Hunting the Skipper Part 16

"Hope so, sir," said the sailor bluntly. "It's too black to be done by a white. But all the same, sir, if the white skipper didn't want his cargoes, the n.i.g.g.e.r king and his men wouldn't supply 'em; and here's the doctor come ash.o.r.e, sir," added the man, in a whisper.

For the two parties met just at the edge of a clump of trees, within whose shade the unfortunate creature who had interested the midshipman in her fate was lying with one of the seamen standing by her head, his musket grounded and his crossed arms resting upon the muzzle.

"Ah, gentlemen, you here!" said the doctor, nodding shortly. "Nice place, this. Humph!" he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed, as with brows contracting he went down on one knee.--"There, don't be frightened, my la.s.s," he continued softly, for as he drew near, the poor creature, who had been lying in the shade with her eyes half-closed, startled by the footsteps, suddenly raised her lids in a wild stare of horror and shrank away. "Poor wretch!" continued the doctor. "The sight of a man can only mean horrors for her."

"Horrors indeed, doctor," cried Murray excitedly; "but pray do something for her!"

"No," said the doctor gravely. "Nature is her doctor now."

"What do you mean?" said the young man, half annoyed by the doctor's inaction.

"That she is in the hands of a kinder doctor than I could be--one who knows what is best for her. Look!"

He shrugged his shoulders and turned away.

"Let your men cut a few of those big leaves, Mr Murray, and lay over her."

"You are too late?" said Roberts excitedly.

"Yes, my dear boy," replied the doctor. "With such hurts as the poor girl had received it was only a matter of time. Ah, I wish to goodness we had caught that schooner! It's time all this was stamped out.

There, come away and bring your men. Oh, here comes Mr Anderson.

Well, what are you going to do?" For the first lieutenant came up, followed by some of his men, glanced at the motionless figure and the action being taken, and turned away.

"What am I going to do?" he replied, frowning angrily. "Nothing but communicate with the captain for fresh instructions."

"But aren't we going to pursue the black chief and his people through the forest, sir, and punish them?" asked Murray, who was strangely moved by his first encounter with the horrors of a slave encampment.

"No, Mr Murray, we certainly are not," replied the lieutenant, "for the chief and his men will take plenty of care that we do not overtake them.

Here, come away, my lads; this place is pestiferous enough to lay every one down with fever."

"Yes; I was just going to give you a very broad hint. Fire, eh?" said the doctor.

The lieutenant nodded.

"I must just have a word or two with the captain first," said the lieutenant, and giving the order, the men began to march to where the boats lay with their keepers, and a sentry or two had been thrown out to guard against surprise.

Murray closed up to the doctor, who was looking sharply about him at the trees which remained standing amongst the almost countless huts.

"Not many cocoanuts, Murray," he said.

"Oh," cried the young man, who felt more annoyed by the doctor's indifference than ever, "I was not thinking about palm-trees!"

"But I was," said the doctor; "they'll burn tremendously."

"Ah," cried the midshipman, "that was what I wanted to speak about. Did you mean to suggest that the place should be burned?"

"Certainly, sir," said the doctor shortly.

"The village--but with the slave barrack?"

"Of course," said the doctor shortly. "Don't you think it would be best?"

"I--Oh! It seems so horrible," began Murray.

The doctor looked at him searchingly, and laid his hand upon the youth's shoulder.

"I understand, Murray," he said quietly. "It does seem as you say repugnant; but it is necessary, my lad, for several reasons, one of the first of which it that it will be a lesson for the black king."

"But he could soon have another village built."

"Then we ought to come and burn that, and his people with him, if we could get hold of the wretches. I'm sure you must have seen enough this morning to make you feel how necessary it is for this slave traffic to be stamped out."

"Yes, of course," said Murray, "but--"

"Then take my advice, my lad," said the doctor, gripping the lad's arm; "leave these matters to your superior officers, and don't look at me as if I were a heartless brute. My profession makes me firm, my lad, not unfeeling."

"Oh, I don't think that, sir," said the lad quickly.

"But you thought something of the kind, Murray, my lad, and I like you, so it hurt me a little. You ought to have known that black and white, good and bad, are all one to a doctor. He sees only a patient, whatever they may be. But in this case I saw that this poor black woman was at almost her last gasp. Understand?"

"Yes, I see now, sir, and I beg your pardon," said the midshipman.

"We understand one another, Murray, and--Ah, here is the first luff doing just what I wanted him to do."

For that officer had gathered his men together in the shade of a clump of trees where the moving branches blew from off the river in a breeze that was untainted by the miasma of the marshy ground and the horrors of the village, for it brought with it the odour of the floating seaweed and old ocean's health-giving salts.

By this time one of the boats was despatched, and the lieutenant joined the pair.

"Ah, Mr Murray, you have lost your chance. I was going to send you to the captain for instructions, but you were busy with the doctor, so I sent Mr Roberts.--Giving him a lecture on the preservation of health, doctor?"

"Just a few hints," said that gentleman, smiling. "We were taking opposite views, but I think Murray agrees with me now."

CHAPTER NINE.

"FIRE! FIRE!"

"Now, Mr Murray," said the lieutenant, "I don't want to expose the lads to more of this unwholesome place than I can help, so you must use your brains as soon as we get word from the captain, and see that they start the fire where it will have the best effect. This abomination must disappear from the face of the earth, so where you begin to burn, start your fire well. You understand?"

"Yes, sir," said Murray, drawing a deep breath as he glanced at the doctor and found that he was watching him.

"I can't help it," he said to himself, as he stood alone in the shade watching the departing boat making for the sloop, "and I don't know that I want to help it. It does seem a horrible thing to do, but they're right, and it's one's duty. Wish I'd been handy, though, when the first luff wanted to send his message to the captain. d.i.c.k Roberts does somehow seem to get all the luck."

It was just a dash of envy; but the feeling did not last, for his common sense began to make itself felt directly after, as he withdrew his gaze from the boat to watch the group of st.u.r.dy-looking men sharing his shelter, and all excited and eager as they discussed the events of the morning and the task they evidently knew that they had to do.

"Yes, it's all envy, and envy is a poor, small, contemptible thing to encourage. I wish I had none. How stupid of me! One never knows. It would have been nice enough to sit back holding the lines and steering while the lads pulled, but only a lazy sort of a task, and here I am put in command of half-a-dozen or so of these stout lads to carry out the captain's orders and see that they do the work well."

Perhaps the fact of his thinking about the men and the work in prospect made him fix his eyes upon Tom May and think that he would like to have him in his party; perhaps not, but all the same the man turned his head just then and met his eyes, gave his waistband a hitch in front and rear, and then crossed a patch of sunshine and joined him in the shade.