Gascoyne, the Sandal-Wood Trader

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.

  THE RENDEZVOUS--AN EPISODE--PECULIAR CIRCUMSTANCES--AND OTHER MATTERS.

  About five or six days' sail from the scene of our tale there lies oneof those small rocks or islets with which the breast of the Pacific isin many places thickly studded.

  It is a lonely coral isle, far removed from any of its fellows, andpresenting none of those grand features which characterise the island onwhich the settlement of Sandy Cove was situated. In no part does itrise more than thirty feet above the level of the sea; in most places itis little more than a few feet above it. The coral reefs around it arenumerous; and as many of them rise to within a few feet of the surface,the navigation in its neighbourhood is dangerous in the extreme.

  At the time of which we write, the vegetation of the isle was not veryluxuriant. Only a few clusters of cocoa-nut palms grew here and thereover its otherwise barren surface. In this respect it did not resemblemost of the other islands of the Pacific. Owing partly to its being outof the usual course of ships, and partly to the dangerous reefs alreadyreferred to, the spot was never approached by vessels, or, if a shiphappened to be driven towards it, she got out of its way as speedily aspossible.

  This was the rendezvous of the pirates, and was named by them the Isleof Palms.

  Here, in caverns hollowed out of the coral rock, Gascoyne had been wontto secrete such goods and stores as were necessary for the maintenanceof his piratical course of life, and to this lone spot did Manton conveyhis prisoners after getting rid of his former commander. Towards thisspot, also, did Gascoyne turn the prow of the cutter _Wasp_ in pursuitof his mutinous first mate.

  Manton, for reasons best known to himself, (certainly not from goodnessof heart,) was kind to his captives to the extent of simply letting themalone. He declined to hold any intercourse whatever with CaptainMontague, and forbade him to speak with the men upon pain of beingconfined to his berth. The young people were allowed to do as theypleased, so long as they kept out of the way.

  On reaching the Isle of Palms the pirates at once proceeded to take inthose stores of which they stood in need. The harbour into which theschooner ran was a narrow bay, on the shores of which the palm treesgrew sufficiently high to prevent her masts from being seen from theother side of the island. Here the captives were landed, but as Mantondid not wish them to witness his proceedings, he sent them across theislet under the escort of a party who conveyed them to the shores of asmall bay. On the rocks in this bay lay the wreck of what once had beena noble ship. It was now completely dismantled. Her hull was stove inby the rocks. Her masts and yards were gone, with the exception oftheir stumps and the lower part of the main-mast, to which the main-yardstill hung with a ragged portion of the mainsail attached to it.

  A feeling of depression filled the breast of Montague and his companionsas they came in sight of this wreck, and the former attempted to obtainsome information in regard to her from his conductors, but they sternlybade him ask no questions. Some time afterwards he heard the story ofthis vessel's fate. We shall record it here.

  Not many months prior to the date of our tale, the _Avenger_ happened tohave occasion to run down to the Isle of Palms. Gascoyne was absent atthe time. He had been landed at Sandy Cove, and had ordered Manton togo to the rendezvous for supplies. On nearing the isle a storm arose.The wind was fair, however, and the schooner ran for her destinationunder close reefed sails. Just before reaching it they fell in with alarge full-rigged ship, which, on sighting the schooner, ran up her flaghalf-mast high as a signal of distress. She had sprung a leak and wassinking.

  Had the weather been calmer the pirates would have at once boarded thevessel and carried her as a prize into the harbour, but the sea ran sohigh that this was impossible. Manton therefore ran down as close tothe side of the merchantman, (for such she seemed to be,) as enabled himto hail her through the speaking trumpet. When sufficiently near hedemanded her name and destination.

  "The _Brilliant_, from Liverpool, bound for the Sandwich Islands. Andyou?"

  "The _Foam_--from the Feejees--for Calcutta. What's wrong with you?"

  "Sprung a leak; is there anchorage in the bay?" sang out the captain ofthe merchantman.

  "No, it's too shoal for a big ship. Bear away round to the other sideof the island. You'll find good holding ground there--I will shew youthe way."

  The pirate accordingly conducted the unsuspecting stranger away from theonly safe harbour in the island, and led him through a completelabyrinth of reefs and rocks to the bay on the other side, in which heknew full well there was scarcely enough of water to float his ownlittle schooner.

  With perfect confidence in his guide, the unfortunate captain of themerchantman followed until both vessels were in the comparatively stilland sheltered water of the bay. Here Manton suddenly put down the helm,brought his vessel up to the wind and allowed the stranger to pass him.

  "Hold on about sixty fathoms farther and then let go your anchor," heshouted, as the ship went steadily on to her doom.

  "Ay, ay, and thank 'ee," cried the captain, who had already taken innearly all sail and was quite prepared to anchor.

  But Manton knew that before twenty fathoms more should be passed over bythe ship she would run straight on a coral reef, which rose to withinabout five feet of the surface of the sea. In an exposed place thisreef would have formed a line of breakers, but in its sheltered positionthe water gave no indication of its existence. The gale, though notblowing direct into the bay, entered it in a sufficiently straight lineto carry the ship onward with great speed, notwithstanding the reductionmade in her canvas.

  "Stand by to let go the anchor," cried her captain.

  That was his last order. Scarcely had the words passed his lips whenthe ship struck with a shock that caused her to quiver like a leaf fromstem to stern. All the top-masts with their yards and rigging went overthe side, and, in one instant the fine vessel was a total wreck!

  The rest of the story is soon told. The pirates shewed their truecolours, ran alongside and took possession without opposition, for thecrew of the merchantman were so overwhelmed by the suddenness andappalling nature of the calamity that had befallen them that they had noheart to resist.

  Of course it was out of the question that the crew of the _Brilliant_could be allowed to remain on the island. Some of the pirates suggestedthat they should be put on a raft, towed to leeward of the island, and,when out of sight of it, be cast adrift to float about until they shouldbe picked up or get blown on one of the numerous islands that lay to thesouthward of the rendezvous. Manton and Scraggs advocated this plan,but the better-disposed among the men protested against such needlesscruelty, and suggested that it would be better to put them into thelong-boat of the ship, bandage their eyes, then tow them out of sight ofland and cast them loose to steer where they pleased.

  This plan was adopted and carried into execution. Then the piratesreturned, and at their leisure unloaded and secured the cargo of theirprize. It was richer than they had anticipated, being a miscellaneouscargo of valuable commodities for the trading stores of some of theSouth Sea merchants and settlers.

  The joy felt by the pirates on making this discovery, was all thebenefit that was ever derived from these ill-gotten gains by any one ofthose who had a hand in that dastardly deed. Long before they had anopportunity of removing the goods thus acquired, the career of the_Avenger_ had terminated. But we must not anticipate our story.

  On a green knoll near the margin of this bay, and in full view of thewreck, a rude tent or hut was constructed by the pirates out of part ofan old sail which had been washed ashore from the wreck, and some brokenspars. A small cask of biscuit and two or three blankets were placed init, and here the captives were left to do as they pleased until suchtime as Manton chose to send for them. The only piece of advice thatwas given to them by their surly jailer was, that they should not on anypretence whatever cross the island to the bay in which the schooner layat anchor.

 
"If ye do," said the man who was the last of the party to quit them,"ye'll wish ye hadn't--that's all. Take my advice and keep yerkooriosity in yer breeches' pockets."

  With this caution they were left to their own devices and meditations.

  It was a lovely calm evening at sunset when our four unfortunate friendswere thus left alone in these strange circumstances. The effect oftheir forlorn condition was very different on each. Poopy flung herselfdown on the ground, inside the tent, and began to sob; Alice sat downbeside her, and wept silently; whilst Montague, forgetting his ownsorrows in his pity for the poor young creatures who had been thusstrangely linked to him in affliction, sat down opposite to Alice, andsought to comfort her.

  Will Corrie, feeling that he could do nothing to cheer his companions inthe circumstances, and being unable to sit still, rose, and going out atthe end of the tent, both sides of which were open, stood leaning on apole, and contemplated the scene before him.

  In a small creek, or indentation of the shore, close to the knoll onwhich the tent stood, two of the pirates were working at a boat whichlay there. Corrie could not at first understand what they were about,but he was soon enlightened, for, after hauling the boat as far out ofthe water as they could, they left her there, and followed theircomrades to the other side of the island, carrying the oars along withthem.

  The spirit that dwelt in Corrie's breast was a very peculiar one. Up tothis point in his misfortunes the poor boy had been subdued--overwhelmedby the suddenness and the terrible nature of the calamity that hadbefallen him--or rather, that had befallen Alice, for, to do himjustice, he only thought of her. Indeed, he carried this feeling so farthat he had honestly confessed to himself, in a mental soliloquy, thenight on which he had been captured, that he did not care one straw forhimself, or Poopy, or Captain Montague--that his whole and sole distressof mind and body was owing to the grief into which Alice had beenplunged. He had made an attempt to comfort her one night on the voyageto the Isle of Palms, when she and Poopy and he were left alonetogether; but he failed. After one or two efforts he ended by burstinginto tears, and then, choking himself violently with his own hands, saidthat he was ashamed of himself, that he wasn't crying for himself butfor her, (Alice,) and that he hoped she wouldn't think the worse of himfor being so like a baby. Here he turned to Poopy, and in a mostunreasonable manner began to scold her for being at the bottom of thewhole mischief, in the middle of which he broke off, said that hebelieved himself to be mad, and vowed he would blow out his own brainsfirst, and those of all the pirates afterwards. Whereupon he choked,sobbed again, and rushed out of the cabin as if he really meant toexecute his last awful threat.

  But poor Corrie only rushed away to hide from Alice the irrepressibleemotions that nearly burst his heart. Yes, Corrie was thoroughlysubdued by grief. But the spring was not broken, it was only crushedflat by the weight of sorrow that lay like a millstone on his youthfulbosom.

  The first thing that set his active brain a-going once more--therebyoverturning the weight of sorrow and causing the spring of his peculiarspirit to rebound--was the sight of the two pirates hauling up the boatand carrying off the oars.

  "Ha! that's your game is it?" muttered the boy between his teeth, andgrasping the pole with both hands as if he wished to squeeze his fingersinto the wood. "You don't want to give us a chance of escaping, don'tyou, eh! is that it? You think that because we're a small party, andthe half of us females, that we're cowed, and won't think of trying anyother way of escaping, do you? Oh yes, that's what you think; you knowit, you do, _but you're mistaken_," (he became terribly sarcastic andbitter at this point;) "you'll find that you have got _men_ to dealwith, that you've not only caught a tartar, but _two_ tartars--one o'them being ten times tartarer than the other. Oh, if--"

  "What's all that you're saying, Corrie?" said Montague, stepping out ofthe tent at that moment.

  "O captain," said the boy, vehemently, "I wish I were a giant!"

  "Why so, lad?"

  "Because then I would wade out to that wreck, clap my shoulder to herbow, shove her into deep water, carry you, and Alice, and Poopy aboard,haul out the main-mast by the roots, make an oar of it, and scull out tosea, havin' previously fired off the biggest gun aboard of her, to letthe pirates know what I was doing."

  Corrie's spirit was in a tumultuous and very rebellious state. He washalf inclined to indulge in hysterical weeping, and more than halfdisposed to give way to a burst of savage glee. He spoke with themantling blood blazing in his fat cheeks, and his two eyes glitteringlike those of a basilisk. Montague could not repress a smile and a lookof admiration as he said to our little hero--

  "Why, Corrie, if you were a giant it would be much easier to go to theother side of the island, wring off the heads of all the pirates, and,carrying me on your shoulders, and Alice and Poopy in your coat-pockets,get safely aboard of the _Foam_, and ho! for Sandy Cove."

  "So it would," said Corrie, gravely. "I did not think of that, and itwould be a far pleasanter way than the other."

  "Ah! Corrie, I fear that you are a very bloodthirsty fellow."

  "Of course I am when I've pirates to deal with. I would kill them everyman, without a thought."

  "No you wouldn't, my boy. You couldn't do it in cold blood, evenalthough they are bad men."

  "I don't know that," said Corrie, dubiously. "I would do it withoutmore feeling than I would have in killing a cat."

  "Did you ever kill a cat?" asked Montague.

  "Never," answered Corrie.

  "Then how can you tell what your feelings would be if you were toattempt to do it. I remember once, when I was a boy, going out to huntcats."

  "O Captain Montague, surely _you_ never hunted cats," exclaimed Alice,who came out of the tent with a very pale face, and uncommonly red eyes.

  "Yes, indeed, I did _once_--but I never did it again. I caught one, akitten, and set off with a number of boys to kill it; but as we wentalong it began to play with my neck-tie and to _purr_! Our hearts weresoftened, so we let it go. Ah! Corrie, my boy, never go hunting cats,"said Montague, earnestly.

  "Did I say I was going to?" replied Corrie, indignantly.

  Montague laughed, and so did Alice, at the fierce look the boy put on.

  "Corrie," said the former, "I'm sure that you would not kill a pirate incold blood, any more than you would kill a kitten--would you?"

  "I'm not sure o' that," said Corrie, half laughing, but still lookingfierce. "In the first place, my blood is never cold when I've to dowith pirates; and, in the second place, pirates are not innocentcreatures covered with soft hair--and they don't purr!"

  This last remark set Alice into a fit of laughter, and drew a faint"Hee! hee!" from Poopy, who had been listening to the conversationbehind the canvas of the tent.

  Montague took advantage of this improved state of things. "Now, Alice,"said he, cheerfully, "do you and Poopy set about spreading ourblanket-tablecloth and getting supper laid out. It is but a poor one,--hard biscuit and water,--but there is plenty of it, and, after all, thatis the main thing. Meanwhile Corrie and I will saunter along shore andtalk over our plans. Cheer up, my little girl, we will manage to givethese pirates the slip somehow or other, you may depend upon it."

  "Corrie," said Montague, when they were alone. "I have spokencheeringly to Alice, because she is a little girl and needs comfort, butyou and I know that our case is a desperate one, and it will require allour united wisdom and cleverness to effect our escape from theserascally pirates."

  The commander of the _Talisman_ paused, and smiled in spite of himselfat the idea of being placed in circumstances that constrained him tohold a consultation, in matters that might involve life and death, witha mere boy! But there was no help for it; besides, to say truth, theextraordinary energy and courage that had been displayed by the lad,combined with a considerable amount of innate sharpness in hischaracter, tended to create a feeling that the consultation might not bealtogether without advantage. At all events, it was be
tter to talk overtheir desperate position even with a boy, than to confine his anxietiesto his own breast.

  But although Montague had seen enough of his young companion to convincehim that he was an intelligent fellow, he was not prepared for thefertility of resource, the extremity of daring, and the ingenuity ofdevice, that were exhibited by him in the course of that consultation.

  To creep over in the dead of night, knife in hand, and attack thepirates while asleep, was one of the least startling of his daringpropositions; and to swim out to the wreck, set her on fire, and getquietly on board the _Avenger_ while all the amazed pirates should haverushed over to see what could have caused such a blaze, cut the cableand sail away, was among the least ingenious of his devices.

  These two talked long and earnestly while the shades of evening weredescending on the Isle of Palms--and in the earnestness of their talk,and the pressing urgency of their case, the man almost forgot that hiscompanion was a boy, and the boy never for a moment doubted that hehimself, in everything but years, was a man.

  It was getting dark when they returned to the tent, where they foundthat Alice and Poopy had arranged their supper with the most scrupulouscare and nicety. These too, with the happy buoyancy of extreme youth,had temporarily forgotten their position, and, when their malecompanions entered, were deeply engaged in a private game of a "teaparty," in which hard biscuit figured as bun, and water was made to doduty for tea. In this latter part of the game, by the way, the childrendid but carry out in jest a practice which is not altogether unknown inhappier circumstances and in civilised society.