It was only a small bay across which we were pa.s.sing. Not a quarter of an hour afterwards another point appeared. As we had succeeded in weathering the first, the mate evidently expected to pa.s.s this in the same way.
Mr Hallton, convinced that we could not do so, shouted out, "Down with the helm--shorten sail--let go the anchor--let fly everything."
"Who dares give orders on board this ship?" cried the mate.
The crew, however, were convinced that the first order was the wisest.
The tacks, sheets, and halyards were let go, the stoppers of the cable cut, the helm put down to bring her up to the wind. She pitched into the seas, but the anchor held. The crew now flew aloft to try and gather in the canvas, fluttering wildly in the gale.
"In three minutes more we should have been knocking to pieces on the rocks," observed Mr Hallton. "It is a question whether the anchor will hold now; if it doesn"t, we sha"n"t be much better off."
Scarcely had he spoken when a loud report was heard. "The cable has parted!" shouted several voices.
"Let go the last hope."
The anchor so called was let go, and although it brought the ship up in a couple of minutes, it also parted, and the helpless ship now drifted rapidly towards the breakers, which could be seen curling up along the sh.o.r.es of the bay into which we had driven.
"Come aft," said Charley to Harry and me. "The moment the ship strikes the masts will go, and we shall chance to be crushed as they fall."
"The time has come to set Captain Trunnion at liberty," I said.
Charley and I hurried below and burst open the door of the cabin. The unhappy man was still sleeping, with his dog Growler at his feet. Surly as the animal was to others, he was faithful to his master, and he seemed to understand that we had come with no evil intentions, for though he uttered a low bark, he did not attempt to fly at us. By the light of the lamp we saw that the captain had no arms near him. To cut the ropes which bound his limbs was the work of a moment.
"Captain Trunnion," I exclaimed, "we have come to warn you that the ship will be in the midst of the breakers in the course of a minute or two.
If you wish to save your life you must come upon deck."
Not, however, until Harry and Charley had shaken him well did he wake up. He gazed around him with a bewildered look.
"What is that you say?" he asked.
In a few sentences I told him.
"Then it is time to look out to save our lives," he said springing up, apparently quite himself. He looked as cool and composed as he had ever been. We were about to return on deck, when there came a fearful crash overhead, followed by several others. The ship had struck and the masts had all gone together by the board. Shrieks and cries arose, but many of the voices were speedily silenced, as the sea, breaking over the ship, washed several men from the deck into the seething cauldron into which she had been driven. The captain, followed by Growler, sprang up the companion ladder, and we saw no more of them. The cries of the helpless slaves below, uniting in one fearful chorus, overwhelmed the voices of the white crew.
"We must set these poor wretches at liberty. It would be a fearful subject of thought if we were to leave them to perish," observed Charley. "There is a hatch, I know, which leads from the main cabin to the slave-deck, although it is kept closed."
"Ay, ay, sir! But we can"t do it without the instruments," said Tubbs.
Hunting about, he discovered some irons used for the purpose, with which we each supplied ourselves. With this means we soon opened the hatch.
There was great risk in the merciful task we were about to perform, but Charley, setting the example, we quickly knocked off the manacles of Aboh and the slaves nearest to us, and, with the a.s.sistance of the former, made them understand that they were to perform the same operation to their fellow-captives. Some obeyed, but others rushed immediately on deck. However, we persevered, and, faster than I could have believed it possible, we contrived to set all the slaves free.
Many of the poor wretches enjoyed their liberty but for a few seconds, for they were quickly washed off the deck, or were drowned in a vain attempt to reach the sh.o.r.e by swimming. All the time the sea was striking with terrific force against the sides of the ship. The loud crashing sound overhead showed us that her bowsprit and bulwarks and everything on deck was being rapidly carried away.
While we were thus engaged daylight appeared, and when we reached the deck we saw that the wind had greatly gone down. Although there were rocks on either side of us, there was a clear piece of sand, on which, could a raft be formed, those who could not swim might land. The blacks were mostly cl.u.s.tered aft, the part least exposed to the fury of the seas. Several persons were in the water, some swimming, others floating apparently lifeless. The greater portion of the crew had disappeared; many had been crushed by the falling masts, others washed overboard, and a few on pieces of wreck were trying to reach the beach One thing was certain, there was no time to be lost, as the ship could not long hold together, lashed as she was by the fury of the seas which rolled in from the ocean. The surviving blacks recognised us when we appeared as the persons who had set them at liberty and we made them understand that if they would remain quiet, we would endeavour to provide the means for enabling them to reach the sh.o.r.e. I thought that among the people clinging to pieces of wreck I saw Captain Trunnion, but I was not certain. The mate had disappeared, and had, I concluded, been washed overboard, and, as far as we could learn, Mr Hallton had shared the same fate. We had reason to be thankful that we had been below, or we also might have lost our lives. We immediately set about forming the raft from some spars which still remained lashed to ring bolts on the deck and from fragments of the bulwarks. Every instant the wind was going down, rendering our task less difficult. The tide too was falling, and as it did so rocks rose out of the water, which further protected us from the fury of the breakers. When the blacks saw what we were about, some of the more intelligent among them offered to a.s.sist us. At length a raft capable of holding a dozen people at one time was constructed. We also obtained a rope of sufficient length to reach the sh.o.r.e, so that we might haul it backwards and forwards. This we made the blacks understand that we intended to do, and that we could only take off a certain number at a time. The head men, who had all along held an authority over the rest of their fellow-slaves, now came forward to maintain discipline. By this means only the number which the raft could carry were allowed to descend at a time. As soon as we had a cargo we commenced our pa.s.sage to the sh.o.r.e, and happily landed all those we had taken on board, who at once squatted down on the beach waiting for their companions. We immediately put back and took in another cargo, and thus we continued going backwards and forwards until we had placed the whole of the slaves on sh.o.r.e.
"We must look out for ourselves now," observed Charley. "I saw some firearms in the cabin; we must secure them, as well as some ammunition, clothes, and provisions. It will not do to trust those black fellows when they at once find themselves at liberty."
Of course we all agreed to Charley"s proposal, and climbing up the side, made our way into the cabin. We each got a fowling-piece or musket, a brace of pistols, and a good supply of ammunition. We also found some dollars, which we stowed away in our pockets.
"The money may not be of much use while we are among the savages, but it will come in very handy when we get into a more civilised region," said Charley. "Hurrah! here are some things which will be of immediate use,"
and he produced a boxful of strings of beads of various colours.
We each stowed away as many of them as we could carry. Under the circ.u.mstances in which we were likely to be placed, they would prove of the greatest value.
As the ship it appeared probable would hold together for some time, we hunted about until we found as many things as we could carry likely to be of use. Among others, were a pocket compa.s.s, a knife apiece, and other things. Tubbs produced a cooked ham and a box of biscuits, which were divided and put into some canvas bags well suited for the purpose.
We were still engaged in our search, when a loud crashing sound reached our ears. We rushed on deck, and found that the sea had made a breach clean through the ship. Fortunately the raft was secured to the after part. We quickly lowered ourselves down on it, and shoved off in time to escape another sea, which came rolling in, and committed further damage, sending fragments of the wreck floating about in the comparatively smooth water between us and the sh.o.r.e. We had great difficulty in avoiding the pieces of timber which were driven towards our frail raft. Every moment it seemed as if we were about to be overwhelmed. On looking towards the beach, we found that the blacks had disappeared, with the exception of one man, who stood ready to a.s.sist us in getting on sh.o.r.e. A few more hauls on the raft, and we, with our packs, were able to spring on the sand, the black seizing our hands as we did so, one after the other, and dragging us up out of the seething water, which came foaming up around us.
CHAPTER SEVEN.
THE BLACK ABOH REMAINS WITH OUR PARTY--THE MARCH TOWARDS THE FOREST-- CHARLEY CHOSEN LEADER--SUFFERINGS FROM THIRST--WE FIND TRACES OF THE BLACKS--AN ENEMY AT HAND--BATTLE BETWEEN THE NATIVES--FLIGHT AND PURSUIT OF THE BEATEN PARTY--FEAR OF BEING CAPTURED--WE CONCEAL OURSELVES--I AND ABOH ATTEMPT TO SUCCOUR THE WOUNDED--WE REJOIN OUR FRIENDS AND PUSH FORWARD--OUR THIRST BECOMES INTENSE--I AM ON THE POINT OF SINKING-- ENCOURAGED BY HARRY, I STRUGGLE ON--WATER DISCOVERED--ABOH"S DUCK-HUNTING--NAPPING ON GUARD--THE BIG SNAKE--WE DECIDE ON THE ROUTE TO BE TAKEN--MAKING HATS.
Our first impulse on reaching dry ground was to kneel down and thank Heaven for having mercifully preserved our lives, the black standing by and watching us with a wondering look as we did so. We rose to our feet.
"Where are the rest?" I asked of the friendly negro, whom I recognised to be Aboh, the man to whom I had given water in the slaver"s hold, and whom I had just set at liberty.
He pointed over his shoulder, signifying that they had gone inland.
"And you wish to remain with us?" I asked, at once seeing that it would be of importance to have a native with us who might act as our guide and interpreter.
"Yes, ma.s.sa; me like white man. Once serve board man-of-war; cappen kind, sailors kind; but me went on sh.o.r.e to see me fadder, modder, me brodder, me sister; but dey all get catchee, an" all de oder people run "way, an" dey take me for slavee."
The beach, which was here of some height, prevented us at first from seeing what had become of the people; but climbing up the bank of fine sand to the summit, we caught sight of some of them making their way towards the forest, about half a mile off.
"They have gone there, poor fellows, to look for food, or perhaps some of them think that they are not far from home, and expect to get back again," observed Tubbs.
This appeared very likely. Before, however, we set off to join our companions in misfortune, we searched about for any of the white men who might have been cast by the surf on the beach. We found several dead bodies, but not a single living person could we discover. On looking eastward, we observed numerous rocks, stretching out to a considerable distance, which, now that the tide had fallen, appeared above water. It was a mercy that the "Vulture" escaped striking on any of them, for, had she done so, she must have been knocked to pieces at a distance from the sh.o.r.e, and probably not one of us would have escaped alive.
We now sat down on the beach and consulted what to do. As it was not likely that any ship, trader, or man-of-war, or even slaver, would willingly come near that part of the coast, we resolved to travel either to the north or the south, hoping to reach one of the French settlements, which existed at the mouths of two or three of the rivers running into the ocean in that region. On looking along the sh.o.r.e on both hands, we saw a wide extent of sand.
"It will never do to attempt travelling over that, gentlemen," said Tubbs. "We shall certainly find no shade, and probably not a drop of water, without which we cannot get along. If you"ll take my advice, you"ll follow the blacks to the forest. It"s water, to a certainty, they"ve gone to look after; they"re thirsty beings, and their instinct has told them where they can find it."
Aboh, who had been listening all the time, evidently understood what was said, and nodded his head. We, that is, Charley, Harry, and I, agreed to do as Tubbs had proposed, and we all accordingly set off eastward, accompanied by the black. The forest appeared much further away than we supposed, or perhaps the soft sand, into which our feet sank at every step, made us think the distance longer than it really was. The sun, which was now high in the heavens, beat down with terrific force upon our heads, and as we had on only our sea-caps, which afforded little or no protection, we felt the heat greatly. We found some comfort, however, by shifting our packs onto our heads. Aboh, who saw how much we suffered, offered to relieve us of them. He carried my pack and his own on his head, and another on his shoulders, with perfect ease. I bethought me of a handkerchief which I had in my pocket, and fastened it like a turban over my cap; Harry imitated my example. Charley and Tom, who were stronger than either of us, continued to carry their packs with comparative ease on their heads. We had lost sight of the blacks, the last of whom had disappeared before we commenced our march. At length we reached the outskirts of the forest, and were thankful to sit down and rest under the shade of a tree.
"I have been thinking," said Harry, "that we ought to have a leader who should decide what we should do. It will save a good deal of trouble and discussion."
"You are right, Mr Bracewell," said Tom, "that"s what I"ve been thinking too; and I propose that we at once elect Mr Westerton, Mr Harry"s brother. Although I"m older than any of you, he"s a naval officer, and I for one shall be ready to obey him."
Of course Harry and I agreed to this, and Aboh, who understood almost everything we said, nodded his head, just to show that he also consented to the proposal.
"I will do my best, my friends," said Charley, "although, had you chosen Mr Tubbs, I should have been willing to follow him, for I feel convinced that he is a man of courage and judgment."
"Thank you, sir, for your good opinion," said Tom. "You have been more accustomed to command than I have, although I shall be happy to give you any advice whenever you ask it, to the best of my power."
"Well, then," said Charley, "the first use I will make of my authority is to select a northerly route. I have been trying to recall the map of the country, which I frequently studied on board the "Rover," and I think we shall, by proceeding as I propose, fall in with the Gaboon River, at the mouth of which there is a French settlement. I remember that three days before the frigate captured the pirate we sighted Cape Lopez, some way to the south of which I calculate we now are, in what I think is called the Pongo country."
"I believe you are right, sir," said Tom. "We shall have to make a pretty long march though, I suspect; but if we can manage to keep near the coast, we may sight a ship, and by making signals, get her to send a boat on sh.o.r.e to take us off; always provided there happens to be no great amount of surf."
"Well then, friends, if you are all rested, we will commence our march,"