The Secret of the Sands Part 15

"D'ye notice his maintopmast-staysail, Harry?" returned he; "cut like a trysail, and set on a stay that leads down just clear of his fore-top and into the slings of his fore-yard. How many vessels will ye see with a sail shaped like that? Yet I noticed that _his_ was the other day.

And there's the red ribbon round him too; in fact, it's the _Albatross_ all over," concluded he, with the gla.s.s once more at his eye.

It was but too evident that Bob was right. I had been hoping that the general resemblance of the brig in sight to the _Albatross_ was purely accidental; but she was now within less than three miles of us; and, even without the aid of the telescope, certain features, if I may so term them, were recognisable, which identified her beyond all question as the pirate brig.

"What shall we do about answering his signal, Bob?" said I.

"Let it fly as it is, _un_-answered," he replied composedly. "Look where we're dropping him to; in another quarter of an hour we shall have him fairly on our lee-beam, and that too out of gun-shot, unless, as is most likely the case, he's got a long gun; but if he _has_, we're a small mark to fire at, and we'll soon slip out of range even of that."

It was by this time perfectly manifest that whatever he might be able to do in a breeze, he had no chance with us in a light air like the present; and I entertained strong hopes of being able to slip past him unscathed, when I felt sanguine of our ability to get fairly away from him in a chase dead to windward.

But he evidently had no notion of letting us have our own way in this matter, without a pretty vigorous protest on his part; for as we were still watching him, we saw the brig slowly luff into the wind; his fore-sheet was raised for a moment, a flash of flame and a puff of white smoke darted suddenly from his forecastle, and then we saw the jets spouting up where the shot struck the water, as it came ricocheting towards us. He had aimed apparently so as to throw the shot across our fore-foot; but it fell short by about fifty feet.

"Do that again, you lubber!" exclaimed Bob, contemptuously apostrophising the brig. "Three more such fool's tricks as that, and we'll say good-bye t'ye without ever having been within range. See how long it takes him to pay off ag'in, Harry; very near lost his way altogether, when he'd a had to box her off with his head-yards; and by the time he'd done that we should be well clear of him. Well, I _did_ think the man had more sense than to do the like of that."

Friend Johnson evidently saw his mistake as clearly as we did, for he fired no more until we had crept up fairly ahead of him. Just as we were crossing his bows, however, and had got his masts in one--by which time he had drawn considerably nearer us--the brig _fell off_ a little, not to repeat her former error, and again came the flash, the smoke, and the ringing report.

"Here it comes straight for us this time, and no mistake," exclaimed Bob, as the water-jets again marked the course of the shot. "Scaldings!

out of the road all of us that's got thin skulls," continued he, as the shot came skipping across the water in such long bounds as showed we were within range. "Well missed!" added he, as the shot struck the water close to us, and bounded fairly over the boat, pa.s.sing close beneath the main-boom and the foot of the mainsail, without injuring so much as a rope-yarn.

"That's his long gun, Bob," said I; "his broadside guns would never reach so far as this, and though we're just now in rather warm quarters, we shall be out of range again very soon; and then, I think, we need give ourselves no further trouble concerning him. Any way, you've got something very like the fulfilment of the wish you expressed the other day."

"Ay, ay, that's true, Hal, I have," answered he, with a quiet laugh; "and I _do_ own it's a great satisfaction to me that we're carc.u.mventin'

the chap this 'a way. I'll warrant he's walking the quarter-deck at this minute fit to bite his fingers off wi' vexation at our slipping past him in this style."

Here another shot from the brig came bounding after us; but we offered him a much smaller mark than before, inasmuch as he was now nearly dead astern of us, and we consequently presented an _end_ instead of a broadside view to him.

The shot shaved us pretty close to windward nevertheless, striking the water for the last time just short of our taffrail, and scurrying along and ploughing up the surface close enough to give us a pretty copious shower-bath of spray ere it finally sank just ahead of us.

The next shot, which quickly followed, pa.s.sed almost as close to leeward; and the third came straight enough, but fell just short of us.

After this he fired no more.

"Very cleverly managed, I call that, Harry," said Bob, as soon as we found ourselves once more out of range. "We can now take things quietly; and as it's your watch below, I'd recommend you to turn in and get a bit of a snooze. It's your eight hours out to-night, my lad, and if the breeze should happen to freshen about sundown, and that chap comes after us--and, by the piper, he means that same, for I'm blest if he isn't in stays--you'll need to keep both eyes open all your watch."

This was good advice, and I at once proceeded to adopt it, cautioning Bob to be sure to call me without delay in the event of any further complication arising.

I had not been below above two minutes when I heard his voice shouting to me to come on deck again. Wondering what was now in the wind, I sprang up the short companion-ladder, and my eye at once falling upon the brig (which was now dead astern of us, heading in the same direction as ourselves, though not lying so close to the wind), I saw in a moment that our troubles were not yet by any means over.

The wind had by this time fallen so light that we were not making above three knots' way through the water, whilst the pirate appeared barely to have steerage-way--in fact, his canvas was flapping to the mast with every sluggish roll which the vessel took over the long, scarcely perceptible swell.

Friend Johnson was evidently greatly nettled at our having slipped so handsomely through his fingers as we had, and seemed determined to have a word or two with us yet, whether we would or no; for he had lowered one of his boats, and she was just leaving the vessel in chase.

I took the gla.s.s, and counted six men at the oars, besides one or two (I could not be sure which) in the stern-sheets.

This was serious indeed; for a light boat, propelled by six good oarsmen, would go about two feet to our one at our then rate of sailing, and must necessarily soon overhaul us.

Our case appeared pretty nearly desperate; but a seaman never gives up "whilst there is a shot in the locker," or a fresh expedient to be tried. So I directed Bob to keep the cutter away about three points, and then lash the tiller, and lend me a hand to get our balloon canvas set.

The topsail was shifted in next to no time, and then we got the spinnaker to the bowsprit-end, leading the sheet aft to the main-boom; after which we took in our jib and stopped it along the bowsprit, ready for setting again at a moment's notice, and hauled down our staysail.

This additional spread of canvas, coupled with the fact that we were running far enough off the wind to permit of its drawing well, made a perceptible difference in our speed--quite a knot, I considered, and Bob agreed with me.

"Now, what's the next thing to be done, Harry?" inquired he, as soon as we had completed our task of shifting the sails. "This is all very well as far as it goes, but yon boat is overhauling us at every stroke of the oars, and we've only _postponed_ the pleasure of an introduction to the chaps, unless the breeze happens to freshen up a trifle, of which I sees no signs just at present."

"I've made up my mind," I replied. "We _must not_ be taken, Bob. I feel convinced that our lives would not be worth an hour's purchase, if we fell into the hands of that villain; but, even supposing he _were_ to stop short of murder, his malignity would doubtless prompt him to destroy the little _Lily_; and by such an act all our past efforts would be nullified, and our future success rendered extremely doubtful. We must _fight_ Robert, my man, now that we can no longer run; so let's get our gun up and rigged without further delay. By the time that we have it ready, they will be within range; and I think we may persuade them to turn back yet."

"So be it," replied Bob gleefully. "I'd always rather fight than run away, Harry, lad--at least, when it's anything like a fair match; so let's rouse up the pop-gun and have a shy at 'em."

This gun was, as I think I have mentioned before, a four-pound rifled piece, which was specially made to my order by an eminent firm. It was a most beautiful little weapon, exquisitely finished; was a breech-loader, and threw a solid shot about a mile, and a sh.e.l.l nearly half as far again. It was mounted on a swivel or pivot, which we had the means of firmly fixing to the deck.

We got it out and upon deck, and soon had it mounted and ready for service. Bob took the tiller, desiring me to work the gun, as I was not only a more practised artillerist than he, but knew also how to handle a breech-loader, and I had the knack somehow of shooting straight.

I had it loaded, and was in the act of levelling it, when Bob said, "Suppose we was to let them chaps get a bit nearer, Hal, afore we opens fire. I've a notion that if we gets 'em well away from the brig, and well within range of our little barker there, we might give 'em such a peppering afore they could get clear of us ag'in as would sicken 'em of having any more to do with us. Perhaps it mightn't be quite onpossible to destr'y the boat altogether, and then there's seven or eight good hands wiped off the chap's books. This here ain't like a ordinary enemy, you see, lad--he's a sort of general enemy to all mankind; and the more harm we can do to _him_, the more good we'll be doing the rest of the world."

It sounded rather like cold-blooded barbarity, this proposal of Bob's to attempt the _destruction_ instead of the _repulse_ of the boat in pursuit of us, but every word he said in support of his proposition was strictly true; and indeed some such idea had been present in my own mind, so I withheld my fire for a time.

At length, however, they were within half a mile of us, and I thought we might now fairly commence operations. I carefully levelled the piece accordingly, and desiring Bob to sit well out of the line of fire and steer as steadily as possible, I watched the heave of the cutter, and pulled the trigger-line.

The shot sped straight for the boat, but, striking the water just before it reached her, bounded dear over her and into the sea beyond. There was a shout from the people in the boat, and we could see that they stretched to their oars with doubled exertion.

"Straight as it could go, Harry, lad, but _rather_ too much elevation; try 'em again, boy, and look smart about it too, for they're giving way as if the devil was behind 'em."

"Which he probably _is_, if they did but know it, Bob," returned I.

"Keep cool, old man; there's no hurry; you attend to the steering of the craft, I'll undertake to cool their courage for them before they're very much older."

"Ay, ay," retorted Bob, "keep cool it is; but it's getting to be rather ticklish work, lad, ain't it?"

I was too busy with the gun to reply just then, and in another moment I fired once more. This time we saw the splinters fly from the bows of the boat, and one of the oarsmen sprang from his seat and fell back into the arms of the man behind him.

There was a moment of confusion with them, and then we saw one of the men in the stern-sheets (there _were_ two of them) step along the thwarts and take the injured man's place. This looked like a fixed determination to come alongside at any price, so I this time inserted a sh.e.l.l instead of a solid shot, which I had before been firing.

Once more, after a very careful aim, the little piece rang out, and again the shot reached its mark; this time with terrible effect, for the sh.e.l.l exploded as it pa.s.sed through the boat's thin planking, and the fragments, continuing their flight forward, told so severely, among the crew that it appeared as if they were _all_ more or less hurt. We saw four fall from the thwarts, at all events, and all hands ceased pulling, whilst three of the oars slipped unnoticed overboard.

I unrove the spinnaker-sheet from the main-boom before the astonished Bob knew what I was about, let go the halliards, and let the sail down by the run; and then jumped to the jib halliards and hoisted the sail like lightning.

"Now," shouted I, "luff you may, Bob, and let's heave the craft to, and finish the job for them."

As I said this, Bob put his helm down, whilst I hauled the jib sheet to windward, and then I sprang aft again to the gun.

By this time they had taken to their oars again, but there were only two of them pulling: a sure indication of the extent to which our last shot had told. They were turning the boat round to pull back to the ship, and seeing this I felt some compunction about firing on them again, and said so.

"Don't be such a soft-hearted donkey, Harry lad," retorted Bob. "Settle the whole lot if you can, boy; it'll only be so many skulking cutthroats the less in the world. _My_ idee is that every one of them chaps as we can finish off is one honest man's life saved; so give 'em another of them sh.e.l.ls, my boy. They _do_ seem wonderful persuaders, small as they be."

I accordingly loaded again, and fired; but, probably from excitement, fired too high, and the missile flew harmlessly over the boat.

The next time I was more careful, aiming with the utmost deliberation.

At length I pulled the trigger-line, and immediately leapt to my feet to watch for the result.