The Missing Ship Part 36

Many sharp eyes on board were directed towards the spot where the stranger had last been seen. The master had gone to consult his chart; it was his business to warn the commander not to stand on too long towards the coast, although it was not as dangerous from hidden reefs and keys as further to the westward.

"Can anybody see her?" asked the commander, whose eyesight was less acute than that of most of his younger officers.

No one answered.

"I got a glimpse of her a minute ago, but I can't make her out anywhere now, sir," said Mr Foley.

At length the ship stood on for a quarter of an hour, till the outline of the land could be seen distinctly ahead against the clear sky. Again she was put about, but nowhere was the chase visible. The _Champion_ was now standing along the land at a safe distance. If the buccaneer could not be discovered from her deck, neither could she from that of the buccaneer; she might come upon her unexpectedly. A sharp look-out was kept all night, but when morning returned no sail was in sight. A mist hung like a thick veil along the coast, allowing only the summits of the higher ridges to be seen, as the sun, rising above the horizon, tinged them of a red hue with his glowing rays. To look for her to the eastward was useless, and the ship again being put about, stood to the westward along the land; but, except a few small craft which immediately made their escape among the rocks, or within the numerous bays and creeks, no craft worth overhauling was seen.

The commander was a calm-tempered man, accustomed to disappointment, or he might have joined with some of the younger officers in their expressions of disgust at having lost the picaroon. Lieutenant Foley tried to look unconcerned when the commander at length expressed his intention of standing across to the Jamaica coast, touching at different places to ascertain what was going forward on sh.o.r.e.

As the wind was favourable the _Champion_ was not long in making the land. A small bay marked as Peyton's Cove on the chart lay directly abreast of her. The commander, heaving the ship to, sent his second lieutenant with a boat to try and ascertain from any of the people in the neighbourhood what was going forward, that he might direct his course accordingly. A fisherman's hut appeared not far off from where he landed, and the lieutenant made his way towards it. The door was closed, but Mr Foley, on listening, heard a loud snore from within. He knocked.

"Ki! who are you? What you come for?" asked a gruff voice.

"Open the door, my friend, and I will tell you," answered the lieutenant; "but bear a hand, for I am in a hurry."

The door was speedily opened, and a stout, well-fed negro appeared.

"Beg pardon, Ma.s.sa Osifer," exclaimed the man, who had evidently been taking his midday sleep after the labours of the morning, for he stood blinking his eyes as the bright light shone on them; "what you want?"

"I want to know what is going forward in the country; and if you cannot inform me, pray say where I can find some one who can, for I see no dwelling-houses hereabouts."

"Oh, ma.s.sa, bad, berry bad. De black slaves great rascals. Dey say dat dey murder all de garrison at Fort Maria, and kill de white buckras eberywhere."

"That is indeed bad news," observed Mr Foley, scarcely believing the man.

"It true news too," answered the fisherman in a positive tone. "If you wish to know, go on along de road up dere, on de top of de hill to de right, and dere you find a house, and de people tell you what happen, if dey alive; but me tink all de people dead by dis time, seeing dat dere troats were cut last night."

"Is such really the case?" exclaimed the lieutenant.

"Iss, ma.s.sa; dey cut my troat 'cause I free gentleman, but I hide away and pull off in de boat, and so I 'scape."

The black spoke so positively that the lieutenant, not thinking it prudent to venture alone, lest some of the insurgent slaves might be in the neighbourhood, called up his men and proceeded along the road the fisherman had pointed out, till he reached a house embosomed in trees.

The doors were open, but no one came forth. He entered. Marks of blood were on the floor, and an odour of burning pervaded the building. Going along the pa.s.sage, he found that the fisherman's statement was too true.

At the further end of a room lay on the ground the bodies of a white man, a brown young woman, and two children cruelly mangled, while in another room were some extinguished torches, showing that the murderers had intended to set the house on fire, but had suddenly retreated without effecting their purpose. As it was important to return immediately to the ship, he could make no further examination of the building. It had apparently been the residence of a small proprietor.

The garden and neighbouring fields, though trampled down, had evidently been carefully cultivated. He hurried back to the beat, pa.s.sing the fisherman's hut on his way.

"I told you so, ma.s.sa," said the man quite coolly. "Worse tings happen in other places."

"You did indeed speak the truth," answered the lieutenant, his heart sinking as he thought of the danger to which Ellen and her father might be exposed.

On reaching the ship he informed the commander of the dreadful state of affairs, and recommended that they should stand along the coast and make further inquiries at the towns and forts near the sh.o.r.e. In the last letter he had received from Ellen, she had told him that she was residing at a house some way further to the westward, but its exact position he had been unable to ascertain, and he could not find it marked on the chart.

A fresh and favourable breeze blowing, the ship soon came off Fort Maria, when she hove to, and he--this time having Gerald with him, and accompanied by another boat, of which Crowhurst had the command--pulled on sh.o.r.e. As they approached the fort, the appearance it presented excited their fears that the fisherman's report was likely to prove too true. The flag and staff had vanished, and no sentries were to be seen on the ramparts, while in the centre rose a ma.s.s of blackened walls.

The guns peering through the embrasures commanded the landing-place, but, as the fort was evidently deserted, the boats pulled in, and the lieutenant and his companions at once leaped on sh.o.r.e. They made their way up a steep path which led to the rear of the fort. The gates were open, and they hurried in. A fearful sight met their gaze. Every building within had been set on fire and gutted. Amid the ma.s.s of charred timber lay numerous bodies, apparently, as far as their dreadful condition enabled the party to judge, of white men--some in the dress of civilians, while the half-destroyed uniforms showed that others had been soldiers. Two, from the broken swords still grasped in their hands, were apparently officers, who had fought their way out of the building, which had been the mess-room of the fort, and had been shot or cut down by the savages. A few bodies of blacks were seen, evidently from their dresses the officers' servants, who had been waiting at table. The general state of the fort told its own story. The whole garrison and several visitors had, not dreaming of danger, been suddenly surprised by an overwhelming body of insurgents, who must have rushed in and ma.s.sacred them before the soldiers could stand to their arms. If any white people in the neighbourhood had escaped with their lives, they must have gone away and not dared to return to the scene of the catastrophe.

The lieutenant and the midshipmen climbed to the highest part of the fort, and looked round in every direction. Nowhere could they see a human being, but in the distance they observed several blackened s.p.a.ces where flourishing sugar-canes had lately grown or gardens or other plantations had existed. The fisherman's account was thus fearfully verified. As no one could be seen from whom to gain further information, Mr Foley and his companions re-embarked, and pulled back for the ship as fast as the men could lay their backs to the oars. The commander thought of landing the marines and a party of small-arms men, but, without further information, it would be impossible to know in what direction to proceed.

The boats being hoisted in, the sails were again filled, and the ship stood on to the westward as close to the sh.o.r.e as the master would venture to take her. Every telescope on board was turned towards it, no one looking out more eagerly than Norman Foley, who dreaded lest they should come in sight of a once pleasant mansion now reduced to a ma.s.s of ruins. If a well-garrisoned fort had been surprised and thus fearfully destroyed, what might not have happened in the event of a single planter's house with small means of defence being attacked. He very naturally conjured up all sorts of dreadful pictures; at the same time, he manfully tried to combat his apprehensions, and to hope for the best.

"I see some one on the sh.o.r.e, sir, making a signal," cried Gerald, who had a telescope to his eye. "He appears to me to be a white man. He is running up and down, seemingly trying to attract our attention. There he is now, under that tall cocoa-nut tree."

All the telescopes in use were turned in the same direction.

"Yes, that is a white man, no doubt about it," said the commander. "He has taken off his shirt and is waving it. Heave the ship to, Mr Tarwig. Call the gig's crew away, Mr Foley, and pull in to ascertain what he wants. There can be little doubt that it is a matter of importance. Come off again as soon as possible, for we shall probably find places further along the coast, where the white people are hard-pressed by the blacks."

The commander's orders were speedily obeyed, and Norman Foley, without the loss of a moment, followed by Gerald who was directed to accompany him, lowered himself into the gig. He was eager to be off. Every moment of time was precious; he had vividly realised the truth of the commander's last remark.

"Give way, lads, give way!" he exclaimed, imparting his eagerness to the boat's crew.

They bent l.u.s.tily to their oars, and the boat shot rapidly over the blue waters towards the sandy beach, where the white man had been seen. It was yet impossible to discern him, however, without a gla.s.s. Mr Foley kept his eyes fixed on the spot, hoping that he would soon again come in sight.

"I see him, sir," cried Gerald; "he is still waving his shirt, and seems in a desperate hurry. Perhaps he is some one who has escaped from the blacks, and he wants us to go and help some white people attacked by them."

"Very probably," answered Norman Foley, with a scarcely suppressed groan.

The boat was nearing the sh.o.r.e.

"He is now making for the west side of the bay, towards a reef of rocks which runs out some way into the sea," exclaimed Gerald. "He expects that he shall reach us sooner."

"I see him," said Mr Foley; but directly afterwards Gerald exclaimed--

"He has disappeared."

"He has had, probably, to go to the inner end of the rock to climb up it," observe the lieutenant. "I thought so," he added; "we'll pull in and look out for a place where we can take him on board."

"He has good reason to be in a hurry," exclaimed Gerald. "See, there on the top of the hill are a whole host of black fellows, and now they are running down towards the sand. I suspect that they are in chase of him, and if he does not make haste they will catch him, too."

While Gerald was speaking, a number of negroes, armed with spears headed with long blades used for cutting the canes, and with axes and other rudely formed weapons, were seen scampering down the hill. They possessed apparently no firearms, however, or the fugitive's chance of escape would have been very small. He made his way along the rough rocks, leaping across the fractures in his course, and often pa.s.sing spots on which he would scarcely have ventured had not a foe been at his heels. The blacks in their eagerness to catch him scarcely took notice of the boat, though had they done so they might have suspected that her crew possessed firearms, with which they could be reached. They were scarcely more than a hundred yards off, when the boat got up to the ledge of rock, and the white man, springing forward, aided by the bowman, leaped on board and was pa.s.sed along by the crew to the stern-sheets.

The lieutenant immediately ordered the boat to be backed off, and her head being turned in the direction of the ship, the crew once more gave way. The blacks, meantime, finding that their expected victim had escaped, gave vent to their feelings of anger in shouts and cries. A few also, who had been in the rear, now appearing armed with muskets, had the audacity to fire at the boat, but happily the bullets fell short of her, and she was soon entirely beyond their range.

"Where do you come from? What has happened?" asked the lieutenant, as the stranger sank down by his side.

"I was hiding from the rebel slaves in the wood up in the hill, when I saw the ship out there, and came down in the hopes that the commander would land some of his crew and send them to the a.s.sistance of a white family, friends of mine, whose house is surrounded by savages who are threatening their destruction," answered the latter. "There is no time to be lost, for they were fearfully beset, and have neither food nor water remaining, while nearly all their ammunition is, I fear, expended."

"Who are they?" asked Norman Foley, in an evident tone of agitation.

"A Mr Twigg and his family, with whom Mr Ferris, an Irish gentleman, and his daughter are staying. There are several other white people in the house," was the answer.

"Mr and Miss Ferris in danger!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the lieutenant and Gerald in the same breath. "How far off is the house? Can we soon reach it?"

inquired the former.

"Twelve or fourteen miles to the westward from here," answered the stranger. "I should think with this breeze you might get off it in less than a couple of hours."

"We'll lose no time, and the commander will, I am sure, afford every a.s.sistance in his power," said Norman Foley. "Mr and Miss Ferris are friends of mine, and I will use every exertion to go to their a.s.sistance. But how do you know that they are so hard-pressed?" he added, anxiously. "Have you made your escape from the house?"

"I did not do so intentionally. Having set out with a number of others to obtain some yams, we were attacked by a party of blacks, and I was made prisoner. Happily I had done some service to two or three slaves among the party, and had saved them more than once from a flogging.