The Pirate of the Mediterranean Part 33

"A man overboard," was the first intelligible cry which was heard, and scarcely was it uttered, when three or four men, headed by a mids.h.i.+pman, were overboard to attempt to pick him up. Mitch.e.l.l's own eagerness to stop the pirates, very nearly prevented them from saving him, for though he had little enough notion of swimming, he struck out manfully after the boat, which the confusion had enabled to gain a good distance from the vessel before any means had been taken to stop her progress. At this juncture the first lieutenant, hearing a noise, came on deck, and soon brought matters into order.

"Silence there, fore and aft," he exclaimed. "Let the proper crews stand by the falls of their boats. Lower the starboard quarter boat, and pick up the man in the water. What is it all about?"

"The pirate, sir--the villain, Zappa was in that boat. Shoot him--stop him, Mr Saltwell, I say!" exclaimed the colonel, scarcely able to speak from his agitation and rage.

"Sentries, fire at the men in that boat," said Mr Saltwell, in a calm tone, which sobered down all who heard him to the proper pitch for comprehending orders. "Hand up a dozen muskets from below, and some ammunition. Lower the larboard quarter boat, and give chase after that fellow."

Each order was obeyed with the rapidity with which it was given; but in lowering the starboard gig, the after falls got jammed, and her head came right into the water, and almost filled her. This delay prevented the other gig from going in chase, till she had picked up the people in the water, and taken them on board; but all caused delay, and both boats set off in chase nearly together.

Meantime Zappa heard the noise on deck, and guessed that the colonel was explaining who he was, and that he should soon have the boats sent after him.

"Pull till your sinews crack, my friends," he shouted to his men. "We have no child's play now; but keep a good heart, and we shall get clear."

Just as he spoke, he looked back at the brig, he saw the barrel of a musket glancing in the sun, and a shot came flying over his head.

Another followed, and buried itself in the pile of nets against which he leaned.

"If they have no better shot among them we need not fear," he shouted.

"Keep a good heart, my men. The _Zoe_ will be close outside, and, when we reach her, we may set the boat at defiance."

He was, by this time, nearly an eighth of a mile from the _Ione_, and pulling directly out towards the mouth of the harbour. Several other musket-shots had been fired at him, and hit a man in the side, and severely hurt him, but he still declared himself able to keep at his oar.

A long bra.s.s gun had, however, been got up on the p.o.o.p, which, loaded with musket-b.a.l.l.s, was let fly at them. The shower fell thick around them, and had it not been for the shelter of the nets, more than one shot might have proved fatal to Zappa.

Another pirate was wounded, but, fortunately, not enough to disable him, or their prospect of escape would have been much diminishes. The man turned pale as he tried to bind a handkerchief round his arm to stop the bleeding; but he still continued tugging at his oar.

"Never fear, my chief, we will all be pierced through and through before we give in," he exclaimed. "Row on bravely, my comrades, row on."

The two gigs were now in full chase, rather more than a quarter of a mile astern, and the brig had ceased firing, leaving all the work to be performed by them. Linton had command of the first gig, Tompion of the second, and both had some loaded muskets in their stern sheets, and all the men had their cutla.s.ses and pistols; all these necessary arrangements having considerably delayed the boats, but Saltwell judged rightly, that it would be worse than folly to send unarmed men against such desperate characters as the pirates. There was a strong breeze blowing nearly across the harbour, from the north-west, and, as soon as Zappa had got from under the lee of the land, and felt the full force of it, he considered that he should be able to make more way under sail than by pulling. Two of the people were obliged to lay on their oars for the purpose of hoisting it, and, as soon as the English saw this, they set up a loud shout, thinking the chase was going to give in. They soon saw their mistake, and, as the large lateen sail rose above the little stump of a mast, the boat felt the force with which she was pressed onward, and away she darted over the water. The English bent to their oars till the good ash sticks almost cracked, each boat vying with the other to get ahead. Do all they could, however, they could not overtake the Greek. Linton saw that, if they were to catch the pirate, they must kill each man who came to the helm, so as to keep the boat luffed up in the wind. He accordingly raised a musket and fired. It was a good shot, and, though Zappa escaped, the man next him received the ball in his bosom. He fell back with a deep groan, a convulsive shudder pa.s.sed through his frame, and he was dead.

"If that is to be the game," exclaimed the pirate, grinding his teeth with pa.s.sion till now not expressed. "I must try which of us is the best shot."

And forthwith he drew from under the nets two rifles which had been concealed there.

"Steady the helm here, Baldo, while I try to punish our pursuers."

He fired. His first shot seemed to take no effect. He raised the second; a wild shriek came across the waters, uttered by the poor fellow who pulled the stroke oar of Linton's boat, on whom his too sure aim had taken effect. Both boats now, in revenge, began firing as fast as the muskets could be loaded, and the Greeks were compelled to crouch down in the bottom of their boat to avoid the shot. Zappa kept his seat boldly at the helm. A reef, as I said, ran off the mouth of the harbour on the eastern side, and, to double it, so as to regain the mistico, it would be necessary to make one if not more tacks, and here the light gigs would have an immense advantage over him. The distance to the point round which he must go was about three-quarters of a mile, but he already had a good start, and, if no other accident happened, he might hope to beat round it before the gigs could come up with him. He must now, however, depend entirely on his sail, for neither of the two wounded men were fit to pull an oar, and, with a diminished crew, the chances would be against him, should the wind fail. It was an animating struggle, and equally exciting to pursuers and pursued. Zappa encouraged his followers, and urged them to persevere to the last, hinting at the certainty of a rope and running noose, as the alternative, if they were caught. Linton, on his part, cheered on his men, and told them the safety of their beloved captain, as well as that of a young countrywoman, depended on their overtaking the pirate.

The body of poor Knox, who had been killed, was laid down at the bottom of the boat, and Togle, who was mids.h.i.+pman of the gig, took his place, so that they very soon recovered the ground which had been lost. As they cleared the western sh.o.r.e of the harbour, the wind was found to draw more up its coast, and fresh off the water, and a slight sea came rolling in, sparkling brightly in the suns.h.i.+ne, adding a life and beauty to the scene, with which the work of death going on was sadly disconsonant. The British seamen cheered, and bent to their oars with renewed vigour, making the spray fly in showers, full of rainbow hues, over the bows, as Linton spoke to them, though they wanted no fresh stimulus to urge them to exertion.

"They will have to tack presently, and we shall soon be alongside them,"

he exclaimed. "We will pay them off, my men, and, if we do not catch them the first tack, we will the second."

Meantime Zappa held on his course, firing occasionally at the boats, but with less success than at first. When also he round that the wind headed him, he began to calculate that the enemy would, to a certainty, be alongside him before he could weather the point, and that if they once got there, his chance of escaping was small indeed. He felt, in truth, that he had put his head into the lion's mouth, and that the lion was wagging his tail.

"Curses on the wind, to fail me just as I wanted it the most," he exclaimed, measuring with his eye the distance between him and his pursuers. "If it was not for the reef, we should have done well, and there comes the _Zoe_, beating up to our a.s.sistance. They have heard the firing, and guessed that something has gone wrong. Does any one know if there is a pa.s.sage through the reef? It struck me, as we came in, that there was a spot free from sea-weed, where the water looked deep, which should be just now on our larboard bow. Per Bacco, I see it, and will try it. If we strike, we shall fight there to better advantage than under weigh, and the mistico will be, soon up to our a.s.sistance."

None of the pirates had been through the pa.s.sage, if pa.s.sage there were, but all expressed the wish to try it, instead of having to beat round the point. The helm was accordingly kept up, and, to the surprise of the pursuers, away the Greek boat darted directly towards the rocks.

There was, as I have said, some little sea, sufficient, as it met the impediments of the reef, to make a long line of breakers. There was one small spot where it could not be said that there was no foam, but where the water was rather less agitated than elsewhere. It was here that the pirates expected to find an opening, but, as they drew near it, they almost doubted the wisdom of making the attempt, so little prospect was there of their being able to cross it. The English, meantime, were rather divided in their opinions. Some thought that, driven to desperation, they had resolved to destroy themselves and their boats; while others were as far wrong on the opposite side, and fancied that they were well acquainted with some pa.s.sage through which they intended to pa.s.s. Another minute would decide the question.

On the Greek boat flew with redoubled speed, as she was kept more away.

She was already among the broken water. Zappa, his nerves unshaken, stood up to steer, while a man, leaning over the bow, tried to make out the channel. As soon as the pirate showed himself, both the English boats opened their fire on him; but, though several shot whistled round his head he remained unharmed. Sea after sea, huge ma.s.ses of glittering foam came rolling in on them, threatening to fill the boat, should she for one instant meet with any impediment.

Every man held his breath, and looked with an anxious glance ahead. On either side, the water came dancing up and lapping over the gunnel, and beyond, the heads of the black rocks appeared amidst the frothy cauldron through which they sailed. Now the side of the boat almost grazed a rock, which, had she struck, would have sent her into a thousand splinters. A short distance more and they would be safe. The _Zoe_ had observed them, and was standing towards them to render them a.s.sistance.

Even their enemies forbore to fire, so perilous was their situation, and so certain appeared their destruction. On they rushed.

"I can see no pa.s.sage," exclaimed the man in the bows. "We are all lost! Ah, no! Starboard the helm--starboard! Haul off the sheet a little! Up with the helm again! Ease off the sheet. Huzza! huzza! We are safe!"

The last great danger was past; a bend in the channel had been discovered, through which the boat glided; and now she floated in clear water, and held her rapid course towards the mistico. No sooner was the chief on board the _Zoe_, than the helm was put up, and off she ran under all sail, with her head to the island of Lissa.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

Doubtless, the reader will be anxious to hear by what wonderful event Colonel Gauntlett and his man, Mitch.e.l.l, had escaped from the death they were supposed to have suffered, and whether poor Bowse, and any of the survivors of his crew, had been equally fortunate; but, as I have matter of still more importance to communicate in this chapter, I must entreat him to have patience till I can return to that part of my history. We left the old pirate, Vlacco, on his way, by Nina's directions, to give his a.s.sistance to any who might have survived the wreck of the Greek mistico. He had no particular wish to turn philanthropist in his old age, so he went rather in a sulky humour, as he would very much rather have knocked them on the head than have had, not only to save their lives, but to refrain from touching any of their property. The orders of his chief's lady were, however, not to be disobeyed; so he and his companions hurried on as fast as they could go with the rope and spars they had with them.

"Ah! there she drives," he muttered. "She might just as well have come on sh.o.r.e here, and saved me the trouble of going so far. The boat is well handled though, and her crew don't seem inclined to give it up to the last. They don't know what they are coming to, or they would be throwing up their arms in despair. Well, it's some people's fate to be hung, and some to be drowned, so they must have made up their minds to go out of the world in the last way."

He walked on for some distance further, by which time the little mistico was close in with the rocks.

"I don't know though," he continued. "She has got past Point Ausa, and I'm not quite so certain that she won't run right up into Ziyra Bay.

So, by the saints, she has; and if she had tried to get there, she could not have done it better. Now, on my sons, or the sea will be too quick for us, and will have carried those strangers away before we get there."

A few minutes more brought him and his party to the edge of a lofty cliff, from whence they looked down into a small sandy bay, where, already almost high and dry, lay the mistico they had seen approaching the sh.o.r.e. The entrance to the bay was through a very narrow pa.s.sage between two rocks, which could only just have allowed her to sc.r.a.pe through; but once inside, the force of the sea was so much broken by them that she had received little or no damage. The waves were, however, sufficiently high to break over her, and almost to fill her, so that the crew were compelled to land as fast as they could. This they accomplished by dropping down from the little stump of a bowsprit as the water receded, and running up on to the dry sand before it returned.

"You are lucky fellows to get on sh.o.r.e so easily," muttered old Vlacco.

"But now you are there, you are very like mice in a trap, you cannot get out without my a.s.sistance."

From the appearance of the bay, there seemed to be much truth in his observation, for so perpendicular were the cliffs, that no one could by any possibility, have scaled them.

He counted the people as they landed, and saw that there were four men and a boy; and he was now watching to learn what they would do. There was, as he was well aware, a narrow pathway cut up the side of the cliff; but the lower part was concealed, by leading into a small cavern, so that no strangers were likely to find it. It had been formed, probably, in the days when the island was a regular fortress, and had been thus arranged, that no enemy should land there, and take them unawares.

The crew of the mistico immediately set to work to try and find their way to the summit of the cliff; and it was while they were so doing that Vlacco showed himself. He went to the lowest part of the cliff, and beckoned to them to come under it, and then driving two of the spars into the ground, he made a rope fast to them, and lowered it over the cliff. It was immediately seized by the boy, who, with the agility of a monkey, commenced hauling himself up by it, towards the summit. It was nervous work to see him now swinging in the air, now placing his feet on the narrow ledges of the rock, and thus making play for a few yards to rest his arms. At last, he stood safely at the top, and taking off his cap, cheered to his companions to follow his example.

"Many thanks, signor," he said, addressing Vlacco in a language which sounded something like Maltese, to which nation he apparently belonged, by his dress and the excessively dark hue of his skin.

One after the other followed, till the whole crew were safely landed.

They were all dressed as Maltese; but one of them addressed Vlacco in Romaic, and said--

"He and his s.h.i.+pmates had to thank him for the a.s.sistance he had afforded them. If our master was here, he would thank you, too; but, poor fellow, he and the mate were washed overboard, and we now know not where we have got to, or where to go. We must get you and your friends on sh.o.r.e here to aid us in getting our vessel afloat, and we must then try to find our way back to Malta."

"You'll not find that so easy," muttered the old pirate. "But how came you to hit the bay in the clever way you did? No one could have done it better who knows the island well."

"Our good luck served us, and our prayers to the saints wore efficacious," returned the Maltese. "We did not expect to succeed so well, I can a.s.sure you."

"Some people are not born to be drowned," muttered, in a gruff voice, the old pirate, who, since he had given up robbing on his own account, had no further fears on the score of the alternative generally mentioned. "You're in luck, I say; and since you happen not to be food for fishes, as I expected you would be by this time, I must tell you, that I have orders to bring you into the presence of the chief lady of this island, by whose directions I came all this way to try and save your lives, for I should not have taken so much trouble of my own accord, I can tell you."

"The chief lady of the island," repeated the Maltese, who saw that it would be folly to take notice of the rude tone a the old man's observations. "Who is she, friend?"