CHAPTER XVIITHE MIDGET FLEET. BOMBARDMENT. FEARFUL SCENESWhen nations or peoples go to war, they invest the Supreme Being with a new title, which is, in my opinion, blasphemous in the extreme. They speak of Him, address Him, pray to Him, as the God of War, or God of Battles.And, indeed, the priests of both sides do a large amount of praying. Each thinks his own cause the most just, and endeavours to invoke from Heaven strength for armies and navies, and blessings on every shot, so to speak, that shall be fired. And yet, every bursting shell may send hundreds into eternity and seal their doom for ever.The Prince of Lamoo certainly did his share of praying. He prayed so much on that holy carpet of his, that he narrowly escaped having housemaid's knee.But--and it is just here where the absurdity of the situation comes in--between the hours of prayer he went to have another look through his splendid palace, or gave orders for a few more loathsome reptiles to be introduced into the coming king's bedroom.And as his fleet sailed south and away, Abdularram prayed also many times and often, never failing between whiles to note whether or not the scimitars and swords of his men, and his own pet dagger, which had so often wept blood, possessed sufficient keenness of edge to please him.In four or five days' time the midget fleet were within an easy distance of Zanzibar, but stopped dead now till the darkness should fall.About six o'clock, as usual in those regions, the sun sank behind the horizon, casting a red gleam of light across the waves, crimson as the blood that would flow ere he once more appeared in the golden east.Wireless telegraphy had reached its highest pitch of perfection by this time. Indeed, it was possible then to wire wirelessly round the world, as an Irishman expressed it.And long before the arrival of the little Armada, a passenger steamer, which had it seen it, came tearing into Zanzibar, and made her report to the British Consul.There was not a moment to spare. A rumour of something terrible on the wing had already reached his ears, and he lost no time in dispatching messages in every direction.He warned the Sultan also, and his fleet. Then he warned different consulates.The Sultan had the utmost confidence in his fleet. The fleet hardly scarcely troubled to prepare.The insolent Armada could be sunk very easily when it came--to-morrow.The torpedo nets and booms were all in beautiful confusion, but, of course, they could be easily put into order and lowered if necessary--to-morrow.It was observed, however, that the German and Portuguese consulates had already retired into their forest homes, and as for the Americans, well, they took the hint so kindly given.The U.S.A. Consul, in a polite note to the British, thanked him for the tip, which would be taken forthwith. The consulate, luckily, he said, was well insured against burglars and fire, in five or six offices. Meanwhile, would the British Consul be good enough to givehis, the American Consul's compliments to the ladies, and say, under the circumstances, it would be impossible to play that game of poker next evening, but that he hoped, etc., etc., etc.But before either battle or bombardment began, needles began to waggle and prattle on no less than three British cruisers that were on their way from India, also in the wireless telegraphic office at the Cape, and from that messages flew over the sea to send back theBreezy, and on towards Zanzibar with all speed. If the midget fleet had done any mischief, they were to capture, burn, or in other ways destroy it, wherever it could be found.Nor were the Americans behind hand. The signalling station might be knocked down, or fired, so they must make good use of it before such an accident befel it. As good luck would have it, two Yankee battle-ships of tremendous strength were well within hail. The consul wired them at once, well, he wirelessly wired them, and the message ran somewhat as follows:"If this Marconi reaches the American battle-ships,NiagaraandDelaware, aliasBlue Blazes, and thePlunger, will they please make all speed hither to save us, and other American citizens, from the wrath to come to-morrow. Come with your thunders and defend the flag. A fleet of pirates is now on its way to bombard us, and in Zanzibar to-morrow the devil himself will be let loose, and the whole show painted red."Nothing more could be done. For shortly after dark, cleared for action, the midget fleet was once more on the wing. A darker nor more dismal night had never been seen in the roadstead before. Nor a wilder, for as if to aid the Armada, a breeze had sprung up, which rapidly increased to half a gale, with the usual accompaniments in these latitudes, of loud thunder and rain, that at one time more resembled the bursting of a waterspout than anything else.The Sultan's ships twitched and tugged at their anchors, which some of them even dragged.On so fearful a night surely the Armada would dare to do nothing, could do nothing. Like the Spanish Armada of the brave days of old, Lamoo's midget fleet would be scattered or sunk.TheBreezywas making good way southward, when old Marconi began to speak.Sometime after, little Sneyd ran into the ward-room with a bit of flimsy in his hand. The officers were discussing nips of sherry and bitters, or curaçoa and brandy, or anything good and handy, that would encourage the appetite. Very wrong this was indeed, but dinner would soon be laid, and there was a sad want of excitement among all hands, the depression that always follows a fight, whether victorious or the reverse."Honolulu!" cried Sneyd, "I'd give a day's pay to know who on earth does hold the ribbons in the British Navy.""If you did," said Guilford quietly, "you would make things hum, wouldn't you, my dear little jumping Moses?""But look here. Here's a pretty go. Here is a blooming muddle! First, we were ordered to fly to the Cape, now we are called back, ordered back, kicked back, confound 'em, I say,"Confound their politics,Frustrate their Navy tricks.""Hurrah! Hear, hear; but what is it all about?""They're going to board and burn Zanzibar, as far as I can see of it--a fleet from Lamoo is going to bring down the sleepy Sultan by the run."The Captain at this moment sent for the first lieutenant, and in two minutes' time, if not less, theBreezyhad turned almost on her own length, and was rushing through the waves at full speed, on her way back to the city of the Arab Sultan.At this time it was quite the fashionable thing for the foreign resident gentry of this place to have lodges in the sylvan interior, to which they could retreat for real quiet, and real hygiene, for as regards matters sanitary, there was still in the city itself much to be desired.There were good roads thereto, so men mounted their motors, and hurried their families into what they looked upon as places of safety.But for the most part, they themselves returned to see the fun, as they phrased it. Then came on the terrible storm. Whatever might happen now, they must bear the brunt of it.* * * * *Abdularram was as fierce in his wrath as any Viking of old, for his hatred of his foes, the British, no amount of blood could ever quench. He had felt highly honoured when he was appointed Arab Admiral of the midget fleet. His Sultan told him that he admired his courage, his wisdom, and fighting qualities. But, there was one proviso that, brave as he was, Abdularram did not quite care about. He, this mighty chieftain, would remain Admiral of the fleet as long as he lived, on one condition only, namely, that he returned to the palace with his enemy alive, if he did not, he should be deposed, and cast into the dungeon, so well prepared, there to die and rot. He even permitted Abdularram to take a lantern, and enter the dreadful place, and have one look around. This, he felt certain, would impress his Admiral. Abdularram did as he was bid, had one peep round, and rushed out again, apparently in all the terrors of some ghastly nightmare. The dungeon had certainly impressed him, so much so, that he made a vow never to enter there again.On such a night as this no officer of the Sultan's fleet dreamt of an attack. If the enemy were really approaching, they would wait for sunrise, then the Sultan's fleet would be under weigh to meet theirs.Had it been calm, it would have been impossible for a ship of any kind to approach the anchored fleet without being heard. There were the roar of the wind, the rage of the lashing waves, lit up every now and then by spectral lightning, and the artillery crash of the thunder.But shortly before midnight, and while the British Consul himself, with one or two friends, sat in an unlit room, smoking and occasionally gazing seawards, suddenly the pitch darkness out yonder was lit up with the fires of death and destruction. An explosion was heard, far louder and awe-inspiring than any that ever before had shaken the city's foundations.One of the biggest ships was blown up, literally broken into two gigantic fragments, the red ends of which shot up into the air in the centre of a perfect volcano of light and fire. In the midst of this, could be seen, along with debris of every description, the mangled and dismembered bodies of scores of poor wretches, who had not been given time even to utter a cry or explanation.Then a seething plunge, as the wreck sunk down, followed by a darkness that could be, metaphorically speaking, cut with a sabre.But pieces of the wreck were hurled as far as the sands, on which they fell, still hot and blazing.Another explosion took place very soon after. It was, if anything, more horrible. A third, a fourth, and a fifth.The torpedoes had done their terrible work with a completeness that had never before been equalled.Two vessels, had not been sunk, but one of these had taken fire, white smoke spued up from her first, then flames quickly spreading fore and aft.And by the light of this blaze of war the Sultan's flagship could still be seen swaying safe and stately at her moorings.A more terrible, because less sudden fate was reserved for her.Abdularram knew his business. He knew that three or four times a week the youthful Sultan was in the habit of sleeping on board this battle-ship, the after quarters having been furnished for his sake with all the luxuriousness of an eastern palace."He may be there to-night," thought the great chief, "and I have orders to make him prisoner. Never a torpedo must be fired in her direction, never a hair of the monarch's head must fall to the ground."Guided by telephonic communication with Admiral Abdularram's ship, the midget fleet had pierced the darkness in two lines, and taken up positions in the same formation in which Nelson had placed his ships at the battle of the Nile.Arab's eyes are more used to darkness than a European's, so with their twinkling lights, that the Zanzibarees had not even taken the precaution to put out, each ship in the anchored fleet could be correctly positioned. Apart from this, the lightning that flickered and flashed ghost-like about their hulls would have given the clue to the enemy.This great flagship now began to vomit forth fire and shot and shell, and the rattle of her belching guns was louder far than the loudest thunder.But in the inky night there was now no visible target, for the burning ship had soon blown up. They might as well have fired in the empty air.Then flashlights were turned upon her by the enemy, lighting her up fitfully, and for a moment or two only.For the time being, the streams of electric light were only necessary to guide the midgets towards her.Five of these latter surrounded her, and a hellish legion of fierce cutlass-armed fighting Arabs swarmed on board of her.There had been a sudden lull in the storm, the thunder had also ceased to rattle, though the seas still lashed in fury. It was as if Nature appalled, held her breath to witness the horrors of the fight that was now raging on the battle decks of the Sultan's flagship.The cries, the yells, the wild appeals for mercy, could be distinctly heard at the Consul's window, and added to the horror of this terrible night.But it was soon over. The crew had all been slain, or leapt overboard in wild panic, and those who remained alive were rushed below and imprisoned, The Sultan was not found.The flagship's fires had been found banked, and soon after her capture, with every light extinguished, she was steaming out to sea.About the same time flash lights began to gleam from the Sultan's palace, and the forts opened fire at last.A bit of useless braggadocio, for had the enemy been visible, which they were not, those gunners could not have hit a single ship. In fact, there is strong reason for believing that when a gun was trained, or a broadside to be fired by electricity the men placed their fingers in their ears and fell flat on the gallery floor.The midget fleet, it was believed, had gone for the night. It was swallowed up in the black beyond. The Sultan, terror-stricken now, and weeping like a boy of ten, had been shut up in the inner recesses of his palace, and his bodyguard tripled.The enemy had retired, it is true, but in three hours' time it gave ample evidence that, instead of having gone for good, it lingered out yonder for evil.Without doubt it had come to stay until it had accomplished the object of its mission.But now the sky had cleared, and the calm had come.Out shone the radiant stars, and a moon in its last quarter shed silver radiance on the sea.The beach at Zanzibar is of clearest sand, the blocks of buildings facing the roadstead whiter than granite, and in the dim light of the stars and scimitar moon they could be easily seen at a distance of two miles, and even at this long distance, with his midget fleet, Abdularram, knowing well the accuracy of his gunners' aim, commenced the bombardment of Zanzibar.Their plan was to watch and wait till a volume of white smoke with a centre of fire showed out on shore, and to aim and fire at that particular spot.The Admiral of the fleet thought that by this means he would manage soon to silence the forts.He knew the British Consulate, and guns were laid, and, indeed, for every white block of building it was possible to distinguish, with the exception of the palace itself.His desire was to show the Sultan that so long as he remained there he was safe.Zanzibar's guns, however, took much longer to silence than Abdularram could have credited; and when the sun once more rose over the sea, the shells from the fort being now better planted, he considered it prudent to take up a position farther away, where he knew his vessel would be safe.This Arab Viking, if the truth must be told, was more at home in a sailing fighting dhow than in a ship of war.He had, nevertheless, performed one of the most wonderful feats of modern times, namely, the boarding and carrying by cutlass and revolver of a great and mighty battle-ship.After a time there was a lull in the firing from both sides.Abdularram felt himself sure of that city. Zanzibar, he told his captain, was sure to fall, and its Sultan, to say nothing of the best part of his harem, would be in his power."And after that, your Highness?" the captain asked, with an evil glare in his eye."After that," replied Abdularram, "the looting and sacking of the city."He smiled grimly as he thought of it. The cruelty of the pirates in days of old has hardly any parallel in the twentieth century, and I now ask myself, ere penning the concluding lines of this chapter, whether I should tell my young readers anything of the tragedy that now took place on board the conquered battleship. I shall do so in the simplest language I can command, and in the least graphic. And I do this much, because I know and feel that our British boys, who I trust will grow up good and brave defenders of their fatherland, may realize some of the horrors of naval warfare.And savage and ruthless as Abdularram was, he was no worse than Napoleon Buonaparte, who slew his prisoners by thousands.Few Arabs are such devils at heart as Buonaparte was, and even this man before giving orders for the deed of horror to be committed, led gradually up to it in a conversation with Captain Suleiman."My Captain," he said, "those men of theMahomed's Pride(the flagship) fought well and bravely.""Alas! yes, as our dead and wounded can testify," was the cautious reply."They nevertheless encumber us greatly; but though, no doubt, you have them securely battened down they were sealed up so quickly that it was impossible disarm them. They have still their swords and cutlasses?""Yes, sahib.""I mean to man the guns ofMahomedwith our own brave fellows, and turn them against the city."Yes, good sahib.""But what if, at the very commencement of the fight, the prisoners break loose from the hold, like a horde of foul fiends, and attempt to retake the ship, and if successful, turn her powerful guns on our midget fleet?""I do not fear for that; we could overpower them, I think," said Suleiman."Yes, I believe we might, but the slaughter would be harrowing."His captain did not answer. He waited."It would be best of all," said the Admiral, at last, "to get rid of them in a more humane and safer way. Suleiman," he added, "it must be done!"And Suleiman knew what was meant, and that the order for the execution of two hundred prisoners had to be given by him."The die is cast!" said Abdularram.And he walked aft to smoke a pipe of opium. The plank was rigged, it was long, wide, well-balanced, and commanded at the ship end by a strong rope.The further end was made slippery with vegetable oil.The prisoners were then ordered up in batches of ten--disarmed, of course.The poor fellows knew their doom, and most of them went quietly to death.But the scene was soul-harrowing, for some of them refused to mount, and even attempted to fly at the necks of their enemies.I'll go no further, only to say, that all throughout this awful and sickening execution, the battle-ship wasgoing ahead at full speed, lest some of the unhappy wretches should attempt in their agony to clamber back on board again.When it was all over, the decks were sluiced down, but not properly cleaned, so that blood still lurked dark in cracks and seams.Then laying down his little pipe, Abdularram, in his jewelled uniform, stalked stately forth from his room."They have gone?" he said."Yes, sahib.""Thank Allah! He has delivered His enemies and ours into our hands. Breakfast, and prayers, now, Suleiman."The breakfast was no mockery, but surely the prayers were.After all this, well knowing the advantage and restorative power of rest, Abdularram ordered every man who could be spared to lie down and sleep.And motionless for hours upon the blue bosom of the great deep, lay the midget fleet, and the huge and stately battleship.CHAPTER XVIIIFURIOUS FIGHTING ON SEA AND LANDThe bombardment began in earnest about midday.The midget fleet remained at a respectable distance, keeping up a plunging fire. Abdularram meant to keep his own ships afloat though he cared nothing about the mighty leviathan that had been flagship to the feeble-kneed young Sultan of Zanzibar. Indeed, she was advanced later on in the day very close indeed to the city.She was prettily manoeuvred too, and poured broadside after broadside into the principal part of the town, which now lay completely at its mercy.The British Consul had remained and also the American, and about four in the afternoon they succeeded in getting audience of the Sultan himself. They had been unable to see him sooner. He had a headache, and was lying down, his prime minister told them.The Sultan received him in what we may call his reception room, for want of a better name.He remained seated and looked ghastly pale and old. Indeed, though little more than twenty, he seemed quite an aged man, with the exception of his black and flowing locks.The British Consul stopped to bow at the audience chamber door.So quickly had he stopped that the tall raw-boned American Consul, who appeared always to be in a hurry, and who was coming up behind, ran foul of him with such force that both were precipitated on the carpet.The carpet was exceedingly rich and soft, yet, to say the least of it, this was rather an undignified way of entering into the presence of so great a Sultan."Come, I say," cried Munro the American, as he gathered himself up, fold after fold, from off the floor, "why the old Harry did you stop and protrude your stern like that? I believe I've split my blessed breeches."Before Mr. Johnson could gather himself up, for he was somewhat John Bull-ish fore and aft, Munro had stepped over him, and advanced to the regal chair."Shake," he said, holding out a long, bony, twelve-inch hand.The Sultan moved not, nor answered. Was he not a king?"Shake!" shouted the Consul, in a voice that made the jewelled ornaments round the room ring and tinkle. "How long have you been deaf?"The Sultan now condescended to shake hands with both Consuls.Munro wheeled quickly round to a liveried or uniformed attendant."I say," he cried, "fetch us two brandies and a split, I see this is going to be dry work."The gentleman whom he addressed was really one of the Sultan's ministers and advisers.He smiled as he looked comically at Munro. "Would ye no hae a drap o' the auld kirk," he said. "It's prime stuff and a' the wey fae Glendronach.""Ho, ho, ho," laughed Munro. "You're Scotch are you?""Ay, man, and a Banffshire laddie for bye. But, dod, man, I have ma ain adees (troubles) wi' that fushionless sinner, yonder."A shell at this moment burst in the air outside, and the concussion shivered the glass in the window."Losh!" said the Scot, "that's gey near and vera emphatic."The Sultan leapt up and would have bolted had not Sandie caught him by the skirts and thrust him back into his chair of state again."Off you go, my friend, and order the drinks; I'm going to talk big to this little Arab."There was no respect for "nigger Sultans" in Munro's mind."I say, young fellow," he cried, "this is a pretty kettle of fish, ain't it? You're in a jolly tight corner you know.""Oh! Can you save me?" whimpered the Sultan. "That pirate king will slay us all.""Not he. He will pay some degree of respect for the Stars and Stripes and the Yewnion Jack, you may bet your bottom dollar on that. No, young fellow, it is you they are after, and they're going to catch you alive too. Your fleet is all down below among the jelly-fish except your flag-ship. They are knocking everything about but sparing your palace.""Where shall I hide? whither shall I fly? I must hie me to my harem."Nary a hie my dear boy; if that pirate king, as you call him, comes on shore, one of the first places he will visit will be your harem. He will soon have you out of there.""But where--where--can I go?""Well, to tell you the truth the coal cellar would be the best place for a potentate like you. Ah, here come the drinks. I suppose your Highness won't join us? No?""Now then," he continued, "let us finish this talkee-talkee. I'm not giving John Bull here a show, but he can put in his oar when he pleases.""I'll leave the talking to you, sir," said Johnson."And, young fellow, have you called out your troops?""They are assembling. They are now in the bush," said the Sultan."Well, I'd keep them there for a time. How many maxims?""Only a few.""Get them under weigh. Then I think we may be able to repel these fellows if they attempt to land. Write us a note now, introducing us to your general, and John Bull and I will take it.""Meanwhile where shall I hide my august person?""There is a rare lot of the august about your high-and-mightiness I must say, but 'pon honour, old chap, you'll feel safer and more at home in the coal cellar. I'm not joking, really."Then both consuls bowed, and made for the door.Mr. Johnson lingered a moment to smile and say, "Keep up your heart, Sultan; it is sure to come right in the end.""Allah be praised for those words of comfort!" whimpered the Sultan, "I shall do what is best in His sight."At this moment the bombardment seemed to be at its fiercest and the inhabitants of the doomed city were terror-stricken. Never before had anyone here, Arab, Parsee, Hindu, or negro slave, heard the sound of a gun fired in anger, nor the sound of a bursting shell. For the most part they lay low in their houses, fearing to go into the open or trust themselves in the bush, so that the usually crowded streets were now almost deserted.Johnson and Munro got horses from the Sultan's stables and went tearing out to the sylvan suburbs.They found here about 5,000 Arab soldiers. Only the ghost of an army, for of late years it had been much neglected, and many of the men were now unarmed while others had merely the long, old-fashioned Arab guns. But they had all spears and swords.Darkness fell before the two consuls were able to evoke something like order and arrangement in this force. Only their presence had been a comfort to the officers, while the men were in good spirits and evidently burning for a fight.Would the enemy land, and if so where and when? A complete row of sentinels were spread within hail of each other as far round the beach as they could be extended, and the Sultan's troops were held in readiness to march, upon any given spot.But the night passed quietly away. Abdularram saw the futility now of wasting his ammunition in the darkness.The name of the gunner who fired the shot in a moment of forgetfulness at the palace itself, was taken, and for the present he went unpunished, as the Admiral could not spare him, but he was to fight now under the not very comforting assurance that the moment the city capitulated or was carried by assault he would be hanged or thrown into the sea, which after the fearful tragedy of the day before was now alive with monstrous sharks. The hundreds of poor fellows who had become their prey had only whetted their appetites as a few oysters before dinner would that of a gourmand.Many of the houses far beyond the beach had been knocked down by shells, and set fire to over the heads of the buried inmates, alive or dead. The glare from these lit up the sky, but as yet there was no general conflagration.Another night wore on, and at sunrise the bombardment was recommenced and kept up intermittently all day long. The shooting of the Zanzibar gunners was very bad indeed. But the forts themselves, which had only been built to replace older walls about a year ago, were of great strength, and faced with metal, so that it was evident they would take a much longer time to silence than Abdularram had calculated on. As some of these commanded the entrance of the palace, silenced they would have to be before Lamoo's great admiral could capture the Sultan.Day after day the desultory fire was kept up, but on the sixth it became fierce and fearful, and it was evident to everyone that Abdularram was about to attempt acoup de main.That night shells rained and burst over the old town itself, and soon it was on fire from end to end, and the flame-stricken inhabitants, hundreds of whom had been slain, were fleeing to the bush for their lives.From the sea the conflagration was an impressive and awful spectacle.It must be seen from the mainland even from B---- itself and Abdularram had two of his best vessels to intercept any vessel who might send assistance. These did patrol duty and warned off all ships of all sorts.Meanwhile in the darkness, and in a distant part of the island, Abdularram had landed 2,000 of his fighting braves. This from the flag-ship and with very great caution, his object being to make a forced, but silent march on the city, taking it in flank or rear.The sentinels, there were six of these to one mile of beach, were keeping their lonely vigil, honestly enough, but they neither saw nor heard a black and armed boat glide in and land about a dozen warriors. The oars had been muffled, and the men were half naked and black from head to foot. Armed with daggers only.They crept silently through the bush in pairs, and approached as stealthily as tigers till within a yard or two of their victims, and these were knifed before they could utter a cry or give an alarm.The beach thus cleared offered an easy landing to the troops, and long before daylight they had reached the camp of the Sultan's army, and attacked it with such fearful determination that in a few minutes what remained of it were scattered panic-stricken into the woodlands, or hurled back towards the flaming city.Few who witnessed even a tithe of the horrors of that dread night will be likely to forget it till their dying day.Those victorious tigers of the sea cared neither for drink nor food, it was blood, blood, blood, they thirsted for, money that they sought, but vice and lust also held their souls enthralled, and it is well to draw a veil--it needs a big one--over the scenes that took place in almost every street that the fire had spared.But in the darkness they must attack and carry the palace.Little did they know what was prepared for them. For here by the gates maxim guns had been stationed manned by men, both British and American, men who knew what maxims were too, for some had been volunteers in well-beloved Britain, and others had served in American regiments.Abdularram's little army was foiled. It was driven back decimated by the hell-fire of these guns without having been able to cross a bridge or force a gate.They retreated in some sort of order, however, and made their way to the beach, and here they speedily threw up trenches some distance away from the frowning forts.They were making signals, too, for assistance. And just before daylight assistance did come. But it was not for them.The braveBreezyhad come in by stealth, attracted by the lights of the flagship some time after she had landed the fighting forces.They understood now at once what the position of affairs was and, before Abdularram realised what was up, torpedoed the ship, which, although she but lifted her bows a little way out of the water, it was evident had received her death blow, for she began now to fill rapidly and to settle. Abdularram himself was seen on her deck, coolly giving orders for guns to be fired at theBreezy.Before the broadside could be delivered, however, the doom of the mighty battleship was sealed. Even after she had sunk, men were seen struggling in the seething waters, and boats from theBreezywere at once sent to save them.Many, glad of their lives, were quiet enough, but others drew their knives as soon as they got over the gunwale and attacked the sailors. They wounded several before they had their quietus.Swimming powerfully in the glare of the searchlight and heading for the shore was a tall and powerful Arab officer. His turban had fallen off and his long black hair was floating on the water like sea-weed.He was caught by the boat commanded by Guilford himself, and in which Kep had entered to help the rescue.He drew his dagger, and the blow he aimed at Kep had it descended would have closed this story as far as that poor boy was concerned.But Abdularram, for it was no other, was struck down by a blow from the fist of the stroke-oar. And that man was Jack Stormalong.The Arab Admiral fell on his face at Kep's feet, and to all appearance dead, for he had been put to sleep and had an ugly gash on the forehead caused by coming in contact with the side of the boat."Thank you, Jack, a thousand times and o'er," said Kep with a smile; "my old friend here, who now so lowly lies, certainly didn't mean to be sparing in his attentions to poor little me.""You're kindly welcome, sir," said Jack; "you would do as much for me any day, that I know.""Ay, that I would."It was the boats of theBreezythat were coming in and that the piratical soldiers mistook for their friends. They were at once undeceived, as soon as the quick-firers opened upon them.They were driven into desperate confusion.But now the Sultan's troops, whom the American Consul had succeeded in getting together, approached and quickly attacked the pirates at the point of the bayonet. And the battle was soon over.There was still the fleet to deal with, and for hours it looked an ugly business for theBreezy. She had to make a running fight of it all day long, but after getting two of the midget fleet well away from the others, she attacked now with her heaviest guns, and was not long in sinking both.Meanwhile others of the fleet had made adétour, and cutting her off from the south and seaward began to close in upon her from all round."By George!" cried the Captain, "this is being between the devil and the deep sea with a vengeance."But suddenly the enemy ceased firing, and went off at full speed towards the south. And while everyone on theBreezywas wondering what this extraordinary move meant, there came a hail from one of the fighting tops."Two powerful battle-ships just in sight on the horizon. No, sir, I can only raise their tops."A middy was sent up at once and presently he hailed:"I can see the flags, sir.""Well, what can you make of them?"The middy had another long look."Why sir, they are Stars and Stripes.""That must be theNiagaraand theDelaware."On board theBreezythere was shaking of hands all round, and laughing and talking and general jollity fore and aft.Then up marched the doctor."Pardon me, sir, but I think that the crew now will be none the worse of some medical comforts."Certainly, by all means," replied Captain Breezy. "Pipe to dinner, officer of the watch, and we'll splice the main-brace, Surgeon McTavish."* * * * *The end had not yet come however. The midget fleet must not escape.So now, although she was somewhat damaged, theBreezyput on all speed in order to meet the Americans as quickly as possible, and hold a conference, and in about an hour's time the two nations, Britain and America, were exchanging salutes.When Captain Breezy of H.M.S.Breezywent on board theNiagara, he found the Captain of theDelawarethere already, and Captain Breezy, wasting as few words as possible, told the whole sad story, and it was unanimously agreed that something must be done at once."There is no doubt," said Breezy, "that the Lamoo fleet will get back to their own Sultan as soon as possible, and there is only one way for them to get there, they must cross the bar one by one, and," he continued, "it is better, in my opinion, that we should sail for the mouth of that river and wait their appearance. Their sailing south was only to avoid meeting you. They will make a widedétourafter they are out of sight, and come straight for the equatorial coast again."This was agreed to. A steam launch was sent back to Zanzibar to advise the consuls as to their movements.They were going on a punitive expedition now--that was the message--they were to be found near to the mouth of the river, and should a torpedo boat or destroyer come in as well as the large man o' war which had been signalled, the former were to come to the river's mouth, the latter to lie at Zanzibar to defend it.
CHAPTER XVII
THE MIDGET FLEET. BOMBARDMENT. FEARFUL SCENES
When nations or peoples go to war, they invest the Supreme Being with a new title, which is, in my opinion, blasphemous in the extreme. They speak of Him, address Him, pray to Him, as the God of War, or God of Battles.
And, indeed, the priests of both sides do a large amount of praying. Each thinks his own cause the most just, and endeavours to invoke from Heaven strength for armies and navies, and blessings on every shot, so to speak, that shall be fired. And yet, every bursting shell may send hundreds into eternity and seal their doom for ever.
The Prince of Lamoo certainly did his share of praying. He prayed so much on that holy carpet of his, that he narrowly escaped having housemaid's knee.
But--and it is just here where the absurdity of the situation comes in--between the hours of prayer he went to have another look through his splendid palace, or gave orders for a few more loathsome reptiles to be introduced into the coming king's bedroom.
And as his fleet sailed south and away, Abdularram prayed also many times and often, never failing between whiles to note whether or not the scimitars and swords of his men, and his own pet dagger, which had so often wept blood, possessed sufficient keenness of edge to please him.
In four or five days' time the midget fleet were within an easy distance of Zanzibar, but stopped dead now till the darkness should fall.
About six o'clock, as usual in those regions, the sun sank behind the horizon, casting a red gleam of light across the waves, crimson as the blood that would flow ere he once more appeared in the golden east.
Wireless telegraphy had reached its highest pitch of perfection by this time. Indeed, it was possible then to wire wirelessly round the world, as an Irishman expressed it.
And long before the arrival of the little Armada, a passenger steamer, which had it seen it, came tearing into Zanzibar, and made her report to the British Consul.
There was not a moment to spare. A rumour of something terrible on the wing had already reached his ears, and he lost no time in dispatching messages in every direction.
He warned the Sultan also, and his fleet. Then he warned different consulates.
The Sultan had the utmost confidence in his fleet. The fleet hardly scarcely troubled to prepare.
The insolent Armada could be sunk very easily when it came--to-morrow.
The torpedo nets and booms were all in beautiful confusion, but, of course, they could be easily put into order and lowered if necessary--to-morrow.
It was observed, however, that the German and Portuguese consulates had already retired into their forest homes, and as for the Americans, well, they took the hint so kindly given.
The U.S.A. Consul, in a polite note to the British, thanked him for the tip, which would be taken forthwith. The consulate, luckily, he said, was well insured against burglars and fire, in five or six offices. Meanwhile, would the British Consul be good enough to givehis, the American Consul's compliments to the ladies, and say, under the circumstances, it would be impossible to play that game of poker next evening, but that he hoped, etc., etc., etc.
But before either battle or bombardment began, needles began to waggle and prattle on no less than three British cruisers that were on their way from India, also in the wireless telegraphic office at the Cape, and from that messages flew over the sea to send back theBreezy, and on towards Zanzibar with all speed. If the midget fleet had done any mischief, they were to capture, burn, or in other ways destroy it, wherever it could be found.
Nor were the Americans behind hand. The signalling station might be knocked down, or fired, so they must make good use of it before such an accident befel it. As good luck would have it, two Yankee battle-ships of tremendous strength were well within hail. The consul wired them at once, well, he wirelessly wired them, and the message ran somewhat as follows:
"If this Marconi reaches the American battle-ships,NiagaraandDelaware, aliasBlue Blazes, and thePlunger, will they please make all speed hither to save us, and other American citizens, from the wrath to come to-morrow. Come with your thunders and defend the flag. A fleet of pirates is now on its way to bombard us, and in Zanzibar to-morrow the devil himself will be let loose, and the whole show painted red."
Nothing more could be done. For shortly after dark, cleared for action, the midget fleet was once more on the wing. A darker nor more dismal night had never been seen in the roadstead before. Nor a wilder, for as if to aid the Armada, a breeze had sprung up, which rapidly increased to half a gale, with the usual accompaniments in these latitudes, of loud thunder and rain, that at one time more resembled the bursting of a waterspout than anything else.
The Sultan's ships twitched and tugged at their anchors, which some of them even dragged.
On so fearful a night surely the Armada would dare to do nothing, could do nothing. Like the Spanish Armada of the brave days of old, Lamoo's midget fleet would be scattered or sunk.
TheBreezywas making good way southward, when old Marconi began to speak.
Sometime after, little Sneyd ran into the ward-room with a bit of flimsy in his hand. The officers were discussing nips of sherry and bitters, or curaçoa and brandy, or anything good and handy, that would encourage the appetite. Very wrong this was indeed, but dinner would soon be laid, and there was a sad want of excitement among all hands, the depression that always follows a fight, whether victorious or the reverse.
"Honolulu!" cried Sneyd, "I'd give a day's pay to know who on earth does hold the ribbons in the British Navy."
"If you did," said Guilford quietly, "you would make things hum, wouldn't you, my dear little jumping Moses?"
"But look here. Here's a pretty go. Here is a blooming muddle! First, we were ordered to fly to the Cape, now we are called back, ordered back, kicked back, confound 'em, I say,
"Confound their politics,Frustrate their Navy tricks."
"Confound their politics,Frustrate their Navy tricks."
"Confound their politics,
Frustrate their Navy tricks."
"Hurrah! Hear, hear; but what is it all about?"
"They're going to board and burn Zanzibar, as far as I can see of it--a fleet from Lamoo is going to bring down the sleepy Sultan by the run."
The Captain at this moment sent for the first lieutenant, and in two minutes' time, if not less, theBreezyhad turned almost on her own length, and was rushing through the waves at full speed, on her way back to the city of the Arab Sultan.
At this time it was quite the fashionable thing for the foreign resident gentry of this place to have lodges in the sylvan interior, to which they could retreat for real quiet, and real hygiene, for as regards matters sanitary, there was still in the city itself much to be desired.
There were good roads thereto, so men mounted their motors, and hurried their families into what they looked upon as places of safety.
But for the most part, they themselves returned to see the fun, as they phrased it. Then came on the terrible storm. Whatever might happen now, they must bear the brunt of it.
* * * * *
Abdularram was as fierce in his wrath as any Viking of old, for his hatred of his foes, the British, no amount of blood could ever quench. He had felt highly honoured when he was appointed Arab Admiral of the midget fleet. His Sultan told him that he admired his courage, his wisdom, and fighting qualities. But, there was one proviso that, brave as he was, Abdularram did not quite care about. He, this mighty chieftain, would remain Admiral of the fleet as long as he lived, on one condition only, namely, that he returned to the palace with his enemy alive, if he did not, he should be deposed, and cast into the dungeon, so well prepared, there to die and rot. He even permitted Abdularram to take a lantern, and enter the dreadful place, and have one look around. This, he felt certain, would impress his Admiral. Abdularram did as he was bid, had one peep round, and rushed out again, apparently in all the terrors of some ghastly nightmare. The dungeon had certainly impressed him, so much so, that he made a vow never to enter there again.
On such a night as this no officer of the Sultan's fleet dreamt of an attack. If the enemy were really approaching, they would wait for sunrise, then the Sultan's fleet would be under weigh to meet theirs.
Had it been calm, it would have been impossible for a ship of any kind to approach the anchored fleet without being heard. There were the roar of the wind, the rage of the lashing waves, lit up every now and then by spectral lightning, and the artillery crash of the thunder.
But shortly before midnight, and while the British Consul himself, with one or two friends, sat in an unlit room, smoking and occasionally gazing seawards, suddenly the pitch darkness out yonder was lit up with the fires of death and destruction. An explosion was heard, far louder and awe-inspiring than any that ever before had shaken the city's foundations.
One of the biggest ships was blown up, literally broken into two gigantic fragments, the red ends of which shot up into the air in the centre of a perfect volcano of light and fire. In the midst of this, could be seen, along with debris of every description, the mangled and dismembered bodies of scores of poor wretches, who had not been given time even to utter a cry or explanation.
Then a seething plunge, as the wreck sunk down, followed by a darkness that could be, metaphorically speaking, cut with a sabre.
But pieces of the wreck were hurled as far as the sands, on which they fell, still hot and blazing.
Another explosion took place very soon after. It was, if anything, more horrible. A third, a fourth, and a fifth.
The torpedoes had done their terrible work with a completeness that had never before been equalled.
Two vessels, had not been sunk, but one of these had taken fire, white smoke spued up from her first, then flames quickly spreading fore and aft.
And by the light of this blaze of war the Sultan's flagship could still be seen swaying safe and stately at her moorings.
A more terrible, because less sudden fate was reserved for her.
Abdularram knew his business. He knew that three or four times a week the youthful Sultan was in the habit of sleeping on board this battle-ship, the after quarters having been furnished for his sake with all the luxuriousness of an eastern palace.
"He may be there to-night," thought the great chief, "and I have orders to make him prisoner. Never a torpedo must be fired in her direction, never a hair of the monarch's head must fall to the ground."
Guided by telephonic communication with Admiral Abdularram's ship, the midget fleet had pierced the darkness in two lines, and taken up positions in the same formation in which Nelson had placed his ships at the battle of the Nile.
Arab's eyes are more used to darkness than a European's, so with their twinkling lights, that the Zanzibarees had not even taken the precaution to put out, each ship in the anchored fleet could be correctly positioned. Apart from this, the lightning that flickered and flashed ghost-like about their hulls would have given the clue to the enemy.
This great flagship now began to vomit forth fire and shot and shell, and the rattle of her belching guns was louder far than the loudest thunder.
But in the inky night there was now no visible target, for the burning ship had soon blown up. They might as well have fired in the empty air.
Then flashlights were turned upon her by the enemy, lighting her up fitfully, and for a moment or two only.
For the time being, the streams of electric light were only necessary to guide the midgets towards her.
Five of these latter surrounded her, and a hellish legion of fierce cutlass-armed fighting Arabs swarmed on board of her.
There had been a sudden lull in the storm, the thunder had also ceased to rattle, though the seas still lashed in fury. It was as if Nature appalled, held her breath to witness the horrors of the fight that was now raging on the battle decks of the Sultan's flagship.
The cries, the yells, the wild appeals for mercy, could be distinctly heard at the Consul's window, and added to the horror of this terrible night.
But it was soon over. The crew had all been slain, or leapt overboard in wild panic, and those who remained alive were rushed below and imprisoned, The Sultan was not found.
The flagship's fires had been found banked, and soon after her capture, with every light extinguished, she was steaming out to sea.
About the same time flash lights began to gleam from the Sultan's palace, and the forts opened fire at last.
A bit of useless braggadocio, for had the enemy been visible, which they were not, those gunners could not have hit a single ship. In fact, there is strong reason for believing that when a gun was trained, or a broadside to be fired by electricity the men placed their fingers in their ears and fell flat on the gallery floor.
The midget fleet, it was believed, had gone for the night. It was swallowed up in the black beyond. The Sultan, terror-stricken now, and weeping like a boy of ten, had been shut up in the inner recesses of his palace, and his bodyguard tripled.
The enemy had retired, it is true, but in three hours' time it gave ample evidence that, instead of having gone for good, it lingered out yonder for evil.
Without doubt it had come to stay until it had accomplished the object of its mission.
But now the sky had cleared, and the calm had come.
Out shone the radiant stars, and a moon in its last quarter shed silver radiance on the sea.
The beach at Zanzibar is of clearest sand, the blocks of buildings facing the roadstead whiter than granite, and in the dim light of the stars and scimitar moon they could be easily seen at a distance of two miles, and even at this long distance, with his midget fleet, Abdularram, knowing well the accuracy of his gunners' aim, commenced the bombardment of Zanzibar.
Their plan was to watch and wait till a volume of white smoke with a centre of fire showed out on shore, and to aim and fire at that particular spot.
The Admiral of the fleet thought that by this means he would manage soon to silence the forts.
He knew the British Consulate, and guns were laid, and, indeed, for every white block of building it was possible to distinguish, with the exception of the palace itself.
His desire was to show the Sultan that so long as he remained there he was safe.
Zanzibar's guns, however, took much longer to silence than Abdularram could have credited; and when the sun once more rose over the sea, the shells from the fort being now better planted, he considered it prudent to take up a position farther away, where he knew his vessel would be safe.
This Arab Viking, if the truth must be told, was more at home in a sailing fighting dhow than in a ship of war.
He had, nevertheless, performed one of the most wonderful feats of modern times, namely, the boarding and carrying by cutlass and revolver of a great and mighty battle-ship.
After a time there was a lull in the firing from both sides.
Abdularram felt himself sure of that city. Zanzibar, he told his captain, was sure to fall, and its Sultan, to say nothing of the best part of his harem, would be in his power.
"And after that, your Highness?" the captain asked, with an evil glare in his eye.
"After that," replied Abdularram, "the looting and sacking of the city."
He smiled grimly as he thought of it. The cruelty of the pirates in days of old has hardly any parallel in the twentieth century, and I now ask myself, ere penning the concluding lines of this chapter, whether I should tell my young readers anything of the tragedy that now took place on board the conquered battleship. I shall do so in the simplest language I can command, and in the least graphic. And I do this much, because I know and feel that our British boys, who I trust will grow up good and brave defenders of their fatherland, may realize some of the horrors of naval warfare.
And savage and ruthless as Abdularram was, he was no worse than Napoleon Buonaparte, who slew his prisoners by thousands.
Few Arabs are such devils at heart as Buonaparte was, and even this man before giving orders for the deed of horror to be committed, led gradually up to it in a conversation with Captain Suleiman.
"My Captain," he said, "those men of theMahomed's Pride(the flagship) fought well and bravely."
"Alas! yes, as our dead and wounded can testify," was the cautious reply.
"They nevertheless encumber us greatly; but though, no doubt, you have them securely battened down they were sealed up so quickly that it was impossible disarm them. They have still their swords and cutlasses?"
"Yes, sahib."
"I mean to man the guns ofMahomedwith our own brave fellows, and turn them against the city.
"Yes, good sahib."
"But what if, at the very commencement of the fight, the prisoners break loose from the hold, like a horde of foul fiends, and attempt to retake the ship, and if successful, turn her powerful guns on our midget fleet?"
"I do not fear for that; we could overpower them, I think," said Suleiman.
"Yes, I believe we might, but the slaughter would be harrowing."
His captain did not answer. He waited.
"It would be best of all," said the Admiral, at last, "to get rid of them in a more humane and safer way. Suleiman," he added, "it must be done!"
And Suleiman knew what was meant, and that the order for the execution of two hundred prisoners had to be given by him.
"The die is cast!" said Abdularram.
And he walked aft to smoke a pipe of opium. The plank was rigged, it was long, wide, well-balanced, and commanded at the ship end by a strong rope.
The further end was made slippery with vegetable oil.
The prisoners were then ordered up in batches of ten--disarmed, of course.
The poor fellows knew their doom, and most of them went quietly to death.
But the scene was soul-harrowing, for some of them refused to mount, and even attempted to fly at the necks of their enemies.
I'll go no further, only to say, that all throughout this awful and sickening execution, the battle-ship wasgoing ahead at full speed, lest some of the unhappy wretches should attempt in their agony to clamber back on board again.
When it was all over, the decks were sluiced down, but not properly cleaned, so that blood still lurked dark in cracks and seams.
Then laying down his little pipe, Abdularram, in his jewelled uniform, stalked stately forth from his room.
"They have gone?" he said.
"Yes, sahib."
"Thank Allah! He has delivered His enemies and ours into our hands. Breakfast, and prayers, now, Suleiman."
The breakfast was no mockery, but surely the prayers were.
After all this, well knowing the advantage and restorative power of rest, Abdularram ordered every man who could be spared to lie down and sleep.
And motionless for hours upon the blue bosom of the great deep, lay the midget fleet, and the huge and stately battleship.
CHAPTER XVIII
FURIOUS FIGHTING ON SEA AND LAND
The bombardment began in earnest about midday.
The midget fleet remained at a respectable distance, keeping up a plunging fire. Abdularram meant to keep his own ships afloat though he cared nothing about the mighty leviathan that had been flagship to the feeble-kneed young Sultan of Zanzibar. Indeed, she was advanced later on in the day very close indeed to the city.
She was prettily manoeuvred too, and poured broadside after broadside into the principal part of the town, which now lay completely at its mercy.
The British Consul had remained and also the American, and about four in the afternoon they succeeded in getting audience of the Sultan himself. They had been unable to see him sooner. He had a headache, and was lying down, his prime minister told them.
The Sultan received him in what we may call his reception room, for want of a better name.
He remained seated and looked ghastly pale and old. Indeed, though little more than twenty, he seemed quite an aged man, with the exception of his black and flowing locks.
The British Consul stopped to bow at the audience chamber door.
So quickly had he stopped that the tall raw-boned American Consul, who appeared always to be in a hurry, and who was coming up behind, ran foul of him with such force that both were precipitated on the carpet.
The carpet was exceedingly rich and soft, yet, to say the least of it, this was rather an undignified way of entering into the presence of so great a Sultan.
"Come, I say," cried Munro the American, as he gathered himself up, fold after fold, from off the floor, "why the old Harry did you stop and protrude your stern like that? I believe I've split my blessed breeches."
Before Mr. Johnson could gather himself up, for he was somewhat John Bull-ish fore and aft, Munro had stepped over him, and advanced to the regal chair.
"Shake," he said, holding out a long, bony, twelve-inch hand.
The Sultan moved not, nor answered. Was he not a king?
"Shake!" shouted the Consul, in a voice that made the jewelled ornaments round the room ring and tinkle. "How long have you been deaf?"
The Sultan now condescended to shake hands with both Consuls.
Munro wheeled quickly round to a liveried or uniformed attendant.
"I say," he cried, "fetch us two brandies and a split, I see this is going to be dry work."
The gentleman whom he addressed was really one of the Sultan's ministers and advisers.
He smiled as he looked comically at Munro. "Would ye no hae a drap o' the auld kirk," he said. "It's prime stuff and a' the wey fae Glendronach."
"Ho, ho, ho," laughed Munro. "You're Scotch are you?"
"Ay, man, and a Banffshire laddie for bye. But, dod, man, I have ma ain adees (troubles) wi' that fushionless sinner, yonder."
A shell at this moment burst in the air outside, and the concussion shivered the glass in the window.
"Losh!" said the Scot, "that's gey near and vera emphatic."
The Sultan leapt up and would have bolted had not Sandie caught him by the skirts and thrust him back into his chair of state again.
"Off you go, my friend, and order the drinks; I'm going to talk big to this little Arab."
There was no respect for "nigger Sultans" in Munro's mind.
"I say, young fellow," he cried, "this is a pretty kettle of fish, ain't it? You're in a jolly tight corner you know."
"Oh! Can you save me?" whimpered the Sultan. "That pirate king will slay us all."
"Not he. He will pay some degree of respect for the Stars and Stripes and the Yewnion Jack, you may bet your bottom dollar on that. No, young fellow, it is you they are after, and they're going to catch you alive too. Your fleet is all down below among the jelly-fish except your flag-ship. They are knocking everything about but sparing your palace."
"Where shall I hide? whither shall I fly? I must hie me to my harem.
"Nary a hie my dear boy; if that pirate king, as you call him, comes on shore, one of the first places he will visit will be your harem. He will soon have you out of there."
"But where--where--can I go?"
"Well, to tell you the truth the coal cellar would be the best place for a potentate like you. Ah, here come the drinks. I suppose your Highness won't join us? No?"
"Now then," he continued, "let us finish this talkee-talkee. I'm not giving John Bull here a show, but he can put in his oar when he pleases."
"I'll leave the talking to you, sir," said Johnson.
"And, young fellow, have you called out your troops?"
"They are assembling. They are now in the bush," said the Sultan.
"Well, I'd keep them there for a time. How many maxims?"
"Only a few."
"Get them under weigh. Then I think we may be able to repel these fellows if they attempt to land. Write us a note now, introducing us to your general, and John Bull and I will take it."
"Meanwhile where shall I hide my august person?"
"There is a rare lot of the august about your high-and-mightiness I must say, but 'pon honour, old chap, you'll feel safer and more at home in the coal cellar. I'm not joking, really."
Then both consuls bowed, and made for the door.
Mr. Johnson lingered a moment to smile and say, "Keep up your heart, Sultan; it is sure to come right in the end."
"Allah be praised for those words of comfort!" whimpered the Sultan, "I shall do what is best in His sight."
At this moment the bombardment seemed to be at its fiercest and the inhabitants of the doomed city were terror-stricken. Never before had anyone here, Arab, Parsee, Hindu, or negro slave, heard the sound of a gun fired in anger, nor the sound of a bursting shell. For the most part they lay low in their houses, fearing to go into the open or trust themselves in the bush, so that the usually crowded streets were now almost deserted.
Johnson and Munro got horses from the Sultan's stables and went tearing out to the sylvan suburbs.
They found here about 5,000 Arab soldiers. Only the ghost of an army, for of late years it had been much neglected, and many of the men were now unarmed while others had merely the long, old-fashioned Arab guns. But they had all spears and swords.
Darkness fell before the two consuls were able to evoke something like order and arrangement in this force. Only their presence had been a comfort to the officers, while the men were in good spirits and evidently burning for a fight.
Would the enemy land, and if so where and when? A complete row of sentinels were spread within hail of each other as far round the beach as they could be extended, and the Sultan's troops were held in readiness to march, upon any given spot.
But the night passed quietly away. Abdularram saw the futility now of wasting his ammunition in the darkness.
The name of the gunner who fired the shot in a moment of forgetfulness at the palace itself, was taken, and for the present he went unpunished, as the Admiral could not spare him, but he was to fight now under the not very comforting assurance that the moment the city capitulated or was carried by assault he would be hanged or thrown into the sea, which after the fearful tragedy of the day before was now alive with monstrous sharks. The hundreds of poor fellows who had become their prey had only whetted their appetites as a few oysters before dinner would that of a gourmand.
Many of the houses far beyond the beach had been knocked down by shells, and set fire to over the heads of the buried inmates, alive or dead. The glare from these lit up the sky, but as yet there was no general conflagration.
Another night wore on, and at sunrise the bombardment was recommenced and kept up intermittently all day long. The shooting of the Zanzibar gunners was very bad indeed. But the forts themselves, which had only been built to replace older walls about a year ago, were of great strength, and faced with metal, so that it was evident they would take a much longer time to silence than Abdularram had calculated on. As some of these commanded the entrance of the palace, silenced they would have to be before Lamoo's great admiral could capture the Sultan.
Day after day the desultory fire was kept up, but on the sixth it became fierce and fearful, and it was evident to everyone that Abdularram was about to attempt acoup de main.
That night shells rained and burst over the old town itself, and soon it was on fire from end to end, and the flame-stricken inhabitants, hundreds of whom had been slain, were fleeing to the bush for their lives.
From the sea the conflagration was an impressive and awful spectacle.
It must be seen from the mainland even from B---- itself and Abdularram had two of his best vessels to intercept any vessel who might send assistance. These did patrol duty and warned off all ships of all sorts.
Meanwhile in the darkness, and in a distant part of the island, Abdularram had landed 2,000 of his fighting braves. This from the flag-ship and with very great caution, his object being to make a forced, but silent march on the city, taking it in flank or rear.
The sentinels, there were six of these to one mile of beach, were keeping their lonely vigil, honestly enough, but they neither saw nor heard a black and armed boat glide in and land about a dozen warriors. The oars had been muffled, and the men were half naked and black from head to foot. Armed with daggers only.
They crept silently through the bush in pairs, and approached as stealthily as tigers till within a yard or two of their victims, and these were knifed before they could utter a cry or give an alarm.
The beach thus cleared offered an easy landing to the troops, and long before daylight they had reached the camp of the Sultan's army, and attacked it with such fearful determination that in a few minutes what remained of it were scattered panic-stricken into the woodlands, or hurled back towards the flaming city.
Few who witnessed even a tithe of the horrors of that dread night will be likely to forget it till their dying day.
Those victorious tigers of the sea cared neither for drink nor food, it was blood, blood, blood, they thirsted for, money that they sought, but vice and lust also held their souls enthralled, and it is well to draw a veil--it needs a big one--over the scenes that took place in almost every street that the fire had spared.
But in the darkness they must attack and carry the palace.
Little did they know what was prepared for them. For here by the gates maxim guns had been stationed manned by men, both British and American, men who knew what maxims were too, for some had been volunteers in well-beloved Britain, and others had served in American regiments.
Abdularram's little army was foiled. It was driven back decimated by the hell-fire of these guns without having been able to cross a bridge or force a gate.
They retreated in some sort of order, however, and made their way to the beach, and here they speedily threw up trenches some distance away from the frowning forts.
They were making signals, too, for assistance. And just before daylight assistance did come. But it was not for them.
The braveBreezyhad come in by stealth, attracted by the lights of the flagship some time after she had landed the fighting forces.
They understood now at once what the position of affairs was and, before Abdularram realised what was up, torpedoed the ship, which, although she but lifted her bows a little way out of the water, it was evident had received her death blow, for she began now to fill rapidly and to settle. Abdularram himself was seen on her deck, coolly giving orders for guns to be fired at theBreezy.
Before the broadside could be delivered, however, the doom of the mighty battleship was sealed. Even after she had sunk, men were seen struggling in the seething waters, and boats from theBreezywere at once sent to save them.
Many, glad of their lives, were quiet enough, but others drew their knives as soon as they got over the gunwale and attacked the sailors. They wounded several before they had their quietus.
Swimming powerfully in the glare of the searchlight and heading for the shore was a tall and powerful Arab officer. His turban had fallen off and his long black hair was floating on the water like sea-weed.
He was caught by the boat commanded by Guilford himself, and in which Kep had entered to help the rescue.
He drew his dagger, and the blow he aimed at Kep had it descended would have closed this story as far as that poor boy was concerned.
But Abdularram, for it was no other, was struck down by a blow from the fist of the stroke-oar. And that man was Jack Stormalong.
The Arab Admiral fell on his face at Kep's feet, and to all appearance dead, for he had been put to sleep and had an ugly gash on the forehead caused by coming in contact with the side of the boat.
"Thank you, Jack, a thousand times and o'er," said Kep with a smile; "my old friend here, who now so lowly lies, certainly didn't mean to be sparing in his attentions to poor little me."
"You're kindly welcome, sir," said Jack; "you would do as much for me any day, that I know."
"Ay, that I would."
It was the boats of theBreezythat were coming in and that the piratical soldiers mistook for their friends. They were at once undeceived, as soon as the quick-firers opened upon them.
They were driven into desperate confusion.
But now the Sultan's troops, whom the American Consul had succeeded in getting together, approached and quickly attacked the pirates at the point of the bayonet. And the battle was soon over.
There was still the fleet to deal with, and for hours it looked an ugly business for theBreezy. She had to make a running fight of it all day long, but after getting two of the midget fleet well away from the others, she attacked now with her heaviest guns, and was not long in sinking both.
Meanwhile others of the fleet had made adétour, and cutting her off from the south and seaward began to close in upon her from all round.
"By George!" cried the Captain, "this is being between the devil and the deep sea with a vengeance."
But suddenly the enemy ceased firing, and went off at full speed towards the south. And while everyone on theBreezywas wondering what this extraordinary move meant, there came a hail from one of the fighting tops.
"Two powerful battle-ships just in sight on the horizon. No, sir, I can only raise their tops."
A middy was sent up at once and presently he hailed:
"I can see the flags, sir."
"Well, what can you make of them?"
The middy had another long look.
"Why sir, they are Stars and Stripes."
"That must be theNiagaraand theDelaware."
On board theBreezythere was shaking of hands all round, and laughing and talking and general jollity fore and aft.
Then up marched the doctor.
"Pardon me, sir, but I think that the crew now will be none the worse of some medical comforts.
"Certainly, by all means," replied Captain Breezy. "Pipe to dinner, officer of the watch, and we'll splice the main-brace, Surgeon McTavish."
* * * * *
The end had not yet come however. The midget fleet must not escape.
So now, although she was somewhat damaged, theBreezyput on all speed in order to meet the Americans as quickly as possible, and hold a conference, and in about an hour's time the two nations, Britain and America, were exchanging salutes.
When Captain Breezy of H.M.S.Breezywent on board theNiagara, he found the Captain of theDelawarethere already, and Captain Breezy, wasting as few words as possible, told the whole sad story, and it was unanimously agreed that something must be done at once.
"There is no doubt," said Breezy, "that the Lamoo fleet will get back to their own Sultan as soon as possible, and there is only one way for them to get there, they must cross the bar one by one, and," he continued, "it is better, in my opinion, that we should sail for the mouth of that river and wait their appearance. Their sailing south was only to avoid meeting you. They will make a widedétourafter they are out of sight, and come straight for the equatorial coast again."
This was agreed to. A steam launch was sent back to Zanzibar to advise the consuls as to their movements.
They were going on a punitive expedition now--that was the message--they were to be found near to the mouth of the river, and should a torpedo boat or destroyer come in as well as the large man o' war which had been signalled, the former were to come to the river's mouth, the latter to lie at Zanzibar to defend it.