The Madman and the Pirate Part 14

"Oh no, not at once. The day of miracle have pa.s.s," returned the missionary. "We mus' use the means, and then, has we not the promise that our work shall not be in vain?"

Next day about noon the Sugar-loaf mountain rose out of the sea like a great pillar of hope to Orlando, as well as to the missionary. Captain Fitzgerald sailed close in, sweeping the mountain side with his telescope as he advanced until close under the cliffs, when he lay-to and held a consultation with his pa.s.sengers.

"I see no habitations of any kind," he said, "nor any sign of the presence of man, but I have heard that the native villages lie at the lower side of the island. Now, the question is, whether would it suit your purposes best to land an armed party here, and cross over to the villages, or to sail round the island, drop anchor in the most convenient bay, and land a party there?"

Orlando, to whom this was more directly addressed, turned to the missionary.

"What think you, Waroonga? You know native thought and feeling best."

"I would not land armed party at all," answered Waroonga. "But Cappin Fitzgald know his own business most. What he thinks?"

"My business and yours are so mingled," returned the captain, "that I look to you for advice. My chief duty is to obtain information as to the whereabouts of the pirate vessel, and I expect that such information will be got more readily through you, Waroonga, than any one else, for, besides being able to speak the native language, you can probably approach the savages more easily than I can."

"They are not savages," returned Waroonga quietly, "they are G.o.d's ignorant children. I have seen worse men than South sea islanders with white faces an' soft clothin' who had not the excuse of ignorance."

"Nay, my good sir," said the captain, "we will not quarrel about terms.

Whatever else these 'ignorant children' may be, I know that they are brave and warlike, and I shall gladly listen to your advice as to landing."

"If you wish to go to them in peace, do not go to them with arms," said Waroonga.

"Surely you would not advise me to send an unarmed party among armed sav--children?" returned the captain, with a look of surprise, while Orlando regarded his friend with mingled amus.e.m.e.nt and curiosity.

"No. You best send no party at all. Jis' go round the island, put down angker, an' leave the rest to me."

"But what do you propose to do?" asked the captain.

"Swum to sh.o.r.e with Bibil."

Orlando laughed, for he now understood the missionary's plan, and in a few words described the method by which Waroonga had subdued the natives of Ratinga.

"You see, by this plan," he continued, "nothing is presented to the natives which they will be tempted to steal, and if they are very warlike or fierce, Waroonga's refusal to fight reduces them to a state of quiet readiness to hear, which is all that we want. Waroonga's tongue does the rest."

"With G.o.d's Holy Spirit and the Word," interposed the missionary.

"True, that is understood," said Orlando.

"That is not _always_ understood," returned Waroonga.

"The plan does not seem to me a very good one," said Captain Fitzgerald thoughtfully. "I can have no doubt that it has succeeded in time past, and may probably succeed again, but you cannot expect that the natives, even if disposed to be peaceful, will accept your message at once. It may take weeks, perhaps months, before you get them to believe the gospel, so as to permit of my men going ash.o.r.e unarmed, and in the meantime, while you are engaged in this effort, what am I to be doing?"

"Wait G.o.d's time," answered Waroonga simply. "But time presses. The pirate vessel, where-ever it may be, is escaping me," said the captain, unable to repress a smile. "However, I will at all events let you make the trial and await the result; reminding you, however, that you will run considerable risk, and that you must be prepared to accept the consequences of your rather reckless proceedings."

"I hope, Waroonga," said Orlando, when the captain left them to give orders as to the course of the s.h.i.+p, "that you will let me share this risk with you?"

"It will be wiser not. You are a strong man, an' sometimes fierce to behold. They will want to fight you; then up go your blood, an' you will want to fight them."

"No, indeed, I won't," said Orlando earnestly.

"I will promise to go in the spirit of a missionary. You know how anxious I am to get news of my dear father. How could you expect me to remain idle on board this vessel, when my soul is so troubled? You may depend on me, Waroonga. I will do exactly as you bid me, and will place myself peaceably in the power of natives--leaving the result, as you advise, to G.o.d."

The young man's tone was so earnest, and withal so humble, that Waroonga could not help acceding to his request.

"Well, well," said Captain Fitzgerald, when he heard of it; "you seem both to be bent on making martyrs of yourselves, but I will offer no opposition. All I can say is that I shall have my guns in readiness, and if I see anything like foul play, I'll bombard the place, and land an armed force to do what I can for you."

Soon the frigate came in sight of Ongoloo's village, ran close in, brought up in a sheltered bay, and lowered a boat while the natives crowded the beach in vast numbers, uttering fierce cries, brandis.h.i.+ng clubs and spears, and making other warlike demonstrations--for these poor people had been more than once visited by so-called merchant s.h.i.+ps--the crews of which had carried off some of them by force.

"We will not let a living man touch our sh.o.r.e," said Ongoloo to Wapoota, who chanced to be near his leader, when he marshalled his men.

"Oh! yes, we will, chief," replied the brown humorist. "We will let some of them touch it, and then we will take them up carefully, and have them baked. A long-pig supper will do us good. The rest of them we will drive back to their big canoe."

By the term "long-pig" Wapoota referred to the resemblance that a naked white man when prepared for roasting bears to an ordinary pig.

A grim smile lit up Ongoloo's swarthy visage as he replied--

"Yes, we will permit a few fat ones to land. The rest shall die, for white men are thieves. They deceived us last time. They shall never deceive us again."

As this remark might have been meant for a covert reference to his own thievish tendencies, Wapoota restrained his somewhat ghastly humour, while the chief continued his arrangements for repelling the invaders.

Meanwhile, these invaders were getting into the boat.

"What! you's not goin' widout me?" exclaimed Ebony, as one of the sailors thrust him aside from the gangway.

"I fear we are," said Orlando, as he was about to descend the vessel's side. "It was as much as I could do to get Waroonga to agree to let me go with him."

"But dis yar n.i.g.g.e.r kin die in a good cause as well as you, ma.s.sa," said Ebony, in a tone of entreaty so earnest that the men standing near could not help laughing.

"Now then, make haste," sang out the officer in charge of the boat.

Orlando descended, and the negro, turning away with a deeply injured expression, walked majestically to the stern to watch the boat.

Waroonga had prepared himself for the enterprise by stripping off every article of clothing save a linen cloth round his loins, and he carried nothing whatever with him except a small copy of G.o.d's Word printed in the language of the islanders. This, as the boat drew near to sh.o.r.e, he fastened on his head, among the bushy curls of his crisp black hair, as in a nest.

Orlando had clothed himself in a pair of patched old canvas trousers, and a much worn unattractive cotton s.h.i.+rt.

"Stop now," said the missionary, when the boat was about five or six hundred yards from the beach. "Are you ready?"

"Ready," said Orlando.

"Then come."

He dropped quietly over the side and swam towards the sh.o.r.e. Orlando, following his example, was alongside of him in a few seconds.

Both men were expert and rapid swimmers. The natives watched them in absolute silence and open-mouthed surprise.

A few minutes sufficed to carry the swimmers to the beach.

"Have your rifles handy, lads," said the officer in charge of the boat to his men.

"Stand by," said the captain of the "Furious" to the men at the guns.