Afloat at Last Part 26

"And when we can't fight 'em any longer, my lads," cried Captain Gillespie, looking round at us all with an expression of determination that I had never seen in his face before, "we'll blow up the s.h.i.+p sooner than surrender to this villainous gang!"

The cheer that followed this ending of his speech was so loud and genuine, so full of British pluck, so hearty, that the pirates absolutely quailed at the sound of it, holding back a second or two before they sheered up alongside with the intention of boarding us.

They only made a short delay, though, during which we were not idle with our guns and revolvers; for, the next moment, with another yell of defiance, the pirate craft flung their grapnels in our rigging and climbed up on both sides of the s.h.i.+p simultaneously.

"Come down out of the tops!" shouted Mr Mackay to the hands aloft.

"Come down at once, we want all of your aid with cold steel now!"

These soon joined us, and then followed a series of shouts and cries and shots and groans which it makes me dizzy even now to think of; until, after losing three of our number, amongst them being poor Mr Saunders, whom we dragged in mortally wounded with us, we all retreated to the cabin, barricading ourselves there with all sorts of bales and boxes, and bracing up the saloon table, which we had previously unloosed from its las.h.i.+ngs, to act as a s.h.i.+eld under the skylight.

The pirates made a rush after us, but we were too quick for them; so then, leaving us alone for awhile, they proceeded to rummage the s.h.i.+p forward, where, from the noise they made hacking and hewing at the deck, they were evidently trying to break open the hold so as to get at the cargo. But the hatchways being constructed of iron beneath the wood their battering away at them did not bother us much for the moment, as we knew they would find their work cut out for them and the job a long one.

Meanwhile, poor Mr Saunders lay dying on the cabin floor, bleeding from a wound in his breast. The captain said there was no hope for him, for he had been shot through the lungs; and as I bent over him with a gla.s.s of water I had got from the pantry, he murmured something that sounded like Ching w.a.n.g.

"By Jove!" exclaimed Mr Mackay. "Where is the Chinaman?"

n.o.body knew; and although Mr Saunders had been the first to miss him, he could not say anything else about him, or tell us what had become of the poor fellow. We were all, therefore, giving him up for lost, when, suddenly Pedro Carvalho, who, it may be remembered, bore no friendly feeling towards the cook, called out from the pantry window whence, through the jalousies, or open shutters, he could survey a portion of the main-deck.

"Diante de Deos!" he exclaimed, "dere is dat raskil Ching w.a.n.g yondare, chummy chumming and chin chinning does peerats. Yase, yase, dere he is!

I see him! I see him! Carajo! Cozenheiro maldito!"

This news came upon us like a thunderbolt, but none of us would believe it until we had been absolutely convinced of the truth of what the steward had stated by seeing for ourselves. Yet, there was no mistake; for sure enough we could presently see with our own eyes, Ching w.a.n.g on the friendliest terms, apparently, with a lot of the yellow pirate rascals, who were of his own celestial nationality, away forward, the cook showing them all that was to be seen and grinning and gesticulating away finely!

Still, even then we could hardly believe in his treachery.

Somehow or other, too, whether through Ching w.a.n.g's offices or not, of course, we could not say, the pirates did not bother us much during the day, only coming up to the skylight occasionally and firing down on us as well as they could with their clumsy muskets and pistols--a fire which we just as promptly returned, aiming wherever we saw a flash.

They once pitched in one of their terrible fire b.a.l.l.s or "stink-pots" of fulminating stuff to asphyxiate us with its beastly smell; but Tim Rooney, taking hold of it and plunging the obnoxious thing in a bucket of water, rid us at once of the poisonous fumes.

In the evening, when it was growing dark, a tapping was heard at one of the ports in the captain's cabin; and both Tim and I were just on the point of firing, when, to our great surprise Ching w.a.n.g's well-known voice was heard.

"Chin, chin lilly pijjin! Comee one chop quick, me wantee talkee talkee. Lis'en me, an' you lickee kyfong number one go!"

"I thought he'd never turn traitor," cried Captain Gillespie emphatically; Tim Rooney adding with equal warmth, "Nor I, sorr. I've allers found the Chinee chap a good Oirishman ivery day he's bin'

aboord!"

The upshot of Ching w.a.n.g's communication was, that the pirates were anxious to get all they could out of the s.h.i.+p and clear off; and, believing that he had joined them, they had sent him to negotiate terms with the captain, the pirate chief saying that he would spare all our lives if we would let him have what dollars there was on board and a ransom for the s.h.i.+p, on account, of course, of their not being able to get at the cargo.

Before Captain Gillespie could indignantly refuse making any terms with the rascals, Ching w.a.n.g proceeded to say that he had overheard the pirates saying that the reason for their violent hurry was that an English gunboat had been seen in the distance cruising off the mouth of the Canton river.

"Me gottee sampan," continued Ching w.a.n.g, declaring now his real motive.

"Lilly pijjin squeezee one port, me go along findee gunboat an' catchee kyfong chop chop!"

"First rate," cried Mr Mackay, who acted as general interpreter, knowing the Chinaman's lingo well, explaining that the reason why Ching w.a.n.g had not gone off by himself in the sampan was that he did not know the right course to steer for the Canton river in the first place; and, secondly, he was afraid that the officers of the gunboat might not believe his story about the Silver Queen being a.s.sailed by pirates unless some European belonging to her accompanied him. "Nothing could have been more sensible, you see, cap'en; and Ching w.a.n.g's got his head screwed on straight."

"And where is this boat ye're going in?"

"Sampan, go long now," returned Ching w.a.n.g, motioning with his hand to the water below the stern. "Go long chop chop, soon lilly pijjin come down topside."

His selection of me, though apparently a very flattering one, was due to the fact of my being the only one capable of squeezing through the port, Weeks, who had grown awfully fat on the voyage, being incapable of accomplis.h.i.+ng the feat, while all the rest of us were far too big.

"How will ye be able to steer for Canton?" asked Captain Gillespie sniffing--"even if ye know all about managing the boat?"

"Oh, sir," cried I, quite joyous at the idea of starting off on such an expedition and coming with a British gunboat to take the pirates by surprise and give them a licking, "Ching w.a.n.g'll see to the sampan, as he calls it, and I will steer, sir, if you give me the course, sir.

I've got a little compa.s.s here on my watch chain."

"Humph!" he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed; "I think ye'll do, boy. Ye're smart enough at any rate for the job; and, besides, there's no one else that can get through the port. Ye can go!"

"Thank you, sir," said I, grateful for even this semi-reluctant concession, being afraid he might refuse; and then, squeezing gingerly through the port and carefully lowering myself down by a rope which Tim Rooney hitched round the captain's bunk, I landed on the bottom boards of the boat that old Ching w.a.n.g had ready below.

I recollect well Tim's whispering softly as I let go my hold of the port sill, "Sure, now, take care av y'rsilf, Misther Gray-ham, sorr, an'

don't forgit what the skipper's tould you about your coorse whin ye gits outsoide the rafe; ye're to steer nor'-nor'-west, wid a little more west in it, an' kape a good look-out for the blissid gunboat--an'--an' G.o.d bliss ye me bhoy, an' that's Tim Rooney's dyin' wish if ye niver say him ag'in!"

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

THE "BLAZER" TO THE RESCUE.

"Hist!" whispered Ching w.a.n.g softly, catching hold of my legs as I came down the rope to prevent my feet making a noise on touching the bottom of the sampan; while he carefully guided me into a seat in the stern- sheets. "Makee quiet, tyfong watchee. If catchee no go, all up topside!"

I hardly needed this caution; although, after receiving it I was as still as any mouse suddenly finding itself in the company of a cat unsuspicious of its presence could possibly be.

It was quite dark now, the hull of the s.h.i.+p looming faintly above us, a big black shadow, and the water was without a glimmer near, save where, just ahead, the light of a flare-up, which the pirates had kindled on the forecastle, shone out over the sea there, besides illuminating the island beach--where a number of black figures could be seen moving about opening some casks, which, Ching w.a.n.g explained to me, he had a.s.sisted in getting up from the forehold, so as to distract their attention from us for awhile; for, knowing that these casks contained salt pork, and being acquainted with the predilections of his countrymen for this dainty, he was certain they would have an orgy before proceeding to further hostilities.

This impression of the Chinaman proved to be quite correct; for not only did the pirates rout out the salt pork, but they immediately proceeded to cook it in Ching w.a.n.g's coppers, which were full of boiling water which he had got ready in the first instance for the purpose of throwing over the gentlemen as they boarded the s.h.i.+p. He had, however, subsequently changed his mind on this point, thinking that by adopting the guileless subtlety of his race and pretending to side with our enemies he might in the end be of more effectual service to us.

Of course the Chinaman did not mention to his new allies the original use for which the coppers were intended, as such candour on his part might have led to his getting into "hot water" and so spoilt his little plot, the complete success of which was further a.s.sured by his purloining Tim Rooney's private bottle of rum from his cabin in the deck-house, and bestowing it with his benediction on the stalwart Portuguese captain of the pirates. This gentleman, being partial to the liquor, enjoyed himself to such an extent over the unexpected treasure- trove, keeping it selfishly for his own gratification, that he was more than "half-seas-over" ere his rascally fellow cut-throats had begun their pork feast; so, he was equally disinclined with them for further active operations against the s.h.i.+p, the captain and crew of which he regarded for the moment in a most benevolent spirit on account of their having saved him the trouble of making them captive, probably at the expense of several lives on his side, by locking themselves in the cabin below of their own accord!

I got out all this by degrees from Ching w.a.n.g, as, paddling in the most noiseless fas.h.i.+on across the lagoon where it was darkest, and carefully avoiding the other junks anch.o.r.ed out in the middle, he directed the course of the sampan towards the opening in the reef. This became all the more distinct as we got near its edge from the phosph.o.r.escent glitter of the surf breaking over the coral ledge, excepting at the place where the Silver Queen had steered through the rocks and breakers and entered the calm sheet of water within.

The pirates ash.o.r.e on the island and on board the junks were all too busy to notice us, and indeed their eyes must have been wonderfully acute to have done so through the darkness that enveloped sky and sea alike, swallowing our little barque up in its folds; so, when we got well outside the reef and beyond the line of breakers Ching w.a.n.g put up a small sprit-sail, which he had been thoughtful enough to take out of the long-boat when he had secured the sampan, rigging it on top of one of his oars, and stepping it forward like a lug.

We then kept the wind which we knew was south-west on our port hand and pretty well abeam, steering as nearly as we could guess to the northward and westward, according to Captain Gillespie's directions to me; for there was not light sufficient yet to see my little pocket-compa.s.s so as to take the proper bearings for making a straight course to fetch the mouth of the Canton river.

When daylight came, fortunately, not a trace of the reef or the s.h.i.+p and pirate craft could be seen, though Ching w.a.n.g peered over our starboard quarter, where we ought to have sighted any trace of them, while I s.h.i.+nned up the little mast too for a better look-out.

Nothing was to be seen, not even a pa.s.sing sail--only the rolling sea far and wide as far as the eye could reach, now lit up by the early dawn and rose-coloured in the east, where the sun, just rising above the horizon, was flooding the heavens with crimson tints, that presently changed to gold and then gave place to their normal hue of azure. This the ocean reflected with a glorious blue, seeming to be but one huge sapphire, except where crystal foam flecked it here and there from the topping of some impatient wavelet not content to roll along in peace till it reached the sh.o.r.e.

I could, of course, look at my compa.s.s now, and I noticed that by keeping the wind abeam we had been working in the right direction during the night, the head of the sampan now facing pretty nearly nor'-nor'- west, "and a little westerly too," as Tim Rooney enjoined on me at parting.

Ching w.a.n.g told me in his pigeon English that we must have already run from thirty to forty miles--"one hunled li," he said; so, we had therefore accomplished a quarter of our journey towards the coast.

The sun rose higher and higher, until it was almost over our heads at noon, when the wind dropping I found it very hot. Besides the discomfort of this the fact of our not getting on so fast as previously made me anxious about those we had left behind, although the Chinaman told me the pirates would not be likely to start fighting again until it was getting towards evening, which was their favourite time for attack, as they always kept quiet in the day.

They would, he said, be especially afraid now of making a row in the day more than at any other time, for fear of the sound of the fray being heard by the gunboat, which they knew was cruising about near.

"I only wish we could see it now, Ching w.a.n.g," I cried, thinking that before we got to the Canton river and returned with the man-of-war, all our s.h.i.+pmates might be murdered and the poor Silver Queen set fire to by the ruffians after pillaging her, as they would be certain to do when Captain Gillespie and the brave fellows with him could hold out no longer. "I only wish we could sight her now."

"You waitee, lilly pijjin," said he. "Bimeby soon comee."