exclaimed the third mate, vehemently; "you were dreaming, Marsden. The men finding you forward, I daresay as a joke, lifted you up to frighten you, though probably they did not like your dog biting their legs."
The mutineers had come sufficiently aft to hear what was said. Cobb, who was the instigator--so it seemed to me--of the rest, sung out--
"Yes, sir, you"re right. It was only a joke. Mr Marsden was frightened, do ye see, and so we carried it on till his confounded dog bit our legs, so that we were obliged to let him go."
This explanation appeared to relieve the minds of all on deck. It seemed so natural, and the seaman spoke in so calm a way, corroborating so completely the suggestions of the third mate, that I felt I had then but little chance of having my statement credited.
"All right, my men," said Mr Waller; "go forward, the youngster"s c.o.c.k and bull story is not likely to be believed."
I said nothing, but I felt that it would be most important to persuade Mr Henley that I had had all my senses about me and that we ought to be on our guard against any treachery, as it was not likely that the men would abandon their plans, if they thought that they were not suspected.
During all this time neither the captain nor first mate had come on deck. Once more the pa.s.sengers retired to their cabins, and Mr Henley went back to his. I felt that it would be more prudent to pretend to yield to the general opinion that my fancy had deceived me, and so I resolved to walk the deck with Solon by my side till my watch was out.
I had a suspicion, however, of Mr Waller, from what he had said; and also, though the men had not mentioned his name, they spoke of some one on whom they could rely to navigate the ship for them. Neither Sills, nor Broom, nor the boatswain could do so, and except that there might be some seaman who had concealed his calling among the pa.s.sengers, I could think of no one else to whom they could allude. Solon was no more pleased with this state of things than I was, and as he walked up and down with me he kept a bright look out on every side, frequently peering forward into the darkness and giving a low dissatisfied growl.
At length eight bells struck; the first mate, who had the middle watch, was called, and as soon as he made his appearance, I went below. Mr Waller did not at once go to his cabin, so I forthwith went to Mr Henley"s. I found him sitting up reading. I told him briefly all that had occurred, and a.s.sured him that I could not have been deceived.
"I believe you completely," he answered. "We must be cautious. We may easily put the ruffians down, but I would avoid bloodshed. Their plans are not yet matured, so we have time to reflect on the matter. Our difficulty will be to warn the captain and first mate. I doubt, indeed, whether they will believe your statement. However, we must take our own measures according to circ.u.mstances."
Mr Henley said that he would not turn in, but would go on deck, and get Spratt and some few of the other men in whom he had confidence, as well as some of the pa.s.sengers, to appear with him, and thus to make the conspirators fancy that their plans were well known. His measures had a good effect, for Spratt told him that all the men had taken off their clothes, and gone quietly to their berths, showing that they had no thoughts of putting their scheme into execution that night.
"Forewarned, forearmed," observed Mr Henley; "it will be our own fault if they overpower us."
Thus we continued on our course, no longer benefiting by the trade-winds, but having frequently to encounter the light and baffling breezes to be met with off the African coast, and now and then to contend with the heavy black squalls of those regions, which more than once carried away some of our spars and blew our lighter sails out of the bolt ropes. By keeping in with the African coast, we had a strong current in our favour, which helped us along materially, at the same time that we were exposed to the risk of a westerly gale, which might send us helplessly on sh.o.r.e. With careful navigation there would have been little danger of this, but unhappily, with the exception of Mr Henley, not one of the officers could be depended on. Some of my readers may be astonished at hearing of a ship sailing from the port of London, towards the middle of the nineteenth century, being in the condition in which I describe the _Orion_ but if they will look at the newspapers they will see not once, but frequently, accounts of circ.u.mstances occurring on board ships both from London and Liverpool, and other parts, fully as bad as those of which I was a witness.
It surprised me often to see how calm and collected Mr Henley could keep, knowing as he did the dangers with which we were surrounded. He was constantly observing the compa.s.s, and several times he got the chart of the African coast, and examined it in his own cabin. He told me also one morning to tend the chronometer for him, while he made a set of observations with the s.e.xtant to ascertain our exact longitude. When he had worked them out, his countenance a.s.sumed a graver aspect than I had ever before seen it wear.
"We are far more to the eastward than we ought to be," he remarked.
"There are hereabouts strong currents setting on sh.o.r.e, and with the light winds we may expect we are too likely to find ourselves hard and fast on the African coast some night. How it has happened, I don"t know, but depend on it there is some vile treachery concocting on board.
Those villains have not abandoned their designs, as I hoped they might have done."
This appeared very evident, and we agreed to make every preparation in our power for any emergency which might occur, and to try and induce Dr Cuff, Mr Vernon, and two or three other gentlemen among the pa.s.sengers, to see the state of affairs in the light we did. I have been unwilling to sicken my readers with a repet.i.tion of the accounts of the captain and chief mate"s barbarity to the crew. Not a day pa.s.sed but what they ill-treated one or more of them, and my surprise was, not that the men should be plotting revenge, but that they had so long endured these sufferings.
Mr Henley undertook first to speak to Dr Cuff. The doctor, however, made very light of his suspicions.
"Very careless steering, I have no doubt, and we have got closer to the coast of Africa than may be altogether pleasant. No wonder at that.
Then the lad dreamed he heard the sailors plotting mutiny--that is not surprising; they are not attractive looking fellows. Then it is not unusual for a set of old salts to attempt to play off a trick on a young midshipman who holds himself somewhat a cut above the common run. No fear. All will come right at last; just do you keep the ship to the westward for the present, and then get into Table Bay as fast as you can. We shall have to put our n.o.ble skipper into the sick-lists there, or I am very much mistaken."
Such was the reply the doctor made to all Mr Henley told him. His opinion had great weight with all the other gentlemen, though Mr Vernon did not altogether discredit my account. The result, however, of the affair was, that no especial steps were taken to counteract the schemes of the mutineers, if such schemes were still entertained by them. All Mr Henley and I could do, therefore, was to keep a watchful eye on the movements of the suspected men.
Two days after this we lay becalmed on the smooth shining ocean with all our sails flapping against the masts, when just after daybreak a vessel was made out to the eastward, and with a fair though light breeze standing towards us. As she drew near, carrying the wind along with her, we made her out to be a large black brig, probably, from her appearance, it was supposed, a man-of-war. She was still at some distance when the pa.s.sengers came on deck to take their usual walk before breakfast. Of course she excited no small amount of interest, and many opinions were pa.s.sed as to her character, and to what nation she belonged. Whatever she was, it was pretty evident that she intended to come and speak us. I asked Spratt if he thought she was an English man-of-war.
"Not she," was his answer. "That spread of white canvas cloth is of Brazilian cotton stuff. To my mind she has a wicked, unsatisfactory look I don"t like. There"s no good about her, depend on that, Mr Marsden."
I found, on going aft, that the captain and mates entertained the same opinion of the stranger which Spratt had expressed.
"What can he want with us?" was the question asked by several.
"Perhaps only to know his longitude," observed the captain. "By the cut of his sails he looks like a slaver, and, from his size, he is not likely to be one to knock under to any man-of-war"s boats he might fall in with."
"But suppose he should be a pirate," observed some one.
"A pirate! Oh, there are no pirates now-a-days who would dare to attack a big ship like this," answered the captain, laughing. "In the Indian seas or the China coast there are fellows who would come on board and cut our throats if they could catch us all asleep; but such a thing never happens about here now."
"I am not quite so sure of that, sir," remarked Mr Henley. "I was not long ago on this coast, and I heard of several piratical vessels which did not always let even English merchantmen go free, though the British blockading squadron has made their game rather a hazardous one."
On came the stranger. We now could make out that she had at least four ports on each side, with some heavy guns looking out at them; but she showed no colours from which we might ascertain her nation. We expected that, as she brought up the breeze, we should feel it also; but as she approached us it seemed to die away, till she lay becalmed about half a mile from us. That she had hostile intentions regarding us was soon evident. Three boats were lowered from her sides, and we saw numbers of men crowding into them.
"They intend to attack us!" exclaimed the captain, now almost too late beginning to wonder what steps he should take for the defence of his ship.
We had only two guns--six-pounders--intended more for firing signals than for defence; but there was an arm-chest, with a couple of dozen muskets and some pistols and cutla.s.ses, and a small amount of ammunition.
The captain, having opened the chest, was about to distribute the arms generally among the crew. "Stay, sir," exclaimed Mr Henley; "there are some of the men cannot be trusted with arms. Let them be given to the cabin pa.s.sengers and officers, and to three or four of the men I will call aft. Let them serve the guns, but don"t trust them with other firearms. They may be pointing them aft, depend on that, sir."
"What are you talking about, Mr Henley?--the crew not to be trusted?
We"ll soon see what they dare to do when we"ve settled with these slaving fellows."
"It"s a fancy, sir, Mr Henley has taken into his head in consequence of a c.o.c.k and bull story of young Marsden"s," put in Mr Waller. "If we are not sharp about it, the boats will be alongside before the arms are served out."
Without waiting for the captain"s answer, and before Mr Henley could interfere, he handed both muskets and pistols to Cobb and Clink, another of the men who had tried to heave me overboard. Mr Henley, seeing this, as quickly as he could, aided by me, served out the arms to the pa.s.sengers and to those of the crew he fancied he could trust. The captain, however, had the sense to follow his advice, and to give only three rounds of ammunition to each man. When this was done, I had time to look towards the approaching boats. They were filled full of fellows armed to the teeth, and dressed in every variety of costume. Some of them were whites, but many were mulattoes and blacks. There could not be a shadow of doubt as to their intentions being hostile, though it was doubtful how far they might venture to proceed, when they saw us in a way prepared to receive them. Some of the pa.s.sengers were very full of fight; others I saw skulking below, either not liking the look of things, or going to secure about their persons any articles of value they might possess. Some of the seamen handled their muskets as if they were prepared to use them; but others, especially two or three who had been lately ill-used by the captain and first mate, threw their weapons down on the deck, and, folding their arms, declared that they would see the ship sink before they would use them. The captain swore at and abused them most vehemently; but they listened to him with perfect unconcern, while Cobb, and Clink, and their companions, backed them up in their mutinous conduct. Our imperfect preparations, such as they were, had hardly been completed, when the pirate"s boats dashed alongside.
"Don"t fire till I give the order!" shouted the captain; but he did not speak in time, and several of the pa.s.sengers and crew discharged their muskets at the boats. No one was. .h.i.t that I could see, and the pirates shouted and shrieked in return as they began to scramble up the sides.
They were bravely opposed aft, and pistols were fired in their faces, and pikes plunged at them, so that numbers were hurled back into their boats; but, to my dismay, I saw a band of them beginning to clamber up about the forechains, where Cobb and his a.s.sociates had posted themselves. I shouted to the seamen to drive them back, but instead of doing so, they only laughed, and, putting out their hands, welcomed the strangers on board. Mr Henley had been so busily engaged in defending the after-part of the ship, that he did not see what was occurring. I shouted to him to call his attention to the circ.u.mstance. He instantly, collecting around him all the men who were disengaged, made a rush at the pirates; but so many had gained a footing, that the rest had no difficulty in clambering up, and, notwithstanding his desperate onslaught, he could make no impression on them, but was compelled to retire with a wound in his sword arm, several of the rest being also much hurt. I was by his side, using a cutla.s.s to some effect. I had learned the broadsword exercise at school, and was considered a first-rate hand at single-stick. It gave me a wonderful confidence in the _melee_, which I should not otherwise have felt. A shot, however grazed my arm. At that instant a big mulatto made towards me. The pain I felt caused me to drop my arm for an instant, and my antagonist would certainly have cut me down, had not my faithful Solon, who had been keeping at my heels, rushed in, and, with his usual tactics, bit the mulatto"s legs so severely, that he had to try and drive off his new opponent. I sprang back, and Solon, seeing that I was safe, beat his retreat before the fellow had time to strike him. Tyrannical and cruel as the captain and first mate were, they proved themselves very far from being brave in the hour of danger. The pirates, having made good their footing on board, took entire possession of the forecastle; and when the captain saw this, he declared that there was no further use in resisting I felt that even then, had we made a bold rush forward, they might have been driven overboard; but, instead, taking out a white flag from the locker, he waved it above his head, and shouted out to the pirates, to ask them if they would come to terms.
"You are a sensible man, Senhor Capitan," answered one of them in return, in very fair English. "If you had not made any resistance at all, you would have saved a great deal of trouble and some hard knocks.
We see that you are a pa.s.senger ship, and not laden with Manchester or Birmingham goods, as we hoped. We don"t want to harm you, but we must be paid for our hot pull and the fighting you have given us. Here, Antonio, let the captain have a list of the stores we require, and the provisions and some water. You see your cruisers have driven us off the coast, and we are rather in want of such things. And then, let me see-- we have been put to a good deal of expense--we shall require some eight or ten dollars a-head from the pa.s.sengers and crew. That will not be much. We should have asked ten times the sum had you been going home; but we wish to be moderate in our demands."
Thus the pirate captain ran on. Whether he was an Englishman or an American I could not make out; but he was either one or the other.
Captain Gunnell stood astounded. He began to consider whether it was still too late to resist; but on glancing towards the brig, he saw that she had her sweeps out, and was gradually creeping up towards us, to strengthen with her broadside the arguments which might be employed to induce us to comply with the requests just made to us. When he saw this, our captain stamped with rage.
"You have got the better of us," he exclaimed. "But look out. Some of the men-of-war in these seas may catch hold of you, and they are not likely to let you go without punishment for this day"s work."
"Not the first time I have got the better of you, Captain Gunnell,"
answered the stranger, laughing. "And as for your men-of-war, my brig can show a faster pair of heels than any of them. However, we are only indulging in child"s play talking thus. We"ll proceed to business, if you please."
The two guns I spoke of were forward. Hauling them inboard, the pirates turned them aft; and while one party had charge of them, another was stationed on the topgallant forecastle, and the rest, headed by their captain, advanced aft, compelling, as he did so, all the seamen and pa.s.sengers he met to give up their arms. The best way I can express our sensations is to say that we all felt very small; at least I did, I know. The pirates set about the business in such a quiet, matter-of-fact sort of way, that I cannot say I was in any way alarmed as to the result of the affair. Having disarmed everybody fore and aft, the pirates proceeded to get what they wanted. The mate--at least, so I supposed the man called Antonio to be--pulled out a huge pocket-book, and in the most systematic way wrote down what was wanted,--so many casks of biscuit, so many of flour, so many of beef, and so on. He even insisted on having tea and sugar. Then he came to paint and oil, and so many fathoms of rope, and so much canvas; indeed, it was very clear that they would not be content without a complete new outfit for their brig.
More than once Captain Gunnell showed signs of becoming restive, and vowed that he would give no more, when with the blandest smile the captain pointed to the guns of his black-looking craft, and intimated that in that case he should be compelled to call her alongside, when, perhaps, some of his comrades might not be so leniently disposed as he was. As soon as the boats were loaded they shoved off, and very quickly returned for a fresh cargo. At last all Antonio"s demands were satisfied.
"I will give you an acknowledgment for all the supplies with which you have been good enough to furnish me," said the captain, turning to Captain Gunnell; "nay, you must not refuse me--we always do that. My owners will repay you when you call on them; and now, by-the-by--the dollars--we must not forget them."
The bystanders looked very blue; they fancied that the polite captain would not press that point. In spite of his politeness, however, there was a grim, determined look about him which showed that he was a man not accustomed to be trifled with where his interests were concerned. He pulled out a gold watch set with jewels from his waistcoat--
"Come, gentlemen, I can but give you ten minutes," he observed, quietly.
"The dollars must be forthcoming or their equivalent--two sovereigns a-piece for every man, woman, and child on board. The rich must pay for the poor; but I know well there are very few on board who cannot afford to pay that trifle. I am letting you off cheap--you ought to be grateful. Antonio, rouse up everybody from below, and make them come round and pay their mite into our coffers; be smart about it, lad: the time is up, and we ought to be parting company with these good people."
Saying this, the pirate captain stationed himself just below the p.o.o.p, and he insisted on everybody on board pa.s.sing in review before him, and as they did so, dropping into his hat either eight dollars or a couple of sovereigns. When anybody appeared without the required coins he sent them back, and would allow no one else to pa.s.s till the money was forthcoming. At first, when any one appeared without the money he took it very quietly, but the second time he spoke very angrily, and the third time stamped and swore with rage, threatening to throw overboard any who had not the required sum. This made their friends very quickly find it, and, consequently, after this there was very little delay. At length came Cobb and Clink, and the rest of the men who had joined them in their conspiracy. I saw Cobb wink to the captain.
"You"ll not make us pay, at all events," he said, in a low voice, which he thought would not be heard. "We helped you aboard, and if you"ve berths for us, we shouldn"t mind joining you, do ye see."
"You scoundrels," answered the pirate captain, "pay that you shall, and double too. You betrayed your own shipmates, and do you think that I would trust you and such as you? No; my fellows would cut a man"s throat without ceremony, but they are faithful to each other."