The Fatal Cord Part 37

It had been the first intention of Coe to throw himself, with his small force, between the contending parties, and to insist upon the pirates retiring to the brig; or, in case of their refusal to do so, to take sides against them in the fight. But, seeing that the odds against the ship's crew was now not so great, Captain Johnson and his mate having joined them, he determined, with his followers, to pursue Afton, and to prevent such mischief as he might be bent upon.

Captain Johnson, when he saw so many of the pirate crew hastening towards the cabin, was also anxious to follow them; but he was too hard pressed by his enemies to allow him to do so. He hoped, moreover, that the tenants of the cabin had had the forethought to barricade the door, in which case the pirates might be prevented from breaking in upon Mr Durocher and his family until he could overpower the force immediately before him, and then, turning upon those who had gone towards the cabin, might thus be able to overcome his enemies in detail.

The door of the cabin had been barricaded by Mr Durocher, as well as he could do so, with the aid of his daughter and the quadroon girl, but the fastenings scarcely withstood for one moment the violent a.s.sault of Afton and his men.

They pa.s.sed in without further opposition--the illness of Mr Durocher preventing him from offering even a moment's resistance. An instant of silence ensued, and then, above the noise of conflict without arose the cries of distress from the cabin--the shrieks of women! That was the cry most agonising to young Coe.

"Here, my brave fellows!" he shouted, "follow me, and remember your own mothers and sisters at home!"

He dashed off down the deck, past the a.s.sailants and a.s.sailed still struggling there, and, followed by Ada and his men, sprung into the cabin to confront Afton and his men in their fiendish scheme. Afton, having penetrated to the state-rooms, had seized Miss Durocher, and was trying to drag her forth, preparatory to removing her to the brig.

"Unhand that lady, villain!" shouted Coe. "Villain yourself?" roared Afton. "Who made you my master, I should like to know?"

Afton was a strong man, but young Coe was both stronger and more active, and when he was aroused and inflamed by a righteous anger the pirate was but a child in his hands. He said not another word, but releasing the lady from the grasp of the ruffian by a sudden and dexterous exertion, he seized the pirate with both hands and swung him with tremendous force through the state-room doorway into the saloon. So violently did the latter strike the floor, that he lay at once without sense or motion.

One of Afton's men, drawing a pistol, had pointed it at the head of the infuriated rescuer; but ere he could pull the trigger, Ada, who already had a pistol in her hand, fired, and broke his right arm, which fell powerless to his side. He stooped to pick up the weapon which he had dropped with the hand of his uninjured arm, but Ada drew another pistol from her belt and presented it at his head.

"If you attempt to take up that weapon again, Joe," she said, with firmness of purpose expressed in her tones, "you are a dead man."

The man yielded at once, and stood motionless and silent before the pistol which she continued to hold with the muzzle towards him.

At the same time when these scenes were occurring in the state-room, others were taking place in the saloon.

"Unhand that gentleman," said Bowsprit, to two men who held the sick Mr Durocher prisoner.

"We are acting under the orders of the second-lieutenant," replied one of the men.

"Point your pistols at those men," said Bowsprit, addressing those under his command, himself presenting at them a weapon in each hand.

His orders were at once obeyed.

"We have pistols, too," gruffly said one of the men who held Mr Durocher.

"Now," said Billy, "release your prisoner at once, or I'll warrant you'll never disobey orders again."

At this moment the body of Afton came rushing head-foremost out of the state-room.

Seeing the condition of their officer, the two men unhanded Mr Durocher, and sullenly threw their weapons upon the floor.

The fourth of the men who had accompanied Afton, and who had stood at the state-room door through all these scenes, apparently stupefied by surprise, quietly handed his pistols and cutla.s.s to Bowsprit.

STORY TWO, CHAPTER TWELVE.

THE FATE OF THE FALCON.

Sir, I thank you-- My heart is full of thanks to you.

_The Dream_.

*John*. Surrender, sirs.

*Isaac*. Never; we die first.

_Old Play_.

Full many a fathom deep they rushed Down--down the dark abyss.

_Ballad_.

Mr Durocher, with the vivacity and warm-heartedness of a Frenchman, embraced young Coe, calling him his preserver, and overwhelming him with thanks.

"Thank only G.o.d, my dear sir," replied the deliverer. "I am not doing even all my duty. How many lives may be lost on deck while I am delaying here! Mr Bowsprit," he continued, addressing that individual, "bind the hands of your prisoners at once, and then come, with your men, upon deck with me."

Through the open door of the state-room he could see Ada, still pointing her pistol at Joe, whose right arm hung loosely at his side.

"Madam," asked John, "is that man's arm broken?"

"Yes," she answered; "I broke it with a pistol-shot; but I understand a little of surgery, and can easily set it if I can get a few splinters of wood."

Mr Durocher had hastened to his daughter and was holding her in his embrace, when hearing the word madam addressed to a person in male attire, he said--

"From this gentleman calling you madam, I suppose that you are a woman, and understand those sudden sicknesses caused by excited feelings, and peculiar to women?"

"I am a woman," answered Ada, blushing; "and I understand you. I see that your daughter has fainted. I will attend to her. Have you any salts?" she continued, addressing Celeste.

The poor quadroon girl was herself near to the point of swooning; but aroused herself when thus addressed, and hastened to bring the restoratives asked for. While she was searching for these among the vials and bottles of the medicine-case, Mr Durocher laid his daughter upon the bed. He then turned to Ada, and said--

"You need not trouble yourself with that man any more. Let him come into my state-room adjoining this, and lie upon my bed. I understand something of surgery myself; I also have the materials for making splinters, and will dress his wound."

Meantime, in the saloon, the hands of the prisoners were bound, even those of Afton. Leaving one of his men to guard the prisoners, Coe and the rest hastened upon deck. Scarcely five minutes had elapsed since he had left the deck--so many incidents may occur in a brief period of time, when the struggle is one of life and death.

The man who had been placed at the helm by Captain Johnson still kept his post. Through all the excitement and confusion, through the uproar and perils of the storm and the battle, that st.u.r.dy and brave seaman had, with unflinching patience and fidelity, and by a skilful management of the helm, watched for and warded off the effect of every huge wave which had threatened the safety of this ship. When the two vessels had come together, he had, by good guidance, broken to a great extent the force of the collision. When he had seen his comrades pressed by vastly superior numbers, and knew that his own safety depended on their successful defence--when he had seen the pirates hurry into the cabin where were only the sickly old man and the two helpless females--he had firmly maintained his post, steadily and faithfully performing the duties which had been a.s.signed to him. He knew that upon him depended the safety of all on board; that the slightest neglect on his part, the slightest failure of hand or eye, might allow the ship to broach to and be swamped in the tremendous seas which were now running.

Fidelity to duty, in instances of this kind, exhibits the purest type of heroism of character. And such instances are very common in ordinary life, among all cla.s.ses, and especially among the humblest. There is seldom any genuine heroism in mere fighting; when man's pa.s.sions are stirred--whether by feelings right or wrong--and his animal nature thoroughly roused, fighting is an absolute enjoyment to him; and in battle there is the additional incentive of glory to urge him to acts of valour. But, too often, in the apparent stillness of quiet life, there are duties which are discharged amid ceaseless temptations to neglect them. These n.o.body notes as worthy of especial honour; because they occur every day, every hour. Many persons cross the Atlantic to see Niagara, and they talk of its grandeur and sublimity--and justly do they do so; yet who speaks of, or even notes the fact, which all must acknowledge, that the sky, which by day and by night bends over the head of every man, woman, and child in every part of the world, is a thousand times grander and more sublime than even the wonderful cataract? A blessed truth it is to the humble disciples of humble duty, that, though no earthly being observes them with praise, G.o.d sees them.

There was yet a faint glimmer of daylight when John Coe came upon the deck of the ship. In that dim light the fight was still going on. It had commenced with twelve men from the _Falcon_ on the one side, and ten men belonging to the _d.u.c.h.ess_ on the other. So nearly were the individuals of the contending parties balanced in personal strength and prowess, that the success of the pirates had been very nearly in exact proportion to their superiority of number. The loss was of two men upon each side, and the defenders of the ship had been driven back to a position very near to the quarter-deck; but of the pirates one was wounded and one was killed, while of the defenders two only were wounded. Both of the parties were fighting with cutla.s.ses only; the pistols had all been fired in the beginning of the engagement, and there had since been no opportunity of reloading them.

Coe, with his small force, threw himself between the contending ranks, flashing his cutla.s.s right and left, and striking upwards the clashing weapons.

"Hold your hands," he cried, in a loud voice. "My party is a small one; but we are enough to settle this contest at once in favour of the side into whose support we may throw ourselves."

The pirates at once dropped their points and fell back; they, of course, felt convinced that a reinforcement had come to their help. Captain Johnson and his men, however, naturally looking upon the new comers as enemies, and supposing that Coe's mode of dealing with existing affairs was a _ruse_ to take them at disadvantage, were not disposed to cease fighting so readily. Still, Captain Johnson reflected that it would be well to hear what proposition was to be made. He, therefore, dropped his point and retired a step or two, and ordered his men to cease fighting and to fall back. His command was immediately obeyed.

"Mr Brown," said Coe, addressing Bowsprit, as soon as he saw that the fighting was suspended, "you and your men are supplied with two pistols apiece, I believe?"

"Yes, sir," answered Billy.

"Are they all loaded?" asked Coe.

"All loaded," was the echoed answer.

"Then draw, each of you, one in each hand," said our hero, "and have each pistol ready for instant use. But keep your cutla.s.ses suspended by the cord from the right wrist."