The Pirate of the Mediterranean Part 45

Saltwell had too much anxiety on his mind to allow him to turn in to take any rest, and for the greater part of the night he had walked the deck while he beat the brig up towards the island. He became still more anxious, as the morning approached, at the non-appearance of the boats, and was continually hailing the look-outs to keep their eyes and ears open to catch any sign of their coming. Colonel Gauntlett, who, of course, was not less anxious on his niece's account, was also constantly by his side; but the hours of night wore on, and no boats appeared. The brig stood on towards the island, for Saltwell considered that if the expedition was successful, there was no further reason for concealment, and that the nearer he got the better, and that, at all events, with the breeze which had sprung up, he could stand out of sight of land again, before daylight. The faint outline of the island, invisible to any but a seaman's eye, at last appeared through the darkness. Several of the officers were collected together on the p.o.o.p, looking towards it, as the brig now lay up on the starboard tack.

"Ah, what is that?" exclaimed Saltwell, as a bright light was seen reflected on the sky.

"Why, they have either set fire to one of their vessels, or have blown up some fort or other. That may account for the boats' not returning."

"I don't think that is likely," observed Colonel Gauntlett. "Captain Fleetwood would scarcely delay to attack the pirates with a lady in one of the boats. Would you, Mr Saltwell?"

"No, sir, I would not," returned Saltwell. "You are right, and I do not think the captain would; but still I cannot account for the fire, and it is a large one, or we should not see it at this distance."

"I see no reason to conclude that Captain Fleetwood has anything to do with the conflagration," observed the colonel. "I wish we could see something of him and my little girl though. It is hazardous work he has been on, and I do not half like it. Couldn't you fire a few guns, to give them notice of our whereabouts? I don't see how they are to find the ship otherwise."

"A sailor's eye is sharper than you may suppose, colonel," said Saltwell; "and depend on it, they will keep a sharp lookout for us.

However, I will do as you propose, for the wind is off the sh.o.r.e, and the pirates are not likely to hear the guns. Mr Brown, fire the foremost gun on the starboard side, and the next to it in four minutes'

time."

Directly after the order was issued, the gun sent forth its sheet of flame, and its dull sound was heard booming along the waters. Several others followed without any answering signal. The _Ione_ had now, in Mr Saltwell's opinion, stood long enough to the northward, or rather to the north-east, so he tacked ship, and they headed up rather more towards the island, though she soon again fell off nearly south. The larboard guns were now fired, and at last a tiny spirt of fire was seen to the eastward, and the sharp report of a musket struck on the ears.

"About ship then," cried Saltwell, and when she was round, after standing on a little way he hove her to, and ordered Mr Black to burn a blue light to show their position. On this a faint cheer came down on the wind to prove that the signal was perceived. The next few minutes were pa.s.sed, by those more immediately interested in the success of the expedition, in considerable anxiety. The splash of oars was heard, and but a single boat glided out of the darkness.

"In Heaven's name, where are the rest?" was the question asked by many voices at once.

"Mr Tompion sent me back, sir, with Mr Linton, who is badly hurt, while he and Mr Duff stopped to chase a pirate craft which had been dodging us," replied Jennings, to Saltwell's questions, giving afterwards a brief account of the failure of their expedition.

"Poor Linton wounded, and by such villains," muttered Saltwell, as his brother-officer was lifted carefully on deck. "How does he seem, Viall?" he inquired of the surgeon, who hurried forward when he heard what had occurred.

"We shall see better when we get him below," returned the surgeon. "He is alive, and that is all I can say."

The wounded officer was carried to his berth, where the surgeon and his a.s.sistants a.s.sembled to examine his hurts.

"This is a bad business, indeed, for the captain," said Saltwell to Colonel Gauntlett, as they resumed their walk on the p.o.o.p, while the ship remained hove to, waiting for the arrival of the other boats; "I fear the pirate will murder him, and those with him, when he finds out who he is."

"What, think you he will venture to murder a British officer, when he knows that his strong-hold is discovered, and that his death would certainly be avenged?" exclaimed the colonel. "Poor fellow! and my little niece--if the poor girl ever escapes from that infernal den--I'm afraid she will never recover it."

"I own, I fear for the worst," said Saltwell, who was weary, and out of spirits. "Zappa knows well enough that he has deserved a rope, and, from what I hear, he is the sort of character to win it thoroughly; but we must do our best to punish him. As soon as the boats come back, I intend to give Tompion a fresh crew, and to leave him in the cutter, well armed and provisioned, to watch the island, while we go in search of the _Ypsilante_; and, as Captain Va.s.silato left her under my orders, I shall send her off with a requisition to any of our cruisers she can fall in with, to a.s.semble at an island to the southward of this; and I have not the slightest doubt, that any captain, who happens to be senior officer, when he hears of what has occurred, will take the responsibility of ordering a grand attack on the island. If not, we will, by Heaven, try what our own brave fellows and the crew of the _Ypsilante_ can do to rescue their captain, or avenge their deaths."

"Bravo, Mr Saltwell, I am rejoiced to hear you say this," exclaimed the colonel, warmly grasping the lieutenant's hand. "And I and Mitch.e.l.l will act as volunteers with the marines. I wish we had done this at first. A strong hand and a firm heart, are the best things to trust to.

I never liked the plan poor Fleetwood has pursued, from the first.

Your plots and your disguises seldom succeed; and they are not fit for Englishmen to engage in--they are contrary to the genius of our country, thank Heaven; but that Greek friend of his over-persuaded him, and, I am afraid, has led him to his destruction."

"I wish that I could say, sir, that I thought all had gone well,"

returned Saltwell. "However, we must now do our best to mend matters.

Well, doctor, what report can you make of poor Linton?" he asked of the surgeon, who just then appeared on deck.

"I have extracted the ball, and he has recovered his senses," answered the surgeon. "He is in very great danger; but I can give no decided opinion as yet. He has expressed a wish to see you, and has begged me to call you."

"Poor, poor fellow, I'll go below instantly," cried Saltwell, hurrying down, and auguring the worst from the doctor's tone.

He found Linton stretched out in his narrow berth, lighted by the sickly glare of a small lamp fastened against the bulkhead.

The clothes had been thrown over the lower part of his body; but his shoulder was bare, the pallid hue of his skin contrasting with the dark, red stains on the linen of the shirt, which had been cut off, and still lay beneath it. The arm, on the side where the ball had entered the neck, lay immovable by his side, looking shrunk and withered, except a slight twitching of the fingers, which showed the agony he was enduring.

O'Farrell, the a.s.sistant surgeon, sat at the head of the bed, applying a cooling lotion round the part which had been bound up, to prevent inflammation, if possible, from setting in, administering now and then some restorative to revive him from the exhaustion consequent to his great loss of blood.

As soon as Saltwell entered, his eyes turned towards him, and his lips moved; but his brother-officer heard no sound, till he put his ear close to his mouth.

"Saltwell," he whispered, "don't let them blame me wrongfully for being beaten off by those rascally pirates; I did my best, as you know I would. Our poor captain--I grieve for him more. Don't let a stain remain on our names. And, Saltwell, if I die, as I think I shall, when you get home, see my poor Julia--bear her my deepest love, and tell her I thought of her to the last."

"I'll do all you wish, my dear fellow," answered Saltwell, deeply affected. "But we must not let you slip through the doctor's fingers; cheer up, for the sake of all your friends. And now try and get some rest--it will do you more good than any thing I can say, or the doctor can give you."

"I fear not, Saltwell, I fear not," said Linton. "But I won't keep you, for you'll be wanted on deck, as the boats will soon be coming back, and I trust to you to remember to fulfil my wishes."

Saltwell saw that his presence did more harm than good to his wounded friend, as it induced him to talk; so, bidding him try to sleep, he left the cabin. As he reached the deck, he saw that the first faint indications of the coming dawn had appeared in the eastern horizon--not streaks of light exactly, but a less dense gloom, which could best be distinguished by contrasting it with the darkness of the opposite horizon, and, at that instant, the flash of a gun was seen in the same quarter, and the sound came booming over the water towards them.

"Ah! there comes the cutter," he exclaimed; "Tompion is firing his bra.s.s gun to draw our attention. Don't fire again, Mr Black, it is not necessary, and will disturb Mr Linton, but burn a blue light--it will prevent their going out of their course, for it will be some time before they will otherwise be able to distinguish us."

The gunner had the blue light already, expecting to be called on to use it, and the next instant a lurid glare illumined the whole ship; the sails, the spars, and the countenances of the people, all a.s.sumed a sepulchral hue, which gave her the appearance of some phantom bark, such as has appeared to the excited imagination of many a seaman in his wandering through those distant and torrid climes, whose pestilential vapours, rising from the overteeming earth, fever his blood and cut short his span of life.

It had scarcely done burning before another gun was fired; but whether as a signal, or for any other reason, it was, at first, impossible to say, till several others followed in rapid succession.

"It must be a summons to us," observed the first lieutenant to the master. "Fill the fore-topsail, and let fall the fore-sail--we will, at all events, stand on as close as we can to them."

The breeze, which sent the _Ione_ along, was very light, so that some time elapsed before she neared the spot whence the firing had been supposed to proceed. Saltwell was on the point of ordering another blue light to be burned, when a loud hail was heard, and, directly afterwards, the boats were seen approaching as fast as the weary crews could send them through the water.

"Has Mr Linton got back alive?" were the first words heard spoken by Tompion.

"Yes--yes, all right," was the answer.

"Thank Heaven for that!" he exclaimed; and, as soon as the cutter ran alongside, he jumped on deck and went aft to report himself as come on board.

"I hope you do not think that I have done wrong, sir," he said, when he had finished his account of what had occurred. "I fully thought we should capture the mistico, and I could not tell but what some of our friends had been taken on board her."

"No, Mr Tompion, I have no reason to find fault with your behaviour.

As far as I can judge, you showed judgment and gallantry, which, in an officer, it is all important should always be combined. And, at all events, you have got clear out of the sc.r.a.pe, though you certainly ran a great risk of being captured."

"Well, sir, I am very glad you approve of what I have done," answered Tompion. "And now, sir, if you will allow me to make a suggestion, I would keep off the island till daylight; for, not long ago, as we were pulling here, both Duff and I fancied we heard some firing off the mouth of the harbour, but we could not tell for certain, we've had such a din of popping in our ears all night; however, I cannot help thinking some of the party have made another attempt to escape."

"I am afraid that there is very little chance of that," said Saltwell.

"If that villain, Zappa, does not murder them, it is more than I expect.

However, we'll stand on towards the island till daybreak, as you suggest; and now, Mr Tompion, I should think you require both rest and food, so go down below and take them. Tell Mason to give you and Mr Duff whatever he has got in the gun-room--you'll get it quicker there than in your own berth."

Midshipmen are proverbially hungry, and I need not say that our two young friends did ample justice to a cold round of beef, which the gun-room steward placed before them.

Saltwell had scarcely turned in when he was again roused up by Togle, the midshipman of the watch, who came to tell him that a suspicious sail was seen to the eastward. He immediately came on deck; and just in the centre of the red glow on the sky, which precedes the rising of the bright luminary of day, there appeared the tapering sails of a lateen-rigged craft, looking like the dark fin of a huge shark, just floating on the lead-coloured waters.

"She's standing this way too, by Jove!" he exclaimed. "And give me a gla.s.s. I thought so; she's in chase of a small boat under sail, just a-head of her Mr Togle, go aloft with a gla.s.s, and see what you can make out. I can distinguish little more than the upper leech of the sail; and were it not so calm, even that could not be seen."

Togle hailed from aloft, to say that there was certainly a boat a-head of the stranger.

"I think that I can even make out that she has people in her, as she is much nearer us than the mistico, which keeps firing at her every now and then."