The Ocean Cat's Paw Part 83

"I didn't afore, sir; but it's all as clear as crystal now, and I should just like to explain it to the lads. My word, gentlemen! That chap's been running up a big bill again hisself, and when we get hold of him he'll have to pay!"

"What are you thinking of, Moray?" said Rodd, a little while after, while they were sitting listening in the darkness to the murmur of Joe's voice forward as he was explaining matters to the men.

"I was thinking," said Moray gravely, "of how long it would be before it is day."

The longest night comes to an end, and the breaking of that next day showed the river much sunken and pretty well at its normal tidal height; and with four men rowing steadily the boat glided downward, with the sun when it rose showing first one and then another landmark which seemed familiar; but after their one journey upward no one present could recall how far they were above the careening place.

Again and again as they pa.s.sed round some great bend Moray rose from his seat, and, as Rodd afterwards told him, made them all miserable by gazing wildly downwards in the expectation of catching sight of the brig, or of seeing his father in his boat coming upward in search of the missing ones, who had quite outstepped the time that their stay was to last.

It was always the same; the poor fellow sank back into his place wearily, his countenance drawn and a look of despair in his eyes. At such times Rodd would watch his opportunity, steal his hand quietly along, and give Morny's arm a long and friendly grip, with the result that the dim eyes would brighten a little and dart a grateful glance in the English lad's direction.

The journey downwards seemed endless, and proved to be far longer than any one there antic.i.p.ated. But just as the longest and darkest watch nights come to their end, so it was here, when, skimming along under sail, taking long reaches, for the wind was abeam, all at once Joe Cross, who was the first to see, sang out a loud and hearty--

"Ship ahoy!"

"Hah!" cried Morny. "Do you see the brig?"

"No, sir," replied the man, as Morny, the doctor and Rodd shaded their eyes and gazed down-stream; "I can't make out the brig."

"Oh, you don't half look," cried Rodd. "There's the Spanish schooner, and ours, and just beyond them, half hidden by the trees and land, there are the tops of the masts of the brig. Hurrah, Morny! She's all right, afloat, and--Here, what are you looking that way for?"

"Because I can't see her," said the French lad despairingly. "There is something wrong."

"Why, my dear old chap," cried Rodd, "you can't see well, because of the trees, but as we get farther out, there she lies, to the left, with her two masts as plain as plain."

"I can see those two masts you mean," said Morny sternly, "but they are low-down raking masts; the _Dagobert's_ are much higher, and stand up stiffer than those. Do you forget she's square-rigged? Why, that's a schooner."

"So it is," cried Rodd. "I was deceived by the two yards on her foremast. But look here, it can't be another schooner. Captain Chubb may have been altering her rig when he got her upright again. Why, of course! It must be so. There can't be three schooners there. They must have had some accident to the brig's mainmast when they raised her again. Broke her topgallant, perhaps, and rigged her fore and aft."

"Not they, Mr Rodd, sir. Our old man would have cut a spar somewhere from the forest and rigged her square, if it was only a jury-mast.

'Sides, they'd got spare spars on board, same as we. That's another schooner. You can see her clearer now--a long low one, with masts that rake more than the Spanish skipper's vessel. Strikes me as we shall find that for some reason or another they haven't got the brig afloat."

"Another schooner, Joe?" cried Morny pa.s.sionately. "The brig not finished? For some reason or another! What reason? What does it all mean?"

"Be calm, my lad; be calm," cried the doctor. "In a very little while we shall know the worst, or the best. Mind, we know nothing as yet. It is all suspicion. For aught we can say to the contrary, that man whom we have condemned may be innocent, misjudged by us, and now be lying at the bottom of the river where we missed him in that mysterious way."

Morny bowed his head and tried to look gratefully at the doctor; but his agony was too great, and he stood there till their boat had got to the end of its tack and swung round in the other direction, when with shaded eyes he gazed before him wildly, trying to get a view beyond where the three schooners could now be plainly seen, anch.o.r.ed in mid-stream.

But for some time the curvature of the river put this out of the question, and to break the painful silence the doctor said quietly--

"Another long low schooner, with raking masts. But it may be only another trader, anch.o.r.ed in company with the rest."

"Ah," cried Morny to Joe Cross, "you see something more than we do!"

For the man, who was looking out from beyond the sail, suddenly gave a start and angrily slapped his thigh.

"Well, I'm very sorry, sir; but yes, I do. The brig's lying careened right over, just as she was when we started on our trip."

"But look here, Morny," cried the doctor; "that may mean nothing more than that she is not finished yet. Remember, to those we left we are missing, and in their anxiety about our lengthened stay they may have started up-stream to find us."

"You are saying this to comfort me," cried Morny pa.s.sionately. "No, doctor; we have got to face the worst. It is not so."

It seemed cruelty to prolong the conversation, and soon after the order was given to lower the sail and unstep the mast, for the wind had pretty well dropped as they swept in towards where the vessels were anch.o.r.ed, and the distance being short, the men took to their oars once more, while, with no impediment to their view, the doctor took out his gla.s.s and offered it to Morny. But the lad made a quick gesture, and sat back looking straight before him, while the doctor used the gla.s.s himself, gazing with it first at the brig, about whose hull no one was visible, while all seemed still on board the three schooners.

"Take a look, Rodney," said the doctor aloud, as he handed the gla.s.s.

"I can see nothing wrong."

Rodd eagerly took the gla.s.s, raised it to his eyes, and said quietly--

"Why, I can't see a soul on board the _Sally_, uncle, and the people on the other schooners must be asleep. They haven't seen us yet--Yes, they have!" he cried. "The men are hurrying up on our vessel from below, but--"

"But what, my boy?"

"I--I don't quite know, uncle. Something isn't right. Oh, Morny, what have I said?"

As the boy spoke he let the gla.s.s drop to the full length of his arm, and in all probability it would have fallen to the bottom of the boat had not Joe Cross caught it in his hand.

"May I look, sir?" he said sharply, and without waiting for consent, he raised it to his eyes and quickly scanned all three of the schooners in turn.

"It's no use beating about, gentlemen," he said sharply. "Something is wrong, for all three decks are swarming now with men like bees--wasps, I ought to say," he muttered, as he concentrated his gaze upon the _Maid of Salcombe_. "Our vessel, doctor, is in the hands of pirates, or slavers, and they are making ready the long gun. Now, my lads, look alive. Every man buckle on his arms and then load."

The oars were allowed to swing from the tholes, and the boat was left to glide slowly downwards, while in their smart orderly way her crew prepared for action.

"You will load too, gentlemen--with ball. Now, doctor, will you take command and lead us?"

"What to do?" asked the doctor.

"Why, to take our schooner again, sir. She's in the hands of an enemy."

"But is it possible that we can do this, Cross?" cried the doctor.

"I don't know, sir, for she's got a lot of men on board; but we have got to try."

"Stop. Let me think," said the doctor. "I am no man of war, and this is not in my way. If any unfortunate fellow were wounded I could do my best. But look here, my lads; you are nearly all men-of-war's men, and you, Morny, you are a naval officer. Seeing the odds before us, what is our duty here?"

"To fight," cried the young man pa.s.sionately, through his clenched teeth.

"Ay, ay, sir!" came heartily from the men; and as the doctor turned his eyes inquiringly upon Rodd, who was fiercely ramming the second bullet upon the small shot already in the two barrels of his gun, he saw a look in the lad's face that he had never seen there before, and in spite of the pain of the situation, he felt a thrill of satisfaction running through his breast at the thought that, young as his nephew was, he was English to the core.

"Yes," said the doctor, "we must fight; but with such odds against us we must bring cunning to bear."

"Ay, ay, sir! That's right," cried Cross. "But perhaps, as we've got right on our side and only a set of mongrels before us, a good bold dash to board them will make us as strong as they. I say, sir, if you will let me lead, we will try and take our schooner, give them a broadside of bullets when we get close up, and then out steel and board her like men.

Once over her side, there won't be many of them left on deck at the end of five minutes; and as soon as we have got her and the use of her guns, if we don't sink them other two pirates I have never been to sea."

"That's right, Joe," came in chorus, as, standing in the bows with one hand upon his gun, the other upon his right hip, he looked the very perfection of a British man-of-war's man, ready to lead or be led, wherever duty called.

Then, as if inspired by his appearance, the crew burst out into a ringing cheer, helped by the two lads, while the doctor took off and waved his straw hat as he joined in. _Bang_--_thud_!

A great grey puff of smoke started from the schooner's deck and a ball came skipping in their direction over the smooth stream.