From Powder Monkey to Admiral Part 57

As they moved a few paces forward, they saw three persons chained to the wall at the farther end of the room.

"Who are you?"

"Alas! alas!" exclaimed one of them, leaning eagerly forward; and they recognised Le Duc's voice. "Ah, messieurs, you will understand the less said the better as to the past."

Rayner took the hint, guessing that Le Duc was unwilling to have anything said in the presence of the two other prisoners which might implicate Madame La Roche or Francois.

"You have heard, messieurs, that they have condemned me to death,"

continued Le Duc, "and the wonder is that they have not shot me already, but I know that at any moment I may be led out. I should wish to live that I may play the fiddle and make others happy as well as myself."

"I am very sorry to hear this. If the commandant would believe us, we can prove your innocence, and, surely, our word ought to be taken instead of that of the two blacks," said Rayner.

"So it would, according to law, for the evidence of the blacks is worth nothing, and is not received in a court of justice. It proves that the commandant has resolved, at all costs, to wreak his hatred of the English on your heads."

Rayner and Oliver seated themselves on the stone bench near him. The men had drawn together on the opposite corner. Le Duc narrated how he had been captured just as he was quitting the village. His great fear had been lest he should be compelled to betray them; and he declared to Rayner, who believed him, that he would have undergone any torture rather than have done so.

Le Duc whispered that the two other prisoners had been condemned for murder.

"Pleasant sort of companions," observed Oliver. "We may as well let them have their side of the prison to themselves."

The men in the meantime had sc.r.a.ped the seat as clean as they could with their knives.

Tom, as usual, began to grumble.

"We must take the rough and the smooth together," observed Jack. "I am hungry enough myself, and I hope the mounseers don't intend to starve us, though maybe we shan't get roast beef and plum pudding."

"Don't talk of it," cried Brown; "I could eat half an ox if I had the chance."

While they were talking the door opened, and a man appeared, carrying a lantern and a pitcher in one hand, and a basket in the other, which he placed on the bench near them.

The pitcher contained water, and the basket some very brown, heavy-looking bread, with a couple of tin mugs. Having allowed the other prisoners to drink, and given each of them a piece of bread, he handed the basket with its contents to the Englishmen.

"You Anglais like ros' beef. Here you eat this. Good enough for you,"

he said, in a surly tone.

They were all too hungry to refuse the bread or the water, which, in spite of its brackish taste, quenched the thirst from which they had long been suffering.

Their gaoler left them the lantern, in order that they might see how to divide the bread. It a.s.sisted them also to select places on which to stretch themselves round the room, and, in spite of the hardness of their couches, in a short time were all asleep.

Some more bread and water was brought them in the morning, and a similar unpalatable meal was provided in the afternoon. This was evidently to be their only food during their imprisonment. They had no one to complain to, no means of obtaining redress; so, like wise men, they made up their minds to bear it, though Tom grumbled and growled all day long at the way in which he was treated.

Rayner supposed that the commandant was waiting for a reply to the report he had sent to Leogane. Until that could arrive, no change either for the better or worse was likely to be made in their treatment.

Le Duc was still allowed to live; but, in spite of his high spirits, the feeling that he might at any moment be led out and shot was telling upon him. The two officers and Jack did their best to encourage him, and, under the circ.u.mstances, it was wonderful how he kept up. In the evening the gaoler appeared with their usual fare.

"There will be one less of you to feed to-morrow," he growled out, looking at Le Duc, "and I can't say but that you five others mayn't have to join him company, for while the firing party are out it is as easy to shoot six as one."

Le Duc made no answer, but bent his head down on his manacled hands. It was the first sign of deep emotion he had exhibited.

"I hope the fellow is only trying to alarm you for the purpose of exercising his own bad feelings," said Rayner, after the surly gaoler had gone.

Again left in darkness, they prepared to pa.s.s another disagreeable night. Rayner felt that their position was critical in the extreme. He and his companions, accused as they were of being spies, might be led out at any moment and shot. He therefore considered it his duty to prepare his companions as best he could for the worst. Oliver he knew was as ready to die as he was himself. He spoke earnestly and faithfully to the others, pointing out the unspeakable importance of being prepared to stand in the presence of the Judge of all men. He was thankful to hear Jack's reply, which expressed the simple hope of the Christian--faith in Christ as a Saviour; but the other two were silent.

After Rayner and his companions had talked for some time they stretched themselves on the bench to try and obtain some sleep. That was more easily sought for than found, for no sooner were they quiet than countless creatures began to sting, and bite, and crawl over them. Tom was continually slapping himself, and moaning and groaning.

But, in spite of their hard stone couches and the attacks of the insects, they did manage to drop off occasionally.

Rayner's eyes had been closed some time when he was awakened by the dull roar of a gun fired from seaward. He started up, as did his companions.

"Where did that come from?" exclaimed Oliver.

Before Rayner could answer, the sound of eight or nine guns, a sloop's whole broadside, was heard, followed by the crash of the shot as they struck the fortification.

In an instant the whole fort was in an uproar, the officers shouting their orders to the men, and the men calling to each other, as they rushed from their quarters to the ramparts. They had evidently been found napping, for before a single gun had been discharged from the fort, the shot from another broadside came plunging into it.

The game, however, was not to be all on one side. The Frenchmen's guns were heard going off as fast as they could get their matches ready.

They could easily be distinguished by the far louder noise they made.

Those from the two other forts at the same time could be heard firing away. Cries and shrieks rose from wounded men, and a loud explosion, as if a gun had burst, rent the air.

"The vessel attacking is a corvette," cried Rayner. "She must have run close in for her shot to strike in the way they are doing. It is a bold enterprise, and I pray she may be successful for her sake as well as ours."

"Can she be the _Ariel_ or _Lily_?" asked Oliver.

"Whichever she is, the attempt would not have been made without good hope of success," remarked Rayner.

"I wish that we were out of this, and aboard her," exclaimed Jack.

"So do I," cried Brown. "I don't like being boxed up here while such work is going on. Couldn't we manage to break out?"

"We are safe here, and we'd better remain where we are," said Tom; "only I hope none of those round shot will find their way into this place."

On the impulse of the moment Jack and Brown made a rush at the door, but it was far too strongly bolted to allow them to break it open. The other prisoners sat with their hands before them, hoping probably, as Tom did, that no shot would find its way among them.

Rayner and Oliver looked up at the windows near the roof, but they were strongly-barred and too narrow to enable a grown man to squeeze through them. To sit down quietly seemed impossible. They stood therefore listening, and trying to make out by the sounds which reached their ears how the fight was going. Presently some more guns were heard coming from the sea.

"There must be another vessel!" exclaimed Rayner. "Hark! she must be engaging the upper fort. I thought that one would scarcely venture singly to attack the three forts."

The roar of the artillery continued. Suddenly there burst forth a loud thundering sound. The ground beneath their feet shook, the walls trembled, and the roof seemed about to fall on their heads, while the glare of a vivid flame penetrating through the windows lighted up the whole interior of the building, shrieks, groans, and cries echoing through the fort.

The magazine had blown up. It was a wonder that the prison itself had not been hurled to the ground.

"Thank Heaven, we have escaped!" exclaimed Oliver.

The attacking vessels still continued firing, and after a short interval the fort once more replied, but evidently with fewer guns than before.

A crash was heard over their heads, and down fell a ma.s.s of timber, plank, and tiles just above the door. Looking up, the clear sky could be seen, from out of which a crescent moon shone brightly.

No one was injured, for the shot, having torn its way through the roof, had fallen outside.