Charley Laurel: A Story of Adventure by Sea and Land

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

  IN THE CLUTCHES OF THE CHIEF.

  The crew of the _Dolphin_, though numerous and well accustomed to theuse of arms, being thus taken unawares, were almost helpless. Thesharp-edged war-clubs of the natives came crashing down upon theirheads, as they ran here and there in search of weapons to defendthemselves. Lieutenant Pyke was struck dead the instant he appeared atthe companion-hatch. The second mate was treated in the same way, whilethe boatswain, with a few men who gathered round him, made a desperateattempt to defend himself; but he and his party were overpowered bynumbers, and cut down, after they had killed several of the natives.Some of our men jumped down below, but were followed by the savages.Whether they were killed, or whether any escaped, we could not tell. Afew ran up the rigging, where the natives appeared afraid to followthem.

  In a few minutes, besides Dick and me, not a white man whom we couldsee, except those aloft, remained alive. The natives now began dancingfrantically about the deck, whirling their clubs over their heads, andshouting at the top of their voices for joy of their victory. Theyeither did not observe Dick and me, or knowing that we must at lengthcome in, did not think us worth their notice. I felt almost overpoweredwith horror. In spite of that, however, I thought of dear Miss Kitty,dreading that she and Mr Falconer, with those in the boat, would, ontheir return, have to share the terrible fate of our other companions;while I fully expected Dick and I would soon be summoned off to bekilled.

  What had become of Mrs Podgers, and those who had been below at themoment of the attack, we could not tell.

  "Oh, Dick, what are we to do?" I exclaimed, trembling with fear.

  "We must trust to God, Charley," he answered. "He will take care of us,though how that is to be, is more than I can say. I can only hope thatthe savages, fierce as they are, will not have the heart to kill alittle boy like you; and it can matter little what becomes of an oldfellow, such as I am. Say your prayers, Charley, though you cannotkneel down. That does not matter."

  The savages all this time continued dancing on the deck, as if theywould beat it in, shouting at the top of their voices, and flourishingtheir war-clubs, looking more like a gang of demons let loose than humanbeings.

  "It will be bad enough for us, Charley, even though the natives don'tkill and eat us, but my mind is most troubled about poor Miss Kitty.What will become of her, if they get hold of the boat? and there's nochance that I can see of her escaping."

  "I was thinking of her, too," I said, "and Mr Falconer. The savageswill murder him and the boat's crew, as they have the rest. Oh, Dick!I cannot stand it. I wish they would kill me at once!"

  I felt, as I spoke, like the hapless bird fascinated by the glance ofthe serpent, and could scarcely restrain myself from clambering on boardand rushing among the savages.

  "Hold fast, Charley," said Dick. "I wish I had not said what I did--youhave got your best days before you. If the savages wanted to kill us,they would have done so before now. See, they are growing calmer, andare talking together; they, perhaps, will be satisfied with gainingpossession of the ship, and all the plunder in her, and won't kill thosewho make no resistance."

  Soon after Dick had said this, a tall chief with a high plume offeathers on his head, and his almost white skin only slightly tattooed,advanced to the heel of the bowsprit, and, looking towards Dick and me,shouted out some words, and beckoned us to come in.

  "What shall we do, Dick?" I asked. "Will he kill me, do you think?"

  "There's no help for it, Charley," answered Dick. "But don't be afraid;he shall kill me before he hurts you. Just get round and keep closebehind me, and I will ask him to take care of you; he does not look assavage as the rest."

  I followed Dick, though I confess my alarm was so great that I couldscarcely hold on. As we got to the inner end of the bowsprit, Iobserved that the chief placed his bloodstained club against thebulwarks; he then lifted up both his hands, to show that they held noweapon. Dick, therefore, advanced more boldly, and getting on deck,still keeping me behind him, confronted the chief.

  "I make bold to ask you to let this little chap go free, Mr Savage,"said Dick, pointing to me. "He has never done you no harm, and neverwill. It cannot do you any good if you kill him, and he is so thin, hewould make but a poor meal, if you want to eat him."

  Although the chief could not have understood a word that Dick said, heseemed to comprehend his meaning, and, putting his hand on his head andmine, he signified that we were his property, and that he would takecare of us. He even smiled when he looked at me, and seemed to inquirewhether I was Dick's son, so Dick fancied; for he replied, "He is allthe same as my child, and if you hurt him, it will be the worse foryou." Our friend then called up two other men, who appeared to belongto him as a sort of bodyguard, and then charged them to take care of us,while he went aft and spoke to the other chiefs.

  Meantime the natives had begun to hoist up the goods from the hold, andto load their canoes with them, our new friend being apparently engagedin securing his share of the booty. Dick and I were thus left on theforecastle, and could observe what was going on. We often turned oureyes towards the mouth of the harbour, dreading to see the boat return.And yet, what could become of her, with no friendly port near, shouldshe not come back?

  A considerable time having passed, the young chief's canoe came roundunder the bows, and he made signs to us to lower ourselves into her.Just before I did so, I cast my eyes once more seaward, and there Icaught sight of a boat's sail. Mr Falconer and Kitty were returning,unsuspicious of the dreadful circumstances which had occurred. How Iwished that I could go off and warn them.

  We had scarcely thought about the captain and the rest of the men onshore. If they had escaped, we need not have much apprehension aboutourselves; but if they had been put to death, we, I still dreaded, onreaching the shore might meet with the same fate.

  "What can we do, Dick, to let Miss Kitty and the mate know theirdanger?" I asked. "If they come up the harbour, there will be nochance for them."

  "We can do nothing, Charley," he answered. "They are in God's hands, aswe are, and we must trust to Him to take care of us all."

  The young chief now made another sign to Dick and me to get into thecanoe, so we lowered ourselves down, and went up to where the chief wasstanding. His canoe, like many others around, was of considerablelength, fully forty feet, though not more than a foot and a half wide,and of about the same depth. She was kept from upsetting by outriggersprojecting from the bow, middle, and stern, with a long piece of lightwood secured to the extremity of each. On the upper part of the stem,which projected about two feet, was a carved head of some animal; whilethe after part also projected six feet or more beyond the actual stern,something like the shape of a Dutch skate. The paddles were neatly madeof a hard black wood, highly polished, with slender handles, and theblades of an oval form. I afterwards examined the canoe, and found thatit was composed of many pieces of the bread-fruit tree, cut into planksand sewed together with the fibres of the outside shell of thecocoa-nut. The seams were covered inside and out with strips of bamboosewed to the edge of each plank, to keep in a stuffing of cocoa-nutfibre. The keel consisted of one piece, which ran the whole length, andwas hollowed out in the form of a canoe, being, indeed, the foundationof the vessel. Three pieces of thick plank, placed as partitions,divided the interior into four parts, and served for timbers to keep herfrom separating or closing together. She had also a mat sail, broad atthe top, and narrowing to a point at the foot.

  The chief told as to sit down, and directed his crew to paddle towardsthe shore. This they did, accompanied by several other canoes, whichwere apparently under his command.

  We frequently turned our eyes towards the boat, but the wind was scantand light, and she made but little progress up the harbour. ProbablyMiss Kitty and the mate were in no hurry to return on board. The menwho had escaped up the rigging were still there; but whether thecaptain's wife and those who had fled below had sur
vived the massacre wecould not tell. The ship was still crowded with savages, who werebusily employed carrying up what they could find below and had strengthto remove. The oil-casks must, however, have been beyond their power tolift, though Dick observed that they would be sure to try and get holdof the iron hoops, and be rather astonished when the oil burst out overthem.

  Our captor directed his course towards a small inner bay, on the shoresof which were several huts, where we concluded that he lived. Thoughsome of his men cast savage glances at us, and looked as if they wouldlike to knock out our brains, we were not ill-treated, nor was anythingtaken from us.

  On landing, we were allowed to remain by ourselves while the crews ofthe canoes were busy in unloading them as fast as they could.

  There was close at hand, forming one side of the little bay, a highrock, whence Dick thought that we could get a good sight of the wholeharbour. We set off, and, unnoticed by the busy natives, made our wayto the top of it. We were not disappointed in our expectations, andfrom it could see both the ship and the boat. The latter had made butlittle way, and, finding the wind against her, had lowered her sail andtaken to the oars. More canoes were collecting alongside, and weconcluded that the chief and his followers were going to return for afurther supply of booty. We were allowed to remain on the rocks, thenatives probably knowing that we could not make our escape.

  The wind after a time freshened a little, and the boat was drawingnearer. As we were looking towards her, a loud report reached our ears,and, turning our eyes towards the ship, we saw the masts and deck risingupwards, surrounded by a dense smoke, and a thick mass of the shatteredfragments of numberless articles, mingled with the boom-boats,companion-hatch, caboose, and human beings mangled and torn. For a fewseconds they seemed to hang in the air, and then were scattered far andwide around the ship. The masts falling into the water, crushed severalof the canoes alongside, and the shrieks and cries of the natives, whohad escaped with life, while they paddled away in dismay, came over thewaters towards us.

  Dick and I held our breath, and I saw horror depicted in hiscountenance.

  "Though the savages deserve what they have got, it may be the worse forus," he muttered. "They will now knock us on the head, to a certainty."

  I made no reply, but I feared that what Dick said would prove true.

  Flames now burst out from the ship, and several guns which were loadedwent off, sending their shot flying among the natives, and creatingstill further dismay.

  So absorbed were we for some minutes in watching the ship, that we hadalmost forgotten the boat. Again looking towards her, I saw that hersail was hoisted, and that she was running before the wind towards theharbour's mouth.

  "Mr Falconer guesses what has happened; I am sure of that," said Dick,"and he would rather trust to carrying Miss Kitty off into the wideocean than to the mercy of the savages, though I am afraid they willhave a hard time of it, even if they get clear."

  "Oh, Dick!" I cried out, "see, there are some of the savages afterthem, and they may be overtaken."

  Such, indeed, was the case. Several canoes which at the time of theexplosion had been at a distance from the ship, watching, apparently,the approaching boat, on seeing her standing seaward, began to paddleafter her. Though they had no sails, they glided rapidly over thewater, and there seemed but little probability that our friends wouldeffect their escape.