by Jules Verne
CHAPTER THREE.
THE MIST RISES--THE ENGINEER'S PREPARATIONS--THREE POSTS--AYRTON ANDPENCROFT--THE FIRST BOAT--TWO OTHER BOATS--ON THE ISLET--SIX CONVICTSLAND--THE BRIG WEIGHS ANCHOR--THE SPEEDY'S GUNS--A DESPERATE SITUATION--UNEXPECTED CATASTROPHE.
The night passed without incident. The colonists were on the _quivive_, and did not leave their post at the Chimneys. The pirates, ontheir side, did not appear to have made any attempt to land. Since thelast shots fired at Ayrton not a report, not even a sound, had betrayedthe presence of the brig in the neighbourhood of the island. It mighthave been fancied that she had weighed anchor, thinking that she had todeal with her match, and had left the coast.
But it was no such thing, and when day began to dawn the settlers couldsee a confused mass through the morning mist. It was the _Speedy_.
"These, my friends," said the engineer, "are the arrangements whichappear to me best to make before the fog completely clears away. Ithides us from the eyes of the pirates, and we can act without attractingtheir attention. The most important thing is, that the convicts shouldbelieve that the inhabitants of the island are numerous, andconsequently capable of resisting them. I therefore propose that wedivide into three parties, the first of which shall be posted at theChimneys, the second at the mouth of the Mercy. As to the third, Ithink it would be best to place it on the islet, so as to prevent, or atall events delay, any attempt at landing. We have the use of two riflesand four muskets. Each of us will be armed, and, as we are amplyprovided with powder and shot, we need not spare our fire. We havenothing to fear from the muskets, nor even from the guns of the brig.What can they do against these rocks? And, as we shall not fire fromthe windows of Granite House, the pirates will not think of causingirreparable damage by throwing shell against it. What is to be fearedis, the necessity of meeting hand-to-hand, since the convicts havenumbers on their side. We must, therefore, try to prevent them fromlanding, but without discovering ourselves. Therefore, do not economisethe ammunition. Fire often, but with a sure aim. We have each eight orten enemies to kill, and they must be killed!"
Cyrus Harding had clearly represented their situation, although he spokein the calmest voice, as if it was a question of directing a piece ofwork, and not ordering a battle. His companions approved thesearrangements without even uttering a word. There was nothing more to bedone but for each to take his place before the fog should be completelydissipated. Neb and Pencroft immediately ascended to Granite House andbrought back a sufficient quantity of ammunition. Gideon Spilett andAyrton, both very good marksmen, were armed with the two rifles, whichcarried nearly a mile. The four other muskets were divided amongstHarding, Neb, Pencroft, and Herbert.
The posts were arranged in the following manner:--
Cyrus Harding and Herbert remained in ambush at the Chimneys, thuscommanding the shore to the foot of Granite House.
Gideon Spilett and Neb crouched among the rocks at the mouth of theMercy, from which the drawbridges had been raised, so as to prevent anyone from crossing in a boat or landing on the opposite shore.
As to Ayrton and Pencroft, they shoved off in the boat, and prepared tocross the channel and to take up two separate stations on the islet. Inthis way, shots being fired from four different points at once, theconvicts would be led to believe that the island was both largelypeopled and strongly defended.
In the event of a landing being effected without their having been ableto prevent it, and also if they saw that they were on the point of beingcut off by the brig's boat, Ayrton and Pencroft were to return in theirboat to the shore and proceed towards the threatened spot.
Before starting to occupy their posts, the colonists for the last timewrung each other's hands.
Pencroft succeeded in controlling himself sufficiently to suppress hisemotion when he embraced Herbert, his boy! and then they separated.
In a few moments Harding and Herbert on one side, the reporter and Nebon the other, had disappeared behind the rocks, and five minutes laterAyrton and Pencroft, having without difficulty crossed the channel,disembarked on the islet and concealed themselves in the clefts of itseastern shore.
None of them could have been seen, for they themselves could scarcelydistinguish the brig in the fog.
It was half-past six in the morning.
Soon the fog began to clear away, and the topmasts of the brig issuedfrom the vapour. For some minutes great masses rolled over the surfaceof the sea, then a breeze sprang up, which rapidly dispelled the mist.
The _Speedy_ now appeared in full view, with a spring on her cable, herhead to the north, presenting her larboard side to the island. Just asHarding had calculated, she was not more than a mile and a quarter fromthe coast.
The sinister black flag floated from the peak.
The engineer, with his telescope, could see that the four guns on boardwere pointed at the island. They were evidently ready to fire at amoment's notice.
In the meanwhile the _Speedy_ remained silent. About thirty piratescould be seen moving on the deck. A few were on the poop; two othersposted in the shrouds, and armed with spy-glasses, were attentivelysurveying the island.
Certainly, Bob Harvey and his crew would not be able easily to give anaccount of what had happened during the night on board the brig. Hadthis half-naked man, who had forced the door of the powder-magazine, andwith whom they had struggled, who had six times discharged his revolverat them, who had killed one and wounded two others, escaped their shot?Had he been able to swim to shore? Whence did he come? What had beenhis object? Had his design really been to blow up the brig, as BobHarvey had thought? All this must be confused enough to the convicts'minds. But what they could no longer doubt was that the unknown islandbefore which the _Speedy_ had cast anchor was inhabited, and that therewas, perhaps, a numerous colony ready to defend it. And yet no one wasto be seen, neither on the shore, nor on the heights. The beachappeared to be absolutely deserted. At any rate, there was no trace ofdwellings. Had the inhabitants fled into the interior? Thus probablythe pirate captain reasoned, and doubtless, like a prudent man, hewished to reconnoitre the locality before he allowed his men to venturethere.
During an hour and a half, no indication of attack or landing could beobserved on board the brig. Evidently Bob Harvey was hesitating. Evenwith his strongest telescopes he could not have perceived one of thesettlers crouched among the rocks. It was not even probable that hisattention had been awakened by the screen of green branches and creepershiding the windows of Granite House, and showing rather conspicuously onthe bare rock. Indeed, how could he imagine that a dwelling washollowed out, at that height, in the solid granite. From Claw Cape tothe Mandible Capes, in all the extent of Union Bay, there was nothing tolead him to suppose that the island was or could be inhabited.
At eight o'clock, however, the colonists observed a movement on boardthe _Speedy_. A boat was lowered, and seven men jumped into her. Theywere armed with muskets: one took the yoke-lines, four others the oars,and the two others, kneeling in the bows, ready to fire, reconnoitredthe island. Their object was no doubt to make an examination but not toland, for in the latter case they would have come in larger numbers.The pirates from their look-out could have seen that the coast wassheltered by an islet, separated from it by a channel half a mile inwidth. However, it was soon evident to Cyrus Harding, on observing thedirection followed by the boat, that they would not attempt to penetrateinto the channel, but would land on the islet.
Pencroft and Ayrton, each hidden in a narrow cleft of the rock, saw themcoming directly towards them, and waited till they were within range.
The boat advanced with extreme caution. The oars only dipped into thewater at long intervals. It could now be seen that one of the convictsheld a lead-line in his hand, and that he wished to fathom the depth ofthe channel hollowed out by the current of the Mercy. This showed thatit was Bob Harvey's intention to bring his brig as near as possible tothe coast. About thirty pirates, scattered in the
rigging, followedevery movement of the boat, and took the bearings of certain landmarkswhich would allow them to approach without danger. The boat was notmore than two cables-lengths off the islet when she stopped. The man atthe tiller stood up and looked for the best place at which to land.
At that moment two shots were heard. Smoke curled up from among therocks of the islet. The man at the helm and the man with the lead-linefell backwards into the boat. Ayrton's and Pencraft's balls had struckthem both at the same moment.
Almost immediately a louder report was heard, a cloud of smoke issuedfrom the brig's side, and a ball, striking the summit of the rock whichsheltered Ayrton and Pencroft, made it fly in splinters, but the twomarksmen remained unhurt.
Horrible imprecations burst from the boat, which immediately continuedits way. The man who had been at the tiller was replaced by one of hiscomrades, and the oars were rapidly plunged into the water. However,instead of returning on board as might have been expected, the boatcoasted along the islet, so as to round its southern point. The piratespulled vigorously at their oars that they might get out of range of thebullets.
They advanced to within five cables-lengths of that part of the shoreterminated by Flotsam Point, and after having rounded it in asemicircular line, still protected by the brig's guns, they proceededtowards the mouth of the Mercy.
Their evident intention was to penetrate into the channel, and cut offthe colonists posted on the islet, in such a way, that whatever theirnumber might be, being placed between the fire from the boat and thefire from the brig, they would find themselves in a very disadvantageousposition.
A quarter of an hour passed whilst the boat advanced in this direction.Absolute silence, perfect calm reigned in the air and on the water.
Pencroft and Ayrton, although they knew they ran the risk of being cutoff, had not left their post, both that they did not wish to showthemselves as yet to their assailants, and expose themselves to the_Speedy's_ guns, and that they relied on Neb and Gideon Spilett,watching at the mouth of the river, and on Cyrus Harding and Herbert, inambush among the rocks at the Chimneys.
Twenty minutes after the first shots were fired, the boat was less thantwo cables-lengths off the Mercy. As the tide was beginning to risewith its accustomed violence, caused by the narrowness of the straits,the pirates were drawn towards the river, and it was only by dint ofhard rowing that they were able to keep in the middle of the channel.But, as they were passing within good range of the mouth of the Mercy,two balls saluted them, and two more of their number were laid in thebottom of the boat. Neb and Spilett had not missed their aim.
The brig immediately sent a second ball on the post betrayed by thesmoke, but without any other result than that of splintering the rock.
The boat now contained only three able men. Carried on by the current,it shot through the channel with the rapidity of an arrow, passed beforeHarding and Herbert, who, not thinking it within range, withheld theirfire, then, rounding the northern point of the islet with the tworemaining oars, they pulled towards the brig.
Hitherto the settlers had nothing to complain of. Their adversaries hadcertainly had the worst of it. The latter already counted four menseriously wounded if not dead; they, on the contrary, unwounded, had notmissed a shot. If the pirates continued to attack them in this way, ifthey renewed their attempt to land by means of a boat, they could bedestroyed one by one.
It was now seen how advantageous the engineer's arrangements had been.The pirates would think that they had to deal with numerous andwell-armed adversaries, whom they could not easily get the better of.
Half an hour passed before the boat, having to pull against the current,could get alongside the _Speedy_. Frightful cries were heard when theyreturned on board with the wounded, and two or three guns were firedwith no result.
But now about a dozen other convicts, maddened with rage, and possiblyby the effect of the evening's potations, threw themselves into theboat. A second boat was also lowered, in which eight men took theirplaces, and whilst the first pulled straight for the islet, to dislodgethe colonists from thence, the second manoeuvred so as to force theentrance of the Mercy.
The situation was evidently becoming very dangerous for Pencroft andAyrton, and they saw that they must regain the mainland.
However, they waited till the first boat was within range, when twowell-directed balls threw its crew into disorder. Then, Pencroft andAyrton, abandoning their posts, under fire from the dozen muskets, ranacross the islet at full speed, jumped into their boat, crossed thechannel at the moment the second boat reached the southern end, and ranto hide themselves in the Chimneys.
They had scarcely rejoined Cyrus Harding and Herbert, before the isletwas overrun with pirates in every direction. Almost at the same moment,fresh reports resounded from the Mercy station, to which the second boatwas rapidly approaching. Two, out of the eight men who manned her, weremortally wounded by Gideon Spilett and Neb, and the boat herself,carried irresistibly onto the reefs, was stove in at the mouth of theMercy. But the six survivors, holding their muskets above their headsto preserve them from contact with the water, managed to land on theright bank of the river. Then, finding they were exposed to the fire ofthe ambush there, they fled in the direction of Flotsam Point, out ofrange of the balls.
The actual situation was this: on the islet were a dozen convicts, ofwhom some were no doubt wounded, but who had still a boat at theirdisposal; on the island were six, but who could not by any possibilityreach Granite House, as they could not cross the river, all the bridgesbeing raised.
"Hallo," exclaimed Pencroft as he rushed into the Chimneys, "hallo,captain! What do you think of it, now?"
"I think," answered the engineer, "that the combat will now take a newform, for it cannot be supposed that the convicts will be so foolish asto remain in a position so unfavourable for them!"
"They won't cross the channel," said the sailor. "Ayrton and MrSpilett's rifles are there to prevent them. You know that they carrymore than a mile!"
"No doubt," replied Herbert; "but what can two rifles do against thebrig's guns?"
"Well, the brig isn't in the channel yet, I fancy!" said Pencroft.
"But suppose she does come there?" said Harding.
"That's impossible, for she would risk running aground and being lost!"
"It is possible," said Ayrton. "The convicts might profit by the hightide to enter the channel, with the risk of grounding at low tide, it istrue; but then, under the fire from her guns, our posts would be nolonger tenable."
"Confound them!" exclaimed Pencroft. "It really seems as if theblackguards were preparing to weigh anchor."
"Perhaps we shall be obliged to take refuge in Granite House!" observedHerbert.
"We must wait!" answered Cyrus Harding.
"But Mr Spilett and Neb?" said Pencroft.
"They will know when it is best to rejoin us. Be ready, Ayrton. It isyours and Spilett's rifles which must speak now."
It was only too true. The _Speedy_ was beginning to weigh her anchor,and her intention was evidently to approach the islet. The tide wouldbe rising for an hour and a half, and the ebb current being alreadyweakened, it would be easy for the brig to advance. But as to enteringthe channel, Pencroft, contrary to Ayrton's opinion, could not believethat she would dare to attempt it.
In the meanwhile, the pirates who occupied the islet had graduallyadvanced to the opposite shore, and were now only separated from themainland by the channel.
Being armed with muskets alone, they could do no harm to the settlers,in ambush at the Chimneys and the mouth of the Mercy; but, not knowingthe latter to be supplied with long range rifles, they on their side didnot believe themselves to be exposed. Quite uncovered, therefore, theysurveyed the islet, and examined the shore.
Their illusion was of short duration. Ayrton's and Gideon Spilett'srifles then spoke, and no doubt imparted some very disagreeableintelligence to two of the convicts, for they fell backwards.
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br /> Then there was a general helter-skelter. The ten others, not evenstopping to pick up their dead or wounded companions, fled to the otherside of the islet, tumbled into the boat which had brought them, andpulled away with all their strength.
"Eight less!" exclaimed Pencroft. "Really, one would have thought thatMr Spilett and Ayrton had given the word to fire together!"
"Gentlemen," said Ayrton, as he reloaded his gun, "this is becoming moreserious. The brig is making sail!"
"The anchor is weighed!" exclaimed Pencroft.
"Yes; and she is already moving."
In fact, they could distinctly hear the creaking of the windlass. The_Speedy_ was at first held by her anchor; then, when that had beenraised, she began to drift towards the shore. The wind was blowing fromthe sea; the jib and the fore-topsail were hoisted, and the vesselgradually approached the island.
From the two posts of the Mercy and the Chimneys they watched herwithout giving a sign of life; but not without some emotion. What couldbe more terrible for the colonists than to be exposed, at a shortdistance, to the brig's guns, without being able to reply with anyeffect? How could they then prevent the pirates from landing?
Cyrus Harding felt this strongly, and he asked himself what it would bepossible to do. Before long, he would be called upon for hisdetermination. But what was it to be? To shut themselves up in GraniteHouse, to be besieged there, to remain there for weeks, for months even,since they had an abundance of provisions? So far good! But afterthat? The pirates would not the less be masters of the island, whichthey would ravage at their pleasure, and in time they would end byhaving their revenge on the prisoners in Granite House.
However, one chance yet remained; it was that Bob Harvey, after all,would not venture his ship into the channel, and that he would keepoutside the islet. He would be still separated from the coast by half amile, and at that distance his shot could not be very destructive.
"Never!" repeated Pencroft, "Bob Harvey will never, if he is a goodseaman, enter that channel! He knows well that it would risk the brig,if the sea got up ever so little! And what would become of him withouthis vessel?"
In the meanwhile the brig approached the islet, and it could be seenthat she was endeavouring to make the lower end. The breeze was light,and as the current had then lost much of its force, Bob Harvey hadabsolute command over his vessel.
The route previously followed by the boats had allowed her toreconnoitre the channel, and she boldly entered it.
The pirate's design was now only too evident: he wished to bring herbroadside to bear on the Chimneys and from there to reply with shell andball to the shot which had till then decimated her crew.
Soon the _Speedy_ reached the point of the islet; she rounded it withease; the mainsail was braced up, and the brig hugging the wind, stoodacross the mouth of the Mercy.
"The scoundrels! they are coming!" said Pencroft.
At that moment, Cyrus Harding, Ayrton, the sailor, and Herbert, wererejoined by Neb and Gideon Spilett.
The reporter and his companion had judged it best to abandon the post atthe Mercy, from which they could do nothing against the ship, and theyhad acted wisely. It was better that the colonists should be togetherat the moment when they were about to engage in a decisive action.Gideon Spilett and Neb had arrived by dodging behind the rocks, thoughnot without attracting a shower of bullets, which had not, however,reached them.
"Spilett! Neb!" cried the engineer, "you are not wounded?"
"No," answered the reporter; "a few bruises only from the ricochet! Butthat cursed brig has entered the channel!"
"Yes," replied Pencroft, "and in ten minutes she will have anchoredbefore Granite House!"
"Have you formed any plan, Cyrus?" asked the reporter.
"We must take refuge in Granite House whilst there is still time, andthe convicts cannot see us."
"That is my opinion, too," replied Gideon Spilett; "but once shut up--"
"We must be guided by circumstances," said the engineer.
"Let us be off, then, and make haste!" said the reporter.
"Would you not wish, captain, that Ayrton and I should remain here?"asked the sailor.
"What would be the use of that, Pencroft?" replied Harding. "No. Wewill not separate!"
There was not a moment to be lost. The colonists left the Chimneys. Abend of the cliff prevented them from being seen by those in the brig;but two or three reports, and the crash of bullets on the rock, toldthem that the _Speedy_ was at no great distance.
To spring into the lift, hoist themselves up to the door of GraniteHouse, where Top and Jup had been shut up since the evening before, torush into the large room, was the work of a minute only.
It was quite time, for the settlers, through the branches, could see the_Speedy_, surrounded with smoke, gliding up the channel. The firing wasincessant, and shot from the four guns struck blindly, both on the Mercypost, although it was not occupied, and on the Chimneys. The rocks weresplintered, and cheers accompanied each discharge. However, they werehoping that Granite House would be spared, thanks to Harding'sprecaution of concealing the windows, when a shot, piercing the door,penetrated into the passage.
"We are discovered!" exclaimed Pencroft.
The colonists had not, perhaps, been seen; but it was certain that BobHarvey had thought proper to send a ball through the suspected foliagewhich concealed that part of the cliff. Soon he redoubled his attack,when another ball having torn away the leafy screen, disclosed a gapingaperture in the granite.
The colonists' situation was desperate. Their retreat was discovered.They could not oppose any obstacle to these missiles, nor protect thestone, which flew in splinters around them. There was nothing to bedone but to take refuge in the upper passage of Granite House, and leavetheir dwelling to be devastated, when a deep roar was heard, followed byfrightful cries!
Cyrus Harding and his companions rushed to one of the windows--
The brig, irresistibly raised on a sort of water-spout, had just splitin two, and in less than ten seconds she was swallowed up with all hercriminal crew!
