Salt Water Part 22

We were very thankful when, at length, we reached Malta harbour. Of course we were put into quarantine, but we were relieved from the charge of our prisoners. To his own surprise, as well as mine, Charles Adams-- so he called himself--the young man whose short history I have just narrated, still survived, and there appeared every probability that he would be able to undergo his trial. Our first inquiry was to ascertain if any news had been received of the _Ariadne_; but nothing had been heard of her, and poor Mr Vernon was doomed still longer to endure the tortures of suspense.

At last our quarantine was concluded, the pirates were carried off to prison, and we returned on board our ship, which had come in from a cruise just in time to receive us. For several days we did nothing but talk about our adventures with our own messmates, as well as with various people who came off to see us. I got great credit for the way in which I had saved the brig from being blown up; though, as I was as much interested as any one else in the success of the performance, I cannot say that I thought I had done any great thing.

Poor Bobby Smudge came in, too, for his share of praise for having informed us of the plot of the pirates to retake the schooner; and most certainly he had been the means of saving all our lives. No one after this attempted to bully him, and I observed a marked improvement in his appearance and character.

The trial of the pirates came on at once; and the _Harold_ was kept in harbour, that we might attend it as witnesses. I will not enter into minute particulars. The leading facts of the case will be of sufficient interest. Evidence had been collected to prove that the _William_ had sailed from England with one description of cargo, and that her master had disposed of various articles not among it. To account for this, Captain Delano replied that he had fallen in with an abandoned ship, and had taken part of her cargo out of her. He stood bold and unabashed, as if confiding in his innocence; but his countenance fell when two of his own crew appeared in the witness-box, and he was informed that they had turned King's evidence.

"Then there is a conspiracy against me, and my life will be sworn away,"

was his reply.

Nothing that he could say, however, made any one doubt his guilt.

I was in hopes that the young man in whom I had taken so much interest would have been allowed to turn King's evidence, but I found that he had refused to do so.

"No," said he, when asked the question; "I do not wish to preserve my own worthless life by aiding in the condemnation of others. If I am found guilty, I am ready to suffer with them."

Nothing, I found, would alter his determination. When brought into dock, he was far too weak to stand; but there was a look of calm contentment in his countenance--I might describe it almost as happiness--seldom borne by a person in his awful position. His appearance excited much interest in all those who saw him, though few were aware of the mighty change which had taken place within his bosom, and still less of the cause of that change. How different did he look from the rest! No ferocity, no callousness, no stoical indifference, no a.s.sumption of innocence could be traced in any one of his features.

Calm and thoughtful, he sat watching the proceedings, as one deeply interested in their result. People could scarcely believe their senses when they heard the evidence given against him. Who more blood-thirsty, who more eager for plunder, who so regardless of the terror and sufferings of others, as Charles Adams?

From the evidence brought out in court, it appeared that Delano, late master of the _William_ brig, belonged to New York, in the United States of America. Though of most respectable parents, at an early age he had taken to evil courses, and was at length compelled to leave his native city for some notorious act of atrocity. His plausible manners, however, enabled him after a time to get command of several merchantmen in succession. One after another, they were cast away under very suspicious circ.u.mstances. The underwriters suffered, and the owners built larger and finer vessels, while he had evidently more money than ever at command. It now appeared, by the evidence of one of the prisoners who had sailed with him, that one at least he had purposely cast away, for the purpose of obtaining the insurance, she being insured for a far larger amount than she was worth. After this he got into the employment of a highly respectable firm in Liverpool, and sailed in command of a fine brig for the Mediterranean. Here was a good opening for making an honest livelihood; but such a course did not suit the taste of Delano. Several of his crew, brought up in the slave-trade, or as smugglers, were ill-disposed men; others were weak, ignorant, and unprincipled, and were easily gained by his persuasions to abet him in his evil designs. Finding, after they had been some time at sea together, that neither his mates nor his crew were likely to refuse joining in any project he might suggest, he boldly proposed to them to turn pirates; and not only to plunder any vessels they might fall in with, whose crews were unable to offer resistance, but, by putting them out of the way, to prevent all chance of detection. They waited, however, till they got into the Mediterranean, and they there fell in with a fine brig, out of London, laden with a valuable cargo. They surprised and overpowered the crew, whom they confined below, while they plundered her of everything valuable. Some of her crew had recognised them. To let them live would certainly lead to their own detection; so they scuttled the ship, and remained by her till she sunk beneath the waves, with the hapless people they had plundered on board. Then they went on their way rejoicing, and confident that no witnesses existed of their crime. They knew not of the Eye above which had watched them; they thought not of the avenging witness in their own bosoms. In the wildest revels and debauchery they spent their ill-gotten wealth. This time they were true to each other, and if any one suspected that their gold was obtained by unfair means, it was found impossible to prove anything against them. It was before this, I believe, that Delano had attempted to carry out some smuggling transaction at Malta, and had been thrown into prison; on being liberated from which, ruined in fortune, he had taken to the desperate courses I have described. He next got command of the _William_ brig, in which he was joined by four of his old crew. Two were put in by the owners,--the carpenter and another man.

He would willingly have sailed without them. He was also joined by an old comrade, Bill Myers, who had just lost his cutter off Portland. He had no fears of finding any opposition to his projects from his scruples. The _William_ lay alongside the _Helen_, which vessel was taking in a rich cargo. He easily excited the cupidity of his crew by pointing it out to them. His own vessel had a cargo of very inferior value--chiefly, I believe, of earthenware. The _William_ sailed a short time before the _Helen_. He first proposed the plan of plundering her to the four old pirates. They did not offer the slightest objection, but expressed their doubts whether all the crew would join them.

"They must be made to do it," answered Delano, fiercely.

Myers at once acceded to Delano's proposal. Charles Adams was the next to join them. They now felt themselves strong enough to talk openly of their project. Each man boasted of the deeds of atrocity he had committed with impunity, especially of their last act of piracy, and of the mode in which they had spent the proceeds of their crime. They told tales of the buccaneers of old--of the adventures of pirates in their own day, of which they had heard, and of some with which they were acquainted--of the h.o.a.rds of wealth they had acquired. When they found that these stories had not sufficient effect with some of their shipmates, they applied to Delano, and liquor was freely served out.

Most of those who had before resisted now consented, in their drunken state, to join in the proposed scheme. The most persevering and eager tempter was the mate. If he could not persuade, he laughed away the scruples of the more honest or more timid.

"Detection! nonsense!" he exclaimed. "Who can ever find it out? Who can know it, unless you go and talk of it yourselves? What's the reason against it? Let's be men! Let's be above such folly! If they go to the bottom--why, a gale of wind and a started b.u.t.t might easily send them there; so, where's the difference? In one case, their rich cargo would go with them; now, you see, shipmates, we shall get it. So, hurra for the black flag, and overboard with all scruples!"

Now, however glaring the folly and wickedness of such reasoning may appear to us, it seemed very tempting and sensible to the miserable men to whom it was addressed. The carpenter only, and another man, refused to drink, or to partic.i.p.ate in any way in the project. They could not, however, turn the rest from their intentions. The treacherous mode in which the _Helen_ was taken possession of, I have already described.

The carpenter alone held out; the other man pretended to join them, with the hope, it appeared, of saving the lives of their prisoners. When they had mastered the crew of the _Helen_, the pirates jeered and laughed at them, as they were removing the cargo, and, bound as they were, even kicked and struck them, and treated them with every indignity. They then compelled the carpenter to accompany them on board with his tools, and, holding a pistol at his head, made him bore holes in the ship's bottom. No one appeared to have been wilder or more savage than Adams. Having completed this nefarious work, as they thought, effectually, the pirates left their victims to their fate.

They would certainly have returned to remedy their mistake, and to send the _Helen_ more speedily to the bottom, when they caught sight of a ship of war in the distance. They watched impatiently, but still the _Helen_ floated. At length the strange sail drew near, and, fearful of being found by her in the neighbourhood of the plundered vessel, they stood away under every st.i.tch of canvas they could set. Scarcely had the deed been committed, than each began to fear that the other would betray him; and, as if oaths could bind such wretches effectually, they all agreed to swear, on crossed swords, that they would never divulge what had occurred. They compelled the carpenter and the other honest man to join them in their profane oath, threatening to blow out their brains forthwith, if they refused. It seems strange that men guilty of such crimes should make use of the sign of the cross to confirm their oaths, and call G.o.d especially to witness their misdeeds. What extraordinary perversity such is of reason! Yes; but are not those we mix with every day guilty of similar wickedness and madness, when in their common conversation they call on the name of the most high G.o.d to witness to some act of folly, if not of vice, of extravagance, of cruelty, or senselessness?

The pirates sailed first for Leghorn, where they sold part of the plundered cargo, and spent the proceeds in a way to excite much suspicion. They then sailed for the island of Sardinia; but they there found that they were already suspected. Nothing could be more foolhardy than their visit to Malta, where the crew spent their money in rigging themselves out in gold chains, silk waistcoats, and green coats. How their conduct should not have excited suspicion, I cannot say; but it does not appear that the people with whom they dealt thought anything was wrong. It is one of the numberless examples to prove that criminals are deprived even of ordinary wisdom. Delano, however, saw, from the way his crew were behaving, that if he remained long at Malta, they would inevitably bring destruction on themselves. Having, therefore, got them on board, he sailed for Smyrna. On the voyage Myers tried to induce them to plunder other vessels; but none they could venture to attack fell in their way. Their rage against Myers was excessive when they found that he had attempted to blow them up, and that he had done so doubtless for the purpose of getting possession of a considerable amount of treasure which had been left on sh.o.r.e in the hands of an agent of Delano's. I afterwards heard that he had in all probability succeeded, as the agent had stated that he had presented an order from Delano for its payment about the very moment we were taking possession of the brig, and, as he thought, being blown into the air. Search was made for him throughout Smyrna before we left the place, and continued for some time afterwards; but the last accounts had brought no intelligence of him, and it was concluded that he had escaped in disguise.

During the greater part of the trial, Delano had maintained his confidence and composure; but at length the evidence of his own people, and the master and crew of the _Helen_, became so overwhelming that he lost all hope, and, overcome by the most abject fear, sunk down, and would have fallen, had he not been supported. Recovering himself a little, he broke forth into earnest pet.i.tions that his life might be spared. He made the most trivial and weak excuses for his conduct, utterly unlikely to avail him anything. He declared that he had been led on by Myers; that his crew had forced him to consent to the piracy; that he had endeavoured to dissuade them from it, and that the fear of death alone had induced him to consent. Nothing he could say could, of course, alter the decision of his judges; and he, with six of his companions, was condemned to be hung at the fore-yard-arms of the _William_, then lying in Quarantine Harbour. It was dreadful to hear the shriek of despair to which Delano now gave vent.

"Mercy! mercy! mercy!" he cried. "Oh, spare my life! I am unfit to die! Send me to toil from day to day in chains, with the meanest in the land; but, oh, take not away that which you cannot restore!"

"Let him be removed," said the judge of the court; and he was borne away, still crying out for mercy.

The miserable man, who had never shown mercy to others, still besought it for himself. The other prisoners said not a word in their defence.

One only voice was heard when all others were hushed in the court. It was solemn, though hollow and weak.

"Our doom is most just. We suffer rightly; and may G.o.d have mercy on our souls," were the words spoken.

I recognised the voice of Charles Adams. I saw him the night before his execution. He was calm and happy.

"O that my fate," said he, "might be a warning to others! and I should feel still more contented to die."

He begged to keep my Bible to the last, promising to give it to the chaplain to be delivered to me. I will not dwell on the dreadful particulars of the execution. No Maltese could be found willing to perform the office of executioner. The chief of the police, therefore, ordered a swinging stage to be formed on either side of the vessel, on which the criminals were placed with ropes round their necks, secured to the fore-yard-arms, three on each side. These stages were secured in their horizontal position by ropes rove through blocks made fast to the fore-rigging, with lanyards at the end. As the chaplain reached a certain word in the Service, the seamen stationed at the lanyards were ordered to cut them. This was done, and the stages sinking from under their feet, the miserable men were launched into eternity. A barge was then brought alongside, into which the bodies were lowered, and carried to Fort Ricasoli, at the entrance of the great harbour. Four of the bodies, being sewn up in tarred canvas, were hung in chains to a lofty gibbet; while two were buried beneath it. For many long months afterwards the four pirates hung there,--a terrible and disgusting sight, and an awful warning to all who might be inclined to pursue the same evil course.

The chaplain returned me my Bible the following day. Within it I found a note from Adams, first, thanking me warmly for my attention to him; and it then continued,--"Shameful as is my merited fate, I would that all my young countrymen may know it. Tell all you meet that they are sent into this world, not to live for themselves, but for others,--as a place of trial, not of amus.e.m.e.nt; that if they would secure contentment now, and happiness for the future, they must, first of all things, learn to conquer themselves; they must overcome their tempers--their pa.s.sions--their love of ease--of self-indulgence; they must remember that they are surrounded by snares and temptations of all sorts, all allowed to exist for the purpose of trying them; that the devil is always going about, ever ready to present the bait most likely to lure them to destruction. I entreat you--I adjure you--to make this known wherever you can. The knowledge of this may save numbers from ruin. It cannot too often be brought before the minds of the young. I was ignorant of it. I thought that I had a right to follow my own inclinations,--that it was manly to do so; and, oh! how sorely have I suffered for my ignorance!--how bitterly do I repent my infatuation.

Yet, miserable as is my fate, if I can but prove a warning to others, I shall not have lived in vain."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

CAN SHE BE THE ARIADNE?--SAIL FOR THE REEF COAST--DISCOVER THE LOST VESSEL--MAKE A PRISONER--ADVENTURES ON Sh.o.r.e--VISIT THE OLD SHEIKH--FIND JACK STRETCHER--HOW WE DID THE REEFIANS--JACK AND HIS HORNPIPE--OUR FLIGHT--PURSUED--ESCAPE.

So completely had Mr Vernon's health and spirits given way, that we on board the _Harold_ were afraid he would have to leave the ship and go home. At this juncture a merchant-brig came in from the westward, and the master reported that, having been driven close in on the African coast, he had seen a vessel, apparently a complete wreck, on sh.o.r.e. He stated that he had stood-in to examine her more closely, when, seeing through his gla.s.s a number of armed men come down and prepare to launch their boats, he judged it prudent to stand-off out of their reach. Mr Dunnage obtained this important information, and instantly brought it on board. Mr Vernon's eye brightened as he heard it; for hope, almost extinguished, once more dawned within him.

Captain Poynder, who felt a deep interest in the fate of Major Norman and his daughter, easily managed to get ordered down to the Barbary coast to examine into the matter. Having ascertained from the master of the merchantman the spot, as nearly as he could describe it, where he had seen the wreck, we made sail for the westward. We came off the coast about dusk, and then hove-to. "Boats away!" was on this occasion a welcome sound; for we knew that it portended that there was work to be done. Mr Vernon commanded one of the boats, and I went with him.

Stallman had charge of a second, and d.i.c.ky Sharpe, who since our trip to Smyrna had much improved in steadiness, accompanied him; while Stanfield, another mate, went in a third. A light gun was placed in the bow of each boat; and each man had a musket and brace of pistols, as well as his cutla.s.s; so that we were well-armed and ready for anything.

We were in high spirits, though we knew full well that it was no party of pleasure we were on; for, if discovered, we might expect some pretty sharp fighting, as the inhabitants of that part of the coast are the most warlike and determined pirates along the sh.o.r.es of the Mediterranean. With m.u.f.fled oars and in perfect silence we pulled towards where the wreck was supposed to be. There was no moon; but the stars of a southern clime were shining--as they well know how to do in that region,--so that we could distinguish the dark outline of the coast, backed by a range of high mountains. The only sound was from the splash of our oars, which, as they rose rapidly from the water, let drop a sparkling shower of phosph.o.r.escent fire. I steered, while Mr Vernon with his night-gla.s.s swept the coast, in the hopes of discovering the wreck. We got close in with the sh.o.r.e; but not a sign of her was to be seen.

"Avast pulling, and let the other boats close up," he whispered.

When the boats had got near enough, he ordered Stallman to pull to the eastward, and directed me to steer to the west, and Stanfield to follow us. That the coast was pretty thickly inhabited we had strong evidence; for so close in with it were we, that we could hear dogs barking, and music, and even human voices; while now and then the report of firearms showed that some Arabs were coming home from hunting, or were firing off their muskets at some festival or other. We had pulled at least five miles along the coast, when I fancied that I discerned, still further on, some dark object on the sands. We pulled up to it, and there, sure enough, lay a stranded vessel. Mr Vernon now directed Stanfield to wait off about a quarter of a mile, while we went in and tried to board the vessel, to ascertain positively what she was.

"Should any accident happen to us, or should we be taken prisoners," he continued, "you will wait till nearly dawn to render us a.s.sistance, in case you have an opportunity, and then make the best of your way back to the ship. Captain Poynder will then, without doubt, devise some plan for rescuing us or any other persons we may find on sh.o.r.e." Stanfield, of course, knew very well what he meant by this, and promised to keep a bright look-out, whatever might occur. Using still more caution than ever, we approached the vessel. She lay with her head insh.o.r.e, in a small inlet, and it appeared much more likely that she had purposely been hauled in there, than that she had been driven on sh.o.r.e. There was ample water for our boat right under her stern. The stern-windows were open. Holding on by the rudder-chain, Mr Vernon climbed up, and got in at a sternport. Without asking leave, I followed his example, and the bowman then handed us up a lantern. I had a match-box in my pocket. We struck a light and lighted the lantern, and then commenced an examination of the cabin. At the first glance we saw it was that of an English merchantman. There were the state-cabins on either side, the buffets for plate and crockery, the neat book-case, the racks for charts and telescopes, the sofa at one end, and the fireplace, all showing an attention to the comfort of any pa.s.sengers who might be on board.

Everything valuable had, however, been carried away, the more c.u.mbrous articles alone remaining. Mr Vernon looked round with deep anxiety depicted on his countenance. "Yes, D'Arcy, this is indeed the _Ariadne_. I know her well," he whispered. "I myself put up that book-case, and screwed in those hooks for a cot in the state-cabin. Oh!

what can their fate be? I must ascertain it without delay."

"It would never do to go on sh.o.r.e as you are at present, sir. You would be taken prisoner or murdered outright, to a certainty," I replied. He was silent for a minute.

"You are right, D'Arcy, you are right," he replied, in a dejected tone.

"The affair requires time and great circ.u.mspection. These people are not to be trifled with, I know. Force alone will not succeed, or I am certain Captain Poynder would land every man who can be spared from the ship, and would compel these Reefians to let us know what has become of their captives."

"Yes, sir, and every man would gladly follow, wherever you might lead,"

I replied.

"I know they would--I know they would, D'Arcy," said he. "But let us take a look over the ship, and perhaps we may find out something to direct our proceedings."

We opened the cabin-door cautiously, and crept up the companion-ladder.

The hatch was off. We got on deck: no one was there. Shrouding the lantern, we crept along the deck, and descended into the main-hold. The entire cargo had been removed. We concluded that the vessel had no one on board, and were about to return, when I suggested that we should look into the forepeak. We therefore moved cautiously, as before, along the deck, and were descending the ladder, when Mr Vernon touched my leg.

"There is some one breathing down here," he said. "Be prepared for a rush."

When we got to the bottom of the ladder, as he threw the rays of the lantern round the place, they fell on the sleeping form of a young Arab, dressed in a turban, and his white haick folded gracefully round him.

The instant the light fell on his eyes, he started up with a look of mute astonishment, and laid his hand on the hilt of a dagger by his side. Before he could unsheath it, Mr Vernon had thrown himself upon him, and wrenched it from his grasp, while, I following, we without much difficulty secured him; for, though graceful and active in appearance, he had not much muscular power. He did not call out. Perhaps he disdained to do so. But to prevent him, should he show any inclination to call for help, Mr Vernon rather unceremoniously thrust a handkerchief into his mouth.

"Now, hurry, D'Arcy, and call up one of the men to help carry this lad into the boat. Here is a prize worth having indeed," he said. "He may be of incalculable service to us." I did as I was ordered, and he quickly got the lad securely bound and up on deck. As we were dragging him along, the handkerchief fell out of his mouth, and he gave a shriek, which showed that he was no willing prisoner. The noise, however, only made us hurry him along the faster down the companion-ladder, and out at the port into the boat. We handed him along into the stern-sheets, and then, Mr Vernon giving the order to shove off, we backed out of the creek, and got the boat's head round, to pull out to sea. We were only just in tune, for the lad's cry had attracted the notice of his friends; and we could hear people shouting, as they ran down to the beach, to learn who it was that had cried out. Unfortunately the splash of our oars attracted their notice, and they began firing away at us, as fast as they could load their matchlocks. "Give way, my lads, give way!"

cried Mr Vernon, more from habit than that the men required any inciting to pull fast, as the shot came splattering about us. The young Moor made one or two attempts to rise, evidently with the intention of springing into the water, and swimming on sh.o.r.e again; but we held him down; and, as we got further off, he either saw that the attempt would be useless, or, from something he learned from the shouts of his countrymen, he thought it wiser to remain quiet. We were congratulating ourselves on none of the shot reaching us, and fancied that we were getting out of danger, when we saw a dark object glide out from a creek or harbour to the westward, followed by another, and then another, which we at once made out to be row-boats, pulling probably some twenty oars or so, and famed for their speed. We had the start of them, however, by half a mile or more; and, as our two gigs were far from slow coaches, we did not altogether despair of escaping. Still the odds were fearfully against us; and, even if we were not killed outright, potato-digging and water-drawing for the rest of our days was not a pleasant prospect for contemplation, independent of failing in the object we had in view.

This made all hands bend to their oars with redoubled vigour. Happily the row-boats had no guns in their bows, or if they had, the people had forgotten their powder or shot, as the few bullets which reached us now and then were the only missiles we had to dread. Well, away we pulled, with the Reefian row-boats after us, our great hopes being that we should decoy them within range of the _Harold's_ guns, and then, if we could bag a boat-load, we might hope to treat advantageously for any prisoners they might have taken. We made the dark, smooth water hiss and bubble under our bows, as we clove our rapid way through it, throwing up a ma.s.s of shining foam before us, and leaving a line of liquid fire in our wake. We soon gained more hope of escape, from the rate at which our pursuers came on; and we began to suspect that the boats, probably in the hurry of the moment, were manned with old men and lads, and any one who was at hand; and that they were likely rather to fall off than to increase their speed. This proved to be the case. We gained on them slowly at first, but more rapidly by degrees, till we actually ran them out of sight. Our next business was to find our ship; and I kept a bright look-out for her. Our young captive, meantime, lay at the bottom of the boat, and when he found that we had escaped from his countrymen, he seemed to take things very coolly; and when Mr Vernon a.s.sured him that we meant him no injury, he replied, that if we took his life, his tribe would some day cut us up piecemeal, and throw the bits to the jackals. As we were pulling along, we heard a shout, which proved to come from Stallman, who had, of course, seen no wreck; but he had discovered a spot where the water was deep up to the sh.o.r.e, and where there appeared to be no inhabitants, so that he had been able to pull close in, and could have landed, if necessary. We now altogether pulled out to sea, and in another hour fell in with the frigate. She then stood off sh.o.r.e, and by daylight we were out of sight of land, so that the Reefians could not have guessed who their visitors could have been. I think that I before have said that Mr Vernon was a great linguist. He spoke Arabic perfectly, and was thus able to hold communication with our young prisoner, whose fears, before long, he succeeded completely in silencing, and whose confidence also he soon appeared to have gained. All the morning Mr Vernon was in earnest conversation with the young Reefian, and, by his countenance, he appeared to be gaining information of a highly interesting character.

He then went into the captain's cabin, and after a long conversation with him, the ship's course was shaped for Tangiers.