The Three Midshipmen Part 37

"The pirates are fellows of some taste to choose this beautiful spot for their harbour," observed Jack, looking round.

"Not they," answered Captain Willock with a laugh. "I guess now they choose it because it hides them pretty securely, and they can sweep out and pounce down on any unfortunate craft which they may catch unprepared for them in the neighbourhood. But here's our skipper; Fi Tan you call him, don't you? Well, he's a mild, decent, quiet old gentleman; don't look as if his trade was cutting throats. You'd better tell him about the ladies, or he will be finding it out himself."

Jack and Alick agreed to this, and calling Jos, begged him to open the subject to the pirate captain, which he did with no little circ.u.mlocution; and very considerable departure from the real facts of the case, notwithstanding Jack's charge to him to adhere to them. The Malay had two reasons for this. In the first place, he had got so completely into the way of telling falsehoods, that he could scarcely speak the truth had he tried; and in the second place, he knew that, speak the truth or not, he should not be believed. Old Fi Tan having heard Jos to an end, and watched the dumb-show of the midshipmen and Americans, desired to have the cabin-door opened. The old lady, who had thrown herself into a bed, started up, and was going to shriek out, when Captain Willock's voice rea.s.sured her. Her daughter, who had been watching while she slept, stood trembling by her side, but tried to look as composed as she could. Captain Willock and the midshipmen soon made them understand what had occurred, and begging them to be no longer alarmed, promised that they would do their best, either to effect their escape, or to obtain their ransom.

"Oh! but our friends are all in Australia; we have no one at Canton to care for us," cried the young lady, wringing her hands.

"Never fear, miss," said Jack. "I beg your pardon, but I don't know your name; but I don't doubt the merchants there will come down with all that is required; and if not, the midshipmen on the station would be delighted to pay your ransom, and take it out of the pirates afterwards, when we catch them."

The young lady, who did not exactly understand who midshipmen were, or what taking it out of the pirates meant, nevertheless thought Jack a very polite young gentleman, and thanking him warmly, told him that her name was Cecile Dubois, and that her mother was Madame Dubois, but that she only spoke French, and as she was now too old to learn English, she hoped he would learn French to talk to her. Jack, with a flourish of his turban, which head-covering he and Murray wore instead of their caps, which they had lost, a.s.sured her that he should have unbounded pleasure in so doing, if she would undertake to teach him. "But, Miss Cecile," added Jack, "now I know your name, it is pleasant to call you by it; before we begin, wouldn't you like a little food? You and your mamma must be peckish, I suspect, and she doesn't look as if she was accustomed to starve." This want being made known to Jos, he in a short time procured an inexplicable sort of mess not altogether unattractive, to which, at all events, the old lady seemed perfectly ready to do justice, though the younger one, with a taste which Jack admired, only ate some of the rice, and the less oleaginous morsels.

Altogether the midshipmen were pretty well satisfied with the turn affairs had taken; but poor Captain Willock had to mourn over the loss of his ship and cargo, as also, probably, most of his crew. Some he had seen taken prisoners, and dragged off on board the junks. Whether their throats had been cut, or whether they were to be found among the pirate fleet, he could not tell; others he had too great reason to fear had been blown up. "They were cowards some of them to be sure, or they would have stuck by us, and we should have beaten off the pirates; but still I cannot bear to think of them all being cruelly murdered,"

observed the captain to his mate.

"I guess you're not far wrong, captain," answered Joe Hudson. "If it hadn't been for these British officers, we should have been where they are, pleasant or unpleasant."

"We only did for you what I am sure you would have done for us,"

answered Murray. "We liked to see the brave way you met the pirates, and we are very glad to have a.s.sisted any Americans, whom we look upon as cousins, the next thing to our own countrymen."

"Thank you, sir, thank you," said Captain Willock warmly, taking Alick's hand. "If the Britishers and Yankees were always together, we might flog all the world, I guess, who might try to oppose us." Thus harmony prevailed among the captives.

For the next two days the fleet lay at anchor, those junks which had suffered by the explosion of the brig being engaged in repairing damages.

Jack got on very rapidly with his French, for, having nothing else to do, he studied very hard, and Mademoiselle Cecile happened to have a copy of _Paul and Virginia_ in her pocket when the vessel was attacked.

It served as a capital lesson-book.

As Murray already knew French, he did not require Miss Cecile's lessons, and so he was able to look philosophically on, and, like a wise monitor, he told Jack to take care what he was about, neither to take possession of the young lady's heart nor to lose his own. Whether he would have taken this advice, which was sage and sound, it is impossible to say; but other stirring events happened which put a stop to the French lessons.

One evening the midshipmen observed the pirates in a great state of commotion. Those who were on sh.o.r.e came off and armed themselves after their fashion, by sticking pistols and daggers in their belts, and hanging swords over their necks, and then all hands set busily to work to get their ships into fighting order. Jos, who had been on sh.o.r.e, came off among the others, and informed them that another pirate fleet had hove in sight, and that it was expected that it would come into the bay to attack them for the sake of making them disgorge the booty they had collected.

"Pretty scoundrels," said Jack; "there is not even honour among these thieves themselves."

"No, sare," answered Jos quietly. "Big man in dis country always cut little man's throat, if little man got any ting worth having."

"Pleasant," remarked Jack; "I would rather be an English ploughman than a Chinese mandarin."

While the midshipmen were talking to Jos, Captain Fi Tan came up, and intimated to the latter that he should expect his prisoners to take an active part in the battle, and to a.s.sist in defending the junk.

"A cool request," remarked Jack; "however, as fight we must probably to defend our own lives and those of the two ladies, we may as well make a virtue of necessity. You agree with me, Murray, and so do you. Captain and Mr Hudson? Well, then, Jos, tell Captain Fi Tan that we will fight for him, but that he must give us any recompense we may demand."

Jos spoke to the pirate captain, and immediately said that he would agree to their terms.

"That's to say, he'll take the fighting out of us first, and then, if he finds it convenient, change his mind," remarked Captain Willock. "I know the way of the Chinese. You cannot trust them."

"Perhaps when we have taught them to trust us they may learn to be trustworthy themselves," observed Murray; "besides, these fellows are professed pirates. What can you expect of them?"

"They are all alike, all alike; all rogues and vagabonds together,"

answered the skipper.

After this somewhat sweeping condemnation of a whole people, their conversation was interrupted by the pirates bringing them a heap of pistols, daggers, knives, and swords, with which to cover their persons in Chinese fashion to be ready for battle. Darkness now came on, and in a short time lights were seen in a pretty dense line, reaching across the entrance of the harbour. The dark outlines of a fleet of junks soon after this appeared through the gloom, and forthwith gongs and cymbals began to clash, and shrieks and shouts ascended, and guns, and jingalls, and pistols went off, while fire-b.a.l.l.s, and rockets, and stink-pots, and other Chinese devices for warfare, filled the air, and truly made "night hideous."

CHAPTER THIRTY.

AN ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE.

Rogers and Murray, and their companions, watched with considerable anxiety the approach of the fresh horde of pirates. From the number of lights they showed, and the noise they made, it was very evident that their fleet was much more powerful than the one which had captured the brig.

"If we were on sh.o.r.e now, I should little care if the result of the fight was like that of the two Kilkenny cats Adair tells a story about, who fought so desperately that at the end of the battle only their tails were to be found," said Jack; "they having, in a way none but Irish cats could have succeeded in doing, eaten each other up. Paddy sticks to his story, and declares it is a truth, but does not exactly explain how it happened."

Rogers' remarks were cut short by one or two shots striking their junk, on which the crew set up the most terrific shouting, and began blazing away from all their guns, jingalls, and other firearms. Jack and Alick, and Captain Willock and his mate, loaded their muskets and began to fire away, and to make as much noise as the Chinese, but they none of them at first took much pains to aim at the other pirates, their object being to make their companions suppose that they were fighting desperately.

However, before long a jingall ball grazed Jack's shoulder, and that put up his blood.

"I say, it won't do, we must drive these villains off," he exclaimed; "if we don't, we shall be getting the ladies' throats cut, and our own too."

"I am afraid so," answered Alick; "it isn't pleasant fighting either way." So they now loaded faster than ever, and took the best aim they could. All the firing and shouting did not stop the advance of the enemy, and jingall b.a.l.l.s and other missiles came flying thicker and thicker round their heads.

"Those poor ladies! What will become of them? They must be very much frightened," cried Jack. A considerable number of the crew were by this time hit; many were killed outright, and as far as the midshipmen could judge, their side was getting the worst of it. Still the shrieks and cries in no way diminished, but rather grew louder and more unearthly.

One large junk appeared to have singled them out, and was steadily approaching to board. Their crew evidently did not like this state of things. The old captain had just come up to them, with Jos the Malay as interpreter, to make some proposal or other to them, when, as the words were coming out of his mouth, a round shot took his head off, and his body was sent flying half across the deck. What he was saying Jos could not tell, and gravely remarked that no one was now likely to discover.

The crew, on discovering that their chief was killed, and that they had lost so many of their companions, showed signs of unwillingness to fight. At last one ran to the side, and overboard he jumped, and began to swim towards the sh.o.r.e. One after the other followed like a flock of sheep, all taking the water exactly in the same way, till not a pirate remained on board. The midshipmen entreated Jos to remain, and Hoddidoddi engaged to stick by them.

"The ladies, probably, can't swim," observed Jack; "but if we could manage to launch a boat, we might get away before the big junk can scull alongside." There was a boat, but on examining her, they found that she had several holes in her side, which was the reason the pirates had not taken her.

"That's pleasant," cried Jack. "Now if those fellows board us in a hurry, before Jos has time to explain who we are, we shall get knocked on the head to a certainty."

"We must stow ourselves away, I fear, till the first rush is over," said Alick. "We must keep outside the ladies' cabin, so as to protect them."

"I am afraid so," said Jack, and he ran and told Madame Dubois and her daughter what had occurred, and entreated them not to be alarmed--advice which was more easily given than taken. Jack then ran back to Murray, who was trying to induce Jos and Hoddidoddi to remain with them, they very naturally wishing to swim on sh.o.r.e, under the belief that they should be knocked on the head if they remained. On came the huge junk, and in another instant would have been alongside, when, as the midshipmen began to feel that too probably their last moments had arrived, a loud roar was heard, up went her decks and masts and sails, and fierce flames burst out from every part of her--the same event which had happened to the brig had occurred to her; she had blown up. The bodies of the poor wretches belonging to her, and the burning fragments of the vessel, fell close alongside them, and nearly set their junk on fire. Had they possessed a boat, they would have done their best to render a.s.sistance to the drowning wretches; as it was, they ran to the side of the vessel, and got such ropes as they could lay hands on to heave-to the people who were swimming about. The pirates, however, believing that if they came near the vessel they were about to attack they would simply be thrust back again into the water, or be knocked on the head, or have their throats cut, or be disposed of in some similarly unpleasant way, kept at a distance, and the midshipmen saw them one by one disappear beneath the surface. All this time the battle was raging on every side round them, and the attacking fleet drew closer and closer to the junks at anchor, and appeared to be gaining the victory. As soon as they could, the midshipmen ran to the ladies' cabin to tell them what had occurred, and to give them such consolation as they had to offer.

"But could not we manage to make the vessel sail and run away?"

exclaimed Cecile, with considerable animation, as if a bright thought had struck her.

"I wish we could, Miss Dubois," said Jack; "but there is no wind, and we have not strength to hoist these heavy mat sails of the junk."

"Ah! but I will help you, and so will mamma, I am sure," answered the young lady.

"Mamma would be of great a.s.sistance in hoisting, I doubt not," said Jack, looking with an expression of humour, which he could not repress, towards the weighty dame. "We'll try what can be done." They could not venture to remain long in the cabin, so they hurried back on deck. They were as much puzzled as ever to know what next to do. Their great fear was that the pirates would return from the sh.o.r.e and prevent any attempt they might make to escape. When they told the American captain what Miss Cecile had proposed, he said that she was a brave young lady for thinking of such a thing; that perhaps a breeze might come off the land, and that if it did, they would try and sway up the foresail. Scarcely had they come to this resolution, when, by the flashes of the guns, they saw a boat pulling a short distance ahead of them. The American captain hailed. A voice answered immediately in English. "Why, that's one of my men, as I'm a freeborn American!" exclaimed the captain. "Come here; be smart now." In less than a minute one of the boats of the brig came alongside with three seamen in her. They had been captured by a junk, and, finding the boat floating astern, they had taken the opportunity, during the confusion of the battle, of jumping into her and pulling off.

The boat was too large for the three men to manage, and they would probably have been lost had they got outside. Not a moment was wasted in bringing the two ladies from the cabin, and in lowering them into her. Captain Willock and his mate, and Jos and Hoddidoddi followed, and they were hurriedly shoving off, eager to get away from the junk, when Murray asked the rest if they were going to live on air, and reminded them that they would all be starved if they had not a supply of provisions.

"Very right, sare," observed Jos; "me go find food."

Accordingly he and the two midshipmen and Mr Hudson jumped on board again and hunted about for food. It was rather difficult to find in the dark, but they got some jars of water, and a bag of rice, and a collection of nameless things which they supposed were to be eaten.

They got also a small stove, with fuel, and a saucepan. Altogether, considering that they seized whatever they could lay hands on, they had reason to be satisfied with the result of their search. Fortunately, just that particular spot was in comparative darkness, though on either side the pirates were firing away at each other as furiously as ever.

Captain Willock took the helm, and the two midshipmen, with Joe Hudson and the Malay, each seizing an oar, away they pulled at a pretty good speed from the scene of action. The shot, however, every now and then came whizzing over them, and made Madame Dubois shriek out rather too l.u.s.tily. Her daughter, on the contrary, kept perfectly silent, or if she spoke, it was to entreat the old lady not to be alarmed.

"But, _ma chere fille_, if those horrid b.a.l.l.s should hit us, how dreadful!" was the answer.