brother might be put onboard, and lie off the reef until the result of the encounter is known."
"Why do you propose that, sir?" exclaimed Vander Heyden angrily. "Doyou suppose I am a coward, that I should shrink from an encounter withthese scoundrels?"
"I implied nothing of the kind, sir," returned Rivers. "I was onlycarrying out your own suggestion. I suppose Miss Vander Heyden couldnot be put into the boat with no one to take care of her?"
Vander Heyden would have made an angry answer, but the captaininterposed.
"You are quite wrong, Mr Vander Heyden, and, I must add, ungratefultoo. Mr Rivers merits our thanks for his suggestion, which I shall atonce put in force. We had better launch the boat at once, while thedeck is in our possession. As soon as she is in the water, we can put afew provisions in her, and then she can lie off at a little distance.We had better set to work upon that at once."
All hands went to work accordingly with a will, and presently the gigwas lowered, and got ready for sailing. Then dinner was served, and theafternoon passed quietly away. Bostock and his companions, if they hadintended any violence, appeared to have abandoned the idea. Probablythe captain's promptitude had disheartened them,--so it was thought,--and as they knew the pinnace had been sent off to Mossel Bay, they wereaware that assistance would probably come from the shore in a few hours'time.
Late in the afternoon the captain, who was very tired, went down to geta few hours' sleep. He was aroused not long afterwards by Rivers.
"Captain," said the latter, "I fear mischief is brewing."
"What makes you suppose that?" said the captain, who had roused himselfon the instant.
"There are two things I don't like. In the first place, the men musthave got into the spirit-room--"
"Hasn't careful watch been kept upon it?" asked the captain.
"Yes," said George, "most careful watch. No one has approached the doorthe whole day. They must have broken into the room another way. Anyway, there is furious drinking going on on the lower deck. I clamberedround on the outside, and could see what was passing. Bostock, Van Ryk,and Sherwin are inciting the men to drink. Half of them, indeed, aredrunk already."
"Could you hear what they are saying?" asked the captain.
"Not very distinctly; there was too much shouting and yelling. But Icould make out that they were inciting the men to attack us."
"They would hardly do that," answered the captain. "They know that weare armed, and on our guard."
"No doubt, but they are armed too."
"Armed? are you sure? I myself conveyed all the arms in the ship intothe cabin, on the night after we left Cape Town."
"In that case, there is either a traitor among the men who have accessto your cabin, or they have brought their own arms on board. All thefellows we suspect are provided with cutlasses and revolvers, and Icould see more lying about on the tables and benches."
"Was Andersen, my servant, among them?"
"Yes, he was one of the most forward, apparently, of any."
"He is the traitor, then. But that is of little consequence now. Doyou think they will make their attack soon?"
"Not for another hour or two, I should say. They may ultimately succeedin getting the men to join them; but they are not ripe for it yet."
"An hour or two may be time enough. Come with me, Rivers; I shall wantyour help."
The captain went on deck, and, calling three or four of his best handstogether, told them what he had learned. By his instructions, theyprovided eight or ten stout spars, which they carried down below andplaced as a barricade, at the distance of about eight or ten feet fromthe captain's cabin, lashing the ends of the spars, so as to make itimpossible for any one to pass. Then the other hatchways were secured,and a man set to guard each. The captain next went down, accompanied byRivers and Vander Heyden, taking with him the second mate, Rolfe, aswell as Marks, Daley, Wall, and Bateman, four of the stoutest and mosttrustworthy of the sailors. He placed these in positions which wouldcommand the barricade, some inside the cabin, some in the passage. Thestrictest silence was to be observed, and no one was to fire until theword was given. The captain then lighted his dark lantern, obscuringthe light until the moment of action should arrive. Annchen had beensent on deck under the charge of Moritz, Vander Heyden having insistedon remaining below. But Whittaker, Margetts, and Walters hadconstituted themselves her special bodyguard.
When all had taken their places, a long silence ensued. The shouts ofthe men below were now more plainly heard. It was evident that theywere fast becoming drunk, and at any moment the expected attack might bemade. Presently the noise below ceased.
"They are getting ready," whispered the captain to George; "we shallhave them up in another moment."
His words had hardly been uttered, before they were made good by thesound of feet stealthily ascending the stairs.
"They think to take us unawares," continued the captain. "They don'tsuspect anything about the barricade."
Presently there was a cry of surprise, followed by a volley of oaths.Then a light was struck, and the mutineers were seen trying to tear downthe spars which blocked their passage.
"You had better leave off that, and go below!" shouted Captain Ranken."We are prepared for you. If you attempt to remove those spars, youwill take the consequences."
"Let fly at them," said a voice, which the captain recognised as that ofBostock,--"let fly at them, and particularly at that Dutchman."
Half a dozen pistols were discharged, three of them directly levelled atVander Heyden, who was standing close to the captain. He had a narrowescape. One of the bullets would have struck him in the heart ifCaptain Ranken had not at the moment changed his position, and it struckhis epaulet. A second grazed his temple, the third was lodged in thepartition behind him.
"Your blood be on your own heads!" cried the skipper. "Fire on them!"A general discharge followed, by which it was evident considerableexecution was done. Several were seen to fall, and among them Bostockand Van Ryk; but whether these were killed or dangerously wounded didnot appear. They were either able, however, to crawl down below, orwere carried off by their companions.
"They got that hot and strong, sir," remarked Rolfe; "I don't thinkthey'll try it again."
"It depends a good deal on whether the leaders are killed or severelywounded," returned the captain. "As for Bostock, you hit him fairly,Mr Vander Heyden. The bullet struck him below the hip. But whether itwas a slight or a severe wound, I can't say."
"I think it was only a flesh wound," rejoined the Dutchman. "The otherfellow--Van Ryk, his name is, I believe--was more seriously hurt, Ifancy."
"I hope he is. If those two men should be silenced, we needn't beafraid of the others. Well, we are safe for the night, I think, and wemust hope that help will come to-morrow."
The captain's words were so far made good, that the rest of the nightpassed in quiet. The forenoon of the next day was a time of greatanxiety, which no one felt so keenly as the captain. He knew that ifWyndham did not return, it could be only because some accident hadhappened to his boat, or because he had been unable to obtain any helpin Mossel Bay, and had been compelled to go overland to Cape Town. Thedistance thither from Mossel Bay was more than two hundred miles, andthe means of getting there not easy to procure. Even if he could findhorses to carry him the whole distance, it would probably take him a dayor two to reach the town. Then, no doubt, a vessel would be fitted withas little delay as possible. But probably two or three days more mustelapse before it could reach the reef.
Altogether, it was not unlikely that a full week would pass, duringwhich they would have to remain in their present situation, unless,indeed, they could attract the attention of some passing vessel. As thehours went by, the captain grew more and more despondent; and at last itbecame only too evident that Wyndham's speedy return could not be lookedfor.
"We are in for this, Rivers," he said, as they stood together on deck,looking anxiously toward shore,
half an hour or so before sunset;"unless we are picked up by some ship, we may have to stay a week onthis reef, and there is no disguising that, if it should be so, ourlives are in the greatest danger."
"Do you apprehend a storm coming on, sir?" asked Rivers.
"I see no signs of that, though in this climate the changes of weatherare so rapid that one is never secure for six hours together; but thatis not what I am afraid of. These men will get desperate--theringleaders, that is. They know there is a rope round their necks inconsequence of last night's work, and they will get away from the reefat all hazards before Wyndham's return, if by possibility they can."
"I don't see how they can force their way on deck in the face of ourfire, any more than they did last night, sir; I don't see how they couldremove the barricade either."
"They might contrive to cut the ropes which hold one of the spars," saidthe captain,--"that is, if they could work in the dark. But I shalltake care that the passage is kept lighted all night, so they won'tattempt that I think they will try to blow up the hatchways. They havegot plenty of powder, and it would not be a difficult thing to do. Theywould lose some men in forcing their way up; but their numbers sogreatly exceed ours, that, once on deck, we should have no chance withthem."
"You think all the ship's company will go along with Bostock and VanRyk, then?"
"I am a good deal afraid of it. I don't think they'd have done this oftheir own heads. But these two rascals are exceedingly clever, andwill, I have no doubt, make out a plausible story. They will persuadethe poor fellows that, if they are caught, they will be charged withmutiny for what has been done already. They'll tell them it is theironly hope to get off the reef before help comes, and they must cut allour throats to accomplish that."
"And we can't take to the boats, and be gone ourselves?"
"That is what the Dutchman proposed yesterday. But I then pointed outthat we cannot get at the long-boat without exposing ourselves to thefire of the mutineers. Nor would they, of course, let us repair theother boat, even if she could be repaired. I only guessed then thatthey would attack us. It is unfortunately only too certain now. Weshould simply be playing their game. If they could overpower us, or, inplain English, murder us, they would no doubt go off in the three boats,or make a raft, if the boats would not hold them all. But while weremain here, that would be impossible.
"No," resumed the captain presently; "we must go on as we have begun.It really looks as though the men were unable to devise any plan ofattacking us; in which case it is most probable that they will submit,and throw themselves upon my mercy. It is only against a few, you see,that direct mutiny can be proved. Nor have I quite given up the hopethat Wyndham may have found a ship at Mossel Bay, though her sailing mayhave been delayed. Perhaps the men also are reckoning on thepossibility of that, and will not commit themselves further, until theyfeel sure that he will have to go on to Cape Town for help. But allthat we can do is to keep a bright look-out, and be ready for action ata moment's notice. I shall go and lie down now for two or three hours,as I feel quite worn out; but I shall trust to you, Rivers, to rouse meif there should be the slightest necessity. You are the only man onboard I can thoroughly trust, for, though Rolfe and McCarthy are goodfellows, they are not equal to an emergency. But you know what you areabout."
They parted. George took a turn or two up and down the deck, apparentlyburied in thought. Then he laid aside his cutlass and pistols, put on asailor's jacket that was lying on the deck, and tied a handkerchiefround his head. Having completed these preparations without attractingnotice, he disappeared below.
It was about three hours afterwards that the captain was a second timeroused from his sleep by a hand laid on his chest. He started upinstantly, and was about to speak, when George Rivers, who was hisvisitor, stopped him.
"Don't wake the others, sir," he said. "If you will come on deck, Ihave something important to tell you. I wish to say, sir," he continuedwhen they were seated out of the sight and hearing of any of theircompanions, "that I have been down among the men, and have learnedpretty accurately what they mean to do."
"Down among the men--among the mutineers?" exclaimed the captain. "Howdid you manage that?"
"Well, it was not so very difficult, sir. Several of the men had lefttheir jackets on deck, as well as a handkerchief or two. I put two ofthese on, pulling the handkerchief well over my forehead, so that by thedim light on the lower deck it was hardly possible that I could berecognised, even if any one noticed me, which was hardly likely. Then Iuntied one of the ropes, and so got through the barricade. I went tothe head of the ladder and listened. There was loud and angry talkgoing on, and several of the speakers seemed to be more than half drunk.I crept cautiously down, ready to make a bolt up again if any onehailed me, but they were all too busy to notice me. I crept into acorner and lay down, as if asleep, drawing a sailcloth half over me. Ilay there for a couple of hours, I should think, and learned all Iwanted to know. After that I took advantage of a violent quarrel whichbroke out among them, to creep up-stairs in the same way as I had creptdown, and then secured the spar."
"You have done nobly?" exclaimed the skipper. "And what have youlearned?"
"I learned, first of all, that nothing will be attempted to-night,though an attempt will be made to-morrow. In the first place, itappears that Sherwin was one of those killed in the skirmish, thoughthey contrived to carry him off. Van Ryk and Bostock were wounded,though not severely. Bostock was hit in the right leg, and is unable touse it, though the wound is already greatly better. They won't stirunless he leads them, and that he can't do this evening."
"That is fortunate. They are not afraid of Wyndham's return, then?"
"No; they seem to feel sure that he has failed to find a ship in MosselBay. Indeed, one of the men said he had gone over to the bay from CapeTown, only a day or two before the _Zulu Queen_ sailed, and there was noship there, and none expected."
"I feared as much," said the captain. "Well, then, what are the men'sintentions? Do they all go along with Bostock?"
"I am afraid they do," returned George. "Bostock has persuaded themthat there is an enormous sum of money in gold stowed away in thecabin--enough, as he told them, to make them all rich for life. If ithadn't been for the barricade, he said, of which no one had any idea,this would have been in their possession already. But as it is, it istheirs as soon as they choose to seize it. They evidently believe theycan get on deck whenever they please--"
"Did you ascertain how?" interrupted the captain eagerly. "Not exactly,sir, but I fancy they mean to blow a hole in the ship's side, and so getdown on to the reef, which at low water extends for several feet beyondthe ship--"
"Yes, yes," said the captain, "I was afraid so; no doubt they could dothat. Go on."
"Well, I expect they will make their way out in that manner, and,although we may be able to kill half a dozen of them before they knockus on the head, they would certainly do so, sooner or later. None ofour party are to be spared, except, I am sorry to say, Miss VanderHeyden. Bostock means to carry her off with him."
"The brute!" exclaimed the captain. "He shan't do that, Rivers."
"No, sir. I would blow out her brains with my own hand sooner thanallow it?"
"And so, to do him justice, would her brother, or Mr Moritz either--nay, I am persuaded she would do it herself! Well, Rivers, we are infor this, and we must get out of it the best way we can. But I must ownI am at my wits' end. Can you suggest anything?"
"It has occurred to me, captain, that we might possibly, if we were harddriven, get on to the other part of the reef yonder, and take provisionswith us enough to last two or three days. They couldn't get at usthere, I imagine."
The captain looked in the direction to which George pointed. There wasanother reef, or, more properly, another part of the same reef, dividedfrom that on which the ship was lying by a deep channel some twenty orthirty yards wide. It rose a good deal higher out of the water
, and wasso plainly visible at all states of the tide that nothing but design, orthe most culpable carelessness, could have caused the disaster.
"That is a good thought," he said. "If ever I command a ship again, Imust make you my first mate. That reef will be our salvation. We mustnot lose a moment in getting across, and taking all we want with us. Goand wake all the hands, and bring them on deck at once. If we wait forthe moon, the rascals may see us. It is lucky that we have Marks andCookesley, the ship's carpenters, among our party."
CHAPTER FIVE.
The sailors who had remained loyal to Captain Ranken obeyed his summonswith prompt alacrity. They were reduced to seven, three having gonewith the first mate in the pinnace. The captain gave them their orders,which they proceeded to put into execution as rapidly and with as littlenoise as possible. The boat was brought immediately under the ship'sside, and a number of articles put into it, the first being thecarpenter's chests, and a load of spars and planks from the workshop.Then the boat returned for boxes and barrels, containing provisions tolast for a fortnight, together with all the firearms and cutlasses ondeck. Then a quantity of bedding, knives, forks, and crockery, and alarge tarpaulin which had been used to form a shelter from the heat forthe passengers. A number of