CHAPTER III
A SLAVE DEPOT
Night fell rapidly as soon as the sun had set, and by the time the boatsreached the mouth of the inlet it was already dark. The two boats underthe second officer entered first, rowed up the inlet to the bend, andlanded the marines and sailors on the opposite side; the boarding-partylay on their oars for five minutes and then followed. The oars weremuffled, and the men ordered to row as noiselessly as they could,following each other closely, and keeping under the left bank. They wereabout half-way up when the word "Fire!" was shouted in Spanish, and sixguns were simultaneously discharged. Had the Spaniards waited a fewseconds longer, the three boats would all have been in line with theguns. As it was, a storm of grape sent the water splashing up ahead ofthe pinnace, which, however, received the contents of the gun nearest tothem. It was aimed a little low, and fortunately for the crew the shothad not yet begun to scatter, and the whole charge struck the boat justat the water-level, knocking a great hole in her.
"We are sinking, Mr. Hill," Low said. "Will you come alongside and pickus up?"
Although the launch was but a length behind, the gunwale of the pinnacewas nearly level with the water as she came alongside. Its occupantswere helped on board the launch, which at once held on her way. Half aminute later six guns were fired from the opposite bank. The boats wereso close under the shore that their position could not be made out withany certainty. Three men were hit by the grapeshot, but beyond thisthere were no casualties.
"Keep in as much as you dare," Mr. Hill said to the coxswain; "thebattery opposite will be loaded again in a couple of minutes, but aslong as we keep in the shadow of the shore their shooting will be wild."
The battery, indeed, soon began to fire again, irregularly, as the gunswere loaded. The shot tore up the water ahead and astern of the boats,but it was evident that those at the guns could not make out theirprecise position. Another five minutes and the boats were headed for theschooner.
"You board at the bow, Mr. Glover, I will make for her quarter. Now, layout, lads, as hard as you can, the sooner you are there the less chanceyou have of being hit."
A moment later a great clamour arose behind them. First came a Britishcheer; then rapid discharges of pistols and muskets, mingled with theclash of cutlasses and swords; a minute or two later this ceased, andthe loud cheer of the marines and seamen told those in the boats thatthey had carried the battery. The diversion was useful to the boats.Until now the slavers had been ignorant that a party of foes had landed,and the fact that a barracoon full of slaves, and the storehouses, werealready threatened, caused something like consternation among them. Theconsequence was that they fired hastily and without taking time to aim.Before they could load again the boats were alongside, unchecked for aninstant by the musketry fire which broke out from the deck of theschooner as soon as cannon had been discharged.
Boarding-nettings had been run up, but holes were soon chopped in theseby the sailors. Headed by Nat, the crew of the gig leapt down on to thedeck, for the greater part of the slaver's crew ran aft to oppose whatthey considered the more dangerous attack made by the occupants of thecrowded launch. The defence was successfully maintained until the crewof the gig, keeping close together and brushing aside the resistance ofthe few men forward, flung themselves upon the main body of the slavers,and with pistol and cutlass hewed their way through them till abreast ofthe launch. The slavers attacked them furiously, and would speedily haveannihilated them, but the crew of the launch, led by Mr. Hill, cameswarming over the bulwarks, and, taking the offensive, drove the slaversforward, where, seeing that all was lost, they sprang overboard,striking out for the shore to the right.
Severe fighting was now going on opposite the schooner, where thelanding-party were evidently attacking the barracoon and storehouses.
"HEADED BY NAT, THE CREW OF THE GIG LEAPT DOWN ON TO THEDECK."]
"To the boats, men!" Mr. Hill shouted, "our fellows are being hardpressed on shore; Mr. Glover, you with the gig's crew will remain incharge here."
Indeed, it was evident that the resistance on shore was much moreobstinate than had been expected. Nat stood watching the boat. Just asit reached the shore one of the sailors shouted, "Look out, sir!" and hesaw a big mulatto rushing at him with uplifted sword. His cutlass wasstill in his hand, and throwing himself on guard he caught the blow asit fell upon it, and in return brought his cutlass down on hisopponent's cheek. With a howl of pain the man sprang at him, but Natleaped aside, and his cutlass fell on the right wrist of the mulatto,whose sword dropped from his hand, and, rushing to the side, he threwhimself overboard. In the meantime a fierce struggle was going onbetween the sailors and seven or eight of the slavers who, being unableto swim, had thrown themselves down by the guns and shammed death, ashad Nat's antagonist, who was first mate of the schooner. The fight wasshort but desperate, and one by one the slavers were run through or cutdown, but not before three or four of the sailors had received severewounds.
"Get a lantern, mate," one of these growled, "and see that there are nomore of these skulking hounds alive."
The sailors, furious at what they considered treachery, fetched a lightthat was burning in the captain's cabin, and without mercy ran throughtwo or three unwounded men whom they found hiding among the fallen. Itwas soon clear that the reinforcement that had landed had completelyturned the tables. Gradually the din rolled away from the neighbourhoodof the storehouses, there was some sharp firing as the enemy fledtowards the wood behind, and then all was quiet. Presently there was ashout in Mr. Hill's voice from the shore:
"Schooner ahoy!"
"Ay, ay, sir."
"Load with grape, Mr. Glover, and send a round or two occasionally intothat wood behind the houses; I am going to leave thirty men here underMr. Playford, and to take the rest over to the opposite side and carrythe battery there."
"Ay, ay, sir."
And as the guns pointing on that side had not been discharged, he atonce opened fire on the wood. A minute later the launch and gig rowedpast the schooner and soon reached the opposite side. Ten minutes passedwithout any sound of conflict being heard, and Nat had no doubt that thebattery had been found deserted. It was not long before the boats wereseen returning. They rowed this time to the schooner.
"Mr. Glover," the first lieutenant said as he reached the deck, "do youlower the schooner's cutter, put all the wounded on board, take four ofyour men and row out to the frigate and report to the captain what hastaken place. Tell him that Mr. Playford carried the battery on the rightin spite of the guns, and that I have spiked those in the battery on theleft, which I found deserted. Say that we have had a sharp fight onshore with a large number of negroes led by two or three white men andsome mulattoes, and that I believe there must be some large plantationsclose at hand whose owners are in league with the slavers. You can saythat we found a hundred and twenty slaves in the barracoon, evidentlynewly landed from the schooner, and that I intend to find theplantations and give them a lesson in the morning. How many wounded haveyou here?"
"There are fourteen altogether, sir; ten of them were wounded in thefirst attack, and four have been wounded since by some of the slaverswho shammed death."
"There are eight more in the launch, happily we have only two menkilled. You had better give all the wounded a drink of water; I have aflask, and I dare say you have one: empty them both into the bucket."
There was a barrel half full of water on deck; a bucketful of this wasdrawn, and the two flasks of spirits emptied into it, and a mug of themixture given to each of the wounded men. They were then assisted downinto the schooner's boat; four of the gig's crew took their places init, and Nat, taking the tiller, told them to row on.
Half an hour later they came alongside the frigate. A sailor ran downthe ladder with a lantern. Nat stepped out and mounted to the deck. Thecaptain was standing at the gangway.
"We have been uneasy about you, Mr. Glover. We heard a number of reportsof heavier guns than they were likely to carry on board
a slaver, andfeared that they came from shore batteries."
"Yes, sir, there were two of them mounting six guns each. Mr. Playford,with the landing-party, captured the one on the eastern side; Mr. Hill,after the schooner was taken and the enemy on shore driven off, rowedacross and took the other, which he found unoccupied."
"What is the loss?"
"Only two killed, sir, but there are twenty-two wounded, two or three ofthem by musket-shots, and the rest cutlass wounds. They are all in theboat below, sir."
A party was at once sent down to carry up such of the wounded as wereunable to walk. As soon as all were taken below, and the surgeon hadbegun his work, the captain asked Nat to give him a full account of theproceedings.
"I cannot tell you much of what took place ashore, sir," he said, "asMr. Hill left me in charge of the schooner. After we had carried her, hewent ashore with the crews of the launch and pinnace to help Mr.Playford."
"Tell me all you know first."
Nat related the opening of the two batteries, and how one had beenalmost immediately captured by Mr. Playford.
"So the pinnace was sunk?"
"Yes, sir, the enemy's charge struck her between wind and water, and shewent down at once; her crew were picked up by the launch. I hear thatnone of them were injured." Then he told how they had kept under theshelter of the shore, and thus escaped injury from the other battery,and how the schooner had been captured.
"It was lucky that your men got a footing forward, Mr. Glover. You didwell to lead them aft at once, and thus assist Mr. Hill's party toboard."
Nat then related the sudden attack by the slavers who had been feigningdeath.
"It was lucky that it was no worse," the captain said. "No doubt theywere fellows who couldn't swim, and if there had been a few more itwould have gone hard with you. And now about this fight on shore; it canhardly have been the crew of the schooner, for, by the stout resistancethey offered, they must have been all on board."
"Yes, sir."
Nat then gave the message that Mr. Hill had sent.
"No doubt, Mr. Glover; I dare say this place has been used by slaversfor years. Probably there are some large barracoons where the slaves aregenerally housed, and planters who want them either come or send fromall parts of the island. I will go ashore myself early to-morrowmorning. There is no question that this is an important capture, and itwill be a great thing to break up this centre of the slave-tradealtogether. Now that their hiding-place has once been discovered, theywill know that our cruisers will keep a sharp look-out here, and avessel once bottled up in this inlet has no chance whatever of escape.You can go with me, it is thanks to the sharpness of your eyes that wemade the discovery."
The sun had not yet shown above the eastern horizon when the captain'sgig passed in through the mouth of the inlet, and ten minutes laterrowed alongside the wharf in front of the barracoon.
"There is another wharf farther along," the captain said; "we may takethat as proof that there are often two of these slavers in here at thesame time. Ah, there is Mr. Hill! I congratulate you on your success,"he went on, as the first lieutenant joined him; "there is no doubt thatthis has been a regular rendezvous for the scoundrels. It is well thatyou attacked after dark, for the cross fire of those batteries, aided bythat of the schooner, would have knocked the boats into matchwood."
"That they would have done, sir. I was very glad when I saw the boatcoming, as I thought it was probable that you were on board her, and weare rather in a difficulty."
"What is that, Mr. Hill?"
"Well, sir, as soon as we had settled matters here we followed theenemy, and found a road running up the valley; and as it was along thisthat most of the fellows who opposed us had no doubt retreated, Ithought it as well to follow them up at once. We had evidently beenwatched, for a musketry fire was opened upon us from the trees on bothsides. I sent Mr. Boldero with the marines to clear them out on theleft, and Mr. Playford with twenty seamen to do the same on the right,and then I pressed forward with the rest. Presently a crowd of negroescame rushing down from the front, shouting, and firing muskets. We gavethem a volley, and they bolted at once. We ran straight on, and ahundred yards farther up came upon a large clearing.
"In the middle stood a house, evidently that of a planter. A shortdistance off were some houses, probably inhabited by the mulattooverseers, and a few huts for his white overseers, and some distancebehind these were four large barracoons. We made straight for these, forwe could hear a shouting there, and had no doubt that the mulattoes weretrying to get the slaves out and to drive them away into the wood.However, as soon as we came up the fellows bolted. There were about ahundred slaves in each barracoon. No doubt the fellows who attacked uswere the regular plantation hands. I suppose the owner of the place madesure that we should be contented with what we had done, and should notgo beyond the head of the inlet; and when the firing began again he sentthe plantation men down to stop us until he had removed the slaves. Ileft Mr. Playford in command there, and brought twenty men back here;and I was just going to send off a message to you saying what had takenplace, and asking for instructions. You see, with the slaves we foundhere, we have over five hundred blacks in our hands. That is extremelyawkward."
"Extremely," the captain said thoughtfully. "Well, I will go back withyou and see the place. As to the houses--the plantation house and thebarracoons--I shall have no hesitation in destroying them. This isevidently a huge slaving establishment, and, as the blacks and theiroverseers attacked us, we are perfectly justified in destroying this denaltogether. If I could catch their owner I should assuredly hang him.The difficulty is what to do with all these unfortunate creatures; theschooner would not hold more than two hundred if packed as close asherrings. However, the other thing is first to be thought of."
Nat followed his commander and the lieutenant to the plantation, or, itshould rather be said, to the depot; for the clearing in the valley wasbut a quarter of a mile long and a few hundred yards wide. It wasevident that if the owner had a plantation it was at some distanceaway, and that the men with whom they had fought were principallymulattoes and negroes employed about the place, and in minding theslaves as they were brought in.
They passed straight on to the barracoons. The sailors had alreadybrought the slaves out and knocked off their irons. The poor creaturessat on the ground, evidently bewildered at what had taken place, anduncertain whether they were in the hands of friends or enemies.
"Some of the men have found the cauldrons in which food is cooked," Mr.Hill said, "and are now preparing a meal for them; and as we found somehogsheads of molasses and stores of flour and rice they will get abetter meal than they are accustomed to. I have set some of thestrongest slaves to pump water into those big troughs there; the poorbeggars will feel all the better after a wash."
"They will indeed. I don't suppose they have had one since they werefirst captured in Africa."
In half an hour a meal was served. As an effort of cooking it couldhardly be termed a success, but was a sort of porridge, composed offlour and rice sweetened with molasses. There was some difficulty inserving it out, for only a few mugs and plates were found at thebarracoons. These were supplemented by all the plates, dishes, and otherutensils in the houses of the owner and overseers. By this time thenegroes had been taken in parties of twenties to the troughs, where theyhad a thorough wash.
"This is all very well, Mr. Hill," the captain said, "but what are we todo with all these people? Of course we must move them down to the water,and burn these buildings, in the first place because the scoundrels whoare at the bottom of all this villainy should be punished, and in thesecond place because in all probability they will collect a large numberof negroes and mulattoes and make an attack. We cannot leave a forcehere that could defend itself; therefore, whatever we decide uponafterwards, it is clear that all the slaves must be taken down to thehouses on the inlet. I should set the men to open all the stores, andload the negroes with everything that can be useful. I expect you wi
llfind a good deal of cotton cloth and so on, for no doubt the man heredealt in other articles besides slaves, and he would, moreover, keepcottons and that sort of thing for sending them up the country intomarket. However, take everything that is worth taking in the way of foodor otherwise, and carry it down to the storehouses by the water, thenset all the houses and sheds here on fire. When you see them well alightyou can bring the men down to the shore; then we must settle as to ourcourse. It is a most awkward thing our coming upon all these slaves. Ifthere were only those who had been landed from the schooner there wouldbe no difficulty about it, as we should only have to put them on boardagain, but with four hundred others on our hands I really don't know howto manage. We might stow a hundred in the frigate, though I own I shouldnot like it."
"No, indeed," Mr. Hill murmured; "and four hundred would be out of thequestion."
The captain returned to the inlet and made an examination of thestorehouses there. They were for the most part empty. They were six innumber, roughly constructed of timber, and some forty feet long bytwenty wide, and consisted only of the one floor. They stood ten feetapart. The barracoon was some twenty yards away. In a short time theslaves began to pour in, all--men, women, and children--carrying burdensproportionate to their strength. They had now come to the conclusionthat their new captors were really friends, and with thelight-heartedness of their race laughed and chattered as if their pastsufferings were already forgotten. Mr. Playford saw to the storing oftheir burdens. These filled one of the storehouses to the roof. Therewas, as the captain had anticipated, a large quantity of cotton clothamong the spoil. Some of these bales were placed outside the store,twenty of the negroes were told off to cut the stuff up into lengths forclothing, and by mid-day the whole of the slaves were, to their delight,attired in their new wraps. Among the goods that had been brought downwere a number of implements and tools--axes, hoes, shovels, and longknives. Captain Crosbie had, by this time, quite made up his mind as tothe plan to be pursued.
"We must hold this place for a time, Mr. Hill," he said as the lattercame down with the last body of sailors, after having seen that all thebuildings in the valley were wrapped in flames. "I have been thinkingover the question of the slaves, and the only plan that I can see is togo for a two or three day's cruise in the frigate, in hopes of fallingin with some native craft with which I can make an arrangement for themto return here with me, and aid in carrying off all these poorcreatures. These five storehouses and the barracoon will hold them allpretty comfortably. Two of the storehouses had better be given up to thewomen and children. We will make a stockade round the buildings, withthe ends resting in the water, and get the guns from those batteries andput them in position here. With the help of those on board the schooner,a stout defence can be made to an attack, however formidable. I shallleave Mr. Playford in command with forty men on shore; Mr. Glover willbe in charge of the schooner with five-and-twenty more. The frigate willremain for a couple of days at her present anchorage, and I will send asmany men as we can spare ashore to help in finishing the work before shesails.
"In the first place there must be a barrack run up for the men on shorebetween the barracoon and the storehouses. It must be made of stoutbeams. I don't mean squared, but young trees placed side by side so asto be perfectly musket-proof. The palisades should be made of strongsaplings, wattled together, say, ten feet high. A hundred and fiftysailors, aided by three hundred and fifty able-bodied negroes, shouldmake quick work of it. The schooner's crew can see to the removal of theguns from the batteries and their establishment upon platforms behindthe palisade. I should divide the twelve guns into four batteries, threein each. The armourer shall come off in the morning to get out thespikes, and the carpenters shall come with their tools."
"There are a dozen cross-cut saws among the things that we have broughtdown, sir."
"That is good. How many axes are there?"
"Four dozen, sir."
"Good! I will send all the hatchets we have on board. I think, Mr. Hill,that you had better take up your position on board the schooner until wesail. How about water? That is a most important point."
"The slaves have brought down a large number of staves, sir. They areevidently intended for sugar hogsheads; they are done up in separatepackets. I should say there were a hundred of them."
"That is satisfactory indeed. I will send the cooper ashore, and with agang of the black fellows he will soon get them all into shape. I seethat they have relied upon the stream that comes down from the hills fortheir supply. One of the first moves of anyone attacking the place wouldbe to divert its course somewhere up in the hills. However, with such asupply as these hogsheads would hold, we could do without the stream forweeks. The twenty marines who came ashore with Lieutenant Boldero willremain as part of the garrison."
The work was at once begun. The sailors looked upon it as a pleasantchange from the ordinary routine of life on board ship, and threwthemselves into it vigorously, while the blacks, as soon as theyunderstood what was wanted, proved themselves most useful assistants.Accustomed in their African homes to palisade their villages, they knewexactly what was required. Some, with their hoes, dug a trench four feetdeep; others dragged down the poles as the sailors cut them, erectedthem in their places, and trod the earth firmly round them. Others cutcreepers, or split up suitable wood, and wove them in and out betweenthe poles; and, by the time darkness fell, a surprising amount of workhad been accomplished.
One of the storehouses was turned over to those who could not be berthedon board the schooner, most of the slaves preferring to sleep in theopen air, which to them was a delightful change after being cooped upfor weeks in the crowded hold of a ship, or in the no less crowdedbarracoons. Sentries were posted as soon as it became dark, but thenight passed off without an alarm, and at daybreak all were at workagain. The launch returned to the frigate when work was knocked off, andcame back with a fresh body of men in the morning, and with thecarpenters, coopers, and all the available tools on board. By theevening of the third day the work was completed. Four banks of earth hadbeen thrown up by the negroes against the palisade, and on each of thesethree guns were mounted. The hut for the garrison had been completed.The hogsheads were put together and filled with water, and a couple ofhundred boarding-pikes were put ashore for the use of the negroes.
Nat had been fully employed, with the schooner's crew, in removing theguns from the batteries, and placing them on the platforms constructedby the carpenters on the top of the earthworks.
"It is quite possible," the captain said to Mr. Playford, "that thiscreek is used by pirates as well as slavers. They may come in here tosell goods they have captured suitable for use in the islands, such ascotton cloths and tools, and which it would not pay them to carry totheir regular rendezvous. It will be great luck if one or two of themshould put in here while I am away. It would greatly diminish thedifficulty we have of getting the slaves away."
"That would be fortunate indeed, sir. Even if two came in together wecould give a good account of them, for as the palisade is mostly onhigher ground than the huts, we should only have to slue the guns roundand give them such a warm welcome that they would probably haul downtheir flags at once."
"Yes. You had better tell Mr. Glover to run up the Spanish flag if anydoubtful-looking craft is seen to be making for the entrance, and Ishould always keep a couple of signallers up on the cliff, so as to letyou know beforehand what you might have to expect, and to see that thereis nothing showing that could excite their suspicions, until it is toolate for them to turn back."
Doubtless what was going on in the inlet had been closely watched fromthe woods, for in the evening of the day on which the frigate sailedaway scattered shots were fired from the forest, and the sound of thebeating of tom-toms and the blowing of horns could be heard in thedirection of the plantation whose buildings they had destroyed.
The lieutenant had gone off to dine with Nat, and they were sitting ondeck smoking their cigars when the firing began.
/> "I almost expected it," he said. "No doubt they have been waiting forthe frigate to leave before they did anything, as they would know thatat least half of those who have been ashore would re-embark when sheleft. I have no doubt the scoundrels whose place we burnt have sent toall the planters in this part of the islands to assemble in force toattack us. If they have seen us making the palisade and mounting theguns, as no doubt they have done, they certainly will not venture toassault the place unless they are in very strong force, but they canmake it very unpleasant for us. It is not more than eighty yards to theother side of the creek, and from that hill they would completelycommand us. You will scarcely be able to keep a man on deck, and weshall have to stay in the shelter of the huts. Of course on this sidethey would scarcely be able to annoy us, for they would have to comedown to the edge of the trees to fire, and as we could fire through thepalisade upon them they would get the worst of it."
"We might row across in the boats, sir, and clear the wood of them ifthey became too troublesome."
"We should run the risk of losing a good many men in doing so, and agood many more as we made our way up through the trees and drove themout, and should gain nothing by it, for as soon as we retired they wouldreoccupy the position. No; if they get very troublesome I will slue acouple of guns round and occasionally send a round or two of grape amongthe trees. That will be better than your doing so, because your men atthe guns would make an easy mark for them, while we are farther off, andindeed almost out of range of their muskets."
The firing soon died away, but in the morning it was reopened, and itwas evident that the number in the wood had largely increased. Bulletafter bullet struck the deck of the schooner, and Nat was obliged toorder the greater part of the crew to remain below, and to see thatthose who remained on deck kept under the shelter of the bulwark.Presently a sharp fire broke out from the trees facing the palisade, andthis was almost immediately replied to by the blue-jackets and marines.The fire of the assailants soon slackened, and Nat thought that it hadonly been begun with the object of finding out how strong a force hadbeen left behind. Presently two of the guns on shore spoke out, and senta volley of grape into the wood in which his own assailants werelurking. It had the effect of temporarily silencing the fire from thatquarter. This, however, was but for a short time. When it began again itwas taken up on the other side also, the party which had made thedemonstration against the palisade evidently considering that theschooner, which lay midway between the two shores, was a safer object ofattack than the stockade. As the bulwark now offered no shelter, allwent below. Two of the men were about to pull up the boat which waslying at the stern, and Nat went to the ladder to take his place in it,when he was hailed from shore.
"You had better stay where you are, Mr. Glover, until it gets dusk. Youwould only be a mark for every man with a musket, up in the trees aboveus, and, so far as I can see, there is nothing we can do until theybegin work in earnest."
"Very well, sir," Nat shouted back, "I will come off after it getsdusk."
Firing continued all day, but died away at sunset, and soon afterwardsNat went ashore.
"This is very awkward," the lieutenant said. "It is most unpleasantbeing potted at all day by fellows who won't show themselves, but Ican't see that we can help it. By the noise and jabbering that breaksout at times, I should think that there must be some hundreds of them onthis side alone, and we shall have to wait till they begin in earnest.Their leaders must know that they can be doing us no harm by theirdistant fire, and they must sooner or later make an attack on us. Yousee they have a strong temptation. They must have seen that none of theslaves have been taken away, and as there are five hundred of them, andI suppose they are worth from twenty to forty pounds a head, it is a bigthing, to say nothing of the stores. Then I have no doubt they arethirsting for revenge, and although they must see that they will have tofight very hard to take the place, they must try without delay, for theywill know that the frigate will be back again before very long, and willprobably bring some craft with her to carry away the slaves. So I thinkwe must put up with their fire till they harden their hearts and attackus in earnest. They will make the attack, I expect, about the centre ofthe palisade, for your guns would cover both our flanks. If we are hardpressed I will light a port fire, and you had better land with twenty ofyour men, leaving five to take care of the ship and work a gun or twoshould they try to take us in flank."
"I should not be surprised if they tried to-night. Shall I bring ten ofthe men on shore at once, sir?"
"Well, perhaps it would be as well. Forty men are not a very large forcefor this length of palisade and to work some of the guns at the pointwhere they may attack us, and I expect their first rush will be aserious one, and we shall have all our work cut out for us. There is onething; we can rely, in case of their making a way in, on the slaves. Bythis time they quite understand that we are friends and that the peoplewho had been firing on us are their enemies, and I believe they wouldfight like demons rather than fall into their hands again. I have tornup a bale of white calico and have given a strip of it to each man totie round his head, so that we can tell friend from foe and they canrecognize each other in the dark. The enemy won't reckon on that, andwill think that they have only a small body of whites to deal with. Doyou notice how silent the woods are now? I think we may take that as asign that they are preparing for mischief."
"The sooner it comes the better. Have you plenty of port fires, Mr.Playford?"
"Yes, a large boxful came on shore with the last boat yesterday."
Nat went off again, and picked out ten men to land with him.
"Get the other boat down," he said to the petty officer. "You willunderstand that if any attack is made on the flanks of the work you areto open fire at once upon them with grape. If a blue light is burned atthe edge of the water ten men are to land instantly. You will remain incharge of the other five. So far as we know they have no boats, but theymay have made a raft, and may intend to try and take the schooner,thinking that the crew will probably be on shore. So you must keep asharp look-out on the other side as well as this. Light a blue light ifyou see a strong party coming off, and we will rejoin you at once."
He again landed with the ten men he had chosen.
"I have six men on watch," the lieutenant said, "and have put one of theblacks with each. I fancy their ears are sharper than ours are, and theywill hear them coming before our men do."
Having nothing to do, Nat went into the barracoon and the other housesin which the slaves were placed. The contrast between their conditionnow and when he had seen them four days before, when they had first beenfound, was striking indeed. Now they were clean, and looked picturesquein their bright calico clothes. The look of dull and hopeless misery hadpassed away, and it seemed to him that with the good and plentiful foodthey had received they were already perceptibly plumper. They would haverisen as he entered, but he signed to them to keep their places. Theynow had room to lie down in comfort, and while some sat chatting ingroups others moved about. They were evidently proud of their arms, andsome of them, seizing their pikes or hatchets, made signs how they wouldfight their enemies. A ship's lantern was burning in each hut.
In the women's huts the scene was still more interesting. The littlechildren ran up to Nat with a new-born confidence in white men. Some ofthe women brought up babies to show him, and endeavoured to make himunderstand that these would soon have died had it not been for thesailors. The windows and doors stood open, and the evening breezecleared the huts of the effluvium always present where a number ofnegroes congregate together. The sight of the poor creatures enraged Natstill more against the slavers, and made him long for them to begintheir attack.
"It is quite pleasant to see them," he said as he joined Mr. Playford."They are wonderfully changed in this short time. One would hardly havethought it possible. What will become of them?"
"I expect we shall take them to Jamaica, and that there they will be letout as free labourers to the planters.
You see there is no law againstthe slave-trade, though public opinion is so strong on the subject athome that I have no doubt such a law will be passed before long. So, ofcourse, we have not captured the slaves because of their being slaves,but simply as we should capture or destroy other property belonging toan enemy. Then, too, many of the slavers act as pirates if they get thechance, and there can be little doubt that a considerable quantity ofthe goods we found are the proceeds of piracy. Besides, you mustremember that they fired at us before we fired at them. So we haveplenty of good reasons for releasing these poor beggars. You see theseseas swarm with scoundrels of all kinds, and it is quite safe to assumethat all ships that cannot show that they are peaceful traders areengaged in nefarious business of some kind or other."