Chapter Ten.Liberty Again.Days and weeks passed away. I was kept in a solitary cell. Even Joss was not allowed to visit me. I feared, indeed, that he must have been killed. Of what had become of my companions I could gain no tidings. “They have not killed me, perhaps they have let them live.” This reasoning was the only thing that gave me hopes. I must confess, however, it was a hard matter to keep up my spirits. The iron chains on my neck and arms weighed me down. I was now moved into a cell in which were two dozen or more prisoners. In it was a bench, to which I was chained, but in such a way as to allow me to sit, if not with ease, at all events without pain. My youth might, perhaps, have excited the compassion of my fellow-prisoners, for savage as some of them looked, they treated me with kindness. Had I been sure that my friends were even no worse off than I was, I should have been contented. Many of the poor prisoners were suffering from all sorts of complaints, and several of them were led out from time to time, when we could hear their cries and shrieks, and when they came back their legs and arms and bodies bore signs of the fearful treatment they had received. Twice a day my fellow-prisoners and I were unchained and allowed to go into the courtyard for air and exercise. Sometimes we were allowed to remain there longer than at other times. On one occasion we were hurried back and quickly chained up again, when we found that it was in consequence of the unexpected visit of a mandarin to the prison. In vain I tried to find out whether Dicky Plumb or Ned Rawlings were alive. At last it struck me that if they were within hearing they might answer if I were to sing a song; so, to the astonishment of my fellow-prisoners, I suddenly struck up “Rule Britannia?” walking about the yard, and shouting louder and louder. They, I believe, thought I was mad. I stopped and listened. I thought I heard a faint response from another part of the building, but I was not certain. Several days passed by, when, as I sat on the bench, chained as usual, I heard a voice in the courtyard below humming the very air I had sung, but whether it was the voice of Dicky Plumb or Ned Rawlings I could not tell; indeed, it seemed to me to be that of a stranger. I had lost all account of the time I had been in prison, when one day I remarked that there was a considerable excitement exhibited by my companions. That something of importance was taking place I was certain. Suddenly, at the time we were usually taken into the yard in the morning, the sound of musketry reached my ears. Faint at first, it grew louder and louder. Then there came the roar of big guns. Oh, how I longed to be with Dicky Plumb or Ned Rawlings! There could be no doubt that the English were attacking the place. It did not occur to me that in revenge the Chinese might cut off our heads. The noise grew louder and louder. Presently I could hear shouts and cries, and bullets seemed pattering against some of the buildings in the neighbourhood. The city was attacked—of that there could be no doubt. I could not help shouting out again “Rule Britannia!” The Chinese looked at me with great awe; they must have fancied it an incantation. The hubbub increased; there was evidently some desperate fighting close at hand. Suddenly two of the gaolers rushed into the cell, and came up to me. I could not help fancying that my last moment had come. Instead of that, greatly to my satisfaction, they undid my fetters, then made a sign to me to follow them. I did so gladly enough, and in the courtyard whom should I see but Dicky Plumb himself! We cordially shook hands.“I am so glad, Jack!” he exclaimed. “To this moment I did not know whether you were alive or dead.”“Nor I you,” I answered. Directly afterwards we were joined by Ned Rawlings, who seemed well pleased to see us both again, while little Joss, who soon afterwards appeared, exhibited the greatest possible satisfaction. Directly afterwards the gates were thrown open, the Chinese scampered off and hid themselves, and in rushed a body of blue jackets, among whom I recognised several of the crew of theFawn. Supposing that we had long been dead, they did not know us; indeed, pale and thin and dirty as we were, this was not surprising. The whole place was, in a short time, in the power of the British. The Tartar soldiers fought desperately, and when they found they could no longer defend their houses, they deliberately killed their wives and children, and then destroyed themselves. Several of the superior officers, rather than be taken, threw themselves upon their swords. Others, however, who had heard that the English treated their prisoners with humanity, if they could not run away, more wisely lived “to fight another day.”When the battle was over we were taken on board theFawn, which lay some way down the river. Although we had gone through many hardships, we had reason to be thankful, for we found that we were the only persons on board the junk who had escaped with life. I often shudder, even now, as I think of what we had to go through. A considerable number of English and Lascars were, about this time, seized by the Chinese, and were put to death, after being cruelly ill-treated for several months. The Emperor of China finding that, in spite of the boasting of his generals, the barbarians managed to beat his troops on every occasion, signed a treaty of peace. The squadron, therefore, once more returned to Hong Kong. Although the war was over, we were not to be idle. We had just time to pay our friends a visit on board theRoarer, when we were ordered off in search of pirates, large numbers of which gentry infested the China seas. Mr Ormsby appointed me to attend him in the cabin. Little Joss had, from the first, attached himself to me, and Mr Ormsby, seeing this, allowed him to help me in the cabin. He looked upon me as an old friend, from our having been fellow-sufferers, and to show his regard, endeavoured to teach me Chinese. I must, however, confess, that he learned English far more rapidly than I did Chinese. We had another mate and midshipman from the ship, instead of those lost, and they, with Mr Plumb, all messed together with the lieutenant, as well as the second master and the assistant-surgeon. Mr Ormsby, being a very particular person, had a supply of plate, which he put under my charge. It was kept in a chest with a number of other articles which he had picked up in China, and valued highly. We had been away some weeks without meeting with any suspicious craft when one night we saw a bright light burning ahead.“A ship on fire!” sung out Mr Mason, the officer of the watch.Mr Ormsby at once came on deck, and ordered all sail to be made to get up with her. The wind was light; the flames appeared to be rising higher and higher; we were afraid that we should be too late to render assistance to the poor people on board. Every stitch of canvas the schooner could carry was set.“I would give a good round sum to be up with that vessel,” exclaimed Dicky Plumb. “A dreadful thing for them to be burnt alive or drowned.”Several remarks of a similar nature were made; and certainly, if wishing or whistling would have brought us up to the vessel, we should have been there quickly enough. At length we could make out the masts and hull of a brig—a large vessel she seemed; the flames had caught her sails, and were playing round her spars and masts. Suddenly, as we gazed at her, the deck seemed to lift; like sky-rockets up rose the masts; the flames burst up brighter than ever from the hull; and then, like showers of rockets, down came the burning rigging, hissing, into the sea; after this the flames raged more furiously than ever; then, suddenly, there was perfect darkness; a groan escaped the breasts of many on board. We were too late to save any of the sufferers, still we stood on towards the spot where the vessel had been. Suddenly a hail reached us; we replied to it. In a short time we shortened sail, and a boat came alongside; we had little doubt that she contained some of the people from the brig; six men soon came up the side, most of them had their heads and arms bound up.“Who are you, my men?” asked Mr Ormsby.“I am the mate, sir, of the brig that just now blew up; we are the only people who have escaped,” said one of them. “This afternoon we were attacked by half a dozen Malay prows; we fought desperately, hoping to drive off the pirates; at length, the master and the other hands being killed, we jumped into the long-boat and made off, hoping to return to the brig when the pirates had left her; they, however, set her on fire, and we were intending to make the best of our way to Singapore when we caught sight of the schooner.”The mate expressing his belief that the pirates had stood to the southward, all sail was made in that direction. The weather had been threatening for some hours; it now grew worse and worse. Mr Ormsby’s chief regret was that it might drive the pirate fleet into port. We made such good way, that soon after noon we caught sight of the vessels of which we were in search; they saw us, and guessed our intentions, and away they went before the wind. We stood on, hoping to come up with them; hour after hour passed by, and they kept ahead. The weather was getting more and more dirty; still we persevered, and, as the wind increased, we gained upon them.“I think I could hit the sternmost of those fellows,” said Ned Rawlings, as he ran his eye along a gun.The gun was trained forward. Rawlings, who was one of the best marksmen on board, fired. The shot struck the nearest prow, and sent the splinters flying away in every direction.“Well done, Rawlings?” cried Mr Ormsby.The gun was again loaded, when just as he fired a fearful crash was heard; the schooner shook from stem to stern.“She’s ashore!” cried out more than one voice.“And we must heave her off, lads!” cried our commander; giving the order to take in all sail.The vessel only hung forward; a boat was lowered, and a hawser carried out immediately astern. We had not struck long before our enemies discovered what had happened; they now came clustering round us at a respectful distance, though, having seen the effects of our shot. The wind, however, was increasing, and the sea was getting up; and there seemed every probability of the schooner being completely wrecked. I bethought me, meantime, of Mr Ormsby’s directions. While the men were working away to heave her off, I went down into the cabin; having secured a rope round the chest Mr Ormsby had placed under my charge, I got a long thin line to serve as a buoy-rope, and got hold of a piece of light wood, out of which to form the buoy. I did not think much, I own, of the danger we were in. The wind was increasing, the sea was getting up meantime, and I might have seen that the little craft would not hold together many hours exposed to such a sea as was likely to roll in on her. The junks were drawing in closer and closer, just waiting for the moment when, our masts going, we might be thrown into confusion; and they would have less difficulty in boarding. Having done all I could below, I went on deck; the wind had greatly increased, the seas came rolling slowly in towards us; still, the crew, encouraged by our brave commander, laboured on. The cable by which we were hauling off was tight as a harp-string; the men were pressing with might and main upon the capstan-bars; those who were not thus employed were ordered to run from side to side—now forward, now to rush aft altogether. Just then, through the gloom, we observed a heavy sea rolling in towards us; it might prove our destruction, or—“Heave, lads! heave!” shouted our commander.With a bound, so it seemed, as the sea passed under us, the vessel came off the reef, and was quickly hauled up to the anchor. Had it been daylight, the pirates would have discovered what had occurred; as it was, they probably did not find out that we were free. The cable was brought ahead, sail was made, the anchor was hove up, and away we shot, close-hauled, clear of the reef.I had gone below to get supper for the commander, for, as may be supposed, no one had eaten anything for some hours; soon afterwards he came into the cabin.“Hillo! what is this?” he exclaimed, as he got his foot round the buoy-rope.I told him what I had done. He laughed.“Well, Jack,” he said, “you did what every man should do—your duty. You attended to your own business, and looked after the property placed under your charge. However, I suspect if the schooner had gone to pieces, we none of us should have remained alive to tell what had become of my plate-chest. Still, I will not forget this night’s work, Jack.”I heard Mr Ormsby tell the officers that he was not going to let the prows escape.“We must wait, however, till daylight,” he observed, “or we may be getting on shore again.”Bumping on a pointed rock tries a vessel. Scarcely had we got off, when one of the carpenter’s mates, who acted as our carpenter, came aft.“She’s making water very fast, sir,” he said, addressing our commander. “It’s as much as we can do to keep her afloat till the morning.”“Rig the pumps, then; and, Mr Norton, send the hands to work them,” said Mr Ormsby, quite composedly. “We must not let theFawngo down, whatever we do.”In another minute the clank of the pumps was heard, and on it went—“clank! clank! clank!” I dropped asleep in the midst of it. When morning broke, a large fleet of prows was discovered about three miles to leeward; we immediately made sail, and stood down towards them, a bright look-out being kept for reefs and shoals. The size of the little vessel evidently encouraged the pirates. Their numbers having been now increased, instead of running, they stood boldly up towards us.“We shall see some fun now, Jack,” said Dicky Plumb, “depend on that.”In a short time we were near enough to open fire on the leading junks. They, in no way daunted, returned it with their long brass guns and gingals, peppering us very hotly. I rather suspect that Mr Ormsby now saw that it would have been wiser had we kept clear of such gentry, especially in the sinking condition of the schooner; as long as the breeze held, and the schooner was under command, we could run here and there, raking the prows, and handling them very severely. At length, however, as the evening was coming on, the wind fell; our enemies, on this, were seen to get out their long sweeps, and come out towards us in a body, some on one side, some on the other. It was evident that we should have to fight for our lives; for the moment, not a man on board thought of the leak. I got hold of a cutlass, which I could handle pretty well, and a brace of pistols; Mr Plumb armed himself in a similar manner. For some time we managed to keep the enemy at a distance with our guns, which we fired as rapidly as we could load them. It was now again almost dark. Just as the nearest prow was about to board, down she went; our men cheered, and redoubled their efforts; but we had another big enemy on the other side. On she came, though hulled several times; her crew were ready to spring on board. Mr Ormsby, aided by Ned Rawlings and one or two others and myself, had run in a gun, and loaded it; it was quickly run out again, and fired right down into the hold of the prow. Just as the Malays were about to spring on board, a thundering noise was heard; flames burst forth, and up went the vessel into the air; the schooner’s sails were set on fire, and several of our people were hurt; my face was blackened all over, and so was Dicky Plumb’s. Down came the wreck of the prow on our deck, while the limbs of her unfortunate crew were sent right over us, some sticking in the rigging; this fearful event kept the rest of our enemies at a distance for a few minutes, and enabled us to put out the flames, and to clear away the wreck. Scarcely, however, had we done this, than with fierce cries and shouts once more the prows pulled up towards us; we met them with further discharges of shot, but though many of their people were killed, yet a big prow grappled us on either side. So fiercely did our people fight, that not a man who reached the deck had time to recover his legs before he was cut down. Joss exerted himself bravely, and though not big enough to handle a cutlass, kept bringing ammunition up from below, and then getting hold of a revolver, did good execution with it, running in and out among the men, and killing numbers of pirates as they attacked our people with their sharp scimitars. At length we succeeded in casting off the grapnels which the Malays had thrown on board; and the breeze catching our topsails, we stood out once more from between them; we had, by this time, lost four or five of our men, three of whom were killed outright; and it seemed too likely, if the Malays were determined to overpower us, they would do so. Our young commander fought like a lion, and Dicky Plumb, I must say, fought like a lion’s whelp; no sooner did a Malay show his brown face over the bulwarks, than Dicky was at him; indeed, all hands were doing their utmost. I will not boast of myself; in fact, if I had been ever so great a coward, I should have fought; for I felt very sure, and so did everybody on board, that if we did not fight, we should one and all be knocked on the head. Directly there was a moment’s cessation of firing we had to run to the pumps, and to work away for our lives to keep the vessel from sinking. Again and again, however, the prows came round us, and no sooner had we beaten off one set, than others took their places. At length Mr Ormsby was hit; he sank on the deck. Dicky and I, who were standing near, ran to help him up.“Don’t give in, Mason?” he shouted; “fight to the last!”“Are you much hurt, sir?” I asked.“I don’t know. Lend me a handkerchief.”The assistant-surgeon, who was fighting as furiously as any one, now hurried up, and bound a handkerchief tightly round Mr Ormsby’s leg.“Give me my sword again!” he exclaimed. “There is some fight in me yet!”At that moment several fresh prows were making towards us. Every man on board would be required to repel them. Our guns were, however, all loaded ready to give them a warm reception. In spite of the hot fire we poured aboard them, on they came. Now one of them grappled us on the starboard bow, while we had another on our quarter. And now, with loud shrieks and cries, the pirates began to spring upon the schooner’s decks.“Lads! we will sell our lives dearly?” exclaimed Mr Ormsby.“Yes; never say Die?” shouted Dicky Plumb, in a shrill voice.The crew being divided, some went on the starboard bow and some on the port side, to repel the boarders. Still it seemed impossible that we should drive them back altogether. The Malays, from the prow on our bow, came pouring on board. Mr Ormsby, with Ned Rawlings and Dicky Plumb, made a dash forward to try and repel them. Just at that moment a loud, hearty British cheer saluted our ears. A blue light burst forth at our port bow, and a number of blue jackets were seen climbing up over the bulwarks, led by no less a person than our gallant captain himself. We could scarcely believe our senses when we saw them; in fact, I fancied it was a dream. They soon, however, by the way they treated the Malays who had gained our decks, showed us that their appearance was a satisfactory reality. In a few seconds the fore part of the vessel was cleared; and now, sweeping up, they soon drove off the pirates who were leaping down on our quarters. In another instant, the prows were making the best of their way from us.“We must not let them go free!” exclaimed the captain; and calling his men into the boats, away they started after the prows. Meantime, we could see the blue lights from the ship burning a couple of miles away to windward. The surgeon had now time to attend to Mr Ormsby’s wound. I was looking out for Dicky Plumb. He was nowhere to be seen. The thought came across me that he had been killed, or else that the Malays, as they retired, had carried him off. We, meantime, made sail and followed the boats. Four prows were captured. We could see their men jumping overboard as the boats dashed alongside. Daylight at length broke. There lay the schooner, her decks bloody, her bulwarks shattered, and her rigging cut up. Portions of wreck floated round us. Not a human being, however, was to be seen. The four captured prows lay close together, and half a mile off was the oldRoarer, standing towards us under all sail. Captain Sharpe now came on board, and greatly to my satisfaction Dicky Plumb came with him. He had slipped into the captain’s boat as he shoved off, as he said, to see a little more of the fun. TheRoarer, we found, was on her way to Calcutta. As soon as we were again free of the pirates, the hands were again sent to the pumps. Mr Ormsby had done his best to keep the crew ignorant of the condition of the vessel. It now became evident, however, that, pump as hard as we could, she could scarcely be kept afloat. Captain Sharpe was convinced of this as soon as he returned on board. He at once ordered Mr Ormsby and the other wounded men into the boats. Fresh hands went to the pumps, but all they could do was in vain.“All hands into the boats?” shouted our captain.There was not a moment to lose. I got hold of Mr Ormsby’s sextant and chronometer, and scarcely had I leaped with them into one of the boats, than the schooner gave a plunge, and down she went, her pennant streaming up, the last object seen as she disappeared beneath the surface. The end of it, however, floated for a few seconds. She had gone down, it was evident, in shallow water.“Hillo! what is that buoy floating there?” asked the captain.My heart gave a jump of pleasure.“It’s Mr Ormsby’s chest,” I answered, and I told him what I had done. The launch and pinnace were ordered up, and in a short time the chest was weighed and safely got on board, and I got highly praised for being the means of saving it. The surviving pirates being taken out of the prows, they were set on fire, and we watched them burning to the water’s edge, while we sailed away after their companions.“What are we to do with these black fellows, I wonder?” I asked of Sergeant Turbot.“Why, I suppose, Jack, they will all be hung, as a lesson to their friends,” he replied, “not to go and do the same; but to my mind these fellows are terribly hard to teach.”
Days and weeks passed away. I was kept in a solitary cell. Even Joss was not allowed to visit me. I feared, indeed, that he must have been killed. Of what had become of my companions I could gain no tidings. “They have not killed me, perhaps they have let them live.” This reasoning was the only thing that gave me hopes. I must confess, however, it was a hard matter to keep up my spirits. The iron chains on my neck and arms weighed me down. I was now moved into a cell in which were two dozen or more prisoners. In it was a bench, to which I was chained, but in such a way as to allow me to sit, if not with ease, at all events without pain. My youth might, perhaps, have excited the compassion of my fellow-prisoners, for savage as some of them looked, they treated me with kindness. Had I been sure that my friends were even no worse off than I was, I should have been contented. Many of the poor prisoners were suffering from all sorts of complaints, and several of them were led out from time to time, when we could hear their cries and shrieks, and when they came back their legs and arms and bodies bore signs of the fearful treatment they had received. Twice a day my fellow-prisoners and I were unchained and allowed to go into the courtyard for air and exercise. Sometimes we were allowed to remain there longer than at other times. On one occasion we were hurried back and quickly chained up again, when we found that it was in consequence of the unexpected visit of a mandarin to the prison. In vain I tried to find out whether Dicky Plumb or Ned Rawlings were alive. At last it struck me that if they were within hearing they might answer if I were to sing a song; so, to the astonishment of my fellow-prisoners, I suddenly struck up “Rule Britannia?” walking about the yard, and shouting louder and louder. They, I believe, thought I was mad. I stopped and listened. I thought I heard a faint response from another part of the building, but I was not certain. Several days passed by, when, as I sat on the bench, chained as usual, I heard a voice in the courtyard below humming the very air I had sung, but whether it was the voice of Dicky Plumb or Ned Rawlings I could not tell; indeed, it seemed to me to be that of a stranger. I had lost all account of the time I had been in prison, when one day I remarked that there was a considerable excitement exhibited by my companions. That something of importance was taking place I was certain. Suddenly, at the time we were usually taken into the yard in the morning, the sound of musketry reached my ears. Faint at first, it grew louder and louder. Then there came the roar of big guns. Oh, how I longed to be with Dicky Plumb or Ned Rawlings! There could be no doubt that the English were attacking the place. It did not occur to me that in revenge the Chinese might cut off our heads. The noise grew louder and louder. Presently I could hear shouts and cries, and bullets seemed pattering against some of the buildings in the neighbourhood. The city was attacked—of that there could be no doubt. I could not help shouting out again “Rule Britannia!” The Chinese looked at me with great awe; they must have fancied it an incantation. The hubbub increased; there was evidently some desperate fighting close at hand. Suddenly two of the gaolers rushed into the cell, and came up to me. I could not help fancying that my last moment had come. Instead of that, greatly to my satisfaction, they undid my fetters, then made a sign to me to follow them. I did so gladly enough, and in the courtyard whom should I see but Dicky Plumb himself! We cordially shook hands.
“I am so glad, Jack!” he exclaimed. “To this moment I did not know whether you were alive or dead.”
“Nor I you,” I answered. Directly afterwards we were joined by Ned Rawlings, who seemed well pleased to see us both again, while little Joss, who soon afterwards appeared, exhibited the greatest possible satisfaction. Directly afterwards the gates were thrown open, the Chinese scampered off and hid themselves, and in rushed a body of blue jackets, among whom I recognised several of the crew of theFawn. Supposing that we had long been dead, they did not know us; indeed, pale and thin and dirty as we were, this was not surprising. The whole place was, in a short time, in the power of the British. The Tartar soldiers fought desperately, and when they found they could no longer defend their houses, they deliberately killed their wives and children, and then destroyed themselves. Several of the superior officers, rather than be taken, threw themselves upon their swords. Others, however, who had heard that the English treated their prisoners with humanity, if they could not run away, more wisely lived “to fight another day.”
When the battle was over we were taken on board theFawn, which lay some way down the river. Although we had gone through many hardships, we had reason to be thankful, for we found that we were the only persons on board the junk who had escaped with life. I often shudder, even now, as I think of what we had to go through. A considerable number of English and Lascars were, about this time, seized by the Chinese, and were put to death, after being cruelly ill-treated for several months. The Emperor of China finding that, in spite of the boasting of his generals, the barbarians managed to beat his troops on every occasion, signed a treaty of peace. The squadron, therefore, once more returned to Hong Kong. Although the war was over, we were not to be idle. We had just time to pay our friends a visit on board theRoarer, when we were ordered off in search of pirates, large numbers of which gentry infested the China seas. Mr Ormsby appointed me to attend him in the cabin. Little Joss had, from the first, attached himself to me, and Mr Ormsby, seeing this, allowed him to help me in the cabin. He looked upon me as an old friend, from our having been fellow-sufferers, and to show his regard, endeavoured to teach me Chinese. I must, however, confess, that he learned English far more rapidly than I did Chinese. We had another mate and midshipman from the ship, instead of those lost, and they, with Mr Plumb, all messed together with the lieutenant, as well as the second master and the assistant-surgeon. Mr Ormsby, being a very particular person, had a supply of plate, which he put under my charge. It was kept in a chest with a number of other articles which he had picked up in China, and valued highly. We had been away some weeks without meeting with any suspicious craft when one night we saw a bright light burning ahead.
“A ship on fire!” sung out Mr Mason, the officer of the watch.
Mr Ormsby at once came on deck, and ordered all sail to be made to get up with her. The wind was light; the flames appeared to be rising higher and higher; we were afraid that we should be too late to render assistance to the poor people on board. Every stitch of canvas the schooner could carry was set.
“I would give a good round sum to be up with that vessel,” exclaimed Dicky Plumb. “A dreadful thing for them to be burnt alive or drowned.”
Several remarks of a similar nature were made; and certainly, if wishing or whistling would have brought us up to the vessel, we should have been there quickly enough. At length we could make out the masts and hull of a brig—a large vessel she seemed; the flames had caught her sails, and were playing round her spars and masts. Suddenly, as we gazed at her, the deck seemed to lift; like sky-rockets up rose the masts; the flames burst up brighter than ever from the hull; and then, like showers of rockets, down came the burning rigging, hissing, into the sea; after this the flames raged more furiously than ever; then, suddenly, there was perfect darkness; a groan escaped the breasts of many on board. We were too late to save any of the sufferers, still we stood on towards the spot where the vessel had been. Suddenly a hail reached us; we replied to it. In a short time we shortened sail, and a boat came alongside; we had little doubt that she contained some of the people from the brig; six men soon came up the side, most of them had their heads and arms bound up.
“Who are you, my men?” asked Mr Ormsby.
“I am the mate, sir, of the brig that just now blew up; we are the only people who have escaped,” said one of them. “This afternoon we were attacked by half a dozen Malay prows; we fought desperately, hoping to drive off the pirates; at length, the master and the other hands being killed, we jumped into the long-boat and made off, hoping to return to the brig when the pirates had left her; they, however, set her on fire, and we were intending to make the best of our way to Singapore when we caught sight of the schooner.”
The mate expressing his belief that the pirates had stood to the southward, all sail was made in that direction. The weather had been threatening for some hours; it now grew worse and worse. Mr Ormsby’s chief regret was that it might drive the pirate fleet into port. We made such good way, that soon after noon we caught sight of the vessels of which we were in search; they saw us, and guessed our intentions, and away they went before the wind. We stood on, hoping to come up with them; hour after hour passed by, and they kept ahead. The weather was getting more and more dirty; still we persevered, and, as the wind increased, we gained upon them.
“I think I could hit the sternmost of those fellows,” said Ned Rawlings, as he ran his eye along a gun.
The gun was trained forward. Rawlings, who was one of the best marksmen on board, fired. The shot struck the nearest prow, and sent the splinters flying away in every direction.
“Well done, Rawlings?” cried Mr Ormsby.
The gun was again loaded, when just as he fired a fearful crash was heard; the schooner shook from stem to stern.
“She’s ashore!” cried out more than one voice.
“And we must heave her off, lads!” cried our commander; giving the order to take in all sail.
The vessel only hung forward; a boat was lowered, and a hawser carried out immediately astern. We had not struck long before our enemies discovered what had happened; they now came clustering round us at a respectful distance, though, having seen the effects of our shot. The wind, however, was increasing, and the sea was getting up; and there seemed every probability of the schooner being completely wrecked. I bethought me, meantime, of Mr Ormsby’s directions. While the men were working away to heave her off, I went down into the cabin; having secured a rope round the chest Mr Ormsby had placed under my charge, I got a long thin line to serve as a buoy-rope, and got hold of a piece of light wood, out of which to form the buoy. I did not think much, I own, of the danger we were in. The wind was increasing, the sea was getting up meantime, and I might have seen that the little craft would not hold together many hours exposed to such a sea as was likely to roll in on her. The junks were drawing in closer and closer, just waiting for the moment when, our masts going, we might be thrown into confusion; and they would have less difficulty in boarding. Having done all I could below, I went on deck; the wind had greatly increased, the seas came rolling slowly in towards us; still, the crew, encouraged by our brave commander, laboured on. The cable by which we were hauling off was tight as a harp-string; the men were pressing with might and main upon the capstan-bars; those who were not thus employed were ordered to run from side to side—now forward, now to rush aft altogether. Just then, through the gloom, we observed a heavy sea rolling in towards us; it might prove our destruction, or—
“Heave, lads! heave!” shouted our commander.
With a bound, so it seemed, as the sea passed under us, the vessel came off the reef, and was quickly hauled up to the anchor. Had it been daylight, the pirates would have discovered what had occurred; as it was, they probably did not find out that we were free. The cable was brought ahead, sail was made, the anchor was hove up, and away we shot, close-hauled, clear of the reef.
I had gone below to get supper for the commander, for, as may be supposed, no one had eaten anything for some hours; soon afterwards he came into the cabin.
“Hillo! what is this?” he exclaimed, as he got his foot round the buoy-rope.
I told him what I had done. He laughed.
“Well, Jack,” he said, “you did what every man should do—your duty. You attended to your own business, and looked after the property placed under your charge. However, I suspect if the schooner had gone to pieces, we none of us should have remained alive to tell what had become of my plate-chest. Still, I will not forget this night’s work, Jack.”
I heard Mr Ormsby tell the officers that he was not going to let the prows escape.
“We must wait, however, till daylight,” he observed, “or we may be getting on shore again.”
Bumping on a pointed rock tries a vessel. Scarcely had we got off, when one of the carpenter’s mates, who acted as our carpenter, came aft.
“She’s making water very fast, sir,” he said, addressing our commander. “It’s as much as we can do to keep her afloat till the morning.”
“Rig the pumps, then; and, Mr Norton, send the hands to work them,” said Mr Ormsby, quite composedly. “We must not let theFawngo down, whatever we do.”
In another minute the clank of the pumps was heard, and on it went—“clank! clank! clank!” I dropped asleep in the midst of it. When morning broke, a large fleet of prows was discovered about three miles to leeward; we immediately made sail, and stood down towards them, a bright look-out being kept for reefs and shoals. The size of the little vessel evidently encouraged the pirates. Their numbers having been now increased, instead of running, they stood boldly up towards us.
“We shall see some fun now, Jack,” said Dicky Plumb, “depend on that.”
In a short time we were near enough to open fire on the leading junks. They, in no way daunted, returned it with their long brass guns and gingals, peppering us very hotly. I rather suspect that Mr Ormsby now saw that it would have been wiser had we kept clear of such gentry, especially in the sinking condition of the schooner; as long as the breeze held, and the schooner was under command, we could run here and there, raking the prows, and handling them very severely. At length, however, as the evening was coming on, the wind fell; our enemies, on this, were seen to get out their long sweeps, and come out towards us in a body, some on one side, some on the other. It was evident that we should have to fight for our lives; for the moment, not a man on board thought of the leak. I got hold of a cutlass, which I could handle pretty well, and a brace of pistols; Mr Plumb armed himself in a similar manner. For some time we managed to keep the enemy at a distance with our guns, which we fired as rapidly as we could load them. It was now again almost dark. Just as the nearest prow was about to board, down she went; our men cheered, and redoubled their efforts; but we had another big enemy on the other side. On she came, though hulled several times; her crew were ready to spring on board. Mr Ormsby, aided by Ned Rawlings and one or two others and myself, had run in a gun, and loaded it; it was quickly run out again, and fired right down into the hold of the prow. Just as the Malays were about to spring on board, a thundering noise was heard; flames burst forth, and up went the vessel into the air; the schooner’s sails were set on fire, and several of our people were hurt; my face was blackened all over, and so was Dicky Plumb’s. Down came the wreck of the prow on our deck, while the limbs of her unfortunate crew were sent right over us, some sticking in the rigging; this fearful event kept the rest of our enemies at a distance for a few minutes, and enabled us to put out the flames, and to clear away the wreck. Scarcely, however, had we done this, than with fierce cries and shouts once more the prows pulled up towards us; we met them with further discharges of shot, but though many of their people were killed, yet a big prow grappled us on either side. So fiercely did our people fight, that not a man who reached the deck had time to recover his legs before he was cut down. Joss exerted himself bravely, and though not big enough to handle a cutlass, kept bringing ammunition up from below, and then getting hold of a revolver, did good execution with it, running in and out among the men, and killing numbers of pirates as they attacked our people with their sharp scimitars. At length we succeeded in casting off the grapnels which the Malays had thrown on board; and the breeze catching our topsails, we stood out once more from between them; we had, by this time, lost four or five of our men, three of whom were killed outright; and it seemed too likely, if the Malays were determined to overpower us, they would do so. Our young commander fought like a lion, and Dicky Plumb, I must say, fought like a lion’s whelp; no sooner did a Malay show his brown face over the bulwarks, than Dicky was at him; indeed, all hands were doing their utmost. I will not boast of myself; in fact, if I had been ever so great a coward, I should have fought; for I felt very sure, and so did everybody on board, that if we did not fight, we should one and all be knocked on the head. Directly there was a moment’s cessation of firing we had to run to the pumps, and to work away for our lives to keep the vessel from sinking. Again and again, however, the prows came round us, and no sooner had we beaten off one set, than others took their places. At length Mr Ormsby was hit; he sank on the deck. Dicky and I, who were standing near, ran to help him up.
“Don’t give in, Mason?” he shouted; “fight to the last!”
“Are you much hurt, sir?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Lend me a handkerchief.”
The assistant-surgeon, who was fighting as furiously as any one, now hurried up, and bound a handkerchief tightly round Mr Ormsby’s leg.
“Give me my sword again!” he exclaimed. “There is some fight in me yet!”
At that moment several fresh prows were making towards us. Every man on board would be required to repel them. Our guns were, however, all loaded ready to give them a warm reception. In spite of the hot fire we poured aboard them, on they came. Now one of them grappled us on the starboard bow, while we had another on our quarter. And now, with loud shrieks and cries, the pirates began to spring upon the schooner’s decks.
“Lads! we will sell our lives dearly?” exclaimed Mr Ormsby.
“Yes; never say Die?” shouted Dicky Plumb, in a shrill voice.
The crew being divided, some went on the starboard bow and some on the port side, to repel the boarders. Still it seemed impossible that we should drive them back altogether. The Malays, from the prow on our bow, came pouring on board. Mr Ormsby, with Ned Rawlings and Dicky Plumb, made a dash forward to try and repel them. Just at that moment a loud, hearty British cheer saluted our ears. A blue light burst forth at our port bow, and a number of blue jackets were seen climbing up over the bulwarks, led by no less a person than our gallant captain himself. We could scarcely believe our senses when we saw them; in fact, I fancied it was a dream. They soon, however, by the way they treated the Malays who had gained our decks, showed us that their appearance was a satisfactory reality. In a few seconds the fore part of the vessel was cleared; and now, sweeping up, they soon drove off the pirates who were leaping down on our quarters. In another instant, the prows were making the best of their way from us.
“We must not let them go free!” exclaimed the captain; and calling his men into the boats, away they started after the prows. Meantime, we could see the blue lights from the ship burning a couple of miles away to windward. The surgeon had now time to attend to Mr Ormsby’s wound. I was looking out for Dicky Plumb. He was nowhere to be seen. The thought came across me that he had been killed, or else that the Malays, as they retired, had carried him off. We, meantime, made sail and followed the boats. Four prows were captured. We could see their men jumping overboard as the boats dashed alongside. Daylight at length broke. There lay the schooner, her decks bloody, her bulwarks shattered, and her rigging cut up. Portions of wreck floated round us. Not a human being, however, was to be seen. The four captured prows lay close together, and half a mile off was the oldRoarer, standing towards us under all sail. Captain Sharpe now came on board, and greatly to my satisfaction Dicky Plumb came with him. He had slipped into the captain’s boat as he shoved off, as he said, to see a little more of the fun. TheRoarer, we found, was on her way to Calcutta. As soon as we were again free of the pirates, the hands were again sent to the pumps. Mr Ormsby had done his best to keep the crew ignorant of the condition of the vessel. It now became evident, however, that, pump as hard as we could, she could scarcely be kept afloat. Captain Sharpe was convinced of this as soon as he returned on board. He at once ordered Mr Ormsby and the other wounded men into the boats. Fresh hands went to the pumps, but all they could do was in vain.
“All hands into the boats?” shouted our captain.
There was not a moment to lose. I got hold of Mr Ormsby’s sextant and chronometer, and scarcely had I leaped with them into one of the boats, than the schooner gave a plunge, and down she went, her pennant streaming up, the last object seen as she disappeared beneath the surface. The end of it, however, floated for a few seconds. She had gone down, it was evident, in shallow water.
“Hillo! what is that buoy floating there?” asked the captain.
My heart gave a jump of pleasure.
“It’s Mr Ormsby’s chest,” I answered, and I told him what I had done. The launch and pinnace were ordered up, and in a short time the chest was weighed and safely got on board, and I got highly praised for being the means of saving it. The surviving pirates being taken out of the prows, they were set on fire, and we watched them burning to the water’s edge, while we sailed away after their companions.
“What are we to do with these black fellows, I wonder?” I asked of Sergeant Turbot.
“Why, I suppose, Jack, they will all be hung, as a lesson to their friends,” he replied, “not to go and do the same; but to my mind these fellows are terribly hard to teach.”