Ned Garth Part 10

"Now, youngsters," he said, "recollect, I must have implicit obedience, and all things will go well; if not, look out for squalls. I'll take one watch, you, Meadows, another, and you, Garth, the third."

The midshipmen made no answer, for, being as well aware as he was of the importance of maintaining discipline, they thought his remark rather superfluous.

The weather continued fine, and the old mate appeared to be in unusual good-humour. He laughed and talked and spun long yarns which amused his companions, although they had heard most of them twenty times before.

When tired of talking, he stretched himself in the stern sheets to "take a snooze," as he said, charging them to call him should anything occur.

"You see, youngsters, what confidence I place in you," he observed. "I could not venture to shut my eyes if I didn't feel sure that you would keep a bright look-out. It is for your good besides, that you may know how to act when left in command of a boat."

The midshipmen suspected that Rhymer thought more of his own comfort than of benefiting them. They pa.s.sed several small islands. On some grew a scanty vegetation, while others were mere sand-banks. One of them was occupied by vast numbers of wild fowl, on which Rhymer looked with longing eyes.

"We might land, and in a short time kill birds enough to supply ourselves for a couple of days," he observed; "the delay cannot be of consequence."

Ned recollected that Rhymer had received orders to proceed without delay to the southward, but he knew that it would not do to remind him. The boat was therefore headed in towards a point on the lee side, where it appeared likely that an easy landing-place could be found. The beach, however, shelved so gradually that she could not approach within about twenty yards of the dry sand; she therefore was brought up by a grapnel, and Rhymer said that he would wade on sh.o.r.e, telling Ned to remain in charge of the boat with part of the crew, while Charley and the rest accompanied him. Neither Rhymer nor Charley had much experience as sportsmen, and as their arms were only ship's muskets, Ned thought it possible that they would not kill as many birds as Rhymer expected to obtain. Taking off their shoes and trousers, Rhymer and his followers jumped overboard and waded ash.o.r.e. There were but few birds on that end of the island, the chief colony being some way off. Ned heard several shots fired, but the sportsmen were too far off by that time for him to see whether any birds had been killed. In a short time the sounds of firing again reached him, evidently at a still greater distance; he did not forget his directions to keep a bright look-out, and he occasionally swarmed to the masthead that he might obtain a more extensive view. He had gone up for the fourth time, when he caught sight of a white sail coming up from the southward with the wind off the land; she was a dhow, of that there was no doubt, and might be a full slaver. She would possibly pa.s.s close to the island, abreast of which, as she was sailing rapidly, she would very quickly arrive. There was no time to be lost.

He glanced his eye over the land, but could nowhere discover the shooting party; he was afraid of firing, for fear of alarming the crew of the dhow. As the only means of getting back Rhymer, he sent one of the men to try and find him and urge him to return. On came the dhow; every moment was precious; she had not yet discovered the boat. The man, wading on sh.o.r.e, ran off along the sand; the dhow was almost abreast of the island; at length Ned, to his relief, saw his companions approaching in the distance.

He got the sail ready, so that it might be hoisted the moment the party were on board. He shouted and signed to them to make haste, pointing to the dhow; at last Rhymer came, followed by Charley and the men, wading through the water, puffing and blowing, terribly out of wind. The result of the sport appeared to be only half-a-dozen wild fowl, the bodies of some being nearly blown to pieces. The party quickly tumbled into the boat, and, the grapnel being got up, she immediately made sail on a course which Rhymer fancied would cut off the dhow. He was evidently in no good-humour at the ill-success of their sport, but the prospect of making a prize somewhat restored him; the dhow, however, must soon have seen the boat standing out towards her.

"Hurrah! she knows it is no use running, and gives in at once,"

exclaimed Rhymer, as the dhow was seen to lower her canvas. He soon altered his tone when she hoisted a much larger sail than she had before been carrying, and put up her helm, standing away directly before the wind.

"We must be after her, lads," cried Rhymer. "The breeze may fail, and if she is becalmed we are sure to have her."

It occurred to Ned that if Rhymer had not landed on the island this would have been more likely. The wind being light, the oars were got out and the boat went along at a good rate.

"We shall have her, we shall have her!" cried the old mate; "she is within range of our gun. Try a shot, Meadows."

Charley sprang forward, and glancing along the piece, fired, but the shot fell short.

Though Rhymer still cried out, "We shall have her, we shall have her!"

gradually his voice lost its tone of confidence, the breeze freshened, and the dhow began rapidly to distance her pursuer. Still the boat followed; the wind might again fail and the chase be overtaken. Instead of failing, however, the wind increased, and the dhow's hull sunk beneath the horizon. At length only the upper portion of her sail could be seen; still, as long as a speck was in sight, Rhymer pursued her, and not until the sun set did he abandon all hope.

"It is a bad job," he exclaimed. "Now let's have those birds, they must be pretty well stewed by this time."

The wild fowl had been cut up into pieces, and, with rice biscuits and other ingredients, had been stewing in the pot in which all their meals were cooked, officers and men sharing alike. As soon, however, as Rhymer's plate was handed to him he exclaimed--

"Fishy! Horribly fishy!"

"Strong flavoured I must own," said Charley; and he and Ned could with difficulty eat a small portion, though the men were not so particular.

The unsavoury dish did not add to Rhymer's good-humour. Scarcely had supper been concluded than it began to blow so hard that it became necessary to take down two reefs, and the boat close-hauled stood towards the sh.o.r.e with the prospect of having a dirty night of it. The sea, too, got up and sent the spray flying over her. About the middle watch rain began to fall heavily. Though provided with an awning, blowing as fresh as it did, it was impossible to rig it, and all hands were soon wet through. As to sleeping, that was out of the question.

Rhymer pa.s.sed the night grumbling and abusing the wild fowl, the Arabs and the dhows, lamenting his own hard fate in being engaged in such abominable service. By morning, when the boat had got in again with the land, the wind fell, and the sun rising, quickly dried their wet clothes. After this heavy showers frequently fell, detracting from the pleasure of the cruise. Ned and Charley made themselves as happy as they could, caring very little for Rhymer's grumbling. The worst part of the business was that day after day went by and no dhows were seen.

Their destination, however, was at length reached. It was an island with a snug little harbour, in which the boat was perfectly concealed.

Here they were able to land and erect a tent, hidden from the sea by a grove of casuarina bushes. A couple of hands were kept on board the boat, while the rest lived on sh.o.r.e and enjoyed the advantage of being able to stretch their legs, but they were ordered to keep within hail, in case of being required to shove off in chase of a dhow. On the highest tree a look-out place was made, reached by a rope ladder; and Rhymer ordered Charley and Ned to occupy it by turns. Either the one or the other had to sit, telescope in hand, from sunrise to sunset, sweeping the horizon in search of a sail. Several were seen, but they were too far off to make it of any use to go in chase. At length one appeared, which, by the course she was steering, would inevitably pa.s.s close to the island. Officers and crew hurried on board the boat, and away she pulled to cut off the stranger.

"We shall catch yonder craft this time, at all events," exclaimed Rhymer. "I only hope she will be full of slaves. As she stands on boldly, it is pretty clear that we are not seen."

The men gave way, in spite of the hot sun striking down on their heads.

Still the dhow stood on, and in a short time the boat was up to her. A shot fired across her forefoot made the Arabs lower their sail, and the boat was pulled alongside. The crew jumped on board. About twenty fierce-looking Arabs stood on the deck, but they offered no resistance.

Rhymer inquired for the captain. A well-dressed person stepped forward, making a profound salaam.

"Where are your papers?" inquired Rhymer.

The Arab understood him, and presented several doc.u.ments, which the English officer looked at, in as knowing a way as he could a.s.sume, without being able to decipher a word. He then made signs that he wished to examine the hold. No opposition was offered. It was found to contain a miscellaneous cargo, but not a single slave could be discovered. As it was evident that the dhow was a lawful trader, Rhymer apologised to the captain, and stepping into his boat pulled for the sh.o.r.e, while the dhow sailed on her course. Several other dhows were boarded in the same way. Some had blacks on board, but they were supposed either to form part of the crew or to be pa.s.sengers, and Rhymer did not venture to stop them. The time for their return was approaching.

"If we had not captured those slavers some time back, I should be inclined to believe that there is no such thing as the slave trade on this coast," exclaimed Rhymer, as he sat in the tent one evening after sunset. "It is all my ill-luck, however, and I suppose I shall get hauled over the coals for my want of success. If we catch sight of another dhow, and she takes to flight, I'll chase her round the world rather than lose her."

Next morning, soon after Ned had gone up to the look-out station, as he was turning his gla.s.s to the southward, the white canvas of a dhow, lighted up by the rays of the rising sun, came full into view, standing almost directly for the island. The wind for the last day or two had been variable. It was now blowing from the south-east. Quickly descending, he carried the information to his commanding officer. The party, tossing off their coffee, and s.n.a.t.c.hing up the portions of breakfast they had just commenced, hurried on board. By the time they had got clear of the island the hull of the dhow could be seen. For some time she stood on as before, apparently not discovering them. With the wind as it had been, she had no chance of escaping, except by running on sh.o.r.e, and Rhymer ordered his men to lay on their oars to await her coming, while the sail was got ready to hoist in a moment, and the gun loaded to send a shot at her should she refuse to strike.

Presently the wind shifted two points to the eastward, the dhow lowered her sail.

"Hurrah!" exclaimed Rhymer; "she knows it's of no use to try and escape.

We will make sail, and shall soon be up to her. Hoist away!"

The boat was soon under canvas, heeling over to the freshening breeze.

A short time, however, only had elapsed when the dhow was seen to rehoist her sail; but it was evident from her position that her head had been brought round, and was now pointing to the southward.

"It is pretty clear that the Arabs intend to run for it," observed Charley to Ned.

"And if they go round the world we shall have to follow them," answered Ned in a low voice.

The boat sailed well. There was just enough wind, and no more, to suit her, and the dhow apparently was not so fast a sailer as some of her cla.s.s. Still she kept well ahead of the boat. Should the wind shift back to its old quarter, however, there was a fair probability that the boat would overtake her.

"We've got a good many hours of daylight, and it will be a hard matter if we do not come up with her before dark," said Rhymer.

"But as it is, if we do not, and we are to chase her round the world, we must do our best to keep her in sight during the night," observed Charley, demurely.

The dhow was still out of range of the boat's gun, and appeared determined to stand on while there was a prospect of escaping. The wind continuing as before, Ned and Charley began to fear that after all she would get away.

"I wish that the breeze would shift back to the south-east, and we should have her sure enough, for we can sail three points closer to the wind than she can," observed Ned.

The time was pa.s.sing by. Exciting as was the chase, the cook did not forget to prepare dinner, which the crew were as ready to eat as if no dhow supposed to be full of slaves was in sight. The evening approached, the compa.s.s showed that the dhow had fallen off two points, and presently afterwards another point.

"She'll not weather that headland!" observed Charley, looking out ahead.

"No, but she's going to run on sh.o.r.e, and if so she'll go to pieces, and the slaves will either be drowned or be carried off into the interior,"

remarked Rhymer.

Presently the dhow was seen standing directly for the coast. Ned, who was examining it through the telescope, exclaimed--

"There's the mouth of a river there, and she's steering for that."

"Then we'll follow her up it; if she can get in we can," answered Rhymer, and the boat's head was put towards the opening for which the dhow was making. Had there been a doubt on the subject before, there was now no longer any that the dhow was full of slaves, and that probably their captors would make every effort to retain them. As the boat drew nearer the entrance of the river, between two sandy points, it was difficult to judge whether or not it was a stream of any considerable size.

"If it's navigable for a hundred miles, we will follow the dhow up; I am not going to allow that craft to escape me," cried Rhymer.

The slaver was now running directly before the wind, fast distancing the boat, and was soon seen to enter the river, pitching and tossing as if she had crossed a bar. Rhymer steered on; two or three heavy rollers in succession lifted the boat, but no water broke on board, and she was soon safe in and gliding over the smooth surface of the stream. The river, which was of considerable width, was thickly lined on both sides by trees; in the middle of it the dhow was seen, running on with all her canvas set, still beyond reach of the boat's gun.

"We have her now, safe enough," exclaimed Rhymer; "though, if the river is navigable far up from the mouth, she may lead us a long chase before we catch her."

"I only hope there may be no Arab fort up the river, or we may find it a difficult job to cut out the slaver after all," observed Charley.

"An Arab fort! What made you think of that, youngster?" exclaimed Rhymer, looking somewhat blank. "If there is we shall have more fighting than we bargained for, but it will never do to go back without attempting to secure the dhow."