Most of the people they met on foot appeared to be bending their steps to one quarter; on pursuing the same road the naval party found themselves at the entrance of a large open s.p.a.ce or square crowded with people. Round it were arranged groups of men, women, and children of various hues, jet black or darkest of browns predominating.
"Who can all these people be?" asked Charley.
"Slaves, to be sure; they are brought here to be sold," answered Rhymer.
"Let"s go on, it will be some fun to watch them."
Rhymer led the way round the square, examining the different groups of slaves. Although the greater number looked very squalid and wretched, others had evidently been taken care of. Among them were a party of Gallas, mostly women, habited in silk and gauze dresses, with their hair prettily ornamented to increase their personal attractions, which were far superior to those of the negroes. Close to the group stood a man who acted as auctioneer, ready to hand his goods over to the highest bidder. The purchasers were chiefly Arabs, who walked about surveying the hapless slaves, and ordering those to whom they took a fancy to be paraded out before them, after which they examined the mouths and limbs of any they thought of purchasing, striking their b.r.e.a.s.t.s and pinching their arms and legs to ascertain that they possessed sufficient muscle and wind for their work.
Ned turned away from the scene with disgust. He longed to be able to liberate the poor slaves, and to place them where they could obtain religious instruction and the advantages of civilisation, for they were, he knew, being dragged from one state of barbarism to another, in many cases infinitely worse, where they would become utterly degraded and debased.
"Is there no hope for these poor people?" he exclaimed, turning to Charley. "Cannot our commander interfere?"
"He has not the authority to do so in the dominions of the sultan; we can only touch those whom we meet on the high seas, beyond certain limits. We shall soon have an opportunity, however, of setting some of them free, for the commander told Mr Hanson that we are only to remain here a couple of days, and then to commence our cruise to the northward."
"The sooner the better," exclaimed Ned; "we shall all catch fever if we stay long in this place. Rhymer was right in what he said about it, fair as it looks outside."
Ned was not disappointed; the "Ione" was soon again at sea, and had reached the lat.i.tude beyond which his commander had authority to capture all dhows with slaves on board. A bright look-out was kept aloft, from the first break of day until darkness covered the face of the deep, for any dhows sailing northward, but day after day pa.s.sed by and none were seen. The ship was then kept further off the land, the commander suspecting that the Arabs and slave traders had notice of his whereabouts. The following day three dhows were seen; chase was made; they were overtaken and boarded; one, however, was a fair trader, but about the two others there was considerable doubt. They each carried a large number of people, whom the Arab captains averred were either pa.s.sengers or part of their crews. As no one contradicted them, they were allowed to proceed on their voyage.
"This dhow chasing is dull work," exclaimed Rhymer. "I"ll bet anything that we don"t make a single capture; and if we do, what is the good of it, except the modic.u.m of prize money we might chance to pocket? The blacks won"t be a bit the better off, and the Arabs will be the losers."
"They deserve to be the losers," exclaimed Charley, who, influenced by the remarks of Ned, had become as much interested as he was in the duty in which they were engaged. "What business have they to make slaves of their fellow-creatures?"
"Business! Why, because they want slaves, and set about the best way of getting them," answered Rhymer, with a laugh. The ship was now nearly under the line. The heat, as Rhymer had forewarned his messmates, was very great, though not enough to roast an ox; and when there was a breeze, it was at all events endurable in the shade. Had it been much greater it would not have impeded Commander Curtis in the performance of his duty. Ned bore it very well, although he confessed to Charley that he should like a roll in the snow. When the ship was becalmed the crew were allowed a plunge overboard, but they were ordered to keep close to the side for fear of sharks, and a sail was rigged out in the water for those who could not swim. Several more days pa.s.sed without a single dhow being seen, and Rhymer declared that they would catch no slavers, for the best of reasons, that there were no slavers to be caught, or that if there were, they would take good care to keep out of their way.
CHAPTER SIX.
It was Ned"s morning watch. Scarcely had the first streaks of crimson and gold appeared in the eastern sky, heralding the coming day, than the look-out, who had just reached the masthead, shouted--
"Three sail on the port bow," and presently afterwards he announced two more in the same direction. The wind was southerly and light, the ship"s head was to the northward. The commander, according to his orders, was immediately called. All hands were roused up to make sail, and soon every st.i.tch of canvas the ship could carry being packed on her, the foam which bubbled up under her bows showed that she was making good way in the direction in which the strangers had been seen. As soon as Ned was able, he hurried aloft with his spy-gla.s.s, eager to have a look at them. He counted not only five, but six, all of them dhows. As yet they were probably not aware of the presence of a man-of-war, for their hulls were still below the horizon. He hoped, therefore, that the "Ione" would gain on them before they should hoist their larger sails.
He knew that it was the custom of the Arabs to carry only small sails at night. The usual preparations were made on board the corvette, the boats were cleared ready for lowering, the bow-chasers loaded and run out, and buckets of water were thrown over the sails to make them hold the wind.
"We are gaining on them!" exclaimed Ned to Charley, as, after a third trip aloft, he came again on deck.
"So we may be, but we must remember that after all they may be only honest traders, and not have a slave on board," observed Charley. "We shall judge better if they make more sail when they discover us. If they are honest traders they will keep jogging on as before, if not, depend upon it they will try to escape."
"They may try, but they"ll find that the "Ione" has a fast pair of heels, and we shall have the fun of overhauling them at all events,"
said Ned.
At length the Arabs must have discovered the man-of-war. First the nearest hoisted her big sail, and also set one on her after-mast. Then another and another dhow followed her example, and then the whole squadron, like white-winged birds, went skimming along over the blue sea.
"What do you think now, Charley, of the strangers?" asked Ned.
"No doubt that they wish to keep ahead of us, but whether or not we shall get up with them is another question, though, if the wind holds as it now does, we may do it."
The commander and gun-room officers were fully as eager as Ned to overtake the dhows. They had, they thought, at length got some veritable slavers in sight, and it would be provoking to lose them. It was, however, curious that they should all keep together; probably, however, none of them wished to steer a course by which they would run a greater chance of falling into the power of their pursuer. Seldom had breakfast been disposed of more quickly by officers and crew than that morning. The dhows could now be seen clearly from the deck, proof positive that the corvette was sailing much faster than they were. Once headed, most of them might be captured, for the dhow can sail but badly on a wind, though no vessel is faster before it.
The lofty canvas of the corvette gave her an advantage over the dhows, whose sails occasionally hung down from their yards, almost emptied of wind.
"We shall soon get them within range of our long gun," said the commander, as he stood eagerly watching the vessels ahead. "Stand by, Mr Hanson, to lower the boats; we shall be able to do so with this breeze without heaving to."
"Is the gun all ready forward?" he asked a few minutes later.
"Aye, aye, sir," was the answer. His practised eye a.s.sured him that the stern most dhow was within range of the long gun.
"We"ll make that fellow lower his canvas, and then see what cargo he carries," said the commander. "Send a shot across his forefoot, and if that doesn"t stop him we"ll try to knock away that big yard of his. All ready there forward?"
"Aye, aye, sir!"
"Fire!"
The missile flew from the mouth of the gun, and was seen to strike the surface so close to the dhow as to send the spray over her low bows.
Still she held on her course. The gun was run in and reloaded.
"Give her another shot!" cried the commander; "and if they don"t bring to, the Arabs must take the consequences."
The second lieutenant, who had been carefully taking the range, obeyed the order. The shot was seen to touch the water twice before it disappeared, but whether it struck the dhow seemed doubtful. Again the gun was got ready, but this time was aimed at the next vessel ahead, which almost immediately lowered her sails, the one astern following her example.
"Let Mr Rhymer, with a midshipman, shove off and take possession of those two vessels, while we stand after the others. We must try and bag the whole of them, for I suspect they all have slaves on board,"
observed the commander.
"Garth, do you accompany Rhymer," said Mr Hanson. "Take care that the Arabs don"t play you any trick."
The ship was moving so steadily over the smooth water that there was no necessity to stop her way, though even then it required care in lowering the boat. The crew with the two young officers were soon in her, the oars were got out, and away she pulled after the sternmost dhow, while the ship stood on in chase of the remainder of the fleet. The crew of the boat gave way, eager to secure their prize. Scarcely, however, had they got half-way to the nearest, than the breeze freshened up again, and the corvette"s speed was so increased, that it would have now been no easy task to lower a boat. They were soon up to the dhow, on board of which there appeared to be a crew of from fifteen to twenty Arabs, who gazed with folded arms and scowling countenances on their approaching captors. Rhymer and Ned sprang on board. No resistance was offered. The Arab captain shrugged his shoulders, said something, which probably meant, "It is the fortune of war," and appeared perfectly resigned to his fate. A peep down the main hatchway showed at once that she was a slaver, as the bamboo deck was crowded with blacks, who commenced shrieking fearfully as they saw Ned"s white face, having been told by the Arabs that the object of the English was to cook and eat them.
"Stop those fellows from making that horrible uproar," cried Rhymer in an angry tone. "I cannot make out what these Arabs say with this abominable noise."
It is very doubtful if he would have understood his prisoners even had there been perfect silence. In order not to be seen by the blacks Ned walked aft.
Rhymer made signs to the Arabs to give up their arms, which he handed into the boat as the best means of preventing any attempt they might make to recapture their vessel. He then ordered them to go forward to rehoist the sail, while he sent one of his men to the helm.
While they were engaged in these arrangements, Ned cast his eye on the other dhow, of which Rhymer had been ordered to take charge.
"Look out there, Rhymer!" he exclaimed; "that fellow is getting up his long yard again, and will try to give us the slip."
"We"ll soon stop him from doing that," answered Rhymer. "You remain on board this craft with a couple of hands and I"ll go after him. c.o.x and Stone, you stay with Mr Garth; into the boat the rest of you." The crew in another instant were in their seats, and shoving off, pulled away towards the other dhow. There was no time to lose, for already the yard with its white canvas was half-way up the mast. The breeze, too, was freshening, and as Ned watched her it seemed to him that she had a good chance of escaping. The boat"s crew were pulling as hard as they could lay their backs to the oars. He saw Rhymer standing up with a musket in his hand, and shouting to the Arabs, threatening to fire should they continue the attempt to escape. They were, however, apparently not to be deterred from so doing. Still the sail continued to ascend and the dhow was gathering way. Should the sail once be got up, the boat would have little chance of catching her. Rhymer, however, was not likely to give up the pursuit. Finding that his threats were not attended to, he fired one of the muskets, but whether any person was. .h.i.t Ned could not discover. Again Rhymer fired, and then reloaded both muskets. Ned was so engaged in watching the boat, that he scarcely took notice of the proceedings of the Arabs on board his own dhow. He observed, however, that one of them, a young man with a better-looking countenance than most of his companions, had remained aft, while the rest were attempting to hoist the sail, though from some cause or other the halyards appeared to have got foul.
"Go forward, c.o.x, and see what those fellows are about," he said; "I"ll take the helm."
The seaman obeyed, while Stone, beckoning to the young Arab to come to his a.s.sistance, stood by to haul in the main sheet. The only thing in the shape of a boat was a small canoe which lay in the after part of the vessel. Aided by c.o.x, the sail was soon hoisted, but scarcely had the dhow heeled over to the breeze, than cries arose from the Arab crew, who made frantic gesticulations, indicating that the vessel was sinking.
Ned at once suspected the cause; their second shot must have struck the bows of the dhow between wind and water, and had probably started a plank, so as to allow the sea, like a mill stream, to rush into her.
There was little hope of stopping it. Ned put up the helm. "Lower the sail!" he shouted as he had never shouted before; the seamen endeavoured to obey the order, but the halyards had again become jammed, and to his dismay he saw that the bows of the dhow were rapidly sinking. As the water rushed into the hold the poor blacks uttered the most piercing shrieks, while the panic-stricken Arabs in a body frantically sprang towards the after part of the vessel; but as they came along, the light deck gave way beneath their weight, and the whole of them were precipitated on to the heads of the hapless negroes below.
"We must save ourselves, sir," cried Stone, lifting the canoe. "It is our only chance, or we shall be drowned with the rest."
"Where is c.o.x?" exclaimed Ned.