Maori and Settler Part 14

As soon as the line of mattra.s.ses was pushed forward to the edge of the p.o.o.p a steady fire was opened upon the natives, who had already taken off the hatches, and were engaged in bringing their plunder up on deck, deferring the dangerous operation of carrying the p.o.o.p for the present.

As soon, however, as the fire opened upon them they seized their spears and tomahawks, and, led by one of their chiefs, made a rush at the two p.o.o.p ladders. Mr. Atherton gave a shout, and the whole of the pa.s.sengers seizing their muskets sprang to their feet and ran forward to the barricade, and so heavy a fire was poured into the natives as they tried to ascend the ladders, that they fell back again and contented themselves with replying to the fire with volleys of spears. The pa.s.sengers at once renewed their work of pa.s.sing the materials for the barricade forward, and this was continued until it rose breast high.

They then took their places closely together behind it, and joined its defenders in keeping up a heavy fire upon the natives. So deadly was its effect that the latter began to lose heart and to jump over into the canoes alongside.

A cheer broke from the pa.s.sengers as they saw the movement of retreat.

It was no longer necessary for any to reserve their fire, and this was redoubled. The natives were discouraged by the want of leaders; their princ.i.p.al chiefs had all been killed on the p.o.o.p, and any other who attempted to rally them and lead them again to an attack was instantly shot down by Mr. Atherton, who, as Wilfrid, who was standing next to him observed, never once failed to bring down the man he aimed at.

"I think we might go at them, sir, now," the second officer said to Mr.

Atherton; "the fight is all out of them."

"I think so too, Rawlins. Now, gentlemen, give them one last volley and then pull down the barricade across the ends of the ladders and charge them." The volley was given, and then with a ringing cheer the barricade was thrust aside, and, led on one side by Mr. Atherton and on the other by the second officer, the defenders of the p.o.o.p sprang down the ladders and rushed forward. The natives did not stop to await them, but sprung overboard with the greatest precipitation, and the _Flying Scud_ was once again in the hands of its lawful owners.

"Now, Rawlins, do you and the sailors work the guns, we will pepper them with our rifles," Mr. Atherton said. "Mr. Renshaw, will you go aft and tell the ladies that all is over?"

But this they had already learned. Marion, after the things had been pa.s.sed up, had taken her place at the top of the companion, occasionally peering out to see what was going on, and running down with the news to them below, and as the loud cheer which preceded the charge had broken from those on deck, she had called out to the ladies below that the natives were beaten. The shower of spears from the boats had ceased as soon as the natives saw their friends leaping overboard, and as Mr.

Renshaw ascended the p.o.o.p to deliver the message the ladies were flocking out on deck, each anxious to ascertain whether those most dear to them had suffered in the fray. Marion run forward and threw herself into his arms.

"Not hurt, father?"

"No, my dear, thank G.o.d. Some of us have got spear wounds more or less awkward, but n.o.body has been killed except those who were struck down at the beginning." As he spoke the four cannon boomed out one after another, for they had been loaded some days before, and a hail of bullets and pieces of iron with which they had been crammed tore through the canoes, while terrible yells rose from the natives. Three of the canoes were instantly sunk, and half the paddlers in the large boat of the chief were killed or disabled. Almost the same instant a dropping fire of musketry was opened, the pa.s.sengers firing as soon as they had reloaded their pieces.

"Give another dose to that big fellow!" the second officer shouted to the men at the two guns at that side of the s.h.i.+p. "Shove a ball in, men, and a bagful of bullets--take steady aim, and remember the poor captain!" A minute later the guns were fired. A terrible cry was heard, and almost instantaneously the great canoe disappeared below the water.

"Get the other two guns over to this side," Mr. Rawlins said; "we must lend a hand now to the party ash.o.r.e. Load all the guns with grape, and aim at those canoes between us and them." These, following the example of those around the s.h.i.+p, were already moving towards the sh.o.r.e, and the discharge of the four guns sunk two of them and sent the others off in headlong flight.

"What had we better do now, Mr. Atherton?"

"I should load with round shot now, Rawlins, and open fire into the wood on both sides of the landing-place. The sound of the shot cras.h.i.+ng among the trees will demoralize the scoundrels even if you do not hit anyone."

Three or four rounds were fired, and then those on board gave a cheer as they saw the sailors issue out from among the trees and take their places in the boats. Half a minute later they were rowing towards the vessel, unmolested by the natives. Mr. Ryan stood up in the stern of his boat as soon as they were within hailing distance and shouted--"How has it gone with you?"

"We have beaten them off, as you see," the second officer shouted back; "but the s.h.i.+p was pretty nearly in their hands for a time. The captain is killed, I am sorry to say; four of our men, and two of the pa.s.sengers. How have you done?"

"We have lost three men," Mr. Ryan replied, "and most of us are wounded."

The boats were soon alongside, and Mr. Ryan, after hearing what had taken place on board, related his experience. "We had got about half the casks filled when we heard a rifle shot on board a s.h.i.+p, followed directly by the yells of the black divils. I ordered the men to drop the casks and take to their guns, but I had scarcely spoken when a volley of spears fell among us. Two men were killed at once. I had intended to take to the boats and come off to lend you a hand, but by the yelling and the shower of spears I saw that the spalpeens were so thick round us that if we had tried we should pretty well all be killed before we could get fairly out, so I told the men to take to the trees and keep up a steady fire whenever the natives tried to make a rush at us. I was, of course, terribly anxious about you all at first, and I knew that if the s.h.i.+p was taken they must have us all sooner or later. After the first few shots there was silence for a time, and I feared the worst."

"The spears were flying so thick we could not stand up to fire," the second officer put in.

"Ah! that was it. Well, I was afraid you had all been ma.s.sacred, and you may imagine how relieved I was when I heard a dropping fire of musketry begin; I knew then that they had failed to take you by surprise. The fire at last got so heavy I was sure that most of you had escaped the first attack, and we then felt pretty hopeful, though I did not see how we were to get down to the boats and get off to you. When we heard the first cannon shot we gave a cheer that must have astonished the natives, for we knew you must have cleared the deck of the scoundrels. I had set a man at the edge of the trees by the water to let us know how you were going on, and he soon shouted that the canoes were drawing off! Then we heard the big canoe was sunk, and that you had driven off the craft that were lying between us and the s.h.i.+p. A minute later the round shot came cras.h.i.+ng among the trees, and almost immediately the yelling round us ceased, and we felt sure they must be drawing off. We waited until you had fired a couple more rounds, and then as all seemed quiet we fell back to the boats, and, as you saw, got off without a single spear being thrown at us. I am awfully sorry for the poor captain. If he had but taken your advice, Mr. Atherton, all this would not have happened; but at last he got to trust these treacherous scoundrels, and this is the result."

"Well, Mr. Ryan, you are in command now," Mr. Atherton said, "and we are all ready to carry out any orders that you will give us."

"First of all then, Mr. Atherton, I must, in the name of the owners of this s.h.i.+p, of myself, the officers and crew, thank you for having saved it and us from the hands of these savages. From what Mr. Rawlins tells me, and from what I know myself, I am convinced that had it not been for your vigilance, and for the part you have taken in the defence of the s.h.i.+p, the natives would have succeeded in their treacherous design of ma.s.sacring all on board almost without resistance."

A cheer broke from the pa.s.sengers and crew, and Mr. Renshaw said when it had subsided: "I, on the part of the pa.s.sengers, endorse all that Mr.

Ryan has said; we owe it to you, Atherton, that by G.o.d's mercy we and those dear to us have escaped from death at the hands of these savages.

It was you who put some of us on our guard; it was your marvellous shooting with the revolver that first cleared the p.o.o.p; and your extraordinary strength, that enabled you single-handed to check the onslaught of the natives and give us time to rally from our first surprise, and saved the s.h.i.+p and us."

"Do not let us say anything more about it," Mr. Atherton said; "we have all done our duty to the best of our power, and have reason to be heartily thankful to G.o.d that we have got out of this sc.r.a.pe without heavier loss than has befallen us. Now, Mr. Ryan, please give your orders."

"The first thing, undoubtedly, is to clear the deck of these bodies,"

Mr. Ryan said.

"What about the wounded?" Mr. Renshaw asked, "no doubt some of the poor wretches are still alive."

"They do not deserve any better fate than to be tossed overboard with the others; still, as that would go against the grain, we will see what we can do." He looked over the side. "There is a good-sized canoe floating there fifty yards away. I suppose the fellows thought it would be safer to jump overboard and swim ash.o.r.e. Four of you men get out the gig and tow the canoe alongside. We will put any wounded we find into it and send it adrift; they will come out and pick it up after we are fairly off."

The bodies of sixty natives who had been killed outright were thrown overboard, and eighteen who were found to be still alive were lowered into the canoe. "I do not think we are really doing them much kindness, though of course we are doing the best we can for them," Mr. Atherton said to Mr. Renshaw. "I doubt if one of them will live. You see, all who were able to drag themselves to the side jumped overboard, and were either drowned or hauled into the canoes."

As soon as the operation was over the casks of water were got on board and the boats hoisted to the davits. The anchor was then hove up and some of the sails shaken out, and with a gentle breeze the vessel began to draw off the land. As soon as this was done all hands set to work was.h.i.+ng down the decks; and in two or three hours, except for the bullet marks on the deck and bulwarks, there were no signs left of the desperate conflict that had raged on board the _Flying Scud_. At sunset all hands gathered on the p.o.o.p, and the bodies of the captain and two pa.s.sengers, and of the sailors who had fallen, were reverently delivered to the deep, Mr. Ryan reading the funeral service.

The ladies had retired below after the boats had come alongside, and did not come up until all was ready for the funeral. Mrs. Renshaw and three or four of the others had been employed in dressing the wounds of those who had been injured. Four out of the six sailors who had survived the ma.s.sacre on board had been more or less severely wounded before they won their way on the quarter-deck, and six of the watering party were also wounded. Eight of the pa.s.sengers had been struck with the flying spears; but only two of these had received wounds likely to cause anxiety. After the funeral was over more sail was hoisted, the breeze freshened, and the _Flying Scud_ proceeded briskly on her way.

The rest of the voyage was uneventful. Thankful as all were for their escape, a gloom hung over the s.h.i.+p. The death of the captain was much felt by all. He had been uniformly kind and obliging to the pa.s.sengers, and had done everything in his power to make the voyage a pleasant one.

One of the pa.s.sengers who was killed was a young man with none on board to mourn him, but the other had left a widow and two children, whose presence in their midst was a constant reminder of their narrow escape from destruction.

The voyage had produced a very marked change in Mr. Renshaw. It had brought him in far closer connection with his children than he had ever been before, with results advantageous to each. Hitherto they had scarcely ever seen him except at meals, and even at these times his thoughts were so wholly taken up with the writings on which he was engaged that he had taken but little part in the general conversation beyond giving a willing a.s.sent to any request they made, and evincing no interest whatever in their plans and amus.e.m.e.nts.

Now, although for four or five hours a day he worked diligently at his study of the Maori language, he was at other times ready to join in what was going on. He often walked the deck by the hour with Wilfrid and Marion, and in that time learned far more of their past life, of their acquaintances and amus.e.m.e.nts at their old home, than he had ever known before. He was genial and chatty with all the other pa.s.sengers, and the astonishment of his children was unbounded when he began to take a lively part in the various amus.e.m.e.nts by which the pa.s.sengers whiled away the long hours, and played at deck quoits and bull. The latter game consists of a board divided into twelve squares, numbered one to ten, with two having bulls' heads upon them; leaden discs covered with canvas are thrown on to this board, counting according to the number on which they fall, ten being lost for each quoit lodged on a square marked by a bull's head.

On the evening of the day before the sh.o.r.es of New Zealand came in sight Mr. Renshaw was sitting by his wife. "The voyage is just finished, Helen," he said. "It has been a pleasant time. I am sorry it is over."

"A very pleasant time, Alfred," she replied, "one of the most pleasant I have ever spent."

"I see now," he went on, "that I have made a mistake of my life, and instead of making an amus.e.m.e.nt of my hobby for archaeology have thrown away everything for it. I have been worse than selfish. I have utterly neglected you and the children. Why, I seem only to have made an acquaintance with them since we came on board a s.h.i.+p. I see now, dear, that I have broken my marriage vows to you. I have always loved you and always honoured you, but I have altogether failed to cherish you."

"You have always been good and kind, Alfred," she said softly.

"A man may be good and kind to a dog, Helen; but that is not all that a wife has a right to expect. I see now that I have blundered miserably. I cannot change my nature altogether, dear; that is too late. I cannot develop a fund of energy by merely wis.h.i.+ng for it; but I can make the happiness of my wife and children my first thought and object, and my own pursuits the second. I thought the loss of our money was a terrible misfortune. I do not think so now. I feel that I have got my wife again and have gained two children, and whatever comes of our venture here I shall feel that the failure of the bank has brought undeserved happiness to me."

"And to me also," Mrs. Renshaw said softly as she pressed her husband's hand. "I feel sure that we shall all be happier than we have ever been before. Not that we have been unhappy, dear, very far from it; still you have not been our life and centre, and it has been so different since the voyage began."

"He is not half a bad fellow, after all," Mr. Atherton said, as leaning against the bulwark smoking his cigar he had glanced across at the husband and wife seated next to each other talking in low tones, and evidently seeing nothing of what was pa.s.sing around them. "He has brightened up wonderfully since we started. Of course he will never be a strong man, and is no more fit for a settler's life than he is for a habitation in the moon. Still, he is getting more like other people. His thoughts are no longer two or three thousand years back. He has become a sociable and pleasant fellow, and I am sure he is very fond of his wife and children. It is a pity he has not more backbone. Still, I think the general outlook is better than I expected. Taking it altogether it has been as pleasant a voyage as I have ever made. There is the satisfaction too that one may see something of one's fellow-pa.s.sengers after we land.

This northern island is not, after all, such a very big place. That is the worst of homeward voyages. People who get to know and like each other when they arrive in port scatter like a bomb-sh.e.l.l in every direction, and the chances are against your ever running up against any of them afterwards."

Somewhat similar ideas occupied the mind of most of the pa.s.sengers that evening. The voyage had been a pleasant one, and they were almost sorry that it was over; but there was a pleasurable excitement at the thought that they should next day see the land that was to be their home, and the knowledge that they should all be staying for a few days at Wellington seemed to postpone the break-up of their party for some little time.

No sooner was the anchor dropped than a number of sh.o.r.e boats came off to the s.h.i.+p. Those who had friends on sh.o.r.e and were expecting to be met watched anxiously for a familiar face, and a cry of delight broke from the two Mitfords as they saw their father and mother in one of these boats. After the first joyful greeting was over the happy little party retired to the cabin, where they could chat together undisturbed, as all the pa.s.sengers were on deck. Half an hour later they returned to the deck, and the girls led their father and mother up to Mrs. Renshaw.

"I have to thank you most heartily, Mrs. Renshaw, for your great kindness to my girls. They tell me that you have throughout the voyage looked after them as if they had been your own daughters."

"There was no looking after required, I can a.s.sure you," Mrs. Renshaw said. "I was very pleased, indeed, to have them in what I may call our little party, and it was a great advantage and pleasure to my own girl."

"We are going ash.o.r.e at once," Mr. Mitford said. "My girls tell me that you have no acquaintances here. My own place is hundreds of miles away, and we are staying with some friends while waiting the arrival of the s.h.i.+p, and therefore cannot, I am sorry to say, put you up; but in any other way in which we can be of a.s.sistance we shall be delighted to give any aid in our power. The girls say you are thinking of making this your head-quarters until you decide upon the district in which you mean to settle. In that case it will, of course, be much better for you to take a house, or part of a house, than to stop at an hotel; and if so it will be best to settle upon one at once, so as to go straight to it and avoid all the expenses of moving twice. It is probable that our friends, the Jacksons, may know of some suitable place, but if not I shall be glad to act as your guide in house-hunting."

Mr. Renshaw here came up and was introduced to Mr. Mitford, who repeated his offer.

"We shall be extremely glad," Mr. Renshaw replied; "though I really think that it is most unfair to take you even for a moment from your girls after an absence of five years."