by G. A. Henty
Chapter 14: The Great Andaman.
Leaving a party below, to clear away the burnt barrels and debris,and to extinguish any fire that might still smoulder among them,the rest returned on deck. Terrible as was the storm, it was arelief, to all, to cling to the rail and breathe the fresh air,after the stifling atmosphere of the hold.
The scene, however, was a terrible one. Lightning was flashingoverhead incessantly, although the thunder was only occasionallyheard, above the howl of the storm. The sea was broken andirregular, leaping in masses over the bulwarks, and sweeping thedecks. The force of the wind continually tore the heads off thewaves, and carried the spray along in blinding showers.
"We are very near the eye of the hurricane," Captain Faircloughshouted, in Lindsay's ear. "The men at the wheel tell me she hasbeen twice round the compass, already; but this broken sea would,alone, tell that. We must get a little sail on the main mast, andtry to edge out of it."
A small stay sail was got out and hoisted, and the helm was putdown a little. Though still running at but a slight angle beforethe wind, the pressure was now sufficient to lay her down to hergunwale. The crew gathered under shelter of the weather bulwark,holding on by belaying pins and stanchions.
Night had now set in, but it made little difference; for thedarkness had, before, been intense, save for the white crests ofthe tossing waves. Sheets of foam blew across the deck and,sometimes, a heavy fall of water toppled down on the crew. Apannikin of hot soup had been served out to the men, and this wouldbe the last hot refreshment they would obtain, before the galebroke; for the hatchways were all battened down, and it wasimpossible to keep the fire alight.
"The best thing you can do is to turn in, Lindsay," Faircloughsaid, after the former had finished his soup--a task of no slightdifficulty, under the circumstances. "You can do no good byremaining up."
"How long is it likely to last?"
"Probably for two or three days, possibly longer."
"I will take your advice," Harry said. "I shall be glad to getthese wet clothes off."
For a time, he was sorry that he had lain down, for the motion wasso violent that he could, with difficulty, keep himself in hisberth. Being, however, completely worn out by the buffeting of thegale, the efforts required to hold on, the excitement of the fireand storm, it was not long before he dropped off to sleep; and hedid not wake up until a ray of dim light showed that the morningwas breaking. The motion of the ship was unabated and after, withgreat difficulty, getting into his clothes, he went up on deck.
Except that the clouds were somewhat more broken, there was nochange. Dark masses of vapour flew overhead, torn and ragged. Thewild tumble of waves rose and fell, without order or regularity.Forward, the bulwark on both bows had been carried away, and thedeck was swept clear of every movable object.
One watch was below, the men of the other were for the most partgathered aft, and lashed to belaying pins. Fairclough was standingnear the wheel. With some difficulty, Harry made his way to him.
"Not much change since last night," he said. "I feel quite ashamedof myself, for having been sleeping in my berth while you have allbeen exposed to this gale."
"There has not been much to do," the commander said. "In fact,there is nothing to be done, except to keep her as much as we darefrom running straight before the wind. We have not had much successthat way for, as you see, the tumble of water shows that we arestill but a short distance from the centre of the gale. I sent thestarboard watch below at four bells and, in a few minutes, we shallbe relieved. Hardy wanted to stay with me, but I would not have it.
"The cook has managed, somehow, to boil some water, and served apannikin of coffee to all hands, just before the watch turned in;and he has sent word that he will have some more ready, by the timethey come up again."
He looked at his watch, and called out, "four bells."
One of the men made his way to the bell, with alacrity. The watchbelow did not come up, for a few minutes, as they waited to drinktheir coffee. As soon as they appeared, the men on deck went below.
"All the better for your sleep, Mr. Hardy?" Fairclough asked, asthe other joined him.
"Very much better, sir. I think the cook ought to have a medal. Thecup of coffee before we turned in, and that we have just drunk,have made new men of us."
"You will call me, instantly, if there is any change, Mr. Hardy.
"Mr. Eden, you had better come with us. The coffee will be ready,in my cabin."
There was no possibility of sitting at the table. But, sitting downon the floor to leeward, and holding a mug in one hand and abiscuit in the other, they managed, with some difficulty, todispose of the meal. Then Fairclough, putting on some dry clothes,threw himself on his bunk. The midshipman retired to his own cabin,and Harry went on deck.
"How are we heading, Mr. Hardy?" he shouted, when he joined thelieutenant.
"At the present moment, we are running nearly due east but, as wehave been round the compass, several times, since the gale struckus, there is no means of saying, with anything like certainty,where our position is. But I was talking it over with the captain,before I went down, and we both agreed that, as the centre of thehurricane is undoubtedly moving to the northeast, we must have gonea good many miles in that direction.
"Of course, there is no means of determining how far till we canget a glimpse of the sun; but there is no doubt that, if the galecontinues, we shall soon be in a very perilous position, for wemust be driving towards the Andamans. We may have the luck to passnorth of them, or to go between them.
"We tried, last night, to get up a little more sail; but she wouldnot stand it, and we were obliged to take it off again. So we cando nothing but hope for the best."
Two hours later, Fairclough came out again.
"I am afraid that you have not been to sleep," Harry said.
"No. I am all the better for the rest, but sleep was out of thequestion.
"How is she heading now, Mr. Hardy?"
"Northeast, sir."
Fairclough took his telescope from the rack in the companion and,slinging it over his shoulder, mounted the ratlines to the top.
"Have you made out anything?" he asked the sailor stationed there.
"I have thought, once or twice, sir, that I saw land ahead; but Icould not say for certain. It is so thick that it is only when theclouds open a bit that one has a chance."
Although he had taken his glass with him, Fairclough did notattempt to use it, at present; but stood gazing fixedly ahead. Aquarter of an hour later there was a sudden rift in the clouds, anda low shore was visible, some five or six miles ahead; and a darkmass, much farther off, rising into the cloud. Fairclough instantlyunslung the telescope, and adjusted it. A minute afterwards theclouds closed in again and, telling the man to keep a sharplookout, he descended to the deck.
"We must set the main top-sail on her again, close reefed, ofcourse. We are running straight for land and, unless I am muchmistaken, it is the great Andaman. There is a lofty hill, somedistance back from the shore. I only caught a glimpse of its lowerpart, but none of the small islands have any hill to speak of. Theshore is about six miles off and, as the peak lies about the centreof the island, and as this is a hundred and forty miles long, weare some seventy miles from the northern point.
"You know what that means. However, we must do all that we can, tokeep her off."
"Ay, ay, sir," Hardy said, turning without another word, and thengave orders to the men to set the top sail.
This was done, and the ship's course was laid parallel to theshore. The wind was now nearly northwest, and she lay down untilthe water was several planks up her deck. The crew were all lashedto windward, clustering where they would be most out of danger,should the mast go.
Fairclough stood for a minute, looking at the shivering mast, andthe shrouds stretched like iron bars.
"We must get the guns overboard, Mr. Hardy; she will never standthis," and indeed the waves, striking her broadside, were fallingin a cascade over he
r.
Calling four of the men, Hardy made his way down into the leescuppers, where the water was nearly up to their waists; opened theportholes and slacked the lashings, when the four guns disappearedoverboard. It required much greater pains to get down the guns fromthe port side, as tackle had to be attached to each, so that theycould be lowered carefully, one by one, across the deck; but allworked heartily, and these also were launched overboard.
"That has eased her, a bit," Fairclough said, when Hardy rejoinedhim. "They helped to pin her down, and I could almost feel thedifference, as each gun went overboard."
"I am afraid that it will make no difference, in the long run,"Hardy said. "She must be making a great deal of leeway, and Ishould say that she will be on shore in a couple of hours, at thelatest. Still, we may have time to look out for a soft spot."
"We should not have much chance, in that case, Hardy; my only hopeis in another shift of wind."
"But it will go round more to the north, sir, and then we sha'n'tbe able to lie our course, at all. It has gone round a point, sincewe got up the top sail."
"Quite so; and I doubt whether it will go round soon enough to saveus. If it should go round a little more to the north, we must tryand get her on the other tack; but I am afraid, in such a sea, shewill not go about. Of course, our great aim is to reach PortCornwallis; or, if we cannot get as far as that, I have just beenhaving a look at the chart, and I see there are three narrowstraits. How much water there is in them, I do not know. They aremost vaguely marked on the chart. One of them is but thirty milesnorth of our present position and, if we find that we cannot makethe northern point, I shall try to get in there. I am not surethat, in any case, it would not be the best plan; for if there isonly water enough to run a mile or so up this passage, we shallground in comparatively still water; whereas, as the wind has beenblowing from every quarter, it is almost certain that there will bea tremendous sea in the open port."
Fairclough placed himself at the wheel, and told the two midshipmento go round, and tell the crew that there was an inlet ahead, butthe depth of the water was uncertain. When they approached it, allhands would come aft, so as to avoid being crushed by the fallingmasts. A dozen of the men were to take hatchets, and cut away thewreckage if the mast fell, leaving only a couple of the shroudsuncut. When this was done, directly the vessel began to break up,those who could not swim were to make their way by these shrouds tothe floating mast. Those who could swim could make, at once, forthe shore.
"When all have left the ship but Mr. Hardy and myself, we will cutthe shrouds; and the masts will probably ground, ere long."
While before the sailors had, for the most part, been gazing at thecoast, on which they had little doubt that their bodies would soonbe cast up; they became lively and active, as soon as they receivedthe order. It seemed that, after all, there was a chance for them.
Four hours passed. The wind had now so far headed them that thebrig could no longer keep her course parallel with the shore. Twicethey had endeavoured to put her about, but each time failed; andshe was now making so much leeway that the coast was less thanthree miles away. A tremendous sea was breaking upon it. One of themidshipmen had, for the past hour, been in the foretop with aglass; and the captain himself now went up, and took his placebeside him. He saw at once that, accustomed as he was to use histelescope in rough weather, it would be useless here; for themotion was so great that it was only by following the midshipman'sexample, and lashing himself to the mast, that he could retain afooting.
"You are sure that you have seen no break in the surf, Mr. Eden?"
"Quite sure, sir."
"We ought not to be far from it, now, if it is rightly marked onthe chart."
Another hour passed, and they were within a mile and a half of theshore.
"I think that I can see a break, over there, sir," and themidshipman pointed to a spot a mile along the coast.
"Pray God that it may be so," Fairclough said, "for it is our onlychance."
Two or three minutes later, he said:
"You are right, there is certainly a break there. There is a lineof surf, but it does not run up the shore, as it does everywhereelse."
He at once descended to the deck.
"Thank God!" he said, as he joined Mr. Hardy and Harry who, onseeing him coming down, had made their way to the shrouds, "thereis a break in the surf. It is not a complete break, but there iscertainly an inlet of some sort. And though it looks as if therewere a bar, there may be plenty of water for us for, with such asea as this, it would break in three fathoms of water and, as wedon't draw more than two, we may get over it. At any rate, it isour only hope."
"It gives us a chance, if we strike," the lieutenant said, "for itwill be comparatively calm water, inside the bar. Those who canswim should have no difficulty in getting ashore. The others mightdo so, on wreckage. Her masts are sure to come out of her, if shestrikes heavily."
"I shall be obliged if you will go up to the foretop, Hardy, andcon the brig in; but mind you, come down before we get to the whitewater. You may as well send Mr. Eden down."
Mr. Hardy was not long before he came down again and, at thecaptain's suggestion, both he and Harry went below, and armedthemselves with pistols. As soon as they came up again, they tooktheir places by Fairclough. The seamen had all gathered aft. Theboatswain had cut the lashings holding the spars--that had beensent down from aloft--in their place by the bulwarks. The boats hadall been torn from their davits, or smashed; with the exception ofthe largest cutter, which lay bottom upwards in the middle of theship, securely lashed to the deck.
"Now, men," the captain said, raising his voice almost to a shout,so that all might hear him, "you have behaved as well as men coulddo, during this storm; and I have no doubt that you will continueto do so, to the end. Remember that no one is to leave the ship,till I give the order. If you are cool and calm, there is goodground for hope that all may be saved.
"If the mast falls, you who have hatchets run forward at once, andstand in readiness to cut the lanyards; but don't strike until Igive the order."
They were now fast approaching the line of surf.
"Let everyone take hold of something," Mr. Fairclough shouted. "Ifwe strike, we are sure to be pooped."
Another minute, and she was close to the breaking waves. Everyoneheld his breath as, impelled by a great breaker, she dashed intothe surf with the swiftness of an arrow. There was a shock,followed by a grating noise, and then the brig slowly came to astandstill.
"Hold on, hold on for your lives!" the captain shouted, as a waveeven larger than the last came towering up behind them, in analmost perpendicular wall. It struck the vessel with tremendousforce, and swept waist deep along the deck; while the vessel,herself, surged forward. There was another shock, but this timemuch slighter and, as the next wave carried them on, there was ageneral cheer from the sailors.
"She has floated, she is through it, hurrah!"
She was, indeed, over the bar.
"There are men in the water," Fairclough shouted. "Get ready tocast ropes to them."
Four men, who had been swept overboard by the rush of water, wererescued; two others were found dead on the deck, having been dashedagainst the stanchions, or other obstacles.
The brig continued her course, four or five hundred yards fartherthen, as the banks of the inlet closed in, Fairclough gave ordersfor the anchors to be let go. Everything had been prepared for thisorder, and the anchors at once dropped and, as soon as fiftyfathoms of chain had been run out, the brig swung round head towind.
"Muster the men, and see if any are missing."
This was done, and only one, besides three found dead, did notanswer to his name. The general opinion was that he had struckagainst something, as he was swept overboard, and had been killedor disabled; for all who had been seen in the water had beenrescued.
"Serve out an allowance of grog, all round, Mr. Eden," Faircloughsaid, "and tell the cook to get his fire alight, as soon aspossible. We shall all
be glad of a good meal.
"Well, thank God, everything has ended far better than we couldhave hoped for!"
Two hours later the crew, having got into dry clothes, were sittingdown, enjoying a plentiful allowance of pea soup and salt junk;while the officers were partaking of similar fare, in the cabin.None who saw them there would have dreamt of the long struggle theyhad been through, and that the ship was well nigh a wreck. It wasnow late in the afternoon, and Fairclough gave orders that allmight turn in, as soon as they liked; except that an anchor watch,of four men, must maintain a sharp lookout, for the natives of theisland were bitterly hostile to the whites.
"I don't think there is any real danger," he said to Harry, "orthat they will attempt to take the ship. Their habit is, I haveheard, to lie in hiding, and to shoot their arrows at any strangerwho may land."
They sat chatting, for an hour, after the meal was concluded. Thenthe conversation flagged, and Fairclough said, presently:
"I think that we may as well follow the men's example, and turn in.I can hardly keep my eyes open."
The gale was still blowing strongly, in the morning, though itsforce had somewhat abated. But inside the bar there was but aslight swell, and the brig rode easily at her anchors; for the windwas now several points west of north, and they were consequentlyprotected by the land.
The work of repairing damages began at once for, owing to thelength of the voyage, the stores of provisions and water werebeginning to run very short. Two or three buffaloes had beenbought, at the village where Harry had landed but, with theexception of some fruit, and the meat sent off by the tumangong, noother fresh food had been obtained, since they sailed fromCalcutta. The boat was turned over and launched; and the work ofmaking a new fore-top mast, and overhauling the rigging, proceededwith.
During the day, several of the natives were observed at the edge ofthe forest by Harry who, having no special work to do, had beenasked by Fairclough to keep his eye on the shore, and to ascertainwhether they were being watched; as he intended, when the repairswere finished, to see if any spring of fresh water existed in theneighbourhood. He therefore kept a telescope directed on the shoreand, soon after daybreak, made out two little men at the edge ofthe trees.
The natives of the Andaman Islands are among the lowest types ofhumanity known. Their stature does not exceed five feet and, withtheir slender limbs and large heads, their appearance is almostthat of a deformed people. They use no clothing whatever,plastering their bodies with clay, or mud, to protect the skin fromthe sun's rays. Animals are scarce on the islands, and the peoplelive chiefly on fish. They carry bows and arrows, and heavy spears;to which, in most cases, are added shields. They inhabitroughly-made arbours, and seldom remain long at any spot; movingabout in small communities, according to the abundance or scarcityof food. They use no cooking utensils, and simply prepare theirfood by placing it on burning embers.
The men first made out soon disappeared but, later on, Harry couldsee that there were many of them inside the line of forest.
"It is a nuisance," the captain said, when he told him the resultof his examination of the shore. "I suppose, in a day or two, weshall have hundreds of them down here. I don't think they will tryto interfere with us, as long as we are at work; but they willcertainly oppose us, if we attempt to enter the forest, and willeffectually prevent our wandering about in search of water. Wecould only go in a strong body and, even then, might lose a goodmany lives from their arrows.
"Of course, we should be able to beat them off; but I should besorry to have to kill a lot of the poor little beggars. One canhardly blame them for their hostility. Naturally, they want to havethe place to themselves, and are just as averse to our landing asour forefathers were to Julius Caesar and his Romans.
"Of course they would be, if they only knew it, very much betteroff by being civil. We have numbers of things that would beinvaluable to them. For instance, I would willingly give them adozen cooking pots, and as many frying pans, if they would let usobtain water peaceably. I suppose that, at some time or other,Malays landed here, and carried off a number of heads; or they mayhave been shot down by some reckless ruffians of traders, and haveso come to view all strangers as deadly enemies. However, so far asI have heard, there is no chance of their being friendly; andnative traders say that, of vessels that have been wrecked on thecoast, none of the crew ever escaped.
"By the way, I believe that fish are extremely plentiful here. Wehave a good supply of fishing lines on board, for we generally fishwhen we are at anchor."
"If you will let me have them, tomorrow," Harry said, "Abdool and Iwill look after that. I hate having nothing to do and, certainly,fish would be a very agreeable change, after such a long spell ofsalt meat."
"You shall have them, the first thing in the morning."
Accordingly, the next day the lines were got out; and the Malayinterpreter, who knew a great deal more of fishing than did Harryor Abdool, took the matter in hand. The hooks were baited withpieces of meat, or shreds of white or scarlet bunting. The fish biteagerly, and all three were kept actively employed in drawing themup, and rebaiting the hooks. They were of all sizes, from a quarterof a pound to four or five pounds and, by dinner time, there wereenough to furnish an ample meal for all on board.
"I will keep three or four of the men at work, this afternoon,"Fairclough said, "and we will have night lines down. We can saltdown those we do not eat and, at any rate, we shall not be drawingmuch on our stores."
By evening the new fore-top mast was in its place. As the heaviestpart of the work was now done, orders were given for a boat's crewto start, in the morning, to cruise along the coast and see if anystream ran into it. Mr. Eden was to be in command. The crew were tobe well armed, but were not to attempt to effect a landing.
The sea had now calmed down, and the southwest monsoon was blowingsteadily.
"You had better go south. The land is much higher there, and thereis more likelihood of there being streams. I think you will be ableto lie your course or, at any rate, make a long leg and a shortone. You are to go, as nearly as you can tell, twenty miles. If youdo not meet with a stream by that time, turn back. You will havethe wind free, then, and can be back here well before sunset. Ofcourse, if you find fresh water, you will at once return.
"Would you like to go with the boat, Mr. Lindsay?"
"Very much. My hands are so sore, from hauling in the lines, that Iam afraid I shall not be able to help in the fishing, tomorrow."
The party started early. It consisted of ten men, the coxswain, themidshipmen, and Harry. The surf was no longer breaking on the baroutside. There was a bright sea, with white-crested waves and,before starting, the captain ordered a reef to be put in the sails.
"She could carry full sail, well enough," he said to Harry, "butthere is no occasion for haste; and it is always best to be on thesafe side, especially when a middy is in command. Besides, it isjust as well to keep dry jackets."
A keg of water and a supply of food, sufficient for two days, wereplaced on board.
"I expect you will be back by three o'clock in the afternoon, Mr.Eden; but it is always well to provide against any accident."
With the sheets hauled tight aft, the cutter was just able to lieher course, outside the line of breakers. In a little over an hourthere was a break in the shore, and a stream of some forty feetwide fell into the sea; and a general cheer broke from the sailors,who had been put on allowance for the past week.
"Put her about, coxswain," the midshipman said; "we need go nofarther."
"Can't we land, and have a bathe, sir?" the coxswain asked.
"Certainly not. That is the very thing that we mus'n't do. Foranything we know, there may be natives about; and some of us mightget stuck full of their arrows before we could get out of range.This will be good news, and there will be no longer any need foryour being kept on short allowance of water."
At ten o'clock the boat re-entered the inlet, and lowered sail bythe side of the brig.
&nbs
p; "You have been successful, I suppose, by your coming back so soon,Mr. Eden?" the captain said, when they were within easy hail.
"Yes, sir. There is a small stream, about seven miles from here."
"That is very satisfactory. Now you can come on board. There isplenty of work for all hands."
Everyone, indeed, was busy in repairing damages. The carpenterswere engaged upon the bulwarks and the stern, which had been muchdamaged by the wave that had lifted them over the bar. As therewere not sufficient planks on board for this work, canvas wasutilized for filling up the gaps in the bulwarks; and this, afterbeing nailed to temporary stanchions, was coated with pitch. Allhands worked cheerfully. The change of diet already benefited them,and the news that there was plenty of fresh water near enabled theremaining supply to be freely used--a matter of no slightconsequence, to men working in the broiling sun.
Two days later the work was finished and, on the following morning,the anchors were weighed and the sails shaken out; and the brigleft the inlet that had saved them from destruction and, aftersailing out to sea a couple of miles, came about and laid hercourse for the mouth of the stream.
The fishing had been continued, without intermission. Watches hadagain been set, and the work of attending to the lines was verywelcome, as helping to pass away the four hours of darkness. By thetime they left the inlet, a sufficient quantity had been salteddown to last the ship's company for a week, without recourse to thesalt-meat casks.
The carpenter, with three or four assistants, had patched up thesecond cutter--the boat that had been least injured. The others hadbeen broken up for firewood, some of the pieces being reserved forthe repairs of the cutter.
As soon as the brig reached the mouth of the stream she wasanchored, two hundred yards off the shore. The water barrels hadalready been got up on deck, and some of these were lowered intothe first cutter, of which Mr. Hardy took the command. It was notdeemed advisable to employ the second boat in bringing water onboard as, if heavily laden, the water would force its way inthrough the hastily-executed repairs. The captain, then,accompanied by Harry and an armed crew, took his place in her; andwent ahead of the larger boat into the stream.
It was found to be but three or four feet deep, with a slow currentand, for some little distance up, was too brackish to be used. Itwas not until they entered the line of forest that it was foundfresh enough. The men in the first cutter proceeded to fill theircasks, while those in the other boat laid in their oars and, musketin hand, watched the forest. In a few minutes the work was done,and the first cutter rowed straight for the brig; while the secondcutter followed her, for some distance beyond the trees, and therewaited for her return.
"So far, so good," Fairclough said; "but I am afraid that we shallbe disturbed, before we have made another trip. No doubt, some ofthe natives followed the cutter along the shore, yesterday. I don'tsuppose they recognized what your object was, as you did not enterthe stream; but when they saw the brig going the same way thismorning, I have no doubt that they set off in this direction.However, with one more boat load we can manage, well enough, untilwe reach the Hooghly for, with this wind, we shall make a quickrun."
In a quarter of an hour the cutter was seen returning and, when itapproached them, Fairclough again took the lead. All appeared stillin the forest, and the men had just begun to refill the casks, whena shower of arrows fell among the boats.
"Let half your men go on with their work, Mr. Hardy, and the othersstand to their arms."
Not a single foe was visible, but the arrows still flew fast fromamong the trees.
"Open fire!" Fairclough said. "Fire anywhere among the bushes. Idon't suppose that we shall hit them, but it may frighten them.They can't know much about firearms."
From both boats a scattering fire of musketry at once opened, themen loading and firing as quickly as they could. The effect wasimmediate. Arrows still fell, but only occasionally; and evidentlyshot at random, for but few of them came near the boats.
The men in the first cutter were working energetically, dippingbreakers into the water and emptying them into the large casks. Inthree or four minutes these were filled, and Hardy hailed thecaptain.
"We are full up, now, sir, both casks and breakers."
"Then retire at once, Mr. Hardy. We will follow you."
As they issued from under the trees, the arrows again fell fast.
"Don't fire," the captain said; "perhaps they may issue out, andthen we will give them a lesson--that it is better not to interferewith men who are doing them no harm."
This proved to be the case. No one had been hit by the fire fromthe boats and, now that the shooting had ceased, the natives, withshouts of triumph, ran out from the forest. There were somehundreds of them.
The captain hailed the boat in front.
"Stop rowing, Mr. Hardy, and open fire on them.
"Now, lads," he went on, to his own crew, "fire steadily, and don'tthrow away a shot."
The rattle of musketry broke out again.]
As the rattle of musketry broke out again from both boats, many ofthe natives dropped. The others stopped, at once. A shower ofarrows was discharged; and then, as the fire was kept up, they fledback into the woods; and the men, again taking to their oars, rowedout without further molestation to the brig. None of the crew hadbeen killed, but four were wounded by the arrows.
"I hope they are not poisoned," Fairclough said, in a low voice, toHarry. "I don't know whether they use poison, on these islands; butwe must hope not. However, we will not frighten them by evenhinting at the possibility of such a thing."
Happily, however, no evil symptoms resulted. The wounds were, forthe most part slight and, the next day, all were able to return totheir duty. The fair weather now set in and, ten days later, thebrig dropped anchor in the river, opposite Calcutta.
Harry at once went ashore, and handed to the Governor a full reportof what had taken place.
"I have not time to read this rather bulky report of yours, atpresent, Captain Lindsay," the latter said, with a smile. "Pleasegive me the pith of it, as shortly as possible."
"The island, sir, is well adapted for a trading station; and would,I should think, when the forests are partly cleared away, be ahealthy one. I have interviewed the tumangong, who has signed adocument agreeing, at any time in the future that it may bedesired, to cede either a trading station or the whole island tous. He was greatly pleased with the presents that you sent; and is,I believe, thoroughly in earnest in his desire for a tradingstation to be established so close to him. The Rajah of Johore hasratified this agreement, and has given his cordial consent for thecession of the island to us.
"It seems that he, himself, is an usurper. The rightful heir is aboy of seven or eight years old, and I think it is possible that,either at the present man's death, or possibly even before that, hemay ascend the throne. At present, he and his mother are in thehands of the reigning rajah; but I have promised her that, if wetake possession of Singapore, she and her son can find an asylumthere, and a small pension for her maintenance; and she, on herpart, has promised that she will bring up her son to regard us ashis best friends; and that he, if he ascends the throne, shall alsoratify the treaty, and will become our warm ally.
"As to the Dutch, the reply of their Governor is with the report,but certainly it is an unfavourable one; and no cooperation, in thework of repressing piracy, can be expected from them."
"I did not expect it, Captain Lindsay; and indeed, as I told you atthe time, only sent you to Batavia in order to account for thepresence of one of our ships of war in those waters.
"Well, sir, your mission has been, in all respects, mostsatisfactory. I shall read your report, and give it fullconsideration, at my leisure. For the present you will remain here,available for any office, military or civil; but at present, at anyrate, you will retain your civil employment.
"I will not ask you to dine with me, today, as it is hardly likelythat I shall have time to read your report, this afternoon; but Ishall be
glad if you will do so, tomorrow, and you can then answerany questions that may suggest themselves to me."
