CHAPTER XXIII.
As all hands were called, Captain York took the command, and Sanderson went forward among the men. As my station was also in the midst of the crew, I had an opportunity to see who were drunk and who were sober. Martino and Gorro were the drunkest of the crowd, and I had no doubt that it was through their agency that the liquor had been obtained, though in what manner I was unable to see. Sanderson soon proved that he was as good an officer as he was a seaman.
"Lay aloft, Martino, and furl the main top-gallant sail," said he to the leader of the drunken Spaniards.
"When the officers of the bark give me an order, I obey them," said Martino, in substance.
"Do you hear, my hearty? Lay aloft and furl the main top-gallant sail!" repeated the mate, sharply.
"I don't obey you any longer. Mr. Waterford is coming on deck soon."
"You don't obey me?"
"No, I don't."
"Then you will take the consequences," continued Sanderson, as with his iron fist he dealt the Spaniard a blow upon the side of the head which felled him to the deck, where he lay senseless.
Sanderson and Phil quell a Mutiny.
Sanderson and Phil quell a Mutiny.
Sanderson and Phil quell a Mutiny.
"What are you about?" shouted Gorro, also maddened by rum, as he rushed to the assistance of his leader.
"Stop!" I called, stepping between him and the mate.
The pirate had a belaying-pin in his hand, with which he struck at me; but he was too much intoxicated to act efficiently, and I easily warded off the blow. Wrenching the pin from his hand, I struck him down with it.
"There is a mutiny here," said Sanderson.
"That's plain enough. We must act promptly."
"I think we have done so; two of the pirates are floored. Where's Baxter?"
"Here I am," replied the stout seaman, as he appeared with several handcuffs, which we had brought up for use in case of need; and there was a plentiful supply of the articles below, which the slavers had provided for the emergencies of their calling. "What's the row?"
"Mutiny," replied Sanderson. "We have floored Martino and Gorro; and I suppose there are others who need a rap on the side of the head."
"Where are they? Slip the handcuffs on their wrists."
We adopted this prudent suggestion, and pinioned the wrists of the two senseless ruffians behind them, rolling them into the scuppers, where they were out of the way.
"The captain has ordered the light sails to be furled. It is coming on nasty and squally weather," continued Sanderson.
"But the men are too drunk to go aloft," I suggested. "I will take in the royals myself, if you can find four men who are steady enough to handle the top-gallant sails."
Without waiting for this question to be answered, I went up the main rigging, and furled the main royal. Sliding down on the main top-gallant stay, I took in the fore royal. By this time four men had come aloft to furl the top-gallant sails. I assisted the two on the fore top-gallant yard, and then hastened down to the deck. The flying-jib was taken in, and then the bark went along easily; but the flaws of wind were very heavy, and it was evident that we should be obliged to reef topsails very soon.
"There's a row in the steerage, Phil," said Sanderson, coming aft, when we had taken in the flying-jib.
"Hallo!" I exclaimed. "The fore scuttle has been taken off!"
"Clap it on, and make it fast," replied the mate.
The situation began to be very serious. With nearly all the men drunk, there was a disturbance in the steerage. There was plainly a rising among the prisoners. It was clear enough that the trouble had been caused by the Spanish and Portuguese sailors. Everything had gone along so well for a week, that we had relaxed our vigilance to some extent, though we went through all the forms established at the commencement of our rule in the vessel.
I secured the fore scuttle so that it could not be opened from below. I began to have an idea of the manner in which the difficulty had been occasioned. The five pirates—as I choose to call those who had knowingly embarked for a slave voyage—whom we had released had done the work for their masters in the steerage. They had brought up the rum, and given it to the crew, in preparation for the strike which was to ensue. But we had disposed of the two worst of the pirates on deck.
"Come, Phil, we must go below," said Sanderson. "Baxter will remain on deck, and see that the fore scuttle or the main hatch is not removed."
"Wait a minute, Mr. Sanderson," I interposed. "The more haste, the worse speed."
"But there's a row in the steerage."
"No matter; we will not put our heads into a trap," I replied, as we walked aft and met Captain York in the waist.
"We are in trouble, Mr. Farringford," said the captain. "I think, from the noise in the steerage, that the pirates there have overpowered the sentinel."
"Who was on guard?" I asked.
"Franklin."
"I'm afraid he's a traitor. Where's Palmer?"
"He has not turned out."
"If either of the pirates attempts to come on deck by the companion-way, shoot him, Captain York. We must not mince the matter now. It is life and death with us."
"That's so; and I will not flinch," replied the captain.
"Mr. Sanderson and I will go below, if you and Baxter, who is forward, will ascertain where Grego, Sylvio, and Pedro are. Let us be sure that we have the deck before we do anything below."
"All right, Mr. Farringford."
The captain walked forward, and the mate and myself, with our revolvers ready for use, went down into the cabin. The lantern was burning below the skylight, and we soon satisfied ourselves that the cabin had not yet been invaded by the conspirators. I waked Palmer, who slept on the transom under the stern ports, and had heard nothing yet. There were now three of us, and we were all well armed. All the guns and pistols had been removed from the steerage to the cabin, so that we were not likely to encounter an armed resistance if we made an onslaught upon the pirates.
"Palmer, where is the rum kept?" I asked.
"In the hold; there are two or three barrels of it. There are half a dozen demijohns of liquor here in the cabin."
"But nearly all the men are drunk. Where did they get their liquor?"
"They must have got it in the hold," replied the steward.
"It is a mistake that these casks were not stove before," I replied, as I led the way, pistol in hand, to the steerage.
"Let me go first," said Sanderson. "You are a young man, and have a mother. It is not time for you to die yet, Phil."
He crowded himself ahead of me, and threw open the door which led into the steerage. I followed him closely, for if there was a fight, I intended to do my full share in it. The lantern, which had been suspended from a deck beam overhead, to enable the sentinel to see his prisoners, had been taken down, and the steerage was so dark that we could see nothing.
"Bring the cabin lantern, Palmer," said I, taking Sanderson by the arm, and pulling him back.
"Who's there?" demanded a voice out of the gloom of the apartment, as soon as I spoke.
"Who is it?" asked Sanderson.
"It is I."
"Who?"
"Franklin."
"Where are the pirates?"
"Gone," said he.
"Is that the way you do your duty?"
"I could not help it."
"Couldn't help it!" added the mate, sternly. "Why didn't you fire at the first man that attempted to escape?"
"I couldn't," he answered, as Palmer appeared with the lantern.
The light revealed his situation, and we were not disposed to blame him till we heard more. He was lashed to the stanchion where Waterford had been confined, with his hands tied behind him. The four pirates were not in the berths where we had left them, and the cords that had bound them were scattered about the deck.
"What does this mean?" I demanded of Franklin.
"I don't know; only that I was knocked down, my pistol taken from me, and I was bound to this stanchion," replied the sentinel, sheepishly.
"Who knocked you down?"
"Grego was one of them. I couldn't see who the others were."
"Where are they now?"
"They went between decks."
"All right," said Sanderson. "The scuttle and the hatch are fast, so that they can't go on deck."
The mate released the sentinel, for it did not appear that he had wilfully aided the pirates. The fact that he was bound, and left in the steerage, was sufficient evidence that he was not in the plot. This was a great relief to us, for we had doubted the man in the beginning, and we could not afford to lose a single hand from our party in the present emergency. We retreated to the cabin for further consultation; for, while Sanderson was disposed to be rash, and grapple with the pirates without delay, I was in favor of ascertaining precisely how we stood, and then fighting the battle by the aid of strategy rather than by brute force alone. We closed and locked the door leading from the cabin to the steerage.
"Now let us know how things stand on deck, before we go any farther," said I, as we paused at the foot of the companion ladder.
"I think we might as well shoot down the pirates at once, and make short work of it, Phil," said the new mate.
"They have one pistol at least, and possibly more. One of us may get the first ball through his head; and as we have everything secure on deck, we can afford to wait better than the pirates. They have made a blunder somewhere, and it is our duty to take advantage of it."
"What blunder?" asked Sanderson.
"In my opinion, Martino and Gorro began the row just a little while too soon. If they had not refused to do duty, all the pirates would have been on deck before this time. They drank too much of their own rum, and it became their foe instead of their friend."
"That's so; it was stupid of them."
"Rum always makes men stupid," I replied, ascending the ladder. "Captain York!" I called.
"Ay, ay, Phil."
"How is it on deck?"
"We have overhauled the hands. Grego, Sylvio, and Pedro are not on deck."
"Then they are below. The prisoners are all loose—seven of them—between decks."
"All loose!" exclaimed Captain York.
"Every one of them."
"And hardly half a dozen of the crew are able to stand up, they are so drunk," replied the captain in disgust.
"Keep an eye on the main hatch and the fore scuttle, and we are safe," I added as I returned to the cabin.