Gascoyne, the Sandal-Wood Trader Part 17

To say that Gascoyne beheld all this unmoved would be to give a false impression of the man. He knew the ring of his great gun too well to require the schooner to come in sight in order to convince him that his vessel was near at hand. When, therefore, she appeared, and Montague turned to him with a hasty glance of suspicion and pointed to her, he had completely banished every trace of feeling from his countenance, and sat on the taffrail puffing his cigar with an air of calm satisfaction.

Nodding to Montague's glance of inquiry, he said--

"Ay, that's the pirate. I told you he was a bold fellow, but I did not think he was quite so bold as to attempt _this_!"

To do Gascoyne justice, he told the plain truth here; for, having sent a peremptory order to his mate by John b.u.mpus, not to move from his anchorage on any account whatever, he was not a little surprised as well as enraged at what he supposed was Manton's mutinous conduct. But, as we have said, his feelings were confined to his breast--they found no index in his grave face.

Montague suspected, nevertheless, that his pilot was a.s.suming a composure which he did not feel; for, from the manner of the meeting of the two vessels, he was persuaded that it was as little expected on the part of the pirates as of himself. It was with a feeling of curiosity, therefore, as to what reply he should receive, that he put the question--

"What would Mr Gascoyne advise me to do _now_?"

"Blow the villains out of the water," was the quick answer; "I would have done so before now, had I been you."

"Perhaps you might, but not _much_ sooner," retorted the other, pointing to the guns which were ready loaded, while the men stood at their stations matches in hand only waiting for the broadside to be brought to bear on the little vessel, when an iron shower would be sent against her which must, at such short range, have infallibly sent her to the bottom.

The mate of the pirate schooner was quite alive to his danger, and had taken the only means in his power to prevent it. Close to where his vessel lay, a large rock rose between the sh.o.r.e of the large island and the islet in the bay which has been described as separating the two vessels from each other. Owing to the formation of the coast at this place, a powerful stream ran between the rock and this islet at low tide. It happened to be flowing out at that time like a mill-race.

Manton saw that the schooner was being sucked into this stream. In other circ.u.mstances, he would have endeavoured to avoid the danger; for the channel was barely wide enough to allow even a small craft to pa.s.s between the rocks; but now he resolved to risk it.

He knew that any attempt to put the schooner about, would only hasten the efforts of the cruiser to bring her broadside to bear on him. He also knew that, in the course of a few seconds, he would be carried through the stream into the shelter of the rocky point. He therefore ordered the men to lie down on the deck; while, in a careless manner, he slewed the big bra.s.s gun round, so as to point it at the man-of-war.

Gascoyne at once understood the intended manoeuvre of his mate; and, in spite of himself, a gleam of triumph shot from his eyes. Montague himself suspected that his prize was not altogether so sure as he had deemed it; and he urged the men in the boat to put forth their utmost efforts. The _Talisman_ was almost slewed into position, when the pirate schooner was observed to move rapidly through the water, stern foremost, in the direction of the point. At first Montague could scarcely credit his eyes; but when he saw the end of the main-boom pa.s.s behind the point, he became painfully alive to the fact that the whole vessel would certainly follow in the course of a few seconds. Although the most of his guns were still not sufficiently well pointed, he gave the order to fire them in succession. The entire broadside burst in this manner from the side of the _Talisman_, with a prolonged and mighty crash or roar, and tore up the waters of the narrow channel.

Most of the iron storm pa.s.sed close by the head of the pirate. However, only one ball took effect; it touched the end of the bowsprit, and sent the jib-boom into the air in splinters. Manton applied the match to the bra.s.s gun almost at the same moment, and the heavy ringing roar of her explosion seemed like a prolonged echo of the broadside. The gun was well aimed; but the schooner had already pa.s.sed so far behind the point, that the ball struck a projecting part of the cliff; dashed it into atoms, and, glancing upwards, pa.s.sed through the cap of the _Talisman's_ mizzen-mast, and brought the lower yard, with all its gear, rattling down on the quarter-deck. When the smoke cleared away, the _Avenger_ had vanished from the scene.

To put the s.h.i.+p about, and follow the pirate schooner, was the first impulse of Montague; but, on second thoughts, he felt that the risk of getting on the rocks in the narrow channel was too great to be lightly run. He therefore gave orders to warp the s.h.i.+p about, and steer round the islet, on the other side of which he fully expected to find the pirate. But time was lost in attempting to do this, in consequence of the wreck of the mizzen-mast having fouled the rudder. When the _Talisman_ at last got under way, and rounded the outside point of the islet, no vessel of any kind was to be seen.

Amazed beyond measure, and deeply chagrined, the unfortunate captain of the man-of-war turned to Gascoyne, who still sat quietly on the taffrail smoking his cigar--

"Does this pirate schooner sport wings as well as sails?" said he; "for unless she does, and has flown over the mountains, I cannot see how she could disappear in so short a s.p.a.ce of time."

"I told you the pirate was a bold man; and now he has proved himself a clever fellow. Whether he sports wings or no is best known to himself.

Perhaps he can dive. If so, we have only to watch until he comes to the surface, and shoot him leisurely."

"Well, he is off; there is no doubt of that," returned Montague. "And now, Mr Gascoyne, since it is vain for me to chase a vessel possessed of such mysterious qualities, you will not object, I daresay, to guide my s.h.i.+p to the bay where your own little schooner lies. I have a fancy to anchor there."

"By all means," said Gascoyne, coolly. "It will afford me much pleasure to do as you wish, and to have you alongside of my little craft."

Montague was surprised at the perfect coolness with which the other received this proposal. He was persuaded that there must be some mysterious connexion between the pirate schooner and the sandal-wood trader, although his ideas on this point were somewhat undefined and confused; and he had expected that Gascoyne would have shewn some symptoms of perplexity, on being thus ordered to conduct the _Talisman_ to a spot where he suspected no schooner would be found; or, if found, would appear under such a changed aspect, as to warrant his seizing it on suspicion. As Gascoyne, however, shewed perfect willingness to obey the order, he turned away and left his strange pilot to conduct the s.h.i.+p through the reefs, having previously given him to understand that the touching of a rock, and the termination of his (Gascoyne's) life, would certainly be simultaneous events.

Meanwhile the _Avenger_, alias the _Foam_, had steered direct for the sh.o.r.e, into which she apparently ran and disappeared like a phantom-s.h.i.+p. The coast of this part of the island, where the events we are narrating occurred, was peculiarly formed. There were several narrow inlets in the high cliffs which were exceedingly deep, but barely wide enough to admit of the pa.s.sage of a large boat, or a small vessel.

Many of these inlets or creeks, which in some respects resembled the narrow fjords of Norway, though on a miniature scale, were so thickly fringed with trees, and the luxuriant undergrowth peculiar to southern climes, that their existence could not be detected from the sea.

Indeed, even after the entrance to any one of them was discovered, no one would have imagined it to extend so far inland.

Two of those deep narrow inlets, opening from opposite sides of the cape which lay close to the islet above referred to, had approached so close to each other at their upper extremities? that they had at last met, in consequence of the sea undermining and throwing down the cliff that separated them. Thus the cape was in reality an island; and the two united inlets formed a narrow strait, through which the _Avenger_ pa.s.sed to her former anchorage, by means of four pair of powerful sweeps or oars. This secret pa.s.sage was well known to the pirates; and it was with a lurking feeling that it might some day prove of use to him, that Gascoyne invariably anch.o.r.ed near to it when he visited the island as a sandal-wood trader.

During the transit, the carpenters of the schooner were not idle. The red streak and flag, and griffin's head, were removed; the big gun was covered with the long boat, and the vessel which entered the one end of the channel as the warlike _Avenger_, issued from the other side as the peaceful _Foam_; and, rowing to her former anchorage, dropt anchor. The shattered jib-boom had been replaced by a spare one, and part of the crew were stowed away under the cargo, in an empty s.p.a.ce of the hold reserved for this special purpose, and for concealing arms. A few of them were also landed, not far from the cliff over which poor b.u.mpus had been thrown, with orders to remain concealed, and be ready to embark at a moment's notice.

Soon after the schooner anch.o.r.ed, the boat which had been sent off in search of the body of our unfortunate seaman returned, having failed to discover the object for which it was sent out.

The breeze had by this time died away almost entirely, so that three hours elapsed before the _Talisman_ rounded the point, stood into the bay, and dropt anchor at a distance of about two miles from the suspected schooner.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

REMARKABLE DOINGS OF p.o.o.pY--EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF RESUSCITATION.

It is time now to return to our unfortunate friends, Corrie, Alice, and p.o.o.py, who have been left long enough exposed on the summit of the cliffs, from which they had expected to be tossed by the savages, when the guns of the _Talisman_ so opportunely saved them.

The reader will observe, that these incidents, which have taken so long to narrate, were enacted in a very brief s.p.a.ce of time. Only a few hours elapsed between the firing of the broadside already referred to, and the anchoring of the _Talisman_ in the bay, where the _Foam_ had cast anchor some time before her; yet in this short s.p.a.ce of time many things occurred on the island which are worthy of particular notice.

As we have already remarked, Corrie and his two companions in misfortune had been bound; and, in this condition, were left by the savages to their fate. Their respective positions were by no means enviable. Poor Alice lay near the edge of the cliff, with her wrists and ankles so securely tied that no effort of which she was capable could set her free. p.o.o.py lay about ten yards farther up the cliff, flat on her sable back, with her hands tied behind her, and her ankles also secured; so that she could by no means attain to a sitting position, although she made violent and extraordinary efforts to do so. We say extraordinary, because p.o.o.py, being ingenious, hit upon many devices of an unheard of nature to accomplish her object. Among others, she attempted to turn heels over head, hoping thus to get upon her knees; and there is no doubt whatever that she would have succeeded in this, had not the formation of the ground been exceedingly unfavourable for such a manoeuvre.

Corrie had shewn such an amount of desperate vindictiveness, in the way of kicking, hitting, biting, scratching, and pinching, when the savages were securing him, that they gave him five or six extra coils of the rope of cocoa-nut fibre with which they bound him. Consequently he could not move any of his limbs, and he now lay on his side between Alice and p.o.o.py, gazing with much earnestness and no little astonishment at the peculiar contortions of the latter.

"You'll never manage it, p.o.o.py," he remarked in a sad tone of voice, on beholding the poor girl balanced on the small of her back, preparatory to making a spring that might have reminded one of the leaps of a trout when thrown from its native element upon the bank of a river. "And you'll break your neck if you go on like that," he added, on observing that, having failed in these attempts, she recurred to the heels-over-head process--but all in vain.

"Oh, me!" sighed p.o.o.py, as she fell back in a fit of exhaustion. "It's be all hup wid us."

"Don't say that, you goose," whispered Corrie, "you'll frighten Alice, you will."

"Will me?" whispered p.o.o.py, in a tone of self-reproach; then in a loud voice, "Oh, no! it not all hup yet, Miss Alice. See, me go at it agin."

And "go at it" she did in a way that actually alarmed her companions.

At any other time Corrie would have exploded with laughter, but the poor boy was thoroughly overwhelmed by the suddenness and the extent of his misfortune. The image of b.u.mpus, disappearing headlong over that terrible cliff, had filled his heart with a feeling of horror which nothing could allay, and grave thoughts at the desperate case of poor little Alice (for he neither thought of nor cared for p.o.o.py or himself) sank like a weight of lead upon his spirit.

"Don't try it any more, dear p.o.o.py," said Alice, entreatingly, "you'll only hurt yourself and tear your frock. I feel _sure_ that some one will be sent to deliver us. Don't _you_, Corrie?"

The tone in which this question was put shewed that the poor child did not feel quite so certain of the arrival of succour as her words implied. Corrie perceived this at once, and, with the heroism of a true lover, he crushed back the feelings of anxiety and alarm which were creeping over his own stout little heart in spite of his brave words, and gave utterance to encouraging expressions and even to slightly jovial sentiments, which tended very much to comfort Alice, and p.o.o.py too.

"Sure?" he exclaimed, rolling on his other side to obtain a view of the child, (for, owing to his position and his fettered condition he had to turn on his right side when he wished to look at p.o.o.py, and on his left when he addressed himself to Alice.) "Sure? why, of course I'm sure.

D'ye think your father would leave you lying out in the cold all night?"

"No, that I am certain he would not," cried Alice, enthusiastically; "but, then, he does not know we are here, and will never think of looking for us in such an unlikely place."

"Humph! that only shews your ignorance," said Corrie.

"Well, I dare say I _am_ very ignorant," replied Alice, meekly.

"No, no! I don't mean _that_," cried Corrie, with a feeling of self-reproach. "I don't mean to say that you're ignorant in a general way, you know, but only about what men are likely to do, d'ye see, when they're hard put to it, you understand. _Our_ feelings are so different from yours, you know, and--and--"

Here Corrie broke down, and in order to change the subject abruptly he rolled round towards p.o.o.py, and cried with considerable asperity--

"What on earth d'ye mean, Kickup, by wriggling about your black body in that fas.h.i.+on? If you don't stop it you'll fetch way down the hill, and go slap over the precipice, carrying Alice and me along with you. Give it up now, d'ye hear?"

"No, me won't," cried p.o.o.py, with great pa.s.sion, while tears sprang from her large eyes, and coursed over her sable cheeks. "Me _will_ bu'st dem ropes."

"More likely to do that to yourself if you go on like that," returned Corrie. "But, I say, Alice, cheer up," (here he rolled round on his other side,) "I've been pondering a plan all this time to set us free, and now I'm going to try it. The only bother about it is that these rascally savages have dropt me beside a pool of half soft mud that I can't help sticking my head into if I try to move."