The Three Lieutenants Part 46

"'All hands, shorten sail!'

"Now Billy--as I take it for granted that s.n.a.t.c.hblock is right in saying it was he--was below, doing something or other, and guessing that he would be late if he came up the main hatchway, he bolted through the gunroom pa.s.sage, thinking that no one would see him, and up he sprang by the companion hatchway. At that moment the commander turned round, and, receiving Billy's head in the pit of his stomach, was doubled up, and sent sprawling over on the deck, the pain preventing him from seeing who had done the deed. Billy did not, you may be sure, stop to apologise; but up the rigging he sprang, before the commander or any of the officers knew who it was, and you may depend upon it he did not inform them. His messmates kept his secret, and it was not till the brig was paid off that the truth slipped out."

"I remember the same system as that you speak of being carried on in a ship I once served in," observed Norris. "The first lieutenant used to put down the name of the last man off the lower deck on a slip of paper, and at the end of three months he took out the slip, and counted who had been most frequently guilty, and they were invariably punished.

However, as several good men got punished, the system became very unpopular, and as many deserted in consequence it was given up."

On this Tom told some of the stories about black-listing which he had heard from Admiral Triton.

"I once served under a captain in that respect like Jerry Hawthorne,"

said Higson. "Not that he was in general severe, I must own; but he used to come down pretty sharply on us midshipmen occasionally. We were in the Mediterranean, and brought up in Malta harbour. I and two other youngsters were greatly addicted to fishing. This the captain did not approve of, as he said that the bait and lines dirtied the ship's side, and so he issued an order against it. Still fish we would, whenever we had a chance, and we three, knowing that the captain had gone on sh.o.r.e, were thus engaged one day, when he unexpectedly returned on board, and found us hauling up fish after fish, which left their scales sticking to the frigate's polished sides. He sent for us aft.

"'I will show you, my lads, how to fish,' he said, with a bland smile, and thereon he ordered three boarding-pikes to be brought, to each of which he had about four feet of rope yarn secured, with a hand-lead at the end. 'Now, come along, lads, and you shall begin your fishing,' he said, with a quiet chuckle, and he then made each of us hold a boarding-pike straight out over the taffrail, at arm's length, during the whole of the watch, telling the first lieutenant to keep an eye on us. You may be sure our arms ached; and when the lieutenant turned another way, we took the liberty of letting the pikes rest on the rail.

Every now and then the captain would come up, and with that bland smile of his ask us in a cheerful voice--

"'Have you caught any fish, my lads?' and when we said 'No, sir,' he would answer--

"'Try a little longer; you will have better luck by-and-by.'

"I can tell you, it was about as aggravating a punishment as I ever endured. It cured us, for the time at least, of our love of fishing."

"You must have seen some wonderful things in the course of your career, Mr Higson," observed Tom.

"I have indeed, youngster," answered the lieutenant. "One of the most wonderful was in that brig we were speaking of, and s.n.a.t.c.hblock was the man who played the most important part in the drama. It was a very short one, though.

"We were shortening sail when a young midshipman, very small for his age, fell from the fore-topgallant-yard. You must have thought that he must, to a certainty, have been dashed to pieces: so he would have been, but s.n.a.t.c.hblock, who was on the fore-topsail-yard caught him as he fell in a vice-like grasp, and placed him on the yard, thus saving his life."

"I cannot tell you how I did it, sir," said s.n.a.t.c.hblock. "All I can fancy is, I heard him coming, for it was but a moment after he let go his hold that I had him tight enough."

"Do you mind, sir, Pat O'connor falling from aloft? He and another man were in the main-topmast-crosstrees when they took to quarrelling. What it was about I don't know; but Pat said something which made the other hit him, and over went Pat, striking, as he fell, the mainsail with his head, which took the skin right off his face, and down he came on deck, his face all gory, and his shirt and trousers covered with blood. We ran to him, thinking that every bone in his body must have been broken, and expecting to find him dead, when up he jumped, and doubling his fists began swearing terribly at the other,--I don't think I ever heard a fellow swear more,--telling him to come down, and he would fight him then and there. He was just as if he had gone mad, and he didn't seem to think for a moment of the fearful danger he had escaped. I have known a man killed just falling a few feet, and others, like those we have been speaking about, falling from aloft, and yet not the worse for it. I remember once going round the Horn when a man fell from the fore-topsail-yard. The ship was running eight knots or so before a strong breeze, over a long, heavy swell, though the sea was not breaking. It was some time before she could be rounded to; but the man was a strong swimmer, and struck out bravely. While we were watching the poor fellow an immense albatross came sweeping down towards him.

Several of us cried out that he would be killed. Those birds with their strong bills can drill a hole in a man's skull in a moment. We shouted at the top of our voices, but the man could not hear us. Fortunately he saw the bird coming, and whipping off his shoe he held it in his hand to defend himself. Down swooped the albatross, when seizing the shoe in its beak off it flew again, and did not drop it for a minute or more. A boat was lowered, and the man picked up not much the worse; and the surgeon of the ship, who had got his rifle ready, shot the same albatross some minutes after. It measured, I mind, fourteen feet and a few inches from tip to tip of its wings."

Yarn after yarn of a similar character was spun, till some of the party got up saying, that they must stretch their legs, and off they strolled along the sh.o.r.e to collect anything to be found, leaving Higson, Archy, and Tom, and Desmond still at the supper table.

While the rest were absent, Higson, who was leaning back enjoying his cigar, happening to look round, observed several men coming out of the orange grove.

"Hillo! what can those fellows want?" he said, sitting up.

"They seem friendly enough, but there are a good many others behind the trees," observed Tom.

The strangers approached nearer. They appeared by their costumes to be country people, and except the long sticks they carried in their hands no weapons were observed among them. Stopping a few yards off they stood staring at the young officers without addressing them, though they made remarks to each other. Norris was the only one of the party who pretended to speak Portuguese.

"You must be our interpreter. Ask what they want," said Higson.

Norris did his best to put the question, but the natives did not seem to understand him, as they made no reply. Seeing only the young lieutenant and his four companions the rest of the party being still at a distance, the strangers became more familiar. While some gathered close round them others went to the boat: one stooping down picked up a musket, while another got hold of a boarding-pike, which lay on the gra.s.s at a little distance, and began examining them.

"I don't quite like the way these fellows are behaving," said Higson.

"Hang it all! I have left my pistols in the boat, or I would make them keep their distance."

"Tell them, Norris, that we beg they will stand a little way off, and explain their object in paying us a visit."

Norris thereon addressed the natives in the best Portuguese he could muster, but they did not apparently choose to understand him. Presently the men who had gone down to the boat scrambled into her, and shouting to the others shoved off, and began to make their way towards another landing-place some distance along the sh.o.r.e.

"Hillo! you fellows! come back. What are you about?" shouted Higson, darting forward.

Directly he did so four of the natives threw themselves upon him, and though he knocked over one, and gave another a black eye, they succeeded in tripping him up, and before he could strike another blow they had his arms fast behind his back. Norris and the three midshipmen were rushing to his a.s.sistance when they were treated in the same manner, two or three of the natives seizing each one of them, and quickly securing their arms.

"Well, you fellows, what are you going to do with us, I should like to know?" exclaimed Higson, feeling naturally very indignant. "We are British officers, and I can tell you that if you don't set us at liberty, and bring back our boat, you will have to pay for it. Tell them what I say, Norris."

The only reply made by the natives was, "Piratas! piratas!"

"They say we are pirates!" exclaimed Norris.

"I only hope they won't take it into their heads to hang us before they find out their mistake, and from the rough way they are handling us, I should not be surprised if they do," cried Desmond. "Set our arms free, you fellows. If you want us to go along with you, we will walk quietly enough, since we can't help ourselves."

The Brazilians, of course, not understanding this, only grinned, and having collected various articles scattered about on the gra.s.s, they prepared to leave the waterside. Just then, s.n.a.t.c.hblock and the rest of the party from different directions, appeared, very much astonished at seeing the way in which their companions were being treated, and that their boat was carried off. Before they could unite, several more natives coming to the spot, rushed down on them and made them prisoners.

s.n.a.t.c.hblock showed fight, and two or three of his a.s.sailants bit the ground before they succeeded in capturing him. The whole naval party were then marched up the hill towards a village which appeared in the distance, their captors being joined on the way by several more people, who abused and threatened them with violent gestures.

"I can't make out whom they take us for," said Higson to Norris, who was dragged along near him. "Try and ascertain. There is surely some mistake."

Norris expostulated as well as he could, but received the same reply as before, "Piratas! piratas!" while their captors pointed with significant gestures to some horizontal branches of trees which stretched across the path, intimating, as they all supposed, that the branches would be convenient for hanging them on.

"I say, Gerald, I don't like this at all at all!" cried Desmond; "if the people are giving to practising Lynch law here abouts, they may hang us up as they threaten to do without ceremony."

"I don't think they will dare to do that, for they must guess who we really are," answered Tom.

"Whatever they may think, they call us 'pirates,'" said Desmond.

"Arrah, now, you unmannerly brutes, just behave properly to a gentleman!" he exclaimed, turning round to the Brazilians, who were roughly hauling him on away from Tom. s.n.a.t.c.hblock and his messmate walked along, abusing their captors for their own gratification, knowing pretty well that not a word they uttered could be understood.

At last they arrived in front of a building, with a door and a couple of strongly-barred windows on either side. The door being opened by an official-looking personage, who produced a huge key from his pocket, they were all unceremoniously thrust in one by one. Again Higson protested against the treatment they were receiving, but the Brazilians were utterly indifferent to what he or any of his companions said.

s.n.a.t.c.hblock, who had till then been walking on quietly, suddenly got his arms loose, and knocking aside, with some well-directed blows from his iron fists, two or three of the persons nearest to him, shouted out--

"Now is the time to get our liberty! We will soon send the fellows to the right about. Come on, Mr Higson, the coast is clear."

The lieutenant and midshipmen having their arms lashed behind them could not quite so easily follow his advice, and the next instant the Brazilians making a rush together threw themselves on the brave sailor and brought him to the ground, when he was quickly bundled in after the rest, and the door shut. As, however, his arms were at liberty, he at once released his companions.

"This is very provoking," exclaimed Higson, after they had somewhat recovered from the rough handling they had received. "We can soon set ourselves to rights, though, if we could manage to send on board one of our ships."

"Easy enough, but we must get out first," observed Desmond.

"Perhaps we might contrive to get through the roof, I have heard of such things being done," said Tom. "The door and windows are evidently strong, and there is no chance of getting out through them."

The building, which was about twenty-five feet long and fourteen wide, was carefully examined, but they soon discovered that the roof was strong and heavy, and there was but little prospect of making their way through it. Even should they get outside, how were they to reach Rio was the question, unless they could find their boat; and over that their captors would probably keep a strict watch.

There were some rough wooden benches fixed to the walls round the room, but no table or any place on which they could rest. The floor, which was excessively dirty, being strewed with the remains of the meals of other prisoners, they had no wish to lie down on it.

At last, Higson, seating himself on a bench, said, "Well, all we can do at present is to practise patience, and see what turns up next."

It was now quite dark. Fortunately, having enjoyed a good supper just before they were captured, they were not hungry. The rest of the party followed the lieutenant's example, and lay down on the benches. No one came into the prison, but they could hear voices outside and a great number of people apparently pa.s.sing up and down before the door. Thus they pa.s.sed the night.