The Ocean Cat's Paw Part 84

"Well, I do call that too bad," cried Joe, as the men uttered a deep-toned "Yah-h-h!"

"Arter the way in which I cared for you and kept you clean, to go and behave like that!"

"Well, poor dumb beast," growled Briggs, "she don't know no better."

"Do you call that dumb?" cried Joe, merrily enough. "Well, I s'pose she was obliged; but I don't think much of their gunnery, messmates,"

continued the man, as he made use of the gla.s.s again. "Oh, they're all at work, sir, re-loading, and it will soon be our turn. I propose, sir, that we let them give us another shot, and then dash in before they have time to re-load. They won't hit us; will they, boys?"

"Not they!" came in chorus; but the next moment there was another report, and a smaller ball struck the water so near the boat that the spray was sent flying over them.

"They've got the two small guns to bear, sir," said Joe quietly, "and there's somebody aboard as knows how to aim."

He had hardly ceased speaking when there was another puff of smoke from the schooner's deck, accompanied by a whizzing, shrieking sound through the air just above their heads, while before they had glided with the stream another dozen yards there was a puff of smoke from the three-master's deck, followed directly after by a puff from the strange schooner, and as the reports of the two heavy guns were echoed from the great walls of verdure upon the river's bank, the air over their heads seemed full of shrieking missiles.

"Grape and broken iron," growled Joe Cross. "Take the tiller, Harry Briggs. Step the mast, my lads, and run up the sail. Don't take no notice of their shot. It don't do to go mad, even if we do want to fight. Don't go to sleep over it, boys. We are in the breeze again, and we must run into shelter and think."

A low growl came from the men as they rapidly obeyed orders, and not a man seemed to flinch as the long gun of the English schooner sent forth its heavy missile again, this time to strike the water some distance ahead and then rise and go crashing amongst the trees, whose leaves could be seen to come pattering down.

Three more shots came skipping over the river before the boat began to glide swiftly, under the pressure of her sail, and yells of derision came ringing from the enemy as they saw the effect of their fire and the effort being made to escape.

"Ah!" half sighed Rodd. "They've left off."

"Ay, sir," said the c.o.xswain. "They know they can't hit us now we are flying through the water; and the worst of it is, they think we are afraid and that we English dogs are running away as hard as we can, with our tails between our legs. But they aren't, sir; they're a-standing up stiff and at right angles, as our old man calls it, to our backs; eh, messmates?"

"Ay, ay, Joe!" came from the crew, with a roar of laughter.

"And as for my teeth--our teeth, I mean--they are about as sharp as sharp. But we have got the wind with us, gentlemen, and we will just run up-stream and round the bend yonder, so as to get behind the trees just somewhere where we can keep watch with that there little spy-gla.s.s, and by and by we will have another try. This go they a'n't played fair, but next time we'll make 'em."

"How, Joe?" cried Rodd.

"Well, sir, my idea is to tackle 'em man to man when they can't use their guns. I mean when it's too dark for them to aim; and then we can drop down upon them, or sail up to them fore or aft or either side, and them not know where to have us. It won't be shooting then, but cold steel, as we know how to use. Well, think of that now!" cried the man, as the boat was now literally skimming over the surface. "Call myself a leader! Why, as true as I am here, I never once thought of firing a shot. Why, we might have given them one volley, messmates. I don't suppose we should have hit, with them behind the bulwarks, but we might have startled the beggars at the guns. Never mind; we have saved our gunpowder. A man must miss sometimes, and this has been a bad 'un.

Next time, though, my lads, we must make it a hit."

The sailor ceased speaking, for his eyes had suddenly lighted upon Morny's face, and, as he afterwards said to Rodd, "Blest, sir, it sent a regular chill through me, for in all the hooroar of that job I forgot all about his father and our old man. But never say die, sir. They may have got away in one of the boats and be coasting along out to sea."

CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN.

FIREWORKS.

The boat was well run up out of reach and sight of the enemy, a spot being selected where by a little manoeuvring beneath the shade of an overhanging tree a few boughs could be pressed aside and a watch kept upon the movements of those on board the schooners, in case of their boats coming in pursuit, or, what was quite probable, one or other of the vessels heaving anchor and coming up with the tide.

But the time wore on without any sign being made, and as far as could be made out through the gla.s.s, the Spaniards seemed to be quite content with beating off the attack, and from their movements they had apparently come to the conclusion that they had seen the last of the occupants of the boat.

But they did not know the temper of those on board, nor that a quiet little council of war had been going on, till, feeling the necessity for the men being properly prepared ready for any fresh attempt, the doctor suggested that a substantial meal should be made; and this was partaken of with a far better appet.i.te than could have been expected. More than one plan had been suggested regarding the next proceedings. One was that they should steal down the river under cover of the darkness and go in search of their friends; another, that an attempt should be made, when the tide was flowing most swiftly, to cut the cables, in the hope that the vessels might drift ash.o.r.e; but Joe Cross disposed of this directly as not likely to be of any permanent advantage, and declared that there was only one thing to be done, and that was, to follow up with another bold attempt to board.

"You see, gentlemen," he said, "we never had a chance to get within touch of the Spanish mongrels. I don't want to brag, but with a fair start there aren't one of our chaps here as wouldn't take a good grip of his cutla.s.s and go for any three of them; eh, messmates?"

"In an or'nary way, Joe," said Harry Briggs.

"Well, this is an or'nary way, messmate."

"Nay; I call this a 'stror'nary one."

"Well, speak out, messmate, and say what you mean."

"Well, same as you do, Joe, only I put it a little different. Win or lose, I'd go in for tackling three of them in an or'nary way, but I says this is a 'stror'nary one, and you may put me down for six, and if I get the worst of it, well, that'll be a bit of bad luck. But anyhow I'd try."

"And so say all of us," came from the rest.

"Well," said Joe, laughing, "I never knew afore that I was the most modest chap in our crew."

"Oh, I have no doubt about your courage, my lads," said the doctor, "nor that my nephew here, though he is a boy, will fight like a man; but if we are to do any good we must work with method against such great odds.

So now, Cross, let us hear what you propose to do."

"Try again, sir--in the dark--and play a bit artful."

"But how?" cried Rodd eagerly.

"Well, I'll tell you, Mr Rodd. I proposes that we just show ourselves once or twice towards evening, and then make a dash right across the river to hide again among the trees. That'll set 'em all thinking and asking one another what our game's going to be. Then we will lie up till it's dark, up with the grapnel, and steal quietly down the river, keeping pretty close to the trees, till we are about opposite the enemy, and then we'll make a mistake."

"Make a mistake?" said Rodd. "I don't understand you."

"Well, sir, I aren't done yet. What I mean is, have an accident like; one of us sneeze, or burst out a-coughing, and me break out into a regular pa.s.sion, calling him as coughed a stoopid lubber and a fool for showing the enemy where we are. It will be best for me to be him as coughs or sneezes, and do it all myself so as not to have any muddle over it. Then I shouts out, 'Pull for your lives, boys--pull!' And we makes no end of splashing as we goes on down the river, and all the time as supposing that it's going to be dark enough so as they can't fire at us. Then it seems to me, Dr Robson, sir, that the enemy will say to theirselves, 'They want to get out to sea, and they are gone,' while as soon as we have got a bit lower down we'll lie up under the trees and wait till about an hour before daylight, and all as quiet and snug as so many rats. They'll think they have got rid of us, and all the while we shall be waiting our time to steal up again right by 'em and begin to come down once more from where they don't expect; and then--board."

"Hah!" cried Rodd. "Capital!"

"You see, gentlemen, it'll all have to be done as quiet as quiet, for they're sure to have a watch set. I know what out-and-outers they are to sleep, but it's too much to expect that they will have both eyes shut at a time like this. One way or t'other we shall have the tide with us, but even if we don't I think it might be managed, and anyhow we shall have no big guns at work upon us, and watch or no watch we'll manage to lay this 'ere boat alongside of our schooner, and if any one says anything again' our getting aboard, I should like to know why, and if we do get aboard I don't think it's in the schooner's new crew to drive us back again into the boat. There, gentlemen, that's all I know, and if some one else--the doctor here, or Mr Rodd, or Mr Morny, who is a French naval officer--can give us a better way, I'll follow anywhere, and I know the lads will come after me like men."

There was silence for about a minute, and then the doctor coughed, drawing all eyes upon him.

"There is no better way," he said. "It's a splendid plan."

A murmur of a.s.sent arose, and Joe Cross looked quite modest.

"But it will be some time yet before we can make our attempt," said the doctor; "and how are we to pa.s.s the weary time till then?"

"Oh," said Joe cheerily, "we can watch these 'ere great smiling efts till then. They seem to be sailing about and watching us as if they'd got some sort of an idea that they were to have us to eat by and by, which I don't mean that they shall. And then there'll be making the false starts. I think, sir, as we'll make one or two, as if we was half afraid to make a dash for it, and that'll draw their fire."

"But suppose they hit us, Joe," cried Rodd.

"Oh, we must chance that, sir. They can't hit us. They couldn't hit a hay-stack in a ten-acre field; let alone a boat being pulled hard across stream. That'll be all right."

And so it proved when Joe Cross put his tactics into force, making the men row out into the river, and then ordering them to lie on their oars, while Rodd watched the schooner's decks and announced that some of the men were busy about the guns and all crowding to the bulwarks to watch the proceedings of the boat.

Then a feint was made in one direction, then in another, and at last Joe stood up in the stern, to begin gesticulating to the men, as if bullying them into making a bold dash to row swiftly down as near the farther sh.o.r.e as they could go.