CHAPTER FORTY FOUR.
WITHIN AN ACE.
Ching's words sent a thrill of delight through me, rousing me, andbringing me out of my half-delirious state.
Without a word, I crept cautiously up to my look-out place, listening tothe loud shouting and gabbling of the Chinamen as I got nearer to thetuft of greeny growth, which I parted without so much hesitation now,and, looking out, I could see that by the warm glow of the lateafternoon sun which made me shrink back with my heart sinking, and creepdown again to Ching.
"Yes?" he whispered. "Allee going 'way?"
"No," I replied, with my lips to his ear; "they are carrying up boardsand pieces of the wreck and sails, and making themselves a shelter.They are going to stay."
Ching drew his breath with a low hiss, and was silent for a few minutes.Then, quite cheerfully, he whispered--
"Velly bad job. Don'tee want bad wicked pilate here. Nevy mind: come,eat blisket, dlink watee. Muchee best place. Muchee better thanpilate. Then go have good long s'eep."
We stole back to where the biscuit and water vessel had been placed forsafety; but when Ching handed me some biscuits I felt as if I could noteat, though a little water refreshed me.
"No dlinkee much; no get more till pilate gone."
I shuddered as I thought of the consequences of being without water inthat stifling place, but the simple refreshments did me a wonderfulamount of good, and, after dipping my handkerchief in the vessel andsqueezing a few drops from time to time between Tom Jecks' lips as hebegan to mutter, he dropped off to sleep again.
I sat listening then to the smothered sounds from without, where theenemy were evidently very busy, and I was just dropping off again intoan uneasy slumber, when I started into wakefulness, for there was a loudshout from the opening we had blocked up, and I felt that all was over.They had found the way in, and in a few moments we should be draggedout.
Directly after there was the babble of several other voices, and adiscussion went on in Chinese, not a word of which could I understand.Then, to my utter wonder, the voices which had come over the top as ifspeaking close by me, suddenly ceased, and I could hear the _pad pad_ ofbare feet on the sands.
"Velly neally catchee catchee, and choppee off head," said Ching softly."Begin to be velly solly for poor Mis' Hellick. Pilate say, `Heah goodplace, make hole s'eep in.' 'Nothee pilate say, `Big fool; allee wetdamp; wildee beast live in hole, and allee 'tink. Come back, makeebetter place.'"
It was a narrow escape, and it was long enough before my heart calmeddown, left off throbbing, and I fell asleep.
Utter exhaustion had done its work, and my sleep was deep and dreamless.Once my eyes had closed, they did not open again till long aftersunrise the next morning, when I lay there puzzled, and wondering whereI was and what was the meaning of the murmur of voices apparently fromsomewhere overhead.
Ching's voice chased away the remaining mists.
"You had velly good s'eep?" he whispered. "Feel muchee better?"
I did not answer, only squeezed his hand, and turned to see how TomJecks was, but he did not seem to have stirred, and we then atesparingly of our biscuits, and drank more sparingly of the water.
"Must be velly careful," Ching said again; "no get more till pilate gone'way."
That day went by like a portion of some feverish dream. My head burnedand throbbed; my thirst grew terrible in the hot, close place, and Chingowned to suffering terribly in the same way; but the faithful fellownever touched a drop of the water, save when the evening came, and wepartook together of our rapidly-diminishing store of biscuits, the verytouch of which on my lips increased the agony of my thirst.
And all the while we were awake to the fact that the Chinamen had anample supply of food and water, for they kept dragging up to the campthey had formed casks and chests which had been washed up from the wreckof their junk; and when I climbed up and looked out, I could see themapparently settled down and resigned to their fate, until some friendlyjunk came along or they could surprise another, feasting away, orplaying some kind of game with stones.
"Waitee lit' bit," Ching whispered. "Allee s'eep, and Ching get eatdlink."
But I felt certain that he would be caught, and begged him not to gotill we were absolutely driven by hunger and thirst; and so that daypassed, with the rock growing hotter, and the air too stifling almost tobreathe, while, to my horror, I found that Tom Jecks was growing moreand more feverish. At times he began to mutter so loudly that we wereobliged to throw my jacket over his face to prevent the sounds fromdrawing the attention of the enemy.
I believe I was half-delirious all that day, and when the night came ourlittle supply of water was running so low that Ching asked if he had notbetter climb over the wall and go and fetch some more.
"No," I said; "it means discovery. We must wait."
I dropped soon after into a heavy stupor-like sleep, and this time I wasthe first to wake and see the sun's rays stealing in through the growthin the rift. Ching was sleeping calmly enough, but Tom Jecks had beentossing about, and lay in a very peculiar position, which startled me--it looked so strange. But Ching woke just then, and, nodding andsmiling, he helped me to turn our poor companion back, when we found himflushed and excited, muttering angrily, quite off his head.
"Nevy mind; pilate get tired; go to-day," whispered Ching. "Get betteesoon. Now have bleakfast. Waitee bit: Ching makee butiful bleakfast,chicken, toast, egg, nice flesh tea. There. On'y 'nuff blisket forto-day. Ching go out to-night get plenty blisket, plenty watee,plenty--plentee--oh, deah--oh, deah!"
"What is it?" I whispered.
"Oh deah! Not drop watee left. You get up dlink allee watee?"
"No; did you?"
"No. Ching see. Pooh Tom Jeck knock over with arm."
It was only too evident, for the water vessel had been laid upon itsside, and the sand beneath was soaked.
"Ching velly solly," said the Chinaman softly. "No gettee more wateetill quite dalk."
My head sank against the rock, and I hardly stirred the whole of thatday. Ching pressed me to eat some of the remaining biscuits, but Icould not touch them, only rest my burning head there, and try to thinkof what was to come. Ching would certainly be caught if he venturedout, for the enemy never all lay down to sleep together; and, what wasworse, I felt convinced, though in a confused way, that sooner or laterthe delirious mutterings and talkings of Tom Jecks must be heard.
I can only remember patches of that day. The rest is all burning heatand wandering away amongst grass and flowers and purling streams, whosetrickling I seemed to hear.
It was getting well on in the afternoon, I suppose, that Tom Jecks'fever came to a height. He muttered, and then began to talk angrily,but in an incoherent way, and his voice grew so loud that at last Iroused myself and went up to the look-out, to watch whether it was heardwithout.
But the Chinamen heard nothing, only sat or lay about, talking orsleeping. It was getting close upon evening, for the sunshine was warmand golden, and cast long shadows from the rocks and the cliff above usover the level sand.
How beautiful it all looked! that golden sea, with a distant sail hereand there. And now suddenly I found that there was a great deal ofexcitement amongst the Chinamen, who were talking loudly.
My head was hot and confused, but I soon saw the reason why, and hopebegan to revive, for about a couple of miles out I could see two junksstanding in, and my heart throbbed again with excitement as I notedtheir rig, and could feel certain they were the pair we had watchedthrough that strange night.
"I must go and tell Ching," I said to myself. "Those junks will takethe wretches off. Only a few more hours, and we shall be safe."
"Stand by, my lads! Look out! Storm's coming down upon us. Now then;every man for himself."
I turned cold with horror. Just then, too, when we were so near tosafety. For the words were Tom Jecks', roared in a hoarse voice in theheight of his delirium, and I saw that they were heard outside.
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For the Chinamen who were sitting sprang up, sword or knife in hand;those who were looking out to sea or making signals faced round, stoodstaring at the cliff for a few moments as if startled, and then, as TomJecks' voice rose again, but in muffled tones, for Ching had thrownhimself upon the poor fellow to stifle his utterances, the piratesuttered a yell, rushed to the opening, tore down the sand and stones,and Ching and Tom Jecks were dragged out on to the sand.
They had not seen me for the moment, but there was a shout directly, aman jumped up, caught me by the leg, and I was dragged along and outinto the soft evening sunshine, to be forced down upon my knees close towhere Tom Jecks lay, and Ching was being held, for he was strugglingwildly with his captors, and talked excitedly to the fierce wretches whocrowded round us.
Ching was evidently pleading for mercy, not for himself but for me. Iknew it, for he kept pointing to me; and finally he made a bound, gotfree, and leaped to me, throwing his arms about my waist.
"No killee; shan't killee," he cried wildly; and then, turning round, heyelled at our captors in his own tongue, abusing them in his rage, andthreatening them with his clenched fist.
But it was all in vain: a dozen hands were at him; others seized andheld me. Ching was dragged away vociferating wildly, thrown down, andthree men sat upon him, while another knelt down, twisted his hand inthe poor fellow's tail, and held his head fast.
I don't think they meant to kill him, their rage being evidentlydirected at us; and I saw, with a peculiar kind of fascination, one manwith a big sword come close to me; another, armed with a similar blade,go to where Tom Jecks lay, held down by three others.
I can hardly describe my sensations. Five minutes before, I washorribly frightened; the cold perspiration stood upon my forehead; myhands were wet, and my legs sank under me. But now, all the fear hadgone. I knew I was to die, and I remembered the execution I had seen inthat great enclosure, when with one _whisk_ of the sword the executionerhad lopped off head after head. It would not take long, I thought, anda curious exaltation came over me as I began to think of home, and atthe same time my lips uttered the word "Good-bye," which was followed bya prayer.
I did not cease muttering those words as I felt myself forced into akneeling position, and saw that Tom Jecks was being treated in the sameway. And somehow, as I prayed, the thought would come to me that thepoor fellow would not feel or know anything about what was going tohappen.
Just then, as the man with the big sword approached Tom Jecks, and I waswatching, I did not see but I knew that the other was close behind meand a little on my left. But it did not trouble me any more than it didto know that the fierce wretches were all gazing excitedly at us, and ina high state of delight at being able to slay two of their foes.
It takes long to describe all this, but it happened very quickly.
The man had raised his sword to strike at Tom Jecks, and I shuddered andlooked aside, to see the great shadow of a man on the sand at my feet,and there was a sword raised close by me.
At the same time Ching uttered a wild shriek, and the man who held histail forced the poor fellow's head down in the sand, but in vain; hewrenched his head sidewise, raised it, and looked towards the cliff,while I flinched slightly, for the shadow moved, as he who made it drewback to strike.
_Crash_!
No: it was not the falling of the sword on my poor outstretched neck,but a volley from the top of the cliff, fired by twenty of our braveblue-jackets, and half-a-dozen of the pirates fell shrieking on thesands.
I turned faint, but I recovered my senses as I saw Ching spring up, rushat a man on the sand, snatch up his sword and run to me.
"Quick!" he cried; "jump up; fight!"
Almost mechanically I obeyed him, and snatched a knife from the hands ofone of the fallen men to defend my life, just as a second volley rolledforth from the cliff, directed at the pirates as they ran toward theridge.
For there was no need for us to fight--our enemies were in full retreat;and, as I looked up at the cliff, I could see our men drawn-up, and theywere signalling evidently to some one out of sight.
The next minute we were hailed.
"Which is the way down?"
"This way," cried Ching excitedly; and he ran south, pointing to therift by which he had climbed the cliff, while I stood there--giddy,helpless, and at last sank down on my knees beside poor Tom Jecks, whowas still muttering something about the storm.
I recovered, however, enough to watch our men descending the rift--aperilous, break-neck place; but they did not hesitate, and in a fewminutes all were down, formed up, and came toward us at the double.
And now for the first time, at the head of those familiar faces, I sawMr Reardon, who thrust his sword into his sheath as he drew near andliterally rushed at me.
"My dear boy!" he cried, giving me quite a fatherly hug; "thank God, wewere just in time."
I could not speak--I was too giddy; but I tried to look my thanks.
"Not hurt, are you?"
"No, sir; only faint."
By this time the last of the pirates had passed over the ridge, and Ifelt irritated with Mr Reardon for not going in pursuit. But he didnot read my countenance; he called one of the men out of the line, madehim give me some water from his bottle, and bent down on his knees bypoor Tom Jecks.
"Ha!" he said; "fever from a wound. Give him some water too, my lad."
He sprang to his feet then, and I understood why he had not gone inpursuit of our enemies, for just then there was a sharp volley from overthe ridge somewhere.
"Ha! that's got them," said Mr Reardon, turning to me. "We divided, mylad! half of us came along the top of the cliff, the other half alongthe shore."
There was another volley, and I saw Mr Reardon smile as he gave theorders, and out flashed the men's cutlasses, and were fixed with a quicktingling rattle on the muzzles of their rifles.
"Here they come, sir," cried the warrant officer at the far end of theline.
"Yes, my lad, and we're ready for them. Now, one volley as soon as theyare together, boys, and then the blades. Bayonet every wretch who doesnot throw down his arms."
A low murmur ran along the little line, and I saw our men's eyes flashin the evening sun.
But the excitement was not complete, for, gathering strength now, andrecovering from the shock I had received, I was watching the piratesscrambling over the ridge in haste, as if pursued, when there was aconcussion of the air, a heavy boom, and I saw the _Teaser_ come intosight, passing through the channel south of where we stood. Then therewas a quick puff of smoke, another heavy boom, and I saw that she wasgoing full speed, leaving a black stream of smoke behind her, in chaseof the two junks, one of which was about a quarter of a mile away, theother about a mile farther.
They were evidently taken by surprise, for the men were hurriedlyhoisting sail, and, as I learned afterwards, the _Teaser_ had been quitehidden till she rounded a little promontory at the mouth of the channelbetween the first and second islands--the channel for which we had sovainly steered on the night of the storm.
The firing went on steadily, the crash of the great shell following thereport of the piece, but I had nearer and more exciting work to seeclose at hand; and once more my heart beat high, as the pirates gatheredtogether, and, seeing the danger before them, paused for a moment or twoat the foot of the ridge slope, looked to right to see only theperpendicular cliff, to left to see the sea, and then, uttering a savageyell, came tearing on.
"Fire!" roared Mr Reardon, when they were about fifty yards distant,and I saw several fall and others stagger and halt.
But the others continued their wild dash like men, and were met by ourlads, who advanced with their cutlass-bayonets at the charge.
There was a loud cheer, a savage yelling, and I saw the blades flashingin the golden sunshine as they met. Then a minute's fierce encounter,with men falling, and then half-a-dozen turned and fled back for theridge, but only to stop and turn to their right, making for the sea.
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For the ridge was lined with blue-jackets and marines, and shot aftershot was fired at the flying men, who without hesitation plunged intothe sea and swam out a few yards, while our lads pursued them, but onlyto halt on the hard wet sand, where the waves now gently rippled.
There was a strange fascination in the scene, and I watched the sixshaven heads of the swimming pirates till the first threw up his hands,battled the air for a few moments, and went down. The others turned andslowly swam shoreward till they could wade, when they approached our menand flung their weapons on the sand in token of surrender.
There was a triumphant shout at this, and then another--a loud andfrantic cheer. For the firing of the _Teaser_ had been going onrapidly, and all at once the first junk was seen to heel over, andgradually settle down, leaving the sea strewn with fragments of timber,to which the crew were left clinging; while the gunboat raced on,sending shell after shell rapidly at the other, till she was nearlyalongside, when there was a tremendous roar, following the crashing intoher of a shell, and the second junk flew up in fragments.
The shell had reached her little magazine of powder; and then the workof mercy began.
I was watching the boats being lowered when I heard a shout from behind,and, looking round, saw the second line of our blue-jackets advancingfrom the ridge. To my great joy, I saw with them those whom we hadmourned as drowned, while the next minute Mr Brooke had me by thehands, and I heard a strange gulping noise, ending in quite a howl.
I looked sharply round, and saw Ching seated on the sand, wiping hiseyes with his sleeves.
"What's the matter, Ching--hurt?" I asked.
"No, not hurt, Mis' Hellick; Ching so velly glad."