Mr. Midshipman Easy

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

  IN WHICH MUTINY, LIKE FIRE, IS QUENCHED FOR WANT OF FUEL AND NO WANT OFWATER.

  Although we have made the African negro hitherto talk in his own mixedjargon, yet, as we consider that, in a long narration, it will betedious to the reader, we shall now translate the narrative part intogood English, merely leaving the conversation with which it may bebroken in its peculiar dialect.

  "The first thing I recollect," said Mesty, "is that I was carried on theshoulders of a man with my legs hanging down before, and holding on byhis head.

  "Every one used to look at me, and get out of the way, as I rode throughthe town and market place, so loaded with heavy gold ornaments that Icould not bear them, and was glad when the women took them off: but, asI grew older I became proud of them, because I knew that I was the sonof a king--I lived happy, I did nothing but shoot my arrows, and I had alittle sword which I was taught to handle, and the great captains whowere about my father showed me how to kill my enemies. Some times I layunder the shady trees, sometimes I was with the women belonging to myfather, sometimes I was with him and played with the skulls, andrepeated the names of those to whom they had belonged, for in ourcountry, when we kill our enemies, we keep their skulls as trophies.

  "As I grew older, I did as I pleased; I beat the women and the slaves; Ithink I killed some of the latter--I know I did one, to try whether Icould strike well with my two-handed sword made of hard and heavy wood--but that is nothing in our country. I longed to be a great captain, andI thought of nothing else but war and fighting, and how many skulls Ishould have in my possession when I had a house and wives of my own, andI was no longer a boy. I went out in the woods to hunt, and I stayedfor weeks. And one day I saw a panther basking in the sun, waving hisgraceful tail. I crept up softly till I was behind a rock within threeyards of it, and drawing my arrow to the head I pierced him through thebody. The animal bounded up in the air, saw me, roared and made aspring, but I dropped behind the rock, and he passed over me. He turnedagain to me, but I had my knife ready, and, as he fixed his talons intomy shoulder and breast, I pierced him to the heart. This was thehappiest day of my life; I had killed a panther without assistance, andI had wounds to show. Although I was severely hurt, I thought nothingof it. I took off the skin as my blood dropped down and mixed with thatof the beast--but I rejoiced in it. Proudly did I go into the towndripping with gore and smarting with pain. Every one extolled the feat,called me a hero and a great captain. I filed my teeth, and I became aman.

  "From that day I ranked among the warriors, and, as soon as my woundswere healed, I went out to battle. In three fights I had gained fiveskulls, and when I returned they weighed me out gold. I then had ahouse and wives, and my father appointed me a Caboceer. I wore theplume of eagle and ostrich feathers, my dress was covered with fetishes,I pulled on the boots with bells, and with my bow and arrows slung on myback, my spear and blunderbuss, my knives and my double-handed sword, Iled the men to battle and brought back skulls and slaves. Every onetrembled at my name, and, if my father threatened to send me out,gold-dust covered the floor of his hall of council--Now, I boil thekettle for the young gentlemen.

  "There was one man I liked. He was not a warrior, or I should havehated him, but he was brought up with me in my father's house, and was anear relative. I was grave and full of pride, he was gay and fond ofmusic; and although there was no music to me equal to the tom-tom, yet Idid not always wish for excitement. I often was melancholy, and then Iliked to lay my head in the lap of one of my wives, under the shadyforest behind my house, and listen to his soft music. At last he wentto a town near us where his father lived, and as he departed I gave himgold-dust. He had been sent to my father to be formed into a warrior,but he had no strength of body, and he had no soul; still I loved himbecause he was not like myself. There was a girl in the town who wasbeautiful; many asked for her as their wife, but her father had longpromised her to my friend; he refused even the greatest warrior of theplace, who went away in wrath to the fetish-man, and throwing him hisgold armlets asked for a fetish against his rival. It was given, andtwo days before he was to be married my friend died. His mother came tome, and it was enough. I put on my war dress, I seized my weapons, satfor a whole day with my skulls before me, working up my revenge, calledout my men, and that night set off for the town where the warriorresided, killed two of his relatives and carried off ten of his slaves.When he heard what I had done, he trembled and sent gold; but I knewthat he had taken the girl home as his wife, and I would not listen tothe old man who sought to pacify me. Again I collected a larger force,and attacked him in the night: we fought, for he was prepared with hismen, but after a struggle he was beaten back. I fired his house, wastedhis provision ground, and taking away more slaves, I returned home withmy men, intending soon to assault him again. The next day there camemore messengers, who knelt in vain, so they went to my father, and manywarriors begged him to interfere. My father sent for me, but I wouldnot listen; the warriors spoke, and I turned my back: my father waswroth and threatened, the warriors brandished their two-handed swords--they dared to do it; I looked over my shoulder with contempt, and Ireturned to my house. I took down my skulls, and I planned. It wasevening, and I was alone, when a woman covered up to the eyesapproached; she fell down before me as she exposed her face.

  "`I am the girl who was promised to your relation, and I am now the wifeof your enemy. I shall be a mother. I could not love your relation,for he was no warrior. It is not true that my husband asked for afetish--it was I who bought it, for I would not wed him. Kill me and besatisfied.'

  "She was very beautiful, and I wondered not that my enemy loved her--andshe was with child--it was his child, and she had fetished my friend todeath. I raised my sword to strike, and she did not shrink: it savedher life. `Thou art fit to be the mother of warriors,' said I, as Idropped my sword, `and thou shalt be my wife, but first his child shallbe born, and I will have thy husband's skull.'

  "`No, no,' replied she, `I will be the mother of no warriors but mypresent husband, whom I love; if you keep me as your slave I will die.'

  "I told her she said foolish things, and sent her to the women'sapartment, with orders to be watched--but she hardly had been locked upbefore she drew her knife, plunged it into her heart, and died.

  "When the king my father heard this he sent me a message--`Be satisfiedwith the blood that has been shed, it is enough'--but I turned away, forI wished for mine enemy's skull. That night I attacked him again, andmet him hand to hand; I killed him, and carried home his skull, and Iwas appeased.

  "But all the great warriors were wroth, and my father could not restrainthem. They called out their men, and I called out my men, and I had alarge body, for my name was terrible. But the force raised against mewas twice that of mine, and I retreated to the bush--after a while wemet and fought and I killed many, but my men were too few and wereoverpowered--the fetish had been sent out against me, and their heartsmelted; at last I sank down with my wounds, for I bled at every pore,and I told my men who were about me to take off my feathers, and mydress and boots, that my enemies might not have my skull: they did so,and I crawled into the bush to die. But I was not to die; I wasrecovering, when I was discovered by those who steal men to sell them: Iwas bound, and fastened to a chain with many more. I, a prince and awarrior, who could show the white skulls of his enemies--I offered toprocure gold, but they derided me; they dragged me down to the coast,and sold me to the Whites. Little did I think, in my pride, that Ishould be a slave. I knew that I was to die, and hoped to die inbattle: my skull would have been more prized than all the gold in theearth, and my skin would have been stuffed and hung up in afetish-house--instead of which, I now boil the kettle for the younggentlemen."

  "Well," replied Jack, "that's better than being killed and stuffed."

  "Mayhap it is," replied Mesty, "I tink very different now dan I tinkden--but still, its women's work and not suit me.

  "Th
ey put me with others into a cave until the ship came, and then wewere sent on board, put in irons, and down in the hold, where you couldnot sit upright--I wanted to die, but could not: others died every day,but I lived--I was landed in America, all bone, and I fetched verylittle money--they laughed at me as they bid their dollars: at last aman took me away, and I was on a plantation with hundreds more, but tooill to work, and not intending to work. The other slaves asked me if Iwas a fetish-man; I said yes, and I would fetish any man that I did notlike: one man laughed, and I held up my finger; I was too weak to getup, for my blood had long boiled with fever, and I said to him, `_youshall die_;' for I meant to have killed him, as soon as I was well. Hewent away, and in three days he was dead. I don't know how, but all theslaves feared me, and my master feared me, for he had seen the man die,and he, although he was a white man, believed in fetish, and he wishedto sell me again, but no one would buy a fetish-man, so he made friendswith me; for I told him, if I was beat he should die, and he believedme. He took me into his house, and I was his chief man, and I would notlet the other slaves steal, and he was content. He took me with him toNew York, and there after two years, when I had learned English, I ranaway, and got on board of an English ship--and they told me to cook. Ileft the ship as soon as I came to England, and offered myself toanother, and they said they did not want a cook; and I went to another,and they asked me if I was a good cook: everybody seemed to think that ablack man must be a cook, and nothing else. At last I starve, and I goon board man-of-war, and here I am, after having been a warrior and aprince, cook, steward and everyting else, boiling kettle for de younggentlemen."

  "Well," replied Jack, "at all events that is better than being a slave."

  Mesty made no reply: any one who knows the life of a midshipman'sservant will not be surprised at his silence.

  "Now, tell me, do you think you were right in being so revengeful, whenyou were in your own country?" inquired Jack.

  "I tink so den, Massa Easy, sometimes when my blood boil, I tink sonow--oder time, I no know what to tink--but when a man love very much,he hate very much."

  "But you are now a Christian, Mesty."

  "I hear all that your people say," replied the negro, "and it make metink--I no longer believe in fetish, anyhow."

  "Our religion tells us to love our enemies."

  "Yes, I heard parson say dat--but den what we do with our friends, MassyEasy?"

  "Love them too."

  "I no understand dat, Massa Easy--I love you, because you good, andtreat me well--Mr Vigors, he bully, and treat me ill--how possible tolove him? By de power, I hate him, and wish I had him _skull_. Youtink little Massa Gossett love him?"

  "No," replied Jack, laughing, "I'm afraid that he would like to have hisskull as well as you, Mesty--but at all events we must try and forgivethose who injure us."

  "Then, Massa Easy, I tink so too--too much revenge very bad--it veryeasy to hate, but not very easy to forgive--so I tink that if a manforgive he hab _more soul_ in him, he more of a _man_."

  "After all," thought Jack, "Mesty is about as good a Christian as mostpeople."

  "What that?" cried Mesty, looking out of the cabin window--"Ah! damndrunken dogs--they set fire to tent."

  Jack looked, and perceived that the tent on shore was in flames.

  "I tink these cold nights cool their courage any how," observedMesty--"Massa Easy, you see they soon ask permission to come on board."

  Jack thought so too, and was most anxious to be off, for, on lookinginto the lockers in the state-room, he had found a chart of theMediterranean, which he had studied very attentively--he had found outthe rock of Gibraltar, and had traced the _Harpy's_ course up to Cape deGatte, and thence to Tarragona--and, after a while, had summoned Mestyto a cabinet council.

  "See, Mesty," said Jack, "I begin to make it out; here is Gibraltar, andCape de Gatte, and Tarragona--it was hereabout we were when we took theship, and, if you recollect, we had passed Cape de Gatte two days beforewe were blown off from the land, so that we had gone about twelveinches, and had only four more to go."

  "Yes, Massa Easy, I see all dat."

  "Well, then, we were blown off shore by the wind, and must of coursehave come down this way; and here you see are three little islands,called Zaffarine Islands, and with no names of towns upon them, andtherefore uninhabited; and you see they lie just like the islands we areanchored among now--we must be at the Zaffarine Islands--and only sixinches from Gibraltar."

  "I see, Massa Easy, dat all right--but six debbelish long inches."

  "Now, Mesty, you know the compass on the deck has a flourishing thingfor the north point--and here is a compass with a north point also. Nowthe north point from the Zaffarine Islands leads out to the Spanishcoast again, and Gibraltar lies five or six points of the compass tothis side of it--if we steer that way we shall get to Gibraltar."

  "All right, Massa Easy," replied Mesty; and Jack was right, with theexception of the variation, which he knew nothing about.

  To make sure, Jack brought one of the compasses down from deck, andcompared them. He then lifted off the glass, counted the points of thecompass to the westward, and marked the corresponding one on thebinnacle compass with his pen.

  "There," said he, "that is the way to Gibraltar, and as soon as themutiny is quelled, and the wind is fair, I'll be off."