as I can. Her mother is asleep, and even if she wakes I do not think she +will be able to talk much." + +"Me hurry, sah, but can't get 'tuff to stain you skin to-night. Find +berries up in de wood to-morrow." + +"There is one other thing, Dinah. Can you tell me where to find a +hand-barrow? I expect we shall have to carry your mistress." + +"Me know de sort ob ting dat you want, sah, dey carry tobacco leabes on +dem. Dere are a dozen ob dem lying outside de end store." + +"All right, Dinah, I will take one as I go past. Now I will go." + +So saying, he turned and made his way to the overseers' house. He crept +softly along to a lighted window. When in a line with it he stood up for +a minute, knowing that those inside would not be able to see him, there +being a screen of trees just behind him. The three mulattoes whom he had +seen talking together in the field on the previous day were seated round +a table. On it were placed two or three wine-glasses. All were smoking. + +"To-morrow we must get those drunken black hogs to work," one said, "and +have a regular search through the woods. Everything has gone well except +the escape of madame and her gal. Someone must have warned them. The +house niggers all agree that they were in the verandah behind just +before we came up, talking with that English lad. Of course they will be +found sooner or later, there is nowhere for them to run to. The thing +is, we want to find them ourselves. If anyone else came upon them they +would kill them at once." + +"Yes, and you will have some trouble if you find them, Monti," one of +the other men said. "These blacks have been told that every white must +be killed. It is easy enough to work these fellows up into a frenzy, but +it is not so easy to calm them down afterwards." + +"No, I am quite aware of that, Christophe, and that is why I did not +press the search to-day, and why I was not sorry to find that they had +got away." + +"You see, we have arranged that when the whites are all killed I am to +marry madame, that Paul is to take the young one, and that we are to +divide the place equally between the three of us." + +"If the negroes will let us," the one called Monti said. "I expect they +will want to have a say in the business." + +"Yes, of course, that is understood. No doubt there will be trouble with +them, and there is no saying how things will turn out yet. At any rate +we will make sure of the women. I have gone into this more for the sake +of getting the girl than for anything else." + +"We have made a good beginning everywhere, as far as we have heard, but +you must remember that it is only a beginning. Even suppose the whites +of the town do nothing, and I fancy we shall hear of them presently, +they will send over troops from France." + +"They can do nothing against us up in the mountains," Christophe said +scornfully. + +"That may be," the other said quietly; "but at any rate there are the +blacks to deal with. They have risen against the whites, but when they +have done with them we need not suppose for a moment that they are going +to work for us. Luckily, here it has been the order that no slave is to +be flogged without Duchesne's approving of it, and the result is that we +are for the present masters of this plantation, but we have heard that +at some of the other places the overseers as well as the whites have +been killed. The order has gone through the island that all the whites, +including women and children, are to be killed, and if we were to come +across the women when we have forty or fifty of the blacks with us I +don't think there would be a chance of our saving them. These negroes +are demons when their blood is up. They know, too, that they have gone +too far to be forgiven, and will believe that their safety depends upon +carrying out the orders faithfully. It seems to me that we are in a +rather awkward fix. If we don't take the blacks out to-morrow we sha'n't +find them, if we do take them out they will be killed." + +"We ourselves may find them," Paul said. + +"Yes; and if you do, they will have that English lad with them." + +"We can soon settle him," Christophe growled. + +"Well, I don't say we couldn't; but you know how he fought that hound, +and there was a report two days ago, from the town, that they have +attacked the Red Pirate's stronghold, taken it, and destroyed his four +ships. I grant that as we are three to one we shall kill him, but one or +two of us may go down before we do so. Now, I tell you frankly that as I +have no personal interest in finding those two women, I have no idea of +running the risk of getting myself shot in what is your affair +altogether. Any reasonable help I am willing to give you, but when it +comes to risking my life in the matter I say, 'No, thank you.'" + +The others broke into a torrent of savage oaths. + +"Well," he went on calmly, "I am by no means certain that the English +boy would not be a match for the three of us. We should not know where +he was, but he would see us, and he might shoot a couple of us down +before we had time to draw our pistols. Then it will be man against man; +and I know that girl has practised shooting, so that the odds would be +the other way. Now, I ask you calmly, is it worth it?" + +"What do you propose, then?" Paul asked sulkily, after a long silence. + +"I say that we had better wait till we can get hold of some of these +blacks; a little money and a little flattery will go a long way with +them. We can tell them that we have private orders that, although most +of the whites have to be put to death, a few are to be kept, among them +these two. We shall elect a president and generals, and it is right that +they should have white women to wait on them, just as the whites have +been having blacks. That is just the sort of thing that will take with +these ignorant fools. Then with, say, ten men we might search the woods +thoroughly, find the women, and hide them up somewhere under your +charge; but we must go quietly to work. A few days will make no +difference. We know that they can't get away. The men of the plantations +lower down have undertaken to see that no whites make their way into the +town. But it will not do to hurry the negroes, they are sure to be +either sullen or arrogant to-morrow. Some of them, when they get over +their drink, will begin to fear the consequences, others will be so +triumphant that for a time our influence will be gone." + +"That is the best plan," Christophe said. "You have the longest head of +us three, Monti. For a time it will be necessary to let the blacks have +their own way." + +Nat, while this conversation went on, had been fingering his pistol +indecisively. His blood was so fired by the events of the day, and the +certainty that hundreds of women and children must have been murdered, +that he would have had no hesitation in shooting the three mulattoes +down. Indeed he had quite intended to do so, in the case at any rate of +Paul and Christophe, when he learned their plans; the advice, however, +of the other, who was evidently the leading spirit, decided him against +this course. It was unlikely that he would be able to shoot the three, +for at the first shot they would doubtless knock the candle over; +besides, it was better that they should live. Evidently they would in +some way persuade the great mass of the negroes not to trouble +themselves to search the wood, and some days must elapse before they +could get a party together on whom they could rely to spare the women +and take them as prisoners. + +If they did so, and, as they proposed, put them in some hut in charge of +Paul and Christophe, he would have a fair chance of rescuing them, if he +succeeded in getting away at the time they were captured. At any rate, +if they carried out their plans they would have some days' respite, and +he could either take Madame Duchesne and Myra a good deal further into +the hills, or might even be able to get them into the town. + +The mulattoes now began to talk of other matters--how quickly the +insurrection would spread, the towns that were to be attacked, and the +steps to be taken--and he therefore quietly made off, and waited for +Dinah at the place agreed on. It was not long before she arrived with +her first load. + +"I am here," he said as she came up. "Now, what can I do? I had better +come and help you back with the other things. We can carry them in the +hand-barrow." + +"Yes, sah. I'se got dem all together, de tings we talked of, and tree or +four blankets, and a few tings for de ladies, and I'se taken two ob de +best frocks I could find in de huts. I'se got de wine and de food in a +big basket." + +"All right, Dinah; let us start at once, I am anxious to be back again +as soon as possible." + +In ten minutes they returned with all the things. The basket of wine and +provisions was the heaviest item. The clothes and blankets had been made +up into a bundle. + +"Me will carry dat on my head," Dinah said, "and de barrow." + +"No, I can take that, Dinah, that will balance the basket; besides, you +have that great jug of water to take. Now let us be off." + +After twenty minutes' walking they approached the spot where the ladies +were in hiding, but it was so dark under the trees that Nat could not +determine its exact position; he therefore whistled, at first softly and +then more loudly. Then he heard a call some little distance away. He +went on until he judged that he must be close, and then whistled again. +The reply came at once some thirty yards away. + +"Here we are, Myra," he said; "nurse is with me." + +An exclamation of delight was heard, and a minute later he made his way +through the bushes. + +"Mamma is awake," the girl said, "but she does not always understand +what I say; sometimes I cannot understand her, and her hands are as hot +as fire. I am glad Dinah is here." + +"You can't be gladder'n me, mam'selle. I hab brought some feber medicine +wid me, and a lantern and some candles." + +"Would it be safe to light the lantern?" Myra asked. + +"Quite safe," Nat said; "there is no chance whatever of anyone coming +along here; besides, we can put something round the lantern so as to +prevent it from being seen from outside. You have brought steel and +tinder, I hope, Dinah?" + +"Of course, marse, lamp no good widout; and I hab got sulphur matches, +no fear me forget them." + +"Give them to me, Dinah, I will strike a light while you attend to your +mistress." + +Dinah poured some water into a cup and then knelt down by Madame +Duchesne. + +"Here, dearie," she said, "Dinah brought you water and wine and tings to +eat. Here is a cup of water, I am sure you want it. Let me lift you up +to drink it." + +She lifted her and placed the cup in her hands, and she drank it off +eagerly. + +"Is that your voice, Dinah?" she said after a pause. + +"Yes, madame; I'se come up to help to take care ob you. Marse Glober +come and tell me whar you were, so you may be suah that me lose no time, +just wait to get a few tings dat you might want and den start up." + +"I think I am not very well, Dinah." + +"Jess a little poorly you be. Bery funny if you not poorly abter sich +wicked doings. Now de best ting dat you can do is to go to sleep and not +worry." + +"Give me another drink, Dinah." + +"Here it is, dis time a little wine wid de water and a little 'tuff to +make you sleep quiet. Den me double up a blanket for you to lie on and +put anober over you, and a bundle under your head, and den you go to +sleep firm. No trouble to-night; to-morrow morning we go on." + +Madame Duchesne drank off the contents of the cup. She was made as +comfortable as circumstances would permit, and it was not long before +her regular breathing showed that the medicine that Dinah had +administered had had the desired effect. + +"Now, Myra," Nat said, "we will investigate the contents of the basket. +I am beginning to get as hungry as a hunter, and I am sure that you must +be so too." + +"I am thirsty," the girl said, "but I do not feel hungry." + +"You will, directly you begin. Now, Dinah, what have you brought us?" + +"Dere am one roast chicken dar, Marse Glober. Dat was all I could get +cooked. Dere are six dead ones. I caught dem and wrung their necks jest +before I started. Dey no good now. Dere is bread baked fresh dis morning +before de troubles began, and dere is two pine-apples and a big melon." + +"Bravo, Dinah! You have got knives?" + +"Yes, sah, four knibes and forks." + +"We could manage without the forks, Dinah, but it is more comfortable +having them. Now we will cut the chicken up into three. It looks a fine +bird." + +"I'se had my dinner, sah; no want more." + +"That is all nonsense, Dinah," he said. "I am quite sure that you did +not eat much dinner to-day, and you will want your strength to-morrow." + +Dinah could not affirm that she had eaten much, and indeed she had +scarcely been able to swallow a mouthful in the middle of the day. The +meal was heartily enjoyed, and they made up with bread and fruit for the +shortness of the meat ration. + +"Now you two lie down," Nat said after they had chatted for an hour. "I +am accustomed to night watches and can sleep with one ear open, but I am +convinced that there is not the slightest need for any of us keeping +awake. When the lantern is out, which it will be as soon as you lie +down, if all the negroes came up into the woods to search for us I +should have no fear of their finding us." + +Dinah, however, insisted upon taking a share in watching, saying that +she was constantly sitting up at night with sick people. + +Finding that she was quite determined, Nat said: "Very well, Dinah. It +is ten o'clock now. I will watch till one o'clock, and then you can +watch till four. We shall be able to start then." + +"It won't be like light till five. No good start troo wood before that. +I'se sure to wake at one o'clock. I'se accustomed to wake any hour so as +to give medicines." + +"Very well, Dinah; I suppose you must have your way." + +Myra and the nurse therefore lay down, while Nat sat thinking over the +events of the day and the prospects of the future. He had said nothing +to the negress of the conversation that he had overheard, as on the way +from the house they had walked one behind the other and there had been +no opportunity for conversation, and he would not on any account have +Myra or her mother know the fate that these villains had proposed for +them. He wondered now whether he had done rightly in abstaining from +shooting one of them, but after thinking it over in every way he came to +the conclusion that it was best to have acted as he did, for they +clearly intended to do all in their power to save mother and daughter +from being massacred at once by the negroes. + +"Even if the worst comes to the worst," he said to himself, "they have +pistols, and I know will, as a last resource, use them against +themselves." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +A TIME OF WAITING + + +Dinah woke two minutes before one o'clock, and Nat at once lay down and, +resolutely refusing to allow himself to think any more of the situation, +was soon fast asleep. + +"It am jess beginning to get light, Marse Glober," the negress said +when, as it seemed to him, he had not been five minutes asleep. However, +he jumped up at once. + +"It is very dark, still, Dinah." + +"It am dark, sah, but not so dark as it was. Bes' be off at once. Must +get well away before dem black fellows wake up." + +"How is Madame Duchesne?" + +"She sleep, sah; she no wake for another tree or four hours. Dinah give +pretty strong dose. Bes' dat she should know noting about it till we get +to a safe place." + +"But is there any safe place, Dinah?" + +"Yes, massa; me take you where dey neber tink of searching, but good way +off in hills." + +Myra by this time was on her feet also. + +"Have you slept well, Myra?" + +"Yes, I have slept pretty well, but in spite of the two blankets under +us it was awfully hard, and I feel stiff all over now." + +"How shall we divide the things, Dinah?" + +"Well, sah, do you tink you can take de head of de barrow? Dat pretty +heaby weight." + +"Oh, nonsense!" Nat said. "Madame Duchesne is a light weight, and if I +could get her comfortably on my back I could carry her any distance." + +"Dat bery well before starting, Marse Glober, you tell anoder story +before we gone very far." + +"Well, at any rate, I can carry a good deal more than one end of the +barrow." + +"Well, sah, we put all de blankets on de barrow before we put madame on +it, and put de bundle of clothes under her head. Den by her feet we put +de basket and oder tings. Dat divide de weight pretty fair." + +"But what am I to carry, nurse, may I ask?" + +"You just carry yourself, dearie; dat quite enough for you. It am a good +long way we hab to go, and some part of it am bery rough. You do bery +well if you walk dat distance." + +"That is right, Myra," Nat agreed. "We don't want to have to carry both +you and your mother, and though you have walked a good deal more than +most of the girls of your own class you have never done anything like +this." + +In a few minutes the preparations were completed. Madame Duchesne was +laid on the barrow, and the basket and other things packed near her +feet. Dinah took up the two front handles, Nat those behind, and, with +Myra walking by the side, they started. + +"Which way are we going, Dinah?" + +"Me show you, sah. We go up for some way, den we come on path; two miles +farder we cross a road, and den strike into forest again by a little +valley wiv a tiny stream running down him. After walk for an hour we +cross ober anoder hill all cohered wiv trees and find soon anoder +stream, quite little dere; hab a mile we follow him, den we find a place +where we 'top. We long way den from any plantation, dat quite wild +country." + +"Then how do you know the place, Dinah?" + +"Me'se not been dere for thirty years, Marse Glober, me active wench +den, twenty year old, me jest marry my husband, he dead and gone long +ago. He hab a broder on anoder plantation; dere bery bad oberseer, he +beat de slabes bery much. Jake he knock him down with hoe, and den take +to de hills; my husband know de place where he hide, and took me to it +one night, so dat I could find it again and carry food to him, cause he +not able to get away, hab to work on plantation. Me had a little +pickanniny and could 'teal away widout being noticed, and me went dere +seberal times; den oberseer killed by anoder slabe, and de master, who +was good man, he come out to enquire about it. When he heard how de +slabe had been treated, he bery angry and say it sarbe oberseer right. +When I heard dat I spoke to de ole marse, de grandfather ob dis chile +you know, he bery good man, like his son, and he went to de plantation +and got de marster to promise dat if Jake came back to work again he +should not be punished. And he kept his word. Dat is how me came to know +ob dis place. Since dat time me know dat many slabes hab hidden dere. +Now dat de slabes are masters, for suah dey not want to go near dat +place, and neber dream dat Madame and Mam'selle Myra know of dat place +and go and hide dere." + +By the time that they reached the path daylight had fairly broken. + +"We are not likely to meet anyone here, I hope, Dinah?" + +"No, sah, de blacks in de plantations dey go down by the road we shall +cross--suah to do dat to get quick the news ob what am going on in oder +places. If one come along here, dey see you black, and tink you nigger +like demselves. Mam'selle must slip into de bush, now she got dat gown +on, no one s'pect her being white a little way off. Den if dere is only +one or two, you shoot dem as soon as dey come up, if dar many of +them--but dere no chance ob dat--must make up some story." + +"I am afraid that no story would be any good, Dinah; if they came close +they would see at once that I am not a negro. However, we must hope that +we sha'n't meet anyone." + +Nat felt his arms ache a good deal before they arrived at the road they +had to cross, and he would have proposed a halt, but he was ashamed to +do so while Dinah was going on so steadily and uncomplainingly, though +he was sure that her share of the weight was at least as much as his. He +was pleased when, as the path approached the road, she said: + +"Put de barrow down now, Marse Glober. You go down on de road and see +dat no one is in sight, but me not tink dere am any danger. I know dat +dey rose at all dese little plantations up here yesterday; dere is suah +to be rum at some ob dem, and dey will all drink like hogs, just as dey +did at our place, and won't be stirring till de sun a long way up." + +In a minute he returned. + +"There is no one in sight, Dinah." + +"Dat is all right, sah, now we hurry across; once into de wood on de +ober side we safe, den we can sit down and rest for a bit." + +"I sha'n't be sorry, Dinah. You were quite right, my arms have begun to +ache pretty badly." + +The negress laughed. + +"Me begin to feel him too; dese arms not so young as dey were. De time +was I could hab carried de weight twice as far widout feeling it." + +When a few hundred yards in the wood they stopped for a quarter of an +hour, had a drink of wine and water, and ate a slice of melon and a +piece of bread. + +"Now we manage better," Dinah said as they stood up to continue the +journey. "We hab plenty of blankets," and taking one she tore off a +strip some six inches wide and gave it to Nat, and then a similar strip +for herself. "Now, sah, you lay dat flat across your shoulders, den take +de ends and twist dem tree or four times round de handle, just de right +length, so dat you can hold dem comfor'ble. I'se going to do de same. +Den you not feel de weight on your arm, it all on your shoulders; you +find it quite easy den." + +Nat found, indeed, that the weight so disposed was as nothing to what it +had been when it came entirely upon his arms. They soon descended into +the little valley Dinah had spoken of, and she at once emptied the rest +of the water out of the jug. + +"No use carry dat," she said, "can get plenty now wheneber we want it." + +"How are you feeling, Myra?" Nat asked presently. + +"I am beginning to feel tired, but I can hold on for a bit. Don't mind +about me, please, I shall do very well." + +She was, however, limping badly. After going to the end of the little +dip they crossed the dividing spur, and presently struck the other +depression of which Dinah had spoken. + +"There is no water here, Dinah; I hope it has not dried up." + +"No fear ob dat, sah. In de wet season water run here, but not now; we +find him farder down." + +The little valley deepened rapidly, the sides became rocky and broken, +and to Nat's satisfaction they presently came to a spot where a little +rill of water flowed out from a fissure in the rock. + +"How much farther, Dinah?" + +"A lillie quarter ob a mile." + +The sides of the valley closed in rapidly, and in a few minutes they +entered a ravine where the rocks rose perpendicularly on each side, the +passage between being but seven or eight feet wide. + +"We jest dere now, dearie," Dinah said to Myra, who was now so exhausted +that she could scarce drag her feet along. Another three or four minutes +and she stopped. + +"Here we are," she said. Nat looked round in surprise; there was no sign +of any opening in the rock. "It up dere," Dinah went on, pointing to a +clump of bushes growing on a ledge. + +"Up there, Dinah?" + +"Yes, sah; easy for us to climb up. You see where dere are little steps +made?" + +A casual observer would not have noticed them. They were not cut but +hammered out of the rock, and appeared like accidental indentations. + +"I see that we can climb up," he said, "but how we are to get the litter +up I have no idea." + +"No, sah, dat difficult. I'se been tinking it ober. Only possible way +is to take madame off de barrow and carry her up. You go up once or +twice, and you see dat it am not so hard as it seems. Dese lower holes +not deep, but dose higher up much deeper, can get foot well into dem." + +"I had better go up and have a look, Dinah," and Nat started to ascend. +He found that, as she had said, it was much easier than it looked. The +first four or five steps, indeed, were so shallow that he could not get +much foothold, but above there were holes for the feet some six or eight +inches deep, and three or four feet apart, these being hidden from the +sight of anyone passing below by a projecting ledge beneath. The holes +were much wider than necessary, the corners had been filled with earth +and tufts of coarse grass planted there, and these completely hid the +openings from sight. He soon reached the clump of bushes. Behind them +was a fissure some three feet wide and four feet high. He crawled into +this, and found that it widened into a cave. He was here able to stand +up, remaining motionless for a minute or two until his eyes became +accustomed to the dim light. Then he saw that it was of considerable +height, some twelve feet wide and about twenty feet deep. This was +indeed an admirable place of refuge, and he felt sure that no one, +unless previously acquainted with its existence, would be likely to +discover it. He went to the entrance and looked out. Myra was sitting +down by the side of a little pool. She had taken her shoes and stockings +off, and was bathing her blistered feet. + +"This is a splendid place, Myra," he said; "certainly nobody is ever +likely to find us here. The only difficulty is to get your mother up." +He at once rejoined them below. "The difficulty, Dinah, is that the face +of the rock is so steep that one cannot stoop forward enough to keep +one's balance with the weight on one's back. The only possible way that +I can conceive is to fasten Madame Duchesne firmly to the barrow by +these strips of blanket that we have been using. We can tear several +more from the same blanket. It will want at least half a dozen lashings +to keep her firmly down, then we must knot the other blankets to make a +strong rope. I will go up with the end and pull when I get to the top. +You can take the lower handles, and by holding them on a level with your +shoulders you can steady the thing as it comes up. You won't want to +lift, I can pull her weight up easily enough, all that you have to do is +to steady it." + +"Dat will do bery well, sah." + +Six strips of blanket were wound round Madame Duchesne as she lay on the +hand-barrow; one was across her forehead so as to prevent her head from +dropping forward, one was under the arms, and two more round the body, +the other two were over her legs. The baskets and other things had been +taken from the barrow. It was now lifted on to one end to see if there +was any sign of the body slipping. However, it remained firm in its +upright position. The blankets had already been knotted by Nat, whose +training enabled him to fasten them so securely that there was no risk +of their slipping. Then he ascended to the top of the steps and took his +place on the little platform on which the bushes were growing. + +"Now," he said, "I will raise it a few inches to see that it is properly +balanced." He had already seen that the proposal that Dinah should +steady it from below was not feasible. Although the first step was +immediately below the bushes, the others varied considerably, some being +almost in the same line as those next to them, so that two-thirds of the +way up the holes were six feet to the right of the spot from which they +had started, having evidently been so constructed that from below, had +anyone noticed them, they appeared to go away from the bushes, to which, +from the last hole that could be seen from below, there was no +communication whatever. The ledge, however, although scarce noticeable +from the bottom of the ravine, was really some eight inches wide, and +from this but one step was necessary to gain a footing on the platform. +Dinah, standing below, steadied the barrow as high as she could reach +the ends of the handles, and Nat then, leaning over, managed to raise it +to his level without doing more than scraping the face of the rock as it +rose. Dinah was on the ledge to receive it and pass it up to him, and +Nat had soon the satisfaction of seeing it laid safely down in the cave. +Myra was then got up without any difficulty. She clapped her hands as +she entered the cave. + +"This is splendid, Nat! I never dreamt that there could be such a safe +hiding-place." + +"It had to be, mam'selle," Dinah said, "for dey hunt runaway slabes with +blood-hounds. Slabes dat escape here keep all de way in de water. De bit +between de pools is all bare rock, not nice to walk on, but bery good +for scent, dat pass off in very short time, den walk down here in dis +water dat you see below us. Eben blood-hounds cannot smell track in +water. If dey came down here might smell de steps, but neber come here." + +"Could they come up the other way, Dinah?" + +"You go and look for yourself, sah, but mind you be careful." + +The wrappings had now been taken off Madame Duchesne, and the blankets +replaced beneath her. She was still apparently sound asleep. Dinah took +up the jug and went to the entrance, Nat followed her. + +"You have not given her too strong a dose I hope, Dinah?" + +"No, sah, no fear ob dat, she soon wake now. I shall sprinkle water in +her face, and pour a lillie wine down her troat, you see she wake den." + +"Will she be sensible, Dinah?" + +"Not at first, sah. She 'tupid for a bit, abter dat it depend on feber. +If feber strong, she no sensible, talk to herself just as if dreaming; +if feber not very strong she know us, but more likely not know us for +some time. Me got feber medicine, neber fear. Feber come on too quick to +be bery strong. When feber come on slow, den it seem to poison all ober, +take long time to get well; when it come on sudden like this, not like +to be bery bad." + +"Well, we must have patience, Dinah, and hope for the best. Now I will +go down with you and fetch all the things up." + +As soon as these were all housed in the cave, Nat said to Myra, "I will +explore down the stream and see what chance there is of anyone coming up +that way. Dinah evidently thinks that there is no fear of it, but I +should like to see for myself." + +Fifty yards farther on there was a sharp widening of the ravine, and +here some trees and thick undergrowth had taken root, and so overhung +the little stream that Nat had difficulty in making his way through +them. He remembered Dinah's warning, and advanced cautiously. Suddenly +he stopped. The stream fell away abruptly in front of him, and, +advancing cautiously to that point, he stood at the edge of an abrupt +fall. A wall of almost perpendicular rock rose on each side, and the +streamlet leaped sheer down fifty feet into a pool; as far as he could +see the chasm remained unbroken. + +"Splendid," he said to himself; "no one coming up here would be likely +to try farther. The bushes regularly interlace over the water, and there +seems no possible way of climbing up, at any rate, within a quarter of a +mile of this place, and for aught I know this ravine may go on for +another mile. Any party coming up would certainly conclude that no slave +could approach this way, and they would have to make a tremendous detour +over the hills and get to the point where the valley comes down to the +cave. It is certainly a grand hiding-place. I suppose when it was first +discovered those bushes did not grow in front of it; likely enough they +were planted on purpose to hide the entrance, and the place may have +been used by escaped slaves ever since the Spaniards first landed on the +island and began to persecute the unfortunate natives. Unless some of +the negroes who know of it put the mulattoes up to the secret, they may +search as much as they like but will never find us. I must ask Dinah +whether there are many who know of it." + +On returning to the cave he found that Madame Duchesne had wakened from +her long sleep. She was, however, quite unconscious; her eyes were +opened, and she was muttering rapidly to herself. Myra was sitting +beside her with the tears streaming down her cheeks. + +"You must not be alarmed," he said. "Dinah told me she would be so when +she woke up, but she thinks that though the attack of fever will be a +sharp one, it will not last very long. It is not, as is the case with +new-comers on the island, the result of malaria, or anything of that +sort, but of agitation and fatigue." + +"Hab you been down de stream, Marse Glober?" Dinah asked. + +"Yes, and you were quite right. There is no fear whatever of any one +coming to look for us from that direction. Are there many negroes who +know the secret of this place?" + +"Bery few," she said. "It am tole only to men who are going to take to +de hills, and who can't go farder, 'cause perhaps dey been flogged till +dey too weak to travel many miles. Each man who is tole has to take a +great oath dat he suah tell no one except anober slabe running away, or +someone who hab to go to take food to him; dat is how I came to know. +Jake had been tole when dey knew he going to run away. He tole his +broder, my husband, cause he had been flogged so bad he could not go to +de mountains. Den my husband tole me, 'cause he could not get away wid +de food. I neber tell anyone till now, cause dere no occasion for it; +slabes treated too well at our plantation to want to run away. But dere +am no doubt dat dere am slabes in oder plantations dat know of him, but +me no tink dey tell. In de first place dey take big oath, and dey suah +to die ef dey break dat; in de next place, because dey no tell dem +mulattoes, because some day perhaps dese will be oberseers again, and +den de secret of de cave be no longer ob use." + +"That is good, Dinah; those scoundrels I overheard talking the other +night will no doubt ask if any of the negroes know of any place where we +should be likely to hide, and if no one knows it but yourself they would +be able to get no information, and it is hardly likely that they would +ask the negroes of another plantation. Now, what is the first thing to +be done, Dinah?" + +"De first ting, sah, is to gader sticks to make fire." + +"All right. I will go up the ravine and bring down a bundle of dry +sticks from the forest. I will get them as dry as possible, so as not to +make a smoke." + +"No fear of anyone see smoke, massa. We no want great fire, and smoke +all scatter before it get to top of de trees up above." + +"Well, I will get them at once," he said. + +"I will pluck two of the fowls while you are away," Myra said. "I want +to be doing something." + +"When you come back, sah, I will go out and gader berries to make colour +for your face. When you hab got dat done, not much fear of your being +known." + +"You will have to get something to colour my hair, too," Nat said. "I +never could pass as a mulatto with this yellowish-brown hair." + +"Dat for true," Dinah assented. "I'se brought 'tuff to make dat, but had +no time to look for berries for skin. When you come back we make fire +first; me want boiling water for de med'cine me make for madame." + +"Yes, of course, that is the first thing," Nat said. "And when you go +anywhere to get provisions, Dinah, it would be a good thing if you could +get us a few yards of cord; it would be very handy for tying up faggots, +and would be useful in all sorts of ways." + +"Me will see about dat, sah. Me forgot 'im altogeder when me came away, +else would have brought a length; but you will find plenty ob creepers +dat will do bery well to tie up faggots." + +"So I shall, Dinah; I forgot that," and Nat started at once. + +In an hour he was back again with a huge bundle of dry wood. + +"Where would you light it?" he asked. + +"Jest inside entrance, sah. Dis good wood dat you hab brought, make bery +lillie smoke." + +After a little water had been boiled and Dinah had stewed some herbs and +chips of wood she had brought up with her, the two fowls were cut up and +the joints spitted on the ramrod of a pistol and grilled over the fire, +as in this way they would cook much more rapidly than if whole. As soon +as they were ready the party made a hearty meal. The medicine was by +this time cool, and Madame Duchesne was lifted up and the cup held to +her lips. She drank the draught without difficulty. Her face was now +flushed, and her hands burning hot. + +"What will that do, Dinah?" + +"Dat most de bark of a tree dat will get de feber down, sah. I'se going +to gib her dat ebery two hours; den when we see dat de feber abate, we +give her oder stuff to trow her into great sweat; abter dat she get +better. Now, while I am away, mam'selle, you boil water, cut up half ob +one of dem pine-apples, and when de water boil take 'im off de fire and +put de pine-apple in; and let 'im cool, dat make bery nice drink for +her. Now me go and find dem berries." + +Dinah was away two hours, and returned with an apronful of brown +berries; and with these, after Nat had washed all the black from his +face and hands, he was again stained, as was Myra also. She had rather a +darker tinge given to her than that which was considered sufficient for +Nat. + +"It make you too dark, sah; yo' light eyes show too much. Mam'selle hab +brown eyes and dark hair, and me make her regular little mulatto girl. +When get handkerchief round her head, and wid dat spot gown on, no one +'spect her ob being white." + +"You have brought in a great supply of berries, Dinah?" + +"Yes, sah; put on stain fresh ebery two or tree days." + +When it became dusk the candle was taken out of the lantern, lighted, +and stuck against the side of the cave. Dinah opened a bag and took out +a handful of coffee berries, which she roasted over the fire in a small +frying-pan which she had brought in addition to the pot. When they were +pounded up between two stones, some sugar was produced, and had it not +been for Madame Duchesne's state Myra and Nat would have really enjoyed +their meal. Then Dinah took from the basket a bundle of dried tobacco +leaves, rolled a cigar for Nat and one for herself. + +"Dat is what me call comfort," she said, as she puffed the weed with +intense enjoyment. "Bacca am de greatest pleasure dat de slabes hab +after their work be done." + +"It is a nasty habit, Dinah. I have told you so a great many times." + +"Yes, mam'selle, you tink so. You got a great many oder nice tings a +slabe not got, many nice tings; but when dey got bacca dey got +eberyting dey want. You no call it nasty, Marse Glober?" + +"No; I like it. I never smoked till after I got that hurt from the dog, +but not being able to do things like other fellows, I took to smoking. I +like it, and the doctor told me that it was a capital preventive against +fever." + +"Do they allow smoking on board ship, Nat?" + +"Well, of course it is not allowed on duty, and it is not allowed for +midshipmen at all; but of an evening, if we go forward, the officers on +watch never take any notice. And now about to-morrow, Dinah. Of course I +am most anxious to know what the news is, and whether this rising has +extended over the whole of the island, and if it is true that everywhere +they have murdered the whites." + +"Yes, sah, me understand dat." + +"Then I want, if it is possible, to send a line down to Monsieur +Duchesne to let him know that his wife and daughter have escaped and are +in a place of safety. He must be in a terrible state. The question is, +how would it be possible to send such a note?" + +"Me tink dat me could manage it, sah. My grandson Pete bery sharp boy. +Me tink he might manage to get down to de town, but de letter must be a +bery lillie one, so dat he can hide it in him woolly head. He might be +searched, and dey kill 'im for suah if dey find he take letter to white +man. He sharp as a needle, and often take messages from one of our +slabes to anoder on plantation eber so far away. Me quite suah dat he +bery glad to carry letter for mam'selle--make him as proud as peacock. +When dey in der senses all de slabes lobe her because she allus speaks +kindly to dem. He go suah enough, and bring message back." + +"It is lucky that I have a pencil with me," Nat said, and drawing out a +pocket-book he tore out a leaf. "Now, if you will tell me what to say, +Myra, I will write in your name." He went over to the candle. "You must +cut it very short, you know. I will write it as small as I can, but you +must not send more than one leaf." + + _Dearest Papa_, Myra dictated, _we have got away. Dinah warned us + in time, and mamma, Nat, and I ran up through the shrubbery and the + cane-fields to the forest. When it got dark--"After dark_" Nat put + in, "you must not use more words than is necessary "--_Nat went + down, found Dinah, and brought her up, and they brought lots of + things for us, and next morning carried mamma to this place, which + is in the mountains and very safe. Mamma has got fever from the + fright we had, but Dinah says she will not be ill long. We are both + dressed up in Dinah's clothes, and Nat and I have been stained + brown, and we look like mulattoes. Do not be anxious about us; the + negroes may search everywhere without finding us. Nat has a brace + of pistols, and mamma and I have one each, and he will take care of + us and bring us down safe as soon as Dinah thinks it can be done. + I hope to see you again soon._ + _Your most loving_ + _MYRA._ + +"That just fills it," Nat said as he rolled it up into a little ball. + +Dinah looked at it doubtfully. + +"I'se feared dat too big to hide in him wool," she said; "it bery +kinky." + +"Never mind that. He must manage to straighten it out and sew it +somewhere in his clothes. What time will you start, Dinah?" + +"Me start so as to get down to de plantation before it get light. Me can +find de way troo de wood easy 'nuff. It bery different ting to walk by +oneself, instead ob having to carry madame and to take 'tickler care +dat she goes along smoove and dat de barrow doesn't knock against +anyting. Best for me to be back before anyone wake up. Me don't suppose +anyone tink of me yesterday. Me told my darter Chloe dat she say noting +about me. If anyone ask her, den she say: 'Mover bery sad at house being +burnt down and madame and mam'selle run away. I tink she hab gone away +to be alone and hab a cry to herself, cause as she nurse both ob dem she +bery fond of dem, and no like to tink dat perhaps dey be caught and +killed.' But me no 'spect dat anyone tink about me; dey hab oder tings +to tink of. If I had run into wood when you run dere, dey know dat I +give you warning and perhaps show you some place to hide, but abter you +had gone I ran in again and met dem outside wid de oder house servants. +I top dere and see dem burn de house, and den walk down to Chloe's house +and talk to oder women; so no one tink dat I know more 'bout you dan +anyone else." + +"That was very wise, Dinah. Now mind, what we particularly want to know +is not only what the negroes have done, but what they are going to do. +Are they going to march away to the hills, or are they going to attack +the town?" + +Dinah nodded. + +"Me see all about dat, sah. Now, mam'selle, don't you forget to gib your +mamma de medicine ebery two hours!" + +"I sha'n't forget, Dinah." + +Dinah took up the basket. + +"Me bring up bread and more chicken, and more wine if dey hab not drunk +it all. Now keep up your heart, dearie; eberyting come right in de end," +and with a cheerful nod she started on her errand. + +"Your nurse is a trump, Myra," Nat said. "We should feel very helpless +without her, though of course I should do what I could. When she comes +back to-morrow I will go out myself. I hate to sit here doing nothing +when all the island is in a blaze." + +"I wish I knew what has become of the family of Madame Bayou. Her +daughter Julie is my greatest friend. You know them well, Nat, for we +drove over there several times when you were with us, and Madame Bayou +and Julie often spent the day with us. Of course they were not quite of +our class, as Monsieur Bayou is only superintendent to the Count de Noe, +who has been in France for some years; but he is a gentleman by birth, +and, I believe, a distant relation of the count's, and as they were our +nearest neighbours and Julie is just my age we were very intimate." + +"Yes, of course I remember them well, and that coachman of theirs. I +generally had a talk with him when they were over at your place. He was +a wonderfully intelligent fellow for a negro. He told me that he had +been taught by another black, who had been educated by some +missionaries. He could read and write well, and even knew a little +Latin." + +"Yes, I have heard papa say that he was the most intelligent negro he +had ever met, and that he was very much respected by all the negroes +round. I know M. Bayou had the greatest confidence in him, and I can't +help thinking that even if all the others broke out he would have saved +the lives of the family." + +"If you like I will go down and see to-morrow evening. I agree with you +that it is likely he would be faithful, but he may not have been able to +be so. However much he may be respected by the other blacks, one man can +do very little when a crowd of others half mad with excitement are +against him; and I suppose after all that it would be only natural that +his sympathies should be with men of his own colour, and being so +exceptionally well educated and intelligent he would naturally be chosen +as one of their leaders. However, he may have warned the family, and +possibly they may be hiding somewhere in the woods just as we are. I +should hope that a great many families have been saved that way." + +"Will it be necessary to keep watch to-night, Nat?" + +"No, I do not think there is any risk. Even the negroes who know of this +cave will not think of looking for us here, as they would not imagine we +could be acquainted with its existence. I think we can safely take a +good night's rest, and we shall be all the better for it." + +It was not till nearly daylight on the second day after starting that +Dinah returned. + +"Me not able to get away before," she said. "In de first place me hab to +wait till boy come back wid answer. Here 'tis," and she pulled a small +pellet of paper from her hair. + +Myra seized it and flattened it out. + + _Thank God for the good news. I have been nearly mad. At present + can do nothing. We expect to be attacked every hour. God protect + you both._ + +There was no signature. Monsieur Duchesne was evidently afraid that, +were the note to fall into the hands of the revolting leaders, a fresh +search would be instituted by them. + +"Dat boy bery nearly killed," Dinah said. "He creep and crawl troo de +blacks widout being seen, and get close to de white men out guarding de +place. Dey seize him and say he spy, and bery near hang him; den he took +out de paper just in time, and said it for Massa Duchesne; den dey march +him to town, woke up massa, and den, ob course, it was all right. It too +late to come back dat night, but he crawl out and lie close to where +dose black rascals were watching. Directly it get dark he get up, he +crawl troo dem, and run bery hard back, and directly he gib me paper I +start back here." + +"That was very good of him," Myra said; "when these troubles are over, +Dinah, you may be sure that my father will reward him handsomely." + +"Me suah of dat, mam'selle. He offer him ten louis, but Jake say no, if +he be searched and dat gold found on 'im dey hang 'm up for suah. Marse +say bery good, do much more dan dat for him when dese troubles ober. And +now, dearie, how is madame going on?" and she went to the side of Madame +Duchesne, put her hand on her forehead, and listened to her breathing. +She turned round with a satisfied nod. "Feber nearly gone," she said; +"two or tree days she open eyes and know us." + +"And how did you get on, Dinah?" + +"Me hab no trouble, sah; most ob de black fellows drunk all de day long. +Nobody noticed dat Dinah was not dere. Some of de women dey say, 'What +you do all day yesterday, Dinah?' and me say, 'Me ill, me no like dese +doings.' Dey talk and say, 'Grand ting eberyone be free, eberyone hab +plenty ob land, no work any more.' I say, 'Dat so, but what de use ob +land if no work? where dey get cloth for dress? where dey get meal and +rice? Dey tink all dese things grow widout work. What dey do when dey +old, or when dey ill? Who look after dem?' Some ob dem want to quarrel; +oders say, 'Dinah old woman, she hab plenty sense, what she say she say +for true.' Me tell dem dat me no able to 'tand sight ob house burnt, +no one at work in fields, madame and darter gone, no one know +where--perhaps killed. Dinah go and live by herself in de wood, only +come down sometimes when she want food. She say dat to 'splain why she +go away and come back sometimes." + +"A very good idea, very good," Nat said warmly; "the women were not +wrong when they said you had plenty of good sense. And now, Dinah, what +is the news from other parts of the island?" + +The old nurse was at the moment standing partly behind Myra, and she +shook her head over the girl's shoulder to show that she did not wish to +say anything before her, then she replied: + +"Plenty ob talk, some say one ting some anoder; not worf listen to such +foolishness." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +AN ATTACK ON THE CAVE + + +Dinah lay down for a short sleep. It was far too late for Nat to start +for Count de Noe's plantation, and when it was broad daylight, he went +down to the pool for a bathe. When he returned, Dinah was standing at +the entrance. She held up her hand to signal to him to stay below. She +came down the steps, and sat down with him on a stone twenty or thirty +yards up the stream. + +"Mam'selle hab gone to sleep again," she said; "now we can talk quiet." + +"And what is your news, Dinah?" he asked. + +"Marse Glober, it am jest awful. It seem to Dinah dat all de black +folk in dis island am turned into debils--from eberywhar de same +story--eberywhar de white massas and de ladies and de childer all +killed. Dat not de worst, sah, dey not content wid killing dem, dey put +dem to horrible tortures. Me can't tell you all de terrible tings dat +I'se heard; me jest tell you one, dat enough for you to guess what de +oders are. Dey caught one white man, a carpenter, dey tied 'im between +two planks and dey carry 'im to his saw-pit and dey saw 'im asunder. In +one place de niggers march to attack town, and what you tink dey take +for dere flag? A lilly white baby wid a spear run troo him. As to de +ladies, me can no speak of de awful tings me hab heard. You quite right +to gib pistol to madame and mam'selle, dey do well shoot demselves +before dese yellow and black debils get hold of dem. Me neber tink dat +me hab shame for my colour, now I hab shame; if me could lift my hands +and ebery mulatto and black man in dis island all fall dead, me lift dem +now, and me glad me fall dead wid de rest." + +"This is awful, indeed, Dinah; as you say the negroes seem to have +become fiends. I could understand it in plantations where they are badly +treated, but it is certain that this was quite the exception, and that, +on the whole, they were comfortable and happy before this trouble began. +I know they were on Monsieur Duchesne's estate, and on all those I +visited when I was here before. I do not say they might not have +preferred to be free." + +"What good dat do dem, sah? If free, not work; dey worse off dan when +slabes. Where dey get close? where dey get food? what dey do when dey +get old? Look at Dinah, she allus comfor'ble and happy. She could work +now tho' she old, but she hab no work to do 'cept when she like to dust +room; she get plenty ob good food, she know well dat howeber old she +live, massa and madame make her comfor'ble. Suppose she like de oders, +and stop down at de huts, what den? who gib de ole woman food? who gib +her close? who gib her wine and medicine? No, sah, dis am bad business +all troo--terrible bad for white men, terrible bad for black men, +terrible bad for eberyone. + +"Next you see come de turn of de white man. Dey come out from de towns, +plenty guns and powder, dey attack de blacks, dey shoot dem down like +dogs, dey hunt dem troo de hills; dey show dem no mercy, and dey don't +deserve none, massa. It would hab been better had big wave come swallow +dis island up, better for eberyone; white man go to white man's heaben, +good black man go to heaben, either de same heaben, or de black man's +heaben. Now, suah enough, dere no heaben for dese black men who hab done +dese tings, dey all shut out; dey no let dem in 'cause dey hab blood on +dere hands, me heard priest say dat St. Peter he sit at de gate. Well, +sah, you bery suah dat St. Peter him shake him head when black fellow +from dis island come up and ask to go in. All dis dreadful, massa;" and +the tears ran plentifully down the old nurse's cheeks. + +"It won't be as bad as that, Dinah," Nat said soothingly. "There must be +a great many who have taken no part in this horrible affair, and who +have only risen because they were afraid to hang back." + +"Don't you whisper word to Mam'selle Myra 'bout dese tings, Marse +Glober." + +"You may be sure that I shall not do so, Dinah; but certainly I shall, +whenever I leave her, tell her not to hesitate to use her pistol against +herself." + +"If de negroes find dis cave, you trust to me," the negress said firmly. +"I'se heard dat it bery wicked ting to kill oneself. Bery well, sah, me +won't let madame and mam'selle do wicked ting. Dinah got long knife +hidden, if dey come Dinah kill bofe ob dem, den dey no do wicked deed. +As to Dinah, she poor ole negro woman. Better dat St. Peter say to her, +'You no come in, dere blood on hands,' dan dat he should say dat to de +two white ladies she hab nursed." + +Nat's eyes were moist, and his voice shook at this proof of the old +woman's devotion, and he said unsteadily: + +"St. Peter would not blame you, Dinah. He would know why there was blood +on your hands, and he would say, 'Come in, you have rendered to your +mistresses the last and greatest services possible.'" + +After breakfast Dinah washed his shirt, his white nankeen trousers, and +jacket, and, as he had not a red sash to wind round his waist, he took +the ornaments and slings from his sword-belt and put this on. + +"You pass bery well, sah, for mulatto man; de only ting am de hat. Dat +red handkerchief bery well when you pretend to be negro, but not suit +mulatto, and Dinah will go see what she find at dose plantation on de +hills." + +"No, Dinah, you must not run risks." + +"No risk in dat, sah. Dinah known bery well at most of de plantations +round. I'se got a name for hab good medicines for febers, and ointments +for sores, and women dat hab childer ill bring dem down to me from all +parts. Bery simple for me to go round and say dat now de house gone and +de ladies and all, me not like to stay down dere and be trouble to my +darters. Plenty for 'em to do to keep demselves and der childer. Me +going to trabel round de country and nurse de sick and sell my +medicines. Suah to meet some woman whose child me hab cured; ask her if +she know anyone who hab got straw-hat--dere suah to be straw-hats in +planters' houses--me say dat a mulatto hab lost his, and not able to go +down to town to buy one, and told me would gib me dollar if I could get +him good one. Me try to get someting for sash too." + +"That would be almost as difficult as the hat, Dinah." + +Dinah shook her head. + +"Plenty ob women got red shawl, sah; most all got red handkerchief. Buy +one shawl or six handkerchief, bring dem home, cut dem up, and sew dem +together; dat make bery good sash. You no trouble, massa; you keep quiet +here all day and look abter madame. I'se sure to be back before it time +for you to start." + +Dinah indeed returned just as the sun was sinking. She carried a small +bundle in one hand, and a broad-brimmed straw-hat in the other. + +"Well done, Dinah!" Nat exclaimed as he returned after sitting for a +couple of hours on the rocks near the fall, and found her in the cave. +"How did you get the hat?" + +"Jess as I said, sah; me found one woman who allus bery grateful to +me-for sabing her chile. I tell her I want straw-hat. She said she could +get me one, two, or tree hats in de house ob mulatto oberseer. She 'teal +one for me. Most of de men down in de plain, so she take basket and go +up to de house garden--ebery one take what dey want now. She get some +green 'tuff, as if for her dinner; den she go round by mulatto man's +house, she look in at window and see hats; she take one, put 'im in +basket and cober 'im ober, den bring um back to me. She had red shawl; +she gib it me, but I make her take dollar for it. Me hide de hat under +my dress till me get away into de woods again, den me carry um. Now, +sah, put um on. Dat suit you bery well, sah; you pass for young mulatto +man when I got dis shawl cut up and sewn togeder. You please to know dat +madame open her eyes lillie time ago, and know mam'selle and Dinah. Me +gib her drink ob pine-apple juice wid water in which me boil poppy +seeds; she drink and go off in quiet sleep; when she wake to-morrow I +'spect she able to talk." + +"I don't like your going, Nat," Myra said when, the shawl having been +converted into a sash, he put his pistols into it. "We have heard, you +see, that the Bayous were not killed in the first attack, and I do not +see that you can learn more." + +"I should not run the risk, such as it may be, merely to ask that +question. But I think that their coachman, Toussaint, must have saved +them. I want to see him; possibly he may have made some arrangements for +getting them down to the coast, and he might be willing to allow you +and your mother to go down with them. Of course she would have to be +carried, but that might not add much to the difficulty." + +Receiving general instructions from Dinah as to the shortest route, he +started, without giving time for Myra to remonstrate further. After two +hours' walking he approached the plantation of Count Noe. The house was, +of course, gone. Seeing a negro girl, he went up to her. + +"Which is the house of Toussaint?" he asked. + +She pointed to a path. + +"It am de first house you come to," she said; "he used to live at de +stables, but now he hab de house ob one of de oberseers who was killed +because he did not join us." + +On reaching the house indicated he looked in at the window, and saw the +person he was looking for sitting at a table reading. He was now a man +of forty-eight years old, tall in stature, with a face unusually +intelligent for one of his race. His manners were quiet and simple, and +there was a certain dignity in his bearing that bespoke a feeling that +he was superior to the race to which he belonged and the position he +occupied. Nat went round to the door and knocked. Toussaint opened it. + +"Have you a letter for me?" he asked quietly, supposing that his visitor +had come with a message to him from one of the leaders of the rebellion. + +Nat entered and closed the door behind him. + +"Then you do not remember me, Toussaint?" + +The negro recognized the voice, and the doubtful accent with which his +visitor spoke French. + +"You are the young English officer," he exclaimed, "though I should not +have known you but for the voice. I heard that you were at Monsieur +Duchesne's, and it was believed that you had fled to the woods with his +wife and daughter. I am glad that they escaped." + +"I have come from them, Toussaint--at least from the daughter, for the +mother has had an attack of fever. She heard that the family here had +also escaped, and she said at once that she felt sure you had aided +them." + +"I did so," the negro said quietly; "they were the family I served, and +it was my duty to save them; moreover, they had always been kind to me. +They are safe--I saw them down to the coast last night. I risked my +life, for although the slaves round here respect me and look upon me as +their leader, even that would not have saved me had they suspected that +I had saved white people from death." + +"But you are not with them, Toussaint, surely?" + +The negro drew himself up. + +"I am with my countrymen," he said; "I have always felt their position +greatly. Why should we be treated as cattle because we differ in colour +from others? I did my duty to my employers, and now that that is done I +am free, and to-morrow I shall join the bands under Francois and +Biassou. I regret most deeply that my people should have disgraced their +cause by murders. Of the two thousand whites who have fallen fully one +half are women and children, therefore there could have been but one +thousand men who, if they had been allowed to go free down to the town, +could have fought against us; and what are a thousand men, when we are +half a million? It has been a mistake that may well ruin our cause; +among the whites everywhere it will confirm their opinion of our race +that we are but savages, brutal and bloodthirsty, when we have the +opportunity. In France it will excite those against us who were before +our friends, and French troops will pour into the islands, whereas, had +the revolution been a peaceful one, it would have been approved by the +friends of liberty there. It is terrible, nevertheless it makes it all +the more necessary that those who have some influence should use it for +good. Now that the first fury has passed, better thoughts may prevail, +and we may conduct the war without such horrors; but even of that I have +no great hope. We may be sure that the whites will take a terrible +vengeance, the blacks will retaliate; it will be blood for blood on both +sides. However, in a case like this the lives of individuals are as +nothing, the cause is everything. I have myself no animosity against the +whites, but many of my countrymen have just cause for hatred against +them, and were any to try to interfere to prevent them from taking the +vengeance they consider their right, it would cause dissension and so +prejudice our chances of success. You can understand, then, that I shall +hold myself aloof altogether from any interference. I am sorry for the +ladies, but now that I have done my duty to my late employers, I have a +paramount duty to discharge to my countrymen, and decline to interfere +in any way." + +"Then all I can say is," Nat said sternly, "that I trust that some day, +when you are in the power of your enemies, there will be none to give +you the aid you now deny to women in distress." + +So saying, he turned and went out through the door, and before morning +broke arrived again at the cave. Not wishing to disturb the others, he +lay down outside until the sun was up, then he went along the stream for +some distance and bathed. As he returned, Myra was standing on the ledge +outside the entrance. + +"Welcome back!" she called out. "What news have you brought?" + +"Good news as far as your friends are concerned. Toussaint has got them +down to the coast, and sent them to Cape Francois in a boat." + +"That is good news indeed," she cried. "Oh, I am glad! Now, what is the +bad news?" + +"The only bad news is that the negro declined to help you in the same +way. He is starting this morning to join some bands of slaves up in the +hills." + +"That is hardly bad news," she said, "for I never supposed that he would +help us. There was no reason why he should run any risks for our sake." + +"I hoped that he would have done so, Myra; but at the same time, as he +evidently regards the success of the blacks as certain, and expects to +become one of their leaders, one can understand that he does not care to +run any risk of compromising himself." + +"Mamma is better this morning," Myra said; "she has asked after you, and +remembers what happened before her fever began." + +"That is good indeed. As soon as she gets strong enough to travel we +will begin to think how we can best make our way down to the town." + +Four days later, Dinah, on her return from a visit to the plantations, +said that there had just been some fighting between the whites coming +out from Cape Francois and the slaves. They said that a ship had arrived +with some French troops, and that all the white men in the town were +coming out, and that they were killing every negro they found. The women +and children from the plantations in the plains were all flying into the +woods. + +"Then it strikes me, Dinah, that our position here is a very dangerous +one. You may be sure that the slaves will not be able to stand against +the whites and the soldiers, and that numbers of them will go into +hiding, and it is very likely that some who know the secret of this +place will come here." + +"Yes, sah, I'se not thought ob dat; but, sure enough, it am bery likely +dat some ob dem may do so. What you tink had best be done? If de slabes +all running into de wood de danger of passing troo would be much +greater dan it hab been. And eben if madame could walk, it would be bery +great risk to go down--great risk to 'top here too. What you tink?" + +"I don't know what to think, Dinah; there is one thing, it is not likely +that many of them would come here." + +"No, sah; dose who know about de cave would know dat not more dan eight +or ten could hide here--no use to bring a lot ob people wid dem." + +"That is what I think, Dinah; they will keep the secret to themselves. +Now against eight or ten of them, I am sure that I could hold this +place, but some of them, when they found they could not get in, would go +back again and might lead a strong party here, or might keep watch +higher up, and starve us out. And even if the whites beat them out of +all the plantations, they would not know where to look for us, and would +have too much on their hands to scatter all over the hills. If we are to +join them it must be by going down." + +"Dinah might go and tell dem, sah." + +Nat shook his head. + +"I am afraid, Dinah, that their passions will be so much aroused at the +wholesale murder of the whites that they will shoot every black they +come across, man or woman, and you would be shot long before you could +get close enough to explain why you had come. No, I think the only thing +to be done, as far as I can see, is that you should go down from time to +time to let us know how things are going. I do not think that the whites +are likely to get very far along the road. You may be sure that when the +troops started from the town news was sent at once to the leaders, and +it is likely that they will move a great number of men down to oppose +them, and will likely enough drive them back. However, the great thing +for us is to know where they are and what they are doing. It is likely +that now the whites have advanced there will no longer be any watch +kept to prevent people, in hiding like ourselves, from going down to the +town; if you find out that that is so, we will put madame on her barrow +again, and carry her down. Of course we should have to chance being met +when going through the forest, but we must risk that." + +"Yes, I tink dat de only plan, sah." + +Accordingly, Dinah started again the next morning. Nat felt very +anxious, and took up his place near the entrance to the cave. Myra was +busy seeing to the cooking and in attending upon her mother. About four +o'clock he thought he heard voices, and, crawling cautiously to the +mouth of the cave, he looked out through the bushes. Eight men were +coming along; six of them were negroes, and the other two were the +mulatto overseers whose conversation he had overheard. He called softly +to Myra: + +"Don't be alarmed, Myra, we are going to have a fight, but I have no +fear whatever of their taking us. Only one can attack at once, and he +can only come slowly. There are eight of them; you may as well bring me +the two other pistols. I would not take them if I thought there was the +smallest chance of these fellows getting up here. Go and tell your +mother not to be frightened, and then do you come and sit down behind +me. I will hand the pistols to you to load. There are only eight of +these fellows, and if there were eighty, we could hold the cave; even if +they got up to the platform they could only enter, stooping, one at a +time. Go at once to your mother, they will be here directly." + +"How much farther is this place?" the mulatto Christophe asked. + +"Right dar behind dat bush," the negro said; "you go up by dem steps." + +"It is a splendid hiding-place, Paul." + +"Yes. No one who did not know of it would have a chance of finding it. +There is someone there now; don't you see a light smoke rising behind +the bush?" + +"So there is! I should not be surprised if the woman Duchesne and her +daughter are there. It is certain that someone must have helped them +off, or we should have found them long ago." + +"Well, it will be a rare piece of luck if they are there." + +The negroes had already noticed the smoke, and were talking excitedly +together. It had not occurred to them that any fugitives could have +discovered the place, and they were only concerned at the thought that +the cave might be already fully occupied. + +"Hullo, dar!" one of them shouted. "How many ob you up dar?" + +No answer was returned. He shouted again, but there was still silence. + +"I s'pect dar only one man," he said to his comrades. "Most likely him +gone out to look for food. Bery foolish leab fire burning;" and he at +once proceeded to climb the steps, followed by two others. + +Nat grasped the handle of his pistol. He determined that in the first +place he would make sure of the two mulattoes. They were by far the most +dangerous of his foes, and if they escaped they would, he had no doubt, +keep watch higher up, capture Dinah on her return, and cut off all +retreat from the cave. It was time to act at once, and, taking a steady +aim at Paul, he fired. + +With a shriek the mulatto fell backwards. Before the others could +recover from their surprise Nat fired again, and Christophe fell forward +on his face in the water. He passed the pistol back to Myra, and grasped +another. He had expected that the negroes would at once fly, and two of +them had turned to do so, when the highest climber shouted down: + +"Come on, all ob you! what you want run away for? Perhaps only one man +here, he want to keep de cabe all to himself; we soon settle with him. +Dis cabe de only safe place." + +Nat could easily have shot the man, but he determined to direct his fire +against those below. If he shot those climbing the others would escape, +and it was of the greatest importance that no one should do so. The +negroes had snatched the pistols from the belts of the fallen mulattoes, +and several shots were fired at the bush. Nat drew back for a moment as +the negroes raised their arms, and then discharged the two barrels of +his pistol with as deadly an effect as before, and seized the third +weapon. The remaining negro below dropped behind a fallen rock. At the +same moment the man who was evidently the leader of them sprang on to +the ledge. Nat's pistol was ready, and as the negro bounded forward he +fired. The ball struck him in the chest, and he fell like a log over the +precipice. + +In his fall he struck one of his comrades, and carried him down on to +the rocks below. The other seemed paralysed with fear, and uttered a +shriek for mercy as Nat, who from his position could not see him, sprang +to his feet; but the tales that he had heard from Dinah of the +atrocities perpetrated had steeled his heart to all thoughts of mercy, +and taking a deliberate aim Nat shot him through the head. He had still +a pistol left charged. Myra had not yet loaded the first he had handed +to her, for it was but some twenty seconds from the time that the first +shot had been fired. Nat caught up the sword, and at once made his way +down the steps. He ran towards the rock behind which the last of the +negroes had thrown himself. As he did so the man leapt to his feet, and +the two pistols cracked at the same moment. Nat felt a sharp pain in his +side. His own shot had missed, and a moment later the negro was rushing +at him with uplifted knife. + +[Illustration: "HE FELL LIKE A LOG OVER THE PRECIPICE."] + +For the moment Nat forgot that he had another shot left, and, +dropping the pistol, shifted his sword to the right hand, and before the +negro's knife could fall he ran him through the body. There was now but +one foe left. He lay stunned below his fallen comrade, and Nat saw from +the manner in which one of his legs was doubled under him that it was +broken. He could do no harm, but he would assuredly die if left there +alone. Nat pressed his lips together, and having picked up his pistol, +he put it close to the man's head and fired. Looking up, he saw Myra run +out with a pistol in her hand. + +"It is all right, Myra. Thank God none of them have got away." + +"Are you hurt?" she asked, breathlessly. + +"I will come up," he said; "I am hit in the side, but I don't think that +it is at all serious." + +He found, however, as he ascended the steps, that it gave him acute pain +every time he moved. The girl was white and trembling when he joined +her. + +"Don't be frightened, Myra," he said, "I am sure that it is nothing +serious. It struck a rib and glanced off, I think, and at the worst it +has only broken the bone. You go in and attend to your mother." + +"I shall not do anything of the sort," she said. "You come in, and I +will look at it; it must want bandaging, anyhow." + +Nat felt that this was true, and, following her into the cave, he let +her take off his jacket. The wound was a few inches below the arm. + +"It is lucky that it was not a little more to the right," he said; "it +would have done for me. Don't look so white, Myra, a miss is as good as +a mile. It is as I thought, is it not?--just a glancing wound." + +"Yes," the girl said. + +He felt along the rib. + +"Yes," he said, "there is no doubt that it is broken; I can feel the +ends grate, and it hurts me every time I breathe. This is where it is, +just where the cut begins; the wound itself is nothing." + +"What shall I do?" she asked quietly. + +"Tear a strip or two off the bottom of your petticoat, then sew the ends +together to make a long bandage, and roll a little piece, so as to make +a wad about an inch wide. Is the wound bleeding?" + +"Yes, very much." + +"Fold a piece four or five thick, and lay over that the other wad so as +to go up and down across the rib. Now, if you will give me a little warm +water and a piece of rag, I will bathe the wound while you are making +the bandage." + +"I will bathe it," the girl said. "I am sure it would hurt you to get +your hand round." + +In ten minutes the operation was completed. + +"I am so sorry that I cannot help," Madame Duchesne murmured, as Myra +sat down to sew the strips together. + +"There is nothing that you could do, thank you," Nat said cheerfully. +"Myra is getting on capitally. I shall soon be all right again." + +When everything was done, he said, "You are a trump, Myra, you have done +it first-rate." Then the girl, who had gone on as quietly as if she had +been accustomed to such work all her life, broke down, and, bursting +into a fit of crying, threw herself down by the side of her mother. Nat +would have attempted to soothe her, but her mother said, "Leave her to +me, she will be all the better for a good cry." Nat went down again to +the stream, picked up the four pistols the Creoles had carried and +unwound their sashes, thinking that these would be better than the +make-shift that he wore. As he did so two small bags dropped out. He +opened them; both contained jewels, some of which he had seen Madame +Duchesne wearing. + +"That is a bit of luck," he said to himself. "No doubt directly they +entered the house these scoundrels made one of the women show them where +madame's jewel-case was, and divided the contents between them. When +Dinah comes we must get these bodies down the stream. I could do it +myself were it not for this rib, but it would not be safe to try +experiments. What a plucky girl Myra is! Most girls would have been +ready to faint at the sight of blood. I will wait a few minutes before I +go up so as to give her time to pull herself together." + +In ten minutes he went up again. "Madame," he said, "I have something +that I am sure you will be very glad to get back again. I took off the +sashes of those rascally mulattoes, and these two bags fell out of them. +What do you think they contain? Some of your jewels." + +Madame Duchesne and Myra both uttered exclamations of pleasure. "They +are family jewels," Myra said, "and my father and mother both prize them +very much. How strange they should have been on these men!" + +"The two mulattoes were two of your overseers, and no doubt ran straight +up and seized them directly they entered the house." + +She saw that her mother wished to speak, and leaned down over her, for +Madame Duchesne could not as yet raise her voice above a whisper. + +"Turn them out," she said, "and see how many are missing." + +Although Nat had seen Madame Duchesne in full evening dress two or three +times when parties of friends had assembled at the house, and had +noticed the beauty of her jewels, he was surprised at the number of +bracelets, necklaces, brooches, and rings that poured out from the bags. +Some of the larger articles, which he supposed were ornaments for the +hair, were bent and crumpled up so as to take up as little space as +possible. Myra held them up one by one before her mother's eyes. + +"They are all there, every one of them," the latter whispered. "Your +father will be pleased." + +"The greater part of these," Myra said to Nat, "were brought over when +the Baron Duchesne, our ancestor, came over here first, but a great many +have been bought since. I have heard mamma say that each successor of +the name and estate has made it a point of honour to add to the +collection, of which they were very proud, as it was certainly the +finest in the island; and besides, it was thought that if at any time +Hayti should be captured, either by the Spanish or your people, or if +there should be trouble with the blacks, it would be a great thing to +have valuables that could be so easily hidden or carried away." + +"Then they have thought all along that there might be a rising here some +day?" + +"Yes. I have heard my father say that when he was a boy he has heard his +grandfather talk the matter over with others, and they thought that the +number of slaves in the island was so great that possibly there might +some day be a revolt. They all agreed that it would be put down, but +they believed that the negroes might do terrible damage before enough +troops could be brought from France to suppress it." + +"They thought rightly," Nat said, "though it has been a long time +coming; and the worst of it is that even if it is put down it may break +out again at any time. It is hardly reasonable that, when they are at +least ten to one against the whites and mulattoes together, men should +submit to be kept in slavery." + +"But they were very well off," Myra said. "I am sure they were much +better off than the poorer whites." + +"From what I have seen of them I think they were," Nat replied, "but you +see people do not know when they are well off. I have no doubt that if +the last white man left the island, and slavery were abolished for ever, +the negroes would be very much worse off than they were before, and I +should think they would most likely go back to the same idle, savage +sort of life that they live in Africa. Still, of course, at present they +have no idea of that. They think they will be no longer obliged to work, +and suppose that somehow they will be fed and clothed and have +everything they want without any trouble to themselves. You see it is +just the same thing that is going on in France." + +"Well, now, what are you going to do next, Nat?" + +"I shall load the pistols. I have got four more now. Then I shall take +my place at the mouth of the cave again. I hope that when Dinah comes +she will bring us news that will enable us to move away. The fact that +this party was coming here for refuge shows that the blacks are growing +alarmed, and perhaps have already suffered a defeat, in which case the +way will be clear for us. If not, I must get her to help me clear the +place down below, it will not be difficult. What have you got on the +fire?" + +"There is a fowl that I have been stewing down to make the broth for +mother. I have another cut up ready for grilling." + +Two hours later Nat, to his surprise, saw Dinah hurrying down the +ravine, for he had not expected her until evening. He stood up at once. +She paused when she caught sight of the bodies lying below the cave. + +"It is all right, Dinah," he shouted. "We have had a bit of a fight, but +it only lasted for a minute or two, and except that I got a graze from a +pistol-ball, we are unhurt." + +"De Lord be blest, sah!" she said as she came up. "Eight ob dem, and you +kill dem all, sah?" + +"Yes; one could hardly miss them at that distance. I am glad to say that +none of them got away. You are back earlier than I expected." + +"Yes, sah; me found out all de news in good time, and den, as eberyone +say hurricane come on, I hurry all de way to get here before he come." + +"Well, come up, Dinah. Madame is going on very well. You know those two +mulattoes?" + +"Me know dem, sah; dey bery bad men, dey lead de black fellows to de +attack." + +"Well, it is well that they came up here, for they had, hidden in their +sashes, all madame's jewels." + +"Dat am good news, sah," the old woman said as she joined him, "dat +powerful good news. Madame didn't say anyting about jewels, but Dinah +tought of dem, and what a terrible ting it would be if she had lost dem! +Dat good affair." + +"So you think that we are going to have a storm, Dinah?" + +"Sartin suah, sah; bery hot las' night, bery hot dis morning, and jest +as me got to top of hill me saw de clouds coming up bery fast." + +"I didn't notice the heat particularly. Of course it is very shady in +this deep gorge, and one does not see much of the sky." + +"Dis bery good place, sah--better dan house, much better dan forest. Me +was despate frighted dat storm would come before me got here." + +"I was wanting you to help me put the bodies into the stream, Dinah." + +"No need for dat, sah; when storm come wash dem all down--no fear ob +dat." + +She went into the cave, and Nat followed her. + +"Me hab good news for you, ma'am. De whites come out strong from de town +wid regiment of troops and de sailors from English ship; de blacks hab +a fight down in de plain, but dey beat dem easy. Den yesterday de bands +of Francois come down from de mountains, get to our plantation in de +evening; dey bery strong, dey say dar am ten thousand ob dem. Dey s'pect +de whites to come and attack to-morrow. To-day dey clearing out all de +plantations on de plain. De black fellows say dey cut dem all to +pieces." + +"There is no fear of that," Nat broke in. "So you think that they will +fight in the morning?" + +"No, sah, me no tink dat; me suah dat as soon as de whites see de +hurricane coming dey march back fast to de town; no can stand hurricane +widout shelter. You had better light de lantern, it am getting as dark +as night." + +Nat went to the entrance. Looking up, he saw a canopy of black cloud +passing overhead with extraordinary rapidity. Almost instantaneously +there came a flash of lightning, nearly blinding him, accompanied by a +tremendous clap of thunder. He turned hastily back into the cave. + +"It is lucky that you arrived in time, Dinah; if you had been ten +minutes longer you would have been caught." + +He stopped speaking, for his voice was drowned in a tremendous roar. He +was about to go to the mouth of the cave again, but Dinah caught hold of +his jacket. + +"No, sah, you mustn't go; if you show your head out beyond de cabe, de +wind catch you and whirl you away like leaf, nobody neber see you no +more. We safe and comfor'ble in here. We just got to wait till it all +over. Dat wind strong enough to trow down de strongest trees, blow down +all de huts, take de roof off de strongest house. We not often hab +hurricanes in dis island, but when dey come, dey come bery bad. Dose ten +tousand black fellows down at de plantation dey hab a bery bad time ob +it to-night, dey wish demselves dead afore morning." + +"It is very bad for the women and children too, Dinah." + +"Yes, sah, me hab not forgotten dat; but most ob dem will hab gone, dey +run away when dey hear dat de whites coming out of town. Dey know bery +well dat de whites hab good cause to be bery angry, and dat dey shoot +eberyone dey catch." + +"But they will be just as badly off in the woods as they would be in +their huts, Dinah. Have your daughter and her children got away?" + +"No, sah, dey wur going jest as I started, but I told dem dat hurricane +coming, and dat dey better stay in de clearing; and dey agreed to hide +up in de little stone hut at end of garden where dey keep de tools and +oder tings. De roof blow off, no doubt, but de walls am low and strong. +Dey hab bad time dere, but dey safe." + +With Dinah's assistance, Nat fixed a blanket at the point where the +narrow entrance widened out, to keep out the swirls of wind which from +time to time rushed in, propping it in its place by the hand-barrow on +which Madame Duchesne had been brought up. Myra had finished cooking the +fowls just as her nurse arrived, and they sat down to their meal +heedless of the terrific tempest that was raging outside. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +AFLOAT AGAIN + + +"There will be no occasion to keep watch to-night, Dinah." + +"Not in de least, sah; de water six feet deep, no one could get in." + +As talking was out of the question, the party lay down to sleep soon +after they had finished their meal. It was some time, however, before +Nat closed his eyes. It seemed to him that as soon as the storm was +over, and the water low enough for them to pass up the ravine, no time +should be lost in attempting to make their way down into the town. The +troops would no doubt set out again as soon as possible, and a battle +might be fought before nightfall. That the negroes would be beaten he +had no doubt, and in that case other parties of fugitives might make for +the cave. It was likely that, until the battle was fought, there would +be but few negroes in the forest; those who had remained there during +the storm would go down into the full glare of the sun to dry and warm +themselves. + +Doubtless, too, Francois, the negro leader, would have sent messengers +off as soon as he arrived, ordering all able-bodied men in the +plantations for miles round to come in to take part in the battle, and +their chances of meeting with any foes as they descended to the plain +would be slight. It would undoubtedly be a serious matter to carry +Madame Duchesne for so long a distance; for they had ever since leaving +the plantation been going farther away from the town, and he calculated +that it must be at least twenty-five miles distant. He did not think +that it would be possible to do the journey in a day; but once down on +the plains they might find some building intact, in which they could +obtain shelter for the night. At last he fell off to sleep. + +When he awoke the din outside had ceased, and the silence seemed almost +oppressive. He got up, pushed aside the blanket, and looked out. The +stars were shining, and the wind had entirely lulled. The bottom of the +ravine was still full of water, but he felt sure that this would +speedily drop; for the depression above the gorge was not an extensive +one, and the water that fell there would speedily find its way down. He +lit a fresh candle and placed it in the lantern, as the last, which had +been renewed by Dinah early in the night, was burning low. He pulled +down the blanket, for although the air was fresh and cool at the +entrance, the cave was oppressively warm. It was two hours before day +began to break; by this time the torrent had subsided and the stream ran +in its former course, and it was clear that in another hour it would be +possible to make their way along by the side. As he was turning to go +in, Dinah joined him. + +"I tink, Marse Glober, de sooner we go de better." + +"That is just what I have been thinking. There are not likely to be many +of the slaves about in the wood to-day; you see a number of trees have +blown down from above, and just below, the ravine is almost choked with +them." + +"No, sah, many will be killed in the forest, and de rest frighted 'most +out of der lives. If de whites come out and fight to-day, and de black +fellows are beaten, all dose who know of dis place suah to come to hide +here." + +"That was just my idea." + +"How your side, sah?" + +"It seems rather stiff and sore, Dinah. However, that can't be helped. +That sash you made me will come in very handy for carrying madame, and +we sha'n't have the weight of the other things we brought up. I am +afraid it will be impossible to do the journey in one day, but I dare +say we shall light upon a shelter down on the plains." + +"Yes, sah. Me put de pot on de fire at once, and as soon as we hab +breakfast we make a start; but before we go me must stain you all +again--got glenty ob berries left." + +Madame Duchesne had already been consulted. She would much rather have +remained until strong enough to walk, but on her old nurse's showing her +that it would be at least a fortnight before she could walk even a mile, +and pointing out the danger there was in delay, she agreed to start +whenever they thought fit. The jewels were placed in Dinah's capacious +pocket, as, if they fell in with any strong party of negroes, she would +be less likely to be searched than the others. In an hour all the +preparations were completed; one pistol was given to Madame Duchesne and +another to her daughter. Dinah took charge of a brace, and Nat wore the +other two brace in his sash. He still wore his uniform under his nankeen +suit, and his naval cap was in the bundle that formed Madame Duchesne's +pillow. She lay down on the hand-barrow, all the blankets being placed +under her, with the exception of one which was thrown over her, and she +was let down the precipice in the same way as she had been brought up. + +Dinah this time followed Nat's example, and used one of the mulattoes' +sashes as a yoke to take the weight off her arms. Madame Duchesne was +placed as far forward on the barrow as possible, so as to divide the +weight more equally between her bearers. On raising her, Nat found to +his satisfaction that it hurt him but little. In the week that had +elapsed since she was seized with the fever, Madame Duchesne had lost a +good deal of weight, the store of provisions had, too, greatly +diminished, and the sash took so much of the weight off his arms, that +as he walked in a perfectly erect position there was little strain +thrown upon the broken bone. It was only when he came to a rough place +and had to step very carefully that he really felt his wounds. Myra +looked anxiously at him from time to time. + +"I am getting on capitally," he said. "Do not worry about me; at present +I scarcely feel that unfortunate rib." + +"Mind, if you do feel it, Nat, you must give up. Dinah will take your +place, and I will take hers. I am sure that I can carry that end very +well for a time." + +"I will let you know when I want a change," Nat said. "Now, you go on +ahead, and as soon as we get out of this hollow use your eyes sharply." + +They saw no one going up the valley or crossing the open ground. When, +however, they entered the forest on the other slope, they saw for the +first time how terrible had been the force of the hurricane. In some +places over acres of ground every tree had fallen, in others the taller +trees only had been levelled or snapped off, while others again had +boughs wrenched off, and the ground was thickly strewn with fallen +branches. All this added greatly to the fatigue of travelling. Detours +had to be constantly made, and the journey down took them double the +time that had been occupied in the ascent. When approaching the road +they had to cross, they sat down and rested for half an hour. + +"You are looking very white, Nat," Myra said; "I am afraid that your +side is hurting you terribly." + +"It certainly hurts a bit, Myra, but it is of no consequence. It was +going on very well until I stumbled over a fallen branch that gave it +rather a twist." + +"You let me bandage 'im again, Marse Glober. We will go off and set dis +matter right." + +When a short distance away Nat stripped to the waist. Myra had done her +best, but the old nurse possessed considerable skill in such matters, +and strength enough to draw the bandage much tighter than she had done. + +"Better make it a bit longer," she said, and taking a pair of scissors +from her pocket cut off a strip some fifteen inches wide from her ample +petticoat, and wound this tightly round the other bandage. "Dere, sah, +dat make you 'tiff and comf'able." + +"It does make me stiff," Nat said with a smile; "I almost feel as if I +had got a band of iron round me. Thank you; I shall do very well now." + +The old nurse dressed him carefully again, and they rejoined the others. + +"That is ever so much better," Nat said to Myra; "the bandage had +shifted a little, and Dinah has put it on fresh again, and added a strip +of her own petticoat." + +The journey was then resumed, and, with an occasional halt, continued +until late in the afternoon, by which time they were well down on the +plain. During the latter part of the day they had heard at first +scattered shots and then a roar of musketry about a couple of miles on +their right. It continued for half an hour, and then the heavy firing +ceased; but musket shots could be heard occasionally, and higher up on +the hill than before. + +"The negroes have been beaten," Nat said, "and our men are pursuing +them. Perhaps they will make another stand at the point where the road +runs between two steep banks." + +This indeed seemed to be the case, for half an hour later a heavy fire +broke out again. It was but for a short time--in ten minutes it died +away, and no further sound was heard. Darkness was now falling, and they +presently arrived at some buildings that had been left standing. They +were storehouses, and had not been fired at the time when the planter's +house was burned, but had probably been used by the negroes as a +barrack, until the advance of the troops on the previous day had +compelled them to take a hasty flight. The litter was now laid on the +ground. Madame Duchesne had dozed off many times during the day, and was +now wide awake. + +"Are you going to light a fire, Dinah?" + +"No, madame; Marse Glober and me tink it too dangerous. Not likely any +ob dese black fellows 'bout, but dere might be some hiding, best to be +careful. We hab a cold chicken to eat, and dere is some chicken jelly in +de lillie pot for you, and we hab bread, so no need for fire to cook, +and sartin no need for him afterward, we all sleep first-rate. Madame +not heaby, but road bery rough, and little weight tell up by end ob de +day. Dinah getting ole woman, Marse Glober got rib broken--both bery +glad when journey done. Mamzelle she tired too; twelve mile ober rough +ground a long journey for her." + +"My feet ache a little," Myra said, "but otherwise I do not feel tired. +I felt quite ashamed of myself walking along all day carrying nothing, +instead of taking turns with you." + +There was but little talking as they ate their meal in the darkness. +Neither Nat nor the old nurse had said a word as to their feelings as +they walked, but both felt completely exhausted, and it was not many +minutes after they had finished their supper before they were sound +asleep. At daybreak they were on their feet again, feeling better after +the long night's rest, and happy at the thought that this day's walk +would take them to home and safety. Nat now threw off his disguise, +placed his cap upon his head, and appeared as a British officer, though +certainly one of considerably darker complexion than was common; but he +thought there was less danger now from slaves than from parties of +maddened whites, who had been out to their former homes and might shoot +any negroes they came upon without waiting to ask questions. Myra also +discarded the negro gown. + +"I think that I looked more respectable in that," she said with a laugh, +"than in this draggled white frock." + +"It has not been improved, certainly, by its week's wear, Myra; but just +at the present moment no one will be thinking of dresses. Now let us be +off. We shall be on the road soon, and in an hour or two will be in the +town." + +[Illustration: THE JOURNEY TO THE COAST.] + +It seemed easy work after the toil of the previous day. They bore to the +right until they fell into the main road, both because it would be +safer, and because Nat hoped that he might meet someone who could inform +Monsieur Duchesne--who he had no doubt would have gone out with the +column--that his wife and daughter were in safety, and that he would +find them at his house in the town. They had, indeed, gone but a +short distance along the road when four men on horseback galloped up. +They drew rein suddenly as they met the little party, astonished to see, +as they thought, a mulatto girl in front, a negro woman carrying a +litter on which was another mulatto woman, and which was carried behind +by a young mulatto in the uniform of a British naval officer. Had they +met them out in the country they would probably not have troubled to ask +questions, but, travelling as they were along the road towards the town, +and from the direction where the column had been fighting, it was +evident that there must be some mystery about it. + +"Who are you?" one of them asked Nat in a rough tone. + +"I am an officer of his Britannic Majesty's frigate _Orpheus_, at +present, I believe, in the port; this lady on the stretcher is Madame +Duchesne; this young lady is her daughter, Mademoiselle Myra Duchesne; +this negress, the faithful nurse of the two ladies, has saved their +lives at the risk of her own." + +One of the horsemen leapt from his saddle. + +"Pardon me for not recognizing you, mademoiselle," he said to Myra, +lifting his straw-hat; "but the change that you have made in your +complexion must be my excuse for my not having done so. I trust that +madame, your mother, is not seriously ill." + +"She has been very ill, Monsieur Ponson," she replied. "She has just +recovered from an attack of fever, but is very weak indeed." + +"I saw your father three days ago. He had then just received your +message saying that you were in safe hiding. He was, of course, in a +state of the greatest delight. He went out with the troops yesterday." + +"If you see him, sir, will you be kind enough to tell him that you have +met us, and that he will find us at his house in town?" + +"I will certainly find him out as soon as I reach the troops. Is there +anything else that I can do?" + +"Nothing, thank you, sir. Is there, Nat?" + +"No, unless one of the gentlemen would ride back with us, so as to +prevent us from being stopped by every party we meet and having to +explain who we are." + +"I will do so, sir," the youngest of the horsemen said. "I dare say I +shall be able to join our friends at the front before there is any more +fighting, for the messenger who came in yesterday evening brought the +news that the blacks had been so completely defeated, that it was +thought likely they would make straight off into the mountains in the +interior." + +"Thank you very much, sir; it will be a great comfort to us to go +straight on. We are anxious to get Madame Duchesne into shelter before +the sun gets to its full power. My name is Glover. May I ask yours?" + +"It is Laurent." + +The other three horsemen, after raising their hats in salute, had now +ridden on. + +"How did you get on through the hurricane, Monsieur Glover?" + +"We scarce felt it. We were in a cave with a very small entrance, and +after the first outburst slept through it in comfort." + +"It is more than any of us did in the town," the other said with a +laugh. "It was tremendous. I should say that half the houses were +unroofed, and in the poor quarters many of the huts were blown down, and +upwards of twenty negroes were killed." + +"Do you think, Monsieur Laurent," Myra said, moving across to him, "that +we are likely to meet any people on foot whom we could hire?" + +"No, I hardly think so, mademoiselle. All the gentlemen in the town who +could get away rode out with the troops, and the rest of the whites are +patrolling the streets armed, lest the negroes employed in the work of +the port should rise during the absence of the troops. Why do you ask, +mademoiselle?" + +"Because Monsieur Glover had a rib broken by a pistol-ball the day +before yesterday, and I am sure it hurts him very much to carry my +mother." + +The young man leapt from his horse. + +"Monsieur," he exclaimed, "pray take my horse. I will assist in carrying +Madame Duchesne." + +"I do not like"--Nat began, but his remonstrance was unheeded. + +"But I insist, monsieur. Please take the reins. You can walk by the side +of the horse or mount him, whichever you think will be the more easy for +you." + +So saying, he gently possessed himself of the handles of the litter, +placed the sash over his shoulders, and started. It was indeed an +immense relief to Nat. The rough work of the preceding day had caused +the ends of the bone to grate, and had set up a great deal of +inflammation. He had been suffering acutely since he started, in spite +of the support of the bandage, and he had more than once thought that he +would be obliged to ask Myra to take his place. He did not attempt to +mount in the young Frenchman's saddle, for he thought that the motion of +the horse would be worse for him than walking; he therefore took the +reins in his hand, and walked at the horse's head behind the litter. The +pain was less now that he was relieved of the load, but he still +suffered a great deal, and he kept in the rear behind the others, while +Myra chatted with Monsieur Laurent, learning from him what had happened +in the town, and giving him a sketch of their adventures. As they passed +the house of Madame Duchesne's sister, the invalid said that she would +be taken in there, as she had heard from Monsieur Laurent that their +own house was partially unroofed. Myra ran in to see her aunt, who came +out with her at once. + +"Ah, my dear sister," she cried, "how we have suffered! We had no hope +that you had escaped until your husband brought us the joyful news three +days ago that you were still in safety. Come in, come in! I am more glad +than ever that our house escaped without much damage from the storm." + +Although the house was intact, the garden was a wreck. The drive up to +the house was blocked by fallen trees, most of the plants seemed to have +been torn up by the roots and blown away, the lawn was strewn with huge +branches. + +Two of the house servants had now come out and relieved those carrying +the litter. + +"Ah, Monsieur Glover," continued Madame Duchesne's sister, "once again +you have saved my niece; my sister also this time! Of course you will +come in too." + +"Thanks, madame, but if you will allow me I will go straight on board my +ship. I am wounded, though in no way seriously. Still, I shall require +some medical care, for I have a rib broken, and the journey down has not +improved it." + +"In that case I will not press you, monsieur. Dr. Lepel has gone out +with the column, and may not be back for some days." + +"Good-bye, Madame Duchesne!" Nat said, shaking the thin hand she held +out to him. "I will come and see you soon, and hope to find you up by +that time. Now that your anxiety is at an end you ought to gain strength +rapidly." + +"May Heaven bless you," she said, "for your goodness to us!" + +"That is all right," he said cheerfully. "You see, I was saving my own +life as well as yours; and it is to you, Dinah," he said, turning and +shaking her hand, "it is to you that we really all owe our lives. First +you warned us in time, then you took us to a place of safety, and have +since got us food and news, and risked your own life in doing so. + +"Good-bye, Myra; I hope that when I see you again you will have got that +dye off your face, and that you will be none the worse for what you have +gone through." + +The girl's lip quivered. + +"Good-bye, Nat. I do so hope your wound will soon heal." + +"You are fortunate, indeed, in having escaped," Monsieur Laurent said as +they turned away. "From all we hear, I fear that very few of the whites, +except in plantations quite near the towns, have escaped. It is strange +that the house servants, who in most cases have been all their lives +with their masters and mistresses, and who have almost always been +treated as kindly as if they were members of the family, should not have +warned them of what was coming." + +"I should think that very few of them knew," Nat replied. "They were +known to be attached to their masters and mistresses, and would hardly +have been trusted by the others. I cannot think so badly of human nature +as to believe that a people who have been so long in close connection +with their masters should, in almost every case, have kept silent when +they knew that there was a plot to massacre them." + +"Well, I will say good-morning," Monsieur Laurent said. "I want to be +back with the troops. I was detained yesterday, to my great disgust, to +see to the getting-off of a freight, and I should not like to miss +another chance of paying some of the scoundrels off." + +Nat made his way slowly and carefully--for the slightest movement gave +him great pain--to the wharf. One of the frigate's boats was ashore. The +coxswain looked at him with surprise as he went down the steps to it. + +"Well, I'm jiggered," the man muttered, "if it ain't Mr. Glover!" Then +he said aloud: "Glad to see you back, sir. The ship's crew were all glad +when they heard the other day that the news had come as how you were +safe, for we had all been afraid you had been murdered by them niggers. +You are looking mighty queer, sir, if I may say so." + +"My face is stained to make me look like a mulatto. Whom are you waiting +for?" + +"For Mr. Normandy." + +"Well, how long do you expect he will be?" + +"I can't say, sir. It is about a quarter of an hour since he landed, and +he said he would be back in half an hour; but officers are generally +longer than they expect." + +"Well it won't take you above ten minutes to row off to the ship and +back. I will take the blame if he comes down before that. I have been +wounded, not badly, but it is very painful. I want to get it properly +dressed." + +"All right, sir, we will get you on board in no time." + +"Give me your arm. I must get in carefully." + +The men stretched to their oars, and in five minutes Nat was alongside +the _Orpheus_. He had heard, as he expected, that Dr. Bemish had gone +with the party that had been landed, but his assistant was on board. The +first lieutenant was on deck. He saw by Nat's walk as he went up to +report his return that something was the matter. + +"Are you ill or wounded, Mr Glover?" + +"I am wounded, sir. I had a rib broken by a pistol-ball, and I have had +a long journey, which has inflamed it a good deal." + +"Go down at once and have it seen to; you can tell me your story +afterwards. Have the ladies who were with you got safely down also?" + +"Yes, sir." + +The lieutenant nodded, and Nat then went below and placed himself in the +hands of the assistant surgeon. + +"My word, Glover, you have got your wound into a state!" the latter said +after he had examined him. "What on earth have you been doing to it? It +seems to have been a pretty clean break at first, and it wouldn't have +bothered you above three weeks or so, but the ends have evidently been +sawing away into the flesh. Why, man alive, what have you been doing?" + +"I have been helping to carry a sick woman down from the hills," Nat +said quietly. "If it had been level ground it would not have hurt so +much, but on rough ground strewn with branches one could not avoid +stumbling occasionally, and although it had been bandaged before I +started the wad slipped and the thing got loose, and after that it was +like walking with a red-hot needle sticking into me." + +"So I should say. Well, I will put you into a berth in the sick-bay at +once. Fortunately we have some ice on board and I will put some of it on +the wound and try to get the inflammation down." + +In a short time he returned with a basin of ice and a jugful of iced +lime-juice. Nat took a long drink, and then turned so that the ice could +be applied to the wound. + +"You must keep yourself as still as you can. I sha'n't attempt to +bandage you at present, there is really nothing to be done till we have +got the inflammation down." + +"I will lie quiet as long as I am awake, but I cannot answer for myself +if I go off to sleep, which will not be long, for I am as tired as a +dog. To-day's walk would have been nothing if I had been all right, it +was the pain that wore me out." + +"I don't suppose you will move. You may be sure that that rib will act +like an alarm, and give you warning at once if you stir in the +slightest." + +Having seen Nat comfortable, the young surgeon went up on deck. + +"How do you find Mr. Glover?" the first lieutenant asked. "He says that +it is only a broken rib." + +"Well, sir, it was only a broken rib at first, now it is a broken rib +with acute inflammation round it. There is a flesh wound about four +inches long where the bullet struck, broke the rib, ran along it, and +went out behind. That would not have been anything if he had kept quiet; +as it is, it is as angry as you could want to see a wound. But that is +not the worst, the two ends of the bone have been rubbing against each +other with enough movement to lacerate the flesh, with the natural +result that a wonderful amount of inflammation has been set up round +it." + +"But how did he manage it?" + +"It seems, sir, that he has been carrying, or helping to carry, a sick +woman down from the mountains, and he says the ground was very rough and +strewn with boughs, so that one can understand that he got some terrible +shakes and jolts, which would quite account for the state of his +wounds." + +"I should think so. When Monsieur Duchesne came off with the news that +his wife was safely hidden, and that Glover was with her, he said that +his daughter, who had written the note, reported that her mother was +ill. No wonder he has got his wound in such a state if he has, as you +say, aided to carry her down all that distance. He must have had a brush +with the negroes." + +"That must have been before he started, sir; for he said that the +bandage shifted, so his wound must have been bound up before he set +out." + +"It was a gallant thing for a lad to undertake--a most gallant action! +Why, it must have been torture to him." + +"It must indeed, sir." + +"He is not in any danger, I hope?" + +"Not unless fever intervenes, sir. No doubt with rest and quiet and the +use of ice we shall succeed in reducing the inflammation; but it is +likely enough that fever may set in, and if so there is no saying how it +may go. I shall be glad to have Doctor Bemish back again to take the +responsibility off my hands." + +Late that afternoon Monsieur Duchesne came on board to thank Nat. He was +not allowed to see him, as the doctor said that absolute quiet was +indispensable. He had had a full account from Myra of the adventures +through which the little party had gone, and he retailed this to the +lieutenant and doctor in the ward-room. + +"A most gallant business altogether," the first lieutenant said when he +had finished, "and certainly the most gallant part of it was undertaking +to carry Madame Duchesne when practically disabled. But I can +understand, as you say, that directly the negroes were defeated by the +force that went out against them, some of them would have made for that +cave, and it was therefore absolutely necessary to get away before they +came. However, I hope that we need not be anxious about him; he has gone +through three or four scrapes, any of which might have been fatal. There +was that fight with the dog; then he was in the thick of that business +with the pirates, and was blown up by the explosion, and half his crew +killed. He has had some marvellous escapes, and I think we may feel very +hopeful that he will get over this without serious trouble. It was lucky +indeed his finding your family jewels on two of those scoundrels that he +shot." + +"It would have been a great loss, but it is such a little thing in +comparison to the saving of my wife and daughter, that I have scarcely +given it a thought. I shall do myself the pleasure of calling again +to-morrow morning to know how he is." + +"Do so, monsieur; you will probably find Captain Crosbie here. I had a +note from him an hour ago, saying that he was returning, and would be +here by eight o'clock. The negroes having been defeated, and the safety +of the town being ensured for a while, he does not consider that he +would be justified in joining in the pursuit of the blacks among the +hills." + +Nat was not aware of the return of the landing-party until the next +morning, when on opening his eyes he saw Dr. Bemish by his side. + +"You young scamp," the latter said, shaking his finger at him, "you seem +determined to be a permanent patient. As soon as you recover from one +injury you are laid up with another. So here you are again." + +"It is only a trifle this time, doctor." + +"Umph, I am not so sure about that. Macfarlane tells me that, not +content with getting a rib broken, you go about carrying one end of a +stretcher with a woman on it across ground where it was difficult, if +not impossible, to move without ricking and hurting yourself. So that +not only have you set up a tremendous amount of inflammation round the +wound, but you have so worn the ends of the bone that they will take +three times as long knitting together as they would have done had they +been left alone." + +"I am afraid that is all true, doctor," Nat replied with a smile; "but, +you see, I thought it better to run the risk of inflammation, and even +this terrible rubbing of the end of the bones you speak of, than of +being caught by these fiendish negroes, and put to death by the hideous +tortures with which they have in many cases slowly murdered those who +fell into their hands." + +"It must have hurt you badly," Dr. Bemish said, as, after removing the +dressing that had, late the evening before, been substituted for the +ice, he examined the wound. + +"It did hurt a bit, doctor, but as four lives depended upon my being +able to hold on, there was nothing for it but to set one's teeth hard +and keep at it. How does it look this morning?" + +"What do you think, Macfarlane? you can form a better opinion than I +can, as I have not seen it before." + +"The inflammation seems to have abated a good deal." + +"In any case we will syringe the wound thoroughly with warm water. There +are doubtless some particles of bone in it, and until these are got rid +of we can't hope that it will heal properly. I will get that large +magnifying-glass from my cabin." + +For half an hour the wound was fomented and washed. + +"As far as I can see it is perfectly clean now," Dr. Bemish said, after +carefully examining it with the glass. "We will put a compress on, with +a wet cloth over it, which must be damped with iced water every +half-hour. When we quite get the inflammation down, Glover, which will, +I hope, be in two or three days, we will bandage it tightly, and I will +buy you a pair of stays on shore, and lace you up so that there shall be +no chance of your performing any more pranks with it, and then I fancy +you will be able to come up on deck, if you will promise to keep +yourself quiet there." + +"Well, that is better than I expected, doctor." + +"Have you any message to send to your friends? because I am going ashore +now to see them. Monsieur Duchesne was off yesterday afternoon, but +Macfarlane very properly refused to let him see you." + +"Tell him he can't see me for some days, doctor. I do so hate being made +a fuss over." + +"I will keep him away for a day or two anyhow," the doctor laughed. "He +gave the ward-room a full history of your affair, so you won't have the +trouble of going over it again." + +"That is a comfort," Nat growled. "How long is the _Orpheus_ likely to +stop here, doctor?" + +"Ah, that is more than I can say! At any rate the captain will not leave +until he gets orders from Jamaica. The _AEolus_ has just come into port, +and the captain will send her off at once with despatches to the +admiral, saying what has taken place, and how he landed a force to +protect the town, and went out with a party to attack the insurgent +blacks. He will ask for instructions, as they have no French vessel of +war here, and the land force is insufficient to defend the place if +attacked in earnest, especially as there is a considerable negro +population who would probably rise and join the insurgents if these made +an assault upon the town. The general hope on board is that we shall get +orders to stay here, or at least to cruise on the coast. Now that we +have broken up that nest of pirates, things are likely to be dull here +for some time, though I have little doubt that ere very long we shall be +at war with the French. According to the last news, which arrived since +you left us, that National Assembly of theirs is going farther and +farther, and its proceedings are causing serious alarm throughout +Europe, for they are altogether subversive of the existing state of +things. It is to its measures that this terrible insurrection here is +due, and the first consequence of what is really a revolution in France +will be the loss of her most valuable colony. I suppose you have heard +that something like two thousand whites have been murdered. I have no +doubt that now they have recovered from the first shock, the French here +will take a terrible vengeance; but though they may kill a great number +of the negroes, I doubt if it will be possible to reduce half a million +blacks to submission, especially in an island like this, with mountain +ranges running through it where cannon would be absolutely useless, and +the negroes could shelter in the almost impenetrable forests that cover +a large portion of it." + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +A FIRST COMMAND + + +For another couple of days no one was permitted to see Nat, but at the +end of that time the wound assumed a healthy aspect, and he was allowed +to receive visits. Captain Crosbie himself was the first to come down. + +"I am very glad to hear so good an account of you, Mr. Glover," he said +cordially; "you have done us credit again, lad, and have rendered an +inestimable service to Monsieur Duchesne and his family. Although it can +hardly be considered as in your regular course of duty, I shall +certainly forward a narrative of your adventures to the admiral. The +next time we go to Port Royal you had better go in for your examination, +and if you pass I have very little doubt that acting rank will be given +to you at once. Your aiding to carry down that lady, when yourself +wounded, was really a very fine action, for Doctor Bemish tells me that +you must have suffered intensely. Monsieur Duchesne is most anxious to +see you, but the doctor has told him that it will be better for him to +wait until you are well enough to go ashore, when you can go and see +them all together." + +"Thank you, sir, I would much rather do that. But really the person to +be thanked is the old negress who gave us warning in time to escape, +went down and fetched food, despatched a message to Monsieur Duchesne, +and got an answer back, and who did as much as I did in carrying her +mistress down." + +"Doubtless she behaved very well, Mr. Glover, but that does not alter +the fact that you did so also. And, as even you will admit, she had no +hand in the fight in which you killed eight of these scoundrels." + +"It was not much of a fight, sir. I had such an advantage in position +that I really did not like shooting them, in spite of what I had heard +of their doings; but it was our lives or theirs, and I knew that if one +of them got away he would bring down a score of others, and they would +speedily have starved us out." + +"At the present time," the captain said sternly, "mercy to these +villains would be misapplied; the lesson must be a terrible one, or +there will speedily be an end to white rule in the island. Another thing +is, that were this revolution to succeed, we might expect similar +outbreaks in our own islands. Now I will leave you. Your comrades will +come in to see you, but their visits must, for the present, be short." + +Nat progressed rapidly. In three days the water-dressings were given up +and he was tightly bandaged, and over this, rather to his disgust, the +doctor insisted upon his wearing a pair of stays. + +"It is all very well, Glover," Doctor Bemish said in answer to his +remonstrances, "but we know what you are. You are as active as a cat, +and would be constantly forgetting yourself, and springing to do +something; but these things laced tightly on will act as a reminder, and +will also bind you so closely together that, while you will have the +free use of your limbs, your ribs will be held as if in a vice. You will +have to keep them on until the bone has fairly knit, and you have every +reason to be thankful that this is the only inconvenience you have to +suffer from an expedition which might have cost you your life." + +Four days later Doctor Bemish said: + +"I think you can go ashore to-day. Of course you must be careful, +especially, getting in and out of the boat, but if you do that and walk +slowly, I do not think it will do you any harm. Madame Duchesne is up +and going on nicely, and they are most anxiously expecting you, and +indeed Duchesne said yesterday, that if I did not let you go on shore +to-day, he would come on board to see you." + +"But I feel like a hog in armour in these stays, doctor." + +"Never mind that, lad, you would be almost as bad if you took them off, +for I should have to put on twice as many bandages, and to pull them +ever so much tighter. I have told the captain that I am letting you go +ashore, and have also told Mr. Philpot, so that is all settled. I shall +be going off myself in an hour, and will take you with me, and keep an +eye over you until you get to their gate." + +"One would think that I was a small boy going to be taken to school," +Nat laughed, stopping, however, abruptly. + +"There! you see," the doctor said, "that gave you a twinge, I know; you +must be careful, lad, you must, indeed. There is no objection to your +smiling as much as you like, but there is nothing that shakes one up +more than a hearty laugh. That is why at other times laughing is a +healthy exercise, but with a rib in the process of healing, it is better +not to indulge in it." + +"Well, I shall be ready when you are." + +Nat accomplished the journey without pain. + +"Won't you come in, doctor?" he asked when they arrived at the gate. + +"No, Glover; this will be a sort of family party. I have warned Duchesne +not to throw himself on your neck, and have told him that you are to be +looked at and not touched." + +With an uneasy smile Nat left him at the gate and walked up the drive. +They were evidently on the watch for him, for the door opened almost +immediately, and Monsieur Duchesne ran down. "Mon cher!" he exclaimed, +"the doctor has said that I must not touch you, but I can scarce +refrain from embracing you. How can I thank you for all that you have +done?" + +"But, monsieur, I have done next to nothing. I shot some negroes who had +not a chance of getting at me, and I helped Dinah to carry madame down. +We owe our safety to Dinah, who was splendid in her devotion, making +journeys backwards and forwards, to say nothing of giving us the warning +that enabled us all to escape in time." + +"Dinah was splendid!" Monsieur Duchesne admitted. "But I can do nothing +for her. I have told her that she shall have a house and plenty to live +on all her days, but she will not leave us. I have made out her papers +of freedom, but she says, 'What use are these? I have been your servant +all my life, and should be no different whether I was what you call a +free woman or not.' What pleased her most was that I have given freedom +to her grandson who brought the message down here, and am going to +employ him in my stable, and that she has received a new black silk +gown. She has got it on in honour of your visit, and if it had been a +royal robe she could not be more proud of it." + +They had by this time arrived at the door, and Monsieur Duchesne led Nat +to the drawing-room, where his wife was lying on a sofa, and Myra +standing beside her. The yellow dye had now nearly worn off their faces. +Madame Duchesne was still pale, but she looked bright and happy. Nat +went up to her and took her hand. + +"I am truly glad to see you up again," he said. + +"It has all ended well," she replied with tears in her eyes. "It seems +like a bad dream to me, especially that journey. How good and kind you +were! and I know now how terribly you must have suffered." + +"It hurt a bit at the time, madame, but one gets accustomed to being +hurt, and it all went on so well that it was not worth grumbling about." + +"Ah, you look more yourself now, Myra!" and he held out his hand to her. + +"Embrace him, my dear, for me and for yourself. Twice has he saved your +life, and has been more than a brother to you." + +Myra threw her arms round Nat's neck and kissed him heartily twice, +while her eyes were full of tears. "I have not hurt you, I hope," she +said as he drew back. + +"Not a bit, and I should not have minded if you had," Nat said. Then he +sat down, and they talked quietly for some time. "I am going out +to-morrow again," Monsieur Duchesne said, "it is the duty of every white +to join in punishing these ungrateful fiends. I hear that they have been +beaten badly near Port-au-Prince. Some of the negroes are, we find, +remaining quietly on the plantations, and these, unless they have +murdered their masters, will be spared. No quarter will be given to +those taken in arms. At any rate we shall clear all of them out of the +plains near the bay, and drive them into the mountains, where we cannot +hope to subdue them till a large number of troops arrive from home." + +So vigorously, indeed, did the whites pursue the negroes, that in a +fortnight after the outbreak it was calculated that no fewer than ten +thousand blacks had fallen, many of them being put to death by methods +almost as cruel and ferocious as those they had themselves adopted. They +were still in such vast numbers that it was evident that it would be +impossible to overpower them until troops arrived from France; and, +indeed, the farther the French columns penetrated into the mountains, +the more severe was the resistance they met with, and on several +occasions the whites were repulsed with heavy loss. A truce was +therefore agreed upon, it being arranged that neither party should +attack the other until its expiration. There being, therefore, no +occasion for the _Orpheus_ to remain longer at Cape Francois, she sailed +for Jamaica. + +Nat's wounds continued to go on well. He was still stiff, and felt the +advantages of the encircling stays so much that he no longer objected to +wear them. As it was likely that, until matters were finally settled, +the _Orpheus_ would be constantly cruising on the coast of Hayti, and +that he would ere long see his French friends again, the parting was not +a sad one; and, indeed, Nat was by no means sorry to get under way again +to escape the expressions of gratitude of Monsieur Duchesne and his +wife. Two days after arriving at Port Royal, Nat received notice that a +court, composed of three captains of vessels then in port, would, on the +following day, sit to examine midshipmen who had either served their +time or were within a year of completing it. He at once sent in his +name. As he had read hard during the time he had been unfit for service, +he had no fear of not passing the ordeal, and at the conclusion of his +examination he was told by the president of the court that he had passed +with great credit. + +On returning to the frigate, he found a note from the admiral requesting +him to call upon him on his return from the court, and he at once +proceeded to the flag-ship. "I have heard a great deal of you, Mr. +Glover," the admiral said when he was ushered into his cabin. "First of +all I heard the story from your captain of the gallant manner in which +you, at the risk of your own, saved a young lady's life at Cape +Francois, when attacked by a savage hound, and were seriously injured +thereby. Then I received Captain Crosbie's official report of the share +you took in the attack upon that formidable nest of pirates, the report +being supplemented by his subsequent relation to me of the whole facts +of the affair. Your conduct there also did you very great credit, and, +had you passed, I should at once have given you acting rank. Now you +have again distinguished yourself, though scarcely in a manner which +comes under my official knowledge. I should be glad to hear from you a +detailed account of the affair." + +When Nat had finished his narration, he said, "You have scarcely done +justice to yourself. Your captain and Dr. Bemish were dining with me +last night, and the latter said that, wounded as you were, the work of +carrying that French lady down to the coast must have been an intensely +painful one, as was shown by the state of your wound when he examined +it. In all these matters you have shown courage and conduct, and as I +hear that you have now passed, I shall take the first opportunity of +giving you acting rank. You speak French fluently?" + +"I speak it quite fluently, sir, but as I have only picked it up by ear, +I cannot say that I speak it well." + +"However, the fact that you speak it well enough to converse freely may +be useful. Hayti is likely to be in a very disturbed state for some +time. There can be little doubt that the negroes in the other islands +are all watching what takes place there with close attention, and that +there is a possibility of the revolt spreading. At present there is no +saying what the course of events may be. Already the governor here has +received letters from several French residents expressing their desire +that we should take the island, as they believe that the French +revolutionary government will make no serious effort to put down the +rising. Of course, at present, as we are at peace with France, nothing +whatever can be done. At the same time, it is important that we should +obtain accurate information as to what is going on there, and what is +the feeling of the negroes and of the mulatto population, and we shall +probably have several small vessels cruising in those waters. The +_Falcon_, under the command of Lieutenant Low, who also belonged to the +_Orpheus_, has been for some weeks on the southern coast of the island. +I intend to have three or four other craft at the same work soon, and on +the first opportunity I shall appoint you to one of them." + +Nat expressed his warm thanks, and retired. Three or four days later he +received an intimation that the prize _Arrow_, a schooner of a hundred +and fifty tons, would at once be put into commission, and that the +admiral had selected him for her command. This was far more than Nat had +even hoped for. From the manner in which the admiral had spoken, he +thought that he would be appointed to a craft of this description, but +he had no expectation whatever of being given the command. With the +intimation was an order for him to again call upon the admiral. + +"It is a small command," the admiral said when Nat expressed his thanks +for the appointment. "We cannot spare you more than twenty-five hands, a +quarter-master, and two midshipmen. You will have Mr. Turnbull of the +_Leander_ as your first officer, and Mr. Lippincott of the _Pallas_. She +has carried six guns hitherto, but you will only take four. These, +however, will be twelve-pounders; before, she had only nines. Naturally, +it is not intended that she shall do any fighting. Of course, if you are +attacked you will defend yourself, but you are hardly a match for any of +these piratical craft except quite the smaller class--native boats +manned by bands of desperadoes. Your mission will be to cruise on the +coast of Hayti, to take off white fugitives should any show themselves, +and to communicate if possible with the negroes, find out the object +they propose to themselves, and report on their forces, organization, +and methods of fighting. In all this great care will be necessary, for +they have shown themselves so faithless and treacherous that it is +impossible to place any confidence in their promises of safe-conduct. In +such matters it is impossible to give any advice as to your conduct, you +must be guided by circumstances; be prudent and careful, and at the +same time enterprising. The schooner is a very fast one. She has been a +slaver, and has more than once shown her heels to some of our fastest +cruisers. Therefore, if you come across any piratical craft too big to +fight, you will at least have a fair chance of outsailing her." + +Greatly delighted, Nat returned to the _Orpheus_. + +"So, you are going to leave us, Mr. Glover," the captain said when he +came on board. "I congratulate you, but at the same time we shall be +very sorry to lose you, and I hope that when there is a vacancy we shall +have you back again. You fully deserve your promotion, and have been a +credit to the ship." + +The next day Nat moved his effects ashore. There was but little +leave-taking between him and his comrades, for it was certain that they +would often meet at Port Royal. He spent his time for the next fortnight +in the dockyard seeing to the refitting of the schooner. The +superintendent there had heard of the affair with the dog, and of the +manner in which he had saved the lives of the French lady and her +daughter, Dr. Bemish being an old friend of his. He was, therefore, much +more complaisant than dockyard officials generally are to the demands +made upon them by young lieutenants in command of small craft. Indeed, +when the schooner was ready for sea Nat had every reason to be proud of +her. She had been provided with a complete suit of new canvas, all her +woodwork had been scraped and varnished, the running rigging was new, +and the standing rigging had also been renewed wherever it showed signs +of wear. Her ballast, which had before been almost entirely of iron ore, +was now of pig-iron, and in view of the extra stability so given she had +had new topmasts ten feet higher than those she had before carried. + +"I should advise you to keep your weather eye lifting, Mr. Glover," +Captain Crosbie said when Nat paid his farewell visit to the frigate; +"that craft of yours looks very much over-sparred. If you were caught in +a squall with your topsails up the chances are you would turn turtle." + +"I will be very careful, sir," Nat said; "although, now she has iron +ballast, I think that even with the slight addition in the height of the +spars she will be as stiff as she was before in moderate breezes, while +she will certainly be faster in light winds." + +"That is so," the captain agreed; "and of course it is in light winds +that speed is of the most importance. There can be no doubt that in the +hands of a careful commander a large spread of canvas is a great +advantage, while in the hands of a rash one a craft can hardly be too +much under-sparred." + +Turnbull, Nat's first officer, was a quiet young fellow, a few months +junior to Nat. He was square in build, with a resolute but good-humoured +face, and Nat had no doubt that the admiral had selected him as being +likely to pull better with him than a more lively and vivacious young +fellow would be. From the first day they met on board he was sure that +he and Turnbull would get on extremely well together. The latter carried +out his suggestions and orders as punctually as he would have done those +of a post-captain, going about his work in as steady and business-like a +way as if he had been accustomed for years to perform the duties of a +first officer. One evening Nat had asked him and Lippincott to dine with +him at an hotel, and ordered a private room. + +"I think," he said when the meal was over and the waiter had placed the +dessert and wine on the table and had retired, "that we are going to +have a very pleasant cruise. I am afraid we sha'n't have much chance of +distinguishing ourselves in the fighting way, though we may pick up some +of those rascally little craft that prey on the native commerce and +capture a small European merchantman occasionally. With our small crew +we certainly cannot regard ourselves as a match for any of the regular +pirates, who would carry vastly heavier metal, and crews of at least +four times our strength. The admiral expressly warned me that it was not +intended that the _Arrow_ should undertake that sort of business. Our +mission is rather to gain news of what passes in the interior, pick up +fugitives who may be hiding in the woods, and act in fact as a sort of +floating observatory. Any fighting, therefore, that we may get will be +if we are attacked. In that case, of course, we shall do our best. I am +sure we shall be a pleasant party on board. Of course in a small craft +like this we shall mess together. It is necessary, for the sake of +discipline, that when we are on deck we should follow the usual +observances, but when we are below together we shall be three mess-mates +without any formality or nonsense." + +The two juniors remained on their ships until the schooner was out of +the hands of the dockyard men. According to custom, Nat did not join +until they and the crew had gone on board and spent a day in scrubbing +the decks and making everything tidy and ship-shape; then the gig went +ashore to fetch him off. As he rowed alongside he could not help smiling +at seeing the sentries at the gangway and the two young officers +standing there to receive him. However, with an effort he recovered his +gravity, mounted the short accommodation ladder, saluted the flag, and +returned the salutes of his officers and men. On board the frigate he +had been an inconsiderable member of the crowd, now he was monarch of +all he surveyed. Then the crew were formed up, and according to custom +he read his commission appointing him to the command, and the articles +of war. + +"Now, my men," he said when he had brought the meeting to an end, "I +have, according to rule, read the articles of war, a very necessary +step when taking command of a vessel of war with hands collected from +all parts, and many of them coming on board one of his majesty's ships +for the first time; but it is a mere formality to a crew composed of men +like yourselves, who will, I am perfectly sure, do your duty in storm +and calm, and who will, should there be any occasion for fighting, show +that, small as our number is, we are capable of taking our own part +against a considerably larger force. I and my officers, will do all in +our power to make the ship a comfortable and pleasant one, and I rely +upon you to show your zeal and heartiness in the service." + +The men replied with a hearty cheer. Most of them belonged to the +_Orpheus_. These had already told the others of their captain's doings +in Hayti and in the attack on the pirate island, and said how popular he +was on board. + +"I think we are going to have a good time," one of the others said as +they went forward. "We ain't likely to capture anything very big in this +cockle-shell, and I look upon it as a sort of pleasure ship." + +"You will see, if he gets a chance he will take it," one of the men from +the _Orpheus_ said. "I was with him in that fight against the pirates, +and I tell you I have never been in anything hotter. I was one of those +who volunteered to go with him to drown the magazine of the brigantine +next to us, and I tell you I never felt so scared in my life. He was +just as cool as a cucumber, though he had been knocked silly by that +explosion a quarter of an hour before. He is the right sort, he is; and +though I expect he has got orders not to tackle anything too big for +us--he is not the sort of chap to run away if he can find the smallest +excuse for fighting." + +In the meantime Nat had gone below with the two midshipmen. The +accommodation for officers was excellent. There was a large cabin aft +which had been handsomely fitted up by the late captain. Off this on +one side was his state-room, on the other those for the two officers; +beyond these were the steward's cabin and pantry on one side, and a +spare cabin which had been given to the quarter-master on the other. Nat +had engaged a negro as cook, and his son, a lad of seventeen or +eighteen, as cabin steward, and had sent on board a small stock of +wines. He ordered the boy to open a bottle and to put glasses on the +table, and they drank together to the success of the cruise. They had +just finished when the quarter-master came down. + +"The admiral is signalling for us to send a boat to him, sir." + +"Lower the gig at once!" and he and the officers followed the +quarter-master on deck. "Mr. Lippincott, you had better go with it." + +In half an hour the midshipman returned with a despatch. Nat broke the +seal. It had evidently been dictated by the admiral to his clerk, his +signature being at the foot. + + _News has just arrived that the French Assembly has cancelled the + act placing the mulattoes on the same footing as the whites, and + the former have in consequence risen and have joined the blacks. + The situation must be most precarious for whites in the island. + Get up sail at once and make for Cape Francois. Cruise between + that port and the south-eastern limit of Hayti. Do what you can + to aid fugitives._ + +"We are to be off at once," he said to Mr. Turnbull. "Please get up the +anchor and make sail. There is fresh trouble in Hayti; the mulattoes +have joined the blacks." + +The quarter-master's whistle sounded, and the crew sprang into activity. +The capstan was manned, and the men ran to loosen the sails, and in ten +minutes the _Falcon_ was on her way. + +"Matters were bad enough before," Nat said when, having seen that the +sails were all set and everything in good order, his two officers came +aft. "A few mulattoes, overseers and that class, rose with the negroes, +but the great bulk of them, having got what they wanted, joined the +whites or stood neutral; but now that they have thrown in their lot with +the blacks the prospect seems almost desperate. However it turns out, +there is no doubt that the island is ruined, and the whites who were +lucky enough to escape with their lives will find that instead of being +rich men they are penniless. It is a horrible business altogether. I +shall be glad when we get to Cape Francois and can get news of what is +really going on." + +Nat was delighted at the speed shown by the schooner. The breeze was +light, and she felt the full advantage of her added spread of canvas. +She was a very beamy craft of light draught, and scarcely showed a +perceptible heel under the pressure of the wind, fully justifying his +opinion as to the improvement to be effected by the substitution of iron +ballast for that which she had before carried. Turnbull and Lippincott +were no less pleased, and the whole crew felt proud of their little +craft. + +"She can go, sir, and no mistake!" Turnbull said, as they stood aft +looking upwards at the sails and down into the water glancing past her +sides. "It would take a fast craft indeed to overhaul her; her sails are +splendidly cut!" + +"Yes, I tipped the man who is at the head of the sail-making gang a +five-pound note to take special pains with them, and the money would +have been well laid out if it had been fifty times as much; for it will +make the difference of a point at least when she is close-hauled, and +that means getting away from a fellow too big for us, instead of being +overhauled by him." + +"Yes," Turnbull said with a smile, "and might enable us to keep out of +reach of his bow-guns, while we hammered him with our stern-chaser." + +"Yes, it might have that effect," Nat replied with an answering smile. +"What is she going through the water now, quarter-master?" + +"A good seven knots, sir." + +"That is fast enough. The _Orpheus_ would not be making more than six in +such a light breeze as this." + +Towards sunset the wind fell until it scarcely seemed that there was a +breath on the water, but the schooner still crept along at two and a +half knots an hour, although her sails scarcely lifted. The crew had +already been divided in watches. Turnbull took the starboard, and +Lippincott the larboard watch. + +"I hardly know myself," Nat laughed, as they sat together in the cabin +after dinner. "Except when I was on the sick list, this is my first +experience of not having a night watch to keep. However, I expect I +shall be up and down, and at any rate call me if there is the slightest +change in the weather. We know what she can do in a light wind now, but +we won't risk anything until we have seen how she carries her sails in a +sharp blow." + +Somewhat restless under the extent of his responsibility, Nat was on +deck several times during the night. There was, however, no sign of +change. The _Arrow_ was still stealing through the water with the wind +abeam. The two midshipmen, equally impressed with the responsibility of +being in command of a watch, were on the alert, and the look-out was +vigilant. The wind freshened again when the sun rose. At noon there were +white-heads on the water, and the schooner, heeling over a bit now, was +doing nearly nine knots. The three officers all took an observation, and +to their satisfaction found that they were within half a mile of each +other. At the present moment, however, there was no doubt as to their +situation, for the high land near Cape Dame Marie lay clearly in sight +over the bowsprit, while behind them the hills over Morant Point lay +like a dim haze. + +"If we had had this wind the whole way," Nat said regretfully, "we +should have been well in the bay by this time. Still, we must not +grumble; we have made a hundred knots. The mid-day gun fired just as we +got under way, and, considering that for twelve hours we had no wind +worth speaking of, I think we have done very well. Indeed, if the wind +will hold like this, we shall be near port by noon to-morrow; but we +can't reckon on that, it is sure to fall before sunset, and besides, the +winds are generally baffling and shifty when we once get into the bay." + +By three o'clock the wind had already begun to fall, and by five they +were lying almost becalmed off the westerly point of the island. For the +next two days the wind was very light, and it was late in the afternoon +of the second when they dropped anchor off Cape Francois. Nat at once +went ashore, and as usual received a warm welcome from the Duchesnes. +Madame had now quite recovered from the effect of her adventure, as also +had Myra. + +"I did not know that the _Orpheus_ was in port, or else we should have +been expecting you." + +"She is not in port, madame. I arrived in his majesty's schooner +_Arrow_, which I have the honour to command." + +"Then you are Captain Glover now? I must be very respectful," and Myra +made a deep curtsy. + +"It will be a good many years before I shall have the right to be +addressed by that title. I have passed my examination as lieutenant, and +have now acting rank, which will no doubt be confirmed by the +authorities at home, and I may be addressed as lieutenant without any +breach of etiquette. Still, of course, it is a grand thing to get a +command, and so much greater chance of distinguishing oneself. However, +as she is but a small craft, and carries only twenty-five men, we are +not in a position to do any great thing in the way of fighting, though +of course we may overhaul and capture some of these native craft that +are nominally traders, but are ready to capture any small vessel they +may come across. My mission really is to obtain news of what is passing +in the island. We have received word at Kingston that the mulattoes have +risen and joined the blacks, and I have been sent off at once to learn +the real state of things." + +"Unhappily the news is true," Monsieur Duchesne said. "There have +already been several fights, in some of which we have got the best of +it, in others we have been driven back to the towns. It is impossible +for the look-out to be darker than it is. It seems to us that our only +hope is that England will consent to take over the sovereignty of the +island, and send a force large enough to put down the insurrection. Some +of the planters here have already lost heart, and have sailed for +Jamaica, Bermuda, and other British ports. I have no intention of +following their example at present. I am, as you know, a merchant as +well as a planter, and although, of course, all trade is at an end now, +it must spring up again in time. Fortunately, we feel confident that +this town can resist any assault. The French man-of-war that came in +after you sailed landed a dozen of her guns, and we have erected four +batteries. There were, too, a good many old guns in the town, which have +also been put into position; and as we have half a French regiment here, +and fully five hundred whites who can be relied on, we have small fear +of being overpowered. I am glad to say that before the man-of-war left, +the great majority of the negroes were expelled from the town and their +quarter burnt down, so that we have no fear of being attacked from +within as well as from without. That was really our greatest danger, and +has been hanging over us night and day ever since the beginning of the +rising." + +"Are the mulattoes and negroes acting together?" + +"In some cases, but as a rule they keep apart. There is no love lost +between them, and the only bond of union is hatred of us. The blacks, +curiously enough, have declared against the republic, and call +themselves the royalist army. They consider, and very naturally, that +the republic, while giving rights to the mulattoes, has done nothing for +them, and therefore, as the republic has declared against the king, they +have declared for him. Do you think that the English government will +accept our offer to transfer ourselves to British rule?" + +"I do not see that they could do so, sir. At present we are nominally at +peace with France, although everyone sees that war must come before +long, but until it is declared we could scarcely take over a French +possession; nor do I think there are anything like troops enough in our +islands to undertake such a serious operation as this would be. Your +people could not give us much help. The negroes, though calling +themselves royalists, are fighting only for liberty, and would gain +nothing by a mere change of masters, knowing as they do that the slaves +are certainly no better treated in our islands than in those of France." + +"That is what I thought," Monsieur Duchesne said. "Certainly nothing +short of an army of thirty thousand strong could hope for success, and I +doubt, indeed, whether in so large and mountainous an island even that +number could do much. Of course fully half of it is Spanish, which +complicates matters a great deal; but we may be sure that if the negroes +of this end are successful, those under the Spaniards will very soon +follow their example. If the worst comes to the worst, I shall of course +leave the island. Whether I should settle in one of your islands or +make England my residence I cannot say. Some of my countrymen have gone +to America, but I should put that out of my mind. I think I should +prefer England to remaining out here, for there might be similar risings +in Jamaica and elsewhere; as to France, it is out of the question. + +"France has gone mad. I know that many of our good families have sought +refuge in England, and we should at least find society congenial to us. +Happily, we are in a condition to choose for ourselves; my ancestors +have been wise men, and have long foreseen that what has actually +occurred might possibly take place. Each in succession has impressed his +views upon his son, and it has become almost a family tradition among +us, and one upon which we have often been rallied. For with few +exceptions all here seem to have regarded the state of things as being +as unchangeable as Scripture says were the laws of the Medes and +Persians. If this had been only a tradition, and had not been acted +upon, it would not have benefited us now, but for six generations each +of my ancestors has regarded it as a sacred duty to set aside nearly a +tenth of his revenues as a provision when the troubles should come. This +money has been chiefly invested in England and Holland, and the interest +on the accumulations of all these years has been reinvested. I believe +that, although I regard such investments as were made in France as lost, +we shall, when we reckon up matters, find that our income will be fully +as large as that which I have drawn from my property and trade here." + +"I am very glad to hear it, Monsieur Duchesne. I have indeed, while I +have been away, thought very often of what would happen to you and your +family if you were forced to finally abandon your estate and leave the +island." + +"I have reason to be grateful indeed, Nat, to the forethought of those +who have gone before me; it is strange that the same idea did not occur +to others. One can see now that our people here have been living in a +fool's paradise, totally oblivious of the fact that a volcano might at +any moment open under their feet. Are you going to remain here?" + +"Oh, no! I am only making this a starting-place. My orders are to cruise +along the southern coast, to render any assistance I can to the +refugees, and if possible, to open communications with some of the +chiefs of the insurgents and endeavour to find out what their plans are, +and, should it be decided to accept the cession of the island when war +with France breaks out, what the attitude of the blacks and mulattoes +would be." + +"You will not be likely to pick up any refugees, for the whites are +exterminated except in the towns; but should any of the smaller places +be attacked you might render good service by receiving at least the +women and children on board." + +That evening Monsieur Duchesne asked his brother-in-law, the doctor, and +several other leading inhabitants, to his house, in order that Nat might +gather their views. He found that these in the main agreed with those of +his host, except that they were hopeful that France would, as soon as +the news arrived, despatch an army of sufficient force to put down the +insurrection. After the last of the guests had departed, Monsieur +Duchesne shook his head. + +"France will ere long require every soldier to defend her own frontiers; +the saturnalia of blood in which she is indulging will cause her to be +regarded as the common enemy of Europe. I hear that already the emigrant +nobles are pressing the various European courts to march armies into +France to free the king and royal family from their imprisonment by the +mob of Paris, and ere long there will assuredly be a coalition which +France will need all her strength to resist. England is certain to join +it; and even had France troops to spare, she would find a difficulty in +sending them here. So you will not change your mind and stay with us +for the night?" + +"It is already nearly eleven, and I ordered the gig to be alongside at +that hour. I certainly should not like to sleep out of the ship, though +I have no doubt that my two young officers would see that everything +went on right." + +On reaching the schooner, Nat found that both Turnbull and Lippincott +were still up. + +"It was such a lovely night that we have been smoking on deck until a +few minutes ago; we were, of course, anxious to hear the news." + +At Nat's order the steward brought hot water and glasses; three tumblers +of grog were filled, and they sat for a couple of hours discussing the +strange situation in the island. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +A RESCUE + + +The _Arrow_ was one morning lying at anchor in a small bay on the south +coast, when one of the sailors called Nat's attention to a boy who had +run down and was wildly waving his arms. Nat caught up his telescope. + +"It may be a white boy," he said. "Lower the gig! I will go myself in +her. Quick! he may be pursued." + +It took but a very short time to cross the quarter of a mile of water. +The lad rushed in up to his chin to meet them, and was quickly hauled +into the boat. His hands and face had been blackened, but this had so +worn off that he merely presented the appearance of a sooty-faced white +boy. He burst into a fit of convulsive sobbing as he found himself among +friends. Nat saw that it was useless to question him at the moment, so +he told the men to row back at once to the schooner; then he +half-carried him down to his own cabin, brought out a glass of wine, and +gave it to him. + +"Drink that up, lad," he said, "then you can tell me something about +yourself." The boy put the glass with shaking hands to his lips and +drank it down. + +"That is right, lad; now tell me something about yourself. What is your +name?" + +"I am a girl, monsieur; my name is Louise Pickard. We have been hiding +in the forest for six weeks--my father and mother, my sister, and ten +Frenchmen, who worked for us. We lived on fruit and what provisions the +men could obtain by going down to the plantations at night. Two days ago +the negroes found us; they killed one of the men at once, and the rest +of us they took. My sister and I were dressed as boys. They were going +to kill us one by one; they burnt one of the men to death yesterday, and +tied us to trees round and made us look on. This morning they killed +another; they cut off his arms at the elbows and his legs at the knees, +and then cut him about with knives till he died. Then they shut us up +together again. There was a little window, and my father pushed me +through it. He had heard the negroes say that there was a vessel in the +bay with white men in it. The hole was in the back of the house, and +there were trees there, so that I managed to get off without being seen +by the negroes. My father tried to get Valerie through the same window, +but she was too big. She is two years older than I am, and I could not +have squeezed through had not my father pushed me. He told me to come +down to the shore and take refuge with you." + +"How many of these black scoundrels are there?" Nat asked. + +[Illustration: THE RESCUE OF LOUISE PICKARD.] + +"Two or three hundred. The negroes are going to attack you +to-night--there are some fishermen's boats at a village a mile or two +along the shore. Father told me to warn you. I did not like coming +away, I would have liked to have died with the others; but it was so +awful to look on at the tortures. If they would but have killed us at +once, I would not have minded; but oh, monsieur, it was too terrible! +Can you not do something for them?" And she again burst into tears. + +"I will see what can be done," Nat said, putting his hand kindly on her +shoulder. "I am going up on deck now. This is my cabin," and he opened +the door of his berth. "The steward will bring you some hot water, then +you had better have a wash and get rid of that charcoal, for I suppose +it is charcoal on your face. We can do nothing for you in the way of +dress at present. But if you will take off your things and put them +outside the door, I will get them washed at once, and you can lie down +in my berth until they are dry. They won't take very long in this hot +climate." + +The steward by his orders brought in a can of hot water. The girl +retired with it to the cabin, and Nat went on deck and told Turnbull and +Lippincott what he had heard from her. + +"It is awful," the latter said. "Can we do nothing, sir?" + +"That is the point, Mr. Lippincott. I feel that it is impossible for us +to remain quiet while such devilry is being carried on among those +woods. But you see the matter is rendered all the more difficult by the +fact that we ourselves are going to be attacked to-night. Our crew is +weak enough already. If three or four boat-loads full of blacks were to +fall upon us, we could not spare a man; while if we were to land, we +should need every man for the job, and even then should be terribly +weak. Something has to be done, that is evident, and we have to hit upon +a plan. Now, let us all set our wits to work." At this moment the black +steward came up from the cabin with a bundle. + +"The boy am put dese things outside him door, sah. Wat am me to do wid +dem?" + +"Bring them along to the galley, Sam. I must get your father to wash +them. Pomp," he went on to the cook, "have you got plenty of hot water?" + +"Yes, sah; allus hab hot water." + +"Well, look here, I want you and Sam to set to work and wash these +clothes at once. The boy I brought on board turns out to be a French +girl, the daughter of a planter who is in the hands of the negroes up +there. We must see to-morrow what we can do in the way of rigging her +out properly, but for to-day we must manage with these things. Get them +as white as you can, and then hang them up to dry. I want her on deck +again as soon as possible to give us information as to where her friends +are confined." + +"All right, sah, we soon gets dese clean." + +"And you may as well heat up a basin of that turtle-soup we had +yesterday. I expect she has had little enough to eat of late." + +Then he went back to the quarter-deck. + +"It seems to me, sir," Turnbull said, "that if the girl would go ashore +with us as a guide, we might succeed. After it gets dark, put me and one +of the hands on shore, with a saw and a bottle of oil to make it work +noiselessly. Then we could crawl up to this little window by which she +got out, and cut away the wood--for no doubt it is a wooden hut--till +the hole is large enough for all of them to get out." + +"That seems a good plan, Turnbull, certainly; the only drawback is that +probably before it gets dark the negroes will have discovered that the +boy, as they consider her, has escaped, and will keep a sharp look-out +on the others. Then, too, although one or two might get out noiselessly +and make their escape, the chances of ten people doing so would be much +smaller, and if the attempt were detected you might only share their +fate. If we had all the crew close at hand to cover their retreat it +might be managed, great as would be the odds against us, but you see +there is this boat attack to be guarded against. I don't think that I +could allow you to run such a risk, Turnbull." + +"Still, something must be done, sir." + +"Yes, we are agreed as to that," Nat said, and going to the rail he +stood there gazing at the shore for some minutes. + +"I have an idea," he said, suddenly turning round. "You see that point +near the mouth of the bay, where the rock rises eight or ten feet +straight out from the water's edge; there are trees behind it. It will +be a dark night, and if we could get the schooner over there without +their noticing it, as I think we could, we could probably lay her pretty +close alongside, and when the boats came, the betting is that they would +never find her. They would row about for a bit looking for us where we +are anchored, and, not finding us, would come to the conclusion that we +had got up sail and gone away after dark. In that way we could land our +whole party." + +"I think that would do first-rate, sir." + +"Of course there is a certain amount of risk of their discovering her," +Nat went on, "but we must chance that. We will send her topmasts down as +soon as it is dark, so that they won't show against the sky-line, and +boats might then row within twenty yards of her without noticing her, +especially if we can get her in pretty close. It is just possible that +we may be able to lay her right against the rock. The water is deep +pretty close in, even opposite to us, for the girl was not more than +four or five yards from the shore when she was up to her neck in water, +and no doubt it is a good deal deeper than that, at the foot of those +rocks. As soon as it is dark, Mr. Lippincott, you had better take the +boat and sound along there. Of course you will muffle your oars. It +would be a great thing if we could get alongside. In the first place, +the nearer she gets in the less likely that she would be to be seen, +and in the next place it would be very important, if we are hotly +pursued, to be able to get on board without having to use boats." + +"Certainly," Turnbull agreed. + +"When we have got her in her place," Nat went on, "we will take a light +anchor out fifty fathom or so, and put the hawser round the windlass, so +that the instant we are on board, four men, told off beforehand, can run +forward and set to work. Once we are three yards out we should be safe +from boarding, however strong their force may be. We will have the guns +on that side loaded with a double charge of grape before we land, and +once out we will give them a dose they will remember for a long time. +Now, we may as well tell the crew; they will be delighted at the +prospect of a fight." + +The men were clustered together forward discussing whether anything was +likely to take place, for the arrival of the boy, the fact that he had +been taken down to the cabin aft and had not reappeared, and the evident +anxiety of their officers, sufficed to show them that something unusual +was on hand. When they came aft Nat said, "My men, we are about to +undertake an enterprise that will, I am sure, be after your own heart. +The apparent boy we brought on board is a young French lady. Her +parents, sister, and seven white men are in the hands of the negroes, +who each day murder one with horrible torture. Now we are going to +rescue them." + +A cheer broke from the men. + +"The job will be a pretty tough one, men, but you won't like it any the +worse for that. There are, I hear, two or three hundred of those +murderous brutes up there. Of course, if we can get the prisoners out +without a fight we shall do so, but I hardly think we shall be able to +manage that. The matter is somewhat complicated by the fact that I hear +that a boat attack is going to be made upon us to-night. Now, we are +certainly not strong enough to carry off this party and at the same time +to leave enough men on board to defend the schooner. After it is dark, +therefore, I intend to take her across to that rock over there, moor her +as close to it as I can, and strike the topmasts. In that way we may +hope that on a moonless night, as this will be, the boats will not find +her, but will suppose that we have sailed away. However, of that we must +run the risk. I shall take every man with me. Of course, we shall batten +the hatches down, and fasten them so that if they do find her it will +give them as much trouble as possible, and we may possibly catch them at +work as we return. + +"You will, of course, take muskets and a brace of pistols each, and your +cutlasses. I have no doubt that we are being watched from the shore, +therefore go about your work as usual. Do not gather together talking, +or give them any cause to suppose that we are intending to do anything. +It is not likely that the escape of the girl has yet been discovered, +for if they were watching among the trees up there they would hardly +have noticed that the boat took an extra person from the shore. Grease +the falls of the gig, so that she can be lowered noiselessly, and muffle +the oars. As soon as it is quite dark Mr. Lippincott will take +soundings, in order to see how close into the rock it will be safe to +take her." + +With another low but hearty cheer, expressing the satisfaction they felt +at the prospect of a fight with the negroes, the crew went forward +again. One of them set to work to grease the falls not only of the gig +but of the other boats, in case these should also be required, two +others cut up some old guernseys and lashed them round the gig's oars at +the point where they would touch the thole-pins, others resumed their +occupation of polishing the brass-work, while the rest sat down under +the shelter of the bulwark and talked over the adventure on which they +were about to engage. In an hour the girl's clothes were washed and +dried. One of the crew who had served as an assistant sail-maker had at +once, under Nat's instructions, set to work to sew half a dozen flags +together, and with these he had constructed a garment which, if +primitive in design, was at least somewhat feminine in appearance. + +Round the top was a deep hem through which was run a thin cord. By the +aid of this it could be drawn together and gathered in at the neck. Six +inches from the top, two of the seams between the flags were left open, +these were for the arm-holes. This primitive pinafore was to be drawn in +at the waist by a belt. The man had chosen from among the signal flags +those whose colours went best together, and though the result was +extremely motley, it was yet a very fair substitute for a dress. The +three officers could not help laughing as he brought it aft to show +them. + +"That is very well contrived, Jenkins," Nat said. "I have no doubt the +young lady will greatly prefer it to going about dressed as a boy." + +As the clothes were by this time dry, Nat told Sam to take them below +with the new garment, to lay them down outside his state-room door, and +then to knock and tell the young lady that they were there in readiness +for her, and that as soon as she was dressed lunch would be ready. When +he had done this he was to come up on deck again. A quarter of an hour +later Nat himself went down. The clothes had disappeared, and the girl, +who was about thirteen years of age, came out. She had, with the +exception of the coat, donned her former garments, and over these had +put the flag pinafore. Her arms were covered by those of the light +flannel shirt, and the dress hung straight down all round. + +"It is a queer-looking thing," he said with a smile, "but it is the best +we can manage in the emergency. Here is a belt, if you strap that round +your waist it will make the thing look more comfortable." + +The girl smiled wanly. Now that her face and hands were clean, Nat saw +that she was a pretty little thing, and would have been prettier had not +her hair been cut quite short. + +"We are going this evening," Nat went on, "to try to rescue your parents +and sister from those black fiends." + +She clasped her hands before her. + +"Oh, sir, that is good of you!" + +"Not at all. You don't suppose that we are going to remain here quietly, +knowing that close by there are white people in the hands of those +scoundrels. We shall want you to act as our guide. We are going to take +a saw with us and cut away the wood round that hole you escaped by, and +hope to get your friends out without the negroes seeing us. If they do, +so much the worse for them. Now, will you sit down while the steward +lays the cloth for lunch?--it will be ready in two or three minutes; +then I will bring the other two officers down to introduce them to you." +He raised his voice: "Sam! luncheon as soon as possible." + +The young negro was expecting the order, and ran in at once with a +table-cloth and a plate-basket, and in two or three minutes the table +was laid; then he went out and returned with the plates. + +"Eberyting ready, sah; me bring down de soup when you gib de word." + +"Give my compliments to Mr. Turnbull and Mr. Lippincott, and ask them to +come down to lunch." + +The girl looked anxious and shy as she heard the footsteps coming down +the companion, but an expression of relief came over her face as she saw +that they were even younger than the officer she had already seen. + +"These are my officers, mademoiselle--Mr. Turnbull and Mr. Lippincott. +Their French is not of the best, but you must make allowance for them." + +The girl smiled and held out her hand to the two middies. The news that +her parents and sister might yet be rescued had already greatly raised +her spirits. + +"I do look funny, do I not?" she said. + +"I am sure you look very nice," Turnbull replied. "It is quite a novelty +for us to have a lady on board." + +"And are you both going to help bring my friends down?" + +"Yes, we are all going. We will get them down, and I hope we shall have +a chance of punishing some of the murderous niggers." + +"You mean you hope that there will be a fight?" she asked in a tone of +surprise, as she took her seat on Nat's right hand. + +"That I do," Turnbull said heartily. "There is not a man on board who +would not be sorry if we were to get down again without an opportunity +of having a slap at the beggars." + +"Mr. Turnbull is a very bloodthirsty character," Nat said gravely. "I +don't know whether you have in French a history of Jack the Giant +Killer?" + +"I never saw such a book," she said, looking a little puzzled. "Did he +really kill giants?" + +"Yes, Jack did; he was wonderful that way. Mr. Turnbull has never been +able to find any giants, but he means to take it out of the blacks." + +"I am sorry to say, mademoiselle," Turnbull said, "that although when on +the quarter-deck our captain's word may be received as gospel, he +permits himself a very wide latitude of speech in his own cabin. The +fact is, that whatever my disposition may be, I have never yet had any +opportunity for performing any very desperate actions, whereas +Lieutenant Glover has been killing his enemies by scores, fighting with +wild beasts, attacking pirates in their holds, has been blown up into +the air, and rescued ladies from slaughter by the negroes." + +The French girl turned her eyes wonderingly towards Nat. + +"You need not believe more than you like, mademoiselle," he said with a +laugh. "I am afraid that we are all given to exaggerate very much, but +Mr. Turnbull is the champion fabricator." + +"But is it quite true that you are going to try to get my father and +mother and sister away from the negroes?" + +"That is quite true," Nat said earnestly. "We are certainly going to try +to get them, and I think that we have a good chance of doing so. Much +will depend, of course, upon whether we can reach the hut where they are +confined before being discovered. You see, we have only twenty-five men, +or, counting us all, including the quarter-master, steward, and cook, +thirty-one. It is a small force, and though we might bring all the +prisoners off in safety if we once got them into our hands, it would be +a serious thing if the negroes had time to rally round the hut before we +got there. How does it stand, is it surrounded by trees?" + +"No, it is at the edge of the forest. There is a large indigo field in +front, and it is there most of the negroes are. There may be some in the +forest, but I did not see any as I came down here." + +"That is good. How many do you say there are?" + +"Seven men, without counting my father." + +"We will tell eight of the sailors to carry up boarding-pikes, Turnbull. +Unfortunately we have no spare firearms. However, boarding-pikes are not +bad weapons, and as no doubt only a small portion of the negroes have +guns, it will add a good deal to our strength if it comes to a +hand-to-hand fight." + +"That it will," Turnbull agreed. "That will bring us up to thirty-nine, +and thirty-nine whites ought to be able to fight their way easily +enough through this black mob, especially as we shall take them by +surprise, and they won't know how many of us there are." + +As soon as it became dark, Lippincott went off in the gig, and returned +in half an hour with the news that there were six feet of water at the +foot of the rock, and twelve feet ten yards away. + +"I think, sir," he said, "that we could get her in within three or four +yards of the rock." + +"That would do excellently," Nat said. "The carpenter had better set to +work at once and nail three planks--we have got some down below fifteen +feet long--side by side. Let two of the hands help him. Tell him, if he +does not think that it will be stiff enough, to nail one of the spare +oars on each plank." + +He had learned from the girl that many of the negroes sat up by their +fires nearly all night, and that therefore there was no advantage in +delaying the landing, and he was anxious to move the schooner as soon as +possible, as the boats might appear at any time. Everything was in +readiness--the arms had been brought on deck, the muskets and pistols +loaded, and as soon as the gangway was knocked together, which did not +take many minutes, Lippincott went off in the gig with a long hawser. As +soon as he returned and reported that he had fastened it to a tree above +the rock, the crew tailed on, and the schooner was noiselessly towed to +her place. Another hawser was taken on shore, and she was hauled +broadside on until she lay, with only a few inches of water under her +keel, within ten feet of the line of rock. + +The hatchways had all been securely fastened down, and an old chain was +taken round the trunk of a large tree, and its ends shackled round the +mainmast. This could be loosed almost instantaneously by the crew when +they returned, but would much increase the difficulty that the negroes +would encounter in getting the vessel away if they discovered her. The +edge of the rock was but some three feet higher than the rail, and there +was therefore no difficulty in ascending the gangway. When all had +crossed, this was pulled up and pushed in among the bushes. They +followed the shore till they reached the spot at which the girl had come +down, as she would more easily find her way from there than from the +place where they had landed. Telling the others to follow in single +file, Nat took his place with the girl, at their head. + +"How far is it?" he said to her in low tones. + +"It is just at the top of the hill. We shall be there in less than a +quarter of an hour." The sailors had been warned to walk with the +greatest caution, and especially to avoid striking any of their weapons +against the trees. + +They went slowly, for it was very dark in the forest. Beyond the fact +that she had come straight down the hill when she escaped, she could +give no information about the way. + +"I did not look," she said; "I ran straight down. But I am sure that if +we go as straight as we can up from the water, we shall come upon the +plantation, and then I shall be able to tell you exactly where the hut +is." + +Keeping therefore upward, they went on until they reached level ground, +and saw by the faint light ahead that they were nearing the edge of the +forest. They stepped even more cautiously then until they arrived at the +open ground. A dozen great fires blazed in various places in front of +them, and they could hear the laughing and talking of the negroes. + +"It is more to the right," the girl said. "It is nearly in the corner of +the field where you see that fire; that is close to the hut. They always +keep a big fire there, and the leaders sleep round it. There are always +two negroes on guard in front of the hut." + +"I expect they have got one behind now. Of course they have found out by +this time that you have escaped, and they must have known that it could +only have been by that window." + +Keeping well inside the line of trees, they crept along to the corner of +the clearing. The two negroes had been instructed in the part they were +to play, and as soon as they got well round behind the house the others +halted, and knife in hand they crept through the trees, and then upon +their hands and knees crawled forward. The others listened intently. The +gabble of voices continued on the other side of the hut, and when a +louder yell of laughter than usual broke out they saw a figure appear at +one corner and look round, as if anxious to hear what was going on. +Suddenly two arms appeared from the darkness behind him. He was grasped +by the throat and disappeared suddenly from sight. Two minutes later Sam +came through the trees. + +"Dat chile no gib de alarm, sah. Can go on now and cut him window." + +The carpenter and the man told off to assist him at once ran forward, +accompanied by the girl and Nat, who went straight to the little window. +He had told her that she must not speak, for her mother or sister might +utter a sudden exclamation which would alarm the sentries on the other +side. Putting his face to the window, he said in a low voice, "I pray +you be silent, the slightest sound might cost you your lives. We are +here to rescue you; your daughter is safe and sound with us. Now we are +going to enlarge the window." Low exclamations of delight told him that +he was heard. + +The carpenter at once set to work, the man with him oiling his saw very +frequently; nevertheless it seemed to Nat to make even more noise than +usual. Suddenly, however, one of the prisoners began to utter a prayer +in a loud voice. + +"That is papa," the girl whispered; "he used to say prayers every +night." + +"It was a very good idea to begin now," Nat said. "What with the row by +the fires, and his voice inside, the guard are not likely to hear the +saw." + +In ten minutes the window had been enlarged to a point sufficient for a +full-sized person to get through. + +"Now, madam, will you come first," Nat said. "We will pull you through +all right." + +One by one the captives were got out. There were still two men left when +the door opened, and three or four negroes appeared with blazing brands. + +"We have come to fetch one of you out to give us a lillie fun. Bake 'im +some ober de fire." + +Then he broke off with a shout of astonishment as he saw that the hut +was almost untenanted, and he and the others were about to rush forward +at the two men still there when Nat thrust his arm through the opening. +Two shots cracked out, one after the other. The two leading negroes +fell, and the others with a yell of terror rushed out of the hut. + +"Quick, for your lives!" he said to the two men, one of whom was already +half through the window. "We shall have them all on us in a few +minutes." + +In a few seconds the men were out, and Nat and the two seamen ran with +them to the edge of the wood, to which the other captives had been +passed on as soon as they were freed. By this time the air was ringing +with yells and shouts. + +"Now, men, move along a little farther so as to get a view of the fire, +and then we will give them a volley." + +The negroes were rushing forward, yelling and shouting, when twenty-five +muskets rang out with deadly aim, for the blacks were not more than +thirty yards away. + +"Load again, lads! that will sicken them for a bit," he shouted; and +indeed the negroes with yells of astonishment and fear had run back, +leaving some fourteen or fifteen of their number on the ground. + +"Are you all loaded?" + +"Ay, ay, sir." + +"Then down the hill you go. Have the three ladies gone on?" + +"Yes, sir; the two blacks went down with them." + +"Have the Frenchmen got their pikes? That is good; now keep as close as +you can together. They are coming up by scores, and will make a rush in +a minute or so." + +As fast as they could the sailors and the rescued men made their way +down the hill, but owing to the thickness of the trees it was impossible +to run. They had gone but a short distance when there was an outburst of +yells round them, and, looking back, Nat saw a number of blazing brands. + +"You had better have kept in the dark," he muttered. "You would not have +come so fast, but more of you would go back alive. Don't hurry, men," he +said; "take it coolly. Take care of the trees. They are sure to come up +to us, for they can see their way; but they won't be in such a hurry +when we open fire again." + +They were half-way down the hill when he gave the order: "You four men +next to me turn round and pick off some of those fellows with torches. +The rest halt in case they make a rush." + +The four shots were fired one after the other. As many negroes fell. + +"Are you ready, lads? Four more fire!" + +The shots had an equal success. Many of the negroes at once took refuge +behind trees. + +"That will do, men; on you go again! Don't make more noise than you can +help. With all that yelling they won't be sure that we have moved." + +[Illustration: "FOUR SHOTS WERE FIRED AND AS MANY NEGROES FELL."] + +It was not, indeed, until they were down on the shore that the negroes +again came up with them. Then they burst out at several points from the +trees, being uncertain of the exact course the retreating party had +taken. + +"Now, keep together in a body, men!" Nat shouted in English, and +repeated the same order in French. "March steadily forward. We have got +to fight our way through them." + +Now that the negroes saw how comparatively small was the number of their +foes, they rushed upon them. + +"Don't throw away a shot!" Nat shouted. "Now, let them have it!" + +The men who had already fired had loaded again, and as the negroes came +up, a crackling fire broke out from the little party. + +"Now, lads, at them with pistol, cutlass, and pike! We must get through +these fellows ahead before others come up." + +With a loud cheer the sailors rushed upon the blacks, cutting and +thrusting, the men who had been released fighting with desperate fury +with their pikes, mad with the thirst for revenge for the horrible +atrocities that they witnessed and the thought of the fate they had +escaped. Pistols cracked out continually, and it was not long before the +negroes lost heart; and the sailors, at Nat's order, flung themselves +upon them and cut a way through. + +"Straight on now, men! Show them that you can run as well as fight. We +shall have a hundred more of them down on us directly." + +There was no doubt of this; the yells that rose from the forest and the +light of many brands showed that the whole of the negroes were hastening +to join their comrades. Nat had previously begged the two officers and +the quarter-master not to use their pistols, and he, with them, ran in +the rear line. A few only of the negroes pressed closely behind them; +the rest, dismayed by the slaughter that had taken place, awaited the +arrival of their comrades. + +"Now, turn and let them have both barrels!" Nat said; and the four men, +facing round, levelled their pistols, and six of the leading negroes +fell, while the others halted at once. "Keep your other pistols," Nat +said; "we shall want them at the gangway." + +There was a shout of satisfaction as the men in advance caught sight of +the schooner. The two negroes had already placed the gangway in +position, and had crossed it with the three ladies and Monsieur Pickard, +who had accompanied them. + +"Over you go, men!" Nat shouted; "they are close behind us." + +Most of the men were across when a crowd of blacks came rushing along. +Sam and Pomp had taken their station at the taffrail, and as the head of +the mob came on their muskets flashed out, and the two leading men fell. +Then they opened fire with their pistols, and at the same moment Nat and +his three companions discharged their remaining pistols and then ran +down the gangway, the sailors having by this time all passed over. The +planks were at once pulled on board. + +"Now, unshackle the chain and round with the capstan!" Nat shouted. "The +rest of you lie down behind the bulwarks." + +A moment later the chain was unshackled, and as the capstan rapidly +revolved, the schooner's head receded from the shore. Yells of rage +broke from the negroes, and a scattered fire of musketry was opened. + +"Now, Turnbull, do you and Lippincott each go to a gun, and when we are +far enough off for them to bear on those rascals let them have it." + +A minute later the bow-gun was fired. It was too near for the shot to +spread properly, but it cut a lane through the crowd, and half a minute +later the second gun crashed out. By this time the sailors had all +loaded their muskets again. + +"Now for a volley!" Nat shouted; "that will finish them; or I am +mistaken." + +It was indeed decisive, and with yells of rage and pain the negroes +darted into the forest behind them. As fast as the guns could be loaded, +round after round of grape was fired among the trees. By this time the +schooner was close to the kedge; this was hauled up and sail set, but +the breeze was so light that the vessel scarcely moved through the +water. The guns were again loaded with grape, and a keen watch was kept, +as it was possible that the boats might not yet have arrived, having +delayed putting off until it was thought that all on board would be +asleep. In the meantime the wounds were examined. None of these was +serious. Only a small proportion of the negroes were armed with muskets, +and these being among the crowd had for the most part been unable to +fire; consequently only one man had been hit in the arm by a ball, while +six or eight had received gashes more or less deep from the knives and +other weapons of the negroes. + +"Even if the boats have not been here," Nat said to Lippincott, "I don't +think we shall have any trouble with them; they will have heard our +guns, and, I dare say, the musketry firing, and will know that, now we +are awake and on our guard, we should probably sink them before they +reached us." + +Half an hour passed, and then, as they got beyond the shelter of the +island, they caught a little breeze, and the schooner began to slip +through the water. + +Nat called the men from the guns. "I don't think that we shall have any +more fighting to-night," he said. "You have all done very well. We have +certainly killed three times our own number, and we have successfully +carried out the main object of our adventure. I have ordered the steward +to serve out a good ration of rum all round, but I should advise you +who have got wounds to keep your share for a few days." + +"It won't hurt us, sir," one old sailor said, and three or four other +voices were raised in assent. + +"I did not suppose that my advice would be taken," Nat said with a laugh +to Turnbull, "still, it was as well to give it; and I don't suppose that +an extra allowance of grog will go far towards heating their blood." + +"Not it," the middy replied; "rum is cheap out here, and I don't suppose +that half a bottle would be considered by them as an excessive drink. +How are you going to stow our passengers away? Of course we will give up +our cabins to the ladies." + +"I think the best plan will be for us to turn out altogether, Turnbull; +there will be our three state-rooms for the ladies, and the father can +sleep on the sofa of the main cabin. We will have a screen put up +forward of the steward's cabin, and have cots slung for ourselves there. +Of course we will take our meals with them aft. I don't think there are +any spare hammocks, and the eight white men must make a shift to sleep +on some old sails--it won't be for many days. Well, Sam, what is it?" + +"Supper am ready, sah." + +Leaving the quarter-master to take charge of the watch, they went below. +They had not expected to see the ladies up, but they were all there. + +"Monsieur Pickard, I must introduce myself and my officers." + +"It needs no introductions, sir," the Frenchman, a tall, thin man some +fifty years of age, said in a broken voice; "my daughter Louise has told +me your names, and how good you have been to her. Ah, monsieur, no words +can express our obligations to you all! It was not death we feared, but +such a death. Even now we can scarce believe that this is all true, and +that we have escaped from those fiends. In the name of my wife and my +daughters and myself, I thank you with all my heart for what you have +done for us. Little, indeed, did we think, when we helped Louise through +that narrow window in order that she might warn you that you were going +to be attacked, and with the hope that she might escape from the awful +fate that awaited us there, that it would be the means of saving us all. +We heard the negroes saying that the schooner was flying the British +flag, but we had no idea that she was a vessel of war, thinking it was a +small trader they were about to attack. But even had we known it, it +would not have raised any hopes in our minds, for we should not have +thought that, with so small a force as such a vessel could carry, her +commander would think of attacking so great a number of men as, Louise +would have told you, had us in their power." + +"We are only too glad to have an opportunity of being of service to you +and your family, Monsieur Pickard. Indeed, had there been only these two +officers and myself on board, I am sure that we should have made an +attempt to release you; and should, I have no doubt, have succeeded in +doing so without being discovered, as would have been the case to-night, +had not they taken it into their heads to come into the hut just at that +moment. And now, monsieur, for the sleeping arrangements. My cabin is at +the service of madame, those of Mr. Turnbull and Mr. Lippincott, of the +young ladies. We shall have cots slung for ourselves elsewhere; that +sofa must serve for you, Monsieur Pickard. To-morrow, madame, we will +place at your disposal whatever there is on board the ship for +fabricating dresses for your daughters that will be less striking than +that now worn by Mademoiselle Louise. We have a roll of white duck, from +which, I have no doubt, they will be able to contrive a couple of white +dresses." For the eldest girl, as well as Louise, was in boy's clothes, +as the Pickards had fortunately had warning before the outbreak took +place on their plantation, one of the men with them having overheard +what was said at a meeting of the negroes, and in consequence they, the +overseers, two white superintendents of the indigo works, a carpenter +and mechanic, had during the night taken to the woods, Madame Pickard +dressing her daughters in some clothes that they had in store, and which +were cut down to fit them. + +"And now, ladies," Nat went on, "I know that you will above all things +be longing for bed, but I hope that you will each take a basin of soup +and a glass of wine before you turn in, you must need them sorely. The +steward will get your cabins ready for you. I am sure that Mademoiselle +Louise will set you a good example; she recovered her appetite as soon +as she learned that we intended to get you out." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +TWO CAPTURES + + +The meal was a very short one, but the ladies, to please their rescuers, +took a few spoonfuls of soup and a glass of wine. Madame Pickard and her +elder daughter were too much worn out by anxiety and emotion to talk, +Monsieur Pickard was no less moved, and the conversation was supported +entirely by the three officers and Louise. The young men hurried through +their meal, and then, saying good-night to the others, went up on deck. + +"Well, never did a thing turn out better," Nat said as he lit his pipe; +"it is a tremendous satisfaction that we have not lost a single man in +the affair." + +"And it is no less a satisfaction," Turnbull said, "that we have given a +good many of those black brutes their deserts. It was a good fight for a +bit." + +As they were smoking, the seven white men came up in a body. + +"We could not lie down, monsieur," one of them said, "till we had come +to thank you for saving us from the most frightful deaths. We had given +up all hopes even of obtaining a weapon and putting an end to ourselves, +which we should certainly have done could we have got hold of a knife, +after having been obliged to witness the tortures of two of our +comrades. Had you been but ten minutes later another of us would have +been their victim. Ah, monsieur! your voice, when you spoke at the +window, seemed like that of an angel who had come to our relief." + +"How long had you been in the woods?" Nat asked. + +"Six weeks, monsieur, before the negroes found us. We had carried off +some provisions with us, but these were all consumed, and we were +obliged to go down to the plantation to search for food. We suppose that +we were seen and followed, and the next night we were surrounded by the +band you saw." + +"Well, we are all very glad to have got you out of their hands, and you +rendered good service when the blacks came down on us." + +"We had our revenge to take," the man said, "and not one of us but would +have fought until he was killed." + +"You have had something to eat, I hope?" + +"Yes, thank you, sir." + +"You had better turn in now. I don't suppose you have had much sleep of +late." + +"Poor beggars," Turnbull said as the men walked away, "I wonder myself +that they did not strangle each other, or hang themselves, or something. +I am sure I should have done so rather than wait day after day till my +turn came to be burnt alive, or to be cut to pieces gradually, or put to +death by any other means of slow torture." + +"Yes, Turnbull, if one were quite sure that there was no possible hope +of rescue or escape; but I suppose a man never does quite give up hope. +This was an example, you see, of the unlikely happening." + +"What are you going to do next, Glover?" + +"I don't know, I have hardly thought it out yet. You see, we can manage +with this lot we have on board without much difficulty, and I don't know +that I should be justified in going round to Cape Francois on purpose to +land them. So far we have not been able to bring any news of value, and +at any rate I think we might as well cruise about here a little longer. +There is one thing, if we should fall in with anyone bigger than +ourselves and have to fight for it, those fellows who have just gone +below will be a valuable addition to our strength. When it comes to a +hand-to-hand fight seven stout fellows might turn the scale." + +"Yes, there is something in that, and I am glad you mean to keep them on +board for a bit. I think the girls will be very good fun when they have +a little got over what they have gone through. The young one is a jolly +little thing, and her sister is very pretty, in spite of her short hair +and boy's dress, though one had not much opportunity of forming an idea +as to whether she had any fun in her." + +"I fancy it will be some time before she will feel inclined for a +flirtation, Turnbull," Nat laughed. "What she has gone through, and what +she has seen in the way of horrors, is enough to damp a girl's spirits +for a very long time." + +In the morning the ladies did not appear at breakfast. + +"My wife is completely prostrated," Monsieur Pickard said, "and the two +girls are shy and do not like showing themselves until they have made +up a couple of dresses. Your steward gave them the roll of white cotton +early this morning and needles and thread, and both are very hard at +work. I hope you will excuse them, they will come out and have breakfast +here after we have done. May I ask where we are sailing now?" + +"We are sailing east, monsieur. I hope that it will not inconvenience +you to be a few days on board. My orders are to cruise up and down the +coast, and I wish therefore to go east as far as the boundary between +the French and Spanish portions of the island; after that I can go round +into the bay of Hayti and land you at Port-au-Prince or Cape Francois, +whichever you would prefer." + +"It will make no difference whatever to us, and indeed I am sure that a +cruise on your beautiful little ship will be the very best thing for my +wife and daughters. They will have perfect rest and sea air, and it will +not be necessary for them to tell over and over again the stories of +their sufferings; but I lament that we should be putting you to such +personal inconvenience." + +"I can assure you, monsieur, that you are putting us to no inconvenience +whatever. We sleep just as well in our cots as in our berths, and the +society of the ladies and yourself will be a very great pleasure to us, +for as a rule we have very small opportunity in that way." + +"You speak our language very fluently, Monsieur Glover." + +"I am afraid that I speak it more fluently than grammatically. I had the +opportunity of picking it up by ear last year, when I was staying for +six weeks at the house of Monsieur Duchesne at Cape Francois." + +"We know him well, and his charming wife and daughter," Monsieur Pickard +said, "for we have a house there, and generally go there for three +months every winter. Can it be that you are the officer who saved their +daughter's life, when she was attacked by a fierce hound?" + +"Yes, I had that good fortune." + +"I fear that they have fallen in this terrible insurrection. We have had +no direct news from Cape Francois, but we heard that in their district +all the plantations have been destroyed and the owners murdered." + +"I am happy to be able to tell you that they were saved. I was staying +there at the time when the revolt broke out We were warned just in time +by an old nurse, Dinah." + +"I remember her," Monsieur Pickard broke in, "a tall old woman." + +"Yes, Monsieur Duchesne himself was in town, and madame, Myra, and I had +just time to gain the forest. There we were joined by Dinah, who did +everything for us. Madame was attacked by fever, but fortunately Dinah +knew of a very safe place of refuge. She did everything for us, fetched +up provisions, concocted medicine, and after being ten days in hiding, +we were able to get them down to the town." + +Both the midshipmen had a fair knowledge of French, though they were not +able to speak it with Nat's ease and fluency. When the latter had +finished, Turnbull broke in: + +"Mr. Glover does not tell you, monsieur, that the cave they were in was +attacked by six negroes, led by two mulattoes, and he shot them all, nor +that he and the nurse carried Madame Duchesne down in a litter some +twenty miles to the town, although he had one of his ribs broken by a +pistol shot." + +"What is the use of talking about that?" Nat said angrily. "The thing +was done and there was an end of it. There has been a lot too much said +about it as it is." + +Monsieur Pickard smiled. "Monsieur Glover is like my daughters at +present, he is shy. He should not be so. It is right that we, his +friends,--for we are his friends, now and for the rest of our +lives,--should know what he is. Ah, my wife and the girls will be +pleased indeed to hear that their friends have escaped! They have often +said how sorry they were that they had not seen the young officer who +rescued their friend Myra from the dog. It is strange indeed that he +should afterwards have saved her and her mother from the negroes, and +should now have so rescued us." + +That evening the girls appeared on deck in snowy-white dresses, simply +made, but fitting admirably. "We have always been accustomed to cut out +our own dresses," Valerie said, laughing, when Nat complimented her on +the work. "The slaves did the sewing, but we fitted each other. Of +course at Cape Francois we had our dresses made for us, but on the +plantation we were obliged to trust to ourselves." + +One morning, three days later, as they were at breakfast, Nat stopped as +he was raising a cup to his lips. "That is a gun!" he exclaimed. "There +is another!" and with the two middies he ran up on deck. "There is a +fight going on somewhere," he said as the sound of firing was again +heard. "It must be six or seven miles away, somewhere beyond that +headland. At any rate we will hold on and have a look at them. With this +light wind it will take us from an hour and a half to two hours before +we are up with them, so we may as well finish our breakfast in comfort." + +"What is it, Monsieur Glover! Are those noises really the sound of +guns?" + +"There is no doubt about it. There is a fight going on seven or eight +miles away. We should hear the sound more plainly were it not that there +is a headland between us and the vessels engaged." + +"Who can they be?" Madame Pickard said. + +"A pirate and a merchantman, no doubt. None of the European nations are +at war, but the seas swarm with piratical craft of one kind or another. +The small ones content themselves with plundering native coasting +vessels, the larger ones attack ships from or to Europe. The _Orpheus_, +to which I belonged at that time, last year rooted out one of their +worst nests. They had no fewer than four ships. We were lucky enough to +catch one of them, and learned where the rendezvous was, and fortunately +found the other three at home, and destroyed them and their +storehouses." + +"Are you going on in that direction now?" Valerie asked. + +"Yes, we are going to have a look at them. If the trader is making a +good fight of it, our arrival may turn the scale; if we arrive too late +and find the enemy too big for us, we can run away; in a light wind like +this there are very few vessels that could catch us. It is probable that +we should not interfere were it not for the possibility that we may be +in time to save some of the passengers and crew of the merchantman. She +must be a vessel of some size, judging from the sound of her guns. Even +if she has surrendered before we get there, and we find that we are in +any way a match for the pirate, we might, after defeating her, save at +least some of the captives. As a rule, these scoundrels, when all +opposition has ceased, confine the prisoners in the hold, and after +emptying the prize of everything valuable, scuttle her, and of course +drown all on board. In that way all traces of their crime are lost, +whereas if they killed them some of the bodies might float inshore, or +if they burnt the ship the smoke might bring down any cruiser that +happened to be in the neighborhood. + +"I am sorry that you are on board, ladies." + +"Oh, do not think of us!" Madame Pickard exclaimed. "After the wonderful +deliverance that we have had, I am sure that none of us would mind any +risk if there is a chance of saving others in as dire peril as we +were." + +The two girls and Monsieur Pickard warmly agreed. "Please put us +altogether out of consideration," the latter said. "Even if we knew that +it was probable we should all lose our lives we should not hesitate. We +are not, I hope, any of us, afraid of death. It was the kind of death +that we were terrified at." + +"I thank you all," Nat said gravely. "I shall not fight unless I think +that there is at any rate a fair chance of victory." + +On going on deck when breakfast was finished, Nat ordered the magazine +to be opened and ammunition brought up. The wind had freshened a little, +and the schooner was going faster through the water; and in three +quarters of an hour after hearing the first gun they neared the +promontory. + +"I am afraid it is all over," Nat said to the ladies, who had also come +on deck; "there has not been a gun fired for the past two or three +minutes. However, we shall soon see." + +On rounding the point they saw two vessels lying side by side, a mile +and a half distant, and about a mile from shore. One was a barque, +evidently a large merchantman; the other a brigantine. There was no +question that the latter was a pirate, and the other her prize. The +sailors, after a glance at them, turned their eyes anxiously towards Nat +for orders. The latter stood quietly examining the ships through his +glass. + +"She mounts five guns a side, and I should say that they are about the +same weight as our own," he said to Turnbull; "and from the men swarming +on her deck and that of her prize she must have nearly, if not quite, +three times our strength, even counting the Frenchmen in." + +"She is too big to fight squarely, sir," Turnbull reluctantly agreed. "I +am afraid she is altogether too tough a customer for us; and yet one +hates the thought of leaving them to complete their devil's work on +their prize." + +"Yes, we can't think of doing that, Mr. Turnbull. The first thing to do +will be to draw them off from her." + +"But they would be sure to leave some of their men in possession of +her." + +"Well, if they do, there will be so many the fewer for us to fight. We +are within a mile now, I should say?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Then train the two forward guns on them, and let them see that we mean +fighting." + +A cheer broke from the sailors clustered round the guns as Turnbull gave +the order. + +"Now, ladies," Nat said, "you can stop to see the effect of our first +shot, and then I must ask you to go down on to the lower deck. Sam will +show you the way and take some cushions down for you; you will be out of +danger there." + +As he spoke, the two guns which were already loaded were fired, and the +men gave a cheer as two white patches appeared on the side of the +brigantine. + +"Please hurry down, ladies," Nat said, checking the entreaty which he +saw they were going to make. "It won't be long before they answer us." + +"Give them another round, lads!" he said, as they reluctantly obeyed his +orders. "Get them in if you can before he is ready." + +Busy as they were, the pirates had not observed the schooner until her +guns were fired. With shouts of alarm they ran back to their own ship, +but these were succeeded by exclamations of anger and surprise when they +saw how small was the craft that had thus intruded into the affair. By +the captain's orders twenty of the crew, under his first mate, returned +to the deck of the prize; a portion of the men ran to the guns, others +threw off the grapnels fastening them to the prize. Before they were +ready to fire, two more shots from the schooner crashed into the +brigantine, one passing through the bulwarks, killing three men and +wounding several others with the splinters. The other struck her within +a few inches of the water-line. + +The schooner at once bore up, discharging the guns on the starboard side +as she came round, and laying her course as close to the wind as she +could be jammed, showed her stern to the pirate. Two of his guns forward +were fired, others could not be brought to bear. The Arrow was now +almost retracing her course, for the wind was west-nor'-west, and she +could just follow the line of coast. + +"Here they come after us!" Turnbull said, rubbing his hands, "as savage +as bees whose hive has been disturbed." + +"Now, Mr. Turnbull, get the two guns right aft, so as to fire over the +taffrail. We must see if we cannot knock some of her spars away. As soon +as you have moved the guns let all hands, except those serving them, go +forward and lie down there. The weight of the guns will put her rather +by the stern, and I don't want to let that fellow come any nearer to us. +She is in her best trim now." + +As soon as the guns were ready they opened fire. The brigantine answered +with her bow-chaser, but, as she was obliged to yaw each time she +brought it to bear, she presently ceased firing. + +"We are gaining on her, sir," Lippincott said, as he watched the pirate +through his glass. + +"Yes, and sailing fully a point nearer to the wind than she does. Get a +stay-sail fastened to a rope, and drop it over close to the bow. I don't +want to run away from her. If she found that we were too fast for her +she would give up the chase, and go back to the prize. I want her to +gain just enough to encourage her to keep on. She is a fast craft, but +we are faster. We shall be able to manage her, providing she does not +knock away any of our spars." + +The start the schooner had made had at first widened the distance +between them, and there was now a mile and a quarter of water separating +them. The brigantine was hulled several times and her sails pierced, but +her spars were still intact. She was permitted to gain until she was +little more than half a mile astern, but the schooner had weathered on +her, and was now nearly half a mile to windward. + +"If we had an open sea on this side instead of the land," Turnbull said, +"and were to cut away that sail, they would not see us again." + +"No; they must have come to the same conclusion. As it is, they no doubt +think that our clawing out to windward is of no advantage to us. Now, +get another gun over to the larboard side. It is lucky that there is a +spare port there. We must make an effort to knock one of his spars out, +or he may cripple us." For by this time the brigantine had again opened +fire. "Let the three best shots we have got lay the guns on her +mainmast. Tell them to train them rather high, so that if they miss the +mark they may cut one of the halyards, which will give us all the start +we want." + +The guns were run into their position on the broadside. "Don't hurry +over it," Nat said; "let each fire as his gun comes to bear." There was +a crash and a cry as he spoke; a ball had gone through the Arrow from +side to side, tearing jagged holes through her bulwarks, one of the +sailors being struck to the deck by a splinter. No one spoke, every eye +being fixed on the guns. These were fired almost together. There was a +pause for a second or two, and then a burst of cheering as the gaff of +the great mainsail of the brigantine was seen to collapse. + +"It is hit close to the jaws," Turnbull, whose glass was levelled on the +pirates, exclaimed. + +"Cut away that sail in the water!" Nat shouted. "Up with your helm, +men, and bring her round. That is right," he went on as the schooner +came up into the wind and payed off on the other tack. "Now, slack away +her sheets!" + +Three guns were vengefully fired by the pirate, but the sudden change in +the schooner's position disconcerted their aim, and the shot flew wide. +Without waiting for orders, the seamen at two of the guns ran them over +to the starboard side, and, all working at the highest pressure, poured +shot after shot into the brigantine, which answered but slowly, as +numbers of the men had run aloft to get the sail down to repair damages. +Before she was under way again the schooner had left her a mile behind. +She was now on her best point of sailing, while the brigantine was to +some extent crippled by the mainsail setting badly, and by the time the +headland was again passed the schooner was fully two miles ahead. Her +crew had for some time been puzzled at the action being so abruptly +concluded, and Turnbull had even ventured to say: + +"I should think, sir, we should have a fair chance with her now." + +"Not a very good chance. We have been lucky, but with ten guns to our +four, and her strong crew of desperate men, she would be a very awkward +customer. We can think of her later on. My plan is to retake the prize +before she can come up. It is not likely that they have killed the crew +yet, and I expect the captain told those left behind to leave things as +they were until he returned. We may scarcely be a match for the +brigantine, but the prize and we together should be able to give a good +account of ourselves." + +"Splendid, sir!" Turnbull exclaimed joyously; "that is a grand idea." + +"Have the guns loaded with grape," Nat said quietly, "and run two of +them over to the other side. We will go outside the prize, bring our +craft up into the wind, and shoot her up inside her, and give them one +broadside and then board. Tell the men to have their pistols and +cutlasses ready, and distribute the boarding-pikes among the Frenchmen." + +As soon as they rounded the point they could see by their glasses that +there was a sudden commotion on the deck of the merchantman. + +"They did not expect to see us back first," Lippincott laughed. + +"Even now, I should think, they are expecting to see the brigantine +close behind us in chase, and don't suspect what we are up to. Don't +head straight for her," he said to the helmsman, "take us a couple of +lengths outside her." + +The pirates, indeed, were completely deceived, but when at last they saw +that the brigantine did not appear, they ran over to the guns. It was, +however, too late. Two or three of these were discharged as the schooner +passed, but beyond making holes in her sails no damage was done, and one +of the schooner's guns poured in a volley of grape. When she was two or +three lengths ahead her helm was put hard down. She flew round and just +caught the wind on the other tack, gliding up alongside the merchantman, +the three guns being discharged in succession as the two vessels +touched. + +The grapnels were thrown, and the sailors and Frenchmen leapt on to her +deck headed by the three officers. Nearly half the pirates had been +killed or wounded by the four discharges of grape. The remainder made +but a poor fight of it, and were cut down to a man. + +"Off with the hatches, men!" Nat shouted. "Run down and release the +crew." + +He himself ran aft into the saloon. Here six gentlemen and eight or ten +ladies were lying bound hand and foot. Several of the men were wounded. +Nat at once cut the cords. + +[Illustration: "THE CAPTAIN OF THE PIRATES SHOOK HIS FIST IN DEFIANCE."] + + +"You are safe," he said. "The ship has been retaken by his majesty's +schooner _Arrow_, but we have not done with the brigantine yet, and any +of you who have weapons and can use them may lend a hand." + +Without waiting to listen to the chorus of cries of gratitude, he ran +out again. A minute later a number of seamen poured up on deck. Many of +them were wounded. + +"How many are there of you?" he asked an officer among them. + +"There are thirty of us," he said; "we had lost nearly half our crew +before they boarded us. The captain was killed early in the fight, as +was the first officer." + +"Well, sir, set your men to load the guns at once. There is the +brigantine just coming round the point. Monsieur Pickard, will you +remain here with your party and help the sailors? Get your sails sheeted +home, sir!" he went on to the ship's officer. "Is your vessel a fast +one?" + +"Yes, but she is not so fast as that brigantine." + +"That is of no consequence," Nat said. "Get every sail you can on her. +Now get twenty of our men on board again, Mr. Lippincott, and on second +thoughts I will take five of the Frenchmen. Mr. Turnbull, you will +remain on board in command of this ship with the other five of our men. +My endeavour will be to knock away one of her masts. Do you keep as +close as you can to us, and we will board her together, one on each +side. If she knocks away one of our spars, I shall as far as possible +come back to meet you, and if she follows us we will fight her +together." + +"I understand, sir." + +"The moment we push off, get your head sails aback and put her on the +wind so as to get out of our way. I shall fill her off on the other tack +and then come round and join you. We will keep together until we see +whether she means to fight or run. Remember, the great thing is to +knock a spar out of her." + +So saying, he leapt on to the deck of the schooner, and Turnbull's voice +was at once heard shouting the order, "Haul aft the weather sheets of +the jibs;" and in a minute the two vessels were gliding away from each +other on opposite tacks. Then the _Arrow_ was brought round and followed +the _Thames_, which was the name of the merchantman. The brigantine was +now three quarters of a mile away. Suddenly she was seen to change her +course. As she wore round she presented her broadside to the two +vessels, and her five guns puffed out together. The reply, both from the +merchantman and the _Arrow_, followed almost simultaneously, and a cheer +rang out from both ships as the pirate's bowsprit was seen to snap off. + +"Place yourself two or three cables' length from his larboard quarter," +Nat shouted. + +Turnbull, who had leapt on to the rail to see the result of the +broadside, waved his hand. + +"Down topsails!" Nat shouted, "she will be handier without them." + +In a moment the two great sails came fluttering down. Turnbull followed +the example, and the men ran up the ratlines and furled some of the +upper sails. Deprived of her head sails, the pirate was unmanageable, +and the two vessels speedily ran up and laid themselves a couple of +hundred yards from his quarters and opened a steady fire. The pirates +endeavoured to drag two of their guns right aft, but the volleys of +grape poured into them were too much for them, and although their +captain was seen to shoot two of the men, the rest ran forward. The +helmsman deserted his now useless post. + +"Give her one more broadside," Nat shouted to Turnbull, "and then run in +and board." + +The captain of the pirates, mad with rage, leapt on to the taffrail and +shook his fist in defiance. At that moment two rifles cracked out from +the merchantman, and he fell forward into the sea. The effect of the +storm of grape from the three guns of the schooner, and the four from +the trader, among the men huddled up in the bow of the pirate was +terrible, but knowing that their lives were forfeited if they were taken +prisoners, none made a movement aft to haul down the black flag that +still floated from the peak. In two or three minutes their antagonists +were alongside; a volley of musketry was poured in, and then the crews +of both ships leapt on to the deck. The pirates, who were now reduced to +about thirty men, rushed to meet them, determining to sell their lives +dearly. But the odds were against them; they missed the voice of their +captain to encourage them, and when twenty of their number had fallen, +the remainder threw down their arms. + +"Let no man stir a foot to go below," Nat shouted, remembering the +explosion in the pirate's hold, and fearing that one of them might make +straight for the magazine. He had not used his pistols in the fight, and +now stood with one in each hand pointing threateningly to enforce the +order. + +"Mr. Lippincott, take four men below and close and securely fasten the +magazine." + +The middy ran down, and returned in two or three minutes to report that +he had executed the order. + +"Tie those fellows' feet and hands," Nat said, "and carry them down into +the hold." + +When this was done he was able to look round. The deck was a perfect +shambles. The brigantine, as he afterwards heard, carried originally +eighty hands. Ten of these had been either killed or seriously wounded +in the fight with the _Thames_, and twenty had been killed on board that +barque when she was retaken. Forty lay dead or dying on the deck. One of +the Frenchmen had fallen, six of the sailors and three Frenchmen had +been severely wounded, Turnbull somewhat seriously wounded, and +Lippincott slightly. Monsieur Pickard, and the male passengers on board +the _Thames_, had all joined the boarders. + +Two of them had previously done good service with their rifles. Had not +the pirate leader been killed, the fight would have been even more +desperate. One of the passengers was, fortunately, a surgeon. He at once +set to work attending to the sailors' wounds, and after he had bandaged +them he examined those of the pirates. These had for the most part been +killed outright, and of the wounded there were but four or five with any +prospect of recovery. These he first attended to, while the other +passengers carried water to the dying men. + +"Now, my lads," Nat said, "clear the decks of the dead, and get up an +awning and carry those who are alive into the shade." + +All the dead pirates were thrown over without ceremony, the body of the +Frenchman being laid down by his compatriots by one of the guns for +proper burial in the evening. As soon as the fight was over, Monsieur +Pickard--who, after the capture of the _Thames_, had gone below to +assure his wife and daughters that all was going on well, and that they +had saved nine ladies and six gentlemen from the hands of the +pirates--hurried down with the welcome news that the fight was over and +the brigantine captured. + +"You can go up to the cabin," he said, "but don't come on deck till I +come down and tell you that everything has been made clean and tidy. You +will be glad to hear that, although we have several wounded, Francois +Amond is the only man that has been killed." + +One of the passengers of the _Thames_ had carried similar news to the +ladies there. The crews of both were at once set to work to wash decks, +and in an hour the holy-stones had obliterated the worst signs of the +conflict, though it would require many more scrubbings before the stains +of blood entirely disappeared. All this time the vessels had remained +side by side, and the ladies now ventured on to the decks of the +_Thames_ and _Arrow_. + +"What do you intend to do, sir?" one of the passengers asked Nat. + +"I shall sail at once for Jamaica," he said. "We shall want some more +hands, and I must at present borrow a few from you, for my own men are +not sufficiently strong to navigate my own craft and the prize. The wind +is favourable, and if it holds as it is we shall be at Kingston in +forty-eight hours, so there will be no great loss of time." + +He then crossed to the _Arrow_. + +"I must congratulate you most heartily on your success," Madame Pickard +said. "It is wonderful indeed that you should have taken both these +vessels. The pirate ship is, I should think, three times as big as you +are, and the other looks a giant by her side." + +"Yes, she is six hundred tons, and the brigantine is about three +hundred. However, it has all gone very fortunately. In the first place, +we have rescued some fifteen gentlemen and ladies, and twice as many +seamen, from the death that they would certainly have met with; and in +the next place, we have thrashed this pirate; we shall get both credit +and prize-money, and a good sum for the recapture of the _Thames_, which +the chief officer has just told me carries a very valuable cargo. +Lastly, I am happy to say that, although several of the crew are +injured, I have not lost a single life among them. I am sorry that one +of your men fell in the fight." + +"But they have sadly spoiled the appearance of your ship," Valerie +Pickard said. "There are three or four great holes along the side, and a +ball has gone through your cabin, and the sails, which were so white and +pretty, have lots of holes in them." + +"Yes, we shall want a good many new cloths," he said; "but that is a +very minor matter." + +"Monsieur Turnbull is hurt, I hear!" + +"Yes, madame; happily it is not very serious--a blow which he only +partly parried struck him on the shoulder. It looks a very serious +wound, but the doctor says there is no need for any great uneasiness +about him; and being seriously wounded in action has its advantages, as +it always counts towards promotion. Mr. Lippincott has had one of his +ears nearly slashed off, and is not pretty to look at at present, with +his head done up in bandages, but the surgeon thinks that, as it was +attended to so soon, it is likely that it will heal up." + +"And you have escaped altogether, Monsieur Glover?" Louise said. + +"Yes, for once I have had good luck. Hitherto I have always come out of +a fight more or less damaged; this time I have escaped without a +scratch." + +"I should feel very proud if I were you," the girl said, "at having done +so much with such a small ship--and you so young, too! Why, you do not +look more than a year or two older than Valerie, and you have rescued us +and all the people on the other ship, and taken a pirate and the vessel +they had captured. It seems almost impossible. And you look so quiet and +nice, too." + +"Louise, you should not talk like that," her mother corrected. + +Nat said gravely: + +"Mademoiselle, do you know that you are talking to the commander of one +of his majesty's ships on his own quarter-deck, where he is, as it were, +the monarch of all he surveys, and might inflict all sorts of terrible +punishments upon you for your want of respect?" + +The girl laughed merrily. + +"I am not afraid," she said, "not one little bit, and I don't see why +you should mind being told that you are young and quiet-looking and +nice, when you are." + +"I do not mind in the least," he said, "and certainly I am young; but I +can assure you that my former captain would not tell you that I was +quiet, for I had the reputation of being the most troublesome middy on +board his frigate. But, you see, responsibility has sobered me, and I +can assure you that there is a great deal of responsibility in +commanding a small craft like this, which has nothing but her speed and +her luck to rely on if she happens to fall in with a strongly-armed +vessel." + +"How can you say that, monsieur," Valerie said indignantly, "when you +have taken this pirate, which is ever so much stronger than you are?" + +"There may be a little good management in it, but more luck, +mademoiselle. If one of his shot had damaged me instead of one of mine +damaging him, we should all have had our throats cut two hours ago." + +"I don't believe it," she said. "I believe that you would have beaten +him anyhow." + +"Ladies very often think what they wish," he said with a laugh, "and no +doubt we should have fought to the last; but I can assure you that we +should have had no chance with them, and the best I could have done for +you would have been to have fired the last shot of my pistol into the +magazine." + +"Please don't talk about it," Madame Pickard said with a shudder. "And +now I suppose that you have had fighting enough, and are going to carry +us quietly into port?" + +"Yes, madame, to Jamaica; but if you would prefer to be landed at Cape +Francois or Port-au-Prince I shall be happy to give you a passage back +again." + +"We do not want to go there at all, but my husband will go to wind up +his affairs, and sell his house there. We have been talking it over, and +agree that we should never like to go back to the estate again. Even if +things did quiet down the memories are too terrible; and, besides, +having once broken out, the blacks might do so again at any time." + +"I think you are perfectly right, madame; but I am afraid you will not +get much for your estate." + +"My husband thinks that, although no white man would buy it, there are +plenty of mulattoes who would give, not its real value, but a certain +amount, for it. Many of them are rich men who have already large +plantations. Ours was one of the most valuable on the island, and with +the title from us a purchaser would not be afraid of being disturbed +when the soldiers arrive and put down the insurrection; while, even if +this should never be done, the negroes, with whom the mulattoes are now +friends, would not interfere with him. My husband thinks that perhaps he +will get a third of its value, which would be sufficient to keep us all +comfortably in France, or wherever we may settle; but our best resource +is that we have the whole of last season's produce stored in our +magazines at Port-au-Prince." + +It was not until the next afternoon that the absolutely necessary +repairs to the three vessels were completed, the holes near the +water-line covered by planks over which pitched canvas was nailed, the +ropes shot away replaced by new ones, and the brigantine's gaff +repaired. Then sail was hoisted again, and the three vessels set sail +for Kingston, where they arrived on the evening of the third day after +starting. No little excitement was caused in the harbour when the +_Arrow_, with her sails and sides bearing marks of the engagement, +sailed in, followed by the brigantine flying the British ensign over the +black flag, and the _Thames_ with the same flags, but with the addition +of the merchant ensign under the black flag, following her. There were +two or three ships of war in the port, and the crews saluted the _Arrow_ +with hearty cheers. The flag-ship at once ran up the signal for her +commander to come on board, and, leaving Lippincott to see to the +operation of anchoring, Nat ordered the gig to be lowered, and, taking +his place in it, was rowed to the flag-ship. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE ATTACK ON PORT-AU-PRINCE + + +On mounting to the deck Nat was at once taken to the admiral's cabin. + +"So you have been disobeying orders, Lieutenant Glover," he said +gravely. + +"I hope not, sir. I am not conscious of disobeying orders." + +"I fancy you were directed not to engage more heavily-armed craft than +your own." + +"I was, sir, but the circumstances were peculiar." + +"I never knew a midshipman or a young lieutenant, Mr. Glover, who did +not find the circumstances peculiar when he wanted to disobey orders. +However," he added with a smile, "let me hear the peculiar +circumstances, then I shall be able to judge how far you were justified. +Give them in full. Have you a written report?" + +"Yes, sir, I have brought it with me," Nat said, producing the document. + +"Well, lay it down on the table. I don't suppose it is very full, and I +am somewhat curious to hear how you brought in a pirate brigantine and a +recaptured merchantman--so I understood your flags." + +Nat related how he had heard the sound of guns on rounding a headland, +and had seen the brigantine lying by the side of the barque she had +evidently just captured; how he drew her off in pursuit of the +schooner, partially crippled her, returned and retook the _Thames_, +released her crew, placed Mr. Turnbull in command, and how, between +them, they had captured the brigantine. + +"A very smart action," the admiral said cordially when he had brought +the narrative to a conclusion. "It does you very great credit, and fully +justifies my appointing you to an independent command. What metal does +the brigantine carry?" + +"Five guns each side, all twelve-pounders like my own." + +"And you have only four?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Very good indeed, very good! By the way, do you know any of the +passengers on board the _Thames_ personally? I observed three ladies on +the deck as you came in. I should have thought that they would have had +very much better accommodation on the trader than on board your little +craft." + +"Yes, sir; but they were on board the _Arrow_ before our fight with the +brigantine, and although the first mate of the _Thames_ offered them a +state cabin they preferred to stay on board, as it was such a short run +here." + +"Who are they, then?" + +"They are refugees, sir. I got them out of the hands of the +negroes--three ladies, the husband of the elder one, and seven other +white men." + +"Is there any story attached to it, Mr. Glover? Let me see, what do you +say about it in your report?" and he opened it and read aloud: + + _I have the honour, sir, to report that, learning there was a + white family in the hands of the negroes, I landed with a party + and brought them off. They consisted of Monsieur and Madame + Pickard and their two daughters, and seven of their white + employees. Casualties--eight seamen wounded, none of them + seriously._ + +"Then comes the account of the other affair. Now, please give me the +details of this rescue business as minutely as possible." + +This Nat did. + +"A very risky business, Mr. Glover, though I don't see how you could +have acted in any other way. No British officer, I hope, could have been +deaf to such an appeal; but if those boats had found the schooner when +you all were away, your position would have been well-nigh desperate." + +"It would, sir, I quite felt that, but it seemed to me the only possible +thing to do. Of course, if I had known that the boats would have come +early in the evening, I should have remained on board and beat them off +before making a landing, although our chances of success would then have +been much smaller. The party who were to attack in the boats were to +have been composed of men from the plantation. Their comrades would +doubtless have come down to the shore to see us captured, and when they +saw their friends beaten off they would have been on the watch, and not +improbably, in their fury and disappointment, have massacred all the +captives in their hands at once. But I thought it likely that the boats +would not put off before they believed us to be asleep, and that I +should therefore have time to go up to the plantation and fetch the +captives down before they arrived. At any rate, by moving the schooner +close inshore I hoped that the boats might not find her. There was no +moon, and under the shadow of the rock it was next to impossible to see +her, unless a boat happened to pass within a few paces. Having struck +the topmasts, the forest behind on steep ground prevented the masts from +showing above the sky-line. It was, of course, the choice of two evils, +and I took the one that seemed to me to give the greater promise of +success." + +"You did excellently, the oldest officer in the service could not have +done better. I shall be obliged if you will write as full and detailed +an account of both affairs as you have given me. I shall send it home +with your official report, and with my own remarks upon them. And now +about the merchantman; she looks a fine barque. What is her tonnage?" + +"Six hundred tons, sir. She is a nearly new vessel, and sails fast for a +ship of that kind. Her first mate told me that she has a very valuable +cargo on board, principally, I think, tobacco, sugar, coffee, wax, +copper, mahogany, and cedar from Cuba. Her passengers are all Spanish." + +"She seems to be a valuable prize, and as recaptured from the pirates +there will be a handsome sum to be divided, and it is fortunate for you +and your officers that the little craft was commissioned independently, +not as a tender to one of the frigates. As it is, except the flag's +share, it will all fall to yourselves and your crew. How many men have +you lost?" + +"None at all, sir; though, as you will see by my report, in the two +affairs the greater part of them received more or less severe wounds. +Mr. Turnbull was somewhat severely wounded, Mr. Lippincott nearly lost +an ear, and I escaped altogether." + +"Well, it was your turn, Lieutenant Glover. You have come back three +times more or less severely hurt already. You say that the brigantine is +fast?" + +"Yes, sir. She is not so fast as the schooner in a light wind, nor so +weatherly, but in anything like strong winds I have no doubt that she +would overhaul us." + +"Was there anything in her hold?" + +"There are a good many bales and cases, sir. I have not opened them, but +by their marks they come from three different ships, which she had no +doubt captured and sunk before we fell in with her. I questioned one of +the prisoners, and he told me that it was only a month since she came +out, and he declared that they had not yet chosen any place as their +head-quarters. As others questioned separately told the same story, I +imagine that it was true." + +"Where did she hail from?" + +"She came from Bordeaux. They said that she had taken out letters of +marque to act as a privateer in case of war breaking out with us, but I +fancy that she was from the first intended for a pirate, for it seems +that she had only forty hands when she started, and picked up the others +at various French ports at which she touched before sailing west. I +should say, from the appearance of her crew, that they are composed of +the sweepings of the ports, for a more villainous set of rascals I never +saw." + +"Well, it is fortunate that you should have stopped their career so +soon. She might have given us a great deal of trouble before we laid +hands on her. We have had comparatively quiet times since the _Orpheus_ +destroyed that nest of them, and if she had confined her work to +homeward-bound ships it might have been months before we had complaints +from home, and found that there was another of these scourges among the +islands. I shall row around presently, Mr. Glover, and have a look at +your two prizes. When you see my gig coming I shall be obliged if you +will meet me on the deck of the brigantine." + +At four o'clock in the afternoon the watch on deck reported that the +admiral's gig was being lowered, and Nat immediately got into his own +boat and was rowed to the brigantine, whose name was the _Agile_. When +the admiral approached, instead of making straight for the accommodation +ladder, he rowed slowly round the vessel, making a very careful +examination of the hull. When he came on deck, he said: + +"Except for a few shot that hit her low down, and the general +destruction of her bulwarks, no damage has been done to her." + +"No, sir, we aimed high, our great object being to knock away some of +her spars. I don't think that her square sails will be of any use in the +future, they are riddled with balls from our stern-chasers." + +"A new gaff and bowsprit, a new suit of sails, new bulwarks, and a few +patches, and she would be as good as ever. What damage have you +suffered?" + +"The schooner has half a dozen holes in her bow, sir, and a dozen or so +in her sails, nothing that the dockyard could not set right in a +fortnight." + +He then went below. "Excellent accommodation," he said, after going +round, "that is for a fair crew, but she must have been crowded indeed +with eighty men. What should you consider to be a fair crew for her, Mr. +Glover?" + +"Twenty men, sir, if she were a simple trader; I should say from +thirty-five to forty would be none too much if she were going to fight +her guns." + +"Now we will have a look at your craft. You may as well take a seat in +my gig. Yes," he went on, as he rowed round her as he had done with the +brigantine, "now that the sails are furled she does not seem any the +worse for it, except in the bow and those two holes in the bulwarks." + +Monsieur Pickard and the ladies were seated on the deck, and rose as the +admiral came on board. + +"Please introduce me to your friends, Mr. Glover." + +Nat did so, and the admiral shook hands with them all. + +"I think I may congratulate you on your escape from a very terrible +position." + +"Yes, indeed," Madame Pickard said. "No words can express the gratitude +we feel to Monsieur Glover, his two officers, and the crew. Our position +seemed hopeless, the most terrible of deaths and the worst of atrocities +stared us in the face." + +"I have heard all about it, madame, and consider that Lieutenant Glover +managed the whole business with great discretion as well as bravery. He +has a bad habit of getting into scrapes, but an equally good one of +getting out of them with credit to himself. This is the third time he +has rendered signal services to ladies in distress, and I suppose I +should add that he has in addition saved the lives of the ladies on +board the barque lying astern. If there were a medal for that sort of +thing he would assuredly deserve it. He ought to have been born six or +seven hundred years ago, he would have made a delightful knight-errant. + +"What are the ladies like in the other ship, Mr. Glover?" + +"I have no idea, sir. I only saw them for a moment when I ran into the +cabin and cut their bonds. I have only seen the gentlemen for a minute +or two when they joined the boarders from the _Thames_ under Mr. +Turnbull, and I was much too busy to notice them." + +"Have you not gone on board since?" + +"No, sir, I had nothing to go on board for, and I don't speak any +Spanish." + +"We tried to persuade him, Monsieur l'Amiral," Valerie said, "but +monsieur is modest, he has never let us thank him yet; and although he +pretended that he only kept ahead of the other two because his ship was +a faster sailer, it was really because he did not wish to be thanked." + +"But other people are modest too," the admiral said with a smile. "I +have heard of two young ladies who came on board, and who would not stir +out of their cabins until they had made themselves new dresses." + +The two girls both coloured up at the allusion, and Monsieur Pickard +laughed. "Now I will go below, Mr. Glover. She is very small by the side +of the brigantine," he said, as he completed his visit of inspection. "I +am not surprised that the pirates chased you after your impudence in +firing at them, and that they thought they could eat you at a mouthful. +Now, we will pay a visit to the barque." + +To Nat's great relief, he found that the passengers had all gone ashore. +It was certain that they would be detained for some little time, as +there would be legal formalities to be gone through, and repairs to be +executed, and additional hands to be obtained; and, all feeling terribly +shaken by the events that had taken place on board, and the loss in some +cases of near relations, they had been glad to land until the ship was +again ready for sea. The mate in charge handed to the admiral the ship's +manifest and papers. + +"You have no seriously wounded on board?" the latter asked him. "Because +if so, I should advise you to send them ashore to the hospital at once." + +"No, sir. All who fell on the deck were thrown overboard by the pirates +as soon as they obtained possession of the ship. I believe that they +fastened shot to their feet to make them sink at once." + +The admiral nodded. "That is likely enough. Dead bodies drifting ashore +might cause inquiries to be made; their intention no doubt was to take +all the most valuable part of the cargo out of the ship, and then to +scuttle her with all on board." + +"Are we likely to be detained here long, sir?" + +"Not as far as we are concerned. We shall require you to sign in the +presence of a magistrate here a formal document acknowledging that the +vessel was absolutely captured, and in possession of the pirates, and +that she was recaptured by his majesty's schooner the _Arrow_, and to +sign a bond on behalf of the owners to pay the legal proportion of the +value of the ship and cargo to the admiralty prize court in London. You +will, of course, take her home yourself, but I shall send a naval +officer with you, as the ship and its contents remain the property of +government until the charges upon her are acquitted. If we were at war +with France we should retain her here until she could sail under convoy +of a vessel of war homeward-bound, but there is no occasion for doing +that now. I do not suppose that you will find much difficulty in +obtaining mates and enough sailors to make up your complement here. +Scarcely a ship sails from the port without some of her men being left +behind, either as deserters or through having been too drunk to rejoin. +At any rate you had better be careful whom you pick, and if you should +find a difficulty in obtaining men whose discharge-books show that they +have hitherto borne a good character, I should advise you to ship eight +or ten stout negroes. They are good hands at managing their own craft, +and although they might not be of much use aloft, they are as a rule +thoroughly trustworthy fellows, and quite as good for work on deck as +our own men. I will give you an order on the dockyard for any repairs +that you cannot get executed elsewhere. They will of course be charged +for, but need not be paid for here, as they will go down in the account +against the ship." + +Fortunately the dockyard was not busy, and the _Agile_ and the _Arrow_ +were the next morning taken into dock, and a strong gang of men at once +set to work upon them. Three days later a signal was made for Nat to go +on board the flagship. + +"I have received the report from the dockyard people, Mr. Glover," the +admiral said. "They confirm our opinion that the _Agile_ has not +suffered any serious damage; that she is a new and well-built vessel, +and well fitted for our service, and she will therefore be retained at +the valuation they set upon her. Here is your commission as her +commander. Having done so well in the little _Arrow_, I have no doubt as +to your ability and fitness for the post. She will carry forty hands. I +shall give you two petty officers, a boatswain's mate and a gunner's +mate. I had thought of giving you another midshipman, but I think it +would be better that you should take a surgeon. Three or four assistant +surgeons came out last week, and I can very well spare you one. + +"I shall not give you one of the new arrivals, for it is better that +these for a time should serve on larger ships, get accustomed to naval +work, and learn the ordinary routine of duty on board. I shall, +therefore, send you one from either the _Theseus_ or the _Limerick_, and +fill up his place with a new-comer. Your duties will be precisely the +same as those assigned to you in the _Arrow_, except that I shall not +impress upon you the necessity for giving a wide berth to suspicious +vessels. You will cruise on the coast of Hayti, take off refugees, +communicate, if possible, with chiefs of the insurgents, and see if +there is any strong feeling among them in favour of annexation to +England. You will be authorized, in case it is absolutely necessary in +order to save the inhabitants of any coast town from slaughter from the +blacks, either to help the garrison with your guns or to land a portion +not exceeding half your crew to aid in the defence." + +"I am indeed greatly obliged to you, admiral, and assure you that I will +do my best to merit your kindness and confidence." + +"It is to yourself rather than to me that you are indebted for what is +virtually a step towards promotion. Just at present I do not think that +you are likely to have any opportunity of taking advantage of your +increased force, as we have heard no complaints of pirates of late. We +may hope that these scoundrels, finding that the islands are growing too +hot for them, have moved away to safer quarters. At any rate, if there +are any of them in these waters, they are likely to be among the +northern Cays, and are probably confining their depredations for a time +to ships trading between Europe and Florida, or to vessels from here +which have passed beyond the general limit of the seas we patrol." + +On Nat's return to the dockyard, he delighted Lippincott with the news +of the exchange that they were to make. Turnbull was in hospital, but +the surgeons had reported that his wound was not so serious as it seemed +at first, and that a fortnight's rest and quiet would go far to render +him convalescent. The sailors, too, were glad to hear that they were +going to be transferred to a craft in which they would be able to meet +an enemy with confidence. They were also pleased to hear that there was +to be no change in their officers, for they had unbounded trust in their +young commander, and had from the first agreed that they had never +sailed in a more comfortable ship. After seeing Turnbull and acquainting +him with the news, Nat paid a visit to the Pickards. They had landed on +the evening of their arrival, and, after stopping a day in an hotel, had +established themselves in a pretty house outside the town, which +Monsieur Pickard had hired from a merchant who was on the point of +sailing for England, and would be absent several months. + +Monsieur Pickard had, on arriving, gone to a merchant with whom he had +business connections, and to whom he had frequently consigned produce +for shipment to England or France when there happened to be no vessel in +Port-au-Prince sailing for Europe. He had obtained from him a loan on +the security of the season's produce, which had, fortunately, been sent +down to be warehoused at Port-au-Prince two or three weeks before the +insurrection broke out. + +Nat's friends, too, heartily congratulated him on obtaining the command +of a larger vessel. + +"After the troubles and anxiety we have of late gone through, Monsieur +Glover, we feel the comfort of being under the protection of the +British flag, and shall enjoy it all the more now that we know that you +are not going to sea again in that pretty little vessel, for if you fell +in with another large corsair you might not be so fortunate as you were +last time. As you have said, if an unlucky shot had struck one of your +spars, you would have been at her mercy, and we know what that mercy +would mean. I intend to stay here for a short time, till madame and the +girls get quite accustomed to their new home, before sailing for +Port-au-Prince; but whether I am at home or away you know how welcome +you will be here whenever you happen to be in port. How long do you +think it is likely to be before you are off?" + +"I was speaking to the superintendent of the dockyard before I came out, +and he says that he will get the _Agile_ ready for sea in three weeks' +time. He cannot possibly manage it before; the hull could be ready in a +week, but the suit of sails will require three times as long, though he +has promised to take on some extra hands if he can get them. Orders +have, however, been given by the _Thames_ to the chief native sail-maker +of the place to patch some of the sails and to make several new ones, +and he has taken up some of the best hands in the town. Then, no doubt, +whoever gets the command of the _Arrow_ will be wanting her sails pushed +forward, though that is not certain, for it is not unlikely that, now +the _Agile_ has been bought into the service, the _Arrow_ will be sold. +Indeed, one of the principal merchants here would be glad to buy her as +a private yacht if he had the chance, as he often has business at the +other islands, and she is just the craft that would suit him. He said +that by putting up shorter topmasts twelve men would be enough to sail +her, and that he would exchange the guns for eight-pounders, as from +what he had heard she could outsail almost any craft she was likely to +meet with, and small guns would be quite sufficient to prevent any of +these little native piratical craft from meddling with her. However, I +think the superintendent will keep his word, and that in three weeks' +time I shall be off." + +"I may possibly be at Port-au-Prince before you, then," Monsieur Pickard +said. "I am thinking of chartering a small brig and going in her to +Port-au-Prince, and bringing my goods back from there. Now that the +mulattoes are up in arms, the place cannot be considered as absolutely +safe; and as I calculate they are worth from eight to ten thousand +pounds, I think it will be well to get them over as soon as possible." + +"I quite agree with you, Monsieur Pickard, and should certainly advise +you to lose no time. Unless I get instructions to the contrary, I shall, +in the first place, cruise round the shore of the bay of Hayti." + +Ten days later, indeed, Monsieur Pickard sailed in the brig that he had +chartered. Nat had called to say good-bye the evening before, and, to +his embarrassment, was presented by him with a very handsome gold watch +and chain, the former bearing the inscription that it was a small token +of the deepest gratitude of Eugene Pickard, his wife and daughters, for +having saved them from the most terrible fate. + +"It is only a little thing, Monsieur Glover," the planter said--"a +feeble token of our gratitude, but something which many years hence will +recall to your memory the inestimable service that you have rendered +us." + +The superintendent of the dockyard kept his word, and in three weeks the +_Agile_ was afloat again, and the next morning twenty men drafted from +the war-ships in the port were transferred to her. Those of the _Arrow_, +with the exception of five still in the hospital, had shifted their +quarters to her a fortnight previously. Turnbull had rejoined the +evening before. His arm was still in a sling, but otherwise he was quite +convalescent. Lippincott had that morning given up the bandage round +his head, which had kept him almost a prisoner until now, for he had +refused to go into the town until after nightfall with his head bound +up, although Nat had many times assured him that an honourable wound +would not be regarded as any disadvantage by the young ladies at +Kingston. The assistant surgeon, James Doyle, a cheery young Irishman, +also joined that morning. + +"It is glad I am to be out of all the ceremony and botheration on board +the frigate," he said as he shook hands with Nat, "and to be afloat on +my own account, as it were. Saunders, the surgeon, was enough to wear +one out with his preciseness and his regulations; faith, he was a man +who would rather take off a man's leg than listen to a joke, and it put +me on thorns to hear him speak to the men as if they were every one of +them shamming--as if anyone would pretend to be ill when he had to take +the bastely medicines Saunders used to make up for them." + +"I don't think you will find much shamming here, doctor, especially if +the new hands are as good as the others; and I hope that your services +will not often be required except in the matter of wounds." + +"No fighting means no wounds, and I am afraid that there is no hope of +fighting," the surgeon said, shaking his head mournfully; "you and the +_Orpheus_ have pretty well cleared out the pirates, and it was a case of +pure luck that you came across this craft the other day. But there is no +doubt that the _Orpheus'_ men have had all the luck, and the big ships' +turn won't come till we have war with France. However, it may be that +the luck will stick to you for a bit yet, for, by my faith, I shall +before long have forgotten how to take off a limb or to tie up an artery +for want of practice. We all envied you when you came in the other day +with the two prizes behind you, both big enough to have eaten you up, +and though we cheered, there was many a man who grumbled, 'Bad cess to +them, the _Orpheus_' men have got all the luck.'" + +"But the _Orpheus_ had nothing to do with it," Nat laughed. + +"No, I know that; but you had been one of their men, and had, as I have +heard, more than your share already of adventures." + +Nat had received no further orders, and sailed that afternoon; two days +later he was off the entrance of the great bay. He coasted along the +shore as near as he could venture, always keeping a man on watch for +signals made by anyone anxious to be taken off. When it became dark the +anchor was dropped, so that no part of the shore could be passed without +the ship being observed. It was on the seventh day after sailing that he +arrived at Port-au-Prince. Half an hour after he had anchored, Monsieur +Pickard came off in a boat. + +"It is lucky that I lost no time," he said after the first greetings +were over; "I got my last bale of goods on board the brig an hour ago, +and we are going to warp her out at once so as to be under shelter of +your guns." + +"Why, what is the matter?" + +"There is news that a large force of mulattoes and negroes are coming +down from the hills and will be here probably to-morrow morning. Luckily +a great part of the negroes were turned out of the town a fortnight ago. +There are only two hundred soldiers here, and about as many white +volunteers--little enough to defend the place if they attack us. No +doubt they chose the moment because there is not a French war-ship of +any kind in port. However, I think that all the white women and children +are on board the ships. They are all crowded. I have about twenty on +board the brig, and have rigged up a sail as an awning, and on such a +warm night as this they will sleep better there than they would in a +cabin. I can assure you that there was the greatest satisfaction when +you were seen coming in. Several of the captains had talked of towing +their vessels out three or four miles into the bay, but as soon as it +was certain that you were an armed ship, the idea was given up, as many +of them were only half-laden; and it was felt that, of whatever +nationality you were, you would prevent the negroes from coming off in +boats to murder the women and children. Of course I did not know that it +was you until I made out your figure from the shore, but as soon as I +did so, I told all I knew that they need not trouble about the safety of +those on board ship, for I could answer for it that you would not +hesitate to turn your guns on any boats that went out to attack them." + +"Well, Monsieur Pickard, I cannot believe that the town will be taken, +but at any rate I congratulate you on having got all your produce an +board." + +"Yes, it is a very important matter to us; we cannot calculate upon +finding a purchaser for our house at Cape Francois at anything +approaching its value at ordinary times. I have a couple of thousand +pounds lying at my banker's, and although six months ago I would not +have taken forty thousand for the estate and the slaves upon it, I +suppose I may consider myself fortunate if I get half that sum, or even +less, now. Anyhow, if I get my crop here safe to Jamaica, I need not +worry myself as to the future." + +"If the place is attacked in the morning, monsieur, I have the admiral's +authority to land half my men to aid in the defence; and though twenty +men is but a small number, they may render some assistance. I intend to +hold them in reserve, and to take them to any spot at which the +insurgents may be pressing back the defenders. I shall be obliged if you +will inform the officer in command of the troops and the civil +authorities that they can count on my assistance to that extent. Will +you give them my advice to get all the available boats ranged along by +the quay opposite to us, so that in case of the worst all can retreat +there. I will cover their embarkation with my guns. Lastly, I should +advise the captains of all the ships in port to tow their vessels out +and range them behind us, so that there may be nothing to interfere with +our line of fire." + +"I will inform the committee of defence directly I go ashore, and they +will doubtless send off at once to order the various ships to anchor at +the spot you indicate. It will be a relief, indeed, to them all to know +that you have undertaken their protection." + +"I will go ashore with you," Nat said; "though I have landed here more +than once I do not know the place well enough to be able to act quickly. +I should like to see exactly where your batteries are placed, and where +it is most likely that the negroes will make their chief attack." + +They went ashore and landed together, and walked to the house where the +principal men of the town were assembled. + +"Will you come in with me?" Monsieur Pickard asked. + +"No, I will leave you to explain what I propose to do and what I +recommend that they should do. There is sure to be a lot of talk and +discussion, and I do not wish to lose time. The sun will be setting in +another hour, so I will make my round at once." + +Passing through the town, Nat visited the various batteries that had +been erected, and decided that if the blacks were well led they would +work round and attack the remains of the native town. The batteries had +principally been erected round the European quarter, as if any enemy +coming from the hills would be certain to make a direct attack, while +the native quarter was almost entirely undefended, although with this +once in the possession of the enemy the whole town would lie open to +them. + +"It is clear that this is the real point of danger," he muttered. +"Fortunately, from where we are lying our guns can sweep the widest +street that runs down through this quarter. I shall mention my ideas to +Pickard. No doubt he is still talking away at the meeting." + +He went back to the house. M. Pickard and half a dozen other gentlemen +were standing at the door. M. Pickard at once introduced them to him. + +"My object in coming round here, gentlemen, is to tell you that in my +opinion your defences, which are quite strong enough to protect the town +against any body of negroes coming down on the easterly side, are wholly +insufficient to repel an attack if made on the native town. I trust, +therefore, that when the troops man the defences a considerable number +of them at least will be so placed as to be ready to meet an attack from +that side. There is practically nothing to prevent the negroes from +entering there, and, as many of the mulattoes with them must be +perfectly aware of the position of the batteries, they are scarcely +likely to propose to make an attack upon them, knowing that the negroes +would not be able to face an artillery fire, but would lead them round +to attack the almost defenceless native portion of the town." + +"We have always reckoned upon their coming upon us by one of the main +roads from the hills," one of the gentlemen said. + +"So I see, monsieur; but some of the mulattoes with them are men of +considerable intelligence, and would be hardly foolish enough to try to +break down the door that you have closed against them when they know +that there is an open entrance at the back. If there is a man with the +smallest spark of military genius about him he will commence the attack +by a feint in considerable force against the batteries, and then, under +cover of the smoke of your guns and his own--for I hear from Monsieur +Pickard that they are said to have fifteen or twenty guns which they +have taken at small places on the coast--will send round the main body +of his force to fall on the native town. That is my opinion, gentlemen. +I know very little of military matters, but it seems to me that is the +course that any man of moderate intelligence would pursue, and I +therefore should strongly advise that at least half your volunteer force +should take post to defend the native town, and so give time to the +remainder to come up and assist in the defence. I shall post my sailors +in a position where they can best aid in the defence in this direction, +and shall have the guns of my ship in readiness to open fire on the +native town if you are driven back." + +"Thank you, sir. We shall have another meeting late this evening, and I +shall do my best to urge the committee to act as you suggest." + +Nat returned on board the _Agile_. Already most of the ships in the port +had anchored a short distance outside the brigantine, and a few that had +kept on until the last moment taking their cargo on board were being +towed by their boats in the same direction. Turnbull and Lippincott were +anxiously awaiting Nat's return. Retiring into the cabin, he told them +the result of his investigation of the defences and the position on +shore. + +"I think we shall have hot work to-morrow," he went on. "If the negroes +are not absolute fools they will not knock their heads against the +batteries. There are twenty cannon in position, for the most part ships' +guns, and as I hear that they have plenty of ammunition, and especially +grape, they would simply mow the niggers down if they attacked them. +There is only one battery with three guns covering the native town, and +the blacks ought to have no difficulty in carrying this with a rush. We +have learnt by experience that, whatever their faults, they can fight +furiously, and are ready enough to risk their lives. Thus, this battery +may be taken in a few minutes. If a hundred of the volunteers held the +huts behind it they might check them for a time, but as the negroes are +several thousands strong the resistance cannot be long. The best point +of defence will be that street facing us here. Our guns will come into +play, and it is there that I shall join the French as they fall back. + +"I shall get you, Mr. Lippincott, to row round this evening to all these +craft near us, and to request the captains, in my name, to send all the +men provided with muskets they may have, on board us, as soon as firing +is heard. You will remain on board in charge, Turnbull; with your arm in +a sling, you are not fit for fighting on shore. With your twenty men you +ought to be able to work the guns pretty fast. Between their shots the +men with muskets would aid. Of course you would use grape. If their +attack lulls in the least send a few round-shot among the houses on +their side. Pomp and Sam had better go ashore with us and act as +boat-keepers. I will take the boat higher up than those of the +townspeople, for if a panic seizes them there would be a mad rush to get +on board. We will go a couple of hundred yards farther, and the boat +will lie a short distance out, and not come in close till they see us +running towards it. In that way we can make sure of being able to get on +board." + +"I should certainly have liked to land," Turnbull said, "but I know that +I am not fit yet for hard fighting." + +"I suppose you will be taking me along with you?" Doyle said. + +"By all means come if you like, but I was not thinking of doing so." + +"It is not often that we get a chance of taking a share in the fun. As a +rule, as soon as the guns are loaded and ready for action we have to go +below, and to stop there bandaging and dressing wounds, with not a +chance of seeing what is going on. This is just one chance in a hundred. +I should be no good here, for there is no one to look after. I will take +with me two or three tourniquets and some bandages, and perchance I may +be the means of saving some poor boy's life; and while not so engaged I +may have a slap at these murdering blacks. I am a pretty good shot, and +when a man can bring down ten snipe out of every dozen, as I have done +time after time in the ould country, he ought to be able to put a bullet +into a black man's carcass." + +"If you are bent upon going, by all means do so. As you say, a +tourniquet clapped on directly a man is wounded may save his life, and +every additional musket will be a valuable addition to our strength." + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE ATTACK ON PORT-AU-PRINCE + + +It was just getting light on the following morning when the sound of a +cannon was heard, and it was followed by several other shots, mingled +with the rattle of distant musketry. The town woke up with a start. +Drums beat in the streets, and in a minute or two men armed with rifles +and muskets poured out from their houses, and hurried to the rendezvous +settled upon the night before. The firing came from the eastern side of +the town, and the three batteries in that direction were all engaged. +Mingled with the report of the guns came the sound of a more distant +cannonade, showing that the insurgents' artillery was also at work. +Among the shipping there was as great an excitement as in the town. On +board every ship men were running up the ratlines to see if a view of +the scene of action could be obtained from aloft. On the decks numbers +of women, who had hastily thrown on their upper clothing, or wrapped +themselves in shawls, listened anxiously to the sound of firing. Scarce +one but had a husband, brother, or son among the defenders of the place. + +There were ten vessels lying outside the _Agile_, and from each of these +boats presently put off to the brigantine, some with three or four men, +others with as many as ten, all armed with muskets. + +"You will soon see how matters go, Turnbull, and whether this is a real +or only a feigned attack." + +The landing-party were in a few minutes ready to embark. Each man +carried fifty rounds of ammunition for his musket, and a dozen +additional cartridges for his pistols. Their water-bottles were slung +over their shoulders, and each had a hunch of bread and of cold meat +that had been boiled in the galley the night before in readiness. They +took their places in the cutter and gig, and were soon rowed ashore to +the point which Nat had fixed on the previous evening. The various boats +and lighters used in loading the ships had all been gathered at the quay +facing the _Agile_, and Nat was pleased to see that his advice in this +respect had been followed. + +The orders to Sam and Pomp, who were to remain one in each boat, were +that they should push the boats out as far as the head-ropes--which had +been lengthened for the occasion--would allow them, drop a small grapnel +over the stern, and should then keep a sharp look-out. The moment the +party were seen returning they were to pull up the grapnels, and haul on +the head-ropes till the boats were alongside. Both were armed, and the +orders were that they were to shoot anyone who should try to force +himself into either boat before the sailors came up. + +Nat led his party to an empty house close to the street commanded by +the _Agile's_ guns. Six of the sailors were placed as sentinels at the +ends of streets running into this, the rest piled arms. + +"Now, Mr. Lippincott, I shall be obliged if you will go and ascertain +how the affair is proceeding, and whether the batteries are keeping the +insurgents well in check. I am about to start for the battery on this +side, where I shall get a fair view of the country round, and see how +matters stand. + +"You will remain here, Mr. Thompson," he went on to the boatswain, "in +charge of the party. I shall take Newman with me in case I have any +orders to send to you. Will you come with me also, Doyle?" + +The two officers, followed by an active young seaman, started. On +arriving near the end of the native town, Nat was glad to see a group of +the volunteers in front of him. They saluted as he came up. + +"What force have you here, gentlemen?" he asked. + +"Fifty men, captain." + +"It would have been better if it had been a hundred and fifty. If they +come here in force you will not be able to keep them at bay long. Where +is your main body?" + +"They are gathered in front of the municipal offices in readiness to +move wherever their services may be most required." + +"That is quite satisfactory. I was afraid that most of them might be at +the batteries at the other side of the town, where the troops ought to +be quite able to hold their own against the blacks." + +At this moment another gentleman, with a red sash over his shoulder, +came up. He was the commander of the company stationed there. + +"I am afraid that we are rather out of it, monsieur," he said, after +exchanging salutes with Nat. + +"I am still more afraid, sir, that you are by no means out of it. I +think that you will find that before many minutes are over you will be +hotly engaged. I have come forward to tell you that my men are placed +just on the other side of Royal Street, and to beg that if you are not +able to maintain yourselves here--and if you are attacked, I am +convinced that it will be in such force that you will be unable to do +so--you will not endanger your force by holding on here too long, but +will retreat to Royal Street, and there make a stand, occupying the +houses on the other side of the street. The guns of my vessel are loaded +and in readiness to sweep the street with grape as the negroes try to +cross it; and we shall have in addition some forty or fifty men from the +merchantmen outside her, who will aid in keeping them in check. If I +might advise you, I should say that it would be well for you to write a +note, now that you have time to do so, saying that you are attacked in +overwhelming force, and are about to fall back to Royal Street, which +you will, aided by my sailors and guns, hold to the last, and begging +your commander to send his whole force up to support you. This you will, +of course, keep until the attack comes, and will send off as soon as you +perceive that your position here is untenable." + +"I think that is a very good suggestion," the officer said, "and shall +carry it out at once." + +"I will go on to the battery," Nat said; "from there I shall get a +better idea of the situation." + +They had scarcely gone beyond the line of houses when a French soldier +came running in. + +"What is your news?" Nat asked him. + +"A great crowd of the enemy are coming, sir. The captain has sent me to +beg the commander of the volunteers here to bring up his force to +support him." + +"You will find him a hundred yards farther on. Now, doctor, you will go +forward and have a look." + +Arriving at the battery, which was manned by twenty French soldiers +under a young lieutenant, Nat and the doctor mounted the parapet. The +enemy were still half a mile away. They were in no sort of order, but +were coming on in a confused mass. + +"There must be three or four thousand of them, lieutenant," Nat said +quietly. "You may check them a little, but you will never keep them out +of the town if they come on with a rush. I suppose you are loaded with +grape?" + +"Yes, monsieur," the young Frenchman said. + +He felt relieved at the arrival of the commander of the British ship of +war, for he was feeling the responsibility of his position greatly. + +"I should let them get within four or five hundred yards," Nat said +quietly, "then fire your guns singly, loading as rapidly as possible. +Here come the volunteers; place five-and-twenty of them on each side of +your battery. Let them lie down, and open fire when the enemy are within +two hundred and fifty yards. If they come on in spite of the fire, I +should say that you had best all retire at the double. It will be of no +use trying to hold the houses; they would only outflank you and cut you +off. I have already arranged with the volunteers that they shall make a +stand at Royal Street. I have a party of my sailors there in readiness +to help them, and as the guns of my ship will sweep the street we should +certainly be able to hold it until help arrives." + +"Thank you, monsieur, I will do as you suggest." + +At this moment the volunteers came up at a run. + +"Where do you wish me to place my men?" the captain said to the French +lieutenant. + +"I shall be obliged if you will put half of them on each side of the +battery. Let them lie down there, and open fire when the enemy are +within two hundred and fifty yards. If when they get within a hundred +yards, your fire and ours does not stop them, we will then retreat +together at the double. If we were once surrounded we should have no +chance whatever. Give your guns an elevation of five hundred yards," he +said to his men. + +When this was done he looked inquiringly at Nat. The other nodded. + +"Yes, I think it is about five hundred yards." Then he turned to the +seaman: "Go back as quickly as you can, Newman, and tell Mr. Thompson +that the blacks are coming, and that we shall probably be with him five +minutes after you arrive. Tell him also to send a man down as we had +arranged to the wharf, to signal to the ship to be in readiness." + +As he spoke the first of the guns boomed out. A few seconds later the +second was fired, and this was followed by the third at a similar +interval. The cannon were old ship guns, and had been heavily charged +with grape, and the destruction wrought upon the crowded mass of negroes +was so great that they stopped suddenly. Several of their leaders were +seen to rush to the front waving and gesticulating, and with a wild yell +the negroes again advanced. They had gone but fifty yards when the gun +that was first fired spoke out again, followed quickly by the others. +This time there was no pause in the advance. Yelling furiously the +negroes, who were armed with guns, discharged them at random. Two more +rounds were fired, and then the crakle of the rifles and muskets of the +volunteers broke out. The centre of the negro line paused indecisively, +but the flanks continued on their way without a check. + +"It is just as I thought," Nat said to the doctor, who was loading and +firing his piece rapidly. "Do you see how their flanks are extending? +One more round, lieutenant, and then we had best be going, or we shall +be cut off from the town." + +Again the three guns were discharged. The execution was terrible in the +centre of the black line, but the flanks still kept on. + +"Now, captain, get your men together," Nat said to the civilian officer +who was standing beside him; "if you go to the right I will go to the +left. They won't hear our voices in this din." + +Another half-minute and the soldiers and volunteers were running at the +top of their speed, but keeping well together, towards the town. They +had a hundred and fifty yards' start, and also the advantage that the +blacks had been coming forward at a run for over half a mile. Therefore, +although the latter came on with yells of triumph and exultation, they +did not gain on the little party. Indeed, when they once entered the +native town the French considerably increased their distance, for the +negroes, fearing that they might fall into an ambush, came along more +carefully. + +"Post your men at the windows of the houses opposite to you," Nat said +to the French lieutenant. + +"Did you send your messenger on?" he asked, as he ran up to the +volunteer officer. + +The latter gave an exclamation of horror. + +"No, I forgot all about it." + +"So did I, or I should have reminded you of it. Give it to one of the +men now, and tell him to take it as hard as he can run. Tell your men +off in threes and fours to the houses opposite. I have no doubt we can +keep them in check till help comes." + +Thompson was waiting in the street as the party ran up. + +"Where have you posted your men?" Nat asked him. + +"I thought most likely that they would come down this street, so I put +four men in each of the two houses facing it, seven are in the two +houses facing the next street coming down, the rest are here." + +Nat hurried up to the French officer. + +"My men are in the two houses facing this and the next street, will you +occupy the houses next them, and tell the officer of the volunteers to +scatter his men in twos and threes in the other houses. Doctor, you had +better join the party in the house facing the next street; and do you, +Mr. Thompson, place yourself with five men in the house facing the +street beyond. We shall have the brunt of it, for they are more likely +to come by these streets than by those near the harbour, knowing, as +they do, that our ship is lying anchored off there." + +It was three or four minutes before Nat, from the window at which he had +posted himself, saw a great body of negroes and mulattoes coming along +the street facing him. + +"Open fire at once, lads," he said. "Take good aim; every shot ought to +tell in that crowd, and our fire will let them know on board that the +blacks are close at hand." + +Yelling, shouting, and brandishing their weapons, the insurgents poured +down. The fire from the next two parties had showed that the negroes +were also advancing by the streets above. + +A minute later three black columns poured into Royal Street, and as they +did so a fire broke out from every window facing them. Then came a deep +roar, and a storm of grape swept along the street; another and another +followed, and with yells of surprise and fear the rioters rushed back +into shelter, leaving the streets strewn with dead and dying. It was +some minutes before they could rally, and in the meantime three of the +guns of the _Agile_ sent ball after ball among the houses to the west of +the street. Three times did the negroes attempt to cross the fatal road, +but each time they fell back with heavy loss, which was specially severe +in their last attempt, as the main body of the volunteers had now come +up, entered by the backs of the houses and joined the defenders, and +the fire of two hundred and fifty muskets played terrible havoc among +the assailants. There was a pause in the fight now, and the ship's +broadside continued to sweep the native town with balls while an +occasional spurt of musketry fire broke out when the blacks showed +themselves in any of the streets. Suddenly from a score of houses in the +native town smoke, followed speedily by flames, mounted up. + +"The scoundrels have fired the town," exclaimed Doyle, who had now +joined Nat. "They see they have no chance of crossing here, and as they +cannot plunder the place they have made up their mind to destroy it." + +"Yes, and they are likely to succeed, doctor, the wind is blowing this +way. Half the native houses are roofed with palm leaves, and will burn +like tinder. Our only chance now is to drive the blacks out altogether +and then fight the fire." + +He at once sent a sailor down with a flag to signal to the ship to stop +firing, then he went out into the street. As soon as he was seen he was +joined by the French lieutenant and the commander, with several officers +of the volunteers, together with Monsieur Pickard. + +"I think, gentlemen," Nat said, "that unless we take the offensive and +drive the blacks out of the town there will be little hope of +extinguishing the fire. The wind is blowing strongly in this direction, +and there is not a moment to be lost if we are to save the town. The +negroes must be thoroughly demoralized, they must have lost over a +thousand men here and three or four hundred before they entered the +town. It is quite likely that they have retreated already, but in any +case I do not anticipate any serious resistance." + +The others at once agreed. The drums were beaten, and the volunteers, +soldiers, and sailors poured out from the houses, and then, dividing +into three columns, advanced down the streets through which the blacks +had retired. They met with no resistance. A few negroes who had entered +houses to gather plunder were shot down as they issued out, but with +these exceptions none of the enemy were seen until the columns issued +from the town, when the negroes could be seen retreating at a run across +the plain. The French officer at once ran forward with his men to the +little battery, and sent shot after shot among them, for they were still +less than half a mile away. The sailors and volunteers slung their +muskets behind them, and, running back, endeavoured to check the course +of the flames. This, however, was impossible. The fire spread from house +to house with extraordinary rapidity. The wind hurled the burning flakes +on ahead, dropping many upon the inflammable roofs, and in twenty +minutes the whole quarter west of Royal Street was in flames. Nat was +now joined by Turnbull and all the crew, the two negroes, who had been +sent off to the ship with the boats, alone remaining in charge of the +vessel. + +"We have beaten the negroes, Turnbull, but the fire will beat us. If +this wind continues it will sweep the whole town away. It is useless to +try and save any of these native houses. Look at the burning flakes +flying over our heads!" + +After a short consultation with the French officers they agreed that the +only chance was to arrest the fire at the edge of the European quarter, +and that the whole force should at once set to work to pull down the +native houses adjoining them. The sound of cannon on the other side of +the town had continued until now, but it gradually ceased, as the news +reached the negroes there that the main attack, of whose success they +had felt sure, had hopelessly failed, and it was not long before the +troops from the batteries came up to assist the workers. Their labours, +however, were in vain. A shout of dismay called the attention of the men +who, half-blinded with the dust and smoke, were working their utmost. +Looking round, they saw that the flames were mounting up from several +of the houses behind them. The wood-work was everywhere as dry as +tinder, and the burning flakes, which were falling thickly upon them, +had set the houses on fire in a dozen places. + +"We can do nothing more, sir," the officer in command of the troops +said. "The business part of the town is doomed. All that we could even +hope to save are the detached houses standing in gardens and +shrubberies." + +So it turned out. The flames swept onward until the business quarter, as +well as the native town, was completely burnt out, and it needed all the +efforts of the soldiers and inhabitants to prevent the private +residences of the merchants and planters from being ignited by the +burning fragments scattered far and wide by the wind. It was noon when +the officers and crew of the _Agile_, accompanied by M. Pickard--who +was, like all the rest blackened by the dust and smoke--returned on +board. + +"Well, that has been as hot a morning's work as I ever went through," +Turnbull said. "It is hard to believe that a battle has been fought and +a town destroyed in the course of about five hours." + +"Yes; I think on the whole we may be very well satisfied, Turnbull, +though I suppose the people who have lost their houses and stores will +hardly see it in the same light. Still, they saved their lives, and at +any rate, Monsieur Pickard, you can be congratulated on having got all +your goods on board just in time." + +"I am thankful indeed that it is so," the planter said. "I hope, of +course, to get something for my estate. As to the house, after what we +have seen here I cannot set much value on it. What has happened this +morning may happen at Cape Francois to-morrow. They might not be able to +take it, but a dozen negroes choosing their time when a strong wind is +blowing, and starting the fires in as many places, might level the town +to the ground. At any rate, I shall direct the captain of the brig to +sail at once for Kingston, and to deliver the cargo to my agent there, +and shall proceed myself to Cape Francois. I wish to learn whether the +bank there has sent off its funds and securities to some safer place, or +is retaining them. In the latter case I shall withdraw them at once, and +shall put up my estates for sale." + +"I will give you a passage, Monsieur Pickard. I have nothing more to +stay here for, and shall sail up the coast to-morrow morning." + +"Thank you very much; I accept your offer with gladness. I am anxious to +close all my connection with this unfortunate island as soon as +possible." + +In the afternoon the governor of the town, with the officer commanding +the troops, the maire, and a deputation of the leading citizens, came +off to thank Nat for the assistance that his crew and guns had rendered. +They brought with them an official document rehearsing these services, +and saying that had it not been for the assistance they had rendered, +the town would undoubtedly have been captured by the blacks, and +probably all the whites on shore massacred, together with their wives +and families, who had taken refuge on board the shipping. The commandant +stated that this document would be sent to the British admiral at +Kingston. Nat replied very modestly, saying that both the officers and +men on board had rejoiced at being able to render a service in the cause +of humanity, and that he was only acting in accordance with the orders +he had received from the admiral to afford every aid in his power to the +white population of the island. + +After this official visit many of the merchants, planters, and military +officers came off individually to thank him for having saved their wives +and families by the protection that he had afforded to the shipping, +and by the aid given by his guns and the landing-party, which had alone +saved the town from capture. At daybreak next morning the _Agile_ got up +her anchor and started for the north. The brig containing Monsieur +Pickard's property had sailed the previous afternoon, and the rest of +the shipping were preparing to start at the time the _Agile_ got up +anchor. All of them were crowded with fugitives, the women and children +being now joined by many of their male relatives, who had lost almost +all they possessed by the destruction of their homes and warehouses. + +The next morning the brigantine arrived at Cape Francois. The news she +brought of the destruction of Port-au-Prince caused great excitement, as +it was felt that the fate that had befallen one town might well happen +to another. Monsieur Pickard at once went to the bank, where he found +that the greater portion of the specie and all valuable documents had +already been sent for safety to Jamaica, and he received an order upon +the bank there for the payment to him of the money he had placed on +deposit in the bank, and of the various securities and documents that +had been held in safe-keeping for him. He then went to pay a visit to +Monsieur Duchesne, to whose house Nat, who had landed with him, had gone +direct. The family were delighted to see him. + +"You may expect another visitor shortly," he said. "Monsieur Pickard has +come on shore with me; he has gone to the bank now, but said that he +would come on here later." + +"Then he has escaped," Madame Duchesne exclaimed. "We had hardly even +hoped that he and his family had done so, for we knew that the blacks +had risen everywhere in that part of the island." + +"Yes, I am happy to say that he, Madame Pickard, and his two daughters, +all got safely away; in fact, they all came off to my craft--not the +_Agile_, you know, but to the _Arrow_; and I had the pleasure of taking +them as passengers to Jamaica, where the ladies still are." + +"That is good news indeed," Myra said. "Valerie is a great friend of +mine. Of course Louise is younger, but I was very fond of her too. The +year before last I spent a couple of months with them at their +plantation; and, as I daresay they told you, they are always here for +three or four months in the winter season." + +Nat then told them what had taken place at Port-au-Prince, and how he +and his men had taken part in the fight. + +"It is terrible news indeed," said M. Duchesne; "and one can scarcely +feel safe here. Port-au-Prince is the largest town in Hayti, with the +exception only of this, which is quite as open to the danger of fire. I +think this will decide us on leaving. Matters seem going from bad to +worse. I don't know whether you know that three commissioners have +arrived from France. So far from improving the state of things, they are +making them worse every day. As far as can be seen, they are occupied +solely in filling their own pockets; they have enormously increased the +taxation, and that at a time when everyone is on the verge of ruin. No +account is given of the sums they collect, and certainly the money has +not been spent in taking any measures either for the safety of the town +or for the suppression of the insurrection. I have wound up all my +affairs here, and have disposed of our plantations. There are many who +still believe that in time everything will come right again; I have +myself no hope. Even if we got peaceful possession of our estates, there +would be no hands to work them. The freedom of all the blacks has been +voted by that mad assembly in Paris; and if there is one thing more +certain than another, it is that the negroes will not work until they +are obliged to, so the estates will be practically worthless. Therefore +I have accepted an offer for a sum which is about a quarter of what the +estate was worth before, and consider that it is so much saved out of +the fire." + +"Monsieur Pickard is of exactly the same opinion as you are," Nat said, +"and has come here principally for the purpose of disposing of his +estate on any terms that he can obtain." + +"Well, I do not think he will find any difficulty in getting about the +same proportion of value as we have done. The rich mulattoes are buying +freely, and, as I say, some of the whites are doing the same. Ah, here +he is! + +"Ah, my dear Pickard, we are glad indeed to see you, and to learn from +our friend here that your wife and daughters are safe in Jamaica." + +"We have been very anxious about you," Madame Duchesne said; "and Myra +has been constantly talking of your family." + +"It was the same with us, I can assure you, madame; and it is strange +that we should first have obtained tidings of your safety from Monsieur +Glover, and that you should also have obtained news of ours from him. +Still more so that while he has, as he said to us, been of some little +service to you--but which, we learnt from one of his officers, seems to +have been considerable--it is to him that we also owe our lives." + +"Little service!" Madame Duchesne repeated indignantly. "However, we +know Monsieur Glover of old. First of all he saved Myra's life from that +dog, and certainly he saved both our lives from the negroes. And did he +save yours? He has just told us that you came on board with him, and +that he took you to Jamaica. Still, that is not like what he did for +us." + +"That is one way of putting it, madame," Monsieur Pickard said with a +smile; "but as you say you know him of old, you will not be surprised at +the little story that I have to tell you." + +"Not now, Monsieur Pickard," Nat said hastily, "or if you do I shall +say good-bye to Madame Duchesne at once, and go straight on board." + +"You must not do that," Madame Duchesne said as he rose to his feet; +"you have only just arrived, and we are not going to let you off so +easily." + +"We will compromise," her husband said. "Now, Monsieur Glover, you know +that my wife and daughter will be dying of curiosity until they hear +this story. Suppose you take a turn down the town with me. I will go and +enquire whether there is any ship likely to sail in the course of a few +days or so for Jamaica. Then Monsieur Pickard can tell his story, and my +wife can retail it to me later on. You see, Monsieur Pickard's wife and +daughters are great friends of ours, and madame and Myra naturally wish +to hear what has happened to them during this terrible time." + +"Very well," Nat said with a laugh, "I don't mind accepting that +compromise; but really I do hate hearing things talked over which were +just ordinary affairs. But remember that Monsieur Pickard naturally will +make a great deal more of them than they are worth, since, no doubt, the +outcome of them was that he and his family did get out of the hands of +the blacks in consequence. Now, Monsieur Duchesne, I will start with you +at once, so that madame and Myra's curiosity may be satisfied as soon as +possible." + +Monsieur Duchesne took Nat first to call upon the three commissioners, +who happened to be gathered in council. The commandant at Port-au-Prince +had asked him to convey the report he had hastily drawn up of the attack +on the town. This he had sent ashore as soon as he anchored; and the +commissioners were discussing the news when Nat and Monsieur Duchesne +were shown in. + +"I thought, gentlemen," Nat said, "that you might perhaps like to ask me +questions upon any point that was not explained in the commandant's +report, which was, as he told me, drawn up in great haste; for with +four-fifths of the town laid in ashes, and the population homeless and +unprovided with food, his hands were full indeed." + +"Thank you, Lieutenant Glover. The report does full justice to your +interposition in our favour, and indeed states that had it not been for +the assistance rendered by yourself and the ship of war you command, the +town would unquestionably have been carried by the insurgents, and that +the whole of the whites, including the troops, would probably have been +massacred. Had this been done, it would undoubtedly have so greatly +encouraged the rioters that we could hardly have hoped to maintain our +hold even of this city." + +"I was only carrying out the orders that I received in landing to +protect the white inhabitants from massacre, gentlemen." + +"In your opinion, is anyone to blame for the course events took?" + +"Even had I that opinion," Nat said, "I should certainly not consider +myself justified in criticising the action of the officers and +authorities of a foreign power. However, the circle of the town was too +large to be defended by the force available, of whom half were +volunteers, ready to fight most gallantly, as I can testify, but not +possessing the discipline of trained troops. I do not think, however, +that even had batteries been erected all round the town, the insurgents +could have been prevented from effecting an entrance at some points, and +setting fire to the houses. They advanced with great determination, in +spite of the destructive grape fire maintained by the three guns of the +battery. Undoubtedly had the batteries been placed together on that +side, as on the one at which it was thought probable that the attack +would be made, the insurgents might have been repulsed, but it would +have needed a much larger force than that in the town to man all those +batteries. And I think it is by no means improbable that even in that +case the town might have been burnt; for there were still a large number +of negroes employed on the wharves and in the warehouses, and you may +take it as certain that some of these were in close communication with +the insurgents, and probably agreed to fire the town should their +friends fail to effect an entrance. I can only say, sir, that the +citizens enrolled for defence fought most gallantly, as did the small +party of soldiers manning the battery on that side, and that when the +fighting was over all laboured nobly to check the progress of the +flames." + +Several questions were put to him concerning the details of the +fighting, and the measures that had been taken for the safety of the +women and children, the part his own men played, and the manner in which +the insurgents, after gaining a footing in the town, had been prevented +from obtaining entire possession of it. At the conclusion of the +interview, which had lasted for upwards of two hours, the commissioners +thanked Nat very cordially. + +"You see," Monsieur Duchesne said, when they left the governor's house, +"they asked no single question as to whether you thought there was any +danger of a similar catastrophe taking place here." + +"Yes, I noticed they did not. If they had, I could have told them very +plainly that, although the negroes suffered very heavily, yet the news +that the second town in Hayti had been almost destroyed would be sure to +raise their hopes, and that I consider it extremely probable that some +day or other this town will also be attacked, and no time should be lost +in putting it into a state of thorough defence. I can't say that they +impressed me at all favourably." + +"Short as is the time that they have been here, they have managed to +excite all parties against them. They have issued an amnesty, pardoning +even those who have committed the most frightful atrocities upon us. +They have infuriated a portion of the mulattoes by announcing the repeal +of the decree in their favour. Without a shadow of legal authority they +have extorted large sums of money from those mulattoes who have remained +quiet and are resident here, and seem bent upon extracting all that +remains of their late fortune from the whites. One of them is frequently +drunk and leads a scandalous life; another appears bent solely upon +enriching himself; the third seems to be a well-meaning man, but he is +wholly under the control of his drunken companion. If this is the sort +of aid we are to receive from France, our future is hopeless indeed. +And, indeed, no small portion of my friends begin to see that unless +England takes possession of the island the future is altogether +hopeless. The general opinion here is that it is impossible that peace +can much longer be maintained between England and France, and they hope +that one of the first steps England will take after war is declared will +be to land an army here." + +"If the English government were persuaded that the mulattoes and negroes +as well as the whites were favourable, I should think that the island +might be annexed without difficulty; but unless all parties are agreed I +cannot think that a force could be spared that could even hope for +success. It would have been an easy task before the mulattoes and the +slaves learned their own strength, but it is a very different thing now; +and I should say that it would need at least five-and-twenty thousand +men, and perhaps even twice that number, to reduce the island to +submission and to restore peace and order. I cannot think that, engaged +in a war with France, England would be able to spare anything like that +force for a difficult and almost certainly a long series of operations +here." + +By this time they had arrived at Monsieur Duchesne's house. + +"Our friend has only just finished his story," Madame Duchesne said, as +he entered. "What a story! what frightful sufferings! what horrors! +and," she added with a smile, though her eyes were full of tears--"what +'little' service rendered by you and your brave crew! He has told it +all, and of your fight afterwards with that terrible pirate, and how you +have added to the list of those you have saved from terrible deaths some +eighteen or twenty Spanish gentlemen and ladies, and twice as many +sailors." + +"Yes, I have had wonderful luck," Nat said; "and you see I have been +well rewarded. I am only just out of my time as a midshipman, and I am +in command of a fine ship, which, in the ordinary course of things, I +could not have hoped for for another eight or ten years. I have gained a +considerable amount of prize-money, and best of all, the friendship of +yourselves and the family of Monsieur Pickard. And the real author of +all this is Mademoiselle Myra, who was good enough to have that little +quarrel with her aunt's dog just at the time that I happened to be +passing." + +This raised a laugh, which in Myra's case became almost hysterical, and +her mother had to take her out of the room. + +"Now, Monsieur Duchesne, I will take this opportunity of returning on +board. I promised you that I would come ashore and dine with you this +evening, but I must really make its fulfilment conditional upon your +assuring me that there shall be no allusion to any of my adventures." + +[Illustration: A MESSAGE FROM TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE.] + +"At any rate, I will impress upon my wife and daughter that the subject +must be tabooed, and I have no doubt that they will do their best to +avoid it, if they can keep away from the topic that cannot but be +present in their minds. After hearing Monsieur Pickard's story--of +which, as you must remember, I am at present wholly ignorant--you see +that, intimate as the two families have been, it is not surprising +that they should have been greatly affected by it, especially as for the +last month they have been mourning for them as dead." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE + + +The _Agile_ only remained for two days at Cape Francois, but in that +time Nat had learned enough of the doings of the French commissioners to +see that the position was becoming hourly more and more hopeless, and +nought short of the arrival of a powerful army from France under a +capable commander, without political bias and with supreme authority, or +the taking over of the island by the English, could bring back peace and +prosperity. He was, however, rejoiced to know that Monsieur Duchesne had +already taken passages for himself, his wife and daughter, and the old +nurse, to Jamaica, and would leave in a few days; and that Monsieur +Pickard had received and accepted an offer for his estate, which was at +least as good as he had hoped for, and would also return to Kingston as +soon as the necessary documents could be prepared and signed. + +For some weeks the _Agile_ cruised backwards and forwards along the +coast of Hayti without adventure. Nat had endeavoured, but +unsuccessfully, to open communication with the blacks under Biassou and +Francois, the two chief negro leaders. It was seldom, indeed, that he +caught sight of a human being except when cruising in the bay. The +mountains along both the north and the south coast were thinly +populated. The white planters and employees had perished to a man, and +all the smaller villages had been deserted. St. Louis, Jacmel, Fesle, +and Sale Trou were occupied by small bodies of French troops, but most +of the settlers had left; and the whole of the negroes had from the +first taken to the mountains. The same was the case at Port Dauphin, +Port de Paix, Le Cap, and St. Nicholas on the north. It was at St. +Nicholas that he was for the first time able to open communication with +the negroes. He had anchored in the bay, and, among the native boats +that came off to sell fruit and fresh meat, was one in which a mulatto +of shabby appearance was seated in the stern. As the boat came alongside +he stood up, and said to Turnbull, who was leaning on the rail watching +the sailors bargaining with the negroes: + +"Can I speak with the captain, sir? I have a message for him." + +"Yes, I have no doubt that he will see you. Come on deck." + +The man climbed up the side, and followed Turnbull aft to where Nat was +sitting. + +"This man wants to speak to you, sir." + +"I am the bearer of a letter," he said, "to the English officer +commanding this ship," and he handed him a very small note. It was as +follows:-- + + _Sir,--As there are rumours that some of the people of this island + have opened negotiations with the governor of Jamaica, we, who + represent the coloured people of this country, will be glad to have + a conversation with you, and to learn from you what would probably + be the conditions on which your country would be likely to accept + the sovereignty of this island. What would be the condition of the + coloured people here if they did so? Should we be guaranteed our + freedom and rights as men, or would it mean merely a change of + masters? If you are willing to accede to this invitation, I will + personally guarantee your safety, and that, whatever the result of + our conversation might be, you shall be escorted in safety back to + your ship. We are willing that you should be accompanied by not + more than six of your sailors, for whose safety I would be equally + responsible. The bearer of this will arrange with you as to the + point and hour at which you would land._ + +This was signed "Toussaint." + +Nat remembered the name. + +"Is the writer of this the man who was the coachman of Monsieur Bayou, +the agent of the Count de Noe?" + +"The same, sir. He is now next in command to Biassou and Francois. He is +greatly respected among the negroes, and is their chief doctor." + +"I have met him, and know that he is worthy of confidence. This is just +what we have been wanting, Turnbull," he said, handing the letter to +him. + +"Then you know this man?" Turnbull said, after he had read it, and +stepped a few paces away from the messenger, so as to be able to +converse unheard by him. + +"Yes, he is one of the few who remained faithful at the rising, +concealed his master and family in the woods, and got them safely off. I +had an interview with him, and endeavoured to get him to do as much for +Madame Duchesne, but he refused, saying that he had done his duty to his +master and must now do it to his countrymen. I had frequently spoken +with him before. He bore a very high character, and was much respected +by all the negroes in the plantations round. As you see, he writes and +expresses himself well, and has, indeed, received a very fair education, +and is as intelligent as an ordinary white man. I am quite sure that I +can place confidence in him." + +"Perhaps so, but the question is not whether he would be willing, but +whether he would have the power, to ensure your safety. Biassou is, by +all accounts, a perfect monster of cruelty." + +"Yes, they say he is the most fiendish of all these savage brutes. Of +course I must risk that. My instructions, as you know, are to open +communication with the negroes, if possible, and ascertain their +intentions. This is the first opportunity that has offered, and I can +hardly expect a more favourable one." + +"You will take one of us with you, I hope." + +"No; if anything happens to me the _Agile_ must have a captain, and you +would want at least one officer." + +He returned to the mulatto. + +"Shall I give you a message in writing, or will you take it by word of +mouth?" + +"I do not want writing, sir; if I were searched, and it were found that +I was an agent of Toussaint, I should be hung at once. You give me a +message, and I will repeat it." + +"Tell Toussaint that the commander of this ship is Mr. Glover, whom he +will remember to have seen at Monsieur Duchesne's plantation and +elsewhere, and who knows him to be an honourable man, and will therefore +trust himself in the mountains relying upon his promise of protection. +You understand that?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Please repeat my words." + +The man did so. + +"How far is Toussaint from here?" + +"Six hours' journey among the hills." + +"Then tell him that I will land to-morrow night, or rather the next +morning, an hour before daybreak--that is to say, at about half-past +four. That time will be best, because the boat will return to the ship +before it is light enough for it to be seen. Where do you propose that I +shall go?" + +"You see that rock near the end of the point to the south?--it is about +three miles from there. To the left of that rock is a sandy beach, which +is a good place for landing. Your escort will be there waiting for you." + +The mulatto bowed, and at once went over the side and got into his boat, +while the two men who had rowed him out were still busy selling fruit to +the crew. Nat told Sambo to go and buy some fruit, not because they +really wanted it, for a supply had already been bought, but in order +that, should any of the negroes in the other boats have noticed the +mulatto coming on board, it would be supposed that he had done so in +order to persuade the steward to deal with him. The next day four picked +men were chosen to accompany Nat. They were to take no muskets with +them, but each was to carry, in addition to his cutlass, a pistol in his +belt, and another concealed in the bosom of his shirt. The absence of +muskets was intended to show the negroes that the party had no fear as +to their safety. Nat himself intended to carry only his sword, and a +double-barrelled pistol in his belt. At four o'clock on the following +morning, he and the four men took their places in the gig, and were +rowed ashore to the point agreed on. As they landed a negro came down to +meet them. + +"Toussaint charged me to tell you, sir, that he has sent twelve men +down, and that he has done so lest you should meet other parties of our +people who might not know of this safe-conduct that he has given you." + +And he handed a document to Nat. + +"He has done well," Nat said. "I know that I can rely upon Toussaint, +but I myself have thought it possible that we might fall in with men of +other bands, and I have therefore brought four of my sailors with me. I +am ready to start with you whenever you choose." + +"We will go on at once. The hills are very close here, but it is best +that we should be well among them before it is daylight, or we might be +noticed by someone in the town. They would not concern themselves much +with us, but your dress and that of the sailors would be sure to cause +talk and excite suspicion among the soldiers." + +He went up to some negroes standing a short distance away and gave them +an order. They at once started. He himself took his place by Nat, and +the sailors followed close behind. + +"You talk French very well," Nat said. + +"Yes, sir, thanks to Toussaint. You do not remember me, though I should +know you were it daylight, for I have seen you several times when you +have been over at our plantation with Mademoiselle Duchesne. I was chief +helper in Monsieur Bayou's stables. Of an evening Toussaint had a sort +of school, and four or five of us always went to him, and I learned to +read and write, and to talk French as the whites talk it and not as we +do. He is a good man, and we all love him. There are many who think he +will one day be king of the island; he knows much more than any of the +others. But it may be that he will be killed before that, for Biassou +hates him because he does not like his cruel ways and speaks boldly +against them, which no one else dare do, not even Francois, whom we all +regard as equal in rank to him. + +"There have been many quarrels, but Biassou knows well enough that if he +were to hurt Toussaint there would be a general outcry, and that he and +the men who carried out his orders would assuredly be killed. For all +that no one doubts that he would get Toussaint removed quietly if there +was a chance of doing so, but we do not mean to give him the chance. +There are twenty of us who keep guard over him. As for Toussaint, he is +not like the others, who, when there is nothing else to be done, spend +their time in feasting and drinking. He is always busy attending to the +wounded who are brought up to him, or the sick, of whom there are many, +for the cold air in the mountains has brought down great numbers with +the fever, especially those whose plantations lay on the plain, and who +were accustomed to sleep in huts. Very many have died, but Toussaint has +saved many, and were it needed he could have two hundred for his guard +instead of twenty. + +"But indeed he thinks not of danger, his whole thoughts are taken up +with his work; and he is often without regular sleep for nights +together, so great is the need for his services." + +The ground at once began to rise rapidly, and before the day fairly +broke they were high among the hills. When it became light Nat examined +the document Toussaint had sent to him. It ran as follows:-- + + _I, Toussaint, do give notice to all that I have given this + safe-conduct and my solemn promise for his safety to Monsieur + Glover, a British officer, with whom I desire to converse on + matters of importance._ + +Then followed his signature and a great seal in red wax. + +"It was the one Monsieur Bayou used," the negro said. "Toussaint brought +it and the wax from his office, and uses it often, so that we may all +recognize it when we see it--for, as you know, sir, there are scarcely +any of our people who can read." + +After three hours' walking the man pointed out a wood near the crest of +a high hill a mile distant. + +"Toussaint is there," he said. "He accompanied us to that point in order +that you should have less distance to travel." + +Nat was by no means sorry at the news. The way had been very steep and +difficult, and the sun had now gained great power. As they neared the +edge of the wood, Toussaint came out to meet him. + +"I am glad to see you, Monsieur Glover," he said quietly. "I learned +from our people at Cape Francois that you had returned there with Madame +Duchesne and her daughter, and I rejoiced indeed at your escape, which +seemed to me marvellous, for how you avoided the search made for you I +could not tell. They told me that Madame Duchesne was carried down on a +litter, which must have greatly added to your difficulties. I hardly +thought, monsieur, when I saw you last that we should thus meet again, I +as one of the leaders of my people, you as commander of an English +ship." + +"No; things change quickly, Toussaint." + +The negro led the way to a rough hut constructed of boughs and trees in +the centre of the clump. + +"You must need breakfast, and, as you see, it is ready for you. Your men +will be cared for." + +The breakfast was rough, but Nat enjoyed it greatly. Toussaint remarked +that he himself had breakfasted an hour before, and he talked while his +guest ate. + +"It is as well," he said, "that you should be down near the spot where +you landed before it is dark, for the track is far too rough to travel +after dark. I suppose you have ordered your boat to come to fetch you?" + +"Yes, I ordered it to be there as soon as it could leave the ship +without being seen from the shore; but I hardly thought that I should be +able to return this evening, as your messenger told me that your camp +was six hours' journey among the hills." + +"Yes, my camp is there, and I too would like to return before nightfall. +There are many who need my care, and I have already been too long away. +Now, Monsieur Glover, as to the subject on which I asked you to come to +converse with me. We have heard that some of the planters have sent a +deputation to Jamaica asking the governor to send troops to take this +island for England. We, as you doubtless know, are not for the republic. +We call ourselves the royal army, seeing that the National Assembly of +France refuse to do anything for us. It is true that their commissioners +at Cape Francois have issued a proclamation offering a free pardon to +all who have been concerned in the insurrection, and freedom and equal +rights to men of all colour. We do not believe them. The Assembly care +nothing for us. They passed a decree giving rights to the mulattoes, but +in no way affecting us; and then, directly they found that the mulattoes +were exercising their rights, they passed another decree reversing the +first. One cannot expect good faith in men like these; they would wait +till we had laid down our arms and returned to our plantations, and then +they would shoot us down like dogs, just as they are murdering all the +best men of their own country and keeping their king a prisoner. +Therefore we do not recognize the republic, but are for the king." + +"I fear there will soon be no king for you to recognize," Nat said; +"everything points to the fact that they are determined to murder him, +as they have murdered every noble and every good man in the country." + +"I see that," Toussaint said gravely, "but the number of those who know +what is passing in France is small. However, we who do know, and are +responsible for the mass who trust in us, must consider what is the best +thing to do. Do you think there will be a war between France and +England?" + +"I think that if the king is murdered the indignation in England, which +is already intense, will be so great that war is certain." + +"So much the better for us," Toussaint said. "The more they fight +against each other, the less will they be able to pay attention to +Hayti; but on the other hand the more likely will it be that the English +will endeavour to obtain possession of this island. Now, between the +French and the English we have no great choice. We regard ourselves as +French; we speak the French language, and have, ever since the colony +was first formed, lived under the French flag. Then, on the other hand, +the French have been our masters, and we are determined that they shall +never again be so. Now as to your people. In their own islands they have +slaves just as the French have here, and we have no intention of +changing slavery under one set of masters for slavery under another. +Now, sir, do you think that if the English were to come here they would +guarantee that slavery should never exist again in the island?" + +"That I cannot say," Nat said. "I cannot answer for what the British +parliament would do in that matter. The feeling against slavery is +growing very fast in England, and I feel convinced that before long a +law will be passed putting a stop altogether to the transportation of +negroes from Africa; but whether that feeling will, at any rate for a +long time, so gain in strength as to cause parliament to pass a law +abolishing slavery altogether in British dominions, is more than I can +say. It would be a tremendous step to take. It would mean absolute ruin +to our islands; for you know as well as I do that your people are not +disposed for work, and would never make steady labourers if allowed to +live in their own way. Then you see, were slavery abolished altogether +in this island, it would be difficult in the extreme to continue it in +others." + +"But they would not find us as slaves here," Toussaint said. "They would +find us a free people, without masters, unattached to any plantation or +to any regular toil; we should be like the Caribs in Jamaica. It would +be as if they came to a land which foreigners had never visited. They +would find a people with arms in their hands, and perfectly capable of +defending themselves, but ready to accept the sovereignty of England on +the condition that our personal liberty was in no way interfered with." + +"There is a great deal in what you say, Toussaint, and to-morrow I shall +sail for Jamaica and explain exactly the line you take to the admiral. I +may say that in coming to see you I do so in accordance with the orders +that I received, to ascertain if possible the views of the leaders of +this movement." + +"If these terms are refused," Toussaint went on, "and your people invade +the island, we shall leave you and the French to fight it out until we +perceive which is the stronger, and as soon as we do so, shall aid the +weaker. I do not say that we shall stand aloof up to that time, we shall +fight against both, they would be equally our enemies; but if one were +so far getting the better of it as to be likely to drive the other out, +then in self-defence we should unite our forces against it. I may say +that although we and the mulattoes are both fighting against the French, +the alliance is not likely to be a long one. We all know that if they +got the upper hand they would be far more cruel and more tyrannous than +the whites have been. They have ever looked down upon us, and have +treated us with far greater contempt than have the whites, who, to do +them justice, were kindly masters, and especially treated their house +servants well. There will therefore be four parties here all hostile to +each other. You and the French will be striving for mastery, we for +liberty, the mulattoes for the domination of the island and for their +personal interest. The way I have pointed out is, in my opinion, the +only one that can bring about peace. If your government and people will +give us a solemn undertaking that in no case shall slavery ever be +re-established, and that all men shall have equal rights, we will join +you heart and soul. When I say equal rights I do not mean that they +shall have votes. We are at present absolutely unfit to have votes or +to exercise political power. I only mean that the law shall be the same +for us as for the whites, that we shall be taxed on the same scale in +proportion to our means, that the assembly shall have no power to make +separate laws concerning us, and that, should they attempt to make such +laws, they should be at once dissolved by the white authorities of the +island." + +"I think your proposal a perfectly fair one, Toussaint, and I have no +doubt that any one who has, as I have, a knowledge of the situation +here, would not hesitate to accept it. But I doubt whether public +opinion at home is ripe for a change that would be denounced by all +having an interest in the West Indian Islands, and declared by them to +be absolutely destructive to their prosperity. However, you may be +assured that I shall represent your offer in the most favourable light. +I must ask, however, are you empowered by the other leaders to make it?" + +"I have talked the matter with Francois, who is wholly of my opinion," +Toussaint said. "It is useless to talk to Biassou; when he is not +murdering someone he is drinking; but his opposition would go for +little, except among the very worst of our people. He is already +regarded with horror and disgust, and you may be assured that his career +will ere long come to an end, in which case Francois and I will share +the power between us. At the same time I do not blind myself to the +possibility that other leaders may arise. The men of one district know +but little of the others, and may elect their own chiefs. Still, I think +that if I had the authority to say that the proposal I have made to you +had been accepted, I could count on the support of the great majority of +the men of my colour, for already they are beginning to find that a life +of lawless liberty has its drawbacks. Already we have been obliged to +order that a certain amount of work shall be done by every man among +the plantations beyond the reach of the towns, in order to ensure a +supply of food. + +"The order has been obeyed, but not very willingly, for there can be no +doubt that a portion of the men believed that when they had once got rid +of the masters there would be no occasion whatever for any further work, +but that they would somehow be supplied with an abundance of all that +they required. The sickness that has prevailed has also had its effect. +There are few, indeed, here who have any knowledge of medicine, and the +poor people have suffered accordingly. When in the plantations they were +always well tended in sickness, while here they have had neither shelter +nor care. It is all very well to tell them that liberty cannot be +obtained without sacrifices, and that it must be a long time before +things settle down and each man finds work to do, but the poor people, +ignorant as they are, are like children, and think very little of the +future. The effect of centuries of slavery will take many years to +remedy. For myself, although I believe that we shall finally obtain what +we desire, and shall become undisputed masters of the island, I foresee +that our troubles are only beginning. We have had no training for +self-government. We shall have destroyed the civilization that reigned +here, and shall have nothing to take its place, and I dread that instead +of progressing we may retrograde until we sink back into the condition +in which we lived in Africa." + +At this moment a negro ran up. + +"Doctor," he said, "there are a large number of our people close at +hand, and I think I can make out Biassou among them." + +"I fear that we may have some trouble, Monsieur Glover," Toussaint said +quietly, "but be assured that I and those with me will maintain my +safe-conduct with our lives. Biassou must have arrived at my camp after +I left, and he must have heard there that I was going to meet an English +officer, and has followed me. He was present when Francois and I +arranged to send a messenger to propose a meeting to you, and he then +assented, but as often as not he forgets in the morning what he has +agreed to overnight." + +He went apart and spoke to his men. Twenty of them had accompanied him +from his camp, and with the twelve who had formed the escort, and Nat +and the sailors, there were in all thirty-eight, and from the quiet way +in which they took up their arms Nat had little doubt that they would, +if necessary, make a stout fight against Biassou's savages. + +These arrived in two or three minutes. They had evidently travelled at +the top of their speed, for their breath came fast, and they were bathed +in sweat. Their aspect was savage in the extreme. Most of them wore some +garment or other the spoil of murdered victims, some of them broad +Panama-hats, others had women's shawls wrapped round their waists as +sashes, some had jackets that were once white, others were naked to the +waist. A few had guns, the rest either axes or pikes, and all carried +long knives. Conspicuous among them was Biassou himself, a negro of +almost gigantic stature and immense strength, to which he owed no small +part of his supremacy among his friends. He came on shouting "Treachery! +treachery!" words that were re-echoed in a hoarse chorus by his +followers, who numbered about a hundred and fifty. + +At the threatening aspect of the new-comers, Toussaint's men closed up +round him, but he signed them to stand back, and quietly awaited the +coming of Biassou. The calmness of Toussaint had its effect on Biassou. +Instead of rushing at him with his axe, as it had seemed was his +intention, he paused and again shouted "Treachery!" + +"What nonsense are you talking, Biassou?" Toussaint said. "I am +carrying out the arrangement to which you and Francois agreed the other +night, and am having an interview with this British officer." + +"When did I agree to such a thing?" the great negro roared. + +"Last Friday night we agreed that it was well that we should learn the +intentions of the English, and that we should ascertain the position in +which we should stand were they to come here." + +"I remember nothing about it, Toussaint." + +"That is possible enough," the latter replied. "You know that it is no +uncommon thing for you to forget in the morning what was arranged +overnight. This officer has come here on my invitation and under my +safe-conduct, and no man shall touch him while I live." + +"It is agreed," Biassou said, "and all have sworn to it, that no white +who falls into our hands shall be spared. Such is the case, is it not?" +he said to his followers; and they answered with a loud shout and began +to press forward. + +"These men have not fallen into our hands," Toussaint said, "they have +come here on our invitation, and, as I have told you, with our +safeguard." + +"It is all very well for you to talk, Toussaint; I know you. You pretend +to be with us, but your heart is with the whites, and you are here to +conspire with them against us," and he raised his axe as if about to +rush forward. + +"This is madness, Biassou," Toussaint said sternly. "Have we not enough +enemies now that we should quarrel among ourselves? You have done enough +harm to our cause already by your horrible cruelties, for which every +coloured man who falls into the hands of the whites has to suffer +severely. Beware how you commence a conflict; you may be more numerous +than we are, but we are better armed, and even if you overpowered us in +the end, you would suffer heavily before you did so." + +"I wish you no harm, Toussaint, but for the last time I demand that +these white men shall be given up to me." + +"And for the last time I refuse," Toussaint said; and his men without +orders moved up close to him. + +Biassou stood for a moment irresolute, and then, with a shout to his men +to follow him, sprang forward. In an instant Nat threw himself before +Toussaint, and when Biassou was within a couple of yards of him threw up +his arm and levelled his pistol between the negro's eyes. + +"Drop that axe," he shouted, "or you are a dead man!" + +The negro stood like a black statue for an instant. The pistol was but a +foot from his face, and he knew that before his uplifted axe could fall +he would be a dead man. + +"Drop it!" Nat repeated. "If you don't before I count three, I fire. +One--two--" and the negro's axe fell to the ground. "Stand where you +are!" Nat exclaimed, "the slightest movement and I fire! Come up here, +men!" + +The four sailors came up, cutlass in one hand and pistol in the other. + +"This man is your prisoner," he said. "Keep him between you, one on each +side and the other two behind. If he makes the slightest movement to +escape, or if the blacks behind approach any nearer, send your four +bullets into his brain." + +The men took up their stations as directed. + +"Now, Biassou," he went on, lowering his own pistol, "you can continue +your conference with Toussaint." + +[Illustration: "DROP IT!" NAT REPEATED.] + +"You see, Biassou," Toussaint said, "you have only rendered yourself +ridiculous. I repeat what I said before, this officer is here in answer +to my invitation sent to him after Francois and you had agreed that it +was advantageous to learn what the objects of the English were. If you +question him you will find that it is as I say. We have had our +conference, have expressed our views, and he will repeat what I have +said to the British governor of Jamaica; and I think that, whatever the +result may be, it is well that the English should understand that we +have resolved that, whether they or the French are the possessors of +this island, slavery is abolished for ever here. He will return at once +to the coast, and will then sail direct for Jamaica. Now, if you have +any observation to make, I shall be glad to hear it." + +"I do not doubt what you say," Biassou replied sullenly; "but it must be +settled by what Francois says when we rejoin him." + +"So be it," Toussaint said. "And now, I pray you, let there be no +quarrel between us. I have been forced to withstand you, because I was +bound by a sacred promise. Any divisions will be fatal to our cause. For +the moment you may be in superior force, but another time those who love +and follow me might be the more numerous. You well know that I am as +faithful to the cause as you are, and we must both set an example to our +followers, that while we may differ as to the methods by which success +is to be gained, we are at one in our main object." + +"I admit that I was wrong," the great negro said frankly. "I drank more +than was good for me before I started, and my blood has been heated by +the speed with which we followed you. I am sober now, for which I have +to thank," he added with a grim smile, "this young officer; though I own +that I do not like his method. Let us think no more of it;" and he held +out his hand to Toussaint, which the latter took. + +A shout of satisfaction rose from the negroes on both sides. The +determined attitude of Toussaint's men, the fact that they had four +whites among them, and that almost all of them had muskets, had cooled +the courage of Biassou's followers, who, as soon as their leader was +captured, saw that even if they gained the victory, it would be at the +cost of at least half their number. There was no prospect of plunder or +of any advantage, and they knew that, beloved and respected as Toussaint +was, it was very possible that those who did survive the fight would +fall victims to the indignation that would be aroused at the news of an +attack being made upon him. + +"Now that it is all settled we may as well be starting for the coast, +Toussaint," Nat said. "There is nothing more for us to arrange, and as +our presence here might possibly lead to further trouble, the sooner we +are off the better." + +"I will not ask you to stay," the negro said. "I do not think that we +shall have any more trouble, but there is no saying. Several of +Biassou's men have wine-skins with them, and a quarrel might arise when +they had drunk more. I will send you down under the same escort as +before." + +"I do not think that we shall need so many. I should not like to weaken +you so far." + +"There is no fear for me," Toussaint said decidedly. "Arriving in hot +blood they might have attacked me, but I am sure they will not do so +now. They know well enough that I should be terribly avenged were they +to do so. It is quite necessary that you should take as many men as +before, for it is possible that some of Biassou's men might steal away +and follow you." + +A few minutes afterwards Nat set out with his men and his guard of +twelve blacks. It was still some hours before the time at which he was +to be met by the boat. They therefore halted when within a mile of the +shore, and there waited until it was dark. Then he went on alone with +the four sailors to the beach, and in a few minutes after they arrived +there they heard the sound of the oars of the gig. + +"I am heartily glad to see you back again," Turnbull said as Nat stepped +on to the deck. "Lippincott and I have been horribly uneasy about you +all day. Did everything go off quietly?" + +"Yes, except for two or three minutes, when that bloodthirsty scoundrel +Biassou came upon the scene with a hundred and fifty of his followers. +There was very nearly a shindy then, but it passed off; for he did not +like looking down the muzzle of my pistol at a few inches from his head, +and my four men made him a prisoner until affairs had taken a friendly +turn, which was not long after. For when the leader of a party is a +prisoner, and his guards have orders to shoot him instantly if there is +any trouble, it is astonishing how quick people are in coming to an +understanding." + +"Yes, I should say so," Turnbull laughed. "However, as it has turned out +well, and you have fulfilled your mission, it doesn't matter to us; and +I hope that we have now done with this creeping alongshore work." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +A FRENCH FRIGATE + + +On arriving at Kingston Nat went on board the flag-ship, and reported to +the admiral the particulars of his visit to Toussaint. + +"He is evidently a long-headed fellow," the admiral said, "and from his +point of view his proposal is a fair one; but I am afraid our people at +home would never give such an undertaking. It would be impossible for us +to have one island where the blacks were free, while in all others they +would remain slaves. It would be as much as saying to them, 'If you want +freedom you must fight for it;' and even if the people at home could +bring themselves to pay the immense amount of money that would be +required to emancipate the slaves by indemnifying their owners, it would +nevertheless be the ruin of the islands, and all connected with them. +However, I will take you ashore to the governor, after my clerk has made +a copy of your report." + +"I have made two copies, sir." + +"All the better. Then we will go at once." + +The governor heard Nat's story, and received his report. + +"It is at least satisfactory," he said, "to have learnt from one of +themselves what the views of the principal leaders are, and I consider +that you have performed your commission exceedingly well, Lieutenant +Glover, and, undoubtedly, at a great deal of risk to yourself. As to the +matter of the communication, it will of course receive serious +attention. It is far too important a business for anyone to give +off-hand an opinion upon it. I fancy, sir, that you are likely to have +more active work before long, for I think there is no doubt that war +will very shortly be declared with France, and her privateers will be +swarming about these seas." + +It was nearly six months before any special incident took place. No +vessel had been missing since the capture of the _Agile_, and it was +evident that any pirates there might have been among the islands had +moved to waters where they could carry on their trade with less +interruption. The _Agile_ cruised about among the islands, and although +she had a pleasant time, officers and men alike grew impatient at the +uneventful nature of their work. Things were but little changed in +Hayti. Biassou had been deprived of his command, and it was surmised +that he had been murdered, but at any rate he was never heard of again. +Francois and Toussaint commanded, but the former came to be so jealous +of Toussaint's popularity that the latter was obliged to retire, and to +cross the frontier into the Spanish part of the island. There he was +well received, and showed great ability in various actions against the +French, with whom Spain was then at war. He and many other negroes had +declared for Spain, upon the singular ground that they had always been +governed by a king, and preferred to be ruled by the king of Spain +rather than by a republic. + +With only six hundred men Toussaint drove fifteen hundred French out of +a strong post which they occupied in the Spanish town of Raphaelita, and +afterwards took several other posts and villages. It was for these +successes that he gained the name of L'Ouverture, or opener, and the +Marquis D'Hermona gave him the rank of lieutenant-general. The three +French commissioners had returned to France, and had been succeeded by +two others, Santhonax and Poveren, the former a ruffian of the same type +as those who were deluging the soil of France with its best blood, and +who made themselves odious to both parties by their brutality and greed. +At last, at the end of February, 1793, came the news of the execution of +the king of France, and the certainty that war was imminent. + +"Now we shall have more lively times," Turnbull said. "It has been dull +enough of late." + +"There has been nothing to grumble at," the surgeon said. "What would +you have? Haven't we been sailing about like gentlemen, with nothing to +do but to drink and sleep, and look at the islands, and take things easy +altogether?" + +"Don't you talk, Doyle," Turnbull said, laughing. "There is no one who +has grumbled more than yourself." + +"That is in the cause of science," the Irishman retorted. "How can I +ever become a distinguished man, and show what is in me, and make all +sorts of discoveries, if there is never a chance that comes in my way? +There are my instruments all ready for use, they might as well be at the +bottom of the sea. I hone them once a week, and well-nigh shed tears +because of the good work they ought to be doing. It is all very well +for you, Turnbull, you won't forget how to kill a man when the time +comes; but let me tell you that any fellow who doesn't know his A B C +can kill a man, whereas it takes a man of science to cure him." + +"There is a good deal in that, Doyle," Nat said, when the laugh had +subsided, "though I don't know that I considered it in that light +before; but that, perhaps, is because I have tried one and never tried +the other." + +"It's a fine thing," Doyle said, "to be a surgeon. There you see a man +with his legs shot off. If it was not for you he would die. You take him +in hand, you amputate a bit higher up, you make him tidy and +comfortable, and there he is walking about almost as well as if he had +two legs; and although he is not fit for ship service again, he would be +as good a man in a fight with a cudgel as ever he was. Now I ask you +fairly, what is there that you can do to compare with that?" + +"Nothing in that way, I must admit," Nat laughed, "Well, you may be +having an opportunity of showing your superiority before long. This is +just the ground the French privateers are likely to choose. There are +plenty of French ports for them to put into, hundreds of bays where they +could lie hidden, and lots of shipping to plunder. No doubt they will be +thick in the channel and down the straits, but our merchantmen will not +think of going there unless in large fleets or under convoy of ships of +war; while here, though they might be guarded on their way across the +Atlantic, they would have to scatter as soon as they were among the +islands. Well, we must look out that we are not caught napping. Of +course, until we get news that war is declared we can't fire upon a +Frenchman; while if one arrived with the news before we got it, he might +sail up close by us and pour in a broadside." + +"At any rate we are likely to take some prizes," Lippincott said, "for +the instant we get the news we can pounce upon any French merchantman." + +"Yes; those homeward-bound could hardly hear the news as soon as we do, +while of those coming out many slow sailers will have left before war is +declared, and may not be here for weeks after we hear of it. The great +thing will be for us to put ourselves on the main line of traffic. As we +have received no special orders we can cruise where we like. I should +say that coming from France, they would be likely to keep down the coast +of Spain and on to Madeira before they strike across, as in that way +they would be altogether out of the line of the Gulf Stream. Then, if +they were making for Hayti, they would probably be coming along west on +or about the 20th parallel north; while, if making for Guadeloupe or +Martinique, they would be some three or four degrees farther south. +Probably privateers would follow the same lines, as before commencing +operations they would want to take in provisions and water, to learn +where our cruisers are likely to be, to pick up pilots, and so on. So I +should say that we can cruise about these waters for another fortnight +safely, and then go through the Caribbean Islands and cruise some +seventy or eighty miles beyond them, carefully avoiding putting into any +of our own islands as we pass." + +"Why should you do that?" Turnbull asked. + +"Because the chances are that we should find, either at Barbados or St. +Lucia or Dominica--or, in fact, at any of the other islands, one of our +frigates, or at any rate, some officer senior to me; and in that case, +as we have no fixed orders from the admiral, we might be detained or +sent off in some direction that might not suit us at all." + +"Good!" Doyle said. "It is always a safe rule to keep out of the way of +a bigger man than yourself. I have always observed that a captain of a +man-of-war or of a frigate is sure to be down on small craft, if he gets +a chance. It is like a big boy at school fagging a little one; he could +do quite as well without him, but it is just a matter of devilment and +to show his authority. Heaven protect us against falling in with a +frigate. If she were a Frenchman she would sink us; if she were a +Britisher she would bully us." + +They reached the ground on which Nat had decided to cruise. Three days +later the look-out at the mast-head shouted "Sail ho!" the words acting +like an electric shock to those on deck. + +"How does it bear?" + +"About east by north, sir. There are three vessels; I can only see their +topsails at present. Two of them are a bit bigger than the third. They +look to me to be merchantmen. I should say the other, by the cut of his +sails, is a Frenchman." + +A low cheer broke from the men. "Now, if that fellow brings news that +war is declared, we are in luck," Nat said. "Either he is convoying two +French merchantmen he has overtaken, or he has two British prizes he has +picked up. If they are English, we shall not get so much prize-money; +but then we shall have less difficulty with the privateer, if privateer +she is, because she must have put a good many of her hands an board the +prizes. So we can in either case count upon doing well. At any rate they +are not likely to suspect that we are English, being French-built and +French-rigged. Even if they have a doubt, they will be satisfied as soon +as they see the name on our bows. We will not get up any more sail." + +"I will go up and have a look at her," Turnbull said; and slinging his +glass over his shoulder he went aloft. + +"I think," he called down, after a long look at them, "that the middle +ship is a good deal larger than she looks; and the others are carrying +every stitch of canvas, but she has neither royals nor topgallant-sails. +Her yards have a wide spread, and I am inclined to think that she is a +frigate or a large corvette--certainly a French one. As to the others, I +cannot say with certainty, but I rather fancy they are English; in which +case she has captured them on the way, and, being much faster than they +are, has to go under easy sail to keep with them." + +"Well, I hope she is not too big for us," Nat said, as Turnbull rejoined +him. + +"What should you call too big, sir?" Turnbull asked with a smile. + +"Well, I should say that a fifty was too big." + +"I should think so indeed. A twenty-gun sloop would be a pretty +formidable opponent." + +"Yes, a twenty would about suit us, especially as she may have fifty of +her men on board the other craft--that is, if they are her prizes. It is +the men that I am more afraid of than the guns. Two to one are no great +odds in guns, especially as we generally work ours faster than the +French do; but when it comes to a hundred and fifty men or so against +forty, it may be very unpleasant if we get a spar knocked away and they +come alongside of us. We may as well get the French flag up at once. +With a good glass they could make it out a long way off. Let the men +have their breakfast, it is a bad thing to fight fasting." + +The men were not long over their meal; by the time they came on deck +again the strangers were within five or six miles. The wind was in the +north-east, and the _Agile_ was almost close-hauled, while the others +had the wind broad on their quarters. There was now no longer any doubt +that the outside vessels were two large British West Indiamen, and the +fact that they were in company with what was undoubtedly a French +frigate was regarded as absolute proof that war had been declared, and +that the French ship of war on her way out to the colonies with the news +had overtaken and captured the two British ships, which were probably +sailing in company. As they approached, the _Agile_ was luffed up more +into the wind in order to pass between the Frenchman and the prize +within a few cables' length to starboard of him. + +"How many guns do you make her out to be, Mr. Lippincott?" + +"I think that she has eighteen guns on a broadside." + +"The odds are pretty strongly against us," Nat said; "but we shall have +the weather-gauge, that counts for a good deal. Anyhow, we shall be able +to annoy her, and possibly, if we hang on to her, the sound of firing +will bring up one of our cruisers from Barbuda or Antigua." + +An awning which was stretched over the quarter-deck had not been taken +down, and as the brigantine approached the French frigate, there was no +sign that her intentions were not of a peaceable nature. The French +ensign floated from the peak, the sailors on deck were lounging about, +some with their jackets on, others in their shirts, and only a few with +hats on seemed to be watching with idle curiosity the approaching +vessels. Nat and the officers retained their uniforms, for as only their +heads and shoulders showed over the rail, there was nothing to +distinguish them from those of a fine French privateer, for these +generally adopted a regular naval dress. The two vessels were but fifty +yards apart as they met. Nat sprang on to the rail, and in reply to the +hail from the Frenchman, "What ship is that?" raised his cap in salute +and shouted: + +"The _Agile_ of Bordeaux. Have you any news from France, sir?" + +"Yes, war has been declared with England." + +[Illustration: NAT SPRANG ON TO THE RAIL.] + +"Thank you, that is good news indeed," and he leapt down on to the deck. + +The vessels were both travelling at a speed of about eight knots an +hour, and were already passing one another fast, when, as Nat waved his +hand, the French flag was run down, an English ensign already fastened +to the halyards was simultaneously run up, and a moment later the five +guns, which had previously been trained to bear aft and double-shotted, +poured their broadside into the quarters of the French frigate. Shouts +of surprise and fury rose from her; no thought that the little craft so +fearlessly approaching her was an enemy had crossed the mind of any on +board, still less that if British she would venture to fire upon so +vastly superior a foe. + +"About ship!" Nat said, the instant the guns had been fired. The +sail-trimmers were at their places, the _Agile_ shot up into the wind, +her head paid off, and she swept round on the other tack, crossing the +stern of the Frenchman, her guns on the starboard side sending their +shot in through his stern windows, and raking his whole length as they +were brought to bear; then she wore round on her heel, the guns on the +larboard side were reloaded, and she again raked the Frenchman. So far +not a single shot had been fired in return. The din on board the frigate +was prodigious, as the guns had to be cast loose, magazines opened, +powder and shot carried up, and the sails trimmed to enable her to bear +up so as to show her broadside to her puny foe. + +Before she could do so the _Agile_, true to her name, was again round. +The Frenchmen, confused by the variety of orders issued, were slow at +their work, and as their opponent came up into the wind the brigantine +was again astern of them, and raked them this time with heavy charges of +grape. A chorus of shrieks and cries from the frigate told how terrible +was the effect. + +"By St. Patrick," the surgeon exclaimed to Lippincott, "it is grand! But +it looks as if the captain wasn't going to give me a chance, and all me +instruments laid out ready for action." + +"Never mind, doctor, you will be able to practise on the Frenchmen," +Lippincott laughed. + +But the French captain knew his business, and putting his helm over +again, ran off the wind, so that the two vessels were now on the same +tack, with the _Agile_ on her opponent's quarter. Several of the French +guns were now brought to bear, but their discharge was too hurried, and +owing to the brigantine lying so much lower in the water, the shot flew +between her masts or made holes in her mainsail. In a moment she was +round again, and crossed her opponent's stern at a distance of some +thirty yards, the word being passed along that the gunners were to aim +at the rudder-post and to double-shot the guns. A loud cheer rose as two +of the shots struck the mark. The Frenchman replied with a volley of +musketry from the marines gathered on her poop. Three of the sailors +fell, and several others were hit. + +The Frenchman was, when the _Agile_ delivered her last broadside, +running nearly before the wind, and it was speedily evident that the +injury to her rudder had been fatal, for although she attempted by +trimming her sails again to bear up, each time she fell off, though not +before some of her shot had hulled her active opponent. Seeing, however, +that he must now be easily outmanoeuvred, the Frenchman made no +further effort to change his course, but continued doggedly on his way, +the topmen swarming aloft and shaking out more canvas. The _Agile_ +followed the frigate's example, and placing herself on her stern +quarter, kept up a steady fire, yawing when necessary to bring all her +guns to bear, the French replying occasionally with one of their stern +guns. Owing to the accelerated speed at which both vessels were now +going, the Indiamen had been left behind. Half an hour later the +frigate's mizzen-mast, which had been severely wounded by the first +broadside, went over her side. Cheer after cheer rose from the _Agile_; +her opponent was now at her mercy. She had but to repeat the tactics +with which she had begun the fight. Just as Nat gave the order to do so, +musket shots were heard in the distance. The crew of one of the +merchantmen had been allowed to remain on deck, as, being under the guns +of the frigate, there was no possibility of their attempting to +overpower their captors. As soon, however, as it became evident that the +frigate was getting the worst of it, they had been hurried below, and +the hatches dropped over them. From the port-holes, however, they could +obtain a view of what was going on ahead of them, and as soon as they +saw the frigate's mast go by the board, they armed themselves with +anything that would serve as weapons, managed to push up the +after-hatch, and rushed on deck. The prize crew were all clustered +forward watching the fight; a shout from the helmsman apprised them of +their danger, and they rushed aft. They were, however, less numerous +than the British sailors, and no better armed, for, believing that the +frigate would easily crush her tiny assailant, they were unprepared to +take any part in the fight. + +The contest was a very short one. Knowing that the frigate was crippled, +and that the brigantine would soon be free to return to them, the +Frenchmen saw that they must eventually be taken, and the officer in +command being knocked senseless with a belaying-pin, they threw down +their knives and surrendered. The other Indiaman at once put down her +helm on seeing that the British flag was being run up on her consort. + +"We must not let that fellow get away," Nat said; "we can leave the +frigate alone for half an hour. We will give him two more broadsides +with grape through his stern windows, and then bear up after that +lumbering merchantman. We shall be alongside in half an hour." + +In less than that time they were within pistol-shot of the West +Indiaman, and the prize crew at once hauled down their flag. The _Agile_ +went alongside, released the prisoners, who had been securely fastened +in the hold, and replaced them by the French crew. The Indiaman's +officers had been allowed to remain on deck. + +"Now, captain," Nat said to the English master, "please keep every sail +full and follow us. It will not be long before we settle with the +frigate, and we shall then run down to Barbados." + +The master, who was greatly surprised at the youth of the officer who +had so ably handled his ship against an immensely superior foe, said: + +"Allow me to congratulate you on the splendid way in which you have +handled your vessel. I could scarcely believe my eyes when you opened +fire on the frigate. It seemed impossible that you should have thought +of really engaging such an opponent." + +"You see, we had the weather gauge of her, captain, and the brigantine +is both fast and handy. But I must be off now before they have time to +get into fighting trim again." + +In another half-hour he was in his old position under the frigate's +quarter, and was preparing to resume his former tactics, when the French +flag fluttered down amid the cheers of the _Agile's_ crew, which were +faintly repeated by the two merchantmen a mile astern. + +"I am heartily glad that they have surrendered," Nat said to Turnbull; +"it would have been a mere massacre if they had been obstinate. Now, +will you go on board and see what state she is in. Do not accept the +officers' swords. They have done all that they could, but they really +never had a chance after we had once got in the right position. Order +all unwounded men below. As soon as you return with your report as to +the state of things, I will send you off again with twenty men to take +command. You had better bring the officers back with you. Mr. +Lippincott, hoist a signal to the merchantmen to lie to as soon as they +get abreast of us." + +Mr. Turnbull returned in twenty minutes. + +"It is an awful sight," he said. "The captain and the two senior +lieutenants are killed, and it was the third lieutenant who ordered the +flag to be lowered. Her name is the _Spartane_. She carried a crew of +three hundred men, of whom fifty were on board her prizes. She has lost +ninety killed, and there are nearly as many more wounded, of whom at +least half are hit with grape, and I fancy few of them will recover; the +others are splinter wounds, some of them very bad. There are two +surgeons at work. I told them that ours would come to their assistance +as soon as he had done with our own wounded." + +The third lieutenant and three midshipmen, who were the sole survivors +of the officers of the _Spartane_, soon came on board. + +"Gentlemen," Nat said, "I am sorry for your misfortune, but assuredly +you have nothing to reproach yourselves with. You did all that brave men +could do, and did not lower your flag until further resistance would +have been a crime against humanity." + +The officers bowed; they were too much depressed to reply. Their +mortification was great at being overpowered by a vessel so much +inferior in strength to their own, and the feeling was increased now by +seeing that their conqueror was a lad no older than the senior of the +midshipmen. Turnbull's cabin was at once allotted to the lieutenant, and +a large spare cabin to the midshipmen. Leaving Lippincott in charge, +with ten men, Nat went with Turnbull and the doctor on board the +frigate, and the boat went back to fetch the rest of the crew. The +merchantmen had been signalled to send as many men as they could spare +on board the frigate, and not until these arrived did Nat feel +comfortable. Of his own crew three had been killed and ten wounded; +three of these were fit for duty, and formed part of Lippincott's party, +and the twenty he had with him seemed lost on board the frigate. +Although Turnbull had had hawsers coiled over the hatches, the thought +that there were nearly a hundred prisoners there, and that there were +enough comparatively slightly wounded to overpower the two men placed as +sentries over each hatchway, was a very unpleasant one. The arrival, +however, of thirty of the merchant sailors, armed to the teeth, altered +the position of affairs. + +The first duty was to clear the decks of the dead. These were hastily +sewn up in their own hammocks, with a couple of round shot at their +feet, and then launched overboard. Those of the wounded able to walk +were then mustered, and one of the French surgeons bandaged all the less +serious wounds. After being supplied with a drink of wine and water, +they were taken below, and placed with their companions in the hold. +Then the wreck of the mizzen was cut away, and the frigate was taken in +tow by the _Agile_, her own sails being left standing to relieve the +strain on the hawsers. The two merchantmen were signalled to reduce +sail, and to follow, and on no account to lose sight of the stern light +of the frigate after it became dusk. Nat returned, with four of his +crew, to the _Agile_, and four days later towed the _Spartane_ into the +anchorage off Bridgetown, the chief port of Barbados, the two West +Indiamen following. The _Isis_, a fine fifty-gun frigate, was lying +there. She had arrived on the previous day, having been despatched with +the news of the outbreak of war. As her captain was evidently the +senior officer on the station, Nat was rowed on board. + +"Are you the officer in command of that brigantine?" the captain asked +in surprise. + +"Yes, sir; my name is Glover." + +"Well, Lieutenant Glover, what part did your ship bear in the fight with +that Frenchman? I see by her sails that she was engaged. Whom had you +with you?" + +"We were alone, sir." + +"What!" the captain said, incredulously, "do you mean to say that, with +that little ten-gun craft, you captured a thirty-six-gun frigate +single-handed?" + +"That is so, sir." + +"Well, I congratulate you on it heartily," the captain exclaimed, +shaking Nat by the hand with great cordiality. "You must tell me all +about it. It is an extraordinary feat. How many men do you carry?" + +"We have forty seamen, sir, and two petty officers." + +"And what are your casualties?" + +"Three killed and ten wounded." + +"What were the casualties of the Frenchmen?" + +"Ninety killed, including the captain and the first and second +lieutenants and five midshipmen, and eighty-three wounded." + +"And how many prisoners?" + +"In all, a hundred and thirty, sir, of whom five-and-twenty are on board +each of those merchantmen, which had been captured by the frigate. The +crew of one rose and mastered their captors as soon as they saw the +frigate's mizzen-mast fall, and knew that we must take her. The prize +crew in the other struck their flag as soon as we came within +pistol-shot of her. I shall be glad to receive orders from you as to the +disposal of the prisoners. I have had thirty men from the merchantmen +on board the _Spartane_, for I could spare so few men that the prisoners +might, without their assistance, have retaken her." + +"I will go ashore with you presently and see the governor, and ask +whether he can take charge of them. If he cannot, you can hand over the +greater part of them to me. I shall sail for Jamaica this evening. As to +the prize, I should advise you to see if you cannot get some spars and +rig a jury-mast; there are sure to be some in the dockyard. While that +is being done you can go through the formalities of inspecting the +Indiamen, for whose salvage you will get a very handsome sum. At any +rate, if I were you I should keep them here until I was ready to sail, +and then go with them and your prize to Kingston. I should go in in +procession, as you did here. It is a thing that you have a right to be +proud of." + +"We need lose no time about the mast, sir. We stripped the gear off and +got it on board the _Spartane_, and towed her mast behind her, thinking +that perhaps we might not get a suitable spar here. Of course the lower +mast will be short, but that will matter comparatively little. What is +more serious is that her rudder is smashed." + +"I doubt whether you can get that remedied here. I should advise you to +rig out a temporary rudder. I'll tell you what I will do--I will send a +couple of hundred men on board at once under my second officer. That +will make short work of it, and I am sure that there is not a man on +board who would not be glad to lend a hand in fitting up a prize that +has been so gallantly won." + +He called his officers, who had been standing apart during this +conversation, and introduced Nat to them, saying: + +"Gentlemen, I never heard Lieutenant Glover's name until a few minutes +ago, but I can with confidence tell you that no more gallant officer is +to be found in the service; and when I say that, with that little +ten-gun brigantine and a crew of forty men, he engaged the French +frigate that you see behind her and forced her to strike, after a fight +in which she had a hundred and seventy men killed or wounded, that he +took a hundred and thirty prisoners, and recaptured those two West +Indiamen which were her prizes, I think you will all agree that I am not +exaggerating. He is naturally very anxious to be off. The frigate's +mizzen-mast is lying astern of her, and will make an excellent +jury-mast, as all the gear is on board, and only requires shortening. +Her rudder is smashed, and a temporary one must be rigged up; and, +knowing that all on board will be ready and glad to help when they hear +what I have told you, I am going to send two hundred men off at once to +lend a hand. Will you take command, Mr. Lowcock? You will take with you, +of course, the boatswain and his mates and the carpenters." + +"I should be glad to go too, sir," the first lieutenant said. + +"You and I will go together, Mr. Ferguson, after we have had a glass of +wine and heard from Mr. Glover the details of this singular action." + +The order was at once given to lower the boats. The story that the +French frigate and her two prizes had been captured single-handed by the +brigantine speedily circulated, and the men hastened into the boats with +alacrity. With them went the surgeon and his assistant to see if they +could be of any help on board, while the captain, his first lieutenant, +and Nat went into the cabin, and the latter related the details of the +action. + +"Skilfully managed indeed, Mr. Glover!" the captain said when he had +finished; "no one could have done better. It was fortunate indeed that +your little craft was so fast and handy, for if that frigate had brought +her guns to bear fully upon her she ought to have been able to fairly +blow you out of the water with a single broadside. May I ask if this is +your first action?" + +"No, sir; I was in a tender of the _Orpheus_ frigate when she captured a +very strong pirate's hold near the port of Barcela in Caracas, +destroying the place and capturing or blowing up three of their ships." + +"I remember the affair," the captain said, "and a very gallant one it +was; for, if I am right, the frigate could not get into the entrance, +but landed her men, captured two of the pirates' batteries, and turned +the guns on their ships, while a schooner she had captured a few days +before sailed right in and engaged them, and was nearly destroyed when +one of the pirates blew up. The officer in command of her was killed, +and a midshipman was very highly spoken of, for he succeeded to the +command, and gallantly went on board another pirate and drowned their +magazine." + +"Much more was said about it than necessary," Nat said. + +The captain looked surprised. + +"By the way," the lieutenant broke in, "I remember the name now. Are you +the Mr. Glover mentioned in the despatches?" + +"Yes, sir; but, as I said, the captain was good enough to make more of +the affair than it deserved." + +"I expect that he was the best judge of that," the captain said. "Well, +after that?" + +"After that, sir, I had the command of a little four-gun schooner which +was cruising along the coast of Hayti to pick up fugitives, when I came +across the brigantine I now command in the act of plundering a +merchantman she had just captured. She left her prize and followed me. I +was faster and more weatherly than she was, and having had the luck to +smash the jaws of her gaff after a running fight of seven or eight +miles, was able to get back to the prize and recapture her before the +pirate came up. The crew of the prize came up and manned their guns, +and between us we engaged the brigantine and carried her by boarding. On +taking her into Kingston the admiral gave me the command, and raised my +crew from twenty to forty. We have now been cruising for four or five +months, but not until we sighted the frigate and her prizes have we had +the luck to fall in with an enemy." + +"Well, sir," the captain said, "even admitting that you have had some +luck, there is no question that you have utilized your opportunities and +have an extraordinary record, and if you don't get shot I prophesy that +you will be an admiral before many officers old enough to be your +father. Now, I am sure you must be anxious to get on board your prize as +soon as possible, so we will take you to her at once." + +In a few minutes they were on the deck of the _Spartane_. It was a scene +of extraordinary activity. The lower mast had already been parbuckled on +to the deck, where sheer-legs had been erected by another party. The +mast was soon in its place, and the wedges driven in, the shrouds had +been shortened, and men were engaged in tightening the lanyards. The +topmast was on deck ready to be hoisted. The carpenters were busy +constructing a temporary rudder with a long spar, to one end of which +planks were being fixed, so that it looked like a gigantic paddle. As +soon as this was completed, the other end of the spar was lashed to the +taffrail. Strong hawsers were then to be fastened to the paddle, and +brought in one on each quarter and attached to the drum of the wheel. + +"Now, Mr. Glover," the captain said, after watching the work for some +little time, "I will go ashore with you to the governor; you ought to +pay your respects to him. Fortunately you will not require any +assistance from him, for unless I am greatly mistaken these jobs will be +finished this evening; the masts and rigging will certainly be fixed +before dusk, and the carpenters must stick to their job till it is done. +Like all make-shifts, it will not be so good as the original, but I +think it will serve your turn, for there is little likelihood of bad +weather at this time of year. I suppose you intend to keep the merchant +seamen on board? If not, I will spare you some hands." + +"I am much obliged, sir, but I think we shall do very well. It is a fine +reaching wind, and we shall scarcely have to handle a sail between this +and Jamaica." + +"Very well, I understand your feeling, you would like to finish your +business without help. That is very natural; I should do the same in +your place." + +"How about the merchantman's papers, sir?" + +"I shall tell the governor that I have ordered them to be taken to +Kingston, where there is a regular prize court, and therefore it will +not be necessary to trouble with their manifests here." + +"Then, if I have your permission, captain, I will row off to them at +once and tell them to get under sail now; we shall overhaul them long +before they get to Jamaica. They mount between them six-and-twenty guns, +and, keeping together, no French privateer, if any have arrived, would +venture to attack them, especially as they cannot have received news yet +that war is declared." + +"I think that would be a very good plan," the captain said, "for if you +were to start with them it is clear that you would only be able to go +under half sail. It is evident by your account that you are faster than +the frigate, but with a reaching wind I suppose there is not more than a +knot between you, and if the wind freshens you would find it hard to +keep up with her." + +The visit was paid. The governor agreed that it would be better that the +Indiamen should sail at once. Indeed, they had already started, and were +two or three miles away before Nat and the captain arrived at the +governor's house. When on shore Nat ordered two or three barrels of rum +to be sent off in another boat to the frigate, and on its arrival an +allowance was served out to all the workers. Before nightfall, save that +the mizzen-mast was some twenty feet lower than usual, and that her +stern and quarters were patched in numerous places with tarred canvas, +the _Spartane_ presented her former appearance. When the majority of the +crew had finished their work, the prisoners were transferred to the +_Isis_. Two hours later the carpenters and boatswain's party had +securely fixed the temporary rudder, and at daybreak the next morning +the two frigates and the brigantine started on their westward voyage. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +ANOTHER ENGAGEMENT + + +The three vessels kept company until, on the third day after sailing, +they overtook the two merchantmen. Nat, supposing that the _Isis_ would +now leave them, went on board to thank the captain for the great +assistance that he had given him. + +"I shall stay with you now, Mr. Glover. The news of the outbreak of war +will be known at Jamaica by this time, for the despatches were sent off +on the day before we sailed from home, by the _Fleetwing_, which is the +fastest corvette in the service. She was to touch at Antigua and then go +straight on to Port Royal. I was to carry the news to Barbados, so that +it does not make any difference whether I reach Kingston two hours +earlier or later. There is a possibility that the French may have sent +ships off even before they declared war with us, and as it is certain +that there are several war-ships of theirs out here, one of these might +fall in with you before you reach Jamaica. Therefore as my orders are +simply to report myself to the admiral at Kingston, I think it is quite +in accordance with my duty that I should continue to sail in company +with you." + +"Thank you, sir. There certainly is at least one French frigate in the +bay of Hayti, and if she has received the news she is quite likely to +endeavour to pick up some prizes before it is generally known, just as +the _Spartane_ picked up those merchantmen, and though possibly we might +beat her off, I should very much prefer to be let alone." + +"Yes, you have done enough for one trip, and I should much regret were +you to be deprived of any of your captures." + +The _Agile_ was signalled to prepare to pick up her boat, and Nat was +soon on board his own craft again. He ran up to within speaking distance +of the _Spartane_, and shouted to Turnbull that the _Isis_ was going to +remain in company with them. Turnbull waved his hand, for although he +had not entertained any fear of their being attacked, he felt nervous at +his responsibility if a sudden gale should spring up and the temporary +rudder be carried away. It was a comfort to him to know that, should +this happen, the _Isis_ would doubtless take him in tow, for in anything +like a wind the _Agile_ would be of little use. However, the weather +continued fine, and in five days after leaving Barbados they entered +Kingston harbour. Three hours before, the _Isis_ had spread all sail, +and entered, dropping anchor half an hour before the _Agile_ sailed in +in charge of the three large ships. The brigantine was heartily cheered +by the crews of all the vessels in port, but it was naturally supposed +that it was the _Isis_ that had done the principal work in capturing the +_Spartane_. Her captain, however, had rowed to the flag-ship directly +they came in port, leaving Mr. Ferguson to see to the _Spartane_ being +anchored, and had given him a brief account of the nature of the +procession that was approaching three or four miles away. + +"He is a most extraordinary young officer," the admiral said. "He first +distinguished himself nearly three years ago by rescuing the daughter of +a planter in Hayti, who was attacked by a fierce hound, and who would +have been killed had he not run up. He was very seriously hurt, but +managed to despatch the animal with his dirk. Since that time he has +been constantly engaged in different adventures. He was in that +desperate fight when the _Orpheus_ broke up a notorious horde of pirates +on the mainland, and distinguished himself greatly. He was up country in +Hayti when the negroes rose, and he there saved from the blacks a lady +and her daughter, the same girl that he had rescued from the dog, and +shot eight of the villains, but had one of his ribs broken by a ball. In +spite of that, he carried the lady, who was ill with fever, some thirty +miles across a rough country down to Cape Francois in a litter. + +"Then I gave him the command of a little cockle-shell of a schooner +mounting four guns, carrying only twenty men. Hearing of a planter and +his family in the hands of the blacks, he landed the whole of his crew, +while expecting himself to be attacked by boats, and rescued the +planter, three ladies, and six white men, and got them down on board, +although opposed by three hundred negroes. Then he captured the +brigantine he now commands, and a valuable prize that she had taken, and +you say he has now captured a French thirty-six-gun frigate, after a +fight in which she lost in killed and wounded half her crew, and +recovered two Indiamen she had picked up on her way out." + +They went out on the quarter-deck, where the admiral repeated to his +officers the story that he had just heard, and from them it soon +circulated round the ship. Some of the crew had just cleaned the guns +with which they had returned the salute fired by the _Isis_ as she +entered the port on arriving for the first time on the station, but they +were scarcely surprised when, as the brigantine approached, the first +lieutenant gave the order for ten more blank cartridges to be brought +up, and for the crew to prepare to man the yards. But the surprise of +those on board the other ships of war and the merchantmen was great when +they saw the sailors swarming up the ratlines and running out on the +yards. + +"It is an unusual thing," the admiral remarked to the captains of the +_Isis_ and his own ship, "and possibly contrary to the rules of the +service, but I think the occasion excuses it." + +The brigantine did not salute as she came into the port, as she was +considered to be on the station. + +"What can they be doing on board the flag-ship?" Nat said to Lippincott. + +"I think they are going to man the yards. It is not the king's birthday, +or anything of that sort, that I know of; but as it is just eight bells +it must be something of the kind." + +As they came nearly abreast of the flag-ship, the signal, "Well done, +_Agile_!" was run up, and at the same moment there was a burst of white +smoke, and a thundering report, and a tremendous cheer rose from the +seamen on the yards. + +"They are saluting us, sir," Lippincott exclaimed. + +The ensign had been dipped in salute to the flag, and the salute had +been acknowledged by the admiral five minutes before. Lippincott now +sprang to the stern, and again lowered the ensign. The admiral and all +his officers were on their quarter-deck, and as he raised his cocked hat +the others stood bareheaded. Nat uncovered. He was so moved that he had +difficulty in keeping back his tears, and he felt a deep relief when the +last gun had fired, and the cheers given by his own handful of men and +by those on board the prizes had ceased. For the next quarter of an hour +he was occupied in seeing that the four vessels were anchored in safe +berths. Then, as the signal for him to go on board the flag-ship was +hoisted, he reluctantly took his place in the gig, and went to make his +report. The admiral saw by his pale face that he was completely +unnerved, and at once took him into his cabin. + +"I see, Mr. Glover," he began kindly, "that you would much rather that I +did not say anything to you at present. The welcome that has been given +to you speaks more than any words could do of our appreciation of your +gallant feat. I do not say that you have taken the first prize since war +was declared, for it is probable that other captures have been made +nearer home, but at any rate, it is the first that has been made in +these waters. I was surprised indeed when Captain Talbot told me that he +had a hundred French prisoners on board, and some fifty wounded. As he +had not the mark of a shot either in his sails or in his hull, I could +not understand, until he gave me an outline of what had taken place--of +how he had become possessed of them. Is your prize much injured?" + +"She has a good many shot-holes on each quarter, sir, and the stern +lights and fittings are all knocked away. She suffered no very serious +damage. She requires a new mizzen-mast; but there is not a hole in her +canvas, which is all new, for we fired only at the stern, and it was +just below the deck that her mast was damaged." + +"You have, I hope, written a full report of the engagement?" + +Nat handed in his report. It was very short, merely stating that, having +fallen in with the thirty-six-gun French frigate the _Spartane_, +convoying two prizes, he had engaged her, and after placing himself on +her quarter, had raked her until her mizzen-mast fell, and her rudder +was smashed; that, seeing that she could not get away, he had then +returned to the prizes, which turned out to be the _Jane_ of Liverpool, +of eight hundred tons burden, and the _Flora_ of London, of nine hundred +and thirty. The crew of the latter, on seeing that the _Spartane_ was +crippled, had risen and overpowered the prize crew. The other struck her +colours when he came up to her. He then returned to the _Spartane_, +which struck her flag without further resistance. + +"I desire to bring to your notice the great assistance I received from +Lieutenant Turnbull, whom I afterwards placed in charge of the prize, +and from Mr. Lippincott. It is also my duty to mention that +assistant-surgeon Doyle has been indefatigable in his attentions to my +own wounded and those of the _Spartane_." + +Then followed the list of his own casualties, and those of the +_Spartane_. + +"A very official report, Mr. Glover," the admiral said with a smile, +when he had glanced through it. "However, the admiralty will wish to +know the details of an action of so exceptional a character, and I must +therefore ask you to send me in as complete an account of the affair as +possible, both for my own information and theirs. Now, I think you had +better take a glass of wine. I can see that you really need one, and you +will have to receive the congratulations of my officers. By the way, do +you know anything of the cargoes of the two ships you retook?" + +"No, sir, I have really not had time to enquire. Till we left Barbados +I was constantly employed, and on my way out I have kept close to the +_Spartane_ in order to be able to assist at once if anything went wrong +with the steering-gear. I should wish to say, sir, that I feel under the +deepest obligations to Captain Talbot for the great assistance that he +and his crew have rendered me in getting up the jury-mast, and fitting +up the temporary rudder. Had it not been for that I might have been +detained for some time at Barbados." + +Having drunk a glass of wine, Nat went out with the admiral on to the +quarter-deck. The officers pressed round, shook hands, and congratulated +him. It did not last long, for the admiral said kindly: + +"The sound of our cannon, gentlemen, has had a much greater effect upon +Mr. Glover's nerves than had those of his prize, and I think we must let +him off without any further congratulations for to-day. Besides, he has +a long report to write for me, and a good many other things to see to." + +Nat was glad indeed to take his place in the gig, and to return to the +_Agile_. He spent two hours in writing his report in duplicate. When he +had done this he went ashore to the prize agent to enquire what +formalities were needed with regard to the recaptured merchantmen; and +having signed some official papers, he went up to Monsieur Duchesne's. +Monsieur Pickard and his family had sailed months before for England, +but the Duchesnes were still in possession of the house they had hired. +They enjoyed, they said, so much the feeling of rest and security that +they were by no means anxious for a sea voyage; and indeed Madame +Duchesne was still far from well, and her husband was reluctant to take +her to the cold climate of England until summer had well set in. + +"Ah, my dear Nat," Madame Duchesne said, "we were hoping that you would +be able to spare time to call to-day. My husband would have gone off to +see you, but he knew that you had a great deal to do. All the town is +talking of your capture of the French frigate, and the recapture of the +two prizes that she had taken. Several of our friends have come in to +tell us about it; but of course we were not surprised, for your +capturing the frigate with the _Agile_ was no more wonderful than your +taking the _Agile_ with the _Arrow_." + +"It was a lucky affair altogether, Madame Duchesne." + +"I knew that you would say so," Myra said indignantly. "Whatever you do +you always say it is luck, as if luck could do everything. I have no +patience with you." + +"I will endeavour not to use the word again in your presence, Myra," Nat +laughed. "But I have no time for an argument to-day, I have only just +run in for a flying visit to see how you are. I have no end of things to +see to, and I suppose it will be some days before all the business of +the prizes is finished, the frigate formally handed over, and the value +of the Indiamen and their cargo estimated. However, as soon as I am at +all free I will come in for a long talk. You know that there is nowhere +that I feel so happy and at home as I do here." + +It was indeed three days before he had time to pay another visit. + +"It is too bad of you, not coming to dinner," Myra said as he entered. +"We really did expect you." + +"I hoped that I should be able to get here in time, but ever since I saw +you I have been going backwards and forwards between the ships and the +shore, calling at the dockyard and prize court. To-day there has been a +regular survey of the Spartane. They were so long over it that I began +to think I should not be able to get away at all." + +"You will be becoming quite a millionaire," Monsieur Duchesne said, "if +you go on like this." + +"Well, you see, we were lucky--I beg your pardon, Myra--I mean we were +fortunate. We had a very small crew on board the _Arrow_, and as it was +an independent command, the whole of the prize-money for the capture of +the _Agile_ and her prize was divided among us, with the exception of +the flag share; and I found, to my surprise, that my share came to +L2500. Without knowing anything of the cargoes of the prizes that I +have recaptured now, and what will be paid for the _Spartane_, I should +think that my share would come to twice as much this time, so that I +shall be able before long to retire into private life--that is, if I +have any inclination to do so." + +"But I suppose," Madame Duchesne said, "that if you marry you will want +to settle down." + +"I am too young to think of such a matter, madame," Nat laughed. "Why, I +am only just nineteen, and it will be quite soon enough to think of that +in another eight or ten years. But there is no doubt that when the time +comes I shall give up the sea. I don't think it is fair to a wife to +leave her at home while you are running the risk of being shot. It is +bad enough for her in time of peace, but in war-time it must be terrible +for her, and it strikes me that this war is likely to be a long one. It +seems to me that it is a question for a man to ask himself, whether he +loves his profession or a woman better. If he cares more for the sea, he +should remain single; if he thinks more of the woman, let him settle +down with her." + +"That sounds very wise," Monsieur Duchesne said with a smile, "but when +the time comes for the choice I fancy that most men do not accept either +alternative, but marry and still go to sea." + +"That is all right when they have only their profession to depend upon," +Nat said. "Then, if a woman, with her eyes open to the fact that he must +be away from her for months, is ready to take a man for better or for +worse, I suppose the temptation is too strong to be withstood. Happily +it won't be put in my way, for even if I never take another ship I shall +have enough to live on quietly ashore." + +"Now, you must tell us the story of the fight," Myra said. + +"The story is told in twenty words," he replied. "She did not suspect +that we were an enemy until we had passed her, and our broadside told +her what we were. As the _Agile_ is faster and much more handy than the +frigate, we managed to keep astern of her, and, sailing backwards and +forwards, poured our broadsides in her stern, while she could scarce get +a gun to bear on us. We managed to cripple her rudder, and after this +the fight was virtually over. However, she kept her flag flying till we +shot away her mizzen, after which, seeing that she was at our mercy, and +that her captain, two lieutenants, and more than half her crew were +killed or wounded, she lowered her colours. Now, really that is the +whole account of the fight. If I were telling a sailor, who would +understand the nautical terms, I could explain the matter more clearly, +but if I were to talk for an hour you would understand no more about it +than you do now." + +An hour later, Nat went out with Monsieur Duchesne to smoke a cigar on +the verandah, Myra remaining indoors with her mother, who was afraid of +sitting out in the cool evening breeze. + +"Going back to our conversation about marriage, Nat," Monsieur Duchesne +said, "it is a question which my wife and I feel some little interest +in. You see, it is now more than three years since you saved Myra's +life, after which you rendered her and my wife inestimable service. Now, +I know that in your country marriages are for the most part arranged +between the young people themselves. With us such an arrangement would +be considered indecent. If your father and mother were out here, the +usual course would be for your mother to approach my wife and talk the +matter over with her. My wife would consult with me, and finally, when +we old people had quite come to an understanding, your father would +speak to you on the subject. All this is impossible here. Now, it seems +to my wife and myself that, having rendered such inestimable services to +us, and having been thrown with my daughter a good deal--who, I may +say, without any undue vanity, is a very attractive young lady--you +could scarcely be indifferent to her. + +"As you said, according to your British notions you are too young to +think of marrying; and, at any rate, my wife has sounded Myra, and the +girl has assured her that you have never said a word to her that would +lead her to believe you entertained other than what I may call a +brotherly affection for her. Now, I can tell you frankly, that one of +our reasons for remaining here for the past six months has been that we +desired that the matter should be arranged one way or the other. It has +struck us that it was not your youth only that prevented you from coming +to me and asking for Myra's hand, but a foolish idea that she is, as is +undoubtedly the case, a very rich heiress. Before I go farther, may I +ask if that is the case, and if you really entertain such an affection +for my daughter as would, putting aside all question of money and of +your youth, lead you to ask her hand?" + +"That I can answer at once, sir. Ever since I first met her, and +especially since I saw how bravely she supported that terrible time when +she might fall into the hands of the blacks, I have thought of your +daughter as the most charming girl that I have ever met. Of course, I +was but a lad and she a young girl--no thought of marriage at that time +even entered my mind. During the past three years that feeling has +grown, until I have found that my happiness depends entirely upon her. I +felt, monsieur, that my lips were sealed, not only by the fact that she +was an heiress and I only a penniless lieutenant, but because it would +be most unfair and ungenerous were I, on the strength of any services I +may have rendered, to ask you for her hand." + +"It is not on account of those services, much as we recognize them, that +I offer you her hand, but because both her mother and herself feel that +her happiness, which is the great object of our lives, is involved in +the matter. In most cases, a young lady well brought up does not give +her heart until her father presents to her an eligible suitor. This is +an exceptional case. I do think that any girl whose life had been saved, +as hers was, at the risk of that of her rescuer, and who, during a most +terrible time, came to look up to him as the protector of herself and +her mother, and who, moreover, was constantly hearing of his daring +actions, and to whom her dearest friends also owed their lives, could +not but make him her hero. I need not say that the subject has not been +mooted to her, and it was because I desired the matter to be settled +before we left for Europe that we have lingered here. I am glad indeed +that I now know your feeling in the matter. I am conscious that in +giving her to you we are securing her happiness. I have, of course, ever +since the day when you saved her from that dog, watched your character +very closely, and the result has been in all respects satisfactory. Now, +I will go in and tell her that I will take her place by her mother's +side, and that she may as well come out here and keep you company." + +In a minute Myra stepped out on to the verandah. + +"It is cool and nice here, Nat. I think it would do mother more good out +here than keeping in the house, where in the first place it is hot, +while in the second place it gives me the horrors to see the way the +moths and things fly into the lights and burn themselves to death." + +"No doubt it is pleasanter here," Nat said, wondering how he ought to +begin. + +"That was very soberly said, Nat," Myra laughed. "One would think that +it was a proposition that required a good deal of consideration." + +"It was a proposition that received no consideration. In point of fact, +just at present, dear, my head is a little turned with a conversation +that I have just had with your father." + +"What do you mean?" she asked. + +"I mean that I see before me a great and unlooked-for happiness, a +happiness that I had hardly ventured even to hope for, but at present it +is incomplete; it is for you to crown it if you can do so. Your father +has given his consent to my telling you that I love you. I do love you +truly and earnestly, Myra, but I should not be content with anything +less than your love. I don't want it to be gratitude. I don't want any +thought of that business with the dog, or of the other business with the +blacks, to have anything to do with it." + +"They must have something to do with it," she said softly, "for it was +owing to these that I first began to love you. It was at first, no +doubt, a girl's love for one who had done so much for her, but since +then it has become a woman's love for the one man that she should choose +out of all. I love you, Nat, I love you with all my heart." + +Ten minutes later they went hand in hand into the house. Monsieur +Duchesne had told his wife what had occurred in the verandah, and as +they came in she rose and threw her arms round Myra's neck and kissed +her tenderly. + +"You have chosen wisely, my child, and have made us both very happy. We +can give her to you, Monsieur Glover, without one misgiving; we know +that in your hands her life will be a happy one. And now," she went on +with a smile, "you will have to face that terrible problem you were +discussing an hour since. You will have to choose between a wife and the +sea." + +"The problem may be settled at once, madame," Nat said with a smile. + +"At any rate, there is no occasion to choose at present," Madame +Duchesne went on. "Myra is but just past sixteen, and her father and I +both think that it is as well that you should wait at least a couple of +years before there is any talk of marriage, both for her sake and yours. +After your brilliant services, especially in capturing the frigate, you +are sure of rapid promotion, and it would be a pity indeed for you to +give up your profession until you have obtained the rank of captain, +when you could honourably retire. We shall leave for England very +shortly, France is out of the question. As you said, you and my daughter +are both young, and can well afford to wait." + +"That is so, madame, we quite acquiesce in your decision. As to your +going to England, it is likely that I may be going there myself very +shortly. The admiral hinted to-day that, as the dockyard people say that +the _Spartane_ can be ready for sea in ten days or so, he will probably +send me home in her. He very kindly kept back my report of the action, +and merely stated that the French frigate _Spartane_ had been brought in +in tow by his majesty's brigantine _Agile_, together with two +merchantmen she had captured on her way out, which had also been retaken +by the _Agile_, and said that he thought it was only fair that I should +carry back my own report and his full despatch on the subject. Of course +I may be sent out again, or I may be employed on other service. At any +rate I shall be able to get a short leave before I go to sea again. I +have been out here now six years, and feel entitled to a little rest. I +would certainly rather be employed in the Mediterranean than here, for +there is more chance of seeing real service." + +The next day Nat received an order from the admiral to hand over the +command of the _Agile_ to Lieutenant Turnbull. Lippincott, who would +pass his examination and receive his step, was to act as first +lieutenant, and a midshipman from one of the ships on the station was to +be second officer. Nat himself was ordered to superintend the repairs +and fitting out for sea of the _Spartane._ + +"I am awfully sorry that you are going, Glover," Turnbull said. "Of +course it is a great pull for me being appointed to the command, but I +was very jolly and happy as I was. I don't think there ever was a +pleasanter party on board one of his majesty's ships. However, of course +it is a great lift for me. I shall try to keep things going as +comfortably as you did." + +"I have no doubt that you will do that, Turnbull, and you have an able +ally in Doyle." + +"Doyle was inconsolable when I came on board yesterday and told him that +you were going home in the _Spartane_, and that I was to have the +command." + +"It is the worst news that I have heard for many a day," Doyle had said. +"You are very well, Turnbull, and I have no sort of complaint to make of +you, but I am afraid that the luck will go with Glover. It is his luck +and not the ship's; whatever he has put his hand to has turned out well. +I don't say that he has not done his work as well as it could be done, +but there is no doubt that luck is everything. If one of the _Agile's_ +guns had knocked away a mast or spar from the _Arrow_ it would have been +all up with you; and again, had a shot from the frigate crippled us, she +would have been after taking the _Agile_ into a French port instead of +our bringing her in here." + +"Yes, but then you see that upon both occasions Glover put his craft +where it was difficult to get their guns to bear on her." + +"Yes, yes, I know that; but that does not alter it a bit. If there had +been only one shot fired, and had we been an unlucky boat, it would, +sure enough, have brought one of the spars about our ears." + +"Well, Doyle, it may be that it was my luck, and not Glover's, that +pulled us through. You see, I should have been shot or had my throat cut +by the pirates if we had been taken by them, so possibly I am the good +genius of the boat; or it may be Lippincott." + +"Botheration to you!" the Irishman said, as he saw by a twinkle in +Turnbull's eye that he was really chaffing him; "there is one thing +certain, if you get wounded and fall into my hands, you will not regard +that as a matter of luck." + +"Well, at any rate, doctor, Glover told me half an hour ago of a piece +of luck in which none of us here can share. He is engaged to that very +pretty French girl whom he is always calling on when we are in port." + +"I thought that was what would come of it, Turnbull," Lippincott said; +"it would be rum if she hadn't fallen in love with him after all that he +did for her." + +"I was greatly taken with her myself," the doctor said, "the first time +she came on board, but I saw with half an eye that the race was lost +before I had time to enter. Besides, I could not afford to marry without +money, and one of these poor devils of planters, who have had to run +away from Hayti with, for the most part, just the clothes they stood up +in, would hardly make the father-in-law yours faithfully would desire. I +wonder myself how they manage to keep up such a fine establishment here, +but I suppose they had a little put away in an old stocking, and are +just running through it. They are shiftless people, are these planters, +and, having been always used to luxuries, don't know the value of +money." + +Turnbull burst into a fit of laughter in which Lippincott joined, for in +the early days of the cruise on the _Arrow_ they had heard from Nat how +his friends had for generations laid by a portion of their revenues, and +allowed the interest to accumulate, so that, now that the time had come +for utilizing the reserve, they were really much richer people than +they had been when living on their fine plantation. Doyle looked +astonished at their laughter. + +"My dear Doyle," Turnbull went on, "it is too comical to hear you +talking of a shiftless planter--you, belonging as you do to the most +happy-go-lucky race on the face of the earth. Now, I will ask you, did +you ever hear of a family of Irish squires who for generations put aside +a tenth part of their income, and allowed the interest to accumulate +without touching it, so that, when bad times came, they found that they +were twice as well off as they were before?" + +"Begorra, you are right, Turnbull; never did I hear of such a thing, and +I don't believe it ever happened since the first Irish crossed the seas +from somewhere in the east." + +"Well, at any rate, Doyle, that is what the Duchesnes have done, and I +should think, from what Glover says--though he did not mention any +precise sum, for he did not know himself--but I should say that it must +come to at least a hundred thousand pounds." + +"Mother of Moses!" the doctor exclaimed; "it is a mighty bad turn you +have done me, Turnbull, that you never gave me as much as a hint of this +before. I should have been sorry for Glover, who is in all ways a good +fellow; still I should have deemed it my duty to my family, who once--as +you know, is the case of almost every other family in the ould +country--were Kings of Ireland. I should have restored the ancient +grandeur of my family, built a grand castle, and kept open house to all +comers--and to think that I never knew it!" + +"Then you think, doctor," Lippincott said, with a laugh, "that you only +had to enter the lists to cut Glover out?" + +"I don't go quite so far as that; but, of course, now the thing is +settled for good, it would be of no use trying to disturb it, and it +would hardly be fair on Glover. But, you see, as long as it was an open +matter, I might have well tried my luck. I should have had great +advantages. You see, I am a grown man, whereas Glover is still but a +lad. Then, though I say it myself, I could talk his head off, and am as +good as those who have kissed the Blarney stone at bewildering the dear +creatures." + +"Those are great advantages, no doubt, Doyle; but, you see, Glover had +one advantage which, I have no doubt, counted with the lady more than +all those you have enumerated. He had saved her life at the risk of his +own, he had carried her, and her mother, through terrible dangers." + +"Yes, yes, there is something in that," Doyle said, shaking his head; +"if the poor young fellow is satisfied with gratitude I have nothing +more to say. At any rate, I have lost my chance. Now, perhaps, as you +know all about this, you might put me up to some other lady in similar +circumstances, but with a heart free to bestow upon a deserving man." + +"I should not be justified in doing so, Doyle. After what you have been +saying about building a baronial castle, and keeping open house, it is +clear that you would soon bring a fortune to an end, however great it +might be; and, therefore, I should not feel justified in aiding you in +any way in your matrimonial adventures." + +"It's a poor heart that never rejoices," the doctor said. "The tumblers +are empty. Sam, you rascal, bring us another bottle of that old Jamaica, +fresh limes, and cold water. It is one of the drawbacks of this bastely +climate that there is no pleasure in taking your punch hot." + +One of the negroes brought in the materials. + +"Now, doctor," Turnbull said, "I know that in spite of this terrible +disappointment you will drink heartily the toast, 'Nat Glover and +Mademoiselle Duchesne, and may they live long and happily together!'" + +"That is good," Doyle said as he emptied his tumbler at a draught; +"nothing short of a bumper would do justice to it. Hand me the bottle +again, Lippincott, and cut me a couple of slices off that lime. Yes, I +will take two pieces of sugar, please, Turnbull. Now I am going to +propose a toast, 'The new commander of the _Agile_, and may she, in his +hands, do as well as she did in those of Nat Glover.'" + +Three days later the _Agile_ started on another cruise. Nat spent his +time in the dockyard, where he was so well known to all the officials +that they did everything in their power to aid him to push matters +forward, and a week after the brigantine had left the _Spartane_ was +ready for sea. Nat had seen the admiral several times, but had heard +nothing from him as to who were the officers who were to take the +_Spartane_ home, nor whether he was to sail as a passenger bearing +despatches or as one of the officers. When he went on board the +flag-ship to report that all was ready for sea, the admiral said: + +"Mr. Winton, first lieutenant of the _Onyx_, is invalided home. He is a +good officer, but the climate has never agreed with him, and, as his +father has lately died and he has come into some property, he will, I +have no doubt, go on half-pay for a time until he is thoroughly set up +again. I shall therefore appoint him as first lieutenant of the +_Spartane_; Mr. Plumber, second lieutenant of the _Tiger_, will go +second. + +"I have decided, Mr. Glover, to give you the rank of acting commander. +You captured the ship, and it is fair that you should take her to +England. Mind, I think it probable enough that the authorities at home +may not be willing to confirm your rank, as it is but little over two +years since you obtained your present grade. I feel that I am incurring +a certain responsibility in giving you the command of a thirty-six-gun +frigate, but you have had opportunities of showing that you are a +thorough seaman, and can fight as well as sail your ship." + +"I am immensely obliged, sir," Nat said hesitatingly, "but I have never +for a moment thought of this, and it does seem a tremendous +responsibility. Besides, I shall be over two officers both many years +senior to myself." + +"I have spoken to both of them," the admiral said, "and pointed out to +them that, after you had captured the frigate with the little brigantine +you commanded, I considered it almost your right to take her home. I put +it frankly to them that, if they had any objection to serving under one +so much their junior, I should by no means press the point, but that at +the same time I should naturally prefer having two experienced officers +with you instead of officering her entirely with young lieutenants +junior to yourself. I am glad to say that both of them agreed heartily, +and admitted the very great claim that you have to the command. Mr. +Winton is anxious to get home, and knows that he might have to wait some +time before a ship of war was going. Mr. Plumber is equally anxious for +a short run home, for, as he frankly stated to me, he has for three +years past been engaged to be married, and he has some ground for hope +that he may get appointed to a ship on the home station. So as these +gentlemen are perfectly willing to serve under you there need be no +difficulty on your part in the matter. We will therefore consider it as +settled. + +"I have made out your appointment as acting commander. I sincerely hope +that you will be confirmed in the rank. At any rate, it will count for +you a good deal that you should have acted in that capacity. Here are +your instructions. You will be short-handed; I cannot spare enough men +from the ships on this station to make up a full complement. A hundred +and fifty are all that I can possibly let you have, but I have told the +masters of these two Indiamen that they will have to furnish a +contingent. I have been on board both the ships to-day. I addressed the +crews, and said that you were going to take home the _Spartane_ and +were short of hands. I said that I did not wish to press any men against +their will, but that I hoped that five-and-twenty from each ship would +come forward voluntarily; that number had aided to bring the _Spartane_ +in here; they knew you, and might be sure that the ship would be a +comfortable one; and I told them that I would give them passes, saying +that they had voluntarily shipped for the voyage home on my guaranteeing +that they should, if they chose, be discharged from the service on their +arrival. More than the number required volunteered at once, but I asked +the captain to pick out for me the men who had before been on board the +_Spartane_, and of whose conduct you had spoken highly. Three +merchantmen will sail under your convoy." + +Nat went ashore after leaving the admiral, and naturally went straight +to the Duchesnes. + +"Who do you suppose is going to command the _Spartane_?" he asked as he +went in. + +"I know who ought to command her. You took her, and you ought to command +her." + +"Well, it seems absurd, but that is just what I am going to do." + +Myra clapped her hands in delight. + +"Have they made you a real captain, then?" + +"No," he said with a laugh, "I shall be acting commander. That gives one +the honorary rank of captain, but it may be a long time before I get +appointed to that rank. The admiral has been awfully kind, but the +people at home are not likely to regard my age and appearance as in any +way suitable for such a position." + +"I am happy to say, Nat, that we shall sail under your convoy. I have +been settling all my affairs and making my arrangements for leaving, and +have this morning definitely taken cabins in the _Myrtle_. As the +furniture is not ours, and we have not accumulated many belongings, +knowing that we might be sailing at any moment, we can get everything +packed by to-night and go on board to-morrow morning. The captain could +not tell me at what hour we should sail. He said that it would depend +upon the frigate." + +"I should like to start at eight if I could, but I cannot say whether +everything will be quite ready. However, you had better be on board at +that hour. It will be jolly indeed having you all so close to me." + +"Shall we be able to see each other sometimes?" Myra asked. + +"Many times, I hope; but of course it must depend partly on the weather. +If we are becalmed at any time you might come on board and spend a whole +day, but if we are bowling along rapidly it would scarcely be the thing +to stop two ships in order that the passengers might go visiting." + +It was twelve o'clock on the following day when the _Spartane_ fired a +gun, and at the signal the anchors, which had all been hove short, were +run up, the sails shaken out, and the _Spartane_ and the three vessels +under her charge started on their voyage. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +HOME + + +The voyage home was a pleasant but not an exciting one. No suspicious +sails were sighted until they neared the mouth of the Channel. Then two +or three craft, which bore the appearance of French privateers, had at +different times approached them, but only to draw off as soon as they +made out the line of ports of the _Spartane_. There had been sufficient +days of calm and light winds to enable the Duchesnes to frequently spend +a few hours on board the frigate. Nat had felt a little uncomfortable at +first, but it was not long before he became accustomed to the position. +Of course he could not be on the same familiar terms with his officers +as he had been on board the _Agile_, but he insisted upon the first and +second lieutenants dining with him regularly. + +"It will really be kind of you if you will," he said, "for I shall feel +like a fish out of water sitting here in solitary state." And as he had +drawn something on account of his prize-money and kept an excellent +table, the two officers willingly agreed to the suggestion. + +"I have always thought, Mr. Winton," he said, "that there is a good deal +more stiffness than is at all necessary or even desirable on board a +ship of war. It is not so in the army. I dined several times at +regimental messes at Kingston, and although the colonel was, of course, +treated with a certain respect, the conversation was as general and as +unrestrained as if all had been private gentlemen; yet, of course, on +the parade ground, the colonel was as supreme as a captain on his +quarter-deck. At sea, the captain really never gets to know anything +about his officers, except with regard to their duties on board a ship, +and I don't think it is good, either for him or the officers in general, +that he should be cut off from them as much as if he were an emperor of +China." + +"I agree with you so far," Mr. Winton said. "I do think the reins of +discipline are held too tautly, and that where the captain is a really +good fellow, life on board might be much more pleasant than it now is; +but with a bad-tempered, overbearing sort of man your suggestion would +act just the other way." + +"Well, we could easily put a stop to that," Nat said, "if the admiralty +would refuse to appoint bad-tempered and overbearing men to any +command." + +The other laughed. "That would help us out of the difficulty, certainly; +but I think that any change had better be deferred until they perceive, +as every junior officer in the service perceives, that such men are a +curse to themselves and everyone else, that they are hated by the whole +crew, from the ship's boys to the first lieutenant, and that a ship with +a contented and cheerful crew can be trusted at all times to do her duty +against any odds." + +Sailing south of the Isle of Wight, the _Spartane_ came in through the +Nab Channel. There she left her convoy, who anchored on the Mother Bank, +while she sailed into Portsmouth harbour, with the white ensign flying +over the tricolour. As she entered she was greeted with loud cheers by +the crews of the ships of war. As soon as she had picked up moorings Nat +landed at the dockyard, and, proceeding to the admiral's, reported +himself there. + +"The admiral is away inspecting the forts in the Needles passage," a +young officer said. "Captain Painton might be able to give you any +information that you require." + +"I only want formally to report myself before taking post-chaise to +London." + +"Perhaps you had better see him," the other said, a little puzzled as to +who this young officer could be who was in charge of despatches. + +"I think I had." + +"What name shall I say?" + +"Glover." + +The flag-captain was a short, square-built man, with keen eyes, and a +not unpleasant expression, but bluff and hasty in manner. + +"Now, Mr. Glover, what can I do for you?" he asked shortly. + +"Well, sir, I hardly know the course of procedure, but as I want to +start with despatches for London in a quarter of an hour I shall be glad +to be able to hand over the ship I command, or, if it cannot be taken +over in that summary way, to know whether my first officer is to retain +charge of her until I can return from town." + +"And what is the vessel that you have the honour to command, sir?" +Captain Painton said with a slight smile. + +"The _Spartane_ frigate, a prize mounting thirty-six guns, that entered +the harbour a quarter of an hour ago." + +The captain had an idea that this was an ill-timed joke on the part of +the young lieutenant. + +"Do you wish me to understand, sir," he said sternly, "that you are in +command of that prize?" + +"That certainly, sir, is what I wish you to understand. I have brought +her home from Jamaica, and have the honour to hold the appointment of +acting commander. There, you see, are the official despatches of which I +am the bearer, addressed to the Admiralty, and with the words 'In charge +of Acting Commander Glover.'" + +"And your officers, sir?" suppressing with difficulty an explosion of +wrath at what he considered a fresh sign that the service was going to +the dogs. + +"The first officer is Lieutenant Winton, the second Lieutenant Plumber." + +"Very well, sir, I will go off myself at once. I will detain you no +longer." + +Nat at once hurried off, while Captain Painton went into the office of +another of the officials of the dockyard. + +"The service is going to the dogs," he said. "Here is a young +lieutenant, who from his appearance can't have passed more than a year, +pitchforked over the head of heaven knows how many seniors, and placed +as acting commander of a thirtysix-gun frigate, French prize, sir. Just +look up the records of the lieutenants under him." + +"One is a lieutenant of fifteen years' service, the other of twelve." + +"It is monstrous, scandalous. This sort of thing is destructive of all +discipline, and proves that everything is to go by favouritism. Just at +the outbreak of the war it is enough to throw cold water on the spirits +of all who are hoping to distinguish themselves." + +Ignorant of the storm that had been excited in the mind of the +flag-captain, Nat was already on his way, having as soon as he landed +sent his coxswain to order a post-chaise to be got ready for starting in +a quarter of an hour. It was eight o'clock when he dropped anchor, by +nine he was on the road, and by handsomely tipping the post-boys he drew +up at the Admiralty at half-past four. + +"What name shall I say, sir?" the doorkeeper asked. + +"Acting Commander Glover, with despatches from Jamaica." + +The admiral looked up with amazement as Nat was announced. The latter +had not mounted the second epaulette to which as commander he was +entitled, and the admiral on his first glance thought that the attendant +must have made a mistake. + +"Did I understand, sir, that you are a commander?" + +"An acting one only, sir. I have come home in command of the _Spartane_, +a prize mounting thirty-six guns. The admiral was good enough to appoint +me to the acting rank in order that I might bring her home with +despatches, and the report respecting her capture by the brigantine +_Agile_, of ten guns, which I had the honour to command." + +"Yes, I saw a very brief notice of her capture in the _Gazette_ ten days +ago, but no particulars were given. I suppose the mail was just coming +out when she arrived." + +"That was partly the reason, no doubt, sir; but I think the admiral +could have written more, had he not in his kindness of heart left it to +me to hand in a full report. I may say that I had the good fortune to +recapture two valuable West Indiamen that the _Spartane_ had picked up +on her way out." + +The admiral rose from the table and took down a thick volume from the +book-case. At the back were the words, "Records of Service." It was +partly printed, a wide space being left under each name for further +records to be written in. + +"Glover, Nathaniel. Is that your Christian name, Captain Glover?" + +Nat bowed. + +"An exceptionally good record. 'Distinguished himself greatly in the +attack by the frigate _Orpheus_ on three piratical craft protected by +strong batteries. Passed as lieutenant shortly afterwards. Appointed to +the command of the schooner _Arrow_, four guns, charged to rescue white +inhabitants off Hayti, and if possible to enter into communications with +negro leaders and learn their views. In the course of the performance of +this duty he landed with all his crew of twenty men, took off a French +planter and family and eight other whites in the hands of a force +estimated at three hundred and fifty blacks, and fought his way on board +his ship again. Later on engaged a pirate brigantine, the _Agile_, of +ten guns, which had just captured a Spanish merchantman. After a sharp +fight, took possession of the prize, and with the aid of her crew +capture the _Agile_.' And now with the _Agile_ you have taken the +_Spartane_, a thirty-six gun frigate, to say nothing of recapturing two +valuable West Indiamen, prizes of hers. And I suppose, Commander Glover, +if we confirm you in your rank and command, you will go forth and appear +next time with a French three-decker in tow. From a tiny schooner to a +frigate is a greater distance than from a frigate to a line-of-battle +ship." + +"Yes, sir," Nat said with a smile; "but the advantage of quick +manoeuvring that one gets in a small craft, and which gives one a +chance against a larger adversary, becomes lost when it is a frigate +against a line-of-battle ship. The _Spartane_ is fairly handy, but she +could not hope to gain much advantage that way over a bigger vessel." + +"I wonder the admiral had men enough to spare to send her home." + +"He could hardly have done so, sir, but fifty of the merchant sailors +belonging to the recaptured prizes volunteered for the voyage, and were +furnished by the admiral with discharges on arrival at Portsmouth." + +"A very good plan, for it is hard work to get men now that we are +fitting out every ship at all the naval ports. Now, Commander Glover, I +will detain you no longer. I shall carefully read through these +despatches this evening, and shall discuss them with my colleagues +to-morrow. I shall be glad if you will dine with me to-morrow evening at +half-past six; here is my card and address." + +"I beg your pardon, sir, but I am altogether ignorant of such +matters--should I come in uniform or plain clothes?" + +"Whichever would suit you best," the admiral replied with a smile. "As +you have only just arrived to-day from the West Indies, and doubtless +have had little time for preparations before you sailed, it is more than +likely that you may not have had time to provide yourself with a +full-dress uniform." + +"I have not, sir; and indeed, had I had time I should not have thought +of buying one of my acting rank, which would naturally terminate as soon +as the object for which it was granted was attained." + +"Very well, then, come in plain dress. I may tell you for your +information, that when invited by an admiral to his official residence +you would be expected to appear in uniform, but when asked to dine at +his private residence it would not be considered as a naval function, +and although I do not at all say that it would be wrong to appear in +uniform, there would be no necessity for doing so." + +As everyone dressed for dinner in the West Indies for the sake of +coolness and comfort, Nat was well provided in this way. After his +dinner at the Golden Cross he went to a playhouse. He had posted a +letter to his father, which was written before he landed, directly he +reached town, saying that he was home; that of course he could not say +how long it would be before he would be able to leave his ship, but as +soon as he did so he would run down into Somersetshire and stay there +until he received orders either to join another vessel or to return to +the West Indies. The next afternoon the papers came out with the +official news, and news-boys were shouting themselves hoarse: + +"Capture of a French frigate by a ten-gun British brig! Thirty-six guns +against ten! Three hundred and fifty Frenchmen against fifty Englishmen! +Nearly half the monsieurs killed or wounded, the rest taken prisoners! +Glorious victory!" And Nat was greatly amused as he looked out of the +window of the hotel at the eager hustling that was going on to obtain +one of the broadsheets. + +"It sounds a big thing," he said to himself, "but there was nothing in +it, and the whole thing was over in less time than it takes to talk +about it. Well, I hope I shall either get off to Portsmouth again +to-morrow or go down to the dear old pater. I wish this dinner was over. +No doubt there will be some more of these old admirals there, and they +will be wanting to learn all the ins and outs, just as if twenty words +would not tell them how it was we thrashed them so easily. They know +well enough that if you have a quick handy craft, and get her under the +weather quarter of a slow-moving frigate the latter hasn't a shadow of a +chance." + +Although not an official dinner, all the twelve gentlemen who sat down +were, with the exception of Nat, connected with the admiralty. The first +lord and several other admirals were there, the others were heads of +departments and post-captains. + +"Before we begin dinner," the first lord said, "I have pleasure in +handing this to you, Commander Glover. There is but one opinion among my +colleagues and myself, which is that as you have captured the _Spartane_ +and have come home as her commander, we cannot do less than confirm you +in that rank and leave her in your charge. You are certainly unusually +young for such promotion, but your career has been for the past four +years so exceptional that we seem to have scarcely any option in the +matter. Such promotion is not only a reward you have gallantly won, but +that you should receive it will, we feel, animate other young officers +to wholesome emulation that will be advantageous both to themselves and +to the service in general." + +Nat could scarcely credit his ears. That he might be appointed second +lieutenant of the _Spartane_ or some other ship of war was, he thought, +probable; but the acme of his hopes was that a first lieutenancy in a +smart sloop might possibly be offered to him. His two officers on the +way home had talked the matter over with him, and they had been a little +amused at seeing that he never appeared to think it within the bounds of +possibility that his rank would be confirmed, although, as the admiral +before sailing told them, he had most strongly recommended that this +should be done, and he thought it certain that the authorities at home +would see the matter in the same light. He had asked them not to give +the slightest hint to Nat that such promotion might be awarded to him. +"You never can tell," the admiral said, "what the Admiralty will do, but +here is a chance that they don't often get of making a really popular +promotion, without a suspicion of favouritism being entertained. Beyond +the fact that he has been mentioned in despatches, I doubt if anyone at +Whitehall as much as knows the young fellow's name, and the service +generally will see that for once merit has been recognized on the part +of one who, so far as patronage goes, is friendless." + +Nat returned to Portsmouth the following morning, and spent some hours +in signing papers and going through other formalities. + +"The _Spartane_ will be paid off to-morrow, Captain Glover," the port +admiral said; "she will be recommissioned immediately. I hope you will +be able to get some of the men to re-enter, for there is a good deal of +difficulty about crews. So great a number of ships have been fitted out +during the past four or five months that we have pretty well exhausted +the seafaring population here, and even the press-gangs fail to bring +many in." + +Going on board, Nat sent for the boatswain and gunners, and informed +them that as he was to recommission the _Spartane_ he was anxious to get +as many of the hands to reship as possible. + +"I have no doubt that some of them will join, sir," the quarter-master +said. "I heard them talking among themselves, and saying that she has +been as pleasant a ship as they had ever sailed in, and if you was to +hoist your pennant a good many of them would sign on." + +"I would not mind giving a couple of pounds a head." + +"I don't think that it would be of any use, sir. If the men will join +they will join, if they won't they won't. Besides, they have all got +some pay, and most of them some prize-money coming to them, and it +would be only so much more to chuck away if they had it. And another +thing, sir, I think when men like an officer they like to show him that +it is so, and they would rather reship without any bounty, to show that +they liked him, than have it supposed that it was for the sake of the +money." + +After the men had been paid off the next morning, he told them in a +short speech that he had been appointed to recommission the _Spartane_, +and said that he would be glad to have a good many of them with him +again. He was much gratified when fully two-thirds of the men, including +the greater part of the merchantmen, stepped forward and entered their +names. + +"That speaks well indeed for our young commander," the port admiral, who +had been present, said to his flag-captain. "It is seldom indeed that +you find anything like so large a proportion of men ready to reship at +once. It proves that they have confidence in his skill as well as in his +courage, and that they feel that the ship will be a comfortable one." + +It was expected that the _Spartane_ would be at least a month in the +hands of the shipwrights, and the men on signing were given leave of +absence for that time. As soon as all this was arranged, Nat took a +post-chaise and drove to Southampton. There he found the Duchesnes at an +hotel. Their ship had gone into the port two days previously, but all +their belongings were not yet out of the hold, and indeed it had been +arranged that they would not go up to town till they saw him. They were +delighted to hear that his appointment had been confirmed, and that he +was to have the command of the _Spartane_. + +"Now, I suppose you will be running down to see your people at once?" +Myra said with a little pout. + +"I think that is only fair," he said, "considering that I have not seen +them for six years. I don't think that even you could grudge me a few +days." + +"Yeovil is a large place, isn't it?" she asked. + +"Yes; why do you ask?" + +She looked at her mother, who smiled. + +"The fact is, Nat, Myra has been endeavouring to persuade her father and +me that it would be a nice plan for us to go down there with you and to +form the acquaintance of your parents. Of course we should stay at an +hotel. We are in no particular hurry to go up to London; and as while +you are away we shall naturally wish to see as much as we can of your +people, this would make a very good beginning. And perhaps some of them +will come back to London with us when you join your ship." + +"I think it would be a first-rate plan, madame, the best thing possible. +Of course I want my father and mother and the girls to see Myra." + +"When will you start?" + +"To-morrow morning. Of course we shall go by post. It will be a very +cross-country journey by coach, and many of these country roads are +desperately bad. It is only about the same distance that it is to +London, but the roads are not so good, so I propose that we make a short +journey to-morrow to Salisbury, and then, starting early, go through to +Yeovil. We shall be there in good time in the afternoon. I shall only be +taking a very small amount of kit, so that we ought to be able to stow +three large trunks, which will, I suppose, be enough for you. Of course +we could send some on by a waggon, but there is no saying when they +would get there, and as likely as not they would not arrive until just +as we are leaving there; of course Dinah will go on the box." + +At four o'clock, two days later, the post-chaise drove up to the +principal hotel at Yeovil. Rooms were at once obtained for the +Duchesnes, and Nat hired a light trap to drive him out to his father's +rectory, some three miles out of the town. As he drove up to the house, +three girls, from sixteen to two-and three-and-twenty, ran out, followed +a moment later by his father and mother. For a few minutes there was but +little coherent talk. His sisters could scarcely believe that this tall +young officer was the lad they had last seen, and even his father and +mother agreed that they would scarce have recognized him. + +"I don't think the girls quite recognize me now," he laughed. "They +kissed me in a very feeble sort of way, as if they were not at all sure +that it was quite right. Indeed, I was not quite sure myself that it was +the proper thing for me to salute three strange young ladies." + +"What nonsense you talk, Nat," his eldest sister Mary said. "I thought +by this time, now you are a lieutenant, you would have become quite +stiff, and would expect a good deal of deference to be paid to you." + +"I can't say that you have been a good correspondent, Nat," his mother +said. "You wrote very seldom, and then said very little of what you had +been doing." + +"Well, mother, there are not many post-offices in Hayti, and I should +not have cared to trust any letters to them if there had been. There is +the advantage, you see, that there is much more to tell you now than if +I had written to you before. You don't get papers very regularly here, I +think?" + +"No, we seldom see a London paper, and the Bath papers don't tell much +about anything except the fashionable doings there." + +"Then I have several pieces of news to tell you. Here is a _Gazette_, in +which you will see that a certain Nathaniel Glover brought into +Portsmouth last week a French thirty-six-gun frigate which he had +captured, and in another part of the _Gazette_ you will observe that the +same officer has been confirmed in the acting rank of commander, and +has been appointed to the _Spartane_, which is to be recommissioned at +once. Therefore you see, sisters, you will in future address me as +captain." + +There was a general exclamation of surprise and delight. + +"That is what it was," the rector said, "that Dr. Miles was talking to +me about yesterday in Yeovil. He said that the London papers were full +of the news that a French frigate had been captured by a little ten-gun +brigantine, and had been brought home by the officer who had taken her, +who was, he said, of the same name as mine. He said that it was +considered an extraordinarily gallant action." + +"We shall be as proud as peacocks," Lucy, the youngest girl, said. + +"Now as to my news," he went on. "Doubtless that was important, but not +so important as that which I am now going to tell you. At the present +moment there is at Yeovil a gentleman and lady, together with their +daughter, the said daughter being, at the end of a reasonable time, +about to become my wife, and your sister, girls." + +The news was received with speechless surprise. + +"Really, Nat?" his mother said in a tone of doubt; "do you actually mean +that you have become engaged to a young lady who is now at Yeovil?" + +"That is the case, mother," he said cheerfully. "There is nothing very +surprising that a young lady should fall in love with me, is there? and +I think the announcement will look well in the papers--on such and such +a date, Myra, daughter of Monsieur Duchesne, late of the island of +Hayti, to Nathaniel, son of the Rev. Charles Glover of Arkton Rectory, +commander in his majesty's navy." + +"Duchesne!" Ada, the second girl, said, clapping her hands, "that is the +name of the young lady you rescued from a dog. I remember at the time +Mary and I quite agreed that the proper thing for you to do would be to +marry her some day. Yes, and you were staying at her father's place when +the blacks broke out; and you had all to hide in the woods for some +time." + +"Quite right, Ada. Well, she and her father and mother have posted down +with me from Southampton in order to make your acquaintance, and +to-morrow you will have to go over in a body." + +"Does she speak English?" Mrs. Glover asked. + +"Oh, yes, she speaks a good deal of English; her people have for the +past two years intended to settle in England, and have all been studying +the language to a certain extent. Besides that, they have had the +inestimable advantage of my conversation, and have read a great many +English books on their voyage home." + +"Is Miss Duchesne very dark?" Lucy asked in a tone of anxiety. + +Nat looked at her for a moment in surprise, and then burst into a fit of +laughter. + +"What, Lucy, do you think because Myra was born in Hayti that she is a +little negress with crinkley wool?" + +"No, no," the girl protested almost tearfully. "Of course I did not +think that, but I thought that she might be dark. I am sure when I was +at Bath last season and saw several old gentlemen, who, they said, were +rich West Indians, they were all as yellow as guineas." + +"Well, she won't be quite so dark as that, anyhow," Nat said; "in fact I +can tell you, you three will all have to look your best to make a good +show by the side of her." + +"But this talk is all nonsense, Nat," the rector said gravely. "Your +engagement is a very serious matter. Of course, now you have been so +wonderfully fortunate, and are commander of a ship, you will, I have no +doubt, have an income quite sufficient to marry upon, and, of course, +you are in a position to please yourself." + +"We are not going to be married just at present, father. She is three +years younger than I am, and I am not far advanced in years; so it has +been quite settled that we shall wait for some time yet. By then, if I +am lucky, my prize-money will have swelled to a handsome amount, and +indeed, although I don't know the exact particulars, I believe I am +entitled to from eight to ten thousand pounds. Moreover as the young +lady herself is an only child, and her father is a very wealthy man, I +fancy that we are not likely to have to send round the hat to make ends +meet." + +The visit was duly paid the next day, and was most satisfactory to all +parties, and, as the rectory was a large building, Mr. and Mrs. Glover +insisted upon the Duchesnes removing there at once. + +"We want to see as much of Nat as we can," his mother urged, "and if he +is to divide his time between Yeovil and the rectory, I am afraid we +should get but a very small share of him." + +"I suppose your brother has told you all his adventures," Myra said the +next morning, as she and all the party, with the exception of Mr. Glover +and Nat, were seated in the parlour after breakfast was over. + +"No, he is a very poor correspondent. He just told us what he had been +doing, but said very little about his adventures. I suppose he thought +that girls would not care to hear about midshipmen's doings. He did tell +us, though, that he had had a fight with a dog that had bitten you." + +Myra's eyes opened wider and wider as the eldest, Mary Glover, spoke. +Her face flushed, and she would have risen to her feet in her +indignation had not her mother laid her hand upon her arm. + +"I do not think, Miss Glover," Monsieur Duchesne said gravely, "that you +can at all understand the obligation that we are under to your brother. +The bite of a dog seems but a little thing. A huge hound had thrown Myra +down, and had rescue been delayed but half a minute her death was +certain. Your brother, riding past, heard her cries, and rushed in, and, +armed only with his dirk, attacked the hound. He saved my daughter's +life, but it was well-nigh at the cost of his own, for although he +killed it, it was not until it had inflicted terrible injuries upon +him--injuries so serious that for a time it was doubtful whether he +would live. This was the first service to us. On the next occasion he +was staying with us when the blacks rose. Thanks to our old nurse, there +was time for them to run out into the shrubbery before the negroes came +up, and then take refuge in the wood. My wife was seized with fever, and +was for days unconscious. + +"The woods were everywhere scoured for fugitives. Six blacks, led by two +mulattoes, discovered their hiding-place. Your son shot the whole of +them, but had one of his ribs broken by a pistol-ball. In spite of that, +he and Dinah carried my wife some thirty miles down to the town across +rough ground, where every step must have been torture to him, and +brought her and Myra safely to me. Equal services he performed another +time to a family, intimate friends of ours, composed of a gentleman and +his wife and two daughters, who, with six white men, were prisoners in +the hands of the blacks, and would assuredly have suffered deaths of +agonizing torture. Though he had but twenty men with him, he landed them +all, marched them up to the place, rescued the whole party, and made his +way down to his boat again through three hundred and fifty maddened +blacks. No less great was the service he rendered when he rescued some +fifteen ladies and gentlemen who had been captured by a pirate, and +whose fate, had he not arrived, would have been too horrible to think +of. As to his services at sea, the official reports have testified, and +his unheard-of promotion shows the appreciation of the authorities. +Never were more gallant deeds done by the most valiant naval captains +who have ever lived." + +Myra had held her father's hand while he was speaking; her breath had +come fast, and her eyes were full of tears. + +"Thank you, Monsieur Duchesne," Mrs. Glover said, gently; "please +remember that all this is quite new to us. Now that we know something of +the truth, we shall feel as proud of our boy as your daughter has a +right to be." + +"Excuse me, Mrs. Glover," Myra said, walking across to her, and kissing +her, "but when it seemed to me that these glorious deeds Nat has +achieved were regarded as the mere adventures of a midshipman, I felt +that I must speak." + +"It is quite natural that you should do so," Mrs. Glover said; "for, if +fault there is, it rests with Nat, who always spoke of his own +adventures in a jesting sort of way, and gave us no idea that they were +anything out of the common." + +"They were out of the common, madame," Myra said; "why, when he came +into Port Royal, with the great frigate in tow of his little brigantine, +and two huge merchantmen he had recaptured from her, the admiral's ship +and all the vessels of war in the harbour saluted him. I almost cried my +eyes out with pride and happiness." + +"Myra does not exaggerate," her mother said; "your son's exploits were +the talk of Jamaica, and even the capture of the French frigate was less +extraordinary than the way in which, with a little craft of four guns, +he captured a pirate which carried ten, and a crew four times as +numerous as his own." + +"I hope you will tell us in full about all these things, Madame +Duchesne," Mrs. Glover said, "for I fear that we shall never get a full +account from Nat himself." + +Myra went across to Mary. + +"You are not angry with me, I hope," she said; "we are hot-tempered, we +West Indians. When it seemed that you were speaking slightingly of the +action to which I owe my life, I don't know what I should have said if +my father had not stopped me." + +"I am not in the slightest degree angry," Mary said; "or, rather, if I +am angry at all it is with Nat. It is too bad of him keeping all this to +himself. You see, he was quite a boy when he left us, and he used to +tell us funny stories about the pranks that the midshipmen played. +Although we felt very proud of him when he told us that he had gained +the rank of commander, we did not really know anything about sea +matters, and could not appreciate the fact that he must have done +something altogether out of the way to obtain that rank. But, of course, +we like you all the better for standing up for him. I am sure that in +future we girls shall be just as angry as you were if anyone says +anything that sounds like running him down." + +The time passed rapidly, and, as the girls were never tired of listening +to the tales of Nat's exploits, and Myra was never tired of relating +them, Nat would have come in for any amount of hero-worship had he not +promptly suppressed the slightest exhibition in that direction. + +It was but a few days after his arrival in England that Monsieur +Duchesne learned by a letter from a friend, who was one of the few who +escaped from the terrible scene, that their fears had been justified, +and that Cape Francois, the beautiful capital of Hayti, had ceased to +exist. Santhonax and Poveren had established a reign of terror, plunder, +and oppression, until the white inhabitants were reduced to the most +terrible state of suffering. The misery caused by these white monsters +was as great as that which prevailed in France. At last General Galbaud +arrived, having been sent out to prepare for the defence of the colony +against an attack by the British. The two commissioners, however, +refused to recognize his authority. Not only this, but they imperatively +ordered him to re-embark, and return to France. Each party then prepared +for fighting. The commissioners had with them the regular troops, and a +large body of blacks. The governor had twelve hundred sailors, and the +white inhabitants of the city, who had formed themselves into a body of +volunteers. + +The fighting was hard; the volunteers showed the greatest bravery, and, +had they been well supported by the sailors, would have gained the day. +The seamen, however, speedily broke into the warehouses, intoxicated +themselves with rum, and it was with difficulty that their officers +could bring them back into the arsenal. The commissioners had, the night +before, sent to a negro chief, offering pardon for all past offences, +perfect freedom, and the plunder of the city. He arrived at noon on the +21st of June, and at once began the butchery of the white inhabitants. +This continued till the evening of the 23rd, by which time the whole of +the whites had been murdered, the city sacked, and then burned to the +ground. + +Before Nat sailed in the _Spartane_, the Duchesnes had taken a house at +Torquay. Here the climate would be better suited to madame, the summer +temperature being less exhausting and the winter so free from extremes +that she might reasonably hope not to feel the change. + +For five years Nat commanded the _Spartane_. If he did not meet with the +exceptional good fortune that he had found in the West Indies, he had, +at least, nothing to complain of. He picked up many prizes, took part in +several gallant cutting-out adventures, and captured the French frigate +_Euterpe_, of forty-six guns. For full details of these and other +actions a search must be made in the official records of the British +navy, where they are fully set forth. After a long and hard-fought +battle, for which action he received post rank, he retired from the +service, and settled down with Myra near Plymouth, where he was within +easy reach of his own relations. + +As soon as he was established there, her father and mother took a house +within a few minutes' walk of his home. He congratulated himself that he +had not remained in the West Indies, for had he done so he would, like +all the naval and military forces in the islands, have taken part in the +disastrous attempt to obtain possession of the island of San Domingo. +The Spaniards had ceded their portion to the French, and although the +whites, mulattoes, and blacks were at war with each other, they were all +ready to join forces against the British. The attempt to conquer an +island so populous and strongly defended, and abounding with mountains +in which the enemy could maintain themselves, was, if undertaken by a +force of anything less than a hundred thousand men, foredoomed to +failure. The force at first sent was ridiculously inadequate, and +although it received reinforcements from time to time, these were not +more than sufficient to fill the gaps caused by fever. Consequently, +after four or five years' fighting, and the loss of fully thirty +thousand men, by fatigue, hardship, and fever, the effort was abandoned, +after having cost some thirty millions of money. + +At the end of the war, Toussaint was virtually Dictator of Hayti. He +governed strongly and well, but as he was determined to admit no +interference on the part of the French, he was finally treacherously +seized by them, carried to France, and there died, it is said by +starvation, in prison. His forebodings as to the unfitness of the blacks +for self-government have been fulfilled to the letter. Civil wars, +insurrections, and massacres have been the rule rather than the +exception; the island has been gradually going down in the scale of +civilization, and the majority of the blacks are as savage, ignorant, +and superstitious as their forefathers in Africa. Fetish worship and +human sacrifices are carried on in secret, and the fairest island in the +western seas lies sunk in the lowest degradation--a proof of the utter +incapacity of the negro race to evolve, or even maintain, civilization, +without the example and the curb of a white population among them. + + + * * * * * + + + + "Wherever English is spoken one imagines that Mr. Henty's name is + known. One cannot enter a schoolroom or look at a boy's bookshelf + without seeing half-a-dozen of his familiar volumes. Mr. Henty is + no doubt the most successful writer for boys, and the one to whose + new volumes they look forward every Christmas with most pleasure." + --_Review of Reviews._ + + + A LIST OF BOOKS + FOR YOUNG PEOPLE + + By + G. A. HENTY, + KIRK MUNROE, JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY, + ERNEST THOMPSON SETON, and Others + + + Published by + CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS + 153 to 157 Fifth Avenue + New York + + + * * * * * + + + +Other Volumes of the + +Henty Books + +Uniform with This Popular Edition + + IN FREEDOM'S CAUSE + WITH LEE IN VIRGINIA + WITH WOLFE IN CANADA + THE LION OF ST. MARK + IN THE REIGN OF TERROR + NO SURRENDER + UNDER WELLINGTON'S COMMAND + WITH FREDERICK THE GREAT + AT ABOUKIR AND ACRE + BOTH SIDES THE BORDER + A MARCH ON LONDON + WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA + AT AGINCOURT + COCHRANE THE DAUNTLESS + ON THE IRRAWADDY + THROUGH RUSSIAN SNOWS + A KNIGHT OF THE WHITE CROSS + THE TIGER OF MYSORE + IN THE HEART OF THE ROCKIES + WHEN LONDON BURNED + WULF THE SAXON + ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S EVE + THROUGH THE SIKH WAR + A JACOBITE EXILE + CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST + BERIC THE BRITON + IN GREEK WATERS + THE DASH FOR KHARTOUM + REDSKIN AND COWBOY + HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND + + * * * * * + + +BY G. A. HENTY + +"Among writers of stories of adventures for boys Mr. Henty stands in the +very first rank."--_Academy_ (London). + + +THE TREASURE OF THE INCAS + +A Tale of Adventure in Peru. With 8 full-page Illustrations by WAL +PAGET, and Map. $1.20 net. + + Peru and the hidden treasures of her ancient kings offer Mr. Henty + a most fertile field for a stirring story of adventure in his most + engaging style. In an effort to win the girl of his heart, the hero + penetrates into the wilds of the land of the Incas. Boys who have + learned to look for Mr. Henty's books will follow his new hero in + his adventurous and romantic expedition with absorbing interest. It + is one of the most captivating tales Mr. Henty has yet written. + + +WITH KITCHENER IN THE SOUDAN + +A Story of Atbara and Omdurman. With 10 full-page Illustrations. +$1.20 net. + + Mr. Henty has never combined history and thrilling adventure more + skillfully than in this extremely interesting story. It is not in + boy nature to lay it aside unfinished, once begun; and finished, + the reader finds himself in possession, not only of the facts and + the true atmosphere of Kitchener's famous Soudan campaign, but of + the Gordon tragedy which preceded it by so many years and of which + it was the outcome. + + +WITH THE BRITISH LEGION + +A Story of the Carlist Uprising of 1836. Illustrated. $1.20 net. + + Arthur Hallet, a young English boy, finds himself in difficulty at + home, through certain harmless school escapades, and enlists in the + famous "British Legion," which was then embarking for Spain to take + part in the campaign to repress the Carlist uprising of 1836. + Arthur shows his mettle in the first fight, distinguishes himself + by daring work in carrying an important dispatch to Madrid, makes a + dashing and thrilling rescue of the sister of his patron, and is + rapidly promoted to the rank of captain. In following the + adventures of the hero the reader obtains, as is usual with Mr. + Henty's stories, a most accurate and interesting history of a + picturesque campaign. + + * * * * * + + +STORIES BY G. A. HENTY + +"His books have at once the solidity of history and the charm of +romance."--_Journal of Education._ + + +TO HERAT AND CABUL + +A Story of the First Afghan War. By G. A. HENTY. With Illustrations. +12mo, $1.20 net. + + The greatest defeat ever experienced by the British Army was that + in the Mountain Passes of Afghanistan. Angus Cameron, the hero of + this book, having been captured by the friendly Afghans, was + compelled to be a witness of the calamity. His whole story is an + intensely interesting one, from his boyhood in Persia; his + employment under the Government at Herat; through the defense of + that town against the Persians; to Cabul, where he shared in all + the events which ended in the awful march through the Passes from + which but one man escaped. Angus is always at the point of danger, + and whether in battle or in hazardous expeditions shows how much a + brave youth, full of resources, can do, even with so treacherous a + foe. His dangers and adventures are thrilling, and his escapes + marvellous. + + +WITH ROBERTS TO PRETORIA + +A Tale of the South African War. By G. A. HENTY. With 12 Illustrations. +$1.20 net. + + The Boer War gives Mr. Henty an unexcelled opportunity for a + thrilling story of present-day interest which the author could not + fail to take advantage of. Every boy reader will find this account + of the adventures of the young hero most exciting, and, at the same + time a wonderfully accurate description of Lord Roberts's campaign + to Pretoria. Boys have found history in the dress Mr. Henty gives + it anything but dull, and the present book is no exception to the + rule. + + +AT THE POINT OF THE BAYONET + +A Tale of the Mahratta War. By G. A. HENTY. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.20 +net. + + One hundred years ago the rule of the British in India was only + partly established. The powerful Mahrattas were unsubdued, and + with their skill in intrigue, and great military power, they were + exceedingly dangerous. The story of "At the Point of the Bayonet" + begins with the attempt to conquer this powerful people. Harry + Lindsay, an infant when his father and mother were killed, was + saved by his Mahratta ayah, who carried him to her own people and + brought him up as a native. She taught him as best she could, and, + having told him his parentage, sent him to Bombay to be educated. + At sixteen he obtained a commission in the English Army, and his + knowledge of the Mahratta tongue combined with his ability and + bravery enabled him to render great service in the Mahratta War, + and carried him, through many frightful perils by land and sea, + to high rank. + + * * * * * + + +BY G. A. HENTY + +"Mr. Henty might with entire propriety be called the boys' Sir Walter +Scott."--_Philadelphia Press._ + + +IN THE IRISH BRIGADE + +A Tale of War in Flanders and Spain. With 12 Illustrations by CHARLES +M. SHELDON. 12mo, $1.50. + + Desmond Kennedy is a young Irish lad who left Ireland to join the + Irish Brigade in the service of Louis XIV. of France. In Paris he + incurred the deadly hatred of a powerful courtier from whom he had + rescued a young girl who had been kidnapped, and his perils are of + absorbing interest. Captured in an attempted Jacobite invasion of + Scotland, he escaped in a most extraordinary manner. As aid-de-camp + to the Duke of Berwick he experienced thrilling adventures in + Flanders. Transferred to the Army in Spain, he was nearly + assassinated, but escaped to return, when peace was declared, to + his native land, having received pardon and having recovered his + estates. The story is filled with adventure, and the interest never + abates. + + +OUT WITH GARIBALDI + +A Story of the Liberation of Italy. By G. A. HENTY. With 8 Illustrations +by W. RAINEY, R.I. 12mo, $1.50. + + Garibaldi himself is the central figure of this brilliant story, + and the little-known history of the struggle for Italian freedom + is told here in the most thrilling way. From the time the hero, a + young lad, son of an English father and an Italian mother, joins + Garibaldi's band of 1,000 men in the first descent upon Sicily, + which was garrisoned by one of the large Neapolitan armies, until + the end, when all those armies are beaten, and the two Sicilys + are conquered, we follow with the keenest interest the exciting + adventures of the lad in scouting, in battle, and in freeing those + in prison for liberty's sake. + + +WITH BULLER IN NATAL + +Or, A Born Leader. By G. A. HENTY. With 10 Illustrations by W. RAINEY. +12mo, $1.50. + + The breaking out of the Boer War compelled Chris King, the hero of + the story, to flee with his mother from Johannesburg to the sea + coast. They were with many other Uitlanders, and all suffered much + from the Boers. Reaching a place of safety for their families, + Chris and twenty of his friends formed an independent company of + scouts. In this service they were with Gen. Yule at Glencoe, then + in Ladysmith, then with Buller. In each place they had many + thrilling adventures. They were in great battles and in lonely + fights on the Veldt; were taken prisoners and escaped; and they + rendered most valuable service to the English forces. The story + is a most interesting picture of the War in South Africa. + + * * * * * + + +BY G. A. HENTY + +"Surely Mr. Henty should understand boys' tastes better than any man +living."--_The Times._ + + +WON BY THE SWORD + +A Tale of the Thirty Years' War. With 12 Illustrations by CHARLES +M. SHELDON, and four Plans. 12mo, $1.50. + + The scene of this story is laid in France, during the time of + Richelieu, of Mazarin and Anne of Austria. The hero, Hector + Campbell, is the orphaned son of a Scotch officer in the French + Army. How he attracted the notice of Marshal Turenne and of the + Prince of Conde; how he rose to the rank of Colonel; how he finally + had to leave France, pursued by the deadly hatred of the Duc de + Beaufort--all these and much more the story tells with the most + absorbing interest. + + +A ROVING COMMISSION + +Or, Through the Black Insurrection at Hayti. With 12 Illustrations by +WILLIAM RAINEY. 12mo, $1.50. + + This is one of the most brilliant of Mr. Henty's books. A story of + the sea, with all its life and action, it is also full of thrilling + adventures on land. So it holds the keenest interest until the end. + The scene is a new one to Mr. Henty's readers, being laid at the + time of the Great Revolt of the Blacks, by which Hayti became + independent. Toussaint l'Overture appears, and an admirable picture + is given of him and of his power. + + +NO SURRENDER + +The Story of the Revolt in La Vendee. With 8 Illustrations by STANLEY +L. WOOD. 12mo, $1.50. + + The revolt of La Vendee against the French Republic at the time of + the Revolution forms the groundwork of this absorbing story. Leigh + Stansfield, a young English lad, is drawn into the thickest of the + conflict. Forming a company of boys as scouts for the Vendean Army, + he greatly aids the peasants. He rescues his sister from the + guillotine, and finally, after many thrilling experiences, when the + cause of La Vendee is lost, he escapes to England. + + +UNDER WELLINGTON'S COMMAND + +A Tale of the Peninsular War. With 12 Illustrations by WAL PAGET. +12mo, $1.50. + + The dashing hero of this book, Terence O'Connor, was the hero of + Mr. Henty's previous book, "With Moore at Corunna," to which this + is really a sequel. He is still at the head of the "Minho" + Portuguese regiment. Being detached on independent and guerilla + duty with his regiment, he renders invaluable service in gaining + information and in harassing the French. His command, being + constantly on the edge of the army, is engaged in frequent + skirmishes and some most important battles. + + * * * * * + + +BY G. A. HENTY + +"Mr. Henty is the king of story-tellers for boys."--_Sword and Trowel._ + + +AT ABOUKIR AND ACRE + +A Story of Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt. With 8 full-page Illustrations +by WILLIAM RAINEY, and 3 Plans. 12mo, $1.50. + + The hero, having saved the life of the son of an Arab chief, is + taken into the tribe, has a part in the battle of the Pyramids and + the revolt at Cairo. He is an eye-witness of the famous naval + battle of Aboukir, and later is in the hardest of the defense of + Acre. + + +BOTH SIDES THE BORDER + +A Tale of Hotspur and Glendower. With 12 full-page Illustrations by +RALPH PEACOCK. 12mo, $1.50. + + This is a brilliant story of the stirring times of the beginning of + the Wars of the Roses, when the Scotch, under Douglas, and the + Welsh, under Owen Glendower, were attacking the English. The hero + of the book lived near the Scotch border, and saw many a hard fight + there. Entering the service of Lord Percy, he was sent to Wales, + where he was knighted, and where he was captured. Being released, + he returned home, and shared in the fatal battle of Shrewsbury. + + +WITH FREDERICK THE GREAT + +A Tale of the Seven Years' War. With 12 full-page Illustrations. +12mo, $1.50. + + The hero of this story while still a youth entered the service of + Frederick the Great, and by a succession of fortunate circumstances + and perilous adventures, rose to the rank of colonel. Attached to + the staff of the king, he rendered distinguished services in many + battles, in one of which he saved the king's life. Twice captured + and imprisoned, he both times escaped from the Austrian fortresses. + + +A MARCH ON LONDON + +A Story of Wat Tyler's Rising. With 8 full-page Illustrations by W. H. +MARGETSON. 12mo, $1.50. + + The story of Wat Tyler's Rebellion is but little known, but the + hero of this story passes through that perilous time and takes part + in the civil war in Flanders which followed soon after. Although + young he is thrown into many exciting and dangerous adventures, + through which he passes with great coolness and much credit. + + * * * * * + + +BY G. A. HENTY + +"No country nor epoch of history is there which Mr. Henty does not +know, and what is really remarkable is that he always writes well and +interestingly."--_New York Times._ + + +WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA + +A Story of the Peninsular War. With 12 full-page Illustrations by WAL +PAGET. 12mo, $1.50. + + Terence O'Connor is living with his widowed father, Captain + O'Connor of the Mayo Fusiliers, with the regiment at the time when + the Peninsular war began. Upon the regiment being ordered to Spain, + Terence gets appointed as aid to one of the generals of a division. + By his bravery and great usefulness throughout the war, he is + rewarded by a commission as colonel in the Portuguese army and + there rendered great service. + + +AT AGINCOURT + +A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris. With 12 full-page Illustrations by +WALTER PAGET. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. + + The story begins in a grim feudal castle in Normandie. The times + were troublous, and soon the king compelled Lady Margaret de + Villeroy with her children to go to Paris as hostages. Guy Aylmer + went with her. Paris was turbulent. Soon the guild of the butchers, + adopting white hoods as their uniform, seized the city, and + besieged the house where our hero and his charges lived. After + desperate fighting, the white hoods were beaten and our hero and + his charges escaped from the city, and from France. + + +WITH COCHRANE THE DAUNTLESS + +A Tale of the Exploits of Lord Cochrane in South American Waters. With +12 full-page Illustrations by W. H. MARGETSON. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, +$1.50. + + The hero of this story accompanies Cochrane as midshipman, and + serves in the war between Chili and Peru. He has many exciting + adventures in battles by sea and land, is taken prisoner and + condemned to death by the Inquisition, but escapes by a long and + thrilling flight across South America and down the Amazon. + + +ON THE IRRAWADDY + +A Story of the First Burmese War. With 8 full page Illustrations by +W. H. OVEREND. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. + + The hero, having an uncle, a trader on the Indian and Burmese + rivers, goes out to join him. Soon after, war is declared by Burmah + against England and he is drawn into it. He has many experiences + and narrow escapes in battles and in scouting. With half-a-dozen + men he rescues his cousin who had been taken prisoner, and in the + flight they are besieged in an old, ruined temple. + + * * * * * + + +BY G. A. HENTY + +"Boys like stirring adventures, and Mr. Henty is a master of this method +of composition."--_New York Times_. + + +THROUGH RUSSIAN SNOWS + +A Story of Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow. With 8 full-page +Illustrations by W. H. OVEREND and 3 Maps. Crown 8vo, olivine +edges, $1.50. + + The hero, Julian Wyatt, after several adventures with smugglers, by + whom he is handed over a prisoner to the French, regains his + freedom and joins Napoleon's army in the Russian campaign. When the + terrible retreat begins, Julian finds himself in the rearguard of + the French army, fighting desperately. Ultimately he escapes out of + the general disaster, and returns to England. + + +A KNIGHT OF THE WHITE CROSS + +A Tale of the Siege of Rhodes. With 12 full-page Illustrations by RALPH +PEACOCK, and a Plan. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. + + Gervaise Tresham, the hero of this story, joins the Order of the + Knights of St. John, and proceeds to the stronghold of Rhodes. + Subsequently he is appointed commander of a war-galley, and in his + first voyage destroys a fleet of Moorish corsairs. During one of + his cruises the young knight is attacked on shore, captured after a + desperate struggle, and sold into slavery in Tripoli. He succeeds + in escaping, and returns to Rhodes in time to take part in the + defense of that fortress. + + +THE TIGER OF MYSORE + +A Story of the War with Tippoo Saib. With 12 full-page Illustrations by +W. H. MARGETSON, and a Map. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. + + Dick Holland, whose father is supposed to be a captive of Tippoo + Saib, goes to India to help him to escape. He joins the army under + Lord Cornwallis, and takes part in the campaign against Tippoo. + Afterwards he assumes a disguise, enters Seringapatam, and at last + he discovers his father in the great stronghold of Savandroog. The + hazardous rescue is at length accomplished, and the young fellow's + dangerous mission is done. + + +IN THE HEART OF THE ROCKIES + +A Story of Adventure in Colorado. By G. A. HENTY. With 8 full-page +Illustrations by G. C. HINDLEY. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. + + The hero, Tom Wade, goes to seek his uncle in Colorado, who is a + hunter and gold-digger, and he is discovered, after many dangers, + out on the Plains with some comrades. Going in quest of a gold + mine, the little band is spied by Indians, chased across the Bad + Lands, and overwhelmed by a snowstorm in the mountains. + + * * * * * + + +BY G. A. HENTY + +"Mr. Henty is one of the best story-tellers for young +people."--_Spectator_. + + +WHEN LONDON BURNED + +A Story of the Plague and the Fire. By G. A. HENTY. With 12 full-page +Illustrations by J. FINNEMORE. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. + + The hero of this story was the son of a nobleman who had lost his + estates during the troublous times of the Commonwealth. During the + Great Plague and the Great Fire, Cyril was prominent among those + who brought help to the panic-stricken inhabitants. + + +WULF THE SAXON + +A Story of the Norman Conquest. By G. A. HENTY. With 12 full-page +Illustrations by RALPH PEACOCK. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. + + The hero is a young thane who wins the favor of Earl Harold and + becomes one of his retinue. When Harold becomes King of England + Wulf assists in the Welsh wars, and takes part against the Norsemen + at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. When William of Normandy invades + England, Wulf is with the English host at Hastings, and stands by + his king to the last in the mighty struggle. + + +ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S EVE + +A Tale of the Huguenot Wars. By G. A. HENTY. With 12 full-page +Illustrations by H. J. DRAPER, and a Map. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, +$1.50. + + The hero, Philip Fletcher, has a French connection on his + mother's side. This induces him to cross the Channel in order to + take a share in the Huguenot wars. Naturally he sides with the + Protestants, distinguishes himself in various battles, and receives + rapid promotion for the zeal and daring with which he carries out + several secret missions. + + +THROUGH THE SIKH WAR + +A Tale of the Conquest of the Punjaub. By G. A. HENTY. With 12 full-page +illustrations by HAL HURST, and a Map. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. + + Percy Groves, a spirited English lad, joins his uncle in the + Punjaub, where the natives are in a state of revolt. Percy joins + the British force as a volunteer, and takes a distinguished share + in the famous battles of the Punjaub. + + * * * * * + + +BY G. A. HENTY + +"The brightest of the living writers whose office it is to enchant the +boys."--_Christian Leader_. + + +A JACOBITE EXILE + +Being the Adventures of a Young Englishman in the Service of Charles +XII. of Sweden. By G. A. HENTY. With 8 full-page Illustrations by PAUL +HARDY, and a Map. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. + + Sir Marmaduke Carstairs, a Jacobite, is the victim of a conspiracy, + and he is denounced as a plotter against the life of King William. + He flies to Sweden, accompanied by his son Charlie. This youth + joins the foreign legion under Charles XII., and takes a + distinguished part in several famous campaigns against the Russians + and Poles. + + +CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST + +A Story of Escape from Siberia. By G. A. HENTY. With 8 full-page +Illustrations. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. + + The hero of this story is an English boy resident in St. + Petersburg. Through two student friends he becomes innocently + involved in various political plots, resulting in his seizure by + the Russian police and his exile to Siberia. He ultimately escapes, + and, after many exciting adventures, he reaches Norway, and thence + home, after a perilous journey which lasts nearly two years. + + +BERIC THE BRITON + +A Story of the Roman Invasion. By G. A. HENTY. With 12 full-page +Illustrations by W. PARKINSON. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. + + This story deals with the invasion of Britain by the Roman + legionaries. Beric, who is a boy-chief of a British tribe, takes a + prominent part in the insurrection under Boadicea; and after the + defeat of that heroic queen (in A. D. 62) he continues the struggle + in the fen-country. Ultimately Beric is defeated and carried + captive to Rome, where he is trained in the exercise of arms in a + school of gladiators. At length he returns to Britain, where he + becomes ruler of his own people. + + +IN GREEK WATERS + +A Story of the Grecian War of Independence (1821-1827). By G. A. HENTY. +With 12 full-page Illustrations by W. S. STACEY, and a Map. Crown 8vo, +olivine edges, $1.50. + + Deals with the revolt of the Greeks in 1821 against Turkish + oppression. Mr. Beveridge and his son Horace fit out a privateer, + load it with military stores, and set sail for Greece. They rescue + the Christians, relieve the captive Greeks, and fight the Turkish + war vessels. + + * * * * * + + +BY G. A. HENTY + +"No living writer of books for boys writes to better purpose than Mr. +G. A. Henty."--_Philadelphia Press._ + + +THE DASH FOR KHARTOUM + +A Tale of the Nile Expedition. By G. A. HENTY. With 10 full-page +Illustrations by JOHN SCHOeNBERG and J. NASH. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, +$1.50. + + In the record of recent British history there is no more + captivating page for boys than the story of the Nile campaign, and + the attempt to rescue General Gordon. For, in the difficulties + which the expedition encountered, in the perils which it + overpassed, and in its final tragic disappointments, are found + all the excitements of romance, as well as the fascination which + belongs to real events. + + +REDSKIN AND COW-BOY + +A Tale of the Western Plains. By G. A. HENTY. With 12 full-page +Illustrations by ALFRED PEARSE. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. + + The central interest of this story is found in the many adventures + of an English lad, who seeks employment as a cow-boy on a cattle + ranch. His experiences during a "round-up" present in picturesque + form the toilsome, exciting, adventurous life of a cow-boy; while + the perils of a frontier settlement are vividly set forth in an + Indian raid. + + +HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND + +A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar. By G. A. HENTY. With 8 full-page +Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. + + This story deals with one of the most memorable sieges in + history--the siege of Gibraltar in 1779-83 by the united forces of + France and Spain. With land forces, fleets, and floating batteries, + the combined resources of two great nations, this grim fortress was + vainly besieged and bombarded. The hero of the tale, an English lad + resident in Gibraltar, takes a brave and worthy part in the long + defence, and it is through his varied experiences that we learn + with what bravery, resource, and tenacity the Rock was held for + England. + + * * * * * + + +A List of Books by + +Kirk Munroe + + +A SON OF SATSUMA + +Or, with Perry in Japan. By KIRK MUNROE. With 12 illustrations by HARRY +C. EDWARDS. $1.00 net. + + This absorbing story for boys deals with one of the most + interesting episodes in our National history. From the beginning + Japan has been a land of mystery. Foreigners were permitted to + land only at certain points on her shores, and nothing whatever + was known of her civilization and history, her romance and + magnificence, her wealth and art. It was Commodore Perry who opened + her gates to the world, thus solving the mystery of the ages, and, + in this thrilling story of an American boy in Japan at that period, + the spirit as well as the history of this great achievement is ably + set forth. + + +IN PIRATE WATERS + +A Tale of the American Navy. Illustrated by I. W. TABER. 12mo, $1.25. + + The hero of the story becomes a midshipman in the navy just at the + time of the war with Tripoli. His own wild adventures among the + Turks and his love romance are thoroughly interwoven with the + stirring history of that time. + + +WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE + +Or, Fighting for the Lone Star Flag. A Tale of Texas. By KIRK MUNROE. +With 8 full-page Illustrations by VICTOR PERARD. Crown 8vo. $1.25. + + The story is of the Texas revolution in 1835, when American Texans + under Sam Houston, Bowie, Crockett, and Travis fought for relief + from the intolerable tyranny of the Mexican Santa Ana. The hero, + Rex Hardin, son of a Texan ranchman and graduate of an American + military school, takes a prominent part in the heroic defense of + the Alamo, and the final triumph at San Jacinto. + + +THROUGH SWAMP AND GLADE + +A Tale of the Seminole War. By KIRK MUNROE. With 8 full-page +Illustrations by V. PERARD. Crown 8vo, $1.25. + + Coacoochee, the hero of the story, is the son of Philip, the + chieftain of the Seminoles. He grows up to lead his tribe in the + long struggle which resulted in the Indians being driven from the + north of Florida down to the distant southern wilderness. + + +AT WAR WITH PONTIAC + +Or, the Totem of the Bear. A Tale Of redcoat and redskin. By KIRK +MUNROE. With 8 full-page illustrations by J. FINNEMORE. Crown 8vo, +$1.25. + + A story when the shores of Lake Erie were held by hostile Indians. + The hero, Donald Hester, goes in search of his sister Edith, who + has been captured by the Indians. Strange and terrible are his + experiences; for he is wounded, taken prisoner, condemned to be + burned, but contrives to escape. In the end all things terminate + happily. + + +THE WHITE CONQUERORS + +A Tale of Toltec and Aztec. By KIRK MUNROE. With 8 full-page +Illustrations. Crown 8vo, $1.25. + + This story deals with the conquest of Mexico by Cortez and his + Spaniards, the "White Conquerors," who, after many deeds of valor, + pushed their way into the great Aztec kingdom and established their + power in the wondrous city where Montezuma reigned in splendor. + + +MIDSHIPMAN STUART + +Or, the Last Cruise of the Essex. A Tale of the War of 1812. +Illustrated. 12mo, $1.25. + + This is an absorbing story of life in the American Navy during the + stirring times of our war of 1812. The very spirit of the period is + in its pages, and many of the adventures of the Essex are studied + from history. + + * * * * * + + +BY ERNEST THOMPSON SETON + +LIVES OF THE HUNTED + +Being a true account of the doings of four quadrupeds and three birds. +With 200 Illustrations. $1.75 net. (Postage, 15 cents.) + + "Should be put with Kipling and Hans Christian Andersen as a + classic."--THE ATHENAEUM (London). + +WILD ANIMALS I HAVE KNOWN + +With 200 Illustrations. $2.00. + + Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton's first and most famous book. More than + 100,000 have been sold so far. + + +BY JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY + +THE BOOK OF JOYOUS CHILDREN + +Profusely Illustrated. + + The sweetness, the grace, the laughter, and the tenderness of Mr. + Riley's best verse are found to the full in this book of delightful + poems for and about children. The illustrations have been made + under the author's supervision, and portray the scenes and the + little heroes and heroines of the poems with artistic fidelity. + + +BY CYRUS TOWNSEND BRADY + +IN THE WASP'S NET + +The Story of a Sea Waif. Illustrated. $1.50 net. (Postage, 16 cents.) + + A vigorous story of the war of 1812. The hero, a midshipman, serves + gallantly aboard two famous American ships, each bearing the name + of Wasp, having many adventures of storm, battle, and capture. + + +BY THOMAS NELSON PACE + +A CAPTURED SANTA CLAUS + +Illustrated in Colors. + + This exquisite story of childhood is one of the most delicate that + even Mr. Page has written. It is an episode of the Civil War in + which children are the little heroes. The period is the Christmas + time, and the scene is between the lines of the Union and + Confederate Armies. + + * * * * * + + +JEB HUTTON, A GEORGIA BOY + +By JAMES B. CONNOLLY. Illustrated. $1.20 net. (Postage, 13 cents.) + + A thoroughly interesting and breezy tale of boy-life along the + Savannah River by a writer who knows boys, and who has succeeded in + making of the adventures of Jeb and his friends a story that will + keep his young readers absorbed to the last page. + + +KING MOMBO + +By PAUL DU CHAILLU. Author of "The World of the Great Forest," etc. With +24 illustrations. $1.50 net. (Postage, 16 cents.) + + The scene is the great African forest. It is a book of interesting + experiences with native tribes, and thrilling and perilous + adventures in hunting elephants, crocodiles, gorillas and other + fierce creatures among which this famous explorer lived so long. + + +A NEW BOOK FOR GIRLS + +By LINA BEARD and ADELIA B. BEARD. Authors of "The American Girl's Handy +Book." Profusely Illustrated. + + An admirable collection of entirely new and original indoor and + outdoor pastimes for American girls, each fully and interestingly + described and explained, and all designed to stimulate the taste + and ingenuity at the same time that they entertain. + + +SEA FIGHTERS FROM DRAKE TO FARRAGUT + +By JESSIE PEABODY FROTHINGHAM. Illustrations by REUTERDAHL. $1.20 net. +(Postage, 14 cents.) + + Drake, Tromp, De Reuter, Tourville, Suffren, Paul Jones, Nelson and + Farragut are the naval heroes here pictured, and each is shown in + some great episode which illustrates his personality and heroism. + The book is full of the very spirit of daring and adventurous + achievement. + + +BOB AND HIS GUN + +By WILLIAM ALEXANDER LINN. With 8 Illustrations. + + The adventures of a boy with a gun under the instruction of his + cousin, an accomplished sportsman. The book's aim is to interest + boys in hunting in the spirit of true sport and to instruct in the + ways of game birds and animals. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Roving Commission, by G. A. Henty + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A ROVING COMMISSION *** + +***** This file should be named 38764.txt or 38764.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/7/6/38764/ + +Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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